Dale Mawhinney interview

Summary

Dale Mawhinney is an amateur MMA fighter representing Hybrid Ards and will fight for the featherweight number one contenders match up this weekend against Logan Peters, this is his home show but every show he's been injured or had a pull out, hes made vast improvements in his…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Okay. It's my pleasure to have Dale Mwiny. He's here with me today. He's gonna be fighting Logan Peters. He's uh he's gotten active in end of the year. It looks like he's someone obviously I have a close relationship with Rat obviously with Arno and Hybrid and he's someone that I've watched and I've seen improve and and the improvements from him over the past couple of fights have been very very good and that's why I think this fight coming up this weekend is going to be potentially fight of the night and I can't wait to commentate on it. Number one, thank you very much for your time. Number two, how are you? It's fight week. How are you doing? How's the uh way are you way cut at the minute or or what's going on? How are you feeling? >> Um thank you for having me on. Um at this stage of fight week now, like it's just every sort of not sure about other people, but for me it's just like the work's done now. It's just I just want to get in there now. Um but I'm looking forward to making weight and getting a nice refill and then that'll be me good to go. >> Yeah. you know, and do you be cutting much weight? Like uh obviously over time you get better at like what kind of like cuz you were a lightweight before and then now you're you're going down. How did you find the transition? Is it a a bedding in period where you have to find out what works or what not or what way have you found it and how have you that uh dealt with it as it's kind of happened? Well, the the one of the main reasons why um like so I was I'm not too sure like it was sort of whenever I was fighting a lightweight like I think the last guy I fought a lightweight he got back up to something like 82 kg or something and I was just I was nowhere near that. Um, and then I woke up the next day, um, and it was like 70. I was waking up like in the 73s and I just looked at the scale and was like, I could definitely make featherweight like so. And I was like, if I can make featherweight, why not go back down to featherweight? But I feel at this weight too, I'll be like um, compared to most anyway, I'll be fully sized featherweight for this weight. And I'm looking forward to performing and coming back down to featherweight. It's a I feel like there's better fights for me in this division. Um, and it seems to be more feather beds on the scene anyway. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. >> Yeah. Yeah. No, there definitely is because I was actually when when obviously when you go to match for a show, I go on to tapology and look and I would have said a couple of years ago, but then I'm looking at a lot of the lightweights have gone have transitioned through to the early pros now and you've got that kind of weird transitional period where there's only a couple. But featherweights, I think when we got the list, the featherweights list was about 20 people and the rest were like maybe six or seven of each. Um, >> you've obviously got this, it's got title implications for obviously four rats, um, obviously, which is your home show. How would it feel to be successful against Logan and then get a title shot on your home show? >> Just like I'm just I'm looking forward to fighting on Ralph. This is the fifth show, I think. and like my home show. I haven't even fought on it yet. Every every single time there's been something um but I'm familiar with the venue and stuff like that. I've been to like every show and I've um cornered at it a good bit and stuff. So, I'm just looking forward to competing on and bringing obviously I have a big crowd with me as well. Um as for the fight itself, I'm just looking forward to getting in there and getting the job done. want to get the job done then the belt's on the line next >> and then obviously if you were successful you'd be going forward to try daily which obviously that's far away in the future you we just spoken you're just concentrating on this fight and I remember cuz I remember I went to interview for one of the shows wasn't you were like I was it you got injured or someone pulled out >> it just seemed you seem to have had a string of bad look like are you pinching yourself now going okay we're finally going to make it to the show that it's no there's been no issues this I'm I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, I know. Obviously, it's fight like what could go wrong at this stage. You know what I mean? Very slim chance anything happening. So, I'm just looking forward to it now. Like um I wanted to I was supposed to fight on deck as well. I was supposed to fight there like on that their show and then I ended up for the belt ended up not going through either. There was load of pull outs and stuff like that. So, I'm just happy to get in there. There's a bit of a time where I was like am I fighting on it? Am I not fighting on it? I'm not fighting on And then it came to like the week of and I was like already focused on Raph. So I was like, "No, I'll just I didn't have an opponent or anything again." So I was just like, "I'll just focus on Rav, put all my focus into it." But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. >> Yeah. Okay. In terms of your opponents, obviously, do you like to study them yourself? Does Arno do it? Uh, or what way does that kind of work? Do you get invested in in kind of what they do or do you just want to uh rely on your own skills and and just kind of get their basics but then kind of stamp your own style as a fighter rather than being so obsessed with what they're going to do? >> Um yeah, I think it's it's obviously important to know what style you're