The Joe Rogan Experience - JRE MMA Show #170 with Michael "Venom" Page

00:00:01.000 Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

00:00:03.000 The Joe Logan Experience.

00:00:06.000 Train by day, Joe Relogan podcast by night.

00:00:09.000 All day.

00:00:14.000 Alright.

00:00:14.000 MVP in the house.

00:00:16.000 The most enigmatic, difficult dude to solve in all of MMA.

00:00:21.000 That's you, man.

00:00:22.000 Bro, you know what?

00:00:24.000 I want to start simply because you what you have done for me specifically.

00:00:31.000 I get a lot of criticism.

00:00:34.000 A lot of hate.

00:00:35.000 And especially obviously jumping when I first got into the into the MMA world.

00:00:41.000 New to me.

00:00:42.000 And I'm just like, okay, let me just be myself, do my thing.

00:00:45.000 First fight goes well, land this crazy kick, go viral, and I get nothing but hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

00:00:54.000 But then having prominent figures like yourself that are constantly have been champion my style, uh champion championing the points element of things.

00:01:07.000 I just appreciate you for that.

00:01:08.000 Oh, my pleasure, brother.

00:01:09.000 I appreciate you.

00:01:10.000 It's almost like we called for you.

00:01:12.000 Because there was a time in the early days of MMA, like in the early 2000s, where I was like, this is what's missing.

00:01:18.000 There's what's missing is point fighters.

00:01:20.000 And people would like mock me.

00:01:22.000 I'd be like, no, no, no, no, no.

00:01:23.000 Like, I've sparred with these dudes.

00:01:25.000 You can't hit them.

00:01:26.000 It's a different thing.

00:01:27.000 I'm like, they have a very specific skill, that skill of closing distance and being elusive.

00:01:32.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:01:32.000 It's not like any other sport.

00:01:33.000 It's almost like fencing an MMA combined or in martial arts combined.

00:01:37.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:01:38.000 I always tell people that like most of the combat sports in terms of kickboxing, the full contact side of things is more to do with the there's a fixation on power, not for people else.

00:01:49.000 Whereas our element is just the speed element.

00:01:52.000 Yes.

00:01:52.000 Getting in and getting out.

00:01:53.000 Yeah.

00:01:54.000 Getting touch.

00:01:54.000 Like you said, the tag kind of feel fencing.

00:01:58.000 Similar kind of footwork and yeah, just not many people had decided to cross over to any kind of full contact world, really.

00:02:07.000 Um, and he had the likes of Wonder Boy Thompson.

00:02:10.000 Raymond Daniels.

00:02:11.000 Raymond Daniels.

00:02:12.000 You and Raymond were the most prominent ones in him and glory.

00:02:15.000 Yeah, of course, you in the well he did a little bit of MMA.

00:02:18.000 A little bit of MMA.

00:02:19.000 But you're more prominent in MMA.

00:02:21.000 But the the point was that this was a an element that when I remember when I was doing Taekwondo and I would fight in tournaments, I would occasionally fight in point fighting tournaments.

00:02:30.000 I'd go, and if you I'd fight a guy like Mafia Holloway or one of these guys that were really good, I'm like, this is crazy.

00:02:35.000 This is such a crazy skill.

00:02:37.000 Very different.

00:02:38.000 And when I saw MMA where a lot of guys were just like like real flat footed and waiting, I'm like, there's a giant opening here.

00:02:44.000 Yep.

00:02:45.000 And then you came along.

00:02:46.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:02:46.000 And you really were the proof of concept.

00:02:49.000 And I was like, okay, this is it.

00:02:51.000 You get a world champion at that who figures all the other stuff out because essentially striking is striking.

00:02:58.000 You know, you can learn throwing leg kicks differently.

00:03:00.000 You can learn you know different stances and movements.

00:03:03.000 The grappling is the big heat.

00:03:05.000 That's the big hurdle.

00:03:05.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:03:06.000 But once you can solve the takedown defense and some of the grappling hurdles, and you've got actually got some mission victories, then you got a real problem because every fight starts standing up.

00:03:16.000 Exactly. 0.99

00:03:16.000 Every fight starts standing up with a big ass fucking cage. 0.99

00:03:20.000 It's a big ass cage. 1.00

00:03:21.000 And I see guys like Kevin Holland, like he's like, what the fuck do I do with this guy? 0.99

00:03:27.000 He hated every moment of it. 0.68

00:03:30.000 I could feel it.

00:03:31.000 But that's that's just part of my style is that kind of frustrating people because it's just so unfamiliar.

00:03:37.000 For like you, for someone like yourself, you would kind of be in there, whether you're successful or not, you'd understand what's happening, and you'd you'd be calm enough still to be like, okay, I need to know how to figure this out because I've I've experienced this before.

00:03:50.000 Yeah.

00:03:50.000 For someone that's never experienced, and because there's few of us in the MMA world, who do you go to to train?

00:03:56.000 You there's very few people that are really good at that.

00:03:59.000 Yeah.

00:04:00.000 And like I said, Wonderboy Thompson.

00:04:02.000 Yeah, he you know, friend of mine, uh, obviously, me and him and you know, just us getting on, and he's even said people have contacted him, like, oh yeah, I can fight an MVP, like I want to train with you.

00:04:13.000 He's like, I want MVP to win, so he's like you, bro.

00:04:20.000 Can't do anything.

00:04:21.000 Well, it's it's good for the sport.

00:04:23.000 Yeah.

00:04:24.000 It really is because you know, like, think about there's certain techniques just come along like the calf kick.

00:04:29.000 And all of a sudden, like, how is this people have been kicking legs for so long?

00:04:33.000 How is this kicking a different spot on the leg kind of revolutionized?

00:04:37.000 We need to see that.

00:04:38.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:04:38.000 And I think the introduction of you is gonna make a lot of these guys that are like high-level point guys go, hmm.

00:04:44.000 There's a there's a spot there for me.

00:04:46.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:04:47.000 Because the open look, there's always an advantage in the fact that every round starts standing up.

00:04:53.000 As long as you have takedown defense, every round starts in your realm.

00:04:57.000 And your realm is different than all the other stand-up realms.

00:05:01.000 It's totally different.

00:05:02.000 And if a guy is a plodding guy and he thinks, oh, this is my world, like that's how your world.

00:05:07.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:05:08.000 It's not your it's your world against someone who agrees to fight the way you fight.

00:05:11.000 A hundred percent.

00:05:12.000 Yeah.

00:05:12.000 And I always say that is because I, you know, I've caught come up against guys and was like, man, he can he's got big big hit with a big punch on him.

00:05:19.000 And I agree.

00:05:19.000 I'm like, yeah, I get it, but power only means something if you land.

00:05:23.000 Yeah.

00:05:24.000 And my whole element is like not being touched. 0.99

00:05:27.000 Well, it's also fucking with people's heads. 0.99

00:05:29.000 Yeah. 0.99

00:05:30.000 One of the things he did during the Jared Cannonier fight after you hit him, he's like, calm down.

00:05:35.000 I was like, oh no.

00:05:37.000 Because you imagine just getting popped, your eyes are runny, your nose hurts, and this dude's standing in front of you going, calm down, calm down.

00:05:46.000 I was like, no, he did it.

00:05:48.000 Oh no.

00:05:49.000 But that's it's psychological war, but that's the end.

00:05:51.000 That's obviously that's kind of like part of my personality coming out and the entertaining side of me.

00:05:57.000 And a lot obviously added to the criticism that I would get, which of how I would make my opponents feel in terms of their frustration, and then obviously the antics on top of it.

00:06:09.000 So many people that the the main term that came with me was like, Oh, he's fighting cans.

00:06:15.000 He's fighting cans.

00:06:16.000 My whole career was he's fighting cans, like he can't.

00:06:18.000 But I always say to people, is I'm just making it seem a lot less difficult than it actually is.

00:06:26.000 These guys are super talented fighters.

00:06:28.000 Yeah, I'm just not fighting on the same wavelength and timing as them.

00:06:33.000 As you said, these guys that plod around, they're so used to it.

00:06:36.000 So when they're fighting other people, it looks very even.

00:06:39.000 And when they're fighting somebody that they just can't get their hands on, yeah, and they're getting frustrated on top of that.

00:06:44.000 So this the mental side, the physical side.

00:06:47.000 And you have a lot of power, so there's consequences.

00:06:49.000 Yeah, there's consequences.

00:06:50.000 It's not like you're tip, you know, tippy tappy, pick patting them every now and then.

00:06:54.000 Like the cyborg fight was one of the craziest knockouts in all of MMA history.

00:06:59.000 And you know, one thing actually wanted to do, I actually brought some gifts for you.

00:07:03.000 But one of the things I actually wanted to bring for you.

00:07:05.000 Don't tell me you brought a piece of his head.

00:07:06.000 No, no.

00:07:10.000 He wouldn't let me have that, so uh I have to leave it.

00:07:13.000 I actually wanted to.

00:07:14.000 We we basically had a poke ball come, it's very specific one, and they messed up on delivery, but I'm gonna get it to you in Vegas.

00:07:21.000 Okay.

00:07:22.000 So when we go over to the I'm just making sure I I get that to you because again, it's something that you've spoken about with me, and it's a big it's a big part of my my history uh in MMA, just that that that cyborg fight.

00:07:33.000 So that was the most gruesome injury I've ever seen.

00:07:38.000 I've seen a lot of broken bones.

00:07:39.000 I've never seen someone with a caved-in head.

00:07:41.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:07:42.000 The doctors were saying that um what we were hearing back from they said he's only ever seen that in a car accident, never in MMA.

00:07:50.000 Yeah, that is so crazy.

00:07:53.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:07:54.000 And that was his last fight.

00:07:55.000 And I know after the fight he was like, we're gonna fight again.

00:07:57.000 The doctor's like, hey.

00:07:59.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:07:59.000 Because I think he was I'm so someone sent me something where he was supposed to fight again.

00:08:05.000 And then I'm not sure what happened there, but yeah, he didn't.

00:08:08.000 It's crazy.

00:08:08.000 How could you fight again after that?

00:08:10.000 What made it?

00:08:11.000 I felt very bad, obviously, at the time as well.

00:08:15.000 But then I didn't see him for another two years.

00:08:18.000 Boom.

00:08:20.000 That was just and the sound, the sound of that was it's only when I watched it back.

00:08:25.000 Give me the sound, Jamie.

00:08:26.000 It's hard to breathe.

00:08:27.000 So just about everything you need in a fight, you lose off the liver shot.

00:08:30.000 It came to the church, and it's over.

00:08:35.000 Oh, it sounds like a baseball bat on a pumpkin.

00:08:38.000 Yeah, you know what I mean?

00:08:40.000 Just whop.

00:08:41.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:08:42.000 Oh, yeah, it was different.

00:08:44.000 Thing is, I didn't know.

00:08:45.000 I I keep telling everybody, I didn't know what happened because obviously they're like, you celebrated like threw the poker ball at him afterwards.

00:08:50.000 I did not know.

00:08:51.000 You thought it was just a knockout.

00:08:52.000 Yeah, there's a knockout, and obviously, custom kicking his legs.

00:08:55.000 I'm I'm assuming maybe I broke his nose or because I can see he's not out, but he's in pain, it must have must be something like that.

00:09:02.000 It's only the next day that I found out.

00:09:04.000 But yeah, it was it was a bad one.

00:09:06.000 That was a bad one.

00:09:07.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:09:08.000 So it was a very bad one.

00:09:09.000 And the thing is, like I said, I met him.

00:09:11.000 I want to say like two, two and a half years later down the line.

00:09:16.000 Obviously, this clip's just been going crazy online and so on and so forth.

00:09:20.000 And I just I felt awkward.

00:09:21.000 I didn't want to, but I also he had come over for another MMA show, but with one of his students.

00:09:27.000 But one of his students was fighting one of my teammates.

00:09:31.000 And at the beginning, my coaches were like, oh, do you want to, you know, go and at some point go and see him and say hello or I was like, uh yeah, please, like I'd love to, because that's the last time I saw him.

00:09:43.000 The fight happens, and my teammate is known for his leg locks and breaks his his student's leg. 0.98

00:09:51.000 So I'm like, fuck sake. 0.99

00:09:54.000 Oh god. 0.99

00:09:55.000 So now I was like, do you do you want to go and see him?

00:09:57.000 I was like, yeah, yeah, I I'd I'd try.

00:10:00.000 I just I just felt like I needed to.

00:10:02.000 Sure.

00:10:02.000 And I kind of walk into the room, his guy's obviously upset for losing his like getting sorted out by the medics, and he's sitting there, just looks at me and I'm like, hey.

00:10:14.000 Oh, what do you say?

00:10:16.000 Like unlucky.

00:10:18.000 Uh like I just like he's like shook my hand, like I could just feel the energy wasn't right.

00:10:23.000 This wasn't the right timer, but I didn't know when I'd get to see him again.

00:10:26.000 And I haven't uh again since so yeah, I just felt it's just one of those things.

00:10:32.000 I just felt bad.

00:10:33.000 Yeah, but what do you do?

00:10:35.000 There's nothing.

00:10:36.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:10:36.000 What do you do?

00:10:37.000 What do you do?

00:10:37.000 You guys get a broken leg, you broke his head.

00:10:40.000 It's just stay the fuck away from you and your crew. 0.99

00:10:45.000 I mean, at least you're nice about it and friendly, yeah. 0.99

00:10:48.000 It is what it is.

00:10:48.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:10:49.000 It's such an interesting because you've trained with um Marius, uh, my coaches, one of my coaches, Marius.

00:10:56.000 Uh, and um obviously he says to say hello.

00:10:58.000 Tell him I said hi.

00:11:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:11:00.000 He says he trained with you guys.

00:11:01.000 I think you guys trained for about four years with Eddie Bravo as well.

00:11:04.000 I've known him for 20 years.

00:11:07.000 Crazy, crazy. 0.98

00:11:08.000 Crazy.

00:11:08.000 And that's obviously that's a big part of my my history now with them, them two, the brothers, uh Alexis and Marius.

00:11:15.000 Were you at the gym when when Lee?

00:11:18.000 When Lee Murray was no, no, no, I was just after.

00:11:21.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:11:23.000 Luckily, but interestingly though, when I was in at the time that I he was around, uh, I was still very like heavily focused on the points fighting, kickboxing.

00:11:34.000 So but a friend of mine was training at shoot, and he was like, You need to come and train with these guys, like these guys are serious.

00:11:41.000 And but for me, MMA was just never gonna be a thing that I'd ever see myself in.

00:11:45.000 Really?

00:11:46.000 I've always seen it as I guess like your average fan back in the day and some fans now of like ask brutal man.

00:11:54.000 Like I and again, I'm a points fighter, like I I don't see myself being good enough to or tough enough to fight these guys.

00:12:01.000 Like what changed?

00:12:05.000 Obviously, my had a successful career in the kitboxing, but it didn't really go anywhere.

00:12:10.000 It's like you're fighting the same people over like the amount of times me and Raymond have fought, and we were like the some of the top two guys, like we've we're both in the competition, like we both walk in the room, everyone was like, Oh my god, are these guys gonna fight?

00:12:23.000 Like, right, we were the guys, but I'm fighting the same people, and it's just like everything, everyone hoping that you're gonna lose, or your fans are kind of like supporting you, and then I come back to reality, come off a plane, I traveled, I fought all the you know, the whole week or whatever, won a world title, and I've come back home and then nothing.

00:12:44.000 Yeah, I come back home to just me being myself, just me being me, which I'm okay with.

00:12:50.000 But there's no recognition, there was no sponsorship.

00:12:53.000 I you I paid to do everything, and as I I loved it, and if I could choose the route again, I'd still do it because I absolutely loved it.

00:13:02.000 But there comes a point, I'm getting older, and it's comes a point where I have to start and I'm now starting to uh but at the time I'm I'm a kid, but now I get to the point where I have to work and so on.

00:13:12.000 Now it's like I can't do this forever, but at the same time, I know I want to compete for a living.

00:13:20.000 I just didn't know what in what so then I'd said to myself, okay, cool.

00:13:26.000 Let me I need to take a step away from this.

00:13:29.000 I know while I'm in this, this will be a distraction.

00:13:32.000 I'm not gonna be able to focus on things because another competition that I'm gonna want to win is gonna come up and it's gonna turn my attention.

00:13:38.000 So I said, look, I'm gonna I said to everyone I'm retired.

00:13:40.000 I thought let me say it to as many people as possible, so then it's hard for me to turn back on it.

00:13:45.000 So I'm just like, yeah, okay, yeah, I'm retiring now, not fine again, yeah.

00:13:49.000 This is my last fight, da da da da.

00:13:50.000 And I said, cool.

00:13:52.000 Started to go around looking at boxing gyms, looking at full contact kickboxing, looking at MMA gyms, and the first gym actually went to was uh in Miami, Coconut Creek, uh American Top Team.

00:14:07.000 Ah, because my sister uh used to live in that area, because I got uh siblings over in America as well.

00:14:16.000 So came out there and I in my head at the time, there's only few people from the UK that was doing anything in MMA.

00:14:25.000 So when I was like, maybe I'm gonna try MMA, I was like, obviously I have to go to America, and I'm lucky enough to have siblings that live over there, so I'm good.

00:14:33.000 So get to America, get to American top team, I go in there, I'm like, this is where I'm gonna start.

00:14:38.000 Like I've met a couple of the coaches and just kind of just like general chitcher.

00:14:42.000 I didn't tell them who I was or anything, just kind of saw the vibe, the the facilities are amazing.

00:14:47.000 I was like, yeah, this is this is gonna be my new life.

00:14:50.000 And then I get back to England and good friend of mine, Marvin Francis was like just in case, just have a look at some gyms over here.

00:14:58.000 You don't know.

00:14:59.000 Just what before because obviously I got things to sort out before I can just make the full move.

00:15:03.000 So while you're doing that, let's have a look at a couple of gyms.

00:15:06.000 And we did some research, we went to a couple of the Gracie gyms, went to a few other gyms that I was around, then I found London shoot fighters.

00:15:12.000 I hadn't done any research, and at this time I personally wasn't watching MMA at all.

00:15:18.000 The only person I knew.

00:15:19.000 What years this?

00:15:21.000 Uh so I'd have been I'd have been what, 24, so what's that about 12, 13 years back.

00:15:40.000 And I was trying to say the only guys in the UK would have been Brad Pickett was fighting.

00:15:47.000 Uh Solid Fighter.

00:15:48.000 Solid Fire.

00:15:50.000 Michael Bispin was fighting.

00:15:53.000 But nobody had like achieved anything of big quality from there.

00:15:57.000 Everything everything was in America.

00:16:00.000 Um was Bisping still living in England or had he moved to America?

00:16:03.000 I think he was still in the yeah, I think he was still in England.

00:16:05.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:16:06.000 Um, but again, I was only learning it as I got more into it.

00:16:11.000 But initially I just thought I made the decision without actually researching anything, which is very much like me.

00:16:17.000 I'll just jump in head first.

00:16:21.000 Figure it.

00:16:21.000 Figure out afterwards, right?

00:16:25.000 So I literally I said to myself, okay, cool.

00:16:28.000 I've got to London shoot fighters, and the only person I knew was Chuck Liddell that's I've actually seen.

00:16:36.000 And I just was like, this guy was just knocking people out.

00:16:38.000 I was like, that's I could relate to that as like he's a striker.

00:16:41.000 Everything else I didn't really care for.

00:16:43.000 I was typical fan.

00:16:44.000 Like when they got on the floor, I was like, ugh. 0.99

00:16:49.000 Fuck's sake, get stand up, stand them up. 0.98

00:16:52.000 So and never been to a show, anything, but these are he's a guy that I like watching, and then I want to I made a decision I want to do it. 0.99

00:17:01.000 Cool.

00:17:02.000 Uh started in London shoot fighters, and for some reason the guys there, I don't know what I've I've had good coaching.

00:17:10.000 Um I'm outbringing, so I can I feel like I can hear sense when I've gone to a place, I'm I'm hearing how they're coaching and what they're saying, and I'm like, it just makes sense to me.

00:17:21.000 I was like, cool, I'm gonna start here.

00:17:23.000 I still want to go to America, but I'll start here for now and then just see where it goes, and then I just fell in love with the place.

00:17:29.000 Was that the first time you did any grappling at all?

00:17:31.000 Any grappling at all.

00:17:32.000 Wow, didn't do any I I all I was doing every day was applauding people because I was tapping every two seconds.

00:17:41.000 I'll just say every two seconds frustrating, right?

00:17:46.000 But I loved it though.

00:17:48.000 Oh, you have a good mindset.

00:17:49.000 Yeah, it was it was weird, like I kind of enjoyed the fact that like I'm looking at this guy like if I saw you on the street in my head, right?

00:17:56.000 I'm destroying you, yeah.

00:17:58.000 But this guy just twisted me up into a pretzel. 0.98

00:18:01.000 It's a humiliating feeling.

00:18:02.000 Oh, so humiliating, but I again I crave I if I go back to the point side, from about like you s you met my brother outside.

00:18:13.000 Uh Him, he's my he's the oldest uh of my siblings, uh, sorry, of my the the boys.

00:18:19.000 Uh my sister's the oldest, and it's my brother.

00:18:22.000 I've got two other brothers than me.

00:18:24.000 And at the time, we were fighting around, but they were winning everything. 0.99

00:18:30.000 I used to get my ass kicked everywhere we went. 0.99

00:18:32.000 And this is every single weekend. 0.99

00:18:35.000 That's crazy.

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00:19:47.000 Like he was for me, he was the more talented one.

00:19:49.000 But I mean, like every single weekend we're driving to Birmingham to Manchester to Scotland.

00:19:56.000 We did trips everywhere.

00:19:57.000 Like my dad started the gym, he was going around everywhere.

00:20:02.000 And every weekend, it's like three hours that way, four hours this way, this coming back, and I'm just gonna boss lip and they're just the medals are just like cling cling cling cling cling.

00:20:14.000 Like they got all the medals, and they're talking about how they spin kick some guy and they did this, and I'm just like, yeah, yeah, cool, cool story.

00:20:21.000 And I got destroyed for five years, and when I is that I got to a qualifiers uh in Birmingham, uh it was an Iaska uh qualifiers, and I I managed to win that, which that in itself was success for me.

00:20:43.000 Like, I'm like, oh man, I I qualify to go to the world championships.

00:20:47.000 I've already done well.

00:20:49.000 Everyone else was there, so they were supposed to do it, like they're good enough to have the expectation of themselves.

00:20:55.000 So then I get to the world championships, and the way they seed fighters in the US was very different to the UK at the time.

00:21:02.000 So I had one fight, another fight, another fight, and I'm winning, and I'm like happy, and I must be in like the finals already.

00:21:09.000 And then they're like, okay, bring the Cedars fighters in, and then like a shitload of fighters joined your your mat.

00:21:16.000 And I'm like, oh my dad would tell me, he's like, Yeah, I think you're in a in the in the semis, I think you're in the quarters, and then he was like, Bro, just keep fighting.

00:21:25.000 He couldn't work out.

00:21:26.000 I don't know.

00:21:27.000 Seriously, I genuinely don't remember.

00:21:31.000 I just remember just feeling tired, and I I didn't understand why this was still going on because in the competitions, three, four fights you're in a final.

00:21:38.000 Right.

00:21:38.000 And I I was at least ten fights deep, and still felt like I was fighting.

00:21:44.000 All in a day?

00:21:45.000 In a day.

00:21:46.000 Wow.

00:21:46.000 So there's uh again, the ISCO um world champions in Orlando, Florida, and it's it's a it's it was the big at the time, the biggest uh points kickboxing competition.

00:21:56.000 So there's thousands and thousands of competitors, kids, adults doing forms, doing you know, catters and all this stuff, and then uh you had the points fighting, the light contact fighting, and that was it.

00:22:10.000 Um yeah, it just all day, and then it literally got to this like okay.

00:22:14.000 Uh I won a fight, and the guy was like, Okay, you're in the final next.

00:22:17.000 The referee said that to me, and I was like, Oh, like I can't believe I'm in the final.

00:22:22.000 And this guy was very good.

00:22:23.000 I can't remember his name, we was young.

00:22:25.000 I was I think it's like 12 or 11 at the time, and I won the fight.

00:22:30.000 I just claps to my like my my back.

00:22:33.000 I was just like, oh my god, everyone ran in there because again, nobody expected that of me.

00:22:37.000 And I remember going in there, the trophy itself was six foot tall.

00:22:41.000 And in my head, I was like, I just want one in my house.

00:22:45.000 And I managed to to win that.

00:22:47.000 But something that competition clicked.

00:22:50.000 So all the times I was getting beaten up, all the competitions I was getting destroyed.

00:22:54.000 I know it wasn't even like close.

00:22:56.000 I was getting destroyed.

00:22:57.000 I won, I won this competition, and I went back home, and every person I used to get destroyed by, I was smoking them.

00:23:06.000 Like something was different.

00:23:07.000 Instantaneously.

00:23:09.000 There's a weird shift that just went click.

00:23:11.000 Wow.

00:23:12.000 And all the kicks that would I'd walk into face first.

00:23:16.000 I was like, oh, actually I can do this.

00:23:18.000 I was like, Wow, you entered into the matrix.

