Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Rashad Evans On Chuck Liddell KO, Hilarious Mike Tyson Impression, Rampage Jackson Beef

Episode Date: March 28, 2023

"Suga" Rashad Evans (@sugarashadevans) is UFC Hall of Famer and the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He joins Chris Van Vliet at the Blue Wire Studios in Las Vegas to talk about growing up in Niagara Falls, NY, how he got started in MMA, getting an offer to appear on Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter as a Heavyweight, knocking out Chuck Liddell, beating Forrest Griffin to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, his beef with Rampage Jackson and settling it on the set of the movie "Boss Level", his function mushroom company called Umbo, does a hilarious impression of Mike Tyson and much more! Visit Umbo's website: http://getumbo.com For more information about CVV and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are go. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris. B. Oh, boy. Welcome back to another audio adventure here on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. And when you look at this guest list of who we've had on the show over the last month or so, a lot of legends here.

I mean, come on. The Undertaker, Bullie Ray, Santino Morella, Rampage Jackson, a future legend in Austin Theory, L.A. Night. Yeah. And today we've got the former UFC light heavyweight champion. The winner of Tough Enough season two, the UFC Hall of Famer. Such a great conversation with Sugar Rashad Evans.

Freaking legend. Hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. Please snap a screenshot. Share this with a UFC fan. Share this with a Sugar fan. And tag us so that we can share this out. He is at Sugar Rashad Evans on social media. I'm assuming if you're listening to this that you're following me, but if not, I'm at Chris Vanfleet, and we go deep talking about Umbo, which is Rashad's functional mushroom company.

If you want to check them out on social media, they're at Get Umbo, that's Umbo. Their website is getumbo.com. And Med 1435, thank you for this review on Apple Podcast. It says, excellent interviewer. Chris does an excellent job of putting his guests at ease and he's a great interviewer who doesn't make it feel like an interview. I enjoy his work very much. Well, I enjoy this review very much. Thank you for leaving that on Apple Podcasts.

Thank you for everyone who listens wherever you're listening right now. But if it happens to be Apple Podcasts, please leave a few words on there. Click those stars and I will read the review out on the show. If you're listening on Spotify and it's crazy how many more people. are listening on Spotify now versus say like a year ago, but Spotify has the ratings on there. That one's super quick. So if you're listening on Spotify,

please just go in there. It is honestly so helpful. Just go in there and click some stars. And that's it. I'd be so grateful if you did that. Okay, let's do this. Here we go. It's me and Rashad Evans on Insight.

Rashad, thank you so much for coming by. Thank you for having. man, I appreciate it. I had Tino Sabatelli, our buddy Sabby on, and he was like, you haven't talked to Rashad yet? Oh, I got to make this happen. I got to connect you guys and make this happen. So I'm so glad that we're not only making this happen, but we're doing it in person, too. Yeah, I'm happy about that, too, man.

So Vegas is a special place for a lot of people, but Vegas is especially special for fighters. So what does it mean when you're back here? It brings back a lot of memories, you know, when I first started to come here during the Ultimate Fighter Days, you know, I've, it, it just kind of brings that familiarity. You know, my whole fighting career for the most part was born on, on, you know, in Vegas. And it's been one of those things that every single time I'm come here. As soon as the plane is, it's about to touch the job, I started to feel the butterflies. And I'm like, oh, wait, I don't got to fight, you know, because it just becomes ingrained in you after so long, but, you know, it's, it's home to me,

you know, and I've, you know, I have my routine here in Vegas. And, uh, I love it here in Vegas. Is there like still the butterflies of like, I might have to walk through the curtain in front of the crowd. Like, talk me through what it's like to walk out in front of a crowd like that. Oh, man, it's, it's one of those things where you're battling yourself. And that's when you realize that the competition is not even about your opponent. It's always about you. And when you're battling yourself, you're sitting in a room like the eight hours before you got to walk, right? It's like, it's like fight purgatory. You know, you're just sitting there and you're just battling yourself. You have the good one on your side and then you have the bad one on the other side

on each shoulder. And you're battling those, you're battling those, you know, your mindset, you're battling, you know, giving in to the to the thoughts that that happens to you when you get ready to fight. And then when you get to a point where he's like, I got this, I'm confident. And you start making that walk. And then every once in a while that, you know, you're trained so you don't have to think, right? So then when you start warming up, you're not even thinking about, you know, what's going to happen. You're just kind of in your. routine. And then as you started to walk every once in a while, like the you come out and you just like, oh my God, I'm getting ready to walk out here. I'm like, this is about to happen.

This is about to happen. And then when you walk out and the lights hit you, it's like, oh, shit, this is happening. This is happening right here, right now. I got to get ready. And all eyes are on you in that. All eyes. Yeah, all eyes. And it's just like you find yourself just like trying to find some routine. And that's why routine is important because when you have routine, it makes it easier for you to eliminate the thinking parts. You know, when you're getting ready to fight, you want to eliminate the thinking component of your mindset. You want to just be able to react.

And that's what training is about is teaching you, teaching you just to react instead of to think about it once you see it, you know? How much of the fight happens before the actual fight begins? Like, how many times have you looked someone in the eyes during a stardown and went, oh, yeah, I'm one at this one. Oh, all the time, all the time. That's why the stereode, stard downs are so, important. You know, you get to the point where you're looking at your opponent. And that's usually the last time you see him before you get ready to fight, right? So you're staring at them trying to get a read on them. And then like you're like, okay, I know what kind of energy tomorrow is going to bring. So then you prepare yourself, you know. And it's always good to kind of give a little bit of false bravado, you know, at the wayans. Because if I can make my opponent think about me during his off time, then he's already starting to fight. And you got to be. You got to be.

very economical, mentally speaking, how you approach that area because I don't really want to start thinking about my fight until I'm within that eight-hour window. Up until then, I kind of want to rest and relax and just kind of let, you know, my day or my night unfold without having the pressure of thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow. We're going to jump all over the place here with the timeline, but because you brought up stare-downs and stuff, when you had the fight with Chuck Ladell, you were heavy underdog. Yeah. What do you remember from that stare down? Do you remember feeling like, oh, I've got an edge here?

