JRE MMA Show #140 with Gillian Robertson

[0] Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

[1] The Joe Rogan Experience.

[2] Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day.

[3] How long do you have to stop smoking weed before you'll test positive?

[4] Usually about five days.

[5] Five days before a fight?

[6] If you're smoking straight flour.

[7] But if you're smoking like oil, dabs, anything like that, then you need a little bit more time.

[8] You got down to a science?

[9] I figured it out when I tested positive one five.

[10] fight because I was smoking oil and I stopped five days out Oh, smoking oil Those wacky kids and their dabs and oil You guys just go too far You guys go too far There is a, there's way too many ways now I feel like You go to dark places You do dabs, you go to dark places Yeah, especially with dabs And like that's the like next level extreme Yeah, I'm not interested in that You just get too far gone Like you don't even know how to move your hands right There's this stuff that I'm a medical patient in Florida and there's stuff you can get from the dispensary.

[11] It's like literally nose drops.

[12] And that shit like makes you, like literally I feel like I can't form sentences.

[13] Is this a spray?

[14] Yeah, it's just like a nasal spray.

[15] There's so many wacky people in Austin spraying ketamine up their nose.

[16] It is a real issue.

[17] We had a girl go into a K -hole at our comedy club the other night.

[18] Yeah, and her boyfriend's like, she just did a lot of Ketamine.

[19] And they're like, Jesus fucking Christ.

[20] Do that at home, you nuts.

[21] They're doing ketamine and going to see comedy.

[22] From the moment I got here, it's been offered to me frequently.

[23] What is going on?

[24] How's ketamine?

[25] Ketamine's a fucking tranquilizer, right?

[26] It's a powerful psychedelic, too, right?

[27] It's also available in clinics for people to do, like, you know, PTSD work and stuff.

[28] I feel like there's a lot of people that are doing it, like, every day, though.

[29] Have you done it?

[30] No, no, I've never messed with anything like that.

[31] I took a little of Duncan's.

[32] Duncan had one.

[33] I think he made it in his bathtub.

[34] What did it feel like?

[35] Do you remember?

[36] Weird.

[37] But it was very little.

[38] You said, just take one pump.

[39] So I took like one pump.

[40] And I was like, this is odd.

[41] But I know the source and I know where he's getting it.

[42] And it's all medical grade and legit.

[43] But it's like, what is that?

[44] Yeah, I don't know.

[45] I like a lot of natural things better.

[46] THC nasal mist.

[47] Well, yeah, I guess marijuana is the ultimate.

[48] I was just saying that I had a I hurt my back a little bit to tweak the muscle and it would lock up and I put on this CBD MD recover cream I was I'm not I mean that stuff is insanely good it's incredible how much better I felt no that's amazing that CBD has that kind of power yeah I've never used a topical cream like that but I've used like pills and things like that with CBD and I feel like it definitely does make a difference like there's I don't know it's a huge difference huge difference my friend Dave Foley had um real bad arthritis in his hands and he started taking CBD and all of a sudden his hands started working fine like it just took while it took it just your your body is filled with inflammation and CBD is just an awesome way to get rid of inflammation yeah especially as a fighter oh yeah it's like everything's inflamed constantly who needs CBD more than fighters right and who needs marijuana more than fighters just to fucking chill fuck oh like the stress that you go through on a regular basis is so bonkers.

[49] If you really think about it, you're around, you know, all these other human beings that are going about their day, driving their cars, going to work.

[50] You're preparing to throw bones at girls.

[51] You're preparing to strangle people.

[52] You put people to sleep for a living.

[53] You know, that is a wild thing to do, sister.

[54] It's like pre -fight when I'm sitting there and I'm feeling all my nerves.

[55] My boyfriend, he's told me, he's like, you need to be thankful for this because he's like, most people don't get to experience shit like this in their life.

[56] Most people don't get to, like, experience these kinds of feelings, like, these extreme feelings because they just have their regular jobs.

[57] It's, like, what I'm doing is something crazy.

[58] It's so crazy.

[59] It's so crazy.

[60] And when you do it in a place, like, when you, was it in London with Molly McCann?

[61] Was that London?

[62] It was actually Liverpool.

[63] That was crazy.

[64] That was crazy.

[65] When you got her back and put her to sleep, I was like, oh, shit.

[66] Oh, yeah, that was pretty much, it was my first fight out of the time.

[67] Tough House, you know?

[68] So my UFC debut was technically against Emily Whitmire, but it was still, we were in the tough house.

[69] Like, we didn't have our, like, our actual fight kits, things like that.

[70] Right.

[71] So Molly McCann, I feel like, was really the first fight where I was like, this is a real UFC fight for me. And my flight was delayed.

[72] Everything, she missed weight.

[73] I feel like everything went wrong that week.

[74] I got booed walking out.

[75] So it's like, I don't know, just to get that success after that, was such a great thing for me. How did they treat you when you got out?

[76] After I got out, honestly, everybody was great.

[77] Like, even Molly invited me to her after party.

[78] My brother flew out there, so I ended up going out with him.

[79] Oh, that's cool.

[80] And we were just walking around Liverpool and everybody coming up to me trying to get pictures.

[81] Like, the Liverpool fans were 100 % supportive.

[82] It was great.

[83] Well, that's cool.

[84] Of course they're going to boo you.

[85] Yeah.

[86] Just a girl.

[87] Oh, yeah, 100%.

[88] I expected every minute of it.

[89] Plus, like, what a personality she has.

[90] She's awesome I absolutely love her Probably out of all the girls I fought in the UFC Molly's definitely probably the top She's a character She's her and Patty together are fucking amazing It's hilarious She should be a reality show She's absolutely like genuine sweetheart of a person And like you said an absolute character as well And she could fight Yeah She can fight her ass off Her stand -up is nasty It's really she's so tough She's so tough All girls I feel like from that area They got that extra little tough to them and she definitely is superior in that yeah for her it just feels like grappling came like a little later for her and that that can be a problem with someone of your caliber you know the thing about like grappling is God it takes so long to catch up and why you're catching up that person's still getting better if they're training every day and it's like when someone is at a super high grappling level and if you're just getting into grappling now like you're just you're just surviving and it's a long time until you're doing anything other than surviving unless you're some athletic freak unless you're some just unbelievable specimen of a human that just learns quicker than everybody else most of the time it's like really hard to catch up when you're a pure striker okay there's just so much to learn in jiu -jitsu even like I got my black belt I think two or three years ago now and I feel like I still don't know anything I feel like it's just like there's so much to learn so many different styles different things Like leg locks, I don't know a lot of, I don't know deep into that game.

[91] I know good defensively, but offensively, I feel like that's a completely different world.

[92] The leglock game is crazy because that just took over.

[93] It was so amazing to watch something that you used to get booed for.

[94] Like if they went to tournaments, especially in Brazil, people would boo you.

[95] They didn't like when you were doing stuff like that.

[96] I guess because it really messes people up in training.

[97] Like, they had to know it was really effective.

[98] But too many people had to ruin needs.

[99] And they just decided like, hey, this is a bad idea.

[100] And it might be a bad idea in the ghee.

[101] You know, in the ghee, it's like, whoa, man, you can't get out of that very well.

[102] At least in no -gee, there's like a little bit more maneuverability.

[103] When someone's, like, grabbing your legs and they've got your pants, and they're holding on the cuff in here, it's like, ooh, that's tight for a leg lock.

[104] That's scary.

[105] I'm almost more nervous competing no -gi now than versus fighting M -M -A.

[106] Just because Nogi girls are so well -versy.

[107] in leg locks and that shit's dangerous it's like that can put me out for six months a year plus where it's like the worst thing I've ever had happened in a fight is I got 11 stitches in my nose it's like besides that well and even that I grappled a month later who was that woman that heavily tattooed woman and you you got her back too she had a crazy nickname like the demon slayer Oh, Maria Agpova.

[108] Yes.

[109] He has a wild nickname, right?

[110] Is it something like that?

[111] Yeah, it's something like that.

[112] When you were fighting her, she hit you with a bunch of like really hard elbows while you were trying to take her down.

[113] That was just amazed that you just stuck with the path.

[114] You just kept, you're like, uh -uh, I got you.

[115] I got you.

[116] I got, uh -uh, you're not getting away with this.

[117] I'm going to hang on to you and I'm going to drag you to the ground.

[118] I'm going to get you.

[119] And when you finally did it, I was like, damn, that was systematic.

[120] But you endured like some hard shots.

[121] Honestly, I don't think, like, I don't know, I didn't really have any much damage off of those shots.

[122] So I didn't really feel a lot of those and they weren't really like, the only reason that I even thought about them is because the ref was like, you need to do something.

[123] I'm going to stop this.

[124] And I was like, oh, shit, I got to change something up.

[125] But I was initially going for a knee bar when she was just hitting me with elbows and then I gave up on that because of the ref. Isn't it interesting how subjective refereeing can be and that there's some referees that are really good at letting people just fight out of stuff and then there's some referees that like just getting hit even with a few hammer fists that aren't going to stop you if you don't defend them.

[126] Some refs will just stop it right there.

[127] It's just completely subjective.

[128] Like, for that ref to tell you that, like, you can't endure these shots, it's, it's, you don't like you have the time.

[129] Like, actually, they're not that hard.

[130] It sounds bad, but it doesn't really hurt.

[131] I'm okay.

[132] Like, you can't say that in the middle of a fight.

[133] So there's this weird, like, communication issue.

[134] Like, he sees you getting hit by, I saw you getting hit by those shots.

[135] I was like, Jesus Christ, like, can you see if you can find that.

[136] See if you can find that.

[137] Because in that, in that exchange, when you're trying to take her down, I'm like, Jesus.

[138] Those are some hard elbows.

[139] Travis Brown was the master of that.

[140] Oh, yeah.

[141] I feel like no one had more power than him when he was delivering those elbows.

[142] And I think he kind of invented it, or at least he popularized it.

[143] We call it the Travis Brown, because he would drive down those elbows when you were trying to take him down.

[144] That was a horrible place to be.

[145] I don't think I've seen people drop like I have with Travis Brown.

[146] Well, he obviously drilled it.

[147] It wasn't an improvised thing.

[148] At least I don't think it was.

[149] It just seemed so well -timed.

[150] And the force that he could do.

[151] generate because he's so big and long when you're a long person like a john jones type person the amount of extra force that you have and all that length and torque yeah so somewhere in the clinch so that we're going to get a few of your whole fight here it's not um what is it like watching watching yourself fight is it weird uh i i i guess i i don't know i i do it a lot i i use myself as motivation of how I should perform.

[152] At times I watch my past wins just to really I guess relive that kind of feeling so then it gives you something to chase the next fight.

[153] Oh, that sounds, that's brilliant.

[154] That's a great way to do it, especially since you've got these well -documented awesome videos from the UFC of your wins.

[155] I mean, it's one of the coolest things ever to be a fan right now that you can just watch fights.

[156] it any time you want.

[157] Anytime instantly.

[158] You're watching fights.

[159] I'm a huge fan of the sport just in general.

[160] So just being able to do that, like look up any type of, any fight, anything you want.

[161] I'm like, it's crazy.

[162] I love it.

[163] It's like the best time ever for high -level kickboxing.

[164] It's the best time for amateur wrestling.

[165] It's the best time for submission grappling.

[166] There's never been more people that have been more interested in submission grappling now.

[167] I think we got past the elbows here.

[168] This is where the chokes happened.

[169] Yeah.

[170] This is, it must.

[171] Yeah, first round.

[172] Yeah, first round.

[173] Oh, is that round two?

[174] We can still watch that, though.

[175] I still want to watch that choke.

[176] I'll go back.

[177] Yeah, these are, so is right here he's telling you you have to do something?

[178] No, I had her butt on the floor by this point, because I actually knew she had an injured knee going into this fight.

[179] Oh, how'd you know that?

[180] She talked about it in interviews, and I actually knew a couple people she trained with who told me. Oh, a bunch of rats.

[181] Yeah.

[182] Dirty rats.

[183] Dirty rats.

[184] Do you feel bad taking that information?

[185] And it is what it is.

[186] I definitely utilized it.

[187] Oh, yeah, you have to.

[188] I try it like...

[189] You'd be crazy not to.

[190] I probably wouldn't have committed to the knee bar so hard if I didn't know that that knee injury was there.

[191] So it's like I started going for the knee bar and she just kept on hitting me with elbows.

[192] And then once we were on the floor, I think he thought I was injured because I don't...

[193] because I was committing to the knee bars.

[194] I was trying to put hips down.

[195] So that's when he told me I needed to move.

[196] I just started going in slow motion.

[197] Why is it going in slow motion?

[198] I don't know what's happening.

[199] Is someone breaking down some specific?

[200] No, it's on ESPN's web site.

[201] It's just freaking out.

[202] It's the Russians.

[203] The Russians don't like Americans winning.

[204] They don't like it.

[205] Okay.

[206] So at one point, you were getting drilled with elbows.

[207] I don't know if we're going to find it without watching the whole fight.

[208] But it was just an awesome performance overall, that and the Molly McCann one.

[209] You've had a bunch of them.

[210] I think I was equally impressed with the Rosemnambi Eunice grappling match.

[211] That was so slick.

[212] Like, the way you took her back and controlling the position, like you never lost an inch.

[213] Like, you just kept progressing until you got the choke.

[214] It was awesome.

[215] I feel like my choking game is definitely it's different than anybody else's and it's something that is a feel that I've been working on for years and I feel like I still haven't even perfected it but I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to making it perfect and I think the rose grappling match was probably one of the opportunities where I feel like I really got it just that little bit more close to perfect where she, I wasn't even on her throat at first she had her chin tucked and my hand was in poor position and I feel like I was just able to walk it closer and closer until I was able to make that whole tighter and she had to give up her throat at that point.

[216] Well, what I was super impressed with was your use of the shoulder, how you're using your right arm to control the shoulder because you don't quite have it, but you've got a nice grip on the cup of the shoulder and you're using that leverage.

[217] Like that improvised, then when you switch to the gable grip, I was like, oh shit, the gable grip was it.

[218] But when you were using her shoulder, I was like, That's brilliant.

[219] Oh, yeah.

[220] Dean always tells me, he's like, if her chin to touch you, you should be able to break it, you know?

[221] It's like the goal is to break the jaw.

[222] So just creating that pressure with just closing the circle, you know, trying to make that circle smaller.

[223] So I'm just inching my hand deeper, my head deeper, until I can really just make it so it's too small.

[224] And I love what you said that you have, like, a feel for it.

[225] Because I think people would think of it like, oh, it's just like, you know, you know the movement, you do it, right?

[226] But it's just like everything else.

[227] It's like playing guitar.

[228] It's like any other thing that you learn how to do that's difficult, there's like levels and levels and levels and levels and levels.

[229] And when you watch like really high level black belts going at it, going back and forth and trying to keep up with each other, it's like, whew.

[230] Like you're watching like the craziest kind of game ever.

[231] I'm like, I've taught my choke to multiple people, and I feel like people just don't get it still because it's like it's just, It's something I've worked on for years.

[232] So what's specific about your choke?

[233] It's just the way that I have my pressure.

[234] I feel like I can generally finish it with one hand.

[235] I never really look for the hook, so I'm usually just searching for it opportunistically, so I get it whenever it's almost too late to defend it.

[236] And even just like the pressure of my choke, though, I think it's something that anybody could learn, but it's just a lot of patience, because it's something that's so basic and so simple.

[237] but like I said, I've drilled it a thousand times and I don't think I have it right yet.

[238] So I think it's just you really have to put the time and effort into one specific motion, which a lot of people don't have time for.

[239] So you just over and over again drilled it or you just over and over again used it in training?

[240] What sparked this strangulation rain that you've been on?

[241] How did that start?

[242] It's definitely both.

[243] I feel like a lot of my technique comes from Dean Thomas.

[244] He's kind of like...

[245] Dean's the man. Yeah, he's the engineer behind a lot of whatever I do.

[246] Oh.

[247] And he kind of devised this way of going for the neck and just off -balancing opponents to attacking the throat.

[248] And we've been drilling it for years and years and years.

[249] And even like, I feel like the way he's described it to me hasn't really clicked until, like, recently, where we've been drilling it for years.

[250] And now it's like, all right, I kind of get this.

[251] Yeah, it's, um, the way you do it is, it's so.

