MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani - Episode 399

Episode Date: September 12, 2017

Ariel Helwani speaks to Demetrious Johnson (00:07:28), Darren Till (00:32:56), Raquel Pennington (00:48:58), Brian Stann (01:12:52), Andrea Lee (01:42:15), Mike Perry (02:02:07), David Branch (02:24:11), Arjan Bhullar (02:47:52), and NewYorkRic for Ric's Picks (03:23:26) and to answer your questions during The MMA [After] Hour (04:01:23). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It is back in your life on this Monday, September 11th, 2017. Hello again, everyone. I'm Ariel Halwani back inside our New York City studio, our New York City studio that is located just a few blocks away from Wall Street, our New York City studio that is located just a few blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood tall, our New York City studio that is located just a few blocks away from the new Freedom Tower. And this is actually the first time that we do the show from this newish now New York City studio, from this location, the one that's just a few blocks away from Wall Street in the past.

We've been several blocks up, a little more midtown-ish. and coming to the studio today, it sort of hit me that we were doing the show from the financial district where 16 years ago America faced one of its worst nightmares ever. Of course, you know about 9-11 and the devastation that day here in Washington, in Pennsylvania. And so just wanted to start today's show

saying that we are thinking of everyone who was affected by that terrible tragedy who continues to be affected and we will never forget. And just coming down here today and seeing the World Trade Center sign and seeing the 9-11 Memorial in passing and seeing the New York Stock Exchange,

it just kind of hit me. So we do today's show with a bit of a heavy heart, thinking of everyone. And we also want to say that we are thinking of everyone who's currently affected by Hurricane Irma, who's in Florida or the surrounding areas in the Caribbean, in Cuba, in Puerto Rico, everyone who's been affected over the past few days by Irma

and who are currently being affected as we speak. I know tons of people, millions of people are currently without power, displaced, and also the people who are currently still trying to get back on their feet from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, not to mention the earthquake last week in Mexico, everyone who is battling on this Monday. We are thinking of you, and if you choose to watch our program,

as somewhat of a escape valve, if you will, as a means to forget about the serious stuff, the important stuff. This is an important stuff. This is just fun stuff. We thank you for doing that. And we hope that we can provide you a little bit of peace and tranquility amidst all the madness in the world. So thank you very much once again for joining us.

We are back from Edmonton. That was a great experience for me. Never been to Edmonton before. I always love traveling to different Canadian cities. and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't know really what to expect from Edmonton. And I must say, very impressed not only by the city, but by the fans and how happy they were to have the UFC,

how thankful they were that the UFC was finally in their hometown, regardless of the issues, getting to fight week. And of course, mid-fight week with the cancellation of the main event between Demetrius Johnson and Ray Borg. Great fans over there in Edmonton. And perhaps most impressive of all, is that new arena. I've been talking about it for the last few days on Twitter. Roger's Place, if you are a hockey fan, if you are a sports fan, if you're a concert goer,

if you live around Edmonton, if you're able to travel to Edmonton to attend an event there, any kind of an event. I highly suggest doing so. It's one of the very best I've ever seen on earth, let alone Canada, let alone the United States. It is second to none. State of the art. They did a fantastic job. It opened last year. Home of the Oilers. was blown away by it. Everything. I mean, the history there, the architecture, it is beautiful. So it was a great time in Edmonton. Happy to be back. Happy to be doing the show. We have a lot to discuss as it pertains to 215, as it pertains to Pittsburgh. This weekend, there's a lot going on, as always, in the world of MMA. So let's run down today's show. Of course, I know a lot of you want to talk

about the main event or the new main event, Valentina Shevchenko, Mandi Nunes. Nunes ends up successfully defending her title now for the second time. She is the reigning defending UFC women's bantamway champion. A lot of people believe that Valentina Shepchenko did enough to win that fight. We'll be talking about that. We'll be talking about the cancellation of the main event. We'll be talking about RDA and Gilbert Melendis's leg and Jeremy Stevens, of course. Leelotifi with a big win. It was somewhat of a maligned card going in, but I think it delivered after the fact. Who knows how many people actually bought the pay-per-view and watched it. That's neither here nor there at this point as it pertains to us. But I thought that there were a lot of

interesting things that happened on Saturday night. Okay, so this is today's rundown. 4 o'clock, as always, MMA after hour, we'll be taking your questions and comments over on Twitter exclusively. So hit us up using the hashtag the MMA hour. MMAfighting.com is where you can watch us all show long, and then we're exclusive for that hour

taking those questions and comics, comments. 345, we're on Rick's Picks time, and we'll be checking in with our man, New York, Rick, as he gathers the best tweets, the highlights, maybe some low lights. He doesn't like to highlight the low lights, but I think sometimes it's important to do so. Anyway, we'll be checking in with him at 345.

325, we'll be talking to Arjun Buller, who I thought was one of the biggest stories of the weekend, the Canadian Olympic wrestler, the first fighter of Indo-Canadian background, the first fighter of Sikh descent, the first fighter with Indian roots to fight in the UFC. He was successful on Saturday, And I think that he could be one of the big stories of the next couple of years.

Very excited to talk to Arjun Buller. Canada's own Argent Buller, I might add. David Branch will join us at 305, talk about his fight against Luke Rockhold this weekend, main event of UFC Fight Night, Pittsburgh. Mike Perry's in the co-main event. He fights Tiago Alvas. We'll talk to him 245. 225, the LFA Flyway champion.

Andrea Lee will stop by, talk to her about our upcoming title defense. 205 will finally get a chance to talk to one, Brian Stan. It has been a while since we've talked to Brian Stan, and I've been wanting to talk to him for quite some time. And of course, he left his UFC commentary position. So we've a lot to talk to him about. Just kind of left in the middle of the night. So Brian Stan joins us at 205.

145, Raquel Pennington will stop by first time in the history of this show we have her on. So I'm excited about that. Also, is she next in line for a title shot? We'll find out. 125 Darren Till will stop by. And looking forward to talking to him about his fight against Donald Cowboy Soroni on October 21st. But first, let us go to the phone lines. There was only one proper way to start today's show.

We are very thankful that he has agreed to come on the show today. It has been somewhat of a, I don't know, stressful time. I would imagine over the past few days for him. He was supposed to make history on Saturday. That was the plan, at least in his eyes, in Edmonton. He's hoping to break the record set by Anderson Silva. The most title defenses in UFC history did not happen. We want to know what is next for Demetrius Johnson.

We want to know what happened in Edmonton. He has been relatively quiet, but we are very thankful that he is. is joining us right off the top today. He's on line number one. DJ, are you there? I'm there. Thanks for having me, man. How are you doing? I'm doing great. I really appreciate this.

You know, I appreciate it very much. So thank you so much for coming on. And there was only one way I wanted to start today's show, and it was with you. And I'm really appreciative that you are able to squeeze us in. So let's start kind of at the beginning of all of this. When did you find out that this fight was off, or at least this fight was in serious jeopardy? You know, the whole entire week, you know, my coaches are pretty active. about running around the hotel, doing everything. And they saw, you know, Ray Borg running on the treadmill with plastics on early in the morning.

I'll go to dinner. I mean, I ate all over to Thursday night for our summer eight cut. And then one of the rates announced that she goes, yeah, I thought your opponent. And she was, yeah, he'd eat anything. And then, you know, I started working out, you know, summer weight cut. You know, I had 10 pounds ago, which is normal for me. It was the exact thing. Wait, I was that when I was fight Wilson Hayes.

and I got a phone call from, you know, the UFC Hunter. Hunter, they never call me unless two things. One, I'm in trouble or two, something's wrong. So I saw that Hunter was calling, and we missed the first phone call because I was basically working out. My wife, Destiny saw it, and she goes, oh, Hunter called, and I was like, oh, fuck, call him back to what happened. And then Matt called him and go, hey, what's up? You know, DJ's in the middle of his wake up, what's going on? And he goes, telling him to stop cutting weight for affection.

And when I heard that, I just screamed super loud and hit my foot on the pout on the mat and that's the fuck. That's how I got the news, you know? How did you calm down? I mean, we saw you a couple days later and it still seemed like you were irked, but to be peaking for a fight, to be in the midst of the weight cut, and not just any fight, the fight that was going to put you in the history books, this was a very big deal for you. It was very important and it gets snatched away. How did you go to bed that night? How did you digest that? Well, you know, it took a long time for me to digest it.

You know, I took my time that I did, and my coaches, and my wife gave the time I needed in the room where I was training at. I sat down and gazed off into the distance and then like, you know, like, fuck, you know, you can control so much. You know, a lot of these guys when they hire, you know, dietitians or they just can't figure out how to make the weight class, I could easily give up and said, no, my body stopped sweating and I didn't want to. want to keep on going. No, man, I thought what you do. You know, I'll go out of my deathbed before, you know, I will stop cutting away unless I'm, like, I'm, like, pissing or shit in blood.

Then I've been there before. I've been sick the week leading up to Keogoroguchi. He didn't get out of bed until, you know, Wednesday morning to cut the weight, you know, everything I ate just went right through me. The UFC goes, Jimmy Johnson needs to do media. And Matt was like, Jimmy Johnson is not doing media or if you would not have a main event. So I've been there before shit I was like we need to get paid

We don't get paid unless we fight And if I don't fight I don't get paid It means a light bill cut off It means I can't you know What can I do? I can't control so much Which is me You know I'm headed the gym right now

And I apologize to him I can't take him to school I can actually confirm that story That's the only time you've ever canceled An interview with me In Montreal We were supposed to sit down and talk And you said that you were really not feeling well

Every other time you've showed up even under some of the more, you know, trying times. So I recall that you were very sick in Montreal prior to UFC 186. Do you believe, DJ, that this is a weight-cutting issue? They swear that it isn't, but yet some weird things have happened since where he says that he's, you know, let go of his nutritionist and then they're responding. What do you think? He's had issues in the past.

What do you think was the real issue here? I have no idea. I'm at night camp, you know? I mean, it's funny because I talk to, you know, Jeff Minsky, you didn't tell me eating my salad, being strict on head and fucking lettuce. And then he goes, he was like, poor DJ, he didn't even know yet. And I respected me. They got to keep it confidential, you know, if it was the other way around.

I wouldn't want them to tell me, tell my point that, you know, I'm having a hard time to kind of wait or I'm, you know, I'm not going to go and make a denou. I mean, what can you do, right? Did you consider asking for someone else? Did they even bring up the subject of fighting someone else? No, I mean, there was no point. You know, obviously, I'm not going to take another man to fight away from him. I mean, like, obviously, they had two flyways on the car that had him to sue.

It wouldn't be right for me. It would be very selfish of me to be like, well, fuck, I already beat both of you guys. So let me fight one of you. Who wants to rematch now? Let's keep this thing going. You know, obviously, the UFC won't close to your, you know, best management team in the world, first-round management. Not be safe and Florida. You're a good man.

They put Dan back to the good man. fighting in Vegas. Okay, we'll get to that in a second, but I'm wondering, as far as the UFC is concerned, are you happy, are they treating you well? I mean, we know about the issues in the past. Can you tell us about, have you been paid? Will you get paid? What are you going to get paid?

Everyone's worried about this. Yeah, I have not been paid yet. Obviously, the UFC and obviously in the past, you the other guys, even having Sergio Pettis, not. Sergio Pettis, you know, the day before the fight. They're trying to rebook this fight as soon as possible, which will be 20 days. I got to go into training camp for another three to four. Typically they're not.

If it's possible, my black ass to be going to the bank deposit and check right now and taking my kids to school. But that's not the case right now. So like I said, that's up the, you know, that's with the UFC and first round management. They won't skip a beat two days ago.

Wait, so just to be clear, they're offering nothing? You need to afford that question to first round management and the UFC. I thought you were going to say, oh, show money, and you're trying to get the whole thing because you were there, you made weight, you're going to make weight, you showed up, you did your job. nothing just blows my mind.

I mean, that money was already allocated. Oh, don't get me wrong. I mean, the first thing they told me when they said, you know, stop cut of weight. And what you do is, and the first thing I said, it said, how the fuck do I get my money? I was like, I get my paycheck because I just trained eight weeks for it.

And that's just part of the sport, man. You know what I mean? Like, you know, how to get a check? You know, I'm about to buy a brand new house. I just built a brand new house. So I had that coming. And then, you know, My final fight for the day of year.

It was like, if I were to fight Saturday night, came around the fight clean and looked at the fight, that's off the table, and I'm not going to fight, you know, if I do fight October 7th. And that's what the first thing came to my mouth was like, how the fuck did I get my money? I mean, I came here to get paid any time here to, you know, not fight. And what do they say when you say that?

They said they're working it out. All right. Are you confident it will get taken care of, regardless of what happens on October 7th, if you fight on October 7th? well you know I have Donald Serrani he's probably one of my

one of my biggest supporters I'm a big supporter to him and he said he wouldn't you didn't get this little motherfucker paid and he goes absolutely he goes all right

we'll see if you're the bench fucking management team around the world so I guess we'll have to wait to see what Donald Sororani is true did Donald Sororani made what he said

we'll find out at any point I don't know I can control so much yeah I know it's kind of funny that you're in this position kind of weird. You just signed a management team to represent you for the first time.

