“It’s the doctor’s job to make sure I can go, not Greg’s”
By Vigilante MMA
Much has been made of Greg Jackson’s corner work in last weekend’s MFC welterweight title fight between Nathan Coy and Jackson protégé Ryan McGillivray. made its way around the cyber world via Facebook, Twitter and several other MMA sites. Today, we went straight to the source and spoke with Ryan McGillivray.
Fans watching the MFC broadcast saw what many considered an irresponsible neglect for McGillivray’s safety. No so fast, says The Kid. “It’s kind of upsetting how down everyone is on Greg,” he told VigilanteMMA.com. “There’s a couple reasons why I have the corner: obviously for strategy; and to motivate you in case things aren’t going well. In no way do I think my corner is there to stop a fight,” he continued. “I think it’s the doctor’s job to make sure I can go, not Greg’s.”
He also explained that although he’s been training in New Mexico for a while now, it was Jackson’s first time cornering him. That also could have been a factor in how Jackson chose to motivate him. “He didn’t know how I handled stress or being cut. He really didn’t know if I was hurt or tired. I think people should give him the benefit of the doubt for that too.”
After the third round, things got tricky. That’s when everyone watching at home thought McGillivray was out on his feet—or his stool—while Jackson goaded him to continue. Again, that’s not necessarily the case, according to Ryan. “I don’t remember (that point) of the fight,” he told us. “But if you asked me this second if I wanted to continue in the 4th round, I would say yes absolutely. It’s not in me to quit so I was ready to go out there.”
Professional fighters know their bodies and minds will be pushed to its limits every time they enter the cage or ring. McGillivray reaffirmed that. “People have to understand that we put ourselves in this position of being hurt and being injured,” he recognized. “People have to understand that we’re ok with that, and we’ve kind of accepted that.”
As fans sat and witnessed the fight—and the subsequent encouragement from Jackson—it may have looked worse than it was, according to McGillivray, who admitted he “unfortunately” watched a replay of the fight when he got home. “It looked bad and I definitely wasn’t feeling good,” he acknowledged, “but as a fighter I’m willing to fight through that. It looked bad, but I’m ok with it.”
And in case there was ever a question, McGillivray will continue training at Jackson’s as soon as he’s back to full strength. He told us how much he enjoys working with his teammates and coaches in New Mexico and considered it an honor to have Jackson in his corner on Friday and “I’d be privileged and honored to have him come out for me again.”
“Everyone’s open to having their own (opinions) but I just wanted to let everyone know that I have no ill will and I’m fine.”
