IN DEPTH | EPISODE 26 | CRAIG COAKLEY

Summary

We sat down with decorated professional Mauy Thai fighter Craig Coakley to chat all things combat sports.

Transcript (youtube_captions)

foreign [Music] championship at the contract obviously you you won it how did it feel winning how like how did like it was a very good feeling obviously because I was from walking far for a long time now ball again we're calling that we placed himself there a long time we're going on I mean oh he thought we belonged here a long time ago so in me always there was a long time commentary thing as well but yeah no it was very good it was emotional you know what I mean Dan realized now we're actually after that you're gonna you know and obviously there was all your family there now what was it like having being surrounded by them and with the performance because it was Sensational I must say uh well to be fair Brothers as well so my family's nearly always you know what I mean but yeah no it was a a very good experience with I think 150 people over at that for you so it looked like I was in Ireland but it was in England you know what I mean yeah it was good very very good yeah that was that's a lot of people to bring over but to get to where you are now you had to start somewhere when was your entry into Combat Sports was it uh Muay Thai was it box and how did you get fall into it so coming from NRC while coming from oil and Dublin it's football a boxing but where it went from it was mainly boxing so I was turning into a boxing gym when I don't know I was fairly fairly young though uh never really talked about him boxing in ISL we kind of just left on a bag or left Shadow Boxing or you have to be calling the scene to be good before someone comes and starts walking with you you know what I mean so I didn't really didn't really like that got involved in the flats and got involved in the street and I think I was about 15 14 15 and to the gym not too far down the road from here it was in there at the Broadstone uh in Facebook it was actually me quarter a couple of other Lads from around there foreign of um a realist you know what I mean so I know that we needed more Australia so looking for a gym one of your good friends James there was a gym around the corner from him it was in a shed in the back of Summer Hill look you had to walk down a pitch black land to get to this now all you mean a shed not bigger than this so there's a little tree bags on a ringing and that was it uh that was the first military gym we went into I would say I was about 17 and fell in love fell in love with the sport I fell in love with and yeah and obviously you were saying that obviously he had been in environments recently Flats like that was a good do you think for any young person that will be listening to this that if they are involved in situations like that that they should go into a Combat Sports not just Muay Thai MMA or do something to fall yeah I truly agree with that because look corn from these areas it doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad person you can just be souped into bad things fairly easy you know what I mean uh again you come from these type of places where it's pure poverty you know so people are looking for ways to make money so we'll deal with our class floating thing but yeah if yeah coming from areas like this and you don't leave that toy below if then yeah I think any type of sport will get you away from that whether it's football rugby box and M A you know I think combat more style because a letter release a lot of aggression as well you know what I mean most kids coming from areas like this have got real problems and real struggles so they will actually have a lot of anger so I think being able to put anger and into something is very helpful yeah and later it is so easy nowadays to go astray which it's just it's everywhere at the minute but when you first went into that little gym down somewhere down the little lane did you ever envisions yourself competing did like did you want to compete or did you just want to learn it or did you know straight away I want to fight hey or is the intention of flying an MMA so we went into that gym with the intention till 40 MMA Boop I'll tell you I thought about two or three weeks I mean college at the time it's really good I think you should help fight like yeah you're actually really good you know like uh yeah sure why not looking around like then after another two or three weeks you got me matched and I had me forceful I think within the first two months of me trying and but I've done before four years when I was like right this is what we want to do this is some boys you know what I mean and what was it about the fight and then talk to us about when you got to fight the feelings going into it like like what was it like what was the nurse like because you were only doing it for such a short length well you know what I mean whether you're a bully whether you get picked on you're always going to be in a situation where you're gonna have to fool you someone or you think anyways you know I mean coming from this type of various so only four before but yeah the nerves are completely different because you know you're gonna fight someone sometimes you don't know where you're gonna afford someone on the streets you know what I mean it's just going on the floor you caught talking but yeah an organized for you it's a lot different you have to deal with the emotions and that was something that I think I'm very good at I think is a it's very very strong you know I mean we coming from foreign people on the street where they look you can do what you want here you know what I mean they're going and appoint someone that they can only Punch Kick on here yeah it's a lot different so that's kind of what I tell myself as well yeah it's