E316 Dustin Poirier
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
224.8789
Summary
Dustin The Diamond Poirier is a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has a big fight coming up against Conor McGregor on January 23rd at UFC 246 in Las Vegas. In this episode, Dustin talks about his upcoming opponent, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and what it's like to be a professional MMA fighter.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Today's episode is brought to you by Magic Mind.
00:00:08.680
If you're tired of coffee, you want to do something different.
00:00:26.560
Today's guest is one of the establishers of the Good Fight Foundation.
00:00:32.580
He has a fight coming up against Conor McGregor on January 23rd.
00:00:38.880
He's the pride of Louisiana and he's the pride of many people.
00:00:43.040
It is my friend, Mr. Dustin the Diamond Poirier.
00:01:03.340
And I will find a song I've been singing just before.
00:01:09.320
Is it interesting kind of because you're turning more into a, I mean, I guess it's a celebrity, but it's more of like a public figure.
00:01:18.840
I mean, it starts, there's something else that happens outside of fighting.
00:01:22.160
As your popularity gets bigger, you're not doing it, but it happens to you.
00:01:26.980
You just find yourself in that position somehow.
00:01:29.920
And I'm happy for it, too, because I'm busy all the time.
00:01:32.840
Before, it would just be fights, then downtime, and then hope to get a fight again, start training camp.
00:01:39.380
As soon as this fight's over, I have other things going on.
00:01:46.120
My mind is always thinking about something nonstop.
00:01:51.780
Well, then, I guess, I don't know if I can hit up my bookie and take my money off of Dustin Poirier or not.
00:02:01.860
Dude, but if you swipe up now, we'll match your first deposit, though, Theo.
00:02:12.820
Dude, it's pretty crazy to think that two white guys are now going to the Middle East to fight each other.
00:02:24.380
New Year's, we actually got a hotel room down here in Deerfield Beach.
00:02:28.960
And it's probably about 10 minutes from my condo.
00:02:31.860
Just to break it up, you know, I've been here since, let me think, beginning of November.
00:02:41.200
So, training camp, just training, going back to my condo.
00:02:47.180
I thought New Year's was a good idea to just get a hotel room, get out of my condo, and take a morning off.
00:02:56.180
Now, and this is personal enough to answer it, but do you, is there like a, do you put a stop on the intimacy of y'all's relationship if you hadn't into a fight?
00:03:05.700
Like, do you fight, I hear that about fighters.
00:03:07.440
No, I've always heard that about boxing and stuff.
00:03:11.480
But, dude, I've, I've came and knocked people out, and I've not came and knocked people out, too.
00:03:21.900
I wonder if I'd rather have a guy who's already recently.
00:03:27.340
Or a guy that's full of knock me out, you know?
00:03:35.340
I don't, I don't believe in the, in the takes your legs away.
00:03:39.320
So, that's never really been a thing in your head where you're like, okay.
00:03:41.700
When I was younger, I used to, I used to think about it.
00:03:44.280
Dude, I was watching Fightville, and if you, if you want to get amped up for anything, if you want to end up spray painting a building, if you want to fight somebody, whatever you want to do, arson, if you go watch Fightville, dude, you will be freaking pumped for it.
00:03:58.320
When you watch that, do you still relate to that, to that Dustin Poirier?
00:04:02.760
Like, it's, you're getting, you're, you're growing up.
00:04:04.960
Yeah, the last time I watched it was a few years ago, but just sitting there, I feel, it feels like such a long time ago, and I'm such a different person, and go about fighting, and the thoughts of preparing for a fight so much different, and man, it really feels like a different world when I'm watching it.
00:04:19.680
I know it's me, I'm watching it, I remember going through all the things in the videos, but it's just so different, man.
00:04:30.420
And they have so much fights and footage that aren't even, didn't even make it to it.
00:04:32.840
The problem was, um, the guy who was filming it lived in New York with his family, and he would just come down periodically whenever he, he saw a time in his, in his schedule to shoot, and he'd come down for three months here, a month here.
00:04:44.400
So it took a really long time to film the whole thing.
00:04:47.280
Yeah, they shot it, I was looking, they shot it through the cage, almost as if they were watching animals a lot of times, like in some way, you know what I'm saying, the way it looked like?
00:04:54.460
Yeah, very, uh, yeah, like you said, like animals.
00:05:00.860
Yeah, it just had like a, I felt like I was watching, uh, you know, like I remember at LSU, they used to have those videos of Mike the Tiger all the time.
00:05:08.200
They'd shoot him just kind of going through the cage, you know, or doing something.
00:05:13.180
But, and RIP to the, to the lion, I'm sorry, the tiger at the truck stop right there.
00:05:19.220
Dude, I, uh, I mean, one time I think is the limit, but.
00:05:28.380
Yeah, you know what truck stop I'm talking about.
00:05:29.640
Tiger truck stop, right, right off the, uh, the Basin Bridge.
00:05:35.020
Yeah, dude, on the Chafalaya Bridge, right, between Baton Rouge and Lafayette.
00:05:50.480
Dude, because I think they made the camel quit smoking cigarettes.
00:05:57.280
Dude, when you watch, what's going to be different, you think, like, heading into this fight, what do you think could be different about it?
00:06:04.500
And whether it's the same opponent, like, this is a rematch or a completely different guy I never fought before.
00:06:10.240
Every fight's so different because I'm in a different place in my life.
