Taylor De Khors interview

Ringkasan

Taylor De Khors is an amateur MMA fighter representing Team Ryano with a 1-0 record after winning his debut in fantastic fashion on @iurfightingchampionship8027 and will compete there again on the 22nd of November, we speak about his journey into martial arts, his debut, being…

Transkrip (youtube_captions)

Okay, it's my absolute pleasure to have Taylor DeCourse here with me today. He's someone I've heard about for a long, long time. He fought on your fine chance before and he's going to be fighting on it again on the upcoming card as well. Thank you so much for joining me. How are you feeling? You made a bit of a splash. There was a lot of noise about you when you made your first fight when you when you competed in your first fight and then you won it in really, really good fashion against a really, really good gym who I believe don't get the credit they deserve. Thanks for joining me and how did it feel to your amateur debut have a have a win like that against such a well-respected gym? >> Yeah, thanks very much for having me on. It was great like to be honest with you like like the whole like it was great Jamie like I could I couldn't have imagined it being better like I I went for a flying triangle in the fourth round and I'm kind of happy I didn't hit cuz I liked you know just getting the experience in the cage like even after you were saying to me like it's good that you were in there for going to the third round like and there was there was a few different things that happened in the fight that you know you find a you find out a lot about yourself when you're when you're in there you know like cuz in the second round I I took a knee and me teeth like them two bottom teeth went back and basically like so I like obviously like that was a lot to play out of your head but I still went out there and won like finished him in the third round but yeah I would just found out what like how much I wanted it and that so it was it was a good and it was it was a lot of people there supporting me and very thankful for everyone that I have around me so it was great. >> Yeah, it was and it was a fantastic and like I said I think I think it's mad people like when I seen Renato my corner when he finished someone he stopped him really early and he was like I wanted to fight more and he might have said why did you stop me then? But >> [laughter] >> like I think it's good getting that experience you have you plenty of time to get more experience as well and like I said you're someone that cuz I'd [snorts] have I'd be close to a couple of people in your gym and they've kind of said your name to me Do you know what I mean? So, I said, "Look Look at this lad coming up." But, after you got that fight, you Have you been fighting hard cuz I tried to match you. I'm not going to lie on the show, and I found it quite hard to match you. Are you finding much of that yourself that you're being hard to match? >> To be honest with you, it's like it's the start of the amateur career. So, like I'm just saying like whenever Hughie says to me like a name or like it's always yeah. I've I never like Even right now I have a fight coming up on the 22nd, and I think the fellow's name's Ben. Like I don't I don't look into me opponents. I I like like Hughie looks into them, and you know like comes up with a game plan, but like I don't. I just I want to fight the best people I can, so that's why. Anyone. That's That's That's the side I like. I think you have to have that attitude as a fighter. A lot of people like to, you know, fight people that they know they're going to be or like like as an amateur you're meant to fight the best. That's why. That's where my head's at. I want to be fighting the best in Europe, so that's whoever. Like that's why I just take any fight I can. I just say yeah. >> And I love that as well, and I You made a good point there. You made a couple of good points, and I'm going to uh just ask you about them about your mindset. And obviously with the the fighting better people I think is like an amateur because when you go pro, the only person that's going to remember your amateur record is you, your family, and me. Do you know what I mean? Do you know what I mean? >> Yeah, exactly. Yeah. >> Fight them now. Make Like if you look at Kieran Clark's going to kill me. I used him as an excuse. He was 13 and 10, but he went 10 and 0, 11 and 0. >> Yeah, definitely. >> Callahan had a losing record. He went 5 and 0, 6 and 0 in Combate Combate Global. Like these You'd rather be taking the losses Not that you'd ever want to take losses, but you'd rather have that amateur and learn, and and then you're fully prepared. Like Lewis Byrne, for example, you would not look at I know obviously he was unsuccessful in his last fight, but like when he went pro, he was such a different fighter. But, in terms of looking at the fighters as well, you were saying you just let Hughie look at them. Little hooker. I love Hughie. Uh Do you So, is was that a conscious thing? You just want to go out and impose your style cuz you think