Michael Shields interview

Ringkasan

Michael Shields competes against Ger Ryan this weekend defending his featherweight title in a fantastic match up We spoke about his camp for the fight, how much he's improved since his last fight, what it's like at the moment in fight academy Ireland plus much more

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I have one of my favorite fighters here. H we tal it's been about a year since we were just talking. Uh I obviously I took a little break. He's had a couple of fights since then. Uh but we usually talk before every fight. We've got Mr. Michael Shields who's going to be fighting at Cage Conet again on an absolutely banging card in an absolutely banging fight in my opinion. It's fight week. How are you feeling? Thanks. Thanks for your time taking us so close to the fight. >> How's fight week going for you, bro? >> Great. It's just feels like another week. I've had that many fights now. I've had that many training camps and f weeks that you know it's just another week and just excited for Saturday salary to go out and perform >> and like that obviously you've had so many fights now so I'd say the likes of the weight cut and and this week is is so normal for you that it kind of not that not everything goes to plan but this you find any issues out that you would have had with either way or kind of nerves and stuff leading up to how do you feel coming into it is it just excitement to put on that show in the devish which is an absolute belter of a venue. >> That's it. Just pure excitement. Just just it it just feels right this time. Like I've uh all the fights before have been uh just on the lead up to it. I've always been a bit nervous, but this time obviously of course they're still nervous, but it just feels right. this time. I just can't wait to go out and I feel like this time I'm really going to go out and perform and show how much how much better I've got from my last fight, but how ready I am now to start pushing on and, you know, start aiming towards going pro, whenever that is, but I imagine it'll be not that many fights left amateur. So, I'm now ready to just start pushing on and prove myself how good I am and prove myself that something that I've known for a while that I'm the best in the country and the best in the UK. So, I'm just just excitement and obviously it's my home show as well. So, that always just makes it a bit more exciting. >> Yeah. No, it does. It does. I like that you're you're in such a great uh gym with Fire Academy. We've already seen Paul use and just the amount of talent come out of it. Young Damian Mcwigan is going pro on this show as well. Someone you would have trained with. How exciting is it for you to see the likes of Paul on stage is like that. Jared Burns was going to be fighting Moch. Damian going pro and and this show is kind of the launching pad for a lot of them going pro. How does that make you feel to be part of FI and be a big part of the show to showcase your skills to to the to the country and to everyone across Europe? >> Well, obviously it's unreal, but it just feels normal. Do you know what I mean? It's not it's like it's not like all this stuff has come out of the blue. Like it's all been like told us this a year ago or two years ago, it wouldn't been surprising. Like nothing nothing that's happening now is like surprising with Paul fighting a number of or Jer Burns fighting Muhammad Mica but like it's not it's maybe surprising for people like on the outside going this is this is a bit mad but for all of us like it's it's just the times now you know what I mean like it's all been working towards it for the past however many years and so it's not surprising or it's not uh anything that's come out of the blue like it's just been all we've been all been working towards it for a long time So it's all just starting to fall into place now. >> Yeah. No, 100% like that. I'm not surprised. I'm just saying just people might not might not and I know you were trying to say that people outside the sport right like where but we've known fight academy for the past couple of years have just been absolutely turned out champions and champions champions and even at like your novice levels and stuff. I've watched some of your novice fighters when you look at their skill sets compared to when you started novice. Can you see the evolution? Are they getting better and better as the generations come true? Oh, definitely. Um, like some of the people that are my age now, if they had fought me at the time, like I what's the best way of putting it? What I was doing to people whenever I was 16, like the poor performance I was putting on against Demons, they would be putting them type of performances on against me, like the same type of level performances. So, it's just just all credit to their coaches as well. like just the evolution of like how much better everybody's getting in the coaching staff and just just in general just everyone's getting so good. >> Yeah. And like you said, you've had two fights since we last talked and you get better and better every fight. When when you obviously you get to showcase what you've done. Do you notice those changes kind of in the training room uh as during training camps or during the sessions? Uh or do you only notice it when it comes to the live kind of competition or do you notice that kind of as it's happening when you're in you're getting different moves or you're getting different positions or is it when do you really notice when you're put to the test in a live competition cuz it's more intense? >> Well, it's funny. You kind of just like well for me anyway like I guess maybe not everyone's not like us but every so often you go through periods of like you feel like you're getting worse but through them periods of like you feel like you're actually getting worse it's just you improving and then once you get out of them periods you look back from maybe like 6 months ago and go I'm so much better than what