[252] It's so brilliantly, like, the way it progresses.

[253] What's beautiful to watch, like, especially the Rose Match in particular, is, like, the squeeze that you put, like, the progression of it is what you want to see.

[254] At a really high level, that's what you want to see.

[255] And when someone executes it on someone who is champion of the UFC, it's really incredible.

[256] I mean, that was an amazing showcase for you.

[257] Oh, yeah, and into MMA, it just plays in perfectly.

[258] like my last fight with pierre rodriguez i was in mount throwing elbows the whole time and every time she trying to turn her back a little bit her coaches are like no no don't give your back so they're just making her lay on the ground and take elbows to the face instead of giving up her back so i'm like it's it's your you know the worst of two worlds there like you get your choice do you do you have is the rest of your game as strong as your choke game i think so i think my top pressure in jiu jutsu is definitely something that a lot of girls especially haven't.

[259] Even a lot of guys, I feel like I get a lot of compliments that I feel like in the jiu -jitsu world is the only place where you can tell a girl she's heavy and it's a compliment, you know?

[260] Right.

[261] You got heavy hips.

[262] What?

[263] Yeah.

[264] Everybody tells me that I'm really heavy and I feel like it's that kind of top pressure which is going to be dominant in an MMA game.

[265] Yeah, it absolutely can be.

[266] I mean, you look at the guys from Dagestan, the, all the Khabib disciples.

[267] Islam Akachev, Khabi, those guys did just crush you.

[268] They get on top of you and crush you.

[269] When you see where really good, you know, high -level submission artists get smushed by guys like Khabi, be like, wow.

[270] Like, that's some crazy.

[271] It's like there's layers and layers to everything.

[272] And we didn't know the layer of like controlling the legs with the legs until Khabib came along and did it.

[273] And when he would do it so thoroughly, he'd be like, Jesus Christ, he does this to everybody.

[274] Like, he didn't even have a bad moment, you know, until, like, there was, like, the Glacin T -Bow fight was a pretty close fight, I believe.

[275] And then one round with Connor.

[276] But even that round was, like, a round he took off.

[277] You know, it's like that guy.

[278] But the squeeze that guy had, it's like everybody that trains him says, you don't understand.

[279] Like, you know what I say?

[280] It's like he weighs 400 pounds.

[281] Like, it doesn't even make any sense.

[282] Yeah, that top control is just completely different.

[283] And it's like, I always say I'm like, people hit a lot less, like they don't hit as hard when they're on their back.

[284] Right.

[285] So I'd rather have somebody on their back than standing face to face with me, you know?

[286] And you're draining them.

[287] Exactly.

[288] That person carrying your weight, it's exhausting.

[289] You're always moving to try to defend.

[290] It's very difficult to get out of.

[291] And especially with someone, if it's a superior grappler in the scramble, she's kind of take your back.

[292] Exactly.

[293] Always looking for the submissions, the strikes.

[294] And if I'm on bottom, it's the strike sweeps a minute or stand up, you know, we're just working for the finish constantly.

[295] Well, that's what I love about your style.

[296] And I think that's what makes it so fan -friendly, too.

[297] It's so exciting.

[298] And I love the technique.

[299] The technique is so sharp.

[300] But you were saying something that I wanted to ask you to elaborate on.

[301] You said you don't even go for the hooks.

[302] You just, you're so concerned with the choke that you'll, like, take the choke, even if you have no hooks and then get the hooks later?

[303] the hooks aren't even like that's like last priority or I don't need them even I don't think I had any hooks when I choked rows but I just I have such a unique grip with the how I with my head and hand position on my choke so it's just it doesn't really matter that's where my control point is it's not on the lower half of the body it's on the choke and usually when I have the choke before I get the hooks in it's like people aren't ready to offend it usually you put the hooks in and people are already here and now you're going to You have to hand fight, and you're there for who knows how long.

[304] Right.

[305] Where if I get my choke first, then it's like, if I need the hooks for control, I can get them in, but you're already choking, so you're worried about that.

[306] So is this Dean's coaching?

[307] Did he coach you to do it this way?

[308] Oh, yeah.

[309] He definitely came up with a whole game plan of that, where it's just going for the choke just opportunistically.

[310] Wow.

[311] Just because you're so good at it.

[312] I feel like literally I've worked with Dean since day.

[313] So I think he kind of also just molded this game plan for me. That's awesome.

[314] He's the second best dressed guy in MMA.

[315] It's just like a neck and neck with him and Bruce Buffer.

[316] But I think you've got to give the nod to Buffer.

[317] Yeah, I think you have to give it to Buffer.

[318] He has such crazy suits.

[319] He has suits with like pictures of Elvis inside of him and shit.

[320] He's like every suit is weirder.

[321] They're crazy.

[322] They're so beautiful, too.

[323] They're all perfectly tailored.

[324] Oh, yeah.

[325] He must have 100 ,000 of them.

[326] I mean, how many fucking suits is that guy?

[327] He changes multiple times now, too.

[328] Oh, he's a maniac.

[329] Main card suit.

[330] Bro, his tailor must be bawling.

[331] Because it's all custom -made shit.

[332] Look at this one.

[333] It's beautiful.

[334] Oh, that's Miami?

[335] What's in there?

[336] That's him?

[337] What's all the thing?

[338] It's him in Vegas.

[339] Oh, it's all him.

[340] He's his own lining of his own jacket.

[341] It's as a comic book or something.

[342] How dope is it, though, when that guy yells your name?

[343] I know.

[344] Literally last fight, I had to think to myself.

[345] I'm like, all right, that's Bruce Buffard.

[346] Just focus on the fight.

[347] Just think about Pierre right now.

[348] Is it weird?

[349] It's definitely weird.

[350] I don't know.

[351] Everything is weird about this for me. It's just like, I don't, I'm just like, I guess a socially awkward kind of don't really put myself out there.

[352] Well, I do with fighting, but it's like I've never really put myself out there in life.

[353] So it's like to be in these kind of positions, it's just, it's all a lot for me. Wow.

[354] Well, it's amazing that the way you handle fighting.

[355] You could handle this the same way you handle fighting.

[356] You just get comfortable with it.

[357] I think that, I don't know, for me, social situations are a lot harder than, like, fighting situations.

[358] Wow.

[359] That's crazy.

[360] Oh, yeah.

[361] Has it always been like that?

[362] 100%.

[363] Since you were a child?

[364] Yeah.

[365] I feel like I've always been, like, the, like, socially awkward kid in the back of the class, like, the nerds.

[366] Well, I still am, like, at the gym.

[367] But I volunteered with animals my whole life.

[368] I volunteered at like the Humane Society, a horse rescue, wildlife rehab, but just like animals were my thing.

[369] And then it was just kind of a left field.

[370] I started kickboxing when I was 16.

[371] Just for fun?

[372] Yeah, I really don't know where it came like what the idea was.

[373] Where'd you start?

[374] What gym?

[375] At Dean's gym.

[376] Oh, okay.

[377] Wow.

[378] You got lucky.

[379] So exactly.

[380] One of Dean's pro fighters worked for my dad.

[381] So I wanted to start kickboxing, and then my dad found out that this guy was a pro fighter for Dean.

[382] So he ended up finding his gym, and that was the first gym I started at.

[383] Wow.

[384] Well, what a great place to start.

[385] And so then you start kickboxing, and how long before you decide, well, what about this MMA stuff?

[386] How long was that?

[387] I think it was probably like four or five months before I started taking the MMA class there.

[388] But I wasn't, like, thinking about fighting.

[389] It was just there was a kid who was on the wrestling team.

[390] team at my high school who started training at Dean's Gym and he was like oh why don't you take them in May class and I thought okay I'll have a partner why don't I try it and I just kept on doing it and then I was training like every day for like three hours a night you know and they're like all right well why don't we just get you a fight at this point wow what was it about fighting in martial arts that you became so obsessed with I really think it was a one I don't know what it was at first because I didn't start Jiu -Jitsu especially in the Ghi into like a year after I started training but when I started Gigi Jiu -Jitsu I fell in love with that 100 % where it's just the technique of it and the little tiny details of Jiu -Jitsu that matter so much like if you put your thumb on this side of the hand or on this side of the hand it makes a huge difference it's like the little tiny techniques that can make the difference where now a 115 pound girl at the time could do whatever she wanted to a 200 -pound guy, you know, I was manhandling these guys around the room, and I'm like, just because of these techniques that I learned, and I thought that was awesome.

[391] Yeah, that is an amazing thing.

[392] It's, jiu -jitsu is the one martial art that delivers as promised, where the smaller trained person can defeat the larger untrained person.

[393] Whereas a lot of other martial arts, I mean, you have a better chance, but when they're really big, you know, and some guy's swinging it, if you notice that a punch a little bit, And you get clubbed with one of those giant hams, you get fucked up.

[394] But if you get into a struggle, like some sort of a scramble, and you knock into some chairs and all of a sudden you get a hold of this person, now he's fucked.

[395] That's what's crazy.

[396] It's like that a small person can physically control and submit a much stronger person regularly.

[397] It happens all the time.

[398] It happens with black belts.

[399] Even in striking, it's like a person cannot know anything.

[400] but if they're big enough, they throw their hand the right way, they can knock you out.

[401] Yeah, if you get hit with Francis and Gano's pinky, you're in trouble.

[402] Exactly.

[403] You know, there's certain people that they're so powerful.

[404] Like, the idea that you're going to stand and trade with them is crazy.

[405] You're going to hit you once and you're dead.

[406] You know, it's like, it just doesn't work that well.

[407] Jiu -Jitsu, it's just there's not the variant of space.

[408] So there's not that element of, like, guessing where it's like I can control and I can feel what you're going to do by touching you.

[409] It's like it makes it a lot easier.

[410] You're not guessing with that space of striking.

[411] You're also not guessing the variables.

[412] Like how fast is this person?

[413] How fast am I accustomed to people punching me?

[414] Is this person much faster?

[415] Do I have to anticipate that?

[416] Because if you ever see like street fight videos, the most horrific ones are some poor asshole who wants to start a fight with someone who's a train fighter and the train fighter fucks him up.

[417] But you could see, like they have no idea how fast things can happen.

[418] Like, I'm sure you've seen a Joe Schilling one.

[419] Yes.

[420] Joe Schilling one's ridiculous.

[421] But there's no way that guy could have known that that could happen that quickly.

[422] There's no way.

[423] And people don't expect, like, like for someone like me, a lot of times I get, I would never guess that you're a fighter.

[424] For someone like Joe Schilling is still even like, oh yeah, you wouldn't like just see him.

[425] Well, you just see him walking around.

[426] Like most people, you don't expect that they're...

[427] Joe Schilling, you don't expect it?

[428] He looks like a psycho to me. Yeah, yeah.

[429] But say, like, Ryan Hall.

[430] Ryan Hall is a great example.

[431] You don't expect him to be a fighter, but it's like you never know what somebody he's capable of when it comes to sports like this.

[432] Oh, for sure, what jujitsu, Mikey Musimichi.

[433] I mean, that's the best example.

[434] Mikey is a stone cold killer.

[435] And he looks like a guy who comes over to fix your computer.

[436] Like, he's, he looks like the friendliest super nerd.

[437] Oh, this video is horrible.

[438] This is a street fight in a parking garage.

[439] Have you seen this?

[440] No. These guys start fucking with this dude in a parking garage.

[441] The guy's trying to get away.

[442] No, he fucked the other guy up before this.

[443] This is the shorter version.

[444] Okay, this is the shorter version.

[445] So this guy, he's like, come on, you want some?

[446] And he moves forward.

[447] This guy, leg kicks him.

[448] And then this is where it gets ugly.

[449] Punches them.

[450] Bam.

[451] Yeah, you don't want that.

[452] Like, what?

[453] It's awesome to see that stuff works, right?

[454] For people, like, hey, this is real.

[455] someone tries to attack you you have an upper hand but also like what are you doing yeah these fucking people uh i've never been in a street fight in my life good for you i'm like i don't intend to ever but it's just i don't get it like yeah there's i don't see a use for fighting outside the cage for me like there's a lot of people with anger management issues and then there's criminals too and you know bad folks yeah yeah there's a lot of weird stuff in the world but i just For me, I think it's fascinating that you are more afraid of social interaction that you're afraid of cage fighting.

[456] That might be one of the greatest lines that anyone has ever said.

[457] I think that's going to get you a lot of fans.

[458] For real.

[459] For me, it's just like literally I never really did any kind of interviews or media or anything like that until I got in the tough house.

[460] So that's going from absolutely zero to 100%.

[461] What was that like?

[462] You were like 22 at the time?

[463] I was 22 and I was having interviews every day, cameras on you 24 -7.

[464] Literally after every single interview I had to go and change my shirt because I'd be dripping sweat like I just got out the sauna.

[465] Whoa.

[466] Just so nervous after every single interview.

[467] Do you think they brought you into the house knowing that you were nervous too?

[468] That you're a little socially awkward in that regard and like that maybe that would make good television?

[469] I guess I never thought of it in that way.

[470] Obviously, they brought you in because you're skillful.

[471] But they also cast that show as a reality show.

[472] It's a very cleverly done show.

[473] You know, like, it's smart the way they do it.

[474] Even with what they're doing now with Connor McGregor and Michael Chandler, it's great, but perfect shit -talking when Connor tells him you'll do as you're told.

[475] It's amazing.

[476] Keel, I hope that fight takes place, but it's such a show, right?

[477] So it's not just an athletic competition.

[478] It's also, they want to make sure the people are fun.

[479] Oh, yeah.

[480] Our season seemed pretty, like, tame, though, I feel like in general.

[481] We had a lot of, there was me and Montana De La Rosa were the two, like, younger girls.

[482] And then everybody else, I feel like was, like, older and more mature, like, around, like, at least, like, 30s.

[483] And, like, they were, like, I don't know, nobody was trying to start drama.

[484] Nobody was trying to, like, get in each other's faces or we didn't have any altercations.

[485] It was, like, it was a pretty chill season.

[486] That's great.

[487] So no one ever encourages, like, any bickering or anything like that.

[488] They don't ever tell you, hey, you know, this bitch has been saying some shit.

[489] Does anybody ever do that?

[490] No, nobody ever really does anything like that.

[491] But it's just like the boredom gets to you, if anything else.

[492] It's like, I feel like.

[493] No phones, right?

[494] No phones, no TV, no music, no books, no nothing.

[495] No books.

[496] Nothing at all.

[497] Oh, my God.

[498] Nothing?

[499] So it's like.

[500] Can you have a notebook?

[501] You're allowed to get a notebook?

[502] and then they gave us, we asked for coloring books and they gave us sketch pads.

[503] Oh my God, I think I would go nuts.

[504] That sounds like one of those, like, anti -tech retreats, you know?

[505] Exactly.

[506] Or they try to weed people off their tech addictions.

[507] I was just talking to one of the boys who's actually on the Connor McGregor season over the weekend, and he said the exact same thing as me. He was like, it was the best and worst experience in my life.

[508] Because it's like when you're in the gym, there's so many.

[509] highs it's so great but then when you go back to the house you're just sitting there for hours and you're bored and it sucks what do you guys do to kill time can you play games do they have like they used to have pool right yeah they'll i think they had a pool table and a chess table and then they have like the list where you can order anything oh so you could order like monopoly yeah so we would order a bunch of bullshit just try and entertain ourselves god did you bowl it did you have good conversations uh or was it weird because you're all competitors It's weird, well, not because we're competitors, because I'm weird.

[510] That's awesome.

[511] I'm like, I felt like I, especially back then, I wasn't able to just, like, I don't know, acclimate to that, going into a house with 16 different girls that I don't really know.

[512] Right.

[513] Yeah, a completely alien experience.

[514] And you're so, you're feeling a little bit awkward, and you're also 22.

[515] And then also, bam, now you're on TV.

[516] And it's my first time, like, really, like, leaving home, I would say, you know, for a long period of time.

[517] So it was definitely a big experience, like a lot to take on.

[518] How long ago was that now?

[519] Six years.

[520] Six years.

[521] So would you say that now you're entering into your fighting prime?

[522] Do you think that's happening right now?

[523] Oh, yeah.

[524] I think this is, like, just the beginning of my prime.

[525] I'm just getting into where I've really found the right combination for everything.

[526] And I feel like I'm just getting better every fight.

[527] Are you ranked right now?

