Recently, our sister site MMA Mania released the first part of a mini-documentary focusing on Andrew Richardson’s professional MMA debut.
Richardson — a New Jersey native — is an established part of the MMA Mania writing team and also a part of Team Alpha Male.
In addition to being filmed for the documentary, Richardson’s fight streamed live on MMA Mania’s Facebook page.
“Participating in the doc didn’t really have an impact (on my preparation), although streaming it live on Mania’s Facebook did make it feel like I was fighting for a much larger audience,” Richardson said. “Any additional nerves came more from not knowing much about my potential opponents.”
Filmmaker Case Harts also noted Richardson’s calm in what would be an incredibly stressful situation for most.
“(I was surprised by) how calm he was,” Harts said. “Nothing really shook him despite all the changes and mysteries of the fight. We didn’t see who he was fighting until five minutes before the fight.”
Richardson’s opponent didn’t show up to the weigh-in, which, while not unexpected, didn’t help with the nerves.
“(It was) mildly frustrating but also fairly expected,” he said. “Seeing your opponent definitely has a calming element that I would have liked, but I also knew going in there was a fair chance he wouldn’t be there.”
You can see the featherweight check in at 141 pounds — and even shop for a few post-fight treats — in the video.
While following Richardson around and filming, Harts got to see a side of preparation most MMA fans don’t get to see, the build up to the first time a person steps in the cage.
“He got a little more reserved,” Harts said. “That was mostly just on fight day. Even then he was eating and laughing the whole time. You could tell once his hands were wrapped he had flipped a switch for his opponent. He went into fight mode.”
Richardson does fighter breakdowns for MMA Mania, something he believes will be a benefit as he moves forward in his career.
“I already scout fighters for Team Alpha Male members on a fairly regular basis,” Richardson said. “I look for different things — I try to convey an understanding of a fighter’s general strategy and approach in breakdowns, whereas the scouting is more focused on minor habits and flaws that can provide opportunities for my team mates — but all the film studying for breakdowns can only help my own career.
“A big goal for me is to never be out-smarted in the cage, that’s a rare factor that you actually have control over in MMA.”
The documentary is a three-part series with the second part coming out the week of May 7 and the final part releasing the week of May 14. You can watch part one above and follow Case Harts and Andrew Richardson on Twitter.
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