Jack Marshman broke his two fight losing skid when he came out of the Octagon at UFC London. However, not all was merry for Marshman after the fight. He has now received a serious warning from his employers in the British army for competing without prior permission.
Marshman made an appearance on The MMA Hour, where he revealed that he had received a ‘formal warning’ from the army for not following instructions. He added that another violation in the same year could lead to his termination. While the Welshman has confirmed that he wants to leave the army, he surely wouldn’t want to end a 12 year run in this manner.
“I’m leaving anyway, I’ve given my year’s notice because on the fourth of November that will be my 12-year point, so that’s me signing off now,” Marshman said.
“My officer in command knew that I was fighting and he had basically okay’d it,” Marshman said. “But it came from above him that I wasn’t allowed to fight and the day I was going to fight week, on the Tuesday, I had a text message off my RCMO (Regimental Careers Management Officer) telling me I wasn’t gonna be fighting. … I just sort of went with it anyway.”
Having served as a paratrooper for the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in the British Military for over a decade, Marshman now wants to dedicate his life to fighting inside the Octagon. And hence, he has already given his notice. He expects to move on from the army collecting his half pension.
“I want to continue fighting,” Marshman said of his reason for leaving the army. “I’ve been doing this for, like, 12 years.
“I’m fighting a really high level, I made it to the UFC, I’ve just been offered a new contract, and I got really far but at the minute my job is a soldier. I’m a professional soldier and I’m not training the same ways as everyone else.”
Jack’s troubles with the system is also attributed to its archaic nature. While sports such as boxing and even fishing are recognised by the British army, MMA has still not it made it to the list. Had it been there, Marshman could have fought under the banner of the British army.
“We’re stuck in the past,” Marshman said. “MMA is not a recognized sport in the army. If I was just doing boxing, if I was boxing as a professional boxer, I’d be on that professional athlete’s contract. But MMA is not recognized because they haven’t got the governing bodies and stuff over here the same. So it’s really difficult. …
“The British army’s got a fishing team, any sport you can actually think of, they support it, but they haven’t got an MMA team, which is ridiculous. It’s the fastest-growing sport.”
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