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I’m hitting the gym in a bid to make myself a better fighter - but it’s not what you think!

With my fight with Tom Breese confirmed for the 3 Arena on October 24, I’m fully back training now.

However I’ve added a few different things to my regime.

Gymnastics is something I’ve never done before due to time constraints but something I’ve always wanted to do.

When I was starting off the competitor I looked up to was Georges St-Pierre, a Canadian fighter.

(Image: Ferrey/Zuffa LLC)

He was the ultimate pro in how he trained and he did a lot of gymnastic work to add more flexibility and power to his game.

He’s the only one I’ve heard of who has done it and now that I’m in Grange Gymnastics in Santry twice a week, I’m finding it’s already really benefiting my Martial Arts training.

So I’m doing the whole shebang.

They have everything - vault, horse, rings, even some floor work, but I’m just starting off at that and going slow...and not doing it to music. Not yet!

It’s completely new and it has reinvigorated me.

Pound for pound gymnasts are the most powerful athletes - to be able to jump, squat, back flip, and all done in quick succession, it’s incredibly hard work.

But not only that, I’ve also returned to sprinting, something I used to do but got tired of, mainly because of the Irish winters.

I’m doing sprint sessions at Santry Stadium under the watchful eye of Irish Strength Institute coaches and my physio.

You get tired of doing the same things. But not only that, it’s going to add to my game.

Actually it’s going to change my game in Martial Arts - with the extra power in my legs, it’s going to be very hard for an opponent to deal with my explosiveness.

Ronda ready to make history

(Image: Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Ronda Rousey is a phenomenon.

She’s quickly becoming one of the most dominant athletes of all time and could easily be the biggest female sports star in the US.

They recently put together all of her pro fights and I don’t think she’s been in the Octagon for more than 25 minutes. And she’s had a lot of fights.

It seems everyone has taken notice. Ronda’s a massive mainstream star now, a great ambassador for the UFC.

She’s a former Olympic bronze medallist in Judo and, outside the Octagon, is very intelligent and articulate.

Hollywood has also come knocking - she’s featured in the Fast and the Furious and the Entourage movie, and is going to play herself in a bio-pic.

(Image: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

There’s talk of her and Conor McGregor being a part of the biggest UFC show ever in the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium which holds 100,000 people.

That would be absolutely incredible, but it’s just talk at the moment.

People says there’s a danger of her becoming too dominant but I would compare it Mike Tyson’s rule in boxing in the Nineties when he was in his prime.

Tyson would steamroll through someone in 60 seconds too but I think it’s part of the appeal, seeing someone being so dominant. It’s rare that you see it in any sport.

She’s now 28 and I don’t see Ronda going on beyond another one or two years. I predict she’ll want to retire undefeated, a genuine legend.

(Image: WireImage)

If there is someone out there to take her on it could be Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino, an incredible fighter from Brazil who is the second best female fighter in the world but who competes at the weight above Ronda.

I know the UFC would like to see that fight but Justine’s muscle mass means it would be difficult for her to come down a weight, and Ronda is reluctant to move up.

They’re trying to meet in the middle and it would be amazing if it happened.

Palhares must submit to rules

Rousimar Palhares is a great fighter, one of the best Martial Arts grapplers around.

He fought at my weight, welterweight, in the UFC until he was released from his contract three years ago.

The reason? He held on to a leg-lock subsmission too long. He’s never learned his lesson.

Palhares has continually committed one of the worst offences in this game because when someone taps, you immediately let go of a submission hold - or you wait until the referee sees the submission and then do it immediately.

Fighting is a respect based sport and Palhares was at it again in a World Series of Fighting (WSOF) bout in Vegas on Saturday.

The Brazilian was defending his title but, despite having been suspended a few times, he held on too long again when the ref came in to stop it.

It was really dirty and I’m glad the WSOF have now stripped him of his title as a punishment. It presents a bad image.