IN DEPTH | EPISODE 17 | DECKY MCALEENAN

Ringkasan

David sits down with Cage Warriors Professional fighter Decky McAleenan to chat about finding his way into the sport and his career so far.

Transkrip (youtube_captions)

foreign [Music] you're going to be fighting on the 4th of November in London for cage wires um obviously this is going to be I think it's you're going to be a 14 pro fight yeah yeah so I just want to go back to the start how you got into MMA and and why uh fighting's just sort of always been something that I've done growing up the area grew up in you sort of had to be able to look after yourself uh he got me into training whenever I was I think it was eight whenever whenever I started I started with karate uh he he done nearly every form of fighting in Jordan that there was back back whenever he was younger and then karate was the first thing that I talked to and actually it was my uncle got me in that first then I broke my wrist when I was younger and my dad got me back they joined a year or two later he got me back to started sort of training full time and started competing and stuff of it then sorted and then moving on from karate like with uh when MMA was coming up because you're in the game quite a while about 12 years or so like and then MMA wasn't what it is now what made you go go towards MMA because it was it was slightly frowned upon but it wasn't what it is today uh well whenever I whenever I was 18 I fought over in Japan it was the first time fighting and that well it wasn't the first time fighting how far away from home was the first time fighting in Japan anyway and uh the sport had changed so much the karate had changed so much that it turned into like a near enough like a gamertag doing he's just so wrong she topped the other person it was no longer a fight like yeah and politics had an awful lot to do with with who won fights so after that that day I decided that I was going to do something more more fight related that like if if I can't stop the fight if I can't win the fight myself then it doesn't matter what the judges think that's that's my problem and whenever I came home I was packing between boxing and MMA the more I locked in the boxing it's probably more corrupt than than karate was so because there's a lot more money involved in boxing so then I looked at an MMA and thought to myself that if you can't if you can't stop an MMA fight that you don't deserve to win it like you know you've you've any any amount of ways of fun of when in the fight sorry so if I can't win it and as an amateur in nine minutes but if I can't stop you I don't deserve the win yeah so you leave you're one of the people who don't want to leave to the judges obviously because you see you're seeing it a lot now as well especially in like seriously there's a lot of there's a lot of decisions that like you look at them and go what they're looking especially because they brought in a new criteria and it's like some people still go off the old criteria I think I've seen that a few shows but he talks about being in in Japan there like how many different countries has MMA taking years so far in your career I uh MMA hasn't well I suppose I was talking before I've been the Brazil training I've been to America back and forth in America training uh I have been I'm just really fighting around like a four day four and I won't even over in the UK but with throughout the years of of training and fighting I've been all over the world like I think the only place I haven't been to was like the continent of Australia I've been everywhere else training and competing like yeah no it's good that it like you see like the likes of the guys from your Gmail was in Thailand and a lot of people are branching out a lot more now which is good um talks to obviously your average career when I came across the record uh I talked to myself that probably isn't right because you've been around a long time it's like five and one on topology how many fights you reckon you had uh either 12 or 14 I can't I can't remember exactly which which it was uh as you were saying like fighting wasn't what it was it isn't it wasn't what it is now uh the first my first fight I remember the the night I think it was the night of the way I went in that morning just by a video away and and I'd seen the poster had only come out for the show that night so I was looking at the poster sort of trying to judge off the people on the poster which one locked about my size and I like narrow it down to like three people so it was like it's one of these three I didn't know which which one the person was that I was fighting so it was just a case of show up there's no looking online at your opponent and checking this and checking out there it's it's more okay so do you want are you free to fight on this date show up and fight so like it's it's not what it is now where you need to have your full training camp to fight this one type of person back then it was like if you wanted to fight you fought how is that looking and trying to trying to size up who they were because obviously it's making it's made so much stride now and it's it's so much more Technical and there's so much more behind it how was that like turning up and not knowing how you were going to fight to the even body at the time or was it just because of the way it was it was normal I I I I personally enjoyed it I thought it was brilliant because I as I said I I get into fighting because I like the fight and so like my warm-up because the fight kept getting pushed back and pushed back on the night my warm-up went on for like two and a half three hours and I remember making him blind was just whenever I found out who it was it was just uh go they're like there's no no game plan as such but it was kind of a case of like whenever whenever that referee says fight I'm not 100 sure what I'm getting myself in for so I'm just going to make sure I hammer him so I don't give a shout what he thinks he can do I'm just going to bed him before he beats me like yeah especially amateur because that's one I talked a lot of amateurs you're better off going in trying to implement your own game aren't you rather than trying to look at someone but like leading up to that fight let's say uh obviously you'd competed in Karate in other things but like leading up to amateur debut what was that kind of like was there any nerves or anything or were you just excited to get get it done uh as I said I just wanna it's what I want to do like I enjoyed the whole process of it like the gym back back then the German wasn't what it is now either like there was no beginners there was no anything so you were getting better up an awful lot so getting to go in against someone that's meant to be your own level makes it like makes it an awful lot easier so like I didn't as I said I didn't care what who or what was in front of me I was going I'd beat someone up like that just the fight and the win during that