[MUSIC]

>> All right, what's happening, brother?

>> My pleasure.

So, Jamie, what were you just saying?

>> I stopped you because it sounds so crazy.

>> Trump said there's going to be eight to nine title fights at the White House UOC event.

And that they're, I guess, in quotes withholding.

>> Okay, first of all, there's only eight weight classes.

So, how's there going to be nine title fights?

>> A B-A-B-B-M-F, maybe out of B-M-F, maybe you have all of them in B-M-F.

>> I guess, but that's kind of a crazy thing.

>> We're going to have 20 title fights, all the title fights it's ever been.

>> Did he say any matchups?

>> No, he didn't say who he just said they're going to, I'll see if there's even like a tweet about it.

But I just thought talking about it was like, I don't know, press conference or something.

>> Well, if they don't do John Jones at the White House, I think it'd be a travesty.

>> For sure.

>> Say you need to do that, come on.

>> Dana's like you can't count on him, you can't fucking count on him, come on, stop.

>> When he wants to, he's going to make a half of it for sure.

>> At the White House, come on.

John Jones versus, let's see, what does this say here?

Donald Trump predicts eight or nine championship fights.

>> Okay, it would literally have to be every way class fighting for the title, which would be nuts.

>> Everyone's a championship fight, everyone's a legendary type of fighter.

>> Yeah, he's actually holding back fights right now for six months so he can do it in the 15th of June.

Trump continued seemingly meaning 14th of June.

Yeah, Arena's going to be 5,000 or 6,000 seats right in the front door of the White House.

100,000 people in the back where they're putting up eight or 10 very big screens.

What kind of fucking security are they going to have for this?

>> It's got to be insane.

>> Yeah, are you trying to get on this?

>> I mean, not really.

>> Not really?

>> No, I can't imagine, like you said, the security, the behind the scenes, how much stuff's really going to happen?

I'm just like, a lot of weird pressure, too, because it's like all the security and the protocols,

all that extra shit in your mind before you have to go out there and fight?

>> Yeah, it just seems like a lot more than what it needs to be.

I'm sure it's going to be cool to watch, you know, kind of like what was that in fear?

>> Yeah, kind of cool to watch like that, but.

>> Also, you're fighting outside.

>> Yes, that's what I'm like, what are they going to do?

Put a roof over it?

Like what happens if it's hot?

>> What if it's hot and muggy?

>> That's going to affect people.

>> I've watched them do outside fights in Louisiana.

>> Oh god, Louisiana's, you can cut that air.

You got to see everyone's slipping in slide.

>> Oh, that's terrible.

Did you ever see that King of the Cage fight that they did where it was raining?

>> I seem to highlight of it, but I've never watched the whole thing.

>> Yeah, it was called King of the Cage Wet and Wild and it rained out.

This was in the day when we used to have to put on fights at Indian casinos.

I'm pretty sure Eddie Bravo was doing the commentary back then.

And they, it rained out.

And so they were like, what do you guys want to do?

And everybody's like, well, we want to get paid, so I guess we have to fight.

So they fought in the fucking rain.

I mean, it was crazy because the-

>> How you do that?

>> I don't remember what the canvas was made out of.

It might have been slick.

It might have been like a vinyl can-

It might not have been like a canvas like the UFC's canvas, which is actual canvas.

It might have been like a Jiu-Jitsu mat type situation, which is-

>> That's what it was in Louisiana with the humans.

>> I can imagine the rain.

The rain's got to be crazy porn.

>> It was porn down on people.

See if you can find some highlights of King of the Cage Wet and Wild.

It's got to be worse than blood on the canvas.

>> All right.

>> Blood on the vinyl.

>> Right, it has to be the world.

>> It just doesn't stop.

>> How bad are those fucking logos?

Did the logos get problematic when they get wet?

>> On the canvas?

>> Yeah, in the middle of the octagon?

>> I don't know.

>> I hear it is.

Yeah, look at that.

That is like, that looks-

It's hard to tell what it actually is, but it looks like vinyl.

>> Got rubber shoes on, maybe.

>> Yeah, these guys are fighting with shoes on, which helps a little.

>> See, this was back when there was like zero rules.

>> You're man's a poncho.

>> Man's a little poncho.

That's hilarious.

Look at these guys are barefoot.

Look at these guys sliding around.

>> This is so crazy.

They throw punches and slip and-

>> This is like of total like, like, winos.

>> You can imagine a lot of liquor store.

>> Imagine everyone didn't know it was raining, but man,

you got rock like 30 times no, bro.

I didn't get rocked.

It was wet.

>> Right, how do you judge?

Like, what shots do damage?

This is so silly.

Oh, look, they got a guy come out here with a thing to slide the water off the side.

Yeah, that's not helping.

>> Yeah.

>> This is so crazy.

They're doing this.

Look at the fighters they're helping.

>> That is.

>> The fighters are moving towels around.

That is so ridiculous.

>> You're going to actually 30 seconds break if you wipe off the canvas.

>> Yeah, right?

That's funny.

That's funny.

Yeah.

So, who knows what's going to happen?

I guess they'll probably have to have some sort of a roof over it, but what if it's like

98 degrees outside?

>> It's going to be crazy.

>> It's June and Baltimore or in Maryland, rather, and DC.

>> Yeah.

>> Whatever that is.

It's like DC.

It's not even a state.

DC gets hot.

It gets hot.

>> Yeah.

It's going to be crazy.

I always wonder like how much behind the scenes work goes into like for the sphere, for

example, because obviously they have everything else down to a science.

>> Maybe we redo that.

That's going to be crazy.

>> Abu Dhabi.

That's right.

We did a live one outdoor in Abu Dhabi.

I remember that.

That was when B.J. fought Frankie Edgar.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah.

And Anderson.

God.

>> Damian Maya.

>> Damian Maya.

That's right.

Oh, that's right.

That was like Damian Anderson and Damian had real beef.

And so Anderson was like yelling at him in the first round, trying to kill him in the first

round.

And then he kind of ran out of gas.

And so he just kind of coasted for the remainder of the fight and Dana was really pissed because

he just coasted and wanted a decision.

>> I could re-kick, just put that back out there.

>> I guess.

That wasn't good, dude.

By the way, in Abu Dhabi, they had these bugs that were flying around the side of small

birds.

It was crazy.

It was like this is, because you know, you're in the desert.

>> Yeah.

>> It's very weird.

Very weird having an outdoor fight in the desert.

>> It's like mosquitoes in Louisiana, man.

They come out of the swamp water and I don't know what they're doing, but they're huge.

>> Well, back in the day, they used to have fights like that in Vegas.

They used to have boxing matches outside.

>> Really?

>> Caesar's Palace used to have them outside.

Yeah.

>> Thank you.

>> So you even find some of those, I know, I find a lot of things like they had some good fights

outside.

Like some world championship fights that were outside Caesar's Palace.

>> I think it'd be cool to say you did, but I don't think I want to do it at this level.

>> Yeah.

>> If something does go wrong.

>> Close.

>> Yeah.

>> You're too close.

>> Brandon Allen, you're knocking at the door, dude.

You're right there.

>> It's crazy.

>> I've made a post today saying that he's only going to do one more, 85, and then he's

going up.

>> What?

>> Yeah, my wife's sitting there.

>> He's going to go to 205?

>> That's pretty sad.

>> That's crazy.

>> She translated it for me.

It was important.

>> Oh, wow.

>> This episode is brought to you by Zip Recruiter.

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Look at this.

That's Cesar Spouse.

Dang.

Yeah, that's crazy.

I never knew that.

Never.

Yeah.

Wow.

They had big fights there too.

Look at how big that is.

Oh my God.

That's so crazy.

But again, Vegas outside must be so hot.

It has to be that dry heat is something.

That's crazy.

You can't be in all the way in the back of that thing.

You ain't seeing nothing.

They don't got no screen up for the TV or nothing.

Who is that right there?

Who is that?

Oh, Tommy Herndt's fought there.

Tommy Herndt's or her brother Durant was outside.

That's crazy.

In 1984.

Wow.

That's why you're performing my time.

I can't even wait before.

I guess that was, they probably didn't even have an arena back then that could keep those

guys in it.

I wonder when they started putting arenas in Vegas.

That's a good question.

There's probably, it probably started for those big boxing matches.

Yeah.

That's a perplexity.

Yeah, that's perplexity.

Our sponsor.

When did they start putting arenas in Vegas?

I'm going to say 90 because I think Vegas in the beginning was just all about gambling.

And if there was a show, it was at a showroom in Vegas.

Like, you know, if you went to see Sinatra or something like that, it was probably just

a couple thousand people.

Probably wasn't that big.

It's crazy to see how Vegas is growing, like even before my time I see pictures, but

even since I fought amateur worlds in Vegas, I wasn't even old enough to go into casino.

So they had to walk me around in the flamingo, I believe.

Oh, that's crazy.

You couldn't go in the casino?

You do nothing.

If I walked on the floor, they were on me.

I'm like, bro, I don't.

How old were you?

18.

Oh, wow.

17, 18?

No, 18.

Yeah.

18 about turn 19.

Man, they were on me.

I'm talking about, like, they must have had a watch on me.

I stepped on the floor just to go across to get, like, a, to the drink machine.

Mm-hmm.

Well, there was probably a big concern that if you have underage competitors and that

they're wandering around the casino, they could lose their license.

Yeah, because we stayed at the link, it was brand new at the time.

And then we walked across to Flamingo.

We fought there every, every time until the finals.

The finals was in the UFC expo in the middle of the expo, which was cool because they had

like the Hall of Fame ceremony going on.

You were there.

I've seen you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's crazy just to see it from there till, till now, like, how much it's growing

and changing.

Wow.

It's, it's pretty crazy, like, when did you first start training, how old were you?

13.

And what did you start with?

jujitsu.

I didn't even, like, really mean to be honest.

Like, I was playing football.

I love football.

And my brother came home because he switched schools and his friend was like, "Hey, you want

to do jujitsu?"

And we was watching, you know, UFC on the weekends.

I was like, Randy Couture, Chuck LaDelle, Trilogy.

Yeah.

All those guys.

So we watched them on the weekends.

Um, he asked, so we went there and looked and I was still playing football season.

And, um, my dad was like, "You want to try it?"

I was like, "I watched the class and I was like, "Dad, I want to do it."

And he's like, "Okay, we'll go use the trial gear."

I was like, "Dad, I don't want to borrow gear.

Can you, can you buy me one?"

My parents didn't have much money.

We were, my dad was just starting to do, okay, for himself at that point.

He's like, "If I buy you this gear, I promise you for the rest of the year you're coming

three times a week at least."

I was like, "Yes, sir."

So I started and never looked back a couple of months later, my brother and my dad joined

me and we did it all together for a little while, then my brother found girls and he went

his way.

So, yeah, it's been a long time.

That's derailed a lot of young prospects.

It definitely got him.

It definitely got him in.

That life took him elsewhere and, I don't know, luckily I stayed.

He would have been better than me though.

He was a lot tougher.

Yeah, but is he the older brother?

It's usually the younger brother that winds up being the real good fighter.

Yeah, he's the younger brother.

That's the thing.

That's the thing.

You learned resilience.

You learned how to be the nail, you know, and the older brother oftentimes is too comfortable

being the hammer.

Yeah, but my dad would put him in his place.

So, luckily, he was used to being in hell a little bit too, you know?

My dad's a big man, so, yeah, man.

Life is crazy.

So, when did you start striking?

Well, my dad boxed when he was younger and his grandfather taught him how to box and

he was like a, he did something like one like a golden gloves in the military or something

back when they had like the boxing gloves that were made with like horse hair.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, so he taught my dad to box and so my box, my dad box in high school.

So, he was kind of teaching me a little stuff here and there growing up, but you know how

it is, man.

Who listens to their father?

Now I look back and I'm like, man, I wish I were to listen more and I say stuff that

he was like, "What I tell you two years ago, you know?"

But I started striking probably like 15, maybe 15 and a half somewhere around there, but

it was all grown men back then, especially like where I came up at.

There was no like beginner's classes or anything like that and these guys are 24, 25, 26.

I mean, there's been a couple of times, man, I got hit and I thought my jaw was broke.

I started crying.

I mean like smack and then it was just like, I couldn't open my mouth and that's the problem

with a lot of boxing gyms in particular is that when new guys come in, they just beat

them up.

They don't box you, like spar you rather, they fight you and they know how to fight and

you don't know how to fight.

You know, one of my best friends who was with me, like I started with him was Kurt Halaba

and him and Dustin Poirey were the two biggest where we were from at that time.

So I remember Tim Crater reached out to Kurt.

Crazy Tim.

Yeah.

And he was like, "Hey, why don't y'all come spar?

We got Dustin."

I think Dustin was just about to go to WEC or he was right around there at that time.

So we were like, "Let's go."

Kurt's like, "Hey, you want to go?

Yeah, let's go."

So we go over there for sparring and I'm sparring this guy, man.

He had to be like five foot one, like he was tiny, short and Kurt goes with Dustin and

I'm sitting here trying to watch them go because I mean they're throwing.

They're fighting.

They're not sparring.

And this guy is hitting me and I'm like, "Get off me, like trying to watch."

And the same day, like so we spared like, I don't know, four or five rounds.

It was nice.

And I'm only like 14, 15 years old at this time.

And then it was start on the ground in your guard.

And I go with Dustin because everyone like said my jujitsu was good and it was for that

time.

But I was still just a kid.

Dude, he hit me so hard when they said literally, when they said go, it was like, boom,

right in my mouth.

And I was like, "Well, I guess this is what we're doing.

I hurry up and grab and try to sweep and all that kind of stuff, but man, I never forget

that moment to this day."

Like last time I trained with Dustin, I was like, "Hey, remember that time, you beat

me up?

I'm not little no more."

You're three weight classes above me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I see all the guys like that.

There's one guy in particular.

If I see him, I told everyone I'm whooping his ass.

One guy you don't want to name him?

His name's Jay Mort.

Oh, okay.

Great guy.

Nice guy.

But training.

I never forget the day he hit me so hard and thought my jaw was broke.

I'm like, and I was little like, now I'm a grown man.

It is so hard to find like reasonable sparring.

It's so hard to find people that are like willing to not hit you full blast and like preserve

each other.

You know, like, "Hey, we're all in this together.

You help me.

I help."

And if you can get that, my God, you progress so much faster.

Yeah.

If you're in there just, there's something to be said for going through the fire and

understanding what it's like to be in a war with guys.

But there's something also to be said for like learning how to recover and like having

more training sessions and not getting concussions all the time.

Yeah.

Sean Jordan was the first to tell me that was like, he came and trained and obviously,

you know, Sean's huge, super athletic guy, heavyweight, you know.

And I'm talking about, I watched him and this other big man.

They were sparring and it was literally like touching each other.

So I asked him after because everyone else is fighting.

And I'm like, "Man, how come you don't sparse so hard?"

He looked at me and started laughing.

He's like running.

At this time I think he was like 270 somewhere around there and he's like, "I'm 270 pounds.

I fought some of the biggest guys, like biggest names in the world at the time."

He's like, "I know how to fight."

If I go full blast or he goes full blast, one of us is going to get hurt and then we're

not going to fight anymore.

We're not going to make money for our family.

So I always took that in and obviously I'm not like a huge guy like they were but it's

like even like when I was training in Florida, I knew when me and Robo Copgo were fighting.

Like I know it.

Did that guy scare me?

You know?

Both you guys, like how the fuck are you making 185 pounds?

And you're on a smaller side in comparison to him.

