Armand Herczeg interview

Summary

Armand Herczeg is on a three fight win streak leading him to a title fight at Samurai fighting championship We speak about his improvements as a fighter and a person in the past year at Manchester top team, the visits of Irish fighters to the gym, what Carl Prince means to him…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Okay, so I'm here with Mial Pal, one of the OGs that supported me very, very, very long time ago. I watched him come in on 45 seconds nose. He was looking for a mouth guard. Uh, I've watched him through his am career and followed him into his pro career. He's gone to Octagon. He's he's had other fights. He he moved gyms to Manchester top team. Uh, he's got a title fight coming up on Samurai H. Is it Samurai Fighting Championship? It is Samurai Fighting Championship as well. Uh, we've had a couple of fighters fight over there. So that's on October 3rd, I believe. How are you? Thank you very much for your time. >> Yeah, thank you for having me, bro. I'm great. Training is going good. Obviously, everyone's flying at Top Team. Everyone's doing very well. We've we've got another fighter that just signed to the UFC. So, the the gym is on a buzz. Everyone's on a buzz, and everyone's training and grafting away. >> And obviously, you said something about uh about another UFC fighter being signed. Obviously, uh Leon's there. I watched that fight, that knockout for me, he should be very close cuz it was mad. We seen two spinning elbows the same night. I can't remember who the other fight was. It was the bigger guys and I think it was one after another. >> But what's it like being in with them? Lewis McGrillin who's going to be fighting obviously Kalin Lockin on PFL. H you've got so many highlevel people, so many people just touching the UFC in PFL. What's it like being being around that? and and what effect has it had on you as a person and a fighter being around these people day in day out? Uh it's a it's an infectious like buzz, you know, like you see everyone do well and like we're all competitors so we all want to do well and like if like Louis just signed for the UFC obviously and from contenders getting a nice finish in that and that's made me want to be like perform better as well to like keep up with the standard of the gym because all the standards very high and all is um only high standards are expected from us uh from Princy. So that's that's what I want to continue doing. We've had a great year so far. Um, I've had many great fights. Obviously, AIA doing well in the UFC, Laron doing well in the UFC, McGrillan doing his thing at PFL, even in Belfast, getting the finish, showing that he can grapple as well. So, I think like all these little bits, you just see it and you're like, "Yeah, I can't wait for my fight to show how much I've improved to the boys and show myself how much I've improved and how how good the gym is at all levels, you know, from amateur all the way up to professional. We're all We're all buzzing off each other and we're all like picking the intensity up the train and doing the right things and working on the right stuff. >> Yeah. No, it's good. And Lewis McGrillin is someone who I really really like and I went see him in PFL in Dublin >> and that was the fight that he lost and I was just like man the reason I bought this ticket was I wanted to see that guy spark someone cuz up until then I think he sparked everyone. It was all finishes and but like that that's part of the game. he he would learn and then he's gone on like said rest you can see it now but with you obviously you've for me in the past couple of months obviously I'd oversee your page and stuff and we do have little conversations here and there off cuz I'm not on social media as much anymore but one thing I've noticed is you seem a lot more locked in as a fighter and as a person and I'm not saying like when you were here it felt like and I don't want to sound disreing and you thought you were doing enough whereas You told me even when you went there you realized there was levels. Do you find being around them changed your mindset? And like I said, I'm not being disrespectful, but it felt like you were doing not the bare minimum, but not as much as you could do. And have you did you feel that yourself when you went there? Was that something that was expected because of the level in the gym you're in? >> Yeah, definitely. I think like the the standard of training um over where I was in Ireland isn't at the standard that obviously top team would be. And that's like obviously what who who's fighting in the gym, do you know what I mean? Like um sadly like location's a big thing as well. Yeah. So obviously Manchester is a big city. There's a lot more opportunities for people to come in and like um the level of coaching as well. Like you can't lie. How Prince is the best coach in the world and he's proven that he's not just going to have one best fighter in the world, he's going to have the best fighters in the world and that's what's going to come come out of Top Team and we're going to see that very soon in in the near future. And I think just the standard of training that he has for us and the standard he wants us to work at is always at a high standard. So with that I think where I was with uh in Ireland with sander it wasn't a thing where like um I was doing bare minimum. It was probably below bare minimum but I also didn't have the um the guidance as being one of the more um experienced lads out of the gym. It was more like whatever I'm doing everyone else is doing kind of thing. Whereas now like I can see people like Lone Aiba Louie Jordan Barton and I could keep naming them McGrillin everyone you know everyone that's more experienced than me and see how they train and I'm like right that's what I need to do to get to that level. Whereas it was more like just an open void of not understanding what to