[528] Where are you at?

[529] My next fight is against the number 15th girl, Tabitha Rickey.

[530] Interesting.

[531] She's tough.

[532] That'll be fun.

[533] That'll be a good one.

[534] Yeah, I'm like, it's coming up quick, June 24th.

[535] Oh, wow.

[536] That is quick.

[537] How many would you, what is like your ideal camp size, like in terms of weeks?

[538] I would say probably about six to eight weeks.

[539] I like just to get focused on that opponent really started breaking down their style and game planning for them specifically.

[540] but it's like with the UFC you never know where you're getting right like how often do they call you last minute uh i've gotten a handful last minute ones and then i feel like it's almost just as bad getting like the one 16 weeks out and things like that because you're just sitting there waiting for so long um or you run the risk of overtraining yeah well have you ever done that what it peaked too early in a camp i feel like i train you around no matter what so it's like it's never really like we're I don't we push it the last couple weeks but that's about it so really so you just always training so hard that you can essentially take it well that's great if you want to take a short notice fight yeah I you're always prepared I train probably about four or five hours the morning and about an hour at night even if I'm off camp like in camp out of camp it doesn't matter on the same schedule just obsession yeah I got nothing better to do but I mean what an amazing way to get better you know I'm I mean, like when you think about grappling and you think about Gordon Ryan, no one doubts that he's the best no geek grappler ever, right?

[541] But no one also doubts that he works 365 days a year.

[542] Like, that's an insane work schedule, and these are insane results.

[543] And you're essentially doing that in M .A. That's what I think you see with, like, a lot of black belts or, like, people who are at a high level is they stop drilling.

[544] They stop doing the stuff that, like, Gordon Ryan still drills every day.

[545] And that's why he's so good at what he does.

[546] And it's like, people at a high level in MMA, they're just doing what the black belts do and sitting on the side until it's time to roll.

[547] You know?

[548] And it's like, you've got to be drilling every day.

[549] You got to be putting in the hours.

[550] Like, my coaches are there with me every hour of the day if I wanted to be, you know?

[551] They're willing to put in the work.

[552] And like I said, as fighters, we've got nothing better to do.

[553] This is what we do.

[554] Like, you got to treat it as like you're going to school, a doctorate, you know?

[555] Well, I think that approach, your approach, is perfect.

[556] That's the right way to do it.

[557] I really do.

[558] I mean, but everybody's different, you know.

[559] People have, like, different ways of fighting, different ways of approaching fighting.

[560] Some are much more chaotic than, like, you and your style.

[561] But I think that's the best way to look at it.

[562] And I think too often people love to roll because rolling so fun.

[563] It's so fun that you just don't even want to do all that other stuff.

[564] let me get warmed up a little bit and let's fucking go let's go you just want to go because it's so exciting it's the most fun thing and it's exercise so it's like engaging intellectually it's physically it's emotionally engaging it's like sometimes you're like fuck like you're you're gonna tap and you don't and there's a lot going on there's battles going on and it's a great workout and if you can do it and if you could do it on a regular basis it could change your life it could change your life And it's available to everybody.

[565] Like this idea that it's all brutes.

[566] When you go to 10th planet Jiu -Sitza, you see these dudes look like skateboarders and surfers, and they'll strangle you.

[567] It's weird.

[568] It's like they're super nerd assassins.

[569] There's a ton of them, and you're one of them on the female side.

[570] Yeah, I feel like that's, I don't know, for me, it's like I said, I've never been like someone athletic.

[571] I volunteered with animals growing up, you know?

[572] I was always the quiet kid in the back of the class, and it's like, just, I don't know, with Jiu -Jitsu is, being able to be that, like, I don't know, be that voice in a way, you know, being that way to express myself and it's, I feel like it was just like completely not who I was when I was little, you know, it's just, it's a complete, out of the left field.

[573] But it's you, you know, you're just growing, you know, this is the new you, right?

[574] I mean, it is you.

[575] Yeah.

[576] And you're going to, if you continue and you become champion, you're going to have to do a lot of this shit.

[577] Oh, yeah.

[578] You're going to have to do a lot of this shit, you know?

[579] I mean, how many fights do you think you are away from a title shot?

[580] It's a stacked division.

[581] I don't think I'm too far away from it currently.

[582] I think that after this fight, I'm not looking past Sabbath at all, but I'm also looking at the trajectory of where I'm going.

[583] And obviously, McKenzie Dern just put on a great performance a couple weeks ago.

[584] and she has the second most submissions in women's history, and I have the first.

[585] So it's like I think I would like to, you know, just solidify that.

[586] Everybody calls her the submission queen, even though I'm like, I have more than her.

[587] Well, she's pretty awesome, but you are too.

[588] That would be a crazy fight.

[589] And I think then after that fight, I wouldn't be too far away from the title fight.

[590] I was very impressed with her against Angela Hill.

[591] Angela Hill is so tough.

[592] She was taking so many shots.

[593] Like, oh, my God.

[594] And she just can't fight.

[595] Would not give up that arm bar.

[596] Like so many times McKenzie came so close to get in that arm bar.

[597] And Angel was just not giving up.

[598] But, ooh.

[599] I think that's the best McKenzie we've seen so far.

[600] Ever.

[601] Just like, it was incredible, incredible performance.

[602] And super aggressive, too.

[603] Exactly.

[604] That's what I feel like was so beneficial for her.

[605] She doesn't have to worry about getting taken down typically, you know?

[606] She can be a little bit reckless and come in with those strikes.

[607] And that's exactly what she needed to do with Angela Hill and she was able to do it.

[608] And she's dangerous on her feet now, too.

[609] It used to be just the ground.

[610] But now she's winging bombs.

[611] She hit Angela with a knee.

[612] You know, she's very dangerous.

[613] He says she doesn't have to be scared, you know, so she can throw, overcommit to any strike, throw with all her power.

[614] And it doesn't matter because it's like, put me on my back.

[615] Like, thank you.

[616] Like, coming to my guard.

[617] Yeah, there's guards, you know, and then some, I mean, her guard is fucking.

[618] nasty her guard is so high level everything she does is so high level it's like when you can watch jujitsu like that in m m m a real world champion when it goes to the ground like her like moving from position to position to position to finally securing it's like woof it's so quick she's so good so good and so technical you know her dad's a legend it's just like that kind of like high level jiu jihitsu in mMA some of my favorite shit to watch you know there's there's certain people that just have either one or two elite high level moves that they could pull off.

[619] And when they do it, you're just like, you're doing this to the best of the best in the world.

[620] Yeah, I feel like with Jiu -Jitsu, it's just like, I don't know, just moving with people so much.

[621] I feel like it's so impressive to watch how people can just float on top of people.

[622] It's like knowing when to control and when to release, almost, you know?

[623] When you really need it, I don't know, some people are specialist at control, but like for someone like me, I feel like I'm better at flowing, you know, and letting people make their own mistakes and fall into things, whereas someone like Khabib is that pressure kind of fighter.

[624] Right.

[625] You're better at finding the openings as you threaten them in different areas and just move into position and hold it.

[626] Or not necessarily me threatening them, but them falling into their own mistake.

[627] I feel like I like, I'm just sitting there doing damage until I see the opening, until I see my opportunity, until I see that one mistake that you made and I capitalize on it.

[628] And is this how you've always done it, or is this something you're doing now better than you've ever done before?

[629] This is something I'm definitely doing now better than I've ever done before.

[630] Was this the same approach that you had in the beginning of your career when you first started?

[631] I don't think as much just because now I feel like I went from a jiu -jitsu girl who did M .M .A. to an M .M .A. fighter more.

[632] Whereas, like, a lot of my early submissions were arm bars off my back, where I was just comfortable playing guard.

[633] I didn't care because I was good at Jiu -Jitsu.

[634] Whereas, like, now I'm always looking to do damage wherever I'm at.

[635] Typically, like, to sit on top and do heavy ground and pound and heavy top pressure until they're like, all right, we need to get this girl off me. I need to stand up.

[636] And then that's when I capitalize.

[637] typically a lot of times off the stand -up is where I find my choke or if they're just staying on their back is where my arm bar open up or like head and arms other opportunities where I just don't like to give up that top position yeah top position so so important it's just if you can control the top it's just much easier for you than it is for the other and it's also kind of humiliating someone's on top you in front of all these people punching you in the face it's also just a lot to carry on top you it makes it you gas makes it heavy yeah and that like I I feel like nobody understands the cardio that it takes to get up and get down and get up and get down in MMA versus like if you're just doing jiu -jitsu or you're just doing kickboxing rounds.

[638] It's like once you mix it all together, it's just it changes the pace.

[639] Clearly, yeah.

[640] I remember one of the most brilliant things that when George St. Pierre fought BJ Penn, he wanted to grapple with him immediately.

[641] He wanted to really get a hold of him right away to wear his arms out.

[642] He goes, I want his arms to be filled with blood.

[643] so like it changes it changes your ability to throw punches changes your ability to get snap off to explode you're kind of gassed out because you've been pummeling and trying to avoid being taken to the ground it's just this when people don't know when they see like your fights these these exchanges against the cage those are some of those grueling moments in all of mMA just the battle to see who wins this thing yeah exactly especially against the cage honestly a lot of those battles I'm just like, if we can find an opportunity to break off, I'm willing to because it's like, if I didn't get the takedown initially, then I'm just going to be grueling.

[644] Like you said, like, it's going to be hard work to get them down where it's like, why don't, let's break off reset and find the opportunity, find the right timing for the takedown instead of sitting here and just grinding it out and just tiring both of us out.

[645] It's such an interesting time for MMA because you're seeing.

[646] people like yourself that are young and grew up with it and got to watch it on television and got what was the first mma fight that you ever saw i think the first one that i ever watched was uh john jones and i think it was reshot evans so you are watching it at a very high level as opposed to a lot of the people that like even john jones the stuff he got to see was stuff from 10 years before that and like the kids of today the kids like you're like yourself, like you, the people growing up now, you guys have the most amazing library of champions to study in all the different forms of martial arts, and to see people like yourself that are putting it together so obsessively and to watch it succeed over and over again inside the arc god.

[647] It's fucking cool.

[648] I love it.

[649] It's such an exciting time.

[650] I feel like it's the beginning of MMA as a sport, where it's like for so long it's been, do you jitsu guys who do a little bit of striking or like wrestlers or strikers but now it's like is people putting it together and making styles and systems based upon these things where it's like I feel like honestly Dean's what obviously I work with him but he's one of the best in trying to innovate and that's why I appreciate his mind so much of just trying to make it MMA as a sport whenever he's on the techniques that he has me drilling where I feel like It's like Donahurt and evaded the no -gey game with leg locks.

[651] It's like we need to change this from being kickboxing, jiu -jitsu, and wrestling to being mixed martial arts.

[652] Dean always has awesome input whenever we're doing the shows and that they cut to him.

[653] He'll always point out something that I probably missed.

[654] And when you're watching these high -level people that are coming up right now, there is still the room for the specialist.

[655] There's still the room for like the Anderson -Silva -style striking.

[656] that the problem is with all fights is they all start standing up and if you are standing up with a guy like Alex Paheda like you're in a world of danger this is a terrifying world like so there are still those specialists that are so goddamn dangerous at this one aspect of the game that they can get through and the problem with like I always wonder will there be like because Israel is a striking specialist too but will there be an MMA fighter that is complete everywhere to the point where they can stand with a world champion kickboxer?

[657] Is that a real thing?

[658] Or is that only a few freaks?

[659] Or is that it seems like in order to be a world champion kickboxer, you have to really dedicate yourself only striking.

[660] The timing that's involved, the distance.

[661] No, you're not thinking about takedowns.

[662] You're not thinking about anything else.

[663] For you to be a world champion MMA fighter, you have to be well -versed in so many different things.

[664] Do you really have the time to dedicate to get to the kickboxing level that this guy is and every fight starts kickboxing every fight starts way apart from each other and when you got a guy like paheda moving towards you with that crazy style like oh jesus christ you know or a sanya like standing in front of you moving you're like this motherfucker has to be three moves ahead we haven't even started exchanging yet yeah i guess he got to hope to get those guys in their back quick you know that's what i'm saying but it's interesting to watch like the evolution of Robert Whitaker, you know, because Robert Whitaker, you know, he evolved so much more from the first fight to the second fight.

[665] He got so much better.

[666] Yeah, no, I don't know, it's definitely, uh, when you have a good striker, it's hard to, obviously like we discussed earlier with the space.

[667] You know, you can never guess what's going to happen.

[668] But it's just like, I feel like if you are a good grappler or a good wrestler and you are able to get it to the Mac, you can be that much more effective than having a good striker in front of you.

[669] Yes.

[670] Well, you certainly can the the the difference is you can control what's happening when if you can get someone and you get on top of them right that what i always wonder is like i wonder if there are the people like peheda or of that ilk sedrick dune who i think is now going to fight for pfl he's have you ever seen that guy for him holy shit he's a glory world champion kickboxer and he he's a bad man And he has a crazy work ethic, too.

[671] He used my gym when he was in town, and he has a coach.

[672] And they do these strength and conditioning routines.

[673] Excuse me. They do these strength and conditioning routines where it's like one round of sprinting on one of those self -propelled treadmills, and then one round of going hard on the bag, and then one round of plios, and they're just rotating back and forth between all these different exercises.

[674] his cardio's off the charts and he's like that's it it that's the game plan the game plan is you put heat on them with technique and athleticism and tech and in strategy but you put heat on them they can't keep up they just can't because they're not they're not going to work that hard if you get to that level of fitness like you can have this extra thing that other people just don't have and cedric dune has that extra thing but can he wrestle like is he going to be able to stuff takedowns how how are these guys going to be deal with getting him to the ground because as you're moving in on him you could get any second you get knocked unconscious it can come out of nowhere and he might just take a wild shot at you because he doesn't want to get taken down maybe he just maybe he says let's see let me just throw a head kick you know it's like i like watching that too i i love watching someone like yourself i love watching these mma fighters of today they're these full complete artist you want get some of his highlights not the training highlights but i know he's been doing a lot of uh MMA training, but go to his kickboxing highlights.

[675] His kickboxing highlights are preposterous.

[676] He's a bad man, and he's got some vicious knockouts.

[677] And he's just clever in there.

[678] He's just clever.

[679] I love the way.

[680] And he's fighting.

[681] That guy's Nikki Holtskin, who's a beast.

[682] I mean, Dune Bay is constant pressure.

[683] Like, you don't get breaks with him.

[684] If you get a break, it's because he wants you to have a break.

[685] I mean, he just swarms on dudes.

[686] I just feel like if you look at that pressure in MMA, it's like it would be impossible to maintain with the variable of takedowns.

[687] Look at that.

[688] It would be impossible.

[689] You're true.

[690] It's absolutely.

[691] Watch this when you miss this.

[692] Look at this.

[693] Just chilling.

[694] He's actually a comedian.

[695] Oh, wow.

[696] He's a comedian in France.

[697] Oh, wow.

[698] It's crazy.

[699] It's one of the best kickboxers alive.

[700] Multi -talented.

[701] Very multi -talented.

[702] Super funny guy, too.

[703] And he, you know, if he can figure out the grappling, my question is always like, is it better to be well -rounded or is it better to be a specialist?

[704] I used to think it'd be better to be a specialist wrestler.

[705] I felt like, and I still think that to a certain extent, that at least the base beginning of amateur wrestling, those guys seem to be the toughest.

[706] They seem to be, they have the most mental fortitude.

[707] The grind of becoming a successful wrestler is unlike any other athletic pursuit that I ever, I only wrestled in high school.

[708] for one year is one of the hardest things in my life it's fucking hard but these guys are it's particularly good at the most important thing getting the fight to the ground and getting on top of people right that's the number one thing those guys are the best at it so I felt like that's like the cornerstone but every fight does start standing up and so then you get a guy like merco crow cop who figures out how stuff takedowns and now you're dealing with one of the most elite kickboxers alive and it's horrifying right so it's I wonder, like, what is the best approach?

[709] Do you think it's to be a fully rounded mixed martial artists putting all your time in all these different things?

[710] Or do you think maybe there's some room for the idea of, like, the world champion specialist?

[711] I think it's best to focus on everything, try to make yourself a mixed martial artist.

[712] I think if you are a specialist to begin with, say, like, someone like him, who's a world, a world champion kickboxer, you probably shouldn't be investing all your time into Jiu -Jitsu at that point.

