Sam Driver interview

Ringkasan

Sam Driver looks to defend one of his belts this weekend at Elite fighting championship in an intriguing contest on a hot streak at the moment looking to continue the form going in front of the home crowd but he's got an extremely tough opponent to get past.

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Kind: captions Language: en [Music] so I'm here with the man with two beds Mr Sam driver who's going to be uh defending his belt this weekend at EFC a fantastic show in his home city thank you so much for taking this interview on short notice how are you feeling you're only days away thank you for having me on David yeah delighted to be here feeling good now feeling ready my body's feeling good not worried not nervous or aren I that I've been uh been around the block a few times now so I know the story My fourth fight in the last what five six months so it's h there's no more nerves at this stage now it's just just same same old same old at this stage I'm well used to it so looking forward to it relishing the moment yeah and and you see that from before the fights after the fights you can see that you're really enjoying what you're doing um what you put that down to is that just because you can see the improvements every time you fight or or what is it you just love fighting still a good scrap yeah bit of crack like it's something else you know uh it's uh I would always watched the UFC and things like that when I was younger and to just be putting yourself into that same moment putting yourself in those shoes of course a smaller scale for the M for the meantime but it's uh it's it's just it's just quite a feeling to be to be in the spotlight and doing the sports you love performing in front of people and things and trying to trying to put on your best show and I I would have in my earlier fights maybe got a little bit little bit Angy before the fight and things like that and the days coming I'd be thinking about it a lot now days I'm just cool as the raises just to be honest the SP the sparring rounds we'd have in MMA cork would would be it would almost match the fight sometimes me and Brian would have a few old Headbangers the all time now we'd uh we we' we'd take leather off each other and when we have good sparring partners like that it doesn't uh it doesn't take much to turn around and go into a fight then it's just the same thing except you're doing less rounds so I'm feeling good and ready yeah no 100% then and like that you said you this is your fourth fight in about six months that's quite good considering that the we class that you're in as well there's not a huge amount of talent a Euro I would presume you're constantly looking to stay active and you will seek out fights as much as you can how did you find getting matched obviously you're not having a problem but I remember two years ago it was hard for people at this way how does it feel to have more options now yeah you're dead right like when I first started an amateur I was having a lot of trouble getting opponents and I was saying to my coaches it was very frustrating at the time I was m to just get in there and get going especially after I had a loss I really just wanted to get back in there and get back on the on the on The Winning Side of column but um this year now it's just people have come out of the woodwork and this I suppose uh from from winning the first title that I got it kind of gave me a bit of a boost in promotion maybe more people wanted to fight me um that kind of helped a little bit i' say as well so uh but yeah know it's great to have some some other Talent around I can go out and beat and compete with and yeah yeah you of course you need someone standing opposite it takes two to Tang up um but yeah I'm delighted that there's bodies there now to compete with and show off what we have yeah you spoke about to start your aent career and you started off on a loss and you wanted to write the wrong um when you went into your next fight and when you win the next fight and I believe it was a finished I want to say was it re naked no it wasn't uh would have been yeah yeah I I'd had uh no sorry the first I I had two wins started my career with two wins then I had two losses one of them very controversial in my opinion the other one I i' let that one go I won the rematch was my fourth was my fifth fight was uh I came off the two fights SC and came back to to win the Premier belt in a rematch that was against Mario roor tough competitor H we went we went six rounds in total between the two fights and uh yeah there wasn't an inch to give um I I we both had to give our all in those fights and uh I was just glad to come out from Top in the second one um to have won the to won three rounds in the second fight I was I was absolutely delighted and um that was a decision that one I felt I could have maybe went for the Finish in the third round but I knew I was ahead and I was on top I was Landing some shot I thought you know what I I'll I'll cruise a little bit here and and not risk anything in hindsight I think I would have lik to have just stood up and gone for the Finish from there and rain down some ground pound but hey look yeah you you do you'll do in the moment um and the main thing in my priorities at that time was to get the win but I'm looking for shows now I'm looking for performances not just wins yeah and like that that shows a huge maturity for young like for a fighter that's had uh was it six fights now six seven now this will be my age coming up yeah yeah so it just shows at that stage though your maturity know that I can't get into a bad like you can go into an advantageous position but it could potentially put you at risk that shows a huge maturity is that just something that came from previous fights yeah yeah like uh you know of course you Spire to have a fight simulator kind of kind of feeling but there's there it's not quite the same as when you actually get in there for a fight funny enough in my very first fight it was against um mantis basses was his name and uh the start of the first