Lewis Byrne interview

Summary

Lewis Byrne is a 3-0 professional fighter, fighting out of Team Ryano under the tutelage of Coach Andy Ryan we delve into his impressive start to his professional career, although it hasn't been completely ideal, nearly every fight slated his opponent changed within two weeks…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

So, I'm here with Mr. Lewis Burn. Uh, he's 3 and 0 as a professional. Recently fought in Denmark. Um, yeah, he's had a fantastic start to his pro career. I've talked a lot about him. He's one of the people I mention a lot to amateur. Took the hard fights, took the styles that didn't suit him, and it's proven dividends now. So, thank you very much for joining me. How are you? How are you feeling at 3 and 0 going undefeated at pro having such a good start to the career? >> Yeah, thanks for having me back, Dave. It's been a minute. Um, it feels good. You know, I'm I'm happy with the first three uh professional performances of of the pro career. Um I'm definitely looking forward to the next one, but um you know, I've been putting in hard graft, hard training. I've been getting the results and yeah, I'm I'm proud of those performances. I'm happy with those last couple of performances. >> Yeah. Know, it was really good. Especially your last fight, you put up a post there and talk to us. It seemed like a very turbulent camp. Uh a lot of stuff happened, a lot of injuries, a lot of different things. speak to us about kind of when the trouble started happening, what happened, what kind of injuries you picked up and what kind of effect that had on you physically and mentally as well because I think people overlook the mental side in fighting. >> Yeah. Um I think like I think it's it's tough to go through a full camp without picking up any sort of niggles, any sort of injuries. Do you know what I mean? And this this camp was no different. Um, to be honest, like this this this camp for me, this last one for the third fight, uh, it was it was it was going perfect. I was really enjoying me training. Uh, the schedule changed up a little bit as well. Like I I I work full-time as well as um a community health worker in the inner city of Dublin. So, like I'm I'm working two full-time jobs at the same time, basically mixing up the the MMA and and the community health work. Um so recently just halfway through the year there I managed to um come to an agreement with the job and and change me hours that I went slightly less hours in the job to commit a bit more time into into the training and into the MMA and getting extra training sessions in. Um so that was helpful. It was a bit of a switch. It took a little bit to get used to and you know like when when the switch finally came I was like it was like the first day of school. I was getting them like little nerd I was like oh I really have to actually do this now. like I'm getting this time off now. So, I actually have to train these extra training sessions now in the morning. So, that was funny. But, um yeah, no, really enjoying it. Um doing doing a bit of tie boxing up in DCA there in um up up in Shandon in Cabaret in Dublin. So, uh really enjoying getting some rounds up up there with the lads, moving about with Collie as well. Really, really good. So, uh definitely something I'll be I'll be continuing now going into the next couple of camps. Um, so yeah, other than that, like the camps had had remained the same, you know, getting good rounds in up in Rhino. Um, great bodies up there, Saul coming down, Damian coming down and and all of us really working well together and getting really good rounds. Um, good looks off each other. Everybody in camp at the same time. So like I couldn't have actually asked for a better camp and everything was going [ __ ] great. Um, and then as you do, you know, you you pick up injuries here and there throughout. I poke I I picked up like a little minor injury a couple of weeks into the camp. So like I tore um the ligament in my left knee uh the LCL the outer ligament cuz I you know like I I I go over funky stuff up in the gym and stuff like that especially in jiu-jitsu and like all these like low percentage moves and I try to make them your own and try to tweak them and sometimes you you blow your knees out doing stuff like that when you're trying to do all these the these funky bits every now and again you know. So, a little minor injury at the start of the camp and didn't really worry too much about it. I was getting was getting looked out at the physio doing a little bit of rehab and stuff like that and it was actually it was it was it was grand. It was fine. So, yeah, the six weeks went by um out the 8week camp, the two month camp and um two weeks out uh Friday morning I get the I get the text from MMA Gala that my opponent had pulled out. So, I was like right no butter. I've experienced this before. This has happened to me literally every single fight camp I've had so far. Fourth fight fell apart cuz the guy h pulled out the week of the second fight pull out the week of the water load. Um I couldn't believe it. The exact same day. It was like the Monday before the fight. Luckily we got the replacement and I I went up a weight class to lightweight to make the debut. Second fight camp like not no different. Con constant pull outs every now and again. So I was used to that. So the two weeks was like enough time for me. So on the Friday morning I was like right that's unfortunate. I've been training for this guy but look we we this the show must go on you know so just had to sort of wait um and see and find out and just hope on that Friday morning that uh we we'd have an opponent by the end of the weekend. That night was the last session um the last like sort of tough session of the training camp. Got through it absolutely grand. Not a bother. Felt really good even though I was on the low calories you know. um putting the last like hard hard bit of graft in for the fight camp. Um, I think we we done our last round of of rolling after sparring and then our head coach Andy said, "Right, lads, we're just going to do one extra round." And they're like, "They're the famous last words. Like, we're just going to do that one extra round." And if you're really like at the end of your fight camp, this is just a bit of advice to other fighters. and you're, you know, you you've done your hard work