MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani - Episode 337

Episode Date: July 5, 2016

Ariel Helwani speaks to Bruce Buffer (00:04:47), Joseph Duffy (00:26:00), Valérie Letourneau (00:45:46), Mike Goldberg (01:04:32), Yoel Romero (01:27:20), NewYorkRic to take your questions (02:08:52), and Frank Mir (03:07:47). Plus, a look back with Y'all Must Have Forgot (01:55:42). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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A mixed martial arts hour back in your life on this Tuesday, July 5th, 2016. Hello again, everyone. I'm Mario Hawani. Inside our New York City studio, if you're from the great United States of America, I hope you had a wonderful July 4th. If you're from Canada, I hope you had a wonderful July 1st, Canada Day. What a special day that is. Of course, July 4th, Monday, that's...

That's why we didn't have a show yesterday. I apologize for leaving you hanging, but we are back. We would not miss a show on this big week. If you're not from the United States or Canada, I'm assuming you're in a pretty good mood because this is a week that we have been talking about looking forward to for pretty much a year, maybe even before that. I remember being at UFC 189 last summer, last July in Las Vegas, and that's when they officially announced that UFC 200 would take place.

Back then, they said July 2, 2016, at the new T-Mobile. Arena. It wasn't called Team Mobile Arena, but the unnamed brand new arena in Las Vegas. As we know, it's now July 9th. It's this Saturday, so don't worry, you did not miss it. And we didn't know back then that they would stack the deck like they have. Three shows back to back to back, beginning Thursday, five title fights in all, over 30 fights, some of the biggest names in the UFC and UFC history competing. This is pretty special stuff. And it all kicks off actually today in Las Vegas. There's an open workout. Some of our crews already out there. I go out tomorrow morning and it's going to be memorable.

The next time I sit in this chair, God willing, next Monday, the entire face of the UFC could be different. So much could change in the span of what, 72 or so hours. And I hope that if you are flying from wherever you may be flying from to Las Vegas, going to watch the events, just had a lovely couple stop by from Australia on their way to Las Vegas. I hope that you're firing up this podcast to little more excited for this weekend's festivity. So a lot to discuss. We, excuse me, are going to talk all things UFC 200, all things international fight week with some, with some interesting guess. So let's get to today's rundown and get this show underway. At around 410 Eastern Time, we'll talk to Frank Meir. Frank Meir is an interesting guy to talk to right now, of course, because he's in

Limbo in his own career, but he's a man who knows Brock Lesnar very well. He's a man who knows Mark Hunt very well. He even knows Daniel Cormier very well. He knows John Jones as well. He has trained with John Jones over at Jackson. So I wanted to talk to Frank Meir about everything going on in his career. And of course, the big return of Brock Lester, you have to think that if Frank Mear wasn't suspended, if he won that fight against Mark Hunt, we could very well be getting ready for Frank Mear versus Brock Lesnar three. That's not the case. And I want to talk to him about that. 225, we're going to talk to Yole Romero. His suspension is up. in exactly seven days, July 12th, he has also trained with John Jones. John Jones brought him to

Albuquerque to help him prepare for Daniel Cormier. So we'll talk to Yoh Romero, who could very well be the number one contender in the middleweight division. We'll talk to him about his own situation, the Jones fight, all that and more. That's at 225. 205. We'll talk to the play-by-play man for the UFC, Mike Goldberg. 19 years with the company he's about to call UFC 200, wanted to talk to him about the growth of the UFC and to sort of celebrate the sport and the promotion as it approaches this massive week. At 145, we'll talk to Valéry Letourneau. Quebec's own Valerie Latourne, of course, coming off that frustrating loss to Joanne Calderwood in Ottawa. It was somewhat marred by controversy, wardrobe malfunction. But she is an interesting person to talk to this week

as well because she has fought Claudia Gedelia back in 2012, lost a split decision to her, and also has fought Yanni Young-Jechek. So an interesting person to talk to you. This week, we'll talk to Valerie Let's know about that fight in her career as well. At around 125, we'll talk to Joe Duffy. He is fighting Mitch Clark on Friday night. Big comeback fight for him. Looking forward to talking to him. Of course, the last time we saw Joe Duffy was around, what was it, seven months ago in Las Vegas. He fought Dustin, Porre, a very, very tough, dominant loss to Porier, lost the unanimous decision to him. This is his first fight back, so looking forward to talking to Irish Joe in around 20 minutes.

But first, you know, there's one man that I wanted to start this week off with. There's only one guy. When I thought about this show, I said there's one name that comes to mind. The perfect way to start this show on this very important week for the UFC and the sport. And that's with the voice of the Octagon. That's with my long-time friend Bruce Buffer, a man who when I was hosting my radio show back in the Syracuse University days, what was that? Oh, maybe 14 or so years ago, the main event, the man who I wrote an email to and said, hey, would you like to come on my show? He responded within hours and was one of my first guests ever, Bruce Buffer.

And he's joining us right now on the MAA as we kick off this historic week for the UFC. Bruce, are you there? We are live. Ariel, it's me, buddy. How are you, Bruce? Thank you so much, and I mean that. I really wanted to start the week off with you. And, of course, there's a lot to discuss as it pertains to UFC 200.

But did you know, Bruce, did you know that a week from today, July 12th, you will be celebrating 20 years with the UFC. Did you know that? Yeah, no, I do. You know, it's the kind of thing that obviously I very much look forward to. I hope I don't get a gold watch and retirement papers, but I feel like I'm pretty good for another 10 years, you know, at least in an absolute minimum,

you know, considering the passion level I have for what I love doing for the UFC. UFC 10. That was your debut. And like I said... Actually, Ariel, I'm going to correct you, if I may, because a lot of people are saying UFC 10 is my debut. I actually, the 20-year celebration was February 16, 1996. six, 20 years ago.

Okay. And it was right before I got my MMA Lifetime Achievement Award, which is very timely, which I'm very honored by, extremely honored by. And what happened is, Ariel, is I managed a fighter named Scott the Pitbull for Rosso. Remember that monster? Yes. In the UFC? Yes.

I managed him into UFC 8 in Puerto Rico, but I did it for a reason of purpose. I did it to convince the owner Robert Meyer, which is being inducted of the Hall of Fame this year, that I could announce the prelims because he needed me in the Octagon, and he needed to hire me to help. grow this, to grow this great brand because I knew it was going to be huge. I always believe it would be. So I did the prelims at USC8, which was my first time in the octon, and the UFC 10, which you are absolutely correct on, was the first time I did an entire show. Oh, wow. That was my first entire show, yeah. Wow, that's amazing. So prelims, obviously back then, they weren't televised, right? So no one

outside of the actual audience in the arena saw you working. You know, I'm really not sure about that, because on the pay-per-view, Okay. I'm really not sure. I can't say yes or no to that. So let's just say that, you know, first time on TV, we could say in full, UFC 10, first time in the Octagon, UFC 8. UFC 8, that is amazing.

So as you said, February 16, 1996, coincidentally, my son's birthday. So, I mean, several years later. Great things began on that day. And you really, you really, like you say you knew it was going to be big. You really thought in 1996 a much different sport. It's amazing. When you look at the NBA, you look at the NBA, you look at the NBA. NFL in 1996, it pretty much looks the same. Of course, there's SD, HD, all that stuff. If you look at the

UFC in 1996, it is a completely different sport. You truly believed that it, of course, you couldn't predict, you know, everything. You're not a, you're not a psychic, but you really thought that this was going to be around 20, 30 years and evolve into the sport that it has become? Yeah, I did. I can honestly say that for real. I, you know, I've had some great futuristic thoughts on a couple of things in my life. Of course, my brother and the, let's get ready to rumble phrase, which, you know, when I first got involved there, I realized how big it could be, and that's why I sold two companies making a hellacious amount of money back in the, you know, early 90s. I gave it all up to manage his career and trademark that phrase properly and direct

and build his career and put that phrase on the tip of everybody's, you know, tongue in American culture. I had the same epiphany about the UFC because I got Michael to announce six, seven, and ultimate ultimate, and my first USCA attendant was USC six. Now, I've been in fighting in martial arts since I was 12. I've been around every kind of fighting you can possibly imagine, from, you know, bar brawls to underground fights, to you name it, even before the UFC came on the scene. So when I saw it, I thought this is what is going to hit the center core of everybody's mentality, like Dana said, everybody loves a fight, you know, that analogy you get. And I realized that it was a spectacle that needed to become a sport.

And with proper marketing, proper fine-tuning, and rules and regulations coming in, which I saw were starting to be adept. I really believed it was going to be the biggest thing I earned Friday sports. And quite honestly, that's why I stuck with it for the short money. I lost a lot of money going on in these UFC shows. We were only doing three a year back then. But it was a choice between money I can make elsewhere, which is quite substantial to dedicating my dream and my goal to growing and out marketing and building this brand. Aside from being, you know, my beloved, in my beloved Octon is the voice of the Octon and the announcer, which I love and cherish and humble by every day I wake up. So are you the longest tenured and

employee of the UFC? Has anyone been there before you? I would say the only person that possibly is there before me is Joe Silva. He was there before you. Doing what he did back then, you know, working with Meyerowitz. I don't know if he was actually an employee back then. But I was on board before Joe Rogan and before pretty much, oh, definitely before Mike Goldberg. So I could probably say, yeah, unless I'm wrong, that could possibly be true. That is amazing. Okay. So when I think of UFC 100, which was in 2009, of course, headline by Brock Lesser versus Frank Mear, the big story,

going into that event was will Bruce Buffer pull off the buffer 360? You know about this. It was huge. People were buzzing. There's a great clip courtesy of Joe Rogan where him and Goldie are waiting to see if you're going to pull it off and then they think you're not going to pull it off. And Joe Silva says it's coming, it's coming. And then you pull it off at the last second. And so I'm thinking it's UFC 200. What do you have in store for us? A 720, what are you going to do? What are we looking forward to on Saturday? Well, what you're looking forward to is an amazing historic. find out of let's be real that's the most important thing yeah yeah now of course I did the

360 in front of Brock Lesnar which I purposely saved for the end of the show that time because I knew Joe would think I wasn't going to do I want to keep everybody on suspense and I you know I pulled it off you know what just perfectly in my opinion the way it happened it was just with Brock's reaction everything it was just kismet the way it all came together but are you like great things in life that happen when they happen once you remember it forever when they happen more than once it doesn't carry the same same fine tuning. So the Airborne 360 is retired. That happened back then. I have done a ground 360, if not, you know, other moves since then. But I'm not telling or saying that I'm going to do

anything special beyond go in and give 150% of my passion, my soul, my voice, my energy. I'm going to be a ball of sweat, probably lose about five pounds of water by the end of that show. But I'm not going to sit here and tell you I'm going to do anything because what I'm going to do is I'm going to go in, do how I like to do it. I never rehearse, and I mean that I never rehearse. I go in and it's purely organic with me. I'm going to feed off the energy of the crowd. I'm going to give the performance, hopefully the best I can do. And if you judge me by a special move like a 360 or 720, I think you're making a mistake. You just realize everything I'm bringing in there and I will give a show of shows, I promise. But I'm not going to promise anything because I have three shows in a

row. This is an incredibly busy week for me. It's incredibly busy as it is for everybody. You're doing all three. I'm doing all three shows. I'm doing the Lipsink battle tomorrow night. I'm going to put steeped myocitch on the floor. I'm going to blow them out of the water at the lift sink. Hopefully, when that for fun, you know, for, shall we say, shit and giggles. Sure, sure.

And then go into three shows. I got the U.S.C. Fan Expo, and I've got, you know, I've got all the stuff, Ariel. I've got to concentrate on the importance of the task at hand. And I'll say this, quite frankly, I'm being long-winded. The show is not about me. It's about these great warriors And it's for the fans And these great warriors

That I put everything I have on an octagon floor And that's exactly what I'm going to do on Saturday And I appreciate you saying that But one of the reasons why I wanted to have you on the show One of the reasons why I wanted to have Goldie on the show Is because you guys are a part of the fabric of the UFC And UFC fans, perhaps more so than any other fans They like their routine

And you know They want to see, you know More often than not they want to see Goldie and Rogan there They want to see you there you know, they want to see Ariani walk around. They like those things. And they've been sort of programmed that this is the UFC. You guys are a part of it.

So you can say what you want. You know deep down that you were an important part of the show. And that's why you're doing three shows in a row. What I'm wondering is, are you made, are you, is there a chance for something in the back pocket? Are you thinking inside, do you feel pressure to top 100 or do you think that, you know, that's, you know, just doing your own usual thing is good enough for this event? I don't feel pressure by 100. I know the fans and, you know, do pressure me on the Internet forums and stuff that I've read lately, of course.

And that's to be expected. But here's the thing, Ariel, is like I did a 360 at the main event in front of Brock Lesnar. Yes. We have four main events that night. That's true. We have Frankie Edgar, Josie Aldo, going to war. We have Amanda Nunes we should take going to war, both for championships. Then we take a break for Mark Hunt and Brock Lesner in a three-round heavyweight war.

Then we go into the much-anticipated rematch between Jones and Cormier. So to do something special, for one, takes away from the others. If anything, I'd have to do four special moves for each. That is not the pressure that I wish to feel. Okay, again, I'm going to say it again. The show is not about me, but you can bet your but tuti that I'm going to give everything I have that night. I'll probably drop into a chair by the end of the night, and I'm just the announcer doing my thing. But, you know, it's all about these warriors, bro, and I'm there to honor them.

So, again, I know you're trying to get me to say something special, and I know everybody would like to hear you. that, I can appreciate that, but I'm not going to put, I'm not going to put my promise on the line like I did back in USC 100. Fair enough. There's too much there. Let's say this. I do a 360 in front of Brock Lesner. Yes.

Is that fair to Daniel Cormey and John Jones? Misha Tate de Manon-Ninnis, Frankie Hecker, Jose Altho. Well, it's just the last one. I get where you're coming from. Did you, is it true that you injured yourself doing that? Or was that something else? No. No, that's a misnomer because I did blow my ACL.

Wow. I severed it in half, tore my meniscus in three places. But what happened was that was at the big Toronto show that we did. We had a huge sellout in seven hours, 55,000 people. And I'm in the octagon announcing at this point, George St. Pierre. What happened real briefly is a week before I was at a poker term. You know, I'm a big poker player. Yeah.

So most people injured in the cells in FISA battles. I take a break at the poker tournament, hit a dip in the carpet, roll my ankle, swells up, have to go to the hospital the next morning. They're pulling a huge amount of blood out of my ankle. I can't walk. I'm on crutches. I go back to the poker chairman. I take third, win 30,000. Okay, that's fine. Big exciting day. But I can't walk. I'm not going to go out and dance and celebrate that night. Now Wednesday, before the biggest show in UFC history, I can't stand on my legs. So now I'm thinking, what the hell? This is horrible, you know? So I finally muscle up. I can start walking around Thursday. I get on the plane, get to Toronto, come out, I do the show, I turn, I jump, I do everything. My adrenaline. took over. I could care less about my ankle. I got to get through the show. Now in front of George St. Pierre, and I go, George, Rush. And as soon as I say that, he lunges out, as he always does, what I naturally do is I'd bunny hop backward about a foot and a half. And I, and I was,

before I say Pierre. So when I did that, my bad ankle landed, and it wobbled. And when it wobbled, my knee exploded. And it was like, George, Rush, St. Pierre! Oh. You know, like that. It was the loudest Pierre I ever gave. And you can see me on the video hopping out on one leg. And McCarthy says to me, as soon as I get out, I think you blew your ACL. And he's right, because I went over to Herb Dean when they had the face off. My knee was just moving from side to side. And I had my octagon face on like, yeah, yeah. But inside I'm like, you MF her, you just blew your friggin knee.

You know, and it's like, there we go. So I didn't have it operated on for three months. I had UFCs every week. I had to film a movie here comes to boom. And Marlon Shirley had his company. He's the Paralympian that runs on blades, and holds a hundred-yard dash record back then. He had a special bracemate for him. emblazoned with the UFC logo and I wore it underneath my tuxedo and I finally got operated on by Eletrosh who did Tom Brady and three months later and four weeks later I was in Philadelphia and the octagon again afterwards working but here's the funny part are you know after that george st. Pierre blew his knee yeah we both wound up in rehab together wow we were both operated on by the same

doctor how's that that is wild wow not wild yeah um you know like I said fabric of the UFC uh recently Joe Rogan stopped by our show, and I asked him, I don't want to put you on the spot here, but I asked him, if the rumors of the UFC selling are true, what does that mean for your future? He says, if they sell, I'm out, I don't want to be a part of it. What's Bruce Buffer's response to that question? Well, there's an old saying goes, don't walk away from the wheel this turning. And my passion for the UFC is very strong. If the UFC does happen to sell, which has not been confirmed yet, I'm good to go, bro. I will be there. From what I understand, I'm wanted. And my goal is to be in that octagon again for a minimum of another 10 years, at least. So I'm not going to break my plans for life just because there might be changes, but I think those changes are, if they ever take place. I've been involved in too many business things where changes have taken place. But let's just be theoretical here. If a new owner comes in, right, I would guess that they would keep Dana,

because he's such a figurehead of the show, and Dana's brilliant enough to negotiate an incredible deal for himself. I'm sure. This is purely theoretical because I have no knowledge of what's going on. So you don't take an amazing monster like the UFC, the fastest growing sporting event in the world, and change it. What you do is you say, okay, here's an amazing cash cow that has such future uphill movement that I'm going to buy this company, I'm going to work it the way it's been working, and I'm going to continue to build it on the basis of how it's been built. I mean, when you go in and try to change a company as an example, like the UFC, that could be the kiss of death.

You don't change it. You keep it rolling. You just get behind it and make the proper decisions for the future. And you keep the key people that keep the thing going, which in my opinion, how can you let Dana go? Now, if Joe chooses to move and, you know, make a change for whatever his reasoning is, I respect that. If that's what he says. That could also be a negotiation point for, you know, a deal. That is true.

That is true. Okay, so I remember seeing you at an event, not that long ago, and you were walking around the hotel, and you had a towel wrapped around your neck, and you weren't trying to talk too much. Because, you know, you have to save your voice. You're yelling. There's a lot of seven-hour show, a lot of names to be said. In all honesty, I'm very curious. Three shows back-to-back, you know, something like 35, 36 fights. What does that do for your voice? Like, usually you have a Saturday and then you go home and you have at least a week off. how do you, do you have to pace yourself from, from, is Thursday the ultimate prelim and then, you know, Friday, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the F.S.1 prelims and then, like, how, how do you make sure that come Saturday first fight, you still have a voice? I'm, I'm sure there's a science to that, right? Yeah, yeah, and this is, this is, this is where it goes back to your question about the special move of UFC 200. There's so many U.S.Cs a year, of which I do, you know, 90% or more of them, okay, that I can only look to the next U.S. see. Right now, even though I just finished

all my five cards for all three shows and all the work it took to get those done, I'm only thinking about what's going to happen um, come Thursday night. You know, that's all I'm thinking about. Thinking about Eddie Alvarez and

Raphael de Sanjos. So I'm going to go into Thursday night and treat it like that's the show of the week. Once that show is completed, I will go back to my room. I will wake up. I will do what I do in the morning, just get to the gym, need a power breakfast, meditate, get everything together, you know, bring out a new monkey suit because I'm not going to wear the same monkey suit for a month in a row. Yeah, of course.

And I'm going to get down there. And then all of a sudden you're going to see me go in and it's going to be Claudia Godoha and Joanna and Junjic. You know, and it's like that's the show that night. Once I finish that show, I will go to bed, I'll wake up, do the same thing again and prepare for the biggest show in the history of the UFC, which is UFC 200. So even Anthony Keats from, you know, from the chili peppers, he said to me last time in December, when I did three in a row, is like, you know, Buffy, what do you? you doing for your throat, you know, what is your key? And I said, Anthony, one show was a warm-up. The second show was another warm-up.

Now I'm going to come out and blow the roof off this place. And that's how I am. My voice just gets stronger with each show. I'm ready to rock. And I also said, too, you're, you know, you guys perform and sing a concert at night, six in a row all over the world. My question is, how the hell do you guys do it? And you're wondering how I do it.

Right. So that's my attitude. And the big thing is, Ariel, I'm announcing. There's two warriors in there putting their breath with tears of it. life on the line. I have nothing to complain about. The show must go on. I'll get it done in a real. What's your favorite fight of all time? Is there one that sticks out? Impossible to say. I've seen too many. I've forgotten more than I can remember. There's not one that six out special and not, like, even if you think about it, there's not one that you really, really like.

Well, you get back to, like, you know, Hendo and Shogunhooh and that bra. You get back to, go to the old days. Randy, the Randy Couture Wars with, like, Beater Belford. You know, those wars he had were just unbelievable. So, you know, I can point out a BJ Penn fight. Even one of Ken Florian's wars. There's just so many great fights. It is impossible. And I bet it's impossible for you to say the greatest fight you've ever seen.

Here's what happened. Yeah, go ahead. I see the greatest fight. And two months later, I see the next greatest fight. That's the UFC, baby. To me, the best fight between 100 and 200, just that stretch, Jones, Gustafson, UFC 165 in Toronto, because no one expected Guston to do what he did,

taking him down in the first round. That, to me, was everything MMA is. Jones digging down deep in the fourth round, securing his title. That had it all, in my opinion. But yeah, it is, you know, it is a tough one. So then let me end with this. Well, getting back to what you just said,

you just named one of the top ten greatest fights I've ever seen. Absolutely. Yeah. Is there one this weekend, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, that really sticks out, that you're super looking forward to. You could pick a thousand different,

and there's so many different choices, but is there one fight coming up the next three days that you're just, you just cannot wait to watch in person, you have the best seat in the house. Is there one that sticks out? Well, there's a few. Okay. Can my name a few? Yeah, go ahead.

Derek Lewis and Roy Nelson. Oh, yes. Thursday night without question. I can't wait to see that war. Yes. Definitely looking forward to Godoha and your J-check going out after the second time without question. Yep.

I can't wait for that. Then when you get back here, I think Campbell was in Traveces and Traveller the frown is going to be amazing. I really see that going nuts. And if you want to go into the undercars, even the Johnny Henders Kevin Gaston fight, there's going to be fireworks in that fight. You know, it's so hard when you look at all the fights on USC 200.

