The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz XX
[0] Welcome to GoodFollow presented by Draft Kings.
[1] I'm Megan Reyes, and alongside me, as always, are Logan Hackett and Katie Novotny.
[2] Ladies, how are we doing today?
[3] Doing amazing.
[4] How are you?
[5] Coming off the Olympic high and finally getting a little bit of normalcy in my life now that we don't have sports on at 4 in the morning.
[6] I miss it.
[7] I'm just waking up to do my own sports at 4 in the morning.
[8] You know, I'm just giving it my all.
[9] As we're talking about the Olympics, we know the U .S. women's national team took home their fifth gold medal last weekend.
[10] And prior to the gold medal match, their fans were speculating and coming up with names for the trio of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Smith.
[11] People came up with the Trident, but then they came out and said that they wanted to be called Triple Espresso.
[12] So let's check out a video of this guy at a coffee shop.
[13] The Rodman, Swanson, Smith.
[14] A what?
[15] Triple espresso.
[16] me too if Starbucks was smart they would put that as a promo drink immediately on the menu that would be so sick I would love to see that imagine you were just like with him like first date and he goes up with that I think I would actually drop to a knee and be like I don't care about anything else marry me please we're getting married I saw actually that Washington Spirit are doing this really cool promo with local coffee shops in the D .C. area where they're having like a triple espresso menu item at different coffee shops.
[17] Yeah.
[18] It's a really smart marketing movie.
[19] You're right.
[20] The Starbucks of the world have missed out on this.
[21] That is what we want to see.
[22] Bring these women to every menu board across the United States.
[23] Give them something.
[24] So Katie, as an advertising professional, what name do you like for this trio?
[25] And what name would you give them?
[26] I feel like triple espresso might be the smartest thing I've ever heard.
[27] It's so well done and they're so happy together.
[28] Like every time I see them, all three of them are together, which brings out, you know, it really ties into the caffeine.
[29] It gives you so much happiness and the coffee and the expertise and the craft with the right espresso beans.
[30] It's brilliant.
[31] It's absolutely brilliant.
[32] They knocked it out of the park.
[33] I don't think I could beat it, to be honest.
[34] And while the U .S. Women's National Team post -win gold medal party looked absolutely late, if there's one thing women's soccer players know how to do, they know how to party.
[35] Let's see this video from their celebrations.
[36] My favorite thing about this is, especially respectfully, a lot of the roster skews younger, that at their gold medal party, somebody said, we need to put on Cheetah girls.
[37] Out of all things, I cannot believe.
[38] a cheetah girl for Halloween one year.
[39] And the fact that they, this has come full circle, I cannot believe.
[40] I am in awe.
[41] It makes me love them even more.
[42] Also, the fire?
[43] What?
[44] Like, what an after party?
[45] What do these?
[46] I want to hang out with them so bad.
[47] You're not a 90s, baby.
[48] If you didn't want to get a pink fleece zip up from Gaffer Old Navy with a matching fleece cheetah headband.
[49] Oh, yeah.
[50] Matching gloves and matching everything and be Raven -Simone.
[51] Yeah.
[52] I had a cheetah belt, so that was pretty sick.
[53] One of my friends had a long -sleeved cheetah shirt that, like, it was like a blouse.
[54] Like, it was so ugly, but it was so cool.
[55] Logan, tell me you've seen Cheetah Girls.
[56] Oh, of course.
[57] I'm pretty sure.
[58] There's something, like, significant with Cheetah Girls in my life, and I can't fully remember what because I was pretty young but I know the full like sweat suit tractsies that you're talking about I loved every single one of them and then one of them started dating Rob Kardashian when I was like obsessed with the Kardashians so just everything came full circle but I'm calling it now these three are going to go as the cheetah girls for Halloween.
[59] Oh my god yeah oh my god you should put a bet on this so many you're asking was hello we need to open up lines on Halloween costumes because that's a good one.
[60] I'm in.
[61] I like that.
