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Tobias Harila interview: A peek into the mind of Sweden’s knockout king
Tobias Harila. Photo: Stev Bonhage
On Saturday April 29, Swedish knockout king Tobias ”Bad Intention” Harila returns to Cage Warriors for another red-hot fight.
Fresh from a stoppage win, the Swede will take on the undefeated featherweight prospect Ryan Shelley on his home turf in Dublin, Ireland.
In an openhearted interview with independent Swedish MMA reporter Ashah Tafari, exclusively published on Frontkick, Harila talks about the upcoming bout, his new mindset and life as a fighter.
”It will be so cool to compete in Ireland against an Irish fighter. I’m really looking forward to it,” Harila says. ”I watched a bit of his fighting and he’s good, he looks kind of tactical and defensive. But I will focus on keeping my flow and just smash his head in. Cold and aggressive. If he tries to take me down I will just work to get up and hurt him”
Tobias Harila completely stole the show
In his last outing, on New Year’s Eve in London, ”Bad Intention” stole the show as he brutally stopped Damon Wilson at Cage Warriors 148.
”I was in a flow, it was so fucking nice. I felt a bit nervous, but in a good way. I played down the fight, I was thinking ’It’s just a fight, I’m just going in there and finishing the guy’. I didn’t think about losing or winning. I was going to put a beating on this guy, and be at my best.”
”I was nervous but I thought ’Fuck it, it’s just a fight, what do I have to be afraid of?’. When you have that mindset it’s easier. You’re like ’What’s the fucking problem? I’m going to fight and I even get paid for it. That’s a good thing!'”
Are you always nervous when you fight at your best?
”Yeah, I’m always fucking nervous, but you have to be nervous in the right way. You have to be excited, fighting is supposed to be fun, you know.”
If Harila defeats the undefeated Ryan Shelley on Saturday, he puts himself in a good position to fight for the Cage Warriors featherweight strap in a not too distant future.
Do you ever think about the title picture and a potential fight against the champ Paul Hughes?
”I honestly believe that the American I faced in my last fight [Damon Wilson] is on the same level as Paul Hughes and Jordan Vucenic. I’m positive that I can beat all these guys in Cage Warriors and I’m very curious to test myself against them.”
”I don’t know exactly how good Paul Hughes and the boys are. I just want to keep winning and get to the next step. Next, next, next. The dream scenario for 2023 would be to beat them all and take this fucking Cage Warriors title.”
Doesn’t think about his record anymore
As Tobias Harila entered the cage on New Year’s Eve, he was coming from a tough loss, where he suffered a broken cheekbone. He knew that it was easy to get stuck in a negative mode where he would think too much about losing.
”If you think too much about that stuff, it’s hard to find the right vibe, you get a bit anxious, instead of being excited, you know? I just have to find that feeling inside me, and when I do, everything feels good and usually perform fucking good.”
His pro record is something he doesn’t think much about at this point of the career.
”I don’t give a shit about that stuff. From now on I just want to keep my focus, step into the cage, deliver, fight a fucking good fight, and if I lose, who the fuck cares?”
Photo: Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors
”I am really fucking good at putting people’s lights out”
After putting together a string of massive knockouts and having fights where he felt invincible, Tobias Harila realised that he might have started to feel a bit too confident.
Everything just felt too easy.
”I was just going to get into the cage to do my thing. That’s what happened when I faced William Gomis in 2021. I just thought, ’I’m the king, I perform so fucking good, I will run through this guy’. But that didn’t happen and it felt like a massive setback, things got tough after that.”
Harila made one big change in his approach to fighting lately. A change that makes the 29-year-old look forward to all the challenges ahead.
”It’s my mindset. I focus more on myself and not so much on my opponent. I don’t think about winning or losing that much anymore. In the past I’ve been like ’If I win this fight I might get a UFC contract’. Nowadays I just focus on myself to be the absolute best fucking fighter I can be. Not putting any unnecessary pressure on myself.”
”I want to be the guy who delivers crazy fucking performances every time. I can’t say that I will put together a winning streak, but I will put togehter a string of fucking great performances. There’s no way around it – I am really fucking good at putting people’s lights out.”
Mentality and mindset is the key
During the interview, the importance of having the right mentality is something that Harila keeps coming back to.
