Hi Darragh, for the MMA Universe readers out there who don’t know who you are, could you please introduce yourself
I'm a huge MMA fan who somehow ended up managing fighters, commentating on DVD's and now (finally) editing a magazine and making a living out of MMA.
You used to live in Ireland. Where abouts did you live, and what made you move to France?
I lived on the Northside of Dublin all my life, a place called Finglas. Then when I was about nineteen my folks moved to a tiny town on the outskirts of Dublin called Garristown. I lived there for about a month then came to France for the first time. I stayed in Lyon for about six months, just learning French mostly and doing what most nineteen year olds do (getting drunk and shagging). I fell in love with France but had to go back to Ireland. I worked in various I.T. jobs in Ireland until a former boss offered me a job with his company in Paris. So I packed up everything and moved out here five years ago.
I take it you still have family in Ireland, How often do you get to go back to visit?
Yeah, I have one brother who moved to Paris a couple of years ago but my two other brothers and the rest of my family, well my immediate family, still live in Dublin. I get back two or three times a year I guess, depending on how busy I am and how much of my money I've spent getting drunk. I've been home a little more often this year than previous years, unfortunately not always under the best of circumstances.
Are you particularly in touch with the Irish MMA scene?
Not enough to be honest. I used to train with John Kavanagh and he has had a few French guys on his shows as has Paddy Mooney from Chum Sut (Thanks John and Paddy) so I've seen a few of the Irish guys fight. I try to keep up with it on the internet a little, but it's not that easy to get videos of fights.
What do you do in France?
Until recently I did various I.T. jobs, hotline and onsite support mostly, to earn a living. About a year ago I started doing some work with Fightsport magazine and they took me on full time earlier this year because we've launched the magazine in the U.S. Now I'm editor in chief of the U.S. version of Fightsport Magazine.
How long have you been in the fight game and how did you first get involved?
I was one of the founder members of SFUK, Jonnie and James asked me if I'd like to write for the site. So I started writing event reports and articles and offending people on the internet. I found that I had a talent for saying the wrong thing to the wrong person back then, it's gotten a little better since then, but I still manage to provoke the odd death threat here and there.
How did you become the manager of the French Top Team?
Because I went to a lot of events in the U.K, French fighters would ask about helping them to get fights. I knew a lot of the promoters because back then the scene was much smaller and SFUK was a pretty big deal at the time. So I became the contact between the UK and France. At first I would just help out anyone and everyone, sometimes it was the fighter who'd ask, other times a promoter would call me looking for fighters. Then after the first Cage Warriors UK vs France James Schiavo and Emmanuel Fernandez asked me to manage them and their students. Both of them are really great guys, humble, dedicated and we all got on really well, so I agreed and we formed the French Top Team.
Do you train with them?
I have trained with them separately and together.. James' club, the Bushido Academie and Emmanuel's, Fernandez Jiu Jitsu and Vale Tudo are in different parts of France, so we can't all train together all the time. We try to organise team training a couple of times a year and the guys travel to help each other train for specific fights. Since James stopped fighting he's taken on the role of coach for the team, and I don't think anyone could do a better job, he also helps out a lot with organisation and picking which fights to accept. He looks after the Japanese side of things, Samy and him have travelled there a few times and they have a manager over there too. Earlier this year we added a Paris club to the French Top Team. Out grappling coach Flavio Santiago has his club here in Paris and he's got some fighters who will be ripping up the scene. Flavio is one of the best grapplers and the best instructors I've ever seen, he comes from Luta Livre, so his style isn't at all like BJJ, we think it's better suited to MMA than BJJ is.
I don't train much these days, every now and then I say I'm gonna go back and I train for a little while but between sorting fights for the team and working for the magazine it's hard to find the time, plus I'm lazy. The magazine allows me more time to find fights for the FTT but when it comes near to deadline I work late a lot so training regularly is pretty much out of the question. I'm also working on a few different projects withFightsport, in the next year you're gonna see it everywhere and not just the magazine, so it takes up a lot of my time.
Could you tell us a bit more about your Martial Arts background?
I started off in Judo when I was about twelve. I was never that good but I've got a few medals back in my Mams house. I went on to try Tae Kwon Do, Aikido and a few other things for a while before I discovered MMA. I guess that was about nine years ago. I didn't know the difference between BJJ and Japanese Jiu Jitsu at the time and started training in Japanese Jiu Jitsu. I was doing much better than I should have been in sparring and I figured something was wrong, then I discovered Gracie Barra in Belfast and made the trip up there to train with Mauricio Gomez and Roger Gracie and with the guys at Chum Sut a couple of times. I trained with J.K. a bit too, not enough to be honest, I was still wasting my time with the Japanese Jiu Jitsu. When I came to France I started training a little more regularly for a while, I've trained in Pancrase and Luta Livre
It's hard to say, there's a lot of really talented fighters in France. I think Samy Schiavo has huge potential, if we can get him the right fights he could be a world beater. The guy's just so talented. There are a lot of young guys too that will explode onto the scene, Karl Amoussou and Bryan Rafiq for example, they're both only twenty years old and have impressed the hell out of everyone. Karl has finished all of his opponents in less than a minute except for one, who was a BJJ black belt, but even then, that fight was great. A real back and forth war that ended in a draw. Bryan lost in the final of the MARS grand prix, but IMO he should have taken the decision. All three of those guys are good enough to be in Pride or the UFC, they're all most likely going to be in the French team for the IFL that's coming next year so you'll all get the chance to see them kicking ass. There are other guys who, like Samy, have been around for a while and are just coming into their own. Bendy Casimir from Haute Tension or Norman Paraisy and Johnny Frachey from BTT France for example. Fightsport are doing all we can to help these guys get the exposure and the fights they need. We're starting to build a structure and a network of contacts, I think you're gonna see a lot more French fighters in bigger shows in the next year or two.