[62] Well, it's time for another round of Is Katie 2 Online?
[63] And the answer is always yes.
[64] Katie is going to share the top moments from her algorithms this week.
[65] So, Katie, what do you have for us?
[66] That's the drum roll.
[67] Okay, first up, I'm going to talk about the bronze clock necklace that Flava Flea had made for Jordan Childs after she was stripped from her bronze floor metal.
[68] It's hard for me to say that out loud.
[69] let's check it out who got her bag Flavor Flame Here's the thing I think I'd rather have that than the Bronx metal I would love him to come out with a grandfather clock that looks like that and I would put it in my home and then every hour it just dongs with his with that song instead I'm not gonna lie I've watched the video multiple times and actually made a different video on it yesterday where it was just like on loop but without sound So that was the first time I heard it was sound, and I had no clue he had that song over it.
[70] It's so good.
[71] It's iconic.
[72] It's so good.
[73] Well, let's talk about it for a minute, though.
[74] I would love to know people's opinions on the Jordan Child situation.
[75] We can try and keep this condensed because I think this could be a whole other episode.
[76] Starting with you, Logan, what are your thoughts on, um, on it all?
[77] I don't even know how to best summarize this, but how do your thoughts on the discourse?
[78] I hate it.
[79] I really feel like she shouldn't be giving it back, especially given that Romania, was like we'll just split it like give me a bronze too and she could keep hers and they said no i think that's stupid she worked hard for it and there's other proof apparently that it was done in like 46 seconds i i'm not a fan of the whole situation at all katy what are your thoughts i do not like a challenge that is brought after an entire event like if it feels like it should be it's on everybody i think like to your point I think like the IOC messed up what but like all these extra challenges that are coming out is because they messed up in the moment and like we've moved on like you don't get you don't get to argue a ball that went out of bounds like after the match was over like do you there should be like I think in um like there's a pitch clock for a reason right like you have a countdown this is the amount of time you got to get the thing out the door and if it's over let it happen and it just is annoying it's like one of those little little nitpicky things i don't like it i'm not into it and it just ruins like the entire it's a little it's a little nat in the entire wonderfulness of the entire olympics what do you have next for us on your top moments in the week speaking of things that are completely unhinged tom cruise just casually dropping down into the closing ceremonies which makes me so embarrassed already for 2020 28, let's watch this.
[80] Like, he looks like he's about to do Peter Pan, a Peter Pan song.
[81] Like, what are you doing?
[82] I'm like, stay in your lane, pal.
[83] Like, I don't know.
[84] Like, I cannot believe, I am so, I'm speechless because I just know Hollywood and L .A. are going to do this across the board in four years.
[85] And, like, I want to just, like, pull my hat down and be like, it's not, I don't live here.
[86] This isn't it?
[87] This isn't it?
[88] I know a lot of people felt strongly about how often he was being shown on the broadcast during the gold medal match.
[89] And I get why I can understand why he was the person to receive the flag, Hollywood, all of that.
[90] But what I don't understand is the most obvious thing was right there at the Olympics, Snoop Dog, is literally from Long Beach.
[91] why wasn't he receiving the flag?
[92] Because he's not a white man. That's why.
[93] He's not a white, rich, famous man. And it's driving me crazy.
[94] But it was right there for everybody.
[95] Imagine him on stage.
[96] Crip -blocking.
[97] That stunt was so lame.
[98] Like, he literally just like, I could have done it.
[99] That's not doing your own son.
[100] So that's like going for a ride at the fair.
[101] Yeah.
[102] Like ride at the fair.
[103] Like to be?
[104] on a BMX bike and ramp up and dive through a ring of fire and then I'm in.
[105] Yeah.
[106] And then like go in through the ring of fire into a swimming pool.
[107] Like I want to see that whole thing.
[108] Okay.
[109] What else do you have for us, Katie?
[110] The WMBA is back.
[111] And you know what that means?
[112] Ellie the elephant is back in our feeds, baby.