00:06:16.240
So just trying to learn and be smart moving forward, you know, not just in fighting but in life, just trying to move with strategy and not emotion, man.
00:06:30.680
So you feel that for, like, in the ring and out of the ring?
00:06:34.920
In preparation for the fight, not, you know, if I feel like I'm redlining a little bit, my body's run down, I'll pull back a little bit and rest up.
00:06:43.240
And just more about quality than quantity at this point in my career.
00:06:46.360
I still feel young and feel great, but I would just, my goal is to stay in love with what I do.
00:06:52.180
And I feel like sometimes I can overwork myself or put so much into it mentally that I start to hate it, and I don't want that.
00:06:59.800
Yeah, because I've been doing this a long time.
00:07:01.740
Yeah, I can imagine, especially this past year, because there was a couple times you were going to fight.
00:07:08.200
Did you come and start a training camp at one point and then have to call it off?
00:07:13.220
The Tony Ferguson fight, we were supposed to fight in Abu Dhabi, and then that kind of fell apart.
00:07:19.860
I think there was two times I came thinking that I was probably going to get a fight and ended up going home.
00:07:24.680
But, I mean, it's not done in vain because I come here, I get pushed, I learn new things with these guys, you know,
00:07:29.680
surrounded by a bunch of great professional fighters and coaches.
00:07:35.320
It's just the men will, you know, wrap some revving the engine up and then not getting the race.
00:07:40.140
Does, when you look at whatever you did to prepare the first time you fought, Connor, to what you do to prepare to fight for him this time,
00:07:48.580
Like, what's kind of, I mean, I know you're a different person.
00:07:51.600
You're taking the fight at a different point in your life.
00:07:53.440
So, you know, who you are and what you're even going to be doing is evolved and is, you know, is coming in with a different template.
00:08:00.400
But is there anything, like, kind of specifically that you guys are trying to do?
00:08:05.320
You know, just let my skills and work ethic and fighting do the job.
00:08:13.180
You know, of course, the mental plays a huge part in it.
00:08:15.420
But just not getting tangled up in the mental aspect of trying to hurt this guy or this isn't about payback.
00:08:25.640
Those are all part of this storyline and all things that I'm going to think about and be happy with.
00:08:33.240
I'm driven by the main goal of becoming the world champion, to be in the best.
00:08:38.140
And I know that a win over a guy like this at the point of our careers, it etches my name in the history books on its own page.
00:08:53.140
I'm trying to get my own my own numbered page here.
00:08:56.600
It cements me as a legitimate combat sports professional in a time that's full of great athletes.
00:09:12.360
It's just so much history involved in this fight.
00:09:16.400
The full circle fighting him again now, becoming an interim champ, switching weight class.
00:09:20.640
It's just so much going into this that I know what a win does for not only me and my legacy, but for my family, their future, financially.
00:09:30.720
I'm ready to bear that weight now at this point in my career, man.
00:09:34.040
Do you feel like, have you guys had any communication?
00:09:39.420
We spoke on social media, kind of got this fight started up.
00:09:43.400
We were going to do like a, during the pandemic, nothing was happening.
00:09:51.160
And, of course, if it was possible, I was going to do it.
00:09:53.800
And that just kind of came out of the blue, kind of?
00:09:57.220
Maybe I tweeted him or he tweeted me something.
00:10:03.480
Because I remember you and I were talking after the Tony.
00:10:15.780
And there was that feeling of like, kind of now, what do I do?
00:10:21.640
It was almost like, not like a blessing because, I mean, it's a fight, you know.
00:10:26.740
But it's like, it was almost like the most perfect scenario.
00:10:30.340
It's the biggest fight besides a title fight in mixed martial arts you can get.
00:10:40.980
But, I mean, those two guys in combat sports right now are probably the biggest opponents you could be standing across the battlefield from.
00:10:47.260
So, to get a fight of that magnitude, I was excited when it came together.
00:10:52.860
A win over Conor brings a lot more exposure and it brings a title shot.
00:10:57.520
Do you think, like, do you have any, like, keys going into the fight?
00:11:02.460
Like, if we get to this far, then I have this better chance.
00:11:05.680
Or, you know, that I have this different strategy.
00:11:08.260
I mean, I know some of you might not want to share.
00:11:09.840
But, like, going into it, is there just something?
00:11:13.300
Because the first fight just ended in the first round, you know.
00:11:15.440
And I'm sure that feels so deflating because you, like, you never really.
00:11:18.280
You guys were just kind of getting into the dance.
00:11:21.760
You know, the fight didn't even get to blossom.
00:11:28.520
I want, if you're talking about game planning, what I want is for us to both be dripping blood
00:11:39.600
I want to be bleeding with a minute off the first round clock.
00:11:44.320
I want us both to be bleeding and really have to dig down and see who's the better fighter.
00:12:00.640
And I don't, and that's uncomfortable, you know.
00:12:04.660
Like, I'm not looking forward to getting busted open.
00:12:08.200
But if we can get the fight to that point to where both of us are tired and bleeding,
00:12:12.420
then we can see who has more grit and who has more want.
00:12:15.060
And I think I win that fight 10 out of 10 times.
00:12:22.200
But you're one of those guys that like, you like to go, it's almost like you're like one
00:12:26.180
of those guys that like repels, like a spelunker.
00:12:28.600
You like to just repel into the depths of your own freaking darkness, man.