And so now you have that distance. Now you have that, you know, that buffer. And I'm assuming that you're happy that you have that. So you don't, you and Matt don't have to do this on your own. I'm wondering, though, DJ, at any point on Thursday, Friday, did you ever think to yourself, man, because, you know, we talked about the T.J. Dillishaw thing. And part of the reason why you didn't want that fight was because, from what I understand, he's not a true flyweight. And there was a chance that he would not make weight. He's never made the weight. Did you ever think, man, I should have just gone with T.J. You know, we picked the wrong guy.

We made the wrong call. Did you ever think that at any point? No, no, absolutely not. I mean, it's the thing. It happens to a lot of people. It's happened to Johnny Hendrix. He had intestinal issues. He's made 170 pounds multiple times and also missed it multiple times. You look at Justin Skaghan.

He's missed weight multiple times. You look at Ian McCall. He's misweight multiple times. He'll be John Linnaker. Let's just said, you know, somebody texts out there. He goes, well, should have a lot of it. happens, what do you do now? And I'm like, yeah, pretty much. And that's how I had to look at it. I mean, it was forced two. Oh, his flight is shut up. Oh, he got sick. Oh, I had bad move of that.

Meaning, weight cutting is worse things you do in a smart hydration fight. You know, guys fight at their natural weight class. So guys who walk around, you know, 160 pounds, five pounds, or he didn't fight at 170. He fights at 185, but his natural weight class. Viviana Fernandez, he didn't fight at 135 anymore. He fights at 140, 145, which is, and he walks around 148, so he's cutting two pounds. So, you know, it doesn't happen a lot over in age on one-fc because they don't have weight cuts anymore. In the U.S., we still have a weight cut in the 255, we have a 25th, and that's, that's probably when the problem comes to play, where their bodies are just being too big. Okay, so in the last two years, August 2015, Borg missed weight. July of 2016,

pulled out 10 days before a fight. September 2016 pulled out three days before fight against Ian McCall. December of 2016, missed weight. September of 2017, just a couple days ago, withdraws two days before the fight. You trust this man to show up. You trust him to actually fight on October 7th and make the wait so that this is an actual title fight. How do you trust him with this history?

No idea. All I can do is do what I can do best. Get rid of my fight and hopefully shows up, you know? The biggest thing when I hear that is that I definitely won this fucking fight. We can't have an unreliable chance. So I got to go out there and put this man away make sure you guys have a show up. I was going to fight and always make waves.

You speak to Dana White at all? I have not. He's on vacation with his family, which is awesome. He deserves the time. He deserves to be with his family, so I have not. Okay, so the main person from the UFC that you've been talking to is Hunter. Hunter Campbell. Yeah, Hunter.

Hunter Campbell, yeah, like I said, man. I said it on Saturday night. It feels good for me to find out the news from there. Instagram or Facebook or for money of you guys. It truly means a lot to me because a lot of people in my don't know this, but in my career, I've always find out what's going on in my career through Twitter

and that just outright pisses me off. So I'm thankful that it took a time and a decency to pick up the telephone dial my number and call me and deliver the bad news. So I appreciate that, the Hunter and the UFC, thank you. So you stuck around, you were in attendance on Saturday, you

watched the event, you were on route to making weight. What was it like, you just being there on Saturday. Was that annoying for you? Would you have rather been anywhere else in the world? As, you know, mentally, you were trying to peek for that.

You were trying to put on a show for those people, and you didn't get a chance to do so. You were just a spectator. What was that like sitting there? It was definitely, you know, unsettling, you know, especially Donald, he goes,

he looks at me, goes, this is your walk right now, Doc, you'll be walking right now. I'm like, uh. So it's, it's like, Donnery, he's, I love the guy. He's awesome. And he, I mean, he feels for me.

you know, he's been there before. You know, his opponent, you know, couldn't make weight. And the next thing you know, he jumped on the scale and he gets off and they're like, no, don't jump on the weight. So you guys still fight. But, you know, New York said no, because the weight the strepson was too much. So he's been there before and he goes for me. But it was a great card, amazing crowd.

And by the way, just to be clear, is Borg the only guy that they're talking about? Or is it possible? So Hudo jumped the line? Are there any other names being discussed? You know, that's right now. as far as I've been told it's just bored. I've talked to Dr. Davidson, and he said, dude, he's fine. Like, he'll be this global pass, and he can continue training,

so there's no reason why this fight can't go on. Like that's usually when he said that to me, and Dr. Davidson, you know, he's an amazing doctor. When I've had injuries, when I have an LCL tear, he was like, okay, dude, this was going to happen. Do you need to sit out for six to eight weeks? It's stem cell that you can fight at the end of the year. Our bio infection, once he, that passes,

They told me, we're going to try and make it happen. I'm into the gym right now to continue my training camp. Instead of eight-week camp, we'll be... By the way, were you impressed with Sehudo? Do you feel like he's back in the mix, or not quite yet? That's something to UFC. Obviously, I was impressed with him with Sehudo. You know, he had a tough rider against, you know,

obviously me, he had a tough run against Joseph Binavides, the leader of the division. You know, Wilson Hayes, I feel like I've laid out the game plan to beat Wolfson Hayes. I, you know, it's funny because I watch, you know, when I get ready for my fights, I watch video on my opponents, and I go back and watch a video on my fights when I beat my opponent. And then that him basically just even laid out a bigger blueprint of Wolfson Hayes. And once I saw Wolfson Hayes' fight live, I was like, holy shit, and that was correct. And then once, I wasn't, I wasn't surprised that Henry Cahoodle beat him because I, you know,

Once I beat him, I'm like, I know how to beat him. But then once I saw, you know, He was Sehudo coming out there doing his thing, I was like, oh, then Heron Sehudo's got it. And then so I was like, good job. Good job. What did he say to you? Did you hear him say anything? He says, I'm coming. I said, I'll be waiting.

Me and Heer Sehudo, we have nothing but respect to each other. I saw him kind of wait. Last time we're both finding the same card. I said, Jesus, Terry, you look like shit. And then he goes, I know, man. I know. And then the next day, when I was starting to cut my week, he goes, now you look like shit.

That was like, yes, that is true. I do look like shit. There's no bad animosity from his side or my side. I mean, we even talked about my fight when he had fought, and he goes, I was ready, dude. He goes, out the best shit I've ever been in. And he goes, I thought I was on take you out. And I was like, yeah, I know.

Don't worry. So much for you to learn, but you'll get there eventually, hopefully. By the way, something that kind of flew into the radar. Did you change your nickname? Are you no longer Mighty Mouse? No, the thing is, the thing is that a lot of people who, you know, who are around me when I'm playing video games, this started maybe a long time ago.

And I was playing video games with a guy, and I was playing Destiny 1 and I was reading. And I had a whole bunch of people. And the guy goes, watch out Mighty. And I was like, I like that. I like being called Mighty. He goes, watch out Mighty. And so the UFC Reebok crew,

they gave me the options to make a t-shirt, designed a t-shirt how I wanted. And so they're like, what would you like in a shirt? And I said, you know what? I want Demetrius and Mighty Johnson. Doesn't mean people have to stop calling me the Mighty Mouse or whatever to prefer,

but I prefer to being called Mighty. Oh. So it's not like Warren McDonald when he was called the Waterboy and he comes out and says, I am now being called the Red King or the Red Baboon or the Red Ape or whatever. I'm not doing that. I'm just saying,

I'm not like, hey, if you're going to call me Mighty Mouse, I prefer to be called Mighty. and just even at that. Like, I don't know where I'm going with this. It's not like I don't like, you know, I have a new logo on my Twitch channel, which you are a part of the new Mighty Squad members. Welcome, welcome. Can I get some love finally?

Can I get some love? You did what you did? You did what you said you're going to do six months ago. So I'm finally glad you actually made it happen. There it is. On the screen. On Friday after the Wands, I felt so bad for you. You weren't responding to my text.

And I was like, you know what? This is the least that I could do. It took me 45 minutes to figure out how to attach my Amazon Prime to it. but I got it done. I was so proud of myself. I'm proud of you too, Ariel. Thank you. Thank you.

I can't wait. Yeah, so I got a logo on there too, which is a mouth, which is kind of, you know, I like it. But like I said, I love being called Mighty, but it's not like I don't like Mighty Mouse. It's just like, for me when I see right here Mighty Mouse, I'm like, I'm not a fucking rat. I like cheese on my eggs, and I like cheese on burgers.

Other than that, that, geez, it's wrong. no one wrong. So that's where I went with it. So Reebok did an amazing job. I mean, of capturing my vision on the shirt. And I love it, and I think I'll fight you to do it

for my next fight as well. And just before I let you go, you haven't talked to Ray Borg by any means, text, you know, phone call, anything. He has not reached out.

You have not reached out to him, correct? No, no, no. Here's some good, here's a funny laugh. Okay. You know, so usually when I fight

or when I get done fighting, I get on the first flight out of my competition area, whether it's Canada, Vegas, I just get out of there because I want to get back cornered my kids. So we got on a later flight, midday flight. There's only three flights coming out of Canada. And sure enough, me and him were on the same goddamn plane. Him and his whole entire team were on the same plane.

I mean, I'm talking about, you know, Wrigo John, six guns, Ray Borg, everybody's on it. And I was like, well, glad that, you know, it's almost kind of good being a fight because there's just be one upper plane ride. boat it whoop his ass, and next thing you know he's in the back with black eyes and shit. But no, we have not spoken.

He doesn't need to call me. He doesn't need to text me, doesn't need to tweet me or anything like that. I mean, just get healthy, and then we can make this fight happen. That's the only needs to be said that I'm going to say, I mean, shit happens.

And if he has a hard time, make a wait, I think he, I think UFC and you side of shit consider him grow up to 135. I mean, this thing, man, they are so lucky.

I'm not the fucking matchmaker. All right? I'm like, I was, I was, did the John Leonard of the car. I'm like, all right, bad ass, guess what? You're going to 135. Not saying it's a weight-cutting issue.

I'm not saying the reason why he didn't make to the fight was a wicked issue, but if somebody has a problem, and Jeff Nibiski, you said to tell me, like, he had the same problem, you know, right when he's about to start cutting weight a while ago that he just got sick, you know, that's the problem. You're getting sick out of nowhere. Only time you're getting sick is when you're starting to dehydrate yourself, that is a sign that something's going on. And so as for Yusada, who is, you know, part of looking out for

the athlete's health issue, I would say, you know what, you have to move to 135, or we're going to have to cut you, or you can go find you can be employed somewhere else. That's all I'm saying, an athlete has a choice. Do they make, do they go to 135 or they get cut, or, you know, did some of these people have so many options? I mean, I haven't fucking missed weight once. I mean, I showed you Sada, and I'll post it today on Twitter, that I keep tracking my weight four months out of, or five months out of my competition to where I'm still walking around,

141, 142, 148 to where these guys, they blow up to 155 or maybe 150, and I don't even see that shit. I don't even see 145, and I need to wherever we want. You know, chocolate stouts, Negro Modellos,

ribs. I had chicken and wobbles last night, I woke up waiting 139.9. So it's not like I'm starved myself. So, what did you happen, Gerald? DJ, you were on the same plane and he still didn't say anything to you?

No, he did not. He didn't look at me nine. Dang. Wow, all right. So right now you're preparing for October 7th and less told otherwise. That's what I'm prepared for. I'm prepared for October 7th. Like I said, I had chicken in a while that night.

It was amazing. Going in the gym right now, and we get back into it. You know, I mean, I had to get a paycheck. So I'm still searching for my paycheck. And they say, you know, fight and make wait October 7th, and I'm coming to fight and collect some cash. Yeah, well, I hope they give you two paychecks, if you make way it on October 7th,

because I think you deserve your win-end show. I think that's crazy. I thought you were fighting for the win. I thought the show was a foregone conclusion. I thought that was in your hands already. That is disappointing. Hopefully they make it right, and it's good that you are represented by those guys.

Hopefully they're fighting for you. Appreciate the time, DJ. Thank you so much for coming on. I really, really appreciate it. And hopefully you can get some clarity to all this. Fight on October 7th, break that record, and then go on your merry way. Keep doing big things.

Awesome. Thank you, everyone. I appreciate it. and thank you so much for subscribing to channel. All the people out there can subscribe to the channel. It's TwitchSide TV slash

AmideastUSC 125. God bless everybody and be kind to one another. I'll see you tonight on the stream, right? That's right. I'm dropping. I'm doing some of the giveaway

some of the Reebok Mighty shirt. So you might get one. We'll see. All right. I can't wait. Thank you, DJ. All the best. All right, brother.

There he is. Demetrius Johnson. One of a kind. What a class act. Appreciate his time very much. All right. We'll see what happens with that situation.

Let's move along. news last week, the main event for UFC fight night, Dansk. It's called Dansk in Poland, is Cowboys Seroni against Darren Till. Love this matchup. Wanted to check in with Darren Till about this huge opportunity, the undefeated Darren Till, the Liverpoolian, the Scouser. Hey, everybody, it's your old friend New York, Rick here. And I want to talk to you about Casper. Casper is an obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. supportive memory foams that create an award-winning sleep surface, Casper has just the right sink and just the right bounce.

