Daniel Thompson interview

Summary

Daniel Thompson makes his professional debut this weekend at Chaos fighting championship at his second attempt, also having a scare with a pull out today (Thursday) but they swiftly got a replacement

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Okay, uh it's my pleasure to have Mr. Daniel Thompson here with me today. It's been a It's been a hectic day. Um he had a pullout. They got a replacement very quick. Um obviously Daniel was supposed to make his pro debut last year. We all know what happened there. And I when I heard the news, I was devastated, but within within 20 minutes or something there was was a post gone up. Thank you very much for joining me. How do you feel >> pleasure. How do you feel obviously with the scare, but then like in a short space of time it was fixed? Did like did you think, "Oh, here we go again?" Or did Were you confident to get someone else? To be fair, you don't you don't really have time for it to sink in. By the time there was a replacement put out put on already, like you know. Um and they contacted me. I was on my way to the physio. Um he says I should pulled out, give me his reason, and that was fair enough. Like it is what it is. These things happen. And then um he says, "But we're looking at a couple of names." And I was like, "Great, no bother." So, I put the phone down, went into the physio. And uh phone was going mental whenever I was in there, but I was just ignoring it, you know. And by the time I was coming out of the gym, I already had a match. So, fair play. They They Jimmy for taking it, you know. He know He knows the crack. He I've trained with Jimmy a wee bit before. We got a couple of rounds in together. Um he's no slight healer, you know, kind of way. So, it makes for a good match. But I'm just happy to have a match, you know, kind of way after especially after what happened the last time. Like 3 years before the fight the guy pulled out. Whereas this time it was a couple of days, but we still got somebody. Yeah, I'm glad you had the physio and you weren't looking at your phone. Yeah, 100%. I would have just been melting my own brain, yeah. Yeah, it would have been a different You would have had a different mindset. Like you it would have been a bit more It's all It's kind of glad you had that way cuz I know if it was me, I'd be sitting on my phone going, "Shit, did it did it do do do do do." So, that's all the way. So, um obviously coming in, how is the training been? How are you feeling How are you feeling fight week as well? Um do you have much weight to cut? What are the nerves like? What are the emotions like? What's the excitement like? Yeah, well, I had weight to cut, but now I don't. Now I'm actually a wee bit under, so I'm just kind of maintaining that now until the morning, get the weight ins done, and then I'm fine, you know, so I'm all right. So, I can eat a wee bit today instead of trying to starve myself too much. Um training's been really good, you know, obviously getting loads of rounds in with the guys, and then we had we had Toby over there from Thailand for a couple of weeks. He was on those training twice a day every day with him, you know. We felt like a Duracell bunny. He just doesn't stop. He just wants to like constantly train, train, train. So, I was just I was lapping it all up and getting as many rounds in with him as possible. Um good back and forth competitive rounds from him as well. He's my weight class. He is the same height as me, um and he he's very good, you know, what he does, so it was good to learn from him. And obviously the guys in here getting loads in with Andy, you know, all those guys as well in from the gym, so getting plenty of rounds in, plenty of training in. More than ready. More than ready. Yeah, it's nice, like I said, to to have a new body, new experiences, new uh new so because if I was training with you or you're training with the guys at times, not that's not fair. Not that's not fair, but you know, when you zig, your partner knows when to zag, you know, what I'm saying. He kind of wears if you get something new, it's kind of like a a kind of uh a light competition, not like a full fight, but it's because you don't know each other. You're trying to figure each other out. And and I think it is there. Is that the guy who just turned up out of nowhere and came for 2 months? Is that the guy Andy had on the the page? He just came Yeah, so Toby is was currently competing in the uh Gamma. >> [snorts] >> Um he he lives in Thailand, has done for the last 10 years, and he was coming over here to do his last week bit of training before heading then over to Greece. Um so he contacted Andy to see if he would come down and do a bit of training before heading over. I think he trained he trained in a few other places as well after just to get some rounds in with different bodies, which is always good to get as well. So, he's over there now. I don't think he I think maybe he competes as of today today or tomorrow. He will be up. We'll see him on the We'll see after I get some a full face on him. They get the they get the job done over there, don't they? Semi's profile when we finish tonight, have a look at his profile as well. So, it'll be someone someone new and exotic that I might interview in the future. But, obviously it's going to be on Chaos. We know the relationship with yourself and Chaos is going to be in Derry. How does it feel to to be back on the same promotion and and Joe and be able to have it on Chaos? Yeah, like that's my home show, do you know what I mean? Like Jason McAteer was my my coach, my head coach. Um, so to be able to have to be to get back on that show is unreal. Like it's been obviously a long time. I think the the last time I fought in Chaos I won the belt. So, what was that like? 10, 11 years ago? Maybe maybe more now, I don't know. I'd have to look it up. The last time I think it was like 10 10 and nearly 11 years since