Tom Buckley interview

Ringkasan

Tom Buckley is an amateur fighter, representing Samson martial arts under the Tutelage of Dylan Sheehan With a record of 5-1 he competes for the first ever Wrath featherweight championship in a rematch to avenge his only loss to date. We speak about the fight coming up plus more

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Kind: captions Language: en Okay, so I'm here with Mr. Thomas Bley, someone that I've had my eye on for the past year. He's done very, very well. Uh, we have him on Raph Fighting Championship. We have him in a rematch against someone he lost. So, this is something that he'll want to get back. It's a chance for us, I keep saying US is more Arno show, but obviously I'm part of it to to crown a first champion in this weight class and then for these two guys, it's the first time for them to be able to win this belt. Uh, so it's a little bit of history for everyone involved. Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, it isn't a huge bit, but it means a lot to the people involved. Thank you very much for joining me. I really appreciate your time, especially fight week. How are you feeling going into this week? >> I'm feeling good. Feeling good as usual. I'm feeling calm. Uh this week is just about the weight cut and just sharpening the tools or whatever. I was just in the gym. I'm just coming back from the gym there, whatever. Just going over some fight tactics or strategies or whatever. Like just just just keeping sharp really. Like just I've been training I've been I've been in camp basically since before the last fight. you know yourself about the the last fight that got cancelled or whatever. Like I've been in camp since before that. So, it's been for about a few months like but uh I never really I never really stopped training anyway after the fight. I might take a couple days break but um no I'm feeling good feeling feeling loose, feeling good in the head as well. So, I'm looking forward to this. Yeah, that that's always a positive going in because I think mentally as well people overlook the mental side of things and and having your your mind fresh going into a fight because there's so many things that are involved in an event getting ready but you've had a good few fights now so obviously you can manage them better. >> Um coming into this week obviously Joe you're going 100 miles like you said you haven't stopped training you're going 100 miles an hour and then the week of the fight you have to kind of just concentrate on the way cut and stop the race. How hard is that to kind of switch off and go to that mode or is it something that you've obviously managed over over the course of your career so far? >> I I have kind of gotten used to it a small bit, but it's still still never easy. You know, I still get the the jitters to go out and train, but I mean like when you're training for three hours there, whatever, six days a week, whatever, you know, you it's hard to shut off. like it can be hard but um I mean once the fight comes around I'm usually fairly relaxed anyway you know once I know it's around the corner once I know it's there in a few days and I'm usually I'm usually good for that like I can kind of switch off and I do lots of meditation or whatever I I practice stuff like that now to kind of stay calm during the week or whatever like and just I just kind of visualize the shots or whatever I just kind of make little pictures in my head of the way I want to be like and I I kind of get that feeling of how I want to feel going in and how I want to feel after it when I when I win or whatever. But it's just those things I kind of mainly focus on during the week. I obviously stay sharp as well. I have to stay moving during the week as well. Like I stay stretching and hitting pads or hitting the bag or whatever. But yeah, it is important to kind of wind down as well. Like that's something that should be done. >> Yeah. And especially obviously you're able to manage that with the different things. cuz I like the meditation cuz if you put your headphones on, take all distractions away, it it's actually mad how good you feel after even just 20 minutes or 15 minutes or something like that. You get to clear your head >> and it's really good. So that's obviously advice that could be passed on to to other people >> when they're going 100 miles an hour. Um, how do you feel about fighting for the belt? Obviously we know what happened with the last one. I think you were were you a title shot with the performances you've had. How does it feel to be fighting and potentially have the chance to become the first champion in the weight division for for that promotion of RAT? >> It feels really exciting to be honest. This is um this is a good opportunity for me now. I've been How long has it been now? I've been amateur MMA about two years or something like that which has which isn't too long but then about a year before that I was competing my Thai. So I actually haven't been in the game that long. I might I may be training about three or four years. So to be getting these kind of shots now and these opportunities even just two years into fighting amateur or whatever like it's it's it's really good. It's a it's a good sign, you know. It's a good sign for me and uh it's motivating as well. Like >> yeah, it's good. Like I said, you're someone you're very elusive. I like your footwork. Obviously, that comes from the the M Thai and uh your takedown defense is very good as well. Like you're good in all areas. Obviously, as time goes on, that'll get better [clears throat] and better. But what I've noticed is you're just your striking style is so easy to watch and so like beautiful to watch if you get me. Um so I'm really looking forward to this fight. Obviously, you've got an opponent you faced before and and you've lost. From that fight for you and him, obviously you both have come on leaps and bounds. How are you expecting this fight to go? Are we going to see two different fighters than the first comp contest? >> I