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That's $50 toward any mattress purchase at casper.com slash MMA and using offer code MMA. Terms and conditions apply. Now back to the show. Darren Till joins us right now via the magic of Skype. There he is. Darren, how are you? I think that's you. Hey, mate.

I'm fine. How are you? I'm doing great. It's a little like blurry there. So I wasn't sure if you were like in a bunker or something, but we can hear you just fine. And that's most important to me. We appreciate the time very much.

So by the way, is it cold there? Are you wearing a winter coat? Yeah, it's the winter's coming now, mate. Yeah, it's getting cold. Okay. Wow. That's a surprise. All right.

Well, much of discuss with you, Darren. You got this opportunity just a couple of days after your last victory in Rotterdam. Were you surprised when you were offered Cowboy Soroni in the main event of UFC Fight Night Dance? Yeah, I was, yeah. I'll be honest, yeah, I was very surprised. Did you ask for it? Did they come to you? How did this come about?

No, what it was, after my fight in Rotterdam, I was in the bar with my friends and that, and I was speaking to Sean Shelby. and he's congratulating me on my fight and then he said we were looking for a main event for UFC Poland against Soroni would you fight him and I said yeah of course

and he said okay I'll get back to you in the week and I said set that up and then he spoke to my manager the day later and it was a done deal Is there a particular reason why you like this fight is it because of his name because he's highly ranked why were you so intrigued by this opportunity

Well, I wasn't really intrigued. It's just another guy in the World War II Division to just go through. I don't really care about his name. I just want to go in there and knock him out. Okay. I saw Donald Soroni in Edmonton last week, and I asked him about you. It was just a couple of hours after the fight came out. And I wanted to just quickly play the clip and get your response to it.

Is that okay? Yeah, perfect. All right, let's hear from Donald Seroni last week in Edmonton. Darren Till. Got it. What do you know about Darren Till? Absolutely nothing. Have you ever heard of Darren Till?

No. Never. No. Honestly, he just fought on Saturday. No, but I didn't. Never seen his fights. Never seen his fights. Don't know where he's from.

Don't know where he's from. Not nothing. I'm not bagging the dude. I just, fuck, I don't know anybody. Have you had a chance to look him up since accepting the fight? No. My grandma sent me a thing this morning all mad. Like, he called you a cunt.

I said, no, grandma. That's just how they speak over it. Matt who? Mad. like she was upset. Like he posted them on Twitter and said, I'll fight any cunt. Okay.

And she sent it to me like, and I was like, no, that's just how they speak. Like, it doesn't mean any harm. So that's the only thing I've seen of him. Darren Till. Okay, so that's, that's Calvertere,

you don't have to play it again. We don't have to play it again. So that's the clip right there. First things first, when you heard that he had never heard of you, what is your reaction to that? Do you believe him? Well, yeah, well, that's not disrespectful

because, you know, why should he have heard of me? You know, I'm not ranked anywhere near him. You know, if he's a fighter and he's wanting to be a champion, he's looking ahead, he's not looking behind. So, you know, I know he didn't mean any disrespect by that. You know, people keep saying, when I knock him out, he'll know me. But that's irrelevant, you know, the guy doesn't have any reason to know me.

So that's, you know, that's perfectly fine. You know, I don't take any disrespect from that, no. Okay, fair enough. Did you call him a cunt? No, I said I'll fight any cunt. That's what. So, you know, I will. I'll fight any cunt mate, and that's it.

You know, so if he translate that into him being a cunt, then I guess he's a cunt. Actually, it was his grandmother who I guess took it as some kind of an insult. But is that just a term that you use in Liverpool to call any bloke? Yeah, it's just like slang. It's like Liverpool scouts, we use a lot of slang, you know. So maybe like a lot of guys from, you know, and maybe America wouldn't understand.

So, you know, his nan probably took offense. So I'm sorry to Donald's man. Fair enough. You know, I asked him this question, and afterwards he was kind of a little annoyed of it. When I asked him if he felt like, I don't know, he had hit a rough patch in his career. He's lost two in a row. Do you feel like Donald is on the decline? Do you feel like this is the perfect time to fight him?

Yeah, I just don't care, mate. It doesn't matter about Donald being on a decline or whatever. I cannot be beat in that division. You know, I cannot be beaten. I will go there. I don't care if he's on a firefight winning streak or a two fight losing streak. You know, it's irrelevant to me.

I'm going in there to take his face off. That's the only thing that I care about. You seem to be fighting these days and you certainly talk with this same sort of bravado. I mean, you have a ton of confidence. We saw that in Rotterdam. And it's interesting because you had that long layoff, right? You were gone for what, like 18 months or so

because of a shoulder injury? Was there a point where you thought you wouldn't be able to get your groove back? You were worried that your career was going to be stopped short? No, you know, that was the first obstacle in my life, my fighting career life that, you know, I had to face. So, you know, it was hard, it was tough. I went through a split up with my girl in Brazil when it happened as well. So, you know, a lot of things happened.

But I'm a very mentally strong person and I know, you know, what I was put on this earth to do. And, you know, I make big statements and I say like I'm the greatest. So it doesn't matter the two-year layoff or whatever. I came back. And I know now, you know, injury-free that I'm going to start running through everyone in this welterweight division. I'm pretty confident of that. I'm sorry to hear about you and your, I think you were married, right? Your wife?

No, not married, but we, you know, we had a baby and that together, Gisela, so, you know, we split up. Okay, well, I'm sorry to hear that. Is that why you moved back to Liverpool? No, not really, but just because it was, you know, I went to Brazil, you know, to learn a lot about the grounds and wrestling and grappling and. I felt like I saved my time there, you know, being four years. And like I felt like I needed to come back and, you know, evolve me stand up again and, you know, certain areas, more MMA-based. So that was the decision. There was not on a, there was not on base just on like splitting up from your girlfriend.

That was, that was, you know, there was not to do with that. Okay. And I hope you don't mind me asking. What are you going to do about that tattoo on your arm? I'm going to keep it. It's like a little symbol now, isn't it, mate? So I'm not bothered. I'll just keep it.

Okay, fair enough. Will you be able to see your daughter? Yeah, I'm actually booking. I'm sorting out a passport so she can have double passport, Brazilian and English, so she can come for Christmas and spend it with me here.

Obviously, my ex-girlfriend, you know, we're still on good terms, mate, so, yeah, my daughter's going to be coming. But, you know, just for now, she had to stay there, me, because I had to come back on my own and, you know, I'm in the gym and just focus, you know,

the goal's more important, important than my daughter right now because everything I do right now is for me and for her. So she, you know, she's second now on my list. You know, I love her to a bit, but the main thing right now is train, fight and be the best in the world. Fair enough. And so this was happening while you were dealing with the shoulder injury. How were you doing mentally? Did you feel, you said it was the biggest obstacle of your career?

Did you handle it well? Was it a dark time for you? How were you dealing with it all? Well, yeah, you know, it wasn't rose. it wasn't all roses and that, but, you know, I just, you know, I get, as I said, mate, I'm mentally strong. So, you know, I was in a different country, a split up with here, you know. We had to go to court and that over, like, you know, certain things, custody, you know. Not in a bad way.

We never had any arguments, but we actually get on quite well. And, you know, I had trouble getting me surgery, you know, booked in. And so, yeah, it was hard, but, you know, that's life, mate. It's not all highs and it's not all lows. So, you know, you just got to take the good with the bad. Any ill effects from the surgery, or do you feel like you're 100%? I'm stronger now after the surgery. My shoulder is stronger.

Wow. How'd that happen? Yeah. Just as soon as it was done, I focused all my attention on my upper part of my body, like me, you know, my chest and my shoulders. And I've built a lot of muscle around my shoulders. You know, as people already know, I'm a big world. weight, but you know, my arms and that at the moment are really big and well protected.

So, yeah, I feel stronger after the surgery. Prior to leaving Liverpool, you were stabbed, correct? Yeah. And it was life-threatening? Yeah. And you left, and I remember talking to you and you said that, you know, you weren't going to go back home and you're building a family and things like that. Now being back home and now being, you know, a star and fighting in the main event,

for a UFC event. Do you feel like there's like a spotlight on you? Do you feel like what is it like being back home as Darren Till UFC undefeated fighter?

It's good, mate, because I'm well known in the city, you know, a lot of people like me and that. So, you know, I was on a night out on Saturday,

you know, celebrating with my friends and that and, you know, just getting notice, getting asked for photos and, you know, people being very proud of me, you know,

it's a nice thing, mate, and I'm, you know, I'm doing it for the city, you know, scouts as we stick together, I think I've got like 2,000 people going to Poland

so it's all scoutses in Poland mate that we're going to you know that's that's our city that night that's my city wow and I know that the MMA scene in Liverpool

is thriving we had Patty Pimbled on the show last week and he sold out the Echo Arena are you are you close with him you know Patty I'm sure you've run into him

in Liverpool right yeah I'm not close but I know he's a great kid you know he's a great kid you know he's doing good things for MMA and Liverpool. He's well-known. So, you know, he's sold out the Arecho Arena on Cage Warriors.

So, you know, he's doing really good things. Made hats off to him. He's a good young kid. Imagine a card with you and him and maybe a couple of the other English fighters. I feel like a UFC card there would do very well. Any talks of that after this fight? Well, yeah, there definitely should be because it should have happened years ago when, you know, my old training partners like Terriett and Paul Sass were fighting,

but it never ever happened. and now like, you know, I feel like I'm one of the faces of English MMA. And, you know, when I knocked Donald out and I asked for that fight at the echo, it will be a sellout and scoutsers, you know, we travel in, you know, in the armies. And that that's going to be one of the, you know, I remember Dana White saying that there's not a place like Ireland. He hasn't been to Liverpool yet, mate. And, you know, if he ever does, he's going to know that us scoutsers, we take it to another level, mate.

Yeah, I think that would be an incredible scene. By the way, you mentioned Terry Edom, how is he doing? Do you know, do you keep in touch with him? all? Yeah, he's actually, I'm in the gym right now and he's in, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he was in, he was hit by a bus, correct? Well, well, yeah, he was hit by a few bus, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's Oh my gosh. And so he's fine now, training again? Is he trying to make a comeback, a fighting comeback? Well, I don't know. You know, if the words actually haven't come out of his mouth, but, you know, the way he's training, he could probably fight next week. So we'd have to see, mate. Teddy is actually one of my inspirations. I don't have many, but Teddy is one of them. And, you know, I'd love to see him come back. I really feel like if he came back, he could still be the champion. So we'd have to see how that goes, mate. Wow, what a great I'm so happy to hear that

Please send him our best By the way, before I let you go What's the The gorilla? You tweet the gorilla You tweeted that at the video And things like that What does that represent the gorilla?

Well, just because like People go on about how big I am For the World's Weight Division And you know, I The way I fight And it's kind of like one strike Combinations where I throw And, you know, guerrillas are actually quite the same.

They'll hit you, and they'll only hit you once. But when they hit you, mate, they give you, they're going to kill you. So, like, I feel like I'm in the welterweight division. I'm a gorilla. And, you know, I'm fighting a guy like Sironi. You know, he's been a lightweight to all his life. You know, if we were in the jungle, he'd be a chimpanzee and I'd be a gorilla. I'm 210 pounds.

So I feel like I'm a gorilla. And I even look like a gorilla. So what better way to put a few emojis on Twitter? Okay. Now I get it. By the way, you weigh 210 right now? probably about 205, something like that. I haven't checked my weight, but I know I'm heavy.

Wow. Have you ever thought about, like, how tough is that cut to 170? Have you ever thought about fighting at 185? No, it's not tough. Like, I mean, I say I'm 205. I haven't checked my weight, but I've trained this morning. I'm probably around 200 pounds or something. But no, the cut, you know, I get on well with the cut.

I've got five weeks for the fight. You know, my last fight have just made championship weight. You know, it was an easy cut. I'm not going to say it was an easy cut because you get all fighters and they always say oh yeah my weight's the best that's ever been it's an easy good listen that's the biggest lie in MMA weight cutting is the worst

thing ever it's horrible so it's never easy but you know we get on with it and me you know my last kick weight cut I did it you know I got it done and you know I fought good and that so you know that's just it makes it's you know okay fair enough and by the way I have to ask you before I let you go

one of my favorite things in MMA I mentioned it every time you fight is your Portuguese accent. And I was just wondering maybe a message to your fans in Brazil or maybe even a message to Donald Seroni and you'd have to check it out. Could I hear a little Scouser, a Scouser.

I like to call it Scouser Guise. I think that's, yeah, Scouser Guise. It's one of a kind. Can we get something from you? Let me tell you. Seroni, Vain prepared on day 21 because your head, I will

take it. Oh, yes, I love it. I could listen to that all. all day. What did you say in English for those of us that don't speak? Portuguese. I said I'm going to take Saroni's head off clean. And I like how you said Sihoni. You did the Sihoni, not Seroon. You did the point. You can't pronounce the R. Yeah, because a Brazilian wouldn't pronounce it like Saroni. They would pronounce it like Sihoni. I love it. I love it. You're the real deal, my man.