And Frankie Edgar and Joseo, I've been waiting for this fight for a long time. Okay? And that's going to be a tremendous fight, tremendous fight. So all the others are incredible, but, you know, those are the few to stand out. And, of course, I mean, how can you get it? from Brock and Hunt, Jones and Quarmi.

It's just, again, we have so much entertainment this week. It's hard to say which I'm looking forward to the most as I'm looking forward to so many. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you in action, looking forward to seeing you, as always, Bruce this weekend in Las Vegas. Appreciate you stopping by, and you have your podcast coming up later today. It's time with Bruce Buffer. That'll be out on iTunes and all that good stuff, right? So you are a busy man today before you go out. I appreciate you stopping by, though.

A lot of fun to catch up. My pleasure, Ariel. And I just got done doing three weddings. You know, I do a lot of voiceovers. When you go to Bruce Buffer.com, you can order some recordings and stuff. I have done so many, there must be a lot of people getting married in the summer. I've done so many weddings in the last three weeks, along with birthdays and birth of babies. It's like cracking me up, some of these, you know, requests that come in.

And I make them very affordable to people. So if you're interested in that, you know, for a keepsake for hopefully as a UFC fan, here's my picture of my show for myself. Go to Bruce Buffer.com and check it out. I really appreciate it because I love doing it. That is great. That is great. I love being a part of somebody's special day.

Keep it up, Bruce. Looking forward to seeing you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And you too, because you're a pioneer in your own right. Don't forget that, man. You've done a lot to this great sport in that. And I appreciate this.

Thank you, very much. There he is, Bruce Buffer, the voice of the Octagon legend, the incomparable Bruce Buffer going to be very busy on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas. One of the names he will be announcing. Irish Joe Duffy, he is in action this Friday against Mitch Clark, ultimate fighter finale. He is joining us right now via the magic Skype. There he is. Joe Duffy himself.

How are you, Joe? I'm good, thanks, Ariel, yourself. I'm doing great. I appreciate you stopping by. No, it's a very busy time for you over there. You are in Las Vegas right now. Does it feel like the calm before the storm? Are there a ton of fans?

What's the vibe like right now? It's feeling quite calm, all right? Yeah, I wouldn't say it's quite, you know, I haven't experienced too much of it yet. You know, the hotel's pretty chilled. You know, everything's on the door. So so far, you know, it's quite quiet, but I suppose, you know, when the way and start and everything, that's when the feeling will start to come.

It'll all start to kick in. Now, it's big for a fighter to be a part of this weekend. You're the night before 200. Did a part of you really want to be on that 200 card, or do you not really care which card that you fell on? No, it didn't matter to me. Obviously, you know, being a part of 200 would have been a big compliment and obviously, you know, a big opportunity to showcase for the fans.

But, you know, I'm just excited to be on the weekend and excited to get back in there. Yeah, and so you say get back in there, we have not seen you since December. We have not seen you since the Dustin Porre fight. Of course, that was a frustrating night for you in Las Vegas, so you're back to the scene of the crime. How did you handle it? It was a bloody fight. You showed a lot of heart. I think a lot of people respected you afterwards, even though you didn't get the win.

But for you, how did you get over the loss? How did you handle it in the weeks afterwards? Yeah, it's never easy. You know, didn't you head around the loss. But I went back to Montreal, you know, chilled out for a few days, lick my wounds, and then go back in the gym. Normal story, you know, I feel the only way you can handle it is get back to work and fix the issues, you know, doing the fight.

And, you know, that's what I've been doing. Just work hard. And I feel like my game's progress a lot. and, you know, I feel that it was a blessing to disguise. I want to expand on that. There's just a lot of static in my ears when I'm hearing you. I don't know if it's because of the phone or something. Do you mind if we call you?

Maybe you would do like Skype audio. Your Skype video is great, but it's just a lot of static, and I want people to hear what you're saying. So we're going to call you right back, okay? No, promise. Okay, let's call Joe back and make sure that we can hear that because it's just tough to hear them with the static in the ears. So we'll get in touch with him.

Like I said, the last time we saw Joe was back in December, lost a unanimous decision to Dustin Porier. He is a part of the Ultimate Fighter finale card on Friday. That is at the MGM. That is headlined by Joanna. No, is it, I messed up. He's a part of the Thursday card. Excuse me.

It's hard to keep track of all of these. He's a part of the July 7th card at the MGM. That's the card headline by Hafeld Dos Angeles versus Eddie Alvarez, the quote-unquote co-mate event is Derek Lewis versus Roy Nelson. That's the fight that Bruce Buffer was just talking about. What an amazing fight that is. Alan Jo Ban versus Belal Muhammad, Joe Duffy versus Mitch Clark. It is a four-fight main card, but that doesn't really matter

because the entire card is on Fight Pass. Some other notable names on that particular card. Mike Pyle, a longtime veteran Anthony Burchack fighting John McDessie, another Montrealer competing. on that card as well. Who else is there? Gilbert Burns, Vicente Lucke. So that's the, that's the Thursday card. The Thursday Friday cards are at the MGM and then the Saturday card will mark the very first UFC event at the T-Mobile arena. I've never been inside the T-Mobile arena. That's one of the things. I've seen it from the outside. I love going to new arenas and seeing

what they are like, just how they were built, what it looks like. And I'm told from people who have covered boxing or just been to an event there, a boxing match, that they really built it. And obviously they would do this being the fact that it's Las Vegas. They really built it with the idea in mind that every seat is a good seat and every seat is a great one for a boxing slash MMA event. That is where the new NHL team is going to play in two seasons. not this season next. I'm curious to see what it looks like because the MGM is a nice arena. This one holds around 20,000 for combat sports. MGM capacity is around 16,000, so it's a bit of an upgrade. The word is that it's not sold out just yet. I wonder if that's going to change

come Saturday. I can almost guarantee that if Connor was a part of the card, Connor McGregor, if it was the original Connor McGregor versus Nate Diaz fight, that it would have sold out. But I think they're pretty pleased nonetheless. I do believe we have Joe back on the line. Joe, are you there? I'm here, Ariel. Oh, that's perfect. Thank you for doing that. I appreciate it. And by the way, I screwed up. I hope I didn't screw you up. You're fighting on Thursday, not Friday. It's hard to keep track of all these fights. You know, there's a lot going on, but you are fighting Thursday, not Friday. Are you going to stick around for the fights Friday, Saturday? Are you going to go back home afterwards? No, I'm definitely, I'm going to stick around. Tom. My brother and my dad's

here, and there's a few that's made the journey. So we're going to stick around. and what's the fights and enjoy Vegas for a few days. You said that there's a lot that you learned from the Porre fight. Can you expand on that? What are some of the lessons that you took away from that? Yeah, I think the main one was that, you know, I just needed a little bit more time to let everything settle into my game. You know, I felt I was a little bit too one-track minded in the fight,

maybe just, you know, going in there looking to stand up. and maybe in my training I probably spent too much time doing that also so I've had a lot more shoot boxing in and I've been working on my overall game as always just trying to

make it as well around as possible so when I get in there I'm using every aspect of my game do you feel like it was a little too soon for you in your progression as a UFC lightweight that there was a big gap between Dustin and your previous opponents in the UFC

No, definitely not You know, it's a fight I definitely believe I could win, you know, up until the last bell And, you know, even now, it's a fight I still believe I can win So I don't feel it was too soon

You know, I thought was a great fight Even though I didn't, you know, I didn't get the win I think everyone's got a different path And, you know, I'm glad I'm glad it's gone this way You are Because it allowed you to look at some of the things that you were doing wrong? Exactly.

Exactly. That's it. In wins or losses, you know, you're always growing. Every time you fight, there's lessons we learned. And I was finding, you know, when you lose, you probably learn a hell of a lot more. You learn a lot of bit yourself also. So, you know, that's it. It's one of them.

You take it on board and get back to the groundstone. Did you suffer any serious injuries in that fight? No, nothing. Everything was all caused. medic really. You know, a couple of stitches and my eye was swollen, but other than that, you know, nothing to write home about. Well, that is good because he did break his nose.

He looked like a mess himself. I would imagine, I have not seen, I can't say that I've seen all your boxing matches, but that must have been the bloodiest fight that you've ever been a part of. Am I wrong? Have you ever been in something worse than that? No, definitely. It was definitely the, you know, probably the bloodiest fight had been involved. Yeah, I've had a few tough battles over the years,

but, you know, that was certainly up there with the worst. It was probably the worst I left after a fight, that's for sure. Yeah, and there's something to be said for that, and you can learn something about yourself, you know, just the fact that you hung in there for all those, you know, the 15 minutes. And I hear you are seven months later coming back. Did you want to take an extended break? I mean, more than half the year, you know,

before coming back, was that part of your plan? Or is that just how things worked out? Yeah, that was part of the plan, you know, win or lose. You know, I thought I wanted to take a bit of time just to enjoy my training. And obviously, outside of fight camp, it's the time I feel you learn and improve the most. So, you know, that was always the plan. And, you know, I'm glad I've done it. Definitely.

Like, I think once you start creeping up close to the, the top 15, the top 10 you need to slow things down and make sure that everything's progressing at the right time. I'm assuming one of the nice byproducts of your last fight

is that the Connor McGregor questions have sort of gone away for a little bit. Is that accurate? Yeah, they're going away. Obviously with me losing and then the Conradias fight as well, they've gone away. So, you know, again, it doesn't really bother me too much. I just do my own thing.

He was supposed to be fighting Saturday. Were you disappointed when he was taken off the card because a lot of Irish fans would come, support you as well, you would get that attention with him being on the car and so many people traveling. Did that bum you out at all? No, particularly.

Obviously, you know, it would have been nice to have all the Irish fans, you know, coming over and the support. But, you know, I'm sure there'd be plenty here. You know, I've had to let the people message me on on Swash. media.

Irish fans is here, does travel, so I'm just excited to get back in there now and hopefully we'll have a good

gang from home there as well, making some noise. A couple of months ago, as you know, he was involved in that issue

with the UFC where he didn't want to come to the press conference, and it was interesting to see who was supporting

him, who was not. And I've wanted to ask you this for quite some time. There was a picture posted by Tom Breeze, your teammate over at TriStar,

of you two in the in the ring, we're showing it right now. And you were actually wearing a Connor McGregor T-shirt, and this was during his whole ordeal with the UFC. Were you trying to send a message, perhaps, of support

for your fellow countryman? Why were you wearing a Connor's shirt while that was... Was that a coincidence? What was going on there? Actually, I was spying Tom in the gym, and I forgot my training gear, and they had t-shirts for sale in the gym.

So, yeah, I just, I got that t-shirt. But it's one of them, like, it wasn't none of my business, or not politics or fighting or whatever. I didn't, you know, I don't get involved in anything else. You know, I can 100% understand Conner's point on it. You know, obviously he lost that fight and he really wants to be serious about his training. So, you know, from a fighter I can definitely understand that.

And nobody does more media work and everything than him. So I'm sure he's eager to get that win back. And I can understand that point of view totally. So when I saw that picture, I was like, this is the coolest thing ever. Joe Duffy, last man to beat him. You know, they're not the best of friends. They're not even teammates. Here he is subtly supporting his guy, his fellow countrymen.

What you're telling me is it was just a coincidence that you just took the first T-shirt that you can get? Pretty much. I described it in the gym. It was in, like I said, you know, I wasn't trying to make any statements or anything. And I didn't even think about it to any things. I didn't think about everything that was going on. Because, you know, I'm not one for, you know, for, you know, social media and everything else too much anyway.

So, you know, I think Tom took the photo and then, of course, it went viral. I went crazy. So I didn't, like I said, I didn't even think about the, you know, the whole implications. taking that photo with the D-Shed on. So I'm sure you saw it in the aftermath, because you got a lot of credit for that. Might as well run with that. I'm almost upset that I even asked you.

Because people were like, look at Joe Duffy. I mean, you got a ton of love for that. From media, from fans, I'm sure from a lot of people in Ireland. I thought it was the coolest thing. Like that was the first, when I think back to that, of all the people putting out support, that was the coolest thing. And now, well, now I just feel like I was told Santa Claus doesn't exist.

no well it's one of them you know like I said you know I understand you're not concerned you know but um you know it would be wrong with me to take credit for for a lot when you know that wasn't that was so were you disappointed when he lost because now you're no longer the last man to beat him

no like you know it's one of them I'm always being very patriotic since it was young you know living away from home I think it makes you a little bit a little bit more I don't know like a little bit more touchy

you know when it comes to that subject so you know I always want to see an Irish Irishman do well so you know whatever the beef is between me and Connie you know I always want to see him do well and you know it was a shame

it's a shame to see him lose that fight yeah I definitely feel he didn't perform the best of his ability and I think the second fight I think you'll take

but you know it definitely wasn't for the tag you know I'm not really a fan of the tag and I'm sure

he's not either so sure so you're predicting that he wins the second fight yeah yeah I think I think

I think Connor's Connor's got the better standup I think last time he you know we just loaded up a little bit maybe

the whole expectations he was expected you know, to knock me out straight away. And I think maybe the pressure of it all, you know, changes of opponents, all this different stuff was a factor. I think this time, I think you win, but I think it'll be on decision. I think over five rounds, you'll just, you know,

you'll stick a move, you'll pick him apart. Now, you're fighting another Canadian, Mitch Clark on Thursday. Guy who hasn't fought in quite some time, had a freak injury. I don't know if you heard about this where he was doing acupuncture. and it got stuck in his arm.

Have you seen this photo, this x-ray of the acupuncture needle stuck in his arm? You ever seen this? No, I can't say it. It's horrible. You should Google it. That kept him on the sidelines, got an infection, all this stuff. So he hasn't fought since April of 2015. It's been more than a year.

Your reaction to getting that fight. Did you like that fight? Did you even know who Mitch Clark was? How much did you know about him when you were offered this several months ago? Tell you truth, I didn't know much about Mitch. ball. You know, when I was back in the UK, I couldn't really keep an eye on all the fights

as well as I would like, because of the time difference, you know, so I was well out of the loop. You know, when I got off at the fight, I thought it was a good opportunity. You know, I know Eric and Frazra were talking about them, I think they thought there was a great opportunity

for me to show my improvements, you know, especially in the areas that I struggled in the Parade fight. So I think that was probably there's thoughts behind it. But it's a fight I'm definitely, you know, I'm excited about it because there's been in there with some great guys and everyone he fights, he gives them a hard time. I like the fight for you. I think it's a good comeback fight.

By the way, what's the vibe at TriStar these days now that GSP said he's coming back? Does everyone have a little pep in their step? Has that affected, you know, a rising tide lifts all boat? Any difference at all now that he's, you know, fully committing to coming back? I think, you know, just having George, and we have George in the gym every week. So, you know, everyone's always excited, you know, who doesn't want to work with, you know, one of the best a whole time. You know, this camp, but I've been really lucky.

You know, I've got lots of rounds in with George, you know, I've been really grateful for his help. You know, he's giving me lots of advice and, you know, I've been getting lots of drugs. in them as well. Wow. You know, it's been, it's been amazing. You know, especially for me, someone who's been a fan of George, you know, from the young age,

is being pretty surreal. But, yeah, it's always great. I mean, you look for the caliber, the guys who go in the gym, and the names who go in the gym, you know, George, Rory, you know, who couldn't have an extra pecking their step,

you know, walking into rugby. Is that, is that something like, you just hope that he's around when you're there or do you actually seek him out before camp and say look I'd love to work with you um you know can we can we schedule things together how do you get all that time with george st pierre who i'm sure is being asked to to help everyone out in the gym if possible um i think i think it kind of just happened i know um you know him and eric were discussing uh training and and i think i think that's how he came about that i guess um runs and

in my George, you know, each week. But, yeah, like you said, everyone wants a piece of his time. Everyone wants to, you know, asking questions and so on. So, you know, I think it was just, you know, the right time when I got lucky. He's going to be in Las Vegas, right? I think he's here maybe Friday or Saturday. I'm not 100% sure to tell you the truth. Okay, so I was going to ask if he's cornering you.

He will not be cornering you. No, I got there as a happy brothers. Amon's here when we know he's uh he says a low aerial he's uh

he's wearing to go himself yes when is he going to go to the UFC a lot of buzz about Faraz's younger brother Amon Zahby is he uh is he close to making

is he ready to make it into UFC is he ready to fight there uh without a doubt he's ready you know the guy that's 35 and you know

35 and he hits like he's a 170 wow you know he's got all the tools it's exciting you know I'm sure it'll all happen soon. We're eager to see it ourselves.

Yes. What a fascinating story that is going to be. Okay, so we'll wait for that for now. Looking forward to your return, one of the many intriguing fights coming up this weekend in Las Vegas. Joe Duffy against Mitch Clark, a great comeback fight for Joe Duffy, and that's taking place on Thursday, on Fight Pass at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Joe, you're a class act. I appreciate the time greatly. Best of luck to you on Thursday. Looking forward to seeing you out there. Thanks, Harold. All the best, see you should. All right, there he is. Irish Joe stopping by. Very important fight for him. Remember that fight against Dustin Porey did not go his way. So I'm looking forward to seeing how he rebounds Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Okay, let's keep the Canadian theme rolling along. Looking forward to talking to our next guest. It has been a while. I've been wanting to have her on for quite some time. We're talking to one of the very best, well, I don't know if I should call her straw weight, flyweight, phantom weight. She's kind of teetering in between, but one of the very best female fighters in the world, without a doubt, Valerie Le Tourneaux stops by right now. We're talking to her on the phone. Valerie, how are you? I'm good. Thank you. How are you?

I'm doing great. I appreciate the time. Like I said, a lot to talk to you about, what would you call yourself, by the way? Are you a strawweight, a flyweight? What are you? I don't tell myself a flyweight. Okay. I hope I'm going to get the chance of my next flight to fly at 125. It's a bad. a lot better for me for my health and unfortunately I didn't perform good for this fight but I know that I can probably do a lot better at this weight class.

Yeah, and we'll talk about the actual fight in a second but was there a drastic difference in terms of how you felt between, you know, cutting to 125 a couple weeks ago and 115 in Melbourne? Like you could tell those 10 pounds are just completely different. It changes everything for you? Oh, yeah, definitely.

I mean, for my health and even, And now, I mean, I feel good. I already can train for a fight. After Melbourne, I was out for a while because physically I was completely drained with the sweat cut. It really hurts my body. Can you even fight again at 115? Like, are you even willing to do that again?

Look, I'm, you know, like I said before, if I have to do, I'm going to do it again because I definitely want to fight. And I'm way too small for 135. That would be stupid for me. I don't think I can do any good at 135 anymore. And if I have no choice, I'm going to do it. But I don't think it's on the long way. I mean, I'm really hurting my body to do this.

Yeah. It's just not smart for you, right? I mean, it's unhealthy to put your body through that kind of. It's unhealthy, that's not for sure. But, you know, if you look at my sport, that's maybe not the healthiest in the world. That is true. It's taking time to face and everything. So it's kind of weird to say it's not healthy.

Of course, you know. I mean, I feel I'm hurting my body more in a long way than any other kind of thing that can happen in a fight. It is, of course, unhealthy to get punched in the face. But to get punched in the face when you're severely dehydrated is even more dangerous, right? So, I mean, you're sort of double. Exactly. Dave, Dave, they've now. I just thought I had some problem with my liver, and now I'm starting to worry if it's because of all those wet cuts.

Oh. So I got to check with the doctor. We're going to do more tests. But I just hope I didn't do anything that is going to damage my body in a long term. What's the problem with your liver, if you don't mind me asking? I don't know yet. They just saw after the fight, they did some tests, and they saw that I had some enzyme in my blood. So my liver is not working properly.

So this is something that I didn't know before the fight. I'm going to get that checked. But this is, I just hope I didn't do anything with my weight cut that that kind of hurt my body in a long way. Wow. Is it possible that this can affect your fighting future? I have no clue. Okay. It's full questions I have right now, so I cannot really talk more about it.

But I need to see more special. This new way in where you're able to weigh in, you know, in the morning and then they do the sort of fake one later. Did that, I mean, obviously, fighting on 125, cutting to 125 helped you regardless of when the way in was. But did that help you at all in terms of getting re- Amazing. It was amazing. That thing is just amazing. This is such a great idea for us.

I don't know about other fighters, but this is so smart because especially with no IV now, that give us more time to rehydrate. I think it's better for everyone. Okay. It's better for the fighter. And I think the fighter is going to perform better during the fight. also and we're up to do all these interview and everything we're supposed to do around the fight also which is really hard to do when you completely dehydrate and drain like that. Seems like everyone likes it and they're doing it this weekend in Las Vegas so that is good to hear as well for the three fights.

So let's talk about the fight itself. Obviously it was a little bit controversial because you seem to have issues with your gear. Is that accurate? Can you explain to us and I know this is maybe a bit of a sensitive topic but when did you realize that this was going to affect your performance because clearly it did, the Reebok gear just wasn't fitting you right, correct? Well, even when I was warming up in the back, I changed twice because I had three tops. I had the same top. I had the Reebok tub that we have to wear and I have another top under. And then I had that decision with the Reebok team two days before the fight because they told

me in my championship fight, we could see I was wearing another top. under the official top. And they say, you can wear something under, but it needs to be hide under the official top. The official top is so low. I mean, even if I wear something under, I mean, there's no, I don't know, I'll say that. I mean, if you move the top a little bit,

it's going to show my moves. And the old fight, I was worried, I was pulling it, I was uncomfortable. And what happened in the turn, she literally pulled my, The three tops went all the way down. And I honestly thought that everybody saw my breath until I could see the fight myself. So my face, I wasn't hurt at all when she gave me a front kick to the face.

And when I grabbed my chest, it wasn't because I was hurt. I just saw that everybody saw my breath. I was just very embarrassed. So that was the word face I had. And she, I don't know what she told me. me because we kind of spoke a little bit. She repeats something twice, and I couldn't understand what she was saying. So I know I just had to keep fighting, but this is not something we should think about when we fight.

Sure. And that's not the reason why I love the fight. It has nothing to do. She kicked me twice to the body. Really hurts me. And the last fix she does has nothing to do with the top. And that's not what I said also. I think people kind of twist my world on some one site.

