Michael Shields interview

Ringkasan

Michael will compete at Cage conflict for the featherweight championship to try to claim another belt. We speak about his camp, the buzz in the gym and what it would mean to win the belt in front of his home crowd

Transkrip (youtube_captions)

[Music] so another fight week another cage conflict we have Michael shield with us here today fantastic young fighter he already holds a belt at your fighting championship for fedway he's looking to take this vacant one and if I correct me if I'm wrong this will be the second one if you are successful to to take from not take from but be passed from Tian Lan yeah well second off from t locker but Cory had it last and Cory had it in February and then tan had it before that so yeah tan well tan wasn't the last person to have it Cory was okay before that it was turn okay but is another is another title fight how are you feeling how's fight week uh how's fight week for you because your 12 fights in you must be it must be just kind of natural to you now I well I'm just used to it now it just feels like another sort of week sort of used to doing all this like so I enjoy F we like it just means all the training is done you can just sort of focus on getting the weight down and have a few like part sessions some like things focus on recovery I enjoy F like probably the best week of Camp be honest how hard is it to switch off because obviously you're going at 100 like 100 degrees like you're going flat out and then just to stop and relax but you you said you like you like it so do you obviously enjoy just the wind and down the cam before the storm sort of a thing is it uh well some people would go in the F week and they would be like they would continue training hard because like it's like a Mally like they're Mally dirting yourself that they haven't done enough whereas I'm just I just don't mind just chilling all day pretty much and just doing a bit of recovery some PS bit of leg grappling because I know like for the past 8 10 weeks I've trained my our off and just train as hard as I possibly can so I'm just having enough to just sort of chill out on think we can just really not do much because I know from the weeks and weeks before that have trained so hard that I can't and have no like doubts in my mind at all that I haven't trained yeah like that takes maturity as well to to know when to switch off and know when your body needs to rest whereas like you said a lot of other people might feel like they've not done enough you obvious with the gym you're in I've seen the levels of the training in that gym is it's just is scary what's like what's the gym like at at the moment obviously tan just came back from his or he just had his fight which in the first round he's in trouble you seen fight IQ to be a to change the game plan and and switch it up what's the buzz like in the gym now because there just seems to be more people going there like if Damen mcg's going pro you've just got so many killers there what's what's it like at the minute no J buz it uh probably the best it's ever it's ever been in the history of it like um obviously Paul the all we winning uh Daman turn and pro Cory two pro debut this weekend uh just a p then P's fighting in a few weeks J Burns was fighting just sort of there's a lot going on I mean but it's just really exciting times like yeah it is like the G is just going from strength to strength and and you can see that with the talent that's come out and and you're one of the talents and you're looking to pick up a a belt obviously you're going to be facing Julian I believe this was a fight that was supposed to happen late last year it didn't happen is this a fight you've been looking forward to and and putting yourself against someone like Julian oh I definitely have been looking at for this fight for a while I um just been unfortunately he's pulled out like [ __ ] three times I don't many times it's been it's been a couple times he pulled out so um let's just actually makes it their fight on Saturday here because he's pulled it a few times so I'm praying he just sticks to it and just makes it there but uh I've been looking for this fight for a while um because I read him I think Julian's good but just been hard getting to the fight with him and and what is I actually was at one of the K's conflicts and I was I think he was fighting was a Kevin K maybe and I seen you there watching like is he someone that you've looked at and said like you said you rate him and you want to test yourself against like um what is it about Julian more so or is it you I know you take on anyone but obviously he's caught your attention uh no there's nothing really about him that I want to fight him for it's just like just because he has some good wins and you know he's he fights have a good gym my weight class mean it just sort of makes sense to fight him and just the fact that been scheduled to fight him a few times before just want to B him get it over and done with you know I mean yeah know I I think it's a fantastic match up like I said two fantastic fighters from two very good gyms and an on cage conflict how does it feel to be coming back fighting conflict you've had a couple on your Fighting Championship obviously because you're the champ what's it like being a cage conflict you're going to be making that walk you're going to have everyone there you had good support though at your Fighting Championship as well but being in the devonish that's does that feel like home no it's just a it's a different typ of buzz like it not it really is uh I missed the last one that was the first one I'd missed in like [ __ ] three years or something had my case conflict in ases going to the show and that fight on it was been like like I prefer fight on it um but no be fighting again this weekend like it's uh just so hardly as well like I only live 30 seconds away from d like I literally I could walk to the D in about 10 minutes not even Jordan as well so it's just so handy like I can just chill in bed all day before the fighting and head down and how much easier sorry go ahead and just the atmosphere well have as well just just different like it's just does so much better I think the the atmosphere in the devonish is is nothing like I've ever felt before it's just it's it's like a controlled kind of chaos it's it's just everyone's so invested but we obviously be def said you're so close how like do you prefer that that you don't have to do all the traveling that you can kind of just relax more so rather than having to be somewhere at certain time you have to wait obviously you're going to be on later on on the card and when you're like that on your obviously you might have to come early to get your Medicals and stuff whereas now you can go do that go home is it better for you like that that you can kind of just relax and you're so close do you prefer that oh definitely uh drive down the at 1:00 in the day is not IDE like whenever you're not fighting till 8 but um no it's just so much handier like I can just chill in the house and just play my PlayStation and order some food and just relax on I mean then head down like two hours before get my hands wrapped get warmed up and then just go fight I mean there's no sitting about waiting to get your hands wrapped or like having to watch loads of fights you can just head down get your hands wrapped bom and that's it done mean yeah know it's it's like that it's a good show and obviously if you were successful to to win this belt you'd hold the belt here and you'd hold the belt in your and then I you defended your belt before I think a lot of people say amateur titles sometimes they go it doesn't mean much but when there someone like you that defends them I think it brings a lot more meaning would you be looking to defend both of them on both of the shows because I know