Stuart Murray is coming into his Goliath Fight Series 5 high on confidence, and rightly so, after his debut fight earlier in the year.
Murray comes into the fight on the back end of a stoppage victory over Fraser Giblin at GFS 4. Saturday night at the Dunfermline Glen Pavilion, Murray will take on David Larmour, who breaks his run of inactivity.
Ahead of fight night, we caught up with Stuart Murray. Hear what he had to say below.
Interview With Stuart Murray
Among the madness of fight week, Stuart, as you prepare to make the walk for the second time officially outside of Ultra MMA. What does the tail end of training look like as you creep up on fight night? Is it just staying sharp and staying light?
To be honest, all the hard work is done at this point; it’s just about remaining active, staying loose and keeping the mind busy, and, of course, shifting the last bit of weight off before Saturday weigh-ins. It’s tough training at the high intensity we train at on a calorie deficit, but it just adds to the mental strength at this point.
In June of this year, you made your official debut in MMA, and I don’t think you could have asked for a better way to start. Briefly break down your debut performance and how satisfied you are with the way you represented yourself.
I was over the moon with the performance in June; I couldn’t have gone more to plan, to be honest. The plan was simple: punch and kick until they decide they want to grapple, then it’s game over. As soon as I’m close enough to get my hands on my opponent, I’m taking that neck, arm or leg. I’m not fussy. Although I was happy with my performance, I must admit I wanted a longer fight. There was a lot of preparation in the run-up for only 50 seconds of fight time. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be out to beat that time this Sunday.
Stuart Murray Talks Debut Fight
Despite getting the result back in June, was there anything you weren’t pleased with? Were there any negatives that you picked up and took away to the gym to work on?
I’m always looking to improve and evolve my game. Even after the last fight in June, I’m still analysing my performance and looking for anything that will make me a better all-round fighter, but I don’t think there was anything specific from the last fight. It is more about working on things from sparring classes in the gym, where the real work gets done.
Was there anything you didn’t get to show at Goliath Fight Series 4 that you hope to showcase on Saturday night in the promotion’s fifth instalment?
There is a large portion of my game that only people from the gym have seen so far. I have many tricks up my sleeve, and I hope I get an opportunity to use a few of them on Sunday. I do think the fight will go longer than the last one. Not much longer, though. The outcome will be the same.
David Larmour is the man in front of you. How do you feel about this test and the opponent in front of you?
To be honest, it doesn’t matter who it is in front of me. I mean no disrespect to David, but he’s just a blank silhouette with a bulls-eye target on his face that I’m going to hit over and over again until I get my hand raised. Nothing personal. This is just the game we play.
Opponent
David hasn’t been as active in between fights. Can you watch his previous fights back and take anything from those due to the inactivity?
I haven’t watched any of his fights. I’m not sure if he considers himself a grappler/wrestler or striker, but to me, it doesn’t matter. I believe I beat him everywhere the fight goes. I’m a firm believer in focusing on what I can do, not what my opponent can do.
Saturday night, you defeat David Larmour and move to 2-0. What’s next for you? What position would you like to be in this time next year if we were to catch up?
Well, I already took another fight in December. I have a goal to be 3-0 by Xmas, so I’m looking to achieve that. Perhaps three first-round finishes by Xmas too. That would be a pretty sweet way to end the year. This time next, having a belt or two would be nice, but I’m not getting ahead of myself. Take each fight as they come. I’m sure if I rack up some good wins and beat some skilled opponents, big opportunities will open up for me in the future.