But I mean, win or lose this fight, this is something I have to talk about because this shouldn't happen. This is not something I should have to think about during the fight. And even for her, I mean, I'm lucky that she didn't jump on me when I kind of cover my breast because first it would be very embarrassing for me. But for her, just to stop, she's in the momentum. You stop the fight because someone has to replace her sports bro. it shouldn't happen. It's not fair for both of us.

Do you think that she, I mean, just ask you, do you think she did that on purpose? I don't know. I don't want to think that, honestly. I'm not,

even if she's doing it in purpose, I think she shouldn't be able to do that. If the top would be higher, with the different material, it would be definitely safer. So the good thing is I had a meeting with Reebok. Yeah. They call me.

They were, They apologize for everything that happens during the fight, and then hopefully we're going to have better gear very soon for the ladies, because there's a lot of choice for the shorts, but we have only one sports bra for the fight. And the reason why I always read the tank up, because once I saw the fight with Elizabeth Phillips, there is no way I'm going to wear only the sports bra.

Sure. Yeah, so I was told that they reached out to you and they brought you to their headquarters in Boston to look at stuff, to talk at stuff. to talk about stuff. Is that, is that what happened last week? Yeah, that's what happened. And to be honest, I think I met a really good team and I trust them to do something better. I saw what they did with the Crestes. They did it amazing in a very short time. So I trust them to do something good for us.

I know they need time, but I don't know what kind of gear they're going to do for for everybody, but for the fighting stuff, this is serious. Yeah. When we get there, we don't have to worry about whatever's going on with our clothes. Were you shocked when you got that call to come out to Boston to look at stuff and hearing how apologetic they were about what happened? Did that surprise you? In a nice way, yes.

I wasn't that surprised because I kind of saw how big it became with the media, and I wasn't expecting that. I was just mad when I post something on my Facebook because my daughter told me that it's the commentator in French actually. It's not the UFC. I think it was Kenny Floreen that was commenting in English, but it was in French and she said he was kind of making fun of me because I was complaining about being kicking in a breast. And I was really pissed up because so I would never complain about anything like that. I don't care. I get kicking the boots every day.

I don't even feel it. There's no, what was embarrassing for me was, I don't want to see my breath on the big screen and everywhere on internet. Yeah, yeah. That's what was going on in my mind. So that last sequence where you turned your back to her, was that not because you were hurt? Was that because you thought that that happened?

No, no. The last shot is because I was hurt. Okay. Pretty bad. Okay. It has nothing to do it. If you look at the third round, there's one part you see when she did.

She does the front kick to the face. And then I grabbed my chest right away. It was not under pain. It was just to cover my breath. And no, but the last shot, I had nothing to do with myself. I was really badly hurt. Do you feel like the fight was stopped too late? After I watch it, I think it could have stopped,

but there's many ways I can see that. Because I couldn't remember, she knows me. out honestly when she came back with I think she gives me an elbow in the back and the spinning back since again that knocked me out that's when I fell on the floor um it should have been stopped but at the same time maybe the rest wanted to give me a chance to come back maybe there's a lot of maybe but honestly I was not I think when you turn your back this way and I didn't realize how far I walk holding my my ribs

when I watched the fight I think yes it should have been stuff it could have been stuff before I didn't need it to be knock out on top of it sure exactly

did you suffer any serious rib injury there or any other kind of serious injury well serious it's just my the cartilage which is doesn't seem that serious

but it's just very painful and as I said the other part it was two different kick one hurts my liver and the other one hurts my Yeah. Kind of crack my cartilage.

Oh, wow. Between the sternum and the rib. So I think this is something. I did that a couple years ago. I had the same kind of injury in boxing, so I know I was going to take me a couple weeks, but it's not a big deal. It's more about my health. I need to make sure that my liver is fine for us.

Yeah. When is your appointment to find out more about that? I'm going to see the UFC doctor this week in Vegas. Okay. You're going out. no more. Okay. And obviously, good luck with that.

Have you talked to them about the 125 division after the fight? Have they said, okay, we're going to keep you there or we're going to start this division? Any insight? I have no clue yet. I think I'm going to get to meet everybody in Vegas and be able to talk with more people this week. Okay. You're going to pit. You're going to campaign.

I hope we're going to keep the 125. Yeah. I mean, to me, it feels like it's a no-brainer at this point. There's enough women who are in your position where too small for 135, too big for 115. If you're going to do 135 and 115, you have to give people that option, right? There's too big of a gap. Yeah. It's too big of a gap, especially for women.

Right. Even 10 pounds is a big gap. So 20 is just. For professional promotion like the UFC, I think they need to do more to get more weight class for the women. And when you left Boston meeting with Reebok people, did they tell you we're going to drastically change things? and if so, like, will that be ready for your next fight, do you think? What did they tell you as far as timeline? No, they're not going to have new gear ready for my next fight,

but there's a lot of things that we can do. I mean, I'm going to do some tests before the fight. They're going to send me some stuff, and you can adjust. I could have got a bigger top and then try to... I'm totally going to make them redesign the top. that they already have, but I'm going to have to do some tests before the fight. So I'm going to order a couple things from Reebok.

Okay. See how I can make this stuff more. It's better for myself until the new gear. Because it takes a while. They told me it can take from 9 to 15 months to design new things and to really, I mean, make enough gear for all the fighters. Yeah, yeah. By the way, before I let you go, I wanted to ask you about the Straway title fight.

I know you don't want to fight in that division anymore due to health reasons, but you have fought, Ioanni M. Jacek and Claudia Agadalia. You've been in there with both of them. Who's your pick? Who do you think wins? Yeah, I know you were going to ask me that. And to be honest, I really, this is one fight. One hour I'm going to think, Klogea is going to win the other one.

The other one's going to think, yeah, Yuanah's going to win. I really have no clue. It's hard for me to pick. I respect both fighters. They're both, like, so talented in a different way. I don't know. I don't know. I really don't know.

Are you leaning towards? I mean, it was a close fight the first time they fought. Like, does your heart maybe lean towards one, or is it really a toss-up? I really can't say. I think we're going to win this fight because, you know, I know if they keep it to, if you want can keep her distance. She's just going to outstrike Claudia. And I know if Closier is able to cut that distance,

I think the fight is going to finish pretty quick. Oh. So we'll see. We know whose game plan is going to work. But, I mean, it's hard. I cannot even say, to be honest. Who do you think won the first fight? Did you see their first fight?

Oh, I think Clodio won the first fight. Okay. Interesting. She won the first fight. I've been watching a couple times and I would give it to Claudia. But I feel like both can adjust so much. When you already felt someone, you know where they're going to be strong, where they're going to be weak.

And I think I kind of show some opening with Yuana in the last fight because she always won her fight so quick. But now it was a five-round that Logiar can really take a look at and use that as an advantage in her training camp. But, you always have a plan and you get there. It doesn't always work your way. So I don't know. It's hard for me to take it on them.

Okay. But for the first fight, I really feel like I'll win this first fight. Here's one that might be easier to predict for you. Misha Tade Amanda Nunes. Who do you think wins that? I'm taking for Nunes, for sure. I think Amanda have more chance than people think to win this fight, to be honest. And listen, I train with this girl.

She's a beast. She's a beast, and she's a lot better than what she's shown in most of her fights. If she can leave that all there, I mean, she has a good chance to win this fight. Wow. So have you, I mean, obviously not the last couple weeks because you're recovering, but you actually trained with her leading up to your fight and while she was trying to peek as well? Not leading up to this fight. No, no.

Because, no, we were fighting, like, different type of people. And, no, and she's fighting for a championship fight. She needs a specific training, specific training partner for that fight more like Misha. So, but we were always at the gym at the same time and I've been watching her spot, bar and everything. I mean, she's just a beast. I am telling you. If she can fight the same way as she's firing the gym, she's going to win this fight.

There's no doubt about it. You thinking finish or are you thinking, decision when? Finish. Oh, wow. Submission or KOTKO? I am not going to give you her game plan. All right, all right.

Fair enough. Fair enough. You will be there in Las Vegas to watch it live? Yeah, I'm going there. I'm leaving tomorrow. Okay, great. Well, enjoy that. I appreciate the time very much.

Good luck to you with your doctor appointment and everything, and I hope everything works out great and that you feel better and that we get to see you in there with. with proper fitting clothes, better clothes, better gear, and that, you know, everything goes well and that you can fight at 125 where you are most comfortable. Thank you very much, Valerie. All the best. I appreciate the time today. Have a good thing. You too. There she is, Valerie Let's her know. One of the best fighters at 125, hoping to stick around at 125, and hopefully they do institute that weight class. Too big of a gap between 135

and 115. And most importantly, hopefully they get proper gear where it doesn't affect. affect the fighters. There's enough to worry about. All right, let's move along. Beginning of the show, we spoke to Bruce Buffer, as I said, part of the fabric of the UFC. Another voice, another face that is part of the fabric of the UFC that fans just feel like, okay, this is the UFC. When I think of the UFC, one of the main people that I think of is our guest at this time. He is the longtime play-by-play man of the UFC. He is Mike Goldberg. He'll be calling the action on Saturday UFC 200. He's got the best seat in the house as well. He's joining us right now on the phone. Mike, how are you? I'm good, bud. How are you? I'm doing great. I can hear the excitement in your voice. Now, you're calling 200.

Are you calling Thursday or Friday as well? I'm doing the weigh-ins on Thursday for Friday show, but Joe and I will strictly call UFC 200 on Saturday night, of course, starting on Fight Pass and FS1, and the Big Five on pay-per-view. Now, do you like that more? Do you like that more? or are you the kind of guy that wishes he can do all of them? I mean, seven hours, you guys don't get enough credit for calling seven straight hours, and when there's pay-per-view involved, there's no commercial. I've seen you run back to the bathroom and they have to sprint back to your seat. So that's enough, I would imagine.

But do you kind of wish you were doing them all? Well, you know, my trips to the restroom, as you know, Ariel, become some of legend. And I guess there's games on Twitter and everything that goes along with it. But, yeah, when we first made the transition to Fox, I remember, like it was yesterday, the big press conference. And basically, everybody talked about that we would do more events total. And Lorenzo Petita said, basically, we need to bring in more talent because Goldie and Rogan could not do every show and have any type of normal life if they tried to do 30, 35. I mean, you talked about it all the time, but you talk about the number.

of shows that we now do per year. So yeah, I think my schedule is demanding enough, but I also am excited about every show. Could I do Thursday, Friday, and Saturday? Yeah, if I had another month and a half to prep, I probably could. But just like your job and every job that we see in television or radio or obviously, you know, backstage and front of the stage,

there's a lot more to it than putting on the headset and calling fights. It's that prep time aerial that really would present me from being able to do every single fight card that we do inside the octagon. Okay, so then let me ask you, it's Tuesday afternoon, five or so days before the biggest card in UFC history, UFC 200, we've been talking about this for a year. The card speaks for itself. What is Mike Goldberg doing other than talking to me here? I mean, what's your Tuesday like? How do you prepare for an endeavor quite like this? Well, my prep usually begins about two and a half to three weeks out. And that's when we get what we call our combo features.

And people are familiar with, you know, the doubleheads in the music. And it could be Hapiella Sunsown and T.J. Dillishaw. And then we go under the feature, you know, former UFC champion, T.J. Dillishaw. So those are written and pre-voiced about three weeks out. And then when we get about 10 days out, I start to write some of the leads. start to go through our sponsored elements and our billboards and write some of the transitions that are pre-produced and I have a studio here at the house and so then after I write everything I record it I send it to the guys who will get it ready to be on the air so that's about 10 days out

and now I'm to the point where I've gone through all the sponsorship elements area I've gone through all the transitions and now it's down to the content and the content is my bios on each and every fighter. And, you know, don't be mistaken. I could have Michael Bisping fighting for the 26th time, but I still study his bio every single time because there's always something different as each man continues or each woman continues their career.

So now it's truly what I'm going to be ready and prepared for when it comes down to the fighters, the matchups, and the particular leads at role cues into some of our many features on Saturday night. So it's interesting that you say two and a half, three weeks before you start to prepare for an event. As you know now, there could be, you know, a stretch where there's two weeks in a row, maybe sometimes even three weeks in a row. Is it tough to do that to prepare the right?

Like this time has been nice because you've had a little bit of a break since your last one, I believe was $1.99. As a broadcaster, it's got to be a lot easier now when you're not kind of skipping ahead and going backwards, right? It is tough. And there have been times where I've had two in a row. and we have some back-to-backs coming up, or three and four weeks, which is what I'm looking at right now.

And so I've really got to be consistent with my training and consistent with my prep. And I've got to stay ahead of UFC 200, because if not, then the UFC on Fox in Chicago is going to be right up against it. And then before we know it, we're going to be talking UFC 201. And if I start kind of going all over the road,

Ariel, I'm going to think Robbie Lawler's fighting on Saturday. really nice. Wait, which fight is the end? Yeah, yeah. So I do. I try to really keep them separated, keep them compartmentalized and prepare for one at a

time, but yes, when I'm trying to do the final preps, for example for a UFC 200 and some of the producers and some of the editors are looking for the pre-produced elements or me to write a few things for the next show, which would be the UFC

on Fox and Chicago, That does get a little taxing, does get a little difficult because obviously when I get to Thursday, Friday, and show day, I only want to think about UFC 200. I only want to think about the fights and the leads and the transitions that I have to accomplish that night. Okay, now, honest answer here, okay? You look at this 200 card. What's the fight that sticks out that you say, I cannot wait for this. I mean, there's so many to choose from, but there's got to be one. There's always one child that you like a little more.

What's the one that sticks out? come on Joseo Aldo Frankie Ed Wow I wasn't expecting that Why Because Joseo

although to me is one of the most entertaining and destructive fighters who have ever entered the Octagon and I know

I didn't you know recreate the wheel there I know the whole world knows that but he's one of my favorites

and the only W.E.C. that was ever on pay-per-view Joe and I called and it was Jose Aalgo Uriya

favor too and all those leg kicks to the point area where late in the fight it was painful to commentate that fight and it was one of those instances where i was like euryo was too tough for his own good i mean enough already and jose a although got clipped by connor mcgregor and it seems to me like a lot of the world because he got clipped and everybody can get caught has forgotten about how dominant and how great a fighter Jose Algo is. So I want to see him get his rightful chance to earn back what was his for so long. And then you put him up against Frankie Edgar, who to me, we talk about like the greatest upsets of all time. You talk about obviously the Matt, Sarah, GSP. Most

people would say that. To me, the greatest upset of all time was in Abu Dhabi when Frankie Edgar beat BJ Penn. Because BJ Penn was the man at that time. And it's funny, I was talking to one of the doctors who was working with Frankie and his crew at the time. And he said to me on show day, Ariel, he said, Frankie's going to shock the world tonight. And I looked at him and I said, there is not a chance. And I kept keep it clean for you. I said there's not a chance that that's going to happen. And sure enough, not only did Frankie beat BJ that night, he beat him again more decisively.

and then he finished him in the third fight as well. So I'm a huge Jose Albo fan. I want to see him get a chance to get that belt back, even though it is the interim belt. And for Frankie Edgar, what has he done throughout his career other than be a warrior unlike any other? In the main event,

and great answer, by the way. In the main event, it's obviously John Jones versus Daniel Cormier. You sat with Cormier while Jones returned back at UFC 197, and there's that great shot. of Jones exiting the cage and then flipping off Daniel. What was it like just sitting next? Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, right? What was it like sitting next to Daniel as he's watching?

Because I thought he was very professional. He was complimentary. I mean, he called it pretty much straight. But that experience of sitting next to Cormier watching his biggest rival, the man he's about to fight again and knowing the history there. And then Jones walking out on the FU, like just what were things that you were reading from him? Did he turn? He was kind of playing it off.

but from your perspective, what was it like? You know, D.C. was exactly what you said he was trying to do. He was professional. He was on the air. We were live. That was not the forum to take shot at John Jones. They have plenty of time for those forums, which have been all these press conferences and all the interviews, all the times you've spoken to them and everybody else has.

The one thing that I read, which was interesting, though, Ariel, is, that DC more than once kind of had a look and spoke on the John Jones performance like he had missed a potential opportunity, meaning that John did not look like the John Jones, who is considered by some is the greatest of all time. John came back with that octagon rush, which Dominic Cruz says doesn't exist. But we saw a John Jones in a no-win situation against OSP,

play it safe for perhaps the first time in his fight career. And D.C. looked at that as maybe an opportunity that was missed. I should have gotten when he came fresh off the shelf when he'd been gone for so long. And as I sat there and I kind of heard that or, you know, overheard that, I didn't want to push the point because there's the other side of Daniel Cormier, the competitor, who really at the end of the day, he doesn't want to beat that, John Jones. He wants to beat the John Jones that's going to be prepared to fight on Saturday night, the best form of John Jones.

So D.C. saw some holes in John Jones' game that night, Ariel. But I think more than anything, I think D.C. knows that those holes won't exist when they meet at UFC 200. So Brock is back. He's moonlighting. He's coming back for a cup of coffee while he's still in WW. 11 years ago, famously you were offered that contract by Vince McMahon. How often you're do you think about it? Do you ever have nights where you're like, man, I wonder what would have? You know that movie's sliding doors, take one, you know. Do you ever think about that at this point?

Like, wow. Not anymore. Never? Not anymore. How long? How long? You know what I think of? I think of it is it was, and I've talked to you about it before, I was flattered.

I mean, they do what they do better than anybody in the world. I'm not a big WWE guy from old school. the Hulk Hogan days. And Mean Gene O'Korlin is the man. And Mean Gene lives in Sarasota, Florida. And my first job out of school, out of college, many, many years ago, 1986 at Channel 40 in Sarasota, I used to see Meen Jean at a place called Blueberry Hill on Siesta Key.

And Meen Jean O'Kerlin and The Hulk, I mean, that was what it was all about. And so when they came towards me and gave me the author, I was flattered. It was overwhelming in a positive sense, but I wanted to see where the ship that I had traveled on for so long was actually going

to dock. I knew where the WWE was. They were extremely successful. I watched the first WrestleMania in college. They were buttoned up. They were moving back to USA. All was fine. The UFC was getting there and was

getting better and it was spiked, but we hadn't quite seen where that ship was going to dock. And now seeing where that ship is docked and where it continues to go port by port, I think I would have been heartbroken. Even if I was very satisfied with the job at the WWE aerial, I think I would have been heartbroken by not being part of historic events like this Saturday. And the many that have come beforehand and the many that we have still ahead is 201, 202 with, Connor and Nate. I made the right decision. My bosses, you know, made it so I could make the right

decision and I'm thankful for that. Yeah, I mean, wow. If you asked me, you 100% made the right decision. You would be, I mean, wow, what a gamble was because you were going with the, you know, the sort of upstart. It was only 12 years old at the time. But holy moly did a workout. And you stuck with what you knew better. You were more of a, you know, real sports and calling the action. you have been with the UFC. In 1997, right? That was your first show. So you're approaching your 20 year?

Yeah, December 1997. And you just said an interesting thing, real sports. Yeah. And I've nothing but respect for the WWE, but it's different. Yeah. And I remember talking to my boss at Fox at the time because I was doing college football. I was doing ACC Sunday night hoops. And I talked to him about the possibility of doing both.

And he basically said, once you cross that road and go to the other side, you can't do both. You can't be taken seriously by what was the Pact 10 at that time, Ariel, or the Big 12 or the Atlantic Coast Conference and doing Sunday Night Hoops, North Carolina, and Duke is the studio host. You can't do both. So the UFC and my friendships and my journey that started in 1997, that was priority one, but you bring up a great point.

The fact that real sports and other real sport opportunities could go by the wayside was also a huge part of my decision at the time. And so, as you know, you don't need me to tell you this. Rogan and Goldie, part of the fabric, like I said, at the UFC, people are so accustomed to hearing your voices. They love what you guys have done for the sport. A couple months ago on this show, Joe Rogan said, I'm not trying to put you on the spot here, but he said, if they do sell, he's out.

What does that mean for Mike Goldberg? That's your guy. That's your right-hand man. What does that mean for you? You know what? It does mean that. And, you know, we have been together a long time, and I would hate to see that to be the case. I hope Joe and I continue to do shows for a long, long time.

And people have kind of noticed. Joe's cut back a little bit on some of the big travel shows. Yeah. He's got a lot of other things going on. And that doesn't mean that he doesn't love the UFC, and he doesn't love his job. He still calls his job that he performs next to me, the greatest job in the world. And I agree with him because I have the greatest job in the world as well. We just have the play-by-play and the color commentary.

Working with Joe over the years has been so seamless and thank you for the compliments. It's come out so successfully that it's not the same. That said, when I'm sitting by a Brian Stan in Curitiba, Brazil, and there's 45,000 in attendance, and Cyborg comes in and does what we figured she would do against Leslie Smith. It's still pretty awesome. And, you know, I have, you know, one daughter who lives in New York City already. I have another that's going to be in college for a few years. So sale or not, I love Joe to death, but, you know, I got to stick around a little while.

Okay. You know, I guess I'm Batman and he's Robin. I got to stay around a little while, even if he leaves, I got to find myself another partner. Maybe I'll, you know, be with Superman or something. Have you asked him if he, I mean, his contract's up in August. That's a month away. Have you asked him? Do you know?

Break some news for us. No, not really. You know, Joe and I've never really, we never really delve into the business side. Okay. Of the UFC, kind of one of those, hey, what are they doing for you? What are they? We've just always avoided it. And I think that's why our chemistry and our relationship has always been so good

because we just don't enter those areas that, could end up, you know, resulting in jealousy or dissatisfaction with your job or why is he getting this and he's not getting that in life. You know, you've got to look at your own situation and you're a perfect example of that, my friend. You've got to look at your own situation, see what's on the table, realize how blessed you are, and not worry about what everybody else has. You know, the old saying is, the grass is always greener. Well, yeah, the grass is always greener, but when it is, you should fertilize your own lawn and not run over to the other grass. It is what I did with the WWE decision.

So we don't talk about that kind of stuff. We just have a ton of fun every time we get started. Welcome once again to the ultimate fighting championship. My partner is always Joe Roe. I got goosebumps hearing you say that. Okay, two last quick things before I let you go. First one, I'll ask you the same question I ask Bruce, and you probably answer this a thousand times,

but I feel like it's apropos to ask this this week. Is there one fight that sticks out, your favorite fight that you've called? You know, I kind of knew you were going to ask that question. And we're talking probably 2,500 fights. Yes. Man, you know, I was thinking about this, and I don't know if it's my favorite fight overall, but because if you talk about your favorite fight from an absolute fight,

from an action point of view, you go into like the Dan Henderson Shogun world or the Diego Sanchez Gilbert Melendez world. Those were just, you know, those were crazy. But I was thinking about driving home last night because I knew I was going to talk to you about it.