00:12:37.500
You'd throw them on the wall and they would kind of like stick, climb down the wall.
00:12:46.100
No, but I think you've always said you learn something about yourself there.
00:12:48.580
I mean, you told me one time that you like in a fight, win or lose, that you, there's
00:12:52.040
something that coming out of the other side of a fight that you're just a different
00:12:55.940
It's like a spiritual, pushing yourself and going out there and I can't, it's hard to
00:13:01.320
explain, but coming out and going through the fire, you're, you're a little bit different.
00:13:05.140
Um, every time I feel, do you, um, Connor's like a celebrity, you know, Connor's like a,
00:13:11.360
I mean, he's like the Billy Elliot of Ireland basically.
00:13:13.280
And do you, is it different fighting like a celebrity?
00:13:16.560
Do you feel like, like, is there any added thing to it?
00:13:20.260
Does it feel different than fighting just a fighter?
00:13:22.380
Um, maybe on the lead up to it, uh, there's a lot more cameras around this training camp.
00:13:28.980
There's a lot more interview requests and media requests and all kinds of things like
00:13:32.920
But other than that, the actual fighting part is a fight.
00:13:35.880
You know, none of that comes in there with you.
00:13:38.200
So I don't think it's going to be any different when the cage locks and the bell rings, it's
00:13:43.560
And at this point in my career, all the extra stuff, like I've been doing this long enough
00:13:46.960
and done so many interviews and videos and it's not a big deal anymore.
00:13:52.760
I don't want the camera there when I'm in training camp, but it was there a lot this
00:13:56.160
But I think this is my sixth main event in a row.
00:13:59.700
So all these past events have been full of media as well.
00:14:07.700
They had the camera there today when I was training here at this gym, man.
00:14:10.140
And it was, you know, I'm going to have to rent a wheelchair, man.
00:14:15.200
Um, do you feel like when you think back to your first fight with Connor and, uh, and
00:14:21.340
if you, and if I'm bugging you talking about it, just let me know.
00:14:28.700
I get to talk to somebody who's about to go like fighting like the crazy, like the fight.
00:14:32.620
Like there's a lot of people fighting like after school next month, like that this month
00:14:35.480
that nobody gives a fuck about, like there'll be maybe 12 people there.
00:14:37.980
But this is the fight that this is the afterschool fight that everybody is going to be at.
00:14:49.400
Um, do you, do you think when you think back to the first time you fought, you were, I
00:14:56.380
Do you feel differently going into the fight now?
00:15:04.020
I know, um, the depths I might have to go the uncomfortable limit that might get reached
00:15:12.220
And more understanding of those things and accepting of them.
00:15:16.520
Um, but, uh, yeah, I just, we got to get in there and, and, and, and start moving around
00:15:24.700
and, and just, I want to get in there and feel the rhythm and, and feel the, feel what's
00:15:29.040
You know, I'm excited to, to, to get in there and I don't know what's going to happen.
00:15:33.500
That's the thing, you know, and that, but that's why I'm so, uh, I'm confident.
00:15:37.600
Like I said, in my preparation and the fighter I am, I know I can trust myself when it gets
00:15:41.100
ugly in there, but, um, that's why I'm not scared to talk about anything because there's
00:15:47.680
Like I can't go in there and, and then pretend or fake it in there.
00:15:50.660
You know, what's going to happen is going to happen.
00:15:54.940
So I'm not scared to talk about any of those aspects about fights because there's nothing
00:16:02.700
You're going to spend the 60 bucks on pay-per-view and you're going to, you're going to see it.
00:16:05.880
So there's no reason to even try to beat around the bush.
00:16:11.820
I feel like I'm one of the best at 155 pounds walking the earth at this given time.
00:16:28.240
Um, I was, I was accomplishing things that maybe my skill, but that's tough to say.
00:16:33.720
My skill level wasn't there yet, but I was beating guys and rising up through the ranks
00:16:38.160
and getting myself in big fights, but I was just learning on the job and I'm still doing
00:16:52.800
This is usually I'm still sparring and still doing strength and conditioning.
00:16:57.820
So it's just a different landscape in 2020 or 2021 to go out and put on one of the biggest
00:17:07.260
And I'm just rolling with the punches, you know, that, and that's just it.
00:17:12.300
And like I said, I know I can beat anybody in the world.
00:17:18.400
I need to be in the moment to execute execution is worship to man.
00:17:22.020
And I just need to be able to execute that night, you know, 25 minutes.
00:17:40.440
I feel like a lot of years, maybe my physical was here and my mental was, was catching up
00:17:45.360
or, you know, but I feel like at next, uh, in the next couple of weeks, I'll be 32
00:17:51.120
I feel like the physical and the mental has finally started to align and I'm at, and I'm just
00:17:56.520
Well, it's just been interesting, man, even since you and I've become friends that it's
00:17:59.380
just been interesting where you've just kind of gone as a person, you know, it's just like
00:18:03.140
we're getting into those ages where you just are, you kind of change a little bit, you
00:18:06.380
know, just kind of come into some comfortability.
00:18:08.400
And I'm more, uh, like I, like I said, accepting of who I am.
00:18:18.300
I don't know if that, like in my mind, I don't feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable.
00:18:26.240
It does some of the other, I can totally relate it in standup comedy.
00:18:28.740
There used to be times where I would go, like one time I had to get on a show with Bill Burr's
00:18:33.240
And I had to go before him on a show and I'm like nervous.
