IN DEPTH | EPISODE 07 | NATHAN KELLY

Ringkasan

David sits down with newly signed PFL fighter Nathan Kelly. They discuss Nathan's Career so far, mental health, PFL, quitting his job and much more.

Transkrip (youtube_captions)

[Music] okay so i'm here with nathan kelly who's recently signed to the pfl he'll be making his pfl debut on the 13th of august so we're just gonna go through his career a bit so um nate would you like telling me what you what got you into mma when and why basically uh so yeah when i was uh a young fly used to play football and uh it was like just football on the brain you know what i mean but you know i kind of wasn't really picking the teams and stuff like that and i mean i was i was a hard worker on the pitch and [ __ ] look at the ball just wasn't really picked and i just decided like i wanted to try something new and funnily enough like uh while i was kind of uh on the end of me football and like career we'll say like it was angry i was only [ __ ] 12 like but uh as i was kind of on the exit and that i was i was learning more about mma i was played the ufc game and i saw the the ins and outs of the train and you know when you had your crate you had your creative fighter and all that jazz and when you when you do your training you can learn the moves and all and i'm just really intrigued by like grappling especially you know what i mean and uh i'll just talk like [ __ ] where where is it where's the closest gym and uh one of my cousin's boyfriends actually used to try and uh used to train in the club which was this this james original gym and uh i asked him about what i was like i was trying to like to get me mad to bite on that because he might they want me to join obviously it's a fun sport i'm a little mommy's boy she didn't want me to go in and get hurt and all that jazz so once he basically told her it was safe uh she let me do it and uh from then i remember before session was actually a muay toy session uh i was mad because i actually wanted to do grappling martial with my grabbing boy i even did the toy session and i was like yeah i'm in i'm all in from this from day one it was a multi-session and i like i am all in i this is what i'm doing for the rest of my life and no one's gonna nothing's gonna tear me off or so from the age of my first day all in since then you know what i mean so it's look where it's after getting me now you know what i mean so from just from just a curious moment to this now it's uh it's a good good little track you know like yeah it's a good trajectory obviously so for going from your first training session talk me through your first amateur fight as well because obviously i believe it was 2014 was the first time to fight um um let me know what was the feelings like coming into that fight going to compete obviously you loved the first training session but going into a competitive side in it where like i know inspiring it's not going to be as physical whereas two people are going to try to kill each other when you get in there tell us what the week was likely not that and then actually getting into the cage for that first fight so oh he was 17 when i have been forced how much i think i was fighting a 23 year old or something like that so my coach is kind of hesitant he wanted me to wait till i was 18 and i was just i was training i disagreed with me so my highlights and stuff was skilled i stood in school obviously but um i was only finished fifth year and he just he saw how hard i was walking some of the other lads who i was better down were fighting and he just gave me the chance but uh the weaker i just there was no there was no real hype around like that you know i mean i just i cleaned and trained and caught caught me a little bit away that i had to cut out it was only a little skinny little [ __ ] anime and so i didn't have to lose too much right like so but now i was 100 confident going into that there was no way i was going to lose that for you i was buzzing for it like i was i was in too good of a head space to lose you know what i mean and uh i just went in and did what what i knew i could do on the night i and i smashed a man in a minute and a half or something like that yeah in the first round yeah yeah that seems to be the story of a lot of your fights uh coming up um but then tell us a feeling about once it was over you got your hand raised was did you have a crowd at the time was there people cheering you what did what did it feel like to actually all your hard work was i think that only it was up in belfast i mean so i was only a small crew i went up there was a few lights in the gym and a few few of the local boys and fingers who went up because a few years allowed something from the gym are fighting as well but uh when i got the hand raised it was uh i was just unreal because since i was a kid like since i started training like that the whole purpose was to get that force for you and to feel that get that feeling and once i got my hand raised and i got that winning feeling like that addictive kind of shape that chasing the chasing the dragon will say you know what i mean of getting that with that winning feeling again just it consumed me and ever since then i've just just been purely addicted to this the feeling of winning the enemy and obviously losing isn't great but you overcome losses in in your own way but the the feeling of winning anyone who does this sport they can tell you this it's hard to explain how how good you feel when you win you know what i mean and and since since that day and i got that first win i got a taste of what it's like and i just wanted to keep keep tasting it as much as i can and obviously like i said you do there was some first variable that went and failed and there's nothing like it honestly yeah so then obviously you've had quite a few amateur fights but i want to touch off you went to the imax as well tell us what that experience was like what you thought you learned from it and the ins and outs of the daily fights and stuff like that that people might not know about yeah so i went to the one in vegas so i was like 19 at the time my title was [ __ ] deadly i was like well i'm going out to vegas like it's just surreal to me i'm ashamed it was good like it was a bit it was it was a new environment i mean i mean because y'all you're in the hotel but all your future possible pounds your kind of source you know you kind of just when you're there you just kind of forget about all that [ __ ] then once you do your weigh-in and you get your your draw done see who you are for eating and then it's just it's just business then you know what i mean you go in and do what we're said to do all you got to the final so i had five votes in six days and my forcefully i uh i i was glad that because uh my second opponent actually got a boy but i was glad that i had the force fight because i had a feeling of the i had the adrenaline dumped all that stuff also i was glad to have that taste of it so going into that second for you oh it was i was like right i know what this feels like now i'm ready to kill in here you know what i mean but yeah it was a really good experience um you're fighting the best the best each country has to offer you know i mean from there from their national perspective so you're fighting the top lads uh so it's a really good challenge for yourself as a foyer to to challenge against the best from other countries as well so i took pride in that that always representing ireland and for one fighting the best of what of uh countries fighting their best fighters and to get to the final as well was was a really big achievement for me you know what i mean i kind of didn't i don't know not saying that i didn't believe me so i've gone over but you just don't know like what you're going to be facing or whatever and then not win by win but i mean by man i'm in the final and then it's then it was like right i actually am legit you know what i mean i i kind of always not second guess but you just don't know really how good you really are until you until you get these wins and after when i came home from vegas i was like you know now you actually you're you're one of the best voters in the country you know what i mean so i just since then i just kind of started picking myself up a bit more and they're believing in myself 100 you know what i mean yeah no that's 100 obviously when you're over there you have to do weigh-ins every day and stuff like that medicines every day like how hard is that to keep the weight because yeah it has to be exact going in doesn't it um how hard is that to do especially when you see maybe some of your teammates going out and they're probably eating differently like how does that affect you or did it affect you um i mean like someone else obviously got knocked out earlier i've noticed so they're eating burgers and gallons of drink and [ __ ] like that but like oh i don't know i was there to win the gold medal in my head so no matter what was going on around me always just tunnel vision you know what i mean so like obviously you're looking at this temptation and this and that but as long as you're disciplined you'll make way you know what i mean just just don't eat too much [ __ ] like i mean i think i actually lived off sushi i think for the few days it was really light and it was the perfect amount portion sizes and stuff like that so i lived off sushi for the week and kept the weight down and and just there just watched myself just stay disciplined joining me and didn't eat too much didn't drink too much and i remember one thing though i don't know i think maybe coach it was getting up in the middle of the night i'm not gonna have to the heat that knocking up the temperature in the room because i used to wake up i was waking up in the middle of the night thinking i was pissing the bed i was the [ __ ] full of sweat looking on me and i woke up and i was like uh what the [ __ ] like nah i didn't piss off i'm going to sweat but every night i was sweating buckets in the bed so obviously that was a big help in keeping the weight down to wake up it was like a little mini wake up before you even step on the scales i didn't like what i mean and it's a natural kind of one but uh yeah i just i just was disciplined and uh just just didn't think too much about the finer things that the attractive things you know i mean just just sat on the ball and and get my head down like and then obviously that's that's a great freedom to come home and you'd said your mother wasn't sure about you going into sport when you came back from that was or at what stage did her mind change about you going this obviously you went in but once you were competing at a level like that did she see maybe there's a future for a minute has she changed the tune or she's still worried she's i think she's only now coming around and i mean i think she used to hate watching me she was like she used to hate watching sam's mouse in my family how you watching me before you spar like bathroom with them they love it i mean obviously but she thinks i think she's only starting to come around because she i don't want you to be hurt you know and i was like come on it is what it is i'm doing this really you want me to be able to i'm still going to be doing it for there i think after bellator it was a real kind of like rae actually now he can't i think he is good enough now and i mean and then like i'm on a 45 win streak now so i think each fight i'm kind of shouting like look man don't be worrying i'm in i'm on the right track and i mean and and i always had this thing actually it was like i remember years ago i was actually when i was still in school i had like a little and i said an argument where i bought it was more like she was like i'll watch you on there without the scale it's like i don't want it they want i just want it for you i just was like well yeah well you can't just fight you need to do this job i need to do this and blah blah blah i know he's like look i'm i'm doing this photo so i'm doing this so we can have a better life in the future and stuff because i was fully like fully believed that if i dedicate myself to this 100 percent or i could reap the rewards for me and i mean and give me family the better life that we always wanted and make things a little easier on ourselves what i mean so that that argument though i was like oh i'm going to prove to you now it was almost like a little inspite because i am a bit of a spoiled [ __ ] and i mean so i was like right we'll see man we'll see you when i'm when i'm making thousands of money or thousands of euros and stuff like that we'll see we're going to remind you of this argument we had like four there yeah she's coming around now eventually i mean i think she has no choice but that as i said i'm just i'm all in now so whether she likes me doing it i'm not i'm gonna be doing it regardless you know what i mean yeah well we're going to have this nice little clip to play her back in a few years anyways as well yeah that's it so we can see i want to just one last question about imass would you urge or what would you recommend for amateurs would you recommend amateurs going forward that they go into the imaps into that system especially now you've got the super cup you've got a lot more options you've got the super cup the four nations which was on what you make of all these uh coming about and do you think more amateurs would get involved uh 100 percent i think it's going to do nothing but help your growth as a fighter because it's it's consecutive for it's consistent it's obviously providing you in and blah blah blah but it's more options to fight for one if you look at amateur box and all that jazzy fight foot nearly every second weekly you know what i mean where's over here in the scene now the other scene is starting to pump back up locally and recently so jump on as many shows as you can fight every second month if you can get on your maps now and now it's expensive and you might need to do a bit of gofundme or a bit of i mean fundraising or whatever like that so uh but it's it's all it's all valuable experience you know what i mean like like i said i have five votes in six days that's that was nearly three years worth of work in a week for me you know what i mean so it was like really there's a lot to get from this i mean and then each feet are grown into yourself more you're comfortable yeah i'm all comfortable as the fights go on so it's not like you have stage fright when i'm jumping in the ring because you've already have five fights in the last three days why would i be afraid i know exactly what i'm able to do and i know what the plan is so in terms of like like growth into the sport if you have if you have good intentions to to go professional as an amateur rack up them all your maps rack up them regional showers for everyone for you anyone fight the best for whoever they put in front of you it does not matter just get the experience fight as many people as you can and just enjoy it you know what i mean and then when you go proud and knuckle down a bit more be selective for what the right pick the right footage then for your career obviously you know what i mean and and don't try yourself in too much deep water too really you know i mean you kind of want to build yourself up in the right way but uh for amateur [ __ ] wins for glasses just get in and get the experience and and just have fun with it you know what i mean these are they're the times when when there's not as much pressure on you know what i mean it's when the silencer got pro it's like oh look we can't lose we can't it's all about winning win win win where's an amateur like a 4k like i'm back in i'm back in in two weeks time you know i mean fighting the next slide so gain your experience have fun and prepare yourself as best as you can for the program you know what i mean that's my advice yeah no because 100 once you go pro 0 again all those losses when people look into pro fighters unless you do something within the regional scenes you don't really look at the amateur records like most casuals won't look at the amateur records so use those losses uh to your advantage to learn going forward um i think speaking about your amateur career and obviously the scene in ireland what fight do you think from your amateur career you learned from the most whether it was a win or loss or do you have a fight that you felt i really need to change something here was there anything for that um let me think i'd say i thought was he smalling now he that was he he was much physically stronger than me and it was going to be like me toward her fart for your amateur he was a lot physically stronger a lot more experienced and you know he smashed me you know what i mean and i was like [ __ ] like because i always walk i know i've won a few voice styles all that you know what i mean and i i need he he he gave me a good smashing so i was like right that's where i kind of need to be that's the pressure i need to bring that's that's the root distance i need to bring into me footage you know what i mean so i learned from that and that was one of them and my i fought out of mcguire i had three lots of amateurs so richie r mcguire he had he took me down and had really good ground control you know what i mean just smashed me on the ground for three rounds basically so i learned a lot from from that as well in the sense of like right i can't just i need to be i need to adjust my my my work off my back you know what i mean so if i'm going to fight these bigger stronger lads what's my game plan going to be if i do get taken down how active am i going to be all that jazz and the one in the the only maths like i had i did have a time not that i could have got fighting in that shot enough so i knew i was already on a bit of a like i was a bit like i was a bit able to fight before i started but in there on the day i think i was just um i let him lead too much you know i mean i just didn't i i didn't get my game going so and from that i just learned to just be be like a dog you know what i mean even if i'm sore or whatever like that get in their face make it a foot don't let them push it around in the cage you know i mean i almost let them push me around because of because i was almost defeated in my head before i went in so from that i learned to put on the bright face and just be a be a [ __ ] basically i mean no matter what physical or mental state you're in go in pull on your bright face and give them everything you know what i mean they're they're they're the main lessons i learned from me i'm just really like yeah no huntsman like said amateurs for learning so like that you took something away from every one of them and i don't think i'm sure should be not scared to obviously don't want to lose but if if it's a loss don't take too hard use it as a learning experience for when you go pro because that's when it really matters so we're gonna that's kind of if you thought a couple more times you thought the likes of karen clark is doing quite well in bellator you get to pro okay so you get the pro you have your first fight you lose your first two um what was that feeling like especially after having such a good amateur career to lose your first two on the bounce i know one was split one was uh tko and then the next one was the split decision yeah um as a fighter obviously having such a good amateur career how did that feel then to lose your your first two fights because you're human at the end of the day as well you've put in so much work then to i don't want to say fail but to come up short let's say what feel what what feeling did that give you so the first one that was really tough to take because uh i was on i was on such a good run going into the mi force probably i felt on top of the wall you know what i mean now there's a few there was a few variables going into that fight that maybe now when i look back because i'm a bit older and more i didn't do right in terms of my way cutting and stuff like that uh i was basically long story short i lost away the complete runway you know what i mean so i was very depleted going into that foot um then on the noise you know what i mean i got caught with a lovely shot recovered to an extent took his back twice i'm great from the back couldn't finish just wasn't there in the night he ended up clipping me again and the ref stopped it so i put in some amount of work for that for you know i mean i broke my bollocks off anyone in the gym will tell you how how disciplined i was even in regards to me diet like and stuff like that not that i was doing it the right way but i was doing it i was disciplined in the wrong way i lost all the weight in the wrong way but in a disciplined way you know but losing that was tough because i gave everything into it you know what i mean and that was a real taste of [ __ ] like going i might have given everything into this and i'm at the coming up shot like this i felt embarrassed you know what i mean i felt like that was a nine times out of ten i should win obviously and not that night i lost but i felt embarrassed i felt like i let myself down me team down because i wasn't a good reflection of what it was on the night uh after that then i was i kind of just me mental health dipped a bit i was sitting at home all the time i was like going full bend still out eating the ice cream eating the pizza i mean i was like made 61 kilos of balloons up to like [ __ ] 76 kilos or something like that in the space of two weeks it just was not healthy and and then i just i was in a bit of a roof for a good few months and then it was like right i remember actually my uh my mom my sister where are we on holidays and uh in the week that they were away i put on so much weight i know it was in the kitchen and they came around and i turned around and faced them and they told them to start pissing themselves laughing at me because of how fat i got and then i was like right i actually need to i need to change you guys here you know what i mean because i couldn't take the stick of being called to be done i mean so it was like right i need to get back on the track so the end of getting another fight lined up with pavilion and i got back in for that i lost my split decision very close fully i thought maybe i could have one on the noise and because it just because because of what maybe if it was unanimous and i got smashed i would have been a bit more odd to play but because i was just i was i was a gear here away winning i was like i was like right i need to change some i'm nearly there i'm nearly at that peak when i come in so i need to change something i moved up a weight class at weigh my field didn't because my training accounts were all about weight cutting it wasn't about training it was about how i need to get this weight off i need to lose this way for this fight blah blah and all my skill training was just wasn't in my head i didn't care about scales i heard about running i cared about cardio i cared about losing weight and that's not the right approach as a fighter so i was like okay i'm going to move up away i'm going to put on a bit of soyuz i'm going to hammer the calories into me and since since i moved up away i'm fully for now you know what i mean so i'm now on five and two per i like this because i had a fresh start now i like to class myself in an arrogant way of five and a half because since i'm over fed away i'm on a 40-foot win streak you know what i mean i think the bantamweight coat was just too much for me and on on a showdown on in in terms of me performances on the nightstand i mean so since i moved up the weight class so i've been hammering the food into me like i said doing a lot of strength training and feeling good you know what i mean not worrying about me way because i'm always in the round rayquaza like i'm always a week away from my for you know what i mean with the shape i'm in so it's just it's it's just it's i feel more comfortable now i fed away and i feel like i'm i'm really showing me true skills power all that jazz i fell away you know what i mean yeah no 100 so obviously you've gone on a run now at the end of those two losses and then the start with the mark andrew one there's a considerable gap um obviously you'd spoke to me previously about it was hard to get matched but you also had a couple of issues with mental health um which was documented with andy steven would you like to expand on not being able to get mass and then what happened to you then in your personal life which took you away from the sport for so long yeah so uh it was very it was really hard to get matched in ireland but from me at that time and it was hard to get matched with a fight that was right for my career you know what i mean i was one and two we needed to go in the right step you know what i mean i'm trying to push for certain things and i wasn't getting coming my way and then i was kind of getting disheartened by that and then in in and then and because i was getting this hand i was kind of like i forgot i'm not missing tonight you know i'm missing i uh well i can just make up for it next week and all this all these excuses that are coming out in terms of me training and uh now don't get me wrong i was still trying to jiu jitsu all the time in the time that i took the break from fighting cosmic coach but he just at the time he just he wanted to just focus on winning the club jiu jitsu because we had a very small mma numbers i was like the only the only mma fire so i was it was frustrating from from his perspective as well which i respected so i was like okay we'll we'll build up the judicial skills for the next for the next spoil and then maybe i'll go back to it but in the time that i was building up the jiu-jitsu skills like even though i was still training i was still like like i still like discipline you know what i mean like i was so i was going out with my friends more eating [ __ ] filled you know takeaways now i've got about drinking gorilla partying and just doing things that were just never going to get me to where i wanted to be and i mean and then i think because because i had these high standards from myself as a flyer and just as a human being or the more i saw myself going in the wrong direction the more i started to eat at myself you know what i mean and i really i'm really hard on myself as it is so when i was doing when i'm doing the right things i'm hiring myself you know i mean so when i was doing the wrong things i was even hard on myself then again you know what i mean so i was i was really knocking me confidence down how do i use to speak to myself you know what i mean i used to used to self self analyze myself in the wrong way and i really used to defeat myself more than more than anyone else would defeat me and then um so we and calvin ended up coming along then uh obviously it affected everyone you know what i mean it was it was a big change always sitting at home then you know i couldn't like i was still walking at the time so i was all the stress of walking jordan a pandemic and then you're coming home and you can't deal when i can't even go to shop you know what i mean like you can't see our mates or all this stuff everyone's afraid of bleeding catching avoid this and i got very isolated and i started like drinking at home [ __ ] you know acting acting out doing doing things i shouldn't have been doing and over time i was just going downhill mentally it started to wear it on me day by day and one night i remember i was just sitting at home and i was saying like what the [ __ ] like like where am i down here like i don't i don't think i'm going in the right direction i was like what's the even point of me being on this planet if i'm just gonna keep feeling like this i mean and i just did not see any way i would just this how old i was in at the time and uh i was just like i was actually sitting there crying in my room i was just sitting sitting there me man all downstairs and thinking i'm still playing playstation this is sitting there crying to myself saying what the [ __ ] am i doing here i like i just did not see any hope for myself you know what i mean and there had me a little cry and then suddenly i don't know what i was just something switched to my head then i was because because i never really cry per se and i mean i i always put on the brave face and the fact that i actually had a little cry to myself it was like a real audio operator i was like no you're not good here i mean like this is not good and um luckily for me like i know the whole party pimple thing he's hugging there during the night about his training committing suicide luckily for me when i had that that thought i was like i actually scared myself because i was like why i should not be thinking this way i'm [ __ ] 23 or whatever age i was like i'm 22 23 i should not be having these thoughts this young like why why is this why why am i in this situation why do i keep making these wrong decisions why do i keep doing the things wrong like and it was because i just felt like i had no purpose in life you know what i mean and i felt like oh it wasn't me unless i was fighting mma you know i mean i felt like i was just like there what's the point of me being here if i'm not the person who i always wanted to be which was this mma fighter i always wanted to be a role model for people to look at me and because i when i was younger i was obviously all the good like all the lads doing advertising oh you want to be like them i want to be like them and then suddenly i'm the complete opposite of that person and if anything i was i was i was turned into