Yeah, dude.

It's my weight cuts way harder than his.

Is it?

Yeah.

He walks through it surprisingly.

I asked him before because he has a great like physique, right?

He's a big guy.

When I see him, I'm like, "How much do you weigh?" he's like, "Oh, like two or five?"

I said, "No way.

No way."

He's like, "I'll step on the scale right now.

Steps on the scale, two or six."

I was like, "No way."

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

I've seen him a little bit earlier.

My body wants to get bigger, but I'm like, "Uh, I got unfinished business here, so yeah, Joe is a big 85 or Joe Piper."

Oh, yeah.

He has a hard cut.

He's huge.

He has a hard cut.

That's what I'm like when he gets...

Yeah, I like the good one.

How is that guy?

How is that guy 155?

When I stand next to him, I'm like, "How?"

Same.

I can't believe he walks around 205 because that doesn't make sense.

That's what I've seen him at.

If it's a lie, guys, strike me down now because...

I think he rigged that scale.

He probably has heels on the ground.

I was super surprised.

My boy Tuko was with me.

We was all in the room and I was like, because I called him out on him.

Everyone else wouldn't say him.

I was like, "No."

Was it after training?

After training.

Okay.

And both of you after training.

Yeah, but it wasn't a hard day.

That day was not a hard day.

We weren't like...

It wasn't like a 5-6 pound practice day.

Right.

It was a pretty chill day.

Even if it was, I'd still be surprised.

If it was only 2-11, I'd be surprised.

Dude.

But I know when he had other fights, he was a little bit bigger because he wanted to be.

I didn't understand.

But still, I think...

Well, the ridder probably has to be the biggest 85 or like...

He's enormous.

He was bigger than I expected.

And I've seen him.

But in the gym, I never went close to him because I rode with him one time in a quick thing.

It was like a minute long.

But still, I was surprised when we stepped in there.

Like we stood up to each other at face-offs and I was like...

I was expecting to be a little bit bigger.

I don't know.

Maybe I make everyone bigger in my head.

But he was really long.

Like even when we stood next to each other, his hands felt like they touched his knees.

I was like...

All right.

It's going to be interesting.

Yeah.

I was surprised when I first met him in the UFC.

When he first came over, I was like...

Because you know they had the...

The hydration? The hydration. So he can weigh in it to a four but fully hydrated.

And they still know how to finesse that.

Like I just learned like how they finesse that stuff.

How they finesse that?

So they drink a whole bunch of water and then they go, they don't pee, they don't do nothing.

They drink that water and then go cut the weight.

It stays in their stomach so when they piss it out, it's clear.

It's all good so they test that hydration, they test, they're hydrated but they're really not.

They already went sweat out a whole bunch so they drink it, they just hold it.

That's all the guys do it, some guys mess it up but that's majority how everyone does it.

And so they...

So you just drink a whole ton of water and just hold your piss as long as possible?

Yeah, they make sure that they probably drink like two cups and then they're just gonna hold.

And then they'll go cut for like an hour, like sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat.

And then they say when they show up to the hydration, I've heard that from like four people that have done it.

And they said, yeah but I learned from this guy and I learned from this guy and I was like wow.

Interesting, I need to have to be some sort of a catch to it.

And they say it's more unhealthy than like cutting weight over here to like really make the weight because I don't know.

I'm not a scientist or a doctor but they...

My friends that are into all that stuff are like explaining like how it works and I was like man that's crazy.

But he was a guy that never made a true 186 so they were worried.

And then he did and I know like I know for a fact he's coming.

I don't know what he came in on my fight week but I think the one before that,

he came in Monday I believe it 210, 210 to fight week.

So I was like, yeah, I come in at 206 and I'm stressing.

I'm like, ah, 203 is like my number.

Well, I think that contributes to the fact that he gases.

Yeah.

I just I think it's just too much of a strain.

And he's he's talked kind of vaguely not not real clearly about problems that he's had with his health.

And you know, I've got to think that has to do with weight cuts.

Yeah, so many guys have kidney problems for sure for sure.

And it's weird because like in the fight with him like I knew like in the first round.

To feel like obviously adrenaline is flowing everything so you're even everything's intensified right.

So I could feel how tight he was squeezing.

I mean, he was squeezing like his legs everything he was trying to where I couldn't move.

So I just make a little adjustments and make him move a little bit.

He'd punch a very rarely but I was like there's impossible.

It's impossible for you to keep this up for 25 minutes.

It's impossible.

I know you're not going to do it.

So just by my time plus I didn't want to gas either because it was short for me short notice five, five rounds.

You know, there's a little worrisome but I knew he couldn't.

I knew we couldn't and I'm like we did a lot of print for him specifically and we saw the Russian that he fought in one.

And I was like we had our game playing before we watched it and then we watch it was like here we go.

Yeah, that's why everyone asked me like what's going to happen.

I'm going to break him.

He's tough.

He is tough.

But you know like well if he comes out with that mentality if he's trying to go full blast 100% in the first round and a five round fight like we.

Right exactly.

Nobody can really do that.

Yeah, and like I told the guys like because obviously he trains where I was training and they all know they all know me.

You know, so it's like if you think you're going to come out here and it and he said in his interviews like I'm a front runner.

I'm not good long but I approach a three round fight differently than I approach a five round fight.

So I was like all right.

We'll see and it kind of backfire.

Well, it was a big win for you.

Thank you.

Huge win.

You look fantastic in that fight.

Thank you.

You know, it's like there's just so many talented people in the division.

It's so hard to stand out and sometimes you know you take a guy like Deritter.

We just got done stopping bone nickel. There's a lot of a lot of momentum on his side. He looks real good.

He beat Kevin Hollins, submitted him.

Looks real good.

And then you came along and stole that momentum.

Yeah, it was it was weird to be honest because like when he got there, I was like I want to fight him just because like things of like he fought one of my friends, which now I guess they're best friends.

But who is that?

Uh, Unglaunson.

Okay.

He took both his titles from him.

Right.

So like there was no animosity but it's like I want to test my your ground guy like I'm a ground guy.

Let's let's see.

Um, and then it happened he got there to UFC and I was like, I want to fight him.

Like I was obviously I think at the time I was like 12 ranked somewhere around there.

But I was like let him get one two and obviously his name is going to carry him, you know.

So that came and I had never forget.

I was leaving an LSU game.

I was in the parking lot.

My manager called and I was like, man, can we just get a fight, please?

I've been asking for like three months.

Like, please, I just want to fight because I'm very like I get in this mode to where I just want to fight.

And I don't I'll just keep bugging him.

Bugging him.

Like, you want me to call me?

You want me to call Hunter?

Like, and he was like, no, no, no, no.

But anyway, so I stayed on him.

He called me.

I was like, uh, hey, what about, uh, uh, uh, uh, the Ritter.

He was like, uh, come on, man, he had just fallen. I think he beat Gerald.

And, um, he was like, uh, I think I can make this happen.

He texted me back a couple minutes.

Hey, they're good to go.

The next day they called back and they were like, nah, they're not going to get the fight.

Like, they don't want this fight.

It's, it's not the right time.

I was like, all right, they're like, what about Fluffy?

I was like, I asked for him two months ago.

So that's why I end up fighting Fluffy.

And, um, it just so happened.

He fought the bone nickel, got all that hype and I don't know, man.

Again, I was at a LSU practice and, um, they called me and they were like, hey, uh,

my manager called me and he was like, um, just wants you to know Fluffy's out.

I threw your name in the hat, but you're not the front runner.

It's Paulo Costa.

He's, he's the front runner.

But I'm pushing for you because I just saw Paulo yesterday.

I don't know how he's going to make 85 in four weeks.

Yeah, he needs a lot of time to make weight.

There's not, he's another guy.

Yeah.

Do you think that it could ever be possible for guys to just fight without cutting weight?

Wouldn't that be, but wouldn't that be better?

It would be nice.

Just wouldn't it be better, like overall for everybody?

I think so.

Yeah, for sure.

Like, here's, like, if everybody just was honest about what they actually weigh, you know,

like, fight, let's find out what everybody actually weighs when you're in shape,

like when you're ready to fight and make a contract to fight it that way.

Because this whole weight cutting thing is just legalized cheating.

It's, it's so hard and some guys are so good at it, you know?

Like how a parrera.

Dude, I don't know how he made 85.

He would weigh 226 when he would fight for the 185 pound title.

Crazy.

Doesn't he make any sense?

I don't get how you can put on that much weight.

The most I ever put on was this last fight.

I was 207.

Bro, he gained 40 something pounds.

I don't get it.

40 pounds.

In a day.

Blows my mind.

What does that feel like?

Like, what does it do to your body?

I always wonder that.

Because like, this one was, this was tough for me.

One month full diet.

Like I don't usually have like, you know, a couple of cheats and ease into the diet.

Like I'm starting to do now because I'm hoping to fight in March.

So I'm already going to start, you know, being cleaner and stuff.

Are you concerned though that you could get another of those last minute calls?

Like do you think like that?

Like to not get too heavy?

Because if somebody calls and says, hey, the big paramount card.

Somebody fell out.

It's January.

Can you fight?

I think where I'm at, it would have to be like an interim title or something like that.

Outside of that right now.

Plus like, the reason I'm so big and I was out.

Like I had fractures in my foot.

So I had to, you know.

Did you have fractures in your foot from the fight?

Or just, you had them before the fight?

Oh god.

Yeah.

Which we didn't know.

I just knew it hurt.

And to be honest with you, like I had them before the fight before that.

But I didn't know.

Like I was just like, man, it hurts.

I thought it was just like a muscle.

So I just would roll it out.

They're gonna, like, you know, that's what I would do.

How many fractures?

They said they sell three, but they're small.

It was like right where the toe meets the base of your foot.

Is it from elbows?

I don't know.

It was on my lead foot too.

So I was like, I don't even know.

Like I don't teep a lot because I'm scared of stuff like that.

Yeah.

Yeah, but I fought with crazy stuff, man.

I tore my whole ACL in half.

Calfs, everything when I fought Paul Craig.

Did you really?

Yeah. One of that knee, that calf slicer in half.

It just blew your ACL out.

Yes.

I didn't know.

So like in the second round when I go to throw the punch,

I think it was dominant cruiser.

It was like, oh, they clipped each other.

And they showed the replay and he hits my hand.

He never hit like my face or anything.

But your knee just buckled.

Yeah, it gave.

And you can see me reach down to my knee in that moment.

Oh, wow.

It was crazy.

So afterwards we got that.

But I was lucky.

Like when it healed it, like it fell to the bone.

Like if they attached like up up here,

mine just reattached here.

So I just have a little bit more play.

And it's still attached.

Luckily.

Really?

Yeah, that's how you never got surgery.

Never.

I was very lucky.

Wow.

Insane.

There's like three different MRIs that show like fine,

torn half, re-healed.

So it was a partial tail.

No, they told me it was in half.

It cut in half.

And then like fell.

And when it fell, I got lucky.

And it fell on the bone just lower at a lower point.

And it healed on the bone.

And it pews to the bone itself.

What?

Yes.

How long did it take to do that?

I don't know.

The doctor said it could.

It said it looked like it was torn maybe like a slight tear

before and that one finished it.

And the last MRI was probably four or five months ago.

Because I had to get it for something else.

Pews to the bone perfect.

You can see it clear as day.

The doctor showed me.

I was like, that's pretty cool.

Did you get stem cells or anything on it?

Yeah, I did.

I did do a lot of stem cells.

Like through the UFC and stuff.

Yeah.

That probably helped.

It was around Tijuana?

No.

They sent it to my doctor.

Oh, they just sent it.

It was nice.

And they just sent a whole bunch.

Like my doctor was like, man, look how much they sent.

I was like, I don't know what this first look like.

Fill it up.

Let's go.

So we injected that.

But yeah, I fight with all crazy stuff.

Because it's like, I don't know how to pull it.

That's the thing that people need to realize that watch.

Nobody fights it 100%.

Or very few people.

Very, very rarely.

And I just don't know how to how to pull.

I've never pulled from one knock on wood.

I haven't pulled on one fight in my career.

And I've been pretty messed up.

I think my worst was when I fought Eam of all.

To be honest.

Physically, I was like, as far as like how my body was, was pretty good.

But I didn't realize like how much of a toll.

Because I like to have a thyroid problem.

And I went years without getting it checked.

And for like a while, I was feeling like real sluggish, real tired.

No sex drive, nothing.

Like I didn't want to get out of bed.

And my weight was just steady going up for the first time in my life.

At that point, I hit 220.

And I was like, what is going on?

Like I'm still training.

I'm eating clean.

And anyway, I went to a specialist in Florida.

And they tested everything like T3, T4.

And I never had T3 checked ever.

And it was like seven times the normal value.

Whatever that was supposed to be.

I have it on a paper, whatever.

They gave me that.

And they were like, hey man, I'm going to let you know.

I was fighting in three or four weeks in France.

And they were like, hey, this is going to take a month and a half,

two months to regulate and fully settle out.

I was like, I don't got that kind of time.

Just give me enough to where my weight will come down.

Because I wasn't losing anything.

They're like, it's going to do that.

Don't worry.

Within a week or two, that's going to happen.

I'm still pretty tired.

But I just kept pushing.

We get to, we went to London first, stayed there a week.

Because it was cheaper for us than going to France.

Because my friend had family there.

Then we went to France.

And then I was still feeling like tired.

That was the first camp in my life.

I couldn't do more than two and a half rounds.

The whole camp.

Really?

I, I, I, I, I, I, I was, I was the only person that I had to train with.

Greg was hurt.

Um, other guys were out.

So I had by-singer every day.

I paid him to, to train with me every day whenever I wanted,

sparring anything.

And, um, asking him.

I do good for the first round, halfway through the second.

After that, I was dead, like dead.

And I'm still hitting my runs, my lifts, every training session.

Like, I'm doing everything normal.

But man, it was terrible.

So the fight comes.

And, um, they, the, the commission kind of like did super weird stuff.

Like, I made weight.

And then like, oh, you're getting drug tested.

I'm like, okay, no problem.

They're like, no, no, no, you're going to get drug tested now.

Not the night of the fight, like normal.

I was like, what?

I was like, I literally just cut weight.

I don't got a pee.

I'm just now drinking fluid.

They're like, doesn't matter.

You can go to your room.

I was like, all right.

I'll wait for a couple of minutes.

I'll wait for like 10 minutes.

I was like, hey, man, I'm just going to go to my room, try to sleep.

And they were like, uh, now we don't have enough people.

You need to stay here.

I stayed there for two hours.

They did, uh, finally I peed just barely peed.

And they did two vials of blood.

And they got mad because they did that one.

They, they put on and press the gravity one.

And they couldn't get enough.

Like, and they were like, you're dehydrated.

Exactly.

Do you think they were fucking with you because you were fighting in France against the French guy?

It was me and Morricano.

We were the us two and one other person, American.

Was that when Morricano was fighting Benoit Sandini?

Yes, sir.

He, he bitched about the same thing, but somehow he ended up.

We're fucking with you guys.

Them two were up sleeping in their room, chilling.

Oh, that's true.

But it's not an excuse.

It does not have to be an excuse.

That's so dirty.

It was, it was, it was frustrating.

But that's why, like, when I still think even of all this a cool guy, you know, like,

he's deserved his title.

So I think he's fully earned it.

Don't get me wrong.

But I, I want to fight him again where it's like, I sparred him like a month after that.

He was at the gym and I showed up at the gym and we sparred.

We had a good time.