there was no nothing else in it or to it like jumped back then it was kind of a case of if you fight the win and that's it you don't like you don't fight for anything else like it wasn't trying to win on point wasn't trying to do anything and just going out to try and hug too badly like yeah going out trying to get to finish going out not knowing your opponent as well not trying to pad records which you see a lot of now especially nowadays like so but to your amateur career like obviously when you start 12 years ago like is there any stories or anything from that like because I was told like years ago we've talked a couple of people from back then and said like there's the wild west I heard of a story where I think your mother's name was Joe Clark he walked to the cage and someone said to him just has to be a pro fight now his opponent and then they went in and they've done it as a pro it literally happened at the side of the cage like have any stories or anything like that like no Joe was uh Joe was Pro by the time he was before me again then so he was whenever I had started the first or second time I've ever heard the one of the first or second times I've run the same show as him I heard of him uh he was I think he was maybe the pro-man event fighting for the clan wars title at the time like you know so he would have been a bit ahead of me there was no no there was no no Madness no matter just that everything went the plan like John was meant to fight some someone in particular that's near enough that's what happened like and it happened on the whatever rule side during like the rules were good back then there was no you weren't like album you weren't allowed the heel hook as amateur that that was your loud knees the Hedge you were allowed the journey were allowed to fight as such like there was less less rules to it like and it was a lot less there was a lot less holding down don't I can just stalemates like people write the fight look yeah obviously like the grappling has approved like tremendously especially like the likes to your gym and there's a couple other gyms that are quite like have high standards like you towards the end of your amateur career from what I could see from thing you went you were on a bit you were on a bit of a run I think it was like a five or six win streak or something like that I think you're in the tournament as well like what was the tournaments like talks to them because they're coming back now uh again here so what was it like to fight in a tour like that a one night tournament uh it was brilliant I think whenever I found out about the tournament I was actually over in Japan again that was the second time in Japan um and I think it was maybe two or three weeks that Jonah Sebastian had asked did I wanna they wanna do this he had two fights in one night and it was up away crib and I was like yeah forget at that stage it was towards the end I'd won my first time which if I lost a second won the third lost the fourth and then it was sort of gone the same way the karate was going for me and I can remember sitting down and talking to him and it goes like I'm not going to be one of these Fighters that's showing up wins and losers and wins and loses so you know so if I wanna if I lose another amateur fight I'm quitting do you want to go I want to be I want to be the best at this so if I can't win amateur fights I'm not fighting and uh from there I'm not too sure whether it was a eight or a 10 fight win streak that we went on finishing off with with the tournament that we talked about then yeah so obviously you went on a tear down and then you're going over to Pro you go into Pro your first fight is James Gallagher so you go in after like obviously you had that conversation with your coach you went on tier 10 fights how did it feel when you actually go to Pro because you lost that fight like how did it feel then to lose your first professional fight after being on social there [Music] was near enough like morning I lost my family so it was like it just didn't didn't set whatever me at all uh I went out one of the first eggs I landed I'd broke my hand and I remember thinking to myself like how that this is bad like drawing like a account I can't really use it and I remember totally step back closed my first and swung it again and then broke the other part of my hand as well so I was in a bad a bad place and it was something just that I wasn't prepared for when I get I wasn't mentally prepared to come out and within the first exchange drawing I didn't have enough game I didn't have enough tools I mean Arsenal to to improvise and fight someone of James's level with one hand so it was it was a big learning curve for me as I said it was it was probably after a fight was a terrible three weeks two three weeks where like I wasn't sleeping properly at night there wasn't wasn't doing things it wasn't just wasn't myself at all I couldn't get over the fact of John lad harp and what happened and then the whale after that it was near enough like and it sort of the fights the fighters sorry that saw the turnprow after me they're like sort of like race and uh Dylan took and I just turned then you have like Mark Andrew and all their ones all-time Pro uh a lot of the SBG ones and they were all doing real well on on Bahama and different things and they were still out because of an entertainment had taken for my hand to fix itself and then I'd take a fight get so close to a fight and then have to pull out because my ham would break in training then you'd take an hour fight go again get right close to the fight then it would break again and I think this happened maybe three or four times which over the space like 18 months from from my Pro debut and I'd sat myself whenever I came back I'd sat myself till March of whatever year I came back I'm not too sure if I don't fight by March that's fighting is done for me so it is like because I'm not doing I'm not doing this to myself I'm not putting everything on hold to get so close and have it don't like not not be able to do it then and then it started like as I said a lot of hatred towards everything Jonah because you see these people fighting in the three Arena massive shows and you're going like that's where I should be and this is holding me back like you know and then whenever I started they're like not really care about other people not not give a shade what anyone else is doing and just focus on myself and get myself better then everything just took off from each other as as I gotta fight to actually talk a fight my comeback fight was I see him again I think I was over in California and Sebastian attacks me attacks me I'm marching there's there's two fights coming up once in two or three weeks and the others and four or five weeks whichever it is whichever one of your weights is closer to the way it now that's who's going to take the closer fight so I ended up I took the fight on whatever it was two three four weeks