coming up against, but uh if you get like like I'm I know I'm ready like I know I'm fit and stuff like this um and I know my own skill set. So, I've obviously watched a few of Logan's fights. I know his style and know what he's probably going to try and come out and do, but um I like my own game plan and inflict myself. I'll have an answer for all of his questions and that's it basically. >> And in terms of obviously with like like cos going on and you're going 100 miles an hour and then all of a sudden fight week obviously it completely tapers down. You're working on weight cuts. Obviously that's one thing that keep you occupied. How hard is it to go from 100 miles an hour training training training and then to just have to hit a button and completely kind of stop? What is that like? And and h do you find it easy to manage, hard to manage, or or is there any advice you would give for people that do find it hard to manage? >> I sort of I sort of like it to be honest because for like when you have a whole camp and you're constantly training all the time, like you're always you're constantly focused on the fight. You're just working hard all the time. It's nice to have that bit of time where you can just sort of do whatever. Maybe something outside or you can like actually just chill out and I don't have to go to training the night. I can rest and um I like it. Like I think it's good but you sort of just get better with it every time and obviously you get to know yourself every fight more like every weight cut and stuff like that. Then fight week for me is more focused on the weight. So um that's basically what it is now. It's just about the weight cut. >> Yeah. And that's good cuz I was talking to a fighter and they said they didn't have a way cut so they didn't really have much to do. They could they they were able to dye it down nicely. Man, at least other fighters have the way cuz he's like I'm being mad here. Whereas at least >> that would be taken off. But look, there's a couple of obviously prizes, cash prizes out there you've probably seen from the sponsors. Have any of them caught your fancies that you think? Because I think this potentially is fight. There's ones I think for finish tonight and stuff like that. Uh, have you looked at some of the prizes, cash prizes, and would you be looking to be taking some of that cash home? >> I mean, I'm not looking for fighting that night. I'm looking for a performance for the night. But, um, like I know there's ones for the lightest fan and stuff like that. I think it's a good addition to the show. Um, but yeah, like to pick up one of them as well be great. >> Yeah, it would be. And then I I that's going to be really good cuz everybody's going to be very loud in that venue. And you you said you've been there. I like it because it's small and compact and and I I like the way the the cage is and everyone's seated above it because usually you're looking up what the >> um but I can't >> see like everyone's like surrounded around the cage and then the noise obviously because it's a smaller building like the atmosphere is just mental like >> yeah know it's is I really like the venue and I like that the fact that you're sitting down and then if you're the VIP you have that kind of stage area as well looking down uh like kind of kind of looking at Look, obviously you said you're not looking past Logan, but you do have another fight booked. Are you looking to have an active end like with your next fight in October? H are you looking to have more then after that as well? Are you actively seeking to be active towards the end of the year? >> Well, I was actually um so I plan to go to Amsterdam in November and like there was whenever Raph was obviously originally scheduled for November, I was like, "Right, I'll be going away. I need to wash myself a bit or well and then he says um when I got changed to September I was buzzing then because it was like happy days then we can go ahead and I don't have to worry about anything and then obviously October too and then whenever I come back I'll probably maybe look for another one but if I don't get another one then I'm happy enough you know what I mean I'm happy enough with these two fights to finish off the year and then obviously I'll rest up for the new year and see what the first shows are and get on Yeah. No, so that's I think we're going to be announcing the dates for the next year or so and hopefully we don't have to move uh a show again because the logistics of it all and trying to get fighters available that were available for November weren't available available now. Like the not notable ones are obviously the champions that are on the show. But obviously um I look forward to seeing your fight and commentating on your fight and seeing you in person again as well. So it was an absolute pleasure. I'm going to let you go. Is there anything you want to say or anyone want to shout out before you go? and I want to thank you so much for your time, especially interviewing this deep into fight week. >> Thank you very much. Um, thank you for having me on. Just want to say a big thank you to Arnold and everyone at Hybrids, everyone in the gym who's comes in and pushes you and just everyone that supports me, everyone coming to watch, means a lot. So, I'm very lucky to have the people around me that I do and I'm just looking forward to it now. just can't wait to get on there. >> I'd say that and I say I say obviously there's so much title implications home show having mission to shows before thinking you weren't going to be on it originally because it was November. Not that not that you were going to be on it but you needed to be a little bit more careful about whatever you were going to be doing on holidays to eating and stuff etc. Um and then yeah look it's going to be a pleasure to see you again and I will see you there. Thank you for your time once again. >> Thank you very much. Cheers David.