do. Do you know what I mean? So therefore I didn't get to experience that from a from a visual aspect. It was just more in me mind if I'm doing enough and all. And I did all right at amateur in Ireland to the point where I'd win a fight or lose a fight or win a fight, but then I'd be like, "Oh, the fellow I fought is good. It's nothing to do with like my skill set or anything. He was just better on the day or whatever." And you'd find little excuses like this in it. But now like you just understand that like the standard you need to be training at and like where you need to be training at. If you want to be uh an elite athlete, an elite fighter in the UFC, in PFL or in Octagon, you need to show that in your training. And that wasn't accessible for me uh over in Ireland. And that's obviously why I've moved over here. Now, seeing all the lads that are ahead of me in the game, training the way they do, and even some of the lads that are at amateur, there's there's a kid called Dylan Hall who's an amateur and he's obsessed with the game. He's everything he does. He's so many like he's so skillful and when he goes pro, he's going to be an unbelievable flyweight. Like everyone around you is just so obsessed with training and and all they think about is training. No one's worrying about going out or partying or anything like that. Don't get me wrong, when the Christmas party comes, we'll go and enjoy ourselves, but that's when we're all done fighting. We'll have a little bit of a boogie and all that, but we then straight back into the gym. It's there's no nothing else. Everyone is just athletes that train. And that's what's the infectious thing about it. If you're not training, you get bullied for not training. Do you know what I mean? So that's that's the difference and the different standard that there is at Top Team. And it's it's something that you that that's needed. >> Yeah. I like that. I like to bully him for not training. But kids don't bully people for no reason. But I kind of get what it is. It's because they're your teammates. So like I remember Dennis saying when you're going over he's like I'm going to make sure he trains and and it's they're also holding you accountable. At the end of the day it is ultimately up to you. But you know, if you miss train, you're like, "Fuck, man." Like, "I gonna get off Dennis, Louie, whoever." Do you know? And it's just I think because you've moved yourself out of Ireland and you're there, you're there for that sole focus as well. There's not as many distractions there. You're there to do what what you need to do. And I think that's as well as what helped as well. You're over there to train to be a fighter. Like, you know, over here like your mates and this and that. >> And then at the end of the day, MMA is a long career. It's gone like that, you know, the sort of way. So, you're making account when it doesn't. One thing I've noticed lately, um, you probably have to expand more, there's a lot of fighters, I believe Kieran Brady was over, she's recently. Will Flurry is currently over there as well. And I've seen a lot of a lot of Irish fighters >> go over in in the past year. What's it like seeing these familiar faces come over and then reunite and kind of uh maybe you would have been friendly with them, maybe you weren't, but what what's it like seeing these guys come over to a gym that that you're training in fulltime? Well, I think um I must have been really really in Ireland and everyone noticed how good I got and they've just decided, oh that's actually a proper good gym. Make him that good. No, it's good to see, you know, um I'm happy I'm happy whenever like Irish lads are coming over to train and that because they see the level of the gym and it's so close that like more lads need to come over because there is only really like maybe two big gyms in Ireland right now and that probably be like team KF and FAI. Like there's obviously SVG as well, but I think there like it's very split in there, you know what I mean? So, um I think honestly like the more lads that come over and the more training there is, it's sick. I like seeing some of the lads who I know from the scene from a long time like Kon Brady coming over, it's sick to like have a catch up with him and get a bit of training in with him as well. And I think everyone should do it anyway. Like especially in Ireland with it being such a small country and the the scene being so small. Everyone obviously fights everyone, but everyone should just train together as well. Like we we've lads from all over England come over come up as well from Renegade, from NextGen coming over from all these other gyms. We have lads from Scotland coming down on a weekly basis now like sparring with us and that. And it's great because we get different bodies, different looks, and we also get like just loads of different faces. So there's always something to learn off everyone. And at the end of the day, like if we're all looking to be in the UFC and all that, like even if we fight each other on the regional scene or anything, we're probably not going to at the end of the day cuz everyone wants to build the records and that and like whenever you're not going to fight the best, especially at pro, unless it's like for a title or a bigger fight or anything like that, but we all want to get paid, especially as pros. Yeah. So there's no point of me fighting someone really really good for 500 quid when I can fight them when I'm getting paid for it. Do you know what I mean? It's that simple. And like we're just I think it's just like a cross of all the training and all. It's great to see people coming over. Like like I said, it's it's it's nice especially with the Irish lads cuz I I get along with a lot of the Irish lads from from there. So the more that come over the better. >> Yeah. Shay Cleland was another one I seen leading up to his fight. He's someone uh that I really