[713] You should probably stay the specialist you know, like go to MMA and like learn how to defend take downs.

[714] You shouldn't be learning like how to finish arm bars necessarily, you know, putting a gie on day one.

[715] It's like, you don't need to learn that at this point.

[716] You should focus on what you're good at.

[717] But if you are day one, I think you should like focus on everything and putting everything all together because it's like I can have someone who is a better wrestler than me, but I can guarantee you they won't won't want to stay in my guard, you know?

[718] Right.

[719] It's like, and I, for me, especially, I think the two most important are striking in jiu -jitsu because they are the finishing elements.

[720] So it's like those are the ways I can take people out of the fight where it's like wrestling, I can control a little bit more, but I don't have any finishing options.

[721] Well, that's a brilliant way of looking at it.

[722] I think you're right.

[723] I think if you're starting from the beginning, I think learning everything would be very advantageous because you wouldn't want to think you're, you know, you wouldn't want to think you're safer than you are.

[724] someone takes you down at will and you're like, oh, Jesus.

[725] You're like, if you just learn martial arts, like, striking martial arts and you don't know.

[726] Maybe I should learn Jiu -Jitsu.

[727] Maybe I need to learn a little of other stuff.

[728] That's probably not the moment to learn.

[729] No. But I do think there's some room for people that, at least if you come, maybe it's like if you get to a certain age, maybe at a certain age you must go all in on all MMA.

[730] But if you could be a specialist early in your life, like if you're a specialist in striking, I think, maybe early in your life, you would have a, like, if you would have a, like, if you look at all the best kickboxers and even all the best boxers for the most part a lot of them start when they're very young it seems to be like striking for some reason i think there's freaks there's people that just learn it and even when they're in their 30s they can learn it and they get really good at it but for a lot of people there's something about the timing of striking that if you don't pick it up when you're really young you don't really achieve this sort of there's like a plateau for a lot of folks have you ever noticed that uh for me i'm like i don't striking has never been like my 40, I started striking before I started jujitsu.

[731] It's just, jujitsu just clicked for me. Striking, I feel like, it just takes that little bit more of like athleticism, I guess, where it's like, I'm not the most athletic fighter.

[732] So it's like I feel like I can't really use my mind to just make quicker decisions in striking as much as I can in jiu -jitsu where it's easier to.

[733] Well, that's a brilliant way to do it.

[734] I think, you know, especially for your mind and your approach, striking is just a means to an end, right?

[735] You're just trying to strangle people.

[736] Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[737] And it's, like, I'm not going to say I'm never going to have a knockout because obviously I want, that's the goal, is to be able to develop power.

[738] But it's just, it's so much easier for, like, a heavyweight to just throw his fist and knock somebody out, where someone, a girl, like, any of the 25 or 15ers, the smaller girls, it's like, it's really hard to develop that kind of power unless you're born with it.

[739] Well, that's why Valenti, is so scary Valentina Shepchenko when she landed that head kick on Jessica Eye I was like that was nasty nasty.

[740] Yeah, nasty knockouts like that with girls I feel like they're not common so when you see them it's like you gotta have respect for that girl.

[741] Yeah, well Valentina that fucking left high kick holy shit and she set it up to the body before that she's so good and she's always like light on her toes you know her style is so interesting You know, it's a very, it's like when she, you know, she lost the title now, obviously, and I would love to see the rematch because the fight was awesome.

[742] But if you look at her, like, the best moments in her career, she's like always moving, always on her toes, perfect technique with striking.

[743] Yeah, she's rarely out of position.

[744] I feel like that's one of the things I've always admired about her.

[745] It's like, it's hard to do what Alexa did is to be able to get her out of position and be able to capitalize.

[746] on it get her to like mentally not be there for a split second and be able to see that opportunity isn't it crazy that she did it off a spinning back kick it's I I feel like valentina was just kind of like this chick won't go away I thought this was going to be easier and she started making like not the smartest decisions you really think that's what happened you don't think maybe it was just fatigue I think a little bit that but a little bit of frustration maybe too just like Valentina was winning the fight and had a lot of good opportunities but Alexa like Like, Alexa was the only one walking in there knowing that she was going to win that fight no matter what that night.

[747] Well, is that real?

[748] Can you know that you're going to win no matter what?

[749] You can have that attitude.

[750] You could say afterwards, I knew I was going to win no matter what.

[751] But that's two world titles that were essentially lost to a spinning back kick miss. Do you ever see Chris Weidman?

[752] when Chris Wybin fought Luke Rockhold he was winning the fight it was like a really good fight and then he throws a spinning back kick and he misses and Luke Rockhold takes him to the ground and beats the fuck out of him and it was a horrible beating it was a really dominant performance by Rockhold it was hard to watch and that he lost the title and then you look at Valentina same thing spinning back kick misses Alexa Grasso gets her, gets her back, chokes her, crazy.

[753] It's like two world titles on a spinning back kick miss. I feel like it was just like, I don't know, it wasn't a smart thing.

[754] It was just like a lapse of thought for her for that second where she was just like, all right, I'm going to throw this and Alexa just capitalized.

[755] She saw the opportunity and took it.

[756] Well, if she landed it, then it would have been something different.

[757] She has a nasty spinning back kick.

[758] She really does.

[759] So this is Wyman.

[760] They were in the middle of this fight.

[761] Wyman was moving forward on Rockhold and this is Wybman was the fucking man this was a tough fight very tough fight but Wybin's putting all this pressure on him kicks him to the body looks like he's putting it to him head kick so right there right there one it's like he's beating him up like he's big brother in him right and he throws a lazy wheel kick and he gets taken down and now Luke Rockhold's a motherfucker on the ground and that boy's big.

[762] Luke Rockhold's big.

[763] You know, he made 185 for about 15 seconds.

[764] Yeah.

[765] He's well into the 200s, I'm sure when he's fighting.

[766] He's a big fellow.

[767] Big long, strong as shit, with crazy top pressure.

[768] And so here you go, Wyman's exhausted now and they can't believe he's in this position.

[769] It's a terrible position to be in.

[770] I mean, Rockhold's training with D .C. He's training with Khabi.

[771] He's training with all those people down there.

[772] All those animals in A .K .A. Kame Velasquez.

[773] It's just a savage soup down there.

[774] Exactly.

[775] And so Luke Rockhold, people forget, you know, people see some of his losses and see him in the later stages of a career.

[776] When Luke Rockwell was a champ and this right here that he won the title, this motherfucker had staff.

[777] He came into this fight on antibiotics.

[778] He's just gotten over staff.

[779] You know how hard it is to get over antibiotics.

[780] Fuck you up.

[781] And to be winning this fight in this way is fucking credible.

[782] And all off of why I'd been missing one shot, really.

[783] Look, I mean, he's just beating the shit out of him.

[784] It's hard to watch, man. Because Wyman is, like, really kind of helpless at this point.

[785] And he's so battered from these elbows that it's like, and he's too tough.

[786] He's so tough, the guy will never quit.

[787] And so this is one where I'm like, maybe this could have been stopped earlier.

[788] You could stop this in any second right here.

[789] You know what I'm saying?

[790] Like, don't you think?

[791] It keeps going, too.

[792] Bro, this is crazy.

[793] This is crazy.

[794] And I might have been the round.

[795] I think it was the round even.

[796] I think they keep going.

[797] going because what yeah yeah oh my gosh what it went on after that that's right that's right and it gets oh my god it happens again though it happens again that's right oh how tough is chris wideman that motherfucker so tough who but sometimes careers can change off of one miss technique which is one of the wildest things about mma careers can change anything can happen at anything at any moment I feel like it's like it, like I say, you can go in and you can be a better striker than the person.

[798] You can just get caught.

[799] It can be their night.

[800] They can show up better.

[801] It's like there's a lot of my fights where it's like, I feel like I am the better fighter, but they showed up that night.

[802] It's always a learning process, though, right?

[803] Like every experience that you have, you're putting into your mental database of how to deal with different conditions, how to deal with different thoughts that come in your head.

[804] Oh, yeah.

[805] I feel like it's a huge learning process.

[806] And for me, I think, like, I didn't really get a lot of regional experience, you know?

[807] I was three and two when I came into the Tough House.

[808] So I'm going on, my next fight will be my 15th UFC fight.

[809] So go three and two, Tough House, and then Liverpool.

[810] Yeah, exactly.

[811] That's so crazy.

[812] Oh, my God, what a wild ride.

[813] Yeah, so a lot of my learning experience was in the UFC.

[814] In the UFC in front of the whole world.

[815] Yeah, exactly.

[816] Chris Weidman when he knocked out Anderson Silva That was another one of those How did that happen?

[817] What is going on moments?

[818] We're like everybody thought that Anderson Silva was untouchable at that point That was that moment where you know you realize like this sport is nuts Even the people that you think are the greatest of all time They can get cracked and knocked unconscious Like Leon Edwards when he knocked out Kamaro Usman in the last round What?

[819] What?

[820] Camaro?

[821] When he lands that head kick and you see Camaro, who's like one of the most durable guys that's ever lived, he gets cracked, he gets back up, he seems fine always in every fight.

[822] And this one, he gets put out.

[823] It almost seemed surreal.

[824] Like when Tyson got knocked out by Buster Douglas.

[825] Like what?

[826] Like what is happening?

[827] It's crazy.

[828] It's like, like you say, you can be the better fighter.

[829] You could win that fight nine out of ten times.

[830] And then just that one time is that night.

[831] That's what happens.

[832] Especially at a high level, right?

[833] Especially at a high level.

[834] It's like you can't make any kind of mistake.

[835] It's like on a regional level, say you make a little mistake, but they're not going to capitalize on it because they're just, they're not smart enough maybe, you know?

[836] It's like a lot of, or like whatever it is, but then once you get up to a high level, it's like these people are good.

[837] If you make that one little mistake, then you're getting knocked out, you're getting subbed.

[838] You don't have those kind of opportunities.

[839] So it's definitely a learning experience there.

[840] There's also the difference in people that are fighting that train and people that train like you train.

[841] There's a big difference.

[842] The fact that you do it constantly and consistently it's just such an advantage, I believe.

[843] Because, you know, I mean, I know it just from training in Jiu -Jitsu.

[844] Even when I was training like four days a week, like really regularly, I would be in with those guys that are training five, six, seven days a week, and they would be getting better than me. Like, and I knew it.

[845] You could tell.

[846] It's in your head.

[847] Like, okay, do you want to go psycho and be here seven days a week or do you want to try to live a life like how are you going to balance this you know they're going to get better than you it's impossible to stop it's just a thing that people do if you can dedicate enough time and focus to something over long periods of time if you really stay true to it you get better and better and better and when i see someone like yourself that does that and goes from the tough house and goes to that fight in liverpool to me that's like one of the great american success stories that was fucking i mean that's really amazing it's an amazing thing to be this person who's a socially awkward kid and then all sudden you strangle some girl in her hometown in front of the whole world in this crazy arena like that's wild oh no it's a hundred percent everything is surreal about it to me so it's like for me it's like I'm just a kid who loves this shit I love this sport and that's about it I love showing up every day I love going to the gym every day and it's like even on my bad days it's better than going to any other job like I love training more than anything else like I can always remember it's like I've worked at vets offices I worked at Chili's right before I got into the tough house and I'm like there's my worst days at the gym or better than any day I had to go to one of those jobs of course I remember like getting off of a shift at Chili's getting off of a shift at the vet's office working like 10 hours the day and just going straight to the gym and there's nothing better than the feeling of the mats underneath your feet like Wow.

[848] That's just what I love more than anything.

[849] You can't beat that kind of dedication.

[850] That dedication trumps everything.

[851] Because even if you're really, really disciplined, you're enthusiastic, too.

[852] Like, discipline will get you through like a five -mile run, you know, but, like, it's not going to, you're not going to learn as much just with discipline.

[853] Like, you kind of, enthusiasm and discipline is really the right combination.

[854] You can't just be disciplined and just kind of trudge through it because the person that's more interested in it is more passionate about, more excited about it.

[855] that person's more jazzed up they're going to learn it quicker and they're going to put it on you quicker it's like it's the ultimate testing ground for ideas and focus really is I don't get people who don't train out of camp or they're like oh yeah I took like a month off or something like what did you do do you do anything other than train like what is what is fun time I had nothing no hobbies no nothing you don't play golf I have like a like I live in Miami so it's like I'll go out like paddleboarding sometimes things like that but that's really like training is so much of my life and I feel like it's like a lot of the times I'm not training I just don't want to do anything because I'm tired I'm exhausted from training yeah I think Masa yama said that about as karate students I think they were talking about why they don't I think it's it's not that they're more noble they're tired from training something like that I'm pretty sure I fucked that up.

[856] But, yeah, if you're training all the time, like, that's why street fights seems so stupid.

[857] You know, like, oh, my God, that's like more training.

[858] Like, fuck out of here.

[859] More training with danger and weapons.

[860] Yeah.

[861] No, I'm like, I don't get how people are so confident to get in street fights ever.

[862] Crazy, right?

[863] Like, you said, without weapons.

[864] Like, that's the crazy thing to me. You don't know when somebody has a weapon.

[865] They shoot people.

[866] People shoot people.

[867] Just be nice.

[868] It's not a fight.

[869] Exactly.

[870] There's so many fucking loons out there, though.

[871] Have you ever had, like, a girl come to the gym specifically to try to train with you?

[872] To come train with me, yeah, definitely.

[873] I train at a smaller gym, the goat shed in Miami.

[874] That is a wild place that you train out.

[875] Yeah, it is.

[876] I love that you train there.

[877] Those fellows are wild.

[878] Yeah, my coach, awesome.

[879] He has, like, a controlled chaos going on in there.

[880] But they're getting good.

[881] Oh, yeah.

[882] Everybody's getting good.

[883] Like I said, we're there at 8 a .m., 10 a .m. 11 a .m. Then I'm doing cardio after.

[884] Everybody's there.

[885] Focus, working.

[886] It's like, I feel like people see all the crazy shit online and don't think we're actually training.

[887] We're actually working.

[888] But it's like there's so much technical, like, ability that's behind all the chaos that you guys see.

[889] No, for sure.

[890] You could see that on Instagram.

[891] But if to the casual observer, I see what you're saying.

[892] But the infectious energy in that gym is so apparent that it comes out through Instagram.

[893] Like that's how you know it's a legit gem It's a little wild A bouss rotin seminar Basito He was just here Yeah he was there He's the fucking man Last week I want to say We had a seminar He's the fucking man I love that dude Okay Some girl had her legs open I don't know what that was all about I don't look at that one Jamie Yeah Miami's a wild ass place It's actually not a bad boast It's clever It's clever Oh, you click it and it's something else?

[894] Oh, she's selling sunglasses?

[895] Oh, glasses.

[896] That's a genius.

[897] You got to entice them, you know?

[898] Yeah, there's a lot of dirty people out there.

[899] Get the clickbait.

[900] What do you think about fighters starting only fans?

[901] Is that nuts?

[902] Yeah, I don't know.

[903] It's not my thing, definitely.

[904] Obviously, like I have friends who do it, things like that.

[905] But it's just, I don't know.

[906] I feel like you got to be.

[907] decide what you want.

[908] I feel like it's hard to be committed to fighting when you're into doing any, like if you're taking pictures and looking cute and doing things like that, that takes time where it's like, I don't have time for that shit.

[909] It's not just that, but then that probably makes you as much money as fighting.

[910] Yeah, that's also a thing about it too.

[911] Or more money.

[912] There's a lot of girls making more money than fighting.

[913] I'm sure.

[914] Yeah.

[915] I'm not knocking it.

[916] If I was a girl, I'd be in my underwear, for sure.

[917] I'd be like, come see this.

[918] Give me money.

[919] Especially when I was young If you're a young girl I mean I'm not encouraging anyone to start an only fan But I am saying Like what is worse What is worse?

[920] Someone looking at your butt Or you know you having to work some stupid job For four months I can't remember who it was But there's some There's a girl she had an only fan And she was a fighter and she tweeted one She's like, you guys can pay me to use my body To fight people but you don't want me to like pay me to use my body to like on only fans like you guys are just fine someone was telling her not to do it yeah i don't believe in that i don't think you should be able to tell anybody what to do with their personal life especially like social media personal life like do whatever you want to do you want to show everybody about go ahead you know i mean the thing is then your butts on the internet for the rest of your life and that's okay too i think probably there's going to be no privacy in about a decade or so i don't think any i think we're going to be like remember back of the day when you had privacy?