bell went and I just froze like a deer in headlights he actually hit me with two right hands before I even before I even reacted sorry I just had a talk of in there um yeah I it took two shots before I even woke up and said okay I'm actually fighting now I gotta I got a reply here with something um just because the Heat of the Moment got me a bit but now I don't really feel like that hits me the same way it's just I feeling kind of calmness actually once the once the Bell starts I'd be I'd be uh I'd be a bit racy beforehand and then once the once the Bell goes to start I'm goou C collected um which is where you want to be I suppose that just come with experience with getting a lot of fights in in shorter periods of time I'm sure if I didn't fight for two or three years then I'd have the same kind of same kind of vibe coming up again but now I'm all good yeah no and you've got the two best which here obviously you won the Premier one but the cork one the elite one how special was that for you to win in Cork what does that mean to you well it's a fantastic belt it's uh it's really good quality I'm delighted with that like it it's just some feeling to to fight in front of the home crowd and and to get to win like um I'd had a I'd had a lot of traveling for other fights beforehand and just a fight at home it's it's a nice environment all all your training part is there and everything friends and family come to see you so it's just a a nice bit of a homecoming and felt like it it really wrapped up everything I'd done so far and felt like I'd actually I'd really felt like I'd achieved something after that fight even though I'd already had one belt at that stage it really just gave me an extra feeling of of confidence um I felt I felt like I legitimized myself a lot and I was very happy to see that you know people who've been supporting me the whole time were actually getting to to to enjoy a show and get so that they got something out of actually supporting me the whole time it was just a good feeling yeah yeah delighted with it cuz cuz like that uh being in Cork most of your fight most of your team as well as yourself would have to travel for fights what would like obviously you're usually going into someone else's backyard so you're not going to have the crowd behind you what was it like to hear the core crowd because I thought the atmosphere was unbelievable at that show yeah yeah I was fighting another cork man so it was going it was going both ways to be fair I feel like this time now I I'll definitely have a few more cheers on my side um but yeah like it's the show for elitec it's it's it's top quality the production that Barry put on I mean it's it's Second To None like even after only there being like a there hasn't been that many Elite FCS compared to some of the other shows but you wouldn't know that from the quality of the the talent that's on the show and the quality of production like the the walkouts are are great to see and things like that the way they have the the stage at the back to to have actually B to to walk out towards the cage nice um and just I I really like the setup I really like the cage I just it's a nice environment to fight in i' I've had fights before where I didn't really like the the way that the the venue was set up but I I'm very happy fighting in in the bars in Elite it's it's a nice show to fight on for sure good for the fighters I like the the walk out there because you've got the stage the the walkway is like level with the cage everything just kind of lines up and and I was I've said this a couple of times this what Barry's doing is fantastic because with cage Legacy kind of on high is at the minute Premier I know their last show didn't go ahead it's nice to have something that the likes of ye guys don't have to travel four five six hours for and you can have that uh you can have that Home Advantage well rather than having to always travel somewhere else but you put together a nice string of performances recently your last one was a devastating TKO in my opinion it was it was very very looking at it it was it was kind of like wow this like you really put a stamp on that performance how does that feel coming into this fight with that last performance you know I would have almost rathered to have some more cage time in that fight i' uh you're talking about like distances traveled I was only thinking about it when I was driving home from that event I did 10 hours driving for a minute long fight I was like this doesn't we up well it' be nice to fight at home next so that's definitely something that uh bit of a relief that I don't have I don't have to travel too far only down the road from where I am and H can just focus on the fight itself rather than the the logistics um but yeah it's it's so it's so nice to have a home show and it's nice to go away too but it's uh it's just feels like you're at home you know um and yeah I definitely got a lot of confidence from that fight from having a good performance to to jump right into this one like um there's no uh there's there's no there's no worry in my head in terms of like am i g to be able to do this or anything like that like I I know the story at this stage I'm I'm I'm well versed in going out and having a tough fight with a tough competitor like uh my last opponent was very physically strong that was something something that was in my head even though he hadn't as much experience as me I was thinking like you know is is the power going to be a problem and no I got a lot of power so I'm not worried about any element like that you know I'm I'm as cool as the breeze going into it I'm I'm I'm I I feel like there's a finish coming here as well um you know you never know how things are going to go could go the distance but I I feel like I'll capable of a finishing this fight yeah you're both guys with a lot of finishes on your records uh you've got the TKO and you've got two two subs and I think he's got three Subs as he got at IM then as well so it looks like wherever this goes it can potentially be be finished and it's an exciting fight um