The Joe Rogan Experience - JRE MMA Show #168 with Khalil Rountree Jr.

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00:00:15.000 What up?

00:00:16.000 How you feeling?

00:00:16.000 What's going on?

00:00:17.000 Oh, man.

00:00:19.000 Back from a amazing Thailand vacation.

00:00:23.000 Oh, really?

00:00:24.000 After that, after the fight.

00:00:28.000 It just feels like I've been on just a great vacation journey.

00:00:32.000 Baku was amazing.

00:00:33.000 Let me start off there.

00:00:34.000 Please.

00:00:35.000 Let me start off with Baku, Azerbaijan.

00:00:38.000 Oh, my God.

00:00:40.000 What a place.

00:00:41.000 I heard it's amazing there.

00:00:42.000 Absolutely incredible.

00:00:43.000 Everybody who went there was raving about how great it was.

00:00:45.000 Absolutely incredible.

00:00:46.000 When we got the news, like, okay, the fight's going to be postponed.

00:00:50.000 It's going to go into Baku. 0.95

00:00:52.000 I had never heard of the place in my life.

00:00:54.000 I agreed without even looking it up, you know, but in my mind, I was thinking, like, okay, this is a place I've never heard of.

00:01:01.000 You know, I started thinking, like, I don't know, it's probably going to be something similar to like Saudi, and it's probably just like a lot of desert, blah, blah, blah.

00:01:08.000 And I get there, and my mind was absolutely blown.

00:01:13.000 Amazing treatment from Baku City Circuit welcomed us in.

00:01:19.000 The fans were some of the best I've ever encountered, man.

00:01:24.000 They were so happy to have the UFC there.

00:01:28.000 Everyone in the streets, like people who weren't even fight fans, were just excited that the UFC was in Baku.

00:01:34.000 So like that added to the experience.

00:01:37.000 And then it's just beautiful, man.

00:01:40.000 What does it look like?

00:01:40.000 What does it like?

00:01:42.000 So where we were, yeah, so that's Old Town.

00:01:45.000 So I did a tour through there.

00:01:46.000 Whoa.

00:01:50.000 So I forgot, but I know that 4,000 people still live in Old Town.

00:01:54.000 There's boutique hotels in there.

00:01:57.000 There's just so much history as like when it was built, kind of what they're known for.

00:02:05.000 I don't remember what that building is, but the architecture there is one of the things that that's the flame towers.

00:02:14.000 So at night, there's just projections and like it'll be like the flag or it'll just, it'll actually be like flames.

00:02:22.000 Because Baku is known for oil, like being one of the first oil countries.

00:02:28.000 This is the Carpet Museum, an amazing place full of carpets that are like century years old.

00:02:34.000 They built it to look like a carpet.

00:02:35.000 I'll fucking get it.

00:02:36.000 It's crazy.

00:02:37.000 And all these carpets are handmade, like passed down generation after generation.

00:02:41.000 So like they tell you how deep the culture and like the stories of these carpets and like how, oh my God.

00:02:51.000 And clean, clean, friendly people.

00:02:55.000 There was a bunch of people that went there decided to stay for a few days.

00:02:58.000 Honestly, I wish that I would have stayed longer.

00:03:01.000 I've already booked family trips.

00:03:03.000 I've told everybody we're going back to Baku.

00:03:06.000 Wow.

00:03:07.000 Man.

00:03:08.000 That's kind of cool.

00:03:09.000 Just thinking about it, I'm like, dude, this is a place that I want to visit for the rest of my life.

00:03:14.000 I want to just keep going back to Baku, man.

00:03:17.000 That's dope. 0.93

00:03:17.000 Yeah. 0.93

00:03:19.000 And obviously you had an amazing result there, too.

00:03:21.000 Yeah, I think that it really played into just my performance.

00:03:26.000 I was just in a really good place.

00:03:30.000 Let me, okay.

00:03:31.000 I was in a good place, but I was also in kind of a fucked up state, like, not going to lie.

00:03:38.000 I was just so happy to be across the world doing what I love to do and to be like treated like we're actually appreciated for, you know, like for what we do.

00:03:50.000 And so that helped me get through all the other shit that happened.

00:03:53.000 What was the other shit?

00:03:54.000 What was going on?

00:03:55.000 Oh, man.

00:03:56.000 So I knew that we were going to be jet lagged no matter what.

00:04:00.000 I knew it because we're traveling, you know, super far.

00:04:03.000 16-hour flight, right?

00:04:04.000 Yeah.

00:04:04.000 Super long flight.

00:04:06.000 So I knew we were going to be jet lagged.

00:04:07.000 So I made sure that we got there two weeks early to adjust.

00:04:12.000 It took about six, almost about a week to like fully adjust.

00:04:18.000 And then so during fight week, say second day, first day of fight week, I'm like thrown up and shit and nonstop.

00:04:28.000 Oh no.

00:04:29.000 And I'm like, okay, this is great.

00:04:31.000 This is exactly what I want to be feeling right now.

00:04:33.000 You know, pressure's on.

00:04:34.000 I got to fight.

00:04:35.000 You know, like, I'm super motivated.

00:04:39.000 Yeah.

00:04:39.000 And I'm just like, I don't know what I'm, what am I going to do, man?

00:04:44.000 What was it?

00:04:45.000 I don't even know.

00:04:46.000 Food poisoning?

00:04:47.000 I don't think so because everybody that I was with, we all ate the same thing.

00:04:55.000 You were the only one who got this.

00:04:56.000 I was the only one, man.

00:04:57.000 I was the only one.

00:04:58.000 And so.

00:04:59.000 And you don't cut a ton of weight.

00:05:01.000 So I think what was it?

00:05:05.000 Right now, I mean vacation mode, I'm, you know, 228, 230, something like that.

00:05:10.000 That's still compared to God.

00:05:11.000 I don't get over 230.

00:05:12.000 I'm not.

00:05:13.000 I'm a Ferreira.

00:05:14.000 Yeah.

00:05:14.000 You know, he cuts a ton.

00:05:15.000 Yeah.

00:05:16.000 I just do not let myself get over 230.

00:05:19.000 That's just like my, that's my oath to myself.

00:05:23.000 And then in camp, what do you get down to?

00:05:26.000 20.

00:05:26.000 I'd say between 20 and 25 is where I like to balance 220, 225.

00:05:31.000 And anytime in there, I'm good because I know that that's what I'm going to fight at.

00:05:35.000 So when I'm in camp, it's, you know.

00:05:38.000 And then when do you start your cut?

00:05:41.000 So the way that it happens is the last kind of two weeks, I don't necessarily do too much of like a diet change.

00:05:50.000 It's just my, like, I'm always looking to peak on fight day, not like a peak plateau format that a lot of people go by.

00:05:58.000 So I'd say usually, let's say we weigh in on Friday.

00:06:03.000 That Tuesday, I'm around 214.

00:06:08.000 Oh, okay.

00:06:09.000 213, something like that.

00:06:11.000 That's nice.

00:06:12.000 And then, you know, those last days is kind of like waterload, proteins, and fats.

00:06:16.000 That's all nice cut.

00:06:17.000 I sit in the sauna no matter what, like an hour, maybe.

00:06:22.000 Like my weight cut this time took, I hit mitts for an hour and a half.

00:06:27.000 I laid down in a sauna blanket and I was on weight.

00:06:31.000 Like I, So it was like under two hours for me to be on weight.

00:06:34.000 So you're not depleted?

00:06:35.000 Not at all.

00:06:36.000 And how long did it take for that cold to get out of your system or whatever it was?

00:06:36.000 Feel good.

00:06:41.000 I still felt it.

00:06:44.000 I still felt it a bit on flight day, but there was nothing that was going to, like, my mind for like through this camp, through this fight, man, like, I'm so happy for everything that I went through, honestly.

00:06:56.000 Like, there was nothing that was going to take away my shine or my joy or my feeling of like being ready, being prepared.

00:07:06.000 It was a battle with my mind.

00:07:07.000 And every day I had to make a choice to just be better, to be bigger, to be happy, to just, you know, to just embrace everything.

00:07:19.000 This was all like everything's just been about embracing the obstacles that come.

00:07:23.000 So the last time we talked was before the Pereira fight.

00:07:26.000 Yeah.

00:07:27.000 And it was a great fight.

00:07:28.000 Thank you.

00:07:28.000 You had some great success.

00:07:30.000 It was a tough fight.

00:07:32.000 And then what is it like after that fight?

00:07:35.000 So you face the best in the world and you know that you can hang with them.

00:07:40.000 You lost the fight, but you didn't gain a ton of experience.

00:07:43.000 You went five rounds with one of the greatest.

00:07:47.000 And what is it like after that?

00:07:52.000 I'd say everything seems very different now.

00:08:01.000 I have been, since the Pereira fight, I've been to, I'd say, more than six countries.

00:08:09.000 And every I have their fans there.

00:08:12.000 Everyone knows who I am now.

00:08:14.000 And that is something that was a shock to me.

00:08:21.000 Especially coming off a loss and just knowing that I gave my all in that fight and that's I guess what the people wanted from me to get that type of like acknowledgement because I've been in the UFC for so long.

00:08:38.000 But that fight, I guess, really showed people like who I am.

00:08:41.000 And I got to show the world who I am and against a guy like Alex.

00:08:46.000 So now I feel like I've at least kind of made my mark and been like, hey, I'm here.

00:08:54.000 And so people are now like, okay, Khalil, I know who this guy is.

00:08:57.000 You can say the name.

00:08:58.000 And now people kind of, you know, they're familiar with who I am now.

00:09:05.000 But the other thing that it showed me was that I know, I now know who I am and what I'm capable of.

00:09:17.000 I spent majority of that fight just soaking in the moment and just like, oh, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here.

00:09:25.000 I was excited to be there.

00:09:27.000 I gave everything I had, but then going back and watching it, I'm like, oh, I saw a lot of the mistakes that I made.

00:09:34.000 What mistakes specifically?

00:09:35.000 The number one mistake that I think was made in that fight is that it was my first five-rounder.

00:09:42.000 And when I was going into the fourth, because I took a lot of damage in the end of the middle to end of the third.

00:09:50.000 So I was up one and two.

00:09:52.000 The beginning of three, I was starting to kind of, he started to kind of take over halfway through the round.

00:09:59.000 And once he started hitting me, I was like, oh shit, he's established his range.

00:10:04.000 And now I'm feeling it.

00:10:06.000 So it wasn't necessarily like a cardio thing.

00:10:08.000 It was just like I started taking damage.

00:10:10.000 And everybody knows this guy hits hard.

00:10:13.000 So I was taking the damage.

00:10:17.000 I was rocked.

00:10:18.000 I was dizzy.

00:10:19.000 Going into the fourth in the break, I remember John Wood saying, all right, man, like, you're doing great.

00:10:26.000 10 more minutes.

00:10:27.000 Like, you can do anything 10 minutes.

00:10:29.000 Just stick in there.

00:10:30.000 We got this.

00:10:32.000 And because I wasn't familiar with the five rounds, I took 10 minutes as sell out.

00:10:39.000 So in the fourth round, I came out like ready to, you know, I wasn't thinking with the mindset of like, I'm up to, he just took the third.

00:10:47.000 Fourth round, I need to maybe relax, you know, maybe not get hit, you know, whatever.

00:10:55.000 Fourth round, I came out, I bit down, and I went to war.

00:11:00.000 I think that's what lost me the fight for me personally.

00:11:04.000 So you made a lot of adjustments in the Jamal Hill fight.

00:11:06.000 1,000%.

00:11:07.000 Yeah, you could see it.

00:11:08.000 You could see, first of all, what a performance.

00:11:11.000 Thank you.

00:11:12.000 I mean, you dominated a world champion.

00:11:15.000 I mean, dominated him.

00:11:16.000 It was such a clear-cut victory.

00:11:18.000 And it was a victory where a lot of people thought that you were going to struggle with him.

00:11:22.000 And, you know, you just really, you really showed a level above the Pereira fight.

00:11:30.000 And I think maybe part of it is what you're talking about, like choosing when to engage and when not to engage.

00:11:36.000 Like, there's moments in that fight where you were dominating the fight, but there's moments where he was coming after you.

00:11:41.000 You just moved.

00:11:42.000 You just moved.

00:11:43.000 You moved away from him.

00:11:44.000 And I know it pissed him off, but it's like, hey, man, you know, you were way ahead.

00:11:48.000 You were way ahead, and you were dominating the exchanges.

00:11:51.000 Then when you chose to exchange with him, you were hurting him and dropping him.

00:11:55.000 It was very impressive, man.

00:11:56.000 Thank you.

00:11:57.000 And that was the product of, you know, really reviewing mistakes.

00:12:07.000 You also do some wild shit, like standing hammer fists.

00:12:10.000 Is that something you practice?

00:12:12.000 Absolutely, man.

00:12:13.000 That's a crazy movie.

00:12:14.000 Absolutely, man.

00:12:15.000 We're artists.

00:12:16.000 I think that that's one thing that I try my best to always embody the artist in mixed martial arts.

00:12:23.000 I think it gets lost in the growth of the sport of MMA, you know.

00:12:28.000 But, you know, from the past conversations we have and you understanding kind of how I was before, like, man, I need some type of outlet for creativity, you know?

00:12:38.000 And I that's what it is.

00:12:40.000 I mean, my mind, you know, just my essence is art.

00:12:43.000 So I'm like, how can I, you know, paint this picture of like expression, of combat?

00:12:49.000 You know what I mean?

00:12:50.000 Like, there's so many different, we got Silat, we got craft Maga, we got all these things.

00:12:55.000 And it's like, let me paint, you know, like, what can I use to, you know, to, to, to, to.

00:13:01.000 That's a bold thing to do, to use something very creative like that on a world champion, too.

00:13:08.000 Jamal Hill's a dangerous guy.

00:13:09.000 Yeah, he's dangerous, man.

00:13:11.000 Standing hammer fist.

00:13:12.000 Yeah, I'm dangerous too, you know.

00:13:15.000 I try to like, I always try to insert myself into, you know, into these things too, because I think about it.

00:13:23.000 Yeah, Alex, fucking hard hitter, dangerous guy.

00:13:25.000 And I have to, like, yeah, so am I. Let's do it.

00:13:27.000 You know, Alex or Jamal, same thing.

00:13:30.000 Like, I know he's got one punch power, you know, all these things.

00:13:33.000 I'm like, let me insert myself.

00:13:35.000 Let me take some chances.

00:13:36.000 Let me be bold.

00:13:37.000 You know, I think that's.

00:13:39.000 I think there's an advantage that you have also as a lighter guy in that division is that you move quicker.

00:13:44.000 And that was kind of evident in that fight.

00:13:47.000 You're like, you know, there's a range of light heavyweights and you're on the smaller range.

00:13:52.000 Like there's a lot of guys like Drickus, who's bigger than you, who's the middleweight champion.

00:13:56.000 He's fucking huge, man.

00:13:58.000 It's the opposite thing, right?

00:13:59.000 He's cutting a ton of weight.

00:14:00.000 I don't know what he cuts, but every time I interview him, I'm like, how?

00:14:05.000 How the fuck are you 185 pounds?

00:14:07.000 You're enormous.

00:14:08.000 He looks like a heavyweight.

00:14:09.000 And he is a heavyweight when he fights.

00:14:11.000 I mean, he's over 205 for sure.

00:14:13.000 Yeah, these guys, they blow up.

00:14:15.000 Blow up.

00:14:16.000 And you don't.

00:14:17.000 And I think because of that, you have this, you have speed and not just speed of the strikes, but the way you move in and out.

00:14:25.000 You know, it's like when you close the distance on Jamal, you could see it was like, there were some moments where I think he was surprised by the speed in which you were able to close the distance.

00:14:34.000 Yeah, I think so as well.

00:14:37.000 There were, yeah, there were some reactions in there that I was picking up on.

00:14:42.000 I could see a bit of frustration.

00:14:46.000 I feel like I was able to read a lot of the things before they would come.

00:14:52.000 And yeah, I mean, I heard everything that his coaches were saying.

00:14:57.000 And in my mind, I was just seeing him struggle with not being able to react the way he wanted.

00:15:03.000 And maybe that was because there was the speed that they weren't necessarily dealing with.

00:15:09.000 The speed and also the leg kicks.

00:15:10.000 You fucked him up early with leg kicks.

00:15:13.000 Yeah.

00:15:13.000 And it really had a significant effect.

00:15:15.000 When you see him switching stances, and he doesn't like to stand orthodox, you saw a lot of changes.

00:15:21.000 Yeah, he did.

00:15:23.000 I can say that, you know, there were some improvements made.

00:15:25.000 I think that he probably spent some more time working on his footwork.

00:15:30.000 He was a lot less flat-footed than he usually is.

00:15:34.000 I could tell that a lot of the times his toes were pointed at me, and that wasn't what I studied.

00:15:43.000 You know what I mean?

00:15:44.000 So he'd made some changes.

00:15:44.000 He'd made some changes.

00:15:45.000 He landed some very good leg kicks, specifically in the first round.

00:15:48.000 Yeah, thank you.

00:15:51.000 I always do my best to try to channel my Muay Thai.

00:15:56.000 Yeah, you know, you're like one of the few, like, remember we talked about that, about the Eric Anders fight.

00:16:01.000 Like, when you came back from Thailand the first time, you were fighting like a Thai. 1.00

00:16:05.000 And me and DC were having a blast with it.

00:16:07.000 We're like, look at this.

00:16:08.000 Like, light on the front foot.

00:16:10.000 It was like totally different approach.

00:16:11.000 Yeah.

00:16:12.000 But he landed some very good leg kicks in the first round, too.

00:16:15.000 It was a good exchange.

00:16:16.000 But yours were doing a lot more damage.

00:16:19.000 Yeah, he started off with the leg kicks.

00:16:21.000 Like, I think he threw maybe three or four calf kicks before I actually started answering back.

00:16:29.000 Yeah, so he started it.

00:16:31.000 And I was just like, okay, cool.

00:16:33.000 If this is the game we're playing, like, I love this game.

00:16:35.000 You know, like, I love this game.

00:16:37.000 So, yeah, it was a great fight, man.

00:16:41.000 Why did you start the beginning of the fight, like, with your hands down, just like walking towards him?

00:16:45.000 Because that's how I felt, Joe.

00:16:46.000 I mean, like, I feel like in that fight, so there was not necessarily like beef between Jamal and I. Like, we never really exchanged, you know, there wasn't any like heated discussions or anything.

00:17:03.000 But we all have phones.

00:17:06.000 We all have social media.

00:17:07.000 We all, you know, I get Google alerts and stuff anytime I'm mentioned.

00:17:11.000 And so, like, I've seen things that were said, and I'm just like, okay, whatever.

00:17:16.000 I don't agree with it.

00:17:16.000 And I don't, you know, whatever.

00:17:18.000 If this guy looks at me as, however, that's just his opinion.

00:17:22.000 What was he saying?

00:17:23.000 Like, what was it?

00:17:24.000 Just like, I think it were like things again about like the Alex fight or just saying that like he's going to outskill me or, you know, I don't belong in the division.

00:17:33.000 Just, you know, things like that.

00:17:34.000 Like, don't take my exact word for it.

00:17:36.000 But that's kind of how, like, that's the stuff that I kind of saw.

00:17:39.000 So for me, there was no real reason to show any like respect.

00:17:46.000 You know, if we're in the same building, if we're in the same room, I just like, whatever.

00:17:50.000 I wanted to just kind of block him out.

00:17:54.000 And then during the weigh-ins, so I had a press conference and they were saying like, hey, in the Alex fight, you know, there was a lot of blood.

00:18:07.000 You got cut up.

00:18:09.000 Can we expect the same thing from you in this fight?

00:18:12.000 And I said, no, there's not going to be any blood on my face.

00:18:15.000 How you're interviewing me now is how you're going to interview me after the fight.

00:18:19.000 I'm going to look the same.

00:18:21.000 He didn't like that.

00:18:22.000 I didn't say his name, but he didn't like that.

