No joke, I’m deadly serious about this – Haskell

FORMER England flanker James Haskell insists his switch to become a heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter is no PR stunt.

Haskell, who called time on his 17-year professional rugby career in May, has agreed a deal with MMA promotion Bellator.

The 34-year-old has 77 England caps but admits stepping into the cage next year will be scary.

“Mike Tyson said it: Everyone has got a plan until you get hit in the face. But for me it is a test, it’s a journey,” Haskell said.

“I’m not messing around with this. There has been overwhelming support but some people think it’s a bit like a scene out of Rocky III.

“I’m dedicating my life to this. I want to make sure I am in the best possible shape and whatever happens at the end of it I am going to put as much dedication into this as I did into rugby.

“I’m deadly serious about it. I don’t want it to be the case where I get into the cage and I look like I’ve never taken a punch before, it looks like I’m just here for fun. I’m not about that.”

The former Wasps and Northampton flanker first started working with London-based MMA gym Shootfighters a decade ago to improve areas of his game such as tackling. He has also done some MMA punditry.

The training has intensified since he got a call from Bellator to say they wanted to sign him.

“The first thing I did was pick up the phone to the guys at Shootfighters and ask: ‘What do you think of me taking this on?’, Haskell added. “They unanimously came back and gave me their support.

“My training and conditioning is hard and intense, but it’s clever. They dictate everything. I just come in and go ‘yes, coach, no, coach’ and I try not to cry.

“When I left rugby and bought my first commercial gym membership it was a shock to the system.

“I went in there and saw people training and thought ‘I’ve got to get out of here and get in a proper gym’.”

Haskell admits the coaches at Shootfighters have “already started flogging me” but stresses he won’t be doing “spinning back kicks or axe kicks if I can’t do it”.

“There is a lot of hard work to be done and a lot of hours to be put in, but I am excited about it,” added Haskell.