MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani - Episode 341

Episode Date: August 1, 2016

Ariel Helwani speaks to Marc Raimondi (00:07:25), Stephen Thompson (00:27:15), Ian McCall (00:48:25), Mark Henry (01:08:35), Carlos Condit (01:30:42), Alex Caceres (01:50:46), Tyron Woodley (02:11:50), NewYorkRic to take your questions (02:35:39 & 03:30:58), and Aljamain Sterling (03:07:29). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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at O-D-O-D-O-O-com. That's O-D-O-O-O-O-com. It's the Mixed Martial Arts Hour with a mixed martial arts hour back in your life on this Monday, August 1st, 2016. Hello again, everyone. I'm Ariel Hawani. Back inside our New York City studio back from beautiful Atlanta, Georgia. I got to tell you, I really liked Atlanta. People there are so nice. What a great place.

And my friends, I have to tell you as well, the year 2016, just seven months old, it is officially, is seven months old today. And in that stretch, think about that stretch in the world of mixed martial arts. Think about what we've witnessed. I think fair to say, if we erase the next five months and Lord knows what's going to happen in the next five months, this has already been the most newsworthy year in the history, short history, I might add, of this great sport. You talk about the sale, PDs, retirements, returning.

New York legalizing MMA, free agency. So much has happened on a weekly basis. We talk about it every Monday on this show. I do believe we have yet to miss a show this year as well, which I think is a streak in its own right. But above all that, if we erase all that, if we ignore all of that, and we just focus on the fights themselves,

and you think about what we've witnessed from an athletic standpoint, this year, in cages all around the world, It truly is remarkable and it's historic because never before in a short stretch like this, in the same calendar year, have we seen the UFC belt, regardless of division, change owners this many times? It's unbelievable. Back in January, Dominicruz defeated T.J. Dillishot to become the UFC Bantamway champion.

What a story that was. In March, Misha Tate defeated Holly Home and a great comeback win to become the women's bantamweight champion. And then we embarked on this amazing ongoing stretch of first round finishes in UFC title fights. In May, Stipe Miochich knocked out for Bistowice of Radoom at UFC 198 to become the UFC heavyweight champion. In June, Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold in the first round to become the UFC middleweight champion. In July, Eddie Alvarez knocked out Hafeel dos Santos to become the UFC lightweight champion. A couple of days later, Amanda Nunes submitted Misha Tate again in the first round to become the UFC women's bantamweight champion. And on Saturday night in Atlanta, Georgia, Tyrone Woodley, yes, Tyron Woodley, the chosen one, who it seems like for the last five, six years, has been campaigning for this big moment, who for the last, I don't know, six, seven, eight,

months needed so many things to go his way just to get a title shot. Think about that. He had to dodge the Nate Diaz bullet, the Nick Diaz bullet, the George St. Pierre bullet, the Carlos Condit rematch bullet, the Connor McGregor bullet, the Wonderboy Thompson bullet. So many things had to fall his way in order to just get the title shot against Robbie Lawler. And much like Chris Weidman a couple of years ago when so many things had to fall Wyatman's way to get that shot against Anderson Silva. It worked in Woodley's favor on Saturday night. He got that shot, walks out to King Without a Crown, and knocks out Robbie Lawler, courtesy of a missile of a right hand that Lawler did not see coming. And what a sight it was. Yes, the crowd was somewhat sparse. Yes, this was sort of sandwiched

between 200 and 202. A lot of people weren't talking about it. The media contingency wasn't all that great. but if you were there on Saturday, if you were watching at home, you will not forget what Tyrone Woodley did to Rob Yolller. He is the new UFC welterweight champion. We have a new king at 170 pounds, and this is a man who knows what he wants. He has ruffled some feathers already, calling out specific fighters, ignoring others, and as a result, 170, all of a sudden, is a super fascinating division. Wow. And that is sort of a theme on this Monday morning. And oh, by the way, How about this? Talk about the stars aligning in that particular division. Today, August 1st, 2016, marks the return of Nick Diaz. Nick Diaz today is officially a free man and we have to mention that

right off the top because if you recall last year, September 14th, 2015, to be exact, that was the date that the Nevada Athletic Commission horribly, disgustingly abused its power as commissioners, as an executive body. And I said I was going to mention it on every single show until they rectified it. Well, they gave them an 18-month suspension. Originally, it was a five-year suspension. They reduced it to 18 months.

Well, all that is in the past now because Nick Diaz is a free man. How about that? Welcome back, Nick Diaz. George St. Pierre is itching to come back. 170 is fascinating right now. Wow. And it's amazing that it all culminates

with Diaz returning today. And I believe it's his birthday tomorrow. And oh, by the way, on top of all that, it's New York Ricks. 42nd birthday today. Happy birthday to him. What a great day. So much to discuss.

I love a Monday morning like this. Or I should say Monday afternoon. We have a lot to discuss. So let's get right into our first guest. Let me run down the lineup first. 405. We're going to be joined by Al Jermaine Sterling. I haven't talked to Al Jermaine Sterling since that loss.

Disappointing loss to Brian Carraway. It was his birthday yesterday. So we'll talk to the Funkmaster himself at 405. 325. we'll take your questions and comments. 305, we'll talk to the new champ himself. How about that? Taryn Woodley.

Always gracious with his time. Always makes time for the media. No different today on this Monday. We'll talk to Taryn Woodley at 305. 245. Alex Casares, who made events the next UFC show this Saturday in Salt Lake City of all places. Against Jaira Rodriguez. Always enjoy talking to Bruce Leroy.

He'll join us at 245. 225. Carlos Condit, another name, to look out for, who is now main eventing UFC on Fox 21 against Damien Maya. He'll join us at 225. 205 will be joined by Mark Henry, the not sexual chocolate Mark Henry, the great striking coach you've heard me talk about many times on this show as of late. He just completed a very busy month of July. Frankie Edgar, Eddie Alvarez, it's in Barbosa. Marlon Morais. Picking up a big win on Saturday, all under his tutelage. We'll talk to Mark Henry at 205.

Ian McCall was supposed to fight at UFC 201. Thursday night got some bad news. Justin Skoggins pulling out of the fight. So we'll talk to Ian McCall at 145. And 125, we'll talk to Wonderboy Thompson. Who, everyone agrees that he is the number one contender. Does he get that title shot now? If it's up to Tyrone Woodley, doesn't appear so. So we'll talk to Wonderboy Thompson at 1.25. But first, let's go to Las Vegas, Nevada. Standing by is my colleague and friend, Mark Romundi. There he is. Not in his usual location, but I got to say the internet looks better this time around. So how about that? Mark, how are you? I'm pleasantly surprised by the Monte Carlo's internet so far. The Monte Carlo. Fingers crossed for the rest of the week. Look at you. Monty Carlo,

living it up, huh? Going fancy. As much as one can live. up at the Monte Carlo, yes. Indeed. We will talk about why you're in Las Vegas in a second, but first, let's talk about Saturday night. I briefly mentioned Tyron Woodley, of course. I have to give props to Karolina Kovalkevich for her big win over Rose. Nama Yunus, now the number one contender. Polish power versus Polish power, as she put it. Going to face Ioannia on J. Check, and of course, Jake Ellenberger, among the other notable victories, blasting Matt Brown in their Walterade fight. But let's start with Tyrone Woodley.

are you surprised honestly i know a lot of people after the fact like to say oh i wasn't surprised i wasn't surprised tyrant woodley went out there and did what only one other man has ever done to robbie luller before he knocked out robbie luller in the first round with a missile of a right hand have you have you digested this yet or is it still a little crazy that tyrant willy is the new welterweight champion i mean i was i was certainly picking luller as i think many people were although I did see a lot of Woodley selections coming in late. I think that Woodley won the fight, the way that Woodley was going to win the fight, kind of the same way that Nunes was going to beat Tate back at U.C. 200.

If they were going to win the fight, it was going to be in the first round by some kind of finish. Because as we know, Robbie Lawler has these five-round fights on lock. I mean, the guy has these five-round fights figured out. He puts it, pedal to the medal in the fifth round, and somehow he gets all these fifth round, these five-round decisions. So I think that if it went to decision, it certainly favored Lawler over the course of the fight. Of course, Woodley also has had some cardio issues in the past. If it was going to be a Woodley victory, it was probably going to come pretty early on.

So I wasn't surprised in that manner. But yeah, I definitely thought that Lawler was going to win the fight. It was amazing watching and being around Tyron Woodley for those few days in Atlanta because he was a man on a mission at the Media Day on Thursday. For everyone except us, M.M.A. fighting, his only response to whatever question was thrown, his way was, I'm the best Walterweight in the world. He pulled the Marshawn Lynch on everyone. He just kept saying it over and over. It seemed like he was a little bit annoyed at the lack of push that he got, the buzz leading up to the fight, and I witnessed it. There wasn't that much. But this is a guy who

is supremely confident, and I think doesn't get enough credit for really being an intelligent prize fighter. He knows what he wants, and he comes out right afterwards and says, wonder boy, you can go sit down over there. I want Nick Diaz or George St. Pierre. He's received a lot of heat for this. Do you hate him for doing it? Do you blame him for doing it? Should he be giving Wonderboy the shot? Or do you understand

he has every right to do it now that he's the champion? No, I like it. I think it makes sense. He's just trying to get his. He's just trying to do what's best for him. And that's really what every fighter should be doing. I love the quote that he gave Wonderboy when they were both on FS1 on the post-fight show.

He said, oh, Stephen, you wanted to fight Robbie Lawler. He said it'd be a better fight for the fans. Well, now you get that opportunity. to fight Robbie Lawler because you're not going to fight me next. No, I think, I mean, look, this is prize fighting. At the end of the day, it's about making as much money as you can in a short span of time. Tyrone really is 34 years old. He probably is not going to be at the peak of his career much longer.

He's there right now. So that means the window is closing rapidly on his ability to make as much money as possible to maximize that earning potential. Well, George St. Pierre is one of the biggest draws in UFC history. Nick Diaz is, I think, one of the biggest draws right now for sure. I mean, the guy, his value, his drawing power has only increased since he's been away, I think. That would be a big fight. This is exactly what more fighters should be doing, going after those big fights. And I like what he said about the rankings,

too. The rankings are a trash fire. They're a trash fire. They're complete and utter garbage. I think that what Tyrone Woodley is saying is on point. Here is the irony to all this. After UF. 195 in January, Carlos Condit lost a super close decision to Robbie Lawler. A lot of people, including myself, thought Carlos Condet actually won that fight. Tyrone Woodley came on this show and had to do some serious campaigning to get that title shot. Remember, he was supposed to fight at 192. Hendricks pulls out withdraws from the fight, and now he's kind of left in limbo. He had to campaign after that fight at 195. He had to campaign after the Wonderboy win in February. he had to dodge, as I said, the Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz bullets and the George St. Pierre bullets and the Connor McGregor bullets.

And now here he is on the other side of the fence saying, hey, you Wonderboy Thompson, the guy who I was just a few months ago talking about I've earned this. I warrant this title shot. I've done everything that you've asked me to do. Now I'm going to pick and choose. There's some irony to that, isn't there? I mean, like he's literally doing what he was begging the UFC not to do just a few months ago. sure but again he's just he's just trying to take care of himself sure being a businessman he's playing he's he's playing it smart everything everything he has done has been has been smart so far all decisions

he's made have worked out for him and they've been well thought out he's a really smart guy tyron is a really smart guy he's had a plan and the plan has worked out fantastic so far and now this is the next part of his plan the next part of his plan is hey i've proven i'm the number one in the world I beat Robbie Lawler. Now it's time to get myself some paper. Now it's time to get myself some money. And that's what he wants to do. And I don't think anyone should be regression for that.

I saw a lot of fans over the weekends freaking out on Twitter. Oh, you know, who is he to call out Nick Diaz and GSP? Man, he's just trying. Maybe the fights won't happen. That's fine. Maybe they won't happen. Maybe those are the fight the fans want. But there's no reason why he shouldn't be doing it anyway.

Who is he? He's the World War II. He's the World War I champion. That's who he is. Sure. Now you get the call shots. It's funny. because in 2016, I do believe that titles mean less than they've ever meant. Yet, that being said,

and this is another example of that, right? I mean, it's not about who's next in line anymore. It's about the big fights, the big money fights, witness 202. That being said, if you have that belt, it gives you this power, it gives you like that, that little stick to say, you know what, I want to choose that direction as opposed to that. So it is funny. They mean less, but yet it still does give you a lot more power than if you're, say, the number one contender. Michael Bisbing is using that stick. He has the hammer and he's swinging it. He wants to fight Dan Henderson next and he's getting that fight.

So Tyrant Willie should also have something of a selection. I don't know if it'll go that way because there isn't that story there that Henderson and Bisbing had that past, that history. But I cannot begrudge Tyrone Willie for trying to make as much money as possible. He's just trying to do what's best for him and his family. There's nothing wrong with that. Okay, so then let me ask you this. Play Mystic Mark for us here for a second. What does he get? Does he get his wish of either Nick or GSP, and if so, who is it? Or does the UFC say,

no, you got to fight Stephen Thompson? And by the way, I will add that someone told me who was sitting pretty close to the cage, that they overheard the great Ari Emanuel, co-CEO of WME IMG, who was sitting their cage side in the usual Lorenzo Fertita seat. This event also marked the dawn of a new era in MMA because they were there in full force. Someone did tell me that they overheard him saying, wow, Wonderboy Thompson versus Woodley would be a fun fight. Now, this is what I was told, unsolicited text message. Who knows if that actually happened, but I thought I'd throw that out there for fun. What do you think happens?

I do. I think that will probably happen. I don't know if Tyron will get the fights that he wants. I think that there are other people for guys like George St. Peter and Nick Diaz that are available that may be even bigger when he fights than Tyron would be. I do think Wonderboy deserves it. I hate using that word deserve, but he surely has done enough to earn a title shop. There's no doubt about that, of course. I think the Wonderboy is a guy that I wish the UFC promoted him more.

I wish that he was put on. I know they're giving him all the FS1 spots, and that's great. I think they need to push him more because he's an incredibly exciting fighter. He's got a good personality. He's just a great guy. He's just a really, he is the top baby face. He is the wholesome baby face in the UFC. Did you see him on Fox?

He was so sad. He was so sad when Woodley was talking about it. I felt bad for him. him. Yeah, he's the hero baby face. And I also think Taran Woodley has a chance to be a draw as well. The guy's got a great look. I mean, he's doing, he's in movies. He has the charisma. He's a really smart dude. He's really, I mean, he's a great talker. I think that could be a fun fight and a good fight down the road if they promote it correctly. I think that'll probably be what happens. Unfortunately, for, for Woodley, it isn't the fight that he wants, but it's probably the most likely fight to take place, I would say. Wonder Boy kind of reminds me of like a John Cena type, a type that kids can look up to. And like, again, I've said this before. No, it's true. Like, I would be very proud if my kid put up a Wonder Boy Thompson poster in his room.

Yesterday was the, is it the Kids Choice Award or the Teen Choice Awards? One of those aired on Fox yesterday. And I feel like they should have sent Wonder Boy Thompson to that award show to give out an award. You know what I mean? That's the kind of demographic that he should be, he should be trying to. to pull in. Okay, so you say that, okay, they'll go with that. GSP telling me today that, excuse me, yesterday that he's interested in the Woodley fight, which is significant. Diaz is back today officially, which is obviously significant as well. What do you think happens

to those two? Any guesses? I really do believe the time is right to do Nick Diaz versus Robbie Lawler, too. Yes, love that. I really believe, I mean, I don't think there will ever be a better time to do it again. If you're, If you're going to do it, I think now it has to be the time to do it. Lawler isn't the champion anymore. So you don't have to worry about people complaining that Diaz is getting another title shot off a loss, off a suspension. I think that it is ripe right now to do that fight.

I think that's a pay-per-view main event. I really do. I really believe that is a pay-per-view main event. I think it would be a decent draw. And it would just be an amazing fight for the hardcore fans and for the casual fans. As for GSP, I keep saying this. I really think Anderson Silva. the fight. I really, I think the same thing. If you're going to do that fight, it has to be now.

Silva's coming. Silver is actually, after the Cormier loss, he's just as big. It's not bigger than he's ever been. I mean, he got a standing ovation in Las Vegas after that fight. GSP coming back from retirement. I think that that is a great fight. I would love to see that fight at 185. GSP's talked about 185 against Bisbing. I would love to see GSP Silva. Do it now. I mean, the time is running out on that fight. I think it needs to happen sooner or later. That would be a fun attraction type of fight for MSG, right? I agree. That's a perfect home main event for Madison Square Garden.

I view it as a third fight. I think you need two titles for MSG. Speaking of MSG, let me ask you about Poland versus Poland, Civil War, right? Let me ask you about Karolina Koalekievich winning. She defeats Rosemunis, seemed very gun-shy in the first round and really poured it on in the second and third. I don't think there was any controversy there. And she's talking a good game. She's such a sweet, like her line of, I love cookies.

It hurts me very much. The cookies are great. The whole thing is great. She's so sweet. She's a Krav Magas specialist. Amazing. So she's fighting, Ywaniangas, next. That seems to be very clear.

Rogan made that clear. Where do you book that fight? Do you book that fight in Poland? Do you book it in MSG where they both seem to want it? They seem to want it more at MSG than in Poland. Or do you, you know, if Manchester is coming up, do you try to do it quickly for the European crowd on pay-per-view, what do you do with that fight? That's not a bad idea, actually, that what you just mentioned, the co-main event on the

Bisbing-Hendel card would not be against that. I think ideally you'd want that fight in Poland because the UFC really does want to be a global brand, and that would be a really, really big fight, title fight between two Polish fighters in Poland. That'd be, I mean, a perfect illustration of where the UFC is now in 2016 as a global entity. Here is my proposition, though. Okay. Here's my proposition.

Let's hear it. The week of the MSG fight. Oh. You know how the UFC likes to accompany these big fights with a secondary card, a soldier card, so to speak. My proposition, main event, UFC fight night on the Friday night, November 11th, in North New Jersey. Oh. Maybe at the Prudential Center. Oh.

Huge poet population, by the way, in New Jersey and in Brooklyn. Yon Jacek versus Kovakov in New Jersey. in New Jersey headlining a fight night card the night before MSG. Whoa. Okay, so first I thought you were going to say like the MSG Theater, which is where World Series of fighting is going, or a barclays. Because you don't want to take away from the significance. Yes, yes.

You don't want to take away the significance of the first show in New York. So here you say, hey, Jersey, we're not forgetting about you. You've been so good to us since 2000. Wow, you just blew my mind. Exactly. So Prudential Center, November 11th, all Polish. women's straw a title fight. Wow.

And I mean, outside of Chicago, Chicago has the largest Polish population in America, New Jersey and Brooklyn. I mean, it's very close. North New Jersey and Brooklyn, very close together, has the second largest area of Polish population. I think that is a perfect thing to do.

I mean, if you're not going to do it in Poland, that's coming up. That's right on the schedule. The timing is right. I like it. I was going to suggest Greenpoint, Brooklyn. but no arena really big enough. Yeah, yeah.

I love that idea. Look at you, Mr. Matchmaker. Okay, tell us why you're in Las Vegas. What's going on there? Okay, so the Association of Boston Commission's Convention kicks off this morning and it runs for three days. Most importantly, there will be some new rules in the unified MMA rules voted on later today in a few hours actually from now. That's the big thing. There's also a bunch of other stuff going on.

some speeches by Jeff Navisky, among others, just kind of a regulation convention going on with seminars and all that stuff in Vegas. This is the most exciting place you can possibly be. I mean, if I gave you the pick of the litter, there is no other place that you'd rather be than there. This is my wheelhouse right here. This is your UFC 200. Well, maybe, partially. UFC 200 is my UFC 200, but this is not too bad either.

Dare I say this is the UFC 200 you never got because that was such a... Do you... No one has pulled out yet with... That's good. That's good. Are you allowed to attend all these meetings, conventions, all that stuff? They give you full access? Everything is open except for, I believe, the actual voting process by the ABC General Body.

I think that is closed. But I'm trying to weasel my way in a few hours. Let's see how that goes. If I know you, you're great at wheezzling your way into things. That is true. Every commissioner in the U.S., is he there or she there? Yeah. Every executive director, I believe, is in town.

Some commissioners, you know, some chair people of commissions. And, I mean, all the referees, you know, all the judges, it's everyone in the regulation community is descended upon Las Vegas for this week. That is fun. Try to find out what's going on in New York. It seems like it's quite the mess over there. Your former home state. I'm going to try to get the ear of whoever, I don't even. even know who will be here from New York because there's so much turnover there.

There have two executive directors in the last few months that have stepped down. So I'm not sure who will be here, but I would try to track down that person. So this time next week, what's the biggest piece of news coming out of this commission, your opinion? Like, what's the biggest change that you foresee? Probably the judging criteria language change that I wrote about a couple weeks ago for MMAfighting.com. And, I mean, I think you've taken a look at it and I think many people have, but it just

makes everything so much clearer. It just gives much more tangible, definitive criteria than the very, I mean, obtuse, previous criteria, previous language that you can read the past language and interpret

it really any way you want. There's still obviously some interpretation in judging, and there's some subjectiveness to it, it's inherent, but this is much clear, and I like the 10-8 rounds, a little bit more liberal 10-8 rounds, with the characteristics of duration, damage, and dominance.

Right? I like that they're actually giving words that you can point to that everyone understands, you know what I mean? So if you have two of those characteristics, you have to at least consider that the round is 10-8. If you have all three of those characteristics, the round must be a 10-8. That's why you're seeing a lot more 10-8 lately.

I think that the judges have already begun implementing this themselves. They've been kind of taking this already and seeing it and using it, Just in the past few fights. Look at all the 10-8s lately. I think they're using it already. Do you think that they'll be talking about weight-cutting, weigh-ins, and maybe all the states adopting the early-way-in time slot as opposed to, yeah? Okay. That's exciting. They're talking about that. They're talking about having that standardized. They were going to vote on new weight classes, the addition of three new weight classes. But that will not happen this year. They're going to wait and see how the early weigh-in goes first. Interesting. evaluate that for a year. And then if it doesn't do as much as they want it to do for weight cutting,

then they will reevaluate and possibly vote on new weight classes next year. And what's the UFC's Jeff Novitsky talking about? Anti-doping. Okay. Do you think that they'll come to some sort? Decoding anti-doping on social media is the title of his seminar. So I'm very interested in on that. What a strange title on social media? Like maybe breaking the myths? Possibly. Maybe all those, all those people who share the side-by-side photos of guys. Oh, I see. I love those photos. The smell test. They're so meaningful. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what about all these states having the same, you know, punishments and rules and regulations as far as PDs are concerned? Do you think that's possible that they all get on the same page? Or that? That is something that

the ABC can't change. Every state has their own regulations. Texas, for instance, the reason why Kimpo Slice and Ken Shemrock only got 90-day suspensions is because Texas is run by basically their Department of Labor. So when a state worker fails a drug test for marijuana or whatever, they get a 90-day suspension. So it's the exact same thing that a TV user and MMA gets. And that's not going to change in the ABC. That's something that has to change state by state with legislation.

I mean, that stuff takes a while to figure out. But they are actually working towards changing that in Texas. That is good. Great stuff, Mark. I look forward to your coverage from out there in Lost Wages, Nevada. As some people like to say, that's interesting stuff. Follow him on Twitter. Mark Remundi, he'll provide a lot of updates from the ABC Commission Convention over there in Big Convention.

Very exciting. Thanks, Mark. Thanks, Mark. Thanks, man. All right, there he is. Mark Romandi of MMAFighting.com. Great stuff. Great insight from him, as always.