[113] She freaking came back with a vengeance and Sierra brought her out on her stage at her concert in Brooklyn.
[114] Let's watch.
[115] This is actually what I look like when I get a piece of chocolate cake for myself to eat at night.
[116] I am, it is so, she's amazing.
[117] She's absolutely, what a move.
[118] I still hold on to my theory that Sierra is Ellie the elephant or has been Ellie the elephant.
[119] And perhaps she was just in two places at once.
[120] This doesn't debunk what I think could be possible.
[121] She was doing a Hannah Montana somehow.
[122] All right.
[123] Close us out, Katie.
[124] What's your last demo?
[125] Our last one is, it's a, it's a emotional piece.
[126] It's a great one to end on because we're talking about Paralympics a little bit later.
[127] But I am obsessed.
[128] I am writing the script.
[129] I am creating the pitch deck for the Olympic and Paralympic love story that is Tara and Hunter Woodall.
[130] Watch this video of him reacting to her becoming a gold medalist and bring the tissues.
[131] Let's go.
[132] I have full body chills.
[133] I'm going to cry.
[134] I know.
[135] I saw this.
[136] I was walking like Saturday night and I saw, I was walking at this bar.
[137] I was walking past this bar and all the TVs had this moment, just the biggest screen TVs of her jumping into his arms.
[138] And I like started sobbing.
[139] It was like to have that support.
[140] Well, coming up, I sit down with.
[141] UFC fighter Juliana Pena.
[142] We'll be right back.
[143] Welcome back to Good Follow.
[144] Joining me today is UFC fighter Juliana Peña.
[145] Juliana, it's so great to have you on the show.
[146] How are you today?
[147] I'm great, Megan.
[148] Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
[149] Well, I am very excited to learn from you.
[150] And to start, I would love to know what initially drew you to MMA and how you got into the sport.
[151] Okay.
[152] It was actually by an accident.
[153] My sister had invited me to a woman's cardio kickboxing class to lose some weight because she's very like she's painfully shy and I went with her to join because I needed to lose some weight and I threw my first punch and my trainer asked me where I learned how to box and I said I had never boxed before and he said well where did you learn how to punch and I said well you just taught me and so I threw my first punch at 19 years old and I haven't looked back since it was it was all by accident that is so cool boxing is actually one of my favorite workouts.
[154] I will admit, I don't go often, and I haven't been in a while, like, pre -COVID, but it is one of my favorite workouts.
[155] And similar, I went to a class for fun with a friend, and I fell in love with it.
[156] It's such an underrated good workout and a great way to get some aggression out.
[157] Absolutely.
[158] I think that it is an underrated workout because every time I leave the boxing gym, I'm like dripping in sweat.
[159] It's a great workout.
[160] And it's always good if you have one of those classes.
[161] I think people are intimidated, right?
[162] Because they think boxing I'm going to get hit in the face.
[163] But any good boxing gym is just basically like you're holding and then you punch and then you're holding and then I punch.
[164] That way, you know, no one gets hit in the face.
[165] I think the professional fighters are in the back and they're the ones that take all the punches.
[166] But initially, I think that most people don't join the boxing gym because they think they're going to get punched in the face.
[167] And that's not really the case at most gyms.
[168] Right.
[169] If anything, I learned that most of the boxing classes I went to was way more abs and legs and not even that much punching that I wanted.
[170] So people that aren't new to realize it's a lot more conditioning.
[171] Yeah, yeah.
[172] Old school calisthetics, yes.
[173] I think that maybe you should also find another gym that has a little bit more punching than the old school calisthenics.
[174] We'll have to go together.
[175] Oh, I would love to.
[176] So being in MMA, excuse me, as long as you have, is there a particular hobby or skills that you've picked up throughout your career that may have surprised you.
[177] I'm from Spokane, Washington, but now I'm based in Chicago.
[178] And last week I came back from Spokane, I did my first ever keynote speaking engagement.
[179] And I spoke in front of 350 supervisors from this company called A .G. West.