00:18:35.280
I'm backstage, like going over my jokes in my head, like just, and I'm just nervous.
00:18:40.020
I'm thinking about everything I'm gonna be doing with my body.
00:18:42.320
And then I go out there and I'm not even really enjoying it.
00:18:47.500
And it's in a big stage, but I'm not really as present as I would like to be because I'm
00:18:52.720
still in my mind getting comfortable with the size of the, of the environment.
00:18:58.740
And then now if I were to go on stage before him or, you know, with some of these guys,
00:19:03.280
I just, not that I'm still not honored and I'm still not excited and everything, but
00:19:08.200
The jacket feels like, okay, I know what this jacket feels like.
00:19:13.440
I know this is a different fight, a different stage, more or more is on the line, but I've
00:19:18.220
It's, it's, uh, I'm acquainted with this uncomfortable feeling and I kind of know what to expect.
00:19:24.140
And, and as I'm getting older, I'm more mature and I'm, like I said, I still feel young.
00:19:30.120
I, uh, you know, I feel great, but I know every time I make that walk is, is one less
00:19:34.900
time that I'm going to be able to make that walk.
00:19:38.720
You know, when I was young and just fighting and trying to get the, the wind and trying
00:19:42.160
to get the checks and trying to get sponsors and just going crazy in a rush.
00:19:45.940
You know, and monster energy all night in a whirlwind of just like caring about everything.
00:19:50.160
And now I'm just caring about the, the, the art of it and the process of the fight.
00:19:54.640
I'm enjoying that, that more native is aluminum free deodorant.
00:19:59.400
And it's a great addition to your 2021 routine.
00:20:02.980
Native cares about what you put in your armpits.
00:20:07.500
I will repeat that native cares about what you put in your armpit.
00:20:12.900
None of their products are tested on animals and everything is vegan.
00:20:17.560
And I'd be damned if I've ever seen an animal wearing a deodorant anyway, even though I think
00:20:23.500
I haven't seen a raccoon put on deodorant because you know, they're always in there,
00:20:27.600
you know, eating an old chunk of cabbage or doing a little lip gloss.
00:20:32.240
You can choose from over 10 cents, including their classics and rotating seasonal smell
00:20:38.020
Why smell the same in January as you do in September, make the switch to native today by
00:20:44.740
going to native D E O.com slash Theo, or use promo code Theo at checkout and get 20% off
00:20:55.320
That's N A T I V E D E O.com slash Theo, or use promo code Theo at checkout for 20% off your
00:21:14.940
Get the only Sildenafel and Tadalafel chewables by visiting BlueChew.com.
00:21:21.540
If you like doing sex or if you like masturbating yourself and touching yourself when you're
00:21:30.320
Blue Chew offers men a performance enhancement for the bedroom.
00:21:33.140
You get the first chewables with the active ingredients, Sildenafel or Tadalafel.
00:21:41.560
Their affiliated physicians work with you to find the dosage and active ingredient that
00:21:47.180
But we're talking BlueChew.com made in the USA.
00:21:52.880
Visit BlueChew.com and get your first order free when you use promo code Theo.
00:22:08.940
You've all, I mean, you've become this good vibe.
00:22:11.920
You got this whole good vibe tribe going with you now.
00:22:13.900
Like every time I see your Instagram, you're just feeling good.
00:22:16.180
You're living like, it's almost like you're like Jimmy Buffett's stepson or something.
00:22:19.560
You know, like you're just having a good time, you know, like it seems like you're loving
00:22:23.500
You know, what do you think is some of the stuff that's going on?
00:22:26.000
And maybe it's just the stuff you've been talking about.
00:22:32.040
I don't know what you can say, but I'd be lying if I sat up here and said, I don't have
00:22:37.040
But I felt like in the last couple of years, I've been able to get more used to slapping
00:22:42.340
myself back in shape, you know, and seeing the better things.
00:22:44.640
Just staying in a place of gratitude like we spoke before about.
00:22:47.540
I feel like it's easier for me to do that because I have so much to be thankful for and
00:22:54.560
If I do have those days where I'm kind of down or overworked or.
00:23:02.840
And like you said, with the foundation and stuff like that, I have so much good things
00:23:07.000
and so much positivity on my back that I'm carrying that I just use that as momentum
00:23:14.080
I'm happy with the guy I look at in the mirror.
00:23:19.220
I mean, you've definitely honestly really inspired me over the years, man.
00:23:37.180
And fight good fights and work as hard as I can and put my family in a good position.
00:23:43.940
But I think, yeah, I think that's what some of the inspiration is.
00:23:46.880
It's like you just see somebody doing kind of like what we can all do if we, you know,
00:24:06.800
I was just looking through all your fights and it was one.
00:24:08.540
It was like for some reason on the chart, they have it.
00:24:13.700
I don't remember because I was just going to ask you, was it tough to have that first
00:24:16.660
experience where it felt like you didn't get the first loss of my professional career
00:24:19.940
was in Las Vegas in the WEC and UFC or Zufa owned the WEC.
00:24:25.180
They eventually absorbed all the fighters and moved them over to the UFC.
00:24:31.340
Yeah, I lost a decision in my first professional loss.
00:24:34.340
Was it like after do you feel like after that, did you feel like kind of like what kind of
00:24:38.520
Dude, every loss is heartbreaking, but that one hurt me financially because like I was
00:24:49.320
And then your coroner's flights get deducted and your medicals get deducted and this and
00:24:56.480
And then you're like, damn, I was making more fighting in 10 minutes from my house.