good to be able to deal with nerves yeah and then obviously like I said your background was able to help you but what was it about the fight what was the result actually and you forced for you yeah one second round stoppage about Amanda now's probably had a big head and all on yeah I think with four amateur voids before it won't see class so when toy those different classes to C-Class b class and well there's amateur C Class B Class and a Class C class is basically there's no mailbox there's no needs to the head it's three rounds it's filming around some C classes uh five rounds but it's a minute and a half then B Class it usually goes into five rounds Tillman around knees to the head no elbows then a class is full toy realtor elbows knees the head everything dreaming around and then like is there a certain time limit for people to progress or is it just based on the individual based on the individual uh obviously if you those people that progress a lot faster than others but in Ireland and personally I think there's not enough fights there's not enough shows going on uh or you shouldn't have progressed as fast as I did now I'm fairly good on the floor you know what I mean I'm fairly good at adapting the situations so I've only adapted very well and really got your show up very well but like you've four years gone from like an amateur for 14. tighten up three parts Pro basically yeah the Euphoria is in England that have 50 40 50 60 Foods before already torn C-Class so obviously they're very very experienced before you go in so they're really tricky you know what I mean they're really good the the good sweeps the the scar very well and I think my king was or it was a foyer you know what I mean I could always fight so I broke people down that way but again you see a lot of other sports that got evolved and you just get out ill pointed very very easily because of the experience levels that the English have so I think that in Ireland we should swing at martials and stuff like that on and or even in the clubs you know what I mean like comment there each other's jeans and having hard spars to your team so then that I like we'll get more experience throughout and we learn more you know what I mean yeah I was talking to it's a need from Hammerhead and that's what the majority of her fights are actually in the UK because she says they're running like every weekend they're nearly every second weekend like you can have it for you every week can be okay and how many showers here would run on average a year so it does the Lanka show Martin Horgan has a show Kelly has a show sometimes yeah so did you find yourself obviously actually when you realize that like Fighters before they go from the Hampshire to the C-Class that they have that many fights when you progress that quickly did that make you very confident in your abilities and what you were doing all you always thought was an animal I'm not gonna lose I think from you I think I've only told you Floyd and I think it was me 22nd or 23rd I thought won the Alton gray so far 309 fleets you know what I mean so of self-belief is there you know that was the fight that you were robbed in I believe wasn't it well look it's debatable so yeah Dwight Howard's his guard is very subjective so supposedly toy is meant to be scored on effect right meaning you hit me three times I shall no effect of them three shots I hit you one point you show a little bit of effect off that shot on my hip okay now it's not that it's water down but in different regions they'll say look kick scars better than this near score better than elbows someone so far now all over toy hand scared at least really so boxing is the least card thing unless you're snapping foyer's head back through WBC they changed it so they made all weapons with effect Squad sound so if we punch you and show us a little bit effect it's got the same as if you need me or kick me so going into that foreign boxing heavy I went very boxing heavy and he kicked heavy obviously so and his subjective I totally wonder what wbc's card is meant to be but if we were in a stadium in Thailand I would have been outscored okay yeah so they kind of it sounds like it needs to be more unified yeah exactly like everyone needs to be on the same page type thing yeah because like that it is like for winning and losing like that it means a lot to one person and and a lot to the winner and the loser and then not knowing exactly what you're going into face like is this just gonna look at this way or that way but as you as you're going through it like uh like you are where you're now did you ever like you said you thought you should have been here a long time ago but in those early days is this what you were dreaming of like yeah taking a point all these big names like obviously watching people like sound choicing um oh well I always talk to myself put myself in there see where only am I because it's not only like just avoid them it's like it shows you where you are how good are you you know what I mean like I think it is a common MMA unboxing thing to coin the league record a little bit 40 Days for you it's like you shouldn't actually be in there with like again 40 and one four years for you and someone that's undefeated do you know what I mean uh 144 years finding something that's undefeated what sense does that make he's going in there to destroy that person do you know I mean what are you gonna learn from that no and you see her a lot then when when for you still I eventually take the Step Up what happens do you get a shock do you if you get hit on hold they don't know what to do you don't know how to handle because they've never been in that situation before yeah well as I'm I'm interested in your opinion on this in the likes of box and obviously when you lose your zero you can sit like a lot