”I feel like I’m back in the right mindset before a fight. I have to be mentally set for a 15 minute war. Then of course, a win is always preferable, but it’s more about the fight. This year I want to focus on the simple things. My own performance.”
Is this a new way of thinking for you?
”I don’t really know, it’s hard to say. I try to get back to the simple way of seeing things, that I’m just going in there and fighting. I feel it was a bit more like that in the past. I didn’t know that much back then, it was more like ’Yeah let’s try this, I don’t know if I can beat these guys but I will do my best. It’s a fist fight, so you have to fight if you don’t want to get hurt.’ Try to put these motherfuckers to sleep.”
Harila claims his approach to fighting changed a bit when he got to a higher level, with more money and more pressure and a possibility to create a better future for himself.
”It was easier in the past. I’m trying to find my way back to that feeling. It’s still about fighting, I’m going to go in there and kick their asses and keep evolving as a fighter and a human being.”
Tobias Harila. Photo: Stev Bonhage
The tough Swedish derby
In July last year, Harila clashed with fellow Swedish featherweight Samuel Bark in a highly anticipated derby at Cage Warriors 141.
Harila was initially scheduled to fight former title contender James Hendin, however, as Hendin withdrew due to injury, Bark stepped in on short notice and eventually won via a second-round TKO.
”I set up traps inside my own head ahead of the fight. Since my teammate Alexander Lööf had already defeated Samuel by decision, I felt like I had to knock him out in the first round, or it wouldn’t look good,” Harila says with a laugh.
”People had expectations of me to beat him easily and play with him. Deep down – as a person who understands MMA and fighting – I felt like Bark was a very dangerous opponent. But still, it somehow affects you and puts pressure on you like ’I have to make this look easy’. Do you understand?”
I imagine it was very tough to lose against Samuel Bark?
”It was. You know, I could have handled the loss better if I fought my heart out in a fucking war, like I should have done. What bothers me is that I performed so badly.”
Even though he’s not happy about his performance in the Swedish derby, he still came out with a newfound respect for his opponent.
”What I like about Samuel is that no matter how much trash he talked before the fight, he was extremely humble and respectful afterwards. I really respect that. We kept in touch after the fight. He’s a cool guy and he deserves all the credit for taking all the short-notice fights he takes. That’s some heavy shit.”
”In my eyes I’m still the No. 1 featherweight in Sweden though. I would easily take the rematch against him. I won’t say I will win – he’s a great fighter and I fight in the way I fight – but I’m the Swedish king of knockouts. Check my record. Who’s got the most knockouts?”
The future is bright for Tobias Harila
With the upcoming fight against Ryan Shelley on Saturday, ”Bad Intention” has a positive feeling about the future. He believes 2023 will be a good year and looks forward to fighting and delivering.
”This year I want to focus on the simple things. My performances. I think I will perform well this year. I will train hard and enter the cage prepared for every fight.”
”There are a lot at stake, I want to keep moving forward, make more money, get to the UFC. But you have to focus on the next performance. That’s what it’s all about. Go in there and win the fight.”
Even though he could be one or two wins away from a Cage Warriors title shot, there are other things on the horizon as well.
UFC is hinting at an event in Sweden, do you want to fight there?
”Are you kidding? They could have called me today and I would’ve been like ’where do you want me to go?’”
He stops to think for a second.
”My goals are still the same, it’s just that, my life won’t go under just because … It’s something that I learned from my last loss. I have a great family, a great girlfriend and very good people around me, people who are important in my life. Everything is not just about MMA or my career like it used to be.”
”I used to have no life outside MMA, no dreams or goals. I didn’t even think I could get a regular job, It was just fighting. Nowadays, I have bigger goals. I have other qualities besides fighting and I’ve come to learn that I’m a pretty clever guy sometimes. I could get an education and do other things in life.”
”When my loved ones told me like, ’Fuck MMA, that’s not everything in life’, that made me stronger. I wanted back in the cage to continue fighting. Everything feels better since I realized that life won’t go break down when everything doesn’t go your way. I’ve got so many other good things happening in my life and that’s a huge relief.”
Interview by: Ashah Tafari. Text by: Tobias Lindkvist.
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