Ok wordpress…work with me here! Lets not be a cunt shall we?

This is currently my 4th attempt at updating my blog in the past 3 weeks,twice the wordpress app on my ipod has deleted what i’ve written and wordpress just wouldn’t work on my laptop last time i tried.

So,whats been happening? Not much to be honest,work is still shit…well the inconsistancy is a bit shit but the jobs are generally alright when they come up.

Not heard to any offshore work recently which means I still can’t really plan to move out as of yet.

Trying to sort out a regular income while back home through coaching and if i can get my hours up to a decent level i may take a part time job to subsidise then just work from home. We’ll see i guess. I really like coaching…remains to be seen if i’m any use at it though

 Fight wise i don’t have anything confirmed though hopefully i’ll have good news on that next week sometime. Hopefully get matched on Absolute Combat 3 in Edinburgh.

I was a bit fed up when i tried to write this blog a few weeks ago, there was a couple of well known shows looking for featherweight opponents but at that time i wasn’t long back from work and in no shape to take either fight.

I’m not saying my coaches would’ve let me take the fights or if the promoters would’ve wanted my paltry 3-0 record sullying the good name of their show but it would have been nice to at least offer my services.

Ah well whats for you will not go by you i suppose. In the mean time i’ve been training just to get better rather than for an opponent.

Hmmm what else have i been up to? Winding up Uk no3 and euro no4 featherweight Paul Reed on Cage Warriors

Basically a wee kid turned up to the gym and Mark ‘the smashing machine’ Conner pointed out he looked like Reedy…me being a Wedgie wide-o decides to take a pic with him and post it online which resulted in an 8 page thread that almost threatened to get physical. As usual some of it was hilarious and some down right ridiculous. My mum always said my big mouth would get me into bother…………………….

McVeigh is off to Rio for a month at the moment,and he’s (foolishly) left me and gazz in charge of his flat….if you’re reading this Paul…everything is fine,most of the flat is still intact and if you could email me instructions on how to work your central heating so i don’t get hypothermia when i crash there that would be great.

Heading down to Watford tomorrow for Thunder Kats mma debut. She’s been dynamite in training recently and i’m really looking forward to unleashing her on someone her own size. Kat is a great competitor,and really well rounded i really think she’ll do great things in this sport.

Looking forward to meeting up with Gaz Pilot,Sarah Moras and Rosi Sexton at the show as well. Hopefully Rosi can have a look at a wee niggling injury i have

Sportfight Scotland is back in Lanark this weekend,sadly i wont make it but best if luck to all the Ninjas fighting. Expect everyone to come back with wins and continue our great start to the year.

I’m currently pretty obsesseed with BJ Penn and boxing so i’m off to watch some of both then bed.

If you’ve been following my blog recently you’ll know that this the last piece of my Absolute Combat series.

In the last blog i briefly mentioned that Doni felt the fight had been stopped prematurly and protested a fair bit about it. There’s been a fair bit of chat about it on the Cage Warriors forum,youtube and the Battlefield forum…thats right…i have mad internet stalking game.

I’ve refrained from getting involved in internet arguments as you just end up like a couple of the inbred twats on Jeremy Kyle going back and forward..however i would like to have my own say on what happened.

A lot of comments have been that people,mostly B-field guys,saying that they thought the fight was stopped too early. I can honestly say that i really don’t think it was. I dont think the left hook that dropped him was enough to stop him but the first shot i landed on the ground felt super solid…i felt his chin through the glove..from the video i can see  i landed at least another 2/3 hard unanswered shots before Doni got to his knees…from there i landed a left to his head as well. At the time it felt like i was hitting him for a long time and i was wondering how long Neil Hall was going to let it continue.

In Doni’s defense i don’t think he was totally unconscious but i do feel that he was hurt and badly stunned and as far as i’m concerned i wasn’t planning on stopping  hitting him anytime soon.

Doni was pretty pissed off and protested a fair bit while we waited for the result to be announced. This in turn pissed me off and soured the moment a bit for me. Managed to grab a word with him and shook his hand,though i got the feeling he didnt want to,told him i thought it was a fair stoppage and that it was a good fight,well done etc

To his credit Doni did come speak to me later to offer his congratulations but i still got the feeling that he really didnt accept it…think his words were,”if i’d got a win like that i suppose i’d accept it to”  

I suppose i knew there was going to be a lot of bullshit spoken about the fight,and…well i went looking for it

Pretty sure it was one of the first things i did when i woke up on Sunday morning…yes im a sad cunt but at least i admit it.

Apart from the early stoppage chat most of the banter was that i was getting a shoeing and that i was just lucky.