It's the Anderson Silva kick up the middle against Vitor Belvoir. Wow. Because it's on that highlight reel before every show. And I oftentimes watch that, and I'll say to Joe, that will never get old.

That highlight never gets old. I'm sure it gets old. It's really old to Vitor in his fans and family. But that Anderson Silva moment against Vitor Belvoir, unbelievable. And I'm going to throw one at you that's kind of the wild card because, again, I was watching some stuff yesterday. Edson Barboza's wheel kick against Terry Adams

and the way that Terry was knocked out and went down. Those would be the two most dynamic knockouts. that I can think of as we talk right now. And it's, Anderson is just such an amazing athlete and the things that he accomplished. But, you know, every time he fought Vitor in obviously different situations, but that night I thought, you know what, Anderson's in for a fight. And the way he ended it, obviously has left a lasting impression in my mind. Okay, here's a curveball for you.

Last one. P.K. Suban to the Predators. dumb trade or dumbest trade ever? TBD, to be the term. Come on, Mike. Love Shea Weber. Horrible.

Love Shea Weber. Come on, Mike. But here's the deal, though. And we don't know what's happening in the room, the room, meaning the locker room, meaning the entire character and cohesiveness of the Montreal Canadiens. Because it's not about Cheever, not being beloved, and being the true leader of the Nashville Predators.

P.K. P.K. Subram is one of the few hockey guys. I think we have less than 20, let's say, Ariel, who really does have that pizzazz and that showman's shipping. He's got a little bit of edge, which we love to watch. But did it just wear down his bosses, his teammates, his coaches? Was he at times uncoachable? Was he that unbroken young cult that you couldn't wheel back into your system?

that's why I think the trade was made because you put the two up against each other and you got younger, faster, more productive. P.K. Subat, yeah, Shea Weber, an absolute stud, but Shea's older. He's got more mileage on the odometer. And he plays a way different game, way different game. So to me, it's got to be something that wasn't working in the locker room. PK finally rubbed his bosses the wrong way,

one too many times, and they pulled the trigger. you know, what's going to be really interesting is what happens in Montreal, because Nashville will move on, and they won't micro-examine it like they do on Morayal in LeBelle-Pol-Von-Von. And that'll be the thing that we're going to see when the season starts is the first few times that Che Weber is not as effective as P.K. Suban, the whole Montreal Canadian organization is going to be under that microscope. So I really do. I think time will tell. Was I shocked by that trade? Yes, I absolutely was. Big weekend for you, big weekend for the sport, but I had to get a hockey question in there, especially after that.

I'm still not over it. I love that. A horrible day in Montreal last week when they traded P.K. Subban. Mike, great to have you on. Great stuff. Good luck this weekend. Looking forward to seeing you and listening to the call. I'm usually in the back listening to it as well.

So thank you very much for all that you do. And good luck as you call UFC 200 this Saturday. Always my pleasure. You know, you're a great friend, and I respect your work in such a high regard, bud. You do it the best of anybody. And I really appreciate you having me on this week. It's going to be a lot of fun. Thank you very much. There he is. Mike Goldberg, long time play-by-playman for the UFC has been with the company since 1997, and he'll be the one calling UFC 200 along with Joe Rogan on Saturday night. Okay, let us transition now. Let's go to our next guest, joining us via the magic of Skype, one of the very best middleweights in the world, the one of only Yoel Romero stopping by, the soldier of God himself. Yuel, how are you, my friend? It's me. There he is. Yoel, good to see you.

And you have a translator here with you. Thank you very much for the time. Okay, so there is a lot to talk to you about, Yoel. In exactly one week, July 12th, you are a free man. Your suspension is up. What are the emotions now that you can resume your career? How are you feeling about this? Well, no, Mr. Mithuya, I'm very much, too.

career, how you're feeling of this? You know, I'm excited, you know. I'm excited, you know, I'm very excited, you know, because I want to come back, you know, I want to the people see next time again, the people see again, I work Romero in our team, you know. I'm training a lot, I never stop. I'm very excited. I'm very excited.

Okay, so here's the thing. A few weeks after your fight against Jacari, which you won, it comes out that you had failed this test, provisionally suspended, and then the entire MMA world goes against you. They take shots at you, they call you cheater, this, and the other thing. Now you only get a six-month suspension. We find out that the supplement was tainted, you know, that you were sort of falsely accused of being a cheater.

Do you feel like your integrity, your reputation was ruined? Even though it came out that you took this stuff, you didn't know it was tainted, you didn't mean to do anything wrong, do you feel like you were subject to unfair shots and that people owe you an apology, that it wasn't fair what people said about you? A few months ago,

the last month ago, played against Icarat and he'd ranate. Saliered in the results of the exam of urine that was involved in PD, it, but it was, it was

that was that was in that in that in the middle in the was

doing that doing doing many accusations you you think there there

there should be a in the in the amount of I was I'm the

the supposed The other the after the after the after the of the

of the and the other four and the other six that were before the

before the before the four or five of the day all the time the time

that it was the time of the day of the day of the day of the allian all right

I want to make real clear that every single test that has been done on me has always

been very clear the five tests that they did during the training camp and the day before, the night before the fight, the final exam, all of those came out negative. Came out to me. For me, it was something very dolorous, something very, it was very confused, because I am a man clean,

never has never taken steroids, never will be to take, I'm going to I'm against the steroids. For me no problem that

make proof when they're even even all these things that have passed is good

because many faces fuses, many mudas have reduced

he's always been against steroids he's never touched steroids and he's always been

willing and open to take as many tests, exams whatever needs to be done to prove

his merit in this but in a way he did get a chance to realize how many false faces, how many Judas there are around him. He had around him. He don't want to give a excuse. I'm conscious of all my career of deputiva, since I've been from eight years, until today, I've 31 years as an athlete. He doesn't need anyone to apologize. He's very conscientious of his athletic career. He started training at eight

years of age. He's been an athlete for 31 years. He's good. And I think... And I think... And I think... ...that it's... ...that it's been a lot of my career has been limp, because they're going to see the same I was Romero, that have seen as from what is the...

...their wrestling, until that what is the M.M.A., the Santa Martial is mist. They're going to be the same Joe Romero now when they're going to be. And maybe will be able to be more of that city. And the proof is in the pudding. You're going to see the same exact Joel Romero that you've seen ever since his wrestling career and ever since he started his M.M.A. career.

As a matter of fact, you might see an even better role in your all of Mero because he will come with more aggression. Because until now have seen him, John Romero, that has been knowing what was the santaing martial. He's learning of what was at the Martialis. Because I'm a pioneer

in what is the art of martialial. He feels that what you've seen up till now has been a you all know

that is learning martial arts that's becoming a better martial artist that he was just in his infancy in the sport.

Now I'm with a little more of a decidity I'm going to put a little more of,

as we say we have a little more of a song. He's going to put a... Now he's going to come with a little bit more aggression. Like us Hispanics say

with a little bit of sassum, which is spiciness. Yes. You know, the people, when not so they're not feeling comod with something, they're like to apart it. If you don't you sit there, you're not to sit down in a chair,

you try to move it. And try to not sit at that sea. but they're going to to have to sit in and that Cia

and that's not so no more that I'm not as I'm going to get back

there's there as there as a number one contender at the title

but I am there and I be there for a good a good

a rado when people feel uncomfortable in certain situations they

try to move that situation away they try to get rid of it

when there's a chair that you don't feel comfortable and you try to adjust

the that you sit or he tried to avoid the chair all together. But this chair is Joel Romero and he's going to be sitting in this chair as the number one contender and some for a long time. And I don't know I'm asking. My family

taught me something. I don't ask. What's your, you do not ask for it. You don't say, you don't say, I don't say, give me the He doesn't say, let me have the keys to my car, please.

He just goes and takes it. Because it's his. What you're pities is because it's not your. What you ask for is because it's not yours. I don't have to pay, give me the chance to the title. He doesn't need to ask, give me a chance for the title. Give me the title. He's earned it.

He's earned it. I'm going to get with his mind. Okay, so let me ask you this. And by the way, tremendous answer. The talk was, before this happened, that after beating Jacare, you were the number one contender. Do you think you lost a shot at the belt because you were suspended? You were supposed to fight in June, the next title fight. And now that you're free, now that it's up in a week, do you think that you are going to get the next title shot?

When you You're going to You're the contendium No one I'm He is the number one

Number 1 So You You think you've You've You've You're

You're Because the subprosal in June And you're You're No, I never have I've

I've No, I'm As you You're You're You're When you is when you

when you get a battle. He hasn't lost anything he is the number

one contender nobody in the middle weight in my class

in the middle way nobody nobody no in middle weight in his

weight is is set no one in the top 10 is in 7

0 nobody is without a loss only only only only

one only one only There's only one that has no losses. And that's Yul O'Romanero. He's the number one contender for the title. He's the that everyone has tried to turn their back on or cut or avoid as much strength. Every that you said,

Pellas with Fulano, you have a pelea with Juerre Romero, everyone is, I'm decedionado, no, I'm not I'm ready for the play, I have a rodia, I'm, I'm dishees a mujewa, me parted a muil, me parted a muil, I'm a pain, my earha. I have a catarrow. Every time that the UFC has put a fight in front of him,

there's always been an excuse on avoidance. I have a broken wrist, I have a hurt knee, I have a cold, I have a hurt jaw, I have a tooth that's aching. Only with my respect, because, as I mean, like I said one, The one that he said, my respect for Dioto,

they said, I'm Romero, the kid, I don't get him. I got him. Respect for. The one that he says, Mitch,

respect for, all respect for, is Vioto. Do you, hey, you, are them out? I'm ready.

So, have you or your management been told that you're next, that you're going to get the first shot of Michael Bisping as champion? To have a

John, I've said, that if you're the next, that you're going to get the opportunity. It's been spoken. It's been spoken about slightly.

So that's what you're expecting. You want the title shot next, nothing else. You want the title shot next, more nothing else. You want to know, it's me. It's his. Okay. No, I'm going. Okay, so how about this situation?

Michael Bisping was one of the most outspoken critics of yours when this came out. Said a lot of things about you. Is this a perfect scenario for you that he's the champion now and that you can get a chance to prove him wrong? Is this perfect for you

in your opinion? Michael Brisbane was, it was, caca, about him. Yeah. When he passed all the...

I'm not saying, sorry, I'm not saying, hello, Mike. Hello, Mike. Hello, Mike. And now! It's the time.

You have the bell, right? Oh, my. I go for you, right? You say, you don't want to fight with somebody to speak English? And now I learn English. And now I learn the English. You know? See your song, bro.

See your son. So what do you make of him talking about Dan Henderson, GSP's trying to get in there, Jacques, ére. What do you make of all this, talk? good. I have respect, very respect for the two guys, for the head, for everybody, you know. Their hand is the name for the sport.

Yeah. GSP, I have, you know, I have a good respect for you too, you know. But it's the, what is what it is. That handism is a number 12. GSP is a 170, 170. He's two years, three years, three years, two years out. You know. Jakaray, he lost with me, you know.

He lost the chance. When the mind-beats been taking the opportunity, he lost the chance. And now they're really, they're really man. For the, we need a goal for the title. It's me. And I come back. And now. The chance is my.

It's my chance, you know, because I take it. No matter to give me, I take it. How do you feel about the six-month suspension that you got? Was that fair, or were you trying to get zero? Did you think that you deserved zero? How do you feel the six months of suspension that they gave? You think that that's correct? Or you're not looking at a zero?

Yeah. We're looking for a zero. We're doing from the joint. You know, because I'm not a cheater. Yeah. He's not a cheater. I'm not a cheater. I'm very morato.

I'm hungry. There's, he's, he feels, there's a bunch of different emotions meeting each other. He, he feels horrible. He's, you know, he's hungry. He's, he's a lot of angst over something that was false. If I'm going to do something and I did a fauna, brother, I think I've I, I know that I've got to commit, as a baron,

that you have to have been today. As a baron, you have to take the responsibility of what you did. Comed it's a fault? Well, if you had to say, if you make a mistake, if you would have made a mistake, him like a man, which, that sense of being has been lost a lot today, he would have sat in the chair of the accused

put his head down and accepted the fact and I made it yeah I did it I'm sorry you know But he didn't do it I don't need it

I don't need it You know why because I don't need it I don't need it because God give me the talent When I'm feeling that God

When I feel that God When I feel like he He gets a talent I retire When he feels That God takes The talent From him

He's retired from the sport. That's it. That's me. I'd love every day, the young, my, of the companions

of the people outside, in the street, respect to that in training. I, me have created with that in my

conscience, of, that's, the more in- the more, the more is the that is the more in-threnner.

He's been brought off. with the mindset of whoever trains the most, whoever trains the hardest, whoever does it correctly is who's gonna win. There's never been a cheating aspect brought into his methodology into his training. No, it's in my culture, in my ensignance,

to make things fast, and always have been of the things difficult, you know, entranal, without a hat, to get his his his his time

to make the things to get to get to get he's

been brought up in a sense of training where he's had to go and take

it and get it he grew up training without shoes if he had a pair of shoes

was later on to training on those wore out he would have to train without shoes

whatever he had he had to go and earn it and get to get some food

training without food. Without water. The life is, you're getting a man he's done. He said

my life was over. Once he was already grown, a grown man and making it in a sport,

he broke his cervical. He fractured his cervical and they told them your life is done. It's over. So,

and I said, no, what I'm what I'm the decision to say if it's a car or not

he said to everyone no. No one. can tell me, I'm the one that makes a decision if it's over or it's not over. And if it really can't continue, I want to die at trying. Wow. I live every single day like that. I live every single day like that, living, knowing that I could die at trying.

Parre in that. Look, to see if you can parr that. He stopped that. He lived that. Let's see if you can stop that. Have you learned any lessons from this experience, the supplements, things like that? Are you changing anything about what you do after what happened to you? Ah, has learned about this experience? You're changing some idea of the supplements.

Yes. I understood that. So what's the lesson? Just bottled water. Just bottled water. Nothing else. Yes, bro. Because all is... The world is...

The world is working in that form. Yeah no, no, there's no, no, there's... No, no, no, no, no... No, no, no... ...anctity. One company, you say,

It's clean, but you need to be clean, because you're doing a sport, but they're not selling the only only they're not they're not selling the world

and they don't know they want to see the result in other people more rapidly than the

people are still going this world has always working against a sense of

honor of clanginess integrity so you have these supplement companies that yeah

they're selling you a product but it's not just for him he's just a one buyer I won't purchase or one customer, but they sell to the rest of the world. And they pretend that it's a clean supplement, it's a clean substance,

but they want to see everyone else achieve results way faster so that they continue to purchase said supplement. They have no morals in hurting an athlete's career. Okay. no, but I respect to all of that, but it's like this. It's all that's very advanced. The people like the things fast. And now, the people don't want to go out to carry,

boom, boom, boom, no, they want to have the talkado in the class. Intention. The people, want to buy up to pay so, not want to do it, to get a lot, no, no, no, prefer to get me the barcese.

That's the imposition. The other thing. Nowadays, everyone wants it easy. No one wants to work. for what they have to achieve a goal. No one wants to step outside of the house and go for a long run and sweat. Everybody wants to run inside the house in the treadmill in the house. They want to trim up a little bit of excess body fat.

They don't want to diet and train. Go straight to the life hole and whatever else they do. Just the easy way out. Yeah, huh. I want to ask you about this because it's a big weekend coming up. John Jones versus Daniel Cormier, John Jones brought you out to Albuquerque, to help him train for Cormier before the Cormier injury.

What was that experience like for you? And after the way in which he looked against OSP, he was criticized, people said he didn't look like himself. How confident are you that he's going to be able to beat Daniel Cormier on Saturday? I don't know. I don't know for Kirby, but when he's sanior with OSP, many people

were saying that not it was like the John Jones normal how I'm confident that you're

to get to win to hear that you know a see what what I

did in the John John of the play with St.pire and what I was

seeing I was that I just wanted to get to the five rounds What he noticed is that he just wanted to, you know, get to five rounds.

John wanted to look at certain things of him, to prove, to prove himself in the play of some proof. He wanted to check himself. He wanted to prove himself and ascertain certain things about himself in the fight against the same proof. What if you can say, that John, John, still saying, Well, he can honestly tell you that John Jones, he is still the same John Jones. He is still the same John Jones.

And he saw him in Albuquerque. There are many the percentage of his, how do you say, of his, of his, to him in the fight with OSP was... His performance was only around 60%. His whole arsenal, he only used around 60, 70%. He didn't let it all out. No, I think he's not... I'm convinced.

I'm convinced. I'm not convinced that no matter of... He's convinced that John Jones was even at 90%. What I see, too, I'm convinced that the Pellas of the Saturday to do a great war. What he is truly convinced about is that Saturday's fight will be one great battle. Because I know Donald Kormier

very well. He's a warrior. He's a warrior to the up team. He's got the title. He's not going to let it go. And he knows John. He knows John.

He's two great guerrero that the people, for me, the Saturday of the people, they're going to do do what they're going to do the essential, the primordial of this Saturday is John John and John and Gallin Come

that that will be for the story. He says, to him, everyone should stop doing whatever they have planned for Saturday. for Saturday, and they should go and see the fight between John Joan, Daniel Cormier, that that will be a fight for the history books. For sure. By the way, why didn't you go to Albuquerque to help him prepare for this fight? Because not he went to Albuquerque about it, but I was prepared out to the battle in.

Well, in reality, I don't know for the play of St.ryo. No, for the play of Daniel Cohn. In reality, he was helping him for the St. Proof fight. Ah, okay. I was helping him because St. True is left in South. And that was a kid, he's very explosive. And he's very explosive. I have my ethic.

I'm in the middle of those. I'm in the middle of those. He's got his ethics, too. He's in the middle. because he is friends with both. Okay. And he says it from his heart. The best man, he wins.

He's the best man to win. That's me. Okay, fair enough. Okay, last thing for you, like I said, in a week you are a free man. What's the message to Michael Bisping? What do you have to say to Michael Bisping right now? Who's talking about Henderson, GSP,

there's talk of Jacques Grey. What do you want? If you can talk to Michael Bisping, what would you like to say to him right now? in one a month you're to

if you could to talk to what you could say about he's

he's talking everybody he's everybody I'm not I don't

have to he does have anything to say about him

listen for I think I'm I'm I'm I don't

have to I don't have to you listen why do I have to speak about you, Mike? I don't have anything to say about you. All right. Yuel, thank you very much, my friend.

Tremendous promo, wow. Welcome back in a week, and good luck getting that fight. Good luck in your next fight. Always great to talk to you. And by the way, your new translator here, I think this is the third time. This guy kicked ass. Who's this man?

First round management needs to get this man on the payroll. What's your name, sir? Ready from Nora. You kicked ass, my friend. Finally, the Kawa brothers do something right. Great job getting you in there. He was there for the jockey fight. Oh, there you go.

There you go. That's a good luck charm right there. Thank you very much, guys. I appreciate it. Best of luck to you all. Great to catch up. Shalom, my friend, Chavez. Yuel Romero, he is back in a week.

How about that? Holy crap, that promo, when he's talking about at the beginning about the criticism and the accusation things like that, wow. I mean, holy, moly, that is a scary man. And it is interesting. It really is interesting when you think about the names being discussed. The man has a case and you wonder whether or not that he's going to be penalized even more because of this whole situation if, you know, they're going to make him fight someone else. If there's the unofficial punishment, you know what I'm saying? You wonder about those things. Great stuff from Yo-Romero.

Mr. New York, Rick? Hello. What happened to our stream? It just died. Like right then and there. Did you all kill it? No, I don't think so. No.

There's no data on YouTube. It's gone. Okay. I think you all dropped the bomb. Let's, we'll get it back. Okay. Why don't we roll out inside the vault? Okay, we'll do inside the vault.

I want to get your thoughts on what YOL was saying right there. But let's go inside the vault here for. a second. Of course, Brock Lesnar coming back this Saturday, much anticipated long-away to debut, return, I should say. I wanted to show you my last interview with Brock. This is prior to UFC 141. This is prior to his last fight in the UFC against Alistair Overeem. The ending is intense. He essentially walks off. They just posted a video of him posing in his Canadian shorts. He's wearing Vali Tuto shorts, which is not what he usually wore. and they're the Canadian colors. It's all very bizarre. No jacklings, none of that. It's just very,

just the whole thing is just weird. It's weird to see. But there you have it. Brock is back. You go on their YouTube. It's funny, you go on their Twitter page, I should say, and there's someone taking a picture of him, a video of him posing, and then you see him look to the person, and then suddenly the video stops. It's amazing. It really is amazing. So he's back. He's fighting Mark Hunt. You know, it's funny because one thing I just want to say about Brock is the whole

thing feels like like a bunch of K-fabe, doesn't it? Like it feels like he's kind of going in and out of character as this whole thing plays out. If you listen to that conference call last week, you know, when he says the stuff about Stephanie McMahon and not caring what she thinks, is that part of the angle? because he's back, you know, he's going back. SummerSlam is coming up. He's a character. This isn't like the last time where he was gone,

bad terms of WWE, he was Brock Lester. Now he kind of has to go back and forth. Even when Stephanie McMahon says, we're not supporting his UFC fight, his cup of coffee, his return to the UFC. Is she kind of supporting him by saying that? I think so, because that gets picked up by everyone. So is Stephanie McMahon the character saying this?

is very strange. This has never really been done where the UFC is playing this game skirting this issue here where they're kind of going back and forth between sports entertainment and real sports. They've never had an active

WWE competitor fight for them. So when Stephanie says, I'm not supporting it, we're not supporting it, she's kind of supporting it because it's going to get picked up. When he says,

I don't care what Stephanie says, that's getting picked up as well and that just feeds the storyline. So everything that he says, says this week and has said really has to be taken with a grain of salt or viewed through those pro wrestling lenses. So when he says, I don't remember or I don't know who Ariel Halani is on ESPN Sports Center, that's Brock Lester, the pro wrestler saying that. He knows who I am. I've talked to him countless times, and you're about to see one of those interviews. So remember that at the press

conference when he talks. Now, the Canadian thing is just completely bizarre. Brock Lester to me is as American as apple pie. I mean, that is America. When I see Brock Lesnar flexing his pecks and going the whole up and down, I mean, that is, that is Americana right there. Very strange to see him wearing the Canadian flag and the red and white colors. But he does live in Saskatchewan. I get it. I just didn't expect him to do that. Just remember that. I mean, it's fascinating. I don't hate it. I just think people need to recognize that he is still an active. wrestler. They are still banking on the fact that people are going to check out the UFs. That's why they paid for him to come. I mean, this isn't a fight that people have been clamoring

for. It's something I'm going to talk to Frank Mear about. This isn't a fight that people have been clamoring for Mark Hunt versus Brock. They want active Brock in the midst of his WWU run, very popular, to bring over that audience with them. And he will. Now, how big of an audience will he bring in? Does it really add to 200? That remains to be seen. But he will do that. And that's the big difference between this time and last time. Last time he was removed from WWE, still very popular, still very much a draw. This time he is in the midst of his WWR run. Now, WWE isn't as, isn't as popular today as it was back then. The ratings would suggest that, but it's still a big coup for them. He's still the most talked about fight of the entire

weekend. Just remember when he talks that you're looking at a guy who still has another job, and that job requires him to play a persona. It's all very new. It's all very unique. Here's my interview with Brock back at UFC 141. Stick around until the end. I asked him a question. He didn't like it, I guess, and walked off.

