IN DEPTH | EPISODE 22 | KENNY MOKHONOANA

Ringkasan

Dave sits down with Bellator fighter Kenny Mokhonoana for a chat on how he fell upon Mixed Martial Arts, and his career so far.

Transkrip (youtube_captions)

foreign [Music] Kenny the Black Diamond mma's got fight coming up at Bellator soon we're going to go to his career from the start until now so first of all I want to thank you for your time and coming here today and we're in UC fit Lucan um when did you start in MMA and why did you start um I started about 10 years ago now I was probably I was like 15 16 um what's it like I always was surrounded by flight and my brother's been fighting way way before me so um he brought me up to the box and I just I kind of just took the past I didn't really like like um like it or I didn't like the hard work and I just messed around so um um obviously when he UFC wasn't around when I was like eight years old that's when he was the unboxing but fast forward until I'm like 15. that's when um I took an interest in like UFC and um like the build up I just loved it now so France started his amateur career and then um he had a few amateur fights so I was like let me try to see and I could never get up to SVG because um it was too far too expensive and things like that so um I my friend in my school and James Smith and he brought me up to see my kids training days of Judo black belt so I am I welcome him to try and see Mike and kept on showing up didn't take the piss because Francis France's biggest concern was that I would take the fish in SVG and not like train but like I I told myself I'm gonna not I want to take this serious and then I'm gonna try and hard in it and then I went to see Mac trained how I found a good coach found good coaches and good teammates and um had a long amateur career in the fast forward here around basically yeah yeah so yeah see markers at the minute they're actually try even as well so that was a good place to get your base so you basically got the base of uh your skills and your skill set there and then obviously you moved on so when you started your amateur career obviously you said you went in you weren't taking the pace you were taking it seriously unlike the boxing that you've done a couple of years ago so like obviously with your brother being in it and you want it you obviously want it to compete tell us what it was like coming up to just say your your amateur debut and like you've got the training and how ready did you feel what did it feel like the week before you had that that fight the amateur one yeah so um yeah from the minute I got to see uh CMAC I wanted my whole goal was to fight so um I worked towards that and I done some Jiu-Jitsu competitions I don't K1 and before I actually do an MMA and then yeah I just basically waited till um and my coach at the time told me I was ready and then and when he thought it was ready I would do it do the amateur for its and um that's what I did perfect and then like what was it like going into the fight so was there any nerves was there excitement was there a mixable like coming up to the fight week like how did it how did it feel at the time yeah like and I'm not sure I feel like most people feel different everyone's level is different you see some people are ready to go pro after three fights four fights and and then they look good in Pro fashion or sometimes they go too early some people have to wait 18 fights like myself to go go pro so me I was it took me a long time to get uh comfortable in um the cage and then especially amateur it took me at least 10 fights to stop getting like I used to get panic attacks performing for it and stuff like that seriously I think I am almost to the point where my house was like one it was about to pull me out if I before like like I'm at the venue and I'm having like panic attacks many like panic attacks so um yeah it took me a long while to um to get my head together and um to not throw away for you still stupid things and that's just where the experience came in and that's why I I personally needed um the 18 amateur MMA for its it doesn't matter that you actually having panic attacks and when did that kind of stop over time like was it when you like you said when you got the 10 fights you got a bit more comfortable was it was it more you needed to get used to not only fighting in the skill sets but everything that kind of comes with it I know like obviously the the local shows aren't as big as what you're fighting on now and with Bellator but just did like a process in that day of having to go hand wrapped weight was it more of a case of getting used to that is that what happened over time you just got more used to showing up and doing it is that what stop the panic attacks or do you still get them um I think the like I think my adjustment my change in mentality and and things like that changed I feel like as well um as much 10 times I feel like 10 MMA amateur fights is still a lot of fights you know what I mean so um I think just to change the mentality and switch the mentality like that's it's okay to be nervous and um just take it as like I'm I know I want to get the nervous and just enjoy it and then and and it wasn't a part of um the sport that I focused on and I feel like the nerves and and that part of controlling that part of the fight I feel like that's a martial art in itself just like you're learning how to manage your Jujitsu clinch wrestler and everything like that I feel like your mentality is another um important one of the most important things yeah people tend to overlook that