The last time I interviewed Liam McGeary he was coming off a big win over UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz and was due to defend his Bellator Light Heavyweight Title against Phil Davis. Things have obviously changed since then. Here is my latest interview with Liam, his replies are colourful but brutally honest and I have printed as received.
THE INTERVIEW:
Q: The last time we spoke, you were the Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion and coming off a big win over Tito Ortiz. You were busy preparing for Phil Davis and your return from injury. Davis obviously beat you, you were quoted as saying you over trained for that fight, why do you think that happened?
A: Wow, we spoke a while ago!! It’s been an up and down roller coaster of events since then!!
Yes, I did say I had over trained… I don’t know if that was the right term to use, but for the Phil fight I over did everything. I crammed in as much training as I possibly could playing catch up. Phil is a great competitor. I can’t actually believe he lost the belt after the first defence tho! I told him to hold on to it for me!!!
After the Tito fight I had to have the surgery, put me out for a minute!! I was fit, leg wasn’t as strong as it should have been, I wasn’t where I should have been to defend it. Going up against Phil after such a long lay off was a massive task!! These injury’s may put you out but they also set you back!
As we all know this is a race, that’s why we all train as hard as we do and as often. I sat back for way too long and was trying to catch up with them all. In an ideal world I would have liked to have faced somebody else before him but, I don’t turn down fights and had to face him and rightly so too.
So when I said over trained, I wasn’t tired or anything like that, I was fit as a fiddle and could have carried on for another 5 rounds! But I bet he couldn’t do what he was doing for another 5 rounds tho!
Hats off to him, he won, I lost I had to wipe my nose and get over it. Start this race all over again.
Q: How frustrating is it fighting a wrestler like Phil Davis, and do you think if you fought again, you could make the adjustments needed to get the win back?
A: It was very frustrating fighting Phil! His style isn’t the most exciting to watch, or even to be In!
He just kept moving from position to position, grinding out and wanting to go for that judges decision. Like a wrestling match. Where as I’d have preferred it of he just beat the shit out of me on the ground in his dominant position, or just go for something. Longer the fight went on, more pissed I was getting so just wanted to throw at him and then whoop next thing you know I’m on my back again. Fucking annoying!!!
Like I said in the question before, it’s a race. I’ve had ample amount of time now to catch up and get back in this fight and yes, I have made the adjustments to beat him. I actually bothered my arse to learn how to defend a take down!!
Q: You bounced back with a win and then you faced Linton Vassell. I’ll be honest and not being disrespectful to Linton but I couldn’t see you losing that fight, so what do you think went wrong that night
A: Ahha the Linton fight!! The last loss. Well yeah, defo no disrespect to Linton on that one, he did his thing and won. Fair play. But it wasn’t what went wrong on the night, it was that whole week that I was pissed off. Let’s just say I chose the wrong time to throw my toys out the pram! But I did not want to be in that cage. My mind was on the chick that I’d arranged to meet up with after. Not taking away from what he did tho, the dude submitted me, my first one of those. Linton is a hard worker, I really hope he does beat Bader for the title! But I guarantee that the next fight with me and him is gunna be a whole lot different!!! Same with that other king of lay and pray!
Q: You have a fight coming up in October I believe against King Mo, a win there and you are back in the title mix?
A: Ahha yes Mo!! See another bloody wrestler!!! So I figured all I have is wrestlers in this division! And I’m a striker/jitsu guy.
My coach (Jason Stout) said to me that I had to evolve. If I didn’t sort myself out and learn what I needed to do, I was just gunna get left behind, be the guy who did win the title but didn’t change his ways and fade out of contention.
I don’t want that, I had a very serious word with myself and went to a very dark place!! Change was needed and I did it. I can’t wait to get in there and show you all this new animal that’s emerged!! Violence on a whole different level!! If these pricks cant take me down, then they have no choice in taking the hard shots to the face that I give them! We all have seen the looks on there face when I lay my hands on them!!!!
King Mo and then the next and the next are gunna feel what I got to offer till I get my belt back round my waist!
Q: Can you take us through a typical day of training and how many hours do you spend training each day?
A: Typical day of training…. Well a lot of it is sitting on these damn trains!!! Train traffic my arse, there’s been no trains past me to be infront!!!
But a typical training day… they all differ from the next. Some days I do 3 some days 2 sessions a day. Mostly it’s 3 sessions. Wresling!! Bloody wrestle 3 times a week, jitsu and striking the same. Maybe more. I dunno I’ve lost track, I just turn up and train now changing the gyms where I go. A lot of strength & conditioning too because these boys are big strong lads!!!!
Linton is a 230 lbs monster!!!! So I had to make up for the weight I give up in these fights and get my numbers up a little.
I’ll train 5 hours a day maybe 6. Depends how I’m feeling.
Q: My first ever MMA experience was being lent a VHS copy of UFC 1, can you remember yours?
A: My first ever MMA experience. Smoking a joint on my sofa and my mate telling me I need to watch this!! Banged on a UFC don’t know which one now, but was around the early Tito, Chuck Liddel, Randy Couture and when Rampage was skinny hahah I must have been 26/27 when I watched my first ever UFC fight, I’m 35 next week.
Q: How much longer do you see yourself staying in the sport and what do you envisage doing once you have retired?
A: Very good question! I don’t know how much longer I’ll be in this sport for.. I do know one thing tho, I’ll be goin out when I get my fuckin belt back!!!
I’ll defo be opening a school up, I want to try and help kids with the same kind of background as me
Achieve their dreams. Even when people tell them they got no chance.
If someone like me from Turbus road, North Lynn can get his arse over to America and fight on one of the if not the best show in the world right now, then you know what, with hard work and determination then it all is possible!
That’s what I plan on doin, oh and laying out on a beach somewhere enjoying life. Maybe kite surfing and making custom knives and swords hahahah.
Liam, thank you again for your time, and good luck for the future, and hopefully the next time we speak you are preparing to challenge for the belt again or indeed you are again wearing the Bellator gold.
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