MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour - Episode 247

Episode Date: September 15, 2014

Featuring Guilherme Cruz, Liam McGeary, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jim Ross, Court McGee, Alistair Overeem, and Tito Ortiz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two, ghosts in the machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love?

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I hope you had a wonderful weekend. It was an interesting one in the world of mixed martial arts. You know, we talked about this all week long last week, how there were so many events, UFC, Bellator, RFA, Cage Warriors, Bama, 1FC, World Series of Fighting. It seemed like everyone held an event last weekend. And the thing was, they were all kind of forgettable lineups. They were all kind of missable lineups, if you know what I'm saying. Some interesting names here and there, but nothing to really go out of your way and watch.

And just like your missable UFCs always turn out to be great ones, this weekend turned out to be a great one. Some fantastic finishes, some great performances, some shocking upsets. really this weekend had it all. A lot of fun. I like weekends like this. Under the radar, not a lot of hype, but if you took the time to watch, you were rewarded. On Friday, Emmanuel Newton

defended his Belator Light Heavyweight title, another spinning backfist, K.O. Liam McGeeery is a star, in the making, at least, won the Belator Light Heavyweight Tour tournament. Ryan Gator, successful in his Belator debut. Paul Daly. Juan once again in Bama via knockout. He's headed to Belator.

Marlon Morais, proving once again that he's one of the very best at 135. That World Series fighting card completely went under the radar, but some fun fights there as well. And then how about the UFC event? I mean, one of the least talked about UFC shows in recent memory. People made fun of the main event, and somewhat rightfully so when it was announced,

Arlowski Bigfoot 2. And then Andrea Arlowski does what Mark Hunt couldn't do. this. Think about all the big shots that Mark Hunt landed in their great fight last December and he couldn't finish Bigfoot in five rounds. Arlovsky, who I'll be honest, when he was re-signed to the UFC, when it was announced just a few months ago that he'd be fighting Brendan Chob at UFC 174, I rolled my eyes. I thought it was somewhat of a desperation move. I said that he had done nothing to deserve a spot in the UFC. And the fight against Shab was forgettable, he just knocked out Bigfoot Silva, who I think was ranked number three.

Andrei Arlowski is back. And the beauty of this is that they can sell Andrea Arlofsky. All of a sudden, you put Andre Arlofsky in a co-main event, a main event, a heavyweight, a former heavyweight champion that people remember. It doesn't matter if you're a new fan or an old fan. You know who Andro Arlofsky is and the UFC needs these guys. Huge win. Opens things up at heavyweight for the UFC and some great finishes on that card as well. So a good weekend for MMA and the train rolls along here on the MMA hour on this fine Monday afternoon. All right. What's going down on this particular episode?

345 will take your questions and comments. As always, hit us up. Hashtag the MMA hour. Leave a question or comment in the comment section below. 325 will go inside the vault. Fun one, a classic one. A classic phrase was uttered in this interview. So you're going to enjoy this, especially the backstop.

story. 305, we'll talk to Tito Ortiz, of course, November 15th, rapidly approaching grudge match, Stefan Bonner, you know the story. 245, Alastair Overeem. He will reflect on his loss to Ben Rothwell two Fridays ago now in Connecticut. Where does he go from here? 225, UFC's Cort McGee stops by to discuss Hope 361, a new venture of his. 205, Jim Ross will be making his MMA broadcasting debut on October 3rd. He'll stop by to talk about that. Of course, his broadcasting partner on that night for Battlegrounds, MMA will be the one and only Chail Sunnan. So Jim Ross, of course, the former W.W.W. Play-by-Playman. Looking forward to that. 145, the outspoken and all of a sudden very fluent in English, Habib Nirmaga Madoff will stop by to

talk about his road to recovery, the lightweight division, and much more. And at 125, the aforementioned And Liam McGiri will stop by to talk about winning the Belator light heavyweight tournament and where he goes from here. You would think he would fight Newton next, but who knows in this new Belator era, still someone to remember Liam McGee, England's own. But first, let us go to the phone lines and welcome in the man who I call the Brazilian beast. He joins us right now from Rio de Janeiro.

He was in attendance in Brasilia on Saturday as Andrea Olavski, shocked the world. In fact, well, I'll tell the story when I welcome him in. He is, of course, the one and only. The often imitated, never duplicated, Guillermo Cruz of MMAFighting.com. Guillermo, how are you? How are you doing, my friend? I'm doing great, man. Good to have you on the show.

You know, I got to say, my pleasure. We, you were at the event, and fight past, there's a bit of delay. So I was looking at Twitter in the middle of that fight, And Jarlovski and Bigfoot. And you tweeted maybe like two minutes before the knockout, that Arlovsky knocked out Bigfoot and I was like

he's got to be wrong I mean he must have meant Bigfoot knocked out Arlofsky and so I was waiting for it and then it happened like wow I couldn't believe it not that I'm mad it just it was a whole different experience

actually witnessing it after the fact you were there live you saw it first of course what was the reaction in the arena because watching it on the internet or on TV it felt like the place was completely stunned

yeah this there's a fight past thing I heard a lot of bad things on Twitter about this delay. Everybody telling me to stop tweeting because I was tweeting the results a lot before the fight took place. But it was a crazy. It was a good night in Brazil, better than I wasn't expecting. It was a fun night, yeah.

Yeah, and a lot of great finishes, obviously Pepe with a great finish and a bunch of fun fights. That was the UFC's debut in Brasilia. they've been all over the country at this point. How did the city react to the UFC, welcome the UFC? How did it compare it to some of the other stops? It was better than a few other cities, but not the best, no. It was Rio and São Paulo are the best cities for a UFC event. But it was interesting because the arena is right next to a big soccer stadium

that was used in the World Cup. and was having a soccer game right before the USC card. So I was interesting to know how that would happen, you know, fans getting out of the soccer stadium while UFC fans were getting to the arena. Oh, my. But everything was fine. It was okay. And from what I heard, there was more people in the UFC event than the soccer game.

I didn't get to the Internet yet to see how the soccer game do in terms of, of send us, but that's what I heard. I got to check that before. I've been to three events in Brazil, all in Rio, and I got to say every time I've gone to the actual event on a Saturday, it's been somewhat of a cluster F, if you know what I'm saying. You can't find the credentials, there's traffic, and to think that they actually pulled this off, a soccer match going on at the same time as fans filing into the arena, I got to admit, I don't really believe it. That it happened without any problems sounds shocking to me, or maybe that's just a Rio. thing that I experienced.

I didn't have any issue at all. Wow. All right. Because Brasilia is a lot, a lot smaller than Rio. You can't compare to cities, but it was easy to get to the arena, everything, easy.

I don't recall. And the next event in Rio? Yeah. It's going to be a Markanazin instead of HSBC arena. Yeah. It's going to be a lot easier. Oh, really? Why?

Get there and to leave the arena. Why is that? Because it's not at Barra. Jukkah, which is far away from the the most popular area in Rio. Like Copacabana, Ipanema, you have to take a car to go there. You can take a subway or bus. It's really hard to get there by bus.

So, Marcona, you can take a bus. You can take a subway. You'll be there in 10 minutes. It's a lot closer to the big hotels and where people actually live. And of course, that is UFC. Jose Aldo versus Chad Mendes. But let's continue talking about Saturday. It seemed like everyone thought Bigfoot was going to win,

that he was going to probably finish Arlofsky. We still think to a degree that Arlofsky has a questionable chin. I don't recall you weighing in. You were picking who, Bigfoot or Arlowski? I was picking Bigfoot, but I wasn't too confident in my pick. Because bow fighters have a questionable chin. Yeah. And I was expecting big foot to play smart to do basic what he did to fit or take him down and smash him, working on ground and pound.

Get to the win an easier way, if he can call it that way. But he wanted to do a show for the fans and want to go there and braw. He said he wanted to go for the knockout or get knocked out, you know, do a big fight for the fans. But I didn't understand his strategy. He was weird. He was too slow. And Erlovak was landing everything he threw. So he got the win.

Of course, the elephant in the room is that the last time he fought against Mark Hunt, he was allowed to use TRT. And of course, he was suspended afterwards for elevated levels of testosterone. This time around, TRT banned. So how much of a factor do you think that played in the result? I don't know. because the Mark Hunt fight was the first time, the first and only time he used the T.

He didn't use that against Overeign, and he left two rounds when Overeign was dominated him, and he survived two rounds, and the third round he got to win. So I don't know if that was a huge factor in this fight, but it was not. But I intend to interview him and ask him if that was a big issue in his training.

He said before the fact that he was not. He was training well. So I don't know if he can put it on the TRT thing. Although who knows how much TRT helps your chin, so to speak. But, I mean, think about those shots that Mark Hunt threw at him and could not finish him and then think about what happened on Saturday. Of course, there's a button you get hit, you get hit in certain spots.

I mean, there's a whole bunch of other factors at play. But it is pretty amazing, right? Yeah, it's weird. It's so strange. You can, you'll see people talking about TRG and stuff. And he's coming from a five-round war, and then he gets clip in three minutes and loses. So you've got to think about it, that.

Were you surprised at how he dealt with the loss? I mean, I watched the Post-Fight press conference, and he didn't seem all that upset. I know people were asking him about his birthday, and he seemed to take it very well. I mean, I don't want to see him cry or anything like that, but it didn't feel like, it felt like I was more devastated than him,

and I mean, just because I thought he should be devastated, if you know what I mean. Yeah, I was surprised, too. I was expecting him to be to be more down about it because his birthday is his hometown. But yeah, I was surprised. But at least he asked for a rematch. So maybe he's going to get it again. Yeah, you mean. I'm not sure that that's going to happen, though.

Yeah, of course, that was the second time they fought, so maybe he's looking for the trilogy. He won the first time. strike force, his first time fighting in Brazil, as you mentioned, in his hometown, around the time of his birthday. So there was a lot at stake there, and maybe the pressure was too high on Antonio Silva, who knows. But to me, this really opens things up, as I said, for the UFC, because Arlowski, of course, hasn't lost to Kane Velazquez the champion twice. So he's a credible contender in that sense. And he's a big name. Everyone knows who Andrei Arlowski is, and he's quite popular. And now the big question is, what do you do with him next? Of course, there is a main event fight coming up.

this weekend in Japan, Mark Hunt versus Roy Nelson. Do you think that he should fight the winner of that? I mean, looking at the rankings, it wouldn't make sense. Or do you, I mean, maybe the UFC goes slow with Arlofsky now and tries to really build him back up? I would do the main event next side of this main event. If Mark Hunt wins, it's a good fight, but if Roy Nelson wins, it's an interesting rematch.

If they wanted a fighter to finish Roy Nelson, it's an interesting fight. Yes, they fought in Elite XC way back when. Probably, in my opinion, the biggest win since, you know, like in 2008 when he beat Roy Nelson, it was controversial, to say the least, because of the stand-up. He hasn't had an important win since Saturday. I mean, that fight really, as far as opponents are concerned and the name and everything, that really puts him on the map, and it's huge for the UFC.

So I'm curious to see what they do with him next. Who else stood out for you on Saturday? Like I said, it flew under the radar, but there were some great performances. Yeah, I was impressed by Pappé submission. It was amazing. His submission, and San Diego Posinibio, his knockout was really great. So we had some close fight, not too exciting fights, like T-Bow wins, and Santos-Codiero fight.

But it was a great fight with great. Great, great card with an interesting fight, interesting finishers. Pepe with a mounted triangle arm bar and, as you mentioned, Poncinibio, defeated the, I guess, former War Machine. What did you make of this story? You were all over this story. The UFC not allowing him to use that nickname. It's somewhat shocking that he would want to keep the nickname.

And maybe it's a personal thing you want to stick with what got you there. But what did you make of the UFC's decision to not allow him to use the nickname, of course because of what's happening with War Machine and his former girlfriend, Christy Mack. Yeah, after the ratings, when they announced him as the machine, I asked the EFC, and they said that Joe Silver, when he heard their story, he was okay, he's definitely not using that nickname.

And his other nickname is Negon, which means something like Niga in English. And I heard he wasn't allowed to use that too. And so he had come up with this. something new, and he decided to go with the machine. I guess it was the white call from the UFC. You can't allow it. Come on, a month after everything that happened, you had another war machine in the UFC.

You know, he's not a bad guy because of his nickname, but you bring an annotation to this fact. So it's just a nickname, get rid of it, come up with another one, and move on. Dana White once again in Brazil, you tweeted a great picture of you guys doing a scrum with the Dana White action figure, which we might even have here. I don't know if it's on the desk today. What do the reporters, the media over there think about that? Because it seems like you guys are starting to not feel the love from Dana White. Yeah, they're going. At first, when Dana didn't come, they used to bring Marshall Zlasnik. Yeah. But now they are going with Grace Torino in every card. But, but... I believe Dana is coming to the next show in Rio, the Aldo Manus card. Yeah, we always have things we want to ask Dana.

But, okay, at least we have all these questions waiting in a year. And we'll probably try to have a four-year, four-hour scrum with here in Rio. He better sit and wait and answer all the questions we have to him. what do the reporters the media and even the fans think about grace she is the managing director of ufc brazil kind of like tom right in canada or gary cook in uh you know in europe and in the middle east in africa what do what do they make of grace because i mean let's be honest this is somewhat of a trailblazer a a woman representative in the world of mixed martial arts is not something you see every day yeah and it's interesting i was i was talking to other we've reported in brazil

about it, about what does she have to do? It's really different from the UFC executive in Europe, because he has a lot of new markets. He has to come in, has to build the UFC there, the UFC brand, and everything. In Brazil, it's a different challenge because UFC is already big here. You have to go to different arenas, different cities, but UFC is big. You don't have to convince the place to hold the VFC. Everybody wants to hold a UFC card.

It's not the same in Europe today. You have to convince them to show everything. You have to work for the UFC there. In Brazil, it's different. So I have no idea how good her job is because it's a different challenge from other places, from Asia, and everything, you know. She mentioned in the Post-Fide Press conference that the UFC is planning on coming back around seven times in 2015.

so clearly they are still dedicated to the country. And you mentioned that you don't have to do a lot of, you know, a lot of convincing to bring the UFC to any arena in Brazil. But is it as popular as it was, you know, when they first came? I remember UFC 134, I'll never forget, and then the couple events afterwards, has it remained the same or is it more or maybe even less? No, it's less.

That's less. Why is it less? I don't know. At first, the UFC really exploded. with the Anderson Silver Vito Bertho fights because Vito was the superstar

wasn't Anderson and that fight made Anderson a superstar and then they came to Brazil they did that show that was that was amazing card

everything went perfect for Brazil big knock winning Shogun and Anderson and then they came up again four months later to Rio

to run another card and then they started working, I guess it was too fast. They couldn't do a huge card like the first real card. Every time they come here. So the first time they went to different cities, everybody in this cities were expecting a huge card like the UFC Rio. And they weren't getting that. And now you're getting cards with Maldonado and Miochich.

that wasn't, of course, it wasn't the first option, but Tom Paul is a huge market, and if you're going to a huge market with a main event like Maldanada and Miltich, fans are getting disappointed. And from time losing titles, only one

UFC champion now, that really is really bad for the UFC. They're doing great with Canada Combati, the number of subscribers is only going high. Business is good for the UFC, but people are not talking about it very much since,

like in 2011. You actually mentioned something that I was going to ask you about. Joseo is the last Brazilian champion left, at least for now, Bigfoot loses, Dos Santos has been out. Of course, he's no longer the champion. Barau, somewhat of a embarrassing situation just a couple of weeks ago.

So Andrew Sintzio, not the champion, trying to come back, of course. I mean, it used to be almost all of them were Brazilian, and now there's only one left, and if he loses next month,

which some people think he might, there'll be none left. Do you hear that from fans or from journalists, that if there were more champions, they'd be more into it? Like, are they that much front runners over there? Yeah, they would be more interesting

if he had more champions in the UFC, of course, because fans today, I get that from my friends that three or four years ago when there was a UFC card everybody was calling me to come to my place

and watch the UFC card but now we have a UFC card every weekend and then they're not that interesting in watching fighters that are not so popular or are not champions in the UFC so if you have three

four Brazilian champions they would watch because they're champions Brazilian fans like to have Brazilian athletes successful. They want to have if the Brazilian fighter is a champion, they will

cheer for him. They will have him as an adult. It changes a lot if a guy loses. And it brings an interest into the sport. When Brazil had Gustavo Kutern, a tennis player and he won Holongahou three times. Everybody in Brazil

was a tennis fan. Everybody started to play in tennis, wanted to know more about it. When he stopped losing, having injuries, he went down. And with several other sports, it happens every time in Brazil. So if you have Jose Aldo

losing against Shadmandez. And next year, no one wins a tribe, brings a UFC target to Brazil. That's going to be bad for down. Hennon Burow used to be the Bantamweight champion. Of course, he couldn't fight a UFC 177, and once again his team Novo Niao criticized for their weight cutting methods.

You posted a video of Leonardo Santos who won on Saturday but said afterwards that he had some trouble cutting weight, cramping, etc. How much criticism is Novo Niao facing now because of what happened to Brown? Of course, they had the tragedy last year with one of their fighters passing away. Well, the biggest criticism is coming from maybe the media or the hard-carry. fans. The regular fans don't pay much attention to that. But Novo and Novignon

is saying it's normal, nothing happened, but I'm saying it was one thing in 20 years. Honey Marcus missing weights in the U.S.C. and Washington is a heavy weight. It was one thing that

their basic thing, that's not an issue. Something that happened, okay, was an accident and it's not happening again. But I guess they have to bring some alternative. They have to change things because it's not working. Okay, Leonardo Santos won, but he was terrible at the waning, and he gas in the middle of the fight.

So he definitely wasn't okay. They have to change a few things on that. Do you think Barau takes the rest of the year off? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, that would be smart. By the way. He wanted to take a few time off after the first Dela Shah fire. But the Nader said he wouldn't fight for six months,

and then they set a rematch for three months. I don't know. It was weird. Yeah. In hindsight, maybe not the best decision. One more thing before I let you go, this kind of flew into the radar, but you wrote a great article about Patricia Pitbull,

who's now the new Bellator featherweight champion. He defeated Pat Curran. He was pretty banged up going into that fight two weekends ago. And in fact, he claims that he injured his knee while doing a Belator photo shoot, right? Yeah. What happened?

Throwing some flying knees. The photographer asked him to throw some flying knees to take pictures, and he had to do this tiny 30 times, and he was letting on concrete. So he injured his knee. He thinks he was an old injury, but he was okay. And when he started to throw in some knees,

he heard that again. and he had to go to the doctor and the doctor said he couldn't fight Belator sent him to another doctor who said he couldn't fight but Belator insisted and he ended up getting the fight fighting. Not only that

he won the fight, five round fight that's crazy Belator insisted that he fight after he tried to pull out that's what he says? Yeah does he need surgery? No not for the knee he also had a shoulder injury He said he could have even opened a door a couple of weeks before a fight.

Wow. And he has a nose, he has to do nose surgery now. By the knee and the shoulder is okay. Wow. Just rehab. Just makes the win all that more impressive. Last thing, I'll put you on the spot around this time next month, maybe a little later because the fight is October 25th.

Will Joseo Aldo still be the featherweight champion? I have no idea. Well, I put you on the spot. You got to make a prediction. Okay. No. No. Wow.

Yeah. That's big. Never call this man unbiased. Interesting stuff. Oh, one last thing. How does the assayi in Brasilia compare it to Rio? I didn't have. Oh, come on.

What? Really? But I heard assayasia is better because they have the original. Oh. Wow. For the north area of Brazil. That's pretty different when, from the, the assay

U.S. It's real. Well, I can't wait. I'm going to have a lot. And you have a lot of assaye places a mile away from the arena. Oh, yes.

Oh, yes, I'm ready. I'm going to UFC 179 for the sole reason. Forget about Aldo Mendez, Glover v. Phil Davis. I need my assaye fix. Great stuff, as always, Guillermo.

Thank you so much. Follow this man on Twitter. You see his Twitter handle right there on the screen. Appreciate the time and keep up the great work. Thank you, man. All right, there he is.

The one and only. Brazilian Beast himself, Guillermo Cruz. All right, we're talking about Bellator. I mentioned him at the top, a great weekend. For England's own, Liam McGee, he won the light heavyweight tournament final. He now faces Emmanuel Newton, who is also successful on Friday night for the 205 pound strap. He is a rising star in Bellator doing great things and now calls New York home, which is pretty exciting. He joins us right now on the phone.

Liam, how are you? Hello, mate. I'm good. Thanks. How are you doing? I'm doing great. congratulations on the win. You've looked great as of late.

You, in my opinion, are one of the rising stars in Belator. Did you expect this kind of success this early on in your Belator career? No, I was just going on with the flow, and I was just trying to win the fight until they give me, you know? A inverted triangle choke, which is somewhat of a, I don't know, it's customary in a Belator tournament these days. They pulled off a couple of them over the past couple years, including in one of their early, shows, is that something that you've actually worked on or did it just present itself? No, it just presented itself. I was fishing around for either the inverted triangle or I was trying to hook his arm or I was trying for an Americana or sweep. So I was just playing around

with a few things. I didn't realize how much time was actually left on the clock. But then when my left leg poked in front of his face, I just sunk it in, man. And at that point, did you know it was done? Yeah, man. I knew once my legs weren't wrapped around his neck. I knew. I knew. I knew once my legs went wrapped around his neck. I knew it was going to choke out. Is that something that you even play around with in training? Yeah, I catch a few people in that. How tall are you?

I'm 6'6. Do you feel like that helps you a lot in the city? I mean, the hike difference in that fight was amazing. And when you squared off with a manual, it seems like you'll have it there. Do you feel like that helps you a lot, especially your long limbs? Yeah, having the long limbs definitely helps. You know, people don't realize how much dangerous, how dangerous they actually are, you and I mean, my legs, they're only skinny little things,

but they cross some problems. Now, are you certain that you're going to get a title shot right away? Because, as you know, no more tournaments in Bellator, and they have some big names at 205 with, you know, Rampage and Tito and King Moe, of course, Stefan Bonner now. Are you 100% certain that your next fight will be for the belt? Yes, yeah, I'm 100 certain. Do you know when that will take place?

Do you know when that will happen? No, I don't really know yet. I've only just got back to New Jersey at the moment, so I was going to take a few days. I talked to the manager, I talked to my team, my coaches, and just figure stuff out from there, really. Where do you live now, New Jersey or New York? I live in New York, but I've got friends who I stay with in New Jersey,

so I just come back in and kick back for a little while. Now, why did you leave England to come to the northeast of the United States? Become the world champion. That's why. You felt like you couldn't accomplish. accomplished that by living in England? I probably could have accomplished it, but it would have took a lot longer. You know, I mean, I missed out all the fights and the shows in England.

I came from the Little Island called Jersey. I came over there after three professional fights, and I just wanted to fight one of the big shows. I was getting a little bit impatient with fighting on the smaller shows. I was just like that. I'm not getting any younger, you know. Just throw me in there with all the big boys in the top show, and I'll just see how I do.