But, um, I still think he's a nice guy.

I think he deserved a spot.

But I just want to fight him where everything's equal.

Right.

And like you said, we're not going to come in 100%.

He's not, I'm not fine.

I don't care if I got a messed up hand foot, whatever.

But just the equal plate.

Well, it just sounds like you were compromised.

Look, a good example that was Pewter Young in his first fight with Mirab.

Man, he looked great this week.

Fuck!

What a master class.

He looked great.

I was so surprised.

And when you're going to fight a guy like Mirab, like, that is the master class.

But you put on a clinic.

I didn't, honestly, like, I didn't think he was going to be able to do that for five rounds.

I thought you'd have one, maybe, maybe Max too.

And I thought Mirab was just going to do what Mirab does.

I was so wrong.

Bro, his training camp must have been hell.

Had to.

Had to be hell.

Yeah, I mean, he must have done something.

I mean, it looked like it.

I saw some videos of it.

Yeah.

He was doing some wild strength and conditioning and plyometrics.

And he knew what he was in for.

That's the thing.

If you're going to fight a guy like Mirab, it's like, you know what the mountain is?

For sure.

You ready to climb it?

For sure.

And the first time they fought, apparently he had a fucked up right hand.

That's fine.

And he couldn't grapple with it.

And he couldn't throw punches with it.

So I rewatched the fight after he said that.

I was like, oh, he's barely using it.

Like, barely using his right hand.

Right sense, right?

Totally makes sense.

And then also psychologically, if you only got one hand, everything, now you have to think.

Right.

You can't really throw combinations.

You have to think.

Yeah.

Well, I don't know how tough you ride favors.

You ride a favor when he fought Mike Brown.

He broke both hands.

Yeah, both hands.

I remember that phrase.

And he was throwing elbows.

Both hands.

Here's one of my favorite fighters.

I'll never...

He was a guy that I wanted to be just like, I even...

You could ask my dad, him, laughed to this day.

I was like, dad.

I don't want to be like, my dad's tall, everyone's tall.

I was like, I don't want to be tall.

I want to be like him.

He was like, what?

Because that was the fight.

He was a beast.

He was a beast back in the day.

You know, by the time he was fighting in the UFC, I kinda think he had had some of his best fights already.

Like in the WEC days.

Dude, amazing fights.

Oh, he was a killer.

I was a killer.

I was a killer.

I still remember that Mike Brown coming out partly.

Yeah.

Josie Aldo.

That was...

That was another example of how tough he is.

When he fought Josie Aldon, Josie Aldo killed his leg, dude.

Killed his leg.

It is the worst after fight leg I've ever seen in my life.

Other than Austin Hubbard.

You ever see Austin Hubbard?

He got a compartment syndrome and had to have his whole leg sliced open from the top to the bottom to alleviate pressure and drain some of the fluids.

No way.

It's the nastiest injury I've ever seen.

I'm asking.

Google, excuse me, look up Austin Hubbard images of, I forget the fight.

Oh, there it is.

Look at his leg.

That black thing, that's his leg open.

No way.

Yeah, that's his tissue.

Oh, my days.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Look at that.

Oh, my gosh.

How insane is that?

Dude, he trains in Chicago with me.

Oh, when I ask him.

Look at that image.

I got to ask him.

How fucking insane is that image?

That's his tissue underneath there, man.

Oh, my days.

Look, you have to like mature content.

You have to click a link in Instagram to be able to see it.

Holy cow.

How nuts is that, man?

Dude, that's gnarly.

So, there's a drain, that tube that you're seeing right there.

That, what that is attached to is that drain that's letting liquid drip out of his leg.

So, compartment syndrome is so bad that sometimes people, when they don't get a treated,

they have to get their leg amputated.

Really?

Oh, yeah.

So, that was just from leg kicks from a fight.

Just from leg kicks from a fight.

Wow.

I'm trying to remember who he fought.

Jesus.

Can we find out who he fought?

Oh, more than a year ago.

Oh, more than a year ago.

Well, this picture was 325 weeks ago.

Yeah, but the fight was more than a year ago.

It was quite a while ago.

Well, what?

Is it like a big bruise?

Well, it says 325 weeks ago.

Oh, 300 down.

325 weeks ago.

Yeah.

So, it was quite a while ago.

But see if you find out who he fought.

Boy, it's just like your leg just stays like bruised and swollen.

Not just bruised.

Like, your tissue breaks down.

It fills up with fluid.

Thank you.

Yeah.

And then also, what happens?

I guess when you get that much damage and your tissue is like your whole body has to process

all of that.

So, it's Kyle Prupalik.

I don't remember that.

And so, it was UFC Vancouver.

Elevator.

Past Alan Elevator had to be rushed to the hospital.

It was crazy.

I never knew that.

Yeah.

Same at the gym all the time.

He's a nice guy.

So, they had a cut his leg open to reduce the pressure.

So, that's what that image is.

Damn.

Nuts.

That is crazy.

Yeah.

That's nuts.

And then, your right leg, honestly, in the fight looked worse than that.

I mean, your right might have had compartments in drum and didn't get it drained.

Because I know he's spent a lot of time in hyperbaric chambers after the fight.

I want to try that.

It's great.

I want to try that.

It's really amazing.

If you have an aura ring and you go into the hyperbaric chamber, it will tell you that you're

recovered more.

Really?

Yeah, than a normal day.

Yeah.

Oh, you have a very high level of recovery today.

Yeah.

I want to try that for sure.

I'll just legit.

Yeah.

All my friends have been, like, Jared Gordon got one for one of his fights.

He was telling me, like, how different it makes him feel and stuff.

Like, for me, as far as I go, it's like, I just started, like, really, like, using more

supplements.

Like, I think the deal that Thorn made with UFC really helped me.

Because, like, I started using there.

And what really helped is, I was always scared to go on creatine because, like, growing up, my

dad had to get so big.

And he would, like, back in the day, they'd have, like, all these different things.

Like, off-use.

Too much creatine.

It's bad for you.

It's bad for your kidneys or whatever.

It's not all that's bullshit.

Exactly.

And creatine's fantastic for me.

Yeah.

And that's been, like, the main thing.

Like, I can really feel like how different my body recovers, like, how more...

Almost energized in a way.

You know, I wake up, like, when I go to lift and stuff, I feel, like, way better.

So, like...

Well, it's even great for your mind.

Creatine is fantastic, just for a cognitive support.

I need everything for that, because I've been getting hit in the head since I was 13 years

old.

You know?

Yeah.

He don't...

Sometimes he don't function properly, you know?

I have to...

It's funny, me and my wife were just joking the other day, we were like, I was like, "Baby,

you do that on purpose, don't you?"

She's like, "What?"

I was like, "You try to use memory against me.

You'll wait till I forget something."

And then you were like, "Oh, remember you said this?"

And I'm like, "I didn't say that.

I have to die on that hill, because it's like, remember."

But I don't tell her that.

You know, I'm just like, "No, I didn't.

I know I didn't."

You know?

So, but yeah, that was a great relationship to tell.

Like, you know, UFC's done like a lot of like, made a lot of good partnerships that

tell them like, "Mathletes."

But for me personally, like the Thorne relationship...

Yeah, Thorne makes great stuff.

Yeah.

And they're so tested.

If you get a hyperbaric chamber, then it'll help you memory as well.

Hyperbaric chamber is just good for overall recovery for everything.

There was even a study out at Jerusalem that shows it lengths and telomeres.

They did this process where they had, you took 60 sessions of 90 minutes over the course

of 90 days, so 60 hour and a half sessions over the course of 90 days.

And it showed that lengthen people's telomeres.

That was...

Really?

Yeah, that was equal to a 20-age difference.

So yeah, 20-year-age difference.

So it's like, your telomeres as you get older, that's like one of the clear marks of biological

aging is how long your telomeres are.

That's good to know.

Yeah, it indicates, you know, like, as you get older, they shrink.

And there's a few things that they've shown that will increase telomeres, but nothing

has dramatically that I've ever heard other than hyperbaric chamber.

That was probably the best one I've ever heard of, yeah.

Man, I've been like, trying to learn more about recovery because I'm kind of like...

How old do you know?

I'll be 30 in a couple weeks.

Yeah, that's when you got to start thinking about it.

Yeah.

When you're 22, you're just a wild man, you wake up in the morning with rock-hard boners,

like everything's fine.

You just show up to training, you don't even stretch, now I'm like, wait a minute guys.

Wait a minute.

The thing is, even if you're 22, you should stretch.

That's just an awful ignorance of God.

So there's so many guys that can't...

I remember I was talking to...

I don't want to say his name because he's a good guy.

But he's like a world-class MMA fighter and I was trying to show him something.

We're talking about a guard technique, and he's like, I can't, and I'm not flexible.

I can't get my leg like that.

And they go, what do you mean?

You're not flexible?

I go, why aren't you flexible?

I go, I don't stretch.

I go, how do you not stretch?

You're a world-class fighter who tries to kick people in the head and you don't stretch.

That's so crazy.

He's like, it's boring.

I'm like, okay, a lot of things are boring.

Like, that you don't stretch is so crazy because like, anytime someone says, I'm not flexible.

I'm like, how do you know?

Right.

You know?

Like, you don't know of your flexible until you start stretching for a long, fucking time.

Right.

You can get flexible.

It's like, I don't have any cardio.

Well, you can get cardio.

That's a choice.

Fucking work.

Get due cardio and you'll have cardio.

This is crazy.

You're really flexible.

I'm not flexible.

Yeah, but it's like, I'd never stop, but I started when I was little.

I developed flexibility while my body was still maturing, which is very fortunate because

you're not like stiff yet.

It's like, you can get flexible, but it's, I'm 58 years old.

It's not easy to stay flexible.

I just keep fucking stretching.

I didn't know you was 15 years old.

I'm older shit, dude.

I didn't know that.

Yeah.

I'm older than my dad.

That's, I'm older, dude.

Good shape, though.

Thank you.

I keep up.

I'm scared of death.

Death is inevitable.

What I'm scared of is being feeble, like where you can't do things anymore.

You can't go on a hike.

You can't use your body.

Like, I work out just as hard now as I did when I was 30.

I make my wife always worried because I'm like, I don't know, I don't honestly know if

I mean it or not.

I'm like, I don't want to be 80 years old, like, for instance, like, you can't not say

things like that around ladies sometimes.

They don't like, she's like, she's like, you don't want to say that.

I need, like, we're a team and I'm like, hey, look what I do for a living.

Look what I've done, like, my body's not like that, like, you know, and like, I don't

know.

Maybe I say that, but then like, I get out of working out for like, I haven't worked

out like two months and I'm like, I'm itching, like a frickin' fiend.

I'm like.

So when you say I haven't worked out, like, you don't do anything for two months?

I haven't done anything.

I went in the gym twice.

Really?

I went in the gym twice.

I did one run and one lift.

And then we found out my foot had fractures and they sent me this foot boot and then

the doctor was like, you don't have to wear that, but don't do anything that puts a lot

of pressure on your foot.

Then I've been traveling.

At the end of the year, I travel a lot going hunting and stuff and, you know, like, like,

you meet eater thing, like, I love that kind of stuff.

So I'm not on that big of a scale and that nice of like animals.

I'm just like just a simple white tail kind of guy, but, you know, I love hunting white

tails.

I love it.

I got little property in Illinois.

Oh, that's great, man.

Yeah.

So I can't believe that you could take a whole couple of months off with nothing, just don't

do nothing.

Crazy, right?

Yeah.

I'm very blessed.

Well, it's probably smart.

It's probably smart to do.

It's good and bad.

A few people do that.

It's good and bad.

So, like, I only do it this much at the end of the year because it's hunting season and

holidays and my kids' birthdays and, you know, kind of my kids' birthdays are right

now or back.

Well, shit.

I guess all the time.

They're back to back to back.

So it's like, all right, we'll do that.

We travel.

But it's only into the year.

Usually, I'll take a couple of weeks off.

Maybe a month max, depending on my injuries, after a fight, but then I'm back at it.

But it's hard for me at home.

I'm a full-time dad and a full-time husband at home right now.

I've got so many kids, you know, that I'm away for so long.

How many kids do you have?

I'm about to have five.

Wow.

Yeah.

Five?

And you're not even 30 yet.

Yes, sir.

I have two with my ex.

I'm about to have two with my current wife.

And she has a son from her previous.

Wow.

Yeah.

So, and he's 14.

My daughter's just turned six and four.

My son's about to turn one.

And then we'll have another one in about a month and a half.

So you got a lot of work to do?

Yeah.

But it's nice.

It's hard right now.

You know, kids have schedules.

And now, like, my little girls do jujitsu.

My stepson was playing football for the first time this year.

And he's a basketball player, because my wife was a pro basketball player.

And so he's only got something going on, but at my new house that I'm working to build,

I have like two gyms, full gyms, so like, I don't have to leave.

Oh.

That's nice.

I could bring people in to train.

I have my full cage that I used to have for my promotion.

So.

Well, even if you only realize, I only have 40 minutes before I have to leave, what I can

get a half hour work out on real quick.

Exactly.

And you can really burn it out for a half an hour just to keep the machine oiled.

Exactly.

But you know, the argument about taking time off, it does reset the brain.

Like, you know who used to do that?

I know he's not a fighter.

But Ronnie Coleman.

Ronnie Coleman is crazy as he used to lift when he was Mr. Olympia.

He was one of the heaviest lifters of all time.

I mean, he was.

He's a freak.

He's a freak.

Ronnie, when he would like get done with Mr. Olympia, he would like, oh, I'm not doing

shit.

He wouldn't do anything for like a couple of months, like no training at all.

And they'd be like, nothing at all, you know, nothing, nothing.

Yeah.

He goes, I got to reset.

Got to reset.

But imagine being so driven that you could train the way that guy trained, and yet so wise

that you're like, I'll get it back.

Let me just like, let me just chill, let me just chill.

It wasn't like it turned him into a lazy person, like that's what everyone's afraid of.

Well, I'm going to lose this momentum.

I'm doing so good.

Everything's going so great.

I'm working so hard.

I want to keep working hard because we've all had, if you will live a life, you're going

to have ups and you're going to have downs.

And like you were going through your thyroid issue, there's going to be times where you don't

have a lot of energy.

So when you're feeling good, you want to keep going, right?

And this guy gets to Mr. Olympia, but he has the wisdom to go, you know what?

I can get that back right now.

Let's just not do shit and let this, let this mind recover.

Let this stress just go away, let it slip out of my life.

That's what I try, man.

I kind of learned, like, because I always have traveled for camps since I was probably

three or four know as a pro, or three and one as a pro, three or four fights in as a

pro, I was traveling, I was going to roof his sport for a long time, I stayed there for

a long time.

Then I went to Florida for a long time and now I'm not Chicago.

And always--

Where are you switching me on to now?

Valley Flo.

I don't know.

And like War Room with Maloma Hammond.

Maloma, yeah.

So and that's been a--

Bob Mondays.

Yeah, man.

He's so good.

Both the brother.

He got a little brother.

Oh really?

He's a stud.

He's a stud.

I believe it if he comes out of that family.

Bob Mondays is a beast.

He's a stud.

The little brother is a stud.

Marvin's fight I think and then Nacho helped me a little bit for this one this last one. How did you choose going to Chicago?