00:18:24.000 And so at the weigh-ins, he comes like, and mind you, we had three days before the weigh-ins, and we'd seen each other in the hotel room and blah, blah, blah, or in the hotel.

00:18:38.000 You know, there were many more opportunities for him to say what he said, but he chose to do it at the weigh-ins in front of Dana White.

00:18:46.000 And I thought that was like, come on.

00:18:48.000 What did he say?

00:18:49.000 He said, oh, you're going to bleed.

00:18:51.000 You're going to bleed.

00:18:53.000 You better believe that.

00:18:54.000 You're going to bleed.

00:18:54.000 Like in my face, like, oh, I'm going to make you bleed.

00:18:56.000 And I was just like, okay.

00:18:58.000 Like, sure.

00:19:00.000 You know, like, that was just really like internally.

00:19:03.000 Like, I'm like, okay, sure.

00:19:04.000 Yeah.

00:19:05.000 Whatever.

00:19:06.000 And why did you think that you wouldn't get cut?

00:19:09.000 Like, what made you think?

00:19:12.000 I knew how I've been training and what I'm prepared for.

00:19:15.000 And I know the type of athlete and fighter and man that I am.

00:19:18.000 And I just knew that it wasn't going to happen.

00:19:21.000 I was just that confident in my abilities and the work that I put in that I just knew it wasn't going to happen.

00:19:25.000 It's pretty wild also considering you're coming off of a loss.

00:19:28.000 Like you had more confidence coming off of A loss 100% because the loss just showed me that there's more work to do, you know.

00:19:36.000 Like people always say back to the drawing boards, and like it was more than the drawing boards for me.

00:19:41.000 It was like back to the dirt, back to the Vegas weather, back to the dying on the assault bike, back to challenging myself, back to going deeper.

00:19:51.000 Who am I really?

00:19:52.000 What am I really capable of?

00:19:54.000 And, you know, like that, that was it.

00:19:56.000 It was just like deep, deep internal digging to get out and to discover what I'm made of.

00:20:05.000 And so in that comes confidence.

00:20:08.000 In that comes like, I know what I'm capable of and I know what I can do.

00:20:13.000 And so that's how I felt.

00:20:16.000 You know, so that's why I walked out like that because I was just like.

00:20:21.000 Because it's kind of wild.

00:20:22.000 I was going, what is he doing?

00:20:24.000 But I was also prepared, you know, like I didn't want to rush anything.

00:20:27.000 Like nothing needed to be rushed.

00:20:29.000 Like the cages closed and we got 25 minutes.

00:20:32.000 I'm going to run out.

00:20:34.000 You know, that's right.

00:20:35.000 No, like walk here.

00:20:37.000 I know that you're not going to do anything.

00:20:40.000 I wasn't threatened.

00:20:41.000 Like that statement in my face didn't like.

00:20:46.000 I was just like, here we go again.

00:20:50.000 You know what I mean?

00:20:51.000 Like another guy that wants to like get in my face.

00:20:54.000 Like, yeah.

00:20:56.000 And I did the job that needed to be done.

00:20:59.000 This is a very measured performance.

00:21:01.000 And some people didn't like that.

00:21:02.000 Some people, you know, the casuals, I think there's casuals that.

00:21:07.000 They wanted to see blood.

00:21:08.000 They just want to see chaos.

00:21:09.000 They don't care about your health.

00:21:11.000 They don't care about me at the age of 50 with, you know what I mean?

00:21:15.000 When this is all over and I want my knees and my hands and my fingers and everything to work.

00:21:20.000 And I want to be able to speak sentences and go through the airport on both my feet and not in a wheelchair.

00:21:25.000 They don't care about that.

00:21:26.000 No.

00:21:27.000 And that's okay.

00:21:28.000 Yeah, it's okay.

00:21:30.000 I mean, you know, like.

00:21:32.000 The only time it bothers me is when referees react.

00:21:35.000 Like when referees separate people because of booing. 0.97

00:21:37.000 Like, don't do that.

00:21:38.000 Don't do that.

00:21:39.000 Yeah, you can't give in.

00:21:40.000 The referees can't be influenced by the crowd.

00:21:42.000 Don't give into the casuals.

00:21:44.000 He can't, man.

00:21:46.000 Because I thought it was a very smart performance.

00:21:48.000 Like, if you're going to fight a guy like Jamal, who's an awesome counter-striker, one-punch knockout power, got a series of bodies behind him.

00:21:55.000 Like, he's knocked out a lot of dudes.

00:21:58.000 He knows how to do it.

00:21:59.000 You got to fight him smart, for sure.

00:22:01.000 And that's what he did.

00:22:01.000 And I wasn't, yeah, just like to be clear, I know the things that I said can come off as like overly confident or whatever.

00:22:08.000 I wasn't sleeping on Jamal, you know?

00:22:10.000 Like, I knew what he was capable of, and I trained hard for him.

00:22:13.000 I really did.

00:22:14.000 Every day was dedication.

00:22:16.000 Every day was, you know, strategy and planning.

00:22:19.000 When did you feel like everything was coming together in the fight?

00:22:25.000 Before the fight.

00:22:26.000 Really?

00:22:26.000 Yeah.

00:22:28.000 The win for me happened before the fight.

00:22:34.000 Like I said, I think with camp, the training, you know, my head trainer, like with John, with Lorenzo, Christian, just the guys who are in my circle and the work that we do, I just, it really helped me with, you know, a lot of confidence and a clear vision and a path to victory.

00:22:55.000 And I just stuck to it.

00:22:57.000 So I just had a feeling that if I if I stick to the plan, I win this fight.

00:23:03.000 And you did.

00:23:05.000 Yeah, it was, it was very measured, very smart.

00:23:08.000 And I liked it.

00:23:09.000 I really enjoyed it.

00:23:10.000 Thank you.

00:23:11.000 I enjoyed it because I like when people fight smart.

00:23:13.000 When people maximize the amount of damage that they put out, minimize the amount of damage they receive in return.

00:23:13.000 I really do.

00:23:19.000 That's what you did.

00:23:20.000 Yeah.

00:23:21.000 And so, yeah, now we got the next one, Yuri Prohaska.

00:23:24.000 Yeah.

00:23:24.000 Did you see that news?

00:23:25.000 I did.

00:23:26.000 Just saw it yesterday.

00:23:27.000 Yeah.

00:23:28.000 So this is, man, I'm excited about this fight.

00:23:30.000 Yeah, I really am.

00:23:33.000 Another guy who's, you know what I mean?

00:23:35.000 Like, former champion, very skilled, very dangerous.

00:23:39.000 Another guy's gotten a lot better since the prayer fight. 0.96

00:23:42.000 He's gotten a lot better since the prayer fight. 0.98

00:23:43.000 He's dynamic.

00:23:45.000 He's, you know, he's strategic.

00:23:48.000 He's awkward as fuck, too.

00:23:49.000 Yeah, he can be awkward.

00:23:50.000 He's so weird.

00:23:52.000 He's the weirdest.

00:23:53.000 And it's in Vegas.

00:23:54.000 So this is great.

00:23:56.000 It's going to be the first time since the Gokansaki fight that I've been able to fight in front of a crowd.

00:24:02.000 My hometown.

00:24:02.000 Oh, is that really?

00:24:03.000 No kidding.

00:24:03.000 That was the last fight I had.

00:24:05.000 That's crazy.

00:24:06.000 At T-Mobile Arena in front of the Las Vegas crowd.

00:24:09.000 I had not realized that.

00:24:11.000 So that's huge.

00:24:11.000 Oh, wow.

00:24:13.000 Don't have to fly.

00:24:14.000 Don't have to fly.

00:24:14.000 Don't have to travel.

00:24:15.000 Don't have to travel.

00:24:16.000 And then Las Vegas can come out and support a local.

00:24:20.000 So that's cool because with the growth of Las Vegas, we're getting sports.

00:24:26.000 Got the Raiders, getting a baseball team, women's basketball.

00:24:31.000 The local scene in Vegas right now is I'm proud of it to come from there and to see that now we have something besides just gambling and all the debauchery.

00:24:45.000 So it's going to be nice, and I'm very happy to represent that night.

00:24:50.000 So how do you train for a guy like Yuri?

00:24:52.000 Like, what do you do?

00:24:53.000 I mean, are you going to watch a lot of tape on him?

00:24:57.000 Like, how do you prepare for a guy like that?

00:24:58.000 That's very unusual.

00:25:01.000 Without giving away too much, I think that it just requires, you know, study, like, passing any test.

00:25:10.000 Like, it requires dedication and focus and, you know, doing the right study, making the right adjustments and training.

00:25:10.000 You know what I mean?

00:25:21.000 You know, it's the rest, I think, is art.

00:25:25.000 You know, like how we go about solving the problem is for everybody to enjoy.

00:25:33.000 But I think that, yeah, it comes from study and good training partners as well.

00:25:39.000 I think that that's a huge thing in anybody's training camp.

00:25:44.000 Do you have anybody that could emulate that style?

00:25:48.000 Or will you even try?

00:25:49.000 You know what?

00:25:52.000 To emulate someone's style, I think, it's helpful.

00:25:57.000 It is helpful.

00:25:57.000 It is.

00:25:59.000 But it's very hard because you can never really truly be someone.

00:26:05.000 So someone can give you certain looks that maybe you'll see.

00:26:09.000 So I don't rely too heavily on people emulating.

00:26:14.000 But I do appreciate bodies and people that are around the same size, just so I can, you know, get used to that body contact of maybe someone who's a bit taller and not training with guys who are maybe shorter.

00:26:30.000 You know, like if I had a short guy who can emulate my opponent, it's not going to help because it doesn't help.

00:26:38.000 So if I have a taller guy who maybe can't emulate and I can do what I want to do against a taller body, then the rest is up to like my awareness and like making sure that, you know, a guy who maybe has this weird style, okay, I'm aware of that, but I know what I can do against someone of the same size.

00:26:57.000 Yuri's just, he's so unusual in that a lot of times his hands are down really low, his dance is very wide, and he moves back and forth like a cobra.

00:27:06.000 Like he hinges at the waist more than probably anybody.

00:27:10.000 He does a lot of unusual stuff that you could see guys like try to adjust to that when they're inside the cage with them.

00:27:18.000 It's like you have this weird moment where you have to think and consider these new possibilities.

00:27:25.000 Yeah, I think that, you know, like I said, I've just returned from, you know, a reset.

00:27:36.000 And yeah, now as soon as I leave here, I'm, you know, I'm locked back into samurai mode.

00:27:44.000 You know.

00:27:45.000 What did you do in Thailand?

00:27:46.000 Were you just training?

00:27:47.000 Were you just vacation or did you do any training?

00:27:49.000 It was incredible, Joe.

00:27:50.000 So my wife and I got invited to Thailand from the Thailand Tourism Authority.

00:27:57.000 Wow.

00:27:57.000 So they invited us to come.

00:28:00.000 They hosted us in Bangkok.

00:28:04.000 Amazing hotel, Dusit Thani Hotel.

00:28:06.000 You have to go.

00:28:07.000 If you ever go to Bangkok, Dusit Tani. 0.71

00:28:10.000 So they hosted us.

00:28:12.000 They took us to like a small pro or the smallest province in Thailand called Samut Sung Kram.

00:28:18.000 And in that province, they are known for having the best coconuts in all of Thailand.

00:28:25.000 So all like coconut water, coconut sugar, all that stuff most likely comes from Samut Sung Kram.

00:28:33.000 A salt farm, a bee farm.

00:28:36.000 What was a salt farm?

00:28:37.000 Salt farm.

00:28:38.000 So they made these channels that come from the nearest like body of water and they get the salt.

00:28:50.000 They extract the salt from the sea and then they create a bunch of different things from it.

00:28:56.000 You know, bath salts.

00:28:57.000 Oh, so they do it with some kind of machinery?

00:28:59.000 No, it's like, yeah, there's a little bit.

00:29:02.000 Yeah, it looks like this.

00:29:03.000 Yeah, exactly.

00:29:04.000 Oh, so they do it by hand.

00:29:05.000 Yeah, they do it by hand.

00:29:06.000 These people, dude, they're out there.

00:29:08.000 Yeah, just, this is their daily life.

00:29:11.000 And so we got to hang out with these people that are, that, like, live in this province.

00:29:16.000 Oh, that's how they do it?

00:29:17.000 Yeah, ma'am.

00:29:18.000 I would have never known.

00:29:19.000 So how are they getting salt out of the water like that?

00:29:22.000 Like what do you do to – I honestly, like, I was so excited to be there that I probably missed out on a lot of the details, but that's how it looked.

00:29:31.000 Like, there were these windmills, and I know they're like— They're just experienced like they're very passionate about.

00:29:52.000 And there's different salts from everywhere.

00:29:54.000 Like that up there on the right is salt.

00:29:56.000 I don't know where it came from.

00:29:58.000 That stuff that looks like dark like cereal?

00:30:02.000 Yeah, it's salt.

00:30:02.000 Doesn't it look like cereal?

00:30:04.000 No, but like, yeah, corn flakes, toasted cornflakes.

00:30:08.000 That's salt.

00:30:09.000 But yeah, and so they had different like salts that came from everywhere.

00:30:13.000 And you can see how it forms based off of like the, you know, the whatever ecosystem.

00:30:23.000 Yeah, so, so cool.

00:30:25.000 So that's Samut Sakan.

00:30:26.000 We were in Samut Sang Kram and really cool, man.

00:30:30.000 So we went there.

00:30:33.000 They took a bunch of, I guess, influencers from around the world and flew them into Thailand to welcome us and show us just different sites.

00:30:43.000 It's not always about the beaches and Phuket and all this stuff.

00:30:47.000 They took us and then spread us out.

00:30:49.000 So that's where we got to go.

00:30:51.000 And then we went back to Bangkok and had this crazy cool gala.

00:30:56.000 Buakao was there.

00:30:58.000 Yeah, like all these movie stars and the people from just like the Thai government and stuff just showing people pretty much like the heart of Thailand.

00:31:09.000 So it was very welcoming.

00:31:10.000 It was a really cool way to kind of come back and feel home again.

00:31:16.000 And then I ended up staying an extra week or two.

00:31:22.000 Same thing, Thailand tourism, you know, made sure that we just continue that experience.

00:31:28.000 So we stayed at some other hotels, did like the boat ride cruise down the river, you know, just had dinner, just really got to live it up and experience, you know.

00:31:37.000 So it was all basically vacationing, not training?

00:31:39.000 No training because it was fresh out of the fight.

00:31:41.000 So I flew, I was in Baku two weeks.

00:31:44.000 I flew from Baku to Vegas, stayed in Vegas eight hours and then flew from Vegas to Thailand.

00:31:53.000 So I like went around the world in like 24 hours.

00:31:56.000 So I was fresh out the fight.

00:32:01.000 Yeah, but the trips were booked separately.

00:32:04.000 So like in order for that ticket to, you know, to actually work, I had to be in Vegas to fly out.

00:32:10.000 But I did it.

00:32:11.000 I thugged it out.

00:32:12.000 And yeah, it was the best way to recover.

00:32:15.000 Like this was a good recovery for me because I started the camp for Jamal in February is when I heard about it.

00:32:24.000 But then it got postponed due to like one of his injuries.

00:32:27.000 And yeah.

00:32:28.000 Wow.

00:32:29.000 Yeah.

00:32:30.000 And now I'm back.

00:32:31.000 And when you get a big victory like that over a guy like Jamal, what does that feel like in your head when you know the work paid off?

00:32:41.000 To just keep going and to just to just keep like keep digging.

00:32:47.000 You know, like it's it's nice because I'm before, you know, like when I went, I went on that five-fight win streak, I was like coming back from Thailand and like now I'm fully in this.

00:33:01.000 You know, I'm I'm 100% in.

00:33:04.000 And with that, that means like I'm just, I'm committed to digging this tunnel.

00:33:10.000 And so like a win over Jamal, like that tunnel isn't open yet.

00:33:15.000 Like I got to get the belt first, you know, like, but I'm digging and I saw like, oh, maybe I got this like cool gemstone.

00:33:21.000 Like, okay, cool, put that in my bag.

00:33:23.000 But like, now I'm, you know, I'm committed.

00:33:25.000 I'm still, I'm still in the mine, you know, and eyes on the prize, man.

00:33:31.000 Yeah.

00:33:32.000 Yeah.

00:33:32.000 And the prizes, it's very interesting now, right?

00:33:35.000 Because Pereira lost to Ankhalayev, and they're going to rematch on that same card.

00:33:39.000 Yeah, which is going to be wild.

00:33:39.000 Same card.

00:33:40.000 Yeah.

00:33:41.000 That's the main event.

00:33:42.000 And then Komain is Murab and Corey Sanhagen, which is another awesome fight.

00:33:46.000 Yeah.

00:33:47.000 So it's going to be one of those cards.

00:33:50.000 I mean, right now, busy night for John Wood.

00:33:52.000 He's got me and Murab the same card.

00:33:54.000 Just those three fights.

00:33:55.000 That's an insane card.

00:33:57.000 Obviously, if it stays together, MMA is rough with that. 0.66

00:34:01.000 People get injured.

00:34:02.000 But if that card stays together the way it's pieced up right now, just with those three, I mean, whoo, what a card.

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00:35:26.000 From what I've seen so far and like just the text that I've gotten, yeah, a lot of people are really excited about it, which hypes me up and makes me want to, you know, train smarter.

00:35:36.000 Well, you know, Yuri, who also beat Jamal in one of his last fights, looked fantastic in that fight.

00:35:43.000 And coming off of the Pereira fight, he also made some big changes and big improvements.

00:35:48.000 That's one of the things that makes your fight with him so much more interesting.

00:35:51.000 Yeah, because I'm sure from his last, even a loss to Pereira, he I knew him coming back, he mentioned it.

00:36:02.000 Like he wants to fight for the title again.

00:36:05.000 You know what I mean?

00:36:06.000 So he's hungry for the title again as well.

00:36:09.000 And so am I. And yeah, we've both made the adjustments.

00:36:13.000 So I think it's.

00:36:14.000 The thing is, though, it's like he lost twice, you lost once.

00:36:18.000 So it's like it's a little tougher to sell his fight than it is to sell a rematch with you.

00:36:24.000 And I think you probably had more success, certainly than him in the second fight.

00:36:30.000 The second fight, he got kind of tuned up.

00:36:33.000 Yeah, I think second round.

00:36:34.000 Yeah, second round.

00:36:35.000 Well, the first round, he got dropped hard.

00:36:37.000 Dropped hard and then came out second round and headkicked.

00:36:40.000 He was out of it going into the second, and that left hook landed clean at the end of the fight.

00:36:45.000 It could have been the end of the fight right there.

00:36:48.000 No, those.

00:36:48.000 Yeah.

00:36:51.000 Pereira's got a different power, man.

00:36:53.000 For sure.

00:36:54.000 Like, it feels like a stone.

00:36:57.000 It feels remarkably different?

00:36:59.000 Remarkably.

00:37:00.000 Really?

00:37:01.000 Yeah.

00:37:01.000 Getting punched.

00:37:03.000 I've never been punched as hard as I did when I fought Pereira.

00:37:08.000 Like, ever.

00:37:09.000 And sparring...

00:37:11.000 There was just something...

00:37:18.000 I don't want to gas him up too much, but there is just one thing, and it's like, I don't know.

00:37:25.000 I think that it's real.

00:37:27.000 You know what I mean?

00:37:28.000 Well, it's obviously real.

00:37:29.000 Yeah, it's real.

00:37:30.000 The power of the strength is real.

00:37:32.000 It's not anything lucky.

00:37:33.000 It's calculated, but when it lands, it's like, yeah.

00:37:36.000 No, he was a guy I talked to big time when he was in glory.

00:37:39.000 When I found out he was coming over to the UFC, I was like, buckle up because this is just different.

00:37:44.000 It just hits different.

00:37:46.000 And, you know, his frame's different too.

00:37:48.000 It's a very moves different.