over in London on cage Warriors and I think I was taken over to be beat because the boy I was fighting was a striker boxer wrestler I was a striker that had been submitted in his Pro debut so I was obviously I was meant to lose because it was a HomeTown fighter but in them with the whole build up too that that scenario there was no one beating me like that when I had done a model and that just sort of started off my pro career then I started that as if this was the start like to know and took off from there yeah because you weren't quite a tear at it I just want to go back to something you said that you said like when you're looking at the guys on Baron all and then you stopped giving a [ __ ] and that's what really helps you prepare mentally like did that happen like during like towards the end of the handbrake towards when you were coming back uh yeah it was sort of like round around the midpoint like because you see as I say you see everyone doing real well you'd be getting jealous and you start to be like well [ __ ] damn like drawing like that and I said blah blah blah I ain't [ __ ] stuck here like this and then you start to be like you know something why can't I don't why not say a [ __ ] fair play out of them for doing well for themselves and then they get the change in in your mindset from like he [ __ ] doing something that I should be doing to draw something for a player to him it's good to see a show like this in Ireland where everyone's able to build themselves and doing like all the amateurs that are coming through that can all the amateurs that came through but me are now professionals doing real well [ __ ] fair play I don't know everyone log out for everyone then that's whenever like my whole ever hang shift and everything changed and then that's whenever I felt that everything took off for me either and you know instead of being that that one that's like ah get that household over there like there's he's won another fight their drone like yeah just [ __ ] that Eminem like even with James at the start I couldn't stand them now it's like [ __ ] what he's done is brilliant Jonah gonna and then like everyone it was like a fight that I wanted back for so long and then you'd see everyone like oh because after his first couple of fights I was his main Test Johnny because he started being given bombs on on bomber uh to build them up the tournament of what he turned into now like so I was like uh obviously didn't have much good to say about that and then I was like you know something if he's in that situation and he's able to do that for himself [ __ ] fair play at him I'm gonna join again I'm gonna get myself sorted like because there's no point being like it's near enough like a jealous ax or something don't just want and just constantly putting people down now so he was like [ __ ] it's brilliant to see the more they do better the more I can do better the more the people behind me do well so Jonah gets kind of We're All in This Together like to know yeah we definitely are like that you said with the likes of James obviously he's doing well in Bellator he's actually training in America now as well so like when like the guys do well everyone does well it creates more opportunities for all the Irish Fighters as well so you went on on a bit of attack and you went from losing your first fight and I think it was a five fight win this weekend like talks through that period like like obviously your mentality what was it like because obviously you must have felt unbeatable going through that period yeah that's uh Emma Hader was drawn like I didn't I didn't care I had I had a reason why I lost I knew what I'd done wrong I I had put in place things to make that not happen again and I was mentally a lot stronger going forward and just didn't think I knew what catching up I had to do because I'd seen what all what all the ways had done and I knew I was at their level I just had to get the wins to show everyone that I was at that level and I got got them and then that got me to cage Warriors and again and then like obviously cage Warriors is is one of the main routes to the UFC so when you're going through that period and you're doing well like were you thinking like a couple more fights you you could have potentially get there yeah that was that was the the plan like coming in uh same again like from a pro debut fighting someone like James the my amateurs like was whenever you whenever it did get so far I think every every amateur fight a lot of the amateur fights was near enough people with more experience of me but uh better fighters on paper than me so I was happy enough or people that were doing real well it's almost somewhere else or winning fights are on Wednesday so they're all good tests drawn like each one and it was kind of I've never said no to the first opponent that I've been given and it was given a list of opponents you'd pick the one with the best record it was never a case of like well Jones not he's a wrestler and that's that's the worst style of fighter for me to fight it was kind of what he's just make up a number eight and two but this place like 5-0 when he's a Striker date into his arrest I've given me the wrestler that's gonna give me the hardest test and that that's the way that we worked it pretty much and then I got to cage Warriors and then that's what put me in the arch I was offered away I think I was five and one I was after the fighter decent Striker that was three and one at the time and it's offered someone else that was maybe doing a five and three I was offered Stevie mobile that was 15 and 15 and three I think at the time or twelve and three at those our brain big numbers anyway and that's the fighter I picked because he was the one that would have got more recognition for myself and uh on the night he came out with a solid game plan and like stalked her game plan didn't win the fight but by no means whatsoever but he was able to hold me down enough to get the points that went on points any damage that was done any any shots that went on that were all by me I heard him badly in the first Exchange and tied on himself and he said from there he was just holding on to give me no space and he was able to stick this game plan and win and then that's where sort of leaves me now where I've taken the hardest fights possible and I've said it like in in the build up I'm gonna go out and make sure and look after my career but it's just something that I can't do it's give me the best fighter and I'll fight them don't I'll say like I'll take one or two fights to put myself back up and do this stay in the office on one that has a real good record or like a dangerous fight and I guess I could give me him I'd rather fight I'd rather do that there and give me something to get up and train in the morning then fighting so I'm done just to put a win on my record yeah because that's like especially that's well that's what the true fighting person is you just