00:23:20.000 I'd literally, I just I to the point to the point where I saw when when I went back home, it's like 12 and for the year of that circuit, I I didn't lose a fight.

00:23:30.000 And this is from this is from getting whooped.

00:23:33.000 It's crazy.

00:23:34.000 And this is what I'm fighting, all the same guys that I grew up. 1.00

00:23:36.000 And they must have been like, what the fuck? 0.99

00:23:38.000 Yeah, what the hell's going on here? 0.99

00:23:40.000 Then the when I was 13, I asked my dad, I was like, can I please fight in the seniors?

00:23:46.000 And the seniors are 18 plus.

00:23:49.000 And he was like, and he said it to me, he said it to me later on.

00:23:52.000 He was like, as a coach, I knew you could, as your dad, I was like, hell no.

00:23:58.000 And I begged him, like every competition we got, I was like, please can I find the seniors, please?

00:24:02.000 And there was a big uh British championship competition, and I was I begged, I was like, please he was like, you can do this one.

00:24:12.000 And again, I don't think he remembered these guys are 18 plus but all different sizes as well.

00:24:18.000 I d I don't think he knew I'd do well, but not as well as he I did.

00:24:22.000 So I won the my senior division for my weight.

00:24:27.000 Um and like I said, these are big men.

00:24:29.000 But the problem is whoever when you win in this competition specifically, when you win your grand championship.

00:24:35.000 You go into the grand championships, and I'm like, Dad, you gotta let me go.

00:24:41.000 He's like, No, that's this is different now, because they're they're the winners of their division.

00:24:45.000 This is that was your weight division.

00:24:47.000 Now these guys are the winners of their own weight that you can't do this.

00:24:52.000 I begged him.

00:24:53.000 And I beat everybody and got to the final, and the final was really, really close, and I felt like I got robbed, and even my dad was like, he could never tell me no after that because I destroyed some of the best fighters on the in that in the UK at the time.

00:25:09.000 Do you think it was a confidence thing of having gone through that grueling tournament and proven that you could do it, and now you didn't have doubts in your mind anymore?

00:25:18.000 Or was it you had just seen so many different high levels of competition that like maybe your own expectations had risen?

00:25:24.000 Like what what was it that made that instantaneous shift? 0.95

00:25:28.000 Because it's one thing to go and compete and do really well all of a sudden and like now I'm competing, but then you went and you were doing it against people that were normally beating you and you're fucking them up.

00:25:39.000 That's cra that's a that's like a 50% shift.

00:25:42.000 That's a jump shift.

00:25:44.000 I would say one thing obviously I hated losing as anybody would, especially as a kid.

00:25:50.000 Um we also, and I think it's for all of us, we wasn't allowed, so a lot of the kids would fight first and then the seniors would fight, and but because we all traveled down together, we stayed the whole competition until the seniors were finished so we can drive back.

00:26:05.000 A lot of the other kids were messing around when obviously we like this guys that I've spent I've I've known since I was eight years old that I'm still good friends with now because we were the kids like playing with each other afterwards, like just being cool.

00:26:17.000 But my dad was like, no, no, no, you represent me.

00:26:20.000 You sit down and watch.

00:26:23.000 So as much as we could play a little bit, like when he wasn't looking, but we have to try and get back to the mats and make sure we were watching people.

00:26:29.000 And I've I feel like I'm a visual learner, and I feel like that helped me become that visual learner. 0.95

00:26:36.000 As much as I was getting my ass kicked, I was also spending time watching amazing athletes at the time.

00:26:42.000 I think it's an important thing to mention that at that time there wasn't video readily available, like there is like I remember the first time I went to the Taekwondo uh World Cup, it was in Colorado Springs in uh 2000, I mean not 2000, 1980, I think it was 86. 0.89

00:27:00.000 And the first time I went, um, I immediately got better just by seeing just by seeing everybody.

00:27:08.000 I just went as a spectator.

00:27:09.000 Yeah.

00:27:10.000 I hadn't beaten beaten anybody to qualify for the nationals.

00:27:13.000 So when I went there, the whole experience was just absorption.

00:27:17.000 Yeah.

00:27:18.000 And I came back and I was much better.

00:27:20.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:27:20.000 Much better.

00:27:21.000 I'd never seen those guys live.

00:27:23.000 But my expectations for competition, my expectations for movement and speed, everything had risen.

00:27:28.000 Yeah.

00:27:28.000 And at the time I was 18.

00:27:30.000 So it was just when you're 18, your brain just you just absorb.

00:27:33.000 You just absorb.

00:27:34.000 And I think even more so when you're younger.

00:27:36.000 Yes.

00:27:36.000 And oh, yeah, when you're a little kid.

00:27:38.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:27:38.000 And I've like I my first competition, I was five years old.

00:27:42.000 So that is just many years again being up, but that's incredible though, because your body develops with that.

00:27:48.000 I I started a little late.

00:27:50.000 I started karate when I was 14, and then wrestling and taekwondo when I was 15.

00:27:55.000 But it I wished I'd started earlier.

00:27:56.000 Yeah.

00:27:57.000 Cause I was with these guys that were younger, and their their little bodies had like grown stretching, and they they'd grown punching and kicking.

00:28:04.000 Like you develop into that.

00:28:06.000 Yeah.

00:28:06.000 Well, funny you say that, I that's where my name came from.

00:28:10.000 So Venom came from when I was nine.

00:28:14.000 And the only kids that was in my dad's class at the time, mainly a fair few others, because he at the time we did it was basically one class.

00:28:23.000 He didn't really separate the kids and adults, it's just one class.

00:28:26.000 So you're I'm trying my best throwing everything in to hit adults.

00:28:30.000 And yeah, they're not moving, but I'm trying my best to just get some kind of reaction.

00:28:36.000 And then when I started hitting people my own size, even though I was losing because I obviously I was tall for my age as well, so I was fighting kids slightly more naturally developed than me.

00:28:47.000 But I had a had a whack on me.

00:28:50.000 That's a great way to put it.

00:28:51.000 You know what I mean?

00:28:52.000 Like just even though I I you know I wasn't beating these guys, these guys were just way too fast for me.

00:28:56.000 But when I hit them, they felt it.

00:28:59.000 And it was one of my uh again, Marvin was literally just like, Yeah, you got some venom in you, man.

00:29:04.000 Yeah, and we was very into like Kung Fu movies back in the day, and then uh and I was very I'm creative mind, like I loved just even with my martial arts.

00:29:14.000 I learned a job like this, and now I have to add something.

00:29:16.000 Oh, I can't do things conventional.

00:29:18.000 I've never never liked to do it.

00:29:19.000 If there's a everyone's walking that way, I'm like, I want to see what's over there.

00:29:22.000 Like I just I don't know what is wrong, I don't know what's wrong with me, but what's right with you?

00:29:26.000 Or what's right with me, but I just got that like I was just curious and creative.

00:29:31.000 And so there's a film called The Five Deadly Venoms, like old school, old school Kung Fu classic.

00:29:38.000 And he would be like, Yeah, five deadly venoms, let's make a move for each like uh thing because he'd be like Scorpion or Toad, and I would make up weird moves and try to add it in to and that was always my thing.

00:29:49.000 I'd see something on the in the movies, and I'm like, I'm gonna try it in there in there.

00:29:52.000 This is all while I'm still getting beaten up by the way, as well.

00:29:55.000 But that never left me.

00:29:57.000 So even when I started beating all these people now, I'm doing it with the style and flair of like what more can I do?

00:30:05.000 Yeah, you know what I mean?

00:30:06.000 Yeah, so yeah, yeah.

00:30:08.000 Well, it's it's so perfect for martial arts for you for MMA, because a lot of MMA is pattern recognition.

00:30:16.000 You get it, you get a uh accustomed to certain types of movements.

00:30:19.000 I know this guy's gonna do this, the calf kick's gonna be available, I'm gonna faint with this, and I'm gonna throw that, I'm gonna shoot that double here because I know he's gonna come with the overhand right.

00:30:27.000 All these patterns, you don't have you don't have normal patterns at all.

00:30:30.000 So you're moving around, your hands are down, you're sideways, and they're like, and they have to make up new patterns as they go along, so they have to think.

00:30:37.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:30:37.000 They have to react.

00:30:38.000 It's it's such an advantage.

00:30:40.000 Yeah, and I always tell people that like the first time they're actually really gonna experience this style is on the night.

00:30:46.000 Yeah, and it you have to figure it out on the night.

00:30:49.000 Because there's not enough guys that have what you can do that also compete in MMA.

00:30:54.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:30:54.000 There's that this might be five or six in the whole world, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:30:59.000 Which is nuts.

00:31:00.000 Yeah, it's kind of nuts, man.

00:31:01.000 It's it's really the it I had been saying this for decades.

00:31:05.000 I'm like, this is the one thing that's missing.

00:31:07.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:31:08.000 And then when you came over, I was like, see?

00:31:11.000 This is what I'm saying.

00:31:12.000 This is crazy.

00:31:13.000 You can't even hit them.

00:31:14.000 It's weird though, it's a blessing and a curse.

00:31:16.000 Uh blessing, obviously being able being having the advantages of a fight, but sparring headache.

00:31:25.000 Earlier, a lot of people wanted to kind of like let me see what this is about.

00:31:30.000 Then the word spread is quite quickly.

00:31:33.000 And I struggle with sparring.

00:31:35.000 I think it's starting to come back now.

00:31:37.000 People are a bit more willing.

00:31:38.000 But I struggled with sparring.

00:31:40.000 You just couldn't get sparring.

00:31:41.000 Couldn't get sparring.

00:31:41.000 Because also I and I kind of see it from other people's point of view.

00:31:44.000 It's like, well, why I'm not gonna fight anybody like that.

00:31:47.000 So why why am I coming over? 0.99

00:31:49.000 Yeah, but if you saw that, if you with your mindset, I'm gonna you would be like, I gotta figure out what's the fuck he's doing. 0.99

00:31:55.000 100%. 0.99

00:31:56.000 And my teammates, they're forced to.

00:31:58.000 Right.

00:31:58.000 And a lot of them, they even say, like, I'd spa you, and then I go spot someone else.

00:32:02.000 And it they feel so slow.

00:32:04.000 When I'm with you, my eyes are like this.

00:32:05.000 Like I'm I'm forced to be like ultra alert.

00:32:09.000 And then I go on someone's front of punch and like, oh that's the thing too.

00:32:13.000 It's exhausting.

00:32:14.000 Yeah.

00:32:14.000 It's exhausting.

00:32:15.000 Your style's exhausting because you always have to be at high alert.

00:32:19.000 There's no moment because there's so many times where you've done like a a shift in rhythm, and it looks like you're slowing down and then you explode and crack people.

00:32:29.000 And you've done that so successfully so many times that if they've watched any tape, there's they know there's no there's no moments where you could catch your breath.

00:32:37.000 There's no moments.

00:32:38.000 And you're always putting pressure on people.

00:32:39.000 You're always fainting.

00:32:41.000 In the faints alone, see, people don't even know you're just standing there.

00:32:44.000 It looks like you're just standing there.

00:32:46.000 But you're standing there and a guy's fainting, and you you never know when he's gonna actually launch, and you're bodies.

00:32:53.000 You can't breathe.

00:32:54.000 And that's just their energy bodies doing this without anything happening.

00:33:00.000 No pun, which is actually why I'm actually uh a big fan of like Tom Aspino as well.

00:33:05.000 Oh, yeah.

00:33:06.000 You don't really see that anywhere full stop, but definitely not in a heavyweight division.

00:33:09.000 No heavyweight moves like him.

00:33:11.000 No one, no one moves out the amount.

00:33:13.000 It's crazy nuts.

00:33:14.000 With that kind of explosive and that power, it's crazy.

00:33:17.000 Crazy speed for heavyweight.

00:33:19.000 Crazy speed.

00:33:19.000 And that's why I was the John Jones thing was being, you know, promo.

00:33:23.000 John is one of the, if not the greatest fighter of all time.

00:33:26.000 But he's not the fastest guy in the world.

00:33:28.000 Yeah.

00:33:28.000 He hasn't, but he's just so complete and his fight IQ is off the charts.

00:33:32.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:33:33.000 Off the charts.

00:33:33.000 Like it's very well rounded.

00:33:35.000 Very well rounded.

00:33:36.000 And wild.

00:33:37.000 You know, opens up his world title fight with Shogun with a flying knee.

00:33:41.000 Yeah, crazy.

00:33:41.000 Wild.

00:33:42.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:33:42.000 You know, just believes in himself, goes for it.

00:33:45.000 Confidence, yeah.

00:33:46.000 Goes for it.

00:33:47.000 I thought that was a complicated matchup for him.

00:33:49.000 It is, it is. 0.99

00:33:50.000 Because that guy's not easy to get to the ground and uh aspinal, and he's fast as fuck. 1.00

00:33:56.000 And he's big. 0.99

00:33:57.000 Yeah.

00:33:57.000 He's a legit 250 pounds natural, not you know, no, he doesn't need anything.

00:34:04.000 There's no way he can make 205 ever. 0.98

00:34:07.000 He's fucking big. 0.98

00:34:08.000 Yeah, I've got the train with him, and I went down there and I was like, this guy, he's a he's a tank. 1.00

00:34:13.000 It's a tank.

00:34:13.000 So that's a problem.

00:34:15.000 Yeah.

00:34:15.000 That's a problem when you're not really a heavyweight.

00:34:18.000 As great as John is, and I think John beats most heavyweights that have ever existed.

00:34:21.000 Yeah.

00:34:22.000 I d that's a big the that guy's a pro Francis is another problem.

00:34:26.000 That's another problem.

00:34:27.000 Because you're dealing with the power factor.

00:34:33.000 Natural grew up in the sand mines.

00:34:37.000 Literally.

00:34:37.000 His story is crazy.

00:34:39.000 Crazy. 0.58

00:34:40.000 His story is.

00:34:41.000 Bro, when he told it on the podcast and told the whole story of him going to Morocco and getting to Europe.

00:34:47.000 Yeah.

00:34:47.000 That's a movie, man.

00:34:48.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:34:49.000 It's a crazy movie.

00:34:50.000 I'm surprised nobody has jumped on that.

00:34:52.000 I'm surprised too.

00:34:53.000 Someone needs to.

00:34:54.000 Yeah.

00:34:54.000 It's nuts.

00:34:55.000 Yeah, that we'll do it.

00:34:56.000 We'll do it.

00:34:57.000 But when him, he was a child working digging sand in Cameroon.

00:35:01.000 It's crazy.

00:35:02.000 You know?

00:35:02.000 Incredible.

00:35:03.000 And then you you have incredible genetics.

00:35:05.000 Yeah. 0.99

00:35:06.000 And then you have just this fierce mindset from all the shit that guy's been through. 0.97

00:35:09.000 Yeah, yeah. 0.99

00:35:11.000 That that was that was another one.

00:35:13.000 So there was two fights that I was really interested in with with John at Heavyweight.

00:35:16.000 Once he won the titles, like, God, bring back Francis, please.

00:35:20.000 I just don't see that.

00:35:21.000 Sort out your difference. 1.00

00:35:22.000 I wish I was running shit. 0.99

00:35:24.000 I feel like I'm gonna me and him get along great. 0.99

00:35:26.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:35:27.000 I just feel like I don't know.

00:35:28.000 I think sometimes it's uh uh the executives and the fighters and Dana generally gets along with people, you know, like most fighters he gets along with, but him and Francis It didn't work.

00:35:41.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:35:41.000 I love the guy.

00:35:42.000 I've never I've never got uh had the previo uh privilege of meeting him, but he's just seems very sweet, like a big friendly giant outside of the cage.

00:35:49.000 Yeah, exactly.

00:35:50.000 Big friendly giant.

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00:37:00.000 This offer is for new customers only. 0.98

00:37:02.000 It's a fucking great guy. 0.98

00:37:03.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0.99

00:37:04.000 From what my ex- I'm always saying from my experiences with him.

00:37:07.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:37:07.000 But as a fighter, make it happen.

00:37:11.000 Keep him around.

00:37:12.000 You gotta more important.

00:37:14.000 It's extra extraordinary gem.

00:37:16.000 Yeah.

00:37:17.000 And you want to talk about sellability.

00:37:19.000 You want to talk about marketability.

00:37:21.000 What's more marketable than that giant man who destroys everyone?

00:37:24.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:37:25.000 He's the guy.

00:37:25.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:37:26.000 So true.

00:37:27.000 Drove me nuts.

00:37:28.000 I know.

00:37:28.000 Drove me nuts.

00:37:30.000 I think that's added to people's frustrations with the Tom Aspinall fight not happening then after as well.

00:37:37.000 Well, that was not on the UFC's side or on Tom's side.

00:37:41.000 That was all John Look, John's a wizard.

00:37:44.000 He knows how to play all games.

00:37:45.000 And one of the games he plays, I'm retired.

00:37:47.000 No, I'm back.

00:37:48.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:37:48.000 Well now I'm hunting after my.

00:37:50.000 It doesn't matter for him.

00:37:51.000 He's gonna get the same amount of money.

00:37:52.000 He's still John Jones. 0.98

00:37:53.000 Like it's all it's all mind fuckery. 0.99

00:37:56.000 Like keep you guessing. 0.98

00:37:57.000 And meanwhile, John's deadlifting every day.

00:37:59.000 You know what I mean?

00:38:00.000 And partying.

00:38:02.000 He's just so wild.

00:38:04.000 But it's like that that fight would have been amazing to see.

00:38:06.000 But to me, the So that means it probably could still happen, though.

00:38:09.000 I hope so.

00:38:10.000 I genuinely hope so.

00:38:11.000 You know, they were talking about doing it at the White House.

00:38:14.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:38:14.000 And then it's at the end.

00:38:15.000 Dana's like, I can't trust John to show up and be fine.

00:38:17.000 Which is fair, which is fair.

00:38:19.000 You gotta say.

00:38:20.000 There's been a few times where things went awry.

00:38:22.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:38:23.000 But however.

00:38:25.000 It would've been great.

00:38:26.000 Do it on a card where you have 12 other fights.

00:38:28.000 Yeah.

00:38:29.000 That's what I say. 1.00

00:38:29.000 Who gives a fuck? 1.00

00:38:30.000 Let's see if it happens. 0.99

00:38:31.000 If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

00:38:32.000 That's true to say.

00:38:33.000 That's what I would be.

00:38:34.000 Let's go crazy. 1.00

00:38:35.000 Let's fucking go on. 0.98

00:38:36.000 I think what it I guess what would happen is it that fight overshadows many fights. 0.99

00:38:40.000 Uh-huh.

00:38:41.000 So if it doesn't happen, even though the fights are amazing still, people are like, uh it does, but so what?

00:38:48.000 Yeah.

00:38:48.000 I mean, you know, you get I don't know who you would do.

00:38:51.000 Ilio Taporia versus Justin Gagey or something like that.

00:38:54.000 Something crazy like that.

00:38:55.000 Yeah.

00:38:55.000 You'd have a few other fights.

00:38:57.000 It depends on what happens this weekend with Pereira and Alcalaev.

00:39:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:39:00.000 It depends on what happens with Mirab and Corey Sanhagen.

00:39:03.000 Those are two very complicated fights.

00:39:05.000 Beasts.

00:39:05.000 Yeah, very good.

00:39:06.000 Rob is a beast, man. 0.97

00:39:07.000 Bees. 0.99

00:39:08.000 Such a beast.

00:39:09.000 I'm not.

00:39:09.000 Dude, he was talking to I forgot who he was talking to.

00:39:12.000 He did an interview.

00:39:13.000 Oh, he was on uh Mighty Mouse's podcast.

00:39:15.000 No sauna, no cold plunge, no stretching.

00:39:19.000 Doesn't do any of that.

00:39:20.000 Doesn't do any of that.

00:39:21.000 Just no warmup.

00:39:22.000 Shows up.

00:39:23.000 I just show up, start the thing.

00:39:25.000 Just shows up. 1.00

00:39:26.000 Shows up and fucking hits the gas. 1.00

00:39:29.000 He stays up to one, two o'clock in the morning. 0.99

00:39:33.000 Just like his whole routine is totally contrary to everything that you've heard before.

00:39:38.000 And this is how he weight cuts.

00:39:40.000 I stop eating.

00:39:41.000 He just stops eating.

00:39:42.000 He stops eating on Tuesday.

00:39:48.000 He just stops eating.

00:39:49.000 Stops drinking water.

00:39:51.000 Keeps working out.

00:39:52.000 Oh the man's mind is a giant factor that I think a lot of people are looking at his cardio, which is a insane weapon.

00:39:59.000 Of course, yeah.

00:40:00.000 But the band's mind, the toughness, the mental tough.

00:40:03.000 That is Fort Knox.

00:40:04.000 Yeah.

00:40:05.000 You ain't getting in there.

00:40:06.000 You ain't getting in there.

00:40:07.000 Remember that time?

00:40:08.000 Who is it?

00:40:08.000 He was mounted.

00:40:09.000 I forget who got him.

00:40:10.000 But he got him in a mounted guillotine and he didn't.

00:40:12.000 I think it might have been Ricky Simone.

00:40:14.000 And he, or it was somebody else had him and he got out and then he won the fight.

00:40:19.000 But he was he was being choked unconscious for like two minutes.

00:40:23.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:40:23.000 And he's like, yeah.

00:40:24.000 And he's like kicking his legs and moving around.

00:40:26.000 He's like, there's no quitting that guy. 0.99

00:40:28.000 Fucking zero. 0.99

00:40:29.000 You have to put him out. 1.00

00:40:30.000 Zero quit.

00:40:31.000 Yeah.

00:40:31.000 And the Marlon Mariah's fight, he was basically out on his feet the first round.

00:40:35.000 Yeah.

00:40:35.000 just came back and stopped him.

00:40:37.000 He's a monster. 1.00

00:40:38.000 He's a beast. 1.00

00:40:39.000 And he keeps getting better.

00:40:40.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:40:41.000 I mean, what a guy, you know, you feel like, oh, a guy like that is so good.

00:40:43.000 Look how good he is, he's better than everybody.

00:40:45.000 No, no, no, no, no.

00:40:46.000 He's still getting better.

00:40:48.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:40:48.000 Like he's not done.

00:40:49.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:40:50.000 He's a project.

00:40:51.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:40:52.000 He's like, what can the human mind force the human body to do?

00:40:55.000 And how young is he now?

00:40:57.000 He's like 34, I believe.

00:40:58.000 So which is in that lightweight class.

00:41:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:41:00.000 It's a little bit more of a problem in the heavier weight classes, but I don't see any.

00:41:06.000 His mind is a fucking steel trap. 0.99

00:41:07.000 But it's funny you say that because I don't I don't really have structure either. 0.99

00:41:12.000 So I said the weight cut, I do, but that's because I came in it with no understanding of weight cut and London sheet was like, you do this.

00:41:20.000 You look so big from one seven. 0.99

00:41:22.000 How the fuck did you do that? 0.99

00:41:23.000 How much do you cutting when you went to 170? 0.99

00:41:26.000 So even like now I'm massive now.

00:41:28.000 Yeah, you look like, let me guess.

00:41:29.000 220.

00:41:30.000 What do you wear right now?

00:41:31.000 But yeah, it's about two, yeah, about 215.

00:41:34.000 Yeah.

00:41:35.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:41:35.000 Because I'll go and I do it in KG, so yeah.

00:41:37.000 Right, okay.

00:41:38.000 But yeah, yeah. 1.00

00:41:40.000 We never adopted so stupid. 1.00

00:41:42.000 It's a way better situation. 1.00

00:41:44.000 But yeah, it's but I've never struggled to get down though.

00:41:49.000 Because again, I was just told, I I guess it's ignorance as well, but I was just told to do these things, and it's like, okay, you do it.

00:41:54.000 What is it like what you're when you start, like say you get a call from the UFC weeks out.

00:41:59.000 Okay.

00:42:00.000 Well, how you so you're not gonna accept any two week fights?

00:42:03.000 No.

00:42:03.000 You know, well, it depends on the fight.

00:42:05.000 And it depends where I'm always training.

00:42:07.000 But middleweight, maybe you would.

00:42:08.000 Middleweight, yeah. 0.95

00:42:09.000 Middleweight, yeah. 0.95

00:42:10.000 You have sit taken some short notes.

00:42:11.000 Yeah, sure, yeah, for for middleweight, which was the first one.

00:42:13.000 I was the first one or the second one I did.

00:42:16.000 Um, the last fight.

00:42:17.000 Uh maybe.

00:42:19.000 But I I would take short notice fight, it's depending on where I am in training.

00:42:23.000 In training.

00:42:24.000 But even I just like to have a rough idea, right?

00:42:26.000 Even right now, it's like trying to get and I'm like, I'm bugging people.

00:42:30.000 I've I'm I've come from a circuit where we fight weekends.

00:42:34.000 Right.

00:42:34.000 Every weekend where somewhere.

00:42:35.000 And it keeps you sharp.

00:42:36.000 Yeah.

00:42:37.000 And then this that's this is probably the most frustrating thing for me.

00:42:40.000 Obviously, starting the better tour, and you're training all the time.

00:42:44.000 And then you have a fight, and then you're training on the side.