[921] I think people are going to know every thought that everybody has.

[922] There's nothing hiding.

[923] You're not going to be able to hide taxes.

[924] You're not going to be...

[925] I think the way our lives are getting more and more interconnected with technology.

[926] We're going to come to a point in time where I don't think there's going to be anything to hide than anybody has.

[927] And that's going to be a weird time to be alive.

[928] I swear I think about things in my iPhone tells me. Oh, yeah, for sure.

[929] It's like, oh, why don't you order this?

[930] I'm like, how did you even, I swear I didn't say it out loud.

[931] I just thought of it and it comes up there.

[932] I was Googling something and then the thing that I googled started showing up in my Instagram feed, very specific.

[933] It's a very specific thing.

[934] I'll tell you what it is.

[935] It's a 1968 bullet Mustang.

[936] Tell me how specific that is.

[937] That's really fucking specific.

[938] They never showed up in my Instagram feed before.

[939] But I was Googling the scene from the movie.

[940] bullet you ever heard of the scene the movie yeah it's Steve McQueen movies filmed in San Francisco it's the greatest car chase scene ever and Steve McQueen has this 1968 Highland Green Mustang and they're going through this see if you can find it it's fucking wild it's a wild scene and this is 1968 cars drove like shit so I Google this I watch this chase scene and I'm looking at like builds that people have made where they've made replicas of that car including this company called Revology that makes a sick Mustang and they make like a new 1968 Mustang instead of it being a 1968 Mustang is like a 2023 1968 Mustang but with modern technology in it so this is Steve McQueen and this dude getting this wild chase scene in San Francisco and it goes on for a while this is when movies didn't have music playing when shit was happening look at this it's just the sounds of the car Steve McQueen's face.

[941] And now they'd be fucking this up with do do do do do do do but do but back then they knew I'd make a fucking movie.

[942] But look at that car.

[943] Look at that car.

[944] That's a 1968 Mustang.

[945] That's a 68 charger.

[946] So anyway, this starts showing up in my fucking Instagram feed.

[947] Now that's really specific.

[948] How dope is that car?

[949] That's a dope car.

[950] That's a fucking dope car.

[951] I saw it.

[952] The scene's incredible.

[953] It goes on forever.

[954] Do you think they cleared traffic for this?

[955] For sure.

[956] They just clipped that car.

[957] You saw that?

[958] I know, but my point was, there's a movie I've seen recently, same time period.

[959] I think it's a Jack Nicholson chase scene, if this makes sense.

[960] And maybe New York or Chicago, I read they didn't clear traffic.

[961] They just filmed it.

[962] Oh, my God.

[963] I don't think it's as dangerous as this one probably, but they just filmed it and we're like, okay.

[964] For something like this, this is high speeds.

[965] You can't have people walking their baby stroller across the street when Steve McQueen kills them.

[966] You're just paying an intern and say, hey, cross the shirt right now.

[967] No, that's not going to work.

[968] That car is 100 % a part of the movie.

[969] So is that car.

[970] Watch how this car reacts.

[971] These are all stuntmen.

[972] These are all stuntmen.

[973] 100%.

[974] I would assume it would be now.

[975] You see how slow that Volkswagen's going?

[976] That dude would not be going that slow.

[977] Look at this.

[978] Hubcap lost.

[979] Look at this shit.

[980] This is a wild fucking movie, son.

[981] This goes on forever.

[982] This is what they used to do in movies.

[983] If you watch a lot of Steve McQueen's movies, Lamont, same thing.

[984] Like the whole beginning of the movie.

[985] No one even talks forever.

[986] I'm really good at falling asleep during movies.

[987] You don't give a fuck about anything but training.

[988] I love it.

[989] I love it.

[990] I'm like, anytime I lay down for too long, it's like it's a risk.

[991] Right, you just pass out.

[992] Yeah, yeah, I can't.

[993] Movies, I don't know.

[994] It has to be like, I don't know, kids movies that usually want.

[995] You like kids movies?

[996] I'm like, I'll do good with like animation things.

[997] Like frozen?

[998] Yeah, I'd be cool with watching that.

[999] I could probably stay up for that.

[1000] But like any real movies, I just.

[1001] I just don't have the, I don't know, I don't have the intentions fan.

[1002] Well, it's also like the drama that people go through in some real movies.

[1003] Like, think about the actual real drama you go through for your profession.

[1004] Yeah, exactly.

[1005] Their things are so mundane, you know.

[1006] Yeah, no, I feel like I like to try to get away from that.

[1007] Like, I don't know.

[1008] I am a huge fight fan, too, so I spend a lot of time watching fights.

[1009] Yeah.

[1010] Yeah, every weekend.

[1011] Last weekend I was like, what do I do?

[1012] There's no fights on.

[1013] I just feel lost if I don't have a weekend of fights.

[1014] Do you watch only MMA or do you watch other sports?

[1015] Do you watch Muay or anything else?

[1016] More MMA than anything else.

[1017] I don't know.

[1018] Even Jiu -Jitsu, I feel like I've never really gotten deep into watching.

[1019] Really?

[1020] Yeah, it's more just to MMA specifically.

[1021] But I think MMA as a sport is completely different than like, say, like, no Gigi Jiu -Jitsu versus Gigi Jiu -Jitsu versus kickboxing versus wrestling.

[1022] It's like those are all like even I feel like people look at like M -MMA Jiu -Jitsu versus N. Nogi Jiu -Jitsu, they're like, oh, it's the same when it's completely two different worlds.

[1023] Well, as soon as strikeings involved and also the gloves prevent a lot of stuff.

[1024] It's very interesting the difference.

[1025] If I, you know, obviously never fought MMA, but I've grappled with MMA gloves on.

[1026] Just trying to get chokes when someone's not punching you.

[1027] You can't get things under chins.

[1028] It's so much harder.

[1029] Well, it's just how you have to work for things, too.

[1030] Like, I think, like, when I go into Jiu -Jitsu competitions, I get stuck in a girl's clothes guard, and I'm like, how the fuck do I open a clothes guard?

[1031] Like, oh, I punch you in the face.

[1032] That's how I open your clothes guard.

[1033] I can't do that right now.

[1034] So it's like, I haven't drilled that shit in years where it's like these girls are doing that every single day.

[1035] Yeah, the strategy of punching in the face can't be ignored.

[1036] That's a good way to get out of someone's closed guard.

[1037] It's like, well, it's just easy.

[1038] A lot less effort.

[1039] Exactly.

[1040] It opens up so many opportunities, even submissions.

[1041] It's like, I feel like for the Rose grappling match, it was short notice for both of us.

[1042] I think the whole card was put together on 11 days total.

[1043] Oh, wow.

[1044] So I just had like a short camp, but me just doing straight jiu -jitsu for that short camp, I was like, it's so much harder to get submissions when you can't punch them in the face.

[1045] When you can't just, like, get them to, like, try to push you off or create the space when you can't do the damage.

[1046] That's a really good argument for learning it the way you're learning it then from the beginning.

[1047] Because that's a really good argument for learning MMA, Jitsu.

[1048] It's a completely different sport.

[1049] I think, like, I don't know, I think Nogi and MMA Jiu -Jitsu, they're just, like, getting farther and farther away from each other as the years go.

[1050] I think that Nogi is taking its own path, and MMA is a completely different world, where it's like, even my choking style, I feel like doesn't translate as well to Nogi as it works for MMA.

[1051] Hmm.

[1052] That's interesting.

[1053] But it's like the level that.

[1054] that exist now, both in Jiu -Jitsu and in MMA, is so different that at any other time, I'm looking at these guys that are just now entering into the UFC, and they look like world champions.

[1055] Like, they move like world champions.

[1056] It's such an interesting thing to see, and for you to be a part of it, and to love it so much, it's got to be one of the wildest experiences a person could go through.

[1057] Oh, it's crazy.

[1058] Like, at my gym right now, we have a kid who just started training with us.

[1059] he's 11 and 1 and 20 years old.

[1060] And I'm like, where did you get the time to get those fights?

[1061] That's amazing.

[1062] Like my niece, she's 3 and just started training Jiu -Jitsu.

[1063] I'm like, I can only imagine, like, people starting MMA at this age now where it's like you've never really seen that before.

[1064] And if you keep going at the pace you're going, I think you could hit like really crazy levels.

[1065] I really believe that.

[1066] I really believe that you're one of the most exceptional contenders.

[1067] that are coming up right now.

[1068] It's really exciting to see.

[1069] I think I built a really good foundation over the last couple of years.

[1070] Like I said, I learned a lot.

[1071] I got into the UFC extremely young, so I feel like it was a lot of stepping stones.

[1072] But now I am in the prime of my life, and I have the right combination with goat shed and Dean Thomas.

[1073] And I feel like I'm just in a good spot mentally and physically, and I feel like I'm ready for these opportunities that are coming my way.

[1074] That sounds like you prepared that one.

[1075] Did you prepare that one?

[1076] No, I didn't.

[1077] Not at all.

[1078] No, not at all.

[1079] That's awesome.

[1080] That was perfect.

[1081] Print, cut.

[1082] Make a reel.

[1083] Put that shit on Instagram.

[1084] Yeah, that's awesome.

[1085] I'm excited.

[1086] I'm excited for you.

[1087] When you're watching some of these upcoming cards, what fights are interesting to you that are coming up right now?

[1088] The upcoming cards?

[1089] Oh, on the Amanda Nunes card, the Benil Darush in Charles Olivera, that fight.

[1090] I'm like, I've been waiting for that forever.

[1091] It got canceled.

[1092] Now are you scheduled?

[1093] That's a good one.

[1094] That is going to be a matchup.

[1095] Benil Dariuch's fight with Jakar Close was one of the craziest fucking fights I've ever seen in my life.

[1096] It was so nuts.

[1097] It was so back and forth.

[1098] But Neil was almost out.

[1099] Like we thought he was hurt bad.

[1100] And he finds a way to win.

[1101] And his grappling is nasty.

[1102] He's got one of those types of grappling styles that's just ideal for MMA.

[1103] He's really blended it in such a perfect way.

[1104] It's going to be interesting to see because Oliver is very, very good off his back.

[1105] And it's like, Darius technically doesn't.

[1106] need to take this fight.

[1107] He could probably get a title opportunity.

[1108] I'm assuming before this, you know?

[1109] It's like, I feel like he takes opportunity.

[1110] Like, he's just a gangster, you know?

[1111] He's down to take it.

[1112] He is just a gangster.

[1113] You know who I was thinking about earlier?

[1114] I forgot to mention nasty off their back, Paul Craig.

[1115] Yeah, he's something different.

[1116] Something different.

[1117] That dude's triangle is elite.

[1118] Holy shit.

[1119] Him and Jamal Hill.

[1120] I'll never forget that his arm just like flopping around there there's nothing worse than that it was horrible luckily jemal's arm was fine believe it or not it was just dislocated which is i thought it was broken it looks so terrible i've seen a gang of arms get broken in my day and that one was one of the most awkward ones misha when ronda broke misha's arm oh yeah that was a good one too oh i'm like it's so funny because in a fight i don't have a problem like doing things like that but then watching it i'm like oh that's gross I think the scariest ones for me, the leg breaks.

[1121] When Anderson broke his leg against Weidman, when Weidman broke his leg against Uriah Hall, those are the scariest ones.

[1122] That was freak me out.

[1123] For Weidman to be a part of both of those?

[1124] I'm like...

[1125] Crazy.

[1126] What are the odds?

[1127] That's absolutely insane.

[1128] There was one that happened a few years back, Corey Hill, rest in peace.

[1129] And then there was Anderson.

[1130] And then after Anderson, who else?

[1131] Chris Widebin Connor No one else Is that it I think that's it That's it And one of the worst ones Is Tyrone Spong You ever seen that one Oh my gosh That was disgusting Oh that's a hard one It's something different With a In kickboxing too I feel like The kicks are just thrown With more intention And the way he stepped back On that It's just something And that was essentially The end of his kickboxing career I mean he's boxing now That's a dangerous man Oh yeah He's a dangerous dude.

[1132] He's a big dude.

[1133] Yeah, that one fight where he got dropped early in the round and the dude's swarming on him and he measures him, measures him, measures him, balaam!

[1134] Woof!

[1135] See you can find that.

[1136] Tyrone's Bong crazy first round knockout because it's nuts.

[1137] This dude comes after him, big tall dude, hits him with a big shot and drops him.

[1138] And then the way he responds and the way he cracked that dude, just how staying calm under fire, looking for his shot, extending his left hand, and then drops it right on them.

[1139] Just like a sniper.

[1140] Some people is like, I don't know.

[1141] Here it is.

[1142] Just the way some people's minds.

[1143] Michael Dut.

[1144] Yeah, some people's minds are just.

[1145] I feel like they can just see shit.

[1146] I don't know.

[1147] They see something different.

[1148] Look at that.

[1149] Boom.

[1150] Perfect one too.

[1151] Drops them.

[1152] I mean, on the chin.

[1153] Perfect one too.

[1154] He gets up.

[1155] Okay.

[1156] Stays calm.

[1157] This dude's just swinging now.

[1158] Now he's just wild and reckless.

[1159] Measures.

[1160] Bam.

[1161] Woo!

[1162] and that's the fight this dude gets up and he's like what the fuck fuck this and it took him a second he's like this is not I'm not good it's crazy the way people's bodies reacts to like being knocked out sometimes it's like I think it was Edson and Shane Burgos I'm like it took him like five seconds before he really felt it yeah that was one of the weirdest ones I've ever seen ever just something happened and he's back up and as he's backing up he's losing consciousness it was like he was good and then it just he wasn't good anymore shame burgos is such a tough man oh yeah he's a dog oh he's a dog he's a dog always so here he gets cracked with a good shot here then he gets cracked with another good shot here edson with those horrific leg kicks so i don't know where the is this is it coming up soon oh it's the whole they put the whole fight in there so obviously edson is catching him a lot of stuff.

[1163] And as tough as Shane is, he's probably been hurt on multiple occasions in these exchanges.

[1164] Right there.

[1165] That's it.

[1166] So it was a one -two.

[1167] It was a one -two right there.

[1168] Right there, one -two.

[1169] Boom, boom.

[1170] And then it just, the lights go out.

[1171] Crazy.

[1172] He'd never seen something like that.

[1173] That was weird.

[1174] Yeah.

[1175] But there was a hard punch that, and multiple punches before that.

[1176] Edson Barbose is a guy who doesn't get enough credit.

[1177] That guy has the fastest switch kick I've ever seen in my life.

[1178] His switch kick is bananas.

[1179] His last knee against Billy Quarantia, and then his knee against B 'Neil Darouche.

[1180] Both of them were fucking vicious.

[1181] Insane.

[1182] Yeah, I wonder how much of a struggle it is for him to get to 45.

[1183] I was on the last card with him and it looked like it was a struggle.

[1184] He's so shredded.

[1185] He was, like, we were sitting there an hour before Wayans and everybody was just sitting in their chairs and he was laying on the floor on the back.

[1186] Just looked like he was struggling, but the next day he went out there and performed a hundred percent apparently like you've got that knockout got that fight the night bonus so I'm like I don't know how people do that I don't know how they do it either I don't get how you can make such a huge cut and just feel good on fight night crazy it's crazy because it's the amount of damage that does to your body it's not zero so like how much damage are you doing 24 hours before a cage fight just for that advantage and it's like how much of a size advantage is it maybe 5, 10 pounds?

[1187] It's like how much of an advantage does that give someone if they are technically better than you?

[1188] I think the advantage I think there is advantages there has to be otherwise people wouldn't keep doing it.

[1189] I think that it's also you also feel like if you get someone who does a lot of it and then they get a hold of you you're like oh my God I'm too small for this weight class you know if you're one of those guys like Frankie Edgar is an animal Frankie Edgar weighed 155 and won the 155 pound world title And he beat BJ Penn to do it Frankie Edgar was beating everybody And they were way bigger than him He just did it with skill and hard And also he was so durable because he didn't cut weight It's one of the things like some of these guys That cut a lot of weight There seems to be It seems like the guys who cut the most weight Have harder times after a while taking shots It seems to have an effect It's hard to tell whether it's just the overall accumulative effect of their career or if it's the weight cut.