00:25:05.520
So I had a mortgage, you know, I had grown man bills, man, dude, I was a keep my head
00:25:14.420
But that the financial part of that, I mean, the loss obviously broke my broke my heart
00:25:19.900
But the financial part, I thought I finally made it.
00:25:29.980
Did they give you a special box to put the L in?
00:25:34.720
Then they charged me on the plane to bring it back.
00:25:40.620
I saw two dogs fight each other on a Spirit Airlines flight, bro.
00:25:45.160
About four months ago, I was flying somewhere on Spirit and I knew they were beefing in the
00:25:50.660
It's basically like, it's like playing a video game.
00:25:58.220
One guy halfway through the flight just got off.
00:26:04.840
But two people had dogs, bro, and finally they let them go, bro.
00:26:09.860
The pilot comes on and starts the betting odds.
00:26:12.820
One of them is fighting Henry Cejudo soon, I think, actually.
00:26:16.040
It was definitely, it must have been on some sort of card.
00:26:19.840
But Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker might be on that card with you guys.
00:26:24.820
That's a great fight and a good test for Chandler to see where he's at in the pecking order of
00:26:30.540
the lightweight division because they're tossing him in the top end, which he should be, man.
00:26:33.820
You know, he's one of the best 155ers out there.
00:26:38.360
I mean, he's done, obviously, wonderful in Bellator.
00:26:44.500
He actually went out of his way to come shake my hand.
00:26:47.020
He introduced himself, and I was like, man, this seems like a really straight shooter,
00:26:54.680
I mean, all of you guys do, especially at your level.
00:26:59.120
I mean, you haven't fought in Chandler, but you've gotten to fight Hooker.
00:27:03.500
I think it'll come down to, I think Hooker beats him on the feet.
00:27:09.280
And I think the length, you know, Chandler's not a tall guy.
00:27:12.840
Hooker's really long and a better boxer than I thought he was.
00:27:26.680
I think it's going to be a 15-minute fight if it's on the same card as us.
00:27:29.760
So he might, you know, if he starts getting takedowns and getting dominant position,
00:27:36.260
But I would lean towards Hooker on that one, man.
00:27:43.460
I don't know the odds, but I would give Hooker a slight edge.
00:27:46.140
Just Anis Chandler's first fight in the UFC, I'm sure he has a lot on his back, a lot to prove.
00:27:54.000
He's been fighting big names and stuff like that for a long time.
00:28:15.260
After quarantine, I get on a flight to Abu Dhabi.
00:28:29.400
I'll be cutting, you know, starting to weight cutting stuff.
00:28:42.100
Especially if you're going to Middle East, bro.
00:28:46.960
But land in Abu Dhabi, take a test, quarantine two days there, and then I'm free to move
00:28:51.940
around the hotel that UFC has bubbled off and the training rooms and all the stuff they
00:28:56.680
I'm not sure what amenities exactly they're going to have, but –
00:29:01.280
Will you see Conor before the fight, do you think?
00:29:14.440
We have press conferences before, so we run into each other before fights.
00:29:20.320
Do you – what do you feel like that interaction will be like?
00:29:26.520
But you don't have any – I mean, you don't have –
00:29:35.860
I'm not going to be a dick and go out of my way to try to harass the guy or get in his face.
00:29:42.620
For money that Saturday, so there's no reason to fuck things up.
00:29:46.480
There's no reason to freaking, yeah, be fighting over a yogurt at the damn breakfast.
00:30:04.000
It's like if we're all waiting, we're all like, Jesus Christ, you know?
00:30:07.860
Just over in your head, the anxiety is so high.
00:30:10.160
You know, you're just like – the good thing is like once your music starts playing and they say your name and you start walking, then it's over.
00:30:18.200
That's the – and that's the best part for me.
00:30:19.500
Once I start walking and stuff, then it's just – it's go time.
00:30:26.380
Some guys do too much on the walk-in, you know?
00:30:36.800
I'm just a regular viewer, but I don't mind a little, but sometimes it's too much, you know?
00:30:43.780
Yeah, whatever it is that that extra stuff might be cool, you know?
00:30:55.340
You know, a lot of the – you know, Connor's definitely a guy who's been – you know, he has like the most flamboyance you could have.
00:31:07.780
I remember like there was a time when you and I talked a couple years ago and you were like, that's not really your thing, you know, like trying to be that –
00:31:17.780
And did you feel like at a point that maybe you wouldn't be able to get to certain levels of popularity because you didn't have that?
00:31:27.680
Yeah, I'll just keep gunning it out, you know, keep working, keep grinding.
00:31:31.440
And hopefully one day put myself in a position to fight for the belt, which I have.
00:31:39.680
I understand it's entertainment and stuff like that.
00:31:44.900
Even when I see other guys do it, I'm like, oh, fuck.
00:31:48.300
Some people, yeah, they bring a little – they got to go for something on them.
00:31:58.780
Do you feel like it's getting weirder overall, though, or do you feel like in the end it's
00:32:05.680
I think since Conor first came on the scene, I've seen a huge rise in it, you know, like
00:32:13.220
He's a guy that likes the pump and the – you know.
