Aaron Brogan Interview

Summary

Aaron will compete in his third professional bout at Wrath combat champions as the main event against Eoin McDonald. He represents Team Ryano Causeway as a fighter and coach This year has been frustrating with injuries and pull outs, but he finally get a match he got injured…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Okay. So, I'm delighted to have with me uh Aaron Broen. I actually seen him on the weekend. I meant or yeah, and I mentioned pizza going into his uh wake up. He wasn't very happy with me. So, I'm surprised he joined me today. No, thank you very much for joining me. It was very good to see you at the weekend. How are you feeling this fight week? We're only wrap Wednesday for pe for context for people who are watching this if it's not released on Wednesday. Um how are you feeling couple of days out? It's just the last bit of a cut now. Yeah. >> Yeah. Um, I like going into fight week. Um, it's good atmosphere at the start, but as like the days sort of troll on, I'm just I'm just itching to get in there and fight. You know, things have been good this camp. You know, it's been a long camp. Um, you know, I've had no issues, no injuries. So, I'm happy going into this one actually healthy. >> Yeah, that's that's always a difference. There's always going to be little niggles here or there, but like that fighters are fighters and you obviously no matter what happens, you'll always try to get to the fight and a lot of people don't go in kind of I don't think anyone in fighting is ever 100%. I think it can be 99, but once you're feeling good, you're feeling fresh going into it and like that you you've had a long time to know about this. This was booked a long time back. Does that make a huge difference to have a full camp to prepare for a fighter, especially uh someone who you were supposed to face previously? Yeah, I don't think it really matters on the like on the fighter, but I do prefer like I personally prefer having, you know, a good long camp. Um, you know, some guy some guys are different. Some guys can just take a, you know, take a fight in a few weeks notice and be in shape. Um, I'm trying to do that more often now where to be in shape out, you know, outside of having a fight. Um, just to be more disciplined with myself. Uh cuz I'm getting older as well, so getting the weight down quickly is no like it's getting harder and harder the older I get. Um so I just know I have to be a little bit more uh stricter with myself. >> Yeah, cuz cuz I say that as I try. I like I used to be really skinny. I used to be like so skinny now I can't shift any bit of weight. I could work walk work walk 30,000 steps a day in work or whatever and it just doesn't shift. And I thought well at least it might be different. But obviously not as your as your body's aging, it's it's harder to get the weight down. Um, so yeah, like I said, trying to stay in that focus. But you haven't fought this year. You obviously supposed to fight twice this year, I think. And they've all been called off. Are you delighted to get one? >> Uh, well, uh, three times this year, which was the very disappointing part. I was meant to fight on Clan Wars twice and then Akuma. Um I was meant to fight um I was my opponent now uh Owen I was meant to fight him on Akuma in March. It was either March or April. It was before the summer I know that um I had broke my foot prior to that fight and I was really like I was back in I was training. Um the foot wasn't 100% but like you know I I won't get to try and stay in the gym and then just all of a sudden we were at a wrestling uh coaching course uh for some of the guys in our gym and we were demonstrating stuff and then [ __ ] me being not skip it but just got lucky [ __ ] went for a takedown and the foot just broke on me again. Oh, like um I was quite got it. >> I can imagine and I like that it's it's simple things that these things can happen. There's no way. It's not as if there was anything outrage and that's just a fight game as well. Like it is a dangerous war, but like that usually these things happen right before a fight or whenever you don't need it. It doesn't happen the week after you finish the fight. Do you know the sort way it'll happen? >> Yeah. >> Always before the fight. Um I I was very disappointed because I also I don't like I don't like pulling out fights, you know. I don't like I don't want to have that reputation as a guy who you know you know that's promotions and opponents and you know my team and all going like that was probably the most got you know hard part cuz like the guy like the guys in the gym have worked so hard with me as well going into that and then you know [ __ ] happens. >> Yeah. But also, you've worked so hard going into it as well. So, it's not as if you let it's just one of these things. I know a fighters always say, "I feel like I've let other people down, but at the end of the day, you're also there doing the work and stuff like that." And I don't think you ever feel you don't need to feel like you've let them down, but I know exactly where you're coming from. You actually feel worse for the people around you than you do for yourself. So, sometimes you need to be nicer to yourself as well going forward. But, um, yeah. So, obviously, ow, someone you were supposed to fa face previously. So would you have done a game plan on him then? Does the game plan stay the same or obviously I'm not asked for your game plan but have you seen much differences? Cuz obviously he fought there recently as well. >> You think? Yeah. I was quite I was quite shocked to see him fight so recent cuz I s panicking you know like I thought it would have been quite ironic that you know maybe something would happen in that fight and he would had to put like pull out and then I have to scramble to get a new opponent. So, like the whole week of the fight, like I remember uh watching it on YouTube and I was like, just just finish him quickly. Don't get hit. I was like, just please don't [ __ ] get hit. You please make it in my fight. >> Yeah, he made it through. It was actually good. Yeah, cuz I watched the leak on that as well. They have their like prelims on YouTube, don't they? Streamed on YouTube, which is is quite good. H. So once he made it through and you seen it coming now you have cuz obviously how frustrating has it been obviously with injuries and and whatever going on that you haven't been able to fight this year cuz obviously like you said you you wanted to be more active but things how does it feel to actually get to fight and also you're going to be main event in the show as well. Yeah, for third for main event for my third pro fight, you know, so like I'm quite happy that, you know, promotion, you know, Raph actually reached out to do it cuz I know the promoter knows one of my coaches, Mikuel. Um, and it was actually he reached out to Mikuel to try and set this up. Um, I'm just I'm just I'm just ready to fight to be honest. I I say how hard is it going from like training 100 miles an hour and then obviously this week comes and then I know you need to rest your body and relax but like say like like once you've got your weight cut under control it you find it quite boring obviously the higher you going pro to be more media and stuff that keeps you occupied on those days I think it goes from >> it goes from zero media to too much media I think when you go to to the thing the nice middle but how do you obviously you've been around a while what do you do to kind of switch off and manage this week. Um, but from going 100 miles an hour to have to take the step back. >> Well, go going forward now, things have actually kind of changed how I'll switch off during fight week cuz like in the past like I would have like I would have sparred like the week, you know, of my fight, you know, my fight week. Um, I've sort of got a little bit wiser, not too much, but a little bit wiser as time has went on. Um, I've just got good to sort of finding things to distract myself from thinking of, you know, thinking of the fight and, you know, not trying to go too hard into the gym. Plus, like my coaches and like the guys who train quite close with me are very good at constantly, you know, working with me and going, you know, you know, slow it down, take a breath, you know, don't don't [ __ ] go mad or anything. Um, so it's actually more to the people around me, you know, they sort of keep me keep me levelheaded. Uh, now as well once I weigh in like um like I I have a son now, you know, he's coming to in January, so like once I weigh in, I'll be able to go spend some time with him, which is great. Um, which is probably like a new highlight for my life at the minute. >> Yeah. You know that that's lovely because with training and everything, it's hard to get that quality time all the time. But the fact that you once you weigh in, is that going to be your thing from now on? Just go spend time with him and like you said, it's your new highlight. Is that going to be your little kind of prefight thing you're going to do now is just take some time with him just to your way. It might be a good superstition to have. >> Yeah. Um well, he he keeps me on my toes. Um the only downside is like the day is a fight is like another day where I'll not get to see him cuz it's, you know, it would be a Saturday that I spend a good majority of time with him. But coming on to the fights like I'll not be that time. Uh but I get to see him like on the Friday. So the guy I weigh in when I'm at my most miserable for a we while I'll weigh in, rehydrate, you know, and get myself happy again. Go pick, you know, go pick them up and, you know, we'll spend some time mcking about or, you know, go to the park or something. >> Yeah. >> So, it's great. >> That's nice. You see, I could hear the enthusiasm and everything in your voice. It looks like you're kind of looking forward to that part already. Um, but one of the things obviously I met you over the weekend and I do see loads of shows coach as well. talk to us about your kind of corner and coaching role. How much do you enjoy it? Um cuz I I see you most places when I'm there. So, talk to us about uh being a coach and a fighter and what it means to you. >> Um I prefer fighting over coaching. I I I really don't like see seeing my teammates in there scrapping when I'm at the corner. Uh and the only thing I can do is, you know, try and give them advice could be better. Um I'd rather be the one getting punched. Um, but I do love coaching. Like I um, uh, our head coach Peter and MueL, they've, uh, they're a great team of coaches to be around. Um, and they