In this episode of the Fight Companion Podcast, the guys talk about Jon Jones' recent victory over Cowboy Cerrone in the UFC Light Heavyweight title fight, how to deal with your kids chewing in your ear, and whether or not you should have a son. The guys also discuss the possibility that DNA testing is a real thing and if it's possible to get pregnant with a son or not, and what the odds are that God would give you a boy or a girl. They also talk about what it means to be a good father and what it's like raising a child with a wife who s a Christian and a woman who s not a Christian, and how that might affect your chances of having a son, or not having a child at all! Don t miss it! Fight Companion is a podcast where you won't want to miss this one. Fight Companion with John Rocha and Matt Knapp. Subscribe, Like, Share, and Subscribe to Fight Companion. Fight on all of the social medias including Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your news and information. You can also become a supporter of Fight Companion by becoming a patron. Thank you so much for supporting Fight Companion, Subscribe, Shoutout, and Shout Out, and Don't Tell a Friend! We really appreciate all the support we get from you! - John and Matt. Thank you for all the love, support, and support, we really appreciate it. - Jon, Matt, and appreciate you. Love, Cheers, Jon, Jon and Matt, Thank you, and Cheers. . Fight On. Jon & Matt - Cheers! Cheers - The Fight Companion - Fight On Jon and Gotta Get It Out! - John & Matt, Fight On! . . . Jon, Gotta Talk About It! - The Guys Joe and Matt & Gotta Have It Out. , Cheers... ( ) - , Thank You, Jon Jones, & Gorms, Matt and Matt and Gynn, AKA and the Crews, - Jake, & The Crews Get it Out! & the Crew . , , Gotta Give It Out!! | , and , & ... Check it Out, Chet & Gellie
00:01:59.000So there's a surgery that you can do where I guess they take my semen and they take out all the girl, like all the girl hormones or whatever, chromosomes, inject it into the wife, gives you like a 90-something percent chance of getting a little boy.
00:02:45.000Wouldn't you think in some way, now I'm not really too much of a spiritual, well, I wouldn't say I'm spiritual, but I don't believe in, I don't, how do I phrase this?
00:02:55.000Would you worry that you would anger the gods by trying to fuck with DNA? That's so funny.
00:03:02.000So I actually thought that, you know, because obviously I'm a religious guy, I thought that my theory has always been God is going to give me a son when I am mature enough to raise a man, to teach a man how to be a man.
00:04:20.000I feel like God gives people the intelligence to come up with These ideas and these different, you know, surgeries or whatever to be able to...
00:04:30.000Like, God gives someone the idea to be able to do this, so maybe he's okay with you choosing boy or girl.
00:04:38.000Well, they didn't have the foresight when they were writing the Bible to take out genetic diversity testing or whatever the fuck they're doing.
00:04:52.000I don't know what the process is, but yeah.
00:04:56.000Well, people, I mean, wouldn't you say personally that people who are religious, almost all of them sort of pick and choose what they decide to agree with and not agree with?
00:05:21.000It's not the way it's supposed to go either, but, you know, we're imperfect and he knows that.
00:05:26.000Do you think, when we were talking about, like, um...
00:05:30.000Wanting to wait until or that God would give you this opportunity when you are more mature when you're mature enough to raise a man Do you do you think about that like man?
00:05:41.000Like why am I not mature enough right now?
00:05:44.000Like if I can internalize that and if I can understand that like what is the difference between me in the future When I am mature enough to have a man and me right now like why why have I not learned enough lessons?
00:05:57.000Why haven't I balanced myself out enough?
00:05:59.000I I feel like I'm learning lessons every year, every month, every day.
00:06:04.000I feel like I'm growing as a person, as a man, but I know about some demons that I still struggle with, and I feel as if when I'm over those, I'll feel ready to be able to raise a man and teach a man how to be a proper man.
00:06:20.000But you don't feel like you're over those yet.
00:08:30.000I literally was in a point in my life then when I was winning all these fights.
00:08:36.000I was the it boy in the UFC, sponsored by Nike and Gatorade and, you know, greatest of all time, finishing legends after legend after legend.
00:08:49.000Just really in this position where I felt so untouchable, and I just felt like everything was meant to go my way in that time of my life.
00:09:01.000I was smoking pot the majority of my career, drinking.
00:10:19.000The person came through, and I just assumed it was my green light to go, obviously being not completely clear-headed, and I ended up running into a car.
00:11:07.000But my bowl that had residue was in the car.
00:11:09.000So I literally, I opened my car door, I'd like take two steps away from the car, and then I'd go back to the car, and I'd like search the car, because I had it in my cup holder.
00:11:21.000And when I hit, the bowl fell somewhere, who knows where it flew to.
00:12:03.000My decision was to sleep at my friend's house because I knew I couldn't drive home.