I think that is the I think it's Shelton or someone says that it's like it's huge like like he's I think he says 70 or 80 mental like if you don't have the mentality for it then like no matter what skill set you have it's not going to go so you fought on so many promotions as answer like I said you had the 18 fights and and how does it feel as an amateur fighter to have that many options because if you look at Lads in your streamers like the the older guys they had very few amateur fight before we went bro what was it like to have that many options available to you yeah it was good obviously um my um like I come from I came from an all amateur gym so it wasn't wasn't like like you almost felt like who do you think you're actually even ask the GoPros you know what I'm gonna say so um even when I was thinking about common Pro I had to like I had to convince my coach as well I felt like I had to convince my coach not just myself that I'm ready to go pro so at that point of 10 fights I should be most people are already looking at going pro so I kind of wasn't but at the stage where I'm like my coach is seeing me have panic attacks so I need to stop I need to stop having panic attacks before I I ask him um can I go pro you know or to even put it in his mind that I'm ready so I had to prove to almost my house that I'm I'm ready to GoPro and and that that would uh that itself will change your mentality and like focus on I'm gonna even if I'm nervous okay I'm gonna go out and I mean and I think that's just that mentality just changed and my perspective and it and it helped me pharmacist as well I feel like yeah because obviously over time you get better and better and you had all those 18 fights within within all those eight in fights is there any fights in particular that stand out here like your favorite obviously you're known for your submissions and yeah obviously with your pro career you you've all finished this but is there any fight in amateur that you fell one well actually one or two fights one that you learned something from that really kind of changed like change your mentality or anything like that you know one that you learned a lot from and then maybe one one of your favorite finishes from amateur is there any fights that spring to mind yeah I feel like the point where I actually remember the fight where um I told myself I'm not gonna I'm not gonna have a panic attack and I'm not gonna like I'm not gonna get nervous or let them show any weakness I think it was the the first John Mitchell fight I had um and at that point I was like it was like I had like 13 and 12 fights and at that point there was no there was no one left for me to fight in the country so I went to wait and I thought well today at that time which um I'm fighting the best for the best fighter in the country and then and that for you that's why I had to I was the underdog obviously so um I'm going in there I have to I have to I have to use I have to use good I have to have a good mentality you know I'm trying to say so and at that point we were in um funny enough we were in the same like um locker room or same change room he's warming up like here I'm moving up over there like you know you know what I'm trying to say so there's no way I'm gonna panic attack and he's right there you know what I'm saying to say so uh 13 000 the first four he thought I was like I felt like I felt nervous but I'm like I can't show with him that I'm nervous as well and then I remember at the end I came up to me it was like um he was like what Kenny Wayne what's wrong with you help me you're not getting nervous yeah he was like what's going on I'm like I'm like shut up shut up I feel like since that day I was like I feel like that was the hard that was like as hard as that was the most uncomfortable it could be before you actually loyal to a fight you know he's watching you warm up he's watching what you're doing so and I feel like since then everything else has been easy and I am smelled so um yeah I feel like yeah I'm coming into myself now and I'm I'm happy that I've experienced all that so I know that I am in the future I feel like I can handle any any pressure like you know name the Black Diamond obviously pressure makes diamonds I've dealt with so much pressure that like it's not it's nothing to me like you know yeah you know I like how he got the nickname and you have to go through that and and it's good that you've went through that and amateur that it wasn't happening when you're going into Pro obviously so because like if you look at the start your pro career now how it's taken off and and how you've been up there on those stages and doing what you're doing is incredible so obviously what you don't in the amateur scene was quite good like so you're talking about you went up uh up to up a higher weight so because you wanted to fight the best so like in terms of obviously you didn't have to cut away for that one like what's it like way cotton and is there more pressure now when you've gone to Pro to get the weight down do you feel more nervous doing it wasn't like doing a wake up just for people who might not understand funny enough um my white coats are I wouldn't say they're um easier they definitely still hard but um my last few times I feel like like actually let me go back actually before before an amateur when I was couldn't wait I would just starve myself for two days and then that's that's probably sounds crazy to a lot of people that um know what they're doing but starve yourself fast for two days at a time and just stay in bed and