fight whoever it is it's not you take this or you take that but it's it's not how you talk about that fight now where he's just holding you down and you've done the damage it's mad how back then they used to actually score it kind of on holding down whereas now if that flight was now you would have won that because it's based on damage really now and it should that's it with the new new criteria yes that's the way it should be should be uh scored it is it's such a but then again back to the very first thing that I said that's my problem I don't like it doesn't it I left it to someone else's opinion John whenever used to fight the way the way Locker fighting for me is whenever you used to fight you never used one that fight used to always try and whenever you want to get in there fight you used to obviously but that you're right there to be at the life right or someone the body badly hurt someone that everyone knew that you're the one that won that you didn't have to ask anyone don't laugh that who I think I want to join like whenever whenever you get in there we go through every street fights you never had to ask your mate check I won that fight well it's close like hate on this and hate on that there it was usually just like no you talked ahead of him and that's the way you showed that's that's my mentality whenever it goes to fighting you should be out to try and take the head off the shoulders and same again choking someone unconscious or breaking their arms equally as good like you know so it's just something now that I've got back into the fall stranger but I'm just out the hard people don't like as badly as possible whether it is jokes on boys leg locks whatever or knock them out and and I think it's just as long as I win yeah no so obviously you're coming back with the Killer Instinct for this fight uh it's gonna be on the 4th November I can't wait for that fight because it's been a while since I last seen you uh the like since kind of the five win streak it's kind of been up and down uh like you I think it was two losses then two wins and like what's that like going to because you said there earlier like at your amtrophite when you didn't want to be winning and losing like that so like now how does it feel like is your mindset stronger to be in a position like that yeah there's like first of all you you caught up and believe in your own hype I came in fighting him I will think and I have one more win two more wins and that's that's I'm fighting for the world title and then I'm gone and then I've gone on to the UFC like through and you're looking too far ahead you don't don't you forget about what you should be doing then you come in and you're playing catch up and then you get the two losses you sort of think to yourself okay you have to win here and then whenever you do you do you get it done rightly and then get the two wins you're back on track you're back in your own head again covet happened and everything else and it was just a weird time whereas now like there's no [ __ ] where this father beats me there's no there's I just can't see how where how or when he's going to beat me Jonah so I'm out now with the same again with a chap on my shoulder in all my time of fighting whether it be any form I've never been dropped I've never been embarrassed as much in my life as having to pick myself up off the ground no one's down at me again don't like Dad has probably lit the fire under your horse to say like you it's time to [ __ ] up it's time to start winning again like yeah because I think I've spoken to you around that time and you said like even in a street fight or anything you've never been dropped or you've never been rocked in your life so like talks through like that first time happening in a fight like I wouldn't say it's embarrassing because it happens in the fight obviously I'm not a fighter so I can't understand your mentality um but like how did that feel in your head because like it was it was quite a serious knockout as well like you had issues then after with your your eye I think was it yeah yeah like Sam he he still didn't knock me out it was still as fully awake I switched off the button at just last part and face planted but I can remember hitting the ground I remember the conversation with myself to get myself back to my feet the doctors come in whatever ultimate and I was like boys I'll talk to you at the back [ __ ] family sitting here I'm not sitting like a garbage on the floor let trying to tell you that I'm okay and everything and getting up to show them I'm okay and that's me as he is at the back like you know uh it was a serious Andrea called Accord Tobias called a lovely shot hit me right in the eyeball damaged nerves behind me I busted blood vessels in behind me and then be sure you're true mentality though do you want to try and grab on and just try and survive are you gonna go out in your Shield and uh unfortunately it's gone out your Shield is the way I'll fight and I went forward talking to me in the face which broke my cheekbone and then a couple of shots and I left them ahead just trying to throw back and got turned the chin and that was that was that then [ __ ] hit the ground I remember going face down and remember sliding out thinking to myself you get the [ __ ] up here because this is this is ridiculous like it's embarrassing get up off the ground now and then as I said by the time referee stop the fight got back up and that was that day my head was clear again for there was nowhere from the first shot landed it took me two or three weeks before I could actually move like move me I from left to right so there's no way I was recovering in in the fight like you know especially with the style of fight as I said the way I wasn't going to play it safe and try and survive I was gonna scrub I was in the fight to fight like you know so I think it only could have went one way especially against the fighter like like him you know like it just wasn't wasn't my night yeah and then like with that injury and then that happened obviously you have a partner you've cared your family like were they like worried about you was there any like like obviously you're coming back to fight like was there any of the like worry about you going back fighting after that happened uh this is this is what it is there's no point in worrying so like I'll I talk whatever measure needed done to to get to make sure I was fit my healthy again before I got back properly training I've done whatever else that needed done to whatever the doctor said whatever rest and Recovery was needed whatever was done was done and uh that that's that's just needed done I don't I don't really care I like doing that they they know what I do they know what I've signed up for so that's that's that look yeah so you're going to be going over to London just talk to us about cage wires because I listened to an interview I think it was where um the last is severe and you were talking about