“She tells me all the time that she sees the growth and the change in me, my attitude, and just the way I live my life day to day,” said Pogues of his biggest fan. “So she sees it and my old teammates and coaches are starting to see the progress. I’m proud of the changes that I made for myself. And that means more to me than any win or anything. When I come to the cage, I’m winning a lot of battles mentally that I used to lose. So now, as I’m winning them or I’m overcoming them, it just makes it much more sweeter that I get to show it in the cage.”
But is mom decked out in UFC gear all the time these days?
Pogues laughs.
“She comes to the PI, sees all the UFC fighters, ‘Take a picture with me, my son’s in the UFC.’ It’s a proud moment I can enjoy with my mom because she’s been there from the beginning and it’s one of those promises I made to her, so I’m glad I got to stick to my side and actually get it done.
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I love the smile on the face. I know my mom always been proud of me, but I’m setting the tone for my family, for my friends, for people in my city. And I’m the first one to do it, so I’m setting a bar. So I hope everybody else can raise it and hopefully surpass me, but I’ll be the first one to do it.”
Joining the UFC roster, getting a win in the big show and now traveling to England for a fight, it’s all great stuff for a fighter, but, as you can tell, this is more than a fight story. It’s a life story, and that’s really what Pogues wants anyone in the struggle to take away from it. There are no dead ends if you refuse to be stopped. Of course, it’s not easy, but nothing good is.
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“It is difficult (to change), but one thing I know I didn’t want to be is in the space I was mentally,” he said. “And that’s the biggest thing that I could say I didn’t like. It was too uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to be there and I just didn’t want to be in that position anymore. So making those changes, it’s scary. But do you want to still stay in this situation or do you want it to change? Growth is scary, growth hurts, it’s uncomfortable. But if you keep putting yourself in those positions and trying new things, you start to see the outcomes of it. So just challenge yourself, and win these battles for yourself. It’s you against the world. And honestly, some of these little things, you start to see, oh man, this is easier, this is not too bad.”
Like getting booed by a packed arena full of Mick Parkin fans on Saturday?
“I’ve been doubted, I’ve been last picked my whole life, so this is nothing new going into enemy territory,” he said. “It’s going to be perfect.”
