Eimear Darcy interview

Ringkasan

Eimear Darcy returns to action this weekend at @Cage_Warriors in Dublin looking to get back to winning ways after her first professional loss. We speak about her camp leading up to the fight including her nutritionist the Lauren Nash and the relief that it's taken off her fight…

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So I'm here with Emma Driven Darcy. One name that I can actually say with relative ease. A lot of the names that I've been coming across and speaking to has been hard for me to pronounce. So it's very good to have you on. You're one of the people who always come back to me those interviews. So I really appreciate it. Thank you for your time. How you feeling? We're just 6 days out from the fight. So for context for anyone watching, this is recorded on a Sunday. So when it be brought out, just keep that in mind. How are you leading into the fight weekend? Thanks for your time. >> No worries. Thanks so much for having me on. Um yeah, feeling really good. Um finished up training any kind of intense training yesterday. Um so yeah, just looking after the weight and keep the body kind of moving next week and yeah, just feeling feeling good. >> And obviously you talk about the weight cut and I see I think I can't remember the girl's name but you've got someone on board. Do you want to talk about is it the fight dietician? Is that >> Yeah, so her so it's Lauren Nash. Um she's deadly. She's based over in Australia. Um so she's been my nutritionist for maybe nearly like two years now. Um so yeah, she's she's just great. The reason why I went with her was cuz she like adopts a really healthy um well as healthy as an approach as you can't kind of cutting weight. um and making sure that you are listening to your body and you know making sure that you're eating foods that you actually enjoy but also making weight at the same time. So yeah, she's great. >> Yeah, cuz cuz a lot of people don't understand. I've I've seen the process of a weight cut and it's not a nice thing to do. I I wouldn't assume you would have a huge amount. This guy was cut like seven kilos overnight. It was crazy. But >> yeah, I'd have like I I would cut a bit. Yeah, like and for especially when I was when I first started, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. So like that I was just staying in the bath and not doing any towels and like cutting like five, six kilos just in the bath. Yeah. It's just now that I have somebody that can actually help me and knows what to do and yeah, it makes such a difference. >> Obviously cuz that relieves a lot of stress off your side cuz like that you don't know what you're doing. you're constantly trying to then figure out probably research stuff. Do you think that has taken a relief off your shoulder and you can concentrate more on the fighting side knowing that or the training and game planning as opposed to having that to worry about as well? Because like I said, when you don't know what you're doing, you're constantly stressing. Is this right? Is that right? Has that alleviated a lot of pressure off you just to concentrate on on fighting and training and improving? >> Yeah, I just it just I just know that it the plan is going to work because it's like I followed it. I trust her. I know that I've done it before. Um, and you still like you still get super paranoid when you're cutting weight even though it's worked before because yeah, I just get paranoid about it. But, um, it it always works out and it's fine. I always make weight and refuel properly and it it works out grand. But it does knowing that you've done it and it works. It does take that little bit of of stress off. Even if you have like fluctuations, which is totally normal as well. um you're able to just remind yourself that this is this is just the nature of cutting weight. >> Yeah, it's it's not a nice process. I obviously don't do it and no one can see me here, but I don't obviously don't cut weight and I probably won't ever I'd like to do it to see what the experience is like so I can kind of get into the mindset of it, but it's something I won't do just yet. But you've got Cage Warriors, obviously fantastic show you're going to be fighting on again. Talk to us what it's like performing on Cage Warriors on a Dublin show. You're from Dublin. There isn't as many big shows that come here now because obviously Bellator have have kind of moved out of the market. PFL have taken over. They done Belfast, but Cage Warriors does at least two shows here. What's it like >> fighting on Cage Warriors and fighting in Dublin, especially for for someone from Dublin? >> Yeah, it's just really really special. It's dead. It's such a nice feeling. Um it's like so close to home. Um as in like literally I don't have to really go anywhere. like it's so close whereas normally I would have been fighting up north for amateur. Um K1 shows are like down to the country and stuff. Um and then obviously we had arena and stuff which is in the wreck which is literally around the corner. So that was great. But it's just it's really special. Um the crowd is amazing having my family there, having my friends there, having Ryan and his family there. It's it's just it's a it's a really special night. >> Yeah. Know it is. The Dublin nights are always special nights as you progress in your career. I would say cherish