00:12:07.000He woke up early the next morning to go to work, and he's like, John, feel free to stay here, and you can make yourself breakfast or whatever.
00:14:12.000First, I was afraid that there would be some type of problems with her baby.
00:14:17.000Because, you know, obviously, if she had a difficult pregnancy, then that's a whole different level of being in trouble.
00:14:25.000God forbid if she was going to have a miscarriage, you know, I would imagine that that would be 1000% put on me.
00:14:31.000So I thought about the fact that I went from just partying and enjoying this career and this amazing fairytale life.
00:14:39.000I thought I was going from that to like literally being in jail, being labeled as a murderer.
00:14:44.000So that was my number one thing was just hoping that the baby was okay.
00:14:50.000What about what were you thinking about yourself like when you did that when you ran?
00:14:54.000I mean, there's no way you could be happy with yourself that you know that What were you thinking?
00:15:00.000Well, I I me and my mom have a great relationship.
00:15:02.000I'm a mama's boy And then I'm the father of four daughters, so You know if anything my my my respect for for women is is I have tremendous respect for a woman and And I tried to,
00:15:20.000like, obviously, being a father, like, I tried to...
00:16:43.000Everything that's happened over the last, you know, two years or whatnot makes people feel like they can tell me that I need to get my shit together.
00:18:15.000The only thing that can make you feel better is to be pure.
00:18:17.000And to actually get your shit together.
00:18:18.000Yeah, because if someone comes up to me and says, hey man, you've been ripping off old ladies and stealing money from the church, I'd be like, what the fuck are you talking about?
00:18:55.000And I'm sure a lot of people go through that when they read social media and they see these anonymous eggs on Twitter saying mean shit to you.
00:19:02.000You start thinking, I want to know who this fucking guy is and what's going on in his fucking life.
00:19:24.000And I seriously have been working on my personal life tremendously.
00:19:30.000And as of right now, I feel, I feel amazing.
00:19:34.000I feel better now today than I did when I was, Beating everybody's ass and you know sponsored by the world and like I literally feel better today because I I feel like I've conquered a lot of demons in my personal life.
00:19:48.000So you feel better meaning you feel more at peace?
00:19:51.000More at peace you know like not worried about social media all the time like that that has brought a lot of peace to me not worried about what people are saying not even worrying about what's going on in the UFC like who has the belt or or You know Just being Jonathan Jones and having my group of friends across the country who genuinely love me,
00:20:19.000focusing on my kids every day, you know, taking my girls to cheerleading practice, picking them up from school, dropping them off at school.
00:21:12.000But don't you, though, in your mind...
00:21:15.000Oh, yeah, I have to fight because the story can't end like this.
00:21:20.000Yeah, well, it's like the financial thing is beautiful and everything like that.
00:21:22.000It's wonderful that you're set for life and you can just kick back and your children will be taken care of and your wife will be taken care of.
00:21:29.000But you have a responsibility of greatness.
00:21:33.000There's very few people that ever get to the position that you not just were in when you won the title, when you were the youngest ever UFC light heavyweight champion.
00:22:25.000I mean, when you win a fight like that, where you weren't 100%, does that sort of almost reinforce this idea that you could do anything you want?
00:22:41.000I'm not sure if I've ever shared this with anyone else before, but I had this crazy thing that I would do.
00:22:46.000Where I would party one week before every fight.
00:22:49.000And I did it throughout my whole career.
00:22:52.000And this was stupid, but it was this mental crutch that I had.
00:22:56.000I literally would, one week before every fight, I would go out and I would get blacked out, wasted.
00:23:03.000And my logic was, if this guy were to beat me somehow, I can look myself in the mirror and say that, well, I lost because I got hammered the week before the fight.
00:24:11.000And then you're fighting a guy who'd been pretty active and fought some good guys, had a great victory over Shogun, and looked real good in a lot of his fights, and was an up-and-comer.
00:24:19.000The main thing about Owens that really bothered me was he was the most...
00:24:43.000I figure out their first favorite punch, their second favorite punch, their third, their favorite combinations, their setups to their takedowns, when they clinch, what side their head's going to be on.
00:25:14.000You know, and he gets these random knockouts from these weird angles, and he just winks stuff, and he almost closes his eyes, and the next thing you know, he's knocked somebody out, you know.
00:25:22.000So the scary thing about him was he's so unpredictable.
00:25:54.000And I think that was one of the first fights where I actually just wanted to get the win, get my money, go back to my actual goal, which was DC, instead of wanting to finish this guy like normal.
00:26:07.000So I had to really question myself on why...
00:26:13.000Why I was like that, why I was content with coasting.
00:26:16.000Well, that was a fight where you, that had the most pressure on you, in any fight you've had before, as far as, like, people wanting to see how you respond to the adversity outside of the octagon.
00:28:41.000I don't think they had ever worked with an endurance athlete the way that I am.
