Jamie McCaugherty interview

Summary

Jamie McCaugherty is an amateur fighting training out of fight academy Ireland, this weekend he faces Sean McDermott for the welterweight title at Cage conflict We speak about moving up a weight class, how he feels not cutting as much weight, moving gyms to fight academy and…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Yeah, no problem. So, I'm here with Mr. Jamie McCartney. I've had him on quite a bit over the last year. He's one of the amateurs that kind of flew out and into the scene. Um, he's going to be fighting a cage conflict this weekend. He's fighting for the welterweight title against Shawn McDerma. H on a stomping card, I must say. Uh, you obviously you made a gym change. We're going to talk about that. But, it's fight week. How are you feeling? We had a little chat before and it's usually when we kind of have the chat sometimes when you're doing the weight cut or whatever, you drained a bit of energy. You seem more energetic today. H Thank you for your time. You must be feeling good. >> Oh yeah. Best I've ever felt. Best I've ever felt coming in the fight week. Absolutely cannot wait here. >> And like that with the C because this obviously you'll be going down to super lightweight stuff like that. Do you think this welterweight is is suiting you more? Like I said you you've more energy, you're very talkative, you're very chirpy, you're like do you feel a lot better than you have done going into previous fights because it's upped a little bit? >> Yeah, 100%. Even there I'm only back from training there. flipping hell. It just I feel the best I've ever felt. Um cracking pods, wrestling, grabbing, everything. It's all going to come together here on Saturday night. >> And like you you joined Fight Academy. Talk to us about obviously you joined as you see we know what comes out of the gym. Um have you seen the improvements in the short time that you've been there? And is that what you're looking to kind of show come Saturday night? >> Yeah, 100%. I actually think in my head now that after the three months of me being there before I joined I couldn't invite in my head genuinely I know that sounds mad I mean invented clown wars twice and stuff but in my head I could not even the first month month and a half I was up at fight academy the flyweights obviously I've been to fight academy before like I haven't never been there or anything like but it's different when you're there every day and you're getting proper real work even the flyweights were giving me a tough time there leading up to the first month of being there. So, yeah, it's it's it's completely different ball game. And obviously, I've been to loads of places. I've been to Thailand, freaking Saudi, everywhere. All different gyms. I've been to most of the gyms in this country. There's nothing like F Academy. It's it's absolutely mental. It's mental. And my games just went up and up and up from the first first month I've been there. Been there for a couple months now. So, yeah, I feel like completely different fighter now. >> Yeah, it's good. And like that coming like I said coming into a fight week this is like like I said usually you were drained you seem so energetic and we talked you're looking forward to this fight. It's someone you know quite well obviously because with new era and Torres you you would have cross chained. Um were you kind of surprised this fight came about because he had trained before. >> Yeah 100% I was surprised but I was more like what like whenever my coaches run me and say from my knowledge anyway they ask for the fight. Um, so as soon as I heard I was like, "What?" First of all, but then as soon as I heard that, I was like, "Right, let's [ __ ] go then." So I tend to take things personally and that's just who I am and I took this [ __ ] seriously personally. So yeah, I I know I know the guy obviously like if I seen him I'd have probably went up and said what's a crack or whatever but um Saturday night I'm coming. Uh and because you've trained with him before and obviously he trained with you but like you said you you feel you've improved leaps and bounds in the short time. Uh do you think that's going to have an advantage cuz he might remember you from from when you did train previously to fight academy? >> Well even when I did train there I was smoking them. So honestly I can't believe that they they took the fight. Personally, I can't believe that they took it. So, yeah, he's gonna walk into something he hasn't clue about on Saturday night. >> Yeah. And fighting obviously on case conflict. How do you feel about fighting for the title on that show? The atmosphere there, we've all been there. It's like a cauldron and you're going to be like the the home fighter this time. How what's that feeling like kind of going in for your first fight for the title? >> Absolutely. Can't wait. I can't thank Pot and Shando enough for first of all letting me join and second of all giving me a title fight straight off the bat. Um obviously I've had big fights and stuff before, but this is this is this is one of the biggest I've had definitely just because you said it's their show. It's hometown pretty much 20 minutes down the road I live like. So yeah, absolutely can't wait. I've got sold a bunch of tickets this time. It's going to be a big support from there. So yeah, I'm absolutely chuffed. Oh, can't wait. >> And talk to us about Pat and Shando are two people I love. There's there's obviously Adam, Aiden, like there's so many good coaches there. Not that there isn't another gyms, but Pat and Shando, like talk to us about them, your relationship with them. Like, did you fit straight into the group? Obviously, you were friends with people before. How did you feel making the transition? Was it easy? Was it hard? Did they make you feel very welcome? What were the kind of positives and kind of things you didn't expect that with the transition? >> Yeah, so like I said, I've been up. So, I have actually been going to fight academy from I was a novice. So I was going to the beginner classes at Fight Academy and stuff. Obviously I wasn't going regularly. I was maybe going once, two, three times a month at the most. So I was going to the beginner's classes and then I was good mates with Gareth and Sean McCormack. So I started going up with them. Well started going up to the class cuz they said to go up to the class pretty much. So I started going up to the fight team class and that was about maybe a year and a half ago. The first fight team class I went to. Um, and yeah, it's just like whenever I was up there, um, I wasn't getting as good a good work in obviously, so it didn't like I didn't I didn't feel what it's like now to actually be in there and getting absolutely smash all the time. But yeah, I just I joined there four months ago or so, just after that last fight. I asked Pat