Flobater Fares IMMAF European Championships

Summary

Flobater Fare goes to Serbia to compete in the European championships in the quest for gold, we speak previous competition's at the within IMMAF, the regional scene plus much more

Transcript (youtube_captions)

[Music] there we go okay so it wouldn't be a fight week if I didn't have Fufu on I want to say you're probably my most interviewed fighter I probably interviewed you four times last year once already this year so this is the second time uh obviously I interviewed just for the Jake fight we're going to touch on that but mainly we're going to talk about obviously the Europeans coming up which are going to be traveling for tomorrow so thank you very much for your time it's a pleasure yet again to have you on how are you good thanks I'm always grateful to being on I'm chatting to you B myc coming fights yeah no I love I love obviously we talked about we talked to just before the Jake fight and H it was a fight that I was really looking forward to it ended not in the way like it was kind of like it wasn't not that was it wasn't decisive like it wasn't a knockout or it wasn't a decision the way it ended how did you feel about the way it ended because I'd say it would have been easier to take if he' went a decision and lost or he had knocked you out and lost the way it kind of ended for me was it was like bit to know I don't know I can't even find the word for it now but it was like a bit it was unfinished like unfinished yeah it's kind of underwhelmed know that sort of way yeah as you said i' actually I would have preferred to literally got knocked out and that happened to me it it's part of MMA like I would have never expected that I would have I would have got sick midf fight and the fight work got cancelled it was really frustrating at the start I I I was like oh it it's mainly not even it wasn't me losing my title that wasn't the case like amateur titles that's that's not my my goal right now it's being the best and being ranked number one and at the moment Jake is ranked number one so me going into this fight I I was like um I want I want that I want that spot I want to be ranked number one um and that happening then me getting sick it wasn't like I got like oh like I got like sick and it was huge it was just like more of like spit and sick but I do agree with the rest and stuff they're looking at my side of it and they're looking for my health so I'm not complaining on that side but yeah it was it was tough we're definitely we definitely have to run that back sometime yeah so it does it feel like on unfinished business to you because and I'm not taking anything away from Jake because I think he's a fantastic competitor I think the two years are two two the best in the division at the minute amateur um like is that does that feel like unfinished business now to you that you would like if like I said if you went in and he bet you by decision knocked out submitted you you'd much prefer to lose that way than than the way it happened so is that something you'd be looking for further down the line again exactly yeah we're both the same age both same way um I I believe we're going to fight more than like obviously was fight again for the rematch I I think we'll probably run it three four times before two of us go pro or something we're just we're both similar in weight and an age and it's going to happen again for sure well it has to happen again it has to happen again it has to happen well you'll be on the phone to Deco anyways to make sure it happens um going forward obviously once there was obviously there's going to be disappointment and stuff from that but you just bounced straight back into training then didn't you because I've noticed with you with you in your in the past couple of your fights something weird is always happened whether it been uh in the for it was I remember the incident I was like I must have some bad look or some but it's act like it's par of the game like you know it's obviously for like when I went to the worlds in 2023 I hit someone into the body with a knee and they said it was into the heads and I got DQ for that like I can never like I'm only going to control what I can control and there's no point of me getting frustrated with something I can't control so me getting sick in Jake I literally could not control me getting sick like I couldn't do that there's no point of me getting pissed off and all that over it because it won't change anything same thing with the World Championships last year when I need someone and they gave me DQ for that it was it was s something similar something I learned from it is just you got to you got to take these stuff whether it's a win loss DQ disqual like anything whatever it is you're just G to take it and get back to the gym and train harder and come for finishes yeah like that I like I like your outlook on it because if you worry about the things you can't control they end up ultimately controlling you because there's nothing you can do about those situations and if if you're current constantly stressing and worrying about that then you're always going to be stressed and worried because you can't change the outcome of that you can't change what's happened you can only like that look forward when we spoke to us before we actually came on we were speaking more so about what's coming up next so how you feeling going into this tournament you've been there quite a few times is there anything you've learned from the previous tournaments that you're going to bring in experience-wise and it doesn't just have to be about fighting it could be about the the days before or stuff like that one thing I really I I really like understood of myself when I was in the world championships last year was believe it or not is how good I am and that's not me