This is a couple of days before his fight against Overeem, and then we'll be back to answer your questions and comments. Ariel Hawani in Las Vegas for UFC 141 alongside Brock Lesner, who meets Alster Overeem this Friday night live on pay-per-view. And Brock, thank you for the time. We appreciate it. This is the first time we've seen you since Anaheim, and I must say, a great job on Fox. You know, you did very well on television.

You've never been maybe a media guy, but I thought you did very well on the other side of the fence, so to speak. Thank you very much. I enjoyed it. It was a bit awkward. I mean, not awkward, I should say, but it was just different sitting back and watching and not participating. Did it give you maybe more of an appreciation for what the media does? Absolutely. You know, I mean, I enjoyed it, you know.

And who knows, maybe I got a career after the fight career, maybe. That would certainly be something to see. So I'm wondering, you know, obviously you've been through a lot this year. Was there ever a point, here we are 72 hours away from your return to the UFC, was there ever a point when you thought it might be it, I may never get this opportunity again? Honestly, not really. I didn't even think about that because I just thought about,

I'm a guy that focused on the task at hand. And for me, it was my health. And we needed to get that issue. It had been something that had been hindering me for quite some time. I tried fighting it and was unsuccessful at it. And the surgery was a huge success. And here I am. Could you even put into words as to the kind of weight that was lifted off your shoulders?

Now, just as a normal guy living, a family man, now that you're able to live this life, pain free? Absolutely. You know, I mean, the old saying, if you do not have your health, you don't have anything. and that's the 100% truth. And that's what I was going through. At the time, you know, I was trying to be a championship fighter and was struggling with a lot of different things physically and mentally because of that. And now I can stand before you and feel, I just feel great.

I feel blessed that I'm here. I feel honored and blessed. I just want to get in the octagon and perform. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever, as far as professional sports, come back from that kind of a surgery. Do you know of anyone? Have you been able to talk to anyone that has ever come back, let alone into MMA? We're not talking about tennis here. Yeah, this is just a weird disease. I mean, this isn't, this is a disease that usually happens to older folks, and here I am, you know, I think I consider myself a young man, and, but I think

it was put before me to, there's challenges in life that you have to overcome, and here I am, and my next challenge is against Alistair Overeem. When you were ready to return, did you ask for Alistair Overeem or did the UFC offer him to you? I was riding in my tractor on my farm in Canada, and I got a phone call, and they proposed Alistair, and I said, absolutely, let's do it. I feel good, and just let me get my crops off the field and get home. At the time, I hadn't even started training. So, but I was ready.

It was game on. I knew that the surgery was a huge success, and I healed, you know, normal, and I was ready to go. How familiar were you with him and his resume in the sport? Not very familiar. Like I said, you know, when I first got into this business, you know, I didn't ask for, I don't think I've been given too many favors other than just getting my ass thrown into the wolves. and that's what I'm prepared for. And I think when you enter this arena,

and any time a fighter enters the octagon, the slate is wiped clean, you know, I mean, because it's just, it's a whole other arena in there. Do you think that would be your legacy? And if so, are you happy with that being your legacy? A guy who came in with limited experience, but never had a give me fight, you know, fought a former champion,

been in his first UFC fight, fought for the title and the next, you know, Heath Herring, but then for the title. And you fought one top guy after the next. And that's the one thing that even your detractors will say about you, that you've always fought the best. Are you okay with that being your legacy? No, I want to be the best heavyweight champion in the world. That's what I want to be. Are you the kind of guy who watches tape on your opponent? And if so, have you watched tape on Alistair Overeign? Absolutely. It's part of the, you know, it's part of the training camp you know i mean you can't you cannot prepare for your opponent if you if you don't watch and we've watched plenty of film on him and and i think we're we're we're well prepared for him

what kind of holes do you see in this game when you watch tape on him um i mean we we just we just got to force uh force my my fight here and that's really that that's i'm not going to allow him to uh to to control this fight and then and i think we'll be successful would you think would you think that it's a fair statement to make that he's never fought a wrestler quite like you at heavyweight, a fighter quite like you with your skills? Oh, absolutely. I don't think there's a heavyweight in the world in this division that has, you know, that has done what I've done. Would surprise you if I told you, and this is what he just told us, that he didn't watch any tape on you, and if so, do you think that's a mistake? I really don't care what he did or what he does. I don't

care. How excited and anxious are you to get in there on Friday? I mean, I mean, does this feel sort of like your debut? No, the minutes. You know, it's just, I just got to stay home and, you know, and just, you know, I've been through this before. So I've been here before. You're somewhat surprised that you're an underdog from a betting perspective? I don't know and don't care. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Brock. I don't know and I don't care. Thank you. Just, you, you talk to a little. lot of fighters, you stand in front of a lot of fighters, you're in the presence of a lot of big individuals. I don't think I've ever felt what I felt standing in front of Brock Lesnar. There's no one that compares to the aura that he has always kind of acts like he doesn't know you, doesn't

care about you, doesn't like you. And then when he walks out in the middle of an interview like that, and I was kind of wrapping up anyway, not sure if he was offended, hated the question, whatever, it's a bit jarring. And of course, two days later, he went on to lose to Alstor Overeem, left the UFC, went back to WWE, and then, and now he's back. And if you look at the UFC's Twitter, I mean, it's just amazing to see him wearing a backpack, signing those posters, Brock Lesnar's back. And we don't know if it's for one night. We don't know if this is the beginning of a new career, if he's going to be the Bo Jackson and do both. We don't know what the heck is going on.

And maybe that's what makes it so intriguing. Also, he's not fighting Chris Tushre. He's fighting a guy who is very good, who's still very dangerous, who's still one of the best heavy weights, who, oh, by the way, his greatest strength is that he hits really, really hard. And what's the knock on Brock throughout his career? He doesn't like to get hit. I mean, this is the last guy that I would thought they would have booked them against.

However, if this is won and done, then yeah, put him in there against the guy. Sort of like the Mickey Gall-C-M-Pung thing. Put him in there against the guy that you can then use to build up more, have more momentum behind. Of course, Mark Hunt doesn't need any more of that at this point of his career. He's not Mickey Gall. But if Brock is leaving, you certainly don't want him to win in impressive fashion and never come back. So if it is one and done, maybe that's why they have him against Mark Hunt. because that gives them a ton of momentum,

a ton of buzz, ton of hype. A lot more people are going to know who Mark Hunt is come Saturday night because they're tuning in to watch Brock than they do right now.

It's a fascinating booking and it's the fight that's going to get the majority of the attention comes Saturday, no doubt about that. Mr. Newark, are you there?

I'm here. Okay, now we are back with our stream. Everything is good, correct? We're good. Happy July 4th to you. Thank you.

Happy. Canada today. Thank you. I appreciate it. Now, a lot to discuss with you. First off, that first answer, which I think was Henner Gracie-esque from Mr. O'Romero. I mean, that was one of the great promos that we've heard this year on this show. Did he do anything to convince you that he should be the guy? Because when you look at the facts, the facts suggest that he really should be the guy based on merit. He beat Jacques Ray. I know you don't love that and people dispute it, but that's what the record says he's undefeated at middleweight. Dan Henderson is 12, 13, whatever. I mean, when you look at the facts, he makes a very strong argument. Did he convince you? He didn't

convince me because I don't think that UFC title shots are granted based on merit. So there's nothing he can do to convince me that I'd rather see that fight than perhaps Henderson or perhaps George St. Pierre. So he'd have a tough time convincing me that it'd be a more entertaining fighting. Do I think he has the best or one of the best cases? Absolutely. No doubt about it. But we've long passed that point where UFC title shots are granted based on merit. Yeah, I don't think he's going to get it. And that's what I'm saying. He doesn't need to convince me. He doesn't need to convince anybody but the UFC. And I don't think he's going to be able to convince them. I think it's going to be Henderson, George St. Pierre, somebody who can promote the fight a little

although he could promote the damn fight. The fact that he said he's learning English just to talk shit and call out Michael Bisping was incredible and also good on you for calling out how good the translator was as well. It was tremendous. It was a good interview. People don't understand how hard that is. He has this sort of old school, and I think I've said it before,

old school pro wrestling heel to him where he just said, there's something about like he could be the Cuban guy, the defector with that accent, with what he says, how he says it, his delivery, some of the things that have happened in his fight, I mean, the Tim Kennedy thing is obvious, but even like the Jacerite fight that a lot of people thought he lost or should have been a draw, like he just kind of gets by at times. He's oblivious to all the hate.

He's oblivious to the booze. Of course, the infamous post-fight interview after the Machita fight, he's straight out of 1984 pro wrestling at MSG. And it doesn't hurt that he's built like a bridge. S-house. Yes. Yeah. Amazing stuff. Interesting to hear him say that he wasn't brought to Albuquerque

to help John train for D.C. I think everyone assumed that and it was actually for OSP and that he's actually taking a step back with this one. You don't believe that. Well, no, his reasoning made sense. He said, you know, he's an explosive lefty and he was trying to mimic more of OSP.

Now, I understand what you're saying that essentially his wrestling credentials will probably be more of a mimic for Kormier. But I don't think John Jones necessarily is going to have a problem with Cormier's wrestling to the point where he needs it. It certainly didn't look that way in the first fight. And Romero wasn't involved in that.

So I don't know if it's necessary. Have you seen these Brock Lesnar videos that I'm talking about? I've been watching them, yeah. I mean, there's one from the UFC Network Twitter where it literally looks like he's holding two turkeys or hams and he's just like punching those.

He's like shadow boxing with those wrapped around his hand. His hands are so large. And the Valle Tudor shorts are interesting. I mean, he's in tremendous shape, clearly. Reebok. Reebok, baby. Reebok.

Okay, here's a few things I want to talk to you about before we get some questions, comments before we get to Frank Mear. First things first, I'm not going to go into the NBA. I know people get annoyed sometimes when I talk about that. So what? Wait, for it. It was a gigantic weekend for my New York Knicks. I mean, since we last spoke, since we last spoke,

they've added Jo Kim Noah, Courtney Lee, Brandon Jennings, and re-sign my main man, Lance Thomas. I mean, this has been amazing. Yesterday, I'm at the pool of my kids. I opened my phone, and I see they've signed, or they signed Brandon Jennings one-year, $5 million deal in this market. Are you kidding me? That's an amazing steal. That's an unbelievable steel.

All of a sudden, we've gone a lot smarter when it comes to these things. But here's the big story, of course, of this past weekend in sports. And in MMA, it was very quiet. It was the calm before the storm. No real news. Little things here, there, but nothing major, of course, because of the big weekend coming up. In sports, everyone was talking about these insane contracts being handed out in the NBA. Of course, you've probably heard about Kevin Durant, shocking people and going to sign with the Golden State Warriors, kind of akin to, what's the name?

Nash and Hall teaming up with Hollywood Hogan to form the NWO. that's a different story for a different day. But all these insane contracts, Timofe, Moskhov getting 64 million, crazy stuff. And what it really got me, and I tweeted about this, and only like two people really understood what I was talking about was,

someone asked me, what do you think about Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors? And what you have to understand is the reason why Kevin Durant can sign with the Golden State Warriors, the best team in the regular season, minutes away from becoming champion.

The reason why this can happen, the reason why all these big contracts are being handed out, is because ESPN and TNT paid a combined $24 billion to the NBA for their new TV deal that's coming up. And as a result of that, the players are getting 50% of that money. 50% of that money that is being paid to the NBA is going to the players. And as a result of that, the salary cap, which they have in the NBA, has now been raised to $94 million. dollars. Next year, it goes up to, I believe, $110 million. It's a massive jump for them.

And as a result of that, everyone has more money to play with. If this doesn't come into play, they don't have more money. Kevin Durant can't go to the Golden State Wars, can't sign with the Golden State Wars unless they're making, you know, big trades and freeing up a lot of salary. Now, why am I bringing this up? Well, because this has drastically changed, you know, the face of the National Basketball Association. And other athletes you've seen go on on Twitter, football players, MLB players saying like, holy crap, how is this happening? Well, it's happening because the NBA Players Association negotiated this. This is collective bargaining. This is what they sat down. They said, look, when you guys cut this deal, we're getting 50%. Now, this is before the deal was cut.

They didn't know what it was going to be. They could never have imagined that it was going to be this much. They also said, we don't want this to be spread out over time. We're cool with it being this massive boom impact hurting the Oklahoma City thunders of the world and, you know, the rich are getting richer. They said they wanted it and the owners agreed to it and that's on them. And now you're seeing other players and other sports saying, wow, look at this. I picked the wrong sport. Look how much these guys are getting paid. Well, they're getting paid because they negotiated it. You know who you're not seeing talk about this? You're not seeing MMA fighters talk about this. It doesn't surprise me because they don't think in these terms, but maybe they should

start thinking about this. And what I mean, what I mean by that is the UFC TV deal in North America, in America, to be exact, in the United States is up in a couple of years. The Fox deal is up. The previous deal that they signed back in 2011 in August of 2011 was seven years, 100 million per year, right? I mean, that's not the $24 billion that we're talking about here. It's never going to be like that. I don't care what anyone says, basketball, football, baseball, they're never going to be on par.

It's cage fighting, and that's fine. We're in a very good place. Do you know how much money the M.A. fighters made from that seven-year, $100 million deal? Zilch. Zilch. In a couple of years when the new deal is negotiated, don't you think they should make something?

5%, 10%, now you can tell me, yeah, purses have gone up, but we need something substantial here. You know what I mean? We need a number, like in the NBA where it's 50%. We need something substantial.

It's not discretionary. It's not what you want. It's not, you know, backdoor bonuses. The fighters should say when this new contract is up, and look, I don't need to give them any advice,

but that's what I was thinking. I mean, what are these MMA fighters thinking? These guys, these players are making money solely because of the money coming in because of the TV deal. And why is there a great TV deal? Because the NBA is a star-driven league, right? People don't care if you're from Oklahoma City or Cleveland or Golden State. They want to see Durant, LeBron, Steph Curry. What is the UFC?

It's a star-driven league. UFC 200 is a big deal, not because it's UFC 200, because of who's on UFC 200? If UFC 200 had the lineup of some, you know, regular. you know, mid-April show, it wouldn't be a big deal at the end of the day. That's just not the way the thing. It's a big deal because of Brock, because of D.C., because of John Jones, because of Aldo and Misha Tate and Campbell. That's why it's a big deal.

That's why this whole weekend is a big deal. The UFC is a star-driven organization. People are watching it because of the stars. The stars are the reason why a TV network is going to pay $100 million or more in a couple years for the new TV deal. How are they walking away with nothing? Do you get what I'm saying? But how are they going to negotiate that? Well, that's the big problem. And that's something, look, we can only say so much. And at times, I wonder if they even care. Like, I heard John Jones say, Connor forgot that the UFC made him. And that surprised me from John Jones. And you could say that,

and I get what he's saying, that you sort of bit the hand that fed you. But that doesn't help you, because there's going to be a point where you're going to be unhappy about something. You have been unhappy in the past about things. Let's not forget 151. People didn't back you and that bothered you. That doesn't help you. Now, do you see, how many NBA stars do you see ripping Durant publicly? You see little people here and there like Paul Pierce saying a quote, but how many people do you see ripping the Warriors players, NBA stars ripping the Warriors or ripping Durant?

Do you hear LeBron saying that? Do you see LeBron saying that? I don't think that's the best illustration of it because Durant was going to get paid what he was going to get paid regardless by whatever team it was. So there's not like wiggle room there. It's more like somebody who would be overpaid. And you do see people kind of coming out against that, like a Mosgov. When Mosgov's contract came out, there were people within the NBA and outside who said, what is that? That's unrealistic. Why is he getting paid that? I'd like to see some big name examples. I'm seeing a lot of football players say that, MLB players. I'm seeing a lot of writers say that who don't understand what's going on in the NBA NFL

but you're not seeing a lot of players turn on each other. What you do see more, though, even maybe I'm mischaracterizing that. I, you know, I'm not speaking, having these tweets in front of me or anything on social media in front of me, but what you do see a lot more is guys happy for other guys getting money.

That's a lot more common in other sports, specifically the NBA where somebody will sign a huge contract and a lot of players will come out and congratulate them. That's a big deal. Which is important. It shows the message that we are the players and we stand united again. against, not against, but in cooperation with the league and with the owners.

A rising tide lifts all boats. So if one guy's getting a lot, like Stefan Curry is getting way underpaid now, he's going to get his next year. We're so far from that, though, with MMA. Oh, absolutely. It's not going to change overnight, but how does this not put a lightball ball on above these guys' heads? It has to get you thinking, but at the same time, to get from the point.

point of I'm Connor McGregor, why should the last guy on the prelims make as much as me? And conversely for the guy, the last guy on the prelims to be thinking, I should be making as much as Connor McGregor, it's such a far leap because this system hasn't even been, like the, even the first steps of, you know, collective bargaining or a union or anything like that haven't even been taken. It's such a far leap that I don't imagine anybody's going to even start thinking like that until it's necessary, until somebody puts it in front of them, pushes them all together, and it's going to take a monumental effort.

Yeah, it doesn't happen overnight. And I'm not suggesting that Mitch Clark should get paid as much as Connor McGregor. There are draws, there are bigger stars, there are people who bring in a lot of money, the same reason why Kevin Durant doesn't make the same as Brandon Jennings, for example. But what I am suggesting is, for example, this new TV deal coming up, every fighter makes I don't know. Let's just say 10%. And then they divide it amongst the fighters. They get 10%.

And then they do... Everybody gets 10%. No, no, no. You have 500 fighters under contract, right? Let's just say it's 500 fighters. Yep. So let's say the deal is for 100 million. Take 10% of 100 million and then divide that amongst 500 fighters.

You don't think they would take that? You don't think they would be happy with that? Equally. The 500 all that equal? Yes. The same way every team now has a salary cap and you can do whatever you want with that salary cap. You can pay, you know, X amount to this. guy that. Let's start there.

Just that they get the 10% is it because they're getting zero now. And why is someone signing the UFC to a TV deal? Because they want to be in the Connor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, John Jones business. Not because at this point they want to be in the UFC business. Those days are over. You know, the Reebok deal.

We were told that they were going to get X amount. How much you think Ally Quinta is getting from the Reebok deal if he's not fighting? Zero. That doesn't make any sense to me. You know what I mean? Yeah. That needs to come into play, and they need to recognize that.

There's only so much that we can keep saying about it, but it's not going to turn overnight. Look, though, at these other sports and what they're doing and start to think in those terms, because guess what? The other thing is, like, these term contracts, right? Like, GSP has to negotiate with the UFC now because he's under contract with the UFC. It's an eight-fight deal, whatever the case may be.

But in the NBA, Derek Rose is now under a one-year deal, right? if he's injured, it doesn't play a second for the Knicks in the 2016-17 season, he's still going to be a free agent at the end of the year, right? Yeah. So why is it X amount of fights here? And if it takes you 10 years to get through those eight fights, you're still in the contract. There's a lot. And I know I'm saying a lot.

And I know sometimes it's apples to oranges. And I know people like to nip-pick when I bring these things up. But if you want to see your favorite fighters get paid what they're worth, if you want to see, you know, a Valerie Littorner talking about the liver problems, you don't think there's a correlation there between her extreme weight cutting and the liver problems she's having? What does she have to show for that, for that sacrifice? To me, it's time the fighters start to recognize these things. And maybe they need someone to open their eyes a little bit more. Maybe they're so focused on their fights that they don't see outside. And I could certainly

sympathize with that because there's a lot going on in your career. But how do you not, as a pro athlete, sit back? And I know, trust me, I've talked to a lot of them off the record on the phone. How do you not sit back and say, wait a second here. When this contract is up in two years, what are we making? Right? Yeah. That's what I was thinking about all week. Holy crap.

I didn't really, I didn't, I didn't really recognize what it would do for the NBA once this kicked in. Now, I mean, it's changed everything. It really has. Yeah, the pie is quite big and they get their slice. So it's an interesting thought. It's, I don't know what it's going to take. I really don't. I don't think any of us do.

No. But they need to wake up. It's going to be a long process when it does start happening. And it's going to take something at the top. It's not going to come from grass roots. And that's why you hate to see the sort of, you know, Connor saying this, or John saying this about Connor, like they need to think a little bit differently. They need to have each other's backs.