like eating your chances for the UFC now are probably gone like what's your plan now is to go for the title and cage Warriors get that run back on again what's it like fighting cage always how they like to fight for and like what your experience is from it I I've known but good things to say about cage Warriors from from the matchmaking like to the way the shows run to the way you're looked after uh everything's just all positive for for from them for me like my plan is like as I said that cage Warriors World title is the way to the UFC but with uh with the sort of ratio of my record and my age the UFC probably is like called the speed of speed it probably is gone I'm getting too old I'm still young I'm still fresh but for the way the sports gone the UFC is not going to be taking someone in it's 30 doing like uh with with a split record so my goal is get that belt and then get someone that's going to start paying me don't like whether it be I don't know where wherever whenever coming in as a cage Warriors world champion that any other organization is a big thing like so uh that's that's my goal to get that battle first yeah because cage Warriors is held in such high esteem obviously it's probably uh the Top If not one of the top promotions on the European scene like look at who's come true they're to go into a different place so they come with that with your opponent coming up he said like there's no chance you're beating like you're back the fire's lit again like have you looked at him like how because we were talking earlier about game planning and for Amtrak you just kind of went in fought whoever you did there's no game plan how much game planning goes into a pro fight and how much of that actually comes off in the fight uh there does be there does be bits and pieces so there does uh I find I got I'd be more like I'm not a tax break fighter I learned how to fight by fighting don't like I don't need to do too much thinking on the spot and I'm making the right decisions at the right time is how I fight put a million game plans in place and do this and do that that I'm going to lose Jonah gets not it my head's going to be thinking too much instead of just reacting to what's happening I have watched them fight I've done whatever I've seen seen the fight seen the opponents he hasn't fought anyone like me not no one near the lava that I'm at no one near the scales that I'm at and it's going to be this is like my first fighting cage Warriors whenever I talk the person that was too experienced the only difference is I'm not like my first opponent I'm at the heart people so I'm gonna finish them yeah you're not going to hold them down you can go up and finish them and wait like because with with this with the style of fighting you've had some crazy finishes over over your time don't talk to us about any in particular that stand out that like that you really remember uh there was the fights that stand out to me the tournament is one that I liked because it was one where I just sort of didn't give a [ __ ] I was I remember actually the first fight went out before before us and uh there's two good like two good Fighters went out and the fell I thought that was going to win didn't but I didn't know that at the time I remember going like right deck you are going to be coming out with John will come back and get you whenever it's ready to go the first fight's just in the cage I don't have a two seconds to come back right back you're ready to go and I said what the [ __ ] and then he goes yeah that was the first round I used to building them in like 30 or 40 seconds and remember going oh [ __ ] so he's fresh like John I thought I actually thought the other father knocked the winner out I was like what happened he's like okay I'll submitted him so I was like [ __ ] right that wasn't ex back not at all so then I remember saying like I don't know what what I'm gonna do here because I have a tough test a good Striker and I was like this the if I if I kick him once wrong I ain't going in with more injuries than than Jonah this autofella has to be fresh because there's a submission under a minute there can't be many shots landed as such and uh I remember just saying oh [ __ ] I could just go just see what happens go out unlocking off within the first exchange first bit of the exchange I was able to land a good shot and then that saved me so that was that was a like a quick turnaround there as well and then got to the final and it was the same again I actually was able to get the strike in Stockbridge over someone the better Striker and was able to submit the father then in the final dronexwell was happy with with that and I thought it was time to time Pro but then probably what's like sort of pushed me back up to where I should be as a pro was was The Knockout in the Canal Court uh against gostab I'm starting to be drilled something we'd seen that he'd done and the first round was just getting the feel of the fight scene saying what mistakes he made and then the second round was gone for the finish and just managed the land that the the flying knee which then sort of went farther than popped my name back up there yeah that finished I guess that she gets shown a lot recently that was the last fight in Nori until you bro there was one there was one more after that uh sorry Damian Rooney he was making these uh he was retiring on this fight so he was so uh they were giving me the cage Warriors title oh not the cage Warrior showed the kids Legacy titled the fight and uh same again like the opponents were offered and they were taken in Hawaii he's only lost was the Mars Bernal he was eight and one on the verge of going to the UFC whatever raj96 off he's the yeah give me him Johnny Cash the father will fight for the for the title like and then he got like a split decision loss and on a bad call and pulled out a couple of weeks before the show so then from there I think we went through a rake of opponents anyway they were a cam I think there was four in the space of like wide instead of widens there from doing like of of the fight like and a French father talked the fight then it it wasn't uh it wasn't the 11th level of opponent that was needed but on three days you can't really have to take anyone it was still dangerous I think he was coming off a knockout a knockout win but he just wasn't at that level you know what I mean uh that was the last one I was massive I was in the Sports Center and that's what sort of made me think of running running on from when running my own promotion in the town whenever I realized what dronic what sorta what sort of way there is to earn things what sort of support there is in the town for me and for the other Fighters and whenever then I I went to cage Warriors no one no one was for coming back to Nuri because the way I look at it is if I was decided a couple of hundred tickets for the new ratio then obviously someone like cage Legacy is going to come back and they're