00:37:51.000 I remember when, like, during the weigh-ins when we faced off and like he just bent his arms up like this.

00:38:01.000 And I was like, fuck, this is a big man.

00:38:03.000 You know, like, we weigh the same, but, like, you know, like, that, like, I was like, okay, this is a big guy.

00:38:08.000 Like, because he just bent his arms and, like, his, his hand was kind of like right near my face.

00:38:12.000 So I could see just like, you know, the mask.

00:38:15.000 The mask.

00:38:16.000 So it's like, boom, and it was, I was like, okay.

00:38:18.000 How the fuck did that guy weigh 185?

00:38:20.000 That's what I want to know.

00:38:20.000 I don't know.

00:38:21.000 Yeah, I don't know.

00:38:22.000 What kind of torture, man?

00:38:24.000 It must have been unbelievable.

00:38:26.000 Well, I think that's one of the things that contributed to it is Izzy knocking him out.

00:38:29.000 Other than the perfect punch, I mean, Izzy lands at an absolutely perfect punch. 1.00

00:38:33.000 Yeah.

00:38:33.000 But I think, I mean, it's well noted that when guys lose that much weight, they're a little bit more vulnerable to getting hit.

00:38:40.000 Yeah.

00:38:41.000 100%, man.

00:38:42.000 And you watched the Poirier fight.

00:38:46.000 I'm sure.

00:38:47.000 Oh, yeah.

00:38:47.000 You were there, no?

00:38:48.000 No, I wasn't there.

00:38:49.000 You weren't there.

00:38:49.000 The last one.

00:38:50.000 You mean with Max?

00:38:51.000 Yeah, with Max.

00:38:52.000 Pretty sick, man.

00:38:52.000 Very good.

00:38:53.000 I was very happy.

00:38:54.000 And what a cool, like, I don't know.

00:38:57.000 I like what the UFC is doing now with like the Exits, you know, like Anthony Smith got a sick exit, like Dustin's got a sick exit.

00:39:04.000 For me, I don't know.

00:39:05.000 That was kind of one of the highlights of that night for me.

00:39:09.000 Not only did I feel like they both put on a really good fight, I just thought, like, what a cool way to be able to just like do that much work and then like be appreciated for it, like, win or lose.

00:39:21.000 I think, yeah, maybe the tides are changing a little bit.

00:39:23.000 Maybe, you know.

00:39:25.000 What way?

00:39:26.000 What do you mean?

00:39:26.000 Like, I felt like for a long time, and still to this day, it's still pretty like heavy, but to lose in MMA was almost kind of like the end of the world to the fans.

00:39:41.000 Because it is in boxing.

00:39:43.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:39:44.000 You know, in boxing, everybody wants to be undefeated.

00:39:46.000 Yeah, like undefeated.

00:39:48.000 And like, you know, sometimes like someone can be on a tier and then they, you know, they lose and then you can just see the direction of the support like completely shift.

00:39:57.000 Like, ah, fluke, you know?

00:40:00.000 But yeah, I think that it's, you know, when I see things like, you know, Dustin's exit and all that stuff, granted, he did a lot in the company and he's done a lot in his career.

00:40:12.000 But to see that kind of gave me hope, like, okay, maybe this will, you know, give the fans a little bit of different perspective.

00:40:18.000 And maybe it can start to shift towards like appreciating people.

00:40:23.000 Appreciating the fighter, man.

00:40:25.000 Yeah.

00:40:26.000 Like, appreciating the fighter for what we do.

00:40:29.000 It's not the easiest job.

00:40:31.000 We don't get paid the most.

00:40:34.000 So like, yeah, like a little appreciation goes a long way, win or lose, for sure.

00:40:38.000 Yeah, I hope the tide is turning in that direction, too.

00:40:41.000 Man.

00:40:42.000 I just, people need to, it's like, again, it's casuals.

00:40:47.000 It's like people love.

00:40:49.000 One of the things that I really struggled with in the early days of commentary is that regular sports people were starting to do MMA commentary, and they were talking about fighters the same way they would talk about like a football player who drops a pass or a basketball player who misses a shot very disrespectfully, choked.

00:41:11.000 They were saying a lot of shit.

00:41:12.000 I was like, hey, hey, hey, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

00:41:16.000 Like, this is the wrong sport to be coming over here and talking like that.

00:41:19.000 For sure.

00:41:20.000 And the early days in particular, there was a lot of that.

00:41:23.000 There was a lot of people that they wanted to get credit for their work by just being that arrogant.

00:41:30.000 You know, there's like a bunch of those people in the sports world that are just like insulting.

00:41:35.000 And then, you know, there's a long history of athletes meeting those people and fucking them up and slapping them.

00:41:42.000 It's super disrespectful.

00:41:44.000 And I don't know why.

00:41:46.000 But there's like a culture, particularly in America, that embraces that and that likes that because that's the kind of talk that like dum-dums have when they're on the job. 1.00

00:41:56.000 And like, did you see him last night?

00:41:58.000 Fucking loser.

00:41:59.000 You missed that three-pointer.

00:42:01.000 You should have passed the ball.

00:42:02.000 Like, you know, shut the fuck up, man.

00:42:08.000 I hate that shit.

00:42:09.000 I hate that shit because I didn't do a lot of team sports.

00:42:12.000 You know, I only was involved mostly in combat sports when I was a kid.

00:42:15.000 And so disrespect like that was like, God, you don't know what you're even talking about.

00:42:20.000 Yeah, it's annoying, man.

00:42:21.000 You don't understand what this is.

00:42:23.000 These guys are risking their fucking life.

00:42:25.000 It's different than everything else you watch.

00:42:28.000 You miss a basketball, you miss it going at the hoop.

00:42:31.000 Okay.

00:42:32.000 Next day, you know, you get to shoot some more basketballs and practice, and then you'll be playing in a few days.

00:42:38.000 And you're back at it.

00:42:39.000 With fighting, it's your fucking soul.

00:42:42.000 It's everything.

00:42:44.000 100%.

00:42:45.000 Broken notes, calling people bums.

00:42:47.000 It's like, shut your mouth.

00:42:49.000 Yeah, dude.

00:42:50.000 Stop.

00:42:50.000 Yeah.

00:42:51.000 It's super annoying.

00:42:52.000 And that also brings to thought, like, I went to the Espes and that was really cool.

00:42:58.000 The first time going to the Espes and seeing all these other athletes, you know, that we see on football, you know, just on television, being in the same room.

00:43:09.000 It was amazing.

00:43:10.000 And I remember seeing just like the opening video.

00:43:16.000 And I think there might have been maybe one clip of an MMA fight.

00:43:22.000 But I'm listening to all the awards given out and, you know, best play and all this stuff.

00:43:28.000 And I was just thinking, man, I know MMA is new.

00:43:32.000 And obviously it's growing because we're here.

00:43:35.000 And they got John Jones in the crowd and they got Murab here.

00:43:40.000 So it's growing.

00:43:41.000 They're starting to acknowledge us.

00:43:42.000 But I can't wait until the day where there's more fights in the Espies.

00:43:52.000 We're doing great things.

00:43:54.000 You know what I mean?

00:43:55.000 That's the most exciting sport.

00:43:56.000 It's so exciting.

00:43:58.000 And even I had pro hockey players, all these guys coming up, like, oh man, watch your fight.

00:44:04.000 Even the athletes that are playing the NFL and NHL and MLB, all these things, they're even watching what we're doing.

00:44:11.000 Oh, yeah.

00:44:12.000 I think it's, you know, I'm excited for the growth of the sport as well.

00:44:16.000 And I, you know, hopefully the next generation or even sooner will be able to know what it's like to be an MMA fighter and still get like an SB award.

00:44:26.000 I wonder what's going to happen if the UFC doesn't renew the ESPN contract.

00:44:32.000 Because there's this negotiation thing that's going on right now, and I don't know where they're going to land.

00:44:37.000 There's talk of Netflix.

00:44:38.000 There's talk of other networks.

00:44:39.000 There's a bunch of different talk.

00:44:41.000 And one of the things that we benefit from is ESPN not just as the host of the fights, but also covering the fights.

00:44:48.000 All the additional coverage, all the sports center talk, all the different shows that they have on ESPN Plus, the post-fight shows.

00:44:56.000 Those are all huge.

00:44:58.000 The breakdown, people love that shit.

00:45:00.000 No, they do.

00:45:00.000 They love the pre-fight breakdowns, Challenge.

00:45:03.000 Challenge, Karen Bryan.

00:45:05.000 Yeah.

00:45:07.000 Yeah, I think it's great.

00:45:08.000 Rashad Evans.

00:45:10.000 It's got to stick around, man.

00:45:12.000 I hope so.

00:45:14.000 I love ESPN, and I like getting it that way off the app.

00:45:18.000 It's easy, you know.

00:45:20.000 And I think it helps us, too.

00:45:22.000 I mean, it definitely helped the sport grow, right?

00:45:24.000 And I think that people who I think it helped us as fighters gain those fans who are football fans.

00:45:30.000 Oh, yeah.

00:45:30.000 People who just have ESPN on all day.

00:45:33.000 Yep.

00:45:33.000 you know what I mean?

00:45:34.000 Or in a PT clinic, it's just like, okay, ESPN's on, you know, and to be able to, yeah, to be shown through that, I think it's been really helpful to us.

00:45:44.000 And the thing is, it's like you can get converted to a fan with one fight.

00:45:49.000 All you need is one undercard banger.

00:45:51.000 One undercard banger.

00:45:52.000 You're like, oh, shit.

00:45:54.000 I mean, that was me with the Alex fight.

00:45:56.000 Honestly, dude, like, these people came out of nowhere.

00:45:58.000 Like, one fight changed my life.

00:46:00.000 Wow.

00:46:00.000 Like, one fight changed my life, dude.

00:46:02.000 It's well, you dropped him.

00:46:06.000 You had great moments in that fight.

00:46:07.000 Yeah.

00:46:08.000 Dude, off topic.

00:46:08.000 You know?

00:46:11.000 What's it like to be Joe Rogan these days?

00:46:13.000 What do you mean?

00:46:14.000 What's it like?

00:46:18.000 I'm here.

00:46:19.000 Welcome to the Khalil Roundtree experience.

00:46:22.000 Today's guest, we have Joe Rogan joining us.

00:46:25.000 Joe, how you doing, man?

00:46:26.000 It's pretty much the same for me.

00:46:27.000 Get to sit down, talk to cool people.

00:46:30.000 And I live my life pretty insulated, so I don't deal with all the hoopla and chitter-chatter.

00:46:38.000 I just keep it moving.

00:46:40.000 That's the way to stay sane.

00:46:42.000 You got to just keep it moving.

00:46:43.000 My day is basically the same every day.

00:46:45.000 Get up early, write, shoot arrows, get in the cold plunge, lift weights, work out, do what I got to do, come here.

00:46:53.000 It's the same.

00:46:54.000 And then I go to the club, tell jokes, go home, go to bed, rinse, wash, repeat.

00:46:59.000 That's what I do.

00:47:00.000 Nice.

00:47:01.000 I don't do anything any different.

00:47:03.000 So as chaotic as it seems, it's the same for me.

00:47:07.000 I think what fucks people up is when they get caught up in other people talking about them.

00:47:12.000 And then they get involved in it.

00:47:13.000 And then they start reading things and they start thinking, is that who I am?

00:47:17.000 Or is this who I am?

00:47:18.000 Who's right?

00:47:19.000 Am I a fucking loser?

00:47:21.000 Am I the coolest guy ever?

00:47:22.000 Who am I?

00:47:23.000 You know, just keep working.

00:47:26.000 I love that.

00:47:26.000 Yeah, it's the only way.

00:47:28.000 The only way to not go crazy when you get really famous is to keep doing exactly what you've always been doing and make sure you fucking burn yourself out.

00:47:38.000 You go hard all the time with everything you do.

00:47:41.000 Because if you don't, then you're going to just wonder, you know, am I slipping?

00:47:46.000 Is this what's happening?

00:47:48.000 Is this all going to go away?

00:47:49.000 Like, that's one thing that people really do freak out about.

00:47:52.000 Like, once they start getting some success.

00:47:53.000 What if it goes away?

00:47:54.000 Yeah.

00:47:55.000 What if it goes away?

00:47:56.000 And then you get imposter syndrome.

00:47:58.000 You don't think you should be there.

00:47:59.000 And then if you read a bunch of comments, you know, most comments are negative.

00:48:03.000 Yeah.

00:48:03.000 People telling you over and over again, you're a fucking loser.

00:48:06.000 You start going, God damn, am I a loser?

00:48:09.000 I've seen it happen to fighters.

00:48:11.000 I've seen it happen to many fighters where they get too caught up in reading comments and interacting with people in a negative way online.

00:48:18.000 And it's just not good for you.

00:48:21.000 It's not smart.

00:48:22.000 It's not the way.

00:48:24.000 It's not, it's your, you're, you're dealing with the crabs.

00:48:28.000 It's crabs in a bucket.

00:48:29.000 You know, there's a lot of people out there that don't think the only way for them to succeed is to pull you down.

00:48:34.000 It's a dumb mindset.

00:48:37.000 But of course, there's a lot of people that they're not that aware of how much time they're wasting.

00:48:45.000 They're not aware of how much energy they're wasting thinking about other people, constantly dwelling on hating and all the stupid shit.

00:48:55.000 And they don't realize that they're stealing from their own life.

00:48:59.000 They don't realize it.

00:49:00.000 They're just caught in this weird trap because we have this undefined new modality of communication, this social media modality, this new thing, this new device that you have that interacts with your brain and oftentimes a very negative way.

00:49:17.000 And you're wasting hours and hours a day.

00:49:20.000 Like how many people look at their screen time on their phone?

00:49:24.000 When you do, you go, whoa, six hours.

00:49:26.000 That's crazy.

00:49:27.000 Six hours that I could have been doing other shit?

00:49:29.000 Obviously, it's like 10 minutes here, five minutes there, but it fucking adds up, man.

00:49:34.000 It adds up.

00:49:35.000 It's a work shift.

00:49:36.000 Yeah.

00:49:36.000 And it's really time.

00:49:40.000 It's really energy.

00:49:41.000 It's focus that's just being robbed from you and with no reward.

00:49:47.000 That's what they don't understand.

00:49:49.000 It's like you're getting robbed and you're not getting anything back.

00:49:54.000 There's nothing positive coming.

00:49:56.000 You're not growing.

00:49:56.000 You're not getting smarter.

00:49:58.000 You're not getting, you're not like contemplating.

00:50:01.000 You're not getting wiser.

00:50:03.000 No.

00:50:03.000 You just fucking, you just, you're just, yeah, just being like taken out of you, I guess.

00:50:08.000 Yeah.

00:50:09.000 Dude, that's, no, that's, that's great.

00:50:09.000 Wow.

00:50:11.000 And it's a good, it's a good reminder and refreshment for me to hear you say that because how do I put it?

00:50:21.000 Like, let's say if I get asked question, like, how's Joe Rogan?

00:50:25.000 I'll give you a Joe Rogan podcast, but like, how is you?

00:50:27.000 And I'm always like, Joe's great.

00:50:30.000 Like, tell me about this, is he that?

00:50:33.000 I'm like, dude, I'll say, I say this.

00:50:36.000 I can tell you, here, I'll just give you like four things.

00:50:39.000 Every time we talk, it's fucking good.

00:50:41.000 We hang out.

00:50:42.000 We talk.

00:50:43.000 I feel like he likes me.

00:50:44.000 I like him.

00:50:45.000 It's always a great time.

00:50:47.000 Two, there's a lot of books when I walk in there.

00:50:49.000 There's a bunch of books, all types of different books.

00:50:51.000 I think Joe's a curious guy.

00:50:52.000 I think he's a smart guy.

00:50:53.000 He's well read.

00:50:54.000 A lot of cool things.

00:50:57.000 And it's always just based around like, yeah, when I think of you, I think just genuine dude, good vibes.

00:51:03.000 I feel the same way about you.

00:51:05.000 And it's always fun to just come here and just like chop it up with you.

00:51:11.000 That's why, I guess I just needed that own, like, I just wanted that for myself.

00:51:16.000 Just be like, Joe, what's up?

00:51:18.000 How you doing?

00:51:19.000 And you tell me, like, cool, I'm doing the same thing.

00:51:22.000 I wake up, I go to the gym, I shoot my bows, you know, I go to the club.

00:51:27.000 Like that to me, to know that just personally without being one of those people that are just like sucked into my phone or whatever, to just hear it come from your mouth face to face, that's what you're up to.

00:51:37.000 That makes me feel.

00:51:39.000 I think it's the only way to live.

00:51:41.000 I think getting, I mean, I've been sucked into my phone before, for sure.

00:51:45.000 But now, for the most part, if I spend time on my phone at all, it's watching things.

00:51:49.000 I watch like YouTube videos, but it's always stuff on like, it's either watching MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, boxing, or watching, like, YouTube videos on ancient history, the interesting things.

00:52:04.000 So I'm not interacting with opinions and people.

00:52:08.000 Yeah.

00:52:08.000 Yeah, and all that stuff.

00:52:09.000 The stuff that'll piss you off and take from you.

00:52:13.000 Do you ever watch like Fighters YouTube channels?

00:52:17.000 Oh, yeah, for sure.

00:52:18.000 Have you seen mine?

00:52:19.000 I have seen yours.

00:52:20.000 Oh, okay, cool.

00:52:20.000 You like it?

00:52:21.000 Yeah, it's great.

00:52:22.000 Okay.

00:52:22.000 It kind of inspired by you a little bit.

00:52:25.000 I remember you saying in the past, like, oh, you should start a podcast.

00:52:27.000 I was like, maybe not yet, but how about a YouTube channel?

00:52:32.000 Well, people love behind the scenes stuff.

00:52:34.000 They really do.

00:52:35.000 They love to see people train, training in particular.

00:52:38.000 You know, I spent a lot of time watching Usuk training before this last Dubois fight.

00:52:44.000 Yeah.

00:52:45.000 I saw something the other day.

00:52:45.000 Is it crazy?

00:52:46.000 It was like Usik swimming five hours.

00:52:49.000 I was like, oh my God.

00:52:50.000 He's an animal, man.

00:52:52.000 I mean, he's so fucking good.

00:52:55.000 He's so good.

00:52:56.000 I mean, think about what that guy has done.

00:52:58.000 He beat AJ twice.

00:53:00.000 He beat Tyson Fury twice, and now he beat Dubois twice.

00:53:04.000 No, it's incredible.

00:53:04.000 That's crazy.

00:53:05.000 Those are two of the best, like, of this era.

00:53:09.000 I think he's one of the best of all time.

00:53:10.000 I really do.

00:53:11.000 I think he's one of the best heavyweights of all time.

00:53:13.000 And his movement is so different.

00:53:15.000 One of the things that was interesting where they were talking about the fight, and AJ was, Tony Bellows was talking about when he fought him.

00:53:26.000 And AJ was saying that when he fought him, it was the most exhausted he's ever been because he's always moving.

00:53:35.000 There's no rest with him.

00:53:36.000 No rest with him.

00:53:37.000 There's like constant, there's constant twitching.

00:53:40.000 Under fire the whole time.

00:53:41.000 You're constantly thinking, when is this coming?

00:53:44.000 There's no silent agreements.

00:53:45.000 There's no relaxation.

00:53:48.000 There's no rounds off.

00:53:50.000 Everything is, he's putting it on you and moving constantly.

00:53:54.000 Like, I always say he's like a giant Lomachenko.

00:53:57.000 They were both trained by the same guy.

00:53:57.000 Got it.

00:53:59.000 Oh, were they?

00:53:59.000 Yeah, Lomachenko's father trained Usik as well.

00:54:02.000 Ah.

00:54:03.000 So there's something.

00:54:04.000 Yeah, there's something.

00:54:05.000 Obviously, gravity keeps him from moving the way Lomachenko does because Lomachenko is so small.

00:54:10.000 He can dance around you in footwork, just majestic footwork.