really have high hopes for as well. is very good. But what you were saying there obviously about the trainer, people coming over. I'm kind of and I spoke about before maybe when you were in Sand as well. um that I'd be an advocate for for gyms like that that I don't want to say smaller but obviously they don't have the capacity that FAI KF and these places have that like if it was once a week that they cross trainin and like that cuz you know with your partner if you've a sim like in a smaller gym you have a similar partner you're going to have a couple around your way but you're going to have one kind of main one when he zags you know the zigg you know the sort of way so like you said it's kind of not like a live competition but it's something new something to keep you on your toes and and I think they should try and implement ment that as much because we've probably seen like Matis from Honeybadger went to SBG a lot of lads have moved over to FAI and what I like what Honey Badger have done with Dar Ward is what I like they they've actually sent him to team KF to train there against their pros and then like M Peter's still in his corner as well he's still part he's kind of like in the two gyms so I think it needs to happen more like you said we all we all not fine but you all want to be the best in the world get to UFC and the more we can learn from each other whether it's through training or fighting. I think I think we should and and and I like the fact that that's one of your that's the way I'm thinking that's the way you're thinking as well. And but at the minute you've got a wealth a wealth of bodies to fight with. What's it like coming up to to your fight? What's it like kind of how's camp been? Is there anything different that you're doing lately or is there anything new or or did you just improve uh camp on camp on uh in the buildup? Yeah, like um I've been doing a lot of boxing sparring at a at a gym in Bolton called Elite Boxing in in Bolton and they've they've helped me a lot like get up my boxing and be a bit more confident in me hands and and stuff like that where Princey was like we've been going down a good few of us have been going down like a team with a big AB Maxwell Lou been going McGrillin myself George as well and um it's just been a good addition to me camp you know every every Friday go down and spar there and um just stuff like that like where we're indiv individually working on different martial arts as well is like mixing it all together and that's been the main biggest difference really and obviously this has been a longer camp because I've been well aware of this fight for for a good couple of weeks but um everything else has been the same you know like obviously all the bodies there's loads of smaller guys like I think the small group right now at top team has the most lads in it from amateur to professional there's obviously like McGrillin and Louis who are the main lads that I like get a lot of rounds in with and there's obviously Kiru Sota who fought on road to UFC and has a fight now soon on Fight Stars in Bradford. Um there's loads of good amateurs as well. Caleb Mullen, Dylan Hall, all these lads that like are in in the gym as much as me training in the professional sessions, training day in day out. Um they're always in the gym. So it's like lads that are living this lifestyle from an amateur standpoint. Like if I done it, I'd be so so good if I was doing that from amateur. Like I'm well jealous of these lads that get to do it at an amateur level to go before they go pro and it just shows the level. Do you know what I mean? >> Yeah. No, it's good and like that. I can't wait to to see what this uh fight is going to be like. It's going to be on the 3rd of October like that. like like I said sharpen up the boxing and and do like I said little individual things and and do you pick them up after a fight or is it something that when you're in the fight you notice you might go to your coach and go you know what when I was standing there I didn't feel so confident uh striking or is it something that maybe he's picked up during the fight and he said like maybe this might help you like what is Princey like to you just just talk to us in your own words what he is to you and what he means to you as a coach and a mentor and a friend or whatever he may be to you. Well, well, Princey, he's like um just having your own personal AI computer that like taks you and gives you what you do well and and helps you improve. He's he's a genius, honestly, like as a coach. Um he's he's so good what his mind management. He's able to give time to every individual fighter, but he's also able to help every fighter get better. Where where it comes from like what I've need to improve on, it even comes from just training. Do you know what I mean? So it doesn't have to be from a fight. And then he'll be like, "All right, this is what you need to work on." Even in training individually, he'll see you like it's doing something. And he might be like, "Oh, you're standing a little bit square. So then we fix that." Or when you're doing your steps, your steps are too big instead of little steps. Or when you're fainting, your faint's not believable enough or um your your kick, you need to kick more for um the kick high or whatever. Like, do you know what I He'll just give this little detail here and you'll just look at him and your brain will just go, "Oh, okay." Right. You do that and then it's like fixed straight away. But um we noticed a few things from the last fight and after the last fight, I straight away said to him, I I was struggling to get into boxing range and getting comfortable there. So, we knew what we needed to what needed to be done to to fix that. And we've done that now. and and I'm a lot more confident in my boxing ranges and and working towards getting into boxing range safely and having my feet underneath me and all that, but