You know, I remember that's when it got real to me, right? Like, you know, during training camp, everybody was like, oh, man, you got to fight Chuck. And I'm like, yeah, and then they'll be like, okay, you know, kind of give me that look like, you know, sorry for your loss, you know what I'm saying? It was kind of like already a foregone conclusion. So when I got to the wing in and we did the face off, that's when I really started to like think like, man, I'm fighting Chuck Liddell. So that's when, for me, the nerve started. You know, like for me, I was like, oh, man,

Chuck's look serious, you know, because I watched him so many times fight, you know, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture and both of those guys at the time. I was like, you know, those were like big idols to me, you know? So when I'm watching him stare at me, I'm like, oh, man, he's giving me that look like he gave, you know, Randy Couture, you know? So it was real.

That's when it became real for me. Did you feel like when you were looking at him either in the stair down or from across the cage, that you were going to win? Yeah, you know, I felt as if, like, I was going to be free. I felt I was going to be free. And that stems from the night before.

You know, I was nervous from the way in, the stair down. And after my family left, after we had our little, like, our last supper deal, right? Because all my family comes in a time that we have what, like, it's equal to the last supper.

And I kind of give them hugs and kissing and kind of alleviate their worst fears. But even though still realizing them, myself, right? Like, oh, I don't know what tomorrow I was going to bring. I'm just making them feel better. Yeah. So after they left, I'm just like, I'm left with this feeling in my stomach. And I'm like, oh, mine, I feel like I'm sick. I don't know if I can do this. And then I hit up Randy Couture, who just happened to be a floor below me and I go and see Randy. And I'm like, you know, Randy, knock on a door. And I'm just like, hey, what's going on? I'm like,

oh, man, Randy. I'm scared, man. I'm scared. And Randy's like, what's going on? He's like, oh man, I just I just can't shake this feeling. Man, I'm just so nervous about tomorrow. And, you know, I don't want to get beat up and knocked out in front of everybody. And, you know, and he said, the best advice I ever got. And, you know, he said, you got to make friends with the worst enemy. And when you make friends with the worst enemy, you understand that life will go on. You know, the sun is still going to rise.

Your family's still going to be there. And you're going to get another opportunity to fight no matter what this yields. So once I started to really think about what he said, you know, because after I left him, I kind of felt a little bit better. But then I had to meditate on a thought. And then I worked myself up into a lather just thinking about it. Like, yeah, I got to face my fears. I got to face my worst enemy. And I got to face my, you know, whatever I'm afraid to happen.

And then I became so comfortable with the idea that I may be getting embarrassed tomorrow. I was like, whatever is whatever. So I went out there feeling free. I remember Tito Ortiz saying when you're prepared for the worst, the best always happens because you're prepared for the worst to happen. Yeah.

Things happen so fast during a fight. Do you remember seeing that opening and that Chuck fight? I remember, so in that fight, he kept hitting me with like, his right hand. His right hand is crazy

because usually when you're fighting somebody, I can tell what punch you're going to throw or likely to throw just based on how your shoulder opens up when you're getting ready to swing, right? So I couldn't really tell what Chuck was throwing because it all kind of looked the same. It was either going to be a shoveled uppercut or a hook or it can be a straight. So in baseball, he had like a change-up, right?

But it was a change-up on the punch. So I couldn't tell which punch that he was going to throw with his right hand. But I knew his right hand was coming. So I was like, okay, I'm not going to beat him to the punch. So whenever he throws, I'm a throw. It's called throw-on-throw. You know, when you throw, I'm going to throw at the same time. And I just threw at the same time with the right hand.

But I was really trying to catch him with the left hook because I didn't want him to hit me with that right hand. And I felt like if I go like this, then I'll be okay if he comes back with the right hand. And I was like, whoa. It was crazy. And he didn't get up. No, it was crazy. It was such a flush shot. And, you know, I remember throwing that punch.

And then I remember looking and he's falling away from my vision. And I'm like, he couldn't have fell. You know, I'm thinking that in the middle because, like, time slows down. Like, when you're in a mindset, when you're fighting, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, you, you, you become so, um, so, so, so, uh, present that all your senses kind of like melt together a little bit, you know? So one of the things that happens is like when you're in a presence, like the car accident's, And it felt like life just kind of slows down, right?

And that's how it was when I was when I punch it kind of like slowed down. I'm like, man, you see, he went down and then it took forever to come out of that hook. And then finally it came out of the hook and I seen that heels on the ground. I was like, oh my gosh, what? So I want to take this way back. I grew up on the other side of Lake Ontario. So I'm from Canada. Yes.

I grew up just outside of Toronto. And Niagara Falls, Ontario was a really special place for us because it was like an hour and a half drive and a lot of Americans came across the border, so you were partying with, like, the Americans who could drink at 19 in Canada, couldn't drink, you know, until they were 21 in the U.S. Did you have that same thing growing up in Niagara Falls? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

Clifton Hill. Yeah. Like, I was, I was going to Canada and hanging out and drinking when I was like 16 years old. You know, I got like a little fake idea and I was out there, you know, just, just cutting up, you know, and it was, it was what we did, you know. It was a good time. I remember seeing an American ID for the first time. I think it was a New York State one.

I'm like, this looks so fake. Yeah. It looked like one of like the McLevin one from Super Bad. Yeah. The Canadian ones had holograms all over them at the time. And I was like, there must be so many people here that are crossing the border just because they can drink, but also because they're pretending to be 19. They're not 19.

