Armand Herczeg

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Okay, so I'm here with Mr. Aaron Herzog who's going to be fighting very very soon for the SEC bantamweight title versus Manon Jackson who's fresh off The Ultimate Fighter. We last seen him on Cage Warriors. He's on a five-fight win streak and I think he's been so his his…

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Okay, so I'm here with Mr. Aaron Herzog who's going to be fighting very very soon for the SEC bantamweight title versus Manon Jackson who's fresh off The Ultimate Fighter. We last seen him on Cage Warriors. He's on a five-fight win streak and I think he's been so his his improvements you've been able to see them and I've been really happy to see them as well and I'm really happy to have you here with me this morning. How are you today? Thank you very much for joining me. How have you been? It's been a long time since we've had a chat. >> Yeah, mate. I'm good, you know. Everything's going well. All preparations have been great for fights and and training has been sick and just life itself has been it has been full of wonders. So, I'm just enjoying myself. >> Yeah, and obviously you've got the fight coming up but we didn't speak just before your last fight. You were supposed to fight Shane Williams on Samurai. Obviously, Shane ended up on PFL. You ended up on Cage Warriors. It kind of you both went and and went to different platforms. So, it was good that you both got a fight. Talk to us about how you felt when the opportunity initially left for Shane because I believe he was the one who pulled first because he got he got the PFL card. Were you thinking oh like I here we go I'm not going to be able to get a fight and then talk to us about what was like getting the call for Cage Warriors or was it lined up cuz I don't know the story about all of >> So, what happened was Shane pulled out he won PFL the fight Owen and I knew taking a risk against Shane was going to be taking a risk because even as an amateur we were meant to fight a couple of times and he never accepted or he pulled out. Yeah, so I knew this is like something that could happen but when Princi offered me the fight it was a fight that I was was like oh be sweet like you know fighting another Irish guy it'd be it'd be sick on the on the Irish scene and everything and um also he was just like he was I think he was one and all at the time so he wasn't that experienced or anything. So, like looking at topology and all this record stuff and that it might not look good but I knew he was a pretty skillful lad a good striker. So, I don't have to worry about him shooting too much or anything and and I was looking forward to testing my skills against someone who is very much so talented in the in that SBG gym. There's a lot of good things said about him, so I took the opportunity, gave him the chance to fight me for the belt, and um he ended up pulling out and going on PFL, which I can respect. It's a bigger opportunity, and I could see why he took the fight. Obviously, it didn't go his way. That's just unlucky. Either way, he would have ended up losing, so it doesn't really matter who where he lost. But then after that, we were trying to get another fight. There was um not really much happening and a few maybe a few offers, but they weren't the right fights, and um it was like we were just waiting. Then Princi messaged the the fight team group chat and was like, "There's a fight on Cage Warriors against this guy called Percy Herrera. Uh Jack Cartwright pulled out." So, I was like, "Yeah, I'll take it." I said it straight away. I messaged Princi and I was like, "I'll take that fight. Like, I'm ready to go." So, we got it at 63, I think it was. And that was really it. Me and I just took the fight, got the medicals done in in the time period, which if you ever need to get medicals done, you can get them done in time periods, but it was I was meant to fight there in Newcastle as well. I had an opponent, and he supposedly couldn't get his medical done. He's another person who likes to talk [ __ ] but um doesn't like to back it up with fighting. And I gave him an opportunity as well, bit of a lesser like record than me, and I gave him an opportunity to be on a big show, and and he missed out on it, but this is this is what like fighters that don't want to fight do, and uh yeah, I just took that fight on Cage Warriors, went there, and made a lot of mistakes, but showed a new level of mine, especially with like my hands. And I was happy about that. Obviously, my submission defenses is were there as well. He tried to knee bar me a couple of times, which were off of my own mistakes, which I've now fixed since then, but um yeah, it was a good opportunity, good show to go on. It was in Manchester as well, so it was like a a home show for me in a sense, so I was just buzzing off it, man. It was it was great. I was a bit gutted it was in the Unplugged, but we had enough people there to support me and sound loud enough, so it was sick. >> Yeah, no. I I I say it is good. Like like