Why'd you come to the New York, New Jersey area? Why'd you pick that? I mean, in California, Vegas, those are hotbeds. Why'd you come here? I had a friend who had a friend over here who brought me over to train. I was trained at Kurt Pellegrino's gym first, and then they're all little guys there. And as soon as Henzho and Hollis saw me,

there was, I invited me to come train with it with Henzho's M-M-A team. And that was straight after my debut with Belator. And then you can't turn that down. Yeah, of course. the legend. Are you done with England now? I mean, of course, you'll always be English, you have the action and everything, but you have no plans of going back? Oh, no, I mean, I will go back. I've got all my friends, my family's at home, and I mean, I haven't seen them for a while now. But I mean, this year's been pretty nuts. I've been,

it's just been one long training camp. So it'd be nice to just have a few weeks where I don't have to worry about I have to be at the gym at 9 o'clock in the morning or 8 o'clock in the morning and do this class, do that class, and have to schedule I've had. Because it's just been it's hectic. Yeah, and in the last 365 days, you fought five times, including, you know, since May you've had those three tournament fights. And as I mentioned, the tournament is no more in Bellator. You are a product of the tournament. Do you think that was the right call to get rid of it? Yeah, I mean, it's nice to have a bit of change. You know, Bellator's, they had a good run with the tournament process. I mean, I'm now fighting for the title, which I'm happy for, you know.

but it's always good to change things around and just change up the schedule a little bit what do you make of the new bellator regime this new era for belator I'm looking forward to it you know it's from what I've spoken to a lot of the top dogs in belator and yeah everything that they've told me I'm excited for

for next year you know it's going to be it's going to be a very good year do you notice a difference between this regime and the old regime as a fight I don't really know it's all business for us really it's more the backstage with all the people

and members of staff they know this is just changes but for me it's going to be bigger shows bigger venues and things like that you know so but for me

like I say as a fire I just go in there and do my job so you had no problems with Bjorn no no no at all man he started me off here you know sure um

Emmanuel Newton as I mentioned won in the main event another spinning back fist K-O-win? What'd you make of his performance? His performance was okay, you know? I mean, he's been out for a while, you know, and Joe Belcheron, he pushed him and pushed him and pushed him, and he was winning the fight, you know, and

he, this is M.MA. Anything can happen at M.MA. You can't really look away for a second because something like that might happen, you know? He's an interesting guy because he has such a funky, unorthodox style, yet sometimes his fights, they're a bit slow, and then something like that happens. Would you agree that he's not your typical fighter, especially in that weight class? His style is very different. Yes, it is very different indeed.

I mean, I spoke to Manuel. He's a good dude, you know, and he's just a very interesting guy. His fight, and there's definitely a product of that, you know, and everything's unorthodox. You know, you don't know whether he's going to throw us to a kick or punch or if he's going to spin around, we even try for a take-down, you know, which adds to all the excitement of the fight. You know, it makes a fight a good fight when you don't really know what's going to happen. I noticed when you two were squaring off that you were talking to each other. What did you say? I just saying, we're looking forward to the fight. It's going to be a great fight. You know,

both of us, both of us to stand-up guys, you know, when we can fight on the ground as well, so it's going to do a very exciting fight. So no trash, no bad blood or anything there, right? I couldn't tell if it was like the smiley kind of bad blood or just you guys pumping each other up. No, I think we were just pumping each other up. You know, he just finished the fight. I was just buzzing for my fight. Yeah. So, yeah, we're just having a good.

Everything like I said, me and a man, we're cool, you know. This is the job at the end of the day and we'll go out there and put on a very good show. You know, like I said, I want our belt. And I know he's not going to just give it over to me. It's going to be a fight. So I have to go train hard and I'm going to have to take off of him. Do you want to take the rest of the year off because it's been such a busy last 365 days for you?

I can never take off. I'll always be training. I mean, I'll have a couple of weeks where I'll just kick back and not worry about training, but I'll always go back into the gym. I think of a while, you know. Are you still training with Pellegrino? Because I know he was there.

Is he still part of your team? No, no, no, no. I'm Henzhou Gracie. I'm my MLAF part of for Hanzo Gracie now. Okay. I actually got confused. Kurt was in Brazil, so that that that yeah

yeah, I had a guy fine in Brazil, yeah. What's the biggest difference between living in the northeast of the US and England? Um, well,

I lived on an island, so, I mean, the island was like seven miles by, but nine miles by five, yeah, nine miles by five miles, the other.

That's it. It's a very, very small, yeah, it's tiny. In between England and France, you've got four little islands and Jersey's one of them.

And so, to stay on there, and there's not a lot of people there and everybody who, I know most of the people on the island but I come over here, there's just I mean, Tom's River is probably bigger than Jersey itself. Wow.

Now it's called Jersey though. That's somewhat ironic, right? No, that's the original Jersey. New Jersey got their name from Jersey. Did they really? Is that true? Is that a fact? Yeah. Yeah. What's the connection? I don't know. I think there's a family name over in New Jersey

that they came over from Jersey and then maybe that's one of the reasons that they're high up in the I don't know, just high up and they manage to get at New Jersey, I think. Are you the most... I'm not a historian so I'm not very good at the time. Well, and it's just fascinating.

I never knew that. Are you one of the most famous athletes to now come out of that small island? Yeah, I believe so. You know, I mean, Jersey for being so small is very good with there. They've got a lot of sports to have. There's a lot of people high up on the sports. But we've got some kickboxes.

We've got a few fighters over there. The coaches are great, you know, and the places to train is awesome for such a small island. Wow. It's either training or drinking. Is it covered by the news over there? I mean, is it a big deal what you're doing? I believe I've got a friend who's over here now. He came to watch the fight.

He's reporting back, and he's trying his best to bring up the knowledge of MMA on the island. because, I mean, UK and Jersey, Jersey's probably around about 10 years behind them on everyone on the, on the MMA scene, so they don't really understand. They just think it's two brutes going into a cage and beating each other up. Sure. You know, rugby, they're big on rugby and table tennis, I think. Did you play table tennis as a youngster? No, no, I didn't know.

You're too long for that. It might be a little awkward, right? Exactly. Well, no, I've seen some tall table tennis players. The Japanese, they're good at table tennis players. Yeah, they're fantastic. A lot of countries. So you started your MMMA career in 2010, so four years ago in that small island, as you mentioned,

a couple of your early fights were there. Who introduced you to it? A friend of mine a few years ago got me introduced to it. And I went to a club, and I trained in my hometown Andover, and I were trained there. But, I mean, I wanted more. And the knowledge I was getting was good, but it wasn't as good as what I knew. I could get elsewhere. So then I went to Jersey.

I'd already been to, I'd already poke my nose into the place for now. It's at 21. I went back there and they recognized me and then I started training. It's under top Rob Staples

and Andrew Topporus. And they kind of brought me in and showed me everything I needed to know. I mean, I was training there seven days a week. I was the first one in and the last one out to leave. And I just loved the sport. I just wanted to soak in every single bit of knowledge I possibly could.

Did you have a history in combat sports before that? I mean, as a youngster, did you do anything? No, I just like to fight. I'd always be getting, yeah, I'd always be getting in trouble for fighting somewhere in a town or something or other. Were you notorious for that? I wouldn't say I was notorious, but I was one of those ones who couldn't really say no to a fight, you know? Yeah. You know, like on the street and things of that nature, so you kind of channel that energy into the real deal.

paid for it, right? Exactly. There's no point in getting trouble for it now. And plus the fact you can really hurt somebody, you know, fighting and doing that stuff in the streets. So you kind of go into a more controlled area

and then it doesn't really matter. You've got gloves on your hands. You know, there's people around it and make sure that everything's all right. So, yeah, it's just more controlled, better controlled aggression. The light heavyweight division in Belator, one of their more talked about ones, especially with Tito and Rampage there, and now

adding Stefan Bonner. They had a little melee, if you will, in the middle of the cage, not this past show, two shows ago. What did you make of that with the masks and all that stuff? Yeah. I thought it was very interesting.

And when the guy came on with a mask on and I was like, right, who's this dude they got in the middle of the ring? And when they pulled the mask off, it was like, well, who is he? I didn't know if it was supposed to know who he was or anything, but they didn't actually introduce him, you know? Yes.

But I didn't actually realize there was any beef between Stefan Bonner and Teo, that was news to me. But, I mean, the guy insulted Tito's family, his friends, and he went personal with some of that shit he was saying. So, man, I think Teo had every right to go fly from. Personally, I just took my foot in his face. Really? So you think he crossed the line? Yeah, I believe so.

There's pushing it for things, but then when you're starting insulting people's families and stuff, that's a line you don't really cross, you know. So do you like the way this is going with that kind of stuff? As some put it, that WWE kind of antics. Do you like that? It's different, you know, it's very different. And you know what?

It's got everybody talking about it. Everybody said about it and everyone's mentioned it, so everybody's watching it. So it's got to be good for the sport, you know? Well, not necessarily. It breaks up the usual MMA fight after fight after fight after fight after If you get some little bit of entertainment in the middle of us, it's not going to do to show any harm.

But for the record, just because a lot of people are talking about it, doesn't mean it's necessarily good. I'm not saying it's good or bad in this discussion, but you know what I'm saying, right? Sometimes the most talked about stuff isn't necessarily the good stuff. Yeah, I understand that, yeah. Yeah, but as a guy in that division, it doesn't bother you that that might get more attention.

I mean, they have a long resume. They've done a lot on this sport to warrant attention, but are you not afraid that that stuff might get more noticed than what you're doing inside the cage? No, I mean, my fighting will speak for itself, you know. I'll be pulling off moves, inverted triangles or knockouts, you know. That's all I'm interested in people seeing and watching. If people can talk about me because of my finishes,

then that's great in itself, you know? All right, well, I look forward to you getting that title shot. I think this is one of the beauties of the Belator tournament system, guys who may not be known getting a shot rising through, the ranks and finally getting that title shot. I think that's a fun fight and you've done great and a lot of people have noticed. So congratulations on all your success up until now and good luck in that title shot or in that title fight, I should say, whenever it may come. Thank you very much, Ariel. Thank you. All right, there he is. Liam McGeeery stopping by a finalist

in the final Belator light heavyweight tournament. I guess you could say, well, he was a finalist already, won that and now he's getting the title shot. I need to do some some reading up on my geography because as I'm being told Jersey, not in England. It's, I guess, an island. It's very confusing. What is this? Let me read up on this for a second. Here it is. Jersey. Jersey, in case you didn't know, because I feel like a lot of us don't know. We're so uneducated here. is a possession of the crown in right of Jersey off the coast of Normandy, France. The Balwick consists of the island of Jersey

along with surrounding uninhibited islands and rocks collectively named Les Diroui, the Ecrouchou, the Minker, the pierre de Leuch, and other reefs. Jersey is a part of the ancient Duchy of Normandy

and is ruled by the Duke of Normandy, a title held by the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, though unrelated to those duties as the king or queen of the UK. Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy with its own financial, legal, and judicial systems. And the power of self-determination. How about that? It's fascinating. Never even heard of Jersey before. The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, although the Balwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as the Channel Islands. The quote unquote, channel islands are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the British crown from the other crown dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

All right, that is according to Wikipedia. Who knew? Did you guys know back there? Will. Did you know? You had no idea. Jersey. Capital, St. Helier.

It is a part of Europe. They use the Jersey pound. Official languages, French and English. So McGeary started out his career there and then moved over to the United States. Fascinating. See, you learn something new every day. All right, let's move along now. speak to a man who has been making headlines as of late,

one of the very best in the UFC's lightweight division. In fact, this man is undefeated. He is 22 and O, undefeated in the UFC, out of the UFC. He is nursing a knee injury right now, but he's in the United States in Las Vegas, as a matter of fact, doing his rehab and is on the comeback trail, looking for a title shot, very much looking forward to talking to Chabib Nirmagamadeov right now on the MMA hour.

Chabib, how are you? I'm good. How are you, Ariel? I'm doing great. It's great to talk to you. So first, the first thing's first. How is the knee feeling after you injured it? I'm every day, go my rehab and work in my knee, massage, physiotherapy, you know.

Every day I work in my knee. I want to back stronger. And my first problem now is my knee. After I go get my belt. Okay, we'll get to that in a second. How exactly did you injure your knee? After the last fight, after the Osama's fight, my knee is no good, little pain.

And I'm beginning training in home in Dagestan, wrestling practice is hard again. And I go Moscow. I'm living in Dagestan. Moscow, M.I. My knee. He said, you're a very big problem your knee. He said ACL. Oh. And one day ago, I have Sergio, Sergei. U.S.C. don't know my, U.S.U.S. don't know. I have ACL, Sergei, and my brothers, Rizwan and Ali, my new management team, my brother, he helped me. He called U.S. We call Lorenzo Fetita and he support me, pay my surgery, pay my rehab, apartment, everything help.

Thank you so much, UFC, Lorenzo and Dana White. You know, I remember when this news came out that you were going to fight Donald Seroni. It was around the time of UFC in Dublin. And then we spoke to Dana White and he said just 20 minutes or so after the fight was signed, you injured your knee. Is that exactly what happened? Like, you found out you were fighting Donald Serroney in September, and then right away you injured your knee? You know, UFC call me and say you have fought versus Donald Serone.

And I say I'm very happy. I go training, and after 20 minutes, maybe one and a half, I have surgery. No, no, surgery. I have injured. Right. And after I call my manager, I say my knee is very bad. And, you know, this fight, I very won't fight this fight versus Cowboys Saloni, but I have injured.

Maybe next time I won't next time, I won't fight. But now I think I am number one contender after good men. USC give Gilbert. I know Gilbert, Melend is a very good guy. He's a cyclical champion. The UFC give him a chance, but he lose. He beat, after he beat one, Diego Sanchez, Diego Sanchez, no, 15. And he's old.

He beat him, UFC, give again him chance. I think it's no good. I think I am number one contender. I am undefeated, 6 and 0, 22 and 0, and I think I am number one contender. I won't after my behalf next fight I won't type shot You know it's interesting because your last fight against dosangos was an important fight for you in the division yet it wasn't even on the main card

And now you're mentioning about Gilbert getting the title shot after You know losing and then just beating Diego Sanchez Do you feel like you still don't get respect by the UFC? It's not my job you know UFC say me you have a fight I go fight It's not my job it's job USC I think I win 100% Rafael Dosanias.

D'Sayas beat, Saroni, Dossanias beat, D'Sarnas beat, Benson Henderson, and after Gilbert Belendez, I think, no, I think I am number one contender, 100%.

Everybody wants my fight versus Pettys. Everybody, I know. It's a very big fight. Do you think Pettis doesn't want the fight? I think he no wants this fight, but I am no good for his style. I am pressure, my wrestling, my top control, it's no good for him. I think he no wants. He said, I won't fight versus Nadeas.

Adidas lose any time in the UFC. And I am undefeated. I am next contender. But he knows say, Habib is good, Habib is undefeated, Habib is six and no. no say. But he knows if why. You know he fly. And I think he knows he's not on this fight.

Based on your Twitter, it seems like you have felt disrespected by him because he has been mispronouncing your name. Is that accurate? Well, what say, please? You said soon you will know how to pronounce my name correctly. Next time, this time next year, you will pronounce my name correctly. Has he been mispronouncing your name in your opinion? I think he know my name, but I think he's no respect for me, and the next year, next year he knows my name, 100%.

Let's go back to the injury for a second. Last week you told me a story, and I just want to clarify with you, that when you had the injury and the surgery and the rehab, did you not even tell the UFC about all these expenses? Were you paying it on your own until you got in touch with, as you mentioned, your new manager, Ali Abdelaziz, who then got in touch with the UFC and told them about it. Were you doing all this on your own? I'm living together my new manager, my new brother, Ali.

And I know on talk, my old manager. Now I have my new team, dream team. And together, he's one and Ali Abdulaziz. I think I go title shot and we are together win the fight. But I know one talk with my old manager. But just to be clear, you're no longer a part of the Red Fury fight team. Okay. I just want to be clear, you're no longer a part of the Red Fury fight team?

No, no, no. I'm stopped. Now, dominates and me. Okay. I know you want a title shot, but you said you very much want the Soroni fight as well. Why do you want that fight? He said three times I know go fight for him. One time, UFC say me, you have a fight Ramadan.

I know fight in Ramadan. And the next time I have injured. And he said, you have Habib no fight three times. It's not true. I know no, no fight two times. One time Ramadan, next time injured. But, you know, maybe Donald's a lot of war. but he's my opponent. I won't smash him.

He's fighting Eddie Avres next week. Who do you think wins that fight? Eddie Alvarez, Calbo-Sharone. I think Cowboys win this fight. I don't know why, but last year, no-hapar's a fight. And Cal-Sarone, every-day fight. Yeah, it's true. Every day fight, I think, is a good shape,

is good mental now. think I will win. Are you concerned that if he does win, and as you mentioned, he's been very active, and this is a high-profile fight, that he might leapfrog you, even though, as you said, you beat Dosangos and Dosangos beat Soroni and Henderson, and you're undefeated, but are you worried that he might get a title shot before you, even though your record is better than his? I know, but he would bet it 100%.

Pettis has knocked him out, cowboy. And everybody knows, I don't know. I think Habib Nourmagam versus Nuremberg versus Anthony Pett is good. Very good fight, I think. And everybody wants in Europe, in USA, in Brazil, everyone won't see this fight. I have a message in the world. Everybody wants, when your next fight versus Pettis, when, when, when, when, I am tired with this message, you know, and I want this fight, very long.

And the UFC maybe give me this fight. 22 and all, USC. Why not give? Right. You want this fight, Ariel? I would like to see it. I think it's interesting. I'm just worried about, you know, sometimes when a guy is active and if you get a high-profile

win against Eddie Alvarez, you know, the lightweight division is very interesting. But if you're asking me, do I think you have done enough to deserve a title shot? Yes, I do believe so. I think you know, Gilbert Melendez in UFC 1-1. Mm-hmm. And Eddie Albert is 0-0.

You won't go title shot, win 1, 2, 3, 5. Yeah. And Eddie Alvarez champion in Lightway champion in the water. USC is another level. You know, you go, you come, UFC, please.

Go fight. Two, three, fight. And after, go belt, but no one fight win, you go belt. It's no good. I think it's no good. You want title shot? Please, beat two, three guys, and after go go belt. I am beat six guys. Six guys I'm beat. And I'm beating in my career. I think I am number one contender, right for division. You know, some of your fights as of late have gone the distance. They've been very dominant, very one-sided, but they went to a decision. And you know how fans can be sometimes. They

don't get excited about these things. Do you think that has hurt you? Like, if you would have finished these guys, all of these guys, do you think you would be talked about more as the number one contender? You know, my opponent is best guys in the world, you know, Raphaido Sanis. Yeah. Very good guy. Finish him is very hard.

Everybody know. Grace Antibault is a piece. I finish Tiago Tavar. Tiago Tavar. It's good, too. Abel Trojillo, he's a beast. Before, before fight with me, he killed one guy. After fight with me, he killed three guys.

It's very good guys, Alibald Trujillo. You know, everybody, no finish, Pet Healy in USC. Yeah. And I think my opponent is very good and strong guys. I know I'm no finish, but I'm smashed everybody. In striking, grounded pound, wrestling, I am everywhere as best. So is it safe to say that you are hoping that Anthony Pettus wins on December 6th so you can fight him? You like that fight better than a fight against Gilbert if he's the champion?

For me, no problem. If Pettis win, I think for me is very good. I won't fight with him. But Gilbert Marlend is a very good guy, very good fighter, and maybe he went true. I think 50-50 But I won't fight versus Anthony Pettish How did you learn how to speak English so well so quickly

I feel like the last time I spoke to you You couldn't speak in English Now I have very good teachers We have a new teacher here Ah there he is Before I have teachers It's very expensive for me Daniel Colme

It's 500 One hour Now I have I have free teacher. Oh. Your new manager, Ali. You know, that's interesting because I mentioned that to Daniel on UFC tonight last week. I said, come on, he's looking for a hundred an hour.

And he said, absolutely not. It's 500. He's giving you a great service. So he's not going to lower his price. So does that mean you're done with Daniel Cormier? He's very expensive for me, Daniel Cormi. Hey, Ariel, Kabib wants to tell you about a new island. He bought a new island.

He just bought a new island. I have very good business island. I have a new island in the USA, you know. What's the island? Eagle Island. So you are a rich man. Everybody fly free. Who won't fly free?

Let's go fight. Eagle Island. Where is this island? He's right to say Eagle Island, like I take down fast. It's an eagle island. like everybody you fight him is going to fly Oh, I understand. Okay. By the way,

Habib, for someone who's English isn't their first language, you're very good at trash talking, especially on your Twitter, you're always writing things. Where did you learn this? Who's your inspiration? No, no, no.

I am no in show style, but I have my new trash talk, you know, and you know why Muhammad Ali is the greatest. He's say and do. And

you say, say, but no, do, no win, fight is you no greatest. But you say and you do, you're greatest fighter. It's my new step. So you're saying that's the difference between you and Chale because he didn't win, it didn't work as well? I think

he beat, he said, say, say, but he beat Chelle, Anderson Silva and John Jones is greatest. But he talked, talk, talk, so much talk, but he's no do. You know, he was Rashad Evans, he was John Jones,

Anderson, Celia, everybody was, but he's trashed okay. But I have no trashed token. I say, and after I do. The UFC has been looking for, you know, a big star from Russia. You know, they tried to sign Fyodor O'Melienenko. It didn't work out. Many moons ago,

Andreelofsky was the champion. Now, look at him now doing great things. Do you think that you can be the man to bring the UFC to Russia and sell out major arena, stadiums and things like that. Could you be that guy? You know, I don't know. Andre Arvowski is no Russian.

He's Belarus. Yes, I'm saying, but yes, from that corner of the world. And Fézer Melanenko is the greatest fighters all time, and he finished. And if you see want to go USA, Russia, and I think I'm number one. And I already help for USC go Russia. And I think if UFC go Russia, 100% in my house in Dagestan, 30,000 new arena. I think 100% is close. Did you look up to Fyodor when you grew up?

Was he your favorite fighter? Fyder is my favorite. The whole time is number one fighters. I think he's greatest. He's a very good person. And he's number one. For me, it's number one, Fadour. Did you ever meet him?

What's her? Did you ever meet Fadour? Two times. Two times I met. The last time he said, me, you're now you're number one fighter in Russia. Wow. Please, please, training hard.

And I am every time to see your fight. And for me, it's very, you know, Fader is number one. It's all the time. You tweeted a picture very recently of your brother and your father. And your father looks like a very important man, like a politician, like serious and very almost, you know, like he's somewhat intimidating with that. All of you are really intimidating with that look that you're giving in the picture.

What does your father do wearing that beautiful suit? My father head coach, Dagestan Combat Sambo. And he's working. You know, I don't know what's the American. working in Dagestan minister of sports, you know? No number one, no honor. He's working.

And he, population, what's it? No, my father's no politics. No politics. Okay. He's working.

He's working. He's very like Combat Sambo and the M. And he's my coach. He's my head coach all time. And I love my father. Yeah.

He was actually the one that got you into him. Right? What was he the one that kind of pushed you to go into MMA to become an MMA fighter? Yes, he says he is very good freestyle wrestling judo and samba, you know and he's mixed it's he's MMA he's training in Pakistan, the other guys, MMA before you know Samhadu you know some had a lot seven years training he's beginning training with my father I am and a lot of guys, a lot of stars, Russian stars, training with my father.