for for six or seven or eight weeks and you've you've you've literally completed your last session and your coach says one last round. Don't do that last round cuz that's when the [ __ ] happens. I I literally say it all the time with plenty of other lads who are trying to fights. It's always that last round. But anyway, yeah, um I was rolling about um going for those those uh low percentage jiu-jitsu submissions and moves, you know, and uh I [ __ ] I done the exact same injury to the other knee, but this one was like, oh my god, this one was like [ __ ] a thousand times worse. The lads like the lads who are rolling beside us heard the pop out me knee. I thought I had torn the meniscus. I thought the knee was gone. I was like there I'm like with the the first two minutes of me injuring the knee I was like I am done. There's no way I'm fighting in two weeks time. This is also at the same moment where I actually don't have an opponent either. I I was I was actually running around like it happened so quick. I heard the pop. I was rolling on the ground. I was like an injured animal. I was like a deer. That's what they're being shot by a gun. I was like limping around the mat just trying to like put a bit weight on it. Um, I knew it was the same injury that I had done to the other knee, but obviously it was so much worse. And the pain sort of went after about 5 minutes, but I knew like, oh, this is going to be this is going to be stiff in the morning. Like, so I woke up the next morning, I was correct. The knee was like the knee was like someone poured concrete in me leg. I could barely bend me leg. But yeah, I had I just I had to do the the the same stuff that I done for the last injury. It wasn't perfect, do you know? But got it looked at done done done what I could you know physio wise stretching wise and then by the end of the weekend I think we went through like two options for different opponents. I'd accepted both of them and then by the end of the weekend we had settled on your man Hussein and good good good jiu-jitsu black belt couple of fights. It was the step up in competition I wanted as well. Um like obviously me first two opponents me debut I was also fighting a debut and then me second me second opponent was also a debut so I wanted that step up for myself and the original guy was that step up for me as well h I think his record was 2-1 or 3-1 and then this guy was 3 and2 so I was happy with that step up um it was just the the injury was like on on the mind you know so I think we had the opponent confirmed on the Sunday night and then on the Monday morning h in work and I'm like I'm me legs itchy here. Like me my leg's a bit sore. Do you know that? Um walking around for the whole day and I'm I'm about to go to training and like I'm looking at me leg and I'm like what's what's the story of that? That's actually a bit itchy. Like and lo and behold it it was a [ __ ] like staff infection. So this is like this is like 8 days out or nine days out from the fight. Um, and I was like, "Right, I need to get antibiotics into me like quick fast, like really really quick." Um, so sent a little text around to a couple of the lads cuz you know, like staff, ring warm, all that [ __ ] is just so so common on the mats and like someone's always knocking about with like antibiotics or whatever. Ended up getting the full course of antibiotics. Um, the idea is mad bleeding Spanish brand of antibiotics. But look, I I wasn't going to beggars can't be shooters. I just needed to get antibiotics into me as quick as possible to get rid of this staff before the fight. And so I took them anyway for 24 hours and I thought it was all right. You know, I thought it was like the leg was still tring a bit and still quite sore. And I've had staff in the past. It's it's one of those unavoidable things. you just pick it up, especially when you're traveling around like um to other gyms in other countries or or just just whatever like you know. So by like the Tuesday evening I had stopped like training on the mats with the lads and I said you know what just going to relax for the next couple of days let these antibiotics work. I've done all me hard work. Me other knee was [ __ ] stiff as a board and so I was just going to relax and let the antibiotics work. So by the Tuesday evening, um I sat down after having a bit of food and me girlfriend looked at me leg and she was like, "Lis, your leg is like double the size of your other leg." And I was like, "Oh yeah, feel stiff all day, but like I just like MMA fighters like I'd give them like a lot of them have the same mentality as like pit bulls. Like they just like if they're in pain, if they're injured, they're just going to keep trotting on like going about their day as if they're grand. Their arm could be hanging off and they're like, "Oh no, it's only a bleeding. Sorry. It's only pulled muscle." But uh yeah, like the leg was throbbing all day, but like that I was like I was so I wasn't ignoring it, but I was like, "Ah, that's it's probably just the staff or whatever." But um yeah, like I I started getting worried then cuz like the leg was like it was looking bad. Like the whole calf was like swollen up the around where the knee was. I had staff on the knee and it was [ __ ] like a balloon as well. It was really really stiff and swollen. So I'm like at this point I'm like right I'm eight I'm like eight or nine days out from a fight now. like I can't s sort of sit around and wait to see me GP tomorrow that night straight up to A&E. I was up there me leg was like turning different colors. It was turning red. I was like I have [ __ ] sepsis in me leg hair or cellulitis. I like something something isn't right here. I knew something wasn't right because I've had this same thing in the past, you know. Um got looked at anyway after [ __ ] hours of sitting in A&E. I actually like it was tough, man. Mentally it was tough like sitting in the A&E um like eight days out from your fight, nine days out from your fight with the other other leg like pretty like significantly injured and your your your good leg is like double the size, do you know? And that was tough mentally and I really like I don't know. I just like in that moment sitting at I was just like this I'm probably going to have to [ __ ] pull out here. I had like a lot of support coming over with me to the fight. Um, and it's just like