that, you go from not having an opponent, like you said, you can't blame Shane for getting the opportunity to be here and taking it. And especially, like you said, he's highly touted. Muhammad Mokaev is also highly touted as well. So, like that was a big big fight, so you can understand that. And then you go on and you performed the way you did. You talked about a couple of mistakes, but your striking as well. When we look back at your amateur career, everyone used to go, "He's a kickboxer." If you look at your amateur career, I'm pretty sure it's nearly all submission finishes. >> Yeah. >> And then we seen you go to pro and there's there's been a mix. There's been there's been strikes and submissions. Do you feel now, especially being in Manchester, what are you doing now? 2 and 1/2 3 years? 3 years? >> 2 and 1/2. >> 2 and 1/2. Can you feel Can you see yourself like becoming a more like we've seen it, but you've become a more well-rounded fighter. Do you see that as it happens or do you have to wait from fight to fight to test it in life and come back to go, "Okay, so what I've been working on has improved." Do you notice it during training or on the night of the fight? >> So, I think if we're going to speak about my career, we need to speak about like pre-Octagon Challenge and post-Octagon Challenge. And or post-Octagon. And pre-Octagon, I was a person who who knew how to fight. Like I love a fight. And and I always knew how to get into a scrap and that, but like post-Octagon, I've kind of developed my intelligence in fighting and understanding like the rule set and understanding the tactics in fights and and and how like using the concept we use in training to uh force our opponents out of position or to force our opponent on the back foot or negl- negate their stronger weapons and and use that against them. Force them to throw shots that I want them to throw so I can counter it. And I think that's the biggest like um development in myself. Is like I don't just know how to fight and I don't just have that bit of fight in me. I also understand how to fight and and how to win fights. And and that's been shown as well. Now, of course, I've always been a quote-unquote striker. I've always looked at myself as a MMA fighter, though. So, obviously, these submissions that I've got in amateur are more off of bases of people panic wrestling and then me guillotining them. Or the one triangle I did get was again off of like someone else not being not defending it correctly or making a mistake and me capitalizing on it. Now, when I when I fight and I grapple and that, it's all tactical. It's all for a reason. It's either to Like in the second round against Pierce Herrera, I was very close to vomiting. So, I took him down and just laid on top of him cuz I knew if I kept jumping around and moving I'd probably get sick. You'll see it in between round two and three, the bucket's at my mouth and I'm like uh regurgitating. I'm nearly getting sick. So, with all that, like it's it's all an understanding of like when to do what and and how to do it. And and I think that's what I've developed a lot of. I understand like what my my skill sets are and my style is and how I can input my style. And if my main style doesn't work, when to add the second bit, the third bit. Going from A to Z and and being able to win a fight and knowing where to win it. That's the biggest like lessons I've had from fighting and and from developing here at Top Team as a professional. >> Yeah, no, you got so many more layers to your game, like you said. And And what I like there is the fight IQ. The fact that you're going to get sick. How How's that feeling actually in a fight? Cuz you know I've We've seen it happen. I've seen it happen at amateur. Someone's winning a fight all the way to turn around and got sick in the last minute and then they lost. As a fighter, what like when you're winning or you're doing well and and like that you feel like you're going to get sick. What's going through your head? Are you like, "No, I can't get sick right now. Like I'm winning this fight." Like is is your mind trying to console your body to make sure that this does not happen? >> Um I think it's just like I I kind of like I've been in positions in training where I've nearly gotten sick. You know, someone had a body triangle on me and then I might have got out of it. And then I have to sit in guard or half guard and control them and like let my stomach settle. So, it's the same thing. It's like fighting is just another day at the end at the end of the day. But, it's all the same. It's It's It's fighting is is is the same as training. Obviously, there's more more to it as well, but if I'm able to like train these situations and train these things in in the gym, I'm able to do it on fight day. And it's the same with everything else, the the combinations, tactics, the concepts, all of it. If I can implement it in training and try it out use it, then I'm going to be able to use it on fight night. And that's all it was. It was just um one of them ones even with fight IQ. You just got to understand like how your body works and what you need to use for your body, which techniques work, which styles work, and [snorts] and implement that. It's It's not one of them ones where like I kind of think about it. I kind of just do it cuz I've done it in training anyway. And then with that it just develops into something better and better. And I mean we just build off of it. Like, in a fight >> [snorts] >> from fighting where I feel like I'm going to get sick, I know if I grapple and like level myself out and compose myself a bit more, I won't. So, it's just being well aware of that and understanding your body. And And thankfully, I I understand it to a good degree. >> Yeah, no. I I 100% I like that. It's It's good you're talking a lot more about fight IQ and kind of We all knew you wanted to scrap. Like I said, I was there when you jumped in on on 45 seconds notice or something silly like that. Um but the fact that you're like you're strategizing and game planning and all these things have kind of have come. But, your your upcoming fight that you've got coming up uh against Marlon. He's fresh off The Ultimate Fighter. Uh he's the current champ. It's on FCC. A great [clears throat] promotion. One of my favorite promotions in the UK. Also, they have the fight pass as well. Um how does it feel to be fighting for a title? What do you make of him as an opponent? And also obviously being off fresh off The Ultimate Fighter. Obviously, he didn't get there. He's coming back. But, like to take a scalp like that will be pretty, pretty big. How are you feeling about this whole fight and and fighting on FCC on Fight Pass? >> Yeah, well, I'm buzzing. Like, my first fight for Manchester Top Team was on FCC. Um it it it's a nice little turnaround from from making my debut, winning in a nice fashion, getting a nice finish and everything in that. Uh going away, getting wins and that, and then coming back on to fight for the title, and fight someone who's come off The Ultimate Fighter as a bit of hype around him. He's a very skillful guy, probably the the best guy on paper that I've fought that I'm going to fight. So, it all lines up nice, and it's like the stars are all aligned, and the opportunity is there, and and of course I'm going to take it. Like, it's it's on UFC Fight Pass as well, which they they do focus on FCC. There's a lot of guys that come off FCC to get onto the UFC. So, with all that intact, and all that to like look at, it's all great, but but I don't really care about all that [ __ ] Like, I just care about fighting and getting finishes, and and that's what I want to do. And and I look at Marlon, and I watch him, and I and I see his fights, and I and I notice mistakes he's making, and I think I can capitalize on them, you know? And I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be tested. It's five rounds, so gives me 25 minutes to work with. I don't think I need all 25 minutes to finish him. And and I'm going to show that. So, it's a good fight. He's a good opponent. He he's come from a place where there's a bit of hype around him. He's just come off that show. He's He's at the door. So, I beat him, it puts me in the same position that he was in, if not a better one. Um so, I'm just looking forward to to capitalize on on the chance. >> Yeah, I like what you said there. You like what you talk about the FCC. You're like, "Don't mind that. I just want to go I just want to go in and fight." And it's it's a nice full circle moment, as well, when you think about it. If you like to capture the title on FCC, the first promotion that you fought with under Top Team, to come back, and then with a title in that promotion, and then from winning the title there, God knows what the the put the possibilities are then endless after obviously he's coming off the Ultimate Fighter. There's all these different opportunities that are available to you, but when you when you have a fight, you just think on that fight and you don't look too far in the future. Do you think sometimes people might make mistakes? Obviously, everyone has an end goal, but do you think sometimes people get carried away and look past their next opponent to their their their goal at the end? >> [snorts] >> Uh Possibly, but when you have someone like Marlon Jones facing you and and if you look past him in any sense of the way or or thinking like, "Oh, I'll just get past him and I'll get UFC or I'll get a call-up or I'll get a contender's opportunity next year or something." Then then you're just [clears throat] being a muppet. Like Marlon Jones is no slouch. He's not a joke and he's coming to fight and he and he wants to win the fight as well. He wants to prove to himself that either that he can grapple or wrestle or that he can fight and he wants to finish me as well. So, he's a very dangerous opponent. He's a very dangerous opportunity and and it can go both ways, you know, like only only God knows what's going to happen and that's the truth, but and I can only prepare myself for all possible outcomes and and do my best and I will and