these moments now because obviously as you progress in your career you're going to be going to different places which is something to look forward to and a lot of fighters when they come to the end they said they'd love one more show kind of back in D. while you have them, enjoy them. >> Um, but you you're coming off the back of a loss. Um, you were someone that we all highly touted within the country, myself, Al Triangle, a lot of the media members and a lot of the fighters. You you'd started really well. When that loss came, how did it come about for you in the fight? How did you find it? And did it have any effect mentally on you after? And and what are you doing going forwards to to correct what happened? Um, so I suppose like in the fight I just I was mainly just thinking of a knockout. Um, and I didn't really see what was actually I couldn't I couldn't fully see what was in front of me if that makes sense. Like you know I didn't see that I was I didn't feel like I was dominating the round. I didn't feel like I was doing any damage. Like I just wasn't able to like see clearly. I don't know. My brain was just a little bit foggy. All I was thinking about was a knockout. And um I've never gone into a fight thinking that way before. Um and those things have just happened. Um because I've just followed the plan and that's that's what's happened from it. Um so yeah, that was more like what was happening in the fight. Um but then obviously afterwards then the loss of it I was just felt really sad after. Um yeah it just it wasn't a nice feeling. I'd obviously lost before um and I felt sad after that as well. I knew the feeling would go um but it still doesn't make it any easier. Um so yeah I just felt this feeling of sadness is all I could explain it as. and and it felt like that for for a couple of weeks. Um felt sad in training sometimes. But the main thing that I kind of did to move on from that was just move on from that, go to training, not do anything differently. I I don't do anything different whether I win or I lose. Um if I win at training, if I lose my training, so like that's just you just have to go to training. Um is the way that I kind of like talk to myself about it. And then obviously um speaking to us about it and then us making a plan going forward and figuring out what was going on there and what I needed to to work on and yeah planning for the future. So yeah, there wasn't too much like you know dwelling on it or focusing on it. We focused on the important parts of it and then we put the plan in place to fix the things that needed to be fixed. >> Yeah. And I like that like when you win you're in training. When you lose you're in training. I think obviously you should have that maybe 24 hours to kind of feel sorry for yourself, dwell on it, but then it's like anything else. That winning feeling doesn't last forever either. So, and you're back in training to get on to the next one. >> And I think it should be the same like that like you're a perfect example. It's the same going forward. Um, >> you've got the fight coming up like Ushin is great mind. I told you before, I spent 20 minutes talking to him in a Burger King and my son's like, "Come on, let's hold that." Um, I used it over there with his friend. I was like, "No, no, five more minutes." But um with the fight coming up, does he do a lot of your game planning or do you look into the fight yourself or or what way does that work? >> No, he does everything for you. >> No. Uh yeah. No, does everything for me. Um he he just like he's the coach. He does the game plan. He uh he'll like talk to me about what's going on, talk to me about the plan, and yeah, I just trust his judgment for everything. So um I just didn't follow the plan um in like there was a plan very good plan I just didn't follow the plan um in the last fight um and if I had have followed the plan correctly then it would have been a different outcome but that was me um so yeah he would gain plan for for every fight and I just listen and will follow the plan. Yeah, cuz when I watched that fight, I looked and I was like, "That doesn't look like the EMR." Cuz I've seen you in person. I've seen you on TV. And I was like, "That doesn't look like the EMR that I'm I've seen." And like that it looked like you were trying too hard to get the knock out. And I was like, "That just doesn't seem like her." Usually you're very precise, very powerful. Like >> I've heard those body shots when I've been cage. I've heard those. So when you go high, low, high, low, and I like it just doesn't seem to be with her. in talking about kind of fighting and all in general. Um, I've noticed obviously Mel's going to be running a show the same night as as Cage Wars as well. And I don't know if you've seen kind of what she's done with the female sparring day and stuff like that. What do you make of the the kind of rise of of female sport or competitors in in Ireland and you've actually been mentioned by a couple of people that I've interviewed that they look at you as an inspiration. So, how do you feel about this female scene? And how does it feel that someone calls you an inspiration as well? Um, I think that's lovely. It's really nice to hear. Um, and yeah, it's just it's just really nice. I think the female scene is grown, which is deadly. And I know, like I've said before, I never struggled to um to get any matches to anything like that. And I was really lucky because more I just wanted to get as much experience as I could. And I trusted that anybody that Usheen had had said yes to or that we' said yes to that it was he like that I was more than capable of fighting them. But I understand that maybe you know even though the girls they would have been fighting would have had like a lot more experience than me. I understand that that's not the same for everybody. Whereas like now if there's this rise of people coming through now everybody is matched with similar experience and stuff. So that way them getting fights and and wanting to compete will hopefully be easier because there won't be people with massive records and maybe they're a little bit conscious of that or whatever it is that it just gives people more opportunities because there's more people. Um so yeah, I think it's it's really cool and also it's it's um like not everybody has females in their gym. So these sparring days are really really important because you get to move with bodies that you never would have moved with before. or you get to move with people the same size as you, um, similar strength. Um, so yeah, it's, uh, it's deadly. Mel's doing a great job. >> Yeah. Know, and she done a really smart thing when she done the span day. She got everyone's details, whether it was weight records or stuff like that, and then all of a sudden she's got her own show put together. So, she she but like that, it's obviously she'd be willing to share and help the help the scene. And and I think it's just grown massively. The likes of Shauna uh, in the UFC as well helps a lot. uh Danny McCormack, what she's done as well, yourself, Gage Warriors, I think it's just it's just grown and grown and getting better and I can't wait to see what what the future holds. Um but with with Saturday going ahead, like when you walk out to the crowd, explain what it's like to walk out to a Dublin crowd, your hometown, what what's that feeling like? Like what goes through your head as you're walking out or are you laser focused? >> Um I'm not really thinking when I'm walking out. I am just I just want to get there. I feel like and I do be like proper speed walking up to the cage as well. Like I I just I just want to get there. I've waited like how many months to fight. Um and I'm not I I just I just all I want to do is get into the cage. So I'm not really thinking about anything else that's around me. I'm just thinking of getting to the cage and getting in there and doing the thing that I want to do. But before that, when I walk into the RDS, before anybody's there or anything like that, I take a moment and I'm like, "Wow, this is really, really cool. This is very special." Um, and I'll really appreciate like what it is that's that's about to happen. >> I say it's a mad feeling from going to watch shows and places like that to walking in the back as a fighter. Is that does that feel surreal when you do it for the first time? >> Oh, yeah. Sure. my fight last year. I think I had said before when I walked in I was like this is mad and then when I got into the cage I'd never had a like a camera on me before like that. So I didn't like and then I the camera was on me and then I could see myself in the screen but then I was like looking at myself in the screen then I realized that everybody could see me looking at myself in the screen and I was like stop looking at yourself. So I was like, "Oh, this is mad." I don't know. I was like, "Once the bite starts, that's it. My brain is just like switched on." But yeah, it is. It's very surreal. Um, it's not like, you know, every day get you just bite. So yeah. >> Yeah. It's it's less than 1% of the population, I believe, that does it. It's like 0 something. So you're you and and the other girls and and the other gentlemen as well are one of a kind. And there was something I want to see cuz I've noticed over or wanted to ask I've noticed over the past couple of months I've seen there's a nice triangle training of training partners you have yourself Ka and Shauna. Talk to us about how that started and how it's going cuz you look at Shaun is in the UFC. Ka is someone who who years ago was even predicted to be a star and especially >> since she's come back to fighting there recently. What how did that come about and how is it going and what's it like training with two people like that? Oh, it's great training with the girls. Um, so I would have started training with Shauna few years ago. I would have just gone out to Hulahins um to spar one of the nights and then I would have met Shauna there and then we started training together and then I know Ka would have trained with Shauna as well. Um, and then Ka, Alex and Cac, they would have came down to us before on compound. So Ka wasn't there, but then I would have trained with her a different time. And then the three of us just all ended up training together on the Fridays. And then during the summer, we like last summer then um I was a bit more flexible with work in the summertime. So we were able to train regularly together during the summer last year and then we did the same this year. So whenever we kind of can, we'll all we'll all just train together um as much as we can. So yeah, and then that was it. We're just trying. It's great. >> Yeah, it's good to see that. And I I think the female