Absolutely. And back in a day, I went to Toronto and I got a fake ID made, like a fake American ID made so I can be older. So it was all good. What state did you have? It was, I think, coincidentally, I think it was Florida. Wow. Yeah, I think it was Florida.

And was your name still Rashad Evans? Yeah, it was still Rashad Evans. Okay. Yep, it was a great idea until one day I forgot it in my wallet and I went across the border and they ended up checking it and they seen I had the fake ID. It was not good. Yeah, that could prevent you from crossing the border. Well, it did.

It prevented. And it was like, oh, no, it was like a novelty. thing, you know, that's what I tried to tell them. Yeah, and they're like, no, we've seen this before. I always say that like Niagara Falls, Ontario is one place. Niagara Falls, New York. Oh, there's some places there. I wouldn't want to be there after dark.

Oh, my gosh. Niagara Falls, New York, man. It's, to me, like, it's home. I love it, but it's kind of sad in the respect that you have millions upon millions of people coming to your state, to your area every single year. but you can't generate that capital that comes from that. To me, it's just mind-boggling, and it really speaks to what has to amount to corruption, right?

And, I mean, it just seems improbable that that much of, you know, failure is even capable. You know what I'm saying? It's just so weird that a few hundred feet across the Niagara River in an Ontario and Canada, there's casinos, and there's a ferris wheel and there's mini pot and there's hotels. They've got a whole business there. Yeah, you know what it is?

It's that they, back in the day, they made a decision that they were going to capitalize on the industry and the service part of what the falls brings. On the American side, they're like, well, you know, we got the power here. So let's put factories up and they lean more to the industrial side. Now, the problem with that is the fact that New York State is one of the, most heavily taxed places in the country. So all these industries, they left. And it just kind of left a barren hole in Niagara Falls.

Yeah, it's just so weird. Like you've got all these attractions on one side and like boarded up buildings on the other. It really looks like the walking dead, right? You walk down some of the streets and you're just like, yo, this is, this is crazy. How do you got a whole street just boarded up? The whole entire street is boarded up. Unreal. When you were growing up there,

What did you think your career path would end up being? Obviously, a tremendous wrestler. Yeah. You know, I was going to be a police officer. That's what I was going to be. That's what I really, you know, was really liking. I love the police officer lifestyle. Like one of my biggest mentors at the time was my karate coach, Carl Brucino.

And, you know, he was a cop. And I used to just love, you know, just like, you know, I love the whole mindset of what a cop brings. And I wanted to be a cop. When did that journey? Was it when you brought the fake idea across the border? Well, the journey ended for me. You know, once I graduated from Michigan State,

I was trying to get a job as a police officer, and they had a hiring freeze. So I was starting to work in the hospital as a security guard, you know, kind of biding my time and so I can apply. And I discovered M.A. And it was just kind of something to do as a hobby. But then that hobby just took me to where I am right. right now. Your timing on that was so perfect. Because had it been five years before, 10 years before,

MMA really wasn't a career. Right. Yeah. And that's the thing about it. You know, you know, one of my good friends at the time in Lansing, Michigan, was a guy named Noe Hernandez, and Noe Hernandez fought Chuck Liddell in their first UFC fight. And I remember when I first got into it, he was a mentor toward me in MMA. And he was like, hey, you know, you know, just have fun with it. do some fights, but you know, you got to have a career. This is no way to make a living, you know, and that's what that was my mindset. So for me, I never thought I could make a living doing it. So it was just kind of something that I was just doing for fun.

My first introduction to you, and I'm sure everybody else's first introduction was the ultimate fighter. Oh, yeah. And I was like, that guy is not a heavy weight. Did you just go on thinking like this is my chance to just go on the show? Yeah. So Dan Severin was being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. And at the time, the first season of the Ultimate Fighter just wrapped.

And they were like, you know, we're going to do a second season of the Ultimate Fighter. Do you have any talent that you know of that might be good here? And he's like, yeah, I may know one guy. So then he reaches out to me. He's like, hey, Rashad, you know, they're doing a show called The Ultimate Fighter. Have you ever seen it? And I was like, yeah, I was going crazy about it. And he says, well, they're doing another episode, another season.

And they wanted to know if I knew anybody. He says, but the problem is that it's heavyweight. And you're, you're like 190 pounds. So there's no way that you can do this. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no. Dad, I can do it. I can do it. I know I can do it.

So I would put on all kinds of weight. Like I put on like 20 pounds. But it wasn't like really good weight. It was kind of like just mashed potatoes and macaroni. And I had the lunch lady kind of, you know, I worked at night shift. And the lunch lady would like, you know, carve me up as much as possible. And that's what I ate until. got to be about 220. But when you got to that size, were there things at 220 that you couldn't do

anymore that you could do at 190? Yeah, yeah, I wasn't as fast and I wasn't as explosive in some areas, but I was really happy that I still, my power went up. You know, I felt like I got more powerful, but I just didn't feel like I had that same agility that I once had. And it was okay because the people that I was going against never had that agility. So I was still a lot faster. than them. You'd be punching up for everybody, though. Yeah, I remember when I was first trying to get on the show, right? I came to Vegas

and I sent in a tape and I came to Vegas and they were like, okay, you know, I had my first meeting with Dana White and the executive producer of Spike TV at the time and I walk into the room

and Dano's like, bro, you got to be effing kidding me. And I was like, what? Bro, you got to be. kidding me. You want to be a heavyweight? And I'm like, yeah, he's like, I've had guys that had to duck down to walk in this door. You're coming in here, five foot nothing, Cuba Good and Junior looking motherfucker. You're going to get beat so bad. You're not going to be able to get up. And I'm going to have a boring episode. You know why? Why? Because you're too

fucking small to be on my show. And I'm just like, oh, wow. Wow. So I was thinking fast on my feet. And I was like, you know, Dana, I hear what you're saying. I said, but when heavyweights were heavyweights and when they were fun to watch, they weren't so big and cumbersome. They were fast. They were like Muhammad Ali. They were like Mike Tyson, 217, 218, moving around really fast. And that's what I want to bring. I want to bring excitement back into your weight class.