I can see myself obviously winning the fight coming out and and getting the finish. I don't want to do 25 minutes cuz [ __ ] that. That's a long time to be in the cage fighting someone, so um I will be coming to finish him. He'll be coming to try and finish me. We're both trying to get to the UFC and it's it's a massive fight, you know, I'm I'm fighting out of Manchester. He's fighting out of Liverpool. There's there's loads of hype around it, but when we look at it and we lock the door and all that, none of that matters. It's just matters that there's one skillful guy and there's another skillful guy facing each other and it's who can capitalize on each other's mistakes the most and who can make each other make the mistakes the most and that's what we'll see and I think it's me. He probably thinks it's him. So, we'll see. I'm looking forward to it. He's someone who's not coming there to just fall over and and roll around on the ground and and die. I'm I'm not coming to do that either, so it's it's a great fight. It's It's I think it's like prelim card level fight in the UFC, so it's perfect. >> Yeah, it's it's it's a very high-level fight and like I know in Ireland you don't see it as much uh Irish fighters fighting each other and you actually mentioned I was actually wanting to play circle back to that earlier. You mentioned about oh fighting Shane on Samurai for the the title at the time you're like oh nice another Irish lad. Do you think it's essential for Irish guys to fight each other and UK guys to fight each other cuz I think with the crop of fighters we have now I think you have to stand out from from the rest of your countrymen. A lot of people disagree with me. I know Andy Stevenson really likes it. But you you look at years ago when the likes of Paul Redmond and Kieran Davern and all these guys were coming through they all fought each other. Do you think that should be the way that they you should you should be fighting people from your own country like base like UK base or Irish base or you think you should look more for different opponents. So I think you should fight each other but what's your your opinion on it? >> I think both both countries are very small, yeah, like the UK and Ireland. They're They're both small islands like compared to the US or Europe and there's a lot of fighters and I think like yes and no. I think like where we are in that in my position in my career what Marlon what Marlon and me like we're going to fight each other is a good position to do it. We've all both got a couple wins. We've both got fights from guys from overseas and that and and different opportunities which is great. [clears throat] But I also think like when you have two prospects fighting each other who've just come out of amateur and they've only fought Irish guys their whole career to then fight another Irish guy professional. I think like you got to look at it in this way both lads want the same thing and and to try and like kick start your career with a loss it it's not fun and it's not good for your for your head and that and I think like coaches and teams that are trying to develop their fighters and develop their like records and and work on styles and and fight against styles that are from a different part of the countries or different part of the world. It is very important. Like you can fight Irish guys all through your professional career, beat them and be the best in Ireland. That's great. If that's what you want to do, do that. But if you're not fighting international fights and international styles, then you're not developing yourself and you got to look at it both ways. But I think if you develop your career and develop through fighting international guys and people from different countries, different styles, and then maybe go back and fight an Irish guy and then get an opportunity on like a bigger show like Cage Warriors, FCC, or UFC octagon, PFL, whatever it is, then then yeah, that's the right way to do it, I think. Cuz there's no point of you just constantly fighting the same style. Like Irish guys have their own style, UK guys have their own style. And if it's the only style you can beat, then you can't be a world beater. >> I love it. I actually like the way you put that. That yeah, you can't be a world beater if you've only beaten regional fighters. And I completely understand your point as well. And I'd be just I'd be I would like to see them fight soon, but I think there needs to be a time and a place as well. I don't think See like if you put >> [snorts] >> Max Lally versus just say, I know they're teammates, but just for example, Connor McCarthy, you wouldn't put them at the start because against you know, that's just the two two rising stars. So, you just you take away from one. But I think with the George like I know obviously it's UK versus George Ste versus Connor McCarthy, like that was a massive fight. And it was that was the right time for it to happen as well. I think that they they both had done so well. Um I did they both had done so well. Um but looking forward to