April 8, 2010, will be a huge day for welterweight Jacob “Tick-Tock” McClintock. That is the day that Bellator Fighting Championships will kickoff season two of their highly anticipated MMA tournament format which will run for 12 weeks, culminating in the crowning of their latest champions.
Bellator has signed some big names for the 2010 welterweight tournament in addition to McClintock, including Dan Hornbuckle, Ben Askren and Jim Wallhead, along with returning Bellator Season 1 champion Lyman Good.
With Bellator’s shows for season 2 being shown live and in prime time on Fox Sports Net on Thursday nights, the fights will be available to a much larger audience, giving maximum exposure to the organization and fighters, not to mention a HUGE paycheck for the eventual champion.
“Tick-Tock” believes that his time is now. McClintock started training in jiu jitsu at the young age of 13 and has progressed to his current rank of brown belt under Gustavo Dantas. Along the way in his grappling career, he has been a 3 time U.S. National Champion, Pan American Champion and a bronze medalist at the World Championships in 2007.
He embarked on his MMA career a little over two years ago under the tutelage of the Lally brothers at Arizona Combat Sports and has ran off 6 consecutive wins on his way to a 6-0 record in MMA. The extraordinary thing about the 6-0 mark is that all of his wins have come in the first round and although he comes from a jiu-jitsu background, 4 of his wins have come by KO or TKO.
It is his exciting style and quick finishes that have caught people’s eyes and multiple media outlets have put him on their short lists of future stars to watch out for in 2010. His recent signing with Bellator will give the 21 year old his opportunity to introduce the world to “Tick-Tock.”
ProMMA.info recently spent some time talking to the up and coming star from Arizona Combat Sports, and oh yeah, Kanye West… “Tick Tock” said that you are a bitch!!!!:
ProMMA- Tell us about the nickname…
McClintock- It was after one of my fights and we were all on our way back from Las Vegas and we were trying to think of a good nickname for me because i didn’t have one yet…everyone was talking and Ryan Bader chimed in and said Jacob Tick-Tock McClintock and it just kinda stuck.
ProMMA- You are 6-0 with 6 finishes, all in the first round, but not all of those fights have come without adversity. How much did you learn about yourself in the fight in Russia when you were getting beat before pulling out the armbar victory?
McClintock- I learned alot about flying out of the country and fighting….the fight however i learned nothing that i didn’t already know. I will never tap or give up in a fight. I just don’t have it in me. I would rather be put out than give up. However, I have to give a lot of credit to my opponent in that fight, because he really put a beating on me… LOL!
ProMMA- You are a jiu-jitsu guy, but have 4 wins by TKO, do you think guys come in thinking due to your grappling experience that it would be better to try standing with you?
McClintock- I would like to think so… however, I fight the way I want to fight and my goal in all my fights is to have my opponent guessing as to what I’m going to do the whole fight and put him where I want to be. I learned that from GSP. He never gets put in a spot that he doesn’t want to be in and I try to impose that into my style.
ProMMA- You’ve been at ACS for several years now, can you tell the difference between Todd and Trevor? LOL!
McClintock- Sometimes haha….they can be difficult though when they dress alike!! LOL!
ProMMA- All joking aside, ACS has a bunch of big names and a quite a few top level wrestlers. Which guy gives you the most trouble when you roll with them?
McClintock- The wrestlers for sure, CB, Bader, Simpson and Forbes. They are just such powerful guys and have a completely different style then the other people. Their intesity is on another level. They also NEVER want to lose in the gym, so its always a fight.
ProMMA- You recently signed with Bellator and we look forward to April to see it all go down. Eddie Alvarez walked away with a stack of cash by winning the Lightweight title. If you were to win the whole thing what would be the first thing you did with the money?
McClintock- I’m going to Disneyland… nah just kidding. I’m going to pay off my bills and try to buy a house for me and my family.
ProMMA- Obviously, Bader and C.B. both did the TUF show. Would you go through living in that house and be a part of the cast?
McClintock- For sure… You have no worries and no cares, just training and eating. It would be awesome.
ProMMA- If you could fight any celebrity from TV, who would it be?
McClintock- Kanye west…he is a bitch.
ProMMA- I know you recently became a father, tell me how that has affected your outlook on life.
McClintock- I have changed alot. I work harder in everything i do. Everything I do is for her, so I can’t give up when I’m tired or NOT go to the gym just because I’m sore and it will show in April.
ProMMA- Any crazy delivery room stories? Did you pass out, cut the cord, anything like that?
McClintock- Well, I did cut the cord and cried a lot but thats pretty normal, but nothing crazy.
ProMMA- A lot of dads say they will bust out a gun and clean it in front of any potential boyfriends…. so being that you are a fighter will there be an elbow busting arm bar or Rear Naked Choke to the dude that rolls into your living room the first time?
McClintock- I hope I will be able to raise her well enough that she won’t bring home any scumbags… but yeah, I think i will definitely have that talk with them and put that fear in them so if they ever do think about hurting her, they will think twice.
ProMMA- Do you have any sponsors or anybody that you would like to shout out?
McClintock- Just my girlfriend Megan, my daughter Madison and my old man. No sponsors though, but if anyone is wanting to sponsor me…let me know!
If you haven’t seen “Tick Tock” in action, peep the video below!