00:32:15.260
I've seen more of it since Conor became a superstar, you know, but also you have to be able
00:32:19.720
You can't just be a joker out there getting your ass whipped, you know?
00:32:23.120
Yeah, you can't go out there and juggle a couple times and get your ass beat.
00:32:31.260
Do you – do you – how do you see the fight kind of playing out?
00:32:39.480
Yeah, but it's just, like, so many ways it could play out.
00:32:50.460
It's almost like – it's like watching that capoeira, that Brazilian dance, kind of like
00:32:59.160
A little bit of unpredictability with the spinning kicks and stuff like that and the shoulders
00:33:04.020
You know, it's a no-holds-barred fight, though, so those things are expected.
00:33:09.240
But I really feel like I'm going to go out there and be more in tune with the flow in
00:33:15.940
there, touch him, make him miss, and I just want the fight to blossom, and I want to see
00:33:22.760
And like I said, I think we need to be – I can suffer more.
00:33:27.100
We need to be damaging each other, and we both need to dig down, and I want it to be
00:33:34.760
I want to leave a piece of myself in there, and I want him to do the same, and I want to
00:33:37.880
see who gets our – you know, who comes out with their hand raised.
00:33:41.140
I envision a lot of different things happening, and the fight going different ways, but at
00:33:44.820
the end, I always envision me winning, you know, getting back on that long flight home
00:33:52.520
And whatever it takes to make that a reality, I'm willing to do, so let's just go.
00:34:20.720
What if years from now, we find out that you were a serial killer in Lafayette, you know?
00:34:30.380
Dude, that'd be so gangster if you were a freaking UFC champion and a serial killer.
00:34:34.260
Dude, I'm watching a thing on a Unabomber right now.
00:34:41.060
He lived in a shack out in the woods and he was mailing bombs and leaving clues and stuff.
00:34:48.140
Yeah, he took a shit in his neighbor's bathtub and left it.
00:34:52.540
So my friend used to be a moving man, like a furniture guy, you know?
00:34:57.060
And he had to work for Regis Philbin one time and move his furniture.
00:35:00.360
And he said Regis was so rude to him that he ended up taking a crap in his bathtub and left it in there.
00:35:20.840
Dude, what if you ever, say one day you retire years down the road, 15, 25 years down the road,
00:35:25.980
we should do like some fight campaign or something.
00:35:29.780
If I learned enough about fighting, I'd have to learn a lot more.
00:35:33.980
I was like, man, maybe I should do a talk about fighting podcast or something like that.
00:35:38.540
But then I just thought about all the other stuff I have going on.
00:35:40.800
And man, I just, I don't know if I can have time to do it.
00:35:45.220
Because I would love to talk about fights, you know?
00:35:49.320
Do you feel like you kind of, because I remember we talked in the past maybe about a school
00:35:53.960
You were like, I don't know if I would really want to do that.
00:35:59.680
And I just signed a new eight fight contract with UFC.
00:36:05.120
You know, I want to finish this contract I'm on, eight fights.
00:36:07.740
Fight eight more times and we'll see where we're at there.
00:36:11.440
Or before that, I'm going to fight eight more times.
00:36:15.220
I don't know if the world can handle eight more.
00:36:26.560
I remember, yeah, you came back after the hotel.
00:36:32.280
And then you wanted to sit and then we sat and watched the fight, dude.
00:36:39.440
What are you guys doing for, what will people in Lafayette be doing for the fight?
00:36:48.900
We were thinking about trying to get a restaurant like we did for this last fight.
00:36:53.920
We just put together a big thing with the Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana.
00:36:58.620
Yeah, we're doing a big thing with them, actually.
00:37:00.720
Next year, or this year, 2021, we're doing tutors for all of their six locations.
00:37:06.580
For the year, because social distancing and the learning.
00:37:11.780
So we're going to help them get tutors to the children's homes.
00:37:14.260
And also transportation to and from the Boys and Girls Clubs for the year for the kids.
00:37:21.720
And then Connor's donating some money to the Good Fight Foundation, and we're going to open up a gym in Lafayette.
00:37:30.140
So it's just for kids, or is it for white belts also?
00:37:49.060
But my buddy has beginner jiu-jitsu classes and stuff.
00:37:51.860
Dude, I'd love to jump in one if you're back in town.
00:37:58.520
So the training that you do is different than the classes and stuff.
00:38:06.100
Sometimes I'm working just with jiu-jitsu instructors if we're working on things.
00:38:09.340
But beginning of my career, even as a pro, beginning of my pro career, I would do a lot
00:38:13.320
of gi and stuff because I was in Louisiana and didn't have as much classes to choose from.
00:38:19.720
So I would substitute training sessions in regular classes because that's all I had.
00:38:24.680
Oh, you see four kids fighting in a remedial reading class in fucking Vermilion Paris.
00:38:28.460
Yeah, and then I'd ask them to drill that again.
00:38:33.200
Some guy has beaten the vowels into somebody else.
00:38:39.380
But it's been a while since I've done just like a gi jiu-jitsu class.
00:38:52.220
I never knew how like I leave out of there, dude, and I fucking hope a cop pulls me over.
00:39:01.780
Because I know it's going to fucking be me or him.
00:39:06.780
I just leave out of there feeling fucking different, dog, you know?
00:39:09.940
Like the guy when I get to the gas station, he fucking knows I'm using my, he knows I'm
00:39:13.560
paying card and he knows I'm in and out, you know?