I'm very happy for you. Congratulations on getting the big opportunity. I'm looking forward to it. I love this matchup. I love these kind of fights where, you know, the sort of young stud gets an opportunity to take that big step up against a veteran. This is a perfect matchup and you've been doing great as it late. So congratulations on all your success and good luck to you October 21st in Poland. Thanks, Ariel. I'll see you guys, 21st. See you later. Bye. All right, there he is. Darren Till stopping by the gorilla himself. Great stuff from him. And I love that accent. I can listen to that scouse or geez all day long. Great stuff. And I really do love that fight. I said it when the fight came out. This is the kind of matchmaking that I really like.

So best of luck to him. Best of luck to Donald Serroney, who, looked like a character out of Tombstone on Saturday. I tweeted that pickout. I mean, I would be shocked if that fight is a boring one. All right, let's move along. We have never in the history of this program. We have been on for what, oh, what's a, I can't do math, a little over eight years. Yeah, a little over eight years, almost 400 episodes. We have never had Raquel Pennington on. That streak ends right now. We're being joined by Raquel Pennington, who in my opinion is the number one contender now in the women's Bantamweight Division, wanted to get her thoughts. on the main event this past Saturday in Edmonton and of course what's next for her she joins us

via the phone. Raquel are you there? Yeah how's it going? It's going great. Why have we never had you on? Where have you been, Raquel? More like why haven't you contacted me? That is a fair question. I'm sorry about that. I apologize for taking so long but I'm happy to have you on now and I think it's a great time after the main event and where you are in the Bantamweight Division. First things first, Did you watch the main event on Saturday? I did. So it's a hot debate this morning in MMA, everyone weighing in on who won. Who do you think won?

You know, I mean, yeah, it was a close fight and everything, but I would probably have to give it to Amanda. It went the way that it was supposed to go, I guess. What do you mean by that? I just feel like, you know, I don't feel like either one of them really went out there and did anything. I mean, the highlights made the fight look a lot more exciting than what it really was. But Amanda, she had center control the entire time,

and I guess if you really want to break it down, I haven't broke it down yet to see all the strikes land and stuff, and I didn't pay attention and all that. I was just kind of watching the competition because, I mean, like you said, I do believe I'm number one contender now. So that's kind of more of what I was paying attention to, but just kind of looking at it. I actually gave, I was leaning more towards Amanda with the fight anyways,

just as far as she was performing just because of her cage control. I thought she won rounds one, three, and five. I don't know if you were looking at it that closely, but I do agree that I thought she did enough to win. Were you impressed with her? Watching it from your perspective, were you impressed with Amanda?

I wasn't impressed with either one of them. Okay. How come? You know, like I said, I mean, I thought it was going to be, their first fight was a lot different. And, I mean, if they had two more rounds than that, I think Valentino could have won that fight.

I think coming out, I expected a lot more performance on both ends. And it just kind of seemed that they were just waiting for each other to kind of react. Amanda didn't want to really react. She stayed in front of her, though. And then Valentina didn't want to really react. Although Valentina is more of a counterpuncher as it is. But I just figured, you know what I mean, with the close fight that they had before, that Valentina would come out, given this opportunity,

and she would put on her bigger performance. And then Amanda, obviously, wanting to keep the belt, she would obviously go out there and try to dominate, but to see them just kind of go back and forth and stand in front of each other. And it kind of was annoying me with the fact that they were bragging up her cardio and stuff, because in my opinion, everybody can stand in front of each other and do that for five rounds. It reminded me a little bit of the Wonderboy Thompson-Woodly rematch where they both fought each other before.

They know how good they are. And both were sort of hesitant to really engage and take chances and put themselves out there. You get what I'm saying? Oh, I definitely agree. You know, I mean, obviously, you're at the top level here. So you're going to have both fighters who are being very smart, but I think they're both being just a little too cautious. So you haven't fought since November.

Why have you been out for so long? I had to have three major surgeries after I fought Misha. I had my shoulder completely redone, my right shoulder, and then I had adverse surgery, and I had mouth surgery. Wow. Wait, so you had mouth surgery? Yeah, I actually, I cracked my head. my tooth at the gum line with that fight. And so they had to go and extract the tooth. And then I had to do

like the whole process of adding more bone into up into the jaw and stuff. Oh my gosh. Was that a nightmare? It was a little painful. I would probably say the first two days were more painful than what my shoulder surgery was. And then with my shoulder surgery, they went in and they had to clean up the rotator cuff, fix my labrum. And then I had to have my bicep tendon. cut clean because it was torn and I had to have it cut clean and then normally they anchor the bicep a little bit lower but there's been studies shown that with too much impact the bone can actually shatter where it's anchored at so with me having the career that I have they even though they cut my tendon shorter they had to stretch it so they can anchor it higher but that being said the doc said

that my arm should actually be 30% stronger now so I'm actually having fun with it because I got released to start training and I've been finding a whole new power in my right hand now that my shoulder doesn't have that pain anymore. So it was the right shoulder, was it the right wrist as well? Yeah, I had my right wrist done. I developed a cyst that was pushing apart two of my buttons, and it caused one of my tendons to tear. Whoa. And that's all in the last eight months?

That's all between now and the Misha fight. Yes. So I've just been right after Misha. I went into surgery and I've just been on recovery. Did these injuries happen as a result of the Misha fight or were they just built up over time? The shoulder actually happened. It officially finished everything happened in the Misha fight. But I started filling it actually two weeks prior to the fight.

I couldn't even lift my arm. So if you watch the fight with Misha and you can see me, throwing a million jabs, it's because I, mentally, I could not get my right arm to fire. I was just having way too much pain and stuff. And then during the fight in that moment where I, like, picked her up and stuff, I felt something, it was like a weird feeling. It was like this weird flush that went through my arm. And then after that, I was completely done.

Wow. And you beat, Misha, I mean, by far your highest profile win, you know, fighting through all that. So that makes the win even more impressive, in my opinion. Do you feel, though, that because it was so long ago now, I mean, we're approaching one year. Do you feel like you've kind of lost a little bit of momentum, like you're out of the spotlight? Usually you get a win like that at MSG of all places. There's a ton of attention on you, but now due to the layoff, you're trying to get back into that discussion. Do you feel like you've lost a little bit of that momentum?

I don't believe I've lost any momentum. As far as, like, where I stand or whatever, I believe my past few fights have proven that for me as far as being in the talk of everybody. You know, I've always kind of been in the dark horse in women's MMA. So I'm completely fine with all that. But as far as like ring rust or anything like that, I don't believe in that. I think ring rust is only real if you believe in it. Okay.

And I think Dominic Cruz would agree with you as well. So just looking at the rankings, I mean, Valentina just fought Amanda for the second time. Holly Holie home is in talks to fight Chris Cyborg. Then there's Giuliana Pena who's coming off a loss. hasn't fought since January. I don't know why Ronda Rousey is still in the rankings. And then it's you. Below you, Sarah McMahon, Katzangano, Sarah just lost.

Sangano is out. I mean, you're the one. You're the one there. Have they told you that you're next in line for a title shot? It's definitely been in the talks. Oh, great. Like I said, I mean, I think it's just a long time coming. But now we've heard from Amanda on Saturday,

and she said that she wants to take the rest of the year off. She has to get surgery on her nose to fix her sinus issue. How do you feel about that? You know what I mean? I think that at the end of the day we're humans and we do got to take care of our health. If that's something that she feels like she needs to take care of, then I mean, by all means, go ahead. I know that it was important for me to take care of my shoulder and stuff.

I can mentally push through things, but there just comes a point if you want, like my career, I want longevity. I don't want to just be able to push through and know that I mentally pushed and everything I want to be able to perform at my maximum performance. and so that's why I took the time off that I needed to, and if Amanda needs to do the same thing, that that's fine. It gives me all the more time to keep training and keep grinding and having fun with what I'm doing. So you're willing to wait, even though it may mean not fighting in 2017,

coming back in early 2018, that's okay by you. Yes. I mean, I was definitely looking for, I've kind of talked with the matchmakers and Dana about possibly in December. So that was kind of like my time frame that I was happy about. if it was going to happen sooner, then I'm ready to take it on. If it's going to happen a month or two later, then, okay, hey, a month or two later. If they want to throw a fight at me to give me, I guess you can say in quotes, a warm-up fight, then I'm ready for that too.

So we'll just kind of see what happens. And either way, I mean, I'm ready to rock and roll. So you're on this four-fight winning streak. And prior to that, you know, you would win one, win two, maybe lose one, lose two. You would kind of go up and down and never go on a streak like this. How have you been able to go on the streak? What have you done to solidify your place as one of the best at 135? You know, I kind of went through this whole phase when I turned professional.

I was having fun, and then it just kind of went into the thing where it didn't feel like fun anymore. It didn't feel like a passion. It actually felt like a job. And I was kind of just rolling through the motions. I really lost my passion, and I felt like I lost a part of me. and plus I was back and forth with different coaches and stuff, the gym that we all trained at and the partners that I all knew. The gym kind of fell apart and so it was like having a family and then it all just kind of crashing and burning. So, I mean, I kind of went through this phase where I didn't care if I won or lost.

It wasn't something that was really important to me. Although after every fight, I was like super disappointed in myself because I've never really like lost. It's always been a decision and a close decision. So that's what always annoyed me because there's just. like, well, maybe if I would have done this or another. And then I was just like, you know what, whatever. And I would move on. And then finally I was like, you know what?

I need to really reevaluate things. I either need to go back to my roots and like really remember why I fell in love with this and why I'm doing this and why I came this far or I just kind of need to walk away from the whole thing. And I had a long talk with some of my coaches that have been there from the beginning. And then we brought in new coaches and different, we switched up our training styles. just kind of did everything and it's been fun and my coaches just I mean we built our own little family and the way that we have that going and the partners that we bring in um I guess we kind of just

added that spice that I needed again and to light the fire um so I've just been having fun and I set a different termination in my head because at the end of the day I feel like nobody can really beat me that most of the time that these girls were beating me because before that I was beating myself before even walking into the octagon so now I kind of just reset that in my head and I've been having a lot of fun. How close were you to walking away? Uh, really close. I think I battled everything. We can sit here and talk for hours about everything that I've been through in my career and I'm surprised that I even stayed there. But I found that little bit of positive. I mean, it was like a needle in a haystacks with my positive and I found it and I just ran with it and

decided to turn it around. Um, so I mean, if that gives you an idea. Wow. Well, like, could you tell us like what was the biggest thing that you were battling? What, what is one of many things? You know, I mean, I just had, there was so much. I had a lot of, personally, I had relationship issues. I had family stuff happening that was really changing my family. Like I said, I mean, me and my coaches were on the battlefield. There was just tons of gym drama. There was, I mean, I was battling people who were closest to me that for some reason, all of a sudden I started looking to them for approval instead of just completely believing in myself. And I was kind of dragging myself down with certain things.

You know, I mean, there was really no happy home. At one point, I didn't have any set of coaches behind me. And it was kind of me coming home to my mom. And I was like, hey, you know what? There's the ultimate fighter. Let's go try this thing. And she's like, well, what are you going to do? And I got up every day and I made my meals for the day.

And I put myself through my own workouts. And I had a bag to hit. And I pretty much coached myself before the ultimate fighter, went to the ultimate fighter with a completely unknown what was going to happen. and then when I got out of the Ultimate Fighter, I was like, okay, I need to kind of find a happy home. I didn't know if it was moving away from Colorado that I've always known to go find a place

or to actually just sit here and see what I can build. And when I started working with Mark Fiore, we actually ran into each other at physical therapy and we just kind of talked, and it happened that he moved from, I think it was Illinois, where he used to work with Matt Hughes and all of them. He moved from there.

and then I kind of just, you know, one relationship built after another, and I was working with a lot of the athletes at the Olympic Training Center. And then, you know, we just, it just, it went from one thing to another, but I was all over the place. Like, there was no happy home for me. And so what's your team now? We call it Team Rocky. It's me, and it's our coaches, and we're a little family,

and the way that we grind and the partners that we bring in, like it's pretty much just my camp. And now, as you know, with Tisha, she moved here and she said the way that she's been training and stuff, she feels a huge different in her training as well. Like I think just the one-on-one, the repetitions, the partners that we're able to bring in, the opportunities that we do have, I just think it's a lot better than being at like a big gym. And, you know, there might be multiple bodies and stuff, but just the one-on-one and everything. and then just the team bondings that we have,

whether it's barbecues and going out and hanging out and doing all that stuff, it really makes a big impact. I remember when you fought Holly Home, UFC 184, and that was kind of supposed to be a showcase for home and you fought are very tough. Some people even thought you won, split decision win for Holly.

Was that in the midst of all this? Do you think about that fight a lot? How different things could be, you'd be probably fighting for a belt sooner had you actually beat her? Yeah, that actually, I think that was my turning point. It was that fight that my coach, you know, we got into a huge fight in the locker room. We were fighting the whole week leading up to the fight. It wasn't, it was not a fun pretty sight at all.

