Rachel Mcilhagga interview

สรุป

Rachel competes at Rumble fighting championship in the final of the tournament looking to claim her first belt We speak about her preparations for this fight, her previous fight against Vicky and what she's learnt and the documentary she recently started in.

ถอดเสียง (youtube_captions)

Okay. So, I'm here with Raan Mlhaga. Is that H correct? Yeah. So, she's gonna be fighting this weekend. Rumble fighting champion. She's gonna be fighting for another title. She's going to be fighting Julia, who I spoke to earlier in the week. Um, she had to compete in the tournament to get here. So, she won the semi-finals. Now, this is the final. So, thank you very much for joining me, especially one day before the fight. How are you feeling? We just had a brief chat there. you you've uh coming into this week you're a lot fresher than a lot of people would be. How are you feeling? >> Yes, Dave, thank you for having me. Pleasure as always. I'm feeling good. I didn't have any weight or anything to cut. Obviously, just done the normal like dieting down and stuff, but no no baths for me this time. Um so my me and my dietician Donal, we had it all planned out from day one. We weren't expecting my weight to be as low as it was this week. He was expecting like pull the carbs and all back, but I was eating carbs right up until like 4:00 yesterday. Um, so we've really nailed the wake up process, which makes me feel so much more ready for the fight tomorrow. Like I'm not feeling drained or dehydrated or anything. It's great. >> That's good cuz usually when I talk to fighters, especially if I was going to be talking to them today of all days, everyone would be gone. They'd be h there'd be no like I've talked to people like that the day uh of weigh-ins or or the day before weigh-ins and they're gaunt they're not very enthusiastic. You seem full of life. You seem full of energy and ready to go. Um how are you feeling about the contest this Saturday? >> I'm excited. I'm just so ready to get in there. Obviously this one has been in the works for a long time because the semi-final was back in March. We're only just being able to do the final now. Um it's just as exciting. It's more exciting than any other fight. It's a title shot again. Um hopefully bring the belt home this time. I feel like there's a lot more riding on me this time because I lost one shot. I don't want to lose another one. Do you know what I mean? Um so I'm just excited. I'm just I'm really I'm ready to go this time. >> And Rumble, I I like the tournament. Uh I like the tournament style and obviously you can do the semi-finals on one night and then the final the other night. Obviously, how how hard has it been waiting for this? Cuz like he says, you know, you knew the title shot was coming. It's it was March. It's now the end of November. Was like waiting for that. We just like, oh, I'd rather just kind of get it done. I know obviously you have to wait on the event, but is it harder like was it hard waiting for this shot with all having all the other fights in between? >> See, to be honest, I think having the other fights in between made it easier. Like I didn't The only difficulty was not knowing when the show was. So like I like obviously you try to keep yourself like I would have tried to keep myself free so that I would was available for the show. Like I wouldn't have took any other fights around like say if he was saying I'll having a fight we're doing the show in November. I'm like right well I'll not accept any other fights in November. So that there was difficult not knowing when the show would be but still I was still actively fighting and stuff like I think I had two between now and the semi-final. So, I've just been training um in between as usual. So, the years flew in [laughter] and then obviously we got the call saying it would be this weekend. We were all buzzing because it was perfect. That was six weeks after my last fight. So, just went straight back into camp. So, it all just worked out perfectly for me. >> No, that's that's very good. And and in between since we've been talking, that documentary was released as well. How do you feel after seeing it on TV and seeing it? What was the reception you got? Like I thought it was very I I thought it was excellently done and it was like it really shows the good side. It it shows all aspects of it, but it really shows what you kind of want to get through as as a a martial artist. How did you feel it turned out and how do you feel taking part in it now that it's all said and done and it's aired and everything? >> I was so happy with it. Like we didn't get a pre-screening or anything like we just watched it whenever it came out the same way everybody else does. Um but we I thought it was done so well. Like I really really enjoyed it and I was just going to watch the first episode and I ended up just binging it all in the one night. Um it was done so good and like everyone really really really love to get the call to do a season two. Um but it's been pretty surreal since then. Like I got like around the first obviously it's all quieting down now, but like the first couple of weeks whenever it was out I was having people messaging me about the show saying how unreal it was. I was having younger fighters, like younger girl fighters specifically, messaging me saying that I was an inspiration to them and like me and Chloe were on the radio together talking about it. Like it's just it was I got asked for my autograph the first time in my life and it was such a surreal experience and like I was so so so happy with the documentary and not going