Credit: Shainis IG/Cage Titans
Don Shainis believes Cage Titans 48 headliner could be final regional fight
New England featherweight prospect Don Shainis has created a massive following for himself on the regional scene. In fact, Shainis has already broken the ticket sales record for the Cage Titans promotion weeks ahead of his upcoming featherweight title fight headliner — so much so that he has had to invoke the help of other fighters on the card to meet the demand.
With that, “Shameless” is letting everyone know that on April 4, it could be the last time you see him in the Cage Titans cage and on the New England regional scene.
The 29-year-old Shainis will take on Michigan’s Darius Estell for the vacant featherweight title at Cage Titans 48. The event takes place at Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Mass. and will air on FloCombat.
On Wednesday, Shainis joined MyMMANews.com to discuss getting a title fight — even though he wasn’t all that interested in fighting for a belt, Cage Titans creating new title belts for the event, selling a record amount of tickets , when he first had Estell on his radar, visualizing the entire night April 4, the emotional swings once the fight is over, getting more love from the MMA media and much more.
In addition, Shainis has come to terms that this could very well be his last fight on the regional scene as he looks to get that elusive call from the UFC, or get a slot on this summer’s Contender Series.
“Absolutely [I think it could be],” Shainis told MyMMANews.com in regards to it potentially being his last New England regional bout. “I feel like the regional scene has nothing more to offer me. I’ve sucked all the life out of it if that makes sense. I feel that if [the UFC is] not gonna take me, they’re not gonna take me. I’m coming up on that age where if you get up there in age, they don’t want you anymore. They want these up and coming prospects that got more life. But I have more life experience than a lot of these other guys.
“There’s not much more for the regional scene. What else am I gonna do? Sell out the whole venue? Fight by myself? That’s not fun, either.”
Should he catch the eye of Dana White and the UFC matchmakers — and skip right over a potential Contender Series fight — to earn that phone call, Shainis already has an opponent in mind he’d like to share the hallowed Octagon with.
“I see these 20-year-old guys like Chase Hooper, who I think would be a f****n perfect matchup for me,” Shainis explained. “He’s 10-0. I’m 7-2, about to be 8-2, but it’s one of those things where that’s a 20-year-old kid. Give it to me. They gave him a shot, why don’t I get my shot? Dreams become a reality if you manifest them. They gave that kid a shot and I think that would be a perfect first fight for me. I think I would build off of that, and for him, it’s a good stepping stone for him. He fought for the first time in the UFC and I watched that fight like, ‘yo!’ It’s another thing, too when you’re watching guys fight in the UFC — in your weight class — and you’re no longer impressed.”
With Cage Titans 48 on the cusp of a sell out, Shainis is urging fans who want to get into Plymouth Memorial Hall for the event to find a way to get your hands on a ticket. The Plymouth native is confident that April 4 could be the date of his promotional swan song.
“I believe [it could be my last Cage Titans fight],” Shainis said. “It might not be, but I think this is it.
“I mean, I could lose this fight and have to f****n rebuild from there. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, but this could very well be it.”
Check out the full interview with Cage Titans 48 headliner Don Shainis in the video above.
*Contributor’s note: If you are an up and coming fighter, or are looking to get into the cage for the first time, I highly recommend you watch this entire interview. There are a lot of important lessons within it.