00:42:47.000 And a lot of my fights, I I don't get take too much damage.

00:42:51.000 So I'm like, I'm ready now.

00:42:53.000 Like, yeah, give me a week off, and I can come back.

00:42:56.000 And then it's months and months.

00:42:57.000 I'm like, well, who am I fighting?

00:42:58.000 Do this and the problem is you're a hard sell.

00:43:02.000 Yeah.

00:43:02.000 You know, when it when people get a call.

00:43:05.000 Yeah.

00:43:06.000 Flat footed dude. 1.00

00:43:08.000 Like, shit. 1.00

00:43:09.000 I'm gonna have to learn how to dance in six weeks. 1.00

00:43:11.000 Fuck. 1.00

00:43:12.000 And that's the thing. 1.00

00:43:13.000 So I'm hearing and I I assumed wrongly that when I get to the UFC, that is gonna disperse.

00:43:20.000 Everyone's gonna be gunning for me.

00:43:22.000 Like, yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna show everybody that this guy is is is is a can. 0.97

00:43:26.000 Like he only fought people that weren't his level.

00:43:29.000 Yeah, it just it's it's still the same.

00:43:31.000 I think, and obviously the more I fight, the less people are putting their hands up.

00:43:34.000 I think even um Whitaker said, which I respect to be fair.

00:43:37.000 He came out.

00:43:38.000 I don't even know who wait, somebody sent me something, but he had said, like, yeah, would it be interesting to make that fight?

00:43:42.000 Yeah.

00:43:43.000 At this point in his career, that's just a setback waiting to happen.

00:43:46.000 Yeah, it's not and his style is very similar.

00:43:49.000 Exactly.

00:43:50.000 Yeah, I'm a massive fan of his as well.

00:43:52.000 Like I love his obviously, he can tie in the the wrestling way better and just yeah, I I love his style.

00:43:59.000 I do too.

00:44:00.000 No, and and you've got to realize like that guy, he's take he's been in it for a long time. 0.98

00:44:06.000 He had two fucking wars with Yoel Romero. 0.97

00:44:09.000 Yeah. 0.99

00:44:09.000 When Yo Aurero was made out of metal. 0.99

00:44:11.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:44:12.000 That guy's still fighting.

00:44:14.000 Still, yeah, yeah. 0.99

00:44:15.000 He's 48 years old, fucking people up, looking like he's 30. 0.99

00:44:18.000 I'd swap buddies of him in a way. 0.99

00:44:20.000 Who wouldn't?

00:44:21.000 Bro, when he was in here, he was he came in the studio, it was the most amazing thing, because uh Joey Diaz translated for him.

00:44:27.000 Yeah, so it was him and Joey Diaz going back and forth, and you know, Joey's Cuban as well, of course.

00:44:31.000 And so um when when he was here, he had to be 230 pounds.

00:44:35.000 He his neck starts at the top of his ears, and one of the things that he said, man, he was talking about the Cuban system.

00:44:42.000 He goes, You have to be a machine.

00:44:47.000 Because he was talking about the system of like you get more food if you're at a higher c caliber of athlete.

00:44:53.000 So the Just to get more food, he's like the athletes, yeah, man.

00:44:57.000 The athletes that are the lower caliber, they eat twice a day.

00:45:00.000 Yeah, in his caliber, he's eaten three times a day.

00:45:03.000 He's like, So every day, every day they're coming for you.

00:45:08.000 You have to be on my gene.

00:45:10.000 And I was like, oh my god.

00:45:12.000 And you get to look in his eyes, man.

00:45:14.000 Bro, we are soft and fierce, bro.

00:45:18.000 Oh, we're so soft in the West.

00:45:19.000 We're so soft in the West. 0.96

00:45:20.000 What the hell is that?

00:45:21.000 I don't I'm not a fan of communism. 0.68

00:45:23.000 I don't believe it. 1.00

00:45:24.000 But damn, it creates a fucking beast. 1.00

00:45:26.000 Alexander Corellan. 1.00

00:45:28.000 I mean, I don't know if you get there's two things you don't get that with there's like substances, yeah, yeah.

00:45:33.000 With for sure taking place, and then there's also there's a regiment that they have both the Cuban system and the Russian system, yeah.

00:45:40.000 Where they had figured out the balance between unbelievable hard work but technical ability and recovery.

00:45:48.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:45:48.000 They didn't go meat head style.

00:45:50.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:45:51.000 In America, we went meathead style and we burnt a lot of dudes out, but the dudes who survived were just the killers of the killers.

00:45:58.000 But they probably could have made more killers like the Russians did if they did it more technically. 0.89

00:46:01.000 Well, I it's the same.

00:46:03.000 So again, shoots they've been again, they're the first MMA gym in the UK.

00:46:09.000 I think like 95, 97, 1975.

00:46:12.000 Yeah, I got a t-shirt, I got a London Shoe Fighters t-shirt from 2003.

00:46:14.000 Yeah, crazy.

00:46:15.000 I couldn't find it.

00:46:16.000 I was going looking for it to be so like I said, they've been around.

00:46:19.000 Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna tell him, I'm gonna tell him they've been around a long time, and obviously they've fought with everybody.

00:46:25.000 I think they fought of every every major competition that's ever been out.

00:46:29.000 They've they've done boxing with likes of like David Hay, Derek Chajora now, um, even Dylan White did a uh a kickboxing fight with them.

00:46:37.000 Uh you know, myself, Lee Murray, uh John Hathaway, um, even like Carlos Famola was the first Czech guy before Yuri to be in the UFC.

00:46:48.000 That was them guys, they've done a lot, but they're the meathead style.

00:46:53.000 Yeah, they are like, yeah, everybody will anything that produced Lee Murray.

00:46:58.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:46:59.000 You know, you got that guy in your gym that's the problem, just the echoes of that guy's style will permeate through that gym for decades.

00:47:06.000 That guy's just an angry man, and he was an angry man.

00:47:10.000 But then at the same time, you needed somebody like because my coach is our beast, like you needed that kind of militant force to be able to manage that and cope with that.

00:47:21.000 And that's what my coaches they are.

00:47:23.000 They like, yeah, that people used to come to our gym and we're just like, yeah, who's ready?

00:47:27.000 And if you don't do it, I'll do it myself.

00:47:29.000 That's one thing I always respected about them.

00:47:32.000 Even with the machines that the fitness machines that we had to do, the scores are crazy.

00:47:36.000 Like, I'm I see people in other gyms posting their scores, and I'm like, is that it?

00:47:40.000 And they're celebrating it.

00:47:41.000 And I'm like, we're forced to do this.

00:47:44.000 The hell is that?

00:47:46.000 But he'd push you, but he'd also do it himself.

00:47:49.000 Like he'd jump on a machine, like, versus clamor, yeah.

00:47:52.000 Smoke it, fight like five fights, back to back, and then running and this and that, like, and we're doing we have to do all of it because he's doing it.

00:47:59.000 And he is not doing it, he hasn't got a fight.

00:48:00.000 That's the way you lead.

00:48:01.000 Yeah, and he leads to killers, exactly.

00:48:04.000 Yeah, that's the problem.

00:48:05.000 They demand respect.

00:48:06.000 Right.

00:48:06.000 And they have to know that you're real, exactly.

00:48:08.000 Yeah, otherwise you're just some pontificator on the sidelines with a fucking clipboard. 1.00

00:48:14.000 Fuck off, bitch. 1.00

00:48:15.000 Which is more nowadays, like I'm seeing a lot of like uh and to be fair, I'm a fan of a lot of these guys, like the fighting nerds, and again, I'm hearing that they had uh I forget like an uh data analyst or something that's in, and he does like this you know, he studies this, and I think that's cool. 0.99

00:48:30.000 Like, I feel like we we should have like add elements of these things as well.

00:48:35.000 But obviously, I've just grown up by this iron sharp's iron.

00:48:39.000 It does, it's undeniable.

00:48:40.000 I mean it sharpens iron, yeah.

00:48:42.000 You know, there's outliers, there's a guy who will come out of a gym with nobody, and he's a monster.

00:48:47.000 There's just a few of those guys that exist in the world.

00:48:49.000 Yeah, but for the most part, like if you look at a gym like American Top Team, for example, look at how many animals have come out of that gym.

00:48:55.000 So many Pantoja, who I think does not get the credit he deserves.

00:49:00.000 I think Pantoja's one of the greatest ever.

00:49:02.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

00:49:03.000 Fucking guys a monster. 1.00

00:49:04.000 When that that Japanese cat came over from Ryzen, and he just like rag doll. 1.00

00:49:09.000 Like he had no business, and then the the Kaikara France rematch, like you see the difference between when they first fought and now the difference between like a dominant all-time world champion.

00:49:20.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:49:21.000 Whew.

00:49:22.000 People like when he's on a card, like people don't freak out. 1.00

00:49:25.000 I'm like, God damn it, just because he's 125 pounds, get that shit out of your head. 1.00

00:49:29.000 You're watching one of the greatest ever. 1.00

00:49:31.000 But that's the thing, that's it's the marketability of people.

00:49:34.000 This is what I knew I had to get right as well.

00:49:38.000 Yes.

00:49:38.000 And a lot of I say that to my teammates as well.

00:49:40.000 I'm like, do you know how you're gonna market yourself?

00:49:42.000 I'm like, I don't know just you know, if I beat people up, it's like it doesn't always just unfortunately it should, but it doesn't that's not what's gonna get you.

00:49:51.000 If I have to, as a promotion uh owner and the person managing everything, I'm either gonna pick you that's beaten everybody, but nobody cares about, or this guy that's you know, it's pretty decent, but everyone's making noise about gonna pick that guy.

00:50:04.000 So you need to be able to market yourself.

00:50:07.000 And I I knew that from the jump, and this is before really social media was massive, massive is a is a thing.

00:50:14.000 But I said to myself, okay, I need to look in how am I gonna market myself?

00:50:20.000 Because we don't have that much time, like on the mic.

00:50:23.000 Uh yeah, the interviews at the time.

00:50:26.000 I don't feel like people got the recognition.

00:50:28.000 People just cared about the fight, they just want to watch the fight, didn't care what you said beforehand, right?

00:50:31.000 Unless you're arguing or shouting in you know, there's there's beef. 0.93

00:50:34.000 Unless you grab that mic and go crazy. 0.74

00:50:36.000 Yeah, yeah. 0.99

00:50:37.000 You gotta go crazy.

00:50:38.000 Chelsea was the first.

00:50:40.000 Yeah, he was he figured it out before.

00:50:42.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

00:50:43.000 Anderson Silver, you absolutely suck. 0.99

00:50:46.000 He's the best fighter, but he's still why he's on the mic now. 1.00

00:50:50.000 Yes, it was perfect.

00:50:52.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:50:52.000 It was perfect.

00:50:53.000 But there was balance for the king.

00:50:55.000 There was for me, there's the perfect balance, like it it wasn't too far, it was it was it was exactly what you wanted, right?

00:51:01.000 Exactly what you need to to market a fight and to promote himself.

00:51:04.000 Yes, yes, I agree with you.

00:51:06.000 But well, yeah, again, it's weird though, because I think authenticity is important when you do that as well, though.

00:51:13.000 And Conor McGregor kind of is the next person for me that's kind of delivered that.

00:51:18.000 Oh, 100%.

00:51:19.000 He took it to a whole nother level.

00:51:20.000 A whole nother level.

00:51:21.000 Every time this guy's on the mic, he'll say one line, and I'm like, t-shirts, easy. 0.99

00:51:25.000 How about when Jeremy Stevens is yelling at him and he goes, Who the fuck is that guy? 0.99

00:51:32.000 It's you can't beat this guy. 0.99

00:51:35.000 I don't mind I'm just like, why did you even open your mouth, bro?

00:51:38.000 It's so funny, man.

00:51:39.000 It's so funny.

00:51:40.000 But you and you need to be able to do that.

00:51:42.000 Like, I before I even had my first fight, I would I spent hours.

00:51:47.000 I was a big WWE fan, and I felt like the rock, you know, Dwayne Johnson for out of all of them was the best at marketing himself.

00:51:57.000 He had the the crowd in the palm of his hands, every word that he said, and it was simple sayings, and I was like, Yeah, I studied this, study this.

00:52:06.000 Like, okay, okay.

00:52:07.000 What what could and then even like his stances, he'd come up, like jump on the ropes and put his hand up and just stand there, just like look around.

00:52:14.000 You know what I mean?

00:52:15.000 Like, he just he just demanded eyes.

00:52:17.000 So again, I just came to okay.

00:52:18.000 What could I do?

00:52:19.000 What can I?

00:52:19.000 So I was like, okay, you know, venom, you know, the snake.

00:52:23.000 Yeah, read it to a snake.

00:52:24.000 Okay, like, okay, yeah, let me let me do this.

00:52:29.000 Okay, okay, okay, that's check.

00:52:30.000 I've got a stance that I can do.

00:52:32.000 Okay, I need a saying, okay.

00:52:34.000 Like, what can I say?

00:52:35.000 Because again, I used to listen to people on after fights, and I didn't hear anything they said.

00:52:39.000 They're like, Yeah, but I'm crazy, yeah.

00:52:42.000 Beat that guy, I'm like, right here.

00:52:44.000 Thank you for my sponsors, like who were your sponsors?

00:52:50.000 Right.

00:52:51.000 Didn't hear anything, so I'm like, it has to be like concise.

00:52:54.000 I have to say specific words, and just I write this stuff down.

00:52:57.000 But again, I speak to my team, it's like, bro, what are you guys doing?

00:53:00.000 You need to do this kind of stuff and understand that this is a part of your game.

00:53:03.000 You are you've got five seconds after the fight on the mic.

00:53:07.000 If that's what are you, what are you going to say?

00:53:10.000 What message is gonna land?

00:53:11.000 What is gonna make you memorable?

00:53:13.000 And I do things on my walk-ins as well.

00:53:16.000 I need people to remember.

00:53:17.000 There's they're watching 16 fights on the night.

00:53:19.000 Why do they remember me?

00:53:20.000 Yes, my style is exciting.

00:53:22.000 That's cool.

00:53:22.000 Yeah, there's this weird guy who does some weird stuff with his arms, and that he's quite cool, but they're not gonna remember my name.

00:53:28.000 But I need other things to keep them coming back.

00:53:30.000 Oh, there's this guy in the way, and he stood above this guy, he put his snake hand up, and then oh, that's the same guy that did the dance, because now you're getting it from different places.

00:53:37.000 That's the guy that threw the poker ball.

00:53:39.000 Oh, but uh, what's his name?

00:53:41.000 What's his name?

00:53:42.000 The more times you keep hitting them with different things, the more times they they're more likely to kind of really buy into you.

00:53:49.000 And I think this is why I was able to create a big enough brand before even touching the UFC, just because I paid attention to that.

00:53:57.000 So you were the one of the first guys to make a name for yourself in Bell Tour because Bell Tor, it was hard to break out.

00:54:04.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:54:04.000 There was some wild fights in Bellator that never got recognized.

00:54:07.000 At all.

00:54:08.000 Yeah.

00:54:08.000 How about the Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler fights?

00:54:11.000 Fucking crazy fights. 0.98

00:54:14.000 And I feel like they those guys left a lot of who they are. 0.99

00:54:18.000 Yeah, yeah, unfortunately.

00:54:18.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:54:19.000 We got them kind of after.

00:54:20.000 Yeah.

00:54:20.000 And Chandler's still remarkably durable.

00:54:24.000 But that's just a discipline thing and a hard work that I think he's just accustomed to, like you said, he's been he's trained a certain way his whole life.

00:54:30.000 He's always gonna have that kind of athleticism.

00:54:32.000 But he's you know 38 now.

00:54:34.000 I mean, it's like you can only I wished he had not been in Bellator.

00:54:39.000 Look, I I'm all for competition.

00:54:41.000 I think competition's important.

00:54:43.000 I don't think there should be a monopoly in the MMA business.

00:54:45.000 I think it's bad for the athletes.

00:54:46.000 Yeah, definitely.

00:54:47.000 I love the fact that PFL overpays people.

00:54:49.000 Keep doing it.

00:54:50.000 Give them a million dollars.

00:54:52.000 Everybody get a million dollars.

00:54:53.000 Everybody gets a car.

00:54:54.000 You get a car, you uh I wish there was more organizations.

00:54:57.000 I yeah, I hope one FC succeeds, you know.

00:55:01.000 It does help.

00:55:01.000 Yeah, that helped me as well, even in my negotiation.

00:55:04.000 Fucking everything. 0.95

00:55:05.000 Yeah, however, yeah, there's a calibre of athlete that I feel like should only be in the UFC. 0.99

00:55:10.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:55:11.000 And you're one of those guys.

00:55:12.000 Thank you, I appreciate it.

00:55:13.000 There's a caliber of athlete where like I wanna see how good they really are.

00:55:19.000 You know, like some guy like Patchy Mitch, Patchy Mix is a beast. 0.98

00:55:24.000 He's a bad motherfucker, but so's Mario Bautista. 1.00

00:55:27.000 Mario Bautista had the perfect game plan to fuck up his party. 1.00

00:55:31.000 But that dude, when he was in Bellator was of that caliber.

00:55:35.000 I was like, I want to see him over here, man.

00:55:37.000 I I I personally, and obviously, because I've experienced it.

00:55:40.000 For me, the first time I got nervous in an MMA fight was my first fight.

00:55:47.000 In the EOC.

00:55:48.000 No, my first fight ever.

00:55:50.000 And then after that, I was like, oh yeah, this is the same as when I was fighting in the kickboxing mode.

00:55:56.000 I'm cool.

00:55:56.000 I didn't have any, I didn't get the nerves again.

00:55:58.000 The first time again since then was the first fight.

00:56:01.000 No, no, sorry, weird enough, the second fight in the UFC against Ian Gary.

00:56:05.000 Now, the first fight, I don't know why.

00:56:07.000 I just I don't know what it was, but I was quite relaxed.

00:56:13.000 And then the second fight, I was like, oh, it's something a reality hit me of like, oh, you're in the UFC.

00:56:18.000 The people are gonna demand a certain thing from you, and you got a reputation of before of the knockouts of the set of the celebrations of the walk-ins of the this of the that, and then I just let that put a weight on me.

00:56:29.000 Really?

00:56:29.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:56:30.000 That's crazy that it was the second fight.

00:56:32.000 I I I can't even explain as to why it was the second fight and not the first one.

00:56:37.000 And then even the third fight, I still had that kind of oh man, I'm not performing the way I want.

00:56:47.000 And I felt like I'm eager to impress.

00:56:50.000 And I never felt like that in Bellator.

00:56:52.000 But at the UFC, I'm like, I'm trying my best.

00:56:55.000 I literally have to crazy.

00:56:56.000 Yeah, it's the same thing, it's the same thing.

00:56:58.000 Same thing.

00:56:59.000 Cage cameras, people, same thing, same thing.

00:57:01.000 But I just the magnitude of it, I don't know.

00:57:05.000 I I I'm I'm guessing.

00:57:06.000 It's what we all grew up with.

00:57:08.000 It's what everyone grows up with.

00:57:09.000 It's like this is where like I said, there was always question marks around my name.

00:57:13.000 Even I was jump jump knees and this and that.

00:57:16.000 Always question marks around my name still, but then now I'm here.

00:57:20.000 It's like, oh, actually, I can these guys can respect me now, actually respect me now because I'm here.

00:57:26.000 Yes.

00:57:27.000 And then I'll just trying too hard, trying too hard, trying too hard.

00:57:30.000 The last fight was the first time I was like, You're back.

00:57:34.000 I'm back.

00:57:35.000 And this is why I don't just keep getting me back in the cage, because I swear to you this that I got I'm back to where I used to be and how I used to feel.

00:57:42.000 There's just an issue of getting guys that are willing to fight you that are of a certain caliber.

00:57:47.000 Exactly, exactly.

00:57:48.000 Because you know, obviously, right now you're pretty big, so for you to get down to 170 again would be a real problem.

00:57:53.000 Are you committed to 185 or are you?

00:57:55.000 No, no, no, I open either way.

00:57:57.000 I want 170.

00:57:58.000 I can see a clear pathway, even after my last fight, I message Hunter and I literally like, look, uh, let me fight um it was Morales, yeah.

00:58:08.000 And I was like, look, another undefeated guy, perfect fight.

00:58:11.000 Like he's a beast.

00:58:11.000 Like, I'm I'm I'm ready.

00:58:13.000 Let me take him.

00:58:14.000 Then and I said, what I could do after that is in like the December, I think I said, or no, March next year.

00:58:22.000 I was like, yeah, give me that for November.

00:58:24.000 Like March next year, usually come back to the UK.

00:58:28.000 Let me fight the winner of um Leon Edwards and and Pratas.

00:58:32.000 I was like, another great fight there.

00:58:34.000 Yeah.

00:58:35.000 And then you've got July card.

00:58:37.000 Obviously, everyone's gonna put their hand up to be on that.

00:58:39.000 But I said, if you guys want me to be on that, I'd again I'll fight for whoever you want and in that top range.

00:58:44.000 Pick, I don't care who it is.

00:58:45.000 Pick pick somebody, I'll fight them, and then I want a title shot. 0.94

00:58:48.000 Or you give me the title there.

00:58:50.000 Like, yeah.

00:58:51.000 But I'm like, I can see a clear path to where what I want.

00:58:56.000 And it's just everything seems slow.

00:58:59.000 Which I I did like I said, I didn't expect coming to the UFC.

00:59:04.000 I thought that's a good thing.

00:59:05.000 I think there's just too many athletes.

00:59:07.000 There is a lot.

00:59:08.000 I think they they have on contract more than 500. 0.99

00:59:14.000 Damn. 0.98

00:59:15.000 How many athletes does the UFC have under contract? 0.99

00:59:19.000 Throw that into but then also they're they're I think obviously I'm managed by Paradigm with Audi.

00:59:27.000 And he said he feels like uh the Paramount deal is they're having to integrate that now as well.

00:59:33.000 And I'm like, I didn't think about that.

00:59:35.000 But every time Bellator, because Bell's all kept getting new partnerships, it did slow things down a little bit.

00:59:41.000 Oh yeah, that would make sense.

00:59:42.000 So that doesn't start until January.

00:59:45.000 But obviously they're sorting out contracts and things from now.

00:59:48.000 And then they obviously have to try and align the shows and I'm guessing.

00:59:52.000 Obviously, I don't know, but I'm just saying, it just feels even slower than before. 0.81

00:59:56.000 And I'm like, I was that sucks. 0.92

00:59:58.000 Yeah, yeah. 0.51

00:59:59.000 And I'm like, I just want to be back out there.

01:00:01.000 I don't care.

01:00:02.000 Just and this is why I'm happy to take 674.

01:00:06.000 Wow.

01:00:08.000 674 fighters under contract.

01:00:10.000 And they don't have fights every week.

01:00:12.000 They have fights almost every week, but not every week.

01:00:15.000 That I mean, just think about that.

01:00:17.000 So you have 52 weeks, you have all these fighters, fighters want to fight multiple times in the year.

01:00:21.000 I appreciate that, but I'm MVP, man.

01:00:23.000 Let's go.

01:00:24.000 I am with you.

01:00:25.000 I'm with you.

01:00:26.000 I always say that I wish I was a matchmaker, but I don't.

01:00:28.000 Yeah, because it's the hardest job.

01:00:30.000 Yeah, I'm sure.

01:00:30.000 Yeah, I used to talk to Joe Silver back in the day when he did it.

01:00:33.000 He fucking hated it. 0.98

01:00:34.000 Dealing with everybody and managers and and people flake out, you know, fail drug tests. 1.00

01:00:39.000 Like, god damn it. 0.98

01:00:41.000 And these guys, you know, would what they're doing right now is very difficult. 0.99

01:00:45.000 Because what Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby are dealing with is the volume is so much greater.

01:00:52.000 Yeah.

01:00:52.000 There's so and there's so many more really good guys.

01:00:55.000 Like in almost every division, like guys are coming in from the contender series.

01:00:59.000 That guy looks like a world championship caliber fighter.

01:01:02.000 Yeah.

01:01:02.000 Talented.

01:01:03.000 Talents off the charts right now.

01:01:04.000 And it's because they get to watch.

01:01:06.000 Yeah.

01:01:07.000 You know, these are the kids that are growing up watching Anderson Silva.

01:01:10.000 They're growing up watching John Jones' first fight.

01:01:13.000 They're growing up watching the early Chuck Liddell fights.

01:01:16.000 It's totally different.

01:01:17.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:01:18.000 They they they like when they're play fighting with their friends, they're in stances that look right.

01:01:23.000 You know?

01:01:24.000 They know what they're doing.

01:01:25.000 They know the names of every submission and this is so true. 1.00

01:01:28.000 They're calf kicking each other in the fucking schoolyard. 0.99

01:01:30.000 It's a totally different world. 1.00

01:01:32.000 Very true.

01:01:32.000 And those kids are gonna grow up and that's gonna be integrated to their neuromuscular system.

01:01:37.000 Yep, yep.

01:01:37.000 Yeah, and they're gonna learn there's guys coming along that are like elite black belt level jujitsu.

01:01:43.000 Yeah, elite stand-up, elite wrestling, takedown defense, cardio off the charts.

