Interview With Owen Livesey Ahead of Caged Steel 25

I had the pleasure of speaking with Owen Livesey who prepares to make his MMA debut on April 10th against Liam Gregory. The fight card consists of exciting amateur title fights, a stacked preliminary card with an even better main card. The main event features a Scotland vs England clash as Scott Malone makes his return to the orange mat and takes on a tough Elliot Hoye.

Fight Preview

Owen Livesey is throwing himself straight in at the deep end at Caged Steel 25 with no previous amateur fights in his locker. The 29-year old will be hopeful of a successful MMA debut and there’s no better promotion to showcase your skill-set than on Caged Steel.

Although Owen Livesey has no previous experience competing inside the cage, he has gained impressive grappling credentials from years of hard work, training multiple disciplines from such a young age. Livesey proudly carries his black belt in Judo and brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu close to his chest.

Standing across the cage from Owen Livesey and representing Street Fight Club is Liam Gregory. Gregory is hunting his first win as a professional mixed martial artist after going (0-7) and being finished in all seven bouts.

Liam Gregory is no stranger to the promotion had previously fought at Caged Steel 24, where he suffered a first-round loss at the hands of Marcin Prostko. Does history repeat itself on April 10th?

Interview with Owen Livesey

How are you feeling ahead of your professional debut on April 10th, can you talk to us a little about the decision to turn pro, any nerves or is it just pure excitement?

Owen Livesey – “At the moment just excitement. I’m sure there’ll be some nerves come fight day but looking forward to getting in there and working on what I’ve been doing the last few months.”

I believe this will be your first bout in your MMA career, are you apprehensive at all not previously fighting as an amateur and getting some experience in before jumping straight in at the deep end and why did you make the decision to go pro straight away?

Owen Livesey – “No, not really. I’ve competed all my life in various martial arts. Judo, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I’m used to competing. I’m sure it’s going to be a little different in the cage but I’ve been sparring hard and will be ready come 10th.”

Talk to me about the Carson Gracie Hull, is this your own gym? Talk to me about the birth of the gym, the future of the club and how close you hold that to you?

Owen Livesey – “Yes, Carlson Gracie Hull is my gym. We’ve been open for around 18 months now, although lockdown affected that the last year. The gyms went from strength to strength since opening. We teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Grappling, Judo and Wrestling here. It’s allowed me to quit the job I had now so as soon as we’re allowed to return the gym will be full time and we’ll be kicking on again.”

Being a head coach in a BJJ/wrestling/ grappling club, what is it about the grappling that you love so much in combat and is your grappling credentials something you look to show off from the get-go on April 10th?

Owen Livesey – “Grappling is just always what I have done in different forms, literally from 8 years old. I love grappling and it’ll be something I do for as long as I am able. I’ll be looking to work my striking in this fight though, we’ve been focusing massively on this the last few months, so I’m going to be looking to use this.”

What do you hope to achieve in the sport, do you just hope to take it one fight at a time?

Owen Livesey – “Yes, one fight at a time. I wanna go as far as I can in this sport. I either do something and totally commit or not at all. I’m running my own gym, this allows me to coach what I love and do what I love. It also allows me to be able to train as much as I know you need to, to do well and compete in a sport like MMA. I’ll be giving it 100% and we’ll see where this takes us.”

For the Caged Steel fans that will be tuned in, what can we expect to see from Owen Livesey come fight night?

Owen Livesey – “I’ll be coming out to finish the fight one way or another.”

Your opponent Liam Gregory has failed to win in his MMA career with 11-fights, 7 of those being in the professional circuit and he has been finished in them all. When you look at his past, that must fill you with confidence or is that something you don’t pay attention too?

Owen Livesey – “It actually doesn’t matter to me. This is my first MMA fight ever. I’ll be focussing on myself and doing what I do. After that, what happens will happen.”

Finally, can we get an official fight prediction from you, how do you see the fight playing out at Caged Steel 25 on April 10th?

Owen Livesey – “I’ll finish it, one way or another.”

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All image credits to Caged Steel