All right, let's move along. very excited to talk to our next guest. He's very much in the news, everyone talking about him, everyone wondering what is next for him. We've got him. Can't wait to talk to Stephen Wonderboy Thompson on the phone right now. Stephen, how are you? Doing great, man. How about yourself? I'm doing great. Thank you very much for the time. I appreciate it. I know you were traveling yesterday. Very busy over the weekend. You know, it's interesting when we spoke and I booked you on the show and you agreed to come on, it was Friday. So what a difference, you know, what a change in the Walterweight world since we last spoke.

I want to start with you, you know, the whole experience of just working on Fox while there's a fight going on that couldn't be more closely linked to your career. Is that enjoyable for you, or would you rather be home watching it studying it by yourself? What do you prefer? You know, I actually like being there on set. You know, it kind of hikes it up a little bit because you're not really sure who's going to fight and which one of those fights is going to face you off, you know, face off against you next. and also like just because you know you have to get in a little more more depth with the analyst job

you have to go out there and pick the fight apart or the two fighters that are out there so you start to understand them a little bit more so you know I like being in studio actually this past weekend it was good it was great okay so you're watching that fight it's all culminating it's Robbie Lawler versus Tyron Woodley and you were on the record you said you know just a simple sort of innocent question hey if you had it you know your way who would you prefer to fight. You said Loller, you thought it would be a fun-style's matchup. I don't think a lot of people disagreed with you. You're watching that fight. Do you get the sense that something's coming like that right hand? Is the finish coming soon? Or were you sort of settling in for a five-round war

like we've seen from Robbie Loller? I was literally expecting to see, you know, Robbie Lala go out and just overwhelm Tyrone, you know, the Robbie that we've seen in the past. But as soon as they got out there, I realized, man, this is, for some reason, this is not the same Robbie that we normally see. I mean, right off the bat, you know, at first, you see Tyrone backing up, but you could tell Tyrone was kind of waiting on him to you know, for Robbie to close

that gap so he can throw a big right hand. But then, they've got to do a clinch position. I don't know if Robbie felt the power of Tyrone or what, but from then on, Robbie was backing up, and that's something you can't do against Tyrone Louis is back up. Because if you give him that forward momentum, he's going to land a shot or he's going to

take any down. A lot has been made of the fact that Lawler's been around this sport a very long time. He's taking a lot of shots. At some point, we tend to see, you know, it's this term that really is in a scientific term, but the chin tends to deteriorate. Do you think that led to his demise on Saturday, or was that just a really good punch that would knock out most people? I think it was just a really good punch. I think Robbie is still the exact same fire that we have.

I just didn't see it that night, or maybe it just wasn't his night. but I think it was the fact that Tyrone's got some power in his hands and that right hand, you know? There was nothing really going on in the beginning of that first round. Yeah. I think if Robbie would have pressed

Tyrone just a little bit more started to, you know, pressure Tyrone some and have Tyrone kind of waste or use a little bit of that nervous energy, I think that punch would have a little less steam on it. But since there was nothing thrown in, you know, two minutes of that fight,

He loaded all of his energy into that one punch, and that's all she wrote. I think he could, you know, with a punch like that, you can definitely knock out pretty much anybody in the division. Now, if I'm watching you on that Fox set, as you're watching this unfold, this knockout unfold, what's your immediate reaction? How did you take it in? Well, I mean, you know, I was very surprised. I'm like, man, this is not, I was kind of disappointed because I wanted, I did want to see a little bit more out of that fight out of each other at both of them. but Robbie just wasn't there. You know, it was like, man, that was kind of disappointing,

but I was a crazy CO, but a little disappointing that Robbie didn't, you know, didn't key off a little bit. Yeah. You know, it wasn't him. But, you know, after the knock, I was like, well, I guess I'll be, my first reaction was I guess I'll be fighting Tyrone Lundley. Okay. You know?

And we will get to that in a second, but I first want to know, for the record, were you told by anyone in the UFC, watch this fight, you're next for these guys? Like that's a done deal? No, I have not heard a thing. Okay. And I was hoping, you know, they were just kind of waiting to see what had happened, what will happen this past weekend for the fight, and then I would know something.

But as of yet, no, man, I haven't had a word. Okay, so now you settle in and they say, okay, Tyron Woodley's coming up. You're going to talk to him, do an interview, and I've seen how this all unfolds. And you're kind of in that weird spot of being, you know, an analyst, and you're sort of trying to be unbiased. but you also want to know what's next for you and you're you're about to you know maybe fight this guy and he comes out there and says he doesn't want to fight you and and and and to his you know you know in fairness to him he had been saying that all week so it wasn't like a new thing but you know whatever okay so he says that and you're like wait a second he's talking about nick dyes and gsp

how do you how do you react to that because this is new territory for you for for for a guy who's on set your cameras are on you you you have to react to the guy who you think is next for you now saying, no, I'm not going to give you this opportunity. I'm going to go for those guys. Internally, how are you reacting to this? Man, in my head, I was like, really? Are you kidding? You're kidding me, right? That you wouldn't give me this shot.

I mean, yeah, he went out there, he defeated Roddy Lawler, but, you know, he took this fight. A lot of people didn't think he deserved it in the first place. But just, I mean, seconds after winning that title, already choosing his fight, I mean, come on, I mean, who gets that? You know, who really gets to do that? I mean, you're starting to see that a lot more. It's almost like, you know, do the rankings really count?

Do it really matter? And I was kind of upset for him to say that just because, you know, he knows I'm the number one guy. He knows that I've been working really hard. You know, I'm on a seven-fight winning streak. But to pick some, I think you have to defend the title at least once before you can start picking your shot. Do you think it has something to do with you as a fighter? I don't know. I mean, I don't think that he is scared of me, but it almost seems like he's he just doesn't want to fight me. Like, he just doesn't want to step in the ring. I don't know

if he thinks it's a bad matchup. But no matter what, man, I'm fighting this. I'm fighting this. I'm fighting Tyrone. I'm fighting Tyrone Woodley. And it's going to be a Madison Square Garden. Oh. No if stands or a bus, man. I mean, come on, God. Come on UFC. Come on Tyrone. You've got to give it to me, man. And by the way, are you calling him Tyrone just to piss him off? Oh, my goodness. I mean, I mean, no. I know. No, and I'm really not. I thought you're doing to piss him up. I literally thought that's what his name was.

I found out this weekend, it was tyrant. Yeah. You know, it was tired. I literally found out this weekend. Make sure you change his name right. I'm like, have I not been saying his name right the entire time? I'm like, no, he hates that. His name's tyrant.

I'm like, oh, crap. Oh, yeah, I still trying to get used to it. But I'm not trying to piss anybody off. But, hey, if it gives you the next house shot, then yeah. But wait a second. You just said that whole MSG thing with great certainty, great conviction. You now know something that we don't. No.

Oh, you paused there for a second. Like that. Hey, I mean, come on. Hey, if they don't give this to me, then something is really wrong. Have you talked? Wouldn't you say? Okay, let me ask you this. Have you talked to anyone from the UFC since the fight ended?

No, I have not. Huh. Just my managers, just the people around me and just Tyrone. Tyrant. Have they talked to the UFC? Your management team, have they reached out to the UFC? You know what? I know they're going to do everything they have.

They haven't said anything to me yet, but I know they're working on. When you hear names like GSP and Nick Diaz, big names with strong fan bases, GSP, of course, the former champ who walked away, does that make you worried? Are you worried that you might get passed over for the sexier fight, the big money fight that he put, you know, as Tyrant puts it? I mean, the way things are. going and what you've seen in the past with fighters yeah man I mean you're getting you know 13 or something was it uh Dan Hinnison fighting maybe finding the middle way champion I mean he's

ranked number 13 right and then they're talking about guys who hadn't fought in the game and how long already getting a type of shot uh you know it's it is disappointing to hear that and it does worry it does worry me a little bit but uh you know in my head I'm getting the shot. You know, I don't care. I don't care. I've got to put my foot down, man. I've got to tell everybody what I found.

I'm feeling. And as it right now, I'm very disappointed that he wouldn't take it. Huh. Is it somewhat deflating that you get to this point? You feel like you take all the fights. You do everything that's asked of you. And now you have to continue to campaign when you thought that you were, you know, that it was a foregone conclusion.

Is it deflating? Yeah, to be honest with yes. Hmm. Because you just don't know. what to expect or what's going to happen. You know, in the past it's always been, you're more contenders, you're fighting for the title. Yeah.

But now it's got to be, you know, who puts more butts in the seats. And to be honest, I think we would do far. Yeah. I think we would bring a crowd to Madison Square Guard. I mean, it's the biggest fight card of the year. Huge paper viewpoints. I mean, it would be big for both of us.

If you were in his shoes, would you pull a move like that? Like, as a fighter, I think you understand where he's coming from. He wants to make the most money possible. Now, you're saying, we can make money together. Like, let's sell this thing. Would you ever do that? Like, as a champion, do you say to yourself, oh, there's dream fights that I want?

Or would you be the kind of champion who would just say, like, okay, now I'm the champion. It's time for them to serve whoever they think is next for me. Exactly. I mean, I think at least one or two fights should be that way. You know, you just got the title. Fight the number one contender. You know? you go out there and smoke an

-mole-long container, then you can start talking about who you want to fight, you know? But a lot of people think you're not the champion until you defend it one time. But right off the bat, just start picking who you're fighting, and that's ridiculous. Defend it one time. Let's the number one container get out there.

Prove yourself that you actually won the title. I mean, yes, he did land that big one punch. but, you know, I don't know, man, it's just, it wasn't enough for me. What do you mean by that? What wasn't enough? You know, he did land that one punch, but that was, we all know that wasn't the same Robbie. Huh. You just go out there looking at the fight, that wasn't a Robbie that we all expected.

And I think he knows that. Why do you think that is? Why do I think that that wasn't the Robbie we don't see? Yeah. I don't know, man. I don't know if... I mean, every fight that he's had since he's champion have been five-five-and-round wars.

And sometimes you can see it in somebody's eyes, you know, people, fighters' eyes, if they want to be out there or not. You know, almost got to feel that he didn't want to be out there for something. Maybe he didn't put in the work like he should. Maybe he's gotten himself into a rut. Maybe it's something mental because he has been,

everybody's been questioning his chin. and he knows that Tyrone has power. So I just think he hesitated, and you can't do that against somebody who's just, you know, got the flame rekindled under them, you know, after being out for 18 months. You see a lot of guys who are out that long just get fired up. You know, I remember when I ended up tearing the ligament on my leg,

I was out for three years, but then I was itching of the best to step out there and fight again. It was like a new fire in me, you know? I think that's what Tyrone felt, Tyrone felt this past weekend. You can't do that against somebody who's been out that long. Maybe he expected he didn't prepare himself in those 18 months. There could be a lot of different reasons why we didn't see the same Robbie Lawler, but it wasn't him. Very, very interesting insight because I actually asked him that question at the press conference.

I wondered there had been some talk that he wasn't really motivated for this fight. he was sort of hoping for a GSP or a Cona McGregor or a DS fight and Woodley, you know, was the one that he got matched up with. And I wondered if it was hard for him to get up for it. Like he didn't seem very, very excited for this. So that can translate into a lackluster performance, right, as a fighter? I agree with you, yes. I mean, you can't take anybody at light any matter who you're stepping in the octagon with. If you want to be in there with them or not.

And you can just tell, man. I mean, even with five other fighters that I face in the division, as soon as you step out there, you can hear it when they talk and the interviews that they're not motivated for the fight. Maybe they got too much on their plate, but you can tell it, man. You can just see it. And that's what I saw at a Robbie. From your perspective, what was the better matchup for you? Was it the striker, Robbie Lawler, or the wrestler?

you know, and obviously he's looked tremendous on his feet, especially in this last fight, Tyrone really, like, which matchup, not from like a selling pay-per-view or just a fun fight? Like, which matchup did you prefer for yourself in your supposed first title fight? For me, it was Robbie. Okay, why is that? Just because he was a guy that nobody's beaten, which is what a martial arts, you know, we are out here to fight the best, and he was the best, you know, before he lost his past weekend. the fact that I wouldn't have to look for any takedowns.

I knew it was going to be a stand-up. A stand-up war. But I faced high-level wrestlers before. I faced powerful guys before. It doesn't matter who won the fight. I think I've got, I think it's a great matchup for me

either way. Is it fair to say that you were disappointed before the whole Nick DiazGSP stuff came out on the show, were you disappointed that Robbie was taken out before you got to him? Yeah, I was. I was disappointed because he was the guy I wanted to be. You know, I wanted to be the guy that wanted to be the guy that, you know, to take him out.

But, you know, hats off to Tyra, man. He beat me to it. But he is a champ, and I am the number one contender. Stop calling people out who haven't fought in a year or three years. Fight the guy who's standing who's ready, man. Fight the guy who's earned it this year. He's put in all the work. He's beat the number one, beat the number two. And take on me, man. That's what I got to say to him if that was possible.

You know, I did say that this past weekend. And, you know, I'm a respectful guy. And can I try and do it the best way possible? But, you know, I just think it's kind of crap that he won't take it. And that leads me to my next question. And serious question here, are you too nice for this fight game? Is that – like, do you need to be more of a dick to be an MMA fighter and demand what you want, squeaky wheel gets to grease, all that stuff.

Does that ever cross your mind? Does anyone ever tell you that you have to be a little more selfish, a little meaner? You know, I have heard that, especially now. You know, I am a nice guy, and it does make me a little nervous that I have to do that, you know, or, you know, I've got, A, I'm not good at it, but B, that's just not who I am. And at this point in time, and I guess now that I'm here in the situation, and, you know, it almost calls for it a little bit. You kind of have to get out there and call your shots.

Maybe you don't have to be rude about it, but demand what you want, you know, and I think that's what I'm doing. I know what I want. I know what I deserve, and I think everybody knows I deserve it. I mean, the fans know it. And Tyrone does. He knows that I deserve that shot, too. So I don't know where he's playing at.

I don't think the world is ready for the Wonder Boy Thompson heel turn, though. Like, don't go, don't go like black beard on us and start spitting on children, you know? You don't have to. You know, like I said, that's just not me. I'm going to demand it, you know, in a very respectful way and just doing it the right way. That's what's what I'm about. Just doing everything the right way. And that's how I was brought up.

My dad's the same way. And he's not about trying to cut any of the way. corners or anything like that, just do the right thing. And that's what I expect out of this business as it was game. By the way, how's your thumb? Man, it's much better, to be honest. I end up having a little hairline fracture and a partially torn ligament. Oh.

This takes some time. It's been to give me like six weeks. So, yeah, it's much better. My grip is a little weak. But other than that, I'm back hitting the bag and back into training. so, man, I'm just, I'm, this fast fight just fired me up. You know, I'm back in there.

I'm ready, man. So you would be ready for November? Oh, I would be more than ready in November. And that's what I've been, that's what I've been telling everybody, you know? That's where it's at, man. That's the big show. Yeah. So we could put butts in the seat.

I think, you know, not just me and Tyron, but that show's going to be huge. By the way, does it bother you when he calls you Wonder Woman? I knew I was going to come up Nah man are you kidding You know I've been in this game That was 15 years old I've been fighting stealthed I've been called man

Wonderbread Wonder Woman Wonder bra I've been called it all You know it's almost like I don't know I think he was calling my mom now Because my mom is a Wonder Woman So you trust me

He don't want none of that And by the way Wonder Woman kicks a lot of ass I mean it's not exactly an insult I know I mean, look at it. Look at it. If you watch Batman versus Superman, I wouldn't want to mess with her either. Yeah. Okay. Last question for you, and I appreciate the time very much. In your heart of hearts, do you believe this will be an easy road to getting this title shot and do you believe that you're going to get it? Or are you in for something, you know, a little rocky here, a little uneasy?

I'm a little uneasy as of right now. You know, you don't know what the UFC's thinking. You don't know who they're going to give them. but, you know, I expect him to do the right thing and give it to who most deserves it, and that's me. It's funny. I don't know if you remember this or heard this, but in January, Tyrone Woodley was pretty much saying the exact same thing as you. After Carl's Cond had fought Robbie Lawler, a lot of people were calling for the rematch between them, saying that maybe GSP should fight Lawler, you should fight Lawler, Conna McGregor should fight Lawler, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, and he had to weather a lot of storm, you know, Dodgers. a lot of bullets and he got what he wanted and now it's amazing to hear you say this about him. So maybe the message is, you know, time to pay it back, you know, like you got that opportunity. I need that opportunity that you were asking for just five short months ago. Exactly.

Well, good luck to you, Stephen. I really appreciate the candor and the insight and I hope that you get what you're looking for, what you deserve, you know, it would be a shame if you don't get that title shot. We'll be talking to Tyron later in the show, so I'm curious to hear what he has to say as he, you know, has a couple of days to think about all of this. But I appreciate you coming on here today. Hey, thanks, friend. And definitely enjoy it. I hope we can do it again.

Okay, for sure. There he is. Wonderboy Thompson, one of a kind. Always a great pleasure to talk to Stephen Thompson. And, you know, putting aside money, putting aside paper viewpoints, putting aside all that. There is no one on this earth that can deny the fact that he is the number. one contender in this division. Merit alone. But as we have learned throughout the past year, especially in MMA, merit doesn't mean all that much. And that's just, that's just prize fighting,

prize MMA fighting for you. This is a business. It's a little entertainment as well. And sometimes the guy who deserves it doesn't get it. But I do believe if promoted correctly, that fight is big. Maybe not as big as the GSP return or the Nick Diaz return, but I do believe that it is, it is big if promoted correctly, because both of them bring a lot to the table, in my opinion. Okay, let's move along. As I said, UFC 201 was supposed to feature the long-awaited, much-anticipated return of Ian McCull, had not fought since January of 2015, was oh so close to retiring. And unfortunately, on Thursday night, we found out the fight wasn't happening because his opponent,

Justin Skagans, failed to make way, actually couldn't even get to the scale, pulled out Thursday night. As a result, Ian McCall left opponentless. So we wanted to talk to Uncle Creepy about that whole bizarre situation.

He joins us now, I believe, via the magic of Skype. There he is. Uncle Creepy himself. Ian, how are you? Good. How are you doing? Now, where are you doing?

I'm getting a U-Haul. My girlfriend's moving today, so I'm out. Oh, my gosh. I take the day off, I mean, I was going to take the app anyways because I have to help her move, but yeah. Is she moving in with you in your parents' house?

No. What a story that would be? Yeah, my mom, I'm sure, I think my mom wants her to, but I'm going to be moving out soon to buy a place or get my own spot, so. And then maybe if you're moving in my place, I don't know. It's just, you know, I'll wait until after my fight to figure that out. Okay, now here's the thing. There's a lot of activity going on back there.

Do you mind if we call you on your phone? Because I just want to hear you. Yeah, okay. Let's just call him on his cell phone because I love seeing Ian McCullough's face, but I want to hear him more importantly. So New York Rick is going to call him on his phone as he is in the midst of helping his girlfriend move. What a mensch, Ian McCullough is hooking us up with some time here on this Monday morning over there in Orange County, California. Very disappointing. We were talking to him on Thursday. was so excited to make his return, had thought about walking away from the sport

just due to injuries, not because he wanted to. And, you know, literally, what was it, five hours later, we find out that he will not be fighting. Ian, you there? Yeah, I'm here. I'm devastated to hear this news, by the way. This is one of my favorite stories in MMA,

you and your family, that you're moving out. Well, you know, it's not for sure, but most likely. you know, after this fight I will be. But, you know, I'll move down the street. Okay. Because I, you know, it's, but then again, you never know.

I could just not, and, I mean, it's just, it's up in the area. At this point, at this point, it doesn't really, really, you know, I don't know, it's just, who knows.

Okay. When did you find out? Because like I said, I spoke to you on Thursday at the media day. It was around 2.30, 2.45 local time. Justin was there.

He seemed okay. When did you find out, that this fight was off? Like directly after that. Like minutes later? Yeah, I left. I went home. I went to the hotel.

I had my nutritionist to make me food. And as I'm sitting there eating food, I found out. And then I walked down to Gus's where my coaches and some friends were eating. They were eating delicious soul food. And yeah, we talked about it. And I, you know, they just, just, kind of told me whatever, you know, this is, this is what he's saying. So I said, all right,

um, you know, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. What was the reason that you were given? Uh, because you can't make the wait. And then he, and you know, he, I feel like I got played by him, you know, because he acts like he,

like, we're friends and we're nice and, and I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm feeling, you know, like shame on me. Because all this trash he's talking and all this, dumb stuff and personal stuff he's bringing up. He's like screenshoting, uh,

he's like screenshotting text messages from my agent to his agent and like making up all this stuff. And, and, and a big part of me just wants to like bury him as far as like making him look like an idiot because there's a lot of things that the young man has said and done that are, that are very stupid. Like he tried to come off smart and like him talking about, oh, well, you know, I was at 2% body fat when, and doctor said I can't cut anymore. well, if you understand this thing called science, if you're under 3, 3.5% body fat,

you're feeding off your organs. Like, you're actually feeding off your organs. So you're lying. Like, if you're going to try and sound smart, at least be smarter than someone who's at least somewhat knowledgeable like myself. And, you know, I'm just saying. Like, you're trying to give excuses. And I'm sorry, but don't make me look like the asshole when you're,

the things you're saying. aren't true, you know? And again, I'm not going to call him out. I don't really care. It's like, there's so many things that are just completely silly that he's digging his own grave and he'll make himself look stupid. I'm taking the high road and just going, okay, well, you keep saying stuff and trying to make me look like somehow the bad guy when this is all your fault.

Because, well, meet me at any way. I'll all fight through anyway, bro. I'm like, well, fight me on 26 then. Yeah. Well, what about that way? you've been around this game a long time. Obviously, we've seen people like miss weight, you know, the day of, on the scale, all that stuff. But like on the Thursday before, kind of a weird one, right?

Have you ever seen that before? Have you ever been faced with that before? No, and I mean, it was, yeah, it was 24 hours before. Yeah. And he, you know, then I already get the info that he's not going to make it. Okay. Well, no, I'm not going to fight you at a bantamite fight because I'm not a bantam late. You know, and like, you know, you can say whatever you want.

It's not to change my mind. You're not making me look stupid, so that doesn't anger me. And then, you know, he, what I think happened is that, I don't know if it's mental issues, you know, like maybe nerves or maybe outside stuff. I mean, maybe he's on drugs, who knows? Like, he's just acting very erratic and silly. But I think it was a mental lapse where he broke down. And this is just speculation. This is my brocine.

Where he probably snapped and couldn't make the weight. So we started eating and drinking because everybody, I mean, everybody that was on the card. I'm not going to name any names, but we're talking trainers and strength coaches and other fighters. We're MFing him. I mean, to me, like crazy. Wow. I mean, they were just like, you know, fuck him this and that guy's a piece of shit and all this stuff. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Well, everyone's simmered out. I was out last night. I was out yesterday, and I saw him, you know, munching on food. And, you know, I'm like, trainers who are out eating whatever they want. They're out, you know, testing out Atlanta's delicious food. And he was out. He was eating all day, drinking all day. What was I doing?

I was cutting weight. I was doing my job. So, you know, I just think he broke down. And I think, I mean, it could have been a mixture of personal issues. and his lack of discipline or, I don't know, he's a young guy and he'll learn from this. You know, like I keep saying, I'm sure he'll come back stronger. He's a stud. But, you know, this was just a maturity thing and a self-control thing that he seemed to have lost it, you know,

and that's no one's fault but his own. Did the UFC try to keep you on the card? Did they offer you another fight? Did they try to get you to fight him on 135? How'd that go? Um, you know, UFC didn't even offer me to fight at 35. Oh, okay. They, they just said, okay, well, you know, we, we know your answer.