[180] And I would never brag and say, oh, I nailed it.
[181] I hit it out of the park.
[182] But my sister was there, and she was like, you killed it.
[183] And then the response that I got back from all of the people there was also very, very positive.
[184] And then I got an email from the guy that had hired me and he said, you were an absolute hit.
[185] You were the favorite keynote speaker.
[186] Everybody loved you like you're great at this.
[187] And so I think that if I can share my story, which is all I did is just kind of tell people about my story in a way that motivates them or inspires them in some way, that that's just another great thing for me to segue into after fighting.
[188] and is something that now that I've tapped into, I realize that I might have a niche for it a little bit.
[189] So it's one of those hobbies or skill sets that kind of just has developed over the years, but it's something that I enjoy very much.
[190] And that's a good skill set.
[191] Speaking in front of people and being able to deliver a solid keynote speech is a very rare skill.
[192] And especially one that maybe you weren't, it wasn't a space you thought you were going to get into.
[193] But yeah, that sets you up for success.
[194] well later in your life.
[195] Yes, thank you.
[196] It was so scary.
[197] I had taken months of preparation and I still didn't feel ready.
[198] I felt like the pre -fight jitters where I didn't sleep the night before and then when you're about to go on, like when you're about to fight, you go through this fight or flight response in your body.
[199] Your body knows and senses danger so your body will shut down on you and it will be like, go to sleep, go to sleep.
[200] And all of a sudden you'll like yawn a million times and you're like, why am I so tired?
[201] I'm about to go fight in front of all these people and like you're about to go get into this dangerous thing and the body can sense it so it tries to you know flight and shut down on you and make you very tired and so I was just yawning so much right before I went on and I was like panicking and like my heart was kind of racing but at the same time I was like I thought I was going to choke you know and then 45 minutes that's longer than a TED talk I was freaking out I was literally freaking out but I just went up there and read my script and I had practiced so much and I nailed it.
[202] And so I was like, yeah, actually that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.
[203] I think I could do this later on.
[204] Well, you kind of touch on it, that feeling pre -fight.
[205] I would love to know, how do you manage those pre -fight jitters?
[206] And I never thought of the body going into fight or flight and body actually wanting to shut down before.
[207] But how do you prepare for a fight?
[208] What is that mental preparation?
[209] So I would say that that months of preparation that I did for this keynote speaking is also what helps me when I'm fighting.
[210] It's like mat time.
[211] I wrote out the speech.
[212] I practice it over and over and then I would just like whatever ear I could find, I would just rant for 45 minutes.
[213] I couldn't even make 45 minutes.
[214] I was only making like 20 minutes at the most and then it would be 25 and then I would get to 30 and then when I got up on the stage it was like I blew past the 45 minutes and added seven minutes.
[215] So I think that the thing that helps me in fighting get ready mentally is just mat time.
[216] and preparing and making sure that I'm showing up to my practices and giving it my all.
[217] That way when I get inside the cage, I'm, like, happy that I didn't go out on that Saturday night and that I didn't miss a practice.
[218] I'm, like, thanking my lucky stars that, like, I made sure that I stayed focused in what I had to do, which was no fun time, focus right now on making sure that you're the best possible fighter that you could be and optimizing all of your time and all of your practices on the mat.
[219] that way when that cage door closes you know that you did everything that you could to prepare for that and that gives you confidence that gives you you know the reassurance that you could literally put the Hulk in front of me right now and I'm going to smash him I love that so if I'm understanding if you're in that moment you have pre -fight jitters anxiety maybe your body is going into that flight mode and internally you want to shut down so you're then shifting your focus to everything that you have done to prepare to then divert yourself from wanting to get nervous and anxiety.
[220] anxious.
[221] Yeah, and then there just becomes a point in time where it's like you got to jump off the diving board.
[222] You know what I mean?
[223] Like you fall off the horse, you get back on or it's just one of those things where there's nothing left to do but to just do it.
