When Mulwaree Muay Thai head instructor, Darcy Sullivan makes his first MMA appearance in nearly two years at Storm Damage 13 next month, he promises to be a different kind of fighter.
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In the past, Sullivan has relied on his standup ability and power to try to finish fights quickly. This mindset, he said, also stemmed from a lack of trust in his fitness.
But during his preparations over the last three months, fitness has been his primary focus, and Sullivan now feels confident he can fight the full three rounds if necessary.
"In the past, my problem has always been my fitness," Sullivan said.
"I feel like I'm usually more skilled than my opponents, but my cardio has let me down a little bit.
"My focus is having that really good cardio right from the start, so I'm really confident that I won't leave anything behind and put it all out there."
To that end, Sullivan runs every morning and tracks his progress. This dedication to fitness, along with a more structured training camp, has left him confident that this is the best preparation he has had in his career.
"It should actually be the best preparations I've had for a fight," Sullivan said.
"Nearly all of my fights in the past, I've coached myself. This time, I've got a proper team behind me, I've got a coach who's going to be in my corner on the night.
"No injuries going into this fight either, nearly every fight I've had before I've been injured."
Also helping Sullivan is a drop in weight class. In the past, he has fought in divisions as high as middleweight (84kg limit), which, as a smaller man, has usually left him with a significant height and reach disadvantage.
This time, he is fighting in the featherweight division, where Sullivan feels he will have the edge in both size and power.
"I know I'm a pretty small guy, so trying to pick guys like that up, have their weight on top of me was hard," he said.
"Now I'm fighting at 65 kilos, which is 20 kilos difference, should be a lot easier.
"At this weight, I feel so much more comfortable, I feel quicker, fitter, flexible, and that's just myself. My opponent is way smaller, their reach is less than what I'm used to, I'll be a bit of a giant in this weight class."
The only hiccup so far in the lead-up to the fight has been a change of opponent. Sullivan was initially slated to fight Stylianos Karasavvidis, who ended up pulling out of the bout roughly a fortnight ago.
In his stead, Sullivan will take on John Hardy, who fights out of Synergy MMA in Canberra.
A change of opponent this late might be daunting for some fighters, but Sullivan is focused on his own plan and not who is standing across the cage.
He is also buoyed by a newfound confidence in his all-round skills. Due to his Muay Thai background, Sullivan has sought to keep fights standing in the past.
However, he has focused with intent on his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training, and even won a BJJ tournament in Sydney in early 2020.
"I'm quite confident, I've been working on my jiu jitsu and wrestling more so since then," Sullivan said.
"I'm very comfortable no matter where the fight goes, in fact I'd go so far as to say I'm probably more comfortable if it goes to grappling these days."
Regardless of which area of MMA in which the fight takes place, Sullivan will look for a finish. The only thing that has not changed about his preparation for this fight is his aggressive mindset, and he is going in to next month's bout with the intent to either tap out or knock out Hardy.
The Storm Damage 13 card will take place on Saturday, April 17, at the Tuggeranong Basketball Stadium.
For more information, visit the Storm Damage Facebook page.
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