it's it's a bastard because like you don't want to let your friends, your family, the people coming over down even though like you know like they're not going to say you're letting them down. Like some things are uncontrollable but it's just that like the support is so wellreceived and appreciated no matter if it's up in Belfast, if it's in Dublin or if it's on the other side of the world, you know, like it's every last person who buys a ticket, who buys a pay-per-view, who sends you a message, you know, like all that is appreciated. So like you do think in the back of your head, I'm letting these people down. like I'll I'll get to this fight next week and even if they have to wheel me there, but at the same time like and it really came came into into my mind there over those last two weeks of the fight. Like you do have to put your health first as well. Like there's no point like in like risking like your life and your health for you know I don't want to let me friends and family down. Like it's your life at the end of the day. Do you know what I mean? And like now like now MMA now MMA fight win is is going to be worth more than your life, do you know? Or just your your health and your ability to continue living like a normal life as a healthy adult, do you know? So it's just something that's like you do have to weigh up the pros and the cons, you know. Anyway, bringing you back to the story A&E, they had to measure me leg to check if it was sepsis or cellulitis. They got the diameter of the leg. I think they had said it was like it was swollen by like uh it was either like an an inch an inch or a centimeter and a half but if it was an extra centimeter and a half then it could have been maybe sepsis. I was like all right nice one at least it's not that they stuck me on another another lot of antibiotics and you know I just had to trust I had to trust it that this was going to work. Um I've never I' I've had staff in the past like I mentioned I've been on these antibiotics for it before. I was on like a dose of like 60 antibiotics across seven days. I was on like eight or 10 antibiotics a day. Um obviously not on the mats, just like all I could do was really run when the swelling had come down. One one more run before I finished up me fight camp and like one or two strength conditioning sessions. So, I think I added it up and the last like I'd say two and a half weeks before my fight, I I probably literally done like three sessions, like three 1-hour sessions. Um, and that was like that Friday where I hurt the knee. Um, the Monday I hit I hit the bag when I found out I had staff. And then like literally the last Friday before I had I was fighting the following weekend, that was like me final session. and just sort of moving about while on antibiotics and just doing a bit of pad work and stuff like that. So like it's it's a it's a tough time I think to take that much of a break cuz like it's it's your final couple of sessions and you're like no I need to [ __ ] put the last couple of sessions in here and and whatever and burn your last couple of calories and you know you'd be worried about your weight still. No, I can't do that now. I have to just sit on me how and hope these uh antibiot antibiotics work. Um and it's like it's it's a mental battle. It's a mental battle more than anything because like you've done all your hard work. There's actually nothing else you're going to learn in the last two weeks. Your fitness might improve to a percent but realistically that's not going to come into play in the fight. So I just had to keep telling me that that that that thing in my head. I was having those conversations head like you've done enough. You've done all you can do. Like you have to just relax now. You're probably going to taper off anyway. So just let the antibiotics work and hopefully you're 80% ready your body wise for the fight when it comes around. So yeah, I think I I had stopped the antibiotics anyway on think Wednesday was the last day I took antibiotics and then weighed in I left I left for Denmark on Thursday, weighed in Friday and false Saturday and yet the the rest is history as they say. That's like that's a lot to take in even listening to kind of kind of what happened and me going through my head about how you could be feeling there. There's so many different emotions. You had to pull out. >> You got new opponents. Now you're thinking, am I going to have to pull out? >> Um like you said, it's your your family and friends are always going to say you're not letting them down. It' be the same if it was my friend or or something. Like if if just say I was coming over, I'd be like Louis, it is what it is. But I know in your position that's always going to be in your head. So the sort of way you can't >> get rid of that. But like mentally like how did you like how like that's very hard to manage especially you're going into like taking antibiotics as well which kind of drained you drained you energy wise and then obviously you have did did you have a big weight cut then as well on top of that like or was it >> um do you know what like with everything that had happened over those last two weeks whether it be opponent change like illness injuries I honestly ly like I'm not going to use all of that negative energy and make myself feel worse. Like I I I done me best just to use everything that was happening as an extra little push towards the fight and just said to myself like you're a fighter, Lewis. You're a fighter. Like you're going to fight this fella and you're going to win either way. It doesn't matter who the opponent is. It doesn't matter how bad one of your legs is. Like you you like this is what you say you are. So go out there and prove it. It doesn't matter like what the circumstances may be. Like if you're going to if you're going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk eventually. Do you know what I mean? And like I don't know like it could be anything. You might like hurt your finger, might be like fractured or something before a fight. Like that's not going to stop you from winning like from losing a fight or winning a fight. Like it's down to you like how you use that energy. Do you know what I mean? And I I just in this case I used it to I used it to to push me and and to get that that performance out of me that I wanted. You know, there's obviously like a lot of other things that do come into play to get the win. The mental thing is a huge part of it. Um like over the last like couple of fight camps, I've been working on that with my my sports psychologist Molly. Absolutely brilliant. Um but like in in regard to this fight, like you know, like mental is a huge bit. The decision making on the night is a huge bit. And then like all those other little things do come into it as well like you know social things that you have going on with I don't know friends, family, girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever it is like you know um works work [ __ ] you know like training camp how that's gone but like two weeks out from the fight you should be ready to go on that day like mentally and physically you've done everything you can do. If I was fighting on the Monday, the Tuesday, the Wednesday, the Thursday, the Friday out of the blue, like I'm ready for that regardless. You don't just train that to I can only fight on the Friday. Like you're ready to go realistically at the end of the camp. So no matter what's happened in the last two or three or even four weeks of fight camp, like you're you should be ready by then. Do you know what I mean? So that's that that's just that sort of mentality I have. It might not work for everybody, but that's that's what worked for me and that's what I'm going to continue to go on. Do you know? But uh no, sorry Dave, getting back to your question with the wake cup. Do you know what I've we were chatting about a little bit before we started, but like I've I've fought like so many times at featherweight through the amateurs. I don't I don't walk around two or three kilos over featherweight. I would say I'm quite a big featherweight for for the weight class. So it does I can't just eyeball [ __ ] and I can't just leave it a chance. So like health, food, nutrition is a huge huge thing in my life. Um, you know, I mentioned earlier on that like I I do work for a community project in the inner city in Dublin. Um, and part of me job is I I I deliver a six week health and nutrition cooking program to like schools in the area, adults in the area, like do it all over the place. Um, so like I do be doing me own research. I have the trial and error of all of the uh way cuts that went horribly and there's been plenty. Um, and just like picking up tips from the other lads and stuff like that and just like sort of chopping and changing things and I have it down to a teen now to where like I I like I think I I I think I had to do like like barely anything to be honest. Like when I cut I think I cut like maybe if even 2 kgs before like on the morning of the and fresh like absolutely fresh. >> Yeah, that's not much. I I watched someone cut 7 kgs overnight and and that wasn't a fun time for me watching him do it. So >> I' I've come here I've done like 5 kgs in the space of a couple of like hours as well. Do you know what I mean? And then I've had to fight within the hour after weighing in and that like was bad news. Do you know? So 2 kg is like a bleed afternoon tea like like give me that every day all day. 2 kg isn't about I'll happily do it. No, I like that. One thing I want to say is the job you have, Fair Play, that's a very worthwhile, fulfilling job as well. And fair play for doing that because you live in Bali Bach. Yeah. Around that. >> Yeah, Bali Bach. Yeah. In a city Dublin. Yeah. >> Yeah. So, you had a lot of things to contend with there and I like your resilience and how you kind of like you use these things to kind of motivate your ad and get down and a lot of people would get down. It just shows the mental mentality change there. We talked briefly just before we started about your mental mentality change that going into pro. Do you want to expand a bit more on that so people can kind of get an idea because I think the mental side is something that's kind of forgotten about or or left aside or or people don't really know. So do you want to talk to us about your experience and your change in mentality? >> Yeah, 100%. Um, yeah. So, obviously the the mentality I have and the mindset going into a fight is is it's 80% like it's it's almost all of the fight, you know. Um, and then then the rest the other 20% whatever it is is your decision making on the night. So, like it's you need to want to be there, do you know? Like it's there's no point in just like doing all the training and thinking it's cool to have a fight and then you're just not performing. like you need to want to be there in the cage as well. And like I said to a couple of lads as well over the last couple of weekends of corn and other fights like this like the fight itself is like 1% of like your whole MMA career. If you have like a 20 year MMA career, you'll spend thousands and thousands and thousands of hours on the mats traveling all over the world for fights, dieting, doing all the all this other [ __ ] and your fight is like 1% of it. And that's the that's the that's the part that makes or breaks people. Do you know that's when they can just fold and they they could be literally the best like the best lads you ever see in the training room on the mats and as soon as it comes to finite they fold for whatever reason you know. So you really just you have to enjoy that 1% cuz that's the best bit. Like that is the best bit at the end of the day. No point dreading it or like getting so anxious about it like you know you really do just have to enjoy that. So that's definitely something that I've brought into into my own mentality when it comes to those the the big fight like the the thing that everything's leading to. Um you know I would have mentioned before to you I've been working with a sports psychologist now for the last couple of uh for all my professional fight camps actually and with Molly absolutely brilliant like really has just add added different levels and layers to to just just thinking about things a little bit more. Do you know what I mean? uh tackling like mental challenges that I may have in different areas and and just really helpful overall. But like one thing I there there was a switch for me um and it was the last amateur loss that I took um and like that was I think that was detrimental to the fire that I become now because I remember I got I got it was a submission loss. I'd never been submitted before. Um, and it just it [ __ ] it hurt. Like it really really hurt. Um, and I had a complete just crisis moment. Um, and I was ready there and then to quit. Like I was done MMA. Like I loved MMA. Unbelievably passionate about MMA. This is what I want to sort of base my life at the moment around at that point. Um, and it just like it broke me down. Do you know what I mean? Like it really just broke me down as it does like MMA. no matter how much you love MMA, like MMA is never gonna love you back, do you know? Um, so yeah, brought me that that final loss of my amateur career brought me to like a bad place like for about 24 hours. Um, and after those 24 hours, I was like, mate, like this is like I just had that internal conversation with myself, you know, like this is like what you've put so much time into for so many years like and and you're ready to quit now. public like the MMA is going to show you the door. Like MMA is actually going to show you the door as much as possible because it wants MMA wants to win at the end of the day. Like it doesn't want you to win. You have to make that decision and every time it shows you the door, you know, you just have to tell the [ __ ] [ __ ] off like you know. And so this fight camp is no different. Like we've gone through all those challenges and stuff like that. Um where MMA were showing me the door and saying let's just quit now like you know. So I I didn't I I didn't quit there there and then all those fights ago and and that's something that I think fueled the performances that then came after. But when it when it did come to um the professional the professional switch and and fine as a pro fighter like there there was there was a little bit of a of a of a mental change in terms of like this was no longer competing in a sport and let's see who who has the better skills. Like this for me now as a professional fighter is like I'm going out there and like one of us is coming out of the cage like and it's not going to be it's not going to be you. Like I'm going to be the person leaving this cage like fresh as a daisy. Like I'm I'm getting out of here. Like there's two men going in. There's one man coming out. Um, so yeah, it's just it's it's you know, I don't like like I've no I've never any sort of like malice or or like people always say, "Oh, do you get real angry before you have fights and like you really want to hurt this fella?" I don't get angry like but I do want to hurt this fellow like cuz this fella is out there putting himself in here and going through a two-mon training camp, however long to me. So like me bollocks am I going to let this fell me? So I'm going to hoard you before you get to haunt me. So that's that's like for me the professional switch is that for me it's no longer you know competing and I never like I I think I didn't really have that amateur like I want to go out and court this fellow like 18year-old kid who's just also has a passion for MMA and it's his hobby. It was more of just like right I'm training you're training let's see whose skills are better. Whereas now it's like right this man who is across the cage from me is training to make this thing his career of haunting me. So like as I said my bollocks is that going to happen like I'm going to get there first. That's that's that's the switch on the night. And of course like enjoying all the moments like this this just goes back to working with Molly and doing that bit of sports psychology. Like it's like you you have to enjoy like not not just the fight like you have to enjoy the whole thing like cuz like in 15 years you know unless I'm doing bleeding slap boxing or or bare knuckle boxing somewhere when when the MMA career is over. Um, like like these are like the best years of your life when it comes to like your MMA career and if you're serious about it like the traveling around getting to fight in places like Denmark and all the places you're fighting like as an amateur as well but like enjoy like all aspects of it like you know cuz like you're not going to it's not a a a game where you're going to be laying into your 60s doing bleeding exhibition MMA fights like Mike Tyson the boys like you know it's a very like small window of time where you get to be at your prime in this sport and achieving all of the goals that you want to achieve. So, you know, make it worthwhile. Enjoy it. Um even like when when it's when it's finite or fight day or whatever, like just just take like enjoying the little things, enjoying your walk out, you know, like there's obviously going to be that nervous energy and that that that anxious energy. It's it's good though. Like it's it's excitement, you know? You shouldn't use that to to bring down your performance. you should use that to to bring up your performance and get you in the right headsp space, you know? So, look, it's just it's just about in in like as cliche as it is to say, like it's about enjoying like the little things and and enjoying the the whole process of it cuz at the end of the day, like you're going in there to hurt somebody, they're going to hurt you. And I don't know, you have to you have to sort of take take what you can from it, I guess, cuz it's a brutal [ __ ] sport at the end of the day. Did you know the training is like so full on like all the amateur lads are basically training like pro lads and then the pro lads are doing twice that then you have to cut all the weight you have to go through months of a hard training camp and diet and all that stuff for like 15 minutes of dancing about do you know so [ __ ] enjoy it you know enjoy it >> yeah know I liked a couple things you said you said about the nervous energy I think when people say to me sometimes that they're really cool and calm like if I'm going into a job interview or something that's important important to me, you're going to be nervous. And I think if that nervousness isn't there, >> not that you don't care about it, but there's something a bit off, I think, because if there's something that's like for you, every your next fight is your most important fight all the time. And if you're not nervous, then I think >> I don't know then that you might have to look at a mental side as well. But what I really liked what you talk about is is enjoying the moment because a lot of fighters said they obviously you have to plan on where you want to get there and they're focusing too much on that then stopping the smelling roses like >> I don't know whether you will fight Denmark again or not but you won't if you don't you won't have that experience again. So so enjoy it while you're there. >> Exactly. >> Enjoy these countries right stop smell the roses. Enjoy it. two people people are too quick to want to get to the end goal that it's the journey that makes the goal like like whether you get to that goal or not there's going to be stuff along that journey that you might never at the heart of even happened in a sort of way of what's going to happen and I think people need to kind of like that embrace the moment and take it >> million% um yeah you know like there's going to be highs there going to be lows you know but you best believe you're going to enjoy the highs while they're there you Um, yeah. Yeah. As cliche as it sounds, you know, like to enjoy the little things and and this and that, but like like that you have to at the end of the day, do you know what I mean? For all all the torture you go through as a fighter mentally and physically, do you know? Like even now, like all those things I I had to go through uh for for the end of the last camp, like I'm so happy I can I can at least look back at them and laugh and I got the win at the end of the day. I'd [ __ ] you probably wouldn't be in the interview with me right now if I lost. Do you know what I mean? Like nobody gives a bollocks really about any of that stuff if you lose. So like you're only as good as your last performance anyway. Do you know? So you enjoy all all the all the things in between while you can because it's going to be a day where like you're in your late 30s and you feel like you're in your late 60s because you've been training MMA for the last 20 years and you can't fight her anymore. Do you know? So yeah, that's all I'll say about that. Yeah, it it's like that. It's a what have you done for me lately sport? H and it is. But to be fair, Lewis, because you were one of the first people that ever gave me an interview. Whenever you lost in the first few fights after that interview, I did text you. >> Yeah. Million% defining the lows and the highs. >> Yeah, it was the same. Jordan Bradshaw said it was actually Taylor Quinn when I text him because it was there was four. you, Troy Gibson, Taylor Maga, uh were the first four people to ever agree to interview. So when Taylor lost because I' I'd have that kind of relationship with with Ye because he he allowed me to do that when he didn't know who I was. Um I felt like I kind not that I owed it to him, but I want to see how he was and how you were. And it was Taylor said other than my girlfriend and my family, no one has text me. And I was like, man, that is brutal. And he said like you'll have hundreds of messages. So, so it it is what and it's like that it is lonely because >> I don't know whether people don't want to text you because they don't know how you'd react. >> But >> it's like that. It just shows you need to keep your your your number ones cuz I I see your your mother's one of your biggest supporters uh as well. And then you've got your girlfriend, your close family. They're they're the essential ones. Not that these other ones don't matter, but they're the ones that going to be there for you when the times are tough and uh they have been and and they will be going forward. But I love the kind of change in mentality in the way you look at things cuz I watched your am career and I could see there was tough times for you and you could see you looked kind of labored at some stage and I don't I don't want to say it in disrespectful way but it look like kind of you you fought a lot when I started you fought a lot and I think you burnt yourself out and you tried to do too much and but these are things you learned like I said look at how it's going now and it's been like a perfect start to your career in terms of results uh injuries pull outs this that haven't been perfect. But like you said, that's that's part of the sport. Um, >> going forward, obviously, you were very banged up going into the fight. Uh, we were talking before. Um, we probably wouldn't be expecting to see season maybe the new year. I'd say I'd say you need to rest and recover your body. >> Um, yeah. No, like like you said, David, we were chatting a bit beforehand and uh I'd mentioned a couple of injuries and stuff and obviously we we've gone through the the injuries and stuff during the interview now um today. Uh but yeah, I didn't like during the fight itself, I didn't really take too much damage. Um but like I was a little bit like the knees and stuff and were a little bit compromised beforehand like and that was one of the main I don't know if you seen the fight but that was one of the main reasons I kept on the feet. The guy I was fighting like was was a jiu-jitsu black belt and both my knees were were boi like to say the least. So you best believe I'm not staying on the ground like when I can barely kneel on the ground, do you know? But uh yeah, no afterwards, you know, wasn't really too banged up. The knee though like is is s sort of still healing and it's it's it's making it difficult for me now to actually even get back onto the mats at the moment. So a little bit frustrating. I'm doing whatever I can, you know, I'm up there. I'm coaching. I'm going through techniques with the other lads. I'm enjoying s the the the teammate role at the moment. um was up with young Aaron Henry 30 week when when he got the final win of his amateur career. I'll be with the lads now this weekend for cage earlier. So look, I'll I'll be playing that team the team member role for the next couple of weeks anyway until I can get fully back onto the mats. Um I don't know if I'm going to be 100% before the end of the year, but you know, if I was 75% ready for this last fight Denmark, then that was good enough. But I would like to be 100% before my next fight. So, um, yeah, look, if if if I don't get back in there by the end of the year, it'll be it'll be pretty early into into 2026, you know. Um, I'd love a nice active 2026. Um, keep that keep that unbeaten streak as well. Um, hopefully hopefully maybe do some some more international fights as well in the new year. Um, and yeah, we'll we'll see what happens, but yeah, more than likely it'll be early 2026 now for me for the next one. >> Yeah, I think so. after what you've been through, I think you