Ian Allston probably more shocked than anyone that he's making his pro debut at CFFC 109
The idea of becoming a professional cagefighter can certainly seem foreign to most average people. After all, it's an incredibly intense form of sport, and one that requires incredible dedication and a hefty dose of bravery, as well.
As Ian Allston prepares to join the ranks of that job description, he admits it probably sounds crazier to him than even those who have watched his journey.
"I was a dork in high school, man," Allston admits. "I played a lot of video games. You hear the story a lot, I think, with martial artists in particular, but I played a lot of video games, a lot of Dungeons & Dragons. Like, I had my core group of guys who were all into the same stuff as me, and I think I'm more shocked than they are that my career is 'professional fighter' now."
Between the roleplaying and the extended gaming sessions, Allston started to train a bit of striking, then added jiu-jitsu to the routine, as well. Eventually, he talked himself into taking an amateur kickboxing fight, despite zero background in any other sporting endeavors, and once he tasted the glory of victory in combat sports, his choice was made.
"I started when I was 14 training muay Thai, and then a year later I started jiu-jitsu," Allston said. "I had my first kickboxing match when I had just turned 17. It was GLORY rules, and the moment you get your hand raised in something like that? I never played sports or anything. I never played football, baseball, anything like that, but the moment I got my hand raised after that long, long camp, I was hooked. Man, it was an addictive shot."
Allston then made his amateur MMA debut in 2018, and he had mixed results in his first five contests, going 2-2-1 during the stretch. But in his final two CFFC NextGen appearances, Allston walked away with back-to-back decision wins, leading him to turn pro.
"The Hammer" explains that it wasn't so much the results that spurred his move but rather the way he felt in the cage.
"It was how present I felt in those last two fights," Allston said. "I'm really proud to say that I have not had an easy fight, but the main difference in the last two fights is that I used to go into fights and get out of them and not remember them, you know what I mean? The moment I got touched it was like a blur, you know what I mean?
"I had taken a loss a year ago in May, after a long, long layoff because of COVID, and I just knew something had to change, so when I took that fight against Dymere Rappa in October on real short notice, I was like, 'Well, this is the missing piece, I think,' and I just took like a deep, deep breath, closed my eyes and remained calm for that entire fight. Then I did the same thing with Dwight Maters back in January."
On Friday, Allston (0-0) debuts on the main card of CFFC 109, where he faces David Ciuclea (1-0) in a heavyweight bout that streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Philadelphia's 2300 Arena. Allston said he's looking forward to the experience, no matter how surprising it might be to some, and he's hoping that he quickly establishes himself as a name to remember.
"I think I've showed it in my last two performances, but I've fallen in love with putting on a show," Allston said. "I have a lot of fun in the cage now, which is something that I never thought I would have while I was coming up. Sometimes I would get ready for fights and be like, 'Why am I doing this right now?' But I understand now, and it's because I love the camera. I love the spotlight.
"Honestly, with this fight, obviously the win is the priority 100 percent of the time. You can go in and lose spectacularly, but it's still a loss, so I want to go in and I want to win – and I want to win in a way that is characteristic of my last few performances, which is to say exciting, explosive, and being a showman."
