Mikey McCoy interview

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[Music] we have CL cage Gladiator this weekend we've got one half of the main event here for the in the professional uh Phantom weight division uh Mikey from Patty hulahan Sim hulahan Mar how are you thank you very much for your time uh how you feeling this fight week what does…

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[Music] we have CL cage Gladiator this weekend we've got one half of the main event here for the in the professional uh Phantom weight division uh Mikey from Patty hulahan Sim hulahan Mar how are you thank you very much for your time uh how you feeling this fight week what does fight week look like for you H fight week yeah looking feeling good um you know obviously the last few little bits uh few little uh kilos of white deor um not feeling tired I'm feeling strong feeling full of energy and so yeah it's it's going good it's going good yeah and and you're coming off a long absence as well it's four years to yesterday I believe you said to me just before we started um what was the reason for the absence if you're comfortable going into that um and how does it feel to be back yeah yeah so um yeah four years ago yesterday I fought over in Poland um that was sort of height the co times and so after that fight then I changed him so I'm obviously now up with hillan martial arts and Patty hillan um and then yeah I was just we had I was back training after obviously changing over and stuff of that I didn't know if I wanted to do the sport anymore I was s thinking I stepping away lost all motivation um and then I de bre my second son so he's two now um so yeah just my girl friend struggled a little bit after that um and I just needed to obviously take a bit of time out help our personal reasons and stuff like that and couple of injuries during that time as well nothing nothing major just minor which was setbacks again so so finding the love for it was was hard you know when you're constantly getting set back um and then what actually got me back was I had some of my own sort of difficult times as well with mental health and stuff like that um that was sort of end of last year started this year um you know drinking every night I was drinking from Thursday to Sunday no training um sitting in the house I wasn't even like I was going out you know so I so I got couple of couple of bad moments during that and I was like right I have two kids and now like you know I need to I need to do something and I no no other training I was playing football I was doing the gym and no other training was sort of giving me that wasn't filling the belly you know so um I said I just have to go back training have to get back training so forc myself to go back training I was like great that's it now enough of this and since then that was maybe February this year so I've been flat out since then and there's obviously a lot of there's there's been times where I've thought about even like the start of the year when I come back I was like H do I do I still want to do this and there's been there's been a good couple of people know that I will I will give a shout out to um that have really really helped me stay and stay dedicated to it like you know so it's not uh it wasn't all me no and and fair play because like that mental health is something that's not spoken about as much and Men it's coming a little bit more available and and like said congratulations on the part of your second son as well and and helping your partner Che that because like people don't understand they see you fight for 15 minutes or whatever it may be in the cage but they don't understand the crooks of brones of it is you're just a person like myself and and other people and you have these daily things you have to do you have these you live the same life as all of us you just do something that a lot of us can't do but you still underneath are human uh human being at the end of the day with problems and highs and lows like we all do but what brought the motivation back paty hulahan would be one person to definitely have you motivated to come back talk to us about what what was like going to his gym and and how you've fit in since you've been there yeah well when I went there the first time um you know paty was like you have something so just need to work now on CU I was in and out like you know I was down I'd probably be there for three four weeks and then I'd stopped for a week or two and I was like you're going to be the guy who is going to be here in your 30s regretting everything and he said that to me the first time and I was like oh [ __ ] he's actually right like I don't want to be that person I don't want to have regrets of like what if you know what if I stuck it out where could we go with it like sry stuff so and he he's really really believes in me so you know when you have somebody like that at that caliber what he's achieved and what he's doing now believing in you it makes you feel it makes it feel worth it like you know it makes you really believe in yourself as well so yeah and and Paddy like that he wears his heart on his sleeve you see I see him with the fighters whether it's a novice fight an AM fight he is at nearly every show that I go to and there's very few coaches that are like that and it could be just because of schedule and how many fighters they have but you can see how much it means to Patty and like I said you don't want to be the the biggest the what if the regrets um and going on but obviously you've got a fight coming up this weekend you're gonna be fighting Jack cor who's obviously it's going to be his hometown show it's going to be it's it's their show how does it feel to go up and go against the crowd because obviously your first fight was in Poland as well it's like is that something that bother you g with the crowd against you or does it motivate you more no no I'm I'm used to fighting him back guys like I fought over in Scotland I fought ree MC over in Scotland middle of Glasgow you know um I fought up in Belfast probably more of all my fights I think I think i' maybe had one one or two maybe down in one in Dublin I think one in draw it and then yeah so they've always been against people in their backyard like you know so maybe uh after this win on Sunday case Gladiators can come to Dublin I it would be good I I think it's it's a shame now there's not as many shows in the Republic but I think with like for financial reasons and stuff like that it's a little bit more harder to run a makes sense yeah with