IN DEPTH | EPISODE 27 | CONOR MCCARTHY

Summary

Dave sits down for a chat with SBG Naas fighter Conor McCarthy, for a look at his career so far.

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Kind: captions Language: en foreign [Music] McCarthy and SBG nice he's arguably the best one of the best if not the best uh amateurs in the scene right now he holds two titles he's been to the first ever a super cup he's had a host of fights he's been in the National assault how are you thank you very much for joining me and uh to get to where you are now where did you start where did it go Dave cheers for having me on hey where do I start I started boxing when I was 14 15 and playing boxing club from then we stayed after about two and a half years three years the Anaconda started moving into a big cake box and a Muay toi and these large toy gym they set up an hour gym for like twice a week they started running a kickboxing classes so I just started kind of mix and I'd open my boxing train and and um it's the best sake of asking by the time of it like you know I'm just competing and I wasn't it wasn't really for me so when I started doing a bit of Muay Thai I was like the aspect you know you could like fake with your kicks and just you know it's a whole different game and then I started doing a veg too and it was a his area yeah there is near like um yeah around nice was outside and they started in a Beach Zoo there and probably stood summer 2018 then nice I think we um the gym opened up in November 2018 like I was here since the first week only just fell in over they've been here since like trying like a maniac yeah I think because I believe you're the first person to win the battle for this year it was yeah yeah um yeah I think I was like me and diary were the first people to start campaigning our gym like we like we said sorry train November I think we saw again on K1 shows then and um probably started early next early uh times anointing and from then we just kind of had the bar rolling like we've the team's been building since then yeah there's a good few Fighters coming out with this gym obviously does yourself dowie and you've got Dino Driscoll who's been impressive as of late um Paul Fitzgerald who I'm a big fan of as well like yes no he's never and obviously he won there recently and a lot of his fights were like I know he was winning this fight and then he got caught but the other two were close as well two splits wasn't it I think all I think all these decisions have been split decisions yeah yeah so but to be the first one here to come back with the champion like once you came here obviously you've got Peter and serger here what's it like what does Pete aquili mean to you as a coach I am I like don't know how to describe it like he's more than a coach probably like more like a mentor and we've learned so much things like outside of fighting from here you know the kind of way and just like how you manage it kind of like I know he's been well probably 20 years fighting or whatever and um just how much knowledge the self-coupon and from like training like that aspect of it to kind of life outside the fighting as well like no definitely like he's a he's more in the culture like a mentor to me in the lads yeah I've heard that a few times and I've been in the court in the corner obviously I did we had showers and and you can see how much it actually means to him and he fought in Bellator one night and unfortunately he didn't win he he lost he got stopped but he was right there which is the next day which is absolutely amazing like to think to think about 100 it's just a testament appear isn't it um he was at the venue before I was like I was heartbreaking watching that as well and night before but I just like you know move on like I love that attitude as well you know like [ __ ] it whatever so foreign business as usual so uh that was a huge testamentally I think we had like Four Lads on that day he was there for all them so now it's uh just show us how much time he puts into us like yeah 100 he's always there I I'm usually in the corner and just uh the coaching from the corner from him is so impressive and I seen it the other night as well with Paul and how good it was and how would I change the fight but like like you said when you lose as well um you've only suffered two defeat yourself but um you've known you've won a lot and a lot of people say that when I'm feeling doesn't stay for that long what's the time that you have the joy in that and do you think amateur Fighters should use that for the losses as well do you think sometimes they dwell too much on losses they should just have their little think about it and then move on look now everyone says you probably learn most from alas it's probably true like um from my losses and particular yeah one I thought was a bit uh yeah like it was a huge lesson most of all from that like particular um lost in the Europeans was like I just went for a move that I probably hit three times in the gym like any moves all you do in the in the cage wherever I've drilled you know thousands of times I've been in all them positions and I think it was like it's probably a lack of like I don't know if it was concentration or Panic probably and I wasn't comfortable I definitely inside I didn't have my usual corner with me I didn't have my team like kind of we flew out as an orange team don't go wrong like all the odds are brilliant the coaches over there brilliant but they're not the people you spend all my arrows in the Max and it's not like you know what I mean like I have a special like bond with the legs are like whoever calling it's me