And a lot of times, my father is best MMA coach in Russia. Wow. What about your brother? My brother is freestyle wrestler seven years, and now he's finished. He has chilled and he's finished. He's no competition. He's training, but he's no competition. He helped me before my fight.

and my prepare my fight, he helped me wrestling time. So he doesn't want to be a fighter? He's no fighter. He's no like to fight. Before he's wrestlers, but now he's finished. Okay.

And now that you're, you know, you mentioned you changed management team and you're in Las Vegas, at least for now, does this mean that you are no longer a part of American Kickboxing Academy or are you still going to train there for your fights? American Kingball's my team. You know, I think next year

white and middleweight, light, heavyweight and heavyweight, four champs in the KAA, I think if Luke Kohl knockout, B-Sping is number one contender. And I think next year, AKA have four champs. Wow. So you,

Rockhold, D.C. and Kaine? 100%, I think. Maybe no one. lucky punch, fortune in the case. What do you think of Las Vegas? You're there for the next few months. How different is it from where you're from Dagestan?

No, I like Dagestan living. It's okay. In Las Vegas, it's okay. For me, it's need here living now in Las Vegas, my rehab and my needs in Las Vegas very good. and I think I love Dagestan I love living in Dagestan

my family my father my mother my wife and my friends my team all in Dagestan and I work in Dagestan

So are you going to Go ahead USA it's okay But Dagestan is number one for me So are you going to stay in Las Vegas until you're 100%

for the next few months Oh I think one month in La-Dade in Vegas And after I go home, 10 days and come back and rehab my knee. And before my fight, six weeks, I go okay and training with my brothers. Okay.

With Javier, Javier Mendez and all guys. Okay, guys. Any good Russian saunas in Las Vegas? I know you like to go to those. Russian sauna? No, no, no. I go one time. In the U.S.A.

No good sonnasia. In Russia, it's very good. In the U.S.A. No hot. In U.S.A, sauna is very cold. It's not good enough. It's not up to your standards. No, no.

Any, okay, last thing before I let you go, Habib, this has been great. Thank you for the time. Any final message to either Pettis or the lightweight division, the UFC, anything you want to say to them in this rare English interview by Khabib Nurma Gamedov, top contender in the lightweight division? Thank you so much. I won't say, please, practice, prepare your wrestling. And I go, I won't get my belt, and your wrestling is no good.

Please, defense your wrestling, okay? All right, thank you, Habib. I appreciate it. Oh, by the way, are you going to be at UFC 178 since you're in Vegas? Yes, yes, I go, I go. Okay. I go and see this. All right. So I will see you there.

and thank you very much to your new manager, Ali Abdel-Aziz, for helping us get this interview. We appreciate it. Best of luck to you with the training, the rehab, and looking forward to the return. Hopefully for your sake, you get the title shot. Okay, thank you so much. Thank you.

All right. Asa-Salam al-a-a-a-a-com. To Habib Nirmagamadov. Great stuff out of him. Great to hear that he speaks English so well. All right, let's move along. Very excited, of course, about our next guest. He is, you know him.

If anyone is watching this show, I'm sure you know him. former play-by-play man for world wrestling entertainment. And now the play-by-play voice for the October 3rd pay-per-view, Battlegrounds MMA, Jim Ross, and Chale Sunnan will be calling that show, that one-night lightweight tournament show that's coming up in just a couple of weeks. Looking forward to talking to him about that. And a whole lot more, we've got Jim Ross on the phone right now.

Jim, how are you? I'm great, Ariel. How you doing? I'm doing great. So this is exciting. You know, when this news came out, a lot of people are. including myself. I may not know anyone fighting on the card.

Of course, I know everyone who is, because this is what I do, but I just want to hear finally Jim Ross call MMA, especially now alongside Chal Sondon. So how did this whole situation come about for you? Well, the folks at Battleground, some are based, Oklahoma-based guys, and they contacted me and asked if I had an interest.

I think they follow me on Twitter and know that I have an interest in a lot of things. And being able to do the play-by-play on an MMA event was kind of a bucket list thing for me, a new challenge, a new gig, new opportunity. So we were able to work it out, and I had suggested that I thought Shale would be a great partner. I worked a lot of explosive, quote-unquote, controversial. broadcasters in my day, and including the former governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, and Jerry Lawler, and Paul Heyman, and many others. So I thought, Chale is, it felt right. It felt like a really, we would have good chemistry. And I don't know that. It may be a train wreck. I'll assure

you it will not be boring. Yeah, I think that's great. I mean, that in itself is worth the price of the pay-per-view. Now, you mentioned this is a bucket list thing. Is this a one-and-done for you? you know, are you leaving your options open? Have you signed a long-term deal with them? Where do you stand? No, I have a, this is a one off right now. Because, you know, I don't want to do it, Ariel, if I can't be good at it. And I respect the genre immensely.

If I, I will always be my own worst critic, if I don't feel like that I can do a great job or can evolve into doing a great job, I'd rather let some of it. somebody else had the chair that could. So right now it's a one-time hit. We'll see where we take it after that based on how well we do. But I do think that I do think that we have, Shail and I have the potential to have a lot of fun and add a little color to the broadcast. But we'll see.

I don't want to say that, oh, I want to do this forever, but I get the one. one done and I'm happy about that and then we'll see where we'll go from there. Other than your typical research before a broadcast, how will you prepare for this? You've never called MMA before. So will you do some practice calls? You don't need any reps in front of the camera or just doing play-by-play in general, but this is a new sport. Well, I have a lot of friends that are involved in MMA and I'm going to pick the brain

of a lot of guys. I'm going to watch, you know, I will consume myself by watching. lot of videos. You know, it's a nice thing about YouTube and things of that nature. Yeah. So I'll prepare in that regard. I am not aware that Chale and I will go into a facility and do a practice run or two.

Maybe we should. I don't think that's a bad idea, but with me in Oklahoma and him in Oregon, that might not be as feasible as one would assume. So, but I think we'll be fine. I think there'll be a lot of spontaneity there. We'll be in Tulsa early so we can sit and talk and kind of walk through what we're going to do.

So I don't really expect any problems there at all. I'm a storyteller. I want to step the scene. I want to have fun. And Chales, the expert. And I'm the point guard. I'm going to get him the ball and let him explain. And I'll be asking questions and I'll be calling the action.

I just don't feel like it's going to be, gosh, I'm not taking it for granted by any stretch. but I just feel like I'm ready to do it. And I'm mentally ready and I'm excited about it. As you know, I'm a big fan. So I watch hours and hours and hours of MMA. And when you come from my background of being a broadcaster, the sad or the good, depending on your perspective, I listen very, very intently to everybody.

You know, the USC guys, I was a big fan of Marlornello when he worked for Strike Force. And I listen to everybody that I can hear. And so maybe at the end of the day, it's worked out pretty well. That's going to be good for me. The main draw on this pay-per-view is the one-night tournament, single-illimination, lightweight tournament, some familiar names, Cody McKenzie, Brock Larson, Luigi Fiorvante,

David Mitchell, Juan Carnaro, Trey Houston, just to name a few. I think they're going to announce a couple more in the next couple of weeks. How do you feel about the one-night tournament? It used to be a staple of the UFC back in the day. they've moved away from it and very few organizations do it. Guys have to fight multiple times, and especially in this day and age with everything you hear about concussions and whatnot.

What's your take on it? Well, it's a very dangerous and unpredictable environment. There's no doubt about that. And I know that the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission has looked at the rules and the structure very, very closely, and it's fully sanctioned. I think it's the unpredictability is superb. you've got to be an Ironman and have a little luck to survive it. Winner's going to win 50 grand.

That's going to be cool. Yeah. So I don't have any reservations with it. I think it's a supreme gut check. I think it's going to take some luck. And you hope that some of those guys get some quick finishes, so they got something left in their tank. If they get to the end of the road or their wall,

one win away from winning $50,000. So I think anytime you can get into a fight where it's unpredictable and, you know, it's certainly not going to be boring. So I'm kind of excited about it. When I first started watching the MMA years and years ago, you know, back in the early days before the Bertitas and Dana White got involved, that's what you had. You had those one-night tournaments. And they were all sizes and no weight categories and very big.

I don't want to say barbaric, but they were certainly very animalistic. And what, because the matchups were, you know, weights and size were irrelevant. So, I mean, I don't think there's going to be any Emmanuel Yawboros in this fight. Everybody's a welterweight, which is good. So I'm anxious to see who survives it, because it's a, it is a rugged journey. So I think it's a I love the unpredictability of that And I would imagine you mentioned you know you consider yourself a storyteller This just gives you another story to tell throughout the night, right?

A guy coming back fighting multiple times as a broadcaster That's kind of fun right? Absolutely it's it's a Anytime a tournament is episodic by nature Right You know you've got a match You got a fight Winners advance

Losers are done easy concept to follow. You bring the stories forward. It's no different than the millions of dollars that are made on March Madness in the basketball tournament. Easy to follow. You lose your done. You win and continue. So that's, to me, is very episodic in nature.

It lends itself to storytelling, give them some background, bringing the story forward on, you know, the condition of the fighter or whatever. you know, it's just, there's so many things that you can talk about that you want to be careful not to get bogged down and backstory and not address what we're seeing on your monitor or on TV on pay-per-view. So it's a really neat opportunity for me. I rarely take gigs on football weekends. I really wanted to do this, the MMA thing, one time in my life. and I hope that we'll be solid at it and people want to hear us again.

But I know that soon as a fight's over, I'm driving to Fort Worth, Texas to attend the Oklahoma at Texas Christian football game the next day. So that Friday, October 3rd is going to be a long day and night, but it'll ought to be one of those bucket lists weekends where I can combine my love of MMA and then falling in my Oklahoma Senators down in a Big 12 conference football game. And as you know, your partner, Chil Sunnan, a polarizing figure in our sport,

has had some rough times as of late, suspended for two years, everyone knows the story. What's your take on what's happened to him in the last few months? Well, you know, he cheated and got caught. No excuses. So that's how I, and I, and I talk several times.

You know, I'm not the greatest shoulder to cry on, nor did he want it. He knows what he did. He knows what he did was wrong. But he also knows it's not the, my story to him was, you know, that wasn't at the end of your journey. You just got to start another one.

And even though he's never done color, to my knowledge, at Cadeside, and they use a cage instead of an octagon. Right. That I said, we'll have a blast. I'll get you the ball. And you'll get asked plenty of questions. If you can hear me in your headset, we're going to be fine. And I was somewhat facetious than that, and don't want to sound egocentric.

but I want him to be the star of the show on the broadcast team. I know what my role is. So if I tell great stories and I am naturally passionate, my passion for the game isn't manufactured or artificial. I'm going to call it like I feel, and I know I want to feel it because it's so new and you're right there in the line of fire. I think it's going to be cool.

But he hasn't made any excuse. excuses to me about his fo'paw and that may be a mile way of footing it but his mistake that he made but again he's a young guy he's a he's glib he's intelligent he knows the game

he's entertaining I just think that this is a great role for him and you know whether it's me or somebody else I think I hope that this is something that people can look back at that tape and say hey that Chales he's great in this role so and maybe it opens some doors for him

down the road with this organization or others, I don't know. But I want to help him facilitate a great opening broadcast, and we'll work together. And as I said earlier, it won't be boring. And it's not that we're going to make it about us. Right. But I think our two styles, we both are very passionate, you know, guys that enjoy engaging in dialogue and conversation. So I think it's going to be a lot of fun. But my focus is to make sure he gets all the space he needs to analyze the fight,

and I ask the right questions. And I'm sure that somewhere down the road, in between now and October 3rd, you're going to get a phone call or two from me to give me some information. I'm using everybody that I've met in MMA from a journalistic side to give me as much assistance as I can because, That's my Achilles heel is that I am a preparation freak, and I'm not going to go half-asset with the fans that buy this pay-per-view. I want them to know that I came prepared and very sincere about doing it.

No hat, just Jim Ross, the broadcaster, and we'll see where the cards fall. Well, my phone is always open. Anything you need would be happy to help you. That goes without saying. Back to chill for a second. I appreciate your candor very much in talking about his past. Does that make you lose any respect for him? No, no.

We've all made mistakes. Gosh, if I lost respect for everybody that I've liked or knew or worked with in my lifetime, you know, especially in a business like pro wrestling over the years, you encounter a lot of guys that make mistakes, stub their toe, make big mistakes, make small mistakes. you just, our friends or whatever, you know, I think to, I think forgiveness is a really good trait for one to have. And I, you know, hey, he didn't, he, he, he missed me around because I loved hearing him on Fox, Fox Sports One and him analyzing fights and working in the studio. I thought he was the star of their studio team, and they had some good guys in that team. but I thought he was the star of that team in my view.

So that's what I was disappointed in. Plus, the fact that, you know, even though he'll tell you that I don't know how many fights left he had, you know, who knows what that expiration date is, but I enjoyed watching the fight because the buildup to the fight was always a part of the adventure. And then he always got his best effort. And he'll go down fighting and you'll say that for him. Or he wins. You know, he should have, he was, what, 30 seconds away from beating Anderson Silva.

And a fight that I thought had everybody on the edge of their seat certainly did me. So I, you know, I'm a straight shooter. I went around guys that made mistakes before. I like him. We have good chemistry. We talk a lot. We talked during his issues. The last time there were the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

He knew he had an ear he could bend and a guy that would, they cared. But if any of us make mistakes, than considered the end of the world. I mean, there are some mistakes that, you know, can be pretty devastating. But Ray Rice comes to mind. Right. You know, but this is, this is just, he made a bonehead move.

And he got caught. And he thought he would, he thought he would get caught, obviously. So, no, I didn't, didn't affect me whatsoever. I just, it created an opportunity. When one door closes in one entity, you've got to, got to be willing to have brave enough to step to another door. That's what we're going to do. We're both going to be walking into a new arena, so to speak,

and taking our place at Cadeside and having a great broadcast. That's our goal. And the fans will be the judge of that when it's all said and done. But I think Friday night, October 3rd, circled. It's prominent. I'm excited about it. And I'm anxious to see how many fans will try us on. for size, just to try to out of the curiosity

of it. And plus, as you know, these eight-man tournaments, man, you just never know what's going to happen. It's hard to plot one out. It's okay, this guy's probably going to beat this guy. And I think if these two guys are meeting the semifinals, there's no damn way you can figure that out, because

there's just too many variables that can't be counted for. You know, VICOM MMAs MMO's MMO promotion, Bellator, used to do tournaments all the time. Not one-night tournaments, but That was their thing. That was their, their gimmick, if you will.

And they're getting rid of those. But they're trying to do, you know, bigger events, bigger fights, led by Scott Coker, of course. And they have been known to blur the lines between M.M.A. and pro wrestling. That was very evident a couple weekends ago when they had Stefan Bonner and Tito Ortiz in the middle of the cage. And Bonner brings out a mass man and, you know, a former friend of Tito's and all this stuff. And a lot of MMA fans rolled their eyes and said, this is two W. for me. What's your take on them doing that and that particular angle? Break it down for us. Was that the right call for this promotion trying to differentiate itself from the UFC?

Well, I admire them for trying something new, and I admire them for trying to create a new identity and a buzz. Obviously, you and I are talking about it, and we may not have talked about Bellator if that had not occurred. So that's one point. In hindsight, I can give you a... It's, you know, chapter and verse on the zillion things I've done are going to part of that, in hindsight, I roll my eyes at my own work or my own career. But I do appreciate what they're trying to do to create some identity and create some awareness for their brand. And, you know, I've heard all kinds of things out of Bellator or Viacom. They're going to rebrand their MMA brand, the product that they bought. and I don't know what's yay or nay.

You knew infinitely more about that than I. But it wouldn't probably, in hindsight, as it would have been something that I would have done. But, you know, hey, if it would have worked and it would have gotten a great response universally, then we'd all say, oh, that's a hell of an idea. So you never know sometimes on some of those, those you walk the line, as Johnny Cash would say,

situations until you'd do. do them, and then you kind of go with the consequences. In hindsight, probably would have been something I'd have done, but in a production meeting that said, hey, we're going to try this. What the hell? Let's try it. See if it'll work. But I think sometimes I don't understand the angst.

There would be angst right now with me doing this pay-per-view on October 3rd. Obviously, because, you know, I even saw it online today when people were questioning your judgment for having me on your show. You got all these spiders on, and you got me. What's going on, Ariel? You know, what's, what's,

why you got that guy on? I saw that the sport, and I was uplifting. But, you know, it is what it is. I, I can't help my 40-year background. But I've known I've been known for not calling things in and bringing some passion to the broadcast.

That's exactly what I plan on doing, but I think you have the, the, the, the MMA world's got to be very careful that line they walk because it's a natural line to walk anyway between getting compared to some of the aspects of pro wrestling, not really all of it in the ring, not the predetermined endings in pro wrestling, but the fight buildup and the dialogue and the banter and the pay-per-view promotion and there's a lot of things that are, that these two genres have in common. that have nothing to do with what happens when the door closes to the cage or the octagon or whatever. And it's always going to have that.

And some MMA enthusiasts who are just diehards and hate pro wrestling for whatever reason are just going to have to live with it. You've been very busy in your quote-unquote retirement. You have a podcast which is very entertaining. It's called The Ross Report. You can get it on iTunes. It does very well. It's very popular.

And I've seen you call boxing for Fox Sports One. What else is going on in the life of Jim Ross? I mean, what other projects do you have coming up? Other than this Battlegrounds' MMA pay-per-view on October 3rd, any other news to break? Well, we're talking to Fox about doing more boxing. Okay. So I really had fun with that boxing event. That was back in Memorial Day in Fort Bliss, Texas, a special day.

When you can meet soldiers that just got home and the last 24, 48 hours from Afghanistan, have been gone a year, and you can have to be a small part of that presentation and entertaining them, that meant a lot to me. That was a real cool day. But I also got exposed to the boxing promotion and the Golden Boy group with Oscar Delahoy's guys, and I had fun. I enjoyed the prep for it. and I found out that I think I can do boxing.

I really, truly do. I've been a fan all my life. Same deal. I've made an emotional investment in everything that I've done, and I think that's what's helping me have a long career. I care. I prepare. So I've done that with wrestling.

I did it with football. I've done it with the boxing, which I hope to do more of, probably in 2015, unless we get everything worked out prior to that. I'm open for doing more of that. I'm writing my autobiography after all these years, which we hope to have finished by the spring of 2015. It's going to be the first of two books. It's just too much to try to squeeze it all in and just kind of hit the high spots in one book without it looking like Gone with the Wind or War and Peace or something.

So I'm working on that. The podcast, you said, is doing really well. So it's exceeded my expectation. So last night, I don't know what it is today. Last night it was number seven in the iTunes top 300 sports and recreation podcast. So it's doing well. I'm going to be on the Fox Sports One pregame college football show this Saturday. I'll be in Morgantown, West Virginia, where Oklahoma travels to play.

play West Virginia in a Big 12 game. So I'm going to do a little piece on the interview on the pregame show. That's on Fox Sports 1. That'll be this Saturday night. So I'm kind of moving toward that little football niche that I love

and you know, to be determined where that may go. So I just, that retirement thing that sounded good, but I got busy and then 2015, I'll be doing more of my one-man shows, which has been a real great creative release,

and it's really neat to reconnect with the fans and tell stories and do the Q&As and all those things. That's been a real neat deal. So I'm staying plenty busy, but this MMA project of Battlegrounds is, I'm really glad I've got the opportunity and that they trust me enough to give me a shot at doing it. And I wish I could look into a crystal ball and say, oh, yeah, I'm going to do plenty of this. I don't know. I may, hey, I may suck. That may be the biggest train wreck on paper-view television history.

But I hope not. I'm planning on not being. I think it will be a pleasant surprise for folks. And again, I'm the point guard. It's my job to get the ball to the guy that can score, and that's Chil Sahnem. Because you know him better than I. He's not going to hold anything back. he's going to say what's on his mind,

good, bad, or indifferent. And I think that's part of the charm of this broadcast is that you've got two broadcasters that, you know, we don't have an agenda. I don't know any of these fighters personally. I don't have to, I'm not trying to protect anybody. I want the brand to do well, no matter because they're paying me.

But I don't work for the brand. I work in this one fight for the brand. I'm going to go out and call it. Straight, fun, exciting. and let the cards fall where they may. Well, if you ask me in combat sports, there are a few draws when it comes to broadcasting, and when I found out that they were doing this,

you alone would have been a big enough draw, and then pairing you up with Chil Sun, and I think it's brilliant. And that alone, I mean, it could have been a bunch of no names on the card, and I was buying it because I want to see how this turns out. It's very interesting. It's October 3rd.

It takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Actually, the same arena that the UFC was just at a couple weeks ago. And it's this one night, lightweight tournament, eight fighters, $50,000 goes to the winner. Chale Sunnan and Jim Ross on the call. Fascinating stuff. Looking forward to it on Friday, October 3rd. Jim, thank you so much for the time.

Really appreciate it. Best of luck with the podcast, the Ross Report. You can get it on iTunes, as I mentioned, and all your other endeavors. You're a very busy man, and I hope that when I'm your age, I could be as busy. This is some kind of retirement that you have. I appreciate the time. You bet, buddy. And I'll be calling you because I've got to pick that brain of yours.

Anytime. Anytime. Thank you. Thank you, Ariel. See you. There he is. Jim Ross stopping by. Looking forward to his call on October 3rd. All right, let's move along. Let's go to the Skype Machine over here and welcome in UFC Welterweight.

Court McGee, there he is. One of the most famous beards in mixed martial arts. Appreciate the time. And sorry for the delay, cord. How are you? Hey, I'm doing all right. How are you? I'm doing great.

Let's get into it because you have a sign right in Backview over there. It says Hope 361, and I know you just launched this website. 361.com, a new venture that you're working on. What exactly is this? I'm very curious about this project. Tell us about it. Well, I had a documentary done on me, a short documentary that ESPN did, and I got so much of a response and so many people contacted me. So many people struggle with drug addiction and those those afflicted by family members friends bosses co-workers teammates other athletes um so we kind of pooled together me and if you guys here you got max andy and david here in our little office hello and this is where we do but what we do is we create

hope inspiration and give direction to those afflicted um you can go on our website hope 361 and subscribe for free. And what it is is it's short documentaries and long documentaries, but short documentaries to create hope, inspiration, and give direction to those afflicted.

A lot of people know about my story, but I didn't do mixed martial arts. This whole came, my whole career came after my initial established sobriety date. I'm a person of long-term recovery. I've been through

three surgeries this year. That's why I sets the long layoff in my right hand and wrist. You can still see there's no hair grown back yet from the surgeries. But it's back, but I made it through all three of those surgeries, non-narcotic. And I do that because, you know, I suffer the disease of alcoholism. And I'm a person of long-term recovery, so I can't do narcotics. I can't drink. And for 3,075 days, I haven't drank or used a drug. And that's how I have to live life. And I know a lot of people are afflicted with it. And I know that you see the demise of a lot of people from all different backgrounds.

So we capture that at Hope 361. We capture those inspirational stories and we share them. And we ask you to join us in sharing those to create hope, inspiration, and give direction to people who are afflicted. You know, we want to live in the solution. I want to live in the solution. and since the day I got sober, my needs have been met, and I've been able to carry the message. And the night that I won the finale, I dedicated my fight to all those people who were struggling. And I meant that sincerely.