deserve a bit of a break. I think you deserve to go into a fight. Like you're never going to go in 100%, but if you keep going at 75%, you're compromising your health, which is your health, your injuries, your body is going to affect then like you said, this is a career for you now. It's not just a competition. Um, we've got like that you fought in Denmark. There's there's the options there. There's Cage Warriors that obviously your gym's very heavily featured on as well, which is this weekend. Is is Cage Warriors something you'd like to get on? and >> come here. Yeah. Like I I'd love the opportunity. Um I'd love to get on onto one of the Dublin shows as well. Um but like all all I'm going to say is I'm going to just keep getting the results making the noise all across Europe and wherever else. And like whatever like whatever does end up in my lap that's that like we we'll go that direction. I'm not going to I'm not going to um sort of say there's only one route for me and I have to go that way. But whatever opportunities may like come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come to pass um we'll we'll take them you know but uh yeah definitely would love to fight on one of the next Dublin shows. I'm jealous of the lads to be honest even though I fought two weeks ago that I find this weekend. I think the the injury is a bit of a blessing in disguise as well like cuz if if I wasn't injured I'd be looking to fight like within the next couple of weeks myself. But yeah, look we'll see what happens. cuz I'd love to get back on to uh the MMA Gala show back in Denmark maybe at some point as well next year. Um and yeah, we we'll we'll see what happens. But I'm I'm enjoying I'm enjoying being a free agent at the moment, but we'll see what happens. >> Yeah, there's so many options now, especially across Europe. There's so many big promotions now that are kind of coming. You've got PFL, you've got Octagon, and you've got like that the ones in Denmark. There's one in Austria. I can't remember. I think what it FCF something like that but there's some wow uh >> which is a fantastic promotion. There's so many options now for you as a pro. How does that feel as a pro compared to if you go back 10 years ago there was very few you've like >> the ball's kind of literally in your court. Where do like who wants me and where do I choose to go? >> Exactly. Do you know like it's just because there is so many opportunities as well which is brilliant. like the the the ball sort of is in the fighter's court, but only if the performances are there as well. Cuz like I said, you best believe like if the last fight was was an L because of all these other issues that were going on, nobody nobody' be given a bollocks at the moment. Nobody' be looking to uh to get you on, you know, but that's not the case. Um we're 3 and 0. We're undefeated. Um you would hope that that's attractive to all these promotions in Europe across Europe. So look, yeah, for for for the most part, as long as the performances are there for for fighters, like the the world sort of is your oyster, do you know when you can back it up? So yeah, I'll I'll I'll be honestly hoping to to go to as many places as as I can until I get the right offer, the the you know, the right contract on on the right promotion. So we'll just see who who that ends up being at the end of the day. >> Yeah, like that. We'll see what the future holds. There's one or two fighters you talked about there from your gym that I want to touch on and maybe we can just touch on the cage warriors card if that's something you're interested in. Aaron Henry h I think his his his record doesn't show how good he was but his performance the other day showed how good he was because Peter O'Reilly is a very very good fighter and >> yeah yeah >> how was that watching him cuz I've been there and you've been there for like when he fought Zavier >> which for me was one of my favorite fights still to this day power bombs reversal this was it like watching someone like Aaron who I feel his record should be better to some fights I think he might have won but the decisions all go that way >> but him to get that win and and mean so much to him. He stepped in a short notice. So, what's it like seeing your teammate get what he deserves? >> Um ah like it's it's it's a great feeling. Do you know what I mean? Like um you get more nervous I think when when you're on the outside of the cage when you're on the inside of the cage to be honest and like the nerves are obviously always there for all me teammates. And like when when one of my teammates win like we all win, do you know? like it's it's it's it's it's a lone sport, but it is a team sport at the end of the day. And the other thing as well is like like us us boys and it's the same for all all the clubs across across Ireland, across the world. Like you spend so much time with these lads like day in day out like that you you actually forget how good your own level is because you're around each other and like you might know each other's games and and so on and so forth. Like do you know what I mean? And just because of that familiarity, like you you do forget how good and how high the level is of all of your teammates, you know, because like you're literally you know each other's like ins and outs and like their moves five five moves ahead and they know your moves. So it's not until you see them on the stage and perform, you're like, "Oh, fuck." Like other other people can see this as well. Like and I think Aaron the other night there, yeah, he really showed his level. Absolutely top class. like um really really has came on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years up in the club. Um just yeah he's he's put in the work basically you know he's like myself like a lot of dutads out of the club. He never took an easy fight. He took he took whatever he was given to him. He never like asked for a specific fight. He was just like Aaron you find this fell in three weeks time. Yeah no you know and that's that that's that's how how how we all are and that's how Andy has us as a coach. Like Andy knows like we can be any single person. If if Andy gets a fight offer and he's already sent it to us, Andy knows we can be that person. Do you know what I mean? But it's just it's down to us as fighters to like realize that in ourselves as well. Do you know what I mean? And it's not until you see like your your fellow teammates performing on on the big stages like hey warriors now this weekend and like oh [ __ ] that's my train my training partner is just that they're sending that fella to the shadow realm and I train with that fella every single day like so I'm I must be half good like if that's what he's doing to somebody else from another club over in England or something like that. You know what I mean? So that really does hammer hammer it into you, you know, when you do see a friends performing like Aaron like such he just he really showed his level the other weekend. Yeah. So I'll be I'll be very excited to see him h make the transition himself over to uh the the professional level. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. So would I. He's someone that great time for and like I said he's he whether he won or lost, he was an exciting fight. He went up against Jason Sreen on like a a couple of days notice and gave Jason was like man I didn't like he thought because of the weight difference show that like okay I might he goes but man what I took him down he's throwing up triangles and he goes I'm trying to get out of there and go right we need to get back to the feet um so there's so many on cas pulled out oh not pulled out opponent pulled out I think they should reschedu that for a title now obviously uh in my opinion you've so many on One of the one the suit that really interesting when you've got Damian's fighting Ke obviously Damian's from Rhino he's from and then you've got Jamie versus Mash Freel a lot of people are divided on this I think sometimes you're going to have to fight Irish people but it has to be for me like a stage like Cage Warriors um because I think like we said there's so much talent in the country you have to kind of rise to the top. What's your thoughts on Irish people fighting at at such an early stage in the career or do you think it should come later on at a bigger stage? Like, do you know what? Like, I I don't I don't think it matters too much whether it comes early or late because MMA like is still one of those sports where like no one cares if you have one or two losses anyway, if you're an exciting fighter and you still back up with performances. Like I I know for a fact like regardless of like the results of this weekend between like the really big domestic um domestic fights like every all those lads like have a huge future ahead of them regardless. Do you know what I mean? And in another five fights time all all the all these big domestic fights will be just like a great performance from two lads giving it their all. Do you know um that's all there is. So, like I don't think there's I don't think there's really like an issue or a problem with doing them too early. You might want to see them build up a little bit more and then maybe you know like those bigger domestic fights might be then for a contendership for a title or I'd love to even see like I don't know who you could put between but like like an all Irish like title fight or something like that. That that's exciting. [ __ ] like that is exciting. Um cuz the main fact of the matter is as well like the big domestic fights when they are like quite early it's not really for contendership for the belt immediately after they'll probably have like another two or three fights after you know so like they're exciting for for you know the the the lads who are switched on MMA and they know like the MMA scene and they know who's fighting who like oh that's a really good fight but maybe for more like of of the general audience and they're like That's that seems like a good fight, but they don't really know the background for much of of either fighters, do you know? And but I would love I would really like to see maybe like a big domestic Irish title fight maybe in the next year or two if if the lads, you know, if if a lot of the Irish lads remain in Cage Warriors and also if they're they're backing up performances as well. So yeah, we'll we'll see this weekend. But like yeah, I rate I rate the Irish domestic fights as well. >> Yeah, I I think Damian versus Ke is a banger. I think Jamie first that that that's another banger. I think they're two really really good fights and it's like obviously when I watching Cage Warriors I could be watching Jar Harris and going go on J whereas now I'm sitting there and going >> I don't want one to beat the other >> but >> it's like I said and Dam said it and Keith said it if this was a London show there'd be no point maker you know because it's an Irish show like you just kind of alluded to the people in the scene kind of know it's going to be a fantastic card. Uh, it's I I can't wait for I'm actually doing commentary for on a show up north though, so I won't beh No way. >> I will be when I get home. I I'll try and keep away from the results. I'll get home and I'll watch it. Um, I'm going to let you go. I've really enjoyed this conversation as I always do with you. I love how you kind of expand on things and talk about the different things, the way it made you felt, the different mentalities because I think a lot of people don't want to talk too deep into it and you do. And and that might trigger something in someone. They go, "Right, well, maybe I need a sports psychologist. Maybe I need to approach it this way. Um, and it's always a fantastic conversation. Is there anything you want to say before you go or anything even you want to talk about before you go? >> Um, no Dave, look, thanks thanks for having me on. Like I said, it's been a minute. I think it's been maybe a year or two since I've been on last, maybe. Uh, but yeah, no, always grateful for for the opportunity to have a chat with you and and chat about all things MMA. And hopefully I'll be back again soon. And hopefully you'll see me active again in another fight in the new year. >> Yeah. No, 100%. Once the next flight is booked, we'll get you booked in for an interview. I'll try and get for all your profiles going forward because I'm back now kind of proper doing it full-time. Um, yeah. So, no, definitely. I I love having the chats and I love having having you on because like I said, you were one of the first people that ever said yes. So, >> of course, always, always, always. >> Have a good evening. Thank you again and I will talk to you soon, pal. >> You too, brother. Cheers.