They knew what I was going to say. So they, um, they just let it fly. And, you know, they said, make wait just in case something happens. Just in case Wilson or someone, something crazy happens. And of course, you know, it didn't, which, which we all kind of figured it wasn't going to happen. but, you know, I had to make weight just in case because you never know. I mean, people have hurt themselves last minute. Yeah.

And, you know, people were trying to say, oh, well, they need to take out, you know, what's his name? The kid that Wilson fought and then to put you in there and switch them around and pay them. I'm like, no, they don't because that's unfair to those guys. Yeah. You know, they were ready for certain fights. You can't just, like, interchange stuff. Right. You know, that's not how it works.

So, of course, it's nice to get paid, you know, all the money that I did get paid. I mean, really nice. I had to talk with Dana and Sean and thank them. Did you get your win money, too? We got my win money. How'd you convince them to do that? I got my LeBock money. Whoa.

You got everything. The UFC really stepped up, and they took care of me. Did you have to convince them to do that? No, no. I mean, they seem to be much obliged to do it. Wow. They were very happy to do it. And you're talking to Dana at the fight, and he just gave me a hug.

I was like, hey, man, I'm proud of you. Thank you. You know, you did good, and you deserve this. They get out there and have fun and spend your money, and I'll see you in a couple weeks. Wow. That's amazing. So are you done with Skagans? Are they talking something else?

Because you're talking about your next fight already. you even know what the next fight is? No, but I want Wilson. That's what you want. It's a good fight. You know, I think it's the best fight as far as getting me back in the fold. You know, he was supposed to fight Demetrius.

And everyone wants to see me fight Demetrius. Sam W. You have a watch the parts go down. So, you know, it's... I think that's a fight that's perfect for me because it puts me back into contention right away. And I don't think, you know, I mean, people, you know, let's say I knocked him out, you know, devastating fashion. People are like, oh, you need, you need a title shop.

Okay, but sure, but let me file. I'll fight somebody else first. I'll fight a couple people first. You know, I'm not worried about it, but it just get the eyes on me. And it gets me, you know, a good ranking. It keeps me relevant with top names, you know. I'm here to fight the best people. Any chances happens at 202,

which seem to be the fight card that you wanted to fight at? That's what we're trying for. Okay. Wow. We really want. Yeah. I have no idea. I know.

We're trying for 202. Okay. Just a few other questions for you, and then I'll let you go, and I appreciate you squeezing us in. Mentally, since you hadn't fought since January of 2015, I mean, for this rug to get pulled under you, 24 hours before the way in's less.

How did you deal with it? Well, I just laughed it off. Okay. Well, I mean, once I knew I was getting paid, even if I was only getting my show money, well, I was getting my show money to cut weight, and they promised me, and I have all the faith in the UFC.

They've always taken care of me. They've always taken care of me. You know, I was at least getting my family. I show money. Right. And then they added in the win money

and the rebuff money. So it's like, that's what I, what I get being a big company man, you know, a really, and taking the high road

and, you know, being the bigger person in this whole situation, because I could have thrown a fit. I could have freaked out and talked out of time with shit and whatever, but why,

it's pointless, you know? No one did anything wrong except for Justin. And then he keeps saying stuff. And I'm like, man, you need to,

He even tried to apologize to me, like in a private message, and I just didn't respond because at first I was just, second of all, I see all the stuff. And it's like, you're just, you're just acting like a dumb child. You know, and it's like, okay, you know, I'm pretty man, you're just making yourself with real stupid here. And thanks for, you know, let me not have to do that, you know. I honestly don't have to say it weren't. I just had to sit back and just kind of laugh at him. You had said something very interesting Thursday night, I believe it was to Eminem A Junkie about just the way-ins in general

and why you weren't all that upset because the weigh-in thing is kind of crazy. Cutting weight is kind of crazy. Like there's a part of you that sort of felt for him. Is that an accurate thing to say? Is that how you were feeling? Yeah. I mean, because weighing in, I mean, cutting weight's hard. And, you know, he's, you know, he's,

He's gigantic. When I first saw him, I was like, Jesus, they're huge. And, you know, I said that, and I didn't know all the information because I don't pay attention to much. And I've, you know, what I have paid attention to do, like him talking and the things he's saying, like I said, back to having 2% body fat and, you know, running eight miles a day and not having eaten in two days. Well, I know you're uneducated then. You know, you're a dumb kid who is, who hasn't. done the due diligence to figure out how to cut weight properly. Like, I was talking to one of those coaches.

I'm like, you need to get that kid of nutritionist. Whether he's at 35s or not, well, he needs to educate himself on what he's doing. And a lot of fighters do. I mean, I see and I hear people from men, women, coaches, where they say stuff. And I'm like, are you fucking, are you retarded? Like, you know how hard cutting weight is and how bad for it, how bad for us it is? and these people have no idea what they're doing. I mean, I have my guy from Nutrition for Life, Eric,

and I mean, he's a good friend of mine. I talk to him all the time, and I bug him with questions, not even about myself, about the fighters I train, you know, about the young guys that I'm trying to be an example to. And, like, you know, the way to eat and how to fast and what time to eat certain foods at and what you put in your body afterway-ins and the four-way-ins and, like, you know,

know, all this different stuff. Sure, I guess it's complex, but it's really not. It's food, and you're a professional athlete. Learn what you need to learn and educate yourself so you can have an easier weight cut. You can have less body fat and a healthier mind and

healthier body, and you're not on the verge of death when you are cutting weight. You know, and then after weight cutting, you're properly fueled up. You know, you don't want to build a race car, build a race motor, and then put shit fuel on it. You put race gas. That's what you you do. And these people are just, it just really, like, baffles the mind about how, how uneducated. I don't want to say, I hate saying dumb because, I mean, some people are stupid, but, um, they're just

uneducated. And people need to step it up, because I have, I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but, you know, I work my butt off and I'm, you know, I've, like, you know, this whole thing about, like, PEDs and people's bodies changing. I'm more ripped than I was my last fight. Why? Because I'm healthy, because I eat really, really, really healthy. Because I work my ass off in the gym, and my diet is on point. Like, there's so many different ways to make yourself healthy, and people aren't doing it.

And I'm just, I just always just laugh it off. And I know, maybe I'm a cynic. But I would like to see, you know, educators step up, or, you know, fighters step up and educate themselves on proper nutrition or at least hire somebody. Because if you hire somebody, you're going to learn stuff no matter what. And I do this also because I'm a coach. I'm not going to fight for that much longer. And if I'm going to have my fighters doing things out, they're going to do them properly.

And I saw that you were in attendance on Saturday, so you stuck around for the fights. You're hanging out with the likes of Dwight Howard and whatnot. But internally, was that like the ultimate, you know, for lack of a better word, like blue balls for you? You go through all that work, you show up, and you can't release the whatever you had inside you that you get from fighting. That must have been a tough thing to take in, no? No, actually, you know, it wasn't. It's an honor to be there. I get to hang out with my friends.

I get to hang out with DDP and my girlfriend, Alicia, and Dwight Howard and Chetains and, you know, like all these funny people that, you know, and Vendisha was there with Tirees and all these people, you know, that are fun. you need to hang out with and screw around with and I never thought I'd be fighting again you know so just being in the fold and dealing with all this and all the attention and all the fun and it's just I'm just having a good time I'm all smiles and you know my career you know how weird my career's been

I literally just I laugh it all off I'm like okay it's like whatever this is life like my life is weird and crazy and it's never going to be different so I just learn to laugh Were you impressed with Wilson? I didn't watch it. I walked in literally right after that fight, but I do need to sit down and watch it.

Okay. Do you think you're getting that one? Like, did you talk to them afterwards and say that's what we want, and did they seem open to it? I know there's one other name that I've thrown around, but they want me to fight Wilson, because it's a relevant fight. Yeah. You know, and I get the pull, like, the Dia's brother stuff and just kind of walk in out of nowhere. I'd be like, hey, I want this.

You know, like, coming off a loss and not being around for, you know, over 18 months. And it's cool knowing that I'm, I kind of have that sway where I go, hey, listen, like, that's cool. You know, people, that just shows the respect that I've earned and that I've, that I get from not only the fans, but from the company that employs me, you know, the people that run, you know, the biggest organization on the planet. By the way, who's the other name? I think he's Gian Herrera. That was mentioned. Okay, okay. And he's a stud, too.

You know, it's a fight. But, you know, he's not ranked. Right. So if I have to, I would, you know, I'd love to fight anybody because getting paid twice in one month is nice. But I really, really, really, really want the a 202 card. And I really, really, really, really want. Yeah. He was half-happist his fight?

Oh, it was like two minutes or something. Yeah. So he's unscathed, I'm unscathed. We both cut weight, you know, at the same day, both made it. And, you know, it would be an honor to be on, arguably, you know, the biggest high card in the history, which is 202 because of, you know, Conner and Nate. Well, I think this is a first for me. Uncle Creepy, you are a class act. Those two words don't really go together, but, man, you handle this, you handle this really,

well. I thought it was great that you were the first one to weigh in Friday morning. You didn't do a lot of crap talking. You really handled this with class. So kudos to you, my man. I hope you get that fight at 202. It was great to see you. I was so happy that you were finally back. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see you in there. But hey, if we get to see you in three weeks on an even bigger card, then maybe it was all for a good cause and you got paid two times as well. So appreciate you squeezing us in you and really do. Good luck to your girlfriend as she moves. And hopefully we'll see you in a couple weeks in Las Vegas. Thank you. Sounds good.

All right, there he is. Ian McCall stopping by, really putting out the blueprint how you should handle a situation like that. You know he was very disappointed, but maybe it all turns out for the best, and he gets to fight on that even bigger card against potentially a bigger name as well. Okay, let's move along. Big week, excuse me, I should say, big month for our next guest. He was all over the place, cornering some of the biggest names in this sport. had some very big highs, had some lows as well. One of my favorite coaches in the game. One of my favorite people in the game, period. And you've heard me talk about him a lot over the last month or so.

But this man is one of a kind. Also makes some mean pizza. We need to get back the Ariel Hawani pizza, though, at the shop. I'm told that there's a high demand for it. I'm talking to Mark Henry right now on the phone. Mark, are you there? I'm here, my man. That's a great introduction, man.

I like that. Well, thank you. Where's that pizza at? it's common bro it's common we're far man we're few we're stayed away okay all right um have you ever experienced a month like this before um yeah i believe i believe we had i mean definitely not often you know because we try to we try to really keep our team small

but um i believe we had a month like this at another time when um everybody was on a w slof card a while ago and then there was some other fights in between You know, everything just kind of blends into everything after a while, but I believe we had something similar to it, but, you know, this month, not like with the titles. Yeah. Definitely not like with title implications, nothing like this month before with title implications with Frankie, Marlon, Eddie, all vines for titles. So, no, definitely not like this when you come to think of titles in the mix. What was the final record this month?

Well, we wind up doing a guy who trains with us also, Cross, trains with us Rex, Harrison, the one, too. So I think it was five out of six with the one being just the devastating one, which, you know, can't really, it wasn't really that great because of the Frankie law, so still really devastated and heartbroken over that. And I don't think I've woken up a day yet where I haven't been bummed out. as I wake up. We'll get to Frankie in a second,

but let's talk about Marlon. Big one for him on Saturday in Everett, Washington. He retains his World Series of Fighting Title. This time he finishes Josh Hill. Beautiful head kick knockout. Afterwards, he was doing the, you know, show me the money sign. He's standing on top of the age.

He is the hottest free agent in this game. What do you think? Where does he end up next? Where does he fight next? It's exactly what you tweet him, man. Show me the money. You're going to, you know, show the money. Who's going to, you know, show what we,

believe Marlin's work. You know, Marlon, man, he's an amazing fighter, but also that's to do, you know, WSFO has been so great to him. There's such a great group over there, race FFO, and those guys have been, you know, treated

Marlin and the rest of us, you know, so well, man, that, you know, you just have to, you know, I'm sure you have to listen to them and what they have to say because they've just treated him great, but at the end of it all, you know, he has, you know, if he's, you know, maybe five, six, seven years ago where he's single kid,

and, you know, UFC, you know, would probably be the thing. But now, you know, you have a wife and kids. And, you know, what's the difference between WSFO and UFC is, what, maybe 20,000 more Instagram followers and maybe your name on a, on MMA fighting a little more? And that's about, you know, that's about it at the end. Other than that, you know, the kid needs to take care of his family first. So you, if you were giving him advice, just get the most amount of money possible, right?

Because this window is short. don't worry about the bright lights, the big stage, just get paid. Take care of your family, definitely. You know, see what, you know, what's offering, not, you know, promises, not if you're champion, not if you're champion, it's one set of money. Then when you're not, it's no, not, you know. Things are there. There are so many little things, too, you have to look at, too.

And, you know, and Ollie's done such an amazing job. Marlon's been with us for, I think, this last 10th, almost four years now, about four years. you know, he's Penn & O and, you know, really jelled well with our camp. And we have, you know, when he came over to us, I remember the first time, I think I brought him to Philadelphia, the spar, some really good guys in this boxing gym. And I'm like, who the heck is this kid? Because, you know, he was really close with that's, and they grew up together. And this is, you know, he's a big thing is Moitai,

but we brought him to the boxing gym to see how that will go. and I called up, I think he's managed at time, like, who the heck is this kid? This kid's unbelievable. Because Edson said he was good, but everybody's going to say their friend is good. But I was totally blown away. And I'm like, man, what's this kid's record? Like 20 and 0?

And I think at the time he was like 7, 4 and 1. I'm like, well, something happened along the way. I'm like, this kid is so good. And, in fact, he was the first guy that I ever kind of really trained. I'm like, this kid's ready for the U.S. state. Wow. You know, right now. Well, most people are, oh, I'm always so cool.

cautious. You know, oh, let's wait a couple fights and let's get, you know, let's get the all-round game going. But, like, right off the bat, I'm like, this kid is special. You're just like when Frankie, the first time I read Frankie, it's pretty much the same exact thing. Man, this kid is very, very special. And you're right, that was four years ago. He was seven, four-and-one going into WSO. Now, amazingly, he's 17-4-1. What's been the difference? The guy four years ago who had four losses and one drawn his record, and now he's turned into this killer, this machine, he hasn't lost since. What's been the difference?

I think there's a lot of things. I think thing number one is just him letting him, you know, him realizing how good he really is, you know, like him seeing what the rest of us, me, Frankie Ricardo, and everybody around him, what we see at him, you know, as this phenom. And, you know, I don't know if he knew how good he was. So, you know, that was number one. Number two, I think it's just being around someone like Frankie, his work ethic, and ever since four years ago, man, he's pretty much tied to hit the Frankie. They have a great relationship, and everybody on our team has a great relationship with families and everything.

But I'd have to say that him and Frankie have a really close relationship. You know, they last more than even train. And I just think him being tied to hip with Frankie and knowing how to train a different way about hard work, whatever I think, is totally changed up, you know, just being around franking his game. Okay, so I'm just curious because he called out Dominic Cruz after.

As his coach, is he ready for the Dominic Cruz? He says if he goes to the UFC, would you push for that fight right off the bat? Or do you believe in getting, you know, one UFC fight under your belt and then going into the big fight? Well, I'm usually cautious and, you know, like to get your feet wet a little,

but in this case, And I have so much respect for Dominic. I think Dominic's amazing, but I do not think that Dominic could hang with Marlon. In my opinion, Dominic is amazing. And so much respect for Dominic, and I do. I love his game to death. But, man, I just think Marlon will be eaten. I just really, truly in my heart, think that Marlon would definitely win.

Wow. And I usually don't like to talk smack. I let's talk about one-third person. but I never I never like saying anything but I have that much confidence in the moment. Great segue there because you were pushing very much

to see Frankie Edgar fight Connor McGregor. It didn't happen and now it's going to be even tougher to happen in the in the interim in the short term because obviously you know Frankie lost and who knows if

Connor's ever coming back to 145. Is that why this one hurts so much for you? Is that why you say you wake up every morning thinking about this because of what he lost out on? No, Connor could care. I honestly could care less about Connor, you know. In fact, I think we have four guys that could be Connor.

I think Marlon could easily be Connor. I think Edson could be Connor. I think Eddie could be Connor. And I think Frankie wipes up Connor. And I honestly believe that. You know me for a lot of years. I don't like to talk garbage, but, you know, I just think the four of them, chill this kid.

I just, you know, Connor was holding up the belt. had the belt, you know, and I think it's baloney how he had fought Nate in this second fight, which he got mocked up on, you know, striking and on the ground, and why it's a rematch for a guy holding the belt, just give the belt up, you know, we, you know, wanted the belt at the time, not about, you know, to care less about Connor and what he thinks he is or, or you'll see what they think of him, but it was only, the only thing was that he had the belt, everything else could care less about that guy.

Okay. So what bothers you so... I mean, obviously the fact that you lost is enough, but like what kills you so much about the Edgar Aldo rematch?

Why do you feel like you failed him? Why are you putting this all in yourself? Well, we were close... You know, he was right there for the belt, which, you know, it was right there for the belt.

And I just think that there was... As soon as that fight ended, I just think, you know, it was one of the biggest fights in my head that I could remember where right when the fight ended, that there was like 10 things or 15 things that went right through my head, should have done this, should have done that, should have done that, should have

called this, should have called that. And, like, that would have worked that Frankie would have done. Frankie's so amazing, man. Like, you just have to, you know, yell out anything to him, man. He'll jump all over and he trusts in his corner a lot. And, you know, I just think that the chasing, and we were just trying to be so aggressive and kind of left our game a little bit. And instead of taking a time and working more of our game,

I think we just rushed things a little bit. It reminded me a little bit of Dillishaw, Dominic Cruz, when Dillishaw kind of left his game a little bit and just kept, you know, rushing after and, you know, was trying to just, you know, go after him and wasn't, you know, putting technique into play. And this talk that Aldo may not have been spying on him, you say hogwash, that doesn't bother you at all? That doesn't bother me at all, because I think whatever anybody does, we should be able to adjust and we're better than, you know, in any technique he's, so if he's not going to do that and he's going to kind of be more on the defensive and, you know, hit back and up and things of that nature, like we should have adjusted to it. So, you know, that's my thought process on it, you know.

I mean, there was a lot of things we were working on. The two main things he said, you know, that's why to me, the two specific things he said we were working on probably the most. And so, I mean, you know, and I know that people did see us that week doing it. And but it still shouldn't matter anyway, in my opinion, you know. I think too kind of, if I could do that over again, like Finky in the first, you know, like 70% of the camp was just on fire. I don't know if wanting it's so bad.

I overtrained them a little bit. And, you know, I'm kind of, you know, I'm going to change things up this time for our whole camp. You know, Joe Rogan talks about it a lot with, you know, overtraining and not something and take a little bit of that advice and maybe slow down a little bit on the sparring and make sure that we go in like guns blazing and everything, clicks. You know, we've been doing it for, you know, like 12 years, a certain style, but I think

you could always make things better. And I think that's one of the things I blame myself on. Maybe he just pushed a little too hard, but definitely no excuse at all. You know, Alba won. He deserved it. The techniques he did. The judges gave it to him and just not making zero excuses, you know, you know, not even saying if we did any of that, that we still would have won, but, you know, everybody always asked what you're done different. Right. You know, those are the things, but definitely not saying, that we would have won if, you know, there was less sparring. He's still won.

He was the better man that night. The judges gave it to him and, you know, all the, you know, respect. What would you like to see for Edgar next? I'd like, you know, what I'd like to see is, again, you know, I think he's one of the best fighters that ever walked on the face of the earth. I think that, you know, people still don't realize, you know, like Marlon, he's a 135 or he's bigger than Frankie. And, you know, Frankie's a true 35er, you know.

You know, I hate to say this stuff. O'Connor, you know, fights Nate. It's probably more his weight class, 155, and they make the biggest deal out of Connor. And, you know, he came up mega short. And Frankie had a title of 55 and came, you know, really close this last time to win his second title. And he's really a 35, you know.

And so for me, I just really want to go the shortest cut to, you know, the next title, whether it be 35 or 45, whatever brings him the closest. That nine hours didn't help either that extra nine hours, you know, at 45, you know, out the, man, he looked big out there. And I'm not saying from his point from I've had other guys, too, like Eddie and Netson in their fights, I asked them how they felt with that extra nine hours recovering from the weight cut, and they both felt how they both felt a lot different and a lot stronger.

So that, you know, it's kind of tough, too, when you get, you know, when you give a guy nine extra hours to, you know, on the way cut that Frankie has to kind of deal with now, too. Eddie and Habib Nurmaghamedov going back and forth. Do you like that fight for Eddie? Are you okay? Is that the fight that you think makes sense for him in his first title defense? Yeah, I think that any fight, you know, I'm of confidence in Eddie with anybody. Any 155 or on the face of the earth, I have 100% confidence in Eddie, you know, and, um, I'm, I'm, I'm you know, Kabid wants to fight, and I totally understand that, man. He was undefeated, you know, he's phenomenal.

You know, I mean, even very friendly with him. And, man, you know, probably, you know, a guy that we don't, that's not in our camp, I probably respect for him more than anybody. And, but, you know, I think Frankie deserved a title fight and didn't get one. I think Wyman deserved a title fight and didn't get one. You know, I think, you know, a lot of guys out there deserve a title fights, but, you know, I mean, look at Wyman's division.

I mean, come on, you know. So if Bisman does it, why can't Eddie do it, you know? I mean, Eddie has a family, and I'm sure a lot of people would love to see the winner in Nate and Connor. And I think that, you know, that you can't say that those two fights wouldn't be a great fight either. So, but whoever it is, you know, I'm 100% excited for it. and I think Eddie will do amazing. So here we have a situation where Edson Barbosa is climbing that ladder rather quickly. What happens if you're in the position of, uh-oh,

Edson is the number one contender and Eddie is still the champion? What are you going to do? Well, I know that Edson said that he wouldn't fight him, but I think he definitely should fight him. You know, I think that, you know, it's definitely a team sport, and it definitely takes a team to get, you know, to get you where you're at. But I mean, these guys have both been, Eddie's been wrestling because he was a little kid. ETS has been doing more times since he's 8 years old.

They both have family. So, you know, my advice, you know, is to ETSN, which already talked to him. Listen, man, if you get that opportunity, you have to take the title fight, you know, it's, you know, you have a family. And that's the way that it's. And Eddie and Edson get along amazing. And they've helped each other out so much, especially Eddie because he'd already fought the two guys. that, um, that Essen had just fought in Pettus and Melendez and, you know, we helped them more than Eddie.

Eddie, the first second that we knew he was fighting them, that he was right there helping him. But, you know, they both have families and it's a team sport, but not a team sport. So, you know, my advice is for him to definitely take it. But as of right now, you know, there's a couple people ahead if they give it to, if they said today to Essen, I tell him, dude, you take it 100%. But, you know, right now, you know, you hear, you hear, you hear, to Bedeb, you hear, you know,

could be, you know, John McGregor and Nate at the fight, and you have Ferguson on the eight, fight, one street. So, you know, until they, you know, say, Aetton's name, we're kind of, you know, not even talking about it. Well, who will you corner in that situation? No, I haven't really, I haven't even

really thought about it, you know, at all. Okay. Could tone, you know, could be nobody, it could be flip of a coin if they want, you know, whatever those, whatever they would want, whatever the other, those two guys, you know, will want collectively. I'm forward 100% if their careers, if their families, you know, whatever, whatever they would talk it out and they would want the team on me personally anyway. You know, I would definitely go if they wanted nobody. I definitely would agree on that 100% too, you know, because I love both those guys.