just um Prince is just like this absolute genius. Like he's just a godsend and and he's a good guy as well. He's helped me a lot moving over here. He's he's taken good care of me and really like the whole top team. It's like a family. Like we obviously are all individual fighters, but we're a team and it's the most team environment I think any gym has. A lot of gyms are like that where they're all family based or or team environment and that, but I think from Princey being a coach in like football and all before when he lived in America and that he's really been able to bring in that like team environment and helping each other out instead of trying to have it as like a group of individuals. Do you know what I mean where some gyms would have that? And I think with that like the way he manages the team and manages everyone is perfect. And then even outside of the gym, if I have like personal stuff going on, he's he's always there for me. He's always there to help and and he has been a lot. So just his guidance is like um as a friend, a brother or father figure, whatever way you want to look at it. He's he's there in every aspect of it. So he's he's like that missing piece that every fighter needs. >> I like the way he described it. And I remember a couple years ago, I used to ask questions and I'm going to I'm going to ask you, you can answer it now. Yeah. whether you want to or not but um it was like there there's great techn we know all the coaches out there technically are great like majority of them in gyms but I felt because as a manager in retail it's different things but to be able to people manage and be empathetic and and to have that kind of I don't want to say personal relationship but someone cuz you you spoke when you've had personal problems that he's there for you as well. Does that make more of a difference for how much you want to give to him like and put in for him because there is that side because some coaches are just technical and if there's personal stuff they they won't touch it. That's your own business. Do you feel that brings that bond closer and makes you do more and and do you feel valued as a person, not just a fighter? >> Yeah, definitely. Like look, if Princey says to me there's a fight, he usually just accepts it when he when he knows it's a good fight for me and that. And no matter what he says, if he if he thinks I'm winning a fight, then I know in my head I'm winning the fight. Like no matter what, like I'm so confident and and I have so much trust in the man that it doesn't matter who I'm fighting, when I'm fighting, where I'm fighting. I could be fighting an hour and if he says, "Yeah, you're winning that fight, I'm winning it." Do you know what I mean? So, um just on like a on like a personal like on a friendship thing as well, like any bit of advice he gives me or any conversation we have, there's so much to take away from it cuz he's he's so like wise as well. like and he has so he's he's just a good minder. He's just a good person and he's just got a lot of life experience. So anything that like Princey says or you take it in like when you have a conversation with him when you have a conversation about MMA or anything you're like right okay this lad knows what he's talking about. Do you know what I mean? >> Yeah. And there was another thing I want to talk about. you were talking about obviously uh when he's correcting yourself and you're getting you're able to fix it and stuff and then you you can see from one fight to the next how much you've improved in certain areas. Do you notice that as that's happening through training or does it is it is it more so when you get to the fight you're thinking okay I'm a lot more comfortable now like what I'm trying to ask basically do you notice that every time like not every training session but every couple of weeks that you've improved on it or is it when you get into live com like into live competitions where it's really tested and then it's outside training is that where you really notice the improvements or do you notice them leading up >> I think they all get tested in training as well like obviously like if I'm sparring someone who on one day done the same like grappling sequence as I done, they might know the counter to it, but from Spar when it comes down from a different gym and I do a counter and it works. Like this is the thing. Yeah. That like I've noticed lately and it's kind of mad but everything we learn learn all this all the stuff we learn it all works. Yeah. It's like you know what I mean? I'm learning actually works. >> Wow. No, but like I'll do something like say on Monday we have a striking session and then a grappling session. Then Tuesday we spar. So whatever we learn on kind of the Monday or the Tuesday or from like Wednesday onwards up until Tuesday, I try and get into situations where I'm in them positions and I and I work on them. Do you know what I mean? Or I try it out and see if it works me and suits my body type and that. And if it doesn't, I'll try and do something that will suit my body type and style, but with the same concept of what we're doing. And and that's kind of what he he tries to drill into you. Like there's stuff that might work for you or there's stuff that might not work for your body type and that's understandable. But what we do like nine times out of 10 works like we'll do a sweep and then I I might land a sweep or I might get into a position to create a scramble. And that's the other thing like I think a lot of people whenever they learn moves they're so expecting it to be like 100% going to pay off. Like I do he grabs my leg and I do this move and I'm going to sweep him and end up in mount and then I'm going to take his back. But it doesn't work like that, you know? It's not realistic. So, I might get a sweep and end up like in a 50/50 scramble position. Okay. But I've gotten out of the position I was in, so