[1190] But there was a lot of questions about Pajeda.

[1191] A lot of people brought that up, like whether or not the weight cut makes him more susceptible to getting knocked out.

[1192] But it's not a zero, right?

[1193] It's not a zero effect.

[1194] It has an effect.

[1195] But it's also to be this bigger person and to be able to, especially in the early part of the fight, if you can get a hold of someone.

[1196] Wait, like the 170 when he walked down to the cage.

[1197] Oh, my God.

[1198] He says that, really.

[1199] That's crazy.

[1200] That's 25 pounds.

[1201] That's crazy.

[1202] That's so much weight.

[1203] Oh, yeah.

[1204] No, I don't understand.

[1205] Think about 25 pounds of water on this table.

[1206] Exactly.

[1207] He removed that from his body and put it back in.

[1208] What?

[1209] Without an IV.

[1210] No, it's absolutely insane to see.

[1211] And after that, being able to perform.

[1212] I think that's the thing is that so many guys are doing it when you see a guy who's as big as Edson at 145 or as big as Billy at one, I don't know what Billy cuts.

[1213] But there's some guys in some weight glasses that are just like, how was Marvin Vittori 185 pounds?

[1214] That guy's giant.

[1215] He's huge.

[1216] Oh, yeah.

[1217] But he gets down to 185.

[1218] Well, all my fights besides my last one have been at 125 in the UFC and then my last one was at 115.

[1219] So just the difference between the 25ers and the 15ers is extremely different.

[1220] I feel like that girl we watched earlier, Maria Agpova, she, I remember, I trained with her at ATT, and she would come at a camp around like 150, 155 and cut down to 125, where I was coming into camp at 130 and cutting down to 125.

[1221] So, yeah, it's just, I don't know.

[1222] I don't know how the girls do it, but I'm like, there is a huge difference between, like, the 15ers and the 25ers just size -wise.

[1223] Nobody does it crazier than Patty.

[1224] Patty's out of his fucking mind.

[1225] Because he does it in front of everybody.

[1226] I feel like he tries to, though.

[1227] Oh, he does try to.

[1228] I think it's part of his persona now, but it's also fun.

[1229] The dude gets fat in front of the world and then gets shredded again.

[1230] He disappears and then gets shredded again.

[1231] And then he gets fat again.

[1232] Yeah, even that I don't get.

[1233] I'm like, by the amount I train, I don't get...

[1234] Look at the difference between the...

[1235] It's so crazy.

[1236] Look at the difference.

[1237] The lower left -hand corner of the upper middle.

[1238] When he's down to fight...

[1239] he's a fucking character that kid's a star you know if he gets matched correctly and that's the thing like if it was any other sport you'd get matched if he was boxing you'd have a manager that manager would go okay patty you got a lot of fans but we got to set you up with the right opponents we got to make sure that we test you in all these areas and build up all the holes in your game and you know like boxers like to get to the title undefeated they like to get to that title fight 16 and oh the challenger That's what everybody loves in boxing.

[1240] I feel like it's getting more and more like that in MMA too.

[1241] I have more respect for fighters who is like, you can see that they've taken tough matchups versus the fighters who is like, they fought nobody, but they have an undefeated record.

[1242] What do you think about a fighter that gets an opportunity to take a fight they know they probably shouldn't take?

[1243] And they take it early in their career against someone who's far more experienced and it can be very dangerous.

[1244] But sometimes an opportunity presents itself and they say, hey, do you want a fight in the U .S. UFC, we've got to fight against this guy, you know, top whatever contender.

[1245] And people have done that before.

[1246] First fight in the UFC, you're fighting a contender, which is really wild.

[1247] But it happens all the time.

[1248] I've never taken opportunities like that big, like fighting contenders in the UFC, but I feel like it is important to take every opportunity that comes your way because it's like, it's more eyes on you.

[1249] You have an opportunity to show what your abilities are, too, even if you are like the B side of the matchup necessarily.

[1250] but every opportunity I've taken win or loss I feel like it's helped lead me to the point that I'm at today and it's also built the foundation that's like you need losses you need to learn and you need that to fall back on even if you know like you're seriously overmatched take it anyway I don't know it's it for me it's like I've never said no to a fight I think that's a tough situation.

[1251] I've definitely went into fights where I know I was seriously undermatched.

[1252] Like when I fought on the tough house, like I said, I was three and two.

[1253] I was 22 years old.

[1254] And I fought Barb Ponchak, who was 10 and 2, the Invicted champ.

[1255] She was like pinned to win it.

[1256] And that was my first fight in the house.

[1257] And I ended up losing second round TKO.

[1258] But it's still, I had my moments in the fight.

[1259] I almost finished an arm bar at one point.

[1260] And it's like I still had that opportunity, obviously got my face in front of day and I got to be on The Tough House.

[1261] Like, it was still an opportunity that opened doors for me in the long run.

[1262] You also escaped that straight arm lock when she had your arm extended.

[1263] Oh, yeah.

[1264] And you got out.

[1265] I was like super impressed that you got out of that.

[1266] I was like, Jesus Christ.

[1267] I hated the angle.

[1268] When I was looking, I was like, Jesus.

[1269] It was one of those, there was a moment where she was yanking on it or I was like, yikes.

[1270] Literally, I thought during that moment, because everybody knew me as like the Jiu -Jitsu girl in the house.

[1271] So I'm like, oh, I cannot let her sub me. Like, I'm not going to let her get this shit.

[1272] How close was it?

[1273] It was definitely hurting, but it's like, I feel like that little bit of frustration gave me that little bit of like push, that little drive.

[1274] That's funny.

[1275] Well, you got out of it.

[1276] But that was a very tough matchup for you.

[1277] Yeah.

[1278] That's the thing about, you know, the progression of, of MMA.

[1279] You get these tough matchups.

[1280] You learn.

[1281] And it's a fast.

[1282] fascinating for me as someone who gets to see fights over and over again, see fighters progress through their career, you get to see these people that have put these things together.

[1283] And you see the learning growth and the curve.

[1284] And you see like where they're at now.

[1285] And it's like ever since I was, even in my amateur fights, I had a lot of tough girls.

[1286] But like all my pro fights, I've had one, no, two fights where the girls haven't made it to the UFC at this point.

[1287] So it's like I fought all UFC level competition.

[1288] My last amateur fight was, actually against Cheyenne Vlysmus on a Rise of Warrior, my little hometown show.

[1289] So it's like another UFC girl fighting when I was an amateur.

[1290] So it's like I've always had the highest level of competition.

[1291] That's very fortunate.

[1292] But also Miami's a hot spot for MMA, right?

[1293] Florida in general, I feel like it's a hot spot.

[1294] It's just I don't get how people train in the cold, so I get why.

[1295] The only thing you have to worry about is hurricanes.

[1296] Exactly.

[1297] And alligators.

[1298] They're not that bad, though.

[1299] They're everywhere.

[1300] They're everywhere, but they leave you alone.

[1301] Yeah, until they don't.

[1302] Until they don't.

[1303] You just be comfortable to have monsters walking around your yard.

[1304] That's crazy.

[1305] I remember when I went to the tough house, it's like that's the first time I was really, I don't know, around a lot of girls from, they were all around the world.

[1306] And they were asking me about alligators.

[1307] They're like, what do you do about them?

[1308] I'm like, what do you mean what do we do about them?

[1309] Like, they're just there.

[1310] We just kind of ignore them.

[1311] They're like, I feel like everybody expects them to be like chasing after you or something like that.

[1312] They have this weird stigma around them.

[1313] Well, every now and again, they do get someone.

[1314] Every now and again, but like...

[1315] You're so comfortable with living around monsters that every now and again, eat a people.

[1316] We have gator, sharks, snakes, like, everything's trying to kill you in Florida.

[1317] But if you don't go in the water, you don't have to worry about the sharks.

[1318] And, well, the snakes, you got a real problem in the Everglades.

[1319] Yeah, that's nuts.

[1320] Yeah, and the Everglades, those like 14 -a -foot pythons, like...

[1321] They're fucking huge.

[1322] They just find them.

[1323] They just go out.

[1324] They don't even have to look that hard.

[1325] They look out, there's one.

[1326] I saw a video of one eating an alligator.

[1327] I'm like, that's crazy.

[1328] Yeah, we played it a bunch of times.

[1329] There's a bunch of dead ones they found with alligators like poking out of the side of their body.

[1330] Yeah, they've run out of things to eat.

[1331] It's just insane, though, like to be able to swallow something, literally bigger than you.

[1332] Yeah.

[1333] Literally bigger than you.

[1334] Well, they've eaten everything.

[1335] There is an estimation that 99 % of all the dears, rabbits, raccoon, everything, in the Everglades is gone.

[1336] Oh, wow.

[1337] 99 %.

[1338] Yeah, all from the snakes.

[1339] Oh, that's crazy.

[1340] There's like nothing left.

[1341] It's just monster soup.

[1342] It's just monsters.

[1343] It's just snakes and alligators.

[1344] That's all it's left.

[1345] And some poor fuck, imagine, if you're some dip shit, it doesn't know what you're doing.

[1346] You want to go hiking in there.

[1347] There's a half a million pythons.

[1348] A half a million.

[1349] Oh, wow.

[1350] In Florida.

[1351] I'm like, you're opening my eyes to this.

[1352] Yeah.

[1353] There's a half a million.

[1354] pythons estimated in florida i've always seen things on the like news and stuff about that obviously you see like the florida man things like catches a python i'm like i didn't know there's that many though i think you guys are way too comfortable you're way too comfortable i don't think you realize what's like right there's this there's a wooded area that you go into it's filled with monsters and those monsters have eaten every mammal and it's like i with me i think like crocodiles alligators are so cool it's like they've eaten every animal and they've been around for thousands of years.

[1355] Millions.

[1356] Millions of years, yeah.

[1357] So it's like they survive everything and can kill anything.

[1358] They're cool as fuck.

[1359] They are cool.

[1360] Yeah, I think alligators and crocodiles are really cool to me. I'm really fascinated by them.

[1361] Crocodiles are very different, though.

[1362] Crocodiles are like a wolf or as alligators.

[1363] I'm more like a dog.

[1364] In Florida, though, like their crocodiles aren't as aggressive usually.

[1365] Well, are they as big?

[1366] We don't have a lot of crocodiles.

[1367] Is this a crocodile with a person?

[1368] inside of it.

[1369] A snake.

[1370] A python with a five -foot alligator inside its stomach.

[1371] Oh, Jesus.

[1372] Eat it whole.

[1373] Whoa.

[1374] Oh, my God.

[1375] Look at that.

[1376] That's insane.

[1377] That is fucking insane.

[1378] 18 foot, maybe 20 -foot.

[1379] 20 -foot python.

[1380] With a giant -ass alligator inside of it.

[1381] And where was this?

[1382] Where did they find this all?

[1383] Florida.

[1384] This was in Florida?

[1385] That's where I ever go to the National Park?

[1386] Wait a minute.

[1387] I thought the biggest python they ever found in Florida was like, I thought it was less than 20 feet.

[1388] Well, this is 18.

[1389] This is roughly 18.

[1390] Oh, okay.

[1391] A five -foot alligator inside of it.

[1392] You know what I'm saying that is?

[1393] So it literally is monster soup.

[1394] It's monster soup.

[1395] There's nothing left.

[1396] There's no raccoons.

[1397] They're all fucked.

[1398] Imagine being a raccoon trying to get laid.

[1399] You're out there.

[1400] Anybody?

[1401] There's no one there.

[1402] No one lives there anymore.

[1403] There's no deer.

[1404] Good luck finding a deer.

[1405] They all got jacked by monsters It's all the monsters All the people too There's too many buildings now I feel like Miami I feel like there's no I don't know There's no wildlife Maybe you should encourage people To go hiking In Miami?

[1406] Go to the Everglades Go to the Everglades Go for a hike Solve both the problems That would be a real Real reality show Here's a real reality show Take some clout seeking Dipshit And let them camp out For the longest In the Everglades don't say no don't do this someone's gonna take this idea and someone's gonna die yeah you gotta put the disclaimer on it one of my favorite stories about Florida was this guy was involved in a car chase with the cops and he parks on a bridge jumps out of the car lands on a gator and gets killed in front of the cops that's one of those ones where I'm like can we get that fact checked how does that happen just an asshole and karma come get you Karma came and got him Lay it on an alligator It's like a movie There's this Sometimes scenes happen in real life That seem like a movie Florida man runs from police Directly into an alligator's mouth When Brian Zuniga fled a traffic stop And well you fucking pop -ups When Brian Zuniga fled a traffic stop in Tampa yesterday He had the right idea Sprint away from the cops jump a fence Hide behind a water treatment plant But Zuniga wasn't counting on a justice -loving reptile he's back in custody this morning with nasty scars in his face oh this is a different one yeah this is a different one many of these dipshits have fucking landed in alligators yeah one guy died this dude jumped off a bridge though got his arm bitten off yeah that's Gator man that guy wandered around for like days with one arm he's like man I don't know where it was oh this one just happened recently it's a wild -ass place who would have thought that Florida would be like the battleground for freedom in America like whoever thought that Florida would be the place where all the people like we need freedom Florida was the spot yeah no especially I feel like during like COVID and stuff like that it's like I think that's what's drawn all the people to us it was like since COVID everybody like you said like with the freedom and everybody's just kind of rush their way there it's so funny that he got so much DeSantis got so much criticism from that but at the end of the day he was right and no one wants to admit it he said protect your elderly treat your elderly everybody else you should be able to go back to life and he was right and everybody's like you're killing everyone he was right yeah I think we never really like jims might have shut down for like a week but we were still open you know but like there is nothing that really like shut down for a long time in Florida Jitsu Jims in L .A. got hit hard oh yeah I know I got hit hard I heard a lot about New York, how terrible it was.

[1407] Horrible.

[1408] Well, the Donna Hurd Death Squad, they all went to Puerto Rico so they could train.

[1409] Imagine that?

[1410] Literally going to an island in the middle of the fucking ocean so you could train.

[1411] That's so crazy.

[1412] It was, I worked with Dean a lot during that time, so it's like we would constantly just wherever we can find mat in space.

[1413] We don't even need mats.

[1414] I'm like, Dean would drill on carpet with me if we got it.

[1415] So I'm like, wherever it was, we made it work and we made it happen during that time.

[1416] but it's like there was a lot of opportunities and there wasn't a lot of places closing either.

[1417] Well, the places in L .A., they, you know, people had to meet privately in different spots.

[1418] They had to try to keep their game going.

[1419] And then, you know, I just hoped someone wasn't sick.

[1420] And everybody had so much anxiety.

[1421] But I didn't hear of anybody really getting fucked up by it in the jitza community.

[1422] No, and then it's like I fought an Abu Dhabi during that time.

[1423] So it's like flying over there.

[1424] It's like you have to COVID test, I think, 10 times before you touch the island.

[1425] It's just crazy all the things that we had to go through during that time period.

[1426] It's like it feels like it was a different world then.

[1427] I know.

[1428] And it's amazing that the UFC pulled it off.

[1429] It was brilliant.

[1430] Everybody was telling them, what are you doing?

[1431] You're going to have fights on during a pandemic.

[1432] You're going to kill people.

[1433] You're risking people's life.

[1434] And they're like, look, we're going to do no crowd.

[1435] We're going to test everybody.

[1436] Not good enough.

[1437] People still didn't want it.

[1438] Stay home as if somehow another a respiratory virus is going to like dissipate because everybody stayed home.

[1439] like stop you're ducking nonsense it doesn't work that way so they did it and it all took off and then NBA started doing it with no audience and then they started creeping audiences back in and like the apex center and I remember the first time we did it in an audience again it was I think it was Jacksonville it was crazy because like Florida was one of the only places where you could do it and it was a full packed arena and I was like this is the super spreader event of all time because it's the middle of everything and everything was fine yeah I feel like the audiences have come back stronger since COVID too it's just like it used to be like first couple fights there'd be nobody in the audience during the prelims and now it's like the first two fights there's already fans there everybody's just like ready to get in their seats I love that when I get there and we're there for like 4 p .m. fights and it's already packed though that's exciting but I get it Six hours is a lot of fights.