to lie, I did watch it three times. All three episodes three times um and I probably will watch it again. Um but it was actually really fun. Like obviously I'm living it every single day, but it was really fun to watch what we do as like an outsider point of view. Like especially like there's a specific scene where I'm being Shark Tank for a fight and all the girls are really helping and like I'm I'm crying and all by the cage. Like I was just so overwhelmed like seeing like being able to watch that from an outsider and like feel all the emotions I was going through at the time. Like I was literally sitting thinking flip me we we do that. Like that's mad. Like I find it so difficult to watch stuff like that, forgetting that that's what I do every single day. >> Isn't it bad? Like you said, once you remove yourself from it and you kind of watch it, it's like that's what I always say. I think you fighters I I love what you do. I think these are all mental. Um so you can kind of see you step outside and you see kind of other people's perspective. But you talked about getting asked for your autograph, girls saying you're an inspiration. How does that make you feel? Like because you came into this obviously that probably wasn't one of the things that crossed your mind that you were going to be an inspiration. So if you wanted to just go do your thing, but how does it feel knowing that you have such an effect on uh especially young female fighters cuz I was at it was actually at Arteimus where I just seen this little girl and she was like hi Rachel like I after even though you had lost he was like I like a good fight but and she just looked at you with just such adorn and eyes and I was just like oh my god like how does that that must feel surreal. It's I will never get used to it. Never like see especially within the last like 6 months to a year like the reactions and the little kids and all like call me inspirations and stuff like it's really been like mainly happening over the last six months and it's I've just got a serious case of imposter syndrome. Like I just I'm like terrible on my phone so like I I miss quite a few messages. It's really really bad. I really need to work on that. So, it's whenever it comes to like the fight shows and like that interaction that you just described or like open sparring days where there's we girls coming up to me like I I stepped out of the ring after losing and I think I was swarmed with about 10 15 different people. Like it took me at least 15 minutes to get from the ring to the medics. Like the medics were trying to drag me and I'm all trying to talk to people and like everybody just came and swarmed me. Like that was imposter syndrome. I was like I literally just lost and you are all over here. congratulating me. Like it was wild. But I don't think I'll ever get used to it because like you see all that at the show and then you go back to your normal life. You go back to your 9 to5. You go back into the gym and then you go out to a show again. There's a little girl coming up asking you for like to get a picture. I'm like oh my god. Absolutely. Like I love it. I I don't I don't love it in a publicity point of view. I love it and the fact that I can inspire girls and I can inspire not even just girls but like mainly little girls but fighters in the scene coming up and people watching the documentary like I it's just it's really rewarding to know that what I'm doing is helping other people and I am inspiring other people to be their best version of themselves. You know, I noticed that when like after the fight, it was just like just straight to the to the side. I was like this. It was mad. It was It was a fantastic fight between you and Vicki. And I remember you saying at the time if you if you wanted you were going to lose to anyone, it'd be Vicki. It was such a good fight to to top off that card. How did you find obviously we were looking ahead of Roman, but we just touch back on Armus obviously uh because because you're the main event. How did you feel being main event for that? I know obviously the result didn't go the way you wanted, but the fight was a cracking fight. It really showcased the skill of female com uh martial artist. How do you feel obviously with the show how it went and and and after and being part the main event of that show? >> Oh, it was absolutely amazing. Every single part of the day was amazing. Um, I didn't spend a lot of time in the warm-up room like um during the show like I I was sat out with people that I knew watching the show and like sitting in there with the energy like it was electric in that room like everybody was shouting and roaring at the girls at the ch the little girls in the ring and they were all absolutely thriving like it was insane. And what I loved as well is the crowd wasn't all female. Like the crowd, there was a lot of men that came to the show to watch and like a lot of dads, a lot of brothers, a lot of boyfriends. Like it wasn't just like it was open to absolutely everybody. And you would think like people would be like, "Oh, it's an all female show. Like it's only going to be girls to watch it." But I love how literally the community was massive. Like everybody was there and everybody was up roaring and like the energy was insane. And then um then it came to me warming up and stuff and I don't know if you remember my walk out but every single person was on their feet and the walk out was absolutely insane. I've never had even a reaction to that to me walking around a corner. It was mad. I have a video of it. I watch it all the time. Um that was insane. The whole place was