now they're a little bit spread apart that you would be able to do is it something you'd be looking to do try to pick up as many belts and and continue defending them oh yeah definitely um what's like I don't really see a point in win the belt and then not defend it and you know it's just you also just have to give other people opportunities as well like you can't just be holding up a whole like one you're holding up a card like somebody could be filling a card and you're choosing not to F whenever you have a belt and two I know it's just why would you not just want to defend your belt you know I mean you're just you're just getting more experience so I don't know I would I want to defend the Bel like well depend on what happens after these two I don't know but I would want to I'll definitely would defend them like I'll not be sitting about fighting on other shows or unless it's for another belt obviously yeah because I think obviously when you have the belt the best kind of people in the division will want a shot at that belt and then you're getting experience then of the best guys whatever the result may be or whatever the outcome you're going to be fighting the best guys from that Division and it's only going to benefit you so I I like the fact you want to defend them because a lot of people like to just pick them up and kind of just add them to the resume to look good going into Pro but I what you're doing brings a bit more meaning to the bels in my opinion yeah definitely yeah so obviously you've got this show we're not going to be looking past Julian obviously but uh like will this be your last fight of the year or will you be closing out on another show or oh sure I F on I against uh J Grant as well oh that's a cracker as well the fan in the belt against him on I uh so but to be honest I'm not really thinking about that right now I'm just sort of focused on the fight this weekend like I really haven't thought I got a mat a couple weeks ago with him and unless somebody mentions it to me it's like a it's not even on my head honestly it's really not so just go through this one of the weekend and I'll obviously think about that one a bit more I've actually you know I've never actually watched them fight like I have no idea what like I've literally never watched them fight like I know he's from what heard he's a Grappler which s me great but um then I've never watched them fight yeah so that that's all going to be in once you said like once uh this fight this weekend's out way and you can focus on the next one do you think obviously when people have fights like that lined up do you think sometimes people might get too involved in what's next what's next and was that something you ever done and that's why you're concentrating just on the task in hand now um I really I didn't him I ever had fate sort of back toback the world was like I had a fate and then got matched the week after then thing so I've never actually had two fights like confirmed for a few weeks after but so now it's just just the way it has been it's just the way like it just works in my head like been focus on something that's not coming up soon or well it's coming up soon but like got something else to uh focus on right now so I'll get three out first and then I'll focus on what else what us next yeah and then obviously with Julian we know the kind of way Julian fights um do you have a set game plan obviously I don't want you to give away your game plan but have you looked at the way he fights and and how you're going to counter counteract what he does and how you're going to implement your game have have you got a road to Victory planned out already with like ofat and shando Adam and the rest of the coaches oh yeah yeah we have a very like specific game plan we know exactly he's going to try to do like it's we' got it completely clear in like uh but I'm not going to say anything obviously but we've we've got a good game plan sort of um I and in terms of the game planning do you like to get involved uh as much as you can or do you kind of leave that to the coaches and you just you just work on your training and and improving what your your skill set um well just sort of depends what like sash I'm doing like if I was the hidden pods withut on Friday I with h p with Adam um like a few weeks ago whenever I first got matched with Julian or no whenever my Camp started about seven weeks ago uh like usually have hit PS for an hour but we just sat down and watched all his fights for like 40 minutes and like sort of played about with some positions and just sort of worked out like what we're going to work off and and then obviously the weeks after that we've been building off what which spoke about the week after or the week before um where sessions like that there are a lot more like tailored around like game planning um and then some other sessions are just making sure you're fit so a whole like structured to but no uh we've got a good game plan s for it's a well structured one yeah and I like that you always come in with a game plan like we've seen previously you can change the game plan during the fights and your coaches are good enough to do that we've talked about the devonish and how good of a venue it is and how much it's like home to how much would it mean to win that belt there um in front of everyone like what kind of a feeling would that be obviously you have the belt from your but this would be a little bit more special I would presume oh yeah definitely I've been Wan this Bel when I was like 14 15 from before I really had a 1 fight people were fighting for that belt for that white cage conflict belt and it was like I used to fight lwe when I was like a bit younger and I was like I want that L belt like it's all I wanted um and see now I have the opportunity to go and get it like it I have never trained as hard hard for a fight ever like I didn't even think I could train that hard um was just I swear to God nothing literally like means more to me right now I win in this belt like it is literally everything to me to win just just to win this belt my not sounds so stupid not it's literally just an amateur fighting blah blah blah but swear to God uh I've never trained this hard for anything in my life and I just want to win this batt so so badly because I wanted it from was a kid and I had and then I got matched with the opportunity to get it about 12 weeks ago so it's like I have to just go all in like complete I've always R all in for C but like this time was just a bit different the belt is just like the extra the extra bit of motivation you want to get that you want to be there in front of your friends and and like that you've got a very good competitor in in front you as well and with the you talk about the white belt I was always wondering about this they have the different belts for the different kind of like novice amateur and thing is it red and is it green then for the thing I always I I assume that but I never asked the question but now I know um I'm G to let you go I want to thank you so much for your time is there anything you want to say before you go I want to wish you the best of luck this weekend and thank you very much for your time on fight week because I know you're quite busy I'm not busy all I my PlayStation uh no that's everything thank you bro thank you for having me on yeah no it's been an absolute pleasure uh we're having these more and more and I think we should have one before every fight that you do have it's always a pleasure talk sh and just hearing and seeing how you improve uh every time I go to see a fight it's a pleasure so I will talk to you on Saturday I will be going there I just need to sort out my travel arrangements and see who I'm going with but I can't wait to see you there on Saturday 100% bro thank you very much for having me on Cheers thank you my pleasure