being like cocky or confident or acting like the man or something it was when I like so last last year the 2023 World Championships there was I think 2025 people in my bracket and they're this is the 20 25 people best Baler weights in amateur at this moment and me being with them and seeing them right next to me and watching them fight and then seeing myself fight I I found out how like I'm up there like it's not just I'm the best in Ireland I'm the best I I believe I am the best like I will I will prove this in time if it takes time um but yeah as I'm saying this is not me being KY it's just I I it showed me how good I was and I'm taking that away and I'm going into this European championships next week and I'm coming for that gold yeah obviously you love representing the country you've been there many times to to different tournaments um one of the things that gets me about obviously the D mass is the day on day weigh what's that like how hard is that to manage and how much of a discipline do you need especially after win cuz you're celebrating in your head you've got a win but you still have another couple of stages to go how did you not get carried away and and how did you maintain your weight to that Championship level every day for that now I have to give a big shout out for my brother for that my brother abue he's the one that hooks me up with my my weight my everything and he keeps me composed like oh like if I in day one in the qu finals if I get a finish he's like okay relax we got to we got to get stay composed go into the next one and keep going forward um regarding the weight cut weight uh I remember for the last World it was a five day tournament and for my second day um I waiting for the second time I was literally in burrito the night before so uh the way is not the problem so um yeah it it it's a good experience fighting five days but you got to be careful like you don't take heavy damage in the first or second fight that you have to actually pull out and then that's that's a complete heartbreak then then yeah because I believe that happened to Max L just before he went fought fought T wasn't it he done his shoulder uh it looked like he was potentially going to win the tournament uh as a as a senior because I know he won it as a Cadet U well no he still be a junior actually at his age I believe I'm not sure what age he yeah yeah yeah but he obviously had to pull out so like are you mindful of that going into the first fight or like once you get in there and if it starts become a bit of a a stand and bang like is that going on in your head going right I well I can't stand here and take too much damage and do you have to try and play it safe or you just let the fight play out how it plays out and then you see what's what the damage is after to be honest um as much as uh I don't I don't think you can really play like you can play it safe and like just drag out the fight and you can possibly win but that's not something I'm looking forward to if if I have if my first fight if I have to go through a brawl and get a bit of damage I will have to take that and I will do it whatever it's going to whatever it takes me to win that fight I will do it regardless if I take damage I I to an extent like I'm not going to just be over over like do too much stuff that I'm going to be taking too much damage but it's it's a fight like there's two people in the cage there's we're going to get hurt like you know I mean but it's just try not get hurt as much as you can that that's the way I'm thinking of it h and get hit like n yeah something similar to that yeah yeah but like like I said in your bracket it's probably one of the the the bigger brackets as well so it it is it is five fights for you potentially to win the goal because I know in some of the other categories with the lower weight classes or even the higher weight ones they might only have to fight two or three times or maybe even two like when you look at five fights ahead of you what's going through your mind because a lot of people that might overwhelm a lot of people but you with your triathlons and with your running you love challeng when you see five potential opponents in your way like does that turn something in your head that makes you kind of happy because that's it sounds like something that kind of intrigues you and wants you to go for it exactly it gets a spark into me I want like some people they just going to go into this fight like I want to finish this go on to the next one I'm I've been training so hard for this I'm going to enjoy these five fights I'm not I'm I'm not trying to rush myself um I'm going enjoy the five fights and I'm going to get that gold but at the same time I only really focus on one fight so I only find out who I'm fighting on Monday because I'm fighting on Tuesday and so I don't I don't like right at this moment I'm not even looking at anything just I'm just focusing on myself even all training camp I've been focusing on myself when Monday hits and I find out who I'm fighting the next morning then I I I have a little research about him just what's his style and stuff and then I go from there but it's nothing too crazy it's just I think all this Camp it was more focused on myself and me getting better than focusing on an opponent yeah I actually spoke to Ava Cruz yes or two days ago and she said the same thing and I always asked amateur Fighters This like even when you were fighting reg i' ask you do you do you look at the opponent that much and a lot of Fighters said they did and then a lot fighter said they stopped doing that because rather than trying to focus your game around their game you want to establish your own game and and stamp kind of your your style going forward and and you find not knowing the opponent so you're not doing too too much research