I've known Balal since Roova Sport and obviously we stayed in contact you know when we see each other it's like we never you know

Haven't seen each other and he's always told me like bro just come down just come check it out

You don't have to stay or nothing like stay at my house, but you don't have to move here or nothing. Just come check it out

so I watched his his rise and what he does and his work ethic and his team and

After the fluffy loss like I just I kind of sat back had some conversations with people that are really close to me and

Exploiting like what was going on with me like mentally and where I felt and

I Balal was one of the people I talked to and he's like I know what the problem is and

Everyone that I talked to which wasn't a lot they all said exactly the same thing

So I was like be can I come what's a problem what was the problem complacency?

I know like who I can train with and I go hard. I'm I'm the coach of my own thing like I'm running my like whole camp

Basically, I go to running your whole camp basically I'd be like you go Wagner's for Jiu-Jitsu

Yeah, I'd go to Wagner's for Jiu-Jitsu. I'd go to I'd be at Kilcliffe

But I'd be in the corner doing my thing because you had the Russian coach over here teaching some crazy stuff that don't make no sense

What do you mean like they'd be teaching some stuff off the wall that would never work really?

Yeah, but the kid like the kid the Russian kids like they were in the classes like they got young young guys

like Ansar Nikita like

Bysangor he wasn't even like those guys they were like

Come over here. Let's do something else like they have like real MMA knowledge because they fight and they've learned from

You know all the guys from where they're from

But so who is Russian coaches that it was just one man

You don't have to say his name. Yeah, he was just he's not there no more, but um, but he was a legit coach

He never fought

Okay, did he fight in anything kickboxing? I know nothing. I don't know if he even competed in wrestling to be honest with you ever

I don't know. Okay. Is he like does he spar with people? Nope. How old is he I?

Would say in his 30s. I would say really say. Yeah, I would guess and he's a coach

But he's coaching on orthodox stuff like what kind of stuff like stuff against the wall, but it was like for instance

I don't remember what it was it was against the wall. I was going with my friend AJ Aaron Jeffries and

He it was some takedown off the wall, right AJ couldn't get it

I was like brothers, and I don't say it out loud because I don't want no problems

You know like I'm gonna just go with the flow and mind my business

But you know, I've been doing it long enough to where it's like he realized this move's probably not gonna work from my body

Type or my my game, but I'll try it right and so anyway

He was doing it and AJ's like bro, I don't get it. I was like yeah cuz this shit ain't gonna work bro

He's like what I was like it's not gonna work. I'm telling you

So he calls the coach over and he was like how could you do?

The guy looks at me he goes

He's telling him and then he looks at me go stop it

Me he's like yeah, I was like bet

He tries to do it. I literally grab his wrist grab his head and throw him

Boom, is he your size? He's bigger than me. Oh wow row him and so it didn't work. No

He's like let me try one more time. Let's go full speed. I said shit. That was full speed

Do the exact same thing, but do it the other way now boom don't begin AJ looks at me

He says the the coach says something I say then then I get agitated right then I'm like man

That's cuz this shit ain't gonna work. I told y'all y'all don't listen to me. I just walked off

Oh, that's not goodbye, you know, so I just walk off and I was like I

I become a coach there sticking around and turns latent oh

No, you know, so there's so weird guys like that. I'm not saying to this guys like that

But yeah, there are some weird guys like that become parasitic

You know, they're like friends with a guy who's a really good fighter, and then they're always there

And then they want to be a part of the team somehow and then they start contributing or this time

Maybe running conditioning drills or something like why is this guy running conditioning?

Exactly how it went literally there's weird parasitic relationships in any elite like thing whether it sports

I see it in comedy there's some comedians have weird parasitic friends that wind up

You know becoming a producer on their thing, and it's just some guy who just just like like a lampry clinging to the bottom of a shark

It got weird for a little while. I especially at the end it did like when I was still there

With that whole thing cuz even some of the other coaches started to catch on because at Kilcliffe

You know, sometimes we'd have a lot of guys fighting like all over the place

So coaches would be gone and you try to figure that situation out so he'd step in and try to help and

It just got weird, but like again, I'm I'm not the kind of person that really calls a conflict

Like I'd rather just like if like just for instance if you're causing something like some type of energy with me

I'm gonna just move over here and just stay out your way. You know because the world needs more people like you

Well my younger self would have I want a conflict

I'm gonna I'm gonna show you right of course, but as you go wiser. Yeah, and you realize like what's the also?

You're in a really professional mixed martial arts Friday. You ain't got shit to prove to somebody. That's kind of how I feel now

I see some of these younger kids I feel so I see some of these younger kids now, and I'm just like

I'm gonna just stay over here. It gets people hurt. It ruins your life, and that's what it can ruin your life

I don't want that to happen cuz like

I have kids I have a wife. I have a good life. I live very nice like as far as like my lifestyle like I'm here with you right now

You know also it's in pointless. I've seen bar fights where you know

There's young guys, and they just like seeing opportunity they want to prove something and I'm like

I just want to tell them like hey man one day you're gonna be 35 you're gonna be looking back on this day

And maybe it's the day you got stabbed

Yeah, maybe it's the day you got shot, you know

Maybe it's the day you got knocked the fuck out your head bounced off the concrete and you'll never be the same person again

Yeah, like exactly you said it's just not worth it like you know Kevin James the the Canadian. Yeah, he's come to the gym

Oh, that's awesome. He trains a lot good friend of mine. I've been front friends of mine for 30 years when I first met him

He told me a story when he was bouncing when he was bouncing in a bar in Long Island one of his friends

There was a bouncer and some drunk kid was starting shit and he knocked this kid out and the kid fell down and hit his head and died

And he wound up doing time. He went to jail for manslaughter

One of my best friends got stabbed in the face in New Orleans cuz he didn't even know he was talking to this dude's chicken

He didn't know right. He didn't know like she didn't say nothing. She came up to him. He was just at the bar

Dude came and stabbed him in the face broke his jaw

Stabbed him and ran he has a he has a nice scar. It's he's older now

So it's kind of went away but like through his beard, but why are his jaw shut? He was messed up for a while, you know

In the face this episode is brought to you by square space if you've got something to say

I watch a video of these guys in London and they're yelling at each other and squaring off each other back and forth

And back and forth and then finally get out at one guy just pulls out a fucking knife and slices this to his neck and this dude is just

Squirting out of his neck and he tries to fight for a second

Then he just gets woozy and and he's just squirting as he goes down. I don't know what happened

I'm assuming he died because I'm looking at the amount of blood loss

So someone didn't jump on that and compress it and even if you did the crowded arteries like such a significant amount of blood

That's going through there depending on I guess the damage. I think I had like so stupid. I've always heard the story

Obviously, you know stories are but I've heard from a couple of people

But I have like a great uncle somewhere along the line. He passed up passed away before I was alive. He was in a bar

I know right where the where the place is everything's the building still there to this day

He was in the bar. He was sitting down having some drinks with a friend

Don't I don't know the relationship between him and the guy the guy walked up behind him slit his throat. Oh God

He he missed the crowded arteries both of them by like not even a quarter of an inch like not even eight

I mean, he missed both of them. So it was just here. Oh, she chased the guy out almost beat him to death and then almost died because he couldn't breathe like

Oh, God, but almost beat the guy to death almost almost died. So two people almost died

Nightclubs are so bad. I've never been a club. I hate like a group of people. I hate it

I get very offsetting too many people on coke. There's too many people. They're stupid

There's too many people that want to like bro. I fucking see red and you know, there's too many dummies

When I was a kid when I was 21 years old, I was at a bar and I watched this guy hit a guy in a face with a Heineken bottle

At a nut at a nowhere over nothing. I was standing by the bar and

There's just two guys. There were closest Jamie's to me and they were talking to each other like it loud voices

But nothing crazy like no physical shit

And this guy just takes a Heineken bottle off the ball and smashes it on his face and there was blood everywhere

This guy was just just leaking all over his face. I was like the guys faces destroyed for the rest of his life

Over literally nothing literally nothing. It's crazy man

It's just there's too many people out there that are fucking stupid man

And you get sucked into their gravity. You know, you like the guys that like

They're like if they know who you are, they'll be like oh you can fight I can shoot. I'm like all right

So can I yeah, congratulations on fight each other or shoot each other. That's my

Hi, my name is Brendan. That's my thing now. I'm like bro. I don't want to fight our sheet

Just leave me alone and leave my family alone and we're good, bro

I don't I don't want no problems with nobody. Well the problem is there's too many people out there that haven't proven themselves

They don't have a thing in their life that gives them a challenge all the time where they're proving themselves

So every time they go out they're trying to prove themselves every time they go out

They're trying to puff their chest out and be Billy badass and it's it's so dangerous and here's what you don't see that

Train fighters dude. I used to bounce at a little like something small and

I needed the money obviously and I will never forget man. This little dude

He had to be like this tall short and fat. He was I don't know how tipsy he was

I don't know right but all the guys know that I was fighting. I was

LFA at the time and

They're like they always told me amen don't worry about hitting nobody if someone swings at you. I got you

Or just hit him and say I did it. I was like I'm good. I'm good. I'm just smile you and trouble. Yeah

They were super cool, right? Who knows if that would have really been hug went. I don't know, you know

But anyway, fuck somebody up and there was a lawsuit. I guarantee they dropped your name dude

They there was a bartender there. He fricking I watched it with my own two eyes in the front this dude and him got into it

The guy slipped because he pushed him and he slipped it was a little wet

Dude, he soccer kicked him so hard in the face

So hard I was like

He got arrested for that. Oh God, you know, but then but that little kid he's swung at me

And I don't even know if he hit me or hit my hand. He hit something right and I'm laughing

I'm laughing. I'm like I couldn't believe it like he had that cocaine courage

He must have I'm laughing. I'm literally doing this and cuz I was gonna stick him with the right

But he was so little like I was like so crazy. No way and how I saw the punch come I was like

Don't do it. There are some people out there that have no idea how to fight and yet

They still try to fight they have no weapon. They don't have a good punch

They don't have a background and wrestling. They don't have a damn thing and yet they'll still decide they want to fight someone and just hope in

Today's day and age how can you hope that people don't know how to fight I think if you wanted to 10 guys

One of them can fight today, right? It's probably the most in human history in terms other than like Spartan days

Most in human history and even back then how good was their technique very exactly? You know, I'm saying

It's crazy. They probably even know about calf kicks

It's like my dad grew up boxing, right? So

My dad he would always tell me like growing up. He was a little bitch

He was like I used to get my ass kicked until he had he had to move in with his grandfather his grandfather

What were two vet shot twice grew up boxing?

Probably the most rugged man that you'll ever meet I met him once before he passed away

His voice was so gruff like he's a man's man, you know, like one of those doesn't say nothing really and

So he raised my dad and

He used to step outside like kind of mess with inbox like he put him in boxing

But he knocked my dad out one time my dad's like, you know, what man come on. Let's test it. Step don't his foot and

Slept him and

But anyway, so like when he was in high school a thing to do to your kid

Dude, he said my dad said he didn't care about nothing my dad said he'd literally watch this smash his finger flat with a hammer

The nerves flew out like they were still attached. They flew out. Oh my head his head on throwing

Bales a hay in the loft

He smoked his head on a railroad spike that was in the wood

Cracked his skull. He didn't know till two days later

They said if he would have waited a couple like 12 more hours

He would have been dead because all the swelling on his brain. They had to cut his brain

His skull off to let the fluid come out. Oh, God crazy old just stubborn old man, you know, that's crazy

Dude, your grandson knows let's leave him like that dude. He said my dad said my dad said he said we were messing around

He's like all right like quit messing with me. He always told him that leave me alone

He kept on kept on he stepped on his foot and my dad said it's quick step in he said that's all you remember

Oh old school trick you slept in my dad said when he woke up

He had them worse like migraine and he was on the porch drinking the thing. I think tea and he was like hey

Get your ass up and go clean dog pin

Get to work

Those dudes who came up through World War two or that's a different kind of human being

Yeah, you know, so it's like human being

Like that's that's just kind of like how my dad was so like when he got to high school like

He wasn't the kind to go look for trouble, but he was a kind of person like my dad told me as well

Like you stick up for the people that can't stick up for themselves. Yeah, or if someone fucks with you like

Do what you got to do just don't like nowadays. He's like don't put your hands like don't throw it punch it

Then first unless they get an arm for each then you throw a punch first don't ever let someone take you to you

You could just choke somebody. Yeah, now, but it's like you could just put him to sleep and that's more I'm a good hugger

So it's like I prepare that when my dad's like me man like he's different like he like he was in the military

And he boxed when he was overseas for like 75 bucks because he sent all his money home to us. So it's like

Like I don't know like people don't know I'm raised man

I come from something like that's what I feel like when I fight like I'm different like I honestly

I

Was telling myself that in the Marvin fight in between rounds like going into the third

Because my dad and my brother were both there in attendance for the first time like my brother hadn't been in any of my fights since probably my second

Profite because of his injury and so like my I watched my buddy Castello fight

For the PFL belt and he said after the fight like he said word for word. He's like I was

I was raised by a warrior. He raised two warriors. I'm a fucking warrior

And he's like that's that's what I told myself and so like that stuck in my head till the fight like till my fight

So like in the third round like everyone was like oh he falls off in the third and that was something like my corner was

Because that was my first time in Chicago. So like Horacio looked at me in between rounds. He was like hey

Let's go like let's let's restart it. He said something else and I was like I'm good. Just get out of the way

Like you know, that's it's kind of where there's moments where it's like you live in in the moment, but I don't know

Well, I think just having a coach is really important. It's really important especially having an elite coach having a coach

That's really on top of it, you know, yeah, I guess a safe Saeed

You know Farazahabi Duke Rufus having someone's like

Really on it really watching you really knows what you need really knows when you need to back off

Because the fact that you did so well and that you were coaching yourself is kind of fucking crazy

Well, when I say I have a coach. Yeah. Exactly. That's the difference so for people that don't know

Okay, if you're listening to this and you just interested in MMA. Generally, there's a striking coach

Usually they have some sort of a moitier kickboxing background

You generally have wrestling coaches and you generally have to just do coaches and if you're a really good gym

You got one guy who knows how to put it all together, right? Those are the Maestro's

Those are the guys are like conducting the entire orchestra and they know you and if a good guy knowing his fighter is like an artist

And I think you can only have a certain amount of people that you're working really closely with because it's a very

Involved and intensive job like Eric Nixon

That's a guy he gets down into the nitty gritty of every fucking thing you guys are able he's watching you

He knows what you need. He knows what you don't need. You know, it's like

It's also you got a guy who you could just say push it off to him. He knows what to do

He's gonna give you game plans in between rounds. Okay, this is working, but we need more of this

He does this all the time when he does the reason why he's getting away with it is because of that get it in your head

Go out there when I hear guys and the guys losing and they get no technical advice and and they start getting go

Fuck him up. You got to fuck him up. You got to put hands on him like and I'm like oh my god

Tell him what to do. He knows how to fight. Get on top. Tell him to do stand up

And I get it you only have a minute. I get it and I get it everybody's panicking if things are going wrong

I get it, but my god. It's been having a good coach having like a for us a hobby type dude in your corner

Who just really understands what you need to do so fucking important?