think uh speaking on behalf of me anyway, I will definitely be different going in there this time around. Um yeah, look, we I made a mistake. uh mistakes happen or whatever. Like I might have switched off there. And then in the last one, uh I thought I I was probably doing decent enough, but then again, I was I was missing some shots. I was kind of throwing stuff here and there. I just want to be a bit more precise now, have a bit more precision with what I'm doing in this kind of fight, you know? I want to not just throw stuff for the sake of it. I want to kind of throw stuff with meaning to have have meaning behind it. And um yeah, look to go out there. Look to go out there. I know it's I know it's um a sport, but you have to go out there and look to hurts as well. That's what I That's what I want to do this weekend is to go and look to put some damage on or inflict some damage on them. >> Yeah, cuz cuz he's going to be looking to inflict damage on you. So, um of course >> that's that's the name of the game. But that's what I love about this is the respect after like it's mad people outside MMA don't can't fathom that the two might become friendly after this or train together. Do you know that? Obviously, you're not saying that happen, but that does happen. you've seen it happen and people just like they they don't get it. But that's what I love about the sport. You could beat the head off each other for 9 minutes or whatever it is and then at the end of it go for a pipe after you know the sort of way. I think >> I know. Yeah. >> There's not like a pipe after a fight I'd say cuz you both know what you've both put into it cuz you both obviously you've come to win and that's the unfortunate thing is someone does have to lose but in terms of obviously because you have faced them you kind of know a few things but in terms of looking at your opponent do you do that? Let deal and Kieran do that or or what way does that work with yourself? >> Um do you mean like kind of studying your opponent is or >> Yeah. Yeah. I would I would do some of that myself. All right. It's kind of it is necessary especially as you're going up the going up the ranks and stuff and >> people have their own styles in place and people have their own things that they like to do. Maybe as you're just starting out and there's not much there's not as much footage around or your opponent doesn't have as much fights or whatever you can't really do it like. But at this stage when you're moving up, it kind of is. It is important. And uh yeah, my coaches, my coaches now, Dylan and Kieran, they they'd be watching, they'd be watching my opponent's fights. They'd be analyzing, they'd be telling me stuff to do, what shots are there, what shots are available, what not to do, like what he might do on me as well. But, uh, it is important. But then again, then again, I don't get too obsessed with that either, you know. I just focus on what I'm good at as well. Like I don't focus too much on the other person either, you know. It's a it's a bit of a balance thing, you know. You have to get a bit of a balance with it. But um >> yeah, there's a lot of fighters say to me if they if they look into them, they get obsessed and then it kind of like it they it gets into their own head and like >> Sorry, go ahead. >> It affects it affects your own kind of it affects your own game then. Do you know what I if you get too obsessed with them and you might be put on the back foot only thinking about what they're doing and stuff like but um no it's it's it's like cuz once you get in there anyway whatever plan you kind of make anyway it just kind of for the most part it goes out the window I mean you can you can have stuff in your head that you want to do like but once you're in there it's kind of just blank slate you know do what you can do you have to you have to react in the moment like you have to be good at that stuff as well like to to just react in the moment as if you as if you were just landed there you know as if you were just landing in the case of that moment, no prior notice or no prior anything any knowledge or anything. You have to you have to be able to kind of act in that area as well, you know. >> Yeah. Because because obviously your team will have and that's where fight IQ comes in and good corner work comes in as well because like that you could have a game plan and then he could actually come out a lot different than you expected and then it's >> exactly >> you have to manage that at the time which is also very hard but you've got two really good minds behind you in the corner as well that can see obviously the whole picture whereas you can see what's in front of you but they can see where he's leaving his legs maybe for takedowns or whatever. So >> exactly >> it's a really good fight. I'm really looking forward to it. Like I said, I didn't match this one, but when I got brought on board to match, I actually sent it to them. H So, it was good to see we were on the same length. I think you well deserve the title shot, and I think obviously there's a chance redemption. So, I think there's like a really good story behind it, and I'm really looking forward to obviously I'm going to call this this fight is as well. Um, and I'm really looking forward to that. But I'm going to let you go. I want to thank you so much for your time. Is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out? The floor is yours. Um, no, just shout out to my gym, I suppose. Shout out to Samson, my coaches, all the lads that have helped me um along the way so far. Anyway, like it's it's far from over anyway. Like, but the so far who who's ever whoever has um helped me shout to them and um yeah, I'm looking forward to this fight. Tune in. It's going to be a good one and I'm going to get that win and bring that belt back. >> You know, I can't wait to see fight. Can't wait to call your fight uh and see you again in person. It' be a pleasure. Thank you very much, Tom. And enjoy your evening. >> Thanks. Thank you for supporting me as well.