Pete or Sergey and Old MacDonald already like all damn like you know I'm so comfortable and they're calling me and for that that being said that was I think a small element of it is what I went for that like oh it was usually we have a sequence we had a for those who don't know he had my back he had a body lock and I went for a switch to reach around and grab the single leg but we just gave up my back doing it like you can't deal from that position and I think yeah it just wasn't as comfortable and a few mistakes and that's a big lesson I took away like I don't do something in a fight unless I've done it it thousand times I'm so confident and doing it and another thing is uh it's being a bit more relaxed in there you know not trying to panic take your time and it is a bit [ __ ] with the the amateurs at three minutes you know if someone fella has a nice body lock or join you on the cage you can really cheer up the clock I think for a proud I'll see what made longer rounds like you know and you can be a bit more patient yeah because obviously you're feeling you need to get out of this position and that goes for the other way around as well because then if he has that he's more time to work as well and I think at the level you're fighting I think your game is going to suit Pro when you imagine 100 I want to talk about your first ever amateur fight in MMA E4 on your Fighting Championship the very first one and and we were speaking just before you've been on all of them nearly except for two yeah talk to us about your first amateur fight what it was like the nerves before and and how obviously you were victorious and how you felt in there um yeah like I don't know it kind of like wasn't my first before you know the Box in K1 um grappling competition for first MMA for yeah like it's just so quick that's one way I describe everything so so quick you know and I was like confident myself and and yeah like I just took away like it was killed like I just love the feeling after that first but I think I just it made my obsession sound much more you know kind of way and it was like a good achievement like I was when I had that fight if we rewind the clock eight months ago I was in hospital just got after getting diagnosed with diabetes so when I kind of stepped back and took a break like when I remember being in the hospital there thinking like it was over like you know I was there there's a few things that came up as well around that time and just to go forward with it in around January February we got our Hospital stay trained again we cannot find kind of more Grand grass with diabetes then I was actually getting Medical's Detroit fight was planned to fight in April in cage Legacy and I got a result back from all this card like whatever things I have to get and it was basically like to be further investigated that they said it wasn't clinically relevant but this could be something I could stop you fighting apart from diabetes and if that was too was landed within three months of each other I was like ah like this is a sign you know I probably should like just step back for it isn't for me like um and oyachi for from myself like February to or no train once until I was all cleared up I kind of tell myself I was done fighting and I'm just gonna like up like start again into weights talking about 40K and I was just blasting out heavy weights and then I got the all clear from the Medicals or whatever that oyumachi fit to compete like everything's good to go then I was like oh [ __ ] like I go back to this so from around June and 2021 got back in flat out train and like you know um I wasn't working at times so I put all my all my time in the train and a boy started September I had my first amateur fight so I think in that like small period that was one of my biggest achievements kind of to bounce back from you know just this new life being like considered chronically ill living with type 1 diabetes to kind of have this fight like that was a war for my halfway would eat and like um there was no like it was like fifth gear the hallway and and then just got the bar around like once I was like if I can do this like it's not gonna stop me doing anything that's kind of what I approached living with IBS like like you know just it's a it's you manage your life around it you know that kind of way you just it doesn't stop you from doing anything for like before you even stepped in the cage you had to go through all that like once you got to you're clear what was that like like was it a massive relief was it kind of like or had you at that stage just like completely discarded fighting like you said you're going away were you thinking like this is over for me but once I said no you can go it's all good what was that I am it was a bit like a head wreck like [ __ ] like that that was moving on with this because as well it just completed my first year in engineering and I was like oh yeah this is my future you know I'm gonna have a good career like an engineering and you know fighting wasn't for me it was always something like it was probably what I was 20 then like five years trying to martial arts under my belt like it was an obsession it was like kind of nearly my identity as a fire you know that kind of way so I was trying to nearly move away from that and then I got this like your back train you're like good to go and then I just went back and I was like okay let's see how I am because like or at the time I was wearing like diabetic equipment like I have a sensor on my iron which is running my glucose and all so I had to remove all my equipment like wow it's like are going back to older Technologies