Or maybe just don't say anything. But that's kind of what I was thinking this weekend when I was seeing all these astronomics. It's a difficult thing because. your money is affected if you if you do or don't i mean there's all kinds of different things to weigh here it's they're not protected and yeah you could be out you have kids i get it um but i wanted to share that thought the other thing that came up uh this weekend was um and i never asked you about this this this idea that the ufc should be promoting jones dc as number one versus

number two people were hating on me for this last night when i started to tweet a little bit about it. You grant that there could be a different number two, correct? 1,000%. Okay. 1,000%. It's all very debatable, but the responses that I get, and if the UFC's rankings or any indication,

I'm not even on the same page as those people. I mean, I think he's ranked number seven right now. Yeah. How in the world can you completely dismiss and say it's absolutely ludicrous that Daniel Cormier is the second best fighter in the world pound for pound, undefeated as a heavyweight. The only reason why he dropped down was because his good friend,

training partner, Kane Velasquez was the champion at the time. Beat a prime, Bigfoot Silva, Roy Nelson, Frank Meir, Josh Barnett as a heavyweight, knocked out Bigfoot Silva, by the way, and then goes down to light heavyweight, undefeated there except for his lone loss to the greatest fighter of all time, John Jones. Beat Alexander Gustafson, Rumble Johnson, Dan Henderson, look how he's doing now? How is this not even being considered? How is this a crazy thought to people? I'm not slighting Demetrius Johnson

I'm not sliding Dominic Cruz I'm not slighting anyone else by saying this but Daniel Cormier is the number two best fighter in the world to me it's such a no-brainer and I can't believe they're not taking advantage of this now to play devil's advocate you love doing this

Daniel Cormier lost in his own division yes yeah to the best ever to the best number one Demetrius Johnson lost to somebody who also used to fight at a division up let's not forget that.

You can say that for Cormier, but Demetrius also got all the way to a title shot at Bantamweight and then lost to what I consider one of the best ever as well in Dominic Cruz, who might even be the number two, who might even be ahead of both these guys that we're talking about in terms of Mighty Mouse and Daniel Cormier. So that was Demetrius's only loss after coming into the UFC. And now he's been undefeated at Flyweight.

I'd have a hard time arguing against him. up against Kormier and Dominic Cruz might be ahead of both of them. That said, uh, promotionally, why not just fudge the numbers? Because pound for pound is the most useless thing and, and,

well, they did it with Hennifer Alfa. Remember when they forced? Yeah. So, so your point is completely valid. Push this as number one versus number two. Um,

even if, you know, people will have a, uh, a contrarian opinion on number, who number two and three, four, five should rightfully be.

It's close enough. let's just smudge the ink a little bit and number one versus number two sounds good to me. Regardless, Daniel Kornier is an all-time great. Fought at heavyweight, was super successful there, came down and has one loss to what most considered the best of all time.

So you're absolutely justified in viewing it that way and people get too caught up in number one versus number two, number three, four. What's the difference? All-time great. I think the confusion is with the numbers. Forget that.

These are two all-time grades. That's the way it needs to be promoted. Sure, but I love this idea that not only is he not worthy to hold the UFC light heavyway title. He's not even worthy enough to be. I don't know why people view Daniel this way. Maybe he needs to be John to finally get that respect. 17 and 1 overall. I mean, his, in my opinion, his resume speaks for himself.

I want to correct you about one quick thing. You said that DJ lost once in the UFC, and that was, was to Dominic Cruz. That is correct. He does have a draw against Dean McCall, and he did lose to Brad Pickett in W.C., that W.C. 48 fight, the pay-per-view fight, Aldo v. Faber. Those fights happen, not the draw, but the two losses happened at 135, right? So this is a guy who went up and lost twice. Now, again, this is not taking anything away from him. Dominic Cruz, his loan loss was at 145, weight class above. Show me any great fighter in that pound-for-pound ranking and talk to me about how they did in the weight class above they're at right now.

All of them have blemishes, except for one. Daniel Cormier, he's the only one. Right, but he has a blemish in his own weight class, which is even worse. That's why he's number two. That's why he's number two. That's inexcusable if you're comparing. No, that's why he's number two. No.

He's number two because number one is the guy who beat him. The blemish being in your own weight class is significantly worse than if you went up and lost than the weight class above. I don't agree with that. argue that. He lost to the greatest fighter of all time. Doesn't matter. He's in his weight class. You can't, you can't lose in your weight class and compare that to somebody who lost going up a weight class. But isn't that what? That's pound for pound. That's the pound for pound. That's the pound for pound. How would they both have the loss? And what I'm saying is one is you have to view significantly with more. I don't know. I'm not. With all due respect, I've never heard that as being a criteria of pound for pound. To me, pound for pound is how would Daniel Cormier and Demetius Johnson do if they were fighting at the same weight? If they were fighting at 185. Who would win that fight? It's talking about skill. And here's a guy who's undefeated at heavyweight, who beat a lot of tough guys at heavyweight and then went down to 205 and beat everyone there except for one, the guy who's number one. Okay, again, so then

this is Barbershop talk. This is a fun, I love this kind of debate. How are we not even broaching this subject as far as promotion is concerned? How often in the history of the sport can you even have this discussion? You know what I mean? Like how often are the top two guys even in the top 10 fighting in the pound for pound, let alone the time. top two, top three, top four, top five. Yeah. So you can legitimately say you can have an argument and legitimately argue it and have a strong case that on Saturday night, it's number one versus number two.

Now you can disagree and that's fine. I'm not, we'll never get the answer to this question. But to me, I just can't believe how we're not even talking about this. Like this isn't being pushed more. I'm nitpicking here. It's a great fight. We don't need this type of stuff. But to say that the best fighter in the world can walk away with the belt, not just

in that division, but in the world, pound for the world, pound for the pound to me is a pretty powerful thing and a unique thing that should be discussed more absolutely um no doubt about it cornea and jones i mean you're right how often do you get top 10 pound for pound guys going against each other very rarely let alone top two in my opinion yeah and this is not something like i'm not making any more money off this promotion i'm shocked that they're not doing this there's just so many storylines though i mean is it even is it even going to make a splash in the bucket at this point like it's another layer and it's a new layer.

Let's be honest, it feels like there's a little less heat going into the second fight than the first fight. Because of the brawl, that stuff, because of 200, because of Brockless. Is that fair?

Yeah, it is fair, but let us not get burnt out on it then. There's a million attractions here. Let's just make it one of them. I almost understand why you wouldn't want to highlight one thing significantly more than the others when there's so many

high caliber fights on the single card. Brock Lesner. Brock Lesner is going to draw enough attention on it. There's just so much there. Ed Garaldo is there. I mean...

Okay, so that brings me to my next point. Yep. I'm all hyped about the Knicks. I'm all excited about the NBA season again. We have this deal and you have yet to make your final... Yeah. Your final decision as to how I'm going to pay up because you pick the calves. I pick the words, blah, blah, blah.

We're thinking about maybe a jersey, a two or three, all that stuff. Yeah. I'd like to double down. Uh-oh. And I have not talked about this with you beforehand. I'm listening, but I'd like to double down. And this is my suggestion to you. This weekend is the most insane three-day stretch in UFC history. It's our version of March Madness. It's legit quality fights, top to bottom. I mean, 200. You can't say anything about it. It's all, they're all home runs. This is my suggestion to you. Starting five. You pick five fights. I pick five fights. And it's draft form. So you get the first pick because you won the bet. And I'm a, approaching you with this. You pick a fight and a winner. So you say like, okay, I'm picking Yowna. I'm picking Brock. I'm picking John. But we're going one, one, one, one. If I get more

correct picks, the deal is off. So I'm just picking a single fighter in any fight. Five fights, starting five. But I'm picking. Yeah, you're picking a winner. The one, the winner. Yeah. So this can extend all three days. You can pick all the fights from Thursday, but, you know, kind of like a parlay in that sense. So you can go first. You can say, all right, I'm picking John Jones, I'll go second. I'm picking Markham. Are you trying to direct me somewhere with that? No, no, no. It's interesting that you said a name with associated with that. I was just thinking the main event. I know you need me to dumb it down a little bit. Interesting. So this is my, this is my offer to you. Now, so it's double or nothing essentially. What's the double?

Okay, so that's where there could be some wiggle room. And again, you can have a week to think about it. I was going to suggest that the next show, Monday, whatever, that, question answer period, I ask you all the questions. You get that forum to answer all the questions. You know, I know you like that. Replacement. Yeah, well, because yeah, yeah. If I, or you could just, or you could double down on the thing and, and have me, I don't know. I get it. That's up to you. I'm coming up. I mean, I'm not going to put anything in your mind, but I'm coming to you with this challenge. This is kind of fun. If I be, if I get more, if I get more right, the deal is off. Of course I'm game for this. Okay. Of course I'm game. Are we going to do this?

right now you want to do that right now uh first pick and i and by the way i couldn't have prepared because i don't know who you're going to pick first pick first pick johnathan jones that's your first pick wow course you were the guy weren't you the guy who said daniel cornea yeah you know what then i saw the fight wow so you don't think he's going to be better i think he'll i think john jones i think daniel cormia would be better okay first pick john jones honestly i have not prepared this at all you you would think that i have my five you presented this whole thing and now you've got nothing come on and i'm and i'm giving you I'm giving you the props because can anyone help me out?

Give me some tweet suggestions here. And I'm not going to the YouTube people because they're, okay, let's see, let's see. Can you give me a minute here? Jesus. Oh, my. It's a lot of pressure. Let's put the 60 seconds on the clock. Oh.

Can be a draft. Okay, let me see. Eddie Alvarez, Hafelde Sanjas, Derek Lewis, Ryan Nelson, Al Jobin. Do I go with my man, Irish Joe? What do you think? He's a big favorite. I mean, he would be a, a decent pick. You know, I got to say

Will Brooks, I'm leaning towards him, but those octagon jitters kind of freak me out a little bit. Frankie Hickery, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, I got it, I got it. Yep. Cane Velasquez. It's a good pick. I'll give you a round of applause to that one. There's my guy. That was going to be my number two pick as well.

Okay. Now I've got a bit of a decision here. Let's see. You're looking at the lineup, right? Yeah. see I was going to go with Kane I liked that one a lot um and and

to whose point was it Valerie Littrenau I mean she was talking about that one fight but the great thing about a lot of these fights is they're super tough to call I don't think there are many gimmies here I think even some of the heavy favorites are overly juiced

I don't really love a lot of the heavy favorites which is why this is a little more difficult um let's go with I'm going to go with the sleepy-eyed assassin, Gayguard Musassi. Wow. Fighting Tiago Santos, UFC 200. Which is risky because Santos got some pop in his hands, but I just think Gaygar's

overall package is a little bit better. Yeah, interesting. People are... Oh, God, this is tough. Who did I pick? Kane Velasquez. Okay, so you got Musassi and... And John Jones, I'll go with Irish Joe.

Nice. I thought you were eyeballing Li Jiang Liang. I thought that's where you were going to go. Let me just write down your picks. I know you're going to try to change them. Oh, am I? So who did I pick first again? Kane.

Cane, Halasquez. Kane, Duffy. Oh, my. Yeah. Okay, your turn. Now, see, this is tough because I'm simultaneously, it's so weird. I'm simultaneously confident in our. D.A.

But I think that the line is wrong and that keeps bringing me away from it, even though I think if it was a coin flip, I'd take him every time. Yeah. There's one that I keep eyeing. I don't know. Let's go. Let's go with ill will Brooks for this one. Okay.

All right. All right. See, there's too much going on there with the octagon jitters debut, all this stuff. I'm going to go with my man. The pride. of Caddy, Texas. Sage? Sage Northcutt.

Wow. I mean, that is, that is, I don't know what's going to happen there. Enrique Maren, Danny Segura's favorite fighter, but I mean... You're putting them on the table with that one. You know that they want him to win, right? Yeah, we've seen how the best laid plans of they want him to win, though. Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure. Connor McGregor just took an L from young Nate Diaz.

Then, you know what? I'm going to take RDA. Give me RDA. Wow, that is gutsy, man. Holy moly. It's not as gutsy as it was. The betting odds are super far away on this one. I think this is silly.

RDA is minus 350. Eddie Alvarez is plus 290. I think that's ridiculous. I think Eddie is a good value bet there. I just think if all things are even, if it's a 50-50, I think he's a better package. He's got less miles.

I'm taking RDA. Okay, there's one that I've got my eye on. Let me just see if I should make anyone else. I mean, there's some that are just, they're very intriguing and appealing. I just don't know if I need to go that route. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I'm going to go, I'm going to go, wait for it. I'm going to go with the former UFC Bantamway champion,

the men who has a point to prove on Saturday night. T.J. Illisha, Killisha, Dillisha. That's my pick. That's a good pick. Although. I got a lot of 200. I got to spread the love here. Although a Sun Sao.

Man, he's been away for a long time. It's fair. That one's from my Twitter people. A lot of Dillishah love. Is he the biggest favorite of the weekend? What is his line? Is that possible? Minus 440.

Wow, really? That's interesting. I don't know about that. Okay, so you got four, I got four. I've got one more. This is tough here. There's a lot of close fights left. Is it Brock?

Do I take an underdog who I'm pretty confident in it? Like Brock? Do I take Misha Tate, who I think's a little overvalued right now? Do I throw it up on the coin flip with Edgar and Aldo? Jesus. There's a lot of options here. Do I look at Grey Mater does the favorite and go WTF? Featherweight, by the way, I might add.

How is he the favorite in this fight? Yeah, Fernando Bruno. You could put him in there with anybody, would be skeptical just because of how he's looked recently. Pretty amazing, a quick side note. He beats Frankie Edgar in one of those fights. I mean, look where Frankie's fighting. Look what he's essentially fighting for his career as a featherweight.

It's amazing how they're, you know, talk about sliding doors. It's amazing how their careers have gone in a complete different direction since 136 or 125. Who am I picking my last pick? It's tough. Oh my God. I don't know what to do here. Um

Give me Someone suggested Damien Maya What? This weekend? Come on Come on Does Takanori Gomi have anything left? Do I shake Jim Miller? God Jim Miller has not looked good recently though

This is a tough one Five fighters Aye, aye, aye I'm going to go with Here it is I'm making the decision here Okay I

I I'm going to go with Gilbert Burns Gilbert Burns Lock it in What? I don't even know who he's fighting Where is he? Okay

That says it all doesn't it? That says it all doesn't it? Pronounce that name for me Not even going to attempt it Wow, that's interesting Okay You're going with one of those I mean honestly do you know a lot about his opponent

Lucas? That's why I'm confident Jeez That's what we're going with man alive I'd like a pick on Friday because I don't have anyone on that card but I feel like

I mean mora I can't you know the Jake Matthews Kevin Lee fight to me is just super close what a great fight by the way that one's super hard I guess I'm going to have to move over to 200

and there was one that really God, you know, it's tough, right? This is really hard. There's not a lot of favorites that you'd be sure riding in, which is good. You know, it bodes well for these cards coming up. A lot of people picking Zangano, by the way. I don't know about that.

You know? Go ahead. Go ahead. Do it. All right. The KFC King. Oh, interesting. See, I like Lesnar in that fight, but that's interesting.

You do? That's interesting. Yeah. Okay, so your fifth was Burns. Okay, so here it is. You went with John Jones over Daniel Cormier. You went with Gagher Musassi over Tiago Santos. You went with, and both of those are 200. You went with Will Brooks over Ross Pearson.

You went with Hafelde dos angios over Eddie Alvarez. Yeah. And that's the Thursday night main event. And then Gilbert Burns versus Lucas Saugiewski. I got two from Thursday, two from Saturday and one from Friday. That's a good mix. Yeah, very good. I got Kane Velasquez over Travis Brown, Joseph Duffy over Mitch Clark,

Sage Northcut over Enrique Maren, T.J. Dillasha over Hafele Suntel in their rematch and Mark Hunt over Brock Lesnar. Oh my. You took a little more risk than I would have. Wow. I don't know how to call Hunt Lesnar, although I definitely think Lesnar, I mean, the way I picture it, Lesnar is going to bullrush them, avoid, you know, whatever uppercuts or menacing shots are coming his way, take them down and it'll be a wrap relatively quickly. Now here's the question. What if we're tied? What's the tiebreaker? What if we both have three, two, whatever? That's a good question. We could make, if we're tied, I'll give you a bit of an edge here. We'll make the tiebreaker the odds. How the hell are you

going to figure that out? What do you mean? So I've picked by my estimation, although you did pick some heavy favorites as well. By my estimation, I think I picked heavier favorites. So we'll see based on the winners and losers who picked the heaviest favorites. For example, you're picking Mark Hunt. He's not that big a favorite. I don't think I picked anybody lower than 170 in terms of betting favorites. That's going to take. I'm not even going to know. I'll know, don't you worry. I need something else. How about, oh, how about this?

Let's find a fight that we disagree on the outcome for. That can be the tiebreaker. Oh, I see. That's fair. Okay. So, you know, it would be funny if we actually end up tied and then we have to go back to that fight. That's what I'm saying. You know what I mean?

Like, it could be a Thursday fight or do we pick a Saturday fight? No, no. We can make it something previously. Well, now we have to find a fight that we both disagree on. How do you feel, well, there's a few that I've eyed that are close that. Okay. How do you feel about Derek Lewis and Roy Nelson? Oh my.

Oh my lord. Okay, who are you picking? I'm riding with Roy Nelson on that. Oh, that's how I was going to pick. Okay, so then that's out. How do you feel about Claudia and Yohanna? Oh, my. Who are you picking?

I went first last time, my friend. I'll go with Yuana. Good, because I'm going with Claudia. So perfect. There it is. Perfect. Oh my Lord. We've done it.

Okay. Fun. There it is. How do you feel? I'm pretty confident. You were confident? Which pick do you hate? I mean, not knowing anything about Gilbert Burns' opponent is making me a little bit worried, but that's about it.

And as I said, dos anjos, I don't love the line on that. I think it's a much closer fight than that. But I just think five rounds, it's going to be very tough for Eddie Alvarez, whose style recently has been a bit of a grinding style. to outgrind somebody who's so pressure and so technically sound as Hafeo dosangos in terms of the grappling and he's got power. I mean, I see it being very tough for Eddie Alvarez. That said, plus 290 is silly.

I think it's much closer than that. Well, now we have it. Now we have a reason to care about International Fight Week. There you go. Okay. I'm excited. I'm excited. Okay, let's answer some questions before we get to Mr. Frank Mirren around 20 minutes time.

Yeah, let's do a few quickly. upcoming fights this weekend. We just looked at almost all of them. What are you looking forward to the most? If you have a top three, let's do that. I mean, you really can't pick a top three. Look, when I close my eyes and I think about it, the names that come up, D.C. Jones, obviously.

Brock Lesnar's return, obviously. Yvana Claudia, obviously. RDA, Alvarez, obviously. I mean, there's really, to me, the more interesting question is, and this is something we talked about on the MMA beat, what's an underrated or under the radar storyline. Like what's a fight that no one's talking about that you're excited for? I brought up a couple.

I mean, the Duffy fight is interesting to me because I'm always curious to see how someone responds from a loss like that. Will Brooks's debut is super interesting to me. Gray Maynard, that's one that Danny Segura brought up. Very interesting. I don't think Kane Velasquez is being talked about enough. I mean, this is a massive fight for Kane Velasquez. So those are a few that come to mind.

The problem is none of them have implications. There's only the fights that are at the top of the card are at the top of the card for a reason. And they were the ones we're talking about because they have the implications. A fight like Kane and Travis Brown, first of all, I think it's going to be one-sided. I think Kane is, you know, assuming everything's, you know, all good with his health. And that's always something you have to talk about, even though it feels kind of trite and cliche at this point. I think he should walk through Travis Brown. I'm pretty confident in that.

there's no real implication there. Maybe he gets back in the title picture with a decisive victory, but there's just so much going on in that division. It'd be hard to throw him right to the top of the heap. I think Will Brooks is going to be interesting because Ross Pearson's no slouch and also let's see if he has any nerves coming into his UFC debut. There's probably implications there, but even then he's still significantly further away from a title shot

than necessary to even discuss. Tate Nunes is probably not being talked about as much as it probably could be. I think... I still wish it was Holly Home versus Tate. Sure. I think an appropriate amount of attention has been paid to all the fights on these cards.

There are some that... I mean, it's just impossible to talk about all of them. but yeah, I do agree. I think, by the way, the fact that they have been, you know, what is it, two weeks off? Two weeks or three weeks? The last fight was 18,

so that would be two weeks? Yeah. Or two and a half, whatever. The nice little break there for the UFC was good. It was smart to book things that way. Allow them to catch their breath. Allow them to start really building up these fights. And they started doing embedded.

I haven't seen the It's Time countdown show, but I heard it's really, really good as well. So I think it's, you know, I'm looking forward to take. taking it all in. And I'm curious to see what the crowd is like as well, because Connor and Nate, they bring a certain type of crowd. They bring a very passionate crowd, a loyal crowd. They come to the press conference, all that stuff. I'm curious. Are a lot of those Irish fans coming because they bought tickets already? What kind of crowd is going to be there? How boisterous are they going to be?

How loud are they going to be? I'm really curious to just take it all in. Absolutely. People's main event. This is important. What is it? Of the entire week? No, 200. 200. Oh, 200. Oh, it's got to be Brock versus Mark Hunt. I mean, that's actually kind of easy, I think. What about, would you be able to do it for the other cards? Sure. I think that Lewis Nelson.

I like that one. Easy. And I think that Brooks Pearson. Cool. There you have it. The people's made up. There you have it. As dictated by Big Brother.

Okay. USC 200 buy rate. Oh, my. How do you think we do? Okay. So the record is around 1.6. we'll never know but that's what we're told. Meltzer always says 1.3 to like 1.7 right somewhere in that range either way it's huge yeah

yeah he said that on the show a couple weeks ago I don't think it beats 100 what do you think hmm I think with so much free MMA it almost hampers it a little bit it almost makes it that the spectacle is by that point even though people will still be excited for it I think people will have gotten their fill of free MMA. Not free, you know what I mean. It's on television,

it's on Fight Pass. There are costs associated with that, but not pay-per-view, essentially. I don't think it'll beat it. Okay, let me ask you this. There are five titles on the line? We have that as a question. If you're about to ask how many change hands.

I don't want to answer it. You answer it. I've made enough picks for the day. Let me see if that was our next question. No. I'll get to it. Hold on. Here we go. Five belts are up for grabs this week. Yeah. How many change hands? So I'll answer since you're scared. Don't be scared, homie. Okay, fine, fine. I'll answer after you. Okay. Let's start from, let's go. No, let's go in order. So you don't have to pick. Okay, go ahead.