And so I'm doing that today. I had some time off, and I used that time to – I was approached by cutting out on a – Cutting out on us. That's a psychiatrist doing an autobiography. And we have the recording done, my autobiography. And we're going to release that hopefully early next year. And, you know, life's pretty good right now. I'm back to training.

And this Hope 361 cause that we have is we're doing it to create hope inspiration and give direction to those who are struggling. What does the 361 stand for? So 360 degrees is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. So if you change that one degree, you know, you're that one degree. You can help us share. You can log on and share your story. But you change at one degree and anything is possible.

See, I did the same thing over and over expecting different results. You know, I drank and I used, and then I figured out life, but life never happened. I stayed in the same place, and I just, I went to a depth that I didn't think I could get out of until I found a life of recovery. And through that, I was suggested to share my story to help inspire others who are also struggling. And so that's what Hope 361 is. The 361 is catchy. change at one degree. 360 degrees is a perfect circle. You change at one degree and it's different. And that's what I did. September 9th, 2005 at 10.56 p.m., my heart stopped because of, you know,

a number of different drugs that I was taking and not taking to get loaded, taking to maintain. And that's the thing is I was miserable and I changed that one degree and I found a life of recovery and I'm I'm able to live that and so through my competition and my competitive career I use my highlights and and the things that I've done to create hope and you know the first time I spoke was a little over a year ago and I spoke in a narcotics assembly and from there it went to junior highs high schools and I just got up and I shared my story and I started sharing my story and I and I saw the response I got of people, you know, hey, this is pretty inspirational. This guy is a normal guy. He fell victim to addiction and couldn't find his way out, ended up dying. You know, I mean,

it was the EMS workers that ESPN contacted, you know, said I didn't have a response. You know, there was no response for eight minutes, you know, and so I shouldn't be here. But, but I, because of a few unusual circumstances, I was, I was given a new direction in life. And, And I was inspired by being of service to a wrestling team to start competing. And then it went from one thing to another to pretty soon I'm fighting on the biggest stage in the world. And I want to use this to create hope and inspiration and give direction to those who are afflicted. And in doing that, it's given me a life beyond my wildest trains. And so that's what we're doing at hope 361.com.

We're doing that. I go out. I speak at youth correctional facilities. I speak from a prison in San Luis Obispo County to a junior high school in Emory County in Utah. And I just share my story and help create inspiration and give some of these kids some hope who are struggling. And, you know, anybody. I mean, drug addiction is non-biased. It doesn't matter where you came from, who you are, you know, religion.

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how much money or how little money you have. Drug addiction is not. unbiased and it tears everybody apart. So we want to be able to provide a tool for people to use for those who are afflicted around them. Hey, listen, they can get help here, here, through this, through this. And then the stories that we have create that hope. Hey, listen, if this guy can make it through that, you know, maybe my son can or maybe my daughter can or maybe my friend can. You know, listen, this guy made it through it. This is what he does to maintain his recovery.

And, you know, I mean, what better of a cause. You get on there and you subscribe for free. All you're doing is getting updated on the newer videos. We have about 50 right now, and we're putting more up on the site and we're building it. You know, progress, not perfection. We're looking to be of service. and be in the solution. And I've used my, you know, what success I've had to help carry the message. And it's given me a life. It's given me the ability to compete in the UFD.

You know, and I didn't think, you know, sitting in a trailer overdosed on heroin. You know, I never thought I'd be sitting here speaking to you on your show. You know, people like me don't get that opportunity. But because of a few circumstances that were given to me, I want to give that back. And that's what we're doing. That's what Hope 361 is.

I have my autobiography coming out. Spencer Kites helping me write that. We have everything recorded and we're transcribing right now. We don't have like an official release date, but I'm putting my story out there. And, you know, it's just being part of the solution and staying active when I can't be active in the cage. I should have a release date in December and I'll be back competing in the UFC. in springtime, you know, in February, March of next year. I should be released and back in action.

I'm training now, but I have an hour worth of therapy a day on my wrist to get it back to 100 percent so I can come back and compete with the best guys in the world. Not compete, but beat the best guys in the world. You know, you mentioned obviously the day that you were pronounced dead. You know everything from the time and how many days you've been sober. You know, that all sounds great when you're listening to the story. It's very inspirational. It's very emotional.

but how does someone turn around? How did you turn around your life? Like, what was the key to doing so? Because, you know, that is obviously rock bottom. I mean, eight minutes you say that they told you you were dead for. And then you're addicted to this stuff. It's part of your life. You need it just to function. How did you get rid of it all and now become a successful human being, a successful athlete of all things? Well, what happened was my parents were in the emergency room. And there was a licensed clinical social worker who was at the hospital. hospital that I overdosed on, or at the hospital that I was there. And he saw my parents, you know, sobbing and said, you know, what happened? And they said, well, he overdosed. It's a drug

overdose. We don't know how to help him. We don't know what to do. And that guy said, have you ever tried an intensive inpatient treatment facility? And they said, no, we don't know what those are. They had no idea. They didn't know how to help me. And so he said, okay, well, here's a name and a number of somebody who can call. And luckily enough, they were able to get me into that inpatient drug treatment facility. And in there, I was introduced to people who were living a life of long-term recovery. And so through those first initial 30 days of sobriety, after a hard couple years of use, I saw these guys.

They were happy. and I met a guy that said, hey, if I stay sober for one more day, I'll have six months of continuous sobriety. And I went, holy cow, that guy is really sober. And so I went up to him and I said, what do you do? And so I want to be that licensed clinical social worker that's in the hospital. See, that was by chance. Had they had not come across him, I never would have been. given the opportunity or put in that place. I mean, I had felony drug charges. I had, I was looking

to do time and those are my options. It was either being incarcerated or dying, you know, or being incarcerated coming out. Like, I knew no other way to live. I was so deep in my addiction. I had no idea. But because of that guy that knew where to get help suggested that I go to that treatment facility. So in a sense, we're being that guy. We're going to, you know, through these, hey, listen, and this guy got sober. This guy, this, this, this is what they do. This is how they maintain their recovery. This is what they do.

And this is where they got help. This is what they do now. And that's what our website does. So we're acting as that person. So you, as a viewer, you go on, you subscribe. You get the inspirational, documentary and you say, hey, I have a friend that's 29 years old that wants to be an MMA fighter website, you'll go down to treatment and you'll find an inpatient drug treatment

facility close to you. Hey, this is where we got help. Bam, they go locate that and then they're able to give direction to the person who's struggling. See, I was in an intensive outpatient for a year and I was so strung out that I had no idea. I didn't even know I was a team. once a week an outpatient treatment facility. I didn't know that.

My dad had to tell me that for my next drug. And because of that guy, giving us some direction, you know, I'm where I'm at today. He just gave me the step in the right direction. And so we want to act as that. Right. And you don't want any money or anything like that. This is not a charity in that sense?

no and eventually it can grow into something right um but subscribers we want to we want to create hope and inspiration through those documentaries to also to the people who subscribe if they have an inspirational story of somebody who's struggling you know and the person who's struggling may not get anything from the video, but I promise you, the loved ones around them who are afflicted the most will see that. My family didn't know what to do. And we're giving them that. Hey, listen, this is what these guys are doing. You know, this guy, wow, you know, this really changed his life. What did he do? And through that story and how we edit that and how Max does that, our film guy, you know, it creates a direction for these people, for their family

members or bosses or whoever, employers, or it doesn't matter. Whoever has somebody or know somebody can get on this website, can get the inspiration from the videos, and get direction to where they can get help. And if you get a chance, get on there and subscribe. Yeah, I absolutely will. It's called hope 361.com. When you go to the front page, the video of you, it's a great video, and it's a very nice and informative and very easy to use website. I commend you on doing this, and I wish you the best of luck. You and your team over there, the best of luck and I hope you get well very soon, get back to the UFC very soon, and good luck with the autobiography. I mean, you got a lot going on, CORD, and it's all great things. So very

happy for you, all the best, and keep us posted on the website and how it continues to grow. Okay, yeah, you can follow us on any of our social media platforms. Just look up hope 361.com, and then follow me for up-to-date stuff on that, the Cord underscore McGee or my fan page. I'll also be getting rid of my personal page. It's the first one that pops up and do it. doing a fan page because it's full and keep up to date on what's going on. I do these speaking engagements and I do these appearances and I'm back and training and I'll be back. I'll be back. Looking forward to it. All the best to you, Cort. There he is. Court McGee, UFC, Walterweight, launching a great project. Hope361.com. I do recommend checking it out. Some great stuff. Even if you

have nothing, no connection to, you know, anyone who has been suffering from this or has suffered from these kinds of addiction or mental illness. I mean, this is great work here. And it's, it's a very nice website, very nicely done and for a very good cause. Cause it sometimes, sometimes isn't discussed as much as others. And this is a guy who was pronounced dead for eight minutes. If you recall when he won the Ultimate Fighter, that was discussed. And now look what he's doing. Way to give back. Court McGee. Great stuff out of him. Check it out. Hope361.com. All right. Let's go back to the Skype machine now and welcome in a good friend of the show. The one and only. Oh, it's phone. Okay. Sorry. I read the information wrong. He's joining us via the phone. Can't wait.

Alastor Overim. Are you there? Joining you through the front. Do you hear me? I do. I wanted to see your lovely face. What happened? Yeah, I'm actually driving right now. Oh, okay. You're in Holland, right? Far away. I'm in Holland and Netherlands, and I'm actually drawn down for them. So it just so happened to be that the call was during this time and I was in the car. So no sky back here, unfortunately.

Oh, well, that's... How have you been, Ariel? I have been great. How have you been? Yeah, I'm good. I'm good. the fight was not good that was terrible terrible result and I can tell you

it's such a shame because I was in a damn good shape you know and that just proves to me that you know you can it can all be all in headway with just one one mistake one blow one thing

you know I got to say unfortunately absolutely and we've seen this before but I got to say I am so impressed with how you are dealing with this loss. I mean, from what you wrote on social media, just a few hours later, even the way you were in the cage,

I mean, when we saw this happen, especially once again, you started off very well and then bad things happen rather quickly afterwards. But even what you're saying here now, I mean, this seems like a different Alistair Ophrine.

How are you handling this so well? You're so positive. You're dealing with it. I mean, you've taken such a great approach to it all. And when we were watching it, I was like, wow, this is devastating for Alster. How is he going to respond? Will he be cut all this stuff?

And yet, you don't seem to be sweating it. How is this possible? No, no, no. I'm disappointed in the result of the fight. But, you know, I was in a great place. I'm still in the great place. I think I really found myself with Greg Jackson. I like the people.

The prep was great. And I know, I just know that all those months of work that I put in is going to come out. It didn't come out in this fight. Well, the result wasn't there. But I know it's going to come out later because I know what I'm doing in the gym. I know what I'm doing with my sparring partner. That might kind of a little bit bad. But, yeah, I just know that it was the right direction.

So, again, a very unfortunate result. So what's your take on the fight? What went wrong there? Why did you lose? Well, we all knew that Ben has hard hands. that's how he win fights. Now I was kicking on his arm, and I thought I disabled his arm. I heard the crack.

I could see he was hurt on the arm, so I didn't expect him to punch him of it, and especially not, like, that fast counterpunch. I would maybe expect him to punch a little bit later, but not that fast. And I just didn't expect it to come from that angle. And so that was it? Do you think that you put too much stock in his potentially injured arm? Like, if you didn't think that his arm was broken, It comes out later that it wasn't broken,

would you have been more defensive, more guarded? Yeah, I should have been more careful. Should have been more careful. So we all knew that Ben can take a punch, can take, well, maybe a couple punches, and he's a tough guy, that hard hands, and it just made a mistake. What did you make of his dance afterwards?

Excuse me? What did you make of his dancing in the cage afterwards? Yeah, I saw it. I saw it on the video. The other thing is, the thing is, if you win your fight, you can make some noise, and if you lose, then you just shut up. Right.

So that's the level what happens. He won. Congratulations to Ben. You can make some noise. Was this one of the harder losses of your career? Because, as you mentioned, you were in a good place, a new camp, you were excited to show off your skills. I mean, I'm assuming every loss is tough.

But considering all those factors, and what you had done in your last fight against Frank Mir, and you were so dominant, it felt like you were finally starting to pick up some momentum in the UFC. I'm wondering if this was one of the tougher losses of your career. You know, every loss is tough. This definitely was a tough one, too, because it seemed that the stars had aligned, right?

It all looked good. And I wasn't in a great shape. So in that sense, it's a bitter pill. but, you know, the whole thing also is, if you're not prepared to lose, you shouldn't even win in the first place. And, you know, I've always known that, I've had a long career.

This is my 20-of-year training. I've always known that, you know, you can lose. This is one of those things. But, again, I'm still very happy with the work I put in. So I'm pleased with the people that I have around me right now. Everything is very positive. So I know it'll come out the next time. The thing is I'm 34.

I still have a couple of good years. I would hope. Are you staying with Jackson's? Yes, yes, yes, yes. You enjoyed Albuquerque, you enjoyed the team and the atmosphere there. Everything was great. Everything was great. Even the drama.

Everything was very positive. Yeah, there was not really any drama. That was just you guys in the media acting a little Philly. Can I say something though? It bothered me when it was made public that you were the one that John Jones was training with because guys get injured all the time. And I feel like there's certain facts that are left in the gym because you don't want someone to get unnecessary criticism.

I mean, I could think of many cases where a guy got injured, someone bumped into him, something like that. These things happen in a gym while you're training for big fights. And I was surprised that it came out and people were. talking so openly about the fact that you were training with John Jones. Did you think that that was unfair, especially considering the fact that you were a new member of the team and just trying to, you know, it looked like from everyone we spoke to trying really hard to, you know, adapt to the team and be a good teammate and be as accommodating as possible. I felt for you when that came out. Do you agree

that it was unfair? Well, it was the truth. So what are you going to do? I mean, anybody can say, the truth. And yeah, it is what it is. We cannot make it any more nice, right? Somebody asked anybody in the JMA, what happened with John. Yeah, it was warming up with Alastair. I mean, should they lie about her or something? It was just the truth. That's what happened, and there was no foul play. It was not intentionally. It was just a very unfortunate accident.

You and John are cool now, though, right? Yes, yes. No, no hard feelings because of that. or anything like that? Never has been. Right. Never has been. And that felt terrible, man,

because I was looking forward to that fight. Of course, I would see, you know, he's got a great career. He's a great, great athlete. But I also like him as a friend. So, you know, you never want to, you don't want to do that to your buddies or to your teammates. Yeah, it was interesting.

You just feel terrible. The day after the brawl, you were in L.A. with him, almost like his enforcer. If D.C. stepped out of line, you were going to come in there. and rough him up, right? Personal security. All of a sudden, Nounsters, the personal...

I mean, you guys are very close, right? He brought you out there, right? No, I actually wasn't... What was I doing there? I was in town for something, and he happened to have his press moment. So we, after I finished my thing, I went over,

and, yeah, there's joined. We played a UC game in front of some audience. Yeah, it's all good. I like the story better that he brought you out as a personal security guard, but I guess your story's fine. You know, after... But, you know, I like, I like Daniel, too. I think Daniels also a great fighter. So, yeah, I was not an enforcer.

After the fight last Friday, the talk was, you know, will Alistair Overim have a future in the UFC? Dana White has come out recently and said that you are going to stick around and they're still going to, you know, give you another fight despite the loss. and, you know, the fact that you, I believe you've lost three of your last four, were you worried that they were going to cut you after this fight? No, worried. Worried is a big word. You know, it's something that can happen.

You can do that after you lose a fight. So it's definitely something that you keep into account. Yeah. So it's something that goes for your mind because they can do it. They do have to do it. Did you find it? out like the rest of us, you know, when Dana said that last week, that you were going to stick around

or did you inquire beforehand? Well, I would assume that I'm in touch with my manager and if something happens or something changed and I'll hear from my manager. So, unless I hear

something from my manager, you're still right. You're still in service. I would think taking a turn. Do you feel like it's do or die for you in your next fight? I'm not going to put it like that. I just think every fight is important, every win is important.

You know, a loss really puts you down the ladder a couple steps. You know, and again, I really take it to myself and I look at what I could have done more. I could not have done more in the preparation. It all went great. I was in a great shape. And, yeah, we're going to do it again for the next one. and recharge again and I'm going to go out of it again. Do you have any kind of theory as to why the UFC run hasn't gone as you would have liked?

I mean, thus far, it hasn't been as dominant as, you know, when you were in strike force and, of course, dream and things like that. Do you have any kind of theory as to why? Well, there's also a little bit, when you're in the flow of winning, it's, you're in the flow of winning. Now there's definitely been some hardship here. I also have to say that UFC, I mean, there's no easy fighting in UFC, everybody is tough and everybody's coming in the game plan.

This is something I also said before the fight. Don't on our estimate, Ben. This guy's 280 pounds. He can take a punch and he hits like a truck. You know, it is a UFC. Everybody is there to win. And there is a lot of stake for everybody,

so everybody's, you know, 150% motivated. Or they're not going to last. If you come in there with 50% motivation, you're not going to last long. Are you considering going down to 205? Well, I went in at 248, and I was really dieting and shredding and getting my body in the best shape ever. So, because I pretty much confused about it.

But how do you suggest I cut 43 pounds? Well, I don't know, because it seemed like... I was at the light as that was possible. I know. How am I going to do more? Well, you know, you have fought in the past at 205, and also, You were telling us that you were weighing 210. I know you were joking with the people and whatnot, but it seemed like you were...

I never said that to you. No, not to me personally, but I think on social media... I never said that to anybody. No? The 210 part? No. You never wrote that on social media? Somebody asked me, hey, what is...

Somebody asked me, what is Tim Kennedy read? I think, like, 210 or so? Gotcha. Wait a second. Wait a second. I'm looking it up. Oh, someone... Wow.

People screwed up, huh? Look at that. I'm looking at it right now. The MMA media. That's what I mean with you, media, guys. Yeah. You're just copy-pacing, making headlines out of it. Unbelievable, right? Totally no fact-check.

Real journalism, what is that? Question marks. Wow. You put me in that group as well? After everything we've been through. Well, you're a little bit more sophisticated. Sophisticated. But, yeah, you're a little more sophisticated.

Not too long ago, you called me a salmon. Yeah, that's why he was investigated. You slipped through. By the way, you know what the number one question we got when we... Otherwise, I would call you a shrimp. A shrimp? Come on. That's a low blow.

You know how many people ask me? You have to ask Alster this one question when he's on the show today. Do you know what that question was? No. No. but if it's that question, I'm not answering. Which one? Not answering yet.

You don't know what it is? Come on. The entrance song. The entrance song. Were people paying attention? Were you paying attention? On Friday of a couple weeks ago? Yeah?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I wasn't. I don't listen to that stuff. It doesn't mean anything to me. You don't listen to EDM? I don't even know what EDM is. It sounds like a drug. Oh my God

What's the song? So you're going to ask me that question And you're totally not even interested I am interested I want to be educated You're very mysterious About your song And I don't understand why

No listen I'll tell you but not right now Not right now And I'm going to be at my appointment in four minutes Four minutes That's it That's it

Yeah I could actually Yeah I'm a little late Where are you going Yeah, absolutely. I'm just a friend. Okay. It's an appointment, though. Yes.

A date, if you will. Well, not a date, but when you're supposed to be somewhere at a certain time, and it's already eight minutes pass, and I still have, like, four minutes driving there. You don't want to come in there, like, 20, 30 minutes later. Sure, no, I understand. Let me ask you this. Before we let you go, let's wrap it up.

Where do you stand right now with Dana White? because, you know, he was critical of you training with John Jones, and it seems like there's always some kind of drama going on. Do you, you know, do you feel like you're in a good position? Have you had a chance to talk to him? Did you see him in Connecticut? Where do you stand? Yeah, no.

In Connecticut, we briefly shook hands. As how, how is it going. But to my knowledge, there's nothing wrong, nothing going on. Okay. So you feel like it's okay, right? Your relationship. Well, I would, yeah, I think so. I don't know.

You have information I don't have? No, no. I got nothing. But I just wanted to know from your perspective. Some juicy headline. When do you want to return? As soon as possible. Because, you know, I was not out.

I was not sleeping. It was just a date. Then capitalized. So, yeah. I guess if it's up to me, not too far away. this year? Yeah, I can fight this year. Who do you want to fight?

You know, after a lot, you just need to not talk too much. So it's going to be up to the UFC. I'm open. No preference. No preference. What do you make of Matt Mitrione saying he wants to fight you? Are you interested in that one? I don't have any preference.

I'm open to whatever. It seems like everyone's interested in fighting you these days. Does that bother you when they mention your name? No. No. No, it's good. It's good. Listen, I know when I have my thing to get, I'm a tough piece.

So that's where my focus is. And then anybody's welcome to come. How about your good friend? I'm not going to... Go ahead. I'm not going to have any preference. You know, I'm just coming out of the loss. It's something that the U.C. has to...

After the sign. How about your good friend, Andrei Arlowski? What an upset. Great fight, huh? Did you expect that? But that is the thing. Expect it. It's heavyweights. Heavy wage can change with one blow.

Right. I've been the victim of it. Last Saturday, Andre, and Bigfoot were the victim of it. You know, because Bigfoot is also a very talented, a tough guy. You know, we've seen what happened with him and Mark Hunt. That was like a slugfest. So it can all change And that is what brings

The unpredictiveness of the fight You know, it's a good thing It's also sometimes a shitty thing in my case But great performance I'm very happy for Andre By the way What did you make of the smaller cage? You were fighting in a smaller cage on

September 5th What did you make of that? Yeah I didn't like it that much It was a little bit strange to me Yeah, it was strange It's actually remind them a little of the K-1 ring, because it's also smaller.

It's different. It's different. Do you think it affected the outcome of the fight? Yeah, maybe a little bit. Next time. But let that not be an excuse, because you need to, you know, a fighter's a fight,

you need to be able to fight everywhere, even if there's no cage, small cage, big cage. But next time, would you prefer to not fight in a smaller cage? You know, next time I'll all be, A little bit more prepared on it. Right. Because it is a little bit different.

There's no movement, basically. Finally, how long are you in Holland for? Just a couple more days. Just to see my little girl. Because, yeah, of course, training camp, I was missing her all in Albuquerque, and of course she lives in Holland. Right. And, of course, the rest of the family, mother,

my uncle and auntie and my grandmother was 99. Wow. So we got to keep that all alive. So, yeah, I went back, seeing everybody. All right, well, I'll let you go, Alistair. I'm happy to hear that you're in such good spirits. It's inspiring, to be quite honest. Your timing is great because I'm just arriving and parking the car.

Oh, wow. No, no, listen, I'm all positive, and I've been able to place it as, you know, It's one of those things that can happen. And I'm just going to keep doing one of them. And again, I wasn't a great shit. Trust me, I know what I'm doing in the gym. I know what I'm doing with my sparring partners. I was good.

I was good. Yeah, you looked to be in great shape. I mean, 210 pounds, unbelievable. I can't believe you weighed that little. Really impressive. 248. I'm kidding. It's a joke.

It's a joke. Alster, thank you so much for your time, as always. It was great to see you, although it was brief in Connecticut. I'm looking forward to your return. All the best tune. I appreciate you stopping by while you're back home in Holland. It means a lot to us. Thank you. Ariel, thanks for having me, and I'll talk to you soon. All right. There he is. The Ream. Alastair Overeem.