This fucked me off no end(if you read the last blog you’ll know i can be melodramatic so bear with me here)

Comments such as “doni lost after beatin the S**t out of him for 99% of the time” and “Donni was unlucky, pure and simple. Everytime that the guy twitched donni was weighing him in, purely bad luck !” were classics. 

Along with people saying he was winning and dominating til he lost made me both laugh and piss me off.

Ok….yes Doni started faster than i did but i’d hardly say he was dominating or even clearly winning…. he landed some leg kicks,and a body kick….but its not like i spent the majority of the fight up against the ropes getting tee’d off on til i swung an arm.

I always said Doni was a faster starter than me,he’s also a southpaw which is always going to require a bit of getting used to.    My gameplan was always to feel him out for the first part of the round and see how he was moving and gauge distances and reactions before trying to implement my own attacking-counter fighting(yes that does make sense )game

I suppose what gets me most is my hard work and dedication being dismissed as luck.

For me,Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Every shot i threw in the fight i’ve thrown literally thousands of times in shadow boxing,drilling,pads and sparring. I’ve been preparing mentally for this fight since summer as i thought i’d be fighting him at Oran Mor. I’d spend rounds just working single shots,then short combos i.e left hook-cross,2 left handed shots-jab to left hook etc etc

In the last couple of weeks before AC i’d grab someone and just drill counters from shots i expected Doni to throw along with other gameplan things i thought i’d use/do during the fight.

In my life i’ve been lucky lots of times…..i was lucky to pass my exams as a kid as i put shit all effort into them,i’ve been lucky when driving like an idiot numerous times not to have killed me or anyone else and just last week i was very lucky to land wedged in a manhole at work after a 3 foot fall and not go through to a further 20 foot drop and  certain serious injury.

I’ve never put as much effort into anything in my life as i do with mma,bjj and my fighting.I’m first in the gym every morning and usually one of the last to leave. I read up on training,study videos,take care of my diet,get beaten up by people every fecking day,sprint up hills til i want to throw up ,the list goes on….so please……please…..don’t put me doing well down to luck,because if thats the case i might as well can the training and development and just go in swinging for the fences……or ropes.

I know Doni and his team want a rematch with me but to be honest i dont see why i should. No offence but i won the fight and i won in 80 seconds…..not in a 3 rd war that went to decision.

I think Doni is a great fighter and he’ll go far in the sport and if our paths cross again somewhere down the line then maybe we will fight but for now there’s a lot of fights i’d like to take to see what level i can take this to.(something i’ll cover in my next blog )

thanks for reading

Dean 

www.twitter.com/hurricane_dnft

I’ll be honest…i was pretty nervous about this fight for a number of reasons.

1.its a fight….you’re supposed to be nervous

2.its a fight i’ve wanted for ages and i was determined to win…made a pact with myself that morning that i would,for example,let my arm break in an armbar and fight one with one arm if need be. got to thank a Dan Hardy interview for that one

3.he’s a local fighter from a rival gym so there’s always pride at stake.so i felt i was carrying the hopes of the gym on me.plus i get the feeling they’re not fond of me or my team..or maybe i’m just paranoid

4.A lot of people…..and i mean a lot…..text/spoke/pm’d me and asked me to please knock him out(my mum included,and she never says anything like that !!). even people i don’t know very well were asking me to ko him. for some reason……he doesnt seem the most popular fellow

5.there had been a lot of internet hype and banter about me fighting Doni….therefore i didn't want to look a twat and get beat

6.it had been my most professional fight camp yet,everything went well and i even got my first pro sponsor….the lovely chaps on www.mmahitpit.com .more on that later

All in all it added up to a lot of pressure.

The day started with a long lie in…8am….thats late for me….some porridge and my usual scan through the internet.

Decided i was going to make myself an awesome playlist that gets me hyped up-mama’s goin knock you out,fedor entrance music,boom,bit of michael jackson,can’t be touched etc Anyway…as i plugged the trusty ipod in,itunes offered me a software update for much cheapness. As Quadzilla has been slagging me off for ages for not doing this i decided now was the time to update…a few clicks and approx 5mins later i had a fully updated ipod…that had also been emptyed of 14gb of music and video. COCK. FUCK.YOU.ITUNES.

So headed off to the gym without my inspirational tunes with an impending feeling of doom…..yes….i CAN be a bit melodramatic

Checked my weight to find i was back up to 70kg…not bad but not the 71-72kg i had been hoping for.There was still time however.

Got to the venue,had a bounce around the ring,chatted to folk,basically anything to chill and take my mind off the fight. On fight day i dont like to get to into things until it gets nearer the time that i’m on.I kinda like to zone out and relax,chat about normal shit and have a bit of a laugh in an effort to save my mental and physical energy for the fight.