01:01:48.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:01:49.000 And they're 22.

01:01:50.000 Yeah.

01:01:50.000 And you're like, this is nuts.

01:01:52.000 Now it's just about way whether you can compete, yeah, whether you can pull it off and keep your head together on fighting games.

01:01:58.000 Which is again, I think is something that people don't speak about enough.

01:02:02.000 Listen, it's Aaron Pico is as talented as they come, right? 0.79

01:02:06.000 That dude is a fucking vicious boxer, incredible wrestling, gold chip prospect from the very but Laurent Murphy is another guy. 0.68

01:02:15.000 Was not I was saying before that this is the guy that's not getting the credit he deserves. 0.98

01:02:20.000 Because you got all these loud killers at 145.

01:02:23.000 But you got this one dude that does everything perfect.

01:02:26.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:02:26.000 And he's beating everybody's head.

01:02:28.000 He's beaten everything away.

01:02:30.000 And he doesn't take damage, and he's clever, and he's slick, and he does things, and every technique is perfect.

01:02:36.000 Absolutely.

01:02:37.000 He doesn't and there's no fat on anything, so wild winging punches, everything's tight and talent.

01:02:42.000 That spinning elbow was a work of art.

01:02:45.000 He just knew Aaron Pico's a train.

01:02:47.000 He's come bang.

01:02:49.000 That was a crazy.

01:02:50.000 That was But that's the difference between someone who can compete at the highest level.

01:02:54.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:02:55.000 Someone's accustomed to it.

01:02:56.000 Right.

01:02:56.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:02:56.000 It's the knowing when to hit the gas and when not to.

01:02:59.000 Pico's just all gas, no breaks.

01:03:01.000 Yeah, go ahead.

01:03:01.000 What is the Ike said?

01:03:02.000 It's like similar to Michael Chano again.

01:03:04.000 Yeah.

01:03:04.000 Just like in that rage mode all the time.

01:03:06.000 All gas, no breaks.

01:03:07.000 Yeah.

01:03:08.000 You need to take your time.

01:03:10.000 But that's a wrestler thing, too.

01:03:11.000 They always want to break people.

01:03:12.000 Because in wrestling, you can do that.

01:03:14.000 You can have that mentality where you're constantly in the gas, because you're not gonna get knocked out with a flying knee.

01:03:18.000 Yeah, true.

01:03:18.000 True, true.

01:03:19.000 Changes.

01:03:20.000 Yeah, because you get that, that's how you compete. 0.97

01:03:22.000 You get this mindset of I'm gonna fucking dominate. 0.74

01:03:25.000 I know what I did in training for this. 0.98

01:03:26.000 My gas tank's off the charts, my aggression's off the charts.

01:03:29.000 I'm a killer, I'm gonna dominate, I'm moving forward.

01:03:32.000 I'm moving forward.

01:03:33.000 The problem is with a guy like Lerone, it's like you think he's back.

01:03:36.000 Bam, he's coming forward.

01:03:38.000 Oh that was that was amazing.

01:03:40.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:03:41.000 The timing.

01:03:42.000 It was just like, oh But Pico even stepped right into the elbow.

01:03:46.000 It was ruthless.

01:03:48.000 It made it ten times worse.

01:03:50.000 Ruthless.

01:03:51.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:03:51.000 And that's uh that's my thing.

01:03:53.000 The car crash effect when you create those collision. 0.54

01:03:56.000 So for a guy like Lerone, who's not a big marketing guy, not a big like doesn't say wild shit on the microphone, just steady professional, does his job. 0.80

01:04:04.000 He needs to do that, right?

01:04:05.000 He needs like this spectacular thing where all of a sudden everybody goes, Yeah, he needs to fight Alexander Bolkonowski.

01:04:12.000 And that looks like that's what's gonna happen now because of that one performance.

01:04:15.000 Which is uh I'm so happy for him.

01:04:16.000 Me too.

01:04:18.000 He's a cool guy, man.

01:04:18.000 I'm so happy for him.

01:04:19.000 But this is why I tell people if he had a just a little bit uh a little bit of chat, a little bit of show your personality or something, just give me something else.

01:04:28.000 You have that no, but you know what it is.

01:04:29.000 I always say, like everyone, like um Demetrius Johnson for me is one of the greatest.

01:04:37.000 Of all time.

01:04:37.000 Of all time, of all time.

01:04:38.000 Another underappreciated guy.

01:04:40.000 Because of his size, yeah.

01:04:41.000 Yeah, but I feel like underappreciated because you can't market him in the exact same way as you'd market like a Conor McGregor or somebody else like that.

01:04:52.000 But he's a gamer.

01:04:53.000 I'm like, shed a light on there's a massive, yeah, massive community of gaming.

01:04:59.000 That industry is billion dollars deep.

01:05:01.000 Market this guy because he's on he comes back home and he's just like he's one of them.

01:05:06.000 He's one of those guys.

01:05:07.000 So but again, we didn't see, I don't feel like we saw any of that until afterwards when he was kind of like doing his own thing.

01:05:12.000 And he's on now, obviously doing a lot of his YouTube time.

01:05:14.000 I'm happy, I'm so happy that he's you know, is getting rid of the stuff.

01:05:17.000 But it's kind of when he went to one that he started doing more of the game and stuff online.

01:05:21.000 But he no, he had been doing it though.

01:05:22.000 He had been doing it in the UC.

01:05:24.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:05:24.000 But again, it's just more I guess they didn't capitalize.

01:05:27.000 Yeah, that's what I mean.

01:05:28.000 I just think so.

01:05:29.000 Certain people you have to like what is it your thing?

01:05:32.000 Right.

01:05:32.000 Not everybody is just uh the fighting, they have things like things to kind of release what that wind down and you know what I mean?

01:05:38.000 Yeah, find that out.

01:05:40.000 He's killing everybody anyway.

01:05:41.000 So how else can we market?

01:05:43.000 Instead of being like, ah, can't market him the same.

01:05:44.000 He doesn't talk, he doesn't do say anything.

01:05:46.000 There must be something there.

01:05:47.000 There has to be something else there we could look into.

01:05:50.000 Well, it's it's it's interesting because some guys, their personality is no personality.

01:05:54.000 Yeah, like Pereira.

01:05:56.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:05:57.000 His personality is stone faced.

01:05:58.000 Yeah, yeah. 0.93

01:05:59.000 Just stone face destroyer, death machine.

01:06:02.000 Here he comes, Amazon warrior, like literal actual Amazon warrior. 0.60

01:06:07.000 Yeah, like not a faker. 1.00

01:06:09.000 His fucking family comes from a tribe of Amazon. 1.00

01:06:12.000 But then that's what he markets, though. 1.00

01:06:13.000 Yeah.

01:06:13.000 I guess that's what they market.

01:06:15.000 But it was P. Markets that is.

01:06:17.000 He works out that that walkout.

01:06:19.000 Oh, yeah.

01:06:19.000 That's true.

01:06:20.000 Bro, I do it myself.

01:06:22.000 When he's walking out, I'm just waiting for him, like, ah that's true.

01:06:26.000 And that's what I mean, though.

01:06:27.000 I mean, like, that's you, he you said you're telling you're selling your story with just something so simple.

01:06:33.000 Yeah.

01:06:34.000 His walkout.

01:06:35.000 His walk out maybe the best in the sport.

01:06:37.000 Yeah.

01:06:38.000 And that's what I'm trying to say.

01:06:39.000 Music.

01:06:40.000 Yeah.

01:06:40.000 Chungle music behind you.

01:06:42.000 You just the walk.

01:06:43.000 Just this Amazon warrior.

01:06:47.000 It's simple.

01:06:48.000 Everyone can relate to it.

01:06:49.000 Oh, yeah.

01:06:50.000 You it's consistent.

01:06:51.000 So I'm always gonna.

01:06:52.000 Oh, that's the guy.

01:06:53.000 And you see kids in the audience throw the one-two off they do it.

01:06:56.000 Yeah, and like I said, I'm a because I'm a big wrestling fan, I see it's those moments that everybody will remember and everybody will do.

01:07:03.000 Right.

01:07:04.000 Style bender came in to the undertaker. 1.00

01:07:06.000 Shh bro, beast.

01:07:08.000 But that's what I'm trying to say.

01:07:09.000 It's those kind of things that people just don't.

01:07:12.000 Yeah.

01:07:13.000 And I'm talking the fighters themselves.

01:07:14.000 Uh obviously I feel the UFC can do their bit as well, but technically you're already on the platform that's gonna show you to everybody.

01:07:20.000 So then it's your job to figure it out as well.

01:07:22.000 Another aspect of the game.

01:07:23.000 Yeah.

01:07:24.000 Like strength and conditioning, like all these different things.

01:07:26.000 Exactly.

01:07:27.000 Just think about it.

01:07:28.000 You're you're professional, figure out how to market yourself.

01:07:30.000 Yeah.

01:07:30.000 You are the product.

01:07:31.000 The problem is though, it does lead to like cringe moments of some course.

01:07:35.000 So not everybody has your personality.

01:07:38.000 And some guys try it, it's like yikes. 1.00

01:07:41.000 Shit. 1.00

01:07:43.000 You gotta take a risk. 1.00

01:07:47.000 Because if if it goes well, it goes well.

01:07:49.000 Yeah.

01:07:50.000 As well. 0.99

01:07:50.000 So like as you said about Alex Burke, technically, we wouldn't care if he walked out of that and got knocked out, we wouldn't give a shit. 0.99

01:07:56.000 Yeah. 1.00

01:07:56.000 But he's he's a killer. 1.00

01:07:57.000 Yeah. 0.73

01:07:58.000 That fight this weekend is very, very interesting.

01:08:00.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:08:01.000 Because so here's the downside to fighting all the time.

01:08:04.000 Fighting all the time the with your style is a very different thing because you take so little damage, which is another huge element.

01:08:10.000 Like I I kind of would tell people that if you have a kid and your kid wants to learn martial arts and they want to eventually be an MMA fighter.

01:08:19.000 I would say two things.

01:08:21.000 Number one, wrestling.

01:08:22.000 Take that kid and teach him how to wrestle because if you could just develop take down defense and understanding of grappling, at least you have a base from the time you're real little.

01:08:32.000 Exactly.

01:08:32.000 That should be your base.

01:08:33.000 Because it's the most important aspect of the fight.

01:08:35.000 If you can't grapple, a guy can take you down and he can hold you down. 0.91

01:08:39.000 You can't do shit about it. 0.90

01:08:40.000 Number two, learn how to point fight. 0.94

01:08:43.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:08:43.000 Learn how to point fight.

01:08:45.000 Learn distance control.

01:08:46.000 There's a different thing that you guys are doing.

01:08:48.000 If you got like people think of Billy Banks is Taibo. 0.97

01:08:50.000 Yeah, you gotta go back and watch Billy Blanks when he was a fucking karate wizard dude. 0.97

01:08:55.000 Exactly. 0.98

01:08:55.000 He was a wizard. 0.98

01:08:56.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:08:56.000 And he was hitting people where you couldn't hit him.

01:08:58.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:08:59.000 You know, all the the old school guys were all like light on the feet, bladed style, and they had this leap in ability that if you're used to a guy standing in front of it, it's a giant problem, and you don't have the timing to solve it.

01:09:12.000 And you can you could go two, three rounds deep before you start actually landing it.

01:09:16.000 Yeah, exactly.

01:09:16.000 You can't do anything to them.

01:09:18.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:09:18.000 It's a giant problem.

01:09:19.000 And I would say you want to be the person giving the other person that problem.

01:09:23.000 Exactly.

01:09:23.000 Then you can learn all the other stuff too.

01:09:25.000 Exactly.

01:09:25.000 Learn your your boxing fundamentals and tying knees and elbows, but but if they're nowhere near you and you can hit them, you can close that gap quick.

01:09:34.000 You have a blitz.

01:09:35.000 So I mean understanding that distance control.

01:09:38.000 Yes.

01:09:38.000 And also the feints, the stutter steps, those things change the game.

01:09:43.000 Yes, there's so much movement in that style of fighting that just gets lost when people are plotting and just teeping each other in the stomach and kicking the legs.

01:09:52.000 But it's funny, I people always used to go on about me and um Wonderboy Thompson fighting. 0.99

01:09:56.000 And I'd always say like it won't be as exciting as you think for us, like me and him, there'll be moments where we're bouncing and faking and then we would laugh at each other because we saw what would have happened if one of us went, but the crowd's like the fuck is going fight. 1.00

01:10:12.000 The fuck are you guys doing? 0.99

01:10:13.000 Smiling at each other, like they don't get the fight that's going on right in the moment. 1.00

01:10:18.000 And I say people it's not as exciting.

01:10:20.000 Two pluses don't always give you that plus, not always, but you still want to see it.

01:10:25.000 Of course, people always want to never it's it's also like fighting doesn't have to always be ultimate excitement.

01:10:32.000 You have to under like that's why I say no stand-ups ever. 0.99

01:10:36.000 When a guy takes a guy down, that person on the bottom does not want to be on the bottom.

01:10:40.000 They want to be up. 0.99

01:10:41.000 If they can't get up, tough shit. 1.00

01:10:43.000 It's only five rounds. 0.99

01:10:44.000 Every fight starts standing up, yeah, which is a giant, giant advantage for a striker.

01:10:49.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:10:49.000 Because otherwise they wouldn't be able to get themselves up.

01:10:51.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:10:52.000 So none of that.

01:10:53.000 See, it's got it's gotta be pure, it's gotta be real.

01:10:57.000 You can't have like ways that a guy won only because the rules set it up for him to get to a better position.

01:11:03.000 I agree.

01:11:03.000 The only the only thing that I find slightly frustrating in those in that element is I don't mind the wrestling.

01:11:11.000 I think wrestling is a beautiful art and is like you said, one of the most important arts to dictate where you want the fight to go. 0.92

01:11:19.000 But if you're taking me down, try to kill me.

01:11:24.000 I agree. 0.99

01:11:25.000 Try to try to finish the fight.

01:11:27.000 Don't just take me down and just I agree.

01:11:29.000 A lot of people like grabbing my legs and looking at the clock.

01:11:31.000 Here's the thing. 0.98

01:11:32.000 If they're not good enough to kill you, yeah, right.

01:11:34.000 What if they're good enough to take you down and hold you down, but then they just have to be real defensive afterwards, and they'll throw a little pity path.

01:11:42.000 I know, I know that's the only element that I just but here's the thing, they're not good enough to do more.

01:11:47.000 Do you know what I'm saying?

01:11:48.000 Like But you must be though.

01:11:50.000 Maybe not.

01:11:51.000 Uh-uh.

01:11:51.000 Maybe not.

01:11:52.000 Maybe only good enough, like you're so good, and they're just good enough to hold you down. 0.99

01:11:58.000 But if they've reined up and started rein, and then you fucking framed off, you got to half guard, you got back up to your feet, all of a sudden we're dealing with this shit again. 0.99

01:12:06.000 But then but you're that but if you just stay on top and don't take any chances, now you can't do shit. 0.99

01:12:12.000 Yeah, I agree. 1.00

01:12:13.000 It just is boring as fuck. 0.99

01:12:14.000 And it's not for me, it's not even a boring element of it. 0.99

01:12:16.000 Like, I still enjoy that aspect.

01:12:18.000 If I was watching only joining the aspect because I know what I'm looking at now, like I'm like, oh, he's he's got okay, like he's got the he's grabbed his wrist egg, okay.

01:12:25.000 I can see what you're trying to work to.

01:12:26.000 Okay, now you didn't get it.

01:12:27.000 Okay, I can I'm still in the fight.

01:12:28.000 Whereas some people, I guess the people if you don't get into grappling, you're not gonna know what's happening other than they're just lying there.

01:12:34.000 So I get it for them.

01:12:36.000 But for me, still, it's just that the aim of this game is for me to beat you, and I mean like take knock you out, put you to sleep.

01:12:43.000 So I'm trying to show you that I am the stronger man as a warrior, and that's not by holding you.

01:12:49.000 Right.

01:12:50.000 That's not by holding you down, holding you down to get you to position to land his elbow and hold you down to get to position to land his yeah, but just to I completely agree. 0.97

01:13:00.000 However, even though I'm a fan of yours, if a wrestler who had that boring style took you down and held you down for three rounds and won a decision, I'd be like, damn, he did it. 0.79

01:13:11.000 Yeah, he did it because uh he can't do it any other way. 0.98

01:13:14.000 If he can't stand up with you, he's gonna get fucked up, and he can take you down anytime. 0.96

01:13:18.000 Why would he ever let you up? 0.98

01:13:19.000 And if losing position is dangerous, so like if you're very explosive and you're very good at grappling, you're very good on the bottom, you've gotten submissions off the bottom. 0.99

01:13:28.000 If a guy reigns up and starts throwing shots, but he feels like his base is gone and he just wants to clinch and hold on and maintain position, and he maintains position with this kind of shit. 0.91

01:13:37.000 Yeah, you know, on top and he's doing this kind of shit, just little movements, like he's still getting away with that. 0.98

01:13:43.000 Yeah, he's still doing that. 0.99

01:13:44.000 I agree.

01:13:44.000 I just might be his only pat right for you.

01:13:48.000 He's but the thing is, he's not good enough.

01:13:51.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:13:51.000 Where then you have guys like Kabib.

01:13:54.000 Kabib gets you down, you're getting fucked up. 1.00

01:13:56.000 You're getting fucked up constantly. 1.00

01:13:58.000 Everybody loved it. 1.00

01:13:59.000 He's talking to you, he's he creating that space by still pinning you, he's crushing your legs and between his legs and he's fucking trying to choke on on you. 0.99

01:14:07.000 That I can appreciate all day, every day. 0.99

01:14:09.000 I can too, but some guys aren't good enough.

01:14:11.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:14:12.000 That's it, they're still fighting.

01:14:13.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:14:14.000 Right?

01:14:14.000 They're in there, they're like they're not good enough.

01:14:16.000 There's guys at a world class level that are not gonna be world champions, but they might be able to beat a guy who could be a world champion if they can do that thing. 0.96

01:14:25.000 Yeah, just it sucks.

01:14:26.000 I know, I know.

01:14:27.000 It's just hard to do.

01:14:28.000 It's hard to class you as a world championship fighter then.

01:14:33.000 Okay, well, let's talk about Hamzat then. 0.95

01:14:35.000 Yeah, yeah, Drake is duple C is a perfect example of that.

01:14:38.000 You gotta elite grappler who dominated the fight without very with very little damage.

01:14:43.000 Yeah, in when I dominated it to the point where you're you're in the worst position you could be in MMA, you're in a crucifix position.

01:14:50.000 Over and over again every round, over and over again. 0.97

01:14:54.000 And you can't do shit about it. 0.98

01:14:56.000 You let him just you can't do shit about it. 0.94

01:14:58.000 But did so do you think that is he's worried about his his him exploding? 0.99

01:15:02.000 Because in my head, I'm like, the fight ends if I keep if I elbow the shit out of you right now. 0.90

01:15:08.000 He's worried about the chaos, and Drick is getting back to his feet, and you know, they wanted to just win. 0.96

01:15:13.000 This is the whole thing because he came back to his corner, apparently, and this is told to me secondhand, but I'm pretty sure it's true.

01:15:18.000 Yeah, um, by a reliable source that he was saying, can I box now?

01:15:21.000 It's like, no.

01:15:22.000 Oh, okay. 0.92

01:15:23.000 No, you're not fucking boxed. 0.97

01:15:24.000 His team was like, take him down. 0.98

01:15:26.000 He can't look if you got that clear of a dominance that I still agree with though, as the coach is saying, no, get take him down.

01:15:33.000 But I'm saying once you are in that position, smash, smash, yeah, your whole thing is smash. 0.98

01:15:39.000 Yeah, smash the shit out of this. 0.99

01:15:41.000 What the hell? 0.99

01:15:42.000 Like, I think they just wanted that win, yeah, no matter what. 0.89

01:15:45.000 You know what it is?

01:15:45.000 Because it's like it's such a big deal.

01:15:47.000 Hamzat's finally got a shot at the title.

01:15:49.000 Yeah, like just like what is the clearest, most intelligent.

01:15:53.000 Like, if you're betting a billion dollars on this fight, what's the best way to victory? 0.99

01:15:57.000 Yeah, fucking just take him down. 0.99

01:15:59.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

01:15:59.000 You can take him down anytime you want to, hold him down, punch him a few times, make sure you're in dominant position, so you're not gonna get stood back up. 1.00

01:16:06.000 Yeah, yeah, if the referee starts talking to you and telling you to gotta start to a little bit of this, do a little bit of that, fake a submission, don't throw all your gas into it. 0.99

01:16:14.000 You know, do whatever the fuck you gotta do, but get that goddamn title. 0.99

01:16:17.000 Yeah, right. 0.99

01:16:19.000 And then you know, there's gonna be some guys that he can't do that to.

01:16:23.000 Yeah, and that's where things get interesting.

01:16:25.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:16:25.000 But who who would you say that is though?

01:16:27.000 Because I he's that his wrestling style is just Crazy.

01:16:31.000 Yeah, it's it's so Brennan Schab had been to his training camp.

01:16:34.000 Okay.

01:16:34.000 And he called me up.

01:16:35.000 He goes, he goes, Bro, we gotta talk.

01:16:37.000 He goes, I just got back watching Hamza train. 0.99

01:16:39.000 He goes, I've never seen anything like that in my fucking life. 0.95

01:16:42.000 He's like, dude, but I'm telling you, he's mopping the floor with like division one, all Americans, world class grapplers, jujitsu black belts. 0.99

01:16:52.000 He he goes, he's mopping the floor with people.

01:16:55.000 He goes, It's nuts.

01:16:56.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:16:56.000 Because they asked me if I wanted to spar with him.

01:16:59.000 Shaw goes, fuck you. 1.00

01:17:01.000 He's like fuck you. 1.00

01:17:04.000 I'm not going in there. 1.00

01:17:06.000 He goes, he was mauling people on the ground.

01:17:09.000 He goes, I never seen anything like it.

01:17:11.000 He goes, it was it was crazy.

01:17:13.000 He goes, he's so high level.

01:17:15.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:17:15.000 I had the privilege of going to the gym and uh in Dubai and uh training alongside him and sorry for myself, and it's yeah, I was like it's a shocking level of grappling.

01:17:26.000 Yeah, and when you can achieve that shocking level of grappling on world-class MMA fighters, why wouldn't you do it?

01:17:32.000 This is this just my thing, my take on it.

01:17:34.000 Like if you just want to win and make as much money as possible and keep doing that.

01:17:39.000 I mean, you should finish guys whenever you can.

01:17:42.000 Yeah, but if you don't think you can, and the path to victory is grappling, this is still a sport.

01:17:46.000 Yeah, fair.

01:17:47.000 If it wasn't a sport, there'd still be headbuts. 0.98

01:17:49.000 Yeah, right. 0.99

01:17:52.000 Yeah, stomps, soccer kicks, all the wild shit that used to be, you'd still be able to wear shoes, who gives a fuck. 1.00

01:17:56.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0.99

01:17:58.000 But it's a sport.

01:17:59.000 So if it's a sport, we've got some rules.

01:18:01.000 Yeah, I just don't think I don't think there's anything wrong with winning by the rules.

01:18:05.000 It's not my favorite style.

01:18:06.000 Fair fair, fair, fair.

01:18:07.000 My favorite style is either a knockout artist or a submission artist.

01:18:12.000 Yeah, Oliveira when he was in his prime.

01:18:16.000 Catching triangles and dars', and oh my god, he was a monster. 0.81

01:18:20.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:18:21.000 He was so good.

01:18:21.000 Those guys, like when you watch a guy who's like an elite world class submission artist and the fight goes to the ground, it's just a totally different thing.

01:18:29.000 You know, you you you're in real like Fabricio Verdoom when he was in his prime when he caught Fedor with that triangle.

01:18:34.000 Bro, that was catching Fedor with a triangle is crazy.

01:18:38.000 Yeah, just if you know how explosive that guy is and how fast he is and strong enough, what a great grappler he is.

01:18:44.000 But Fabricio Verdoom's another guy who doesn't get his due.

01:18:47.000 When you think about all time goats, yeah, you think about Noguerra, you think about Phaedor, and you think about Minotaro and Fabricio Verdoom tapped them all.

01:18:56.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:18:57.000 He tapped all the greats.

01:18:59.000 Very true.

01:18:59.000 All of them.

01:19:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:19:00.000 Tapped them.

01:19:01.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:19:03.000 Tapped them.

01:19:04.000 All the greats.

01:19:06.000 Didn't just win by a decision.

01:19:08.000 Yeah, didn't just hold it.

01:19:09.000 Tap Fedor when Fedor was Fador.

01:19:11.000 And people like, whoa, that's crazy. 0.57

01:19:15.000 Fadal's a beast. 0.99

01:19:16.000 Bro, he was a monster. 0.92

01:19:19.000 Stoic warrior from Russia. 0.99

01:19:22.000 Not no expression.

01:19:23.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:19:23.000 And his earliest of his time.

01:19:25.000 Oh, way ahead of his time.

01:19:27.000 That's the first of his time.

01:19:28.000 Way ahead of his time.