just electric. And then I couldn't really hear anybody other than my coach whenever I was do actually doing the fight. Um and but then after whenever all the storms of people came up like everybody was just so happy to be there and everybody was just absolutely loving what we were doing and to be main event like in such a historic event. Um I really hope to be there either main event or co-main again. Um I know there's talks of another day and there's talks of a few things happening but um we'll talk about that next year. Uh but yeah, and then after like again it was just all the social media like every all the videos and like watching back all the videos that were done like um they were unreal. They're absolutely unreal. And like all the girls and the guys that were there doing the content absolutely just caught everything and it was on fire. Like all the videos that were coming up I was like reliving it. It was incredible. Um but no, the whole the whole thing was just so fun. And then obviously the decision didn't go my way, but I got to fight one of my friends. Me and Vicky have been in touch loads since the fight. I've watched the fight back loads. Yes, obviously there's a lot I needed to work on, a lot I could have done to fight better, but it was such a technical fight. Like I watched it back and I compared it to other title fights and it was just so technical. Like us two girls deserve to be in that ring fighting for that belt. Like it was a clinic. It was gorgeous. Yeah, I really enjoyed the fight and that's what I said and I I didn't mean it like I I said like some of the fights even from the lower the the lower teens and all the the technical prowess of some of the females was was unbelievable and and your fight really proved that. There was another one or two fights. I can't remember which ones they were that were really good technically and I was like, "Wow." Like the level of these these females. Not No, I knew obviously you could get there, but I hadn't seen so many fights at one time. >> One room. Yeah. >> Like MMA shows you might get one. Like recently it's been much better. You've got maybe I think four was the most I've seen on the card, but when I started way back when, you would remember you you'd be lucky to get one between four shows in three months or something. >> So it's some shows you don't even want the girls. I I think I think this there should be a platform for everybody. Um you know the sort of way and that's why like I was delighted when Mel asked me to do commentary then I was kind of like you I was thinking am I going to be the only like male in here and then I knew Nikki was coming so I said at least there'll be someone else but like that when you got there there was so many there was just a a variety in the crowd of young old male female like I said a lot people and it was I I love the show h and especially cuz I was sitting beside Neve who I really really do have good time for as well. So, I'm looking forward to the next one. But moving on, you've got Rumble, you've got Julia coming up. Um, have you seen much of Julia yourself? Obviously, she bought uh she beat Vicki to to get to the final. So, have you watched her fight back or do you leave that to your coaches? >> I didn't watch her fight with Vicki because I'm a different fighter than I was when I fought Chloe in that same night. I watched her fight with Khloe Ko whenever they fought in September for the Irish title. Um, I watched that fight and I sent it to my coaches and they watched it and we just like I literally just watched it once, sent it on to them and was all figure out our game plan and then we'll go from there. And then we did exactly that. Um, but that's it. I fought Julia before. Um, do you remember whenever Bligill did his was it rage fight? >> Yes, Rage kickboxing up in there. >> Yeah. Yeah, I fought Julia on that. Now, that was only one of my first K1 fights. Um, I was in no way as skilled as I am now. Um, I lost to Julia, so this is a rematch. Um, but yeah, no, I just kind of really took obviously that was a long that was about two years ago, so I just really took um ideas for our game plan from her most recent fight there in September. >> Yeah, cuz like I see it for like if he if an amateur fights today and he goes to fight in February, he's a much different fighter, you know. So looking at kind of the footage >> uh is different and the fact that you fought a way back when like said that you would have been just kind of like I said at starting your K1 and I was so impressed with how your ascendency through K1 has gone you've just absolutely flown to it and you're like that one of the biggest names in female combat sports in Ireland. But like I said, like when you see when you see 10 15 guards rush a rush a ring, you know, to get you, there was probably others that were probably too shy to get there. >> Um, but yeah, especially in the K1 like just the MMA there's quite a few. The K1 I I'm starting to get into now as well. I was talking to I talked to Ty there recently. So if it wasn't for Chaos this weekend, I would be there. Do you know what? Because I wouldn't mind it's about half an hour up the road for me as opposed to four hours. But um >> yeah, right enough. >> So obviously uh Jason booked me first, so uh I can't go up unfortunately. But uh with the show, the show got changed into Sally Nog and they've they've had to change all those things. How has your camp been leading up to it? Because like you said, six weeks from your last fight. Has it been uh what's the camp been like leading up to this? >> So obviously I just went from camp to camp. So, like