going to stick then the Drone like the amateurs on the card as well are are like the pros that were below me because it's their Hometown but they're not going to come back if that mean ticket salary is not there Jonah gets too it's too risky like John would sorry you can't you're guaranteed the Saturday Tech is by putting me on the show and Yuri and then after that you get Jonah your other couple of couple hundred tickets sold by by everyone else so I was thinking like if I just make this show and get like the best fighters in Ireland fighting the best fighters in Ireland like past amateurs so everyone's sort of developing their career and then I just put a rake of the boys from the gym on it if each of them sell 10 or 15 tickets each which is a lot more Jonah durable than having one of them to sell Maybe 300. then that that adds up to me selling that massive amount John by myself so that that was the whole idea for the show was to get our boys fights in you know you keep the fights keep fights happening and Yuri grow the sport here don't get more people more more shows and you're more people on the off chance find it and then more people go training so it's like a a circle that was happening and then that's where the show came from it actually took off and It's gotta like we're only I think we're coming up the fifth show and like the credit that the show has got the the response from like every club and everything else it's not it's not a show where you get a title shot if you win or sorry you get a title shot if you sell 100 tickets it's a show that you get a title shot if you win two or three fights on it and you're one of the best in the country Jonah gets not how many tickets you're going to sell me right would you want a title shot that's that's got nothing got the road if you sell like uh it's one of the fellas that was was fought maybe two or three times in the show and within them two or three times no hanky sold 10 tickets and he's fighting for a title trying to get that's because he has beaten and proven himself to be that good and be like titled that title shot like that's where he should be I don't think politics should play in that as I said throughout my career I've seen it too much whereas my show isn't for like team Torres Fighters getting handy fights that there's the pad the record because it's going to do them no favors turning pro thrown again in whenever you turn pro obviously the first couple of fights you want to build yourself test yourself against the good Striker test yourself against a good Grappler test yourself against someone that's decent all around and then sort of put it all together so Johnny you're used to stick into your game plans you're used to doing whatever and then you know how to win fights so then you whenever you get to the bigger stage get them on the like the likes the cage Warriors or whatever else to make their money that they're able to stick the plans and beat beat people and yeah get the like get the early steps in and kind of get a feel for it because obviously there's the the rule changes the pro and then I'd say the feelings and stuff like that so wouldn't like actually go back to that like when you went from amateur Pro did it feel any different the like leading up the camper I think could get more intense was there any more nerves no no I like I stopped I think I was training Maybe started training September time I quit my job in December to Train full time and that's what it is I was doing and just quit my job sign on the Dole and was in the gym just the whole time anytime like if Sebastian was taking a PT I was the dummy for the PT if Damian was doing a strand Foundation I'd do strength conditioning with them if so I was getting like extra weight training by training with him I was getting extra Jiu Jitsu and by just being a dummy because it was there I was getting if Sebastian had a box on PT because he was fighting at the time if he needed a round or two off I get two or three rounds John had gone on pods with the boxing coach if if something happened I was just always there and just taking what I could get and then it ended up turning into something that worked out like you know so I talked to risk and uh it started to pay off like yeah yeah so that's what like I like what you said about because I seen that I think on on the last you're fighting championship like that like to fight solar mass that's what you like you your Fighters could have went zero zero on a I think in one show and I think one of them was 50 50 last time like said it's better matching them like that for for the pro and I like your attitude and the way you run it as well because like that I've got loads of feedback from Fighters saying they love fighting on your show because one they're not getting hassle for tickets uh and two like that if you've been on the show that's when you're going to get shot you're not just going to come in off not fighting at the show and get it so like how have you found like obviously you started it during covert as well so like talk about the difficulties of trying to put together everything in that because obviously your first time doing it you would have been around about trying to do it for the first time during covert must have been a difficult task it was because like a council the Hank three or four times and then uh it was actually Sebastian had said look through my needs something for for the fighters and then I was talking to friends I mean their own conditioning place that that it's raining and they had sort of run the idea past aim of doing like a peer-review stream if you've got 50 people in the crowd don't worry you're not making your money through ticket sales you're hoping that it works on Pay-per-view and and that the 50 50 people in the crowd like VAP ticket sort of thing you want to get a cop the pound in that way and then you have the venue was going to be a case of it was so big and empty that you could block bets off so if we had to if another rule or restriction came in that if we had to have like bits cordoned off that there's two fighters warming up and there's two in the cage and you sort of sort of circle around where you had like there's like two fighters getting ready two about to go on two fighting because you could down here up here and then in the cage when I can just struggle around and then get them out yeah you're sitting in the car waiting to fight and that was that was gonna be like the worst case scenario and lucky enough no no restrictions changed for the time so we were able to have the 50 people in we're able to have all the fighters out at the same time Joshua everything did stick go to plan as such but uh showing up on the day we were a stupid amount of money down on the pay-per-views like where the show was going to cost me a couple of grand and I can remember like that was that wasn't wasn't great but I said [ __ ] it trim a phone away and goes lock F say down there