21-year-old bantamweight prospect hailing out of Western Sydney, Trent ‘Nino Loco’ Girdham has turned into a globetrotter of sorts in the last couple of years. Since leaving Australia to train out at the world famous Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, he has competed in India, South Korea, China, and Japan to name a couple of locales.
His next trip will take him back to Abu Dhabi where he takes on Hamza Bougamza at UAE Warriors 2 on July 5.
JHK of Kumite TV spoke with ‘Nino Loco’ (10-2) via the wonderful technology of Skype to discuss his recent knockout victory over gritty veteran Fabio Mello, filtering through his surroundings the last few years to figure out the best setting, stepping outside of MMA to elevate his striking, and more.
Full video interview down below.
Notable excerpts from the interview:
JHK: “Let’s go back to the losses you had in 2018. Coming off those losses, was it difficult to get back in there and get your mind right and get that win in your next fight?”
Trent Girdham: “It was good and bad. The good was I realized that a lot of people don’t have my back. You know, I’m 20 years old, everyone is like UFC this, UFC that, big shows. I just wanted to test myself against people outside the UFC. I wanted to build my record so the losses were good. But I think 9 out of 10 times I can beat those guys. I just [had] mental lapses. Not training right. Rany [Saadeh] was short notice. No excuses.”
JHK: “After the losses you got a good win [in China]. Then you stepped outside of MMA and took a couple of fights in Shootboxing and kickboxing. How did those two fights outside of MMA improve your overall skill set?”
Trent Girdham: “I think just confidence in my striking. I always been a striker but when I fought Rany [Saadeh] I shot. I don’t really go for takedowns. I like to keep the fight standing. Same thing for Kyle Reyes. I’m trying grapple with brown belts when I’m a purple belt. And I know I’m better on the feet.”
JHK: “After you beat Fabio Mello, you stated that you are interested in fighting for the [bantamweight] title. What is the status on that?”
Trent Girdham: “Well, at first, I thought I was going to fight for the belt straightaway. Guys with good records were saying no. Hamza [Bougamza] is standing up. That is the Muay Thai mentality. He doesn’t care about his record. He just wants to get in there and fight so I’m pretty happy. I get in there and win this fight. I’m pretty sure in September I will be fighting for the title. I don’t know who yet but anyway, I don’t mind.”