Still won't tell us the name of that entrance song, but I assure you one day we will find out one day. Impressive, though, how he's taking the loss. Very impressive. A true pro at this point in his career. All right, let's move along. One more guest to go, and this man has been in the news over the last 10 or so days. Of course, we were talking to Jim Ross about it just a few minutes ago. He is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, current UFC Hall of Famer, now a current member of the Bellator MMA roster on November 15th.

He faces his bitter rival, Stefan Bonner in San Diego, California on Spike TV. He, of course, is the one and only Tito Ortiz. Tito, how are you? Doing great a while. Thanks for having me on a show. Thank you very much for joining us. So let's get right into it. We continue to talk about it.

And it happened now two weekends ago. And I'll ask you the same question that I asked Stefan. Did you have any idea that this was going to go down? I mean, did you have any idea that he was going to come into the cage with a masked man and they would talk about the past and perhaps some low blows in there? I mean, how much did you know about that whole scene that was going to transpire on Spike TV last Friday? Well, the only thing I knew was we're going to hit in the cage. or we're going to do a face off of the fight

and do a pre-fight thing and that was it. I've seen some guy with the mask they were with them and I was like I don't know I just kind of caught me off guard I was like

ooh this guy and you know I was like okay he must think I'm gonna swap him or something he must have security with him stepped in the cage

and he started talking and he said something about my ex he said so about my family and started talking about the fans and I was just like all of a sudden just blink and I seen red and he's

goes in. I'm going to bring someone who you screwed around and unmasked a gimp. I was just like, are you serious right now? I mean, in my mind, I was just like, how is I going to help you? And I just, I was already seeing furious

for him talking about my family. I just, I don't know, I was, I think it's pissed as I've ever been in any pre-fight interview at all. I mean, I was really, really, really pissed. And just to track up him from the double the abuse side of it, of, you know, trying to sell a fight, but then talking about my family,

talking about my fans, and then unveils or reveals the camp, Justin, I was just like going, what is this guy doing? Does he even know what he's getting into? And I got the mic, and I said a couple things, and I just couldn't even get the words on my mouth.

I was so mad, and I just had to fill in one way or another, and I shoved them, and, you know, I was able to spin on his face, and I disliked this guy. really, really bad. I mean, through my whole career, 15 years,

I never met anybody as disrespectful as this guy. I don't know. I'd really, really dislike him, really, really, really dislike him. Do you wish that that whole thing didn't happen? In other words, do you think it was a bad look for Bellator? Well, I guess it's double-edged sword.

You know, it helped and didn't help. And they helped, so if I was 10 days, after we're still talking about it. You know, and a lot of fans, maybe they didn't like it because of the pro-wrestles side of it. I mean, I didn't like it. The fact that I didn't talk on my family, I didn't like it. I know it could have helped.

It could not help. I mean, like I said, double-edged sword to be either way. Stefan told us last week that he has more in store for you. Are you concerned that this is going to go down that path even more? I mean, we're two months away. There's a lot of time between now and then, and, you know, he says he has more in store. I hope it does have more in store.

He needs to me as much ammo as possible because that's the only way he's going to win. The argument side of it. He says many lives as he possibly can and keep talking his talk. Because when it comes on November 15th, he has to get the cage to me. There's nobody else.

They'll get him behind them, they're in the training partners behind them. There's nobody besides himself. He's the ones that's going to stand in front of me when it comes to getting punched in knee and kicked in the face. And that's what it's going to come down to. And that's what I can't wait for. I'll sit back and I'll let him talk his talk

And get as much hype and a much variety as just talking You know, you got to back up the fight when it comes to the fight time As I've done for so many years Are you surprised he's coming out of retirement I'm surprised? No, I guess Dana let him go out of his contract And want him to fight me and the fight's going to happen You know, I think he's biting up a little more than he can chew And his ass is writing checks that his ass can't cash

I really can't wait to Cato's face and I just I don't know man I like I said a long career I never hate anybody much of this I mean even Ken Shamrock

I was able to get at him and you know we talked to her smack back and forth but when the chain session was done the days were done I'd go to bed I wouldn't think about it at all Bono went to gather my skin

he wanted to push the buttons he wanted to make me mad he wanted to kick me off well he did it that's great I'm motivated. I'm doing things that I've always wanted to do. Injuries are behind me now. My mind's in a great place.

You know, I went through a lot of challenging things to my life for the last four years. Of course, the last two years more than I've ever had my whole life. And it's behind me now. And now it's just all about fighting and training and getting that world title always. You know, I turned out a world title to fight Bonner. And I guess that's just how much I really want to play.

bunch of them in the space. Now, why did you do that? Because I recall when you were at the fan expo in July, you had told a few people that you were going to get a title shot. And I know this is a personal issue that you have between you and Stefan, but a title is a title. And that would have been, you know, a nice coup for your career. So why turn it down now? Why not take the title shot now and fight him later? Because I'd rather beat him down now, just a stepping stone, then have him an opportunity to fight for a world title because I don't think he deserves it. I think he's a phoning, I think he's a fake,

and I don't think he deserves you to step in the cage with the world champion. Did they offer you? Did they say, like, it's this or this? You can take the title shot if you want, or you could take the Bonner fight? Was it presented to you that way? Yes.

Wow. You know, you're coming off a win over the middleweight champion, Alexander Schlameko, which was very important in your career. What would have happened if you lost that fight? Do you think you would have stopped fighting? I really don't think about that. I never think about that. It just goes back to what I thought.

Ryan Bader, you know, people say, so what are you going to do after this fight after you lose? I'm like, I don't think about that situation. Right. And I really don't. I think when something's set in my mind and, you know, branded and stone, I really just, that's all I eat, sleep and dream.

And that's all I think. That's all I make where reality in my mind is when. I'll think about a loss. I'll think what I'm going to do if I lose. Because when you start thinking like that, it just really gets overwhelming, and you start just procrastinating bad thoughts, and you don't need to do that. Just keep the positive ideas of winning and know what it feels like to win,

nor it feels like it feels like it's already secured, and you're just laying in bed, then you feel that happiness in your body, when everything's turned out the way I wanted to. And I think we dream to feel it. That's what makes it so successful. And when you get done, you really don't think about what if this would happen, what if that would happen.

I don't think like that. I just always stick in my mind of win, win, win, win. In hindsight, though, do you think it was a mistake to make that fight because you were bigger than him, of course, and he's their champion? Now he's coming off a loss. I mean, it's never good when the champion loses, especially when it's a non-title fight and he has to move up and wait.

So while it turned out well for you, do you think in hindsight it didn't make sense for the organization? I didn't think it made sense at all. All of a sudden, he called me out on Twitter, and I was just like, what? But, come on this guy's an 185-tile fighter. Right. You're going to call me out?

I mean, yeah, he was 50 and 7. I mean, he thought he was destructible. I mean, all champions think that they're undestructible. You know, I look at my career, I look at the guy that lost two, and people talk a lot of Spack as saying, yeah, he only won one flight in the last five years. Look, the guys I compete against. I competed against the top five guys in the world, every one of my fights. And guys went on to become world champions that I lost to.

And only one that did not, that was Matt Hamill. I mean, everybody else, yes. I fought always against top guys in UFC. Now when I went over to Bellator, you know, their champion thought you just could call me out. And you can understand I'm very dangerous. And at the mind that I have now, my body is in the right place. I'm even more dangerous, you know, no more injuries, no more drama at home.

Everything is just eat sleep train. My kids is my life. And that's what I live for. Were you disappointed when Viacom replaced Bjorn Rebony with Scott Koker, considering the fact that Bjorn was the one who brought you in? Not even. I was so happy. I was just like doing on, because Bjorn Rebony just had open,

burning empty promises. He just promised so much and he'd never fall through at all. And Scott Croker, I've known him for such a long term. He's always been a straight shooter. You know, he's always been very, very respectful. towards me and he understands the business. He understands the marketing and understands how to push the fighters to make them

superstars in a household environment. What kind of things did he promise you that he didn't deliver? A few things. I mean, I'm not getting into detail, but I mean, there's a few things that didn't fall through. The things that I had to battle for that were in my

contract and says, no, we're not going to do that. I'm like, it's in my contract you have to. Oh, wow. And, I mean, it came down to the last two weeks before the fight, and then he finally gave you real. Had he not done that, would you have not fought? Yep.

Really? Not fought. Wow. You know what I don't get taken advantage of them. I don't want people take advantage of me. There's a contract and everything's in place, and that's the way it is. That's the way it is business. You know, I'm not 22 years old anymore.

I'm not young kids scrapping to get to the top. I've been to the top, and I've got to look out for my best interest as a businessman in a fight game. At the end of the day, it is a business because I got the children to take care of. I got bills to pay, and this is my job right now. It's fighting. You can't tell us what it was? I mean, he's no longer there, so what does it matter?

It's just, I don't like to talk about my contract. You know, I've learned from my past history. You know, I can leave it at, I'm just happy that Scott's there now. Do you notice a difference? I mean, you were at that event. You weren't fighting, but I'm sure you got to meet some of the people and see the environment. Do you notice a difference already? Well, I really think interlays people are still there, and they're still, I mean, they've always been really cool.

There's a person that's the director of making things happen the right way, and Scott's that person. I mean, I look at the venue at the Mahitin Sun, and it almost felt like I was in a U.S.E.S. vignion. I mean, everything was nice, clean. You know, you look at the matte color, the mac color is brighter, so the fighters stand out better, the spots stand up better. It's just a new show completely all around. it certainly feels that way I would agree so at this point

do you feel like like when when Bjorn was still around you won that fight did you think all right Bellator will be there and then you know I'll fight a couple times and that'll be it

at this point do you feel with the new direction that they have a legitimate chance to be a threat to the UFC I really don't think it's about being a threat to anybody I think it's probably getting the best fights forward and making sure

the fans are getting excited for each and every fight and then fans are really the fighters that really run through conveyor belts. You know, I think this is about building stars and making fans appreciate the fighters each and every time they compete, they could follow them through their careers, they could watch their fight live, free on Spike,

and really get involved into the fires in general. I think that's what this sport was built upon on Spike when UFC got on Spike. I mean, Spike's the one who made it eligible for fans to experience what fighters went through. You know, they had the alternate fighter, and then they're able to watch them on UFC fights in general, and I was able to build through their careers. Well, Belator is doing the same thing on Spike now

is way able to show the champions, the former, excuse me, people who are coming up, the fighters who are coming up to become champions and let the people at home fall in love with champions and with fighters in general. What do you make of the decision to put your fight on the same night as UFC 180? I don't know

I thought You know It's That was kind of cool actually I'm the truth What is it cool Let's see how much weight My name could hold

You know I think the big difference Of all of it Is fuck all the fans Get to watch free fights You know Instead of I have to pay for a fight They get to watch free

On Spike And I think the fans Or die-hard spike fans Will be there In matter what And Peter Ortiz fans Will be there no matter what and, you know, Stephanie Bonner fans

will be there no matter what. Stephanie Bonner, that's your new name for him? Yeah, I'm not going to say any more bad words about the guy. The guy's making stuff like a fool already. So the UFC going, or Beltor going head to head with the UFC because that date was already there. You wouldn't prefer just having your own night so that the fans aren't splintered.

They don't have to choose between one or the other? You know, if fans are going to watch me fight, they're going to watch me fight, I think that's really meaningful. you know, the fan's going to go with it, where I want to see the guy compete, you know. And that's, I believe it's, I don't care.

I just want to fight. I just want to fight. Right. He steps me up and, and I just dislike the man. I really, really disliked them. I mean, they're giving my handshakes up to fight.

Nothing. I'm just going to try to hurt him. I heard that Bellator was interested in booking this fight in Orange County, which would make a lot of sense. You're from there, but it's taking place in San Diego. You have any idea why they ended up choosing San Diego?

Yeah, because UFC said no. What do you mean? They're trying to get at the pond, and UFC didn't learn nothing. They wanted to do it at the pond. Yeah, they wanted to do it at the pond, and UFC said no way. UFC has a relationship they've held. You fought there for them, right? So the pawn went to the UFC, you're saying?

Yes. That piss you off? No, not enough. We're in San Diego. I have thousands of fans down there, so they get to watch me live in the old backyard. I always got them in San Diego to have a little fun, go fish now and everything,

and people are great down there. So they experience something that's going to be some historic fight. Are you the main event? Yes, I am. Now, there's a title fight on that show, and historically the title always goes last. What do you make of that decision? Not since I remember.

I think before me, there was a couple of fights I could look at it, that I was a main event over the title fight. I believe when me and beat the Belfort fought each other. Well, I'm talking about more recent MMA, I guess I should say. All my recent, yeah. They want to sell tickets, you know. They want to get people to watch, you know. I think as the champions start building themselves, of course,

then they become main events, but the ones who carry the most weight are the main events. I mean, I can't look past it. I guess they can't look past it. That's the way it is. USC did at the very beginning because they knew the star powers

what controls the other viewerships and that's what they're doing here too. You mentioned that he crossed the line and everything, and I totally get that when it comes to family. I do agree that it is crossing the line. But prior to that, what was your issue with Stefan Bonner? Because he mentioned a lot of stuff

on our show last week about you, you know, hitting up people for money at clubs and things like that. I mean, all kind of just minor stuff, and it seems like he said, she said stuff. But in your opinion, what do he do that really pissed you off? You know, him started talking smack to saying that I need money to pay for my family because my chick took all my money or my ex-chick took all my money?

You don't say shit like that, dude. Seriously. All the side, I mean, none of it was true for one. I mean, you have to see lies of a person you don't even know about. And it kicked me off. And then him saying that Dana's going to release him to kick my ass. And I was just like, excuse me? Who are you, dude?

What five feet you on? You're no worldwide for getting your ass kicked. And for him to say the things he has said about me, I was just like, okay, I'd see what it is. Mr. Tang, try to get into my skin before I sign the defy with the Lortch. I gave me back with U.S.C. Okay, I understand. understand what they're doing. And I just left it alone. I didn't say nothing about it at all.

And then I heard he's coming to Bell at twilight. Then I was like, okay, cool, how do I sign for this fight? What are we to do to get this together? And it got done. And he continued on. And saying the things that I charged, actually, it wasn't even him. It was the camp that was saying things like that. That was complete BS about charging people at tables. I come out of my own pocket. Do you know how expensive bottles are at tables? It's $1,500 to buy bottles of cables. I come out of my own. pocket. My own credit card. You never see the Gimp coming out of money

pocket or money out of his own pocket. Ever, never. None of my friends ever did. I always took care of. I took everybody. Charging people at my table? I never charged people at my table. Tell no. I came out of my own pocket and I was free in every very way. I mean, you look at

Justin McCulley. I took him to the Kentucky Derby and Alire Jet for free. I was a partner. I gave him every opportunity. We went to Necker Island, Charles Lansons place, for free. I gave him every opportunity to do what he could as a fighter, as a trainer partner. I remember back in the day when me in Tank Abbott, I hear Tank Abbott speaking up.

Making me cry, come on, guy, you never made me cry. Are you kidding me? I was a kid. I was 21, 22 years old. He never even did Jitza. All I did was Russell, and I take him there at will. And the fact for him to bring him his name is, okay, if people want to get recognition, and people want to get no variety by talking about me right now

because they're an opportunity to do it. And Morgan, they come out of what works, and I sit back and I just laugh about it. Take advantage of the situation in front of you. Tank gave me the situation to become a fighter. I became a fighter. I didn't cry about when he didn't pay me any money when I was his trainer partner.

I didn't care. I was learning. I was getting experiences. I was being noticed by everybody that I was one of the team guys. That was cool. I was down for that. I had no problem with that. I was done.

I'm thankful what King did for me. I'm very thankful. I ain't looking back, I wish you would have paid me money for being the training partner. No, he gave me an opportunity as a fighter to be noticed worldwide.

And I took advantage of that, and I took advantage of the experience by going out on my own and becoming a world champion, defending my world title over and over again. And continuing on, I looked back 17 years later, and I'm still doing it

because I took advantage of the opportunity that was left in front of me. I never let it fall away, side. Justin, he let it fall wayside. Every single time. I gave every opportunity in the world, and now he's crying about saying, I owe him money. I don't

owe him a sin. You know, you what? I think about it, he owes me now for everything that I've done for him. But I don't care about it. You know, when I beat $4 a season, when I beat stepping down, I'm going to look, and I'm just going to smile. It's the best way

to retaliate is with a smile, and that's what I'll do. When's the last time you worked with Justin McCully? Um, I think it was 2008. Wow, so it's been a while. And he's been for five of my fights. He helped me train for five my fights.

And two of those fights, he was smoking weed every single day. I mean, he was never there. I mean, it was just salt police. So, like, I'm glad he got rid of that guy. Like I said, I get that guy every opportunity to relax, man. I try to help him. he can't lead a horse to water and make him drink. And I tried.

I helped him. I gave him everything I possibly could, and he never said your advantage situation. And now he's talking smack on me because I didn't pay him and I didn't help him and this and that. I mean, come on, dude, seriously. You don't see him that about Tank. And I'm thankful.

I mean, me and Tank, we're not at good words with each other, and I still say thank you to him. I mean, it wasn't for him. I wouldn't be where I'm, I'd say. to a little part at least. And you had no idea he was going to be there, right, Justin? No, I'd have a clue. Did not have a clue.

And internally, it was hard to gauge your reaction. I mean, do you just find this comical that they're using him as this, you know, this secret weapon that's going to, you know, unveil all your secrets and all that stuff? I mean, what do you make of all that? The secret weapon, I mean, go ahead. How much of a secret weapon can you be if I have 17 years of fight on videotape? you can go back and you watch all my fights. There's no secrets.

He knows what I'm going to do. I'm going to punch him his face. I'm going to take him down. I'm going to put my elbow through his face. He's going to have to get up the mat. He's going to have to send a take there. He's not just going to punch in his face. There's no secret.

If you think justice is going to help him, all these rad secrets, good luck, cool. That's why I would just say, I would just more pissed than anything that a guy who I treated like a brother could stab me in the back and be his two faces.

he is and did what he didn't. That's the only thing that discouraged me and made me mad. Why haven't you worked together since 2008? So when I fought Matt Hamill, he actually was coming to camp. And, I mean, this was prior

of 2000, or after 2008, of course. Yeah. Before then, it just didn't make sense. I mean, gosh, fighting. I was going through injuries. He had things to do with his kids and family or his ex and he was fighting

and he was doing things that I didn't think that I should have been around at the time. And before the Hamel fight, I called him if you come home and help me out for Matt Hamill. And he said, yeah, of course. So I was up in Big Bear, me, Salis and Aaron Rosa

grew up in Big Bear. I'm training. I call him it was four weeks before the fight. I call him, I say, can you come out to Big Bear? I mean, even the weekdays to come up. I mean, I'll take care of you. You just come up. He goes, okay, cool, I will.

He didn't show up for that week, so I'm three weeks before the fight. I call him. I'm on justice. I need you here. He needs to care of my kids. I'm scared of my family. You think you'd, like, click me up. I mean, I'm doing like a thousand bucks a week.

I was like, yeah, of course, just get up here, please. I need you up here, out. And a week go by. I got two weeks. He's a bro, I just need three grand for the two weeks. And, I mean, can you take care of me out? Just he's two weeks out. Are you kidding right now?

So, dude, just hook me out. I'm like, Justin, don't worry about it, dude. And I didn't call him. I finished my cam. Finish the fight. I lose the Matt Hamill. The first text I get on my phone is Justin saying, ha-ha, see you get from not bringing me in your camp.

Wow. And from that point out on, I just wrote the kid off. I just shine. I don't need a guy like that at all. and I just realized how much the scam Maggie was at that point. And then here's even a better one. That's why they even overlap that one. I would just, you realize what type of person this guy is.

So I'm going through this court case with my ex. And there was some things that she said that happened. And he was on the phone with my attorney talking to her. And he's like, no, not that stuff happened. Of course, no that stuff happened. Tell him, though. And she's all right, cool. Can you come in a court?

and testify. He goes, well, if you'd write me a check for $10,000, I'll do it. I just put it beside me and just like, see it. I mean, I thought someone that I could trust, something that I could treat as a brother would help me out and to try to charge me for something that he's just telling the truth, and you realize I'm just a scum-backed yet. So I'm thankful that Bonner has him.

I'm thankful that Bonner could bring that negativity around his life and see what type of dirt bag that guy really is. And I could just sit back, you know, get my train camp through. Train as hard as I possibly can. And just prepare for November 15th for a war. And that's all I can do, and just sit back and let him make a fool of himself.

And I see it, you know, Bonner's on, what was it, with Boss Rudd and Kenny. I'm talking about the troops don't like me. Excuse me? I was the first UFC fighter to ever go to Iraq. I've been to the best of Walter Reed six times. that's the hospitals, and I've been there for the troops. Every single one of my fights, nonstop, I ain't doing it for recognition.

You think I'm going to see the troops, and I racked risk in my life when I have children for recognition to be famous? Is this guy crazy? I guess he called the psycho, the psycho jackass one the other. I mean, this guy's just stupid. The things he says are just off the wall into nine ball. And it's just, I just really, as I say, I don't dislike. I mean, me and Ken Sharrock out our words.

And at the end of the days, I would say, you know what, it's a fight. Cool. This is personal. This is just something that is beyond the map. It's beyond something that I can control. I can sit back right now and just train, be healthy, and keep my fight positive and get my hand raised on November 15th. Two last things. The light heavyweight champion of Belator fought on Friday, Emmanuel Newton.

and another highlight, real knockout, spinning backfist. What do you make of him? Do you consider him on your level? Do you think you're better than him? Is this another easy matchup in your opinion if you do face him? You know, I think Magnanim's a great champion for Appalachor. You know, I think he's a good fighter. He's people underestimate him.

You know, his style is very awkward. Those are the guys that get most tall to a lot of guys, the guys are awkward. Guys aren't just really a normal type of fighters, and he's that guy. I mean, he's a good guy. fighter, I think. I think he's a really good fighter. But, you know, I would love to get that totter on my waist and has the means going through manual. And that's what it means. What's the state of your management company? Are you still managing fighters?

You know, I'm going to step down for that just because I'm really focusing on my fighting stuff right now. Okay. You know, I think that's my number one right now. Just getting a well-totter on my waist and really focusing around that. So you're no longer working with Chris Cyborg? I train with Cyborg, yes. I help with her wrestling, yes.

She's my best friend. She's my sister, my family. She's your best friend? We'll always be in children's eyes. We're very, very close. But you're not her manager? No, I am not. And I did that,

so she might get an opportunity to fight Ronda Rousey. And I did that, so Dana would stop talking about me. And I look forward Chris's future, and not myself. You think that she can make 135?

She's going to try. We're going to be like hell making it. So she's going to try. She didn't give her best, that's for sure. Okay. And that's her next fight, right? Possibility, yes. Wow.

I'm not sure. I think her and her manager, I talk about it. Sure. Well, Tito, I appreciate the time very much. Good luck on November 15th. Interesting fight. And I'm curious to see how much more interesting it gets, if it will continue to get personal and the antics and the trash talk and things like that,

that is definitely something to monitor. So I wish you the best of luck in training and in the fight, and thank you very much, as always, for coming on the show. That without it all, thank you, O'Anne. I appreciate it. I'm a fan to our list, and, you know, I apologize to what happened a couple weekends ago. I had nothing to do with it, and, you know, this is fighting. The same pro wrestling and, you know, Bono looked like a complete jack-off.