00:28:46.000Mostly they work with football players or powerlifters?
00:28:49.000They work with a Philadelphia Eagle and a lot of powerlifters, yeah.
00:28:52.000But these guys, to their credit, they were really humble and they listened and they quickly adjusted what we were doing every day to make it more about endurance and not about maintaining muscle or strength and things like that.
00:29:07.000And I felt like I got in really good shape with these guys.
00:29:10.000And now we're at a place, because I'm still working with these same guys, now we're at a place where We realize the importance of endurance and we're going to start way farther out.
00:29:20.000And like I said, these guys are humble enough to do what I need them to do is put me through some strenuous workouts that I think are a great idea to make sure my endurance is in the right place.
00:29:28.000So other than the fact that you did so much strength and conditioning or so much powerlifting, what else, like, what did you feel when you got into the Octagon when you fought over in St. Preux?
00:30:23.000I knew that I was ready to beat D.C., Because I was so well-rehearsed and the drills and everything were so well-rehearsed to beat DC. But as far as going in the fight with Ovin St. Pru, I just felt like my creativity was kind of gone.
00:30:38.000My ability to improvise wasn't quite there.
00:30:40.000And that was just from taking off so much time from martial arts.
00:30:44.000So in the fight with Ovin St. Pru, I felt really strong.
00:31:23.000But I was throwing big shots on ovens instead of throwing a whole bunch of shots.
00:31:31.000And that was because I was feeling lactic acid in my arms.
00:31:34.000So that kind of made me nervous that I didn't have the normal level of endurance that I normally have.
00:31:40.000Do you think that's because you had more muscle bulk?
00:31:42.000Yeah, I think it is because I had more Mosa Boca.
00:31:44.000But on the bright side, and not that this is a good thing to injure someone, but I did break or fracture his arm with a kick, and that's something that I've never done before.
00:31:53.000So that showed me that definitely came, that has to be connected to just developing so much power in my hips and in my legs.
00:32:00.000It's a point of, there's like a balancing tipping point, right?
00:32:04.000Where it's like strength versus endurance and trying to find that perfect line.
00:32:08.000Right, and right now, As I sit here today, I'm using my past experience to measure what I'm doing as we speak.
00:33:24.000I believe I can beat both of these guys, and they're up there on TV where I should be, and I'm sitting here at home kind of living in this depression.
00:33:36.000Literally the next day I called, I walked down there stoned, right?
00:33:42.000And just like, hey, I need to get my life together.
00:35:02.000I had Mark Bell on the podcast before, and we also did a podcast in Columbus.
00:35:08.000With Louie Simmons, who's a world-famous powerlifting guru, and he's a fucking maniac.
00:35:13.000And it's all, with all those guys, it's all just about putting up big numbers, keeping going, keeping going, keep it going, heavier numbers, you know?
00:35:46.000Were you worried at all about getting injured, though?
00:35:48.000Because that's a big part of powerlifting, too.
00:35:49.000No, I have pretty good trainers, and they teach me the right way to do things, but they also allow me to be out of position a lot of times, too, because a lot of times people focus on the perfect form at everything, but when you lift a real big weight,
00:36:05.000you're not always going to be in the perfect form.
00:36:07.000So they almost allow me to be out of position sometimes or not in the perfect form and still power through positions.
00:36:16.000Yeah, you're strong in every part of the movement, whether you're in good form or bad form, you're still able to lift big weight.
00:36:23.000Well, that's the big theory behind functional strength, right?
00:36:25.000That's why people like doing things like power cleans and presses because it's such an awkward thing to do with the weight and you're in weird movements and you're doing things with your whole body.
00:38:35.000I would assume that someone who's a professional mixed martial arts fighter has to at least maintain a maintenance level of striking constantly.
00:38:47.000Now when it's July, how does that work?
00:38:50.000When you're suspended, because this is a question that I've always wanted to know, like if you're suspended for a PED or something along those lines, aren't you not supposed to train with other fighters that are in the UFC or is that bullshit?
00:39:50.000And now that I live in Albuquerque, I'm constantly giving back and helping other fighters, especially since I've had all these suspensions happen.
00:39:58.000Do you surround yourself with too many people that like to party?
00:40:17.000When I decided that I was going to be completely sober, I lost a lot of friends.
00:40:22.000And it was crazy because my phone used to blow up on Friday nights because everybody knew that John was going to be buying everything that people needed.
00:42:39.000Whenever I'm in a situation where a lot of people are drinking, sometimes I feel like I'm just kind of chilling and a little bit too chilled out.
00:42:46.000So, in order to keep up with a bunch of drunk people who are talking...
00:43:00.000So it's funny because I've developed this way of just having so much fun, completely sober, where a lot of times when I'm leaving a place, someone will be like, hey, how are you getting home?
