“I travel three hours a day and train five times a week”- Daryl Clarke on what it takes…
“John [Kavanagh] is one of the best trainers in the world…The level is unbelievable; you are training with Paddy Holohan, Aisling Daly, Dylan Tuke, Alex Brophy, the list goes on.”
A man to be feared for his record and dedication struts towards us with a smile under his grey hood, maybe giving us an early look (minus the drizzling rain) at his walkout for Cage Legacy One on the 28th of October. One thing was sure, Daryl Clarke was taking everything in his stride.
The 19-year-old ‘Drog’, an exciting MMA prospect, made it seem like nothing that fifteen hours of his, and brother Ciaran’s week was dedicated towards just travelling to John Kavanagh’s SBG on the Naas Rd, nevermind the graft of training:
“We get the bus into town, then we jump on to the Luas and get out to bluebell and then SBG is right there. It takes about, door-to-door an hour and a half.”
Mostly when working with Coach Kavanagh, Clarke explains that most sessions are technique, but the benefit of of SBG comes that it is a full-time gym, where martial artists can benefit from meeting up with team mates and training conveniently.
This was clear that the training was paying off, as Clarke represented Ireland in Las Vegas in the IMMAF. I can imagine that the Clarke brothers were the most comfortable of all the Irish fighters who travelled, considering they only had to travel 13 hours this time…
Daryl, who hopes to make it big in the likes of Vegas for the UFC by his 25th birthday, can make it through hard work and grind. That’s how he predicts he will beat his up coming Irish MMA competitor in Vegas turned opponent Pádraig ‘Pythagoras’ Magee for Cage Legacy One.
“I think he [Pádraig ‘Pythagoras’ Magee] is one of the best bantamweights there is in the country, I have a lot of respect for him and his ground game and he is very flashy. “
So, how does Daryl beat Pádraig?
“You grind him out, and take him into deep waters.”
If there is any predicitng sentence to described Daryl Clarke at Cage Legacy One it would be this: ‘He makes hard work and grind look like fun’. So basically: Daryl Clarke = Workhorse.
From the ways these two fighters are preparing for one another, this is going to be one hell of a war in Daryl’s first fight in his hometown, and with his brother Ciaran.
words by @emmetbana