a person who you look at you say don't be like them that's what you don't want to be like you know what i mean they're they're going in the wrong direction they're doing all these things wrong that's who you don't want to be like and i have young nieces and and a nephew and now young sister and all that jazz and i just you know i the more i saw myself going out with the delight that i wanted to be in i was just kicking myself so thankfully that night when i did have that thought i was like [ __ ] right now something needs to change yours and i from that day i just i made to do 100 commitment to myself to work on myself so i was like nate if we're going to do this like these are the conversations i was like we're going to do this we have to be on the ball we need to stop we need to get the diet right we need to get we need to get disciplined we need to get routine we need to get cut out the drink and the party and all this [ __ ] that that's not going to get that's not relevant to my goals i'm not relevant to where i want to be i'm not relevant to anything that's going to get me to where i want to be i had to like day by day block all that [ __ ] out and work on myself build back up my confidence uh believe in myself believe that the the bad days weren't going to last as long as i felt like they were never going to end the [ __ ] bad days that's how much dvd went down you know what i mean so gradually day by day i got there it was less bad days still still some still some bad days then you have a good day and i was saying yeah look this is a good day i want to keep feeling this again then you might have a bad day straight out there but like [ __ ] it if i have it if i had one good day or out of the week let's try and make it two let's try to make a tree and then gradually build on it and then slowly you start to see yourself you have little wins you start like you start feeling better on yourself you might start like for me i tried to like help around the house and come out of my room and do have the little small wins throughout the day that would slowly build up me confidence like i'm doing the right things i just need to keep doing these right things and then um one day i was just sitting at home and i was like [ __ ] i'm i'm just i want to go back mma try and i was like that's what i think i need to do i need to be if i if i want to achieve what i always wanted to achieve i need to be back mma training and one day i just was sitting at home frustrated as [ __ ] obviously he's covered can't do anything no training going on i just text john cavanaugh's look said john uh i'm interested in coming my back train and i think i think it would suit me training with yourselves in the in the club and he sent me the schedule and said uh y'all welcome hope any time and thankfully i made the decision to to join join back mma and and since then i've it's just been a consistent incline of progress mentally and physically and just over that time i've really felt like i've torn through my life back around and i've went straight back on the path where i always wanted to be and i think once i'm on this path with the mindset that i have now i feel like it's more more unbreakable than it's ever been because i was so low and i was at that lowest point now i'm coming back and i'm like i'm like nah i'm never going to be like that again and i'm so self-aware to never be like that again that i'm almost like indestructible in my mind i won't let and like influence me to that might that might change me perspective on things or like that i am fully in on this and that's that's that's all i can see all i can see in the future now is just trying and fighting trying and fighting there's not what are distractions there's nothing there to deter me off this path so once i'm like this i'm i'm really good like you know i'm glad you came through and obviously you can see what it's done [ __ ] um you came out and you actually you said in little pieces on your story you've done the article andy obviously you've got through it like like was mentioned over the weekend there is a stigma kind of attached to men talking once you got through that a lot of people would just get on what made you want to make it public for people john was i was sitting in the car actually was that the one before you think i was sitting in my car and i actually just had i self-reflected i was just i think i got a bit of failure or whatever just sitting in the car and i was just sitting there and i was like [ __ ] man you've actually come a long way i just self-reflected and i was like [ __ ] like like why not use me platform not that i had a big platform at the time i only had a thousand followers but all just now i'm from english drug abuse is rampant alcohol abuse is rampant uh there's a lot of people around here who feel like you know i mean they're going nowhere they probably aren't going anywhere uh but it's up to them to make the right choices you know what i mean and some people are in roots that they can't get out of and this how they are they can't get out they just feel like they can't so i was like [ __ ] i was there before i was like why can't why can't i just maybe like i said i only didn't have many people and like following me on [ __ ] but whatever platform i did have i was like why why not just like this own like indestructible mma fight who's all this and that you know what i mean like oh he was there before i was in that bad spot you know what i mean and i know i was vulnerable um and like anyone can be vulnerable i could be vulnerable something could happen tomorrow and i could be back on back in a bad state at the moment or whatever but i just thought like why not give people a bit of an insight to what actually goes on in people's lives behind the instagram profiles all that [ __ ] people only see what you want them to see on social media so i was like [ __ ] it i'll let me guard down i'll be an example for others that like like no one is bulletproof you know i mean everyone had deals with that [ __ ] and everyone like you know what i mean everyone feels feels down at times john i mean it's just about how you can manage our thoughts manage yourself to get yourself back on track i know i just thought [ __ ] it if i can use this platform to to spread awareness like that i'm i'm very keen on promoting mental health and and supporting and like that as patty pimper said the other day like you'd rather make crying on your shoulder then it can go so you know so i'm a ki i'm i'm like if there's a good few silver so it's over the last few years in english that really uh scared me in fairness now because there'd be people who i knew you know i mean uh friends like so i was like uh since that there that has really helped me always and i'm kind of more more of an advocate for [ __ ] speaking out and you know i mean stop trying to be a macho man like going right like that like i said like just have a little cry which i made so you know i mean i just say look [ __ ] i'm not feeling great today i'm like or let's just reach out in any way you can because like like i said like it's not it's not nice to be in situations where i guarantee i made sooner or when you feel like just one or two conversations a week over the course of a few months could have put them back on the right pattern and got them got them believing in themselves again or got them um got them just seeing them seeing life in a different light you know what i mean so i'm i will promote it continuously going forward in my career as much as i can and just uh just be like a little pioneer for men's mental health and i've done charity runs i've done all that stuff further so i'll still continue to do all that stuff and i just want to be a real advocate to say like i've been there in these bad mental states and it's not easy to get out of them it does take a bit of work and it takes a bit of it takes a bit of self belief and it takes a bit of like like i said it takes them bad days to have the good days so i just want to show that look if i can do it anyone else can because of where i felt how i felt and at the time i was feeling that way like you you would have never thought that i'd be where i am now you know what i mean like three four years later so on the on the like on the perfect person to to promote that it can't be done you know what i mean based off how i felt so why not promote it and give people a bit of an insight to me so they know where i'm coming from as well and they know a bit about me but i'm not wanted to act like i'm someone i'm not you know i mean i'm i'm just an i'm a human being i go home and have me then i go out to bed wake up i'm just a normal person like i'm not trying to put on this heart my friend like that my emotions are as everyone else's you know i mean i'm sad someday some days i'm good but i just want to shout out like we're all like this you don't need to put on that front and and just give people a bit more of a an insight to get help to get out of this the situations they're in and try to get themselves back on track you know what i mean it's not as easy it's easier said and done but if you can if more people can can say give their experiences maybe more people say you know what i can't get out of this bad situation or i can't get out of this room that i mean and they'll they'll be probably more inclined to believe in themselves to get themselves back on track again you know what i mean you know juan flint and you're right speak out about what like i said you're not indestructible you're human like everyone else at the end there you have the same emotions and sometimes with the nature of business in your emotions might get higher and lower because of what's at stake um but like that if anyone ever does feel like that talk to a friend people have to remember as well bad days are only 24 hours um whereas you still have a lifetime ahead of you so um if anyone ever needs to talk i think we'll put links at uh to different to different places underneath this video as you say it's a bad day not about life you know what i mean exactly so like since since obviously that's happened you've come back you've been with john what's it like being with john cavanaugh you've got kiefer bryan schneid uh obviously connor you've got so many killers in that gym what's it like training with them day by day it's really good because when i when i first joined i was a bit nervous i mean i was like [ __ ] i'm not like i'm drawing in a club for like hitters here you know i mean i have a lot of people my weight there as well so i was really good competitive challenge from me every day but uh since i've joined there i just feel like my group has come from there to there because you know there's no easy rounds you know what i mean i know you don't pick easy rounds normally don't get me wrong go from bollocks towards maybe an archer or something so take it like a little restaurant but i tried to challenge myself every day with all the tall flats to uh you know take me paintings learn from them and uh basically evolve into an mma fight i hear it's just so well-rounded based off all the styles that i have around me and uh use all their their knowledge because i always ask questions i'll always have to like if the last if when the lads are gonna keep getting me or someone's like what the [ __ ] yeah get me with that what am i doing wrong and then them our them are we're discussing things and we're you know we're walking off each other and then that creates a that creates a more involvement with our teammates and it creates a good buzz and then as well as that we're about improving from it you know what i mean so i'm just keen from learning from the best uh training with the best and it just gives me a level of reassurance then because when i used to train with barry because i was the only mma fighter i didn't have sparring partnership i mean and i i always used to go in the fight saying oh [ __ ] what if but if they have my training partners and this and i used to always have doubts but now i'm going in and i'm like now i'm good i'm good like i'm i'm inspired and the good lives i'm inspiring good lads so i don't need to where if i can deal with this i can deal with anyone you know what i mean especially since i left my job now i have don't have to i don't have the the worry of oh i'm not training full time these lads are training full-time i remember for last scott patterson for you i was looking i knew trying to fall down i was like oh [ __ ] this this fella's training full time what am i going to do is i was cool i was trying to come up with all the excuses to call in sick for work and all that jazz i was always like making excuse i'm sick i can't come in because just to get the extra days training because i just i had in my head like i can't let this fella out walk me i can't let this fella do all these so i was come up with all the excuses and when i left the job i'm like wait off the shoulders and now i'm like no i don't need to worry now all that that little bit of doubt that was always in my head is gone and that just gives me even more power mental power i'd say you know i mean going into these fights i don't have any worries you know i mean i'm confident in my skills and it's just i have a different level of reassurance now and different level of self belief that you know i can i can take out any one of my day you know what i mean yeah no one spent how hard of a decision was the future leaves job i've worked in that industry i know the financial security that you have so yeah yeah yeah aldi game yeah and i was in the competitors how hard was this leader because i know what the financial situation is like that to then go and take a chance to do that um like how hard was that decision for you to make very very hard i remember that jay's i was actually talking to he was like it's about going from the the noun to the unknown you know what i mean you're comfortable in your job you have a steady wage coming in every month you know what i mean always have money rep pumping into the bank account to suddenly if i jump out with this job i'm gonna no i'm not gonna have that what can i not spend my money on what way do i have to change my life what way do i have to do all these things and i had all these doubts going through my head i remember i was sitting at home literally i'd be sitting on the bed like that rocking back and forth like well oh my god how do i do this and then i just you know i just said to myself if i'm going to do this part all the way you know what i mean there's no way i'm going to be doing a full with a full-time job with doing 40-50 hours a week and training on top but it's just not not sustainable you know what i mean especially to achieve what i wanted to achieve you know what i mean so i was saying [ __ ] this i was like you know what if i'm gonna make the jump i'll do it for a year a year or two if it doesn't work out i'll just go back to work aldi would have me back in tomorrow because i know the system another routine they would give me a job like that again if all else failed so i was like [ __ ] it take the risk take the plunge on me and see what happens i don't think anyone achieves good things from standing in their comfort zone all the life you know what i mean so me leaving that comfort zone of financial security and on a steady wage and all that jazz uh really basically gave me the incentive that if i'm gonna if i'm gonna be an mma fair i need to put the [ __ ] work in you know what i mean and not that i didn't put the work in before but now that i have these extra sessions like now now that i'm getting the extra sessions i'm like right now i can now i can really show what i'm about you know what i mean and i think that alone just that part of being able to unlock a different soil to me game and unlock and just go up another level that that like that thought alone basically gave me the the power to say [ __ ] it i'm leaving this job i don't care anymore i was actually i was at me with someone anyway i just couldn't i found bellator friday i was back walking on the monday morning either on monday wherever it was monday afternoon and uh i went i was walking in like walking in like a big leading troop all depressed so having to face reality again i'm saying that i was saying that one was like oh [ __ ] it's bringing me back down it's keeping me humble it's bringing me back down to the level of pagan but i didn't want to be back down to 11 so soon i was like give me a [ __ ] week or whatever maybe and and then i'll then i'll come back down but your manager was talking to me oh my sticky on the week of overnight easter blah blah blah and always did she she was just talking to me and i was like you know what [ __ ] this i was like no i'm gone i'm gone i went bleeding a while for a few weeks now i'm fairness so i shouted them a bit but it was just out of anxiety i was like [ __ ] like i was just because i knew i had to make this decision that i was so afraid to make that just instead of me dealing with the problem and saying look i'm going to leave or just turned off the phone wouldn't turn off the work i was telling me mal was going to work was telling me that i was going to work and i was bouncing from different houses and just making up all these lawyers just just so i wouldn't get like shunned by me mom and dad and [ __ ] like that and i mean because at the end of the day like you have a good job what the [ __ ] you doing i mean when i'm a walking class earlier like i am i'm had to leave jobs like that because it's just expecting everything to be walking and i mean so when i got up the ball to eventually leave the weight that came out my shoulders i was like right now i'm all in so let's go and show everyone what we're about and show everyone how good i know i am you know what i mean and since i've had that approach i just feel i feel unreal i feel like this is what i'm destined to do and more more importantly i'm loving the life i'm living you know i mean where i was performing i was walking i wasn't though it was very stressful you're dealing with all this this [ __ ] that you don't want to be dealing with you know what i mean now i don't have all them things going on in my head so i'm like [ __ ] yeah let's let's let's show everyone what we can do perform like i know we can perform and let's go away for the top that's all i want to do is just aim for the top to be one of the best mixed martial artists and in the world you know what i mean and then 40.4 year by year and now i'll get there yeah no 100 and then obviously that was after the scott fight you fought in malta it looked amazing you had a lot of your teammates there spg because there was actually a nice little part on your story where you actually just turn around and go this is my [ __ ] job and i actually really like that you're like this is what i do this is this is my job now tell us about that experience darina looked amazing tell us about the experience getting there and how everything felt and stopped man it was it was it was deadly i can't even explain that was my first thousand four's taste that are probably like full-time lifetime i mean i trained trained twice a day nearly three times a day leading up to it uh had had so much confidence going in we arrived there i didn't you're coming to a nice hotel in a nice nice area open the window see the nice marina and all this [ __ ] oh it's just i was even sending a voice now to me mates i was like lads you want to check out this hotel and even like me cousin was like you could really hear the excitement in your voice just from from speaking i mean he's like yeah like he he's on a good [ __ ] and so it's just literally i i felt like i felt like i just felt on top of