could have joined about 3 weeks before my last fight on Clan Wars cuz I just sort of knew that's what I wanted to do. Like um yeah, that's just sort of what I knew I wanted to do. So Pat and Shando were have been the best ever and like bringing me into the classes. They couldn't be more welcoming and stuff like that there. So yeah, and they're giving my really really good work. Like the first few times I was up, Pat was actually rolling with me himself and he was absolutely smoking. So and then Shando's the same. everything I'm doing in Shando's class. Shando straight over going, "You're doing this wrong. You're doing that wrong." yada yada yada. And he's just fixing it straight away. Obviously, Adam and Aiden too, they're really good. Literally did a class with Aiden today. Adam do classes with him sometimes, too. So, yeah, every single one of them, they're absolute legends and they know their stuff. They seriously, seriously know their stuff and they're helping me improve leaps and bounds. Yeah. And what I love about them obviously you're an amateur they've got so many pros is if you're serious about fighting Pat they will all like that a lot when you go to bigger gyms sometimes so the coaches can't get around to everyone but they seem to be there for if you're serious about fighting they'll put twice as much into you as like they would anyone else like could you feel that did you think you'd be getting in so much so much work with Shando and Pat or do you think it was going to be other coaches cuz they show up in office shows and everything on a Sunday after being like Cage Warriors, PFL, like it's it's mad to see they're so busy. What's what's like what does that make you feel like as a fighter to have them so close and and personal with you in your development? >> Yeah, it's unreal. It's unreal. Like you said, like they're they're traveling every month or so to go for a world title fight. So like that alone gives you the confidence that oh them is around my corner and stuff like that there. But yeah, like like I said, they couldn't have been any more nice to me or welcoming to me. And obviously when you're in the gym, you're they're giving you hard work and stuff, but that's cuz they're they're they want you to do well, you know what I mean? So yeah. Um yeah, can't thank them enough for letting me come in. I'm looking forward to this card. I'm looking forward to your fight. Um obviously you're not looking past Sean because your next fight is your most important fight. But is there anything planned for for the next couple of months before Christmas or you just going to concentrate on this fight and and showcasing what you've been learning and training? And then >> I'm going back I'm I'm going to go back to Thailand for a couple months and see what see what I can see what the crack is out there. Um maybe take a fight or two. See what happens there. But obviously I'm not looking posh on but like I know what I want to do. So do >> Yeah. No, no, you seem determined. Like I said, you seem a lot different this time than you have previous times. I think obviously the weight is thing. How is obviously going up the weight? It's obviously less stress having to try and cut down and diet and stuff like that cuz it's it's hard to to to have that on your plate as well as preparing for a fight. Has that alleviate a lot of pressure coming into fight week that you don't have as much to cook? >> Yeah. Well, just see everything. I s should have touched on this a minute ago, but just everything about what I'm doing now in fight academy whereas at Nera I was the best there pretty much. Uh Ben McCro is very good too and he doesn't get enough recognition for how good he is. Um, he [ __ ] works the [ __ ] out of me too, but he was not he wasn't there for a while. So, I'm the I was the best down to that gym. So, I was not getting good work pretty much. And things that I was doing there my last three fights whenever I've been held in my gym, my old gym, I wasn't getting held and I was like whipping submissions up from [ __ ] nowhere. But that [ __ ] doesn't work on high level guys. So pretty much from there that's when I started thinking [ __ ] I need to start like getting other work in other places and stuff like that there. Um yeah. >> Yeah. No it's going to be exciting. I'm looking forward to it. >> Sorry for interrupting you. Also like other things I was doing too like so like strength and conditioning and stuff and like what to eat now. I've got like a nutritionist and a strength and conditioning coach and blah blah blah. Everything that I need now that I never have had before. Like I've had 10 fights. I've had nearly 10 fights anyway. Um, if you include novice in thinking it's over 10 and I didn't have any of that stuff and I wasn't I was thinking oh I'm so good that I can just whip a submission out of my hole here. No ball that in my last three fights it's cost me and obviously I haven't had on top of that I haven't had no SNC didn't really know what to be eating all that much and stuff like that there. So yeah, that's why here on Saturday is going to be a [ __ ] different ball game completely like >> Yeah, it's like that those things take time and and lessons learned and trial and error and it seems like all the things are kind of coming into fruition at the minute and like the way you are. I mean I'm really excited about this fight now. Um not that I wasn't before, but this whole car this fight speaking to you today. I'm not sure if I'm going to be there. Hopefully I will. But I'm going to let you go. Is there anything you want to say before you go? uh or anyone who shout I want thank you so much for your time especially on fight week is always appreciated Jamie. >> Yeah. Well that pretty much covered it all there. I thank Pat Jondo and all. So yeah the sponsors and stuff too. Obviously like like this are still sorting me out big time like I'm not going to call I've got too many now to sit and say them all but they're like I couldn't do it without the sponsors and stuff there. And obviously people buying the tickets and stuff like that. Couldn't do that without them either. Like I'm a big ticket seller but that's down to the people actually buying the tickets. So yeah, thanks to everyone buying tickets, I suppose my sponsors and stuff like that. That's that's pretty much it. Ready to rock for Saturday here. Can't [ __ ] win. >> Yeah. No, I can't wait now cuz of the way we were talking before the interview, talking in the interview. You have me really excited for this fight now. I was before, but now you've put extra on it. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thanks very much. >> Hopefully I'll be there. If I'm not, I'll be watching pay-per-view. You know, I'll always support the the local shows and the local fighters. And uh yeah, best of skill this weekend. >> Let's go, bro. Thanks very much.