like the lyrics over there doing blood checks with my fingers rather than having those machines and I started training and I was like as good as they ever did you know that kind of way it was in like probably the best shape it was in because during that period of not fight and like I was doing long distance run I was doing like stranding a nation and like training probably as much as I did when I was flying so I just kind of got back from and got that low for it again I and they're just like it's an area like I became addicted yeah no one and we're glad you obviously got through that and you know because you're a joy to watch it in in the cage and with diabetes like how obviously for when you eventually go pro and I know you were trying recently like how hard is it to wait for anyone that might not understand like what what not not going to the whole lot but what does that restrict you from or what hinders you with type one today um it's just like how we caught weight as far as we could have carbs and salt and uh being a diabetical neocaris is a bit like problematic so just like managing that and if I had what 12 amateur voids now got a lot of data and my body reacts it so yeah it was just more about kind of finding what works for me and working with like there's a great team in Thailand like there's great dietitians endocrinologists and all they've really been great assistance to me just kind of getting a plan and set like how we approach this now you always be confident quote in any way as any other four year old but you know I wouldn't feel like it affects me any other way now perfect like you said all those whites you've got to that you've kind of like trial and error or something what works but it doesn't work and you've obviously you started you went on a tree Fight Win so you can you spoke obviously about the loss that you felt wasn't potentially a loss but uh you've picked up titles as well one of the fights I kind of first recognized you from was I believe it was the Alex Conley fight when you were doing okay at one stage I remember watching that I think the foot is probably still on my old phone like how tight was that more like it was totally put into like I don't know you know it was just so sad remember Roddy in the corner saying 15 seconds left 15 seconds left and then within that like 40 seconds he started adjusting it more then I heard the 10 second Clapper and I was like like look he might break it was like oh it was just in such a good mindset I think I was like like around 10 seconds Troy break it I felt like you know the clutch when you're driving your car you're balancing the clutch I felt like my arm was that if it had pushed a bit further the shoulder would have possible or no it's just so sad and winning you know and I was like oh if I look was getting the better from that first round it's kind of starting to poke him around when I fell into that so I was just so sad on a winning but my shoulder was an Agony the next few days I can't imagine I can't imagine and you hold two belts for two promotions obviously occasionally actually and you're fighting championship when you won your first belt because some people say amateur best don't mean much I think you've defended your best I think if they're treated like that they're defended they're not they're given to people who regularly fight on the show um they can mean something I think it's up to the motion and the fire as well and what was it like winning your first bet did it mean something to you at the time or was it just another fight um yeah I won't say like a man something like that it was killed though you know I was a girl achievement like uh it was class and actually another if you rewind back that there wanted a year exactly a year later or a year before I was in hospital it was I was exactly one year since I like became diabetic it was that I was killed as well like just a nice stop talking diabetes but I just like I always killed that was probably my biggest um thing I took away from it like that I can okay like I'm technically you know a champion now within a year like what's next for me you know um and as well once I got that belt does look like everyone kind of an amateur wants to get about so I was like okay I'm gonna be guaranteed to avoids now which was what I wanted like I wanted to get like 12 amateur matchups to get that experience yeah that's one thing I actually say about it but a lot of people say oh that doesn't mean much but like I said once you have that belt the top fighters want that back exactly guaranteed good fights and and you fought some really really tough fight it was uh one of the other things as well you're at the MMA super cup the first ever like your name yesterday you never take take away before that and when you actually stepped in to fight tell the people what wait before I won't wait you actually weigh dinner uh so basically in the super cup um it was 84 kilos and I was the welterweight substitute so that's 77 kg and the day before so I was a competition where you fight like three days the well the middleweight was choked unconscious so we couldn't continue and they asked me to step up and I was like oh yeah like you know I'm not gonna say no like so I weighed myself I think I was walking around 78 because I wanted to make sure I could make welterweight yeah then I was like crap like and tomorrow I'm weighing in for an 84 of kilo competition so like they had an all you could eat buffet I was alone myself over I think 78.5 probably and that was after a breakfast now for middleweight like I was I was like oh this fella if he sits on top of me we're gonna be in