Both those guys are, first of all, forget about fighters. They're very close friends of mine. They're both great guys and I both know their families very, very well. You know, and I really wouldn't want, I really definitely wouldn't want to be in either one of this corner, but they'd both pay me in the past, and, you know, it's only right. You know, I'm also an employee, so whatever they would want, I would be, you know, 100% for it if they both agreed on it. Final thing. Are you going to change the way you prepare for fights the week of?

Are you going to limit who goes into that room? I mean, yes, Aldo Backtrack, but is this something that you're taking seriously, people watching you? as you help your fighters prepare for their fights? You know, it's funny. If you ask anybody, you know, any one of our guys, I mean, I'm a maniac. You know, anybody, I see a five-year-old with a phone pointing near the guys, you know, and I'm a nut. You know, I'm like talking to the parent.

I'm like, could you please not let it? I mean, I'm crazy. I'm really crazy. You know, I'll be like, like, at the UFC, I've had a woman one time say, you know, they're doing an embedded thing, and they were going to call them. data on me because I wouldn't let them spar do the sparring and I said you know we'll do jumping jacks this whole work you want us to do spars listen we'll do jumping jacks for the next two hours I'm not doing sparring you know we just started doing sparring because the guys wanted to

because I didn't even want to do that but you can ask anybody I mean I'm pretty crazy and um but this time I think we're definitely going to go to another gym you know go to another gym when we're down in Vegas I always get um Ray has the boxing coach down there. He invited me to a gym. Vandale, we've been down there. We've done in the past. So, I mean, I'll say to the guys,

they still get to do what they want. You know, that's what I'm saying to do it. Each guy's different, you know, some want to, you know, because it takes time, you know, to all get in a car or all go. You know, it's like it takes more time. The guys really don't want to, you know, spend it, you know, when they're weight-cutting, driving, or whatnot. The fights on their mind.

So I'm definitely going to say to the guys, and if they still want to train the workout room, Even at that work at him, you could even, that day with Frankie, I forget his name. He was from King's M.A. Helping out somebody. Bird, bird, bird. He's one of all these guys. I forget his name, but he was about the whole patch for somebody, and he had all the right to be in there.

But I asked him because Eddie, you know, was also trained. I said, can you do me a huge favor? I said, can you please work out when we're done? We'll be done in about 10 minutes. So, I mean, that week, I went to people and I asked them not to come in yet, you know, and I waited when I knew some other teams that we knew were in the room with us, and we wouldn't start until they left the room.

So, I mean, we do it all the time, but it's tough when, you know, their name is also on the, you know, on the list. Right. That you can't tell people to leave, you know. No matter to the main event or whatever, call main event, you can't, you know, I would never do it, you know, it's very, right as much as ours. The first guy fighting to us at the main event, it's their

right 100% as much as ours. So, you know, but I think, you know, if we go to another gym, it's totally different. Appreciate the time, Mark. Thank you very much. Congrats on the big wins this past month and of course throughout your career. And I really appreciate the way you handle the whole

Frankie Edgar situation. Really put out, I think, the perfect blueprint how every coach should handle a situation like that. So respect you greatly and respect you coming on here today. Thank you. Thanks so much, God bless, man, and, you know, always wishing the best for your show. And I wish people knew more what a great guy you are. I want to tell a super fast story.

I'm down at, I forget, we were at an event, and you asked me, I'm always asking how my son's doing, and my family. I said, always looking at a college in California. And right away, you said, you know what, I know somebody? He could possibly intern down there. So I just wish people knew what type of guy you are. You're just definitely fighting is secondary to you and how much you're out there for the fighters and even like somebody like me, just the coach, and how you're always concerned and always trying

to help out and go way far than the extra mile for everybody and our families. And I wish people, your viewers knew that part of you, you know, those moments, which are a lot of moments like that where you're always trying to help out anybody around you, man. You're an amazing guy. Thank you, Mark. I appreciate that very much. Thank you very much. All right, buddy. God bless you. All right, there he is. Mark Henry.

Great coach. Big month for him. Appreciate his time. Okay, let's move along. Main event of UFC on Fox 21, August 27th in Beautiful Vancouver, BC. Is Damien Maive versus Carlos Condit? Carlos joins us on the phone right now. Carlos, are you there? I'm here, man. Thank you for the time. I appreciate your patience.

All right, there's a lot to talk to you about. First things first, I just want to ask you playing off what we were just talking to Mark about. Have you ever worried about anyone spying on you the week of a fight? You know, you're in those sort of communal locker rooms. Have you ever been kind of weary of someone looking at you and telling your opponent? Yeah, the thoughts crossed my mind. And I heard him talking about people filming in the gym. And, you know, it's kind of a no-no.

And so, yeah, it's something that I'm definitely cognizant of. I haven't worried about it too much, but the thought is definitely crossed my mind. Weird, weird thing. Okay, did you watch the fights on Saturday night? I did. What's your reaction to Tyron Woodley knocking out Robbie Lollah? Of course, you have a history with both men. You fought both men.

What was your reaction when you saw that? You know, I kind of, I picked Woodley to win. I thought it would go. I thought it would go a little bit longer. But, yeah, dude, Woodley is really fast. You know, he's powerful. And he, you know, he's been training. with the

with the tettus's old coach and you know his striking look good I saw him you know saw him training a little bit he looked really good

so uh yeah you know Robbie's Robby's a Robby's a monster he's a champion but it didn't surprise me so and did it not surprise you

that he finished him that quickly as well were you expecting that? Uh no I didn't but you know you never know what to expect in these fights

man yeah the nature of the sport it's crazy some people who aren't fighters and is why I want to ask you this, including myself, I will admit, was wondering, okay, all the damage,

all the shots that Robbie is taken throughout his career, maybe it caught up to him, you know, the sort of idea that your chin deteriorates. Do you believe in that? Do you think that was possibly the case? I think that that's kind of a, yeah, I think that that's true. Whether or not that led to him getting knocked out, I don't know. he very well whether he had a Christian chin and he'd never been hit

he'd take a shot like that from Tyron Woodley you know he gets a lot of people are going to go to sleep so like I said you've been in there with Woodley before as far as like the the hardest hitters that you fought is he up there as well like can you co-sign the idea that he's one of the hardest hitters

in the division yeah he's yeah the dude the dude hits hits like a truck okay so you're in this interesting because you're fighting Maya next, and that's a super close fight to the title fight, but not that long ago you were on this show, and you were saying, and like you said,

after your fight, you said you may retire, that if there's no big fight. Ultimately, why did you decide to come back and resume your career? You know, a number of reasons. First and foremost, you know, I'm, I still got, I still got a little bit of time in the sport, I think. Still got, Still got some fights in me. I love it. You know, I love what I do. It's, you know, it's,

this is a passion for me. You know, also this is how I make a living. You know, it's just my job. I, I got those to pay. I get kids to feed,

so, you know, I'm going to do these fights. Was there a moment when you decided, okay, I'm coming back, that's it,

I'm going to resume the crazy. Like, do you recall the moment? Because you seem to be on the fence, weighing your options, seeing what's out there. Do you recall when you decided that, yes, you were going to come back? Yeah, I think I was on the fence, you know, until, you know, it could have gone either way.

You know, it was kind of, you know, if an opportunity presented itself and it was, and it sounded like it was something enticing, I was, I think I was, I decided, okay, I'll, I'll take it. The fight with Maya is going to be, it's a tough fight. He's a tough matchup for anybody, but that being said, it gets me back into title contention. I beat Damien Maya. I'm the number one contender, I feel, and I'm back in position to get the belts around my way. Is there something about Maya as a fighter that you really like the idea of fighting him, or is there really just about where he's ranked? I mean, I like the idea of fighting him because he is, you know, he's one of the best in the world.

You know, he's got a tricky style. It's without a doubt, a challenge. And, you know, it's going to be a tough puzzle to solve. But I like challenging myself. I like, you know, that's why I do this. You know, one of the reasons is pit my skills and my abilities against, you know, against other world-class fighters. and, you know, Damien Maya is, without a doubt, a world-class fighter. And so just to be clear, if they would have offered you someone who's in, like, you know, the ninth spot or ten spot, you may have not come back.

Was it the opportunity to fight someone that highly ranked that brought you back? Yeah, that was definitely part of my decision. And then originally this fight was booked for 2002, which is an amazing fight card. Then you get moved to the main event. What did you think of that move? Were you okay with that right off the bat? Yeah, I mean, I like the fact that this is this new date, it will be a five-round fight. Main event, I feel like this fight should be a main event.

The 202 is a huge card, but, you know, we weren't even co-main. We were third from the top. I didn't necessarily like that. So, yeah, like, you know, and then I had a week, week longer to train. This fight was, you know, not super short notice, but fairly short notice. I had to get in camp and get to work right away. So this gave me an extra week to work. Does that mean that Carlos Condit was sort of relishing the idea of doing more media

because now you're the main event more attention on you? Is that what you're really trying to say here to us? Oh, yeah, you know me. Because that comes with the main event, right? It does. It does. I think it would be, I would feel weird and not have a whole lot of media to do. I actually did when I went out to Fight Week. And, you know, because we're not the main event.

We, you know, we didn't, I didn't have a whole lot of, a lot of interviews or anything to do. It was, it was kind of, it was a bit odd and different than my last, the last couple years of my fight career. But now you go back to Vancouver and that was the scene of one of your great triumphs, that big comeback win over Roy McDonald. You were just there, right? Were you there, I think, was it last week or two weeks ago to do a media tour, right? Two weeks ago. Two weeks ago. Did a lot of people bring that up?

Did you have good memories of your time there for UFC 115? I did. Yeah, it was brought up. Yeah, I really, really enjoy that city. That was an awesome experience. You know, great fight. Like you said, it was, you know, ups and down. And I ended up coming away with the win at the last minute. And, you know, that's, you know, without a doubt, those are good memories.

And why do you prefer this being a five-round fight from, like, a stylist? athletic standpoint. Do you feel like that benefits you more than him? You know, it could go either way. You know, it could be five more rounds of Damien Maya on my back, you know, dominate me in a jiu-jitsu position. Could be. But I also know that I have, you know, very good conditioning, very good cardio. And I can use that as a what? Five rounds also affords me more time to create openings and opportunities for me to implement my game. I can end this fight quickly and violently, and I just have to create the opening and the opportunity for myself. Is it fair to say that Damien Maya is one of the more underrated fighters in that division?

He doesn't get a lot of the attention that he probably deserves? Yeah, I would say that. Well, here's the thing, though. he's underrated because he's a phenomenal fighter I feel like he should possibly potentially be a number one contender

but you know the thing is he doesn't his style is style's not fan friendly he doesn't he doesn't fight you know he goes in there and he grapples there's been a few fights where he's gone in against Chris Wyatman

you know he chewed down a little bit then but in his recent fights he just plays it super safe I was Cased when he fought Gunner Nelson, and he had Gunner Nelson beat. He was, you know, Gunner was kind of up against the fence. He was kind of, you know, he was defeated. Damien Maya had the opportunity. Hey, let's kind of, let's finish this out.

Let's throw some strikes. His strikes are actually, you know, very decent. He's a good striker. And yet, boom, shot in. You know, made, you know, shot in on him, laid on him. You know, he could have at that point. at that opportunity, kind of made a statement, like, hey, I'm here. I'm not, I'm not always a boring fighter, but he plays it safe, and he's been playing it safe. And, you know, that's why

he doesn't have, that's why he's not where he, where he should be with regards to rankings or, you know, respect among welterweights. So do you not respect a fighter like that because he plays it safe? No, I respect, I, I respect, hell, I might respect everybody at compete against. Okay. As a fan and as somebody who's trying to entertain people, you know, it's not, it's not entertaining style. You know, my goal, though, is to make this dude fight. I'm going to make this an exciting fight. As a guy who's made a career out of being a fan-friendly fighter, are you worried at all that main event on Fox that he will draw you into a fight like that?

You know, anything could happen. but yeah yeah that would suck and hey if this was my last fight and it was you know lackluster

and kind of a a puff of smoke you know that would suck but you know I'm doing my best and I'm training in a in a way

and bringing a strategy that I hope will make sure that that's not the case and so you say if this is my last fight so is that still in play here could August 27th be your last fight

any of these fights could be our last fights man we step in there this is dangerous you know you you you know you saw saw cyborg with that crazy head injury you know any any of any of these fights could be our last man um the the dangerous sport i've been at this for a long time yeah it is a possibility anything's possible i don't think it'll be my last fight but shit who knows you want to go for the belt one more time at least right yeah of course when you see the cyborg thing though I don't know if you saw the

the after photo of the scar oh god like how do you as a fight how do you react to that does that give you pause um how do I react to it you know I

I wish that a dude like cybor or like any of these fighters who's putting their bodies uh through this and and putting their health and their well-being on the line I just wish that we had a little bit more security. You know, he doesn't, you know, that's, this is his trade, right?

He's a fighter, and this is how he makes money. Now he can't make any money. Now what the hell is he's going to do? You know, that's how it is kind of with all of us. So, yeah, that's the nature of the sport. Oh, yeah, any of us can get our faces broken. And we accept that risk, but, you know, we also don't have anything to fall back on. And that was kind of my thought like, damn, you know,

He's going to be out. I hope he may never fight again. Yeah. There was actually a story that came out last week that the NBA Players Association are going to put their money together and start paying the retired players, the sort of pension.

And what would a great thing that is to see the current players, the millionaires, multimillionaires giving back? And as you know, you know, the sale and everything has brought up all this talk.

Do you think it's time that you guys band together like that to help each other out? Something needs to be done. Yeah, I think something needs to be done. You know, our, a big part of the rebuck deal and our loss of sponsors, you know, took away our security. Took away, you know, now we are, you know, beholden to, you know, to living fight to fight. And we don't have that buffer in between with, you know, with regards to financial security that sponsors gave us.

And so, you know, it's where we're in a weird place, man. Yeah, we've seen big names like Dillishaw, Mark Hunt say that they want to see an association. Do you feel like this is the time for that as well? So you guys have collective bargaining and fight for these sort of things? I do. I do. I think that, you know, Dana White and the Frititas have done an amazing job at legitimizing the sport in a lot of different ways with, you know, regulation, uniform.

rules, you know, insurance, you know, all of these different things. I think one more step to legitimizing the sport would be, you know, collective bargaining for fighters and a fighters association. And, you know, why is that so much different than these other sports that they're trying to model themselves after and say, hey, we are, we are a legitimate, you know, a legitimate sport as well. Fantastic point because they say they want to be like those sports, yet that's the one thing missing from all of those sports, right?

Like the uniform, all that's like the other sports, but you guys don't have that opportunity to speak up for yourself. Do you think it's going to happen in your career, or do you think this is something that's going to take longer than that? Yeah, I think it's going to be a fight, man. I do. I think that it'll happen. I don't know when.

I think it'll probably be a drawn-out process. Does that bum you out? Like in hindsight, when you think of your career, do you start thinking to yourself, like I could have been paid more, I could have had more protection for my family. Does that upset you? No, dude. I'm grateful for, you know, the opportunity to compete, you know, in a sport that I love, something that didn't really didn't exist, not all that long ago.

You know, I've done well. I've, you know, traveled the world and got to do and need and stuff. see all kinds of cool things and people and, you know, and I'm not, I'm not crying about what I've been paid. I've been taken care of. I just, I think that, you know, with regards to the, the popularity of the sport and the growth and all that, you know, we are, we are a huge part of that. The fighters and the talent is, this is why the sport is what it is. Along with other things, along with this, you know, stuff the promotion is done, but you can't have one without the other. So, you know, I think it needs to be, I think we need to be compensated as such.

Two last things. What do you think of Woodley saying that he wants to fight GSP or Dias for the belt, as opposed to Wonderboy, who many people think is the number one contender? Do you understand where he's coming from? Because he's talking about getting paid more, and it's hard to deny that he would get more money as champion fighting those guys, or would you prefer to see the champion fight? the number one contender? You know, from

from Woodley's perspective, you know, get that money, man. This is kind of what we're talking about. Yeah. You know, this could all be over, you know, in the blink of an eye. This, you know, who knows what can happen with this thing.

You know, he's got kids, he's got, yeah, he's got people to take care of, you know, get that money. You know, if things were different, I would say, oh, yeah, I'm a number one contender for sure, but she got to get those money fights.

But if you're Wonderboy, you're probably pissed off, right? Well, it remains to be seen who he's going to fight. He said that. It doesn't mean that he gets to dictate who he fights. Right. And just curious, because I saw your coach Greg Jackson in Atlanta, and we were sort of talking about how, you know, the fact that the team might be on some kind of losing streak is an anomaly

and speaks to the fact that you guys have been so successful for so long that the fact that we even think about this speaks to how successful the team has been. But I'm wondering if you could tell us just how the vibe around the team is these days. Anthony Hamilton had a great win Saturday. Hopefully that kind of gets things back on track. But it has been a bit of a rough stretch as of late. Are you feeling that at the gym? I really don't.

And yeah, and I know what you're saying. Yeah, we have had a lot of losses. But we also have a ton of guys competing at a very, very high level who have been successful in the past. So it's just kind of, you know, the odds are sometimes you are going to have these losing streaks or the, you know, these bumps in the road. But with regards to the attitude in the gym, not at all, man. It's the environment is dope. You know, everybody's, there's still, there's great momentum and there's great energy, you know.

When we step in there, there's the possibility that we're going to win, and there's a possibility they're going to lose. And that's kind of the, it's a risk at the key. gamble. And, you know, we put it on the line and it's all on us or whether we win or whether we lose. So, you know, dude, yeah, there's been some, there's been some, some, some less than stellar performances lately. But, you know, I guarantee you in the near future, there's going to be some awesome performances from our guys, too. Yeah. 100%. Wow. What a great pleasure. This has been. Amazing stuff, Carlos. Really appreciate your insight. And

your honesty on all this stuff going on in the sport. Thank you so much, my man. And good luck, August 27th, UFC on Fox 21, Vancouver, BC. What a fantastic main event it is, Damien Maya versus Carlos, two, the very best at 170 pounds. Really appreciate the time, Carlos. Thank you. Yeah, of course, dude. Anytime. Thanks, Ariel. All right, there he is. The natural born killer himself. Wow, amazing stuff. That was probably my favorite Carlos Conda interview ever. Holy moly. I mean, just amazing stuff from Carlos. any of that, go check it out on the replay. That was just great. I mean, I just love hearing fighters talk like that about the business of the fight game and, you know, their place in the fight game,

especially you get the sense that they're just a little bit wiser and they think about things a little bit differently as their careers progress. And wow, that was a very wise Carlos Condit, in my opinion. Great stuff from him. And what a great fight that is in less than four weeks' time. in Vancouver, beautiful city. If you've never been to Vancouver, what an amazing city. Now, I have never been to Salt Lake City before. I have been to their airport, and it's a very nice airport, but I've never actually been to the city. Have I been to the city? No, I've never been to the city. But I'm told it's a very beautiful place. And the UFC is finally going to Salt Lake City on Saturday. They were supposed to go around five years ago for a main event between John Jones and

Vladimir Matushenko, and they canceled it because it was on a Sunday. There's a versus card on a Sunday, and that's a very bad idea to book a sporting event on a Sunday for religious reason, so they canceled it. Dana White said at the time that they will never go back to San Diego, excuse me, they went to San Diego, they'll never go back to Salt Lake City. And now here they are. Never say never. Show on Saturday headline by Yaira Rodriguez versus Alex Casaris. Bruce Leroy himself was joining us on the phone right now. Alex, how are you? Good. How are you doing, how are you?

I'm doing great. Thank you. Have you ever been to Salt Lake City? Yes, I have actually been there. I think I drove through, maybe I stayed for a day or something, as I was taking a road trip up to Oregon. What was your reaction when you were told that your main eventing a UFC show in Salt Lake City against Eira Rodriguez? Were you surprised by all this?

Well, I was, I guess, I'm, I'm, No, I'm not, I mean, I was pretty excited at a main event, you know. I guess I was pretty surprised to be being a main event. I mean, but then again, I felt like there was a long time coming that I should be at least on some main cards, you know. I've been dying to get a five-round fight in for a while, you know. I think it's one of those fights that I could really test my medal. So I've been really wanted to get a five-round fight for a while. but um

in the event that's a cool thing and there wasn't necessarily like a um how would you say like surprise or excited because it was the main event I was more surprised and excited that it was a how did you say a five round fight yeah

you've never been in a five round fight before uh no only in the gym yeah what do you like about like do you feel like you have yet to show the kind of cardio that you would show in a five round fight uh well Yeah, I mean, of course. If I ever been in one, I guess I definitely get to show that I can last for five rounds and actually be a little bit high-paced for five rounds as well.

How much did you know about Jaira Rodriguez before you were offered this fight? Nothing. Nothing. Had you ever heard of him? Nope. Wow. How much you know about him now? A little bit.

Well, you told me. before $199 that, you know, you replay the fights over and over in your head, you saw it coming, the Coleman-Millow thing. Has that happened for this fight as well? Yeah, it's still happening. It happens at me every day. I can definitely visualize every single outcome that is possible. Even if you don't know a lot about the guy or I'd never heard of him, that's still, that experience still happens. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I know he's a, I know he's a, I know I guess you would say I wouldn't say

I mean I've seen some of the fights and I wouldn't say unpredictable I definitely would say explosive and um uh

he did like um what's a good word that's not um it's not necessarily unpredictable but definitely explosive and crafty I would guess you'd say like he'll throw some or I would say explosive

and flashing uh perhaps a little unorthodox as well Um, yeah, up to a certain extent. I mean, because, um, well, then again, you know, like I fought a, I mean, I was a spard and I trained with a lot of guys that would do, that were black ducks in Taekwondo and that did a lot of, uh, or Kiyoko Shinn or, you know, like that, that, that do have like those explosive types of kicks and, you know, those, um, that comes from different angles. So to me, it's

unnecessarily unpredictable. To me, it's, um, they're good, they're good and they're powerful, but it's a, you know, it's flashy. It's not necessarily unpredictable. Like, I wouldn't say you don't see it coming. It's just, it comes fast and hard. They have been pushing him for a while because, you know, he's Mexican-born. He's got a great fighting style, great look, all that stuff. Do you feel like this is a bit of a trap fight for you?

Like they're trying to propel him off of you? Well, how would I say? it could be, you know, last time I said that was against Sergio Pettis, and they kind of got mad at me for saying that. Why? That's the truth. If you feel that way. Well, they were just saying that,

oh, how can you say that we were trying to that we wanted you to lose that fight? And it just, you know, to me it seems, you know, maybe not necessarily you want me to lose that fight, but it's obvious what you're pushing, you know? I mean, when I see the commercial of the fights, you seem the only feeling like a couple of hand combinations, but you see him throwing like 50,000 flying.

Basically, he threw every single kick. They showed you every single kick that he ever threw in every fight. You know what I mean? And when you compile that together in one video, it seems like that's what he does all the time. When in actuality, it's there, those are short bursts, and like they probably happen maybe once or twice within the fight, you know? Yeah.

So it seems, it just seems obvious, how would you say, who they're trying to promote better. You know, with me, like, you know, you see me fight. I throw the same amount of, if anything, I throw more unpredictable, elusive, and flashy punches, kicks, and everything. Yet, on the commercials, you only see me throwing, like, two or three piece combinations at my opponents, and I was wondering, hey, where's my 360 kick,

where's my double kick, where's my even my double punch, where's my spinning kicks and my other three you know what I mean yeah so it's just like it seems like I don't know how to do that you know and they showed me just boxing really so it's obvious to me at least that's what it seems like who they're trying to promote as the better fighter or the more unpredictable fighter I would say do you feel that way going into this fight as well well well definitely I mean yeah of course I mean I look at the commercial right I look at the commercial like a lot of Like I said before, I'm only throwing hands in the commercial, and you know damn well that, you know, I'm throwing a lot other crazy stuff. And not only that when they'll fight, and even in the promotion, how many times do they call me unorthodox, unpredictable, and stuff like that, right?