00:54:16.000 But Usuk's footwork is like, there's a bunch of breakdowns of the final combination that he hit Daniel with.

00:54:23.000 And, you know, he steps off to the side and lands that fucking left hook from hell.

00:54:29.000 God, it was good.

00:54:31.000 You could see Daniel was already tired.

00:54:34.000 You could see it.

00:54:35.000 He's just dealing with that.

00:54:36.000 There's got to be something like, you know, Lomachenko's dad, like some type of philosophy or something.

00:54:41.000 Like these guys just kind of tap into, you know, because to be a big guy, yeah, there's footwork and all this stuff.

00:54:41.000 You know what I mean?

00:54:48.000 But I think, man, shout out to the coach.

00:54:50.000 Yeah, it's skill, man.

00:54:52.000 It's a skillful type of boxing.

00:54:55.000 It's like a, you know, there's, there's guys that are like heavy bangers and they rely on that.

00:55:00.000 And there's guys that have, you know, good defense and they rely on that.

00:55:03.000 But his thing is like this constant movement and constant feints and jabs.

00:55:09.000 And it's all with a purpose.

00:55:11.000 Everything is like setting you up.

00:55:12.000 Everything is reading what your reaction to this is and anticipating what your reaction is.

00:55:18.000 When's that right hand coming?

00:55:19.000 Duck under counter.

00:55:20.000 It's like constant.

00:55:21.000 The jab was going in an upward direction sometimes.

00:55:24.000 He was catching Daniel with this like upward jab.

00:55:27.000 Here's the, oh, okay, here's a breakdown.

00:55:29.000 Yeah, I've only seen highlights.

00:55:31.000 His fucking movement, man.

00:55:31.000 I'd actually did.

00:55:33.000 It's so good, man.

00:55:35.000 It's so good.

00:55:36.000 The movement.

00:55:36.000 Do you know how?

00:55:37.000 What's his age?

00:55:38.000 He's 38.

00:55:38.000 Damn.

00:55:40.000 Oh, my God.

00:55:40.000 Yeah, that was a solid left.

00:55:42.000 He's old.

00:55:43.000 He's old for a boxer.

00:55:44.000 You know, and the fact that he was a cruiserweight champion, too.

00:55:48.000 And that was the first drop.

00:55:50.000 But here's the big one.

00:55:51.000 The left hook that he knocks him out was extraordinary, man.

00:55:57.000 What are they showing here?

00:55:58.000 Okay, the counters.

00:56:00.000 This video is just about his weight transfer and it's amazing.

00:56:04.000 I mean, he's one of the most skillful heavyweights of all time.

00:56:07.000 I think you have to go back to Cassius Clay.

00:56:10.000 Yeah.

00:56:11.000 Like, before they took his title away, before they made him sit out for three years.

00:56:16.000 There's the final left hook. 0.98

00:56:18.000 Oh, my goodness.

00:56:20.000 Look at this counter.

00:56:21.000 Steps off to the left and then full weight into it.

00:56:24.000 Really long.

00:56:25.000 Like, you can tell that weight transfer was everything.

00:56:29.000 It's just constant footwork and movement.

00:56:32.000 And a lot of his training is that.

00:56:34.000 Yeah, you can see it.

00:56:35.000 He's never stationary.

00:56:36.000 Exactly.

00:56:36.000 Like, his feet are never in one place.

00:56:38.000 They're constantly moving.

00:56:40.000 Well, there's a lot of Russian fighters who fight that way.

00:56:42.000 And obviously he's from Ukraine, but Bival fights that way.

00:56:46.000 There's a lot of these Eastern Bloc fighters that have this movement style.

00:56:51.000 Like there's a constant movement style.

00:56:54.000 And there's a lot of value in that, man.

00:56:56.000 Like when you see flat-footed guys and you see guys who fight like that, you go, man, there's something in that.

00:57:02.000 That's extraordinary.

00:57:04.000 Flat-footed guys, I feel like a lot of them, that's where they generate their power, right?

00:57:04.000 Yeah.

00:57:08.000 Not like relying on that, like a Deontay Wilder.

00:57:08.000 Sure.

00:57:12.000 Sure.

00:57:12.000 If his feet are planted and you're up against the ropes, bye-bye.

00:57:17.000 Or George Foreman in his day.

00:57:18.000 Oh, man.

00:57:19.000 Yeah.

00:57:19.000 It's heavy plotting, you know, like moving forward like this, covering up, but everything has just death on it.

00:57:27.000 Just looping them.

00:57:28.000 But a guy like Dubois, he can do that.

00:57:32.000 That's the thing.

00:57:33.000 That's how he fucked up AJ.

00:57:34.000 He has that crazy power.

00:57:36.000 But when you're not getting hit and you're just moving away, and this guy's just whiffing these nuclear bombs by you over and over again.

00:57:43.000 And then after a while, he's like, headed into the third.

00:57:46.000 He's like, oh, Jesus Christ.

00:57:48.000 Yeah.

00:57:48.000 This guy is fucking not there.

00:57:50.000 And I'm exhausted.

00:57:52.000 And then you're dealing with him like sparks are flying every time he's hitting you.

00:57:56.000 And you don't know when these punches are coming because they're coming from these weird angles.

00:58:00.000 And every time you throw a punch, he's countering you.

00:58:03.000 And you're nervous at which one of these is going to really rock me.

00:58:08.000 Dude, to be in that situation during a fight is, ugh.

00:58:12.000 It's the worst.

00:58:14.000 I remember feeling like that in the Alex fight.

00:58:17.000 There was a few jabs and stuff.

00:58:19.000 I was obviously just dizzy and just dealing with like, okay, this guy's not slowing down and I'm hurting.

00:58:30.000 Yeah, around the fourth, he started getting that time.

00:58:32.000 When was the fight stopped?

00:58:35.000 Fourth round.

00:58:36.000 It was the fourth.

00:58:37.000 Fourth round, I think, like probably two and a half minutes in, something like that.

00:58:44.000 He started getting that rhythm where he was like moving away from stuff and then coming back in.

00:58:49.000 Moving in.

00:58:50.000 Yeah.

00:58:51.000 It was unusual moving.

00:58:53.000 Obviously deceptive, but like my eye was shut.

00:58:57.000 I thought I was blind in my eye, but I was like, okay, whatever, this is just, I was so excited to be there.

00:59:04.000 And so even in the fight, not being able to see out of my right eye at all.

00:59:11.000 Like not blurred vision.

00:59:13.000 It was just like all I saw was white light.

00:59:16.000 Like, that's all I saw.

00:59:18.000 And in that moment, I was like, oh, I'm blind.

00:59:20.000 Fuck it.

00:59:21.000 Wow.

00:59:22.000 Yeah, like literally.

00:59:23.000 So I don't know what it was.

00:59:26.000 Like maybe all I know is I just saw a light coming in.

00:59:29.000 Couldn't see shadows anyway.

00:59:30.000 When did that start happening?

00:59:31.000 That was sometime in the fourth round.

00:59:34.000 So you got hit with something?

00:59:35.000 I hit something, maybe like a jab.

00:59:37.000 Boom.

00:59:37.000 And I just remember like my eye wasn't closed all the way yet, but like all I could see was just white light.

00:59:44.000 And I was like, oh, shit.

00:59:46.000 I think I went blind, but whatever.

00:59:48.000 Let's go.

00:59:50.000 Internally, it was such this light, positive voice going on the whole time in that fight.

00:59:56.000 How do you think you developed that?

01:00:03.000 I don't know, man.

01:00:04.000 It could be like a series of just like life experiences and my like, I don't know, books that I read or just like things that I try to practice or some enlightenment thing that I'm trying to get or, you know what I mean?

01:00:21.000 Like I think that I think that it comes from that because I'm just I'm kind of always searching for the light in short, you know?

01:00:31.000 God, it's got to be so hard though in that situation because generally speaking, there's a moment in fights where you see guys starting to get hit and tuned up and you see hesitation and you see panic.

01:00:42.000 And you didn't show any of that.

01:00:43.000 You were getting beat up, but you were firing back.

01:00:47.000 You were fighting at the best that you could.

01:00:49.000 It was very obvious.

01:00:50.000 To the very end.

01:00:51.000 Yeah, to the very end.

01:00:52.000 Well, you know what?

01:00:54.000 So right before we went out or right before we got to the arena, my coach Lorenzo is like, all right, your nose is already cut, so it's going to open up.

01:01:03.000 And he's like looking at me in my face, you know, like he's like face to face with me.

01:01:07.000 He's like, your nose is already cut.

01:01:09.000 Accept it.

01:01:10.000 It's going to open up.

01:01:11.000 First time you get hit, it's going to open up.

01:01:14.000 All right, that's out of the way.

01:01:15.000 He's like, now, expect that you're going to get the shit beat out of you.

01:01:18.000 You're going to go to bloody fucking war.

01:01:20.000 He's like, you might break a hand.

01:01:22.000 You might break a leg.

01:01:23.000 You might get your jaw broken, but you don't give up.

01:01:26.000 You keep going.

01:01:27.000 We fucking come out of this fight victorious.

01:01:29.000 And he's like, you hear me?

01:01:30.000 And I'm like, yeah.

01:01:31.000 And he's like, so just fucking soak it in now.

01:01:33.000 You're about to go to fucking full-on war.

01:01:35.000 It's going, you're like, you know, like, you're about to go to hell.

01:01:38.000 Like, he's just like in my face, you know?

01:01:40.000 And he's like, we're face to face.

01:01:42.000 And he's like, I need you to accept it now, son.

01:01:44.000 Cause he kind of looks at me like, like his son.

01:01:46.000 And I appreciate it.

01:01:46.000 He treats me that way.

01:01:48.000 He's like, you're, he's like, but we're fucking, we're fucking winning this fight, son.

01:01:52.000 And you're going to fucking go to, you're going to fucking war. 0.70

01:01:54.000 And I was just, swallowed that, walked into the arena, just kind of accepting it already.

01:02:01.000 You know what I mean?

01:02:01.000 Like, I wasn't like, oh, I was just like, okay.

01:02:04.000 Like, Lorenzo said it.

01:02:06.000 All right.

01:02:07.000 This is what it is.

01:02:09.000 This is what it is.

01:02:10.000 And so, like, in the locker room, you know, in my warm-ups and everything, I think subconsciously, I'm just like already programming myself for the worst of the worst.

01:02:20.000 Already there.

01:02:21.000 But not in a way to where I'm like, oh, I'm going to lose this fight.

01:02:24.000 Right.

01:02:24.000 Like, I'm like expanding, you know?

01:02:27.000 Wow.

01:02:28.000 Just like internally, like, okay, fuck, I'm ready for this.

01:02:30.000 All right.

01:02:31.000 Boom.

01:02:32.000 My fucking hands are going to get broken.

01:02:32.000 All right.

01:02:34.000 My face is going to get split up.

01:02:36.000 All right.

01:02:37.000 And every fight's not like this.

01:02:38.000 Like, not every opponent, we have the same, you know what I mean?

01:02:42.000 This same thing because the strategy is always different for everybody.

01:02:46.000 But some, he just had a feeling that this is the type of fight was going to be.

01:02:50.000 So when it got down to that point, I think I had already accepted it.

01:02:54.000 So the only thing I could do was just enjoy it.

01:02:58.000 You know, because I was like, this is a crazy thing to say.

01:03:01.000 I knew it was going to happen.

01:03:02.000 Like, I just knew it.

01:03:04.000 So, yeah, if I remember, dude, like the third round, fourth round, something in there, I'm just like, thank you.

01:03:10.000 Like, this is cool.

01:03:12.000 I'm fighting in five rounds.

01:03:12.000 Wow.

01:03:13.000 Fighting for the world.

01:03:14.000 You know, the crowd, I'm like, oh, my God.

01:03:16.000 Eyes closed.

01:03:17.000 Fuck.

01:03:17.000 Boom.

01:03:17.000 I think I'm blind.

01:03:18.000 I'm like, fuck.

01:03:19.000 They're like, oh, oh, he's not going back.

01:03:19.000 Oh, shit.

01:03:23.000 You know, and like, even to the last, I'm like swinging.

01:03:26.000 I can't see.

01:03:27.000 Body shot hurts.

01:03:27.000 Boom.

01:03:28.000 I'm like, oh, backing up a bit.

01:03:31.000 But like, I just remembered like the whole time, this, just, this very like positive feeling that, like, and that's why, like, those shorts are framed in, you know, like, I got the shorts framed, never washed them, you know, blood still on them, gloves, never wiped them off, and I just put it in a shadow box.

01:03:52.000 It's on my wall, you know, like that for me is just, it was a, just a pivotal moment for me, just in my life as a person, as a human, you know, just, yeah, that's like the beginning.

01:04:07.000 I think I was like, that's the beginning of the, wow, of the journey now.

01:04:11.000 So that's wild.

01:04:13.000 The world title fight is the beginning of the journey.

01:04:16.000 I thought, yeah, I thought, you know, like, oh, no, this is like that was the beginning because when I was there, I felt like I belonged.

01:04:23.000 Like, it wasn't foreign to me.

01:04:25.000 Like, you know, final, you know, main event, lights go dark.

01:04:31.000 It's just the spotlights.

01:04:32.000 You know, I've only ever watched it.

01:04:34.000 So, yeah, I was like, okay, this is different.

01:04:41.000 It felt like it was supposed to feel, if that makes sense.

01:04:44.000 Like, everything, I felt like that vision that I've had and it was like being there.

01:04:51.000 And I was just like, yeah, it feels about right.

01:04:55.000 Like, wow.

01:04:56.000 Cool.

01:04:57.000 Fucking Pereira right in front of me.

01:04:58.000 Hell yeah.

01:04:59.000 This feels right.

01:05:01.000 this feels like, yeah, this is it right here.

01:05:05.000 And then, obviously, like, you know, the loss was, it took a little bit of an emotional toll on me because my focus was to win, and that was my, you know, that was my intention.

01:05:17.000 But I think, like, in hindsight, I look at it and it's like, no, my, I was meant to be there to experience it and to learn from it because the things that I did learn and experience from that fight have made me a better person for sure.

01:05:33.000 That's awesome.

01:05:34.000 Yeah.

01:05:34.000 That's awesome.

01:05:35.000 Well, it really showed it in the Jamal Hill fight because you came into that fight.

01:05:40.000 It just looked like you had gone through something and come out on the other end.

01:05:44.000 That's what it looked like.

01:05:45.000 Because, again, Jamal's world champion.

01:05:48.000 He's a dangerous, dangerous man, you know, and you looked supremely confident in that fight.

01:05:53.000 Yeah, a lot of training, man.

01:05:55.000 Like, I understand that there's a lot.

01:06:01.000 I'm a striker.

01:06:02.000 You know, like, that's just, I love to strike.

01:06:05.000 Don't stray away from a striking match.

01:06:08.000 But I think that, like, lately, I've been training a lot with Buchecha, who just got signed to UFC.

01:06:15.000 Incredible guy.

01:06:17.000 Amazing, like, multiple time jiu-jitsu champion.

01:06:23.000 Rolling with guys like Luke, Rockhold.

01:06:26.000 I mean, being able to be like on a team with those guys and us train together has really helped me as well because it's just given me more confidence in my abilities and my development as like a championship level fighter.

01:06:46.000 So yeah, I mean, like, even to, I, you know, I brought you those shorts today, the Santo Studio ones, man, we're, we're building an incredible team down there.

01:06:55.000 I think it's like the first time.

01:06:56.000 Are you familiar with what we're doing at all?

01:06:58.000 Okay, so like over at Santo Studio, Newport Beach, we've got Santo Studio, we've got Jackson.

01:07:06.000 Jackson's like men's jewelry. 0.53

01:07:09.000 Yeah, men's jewelry, but there's also like Jackson Media House.

01:07:13.000 And over there, we're trying to include all of MMA fighters, extreme sports athletes, like give them like a platform to showcase, you know, their talents and build themselves.

01:07:27.000 But Santo Studio, the clothing brand, we have the sickest team.

01:07:31.000 So we've got like Buccecha, we've got Arman, we've got, I mean, Dilla Shaw's behind it, we got Rockhold.

01:07:40.000 Man, the list goes on.

01:07:41.000 Gabriel Silva, Anderson Silva's son, on just like the fighting side, but then it's like Paul Rodriguez, Skateboarder, Nigel Houston, Ryan Sheckler, and then we got motocross riders like Jet and Hunter Lawrence.

01:07:54.000 And like, so there's all these kind of like extreme sports athletes under one umbrella, but like in one place in Newport Beach.

01:08:01.000 And we all support each other under like the same type of brand.

01:08:05.000 And what is your role in this?

01:08:08.000 Ambassador, fucking, I was a part of the vision before there was like the first t-shirt ever printed.

01:08:15.000 Like Bear and I had a conversation.

01:08:17.000 He's like, hey, I got this vision.

01:08:18.000 And I'm like, dude, I'm behind you.

01:08:20.000 Like, I love how this sounds.

01:08:22.000 It's right up my alley.

01:08:23.000 Sounds creative.

01:08:24.000 There's clothes involved.

01:08:25.000 There's training involved.

01:08:27.000 So he's gone to just build this.

01:08:30.000 We got the Santo Performance Studio.

01:08:32.000 Huge gym.

01:08:33.000 Jiu-Jitsu mats.

01:08:36.000 Weightlifting, but also like shopping.

01:08:39.000 Dude, it's unheard of, but it's so cool.

01:08:42.000 And it's put us all in the same place to be able to train with each other, collaborate with each other.

01:08:48.000 If it wasn't for Santo, I would have never been able to train with guys like Buchetcha and Bernardo and Leo Vera, you know, the CheckMat guys.

01:08:57.000 So like now there's a partnership with CheckMat, which makes me like have access to training with these guys.

01:09:06.000 I would have never been able to, you know what I mean, have that same like connection.

01:09:09.000 So we're just doing everything we can to just, you know, like support each other within this like MMA community, help each other grow and just like expand and also include the community within right now Newport Beach.

01:09:26.000 But I mean, I'm sure that the vision is bigger than just that.

01:09:31.000 So this is something also that you can do once you retire?

01:09:35.000 I would love to, yeah.

01:09:36.000 I mean, right now, like, I think the understanding from Bear is that like I'm just focused on becoming a champion.

01:09:44.000 But I'm sure he knows that like I'm heavily interested in, you know, doing something because I believe in the brand.

01:09:52.000 So yeah, after this, maybe there's something.

01:09:55.000 But right now, you know, I have no distractions.

01:09:59.000 Right.

01:09:59.000 You know what I mean?

01:10:00.000 Like, I have no distractions.

01:10:01.000 I'm, you know, I'm just making sure that I'm fighting and that, like, my money's in the right place and places.

01:10:10.000 Do you have a time set in your head where you want to exit the game?

01:10:18.000 How about this?

01:10:19.000 I can say that I would like for my current contract to be my last contract.

01:10:28.000 How many fights do you have in your current contract?

01:10:30.000 Left six or seven.

01:10:36.000 And that's it.

01:10:38.000 That's what you'd like.

01:10:39.000 In an ideal world.

01:10:41.000 Or like maybe sometime not only there's like a renegotiation and it's not for as many fights, but like I think six or seven more fights would be nice and be able to like look around and say like, okay, is this enough?

01:10:58.000 You know, like is this okay for me to step away from and like, am I secure?

01:11:05.000 Is my, you know, is my family secure?

01:11:07.000 Okay, then cool.

01:11:11.000 Because time waits for no man. 0.98

01:11:13.000 Yeah.

01:11:13.000 You don't want to be 41.

01:11:15.000 How old are you right now?

01:11:16.000 I turned 35 in February.

01:11:19.000 So you're still in your prime?

01:11:20.000 Still in my prime, so they say.

01:11:23.000 Especially for a larger athlete.

01:11:24.000 Yeah.

01:11:25.000 And I don't have no...

01:11:27.000 Usyk, 38.

01:11:30.000 Like, I didn't grow up wrestling and all that stuff.