obviously what you're going to you're obviously you've got this fight. Have you anything planned after the fight or are you looking to fight again? Not that you've anything planned, but you looking to fight again? >> Yeah, well, look, we'll see after the fight. Don't know. Anything can happen. You'll get injured or anything like that. Like the way I look at it is I'm I'm dead until this fight's done. So, right now the only thing is this fight and and what comes after it like Prince Naseem Hamed. There's no need for me to look into things or focus on things or try and figure things out cuz I need to get past Marlon first. There's no point of me being like yeah, after I fight Marlon I'm going to wait to see another big promotion to give me an opportunity. I could go back to Ultimate Warrior or I could fight on PFL or I could get a call up. There's no like anything can happen and and those things can all happen but also it might not happen so there's no point of me like focusing on that. I'm just focusing on the goal and that's Marlon Jones on September 26th. >> Yeah, no. And that's what that's that's good though as well that you can only you can only focus on what you can change. You don't you like obviously if you put in the performance that you can get the calls but you don't know when or if these calls will potentially come so you just need to focus on the task at hand, get that out of the way and then okay, let's let's see how the lay of the land lies but um I'm going to let you go. I want to thank you very much for joining me. Um is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out and I thank you so much for your time and wish you the best of uh skill of the fight is still a good bit away uh but I will be looking forward to seeing it when it happens. Is there anything you want to say before you go? >> Yeah, just um thank you to everyone that's like been supporting me throughout this. Obviously like family, friends and and all that as well as like my teammates like Louie, Alfie, Dylan, Lewis, uh Tibo, all all the lads uh AB, everyone. Like if I started naming everyone it'd be very difficult but like without without the lads in the gym none of this would be possible and Prince himself, George. Like all of you have put up with my [ __ ] and and developed me into the fighter I am and the person I am and I'm always grateful for it. And like shout out to like Kelly and James as well, my nutritionist and and strength conditioning coach who helped me get the bantamweight and and helped me stay on on path. So without all these people in my in my career I wouldn't be where I am so just just all of them I'm grateful for. Anyone who's looking to sponsor me or or get on board or anything like that, just message me and I I need as much help as I can get with this, but even the sponsors I do have now, shout out to all yous like yous have all supported me well, so thank you everyone. >> Yeah, people don't understand even when you turn pro, it's it's not a money-making venture fighting. It's something that you have to love to do it to to go through like you go through three-month camp and someone could pull out. You go through three-month camp, you could get injured. There's so many ups and downs in it as well and like that. It's all self-funded most of the time. It's there isn't a huge round takeaway. But I just want to say something. It's been a pleasure talking to you. It's been a pleasure as well like and I've said to you previously, I can see the maturity in your fighting and in your mentality even from the conversation we just had before. I and it's been absolutely fantastic to see like you've completely turned around your mindset and your fight career at the same time as well. And I just want to congratulate you on it because as like you said, there is a lot of people that have helped you, but you needed to make that decision and you did and it is working out in your favor. So you've made the right decision and fair play and congratulations on everything so far and everything else going forward. >> Thank you, mate. I really appreciate it. It's nice to hear about I don't know how to take it, but thanks. >> [laughter] >> You're like me when someone gives me a compliment, I'm like Are you talking to me? >> [laughter] >> Usually my head just starts growing, but I'm trying to be more humble these days. >> Yeah, no, but like sometimes credit needs to be given where credit's due. You know what I'm saying? It's like that. The way it's like that. The way you sat down and you've talked about strategizing stuff and all before. That's not like if we go back to our older interviews and we look back. But then again, I was still kind of raw. You like you probably would have only been getting your first interviews as well at the time. We both would have been much different then. So it's good to see how we've both progressed and we've both going to progress together going forward as well and I'm going to be there for every step of your journey. Thank you very much. And I will talk to you soon. >> Of course, mate. Thank you, mate.