My whole week going through that, I was already trying to deal with the emotions of dealing with Holly's hype train coming into that. It was a huge fight. We were the co-main event. There was a lot of pressure and then the person that's supposed to be closest to me, minus my family and stuff. He's fighting with me and we weren't getting along, so it was kind of just rolling through the emotions that week. and then after that, I mean, everything kind of fell apart. We went into the locker room and the words that he told me is something that I'll never forget and the actions that he showed me and then the way that he just walked away from me

was something that I was like, all right, you know what, I don't deserve this, but some of the stuff that he said, I was like, okay, it kind of helped me to, I guess you can say pull my head on my ass too. Wow. To just realize that I needed a better group of people around me and I needed to step up to the plate in a different way. What did you say to you? That fight is something, you know, he just told me that they don't make pills to be a champion and that he can't turn me in a champion because I don't want it.

And he was kind of just, you know, he was very vulgar with his words, call me a little B and all this other stuff. And just kind of really, it was, yeah, it was just this moment where it was just mistreating. And it was kind of, that's how it was leading up to the fight. So it was just one of those things where I just, I had to take a step back. And that's one fight that I'll never forget because that's the fight that kind of changed everything for me. What's his name? Let's not go there. Okay. I mean, I guess it's kind of easy to find out, just look, but I understand if you don't want to say it, that's just kind of shocking for him

to shoot you that way. So now everything's come together for you. Now you're in a good place. You found love, right? You're engaged, although the last time we spoke to Tisha, she said that you didn't want to commit to a wedding date. Have we committed to a wedding date yet? What's going on? I didn't want to commit because Tisha, we originally wanted to have a fall wedding. I mean, we live in Colorado, and fall here is absolutely gorgeous. So we originally wanted to do that, and then Tisha got lined up for a fight in July. So it was just kind of crazy. We couldn't really go through an intense fight camp and plan a wedding.

So we decided to hold off on that. And then we've actually been talking a lot about May 12th. So we're going to go look at that and see how that is. It does another thing for that, too. with me is I was raised very family oriented and one of my cousins who is basically like my brother he's deployed right now and he doesn't get back to November so that was a big factor for me as well where is he uh he's in Kuwait right now oh wow okay well that that certainly makes sense by the way how did you meet tisha uh i've known tisha since about 2012 um we met at invicta and we've always been friends

We fought on a few cards together and then always at the meet and greets or when we crossed past, we were always hanging out and doing stuff. So we've always had a friendship and a foundation there. And then I always joke with her and tell her, not this previous fight week, but the international fight week two years ago. Yeah. We were there and I always joke with her and tell her that she finally got smart because then that's when our relationship started.

So you were chasing her and then she finally opened her eyes. Yeah, I guess you can say. I've always kind of had a little crush on her and thought she was just a little badass and a good friend and stuff. But I was always in a relationship. She was always in a relationship. So the timing was never there. And then I think everything kind of just fell in the place.

You know what I mean? I have a great relationship with my family. My gym life fell in the place with my gym family. And then now I was always dating somebody who never understood. my career and what that consisted of. So it always made things really hard. I always went into fights, carry, and extra weight because, I mean, I was always trying to deal with relationship issues.

And then now I have somebody who we can go in the gym and we train and we're partners and friends and then we can come home and we have our loving relationships. That is great. And it's all coming together for you. You're on the cusp of fighting for a belt. So when do you think you'll find out if this will actually happen, the title shot finally next for you? I'm hoping to hear soon.

You know, I mean, any time can happen. I'm just staying patient and see to see what happens. But you're confident. You think it's your time. You think you're going to get it. Dana has always, I feel like Dana has always had a thing for you. Like, he's always really had a soft spot for you. And I feel like he's going to make it right by you.

Ever since the ultimate fighter, he's always made a point to really push you and promote you. I think that, I don't know. I think with the fight with Justin Duke, he just, he's seen something. in and I've asked Dana a few times and he just said the aura that I carried and the fight style that I had behind me, he sees a lot of potential behind me and he's just waiting for me to truly unleash that.

You've asked Dana, you've asked Dana why he likes you? No, I've just been curious because everybody's like, oh, Dana, this, Dana that. And so I was just a little shocked myself, too, on the ultimate fighter. I mean, I remember clear one day when he just kind of pulled me

aside and he was just really impressed. when I fought Jessman Duke and he just, the words that he said to me back then about how I have this grind and the aura that I carry and everything and that he just really feels like I can be something and he's excited to watch it unfold. So hearing that from somebody who's been in this sport for a long time, been around hundreds of athletes, I mean, that's pretty motivating. Yeah, that's incredible. So that's where that conversation went. And by the way, the next time you fight, now that you're, with Tisha, will your mom still cook your immune? meals for you or are we not doing that anymore?

I actually have somebody who does my mail prep and stuff. My mom, my family is very supportive. So when we have like our get-togethers and stuff, we have family dinners or whatever it is once a week or every other week. My family does really well keeping my mails clean and stuff. But my mom's actually my weight cutting partner. She's there from the beginning. And my coaches know that they get a day off when we're out there for the fight because

my mom takes over everything, and she just, she weighs herself the same way that I weigh myself, and then she's like, all right, let's start this. And she kind of makes it a competition. So it doesn't make weight cut as miserable, and I have somebody else going through it with me. Does she actually go in the sauna and lose weight herself? She does. She does down to 135 as well, and then she has to hydrate. Oh, she has to hit 135 as well, not just some arbitrary weight. That's what she does. She makes it her goal, and so she makes it a competition. and when she doesn't hit it sometimes, because there's been two fights where I've had really bad weight cuts.

I've never had bad weight cuts, but, I mean, I think out my entire career, I've had two bad weight cuts, and during those ones, she hasn't hit her goal. She's been off by, like, four pounds, so she'll get all disappointed. But, yeah, she just, she makes it a competition. She's there through the entire thing.

She'll do the Eps and Salt Bass. She'll do the saunas with me. She doesn't do the mummy wrap, but she'll make my mummy wrap terrible because for some reason she likes to, like, create a lot of friction, so she'll just sit there and, like, rub the towels to where it creates the friction, and then she just lays on top of me, and it just makes it miserable. But I lose the weight extremely fast, and I always have phenomenal weight cuts,

and then it's just, you know, it's kind of our little thing. My mom's my mom, but she's been my best friend. Wow, that is unbelievable. Someone needs to film that. I thought my mom was supportive. That's a whole other level of support. Wow, that is amazing. Last thing for you, Raquel, you said maybe open.

you know like a sort of warm-up fight if you will is there anyone that interests you or have you not really thought of that um yeah i've actually always wanted to fight juliana ever since the ultimate fighter and so i mean i wouldn't mind that as a warm-up fight but like i said i mean we'll see what happens all right well i'm very happy for you and and i certainly think that you deserve it next i certainly think that you deserve to fight Amanda nunez next and i know it would be a long time coming and what a great story. It all coming together for you now, the most important time of your life. So all the best to you. And thanks for finally coming on the show. I'm sorry, it took so long. Thank you. I appreciate it. But happily we finally got you and we'll talk to you very soon and all the best.

And I hope that Tisha's family is doing okay back home in Florida as well. Yeah, she's been a little stressed, but we've been keeping tabs on them right now. We're out of touch just because they don't have any power. And so nobody can charge their cell phones and stuff. But everybody's good and just trying to keep Tisha level-headed while we're here. But it's going well. Thank you again for the time. It was good talking to you. Yes, all the best.

We'll talk to you soon. All right, have a good one. All right, there she is. Rquel Pennington stopping by. Great stuff. Wow, what a backstory. Coach chewing her out in the locker room after her split decision lost to Holly Home.

That is insane. And certainly if you look at the rankings, it makes sense. Does the timing work out? We shall see. The Giuliana fight would make sense as well. Let's see what happens in the women's band to weight division, which could use a bit of, I don't know,

a fresh coat of paint. All right, let's move along. I've been bugging this man for the past several weeks to come on our program. It was somewhat shocking news just a few weeks back when he announced that he was leaving his UFC commentary position. He is the gold standard when it comes to UFC color analyst work. He is number one by far. It's going to be very hard to surpass the level that he set, the bar that he set. And then just in the middle of the night, like the Baltimore Colts leaving, he just disappeared.

He left us. And we're still missing him. And so I wanted to have him on to at least kind of say goodbye. to us. And so he's here. We have found him. There he is. Brian Stan. Why did you do this to us, Brian? Where did you go? We have much of discuss. First up, can you hear me? Okay. I can hear you just fine and you look great. Okay, good. Look, it's a complicated story. It's just complicated. Before you get into that, Brian, how are you? Everything good? I didn't mean to hit you with the one, two right off of that. Okay. I am well. My family's well. I spent the entire weekend with my kids. And I've been able to do that for several weekends in a row, which doesn't typically happen for me. And that's a big reason why this switch took place. As you know, I love calling fights. And I loved being a sports analyst. I loved my time in college football. And I loved my time calling fights to the UFC. And, you know, for a long time, I thought, hey, this is something I'm going to do.

for the next 15 to 20 years. The difficulty becomes, obviously, is that you're always working the weekends. You know, just for a stateside fight in the country, I would leave on Thursday. I wouldn't come home until Sunday. If I was going on in the country, which I did a lot of international shows, I would leave on a Wednesday. I wouldn't get home until Monday. And so I did 26 shows last year alone.

That's half the weekends. And even if I didn't work a regular job, which I do, even if I didn't work a regular job, that's a lot of time to be away from my family. And as my girls get older, I mean, I'm missing soccer games. I can't coach any of my kids' teams. I'm going to eventually, I'm going to start missing semis, homecomings, proms, things of that nature, if this is my chosen career path. And ultimately, in addition to the time away from family, there's just no guarantees in television, right?

I mean, things can change in the heat of the moment. As you know, I mean, we don't know. network the UFC is going to be on a year and a half. They don't know. They're going to go through those deals. And for guys like me, what happens? I've got three kids and as comfortable and secure as I feel in my abilities as an analyst, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot that's up in the air that's kind of left the chance there. And then really the third reason. And this, this, you know, this would occur to me a lot. As much as I loved calling fights and I thought about my future I'm not building anything.

I'm not leading anything. And I just, I didn't want that to be my career. When I look back at what I've done with the best years of my professional life, I didn't want to just say, man, I called some really great fights. I wanted to do something a little bit more than that. Wow. Wow. Okay.

And I don't think anyone can begrudge you for making the decision that you did. We just miss you. But of course, as I've told you privately, I think everyone, knows that you're headed to bigger and better things. When did you, when did you decide or when did you start to think that, okay, you know, come August or so, I'm going to say goodbye? You know, the August thing was really dependent on the next opportunity that I'm pursuing. It started last spring, I decided to begin applying to a bunch of elite executive MBA programs. And I thought to myself, you know, after seeing Mike Goldberg leave, after seeing, you know,

Kenny Florian kind of, you know, doing some different things, you realize quickly, if they're seeing all the changes at ESPN and all the changes at Fox Sports 1, you start to realize, man, a career in television, there's a lot left up in the air. And just because people love you now at 36 does not mean they're going to love you when you're 45. And so when a bulk of my income is all resting in a fate that I really don't have a lot of control over, I thought, okay, I want to hedge my bets, and I'd like to go back to school. And I think getting an elite MBA would be very beneficial. Obviously, I've had a lot of time leading in the nonprofit sector, but when I speak to people who are in for-profit publicly traded companies, they don't tend

to view my experience with as much respect as I think they should, just because they don't understand how the nonprofit world works. It just simply means nobody owns the company. It's still a regular company just like theirs. So I thought, okay, you know, this, this will be helpful. It'll obviously give me a lot more knowledge. And so I did that. And out of the programs that I, that I applied to, I chose Kellogg. It just seemed to work with my schedule best. And I had a great conversation with Craig Borsari at the UFC. And I felt that he was really, really upfront and honest with me about the unknowns of the television future in terms of what network they may be on. It could be Fox.

It could be a number. It could be split. We don't know. And so there's no guarantee that they can give me right now outside of the fact to tell me, hey, look, we really love your work. We appreciate everything you're doing. And we plan to use you very often. But there's no guarantee there.

They can't give me a guarantee for the next three or four years, like a standard broadcasting contract may be. And so the choice to go to Kellogg was there. And at that time, I had started a lengthy interview process with an incredible company. And as it turned out, in August, I found out that that company was going to send me an offer. And so when that happened, the opportunity was just far too good to pass up. It's an incredible company. It's fast growing.

It's got a great private equity company behind it that I really respect the leadership, the CEO of the company who I'm going to work. directly for is a very, very intelligent man with a lot of experience. He's a great leader. He's someone I'm going to learn a tremendous amount from. And there's an executive team at that company and some hardworking employees that I'm going to learn a lot from. It's an opportunity that I simply can't pass up where I'm going to get the chance to build something in a company that's going to probably triple in size in the next two years. Wow. When you told the UFC, did they try to keep you, did they try to say like you can work four shows, eight shows, we just want you around a little bit?