the walls i felt like i take a quote out of the other guys like a viagra pill with their faces literally the only way i can the only way i can explain i felt literally this is what i made to do this this is what i'm this is what i've always wanted to do so now when i got that taste of it it was like long may this last because i don't want to give this up ever you know you know it just i was just roped in from that from that day or as soon as you tour space somehow i was like yeah this is me i'm i'm settled here now i don't want to do it no it's like not that i wanted to do anything else anyway but this is like confirmation that i made to do this under just how how good the feeling was and obviously being with your team that gang mentality it was just it was surreal honestly i can't explain it good venue to fight in solid win minute and a half didn't take any punches to the head went in and blitzed them you know what i mean like i know i can't do and i and i have previously done so now it's like i was like right let's keep doing it you know i mean let's let's keep taking these fights that are meant to be tough on pay by you know i mean like he was eight and one and i made him look like a bleeding zero zero you know what i mean in my head i just dismantled him you know what i mean so um i just want to keep doing that keep showing that i can perform at that level consistently and uh just really really show how much of a fast i mean i mean you know it's very good and then obviously off the back of that you've now signed with the pfl um i don't know if you're a liberty talker i'm not going to ask you about money don't worry about what the contract is you have how many flights you have and how did they come about and how do you feel about going on that stage yeah so it just came about after the fight oh yeah i was asked that i want to go on i was saying [ __ ] it may as well like so we got the contract sent there it was a multi-foot agreement so basically i'm swimming with them till 2024. i think it's i get the min a minimum of four for each side here so i made this right here as a qualifier and to get into the tournament then so providing i win this one i'm in i'm into that tournament so um i'll be guaranteed to be fighting consistently you know what i mean so i that alone is is a bonus for me because i don't want to be sitting on i don't want to be waiting like half a year or two like nearly a year a year fighting it's not my style oh you prefer to be active uh constantly trying training for the goal so now that i'm gonna have consistent goals or consistent targets to aim for uh that just makes me feel feel like i have job satisfaction you know what i mean so i was like okay let's let's do it let's show what we're about there's not that wasn't there's not too many it's only a handful of us always fighters in that scene and in pfl so i was saying okay let's let's come in and and shower over here you know what i mean and troy really put iron on the map in that promotion as well and try not to take part take over i don't even take over pfl so i just i have that in that incentive in my head and i just look i only said this to john there last week or before i was like i'm going i'm not going in here just to just to be another foyer i don't hear the [ __ ] smash all these people who are in my way and i really want to go in here and show that like nathan kelly is a legit legit foyer and he deserves to be up there with the best john i mean so that's what i'm going in and to do that's what if that's what i built up that self belief and i have that self belief going in here so it's just about me performing now and showing what i'm capable of showing how well rounded over mixed martial arts i am you know i mean showing that no matter who they put in front of me i will have a strategy to deal with them and put them away i have serious power in my hands i have legit grappling behind me as well so now it's just now i have a platform to show it so let's just let's show the world what about you know what i mean that's that's what i want to do i want to be i want to be someone who everyone goes oh where was he all where was he the last few years like have we not have we not know his team you know what i mean i want to go in and gain attention and really you know get people drawn into me and show how how good of a fighter i am and and show that my style is exciting because i'm hunting for finishes i'm not there just to just to get the win under to finish people and i'm there to pull people away so i'm glad now that i have a platform to do that and they seem to do really well with the promotional sort of thing so i think this is really going to help me build up my profile and get the respect that i now deserve yeah no i can't wait to see obviously the zoo will and john mitchell i think has a signed and it's good for us to see hopefully when it comes around we'll be able to get the links out for people to watch and support irish fighters it shows how far is mma has coleman and i think the generation coming in behind you as well like what you make of the advancements in like right now like when you said you would find it was hard to get matched there seems to be promotions and shows popping up like what do you make of the the advancement of the irish mma scene it's really come on a lot now in fairness that the showers aren't [ __ ] every second month now i saw which is great because it just means activity it means that there's a buzz around the the the scene there's always something going on it's not it's never going to like stagnate it's always going up you know what i mean so once once there's activity to showers there's a buzz everyone's everyone's progress will shoot up because the scene is booming you know what i mean and once the scene is booming everyone everyone is just going to go up like that and level and i just i really do think like that they always like i'm not saying about underwriting inside because we do have really good results at tournaments and stuff like that but like i don't think we get enough credit for how good of mixed martial arts we are over here you know what i mean and now we're really starting to show on an international stage about amateur and professionally how well well-rounded we all are as foyers and how skilled we are so i think now it's it's really starting to show that just from this little island we are we are not to be messing with you know what i mean you know 100 percent like we are a small nation that's on a couple of million compared to the likes of russia's america and stuff like that and italian coming out was crazy so we've kind of got to at the end you're clear i just want you to reflect back um we've talked about the fights you learned from the most uh ups and downs your careers uh i want you to pick two fights it could be from amateur pro one be what would be your favorite finish and what would be your favorite fight that you've had maybe it was a back and forth or maybe it was you won when not that you weren't expecting but you won in the best ways like what was your favorite fight it could be any fight that you want win or lose and what was your favorite finish that you've had er i'll take one favor for you from amateur one five or five from pro and then before we finish so my favorite flight from amateur was actually i thought uh ian clearly i was 18. he was tortilly it was for the battle zone toil like i was only a little nipper not even a little sprog fighting a [ __ ] full-on adult john i mean i think the comp was doing problems as well on the night as well i was still able to take shots from that but uh that was he was he was that was one of the biggest points i've ever had because i was still so young in my career and now we me we knew that that was this is going to be a real challenge this is going to be the one where i really showered how good i am you know what i mean so me training for that was just perfect i went in with a bulletproof mindset i end up getting the win i won't be forced that much i toil the battles on toilet which in northern at the time was the biggest toil around and that was what really instigated me as the number one bantamweight in order at the time i was only [ __ ] 18 so that win that win really made me feel a million a million percent i mean i just i couldn't couldn't even explain how good i felt after that considering the the accolades in heart and the respecting had around the mma community everyone wrote me off in that for all the mma media my manager began saying like well i thought this was a bit too much for you too soon and all that jazz and i went in and proved everyone wrong so that was a big one for me there me problem um oh i don't know what the the fight with havel that i lost was a really good fight i think i just underperformed on the night i made some tactical errors but it was really good exciting for you uh the scott harrison for you as well was good good that was a real great economy like you have to don't play it played a smart you know what i mean it's all about the best win pro i think this the shane william felt really good for me as well because i was uh i was doing the dog going into that as well there was a lot of hype around him he was uh six now a legit legit guy and you know i went in and and did what i needed to do on the noise so i think i earned a lot more respect from people after that and they were like [ __ ] man this this kid is legit and i mean you're putting away a lot like that in the fourth round you know what i mean you have to be legit and i mean because how good shame is like so that that was one of my best wins i think i still think the only second knockout against roger so just just because it was [ __ ] in seconds i mean i'm not gonna it's not one for the holy light rail on the night you know what i mean it was nice to get a nice to get the nine second