How many times they call me that all the time? But now, like, for the promotion of the fight is like when they're introducing you here, it's like unpredictable and, you know, I forgot unorthodox. and then they promote me as calm, cool, collected, you know what I mean? Like, when it's like, I don't necessarily, like, I mean, I am calm in the fight, but I don't fight like slow. Like, I mean, off of one week's notice with the Cole Miller fight, I was throwing everything in the kitchen sink at the guy, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Does that piss you off? Does that motivate you more? No, no, not at all. It is what it is. Let them do whatever I want to, you know, the most that I can do is just get out there and perform. They can look at me However they want Like at the end of the day

I really don't give a fuck what they I mean excuse me That's all good You get swear on this Okay Awesome I really don't care What they say or think about me

At the end of the day I am who I am So I have nothing else To prove to nobody but myself When I get there to test for myself I mean I'm always gonna catch a lot of flack From fans

Or from other people You know Everybody rides the bandwagon You know From my experiences You know the same people that like you in one fight the minute you're fighting one guy and the way they promote it um you know they're like oh my god you're gonna fucking die you know and it's just like okay it's whatever so uh i

i take it i take everything with a grain of salt always um it i mean it it's just a it's me the bandwagon in the same way you know the news portrays a story from one side only to make you feel a certain way towards a certain person so okay so going into this fight though like once you get to Salt Lake City, I'm assuming, because you're the main event, you're going to have to do a lot of media that's going to be a lot bigger of a spotlight on you. Are you looking forward to that? Are you sort of dreading that? How do you feel about it? You know, I guess it really doesn't matter. I really got nothing else to do. I mean, I'm just going to go there and I'm going to train regularly. I don't have to cut weight anymore. I'm not cutting weight

at all, so I'm just going to train and just, you know, just train for the fight, basically. nothing's really changed in there's training somewhere else. So you weigh... I'll have a more free time to talk to people. You weigh 146 right now? No, I'm like 150. Wow, that's amazing. That's incredible.

And that's just, is that, I mean, obviously you've been training, like, what's the biggest that you'll get these days? The biggest I've gotten, and these are like literally, You know, after weekend, you know, if I rested completely on Sunday, which I don't normally do, I usually do some tech sheet on Sunday. But if I don't do anything on Sunday, I'm like 155, 156, you know, the highest I've gotten in this camp was one time only, was 158, and then it went down probably back to 153 within the training. So that's the biggest I've ever gotten, but it was just water weight. I was just drinking lots of liquids. And that was only because you saw that came over to test me, and I had to drink lots of water so I could pee.

Okay. By the way, a couple of years ago, you told me about wanting to buy this house in the middle of nowhere, like a small house and grow your own vegetables and things like that. Did you ever accomplish that goal? That is something that I'm doing later, later on when I'm done with the, when I'm done with this run. Oh. Right now I'm trying to live below my means and just how it's, you. you see, just be, just, just, just grinding it out. My girlfriend's going to school right now.

I'm waiting until she's done. And when she's done, I'll just call it quits for professional fighting. Oh. And then I'm probably going to get out of the country, if anything. Oh, when is she done school? About four years from now, so I'll be like 32. So you still have four years left of fighting? Yeah.

And why leave the country? Oh, man. Man, shit's getting crazy out here. you're not a big trump guy I really want to raise my children in a place where people are going to be are trying to be progressively better as human beings

you know over here it's very um fickle it's very materialistic it's very you know it's almost like people here embrace a cast a system you know they don't they refuse to see each other as equals or as human beings so to speak

so I'm just trying to I really don't want to bring, and I mean, especially the violence that is going on, um, from the powers that be as well, you know, I just don't want to, you know, I don't want to rub anybody the wrong way and I don't want to be in a situation where I'm rubbed the wrong way and I have to do something. So it's just, um, I'd rather just avoid the situation altogether and there's plenty of places all around the world that are beautiful places, you know, and I don't, I don't necessarily want to be just to be caught up in the American lifestyle. I mean, media kind of like portrays everybody, everywhere else to be of a lower level, you know, or of a lower standard than America.

One is not necessarily true because I've already traveled too much to, I've traveled too much to make a good slave, so to speak, you know. And I've seen too many places. And it's just a lot of places are a lot better for my mind frame, I guess. I'm not a, how would you say, I don't have a capitalistic mind. mindset. So America's not necessarily the best place for people that think like I do. Where are we thinking? What's the ideal place for you? Well, we've been looking like South America around like Peru area or even northern Europe. I even seen some locations around Africa that are extremely beautiful and progressively thinking.

Wow. So we're probably going to take some time and travel around and just really culture ourselves and then see which be the best place to set up shop. And so it's interesting to hear you talk about not being a capitalist because you are in the business. Like you're in, it's called prize fighting, right? What you do essentially at its core, you're fighting for. And that's one thing I like to clarify. Please.

Yes, I do this as price funding, but you have to understand I'm a martial artist. To me, this is a job. This is not, this is not even a means to an end. You know what I mean? This is just, I guess you would. would say it's a means to win and this is just really to pay my bills i mean if i wasn't doing this i'd still be doing martial arts there's no doubt about it so um it just it just beats work in a desk job personally and i'm not trying to achieve any fame or glory or greatness within the sport itself

it's a job that i love to do and it's also a great way to test my abilities before i before if i eventually want to teach people, I can be assured of myself that I can teach people the proper way and that it works. So when you leave the sport in around four years or so, what do you think you will do for the rest of your life? Like, what do you want your next job to be? Being a teacher. Okay. Being a teacher of martial arts in the purest form of its idea, not just teaching the physical aspects of it, you know, not just teaching the destructive purpose of it. You know, I believe martial arts is, a tool for preservation of life and the mental and the spiritual aspects of it are far more

important than the physical aspects of it. As those Westerners, we have this tendency to distill and isolate things. Like, for instance, a good example is yoga. You know, stretching in yoga is a very, very, very small part of yoga. You know, the teachings of yoga is a lifestyle, how you can yourself every single day. You know, when it truly mean do no harm, it means do no harm. It doesn't mean, oh, I think I'm a yogi. I just stretch every day, but I still kill chickens and eat them. You know what I mean?

And when yogis are completely against that, like real yogis. Obviously, you're a vegan, right? Yes. So you feel like it's contradictory for someone who claims to be a yoga teacher, a yogi. That's a no-no, right off the bat. Yeah, of course, of course. I mean, that's, I mean, anybody that claims to be a true martial artist, you know, is, if you ever practice kung fu, or, or, and Kung Fu derives from Shaolin Kung Fu, and Shaoan Kung Fu derives from Indian, from ancient Indian teachings, because it was Indian monks who came over and taught the Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu and meditation and breathing techniques and cultivation. and they practice do no harm.

You know, it's preservation of life, and every and shal and mungs are completely vegan. They truly believe in that all life is sacred, so you must protect all life. So, through a lot of studying and a lot of research and a lot of just cultivation and just with going within myself and learning, being a martial artist, you know, you're supposed to be the protector of life.

therefore eating meat and all this stuff doesn't necessarily make you a martial artist. It makes you a fighter. Now, if you call yourself a fighter, that's perfectly fine. But to be a warrior of the light or be a martial artist, then one should have respect and should protect all forms of life. Because it is all sacred. Do you ever experience any internal conflict about being a martial artist, striving to be the best martial artist that you can be, and then being a part of mixed martial arts,

which is, you know, at times not exactly very pure and not exactly, you know, the doesn't, doesn't represent the essence of martial arts, you know, because there's the fight game and the entertainment aspect and making money and things like that. Like, do you have a hard time balancing those two ideologies? Every single day. Every single day. I know, I know exact, like, it's one of the imperfect. that at the moment I cannot, how would you say, rectify within myself. It's, and because I still do live in this society and it goes to say where I need to compromise for the situation, but I keep it in mind, I keep it in mind and I practice a lot of,

how would you say, purifying arts and techniques so that I know what I'm doing that I understand that in order for me to, how would you say, go beyond this, I have to compromise for the situation, but I will never compromise myself for the situation. Do you think you'll make it to four years, or do you think as you get older, wiser, more mature, that, you know, the strength of the not-so-pure martial arts ideology will outweigh what you truly love about martial arts and that will drive you away from the sport? Are you worried of that? Yeah, I worry about that all the time.

well, you know, um, um, I also think that like maybe, you know, um, who knows it might be earlier depending on the situation. Um, um, um, if one, if I find something else to do, that will help me progress in towards my dreams, then, then yeah, maybe it might end earlier. But, um, at the moment, um, at the moment, it's, um, I don't necessarily, how would you say, I don't play the game necessarily by their rules. You know, I'm not like, they try to bring it out of me all the time, you know. They want to see that, I guess you would say, a little bit of the animosity or that, you know, they want to bring it out of you.

Like, they want you to talk about your opponents in a negative way and all that good stuff. And I try to avoid that as much as possible. I'm very mindful of what I say and what I project out into the universe. So I try to, I try to watch myself. I want to try and make it to the end because I do have responsibilities. I have people that take care of at the moment. So I cannot, I cannot, for me to stop because I don't believe it's the right thing to do. I know it's not necessarily the correct thing to do, but I cannot be selfish because there are people that are, that do depend on me or that are interdependent with me.

So I know that in order for me to spread that message across and to get my point across, I sometimes have to. to do things that I don't necessarily like to do. And this is life in general. We can't always be pleasing ourselves all the time. To be honest, like if it goes up to me, I would be gone already, you know, but there are a lot of things that I must achieve first, and sometimes I have to go through the, how would you say, the meat grinder. What do you mean by gone?

I mean, like, I guess traveling, experiencing. Okay, okay, okay. I thought you meant on a larger scale. You mean gone for the sport? Yeah. Okay, okay. Well, wow, that is fascinating stuff, Alex. Really, I wish I could talk to you for an hour, but we have run out of time.

Keep doing you, my man. Keep being yourself. It really is a breath of fresh air, and it's very interesting to watch you grow as a person from the ultimate fighter days. I wish you the best of luck on Saturday, and thanks for taking some time out before you go out to Salt Lake City to join us today. Really appreciate it. Thank you. All right. There is.

Saris. Fascinating individual. He fights on Saturday against Jaya Rodriguez. All right. How about this? So exciting. Saturday night. What a performance. Knocked out Robbie Lawler with a vicious missile of a right hand. He is the new UFC welterway champion. He's our good pal, the chosen one, Tyron Woodley. And he joins us right now via the Magic of Skype. There he is. Tyron Woodley. Wow. Are you driving? I am kind of driving, but I'm looking at the road. Okay, you're making me nervous. I'll see me as I look at the road. I'll be okay. All right. This is amazing. This is a first for us.

Congratulations, my man. It's been less than 48 hours. How do you put it into words? What does it feel? Are you down from Cloud 9? Does it feel real? How can you put this into words? Man, I have not entered Cloud 9 yet. I'm still in the fed of shock. So it's hard to put it. to words. I can't say that I'm surprised that I won the fight. I prepared to win the fight. I always saw myself as being a world champion, and this seems like it was my time. My last time fighting for a world title was in 2012. I really pushed it. I really forced it. I wanted it to be my time so badly, but I don't think it was in my cars. I don't think I was humble enough. I don't think that I would have done the right thing with publicity.

I'm about it now that I'm the champion. I think God does things in the serious ways. And, you know, now it's time for me to be the champion. And so it's interesting, because you said that you didn't feel nervous backstage, that you felt great. And it was amazing to watch you the days leading up to the fight because you were oozing confidence. I mean, I started to really believe, like, this man is on the verge of greatness. When did you start to feel that in this camp? How far before this fight did you really start to believe, like, this is a foregone conclusion? I just have to go out there and fight the guy. You know, I really couldn't have put in any better words.

You know, I call it a fixed fight, predetermined destiny. I felt like God was just telling me, Tyrant, you know, the battle was mine. You just go out there and be a willing vessel, relax, breathe, go out there and have fun and enjoy the moment. This is the first time of my career that I actually reached out and embraced the fans as I did the walk. As I called the Valley of the Shadow of Death, as I did that walk, it was the first time I embraced the fans. and it felt good. You know, it felt good to get my coach's a hug. I had a small, brief moment with Dean.

I said, hey, I said, we were about to do it. I said, it's 10 years, man. I say, when I walk out of him, I'm the champion in the world, and he just smiled, and I've never seen a group of guys so calm, so relaxed, and so, you know, focused on the mission at hand. It was a beautiful moment to watch Dean knees on the mat, his back towards you, as Dana was putting the belt around your waist. I saw him.

He was so emotional. it was really a beautiful sight to see. When you landed that punch, that right hand, did you know that was it? Could you feel that he was done? Man, I knew it. I knew it, and I knew I was going to land. I'm not going to say I just knew I was going to knock him out with that particular punch.

I did know I was going to land that punch. When I was in the backstage, I told the guys, because I sweat a lot, man. That's how I'm able to go from 205 to 170, and, you know, this is my best weight cut. So I told them, I... sweating a lot. I need a bottle of water for each round, in between each round. And I say, you know what? I need a bottle of water. And then all my training partners looked at me like,

I said, yeah, I need a bottle of water, singular. And I said that right as we walked out and it was just, it was just a confidence that, not in the cockiness, but it was just, I was prepared, I was ready, and it was nothing that led me to believe it was not my time. Carlos Condit just told us that you are one of the hardest hitters he's ever faced. He said you hit like a truck. But I'm wondering if you do believe that Robbie Lawler was ripe for the taking, that the damage he's taken throughout his career kind of converge with this moment. I'm not taking anything away from that punch because that would crumble me into nothing. But do you feel like that contributed to his demise on Saturday?

Best a couple of things, you know, and I'm going to give out everything because, you know, Robbie is now going to sit there and soak. You know, he's probably going to be a little discouraged and a little mad and then he's going to get back on the horse and I might, who knows, I might walk into him again so I can't get out too many details, but we were really strategic on the placement under punches. You know, a guy, a friend of my Rie Kuhn pulled some stats and he let me know that Robbie has a flat face. So his ability to take shot and punches straight on is very strong, especially if you

play in a teeter-totting, you know, paddy cake war with him. But if you catch him on the side and you hit him clean, you hit him flush, I've always said this and guys don't take me seriously until I get in there with them. The punches you do not see that come with quite a bit of speed are the ones that put you down. I was the first person that really, really sent him down like that. I was the first person that really, really sent Kachak down like that, J. Harron down like that, Andre Gavad down like that. I was the first for many of those guys because they really miscalculate how fast I can get to them

and how much distance I can cover in such short time. watching film and being on, you know, other end of the punch is a different thing. Wow, that is fascinating. Now that it's over, can you take us back to, you know, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday? I noted when I was on Luke Thomas's radio show that you had a bit of a chip on your shoulder and you were giving everyone the same answer. I don't know if you know this, but I was watching Hillary Clinton's speech on Thursday, her big speech Democratic National Convention, the local news in Atlanta.

And then it goes to the local news right after Hillary's speech. and one of the top stories was you at the media day giving them the same answer. It was crazy. Like literally five minutes later. Why were you doing that? Well, this is what I felt. I feel like in general, the fight could have been promoted a little bit better. We kind of got smashing between UFC 200 and UFC 202.

It wasn't a ton of publicity and a ton of marketing done for the film. Me not film for the, I'm thinking ahead. For the actual fight. And with that said, I wasn't the champion at the time. So I didn't feel really, I didn't really feel like compelled. And I didn't have the financial incentive to really push the fight and go above and beyond. So what I did is I did champ camp. I wanted to show you guys what it took to get to this point, the sacrifices.

I want to show you my family. I want to give you the thing that you might not be able to get on the UFC embedded or a countdown. So I put all my energy in myself. They didn't set me up to go to Fast and Furious set. and then set me up, you know, to meet with Dwight Howard and all these guys. Those are relationships that I built my own stuff, and, you know, I didn't feel obligated. So why am I going to tell you three days before a fight? I'm going to do this.

I'm going to do this. I'm going to knock his head off. And you're going to see in three days. So if you guys can be patient, the casual life will get in our fight and you'll see. But I told you guys, I'm going to leave everybody mouth on the ground, and everybody's going to be in awe. And they're going to be shocked. That's what happened. 201 was significant not only because you became champion, but also it was sort of the unveiling of the new UFC owners.

Ari Emanuel, Patrick Whitesail were there of WME, IMG. Did you see them in the back after you were champion? You know, you wanted to make sure I met them. You don't know that I met in the same world. They already know that you know. Oh, wait. We're losing you here, and I want to hear what you have to say. It's getting all, like, distorted.

Can we call you on your cell? Because we've lost you. Okay, we're going to call him on and sell because this is a good time to hear from him. We're going to call Tyron right now. I want to hear what he has to say there. Like I said, somewhat, you know, historic if you want to call it that. Lorenza Fetta no longer there. The sale isn't complete, but Ari Emanuel and Patrick White's sale of cell of WME IMG were in attendance sitting cage side.

Patrick was at the way in, standing next to Dana White and Joe Silva. so it was the dawn of a new era. They were there in full force. Tyron, you there? I'm here. Sorry about that, guys. No prompt. We hear you perfectly now. I'm actually in Houston, Texas. My son's running in the Union Olympics, so I'm enraught to go and watch them smoke a couple of people in the 100 meters. Doing it just like his dad. And I appreciate you squeezing us in, and we won't keep you much longer.

But I'm just wondering if you actually spoke to the new owners. Yeah, I did speak to the new owners. You know, there's, The reps of the UFC thought it was important. You know, they kind of rushed me to beat them because I had set up for all the guys from fast to set a fast hate to come. And the guys from WME was like, well, some of these guys we actually represent. So let us take it into our hands. We want to make sure they get the, you know, get the actual experience they should get, you know, as far as like the celebrity VIP treatment.

And then I met those guys and I think they know that, you know, I've done some films and stuff like that. Hopefully it's something good for me. Hopefully something branches from this, and it makes my job getting movies and parts like that a little bit easier. But I tell you right now, I've already committed to three movies in the last three days. And I had two other that I might not be able to do. Wow. This five potential films to be working on. Since you became champ?

Since I became champ. Actually, two before, two before and then one after. Wow. Did they talk to you about, like, what they see in you? they want from you, the potential they see, plans they have for you. Did you get to talking about any of that? Well, one of the guys I've been trying to work for a while is actually supposed to work today on a television show called Rosewood.

But I wanted to make sure, you know, get my body checked out. My head was a little sore after a bunch of Robbie upside of the head a few times. So I didn't want to go to Fed and, you know, they want me to do a stunt that I didn't feel comfortable doing. So I thought I had to pull out of doing that one. But I'm doing one Thursday. My hands are already feeling better. Thursday, I'll be working. I don't know if I can even say this.

But yeah, I'm working on a Marvel movie on Thursday. Wow. Congratulations. Yeah. Atlanta's treating you very well. Okay. So now let's talk about the future plans. Everyone's talking about you.

You've ruffled some feathers. Others are saying more power to you. Can you explain? Okay, so this is the situation. You want the most money possible, right? We know that. And you want either GSP or Nick Diaz, right? Yep.

Is there one over the other that you think gets you more money at this point? I mean, this is what I want. It's not only the most money. It's a two-bird-once-on situation. I want to sound the best in the world. Right now, I'm the USC wealthy champion of the world. People can say I'm the best in the world. But I've never fought George St. Peter.

And Nick Diaz is not a retired fighter. So why not compete against Nick Diaz, who is definitely a top five? I feel like his brother finally catching on that big payday. But I do believe Nick Diaz has brought enough attention to the sport, raised enough eyebrows, putting enough butts in C, sold enough pay-per-view buys. Well, maybe he kind of deserves, because we're using this word, deserve so much. Maybe he deserved a cash out. And that's why I made a suggestion when U.S. 2.02 is three weeks away.

I'm in great shape. And I know he's trained with his brother getting ready for this fight. Secondly, George St. Pierre is the best of all times. You know, I can say, oh, I'm better than George, but I'm not competed against him, so I can't really make that bold statement. If George St. Pierre decides that he wants to come back, and he's interested in fighting me, which he is, that's going to be my number one pick. But in hindsight, I would like to fight both of them.

I would like to prepare myself, get through George St. Pierre, shock the world once again, really stay. that I'm the best in the world, and then after that I would like to fight Nick Diaz as well, because those two fights, nobody can ever say I'm not one of the best wealth alerts on the planet Earth. If I'd knock out Robbie Lawler, who was the Goliath of the weight decision, everybody was thinking he was so invincible and unbeatable, and if I knock off GSP and if I knock off GSP and Nick Diaz, I pretty much submitted myself in a UFC Hall of thing. And I know you saw this morning GSP telling me that he's interested in fighting you.

did you, I know you said it publicly, but when you were backstage, did you say this to the UFC brass? And if so, do you think they're interested in this? I think, I think they were already getting calls. I think Dana kept looking at me and smile and said, we'll talk to him, we'll talk so on, I'll call you on the phone. I think George and Nick, before I even stated it, showed issues. I think, I'm pretty sure Nick managers had already started hitting Dana up about fighting, you know. And this is a business, man. Like, Nick knows I respect him. You know, He's one of the best that's ever done it.

He's so durable. He's giving us some of the best fights that we can even remember. But, man, how awesome would it be to compete against the guy at that lumple? Every time I fight a guy, the level, the higher they are, the higher I bring my game out. And I'm trying to get the most. I'm trying to see how far I can push this. And, you know, those are the two guys that definitely bring it out of it. If you don't, you're going to get beat up pretty good.

here's what I appreciate about you. You're very real and consistent because people have been following you for a very long time. Know that in 2011, when Nick Diaz was about to fight, Paul Daly, you showed up to the Wayans with I Got Next, right? With a T-shirt, you were there. So you've been calling for this fight for five years and then some. You were saying this stuff about Nick and GSP on Thursday. You were talking, so you haven't changed your tune. But let me offer you this counterpoint because I know you've gotten it. Around five months ago, you were on this show. after 195, it said, look, you know, I know there's Connor out there and Robbie out there, excuse me, Carlos and GSP and Nick and all these people, but I'm the guy. I should get it because I've done enough, I've earned it, et cetera, et cetera.

Wonderboy is saying those same things. From an athletic standpoint, it's hard to deny that. So why doesn't he get the next shot? Why doesn't he, who was you five months ago, get the next shot? Do you get what I'm saying? Well, he wasn't in me five months ago because he hasn't been in the sport long enough. you know, you got to realize that even before this, I was fighting top 10 competition in Strike Force. Paul Daley was a night break over our wealthy when I was competing against him off of a fight,

one of the best persons in the M.A. When he fought in his mind, he did. And also, Wonder Boy's words had been in his butt. I mean, he is the one. I didn't put these words in his mouth. You know, I got the quote which I'll post a little bit later. He said he felt this. Robbie Lawley would take this fight.