I was then but for the professional like I swear to God like I have not performed that like maybe my last fight I did but Like I haven't performed the like even half as what I do in the gym. Like I know that's that's pretty common, but like I think 90% the effects I've had it like if you're one of my opponents watching it like I'm just hoping and I know for a fact this is the one where I'm going to come away going that's how good I am. Because there's been a lot of fights where I've came away and I'm just like even wins and losses like even whenever I won belts fought J Paulo fought Julian Manu I came away going like that was like I'm so much better than what I have performed like a lot of recent wins and losses. So, I just know for a fact this is going to be the one where I come away and I'm like that is how good I am. They just really put my name on the map now. Like they just start pushing on and like most of my fights look like they're close. But like I'm coming away going I'm so much better than these and I'm just not performing as well in the cage as what I do what I know I can. So this is going to be the one where I really prove it to myself. >> I found something very interesting about what you said there is you look at your wins because a lot of people say you win or you learn. Yeah. And a lot of people will only kind of look for faults in in losses. It sounds like you actively and I think that's the right way because no matter who you are, you very rarely is there flawless performances in MMA. I can think of maybe one or two. Cody Garber versus Dominic Cruz, Conor McGregor versus Alvarez maybe in those fights, but there's always there's always things you can work on. Is that just a mindset thing or is this like cuz a lot of fighters I talk to go, oh I look at the losses, but what what has made you look at the wins? Is it just the constant of wanting to get better? Whether you win or lose, you're there's never always going to there's always room to get better. >> Well, that's it. You're always going to like like I think you have to be a bit uh delusional to look at some of your wins and go like some people look at their wins not the same way as what they would look at losses. Like some of the wins I've had, I've come out and I've been so annoyed at how I've performed and that's just because I know I can do a lot better. Um, and I guess it's a good mindset to have as well because it'll only make you better having that mindset with the wins and the losses, but uh, back to your point, it's kind of just I just know I'm better than what I've performed. Um, even though I've had plenty of good wins and obviously it's not like taking it away from any of the people that fought, saying like I'm just like which well I am so much better than the people that fought, but I've just been making the fights look a lot closer than what they need to be. >> Yeah. You know, I like that attitude cuz I'd be the same in different aspects of life. If I I look at what can I do better, even if I'm doing well, whether it's a job or this, because if you stay if you're doing well and you think, oh yeah, I'm doing well, you just stay stagnant and you stay the same and then everyone will >> eventually out pass you and like that. You fought really really good people. You're fighting someone that's someone that's really impressed me. He he came into am I think he went one and five or one and four or something and then he went on a bit of a roll. Um, how are you how are you looking forward to to fighting your opponent? Cuz like that he he did have a rough start, but he's kind of shown that that rough start has kind of made him a better fighter. >> Yeah. Um, well, that said, I had a bit of a rough start, but like I uh have a lot of respect for Jordan's skills like but um look, it's just another it's another test. It's another uh it's a different style again. Um I he's just he's just I obviously have a lot of respect for skills and stuff and nobody's going to try to bring to the table but um no I've got a lot of respect for J. >> Yeah. And like that cuz you said you might be coming towards the end of of the army like said that's obviously off the shadow and stuff and we'll see. Are you game planning more now for opponents like this or are you still just kind of going in and just kind of implementing what you want to do in the fight? Well, prior I would have obviously like well it's not that I haven't game plan on the ground but he's going to do of course obviously I'm not stupid as well. I know what he's going to try. Like I know that I know that part of the game but for this one I'm just going out there to put my game on him and like that's pretty much it. like I'm not going out to try and like almost I think sometimes if you're very focused on the people that you're fighting in their like uh style and what you think they're going to do you kind of bring bring yourself down to their level. So I'm just going to go out and put my game on him straight away. So >> yeah, cuz cuz like that if you're looking at him, you're going to be worrying about like obviously you have to know the basics of what he does good and and where you might you might be able to find gas. But I think if you if you think too much about what he's going to do, you're taking away from what you actually want to go out and do and you want to give that performance >> in front of the home crowd in front of of of the Devonish and like talk to us about the Devon. We have spoken about before, but I just I just think that's probably one of the best places in the country to have a show. What's it like as a home fighter when your music hits? And by the way, I actually love your music. I actually did go and see I actually did go to the show and I did see your fight cuz the music starts and then it goes into another one. And yeah, it's what's it like when your music hits and you know it's go time. What's that like? >> It's hard to even put in the words to be honest. You would just have to