Dosangos and Alvarez, I think Dosangos retains. The next day, is there a title fight? No, right? Oh, yeah, there is. Claudia and Yuana. So as, you know, you know I pick Claudia. Wow. That one changes. Then we have Tate and Nunes. I'm going Tate. Then we have Aldo Edgar.

That's a tough one. And we can't really say the title changes hands there because there's no champion. Right. It's an interim belt. So I'm going to go. So let's, okay, just pick your winner. You know what? I think it's Frankie Edgar's time right now.

I mean, again, like the Joe Duffy. thing, how is Al-Doh going to respond from that? Getting knocked down 13 seconds. Now, he could come out, be the buzzsaw of leg kicks and all those things that he was in the first fight, and is in every fight really. But I don't know what it is. I would not go out on a limb on this one and say, bet the house, anything like that. But I feel like it's Frank Yeager's time right now. He's looked really, really good lately.

And then, obviously, I have John Jones. So three of those fights I picked in our pool. and I was even thinking about doing Tate as well. I'll say this, one belt changes hands. What? One. But I won't say which one.

What is that? So then next week you're going to be like, well, that won. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, God. Lame. Okay, this is an interesting one. At USC 100, John Jones was on the undercard.

Yeah. Seven years later, he's now headlining 200. Yes. And is considered by many accounts the greatest of all time. Correct. Somebody who's not on the main card of UFC 200. Oh, my. Who could potentially be that person for 300.

Oh, wow. Now, 300 will come sooner for that person than it did for John Jones. But let's go with 300. So it has to be prelims. Yeah, they have to be not on the main card. Well, there's only really one choice, Sage Northcutt. that was a popular choice in the comment section for sure it has to i mean miller gomi are they going to be around usasi santos lozonszschez sounsel what about dillashore or sounsau that's a possible i mean

it's a possible one but uh hendricks gaslam zangano pena it's got to be sage it's got to be sage there's really no other answer i could see there is an answer well potentially dillishaw let's say dillishaw retrench his title and starts a long championship reign or conversely a sounsau beats him and a long championship reign as Danny Rubinstein would be elated, then we're ending up with a similar narrative, but it's tough to do what John Jones did between 100 and 200. The guy that changed in May. Brock defeats Hunt convincingly. You addressed this a little bit initially. Let's say he does win convincingly. Is it only one fight, or do you see them doing more? And by the way, welcome back to our good friend James Glory. Everyone very excited to hear from him in the comments.

and we wish him the best. So is this a one fight? I don't think anyone knows the answer to that question, to be honest. I think that will be determined in large part based on how he does on Saturday night. So I really don't think that it's impossible. They're saying he wins convincingly. He comes out, blows the doors off. Then I think we see him again.

You almost have to, right? You can't let that walk away. He comes in and makes that statement. And by the way, his his WWE contract, whether they like it or not, not allows him to do that. He was smart enough. This guy is an amazing, and he surrounded himself with some amazing, smart business people. Only performer in WW history who's allowed to wear his own sponsors, his own sponsors on his shorts, which is kind of weird that in the UFC, he can't do that, right? Because that was something taken from UFC. And then this deal, where he's a lot to moonlight

as a UFC fighter in the midst of his WW run. I mean, how about that? Unbelievable. And smart enough to live in the great state of Saskatchewan. What a trifecta. So, yeah, if he wins, I'd be shocked if he doesn't come back. Maybe he wants to end on a high note, but there's a lot of money to be made. Okay, so I'm not going to read all of this, but who has the most to lose this week? And the options presented here, now you may stray from this. Daniel Cormier, if he loses to John Jones, he's lost to him twice, where does he go from here? Josie Aldo, he just got starts by McGregor.

If he loses to Edgar, where does he go? Will Brooks, he's making his debut in the UFC. Potentially, in my opinion, let me just jump in here. is it's not a big deal. Hey, he had octagon ginger, he can bounce back. Right. And Claudia. There's only one name that came to mind when you asked this, even before you rifled off those days. Who is it? It's Daniel Kormier. Everything, everything, his legacy. I mean, just look at the way people disrespect him as champion. Forget about the pound for pound stuff. People will always say

that he was a paper champ. People always say that he only won. He was the Houston Rockets of the UFC. You know, of the UFC. They won when Jordan was away. People always, take shots at him for that. And it means so much to him. I think he's handling it well. I think he's saying all the right things. I think that John Jones thinks that he's in his head

more than he's actually in his head. And I think Jones has been doing a great job as well. That conference call, they snatched that thing away from Brock. It was the Brock show on Thursday, and they did a great job of turning the tables. That being said, this means a lot to Daniel. And so if we're going to ask this question,

I think he has the most to lose. Now, could Daniel not, and I think he could, go up to heavyweight and win the title. But it's not just about the title at this point. It's about beating John Jones. That means more to him. For Daniel, yes.

But I don't think, you know, I truly believe that Daniel Carmier could walk up to heavyweight right now and probably win the title. I couldn't agree more. I could not agree more. But this is now like, you know this playing basketball one-on-one. Like you want to beat someone, you want to beat someone. And he wants to beat John Jones. And by the way, he recognizes that a third fight with John Jones would be gigantic as well. He wants to be John Jones

and he hated the way that last fight went. He was embarrassed in that last fight. He was taken down twice in the same round. He had never been taken down up until that point in any fight. Olympic wrestler never taken down and taken down twice by a Jukho wrestler in the same round. And clearly struggling to take him down on the opposite end. I just think that if you zoom out from just being Daniel Cormier,

his legacy is pretty much assured. I think he'll be fine. Same with a guy like Joseo, though. I don't know how much they have to lose, but your points are fair. But I do think if, let's say Cormier lost, I think he'd take some time off, put on some weight, go up to heavyweight and win the belt. What's the bigger comeback? George St. Pierre, Brock Lesner or Ronda Rousey? Last week, I think we even, or two weeks ago, I think we asked GSP or Brock.

Now let's throw Ronda into the mix. Out of those three. Ronda is the biggest one. Bigger than Brock. Yeah. Wow. Ronda opens doors that no one could have ever. ever dreamed of, that Brock never dreamed of that GSP couldn't open. Ronda transcends.

Rhonda is still the face of the UFC to many people. Like when soccer moms think of the UFC, they've heard of Ronda Rousey. Those people aren't buying 200 for Brock. And some of them aren't even buying, you know, Rhonda's return, but they just know about her. It would get covered. ESPN would be all over it. Ronda Rousey, 100%. I think the same, I mean, ESPN was all over Brock and GSP, is it a, like, does that translate to paper views or what would the... Rhonda is just, you know, also with Rhonda, she lost, her only loss up until this point, so dominantly and in such a shocking manner that people want to see how she responds. And also, what Rhonda has that GSP doesn't have and Brock doesn't have is she has these

intense rivalries with people that we want to see play out. Cyborg, Misha Tate as champion, Holly Home. I mean, she's got three megafights waiting for her. GSP has big fights. He will always have big fights. Brock has big fights. Always had big fights. But that's largely in part because of them. People aren't clamoring to see, or weren't clamoring to see GSP versus Bisping or anyone else. You know, we're kind of trying to figure out what would make sense for GSP. Ronda has these megafights and they're not even super fights. They're in her division, essentially. I mean, I know the cyborg thing is kind of five pounds up. attempt, whatever. But you get my point. She has these things like very attainable waiting for her. Absolutely. That's a great point. Pound for pound arguments.

I think that's the first time you've ever said that on this show. You now stop. Okay. Pound for pound arguments. We talked about this already. I can't believe I said the state of Saskatchewan, by the way, the province of Saskatchewan. Wow. I should have my citizenship revoked. I'm embarrassed. With the ban on IVs and the general public not backing the lighter weight classes. Do you think there would be a thought to the UFC to adding divisions because of this? I could see the UFC adding more. I don't know if it's 195 or 240.

Remember last week, Rampage Jackson was talking about a cruiserweight division. This has been discussed in the past. To me, I don't know if it's necessary, but times have certainly changed. More is better for the fighters, safer for the fighters. The first one that I'd love to see instituted is that 125 female weight class. I mean, we are seeing people really struggle going from either 135 or 115. There can't be that big of a gap, a 20-pound gap, that low. I mean, 20 pounds, when we're talking about 115 and 135, is just enormous.

A lot of these women are in no man's line or no woman's land, I should say. So if we're going to bring in one, the first one should be 125 for the females. Now, we do have a 65-pound gap on the other side. Brock Lesnar could be fighting a guy who's 206. Yeah, but that's the thing. He could be 206. you know what I mean like it's not probably smart to be fighting a guy who's 265 if you're just 206 but you have that wiggle room you don't have to cut more weight these went like a latourneau

has to cut more weight to fight at 115 or she has to be very very oversized as a 135 right she doesn't have that that sweet spot sure and so I get it I mean there are people you know in the past we've talked about rich Franklin 195 and I'llis Silva but I think if and I'm I'm I'm for one of the things I loved about the UFC in know, as I was just a fan growing up, was it was very easy to name the champions. There were just five at the time. It was all very neat. But that's before I really understood the sport and was educated about the sport. Now, I feel like more is better for the fighters, healthier for the fighters. Here's an interesting one. T.J. Grant, what's the deal? Is he turning? No. I mean,

we had him on recently, and I think it was his last interview, but I wouldn't be surprised if we never seen him again. I just think the head injuries and having to move on and having to make living. You know, a lot of people say like, wow, he had a title shot. But, you know, that doesn't necessarily put food on the table. And especially with this, I mean, if he comes back now, he's not getting a title shot. So he has to work his way back up the ladder. Is it smart for a father to do that? Especially when we're talking about head injuries. So it's a shame. He had it. And it was somewhat, you know, unexpected. Remember, as a welterweight, he was just sort of middle of the road, kind of like an RDA and then went on a run as a lightweight, that knockout of Gray Maynard.

Remember that one? I mean, that was amazing Matt Wyman. Very unfortunate, but I get that question a lot. I would suggest checking out our last interview with him. He didn't say the R word, but he said all but that. That's it. If you have anything to address before we try and remind Frank Mear. Wow.

No, we can touch base with them. a couple of things I'll just run through some news while you touch base with them. It was announced, I reported a Friday, I think it was announced Saturday, a fun addition to UFC 202. Artem Lobov against Chris Avila at UFC 202. If you don't know who Chris Avila is, he is a friend, a training partner, a protege of the Diaz brothers. And I love this fight because of who both Connor and Nate trained with was such a a big talking point going into that first fight at 196. Now they took a good friend and training partner of Connor McGregors, Artem Lobov, and yes, I know he's owned two in the UFC and yes, I know his last

fight was not all that impressive against Alex White, against a friend, training partner and protege of the Diaz brothers and Chris Avila, having them fight at 145 is just brilliant. It's going to be so, what's the word I'm looking for? There's going to be a lot of passion in the air. It's going to be very intense, the fan bases are going to be there, that is going to be a scene. And I wouldn't be surprised if it's more of a scene than 200. That's just, that's just Connor and Nate. I mean, that's what they bring to the table. That's what makes them so special. That's why I love covering their events. And then when you add Chris Avila versus Artem Lobov to play into that rivalry, the training partner thing, I mean, what a stroke of genius, a brilliant move. I'm very

happy that they got that done. Really, really like that. And it is Artem's last stand. It is his last shot. And that makes it all that much more intriguing as well. A few other fights that were added to 202, which we talked about on the MMA beat, is a super, super interesting card. Anthony Johnson versus Glover Tashara has been moved from the Fox card in Chicago.

Johnson had some personal issues to take care of. So now they're going to fight August 20th in Las Vegas. So you've got Anthony Johnson versus Glover to share. on that card now. That's probably, I believe, going to be the co-main event. Damien Maya versus Carlos Condit. So Carlos Condit is back, which is tremendous. Great to see that, you know, he's still going to keep fighting and, you know, he still has some fighting left in him clearly. I mean, I thought he won that fight against Robbie Loller, although it was very close. Rick Story versus Donald Seroni, Neil Magny versus Dung Young Kim, and also officially announced,

we reported it a couple of weeks ago, Cody Garbrand versus Takedaamuzaki. That's just some of the fights that have been added to 202. So 200 is a very big deal. There's no doubt about that. But 202, for my money, 202 feels very interesting because it feels like these fights

have sort of been coming together for quite some time. 200 is just a bunch of fun super fights, if you will, like the Brock and Mark Hunt fight and others that people are very excited about. But 202 definitely definitely holds up to 200 in my opinion. I love that card.

And that's also going to be taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That's August 20th. We'll have plenty of time to talk about that. But let us go to our last guest of the day. Really excited to talk to him. It has been a while, and he's a man who knows a whole lot

about some of the big names fighting this weekend. He is the former UFC heavyweight champion. The man who headlined UFC 100 way back in the day. Frank Meir joining us right now. Frank, how are you? I'm doing well, thank you. Great to have you on. Great to talk to you.

Okay, so there's a lot to talk to you about. Let's first start with your business. Where do you stand now as far as you sat in your fighting future is concerned? Can you give us an update on that? Well, as of right now, I have the two-year suspension starting in April. So 2018 of April, I guess that would be available to be able to fight again in the UFC. And even more, as troubling as that is, also they have it to where I can do in broadcasting. Not that I was ever going to get in there, just because,

I've been asking for several years since the WC to be put into rotation. And now it looks like they still won't, you know, now they have even more reason not to put me in the rotation. So right now, maybe possibly just being released by the UFC so I can go off and pursue my career in other avenues. So are you going to try to appeal this, fight this? I know the B sample came back and as you expected, it confirmed the A sample. And I thought that on your podcast, which we will talk about phone booth fighting, which you are representing very nicely on your t-shirt over there with Richard Hunter, I thought you brought up a great point. Would the same lab who said that the A sample was positive, would they kind of go against

themselves and say that the B sample, so maybe we should be going to two labs? I thought that was a brilliant point. But I'm wondering if at this point, once the B sample came back, will you try to appeal this or are you letting it go and you're going to take the two-year suspension? No, there's not really, I didn't see it as any advantage or I didn't see really a course of action that would have been conclusive or really had any percentages on my side as far as. me able to win. Basically, you know, they came in and grabbed the supplements.

And at first I was under the impression that they were going to test them. And then they notified me that no, just kind of like a long thought process that when they said that I could be present when the B sample was opened in the same lab again in Tokyo, but it would be my responsibility to get down there. And that's when I brought up again, like, well, why don't you guys send it to a lab here in the U.S.? It's Wada approved. It's a little bit easier and more convenient for me to attend.

it would accomplish many goals. One, to be a different lab technician and different lab completely working on the sample and be a little bit easier for me to get to Salt Lake City or whatnot than it is for me to get to Tokyo. Right. And so even with the samples, they said that we collected them, but it's up to you if you want to test them. You have to foot the bill and you pay for it out of pocket. Same thing we're getting an attorney to represent me. It started looking to be very expensive to fight. And at the end of it was, I'm still suspended and I'm not allowed to fight.

or broadcast, I have to think about my savings is something I'm about to sit back on and I have children. So I made a calculated decision to go ahead and forego trying to battle it anymore. And basically now, the only option I really see is that even if it was a reduced sentence of one year, I have children and, you know, that are very active and in private school and different endeavors and fighting and not kind of work whatsoever, even for a year, let alone two years, it's not feasible. So hopefully the UFC then just would, you know, release me so I can go off and follow broadcasting and fighting in different avenues.

Have you asked them to release you yet? Yeah. I already put it out there emotionally when it first happened. And that, you know, after I realized about two weeks ago, three weeks ago, the, you know, the situation and its entirety and looked at my savings account and what my kids cost to raise, I realized that I have to go make a, you know, a living and being tied up. not only, not able to fight it, but tied up, not able to do broadcasting or any kind of analytical work, which they were really letting me to run out.

This is 2017. I've been dating to put back in the process. Okay. We lost you there for a second. I want to see if I get you back because I don't want to miss what you're saying. I don't know if we lost them. the connection, if we should call him, maybe we should call him on a cell because now it was crystal clear just a second ago and now we lost them. Okay, we're going to call you Frank, so if you don't

mind sitting tight there, connection was great. These things happened. Maybe there's a storm brewing through Las Vegas. But that is very interesting. I was not expecting to hear him say that, asking to be released so that he can go out. And that's a thing. I mean, that, who, two years, two years, especially if you, you know, didn't do anything knowingly. That is tough. Y'all Romero got really lucky at his age and doesn't have, I believe we have Frank now. Frank, are you there? Okay, we're going to get him in a second. All right. So yeah, wow, I wasn't expecting to hear that, but certainly can sympathize as a father of two. I believe Frank has four. Frank, are you there? Yeah, I'm back. Okay, great. So sorry about that. Not sure what happened. You look great for a

second, but I want to hear everything that you're saying. We lost the back end of your answer there. So you've asked the UFC, have they obliged? Are you released now? No, as of right now, I'm told that they have to go back and look at their lawyers and figure out what course of action is permissible. And when that first was brought up to my attention, it made me think, okay, well, you know, it's Usada, you know, has jurisdiction, basically, authority in the situation. And then when I'm paying attention to the news that Brock Lesnar is able to forego the four-month testing pool that, is a requirement through SADA for fighters coming out of retirement or anybody new to the organization that it's required of them, that the UFC was able to make the call to forego that, give him

exemption. But then that brought up questions in my mind going, well, oh, okay, so the authority to actually carry out everything still resides with the UFC. Who are we waiting on to talk to? And honestly, I've been kind of patient. I realize that UFC 200 is a big card and they're very busy. they're fielding a lot of questions on whether or not they're selling the organization. So I think that there's a lot on their plate.

And so I'm kind of trying to, you know, as patiently as a person can be, you know, just kind of wait to get my time in front of them to discuss the issue, which I feel is all everybody, you know, Lorenzo and Dana are both fathers. And they understand the situation as anybody would that, you know, I have kids. This isn't just affecting me. I have to, you know, go forward and provide as a father before anything. and without any avenue of which to do so, I need to look elsewhere. You have four children, correct?

I do. Wow. So, yeah, I mean, I mean, hopefully they can sympathize with that. And why does this preclude you from doing any broadcasting work? Did you have any idea why? No, I don't. Originally, I was just the assumption that I was supposed to do some analytical work when the news first broke that weekend on Fox.

And so I understood at that moment, then, hey, this is, you know, this just happened. I would have understood it been that just, okay, this is new. We don't want you to be on air because we don't want this to be the, you know, take, you know, front center attention presidents over, you know, the fights that are occurring this weekend. And so it made sense to me. But then basically the conversation was that we have, you know, standing, you know, regulation from the producer that called me from Fox, Zachary Condito, and said that, you know, we don't, we can't have you doing any on TV work.

And so it seems like that's, you know, carried over in all aspects. But again, I haven't got an opportunity to sit down in the room with Dana or with Lorenzo to really work out the details of what the consequences are and what they're basically they're going to try to run with. But that being said, it seems like even if I stayed with the UFC, getting on the desk to do any kind of, or the table, Cateside to do any kind of color commentating hasn't come to fruition. I've been asking for years to be put in the rotation with Kinney and those. guys that are doing a great job, but I also want to be able to get in there, and it seems like

the door has been shut to me, so maybe this is the silver line of the situation is maybe the door will be opened up in another organization where I could also color commentate. And for whatever it's worth, I thought you were fantastic when doing the WC work on versus, and would love to see you do more of that. Not so much the studio stuff, which you're great at, but I thought, you know, that takes a special kind of talent to do the color stuff actually calling the fight. So hopefully that is a silver lining. There was once a rumor, I never asked you about this, once a rumor that before the second Brock fight, you lost that job because you said that, you know, typical trash talk, you want to kill him, all that stuff. Is that true? Did you really lose the job because of that trash talk? Because I've heard a lot worse since then. Yeah, you know, at first what it was is I wasn't allowed to commentate for, they were like, hey, you know what, there was like, hey, you know what, there was very controversial. It made headlines in a negative way and what you said, you know. And obviously, I replied back saying, well,

I was just trying to sell the fight. Like everybody else tries to sell fights, you know. You know, and my argument was I've seen you guys actually on your releases and networking broadcasting, put fighters up in your show opening was, this is where I'm out for blood and I'm not joking. So what's the difference for what they said and what I said? We're all just trying to. I mean, obviously, everybody knows you're not really trying to kill the guy, but we use those euphysisms in our conversation, our vocabulary.

And so, you know, but at the end, I was like, I recognize that it's an issue. I'll stand down for a little bit. And then I really didn't get an opportunity to jump back in there because then that's when they consolidated UFC and the WEC just absorbed it. And so that eliminated it. So then I was told that, you know, no problem. In fact, when the UFC first bought Strike Force, I had a conversation with Dana that I would be able to get in there and start doing color commentating. But then they absorbed that before I had the opportunity. So as far as I know, they've been very, very.

much in the you know positive about me getting there but it's now I'm starting to think I'm like I it's been a couple years now guys I keep getting told that I'm gonna get in there and it's not happening at a certain point it's one of those things like hey thanks for your time but maybe I need to go somewhere else to get the opportunity it'd be you know you're the second string quarterback and they're telling you you're gonna get playing time it's eight seasons later and you're like maybe I need to get traded so I can get some playing time you've been a great ambassador to to in many degrees you've been a face for the U of

You headlined the biggest show up until this point against Brock as champion. Were you hoping to get one of those ambassador jobs that we've seen Chuck, Matt Hughes, Big Nog get? Do you think that's even possible or is that out of the window now because of this you saw a thing? I don't know. Once again, I'm kind of limited on answers. I have as many questions as everybody else does as far as what situations have put me here. I mean, for example, when it first occurred, then I assumed that I voted into the southern Nevada Hall. fame of sports. And so at first I called up family members and everybody canceled their travel

arrangements because the assumption would be that, well, you know, I'm obviously not going there now. And, you know, about a month later, I got a phone call not even addressing the issue, but just like, all right, so we need this, this, and this one's running. It was kind of like, you know, the elephant in the room wasn't addressed. And so it was odd, but I went ahead and just kind of went along with it. I'm like, all right, assuming that at the UFC, you know, I'm the only fighter ever in MMA or the UFC to say that to make it into the Southern Nevada Hall of Fame. And so I assume that that would be an opportunity for me to meet, you know, see the guys and have a run in and no one was there.