[224] And at that point, you're like, can everybody get out of the cage?
[225] Get this camera out of my face.
[226] Shut the door.
[227] Like, I'm ready to wreck this girl in the hallway during Fight Week because I've been waiting so long to get this done.
[228] Like, I can't take it anymore.
[229] Just let's go.
[230] Let's just do it, you know, and see what happens.
[231] The chips will fall where they fall.
[232] And so there's just, becomes a point where you just got to take that step.
[233] And as soon as you get punched in the face one time, you're like, I got this.
[234] I'm here.
[235] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[236] Like, okay, I woke up.
[237] Let's do this.
[238] You know, you realize that you have built it up inside your head to be this giant problem.
[239] And then as soon as you get into the clinch with this person or feel them, you're like, I've been doing this for months.
[240] This is no big deal.
[241] Like, I made it into this big, gigantic thing.
[242] And it really wasn't.
[243] So athletes are known for having superstitions.
[244] A lot of great athletes have their little superstitions or rituals before they compete.
[245] Do you have any superstitions or rituals of your own before a fight?
[246] I can tell you that I grew up very superstitious, you know, if I saw a black cat, you know, or like in a ladder, you know, underneath the cat and the ladder.
[247] Like I, I used to be extremely superstitious.
[248] I had a bag of rubies and horses and pennies and butterflies.
[249] And if I didn't have this bag of, you know, trinkets, these like chotchkes, I would lose my mind.
[250] I would be like, oh, no, you know, if I didn't have a particular pair of underwear that I wore every single fight when I was on the ultimate fighter, I would lose it.
[251] It was one particular fight with Kat Zingano that I didn't have this bag of chotchkes and that the signs weren't lining up.
[252] I was waiting to see the butterflies.
[253] I was waiting to see the rubies and I wasn't seeing them.
[254] And then the referee came in that had reffed one of these fights in Salt Lake City that I had loved and I lost a home count decision and I was like, I can't have him as my ref. If I have him as my ref, I'm going to lose, you know?
[255] And so all of these things were like, none of my superstitions were lining up.
[256] And I was like, oh, no, what am I going to do?
[257] And then I went out there and I won the fight.
[258] And so it kind of just debunked all of these myths and superstitions that I had been building up in my head.
[259] And I just thought, it's not real.
[260] None of it's real.
[261] You just can't think like that.
[262] These superstitions are ridiculous.
[263] I remember one particular time, I used to think that if they had the best, better hair, or if I had the better hair, the one that had the better braided hair was going to win.
[264] And again, I had to, that got debunked when I fought Amanda Nunes because I hated my hair.
[265] I thought it looked awful.
[266] And then I went in and, you know, I took out the goat and I slayed the dragon.
[267] And I was like, man, you did that with like the wackest hair ever.
[268] And so I just, again, it just goes back to these things.
[269] It's like superstitions aren't real.
[270] You can't tie, you know, your values or your goals to these superstitions because you're going to, you know, just find out that it really doesn't matter.
[271] You and I grew up in similar.
[272] I think households where, yeah, we also grew a very superstitious.
[273] And sometimes I still lean on in a little bit, but I think to your point, once you realize you can do these things without it, then it's more just like a security blanket.
[274] Right.
[275] It makes you stronger, actually.
[276] It makes you stronger.
[277] Well, so let's shift gears a little bit.
[278] And I would love to talk about the growth of MMA, how do you see the sport evolving overall for women?
[279] And how would you like to play a role in its growth?
[280] So the way that I have seen the sport evolve is the fact that I just got done sparring a 16 year old girl who tried to whip my tail up and down that off theon.
[281] And I'm like, oh my gosh, these kids are this like, they're getting better, faster, they're starting younger.
[282] And the sport is not so rare anymore for women to the point that like parents are wanting their kids to be involved in mixed martial arts.
[283] And they're begging them to, you know, fight and to pursue this type of career because they can see how lucrative it could be.