He felt that the fans would want to watch Robbie Lollah a fight against Stevie Wonderboard Thompson. It would be a more tight fight that I would fade in the later round and he felt like Robbie Law was going to take it home. So when you make those bold statements and you're not the paper view by you're not the money fight, you're not the people

are not going to be jumping off the wall buying payperview to watch Stevie Wonderboard fight. He does, not to say in his career that won't happen, he's an exceptional fighter, he's beating two phenomenal athletes back to back, but when he sent those words out of his mouth,

he wrote a check his ass couldn't cash. So now he'll get a chance to fight Robby Dollar and I'll go out and I'll prove I'm the very, very best in the world by fighting the Hall of Famers. Does it bother you that people don't see where you're coming from here that you have to explain yourself? Because I see the Twitter mentions and things that are coming your way. Are you blocking that out?

Are you getting more support? I haven't read those negative comments, you know. I've been on a really, you know, you read something, you just skim it. Yeah. I skim my social media. I've been doing it for the last three weeks. I skim it, if it's a friend, a training partner, someone I know, professional athletes, a celebrity, or if I really, really want to skim, I'll go to verify accounts only.

I'll only look at those bills because at the end of the day, I'm the one that's in control of my bank account. I'm the one that's in control of my four kids, my wife, the house that I want to pay. this year. These things are realistic goals that are within reach with the right fight. So I don't have to explain to them. I don't go to their house and say, hey, I don't

think you should get this promotion because Johnny, your coworker deserves them more than you. I'm going to go tell your boss. I'm going to get this other guy out of promotion. I don't do that. So with that said, you know, I'm not taking away anything from Steve's going to avoid. He's a phenomenal fighter. He's done a great job. He's

not new as far as competition or youth. But he's fairly new to the higher levels of mixed martial arts. Think about when Johnny Hendrick had beat, Barton Camden, John Fitch, Koch, Carlos Condit,

and what happened to him? Nick Diaz came along. He falls in New St. Pierre because he was a bigger draw and bigger name. Same thing happened to Warren McDonald's. Same thing happened to Frank Yeager. We didn't see the immediate tighter shot against Connor McGregor though he deserved. We saw him

about to fight of RDA. When that fell through, he fought Nick. So when you get through this point, in my opinion, you can start calling some of the shots. George St. Pierce said he wanted to fight me. I'm going to say yes. He has said that he wants to fight in New York. Given your busy schedule coming up with the movies and all that, would you be ready to fight in November? Oh, for sure.

Okay. I mean, I'm not doing what Ron is doing. I'm not doing, I'm not doing like a, you know, super long. six-month stretch. I got two weeks on this movie. I got three days on another movie. You know, I'm not going to be on these long stretches. So I'll be fine. I'm not going to allow myself to get out of shape, man. I didn't get hit. I didn't get punched one time on Saturday. Wow. That is amazing. Win the title, don't get punched. Two last quick things. Is the champ going to get paid now? Like, is it, are you going to get a new contract, that whole deal, pay-per-view points, all that stuff?

I believe so I can't imagine that someone would come out there and put it on that type of performance against a guy who was a fighter of the year who probably had the fight of the year

this year with Carlos the fight of the year last year with Rory and it was a very very it's funny that Robbie say he didn't get the respect you know I think he was given the proper respect

I think he had to tell himself that you know to keep the chip off his shoulder but just in general, it was weird hearing him say that. And he's a very, very highly regarded, very loved fighter of the UFC. And for me to completely disdeme him like that, man, I would expect a nice contract change and different, you know, incentives in there, and especially leading to the GSP fight. Last thing, we saw you win, we saw the knockout,

we saw the reaction, all that stuff. But is there a moment, is there something that sticks out, that you will always remember about this weekend, a moment backstage with your wife, your mom, when you told your kids. Is there something that just really made this that much more special for you that you'll always remember that you can share with us?

It's a few moments, you know. My wife walked up to me and we always do a prayer before I walk out. And, you know, if I walk out of a hotel, she prayed, and she said, you know, you're going to do it. And God gave you the tools. His mission is for you to go out here and do this and give it back to the community, give it back to your family.

You know you would do the right thing with exposure, and she said it's already done. And for somebody to make a bold statement like that, they don't have to get locked in there where Rupas was Robbie Zala, I received that. The second thing is when I dropped down to my knees, I realized it was real when I was in an octagon, and I envisioned that moment.

I envisioned having that moment with God where I was like, man, it happened. I mean, everyone said it was. Everyone said I couldn't be able to do it. everyone's counting me out my whole life. And then the third and final moment is when I walked in this morning, because I haven't seen my kiss, I just saw them this morning for the first time. Oh, wow.

And they were asleep, and I laid that heavy belt on their back. Oh. And they started rolling around and moving around, and they woke up, and they saw it, just a look on their face. And I said, hey, we've been talking about this, you know, for a long time, right, guys? I said, if you ever want to do something, if you ever want to be, somebody or if you want to achieve a goal, if you put your hard work in, you can do that. What better way to show your kids that seeing you injured, they've seen you lose,

they've seen you face adversity, they've seen politics, my oldest son, the scene people say negative stuff about me on social media, and then they see you never give up, they see you never quit, they see you work your ass off, and finally they watch their dad get a USC go-bed wrap around their waist. those three moments I'll never forget. You know, I could walk away from the sport and those would be enough to make it work. Wow.

Man, getting me all emotional there with the kids. That was beautiful. Wow. I got to say, very happy for you. You know, it was something else. I got to sit cage side for this fight, and we were right next to your whole family. They were sitting in front of the barrier.

Your mom was there, your wife was there, some other family members, and it was amazing just watching them the whole time as you were walking out. I was just looking at them, seeing, we don't often get that perspective and just seeing how sort of anxious they were and then how happy they were for you was really just a beautiful sight. You've always been so gracious, tyrant, and nothing's different here with your time as champion. Well deserved. Congratulations. Enjoy it.

And way to call your shot, my man. You called it. You did it. Wow. What a story. Enjoy the belt. And again, thank you so much. And good luck to your son as he competes in the Junior Olympics this afternoon. In a matter of moments, right? Yeah, a matter of moments. I'm hustling there now. Happy birthday. If somebody's birthday on set, I don't know, on the studio, I don't know who it is, but happy birthday, whoever you are. Yeah, the guy who called you, he has always said that you're his favorite guest in the history

of this show because you keep it real. And now here you are as champ coming on his birthday, New York, Rick. So he appreciates you very much. Thanks, Tyron. All right, guys. You guys, have a blessed that, man. Appreciate you guys. Much love, Tyron.

There he is. The UFC Walterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, giving a shout out to New York Rick on his way out. How about that? I mean, how can you not love that guy? Beautiful stuff. It was amazing to watch his mom sitting there in front of the barrier. His wife sitting there. Great people.

They were there from the get-go. I was watching his wife, and you could tell us she was a little nervous. It was the Yawani-O-Jech Carolina fight. Not Yawanna, the Rose Nama Yunus Carolina Kovacavich fight. And she was like, okay, let's hurry this up. Let's hurry this up. And then he comes out to the king without a crown. He's like, boom, boom, boom.

And then we got Robbie Lawler coming out with the, Um, hold on. Doom doom do do and then it's like, it's taking forever. And I kept watching. I was like, we don't have that perspective of the thing. You know, like I'm liking it. The music's fun. The energy's fun.

I see Dwight Howard over there. Ludacris is over there. Ari Emanuel's over there. This is all fun. But for the family members, that's got to feel like an eternity, right? I mean, whoa. What an amazing thing. And then he goes out there and it starts off a little slow.

And then bam. Missile. Tyrone Woodley, Walterway Champ. How about that, New York, Rick? Is that the best birthday present you've ever received? It's up there. It wasn't quite, hey, New York Rick in the back, happy birthday. It was like, there's some guy there.

Yeah, that's okay. That's okay. Yeah. I'll take it. The champ, the champ showing some love. I got you a cookie. Delicious cookie. If you're ever in the New York area.

No, no, no, no, no. You don't do this. Until they fork over the money? No, no, no, no, no, no. I always wonder, like, I go there every time I'm about to do this show and also the M.A. Beat. And I'm like, hey, guys, you know, like, I get the coffee every time. It's part of the routine.

Can you hook me up with something, you know, but. You got to, you see, you got to set uply drop, like, you know, I do the show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of people. I love how you guys fuel me every week. That's right, that's right. You got to start the wheels in motion on that one. You know, I have to say, though, um, it was.

would be nice if they hook me up with something, I don't mind it because it is, I was going to say there's a place next door. I won't say the name. Yeah, but yeah, why can't I say the name? No, no, no, no, no. That's BS. I want to give them props. This is prime real estate.

This goes back to you last week saying that positive reinforcement is bullocks, is hogwash. Are you going to show them this clip? Are you going to come over and be like, hey guys, by the way, here, you see 300,000 people watching this? Okay, I'll say that there's a place near the studio. that has the best coffee and chocolate chip cookies. Step up to the plate if you got some good cookies. Where you at?

Where are you at? Cult. Don't be scared, whatever he just said. I will not repeat. So today's your birthday? Something like that, yeah. You don't like to make a big deal.

You're one of those reluctant birthday people. I'm not, I hate it. Why? It's just like, any plans? What significance? Do I feel different today than I felt yesterday?

I understand, look, I'm trying my best not to be the Grinch and not be, you know, the guy who just makes everybody else miserable, but I just, birthdays are not my favorite thing. My take on the birthday, and I didn't get to spend my birthday with my family this time. I was with my good friends over in Las Vegas. I'm spending it with my family. My Zufa family. The MMA are our fans.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's a time to just be thankful that you made it another year. You should just be happy about that. That is super grim. Why? What do you mean made it another year? Like, I'm 29 years old. I'd hope I'd make it another year No, but look, nothing's

We could walk out of this studio Oh man, Ariel, really You don't think that way? No I think every day is my last What? Of course Ariel

Let me tell you something You need, you need some help my friend You don't think about death all the time I think about death like every second I am deathly afraid of death I've got too much going I've got kids That's what I'm saying

You need to be celebrating that rather than thinking about, oh man, this is going to end tomorrow. Let me tell you something. I did a will recently. Oh, so that could, I mean, that has part of, yeah, that, that's probably got you thinking a little bit. That makes me think. No, I'm not thinking about death at 29.

Not yet. Let me tell you something. There's no worse experience than putting together one of those things, one of those things. I thought you were about to say there's no worse experience than dying. I truly thought you were about to say it. By the way, I thought Alex Cesaris was talking about death when he said I'm going to be gone or I want to be gone. Yeah.

Um, fortunately, well, I mean, not fortunately, because I'd like to see him fight for a long, long time, but, you know, it seems like he's, he's got some plans in order. So any plans? Yeah, I'm going to meet up with my wife. Okay. I'm going to hang around the city, maybe catch some Pokemon, maybe go to Dave and Busters. Nothing crazy. Is that for real? Oh, I love Dave and Busters. No, I know the Dave and Busters. Have we talked about this on the show?

Yes, yes, with your stupid tokens and all that. Oh, I have so many tickets. So many. Do you ever cash them in? No, I'm saving for like something big. You don't want to get the little like pencil toppers. You want an Xbox. You want something good. Can you get an Xbox?

Oh, yeah. Okay, just ballpark it. Mm-hmm. How many do you think you have? 50K. 50K. Where are they? They're on a card.

Store. Oh. No, I don't have like a bundle of 50K. No, no, no, no. That's what I really thought you had. No. See, now you've got to take your kids here, man. Like you've got to get a break, come up to the new, to the new air of tickets.

By the way, why you're not. can you shout out Dave and Busters, but I can't shout out my coffee place. You know what? Fair enough. I got you there. Fair enough. And also, they're involved in MMA. Dave and Buster. Step up. Yeah, step up. We can have that big sign right over here. We could be in one of those commercials. You could show it on loop at the, at the David Busters. Oh, this promo right here. Beltor steals our stuff anyways and puts it at the beginning of their show. Put this right here. It'll be like me, you, Michael Chandler, King Moe playing video games. Can me and you do this pose? This back to back.

Like that. Josh Thompson will be there. Aaron Pico will stop by. It's great. I mean, Dave and Busters. Come on. Where are you at?

So are you really going there tonight? I just made that up because that's like a place I like going. But you're doing the whole big city birthday thing. My wife and I have been together so long. We're kind of past the like it's not new anymore. Like we've done this birthday thing a million times. Sure, sure. Oh yeah.

Just wait a couple more years. I didn't get any presents. Yeah, I mean, I'm there already. And I'm okay with it. I'm completely happy with it. life is a present. Oh my God, Ariel. This is so morbid.

This is so morbid. Ariel Hawani just worrying about dying every day. I couldn't worry more about it. It wouldn't be possible. It's true. This is crazy. Yeah, all those trips. I'm all freaking out and stuff.

But I do want to say thank you to everybody for the love. Particular shout out to Bill Steinmetz. Always the best. Balloons, edible arrangements. The man, always. Bill Steinmetz hooked me up. up with the Las Vegas police patch

on my computer, but this week I swapped it for the Deputy Marshall patch of Las Vegas as well, of Nevada, excuse me, or maybe it's of the city of Las Vegas, it says.

Apparently the law enforcement the law enforcement of Las Vegas, big fans of mine. It's a good law enforcement to have a fight town, right? That is the fight town. You know, I'm over there, who knows what kind of characters are around.

Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're in good. Matthew Triplett of city of Las Vegas. I feel like Triplett was in the Rick's picks, but I don't know if it was Matthew Triplett. I feel like it was like a guy, Tyler Triplett. Maybe it's a brother, maybe it's a cousin or something. Speaking of which, I met someone in Atlanta.

By the way, great city. Have you been there? I've not. Beautiful city. Don't ever go to the world of Coca-Cola. What a waste of time. Really? I was so disappointed.

I said Saturday afternoon, you know, it's an East Coast pay-per-view. I'm going to have some time. I'm going to go to the world of Coca-Cola. I'm going to learn about the history of Coca-Cola. We're going to see old artifacts. There was some of that. I learned that some scientist in 1886 named John Pemberton, a pharmacist, excuse me, invented Coca-Cola, and then he sold it two years later.

I mean, what a bone-headed move that was. But he was about to die anyway, speaking of death, so he didn't really get to see it turning. But there was some cool stuff like that, the original recipe. But, I mean, this thing was such a waste of time. And you know how disgusting it was? at the end, they bring you to a room that's maybe like five times the size of our studio with a fountain of every single Coca-Cola product from around the world. So there's like an Africa section, a Europe section, a North America section.

They give you cups. And you have all these people, these very large people pushing each other to just try every single kind of Coca-Cola product filled with corn syrup and all this stuff. It's just disgusting. I felt so gross afterwards, ran back to my hotel room in the rain just to work out because I felt disgusting watching them do this. Outside of pushing each other, that sounds like heaven. That sounds divine.

I'm in. I had a little shot of cream soda because I haven't had any soda in a very long time. I just wanted to taste it again. A minuscule shot of root beer and then I got the hell out of there. It was disgusting. So thumbs down for that for... Massive thumbs down. It should have gone to the College Football Hall of Fame or the Civil Rights Museum

and I chose the Coca-Cola place, really. Anyway, I met a fan who said that he did a sign during the Rick's Picks era. Calling me out. Yeah, saying I eat New York Rick for breakfast. I remember it, but I don't remember the fan specifically. But Rick's picks. I got to revive that.

People have been asking, it's so much work. I have to figure out how to make it work. It is a lot of work. It was fun. Someone John Eisner telling me on Twitter, there's nothing wrong with fearing death. Use that as motivation to live life to its fullest. No, you don't live life to its fullest without worrying about death.

There's no... True. True. Anyway, do we have any questions? We do. I mean, you know, mostly about me, but I tried to weave those ones out. U.S.C. 201. There were a lot of underdogs at one.

And also, a lot of underdogs in the main event have been winning recently. But specific to Saturday's event, were you surprised by any of the fights? What was the biggest surprise? Yeah. Jake Ellenberger? I mean, did you expect that? Wasn't he like a 4-1 underdog or something? I think three to one.

A lot of people would have said Tyrone Woodley. I wasn't particularly surprised by that one, not to be the guy who's, oh, I saw that one coming. But I just thought, you know, counting out a guy who's primarily a really, really good wrestler with ridiculous power just seems silly against the guy in Robbie Lawler who likes to get into firefights. But for sure, 100% no other answer other than Jake Ellenberger. His career looked completely done. In fact, it was revealed after by Dana White that he was cut. and then asked for his job back and promised to deliver. And boy, did.

He delivered in spades. By the way, I knew that story. And if you go back to my interviews with him, I tried to get him to tell that story, and he never told it. Remember there was a story that came out that he was cut, and then magically he came back. But I couldn't get him to actually say the story.

Kudos to him for going out there and fighting for his job and then delivering. It's a better story after you win, that's why. I guess so. You say, look, I was gone. There's a little bit of pride involved. Yeah. Although he wasn't the one who revealed it. That's the first time in Matt Brown's career that he has been finished like that, where he has been submitted, but never caoed or T-caoed.

He's been so close so many times, too, with the body shots. It seems to be a thing where if you go to Matt Brown's body, he seems to be a little bit vulnerable there. But, I mean, Ellenberger, he looked good. He got, you know, he got hit a little bit, but from where he was starting to there, he have to feel good for him. And I got to say, I think I said on this show last week that this was one of the weaker pay-per-views in quite some time, maybe since 177. Other than the Michael Graves fight, which kind of was this weird majority draw,

and there wasn't a lot of action, and it was just, every other fight was incredibly entertaining. Most of them ended in finishes. If not, they were fun, like the Eric Perez, Francis Goura, Faye, was a lot. lot of fun. How about our main man Nikita? Krilov, Krilov, whatever it is. I can't believe he didn't get a bonus. The face plan of Ed Herman. The Mazvedal fight was a lot of fun. Anthony Hampton, Wilson Hayes, Damien Brown, who just recently got verified on Twitter, a big moment for him. That was a really fun show. You have to admit. You know what? Actually, that made me think. That was a fun show. First of all, you can,

anytime there's a pay-per-view that people pan, you can pencil it in for being a fun show. wait wait what did you just say when people pan a pay-in a pay-per-view before it happens you can pencil that in as it's going to be full of finishes it's going to be 149 which one was that come on I don't remember

that one lives in infamy Calgary oh yes now that one was killed by injuries and whatnot and bad luck but once we got to Waze and you looked at the card you were like this is not a great card and it didn't really but that's been the recent trend and my biggest surprise actually was

I just thought of this was Wilson Hayes not calling out DJ. You have to do that. What are you thinking? We did a scrum with him and there are only three outlets in the back. Usually there's like 15, 20, maybe less than 20, but around 15 or so. It was just us, MMA fighting, Sherdog and Junkie. But I was like the only non-camera man there.

Ken from Junkie was there and Dave from Sherdog and then Casey with me. So I got to do like the scrums by myself. kind of threw out a couple questions here and there. And I said to Wilson, go look at it. I was like, that was a great fight, but I'm disappointed. I mean, you were too nice. You had to say, I'm the man, I'm the number one contender. I deserve the next title shot.

You're doing this whole tough thing. I went from fighting in the co-main event against DJ to fighting Hector Sandoval, the opener of the FS2, not even FS1 prelims. And then he kind of did it. Too late. Yeah, he did in front of three of us. Too late.

Too late, my friend. You have that mic. Demetrius Johnson had to be called out there. That was my biggest surprise. Yeah. Okay, let's talk about this. This was the question that was everybody was asking. There's 100 variations of this in the comments section on Twitter.

Tyrone Woodley asking for money fights. Yes. And the juxtaposition of his position previously where he wouldn't have gotten the shot if Robbie Lawler had asked for the same thing. How much say should the new champions have in their upcoming fights? Oh, man. there's so many layers to this whole story. And I don't know if there's a right answer.

But this is what I'll say. I will say that it is somewhat refreshing to see a guy be this transparent with his motives and say, look, I finally got the golden ticket. Now it's time for me to make money because you know as well as I do in this sport. They'll chew you. They'll spit you out onto the next one. So now you got that golden scepter, right? Now you have more of a say in your future, in your career than you would if you're number

two, three, four, five, six, right? So you've earned that. You reached a mount atop. You knocked off the king. Now you're the king. And I respect the fact that this guy was saying going into the fight, hey, these are the fights that I'm going to ask for when I become champion. These are the guys I'm going to say no to when I become champion. He said this all before. He is not changing his tune on us, right? You can say that or you can't say that about others. who became champion. And I respect the fact that Tyrone Woodley is saying, look, I got three kids, I got a wife, I got a house, I need to make money. At the end of the day, this is all well and good. This is your Saturday night pay-per-view fun. This is cool for you guys while you're doing your

job and no one's telling you how to live your life. This is my job at the end of the day. And yes, I know I'm making money off of your money. This is the entertainment business. This is athletics, which is really the entertainment business. I get that. But this is the job that I have. This is my profession. I need to make money. This is how I'm going to make the most amount of money. I respect all of that. On the flip side, I do feel bad for Wonder Boy Thompson because he is Tyron Woodley of a few months ago. He has done everything that has been asked of him. He beat Roy McDonald's who's number one, number two, number three, whatever, and not much less than that. He beat Johnny Hendricks when that meant a lot more than it currently does. He's lost once

in the UFC and has rebounded very nicely since. That was 145 also in Atlanta. So I kind of get where both guys are coming from. I certainly get where Wonderboy's coming from. He wants that title shot. He wants what Woodley wanted. And I get what Tyrone Woodley is saying as well. I get where he's coming from as well. I don't know. Let's just say, I think Nick Diaz should fight Robbie Loller or someone else. I think the fact that Nick Diaz hasn't won since UFC, what is it, 137? 137. Last time Nick Diaz wanted to fight was pre-Fox era. Woodley Diaz is fun. It's been talked about, but I'd like to see Diaz fighting a non-title fight. If only to get his mojo back, to get his feet wet again, and then fight for the belt. I mean, he's certainly a big draw.

He's deserving of it, but I'd like to see him work his way up just a smidge. The GSP thing I get, it's hard to argue against the GSP thing. He was the champion. He walked away as champion. He had to vacate the title, and he has been back since. GSP returning is a big deal, and I've always felt like GSP returning, his return fight should be a title fight. Now, it's unfortunate because Loller was kind of like in this weird spot of who you're going to fight next. He ends up fighting Carlos Kondon in January. There wasn't a clear cut number one guy.

Now there is. And that's why the GSP thing is a little weird. So I don't know if this is the answer that you're looking for, but I really do think that, you know, both guys have a very, very, very strong stance. and it's going to be really interesting to see what the UFC does. Is there somebody other than Wonderboy that you could make a case for? Because for me it seems like Wonderboy, and then there's a big drop, and then possibly Damia Maya, if he gets it done, that's about it.

Well, no, no. And now are you excluding GSP and Diaz? Yes, let's exclude. You're talking about the active guys. Active guys earning it. It's the only Wonderboy. He is, without a doubt, the number one contender as far as the current active fighters who have fought in the last six months year.

If I'm him, and it looks like I'm not going to get that time, title fight. Don't be so sure. Don't be so sure. I'm not sure. Okay. Oh, you're saying if it looks like. If it looks like.

Okay. He's just seen a man whose strategy was, here's my resume. I've done everything I can do. I've earned this title shot. Here it is, and I'm willing to wait for it. He just saw this work with Tyron Woodley. Why not try to play that same game? There's not somebody on his heels.

And if he waits just a little bit, it's possible that it opens up. Now, that could bite you. You could get inactive for quite a while and get rusty. But we just saw this work for Tyron Woodley. I wouldn't be so quick to rush into another fight and potentially compromise that title shot. But I think that, you know, there's a thought to possibly wading it out a little bit. Dangerous.

It's a risky thing. But as you just saw, it worked for our current champion. So I think it's something that could be in play, especially with the fact that Walter Waite doesn't seem to have a slew of of guys that are up and coming and on the heels of a title shot. The only one I can even like fathom at this point is Demi and Maya. Then there's obviously. Oh yeah.