um I wouldn't not water allowed I wouldn't eat any any food any calories I might do a keto diet after The Fighter um till um the two days before I fast and um yeah I was just being bad like uh they couldn't move you know so right now the day before the weigh-ins I'm eating I'm eating foods and I'm I'm not even I'm not even hungry I'm just I'm just more worried about the weight than I mean but um it's not easy obviously I'm in the saunas and couldn't wait but I'm not even hungry because I'm still eating I'm still um you know I'm still eating and and I feel like I'm doing it I'm still I'm doing it right now but at the same time I'm still learning I was like oh do you have a nutritionist on board with you or do you do it yourself would you do after advice of your teammates yeah of them so and I S I use the I didn't use the nutritionist last Bellator and I made weight myself and I had a I had a good um I had a good system where I went off um similar to the UAE fight and um I don't know myself but it's still like me doing it myself but this time I have someone I have a a coach TJ and um he's doing a wake-up with me and um I feel like I know what I can do I know I can make it myself but it's just taking that that part of um the fight out of my hands I don't I just have to worry about the fighters think about the fight I can still eat and I am yeah go from there it's much much healthier and it's a it's a small price to pay for um what I'm trying to what I'm trying to do you know yeah because sorry like that you have so many things going on when you're training and there's that theater of the immediate obligations stuff like that come out to fight if you can take different facets of that off your off your own plate and give it someone else handle and they just basically give you a list what you need to eat obviously that takes a lot of stress off you which obviously would help your performance and you're not mad because I've talked to a lot of Fighters and like that they said they used to starve themselves like literally it's it's probably one of the worst things you can do how did you feel then going into the flight after starving yourself did like did you feel weak did you feel like um I didn't I didn't know any different so I just thought that's how you in the photo I didn't really feel a week but because it was the same day of the fight the way in I'm looking at her 20 hours to like rehydrate even though it didn't rehydrate I would say I didn't rehydrate properly but I don't feel like I properly rehydrated at all you know like right now I'm I'm drinking shakes like um I don't like other like sorry right now I'm drinking like aches like and I'm sipping them like God rehydration shakes and stuff like that and I am I'm drinking six liters of that before I get to the field and things there's a process leading up to the filter um to refuel your body and then they can recover recover your body you know but back in the day I'll just go to this to the shops Chicken Roll straight away you know there's actually a process to this and I want to keep getting better at the process as well um there's levels to the process as well you know yeah I like fighting these levels to everything and obviously you've learned from that and you're going on you're taking out your own hands obviously again this time yeah putting in someone else's hands so like throughout your you had like an outstanding amateur career you'd fought on so many different promotions you go obviously I want to talk about you went to SBG obviously you went from CMAC uh you're still a good relationship with them I believe yeah um and what made the change was it because France was there and then obviously when you look at SBG they're like the premier gym let's say because they have all these these Pro Fighters what was the reason for going there was it to to be with your brother and to train with these other Fighters yeah there's a few things obviously um yeah it's a great gym CMAC I still I still try to go back um from time to time but um I feel like um yeah obviously speaking to my brother and um and I then damn my brother brought me to SBG I talked to Dave Dave's plan he told me to plan and um it just it just got to the point where it's just kind of my schedule I have a schedule now and it's kind of hard to juggle back and forth you know I mean so I just had to pick um SPG so um um and yeah see I'm actually a great gym I have a good relations to them but um yeah for pros for pros I think um it was the right um stuff to make because I'm I feel like from being like the probably the most like after Alexander after Alex on probably the most experienced fighter in the gym to right now I feel like I'm just like yeah yeah I'm the new guy I'm back at the bottom and like I'm just another Pro fighter on the team you know what I'm trying to say so um I'm I'm still learning a lot about the game but even though I have a lot of amateur fights professional the professional game is a lot different than um I'm like I've learned a lot of things that I like I would never think of before you know that you need for the for the protein as well so um yeah both two great gyms and um yeah SBG um yeah I'm trying to die I never did it my primary my primarily during my dreams so um yeah so yeah I'm doing well so and it was obviously the right decision in it so yeah 100 I don't it's hard to say about like this in like I don't want to diss you because um obviously C-Max is a great gym and I and obviously the things I learned there I'm still doing now I'm just adding little things