It's been one of the best changes that I have because I ain't gonna lie

I'm not the easiest person to deal with like I like to be very in control of things that I can control

And I know myself like I've done a lot. I've been around a lot

So I like I know like a man like I'm feeling it today like my body's kind of done. No, no, no, no go go go 100%

You know do you monitor all your shit? Do you monitor your resting heart rate? Yeah, now I don't usually have my whoop on cuz I used to have the aura

But it hurt like I couldn't train with it, so it's right, but I know I just took it off because I was training jujitsu

Or as a little bit of a problem when you live weights too exactly. I pinch my finger so bad

Well, you ever seen she think injuries you ever seen though

Where is it where it rips the skin of your finger off the first time I ever saw one I never saw them person

But the first time I ever saw one it was somebody who did jujitsu and they did jujitsu with a ring on like a wedding ring and just

Fucking mangled their finger what it's called she think because it pulls all your skin off the bone like a sheet you would stick at night

Yeah, I didn't know that's what it's called. That's what it's called. It's like a she think yeah, here's some in some of these injuries

I thought like that. Oh look at that dude. Oh the first time I ever seen it was someone a key a key it got caught in a key

Oh my god, like you said took the skin off. Yeah, he had the red ring and he had I think he made the grip on the on the sleeve

And when the guy pulled it like took it like caught that like fat that little muscle or whatever right there

It's fucking skin off the whole skin. I've never seen that dude. It was so nice like you said. I was like oh

So now I am a hundred percent sure that I don't wear my wedding ring. That's why it's tattooed on my finger because when I go to camp

I don't I don't wear a wedding ring. She knows when I get to camp I take it off

I put it in my truck when camp is over and I get home from the fight. I put it back on I don't have mine on now

Because I just came from the gym, but I used to have a silicone one why not used to I have a silicone one that I use all the time

That I can work out with it. I could do anything with it. Well, interesting. Yeah, what is that company Ridge?

Is that what it is? No, that's the wallet company. Is that what it is? They making all kind of stuff. But there's luggage in everything. It's a good one. It's there's

There's it looks like a or a ring too, but it's it's made out of silicone

So even if you catch it on something it's no big deal, but even that I forget which which coach it was

I forget which coach it's like like an elite jujitsu coach

It goes I refuse to let a guy even train with that because I've seen too many injuries too many injuries where your finger

Just gets mangled. I haven't that fucking stupid thing on there. That's nasty. That's like

Groove ring groove. That's it. Yeah, I feel like that with a legit knee injuries and like

Dislocations. Oh, dude. You know what creeps me the most is broken shins

When I see that that shin check when the the shin snaps like ah

Yeah, there's ever a fight that I think a guy should have pulled out that didn't and now if I was his friend

I would have told him you cannot fight. It's Connor when he fought Dustin the second fight with Dustin

If excuse me the third fight with Dustin when he's shin snapped in half, you know

They knew that he had some sort of a hairline fracture on really yeah, I never knew that he had already had MRIs and everything

They knew something was really wrong with it. Yeah screw that. No, no, yeah, and he didn't even didn't even like go shin to knee or anything like that

Like it usually snaps. That's how compromised it was if you watch that fight

There is one time where Dustin checks it and he checks the kick and he looked at it

I'll be pointed at him like I know that hurt you bitch like you like got in his head

And that was also after Dustin had just KO'd him in the last fight

So this was the third fight. Yeah, and it was weird man because in the first fight

It was like nice guy Connor. It was like nice guy Connor even after the fight like after the fight

He was being cool. He got KO'd his leg up fucked up with those calf kicks and after the fight

He was so respectful. I'm like look Connor turned a corner. Not the third one. Not the third one, bro

Oh, bro, it's so funny, but it's like I know where Dustin he comes from like a same vibe that I come from and like

Same things will probably bother him. So when he said that you can see Dustin like even though he just whooped him he was like

Like you know, he's gonna say why you lie in there with a broken leg for sure

You know, I could just keep you took it well though. Yeah, you know who took it the best that I've seen personally Tyrone spawn

When he snapped his in half. He's just sitting there. We talk about this too. I'm like bro. How'd you sit there just like?

He's like to be on it. I think he said like to be honest. I was lune shock at first and then I was like

What am I gonna do? It is what it is. Yeah, like what am I gonna do like it sucks? That's wise

Yeah, he was a gene that is that was a against Gokon Saki too. Yeah, that was a kickboxing fight

Yeah, I remember to the rare in a kickboxing fight isn't interesting. It's way more common in an MMA fight

I've only seen it a couple of times in kickbox. I've seen it. God. Thank God. Thank because of Instagram

Luckily, I get to see every fucking horrific injury that's ever happened

I've seen it seems like I never saw it till one who's the first time was it Corey Hill?

I

Think it was Corey Hill was the first guy who broke his in Corey was like a real tall thin guy

I believe he fought it 145 and he was something crazy like six three at 145. Yeah, it was real tall and skinny and

Who do you fight?

Jamie will find a way right? Yes, he did unfortunately. He fought in Louisiana good big because I remember when he passed away

They were doing some stuff for him there. So that was also the referee didn't notice it

That gets me so during the fight the referee didn't notice it so they kept fighting

And I put my heads heads down and I got up and I was screaming stop the fight stop the fight the referee didn't notice it

He didn't notice that the guys leg broke so they were still scrapping on the ground

I hope that was in because I did not notice that his leg is literally any it's just a bad angle

You know you're in the wrong place at the wrong time

Looking at where the referee standing. There's actually kind of no excuse

Look, yeah

You saw instantly on your monitor. I saw it instantly in the cage

I wasn't watching the monitor. I don't even think we had monitors back then. I was just about to ask that question

I don't think we have honors back then we didn't have monitors for a while the monitors are my idea really I was like

We have them monitors. I want to see monitors. I want to see replays. I want to see shit. Yeah, who's early early in the UFC

I was like we need monitors, you know, and also the judges should get fucking monitors to yeah now

It's nice. I'll sit behind you

Actually, now don't think of that. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we did have monitors

Maybe I was asking for other things because maybe I was asking for monitors for the judges like when did they start

Having monitors in the UFC? I don't know but I always try to watch the actual fight

I want to see that actual fight. Yeah, I mean I like you get a better view of the cages there

But I mean fuck man, you're five feet away from the best fights on earth. You want to see it see it

I don't want to be on TV watching TV. That's crazy. Hey, you got the best seat in the house

Oh, it's the craziest seat ever. So when did they start doing it? 2011

Is that for judges? Yeah

That was definitely my idea or well there was other people that had that same idea

But I'm like you need to do this this is because there was some of them that were so bad some

Some calls that were so bad. It's like there's no way these guys are seeing everything

You know if there's a pillar here and a guy lands an elbow and you're judging

And you don't see it like what do you do? What do you say they might have been the most pivotal moment in the fight like what are you doing?

You have to see it at all

The judging thing is crazy man. There's so much there's there's judges that don't even train

They've never trained MMA. They don't they don't have any jujitsu skill

They don't know what's going on in the middle of a fight once this lady

leaned over to my friend who was also worked for one of the commissions said what is he doing?

No way yeah, it was in Americana. It was like an abnormal move. It was like what is he doing?

That's crazy

I was either Americana or Camura. I'm not sure if I remember out of that. He's trying to bite him

What I don't know

But imagine this is a person that's in charge so the really horrible thing about it about a bad decision

It's not just that you get a loss in your record, but you get half your paycheck

Which I think is really fucked up. I think that needs to stop

I think you should have a designated amount that you're fighting for and if you want to have a stoppage bonus

Or you want to you know give someone some some some some sort of a bonus for an excellent performance

That's great. That incentivizes them to try harder to stop somebody

But a bad decision that can cost you half your purse isn't crazy. It's crazy. You know I had a

I'm getting older, you know, so I try to be have a little bit more wisdom

So after like I lost a fluffy. I was like I went back and watched a fight like six times and I'm like

I really don't see how how I lost on on it on a decision like I can see like your point if you use this

Frame of mind, but based on the unified rules at the time

How so I do every such a like a lot of people that I knew that are like in the high-up in commissions and like I had really deep

Talks with them about it like explain my perspective listen to theirs the rules and literally it came down to

It's your interpretation. It's your interpretation of the rules and it was like it came down to is his

Effective grappling even if they're holding there still, you know, whatever

Does it outweigh me almost knocking you out and

Me putting a cut all the way to your skull on the face and you holding me which one outweighs what that's how I

Wanted to him and they were like well, but he just had more time. I said

And look don't get me wrong. I love fluffy. I think he's a great human being. I really do

I'm knowing him we fought twice already and

He's beat me both times both decisions, you know and

But I don't think I lost the last one. I still stay I'll still down that hill

Well, it was a very good fight. It was a very close fight

I see what you're saying though and it was one of the things that we brought up during this past fight with

Maraub and Pewter Yon and I'm like if you're looking at it in terms of just damage

Pewter Yon is clearly doing more damage, right? He's hitting Maraub with shots at rock him

He kicks him in the body. He's got him screaming. There was never a moment where Maraub did that to pewter even when he hit him with good shots

Pewter was firing back right

Damage is huge. It's what the sport is really about the sport is really about either damage or coming really close to putting someone out

It's like submitting them. It's just what the sports about and when it's just holding when a guy holds and doesn't do anything with it

It's like that it's look

It's an effective strategy and if you're fighting a guy who could fuck you up standing and that's all you could do to survive

I understand like I have no problem with boring fights

I really don't and I know the cat the fans are fucking

Separate them, you know

Fuck it separate. I have no problem with boring fights because I think if you can let a guy

Just hold on to you. That is a part of the game. Yeah, if a guy takes you down and holds you down

I think you should be there around only five minutes

I don't believe in stand-ups and I know that sounds crazy

But even if it's boring as shit and sometimes I'm happy when they stand people up

I really am but if it was my rules if I could make the rules

I'd like never stand a person up unless there's a violation of the rules right never stand a person up because it's part of the sport if it's boring

It's boring. You know, we talked about it after the fight like after the fight like

I went in the back and I was frustrated at myself really to be honest. I was super frustrated myself

Well, first it was I was like

Fuck they just let him fucking hold the whole time like in the third. I literally almost knocked him out

I'm talking shit, right and

Robbie looks at me Robbie Loller and he goes

She just got up then I went

You're right. Yeah, you're right. That's that's that's some Robbie Loller

You know and that's and from there. I was like all right. Yeah, but then I found out after like one of Fluffy's coaches is

He used to be in the commission like so he knows the they explained his pedigree or whatever and he's very very very

knowledgeable about what the rules are and all these things so they he strategizes. I guess certain things around that

Um, so he strategizes certain things around the rules. Yeah, that's what I heard. Well, that's what they told me and I've been a lot of guys do that

He canceled like he he was in the commission like part of it like I guess work for him

And he's like he pulled out of working there because he wanted to be for Fluffy more which is admirable

but like he didn't want to have like a

Conflict contestant. Yeah, so I thought that was pretty cool, but like I will

Say like what Fluffy did really good that I was prepared for like wrestling like crazy

But I wrestle with guys that are like folk style wrestlers. What he does very well is he don't shoot normal shots

He does he doesn't shoot like a double or a single

He shoots like it looks like it's gonna be a double

But he's only at your hips. He's just trying to get your hips

Then he's circling right away if he can or putting you to the cage and working his sequences from there

But he has a very awkward shots. They're so weird like I could see them

And I was like all about to stuff it, but I'm the kind of guy like you got to touch me and then I'm gonna go

I'm not just gonna react that way you can set it up for something else right

But as soon as he touches me like in the second he was I didn't know how

but I watched it back

I went to like catch a wizard and next thing you know my feet came out from under me because we were both circling so hard

I was trying to get the wizard

And he was trying to go to my back and my feet came out from under me

I just landed like all my shoulder and I'm like in the fight. I'm like what the fuck just happened

There's no way this is where my head's at. I'm like no fucking way. He just did this

I'm like what the fuck just happened and my corners yelling me his corners yelling and I'm still in my head like

What the fuck like what just and it took me like probably a minute and a half to like transfer into something else

And then I was like he's not doing nothing. So I'll just get him next round which terrible frame of mindset. We've worked on

And then the third uh, but yeah man, I was like still like after the fight. I was like yo. I asked my boy. I was like

Well, how do you get me down? They're like you went for a guillotine. I sang go for no goddamn guillotine till the third

And then I swept him with it and stood back up. I was like I didn't do that swear

But um, yeah, man, but like I said he's got a style. He's a savage. He's a savage. He's a savage

He and he also has a crazy gas tank, man

He melts guys. Yeah, man. I got melts guys. That deletes anything we grabbed his neck and just like like a bouncer at a nightclub

Just dragged him back to finish him. That was crazy. Yeah, man. I

That's one thing I wish I were to give like put more output like because I wasn't everyone's like you're tired

I was like I was having a full conversation like this in between rounds right after if I was tired

I was just complacent like I was like oh like I'm already gonna because I beat Malcolm like that because all he did was hold

Literally just held and I'm hitting bang bang bang

How am I supposed to improve my position? We you literally just holding you're not even moving at all

You're not lifting your weight. You're not doing nothing

So I won that fight because I did more damage and I had fight ending intentions. I felt I had that

With fluffy so in the third I was like I'm elbowing him and he's gushing blood

and I'm looking at the revenue like yo, he's just holding I try to get up

He just he just picks my ankle and I go back down I elbow him some more try to get back up

He got on top for like a minute, but he didn't do nothing really

Anyway, that's where my frame of mind set was at and it was just terrible. You know looking back, but um

I would love a third, you know, well to probably happen. It'll probably happen. I hope you don't like because it'll be a great fight

Yeah, that's where well that's where the kind of the hold up is I guess right now of like obviously you know how politics work in this game, but it's like

The top five is the champion jerkyus

uh

I don't know. I'm sorry champion jerkyus ima valve

Uh Sean Strickland fluffy me and it's like all right Sean. They just announced Sean and fluffy

In evolved. Yep. That's cool. And then uh ima valve is waiting. They've all they both said they're they're they're gonna wait for that one

So it's just me and drickus and then right behind me is Izzy who knows what is he's gonna fight or if he's gonna fight or what right

So it's like we're eating on drickus and drickus always has a lot to say when I'm losing

But when I'm winning he don't really have enough to say and then like I just saw interview like the other day and it was like

Here's like yeah, I'd love to to

To beat his head in or something about you. Yeah, about me and I'm like well you have the opportunity to do so and it only makes sense unless you want to wait forever. So

I wonder um what he does after that homicide fight because when a guy dominates you like that

Where it's so clear

It's just like one one of those gaps that it looks like oh you're never gonna bridge that gap and that grappling gap and it's never gonna

It that I don't know if you agree

But that should never happen at that level it will never does happen at that level. That's the real except islam and jackdell amount of lane

That's another similar situation. Yeah, very similar situation

But I think there's there's guys that you get in there with and you know if you're used to a like b

Caliber guy or you know a high high level guy right, but there's there's only a few real a's and like homicide is a real a

Yeah, like he's good at he's a savage. I talked to DC about him and DC said dude when that guy grabbed me and he goes

We were wearing street clothes and everything like that. He goes I realized like oh, I'm gonna have to wrestle wrestle to keep this guy off me

He goes like he was he's fucking strong. Yeah, and it's also because first of all how the fuck did that guy make 170?