[284] And also, what a great way to, you know, get out that aggression or just be able to do something positive with your life.
[285] And so, you know, MMA has completely changed my life.
[286] And I feel like people have seen, you know, these women prior to me and with me going through this evolution of it not being such a rare thing.
[287] It's just a job just like anything else.
[288] And so where I see it evolving is they're starting younger.
[289] There's little kids that are like trying to whip my tail at 16 years old, whereas I didn't have that when I was growing.
[290] I was the young buck.
[291] And now I'm like, all these young bucks are coming up in the ranks.
[292] And I'm just like, they're scary.
[293] And so I think that it's definitely a lot more common for women or girls to start in mixed martial arts at a younger age.
[294] And where it's evolving is, you know, Ronda Rousey back in the day was this type of person who could go in there, throw you on your back, and arm bar you in 30 seconds.
[295] And then the sport started to evolve where it was like, once you shut that arm bar down, what else do you got?
[296] And the sport started to evolve in terms of striking and being able to shut down the one -trick ponies.
[297] And it's just evolving to the point where you better be versed everywhere because if you're not, you're going to lose.
[298] And so I think that I see that evolving too where it's like these girls are just not doing just only one specific martial art. They're learning it everywhere.
[299] I just hope to be an inspiration.
[300] You know, I just, I just hope to be an inspiration to the point where they see that if I did it, they could do it too.
[301] You know, I, I think that the more eyes that we have on the sport, the more women that we have joining the sport is only a great thing.
[302] So if I could be that inspiration, that role model to these young girls, great.
[303] I just want them to know that, you know, of course, if I can do it, this girl from like Little Spokane, Washington can make her dreams come true.
[304] You can too.
[305] So, Juliana, you have.
[306] haven't fought since 2022, but you're next up for a title fight to reclaim your belt.
[307] So how do you feel about your first fight back possibly being one to reclaim your title?
[308] I am Jones in at the opportunity to get inside that octagon.
[309] I am literally ready for them to say go.
[310] I am so excited and I literally I can't wait.
[311] I've been waiting for so long.
[312] I think that there's been so many ups and downs in terms of getting to this point.
[313] And I've been working so hard in order to get back inside that octagon.
[314] So it's all systems go for me, all gas, no breaks, and I'm going to be ready when that time comes, and I'm very excited.
[315] Are there any fights other than your own that you're really looking forward to?
[316] Actually, yes.
[317] I have a training partner.
[318] His name is Ignacio Bahamondez.
[319] We call him Nacho.
[320] And he's fighting at the spear.
[321] And I am like, okay, I don't get jealous quite often, but I'm jealous in this particular instance because he is fighting at a place that no one else is going to ever be able to fight at.
[322] And it's going to be so epic and it's going to be so cool.
[323] And so I know he's going to smash his opponent.
[324] And so it's just going to be so awesome to see him fighting at that venue.
[325] And I can't wait for it to happen because I know that that entire card is going to be absolutely epic.
[326] This is completely as I know.
[327] Have you been to the sphere yet?
[328] No, I've only seen it.
[329] And I saw somebody like posting like videos at a YouTube concert and I'm like, oh, I would give anything to see a UFC card at this fear.
[330] I don't think I can make it though.
[331] I know that I know that I could probably go but I quite frankly am so focused on what I have to do that I'm going to have to miss it and so I'm sad about that because I think Dana has said that it's like the one and only card that they're going to do there and I'm like and I begged to get on that card and they were like no and so it's just it just sucks all around for me because I can't fight there and I can't watch the fight so but I'm excited.
[332] Well To me, that means there is a bigger, more exciting venue waiting for you, is what I get from this.
[333] I agree.
[334] I agree.
[335] There is.
[336] So what are some common misconceptions people have about being a professional fighter?
[337] Like some myths you want to debunk when it comes to new people learning about sport.
[338] Okay.
[339] This is a great question.
[340] I am not this person that wants to fight people all the time and just, you know, start socking people in the face.