01:19:29.000 His ability to catch some missions off his back with lightning speed.

01:19:32.000 He had a lightning fast armbar.

01:19:34.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:19:35.000 And power on the feet.

01:19:37.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:19:37.000 But he walked down Crow cop.

01:19:39.000 Yeah, it's crazy.

01:19:40.000 Crazy.

01:19:41.000 With stand-up. 0.94

01:19:41.000 Yeah, Cocot's head kicks were insane. 0.94

01:19:44.000 Every kick.

01:19:45.000 Everything.

01:19:46.000 But like Fedor was blocking them so intelligently too.

01:19:49.000 He was using that high block with the knee way up like that to catch that left kick.

01:19:54.000 And he caught it sh they caught it shin to shin many times.

01:19:58.000 It was that was a crazy fight.

01:19:59.000 But Fedor in his prime was so good, man.

01:20:03.000 Because he was the first guy other than Minotaro.

01:20:05.000 Minotaro, but he was more dangerous on the feet than Minotaro.

01:20:08.000 But Minataro on the ground was like one of the first guys, like super dangerous off his back.

01:20:13.000 Yeah.

01:20:13.000 Just super super lethal guard.

01:20:15.000 Yeah.

01:20:16.000 Like when he beat Bob Sapp.

01:20:18.000 That was the nuttiest fight in the history of MMA. 1.00

01:20:22.000 That was the nutty he Bob Sapp was 350 pounds with ass. 0.99

01:20:25.000 I was gonna say he's like he's kinda like your your Ingarnu nowadays. 1.00

01:20:29.000 Babe, but way bigger.

01:20:30.000 Always yeah.

01:20:31.000 Way bigger, but not as skilled.

01:20:33.000 Yeah, no one's different.

01:20:34.000 He's gotten yeah, Francis's improvement.

01:20:37.000 Because in his earlier stages, I was just like, yeah, he's got power by his technically like Francis basically beat Tyson Fury in a boxing match.

01:20:44.000 Crazy, right?

01:20:45.000 Basically beat him because I I scored it for him.

01:20:47.000 I scored it for him.

01:20:48.000 Yeah.

01:20:48.000 100%.

01:20:49.000 They did they just couldn't they could not let that happen.

01:20:52.000 He dropped Tyson Fury with a left hook and then danced in front of him. 1.00

01:20:55.000 I mean, that's that's that's skill.

01:20:58.000 I mean, he wasn't ready for Anthony Joshua because Anthony Joshua was a different thing.

01:21:02.000 Yeah, like it's just d he's got more one-shot knockout, but he took it more seriously too.

01:21:08.000 I know he k he likes to switch in.

01:21:10.000 But again, like this is where the boxing is if you don't have that kind of intellect in the boxing, that footwork and foot positioning is put your foot on one side, you're gonna get killed.

01:21:20.000 You're putting the foot in the other side, you're you're you're safe.

01:21:24.000 You can kind of manage manage the power and see the punches coming.

01:21:28.000 But he was kept switching stances, but just putting in and leaving himself in just the wrong positions.

01:21:32.000 Yeah, he wasn't ready.

01:21:35.000 There was a lot of hype off the fury fight.

01:21:37.000 Also, Joshua got to watch him box in the fury fight, see some patterns.

01:21:40.000 Fury, I think, probably took him lightly.

01:21:42.000 Yes, I think so.

01:21:43.000 It's one of the greatest of all time.

01:21:44.000 This guy's never had a boxing match.

01:21:46.000 Yeah, at the beginning of the fight, he's like, time to go to school.

01:21:49.000 Oh, really?

01:21:50.000 And then he probably got stunned.

01:21:51.000 You just got stunned and that was it.

01:21:53.000 He's now working.

01:21:53.000 You talk to any fighter, they will tell you the worst times of their life is when they thought that a guy was nothing.

01:21:58.000 Yeah.

01:21:59.000 And then in the middle of the fight, they realize, oh my god, I'm losing.

01:22:01.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:22:01.000 They took a guy lightly and they didn't get up for the fight.

01:22:04.000 Yeah, and then they went in there, and that dude was fired up and ready to go.

01:22:07.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:22:08.000 You got with this thing, you can't take anybody lightly though.

01:22:10.000 No.

01:22:11.000 Mike Tyson Buster Douglas, another perfect guy.

01:22:14.000 Oh, yeah, 100% no.

01:22:14.000 No one's gonna be.

01:22:15.000 This guy was partying every day.

01:22:16.000 Yeah, he probably exactly.

01:22:18.000 He did not take it seriously.

01:22:22.000 You got bigger the biggest respect for Buster Douglas on that one, though.

01:22:25.000 That was oh my god, it was one of the greatest performances of any heavyweight title fight ever.

01:22:28.000 Yeah, to want to walk in and do that as well.

01:22:30.000 The fact that that guy could do that the whole time, but only did it against Mike Tyson is nuts.

01:22:35.000 Because he was one of those guys, and we all know them that is super talented and just never realizes their full potential.

01:22:41.000 Like Jim, you know, guys in the gym that like you'd see him spar and stuff like that.

01:22:44.000 I talk about this all the time.

01:22:45.000 Like I've had so many people, obviously, I've got to see over the years that are talented, and again, it's the same thing, but can you do it when it counts?

01:22:53.000 Can you do it when the lights are on?

01:22:54.000 Can you do it when there's pressure and it means something to your you, your friends, your family, money.

01:22:59.000 Yeah, can you still do it?

01:23:00.000 Yeah, that's when it counts.

01:23:02.000 But I've seen guys that are there's a guy actually, uh, and I always talk about him just because he was super unique, and weird enough, he got to the UFC for on a short stint, uh, Galore Buffundo.

01:23:13.000 I don't know if you ever remember him.

01:23:15.000 He only did he only had two fights, but he fought uh Charlie Ward, and I I call it Hadukin.

01:23:21.000 He just grabbed him and like threw his head into the floor.

01:23:25.000 Oh, geez.

01:23:26.000 And it was a KO.

01:23:27.000 And I don't he actually never got that the bonus for that.

01:23:29.000 I don't know how he didn't, because I've never seen anybody just throw someone's head down.

01:23:34.000 You need to watch it soon.

01:23:39.000 There you go.

01:23:40.000 Oh god.

01:23:40.000 And if you if you keep it going and you see how he finishes, look, he's like wow.

01:23:46.000 Oh landed hard. 0.99

01:23:47.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:23:48.000 That dude landed hard.

01:23:49.000 And if you see the finish, look at this is how athletic this guy was.

01:23:52.000 Just watch light work, just landed just in a little perfect despite the sounds.

01:23:57.000 Yeah, perfect landing.

01:23:58.000 Now I had to deal with this every day.

01:24:01.000 Yeah, and that was nothing.

01:24:03.000 He's super explosive.

01:24:06.000 But again, he's a striker, very weird striker.

01:24:08.000 Like kick his kicks are like his hands.

01:24:11.000 He can for ages, yeah.

01:24:15.000 I was sparring him one time, and me and him, like I I'm the guy with him.

01:24:18.000 When he steps in, my eyes do this, and I'm like, okay, I have to make sure I'm because a kick will come from anywhere.

01:24:25.000 And we're sparring and going back, going back and forth, and I'm I'm in my element, and everything slows down for me, and I see his head drop down, and alarm bells are going off, and I'm like, he doesn't he doesn't shoot, he doesn't go for takedowns.

01:24:46.000 But I'm feeling alarm bells going on like something's gone wrong.

01:24:49.000 I don't know why this felt this slow.

01:24:51.000 Something is wrong.

01:24:53.000 And I've never done this block in my life, and I went like this.

01:24:58.000 X block.

01:25:00.000 I've never done this in my life.

01:25:01.000 Never been taught this, but my body said, throw your hands.

01:25:05.000 He did that and did a cartwheel kick front flip. 0.92

01:25:10.000 Oh, jeez.

01:25:11.000 Yeah, landed on his foot and axe-kicked me.

01:25:15.000 If I didn't do that, I I'd be sitting here in two right now.

01:25:18.000 What talking to you about the story that I once used to do MMA and this guy split me in half.

01:25:24.000 He and he's front flip axe.

01:25:27.000 He's done a front flip axe kick.

01:25:28.000 I wonder On his Instagram, I don't know if you'll find it, but on his Instagram, there's clips of him doing it on a bag.

01:25:34.000 And he literally flips, lands on his foot, bah, hits the bag, and he's just standing.

01:25:39.000 But he did it.

01:25:40.000 I've blocked it.

01:25:41.000 Now, even that alone, because I've now blocked it, you should fall off balance.

01:25:45.000 He took his foot off and carried on sparring. 0.99

01:25:48.000 Everyone in the gym was like, what the fuck? 1.00

01:25:51.000 Shhh. 1.00

01:25:53.000 How was that?

01:25:54.000 I never even thought anyone could do that.

01:25:57.000 He's another person that in the cage.

01:26:00.000 He never showed this stuff.

01:26:01.000 I've seen him, someone on a single leg, and he's run up the cage and slipped up the single leg and kicked off the cage and landed behind the person and started.

01:26:09.000 I'm t it's it always when I talk about this, it sounds like I'm exaggerating.

01:26:13.000 He used to do stuff that I've never it's only in games.

01:26:18.000 And this is why everyone used to love.

01:26:22.000 Because that was crazy.

01:26:23.000 The landing was crazy.

01:26:24.000 Yeah, like it was like he was like, it's not like just yeah.

01:26:27.000 No, he landed softly on one knee.

01:26:31.000 Yeah. 0.64

01:26:32.000 He was insane, but just never showed it. 0.94

01:26:36.000 Wow. 0.73

01:26:36.000 Never been retired. 0.73

01:26:37.000 Yeah, he's like he just he teaches and stuff now, but he just and it's a shame, and he was a fun character, uh like I said, amazing person to train with because he made me better because he's and he's got the few people that in the gym that could actually kick me in the head and catch me because I usually I'm I'm I'm good at seeing, I got good eyes, and he's just yeah, it was just something else.

01:26:58.000 Crazy that you knew it.

01:26:59.000 Like you had intuition.

01:27:00.000 I don't know what happened.

01:27:02.000 But something said if you don't do this, you're going to die today.

01:27:06.000 Wow.

01:27:07.000 That's crazy that you've recognized that of all movements.

01:27:10.000 Yeah.

01:27:11.000 But again, his because like he never shoots.

01:27:14.000 He's a striker, he'll sprawling and start doing his jujitsu from there.

01:27:18.000 Never really shoots.

01:27:19.000 And he just went like this.

01:27:21.000 And I'm like, what's going on here?

01:27:23.000 There's yes.

01:27:25.000 I I don't feel like sprawling.

01:27:27.000 Something's wrong, but I don't feel like sprawling.

01:27:30.000 Oh, here you go.

01:27:30.000 Here you go.

01:27:32.000 Oh my god.

01:27:33.000 Yeah, he does one, he does one and he lands.

01:27:34.000 He does one and he lands it.

01:27:36.000 That's crazy.

01:27:36.000 Boom.

01:27:37.000 That is so crazy.

01:27:38.000 Imagine doing that during sparring.

01:27:40.000 It doesn't make sense.

01:27:42.000 And he's he's I'm talking, he's hitting the bag.

01:27:44.000 Boom, look.

01:27:45.000 That's crazy. 1.00

01:27:47.000 And I tell people, people feel like you're talking rubbish. 0.98

01:27:50.000 You can hear that. 0.98

01:27:51.000 Oh if that hit me.

01:27:58.000 That is so wild.

01:28:01.000 And I wish he was able to show this stuff.

01:28:04.000 Explosion you have to have to pull that off.

01:28:07.000 The amount of force you generate.

01:28:08.000 Yeah.

01:28:09.000 And who would see that coming?

01:28:12.000 I don't I still don't to this day know how I saw it coming, but if he did that, and again, he goes into he went into these fights, and he would it would be relatively basic.

01:28:24.000 He wouldn't show all of this kind of stuff.

01:28:27.000 So he would tighten up in fights.

01:28:29.000 Yeah, he'd just tighten up a little bit and just wouldn't express himself in the same way.

01:28:33.000 Did anybody at that time work with like a mental coach?

01:28:36.000 Uh no, no, I wouldn't.

01:28:38.000 From our gym, the only person that I I know did it from our gym was actually Alex Reed.

01:28:44.000 And but he is weird character anyway.

01:28:48.000 Funny guy, lovely guy.

01:28:49.000 Um, but he used to have like therapists come and do this kind of stuff.

01:28:53.000 And at the time he I feel like I didn't care for it because he just made it seem lame.

01:28:57.000 Like it's just because it was from him, but I understand more so as over my time the importance of the mental aspect of things as well.

01:29:07.000 Maybe if someone could explain to him or if you could have a conversation about what goes wrong when he competes.

01:29:15.000 Yeah.

01:29:16.000 Like what what are the thought processes when he competes and what could be done different to change that thought like to combat them when they those thoughts come up to have a tool, yeah, have a mentals toolbox where you go, no, no, no.

01:29:28.000 Yep, we're not gonna entertain this kind of negativity.

01:29:30.000 We're gonna stay positive, we're gonna stay Xan.

01:29:32.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:29:33.000 You know, the most important things, don't ever give in anxiety, don't let it get to you, don't let it fall.

01:29:38.000 You're positive, you're breathing, you're moving, you're a killer.

01:29:41.000 Keep moving, and and just have someone with him, maybe initially to coach him through those movements.

01:29:47.000 I wish there was some again, but again, also maybe the the gym that he's in with us at London Shoot, that's that was not that's not a thing.

01:29:54.000 It's right, we beast like we're just gonna.

01:29:57.000 And the thing is he was he he still look amazing up until the fight.

01:30:00.000 He'd get to the fight, and you'd be like, bro, I can't wait for people to see this.

01:30:04.000 Right, right.

01:30:05.000 And he'd get there, and you're like, what are you doing, man?

01:30:07.000 Yeah, and it's just it's frustrating because he's still super he was still super talented.

01:30:11.000 He's still, you know, he won one, and I think he lost the next one, and then that was it.

01:30:15.000 Um, but even his previous fights before that, he's got some exceptional fights, but just not what he's capable of doing.

01:30:22.000 I've never seen what I've seen in the gym on stage.

01:30:27.000 Wow.

01:30:27.000 Never seen, and he still got signed to the UFC.

01:30:30.000 Just because he was still talented, but and obviously somebody saw his talent and was like, Yeah, I want that, but that and nobody's ever seen what I've seen this guy do, and all of our teammates are like, Oh, if you go see that, this yeah, you everybody would be throwing money at this guy, just make sure he's on the next card.

01:30:45.000 It's crazy.

01:30:46.000 Yeah, it's really crazy.

01:30:48.000 Yeah, because it's it seems to be like that in almost every sport.

01:30:52.000 Yeah, but in fighting in particular, yeah, yeah.

01:30:55.000 Because it's the biggest mental hurdle.

01:30:57.000 You know, there's there's no team to fall back on.

01:31:00.000 There's no, I guess we lost tonight, boys. 0.99

01:31:02.000 No, you got fucked up in front of the whole world, and that's the sport that you're in. 0.99

01:31:07.000 You're in the sport with the highest highs and the lowest lows. 0.99

01:31:11.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:31:12.000 So that pressure is just uh it's unexplainable to the average person.

01:31:17.000 Yeah, I you can't explain it really.

01:31:19.000 This is why I try my best to focus on the element of fun.

01:31:26.000 Because I feel like when I'm in when I'm dancing, smiling, laughing, joking, everything slows down and everything's enjoyable.

01:31:34.000 There's no stress.

01:31:35.000 And anytime I feel slightly stressed, you might see me dance, which is interesting because people just think I'm just doing it for the other person to mock the other person.

01:31:46.000 And sometimes it's just uh just stay chill, man.

01:31:48.000 You're here, you're here.

01:31:50.000 Like you don't need to do anything more than this.

01:31:52.000 Right.

01:31:52.000 If I feel like a little bit like, oh, that was a bit, and my mind starts going, no, no, no, no, ha ha ha let's shake it off, get into this, get into your mode again, and then go back to enjoying yourself.

01:32:03.000 That's my and but I know some people need to be in this angry state and just you know, psych themselves into a and I don't even need to be angry at my opponent.

01:32:12.000 And I think that comes from the fact that I used to have to fight my siblings.

01:32:17.000 It's never it's not based on anger, but I love them.

01:32:20.000 Like, but my dad is he used to say, like, yeah, that's not your sibling on the map, but straight afterwards, make sure you pick that person up, make sure they're good, da da.

01:32:27.000 And again, my brother would beat me up, other brother beat me up, my sister would beat me up.

01:32:33.000 Everybody, but I still had love for them.

01:32:34.000 So I don't I never needed anger to think, and and the fact that my family did this thing, and even my nephews and stuff now.

01:32:42.000 We still they still it's generational, just something that keeps us all together, and we're so close.

01:32:48.000 It's not based on being angry, just based on learning something, enjoying something, and doing it with people that you love.

01:32:55.000 So I can I cause that's why I can make it fun.

01:32:57.000 Everyone everyone loves this whole like tense, like and I don't I think what a lot of people don't understand too is the hardest part of it is the day of the fight.

01:33:06.000 It's not the fight.

01:33:08.000 Once a fight starts happening, oh yeah, you're there, you're in it, you're in it, yeah.

01:33:12.000 It's not scary, yeah. 0.99

01:33:13.000 Unless you're you know, unless you're getting fucked up, yeah. 0.95

01:33:16.000 You know, when you're getting fucked up and you know like the end is near, yeah, yeah. 0.98

01:33:20.000 There's like you want to see ultimate bravery. 0.95

01:33:23.000 Khalil Roundtree in the last round with Pereira, yeah or Pereira's putting it on him, that's ultimate bravery because he knows he's getting fucked up, he knows he's not much time, there's nowhere out, yeah, his skill set is all on stand-up.

01:33:36.000 I mean, he can he can take guys to the ground, but at this point that's not gonna happen.

01:33:39.000 It's not happening, and he's faces broken up, and Pereira's doing that cobra thing, or he gets cobra style and he's back and slams in.

01:33:48.000 Oh, it was terrifying, but that's that that kind of bravery in front of the whole world.

01:33:52.000 A lot of people they're not sure if they have that.

01:33:54.000 Yeah, fair.

01:33:55.000 And so there's just that the pressure of that in front of the whole world, like maybe like they didn't they're in there and it's like just do enough, just do enough.

01:34:02.000 Exactly.

01:34:03.000 They're scared, which shrinks you, and sometimes super duper talented people are the most scared because it kind of came too easy for them.

01:34:11.000 There's a thing about super duper talented people that for some reason, like that gift comes with a curse, and that curse is that it came to you too easily, so you never really developed.

01:34:23.000 I understand the grind, yeah, the real will and drive to like overcome, just make these little tiny wins every day to pile onto a skill set.

01:34:33.000 You're just a lightning bolt, yeah.

01:34:34.000 You know, you're a lightning bolt, and then you know, when it's time to actually fight, you're like, you don't know if you've been tested.

01:34:40.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:34:41.000 You don't know who you are yet.

01:34:42.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:34:42.000 I think I get that a lot though, as in like people always like, uh, he's just naturally talented.

01:34:46.000 And only when I tell people that I used to get my ass handed to me. 0.96

01:34:49.000 But this is the thing that I've always said. 0.99

01:34:50.000 Guys who grow up with brothers, especially older brothers who can kick their ass, they're ready to fight at all times. 0.99

01:34:57.000 Yeah. 1.00

01:34:57.000 Because they're fighting in their fucking house. 1.00

01:35:00.000 They're ready to fight with guys who can beat them up their whole life. 1.00

01:35:03.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:35:04.000 Just that alone like sets you up for competition in a different way than someone like I grew up with my sister, we didn't fight.

01:35:10.000 Yeah, it's like nobody beat me up at home.

01:35:13.000 It's totally different.

01:35:14.000 Yeah.

01:35:14.000 Because you're you're accustomed to being around hostile males who are dominating you.

01:35:19.000 Yeah.

01:35:20.000 Was it older or younger though?

01:35:21.000 Younger sister.

01:35:22.000 Okay, yeah, because my older sister was still beat me out. 1.00

01:35:24.000 Uh my my sister never got into martial arts. 1.00

01:35:26.000 I was the only one in the family got into it.

01:35:28.000 Okay, okay, okay. 0.98

01:35:28.000 But if I did, if I grew up with a bunch of brothers, I'm sure we'd be beating the fuck out of each other. 0.98

01:35:32.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:35:32.000 Well we weird enough, we had to do it.

01:35:34.000 That's one thing again, you'd always say you can't no this is not for out here.

01:35:38.000 This is for in there.

01:35:40.000 So if you got an issue, you verbalize it.

01:35:42.000 And if you still have an issue, we can sort it out in there.

01:35:46.000 But yeah, I'd be annoyed at my brother.

01:35:48.000 We'd have fights every now and again, but nothing crazy.

01:35:50.000 But it's just the accustomed being accustomed to just to just constant back and forth. 1.00

01:35:56.000 How about fuck you? 1.00

01:35:57.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

01:35:58.000 It's like it's in your house.

01:36:00.000 It's in your house.

01:36:02.000 And I used to I was the wind up.

01:36:04.000 Oh yeah.

01:36:04.000 But I couldn't fight, so I had to have to do it some other way.

01:36:08.000 Yeah, it's some shit. 0.99

01:36:12.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

01:36:12.000 That's that's part of the thing. 1.00

01:36:14.000 You know, yeah.

01:36:14.000 What's crazy about John Jones is his his brother He's got two older brothers, no?

01:36:19.000 Well, I think one of them is younger.

01:36:21.000 Isn't it Chandler younger? 0.97

01:36:24.000 But they're all beasts.

01:36:25.000 Yeah, yeah, of course.

01:36:26.000 So you're growing up a house.

01:36:30.000 Like you you better l you better be ready for some hostility.

01:36:34.000 You gotta be ready for some aggression.

01:36:35.000 And there's a like there's a giant benefit of that as in far is uh as far as mindset because the mindset you you're accustomed to hostility.

01:36:45.000 I mean, all his brothers are super freaks, just giant athletes.

01:36:49.000 And so the you know, he's in this house with highly competitive males his whole life.

01:36:54.000 Yeah.

01:36:55.000 So you're totally accustomed to competition.

01:36:57.000 Whereas with some people, competition is like super overwhelming.

01:37:01.000 And it's there's it's a test you don't want to take.

01:37:03.000 You almost don't want to find out if you're good enough.

01:37:06.000 I think school even the school system has like they slowly over the years it they've slowly taken out certain things that allows challenges people in a way that gives them that gift of being competitive and especially in the UK.

01:37:19.000 I don't know, I'm not sure about in the States, but in the UK, we they they changed the rules sort of just after I would have left to um not allowed to pick teams because you know people feel bad if they got picked last year. 0.98

01:37:32.000 I'm like, if you're shit, I'm not picking you, get better. 0.98

01:37:35.000 Yeah, this is real life. 1.00

01:37:37.000 Like that's how it works in real life.

01:37:39.000 And that that bad feeling of getting picked last.

01:37:41.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:37:41.000 Lionel Richie was talking about that yesterday.

01:37:43.000 Oh, seriously.

01:37:44.000 So Lionel Richard before he was in a band, it was always like he was the last one to get picked for this.

01:37:48.000 It was the last one.

01:37:49.000 He was talking about that openly.

01:37:50.000 But look, that's what created Lionel Richard.

01:37:52.000 100%.

01:37:53.000 Yeah.

01:37:53.000 And again, it I think we well, over again over there, not sure here, but we model uh molly molecular like the kids.

01:38:00.000 And then they think that they do you you you surround them in cotton wool.

01:38:03.000 Yep, and then the real life hits them and they're just like, Whoa.

01:38:06.000 It's the opposite of Yoel Romero.

01:38:07.000 Oh, yeah, exactly.

01:38:08.000 You become my chin.

01:38:11.000 It's the opposite.

01:38:12.000 It's the opposite of that.

01:38:13.000 I think I was talking to my um my brother as well earlier about how they say was it a comment?

01:38:18.000 I forget the saying, it's like tough men create good times, good times, and that the whole cycle of that.

01:38:23.000 And it's I find it's it's very true though.

01:38:26.000 We're in too much good times for people, and everybody's complaining about everything.

01:38:31.000 Exactly.

01:38:32.000 When things are really good, the problem is whatever is bad, even mildly becomes a giant thing.

01:38:38.000 Then you're dealing with like microaggressions of work.

01:38:40.000 Like people get crazy.

01:38:42.000 Yeah.

01:38:42.000 They look for all kinds of grievances everywhere they look they go.

01:38:45.000 Yeah.

01:38:45.000 When you're when you are involved in like hard competition, you're not interested in any of that stuff.

01:38:51.000 At all.

01:38:52.000 Because it's just a giant distraction.

01:38:54.000 The real thing is so difficult.

01:38:55.000 And that's why I think even though it's uncomfortable for kids, I think like wrestling in high school, any kind of competitive sports in high school, martial arts especially.

01:39:05.000 I've been advocating for ages.

01:39:07.000 For ages I've been saying this.

01:39:09.000 Like just it's okay to lose.

01:39:10.000 It's okay to lose.

