Such has been the furore surrounding Irish MMA in recent times, that the sport has now become a daily talking point for many to whom it previously went unnoticed. UFC Dublin’s overwhelming success has officially put Ireland on the MMA world map, as well as catapulting the sport into the public’s eyes.

But with such wide-scale media hype surrounding the event, many could be forgiven for believing that it was the culmination of the hard work put in by fighters and coaches around the country. Instead, it should be viewed as a stepping-stone to further triumphs, and a platform for the public to begin supporting our up-and-coming fighters both domestically and in Europe.

One such fighter is Cage Warriors Lightweight, Paul "Redser" Redmond, who last Saturday recorded his 10th professional win, 7th under the Cage Warriors banner, and was kind enough to talk to us about his victory, the sports growing popularity, and what it’s like to head back to work on a Monday morning.

Words: Jason Brennan
 

Q.With all the hype around MMA in Ireland, have you noticed the increase in popularity, or do you try to stay away from reading what's going on in the media?

A. It’s picked up a lot in the last while. Nearly everyone seems to know who Neil Seery is, or who Conor McGregor is, what’s after happening in the fights in Cage Warriors and the UFC. These are lads that a while back didn’t know much about it, and now they’re telling me what fights are going ahead and what’s what, so it’s come on a long way.

Q. Saturday was another amazing night for Irish MMA, but with all the publicity the sport is now getting here, do you think the awareness for promotions like Cage Warriors is growing?

A. Saturday was great. The Helix is an 1,100 seater venue but we pack it out everytime, and the atmosphere and noise makes it feel like a five or six thousand seater, which is unreal.

But yeah, there’s more and more people becoming interested in the sport. There’s lads on the site who went to UFC Dublin and loved it. As soon as that was over they were coming up to me asking when the next event was on, and when I was fighting, because they loved the fights and the atmosphere, so it’s going to keep growing.

Q. With all the bonuses flying around at UFC Dublin, people may have got the wrong impression about a fighter's salary. You're still working between fights, how tough is it to go back to the day job after an event like that?

A. To be honest it’s pretty easy because I’m used to it. Nobody wants to go do a job just for the money, I’m a plumber and that’s nowhere near the most glamorous job, but unless you’re fighting for one of the big American of Japanese promotions you won’t be making enough to live and train on.

But as far as working again, I was back on the site on Monday having the craic with the lads, no problem.

Q. Are you back into training already as well?

A. Yeah I was back training Wednesday. I was a little stiff on Sunday and Monday, and you always have to take a few days off to let the body recover, even if you don’t have a hard fight, because the weight-cut takes a lot out of you.

Q. Speaking of the weight-cut, physically, you looked a lot bigger than Savvidis. How much did you have to cut to make weight, and do you know how much you weighed on fight night?

A. That’s unusual for me, because I’m one of the smaller Lightweights. I get on the scales at 156 pounds, right on the limit, but he weighed in six pounds under, which was probably close to what he entered the fight at. I put on about 14 pounds by the time I stepped into the ring.

But he’s had to take fights at a lot of weights because they probably don’t have the talent, or numbers, to let him fight at his best weight. He could probably drop down to 145 and be a bit more comfortable.

Q. Now 7-1-0 in Cage Warriors, you're going to continue to be talked about when the topic of title shots comes up. Do you have any goals or targets in mind to reach in the next year?

A. No I leave all that up to my coach and manager, because I’m just going out there to enjoy myself. I tend not to think too much about where I’m going or what I’m doing, as long as I’m having fun while I’m doing it.

Saying that, if they offered me a title shot tomorrow, I’d take it no problem because I’d fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. But right now I’m just thinking about relaxing a bit, because I could do with a week or two off. I’ve been training since Neil(Seery) went into camp for the UFC Dublin, so that about 16 weeks ago.

Q. Saturday was another huge night for Irish MMA, it was almost like a repeat of UFC Dublin with so many fighters on the card. Can this trend continue, and what place does Ireland now hold in the MMA world?

A. I think Ireland is now a hotspot for MMA in Europe, and that comes down to the coaches. My coach Andy Ryan is one of, if not the, best coaches in Europe in my opinion. Then you have John Kavanagh doing good things with SBG, and there’s just a really good vibe at the minute. We have everything you need here now under the one roof, so you don’t have to leave for America for training anymore.

Another thing is, the Irish aren’t back-biters. We’ll help each other out when we need it, and we’ll go to each other’s gyms to spar when big fights are coming up. Obviously we have to fight each other sometimes, but as soon as that’s over we’re back to being 100% again.

Q. Did you see any of the other fights, or were you busy worrying about yourself. Who were you impressed with?

A. No not really, I don’t pay too much attention to them because I’m concentrating on my own fight. I either have my headphones on listening to music, having the craic with the lads, or getting my hands strapped. Plus the last thing you want to see before you go out there is someone getting knocked out, or cut open, so I just zone out from it all.

Q. When UFC Dublin was announced, there were rumblings that you might get the call for a prelim. Did that play on your mind at all?

A. Not really. I knew myself that I wasn’t going to get the call, because I’d lost on New Year’s, and had only had one fight since at that stage. The guys getting signed now have 7, 8, or 9 fight winning streaks, and I was on a streak like that, so that loss set me back a bit.

Q. You've been mentioned as a possible UFC candidate for a while now, how confident are you of making it to that level?

A. If they come around again, and they’re talking about maybe doing it next year, I’d love to see it happen. Like I said, I’d fight anyone.

I’d be pretty disappointed if at the end of my career I looked back and hadn’t fought on a UFC card at some point, but all I can do is keep my head down, keep a clean record and hope when it rolls around again they call.

If they come back and put it on in the Aviva like they’re talking about doing, I’d love to fight in a place like that, who wouldn’t?

 

Image: Paul Redmond Facebook