tweaking things on my game but the things I've I've learned that seem like I'm still I'm still am doing now on them and the things I've learned that seem like are um like um prices to me what I've learned you know yeah they they essentially created the base of they create the base of your fire it was and then you're just tweaking things as you go along with SBG so um when you were talking about how different it was between the amateur game and the program so talk to us about your pro debut it was on Clan Wars I believe Adam Shelley yeah yeah yeah so tell us what it was like going out to made that Pro that did a feel difference to the the fight week feel different did the being in there feel different what was it like compared to amateur now for me the surely fight um obviously I felt like there was more underlying because um obviously Dave no Dave was telling me before when we um Pro debut the plan was to work towards Bellator get two trade wins and then got on to Bellator so I knew that I had to show them something enough for you know you know what I mean so um yeah the Shelly Foy um in there it just felt like you know like the same with my amateur voice the only thing that I felt different was the gloves that's the only thing I felt different than that personally yeah and then obviously you had the the longer rounds but I don't think that came in yeah yeah I don't think that was the fact that for you in the actual fight though um so then you go from there you fall on your way so so talk to us about a couple of your pro fights like was there anything different was there anything that stands out here what was it like fighting for UAE Warriors what was it like going over and having that experience yeah it was it was it was a great um it was a great experience obviously um staying in like the hotels and things like that was nice going to go and traveling and I'm gonna say I was in a big arena and stuff but once you're in the cage amateur Pro you're still a cage referee there him there you're here he's fight the same thing I feel like so like when you're in the fight let's say and obviously you're saying whether it's a big arena or is here there the other so once once that case or shorts and you're standing there and your face face your opponent does everything that's drown out it's just you him the ref just and then then just your uh what you can hear from your corner is that how like the crowd and all fades out for you is that what it's like when you go on a flight Trail phase out for me everything Fades out for me and I'm just meeting him and um I can hear my corner that's that's the only thing always kind of be looking out for to hear that other than that it's I feel like this is the same yeah so what's it like having the likes of John and Dave in your corner in a fight like how how not not how much do you rely on them but obviously they see it from a different point of view so when you're getting shouted instructions at like like how how beneficial is it well obviously it's beneficial but like how does it feel to have those two in your corner being able to oversee what's going on things that you can't see yeah it's good no it's funny actually I don't wanna make it I'm like yeah I'm thinking myself I haven't I've barely been to the corner so maybe if I'm in a tree round fight like it'll make a difference but I feel like it hasn't I haven't felt it you know I haven't felt the difference the Shelly fight made it to the second round but like again that that was kind of it was felt the same because we do simulated rounds all the time so um in a.m that sometimes Dave's in one fires Corner that were doing aspiring and then John's in the other um training Partners corner so it just it just felt like that to be honest but um I haven't really been in the corner where like I'm in trouble or something in a fight so um maybe then we have a different answer for you yeah we revisit that then when it comes along um because like that you've finished all of them so uh but at Bellator talked to us about what was like at Bellator obviously he said the crowd drowns out once you're in the cage but what was it like walking out to that crowd in appalator yeah I kind of am I kind of trying to drowned out there as well I didn't look I didn't look around that's what I went after after the fight I was like oh my god this is my thing yeah that's why I kind of like it was overwhelming for me because that's when I kind of realized that you know what I mean that why would they come like this is about her this is um the tree Arena this is um the general everything the crowds Commander so rinsed it out do you think if he had to try to take that all in it might have affected not affect your performance but affect your mentality going in do you think you might put more pressure on you or do you think did you drown out purposely or was it just you were so focused on fighting just so focused yeah I don't know what would happen I don't know if I if I looked around but I just felt I just felt like now let me just focus on him the fight and then after obviously you gave that interview like you said what like well tell us what that release is like once you finish the fight You've Won you stand there like a side Big John McCarthy who's an absolute Legend in MMA he like he goes back two years from UFC to ref and everywhere to being part of Bellator now like stand beside someone like that looking out at that crowd because I know you're from Blanche and you get a good crowd going to these fights as well yeah what like what was that release like