Kieran Tierney may be more accustomed to walking out at the Emirates or Celtic Park but next weekend, there may be quite a change of scenery for the left-back.
On Saturday, MMA fighter Chris Bungard will face Kurdish fighter Mario Saaed at Wembley Arena at Bellator London and he is planning on having Arsenal defender accompany him to the ring.
“He is coming to the fight,” said Bungard about Tierney.
“I think I’m going to get him to walk out with me, that’ll be good.”
The pair know each other through their local football team in Holytown, The Bullfrog, and Bungard is looking forward to having the Scotland star supporting him on Saturday.
But his priority is notching up a win against Saaed.
“I’d say this is the most confident I’ve felt ahead of any of my fights,” the 30-year-old said.
“I feel like this is a good match-up for me. He’s a good wrestler but he tires pretty easily if he doesn’t get his own way.
“I’m better than him in every aspect and that’s why I’ll get the win. I’ll put him away in either the first or the second round. One and done for me, that’s what I’m looking at.
“I do like finishing early – you don’t get paid for going overtime.”
Bungard is particularly keen to get the win after falling to defeat in his last outing, to Charlie Leary in London in June. It was only the fifth loss of his career but it was, he reveals, easier to rationalise than some of his previous defeats as he knows exactly where he made mistakes in his preparation.
The lightweight left himself in the unenviable position of having to lose two stone in the final few days before his fight, leaving himself drained when he took to the ring. He is certain that he has not made the same mistake this time around though.
“Last fight, it was tough because it was the biggest show I’d fought on but it was actually easy to accept the defeat because I know exactly where I went wrong. So that makes it easier to learn from and change going forward,” he said.
“Some people can’t lose two stone in a year and I did it in 5 or 6 days. That was really tough and when I went into the fight, I was so weak and I really wasn’t myself. So because I know where I went wrong, it’s easy to change it. Now I’m looking forward to putting it right and giving my fans the performance they deserve.”
As with most combat sports, mindset is everything, with self-belief as important as any physical characteristics. However, Bungard is honest enough to admit that seeds of doubt does, occasionally, surface. That is not always a bad thing in his opinion though.
“Doubt always creeps in, that happens in any area of your life I think,” he said.
“But that’s good – a bit of doubt can give you that energy and that drive that you need. So I do feel it sometimes but it’s down to you to control it and use it in positive ways.”
If Bungard is in any need of tips on how to expunge doubt from his mind, he need look no further than Conor McGregor, the UFC superstar who Bungard has trained with.
The Irishman is in a league of his own when it comes to self-promotion but Bungard is reluctant to try to replicate McGregor.
“Conor’s mindset is totally different from everyone else’s – he changed the game for all MMA fighters. He brought a lot more eyes to our sport so we all need to thank him for that,” said Bungard.
“When you’re in the gym with him, he’s always approachable – you can speak to him about anything and he gives you tips and is happy to give you his time.
"I’m not cocky but you should always be confident. If you’re not confident about winning every fight, you’re in the wrong game.
"But Conor is Conor – I don’t like it when people try to be like him too much, I think you should always be yourself and people will love you more for that. I don’t like people being fake but I think all fighters need a bit of confidence.”
To date, all of Bungard’s Bellator fights have been down south but he is desperate to bring a show to his home country. And if it can be done, he is in no doubt he could attract a sizeable crowd.
“We’re talking abut bringing it up to Scotland – I need to win this fight and then we’ll hopefully bring it to the Hydro,” he said.
“I think it could do really well if it came to the Hydro – I’ve got a big fan base so it’s be brilliant. I’d love that – there’d be plenty of Celtic fans there so it’s be great.”
Tickets to watch Chris Bungard in action at Bellator London are on sale and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk and Bellator.com
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