We caught up with one of the Team Altai Mountain squad, mixed martual arts master,
Mario Saeed, to discuss combat sports, injuries, family life and of course, Shilajit.
Mario 'Rudeboy' Saeed is a Kurdish MMA star who now lives and trains in Bristol, UK, where he owns the Trojan Free Fighters Gym. He is signed to Cage Warriors where he fights in the super lightweight division with a current record of 13 wins and 5 losses.
Mario is one of the only Kurds in the world to hold a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which took him over 13 years to earn. He has built a reputation as a fierce and passionate competitor in the ring, with an attitude to match, which earned him the nickname 'Rudeboy'. However, once the gloves are off, outside the ring Mario is a true gentleman and family man.
Last year Mario gained extra attention after he was filmed for a documentary whilst training in Phuket, Thailand. The documentary dives deeper into the painful past and personal life which paved the way for the Kurdish Warrior to become the man he is today. Mario Saeed has one of the most heartbreaking yet inspirational stories in professional sport and one which deserves attention. Check out the mini doc below.
Hey Mario, nice to catch up again. What's the nature of your latest injury and how is the recovery going?
Last year I broke my C5 (cervical vertebrae) and then had a knee injury whilst I was in Phuket, Thailand. My latest recovery has gone very well, it took about 8 weeks but I'm fully recovered and I have been back in training now for the past 2 weeks and I'm feeling great.
What are you doing to enhance your recovery?
Basically I had a rehab from training and have been taking Shilajit every morning with lemon and ginger or blend it into a juice. I've been doing daily exercises and cleaned up my diet which has really helped. To be honest the swelling in my knee has been there for a while but since I started taking Shilajit every day the swelling has disappeared, I don't know what it does but it did the trick!
What are your short term goals in regards to MMA?
Win a title!
And long term?
Hopefully to make the UFC one day, I can't wait for that!
What do you do to prepare for a fight both mentally and physically?
What do I do to prepare mentally? Nothing really, I just train HARD. As long I know I am preparing properly, I don't give a f*ck about the fight because I know I can fight, you know, most of the time injuries are the things that slow me down in preparation. If I know I'm fit, I don't think anyone can touch me, that's my honest opinion.
How do you include Shilajit into your everyday routine and what benefits have you felt from taking it?
To be honest I just take it every morning, I mix it in with my drink. You know I feel more energised and it really helped with my recovery and gives me a boost in the morning. Obviously I take other stuff with it too but it is definitely helping me. I'm looking forward to continuing using it and seeing the improvements. Since I've been taking it I can see improvements in my recovery more than anything and overall I feel in very good condition, I don't feel tired or fatigue in the day even during training. It's great! I love it!
When can we expect to see you back in the octagon?
At the moment, two of my boys are getting ready for a fight with Cage Warriors in March, so I'm in the gym helping them prepare for that in the fight camp. For me, I'm planning to be fighting end of March or April, I'm just waiting on confirmation for that so yeah, I'm trying to get the weight down and pick up the intensity in the gym to get ready.
How do you manage the balance between your MMA career and family life?
I have a wife and two beautiful daughters, train full time and have a driving school business as well. I just make time! I never stop, there is no rest with me. Haha, that's probably why I'm injured all the time! Hopefully one day it pays off and I make my kids proud....that's my only mission man.
The YouTube documentary about you is fantastic, really well produced and of course your story is very moving. How did the documentary come about and how did it feel to share such a personal story with the world?
I was in Thailand and I was getting ready for a fight at the fight camp and they were taking pictures and stuff, you know one of the photographer guys is a close friend of mine, and he knew about my story because I told him from day 1 when I met him, and he said to me, I want to make a documentary about you, I don't know how you feel about it but I think it would be great as nobody ever sees that side of you, they only see the 'Rudeboy' side and they think this is not a nice guy, but you are a lovely guy when people meet you so why don't you do it? You know at first I said no, but then he spoke to the owner of the gym in Phuket, called him down and he said look, we've made lots of documentaries for people in the past, Michael Bisping, Chris Cyborg and a few others and he was like, I think this is a great story to tell and and not a lot of people know this about your life, I think you should do it. At first I didn't want to talk about it, I just wanted to forget about those things to be honest, they're not good memories. So, I spoke to my wife about it and she said it's part of who I am, I can't change the past, so, I gotta face it, so I did it. And that's how it came about.
You can follow Mario Saeed on his accounts below and don't forget top use his exclusive promo code for 15% off your next order.
Instagram: Mariosaeedmma
Facebook: Mario Rudeboy Saeed
TikTok: Mariosaeedmma
Twitter: Mariorudeboy7
Website: www.mariosaeedmma.com
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