if you did look at them, you might get too wrapped up in what they're going going as opposed to is your style as a fighter in the fight. >> To be honest with you since I'm a kid like I'm fighting like I'm fighting since I'm four, so I've never like see when you're a kid and like that you never know who you're going to fight, so we just I'm just so used to have been like that that like obviously it's good to look into what your opponent's going to do, but that's what you we do for me like he's be he tells me like here this way he's going to try and then you know and brings in the sparring with me and he's a grand like I think he has a great mind for MMA like he's he's so like it's it's mad like how how how good he is at MMA, so we like learn a lot from him and then he's constantly just saying like here so this jump is going to this jump is going to shoot on you or this jump is going to so I'm just constantly just let put me trust in you and everything's goes good from there. >> Yeah, no it it does go good and one of the things I want to ask as well obviously being in Team Ryano and you see the likes of Lewis doing well. You've got the Sheahan brothers, uh Solomon and Simon obviously he's Waterford but he trains up there for the pro he does camps and stuff up there. What's it like being around these people and seeing them in the likes of Cage Warriors and winning fights and doing well? Does that then inspire you and and show to you like this is touch and touch and distance if I just kind of stick to the process? >> Yeah, it's a mad like since I'm since I'm a kid I've like you know I've always I've always wanted to be in the UFC. I've always saw myself as going to the UFC, but just watching them like even Saul holding the the Cage Warriors title that was just amazing like and even even watching him send with the amateur records and I looking at Saul's amateur record and you look at and say like what I don't I don't know what he what but he hadn't he like he had a good few loss in his record and you'd be thinking oh and then but then he goes on to win the European title number one like number one Europe. It was amazing to see like obviously he's he had them two losses but against two tough guys these are the levels in it as well there recently, but it's it's great like you can actually see how uh how the pro athletes like you know how they're training for their fights and how they're getting ready for it and like you know the work they're already doing is correct and when you see them going out and performing, so it's great. Yeah. >> Yeah, it is that that Saul I know solo and it was just unfortunate that he obviously then he lost the last one against Kenny who I think not that solo overlooked him I think Cage Dwyer and a lot of people over kind of underestimate Kenny. Kenny's around a long time and man it was it was a good good fight. But like that solo I have no doubt will be back and he will hold one of those belts again and will go to the UFC. But in terms of obviously fighting on your fighting championship before and then once you will be fighting again, how did you find the experience cuz you you probably see yourself a lot of the Rhino lads or a lot of lads that fight on the show always fight on the show and say dealing with him is really good. What was your experience dealing with Decky McAleenan? >> Uh great to be honest with you. That's what uh only literally what was it I think last week I like Sodhi Hombre was meant to be fighting pulled out with I think he injured his hand and then straight away Decky had someone else that like so I was nearly thinking to myself oh no like I'm at the minute. You know you know when you're putting like so much money into physios, eating clean, training and putting your body through that and then all of a sudden like it's like your head just goes cuz the fight he was meant to be fighting he pulled out and you're like but like later on that night Decky already had me sorted another fight so it was it was great and even the way the promotion's run it's smooth. There's no like you know you're on there or like there's nothing like that like I just and even the backgrounds are like nice to you know when you're getting warmed up a lot of places like only trial like trial around a lot of mats and it's like you know it's really like but back there it's like spacious. There's mats back there. There's you know and it's just and there's a lot of ten like you know a lot of dressing rooms for you to be getting warmed up and all sorts. It's great. It's brilliant how it's run. >> Yeah it it it's it's a fight it's a fight it's a promotion for fighters and that's what he said and you probably see yourself it's always the same kind of contingent of of people on it like Paul Fitzgerald comes to mind. I think nearly every one of his fights by Premier have been on there and there's others so it is really good but you've started off quite well as you've got the fight coming up. We're not looking past your opponent or past your next fight but what what's your plans for next year? Are you looking to be quite