Usual fight day stuff like medical,from the ever lovely Dr Rodgers, rules meeting plus chatting away with some of the other fighters and friends then trying to locate Frankie to give her her ticket killed the majority of the downtime before the show started.

Stayed in the dressing room for the first couple of fights but went out to watch Hissy left hook and showboat his way to a decision victory…..the wee man was awesome…even dancing in the corner during the second and third rounds.If you didnt know him you’d have thought it was arrogant but i think he was just enjoying himself….soon as the final bell rang he stopped the act and shook the hand of his opponent. Great start for the team.

After that i started to get my fight head on but i was still super nervous……major props to James Doolan for staying with me..giving me lots of mental notes and keeping me chilled…..he always seems chilled and it has a good calming effect,plus i really respect his opinion as he doesnt bullshit you.

Paul on the other hand has a different approach which i enjoy and need just as much. As James was wrapping my hands i think Paul felt i was taking it all a bit seriously so he proceeded to give me a brilliant pep talk loosly based around ‘Mein Kampf’….yes thats right…the book kind of by Hitler…yes THAT Hitler. I can’t remember much of what was said but the word ‘Untermenschen’ was used on numerous occasions. It served to lighten the mood in a way only Paul can

*disclaimer* In no way is Paul McVeigh a racist.

Hands wrapped and as more and more of our guys came back with good results i got changed in my trusty Triumph United shorts and griphouse top…both now proudly boasting mmahitpit.com and started to work my way through my mobility exercises. For this fight i was wary of starting slow,something i feel i’ve had trouble with in previous fights…especially the last one as i was taken down pretty sharpish. By contrast Doni always comes flying out the blocks so i wanted to be able to at least hang with it til the pace settled.

With mobility exercises done i went into the corridor and started working my way through a small set of plyos….bounding,single leg hops,short sprints,pogo jumps and footwork drills…..over the next couple of months i’m going to try and work a specific routine to do before sparring that i can easily transfer into fight day so i’m good to go.

Worked though pad rounds,pummeling,shadow boxing and some very light sparring then it was time.

I’m not one for elaborate entrances,i just single-mindedly walk to the ring,maybe high five i friend or in this case i waved a ’shaka’ at Del from MMA Hit Pit.

As i got into the ring i heard Paul say something about…”let him stare,you’ve got this” and “get in there,slap yourself about a bit and you know you’re good to go”

I’m getting quite ritualistic….i have a list of thing i like to do before the fight,they include slap myself about a bit,3 tuck jumps and last 2 fights i’ve developed a new one…..i look at the ceiling with my arms outstretched and take really deep breaths….i have no idea why i started this or why i do it but i hope i dont develop anymore as i’ll never have time to do them all! This new one kinda feels like i’m trying to absorb all the energy in the room…i dunno…getting weird(er) in my old age….turning into diego sanchez or something.

Fight starts and as predicted…Doni comes out quite fast.landing some nice leg kicks. This was my first time fighting a southpaw and i was finding the timing and distance awkward at first….i usually counter very well off outside low kicks but the way he was stepping and throwing them made it harder to time.

During the fight it felt like he was really far away for me to hit while at the same time being really close that i had to stay tight. We had a brief flurry after i came forward with a straight right but neither of us really landed anything of note.

Again we flurried on the ropes,with in my mind,me doing an awesome Wanderlei impression….we both landed a couple of shots with his leaving a small graze and some swelling under my left eye.i bruise like a fecking peach man!!Again he persisted with the leg kicks so i felt i should land my own just to give him something to think about as well.

PART 2

*thanks to Hywel Teague and Del from MMA Hit Pit for the awesome photos*

 The sense of relief was incredible,i had performed,got the win and the pressure was instantly lifted.Doni felt the stoppage was early and protested with Neil and whoever would listen but i can honestly say i thought it was a fair stoppage and i told him this.

As i was hitting him on the ground i was wondering to myself how long they were going to let me do this for as i wasnt feeling any resistance from him.

I’ll get into this more on the next blog it may get bitchy

Once i got back to the dressing room i’m pretty sure i roared at the top of my voice to let that last bit of relief out, was feeling super hyped and i think folk were worried i was about to have a major adrenaline dump and tried to calm me down. hugged Frankie,thanked everyone for their help,got changed and watched the rest of the Ninja domination.

Everyone was awesome and its a real testiment to how strong our team is.All those team sparring sessions and hard work paid off on the day. Fantastic performances by Quinny(watch this space) ,Burner..first fight at feather and first sub win,John Cullen triangle win against a really good bjj guy and Lovey going 5-0 with another assured performance. Not to forget Scotty Ward and Mark Conner getting sub wins as well.

For the mentally challenged,thats 8 fights and 8 wins. A great day for us

Many thanks to everyone from the Griphouse,Lanark and the D-Unit who helped get all the fighters through the training camp,for advice,tips,encouragement,constructive criticism,being a willing sparring partner,or helping to drill techniques,sometimes to the detriment of their own training.