[1440] Oh, yeah, no. It's definitely a lot of fights, but as the fighter, it's like, it's nice to have that crowd there.

[1441] It's nice to have that energy there.

[1442] And, like, probably one of my, me being Canadian, fighting in Edmonton was probably, like, one of my most memorable fights just because of the energy in the crowd, just because of how many people were screaming.

[1443] And it's like, I'm not walking out in Liverpool and getting booed, you know?

[1444] Right.

[1445] Did that feel like it had added pressure on you?

[1446] It didn't add pressure.

[1447] It just makes me, I love it more than anything else.

[1448] It's like the fights at the apex almost like don't have the same feel to me. They don't have the same like vibe around them.

[1449] Like even like the, even the winds.

[1450] I'm like, it's just like you're celebrating by yourself to have the crowd there and just that energy in the room.

[1451] It just makes everything different when you walk in the cage.

[1452] I totally get it.

[1453] But as a fan, watching the apex is really special.

[1454] There's something about being able to watch fights with no crowd and the fights are being broadcast on tell.

[1455] I mean, I always, I was thinking at every one of them, like, wow, I'm so lucky that I can be here and do this.

[1456] Because just to be in this moment, there's only 100 people here.

[1457] And this is in the middle of these crazy weird times.

[1458] But I'm getting to experience Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gagey, this wild crazy fight with no audience.

[1459] And it was a fucking war, a crazy fight with no audience.

[1460] It's so weird.

[1461] It feels like it's almost like too chill of a scenario when you're in there.

[1462] It's like, okay, I'm in a fist fight.

[1463] it's just like, because it's so quiet, it's just so relaxed, it's weird.

[1464] It is, it's very different to experience as a fan.

[1465] I couldn't imagine the difference in like when you do something and there's no cheering.

[1466] You know, maybe you hear your coaches and that's it.

[1467] But you also can hear like specific instruction very clearly.

[1468] And you can hear her coaches very specifically then too.

[1469] So it's like that definitely plays into it.

[1470] And it's like, or I always like whenever just watching as a fan, like you can hear the shit talk between the fighters.

[1471] you know, on the mic.

[1472] So, like, it just definitely adds a different aspect.

[1473] Well, that's why Mark Henry's got such a fascinating way of doing it, where he comes up with nicknames for every move, and they're different for every camp.

[1474] Yeah.

[1475] Which is crazy.

[1476] Yeah.

[1477] I feel like trying to remember that would be hard.

[1478] Rashad said he was blown away.

[1479] It's like, this guy's, he writes out all these different names.

[1480] Like, this would be the name of your friend.

[1481] This would be the name of your daughter.

[1482] This is the street you grew up on.

[1483] Like, what?

[1484] Yeah, I'm not remember.

[1485] and all that.

[1486] With Dean, I feel like he relies on my decision -making ability a lot, and he relies on the fact that we're prepared that we spend 10 weeks, 12 weeks, whatever, preparing for this moment.

[1487] So it's like I should be ready for every opportunity or every obstacle she throws at me. So you will hear him in the corner, but not often.

[1488] I feel like he only talks when he feels necessary, so it's like he trusts me to make my own decisions majority of the fight.

[1489] that's awesome I feel like also that's what's helped me build great decision making and I feel like at a championship level decision making is what makes one of the biggest differences That's a very good point That's interesting That's the thinking about it like as the overall health of the pupil Yeah because as you're going through the challenges they're going to get more difficult And you're going to have to kind of sort it out on your own and then whatever mistakes are made you correct in the gym And it's like for me at the end of the day it's like I'm walking in the cage by myself you know I need to be ready for the that moment.

[1490] I need to be ready to answer everything.

[1491] And, like, I think it was my second or third UFC fight.

[1492] I had just one girl in my corner and she was an amateur fighter just because it's like, I just needed someone to warm me up.

[1493] It's like, we have those 12 weeks of preparation and I'm ready no matter what walking in there.

[1494] So it doesn't really, like, matter, like, who's in the corner.

[1495] What does a camp look like for you?

[1496] Is it laid out in advance and does it include, what, do you have strength and conditioning sessions that you do separate to your MMA training?

[1497] I actually don't do strength and conditioning at all.

[1498] You just do MMA.

[1499] Yeah, I just do MMA.

[1500] Is that unusual?

[1501] I think it is.

[1502] I think a lot of people think I'm weird because I don't do it.

[1503] I think that it's more beneficial.

[1504] Like, you only have so many hours in the day and there's so many sports.

[1505] There's Jiu -Jitsu wrestling, striking.

[1506] It's like there's so much to learn.

[1507] So it's like I can only invest so much time into each of them.

[1508] So I choose to invest my time into technical abilities.

[1509] And for my cardio more, I get it in rounds.

[1510] So it's like I do jujitsu rounds or like MMA rounds.

[1511] I do MMA rounds three times a week.

[1512] So it's like I'm constantly getting that cardio work, getting that push.

[1513] And I feel like there's nothing that can really match that MMA pace, that MMA cardio.

[1514] So it's like you can do striking for six months, then come to Jiu Jitsu and have shitty Jiu Jitsu cardio.

[1515] So it's like I think you have to be doing MMA to get MMA cardio.

[1516] I don't think running or anything like that necessarily supplements it.

[1517] Do you guys do things like switch out opponents and live drills and things like that to like ramp up your heart rate and simulate moments inside fights?

[1518] Things like that or like we say it depends on who my opponent is in the cage.

[1519] Like if I'm going with the boys or with the girls, if I'm going with the boys, it's like they can push the pace for me no matter what just them.

[1520] They're stronger, faster typically.

[1521] And so and we have a good group of 125 -pound boys who can really push the pace.

[1522] for me technically and then with the girls we usually set like goals for me so it'll be like just try to score as many submissions as you can this round or we're trying to score five takedowns around so just make sure you push the pace to make sure that I want to be ready to shoot 10 takedowns around every fight that I go into just so I'm confident in that and it's not like a necessity of me like I need to get it to the ground this time I can shoot 10 more times we'll just come up with strikes so we'll figure out the when the opportunity is right.

[1523] I like that strategy, because you're doing, you're essentially doing strengthening through skill drills.

[1524] Exactly.

[1525] Yeah.

[1526] All my, uh, strengthening is just getting rounds and doing sparring.

[1527] Well, I mean, there's nothing that makes you stronger than wrestling, right?

[1528] And if you, if you're doing that kind of thing, like trying to get as many takedowns as possible in 20, I mean, that's, that is a form of strength and conditioning for sure.

[1529] Absolutely.

[1530] It's a different type of, we, uh, usually, once a week, we'll do, uh, big gloves.

[1531] So boxing gloves and takedowns, and we just do King of the Hill.

[1532] And those, there's two 10 -minute rounds, and those two 10 -minute rounds will kill you every time, just trying to take someone down, because we have big gloves on, we're hitting hard, and then getting takedowns.

[1533] And it's like those rounds, I don't feel like there's anything that pushes my cardio like that.

[1534] That's interesting.

[1535] How much harder is it to take someone down with big gloves?

[1536] It's definitely adds a different element, you know?

[1537] Especially, like I said, these rounds, we specifically, like, know we're going for the takedown.

[1538] So it's hard.

[1539] Hard, hard rounds.

[1540] Yeah.

[1541] Like when you're talking big, you're talking like 16, 18?

[1542] How big of the gloves?

[1543] Yeah, like 14, 16.

[1544] Okay.

[1545] Yeah, just boxing gloves.

[1546] Versus using like MMA sparring gloves, like six ounce.

[1547] What are your thoughts on hard sparring versus technical sparring?

[1548] I think you need a little bit of both.

[1549] I think you definitely need to learn how to bring that dog out in the fight when you need to.

[1550] So you need those hard sparring rounds.

[1551] You need those rounds to make you confident in walking forward and confident in pushing the pace.

[1552] But it's also technical sparring rounds, you need 100 times more of those.

[1553] You can do as many of those as you want because you're not taking the damage.

[1554] But that's what's going to build your reaction time.

[1555] What's going to make you think more?

[1556] A lot of times if you get too much hard sparring, then you get a little bit like punch shy.

[1557] You're not going to build the right reactions.

[1558] So if you get more technical sparring, you're building more.

[1559] right reactions and you're building just I don't know I feel like you need both I think you're probably right and I think most people would probably agree with you but for longevity the one concern is like how much hard sparring you do in training and how much that takes out of your longevity how much that takes out of your overall career like max hallway is not sparring at all anymore which I found really fascinating and his his reasoning is you take unnecessary damage and sparring and I know how to fight and I'll just do drills and work on my conditioning and do it through drills and he's been very successful doing it.

[1560] Someone like him, it might be a little bit of a different circumstance where he just has that dog in him, you know, you don't need any, he doesn't need the hard sparring to bring that out of him at all or do like make him feel comfortable there.

[1561] Like that's just, Max has that in him.

[1562] He's also had so many high level fights that like the timing and the, it's all in his head.

[1563] You understand what happens.

[1564] He's been there with Volcanovsky, you know, over and over again.

[1565] He's been in there with Connor McGregor in the early days.

[1566] You know, he's a fucking animal.

[1567] You know, Max Holloway's an animal.

[1568] He's really good.

[1569] Max is, yeah, I feel like he's like the people's champ.

[1570] He's such a good guy, too.

[1571] He's like the nicest guy ever.

[1572] He's so friendly and fun, but man, when he turns it on inside the cage, holy shit, he's got extra gears.

[1573] That guy's got extra gears.

[1574] Like, he's another one.

[1575] that's a fantastic example of dedication and hard work and the results.

[1576] Because, like, and he'll tell you, he's like, I'm not like the most athletic guys.

[1577] There's nothing.

[1578] It's just he worked harder than everybody.

[1579] He's more intense than everybody.

[1580] And then when you saw him in his prime, and he was a monster.

[1581] He just would put it on people and put a pace on people.

[1582] They just couldn't keep up with.

[1583] I feel like that's so much about what it is, is just showing up.

[1584] It's just being there willing to do the work, willing to be coachable, and it's like you have to show up like I feel like so many people think it's just I don't know people fall in love to the stardom and the starlight of the sport and they don't realize that it's just like it's the showing up every day and grinding and getting the work and it's really going to produce results yeah it is it's a long process it's a long long long process but it's got to be exciting to be in the spot of the process that you're at knowing how you were in the beginning and you just started taking kickboxing classes to look at you now I mean Oh, yeah.

[1585] I feel like it's been a short process in the grand screen of things.

[1586] It's been 12 years since I started training, and six years of that has been in the UFC.

[1587] Which is really fun.

[1588] Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[1589] That's crazy.

[1590] Yeah.

[1591] I feel like it's just gone by so fast, really.

[1592] It's just, it's crazy to work with people.

[1593] And, like, I don't know, work with people who is, like, their first day.

[1594] And you're trying to teach them, like, all right, move your hip over here.

[1595] And they can't, like.

[1596] figured out yeah they just can't comprehend it and you're like was I ever like that do you remember what you were like when you first started did it come to you easily did you it definitely came to me more easily I don't remember like me ever being like I don't know super super awkward yeah super terrible but I know I was I know it definitely came easy and I was good at jujitsu from the time that I started did you do any sports before that I did nothing nothing I did gymnastics when I was probably like five or six for a year and my parents put me in soccer multiple times because they played soccer my brother played soccer my dad coach soccer so it was like they tried a couple times and I quit a couple times and then it was just they were like you need to get some type of like hobby some type of activity and that's when I started volunteering with animals oh did they was it totally out of left field when you became a fighter for them oh yeah completely out of left field like what the hell girl everybody expected me to be a vet and like that was just like the trajectory I was on and I don't like literally my parents growing up would tell me they're like if somebody's like trying to start problems if you just walk away you know like don't start any like fights or anything like that they are like complete pacifists on that side and I couldn't tell you the difference between like the WWE and the UFC when I started really like I had no idea what Brazilian Jiu -Jitsu was nothing I had no idea so it's like it was just I really don't know where I got the thought where I wanted to do it.

[1597] You just, well, was there a lot of high -level people that were around you at the time?

[1598] Because you walked in Dean's gym.

[1599] Yeah, well, I guess before that, like to walk into there, I don't really know it was my motive.

[1600] But in the gym, he had a couple of, I guess, the pro guys who were doing all right.

[1601] Nobody too high -level, but it was just, I don't know, I fell in love with just the environment of it all.

[1602] I just loved the grind of it all.

[1603] I just remember when I was in the cardio kickboxing class with a bunch of soccer moms pretty much.

[1604] And after the first day, I didn't expect it to be that much of a workout for some reason.

[1605] So I was like beat red in the face.

[1606] And one of the moms, she was like, just make sure you keep coming back.

[1607] And like I just remember like always thinking about that because I don't know if it like I probably would have kept coming back.

[1608] But it definitely was like I didn't want to on the first.

[1609] day.

[1610] I was like, this shit's hard.

[1611] Do you think that lady saying that to you made you come back?

[1612] I think it might have influenced something because I was like Wow.

[1613] I was like, all right, now I have to.

[1614] Like, she's expecting me to be there, you know?

[1615] Isn't that crazy?

[1616] How just one weird moment, one weird interaction when someone could say something to you to change the course of your whole life.

[1617] Oh yeah.

[1618] Even I feel like it's so weird that it's like something like that I walked into Dean's Gym.

[1619] Yeah.

[1620] What are the odds?

[1621] The chances that that happened is like he's still my coach 12 years later.

[1622] Like, that's just, like, I feel like you can't walk into a better spot, really.

[1623] You can't.

[1624] You just got lucky.

[1625] I mean, but is that what it is, or is it destiny?

[1626] I mean, it's a great story.

[1627] If I wanted to tell a story about an MMA fighter who did nothing until she was 16, takes cardio kickboxing.

[1628] And then some little old lady says, you keep coming back.

[1629] And she's like, ah, okay, I said hi to the old lady.

[1630] Now I've got to keep coming back.

[1631] She's going to be mad at me. I feel like everything, I don't know, everything in my career kind of did just, like, line up like that it was like whenever ronda got into the ufc i was just getting into my amateur career and then whenever i stopped being able to make 115 they opened up the 125 pound division and it was like uh so you had to have three uh well you had to have at least three fights in a winning record to get into the tough house and i had i was two and two and i was like searching for a fight searching for a fight couldn't find anything then the week before the tough house tryouts i got a fight and I fought the Saturday before and tried out for the tough house the next weekend.

[1632] Wow.

[1633] So I'm like, I feel like everything's just kind of lined up perfectly.

[1634] Just, I don't know.

[1635] Do you ever wonder whether or not there's, like, a divine plan?

[1636] I definitely think that I was made for this.

[1637] Like, I feel like I was made for this spot, made for this sport, and I feel like there is a reason that everything lined up.

[1638] What do you think that reason is?

[1639] I don't know yet, I guess.

[1640] I definitely, I don't know, I think I'm capable of something that a lot of people aren't capable of and how I can, I guess, show this sport, how I can translate this sport.

[1641] You're definitely a unique person and a very thoughtful person and a person that if someone talked to you and they did not know that you are a professional cage fighter of the highest level, they would never imagine it.

[1642] He seems so, like, friendly and normal.

[1643] And then if I show, like, there should be a show where people get to meet you and then guess what you do.

[1644] They don't, they don't guess what you do.

[1645] They just talk to you.

[1646] They can't ask you what you do.

[1647] They just talk to you about life.

[1648] They can't ask you questions about martial arts.

[1649] They can't ask you questions about anything for an occupation.

[1650] Just so, how do you, you know, how do you feel about climate change?

[1651] You know, like, whatever.

[1652] Just talk to you about shit.

[1653] And go, what do you think she does?

[1654] Zero people would say cage fighter.

[1655] Zero.

[1656] I feel like it's almost like two completely different people, like Jillian and the Savage.

[1657] I'm like, when I'm in the cage, I'm like, it's a completely, like, after, it's actually the Moriagpova fight, I sit down on the floor and I throw up two middle fingers.

[1658] And post -fight, one of the UFC guys, he was like, so you throw up the two middle fingers.

[1659] Like, what was all that about?

[1660] I was like, I did that.

[1661] Like, I completely blacked out, didn't remember I did that at all.

[1662] Wow.

[1663] I'm like, it's a completely different person.

[1664] there.

[1665] I don't take any accountability for that.

[1666] Do you have like a switch where that person comes in?