and this might sound soon yeah you can see it's finished it seems like MMA might be gone that way as well well that's for the exact same reason because of people patting the records yeah um do you think like that do you think that that stigma should be taken away like because like what would it just say an average Thai fight like how many how many horses yeah well I've I think 23 40 glasses I'm only considered one of the best you know what I mean but it does not run the news and you're gonna learn you're going to learn way more than a loss and you're gonna learn and you win and that's a fact do you know what I mean because sometimes when you're constantly winning you don't actually evaluate where you're going wrong because it's like it's not broke down fix it yeah you know you hear that a lot with people it's not broke down fix it but we're not we we do not want to fix it would you not want to avoid you're not going to get better you trust our true loss you'll see people being like oh really you see a lot of people leaving gyms because he lives do you know what I mean yeah you don't have self-belief in their gym anymore because well it wasn't me that went wrong it was down that went wrong yeah you know what I mean do you do you know because that's interesting you say that you now look at some at your wins as well and evaluate yeah to be honest so the biggest for me coming up obviously at a lot of wins but going in my biggest uh why would I say I freaking the biggest Learning lesson I thought it was the mobile the one I got knocked down in the only time I got actually sparked and I thought uh coming into that foot I think I was on three or four years where I had enough stuff for you I think I was like 70 and 40 and 15 and on my stoppages you know what I mean it was something ridiculous anyways this fella isn't gonna deal Norton you know what I mean then all of a sudden he's touching me and getting the mouse not a mouse on the bottle emotional trial and emotionally do you know what I mean because I think he shouldn't belonging there with me and then eventually walk onto a shop because of that so I think like stuff like that you don't need to learn you need to learn true loss so you can evaluate again obviously yeah it starts to become a little bit more Savvy and you look at where you go wrong not even where you go wrong in your wins but what did I do wrong in that fight you know what I mean you could have a Flawless Victory or you could have a war where you win you know yeah and then just it's picking out that do you think obviously you felt that he shouldn't have been in there with you do you feel that that might happen to a lot of fight so you're obviously believing in your life yeah did that did that humble you that yeah majorly humbles me and I realize yeah not God's gift you have to walk on a lot of things here and you come a little bit more Savvy in a in your approach to it you know what I mean yeah and then you're talking about like the hard work Muay Thai for me is like I've talked to a company to say it's probably one of the lowest paid sports out there and the work that you have to put in doing like for people that don't understand that might just turn off for a fight see the 10 to 15 minutes or whatever it may be like like what sacrifices you make on a daily basis you have to give all time jackets are friends obviously but you're a professional athlete as well but you're just not treated like a professional athlete you're not paid like a professional you see boxers get paid well you see on the Knife Works get paid well we can't toy for us get paid well one one is the owner you know what I mean one is paying for you is what they need to be paid but it could be it could be because there's just so many Cowboys promoters out there you know yeah so it's like that it depends where's the money coming from yeah and that so with like sacrifice so just talk to us maybe it's just a bit like do you cut much weight like what's your diet like like what would you eat on a daily basis or you'd be very strict over there someone that actually looks after me males uh RMC field company uh he actually looks after mid oil but then obviously the last week when if they are going to tell are a little bit more could have salt and stuff like that'll deal me on but yeah dependent so usually I walk around that about 74 kilos uh or you usually could have 63.5 for going to one the weights are different so you have to be hydrated while you make way so obviously that changes a lot so the last couple of flights have been asked basically 66 kilos 64.8 bantamlight foreign yeah because they've brought that in to to stop people caught in huge wastes I think it obviously is it isn't a major issue with you but you're seeing some in MMA especially people caught massive weights and and like that that's not good for your brain because it actually drains the fluids from your brain as well yeah you're probably not going to perform to your best the best at your ability either now we think what I don't is probably a little bit more dangerous than normal normally you know what I mean because people are gonna truly caught weight either way so people are going to manipulate that either way is actually trying themselves more than they should to hold you dry to what they need to be you know so it's a double lane short yeah not a lot of floors are going to be rocking up like I thought on body weight the natural way yeah obviously people want Advantage no matter what because it's professional like that those wins and losses mean so much at that level that they're gonna have to yeah any little any little age and anything that any like any rule or something someone brings in like you said someone will find a way around it and I believe I actually watched a video there recently there is a way around