you would just have to do it and like like it's just a mix of so many emotions, you know what I mean? Like you're just standing there and then you hear your music and you're about to walk through a door to walk out. It's just the modest mix of emotions ever. Like you can barely even remember it. There's that much adrenaline going through you. You can't really barely remember anything. But it's just a pure mix of like nerves, excitement, like pressure, like even we bits of like like ner like we bits of doubt and all creep into your head sometimes too, which is just normal. Like that's just the way it is because whenever you care so much about something, all them different mix of emotions are always going to come into your head. >> Yeah. And I like that you said that because a lot of people when people say to me that they're really calm going into fight week that there's no nerves. For me, if there's something or like obviously fighting your life, you want to go pro, you want to be the best in the world, you want to go UTB, UC champion or or wherever it is, if you're not getting nerves before you go out to perform, I think you're either too chill or it probably doesn't mean maybe as much as as you say does that. That that would just be my opinion. People can debate me on that and it could be wrong, but >> No, I would think the same to be honest. Like I like I think whenever you care so much about it like you do just get nervous like well I do anyway. I know some people who do care so much about it that don't really get nervous. So it just depends on the person but like it's not that I get super nervous. I just get them >> butterflies >> the nerves and stuff because you know how much it means to you know like it one it means so much to and two it's obviously it's my future you know what I mean? So like it's like anything. It's like amateurs amateur obviously doesn't really mean much but like at the time and in the grand scheme of things to me it does. Like I know people say the record and stuff doesn't matter but like I think I I know it doesn't obviously once you go pro but like at the current time it really does like nothing matters more to be honest. >> Yeah. And I like that because a lot of people say like that amateur doesn't mean much or amateur belts don't mean much and and I kind of don't not that I don't like it and I can see their point because for me like you said at the time your next fight is your most important fight all time because especially in this game your last kind of what you've done before you know people are fickle what you've done before people is only as good as your last fight and >> right now like winning or losing depending on like Joe Ryan when he went one and five he could have turned down and said like I'm gone Jonas sort of way and and there could be >> performances and stuff that will do things here and >> this is what's going to mold you into the fighter going pro. You've had so many good fights, you've had close fights, you've had very good wins, you've had losses as well that I think that's maybe shouldn't been losses, but there's obviously been taken away from them. >> Well, I said as well like some people can look at my record and go, "Wow, he's got a bit of a mixed looking record." But people that know like people that know know that like they know my record isn't what it should be like I should be 11 and four right now possibly even 12 and three like but obviously it doesn't matter underground it's another one of them things like I kind of care about it but at the same time I don't because like them type of things whenever that happens to you like there was a fight where like I cut I hit the guy a head kick and I slept in my me blood and he caught me in a choke like all them things will stand by me so much for whenever I do go pro even the close fights where I should have won like fights where I won all three rounds. Everyone knew I won the rounds but I didn't get the win. like the fe the feeling of that and like having to deal with that and fighting the next week after that because of what happened like all that stuff will sn yeah I remember actually coming cuz I remember seeing the thing I do and it's mad how it's mad how since I've started how many fights you've had even and and it's it's been great watching you grow as a fighter and as a person and I can see the maturity whether it's in the cage or outside the cage every time uh I speak to you but it's a really really good show this weekend um I won't be there we've discussed actually before a while are going to be watching from home. I'm going to let you go. Thank you so much for your time. Is there anyone to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out? It's been an absolute pleasure as always. Uh just a thank you to all my sponsors um for their help for this camp cuz this has been one of the toughest camps I've done. So without their help really none of it is possible. Um and then just thank you for having me on. >> No absolute pleasure as always. Like I said I'll be at home watching this fight. I mean there's so many good fights man. You look at that card and I'm just like, "Wow." Like that's like it's >> No, it is. It's by far like probably one of the best cards in the regional scene put on in the past. Like I was going to say this year, but even further back than this year, like I can't really remember a card from I started fighting where it's been this stacked. >> Yeah. Is is there some So I was looking back on some the other day from yours and stuff and when you look at the fights now to know the fighters that fought then and you look at where they are now and you go three years ago obviously they were only one and two or two and one or whatever and you're like oh man they actually fought each other on this show and it's that's what I love about the scene watching you all grow best of skill this weekend. It's been an absolute pleasure Michael and I will uh talk to you after the fight. >> Thank you very much.