Issac Herbert joins us to talk about his highly anticipated pro MMA debut, breaking down his opponent, the preparation that went into fight night, and his vision for the future. From the transition to the professional ranks to the goals he’s setting for himself, Issac gives fans an inside look at what’s next in his career.
If you’re an MMA fan who loves following fighters from the very start of their journey, this is one interview you don’t want to miss!
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[Music] All right, guys. This is Crazy Kev here. I’m here with my man Isaac Herbert. Isaac, how we doing, my man? I’m great, brother. So, uh, Isaac, you got a fight coming up. I mean, talk to us a bit more about this matchup and, uh, everything about that. Yeah, this is going to be my pro debut. Been waiting a long time for this. Been training my entire life and, uh, had a lot of people asking me when I’m going to go pro for the last like I don’t know how many years. So now I’m finally getting to go pro here. Yeah. I mean talk us a bit more about you know kind of like your emotions and everything like that. You know finally getting ready to jump pro and uh you’re only two days out from your fight. I’m pretty calm. Pretty just ready to get going here. I like to uh try and keep it calm. A lot of people like to make this a lot bigger in their head, but really to me it’s just a fight and then uh been doing this my entire life. So I’ve been competing my whole life. It’s just another competition. Yeah. No, that definitely makes sense for sure. And uh like we just uh mentioned before the interview, I mean, you’re just coming back from uh the press conference as well. I mean, what was that whole experience like as well? Yeah, you know, I thought uh I’d be like nervous to talk on the mic, but it’s just, you know, just another day. I’m sitting up there with these guys. They’re asking some dumb questions and I answered. Yeah, man. No, fair enough. Yeah, just doing your job. And uh now with that being said, I mean, with you making your pro debut, I mean, what do you kind of know about your opponent here? Uh I know they’re flying him in from uh British Columbia. He couldn’t really find opponents out there. I couldn’t find opponents here. So, they found two guys. And he’s been on Samurai before. He beat another amateur champion from here. So, they’re coming in. He’s going to try and do the same to me, but we’re going to see. Yeah. Now, uh, with you, uh, jumping over into the pro scene, I mean, has there been anything you might have noticed that’s, uh, been different from the amateur scene, uh, versus the pro scene? No, it is a lot different, but I mean, I’ve been treating all my amateur fights as pro fights, so it’s not that different to me. Uh, my last fight was in a tent on the reserve, and this one’s going to be in the casino. So, it is a lot different, but I’ve been treating my camps and everything as if I’ve been fighting pro since the day I started. So, not really that much different. Yeah. No, it definitely makes sense. Uh when it comes to your camp and uh now speaking about your camp, I mean, who’s maybe some of the uh training partners that are helping you be the best version of you for this fight here? Uh Spart Aman’s a hobby pretty much every day this camp. So, uh he’s getting ready to fight Cheeto here, so he’s been beating me up pretty bad. Uh my buddy Brady Bell, he’s been very good at uh emulating my opponent. So, those are the two main guys. uh my coach uh Rob Revest, he’s been huge part of this camp. We’ve been doing work for years now. So, pretty much those are the three main guys and obviously for us to hobby the the captain. Yeah. Now, with you uh sparring uh those uh training partners or even just like anybody in the gym, I mean, what’s maybe some of the best advice you might have got uh for your pro debut? Uh Aiman pretty much made me a whole plan on how to beat this guy. So I kind of just do exactly as he says. Um mostly just technical advice, but he just said, “You only get one pro debut, you know, just have some fun. Go out there and enjoy it cuz choose to be here, choose to do this stuff.” And it’s really easy to get caught up in the moment and forget to have fun. So yeah, I’m grateful for him. Yeah. No, I definitely think that’s some solid advice. And I definitely think that’s a good way to look at it for sure. And uh now with your pro debut or even just this fight, I mean what’s maybe your prediction for this fight? How do you expect to get this one done here? Well, in the amateurs, I have six fights, six first round finishes, and I plan to keep that the same here. First round. Yeah. No, I mean, what are you kind of doing in the gym uh to get your uh cardio prepared uh in case this one does go past the first round? Doing everything for us has dialed. So, I just uh pretty it’s pretty easy at Tristar because I just look at what the UFC guys are doing and copy that. And uh my coach Rob, he did the the full camps for uh Calvin Kedar and Rob Font their last couple camps. So, he knows exactly what Ferros wants for the highest level guys in the gym. So, we just kind of copy that. Yeah. No, I definitely think that’s important. For sure. And uh now with you only being a couple days out uh from your fight, I mean, how’s kind of the weight cut going as well? It’s perfect, man. I got uh I got the best nutritionist. His name is Luigi Melly. Uh LMP Luigi Melly on Instagram. He’s the best, man. I I uh cut like 30 lbs in the last two months for this one. So, and it hasn’t been that bad. This has been the easiest cut yet. The first time doing a real pro cut. My amateur fights have mostly been same day weigh in, so I can’t really do a real weight cut. But, uh yeah, for this one, smooth sailing. That’s awesome. That’s definitely some good news that everything’s