finish that's something i'll always remember so i'd say that was my favorite finish in terms of uh just just just annoying second no i mean like it's on that one's like uh is that a record by the way i don't know i don't know i did i did i never looked too much into it but uh it's still [ __ ] nine seconds so it's not too shabby and i mean i got in a guy who didn't take too much damage and and under the next one again you know what i mean so uh i say that it'd probably be my favorite finished year from pro yeah just because it was 90 seconds and i've been been there being a bit arrogant towards it i have power to put you away in nine seconds i mailed it do it i mean just don't let me land don't don't let me land them shots and you won't get put away you know what i mean so i think i can really proved in that knowing second man that you know i can put you away early with the power that i bring in your hands you know what i mean you know because obviously you're well renowned for your ground game um i want to get this right obviously that's why i left the gap in between you you're a black belt yeah were you the youngest ever black belt to receive yeah actually lydia the lady if i only [ __ ] uh she mentioned this to me between either me or paddy wickson at the time i'm gonna be i'm gonna go ahead and say it was me but yeah i think i was but like this is the thing like that's a really good accolade to have you know what i mean on paper but it shows how legit i am but like i'm a black belt for enough well i'll go training tomorrow i get smashed by a [ __ ] brown belt or whatever you know i mean you know what i mean the belt is a really good it's an indicator of level right i'm at this level now and you know i mean you have that knowledge and you have that that that experience but like on your day you can still be smashed by the dx go you know what i mean it just depends on on how disciplined you are how on the ball you keep on your game like it's about the whole thing of right i got my black belt i'm done you know what i mean i don't have that approach i kind of wanted right i have my black belt that actually gave me the incentive to come back to mma actually because when i got my black belt i was only trying jiu jitsu and then i was like [ __ ] it i'm not getting this black belt now let's go in and show these [ __ ] in mma what what i'm about you know what i mean and then for me i go back and start knocking people out you know what i mean so it's funny how it works like poor there the black belt is a really good really good confidence bill start i'll say you know what i mean to give me give me the the assurance if i'm at this level let's take it up another level again you know what i mean so i got i got a lot of motivation and drawing from it to get me back into into the mma game and now now i put a lot of walk in with me sure you can since then and i'm getting i'm getting the finishes to show for it you know what i mean so it's uh it was a good it was a really good incentive to get me back into into the swing of things basically you know i wasn't sure about that that's one thing i researched but i couldn't find it on paper i'd heard it here yeah it's just hearsay you know yeah so we're gonna go with you until we're told otherwise i'm sure when the clip comes out people will tell us otherwise um just one or two more questions because we've gone through your career it's really exciting crew i can't wait to follow the rest of it um when it's all said and done as a fighter as a person what do you want to be if you could pick a word or a phrase or something to be remembered by like to your career or whatever what would it want to be what be a word or a phrase you'd want to be remembered by hmm oh dan almond i got like i think honestly there's one i like i'm an honest person you know what i mean i think you'll have a lot more respect from people if you're honest uh but i just want hard walking as well i don't know i'm gonna just decide there's loads of words that i would like to represent that have that kind of represent me but i don't know i just think i don't know i mean it's a tricky one i'm trying i'm trying to think it's hard to know i think uh i just think disciplined as well i just i could go on i could just listen lots of things that i just want to be associated with but you know i mean i think as long as i'm as long as i'm you know i'm leading the way for even maybe the younger generations and even just me family our friends our people in the earlier i just wanted to be remembered as this this is a lad who fully committed to what he did despite being in an early he was in with drug problems around them alcohol problems around them his prayers like family problems growling up all that [ __ ] ah like all in spite of all that i came out the other end of it with a goal to be really successful in the sport that i did and i'm i would just i want to kind of lead the light even in the likes of earlier like this like thing is that like you don't have to be on the street selling drugs you don't have to be doing all this year like you don't have to be standing on corners i mean if you commit to something whatever it is if it's got [ __ ] a trade or if it's whatever if you commit to something all the way you can have a more a better life from it you know what i mean i know you just want to if if i can be remembered for one thing it's just that i can uh maybe inspire a lot of people to to follow the path that you know they should be following and to not just take the easy way out and follow the crowds i mean i'm not one to follow crowds i think it's uh it's actually something that i've really i'm actually proud of myself for that i don't follow players and i'm really set on my own way you know like if they're doing that [ __ ] i don't give a [ __ ] i'm doing this you know i mean i want to inspire people to go now take this go follow me do this you know what i mean don't don't do that do this you know what i mean i know you want to i want to kind of lead the way for others to not just not just follow that mate or not just follow to step out of the comfort zone have the balls and say no i don't want to do that i want to do this and just just stay true to yourself you know what i mean i i'm true to myself now and i just think that if more people can can just take take bits of me and maybe implement it in their own heads like like i said around the earth there's a lot there's not a lot going on around here you know what i mean annoy if i can be a real loy on all these young flies and all these young ones who maybe want to make something of themselves and you know what i mean they they're just quite afraid to step out of the comfort zone and they're afraid to take out their own paths on their own path i'm an advocate of like when you go out go your own path it's more beneficial than following the crowd you know what i mean so if i can be remembered for anything i think it's just to go your own way you know i mean not follow the crowd like per se if that makes sense yeah no hundreds and i like the words that you use actually the disciplined honest and hard-working because that really instills kind of english and where you're from and what you've had to do to to keep on that road because they said the drug juice problems the alcohol around the place which is the drug abuse the problem around the country is quite is a pandemic in itself at the moment i think did the drug abuse problem now man it it's crazy it's just normalized like all these young people nowadays you know i mean it's just normalized that it's just everyone's whacking the drugs out of it and yeah it's almost it's like no one like it's not it's not unkilled today's roads and i mean it's it's almost like ah the last thing i want to [ __ ] i mean like easter around but over the over the period of years like yeah all the abuse adds up you know i mean i've seen a come from a family where drug abuse is evident towards me i've seen it in front of me always alcohol abuse i've seen in front of me always i grew up around it i've learned from it you know what i mean i've dabbled in it myself none of me and to a point where i don't want to dabble in anymore because i saw where i've i saw where i was going you know what i mean and if it was over like consistently consistent abuse on your mind and your body it's just not good and i think we can get this stigma of look just [ __ ] start packing it in and just i don't want to sound like a party people but all the boys and [ __ ] like that but like i have young i have young young nieces nephews like ground up now and obviously young cousins and [ __ ] like that and tomorrow i'm actually really really fearful that i'm ground up because i don't want them to to lose sight of themselves because they followed all their mates and they did what maybe they didn't really ever want to do so you know i'm going to try to always push the stay away from me approaching i mean and and really stay true to yourself keep yourself clean keep yourself uh on track and just when you when you're toward the end and your mates at all do you see where you are and you'll even see where they are in their life i guarantee you there'll be a big contrast and where you are and where they are so that's the kind of that's the kind of approach i'd like to start pushing on the younger generations nowadays you know what i mean because i'm seeing it forced on like okay so obviously barry was your coach that got you into into mma with the muay thai you said and then the jits and then obviously you've got john now like what are obviously the two different desires and different people and what does one one barry means and what does john mean say as a coach to have him in your corner now so barry to me i when i joined the sport he uh so i basically couldn't behind me that i didn't couldn't afford to pay for the train it