Mark Radner opened up for somebody else. He was present, but no one else really showed up for the UFC. So I'm really not getting the opportunity to get in front of somebody face-to-face to ask question. initially you said that you thought it was maybe tainted kangaroo meat do you still think that i have no idea that was uh it was an option just because i thought about it because trying to you know i'm banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how this could happen and you know obviously then you know people are giving me different you know ideas like hey if you look this route

have you looked up into the what rock have you not turned over and then that was when uh the computer all was becoming an issue in in mexico because of meat that comes from china they were using procedures they shouldn't have to grow the meat bigger and stronger. And then someone sent me an article where it said, well, hey, they used the drug that you've been busted with, that, you know, supposedly the metabolite, you know, you do have the metabolite that could derive from this drug is in your system. You know, farmers that want to make extra meat, it's not legal to do, but they do this in Australia and China has also been found to do this. This is, you know, why they have the problem with the computer all. So it's kind of the same alley. So I was like, oh,

possibility, but I just, the facts I do know is that they randomly drug tested me six weeks before the fight, blood and urine knocked at my door at 6.30 in the morning, and I passed the random drug test flying colors. But then the drug test that I knew that I was going to come, that's the one that the metabolite. And they're like, well, it's because you, you could have stopped taking this supplement. The fact that it's in low levels in your blood means that you stopped taking it probably five or six weeks before the fight, small. So I attempted to take a drug to enhance my athletic ability for a day or two and hoping that it would eliminate from my system because on the internet you can read it that it stays in there sometimes which is six weeks what benefit would that

have gained me i mean just let's just look at the facts i took a drug for two days like i'm not the most unintelligent person in the world and anybody with half of a you know a brain cell can look up and go well steroids don't really work that way you can't just take them for two days and get off of them and expect to see any benefit whatsoever. So I opened myself up to great risk with no reward, knowing that no matter what, when I showed up in Australia, win or lose, I could pay the same. So there was no financial incentive.

Obviously, it didn't make me look any differently, so there was no visual ego involved trying to change my physique. My guys, it just doesn't add up. To me, it makes more practical that somehow I came across this metabolite in a way that I was not aware of. and, you know, and I need help to try to figure out where it came from. If you're asking me questions, I'm not a chemist. And so to be very clear right now, you have no idea why this came up, right?

You have, you don't have. No. Wow, that has got to be. No, in fact, that's why I've actually on the phone a lot. There's a baseball player over the Blue Jays, Chris Cotello. Yeah, Colabello, he and several other baseball players have also in the last couple months. In fact, Chris, I was on the phone with him. He goes, I showed up at the training camp,

And we knew I was, he goes, it wasn't a random drug test. I even showed up five days early for it. Do you think someone shows up five days early thinking that they have to eliminate something from their system? And so again, somebody that we can't figure out why this one particular metabolite seems to come up. He's trying to, you know, he has a little bit more money than I do. So I'm kind of sitting back on that, trying to see what they're able to come forth with. One of the guys, even, the baseball players, you know, they got busted with his metabolite in a system. when they came to retest them again months later, same thing.

And the other thing that's weird is all of us have just low levels. That's the part that's kind of odd is that all of us are on the same cycle at the same exact time and we get tested. Like, what are the chances of that? That's another thing that just draws my curiosity to, well, something just doesn't add up. And that's happened before. I mean, you know, obviously a lab is not 100%. You know, we've made mistakes in the past with, you know,

I was researching articles where people were losing their children because they would take a test metabolites or methamphetamine were coming up, and then people were screaming up and down that I'm not on meth, what are you talking about? They come to find out there's other drugs that, you know, or supplements or, you know, medicines would give a false positive, but it took years for the science of the test to become refined enough to realize that, I mean, we have that worse for a reason, a false positive occurs through some other foreign substance that, you know, initially the lab was not aware of until trial and error. The call-bell thing is fascinating to me. I'm actually a big Blue Jays fan, so I know his story

very, very well. Did you reach out to him or did he reach out to you? How did that work out? A mutual acquaintance was able to put us together. He actually listened to my podcast where I discussed the situation and he, out of his own mouth, said it gave him chills because it's exactly how he felt where he's being told that you took this metabolite is in your body and you have no clue. And, you know, I'm not an unintelligent person when it comes to the idea that if you are going to take a drug and you, you know, you're going, I've seen. people in the past. If you go ahead and just kind of expose yourself and sit and go, yes, I did it, I was injured, I had to make it to make the team or whatever the case may be, there is a conclusion

to it. Our society seems to get past it. If you look at the people that consistently deny against evidence, we hold on to it a lot more. I mean, you look at Jason Gianbi, right? Yeah. He came forward to it, yes. He's never really brought up in the conversation. Now you have Barry Bonds, who's on all these lists, all these people appoint the finger. you're at, vehemently denies it, and guess what? He's still the poster boy for, you know, drug abuse and the Major League Baseball. So even there, I'm looking at it going, well, I guess I could just lie and say I did it to get over it, but my own sense of honor going, but I didn't.

Right. That bugs me. I just can't, you know, if I got, you know, convicted of a crime, you know, or, you know, being prosecuted of a crime that I didn't do, and they're like, well, if we take you to court, you might do life in prison, but I didn't do it. But if you just cop that you did do it, we'll just give you parole. I'm going to have to go to court, guys. I just, I can't be known as this guy that did this when I didn't.

Yeah, I don't blame you. I don't blame you for not wanting to say that. That sticks with you forever. So here's what I'm really curious to hear about. What are your feelings five days before 200? This doesn't happen. Even if the hunt fight goes the same way, I feel like there's a great chance that you're fighting Brock Lesner at UFC 200.

Do you agree with that? And is it going to be hard for, are you just not going to watch? Because you're the fight. You're the guy. I mean, that's the rise. that everyone wanted to see play out. You were in talks. You know, there were some rumors that he was coming back a couple of years ago, and it was

going to be you. What are your thoughts now that you see him back five days away from fighting in your hometown? Oh, it's a missed opportunity. And I think anybody that has a regret in life to look back up, and even if you're not at fault for it, where it's like, well, it really didn't, nothing I could have done about it. I think we still have those regrets in life where you look at it on, man, I missed that. I, a second two later, later, a day later, a dollar short, and whatever, you know,

you want to use, and you can dwell upon it. I'm not going to lie and say that, you know, does it bother me? Oh, greatly so? You know, I wish that was me out there. I wish I was the one walking in there with Brock on Saturday. But I'm not. And so now, you know, instead of sitting there and dwelling upon it, which I've done since the months after the fight, I've tried to just now focus on just what I can do, you know,

sitting down with Richard and Hunter and working on our podcast together to get my voice out there to try to make a case for getting also way back into. broadcasting and analytical type of work, being relevant still in the world of them in any capacity that I can still perform. So I try to just look at the positives of what I can control. Does it bother me? Yeah, man, it bugs the hell out of me. At 37 and with a family of four, do you still want to fight or would you rather try to find TV work that means you don't have to fight? Do you still have that fire in you to compete anymore or would you rather not? No, I do, but it's very much just like, I mean, you being a father of two can understand.

Obviously, when you're younger and it's all about you, you follow your ambitions and I was very happy that, you know, getting paid was like, well, you know, that's great. Here, my wife can take it so that way when I'm at the gym all day. She can't, you know, be upset, you know. But now it's like, do I love to fight and want to get out there and compete still? Absolutely. But then I also look at, well, I have the responsibility of my children. So if I'm not making money at fighting, pursuing that, I have to go ahead. and look at other avenues and go out there.

But if I can still go out there and fight and that still provides my children with a life, that's a perfect scenario for me. If I have to go out there and do other things, you know, work more in broadcasting, which I really like, I do enjoy, so it's not like it's a horrible alternative by any stretch of the imagination,

but, you know, you do it. And that's just the case of being a father. And first and foremost, I have to provide for them. And that's what really is put me in such advice when it comes to what's the current situation. Have you been able to? I don't even know if you're allowed to, but put out feelers to other organizations, other networks, whether or not they'd be interested in hiring you? Like, do you have a sense? Okay, there's something, and you don't have to say, of course, I don't want you to ruin a deal, but there's something waiting for me if I could just get past this hurdle, get my release from the UFC, you know, walk away amicably. There's nothing for me there. Are you familiar with anything like that out there? Well, I mean, obviously, you're not really allowed to discuss with people, contracts where you're under contract. Okay.

I feel extremely comfortable that if the U.S. you were to release me, that I'll be able to work in other organizations and fight and do broadcasting. Okay. Wow. Well, and so you started this podcast with Richard Hunter, who's a MMA media member. I see him at all the events. It's called phone booth fighting. You can get it on iTunes, every other place where you can get a podcast like this one. And of course, you started it before this whole thing came up. Why did you start, and now it's helped you to get, it's a great platform for you to have to be able to tell your story. You used it in a very smart fashion. Of course, like me, I wanted the scoop, but hey, I got 100% that you would go on your own show and use that platform where you can talk freely. Why did you initially start it, though? Why did you want to do something like this? Well, I like the idea of just kind of being unedited and be able to say and speak my mind and discuss things.

And also, you know, a lot of times when you are the interviewee, I go on your show, you already have. formatic questions to ask me. But then, and that allows me to discuss who I am to people, but there's times I want to discuss topics that aren't relevant to who I am. I'm just now basically sitting in the seat of a journalist just as an outsider viewing something, and I like to break it down and think about it and talk about it and discuss it. And so this is really what gave me that avenue to sit down there and be like, okay, well, hey, guess what happened over in Baghdad recently? And we talk about, you know, our thoughts on, you know, whether the Sunnis and the Shiites, and, you know, we could talk.

down and break down fights, but not necessarily that I'm the guy fighting somebody, other individuals and breaking down what I think the strengths and weaknesses are. And I very much enjoy that, you know, that's something that it's funny. Richard and I said that we sit down and, you know, I'll drink a beer. He doesn't and hang out and shoot the breeze and we just try to solve the problem in the world, problems of the world. And that's when I was like, hey, you know, why don't we just broadcast this and other people can get in?

And I thought it as an avenue to also stir other people's conversations, I'm like, whether it's, you know, positively or negatively, people can give me their input. And now I can reach a broader range of people besides just whoever's within the sound of my voice. And I like discussing things. I like, you know, hey, so what do you think about this? And, you know, an exchange of ideas and beliefs and just, you know, I think this and this is why. I'm like, oh, well, I think this and this is why. The going back and forth of information is something that is one of my favorite pastimes.

Now, you know, with podcasting, I can broadcast it out and people can listen. And that's why actually I'm super excited about tomorrow night. At 10.30 will be at the Stratosphere with Adam Hunter doing a stand-up. We're going to sit down with gorgeous George and goes and basically have an open forum where, you know, Dan Hardy's going to be our guest. And, you know, fans can come up to the mic and back and forth ask questions and just start conversations, you know, and just, you know, have a good talk. So that's another thing to look forward to.

That's tomorrow if you're in Las Vegas, 10.30 p.m. the LA Comedy Club inside the Stratosphere on the Las Vegas strip. It's a free show. You don't have to pay to get in? No, it's free. Wow. I'm not paying out. Yeah, right now as far as raising money for the podcast,

we do want to go ahead and up it up as far as the mechanics behind it, which I'm not very good at it. If Richard Hunter disappears, I don't know how to download any of the information, but our mics and some of our, you know, we're getting requested. Some of our equipment's really not that top knots. So we started a Fund Anything campaign, and, you know, if people want to check that out on our website, they can look at it and see what they can, you know, contribute

and what benefits they'll receive from it to help out, and so that way we can turn around and actually raise the quality of the show. Traveling is something that I look greatly, I look forward to as far as getting out to different venues to meet other fans in person and that discussion. That website is fundanithing.com slash phone boothfighting. Your website is phoneboothfighting.com. The show is now twice, weekly. So two times a week, every

Tuesday and Friday, that's when new shows are posted. It's on iTunes, Stitcher, all those places. Your Facebook, Instagram page, phone booth fighting, Twitter, and Snapchat, also phone booth fight. So those are some of the places where you can learn more about Frank's show. So let me put you on the spot here. Mark Hunt, Brock Lesnar, let's put that

analyst cap on. Who wins and why? I think you have to favor Mark Hunt because Brock has a great double. He's very powerful, can explode through. But he's a little bit older than he was last time we saw him. You know, he's closing in on 40.

And anybody you talk about that's had a five-year absence from the octagon, if we were talking about Anderson Silva, one of the greatest martial artists that ever come into the UFC, and you said, okay, he's coming off of a five-year layoff, questions would arise about his timing, the ring rust, and everything else. And I think people are forgetting about that with Brock. It's like, hey, guys, he hasn't fought for five years.

And the guy he's fighting, has a low center of gravity. He's a thick guy. small heavyweight he cuts down to make 265. He's not the easiest guy just to run through with a double. You can have to exchange with him a little bit like, you know, Steve A did to try to throw him off to grab onto a leg and maybe get him down. And he's

also very good at getting up. And that whole time you're trying to do that, Mark Hunt, out of all the heavyweights I've ever fought, hits the hardest. Without even a hesitation I can answer. No one with Roy and Junior and Alistair and no one hits harder than Mark Hunt does. I think he has now the record for most

first-round knockout, so I don't think I'm the only one to probably think this. And so Brock's going to have to try to get past that. With his jab and his straight right hand, which probably is two best weapons offensively on its feet, is he going to be able to do enough to get past the striking of hunt to get secure a take down

and get down and hopefully take him down and wear him out until he can maybe secure submission or get a TKO. I just feel that even though it's possible, it's not like it's impossible. I wouldn't be blown away if Brock pulled it off. But I think just probability-wise, looking at it on paper, it's like, well, Hunt has a lot of advantages. He's been competing a lot. And really, even though he's older and he's 42, he's actually improved over the last couple years when it comes to the world of M&A. Yeah, it's clear that Brock wanted to come back. But are you surprised that he took this

fight? The knock on him has always been that he doesn't like to get a punch. And now he's fighting the guy who you say you know better than anyone, punches harder than anyone in the division. Was this a mistake that he chose Hunt? Because you'd have to think that he had the pick of the litter. I mean, as far as like, you know, Hunt? Are you surprised? Not really, because I feel that it's a situation to where it's kind of like, I think it's the kind of mental agreement that Connor made in his fight, right? When he was fighting eight years, everybody's like, oh, well, he's not very good on the ground.

I'm like, yeah, but did you notice that he actually got punched in his face and he was stunned and decided he made a deal with himself that it's probably better to get choked out than it is to get knocked out. So he changed levels shot on Nate and decided that that would be a better way to lose the fight than to get knocked out. So I think guys sometimes look at the more honorable way to go out

if they are going to lose. So I've always done that myself. That's why I've always chosen the toughest guys to fight if I had an opportunity like fight, Fighter A or Fighter B. I'm like, well, fighter A is way more dangerous. Let's choose him. One, the reward for beating them is so much better. But if Brock goes out there and gets knocked out by Mark Hunt,

he's just one of the guy that got knocked out by Mark Hunt. It's not a little bit of, you sit there and go, well, I came off a five-year layoff. It is Mark Hunt. He's known to knock people out really fast, and, you know, he hits super hard. There's not as much lost. And if he gets a win, it's great.

You know, Mark's been on the rise. He's doing well. He's very popular fighter. People like him. So there's a lot to gain. Now, if Brock came back and you put him in there with somebody that everybody goes, who? Huh?

He goes out there and fights somebody like, Jay. that maybe not is more well-known, Jason wrestler out of Oklahoma, but he goes and knocks him out. It looks really bad. Okay. So I think that it was actually a smart decision to pick somebody that's a lot of upside and the downside. No one's going to really knock him as much unless, you know, if he lost somebody of lower caliber, if he fought some guy that wasn't even in the top 15, still a chance he gets knocked out, and now it looks really bad.

I know we're running out of time, but I just got to ask Jones, D.C., because you know them very well. You used to be a part of Jackson's. You fought Daniel Cormier. Who's your picking that one? Oh, I have John. I think the D.C. still has too much reach disadvantage. John has a great reach advantage. And we saw in the first fight that the wrestling that D.C. has wasn't enough to overcome the wrestling that John has.

I mean, Daniel's probably still maybe the better pure wrestlers just by looking at their accomplishments on paper. But it didn't really equate to the ring. In fact, John was the one of took him down. And so, and it wasn't that Daniel wasn't working on his wrestling. It wasn't like he set it to the side. He had a high-level Olympic athlete, you know, in there working with him. So how much better could have Daniel improved his wrestling since then? None.

His wrestling's already a high level as it's ever going to be, and it still fell short. Whereas the attributes that John is able to beat him at, Daniel's not able to make up for. And I'm not even in the first fight when you said, who do you think can win, I'm like, that's a long jab to get past. and then when you do get past it, John's good at wrestling. And I think that's pretty much the most simplified version of putting this fight.

It's not easy to get in on John. And when you do, he's really good at wrestling himself. And he has a tall, long body that I think the angles through Daniel off, trying to go for the crops, lift, you know, on the head outside single. And, you know, when he first tried to run the pipe,

John has great balance when he tried to lift him. All of a sudden, John's toes are still on the ground because he has such a high center of gravity. And so I still feel that, you know, Daniel's a phenomenal fighter. I just think that, you know, he's probably the second best guy in the world at 205, and John happens to be the number one guy. Yeah.

Okay, tremendous stuff, Frank. Really appreciate the time and candor. Last question for you is this. If you get your release, if you get what you want, if you move on to somewhere else and do TV work and fight, when you're 50, 60 years old, are you at peace with how this all turned out? Of course, you didn't want it to turn out this way. but for your UFC career run to end like this,

can you be at peace with that? Can you be okay with that? Or are you afraid that it's going to bother you until you're old and gray? Oh, I absolutely will bother me. I don't want to lie and be like, ah, I'll get past it. It'll be one of those things that I'll be very sad about the fact that I've spent 15 years in my life,

you know, being in the UFC and this is how it ended. It's not a happy note to end on. And then there'd be one of those things I'm going to have to chalk up is a regret that I'll have until the day they put me in the ground. and I just have to move on and try to continue with other aspects of my life. I wish you the best, Frank. I really do. I hope it all works out for you. Great work with the podcast. Phoneboothfighting.com is where you can learn more about it. If you're in Las Vegas, go check out his show tomorrow, 1030 at the Stratosphere, as we talked about earlier.

You could talk to Frank Meir, Dan Hardy, and all those other great names. Thank you so much for coming on. Really appreciate it. Great to hear your insight. And I do wish you and your family the very best, Frank. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, there he is. Frank Meir, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion. did not expect him to say that.

Really just wanted him on to talk about his podcast, talk about the fight. He knows Mark Hunt, fought him in his last fight, he knows Brock Lester, fought him twice. Didn't expect the release bombshell, but hard to sympathize. Hard not to sympathize with him, I should say. Father of four, you got to make money. You don't want it to end this way, but what are you going to do? You can't broadcast, you can't fight. He is an MMA fighter.

What's he going to do? Man. Tough. All right, that does it. No more interviews. New York, Rick. Any parting words, any final thoughts before we go, before we embark on this insanity that is the 2016 International Fight Week. I wish you good luck, sir. Yes, I wish you good luck. What is this game called, by the way? Is it called the Double Down? Apropos, because wasn't it the KFC double down that really stole Mark Hunt's heart? It was called the Double Down. There we go. It's the double down.

It's the M of me. Chicken, chicken as bread. Chicken, two pieces of chicken and then like... Bacon in the middle of that. Yeah, and cheese. That's the thing. That's the one that got away from him. The double down.

Oh, and congratulations to your warriors on acquiring Kevin Durant as well. Nix just signed Willie Hernan Gomez and also some guy from Lithuania. I mean, the signings... Listening to you and Mike gush about the Nix. Mike, who also works for SB Nation. It was so cute. It was so cute. Oh, yeah.

What have you guys done, by the way? Anything? Have you signed a person or just lost players? You know, when Dwayne Wade comes calling. Yeah, right. By the way, I would be down with that. Screw the heat. Well, I just think it's like somebody has to compete with the... The super team? The super friends? Yeah, with the Warriors.

By the way. As constructed, the Cavs are not beating the Warriors. What about all these NBA insiders who are like, just give the title... Have we not learned from history? Lakers tried to do it. Didn't work. Heat in their first year, didn't work. I mean, more often than not, when you construct these super teams, and I know this one's different because they're all young in their prime. All of them play together except for Durant.

He's a nice fit there. I get it. But can we stop with the, you know, crowning a champion in July nonsense? What's also, in the NBA, you're one injury away from being at the bottom. By the way, they just signed David West. Crazy is that.

On a veteran minimum. Says a Pechulia, too. Ring Chaser. They're going to sign Patrick Ewing and he's finally going to get his... Stop it. Why do you have to... Okay.

Mello, Porzingis, Rose, Noah. I mean... That's the super team I'm excited about. That is the strongest seventh seed I've ever seen. Okay, good night. Final thought, and you can hit my music. Here's what I'll say about this week in Las Vegas. Here's what I'll say about what we're about to embark on.

In a week's time, actually in six days' time, because we're back next Monday, by the way. We'll take it all in. We'll recap it. We'll enjoy it. We'll talk about the ups and downs. Here's what I'll say. Freaking enjoy this. This is a pretty special thing.

You're getting three straight nights. something like 21 hours, 30-something fights, featuring the very best athletes at what they do, all in the span of three days. And I'm not going to lie, some of the things that have happened in this sport over the last month and beyond, at times have soured me on this sport.

This comes at a great time. It comes at a great time for not just me, but I think for all of us, let's just enjoy this. Let's worry about the other stuff later. Let's worry about the consequences. let's worry about the politics, let's worry about the money, all that stuff that we love to talk about,

and just enjoy this amazing stretch. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to covering it. I'm looking forward to being there with all the fans, the journalists, the fighters, everyone taking it all in and really remembering why we love the sport so much. Thank you for watching the show. Thank you for listening to the show. Thank you for everything.

I love all of you. Thank you very much to Bruce Buffer for stopping by. Good luck to him. Thank you very much to Joseph Duffy. Good luck to him on Thursday. Thank you very much to Valerie Latourneau. Best of luck to her. Thank you very much to Mike Goldberg.

Best of luck to him. Thank you very much to Yo Romero. And all the best to the great Frank Mir. Thank you to him for stopping by. Back next Monday, same time and place. Enjoy the fights. Until they say peace. Sax Fifth Avenue makes it easy to holiday your way.

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