No, you know, I didn't really give that opportunity. You know, I talked to Zach Candido, who's been phenomenal for me, and he's been great. I learned a lot from him, and I just told him. I didn't call him to negotiate because I didn't think that was right, you know. It's one of those things where I've transitioned a lot in my life, and when you're going to transition away from something that you've really enjoyed that you really know you're going to miss, you got to rip the bandit off. If you slowly peel it, even if the UFC came back and made a great offer, I was still going to sit there after these shows flying home at 4.30 in the morning thinking about all the time I miss with my family thinking, man, this can't last forever. What am I going to do next? And if I try to make this transition when I'm 40 years old, you know, that that's an even longer part in my resume where I'm not in a for-profit company leading as an executive. And that's not what I wanted.

You know, this opportunity is exactly what I was looking for. And I'm going to have a ton of responsibility. I'm going to be extremely busy. And as you know, I like being extremely busy. There's a lot of complexities. There's a lot of problems to solve. I love doing that. And I'm going to be able to do that while also getting my MBA,

my executive MBA from Kellogg at the same time. And it's a great opportunity. And I'll miss the UFC. And I, you know, talk to a lot of people and I'll continue to maintain relationships. Because you just never know. you never know what could happen in the future. When was your last show, the last fight that you called? Mexico City.

So August 5th. Yes. Did you know that you were done? Did you know when you took off the headset that was your last show? I knew in Long Island that it could potentially be my last show. I knew in Long Island that I was going to receive an offer from this company. And then I knew in Mexico City that the offer was coming in a matter of days. And so, but at that point, I didn't know what that offer was going to be.

I didn't know everything and what was going to go into it. And so it was one of those situations where I couldn't just give a warning to the UFC and say, hey, look, I may take this other opportunity. Because as you know, how are they going to trust me going forward? Why would they want to give me more reps than a guy like Cormier or Cruz, you know, if they think I'm looking? it was really had had this opportunity not come to fruition, I probably would still be with the UFC for a couple more years until an opportunity like this came about. This opportunity was the perfect opportunity for me in terms of the leadership at the board level, the CEO that I'm going to work directly for.

I've worked for great leaders in the past. I've worked for bad leaders in the past. I know when I'm working for someone who's special and I feel like I have that in this situation and I know when I'm going to be part of a really good team of really hardworking people are going to make something happen and this is that opportunity. The reason I asked about the last show was because I was wondering if you were at all emotional when you took off the headset or during that main event thinking that this might be at least for now the last time that you call a fight. Yeah, I did. I left the octagon a little bit later

than I normally do. You know, I took, you know, typically when you're done calling a fight, there's a lot of fans there that are waiting and you go through, and you're exhausted, but you go through say hi and greet all the fans, and I sat there and kind of stood there looking at the op-agon. For me, one of the things I've always done, when I left the Marine Corps, it was a really hard decision for me. And again, I ripped it off like a band-a-bend. I didn't do like a slow process. I made my decision, and then I never looked back. Because when you start to look back, a lot of times then you just stay in your comfort zone.

You decide not to make the change. And I would have regretted it. Same thing. When I made my mind that I was going to retire from fighting, as we've seen, it's very hard for fighters to step away from the sport. You miss it. Even after I retired for two years, every day I visualized my comeback fight. I thought about training.

I still trained. Visualized my comeback fight. I'm going to come back. Every time I saw Sean Shelby and John Annick and Joe Silva, John Anick would start matchmaking to see what my comeback fight was going to be. But it just wasn't going to happen. And that's a part of my life. I had to rip it off like a band-aid and say goodbye to and focus on broadcasting, focus on

Higher Heroes USA in that phase of my life. And, you know, this was difficult because, you know, the 48 hours after I made the decision, I made the phone call to the UFC, I started to miss it. It really hit me that this is real. And then I started my first, we have a launch week at Kellogg. And that's the only time you go for a week, the rest. rest are just long weekends and I met my entire class of 56 people and these special human beings from all over the world. They're all brilliant and talented. And I started to communicate

with some of the leadership of the new company that I'm moving over to to start getting some information and lean into that transition. And that helped tremendously and made me realize that I made the right decision for not only for me, but most importantly for my family and their long-term success and me being home. You know, as a parent, we all know, the best things with our families happen on weekends. And as much as I love this sport and I love the athletes, I love the coach that I love calling fights, man,

to sacrifice half the weekends a year away from my kids, I know at 50 years old I would have looked back on that and I would have regretted it bad. What was the reaction like when you put out the news and how did you react to the reaction? You know, it all came out so fast and I spent a couple hours, like three straight hours, looking at the responses, and it was emotional.

You know, to see guys, you know, from champions like Stepe saying goodbye to fighters who I'd only call one fight for, it meant a lot to me. And I love that community. I know what it's like for them and the struggle and how difficult it is, one, just to get to this level and then to stay at this level. And to keep fighting and how much we put into this sport and how much this sport can let you down and how much this sport can lift you up at the same time and we have to deal with all of that. And I hope, you know, I hope I can maintain those relationships. I still plan on

attending several events a year, you know, sit in Cajside and cheering these athletes on. I'll still always be a fan of the sport. But yeah, those couple of days afterwards, you know, it was, it was nice to see that I was able to touch a few people and at least have them appreciate the work I put into representing them on the microphone. There's been a few events since, of course, none bigger than Mayweather-Mogregor. I'm just curious, you talk about the Band-Aid. Like, have you just tried to not watch? Do you want to break from it all?

Or have you been a fan? What has it been like? Man, you know, this weekend was the first time I have not watched a paper view. And I don't know how many years. And part of that was just my wife was out of town. And so I had three kids all to myself. And so it was just, you know, it was. nine, seven, and three are the age of my daughter.

Staying up late Saturday night was just not, it was not on the plans. But, you know, watching Mayweather McGreg was a little bit easier because, you know, it wasn't, I love mixed martial arts. I'm a boxing fan, but I love mixed martial arts. I was, I just sat there really happy for Connor during the whole process because you knew right away after round three that this night was a tremendous success for him and how much money he was going to make and everything else.

And so it's, it would be really tough if I wasn't so busy. You know, I mean, from going back to school and doing the research to lean into this new position, I've kept myself incredibly busy. When, when if things do ever slow down, that's when I may start to reminisce a little bit and miss it. But I've gone through it before. I mean, I missed the Marine Corps. I miss fighting, you know. And so there's been things before that I've transitioned away from.

I miss calling college football. I had a great crew that I called college football with that I got very close with over the course that season that I left after one season just because the UFC made me a much better offer. So I've had to do this before. You know, one of the hardest things about it or the strong relationships you develop. It's no secret. You know, me and John Anick became the best of friends, you know, working together. I've grown close with Todd Grisham. I've grown close to the production staff.

You know, all the guys from Concom. I mean, these are people who sit there. They work very hard. longer hours to make you look good, you know, and to make these athletes look the best they can. And I saw their hard work. And so I'll miss those people. The Kellogg program, how many years is it for? Two years. Twenty-two months, actually. So I'll graduate, not this next spring with the spring after. And that's tied to the new position that you are about to take or have taken. Have you started the new job?

I start on Monday. A week from today? Yeah. Wow. Thank God we got you in when we did. You'd be, because usually we see you from the office, right? From the Higher Heroes office.

Are you still involved with Higher Heroes? Yeah. I am. I am. So we've begun that transition. I've got a great interim CEO who has been my chief operating officer for a while now. He's brilliant. And he's going to compete to be the long-term person.

We're going to do the board. going to do an executive search for my replacement, take some time and find the best candidate. I will transition the next two weeks to the board of directors. And so I will still have a major hand and vote in terms of the strategy and some of the key relationships that we've had to build this company to where it is today and continue to have such a significant impact for military veterans and their spouses and finding real opportunities in post-civilian or post-military employment. So I'll still be very involved there. I'm involved. on the board of a charity called the Guardian Project out of Oakland where it's a martial arts gym

that gives free martial arts as an after school program to needy kids who can't afford it and have nowhere else to go after school and their parents can't afford for after school programs. I mean, it's phenomenal. We could see these kids, not only are they growing in martial arts, but their grades are growing, going up. I mean, it's incredible. And then my wife's foundation, the LRJ Foundation, which helps do education in schools and for faculty on mental health, mental health awareness and just making your mental health

a priority to live a better life, coping with stress, dealing with bullying and anti-bullying, and some of the things that take place today for these young men and women that did not take place when we were kids. So I'll still be very involved philanthropically, but with Higher Heroes USA, obviously, I mean, that's so near and dear to my heart that I'll never leave that. And certainly respect your privacy. If you don't want to go into it, I understand. But could you tell us what the new job is? What could you tell us about what you'll be doing? Yeah, you know, all I'll get into there is it's a large real estate firm. Nationwide, there's a lot of responsibility.

And it's an opportunity where this CEO has been on board for several months now. And he's been brought in to take this company to new heights. And it has already begun. And that's exactly what we're going to do. And so it's a major responsibility. And I'll be the chief operating officer. and I'm super excited for it. It's going to be a lot of responsibility, a lot of hard work,

a lot of great people to work with and learn from, a lot of problems to solve, and I'm really excited for it. It's a type of challenge that has always attracted me, you know, where a lot of people, I know a lot of people thought I was leaving to go be a realtor. It's not the case. There's anything wrong with that.

Right. But this is a much larger opportunity for me. I remember seeing you in the airport in Omaha, Nebraska, that was your first show for Fuel TV. Remember that? That was Jake Ellenberger versus Diego Sanchez around Valentine's Day of 2012.

And I remember I was the backstage guy and I had a horrible night and I remember you killed it. You hit a grand slam and I remember George Greenberg and Dana White coming to speak to you afterwards

and saying like you're the guy and ever since then from that fuel show you essentially became the guy. You like skyrocketed to Fox and things like that. I remember it like it was yesterday and so let me ask you,

favorite fight, favorite night? Is there one that sticks out? One particular fight, one particular moment that you loved as a color analyst? There are a couple. There are a couple. Chad Mendes Josealdo, too, in Rio was unbelievable. It was absolutely amazing. Ewan, you and J. Check, there's Claudia Gedalia, too. was unbelievable and that was the night you know in consecutive nights calling

Hafeel de Sanjo's versus Eddie Alvarez and then Juana versus Claudia 2 was just unreal you know to have those to when that main event

when you want and Claudia were over it was just such an incredible opportunity to be around and do two amazing cards like that two main events it was amazing

amazing so those those are really the three fights that stick out in my head the most, but I've been a part of a lot of them. And if I really sat down and looked, I'm sure I'd be able to add more to that list. I remember that night in Omaha, and you kept saying you blew it.

You totally didn't. You were always so hard on yourself. So hard on yourself. No, I did blow it. I did. Look what happened to me. I got fired five years later, but I still got fired.

And I also must say, they did a great job of making a taboo to be friends with me, midst all the issues, but you always reached out and you always had my back. So it always meant the world to me that, you know, someone of your stature within the Fox family would always do that. So thank you again, as I've told you privately many times. Now, my pleasure, you know, it's the real thing for me and the real truth teller in this industry, the people that truly understand, the most important people in this sport are the

athletes. And when you value them and when you respect them and you work hard to promote them the things that are important to them, those are the people that I always love the most. And you were always one of them. You were always a guy. And anytime you had news, I mean, you knew about my potential departure from the UFC in broadcasting before other people did. And you didn't break that news. You've always respected that. If people don't tell you to break it, even if somebody else did break it, you won't do it. I've always respected that. So now, very, very appreciate that. Thank you. I appreciate it. Well, we're going to miss you, Brian. But I'm happy to hear that

your onto greater things. And I'm just one, I have to ask this on behalf of everyone as I have my American flag here, my adopted home country of America. I mean, are we going for it? 2020? Is it going down? What's the plan? Are you going to save America?

Forget about making it great again. Can you save America? What can you do for us? Well, here's your thing. I am 36, soon to be 37. Yes. And I think that to run for public office, you need to have something to offer. these people. It is about servant leadership, which certainly is not the mindset in Washington

now. But I think this phase of my life needs to be complete. My kids need to be older. And, you know, when I have three teenage daughters, they're going to want me around a little less. So that might be better timing. But I need to understand, you know, I've got some good varied experience in my life. I need to add to that before I really have something to offer the American people and have a well-rounded perspective to lead again. And that time may come. You know, there's an itch there that I have not scratched. But the timing's got to be right. And I think I need to be older. I need to be wiser. I need to have more to offer. Okay. So I'm reminded of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. So you're saying there's a chance. I thought you were going to go a totally

different way with that and make fun of me. And I was like, what did I just walk in? No, no, no, no. That is great. All right, well, we'll let you get through this next chapter. You're just starting a new one. And of course, we're trying to get you out into another one. We're going to miss you. And I think the best thing that we could say to you is essentially thank you. Because, like I said, you have raised the bar. And that's no knock on Joe Rogan.

That's no knock on everyone else. But before, you know, little things like interviewing the athletes before the event just wasn't done. And having information about their camp and having information about their changes and what they've done in this particular fight, wasn't done. And now you see Dominic does it and Daniel does it. And so you raise that bar.