community within MMA is is very tight because there isn't as many of you as the men. And you you do see that even with the men cross trainining with people you fought and stuff like that. A lot of people would be like >> outside be like that's bizarre. So you fought him or her and now you're training together. Like talk to us after the fight >> when you fight someone what kind of a respect or what way do you view them? because a lot of people become can become close and quite friendly after. What's your outlook on an opponent once the the bell is rang and either yourself has won or they've won and and what's it like kind of dealing with them after? Like is it just a a respect and do you get friendship from that or >> um I think it just depends obviously say with the girls that I fought now at professional they're not people that I'd regularly see. They're obviously from different countries and I would treat everyone the same before a fight as I would after a fight. I have like the as much respect for an opponent before and afterwards. Um I don't like carry any kind of like negativity towards somebody or need to get into like a a mindset where I need to think about them negatively or anything like that. So yeah, everything just like stays the same. Um obviously in Ireland it's different cuz um it's we're so small and the amateur scene is smaller as well. So like any of the girls that I would fight, I just want to train with them afterwards because it's just a great opportunity and and like that I would have train I would have fought Sarah. Um and now me and Sarah like would see each other in different training things and we get on really well and stuff as well. So it it is it's great. And then like I know I fought Fia before and then when I was up at Kerianne's women's camp then I was able to text Fia and then go down to MMA Cork and training with her. So yeah, I just um I think I I've always had positive experiences of fighting people and always had positive experiences afterwards as well. So yeah. >> Yeah. Cuz cuz a lot there was something I believe it was from your gym. I won't say in case I'm wrong, but they were saying like they can't be nice to them before the fight because it just it they when they were nice they they thought they were giving up something and then then they go forward and they were like no no good stuff tough. But I've noticed like you would >> I know I don't mind that. Yeah, >> you're just you from start to finish. >> Yeah. I just I I I know the thing that's going to get me success in the cage is my plan. So the plan has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I'm like being nice to them or not being nice to them is not in the plan. So all all I am is completely focused on what the plan is. So everything else outside of that is just me. Um, and I wouldn't like to act any other way than I would act in a normal kind of like daytoday because Yeah. I just I think it's important to be myself as much as I possibly can. >> Yeah. I think authenticity is what kind of like enders yourself and other people like that to to people because they see maybe some themselves like I kind I'm like that. I'm nice. I'm humble all the time. Whereas I know a lot of men will put on shows and they've got their different reasons for it, but I think being yourself is the best thing you can do because you're showing people who you are and you've done a brilliant job of it uh throughout your amateur career and so far into your pro career. I can't wait to see this next fight. I'm going to let you go. Is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone want to shout out? And once again, thank you for joining me today and I will be watching next week. >> Oh, thank you so much. Um, just a massive thank you to my coach, to Ushin, to my team, to Ryan, my family, friends, just everybody that's given me any support. Um, every training partner. It's just been like so helpful. And I just can't wait to get in there now um on Saturday and follow the plan. >> That's the most important thing. But she will bring this back if you don't follow the plan. I'm pretty sure. So, I don't know. >> I have a plan written up. I look at the plan every morning when I wake up, every night before I go to sleep. Like I just Yeah. I'm just totally just locked in, focused. So yeah. >> Just before I actually let you go, is that something you did before or is that something that's >> No, it's something that I just started kind of doing. I just have like a a like board in my room and I'll write up the important things that I need to remember. So I have like the game plan. I have like, you know, if it's an important like piece of training that I need to remember and I just look at that in the mornings and I look at it in the evenings and I just completely like just really think about it. >> Yeah, >> I really like that. I've heard of people doing that and obviously you you've done maybe I don't know that she'd make you do this one stick to the plan. I really like it because it's the first thing you see in the morning, last thing you see before you go to bed and then it's constantly on your mind. So yeah, look, I look forward to you uh Gordian best of skill next weekend. Looking forward to getting back to winning ways and uh I will talk to you very soon. Thank you again for your time. >> Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.