[1667] Or is it only when the fight starts?

[1668] I want to say it's whenever like my walkout song starts that I start because there's definitely the pre -fight nerves.

[1669] I feel like everybody has them and I go through them all day in the locker room.

[1670] And then as soon it's like I'm making the walk, I don't have nerves anymore.

[1671] Like I'm just ready to go, ready to walk out there.

[1672] And it's like, I don't know.

[1673] even in that fight I was sitting there and I'm choking that girl and I'm just looking at the ref like oh she's out trying to tell him calmly I'm like it's just something I don't know something weird something different that happens whenever that I'm in the cage do you feel like you get like a tunnel vision do you feel like or do you feel like legitimate like you're a different person it's probably more of just like a tunnel vision after the fight I think I'm a different person sometimes I'm like I'm sitting there screaming and shit I'm like who the fuck is that But, yeah, it's really just a tunnel vision.

[1674] I remember my last fight just looking around the other arena and seeing just like a full arena of so many people.

[1675] And then as soon as he's like, fighter, you ready, all the lights turn off in the arena.

[1676] And it's like, it's just you and her then.

[1677] And it's like, I don't know, it's just such a focused moment.

[1678] It's such a surreal moment in there.

[1679] What is it like hearing the cheers?

[1680] I feel like you've got to kind of block them out to laugh at the fight.

[1681] Because even during the fight, it's like, if somebody's cheering you on, it's like, all right, now I feel like I got to do something.

[1682] Or you feel like they're cheering the other person on you.

[1683] Do you guys hear booze?

[1684] Like if it's in the clinch and someone booze?

[1685] Oh, yeah, everybody's screaming the Rick Flair woo the whole time.

[1686] Like the second you get a take down.

[1687] I'm like, I'm sitting on top of this girl for four seconds and you guys are already screaming.

[1688] Like, come on.

[1689] Yeah, it's interesting.

[1690] But that's the problem with casuals.

[1691] They don't understand how hard it is to get there, what the consequences are.

[1692] Maybe they don't even know you.

[1693] You know, they don't get the consequences.

[1694] I feel like grappling also isn't like a casual favorite sport.

[1695] They want to see you stand and bang.

[1696] So it's like me being a submission artist, I feel like I haven't really gotten a lot of that attention, I guess.

[1697] Or they don't really, I don't have a lot of fans in that department.

[1698] Yeah, but if they watch that Meatball, Molly finished, Jesus Christ.

[1699] I mean, that is dramatic.

[1700] when she comes to when she's kicking you've seen it obviously when she wakes back up and that is always weird to me when someone comes back it's like where were you where'd you go where'd your brain go I've had it once in a grappling competition where I didn't go completely out but like I tapped and the ref called it a couple of seconds later and like I couldn't sit up all the way and I just kind of fell back but I was still there but I just remember like I instantly felt like I was Well, I was scared I peed myself at first.

[1701] I was like, I felt like I was sitting in like a cold puddle.

[1702] And I woke up and I was like, no, I'm good.

[1703] I'm like, I just went out a little bit, but I'm good.

[1704] But I don't know.

[1705] It's such a weird scenario.

[1706] I don't know, a weird feeling.

[1707] I went out on a fighter jet once.

[1708] I blacked out.

[1709] We went seven and a half Gs on this one thing.

[1710] And it was with the Blue Angels.

[1711] And you have to hold on to this.

[1712] You're holding on to the, whatever it is, the yoke.

[1713] Is that what it is?

[1714] What are they called those things?

[1715] Yeah.

[1716] You're, you're, the fighter pilot will hold on to this thing.

[1717] And they have to do this thing called hooking, where they go like this, hoot, hut, huts, hut, huts.

[1718] Well, you're literally pumping blood into your brain, try to stay consciousness because the pressure of the G -Force, you see black on both sides, like an elevator door.

[1719] Like, it's closing your consciousness.

[1720] It's literally like a visual thing.

[1721] Oh, yeah, as Tito -O -T's went out.

[1722] Oh, my God.

[1723] How many Gs do they hit them with?

[1724] No, I'm not 100 % sure.

[1725] I just saw this going around and they look nuts.

[1726] Yeah, they hit you at crazy G's and then you black out.

[1727] And that's not good.

[1728] That's not good.

[1729] Also, like, what does that do to your neck?

[1730] When you're going all those Gs and your fucking neck is flopping around.

[1731] But I did it at once.

[1732] But then the second, we did another thing and I didn't hook quick enough.

[1733] Or I didn't realize it was as many Gs it was.

[1734] It was actually less cheese than we had already done.

[1735] And it blacked out.

[1736] And then I woke up and I threw up.

[1737] He was at 90s.

[1738] Yeah, that's a lot.

[1739] I did seven and a half.

[1740] I got to seven and a half G's.

[1741] It's a crazy feeling.

[1742] It's real weird.

[1743] But you have to, I mean, you can only stay, I don't know how long you stay conscious for.

[1744] But those guys, they don't fly with suits.

[1745] They don't have like a G suit.

[1746] There's a certain G suit that helps you absorb.

[1747] But either way, that's the only way I've been out.

[1748] I got choked out by a plane I'm like I've put more people out than I've been put out So I'm like that's a good thing That's the perfect ratio Exactly Yeah that's exactly what you want I don't think it's that bad for you But I don't think it's good for you either Like whenever I see radio DJs that want to get strangled I'm like I don't know if that's innocuous Yeah I don't know the I don't know I guess the drive behind that Like why you would want that Stevo did it on one of his specials He had Tim Kennedy choke him out.

[1749] I watched it recently.

[1750] I think Mike Bisping did it too with Steevo.

[1751] Oh, God.

[1752] Everybody's choking, Steve.

[1753] Yeah, it was just last week.

[1754] Did they both drop them?

[1755] Because Tim Kennedy dropped them.

[1756] You laid him down quite gently.

[1757] Well, Tim Kennedy's a savage.

[1758] Just let him drop.

[1759] I think he asked to let him drop.

[1760] I think we had this conversation.

[1761] Didn't we with Stivo?

[1762] These guys, so silly.

[1763] You know, letting people choke you to sleep and then dropping you on your head.

[1764] head, okay.

[1765] Stevo's so nuts.

[1766] He's so reckless.

[1767] That was my thought whenever there was the Nate Diaz altercation a couple months ago with the choke.

[1768] I was like, it's not about the choke.

[1769] It's about him dropping him.

[1770] I'm like him hit his head on the concrete.

[1771] That's what worries me. Yeah, he did hit his head.

[1772] He didn't hit his head bad, though.

[1773] It wasn't like from a full knockout.

[1774] Full knockouts are scary on concrete.

[1775] Oh my God, they're so scary.

[1776] Doesn't people's heads bounce off the curb.

[1777] People die like that all the time.

[1778] It's just, it's like getting hit in the head by the world.

[1779] That's what it's like your head cracks.

[1780] It's fucking terrible.

[1781] Don't fight kids.

[1782] Stay home.

[1783] Go to the gym.

[1784] Go to the gym and fight like a woman, right?

[1785] Do you say that?

[1786] Fight like a woman?

[1787] Isn't that like a t -shirt line?

[1788] Probably.

[1789] It should be maybe.

[1790] Are you, do you have any aspirations outside of MMA?

[1791] Like, do you, at one point in time, do you think you'd like to do something else?

[1792] I would like to try to maybe branch into commentary or something like that I really do I just want to be in the fight game I like I love fights I love analyzing fights so I would like to hopefully get better at that one day well the UFC always uses fighters which is great I mean it's the most insightful commentation you're ever going to get that's not a word right commentary you're never going to get it's from fighters yeah and Laura Sanko's killing it for the girls she's killing it yeah she's doing great it's um i mean uh obviously in victa you know there's there's a lot of chicks that are doing commentary and it's a great thing um for the sport to have fighters like yourself that can you can you can have an insight into especially if like there's like a big fight in your weight class you know like maybe someone who you could eventually face and you've been looking at tape on them and you know you could maybe exploit some things and talk about it yeah it's um i love it like when felder does it or dc does it or i used to love kenny florian It's Michael Bisping.

[1793] It's awesome.

[1794] Dominic Cruz.

[1795] It's the best gig for those guys, too, because you're still in it.

[1796] You're still going to all the fights.

[1797] You're analyzing stuff.

[1798] You're still a part of the excitement of it all, which is truly the most exciting thing.

[1799] I've been to a lot of stuff.

[1800] Been to a lot of sports.

[1801] Been to a lot of music shows.

[1802] Been to a lot of things.

[1803] There's not much out there that's as exciting as a world title UFC fight.

[1804] Not much.

[1805] Not much.

[1806] Oh, yeah.

[1807] I'd just love to, like, I'm not sure if coaching is necessarily the right step for me, and I would want to do something where I'm staying with a sport.

[1808] A commentary.

[1809] I'm staying around it.

[1810] Yeah, staying commentary, some type of thing where it's just, I need to be around this kind of energy.

[1811] Like you said, there's nothing that can compare to a world title fight.

[1812] I think with someone as dedicated as yourself, too, you'd be very frustrated if you had students that weren't as dedicated.

[1813] Am I right?

[1814] I feel like that's a common thing.

[1815] Yeah.

[1816] I think that it's hard to find somebody who is.

[1817] as dedicated as me a lot of times or people who, I don't know, I don't want to say want it as bad but it's like a lot of people.

[1818] Yeah, people don't want to put in the time or the effort and I'm like, this is literally your job or your dream.

[1819] Why aren't you just trying everything you can to make it happen?

[1820] Yeah, it's funny.

[1821] But it's a discipline issue and it's a focus issue.

[1822] And some people, they don't trust in the process either.

[1823] They feel like they got better for a little while and then they hit a sort of a lull and they lose faith it happens all the time you'll see guys going through bad stretches at the gym and then you'll see him for a while it's like what happened i don't know i got tired of jihitsu and like okay but you were like on a good path you just got to be able to push through got to be able to get through bad spots that's i'm like keep showing up is the biggest thing that i feel like it's you just got to keep on showing up keep on being there even on the day, especially on the days when you don't want to be there.

[1824] You got to be there.

[1825] And I don't know, there's nowhere else I would rather be.

[1826] And I've been just showing up for 12 years.

[1827] And I feel like it's worked out pretty well.

[1828] It's worked out awesome.

[1829] It's worked out awesome.

[1830] And it's great advice.

[1831] It really is.

[1832] Because as long as you can stay focused and try to be positive and try to be happy, there's a process going on with anything you're trying to get good at.

[1833] And if you're if you're really involved in something and you're really interested in it and you're really focus on it, you're going to get better.

[1834] And then you're going to look back and go, wow, I'm glad I kept doing that thing.

[1835] Imagine if I just quit.

[1836] I've always said, I'm like, if I work hard, doors keep on opening.

[1837] It's always the like how it's worked.

[1838] Me putting in the hours, me putting in the time and doors have just naturally opened.

[1839] So I'm like, I feel like that's just the key to it all.

[1840] I think you're right.

[1841] And I'm glad this door opened and I'm glad we got a chance to do this.

[1842] It's a lot of fun.

[1843] Oh, yeah.

[1844] It was a pleasure.

[1845] My pleasure.

[1846] My pleasure.

[1847] And what are you slated for next?

[1848] Do you have a fight planned?

[1849] June 24th against Tabitha Richie.

[1850] That's right.

[1851] We just talked about that earlier.

[1852] So, yeah, three and a half weeks out now.

[1853] Three and a half weeks out.

[1854] Wow.

[1855] That's a very exciting.

[1856] Very exciting fight.

[1857] June 24th.

[1858] And that's the Apex?

[1859] No, it'll be in Jacksonville.

[1860] Oh, that's the Florida card.

[1861] That's the Emmett Toporio card.

[1862] That's right.

[1863] Let me see that whole card.

[1864] It's going to be my first fight, first pro fight and first fight with the UFC in Florida.

[1865] Oh, wow.

[1866] So that being my home state, pretty much, it's going to be awesome for me. I'm so excited.

[1867] This is a fucking great guard.

[1868] This is Gregor Rodriguez, Dennis Touloulin, Brendan Allen, Bruno Silva, Neil Magny, Phil Roe.

[1869] That's a great fight.

[1870] Ooh.

[1871] And is this, go all the way up to the top?

[1872] Is this, this is the SPN?

[1873] Is it ESPN Plus or just ESPN?

[1874] Because they've been doing them on ABC, too.

[1875] Yeah.

[1876] It's starting at 2 p .m. in the afternoon.

[1877] It's a little earlier.

[1878] Interesting.

[1879] I bet it's on normal.

[1880] Well, I want, we just did the ABC one.

[1881] I wonder if they're going to do more ABC ones.

[1882] Very interesting.

[1883] Anyway.

[1884] Okay, there it is.

[1885] It's on ABC.

[1886] Oh, it is on ABC.

[1887] Main card is ABC.

[1888] Main card ABC.

[1889] Yeah.

[1890] See, there it is.

[1891] That's an interesting deal.

[1892] Well, if I was a network, I'd want to get in on some of this action, you know?

[1893] Like, they used to be so scared of them, MMA, but now MMA has really been normalized.

[1894] Oh, yeah, yeah, a lot of, I feel like, I don't know, now it's like, you see things like Bare Knuckle MMA getting normalized more.

[1895] That's kind of crazy, right?

[1896] Yeah, I'm like, that's just crazy.

[1897] Yeah, I'm like, I don't know, I've been to a couple, I went to a bare knuckle MMA in just a regular bare knuckle fight, and both of them, I'm like, I'm sitting there cringing the whole time.

[1898] I'm like, I don't get that stuff.

[1899] It's a different level.

[1900] Oh, it's 100%.

[1901] Just hearing a bare, like, fist hit somebody's face is a different sound.

[1902] And it's something scary.

[1903] Well, the cuts, too.

[1904] The cuts are crazy.

[1905] Your poor hands, too.

[1906] I'm like, everybody's hands after every single fight, broken knuckles, like huge fist swollen just because, oh.

[1907] I'm like, you can't not break your hand on somebody's head.

[1908] Have you ever tried Machiwara training?

[1909] You ever tried that?

[1910] No. The karate guys used to do.

[1911] They said take, you know what a makiwara is?

[1912] No. It's like a plank that has hard rope wrapped around it, and it's like bolted into the ground, and they would just practice reverse punches into this thing.

[1913] It was like this hard thing that had like a little bit of give to it until they developed these massive calluses all over their hands.

[1914] So that's like more of a mechanical macawar.

[1915] That one looks like it has, like it gives.

[1916] Yeah, so that's what a traditional one looks like.

[1917] And these guys would punch them.

[1918] Google like karate macabre.

[1919] knuckles.

[1920] See that, and they would just practice hitting their knuckles over and over again until they get preposterous looking.

[1921] Just, just Google, like, for images because some dudes have, like, fucking insane knuckles from hitting those things.

[1922] That guy on the far left.

[1923] That guy, the guy in the far left.

[1924] Yeah, that one.

[1925] That's what I'm talking about.

[1926] Look at the size of his fucking knuckles.

[1927] Do you think that actually helps?

[1928] Mm -hmm.

[1929] Yeah, for sure.

[1930] It builds up calluses.

[1931] Well, for sure, definitely.

[1932] My friend John used to do it.

[1933] I've seen it.

[1934] He used to practice with bricks.

[1935] He was a Taekwino champion, and he would practice with his knuckles with bricks.

[1936] And he had one knuckle that was essentially, like, fused from calluses.

[1937] It was this massive thing.

[1938] The first two knuckles, like the index finger and the ring finger, were all just a calloused mass that he could smash people with.

[1939] And you see people, like, Muay fighters do that a lot with their shins, like conditioning.

[1940] But I've never seen that with their knuckles.

[1941] Yeah, that was what they used to do in karate.

[1942] I think people still do it, too.

[1943] Although, it probably is probably terrible for your arthritis and shit as you get older.

[1944] Oh, yeah.

[1945] Got a sacrifice.

[1946] Listen, thank you very much for coming here.

[1947] I really appreciate it.

[1948] Give everybody out your social media so they can follow you.

[1949] My social media on Instagram and Twitter is Savage underscore UFC.

[1950] Okay.

[1951] Well, thank you.

[1952] I really appreciate you being here, and good luck to you.

[1953] Thank you so much.

[1954] All right.

[1955] Bye, everybody.