Sean McDermott interview

Summary

Sean McDermott is an amateur fighter training out of team Torres, he competes this weekend against Jamie Mcaugherty for the Cage conflict welterweight title We spoke about fighting for his second title against a home town fighter in Belfast, what it is like to train in Team…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Kind: captions Language: en Okay, so I'm here with Shawn McDerma with a lovely probably one of the nicest backgrounds I've seen in a while. They'll be fighting this weekend at K's conflict for the wel belt against Jamie McCartney. A fantastic match up, a fantastic card on the way. It's fight week. Thank you very much for joining me. I know it's close to the fight. How are you? Uh how are you feeling? >> Good, Distingu. >> And with the obviously welterweight, Jamie's coming up a little bit because he usually fights a super welterweight. How's how's the weight got your weight? You don't cut a huge amount of weight. You're usually Let's go. >> Well, this this time around since I was injured during the summer and all, I think I got up to like maybe 91 92 kilos. So, I had to cut all the way from up there now. But like it's been handy. Like like just got like as soon as I got back into fight camp, I was like the weight just dropped off. So, it's just the usual like I don't actually know how much I have to cut that really don't cut that much. Yeah, I like that the fight's going to be this weekend. This fight week, you seem quite calm. Obviously, you've had a lot of fights before. You fought on Case Con before. Do you find you managed fight week a lot better than you did at the start of your amateur career? No, it's all it feels the same. Like, it still feels like it's my first fight this week and like this is my sixth in a year, I think, like from last year like but this is my fourth or no, this is my this is my fifth this year. Three boxing, one or one boxing, three MA and then this is my fourth fourth MMA. Yeah, >> I have a couple more. Yeah, I have to be for the minds. >> No, and that's good. And I like that you talk you're so active. We've got so many shows. Obviously, we'll talk about the fight coming up, but we've got so many shows. How does it feel to have the selection of shows? Obviously, you're on Case Conflict. Does your in December uh Wrath one that I I actually have you matched on uh with me and have that? That's a good fight. We'll talk about that actually next month before the fight comes up. But how does it feel to have those amounts of options? You've got Gladiator. So I can't even go through the list. But >> so many now it's good. like I do I I do like to fight like every month because I just I just feel like I get better and it's just I think that's the difference in some of the past fights I've had is like I have the experience in there whenever it gets tough that I I know I can push push on like like in some of my performances like I might lose like the second round but then in the third round I'm there chasing them. So >> yeah, >> and that obviously comes with uh like experience over time cuz those things you experience like uh fight on fight and fight and you learn these things and you've been in these positions before but obviously Jamie's a very very tough fight. He would you might have fought someone as long he's very long and rangy you have actually trained he would have cross trainined before do you think that gives you an advantage going in or do you expect him to be a different fighter than than what you previously seen him as? [clears throat] sort of just the same. Like I I never actually really sp trained with them. Like I think I sparred in one round and that was it. And like like nothing happened. It was sort of just like 50/50. Like we were both wet lettucees on the ground. So I imagine like Saturday will be the same like I need to see come down and then we're just both scrambling like mad. >> Yeah. And this is obviously uh for a title as well. How does it feel to be fighting for a title on the show and also being the away fighter coming into the cauldron that is the Devonish? >> I don't even actually see the title. Like the title doesn't exist in my head. I think in my last fight when I follow Akuma there, all I seen was the title. I never even seen an opponent like I completely forgot. I never even showed up for the fight. Like I only thought about the belts. So I'm glad to just have that out of the way. And then now now that these fights are coming along, I don't even see it. just back to like head hunting. >> And I like that as well cuz obviously a lot of people say that they look at the belt and they look at kind of the prize, but they not that you overlooked your opponent, but you're concentrating too much on the belt whereas get through the person first and concentrate on them and then obviously the belt will come after obviously with with your performance, but you like do you are you expecting anything from Jamie that you've seen before? You're just expecting to be the same. Do you game plan or do you get Seb and Deckey and the others to to kind of research the opponent? >> Yeah, Decki would just tell me to do stuff and Seb, but it's just like I just go out and do