Well, I'm not really considering that one just yet because Carlos. Sure. And by the way, if Carlos wins, he's in there because I thought he beat. Lawler. But even still, Thompson is ahead and a half above them. Yes. And so maybe you wait a few months and the opportunity presents itself. but I can't help but feel that he's going to get passed over.

That's just how I think it's going to, I mean, I don't know. I don't know. But it'll be interesting. What do you think happens? What's your prediction? I think it's going to be, I think it's going to be D.S. What? I think it's going to be D.S.

Really? Yeah. I just think D.S. is going to want to come back, but only for that biggest possible fight. I think the Loller fight could be big, but it's not as big as a title fight. that's based on absolutely no information that's what I think wow I think that one has the the least chance yeah you think so what do you think GSP it's down to GSP or Wonderboy I told you I mentioned this to Mark what someone overheard or claims they over I think I think wonder boy has a better chance than people think I think they're high on Wonderboy they see

the potential now they haven't built him up enough though. There's a weird thing that I don't even know if it's going to come into play, but, and this is very inside baseball, GSP is a CAA guy. WME now rules the world. Does that come into play now in this new world that we're living in? I don't know. This is just something that I'm thinking about.

How can you not look at the GSP fight, though? That's a big deal, especially for MSG. But I've said it on this show. I think Wonderboy is going to be a very big deal. And I think he can already be a bigger deal than they're making. him in to be. So I think those are the two choices. Was Tyrant calling him Stevie? Because I thought that would be kind of nice, subtle, like, Stevie Wonder is kind of funny. Oh, I thought it was just his retort to the Tyrone.

Calling him Tyrone, but also because it's Stevie Wonder. How are people, including Dana White, let's be honest. Still calling him Tyrone. What is going on? It's rough. Can someone just like pull these people aside and be like, okay, Wonder Boy said that someone did tell him at Fox. kudos to them. And I was going to let it slide. But then he kept saying it. I mean, come on. Yeah, but maybe that was intentional.

Well, he's too nice for it to be intentional. Now, it's not even spelled with an E. It's very easy to read it and see Tyrant. Tyron. Anyway. Ty run. Yeah. There's a lot.

I mean, it's going to be the topic of conversation for a long time. I love it. Rory McDonald, what happens to him? He has a win over Woodley. Yes. So where does that bring him back? Yeah, where does that place him back? Does he now say the UFC is a good spot for me because I can, I've beaten the champion already, I can put myself back in position. How do you think this affects his free agency? From what I'm hearing, he's still fielding offers, still talking to people. I don't know if this gets him back. I mean, I don't know if this actually changes his, his future, his stance. I don't know if it changes the way the UFC views him. I'm really not sure, but he's still in the position of like gathering. offers, gathering data.

It's not really clear. I can't even put it as like this organization is the frontrunner, this one is the leading candidate. It's still too early in the process. So we'll know, I mean, at this point, really no effect, or at least we don't know yet. We don't know yet.

GSP, it looks like... It's going on over there. It's so noisy. No, don't worry about it. Are there people opening the door? What was happening? Just focus. Can you lock that?

Zone in here. Can you lock that? This person is asking straight up, here's the question, is it GSP versus Woodley? Do you think that that's the frontrunner right now? I don't think there is a frontrunner. I think it's down to two choices. It's too fluid. And I think all says I think Wonderboy has a better shot than people think he does.

Okay, that's fair enough. Dominant champion versus competitive division. We've seen a lot of championships changing hands lately. Demetrius Johnson being pretty much the lone exception, holding on with quite a few in a row. I think eight title defenses, something like that. Do you think it's better for the UFC to have champions that they can build into dominant stars? Or do you think it's better where the divisions are up in the air and anybody can be championed on a given night? Or is there really no right answer for that?

This is the most annoying part about being a quote-unquote MMA guy is listening to the non-MMA people, in particular in the media, wax poetic about this sport, and say that one of the detriments of MMA and one of the things that will stunt MMA's growth is the fact that they can't build consistent stars and champions. And any given Saturdays someone will lose and that stunts their growth and halts their momentum. And to that I say, you just don't understand the beauty of the sport. You really don't. To me, the best part about this sport is that, yeah, you can have crazy odds, you can have favorites, underdogs, all that stuff. But really, cliche, but it's the truth. Any given Saturday, anyone can win. You put on gloves like that, anyone can win. This kind of sport with the

tools that you're allowed to use, the weapons that you're allowed to use in a fight, anything can happen. And that's amazing. That keeps me on my toes. That is exhilarating. That is appealing to me. So, look, to the people who say that you need dominant champions to be a star, then I bet you those are the same people who say Demetrius Johnson is in a draw, right? Okay, then why isn't he the biggest star in the sport. If being dominant equals big money, big pay-per-views, all that stuff, why isn't DJ that guy, right? Conner McGregor is coming off a loss. He's just as popular as he's ever been. Nate Diaz has double-digit losses, just as popular, if not more popular than he's ever been. It doesn't matter. As long as you are a draw, compelling, appealing, appealing, entertaining,

people are going to pay to watch you fight. People are going to cover you. They're going to talk about you. It doesn't matter. Like, you're missing the point. You don't think that Tyron Woodley blasting Robbie Lala like that on Saturday is a big deal, is noteworthy, is something to get people excited about, is something to get people tuned in, something to get people talking about MMA? Like, it's crazy to me that people take the stance every time, happen at 196 or after 196, it happens after $200. What are you talking about? This is athletics, any given Saturday.

Isn't that what you want? Don't you want that parity? And if you don't like that party, then go to the flyweight division and see how that suits you. Or go to the, I don't know, light heavyweight division. when John Jones was there, never really broke one million buys as a draw, you know, like, you can't have it both ways. Just enjoy it.

Enjoy what it is. It's a great entertaining sport, sometimes brutal, sometimes a little crazy. But what would you say to the success of a GSP and Anderson, a Ronda Rousey, people who reigned for a long time and were able to build that? Is there nothing to that? Like, is that not also? Well, first of all, for a very long time, Anderson Silva was. in a draw. People despised him. And then he met a guy named Chal Sondon who turned him into a draw.

Fair enough. Because they had their little feud. Fair enough. Entertainment. Ronda Rousey broke barriers, trailblazer. So compelling. I mean, a pioneer. George St. Pierre, a national hero.

I mean, wasn't Wayne Gretzky, obviously, but he was a pretty damn big deal in Canada and sold out a 55,000 seat stadium. In America, he was a draw. He was pay-per-be-old. But this guy was a national hero. Uh, that's why they were, that's why they were big deals. That's why they were draws. Would they have been if they had lost a few?

I don't think so. Well, that plus, you know what I mean? So I think there's a, there's a middle area for this. I don't think it's necessarily, I think dominant champions, I think dominant champions matter. But I, I, I don't think that it's, you're, you're right to say that the argument that not having any dominant, like, not being a dominant champion means you're not, you know, building your, your brand or building your star. You made the perfect point about Connor McGrath.

The guy doesn't need to win fights at all, and he continues to become a bigger and bigger star. What I'll say is that this argument that the draws, the stars, the champions lose too often in MMA is going to somehow hold MMA back is hogwash because there are enough champions, enough stars, enough people in prime position that you're going to get a little bit of this, you're going to get a little bit of that. And to me, dominance is cool. I like it. It's fun, but I prefer unpredictability. I prefer that, okay, this guy has won two, three, four in a row, boom, now he's back at the bottom, has to work his way back up. And trust me,

they can come back up. We've seen it a thousand times. How many times have we seen a person lose and then come work their way back up and then voila, three fights later, they're back. It's great. No one even remembers the loss. You know what I mean? Sure. Nate Diaz is the perfect example of that. I mean, who would have thought in 2016, Nate Diaz, who, you know, two years ago, less than two years ago, was looking, I mean, he was looking like an amateur next to RDA. He got outclassed by RDA. Now he's the biggest, you know, he's the biggest draw in the game along with Connor. That's the truth.

Yep. Doesn't really matter. So stupid all this stuff. The show will continue to go on. Dominant, not dominant. And I don't get the people, by the way, I don't get the people who say that Woodley's, like, Woodley doesn't make you want to watch? I'm not with them on that one. I am not with them on that one.

Right? I mean, Woodley is someone who could knock out Robby Law like that and others. You mentioned the same. What about that whole thing that he was talking about the flat face? That was fascinating. Yeah. Woodley brings something totally different to the table. Wonderboy doesn't make you want to watch.

There's a lot of guys who make me want to watch who have a lot. Wonderboy got dominated by Matt Brown. Look at them now. You know, so stop it with this. Okay, I'm going to leave you with this as I get our next guest. Nick Diaz he's been out for quite a while he's got two losses

in a no contest is his stock higher than ever based on what we just heard you know all the factors against him you would think that his stock is low is his stock higher than ever right now well I think the emergence and the rise of his brother Nate

has actually helped him the Diaz brand if you want to call it that has never been greater has never been more lucrative has never been more interesting. Now, we've never seen it under these circumstances. We've never seen Nate being the bigger star, the bigger draw, the bigger name over Nick.

But this kind of helped. I mean, look, I'm sure he didn't want to be on the sidelines for 18 months and not make money. But if that was going to happen, at least his brother was doing the Diaz name proud. And I continue to think about on the day he was suspended for five years, by the Nevada Athletic Commission. He gave me this interview. And at the end, he said something very powerful. To the effect of, you know, the thing that bothers me the most about all of this is that I won't be able to corner my brother when he fights Michael Johnson.

I got him into this mess. And now I have to figure out a way to get him out. And it was super powerful. And you know what? And I hope he doesn't mind me saying this. when I saw him in Las Vegas prior to 200. I don't talk to Nick when I see him about fights. I know when people want to talk and they don't,

but I did feel compelled to say, how about Nate? Isn't that amazing? What's happened to him? And Nick said something that gave me goosebumps on the spot. He said, I guess my work here is done. And it was more him, it was kind of a combination of him saying it and sort of wondering it,

but considering what he said about his brother on the day he was suspended for five years wrongly, disgustingly by the Nevada Athletic Commission, man, I felt that. And now he's back. And yeah, he hasn't won since 137 against BJ Penn. But he's more relevant than ever. And I think everyone loves a great comeback story and everyone has genuinely missed Nick Diaz.

So maybe he doesn't deserve a title show. shot right now, but he's going to get a big fight. And he should get paid, especially because he was wronged. Give him a main event. Give him a co-main on a big fight. Give him paper viewpoints. The guy deserves it. Anyway, I don't even know if that answers the question. But that's how I feel about the whole Nick Diaz situation in a nutshell. It was amazing to see him. And I hope we see him soon rather than later, and I hope they give him a big fight. All right. Speaking of this whole situation, I mean, someone who fits perfectly into this topic is our next guest. He is joining us from New York. There he is, the man himself, the funkmaster himself. Al Jermaine Sterling, joining us via the Magic of Skype.

How are you, Aljo? So, guys. What's up, Ariel? Where are you? I'm in my backyard right now on the little porch. I hear Al-I Quinto right now upstairs listening to your show. That is amazing. Al-I, what a guy. What a guy. I love that guy. Say hello to him for us. Ariel, so what's up. We'll get them on soon. I miss Al.

First things first, what's going on with the bicep over there? Bionic. Bionic. It's coming along, man. I almost got full range of motion. I can almost train this thing all the way out. And once the bone completely hills, they say that takes about six weeks.

Then I can start strength training. So we're getting pretty close, four weeks out tomorrow. But I think I'm honestly, I think I can be good to get this thing going a little bit sooner. but I don't want to get too crazy. What happened? And I was sparring with James Jenkins, and we were just in a clinch, kind of broke, and then I just threw like an overhand right,

but the way I threw it, I kind of like had my arm all the way locked out, and when it landed, it landed flush, and just the way it hit, like landed at the wrist and hyper-extended a little bit and pop. I actually posted it in one of my vlogs for Feeding the streets. Yeah, that's right. I apologize for missing.

that one now was this before or after the fight this was after the fight this was actually the first day i got back home oh man from uxc ottawa i went to canada i mean Toronto after that and i was just gone i was gone for about a month man just doing a bunch of traveling and still training but just traveling and taking some time off how did al handle all of that being away from you for a month i don't know i think it's uh i think it's a easy fix okay fair enough A couple times you know. Was that tough for you because the week after your fight against Brian, you were on the Fox set, and then you went to Ottawa and all that stuff, and you kind of went on this victory tour,

but you were coming off this loss that devastated you. Was that hard? Did you kind of just want to disappear for a little bit? It wasn't really hard, man. It was more so disappointing because I knew what I had in front of me, that opportunity. And, you know, I asked for it over and over and over. And, you know, I got everything. The stars aligned for me.

and just a couple of mistakes just caused a little setback. I mean, I don't even consider that really like a bad loss. I mean, I can, you know, my health is well. That's the way I look at it. I could have been knocked out. I could have been, you know, just so many things I could have gone wrong, breaking it. You know, just at the end of the day, I take it for what it is. I lost a close fight and I lost, you know, a battle of inches.

Like, just a couple of little technical things, man. It just kind of, that's what kills me. It's a couple of technical things that I did on my end that kind of, that more so bothers me. I saw an interview that you did with the, I believe it was the Three Amigos podcast on Bloody Elbow, where you talked about being at the club after the fight and your buddy, who's this buddy of yours that was just killing you?

What is that? No, no, no, I just wanted to know about it because I haven't talked to you since. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for asking, but you had to expect me to ask this. Your buddy just kept killing. I mean, he's just like telling you what you did wrong. I mean, the classic buddy just not making you feel better

and just, he was stabbing the wound, in my opinion. And then at some point you just, you just, you couldn't take it anymore. And you broke down crying. How difficult was that? Oh, my God. It sucks. Like, just going down that memory lane again. Man, it was tough.

It was just, you know, they met it in good and goodwill. It was just they were drinking. I was drinking. The fight just happened. I mean, I wasn't hurt or anything like that. It was just that moment. It just, when I kind of recapped it when they just kept talking about, I'm like, bro, shut them.

I get it. I know what I need to do. I know the mistakes I made. It's not like something I got to go back and really watch it. But like, oh, that's what I did. Oh, that's what I did. I knew right as soon as I, the fight was over, I was like, man, I know what I did. And that's the beauty of the sport, man.

You can take it for what it is or you can hang your head about it. And it's just like wrestling. I've learned so much through wrestling through my losses. And I think that's what made me a better wrestler and eventually a two-time All-American. So I take this for what it is, man. I'm going to come back a better. a fighter. I'm not really too worried about it. Can you worry about that? Can you tell us what you think those mistakes were? Like, what are the glaring ones that you made in the fight? Well, one,

don't shoot your load early. That applies in multiple aspects of life. That's a good life lesson. Yes, that's right. Two, I went to my basic defense, which was my wizard wrist. When a guy shoots in on you and you get stuck against a cage or even out in space, they grab your leg. You get a wizard, which is like an overhook, and then you grab the wrist, and you pry that apart. You can never take somebody down with one hand unless the guy is just a lot bigger than you. So that's the philosophy that I teach in what I was taught. So whenever you get those two things, it's almost impossible to get taken down if you're a strong enough guy. So when I went there, just being in a position where I never felt threatened in that entire fight,

like I saw all his punches come from a mile away, a little head duck, whippo, left hook, and try to throw a two behind it. And everything was like glancing or it didn't touch me at all. I didn't really feel threatened, man. And once we hit the cage, I was like kind of hanging out. I was tired. And I was just like, ah, you know what? I land this move in practice.

How about I try this right now? I tried it twice and it failed. I went from the wizard wrist and reached over his shoulder. And I didn't go for a Camorlox. I went for like a shoulder lock thing that I've been doing. And it's worked on a level guys. But then when I try to do it against a guy like that, you know, he's obviously waiting for an opportunity in that position where it's kind of just a stalemate.

So we get there and then I give him that one-per-second opportunity and he capitalized on it. and I just didn't have you know normally my brother's in my corner he's like the wrestling coach I normally have Ray covers Jiu-Jitsu have Matt, no Ray covers are striking Matt covers the BJJ and then my brother's in there

and he covers the wrestling or even out he's in there covers the wrestling stuff so I didn't have I had somebody else in there but I'm not saying that's the reason I just didn't really think about it I didn't have somebody kind of point that out to me just like stick with the Wizards

stick with the Wizard's basics and I gave a I gave a two crucial takedowns even though there was no damage done or anything like that it was just i got laid on that's the way i look at it i mean there's nothing else to call people call me a lay and prey fighter when i'm actually going for a finish i'm actually throwing strikes again you're holding my ankles tickling my toes for for a minute i don't know but whatever it is the better man won that night that's the way i look at it you know

where was your brother uh he was in miami what and you know the crazy thing is he he takes a flight and surprises me the day before the fight and comes out, actually the day of the fight and I'm just like, what are you doing? What are you doing? Where have you been? This makes no sense. Was that?

No, you said to him like, where have you been? Yeah, I was just like, I don't get what you just did. Like, you couldn't come out and now you're out here and now it's like, I don't know. But it is what it is, you know? So was he in the stands? He was in the stands. And the funny thing is after the fight,

I talked about this in the, The Three Amigos podcast, the article. Yeah. And I said, like, the first thing my brother comes over to me and says is, yo, he goes to me, he's like, oh, you did this one thing you always tell us not to do, the thing you always tell me not to do. And that's the fancy stuff. And I was like, I just shook my head.

I was like, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. And it's just one of those things, man. It's just fight IQ, you know? Yeah. Just kind of, you know who you got to know who you're in there with. And I took the fight series. I thought I was in the best shape of my life. but you know things happen they promoted the heck out of that fight you had the whole like

eric b thing right um and it was just amazing the video and you guys were really being talked about more than the main event that night and you were coming off the big contract signing and the free agency and all this stuff in hindsight is it fair to say that did any of that get to you at all i don't think so man you know i felt like it's a job i i asked for the extra media i ask for extra attention. I asked for that. I poke the bear as in the bear. I mean, I'm not even going to call a guy at bear. I poke the, you know, I poke the guy. Let me just leave it that. I'm not going to I'm not going to throw any more charge of the guy, but I poke the guy to get the fight because I wanted a tough fight, whereas he didn't want the tough fight. He wanted the easier fight where I want to

challenge myself to see where I can go. So I got all those things and, you know, the people can say all the media stuff drains you and everything, but you set everything up accordingly to your schedule. I got my training and I got my weight down. I think I was the lightest guy down there during fight week. I got down there. I think I was about 43. So I was, you know, I'm right on way. Everything is gone perfectly as planned. I felt like I had the best training camp in my life. And it's just sometimes just things just don't align. But I don't think it had anything to do with the media aspect at all. I thought it was well deserved. We were two guys who earned our stripes. Brian definitely earned his stripes over Garbrand and Almeida. You got Garbrand who's

talking shit about his opponent. He's down-talking his opponent saying that, oh, he patted his records by fighting taxi drivers. And then he knocks him out in the first round, and he's pumping his chest. Oh, I just knocked out on me. I should be ranked higher. I'm like, shut up. You sound stupid. You make no sense.

You can't downplay your opponent and talk about how bad he is and how he's patted his record and then expect for, oh, I'm, you know, the title shot thing. I don't know. That whole little thing is weird to me. I keep it real, man. I know what I got myself into. and Brian didn't disappoint. I just felt like I came up short.

And so I'm wondering if you put any unneeded pressure on your shoulders to prove that you were worthy of being this big free agent signing and stuff like that. Did that ever come into play? Oh, I got to prove everyone. Not so much. I did think I needed to make a statement in that fight.

And I think the first round, I kind of like hype myself up in my head. I was like, oh my God, I can't believe I'm about to get a finish. in the first round over this guy. Like, you know, I didn't think it would have come like that. I thought it was going to be like a second round, third round finish or something like that. But then when I had him in those compromising positions so early, I was like,

man, I'm about to, you know, it let me know, like, where I belong, where my skill set is. And just a couple of things. Obviously, my muscle endurance wasn't all there with my arms. My legs felt great. I felt like I moved well throughout the entire fight, although I was tired with my arms. I just had heavy arms. My legs were fine. My lungs were felt fine.

I just couldn't really keep my hands up. I don't know, I kind of faded. So he kind of kept, he stayed at a steady pace and probably kept building, I guess, throughout the fight. So I don't think, no, to answer your question, I don't think I put any unwanted pressure on myself. Before you came on the show, I was just talking with New York, Rick, about how an MMA losses don't mean as much as some people think they do in the sense that, like, anyone who tries to tell you about, oh, you know, MMA will never be as popular as it wants to be because, you know, the top guy like a Robbie Loller or Connor McGregor or a Ronner Rousey will lose and then they lose all that momentum. And I say that's BS.

You can make the case that Connor is more popular now coming off a loss. Nate has double digit losses, et cetera, such a job. Do you feel that same way? Like have you noticed any change in the way? Of course you're going to have people crap talking you, that's social media and all that stuff. But do you feel like your star has dimmed at all? Like you really need to do more work in your next fight? Or do you think that the smart fans understand that this is a tough sport, four ounce gloves?

you're going to have setbacks. But look at Tyrone Woodley. Not that long ago he was losing to Roy McDonald and Jake Schild. You know what I'm saying? Where do you fall in that conversation? I agree 100% with what you said about Tyrant, man. It's just he had a lack of loss of performance against Roy McDonald. And as they fought again.

I think the fight would be different. And it's the same way. I don't look at these individual losses as anything. They're learning lessons, man. If you don't learn anything from it, then it's something else. And I agree. I think Connor's a bigger star and a bigger. He's more captivating now because now people want to see,

oh, can Nate Diaz do it again? or can Connor McGregor rebound and prove that, you know, that first fight was, was, quote-un-quote, he just punched himself out and he is actually the better fighter. So for me, I, losses don't, they don't mean anything. I've lost his amateur. I've lost a bunch of times as a wrestler. And I always come back, man. I think that's what it's all about.

You show your teeth more when you can show what you're made of and your heart. And for me, people probably say he's not a fighter because he doesn't get in there and get dirty. like the whole buildup where carraway is saying he's not a real fighter why because i don't get my teeth punched through my lip like that makes no sense to me like think about that because i don't get my lip busted open i don't get my nose plaster to the side of my face that makes me not a real fighter i tell you what if a couple of guys would try to round me up and i was back into a corner i'm gonna freaking throw it down you know what i'm saying so for you to tell me i'm not a fight because this one little guy's trying to try to do something it is it's mind-boggling me but to answer your question

man, I don't think this loss is going to make or break me. I think it's going to make me a better fight and a better person. And that's pretty much it. Have you watched it? Oh yeah, a bunch of times. Okay. What's that like for you? I honestly, in the moment, I felt like I really lost the fight. I felt like he held me down a lot longer than what it was actually when I actually went back to watch a fight, if that makes sense. So in the moment, you know, I'm, you know, I kind of hung my head. I chucked my mouth, please. Oh, B. I took my mouthpiece, and I'm, you know, you always taught never to do that, but I was like, you know what, man, I was, I was, I didn't perform well. And when I went back and watched the fight, I'm just like, I started stretching my head. I'm like, hold on, let me watch that again. I'm like, and I count the amount of time he had in the second round when he took me down, the amount of damage I landed, even though it wasn't nothing ridiculous by any means.

But I was just like, I could actually see why the judge gave me the fight. One judge gave me the fight. And why it should have probably been a draw. But, you know, at the end of the day, it depends on how you score the fight. So when I look back at it, I kind of take it for what it is. I don't over-analyze and obsess over it because it's just a battle of inches. A couple of mistakes. I stick to my regular defense when he, I think he shot on me twice, and I kind of just shrugged him off.

