THE PIKEMAN IS READY: WEXFORD’S BRIAN TO HEADLINE MMA FIGHT NIGHT
BRIAN MOORE FACES A FORMIDABLE FOE ON NOVEMBER 10. HE TELLS PÁDRAIG BYRNE HE HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN
WHILE CONOR McGREGOR may the first name on anyone’s lips when conducting a conversation about mixed martial arts (MMA), someone a lot closer to home is making waves in combat sports and is set to face the biggest fight of his career as he becomes the first Irishman to headline a Bellator fight card in Dublin on November 10.
As evidenced in his nickname ‘ The Pikeman’, Brian Moore is a proud Wexfordman and he is hopeful of doing his home county proud as he steps into the cage on November 10 to fight a man who is currently on the longest winning streak in the history of the MMA franchise. Although perhaps a little lesser known than it’s rival UFC, in which Conor McGregor fights, Bellator is most definitely big business with some fantastic fighters on the books and it’s certain to be a big affair as the show rolls into Dublin.
It was no mere flash of good fortune for Brian to get to this point. The Rathangan native, who now lives and runs a gym of his own in Carrig-on-Bannow, has overcome significant hurdles on his journey to the top, especially coming from a county that prefers county finals to cage fighting. In many ways his story is similar to the rags to riches tale of Conor McGregor which the media took to with gusto.
While confident, Moore doesn’t have the same brash tone as his Straight Blast Gym (SBG) teammate. He credits the support of his wife to reaching the heights that he iis currently enjoying. ‘Myself and Norín are five years married,’ he said. ‘ She’s been in behind me since the start and is the most supportive person you could ask for. I get paid well to fight nowadays and I have my own business and things are going well, but she’s been with me since the start. There was a time when I finished college and couldn’t get a job and we were on one social welfare payment between us and I was still working away on that heavy bag hanging in the bedroom. She never once kicked up a fuss.’
Having played GAA at county level underage, it wasn’t until a poster caught Brian’s eye in boredom in college that he really thought about MMA.
‘I was really bored in the library in WIT and I saw a poster for Muay Thai boxing,’ he explained. ‘I decided to go along that evening and within weeks I had given up the GAA and was focused on Muay Thai. In Wexford, I found it hard. There wasn’t much of a scene for MMA. I found two or three other lads and eventually had to look to Kilkenny before finally going on to Dublin and SBG.’
At SBG, Brian works under world renowned coach John Kavanagh, who also coaches a little known Dublin fighter by the name of McGregor. Kavanagh instantly saw something in Moore from the first time he saw him fight.
‘My first fight as an amateur was against a professional. They don’t allow that to happen nowadays,’ Moore laughed. ‘It was actually against one of John’s fighters. He said he saw something in me from then, that I fought with a lot of heart and he told me “I can’t teach heart, but I can teach technique”. Then he told me to
come up to the gym in Dublin and I’ve bbeen working there ever since.’
Understandably, Conor McGregor casts a big shadow at SBG. His rise to fame and fortune has been unprecedented. However, it’s not something that the other fighters resent. If anything, it spurs them on.
‘ The guys at SBG are always hungry,’ said Brian. ‘Everyone is trying to climb that ladder. I remember the first time I met Conor he was taking some time out and was just doing a bit of boxing coaching.
‘It’s amazing to see how much he has grown in such a short time. Nobody will ever achieve what Conor has in terms of money, fame and becoming a two-time champion. It does inspire you to do your own thing though. My name will never be as famous as Conor McGregor’s, but we’re all on separate journeys and you can gain inspiration from him.
‘I used to do a lot of sparring training with him at SBG and he’s a great guy to be around. He’s got a great attitude and work ethic. He’s obsessed with every technical detail.’
The circumstances which gave way to Moore’s Dublin headliner were somewhat unusual. An injury to teammate James Gallagher meant that Bellator were stuck for a headliner. The Wexford man had originally been due to fight Andre Goncalves, but when opportunity knocked, he wasn’t going to be found wanting and threw his hat in the ring for a shot at American AJ McKee.
‘I made this fight happen,’ he said confidently. ‘I was due to fight some Portuguese guy who wasn’t highly ranked and to be honest, I think I would have gone through him in the first round. AJ is highly ranked. He’s top ten in the featherweight division and has the highest undefeated streak, with nine. When James had to pull out, I approached my coach and we approached Bellator to make this happen. I’m ready. I asked for him.’
AMERICAN McKee is highly thought of within Bellator and, given his impressive streak, there are even talks of him being handed a shot at the featherweight title. Moore, however, is convinced that he can bring him crashing back to earth and put himself in the frame to fight for a strap.
‘Look, I do rate him as a fighter,’ he said. ‘He’s a very good fighter, but I think I’m better than him. He’s never been put under pressure. He’s never been on the back foot and I do think I can beat him on November 10.’
Brian is currently in the grips of a strict pre-fight regimen and feeling good. He travels between Bannow and SBG in Dublin three to four times a week, as well as running his own Moore Fitness.
‘It’s pretty full on at the moment alright,’ he said. ‘ There’s a big focus on recovery at the moment. Then obviously there’ll be a focus on getting the weight down for the fight too. That’s a big part of MMA, the cut. It’s pretty intense at the moment, but I’m feeling good. I’ve got some great coaches in my own gym so that I can pull back and focus on the fight. The purses on offer for Bellator are much better. It pays me to fight, so I can afford to take a bit of time away from the business and focus.’
While this most definitely will be Moore’s biggest fight to date, he already has one eye on the future after the big night in Dublin.
‘AJ is top ten ranked. He’s considered a title contender,’ he said. ‘If he wins, he’ll be linked with the belt, so if I snatch it from him I think it puts me in the frame for a shot too.’