like they just tell me to go out and do what I do like in sparring like and just like I'll fight the same as how I fought all my fights. Like I won't really change how how I go out because it's how I win. So it's like it's the only way I know how I win. So I don't know. I try and change it and then Jackie slaps me in the head and like I say, "Oh, maybe I should do this." And then he's like, "No, I'm not." >> Yeah. [laughter] >> Gotta love Decky Molina. >> What's it like in the gym at the moment? Obviously there's I like obviously I've got good relationship with your gym. I love Oshin. He's doing the Muay Thai. I'd love for him to come back to MMA. >> I thought Jed there actually in one and now he's playing again. >> Sorry I Fox. But Daily is someone I really like as well. Um I watched that fight on your you've got Shay who I'm really really high on. >> So good. >> What's it like in the gym at the minute? Especially with your fight coming up getting you ready for it. Is Is there a buzz around the gym? >> Yeah, good. Especially just like have a lot of people joining from New like fulltime now. So they're starting to get more numbers. Like sometimes numbers aren't always there but like the the the rounds are tough. Like um it's just so good. Especially like Kieran you be getting back into fight camp here. It's just like everyone's ready to finish off a year strong. >> Yeah, because because there's obviously another Euro uh card coming up, I believe. I don't know if that is confirmed, but if there's another one, I love that show and you've got that to look forward to as well if it comes up. Um, >> sorry. Go ahead. >> Yeah, hopefully I get on as well after after Wrath is I think I'm on. >> Hopefully I think that's the plan. If I can get out no injuries and feel good, get on show again. Yeah, it's it's a fantastic show and he matches it so well. That's what I love about it. He he matches it as a fan looking at so this would be good. That would be good and the fights he has are absolute crackers. But you're not looking past Jamie. Obviously you've the one on rat you're looking to get on your that'll be quite an active year for you. Um do you want to continue being that active going into the new year or you going to take a bit of a break kind of over Christmas? No, I'll probably just try and get a fight again like February just I don't know like you see in our gym like we don't stop training like we all like me Kieran Tomas and like we're always there every morning and then like in there at night as well like it's just not we're just non-stop training just trying to get better when you have like like just like Kieran would be a big inspiration for a lot of us just because like just how far he's came in like such a short period. >> Yeah, he is. cuz I love gear and and Jo he's so humble and I think he undervalued himself for a long time I didn't think cuz he said to me like an imposttor and I was like bro you're here because you're so good like you're not here by chance you're here by your skill your determination >> but I think that mindset is what pushes him to be better because if he doesn't think he's he's kind of the best at the time he'd push and he'd push and obviously you've got Deki there who who's kind of like he's fought cage wars he's fought in PFL as well and he's kind of like inspiration, but like it's good to have the inspiration kind of like you said that has has come and he's kind of training with you at the minute. Obviously, Deck is a couple years ahead, but you can see what Kieran's doing >> at the minute and the avenues that are open to you. When you see someone like Kieran, you go >> like he's able to go down these roots and these opportunities are there for him. So, they're there for us as well. >> Yeah, it's a possibility. Like I know like there's there's a path there. It's like he was like he was Kier was amateur whenever I started training in team Torres. like and now he's 4 and0 pro and it's just mental like >> and for yourself obviously watching that that's really good and >> uh going forward obviously you said you want to have you want to keep active when do you envision going pro would you is it just when the lads obviously the lads will it's up to your coaches but you just keep fighting until they tell you otherwise >> yeah I I I wouldn't even care like I just need to get wins and fights and I just need just get fights that's all I care about like >> I love it I love the actual I love you. Just want to fight. You just want to improve. You just want to get better and you want to fight all the time. But you've got a big one this weekend which I'm really looking forward to. I got to let you go. Is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out? And thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it. >> Oh, that's perfect. Thank you very much. >> Perfect. Enjoy the rest of the day and like I said, the best background that I've had in a long time. It's lovely to look at. >> It's just to watch the dogs here. [laughter] >> Beautiful dogs as well, by the way. So, >> yeah. It was too much work. I never should have bothered. [laughter] >> Enjoy the weekend. I'll talk to you after and best the skill. All right. Yeah. No bother you.