[341] You know, there's a difference between a fight.
[342] and a professional athlete.
[343] I'm a professional athlete.
[344] I am not this, you know, street fighter, bar fighter that's going to be, you know, knocking people in the head.
[345] In fact, I am like the complete opposite.
[346] I see that stuff and I run as fast as I can because I don't want anything to do with that kind of stuff.
[347] I'm not this aggressive person who's ready to bite somebody's head off and just wanting to fight all the time.
[348] And I think that that's a common misconception.
[349] People think, oh, she's a fighter.
[350] It's like, no. I get paid.
[351] hate to fight.
[352] I don't fight for free.
[353] I am a professional athlete.
[354] And I think that that's the difference.
[355] One of the things that people always think is that I want to fight all the time or that I'm just this like monster.
[356] And I'm actually like a big cuddly teddy bear.
[357] I just want to be like loved and like love and peace and everything.
[358] You know, this is just what I do.
[359] Everybody's got to have a job.
[360] This is just my job.
[361] And so I think that that's one one big misconception that people think.
[362] I would also love to know because I think some people may assume older fighters, they go into the octagon and they fight for, you know, however many times a year.
[363] But you already touched on this, but there's what year -round training that probably goes into this, that a lot of people may think that it's just prepping for a fight, going and fighting, and then, like, you'll train again for the next one or you'll fight again in the next one and not understanding to your point, it's professional sport and your professional athlete who does this as a job day in and day out year round.
[364] I agree.
[365] I think that most people think like, well, how many times do you fight a year?
[366] And I'm like, I'll be lucky if I can fight one time a year.
[367] As it being a violent sport and a combat sport, it's very difficult to stay healthy throughout the year because there's so many injuries that can occur.
[368] And if you check the laundry list of injuries that I've had, I've done it all.
[369] And so it's unfortunate that I can't fight as often as I would like or that I can't always stay healthy or even, you know, the opponents are always like she has to wait, you know, eight months to fight, you know, because I was ready to go in January when they were telling me that it was going to be in October.
[370] And so I've been waiting this entire time to fight and it's not one of those things where it's like, I can reel off five fights in one year.
[371] That's not the way it works.
[372] Plus, I doubt that they're going to be wanting to pay out that much cash for a fighter over and over and over again.
[373] I mean, I'm sure that they would if the person, if the person was healthy, the other person was healthy, and the fight lined up to the point where we could fight five times a year.
[374] But I can't fight that often.
[375] And it's, that is another misconception.
[376] Well, Juliana, it has been so great having you on Goode Follow.
[377] Thank you so much for joining the show.
[378] And I cannot wait to watch your next fight.
[379] Oh my gosh.
[380] Thank you so much.
[381] I'm so excited.
[382] I hope that they announce it soon.
[383] I wonder when they're going to do that.
[384] But it has been such a pleasure to be here with you, Megan.
[385] so much for the time.
[386] Coming up, Katie Logan and I discuss the Paralympics and the debut of the USL Super League.
[387] Welcome back to Good Follow.
[388] The Olympics, as most people know it, are over, but we cannot and should not overlook that the Paralympics start in less than two weeks.
[389] Let's check out this PSA from Rugby Paralympian Chuck Ayoki.
[390] The Olympics just ended.
[391] Everyone is kind of sad.
[392] Rightfully so.
[393] These games were incredible for just so many amazing reasons.
[394] Some of the best games in my lifetime, as far as I can recall.
[395] I think it's so interesting about this is the last time I remember us being like this collectively sad, you know, just bummed out as a country, as a world.
[396] So, Game of Thrones was on TV.
[397] Act when Game of Thrones was good.
[398] Sorry, I'm not sorry.
[399] It was all people could talk about.
[400] Everyone was watching it.
[401] It was huge.
[402] It was massive.
[403] It was everywhere.
[404] And when the season would end, it was like, oh, man, we got to wait so long for another season.
[405] It's forever to get here.
[406] It was just a big bummer.