oh there's three you know what I mean there's tree yeah there is ways around it but you talked about like obviously the money never made and the money in boxing okay so there was talks I'd heard that you were toy and obviously you went in with detention anime and there was the idea you tying of going back to Emma made what led to that was it money uh so yeah kindness so Jordan calvid so it was on the boxing promoters we had we had a lot of lads that 40 MMA in the gym that well obviously walking with me a little bit of grappling or what have you and there are like why don't you for your MMA and I was like I probably will and at that time I was lost I think three points in a row killed on my bad robberies one numbers again tomorrow so it was just like focused you know what I mean like I lost it against my own and I had a I think it was George mazukita so far um we punched the head off him a little punched him around golf blade and absolutely robbed so he's like right then I had enough for you after that same thing happened I was just going to like what the [ __ ] you know what I mean like I'm gonna get robbed no matter what cause I'm fighting everybody in their back Gardens you know what I mean so it's like really it's time it's time to have a fight and eat a box and an rmma so and obviously it would obviously it would be your passion as well is it was that one thing that once you got the flight in Dubai um were all the thoughts of MMA in boxing going out the window never took it off again you you said something obviously about fighting people in their backyard and when you fight someone in Muay Thai like the judges are they from that country there yeah and so we always judges are going to be locally sourced because why would you throw someone into JoJo who were you gonna play extras does not need to be paid do you know what I mean yeah orange is the token Origins you know do you think that should be potentially changed though because there is a human or just have a big Association that like oh so now I did I got the appeal of the George Floyd and that was over torn eventually after about two years so when there's a win on my record but like there's not enough of these organizations that you can look into to ask these questions or ask these things or many people have to explain why you you know what I mean yeah because I think like I don't think they need to do it publicly because sometimes when wrestlers are just making mistakes like people you need to come out like statement I think they need to sit down with the fight or the coach and say look this is why I believe X Y Z1 and then maybe they can put it out and go and say okay well done yeah yeah which is fair enough um obviously we're here in double Grove Cafe right next to the DC yeah right so talk to us about kaliman what is Carly man to you it's me so we started training together I mean in Collier so we started in a gym called Lionheart Frederick Street which was his cousin's gym uh but we progressed obviously we talked look we could do this at ourselves we'll open our own gym before I'm sorry before then we obviously fall he fought and only for basically at the same kind of time and their culture Lionheart was in in the middle of Melvin to Toyland and so colleague going to talk more on the cultural Logan was calling the coaching as well at the same time but I came to a stage where Boulder was like like always Progressive Martin he was would say yeah and he took the back foot he was like you you'll have attention here Craig and so that's that's a big thing for four years to do you know it is a very big thing for it to do because four years have egos you know what I mean and fully is a very very selfish game and that was selfless that was probably one of the most service things anyone's ever done but yeah we've we've started to get out and we'll end with journey with him uh yeah as a coach he's an unbelievable coach like as you say like Dublin combat Academy Ronald you know what I mean whether it is abroad whether it's in Ireland I don't think he got touched by anybody do you know what I mean just want to tell what our good gyms out there in Ireland but I think we'll produce in the best fighters yeah and as well as producing them there is a huge like uh migration of MMA fighters coming to get the Striking like do you do one-to-ones or something like what like when they come over here it's obviously from the reputation that you have like G like G every week you get more and more people yeah well a lot of them would want to try and rgm but I think all around the country I think we've we've fought from compound Alex is from compound as well before it from all over the country MMA for it from all over the country that come in here to Walkers and then when obviously you've been tough while you're here and Craig like how does that make you feel when these when they're coming here like that just validate what you you're thinking oh well it's not for me it's [ __ ] you know what I mean the culture I'm just a foyer and pupil you know what I mean uh I love it because all you get to walk with no bodies or get to see no stoils or you get to try new things on different stores you know what I mean like if you can adapt to 10 different stores then avoid in itself you'll probably be able to change your style in that fight you know what I mean yeah yeah and shooting cross training should be more of a team within the country it should happen a lot more because we are such a small nation yeah 100 there we are like I think one of the smallest countries out there that have some of the best fighters out there you know but if we all come trying to get out we all growl together we shouldn't be saying this as you want to be the best in your country toy thing you should be saying this is you want to be the best in the