01:11:32.000 So 15 years into any type of big factor.

01:11:37.000 Yeah, sports or athletics.

01:11:39.000 Football's a big factor, wrestling's a big factor, knees, back, neck.

01:11:44.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:11:46.000 But yeah, I mean, like, by the way that things are looking, it'd be nice.

01:11:50.000 Like, October 4th, win over Yuri sets me up for the title fight against, here's an ideal situation.

01:12:00.000 Win over Yuri in October.

01:12:02.000 Alex beats Uncle Ayev.

01:12:04.000 Rematch for the belt against Alex sometime in the beginning, like the first half of next year.

01:12:12.000 Right?

01:12:13.000 Beat Alex in the rematch.

01:12:15.000 Get the belt.

01:12:18.000 I'm the champion all summer.

01:12:22.000 Then somewhere in between summer and fall, there's a child that comes into play.

01:12:31.000 My wife's not pregnant yet, but it'd be nice.

01:12:33.000 Oh, you got this idea.

01:12:34.000 It'd be nice.

01:12:35.000 You know what I mean?

01:12:36.000 No, I got a, I gotta, that's, that's the, like, everyone says, like, all these guys, success.

01:12:42.000 No, no, no.

01:12:43.000 You gotta have a vision, man.

01:12:44.000 Like, like, you gotta have a vision in life.

01:12:46.000 You do.

01:12:47.000 You know, like, if you don't have a vision or something to aim at, like, what are you doing?

01:12:51.000 You know?

01:12:52.000 So, like, yeah, these are like, you know, these are my vision, but there's like goals in between, you know?

01:12:58.000 Goal.

01:12:59.000 Be eerie.

01:13:00.000 Goal.

01:13:02.000 Get another shot at the title.

01:13:05.000 Vision.

01:13:06.000 Start my family.

01:13:08.000 Finish my fight contract.

01:13:10.000 Be done with fighting.

01:13:12.000 Live in Asia. 1.00

01:13:14.000 Yeah.

01:13:14.000 In Asia?

01:13:16.000 I'm moving back to Thailand, man.

01:13:18.000 Really?

01:13:18.000 Yeah.

01:13:19.000 100%.

01:13:20.000 1,000%.

01:13:21.000 Why?

01:13:22.000 Because that's where I want to be.

01:13:23.000 That's where I belong.

01:13:24.000 Really?

01:13:25.000 I belong I belong in there's Either Thailand, Hong Kong, or South Korea.

01:13:38.000 Why those places?

01:13:40.000 Obviously, Thailand, you know, you had amazing experiences there.

01:13:44.000 Hong Kong's amazing.

01:13:45.000 I love it there.

01:13:46.000 It's good.

01:13:49.000 I just came back from Hong Kong as well.

01:13:51.000 So in that Thailand trip, I went to Hong Kong.

01:13:54.000 I love how it's set up.

01:13:55.000 I love the structure of the city.

01:13:58.000 I love that there's so much outdoor stuff involved.

01:14:01.000 So like when I imagine the rest of my life and how I want to live that after fighting, it's like, let's say I do have my family and there's a child in play.

01:14:11.000 Okay, cool.

01:14:12.000 If I live in Hong Kong, I can just walk outside and take my child for a hike right outside the house.

01:14:20.000 And it'd not be like, I don't have to even own a car.

01:14:23.000 I can just, everything's walking.

01:14:26.000 You know what I mean?

01:14:27.000 It's like the way that this city's set up.

01:14:28.000 It's set up for people to walk, to interact.

01:14:32.000 It's very beautiful.

01:14:34.000 It's not, you know, I love it.

01:14:37.000 It's just, for me, when I'm there, I'm like, ah, this makes sense.

01:14:40.000 Like, especially with the vision of like who I want to be after fighting.

01:14:43.000 And why South Korea?

01:14:45.000 I like the culture in South Korea, man.

01:14:48.000 Like, when I see that, when I see just like the, like, the culture in South Korea, the people, how I envision just like my family interacting with society and stuff, like, to me, another thing that just makes sense.

01:14:48.000 I really do.

01:15:04.000 And Thailand for me is, it just, it feels like home.

01:15:07.000 The language is very like easy for me to, you know, to speak and to like learn more of and to where I could be fluent.

01:15:18.000 I love the community there.

01:15:20.000 I love how people live their life there.

01:15:22.000 Amazing, a lot of growth happening in Thailand.

01:15:27.000 It's also a lot less expensive.

01:15:29.000 A lot less expensive for sure.

01:15:31.000 And to be able to like, so like, let's say in Thailand, I'm American, right?

01:15:39.000 We're all kind of born like to live the American dream.

01:15:42.000 I can live the American dream anywhere I want.

01:15:48.000 But for me, if I could live the American dream in Thailand, that would be ideal.

01:15:55.000 If I could live the American dream in Hong Kong, that'd be ideal.

01:16:01.000 You know, but it's a lot more expensive in Hong Kong.

01:16:04.000 It's a lot more expensive in South Africa.

01:16:05.000 Do you think you say this because you live in Vegas?

01:16:07.000 Because Vegas is kind of a crazy place in America.

01:16:11.000 Not so much.

01:16:12.000 Like, I've been to many different places.

01:16:13.000 I mean, I've been almost everywhere in the States when I was on tour.

01:16:16.000 And, you know, Austin's nice.

01:16:18.000 Do I want to live in Austin?

01:16:19.000 No.

01:16:20.000 California?

01:16:21.000 Absolutely not.

01:16:21.000 New York?

01:16:22.000 Absolutely not.

01:16:23.000 Florida?

01:16:24.000 Don't like it.

01:16:25.000 Shout out to my Florida fans.

01:16:26.000 Like you, like, I love you guys.

01:16:28.000 I'm not saying anything against, don't hate me if I don't give you a place if you, you know, whatever.

01:16:35.000 But there's nowhere else in the world that I feel the way that I feel when I'm there.

01:16:41.000 That's interesting.

01:16:42.000 Has that always been the case?

01:16:44.000 Or is it just like, does it represent something to you in terms of like personal growth or a vibe, the relaxing vibe of it?

01:16:55.000 It's not so much like when I'm there, I'm relaxing.

01:16:57.000 You know what I mean?

01:16:58.000 Like it's very busy.

01:16:59.000 Like there's a lot going on.

01:17:01.000 But I just, I can, I realize how I feel inside, you know, and how I'm interacting with people who I don't even know on a daily basis.

01:17:16.000 And when I think about like, I always, I'm constantly thinking about like my future or my vision, you know?

01:17:25.000 And when I think about, and when I think about my views, my future and my vision, there's a child involved.

01:17:32.000 And I try to think about like, okay, as a dad, how do I want to operate with a child?

01:17:42.000 Or like, how do, how do I want, you know, our child to experience life?

01:17:49.000 And there's just, you know, a lot of different questions and visions that come.

01:17:53.000 And the way that I've seen it, or like the way that I envision it, it's kind of like, it makes more sense that Way you know, like if I could if I could, let's say, take away some of the like stress of raising a child from my wife by like,

01:18:15.000 let's say, hiring help or you know, having instead of having a car, having a driver to have us get through traffic so that we can still enjoy life and, you know, go on like a family, you know, dinner or take the kid here or whatever, but I don't want to drive the damn car because there's too much traffic and you know what I mean?

01:18:36.000 Right.

01:18:37.000 Like, so I can relax, but we can still have family time.

01:18:40.000 We can still do the things that families and kids do, but it not cost me so much.

01:18:48.000 Right.

01:18:50.000 You know what I mean?

01:18:51.000 Like, if I wanted to get a live-in helper here in the States to help my wife, it costs a fortune.

01:18:57.000 Yeah.

01:18:58.000 It's almost impossible.

01:18:59.000 But if I wanted to get a live-in helper, let's say in Hong Kong, it cost me $1,000 or less dollars a month to have a full-time live-in helper.

01:19:10.000 And there's nothing wrong with it there.

01:19:12.000 That's just the culture.

01:19:14.000 Like in Hong Kong, you have just groups of women who are live-in helpers that like on their off day in the summer or on their off day, like on Sunday, you'll see them. 1.00

01:19:25.000 Everybody's just in the streets with tents, combing each other's hair, boom boxes out, sharing food.

01:19:31.000 It's just a part of it.

01:19:32.000 Like that's not like literally tents in the streets everywhere.

01:19:36.000 Jamie, if you want to pull that up, it's crazy, dude.

01:19:39.000 I don't know if you've ever seen it, but it's so cool because like they enjoy the life.

01:19:43.000 But like Hong Kong helpers hang out or enjoying a day off or something.

01:19:50.000 It's just a way of life.

01:19:51.000 It's a lifestyle.

01:19:52.000 It's just a new perspective that I've never seen, like that I didn't see here.

01:19:57.000 And I like it.

01:19:59.000 I just think like for me and my development and growth as just like a human being, that's just kind of where it's like a never-ending like finding out what's next.

01:20:11.000 Like I've constantly got to adapt and evolve.

01:20:11.000 You know what I mean?

01:20:14.000 Like I'm American.

01:20:16.000 I have to learn a new language.

01:20:17.000 I've got to adapt to a new culture.

01:20:19.000 I've got to learn new rules and laws and all this stuff.

01:20:21.000 And like, cool, sign me up.

01:20:23.000 Like, cause that's just, I don't want my life to be like, okay, I know it all and I'm done.

01:20:28.000 And I'm just, okay, cool.

01:20:30.000 And I got the kid and I'm just, you know, like, right, right.

01:20:32.000 I want to continue to like grow.

01:20:34.000 To grow.

01:20:35.000 Right.

01:20:36.000 As well as, you know, showing someone else how to grow.

01:20:42.000 See, like, they're not homeless.

01:20:42.000 Yeah.

01:20:43.000 They're just hanging out on their off day because they can't and they like, they enjoy it.

01:20:47.000 No one's mad to be doing this.

01:20:50.000 Huh.

01:20:51.000 You know what I mean?

01:20:52.000 Like, it's a totally safe environment for these people to be out here.

01:20:56.000 They're not interrupting anybody.

01:20:58.000 They're literally just, this is a day off.

01:21:00.000 Like, oh, what are you doing on your day off?

01:21:02.000 I'm going to go hang out with the other helpers around the city.

01:21:06.000 And we're just like, we're just chilling.

01:21:10.000 Interesting.

01:21:11.000 Because to live there, like the places are really small.

01:21:15.000 You know, like if you have a thousand square foot apartment, you're most likely a multi-millionaire.

01:21:20.000 So most of the life, like lifestyle is spent outdoors.

01:21:24.000 So for them to go outside like this and this is like a normal thing on a Sunday?

01:21:29.000 Normal.

01:21:30.000 On a Sunday or on a weekend?

01:21:30.000 Yeah.

01:21:32.000 Yeah, absolutely.

01:21:34.000 And Hong Kong, the city is supposed to be very safe, too, right?

01:21:37.000 Very safe, man.

01:21:38.000 Very, very safe.

01:21:40.000 Very safe, very clean.

01:21:42.000 Like, when I think about the stuff that I had to go through as a kid and just like the dangers and, you know, I'm like, hmm, how about like my kid doesn't necessarily have to be worried about certain things or, you know what I mean?

01:21:58.000 Being worried about like getting shot at school or like just different things.

01:22:02.000 It's just kind of like, what can I take off?

01:22:04.000 Like what mental load can I take off my offspring in the beginning?

01:22:10.000 I can take on whatever.

01:22:11.000 I'm a grown adult.

01:22:12.000 Like whatever.

01:22:14.000 What do you think you're going to be doing with your time other than that when you're done fighting?

01:22:23.000 I have zero business experience because I've just been so dedicated to fighting.

01:22:31.000 But I do want to start to learn, man.

01:22:37.000 I want to learn business, how to operate a business because I'm creative and I have ideas, but I don't have structure.

01:22:45.000 I don't have really the right mentorship.

01:22:50.000 So yeah, I'd like to have multiple businesses.

01:22:58.000 Like what kind of businesses?

01:22:59.000 What do you want to get into?

01:23:00.000 Something like...

01:23:05.000 Express creativity, but also like something that helps me and people, like health, you know, health, health products.

01:23:18.000 Is this one of those things that you can't really think about right now?

01:23:21.000 I can't because it's just like I'm, you know what I mean?

01:23:24.000 Like I'm locked in.

01:23:25.000 I don't want to get too distracted.

01:23:26.000 But like.

01:23:27.000 Well, I think that's a giant.

01:23:28.000 One of the signs that someone.

01:23:31.000 When people spread themselves too thin.

01:23:33.000 Like there's a bunch of fighters when things start going really well.

01:23:38.000 They start getting movie offers.

01:23:39.000 And you see them on talk shows.

01:23:42.000 You're like, uh-oh.

01:23:44.000 You're getting outside of your lane and you're spreading yourself thin.

01:23:48.000 And there's just no way to really be locked into training while also doing that stuff.

01:23:54.000 So when you see someone preparing for a major fight and they see a lot of extracurricular activities, I'm always like, like Daniel Dubois had a fucking party the day of his fight.

01:24:05.000 Before the fight?

01:24:07.000 Yeah.

01:24:07.000 Oh, boy.

01:24:08.000 It's a big issue now.

01:24:09.000 People are talking about it.

01:24:10.000 There's like 90 people at his place partying the day of the fight.

01:24:15.000 That's absurd.

01:24:16.000 That takes a lot of energy.

01:24:16.000 Right?

01:24:18.000 Just being around those people.

01:24:19.000 Yeah.

01:24:21.000 Even if you're just sitting in the party, like your energy is being zapped.

01:24:24.000 Right.

01:24:25.000 Yeah.

01:24:25.000 And obviously, if it's your fight night, everyone wants to talk to you.

01:24:29.000 Everybody has questions.

01:24:30.000 I just can't imagine why anybody would do that.

01:24:33.000 There's videos of him hanging out, partying with everybody.

01:24:35.000 I mean, not drinking, nothing crazy, but obviously like hanging out.

01:24:40.000 A lot of loud people talking, a lot of music, a lot of, you know, communication.

01:24:45.000 Zaps the nervous system for sure.

01:24:47.000 Like, how do you expect to go fight Usik after your nervous system's been zapped from a crime? 0.99

01:24:52.000 I understand it.

01:24:54.000 When I saw it after the fight was over, I was like, look, he's probably going to lose anyway.

01:24:58.000 Yeah.

01:24:59.000 But what is that?

01:25:01.000 No, it's tough, man.

01:25:02.000 I honestly, you know, I agree with that.

01:25:06.000 I think this fight in Baku really got, like, it made me realize how important, like, being locked in is.

01:25:16.000 Because I was absolutely, I think that's why I got sick, to be honest, Joe.

01:25:20.000 I think that's why I got sick because I was just exhausted.

01:25:23.000 No, exhausted.

01:25:24.000 From the things that I had to do, from my obligations.

01:25:27.000 Oh.

01:25:29.000 So the week that I landed, I had to do like four or five days of filming with DraftKings for this online.

01:25:36.000 So it's like I just landed, but then like I didn't get time to adjust because the next day we got to wake up, you know, first filming sessions at 9 a.m.

01:25:47.000 Oh.

01:25:48.000 And then so we're like fight week?

01:25:49.000 No, the week before fight week.

01:25:51.000 The week before fight week.

01:25:53.000 You know, yeah, exactly.

01:25:53.000 Still.

01:25:54.000 So like I land and they came, they went to my house 2 a.m.

01:25:58.000 I'm not bitching about this because the guys were great, but this is just like my experience.

01:26:03.000 How much time did you have to spend doing that?

01:26:05.000 Oh, I mean, we spent, you know, we spent a week of filming.

01:26:11.000 How much time each day?

01:26:15.000 Five, six hours.

01:26:17.000 What?

01:26:18.000 Yeah.

01:26:19.000 What?

01:26:20.000 That's crazy.

01:26:22.000 It wasn't every day that we, I don't remember.

01:26:24.000 But it was like we did a lot of filming that week for this content piece or whatever for draft.

01:26:31.000 And then as soon as they left, then it was fight week, and then I had all the media stuff for fight week.

01:26:36.000 Oh, my God.

01:26:36.000 You know what I mean?

01:26:37.000 And I think by time, like with jet lag, with training involved, with the filming, with all of that, I think by time fight week came, like my body's like, fuck you.

01:26:50.000 That's exactly how it felt.

01:26:52.000 Why were you doing that?

01:26:53.000 They needed you for five, six hours in a day.

01:26:56.000 Like, you know, here's the thing.

01:26:59.000 I'm grateful because I wouldn't have been able to experience Baku the way that I did had I not done this.

01:27:05.000 So it's like, you made some extra town.

01:27:07.000 So we go to the old town and then like get a tour through old town for three hours and the lady's like, this is this.

01:27:07.000 Yeah.

01:27:13.000 So I got information and they're filming me, you know, get information.

01:27:17.000 And then from the old town, then we go somewhere else.

01:27:20.000 And, you know, so where ideally you would be resting or doing my own training or resting or adjusting.

01:27:28.000 Yeah, but when you're, when you're forced to interact, like that's, I mean, you're dealing with something where you have this monumental moment that's coming up in 14 days.

01:27:38.000 And then you're just.

01:27:40.000 Yeah, but I just, like, that's what I'm saying.

01:27:42.000 Like, my, my main thing was, like, embrace it.

01:27:46.000 You know what I mean?

01:27:47.000 Like, just embrace it.

01:27:48.000 Take it all in.

01:27:49.000 Yeah, it's fucking hard.

01:27:50.000 But that mentality can only get you so far, right?

01:27:54.000 That's why, like, I really, I feel like, I'm going to get fucking eaten alive for this.

01:28:02.000 Not if you don't read it.

01:28:06.000 I really feel like that was, like, Alex having so many fights last year and obligations and travel and all that.

01:28:17.000 When he, I feel like that probably had a big, played a big factor in why his performance was the way it was against Uncle Live.

01:28:25.000 Well, supposedly he went into that fight with Norovirus and he had a fucked up hand.

01:28:31.000 I honestly, like, I believe it.

01:28:35.000 It seemed like he wasn't hitting the gas as much.

01:28:38.000 You know, it seemed like he was a little bit more.

01:28:41.000 Also, Uncle Live is fucking good, man.

01:28:44.000 He's good.

01:28:45.000 That guy's really good.

01:28:47.000 I mean, he's, he's, you're smiling.

01:28:51.000 I can't smile.

01:28:52.000 You can't, but you smile like, come on, man.

01:28:56.000 I'm just smiling.

01:28:57.000 What is your opinion on Uncle Ive?

01:29:02.000 I don't have one.

01:29:05.000 You don't have any opinion at all?

01:29:07.000 No, not one.

01:29:08.000 Because he's the champ.

01:29:08.000 No.

01:29:12.000 Okay.

01:29:14.000 I get it.

01:29:14.000 Yeah.

01:29:15.000 Let's go back to Alex.

01:29:16.000 Yeah.

01:29:17.000 Norovirus.

01:29:18.000 You're just not a fan of his?

01:29:25.000 I can say confidently, am I a fan?

01:29:28.000 Absolutely not.

01:29:29.000 As a human or a fighter?

01:29:32.000 Both.

01:29:33.000 Okay.

01:29:33.000 So have you had bad interactions with him as a human?

01:29:36.000 He just talks shit.

01:29:37.000 I hate people that talk shit.

01:29:39.000 Dude, I just don't like it.

01:29:41.000 I don't like people who talk shit for no reason.

01:29:43.000 If I didn't say anything to you, if I've never fucking mentioned your name, then why are you talking shit to me or about me or disrespecting me?

01:29:52.000 Well, people talk shit because he gets some attention.

01:29:54.000 And I think a guy like Akolayev, there was a long period in his career where he didn't talk shit and he wasn't getting a lot of attention.

01:30:01.000 I mean, look, he had that fight with Jan Bohovich where it was for the title.

01:30:07.000 It went to a draw.

01:30:08.000 No one gets the title.

01:30:09.000 It was a crazy experience, right?