00:39:16.020
Like everybody, I just feel like you start to get a different little bit of confidence.
00:39:20.640
You get a different family too because it's like, you know, you don't realize how big the
00:39:23.660
subculture of jiu-jitsu is unless you're into it.
00:39:26.540
But like you start training and you get friends and stuff at the gym and then you start going
00:39:30.120
to competitions or talking about jiu-jitsu with them and then you go to barbecues and
00:39:33.360
then you're like, fuck, this is my friends now.
00:39:35.100
I have a whole new set of family really at the gym.
00:39:39.120
I was like, damn, like these are my, these are my family and friends now, you know, just
00:39:44.600
I go to this restaurant and I go in there and two of the guys from the MMA class in Nashville
00:39:50.780
One of them does the oysters, this guy on hell, dude.
00:39:52.800
He's fucking Camorra, Camorra and these oysters open back there, dude.
00:39:56.520
He's fucking got a crab leg and he's got it in a fucking Marcellus choke, you know?
00:40:04.340
And one thing I noticed, like just my confidence, like I've only been to like maybe 15 classes,
00:40:08.560
so let's don't get, you know, don't anybody come at me.
00:40:12.120
But, um, but I noticed just like, I used to feel like if I got in a fight, somebody was
00:40:17.800
going to beat me up, but I would also be scared at the same time.
00:40:20.780
Now I just feel like somebody is going to beat me up.
00:40:32.600
Cause it would suck to get beat up and be being scared at the same time.
00:40:36.440
And then the longer you do it, the next step I think is everything starts to look like
00:40:59.020
So you, will Mike Brown and those guys go with you this time?
00:41:01.980
So, um, my boxing coach and kickboxing coach are going to stay behind and catch the next
00:41:06.300
Mike Brown's going to come with me to Vegas and come with me to Abu Dhabi and, uh, the
00:41:16.700
They'll, they'll go through their two day quarantine when they land and then we'll all
00:41:19.000
be able to start training and stuff, but I'll be out there 13 days before the fight.
00:41:22.280
So I think that'll be enough because we're also fighting early morning Abu Dhabi time.
00:41:27.080
So at first I thought I need to get out there to get adjusted to the time.
00:41:30.440
Um, but the, the, the cards going live, normal pay-per-view time here.
00:41:34.880
So 10 Eastern, the pay-per-view goes live, but it'll be whatever it is, eight or 9 AM.
00:41:41.520
It's going to be the biggest fight since Trump Biden.
00:41:46.560
You know, it'll be up there or since COVID Moderna, since that new vaccine came out.
00:41:50.440
Look, it's a new year and it's, uh, it's, you know, it's, it's time for us to start thinking
00:41:56.520
And sometimes it's hard these days because we're going fast.
00:41:59.560
That's why beach body on demand offers over 1500 at home workouts plus nutrition plans.
00:42:06.980
So no matter what your goals are, they got that program that will help you build and keep
00:42:12.700
This is the company behind P90X insanity and 21 day fix.
00:42:18.280
Now check out some of beach body's newest programs, muscle burns, fat, and 80 day obsession.
00:42:23.980
Millions of people have gotten well and gotten healthy and created good habits.
00:42:28.800
You can be one of them to get a special free trial.
00:42:31.060
No obligation membership text T H E O to 30, 30, 30.
00:42:40.240
All the workouts, nutritional information, get them eaters.
00:42:47.520
That's the number three, zero, three, zero, three, zero.
00:42:51.160
Look, start a program, get in shape, take care of yourself.
00:42:59.880
Today's episode is also brought to you by athletic greens.
00:43:02.500
They've basically taken all the time it takes in the wear and tear on your neck to eat a
00:43:13.740
I get a water, pour the athletic greens in, put an ice cube in, mix it up.
00:43:23.560
Simply visit athletic greens.com slash T H E O and join health experts, athletes, and
00:43:29.660
health conscious go-getters around the world who make daily commitments to their everyday
00:43:36.000
Again, simply visit athletic greens.com and you'll get a free year supply of vitamin D and five
00:43:46.260
But they're offering our audience free one year supply of vitamin D and five free travel
00:43:54.560
Many of the population are vitamin D deficient.
00:43:57.500
Visit athletic greens.com slash Theo and get your free year supply of vitamin D and five
00:44:03.920
So what will you do to like adjust like your sleep patterns and stuff?
00:44:06.420
Will you like, what did you, what did you learn last time that you went there?
00:44:18.940
You wake up in the morning and then you go fight fucking punches and pancakes.
00:44:24.480
Now that's what you should throw in Lafayette punches and pancakes.
00:44:40.040
But I'm going to start doing some late night runs like around.
00:44:49.520
And then hopefully when I land there, I'm landing there in the morning.
00:44:52.240
So I'm going to just get off the plane and start my day, try to go to sleep a little
00:44:56.300
So I'm going to try to get up around like six, 7 AM Abu Dhabi time when I land out there
00:45:00.840
just to give me a couple hours before I'm going to be fighting Connor, you know?
00:45:13.600
Dude, honestly, and, and it's exciting because it's a new journey for me with all this quarantine
00:45:17.540
and the, and the hustle of traveling to different locations just to get to the fight.
00:45:23.640
Like, I don't know what's going to fucking happen, but let's go.
00:45:26.920
I mean, to think that, you know, I'm going to fight.
00:45:28.580
I know that part's going to happen, but all the other stuff is like exciting.