01:39:12.000 It's actually good for you.

01:39:13.000 Very good for you, and you need to learn this kind of stuff.

01:39:15.000 Like I said, as soon as you as soon as they're out of your care, they have to experience that anyway.

01:39:20.000 You can't you're not you're and I used to do this if even in um when I was teaching.

01:39:25.000 We're teaching a jab or something, teaching a jab, and we're doing slipping drills.

01:39:29.000 And you're jabbing like this.

01:39:32.000 I was like, you're not helping anybody by jabbing away from their face because now this guy thinks he's amazing at slipping punches.

01:39:39.000 Right. 1.00

01:39:39.000 And then we make him spar, and he's like, move your fucking head. 1.00

01:39:47.000 I'll do what I usually do. 0.99

01:39:50.000 So I'm like, it's better that you hit him in the gym, so then when they go out into the real world or they go into a competition and whatever, they can actually they're actually good at these drills that I'm giving you.

01:40:01.000 You're not helping by trying to be helpful.

01:40:03.000 Yes.

01:40:04.000 You don't have to hit hard, but be accurate.

01:40:05.000 Yes.

01:40:06.000 Get them used to it, and then slowly speed up.

01:40:08.000 Yeah, and then and it bro, I say this all the time, but it's exactly the same thing.

01:40:11.000 People need to go through those actual trials and tribulations in certain areas, so that then they can be ready for it later on.

01:40:18.000 100%.

01:40:19.000 And this idea of protecting them, and everybody gets everybody gets a participation trophy.

01:40:24.000 Yeah.

01:40:25.000 That's so bad for it's that feeling of bad from losing is beneficial.

01:40:31.000 It's just like the feeling of being tired after you work out.

01:40:34.000 That's how you get in shape.

01:40:35.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:40:36.000 It's all good to you.

01:40:37.000 Exactly.

01:40:37.000 It's all good for you.

01:40:38.000 You're getting into a m emotional shape.

01:40:39.000 But this is why I feel a lot of people are trying to take shortcuts for everything.

01:40:42.000 Nobody really wants to do the hardware.

01:40:45.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:40:46.000 Nobody wants to do the the hard work.

01:40:48.000 And and I get it if it's if you're if it's really excessive, you let you get get to a certain point, and it's like, okay, you need to at least some help to get to a certain point to then work out, but you need to work.

01:40:59.000 You need to work.

01:41:00.000 And it's good for your brain.

01:41:01.000 Your brain is uh we have for whatever reason a whole series of human reward systems that are built into our brains from the times that we were all living in tribes, yeah, thousands and thousands of years ago.

01:41:14.000 And in this brain, it requires tasks.

01:41:17.000 There's things it's like enforced in your brain that if you go out and you make arrowheads and you hunt the deer, you have food.

01:41:23.000 Yeah, your family survives, so you have tasks.

01:41:26.000 So they're whittling the stick and you're you're into it. 0.99

01:41:28.000 And you better be fucking into it. 0.99

01:41:30.000 Because if you're not into it, you're not gonna eat. 0.99

01:41:32.000 Yeah.

01:41:32.000 So if you have a life where there's none of those things, and you're sitting there in front of Netflix, of course you're depressed.

01:41:39.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:41:39.000 Of course you're depressed.

01:41:41.000 Your body's not getting any of the stuff that it needs.

01:41:43.000 I think your mind isn't getting any of the tasks that it needs.

01:41:46.000 Someone was telling me like it's the what's it, the reptilian mind set that looks for dangers or seeks dangers because we're not in a s society that has those dangers.

01:41:54.000 We look at danger, our dangers are now this person looked at me funny, or this person like or you're even worse, your phone.

01:42:00.000 Your phone, yeah.

01:42:01.000 It's even it's even easier now.

01:42:02.000 Yeah, people are commenting on you, oh the haters getting made today.

01:42:06.000 Yeah, I to be fair, it's funny.

01:42:08.000 The first time this was still early, so my comments were from YouTube initially.

01:42:14.000 I had an Instagram, but I didn't really use it like that.

01:42:16.000 So after my first fight, I was super pumped.

01:42:20.000 I'm like, because like I said to you, I was so nervous after my first fight.

01:42:24.000 And I always say I always say, look, if you watch all of my walkouts have been like, yeah, vibes, yeah, yeah.

01:42:31.000 I'm just happy to be here.

01:42:33.000 My first fight.

01:42:35.000 I was like this.

01:42:38.000 I was dying inside, Joel.

01:42:40.000 Just like what in my head, I literally I was like, why did I decide to do this?

01:42:44.000 Sorry.

01:42:46.000 Why am I here?

01:42:48.000 What the what I was stressed the whole walk was the most the longest walk, and you've never seen me so tense.

01:42:56.000 And then the second I got in there and the bell rang, I was like, Oh yeah, same thing.

01:43:00.000 Okay.

01:43:00.000 Then I started to feel myself and you know the vibe or like my energy started like the MVP that we obviously come to know now, came out.

01:43:09.000 And that was for me, that was just like that was great.

01:43:13.000 But in terms of uh I just lost Raoul.

01:43:18.000 You lost what you're talking about?

01:43:20.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:43:20.000 No worries, it happens all the time.

01:43:22.000 So, but that was interesting that then the second fight was the one that it really overwhelmed you.

01:43:29.000 That was in the second fight In the in the UFC overwhelmed me.

01:43:32.000 But so the first fight you ever had was when you walked out.

01:43:35.000 It was when I walked out.

01:43:36.000 The first fight you ever had.

01:43:37.000 So that was me against it was me versus no not you see me versus uh Dishman.

01:43:42.000 And I just walked out, and seriously, I just had nothing but fear inside me.

01:43:47.000 And what kind of tr what what kind of a I athlete was he?

01:43:50.000 What did he do?

01:43:51.000 Um I'm not sure he was a kickboxer or something.

01:43:54.000 Didn't see my first fight.

01:43:56.000 We had I had like I think three pull-outs before I got to that fight. 0.99

01:44:03.000 Like probably like the three weeks before.

01:44:06.000 Like three different people that and at the at that level, it happens all the time.

01:44:11.000 Yeah.

01:44:11.000 And I had fights online.

01:44:13.000 So my coach was like, Can you are you able to take these down?

01:44:16.000 I'm like, they're randomly filmed from so many random people.

01:44:20.000 Yeah.

01:44:20.000 So like I don't I wouldn't even know how to where to begin to find out to try and get them taken down.

01:44:25.000 So I just if anybody did research, they would see that I've got I had like a 720 kick.

01:44:34.000 So it made sense why people was pulling out.

01:44:37.000 For people that don't understand what that means, that's not a 360 60 degree kick.

01:44:43.000 It's a this is one of them.

01:44:44.000 This wasn't even the first time I did it.

01:44:48.000 Where is it?

01:44:49.000 Yes, okay.

01:44:50.000 Is it coming?

01:44:52.000 It'll be after this before.

01:44:56.000 Okay, yeah.

01:44:59.000 Okay, it's gonna be yeah, I said just before this, just before this.

01:45:07.000 That's crazy.

01:45:09.000 That's such a crazy kick. 1.00

01:45:10.000 That dude is sitting there going, how the fuck did he hit me with that? 0.99

01:45:13.000 He put his hands on his knees and everything. 0.99

01:45:16.000 Like, how the fuck did he pull that off? 0.95

01:45:18.000 So I understand why like people would look at that and be like, No, no, I mean that's not yes, yeah, yeah. 0.98

01:45:24.000 But this guy stepped in.

01:45:25.000 Uh, and yeah, like I just I felt so bad, negative going forward, walking in.

01:45:32.000 But then once I was in there, but yeah, if you see the walkout, oh this one doesn't have it.

01:45:38.000 But even how I'm uh even here, I'm super tensed.

01:45:42.000 Like it was only until I started bouncing that it was even a thing.

01:45:50.000 What was the thing that was bothering you the most about doing this?

01:45:53.000 Just the fact just my decision, like why did I do this?

01:45:57.000 I don't know specifically.

01:46:00.000 Oh, but once you got loose.

01:46:01.000 Once I yeah, once I got in there, I was like, oh cool.

01:46:03.000 He had an obvious game.

01:46:04.000 Yeah, yeah, he was trying to take me down.

01:46:06.000 Yeah, he wasn't strong, so I was just like, Yeah, just push off.

01:46:09.000 Like, felt I was feeling good.

01:46:11.000 And I think after he felt my strength, he was like, Okay, it's kind of stood back.

01:46:17.000 That style's such a problem.

01:46:20.000 It's such a problem.

01:46:21.000 I'm watching you move here, and I'm thinking, like, what do you do?

01:46:25.000 Oh, you can't do anything, you can't do anything because he's so far away from you, and you can like that when you try to close a distance on him, and or when it rather he tries to close the distance on you, and he just can't.

01:46:36.000 He just can't get close.

01:46:37.000 Like, look at that.

01:46:38.000 That's just nuts.

01:46:40.000 That's a terrible puzzle to try to solve in real life.

01:46:44.000 Yeah.

01:46:45.000 Wow, look at that dive. 0.98

01:46:46.000 That's pretty good though.

01:46:47.000 You got a hold of your ankle.

01:46:48.000 Yeah.

01:46:49.000 I mean, that's that shows you how much he wanted that takedown.

01:46:53.000 Yep.

01:46:54.000 Until this happens.

01:46:56.000 Oh boy.

01:46:59.000 The best part is just the standing there.

01:47:04.000 That's amazing.

01:47:06.000 Look at this is amazing.

01:47:08.000 That's amazing.

01:47:09.000 That's the best not walk-off KO ever.

01:47:11.000 Right?

01:47:12.000 That's a standoff KO.

01:47:14.000 Like, you realize that's crazy.

01:47:16.000 You didn't even look at him.

01:47:17.000 That's amazing.

01:47:19.000 It's funny when I when people asked me like, why did you stand there?

01:47:21.000 Like, what if he came back?

01:47:22.000 I was like, I landed the kick and I stood still, and I was thinking he might come back, so I couldn't spin the other way and land another kick.

01:47:29.000 That was that was the game.

01:47:30.000 And then when he just the the referee stepped in, I was like, perfect.

01:47:33.000 Yeah.

01:47:35.000 This looks good.

01:47:35.000 This thing's good.

01:47:36.000 It did look good.

01:47:37.000 It looks so good.

01:47:38.000 But that's the thing.

01:47:39.000 I went hell, okay.

01:47:40.000 That's where I remember I was going.

01:47:41.000 I had I went crazy viral for that.

01:47:43.000 Everyone's like, who's this guy?

01:47:44.000 Like, da da da.

01:47:45.000 And I was I was like, because of the relief that I had because of how tense I was, I was like, oh my god, like I that was for me ticking the box that I can actually do this.

01:47:54.000 I can actually make a career of this.

01:47:55.000 Because I wasn't sure.

01:47:57.000 And got home, what did you jump online, like I want to I honestly, like I'm seeing a video like crazy thousands of like comments and this and that like yeah, maybe the next comment.

01:48:10.000 Maybe the next one.

01:48:11.000 Nope.

01:48:13.000 Yeah, people don't like me.

01:48:15.000 They didn't like you for that video.

01:48:18.000 I felt like I had murdered someone's child.

01:48:20.000 For that video.

01:48:21.000 Yeah.

01:48:22.000 Okay.

01:48:23.000 It just shows you why you shouldn't read comments.

01:48:26.000 Yeah, 100%. 1.00

01:48:26.000 Because you're only getting the opinions of the dumbest motherfuckers alive. 1.00

01:48:30.000 If you just saw that, yeah, yeah. 1.00

01:48:32.000 So let me tell you my thought when I saw that.

01:48:34.000 Because when that clip went viral, I went, finally.

01:48:36.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:48:37.000 Like, this is proof of what I've been saying for a long time.

01:48:40.000 Like, there they have a different thing.

01:48:42.000 Yeah.

01:48:42.000 Like the really elite point fighters have a totally different thing, and you can't even get close to hitting that.

01:48:47.000 And we're seeing that.

01:48:48.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:48:49.000 That was the beginning of it.

01:48:50.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:48:51.000 Because even though Raymond had really good success in glory.

01:48:55.000 Yeah, he was amazing, yeah.

01:48:57.000 He did a great success in glory, but it was different, right?

01:48:59.000 Because you're in a small ring, it's roped off, and he wasn't accustomed to leg kicks yet.

01:49:05.000 He had a he had what that one spectacular jumping side kick, spin back kick to the face.

01:49:10.000 Oh, he nearly hit me.

01:49:11.000 He needed to hit me with one of those.

01:49:13.000 He he was very famous for his double back kicks. 0.96

01:49:15.000 Oh my god.

01:49:16.000 And then every now and again he would hook it.

01:49:18.000 And then it's like he's he's knocked people out in the points game for it.

01:49:22.000 Everyone's seen it like, and I remember the I think it's the first time I fought him.

01:49:26.000 And I was young, but I had a reputation.

01:49:29.000 He's the he was the guy like over in America that had a repu reputation, and you know what he's we've we've collided.

01:49:36.000 Um I was like, I don't care who this guy is, man.

01:49:38.000 I'm just I was feeling myself, I was killing everybody for ages.

01:49:42.000 I remember faking that moving, moving, moving around, moving around, faking, faking got him in the corner.

01:49:47.000 I was like, oh, perfect.

01:49:48.000 Boom, blitz.

01:49:48.000 Same thing.

01:49:49.000 I was like, something's off.

01:49:51.000 Boom, did this.

01:49:52.000 Bah, bah.

01:49:54.000 But both normally the first kick is light.

01:49:58.000 Both stamps. 1.00

01:50:00.000 I was like, shit. 0.99

01:50:03.000 Not only was that fast, but that was powerful as well. 1.00

01:50:06.000 And that just got into my head.

01:50:08.000 This threw me, threw me right off.

01:50:10.000 I didn't want to commit to any of my strikes, and it just it just from the first from the first uh moment he he let that go.

01:50:16.000 I was just like, yeah, it was very dangerous.

01:50:19.000 Dangerous.

01:50:19.000 Very dangerous.

01:50:20.000 Dangerous, dangerous.

01:50:21.000 And he was another guy that like you know, proved that point that this is a completely different skill set.

01:50:29.000 And if you don't know how to deal with that, you're in real.

01:50:31.000 They took the elite guys, it took like the Nikki Holdskins and the Joseph Valini's, those guys to figure out Nikki was beast.

01:50:38.000 Yeah, just chop the legs. 1.00

01:50:39.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:50:40.000 And Nikki was so technical, it was tight, hands up, hi, chopped the leg, chopped the leg. 1.00

01:50:44.000 He was a beast.

01:50:45.000 Yeah, chopping the legs, man, is a totally different ball game.

01:50:48.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:50:48.000 As soon as the legs start getting chopped, you're like, it's hard, you can't bounce anymore.

01:50:52.000 But that's the thing, it's weird because I started to utilize that as a way to win fights.

01:50:58.000 Weird, not obviously taking the leg kicks, but only giving you that option.

01:51:04.000 So everyone's like, yeah, but that's an awkward style.

01:51:07.000 I was like, yeah, but when I stand in front of you like that, you don't think to do a punch because I look I feel way too far away.

01:51:13.000 So you're not doing a punch, you know.

01:51:15.000 The only thing you have is what's in front of you is a kick.

01:51:18.000 So it's like I got used to timing kicks as you're as you're kicking collision going in, or just pulling just off and then putting my foot in slightly deeper, and then just pull it off and then put my foot in slightly deeper now.

01:51:29.000 I know I can pull this trigger when I'm ready.

01:51:31.000 And you're you're getting more and more demoralized because you're not landing.

01:51:37.000 And there's only one thing available.

01:51:39.000 And there's only one thing available.

01:51:40.000 Yeah.

01:51:40.000 So I have to keep pressing that same button.

01:51:42.000 Right.

01:51:42.000 And the idea of you shooting on it feels far.

01:51:46.000 Yeah, too far.

01:51:46.000 Feels very far.

01:51:48.000 Well, that's the Hamsat thing. 0.99

01:51:50.000 It's like Hamzat shoots from the middle of the fucking octagon. 1.00

01:51:53.000 That that guy's got a crazy shot. 0.99

01:51:55.000 That shot he hit Whitaker with and the one he went with uh who is it? 0.97

01:51:59.000 Oh, the leech. 0.98

01:52:00.000 When he picked up the leech, he picked him up, carried him over to Dana White.

01:52:03.000 Yeah, yeah. 0.99

01:52:04.000 And it's like, I kill everybody. 0.99

01:52:06.000 Like, whoa, this is nuts. 1.00

01:52:08.000 He was another guy that, like, how the fuck are you making one seven? 0.99

01:52:11.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0.99

01:52:11.000 He's a big is a big boy. 0.99

01:52:12.000 When I first met him, I was like, what are you talking about?

01:52:14.000 You know 170?

01:52:15.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:52:15.000 Big boy.

01:52:16.000 I fucking hate the weight cutting. 1.00

01:52:17.000 I hate it. 1.00

01:52:18.000 I hate it with a passion.

01:52:19.000 I hate it more than anything in the sport.

01:52:21.000 I think it should be eliminated, but it's too late.

01:52:23.000 Yeah.

01:52:24.000 I don't think I think people should get down to a healthy weight and fight for the healthiest weight, whatever the hell that is.

01:52:30.000 Do you think there would be a way to combat that?

01:52:33.000 Not as well.

01:52:34.000 Because Obviously, in boxing, they got the you have to weigh in multiple times now.

01:52:37.000 Well, some fighters make you do that.

01:52:39.000 Like Javante Davis, he made uh Ryan Garcia do that.

01:52:43.000 He wanted to make sure that Brian Garcia didn't rehydrate.

01:52:45.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:52:46.000 Mayweather did that to Canelo too.

01:52:47.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:52:48.000 It's just a G move. 0.94

01:52:49.000 It's very smart.

01:52:50.000 That's when you're near the A side.

01:52:51.000 You're the smaller, you're the A side. 1.00

01:52:53.000 You're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

01:52:54.000 I'll fight you, but you gotta weigh 43 when you get in that fucking ring, bitch. 1.00

01:52:58.000 Yeah, yeah. 1.00

01:52:58.000 Guys will take that fight for that you know, big paycheck, but it's not a good move. 1.00

01:53:02.000 Yeah.

01:53:03.000 Um, but I just think that it's legalized cheating.

01:53:08.000 I just think that it's cheating.

01:53:09.000 You're not looking if you're a hundred and fifty-five pound champion but you weigh 190 pounds, that's kind of crazy.

01:53:16.000 It's kind of crazy.

01:53:17.000 I agree, and if I didn't have to weight cut, because if you don't join in, uh you're fighting monsters.

01:53:21.000 That's true, but they would have to fight monsters too.

01:53:24.000 Everybody would have to fight a person that weighs what they actually weigh.

01:53:27.000 No, I I agree with that, but I'm just saying with the fact that people are weight cutting.

01:53:31.000 Yes.

01:53:31.000 When I got to this arena, I'd prefer to just report what I weigh that.

01:53:35.000 Yes.

01:53:36.000 But because everyone's weight cutting, I was like, You have to.

01:53:39.000 You have to.

01:53:40.000 Yeah, you have to do it.

01:53:41.000 Because you'll look like when you are fighting at 170, for people that understand I'm short, that's 30 pounds less than me.

01:53:49.000 Yeah, that's crazy.

01:53:50.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:53:51.000 That's crazy.

01:53:52.000 Like that's just a giant advantage that you can't give up.

01:53:55.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:53:55.000 And when you're doing that across every single weight class and every single world championship, the last guy that I know that didn't cut weight was Frankie Edgar when he was 155 pound champ.

01:54:05.000 When Frankie Edgar was a 155-pound champ, he weighed 155 and he moved like a ghost.

01:54:11.000 He was all over the place. 0.98

01:54:12.000 He was fast as fuck, he had great endurance. 0.99

01:54:15.000 His his recovery was incredible because he could take a great shot because he wasn't dehydrated like everybody else was. 1.00

01:54:21.000 That's the thing.

01:54:21.000 I actually feel great at middleweight.

01:54:24.000 Yeah.

01:54:25.000 We definitely have the size for it.

01:54:26.000 Yeah, I I'm I'm naturally that way, but it's weird though, because people's body types, because they are cutting, they're still slightly stuck, not necessarily as frame-wise as big as me, but they're just slightly stuck here, and obviously, as you say, the guys that want to come in and just go, Yeah.

01:54:41.000 They just want to clinch and get you. 0.99

01:54:43.000 It's a giant advantage.

01:54:44.000 It's an advantage if they're gonna be that much heavier than me as well.

01:54:47.000 Moving people, like even when um uh in my last fight when I got taken down in uh in that in that last round trying to uh against Cannonia, try trying to move him.

01:55:00.000 I was just like, geez, is Cannon's huge, he's a big there's a big boy.

01:55:04.000 He's one of the only guys that's got KOs in three different classes.

01:55:07.000 No, from heavyweight, heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight.

01:55:10.000 Yeah, beast.

01:55:11.000 He's huge for 185.

01:55:14.000 But he it's another perfect example.

01:55:15.000 And I think look, there's something to be said for the ritual of doing it for a lot of fighters, it means a lot, and you could choose to cut less so that you're more healthy the day of the fight.

01:55:25.000 But everyone kind of concedes you have to cut something.

01:55:27.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:55:28.000 And I just don't think that's smart 24 hours before a fight in a cage.

01:55:33.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:55:33.000 Why would you deplete your body purposely?

01:55:36.000 Because it's basically like getting drunk.

01:55:37.000 Yeah, it really is. 0.99

01:55:39.000 Like you're dehydrating the shit out of your body. 0.81

01:55:43.000 And you only have three, five, forty hours to rehydrate between the weigh-ins and the time you're actually gonna fight if you're lucky of 40 hours.

01:55:51.000 Yeah.

01:55:51.000 That's not enough time.

01:55:52.000 Yeah, I I I can do it.

01:55:54.000 I don't care to do it.

01:55:55.000 I can do it.

01:55:56.000 I just I agree with you, and I just it would if everybody if everybody was like, yeah, okay, let's all just do our weights.

01:56:03.000 Well, imagine if people did dehydrate and rehydrate it and we started calling it cheating.

01:56:08.000 You know what I mean?

01:56:09.000 I mean, it would be if people got caught and they looked at it the same way people look at people getting caught with steroids.

01:56:14.000 Fair, fair, fair.

01:56:15.000 Because there's the reality is right now you can't do it because of the weight class limitations.

01:56:20.000 Yeah.

01:56:20.000 There's too many weight classes where like where you're at.

01:56:23.000 So 85 to 205, that's nuts.

01:56:26.000 That's 20 pounds.

01:56:27.000 That's so for and for maybe people who've never grappled, they don't know what that means or never been punched. 0.98

01:56:33.000 Yeah, they don't know what that means, but that's a giant amount of fucking horsepower. 0.97

01:56:37.000 Yeah, yeah. 0.98

01:56:37.000 Gravity on top of you. 0.98

01:56:39.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:56:39.000 And so if you're if you've got weight classes at a a reasonable space, like I feel like 10 pounds is good.

01:56:49.000 I feel like every 10 pounds, you get 45, 55, 65, 75.

01:56:53.000 And if you're in between, you either add muscle or you lose weight.

01:56:56.000 Yeah.

01:56:57.000 You'd stop lifting as much weights and do more cardio.

01:56:59.000 You'll get down to that right.

01:57:00.000 Yeah, nothing.

01:57:02.000 But that's what you are, what you actually are.

01:57:04.000 And if we did that, I there would have to be some sort of a hydration thing where they just show up and weigh you.

01:57:11.000 Yeah.

01:57:11.000 Like, you know, like people show up and drug test you now.

01:57:14.000 Like drug free sport, they'll just knock on your door. 0.90

01:57:16.000 Hey, Venom, what's up?

01:57:17.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:57:18.000 Can you PMS?

01:57:19.000 Yeah.

01:57:20.000 Let's uh let's talk.

01:57:21.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:57:21.000 That makes sense to me.

01:57:23.000 Yeah, just show up.

01:57:23.000 What do you weigh?

01:57:24.000 Get on the scale.

01:57:24.000 Yeah.

01:57:25.000 And then you get on the scale.

01:57:26.000 190.

01:57:26.000 Yeah.

01:57:26.000 Bro, you're a banner weight.

01:57:28.000 This is crazy.

01:57:28.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:57:29.000 Because there's dudes that are out there doing that.

01:57:30.000 Oh no, 100%.

01:57:32.000 We always talk about Glayson T Bow.

01:57:33.000 When Glace and T Bow was 155 pounders, bro, he looked like a bodybuilder.

01:57:39.000 He looked like he weighed 200 pounds when he got into the cage.

01:57:42.000 It was nuts, man.

01:57:43.000 The rehydration. 0.68

01:57:44.000 I've seen people cut ridiculous amounts.

01:57:46.000 And then yeah, like you say, the way they rehydrate.

01:57:48.000 It's terrible.

01:57:48.000 But it's also a lie.

01:57:50.000 You're not 155 pounds.

01:57:51.000 You're 200 pounds.

01:57:52.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:57:52.000 Like that's what you actually weigh.

01:57:54.000 And I understand why you do it.

01:57:55.000 And I understand why everybody does it, but there's got to be a better way.

01:58:01.000 The worst I ever saw was Travis Looter when he fought Anderson Silva.

01:58:05.000 I don't remember that one.

01:58:06.000 He lost.

01:58:06.000 But he had Anderson down.

01:58:08.000 Travis Luder was an elite black belt.

01:58:10.000 Yeah.

01:58:10.000 And he was in the ultimate fighter.

01:58:11.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:58:12.000 Wins the ultimate fighter.

01:58:13.000 I mean, dominates everybody.

01:58:14.000 Dominates people on the ground.

01:58:15.000 Everybody that I talked to trained with him was like guys on a whole nother level as far as jujitsu.

01:58:20.000 Yeah.

01:58:20.000 And um the day of the weigh in, he can't make the weight, man.

01:58:24.000 And he's he's so dehydrated that his lips are cracked.

01:58:28.000 Yeah, see.

01:58:29.000 And he's not walking to the scale, he's shuffling.

01:58:32.000 He's just and I'm watching him.

01:58:34.000 And uh, he missed the first time, and then this is like one of the second or third time that he tried to make weight, and they eventually didn't make weight.

01:58:40.000 So even if he beat Anderson, he wouldn't have won the title.

01:58:42.000 Yeah.

01:58:43.000 But bro, he had him down and he was on top of him in the beginning of the round. 0.95

01:58:46.000 And for anybody that's ever rolled with Travis, if he was healthy and he has you down on the ground, like that's you're in your fucksville. 0.93

01:58:54.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:58:54.000 That guy's good.

01:58:55.000 Yeah, he was really good, but it was just the weight was way too much.

01:58:59.000 He was just drink.

01:59:01.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:59:02.000 And then 24 hours later, you're supposed to fight one of the greatest fighters of all time.

01:59:05.000 And it depletes your your the the liquid around your your brain as well.

01:59:09.000 So you're taking a shot, so you're not gonna take it as well.

01:59:12.000 Exactly.

01:59:12.000 Yeah, it's it's a lot.

01:59:13.000 Yeah, I agree. 1.00

01:59:14.000 You're tired, your endurance sucks. 1.00

01:59:16.000 Everything's all fucked up. 1.00

01:59:17.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0.99

01:59:17.000 Everything's all fucked up. 0.99

01:59:18.000 But it's what I get down very close to my weight, because I on fight week, I'm very low. 0.94

01:59:24.000 Like, what do you weigh?

01:59:25.000 If you're fighting 185, what do you weigh in?

01:59:27.000 Fight week.

01:59:27.000 185 is easier though, so 190.

01:59:31.000 Oh, that's great.

01:59:32.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:59:32.000 Like I don't know.

01:59:34.000 What about 170 when you're at 170?

01:59:36.000 I get down to probably about 182, 183.

01:59:41.000 Not that bad.

01:59:41.000 Not that bad, and then cut and then cut down from there.

01:59:44.000 That's not that bad.

01:59:44.000 Yeah, I don't I don't again, I don't like to overstress myself.

01:59:48.000 Pereira weighed in at 185 and fought at 220.

01:59:51.000 Massive.

01:59:52.000 Fought at 220.

01:59:53.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:59:53.000 Weighed in at 85, fought at 220.

01:59:55.000 Yeah.

01:59:56.000 Yeah.

01:59:56.000 Like you said, that's a lot.

01:59:59.000 That's insane.

02:00:00.000 That's a lot.

02:00:01.000 That's insane.

02:00:02.000 Yeah, yeah. 1.00

02:00:03.000 That's so much fucking weight. 0.99

02:00:04.000 And what does that do to you? 0.99

02:00:05.000 Yeah.

02:00:06.000 I've seen people I can't even remember what fire is in Bellatour.

02:00:10.000 And his he was banging the sauna to get out, and his coach was holding the door.

02:00:15.000 Oh god.

02:00:16.000 Like you need five more minutes.

02:00:17.000 Oh man.

02:00:18.000 And a guy is kicking the door, like bumpy.

02:00:20.000 He's like, I'm never doing that.

02:00:23.000 I don't ever want to feel like that.

02:00:25.000 That's so crazy.

02:00:26.000 So many guys black out.

02:00:27.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:00:28.000 Yeah.

02:00:28.000 I've seen people passing out and stuff.

02:00:30.000 Yeah.

02:00:30.000 Brian Ortega was just uh in an interview talking about that.

02:00:33.000 So he essentially like almost like what how did he describe it?

02:00:37.000 It was like 30 minutes where he was like in real trouble.

02:00:40.000 Oh for his last weight cut.

02:00:43.000 Yeah, he's like it's just he just got really wrecked.

02:00:46.000 People have blacked out before he was.

02:00:48.000 Fell off the stage.

02:00:49.000 Uh fell off the scales, wasn't it?

02:00:52.000 She she stepped back off the scales and then just her legs just went. 1.00

02:00:55.000 Oh, I don't remember.

02:00:56.000 30 minute coma.

02:00:58.000 Oh sugar. 0.89

02:01:00.000 Due to his weight cut for Algernon Sterling. 1.00

02:01:02.000 Holy shit. 0.99

02:01:02.000 But he missed, he keeps yeah, yeah, yeah. 0.99

02:01:04.000 This is it's too much for I don't know why.

02:01:06.000 Why doesn't he just go up?

02:01:08.000 Well, that's the problem is the guys at 55 are jacked.

02:01:11.000 I think he just he dialed in his diet, though.

02:01:13.000 He looks a lot thinner now.

02:01:14.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:01:15.000 Like he showed pull up some of those photos he's got on his Instagram.

02:01:18.000 He's been taking photos lately.

02:01:19.000 Like he just he realized like he can never do that again.

02:01:21.000 So he's lost a lot of body.

02:01:22.000 Oh, that's good.

02:01:24.000 I think sometimes it is the discipline of it as well.

02:01:27.000 Yeah, look at him.

02:01:27.000 Oh, yeah, yeah.

02:01:28.000 Look at him now.

02:01:29.000 Way, big way leaner.

02:01:31.000 Big difference.

02:01:32.000 That's where you've been on that in ages.

02:01:33.000 Yeah, that's where he needs to be.

02:01:35.000 A hundred percent.

02:01:36.000 You know, he likes to live that good life.

02:01:39.000 Same.

02:01:40.000 Even when you said about like uh having like random weight checks, it'd make me consider certain burger sometimes.

02:01:46.000 Yeah, but they would have to give you an out of shape claws. 0.94

02:01:50.000 No, okay.

02:01:54.000 But then once you start training, they should be able to randomly show up during those six weeks and go, all right, Michael, get on the scale.

02:02:00.000 Yeah.

02:02:00.000 174.

02:02:01.000 Okay, good to go.

02:02:02.000 Good to go.

02:02:03.000 We're inside of six pounds.

02:02:04.000 Cause what you actually cut, what you're saying at 85 is perfect in my opinion.

02:02:08.000 Yeah, no, I don't I don't go I don't like to be five pounds is just a good weight well sauna session.

02:02:13.000 Yeah, it's not that much.

02:02:14.000 You're not losing a ton of weight, you're not killing yourself.

02:02:16.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:02:17.000 Maybe you ride the bike for half hour, like what do you do?

02:02:20.000 I literally do a 30 minute jog, and it's like really low with a sauna suit on.

02:02:27.000 Uh straight away I take that off, go straight into the sauna 15 minutes, then rap 15 minutes and rap, and I'm done.

02:02:33.000 See, that's perfect.

02:02:34.000 Yeah, that's actually probably therapeutic.

02:02:36.000 Yeah, that's what I mean.

02:02:37.000 It's not it's not it's not bad for you at all.

02:02:38.000 That's probably actually very good for you because you're giving your body all this recovery from the sauna and you're getting a nice little cardiovascular workout, but nothing crazy.

02:02:47.000 You're giving yourself a lot of heat shock proteins.

02:02:49.000 You're not killing yourself, yeah.

02:02:50.000 But there's guys, man, I've seen them and they've looked like okay.

02:02:54.000 Here's the worst one, the worst one, other than other than Travis.

02:02:59.000 Travis was the worst because I watched him shuffle backstage, but the visuals is TJ Dilshaw when he went down to flyweight.

02:03:07.000 He fought Henry Sehudo at flyweight and he looked like a dead man.

02:03:10.000 He looked like yes, I remember this.

02:03:12.000 He looked like a hostage that had just gotten released and it had not been fed for ages, yeah, yeah. 0.99

02:03:17.000 He looked fucking because he gets quite jacked as well. 1.00

02:03:20.000 Yeah. 1.00

02:03:21.000 He fucked up. 1.00

02:03:21.000 Yeah, yeah. 1.00

02:03:22.000 He fucked up. 1.00

02:03:23.000 Look at look at what he looked like on the left. 1.00

02:03:25.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:03:25.000 That's crazy.

02:03:27.000 That picture.

02:03:28.000 He's quite big there.

02:03:29.000 Right, but that picture. 0.99

02:03:31.000 That picture is fucking crazy. 0.99

02:03:33.000 That's a prisoner of war. 1.00

02:03:34.000 Yeah.

02:03:36.000 You know what I'm saying?

02:03:36.000 Like that's not a guy.

02:03:37.000 Look at who he looks like.

02:03:39.000 Yeah. 0.99

02:03:39.000 Well, now he's fucking tanked. 0.99

02:03:41.000 Now he's a tank. 0.99

02:03:41.000 That's a the one on the right is not fair because that's how it's a big thing. 0.99

02:03:44.000 Yeah, that's that's yeah, he's finished down by a buck sixty-five now. 0.98

02:03:47.000 He's fucking massive. 0.77

02:03:49.000 But he was uh he's another guy that doesn't get the credit that he deserves. 0.98

02:03:53.000 When he fought Hennan Barrow, I love this style.

02:03:55.000 Pure flow still pure flow.

02:03:57.000 But it's the it's it's the level uh changes of the up and you don't know where he's attacking.

02:04:02.000 It's not it's not linear.

02:04:03.000 It's not just I'm going here or I'm going here.

02:04:05.000 Switching stances constantly.

02:04:07.000 Yeah.

02:04:08.000 I used to love watching his style.

02:04:09.000 Have you ever talked to Ludwig?

02:04:10.000 No.

02:04:11.000 Oh, you should meet Dwayne Bang Ludwig.

02:04:14.000 Okay.

02:04:14.000 And talk to him.

02:04:15.000 Because Dwayne is the one who coached him in that style.

02:04:18.000 Okay.

02:04:18.000 Dwayne, who was an elite kickboxer himself and fought in the UFC.

02:04:21.000 One point in time at the fastest ever knockout in the UFC.

02:04:24.000 At a I think it was a five or six second knockout in the UFC.

02:04:28.000 He was one of the fastest ever.

02:04:29.000 To step back, one right hand plan.

02:04:31.000 But Dwayne was a beast.

02:04:33.000 But maybe even better than he is as a fighter, he is as a coach.

02:04:37.000 Oh, wow.

02:04:38.000 And he doesn't have that style.

02:04:40.000 This is what's crazy.

02:04:41.000 He devised that style.

02:04:42.000 So this is Dwayne, watch this.

02:04:48.000 Yeah, nice.

02:04:49.000 So they call it six seconds.

02:04:50.000 I don't even think it was six.

02:04:51.000 Yeah, no, yeah, no, I know.

02:04:52.000 I don't even think it was six.

02:04:54.000 But the point is, Dwayne's style, like he learned from Boss Rutin and you know, it's like Dutch kickboxing style.

02:05:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:05:01.000 Um, but he realized like Dwayne is like this consummate studier of fighting.

02:05:07.000 And he realized that the best way to fight is to overwhelm them with possibilities and options, but have a whole system of how to do this.

02:05:16.000 So his system is all about switching stances and combinations while you're switching and turning and moving, and but he's got it mapped out.

02:05:22.000 Nice, nice, nice. 0.99

02:05:23.000 If the dude came over to my place with like a binder, like this thick binder of techniques and he's full-on egghead with this shit. 0.99

02:05:30.000 And TJ and him just locked up. 0.99

02:05:33.000 And the fruits of that labor was the hen and barrel fight.

02:05:36.000 Pull go to that fight, Jamie.

02:05:38.000 So I feel like this was one of the finest championship performances at the time.

02:05:42.000 I thought it was the best I had ever seen.

02:05:44.000 Of a guy who was an underdog going into a fight.

02:05:46.000 Yeah.

02:05:47.000 Hen and Barrel at that time.

02:05:48.000 A lot of people thought was the pound for pound best.

02:05:50.000 It was him and Jose Aldo.

02:05:52.000 They were talking about those two guys together.

02:05:53.000 And TJ just went in there and worked them.

02:05:56.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:05:57.000 I mean, it was like it was sparring match.

02:05:59.000 He went in there Super loose and just move it around and started cracking them.

02:06:03.000 Yeah, yeah, it's a fun watch though.

02:06:04.000 You just get me in there.

02:06:06.000 Yeah.

02:06:07.000 So this is like Hen and Barrow was the boogeyman.

02:06:10.000 Everybody was scared of this dude. 0.99

02:06:11.000 He was so fucking. 1.00

02:06:15.000 Ooh, step in with an uppercut. 1.00

02:06:17.000 Just movement, constant movement, overwhelming you.

02:06:20.000 And look, always on the tips of his toes, moving around.

02:06:24.000 He didn't back up at all.

02:06:25.000 And never gave Hen and Barrow the chance to get some momentum going.

02:06:28.000 Yeah. 0.90

02:06:29.000 And at the end, when he eventually stopped him, I mean was just a fucking ruthless combination when he took him out of there.

02:06:36.000 But like if you knew how difficult it is to be a good one. 0.85

02:06:39.000 Look at that right hand right off the bat in the first round.

02:06:42.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:06:43.000 At this point, Hannah Barral's like, oh no.

02:06:45.000 I'm in problems.

02:06:46.000 Yeah, because nobody had thought that TJ was going to be capable of doing this.

02:06:49.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:06:50.000 TJ, you know, was a a really good up and coming fighter, a really good contender.

02:06:56.000 But this was his finest performance.

02:06:58.000 And it was in a world championship fight against a guy that everybody thought was the man. 1.00

02:07:04.000 TJ just beat that ass. 1.00

02:07:06.000 And if you go like further, see if you can go to the actual stoppage, Jamie. 0.99

02:07:10.000 It's like further in the fight.

02:07:12.000 When he like at this point in time, TJ's just styling on him.

02:07:16.000 Just standing right in front of him and popping off.

02:07:19.000 Not getting hit, staying right in range, dropping down.

02:07:25.000 Oh, look at that head kick. 0.98

02:07:26.000 Oh my goodness.

02:07:28.000 Beautiful.

02:07:28.000 Look at this copy.

02:07:29.000 I mean, it and it's artistic. 0.99

02:07:30.000 It's fucking beautiful, man. 0.99

02:07:32.000 Yeah, look at that. 0.99

02:07:33.000 It's a beautiful stoppage.

02:07:35.000 Like one of the best championship winning performances in the history of the sport.

02:07:38.000 Yeah, easy.

02:07:39.000 In the history of the sport.

02:07:40.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:07:40.000 Beautiful.

02:07:41.000 Whoo, but that dude, unfortunately, had two bum shoulders.

02:07:45.000 Oh, so is that what it was?

02:07:46.000 Yeah, forever. 0.99

02:07:47.000 He had even when he won the title, his shoulders were fucked. 0.98

02:07:50.000 He had torn super spinatuses in both of his shoulders. 0.98

02:07:54.000 I've done one on this.

02:07:55.000 It got to the point where he never got it fixed.

02:07:57.000 So it got to the point where they're just popping out.

02:07:59.000 So by the time he fought Al Jamine Sterling, he told the the the referee in the locker room.

02:08:04.000 My shoulder's gonna go out of socket.

02:08:06.000 Oh yeah.

02:08:08.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:08:08.000 That's crazy to go in there knowing that that's so now he's he had to retire and he had multiple operations on his shoulder, and he can't even reach over his head.

02:08:18.000 He gets his arm that far. 0.99

02:08:19.000 Like that's how fucked he is. 0.99

02:08:20.000 Three months ago, so he's gotta get another one. 1.00

02:08:22.000 Oh yeah, you can see.

02:08:23.000 Jeez.

02:08:23.000 Oh my god, get another soldier.

02:08:25.000 They're gonna cut off the head of my humorous and turn the head into a plastic plunger. 1.00

02:08:30.000 That sounds like a bit too much, though. 0.97

02:08:32.000 Oh I hate then I said like surgery for anything.

02:08:35.000 He has the worst shoulder injuries I've ever seen.

02:08:38.000 I know there's been a lot, like you're gonna be.

02:08:40.000 Was that fun before?

02:08:41.000 It was from wrestling.

02:08:42.000 Oh, it's from wrestling.

02:08:43.000 I think it's just from having torn shoulders and just trying to rehab them and not getting them surgically fixed.

02:08:48.000 Okay, okay.

02:08:49.000 Like if you you can have some things loose in there and strengthen everything else up and kind of be functional, but not if you're gonna be a world championship fighter.

02:08:57.000 Fair, fair, fair.

02:08:58.000 And the problem with a lot of those things is once it tears and pulls back, you can't get it back in place.

02:09:03.000 Yeah.

02:09:03.000 So then you have really complicated surgeries where they have to take a piece of your hamstring and stick it up there or some other part of your body and reconstruct what was supposed to be there.

02:09:13.000 Yeah, and then you have to slowly build range of motion into it.

02:09:16.000 Like he got to the point where he was too tough for the injuries that he had, where he should have probably got them fixed immediately, and maybe he could have prolonged his own.

02:09:24.000 I feel like it sounds like he just he went back in in terms of getting back into training a bit too quickly.

02:09:30.000 So the I feel like the rehab can work.

02:09:33.000 I know you obviously there's certain things you're gonna need surgery for, but it's a lot of my stuff I've managed to bring it back and even I don't think he had surgery until after he was done fighting.

02:09:40.000 Oh, so he didn't have surgery.

02:09:42.000 No, he know he had surgery on one of his knees because he blew his knee out in the Sandhagen fight.

02:09:47.000 Or I should say Sandhagen after talking with Sandhagen about what happens in that 50-50 position.

02:09:53.000 Sandhagen blew his knee out.

02:09:54.000 Okay, okay, yeah. 0.99

02:09:55.000 So he he put him in a position where if TJ didn't give in, he was gonna get his knee fucked up and he got it, he chose to get his knee fucked up. 0.98

02:10:03.000 But that was Corey putting him in that position. 0.96

02:10:05.000 Um so he had to get an ACL reconstruction.

02:10:07.000 So that but I don't think he got the shoulder surgeries until after he was done fighting.

02:10:11.000 He might have gotten one and then tried to fight again.

02:10:14.000 Yeah. 1.00

02:10:14.000 But the problem is like his shoulders were fucked, man. 1.00

02:10:17.000 They were really fucked. 0.99

02:10:18.000 But that doesn't look fixed. 1.00

02:10:21.000 For you to be having to No, no, no, no, no.

02:10:25.000 It doesn't look fixed.

02:10:26.000 But I think that's all they could do with it.

02:10:27.000 I think it was that bad.

02:10:29.000 I think it was that bad.

02:10:29.000 I'm looking at an article from right after that fight.

02:10:31.000 It says it's third shoulder surgery since 2019.

02:10:34.000 Okay, so that's when you started getting him.

02:10:36.000 And when was that fight?

02:10:37.000 When was the last fight that he had?

02:10:38.000 That was like 2023.

02:10:40.000 The Algeo fight, I think it was twenty two.

02:10:42.000 Oh, okay.

02:10:43.000 UFC two eighty.

02:10:46.000 Is it twenty twenty two?

02:10:47.000 That's when this article.

02:10:48.000 Okay, so he had those shoulder surgeries, and then I know he's had a ton since.

02:10:53.000 And since, you know, like you look on his Instagram page, it's like every few months it's him and a sling.

02:10:59.000 Well, trying again.

02:11:01.000 I know guys that are like surgery, surgery, surgery, surgery, and it like they it never seems to I've never unless I forced to, I don't ever really go down the surgery route.

02:11:09.000 I always try and figure it out a different way.

02:11:11.000 Like I've had weird enough, it was both my shoulders, but one was uh super spinatus, the other one was rotator cuff, and kind of like some lat injury as well.

02:11:21.000 But just slowly back to the point where I couldn't do a push-up.

02:11:24.000 When in my last couple of was it Bellator fights?

02:11:28.000 Yeah, my last few bellotor fights, I couldn't do a push-up.

02:11:31.000 I could still hit in certain so certain angles I was fine, but I had no strength in that direction.

02:11:36.000 While you were fighting.

02:11:37.000 While fine, yeah, yeah.

02:11:38.000 Oh no.

02:11:39.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:11:39.000 So literally trying to I'll get that there, my my arms would just start shaking.

02:11:43.000 I couldn't why didn't you do something about that?

02:11:46.000 I was doing I was doing like rehab side.

02:11:48.000 I was like, as long as I can hit you, I'm fine.

02:11:49.000 Like that's so crazy going into a fight with that kind of a major handicap.

02:11:56.000 I've I've had worse, but what's the worst?

02:12:00.000 I don't I don't want to say it as an excuse.

02:12:02.000 So but the day before my Ian Gary fight, I couldn't stand on my left foot.

02:12:11.000 Why not?

02:12:12.000 I I up till today I don't understand it.

02:12:14.000 I had um the p the UFC PI working everything.

02:12:18.000 They did shock therapy, they did acupuncture, they were doing everything, and I literally had it.

02:12:24.000 I had a um if you see the fight, I literally had uh ankle supports on, and they said you're allowed the ankle supports, you can't really have it tape, but I had it taped under the ankle support.

02:12:36.000 But obviously, if I I couldn't just do one ankle, so yeah, do both of them.

02:12:40.000 So I had to do both of them.

02:12:41.000 And um, yeah, just uh the day before the fight, I'm not sure if I did anything when I was uh cutting weight, like twinged it or something, but I don't remember anything distinct happening, but couldn't walk on my foot.

02:12:54.000 So it was your ankle, you twisted my ankle.

02:12:56.000 It was my ankle or something, and they were working on it literally.

02:12:58.000 I was trying to I was in you now you don't have a single instance where it went.

02:13:03.000 I don't remember anything all of a sudden it just hurt, and you started it hurt the night.

02:13:07.000 You woke up, it hurt the night before, so on the way in, it hurt, and I was walking around and I was like, it's hurt, but it didn't feel like anything drastic, and overnight it just got worse and worse and worse and worse.

02:13:17.000 Probably exaggerated by the weight cut, right?

02:13:20.000 Maybe, yeah.

02:13:20.000 And then in and literally the next day uh in the morning we had to go to the uh uh PI.

02:13:26.000 Uh I was my coach's like, bro, if we you can't bounce here now and I have to pull your father, I there's no way I can get pulled from this fight.

02:13:33.000 It's not happening.

02:13:34.000 I was like, it's not happening.

02:13:35.000 Wow.

02:13:36.000 And I went out there, he's like bouncing up trying to adjust myself and and bounce.

02:13:40.000 And he had it, they they did the tape that it was he was gonna use for the fight, and he said he'll come in and do it again just before the fight.

02:13:47.000 And yeah, it was I was like adjusted adjusting.

02:13:52.000 And I obviously had uh still had a great performance.

02:13:54.000 Yeah, I had a I had my so my guy uh my videographer, uh Kishan, uh he filmed he was we're doing a documentary, so he's filmed all of it as well.

02:14:07.000 I was kind of like I'll wait until it comes out as as known, but not like not even to say as an excuse because I was able to adrenaline just I'm I'm in it now and fight, but there were certain things I was being cautious of and not not wanting to do.

02:14:20.000 But yeah, it was just irritating.

02:14:22.000 But I've had that's that's probably the worst in terms of the how close to the fight it was because it's the day before.

02:14:27.000 But I've had injuries in the build-up, and I'm like, if as long as I can throw a punch and throw a kick, I'm make it happen.

02:14:36.000 That's the thing that people don't understand when you watch fights.

02:14:38.000 Like sometimes guys this is one of the things about the rematch this weekend, Ankalaya versus Pereira, is that Pereira supposedly had a fucked up left hand and rotavirus before the last fight.

02:14:49.000 I I believe it.

02:14:49.000 He looked off.

02:14:50.000 He looked off.

02:14:50.000 He definitely didn't look himself.

02:14:52.000 But Ankalayev looked really good.

02:14:55.000 A hundred percent.

02:14:55.000 Yeah, I don't know.

02:14:56.000 I don't want to take anything away from Uncle If when someone looks off, I'm always like it's like Roy Jones.

02:15:00.000 Yeah.

02:15:00.000 Like people go, Roy Jones didn't fight anybody.

02:15:02.000 No, no, no, no.

02:15:03.000 Roy Jones fought everybody, but he made him look like there were nobody because they were fighting Roy Jones.

02:15:07.000 Exactly.

02:15:08.000 It's like, so is that what's going on?

02:15:09.000 Like is Ankalaya that good.

02:15:11.000 And so we don't know.

02:15:12.000 I gotta see him fight again.