01:30:12.000 And a very good fight.

01:30:14.000 And people were mad at him.

01:30:17.000 And he had to sit on the shelf for a while.

01:30:19.000 It was kind of fucked up.

01:30:21.000 So that makes him talk shit about me.

01:30:24.000 I think he talks shit about everybody because you realize, look, this is what happened to Colby Covington.

01:30:30.000 There's a thing that happens.

01:30:31.000 Like, if you talk shit, you will get more eyes, more attention, more money, and you'll get fights.

01:30:36.000 And if you do not talk shit, there's a possibility that you'll be cut.

01:30:44.000 It's not you.

01:30:44.000 I know.

01:30:45.000 It's not you.

01:30:46.000 Yeah.

01:30:46.000 Look, and here I am.

01:30:47.000 And I'm still getting good fights and good money, and it's like...

01:30:51.000 Pereira just fights.

01:30:53.000 I mean, he doesn't even speak English, and he's beloved over here.

01:30:56.000 You know, but you can get by with just your performance.

01:30:56.000 Yeah.

01:31:00.000 But some people they think, like, man, I got to get people to fucking pay attention.

01:31:05.000 There's so many killers out there, there's so many people that are popular.

01:31:09.000 I got to do something.

01:31:10.000 Yeah.

01:31:11.000 So fight better.

01:31:16.000 I hear you.

01:31:17.000 I hear you.

01:31:19.000 That's the only thing.

01:31:20.000 It's like it's just a shit talking.

01:31:22.000 I hate it, dude.

01:31:23.000 Like, I fucking hate it.

01:31:24.000 Like, it really bugs me.

01:31:26.000 It's hate because you're a martial artist and you feel like it doesn't have a place in my life.

01:31:29.000 I just hate it because it's fucking unnecessary.

01:31:32.000 And it's like, and even as an adult, like, I had to deal with this shit my whole life.

01:31:37.000 Right.

01:31:38.000 And it's a fucking toxic way of fucking being and it's passing along through social media and kids are fucking getting beat up for it.

01:31:47.000 And we're fucking grown men on a large platform where people are looking up to us for many different things and they envision us as these fucking gladiators.

01:31:58.000 And this is what you're choosing to do as a fuck.

01:32:01.000 We have a responsibility.

01:32:02.000 I feel like as athletes, as champion, number fucking one, as champion, you have a responsibility.

01:32:10.000 You have a belt around your waist and all these eyes and microphone.

01:32:13.000 And that's what you're going to choose to say is talk shit and degrade my name.

01:32:17.000 And I'm not even above you.

01:32:19.000 I'm not even challenging you for a fight.

01:32:21.000 And you want to mention me.

01:32:22.000 And like that to me is just like, dude, spend your time wisely.

01:32:26.000 So that it's in a way, it's motivation for me because I'm like, I just won't do that.

01:32:34.000 Like, I think that there's so many different things that can be done when you have that belt.

01:32:39.000 Like, that belt is an honor.

01:32:41.000 Like, to have that.

01:32:42.000 There's a responsibility that comes with that.

01:32:43.000 There's things that you can do with that.

01:32:45.000 Like, it's not just about you.

01:32:47.000 Realize the responsibility that you have when you carry that title.

01:32:51.000 And so there's just, I'm getting passionate about it because there's just, I want to say so many things, but I'm not going to.

01:32:57.000 I know what you're saying.

01:32:58.000 I feel you.

01:32:59.000 I feel you.

01:32:59.000 I feel like there's a couple guys who kind of changed the game.

01:33:03.000 One of them was Chal Sun and another one is Conor McGregor.

01:33:06.000 And part of the way they changed the game was talking mad shit and getting a lot of people to pay attention to them.

01:33:11.000 Yeah.

01:33:12.000 Which, cool.

01:33:14.000 You know, like, it got them a lot of attention.

01:33:16.000 It got them a lot of money.

01:33:18.000 But, like, and if that's what makes them happy, cool.

01:33:22.000 You know?

01:33:23.000 I think some people think it's a good business decision.

01:33:27.000 Like I said, I know nothing about business.

01:33:31.000 Maybe that's why I don't own a business.

01:33:34.000 You know, like, I just, I don't know.

01:33:36.000 Well, it's good that you don't own a business.

01:33:38.000 You don't want to own a business while you're in the middle of this journey that you're on.

01:33:38.000 Yeah.

01:33:42.000 It's just like you, it wouldn't, it would just drain you.

01:33:45.000 It would take time from you.

01:33:46.000 It's not, you can only do so many things in this life, and especially when you're doing something that's all encompassing physically.

01:33:53.000 It's not like, you know, you have a business and you have a side business project that's a passion project that you're working on.

01:34:01.000 No, no, no, no, no, no.

01:34:02.000 You're fighting.

01:34:03.000 Fighting, you have to be all in and physically.

01:34:05.000 You really do.

01:34:06.000 You are all in.

01:34:08.000 And while you're all in.

01:34:08.000 Yeah.

01:34:09.000 Look, I admire people that don't talk shit, but I also like a little shit talking.

01:34:13.000 I do.

01:34:14.000 Because it's fun.

01:34:17.000 It gets people excited and it does get a lot of eyes on the sport and it makes for more pay-per-view buys.

01:34:23.000 Yeah.

01:34:24.000 Which is why I think the UFC encourages it.

01:34:28.000 Whether they encourage it or not, they use those things.

01:34:31.000 You know, like when Connor fought Khabib, they threw in the video of Connor throwing the fucking dolly at the bus.

01:34:39.000 Remember that?

01:34:40.000 Which is crazy.

01:34:41.000 Like, it's kind of almost encouraging that kind of behavior, which is crazy.

01:34:47.000 No, it's, I mean, like UFC, as real as it gets, right?

01:34:50.000 So you kind of get everything.

01:34:53.000 You get everything.

01:34:54.000 They don't say it anymore, though, do they?

01:34:56.000 As real as it gets.

01:34:57.000 I don't think that's a farm.

01:34:58.000 Sometimes it's stuck in my brain.

01:35:02.000 But yeah, there are different things.

01:35:04.000 There are a lot of different, I guess, characters, personalities.

01:35:08.000 Yeah.

01:35:08.000 Connor throwing the thing through, you know, the dolly through the window.

01:35:13.000 Is it going to make people watch the fight?

01:35:15.000 Absolutely.

01:35:16.000 Did he do it for that reason?

01:35:16.000 You know what I mean?

01:35:17.000 Don't think so.

01:35:18.000 I just think he is who he is, right?

01:35:21.000 It's like, we never know what's next with Connor.

01:35:26.000 And respect, you know, respect to him for everything.

01:35:28.000 But I just, yeah, I understand your perspective as well.

01:35:38.000 Like, a little shit talk, you know.

01:35:42.000 It's entertaining.

01:35:42.000 Yeah.

01:35:43.000 You know, you see two guys like, oh, yeah.

01:35:45.000 But I completely appreciate your perspective as well.

01:35:48.000 And I certainly appreciate your perspective having grown up through all that stuff.

01:35:52.000 Like, why include it?

01:35:53.000 Especially when what you're doing is the ultimate test of who you are as a human.

01:35:58.000 Like, what's the ultimate test of who you are as a man?

01:36:00.000 The actual fight itself, which is going to happen no matter how much shit you talk.

01:36:04.000 Yeah.

01:36:04.000 And whoever, like, whoever talks shit to me, you know, from not even from now on, but like, whoever talks shit to me, like, I back it up.

01:36:15.000 You know what I mean?

01:36:16.000 Like, I don't need to say anything in return.

01:36:18.000 Like, I'm just going to back it up.

01:36:20.000 I'm not, I don't want to give anybody any more attention or, you know, say people's names and stuff.

01:36:26.000 Connor and Khabib is the ultimate example of that, right?

01:36:28.000 When Khabib was on top, almost like, let's talk now.

01:36:28.000 Yeah.

01:36:31.000 And he kept punching him in the face.

01:36:32.000 Let's talk now.

01:36:33.000 Yeah.

01:36:36.000 I mean, I love Khabib for that. 0.91

01:36:37.000 Like, I, I, you know, like, I, I can relate to that, you know, like, I can relate to that, to that feeling of he's a good fellow.

01:36:47.000 Yeah.

01:36:47.000 He had this really amazing conversation.

01:36:50.000 Someone was interviewing him, and they were talking about different addictions that fighters fall to and different things that, that sidetrack people.

01:36:58.000 And he's like, the best addiction is discipline.

01:37:01.000 And he was talking about his discipline.

01:37:04.000 The best addiction is discipline.

01:37:06.000 You got to become addicted to discipline, addicted to hard training, addicted.

01:37:11.000 Completely addicted to that.

01:37:12.000 That makes me feel like a scrub.

01:37:17.000 I mean, like, I'm fucking good he was, man.

01:37:21.000 I'm disciplined, but like, damn, addicted to it.

01:37:24.000 Yeah.

01:37:25.000 I mean, when he talks.

01:37:26.000 See if you can find that, Jamie.

01:37:28.000 Here, here.

01:37:28.000 You got it?

01:37:29.000 Listen to this.

01:37:34.000 Every man addicted to something.

01:37:36.000 Some smoke, some drinks, some chase girls, some waste. 0.99

01:37:39.000 But real man, he addicted to discipline, to early wakes, to prayer, to training, to silence.

01:37:46.000 Discipline, no need motivation.

01:37:48.000 Discipline move without feeling.

01:37:50.000 Discipline say, I go anywhere, even when tired, even when lonely.

01:37:54.000 Discipline is best addiction.

01:37:56.000 You want strong life?

01:37:58.000 Discipline build it.

01:38:00.000 You want peace?

01:38:01.000 Discipline protected.

01:38:03.000 You want respect?

01:38:04.000 Discipline earn it.

01:38:05.000 No shortcut, only work.

01:38:07.000 Be men with control, not men with excuse.

01:38:10.000 No cry, no blame.

01:38:12.000 You want better life?

01:38:13.000 Start with better habits.

01:38:14.000 Discipline every day until discipline become you.

01:38:18.000 I'm going to use that as my morning wake-up now.

01:38:21.000 Do you know that?

01:38:22.000 That's what I was just thinking in my mind.

01:38:24.000 I'm like, dude, where do I include this in my daily routine?

01:38:29.000 Like, when I wake up?

01:38:31.000 That should be your alarm.

01:38:32.000 Or is it like, you know, do I just sit and like listen to this before I fall asleep?

01:38:38.000 No, no, no.

01:38:39.000 I'm about to fuck with you.

01:38:40.000 You won't be able to sleep.

01:38:42.000 Why should they brutalize? 0.79

01:38:44.000 Dreams of Khabib just standing on the pillar. 0.96

01:38:48.000 No, you're not real man.

01:38:50.000 It's interesting because Chal Sundan had a video recently.

01:38:52.000 So incredible, man.

01:38:53.000 Shout out to Khabib for that.

01:38:54.000 Shout out to Khabib.

01:38:55.000 I mean, that's why he is who he is.

01:38:57.000 Chaosundan had a really interesting video the other day.

01:38:59.000 He was talking about how people say that Dagestan is the place where you should take your kids.

01:39:05.000 You know, you want to take them to Dagestan two, three years and forget it. 0.98

01:39:10.000 There's like a fun line that Cormier has said, he's taking his son to Dagestan.

01:39:16.000 And that's one of the things that Bilal Muhammad said.

01:39:19.000 If I could do my career over again, I would have went to Dagestan earlier and I would have stayed there for years. 0.67

01:39:25.000 And then Chales Lundin had a very interesting point, which I think he's totally accurate.

01:39:29.000 And he's like, they're not doing anything any different.

01:39:32.000 He goes, but they don't have football.

01:39:35.000 They don't have basketball.

01:39:37.000 They don't have baseball.

01:39:38.000 So the best athletes go into MMA.

01:39:41.000 The best athletes go into wrestling.

01:39:44.000 The best athletes go into combat sports in Dagestan.

01:39:47.000 And so he's like, what you get is you have genetics, which is an ultimate requirement of the elite of the elite.

01:39:55.000 At the top of the game, it's like discipline and genetics.

01:39:58.000 Those are the two things that separate the men from the boys.

01:40:02.000 And he's like, we have all those things in America.

01:40:07.000 It's just when you're dealing with the elite of the elite, it's like, what pool are you drawing from?

01:40:14.000 One thing that I think they do have there, though, is this.

01:40:19.000 The fact that they're all very religious and the fact that there's no drinking, there's no partying, there's no nothing, there's no chasing girls, there's no bullshit.

01:40:27.000 It's just prayer and training.

01:40:30.000 That's a major advantage.

01:40:32.000 But you could do that anywhere.

01:40:36.000 Anyone could live that way.

01:40:37.000 Yeah, anyone can live that way.

01:40:39.000 I'd imagine that being in Dagestan because of, you know, just like the cultural differences.

01:40:46.000 Not to say that it would be easier, but you're dealing with less, right?

01:40:52.000 Like you can do it here, but like you go outside, you're going to find a bar.

01:40:57.000 You're going to find something.

01:41:02.000 But you have to make conscious decisions not to have that in your life.

01:41:05.000 Which like doing it here would probably actually make you stronger.

01:41:05.000 Yeah.

01:41:09.000 Because you have to deal with more resistance.

01:41:09.000 Right.

01:41:11.000 Because you have to deal with more resistance.

01:41:13.000 You know what I mean?

01:41:14.000 Like if you go out away where there's nothing, like, yeah, cool.

01:41:17.000 But then come back to the real world and try to do it.

01:41:19.000 And it's going to be like, oh.

01:41:21.000 Right.

01:41:21.000 But isn't that why most, I mean, from the beginning of time, fighters would take their camps away from life.

01:41:27.000 Yeah.

01:41:28.000 Like Marvin Hagler, he would go to the Cape.

01:41:31.000 He would go to Cape Cod and train in the winter.

01:41:34.000 Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali, you know, they would go up into the mountains.

01:41:38.000 You know, there's Tyson with the Catskills.

01:41:41.000 There's something different about it, right?

01:41:43.000 Like, there's somewhere.

01:41:45.000 Everybody goes to Big Bear and trains up there.

01:41:47.000 When I fought Alex, I was in Salt Lake or I was in.

01:41:47.000 Yeah.

01:41:56.000 In Utah?

01:41:57.000 Washatch?

01:41:57.000 Yeah.

01:41:58.000 No.

01:41:59.000 Above Salt Lake, everybody goes skiing up there.

01:42:05.000 What's it called, dude?

01:42:05.000 Damn it.

01:42:06.000 Why can't, why am I...

01:42:09.000 No.

01:42:10.000 Park City.

01:42:10.000 Park City?

01:42:11.000 Oh, okay.

01:42:12.000 I was out in Park City for like two or three weeks before the fly.

01:42:15.000 I had a lot of directions in Park City, son.

01:42:17.000 But not where we were.

01:42:18.000 No?

01:42:19.000 Like, the cabin that I rented out there was like there was nothing there.

01:42:19.000 No.

01:42:24.000 How much time did you spend up there?

01:42:26.000 Like 17 days, 18 days, something like that.

01:42:30.000 So like the tail end of the camp, we were just like up there.

01:42:33.000 Did you have to acclimate to the altitude?

01:42:36.000 How much time does that usually take?

01:42:39.000 Because that doesn't seem like enough.

01:42:41.000 17 days doesn't seem like enough.

01:42:44.000 We I don't remember exactly how much time, but we for two weeks before that were regularly going up to Mount Charleston and to running other mountains and stuff like outside of Vegas.

01:42:59.000 Right, because there is quite a bit of elevation outside of Vegas.

01:43:02.000 And I think Vegas itself is five?

01:43:05.000 I think it's, no, I think it's 2,000 feet above sea level.

01:43:09.000 Something like that.

01:43:10.000 What's Vegas above sea level?

01:43:11.000 2,000 feet above 12.

01:43:12.000 Yeah, so there's Vegas is 2,000 feet above sea level.

01:43:15.000 There's a road right up by where we train.

01:43:18.000 It's called Mount Podicy, and that's like seven, no, 6,000, something like that.

01:43:25.000 So it's like, and it's very short, like very short distance drive.

01:43:29.000 And you go train up there.

01:43:30.000 We'd just drive there, and then we'd just run out there, train out there, come back down home.

01:43:36.000 One of the things that I've heard, there's different philosophies on how to handle training in altitude.

01:43:41.000 But one of the things that I've heard is what you should do is you should train at sea level and then sleep and live at a high altitude.

01:43:48.000 So that way you get more output at sea level because you're getting more oxygen so you could put in more work.

01:43:54.000 And then when you're at the higher altitude, your body is adapting and developing more red blood cells and all that stuff and more adaptation for oxygen.

01:44:05.000 Makes sense.

01:44:05.000 I've heard that as well.

01:44:06.000 I just haven't tried it.

01:44:07.000 That makes sense to me.

01:44:09.000 Because it's just that the idea, but then it's like there's a mental benefit of being able to put in the work at a higher altitude.

01:44:17.000 and then knowing that, like, say, if you train, like, I lived for a while outside of Boulder.

01:44:22.000 I lived at this place that was 8,500 feet above sea level.

01:44:26.000 Oh, my God.

01:44:26.000 It was, it was, working out there was rough.

01:44:29.000 Yeah.

01:44:29.000 It was crazy that when I would go to Boulder to train, I would go to Amal Easton's Jiu-Jitsu gym.

01:44:35.000 It felt easier because it was only 5,000 feet because that's like Boulder's like 5,000 something.

01:44:42.000 And then one time we had to go to Philadelphia for like a UFC event and I was working out in Philadelphia and I felt like a fucking juggernaut.

01:44:52.000 I was like, I have so much energy.

01:44:54.000 This is crazy.

01:44:55.000 It's because I was at sea level.

01:44:57.000 Yeah.

01:44:57.000 And I'm not used to being at sea level.

01:44:59.000 So when I was working out, I felt so good.

01:45:01.000 I was like, oh my God, I have so much fucking energy.

01:45:05.000 It's because I'm used to being oxygen deprived.

01:45:08.000 Have you seen that thing they have at the PI?

01:45:10.000 The ozone machine?

01:45:11.000 No.

01:45:12.000 What is it?

01:45:13.000 The one that takes your blood and recycles it?

01:45:15.000 No, it's a altitude simulator.

01:45:20.000 So I want to do it, but they're like, you got to commit to like a couple months of training to see the real benefit of this.

01:45:26.000 Oh, so you have to be there for a few months.

01:45:30.000 Because you are a Vegas guy.

01:45:32.000 I love, like, they have, you know, amazing physical therapists.

01:45:37.000 Nutrition.

01:45:38.000 It's very convenient, you know, especially like living there.

01:45:38.000 Yeah, nutrition.

01:45:41.000 I just try to stay.

01:45:43.000 I don't try to get too involved because every fighter can go.

01:45:47.000 And it's just like you kind of run into other camps and blah, blah, blah.

01:45:50.000 You know, a lot of shit talking.

01:45:52.000 Or just energy.

01:45:54.000 Energy.

01:45:55.000 John Wood has such a great gym, too.

01:45:57.000 Syndicate is.

01:45:57.000 Oh, yeah.

01:45:58.000 Syndicate's so good.

01:46:00.000 John's such a great guy.

01:46:01.000 Yeah, man.

01:46:02.000 Great vibe.

01:46:03.000 So happy for everything right now with just like Murab and him and I and what we're doing.

01:46:09.000 I love the fact that Murab, even like he's still tight with his old crew.

01:46:14.000 You know what I mean?

01:46:16.000 It's like, and the same thing, even when AJ was training down there, they're still tight with Ray Longo and Matt Sarah and all those guys that got him to the dance.

01:46:26.000 And then you see those guys also in his corner.

01:46:29.000 It's a very collaborative thing where there's no, the egos don't get in the way.

01:46:33.000 No, that's such a cool thing to respect.

01:46:36.000 So cool.

01:46:37.000 Like everybody around him.

01:46:39.000 Yeah.