for some difficulty but your man is Maxine so we had a bit of a feeling just be a strong group find some videos of him as well and he was like more of a boxing base so I was like okay if I go tip for it after him I go jab the head off I'm like no butter yeah and you went and won that fight weighing in at that yeah how did it feel to get the victory in that because a lot of people might not know the super cup is actually done on a team basis so it's not Conor wins he goes through it's it's just it's pointed so how would it feel to get that win for the team because obviously if you didn't compete that would have been a loss for Ireland how would it feel for you to turn that into a win by stepping in and doing that I was amazing like probably one of the coolest things I've done like from a sporn perspective it was just like the environment the really felt looking team like um even the Europeans it's a bit more like you're just kind of focused on yourself because if your teammate loses doesn't really affect you but for this like you're you need to gather up those wins as a team so like you know you're so invested in the fights like even after my fight I think it was Dennis Perry on next like where it was like you know what I mean like everyone's so invested everyone's just backing like packing each other and it was a really cool experience like especially for MMA it's a solo sport you know you're always just like everything's security kind of it's like selfish anyways I just want like set up to do like whatever succeed and for this type of competition you're like you know your team needs to succeed so it's definitely something different really cool experience even just going to brain Retreat so well like you know I like trade like kings for a week so definitely one of the coolest uh experiences I've had yeah because I I would have been watching from over here obviously I would have been watching all your stories all you Fighters seem to create a special bond because of it and do you still have that bond with those I think that will carry on forever but you still talk to a lot of them because I think he's supporting each other yeah when you sort of a fighting like uh yeah and all the shows a little Express Lewis Jamie uh join all the all the lads you know like um whole team anytime we see them at the shows I'd have to crack with them look at still be back and forth online as well but uh yeah look we all got like I knew no one going over and then say like a few hours into for the first day everyone kind of bonded really well but last day we had some crack like you know I was everyone got along so well and yeah definitely look you know like you said I'd still keep like on a friendship over the lads when we see it I'm like you know after shows because it's you gotta did one of the shows you know yourself it's the same crowd every time it's the same people there that every time that shows um with that like you you went forward you competed in Nationals again this year you're on a four fight win streak at the minute I believe um you competed at the Nationals again you went into that kind of late as well yeah and you came up against Nate as well and you finished that how did it feel to to win the Nationals I know obviously you're not going to the four nations but you're beyond the teams for the the rest of the year how did it feel to go into the Nationals and get the win considering the previous year uh yeah it was daily it's cool is a similar kind of match up like you know just a really big Grappler and um I was killed because we saw last minute look I registered for that thing a week out oh yeah followed on what you wore and my last the fight before that I think it was three weeks before then I had College exams a week later so I like stopped trying for a week just studied once my exams were finished I think it was 10 days out started looking at the brackets I was like oh yeah hop in this through the crack and it was killed the wind like to say like you know whatever I was championed as well and uh to fight another style like I wanted to fight a Grappler because like my old slide so far or even the last three fights before that were kind of striking bases so um I knew he would have just been hell bent and grappling so I was kind of nice to work my defensive uh sort of things yeah because I think he just got promoted to a powerful bird as well so he has a high level of Grappler like all his way in so I'll just like bring naked jokes or not so I was like yeah it'd be good to kind of like come against that style and I was 60 wins in just competitions I think 44 submission so he said that before yeah I knew I was getting into yeah so obviously that was that was another one like I said another one that interests me as well you've had the first ever well I don't know of all time in Hampshire but in more recent times five round fight because especially after you and uh Roman David yeah because everyone said that should have been a five round five in the Kraken foreign to go the five rounds because obviously you get to the end your amateur career going into profile I don't know fairly soon but I can't see it's been too much longer yeah how do you feel to get the five rounds then didn't want to go to Five friends for I was good like you know it's nice same distance or same time for a pro as well like you know we felt fresh as well going through them we think that style suits me to T like and the Annoying in a fight if he'll Rush sometimes you know I feel like my star is better when I can just kind of relax and get into the fight like as it goes and like um you know invest a lot of time into