Gary McMillan is set to face Ede Jakab for the Almighty Fighting Championship amateur lightweight title at AFC 29 on Feb. 25.
The Scottish Hit Squad representative is looking to close out his amateur career with a more calculated approach. Instead of willingly taking the ‘anyone, anywhere, anytime’ mindset, McMillan is eager to still compete against the best in the country, but intelligently.
We had the opportunity to catch up with McMillan, who has his sights set on latching onto a submission when met with Jakab.
Interview With Gary McMillan
In a few weeks, you’ll make the walk for the first time in 2023. How have things been for you since your most recent outing at Vida Fight Championships 5? Have you been consistently in the gym, or did you take a little break over the Christmas period?
Things did slow down over Christmas, Mostly because of the gym closing. But I never really stopped Training. I think if I did have to stop for that long, I’d go a bit mental.
I imagine 2022 didn’t go as planned for you, unfortunately, fighting twice and falling short on both occasions. Despite not getting the results you wanted, are there any positives or things you were happy with in 2022 in terms of competition?
2022 obviously wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst. I had one draw (I have pictures of the scorecards to prove it) and one loss. Both were against high-level opponents, and both were razor close. Honestly, the worst of it was the 4 or 5 fights that fell apart. None of which were because I pulled out.
I don’t take much from the defeats considering you’re a guy who’s consistently looking for the toughest fights. Feb. 25 is no different when you meet another undefeated opponent in Ede Jakab. You could have easily taken easier fights, but where do you learn from that? You do! Is that your mindset when accepting these fights? After all, that’s what the amateur circuit is for. Wins or losses mean nothing.
Amatuer isn’t about wins and losses for me. It’s about experience and learning. I’ve agreed to some pretty stupid things just to get matches over my amatuer career; fighting a middleweight, taking fights on less than 24hr notice, cutting 2kg more than I was supposed to. But now I want to take serious fights against the best amateurs in the UK until my coach says it’s pro time. That starts in 3 weeks with Ede Jakab.
McMillan Talks Fight With Ede Jakab
As mentioned, Ede is not an easy outing, but one you’re happy to jump in and take. Have you managed to watch any of his previous bouts thus far? If so, what are your overall thoughts on him and his skillset?
Ede is a very good fighter. I’ve watched his last couple of matches where he dominated with wrestling, something I know a thing or two about. I’ve been working with Finn to improve my own wrestling. I don’t know if you watched either of my last two fights, but I’ve even learned how to throw a punch. Biggest of all, though, this fight is five rounds, and I am going to make every single of them miserable for as long as this fight lasts.
I saw on your Instagram videos of you weightlifting. Are you incorporating strength and conditioning into your training routine, and have you felt the benefits of doing so?
I’ve been dialling in strength and conditioning more and more every fight. As I just mentioned, this fight is five rounds, so conditioning is a big factor that I intend to abuse.
The Scottish Hit Squad is stacked with talent. Who have you been getting work in with the most that is helping you prepare for Feb. 25?
Of course, everyone in the gym is great. I’ve been doing one-to-one sessions with Finn throughout January. Michael Blair deserves a shout too. He has done fight-paced rounds with me, Bungard and Jordan Stronge without even having a fight booked himself.
Sunday, Feb. 26, what will you need to display on fight night for you to wake up satisfied with your performance?
I want to take his neck or a limb, I don’t particularly care which, but I want it mounted on my wall.
Featured image credits to Gary McMillan