00:45:31.420
The weight cut and, and you know, not, I can't bring my nutritionist with me.
00:45:34.880
I usually have a team of nutritionists who cook the meals and do all this stuff for me.
00:45:40.480
But when will you be able to start eating again?
00:45:45.860
I mean, I'm starting, kind of starting my weight cut now getting, getting, you know,
00:45:50.360
I've been dieting for the last eight weeks, hardcore.
00:45:53.180
I think I came out here at like 182 pounds maybe.
00:45:57.760
And then I'll be January 23rd or January 22nd, I'll be 155.
00:46:09.620
And I, and that was a, definitely, that was a guess.
00:46:12.180
But you have, it's like, imagine if somebody said, cut your arm off and put your arm somewhere.
00:46:19.440
It's, I mean, it's a, it's a good bit of a, a good bit of weight.
00:46:26.760
I definitely believe I'm going to fight at 170.
00:46:31.080
I fought at 170 before in my career before, but never in the UFC, but I think I'm going
00:46:35.880
to fight 170 before, you know, this eight fights run out.
00:46:39.180
I'm going to, I'm going to fight somebody at welterweight.
00:46:40.620
And I'm just glad you and I get to have a good conversation before you go through eight more
00:46:46.460
And then we're having to write stuff on a board and put it back and forth between each
00:46:53.060
Um, and the gym that we're at right now is, this is for weight training for strength and
00:47:00.460
And this is how, how did you get in touch with these guys?
00:47:03.620
So me and Phil, um, Daru strong, that's his strength, strength and conditioning facility
00:47:09.420
They gave me this right in the train mirror earlier.
00:47:14.180
I've been working with him for a lot of fights now.
00:47:16.260
And, and, um, he moved into this new location and I just came with him.
00:47:29.920
What, what, if, is there, is there a type of gym you walk into where like, oh, this
00:47:33.520
Like it has like, what, what, what does a gym need to have that you like?
00:47:41.380
If we're talking about weightlifting gyms or strength and conditioning gyms, I don't really
00:47:43.720
like the meathead persona and like tough guy stuff.
00:47:46.740
I just like to work and be efficient and try to get better, stronger.
00:47:49.700
We have like a goal, you know, not just lift heavy shit and make noise.
00:47:53.240
If we have a goal, we're working towards a goal.
00:48:02.560
But if you, you get, apparently if you get six touchdowns, you get COVID.
00:48:11.700
I mean, only one other person has got six touchdowns.
00:48:22.140
I'd go in, I'd go in for six if they gave, if they're like, Hey, there's COVID in there,
00:48:28.560
Do you worry that COVID is a good excuse to get out of a fight if somebody wants to?
00:48:32.640
Do you think that Connor's the type of guy that would COVID out?
00:48:40.720
But I don't know how you get, how would you get COVID?
00:48:42.460
I think you, you could just, I think find a way to contract, you know, just to get it.
00:48:45.700
Like, I just think it's, it's like a weird time in history where you can kind of get something
00:48:52.840
I mean, you know, if they're healthy, they're probably going to be fine.
00:48:55.580
And so it's like, dude, I've been trying my best.
00:48:58.480
Honestly, besides going to that hotel, I go to the grocery store and that's the end
00:49:05.480
Even when I'm running outside and somebody's on the sidewalk, I'll go in the street to run
00:49:13.100
Well, I got tested a couple of weeks ago anyway.
00:49:28.720
I got to open it in front of them and send it right off.
00:49:34.200
Miss Cleo's actually on the other, on the side.
00:49:43.040
So before you go, man, dude, I love the new hot sauce and I'll be honest.
00:49:46.980
I did not think I was going to like it just because everybody sells stuff now.
00:49:54.420
And dude, what I find is, because I make basic meals at home, I get turkey meat and get some
00:50:00.720
spinach, mix it together, douse it with the poiriers, bro.
00:50:07.640
It's a perfect sauce for me because it's hot, but it's not, it doesn't like burn you out at
00:50:14.780
It can, if you eat a bunch back to back bites of just sauce on something, it'll get
00:50:19.980
I, uh, the, the flavor is what I'm happy with and proud of, man.
00:50:25.340
Like if I'm doing eggs, if I'm doing anything, I'm like, oh, it's a perfect sauce, man.
00:50:44.620
I'd watch you go six or seven rounds with a brisket, bro.
00:50:52.800
Oh, I'd love to see you beat the shit out of a fucking bag of shrimp.
00:50:59.240
We're going to make a thousand dollar donation to the Good Fight Foundation.
00:51:03.220
That's going straight towards, uh, Boys and Girls Club.
00:51:06.920
And, uh, and just thank you so much for spending time with us here today, man.
00:51:11.320
Thank you for help, uh, for, for getting filled and helping me get a workout in.
00:51:14.440
And, and, um, yeah, dude, this, we just wish you luck, man.
00:51:26.720
Now I'm just floating on the breeze, and I feel I'm falling like these leaves.
00:51:36.920
Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found.
00:51:43.080
I can feel it in my bones, but it's gonna take a little time for me to set that parking brake
00:52:28.600
On the runaway train with a heavy load of my past
00:52:39.060
They're worn so thin that they're damn near gone
00:52:49.120
A podcast where I'll be sharing thoughts on things like current events
00:53:01.560
And as always, I'll be joined by the voices in my head
00:53:44.620
Like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts