Greg Picken is eager to right the wrong of his amateur debut loss this Saturday at Goliath Fight Series 3.
The amateur fighter is set for his second walk to the cage tomorrow night at the Lochgelly Centre, Lochgelly. The man standing in his way is James Swann, who makes his debut on the night, and Picken feels he has the tools to leave with his first win proudly over his shoulders.
Ahead of the stacked fight card put together by promotions Coach Steven Harris and UFC lightweight Chris Duncan, we had the pleasure of catching up with Greg Picken. Read the full exclusive below.
Interview With Greg Picken
Fight day is just one more sleep away. How’s the mindset and body feeling now as we close in on fight day? Are you looking forward to getting in there and righting the wrong from your previous bout?
I’m feeling like a glycogen battery ready to explode, weighed in on weight this morning and am now fuelled back up, feeling amazing. This is the best I have ever felt a day before a fight! I cannot wait to get in there, Lewis. I feel that my debut didn’t show what I am capable of, which is my fault, of course. However, I am eager to right that wrong tomorrow night.
As mentioned, your previous bout didn’t fall in your favour on your debut. However, tell me about the whole experience and what you feel went wrong at X-treme Kombat 15.
As a whole, I loved every minute of my debut. It really showed me how much I love this game and everything associated with it. Firstly I feel Jamie Smith came in with a good game plan to handle my length and striking, but I do feel I made a few mistakes in the heat of the moment, mainly just getting too excited and too aggressive, closing my own distance and basically giving away the takedown. He had good control on the ground. However, he didn’t really do much with it. In the past year, I have competed in every grappling comp I could enter and have taken golds in my division and medals in open-weight divisions. I feel my grappling game has come on tremendously since then, and I am eager to show it.
Greg Picken Talks Comfort of Made MMA Debut
In terms of comfort in the cage. How did you feel in their overall? Do you feel your previous bout in kickboxing helped you manage the nerves at all, or was it a different feeling entirely?
To be honest, I don’t really struggle with nerves too much. Obviously, we all get them, and that’s totally normal, but I genuinely love fighting, and it’s almost just total excitement and a true feeling of not wanting to be anywhere else in the world at that moment. I feel my kickboxing bout helped with confidence more than anything, but at the end of the day, cage time in any discipline is only ever a good thing.
There are lessons in defeat. What’s the biggest lesson you’re learned from your fight with Jamie Smith, which you believe you’ve corrected heading into Saturday’s bout with Jamez Swann?
There are definitely lessons in defeat. The biggest takeaway I had from that bout was keeping a lid on my aggression and being smarter about it, we had a game plan for that fight, but I just got too excited and came in far too aggressive this will not happen again. Me in there with a cool head, ready to execute a game plan that has been drilled for weeks and weeks in sparring, is a dangerous thing.
James Swann
Your opponent Jamez Swann is making his debut. For that reason, was your camp and preparation structured entirely around your own game as opposed to worrying about the opponent?
I have never really bothered looking into my opponents too much. If I’m honest, I find it far more beneficial to focus on myself and make everything about my life as good as it can be with everything, including recovery, nutrition, strength and conditioning, healthy habits, everything really. I feel that is one of the best things about doing fight camps. You level up as a person as well as a fighter.
What would it mean to you to go get that first MMA win under your belt, and in your own view, what do you need to do on fight night to ensure that happens?
It would mean a lot to me to go out there and get the win and to correct my previous mistakes but, most importantly, to show how much work my coach Neil Laird and the team have put in with me and really show the level we are at as a gym. And as far as what I need to do to make this happen, I need to go in there confident, relaxed and fight how I fight in the gym. I truly feel I am going to do all of these things and put on a dominant performance.
Why to Watch
Finally, let the viewers know why they should tune in to watch you compete and what they can expect from you at Goliath Fight Series 3.
You can expect an exciting fight from start to finish. I am going out there to finish the fight, and I truly feel I can do that wherever the fight goes, via knockout or via submission. Expect fireworks!
Featured image credits to Darren Athersmith