actually benefits you as a fighter to progress rather than thinking about what they're going to do exactly I actually I I agree with that I think when like even on a regional character or something like cage Legacy if you if you see your opponent you're GNA be like all Camp you're going to be focusing okay if I hit this right hand oh he's going to do this then I'm going to do that and you're kind of like it's it it is good because you're like game planning for them but I think at this for me I found out when the last worlds when I found out okay you're fighting this this guy from Team bahin the next morning all right I've literally about three hours before I go to bed just watch some think of something and just go for it and it makes me when when I'm actually in the cage it's like I'm doing my thing I don't need to focus on what he's going to do right now it's just keep doing your own thing and that's what's going to get me to victory yeah because especially am obviously you want to see what they're good at if they have a good jaob or if they have a good kick or or something like that but ultimately as an amateur you want to improve your game and worrying about other people's games isn't really going to help you progress it might just it won't stunt you but it might just kind of hold you back a bit rather than releasing your full potential and and doing what you're good good at and excelling what you're good at and just progressing as a fighter but um you're in SBG cork um you actually had Dan Sullivan who just became a champion a double champ is he a double champ now or triple CH yeah it his second title there so it was it was great to see Dan actually get the victory Victory Dan Dan's been working hard he's he's literally he's always training always there I actually I'm happy to see him get that title and it was good to get him another fight another experience yeah no it was good that like you a fantastic gym there you've got Dan obviously K that the result didn't go his way H you've got P you've got your brother you've got kry who I'm very intrigued to see what's happening this year I think I have an idea because I seen something on her story but what's what's the feeling like right now in SBG C and obviously at the helmet you've got Li and you've got Marlin and Marlin I want to give a shout out to because she does so much work behind the scenes that nobody talks not that nobody talks about but I don't think she gets the credit she deserves it's a lot of quiet work a lot of tankless work so she's an absolute legend of the game because she's doing a lot to try and get this sport recognize what's it like having them at the helm and then the teammates around you and especially when you're leading into a competition what's the buzz like for you like are they all buzzing for you getting you ready yeah exactly as you said um starting off with my head coach Liam uh he puts in two like he's always there for us whether like he's like a like I would say kind of like a f figure but not really because he it's like but you're he's always there for us like whether it's we want to speak to him or just all get some pads with him training with him's he's just always there for us and the same with marilene uh and then coming with my teammates it's just a good Buzz we have the right people um around us uh my brother there always training me after training it's it's I think I'm I'm in in a good position right now training and I'm upskilling all the time yeah no it is good and like that you've got you've got the bodies in there and you've obviously got younger Generations coming through you've got younger fighters coming through as well when you look at obviously how skilled you are at this age like when you look at these younger guys coming true are you just looking at them going wow like just to can you see the evolution of MMA within the the younger generation that when you go when I was that age like they're not miles ahead of me but they're they're steps ahead of me do can you see the evolution in MMA with these young kids yeah definitely 100% but you know what it actually it's good to see that like it's good to see that MMA is evolving in Ireland and it as not even Ireland it's just grown in general like it it's good to see that stuff um I think like yeah exactly as you said I think an 18yearold me like me or I'm not even 18 20 years old uh when I'm like 30 years old and I'm me looking down at a a 20-y old and they're way better than I was then it it actually it's it's something good to see yeah it is and you can see that is evolving uh like years ago remember it was like the boxer versus the wrestler whereas now everyone has to be well round you can't go into a fight if you're not well-rounded because you just won't survive and you see that with Fighters that go in they might be just Strikers and they get taken down they get sub like that but your skill set obviously is is is extremely good you're one of the most exciting fight fighters on the scene and uh I I like I love having these chats with you especially come up to fight I don't think we've not had a chat before any of your fights um yeah a obviously you're not looking past the tournament because that's first and foremost the most important thing uh are you looking to do more International competitions you looking to get obviously you were talking about that Jake fight are you looking to mix it up and mix the match on the regional and the imfs or will you be just the Europeans this year or have you kind of decided what your plan is for the year so for sure I definitely want to stay active I think after the Europeans I'm I'm going to take like just a month off of I'm still going to be training uh just the month of me enjoying training and and learning and stuff then just focusing on an opponent uh I've a marathon