There are a couple of special thank you’s though,

Guy Ramsey-for being my only natural SP sparring partner and throwing thousands of left kicks so i can try knock his head off with left hooks and right hands. Also for opening the Grip….its like second home to me.

Paul McVeigh-couldnt imagine going into a fight without having Paul in my corner. Thanks for helping with my strength prog,game planning,advice,coaching,weight cutting and nazi pep talks. i could go on but i’ll get called a mad gay.

James Doolan-Thanks for all your help on the day…really got me through it. Also for all your striking coaching,letting me ask you daft questions all the time and for all the advice

Allan Love-Many lifts home,being bonkers,confidence boosting chats and for constantly trying to wind up Paul.”is there anyone new tonight?”

Well i think thats about it……1800 words of babbling mostly.Next blog is forming in my mind…mostly about everything thats been said post fight and my opinions on that etc.I’ll leave you with my favourite picture of the weekend

been meaning to do an update on this for about 3 weeks. Del from www.mmahitpit.com asked me to do one on training,but i’ve been training and been too tired….ok lazy to actually write anything down. plus i got Modern Warfare 2 last week and its awesome.

feet up....Call of Duty....head shot

Training wise this has been my best fight camp yet.

I generally chronically overtrain so one of my goals in this camp was to avoid this while still getting the most out of my time and training.

Read an excellent article in Fighters Only mag by Ollie Richardson who is the S+C coach for the Leicester Tigers and the Roughhouse gym (great job at the weekend fellas)

In ‘Performance management for the MMA fighter’ basically what Ollie was saying is that his fighters are training twice a day 5 times a week with a full day off and a half day off. In the past i was training everyday….even when i started giving  myself a day off once a week it wasnt enough time to recover from training 2/3 2 hr sessions a day.

Conditioning methods are more fight specific,complex training is introduced and there’s a lot of technical training.

Ollie…if you’re reading this(which i doubt) i’m sorry if i’m bastardising your article….guys go read his stuff for yourself as he explains it much better 

Anyway after reading it i started to implement a lot of things.

Wednesday became my half day and i cut my ourdoor hill sprinting down to one session a week.

I feel that these 2 simple changes made a huge difference to my quality of sparring and also to my mental and physical fatique late in the week. both for the better obviously 

I’ve also added a tonne of technical training to my sessions and i feel i’ve tightened up a lot of my all round game tahnks to this.

Mr McVeigh also kindly designed an awesome S+C prog for me to follow…been enjoying getting my teeth into that as well…..numbers are going up but you’d prob be better asking my sparring partners if i’m much stronger now.

Now i feel i’m more of a quality over quantity kinda guy. short,intense high productive sessions.

Skill wise i like GSP’s attitude of looking at your skill set and working to improve these individual areas then adding them to my overall mma game.

Generally wrestling has always been my weakest area(watch my last fight…taken down about 5 times!)

so i’ve been working dilligently on both my defensive and offensive wrestling with the Grip’s new wrestling coach Kieran Malone….kid is goin to be a monster.

Its fair to say he’s improved my wrasslin’ approx 43.71%,i think i’m getting much harder to take down these days and i’m hitting some cool wrasslin’ when mma sparring……….. but i’m still not wearing a fucking singlet.

My next fight is at www.absolutecombat.co.uk against Doni Miller from the Battlefield Gym.

Looking forward to it as its a fight i’ve wanted for a while,seen Doni fight quite a few times now and was always impressed by has speed and obvious love of violence.

From what i’ve seen i’d say he’s pretty well rounded but of course i’ve seen holes that i believe i can exploit….and i’m sure he’ll say similar about me…so it should be fun for people watching.

Lots of violence been on the telly recently…UFC at the weekend was awesome. Ross Pearson was a total stand out and was super impressed with Bisping’s gnp. Really happy to see the majority of the Brits get the results they wanted.

Pac Man v Cotto was incredible…really like both guys but i’m a huge fan of Freddie Roach so wanted Pac to get the win. One of the best boxing displays i’ve ever seen. Boxing has recently got interesting again.

Hopefully goin to visit the Wildcard gym next year but more on that in a future blog.

WEC on weds…Brown v Aldo….reckon Brown should take this…..maybe round 4. should be an amazing fight whatever happens though

Anyway…..off to bed. Cutting weight begins soon…..fucking shite….i hate water loading must it has to be done.

oh and i might have a sponsor  awesome

Dean

kinda like this but less BJ Penn and more DJ Reilly

i’ll leave you with that….next blog i’ll have news on my next opponent/times/dates/places

Dean

www.twitter.com/hurricane_dnft