we weren't solely focusing on like fitness or technique. That's all already there. Really, what we were focusing on was how to approach a different fighter. Like, we had a game plan for Vicki. The fight didn't go that way because she did the quite opposite of what we were expecting her to do. So, we researched um Julia from her last fight and we kind of were able to figure out her weaknesses and how to attack her weaknesses. Um that's really what we've been focusing on in this camp. And I've been really trying to take a leaf out of Vicky's book and I've been focusing on the whole hit and move hit and move because you've no idea how bloody frustrating it was whenever I was trying to counter her punches and she just wasn't there anymore. So, I've been really trying to do that on pads and really consciously been throwing my combos and moving. Whereas before, like I'm a pressure fighter, but I'm I'm not scared of being hit. Like, I'm so okay with being hit. I'm so okay with taking on the gloves, but that's such a bad habit of mine. Like, that's something I need to I I realized I needed to learn how to get out of there and how to hit disengage, re-engage on my own terms. So that's really a lot of what we've been working on for Julia because she's long, she's rangy, so I need to be I either need to be on the inside or I need to be away. Do you know what I mean? >> Yeah. You need to be right in the pocket or you need to be way back because obviously long reach, long legs, she'll be able to hit you. >> She would be able to hit you at a longer distance than you would be able to hit her. So yeah, and like you said with the Vicky thing, the the sticking and moving is one thing. I liked what Vicki done in that fight and I could see how frustrated you were when you threw the punch and she wasn't there and you could I could just see your face and you were like [laughter] >> The boxing is absolutely phenomenal. Like hats off to her. Like we we watched back that fight and Pat my coach was like right see what she's doing on you. You need to do that. And I was like right okay let's go. Let's let's [laughter] give it a go. >> But obviously like I said this is your your another shot at a title. What would it mean for you to to take this title home from Rumble Fighting Championship? >> It would mean the absolute world to me because I know deep down that's the next step for me. I need to start bringing home belts. Like I'm at that level now. I'm being given the opportunities. I can't blow it again. I had the opportunity to get the ESCA belt. I didn't bring it home. I am not losing two belts in a row. It's not an option. um bringing this belt home would be it would be mainly proven to myself what I'm capable of because I've had so much self-doubt in the past six weeks from the last fight because I know I I knew I could have done more. Um but I'm I'm not leaving anything out of that ring this weekend. I'm putting absolutely everything into that because I deserve to be there and it's took a lot for me to be able to say that out loud. It's took a lot for me to believe that I deserve to be there and to bring this belt home. to bring this belt back to Balena, back to the gym. It'll just prove to me that I am capable of fighting for these titles and I am thankful to my coaches for getting me there and I I owe them the service to they're putting in all the time and effort into me. I need to bring something home. >> Yeah. No, and I have no doubt that you will. It's going to be a fantastic fight and there's so much more uh to go after this, but your your focus on this here and now. There's a couple of names as well that you threw out there. Chloe Cure was someone who I've noticed as well. She seems to be fighting every week. Um >> yeah, she's fighting tomorrow as well. >> She's fighting tomorrow. She's fighting at evolution because I see she came up on my feed with two fight posters and I was like, >> "Yeah, >> I see all you all you fighters are mental." But with the this weekend, are you going to be staying down in Dublin or are you going to be traveling back up the same day or what's your what's your plans like for the day? >> No, I'm staying down. Me and my boyfriend have booked in a hotel and some of his family's coming down to support. So, they booked rims as well. So, we're staying in Lever's Town. We're staying in the Clayton Hotel in Leverstown. >> Oh, very nice. I know I know Leerstown. Uh, yeah. No, it's going to be a fantastic weekend. The fight is obviously more fights underneath for anyone who's interested in Rumble Fighting Championship. I will provide a link to the pay-per-view, which they will have cuz Paul Brown's obviously on the mic. I know that much. Um, I'm going to let you go. Is there anything you want to say before you go or anything you want anyone you want to shout out? Thank you again for your time, especially so close to the fight. >> Of course, just all the usuals, my coaches, my friends, my family, Wes, all the support he's given me. Um, everybody standing by me as they always do. Um, the main ones obviously Rodney Pat listening to my absolute diva meltdowns every single week. Um, Jamie up in Lincoln putting the time in helping me out with sparring twice a week as well. Just all the usual guys. You all know who you are. all my teammates, everybody, friends, family, the whole lot, everyone. Just thanks to everyone for always having my back, even even behind the losses as well. >> Yeah. No, it's I can't wait to see what happens this weekend. Thank you so much for joining me and I will talk to you very soon. Best of luck this weekend. >> Of course. Thank you so much.