was very expensive and barry obviously saw something in me from me first few weeks in the gym he saw because i was going up every session to be the best gentleman and i was trying my hardest to really impress him to get his attention you know what i mean i think he he really saw that you know it was worth putting time into me and thankfully for me he did because i don't know where i'd be now if he didn't put that time into me because of he was like a father figure to me almost he guided me in the right direction he made me believe in myself he gave me a platform to kind of grow as a person and he really made me feel like i could have been something you know what i mean and so without him i wouldn't be here today honestly i don't know what i'll be doing if i never met the fella because he really gave me an incentive in the life that just really shot me upwards on me and i still like obviously i'm still very close to him you know what i mean he he would advise me on a lot of things he's like like i said he's like a father to me you know i mean he he really always has my best interests at heart and you know that that just it's nice to know someone has your back like that regardless of what happens in your career i got now you said there i'm trying with john elbow like he will always have my back and i always have his and it's just i just have a bond with him that i've never really had with anyone else before in my life because like obviously uh whatever i went down with my family i wouldn't wouldn't have too many good male role models in my life you know what i mean so to finally have one in the sport that i loved you know what i mean it really really helped me on my pattern i mean and i'm really really really really grateful that i met the fellow because like i said i don't know where i'd be i'd i'd probably be [ __ ] on i'm probably on a car and selling drugs are are strung out or whatever like that you know what i mean because it's so it's so easy to fall into that system around here and i'm just grateful that he let me like he let me clean the mats to pay for me membership he let me he let me walk from basically and took me under his wing and really helped me be disciplined gave me the center the whole wax on max of approach and i mean he let me have that kind of approach where you put the work in stay humble you know get your rewards work hard and and the time you put into me really got me to where i am today because now i didn't have a lot of trainer partners i had a lot of one-on-one training with him so to to be at the top of the amateur game with the with now sparring partners that really was a testament to the work we put in we worked really hard like so for that i'm grateful for this time i'm grateful and just to have made me life and grateful because like i said he's he's a real saint of a man honestly he's a pr he's a prop agent and like just he's he's one of the biggest influences in my life it still to this day and and will always be and that's there's no other way around it and but now i'm now obviously in spg i have the likes of john there uh dave roach they're uh they're really pushing me now and i mean they really see the work i put in i think when i was first joined the gym i was still working so i was kind of hard didn't i don't think they knew how like where i was going to go with my career because i'm still managing this full-time job and blah blah blah because you know what i mean it's you're not getting as many sessions in i'm probably just a bit behind the lads who are training full-time so i was busting me bollocks on the mats every day to try to prove to john today you know that oh yeah i'm good i just need to i just need to get out of this job so i just thought i [ __ ] it i'll work hard i'll rack up me for it get myself into a position where i can leave me job and now i'm in that position where i left and the lads are behind me all the way and i have it like that i have a level of reassurance to how experienced they are as coaches how many fights they've cornered like i'd say there's you couldn't even count too many voice that the two lads have cornered between them you know what i mean so uh to have that knowledge to have that experience in my corner is a big help for me to be like it's like extra reassurance based off my confidence and my skill set all that jazz just to have that that's like the the base factor underneath all that so i feel even extra i feel extra secure whenever i'm stepping into the cage that like i am i am i mean i have a good circle here have a good team around me they believe in me i believe in them like like i just have this thing i'm 100 in anyway so if if if users are 100 dealing with me i'm 100 dealing with you so we have that we have that kind of we've gelled in that way now the lads are there the lads are giving me a lot a lot of time they really believe that i can be good so it's just about working as hard as we can and putting people away like i know i can and just uh just showing everyone what i can do with them in my corner like i said it's it's a it's a it's a level of reassurance that it's hard to explain but when you when you have them like that good close-knit group being around you as well as my teammates coaches and teammates when i have that good set around me and i mean i feel i feel indestructible in a way you know what i mean so having their guidance and their knowledge uh beside me is a big it's a big push in the right direction it's a big lift uh for like my my my my progress if that makes sense and i mean it really it really assures me that i'm i'm in safe hands basically yeah no i completely understand and obviously like i said how many fights they've cornered obviously you've been you've had so many fights you've had a good few profiles now as well there's very few positions that you probably haven't been in but if there's a position you haven't been in you know john's there dave's there and you know the instructions are going to come and you follow the instructions and then you implement them yeah the link's there that's it they've seen it all they've heard it all they've done it all you know what i mean so it's like the experience that they have gets gets like expressed out through the true meaning you know what i mean so when i am in their positions that's don't do this don't do that maybe do this to maybe do that you know what i mean you don't there's not a lot a lot like the obvious it's always positive with them you know i mean it's always positive very little negative in fact sometimes even john says to me i need to change the way i think you know like i'll be training i'm like i didn't get that i'm like ah [ __ ] sake and he's like no you don't say folks like say like right i didn't get that i'm gonna get this i mean so i was just he's trying to even get me to change me approaching i mean methods are thinking but uh yeah look it's just it's just like i said it's just the reassurance that you have and and the confidence that you get of having this experience in your corner like it really does it really does stand here and i'm grateful that i'm in a good position now and like that i have it matason and a good promotion and all that jazz and that was just like it's us versus the world now on my own um and it's just time to shout out what we can do and all you just all just now my determination my willpower my self belief my skill set you know what i mean i'm a dangerous person i'm five by four i'm showing that you know what i mean uh i've i'm on a 54 win streak now uh four finishes four fourth round finishes like that's there's a lot to be said for that you know what i mean i i'm going into me fifth fight now i think in 12 months and the active like that's that's bad maybe the amateur scene of the imaps it's very unheard of a pro around around this scene so i'm really i'm really putting in the work and you know i mean the lads the lads are aware of that so i think now now the opportunities are coming the good opportunities are coming your way because of all the work that i've put in so now it's really think my life is really starting to fall into place now you know what i mean so but like i said my life is falling into place i have the right people around me i have the right mindset i have very little distractions so in my head that mix i'm only going to the top i literally don't see any other way some people might say it's it's you know what i mean i don't know like arrogant in a way or whatever like that but i just i don't see it i thought or naive or whatever i'm just i'm fully in on this i know you know what what my potential is once i once i commit myself to something fully so like i said good team around me good couches around me solid mindset the top is the top of all i'm aiming for and fight by fight i'm showing it and over time people will realize that you know i was slept on for a while i still think i'm a dark horse and yours i'm amazing and i don't know if i get a lot of credit for what i'm doing but i'm in lg of the game i'm only [ __ ] but i fought at the hills here with amateur i thought that that he was hearing all and stuff like that i pronoun and i i i've never had an easy foot i've always took the hard foot i've always challenged myself so i will continue to do that going forward so i want to keep doing this putting people away who are are better than me on paper like um there's only one just actually i'm on it's like i said it's to the top and i don't have any other visions in my head except being a champion in whatever division or whatever promotion or whatever it is i will be a champion i'm gonna put the walk in just watch and see you know and i can't wait and the next part of your journey will be on august 13th at pfl in cardiff um i can't wait to see i want to thank you so much for your time it's been an absolute pleasure thanks very much thank you so much