01:46:40.000 Training partners too.

01:46:41.000 Like he just brings a bunch of Georgian guys in and it's like.

01:46:47.000 Yeah, if the guys at the top have a great vibe and they're all like collaborative and work together, you know, really you feel that vibe in the gym.

01:46:57.000 Yeah, it spreads.

01:46:58.000 His energy is definitely like infectious.

01:47:00.000 And one thing that's cool too is like the way that John's organized training in Syndicate now when people have fights coming up and like you're doing your live cage rounds and the whole gym's watching.

01:47:13.000 You know what I mean?

01:47:13.000 Yeah.

01:47:15.000 Yeah, everybody's around the cage.

01:47:16.000 You know what I mean?

01:47:18.000 So you get used to that.

01:47:19.000 It's so cool.

01:47:20.000 It's so cool.

01:47:22.000 What is it like having a robber at training?

01:47:24.000 Is there a fucking guy that has a better gas tank than that motherfucker? 0.97

01:47:28.000 I haven't seen him.

01:47:29.000 Dude, my week, the fight week.

01:47:32.000 Actually, I had just the day of my fight.

01:47:37.000 Okay.

01:47:38.000 Day of my fight.

01:47:39.000 Woke up, called John.

01:47:41.000 I'm like, hey, man, want to get a shakeout?

01:47:43.000 Just like, shake out some nerves, like, you know, just hit some pads.

01:47:46.000 He's like, okay, cool.

01:47:47.000 I'm down in the ballroom with Murab.

01:47:50.000 He's like, but you got to wait a few minutes.

01:47:52.000 Like, he's going some rounds.

01:47:53.000 I'm like, rounds?

01:47:54.000 And he's like, yeah, you just got, you got to come down here and see it.

01:47:57.000 So I'm like, I go downstairs in the elevator.

01:47:59.000 We can get to the room.

01:48:01.000 Murab is doing live rounds on carpet, hard floor in a fucking ballroom with some guy. 0.74

01:48:09.000 And they're sparring rounds, bro.

01:48:11.000 The day of the fight.

01:48:12.000 Of my fight.

01:48:13.000 So he didn't have a fight, but this was a week after his second fight against O'Malley.

01:48:19.000 So they're doing live rounds on the carpet.

01:48:22.000 Shing guards everything, but like takedowns on hard floor and carpet. 0.98

01:48:27.000 And he just doesn't stop.

01:48:29.000 It's like training never ends.

01:48:32.000 That's how you get staff.

01:48:33.000 That's probably why you got staff.

01:48:34.000 Who knows, you know, but you like, like, they're just, no one can stop the guy.

01:48:39.000 Like, he's just a big ball of energy.

01:48:41.000 He really is.

01:48:42.000 Like, whether it's running up and down mountains and all this stuff, like, John Wood actually has to have some type of like monitor on this guy.

01:48:49.000 He's like, remora, don't train today.

01:48:51.000 Okay, coach, okay, coach.

01:48:52.000 Next thing you know, he's on social media, like out in the mountains, you know, or in some river.

01:48:57.000 Like, it just, he's, yeah, having him, having him around is crazy.

01:49:01.000 Yeah, DC went to visit him the day after the O'Malley fight, the first fight, and he went to his house and he was running.

01:49:07.000 The day after he won the world title.

01:49:07.000 Yeah.

01:49:11.000 And DC goes to his house and he's like, look at my Rob's home gym.

01:49:14.000 He goes, you know where this motherfucker is?

01:49:16.000 He's out running.

01:49:17.000 He's out running.

01:49:17.000 The discipline.

01:49:18.000 That fucking comedian is talking about.

01:49:20.000 It's discipline.

01:49:21.000 He's addicted to discipline.

01:49:23.000 It never ends.

01:49:24.000 That's it.

01:49:25.000 I think he's just one of those guys.

01:49:27.000 I mean, there's a lot of people that are analyzing it.

01:49:30.000 They're like, it has to be genetic.

01:49:34.000 Does it?

01:49:35.000 Does it?

01:49:35.000 Like, is his head bigger?

01:49:37.000 Is his chest bigger?

01:49:38.000 Like, what's bigger?

01:49:39.000 It's all the same.

01:49:40.000 He's a normal-sized guy.

01:49:42.000 There's nothing extraordinary about his physicality other than the fact that he's very strong, which is there's a lot of strong guys.

01:49:49.000 But it's not, it's the accumulation of time spent on the path.

01:49:54.000 And he has not deviated.

01:49:56.000 Yeah, at all.

01:49:58.000 And I don't think he's anywhere close to.

01:50:01.000 He's not even in his prime.

01:50:02.000 No.

01:50:03.000 I mean, he's in his prime, clearly, but I don't think he's reached his full potential because I think he was even better in the second O'Malley fight than he was the first fight.

01:50:10.000 And I think O'Malley was considerably better.

01:50:12.000 But Murab's that much better now.

01:50:14.000 And, you know, it's this thing that happens, and hopefully you'll get to experience this, when you win a title, you get better.

01:50:20.000 There's like, DC says it's like 10%.

01:50:22.000 It's like there's something that happens.

01:50:24.000 Some people say 30%, but there's something that happens to you where you realize like, I am the fucking best in the world.

01:50:30.000 And you take that into your heart and your mind.

01:50:33.000 And then you carry that.

01:50:34.000 Like now you have that title.

01:50:36.000 It's sitting there on your table or you have it on your wall, wherever you put your belt.

01:50:36.000 You see it.

01:50:41.000 And you're like, I am the fucking man now, and now I will live this way.

01:50:45.000 And then you see them going into the fight.

01:50:46.000 You know who you see that with?

01:50:47.000 Pantosia.

01:50:49.000 Yeah.

01:50:52.000 That dude does not get the love that he deserves.

01:50:54.000 When that guy gets into the octagon, it's like a fucking leopard just entered the room.

01:51:01.000 It's wild, man.

01:51:03.000 It's wild.

01:51:04.000 He's got this feeling about him that champions have when they're just fucking feeling it.

01:51:11.000 You know, when that guy steps into the octagon, you see him across the ring from whoever the fuck he's fighting.

01:51:17.000 It's like, that's a cat, man.

01:51:20.000 Yeah.

01:51:22.000 You know what I mean?

01:51:23.000 Honestly, yeah.

01:51:26.000 Like a fucking jaguar or something.

01:51:27.000 Jaguar or mountain.

01:51:28.000 Yeah, something like that.

01:51:29.000 Killer, just some elite killer.

01:51:31.000 You can kind of sense that like a little instinct in it.

01:51:34.000 Like, oh, 100%, man.

01:51:36.000 100%.

01:51:37.000 In it, like, he's for sure in it.

01:51:39.000 He's locked in.

01:51:40.000 I mean, and you see the, like, I think the perfect fight for him was seeing Kaikara France, they fought in the ultimate fighter, and it was a good fight.

01:51:51.000 And then you see this new fight where as he's the champion, Kaikara France is the contender.

01:51:57.000 He fucking ran through him, man.

01:51:59.000 Like, you see, it's a different human being.

01:52:01.000 Yeah.

01:52:02.000 He's a champion now.

01:52:04.000 Where he's in trade?

01:52:07.000 He's ATT.

01:52:08.000 ATT.

01:52:09.000 I mean, I don't know if he spends all of his time down there.

01:52:09.000 Okay.

01:52:12.000 I don't know if he's there all the time or if he just goes there for camps.

01:52:16.000 I don't know how he does it.

01:52:18.000 I'm not sure if he's a Florida resident or if he lives in Brazil and just goes there for camps.

01:52:25.000 No, but yeah, whatever, I mean, whatever he's doing is definitely...

01:52:25.000 not sure.

01:52:35.000 He'd be the best.

01:52:36.000 He'd be a superstar.

01:52:37.000 And to me, that drives me nuts.

01:52:40.000 I like martial arts.

01:52:42.000 I like someone who represents the best of martial arts.

01:52:47.000 And in my mind, that guy's as good as anybody alive.

01:52:51.000 When he's running over every fucking contender and choking them out or knocking them out or whatever the fuck he's doing, like, damn.

01:52:58.000 Yeah, it's tough, man.

01:53:01.000 It's tough in this sport because of the weight classes.

01:53:04.000 Like, a lot of guys don't get.

01:53:05.000 What's crazy is 35 gets so much love.

01:53:08.000 It's just 10 pounds difference.

01:53:09.000 10 pounds difference.

01:53:10.000 Isn't that nuts?

01:53:11.000 Yeah.

01:53:11.000 That's kind of nuts.

01:53:13.000 Because when you see Pantosia next to those guys, there's not much difference in size.

01:53:17.000 It's kind of the same.

01:53:18.000 That's why I forgot.

01:53:19.000 Somebody not too long ago asked me what would my MMA like Mount Rushmore be?

01:53:28.000 And I remember saying like Anderson Silva, GSP, Demetrius Johnson, and Amanda Nunes.

01:53:37.000 And they were like, Demetrius Johnson?

01:53:39.000 Oh.

01:53:40.000 Why would you even hesitate?

01:53:43.000 Why are you even asking me that question?

01:53:43.000 Hesitate.

01:53:46.000 If you weren't there during his prime, you had to see him during his prime.

01:53:52.000 Talk about martial arts and just skill, angles, finesse, movement, speed, and intelligence.

01:54:01.000 Knowing exactly how to engage and his ability to transfer between grappling and striking seamlessly.

01:54:08.000 Dude, seamlessly.

01:54:10.000 Perfect word.

01:54:12.000 Seamlessly.

01:54:14.000 In his prime.

01:54:15.000 In his prime, he was unstoppable.

01:54:17.000 Yeah.

01:54:18.000 But imagine Demetrius Johnson at light heavyweight.

01:54:21.000 There's statues of this man.

01:54:23.000 Statue.

01:54:24.000 You know what I mean?

01:54:25.000 It'd be like the Rocky statue in Philadelphia.

01:54:29.000 Who knows where it would be, bro.

01:54:30.000 There would probably be multiple statues of this man all over the place.

01:54:34.000 What a great guy, too.

01:54:36.000 Oh, he's the best.

01:54:37.000 And just, again, just underappreciated for whatever reason.

01:54:41.000 And during his reign, it just like his pay-per-view numbers were not what they should have been.

01:54:48.000 But it's because he's small.

01:54:50.000 That's all it is.

01:54:50.000 It's like the casuals.

01:54:52.000 They don't.

01:54:53.000 Like, who gives a shit how big he is compared to you?

01:54:56.000 Just look at how he's the same size as the guy he's fighting and look what he can do to that guy.

01:55:01.000 We need to just, we need to have, this is a joke.

01:55:05.000 This isn't serious.

01:55:06.000 This is a joke.

01:55:07.000 But like smaller weight classes in a smaller cage.

01:55:12.000 Well, it would make them look bigger on television and people will get what they, you know.

01:55:16.000 Now, they don't care.

01:55:17.000 People don't.

01:55:18.000 It's interesting because boxing has the same thing.

01:55:21.000 You know, I mean, when you get into the heavier weight, look, look, Usik made somewhere in the neighborhood of $132 million for that fight.

01:55:29.000 That sounds amazing.

01:55:30.000 Doesn't it?

01:55:31.000 Yeah.

01:55:32.000 I know.

01:55:33.000 Me and Volkanovsky and Izzy were backstage at the UFC.

01:55:38.000 We're at the weigh-ins, and I pulled up the numbers.

01:55:40.000 I go, have you seen the fucking numbers?

01:55:41.000 There's a video of it on Stilebender's website or his YouTube page.

01:55:46.000 And I'd be like, check this out.

01:55:47.000 Because I had saved on my phone in case I ran into any fighters.

01:55:49.000 I'm like, look at this.

01:55:50.000 Look how crazy this is.

01:55:52.000 And Dubois made like $71 or $72 million.

01:55:56.000 And Usik made like $132 million.

01:55:59.000 I mean, like, if I made that type of money, I wouldn't have to, I wouldn't be looking to like leave to live the UFC.

01:56:05.000 But what has to change for that to happen?

01:56:07.000 I mean, do the Saudis have to buy the UFC?

01:56:10.000 I don't know, because I don't understand.

01:56:12.000 That's kind of what they're doing with boxing.

01:56:14.000 They're kind of buying boxing.

01:56:15.000 Yeah, I don't know, man.

01:56:17.000 I don't know.

01:56:18.000 I don't know what needs to change.

01:56:22.000 But, I mean, all I'm saying is, like, it would be really cool.

01:56:27.000 That's like a dream to be able to make those kind of numbers.

01:56:32.000 I would really love that for fighters.

01:56:34.000 I mean, I love when I hear fighters are making millions.

01:56:37.000 It's great.

01:56:38.000 It's great because I remember the early days of the UFC where people would make pennies when there was no money to be made.

01:56:42.000 I mean, I started working for them in 1997, the previous owners, you know, when it was before Zufa.

01:56:50.000 And nobody was making any money.

01:56:51.000 There was no money in MMA.

01:56:53.000 It's like everybody was scratching and clawing, and they were just doing it out of the love of the game.

01:56:58.000 Or because they had a career in wrestling, and then that wrestling, amateur wrestling career was over, and they're like, all right, I'm going to be a fighter.

01:57:05.000 Yeah, the money was in Japan, though.

01:57:07.000 There was money in Japan.

01:57:08.000 But even the money in Japan was not boxing money.

01:57:11.000 No, no, 10 grand.

01:57:12.000 Yeah.

01:57:12.000 15 grand.

01:57:14.000 I'm sure they paid him well, and at the time it was a lot, but I mean, like, Fedor's still fighting.

01:57:18.000 Is he fighting because he wants to, or is he fighting because he has to, you know, which is crazy.

01:57:24.000 Yeah, if one of the greatest of all time is fighting because he has to, it's not like Fedor is like living the craziest, flashiest lifestyle with like diamond, like Floyd Mayweather.

01:57:34.000 Like, if Floyd Mayweather went broke, he'd be like, look at his Instagram.

01:57:38.000 How is he not going to go broke?

01:57:40.000 Meanwhile, he's still got tons of money.

01:57:40.000 Meanwhile, he's not.

01:57:43.000 But, you know, Floyd made hundreds of millions of dollars.

01:57:46.000 He probably made more money than any boxer that's ever lived.

01:57:51.000 Oh, man.

01:57:53.000 Yeah, it's a dream.

01:57:55.000 Yeah.

01:57:56.000 It's a dream.

01:57:57.000 It'd be nice, but I'm not like, I'm glad that it's improving.

01:58:02.000 It's improving.

01:58:03.000 It's definitely improving.

01:58:04.000 It's definitely, it's like, you know, fighters can get rich now.

01:58:07.000 Yeah.

01:58:07.000 You know?

01:58:08.000 Yeah, we can actually plan retirement.

01:58:11.000 Yeah.

01:58:11.000 You know what I mean?

01:58:12.000 Like that, that, that for now, like I'm saying, like, I'm grateful for it.

01:58:15.000 And one of the things that I really like about the UFC too is they give fighters a chance to have a career outside of that.

01:58:20.000 You know, like Paul Felder and DC do commentary.

01:58:23.000 Chel Sunnin does his stuff.

01:58:24.000 Yeah.

01:58:25.000 All those guys in the desk, Alan Joban, they all do their stuff.

01:58:27.000 Like Rashad does his stuff.

01:58:29.000 It's nice.

01:58:30.000 It's like there's an opportunity to work outside of having to fight.

01:58:35.000 You asked me, you know, like before, like, oh, you know, what would you do?

01:58:40.000 Or have I thought about anything?

01:58:42.000 I honestly, I would love to work with the UFC.

01:58:45.000 Not as a commentator, because I don't really see myself like commentating or like being, you know, someone speaking, but I'd love to work for the UFC.

01:58:54.000 Why wouldn't you want to commentate or speak?

01:58:57.000 I don't know.

01:58:58.000 I personally, I think I've mentioned this to you before.

01:59:01.000 I just don't know if I have so much input when it comes to other fighter skill or whatever.

01:59:09.000 I'm not the most exciting person on a microphone.

01:59:13.000 But you guys do well.

01:59:16.000 You guys have great reactions.

01:59:18.000 I'm kind of more like, hmm, interesting.

01:59:21.000 Right, right, right, right.

01:59:22.000 Rubbing my chin.

01:59:23.000 But maybe not as a commentator then.

01:59:26.000 Maybe as someone on the desk analyzing things.

01:59:28.000 Because you definitely have a very unique viewpoint.

01:59:31.000 Yeah, viewpoint.

01:59:32.000 I mean, that could work.

01:59:33.000 But I think something like, I don't know.

01:59:36.000 I'd rather be like, I guess, behind, behind the, like on the other side of the camera.

01:59:44.000 What would you want to be doing?

01:59:45.000 I don't know.

01:59:46.000 Something within the business.

01:59:47.000 Like, the UFC is such a large company.

01:59:47.000 They do that.

01:59:50.000 There's so many departments.

01:59:52.000 I am friends with, I try to make friends with everybody in every department because they're just great people that make, that make this all happen.

02:00:00.000 The equipment team, you know, Ember, Stephanie, like, I've been testing the gloves for the UFC for the past year, making sure we get the right ones.

02:00:08.000 You know, what is going on with the gloves?

02:00:10.000 Because you and Alex fought with the new old gloves.

02:00:14.000 Yeah, because they got rid of them.

02:00:15.000 Yeah, they spent like a fucking year developing them.

02:00:17.000 Yeah, and so I was a part of that entire process.

02:00:19.000 What happened?

02:00:20.000 What was wrong with those gloves?

02:00:21.000 The main thing was that, like, because of the leather, the logos weren't sticking.

02:00:27.000 So the logos were peeling off, peeling off, peeling off.

02:00:30.000 That's it?

02:00:31.000 And we tried, Joe, I'm telling you, we tried hundreds of different ways to get the UFC logo printed on the gloves so that they will not come off in the octagon.

02:00:44.000 From me testing it on the canvas, doing live situations, sparring, rubbing it in the cage, blah, blah, blah.

02:00:51.000 I don't get it.

02:00:52.000 Why does the old leather work better?

02:00:54.000 Because with everything in the world, but especially like in the industry of like leather and suede and all that stuff, like you can't...

02:01:14.000 You get what I mean?

02:01:15.000 Like it just, it changes.

02:01:16.000 I think both of them are made today.

02:01:18.000 The old gloves and the new old gloves.

02:01:20.000 It's a different type of leather.

02:01:22.000 So it's a softer leather?

02:01:24.000 It's just, it's, it's just not the same.

02:01:28.000 Like, it's, it's, it's a little, it was a little softer, but it's, it's, it's treated differently to be able to, you know, to before, like, while it's being processed or whatever that whole process looks like, it's just, there's some type of, you know, chemical or something that's just different.

02:01:47.000 Because what I had heard was that there was less knockouts with the new old gloves, the gloves that they developed and then they abandoned recently.

02:01:55.000 There's less knockouts. 1.00

02:01:56.000 Because I'm just hearing straight from what the equipment team's being yelling at.

02:02:01.000 So the equipment team is saying that's the issue, is that this leather.

02:02:04.000 It has nothing to do with the knockouts.

02:02:07.000 It's that every time when the fighters come to return a pair of gloves or whatever, or even in the fight, it's peeling off or chipping off, and that's a hazard if it gets in your eye.

02:02:18.000 Right.

02:02:18.000 You know what I mean?

02:02:19.000 It's more about the safety of the fighter, not like, we need more knockouts, change the gloves.

02:02:23.000 Interesting.

02:02:24.000 Because the knockout thing didn't make any sense.

02:02:26.000 No, no, no.

02:02:27.000 It has nothing to do with the knockouts.

02:02:28.000 It's more that the logo wasn't adhering, and it doesn't look professional to have these guys fighting a championship fight, and then here's this guy raising his hand, and you don't even know.

02:02:37.000 There's no UFC logo on the glove.

02:02:40.000 It all gets worn off.

02:02:41.000 it all gets worn off.