uh smooth sailing like you mentioned. And uh now with your amateurh career, I mean like you mentioned, you have a bunch of finishes uh in your amateur journey. Which one is maybe your favorite fight that you might have had or maybe even your favorite performance? My last one for sure against Shawn Irving. His name uh or uh yeah, Sean Irving. He was number four pound-for-pound kickboxer in Quebec. And uh yeah, he was he was the champion of the the biggest amateur organization here. So I was scheduled to fight him three different times. So I built that one up real big in my head like he was some monster. And it was like I was in camp for him for a year pretty much. And I had two different fights in between. And I was just after those fights I was like, “Yeah, but I got to beat this guy. I got to beat this guy.” And uh I was able to submit him in two minutes. So that one was huge for me. Now, uh, you mentioned that one was booked a couple times. What happened with, uh, that making it fall through a couple times? Yeah. Uh, the first time he pulled out the day before, said he had a staff infection. I was on weight, ready to go. So, that wasn’t great. I got a replacement the week later, got a first round knockout, and then we were booked again later that year, like 3 4 months later, and again, he pulled out. Don’t know why. I think he got a cut or something. So, at this point, I was thinking he was just never going to fight me. So, I got the interim belt and then eventually we finally fought and I got him. Nice. No, it definitely makes sense. And I’m definitely glad you guys were able to finally pull it off. And uh now another thing I was wondering as well, I mean uh with your MMA career, I mean, what are maybe uh some of your goals that you might have currently? Currently, it’s make the weight tomorrow, gain as much weight as possible, and beat this guy up on Friday. Yeah. No, I definitely think that’s important for sure. And uh now with your MMA journey, I mean, how long do you think it can maybe take to uh see you like fighting a bigger promotion like UFC, PFL, or something along those lines? Uh I think I’ll be in the UFC before I’m 25. Nice. No, I definitely think that’s a good outlook. Only like three years away. And uh now another thing I was wondering as well, I mean, what’s uh life kind of like outside the cage? What do you kind of like to do when you’re not in there training and fighting? I don’t do much really. I just kind of train and then rest and then train some more. I got a I just got a new puppy, so it’s trying not to get bit by that guy. He’s been keeping me busy, right? Yeah. I kind of just I’m pretty boring. No, fair enough. Like I said, it’s definitely good you’re uh staying locked in. And uh now your nickname, man, it’s one of my favorites that I’ve had on the show. I mean, talk to us a bit more about how that nickname kind of came about. Uh yeah, my uh my old man gave me that nickname when I was really young. I’ve been competing jiu-jitsu since I was a child, so I mean I think it was just my style of and also just being a kid. My dad called me that and it’s got some Irish roots behind it. We’re Irish, so just kind of fit perfectly. Yeah. No, that’s awesome, man. Like I said, I definitely think it’s a good one for sure. And uh now when it comes to you, I mean, like I said, you’re early in your Ah, there you go. That’s what’s up. Hell yeah. Now you got a bunch of tattoos, man. What’s uh maybe some of your favorite ones that you got? That one’s up there. Okay. Um I got uh pretty sick monkey here. Oh, hell yeah, dude. That is nice. I got little face one here up here. Oh, okay. Yeah, I kind of just uh I’m irresponsible with my money. It’s pretty much where I got those. I hear you. I hear you. So, you plan on getting any more or what? Oh, yeah. As soon as I get this paycheck, probably. Uh, the fight’s at the casino, so I’m probably going to gamble a little bit of it and then go get a tat. Nice. So, so what was it like to get out of that face tattoo, man? Did it hurt at all? I mean, what’s kind of like thought process with that and everything like that? It was actually my my least painful tattoo. Uh, during the lockdown, I uh went to Arizona to train at the MMA lab and uh yeah, I was around Sean Ali a lot, so I was like, I’m going to get a tattoo on my face and he was like, do it. And I was like, all right. So, I got it. That’s awesome. That’s that’s a pretty sick story for for sure. Now, what did you kind of learn uh you know, kind of being around uh Shauna Ali? I’ve been looking up to him for years here. So, it’s pretty it was pretty sick to be around him. I got to train with him a little bit. Yeah, he’s uh you know, he’s unreal. Yeah. No, like I said, he’s definitely one of a kind. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him return soon, man. And uh now, another thing I was uh wondering as well, I mean, how active do you want to kind of be in uh 2026? I mean, how uh how many fights do you kind of expect to have? I plan by the end of 2026 to have at least five fights. Five fights. Wow. So, you’re definitely going to be staying pretty active then. That’s definitely awesome. Yeah. I’m thinking uh this one, one more this year, and then three next year is pretty doable. Yeah. No, I definitely think uh that’s awesome. For sure, man. And uh Isaac, man, it’s been awesome having you on the show. I appreciate you taking the time. I mean, what’s maybe your uh final message out there to the fans watching this video? Uh if you can tune in UFC Fight Pass Samurai 16, the Hooligan Show live. All right, man. Like I said, we’re looking forward to uh seeing you fight and like I said, we’re looking forward to seeing you make your pro debut and uh thank you so much for your time right before your fight, my man. Thank you very much, brother. [Music] [Music]