And that was the, that's what got me on the show. He bought the sales pitch. Wow. Yeah, he bought the sales pitch. Wow. That changed your life. Oh, yeah, 100% sent me on a trajectory that just kind of, you know, really, really, um, brought me to the hot, to, to, to be in a champion.

It's not just being on the show, though. It's also the fact that you won fights. Because if you were just on the show and you were exactly what Dana thought you would be, you get knocked out quickly, that would have been the end of it for you. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It was about just, uh, you know, every single time I fought on the ultimate fighter, I would always say to myself, I'm like, you know what?

This is my last fight. So I'm just going to go on and fight as hard as I can. wow and I did that and I just kept on winning and I was like okay what was the fight that you think really put you on the map? I would say it has to be the Chuck Liddell fight you know I've had the great fights with rampage and you know feud with John Jones and you know I've had some epic battles in there but I feel like the fight with Chuck Lidale was was the one that you know made people realize because up until then I had one K. was a couple of KOs, but, you know, they were still kind of like, you know, he... I don't know.

You had one of the most memorable headkick KOs a whole time. Yeah, I did have that. But, I mean, I was still being doubted, right? They were like, you know, all you're going to do is just, you know, wrestle hump people, you know? And they were like... Is that the official term? That was the official term, right? They didn't think I'm just going to wrestle hump people.

So, you know... Yeah, I guess there were a lot of fans that were like, oh, man, another decision. Yeah, come on. They were tired of it, you know? So when I went out there and I laid that punch out, they were like, whoa, this kid got some punch. So, and it was a big one for me because that was really the first time I faced myself in that manner, mentally speaking, you know. And dealing with fear and uncertainty going into a fight is something that a lot of fighters feel. They feel it all the time, but not a lot of fighters articulate it.

not a lot of fighters at the time would speak on it. You know, back in the day, and our fighters a little bit more open now, but back in the day to admit that you were afraid, to admit that you had a little doubt, it was like a taboo thing. You just didn't do it. You know what I'm saying?

You were just, you just wore the shield like, yo, I'm ready. I'll smash them right now. Where's you at? You're just an Uber tough guy. Yeah. But inside you, you were feeling scared, you know?

And George St. Pierre, to me was one of those guys who was the first to really start talking about how he felt. You know, I remember going to George when, on some of the biggest fights. I'm like, George, how you feel? And he's like, my God, my friend, I'm afraid I, this is crazy. I'm done. This is my last fight. Tabernac to Colis.

I'm done. I'm finished. You know, he'd be done. You know what I'm saying? He just could just see, just the, just the, the whole build up to it, you know, just kind of just got into his head and then he would battle it out and then he would win you know and uh when i seen him start to really invest into getting a mental coach into the mental preparation that's when it was like all right it's all right to feel this feelings and not only that but it's it's very important that not only

do you train your your body but you train your mind along with it yeah this idea of sports psychology is is relatively new especially with people talking about it now yeah and that's not something that existed, especially not when UFC started. No, not at all. And especially in the sport, right? Because this is the ultimate machismo sport. And, you know, you're just supposed to be a killer when you go out there. You're not supposed to be afraid.

But, you know, you have those feelings. And when you're able to accept those feelings and not run from them, then you can allow yourself to be totally authentic. And then thus, that's when the skill comes. That's when you just completely. get into that zone. We do need to talk about that head kick though. Sean Salmon, right? Yeah, Sean Salmon. That head kick just came out of nowhere. And I don't think you had even thrown a head kick at that point in your career ever. No, it didn't. And it did come out

of nowhere. You know, I was training with Mike Winklejohn and Mike Winklejohn always had a really good eye for seeing what you can capitalize on, right? He always just some really good scouting reports. And that was one thing that we worked on. And I would train it over and over again with my good friend at the time, Ali Adelaidez, who is now like one of the biggest MMA managers in the world. And, you know, I would just throw that kick all the time. And when I was in the fight with him, you know, I only seen the kick. But the first round, he was just like taking me down. And, you know, it was really hard for me to land a kick. So I was getting embarrassed, you know, because during that, that fight, you know, it was to launch a show off a spike

TV. And we only had a certain amount of time before we went over. And the UFC, like, yo, this is, this card is going longer than we want. You know, we need to, we need to finish, you know, and here I am being served up a guy because he wasn't even the original guy was supposed to fight. So this is kind of almost like a serve up, you know, and I'm going out there and I'm losing the first round. And I'll look in the corner and I see Dana's look and he's just, like, Dana has a way of looking at you when he's just the point, just like, disappointing you. That's like worse than your parents. It's like, you just like, oh, like just go and kill yourself. You know what I'm saying?

Like, he just gives you that look. And I'm just like, relax, relax. I got this, I got this, you know? So then the next round, I'm like pissed off. And like, I can count the times in a fight that I actually been mad. And this was one of them. And I was pissed off. Like, this dude is embarrassing me.

He's telling people that he's going to, you know, embarrass me. And he's doing it. And I'm losing his fight. And this guy's a nobody. And then I went in a scene a kick and I caught him with it. You just saw the opening, you threw it? I saw the opening and I threw it and I hit him. And then when he went down, I didn't know if he was going to be out.

So I hit him again. And then he was super out. And I was like, then I got a little nervous like, oh, my gosh, what did I just do? That is such an underrated knockout. Like, even you didn't bring it up when we were talking about knockups earlier. Yeah, I did it. It is an underrated knockout. It is such an underrated knockout.