And November 15th, watch what Cade's face, and I could finally shut up. once and I also want to thank JT of Team Punishment for hooking us up with Tito. Always a great guy, fellow Canadian, and always appreciate working with him. Thank you, Tito. Oh, thanks, man. I appreciate it. There he is. The Huntington Beach Bad Boy, that's what I call him.

That is his nickname for me forever. He was once the Huntington Beach Bad Boy now refers to himself as the people's champion, which is fine, you can do that, but he'll always be the HBB, in my opinion. November 15th in San Diego, California, Tito versus Stefan Bonner. All right, a couple things. I want to get to, of course, some of you have noticed these wonderful drawings right here. We've got the next part in our Josh Barnett versus Brock Lesnar's series. As you can see over my right shoulder, the unbelievably talented Kyle Haas, who is on Twitter at Hollywood Hasse, made this.

I mean, this is just unbelievable. You remember before we had the picture of Barnard and I coming down the ramp, making our pro wrestling debut as a team. I was his manager. He was the star Russian athlete. And now, of course, we are calling out Brock and Paul Heyman. By the way, I did issue the challenge to Paul Heyman on Twitter and he did not respond. So that's interesting.

But you see the legendary Mean Gene Okerland conducting the interview. I've got my bag of coins, my bedazzled cane, crown as well. And there you see Paul and Brock and somewhat of an old school look with, you know, the PIP, the picture and picture. I just love it. What a great picture. Maybe the greatest picture anyone's ever made for me. So there you have that.

And then also over here, which I believe you can see on the other camera angle, it's the poster for the one-on-one showdown, Benson Henderson versus myself, Ariel Halwani. and as you can see you over there my nickname Cardio for Days, which I mentioned on this very show. In the poster, Benson is dunking on me, which, you know, I'll let him have that victory. But it's just amazing. This guy is great.

I was talking about this with New York Rick. Maybe the next project will be something like the Mitreone Minute with McCorkel and Mitrione doing a stand-up routine on kind of like a Johnny Carson-esque set. I mean, we could do so many comics. from things that have transpired on this show. Inside jokes, so to speak. It would be a lot of fun.

This guy, I mean, I think I need to start paying him because he's so damn talented. But great stuff, and I appreciate him doing this out of the kindness of his heart. Again, his Twitter is at Hollywood Haas, H-A-A-S-E. Brilliant work. Love it. And the other one, the original one with Barnett, is somewhere here, but we wanted to showcase the new one.

So thank you very much to him. And check him out on Twitter. He is unbelievably talented. All right, let's go inside the vault now. And I like this one very much. And I thought of it because, of course, you heard the news on Friday. It came out that recently the one and only Nick Diaz was arrested for a DUI. And the story's out there. The details are out there. And it also came out that he had a run in with the law back in December. And of course, he's fighting, or at least still scheduled to fight on January 31st against Anderson Silva. So it reminded me of my old friend Nick Diaz, who I'd very much love. to have on the show, but I doubt that'll happen anytime soon. And perhaps my most infamous interview with Mr. Nick Diaz, a line was uttered in that interview that people still say to me all the time, especially when they see me in person. So the date is April 7, 2011. In two days, the first major show from the Zufa Strike Force was going to be held in San Diego, by the way, same place that will be

hosting Bonner v. Ortiz. And this is forgotten at times, but the very first Zufa Strikeforce show after Zufa purchased Strike Force in March of 2011 was actually a show in Stockton, California, but it was a challenger show. The very next week was a big show, Nick Diaz versus Paul Daly in the main event. And I'll never forget being there, especially at the open workout, because all of a sudden, you know, back in the day, Strike Force, smaller organization, they would allow a lot more small-time media, people, you know, building their name, their website. less traditional media to cover their events. Well, once Zufa came on board and purchased the company, they started to weed out a lot of that media. So we went to the open workouts, which were actually held at the Alliance Gym in Chula Vista, California, and there were like three media members there. It was unbelievable. And kind of midway through the open workouts, the UFC PR team showed up. In fact, they were holding rock star energy drink cans. And this, a nod to one of the sponsors at the time for Strike Force,

Zion was, of course, the rock star or the energy drink of choice for the UFC. And they showed up and it was like, whoa, this is surreal. All of a sudden, Zufa is in charge. And the familiar Zufa PR people were showing up to a Strike Force media event. It was very surreal. And that was on a Wednesday, on a Thursday, and by the way, Nick Diaz did not show up to the open workout. On the Thursday, they had the press conference. And this was the big Nick reveal.

This was going to be his first appearance on Fight Week. And always interesting when Nick Diaz shows up to a press conference, of course, he's a quote machine, whether he likes to admit it or not. And afterwards, we wanted to do an interview with Nick Diaz. Well, for whatever reason, Nick Diaz did not want to do an interview with me that day. said quite bluntly, no. He was not going to do it. And we asked Caesar Gracie, who was there with him at the time, if we can do it. And Caesar said, no, it's not going to happen. And apparently Nick was upset about some stuff that we said, or I said before the fight, or I think he was mostly upset

about some questions I asked Paul Daly before the fight and thinking that I was trying to generate some drama that wasn't there, even though they had said some stuff back and forth to each other. didn't want to do it. Credit to Dave Schaller, who you now know, of course, as the man who was in between Daniel Cormey and John Jones when they had their melee at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Was that last month now? Yeah, I guess it was last month. In late August, the PR guy for the UFC, he was in between them. He said, I'm going to get this done, spoke to Caesar, spoke to Nick Diaz, and all of a sudden, Nick Diaz agreed to do the interview. But it was, was incredibly tense. He did not look at me in the eye. He clearly didn't want to do it,

but to his credit, he did it. And in the middle of the interview, set a line that, as I mentioned, people say to me all the time until this day. A very memorable interview with the very unique Nick Diaz. Here it is April 7, 2011, me interviewing Nick Diaz in San Diego, California. Ariel Hawani in San Diego getting set for Strike Force Diaz versus Daly alongside the Strike Force Walterweight champion Nick Diaz and Nick, good to see you again. A lot of people are very excited for this fight. How are you feeling in the days leading up to it? I'm all right.

You know, I wasn't going to do this interview, but they told me I had to. So, you know, I feel good. I'm ready to fight and I don't know. I don't have much to say, you know. Something against me? Do you not like me, Nick? I feel like you instigate fights quite a bit, but, you know, that's... Fights between the fighters?

Yeah, I mean, maybe that's your job, but where I come from, you know, people like that get slapped. Do you think I'm instigating or do you think I'm just asking questions? I just doing your job, bro, you know? It's nothing personal. Respect, right? Saying, yeah, I just don't like to fall into play with the whole thing, so... I hope we can have a mutual respect and, you know, always enjoyed watching you fight and respect the time. been covering you for a long time, so I appreciate the time, as always.

No, it's all good. I see how you are. That's how you got to be. That's how you, you know... That might not be a good thing. Well, it's not a problem for me. It's your job, so... I mean, I don't know. It might not be a good thing, but... Like, I don't know, you get paid, right? So, you got to do what we got to do out here. Well, let's talk about the fight itself.

A lot of people think that Paul Daley might give you your toughest test as Walter Way champion. Would you agree with that? You never know, you know. Sometimes it's a match-up and fighters, you know. You know, I can always end up taking some bad shots right off, you know, the get-go and having it cost me the fight in the later rounds or in the first round, you know, like, you know, anything can happen, but, you know, I'm not afraid to fight. You know, I'm here to represent my team.

You know, they asked me to take this fight. and you know it was I was real short notice I just had all these fights they fight me too much you know I'm most overworked overtrained underpaid you know uh fighter you know that's what that's what I feel anyways you know I do get paid well as an MMA fighter but this you know this isn't boxing and I think we should get paid like this is boxing I hear about people like you know George getting paid way more than me and then Manny Pacquiao and people, you know, professional boxers getting paid that much money. I don't even know why I'm doing this anymore because I feel like I get paid way too much

money, but not enough. And, you know, I'm, I'm more than happy with that. I can live with that, you know what I mean? I'm, I live in Stockton, you know, I don't need much. And, you know, so, you know, but I'm here to fight. I'm not afraid to fight. And, you know, they're asking me to come here a fight, and I'm not going to be the one, you know, to not take the fight.

and I'm ready to go. After you mentioned boxing, after your fight against Cyborg, you had expressed interest in fighting Fernando Vargas in a boxing match. What became of that? You know, people talk a lot of shit, you know. I don't know who that is. I don't know if, you know, promoters talking that shit. They're going to actually sign me to fight, you know,

in a boxing promotion or is the boxers talking about my MMA fighters because someone says something about my boxing to them, So then they make a comment or a quote, you know, back, you know, about, you know, whatever. So I don't know, but I don't know how much of that's for real or what, you know. But yeah, that's what I'm saying. You know, I'm motivated if we're talking big money like that, you know what I mean? So it's whatever. Regardless, you know, fighting or not fighting, you know, in the future, you know, I'm a serious athlete and I'm going to be training.

and see I've learned I've got enough from MMA I got enough I got enough money number one I got enough experience and how to live how to live now from this and that's all I need I don't need this you know what I mean so just one last question for you before I let you go there seems to be a lot of mutual respect between you and Paul you know a lot of people when this fight was announced thought there would be some trash talking but he said very nice things about you and you seem to have respect for him is that the case um well well You're the only one that started any thing talking about this fight. That's what I'm saying.

Like, you're the one saying, oh, he says he's going to, you know, we'll do this to you and that to you. I was giving an analogy about how I thought the fight might go in my favor, if it did, you know. And then you're saying I made these statements to him, and then he's like, oh, I'll knock Nick Diaz out or something. And all I say now is like, right, you know, he says he's going to knock me out, but that's the, all I say is that's the only way he can win. So, you know, there's not much.

much to say there's no mutual respect what you know he's not talking no i'm not talking to i'm not talking why would i have anything you know any talk about about him you know i hope he don't hit me with the cheap shot but i understand you know what it feels like to be held down for three rounds and you know and you know and it's just don't feel like this guy you know this guy is avoiding the fight now you know what i mean he's avoiding the fight and he wins the fight so the guy who doesn't fight gets to win. So on account of this rules and scoring criteria that we've developed

and, you know, you know, we used to have a whole other organization called Pride with different rules and I think it worked out way more you know, for exciting fights and you get to see a lot more technical aspect come out in the fight, you know? You don't just, you get to see

you know, a guy you get yellow cardered if he holds the guy so it forces him, you know, okay, to punch the guy, he can't just elbow the guy because he has to create some space to punch, you know? So he can't just hold the guy and cheat with little bumping the guy with little elbows. He has to create an amount of space, you know, away from this guy to punch down on him. That space that he needs to make before he gets yellow-carred is the same space I might be trying to make

so that I can get my ass back up and fight this guy when he's not trying to fight me. So he should be carded for Stalin. And we've got this whole system going on here and everybody's, you know, bought up the other organization and thrown it away, tried to hide it. And it's just wrong, you know. I feel like the Japanese, they kind of knew how the martial arts went and how it should be. And, you know, the more technical, you know, martial artists or wrestler or boxer, and the best man's going to win, you know, by these old rules, you know, is the way I feel.

I feel like, you know, it favors the more technical boxer and martial artists, you know. and you know all this UFC and in a cage fighting nowadays you know it's it's it's it's always been geared towards a wrestler it's always been geared towards a wrestler I knew I knew that and then as soon as I started fighting the UFC I knew I needed to really um you know pick it up and start playing that game you know and learn how to fight like that because I'm winning you know I'm I can go out there and do damage and win on damage and lose a fight but I got a win on this criteria you know so um like I've won fights on the past and damage and damage you know so um like I've I've won fights on the past and damage in my own mind, in my eyes, in their eyes,

but in the judge's eyes, the other guy won. But when I went home, you know, and they went home, they know who really won the fight, you know what I mean? So, but they knew how to win the fight, you know, and they were, they had a, you know, they were aiming to go in there and win on those, on that scoring credit. I just, you know, I wasn't up on game,

and I should have been, and I just didn't have anybody to tell me, hey, listen, you will lose the fight if you go on bottom in the first round and they start, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. It's just not, you know, you don't, you don't, realize that stuff when you're when you're 18 years old well thank you so much for the time nick i appreciate it as always regardless of what you may think a lot of respect for you and i wish you the best of luck so nick diaz would go on to defeat paul daly via first round tkio just two days later and

one of the great first rounds in mma history he defeated him with just three seconds left in the first round drop quickly and then finish paul daly it would also be his final strike force fight before moving over to the UFC and fighting BJ Penn at UFC 137. Where I come from, people like you get slapped, he said that, and really in the last answer there, which I think was like four minutes long, when he got really mad at me at the beginning of the answer,

I actually thought that he might either leave or push me, I don't know. You could tell there for a second he gets really, really pissed off. But I'm happy to say that we have a great relationship now, and that was a classic one. gave us an interview after the win two days later. So I appreciated that very much. And that's, that's definitely one that people talk about until this day. And it was fun to do because you never quite knew, I mean, there's one that I did with Nick Diaz outside of a hotel in Florida

prior to his fight against Mary Sarromskis. And that one was like 15, maybe even more minutes long, because he just takes you in many different directions. And always has to keep you on your toes. And this was definitely an example of one of those. So thank you very much to Nick Diaz as always. And I would love, love, love to have him on the show in the coming weeks, months, especially prior to that fight against Anderson Silva. And if you want to talk about the latest news regarding his personal life, we'd love to have him on, clear the air. Let's do it. All right, hope you enjoyed that one. We'll keep it going until you don't enjoy them anymore. Or maybe we run out interviews, whichever comes first. Now let us take some questions and comments. Do we have any?

We do indeed. What do you got? What do you got? Oh, wow. Look at the hair getting all funky because of the headphones. How are you? By the way, my nail, someone's asked me why my nail is black. It's not black. That happens all the time. In fact, one time I was pushing a cart, you know, like one of those carts that you get in hotels with luggage and my big toenail hit it and the entire nail fell off in one shot you know like when you hit a nail and it becomes black and yep and over time it will fall off yeah the entire nail was ripped off right then there the worst big toe nail that does not sound good yeah i was thinking about that a couple days ago i'm doing well how about derrick brunson weighing in that diaz versus daily was nuts bring daily back

Paul Daley, by the way, who was victorious this past weekend. He was indeed. And that fight was incredible. That fight was incredible. Best round I've ever seen. Surreal, by the way, Dana White being there wearing a strike force t-shirt because the sale was very fresh. It happened less than a month ago.

Oh, okay. In that interview, my nail was black. Yes, something happened. I'm not sure. Happens a lot. But yes, what a round that was, right? I would love to see that fight again. Yeah, that'd be fun.

It would be. I mean, both of those guys they put on, if you stand with either of them, it's going to be a fun fight regardless. People ask me, though, until this day, have you ever been afraid that someone would do something? That's the only time, that interview. Just because he really didn't want to do it. And you could tell. You know the part I'm talking about when he really gets annoyed at the end? Yeah.

He was really pissed. I feel like there have been more threatening, like, body languages. But this. But, you know, the circumstance. and the seriousness. Yeah, the tone was intense. Okay, first question. Okay.

What should be next for Orlovsky? He's now coming off a win against a near top five opponent, but many people thought he lost his return fight against Shab. Who should he fight next? By the way, that's the brilliance of one of those squeaky wins, right? I mean, now no one even pays attention to it. No one even acknowledges that he probably didn't deserve to win that fight against Shab. Now it's just like, look, he's won two and around the UFC.

Now it's part of the narrative, part of the promotional push to, you know, move him up the ladder. I agree. You know, the Hunt Nelson fight is interesting if either man wins. Part of me kind of wants to move him along slower, but he was fighting Bigfoot Silva, who I think was ranked. Well, now, I don't know if this, there's like an annoying bug here, especially one on my computer. I don't know if the rankings are new on UFC.com, but right now Bigfoot Silva is ranked fourth. I think he was third on Saturday.

But anyhow, I mean, how much higher can you go? Travis Brown is three, Dos Santos two for Doom 1. He's fighting for the belt. Dos Santos probably against Miyochich, and Brown is fighting shop. So, in my opinion, the fights that make most sense, because I want to see Bigfoot versus Barnett next because remember they have that beef,

legit beef that dates back at least a year. I want to see that fight next. And then you have Hunt and Nelson. Now, we could do a rematch of the Rothwell fight, but I don't know. It has been several years. And maybe Rothwell, it's tough. Because I did say last week that Rothwell, if Nelson won, I'd like to see that fight again. So I don't know.

There are some options. It certainly opens things up. But right now I'd say either Rothwell again. or the winner of Nelson Hunt. Our next question, Marlon Marius. What should WSOF do with Marias? He's crushed everyone and cleared out the division. You've got to bring him up to Dana at the next media scrum.

I don't think you have to do that. But I got to. I don't know. Debatable. He has to be the most skilled fighter outside of the UFC right now. What were your thoughts on the fight and his comments after? Well, I mean, there are a lot of good fighters outside of the UFC. there aren't as many as there once was,

but let's not forget about, you know, Chandler and Will Brooks and the Pitbull Brothers and Pat Curran, and there are a few. Funky Ben Asgren. He's number one, of course. You know, he was supposed to fight Josh Hill. Hill pulled out of the fight due to an injury.

I still am interested to a degree and seeing that fight, but of course I want to see him in the UFC. I want to see him against the very best. He continues to look good. He's a lot of fun to watch. He continues to improve. And, you know, say what you will about WSOF. They have developed some solid young talent. Marais comes to mine. Justin Gaichi comes to mind. Rick Len had a nice win over Georgi Karkhanian. They've provided an outlet for the likes of Dave Branch and John Fitch and Yushinokami to get a second chance, prolong their careers. they have done some good. And this card on Saturday, this past Saturday, was definitely their least talked about card. I mean, he looked at it on paper and was like, there isn't much here. But at least it's promising to see that they're scaling things back and not trying to overpay for talent and

not trying to put on these big names just for the sake of putting on big names. I mean, there's no rush in building slowly, especially if NBCSN is going to be behind you, which at least right now it seems like they are. I know their TV deal isn't the best, but you have an outlet. And if you continue to put out good fights and good finishes, and there were some on Saturday, then I think good things will happen. And it's a better way to go than trying to, you know, go to these big venues with these big names, overpaying them and then eventually going out of business. Back to Marlin, though, there aren't a lot of options for him at 135 in WSOF. And I think it's come to the point. I mean, they've been around for two years now where you want to see how he does against some of the best in the UFC. Now, I don't think that

the UFC signs him that they're going to put him in a title shot or a title fight right away. I don't think that's going to happen, but I'd love to see him against the Brian Carraways or the Alcantara's of the world, Mizugaki, Michael McDonald. You know, I'd love to see him against those guys. I think he's probably two wins away from a title shot, but I think it's time to see him in those fights. So I hate to, I hate to suggest that a smaller promotion just release a talent for the sake of releasing the talent, but, you know, let's not kid ourselves. Matchmaker over at WSOF is Ali Abdel-Aziz. He is still a manager, as Habib Mughamagamayadov said.

He has a good relationship with the UFC. Maybe there's a deal that could be done. Right now, though, if you ask me what I want to see next for him, 100%. I want to see him in the UFC. It's time. He's ready for it, that's for sure. And it should be noted. They gave an opportunity to build himself up.

You know, he didn't have the best record when he went into WSOF, right? I mean, his record, I think he had like, what, seven losses on his record? His current record is, oh, what the hell am I saying? Seven losses? Four.

Why do I think he has seven losses? Does he say that on Wikipedia? I'm an idiot. Four losses and one draw. But, but that being said, he's 14, four, and one. And not that long ago in 2011, I mean, he made his debut in WSOF in November of 2012.

In 2011, he had lost two in a row. And also back in 2008 he lost two in a row. So right now he's a lot more dominant and he's been on a lot of WSOF cards. One, two, four, six, nine, and 13. Some might say he is the face of the promotion because he's fought for them so many times. And I loved what he said afterwards. I love that he said, I'm the best, this is how you get attention. This is how you try to force the UFC's hand.

This is how you get noticed. I'm the best. I should be fighting the best. It was clear what he was trying to say. And I'd love to see him try to prove it. our next question about Liam McGarry what an exciting fighter the UFC needs to sign him

do you agree I can already see him beating most of the UFC light heavyweight division I know it's a long way away but Jones versus McGarry that would be one interesting fight if he wins the Bellator belt do you think you should be given a top 10 or top 5 U.S.C. light heavyweight fight this is what I'm talking about I feel like it's disrespectful to the

organization to talk like this I mean he's under contract they're trying to build him up and and trust me WSOF is one thing Belator is not going to be like, hey, UFC, you want this guy? We just put him through a tournament. You want $100,000. He's going to get a title shot, but we'd love to see him in the UFC and see how well he does. No, it's not going to happen, especially not now. Liam McGeery, in my opinion, is someone that Belator should hold onto.

And they could use some youngish blood at 205. I know he's 31, but you know, you look at that division with Moe, who's been through a lot and Rampage, of course, and Tito and Stefan Bonner, are the biggest names. And Emmanuel Newton has been around as well. They could use some talent. And this, you know, I have said that the tournament had run its course. I truly believe this was the right call, get rid of them for now and use them when needed. But this is a tremendous argument in favor of the tournament. Guys like Liam McGeery, who may not have been noticed as quickly are noticed now because they went through the tournament. They won and they've had some great finishes. inverted triangle choke at 205 is amazing. And he's charismatic.

He's a fun fighter. He's unorthodox. I mean, I'm enjoying watching his rise very much. And I want to see that title fight. I mean, I think that title fight will be very interesting, given both of their styles. But I don't think Bellator should get rid of him anytime soon. These are the guys that they need.

A little mix of veterans and some homegrown guys. And for all intents of purposes, he's a homegrown talent at this point. So do not get rid of him, obviously. Now, when you said that title fight, you're not talking about Jones versus McGarry, right? No, of course not. Newton. And I think they should do it. They should honor the fact, even though there may be some bigger names out there,

they should honor the fact that he won the tournament, give him the title fight and then see how things shake out. Our next question on the Japan card. This card is some real gems. Predictions for fight of the night and performances of the night. This person picked. Chris McGuire picks a fight of the night. Obviously, the double manslaughter that is going to happen at heavyweight. but performance of the night could go to Jury and Casares.

By the way, I'll be there. Oh, he's excited. Wow, I love this card. This Saturday, Saitama Super Arena, the prelims, by the way, begin at 12.30 a.m. Eastern Time. So if you're on the West Coast, this is great. And the main card is at 3.30 a.m. Saturday morning, Eastern time. And it's a fun one.

