Tom (Kong) Watson arrives in style, complete with gorilla mask

Known for his flamboyant entrances, English middleweight Tom (Kong) Watson turned heads in his Maximum Fighting Championship debut in February.

Specifically Travis Galbraith's head.

Watson nailed Galbraith with a kick to the noggin, dropping him face down to the canvas. Galbraith was as stiff as a plank during the descent.

Watson returns to the ring in Enoch, Alta., on Friday night when he takes on American J.T. (Money) Taylor at MFC 26 at the River Cree Resort and Casino (HDNet, 10 p.m. ET).

In the main event, local favourite Ryan (The Real Deal) Ford (12-2) takes on American welterweight Douglas Lima (14-4). Veteran American Antonio (Mandingo) McKee (23-3-2) defends his MFC lightweight title against Brazilian Luciano Azevedo (16-8) in the co-main event.

Watson (12-3) divides his time between England, Montreal and Albuquerque, N.M.

He came to New Mexico to work with famed trainer Greg Jackson and added Montreal to his itinerary after meeting Canadians Georges St-Pierre and David (The Crow) Loiseau at the Jackson camp.

Canadian fighter Denis Kang will be in his corner Friday night, along with Montreal-based coach Eric O'Keefe.

A former soccer player who was on Reading FC's books, Watson turned to mixed martial arts after trying his hand at boxing.

His ring entrances were pretty routine as a boxer, but he brought them up a notch when he entered mixed martial arts. He remembers attending MMA cards as a spectator and the events "kind of dragged out."

For MFC 25, for example, he came out in a gorilla mask, grooving to the sounds of Will Ferrell's "Love Me Sexy" from the film "Semi-Pro."

"I always wear the gorilla mask, but usually different costumes, different entrances, different music ever time."

Watson's aggressive style as a boxer earned him the nickname of Kong, hence the gorilla mask.

He doesn't have a favourite entrance and there appears no limit to his creativity.

"I wish I could have 200 to 300 fights, just to do the entrance to be honest," he said.

He knows some hardcore fans and fighters don't like his flamboyant trips to the ring or cage. But he argues his style attracts new fans.

Watson does lament that he has to fund his own entrances. Arriving in style can come with a cost and Watson picks up the tab.

"It's pretty expensive," he said. "I'd like to come out on a magic carpet from the ceiling."

He is coming off a five-round decision over veteran Matt Horwich in May, a fight in which he suffered from double vision after taking a knee to the eye in the first round.

"Made it pretty hard work," he said with a wry chuckle.

The Horwich fight replaced an abortive bout with fellow Brit Alex Reid — a minor celebrity outside the cage thanks to winning the British "Big Brother" TV show and getting married to Katie Price, a model known as Jordan.

Watson opted to train full time about two years ago. He had lost two fights by submission and decided if he wanted to make a go of it, he had to focus fully on his sport.

So far, so good. He has won eight straight.

Taylor (15-6) was submitted by Thales Leites at MFC 25, but has since stopped Murilo Bustamante in Australia. He is known primarily for his wrestling — and getting kicked off "The Ultimate Fighter" prior to the Season 7 finale after a drunken episode at a casino.

While Watson has the reputation of a striker, he has a ground game — noting most of the Horwich bout was fought on the ground.

"If Jesse Taylor thinks he takes me down and that's the fight, that's the mistake that a lot of guys have made the last couple of years against me," he said.

Added O'Keefe: "He's a very complete fighter. ... When you train with the likes of Georges St-Pierre and you follow his regimen, you can do nothing but become a genuine MMA artist."

Watson says he has a good life, although he acknowledges living out of a suitcase and in three countries can be hard. He's not even sure where he will end up after Friday's fight.

Mexico is one possibility. Or Spain, where a friend has a villa.

"Hopefully, to be honest, I look to get straight back into training and fight again," he said.