It was a nasty knockout. I remember after the fight was over. See, my mom became like, custom. model, right? She became, at first, when I was first getting ready to fight, you know, I went to school for five years and she was like, now wait, Rashad, Rashad, wait, let me understand this here. Rashad, you went to school for five years, Rashad, just to be a damn fighter. Are you kidding me, Rashad? Are you kidding me? Right. That's what she was saying. She's like, Rashid, your ass can go to jail. Right. And I'm like, Ma, it's not the kind of thing. Because I grew up fighting

doing the street all the time, right? So she was always trying to, you know, reel me in from my wild ways. And when I got into UFC, at first she was kind of okay, not really on board with it, but as time went by, she started to really warm up to the idea. So then she became like, you know, like my coach, you know, so before the fight, she said, Rashah, look, you got this kid. He's a wrestlerer, Rashah, he's going to beat you, take you down and steal your fans. Rashad, when you hit him, keep him hit Rashad. Right? So I'm like, okay, Mom.

So great advice, Mom. So I hit him. And then I don't know if he's knocked out. So I hit him again. And then after the fight was over, I get my mom a call. And she was like, yeah, Rashad, that was a good fight, Rashad. I'm proud. That was a good job.

She said, but Rashad, look, I don't like that cheap shit. And I was like, Mom, what are he talking about? Rashad, you seen he was knocked out? And I'm like, Mom, I couldn't tell. he was knocked out. You just got to go for the finish, man. I love these impressions that you do. GSP, your mom, you do a great Mike Tyson too. Yeah, yeah, Mike Tyson. Give us some Mike Tyson. Well, when I first met Mike, I met him in Vegas. And, you know, it was after I fought Machita. And I met him at at Dre's nightclub, like after the club, you know, the after our spot.

And he comes up to me and he's like, I think. seeing it last fight. And I was like, yeah. And he says, yeah, he said, see, the reason why you lost is because, you know, like, you had doubt, you had fear in your heart and you beat yourself. And he said, see, fears like fire, you know, left unharnessed, it can do some terrible things. It can do a lot of damage. But if you harness it the right way, it can be some beautiful, it can do some beautiful things for you. So what you need to do is you need to harness your fears. You need to go in there mentally strong and ready and not give up and not be afraid. And I was like, damn, this was mindwined at like 4 o'clock in the morning after a heavy night in Vegas.

But it was a sobering thought. You know what I said? I had Mike Tyson come up to me just talking to me. And I was like, dude, he's right, man, because he was right. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. soccer podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my. I co-host Megan Clevenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup.

Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claimant. And they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures. But we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Hencoe.

Follow and listen on your favorite platform. There's this great video where you're doing this terrifying dog for Mike Tyson. And I feel like that's like one of the only times in my life. I've seen Mike Tyson look scared. Yeah, he was so surprised that, yeah, that was a story. Yeah, a craziness man. But, you know, the dog is something that I used to do back in a day. Like, I would just like, I used to play football.

And as a hot man, I'll run down the field just like, oh, my God. Just barking like a maniac, right? Just going crazy. And I would just watch people just like, what is going on, you know? Wow. That's too real, I think. Have you ever done that for a dog? All the time.

What do they do? They go crazy. They look at me like, yo, what's going on? Like, do I have another dog here? You know, I used, so I had this dog. And this is the reason why I started to do it because I was, you know, I had like this crazy dog that used to live next door to me. And his dog will go completely, absolutely apeshit every single time he's seeing me.

So I just started doing what he started doing back. And then after a while, it was just like I became good at it, you know? What impression are you working on right now that you'll bring out in like six months or a year? I feel like you've got so many. I saw you're doing The Godfather recently. I mean, yeah, you know, well, yeah. You know, see, my impressions, I never really try to do them. It's just kind of something that I just feel, you know.

I think the thing with impressions, you just have to go all the way in. Yeah, you got to go all the way in, man. You just kind of got to feel it, you know? Yeah. Yeah, my brother, Lance, he's the best impressionist. So, you know, I pale in comparison. These are all so good. Was there real beef with Rampage?

And is there still real beef with him? Oh, yeah. There was real beef with Rampage. There was real beef with Rampage. You know, it was to the point where it was almost like on site. Like, whenever I seen him, it was just like, you know, we're about the fight. And it was like that because I don't like when somebody tries to raise their leg on me. You know what I mean?

Just like trying to piss on me, you know? And I felt like every single time I interacted with him, he would always try to do that. I'm just like, yo, you know what, I'm not going to be, you know, your whooping boy whenever I see, you know? So I started to just like, you know, be more offensive with that, you know, just like try to take him by surprise. And, you know, it was a combination of both both that made it so that when we were in the same room, it was just constant. It's like two alphas bunting heads. Yeah. And I remember it got to the point where it like spilled over into like not even just on set.

Like in Vegas, we were both, you know, had to coach so we would go out. to the same places, right? And I happened to see him out one night. He jumps up in my face, we do it like we normally do. And then the security guy's got to get involved. And this is here in Vegas. And then I get kicked out the club. I didn't even start.

He jumps in my face and I get kicked out the club. So that just infuriated me even more. But you guys are okay now? Yeah. We actually did a movie together called Boss Level where we played German Twins. That movie is so good. You want to talk about underrated. Joe Carnahan is such an incredible.

That was amazing. And Frank Grillo, in the shape that he's in that movie with his age beginning with a five. Yeah. That movie's so good. Yeah, it is, man. It was, when I read the script, I'm like, oh, man, this is, this is awesome, man, because it has so many different elements layered together, you know. And I just thought, you know, it was excellent.

But, I mean, for me, the caveat was getting a chance of work with Rampage because up until then, we kind of were okay, but we didn't really have that, like, you know, like, you know, like, that sit down and talk, you know. And when you talk to somebody that you fought, it's amazing how they see things versus how you see things, you know, because he has a whole narrative how he see things unfold. And, you know, it was good to kind of just talk to him and just, you know, you know, buried a hatchet and really get to know him as a person. And when I did that, I realized that, you know, we were so much alike.