my carried out I wasn't someone I was gonna be worried about getting tired so like I think I'd hate to go back to like a tree by tree fight next if I do have another amateur fight I'd love for it to be 40 friends I think that just is like a way better style as well if you're falling for belts like I think you're at that stage where you're ready to go pro so I think it should be five rounds and I know some people like they went mad for the following flights after that flight so we'll see what happens but uh yeah from all experiences class would happily do it again like yeah no it wasn't fantastic forms like like all your performance you just seem to get better and you're striking seems to get Slicker and Slicker every time and do you feel that Improvement as it's happening like because obviously you're training the gym every day but when it comes to to fight day do you feel yourself better than the last fight each time or or how do you feel yeah that's a good one like say if I look at my first year for it's I just think I thought [ __ ] you know like because I see the way I can fight in the gym and whatever the most buying and a lot of the first few times I wasn't like inspiring or fight in the same way as expiring a train and the more experience I get I think it's just because I'm more comfortable understand to like hit them better performances if that makes sense but obviously I've leveled uploads like you know I'm always trying to work on something like and I always try to take one thing away from a fight it might be like the way I look at if I do one move and it works well if that's like embedded into me if I can say I'm working on someone in the gym like that head kick in my last fight like we've drilled that song what you need was so far step on the outside try bang it up if he slips as well that's something we work on loads and I know I did that in a fight I pulled off in a high pressure environment I feel like that's what's embedded into me you know even in your training sessions it just I don't know once you do something in like a high pressure scenario I think it's just like you level up from it and that's the way I look at it myself like okay if I can pull this off in this fight it's always going to be with me yeah because like that there is loads of Fighters that when they're in train they can pull off these moves and when it comes to the fight yeah sometimes and I see it a lot of times fight with a fantastic in gym and it's it's like they they can't get it on the fight because do you think that's come with time and how comfortable you are in the cage because you know you've put in the work yeah definitely and that when you hit it then you're leveling up yeah 100 yeah just confidence in yourself as well you know the kind of way um even from my first you've had to go scared to kick nearly like because in case I was like oh way higher probability you can take it down which in fact like it can be like some body kicks or not but like I definitely started a lot more kicks to my game now and like other tools I've been practicing in the gym and so you're going to start seeing them over the next few fights as well and but yeah probably just confidence in just being comfortable in there like you know that's what I like to be so relaxed in the case or you know often like say I can grab and I see make eye contact up here give them a little wink or something just to make sure that I'm nice and relaxed like uh even before like my last one against Conan Allen we're just pure having the crack in the change room that's like you know I would be nervous or not but I'm still just having to cry trying to keep it playful and it's like the way it's back I want to replicate safe with a really good sport simulator really good spot it wasn't for half an hour back today he's like you know again all 10 so it's nice to lose having the chats with the lads player or whoever it may be so I want to try to replicate that same scenario obviously like in your spies are not really trying to mail the person but like you know what I mean just keep playful stay sharp and that's how I fight the best I think kind of have like a familiar setting before your fight like you do exactly so it's just kind of it seems like not that it's the hardest Bible it's like I think that's overlooked by a lot of amateur Fighters as well as like going in and fighting is wanting people could go and fight all days especially the flight day there's a lot of waiting around there's a lot of this and so you've obviously learned how to manage that without a fight like obviously with the amounts experience with all the fights you've had I'm gonna actually it's going to be a three-part question right all right your favorite finish oh okay your favorite performance and a fight you learn from the most that's a good one so I was the first one again favorite finish either the head kick or the right hand I dropped uh who did I Macho O'Rourke I won my first bout that probably is my favorite finish it was a like my first title fight and uh it was like my first the first round finish just with like one shotgun to drop and that was probably my favorite finish the hey kick was pretty sweet too I always wanted to get a hay kick so I was like that's a tough one but we'll put them as a type yeah yeah maybe just their the right hand on edges it a bit because all the boys were there like that I saw the gold a lot of tickets and jumped up on the cage I had some crack but uh right so next one was a fan fight yeah your favorite fight and so it doesn't even have to be one you've won it's just maybe favorite whether it was back and forth or your