Dustin Pague on Resilience in MMA and BKFC Matches

SportsGrid

Watch Dustin Pague on Resilience in MMA and BKFC Matches - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00You know, you said it's a different type of fighter, right?

00:03Different type of fighter that does this.

00:06I mean, you're coming off the win against Ryan Peterson.

00:09I love how the respect that he had for you after the fight on Instagram,

00:14which is super cool.

00:15And I guess when, you know, you trade paint like that with someone,

00:19you can't help but have that level of respect.

00:23Like you said, talk to me about the different type of breed that it takes to do this

00:28as opposed to getting into an octagon hoop.

00:31You know a lot of fighters, I know a lot of mixed martial artists,

00:34told me, Marenzi, my goal is not to get hit, right?

00:37A lot of MMA fighters don't like getting hit.

00:39If you don't like getting hit, you can't do BKFC, point blank.

00:44Oh, absolutely.

00:46Like in the MMA world, you have opportunities to negate getting hit more so than BKFC.

00:53You can get a takedown.

00:54And you can secure a dominant position where you're less likely to get hit.

00:59And even if you are getting hit, they're less damaging because of your position.

01:03So there's opportunities, and especially when you get rocked,

01:06to protect yourself a little bit and kind of clinch up or secure a takedown

01:11to avoid that impact.

01:14But BKFC, if you're getting hit too much, you have one option.

01:18Either take a knee or give up.

01:20And then even after you take that knee, you only have a few seconds,

01:24and you've got to get back to it.

01:26So you can't really run from getting hit in BKFC.

01:31And like I said, during my fighter interviews, they always say,

01:36what gives you the edge on this win?

01:38Or what gives you the edge on this upcoming fight?

01:41And I always say, and they get kind of frustrated with my response.

01:44I said, I think I'm the toughest, one of the toughest BKFC fighters on the roster.

01:49And I think my toughness helps me with victories.

01:52And they're like, oh, no, come on.

01:54Brag about yourself a little bit.

01:55You know, your movement, you know, your speed, your power.

01:58I'm like, hey, toughness wins fights.

02:00And you've seen it in my last fight against Ryan.

02:03We were equally talented.

02:05He's a warrior.

02:06He's a phenomenal fighter.

02:07Very tough.

02:08Moves well.

02:09Has everything it takes to be a great fighter.

02:11But I think my toughness won that fight.

02:14I think a lot of fighters would have stayed down after the problems I had with my eye.

02:20But you know what?

02:21I take a licking and keep on ticking, like I say.

02:25And mental toughness is the key, isn't it, Dustin?

02:27Right?

02:28And I want to ask you about that.

02:30You're on The Ultimate Fighter.

02:32You're a younger guy.

02:33You know, you're walking into the MGM Grand.

02:36And it's like, whoa, the UFC.

02:39And so you go through that.

02:41And, you know, have to be nervous, right?

02:43Now you're a grown man.

02:45How much does it help you, your experience, being on TV, fighting and knowing?

02:52In all, whatever you do, it all walks of life.

02:55We get better the more we do it, right?

02:56And how much different are you now?

02:59Like, I imagine you're on The Ultimate Fighter.

03:01You're fighting MGM that night.

03:02How much were you pacing backstage?

03:04I've seen fighters, dude, they extend all their energy before the damn fight, right?

03:09Some guys, they're nervous.

03:11You know what I mean?

03:12Like, they're tight.

03:13And it's like they walk out and then they got rubber arms, right?

03:16You know what I mean?

03:17They get that dead arm.

03:18And they're like, man, I psyched myself out.

03:20And I thought about it so much before the fight.

03:23Now when you come out, bro, it looks like you're in your domain.

03:27You're on the stage and you're walking out and you're soaking up the moment as opposed

03:32to being, oh, my God, this is the moment.

03:34How much different is it for you now?

03:36How much has that helped you, that experience now?

03:40It's funny.

03:41I think fighter experience is huge when it comes to the mental aspect.

03:47And obviously, I've had 50-plus fights in my career.

03:50I still get nervous every single fight.

03:52But it is different.

03:54I think my confidence has changed more than anything because I realized that I fought

04:00some of the best fighters in the world at a young age.

04:03And, you know, so I say to myself, what's the worst that can happen?

04:07I've seen it all.

04:08I've pretty much seen it all.

04:09I've seen every aspect of this game.

04:11So that really builds my confidence.

04:14So I don't think I'm going to see anything different.

04:17So what to expect kind of eases the nerves a little bit.

04:22And at the end of the day, I love what I do.

04:24So I try to soak up every moment, every part of the journey.

04:29I try to soak up and enjoy and know that one day I won't have it.

04:33So that's kind of my mindset.

04:36And it seems to me right now, before we get you out of here, that you want the belt, right?

04:40You said you think you could be the best.

04:42You're not here just for – you're not here just to fight.

04:45You want the prizes that come with it, right?

04:49Yep.

04:49That's my long-term goal is to have that belt around my waist.

04:53And I think I'm getting closer and closer to it each fight.

04:56It sounded like Dave Feldman wants to give me the shot based on what he said after my last fight.

05:01I'm hoping that he sticks to that.

05:04And from what I'm hearing, that's what's next for me.

05:07So I'm not getting my hopes up, but I'm hopeful.

05:11I'm hopeful.

05:11So there's this feeling that there's what we want to give you.

05:14That's what I'm supposed to do to open the belt.

05:15You're a happy person.

05:16And that's what I'm looking for.

05:17It's a happy person.

05:18It's so awful.

05:18It's kind of, I'm uncomfortable.

05:19I'm going to make you keep it, but I'll give you a lot of people to be able to get out of here.

05:21And I'll give you a lot of people to hear.

05:22And then I'm not getting your defense.

05:24I'll give you a little bit of people.

05:24It's really good.

05:25You're not even though I'm going to be able to get out of here.

05:27You're not going to do a lot of people to visit.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended