A TALENTED prospect who made his professional first-team debut at just 15 years old, it was football rather than fighting that fascinated Stevie McIntosh in his formative years.

Stirling Albion was going to be the launch pad for a stellar career that would take the Alloa teenager all the way to the top of the sport, ideally stopping off for a stint at favourites Celtic along the way.

Like many in that position, however, making that dream a reality proved to be easier said than done. “Scunnered” with football, in his words, after dropping into the Junior ranks, it was his brother Craig who suggested his athleticism and frame would make him an ideal mixed martial artist.

A decade on and McIntosh is still going strong. This evening at York Hall in London he takes on Mike Figlak at Cage Warriors 32, hoping to take a step closer to challenging for the lightweight title next year and ultimately to a berth in the UFC. Those early football aspirations are now but a fading memory.

“I played with Stirling Albion from under-12s and got a first-team appearance when I was 15,” he recalls. “I was pretty good technically as a footballer but maybe a wee bit lazy in terms of putting in the work. Back in the day you didn’t do as much with sport science and taking care of your fitness. I lacked that. That’s probably what cost me.

“I was doing well aged 15 to 18 and thought I could make a career out of it after getting in the first team at such a young age. But from there I went into the Reserves and then to play Junior football for a couple of years.

“All I wanted in football was to become a professional and I knew it was going to be hard to get back to that. My brother was into MMA and was competing at that point, maybe two or three years into it.

“He was always onto me to try it as I was athletic. I had scunnered myself with football so I decided to give MMA a try. I was 21 when I started which is a bit later in the day than some. But I took a fight after three months and knocked the guy out after 16 seconds. And ever since I’ve just stuck at it. It’s been 10 years for me now and it’s been a long rollercoaster. But it’s been amazing and you learn a lot about yourself through fighting.

“I was lucky to get a brief spell as a professional football player and now I’m doing this professionally so it’s been nice. Although football maybe pays a bit better! I just go with the flow and everything happens for a reason. I want to become the number one in Europe and get myself to the UFC. That’s the plan.”

McIntosh trains at the Higher Level gym in Bathgate and believes having partners like UFC hero Stevie Ray have helped keep him at the requisite level to compete at the top.

“I’ve been at Higher Level for eight years now and I wouldn’t train anywhere else. For me there’s nowhere else in Scotland where you can get the standard of training partners that you need to compete at the highest level. Cage Warriors is like that. The standard is really high. Everyone who is there is wanting to get to the UFC. So I need to be with guys who have been in the UFC or are at that standard

“Stevie Ray, who’s a UFC veteran and a long-time training partner, has been back in the gym and there are a lot of other good pros and young guys coming up who have been in too. I’ve had a really good camp so I’ve no excuses.

“It’s going to be a tough fight but every fight I get on Cage Warriors is tough. He’s no different to what I’ve seen before. If you look at my record I’ve finished everybody that I’ve faced, with seven finishes on my record, so that’s exactly what I plan to do again tonight.”

A convincing performance against Figlak ought to put McIntosh in a strong position heading into 2022.

“I don’t just want to beat him tonight, I want to make a statement with it as I want to be next in line for the belt. I feel like this is a number one contender fight. All the MMA purists, all the fans, are shouting for that. My only loss is to the guy fighting for the belt just now. So I feel that I should be next in line if I beat Figlak. That’s my plan. To make a statement and be next in line.”