favorite performance overall so um if I have probably like had the most fun and got amped up was probably around the day before I was really like amped off for that but would it be my favorite if I don't know I think maybe the one in Bahrain it was just because like after the fight was on a holiday namely you know the kind of way like uh it was in the desert thoughts of Mexican I was killed so probably a day wrong day was probably the most full of hard fighting like we were just kind of back and forth like you know the crowd has gone mad and his coach was being so loud like saying I'm tired and tired and we're like smoking at each other and I was like that was a great fight and we're probably the most like my favorite whenever it would be the one in brain that was like a great pause and then one you learned the most from I think we've probably got this answer what you said earlier yeah the Europeans probably that and as well like um yeah that and I said to jail The Chew food where I was kind of or true kind of a lazy right hand he slipped he caught caught me lovely with a left hook and kind of buzzed me it kind of got like rocked back a bit I think that was just like a mentality thing just to keep pushing like I was like kind of buzzed for a few and I was like yeah [ __ ] this like let's keep let's get him back let's keep going let's keep going so yeah probably the fight I lost or I got submitted I learned that was probably the most I learned but uh from mentality aspect and all that to help you before he definitely served me served me well we've got a lot of lessons in the lab yeah I like that the obviously you're taking from them as well so what is it you want what is your aspiration in mmh you want to be UFC champion like what what does Conor McCarthy want to be that's a good one Dave I'm trying to figure it out myself and we just want to like I want to find out how good I can be you know that kind of way and like I just want to be like the best version myself and want to achieve like how see how far it can go like want to be definitely can see myself as a major Organization for it would that be UFC Bellator and I was poorly want to try and make a living afternoon so no love like I'm just going to give it everything to see how that goes you know what I mean like I really believe that I can be like a top tier high level fighter in any organization I think you can because like that you're you're topped here obviously in Ireland now you've it's about just between year and a half and two years you've been fighting amateur and you can see the levels going up and like that you're balancing college so obviously if it was the case you've got a career there uh for when you're finished fighting as well so like how hard was that balance in college and fighting coming up because was it your last year this year yeah one more year to go uh yeah it's tough It's you know it's just stressful like studying for exams and having poets at the same time is very sort of on the head and like Yeah I wanted to get that as a background like like I said become the best version I always kind of I don't know someone said this to me and I really just stayed with me like say what like could be the best version yourself and not the best version of yourself is probably doing a good degree like electronic engineering he's training flight out he's trying to become the best sports version of himself that's foreign just to try to excel myself forward you know that kind of way I don't want to be like average I want to try really like hit Targets in my life want to be successful so keeping those Avenues open I'm gonna go full steam ahead and fight and then give it my absolute best and then if that doesn't another door will open you know that kind of way yeah no 100 and you're doing quite well you have to succeed in the boat which is is quite hard to do but just shows when you put your mind to it and you put everything into it because a lot of people come up with excuses you don't you're in here training you're certain condition before we got here on a Saturday so that just goes to show the levels so I'm gonna ask you one more question I'm Gonna Let You Go um once you're done fighting what would you want people to remember as like would not even just as a fighter as a person's of they said Conor McCarthy yeah what was the what's the word you'd want to bring to mind I don't know one thing I like about I want to meet normal people They always think I may are just full of [ __ ] and like I like being like just being known as a noise person like a good person that'd be something because like oh no I think in Ireland is probably a bad reputation about MMA and then like people do like they come up with like a their own opinion over here before they meet and I think like that's been now like it's a decent good person like and I even like the martial arts is about respect and it's not like you know it's not in the daycare not being a Maori person like you know so that's one thing I'd be like doing on so I'd like to know if I go Fighters and yeah I go fight and like that so like change in the kind of opinion people yeah yeah yeah I definitely that'd be killed we both know because I've I've obviously been to Lord James 99 of Fighters are good yeah 100 [ __ ] but that's in every facet of life and I just think with the cause of the sport that's what people generally see and then obviously those this like would be famous people out there that people would focus on and not what you young people are doing day in day out and you do fantastic work so I want to thank you so much for your time Dave cheers thank you very much thanks