The Fighting Irish: Neil Seery

As part of our MMA coverage JOE will be taking a look at some of the big names in Irish MMA – kicking off with a fighter profile of Dubliner Neil Seery.

Name: Neil Seery

Club: Team Ryano, Baldoyle, Dublin

Fighting Weight: Bantamweight

Fighters are often judged on their won-lost records and while for the most part that’s OK, sometimes the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Look at BJ Penn’s record – a lightweight with 15 wins and seven losses. What the numbers won’t tell you is he lost once to a heavyweight and to welterweights three times. He also won at middleweight twice.

Likewise, if you judged 31-year-old Irish MMA fighter Neil Seery solely on his 7-7 record it would be equally unfair. The numbers won’t tell you he is one of Ireland’s most experienced and successful MMA fighters on the domestic and international circuit.

Neil has fought in Ireland, the UK and Lithuania and shared fight cards with MMA veterans like Tom Watson, Seth Petruzelli and Rich Clementi. All his wins have been finishes – TKO, KO or submission and he has fought in front of crowds in excess of 5,000. But more importantly, the numbers don’t show you that Seery has won two championship belts in different weight classes.

Seery had over 10 years combat sports experience – in karate, boxing and kick-boxing – by the time he made his pro MMA debut at 25. Having changed clubs a number of times it was suggested a move across Dublin’s north side to Baldoyle to join up with Andy Ryan at Team Ryano would help him realise his potential as a fighter.

Seery fought in the Bushido Lithuania Heroes event in front of approximately 5,000 people – and secured an armbar victory in under 30 seconds without taking any damage.

Andy Ryan, judo black belt, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt and Irish MMA pioneer has more to offer than most MMA coaches in Ireland and Neil is quick to acknowledge the importance of his chosen gym. “It’s everything,” says Seery. “It’s so important. I’d have never got this far if I hadn’t teamed up with Andy.”

In exchange for good coaching and guidance, Seery brings a solid work ethic to the Team Ryano gym. Anyone who spars, rolls or grapples with Neil knows they have to go full bore or deal with the consequences for whatever drill they may be doing. Fight training starts in earnest eight to 10 weeks out depending on prior fitness. He’ll train six days a week with Thursdays off.

Each day is an hour swimming after work followed by two-and-a-half hours of boxing, grappling, MMA fight drills, strength and conditioning work. As with other amateur athletes, training runs alongside work and personal demands which in Seery’s case means “running a warehouse from 6.30am till 2.30pm, paying a mortgage and looking after my partner, three kids and two dogs".

The last 12 months have been difficult for the fighter – he’s had five fights cancelled for one reason or another. "2010 has basically been one big training camp," he points out. Since his pro debut in 2005, Neil fought three times in 2007 with his year ending in June when a bout finished with him fighting two-and-a-half rounds with a blown cruciate knee ligament. Once recovered, he took to the cage four times in 2008 and five times in 2009.

So far Seery’s May appearance at BAMMA 3, the promotion that rose out of the ashes of Cage Rage, is his only fight this year.  His bid to keep fighting against better fighters has often meant having to look abroad for suitable bouts.

Seery’s record supports the claim that he looks to fight the best available – he won his seventh fight for the UFR (Ultimate Fighting Revolution) 61 kilogram Irish title by TKO in the second round. This was followed up three fights later by claiming the British 63 kilogram championship with his second victory in the Extreme Brawl promotion in London in September 2009. The title wins then spring-boarded Neil into fights in the bigger promotions across Europe.

In November 2009 Seery fought in the Bushido Lithuania Heroes event in front of approximately 5,000 people – and secured an armbar victory in under 30 seconds without taking any damage. He then fought on the Cage Wars Nightmare card two weeks later in front of a similar sized crowd at the Kings Hall in Belfast.

Despite dominating with ground and pound through the first round and being clearly on top, Neil got caught in a knee-bar to lose early in the second. Then came some enforced inactivity as fights fell off until a hard fought decision loss at BAMMA 3 in May at the LG Arena, Birmingham, in front of a crowd of over 5,000.

Up next for Seery is a 13 November battle against up-and-comer Damian Rooney in Belfast on the Cage Contenders card. True to form, Neil has a challenging opponent. Rooney has spent some time training at UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad. Win, lose or draw Neil, with the full support from his family, will continue training and fighting. He’s not worried about Rooney’s record of 7-1, as we know the numbers don’t tell you everything.

Fergus Ryan