if we need to get more coverage for the Pay-Per-View come over give me a shout I'll give him a card they're trying to get the data or coverage or whatever was needed and then in the middle of the day come over and ask or not even the middle of their Bernardo and then he came over and asked from a killer and he's like happy days that means we've broke even so and then after that then it did at the show did all right I was able to put a couple of pound in the next one and a couple pound and the next one and then that's got us to where we are then we had our first show in the Canal Court in March nice to live in the first show in April and then our second one in June yeah yeah so uh we're only coming up there well being Maybe I don't know I was two years older it's not long anyway yeah there's been plenty plenty of shows like you know we were a council at one in the summer it just didn't work out uh but it didn't seem again I didn't want to do it this is the show is for Fighters it's not I'm not going to run a show and then cancel it like one or two weeks out if if the show needs canceled it'll be done in 10 weeks if the show doesn't need canceled the show won't be canceled I don't like so it's 1am ones that there is people at book shows and they'll just book a load of dates and they don't know which one of the dates is going to stay yeah anytime for the three or four shows have happened per year that's whenever they're going to happen whenever I say they're going to happen is when they're going to happen and if they don't happen then there'll be plenty of notice given unless something crazy happens the world again what you think of the scene right now at amateur it's brilliant like the level it's like watching it's hard to it's hard to like call thermometers don't like back like years ago you would have seen like you would have seen a clear change between the amateurs and the pros but neither they're not like it's just the real side that they're fighting on they're not trying to get them experienced some of the amateurs are better than the pros don't like uh just across the board like you know some some of the some of the amateur fights like turn into fights with the like doing like Irish fights of the Year during the pro war amateur doesn't matter what it is like the time arshin and Taylor Quinn fought like that like a fight of the year and that's that's two amateurs fight in general like so it there's no it's brilliant for for a promoter if that's what you want to call me make and fights because with with that sort of the selection of talent that's there as ridiculous like so it is it's it's it makes makes making fights an awful lot easier drone like if the employees are like that are two or three and oh are drawn like whatever that are able to fight boys that are maybe eight and five and join like that that doesn't mean that the fellow with all the experience is going to win or Jonah gets it so it's it makes it a wee bit more interesting like yeah it's the Taylor coin and Oceano is going to bring up because when most people watch fights especially well more so casual people they want the fight to stand up I think everybody in the place was like when the children were standing up we were all like no get back out because it just went from Reversal to reversal it was like it was like a leg lock an arm bar a triangle that like that was a crazy fight another fight that Springs to mind is Xavier Rooney versus Aaron Henry was another fantastic fight um Dennis ping pong Solomon was another fight so like the way the talent I think is quite good here and like you said quite a few people in the scene have said that they reckon that the higher level amateurs are a lot better than the pros in some other countries so um coming up with your next card you've got some nice fights on it now bear in mind this is recorded a while in advance so some of these fights might change if it's at least like um you've got the tournament which is which is quite exciting that's coming back um because you tried to do one before and only Max and mag I think signed up for maximum Aaron or Max and Aaron yeah uh yeah so like the card and I were finally able to start getting more profits on like we've built a sort of Base enough that we have three Pro fights to finish it off we have the four-man tournament uh ornaments dropped out of it and uh just with different commitments he couldn't he just couldn't make the date and he he taxed me privately to let me know and that's what commitments do come he's only an amateur I'm not paying him so I can't expect him to the rest of losing his job to show up for his what's a hobby at the minute to him like you know so we got a replacement in Craig mcgarrett which is he just paid almonds so that's makes it even better again then you know uh who has do we have a couple of different title fights on uh kind of I think yeah Connor's fighting Jazz no no no Conor's fighting Liam Jess is fighting Paul Buckley uh Connor I'm looking forward to Connor and Liam really Liam stays good like he's entertaining so he is and Conor's been on a tower as well so that that's a good fight it's a fight that I wanted to make a while back but for different things it just didn't happen worries now now it's come come about uh Paul Buckley and Jess has been on a tire and Paul's Paul solo like Paul really the the Wilder Way about was was for Paul it was meant to be Paul and Connor but Connor is dropping down we're trying to get closer to lightweight so it'd be interesting I'd get pauled back on the card these are two good wins back in the show as far as the two good wins uh Elvis is back he's fighting Ronan Deegan it's a solid solid Grappler but Elvis Elvis locked unbeatable like against I've I train like I train with our team I've trained them a long time and I've never seen anyone even come close to do that to him so I've seen him getting into Wars with some big big Fighters you know some big Big Fellas that have like [ __ ] solid fighting records and whatever and like 19 Action comes off on top like you know I've never seen someone just come out and mole them like that like to know so uh product or credit Street out of us like throwing up was I was a brilliant performance over someone as good as you know like as I've seen it because I know firsthand how good Russian is uh but that'll be at ronan's this will be the first real solid Grappler that that Elvis joined like the proper proper Grappler like that Elvis will come up against that makes it a wee bit more interesting because a lot of Elvis's winds are from ground and pound I'm just modeling people and ground and behind them so be looking forward to seeing what happens there uh who else is there you're able to get a couple of a couple of the ladies on the card as well this time because it's kind of hard is it hard to match them in Ireland because because there's a different weight class and stuff you don't see as many fights um yeah there's just