You know, we were a lot of like. And I really started to dig up after that. And maybe that's why there was so much tension. Maybe that's why, you know. But here's the thing about it. When I first got into UFC or even mixed martial arts, it was because of rampage. I was a huge rampage fan.

When he was fighting in Japan, I was the biggest rampage fan. When he lost to Van der Lease Silva, I felt like the Buffalo Bills had just lost the Super Bowl. You know what I'm saying? So you can imagine, I was almost brought to tears. I was emotional, you know? And then to have that feeling towards them

to then go to hating him. Yeah, yeah. It was crazy. Wow. And then you fought each other. That fight was legendary. Yeah, man. He brought up the Machita fight earlier.

Yeah. What do you remember from that fight? Well, I remember the feeling that happened right before I got knocked out, right? Because he came out and he did, you know, he kind of won the first round. And again, I'm fighting from behind, right? The first round he comes out. those are super hard kick, right? Super hard kick.

And it wasn't really even to like land. It was just let me know like that's what he's working with, right? So immediately that puts me on high alert and it makes me feel like I need to be more offensive. So right now he's already got me in a pocket, right? And then off of me being over aggressive, he was able to counter me, take me down. So then the next round, I'm like, yo, this dude is playing pity pat. I got to go in and I got to just catch him, right? So I rush in.

and then he catches me with that straight left and next thing you know I'm on ice and then I'm and I've never really been hurt hurt like bad in a fight before at the time I was undefeated 19 and O and I go down and I'm like yo I just got hurt and I'm like I'm all right but I come up and my faculties are still there

but my legs are gone I can't feel my legs I can't feel my legs I'm stomping them I can't feel my legs my ankles are buckling so eventually I find myself again the cage. And then he's just raining punishment on me. Come and landing punches on me. But I'm in that phasy, foggy

period where strangely enough, I can't feel his punches because I'm like halfway out my body at this point. You know what I'm saying? I'm almost in the ghost realm. And at the point, I'm just like, yeah, you know what? I'm going to give it how

I'm going to get it how I gave it. Right. So I'm just like, yeah, you know what? I started talking trash like, oh, you hit like a, hit like a bitch, you know, I'm talking like just, you can't phase me. You say like your hands are like pillows. Yeah, I'm just like saying all this like you can't hit. And I'm just like, I'm trying to bob and weave with my, my movement is truculent, you know. I can't move like I don't think I'm moving in my mind. Yeah.

And then he catches me with the punch. And I remember feeling like I'm stuck. And all of a sudden, I fall. And then I go out for a second. And then I come back to and then I see the doctor's rest. into the cage. Dang. So you were only out

for a few seconds. It felt like a few seconds. Because like I talked to Ben Ascran after that big knee from hospital. And he's like, I woke up and I was in the hospital. Like that was the next thing he remembered.

Oh, wow. Yeah. I was out for a few seconds, like a few seconds. But it was a good knockout. Like I remember, um, after it happened,

you know, because you have like, almost like an echo, right? You're just kind of like, damn, did that really just happen? Did that really just happen? Like, did, did I fight? You're like, yeah, you fought, you lost.

And I'm just like, wow. I feel like I didn't even fight, you know? They did you dirty with those memes. Oh, my gosh. They killed me with the memes. But you know what, man? It's what it is. You know what I'm saying?

That's just, that's part of it. That's part of the game. And that's part of which you subject yourself to. And for the longest time, for a time afterward, I did have a problem. Like, I used to be upset about it. Some wise guy thought it would be a good idea, right? Everybody's got jokes.

I'm doing an autograph sign. And then he brings that picture for me to sign. Damn, cold-blooded, bro. Did you sign it? Hell not. It signed it. Man, I can't sign it. It was too fresh.

It was too fresh. Wow. I thought that was hilarious. Oh, yeah, he had his friends recording and everything. Look, he's all laughing. But, you know, it's part of the game. And, you know, that's one thing as being in the entertainment. industry, you understand that, you know, people will hate you and draw strong conclusions about

who you are based off what they see on the TV. But that's not necessarily who you are, right? And you have to be able to divorce yourself from that interpretation of who they think that you may be, right? So there's Sugar Rashad Evans, and then there's me. Yeah. Sugar Rashad Evans, you had the name Sugar first. What do you think of Sugar Sean Mallet? Sugar Shano Mallet. Yeah, you know, at first I was kind of like, that's interesting. But, you know, it's flattering, you know what I'm saying? Because if I didn't carry the name very sweetly, then he wouldn't have been able to do it.

You know what I'm saying? Like, he wouldn't have, he wouldn't have picked sugar if there wasn't already a sugar who was very flavory, right? There was sugar before, but not sugar. Right. Sugar was the, I'm the first sugar, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, he bit, but you know what? That's the age and the time that we're in right now. But, you know, I look at it as flattery and, you know, I cheer for him.

I hope for nothing for the best for him. And, you know, I like the kid. You know, I feel like he's got, he's made it his own. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And that's what I like about what he's brought to it. He's made it his own. Was there a conversation?

Did he reach out and say, there's what I'm thinking. No, he didn't. He didn't reach out or nothing. It was kind of like something, you know, once I met him, we talked and whatnot, but I mean, he just was just like, I'm, I'm sugar show. It went from sugar show to now just sugar, you know, it is, you know, it's all right, man. Who do you think you are now as a person versus who you were when you were in the UFC? You know, I'm at peace.

And that's something that I can't say that I was during my fighting career. And I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but I feel as if like that, that, me not being at peace, what was part of the fuel that allowed me to be such a savage, right? Because we're not, you know, this isn't a civilized game. You know, you're trying to separate another man from consciousness by any means necessary or take a limb home, right? Right, right. So there's a savagery that you have to keep a part of yourself. And I feel like, you know, not being at peace worked in that benefit, but at the same time I feel like with some of the pitfalls that I had in myself, I could have avoided if I was just at piece of who I was as a person.

Were you looking for that? Like, you talk about how psychedelics completely changed your life and we're going to get into Umbo, which is your mushroom company. Were you looking for that? I was, but I didn't really even know what I was looking at. See, the thing about it was, I was trying to climb to the top of whatever success was, you know, and success in my industry meant becoming a champion, you know. And once you have become successful and you've, you know, you've accomplished those goals,

there was a vacancy for me that I felt still that I thought would be gone once I had this success. But for me, I felt more enjoyment out of the chasing of a crown than actually wearing the crown. And it was something that I didn't really mentally think about until it was too late, you know? And, you know, it was when I became champion, I was like, oh, man, I'm cool. I'm the man. I got the success. But I still was, a part of me was broken. There was something still broken inside.

I didn't feel as if, like, I was like, that's cool. But is this it? Is this what it was all about? Is this what the chase was all for? Is this what all those long hours were about? It just felt very incomplete to me still. And what I come to realize that it wasn't, you know, the tax that was incomplete or the goal that I accomplished that was incomplete. It was me and myself that was incomplete.

And how did you find that? You know, I just had to start to really try to find a black box, you know, you know, proverbally speaking, like, you know, on a plane, you know, trying to find that black box of just, you know, what was that thing in my life that. really, you know, made me feel that I needed to find peace. You know, what was that major disruption? And just through going through some things in my life and just going through some things that I just kind of put on a back burner, I started slowly started to make peace with a lot of things that I had had to make peace with before. And one of them was with, you know, my relationship with my father, you know, you know, I'm a product of a divorce family. And, you know, I really internalized a lot of things that went on and my mother and father's relationship.

And I wore that myself, you know, and I interpreted it as, you know, his feelings towards me. And it really just grew a monster. You know, I became a monster in so many different ways. And I really wanted to, you know, I really wanted to make people feel pain. make people feel the pain that I was feeling, you know? And, and I was okay with that, you know, because I didn't really think too much of myself. And I was like, you know what? If this is how it is for me, then I don't see why anybody else should have it good eating or easy, you know? And that was that cancerous mindset. You know, that was that the genesis of what was slowly start to eat and

decay at me as I got older. And how much did psychedelics and dipping into that, you know, that world. How much did that change you? It changed. It changed everything. Like you seem very much at peace as we see right now. It changed everything. It changed everything, you know, because it allowed me to see myself in a way in which I'd never seen. It gave me perspective. It gave me, you know, the, the 20-foot view versus just being, you know, a foot away from the painting. You know what I'm saying? It gave me a chance to really see what where I was at and what I really needed to work on and really, you know, face the fears that I, that I really had that was just, you know, some spoken, some to the forefront of my mind,

but some, you know, some latent, some that I didn't really even know. And it was just kind of something that was just in the background, you know. And, you know, when I started to do the psychedelics, I did it because I was at a crossroads, you know, I was at a point in my life where, I was thinking about retiring from fighting, you know, on a fight fight losing streak after being, in my mindset, you know, one of the best fighters of all time, you know. And here I am, I'm taking this dip in losses. And, you know, people lose throughout the career here and there. They may lose five fights.

But when you have them all stacked in a row and it's towards the end of your career or it just kind of, you know, it spells a message that it's over. me, right? And in my mind, I'm like, I never thought or wanted this to be over. So when I had to really face that in myself, I was like, dude, I need to really get some answers. And at the time, a good friend of mine, Del Jolly, you know, he's, you know, he's a visionary, you know, but more importantly, he's, he's a guy who really gets me. And he was like, you know, I think I know something that'll help you. And then he introduced me to the Bufo, you know, Bufo Alavaris, you know, 5 MEODMT. which is the most powerful

entheogen in the world, which is a psychedelic, that really gives you an experience that's like no other. And off of that experience, I really got a chance to reset my true north. Do you think that you would have been a better fighter

had you had that mindset back then? I think in some ways. I think in some ways I would have been, you know, and I even came back to fight after all of that. I just fought last year. And that was on the heels of just how good I was feeling off of, you know, off of life. You know, like once I did the Bufo, I started to feel something that I hadn't felt before.

Like I started to feel love and I started to feel understanding and I started to feel compassion. I started to feel all these different things that I really hadn't felt before. And then it became to the point where I became. and love with fighting again. And I enjoyed it for, not for having my hand raised or getting pat on the bat because I did it, but just because I can do it. Because I have the physical body.

I have the physical health. And I have God's gift to do it. So I'm going to do it. And I started to really train on that level and have fun on that level. And then before I knew it, I was, I was enjoying it. I was loving it and I was coming from the place in which I originally started from. So that led me to my next fight and I was able to win. And how did this lead you to Umbo?

So along with taking, you know, the psychedelic with, you know, the bufo, I started to use mushrooms, you know, and I started to use mushrooms because, you know, I was, I was a little bit nervous. You know, after my fighting career, I was a little bit foggy and I already had a bad MRI report when I was trying to fight in New York City that did. didn't allow me to get a license in New York City because there's something that came back on my MRI that may be spelled some danger for me ever being able to compete again. So after I got cleared on that whole subject, I was kind of still left with that pressing thought like, what if I can't do the next phase of my life, which at the time, you know, for me was being a commentator or, you know, being in front of the camera or talking, you know, I was like, I would hate to be a prisoner in my body and I won't be able to play with my kids. So I really started looking

into methods that, you know, that can really change, you know, that can really help and heal the brain. And that's when I ran into an interview with Joe Rogan and Paul Stamance. And Paul Stamance is one of the best psychologists on the world. And what he was able to say in that interview just really changed my life. You know, he had this stack that he does with psilocybin, mindsame, and niacin. And he said. And he was able to say, and he was. And he was able to say, he was, he was. And he was talking about how it helps with concussions and help, you know, regrow neurons and, you know, reduce inflammation because of the arinescence and the mind's mane and the neurasinins and the nerve growth factors and

things like that. And I was like, man, this is very interesting. So I started to research that and, you know, really started to use it. And once I started to feel like I was coming back in a way that I never expected, I'm like, dude, this is real. So before the pandemic hit, you know, it was me, myself, and me, myself, three, me. Yeah. But it was Del Jolly and Jake and myself, you know, we decided to, you know, we decided to make a brand.