00:43:43.000I think stopping pot was really tough because I literally didn't associate with too many people who didn't smoke.
00:43:49.000That's the way I kind of like a lot of people on my own team.
00:43:52.000I didn't hang out with them because I was kind of one of the hardest working guys on the team but a little bit of a bad boy and none of my teammates were really...
00:44:07.000A lot of my friends were people who weren't martial arts, had anything to do with martial arts, and I would always kind of associate with just party people, people who like to have fun.
00:44:16.000So I realized once I quit smoking that I really didn't know too many people who didn't smoke.
00:45:19.000And so that's kind of, like, that's, you know, what I live for outside of family, of course.
00:45:24.000Well, it sounds to me that you've done an audit of your life and you've looked at all the issues that you're dealing with and you've decided to not engage in them anymore.
00:46:26.000Now, when you look at the future and you see yourself from here on out, do you feel like from now on, from my time on this earth, no more drinking, no more pot, no more partying?
00:46:43.000Just because I... Coming out of high school, I started drinking in high school, and I always felt like I needed alcohol to be cool or to put myself in certain situations, to conquer anxiety or whatever,
00:46:59.000to be a part of the crowd and to have fun.
00:47:06.000And so I got to a point where I couldn't just go out and have a drink.
00:47:11.000I would always get to the point where everyone's getting crazy and things are getting wild, you know?
00:47:17.000And I never really had the opportunity to develop a healthy relationship with it.
00:47:22.000It just went from high school to college when you party even more to being famous and being able to afford to buy everybody drinks every night.
00:47:32.000So my relationship with alcohol, it became unhealthy and I never went through a period of time where I had a healthy, mature, responsible relationship with it.
00:47:43.000Now being sober for so long, I know that I can Have one drink and feel a little bit of a buzz and catch an Uber home or whatnot.
00:47:53.000Or I know that I can go out and not have a drink at all and be the life of the party.
00:47:58.000I know that I can go out and not have a drink at all and approach someone and talk to someone with zero anxiety or feeling like, You know, I can sit amongst a group of drunk people and know that I'm cool in my own skin just the way that I am.
00:48:12.000And that's something I never really had the opportunity to experience until now.
00:49:00.000It's like that there's a thing that alcohol does to you where it says, or drugs, you know, like, just a little bit, man, just a little bit.
00:49:42.000I wasn't waking up and I didn't need alcohol, but I always said to myself, I don't have a problem with alcohol, but then when you run into a pregnant woman, you have a problem with alcohol.
00:49:54.000The day that something affects you, the first GWI, you know, it's a problem.
00:50:00.000Something was causing you to not think straight, and it was your actions and what you chose to take into your body, and then you said, all right, I'm done with that.
00:50:07.000But you feel like you could get back to that.
00:50:09.000I feel like alcohol, I was never really addicted to alcohol.
00:50:17.000I just really enjoyed partying a lot and I made a lot of bad decisions with alcohol.
00:50:21.000So now I really have had the time to see clearly.
00:51:08.000Literally, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in between workouts, to study film, to do everything.
00:51:14.000For me, there's some functional smokers who can wake up and They have eight things they were going to do that day, and they do all eight things.
00:51:22.000Like, me, I would wake up, and I had eight things I needed to do that day, and I'd be like, oh, I got three of them done today.
00:52:10.000When you're dealing with the amount of stress and just the amount of pressure is probably a better word of being, you know, one of the great fighters of all time.
00:52:22.000I mean, you're without a doubt one of the best fighters that's ever fought in MMA. And there's so many eyes on you.
00:52:28.000And there's so much pressure, and there's so much money involved, and accolades, and all these different things.
00:52:33.000You know, hey John, we've got a business meeting for you.
00:52:36.000Hey John, this company wants to talk to you about doing this.
00:52:39.000And hey John, there's just so much coming your way.
00:52:44.000Do you feel like, it's almost like you had set yourself We're good to go.
00:53:12.000Fucking throwing shots around in Albuquerque.
00:53:15.000You found a valve to release you from some of the intense pressure of being one of the baddest motherfuckers on the planet.
00:54:18.000I don't really seek hanging out with other celebrities.
00:54:21.000All my friends are just normal, average Joe Geisen.
00:54:29.000Back when I used to party, I used to feel like that was me just not being Jon Bones Jones and just being one of the guys, like, just doing the wild shit that everybody does.
00:54:39.000And then when something bad happens, it's like you're quickly reminded that millions of people around the world know exactly who you are.
00:54:49.000But it's a two-edged sword, too, because the people that get completely lost in the idea that they are this unique and special person, you eliminate yourself from all those other folks, and you separate yourself, and then it's extremely hard to relate.
00:55:02.000There's a lot of celebrities that go into a shell, and everywhere they go, they have security that takes them places, and they get delusional.
00:55:08.000They have a completely distorted perception of how people interact with them, because they don't just go hang with people.
00:55:15.000Right, yeah, that's definitely not me.
00:55:17.000I meet a lot of people and people say, man, you don't act famous.
00:55:25.000I really have a lot of pride in just doing normal shit, like going to places that most people, even fighters in Albuquerque, don't go, just being amongst the people.
00:55:36.000And I think a big part of me long to just kind of just be not famous sometimes.
00:55:42.000Now my question, the reason why I asked you that is, how do you plan on handling that now?
00:55:47.000Because if you're not going to be drinking, and you're not going to be smoking pot, and you're going to...
00:55:52.000I mean, right now you're living life as just John Jones, the person, and happy with your family, and happy with your life, and just working out and having a good time doing jujitsu and all that stuff, but eventually...
00:56:04.000Everything's going to ramp back up again.
00:56:05.000Media obligations are going to ramp back up again.
00:56:07.000All these things are going to happen and the pressure's going to be back on you again.
00:56:12.000What are you going to use as that escape valve then?
00:56:58.000I mean, that's the thing about growth, and that's one of the things that when people are haters, what they try to do is lock you down to the old you.
00:58:28.000Bernard Hopkins, one of the greatest boxers of all time for sure, and he'll fight December 17th for his last fight at 51 years old because he's a goddamn defensive wizard.
00:58:36.000He still does commentary for HBO, still sharp as a tack.
00:58:40.000But Bernard Hopkins went to jail and he decided when he went to jail, when he was a young man, he decided that from that point on he was going to be disciplined and that there's no more bullshit in his life.
00:58:52.000No more robbery or assault or any of the shit that got him into the position where he's in and then he was going to dedicate his life to being a world champion boxer.
00:59:01.000And from that point on he became one of the most disciplined boxers ever.
00:59:06.000Never ate bad food, never drank, never did anything stupid, always was in shape.
00:59:10.000And we'll go down in history as one of the all-time greats.
00:59:15.000And I feel like Bernard Hopkins was created by the darkest moment of him being arrested and him doing time in jail.
00:59:22.000And when he came out of that jail, one of the first things that one of the corrections officers said to him was, you'll be back.
00:59:30.000And he he used that as fuel and he knew that like there's no fucking way I'm gonna look at that dude again.
00:59:37.000There's no way there's no way he's right.
00:59:40.000There's no way and Ultimately Bernard Hopkins escaped his demons by facing them by being in hell by being in hell I think he was in jail for I forget how many years but Just enough, just enough to cement in his eyes, to harden him to the fact that what he needed was discipline and control over his own destiny.
00:59:59.000And I think that for a guy like you, you can take all those dark moments that you've experienced over this, and fuck, man, think about it, man, you got away pretty light.
01:00:09.000That girl could have died, you know, horrible things could have happened while you were drunk driving when you slammed into that Bentley into the tree, all the All these terrible things could have gone wrong that you kind of got away with.
01:00:21.000Boy, if you wanted to think that someone's looking out for you, you've got all the evidence in the world that points to someone actually looking out for you.
01:01:25.000The reason I put that up is because I know that right now I'm in a position to do some magnificent and extraordinary things.
01:01:37.000I know that because I've made so many mistakes, I make the perfect role model.
01:01:43.000I make the perfect person to still be able to inspire millions of people.
01:01:51.000There's very few people who are perfect and flawless and just that clean cut, never did anything wrong athlete.
01:02:00.000Way more people who are like me who have struggled with drugs or just being an idiot or just doing wild shit.
01:02:08.000Way more people who have let their parents down, let their families down, let their friends down, let themselves down.
01:02:13.000And because I made so many mistakes on such a public, you know, such a big scale and so public, I feel like all the great things that I do from here on out are going to be that much greater.
01:02:27.000Because of where I came from to do it.
01:02:59.000Is that from all of the accolades that you receive from all the fans and you just realize that you have all this love out there from all these people?
01:03:06.000Yeah, I just feel like I don't need it.
01:03:56.000So the reason why I put that laughing meme up is because I'm laughing at my pain and my struggles right now.
01:04:01.000I'm laughing at what I'm going through right now because I know my future is just so incredibly bright and I know the impact that I have.
01:04:10.000I know what I can do and what I'm going to do.
01:04:14.000Right now I'm in a waiting period where I have to wait before I can show the world what I'm actually capable of, what I can be and what I'm going to do for someone else one day.
01:04:25.000And it's also laughing at, like, people who actually think that I'm out, down and out.
01:04:31.000Like, people who actually think that my story is over.
01:04:33.000Or, you know, it's just like, I'm just laughing at it all because what I've done is, like, I've seen some athletes come back from way worse stuff.
01:04:44.000Rape charges and murder and attempted murder and all this type of crazy shit.
