Liam Harrison shares his secret to calming his nerves before a fight

ONE bantamweight Muay Thai fighter Liam Harrison has been competing professionally since the 90s. Read that again. 'The Hitman' has been lacing up the gloves way before social media and smartphones were ever conceived.

That massive amount of experience in high-stress combat environments can truly train someone on how to handle their nerves.

In a recent video released on his Instagram, Liam Harrison shared his secret on how to calm his nerves before a fight.

"Get asked this a lot about controlling nerves and fear when you fight…. I don’t know who needs to hear this today but I hope it helps someone out 👊🏻"

In the video, Liam Harrison said:

"It comes down to you and your mindset. You have to be able to control your nerves. Control the fear. Control any anxieties and harvest them in the right way to affect the outcome of the fight n your favor."

He continued:

"I don't picture the fight. I picture after the fight. I visualize after the fight. I visualize what it feels like to win. I visualize what it's gonna feel like after the fight when everyone's congratulating me and stuff like that. I realized that's one good way to try and control your nerves a little bit."

Liam Harrison, who now fights in ONE Championship, proves here that fighters are not immune to nerves, fear and anxiety. They're human after all. They do feel these things not out of fear of their opponents, but out of fear of failure.

What they have mastered, however, is how to calm the inevitable storm that rages inside themselves every time they enter the ring. To silence and control the beast in their favor. This is a valuable lesson for any up-and-coming fighter out there.

---

Liam Harrison speaks about the days when he fought professionally as a minor

As it turns out, Liam Harrison has been handling his nerves like a pro since he was a little boy in Leeds, England.

In another clip he uploaded on Instagram, 'The Hitman' spoke with fellow UK fighter Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett about the time he fought world champions when he was just 15 years old:

Harrison said:

"When I was 15, I fought this kid who was 29 and he was kickboxing world champion. He never fought Thai boxinig though. He didn't know about leg kicks. I stopped him in round 2 with leg kicks."

He continued:

"We went upstairs to the bar and he went, 'I'll buy you a beer.' I went, 'I''ll have a pint.' And they woudn't serve me at the bar 'cause I have no ID. He went, 'How old are you?' I went, 'I'm 15.' Mate, he had a tear rolling down his face. He went, 'I can't show my face anymore around here.' I went, 'Mate, don't worry, everyone thinks I'm 18 or something. Don't worry about it mate.' [laughs]"

With so much experience in combat and with years and years of training under his belt, even an army tank pointing in his direction won't shake Liam Harrison's nerves.

Also, as for his opponent, we say to him: there's no shame in losing to a future multi-time world champion. Even if he's half your age.