[407] The difference this time, of course, is you don't have to wait long for season two in Paris.
[408] Air Olympics are coming on August 28th.
[409] It's two weeks away.
[410] They have all new characters, a lot of the same sports, some new ones for rugby.
[411] check it out for me the most exciting part is me and all my friends are in season two like make sure you turn into watch us the sequel's coming to go i love this analogy so much um season two is coming and it's hot it's hot you guys i think we need to be so tuned into this i am a big proponent of paralympics and anything that helps elevate people with disabilities my mom has a neurological disorder called transverse myelitis and so she went from like walking with a cane to walking with a scooter or to walking with a walker and then walking to a scooter and it is so hard to get visibility for her and her community and this is a amazing way to remind the world these people can really show us what inner strength really means it is amazing to watch During the Olympics, I always have like, you're watching somebody and you're like, oh my gosh, that's amazing.
[412] Oh my gosh, how did they do that?
[413] But in the Paralympics, especially because there's so many different categories and like levels with every single sport, I'm always watching it just like in awe and absolutely amazed.
[414] But then it also has the other perspective, like there's some people who think just because someone is a little bit different, they can't do the same things or anything.
[415] And that really takes me to a place where I'm like, they are better than me at probably literally.
[416] everything and I think oh they're always so special and like cool things happening there's drama and everything it's just like the olympics so i'm so excited just the everyday stuff that tires my mom out i'm like i don't know how you even get up to shower every day you know so watching these people i actually just watched watershed which is a documentary on peacock about mallory Wegman, who is a Olympic swimmer and what she has done with her career.
[417] And she has a line that she says, I've done more on four wheels than I could ever do on two legs.
[418] And I was like, get it!
[419] And I hate saying inspiring because, like, they're just living their lives.
[420] Like, they are living their lives like everybody else.
[421] But it is amazing to watch.
[422] And it's very exciting.
[423] And I want to give the same energy to the Paralympics as I did to the Olympics this year.
[424] Such a important reminder for everybody, myself included, to tune in and support the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
[425] And I think to close this conversation out, what is really cool is a lot of the Paralympic athletes put out posts on social media saying that they're not participating in the Paralympics.
[426] And I'm not going to lie, they got me in the first half because I was scrolling.
[427] I was like, oh, wait, they're not what?
[428] But then if you scroll on their second side, they say, we're competing because just like any other athlete, just like the Olympic athletes, they are competing in the games.
[429] And it's not necessarily a participation or something out of, it shouldn't be treated any less or differently than we would treat the Olympics.
[430] Yeah, they're not letting any of that define them.
[431] Right.
[432] They're just, they're just doing what they love with all of these extra things in the way, which is what a, what a freaking, it's just, I want, I want to hang out.
[433] to watch.
[434] I just get so emotional about it.
[435] I'm going to lock it up.
[436] Well, let's shift to soccer a little bit.
[437] The NWSL doesn't return from the Olympic break for another week, but the USL Super League makes its inaugural season debut on Saturday.
[438] And all right, I'm going to guess a lot of people don't know what the USL Super League is, and that's okay.
[439] And I'm going to try and do a little 101 breakdown.
[440] So how do I do this?
[441] How do I condense this in the most concise way possible?
[442] In the United States, when it comes to the soccer pyramid, what comes to women's soccer, NWSL is first division top tier league for women to play.
[443] USL Super League has now received sanctioning to be a first division league.
[444] So essentially not rivaling in WSL, but sitting alongside side it.
[445] We have a new league with eight different clubs providing professional playing opportunities for women in the U .S. And so it's a little bit confusing.
[446] I'm not going to get into the nuance of all the other U .S .L leagues that exist.
[447] But for the purpose of this conversation, U .S .L Super League is a new pro -women's league in the U .S. eight teams.
[448] They're in Washington, Brooklyn, D .C., Florida.
[449] They're all over the U .S. We see a lot of NWSL players similar to the WNBA.
[450] While NWS