02:15:14.000 I'd only say no because towards the fifth round, it looked like Perr could do some stuff.

02:15:19.000 Like it's like, okay, you're actually now landing that that calf kick a bit more now.

02:15:22.000 You actually start to do it's like, why didn't you start like that?

02:15:24.000 He didn't have the gas.

02:15:26.000 Yeah.

02:15:26.000 So if you've got rotavirus, your gas is very low, and you probably your energy level feels very he's trying to be he's conserve he's conserving energy and so this is what's makes this what this fight so much more interesting because hopefully he's had the camp he is.

02:15:40.000 Ankle I have hopefully comes in looking exactly the same way he did that last fight.

02:15:43.000 Yeah.

02:15:44.000 Or better.

02:15:45.000 He's gonna be better because he's gonna be the champion.

02:15:47.000 When you I think there's a thing that happens, Daniel Cormier has expressed this too.

02:15:51.000 It's like a 30% bump when you become the champion.

02:15:54.000 You just got you got thir you know, like when you were talking about when you won that tournament.

02:15:57.000 Also you were better.

02:15:58.000 Boom, yeah.

02:15:59.000 I think there's that when you get the championship.

02:16:01.000 Hopefully you're gonna get to experience it.

02:16:03.000 Yes, yes.

02:16:04.000 You'll get to experience that bump.

02:16:05.000 But this is you know, I I feel like that's just we're gonna we're gonna have to see.

02:16:11.000 And it's a very intriguing one.

02:16:12.000 Yeah.

02:16:13.000 Because Pereira, if he hurt his left hand, that's the doom punch.

02:16:16.000 Exactly.

02:16:16.000 That left hook is that's death.

02:16:19.000 That's the one.

02:16:19.000 If you look at his highlight reel, there's so many left hooks.

02:16:22.000 He catches people with that even when he grazed like uh Jamar Hill.

02:16:25.000 Yeah.

02:16:26.000 It was a g I don't I still don't get it now.

02:16:27.000 It's he grazed him.

02:16:29.000 He's got a hell of a punch on him, man.

02:16:32.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:16:32.000 The Yuri Perhaska one at the end of the first round, you're like, yo, and then he head kicks him in the beginning of the second.

02:16:38.000 Yeah.

02:16:38.000 He's got ferocious power.

02:16:40.000 That's power.

02:16:42.000 Fast.

02:16:43.000 Yeah.

02:16:43.000 I think it was fast as well.

02:16:44.000 Boy, I hope he's healthy.

02:16:46.000 But I heard I heard he's super heavy coming into this week.

02:16:49.000 Oh, is it?

02:16:49.000 I heard he's like two thirty going into this week.

02:16:52.000 Yeah.

02:16:52.000 But for him I guess he's got a lot to cut.

02:16:55.000 Yeah.

02:16:56.000 Some guys can do it.

02:16:57.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:16:57.000 I don't know.

02:16:58.000 What the fuck learned? 0.99

02:16:59.000 Well, I guess if he he was able to get to middleweight. 0.99

02:17:01.000 Yeah, well, yeah.

02:17:02.000 But also sometimes it makes you lazier as well, like, oh, I can do that.

02:17:06.000 I need this.

02:17:07.000 And then yeah, and then you get close to the time a bit of work now.

02:17:10.000 Well, he has talked about moving up.

02:17:12.000 But again.

02:17:13.000 Yeah, and so is Ankalaya.

02:17:14.000 Oh, yeah, actually he has, yeah, yeah.

02:17:15.000 Ankle I have just said that recently that he wants to defend the title a couple of times, then move up to heavyweight.

02:17:22.000 I think it's a bit too small. 0.97

02:17:24.000 Maybe, but if you put size on and he gives himself enough time, he's got the skill set and Aspinall's gonna need some fucking challengers. 0.90

02:17:31.000 But then does yeah, fair. 0.94

02:17:32.000 Fair.

02:17:33.000 Unless Cyril Gone beats him, right?

02:17:34.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:17:35.000 But then does he need you know, does it I would say like the time that John Jones took off to get to heavyweight, does he need that kind of time?

02:17:43.000 Because it takes a while to put on size like that.

02:17:46.000 Uh naturally it takes ages.

02:17:47.000 Not when you're over in Russia.

02:17:49.000 Fair.

02:17:52.000 Enough set.

02:17:54.000 Real difficult drug testing guys on a plane.

02:17:58.000 And if they do, everybody knows when they landing.

02:18:04.000 Fair good luck of stick going into the bathroom while those guys pee. 1.00

02:18:08.000 Yeah, you'll accept Gleffs of urine. 0.94

02:18:11.000 I will handle to Vitaly, he handles it to you.

02:18:14.000 This is clean urine.

02:18:20.000 I'm not accusing him of doing that, but I know that you know listen to me.

02:18:25.000 That it was always like the joke about guys going over to Thailand.

02:18:28.000 Like, why are they going over the Thailand training?

02:18:29.000 It was good training, and also really hard to get those USA guys on a flight.

02:18:33.000 Ah, yeah, I'm getting into that kind of stuff.

02:18:38.000 Like, I just don't I just don't care enough because again, it's like like I said, I don't really have like a schedule for anything, even when I'm even the good stuff, like the things that you're supposed to be doing.

02:18:47.000 I'm just like eh.

02:18:48.000 I'll just I'll do it.

02:18:49.000 So you're not like a supplement guy or at all.

02:18:52.000 I I don't see protein sh shakes at all.

02:18:55.000 Nothing?

02:18:56.000 Nothing.

02:18:56.000 That's crazy.

02:18:58.000 Never.

02:18:59.000 Never been into it.

02:19:00.000 Multivitamins?

02:19:01.000 Vitamins, yeah, like uh but again, I just forget to take them.

02:19:03.000 Like I'm I'm I'm seriously, ADHD mind.

02:19:06.000 I'm just like you should have someone who makes like a little packet for you.

02:19:10.000 Yeah.

02:19:11.000 I'm I'm gonna get my wife to do it uh uh soon because she's very into that, she's very into our fitness and stuff. 1.00

02:19:17.000 She's uh Pilates in uh instructor, she's got her own Pilates app and stuff, and she's she smartly well I don't even know if she even intended it that way, but she kind of blew up over COVID because she set up her app at that time and now everyone's at home.

02:19:34.000 Oh perfectly.

02:19:35.000 I mean it's just perfect timing and she just blew up her apps uh called Cloud Nine Collective and she does Pilates for Women. 1.00

02:19:41.000 But have you ever done Pilates yourself?

02:19:43.000 Yes, I have.

02:19:43.000 Bro, I I did a video with her and she got her to train some MMA, and then I she's like, okay, you come and do this for lies.

02:19:50.000 She killed me. 0.91

02:19:51.000 It's a lot more difficult than I thought.

02:19:52.000 It's so much, but I didn't know.

02:19:54.000 Weird muscles.

02:19:54.000 Yeah, it inside of your legs.

02:19:56.000 But that's what's actually helped with a lot of my the rehab side.

02:19:59.000 Because it's it's those muscles that we we we bypass, we go to the big muscles.

02:20:03.000 Yeah, we want to work these muscles, and it's all those little ones that are not getting worked, and those are the ones that are injured.

02:20:08.000 Stabilizers, stabilizers, yeah, and I didn't know that that it was uh uh a man, I forget his first name, but called something Pilates who started it for men in war to help recover uh guys in war to get them back out to to war.

02:20:24.000 But it's become such a female-led uh sport. 0.98

02:20:28.000 Well, that goes to speak about what I was talking about with the Russians and being technical.

02:20:32.000 You know who was really into Pilates?

02:20:34.000 Kovalev. 0.97

02:20:35.000 Oh, Kovalev was the night light heavyweight champion, the crusher, yeah, he was fucking everybody up.

02:20:40.000 Yeah, he was big in the Pilates.

02:20:41.000 He was doing Pilates all the time, and everybody's like, wait a minute, what?

02:20:44.000 That guy?

02:20:45.000 The strength from you get can get from anywhere because like I said, those smaller muscles that help facilitate the bigger muscles.

02:20:50.000 Yeah, like it's it's crazy. 0.94

02:20:54.000 It's the same people that like look down on yoga, like bitch, go to a 90-minute hot yoga class, go to yoga. 1.00

02:20:59.000 Okay, I did that, yeah. 0.99

02:21:00.000 It's hard.

02:21:01.000 And I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna go to a yoga, uh hot yoga.

02:21:03.000 You know, I was more thinking just it's nice to kind of get the sweat going and stuff.

02:21:06.000 I remember the lady, she's like, Oh yeah, go to uh if you go to that side of the room, it's a bit it's quite hot.

02:21:12.000 Uh so you know, if you're new to it, just go to this side of the room.

02:21:14.000 And I was like, it's woman, whatever, man.

02:21:17.000 Get all that hot.

02:21:18.000 Let me go to that hot side. 0.82

02:21:19.000 And she's like, Oh, you know, if you feel if you ever feel faint at all, you don't have to continue, you can kind of just sit down.

02:21:23.000 I'm just like, what's she talking about?

02:21:25.000 It's not that hot in here.

02:21:26.000 Google me, lady. 0.99

02:21:27.000 Bro I think like three moves later, I slowly like just like move the mat.

02:21:34.000 Like I didn't want to go too far, I didn't want to but I moved from the hot side of the room to like the middle-ish, closer to that side, and then there was one move I'll just stretch in, and like I literally just got lightheaded. 0.98

02:21:45.000 I was like, shit, she's this is real. 0.98

02:21:48.000 It's real, it was real. 1.00

02:21:49.000 You see all those little old ladies in there, and you think, Oh, this is yeah, yeah, yeah. 1.00

02:21:52.000 It's difficult.

02:21:53.000 But my so my wife is strong as hell, and I'm just like, yes, it has to be from that.

02:21:58.000 Like she and then when I do the session, I didn't do the session with her this morning because she does some great sessions.

02:22:03.000 Like when I do sessions with her, like she she kills it.

02:22:06.000 And she's I have to say, she's smart in is in how she's done it as well, because actually something I didn't know because she's you know on her app, she's done uh cycle syncing specifically for women. 0.99

02:22:17.000 I didn't realise that women have uh obviously I knew women 28-day cycle and men have a uh 20 uh 24 day cycle.

02:22:26.000 Um 24 hours and they have 28 days, so there's specific times that they should be training as uh harder than they shouldn't be training, or they should be doing this and should be doing that.

02:22:37.000 Based on biometrics, based on just them of the cycle of the month.

02:22:42.000 But again, uh I in my head, I'm like, there's girls that are training our class and they have to train and do everything that we do. 0.96

02:22:48.000 But we we don't we forget that we're just doing it based on that with men can kind of just keep going.

02:22:53.000 Well, women should think about that when they're scheduling fights. 1.00

02:22:55.000 A hundred percent.

02:22:56.000 Well that should be a thing.

02:22:57.000 And that's what I said, she did it for police.

02:22:59.000 When she and I looked into it and I was like, oh, there's actually this is like even down to ice bars, great for you.

02:23:06.000 Not for women though, really not all the time.

02:23:08.000 But if you look into it, so there's specific times that it's okay for them, but they shouldn't put their body under that kind of stress in the same way that we can.

02:23:16.000 Oh, that's interesting.

02:23:17.000 Yeah, so there's loads of when I started looking at certain things loads of things that we forget that a lot of the times it's done from a male point of view, right?

02:23:25.000 Forgetting that we we're just different.

02:23:28.000 I never would have thought about that in terms of their menstrual cycle of fighting, but of course of course, of course, of course.

02:23:35.000 Yeah, wow.

02:23:36.000 So yeah, she's put it on so individuals can actually be like her it was scheduled and say, Look, you're good specifically for you, are good to train intensely today.

02:23:44.000 Or no, you need a very relaxed session, and and these videos that she's got hundreds of videos on I think that will come up and be like, This is for you, this was for you, this was for you.

02:23:51.000 But again, it just made me think about the women in MMA, like you said, yeah. 1.00

02:23:56.000 It's the same thing scheduling fight, even now to for them weight cutting, you know, at a certain time you're going through the elude of your face, they're holding weight, right?

02:24:04.000 Like it's just it's just different.

02:24:06.000 Yeah, we don't have any of those issues to worry about, but we get them to do the same structure as we would do.

02:24:13.000 That's a very good point.

02:24:14.000 You know what I mean?

02:24:15.000 And it's it they they should be more information about that even for the female fighters. 1.00

02:24:20.000 Yeah, they should actually be like their coaches should be setting fights up entirely based on I wonder like how many fights they would have won that they they couldn't really train right.

02:24:30.000 Yeah.

02:24:30.000 Because they're cramping up so it's just but it's different.

02:24:34.000 When you I've seen some videos of you, you do a lot of plyometric stuff as well, right?

02:24:39.000 And is that something you've always done?

02:24:41.000 Well it's it kind of comes with just uh this is why I feel like I can bounce on my cast for ages, just because of that constant and it seems to be a thing now.

02:24:49.000 I didn't really understand it well enough.

02:24:51.000 It was just kind of how I trained.

02:24:52.000 And now Did you train like that from the beginning?

02:24:55.000 Yeah, but just because of the points fighting style is it's a lot of that shifting.

02:24:59.000 Right.

02:25:00.000 And but did you but back then when you were doing that, were you just doing the martial arts training or were you doing some martial arts training?

02:25:07.000 With plyometrics.

02:25:08.000 The reason why we did pliometrics more so is because we were also doing a lot of our catters, we did uh martial gymnastics, so the forms.

02:25:16.000 Oh.

02:25:17.000 So I had to learn how to do these crazy kicks and stuff in which I would then this is why I'd I would try seven twenties.

02:25:22.000 Not because uh like I just randomly decide to to to just throw it out today.

02:25:29.000 It's because we were drilling them just for cater though.

02:25:31.000 And I was like, well, if I can do it for cat then I could surely I can find the time to throw it when I'm fighting.

02:25:38.000 And I would be like brave enough to try and attempt these things in in the points fighting world. 0.99

02:25:44.000 And yeah, that's that there's a couple of kicks that I keep telling people, there's a couple of kicks that even for me I haven't even shown you what I can actually do yet.

02:25:51.000 Like there's a couple of kicks that I know I I can land.

02:25:55.000 And it's you it's e usually it's easier on people that are well trained.

02:25:58.000 So usually the better fighter is actually easier to hit them.

02:26:02.000 Just because they are very traditional, they're very well trained.

02:26:05.000 They have patterns that I can pick up on them like ah, you're gonna step this way and you're gonna do that.

02:26:10.000 Uh and I always tell people I call it a attaching strings.

02:26:14.000 The first minute of the fight, not too much happens for me.

02:26:19.000 Because I'm faking this, that, that.

02:26:20.000 But every time I'm faking something, you twitch, I'm like, ah, this means you twitch this means this, this, and I just catch in strings to you.

02:26:29.000 So now I'm moving you.

02:26:32.000 You just became Pinocchio.

02:26:39.000 But that and that's important.

02:26:40.000 This is why all like you said, all those fakes, but those fakes mean something.

02:26:43.000 Yes.

02:26:43.000 You know, I mean I want I'm getting I'm g like you said, I'm getting that information from you.

02:26:47.000 Okay.

02:26:47.000 Okay, yeah.

02:26:48.000 He wants that.

02:26:49.000 If I do this, he wants that.

02:26:49.000 I can okay, I see it.

02:26:50.000 Okay, perfect.

02:26:51.000 Now I I got it.

02:26:52.000 Yeah, that's what's so important for the casual fan to understand.

02:26:55.000 Yeah.

02:26:55.000 That there's a whole game taking place that if you could play it, you would understand what he's doing.

02:27:00.000 Yeah.

02:27:00.000 But you're just seeing movement, random movement.

02:27:02.000 You're like, hit him. 0.98

02:27:03.000 Yeah, hit him. 0.99

02:27:04.000 Why don't you hit him? 1.00

02:27:05.000 Meanwhile, you're if you knew you'd be watching something beautiful. 0.99

02:27:09.000 Yeah, exactly.

02:27:09.000 You're watching you know, a dance.

02:27:11.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:27:12.000 Snake charming.

02:27:13.000 That's that's it.

02:27:14.000 Yeah.

02:27:16.000 It's part of the identity.

02:27:18.000 Well I try to tell people though, but yeah.

02:27:21.000 Do you know when you're fighting again?

02:27:22.000 Have they given you any kind of an idea?

02:27:24.000 No, like I said, I I pushed out information, I keep chasing up to try and find out and haven't really heard too much back.

02:27:29.000 Uh they're announcing some fights now, right?

02:27:31.000 That's what I'm saying.

02:27:31.000 It feels like things are slowly starting to happen.

02:27:34.000 Um, still waiting.

02:27:36.000 So Protest is gonna fight Liana Edwards. 0.97

02:27:38.000 Yeah, right.

02:27:39.000 So 170, which is what you're looking at the most, right?

02:27:42.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:27:42.000 I wanna I want to get back I know I'm big now, but you can make it though.

02:27:45.000 I've seen it, I can make it.

02:27:47.000 And you just want to manage it one seventy.

02:27:49.000 Yeah, yeah, I want to get back down to 170, just because like I said, I I feel like I think J DM's a great uh an amazing fighter.

02:27:57.000 Um I just film stylistically I can beat that, but I can beat him.

02:28:00.000 Well, it's a very good style for stand up for you.

02:28:03.000 Yeah, that's for sure.

02:28:04.000 I mean he's very complete.

02:28:05.000 Very complete.

02:28:06.000 Yeah, he's very, very good.

02:28:07.000 Yeah, very complete.

02:28:08.000 I really like his style and very smart.

02:28:10.000 You can tell he's very smart, like he has in specific to the opponent, he's like, Okay, yeah.

02:28:14.000 But like I said, that's one of the advantages.

02:28:15.000 It's like you're not gonna have it's gonna be very difficult for you, even as smart as you are to figure that out.

02:28:21.000 Well, that's why it's exciting for you with any stand up fighter.

02:28:24.000 As soon as you're fighting a guy who likes to stand up, it's like, are you sure?

02:28:27.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:28:28.000 Are you sure you like to stand up?

02:28:30.000 I tell people I tell people this all the time.

02:28:35.000 This guy came in the past.

02:28:37.000 All these stand up guys are wrestlers.

02:28:39.000 And they always everyone's like, oh, I'm gonna strike with you.

02:28:41.000 Well, listen, brother, I can't wait to see you in there again.

02:28:43.000 I'm a giant fan.

02:28:44.000 I'm so happy you're at the UFC now.

02:28:46.000 And uh I know you do a lot of stuff online, so tell people how to find you and Yeah.

02:28:50.000 So again, it's all the social media, Michael Venom Page, everything, Instagram.

02:28:56.000 You know, I don't really do Twitter as much or X, sorry.

02:28:59.000 Um my Facebook, YouTube, I'm doing a lot of stuff.

02:29:03.000 Um ITM actually, I'm doing uh a film company.

02:29:07.000 Uh I always try to set myself up for the next stage.

02:29:11.000 And I my my creative mind won't stop either one.

02:29:14.000 I'm making movies.

02:29:15.000 I've already made, I've already made uh two short movies.

02:29:18.000 Wow.

02:29:18.000 Uh and again the same the congratulations, thank you.

02:29:21.000 That's awesome.

02:29:21.000 Thank you, thank you.

02:29:22.000 And I'm gonna get to acting as well.

02:29:23.000 What are they about?

02:29:24.000 So the first one was actually about an a an athlete's mindset.

02:29:28.000 One thing that I find with films, I think people are lazy watchers nowadays.

02:29:31.000 They find uh just explodes, explosion, explosion, action, action, action, and crap storyline, but I want stories telling again.

02:29:38.000 And um this one is just more about an athlete's mindset.

02:29:42.000 Um I did it through the eyes of a runner, just because it's slightly different.

02:29:47.000 I didn't want to just go down the the same lane as um MMA.

02:29:50.000 Did it through the eyes of runner and just how toxic your want and your need to be the best, how it can look like and again it's I'll go go into that one.

02:30:01.000 Uh I I'll let people watch that one.

02:30:03.000 That one's just called runner.

02:30:04.000 The next one's called Wait, and it's it's kind of about what anxiety can look like from a position of waiting for good news and a position of waiting for bad news and how the parallels work and and look I almost identical.

02:30:22.000 So you're literally watching two uh point of views, so these two so this dude's just freaking out, waiting for yeah.

02:30:44.000 He's he's that's fucking cool if you do things like that.

02:30:48.000 Thank you, man. 0.58

02:30:49.000 That's very cool.

02:30:50.000 Yeah, yeah.

02:30:50.000 Like I said, I'm a creative mind.

02:30:52.000 I need to express it in some way.

02:30:54.000 And I know when I leave, I I'm not gonna be one of those guys that retire and want to come back every time I want to come back.

02:31:00.000 If I say I'm I'm done, then I'm done.

02:31:02.000 Well, that's great.

02:31:03.000 And I need something else to go into.

02:31:05.000 Nothing better than having something you look forward to that you actually enjoy and love outside of it.

02:31:10.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:31:11.000 Yeah, because it's hard.

02:31:12.000 It's very hard for guys to end.

02:31:13.000 It becomes your identity.

02:31:14.000 A hundred percent.

02:31:15.000 And the thrill, you know more than anybody.

02:31:17.000 The thrill of doing that is above and beyond almost anything else you'll experience in life.

02:31:21.000 My thrill is usually for me anyway, it comes from expressing art.

02:31:26.000 And I we call it martial artists.

02:31:28.000 As much as people see the the the sometimes the blood, the knockouts and stuff, it's art.

02:31:32.000 Like you we just watched TJ Dilly show.

02:31:35.000 That was art.

02:31:35.000 Art.

02:31:36.000 That was pure art.

02:31:37.000 Pure art.

02:31:37.000 Like, yeah, people don't appreciate that outside of it.

02:31:40.000 And I'm I love to paint pictures, and I'm like, how can I continue painting pictures after this stage of my life?

02:31:47.000 I'm like, okay, yeah, cool.

02:31:49.000 Well, listen, man.

02:31:49.000 If you make movies like you can fight, I'm in.

02:31:52.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:31:52.000 Trust me.

02:31:53.000 Yeah, we're we're doing it.

02:31:54.000 I believe you believe.

02:31:55.000 Kishan, uh the guy, my camera guy, Kishan Lakaney, he's it just worked.

02:31:59.000 The synergies just work.

02:32:00.000 He's directing films like he's done it for 20 years, and he's just unbelievable.

02:32:04.000 So that's awesome.

02:32:05.000 Whereas we're gonna do some uh magical things.

02:32:07.000 I love hearing stuff like that.

02:32:08.000 I really do.

02:32:09.000 I really do.

02:32:10.000 And I got uh sorry, like I said, I got a gift for you anyway.

02:32:15.000 What do you like?

02:32:16.000 Red or red or black?

02:32:17.000 You can have both if you want.

02:32:18.000 What is it?

02:32:18.000 Just a t-shirt.

02:32:19.000 Oh nice.

02:32:20.000 And it just it represents uh who we are, hands down martial arts, this guys that do this and everyone mocks all the time, but it's obviously my brand.

02:32:30.000 Uh so extra large, large, large.

02:32:33.000 Yeah, let me see.

02:32:34.000 Large.

02:32:36.000 Thank you very much.

02:32:38.000 Thank you.

02:32:39.000 And then I'm also I got again I I'm into everything, but I got a beef jerky company.

02:32:45.000 Called Snapdown Snacks for snapping people wrestling, snapping them down. 0.81

02:32:49.000 Snap down snacks.

02:32:50.000 So snap or snack down and some snap down.

02:32:53.000 Beautiful.

02:32:53.000 Thank you.

02:32:55.000 All right.

02:32:56.000 Fantastic.

02:32:56.000 Yes, enjoy it.

02:32:57.000 Let me know what you think.

02:32:58.000 How do people find that company?

02:32:59.000 Is it a website?

02:33:00.000 Yeah, just snap down on uh snap down snacks.

02:33:02.000 Yeah, yeah, snacks.

02:33:04.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:33:04.000 And when you when you're if you're in um the UK next or when you're in the UK next, let me know.

02:33:10.000 Um I got a Mexican restaurant uh as well, Ikshell.

02:33:14.000 Wow, man.

02:33:15.000 That's great.

02:33:16.000 You're invested in all kinds of things.

02:33:17.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:33:18.000 We actually had uh Kendall's uh uh Kendall Jenner's um 818 Tequila featuring in there. 0.76

02:33:24.000 We're gonna have uh Jason Momoa um come in end of this month with his uh vodka, melee vodka.

02:33:31.000 So let's look at you.

02:33:33.000 Oh, I'm in there rather than shaking.

02:33:34.000 Oh, yeah, we're everywhere, everywhere.

02:33:36.000 Um all right, man.

02:33:37.000 I'll see you this weekend.

02:33:38.000 Thank you for doing this.

02:33:39.000 Thank you, man.

02:33:40.000 My pleasure.

02:33:40.000 I really enjoyed it.

02:33:41.000 I I do too.

02:33:42.000 Thank you.

The Joe Rogan Experience - October 03, 2025

JRE MMA Show #170 with Michael "Venom" Page

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Summary

Transcript