actually, they asked me to start, uh, coaching with the wrestling and the MMA. And then it's sort of just slowly transition like when I'm not in fight camp, like I'll do my best to help them coach. Um, and it is fun. I do I do love it. Like, you know, you get some Mongs in the gym when you're trying to explain things to them and they just don't get it right. Like, I hate I hate coaching those people, but it's also good to see Wongs who um like come with come to us completely fresh and you just build them up like we have um a fellow there who fought in Clan Wars. Uh the latest show there, Steven, he has got first novice fight and I see when I came to the gym, I was like, "Ah, this kid's not going to cut it." you know, I just don't think he has it. And like he's just like from the minute his camp scar like he came leaps and bounds from what he began at. So I love seeing that process. Um then we have you know we have guys like young Bradley Le who fought there like he's been in the gym since he was 6 years old you know. So he he's basically been with you know been with Rhino all his life. And to see him go from a kid who, you know, would cry going onto the m to spar to this guy who's now jumping into the cage and, you know, scrapping, you know. So, it's obviously I'd say it is. See, like you said, you seen that guy come, you weren't sure what way it was going to go and then all of a sudden he's competing and he said he's come on leaps and bounds. I say that's a good thing to see from from the start. Obviously, they're not finished products, but to see the development in is that like a heartwarming kind of [ __ ] I'm part of this person's journey to to bring them from here to here. Does that feel a bit more fulfilling sometimes than you would have thought it would have? >> More more relief. Um, it's more like, oh, thank [ __ ] he's listening to me. Do >> you know why I love that answer? Because it's the honest answer. Most people kind of go along what I say, but what you said is it cuz it is hard being a coach or being in some sort of position is like you said, you can tell people 100 times sometimes and they just don't get it. And my biggest thing is like I would take someone who is just a a nice idiot over an arrogant experienced person if you get me because those people really hard to once you know yourself if someone train somewhere else and they're like, "Oh, well I done it this way here. I don't like they're really hard to kind of deal with. Whereas if you get someone >> who they might not get it straight away, but they're listening and they're willing, that's all you kind of ask for. Um, >> but yeah. >> Okay. I'll >> Sorry. Sorry. Go on. >> No, go ahead. Go ahead. >> Like I'll take I'll take someone who's willing to work hard and put the graft in over a talented uh guy every time. like the talented guy may you know may do it weeks quicker but you know I prefer the guy who's willing to graft it out um because it shows character as well. Yeah. And especially with like the likes of jitsu, especially in your gym, I say going in and then going in for jiu-jitsu and then all of a sudden, especially because everyone knows at the start it's like a year before you actually start to get any good for people to be able to stick that out cuz if I went in right and you put me against some 15 16 year old and he absolutely annihilated me, I'd probably leave MMA, leave the country and never come back. But well, that's a bit exaggerated, but you know, he said for people to see that because that's what people are saying. It was 6 months before they even got someone in a submission. Do you know the sort of way like and that shows character and what's the saying? It's not who's the best, it's who's left. Cuz you've probably seen over the years people who were supposed to be the next big things drop off gone off the face of the air. So consistency is a huge huge thing. But look, I can't wait to call your fight this weekend because I'm actually going to be on commentary as well. >> It'd be nice to see you again in person for the second weekend in a row. H I'm going to let you go. Is there anything you want to say before we go or anyone you want to shout out? Again, thank you for your time cuz I know it's so close to the fight. So, I do appreciate it. >> Yeah. Um ah there's too many people we think, you know. Um like all the guys at my gym just, you know, they have been godsends working hard with me cuz they've had fights coming up too. So, you know, it's been, you know, as soon as they were done with their fights, they were in the week after, you know, cuz we were, you know, I was getting ready as well. Um, all my sponsors, you know, I'll uh, again, there's a lot to list off, so maybe amongst the videos I I'll tag them in it just um, they've been great, especially from, you know, helping me financially to get, you know, supplements are expensive. Uh, training is expensive. And then >> expensive as well. It's not an easy It's not a cheap game to be a part of. >> No, it's not. Um, and then I got like the highlight as well. I just can't wait to get the weighing over and see my son. >> I tell you what, that's I really really love that as well. Thank you so much for joining me. I will see you the weekend and best of skill going into the fight. All right. >> Thank you, Dave. Thank you.