you've competed or something. So, it was something around there. Something around there. But, with with the show obviously being a home show for your pro debut, it do do do is there do you think that's going to add more pressure or do you think it's going to add more motivation? No no pressure. More motivation rather than pressure. Like you you know, like at the end of the day I chose to do this. I chose to be here and and this is what I wanted to do. So, you be grateful for it and don't feel the pressure from it, you know? That's the way you should be looking at it. Yeah, and it's one of three pro fights, which you don't really see the three pro fights Chaos on Chaos Conflict has had them a couple times and stuff like that. And you've got the other two boys as well, which is their home show as well. Yeah. What kind of atmosphere should the people expect cuz I've I've seen Blaine fight in Derry and I've seen James and obviously yourself you're going to bring a crowd as well. I imagine it's going to be bedlam. Not bedlam bedlam in a good way. Yeah, like I'll bring a I'll bring a crowd with me. Obviously no one here has that kind of Blaine's going to be bringing with him. Blaine's Blaine's Blaine's got a crazy crew coming. Um, but then I also have a full team of fighters on the same night. So their crowd as well is going to be there. They're obviously going to be cheering me on, too. So it's like like a shared crowd, you know, it's going to be madness. But we're three home lads like I'm I'm from kind of there as well myself. So I'm just down the road in the Lower Valley. And then them two boys in there crowd's going to be mental. Going to be mental. Just wait for the walkouts like it'll be crazy. Yeah, I'm looking forward to obviously I'm going to be commentating on it. Hopefully I I was floating the idea to Andy or Jason after the pro fights if we have time that I might be able to get in and get an interview with you guys. I think that would be nice as well because it's all your pro debuts and and then you can kind of kind of let your emotions out or whatever may may be Joe about winning the fight and doing a sort of way. But I'm really looking forward to fight. What's your obviously you're not looking past this weekend, but are you planning on being active throughout the year after this fight? Uh, we'll see we'll see what happens. You know, I kind of way like I just take it on a match straight sort of thing cuz I don't know whether I want to just sit back then and concentrate on the team that we're building or maybe have a few more after this one. Uh, I don't know. I leave it down to Andy really. I'll just get a chat with Andy after and see see what he thinks. He knows better. I just do what I'm told, you know. Yeah, he chatted to me about doing one more and I didn't even get the word yes out of my mouth by the time we had my match for the last chaos. So it's it's one of those things, you know, you just kind of do what you're told and go with the flow. Yeah, no, I congratulations on the team that you've built like over there was there we were just talking about before we came on the the run of shows and how like there was like seven weeks or six weeks in a row or something like that. Yeah. >> had fighters on every show. We tried we we tried to push we tried to push fighters on there every show because it's No, it's it's a you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours kind of thing as well, you know. So obviously Chaos saying they need fighters. So we try to get a fighter on there nearly every show if we can. If If we will. If the timing's just not right, unfortunately, we'll just not be able to. But we do mostly try and get at least one on the air every show. Yeah, and but my point was, how do you feel from going like back two years ago that was there was no team there? Like there was no team there. Now you you yourself and Andy and the others have like do you stop and kind of look at that yourself and go like we've come really far in the in this time frame? I Well, I like especially that we had kind of chat. Obviously now you the guys have changed from novice over to amateur, which is an achievement in itself, you know, they get people that level like Louis when I go there. He's had two amateur fights now. Lost his first one in a real good back and forth, but it was a hard match for Louis, you know, we knew it was a hard match up for him. And then the second one then went out there and won by first round head and arm choke. Caitlin obviously won hers one there on wrath. Um so they have people at that at that level now that we're building on. It shows you that you're heading in the right trajectory. So you're going the right path. Yeah. It's it's crazy to look back and think, you know, two and a half, three years ago there was no team there. It was just me and Leon punching the life out of each other. And then they they know, you know, where you've got a full a full team always like around 20 people on the mats at a time. Sometimes it was even over 30 on the mats at a time. You know, so it's crazy. Wow. So congratulations to you and Andy on the the success with the team. I got to wish you best of skill going forward into this fight. I'm going to let you go. Um is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone you want to shout out? And thank you again for your time. I really appreciate it especially so close to the fight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I just appreciate you for having me on. Obviously thanks to all my sponsors. They know who they are like I'll get them tagged in a post and stuff whenever it's all going up. Um and obviously to Jimmy, like thanks very much for taking this fight in such short notice. Not many boys would, so I appreciate it. Perfect. Thank you very much and I will see you and it's going to be a pleasure to call your professional debut. All right? I Understood. Good man. >> Perfect. See you then. >> Take care, bug.