not just numbers there's not as many as them John like if there's I don't know how many girls are actually actively fighting in Ireland but let's say there's they'll probably get shot for this but let's say there's 12 to 15 actively fighting if that's going to be hard to match because then you have to say what's their experience what where did the fight not don't like what yeah don't like there's so many more words like fall as you near enough get that amount of people in one group yeah do you know like the the girls are more like the equivalent that have you made males don't like there's not that many like heavyweights and light heavy weights so they're harder just to find opponents for yeah uh just down the numbers but uh Sarah she's been I think she's been on the show now twice maybe she's been on the two shows in the canal yeah she's been on Place uh and Raquel had a good win at yeah she she's she's been on the show twice as well so there's uh anyone that works with anyone that works with me and jonath does whatever I'll I'll happily help them out as well John EXO 30 girls that have like showed up for done whatever was asked of the major like for for the show and they're more than welcome to come back anytime they want like John and I give any time you make the show first of all you have to look after the people that have looked after me without the fighters there's no show so like if I was just to say like for toxic if there's a girl comes along that sells more tickets than Sarah or Ricketts and I I'm not going to match her now I'm going to match this girl because she's going to sell me more tickets that the show won't be too long crumbling because you'll eventually run out of paper like that so I think if I look after everyone than trying to get there look after you like trying out their shoulder like so if we're in this together whereas here's your platforms if I go wherever else you want to fight as well if you get a fight somewhere else take that there and hopefully you come out of it on ski if it's an amateur thing I'm not paying you so I can't expect you to be though hopefully you can wear that on skiers and you can fight in my show never mind like there's amateur shows out there that like are 30 and 40 days no competition before that uh the fight which is which just isn't right don't like so uh what mine if if you use look after these look after the show do what these are asked bad look after you know happily have his back whenever yeah because obviously that comes from being a fighter yourself and then obviously being on different shows and seeing how it's running obviously you're treating people how you'd want to be treated coming into a show and like what you said with the like treating people like that like if you do that to Fighters you're breaking relationships with gyms then as well and then once you lose the gym you lose the fights from their gym so like it's going really well I'm really looking forward to this one on 27th um 27th November obviously the tickets are the tickets out yet no I just had to pack them up so it's uh the beach and I don't know when I was going to say you know a certain theater yeah yeah whenever the tickets come out we'll we'll obviously share a link to be on decky's link it'll be in uh your Fighting Championship so um just uh I'm going to wrap it up but just to reflect back on your career Two like I I know I asked you about any fights that stood out like I just want to ask you like is there a fight that like one of your losses is there anything that you've really learned from it's not a way when you say amateurs do you need to learn from their losses there any fight that really changed you was it that James fight no I say it would be the it'd be the second loss as an amateur whenever I had to sort of kick myself into gear not to not to lose anymore as an amateur uh people say you learn you learn from losses and you gain it you learn from women as well so like I'm not I personally I don't want to be a fighter that learns from his losses I learned from the wins so like I can just keep adding and adding an Arden uh the last fight was probably probably one of them ones that right your Chin's not made a ground like you can get clapped so that's that's all I've taken from it that's the only learning curve trying to like you can get dropped you can't get hurt so uh and and then 12 to 14 amateur fights in 13 12 Pro fights as well and Care One fights karate much whatever it's the first time it was hard to run like so that's the first time someone's actually happened I've been like Chris has done a bit of damage so yes that sorta things gone now so now just after I had to be a bit smarter again start to go back to the way I used to be done like I don't get paid to get punched I get paid to beat people up I don't like so that's the way that's the only thing I'm taking from taken from that and every other every other learning curve I'm going to have is from winds perfect perfect and to some like once you're finished you're retired uh from fighting and obviously you're gonna still be running the show whatever what would you want people to remember you for true fight in our true even as a person uh people are very quick to forget so just as long as I'm I stay happy and true to myself don't I can do I get in this year to fight the best fighters and that's and I'm going to show up and fight whether people care or people don't care it doesn't doesn't really bother me John like I as long as I know myself I didn't shed it and run away from one fight or you know I talked the hardest challenge that it was given and I took the at this stage I was given this by on whatever notice and I didn't trying to get that stepped up and I thought that fella that's that's what that's what it's about for me as I said people are very very quick to forget and very very quick to jump on the bandwagon so for as long as I'm happy my ones are happy my mates joining my family and my mates all sort of I can say I like air for Kentucky did do this you're only trying to give it a good goal and he done whatever and he [ __ ] he put everything in it that's all that matters whatever the the Casual Outsider says as I said half of them are probably hate you just for doing what you're enjoying and doing throwing the other half or jump on the bomb wagon when you're doing well but the same boys will jump straight back off it as soon as something happens like yeah because it is quite it's it's a very uh what have you done for me lately sport yeah if you if if your last one which is which is which is quite sad considering a lot of these people who are like that have never fought in their life and don't understand what you got you on a daily never mind like they just see the fight at the time they don't see the years that you put into this um I can let you go on thank you so much for your time I've really enjoyed this talk thank you very much we'll see each other again soon very soon