Chris Fields: “The pain was so bad I literally dropped to my knees”

A back injury has forced former Cage Warriors middleweight champion Chris ‘The Killing’ Fields out of his scheduled bout with Christopher Jacquelin. The middleweight pair were set for action this weekend in Birmingham at BAMMA 21.

Fields claimed that injury had taken place in wrestling training on Saturday in SBGi’s Naas Road gym having only returned from Mexico on Thursday where he was helping teammate Cathal Pendred prepare for UFC 188. Given the lengths that his physio has gone to in the past to get him fighting fit, Fields claimed there was no discussion as to whether he would be cleared to compete this time around – a decision he fully accepts.

“My physio pulled me from the fight yesterday, I had a feeling he would because I’ve had a few issues with my back lately,” explained the Dubliner. “I felt something on Saturday when I was wrestling, I went for a pick while my posture was being held down. I felt something go and the pain was so bad I literally dropped to my knees and I had to stay there for a few minutes.

“So I went to the physio on Sunday and he assessed me. He rang me yesterday but there wasn’t much of a discussion about whether I wanted to fight or not, he already had to letter typed up for BAMMA.

“This is the same physio I’ve been using for years so I really trust his opinion. This is the guy that came home during a family holiday just to give me an adjustment so I would be able to go to the States for TUF. I always know with Shay, if he tells me that he could have me in any decent shape I know I’m good to go, but that just isn’t the case this time. There is no possible way of me doing it.”

To add to his disappointment, Fields claimed that he had enjoyed a perfect training camp while living it up in ‘Pendo’s Palace’ in Metepec with Pendred.

“I was pretty pissed off about the whole thing yesterday. I was talking to Dave Mullins, the guy who helps me with the mental side of things, and he told me to just focus on getting back, it’s looking likely that I won’t be able to compete until September.

“He said that I’ll have the benefit of having three full camps by then. I was never really able to show the improvements I made before the Kone fight, there was the camp I’m just back from in Mexico and then when I’m fit again we’ll have another camp before I get back in there. It’s a good way of looking at it.

“I was stricter with myself than I’ve ever been in Mexico. I did everything perfectly while I was over there. As well as the diet, my training felt perfect – I couldn’t have been better. Back in the day I used to never get injured and all I did was eat shit food up until two weeks before the fight and then I’d have to drop a massive amount of weight. It worked for me! Different strokes for different folks, I suppose,” he laughed.

It will be three weeks before Fields will be cleared for any kind of physical exertion at all. However, SBG middleweight is hopeful to be back in action by September.

“It’s going to be three weeks before I can get back to wrestling and it will probably be four before I can do anything at a decent level again. At the moment I can’t even bend down to pick something up, but in a week and a half I might be able to start doing a small bit of shadow boxing or something, we’ll have to wait and see.

“Hopefully I’ll be into a camp in July and then I should be in fighting shape by the time September comes around.”

@PetesyCarroll