Sean McDermott interview

Summary

Sean McDermott is an amateur MMA fighter training out of Team Torres with a record of 2-2 he competes again this weekend at @iurfightingchampionship8027 We speak about the atmosphere leading up to an ÌUR event, why he's started MMA and plans for the future

Transcript (youtube_captions)

[Music] so I've got another Fighter for your Fighting Championship coming up this weekend I've got Shawn mcder with me a fantastic young fighter uh he's had a couple of MMA fights well more than a couple four fights he's gonna be fighting again um this weekend how are you thank you very much for joining me especially on fight week um what does fight week H how do you feel fight week because obviously you've done a lot of training you've got your hard train and then you have to kind of taper off um how does it feel to taper off this close to the fight and and how do you manage it it just feels weird because I'm I'm in the gym every day so it's like just trying not to go with training as much but um I think I how last training real tonight maybe a way B on Friday and then I'll be it but I don't cut I don't really cut wheat so like that's why I fight it Welter we now because like I can make wter weight anytime instead of like there just no points because I tried toing light we now just I messed up with the dining and stuff so it's just be easier just fight a Welter we for now yeah and especially in that that's what I talk to a lot of people within their first like five six seven fights or or whatever it may be to kind of just go not far if you walk around and kind of learn the trade do you find yourself going in like obviously rather than having to cut weight that's one less thing to worry about because there's a lot of other things to worry about do you feel healthy going in then at welterweight because isn't awake on it I I just like it like I feel strong like whenever I went in like like one 75 kilos or something like that like or even the novice fights are like 75 like walking around that way I just felt weak so like like it's just so easy and make the weight and then like I always feel strong at welterweight compared to them and then well apart from the mess ups but yeah these things happen these things happen is it's another your Fighting Championship you've been on it before again it's another stack card and there's a good few of years on from the gym obviously talk to us about the gym you're in what it means to you personally and and just the kind of buzz that's going on especially when there's so many going to be on a card this weekend yeah it's been class the last couple weeks with like Karen and B and D from like new and the new AR they come up and stream with us so like it's just Ding and like here and share like just and Rory Rory's back by now too so the last couple weeks like spar's been horrible like it's just been hard hard hard um and I think this weekend should be good like I would rather be watching than fight him just to actually watch and enjoy like old and new guys team Torres Guys fan yeah Rory is one I'm looking forward to come back because he's he he was had a really bad luck uh a long run string of bad injuries and bad look and and not been able to and for me at the time he was I think you believe he was he was the fedway champion in y he was he was one of the the top feder weights around if not the top FWE around so it's good to see him back but talk to us about the gym when when abouts did you join the gym and kind of what made you join going to MMA so I I live in bom bridge I actually started off training in Soko is that what you call the one in bom Bridge like yeah so I started training there but with work I worked like four on four off so was their nighttime training was so it was real difficult to always get there um and iing like team Torres was like daytime and I was like oh I'll be class so then I just I don't know just like whenever I started going I just fell in love with it like it just seemed so like like they were just real committed like it was cool that like there was a few few proof Fighters and like like the training was just intense I just enjoy it um it's so n I've switch jobs now and then I just really try to dedicate and see how far I can get like I can just see the improvements in like a year from now or like from last year but I think I started in team Torres a year and the half ago or two years now yoube so but like it wasn't like I was I was just training for the fun of it and I was like I need to get some fights like I can't be training and not fighting it's like there's so many people that do that and it's just like I mean just see how good I am what was it like going in for for your first ever fight because obviously you would have fought before I'm sure I'm assuming there was some novice fights before that what was it like going in was it da in the to to go in for your first fight just talk experence for the for the my first homage for fight or or first ever kind of time competing um see I used to box as a kid so like I boxed like from like maybe like seven to like 14 and then just sort of just fell out love with it like boxing is very difficult like if you're not winning the competition it sort of just puts you off it um and then MMA always scared me just because it's like picking punching grappling so I was like never do that and then during Co I was I wanted I wanted to start back to boxing but like I couldn't find anyone to spar with or like none of the clubs are really open and then that's how I gotone into the bomb bre CH Club just because I knew there was a couple guys s and then whenever they started like I was like boxer stunt when they started kicking my legs that's whenever I started to realize like this is something and with the MMA style um you said obviously there few like just a second ago that you thought with the kicking the wrestling and everything put together that you're like kind of you were unsure about it what made you more sure about it was it training with the likes of you've got obviously Dey melen and who's he's he would be kind of like I want to say like a captain in the gym would I be right in saying that yeah yeah definitely what what made you change your mind about the MMA of of it was it just being in around those guys yeah just just and then I just wanted to fight so I just I wanted a fight and then it's just like now that I know like MMA is like a it's a real fight like like like I've had boxing fights problems doing them man it's just like they're not as real they don't feel real like you're just getting like lightly topped on the heads and it's just not it's just not a full fight yeah no it's it's like that you don't use all the the weapons at your disposal yeah if there was was to say let's say a street fighter every goes in MMA is going to be more kind of used to what is potentially going to happen that's not something that Fighters want to happen and it doesn't really happen that much because you know what you can do but talk to us about your first then amateur fight in MMA like was that quite daunting going in what was what