world and how would you be the best in the world you you need to walk with all these different bodies and all these different people getting all these different looks so we think yeah with oil and as a whole will progress a lot more if foyer is Detroit's trying a lot more I want to say like you're saying you've got you've got so many fights so far is there any like I'm gonna ask you it's gonna be three questions so it's gonna be what would what's your favorite performance today what's the fight that you've learned from the most uh and what's your favorite finish um your favorite performance would probably be me Milady for each day my lady so I would say my lady was in my opinion the best for it to come out of Ireland uh he was ranked on lumpini Stadium when I had my first C class four he was pointing for a European toilet so we fought on the same show and it was just someone that I've always watched and more you come up you know what I mean and I got matched against them and I was looking to come on now party toy team you know everyone knew where it was good but everyone didn't think it was at that level and for me as well that showed me where it was the best like this he's for Sancho he's foreign stuff I mean it was probably a great new best performance and yeah uh finish the table finished I don't know I was like I'll finish this look oh we've actually the same finish two or three times left up elbow he caught 90 dogs they caught uh Jack Kennedy and I think it was someone else uh Body Shop sometimes I tried a knee after and then upbeatable a gift and then the fight that you learned the most from Anderson so that was me Four's big loss on a big big stage uh again with her I smelled the [ __ ] coming into that for you I thought it was better than I actually was this was after the lady fight night so I was on a big horse on a huge win streak I was out there stopping 12 people outrageous anyways and I went into that 14 and now it was Untouchable and then when I got touched I didn't know how to deal with you know so when I lost that for you or you just never needed to change a few things I needed it's good to have confidence as a foyer it is very good to have confidence as a fighter but you can be overconfident as well the enemy and that's not good so you see these personas nowadays and the act and all this like four years of learn a lot more just sit back and trying to work for themselves you know so yeah that's that would have been the biggest uh learning for me perfect and there was recently you've had a mini documentary which is going to be due out soon as well a couple of weeks how did that feel to have something like that made on you actually very good yeah uh Jeff Jeff is actually a very good videographer he he's actually done some really good bitsy done there I think it was Kelly's my money had that yeah take over oh yeah he had in Salinas yeah you've done some work on that so that war that was in Calvin obviously you want to create as well but uh Jeff is actually very very smart and he's doing some good bits yeah I'm not going to say too much about the documentary but it's very very good yeah I was talking to myself if he wants to try to get a screening somewhere and I have it it's gonna he is he's out there getting the screen somewhere so that's going to be something to look forward to we'll uh we'll we'll be sharing that when it comes out and there's another thing you've got family in fighting as well how good does it feel to have uh your your brothers and Fighters right yeah that's what I was about to ask oh it says the same for them to be honest there no it is it's good because we're trying to get a wee together we we do a lot with with the same Hobbies with the same interesting all right man like when I'm running the house like we could talk to him about fighting all day he could talk to me about fighting all day if he has a 40 coming up and sit down and look at who he's wanting I will look at him all the important but to break things down and stuff so it's good in that sense well the opposite end I have to watch them for you know what I mean that is so hard it's very hard to uh separate the emotion you know what I mean like look again these middle brother he was me it's very very hard to separate that so that like for instance this lasts for saying a horde for a body shop oh you shout out loud myself I wanted to jump in the cage you know what I mean I was like get me in there early for instead of them you know so that it's very hard in that sense that like it's nerve-wracking but it's good in another sense that like with the same interests with the same Hobbies and he's staying out of trouble like that must be so hard because obviously if you Corner Lads from these days the likes of David uh whoever else may be here and obviously you're not going to have those emotions do you find yourself so when you walk with some of our an extend the period of time in your blade you don't need your build you get an emotional collector a connection gentlemen and it's still hard for it's nowhere near as hard as your family member you know what I mean yeah um I'm gonna ask you one more question I'm Gonna Let You Go when it's all said and done as a fighter Craig Coakley how when people hear that name what do you want your legacy to be remembered as well you just want to be known as one of the greatest not just as affordable as a person you can talk to her as whatever as a coach one day hopefully but yeah my name will be remembered in Ireland anyways but I will get my name is you know hopefully perfect and you will do because obviously there's a lot more to come from you're going to see in One Direction now yeah yeah this is this is just the the new chapter in the book and it's been a national pleasure to me thank you very much thank you as well it is it is