talk to us about the atmosphere right now in the gym because obviously a home show there's so many fighters on it I know obviously there's usually fighters on every other show and there's more than one but when you've got so many fighters on One show I would say the gym is just absolutely buzzing right now tell me what it's like Murderers Row David everyone has just picked up the level so much the last month or two serious faces you know people you people have a little bit of edge inspiring in them these days now of course things have toned down a little bit the couple of days before the fight you know we're right at the Mark now but yeah it's been uh it's been some tough sessions in there all right which is exactly what you want you want your training to be harder than the fight at death you want the fight of death to be almost just like a a Showcase of the hard work you've already done and you want to train train hard to fight easy not train easy to fight hard and I think we we do definitely a good job of that in we make it work Stu yeah it's been a it's been a tough environment but great for Preparation second to n that aspect yeah I like that you're one of my favorite gyms at the minute and I think I don't want to say underrated because I don't think he actually are anymore because you see so many of your Fighters that shows and there's so much talent coming out there like you said with Aaron and Jack there at the two boys are two of the nicest boys but the the training that they do with you you can just see and the the ways are together but going forward we're not we you're not GNA be looking past your opponent but you've had quite an active year this year so far are you looking to to keep the activity levels up I know you you were looking at maybe going pro fairly soon talk to us about what your future may be like after this fight yeah I'd like to take a little bit of a break in early 2025 but not too big a break either you know maybe around the spring i' get back in h back into the cage again and although saying that I could turn around on Saturday evening and say put me in there next week you know I could uh I could want to fight straight away you never know that until until the time your your head space would be in a few different places sometimes and like I was actually in a strange position there recently that before my last fight I had already had this fight announced so I had two fights booked in a row and like that was a bit of a mental preparation to say like okay I'm going to go into this one then there's no break and right into the next one um but because I had a fairly easy fight in the last one didn't turn out to be any any bit of a problem in fact I still got to get to recover a bit and things like that as well so um I'm not too uh I'm not too frosted about that but yeah I definitely want to uh I mean if this fight goes well you know this fight will be the bit of the decid factor in terms of where my career will go from here like if I if I wasn't to get the win sure I'd want to get a bit more experience under my belt but I'm quite confident that I will and if I if I put on a good show and get the win I'm I'm confident that I'd either go straight to Pro or maybe I'd have one more am a fight before that in around there that's my thinking at the moment of course uh I let Aaron and Jack tell me what to do in the end of the day they're the they're the real bosses you know it doesn't want what Sam wants to do sometimes um I trust their guidance you're saying there they're very nice Lads yeah they're the nicest coaches you could ever find in fact that was what I attracted me to MMA cork in the first place was that it just felt like a real comfortable training environment like you know we were training hard and still getting working and things like that but it's not like people were screaming at you and like i' I'd had coaches before they were almost trying to like Bully you into into working hard and things of that and that environment didn't suit me I I like the I like the buzs in MMA cor go crack you're uh no one's the best will be brought out of you under your own terms it's not going to be uh you're not going to be it's not going to be bet out of you it'll be encouraged out of you and that's a that's a nice environment for me and so yeah I love training in my cork and I'm excited to see what comes next you know and I and I would gravitate towards that kind of training or or if like that sort of things Jo my job if I manager I'd like them to be more like that but other people do it does work the other way but I think that's more old school and I think that's phasing out now I I think you need to have a personal aspect to train and fight as well as what not just technical so they're doing a fantastic job there and Jack coming back and his last fight oh my God what what was what was the gym like what were you were you watching that live I was my heart was in my mouth I thought he got dropped twice and then all of a sudden boom what was it like seeing Jack going out and doing this because he's he's come back this year does that inspire you in the gym when you see him go do stuff like that on off go oh for sure to be to be getting knocked down and get back up and to to fight on like that have to fight with such heart like that that's that's very inspiring to see that's Jack through and through you know he' he'd rub it off like it's nothing and uh and keep on going like and you know he he'd always be tough like that it doesn't matter it doesn't matter what you put against him he'll he'll come back and find a way and uh that's that's a lot about what MMA is about you know is it's finding a way even if in the face of adversity you might be against a tougher opponent a stronger opponent you could be against someone who's downright better than you but if you have the grace if you're willing to bite down your gum shield and find a way to get it done stay in the pocket keep your head sharp and find a find a gap of a submission or something find something if you're if you're willing to keep your head in the game