As Neil Seery heads to Rotterdam for the biggest fight of his life this coming weekend, when he takes on #5 ranked flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night 87, he has issued a word of warning to Irish youngsters hoping of reaching the top of the sport and emulating Conor McGregor.
In a very honest interview with MMAJunkie.com, Seery explained that the bubble of Irish MMA has burst following the recent retirements of Cathal Pendred and Paddy Holohan, the releasing from their contracts of Paul Redmond and Norman Parke, and McGregor's differences with the shot callers at Zuffa, but he does feel that the good times will return again.
To be perfectly honest, it was only a matter of time before the bubble burst. I said it to a couple of people last year that when a country is on a high – you’ve got this many athletes in the UFC and everybody looking in at it – the bubble will burst. Obviously that’s the case at the minute.
We’ve only got four fighters left in the UFC at the minute: Conor, myself, ‘Ais’ (Aisling Daly) and Joseph Duffy. It’s like everything else – the Irish will have it good for a while, tough for a while, and then it’ll come good again. And I believe it will.
In particular, Seery wished to urge caution to those who want to make MMA, and fighting with the UFC in particular, their occupation. A man who has had his training camp for his upcoming fight with Horiguchi disrupted by his regular job and family life, Seery explained that while he loves what he does, it was always a 'Plan B'.
Rather than seeking the fame and glory that many believe comes with being a UFC fighter, Seery is more concerned with leaving the game with his health, something he fears the young lads who are dedicating their lives to the sport may not be considering.
You’ve got Norman Parke – he’s without a contract, without a job.
With Paul Redmond, you’ve got the exact same thing. He gave up a good job to go and pursue a career with the UFC, and two fights later, he was out the door.
People are fooled when they walk through that door because they think they’ve got job security – but you’ve got nothing. You’ve got a piece of paper that says you’ve got a four-fight contract, but that doesn’t mean to say you’re going to get four fights and make a million dollars.
To me, it’s like every other good ride. It was always destined to come to an end, whether it’s a good end or a bad end. That’s why I’ve always told people to put something in place and try to do something else. Fighting is Plan B, so you should already have Plan A tucked away.
People seem to be really fooled by this profession at the minute, and there’s not many people that are going to succeed in what Conor is doing. You can hear it in the voice of every young fighter thinking they’re going to be the next Conor McGregor. It’s an illusion, and I’m telling you that you’re not going to be the next Conor McGregor because he’s a one in a million.
It may not be the most positive outlook someone who is starting their career in MMA would hope to hear, but it is how Seery really feels and as someone who has been there and witnessed these issues first hand, it's a lesson worth listening to.
If you haven't been watching his personal vlogs as he prepares for the Horiguchi fight, you really are missing out as Seery is a fantastic character and we wish him all the best in Rotterdam on May 8th.