01:04:49.000If anything I've done, I've partied too much and I've done a lot of stupid stuff from being a party boy.
01:05:29.000You know, they look at you as this guy's had so much success, so many things handed to him that maybe he thinks he's better than everybody else.
01:05:42.000But they don't think about it that way.
01:05:44.000When they see the worst case scenario, I mean, the way it was played out, a pregnant woman in a car and you get in a car accident and you took off.
01:06:30.000I did everything that I could to be back in the position to win that belt back.
01:06:34.000I was getting ready to just show this triumphant, amazing story of someone who just made it through a hit-and-run situation and had everything taken from him and got it all back.
01:07:51.000You don't have the resources to get it normally?
01:07:55.000Yeah, you know, I... You were partying.
01:07:59.000No, I wasn't even necessarily partying, no.
01:08:01.000I've taken, like, Mel Enhancement before, and for people who haven't taken it, you literally, you know, you go from being like that to just, it puts the twist at the end of a punch.
01:08:29.000No, I had a teammate basically tell me, hey, he was talking about how his girlfriend's a pharmacist and he's capable of getting all this stuff and all that type of stuff.
01:08:39.000And I was like, well, I don't do drugs or anything like that.
01:09:16.000The supplement industry has a giant issue with the people that mix the stuff.
01:09:20.000Like, if you have a vat, and you're mixing up whatever creatine or something like that, and right before, I mean, if this is done in some country or some place that doesn't have excellent standards, it's not scrupulous, You could have been scooping up steroids in the batch before that, and you just throw the creatine in it,
01:09:36.000and some of it gets contaminated if they don't clean it.
01:11:28.000Calm myself down, and I instantly started thinking about the weight of the world literally on my back.
01:11:36.000I knew that I wasn't going to be fighting a few hours before everyone else knew, the public knew, and I could already start hearing everything.
01:11:44.000Even my own coaches have been looking at me like, Just their hearts were on the floor.
01:11:49.000I had done so much to get back to fighting at UFC 200, getting my life in order, getting the people around me in order, getting my health, my mind, just being in order to beat DC and Literally,
01:12:06.000right now, I've done so much of the right things to be back in a good position, and right now, people look at me as if I still don't have my shit together, but the only thing that I did was I took a pill that I thought was going to give me a boner,
01:12:22.000and literally, it's caused me a lot of heartache and a lot of disappointment and a lot of It just threw me back in here.
01:12:30.000Did you think in any way, shape, or form when someone gives you this pill and you don't know where it came from, you don't know what...
01:12:35.000Did you think, man, I don't know what's in this.
01:12:37.000No, I didn't think of it because I have been dealing with the Athletic Commission.
01:14:16.000No, when USADA came into the sport, I was suspended because of my hit and run.
01:14:20.000And so I never had even met anyone who worked for USADA. I'd never been sat down on a USADA seminar, what to do and what not to do and how serious it is and what could happen if you do this.
01:14:28.000Only thing I knew is I had to report where I was at.
01:14:31.000Like, if I go to LA for the weekend, I gotta let USADA know that I'm in LA because they can drug test me at any time.
01:14:37.000That's the only thing I really knew about USADA. I didn't know that doing something that I had done several times before could ultimately lose me a fight.
01:14:45.000So, the only difference was I had taken like little gas station pills and I've taken Viagra before.
01:14:52.000This teammate gave me something that was Seattle's.
01:14:54.000I thought the only thing that it would do was make me bigger and stronger for longer.
01:15:00.000That's all I thought was going to be happening.
01:15:03.000And then when I find out that I just failed a drug test...
01:15:07.000Do you know that Viagra is actually illegal in the Olympics?
01:16:20.000How did you narrow it down to this pill?
01:16:22.000I literally went through my supplements, and I hired a private lab and a lawyer, and we started giving them everything that I took, which isn't really a lot of stuff at all.
01:19:15.000Yes, because each pill that we had tested, some of them had more estrogen blockers, some had almost no estrogen blockers, some had small traces, none of the pills were consistent, so it was obvious that, and we tested several different packages, so it was obvious that these pills were probably getting made in the same machine,
01:19:46.000So I took one that was just contaminated enough and literally I got tested two days later and it was in my system.
01:19:53.000So it was obvious that it was a complete accident.
01:19:57.000And even if I would have reported the dick pill to USADA, They would have read the label, and the label would have never said that it was an estrogen blocker in there, and I still would have had a dirty...
01:20:29.000I feel like in certain circumstances, like there's been several fighters, like Chad Mendez, he has, I believe he has eczema, and he was taking an eczema cream that had some sort of, was it a hormone precursor or a hormone peptide,
01:21:12.000Even you saw his lawyer, he showed a little bit of remorse.
01:21:15.000I could feel that he felt bad about what was happening to me because I think he could really, even the arbitrators, they could tell what had actually happened.
01:21:24.000But their problem was, they said, John, it was just negligent.
01:21:34.000But even if I would have reported the pill, they would have read the ingredients and they would have never saw that there was a trace of something that wasn't advertised.
01:21:41.000So why suspend someone for something like that?
01:22:04.000My whole argument was, even if I told you what I took, it still was never on the label.
01:22:10.000So unless you guys were going to spend all the money to take it to a laboratory to test this individual pill, you get what I'm saying?
01:22:17.000I still would have ran into the same situation.
01:22:19.000I think it's great to protect people from people that are cheating.
01:22:23.000I don't think it's great to punish someone for taking something that has a trace amount of something that does them absolutely no benefit whatsoever and clearly...
01:22:30.000And wasn't supposed to be in that pill.
01:22:32.000And wasn't supposed to be in that pill and clearly wasn't being taken to enhance athletic performance.
01:26:59.000No one has spoken to me about whether I get an immediate shot or whether they make me fight at least once or twice before.
01:27:08.000No, I have no clue what they're actually planning on doing.
01:27:10.000How often do you communicate with the UFC? I literally haven't spoken to Dana White since like a week before UFC 200. Now that the UFC's been sold...
01:27:26.000Now that the UFC's been sold, and there's these new owners, what's your thoughts on all this?
01:27:30.000I'm excited to get to know the new owners of the UFC. I've had a few interactions with Ari before, but obviously I've never dealt with him on a business level.
01:28:37.000When you see all this work that's being put in by USADA to make sure that people aren't taking things to the point where someone like you, who's taking something that's not a performance enhancer, gets suspended for a year, and the idea is that you're supposed to be protecting fighters from someone who's doing something that's dangerous,
01:29:35.000I had a conversation with Ari Emanuel about it.
01:29:40.000I'm going to have a conversation soon with Nowitzki about it.
01:29:43.000I just think it's the most unnecessary and dangerous aspect in fighting.
01:29:49.000The most important aspect in fighting is fighters being healthy and in shape and competing to the best of their abilities.
01:29:57.000And if there's anything that inhibits that, other than not training, it's the dehydration effect of weight cutting.
01:30:04.000I think weight cutting is terrible, and now that they can't use IVs, I'm obviously, again, I hate to have to say this again, I'm not a doctor, so I don't know what...
01:30:14.000What is the most effective method of rehydrating?
01:30:18.000I've talked to doctors and I guess they vary in their opinions because some people say it's orally is the best way through drinking water slowly, but some people say it's not.
01:30:27.000Some doctors say no, IV is a far superior method, especially when it comes to rehydrating the brain, which could take as much as 72 hours.
01:30:35.000I think it's interesting that in boxing, most of the deaths have come from the lighter weight divisions.
01:30:42.000And they attribute that also to weight cutting and dehydration.
01:30:46.000Hey, so yeah, my boss just said that I'm talking way too much and we're gonna have to end this thing.
01:34:52.000I've manhandled a lot of heavyweights.
01:34:57.000And I've done it right at the weight I am now, so I know that I'm capable.
01:35:02.000I just want to make sure that I compete against the right stylistic matchup for me when I do go to heavyweight and challenge for that title.
01:35:09.000One of the things you said earlier that I thought was really interesting is you said you're not going to spar hard again.
01:35:47.000I haven't been polluting it with shit and I haven't damaged it.
01:35:51.000And so I just feel like you got the best fighter in light heavyweight history who's still the youngest guy in the division who hasn't taken any damage whatsoever and is completely regenerating himself.
01:36:04.000And I'm going to come back and have this explosive second half of a career.
01:36:09.000Now, there's a lot of guys that are doing that now where they're not sparring hard.
01:37:45.000Now, Jackson's is such a crazy place because it's a hotbed of MMA talent and it's a magnet for talented people to come there to get better because they know they're going to be training with a bunch of animals there.
01:37:55.000But I'm hearing now with the opening of the new place that you guys just got so many tough dudes coming there trying to make a name.
01:38:30.000So our gym manager, he does have an extensive tryout thing that he does where he puts you through jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and kicking and striking and makes sure you're knowledgeable about the game.
01:39:03.000So if you know almost nothing, you're in the amateur classes.
01:39:07.000And then there's the pro practices where you literally get guys who aren't very knowledgeable training next to me and Holly Holm, Cowboy Cerrone, and all of us.
01:39:17.000So it's a fan experience for sure and it's an experience of a lifetime for a lot of people and I'm happy for a lot of these guys who come in here inspiring martial artists and get to train with me and the rest of us because I can only imagine wanting to, you know,
01:39:32.000you get to play ball with Lebron James and you just got out of college or you never went to college.
01:39:38.000I am happy for them as long as they don't get in my way.
01:40:02.000I can read people's character a little bit.
01:40:04.000And if I see you for the first time, you are obviously about 260, 205, whatever, 220. And it's all about the way you look at me.
01:40:13.000So if you come in the gym and you even look like you have an ounce of a chip on your shoulder, or like an ounce of, holy shit, that's John Jones, I'm getting ready to spar him today, or anything weird that's going on with your eye contact with me, then I'm just not going to mess with you.
01:40:29.000I'll say hi to you, and welcome to Jackson's.
01:40:33.000And what if they say, hey, Megan, do you want to spar?
01:40:45.000So me, the best way you can work with me when you come to Jackson's is come up, introduce yourself, be kind, be polite, be respectful, and show me that you are here to get better, and that you're not here to, you know, even some guys, they come in and ask for a picture their first day here,
01:41:05.000How about you come here, work your ass off for a few days, a few weeks, or whatever, and then get to this place where you feel like you're comfortable with an expert picture instead of just being here and being a fan.
01:41:14.000People want those fucking pictures instantaneously.
01:41:46.000But I do see the benefits of having so many new people coming in.
01:41:51.000I mean, everyone has something to teach.
01:41:52.000And you can learn from anybody from any country if you have an open mind enough.
01:41:57.000A lot of the guys come in with a great attitude, and they're just really grateful to be there, and they go with a lot of the top dogs, and we can kind of beat them up a little bit because they're the new guy or whatever.
01:42:12.000But every once in a while you get that one guy with something to prove, and I really came up with a great way to protect myself from those type of people.
01:43:27.000The few times that it has happened, too, I'll let my teammates know I'm gonna match what you're trying to do to me.
01:43:34.000So, you know, don't be surprised if I fuck you up with something that's a little bit more than what you would do to a trainer partner if I realize you're trying to hurt me.
01:43:49.000Right around 2010, 2011, I went through this huge spiritual thing where I became obsessed with the power of the mind.
01:44:05.000I got into it deep, like really deep, just meditation, visualization, and just realizing how powerful our minds actually are, like how we really do paint our world with our thoughts and our level of self-belief.
01:44:18.000And so right around 2010, I just took myself to this different mental level where I took myself on being Average Joe, kind of.
01:44:43.000Yeah, so I took myself from being very average-minded to actually believing that I was the shit and believing that I could be the shit and that I could be the GOAT and be the greatest and never lose.
01:44:55.000I took myself to a different place mentally and a lot of it came from mental practice and meditation and visualization and just seeking knowledge from people who are strong believers.
01:45:08.000Les Brown and Tony Robbins and guys like that I just became really obsessed with just learning about the power of the mind.
01:45:17.000Now I just kind of, I have a lot of things that stuck with me, a lot of ways of believing that stuck with me that just subconsciously I know who I am, what I'm capable of and how I believe and how powerful my mind actually is.
01:45:31.000I'm a firm believer in meditation because I believe that human beings can get caught up, especially someone involved in a very difficult endeavor like you are.
01:45:39.000You can get caught up in the momentum of your life and sometimes it's very hard to reset.
01:45:44.000It's very hard to separate yourself from it and get a balanced and as much as you can objective perspective.
01:45:53.000I think one of the best ways to do that is to take time where you sit and you close your eyes and you do nothing.
01:46:00.000And just concentrate on your breathing and just set it all aside and extract yourself.
01:46:29.000You lose yourself in that wave of life.
01:46:34.000I definitely lost myself at one point in my life and I feel like right now I'm at this position where I am myself and I can see Jon Bones Jones and I can look at my career from a fan perspective.
01:47:19.000So I'm not necessarily meditating these days, but...
01:47:25.000I do have the capability of taking away who I actually am at this point and realizing that this is just a part of me or this is just a situation in my life.
01:50:21.000And then I ended up tapping these two guys out fairly quick, and I think some of these people from Submission Underground, they saw those videos and they're starting this new promotion where they're actually paying fighters pretty well.
01:50:36.000They're taking care of the athletes, you know?
01:51:58.000So it's how fast the person can escape versus how fast you can submit them.
01:52:02.000At the end of the exchange back and forth, say if you submit your guy and then he has an opportunity to try to submit you, if you submit him faster than he submitted you, you win.
01:52:11.000If you submit him and he doesn't submit you, you win.
01:52:17.000And then if you both escape again, you do it one more time.
01:52:19.000And then they calculate all the time it took for each one to escape, and the person who has the least amount of time and escaped the quickest winds up winning.
01:54:21.000Who knows what you're gonna do, right?
01:54:23.000I don't know what I'm gonna do at this point, but I'm getting better, and I'm preserving myself.
01:54:27.000Listen, man, it's good to see you smile, it's good to see you laugh, it's good to see you happy, it's good to see you optimistic about your future, and I think you got a great perspective right now, and I really hope you keep it together, man.
01:54:36.000I'm a big fan as a person, as a fighter.