I don't know, but I don't understand how he talks about going up to 205 because like you said you got guys like parrera

And don't get me wrong. I know they're stylistically different, but I think you can do it

I think you can do it. I think you can do it if he takes the time and puts weight on yeah, if he puts weight on

I think he has a high chance because he's tall

You know, he's tall and it's also the thing is it's like these gaps in wrestling

You know these gaps in grappling when a guy's a really good grappler and then you're taking on a guy like trick us

He's really a striker right was a good he's a good grappler good jujitsu guy, but there's levels, you know

And the kind of guy like hums out like man, you got to be a fucking Olympic caliber wrestler to scrap with that guy

Yeah, it's like I tell people like

I'm not gonna go out there and straight beat Chimayev and pure wrestling like it's not gonna happen

I'm not stupid. I'm not stupid, but it's MMA. Could I take him down? I mean, yeah, I could

But there's other ways to approach the fight that I think I I have the upper hand like

You see how other people have approached him and done well with him

But it's like um, you also very good submissions too

You have you have real solid jujitsu game and you could strike you know

You're you've got a very complete package and I think you know the thing about his grappling is that like you have that hole

If you have that hole he's gonna find that hole and he's gonna smother you for sure and your fucksville

That's what freaks that's what like makes no sense to me with the jerk is fight right like

You're the champion of the world

He took you down no problem, man. I totally understand. I get taken down a lot, you know, but um

I mean I know our styles are different, but you didn't try to hip bump you didn't try to hip escape

You didn't try to scoop the leg and lift and elevate you didn't try to do nothing

He didn't literally he didn't try to do nothing

He literally waited for him to establish his position. He'd roll side to side

Maybe one hip bump around when he did trim. I have did great knee slice or just stepped over past and went crucifix

Do you know how many times you put in the crucifix by the way that was crazy

It was crazy. I only had to be like once around because he wasn't getting out

It was I mean how many times did he put him into crucifix in a world championship fight?

Has there ever been a fight where a champion has been put in a crucifix that many times insane

It was over and over and over again. We were like

How's he doing? That's again. This is so crazy and that kind of blew my mind, but so that's why it's like

I just think

Chimaya's gap is just so good

And I think also with a guy like drickerson you would be the guy to speak to this

When you're down and you you realize okay, it's the first round

He's taking me down. He's on top of me. Let me just get served my energy

There's a five round world championship fight. I'm gonna knock this motherfucker out

He's gonna get tired doing this. He always gets tired

But you know the difference with um homicide in this fight is he trained with Sam Calabita

Do you know that guy? Okay. I used to already hired someone good

Yeah Calabita is a real elite strength and conditioning coach and

Legendary guy and he runs this it's called he just calls it the garage

Okay, it's an orange county, California, and it's just a fucking garage and not even a big one

Just a small two car garage with no cars in it and it's all just machines and equipment

And he's got arm-on-sirukian training down there T.J. Dillishaw when he was in his prime

He was training down there the reason my T.J.'s conditioning was that such a fucking high level when he was in his prime

Was he was training with that guy? He has everybody that I know that's training with him was like bro

This guy puts you to fucking hell

Hell this is uh that's T.J. When he's training there and again

This is like if you see their Sam if you see it like and when you listen to the guy talk

Just extremely fucking knowledgeable

But he gets you to the point it's called the train. It's uh if you look at it online training lab on instagram

T.R.E.I.G.N. lab

Englab training but training is T.R.E.I.G.N. like train

I know that name the training lab cuz I was like yeah, that's that's it

So you see Aaron Pico's there with them. There's Hamzaat

So I mean he's got so many elite guys that are training inside of that gym

Does one on chaletta? I wonder how they how they work that in obviously they have their coaches and stuff deal with it

They're like how they operate well such intense the issue with Hamzaat was overtraining

Um, so one of the things about Hamzaat is uh, he's apparently you can't kick him out of the fucking gym

He won't stop training and you gotta you gotta literally like stop him from training

He's maniac and when he got COVID that's what really fucked him up

So he got COVID and you would think whoa healthy guy like that who gets COVID that ain't gonna be shit for him

This silly motherfucker was training like an animal two-hour sessions with COVID

So then you know, he's never getting better

So instead of like saying hey, this cold is not getting better. It's like don't be pussy. I kill everyone

He shows up again training again two and a half hours sick is a fucking dog coughing

And then he broke his immune system down to a point where they had a fucking hospitalize him

Just from training while he had COVID. That's all it was he just refused to stop training

And look if you I don't care what it is the flu whatever you have you're you're trying to train two and a half hour days when you have a

Serious lung infection you're gonna fucking die. There's DC and DC told me he did one session with them

This is reason on the bike. What's that? Oh, yeah, yeah, he uses elastic bands along with a fucking a rogue echo bike

Yeah, so those rogue echo bikes they suck enough and to have resistance bands while you're doing it too

That's crazy. Yeah, now Sam's an animal and again

Super knowledgeable like knows like what your recovery should be the where you're resting heart rate should be

And also super knowledgeable in terms of like supplements diet and all that stuff. He he comes from the

The endurance cycling world

Which is like so cycling you would imagine like toward a france tiles style cycling

This probably the most endurance dependent sport on planet earth because it goes for so long

Like you have to be you have to really understand had a peak in order to compete at a real insane endurance

Event like that. So he's got this knowledge from that sport that he's transferred over to MMA

But everybody I know that's trained with him. I said like man, it just changed everything change my whole game

Because now also got an incredible gas tank. Yeah, he's doing good. So my like I said, he looked good

But I think that was a factor though in that fight for sure. There's no fade in that fight where he's you saw like the Usman fight

It was a fade in the third round. Usman won that fucking third round. Yeah, and after that third round

He was like fuck. I wish this was a five round fight. Yeah, but it's like also like Usman made him have output

Yeah, he didn't really have to he had one explosion to take him down. Mm-hmm

But Usman can fucking wrestle that's the difference. Yeah, like he was in there with a guy who's real strong

Even though he's a weight class below him like it was Usman had been competing at 170 and hums out

I've already committed to 85 is a bigger guy

But Usman can really wrestle and that's the difference

It's not like a guy that doesn't know what to do and you take him down your ragdome

Usman's like okay, you got me down, but this isn't long-ass fight

And I'm gonna get back up and we're gonna figure this out and in the third round

He was figuring it out and he was he started tuning him up. He was landing good shots

Yeah, they I have a friend that trained with Tremiah of like he goes and helps and he's told me is like man his wrestling

Really good. I was like how good he was like

Is good? I was like he would be you he was like no if I if you whip me why would they bring me in if I if he whoops me I was like

Touche good one, but you know, he is gonna watch that you gotta watch see what is he considered whoop? Yeah, let me watch

Show me the video. Let me see it. Yeah, let me see what they got

Let me go in the room. I want to see in the room

But I like his demeanor too like the the the the confrontation he had with like Ian Gary like he's similar to me like

Well, I don't understand that because I heard there's another angle that shows that Ian like slapped him on the back pretty hard

Yeah, oh he did. Yeah, but Ian's that guy. He's like he's trying to get a rise out of you

That way when you do get a rise. He's like like a big brother, you know like

Knit picking. He's that guy. He wants you to get a rise out of you. So then he could be like

What are you doing? I didn't mean that he's like that's why I don't really like that's why that's why I don't like Ian at all

That's because he's you guys are the same gym for a while. Yeah, and he's and but like

I don't know like I know like other things and like things that happen. He's just that guy like he's talked shit to me through another person

Like we're out of me and my boy out of fight and he's talking shit to me through his phone

The bro shut up take your stuff and your wife tell you what to do bro shut up, you know

But like yeah, he walks over there and he says something dude. He hits him hard on the back

And chumayas just looks at him

and

Then he did what he did back or whatever and shove them whatever the case whatever that you saw the confrontation from there

But yeah, he did he had him and he told him he was like

You like you hit me. I'm gonna fuck you up like if you hit me like that again

He tried to like big brother him like because the clip that everybody saw was after he slapped him on the back

It looked like chumayas just got really aggressive with no reason. There's the other angle

Like keeps hitting him. They shakes him as he walks away. Yeah

And then he's talking a little shit. Yeah, oh, we're fine. He's not gonna do nothing. So it's a little weirdly aggressive

It ain't that's passive aggressive. It's a little weird. Tap some

It was like a little like grab his clothes and shove him a little bit. Yeah

It wasn't like a guy that's hey brother. All right exactly and that's what he said

He's like good luck to you. Yeah, I have to give it to him like some things Chumayas says are like he fought my boy G

And he talked shit to him in the hallway. I didn't really like that

But hey y'all two are gonna fight y'all are grown man. Do we all want some things you might say or do

I don't like I agree with but hey as long as that to me we good but that like and other things he does

I fully agree with I stay behind as a man I stay in behind him

But one of the things I like about Chumayas like after he fought Gilbert Gilbert and him went to war

And then he was like you're my brother now, you know, you know, I mean it's like he was really cool with him

Yeah, you know, there's a young kid Ansar

That trains a kill cliff and he is so much

Like demeanor wise from what I see if Chumayas he's so much like that

Dude, I'm telling this kids like 18 years old and he is a stud. He's 18

He fought for me on my promotion his I think his debut

Dude, he goes and gets in the guy's face. The guy's coming down awake class

He's going up awake. Ansar's going up awake class

Dude, he don't care. Matter of fact, he's in that streamers video neon or whatever. They post about it

He's the one like throwing RDR around him. Really? Yeah

Dude 18-year-old kid there. He gets everybody problems Gilbert

Uh, what's going RDR around? Isn't it wild when there's like some weird young phenom that is just so much better than they're supposed to be when they're young?

Dude, it's really odd when there's you're around those guys. There's three there's three or four of them that

Dude, I I miss them a lot like when I'm not like when I when I left Florida one they are such

loyal humans like you barely find that nowadays as you know like you don't you don't find too many loyal guys

And when they say like my brother, they don't care if you're white black Indian

What your ethnicity is what your religion they don't care. They care about you and dude

When when I got into it with Marvin at the at the casino

Ansar wasn't even old enough to get in so he was like brother if I had been there

I hate him no problem. Then there but there's like Nikita umar on john which is

Ansar's best friend and there's like islam there's a couple of them uh that's a lie of

There's like three to five and I'm telling you these guys especially like umar on john there he is

Well, that's a hell of a shot. Oh my goodness. He is so good. Oh my goodness. Look how smooth he took that dude's back

He just he just fought a couple weeks ago and knocked some dude out in the first round

That was so smooth man. Oh my goodness. Oh he is on that back so quick answer so good

You know, there's a one thing that those these guys haven't common is there all from a hard part of the world a

Fucking rough him in part of the world him and his best friend umar on john they they left home at like I think he was

17 18 years old. They just left home. We asked him like hey bro, why'd you leave home? How'd you leave home? Like how'd you get here?

They both said the same thing. They said look at his out. He's out referee. He's a savage. He trains a hundred percent

He don't know anything other than a hundred percent every day whoo multiple times

But we asked him like bro, how did he know? I think 18 19 max wow dude. He's a savage. He looks good. He's very good

He looks good. There's another one. If you're that good at 18 my goodness. He's gonna be a stud

He's gonna be like when he's 30 dude

I tell him all the time like man if you just learn how to just

Take a breath and just be a little bit patient in certain positions

Because I don't come exactly but man. He's he he's fighting

Good guys already like they all they all want to fight him umar john umar john was fighting like one or two eight classes up

And he had a draw with a guy and he thought it was like you were to think he'd lost the love of his life

How he had a draw because he was two eight classes up and uh like bro, why don't you fight it your way place brother

I just smash. I want to fight everyone to everyone and they can't get fights they can barely ever get fights

So I'm like is hard for phenomes to get fights the amateurs and in the lower

Organizations a lot of people don't realize that. It's really hard. Yeah

They come to meet a match them and you you got to pay the other guy more to fight

Because like they they already know like what it is and yeah, it was hard. It was very hard and so what way does he at now?

I think he's at 45

45

That's it. That's his last one right there. I think no, no, that's our big takedown probably look at the dude's hair. He's fighting

That's what he does to everyone. Oh my goodness. That is a crazy takedown. He's so exciting

I can't believe dudes are still holding on to guillotine's when people get in the side control

How many times they want watch oven saint proofite?

Yeah, it's it's crazy how many people still do that they still keep that guillotine while guys inside control

Yeah, that is a death sentence like and some people don't cash in on it

But it's all if you just cinch those hands together. He can't get that ham out. That's it. Yeah, turn on your side

That's it. It's it's almost like giving up your neck exactly if someone like gave up their back

Everybody like what are you doing? That's like what you're doing if you're holding on to a guillotine and guys inside control

It literally is like giving up your back and exposing your neck. It's kind of crazy. It is

But I see these kids like this and I'm just like I used to be that kid, but these guys are even better

You know, they mean like it's scary how evolution is

But like I said man, I asked these kids. I was like man, why'd you leave home? How'd you leave home? How'd you get here?

Him and his best friend left together

Their story both same thing different times like brother. We just left one day

Our parents we told our parents were going to the store never came back. What?

You know and just moved to America. Yeah, like they somehow got here and

They've been here and dude they worked during the day. They move stuff like they're they work for moving company

And then they train so they train in the morning they go they train

Train then they go work all night all through the night moving stuff try whatever they would they have to do

Whatever their work is but most of the time I see them moving stuff

And then they come back train the next day and they do this every single day working their ass off man

It's super impressive and it's super motivating too, but it's it just let you know like

Like for me. I used to be that young cat like everyone was 24 25. I'm 17 18

And I'm doing what I'm doing and now I see these kids and I'm like

Damn, so that's what it was like when the older guys are looking at me

But these guys are better forget when they get like complacent in their career and they become like a journeyman

And they forget what it's like to be young and hungry and then they'll train with someone and that'll either make them retire

Or it'll reinvigorate them. It's it's awesome because if you're around like people that are that driven

It becomes contagious. It really does especially if you know that a guy is working all day and training that hard

Like you got no excuses right and it's also like this like uh when you're around people like that

There's a but an energy. It's can it catches you for sure moves you in its wake

It does you're right 100% because like I get my modes where I don't want to do nothing

I'm just like man screw this. I've done this long enough like whatever

But then I go I go back and like say today for instance. I went and trained with Nikki rod. They woke my ass

I ain't gonna lie to you. They woke my ass and I told them after I was like

It should be illegal

They all just woke me that bad

And uh they're like yeah, but you ain't done nothing and you know, you don't do periods you just do anymore like we're the best in the world

Like some of the best in the world that period you just do it's true. I was like yeah

But still I shouldn't be getting walk like that and uh, but it just it basically has almost everybody. I love it, man

It's so big. He's such a freak dude. I told him today. I was like how are you this big and move like this?

This is really cool dude

Gordon told me there was a position once they were doing where they were um working from the back

And Gordon had his back and Nikki flipped over the top of him and wound up behind Gordon

And Gordon turns to John Donner her and goes what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?