Mark Hunt versus Roy Nelson, Takenori Gomi versus Miles Jury. The return of Yoshihiro's Sexiyama Akiyama versus Amir Sadala, both of them haven't fought in two years. The unbelievably interesting Rindakai versus Misha Tate. If you don't know who Rinnakai is, she's making her UFC debut just when you're, and this is not like, you know, adult content, but it is somewhat NSFW. She's a little out there. She's eccentric.

to say the least, unique. Check out some of her videos, her training videos, her photos. She's just, she's an interesting one. Also, Horaguchi fighting on the card, Alex Casaris on the undercard, but it's all on Fight Pass anyway, so it doesn't really matter. The return of Hung Gu Lim. So it's a great card. I really like this card a lot. Obviously, high expectations for Hunt and Nelson. I mean, that is just, that's one of the most fun fights on paper in UFC history, both of them, similar physiques, both of them love to land big shots, both of them have looked good as of late. I mean, that's just, that's one of those fights. Remember, there was some talk of Roy Nelson. No, there was some talk of Mark Hunt versus Brendan Chob, and then Dana White poohed that and said,

no, we got to do Mark Hunt versus Roy Nelson. It's a perfect fight also for Japan, of course, because of Mark Hunt's ties to Japan in the past. And it just seems like a fight that what is left of the Japanese MMA audience and I know they're trying to build it back up, they would appreciate this fight. And then you sprinkle in a Akiyama and a Gomi and a Rindakai, of course. And it's a really nice card for that market. So the question is, well, I mean, the fight I'm most looking forward to, the people's main event. It's very rare that the people's main event is the main event, but on this night, it will be the main event. It is Mark Hunt versus Roy Nelson.

I'm looking forward to seeing if Miles Jury can continue his streak here in the UFC, Gomi looked solid in his last fight at 172 and a win over a jury would certainly put him back in there. I'm curious to see what has become of Akiyama. He's been inactive for a long time. Then a Kai fight, I mean, I don't know. I can't pick this kind of stuff beforehand. It's tough.

It is tough. I also think if you're betting on fight of the night, it might not be the heavyweight man event. Sure. Even though both are durable, could be over quick. I mean, then again, we said the same thing. about Hunt and Bigfoot. Supposedly, you know, that one would be over and around,

don't blink, blah, blah, blah, and then it turned into possibly fight of the year, let alone fight of the night. So I don't know, but it's a good card for fight pass. This is my big dilemma. Like, you know, I really, I got to be honest, I really feel like I need to watch everything live, right? We've talked about this.

Right. And this is the first time in a long time, because when the UFC's been in Japan in the past, they've adapted to the, you know, North American audience. This is the first time in a long time that they're doing this. Even when they're in China, the card still starts at 536. I wake up at that time anyway. Okay. Well, this is, this is legit.

12.30 a.m. start. Main card, 3.30 a.m. What am I going to do? How do I watch this live? You got to stay up. I can't stay up. If anything, I, I mean, I can't do it. Are you kidding me? You know how tired I am at the end of the day, two kids? Somebody once told me that. You know, all responsible journalists are watching it live. This is a major dilemma.

This is the first time that my approach is being questioned. Well, we'll see how you do. What are you going to do? I'm going to watch it, of course. You're going to stay up. Yeah. Then your whole Saturday is shot. No.

Why? Why would it be? Well, let's say it ends at 5.30, 6.30. Yep. Then what do you do? Take a quick nap. Quick. So you won't sleep beforehand.

No. There's no way you're going to stay up 6.30 a.m. from the night before. You're not going to sleep? I've done that many times in my life. Hmm. And then you're just going to take a quick nap and you'll be fine. Yep.

Of course, you don't have two kids to take care of. Well, certainly not. But, you know, some of us make excuses and some of us just get it done. I'm very concerned about this. My guess is I'll probably wake up at like 5.30 or so, just watch the main, co-main, and then work backwards. Of course, the rest of the night.

night will be probably spoiled for me. It'll be on FightPass right after. So you can just watch it anytime. Really. Can you join an event? Well, no, can you start an event while it's still actually going on? Yes, I believe you can. I believe you can, uh, the way it's set up when you're watching it live is each fight is separated on a timeline so you can like go back in the timeline to previous fights. Wow. So I believe you can go all the way back to the start. And I got to say, I love these fight pass cards for the simple reason that they fly by.

I mean, the last one on Saturday was like, what, five hours long? And I love the fact that the main card started at eight. It was done by 1045 or so. Maybe even before that. Maybe it started at 9, I don't know. Anyway, it was very quick.

No filler, no nonsense. And I like the theme song that they used too. Every time I hear it, though, I think that I should be hearing John Gooden's voice, my good friend. I wonder if he's taking a bath

as we speak. while we're listening to this. Anyhow. Oh, you're ready for the next question? Yes. Okay, I thought we were going to, you know, dive deeper into that. The bath? Well, let's see.

What fight would you rather see for Rumble right now? Overeem or Gustafson? At this point, personally, I'd rather see Gustafsson get a shot after John Jones and Daniel Cormier and see Rumble versus Overeem. I think that this fight is promotional goal. They clearly dislike each other, and I've been talking a lot of crap already. At least from Rumble. Yeah, but you notice Overeign was on the show.

I didn't even ask him about. Rumble. I think it's a useless fight. And trust me, I am a sucker for this kind of stuff, different weight classes, Rumbles on his path, Obram's on his path, they're not even winning at the same time. Rumble Gustafsson is a no-brainer, and Gustavson's manager told me they want the fight to happen on January 31st. If I was in charge, I would want the fight to happen on January 3rd, co-main event, Cormier against John Jones. We've talked on this show last few weeks. Timing is everything. Have them line up with each other schedule-wise. I mean, it's just a no-brainer. And both guys wanted at this point.

If I were... And look, Rumble's a smart guy. When he was on the show last week, he got off the Overeem hate train a little bit, right? He doesn't want to add more fuel to that fire. The train that he should be on is the Gustafson train. And he is very smart and sticking to that story right now. So no overreem, yes to Gustafsson.

Makes no sense. No sense. Our next question. Well, Khabib Nirmagamedov is not a mainstream star. By the way, Khabib. There you go. Nirmaga made of is not a mainstream star in MMA. He has gained quite the following among hardcore fans.

Who do you think he can... Oh, I'm sorry. What do you think he can do to translate the things hardcore's love about him to the mainstream? He's one of my favorite fighters, and it feels like he's becoming sort of a folk hero in the MMA scene. And by the way, I see your comments about you complaining, or, oh, how are you not going to stay on this?

You're complaining about the time. I mean, relax. All right? I'm not complaining about... I think this is what the UFC should be doing with these shows, and we've talked about it. It's one time, all right? I know that you stay up late in wherever you're from.

I know, I know. But I'm not, I hate when journalists complain about the weather or their travel. I'm just talking as a fan here. I mean, it's not like I'm going to the event or anything like that. I'm talking as a fan. This is testing my dedication to watching everything live. That's it. All right?

So I'm not complaining. I'm not asking the UFC to change the time. I'm not doing any of that. I'm just being honest with you, okay? So, Habib, how do we take him from hardcore to the mainstream? Well, I mean, he's doing a great job. First things first, you've got to learn how to speak English. That's important to this country.

And he's done a great job of doing so. He talks trash, which is obviously a good thing as well. He's dominant. He's undefeated, which is a nice thing that you can throw out when promoting him. I agree with him. I mean, you look at who's out there and what they've done. Here's the thing. If Eddie Alvarez wins, I feel like they're going to match up Eddie and Habib to fight each other. If Seroni wins, I think he could get the title shot. Or he might get Seroni. But he's right. He beat DeSangos. This kind of M.MAMA math doesn't always work. But he didn't beat DeSangos who beat Seroni. And also DeSangos beat Benson.

If Habib Nirmagamatov got a title shot upon returning, I don't think anyone would complain. He has done enough to warrant that title shot. Also, ACLs are a serious thing. And he says he's going to be back around February. He suffered the injury in July. That's a quick timeline. That's a very quick timeline. Typically it takes a little longer than that. So let's see what happens.

A lot can happen between now and when he's ready to come back. But, and especially if he's out for like a year, even a little less, you'd like to see him get one fight under his belt to get back in the groove. So let's see what happens. but he's close. No more than one win away, in my opinion. And I'm very much enjoying everything that he's doing, by the way. I agree.

I mean, it's Junior Dos Santos-esque, how fast he learned English. Yeah, and unlike Junior, he talks some good smack. He's very entertaining. Well, I agree with you, but I think that's more like a personality thing. I think Junior's too kind of like happy-go-lucky to really talk smack. That works for Junior. But yeah, no, his smack talk is top-knock. There's smack talk and then there's smack talk in a broken English Russian accent.

It's almost even better that way. Oh, it's a hundred times better. I love it. Like that message to Anthony at the end, it's fantastic. Yeah. I will give that clip to the UFC if they do that fight and they want to put it on their, you know, promotional videos. What's great about it is that it's so blunt, it's so frank. There's no nuance.

There's no sugar coating. Yeah. That's what makes it so great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like, look, I will break you. Wrestling. You got to get it. Next question.

With all this back and forth between Bisbing and Rockhold, it seems the more this goes on, the more Rockhold seems to be taking it emotionally and seems to be the most frustrated of the two. Do you think this will backfire on him and make him fight a bit carelessly, or do you think he's the type of guy

that would respond positively to that? I've never seen him this upset before a fight while Bisbing has been in this type of position, his whole career. It's very good question. We'll only know the answer to it, though, on November 7th. And by the way, since we're talking about it,

we've been saying on this show November 8th. In fact, the fight is taking place November 8 in Australia, but it's actually airing in prime time November 7 here in the United States, which is interesting because typically those Fight Pass shows, and this fight is on Fight Pass, have, you know, they've catered to the local audience.

This time it's going to air on a Saturday morning or take place on a Saturday morning in Australia. so that I can air here in the United States. On Friday, I asked a UFC official about this, by the way. And they told me they've had a lot of success doing the shows that way in Australia because they are used to watching the events in the morning. And I was actually at one of those shows, the second one, UFC 127. And honestly, I mean, that crowd rivaled Dublin.

It was incredibly loud and it was a bigger crowd as well. An amazing crowd at the Acer Arena. I don't think it's called that anymore. That was Fitch versus BJ Penn. Really enjoyed that one. maybe my second favorite event behind the Dublin show. And by the way, last week was one of the most depressing weeks in sports history. I mean, for everything that was happening in the NFL, even stuff happening in M.M.A.

And I kid you not, towards the end of the week, I went to Fight Pass, I went to the Dublin show. I watched a little bit, Patty Hulahan, McGregor, just to remind myself why I actually like covering sports and how beautiful sports can be. It is, without a doubt, my favorite event that I've ever covered. I've determined that is the best event I've ever been to, and I miss it, actually. I wish I could go to Dublin, a Dublin card every week because it was just so magical and so positive. Everything was so positive. It was just, it was beautiful. Anyway, bit of a rant.

Back to Rockhold. We don't know. We're going to find out. I suspect he wants this bad enough. He knows he's close enough to a title shot. He's a professional enough that he won't let it get to him, but you never know. It happens. And that's the brilliance of Michael Bisping.

That is really why you trash talk to get under your appointment. opponent's skin to get in their head to rile them up. So we'll see. And I suspect it will happen a lot more leading up to the fight. Yeah. And it's, I mean, it's status quo for Bisbing. So he loves this. You know, I feel like he gets up for these fights.

I think this is a relatively good point that, you know, this may be something new for Rockhold. I don't think it'll affect them too much, though. But it won't affect Bisbing at all. That's for sure. Next question. Is Jockeh, correct getting ready for a title shot?

I mean, I think by correct, they mean, is this a smart line of, thinking getting ready for a title shot even though he isn't scheduled against Chris Weidman. I agree with him because I don't think Belford is going to fight Wyatman and where is Belford anyway. Well, you know, you don't know, but I do think it's brilliant for one simple reason. Put it out there in the universe.

Let the UFC know, let the public know, hey, I'm getting ready for December 6th. By the way, this was first reported by myself on UFC tonight last week. Jack Ray's manager said, our plan A is to be the UFC's plan B. We're going to prepare to fight on December 6th, because if someone pulls out on a day's notice, a week's notice, a month's notice, we want to be ready. And we think we are ready. We think we are the number one contender. That's what he said, Gilberto Ferreya, and I love it. Let everyone know I'm the best. I'm the guy who should be there, and I'm going to get ready for that date. So you're already planting that seed. Don't talk about anyone else.

Don't call on anyone else. Don't talk about a plan B for yourself. You want that title shot and you're getting ready for December 6th, that's the next time the title will be defended. I love it. Now, whether or not it actually happens, whether or not this is, you know, meshing with the UFC's current plans is a whole other story. But as long as you put it out there in the universe and people start to get behind this idea and who knows, I mean, we know that a lot of main events fall through. I think it's brilliant. What did Connor say? Stay ready. So you don't have to get ready. There you go. But let's say the UFC offers him a fight. that they want him to take.

I mean... Well, let's look at the options out there. Who makes sense for him to fight with Rockhold? Now, the only thing that could pop up is, come November 8th, a day after Rockhold Bisping, and let's say Rockhold wins in a minute. I could see them doing that fight because, you know, he hasn't fought since April,

and that's a fight that makes sense. Of course, Rockhold beat Jacare to win the title in Strike Force and it was somewhat controversial. I get that fight. But other than Rockhold, who makes sense for Jacques-Rae? Well, the other thing is, in that scenario, he's not really losing much by starting to prepare. There's not really any kind of,

he's not losing anything by starting to prepare for a later date. So I don't think there's much downside to it other than setting up, you know, setting yourself up for disappointment because that's a very likely outcome. You know, D.C. and Brendan Schaub on UFC tonight last weekend, and by the way, I thought Brendan did a great job on the show. They brought up a good point. Mentally, it's hard to, you know, it's very good to say that,

But mentally it's hard to be as motivated as when you have an actual contract that says you're fighting on this date. I mean, it's all well and good to say that. But for an athlete, it's tougher to push yourself. Maybe Jacques Grey is a different beast. Who knows? But I think it's the right thing to put – it's the right PR move. It's the right thing to say to the UFC, you're a company guy, you want to be there, and you're the guy. We're not waiting for anyone else.

We're waiting for that day. We're preparing for that day. And I think that's the right way to go. You may or may not have an answer for this. Any news on Frank Mirr's return to the Octagon, or is he unofficially retired? No, I'm told that he is not retired, unofficially or officially, and he's just taking some time off. Last time he fought, of course, in February, lost to Overeem, one-sided fight. But from what I'm told, last time I checked in was maybe a month or so ago.

He still wants to fight, still planning on returning. There's been some talk, of course, of the Big Knock fight again, and I have no interest in seeing that. but unless something drastic has happened, I just saw him, he tweeted out a picture that he was on a radio show, I believe MMA Fight Corner this morning in Las Vegas seems fine, seems healthy. As far as Frank Mears concerned, last I heard, he still wants to fight. Our next question, thoughts on the Diaz situation.

I think we all know the details of that. If he ends up having to pull out of this fight, does he get another chance? I don't believe this is not coming from the U.S. but I think there is enough time between now and the fight. I don't believe that he will have to pull out. I would be surprised. Anything can happen, but thankfully no one got hurt and crazier things have happened and what are we four or five months away. Just let you know, in case you've been living under a rock. I'll just read it to you. I want to get it right. Nick Diaz was arrested in

California on September 6th on charges of suspicion of DUI obstructing a police officer, destruction of evidence and driving with a suspended license. First reported by the Lodi News Sentinel. And then Fox Sports.com Mark Romandie first reported that on November 20th of this past year, he was also arrested for driving under the influence with an alcohol or drug level above 0.08 and unsafe speed for prevailing conditions. So there you have it. And he also missed some court dates and whatnot. So I mean, he obviously has some stuff to deal with. But, and this came out on Friday, I think that if the fight was pulled, and of course the UFC knew about the first

arrest, I'm assuming, I would think that they would put out some kind of statement or work quickly. I mean, it's a big fight. It's a big deal. There's a lot at stake. Anderson's return and all that. I feel like they would act quickly here. And because they haven't, they put out a statement saying they're aware and they're monitoring and all that. If it doesn't get any worse, then I have a feeling he will fight.

I mean, let's look at just history. When John Jones had his issue, right? That was in May of 2012. And he then fought in September of 2012. Very similar timeline. So I don't think that he will be cut or taken out of the fight, my prediction. Our next question regarding the BJ Penn and Mike Dolce ongoing situation. Ariel, what do you think about BJ Penn's response to Mike Dolce?

BJ Penn is refuting the comments that Dolce made on the Joe Rogan experience. Dolce said it was one of the oddest training camps I've ever been a part of, and I was there for less than two weeks physically in Hawaii. I had very little influence, unfortunately. B.J. Penn's response, he said he had no influence on my camp, but he brought in sparring partners, did my food and diet, and had me do his treadmill, pliometrics, and core routines, says Penn. I don't know what he's talking about. B.J. Penn is also referring to Dolce as the $20,000 man, your thoughts. Well, let me ask you, you're Mr. B.J. Penn. Are you bothered by any of this?

I mean, it's just a disagreement between two professionals, and it got into the public, and it got messy. but I don't, I mean, it just didn't work out. I think that, you know, BJ Penn has a certain way he wanted to do things. Mike Dolce has a certain way he came in and wanted to do things. And I think that it was just, it wasn't a good match. It wasn't a good fit. I don't think there's anything we can, like, infer into this about either guy, really. It just wasn't a right, it wasn't a right fight.

It wasn't a right training camp in terms of bringing in Dolce for BJ Penn. and it wasn't the ideal client for Dulce on BJ Penn side. It was just not a good match. That's how I've been viewing all this because I think, you know, it's easy. A lot of people are waiting to, you know, either on one side say, you know, BJ Penn's lazy. He likes to do whatever he wants to do. He doesn't want anybody to get in his ear or to tell him what to do.

And then there's a whole other sector of people who want to say, you know, Mike Dolce is some kind of fraud and he doesn't do exactly what he says he can do. And I just think that, you know, people, People want to jump on either side of that, but really it was probably just much more benign than that. And it was just two guys who couldn't work together. I don't like it. Especially because it feels like it's sour grapes at this point.

I mean, BJ Penn has accomplished a lot. We don't want to remember that fight anymore. It was a bizarre showing. It wasn't his best, obviously, and I kind of want to move on from all of it. And this stuff is letting it linger in the air. And also, I mean, you know, we talked to Mike before the fight, and of course BJ as well.

And it was all very positive. So if there was an issue, why did they bring it up back then? It makes me question the state of the relationship back then and question what they were saying. The authenticity of what they're saying. Like, were you lying to us back then? Were you sugar-coding it? Why weren't you just honest back then?

Well, it wouldn't do BJ Penn or Mike Dolce very good to come out ahead of time. Well, I mean... Because BJ Penn's preparing for a fight. It wouldn't be great if he said, I'm dealing with this issue. I'm having a disagreement. But all we heard was, you know, 145, best shape, healthy, all this stuff. And now it comes out. And I do believe BJ started it. But I just think they should both drop it. Be the bigger man. Move on. It's unfortunate, especially when there's a lot of money involved and it's end of your career.

You don't want to go out that way. But they both have good reputations. Nothing good is going to come out of all this. Get on the phone, clear the air, move on, and stop letting it linger. it's not doing either of them any favors at this point. Like you said, there are people who want to take Mike Dolce. People are just waiting for the day that a Mike Dolce fighter misses wait. They cannot wait for that day to come. They love it. They love every second of this, those people.

And then there are other people who are, you know, I'm assuming there are more BJ fans than Dolce fans just because he's a BJ Penn fan. You know, he's a legend and everything. Right. I just, I don't see the point of any of this. It's silliness. Silliness.

Yes. Our next, our final question from the website is Belator champions in the UFC. How do you think the current list of Belator champions would do in the UFC? Are they contenders, potential champions? I personally wouldn't mind seeing Will Brooks, Emmanuel Newton and Patricio, Pitbull in the UFC competing in their respective divisions. Your thoughts? I love doing this. So we have, I'll read these off. We have that heavyweight Vitali Minikov, light heavyweight Emmanuel Newton, middleweight. middleweight Alexander Schlomenko, welterweight Douglas Lima,

lightweight Will Brooks, featherweight pit bull, bantanweight Eduardo Dantes and Joe Warren as the interim champion. Back in the day, I used to do this a lot with Strike Force, and their roster wasn't very deep, but I always said, look at their champions. You know, they had Luke Rockhold,

they had Nick Diaz, they had Alistair Overeem, they had some very big names, who regardless of who was behind them, I felt that all their champions could at least compete for a title or be a contender. Now, I look at the Belator list of champions. I don't quite feel the same.

Okay, let's start with the bottom. Dantas. Solid? Did I think he would be champion? No. I'm not even quite sure he'd be top five. Do you agree? In that 135 division, T.J. Dillisha.

He's pretty good. Dominic Cruz. It's a tough division. Sunsau. Mizugaki, those guys. I don't know about top five right away, but I think he can hang. in that upper echel line.

He can hang, but I'm sorry, right now would I insert him in there? No, I don't think so. Now, Patricia Pitbull, good fighter, 145, stacked. Stack, yeah. Don't put him in that top five, right? And why do I say top five? That's what I consider a contender, right?

Now, Will Brooks, I will say something about Will Brooks. Very talented. He's got to drop the whole me against the world thing. I saw this video that he posted, like 12 minutes long of him talking on his phone, that this was last time I was talking, and it was just like kind of, it was a little bit rambling, a little bit nonsensical. I mean, you got to stop that.

It's not endearing. I like it. No, it's too much. Me against the world, I love it. It's too much. It comes off as complaining, okay, so what? Okay, you're not the interim champion. Who cares?

You're fighting for the belt. Win the belt. It's not like they're putting you in a non-title fight. Now, I do disagree with the idea of not making that the main event, especially because Beltor doesn't do five-round, you know, non-title main event. so what's the point? You could still promote, but the title should always be last, in my opinion.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with this, but I saw that video and I was like, just drop it, man. It's probably honestly more for himself, to be honest. Yeah, it's probably going to pump you up. Will Brooks, again, lightweight, very, very stacked in the UFC.

I would maybe put him top 15 right now. I mean, of course, a lot of these guys, they haven't fought the best, so it's hard to rank them. You know, it's hard to, we talked about this with Eddie Alvarez, But you said you got that same feeling from Strike Force. So, I mean, a lot of those guys had much deeper histories.

You know, Nick Diaz and Overim and who else did they have a 2.05, Dan Henderson, right? I mean, a lot of these guys were veterans. Douglas Lima, I feel like maybe, again, top 15. Right, but I feel like when we're looking back at that Strike Force thing, that was kind of much closer to the end. Were you only saying that like right before? four? Or was it like when Jokurei was champ or when Fajot was champ? Once they were number two. You know, once they were the clear cut number two. And the Jacaray Fajia, I mean, I had high hopes for those guys as well. I'm just answering the question here. Shlameko as well, you know, again, we saw Shalemakle Luz to Lombar. We saw Lima lose to Ben Ascgrins. We've seen them falter as of late. And guys improved, guys change. But would I put them in the top five category? No. And I think so,

Sometimes, quite honestly, I know it's not a popular thing to say, but I think we overrate non-UFC fighters just because we want to show some balance in our rankings and whatnot. And that's not always the case. This has been going on for many, many years. It happened back in the day with Pride and whatnot as well. And even when Pride was number one and UFC was number two. Newton, you know, light heavyweight is less stacked. So I think that he might be able to make some noise, especially considering how funky he is. But do I think he's? beats John Jones or Daniel Corme. No. And Vatali Minakov, no, I don't think that he, or Minnakov, I don't think he beats Kane or any of those top guys as well. So I'm sorry for presenting such a... But this is my point that I was trying to get at is, you know, maybe you thought that the Strike Force guys would do well, but probably not as well as they have done. I don't have, you know, off the top of my head, I can't think of every single guy who came over. but the guys who have come over from Strike Force

have looked pretty damn good. Yeah. Gilbert Melendez, Jacare, Rockold, Diaz. Diaz. I mean, they're not even like near the top. They've been the top.