was the feelings like talk to us about um the first amateur fight was it was EAS it was easy but I lost but um I I had no nerves because before I was allowed to even like by MMA like s Andi is like an ex point so I did loads of like Jiu-Jitsu competitions um then I did a couple of those National M leagues and I also did had team om run like a novice competition so I did that so by the time I had my like amateur debut already had maybe like eight or nine noice fights so yeah now now this is my first year amateur it's just it's interesting like it's fun it is it is and I like that you've been quite active obviously in this year this will be the fifth fight in in the year I believe if I'm not I'm doubting myself now even though I know I look no it is yeah yeah um how does it feel to be so active and obviously with the amount of shows that there is around because obviously i' seen you compete a couple of weeks ago which you were winning that fight until you weren't J the sort of a way yeah it was stupid mistakes uh yeah it's what happens when you try and take control of the Xbox controller I should let Dy keep control of it like oh but like but but like that you looked you looked very impressive until obviously it it came around and it was it was a kind of a heart and mouth fight when I was watching it right from the side but you've been so active how does it feel to be this active and and have the amount of promotions that obviously your is going to be always kind of like the the home show but cage Gladiator was fantastically well run and there's other good shows out there how does it feel to have these options to keep your more active I I would actually rather be more active because I just need I need XP like I need to be in there just to it's like I think of it's like a puzzle I need more pieces um like four fights like I I was I was meant to have one in may as well but I got injured the week of it it's like I could be fine every month like at Welter way I could be fine every month like if it was maybe something like a lower weight I couldn't but hopefully next year like hopefully I win this one and then there's loads of shows Dy show in February and then there's like huge conflict in March and Akuma and then back love to get back on that Keys gra year yeah hopefully they're a little bit more spread out than they have been at the end of of this year because it was it was quite they're all up but I believe they are going to be spread out I believe there there there's a bit of cooperation going on with all the promotions too so no one's kind of overrun each other because at the end of the day it's for like the likes of yourself to get experience if there's four in a month if they're spread out over six to eight weeks two months you could fight potentially four times rather than one time you know the sort of way so hopefully hopefully it will but um you talked to us about Seb and obviously seb's a fantastic coach and I talk to us about what he's like with in Jim because everyone talked to me about how they hold him in such high regard and when he's like when he says you're ready you know you're you're kind of ready to make the Step Up talk to us about your relationship with Seb and the Jim yeah Seb uh always talk about me on the yellow bus like but yeah he he's just something I he really keeps like really tries to like moveing me just like sometimes I can just like suffer from like almost feeling sorry for myself or like you ever see me in between rounds or whenever even when the fights are over I always have my head down like almost always feeling sorry for myself but it's like you really tries to like put like the mental stuff into me I think that's like one thing Savage like he really understands like the mental side of the sports and obviously like as well as a technical coach it sounds like that he is very good personally with the fighters do you think that's essential in a coach to have like the technical side and the emotional kind of personal side as well because like you said yourself if you feel kind of I don't want to say down but if you always uh like if you always feel like that you've got your head down and this for him to be able to BR instill that in you do you think a coach needs to be like Seb and have have both sides rather than just the technical side and like seb's with us every day like and like dcky like they really put a lot of time into us so it's like when we fight we really have to like show out because they put so much effort into us so it's like it's almost disheartening like we make like a mistake and then I can cost you all like I was like heartbreaking that last fight with M it's it's better H it happening now than it happening at Pro but obviously you've got the fight this weekend um when it comes to looking at opponents do you look at them at all do you look at them much or do you leave that to Dei or do you kind Dei not Seb and Dei or you like to just go in and kind of implement your own kind of game plan and style and and leave that to the coaches as opposed to looking at yeah I feel like almost just mother amateur like we're all like I just like picture them as like bits of clay like they're with not people and like it just doesn't bother so like may have the bobal try not to think about until the day like really and then whenever I'm on the day then I'm in the zone like I just stare out the opponents and like just go them on the head like on the days now and what's that feeling like obviously when you're when you're in nor you're like it's kind of it's the home kind of show like does does that add pressure does it does you think it adds pressure to you does it make you more motivated like and then when you step into the cage and you're standing across from What feelings you kind of get then um well that that the last year was my first win on the show before that I lost twice and I just felt there was so much pressure fighting there um and then I follow on that dead guardar and I remember like being in the keage and like laughing like telling dcky like why am I here like this is so funny like and then I won that fight I stopped him in the second round so but then I think like they've built my skills up to my confidence where in my last fight like before I was like telling people I was G to be like a car cross but I thought the most technical in the last I so hopefully it's just that way again this weekend yeah though and and I've seen you fight a couple of times now and it's an always a pleasure to to see to see you fight I'm going to let you go because I know obviously it's during the week you've got the fight coming up is there anything you want to say before you go anyone want to shout out and again I want to thank you so much for your time I really appreciate it coming fight week and I've really enjoyed this conversation with you today no that's thanks very much ra is there anyone you want to give a shout out to or anything you want to say before we go n perfect perfect thank you very much and enjoy your evening and I appreciate your time once again and I would see you this weekend yeah see you then