Like what do I do with that happens? It's like well Donner was like well nobody could do that other than Nikki dude

That's how crazy that is. He's so sick. No nuts. Let us do a back flip from your knees

I couldn't and go over the top of someone who's got your back. I can't even separate the hands

Somehow know that he separated the hands and flipped over him

And Gordon was like okay, because Gordon would be the first to tell you even though he's the best in the world and the best ever

No, Gigi Jiu Jitsu

He's not a explosive guy. Yeah, he's not he goes like I'm not a good athlete. He's intelligent though super super intelligent

Yeah, he's super intelligent, super smart. I've listened to some of his like instructionals before

And like I know he did one at Rufus for a long time ago and the guys told me after because I was obviously at home

And they're like bro, he he was in a wheelchair because I guess he had a surgery at the time and he was in a chair

And his lady was teaching like she was teaching for him and he was walking through every single position

They all everyone said that was the best

Seminoid they ever been to he didn't get down there and teach one move. That's incredible

That's incredible. I was like that's impressive. Well, you can if you could do a seminar from a wheelchair

Jesus Christ. Dude impressive

You know Wagner says the same thing. He's like row. He's the best guy ever

trained with learn from anything. He's he's amazing

So I've heard it from a lot. I've heard a lot of other guy though. That's

365 days a year of training. He goes period. There's no days off. Fuck your Christmas. Fuck your birthday

Is no days off, which is so crazy

Yeah, think of but the way they put it and the way Donna her put it is like if you are training 200 days a year

That is a lot, but you will not be able to beat a guy who's training 365 days a year because he has

165 more training sessions a year. So over the course of two years now. He has you know a lot 300 plus than 400

It keeps going and going so over the course of five years like he's trained so much more than you it's true

And it's not just training. It's like when they're not physically training. They're going over tape

All day, right like which is like it's hard to do that and to keep your mind focused on that

They're writing things down that going over positions. It's not just all hard physical work

It's intelligence. It's a lot of breaking things down a lot of like the finer points of technique and positioning

It's it's funny. You say that because it's like for me like when we were talking earlier about how like time off it reinvigorates your mind

It's like that's what it does for me like

I probably do

100 reps in a day of like things that I've screwed up on like throwing a jab wrong or leaving my hand down or like in my head my mental reps

And then somehow when I do go train again

It's just so weird like it's my body just automatically does it like say I throw the jab and I just bring it back to my chest

I don't want it there. I wanted it on my chin

I do so many mental reps of this for like a week or two weeks or however long I'm out

By the time I spark it, I'm not doing it no more like I do so many mental reps focus on such little details

But then outside of that I really take my time

I try to take my time away from fighting like when I'm not training for the most part like especially like the month after the fight

I don't want to hear about fighting. I don't want to talk about fighting

That's why I stay away from like most people. They don't know me. I don't want to talk because anytime they see me

Oh, what do you think about this fight? What's next? I don't know man. I just want to let your I just want to motivation

Exactly. I just want to be with my family. I want to be a normal person because one day fighting is not going to be there for me

It's always been there for me since I was 13 when I had

Exited about something stress heartbreak whatever it is. It's always been there for me. And that's when I always grew

But it's not the end is a lot closer than the beginning, right? You know

That's why I'm at my life and I know that so I'm trying to make the most of it and try but

You think about like high end you got 10 years if that's really possible

Maybe it's not usually and usually the last few are rough

Because the last few you like Anderson after broke his leg

Right, right? So I say there's like two Anderson's there's Anderson pre-wide men and post-wide men for sure

There's the knockout or widening caught him at the left hook and then there's the leg break in the rematch

And then from then he's never been Anderson again correct

And I think the injury has a lot to do with it, but it's also father time. I don't I don't think we got Anderson in the UFC till he was 34

It was a while because he was already big on the other scenes huge bro. That was one of them fights where

People didn't really know Anderson that well and he was fighting Chris Lieben and the odds were Anderson was the favorite

But not by enough and I was telling my friend like bet the house

On the Brazilian I go bet the house

Yeah, cuz he was coming off of that member cage rage. Yeah, so he was coming off of the Lee Murray fight

He was coming out. Who did he fight over there as well? He fought a Jorge Rivera. That was a big fight

There was a Tony Frickland one where he did that crazy step-in elbow. Oh, yeah, that's all the highlight of that

I didn't know that was named but I know that the elbow talking about that elbow

Do you know he had a practice with his wife because his coach wouldn't let him try it really?

Coach was like stop doing that. You're not gonna do that. He goes I'm gonna hit him with this

He's like no, you're not gonna do that stop training that so we didn't want to train that so he told his wife to hold a pillow

So his wife was holding a pillow at home and he was going on to this

So

So over and over again, you just practice it. Yeah, he wanted to do some unbox shit. What a great story

Now that was Anderson like people didn't it's it people saw him in his prime for sure

Obviously, he's one of the greatest of all time

But for sure they didn't see that transition to him becoming in his prime and that was in cage rage

Cuz he had some really good fights in in pride

But then when he went to cage rage like

Something flip man, you know how it has usually like all of era when it happened to him after he had his kid

You know something flip sometimes when a fighter just locks in and then they become who they really are

Yeah, who everyone in the round them knows

But no one else has seen it. It's uh

It's weird like I always say that about myself like

I still haven't I'm still not the guy that everyone knows in the gym

I show a little bit more every time but I'm not even that that guy

Well, maybe this changing of environment and coaching will allow you to hit that spot the coaching like you were talking about earlier right

It has been the hardest thing for me to let go like of control and give it to someone else

But it took it was kind of one of those things I met Horacio and Mike and I have obviously a lot of trust and a lot of faith in ballon

I've known him for a long time and I see what he's done

But I met these guys in max two um, I met him

For five days when I was with ballon

And uh to watch sit back and watch them also have my own interactions with them

It just felt like you know one of those things you just feel like your friends instantly like you know each other forever

That's kind of what that connection was with them. So honestly it was a little bit easier the normal to let go of like

Um, the control of like controlling what I'm gonna do when I'm gonna do it the strategy

Did you think about other camps as well? Did you think about I didn't think I was gonna leave to be honest with you

I didn't think I was gonna leave Florida

I was just going there to help my friend and just kind of see what I could do different like what I could change in my own

In my own thing

but then obviously uh

My goal after being there because he was getting ready for jack

Uh below was so I watched everything I helped him for a few days and then I went back I fought

Marvin

And I was at um, I did two or three weeks with uh

Chicago two weeks I did two weeks

Excuse me. I did two weeks and then um

I did like four or five in Florida. So I was like okay next time. I'm just gonna do split it four and four

You know spend my time mixing match

Because it was great time like for me

Then I fought the writer he was there and I was like

I don't know it didn't sit well with me how all that stuff went

Like how he got there and everything and everyone was like oh why is he fighting him their teammates

And I was told everyone from the beginning like you can ask Gilbert Burns because he said it on his little podcast thing

He did I always said I'm not gonna train with him. I'm gonna fight him one day

I'm good

No animosity. I just don't need no more friends

I just don't right um, I have enough guys the guys that I know that I'm friends with Joe Piper

Rod Gregory Rodriguez

by singer

Those are guys that are gonna be at the top or at the top that we have agreements only for a belt

I'll fight anyone on this planet for a belt anyone and I expect the same in return because it could change

Their lives or my own, you know, yeah

So they know that about me, but no matter what the time frame is if you say yes to me or you say my name

We're gonna fight

That's it like that's hot that's how I feel

But those guys are the guys that I have with and now they're all coming to the top. So it's like

You know someday it's it's probably gonna happen. So it's like I don't need to hear in that kind of shit

Like guys won't fight friends. Yeah, but I'll fight for a belt though. Anyone the whole planet godzilla. I'll fight for the whole but I don't care

And gano I'll fight him for a bar. I don't care like you know what I mean like it could change my whole life like my families

You know, yeah, so like I'm very realistic because obviously

Even if you love to do this at this level

It's about the money to like you know, it's it's a child making intelligent choices

Because one slip-up could set you back two years. Yeah, I'm learning that

Yeah, I learned that the hard way. Well, that's also important to learn right. It's also important to have those setbacks

Those setbacks are some of the most important growth points in your career and anybody's career if you do it right

Like those set those setbacks are when you feel that ugliness

And then you really have to assess what could have done differently right what am I doing wrong?

What's my is there something about my mindset or something about my diet?

Is there something about my recovery? Am I doing too much of this or too little of that?

You have to have that pain if everything is just going great

The thing going into the fight was aspenals every fight other than the curse blades fight was a one-round fight

It was him blowing guys out and so no one really knew what was gonna happen if we got into round three round four round five

And so that question's always hover over the head

When a guy like you who's been in those wars and been in the trenches

You've already had that's a blessing

It really is a blessing because it gives you not just the motivation to return better than you were before like

Look at bone nickel after he lost right he loses to derider comes back and smokes a dolphin Vera looked like a different guy

Looks like a different guy why because of that there's a blessing in losing there's a blessing in

Failure the really is because if you can

Swallow it. It will give you a fucking furnace inside you to come back stronger

If you can swallow it, but some guys can't swallow it. They choke on it and they cry and and maybe their confidence gets shattered

And then never the same again or maybe they go why am I doing this? I could be a carpenter. I always wanted to play drums

I thought of that. I thought of that

But I don't want to go back to being a carpenter. I'm good with that a guy like Tom Aspenal when he gets to a fight with a guy

Like and Ghana or a guy who's going to be there

Those questions and I'm not saying that he wouldn't succeed

I'm not saying he wouldn't win

But those questions

Might be in your head because you haven't been in those high profile wars before where you came up short

Yeah, you know, I still get those questions. I question I

I'm such a perfectionist and I know nothing will ever be perfect

But I want as close to it as I can get that still it's great mindset

I find something I will always find something to be negative

But what's helped me is I had a sports psychiatrist for a while. He was great

And I learned a lot with him

And for me it's it's been about like I'm very like open with people that I care about and then I know care solely about me

They're not worried about if I win or lose or you know all that stuff the fame

They're not worried about that. They care about me as a person and that was something that was great with below

And harassment all the guys in Chicago Mike max

You know, we talk regularly. How are you man? How's the family everything good? How's how but I'm very open with them

Leading up to the fight like there's a clip from behind the scenes of the last fight where I'm I'm open and they catch it like

This is me being vulnerable who I am. I was too manly or whatever or trying to suppress it before where it just grew into something bigger

And I would mentally shut down

Malcolm was the worst fight for me for that. I was shaking in the bed the night before like I would I thought it like I was freezing

But I wasn't I was so nervous of like I can't lose to this guy

He's not on my level and then I go out there and perform not that well

So your mind was fucking you yeah because I find one negative thing and I just focus and I make it huge

I think it's good sometimes. I think it's good sometimes

But it's it's like almost like you have to be critical but yet also confident right and I would take my confidence away

By by focusing on it, but being able to talk about it like again, they have that moment

I have it on my Instagram that they made a clip or whatever for me and

It was it's just literally it was two nights before the fight three nights before the fight and we're we're talking

And I'm telling them where he could get me down

He could he could finish me, but if he finishes me on the ground

He's got to be just that good

But I'm nervous man. I'm nervous that I'm not gonna go out here and perform to what I know that I can do

That's to me. That's the worst. I don't mind losing to someone that's better than me. I can take it

I haven't found that man yet

But I know it's gonna happen

But to lose to someone truly better than me I can accept it

But to lose to myself oh man to look in the mirror

It eats me alive

But think those things that can creep into your head before a fight where I don't want to lose

I don't want to disappoint people. I don't want to do this

Then that is a really bad time to have those thoughts. It's not a bad time to have those thoughts when you're working on stuff

It's not a bad time to have those thoughts like if you're really trying to motivate yourself to get up in the morning and run or whatever

It is like to really get after it and strengthen conditioning

But when you're fighting like you have to have a strategy of how to squash those thoughts when they come up

And it I mean, it's not just fighting anybody who's listening to this anything in life that you have to do

That's really difficult and scares you. You got to know how to squash negative thoughts before they burn your house down

Like when you see the fire

Stop that bitch out quick. Stop it out quick and then

Make sure that you're starting to really only focus on positive things and never let it get it

Those little creepy demon thoughts they'll get in and then they start running around

They start running around and they start screaming and taking over your brain. You're like get out of my head

Get out of my head, but they're already in that you let them in you let them in and

Sometimes they have to burn your house down before you realize what the what the danger is of them getting inside your head

Right, and so then the next time you've got to come up with a strategy to squash it before it gets too crazy

We did a lot of like at the beginning of like sports psychiatrist like that was one thing right

Like I would suppress it right away and suppress it and they try to creep back through and I suppress it again

But then it just gets bigger and stronger to where it can just come out and you don't know when it's gonna come out

It could be the night of the fight. It could be the day before the fight could be in the fight

You know, so it's like that taking it in whatever that emotion is for you dissecting it

Like literally get to the root of why you think this like oh, I think you can knock me out if I dissect it

Well, yeah, he's knocked a lot of guys out, but anyone can knock anyone out right anyone can so what are you nervous of?

You've done this like for me over 30 times like what are you worried about you fought on the biggest level?

You've made a vented you're you're ranked in the world

You fought some of the best in the world like what are you worried about?

You let a demon sneak into your brain

Yeah, you know and once I dissect it

I've worked on it's like that so well and being open and honest with my coaches

And like the people that I care about and they care about me

Has been such a great like thing for me. I'm a kind of the guy like sometimes like just I've learned about myself

It's just like just let me talk if sometimes I'm not a big talker, but just let me talk if

You don't even say nothing but damn. That's all right, bro

That's why Tuko they who always see me with normally. He's always with me. Bro. He's the best. It just like

Listening to me like it's not very often, but when I do want to talk

Like I'm like bro like he'll ask me. What's wrong? I bet. I don't think you want to hear it today like I'm good

He'll ask me that a couple times eventually. I'll just let it out and then I'm good. I'm good

Like it's almost like you have to tell somebody what what's going on inside your head and if you keep it inside your head

Yeah, there's the wings the wings are coming

flying monkeys

Throwing fire bombs inside your head

So it's like that's been great for me. That's really helped in it

You know, I've had a couple younger kids that like have asked me. Oh, how's that and I turned them on to my god

And I used to use what did you do with the psychiatrist like how did what were the sessions like?

We were talking about things like this you'd have worksheets and stuff like this

But you know what really really sunk in so first we worked on like

Learning to catch emotions. He called it something, but learning to catch different emotions before they grow

So you can just stop the fire. Yeah exactly for burns your house. So like recognizing first is recognizing

Anything you have to recognize if you recognize it 30 minutes the first time all right

Let's try for 25 the next time don't let it like you thought on it for 30 minutes

I fuck why am I think about this right let's do 25 so keep until you can get it like right away

Then we dissect it and then we move on about our day things that helped me at the beginning were like

Does it help you talking with a different person or get another person about this rather than just bounce it off your

Own head. Yes for sure something about talking to another person makes it real

Yeah, and it just like gets it out like I'm holding it in holding it in holding it in as soon as I talk

It's like it's literally like leaving my body like the stress just kind of like and sometimes they have like good things to say like

Things like like that. My sports archives was the one that told me those things like bro. You've done this how many times

You fought these guys like did he ever work with fighters before?

He was working with a small team in New Orleans and now he like he's got other guys in the UFC now because they would ask me and I turn him on

He's great. His name's Eric. He's really great. He's from New Orleans

Because I would think of a guy was like a sports psychiatrist like tennis

It's like some things would carry over, but it's a very different thing and he trained as well

He grew up wrestling and stuff perfect guy then exactly and it just it just uh

It worked out great man. I learned a lot and like I kind of figured out what worked for me. So I was like

All right, and I get so busy, but um another thing he gave me was uh you read it

The day like after you weigh in you read it and then you finish like it has a part to where it says read up to this point

And then you read this the rest of the section

Uh the date of the fight and it's I forget the author. I haven't in my phone somewhere

Uh that he sent me a long time ago and I would read it before every fight every one

Like the apex when we were in the apex all the time we I'd weigh in and we had to wait that like two hours till like we can face off

If you weigh in first and I'd sit there and I'd read it and it was like an author and he talks a lot about like different sports and like

Like one of his main base things is like hope the word uh hope hold on possibilities exist

Like don't ever think it's over. It's done. Don't ever say I have to do something

I want to do something. I don't have to the mimic you start putting I have to

Is the moment you start like he says like put like change you hit the emergency stop button the emergency break on your car

Like you got to let it off. You're not performing at your best with all those things

So like stuff like that really like sets in and I try to remind myself

So like reminding myself of those things talking about it is really like what helps me this book is it a book?