And, you know what I'm saying? It's just like, when I did the things I was supposed to do, I did everything correctly. He had no answers from me. When I did the things that I normally don't do, he was able to capitalize. And that's pretty much what it comes down to. Okay. look ahead. When I think of you, when I think of Ally Quinto, when I think of Chris Wyman, when I think of Chris Wade, when I think of John Volante, when I think of... What's that?

MSG. You guys got to be on that card, right? Is this what we're thinking? Is this happening? It better, man. The doctor told me I'll be cleared October 3rd. That'll be 12 weeks, and they probably think I could come back a little bit sooner than that, probably a week at earliest. So that leaves me with about roughly five and a half to six and a half weeks of time to prep. So I'm already crushing my legs. My legs are shot right now. I killed a crazy workout with Wyman on Friday, and my legs are still shot because I'm going hand, man.

I'm not sitting here just wasting my time. I stopped drinking. I've grown up my little sobriety beard. Oh, yeah. Probably this as thickest is going to get. I really don't grow facial hair like that. I like it. I'm trying to do the right thing, man.

MSG in New York, I think I could be ready, and I like to get a rebound in a, in a, in a spectacular way in front of my hometown. And what better way to do that is at the first ever car in New York, you know? So tell me about this sobriety beard. What is this? I stopped drinking July 11th. I stopped drinking. I had my last beer, July 10th.

Was this a problem for you? Not a problem. I just think if I'm going to really be serious and dial it in in terms of my recovery, the more I drink, the longer it takes for my body to heal and patch itself up. So if I'm going to keep doing that, I'm only hurting my car. chances to come back. The last thing I want to do is try to come back, think I'm ready, and then re-engine myself. So I'm going to do things the right way. I gave the alcohol in, I guess in terms,

in place of the bigger picture, which is to fight and fight in New York. Never again, alcohol? Oh, no. November 12, it goes down. Let's go. Let's go. Can't get the far. Who do you want on that car? Have you thought of that? There's a ton of good matchups. I mean, I like the Linica matchup. I like the McDonald matchup. I like Raphael Sunsau.

Faber's fighting. Jimmy Rivera now. I mean, I would even like that fight with Faber. If any of those top ten fights makes sense to me, even Eddie Weiland, he's coming off a great win. And I think that fight showed that even his fight with Calaway was like, you know, it's just one of those things, you know? You just can't do MMA math.

You never know what's going to happen. That's why you fight. But, so there's a ton of good fights, man. I don't think, I think the Bainaway's division has never been more exciting as it is right now. I couldn't agree more. Can I throw an idea out your way? What you got? November 12th, Madison Square Garden, New York's own, Nassau County's own.

Was it Nassau? No, it's not Nassau. Union. I'm Nassau. You're Nassau. Okay, Nassau County's own. Yeah, that's right. Al Jermaine Sterling, fighting at MSG, welcoming in the newcomer. New Jersey zone, Marlon Marais.

What do you think of that? That's actually not a bad idea. The only, I mean, we can do that. The only thing is, you know, Wyman's been down there training with those guys. Yeah, yeah. And I was supposed to get down there and start training with those guys. Is he actually coming over to the UFC? Well, no, he just finished his last fight.

Yeah, I know. So he's a free agent. Yeah, things might have to, uh, things might get a little tricky there with the, whole cross training. I don't know. Okay. But I mean, I'm not opposed to it. What do you think of it? Do you think he's like high level UFC caliber or has he been fighting low level talent outside of WSOF? What do you think? I think the good thing about that is even though he hasn't fought high caliber, as high as a caliber as UFC talent, he has had the time to get the experience and to work on some things in the fights that he's been working on in the training room. And for him to go out there

and keep finishing these guys, I think it does show a testament to his, his, is, his, abilities and his skills. So I definitely think he could definitely hang with, I think probably anybody in the top 10. I think he's pretty legit. Who do you think Dominic should fight next? Dominic Cruz, who is there for him to fight? I mean, you're going to have, Kerry is going to sit there and just wait for a type of shot

until there's no, like, you know, reasonable options. T.J? Rightfully, it should be T.J. He's not interested in that fight. So who is he going to fight? I don't know. Fight Mighty Mouse again or go up to 45 maybe? I don't know.

I mean, he's going to fight three times in one year. That's pretty interesting. That's actually pretty cool to see him that active. Sure. Yeah, good for him. There's really nobody else. Really, I mean, he's going to have to wait or he's going to have to get the rematch. I think that's the only thing that really makes sense.

Final question. How far away do you think you are from being back in that discussion? Do you think it'll be one fight, two fight? because you know how the sport goes. One minute, you're coming off a loss. The next minute you win in emphatic fashion. Everyone's saying title shot, title shot. What do you envision?

I think one fight, man. Wow. I think one fight with the right timing. Yeah, yeah. It just would make sense. Like, even if like had I won that fight with Calaway, I think I'm in a title discussion. You know, T.J. already had his shot.

There would be nobody else really there that hasn't, no challenge the guy. So I think I would have been. been that guy and I could have possibly jumped the line over TJ, but it's just really about timing and what the boss is wanting to do. So I think we want to fight, man. Then this beast is attacking me. Yeah, yeah. See some of that. He's my right hand. Right. Well, it's good to see you in good spirits, my man. Appreciate the time. Get well soon. Oh. Yes. Got some breaking news. Oh. I got a documentary coming out on just pretty much my life, my training, my family, friends,

my team. And it's for a good cause, man. We're trying to raise some money for CP, which is cerebral palsy. It's going to be my new non-for-profit. It's called Fighters for CP. Okay. It's going to be cool, man.

We're going to do like a Kickstarter and try to raise some money. And hopefully we raise the money. We can get it going, and we can make this whole thing happen. So I'm excited about it. I actually used to teach a couple of kids who had a couple of kids, but I used to work with a couple of kids that had CP. And I taught them how to wrestle. They were wrestled with their little brothers back in college.

Wow. It was one of the requirements for physical education. You have to take an adaptive class. So we learned about a whole bunch of, I guess, disabilities and things like that to say. So I'm excited about doing this. And the partner that I'm doing it with is actually David Cano. He's the one who approached me with the idea. And I jumped up.

I was like, bro, that's right on my alley, man. I work in kids like that. And I think it's something exciting, something that I want to do. And I think it's something that would be cool for people who are, I guess, have that attachment to whoever been affected by anybody who had. CCP or anything like that. So it's going to be to raise money, donate, do things like that, and hopefully raise awareness for kids with cerebral palsy. David is the guy who did the video with Eric B, right?

No, no. He does MMA, I think it's MMA now. Okay, okay, okay, okay, my bad, my bad. Is the documentary coming out? Or, like, is it done? We're going to do the, we did a trailer. Oh. We're going to push that out and see what type of feedback we get. Okay. I think it's actually a pretty cool trailer.

and just see what kind of feedback we gave. If we could raise the money, that would be great. I'll probably even throw in a couple, you know, I'll throw it with some of my own money to make sure we reach the Kickstarter requirement so that we can get this thing going. I think it would be something exciting to do. And we'll probably get it done if it gets going and we raise the money in time. We'll get it done hopefully before UFC MSG.

All right. His Twitter is Funkmaster underscore UFC. You see it on your screen. That's where he will be. There it is. Yeah, bang, bang, bang. Good luck, my man. I hope you get on that card and tell Reginald that I miss him as well.

Reginald, I'll break down. Make sure you guys watches. Algemanstern.com, island boy. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Bang, baby. Good to see you, Al Jermaine. Best of luck. We'll talk to you soon.

Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having. Funkmaster joining us. Definitely deserves to be on that MSG card. As does Reginald, as does Chris Wyman, as does Chris Wade, as does Ryan Lafleur. As does Frankie Edgar, throwing the New Jersey guys in there as well. Make it New York, New Jersey versus the world.

It's good enough for me. I think it was Mark LaMonica who first came up with that idea. Throw Matt Serra on there. Sure, it'll be a heavyweight fight, you know? Have him sit in there having some lasagna. I don't know. It'll be great. Who doesn't want to see that?

New York Rick? Throw New York Rick on the preview show. Oh yeah, that's right. I should have put that on the double down. No, see, I wouldn't have put it. It's too risky. You've been throwing that out there into the ether for quite some time. I want it.

Give me my shot. Do I have to GSP? Do I have to get on the floor and beg for it? No. But I will say, Jedmishu, this weekend in Atlanta, really put out the, in my opinion, he put everyone on notice. Dang. Every newcomer from here on out has to look at that performance. Wait a minute.

Yeah. Why only newcomers? What about people who are already doing it? Well, no, because those guys are more veterans. I'm saying, first time you do any kind of on-camera stuff, it's tough, especially in the analyst role, it's a tough thing, especially when you're in the presence of greatness. Who are you talking about? Who are we talking about here?

And Jed did a fantastic job. So you should watch it. I haven't watched it yet, but I did see you, you know, going gaga on Twitter. Listen, again, positive... This guy. Unbelievable. Disgusting. Is there anything else that you want to say?

Tell us about Invicta? We actually have a question about Invicta. You watched it, right? I watched it with Esther and Casey. If you watch an MMA event with Esther and Casey, it's like watching... I don't know what it's like. It's like watching a music video with music critics.

Do you get what I'm trying to say? Sure. Well, they're involved with Invicta, So they know the ins and outs. They know the whole, you know. It's a lot of fun. I watched the entire card, yes. Is that the question?

Well, the question. No, no, no, no. Peggy Morgan's face was one of the more frightening things I've ever seen in my entire life. Wow. What happened there? Megan Anderson hit her with a bomb. Is it Megan or Megan? Is she okay?

Yeah, apparently, I mean, she says this and nothing has come out to the contrary, that she did not break her jaw. It was just swelling, which is, I mean, mind-boggling to me because that looked horrific. But she, if you haven't seen it, you can Google it. Oh, my Lord. It looked like she got stung by a hive of bees. It looked like she was hiding a hive of bees in her mouth, actually. That fight should have been stopped earlier.

Sure. I thought the Aspen Ladd fight was stopped late. Yep. Jody Escobal. That was kind of, in hindsight, quite the brutal fight night. I mean, there was. There was some bad facial injuries. Eskabelle's face looked like a mess afterwards, right?

Is she okay? Yeah. She probably broke her nose, no? Yeah, she did. It exploded. In fact, I think close to the corner, she said something, like, yeah, I've broken this a million times. Let me keep fighting. When the doctor came in.

But it was. It was a good night of fights. Will Alexa Grasso, who won in the main event, will her next fight be in the UFC? Remains to be seen. Let's see. I think, I'll say this. if the UFC needs Mexican stars, Alexa is definitely one of them. She's one hell of a fighter and Irene Aldana as well.

Oh, look at that. I love the way you say that. The rolling of the arts. That's her name. You've got to call, you know, you've got to say it properly. Pay the proper respect, but she just needs to remain healthy. Yeah, well, this time, you know, her opponent fell off, unfortunately. No, no, no, no. Grasso. Well, you had not fought since February of last year. Aldana was scheduled to be on this car Yeah, what happened?

Her opponent They got the visas But they couldn't physically hand over the passports in time to get over So, her fight got scrapped But yeah, I mean, you know The UFC has made attempts to get into Mexico Kane Velazquez You know, trains here at AKA

These girls are in Mexico training and are really, really good I think, you know, if the UFC's trying to open those doors These are true Mexican stars But, you know, I think Crosso versus Hill in Invicta is one hell of a fight and one that people are definitely looking forward to. Is that the next fight?

Is that breaking news on this show? Not breaking news? Don't know, but it would be hard to argue against that fight for a title. I will say this about Invicta. This is my opinion only. I'm a huge fan of women's MMA. I think everyone knows that by now.

I sincerely, genuinely enjoy watching women's MMA. I watch and enjoy all MMA, but there's something different that women bring to the table, and I just enjoy them. I enjoy interviewing them, their breath of fresh hair, all those things. They really need to up the production of those shows. I mean, it looks like high school football.

The audio was bad, the lighting was bad, the cameras were bad, the pre-fight packages were bad, the fighting was fantastic. The fighters did everything that was asked to them, and then some. It produced, but they need to stop treating that like it's some, you know,

single-A baseball league. Because that's the way it comes across and it sort of ruins it for me. They need to fix that. Who's watching that product and saying, yes, this is something we need to put on the air? They got to fix it. I mean, they have to fix it yesterday. It was a mess. I know you're at the events you don't get to watch.

It was a mess. It was so many things. The audio was crackling the entire time. It was blown out. Miles, our audio guy, heard it from afar and he almost fainted, the poor guy. The camera rang. It was a mess. And they deserve best.

These athletes really do deserve better. You know, it was a venue that was a theater. It had nothing to do with the venue. It was a production. Possibly. Sit down and watch that and tell me that it doesn't look like Friday night football from West Texas on Time Warner Cable. I'll have to watch. But typically it's an arena show.

This was a theater. Bit of a different configuration. Cameras have to be moved different places. Audio is not going to be the same. No, I don't know. buy it. No, come on. I'll be serious.

We'll see the next show. All right. What was the question, though? Was it just that I watched it? You know, how do you view Invicta as a promotion? They're comparing them to Bellator, saying that they enjoy Invicta more than Bellator. I think it's, you know, that's going to be subjective across the board, but.

Consistently, Invicta always delivers. Yeah, the fights. The fights always delivers. I will say, I worry that they're becoming somewhat of an R-I-S- FAA where you're like, oh, Grasso did great. Now I can't wait to see her in the UFC, right? And that's like sort of an RFA legacy type of thing. There's something wrong with that if you're being helped by the UFC maybe, if you're being used as a feeder. I would love to see them develop, if possible, the 125 division, because that's a division that the UFC doesn't have, the 105 division.

That's a, UFC doesn't have that in 145. I thought Anderson kind of dropped the ball when asked in the cage by Laura Sanko about the cyborg fight. That's the fight that makes the most sense. I think, I don't know if she's 100% ready for it, but you can't at that point be like, oh, whoever they want, I don't care. Yeah, I think in terms of that comparison, there's a little bit of difference in the sense that Invicta has whole divisions that the UFC doesn't. Whereas RFA and, you know, other fight properties, the UFC has established divisions where, you know, a guy could just essentially ascend there. I you know when the when Invicta when Invicta's athletes went over to the ultimate fighter the 115 division and essentially became that division

everybody was saying you know no what are they going to do now and the 115 division is as strong as ever I think it will be you know Invicta will continue to kind of develop the female talent and refresh it's in a good position in my opinion when's the next one September 23rd Friday Date, TBD. I'm sorry, location TBD.

Date I just said, so obviously not TBD. Fights? TBD. Cyborg? TBD. Nothing? They should always have the next show, at least somewhat booked. Like, that was something W.C. always did very well.

There was a fight, and then they would always tell you what the next card is on that fight. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Why don't they do that? TBD. Come on. Can I be the Dana White of Invicta? Can I come in there?

Sure. like before the shows and started, you know, selling things. Do you have that? Do I have that in me? Do you want to be an FN promoter? No, I don't. Here's the next one. Marlon Rice.

Yeah. Would he benefit from joining the UFC? Is there any, you know, thought, would there be any benefit to staying with WSOF and being, you know, essentially the king over there? Or is it better for him to come to the UFC is now the time? is it officially Marlon to the UFC time? This is historic right here. I've never said this.

This is a shoot. This is an exclusive, right? Yep. First time ever set on this show. The Chetta makes it better. This is what you just... That was your build-up for that? Rampage Jackson once said that, by the way.

I don't know if you know that. I agree 100% with Mark Henry and he's lucky to have a guy like Mark Henry in his corner. Go get paid. If it means getting paid $150 to show and $150 to win, in World Series of Fighting, take that money and run with it. Short window, you're fighting in a brutal sport, get paid. And it's all well and good for us to be like, hey, he needs to fight the best and sure. If the best and getting paid come together, go for it. But I'm all about the fighters

getting paid. And if getting paid means fighting lesser competition, get paid. Because guess what? In 10 years, when you want to send your kids to school and buy that nice house, no one's going to care that you fought for half the price in another organization. Is that a short-sighted thing? Is that a short-sighted thing to say, though. Could it lead to more money? Could it lead to more money by getting into the U.S.C.? That's something you need to sit down with your team and figure out? Because in my opinion, I think he's instantly a contender.

I think he's in that conversation. He's not a guy that is coming in and still has something to prove. I think he's as good as anybody in that division, and I think he could come in and potentially put himself in good position to challenge for a title and therefore be looking at more money down the line. It may be short-sighted to go after that payday without, you know, chasing the goal of being a UFC champion. Fair enough. It's possible. It's certainly possible.

I think he's in a more difficult spot than some other guys have been in the past. I know they're interested in him. Everyone should be interested in him. He's amazing. Now, he doesn't put butts in the seats just yet. He's on a draw just yet. He has an amazing skill set. He's a great fighter. He continues to finish. I mean, that was kind of the knock on him before. Like, oh, maybe he doesn't finish enough. Now he's like, Mr. Highlight Real. He has become a CTV. In the early days of WSOF, I looked at Justin Gaci and Marlon Marius and knew right away. They just have something that those guys were, you know, prime time.

And I think it's proven, you know, those guys are incredible. Early days, WSF, they actually built a lot of young talent. Yeah. Remember I used to say that if you take the WSF champions against the Belator champions, it's not a foregone conclusion who wins. Yeah. I thought they did a better job early days of building up young talent. Gachie's still around.

He's undefeated. He's fighting, I think, September. 24th as well. Morais is just so damn good. And, you know, they just announced this show on December 31st at the MSG theater on NBC. He's a New Jersey guy now. He'd bring in some people.

You'd think if they sign him, he would fight on that card, probably David Branch as well. I wonder who they'll put on that card. Strange. Don't you agree strange as a New Yorker to do a show on December 31st, just how crazy it is? It probably won't be a night since it's on NBC. It'll probably be like a midday card. But don't you think that's weird? I don't know. Maybe not. You are not going to have logistics. Logistics on that show are not going to be fun.

Yeah. Not a good move to do a New York show on December 31st. But I mean, and also, you know, who's going to be in the venue versus out, you know, celebrating on the street? It's, it's an interesting. Yeah, but since it's NBC and, you know, they do the whole, like, ball drop thing, it's not going to be a night. It'll probably be like, you know, sort of like how college football is during the day. I bet, I bet. I bet. I haven't asked, but I bet it'll be during the day. Amazing that they sent out a press release and never included the word theater. It was all like... Right, at MSG. Now, the theater is a beautiful venue.

The theater at MSG. Yeah, that's not MSG. No, well, come on. It's not. It's not. It's not, it's not MSG. It's not, it's not, what's it called, at the garden. It's not, you know, the, the MSG, but it's still a really beautiful venue.

But, yeah, I mean, this will be the test. This will be the test run for something. I don't know if this will work out so well. Eddie Alvarez. Yes. What's next for him? We have another champion. You think so?

Yeah. Okay. I mean, that's, you know, it's just, what else could they do, right? What do you mean? He's calling out McGregory. He's calling out Diaz? There's a lot of permutations. I guess.

I don't know. You're all in on DSP coming into fight Tyron Woodley. And then when it's somebody else who's, That hasn't happened yet. If you're asking me right now, if you're asking me right now, there's just too much that can happen 155. I guess you could say Nate Diaz. Why not? I don't know.

Diaz is a 55er. He said it himself. Why not? Call me crazy. Okay. I like that fight, by the way. I think Habib is, is, uh, he's right there. He just needs to stay ready for the week.

Okay. Last question. Yes. Evolution of refereeing and judging. Have you noticed these? This person proposed this. I hadn't thought about it, but I did notice these changes as well. myself.

Faster point deductions. Yes. Stand-ups after one warning. 10-8 rounds. More emphasis on winning exchanges rather than octagon control. You know, guys plotting forward and not really landing. Referees just being more consistent overall. I've kind of noticed this since UFC 200 that there has been an emphasis on these things.

Have you also noticed this? Yeah. I think it's all because of Mark Romandian in his articles. He's hard at work right now. He's hard at work. Tweeting away. I actually I'm not I'm not joking to be honest I actually think that Mark has caused a lot of change now I think there's a lot of smarter people involved and smarter than Mark is that what you're saying

no no no no like in the commissioner roles executive director roles all that stuff maybe that didn't come out right I also think that the judges are starting to get it right more do you notice that there's been like less controversial decisions I think I think there has been you know a thought and more thought put into like what a judge is looking at. Whether it's, you know, somebody can be winning around off their back foot. Yeah. As long as they're landing the cleaner, more effective strikes. And I think there has been an uptick in judging.

Now, I'm not going to go Ariel Hawani and start handing out, you know, participation trophies for judges who do their jobs. Oh, stop it. They've been so bad for so long, they deserve that. But I have noticed that they've been getting a, right more and more, which is a good thing to see. And then every once in a while, you see a 28, 28, 28, and a 3027 on the same scorecard. That was weird. That was weird. But I think we're in a good spot. And, you know, sport is evolving. We're moving in the right direction, hopefully. Yeah, the conference

that Mark is at right now should take us even further. Follow Mark on Twitter. That's it. UFC is back on Saturday, the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Yari Rodriguez versus Alex Saras, Dennis Bermudas versus Honey Jason, Chris Comozy versus Talas, ladies, Zach Cummings versus Santiago, Ponziobio. Marina Morose, Court McGee is back against Dominic Steele. Who else? Who else? Who else? Who else worth? Teruto Isihara. Yes. Everyone's favorite.

All his bitches. All his bitches. How about Tatsu against Cubs Swanson on Fight Pass? You can make a case for that being the co-main and it's on Fight Pass.

That says something, right? Fight Pass team killing. Yeah, well, yeah. Anyhow, that's the Saturday. We'll be back on Monday. I think we're done, right? That's it. You can hit my music.

Happy birthday to New York, Rick. Enjoy the scene at Dave and Busters. Coffee shop, by the way, is Culture on 38th and 6th. They kill it. I love them. I gave him a cookie from there. and I mean, I think it's one of the better birthday presents.

Someone, you have someone else? It's that damn good. What a time in MMA, huh? There's just so much going on. There's just like so much going on. It really is amazing, right? I mean, just every freaking week, there's big news, there's title changing hands. There's all this historic stuff going on.

Evolutionary, revolutionary. groundbreaking. It's just amazing. Dare I say, what a time to be alive. Hopefully doesn't end tomorrow. Thank you very much to everyone who stopped by today, tuned in. Appreciate all your support, all your time. Thank you very much to Mark Romundi.

Follow his coverage on the ABC Convention going on as we speak from Las Vegas, Nevada. Thank you very much to Wonderboy Thompson. Good luck to him. What a great guy. Thank you very much to, Ian McCall. Kudos on how he dealt with that situation. By the way, thank you very much

to the good people of Atlanta. So many nice people over there. Wow. It's a pleasure. People from all over the south I met. Charlotte as well. And other places. Thank you very much to Mark Henry.

Thank you very much to Carlos Condit, who was amazing. Thank you very much to Alex Casares, who was equally amazing. Thank you very much to the new champ. Congratulations to Tyrone Woodley. And thank you very much to Al Jermaine Sterling. Back next week.

same time and place, hit us up on iTunes, a little rating. Check out the replay, Stitcher, YouTube, all those other good places anymore. Peace, I'm out here. Support for this show comes from Volkswagen. As the U.S. gets ready to host soccer's biggest moment on a worldwide stage, Volkswagen is helping people discover new turfs and new ways to play the beautiful game right here in the U.S. From deaf and power wheelchair soccer to beach and futsal, Volkswagen is actively supporting all the communities and teams within the U.S.

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