once the fight over You've Won you stand there beside him you're looking out like what kind of a feeling is that like for for as a human being as well like so it must be like an amazing feeling to look out and see that see your friends family you can't be talking to him yeah as much as everyone says the tree arena is mad and they're crazy the RCR and then I didn't think that um I'd actually have that reception even though I knew I'm the hometown Town guy I just didn't I didn't expect I still didn't expect it so when when obviously when obviously I hear the crowd and I'll go and like mad like my ears like like so uh yeah it felt mad I was just on adrenaline even when I woke up the next day I was still on like like I was like it was still mad you know I was still on like fighting I feel like I was still on like flight adrenaline like the day before and they never felt that before that's cool it must have been an amazing feeling and then obviously it brings us to now we have a couple more fights come up you have a fight coming up and you have a couple more we're better so you're coming up you're you're coming up against a guy um he's three and four I believe but he's still got seven fights whereas you've only had four so he's bringing into that experience when you're going into a fight right so like do you let John and Dave prepare for the tactics for the fight or do you look at the fighter at yourself and have a look or do they do all the kind of technical game planning yeah so when Bellator sent me the contract with your man's name I looked up I obviously I looked with topology and then I had a quick grandson and other than that I didn't um I didn't um I didn't look too deeply into him like what he does this this I know he has a good proven next time that other than that like I don't really like game like the focus too much on it because um I feel like one time I've done that um oh I'm just going to say I'm gonna say let's see the Mitchell fight yeah I looked at him I'm like ah this guy has no power exactly and then I went into that fight like thinking like I can get hit with this guy I got hit here and like that that's that perform once  me up for the whole point so um since then I don't look too deeply I know everyone has the same patterns in their fight some little things might change but everyone has the same patterns when they're under pressure they go back to what they know you know so um but primarily I'd like to just focus on me and let my cultures do that because either I'm gonna Overlook them or I want to give them too much respect I feel like so I look have a little glance taken for what it is and then I'll go from there and yeah work on my game yeah just basically see what the good Basics are what they're good at yeah and not like that you said you can Overlook them or you can give them too much respect and then so if you like if there's amateurs coming up would you tell them if they're going into a fight to focus on themselves and try and and mold themselves as a fighter as opposed to look at other people and trying to stuff their stuff their opponents attacks let's say um it depends like because I try not to be I'm not really a coach either so um I just take the just listen to your coach because everyone's different some people that will work for some people that might not work for some people might it might be better for them to study their opponent heavily if they throw a job and they I don't know they flinched it I don't know they Flinch this direction or that direction other people that might be just better just if they if they're a proper overthinker it might not be um might not be good to look at it just depends on like the person and their personality you know yeah perfect and like you said always listen to your coaches advice because they know yeah what's best for you going forward so you're coming up you're going to be in the tree Arena again so it's going to be another standard Ovation I'm predicting another K of it or another stop it sorry so stop is finished so um I'm gonna let you go but we're good I'm going to ask you one question before I let you go with like once you're finished fighting is there anything you want people to Remember You by for your legacy let's say and it doesn't have to be just as a fighter it could be as a person um foreign I want to be a world champion in in this game so um that's that's the goal like I feel like anything else I'd just be wasting my time um dedicating like I feel like dedicate like this game this is my life you know I mean this is my job this is what I do every day twice a day that's all I think about so if if I'm not if I'm not trying to reach the top like I feel like I'm just wasting my own time and I'm with family's time and everything I'm sacrificing so I want to be a world champion I want to be the best and then that's my goal yeah and I want to be able to obviously take care of my family and things and make more than a living with this so um yeah get back with the words on them I've been at this for a long time so I want to get something back out of this I didn't go to college I don't have anything else I do so this is all I have so um yeah that's that's the goal this world champion and be the best in the world perfect well if you can continue on the trajectory that you're on that's what's eventually going to happen and I reckon a couple more nice finishes in Bellator I reckon you'd be going towards a title shot in my opinion so um I want to thank you so much for your time today it's been an absolute pleasure thank you thank you