be patient with it an opportunity will often arise Jack took the opportunity when it came and my God it was it was some feeling watching it yeah yeah it was very inspiring so fair play to Jack I'm very excited to see what comes from him next he is at much higher a level than he's a little bit under the radar you know and there's a few people like that in make or so uh yeah it's definitely going to be a good future for as a gym and but yeah I know it's uh they're they're great coaches and even there you're saying I have a bit of a story like you're saying about the old school way of training there I was in the Netherlands for a while I went on arasmus and this is a couple years ago now before I'd actually fought amateur I didn't speak a word of Dutch anyway but I went into a kickboxing game and there was this old Mead trainer there and like you see a lot of belts in the wall you tell it was a good game and the whole thing was in in Dutch so I didn't understand a worried about the class was I was just trying to pay attention to what was going on you know and he was just screaming at you come over he's screaming at me D it's like yeah I was definitely getting my head in the game like okay I gotta go I gotta go but it wasn't uh it wasn't necessarily the right way for me to learn I thought and and just like I like the way we go through things in m so yeah definitely the the more Modern Way of coaching suits me better all right but for sure there's horses for courses and some people some people need to go kick off their ass and you know different different kind of ways good to have a bit of everything though good different options yeah no 100% And there's one thing like you said and it must be an EOS in that gym with the heart like you see in you Evan Hogan's another one I've seen it in when it's gone tough times Brian Manning especially when he's getting he's getting head kicked by sing CLE Shin to neck and he walks through it there that you can't teach that anywhere else is that just kind of is that a a a gym thing or just a cork thing because I know you guys over that side of the country are just Hardy and you love a fight is that just a cork thing or is it a GM thing j could be both could be both it's I mean what that comes down to is who wants it more in the end of the day you know that's a lot of a lot of the sporters who wants it more do you want this Bel how badly do you want it are you going to make it happen you know uh sometimes like you'd you'd see people kind of wi in in certain positions and after certain impacts and and other people it'll light of fire and and say no I gotta get you back you hit me a good one there I want to get you back and I'd I'd certainly have a bit of that in me like there's been I I would be guilty for times where someone hit me with a good one in training and I'd actually start grinning I'd get a good smile on my face and be like all right now we're going you know you kind of woke me up a bit here now let's let's let's get you back like let's put you in your box and but uh look there's there's always going to be a bit of that and but that's that's that's that's a good thing when managed correctly you know of course you don't want to be completely pucking the heads off each other and spiring like we're good for pulling our shots I'll say that too but uh yeah I know it's uh it's it's it's definitely a thing that's around cork anyway whether it's the gym or county in general it's good aspect to have no it is and it is and I've really enjoyed this conversation has been the fascinating chat I'm really whether I don't know if I'm 100 going to be there I promised the last two shows I'd be there but I'm working Saturday so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it depends on how early I finish work but whether I there in person I'll be watching at home if not I can't wait to see if I again I can't wait for this fight I think this is a very very good matchup I think you're two high high quality competitors but is there anything you want to say before you go and thank you again for the for the short noce interview yeah thanks again for having me h no nothing in particular really I mean I feel like we covered it well I'm just looking forward to getting out there and showing what I can do I want to I want I want to strike I want to Grapple I want to do everything I want I want it to be a good performance that's what I'm looking for and uh I have no doubt based on the last couple of EFC shows they've been they've been fantastic shows to watch like even when in the crowd earlier before watching some of the earlier fights like it's it's a stacked card like you look at the competitors on that card there's no easy fights for anyone it's all like uh it's all fights that i' like oh I really want do that one like there's no no fights to miss it's like a good UFC C it's like UFC 300 and and that's one thing that Barry's done a great job of is getting getting good competitors on the show to make a good show that's you know that's that's step one like have have good fights to see and so I'm just really looking forward to to being part of that making a good show and thank you to everyone who who comes to the events thank you for everyone who buys the stream and it's great to have the support and get get it get it out there you know Irish MMA is definitely on the up Cork MMA is certainly on the up and and yeah let's let's see where we can take it yeah no it is like you said stack card this is one of the best cards that you'll see down south uh it's one of the best cards that probably will end the year on it's like top to bottom there's no easy fights there's no givings for the home Fighters like oh heav Evan versus Yousef do you versus K like they're two tough fights they're they're not they're not easy fights and and that's what I really like about it it's not a give me show for for maybe the hom show but I can't wait for the show I can't wait to see this fight um thank you so much again and whether I see you in person I'll be watching anyways thanks for having me David delighted to be here and