I'm improved my chances to get back to my feet or whatever. But these are the things that like I I think are needed. Do you know what I mean? Like you have to test it in sparring. So, it don't matter. And like I'm not focusing on like, oh, I'll go into competition and then find out. I'll just find out on Tuesday when I go in because when we spar, we spar hard enough. not like trying to kill each other, but it's fast-paced. We we punch each other and kick each other hard enough to be like, "Ow, nice one, mate." You know what I mean? But but this is the level we need to be at and the intensity we need and and then you can try these things out and if it works, it works. If it doesn't, we just keep trying and testing in it. >> Yeah. No, I like that cuz a lot of people think like you said, well, you do that move. I don't know if you've seen you on Sensei Shelly that was on the morning thing when she said do this and me and Andy Chapman had a conversation about like when there's no resistance that's going to work but like nine times out of 10 if someone's going to 10 times out of 10 if someone's trying to attack you they're not going to stand there and let you do the sweep or do this and and like that you have to be prepared for what comes next what position is next cuz you haven't you haven't practiced what happens next so then your fight IQ and all has to kick in but um I going to let you go down a minute. I want to ask you one question though as well. What's it like to have a proper full training camp because you don't really usually have them. >> Um well, I haven't made banttom weight in over a year. It's past a year now. Yeah. All me other fights have been like catch weights where I've done camps. I think my last fight was a most of my fights with top team have been full camps, but they've been at different weights. So obviously my last fight I took it on the weigh in day not uh like one day notice at 70. So then I got to refuel and fight at 7. That was sick. Obviously I fought that Brazilian kid. He was like 10 and four at the time. So it was a good little test. Um just a hard Brazilian who didn't want to die. But um and then before that I fought at 64 and then I fought at 61. So this will be my first time and going for championship weight. But I think now that like it's been a not just a proper camp but like a big long camp it's given me preparation in in a different sense. It's also been like mentally it's it's a tough thing. I think the longer the the camp is the more your brain tries to play tricks on you and the more you have to be mentally tough. But you just sit there sometimes and you're like ah what am I doing? What what's going on? Why am I doing this? You know what I mean? Like but um it's been great. I've enjoyed it. I have the right people around me. If I have questions to ask, I can ask any of the lads and they just help out straight away and and most of the time it's just like, yeah, that's normal. So, it's good. I have I have good people around me and and I'm happy. So, like best place best place best thing I ever did and best place I've been been to is definitely top team. So, everything's going well. >> Yeah. And from speaking to I can see the difference the maturity in the fight and the maturity in the person. And like when you were saying Prince he will correct you on this whereas before you'd be like like know so as as a younger you just be like no I'm doing it all right you know that sort of way but you like you're willing to accept this constructive criticism on what you're doing stuff like that but look I got to let you go. It's been a pleasure again. Is there anything you want to say before you go? Best of skill going into the fight. I will be keeping my eye on it. Anything you want to say before you go? >> Yeah. Um speaking of Princey just um when I first come over I was always saying to him I'm thinking I'm thinking he's just like stop thinking. you don't need to think, I'll think for you cuz my thinking is not that great. I'm a bit of a a slow man. But um since then, I stopped thinking and and it's been going well. But um I just want to give a shout out to like my nutritionist, Kelly. Kelly's helping me make bantamweight. My weight's all good. Everything's going well. And and without her, I would not be able to do this. Like bantamweight would be just a figment of my imagination. and she's put up with me like trying to change meal plans, trying to sneak better me like not better meals but more meals into it. She's she's done a great job. Um James Langford as well who's my conditioning coach and my strength coach. He's he's been great. He puts up with me and trying to get out of doing sets, but he he helps out a lot as well. Then I've got recover on this as well who um is my physio. He does my massages and that as well. So, the three of them have really helped with like the recovery, injury prevention, and the diet as well. So, um just a shout out to them. Shout out to like obviously the team. We're doing well and we're just going to keep doing better cuz we're not where we want to be. We're just starting off. Like I promise you now in the next five years, all this talk about like how good Fighting Nodes is, they just they're they're what like top team is what Fighting Nerds wants to be. And and you will all see that. Do you know what I mean? And it's it's going to be sick. You everyone's going to be experiencing this mad rush of top team fighters in the UFC and PFL. Multiple champions and multiple contenders. >> Yeah. Know and you can see that like you said with the lads in the UFC PFL obviously you've got Dennis as well then in Octagon as well. So you're not just all into one promotions as well. So you all spread out. But look I got to let you go. It's been absolute pleasure. Best of skill. You know I'll always be looking out for your fights and I will talk to you soon. >> No worries. Thank you bro. Appreciate it.