Fresh off his dominant decision win over at UFC Boston, Patrick Holohan made a very memorable appearance on 2FM’s Game On
The Dubliner spoke about the difficulties of cutting weight for fights. As a 5′ 9″ man, getting down to 125 lbs (57 kg) is a difficulty for the former bantamweight. However, he admits enjoying being the larger fighter inside the Octagon for a change.
57 kilos is tough for me. It’s not easy being the biggest smallest man on the planet. I used to be the small guy in the fights, now I’m looking across and they’re the small guys in the fights so… payback’s a bitch! (laughs)
Holohan is only one of two fathers among the Irish contingent in the UFC, the other being Team Ryano veteran Neil Seery. He explained that taking care of his six-year-old son can test his patience as a fighter, particularly when he’s cutting weight and the pangs of hunger set in.
I got to bring him to Burger King and I got to bring him to McDonalds and I just drool sitting there. “Just hurry up and eat it, will ya?” (laughs)
It is well known that MMA fighters get little or no time off, especially those who are trying to make a name for themselves early into their UFC careers. He contested that the dedication and sacrifice that goes into being a professional fighter in unparalleled in the sporting world.
There’s no such thing as before and after a season. There’s no such thing as, ‘I’m getting good now and I’m not getting good now.” You’re always getting good. Preseason is casual running. I do preseason on my days off.
I have a cousin and he’s a goalkeeper who plays for Longford, but I slap him repeatedly when he says preseason to me because he sees what I do. When he starts bitching, I slap him. (laughs)
Holohan trains at SBG in Dublin with some amazing talent such as Conor McGregor, Gunnar Nelson, Aisling Daly and Cathal Pendred. He recounted a great anecdote about one of his first experiences in the gym involving Daly.
I remember sparring with Aisling and she whooped me. This girl had pink hair, like 5′ 3″ and I was thinking I can’t go back out into the world when this stuff is going on. It was like something out of Jackass.(laughs) I literally sat in my car for 10 minutes and I was like well this is it. I suppose this is what we have to do for the rest of our lives.
The Hooligan confessed that he wasn’t always as close to head coach John Kavanagh. He admitted being a little intimidated by Kavanagh when first started training at the gym.
I don’t even think I talked to John for like six months because John was kind of like that black belt across the way. All these blue belts were already torturing me and I thought I could fight walking into that building to be honest.
The blue belts were killing me and I was looking over at John who was a black belt thinking he must be able to shoot bolts of lightning out of his ass, and I was just waiting to see one one day. (laughs)
I think Holohan will agree that if Kavanagh brings a UFC belt to Ireland, it will be more impressive than his ability to fire lightning bolts out of his hoop.
Hat-tip to Game On