active and how do you feel with all the promotions that are around cuz I I want to say there's eight to ten so you've so many options. What's your plan for next year and how do you feel about having that many options to to get onto cards next year? >> To be honest with you this year I wanted to be a lot more active than I was but obviously I had the tea and then I came back and I had a knee injury then literally the first two weeks that I was you know what to like a lot of injuries back to back but then now it's just the dates match up perfectly to get in here on your 22nd and then hopefully the start of next year I get in again. And then I'm I'm just I'm kind of looking I just find you know obviously titles would be nice like how much a title would be nice but I I just want to fight the best people I can that's what exactly what I want to do so even if there's whatever whatever like whichever promotion just offer me the best for like whoever like that's all I just I just want to fight you I mean like I just who like whoever the best is and I just want to keep moving up them ranks and just show how strong my level cuz I know how good I am. So that's what I'll just keep on going on channel. >> Yeah I I like that if you keep winning the titles coming a lot of people talk about amateur titles and they they say oh sometimes they don't feel like they mean much but to me it means as much as you make it means you know what I'm saying in a way if you want to hold it and be proud and I then like that like you said when you do have that title what it does do in my opinion is the best fighters want to fight for that title cuz they all have loads of belts going into pro you know you see even with the Omar Salover has like five or six belts cuz he won in every nation like Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland you know so they're good for so you're going to get the best of the best going for but there was something actually you I want to kind of backtrack on you were saying about a fight being pulled and then all the money if so people don't realize the sacrifices you put in like what kind of sacrifices have you made to to be a fighter? >> Like so basically I'm I'm only out of school and I'd I'd obviously like to just do MMA like I don't want to work do you know what I mean I just want to be an MMA fighter but obviously me ma said like you have to work so basically I'm working I think I'm working five days a week now but I'm I'm waking up before I train before work I'm training then I'm coming home trying to go on straight from like there was a stage that I I didn't have me car when I was working so they said I was getting up training before I worked and I have to get an hour and a half bus up the up the work then I'd have to walk for the whole day. I finish at half five and my training starts at seven but I work in Finglas so I have to get the bus all the way back down to Donaghmede hour and a half journey just getting off the bus right at the door of training. In there then I was in me I was in me house for a table. I literally just to go to sleep. That's the only time I was I was living out of training and while I was just eating. Like obviously that's great but now I have me car so it's grand and I have the even just bringing food with you just to have it in the car you know instead of eating on the back of a bus but and then even the likes of you know like like I'm working every but like I'm putting so much money into like cuz I want the best performance so I'm physios, I'm like obviously me training and all this like that's great cuz like >> [snorts] >> it's not as money oriented but like physios, food it's like they don't understand how much it cost that you claim like you know when you're eating all these sweets and all this sandwich cheaper than when you're eating plain like it's hundreds of euros every week trying to spend up to get at your peak performance and then just for to be doing all that just for someone to say oh no your foot's pulled it's so it's a scare like it's it's hard as well. Damn like amateurism as well cuz you're not getting you wouldn't be getting paid either. If you have weeks you're not getting so sponsors obviously come into play as well though. I have a few sponsors that are good. >> Yeah no I I think they're essential because like that it's I think it's mad. I know obviously you can't pay amateurs but they're like it's you're literally putting in thousands and tens of thousands over years to to actually fight and then when you go pro you like for the first couple of fights you still don't make a huge amount of money. What is it that attracts you to that lifestyle then because it has to be a very unique person cuz for me I'm like that's mad like I can barely get by like when I have a job never mind if I was trying to train but what is it that makes you want to live that lifestyle cuz you know obviously there is outliers like McGregor and Jon Jones but like to get to that stage you'd have to hit certain things the right things so but like when you go to you see there's obviously kind of like a standard sort of pay. Uh but to get there you have to go through a lot. What's your mindset going through that? Is Are you thinking about the end goal or are you enjoying it as it happens and just saying, "Look, we'll make our way through it day by day, week by week?" >> Obviously, I look at the end goal. Like every day I sit there and tell myself where I'm going to be. I know where I'm going to be. But, you know, I'd I'd fight for free. That's what I tell me ma all the time. I would I just love fighting. Like that's it's my favorite thing to do. Like people talk about like, you know, making sacrifices. You know, your your friends are going out on the weekend. Your friends are Like there's not a day that I'd be going out. Like I'd I'd try and 6 days a week and then 1 day recovery. So, like my whole life's just gone towards but I'm just just obsessed with it basically. That's all. Like I just I just love every part but I love training and I love maybe the weight cuts I don't love but I love everything else. So, I just I just obsessed with it. Like I tell me ma all the time I'd I'd fight for free but obviously and then she says you're dope. But like >> [laughter] >> just So, it's all I've ever done since I'm a kid, since I'm four. I've never played football or I never never done anything else. I only ever fought. I only ever done different sorts of combat sports. Like I I totally boxed for years. I've done boxing. I've done I've done every martial art you could do since I'm a kid. I've just I don't know. It's all I've ever wanted to do. So, >> No, I I fair play to you and she's right. Don't fight for free when you're Know your worth. Yeah, know your worth. >> Definitely yeah. Definitely yeah. >> It's not a huge amount of money you're getting anyways cuz obviously we match them. I know kind of what the the pro kind of you're looking about 500 pounds or something. It's kind of your And then if you get on to like the cage or sometimes it might be the same but with cage where you've got to added coverage for sponsors. You know, the sort of way. So, >> Yeah, yeah. >> that works. But take us back to the the the very start. Why did you join MMA? Was there a certain fighter? Was there a reason or was it just kind of since you're a kid you were fighting and you just kind of loved it? You tell us how you started. >> Uh well, to be honest with you, when I when I was about three I was obsessed with rugby. And I used to just I used to just look like I I used to be a real active kid. So, I used to love like when I was a kid like I used to be always saying, "I want to be a real player, I want to be a" So, like me nanny bring me down to a rugby place who wouldn't let me join. But, basically some fellow of I think I think my dad was in a a gym and he was like bring him down to the jiu-jitsu. So, I joined there when I was four. I joined the team right now. Started down jiu-jitsu. I was down jiu-jitsu for I'd say about I was doing it I was doing it for a good few like I was I kept I always done jiu-jitsu, but I was down that I'd say until I was about eight. And then I joined I joined Dublin Toy Boxing down in Cabra. And I done that for years. And then I did Donnycarney team when I done Donnycarney open and then I started going into the MMA. Like I was always kind of doing like MMA, but I wouldn't do it as a full like I was down jiu-jitsu or I was down wrestling or I was down box like toy boxing and then obviously I was I'd say I had about 12 or 13 or 14 and I was down to join MMA school. And then I was kind of I got a bit over keen like you know when you'd like like you know when you're getting pushed too much and you're not loving as much as you should be. And I felt like I was doing it for someone else and to be honest with you, I didn't Do you know when you don't know who you are? I only thought like everyone come up to me when like or you know you start hanging around in school and everyone was just like "Taylor the MMA fighter." Nobody ever said "Taylor the course." Do you get me? So, I I was just known as only a fighter. So, kind of I had about a year or a year and a half and I was just you know kind of finding myself, finding out who I really was. But, then obviously I went back to what I love. I love MMA and I love fighting. So, I went back and I was I was boxing for a few. So, now at the minute I yeah So, I train MMA with Yowie and then I'm obviously down in Donnycarney and then I'm up in Finglas a bit and then I do like PTs. So, you know Paul Ryan Paul Ryan does me boxing with me and he does me gym and me cardio. So, he does all me PTs with me as well. And then yeah, the the main reason I joined like a sport so young was just cuz my ma was real want me in something cuz she didn't want me hanging around. She didn't want me She know she's it like a you know, yourself like it's it's loud like when you come from certain areas like it's so it's so easy to fall into this like you know, just sitting around or just being like so she always wanted me in a sport. Don't think she was too happy I chose MMA but she wanted me in something anyway so she was just happy that I was in something. So. >> Yeah, no and I see your point as well because obviously [clears throat] certain I used to work up around Coolock area years ago. I was there for about six months and I said, "Get me back to Kildare, bro." >> [laughter] >> Getting threatened over cheese sauce in the cinema. I was like, "Snow what?" >> [laughter] >> Yeah, the entertainment wasn't worth it but look and it's just there's so many bad roads out there people can go down or like that you just sit around doing nothing in life but I think now however there just seems to be like an epidemic of >> [snorts] >> drugs everywhere and it's just it's like going back 20 years like it was it's nothing like the way it is now and it's gone very and it's very easy to to go down that road you know what I'm saying so I think it's it's important for people to get into sports. Doesn't have to be MMA, doesn't have to be combat, it can be whatever but I think to keep people away from hanging around and doing nothing but how do you feel I think for MMA for me a lot of people have this flawed kind of view of it that it's kind of scumbags and this that and the other but like I'm talking to you you're you're you're a very nice polite very well mannered young person you know what I'm saying. Do you feel that there's a misconception about it cuz more people are nicer in the sport than there is there's probably 1% that's an  and same in all walks of life. Do you think MMA is projected wrong and has people have the wrong view of it? >> I like to be honest with you like it's projected wrong but like the like the like my mom and all just because she cares about like you know, she's so but I think I think it's kind of you know, the blood and all in it is real like you know the way people get cut and things like that it's a lot more I think it's gruesome but even the likes of boxing boxing's so glorified but like when you're looking at deaths and all like it's people always talk about it like it's boxing is way more deaths than MMA any sort like it's it and I think a lot of it is cuz it's a cage as well isn't it? Like a I think it looks it looks a lot more thing than it is, but even at the amateur level like there's so many rules put into place that like even the likes of the knees, the elbows, the bigger gloves, the and the red light and then even at the novice level then when like you don't even like you just get you get your fight stopped if you're getting hit too much and all like it's there's a lot of safety precautions that go around and then the medical checks and then the I think it is bringing across a lot as a a a like not a >> a bruise >> [snorts] >> I think it's it could be cuz it's a a lot more of a like what would you call it? Like it's not like it's not as much of a rich young fella sport. Like it's not it's obviously it is a bit but like it's not like a tennis or a So it's just it's just seen as it's a lot worse than it is but to be honest with you I've never met any young fellas. Well obviously you get a few but like it's like ending as you said. Like the most young fellas are so polite in the gym like Jimmy. >> Yeah. Conor McGregor is someone who when I met him and interviewed him I was like you're actually solid. Like I would never pick you as a fighter and it's you come across a lot of people like that and like you said I think it's cuz it's so brutal but like in terms of boxing you'll stand there for 12 rounds. If you don't go down you're constantly getting punched like so concussion-wise and and stuff like that and you've seen some scary things. I don't know if it was last year or the year before it was a I think it was in Africa or Nigeria somewhere where a man obviously he got so many punches in the head he was in the corner punching no one. So the ref and the opponent was standing >> I've seen that yeah. >> That like that's sad. Whereas at least in MMA if you get dropped and you go down for the ground and pound so you get two or three strikes in and usually it's stopped. Like I said at amateur and novice they're stopped like I've had amateur fighters going oh that was an early stoppage. I say bro you're getting paid no money. Yeah. Just it it is what it is. I'd rather a ref stop a fight early in amateur than later because how many people have you seen go through the amateur ranks and never kind of go on to pro? They might kind of fall out of it and you don't want people damaged for the rest of their life but I'm really looking forward to your fight. I really enjoyed this interview. I am going going you go though. Is there anything you want to say before you go, or anyone you want to shout out? And thank you so much for your time. >> No, thanks. Thanks very much for having me on, and I'll see I'll see you on the 22nd. >> Yeah, perfect, perfect. I will have this out in a day or two anyways, but look, I'm looking forward to everything. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it, and I'm sure this is one of many we're going to have over the coming years. >> Sounds good. Thank you. I appreciate you.