safe MMA where it's up North and then up North for amateurs I know this is professional if the day before weighing up north down south you have to do the day of weigh in which I think hinders it a bit but like fight we like said you've got your wake cut this week um what's your wake cut like like you cut much and and how you find it he said you're full of energy and you feel strong like so obviously is this something that was always the case or have you changed it from before and no we've definitely changed a lot of stuff like like I said having Patty and and having the team around me in pill martial arts like we've experienced guys there and I've picked up obviously uh tips tricks off of them as well but I've never really I've never struggled making way um you know this has been really good as well like you know so uh I've of the last couple of kilos now to L we lost I think more than yeah we're nearly there we should be like I shouldn't have to like do bats or do son nothing like that like it's literally um I'm walking in here step on the scales are going to be on weight like you know there's going to be no dehydration no nothing like that yeah no to me I was with a fighter and I and we'd watch him do the SAA and it it didn't look Pleasant to be honest um I've had to do it once and it's not it's not Pleasant now I think if you can gradually get yourself down there uh with dieting and and the new nutrition advice available now like even to when you competed last time four years ago have you seen an advancement in MMA whether it be fighting technique and nutrition skill level stuff like that have you noticed the fast difference since the last time you've been in there with the different MMA yeah yeah definitely like um in my own like I'm I'm doing MMA now since well must be nearly 10 years like obviously with the breaks and stuff training in on and off um yeah it must be about 10 years years or so like so I have got a lot of experience fighting and competing and stuff like that as well like you know um I boxed in since from a younger age as well so um there's no problem with ever making weight whatever getting in there and fighting like you know it's never it's never never a problem and I'm nice and relaxed this week as well which is which is very good like um obviously you're G to get a bit few nerves and stuff like that in it but yeah I definitely feel like we've we've come on an awful lot in four years yeah know I think we have and obviously if someone's going to if Jack's going to try to research you and look at your your fights from four years ago I I'm assuming you're a completely different fighter like the improvements that have been made even from like you said when you joined Patty gimm in at the start of the year to now there's probably huge improvements like when you look at Jackie fought more recently have you looked at him and studied him yourself and not too much to be honest with you I actually like I didn't really know I know the name um like when when they put up I seen they put up the fight they were looking for um a pro Bandon white for an opponent one and0 and I just messaged them and I was like look guys I'll take that fight I didn't ask who the opponent was I didn't ask about money that's it doesn't bother me you're like you know I'll get in the fight anyone and I just wanted the fight and so yeah they accepted the fight obviously and um I I think when I when I watched his last fight like in the gym there not too long ago I remembered it from I obviously watched that card like on the live stre where I was like yeah I don't remember that that fight like but I didn't know either of the guys that were fighting like but um yeah other than that I didn't really know him yeah and then obviously you're going to know him this weekend H when you get up close and personal once you kind of step into that cage like like you said obviously you relax this week the little bit of nerves and come come and go but once that cage door shot what's that feeling like and what's going through your mind at the time it's the game plan you just just that game plan of what what you're you're going to implement like you know that's the main thing like even when I'd fought four years ago in Poland I was actually surprised myself by how C I was walking out and and soon as the cage door closed like I was like oh I'm like viving here like this is this is mad like so uh yeah I'm looking forward to to getting in there Belfast is great to fight as well like it's a great uh great City to fight in I fought fought there a couple of times so I'm looking forward to it again yeah yeah and it's it's it's a mad crowd in B fast and like that it's the atmosphere and I think the atmosphere is what makes the show so I'll be there this Sunday as well to S to see you fight in person it's going to be a pleasure but you're not looking past your opponent but obviously have you plans for next year on how active you want to be and and with the amount of shows we have even regionally um as a fighter what's that like for you to to try and get more professional fights in 2025 yeah I'm yeah I'm planning on a big big 2025 now we've a lot of shows obviously coming up like the end of even this year is is crazy like there's so many shows going on so hopefully next year is like that as well from the start to the finish of the year um I'm hoping to get a good good few fights like I'd be happy with as many as they as many as I can get really um I have my eyes set on on Big Shows so I'm hoping to get get a good streak on so obviously Sunday and then we'll uh push on then set the calendar up down for next year yeah no and it's good like it's just talk I can feel the caless I can feel the confidence and I uh the excitement then to to be back and and finally fighting again and you can see obviously the consistency has been there over the past couple of months but it' be a pleasure to see you fight this weekend I want to thank you so much for your time is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out I want to shout out everybody that's that's helped me from this camp like you know um I won't go through names because it'll we just take too long but H yeah definitely everybody at H and martial arts as well for for giveing me their time giveing me their their knowledge and help me out with this Camp yeah yeah no h it's going to be played thank you very much for your time I do appreciate on fight week uh I can't wait to meet you in person uh this weekend and I will see you then yeah see you then Dave thank you thank you