It's like a little uh pamphlet pamphlet. Yeah kind of. I know who wrote it. Ah it's in my phone. I could find it

Well, just like so other people can look at it

Because it sounds pretty powerful. It was great, man. And if it helped you

There's there's a lot of like hokey sort of self-help stuff online, you know

Be a fucking man go out and get it done and

There's here. There's a wolf inside of you and all that cookie shit

But the reality is there's a lot of wisdom out there too

There's a lot of like you could read meditations by Marcus Aurelius and

Literally learn how to live a better life like there's a lot of stuff out there. It's very beneficial

So when someone like yourself has something that really helped them do think it's probably good to put it out there

So other people could get it you know so crazy now I'm looking through like the documents and stuff that he sent me like

Mindfulness was the word I was looking for you catch it like mindfulness like stuff like that

But it's funny. I'm like this is one of them co-opted words

It's been co-opted like gratitude and spirituality. It's one of the words that like too many cookie people use. Yeah exactly

The first time he told me I was like run on time we were at the crazy shit, you know

I'm not that kind of guy, you know, but you hit me with no mindful this time, man

But look I'm only going through right here right and he was sent me stuff right before a fight or like

Quotes he'd send me YouTube links

Look at the second one

Who is it with me who's a David Goggins? Oh, that's hilarious. He sent me that like stuff like

He sent me stuff like this. Goggins is a perfect example that he says things all the time that I think of Jocco

When I'm when I'm working out and I'm really tired. I think of this one Jocco video where it's called good

Have you ever seen that video? No, you wanted to fire it up. Yeah, I want to see it could we play that we get fired up

This is one of my all-time favorite videos. You know Jocco right Jocco. Yeah, yeah, so Jocco

You know was a Navy SEAL and was he's got a book called

uh

Extreme ownership one and it's just the way he thinks the way he carries himself is

It's so it's so beneficial if you can adopt this that there's sometimes where I'm training where I'm fucking really hot really tired

And I want to quit. I think a Jocco and I go good you're tired. That means you're gonna get stronger. Let's do this

This is one of my direct subordinates one of my guys that worked for me

He would he would call me up or pull me aside with some major problems some issue that was going on

And he'd say but also we got this and that and the other thing and I look at him and I'd say good

And finally one day he was telling me about some issue that he was having some problem and

He said I already know what you're gonna say

I said, well, what am I gonna say? He said you're gonna say good

He said that's what you always say when something is wrong and going bad you always just look at me and say good

And I said well yeah when

Things are going bad

There's gonna be some good that's gonna come from it

Didn't get the new high-speed gear we wanted good didn't get promoted

Good

More time to get better. Oh mission got canceled good. We can focus on the other one didn't get funded

Didn't get the job you wanted

Got injured

Spray my ankle got tapped out good got beat

You learned

Unexpected problems

Good

We have the opportunity to figure out a solution

That's it when things are going bad

Don't get all bummed out don't get startled don't get frustrated

If you can say the word good

Guess what

It means you're still alive

It means you're still breathing and if you're still breathing

Oh now you still got some fight left in you so get up

Dust off

reload

Recalibrate

Reengage

And go out on the attack

Oh yeah

That's a good one that's a good one play that one when you're in the fucking dressing room

What it is getting ready. I don't know if it's a document. Yeah, okay, so

It's called houseports psychology can help you do your best when it means the most unedited copy who's the author

So let's say oh Rob Gilbert Rob Gilbert

PhD Montclair State University Montclair New Jersey

Okay, it's pretty cool

Got I'll ask you to send me that afterwards

I love shit like that. It's like there's little things like that

You can carry in your toolbox and they can help you and not just if you're a professional fighter

But then basically everything in life. It's been

It really helped change house ball. I'll do it. Who fucking gets poked in the eye more than that guy

Jesus Christ that guy has had I think he's had something insane like nine eye surgeries

I know he's had three of the hard ones like of the the he literally he told me the story

He had to drive home six hours his his

Excuse me his wife came and got him and brought him home, but this is a while back

He had to drive six hours with his head like that because something with the pressure

You can't send straight up with it. It's it's crazy. I'm your new

Those mismos extra value meals in McDonald's

Now that you can take two Snackwraps and papitas and a mediana for only eight dollars

Solo for type of a data precious participation. You can vary the prices. You can be higher than California

And then explain it to me, but it's like it blows my mind. I couldn't believe he got poked again by enguer

I couldn't believe what the moment he got poked. I'm like. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe it's happening

Dude, I thought the same thing. Oh my god. Look at that. Look at that finger in his deep in his fucking eyeball. That is so crazy

Yeah, that's so crazy

So he's had major surgeries on his eyes

Yep, and then Ian poked him like right away. I was like this is crazy. I don't know how you feel

But I feel like it should be an instant one point deduction at least at least

I like with talent asked for all said he was like no you part me in my you want me to continue?

Okay, no problem. I get to poke him in his eye

I was like a lot of people are talking shit about Tom

But he he apparently still can't see yeah like his eyes still fucked up

Like no one knows. Here's the thing the eye the other eye got hurt as well, but not as bad

But it looks way worse. Yeah, the finger goes way deeper in the other eye dude. I poke so you win straight three stooge is point

And you know, it's it's crazy that everyone that talks the most shit has never been poked in the eye

Not even a little bit like accidentally. Oh, it's horrible. You know, it's like a bolt of lightning in your brain

And then you can't see and if the idea that you can't see and then you're supposed to fight a guy

Also you're you're fighting a guy in Ian Gary who has a fucking nasty left hand

So if you get poked in your eyeball and you can't see that punch cut

Well, he's got a nasty right hand, dude. I mean Ian Gary can strike. Oh god

I've been all right there. Look at that. So look at the right one the one the one the they're excuse me the left eye

That's deeper and that one didn't get hurt as bad. It's his right eye that really got hurt

The left one is like finger knuckle deep in his eyeball man there. It's crazy. You know like

Ballos like one of those guys you talk about 365

24/7. He's ready. He's doing something always. I'm I'm even like bro take a break bro

You've earned a little break take a week off be with you with your family, you know

He won't well at his stage of his life

It might be the only way to keep going because you he's at like 38 now, right? Yeah, something like that

Like that's the same age as Usman

And you know, you can still be a world-class fighter at that age

You could clearly see that with tomorrow against walking Buckley

A lot of people counted him out because walking Buckley was fucking a lot of people. Yeah, it was walking Buckley, bro

Whoo that guy's a problem. He's a fucking problem. I've known him for a minute man

He's he's wild and fast and he keeps getting better and he's really fucking

He's really fucking intelligent about how to land shots. He knows how to set things up. He likes to fight

He loves to fight and he's you know, he's just just a dog just in the fight man

He's always dangerous that Wonder Boy fight, you know, he's that little having a little bit problem solving that distance in that range until he didn't

Till he didn't bro that dude's got hammers in his fist. Yes, so when watching Camaro just ragdoll him like that

I was like god damn fuck yeah, it looked like Camaro world champion level Camaro

Like a lot of people have kind of counted him out because there's this narrative that he puts out there openly about his knees

Yeah, oh he talked about it on this podcast openly his knees are fucked

He's like I got to go downstairs backwards sometimes. Yeah, I hurt so much. I heard he went and did like a lot of stuff to like

Redo him and now he says they're good, but I don't I don't know

I know he went to Columbia. He went down to that

Bio-accelerator place in Columbia

I don't know if he's been to the place until you wanted the UFC users now the the cellular performance institute

But they're all very similar. We're being held back to such a fucking ridiculous extent in this country by the FDA

That you don't realize how many people with neurological conditions how many people with severe injuries

How many people could be helped by stem cells and there there's no evidence that they're damaging people

There's no evidence. I don't mean look anytime you have any invasive procedure anytime anytime any time you have a surgery

And there's always some risk that something go wrong. There's always a risk in any medical procedure

But there's no outstanding risks versus reward to stem cells on the contrary

The evidence is

Outstanding results including like some of the things Dr. Neil Reardon has been doing down at Panama with people that have like severe neurological problems

Guys that have had CTE like real real real bad fucking other than just injuries and then even injuries like

My mom had a really bad knee and I sent her down there and it got a lot better

I sent it on their device a lot better mel Gibson his dad couldn't walk

He's he was like almost 90. He was like 80 years old and then

He went down got his hips done got his needle

Neal did his shoulders his hips a bunch other stuff and and did mel as well

And he's like now my dad was like up and walking around like five years later still like

Like he was 10 years younger like he's a great actor by the way. Oh, Mel. He's the man. He's the man. I love that guy

He's crazy too. He's so interesting. He's such a he that guy's got like a fucking tornado going on his brain all really?

Oh, yeah, yeah, that's why it's such a good director man. Do you ever see a polka-lipto? Yeah, one of my favorites

I fucking love that movie save that's such a good. I love that movie too. Such a good movie man

such a good movie that's great ones mean he made a movie where no one speaks English exactly and it's a blockbuster. It's amazing

It's fucking incredible dude. It's fucking. I love that one, but like I like his old stuff too like brave heart

I was amazing actually the price was really good to man. The Patriot was good dude. He's fucking he's the real deal man mel Gibson

Do what's the one?

Yeah, I think I'm crazy, but I think it's things like a woman

You ever seen that one? I did not bro. That is freaking hilarious. What is it? It's like

He gets trapped and like he can like read a woman's mind

And so because like he's basically a guy. He works. He's a journalist or like a publisher or something like that and

He's very like a womanizer like he gets women

Just like whatever and they always like talking shit about him behind his back like everyone else

So now like he's trying to move up the ranks

He's supposed to be next in line for a promotion while he has his daughter come in and she leaves that the

the

blow dryer and he trips on it and falls in the

The water gets electrocuted and he wakes up and now he can hear all women's thoughts

And it like changes who he is as a person. That's an it's amazing. Oh

Like she gets his promotion. So now he 2000 broke great

Funny as a hell and hunt

No, he's been great in a lot of it. He was he was great in that conspiracy theory movie

What's that that what was it Julia Roberts?

Yeah, he was a wacky conspiracy theorist guy. I don't think I see that one. It's pretty good. What's called conspiracy theory?

Oh, is that what it's called? That's hilarious. I can see that and um

I think like a lot of the things that he talked about now. It's like people openly discuss online

You know because this is all before the internet right here was that the

97. Yeah, so there were no like conspiracy theory websites back then he has another lot

He has another one where like his wife works aren't his daughter

I'm sorry his daughter works for this company. She comes home

And it's like this one of those rich companies that like hide stuff

But you never can tell because you never have proof and she's working in like a secret department. She comes home all frantic

And the dude yells something shoots her with a shotgun right on the right on his front door boom kills her

So obviously then he goes and starts trying to figure everything out

And he starts figuring out like through the way what the work was doing it. I was like

Poisoning or something anyway. He finds the guy and ends up killing him

But he ends up dying too because he got the poison from wherever he went in to the workspace

Like he he followed it. He was doing all kind of shit, but I was super cool too. What movie is that? I don't know

You know that movie

He shoots his daughter on the front step like that's one of the that was one of the things that sold the movie

Like that was one of the previews. Well, how about lead the weapon first time we ever saw anybody do a triangle in a movie true

Right yeah, dude. He's crazy. I like his movies. I'd love that scene like that scene. I was like what is he doing?

I didn't even know what a triangle was back then because I think that was in the 80s. I wasn't even alive

When was when was lead when the lead the weapon one come out edge of darkness that's it weapon

I think it's like 87 or 88. Yeah, man. So back then no one knew what a fucking triangle was other than the Macies

People in Brazil knew

Brazil was so far ahead of the curve man. They were having MMA fights in that 30s dude

I was uh, I went there for my boy Tuko. He fought in the favela, right and uh

Yeah, look at this

He was a Gary Busy who is fighting in the end. Who is the guy who's fighting in the end? I don't remember

I think it's Gary Busy, right? Yeah, it is Gary Busy. You know, he had a headache

Movies in the 80s are so wild dude

We don't need to watch the whole thing. Let's just cut to the triangle. This is silly. I thought I was coming. I thought so do

Oh, Gary Busy tried to take it to the ground outrageous

Mel got swept so easily. Oh, Mel's on top

Ah

Everybody was doing cocaine when they were right move. Oh look at that. He goes right for an arbor. Oh sloppy terrible

Terrible left foot the left leg like barely held on there. That was some

Wow, there it is. That's not bad. That's not bad. That's pretty good. I like that. He got a good angle

Oh, that's not bad at all. That's tight. He sent you it up right there everybody homes like what is happening?

Another man put his legs around another man's head. I remember when hoist grace

He did that to Dan Severin everybody was like what's going on? Like what is happening?

And then I'll say you see Dan Severin tap and you're like what? What happened? What did he do put him asleep?

Yeah, my my friend would know better the lineage and stuff, right? That's where he's my he's my intelligence

But um we went to Brazil right for his fight. He was fighting in the favela at Josie Aldo's gym. I don't know

Know the one. Yeah, yeah, it's like right on the edge of the favela. It's nice though. Yeah, I'll take cut a nurse

Yeah, he was there. He was super nice. He's awesome. He was super nice as a guy who has a pioneer dude. Yes, he was fighting them a main early days barely

I don't know. Yeah, I just read about it. Oh my god man. Yeah, I just legend of him. We met a lot of great guys, but we

We were there with Daniel Gracie

And I think it's himzo's mom

And then his dad like the whole lineage was there before he passed away. He was there

We went over there. We were sitting on their couch chilling hanging out, talking, meeting all of them

And again, I am absolutely got off of with names

But I knew like as soon as he come out of stairs. He was going somewhere. He had a nice jacket. Oh, no, he was doing an interview with

Oh, he was doing an interview like a little podcast or something. It was all important. Yeah, I couldn't understand what they were saying

But dude met him super nice and then like I think like it was it wasn't too long after that he passed away

But like that's like this one of the starts of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Was it Alia? Was it Carlos? Who was it? I think it was

Carlos? I don't know. It doesn't matter. It was one of them. Right. I could figure it out though

Okay, but dude super nice like they were all explaining like the lineage and I've I started with what's that Jamie?

Oh, sorry. I started with like Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

So like I used to know that lineage fairly well

But then you know how life is you just get away and kind of

Forget you're not around it as much, but yeah, well, it's a crazy lineage

I mean that one family is responsible for changing mixed martial arts

Dude, they were telling us so many like cool stories like things that I had heard through the

Great Vine, you know from other people when I was younger, but they confirmed it and like

They were even like asking like where the beef comes from in the family, you know like what started that exactly what started

Because obviously he was in it. He dude he well, they translated for us

But he was saying like how it all got started but beef between well parts of the family

To beef that that they have

No, it was a Carlos and who's the one the one of the brothers went out on their own

Because he was like I don't want nothing to do with this part of the family

Was it Horan?

Maybe it was I know that name. They were saying they started the UFC

The family because he's a Gracie, but I think he's like it was

His mom or something like that was but so she's still a Gracie

But anyway or his no his cousin was a Gracie so technically like

He's not a real blood Gracie. I don't know. They tried to explain it. It's very weird

But anyway, we were there and they can't they don't talk about it like why there's a divide

Between this side of the family and this side and they explain to like even when they were kids

Like they would go in and get into it like say you'd go in and you get in a fight in the street

Just like maybe you're 12 years old. Mm-hmm. It started they said like basically that young that like there was a divide between whatever one and this one and

Because they would go get in a fight and he would come back and rat on them

Oh, come on

You know, so it started as that young and he said it was a lot. It wasn't even like

Oh, it was just one time no like multiple times, you know