02:02:42.000 So we've tried so many different...

02:02:45.000 That wouldn't work?

02:02:48.000 We can't sell a glove with magic marker on it.

02:02:51.000 Yeah, but we have to make an official glove, you know?

02:02:53.000 But the training gloves, you know, just have UFC somewhere else.

02:02:57.000 The training gloves.

02:02:59.000 What about the people who want to buy an official UFC glove?

02:03:02.000 Yeah, what are they doing with them?

02:03:04.000 If they're going to work out with them.

02:03:05.000 Still got to be official.

02:03:06.000 I get it.

02:03:08.000 The best gloves are Trevor Whitman's.

02:03:11.000 He makes the best MFA.

02:03:13.000 The best MMA gloves.

02:03:14.000 They're the best.

02:03:15.000 And the UFC was trying to get those for some.

02:03:19.000 I don't want to speak out of line here or out of turn.

02:03:21.000 I don't know exactly what went on, but apparently Trevor wanted more money than they were willing to give him.

02:03:27.000 But he makes the absolute best MMA gloves.

02:03:30.000 They're the best.

02:03:31.000 That's a good glove.

02:03:32.000 They turn over like this, where it's not like this.

02:03:36.000 So you don't like the thing that people, the problem with the old gloves that are now the gloves that everybody uses is that everybody says that they kind of force your hand into an open position and you have to tighten up to make them close.

02:03:49.000 Do you feel that?

02:03:51.000 I agree with that, but I have found the solution to that.

02:03:56.000 What's the solution?

02:03:57.000 Just size up.

02:03:59.000 Oh, one size up?

02:04:00.000 Yeah.

02:04:00.000 They all weigh the same.

02:04:02.000 Interesting.

02:04:03.000 Yeah.

02:04:04.000 So what size do you use?

02:04:05.000 This last fight, I used a double X. And you usually use an X?

02:04:09.000 Yeah.

02:04:10.000 Interesting.

02:04:11.000 And I think it's like, you know, a lot of fighters, we don't like to stray from what we do.

02:04:16.000 You know what I mean?

02:04:17.000 And every little thing can fuck with us.

02:04:21.000 You know what I mean?

02:04:22.000 Some fighters.

02:04:22.000 Maybe I shouldn't have gone to XXL.

02:04:25.000 That's why I didn't knock him out.

02:04:26.000 You know what I mean?

02:04:27.000 But yeah, if, like, if you're like, you just have to think.

02:04:32.000 It's like, okay, the glove weighs the same, whether it's an XL or an extra small, it weighs the same.

02:04:37.000 How do they manage that?

02:04:38.000 I don't know.

02:04:40.000 But it weighs the same.

02:04:41.000 That sounds suspicious.

02:04:42.000 I want to get a fucking scale out.

02:04:49.000 That doesn't make any sense to me.

02:04:50.000 But we're all fighting and unless they make it with thinner pads.

02:04:55.000 I don't.

02:04:56.000 It would have to be.

02:04:57.000 Maybe.

02:04:58.000 It would have to be.

02:04:59.000 Oh, yeah, because then your hand can't fit in the.

02:05:01.000 Yeah.

02:05:01.000 Like, if I tried to get into an extra small, it wouldn't work.

02:05:05.000 So, yeah.

02:05:07.000 But, like, let's say the size between an XL and a double X, they weigh the same.

02:05:11.000 Okay.

02:05:12.000 And I have to consider, okay, I'm getting my hands wrapped as well.

02:05:16.000 Right.

02:05:16.000 So, yes, this XL glove fits like a glove.

02:05:20.000 But what about when I wrap my hands?

02:05:22.000 Right.

02:05:22.000 Now I wrap my hands, it's too squeeze.

02:05:25.000 And then now my hands are like this, and I'm like, cutting off your circulation almost.

02:05:29.000 Yeah.

02:05:30.000 So the idea is size up.

02:05:32.000 Even if it's two sizes up, you're not going to have an issue.

02:05:36.000 You know?

02:05:37.000 Or you go with a thinner wrap or no wrap.

02:05:40.000 You have that option.

02:05:40.000 Well, Joe Pfeiffer fights with no wrap.

02:05:42.000 Yeah.

02:05:43.000 Which is crazy.

02:05:43.000 I think it's savage.

02:05:44.000 I kind of want to do it.

02:05:45.000 Yeah.

02:05:46.000 Yeah.

02:05:46.000 I would have fought with no wrap with the other glove.

02:05:49.000 The new glove.

02:05:50.000 The new old glove.

02:05:53.000 The new one that they abandoned.

02:05:55.000 The old, new glove.

02:05:56.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:05:58.000 I would have fought.

02:05:59.000 Those felt so much better to me with no rap.

02:06:03.000 Man, if I was the UFC, and clearly I'm not a good businessman, but if I was, I would say, listen, how about you sell us the gloves?

02:06:12.000 We'll promote your gloves.

02:06:14.000 You sell them on your website.

02:06:16.000 We don't make any profit off of it.

02:06:18.000 Just give us your gloves to use for the fights, and we'll blow your business up. 1.00

02:06:22.000 That's what I would do.

02:06:23.000 I would say, look, you want a lot of money for your gloves?

02:06:25.000 Good, sell them.

02:06:27.000 Everybody should buy them anyway.

02:06:28.000 He makes the best bag gloves, best barring gloves.

02:06:31.000 Trevor's a fucking wizard, man.

02:06:33.000 Yeah, that's what I've gathered from just like.

02:06:36.000 Very interesting guy.

02:06:37.000 Very smart guy.

02:06:39.000 Great trainer.

02:06:40.000 Just great person.

02:06:41.000 But his gloves, his MMA gloves, you put them on.

02:06:45.000 You're like, oh, why aren't they all like this?

02:06:48.000 The padding is a much more sophisticated.

02:06:50.000 And the boxing.

02:06:51.000 I remember, I think one time he sent me a pair of boxing gloves.

02:06:55.000 Like, this was a couple years ago.

02:06:57.000 And I saw, like, it came with this paper.

02:06:59.000 And you're supposed to put a blow dryer in it first. 1.00

02:07:01.000 And you turn the blow dryer on to warm up the padding in there.

02:07:05.000 It's specifically like for that.

02:07:07.000 And then once it's heated up, then you put the glove on and you wrap it up.

02:07:11.000 And then you let the padding cool down.

02:07:14.000 And then it molds to your hand.

02:07:15.000 I don't know if people remember that about the glove, but that's the, that's how you should wear those gloves.

02:07:21.000 Oh, that's interesting.

02:07:22.000 I didn't know that.

02:07:23.000 That makes sense.

02:07:24.000 But he was explaining to me the different kinds of foam that you can buy and that people buy cheap foam and it's not as high density and it's not as good.

02:07:33.000 It doesn't protect you as well.

02:07:34.000 And his is like the most expensive but the best.

02:07:36.000 But when his gloves, the design of his gloves, your hands are curled like this.

02:07:42.000 So it's an effort to do that.

02:07:45.000 But I don't know, man.

02:07:47.000 I feel like we're stagnant in innovation with glove development in the first place because I don't think this is necessary.

02:07:55.000 No.

02:07:56.000 I train with the old like Ali Mittens. 1.00

02:07:59.000 Oh, okay.

02:08:00.000 Those are my favorite gloves in the world to do MMA with.

02:08:04.000 Put a wrap on under it, you know, for padding or a pad, whatever.

02:08:09.000 And I can still grapple with it.

02:08:12.000 My fingers are just like this.

02:08:14.000 Of course, but this is how you grapple anyway.

02:08:17.000 You never do this.

02:08:17.000 Yeah, exactly.

02:08:18.000 No.

02:08:19.000 You never interlace your fingers.

02:08:20.000 So why are the fingers even exposed?

02:08:22.000 I don't know.

02:08:23.000 Because eye pokes are a giant issue.

02:08:25.000 Yeah.

02:08:25.000 And let's say you could just eliminate finger pokes and all you have is thumb pokes.

02:08:29.000 You would take away 80, 90% of all eye pokes.

02:08:32.000 Yeah.

02:08:33.000 And it would be obvious if someone did it on purpose.

02:08:35.000 And then Derek Lewis would be fucked.

02:08:36.000 How about that interview?

02:08:42.000 I'll poke him in the eye, kick him in the nuts.

02:08:44.000 He's so crazy.

02:08:45.000 What a guy.

02:08:45.000 He was telling the truth about like hitting someone in the nuts because he was tired.

02:08:49.000 Yeah.

02:08:49.000 He's like, I was tired.

02:08:50.000 I needed five more minutes or some shit.

02:08:51.000 He's like, I'll poke him in the eye.

02:08:52.000 I cheat.

02:08:53.000 He was just like, I cheat.

02:08:54.000 I was like, dude, what the hell?

02:08:56.000 But he's also crazy enough to say that he's like, oh yeah, the UFC is scripted.

02:09:04.000 Oh yeah.

02:09:05.000 That was ridiculous.

02:09:06.000 I was like, dude, anybody.

02:09:07.000 I was like, dude, I know you're joking, but like.

02:09:09.000 The problem is that gets on the internet.

02:09:11.000 There's so many people that now believe you.

02:09:12.000 I knew it.

02:09:13.000 Yeah.

02:09:14.000 Like there's so many people that believe you now.

02:09:15.000 Like that was a funny joke, but damn it, dude.

02:09:18.000 Bro, there's no script.

02:09:20.000 When you see the way he knocked out Curtis Blades, there's no script for that, bro.

02:09:23.000 Yeah.

02:09:23.000 You can't.

02:09:24.000 You can't script.

02:09:25.000 That's just Derek has got some phenomenal God-given power.

02:09:28.000 He cannot script what we do.

02:09:30.000 Yeah.

02:09:30.000 No, of course you can't script it.

02:09:32.000 It's super obvious to anybody that watches.

02:09:34.000 That's the dumbest ever casual fan like comments.

02:09:39.000 It's a scripted fake.

02:09:41.000 He was supposed to win.

02:09:42.000 Yeah.

02:09:43.000 Like, ugh.

02:09:43.000 Stop.

02:09:44.000 Stop.

02:09:45.000 Shut up. 0.95

02:09:46.000 And then you have Dana White made him win that fight.

02:09:48.000 Oh, it's so crazy to say.

02:09:50.000 But that said, like, here's the thing.

02:09:54.000 is gonna fight cyril gone yeah i might if i was running things i might set up the derek lewis fight with aspinall i might say forget cyril gone for now like derek just has his big knockout win who's more popular than derek who's Who's more beloved by fans than Derek?

02:10:14.000 Yeah, I mean, that would be a great fight to set up.

02:10:17.000 Absolutely.

02:10:18.000 But I think that, from, I guess, a business standpoint, it makes sense to use Cyril because of everything that he's doing in France.

02:10:26.000 Yeah, that makes sense, right?

02:10:26.000 Okay.

02:10:28.000 You know what I mean?

02:10:28.000 Movie star.

02:10:29.000 He's got the entire country behind him now.

02:10:32.000 So, like, yeah, with the UFC, you know, expanding internationally, it's like, you know, Aspinall is a, you know, British icon.

02:10:46.000 Cyril's a French icon.

02:10:48.000 The whole Aspinall John Jones thing is so crazy.

02:10:51.000 The whole thing is so crazy.

02:10:52.000 Yeah, absolutely.

02:10:55.000 John doesn't seem to.

02:10:58.000 John marches to the beat of his own drummer, son.

02:11:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:11:01.000 I mean, like, he's dead set in what he wants and how he views it.

02:11:06.000 But now he wants to fight for the title at the White House.

02:11:10.000 And Dana's like, nope, I can't trust John to not fuck something up, which is wild.

02:11:10.000 And Dana shit.

02:11:16.000 But also, what are you going to say when John just recently got in more trouble?

02:11:22.000 I mean, it's tough.

02:11:25.000 I mean, for Dana, you know, in his position, it's too risky.

02:11:31.000 It is.

02:11:32.000 It's very risky.

02:11:34.000 Oh, yeah.

02:11:34.000 And it sucks because it's like, man, you've got so much talent.

02:11:37.000 The most talent.

02:11:38.000 And such an incredible resume.

02:11:41.000 Yeah.

02:11:42.000 And there's nothing that I can really do about it.

02:11:45.000 God, the story is old as time, though, isn't it?

02:11:47.000 Yeah.

02:11:47.000 The story is old as time.

02:11:49.000 Well, that's one of the things I appreciate about you.

02:11:51.000 Like, you're a very different kind of dude, you know, who's in the same business.

02:11:56.000 Same wild-ass, chaotic business.

02:11:58.000 But you choose to put your sights on a different prize.

02:12:02.000 Like, you're about growth.

02:12:05.000 You know, you're about your own mind and conquering these challenges.

02:12:05.000 Yeah.

02:12:10.000 And this is what it's about for you.

02:12:12.000 Yeah, I'm grateful and blessed to be in the position that I'm in.

02:12:16.000 And like, I don't want to waste anything.

02:12:20.000 You know what I mean?

02:12:20.000 Like, I don't want to waste it.

02:12:22.000 I want to be able to look back when I'm older and know that I use my time in a good way.

02:12:31.000 That I continue to grow and to learn and develop until it's over.

02:12:36.000 I think John does that too, but also he just loves to party.

02:12:42.000 He gets crazy.

02:12:43.000 He just loves to get crazy.

02:12:45.000 And I think that we've seen that so many times.

02:12:50.000 We've seen so many athletes and celebrities fall victim to fame and partying and what that comes with.

02:12:59.000 We're watching it with Connor.

02:13:00.000 And we've seen the same people who are addicted to discipline.

02:13:07.000 Who you admire.

02:13:09.000 Who are you going to listen to first thing in the morning?

02:13:11.000 You're going to listen to Khabib.

02:13:12.000 Khabib.

02:13:13.000 Yeah.

02:13:14.000 I mean, it's like, if there is anybody as a combat sports practitioner and fighter, if there's anybody who I would say I'd want to be or like model myself after in my career, it'd be Muhammad Ali.

02:13:32.000 Just because of everything.

02:13:35.000 Like humanitarian.

02:13:35.000 You know what I mean?

02:13:37.000 Like he was beloved by people from all around the world.

02:13:41.000 You know what I mean?

02:13:42.000 Like just different medals from United Nation and like, you know what I mean?

02:13:46.000 Just a cultural figure.

02:13:47.000 Cultural figure.

02:13:48.000 And like not that like I'm not as outspoken as, you know, as he was.

02:13:53.000 But for just like the things that he was also remembered for outside of the ring, I just look at that as like so admirable.

02:14:02.000 And he gave young men like me something to kind of like aim at and like model myself after.

02:14:09.000 You know, like that to me, I feel like is very important, especially in this country and as a young man who maybe doesn't have a father figure or who doesn't know what to become.

02:14:18.000 And then you read the story about Lee and you're like, oh, that's similar to me.

02:14:22.000 I can become something.

02:14:23.000 I can be an Olympian.

02:14:24.000 I can be a champion.

02:14:26.000 Like it just takes this.

02:14:27.000 You know what I mean?

02:14:28.000 Like I'm not different.

02:14:30.000 I'm actually, there's actually people like me out there.

02:14:33.000 And I like, you know, it just gives you something to kind of hope to become.

02:14:38.000 And so I try to, I, I try to just be authentically me so that whoever out there does connect with me can see that, you know, yeah, you can go through certain shit, but like there's so much stuff that is possible for you.

02:14:54.000 Like your life's not over.

02:14:55.000 Yeah, you're in a bad position now, but you can get yourself out of it.

02:14:58.000 There's tons of help out there.

02:15:00.000 You know, mental health is a big thing.

02:15:03.000 You know, it's not the end of the world, you know, and if you feel like it is, there's support, you know, and if you actually have a disorder, there's support for that too.

02:15:12.000 And there's also outlets like martial arts and, you know, communities and things like that that will make you feel less alone in life.

02:15:20.000 Martial arts is a big one.

02:15:22.000 That's a big one.

02:15:22.000 You know?

02:15:23.000 And for people that feel outside.

02:15:25.000 Yeah.

02:15:26.000 Go to a martial arts studio.

02:15:28.000 Go to a gym where you're going to find a whole lot of people just like you that are already on this path.

02:15:35.000 Yeah.

02:15:36.000 And that are cool people to learn from.

02:15:38.000 I mean, that's what changed.

02:15:40.000 I just put myself in a new environment.

02:15:42.000 And then I started learning how to eat and how to think.

02:15:45.000 You know what I mean?

02:15:46.000 And started to get courage and carry myself differently.

02:15:49.000 And weight started coming down and blah, blah, blah.

02:15:51.000 And then there you go.

02:15:52.000 You know, my mental health stuff was a lot less.

02:15:56.000 You know, it's never gone away completely, you know, but it's a lot less than it was when I was 19 years old.

02:16:03.000 But I mean, does it ever go away completely?

02:16:05.000 No, it does, but it's life.

02:16:07.000 Like it's life, but we don't, a lot of people, we don't have the tools, you know, or we don't have the people to listen to or whatever to be able to be like, okay, it's not just me.

02:16:07.000 You know what I mean?

02:16:18.000 It's everyone.

02:16:19.000 So what can I do to deal with this?

02:16:20.000 You know what I mean?

02:16:21.000 Like, I think that, yeah, that's kind of my thing.

02:16:26.000 So I think about when I get on a microphone or when I go fight or whatever, Like, there's a sense of responsibility.

02:16:31.000 It's not just about me in this world, you know?

02:16:34.000 Like, and that's, it's, to be honest, it's a struggle.

02:16:37.000 It's hard to not, it's hard to think that way.

02:16:40.000 It's very easy to be selfish.

02:16:41.000 It's very easy to just think me, me, me, me, me, you know, my problems, my struggles, my this.

02:16:47.000 But, like, to consider millions of people and lives and children and youth and teenagers that are watching the sport and da-da-da, like, I have to be conscious of the things that I do and how I live my life because I don't want to be the guy on the news.

02:17:06.000 You know what I mean?

02:17:06.000 Like, I just don't want to be that guy.

02:17:09.000 I'm terrified of prison.

02:17:10.000 You know what I mean?

02:17:11.000 I'm fucking, you know, I'm trying to make friends with police officers.

02:17:16.000 You know what I mean?

02:17:16.000 Like, I'm like, I'm just like, I'm just like, okay, like trying to do the right thing, not only for myself, but for my family, for my father, you know?

02:17:26.000 So there's just a lot of responsibility that comes with this game and how we live our lives, man.

02:17:33.000 Well, that's very admirable.

02:17:34.000 And I'm glad there's people like you out there that do present a very positive role model because I know for a lot of young people, they turn towards really successful people in sports and particularly fighters, especially if you are a martial artist yourself and you look at someone who carries themselves a certain way and you admire it and you want to be like that person.

02:17:55.000 Like, I aspire to be my own version of what that means to me, what this person means to me, what they represent to me, which is like a championship mindset.

02:18:05.000 Like someone who's really like, there's a lot of people with championship mindset that never become a champion, but they 100% inspire people to live better lives.

02:18:17.000 Yeah, and that's the journey.

02:18:19.000 That's the path that I'm on for the rest of my life.

02:18:23.000 Yeah.

02:18:23.000 Beautiful.

02:18:24.000 This is the best way to end the podcast.

02:18:26.000 Yeah, absolutely.

02:18:27.000 Listen, brother, I appreciate you very much, and I wish you all the best of luck.

02:18:32.000 And I'm real excited to see this fight with Yuri Prohaska.

02:18:36.000 Thanks.

02:18:36.000 It should be a banger.

02:18:37.000 Thanks for having me.

02:18:38.000 My pleasure.

02:18:39.000 Congratulations on everything.

02:18:40.000 I look forward to congratulating you again.

02:18:42.000 Hell yeah.

02:18:43.000 All right.

02:18:44.000 All right.

02:18:45.000 Bye, everybody.

The Joe Rogan Experience - July 24, 2025

JRE MMA Show #168 with Khalil Rountree Jr.

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Summary

Transcript