And making a brand for us was, you know, really creating a product because we love a lot of the mushrooms that were out there, you know, some of the brands out there. But we wanted to put our own little twist on it. know, we want to put our own little twist that really truly reflected, you know, Jake and I's background of being like these, you know, high-level athletes, right? So, and that's what we did. And that's how Humble came about, you know, so we felt the effects of the mushrooms. And then based off the effects of the mushrooms, we like, dude, we got to spread this to the world. So what's your daily protocol with it? Well, I start off my mornings and I take, you know, we have a pack, we have a mushroom pack.

has corticeps in it. It's called Michael Rise. And I take the Michael Rise in the morning. And it's, it serves as a pre-workout. It serves as a get up and going a morning type thing. It serves as a, you know, I got to study and focus and just a really good boost in the morning, right? And then, you know, later throughout the day, I may take some Lions, Main's Drops and some Turkey Tail drops and things like that. Those are my like, like my main two that I really like. But then at night time, like focus. Yeah. So with the Lionsman, you know, it's really good for brain function and really good for neurogenesis of the brain and neuroplasticity of the brain. And what these mushrooms do, you know, they generate nerve growth factors. At the same time, they eliminate, you know,

a lot of the inflammation. So when you have something that stimulates growth, nerve growth factors, but at the same time, it mimics nerve growth factors. And, you know, with the neurons, you know, you have a powerful thing that starts to, you know, truly transform your brain and your mindset and really starts to, you know, heal your body in ways that we truly need. Because when you think about society and you think about how we're just completely inundated with all these different toxins in the environmental toxins, you know, it's really important to have something internally that goes inside to kind of mediate things and kind of pull some of the things out because so many people talk about different supplements and things like that. But I feel like for me, what I felt the biggest change in my health was

once I started to pay attention to, how am I eliminating some of these things that I take into my body, right? What am I doing to detox out of my body? And part of me, you know, with a detox and healing my body, was getting with something that can heal me on a neurological level, which is mushrooms. So it's getumbo.com. Getumbo. Yeah, go on there, sign up for the newsletter. That's exactly what everything you're talking about here. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, yeah, they'll see everything and they'll stay up in the know of like what, what's coming down the pipe. You know, we have a lot of different things that we're working on. And, you know, we're a young innovative company at Umbo. And, you know, the thing with Dale Jolly, you know, he works amazingly

hard. Jake Plummer is, is a mushroom farmer now, you know. Yeah, he's totally died then. And, you know, he's, he's learning the whole process and just even being going there to his farm and just watching him work and being part of that whole thing. It's quite amazing. You know, he does something with Michael Love Farms and stuff like that. So it's really a good, just a good group of guys really just trying to, you know, change the world in their own little way, you know, with the truest intentions. Yeah. So I asked the same question at the end of every conversation. By way, this has been an amazing conversation.

Oh, thank you. Again, thank you so much for stopping by. Gratitude is such an important thing in my life. Yeah. And I start every day saying out loud three things I'm grateful for. And I do that before I go to bed as well. So what are three things in your life? Sugar Rashad Evans that you're grateful for right now.

I'm grateful for the ability to just be here right now. And I say that because, you know, it can be overlooked. A lot of people look at life as if, like, it's a guarantee, you know. and it's not. And I'm also grateful for health. Health for me is the most important thing outside of that. And I'm very grateful for the understanding and the relationship that I have with God because through that relationship and through that feeling, I'm able to truly impact the world in a way that that truly allows people to know that God is real. you know and part of my biggest journey has been just really understanding that in myself understanding that the reality of the creator and the fact that what we experience here in life is only a small part of what we truly are and and the togetherness that we truly share

is something uncomprehensible until you actually feel it and I felt it and I understand it and I honor that. Actually, before we wrap this up, have you ever been mistaken for Cuba Gooding Jr? All the time until I'm next to Cuba Gooding Jr. But yeah, a lot of people say that all the time, man. Does he get mistaken for you? Yeah, but they'll say I'm the radio version of Cuba Gooding Jr.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Chris. I appreciate you, man. Appreciate you. Such a good one there. Go check out Umbo at getumbo. That's Umbo.com, getumbo.com. And big thank you to Sugar Rashad Evans for being with us in the studio.

Thank you for being with us in the studio as well. If you ever happen to be in Las Vegas, if you ever happen to be near the win, Las Vegas, hop in, follow the signs to the buffet and just right next to the buffet, you will see the Blue Wire Studios. So pop by. Maybe you'll see me or you'll see someone else recording an episode there. It'd be great to see you and be able to, you know, just say, hello. Speaking of that, if you're going to WrestleMania this weekend,

it'd be awesome to see you in Los Angeles. I'll be at RussellCon on Saturday and Sunday. I'll be hanging out at WrestleMania Saturday and Sunday as well. So if we happen to run into each other at SoFi Stadium, that'd be pretty cool. Let's like say what's up. Let's talk about life. Why not? Right?

If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend, snap a screenshot, and share it on social media and tag us. He's at Sugar, Rashad Evans. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And William Shakespeare said it best. The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. Be great. Be grateful.

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