Cork City Marathon I'm doing in June uh and I'd say after the Europeans I next point be looking for is late June and um something that I actually I don't think no one knows about me only my close friends and family that I'm actually going to be going to alante in September for three months um with college I'm going to be studying in college for there three months and just doing rasos so while I'm over there I'm actually going to be training in ilot theoria gym so that that's something I'm also looking forward to but before any of that I'm going to look at the Europeans and then that that's that first that's cool that's cool obviously that you're going to go over there you're going to train someone else told me they were actually going to go there I can't remember who it was and they said because everyone goes to Thailand and stuff and they couldn't afford to go to Thailand so they were going to go for like a month over to Spain they spend it over Spain and train in the same gym as well but like how excit obviously you're going over there with college would you look to maybe compete while you're over there would that be something because I know there's a few promotions there's a uh who's it Raquel Gonzalez she fights out of phantom I think she's competed uh over there as well because obviously uh it's where she's from um but would you be looking to compete over there or you just going to look to trade and upskill and enjoy enjoy it while you're there definitely I I man I I love fighting I I love going into the cage I love I love the events I love everything about fighting and if I get an opportunity to in Span I definitely would but I definitely do need to focus on on studying at the same time so um if I can balance everything I'll be more than happy to to fight on that yeah and and like you said you're in college how hard is it to to train the way you do to balance College the way you do you're going for a Brisk jog in your sense a marathon cuz with with the way you run but uh how hard is it to balance all this stuff and especially at such a young age because it like I when I was your I'm still all over the place at my age it must be just something that it goes through how hard is that to balance though and get it in do you just have to find the structure and stick to it exactly yeah it's not it's not even about like fitting in train it's even it's even with my diet or anything it's just having a good structure and I think that's what I I have just like I'm going to train This and like if I say I'm going to train before College I'm going to train before College um fit and stuff in it it's not too bad um I think I'm in Mt and um I I love college to be honest um I go in there I'm actually enjoying it so it's it's not that I'm I'm like dreading it and I don't want to be there I actually enjoy College um and I can't wait to be in college in Spain I want to see the experience of that just not just as like an MMA fighter just take all of them I'm only 20 years old I want to travel the world and take everything like I've so much to do like not just focusing like I do want to just focus on MMA and stuff but MMA is only like a small bit of my life I still have college I I have like so much other stuff to be doing than just MMA yeah because like that and I think especially when you're young and I like the way you you're kind of stopping and smelling the roses and kind of enjoy the moment while you're there because you like you will never be 20 again going over theace for three months for college so when you're over there this be my advice to you is I've gone through many moments in my life and I didn't really stop and realize what I kind of what was going on or the experiences I was having at the time whereas you seem you're ready to just kind of embrace what's coming your way which is is quite good because there's times I look back I should have done this I should have done that whereas you're going out and enjoying it it's it's a mature mindset for someone your age so fair play to you but it's it looks like a busy busy year for you a good good year as well but but I'm going to let you go um I can't we're obviously all going to be cheering for you we're looking for you to bring home the gold which your promising us so I want to get a picture with you with the gold when you're back I'll send you another Jersey when I get some more merch in which will be coming soon um is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out and thank you again for your time it's an absolute pleasure I just want to like the biggest there's two like not like yeah I'd like to just thank my brother my brother is always like he's always pushing me through training I know I always say this in like any opportunity I say this or anything but man without my brother I would not even be half like never mind half the man I am but I wouldn't be as good I am in training always pushes me my head coach always pushing me my whole team uh my parents are the stuff that me and my brother always we put them through hell and they're always supporting us um that's it and obviously thanking you for having me on all the time every every fight I have it you you always fit me in and it's good always having the chat with so thank you yeah no it's nice to have to catch up we do talk obviously two messages as well but you when I first came in you you were very open with me you were always uh obliged and he always came on so uh whenever I always say to you if you want to come on you come on if you don't want to come on you don't want to come on because I know sometimes H coming up to certain fights some people don't want to come on but I I'll always have you on before a fight I always send you text and uh I can't wait to see you compete next week and best the skill going over thank you so much again thank you