It's pretty impressive. Tim Kennedy's looked really good. Like most of the fighters who came over from Strike Force have been probably better than we expected, which is why I initially my gut looking at this is you know that maybe these guys wouldn't be as as highly ranked as some of the guys who are already on the top you know 10 lists in the UFC but I probably wouldn't have said the same thing about a lot of the strike force guys I would have by the way I'm just saying if you match them up champion versus champion oh well that's that's not but I'll tell you like I would have like to see these guys against the WSOF champions. Oh yeah. You know what I'm saying?

We at one time had that fantasy card. Marlon Marais versus Dantes. Right? That's a lot more interesting. That's a great fight. Rick Land versus Pitbull. Interesting, whatever. Lightweight, Gaichi versus Brooks or Chandler.

That's great. 170. What was there, 170 champ? I'm blanking now. Pride myself on knowing this stuff, but it is the third hour. Is it? Oh, it's, what's his face? Who's Kumar, Paul Harris?

Yeah, Paul Harz. Paul Harz versus Lima, awesome. Dave Brands for Schlameko or Okami coming up next. I'm down. And I don't think they have a 205 pound champion or a heavyweight champion. They're crowning one next month. So anyway, I think that's a more interesting debate. And if Ben Ascran was still there, then it changed everything.

Sure. Okay, now let's go to Twitter. All right. Our first question. Yeah. Regarding the fights from this weekend. Hold on one second. Trying to zoom in a little bit here.

Oh. Too much. By the way, quick thing while you do that. The new Bellator posters, the person that is in charge of designing those is doing an unbelievable job. Beautiful stuff. I don't know if you've seen any of these,

but this, I mean, it's almost unfortunate that, you know, you want to see these posters almost unveiled when they have the bigger events, but these posters are just outstanding. I suggest checking them out if you have a chance. Really nice and all very different, but all very well done. Our first question. Another former TRT fighter loses. This would be Bigfoot. Is this further proof TRT gave fighters an unfair advantage?

You know, if you look at history, a lot of TRT guys lost while on TRT. It was very weird The history of TRT and MMA But it is weird also That Bigfoot was on TRT for the Mark Hunt fight Took all that damage Was not put away And then

In his next fight without it He gets knocked out by Andrei Alovsky Weird in the first round to boot Who knows? We'll never know the answer We don't know how it affects you I mean we know how it affects you in training and things like that But not you know Your chin and if it changes your

You know your ability to take a punch and whatnot. I mean, I do agree that Arlofsky looked quicker and he was beating him to the punch and it was a short fight for the most part. Oh, was it like three minutes or something like that? But it was shocking. I was shocked. Especially after Guillermo tweeted it

and I was waiting for it. I was like, this can't be true. I thought someone hacked this thing. Really? It's about to happen. Then bang, it happened. Crazy. Who knows? I could say whatever I want here. I'll never know the true answer to that, but I won't lie. I thought of it right when it happened. Our next question, do you think a rematch between Overeem and Bigfoot

makes sense for both fighters as they're both coming off losses? Again, no, I don't think so. I'd like to see Bigfoot versus Josh Barnett if they can get Barnett to come back at some point. And as for Alastair Overeem, that's a great question, what to do with him. That shop fight seemed like a no-brainer. Yeah, perhaps the loser of Nelson versus Hunt.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I can see that. And, you know, there are a lot of guys. You know, Mitriam was calling him out. I'm fine with that, even though he's coming off a win. Derek Lewis, if they want to go that route, there are a lot of options for over him. He still has a big enough name to where, you know, he can,

even if he loses the next fight, I still think they should keep him around. Especially in this day and age, you don't want to give him to Belator or anyone else. And then he goes off and wins like three, four in a row, and everyone's saying he's the best heavyweight in the world again, you know? You want to keep him around. you ask Yareme this now I ask you after a great weekend of fights which fighters ended up as the biggest winners who are the biggest losers ooh well what a fun weekend it was it really was a fun weekend um

and some what's up oh well the anaconda oh wow no it's not actually well is that johnny hendricks in the pick looks like it right yeah but that's um it's not our will that'd be fun you know will is is open to asking questions. Yeah. So who had the performance of the weekend? Gosh.

Liam, Emmanuel, Paul Daly, nice finish. I mean, I got to go with Arlovsky, right? Doing what he did? That's the one that really sticks out. That's the one that was the most impactful. But a lot of great finishes. I'll go with Arloffsky, and honestly, this kind of feels like a cop-out, but the biggest loser is Bigfoot.

I mean, that was a fight. A lot of people thought he was going to win. He was a huge... What was he, like a plus four, minus 450 or something like that? I mean, that might be low. I think he crept up as high as minus 500-ish at some point. I wasn't ready to pick Arlofsky, but I said on the show last week that that line seemed a little off. It's just a little bit weird.

Yeah, that's my pick. You? I mean, I feel like every time we do this when there's a lot of fights on a specific weekend, that it always seems to go to the guy who's in the main event, of the UFC event. But it was just so big. It was just such a... And I can't disagree in this case either.

I mean, I feel like it's got to be Arlofsky. Who's the biggest winner, yeah? That fight was so strangely interesting and fun to watch. Because of how it flew by, because of the timing, again, just being selfish here for a second. But it was just fun. Fun performances, fun finishes, fun fights, for the most part. Co-main event, if you want to call it, that wasn't exciting at all, in my opinion. Santos Escobarerra wasn't that great.

But otherwise, there were some fun finishes, some really fun fights. So I liked it. I liked it a lot. But yeah, WSF had a nice night. That knockout in the co-made event of the WSOF fight was fantastic. Kian Caldwell was like a stiff board. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. Tremendous finish.

That was by, I always mess up this guy's name, so I've been kind of avoiding saying it. But it was, can you say it? Aussie Dugulovgov Dugulubkov Nailed it Let's go with that

Yeah tremendous knockout Look it up online Frankie Perez By the way Of the Frankie Edgar Hikardo Ameta team Won his WSov debut

A nice prospect Our next question Should more fighters Take a leaf Out of Tamden McRory's book A leaf Yeah that's an interesting

I've never heard of that one Maybe it's a British thing No I don't think Jason's British, but let's revise this to take a page, or take a leaf, whichever, out of Tam de Macrory's book, and take away time from the sport to develop. I mean, every fighter is different, and he took a long time, four or five years, right? I mean, and he had some personal stuff, apparently. He's a fun character. Chuck Minnall wrote a great story on him yesterday on M.AFighting.com. Unique guy, interesting look. I mean, and of course you remember him from the

UFC if you've been watching the sport for several years, but everyone's got their own story, their own path, their own, you know, their, their own methods to their madness. So who knows? I mean, look, I do agree that this is kind of a stretch here, but like someone like Brow, he came back too quickly. There is something to be said for taking some time off and finding your skills. And especially in a combat sport, you're getting punched in the head,

you know, letting your body relax. and recuperating all that stuff, there's 100% of method to that madness. But to take four years off is a little bit. Well, I may be inferring here, but I think that, you know, the case of Barow is you're talking more about recovery, whereas this question is asking more about refining,

you know, not refining technique so much as developing as a person, developing other skills and then also becoming a better fighter. You know what I mean? Certainly. I don't know if it takes off four years. Certainly not. I mean... And I don't know if he planned it that way, by the way, as well. Right. I mean, so...

Chances are probably not. Yeah. You know, if he goes on a winning streak in the UFC and becomes, you know, champion, he's not... He's probably not taking time off. We very rarely see that. Only George St. Pierre, as far as, you know, huge names that come to mind, who've just chosen to step away for a while. I believe this is our... No, I think we have two more.

But who do you think the next ultimate fighter coaches should be? Well, I like this question very much from our friend Kyle because I have a very easy answer. No one. No more tough coaches. Enough. By the way, did you watch Tough episode one last week? I haven't watched it yet. What the hell's wrong with you?

Got a DVR and haven't watched it yet. I'm already on episode two. Don't ruin it. All right. Don't ruin it. I know it happens. I do like the fact that the coaches are playing. By the way, I'm happy we could talk about it.

I love that they did the seating. I love that they have the bracket that we. We know who's fighting who. It's great. Again, I maintain that they should not have had any coaches. Let the coaches be there. That's fine. But you can pick and choose who you want to train with.

And it's every woman for herself. And I'm concerned that, look, the ratings for the episode, for the premiere episode, weren't great. That's my take on it. But I'm concerned with where do they go from here? You know, afterwards, a belt is on the line. fighters who all have UFC contracts are competing on the show, they all do. Where do you go from here?

Are you going to go back to middle weights and light heavyweights fighting for a contract? They've really set the bar high and I'm very curious to see what they do with this show and if they are going to revamp it at this point which I've seen Dana White allude to, it's time to get rid of the coaches, it's time to raise the stakes,

it's time to bring back the comeback season. That's what you've got to do. That's what the next tough should be. trust me, if anything will work, this will work. And much like Tough Season 4, there were no coaches. There were no teams. They had guys like GSP and Randy Couture show up, but there were no teams. And that's the way it should be for the next one.

So no tough coaches. No more. I don't want to see them again. I don't want to see guys sitting out like Pettis and Melendez who should be fighting next week, fighting in three months. And Pettus not fighting for over a year. And if you must have coaches, then do guys like, Sarah and Hughes. They don't have to fight. We don't need to see that again. We've done that.

Bring back legends, bring back guys who have issues or no issues. We don't need to see a rivalry between the coaches. It should be about the fighters because at the end of the day, that's the payoff, the future stars. That's who you're investing time and 12 or so weeks into. I like, and I have always liked that idea, but what do you think about the fact that this is kind of the season that everybody was saying, you know, this has to work. This is the one. And then the first ratings weren't so great. I don't want to write it off after one episode.

I mean, you can't. You obviously can't. But it's got to be disappointing with all the promotion and everything they put into it and the stakes being so high. But let's see. It's strange and confusing to me because everybody in my like social media bubble, which is very like MMA-centric. But it's a small bubble.

I mean, that's the hardest of the hard core. Yeah, and I guess that's the only people who tuned in up, I guess. The other thing that's worth noting is that historically, I think I mentioned this last week, historically, they've always had a live event to lead into the premiere of the ultimate fighter. For this season, I don't know why they didn't do it. I think, I think in hindsight, maybe that Friday event should have been on Wednesday with a big card, Overeem, Jacre, all those guys, go into the premiere. That would have made a lot of sense. Remember, that show peaked with like, you know, 900 or a million viewers. Obviously, they're not all going to stick around, but you would think that's the best way to go.

And again, historically, it has worked. So I'm surprised they didn't do that. Here's our last one. Did you read about Kevin Ioli's new stance on social media? Can you sympathize with him? Well, I did read it. And as you could see over there, I mentioned it was a good question. You know, it's interesting because Mr. New York and I have debated that.

this over the last month or so, I very much sympathize with him. Twitter to me has been one of the greatest tools that I have used in my career. I mean, it has done wonders for my career because it's been a way to get my work out there, to interact with fans, fighters, to meet people. I mean, people like Jim Ross. I mean, I've met these people, Stokehold, Steve Austin, CM Punk. I've met these people, I don't know why I just mentioned three wrestling people, but I mentioned, I've met really cool people via the magic of Twitter. And I love it. But I am here to admit that I am addicted to it. And it's not the good kind of addiction. I have used Twitter. I use a lot of lists and I break it down like MMA media and other interests that I have. Like I have one for the Knicks that I check rather frequently.

But that's, you know, out of love and other news, just general news and other sports stuff like the bills and whatnot. But the MMA media list, which I have developed into somewhat of like an AP newswire, I check that religiously. I can't go 30 minutes because I'm obsessed with being on top of the news and, you know, being a source and not necessarily being first, but you don't want to take a break for three hours. I don't understand these people who shut off their phone for four or five hours. I mean, I give them a lot of credit, more power to you, but I can't do it. It would drive me nuts. So what happens is I'm checking it every damn second. So I don't miss anything. And quite frankly, it's driving me nuts. I'm not complaining. Well, I'm here, but it's more telling you what

I'm going through. I've tried to challenge myself to go 30 minutes without checking it. I can't even do it. And I've mentioned to New York Rick that I've stopped, when I first started, I started to, you know, I replied to everyone because I wanted to be nice and I appreciated the interaction and it, you know, blew me away that people wanted to talk and all that stuff. But then the negativity ruined it. And it got to be too much. It's like you're, it's a Sunday afternoon, you're with your family, you're having a great day, and then you turn on your Twitter and you're, you're being told that you're the scum of the earth. I didn't invite you into my life. I don't want to hear it. So what happened was at first, I said, I'm not blocking anyone. I don't want to give the losers,

the scum, the low lives. I don't want to give these people any kind of recognition. I'm going to let them be. Then I said, screw that. I'm tired of seeing your damn tweets. I'm tired of your negativity. I'm tired of your crap. So I'm blocking everyone. Even people that I have talked to in the past, I've had a good relationship with, if you say anything remotely in the negative, I don't even care, it's like a one word that I don't like in your tweet, anything remotely negative, you're getting blocked. End of story. No doubt about it. And I've gone on some blocking sprees. I do not want you in my life. Read my stuff. Don't read my stuff. I couldn't care less. Get the hell out of here. If you are going to be that big of a losing.

that you're going to interact with someone that you don't even know in a negative way, in an insulting way, in a harassing way, in a bullying way, I want nothing to do with you. So I just block people. Now, Kevin Ioli, if you missed it, said that he is no longer interacting with people. He's going to put out his news, and that's it. No more replies, nothing. And I've seen other journalists, celebrities, whatever, do this kind of thing, and I have been blown away by it because how can you not interact?

I mean, there are a lot of great people out there. There are a lot of people I want to interact with. I wish there was a way that I could just weed them out. Like if I've tweeted with you in the past or I follow you or there's some way of finding out that you're a good person, I'll keep you there. But all the other people I don't want to hear from. I hate to say it. But there are a lot of losers out there.

A lot of bad people, a lot of mean people. And when Rondorowski first said that she stopped looking at her mentions when the ultimate fighter started, I was like, that is the craziest. That is such a lie. But if you actually look at her Twitter, she hardly. ever applies to people. It's unfortunate because again, there are a lot of great people, but I commend her for being that strong. And I have thought of it myself. I thought I'll just stop, I'll stop looking at my mentions. I'll just look at the news and that's it. That'll be one way

of conquering this addiction. Now, it's way better, because back in the day, I used to have Google reader, and that's how I aggregated all the news and stayed up to date with it all. But it's way quicker, and I like the immediacy of Twitter a lot more. So listen and all that. It helps me do my job. I just have to be a little strong and know that, all right, right now I'm eating or whatever. I'm with my family. I just won't check it for a little bit. I've gone a lot better, by the way. I actually have.

Maybe not every 30 minutes, but I've gotten a lot better. So I'm proud of that. And I apologize if I don't respond as much, but it just, the negativity just got to be too much. And so Kevin, I always said, I'm done. And I give him credit. And I actually texted him last night and said, good for you. I'm not necessarily looking to go that route and cutting everyone off because there's a lot great people that I still want to talk to, and I recognize the fact that it's been great.

But man, it has also introduced me to a lot of losers. I mean, I've said this on the show before. The amount of losers that I've been exposed to via social media, particularly in the MMA community, is just outstanding. It's astounding and outstanding. Outstanding. Losers. I mean, pure losers. Losers. Now, New York, Rick, disagrees with me. You respond to everyone. I try. I do my best. You don't block anyone. No. It's wrong with you. Well, first of all, it's a scale. The level of attention and responses and interactions that you get compared to mine is not even remotely similar. it's scaled down significantly.

So I still am at a level where I can, you know, try to interact with everybody that tweets me or, you know, do my best to do that. But in terms of negativity, I kind of just, my attitude is just whatever. Yeah. I read it and that's it. Now I'm, you know, obviously the amount and the persistence of it matters. You're still in a honeymoon phase, though. Yeah. Yeah.

I don't disagree with you. Get back to me in three, four years. But I also think You gotta be strong I wish I had thicker skin Yeah I wish And then sometimes you know

You go back and forth with other people And you're just kind of debating things And people are Oh Twitter war Oh grabbing the popcorn Yeah I'll get the hell out of here With your retweets

And your witty comments And you're like holier than that Oh you know what drives me nuts The period the period at sign. Oh, let me now announce this to the world. Let me show them up. Oh, I'm so great.

Get out of you. You're freaking loser. Get a life. Losers. You know what I'm talking about? I do know what you're talking about when you want people to see what you intended for one person. That's it.

If someone's going to peep in, let them peep in. You don't have to go out of your way to announce it to the world. The loser move. The one good thing that did come from that, is the voice you just did to represent the person who does that. By the way, their voice is worse. Low life. Scumbags.

Yeah, I feel like this is very prevalent. I saw an article about this recently as well, where people are just shutting Twitter down. They just don't want to deal with it. They use it as a tool to disseminate information, but they don't want to deal with the negative responses, which I can definitely understand. And I know the way it's going to come across, and I know that it sounds like, oh, poor little journalist guy. I don't want to be that guy. And that's why even if I did it, I wouldn't announce it the way he did. But more power to him.

I respect him. You know, that's a great way of letting people know that you're changing your Twitter habits. But I'm just saying I can sympathize with it. And I'm not changing, you know, maybe I'll scale back a little bit, but knowing me, probably not. it just it gets to be a lot sometimes the main thing is you're with your family you're trying to take a break and then you got these losers entering your life it's like you're at a party and you invited some people some cool people you're hanging out with them it's a great time and then these crashers these low life and i hate the word trolls because that reminds me of like

the little people at the beginning of frozen those little guys i mean those guys are lovable these guys are just low life scum or girls who knows tell you one thing they've never talked to a girl before oh right dang dang

now before we let me just say ask this or say this before we close this up is this a generational thing because I feel like now correct me if I'm incorrect about this

I feel like people who grew up in the very like tech savvy you know born with Twitter in their hand kind of people, the younger generation, even younger than myself perhaps, have grown up with this kind of interaction. It's not really a shock to the system to see this kind of negativity. I was born in 87.

So I'm not that much older than you. So maybe I'm wrong about this, but I feel like this is a pertinent and a salient point is that people who grew up around this kind of like message board, social media, kind of thing are used to this negativity. For me, when I see negativity on Twitter, it feels like any other day. It doesn't even register, to be honest. Whereas I feel like people who adopted this kind of interaction with social media, where it wasn't part of their life almost entirely, are much more averse to the kind of negative interactions that happen on Twitter. It seems more, they focus on it more because it seems wrong. It seems out of place. Whereas for somebody

who grew up in this age of technology like I did, like I don't, I don't really harp on the negativity or see the negativity as valid. It's kind of just something I ignore completely, almost. I mean, again, I don't think I'm that much older than you. I just think people are programmed differently. Yeah. The best advice I ever heard was Don't get too high with the highs. Don't get too low with the lows, right? Set it best. And it's good to be in the middle.

You can get a thousand positive comments and then one really mean, nasty one, and you'll harp on that one. Why are we like that? Why do we do that? I don't get it. But I do that sometimes. Trust me.

I love the positivity. It's great. I love the feedback. If you think I'm wrong, that's cool. But it's just, you know the stuff. You know the idiots. You know what I'm talking about. That stuff.

I have no interest in it. I really don't. And also, I feel like we should rely. I mean, like, Paul George did this. I mean, that was, that was pretty ill-advised what he did last week. If you know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it. But I feel like sometimes we tweet too quickly, especially on fight night. Like, oh, M-G, this is the greatest fight of all time. Well, I can't believe it. Br, this is a war. This is bra, blah, blah, blah. Like, just take a breath, relax. there's going to be another fight. It'll probably be even better. There's going to be another great knockout.

Just let's stop overstating everything, reacting. We don't always have to say something. We don't always have to tweet. We don't always have to comment. Let's just take it easy for a second. It'll all figure itself out. It'll all be okay. Kudos to Kevin for doing it the way he wants to do it.

And I'll do it my way. But if you say anything annoying, you're getting blocked. And guess what? I know some of you create new accounts and you ask for forgiveness. I've only forgiven one person. The rest of yous, join the block party. You're out. Done.

Let it be known. I'm telling you right now. Go hang out with the losers. Anything negative. Anything. Single thing. Including the person who stole my watch. I'm on to you.

I know who you are. You're getting blocked. maybe even report it to Twitter. I might even go that far. We'll see. All right. On that note, we're done. Oh, one quick thing.

Only one... Wow, look at this. Only one line for this Saturday. You ready for it? Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson. Who's the favorite? Did you look? No, I didn't look at that one.

I'm going to go hunt because he has looked really, really good lately. And the loss of Junior Dos Santos is really nothing. You can't really take anything away from him. Junior is the best of the best. Wow. You're right. Minus 140 plus 133. Yeah.

I mean, that makes sense. Even if those were flip-flopped, I'd say that's, you know, right in the same range. It's a coin flip fight. As far as I'm concerned, I haven't really. really thought about it stylistically too much, just because I kind of want to enjoy it. I'm definitely not betting on it. But stylistically, there may be opportunities for Roy Nelson to get takedowns if he should choose to. Can't wait. It's a fun one. That's going to be a great fight.

Fight past this Saturday. Good luck to you if you do try to wake up early or stay up for it. Or if you're in Europe or anywhere else in the world, you're lucky. You get to watch it live. I'll try, but I don't know. I just won't go on Twitter and then I'll watch it. I'll pretend it's live. Maybe, we'll see. But I have to kind of be there. It's tough.

I'm going to figure it out. I have a few days, thankfully. Let's not make this a habit, all right? You can hit my music. Fun show. Long show. Over four hours. How about that?

By the way, rapidly approaching UFC 178. I'll have an interesting nugget about that card. next week on the show. Remind me, all right? I want to thank Guillermo Cruz for stopping by. Great stuff out of him. A beast. A beast from Brazil. Thank you very much to Liam McGee. And thank you for dropping some knowledge.

Although, after the fact I don't know if it was 100% accurate, but still, it opened me up to learning about Jersey. Very interesting. Congratulations on winning the Belator Light Heavyweight Tournament on Friday. Great stuff out of Habib Nirmagamadev. If you do not follow him on Twitter, you are missing out. Team Habib is his name. Great stuff.

A lot of it, I don't understand it because it's written in Russian, but the pictures are fun, and when he drops a trash-talking bomb or two, it's always a good time. Thank you very much, Jim Ross. Good luck to him on October 3rd, as he calls Battlegrounds, MMA's next event, alongside Chale Sunnan,

One-night tournament, lightweight, $50,000. Great stuff from Cort McGee. And again, good luck to him with hope 361.com. Really great stuff. Check it out. Alastrowo Overeem, thank you very much. All the best. And Tito Ortiz, best of luck to him on November 15th.

We are done. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next week. Until they say, peace. Show many. Support for this show comes from Volkswagen. As the U.S. gets ready to host soccer's biggest moment. on a worldwide stage, Volkswagen is helping people discover new

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