We've got some good young guys in the FTT too, Emmanuel Geay who's fighting Ian Butlin in the first round of the Cage Warriors tournament this weekend for example. He's a great BJJ guy who's coming into his own in MMA. Samuel Judes is another one that's gonna be great. He's a Judo and BJJ guys that's just dying to fight. Hopefully he's gonna be on the next FX3 and you'll all see what I'm talking about.
Apart from members of your own stable, who are your favourite fighters?
In Europe, I love to watch Dan Hardy and David Bielkheden, they're young, talented and exciting fighters. I think they could both go far and if I, or Fightsport, can do anything to push Dan we definitely will. Worldwide, my favourite fighters have always been Jens Pulver and Randy Couture, partly because I love their fights, partly because I've been lucky enough to meet them and they're really nice guys. Fedor is another one, how can you not like Fedor, humble, polite and an absolute killing machine. I don't really watch grappling, but Jacaré is amazing. He's gonna tear up MMA, just wait and see.
Who do you think will be the person to dethrone Fedor Emelianenko in Pride? And how do you think he will loose?
I've got all sorts of theories about the kind of fighter you'd have to be to beat Fedor, people thought it would be Cro-Cop, I wasn't convinced but I thought he had a chance. And Fedor bashed him! Right now, I think it would have to be a great wrestler who's good at subs or more importantly defending subs because Coleman and Randleman both took him down, right? But to be honest, I don't think anyone's gonna beat him anytime soon, and if they do he'll win the rematch. Fedor's thing doesn't seem to be that he's a great striker or a great grappler, it's that he's a great all round fighter and his strategy is impeccable.
In your opinion, what is it that makes the difference between a good fighter and a great fighter?
Desire, if you don't have the desire to be a champion, you won't be out there training 100% To be a great champion you have to sacrifice everything, you can't do that if every little part of you isn't devoted to being a fighter.
What was your biggest personal moment in MMA to date?
Getting the crap beaten out of me by Hassan. If anyone's seen that fight it's hilarious, I got totally manhandled, I looked like absolute crap. I didn't do anything in that fight, I'm not a good fighter, I never was, but I'm better than that.
Who are some of the people you respect the most in Mixed Martial Arts?
In the UK or Europe, guys like Andy Jardine, Andy Lillis and Dougie Truman, I've seen the sacrifices they make for the sport. Lee Hasdell and Ian Freeman, true pioneers. I respect all of the fighters, how can you not? The work they put in is ridiculous. Win or lose, if you train hard and fight hard I'll always respect you. On the world scene, you have to respect what the UFC have done for MMA, it's on TV all over the world now, you get to see fighting regularly thanks to them. The guys from Pride too, they've been hit with so many different problems recently and they just keep fighting through them. Everyone thinks that because they've got problems with a TV deal that they're gonna fold, nonsense, the guys in Pride are so dedicated and work so hard and they know exactly what they're doing. One other guy I really have to respect, Denis Kang, the guy's fiancé died only a couple of months before the G.P. final and he still went in there and tried to win, then he fought through a torn bicep. Jens Pulver too, you hear about that guys childhood and you ask yourself how did he even survive, let alone become a world champion and be such a nice, genuine guy.
You are a well known member of the Cage Warriors forum where you post under the name Droc. Why did you pick the Internet handle?
Man, people think it's got some form of hidden meaning or that I've got some clever reason for picking it. Nope, it's my initials Darragh Ruairi Oisin Creamer.
What are your interests outside of Mixed Martial Arts?
I used to draw, a lot, and I still read all the time, but all of my time is spent on MMA these days. Even when I'm not working, I'm on the internet or I'm watching fights. My girlfriend is amazing, I don't know how she puts up with me.
I love to go out to restaurants, there's one place near my flat that's incredible, the food is unbelievable, but it's not well known, just a small place with a chef and a couple of waitresses. I'm not really a music guy, but I love going to watch bands play traditional Irish music, you always have a good time. A few friends of mine play in my local every week and I always go down and have the Craic. People would be disappointed if I didn't say I like to drink, in fact I love to drink, but I've been doing a lot less of it lately, I just don't have the time anymore. I think that's why that Russian guy drank me under the table, I was out of practice, I'll go off and train properly and get my rematch, or else end up in a ditch somewhere wondering where I am.
If you won the Lottery this weekend, what would the first things that you would do?
Here comes the corny answer ... I'd pay off my parents mortgage and probably send them on holiday. Then, I'd probably open up a full time training centre for MMA and maybe try my hand at running a show. There are a lot of things I'd like to do differently with an MMA show, and lots of guys I'd like to see getting opportunities that they're not getting, so I'd try to sort that out if I could. I'd undoubtedly buy myself a house or something, I'm really bad with money, so it'd be great to not have to worry about paying rent every month. Other than that, I don't think I'd buy much for myself, I'd be more into not having to worry about money than having a sports car and a huge house and all that lark.
Do you have anything that you would like to add for the MMA Universe readers?
I thought for ages about this question so as I didn't say something cheesy, but I think I'm gonna anyway. Keep supporting the sport, and fighters keep your chins up because I honestly think that it's gonna explode and the guys who are dedicated and who really want it are going to be able to live their dream.
Thanks for your time Darragh. All the best of luck to you and your team for the future.
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