You're the first one to do it. And it's not reinventing the wheel. We see it in the NBA, but just for some reason it wasn't done in our sport. So we owe you a debt of gratitude and the fighters owe you a debt of gratitude for raising that bar and leaving that legacy as you move on to other things.

Well, it's my pleasure. It's got to be treated as a craft. And it's difficult, right? Because Dominic and Daniel still fight. And so I think when those days end, they will really start to see this more as a craft. And the one name that hasn't been brought up has already made that transition. That's Dan Hardy.

Yes. Dan Hardy sees this as a craft. And I hope with my departure, I know it's going to mean more repetitions for Dominic in D.C. Because they're great. And I hope it means more repetitions for Dan Hardy because I think he's fantastic. And I will tell you, he puts in a tremendous effort into what he analyzed as well and puts in a tremendous effort to talk to these fighters. It's tough, right? Because of where he lives, it's not as easy to travel him, right? Coming out of London. But I really, I think, I think I leave you guys in very capable hands with those three. And who knows?

I mean, Paul Feller and Eve Edwards are doing a tremendous job and really just, they're just warming up. They're just getting started. And Dominic and D.C. have barely even started to scratch the surface because, you know, they're still fighting and they haven't gotten that many repetitions. So I think you guys will forget about me soon, which is why I announce. this during Mayweather McGregor. It's why I chose that weekend and I didn't need this to be a big deal. And you never know. I will still be around this sport and still be a massive fan. I'm happy you mentioned Dan Hardy. I would have I would have hated myself if I forgot to mention because I agree he's doing a fantastic job. And in particular that week for Mayweather McGregor, I thought he represented the sport of MMA very well amid some maybe tough circumstances.

He's a pro. He's a pro. And you know what? Before I go, it's interesting. I just, one of the things that we do in this sport, it's unbelievable. Number one, fans need to forget about ranking or this guy is better than that guy. Every analyst has their own strong points, and there's certain fights that they're going to call better than the other guy just because of the timing or whatnot. But for some reason, even more so than the NFL and the NBA, our fans can be so wretched to people in this industry who are calling fights, play-by-play and analysts. And it's really frustrating to sit there and see a guy, you know, like a Todd Brickham or a fellow analyst who I've, you know, done so many studio shows with, just get destroyed by the fans. After they really gave it their best effort, when you have to talk for seven and a half hours on live television, it's not easy. You're going to say some stupid things.

You're going to flub. You're going to forget names. You're going to say names wrong. Trust me when I tell all the fans here. And, you know, look, this isn't because you said that I can take it. right everybody that they have in this industry is trying really hard they're putting in the work and they want to be good there's nobody that's just saying you know what i'm just going to show up and do this they're all putting an effort please remember that when when you decide to communicate

with them um in in a mature manner because we do take feedback very well from fans and we will look into things if it's maturely communicated to us but some of the people to watch some of my friends just look at what fans are saying on social media and see their hearts get broken, that's tough to look at, man. And I think our sport, as much as the fans say, hey, look, it needs to get to this next level of mainstream. Not only is that on the athletes

and the executives at the UFC, it's also on our fans a little bit too. Let's try to be a little bit classier as a sport. Yeah, well said. It is exhausting just watching for seven hours, let alone actually calling the fights for seven hours. I don't know how you guys do it. With very little breaks.

And I think it's the toughest job in sports television calling those fights play by play you have to peak at 1 a.m. You're calling exciting fights at 6 p.m. It's incredible what you guys do. It really is. You're calling two football games. You're exactly right. Football is so much easier than calling fights. College football was a joke in comparison to the difficulty of calling fights. Yeah, you get a halftime break. You get all kinds of perks. Thank you, Brian. Appreciate you coming on. Appreciate you speaking to us. All the best to you in this next venture. all the best to your family. And most importantly, I'd be your misof it. I would say thank you on

the September 11th for everything that you've done for this country as well. So thank you for everything, my man. My pleasure. And hopefully we could still be friends now that you're out of the MMA world. Absolutely. You better stay in touch, Eric. I want to say that I know the president in 20 or so years. So please keep in touch, all right? All right. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you so much, Brian. Brian, Stan, moving on to greener pastures. We wish him nothing but the best. and so happy that he came on the program to talk to us and he will certainly be missed but I certainly think that his legacy will be felt

he raised that bar, he set that bar high now you see with D.C. and Dan Hardy and Dominic Cruz who are doing fantastic jobs. Joe Rogan as well that his legacy is being felt in the way that he went about the job, the research, the professionalism. It's great. So I'm very happy and hopefully

we'll still be hearing from Brian from time to time as he moves on from MMA, at least for now. All right, let's move along. Excited to talk to our next guest. She's one of the rising stars in the women's flyweight division. She does not fight in the UFC. She is not featured on this new season of the Ultimate Fighter in which the UFC is crowning its very first women's flyway champion.

However, she is considered by most pundits, including myself, one of the very best at 125. She is the current reigning, defending LFA flyway champion. and she returns to action in a little less than two weeks. She is Andrea KGB Lee and she joins us via the phone. Andrea, are you there?

I'm here. What happened to Skype, Andrea? I don't know. Like, I've never had this problem before, but we weren't able to connect. And I'm very sad because I was really hoping to see you face to face. Yeah, I'm sad as well,

but I'm happy that you're on the program. It's great to have you. Congrats on all the success. There's much to discuss with you. First things first, as I mentioned, you are considered one of the very best flyways in the world. You certainly are, I mean, anyone's rankings, but you're not on the ultimate fighter. Did you consider going on the ultimate fighter to try to win the UFC belt? Well, we thought about it, you know, long and hard, and we just decided that because I was still kind of injured.

I mean, I had like a back injury in my last fight against with Liz Tracy, and that was, literally like a few days before the tough tryouts. So I didn't think that it was in my best interest to go and try out, you know, like a couple days after my fight and my back is also, you know, kind of injured. So we figured that it would just be better for me to wait and come in the UFC in a more conventional way. And I don't think anyone would begrudge you of that decision, especially when you consider, you know, who are the top fighters at 115 who didn't go in the ultimate fighter, like Joaniahe Chek and Clydea Goodellia, et cetera.

Was it hard for you, though, to pass up that opportunity? It was. And, you know, I was battling with the decision, you know, and I was talking to people trying to, you know, get their opinions on what it is that, you know, they thought that I should do. And I talked to a lot of higher level, you know, like UFC fighters too.

And, you know, I was even told by them that, you know, that I was better off staying out of the house. So, I mean, I think that, we did the right thing. Okay. And how is the back now? You know, I'm happy. I'm back to training hard, and my back is doing a lot better. I still, you know, I mean, it still gets tight and, you know, it gives me trouble some, but I'm able to bend over and touch my toes now completely.

Okay. I'm able to pick up, I'm able to, like, do squats and pick up the, you know, the weights. So I'm happy about that. this is going to be your fourth fight in 2017. You're fighting again on September, what is it, 22nd or is it 23rd? No, it's September 23rd, Invicta. 22nd, LFA 23. That's it.

I got my 20s mixed up. And you were a part of Invicta, but you went to LFA, which is an interesting route because most of the top female fighters are in Invicta. Why did you decide to leave Invicta to go to LFA full time? I have not left Invicta. I'm still contracted with Invicta. You know, Invicta just allows me to fight with LFA. And, you know, since I am their champion, you know, I have to defend my title.

And, you know, we have a good relationship, you know, Invicta and LFA does. I'm actually supposed to be fighting on one of the next LF, not Elf, but one of the next Invicta cards. So I'm excited about that. I've always wanted to... I've had two fights this year for Invicta. You have, but, okay, so most recently was Invicta, but so you kind of go back and forth, right? Yes. Which is interesting.

Not a lot of fighters get to do that. You seem to have a special contract. Yeah, it was just something that we, you know, we agreed to in the very beginning of my contract. And it's just kind of stuck that, you know, since, you know, from the first time that I fought with Invicta, you know, I was juggling between, you know, where it was that I needed to go. and Invicta was where it would be the best option for me because of all the women in Invicta. But Legacy, you know, or now LFA, you know, they come to my hometown and, you know, I'm able to sell a lot of tickets and fight in front of my people. So it's just kind of, it's like a win-win. I get to fight in front of my home crowd and, you know, sell tickets and still get to fight for Invicto, so it's great.

One thing I've always wanted to ask you is where did the KGB nickname come from? I don't think you have any Russian ties, right? Where did this come from this nickname? I have no Russian ties as far as I know. But my husband, who is also my coach, Donnie Aaron, he has thought from the beginning that I looked Russian or had a European descent of some sort. I don't think I do, but he started calling me KGB.

And then everybody else at the gym started picking up on it and calling me KGB, and then it just stuck. Some people like it. people don't like it. But it stuck. So it's my nickname, though. I think it's one of the best nicknames in the sport, especially the logo where we're looking at your logo right now

in one of your recent fights. But I'm wondering if you, I mean, you know, some people get a little sensitive about Russia, especially in this day and age. You get a lot of flak for it? I get some. You know, everybody's sensitive nowadays. But I was, I mean,

I've been KGB for basically seven years now. And seven years ago, I mean, I would have people ask me what KGB meant. Now everybody knows what KGB is again because they're talking about the Russians all the time. So, I mean, like literally seven years ago, it seemed like nobody even knew what KGB was. They had forgotten about it. But now it's a big deal. Did you ever consider, because it's interesting, you rock the KGB logo, but you also rock the cowboy hat. Did you ever consider going full Russian garb walking out?

20-year fights? I think we've made jokes about it, but the cowboy hat is kind of my signature, and that's what everybody knows me as. I mean, you know, the girl with the cowboy hat. Right. I like the juxtaposition. It's odd. It's an odd duo, you know, the cowboy hat and having the whole Russian logo and the name,

so it works. You are also from Atlanta, Texas, not to be confused with Atlanta. Georgia, by far the most famous person to come out of there. Number two, I would argue, would be maybe Ellen DeGeneres. I don't know if people have heard of her. You are infinitely more famous than she is. Did you know, did you know her family? Atlanta, Texas, how many people live in Atlanta, Texas?

I don't know how many people live, you know. I mean, it is a small town. I'm not really sure the population. But I don't know her family. I'm not sure if she still has family there, but my dad did know her. They went to school together. Oh, wow. My dad wasn't a big fan of her, but.

Why? I don't know. I guess he didn't like her jokes. I'm not sure. Wait, was he not a fan of her as a, as a classmate or as a comedian? As a classmate. Wow. He didn't like her jokes back then.

That's fascinating. I wonder why. I don't know. I don't know. He didn't say he didn't like her jokes. I just remember I'm saying they didn't like her too much. Well, maybe she was, you know, maybe she was, maybe she was different back then. I don't know.

Maybe she was rude. I'm not sure. All right. Well, that's interesting. And from what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, you got into martial arts very late in your life. I mean, not late as far as your overall life, but you don't have a background of martial arts. It was around like 1920 that you first got into it? Yes, I was 20 years old.

And how? How did you get into it? It was just something that I had wanted to do growing up, and I wasn't able to because they didn't offer that in Atlanta. So when I moved here after I graduated high school, I started seeing advertisement for it, and I, you know, I moved here at 18, and then a couple years went by, and, you know, I was making enough money. I decided that I was going to go find a gym, and I had friends that were talking about cage fighting, because that was the term they used it, you know, and they're like, oh, I have a cage fight coming up. I'm like, what's cage fighting? I didn't realize that, you know, that he was talking about M&A, you know, like what we, UFC, like what you see on, because I was working at Buffalo Wild Wings.

I'm familiar with UFC, but I hadn't heard the term cage fight at that time. And I just thought, wow, that's cool. I want to do that because, you know, I've always wanted to do some boxing or kickboxing or something. And then I just looked for a gym and I found Donnie Aaron. You know, at then it was hard to find somebody who was going to take a, female serious because there wasn't really a whole lot of females like fighting it seemed um but yeah i found dying he took me serious and he got me started and here i am you know eight years later how did your how did your family react when you decided you want to do this as a professional oh they were

they were my dad was really worried though he's like my biggest fan now but he was all worried about me getting hurt you know and you know they of course they'd all say why would you want to mess up your pretty face, you know, the usual. But now they're all on board and they all support me. And do you do this full time? I do. While raising a daughter. Yes, but we have good family support. Donnie, his mom and sister, they help out a lot. They help out like so much. It's crazy how much they help.

And so, I mean, I have to, with Ainsley, you know, she, she's with them a lot, and then she's with us, but it's like she goes back and forth, you know, because, like, I'm having to train twice a day. She's with us, like, you know, four days out of the week, and then she's with them, like, three days out of the week, and, you know, so it's tough, you know, I've got to make, but I get to see her more than most working parents, so.

How would you feel if she told you in around 10 or so years that she wanted to be a women's MMA fighter like her mom? I would be happy, you know. I mean, like, we, she does train with me and, and, uh, Donnie. We work with her and we, she's been really into the whole kickboxing part. She hasn't really got into jiu-jitsu yet, but, uh, we've worked with her on it. And she, I think she's, she's, she's coming around, you know, she's, she's starting to like the whole thing. But I think that if she came to me and said that with something that she wanted to do, I would support her, 100%.

But if it's not something she wants to do, then I'd still support her and whatever else it is that she wants to do. Do you let her come to your fights? Oh, she loves coming to my fight. As long as it's not 21 and up, she's always there. And this fight happens to be 21 and up. And just the other day, she was begging me. That is funny. She's like, Mom, she's like, I want to go to your fight at the horseshoe.

And she thinks there's going to be horses there because it's a horse shoe. But I told her, I'm like, it's 21 and up. She's like, what's that man? I was like, it means you're not old enough. you have to be 21 years of age or older. She said, well, you can make them. Sounds like, what do you mean? Oh, my gosh.

You just, you could, yeah, she's like, you just beat them up. Wow. How old is she? Oh, you want me to. She's six. Oh, my gosh. And this next fight is taking place at a casino, right, in Bojure City. So that's why she can't, she can't attend.

Yeah. It's sad, yes. But it's a bummer. Are you an act? You and your family, do you live on a farm? Are you an actual cowboy or do you just like wearing the hats? Or a cowgirl, I should say. Well, I've always, I mean, I've always, you know,

I like wearing cowboy hats and I've always grown up with a bunch of animals. I mean, I've had, growing up, you know, my family had farm animals. I never had horses, but, you know, we had like cows and goats and rabbits. And it's weird. But we had chickens and, other strange animals like emus and pheasants and pigs. But now, you know, as an adult, I do not have any farm animals. All I have is a dog.

But my husband's family, they're all big into rodeo, and they're all ropers or they do something that has to do with the radio. His actually, my husband's uncle is in the rodeo hall of fame. Oh, wow. What's his name? Dennis Aaron. and he's in there for, I want to say, roping. The Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Wow. I'd even know that existed. That's incredible. Perhaps in 10, 15 years, you'll be in the MMA Hall of Fame if there is one of those. And it has been a good road for you, although last year was a bit of a bumpy time when you were suspended. Can you talk about that? Did you, in fact, knowingly take a diuretic? What happened there?

Well, I took half of a diuretic because I was, I was feeling really bloated and I was stressing out and I didn't think that I was going to be able to like cut that that little bit of weight. I don't know. I didn't think, you know, I wasn't really thinking about it being like a drug or, you know, I wasn't thinking about it being on the band substance list or anything like that because I wasn't, I'm not, you know, then I wasn't familiar with the whole Yasada band. substance list and yeah, I took

half of a pill to flesh out the last little bit of water in my system and I got suspended but I haven't done that again I've gotten better with my diet so Was that difficult for you?

Because, you know, initially people say, oh, you're a cheater, you're taking steroids, they don't really read what the actual infraction was. Was that a difficult time for you? Yeah, it was because I don't take steroids and never have and I had no idea that people used

fluid pills for steroids. I had no, I was, I was confused on why it would be you know, on a ban substance list when you can buy them over the counter, you know, but the

then I looked it up online and read that, you know, people use them to to flush out their system. But, I mean, you gotta think, like, I mean, I used half of, I was like, you know, it was a day or two days before weigh in, something like that. I mean, by then I don't have anything,

I don't have that much water to flush out of my system. So, I mean, like, if I was on steroids, it totally would have showed up in my system. Okay. Like, is what I think, because, I mean, I only had, like, a little bit to pee out. I was like, it was like two pounds or three pounds or something like that. but anyways, I don't take them now

and I'm not going to. I've got a good dot now, so I'm doing good. Yeah, and you're on a roll. You've won your last three in a row. Like I said, you return to action in a little less than two weeks, September 22nd, to be exact, on Access TV. You're fighting in the co-main event of LFA 23.

You're fighting young woman by the name of Jamie Thornton. Are you getting heat for this matchup? I saw you sort of defending yourself on Twitter, are people saying that this is an incredible opponent for you? You never know what you're going to get. I mean, like, you haven't heard a whole lot about her.

You know, she's not been in the light, you know, for MMA. And, I mean, I think she's four and two and four of her wins have come by finish in the first round. So, I mean, she can be dangerous. But, you know, a lot of people are saying, you know, she's

not a tough opponent for me and that I need to be facing somebody on a higher caliber. And I understand that, but I mean, we had, we had a really good opponent. And, you know, I mean, Karina Dam, she was, she's like 25 and I'm not

even sure how many losses she has, but she has like 25 wins under her belt. She's, you know, she was supposed to be the one I'm fighting, but she fought a couple weekends ago and she fought to a decision she got too banged up and she had to pull out. So then that left us looking for opponents and they asked multiple females, you know, they asked multiple fighters, but a lot of

them were either contracted or the money wasn't right or they needed more time to prepare for the fight. So I mean, everybody, there was always a reason. And then Jamie Thornton, which was probably one of the last ones that they asked, she took it. And I'm just happy to have an opponent because this happened to me in my last fight, sort of, but the girl couldn't get a visa and then they couldn't find me an opponent. So I'm just happy to have an opponent. I'm happy to be making some money. Yes, of course. And are you hoping that this fight lines you up with the next one being in the UFC? Is that the plan? I don't know. I don't know really. I mean, like I said, I am planning on fighting again with Invicta on their own or their next event. And,

And, you know, and then if I haven't been called to the UFC by then, then, you know, either I'll be fighting again for LSA to defend my title or maybe I'll get another fight with Invicta, whichever one comes first. You know, we're just, we're playing it by ear. All right. Have you watched the ultimate fighter thus far? Are you impressed with the talent? I have watched it. And, you know, there's some females on there that I have not heard about. So I'm interested in seeing what it is that they have to bring to.

the table. And then the ones that I, you know, I am familiar with, you know, like Barb Pontchak, Roxanne, Leslie, no, who is he, who's the, well, and I've also fought a couple of the girls that are on there, and I have beaten them. But, you know, I'm impressed with, you know, the top five, six girls. Okay, fair enough. By the way, your knockout back in January, I think, a contender for one of the best of the year. And that kind of started to Yeah, it was fantastic. And especially considering, you know, a little bit of a layoff, I thought it was a really impressive showing. And you've been very active this year.

And something tells me we'll be seeing you in the UFC as they open up this flyweight division sooner rather than later. So I want to wish you the best. Good luck to you on September 22nd. It was great to have you on the program. Next time we'll have you on via Skype so we can see the hat and everything that goes with it. But great to meet you. I had my hat ready. Oh, gosh.

We blew it. We absolutely blew it. Dang it. Next time for sure, though. It is a deal. Thank you, Andrea. All the best to you in a couple of weeks. And again,

congrats on your success as far in MMA. Thank you, Ariel. All right. I can't wait to talk to you again. All right. Same here. Looking forward to it.

There she is. Andrea KGB Lee. No Russian ties. Just looks like someone of Russian descent. We've cleared it up. She returns to action on September 22nd LFA 23 on Access TV, defending her LFA flyway

title against Jamie Thornton. All right, great stuff from her. Let's move along now. The UFC is back. No rest for them. They're back this Saturday in Pittsburgh. Co-main event is Tiago Alvese versus Mike Platinum Perry. And how about this? Mike Perry joining us via the magic of Skype for the first time. There he is. Mike Perry. How are you? I'm good, man. How are you, Ariel? And I must say, Mike, this is fantastic Skype connection that you've got here. Are you in the hotel? Yeah, I am, man. I'll show you the view before before we get off, but I just got the phone all set up in this position, so the lighting was good, so you can see me, man. This is phenomenal. Nothing gets me more excited in life than good Skype connection, Mike, so I have to say I appreciate this greatly. This great. And you are in Pittsburgh, correct?

Yeah, man. How are things back home in Florida? The Westin. How are things back home in Florida? Not that good. Okay. Yeah, not very good, I guess. You know, Naples got hit pretty hard. Back where I live, I'm in central Florida. A lot of. of trees, a lot of power lines, powers out. About six and a half million people lost power. And, but, you know, we got out of there early. My family's okay. Everybody was texting all night. And it's just a lot of them are out of power. My mom actually still has power. So that's good. Oh, wow. So, you know, shout out to Florida. Everybody rebuilding back home. Everyone's got a good attitude about it, you know, as Floridians, even. know I'm not born and bred, but I did a lot of time in Florida.

So my boys down there are different. They be out there surfing in the hurricane and stuff. Come on. You know, they're a little different. Your friends were surfing yesterday? I mean, yeah, man. People were out there fishing, surfing, out in the hurricane, kite, kite boarding, and all type of stuff.

My boy was flying a kite in Miami. Would you have done that if you were there? Are you that kind of guy? I don't like sharks and stuff in D.E. water because I'm not the strongest swimmer, but I would have probably done something stupid. Wow. Did you leave early because of the hurricane to avoid the hurricane? Yeah, UFC called and said, you know, they were concerned for the flights and things like that because I think airports got shut down. Yeah. So they wanted to get me out early. So me and my

girl took a little road trip, drove up to North Carolina, went to go see her parents, trapped off our three dogs. They're watching the dogs for us now, and then flew up from North Carolina. We've been here since Friday in Pittsburgh. The interesting thing is a colleague of mine, Guillermo Cruz, spoke to Tiago Alvese, who said that he wasn't leaving early,

that he was going to ride it out. Are you worried that he's not going to be able to make it to Pittsburgh? No, he'll get here. They're all right. Miami, it kind of went around Miami a little bit. You know, they got some rain and stuff on the, outside, but, you know, Naples really got it the worst. Okay.

And, you know, I was, I was shocked, man. I seen these videos of the water in Tampa Bay and all these bays. The water was just being dragged away. The ocean was dry. And, like, I just, I'd never seen anything like that, man. It's really shocking. It is crazy. Yeah, I hope he gets out there.

Has it been hard for you to focus? I mean, because, like, I, I, I, have no ties to Florida, but I feel like nervous for the people of Florida. That's your home. It hasn't been hard for it. Have you been thinking about it a lot? I mean, yeah, I think about it a lot. It's, it's more interesting. Like, you know, and I hope everybody's all right and stuff like that, but the water disappeared. And I'm just over here, like reading all these posts and memes about the end of the world and how H-A-A-R-P had made the hurricanes and global warming. And I'm like, man, what the heck?

Man, what's going on out here? But I got to do what I got to do. I'm training. I'm in fantastic shape. That's why I ain't got no shirt on, man. Oh, damn. You know, who needs a shirt when you look this good? I'm down to like 175 right now.

I got five pounds to go. I had a great breakfast. I'm going to go eat after this interview. I mean, I hate to sound selfish, but I'm not in the danger zone right now. I'm up here in Pittsburgh. We're totally safe. It's time to go to work. Sure.

You know, Tiago had to stay behind and help. his family and make sure everybody was okay and things like that. That's what he had to do. That, you know, he'll get here. I'm sure he's a fighter. He's a survivor. I'm sure he'll make it, but he ain't going to survive Saturday night. Let me tell you, I do this show without a shirt if I look that good, so I fully understand where you're coming from. I mean, yeah, I don't doubt it. Let me ask you, though, speaking of feeling good in your health, you were going through some health problems recently, right? Yeah.

What happened? I was in a car accident and I got a couple herniated discs in my back and something happened in the car accident and I possibly ingested a piece of metal and I didn't know about it for a couple of days. I was going to training and like I had a guy, a friend of mine pressed me up against the fence and he. He put his shoulder in my stomach, and he pressed in, and he's like 6-4, 6-5, so when he really leaned in, he's got good leverage. And I thought, you know, I didn't think nothing of it.

And there was just a sharp pain in my stomach, and I just, I pulled guard and went to the ground. And I was like, wow, man, good job, dude. That was a lot of pressure. That was, you know, that took a lot of energy out of me. This was a while back. And, but turns out, and that same night, it was. It was a Saturday. We were training and sparring.

That same night, I had a platinum party. It was kind of a victory party from the fight in Nashville on April 22nd. And I took a shot of some alcohol that night. And then after I took that one shot, I was like, whoa, man, I had to hold face because everybody was there at the platinum party. You know what I mean? So I had to show, you know, like cool face with everybody. But I was dying on the inside. And I went to the doctor the next day or the day after and they did, they ran some tests and stuff like that.

And they were like, did you eat a coin? Did you ingested a piece of metal or something? Wow. And like I was, I was vomiting blood for a couple of days. And I had to go see you. I had to go get a colon, or not a colonizer, whatever, they stick a camera down your throat to see what's going on. and I beat up my insides with that piece of metal to cut me up and stuff. And it just, it took a while to really get back to eating food.

And my weight was low because, like, I just wasn't, I didn't have an appetite because all the pain that I went through. It was pretty severe, man. And it's wild that as healthy as I am and as I was and all the exercise and all the clean eating. eating. It's just like that. I almost didn't make it. Wow. That's how I felt. And listen, for me to be in the

bathroom, you know, getting sick, and my girl said, we should go to the hospital. The first thing I said, no, I don't do that. That's not something I do. I don't go to the doctors until the UFC makes me to get tested for these fights. But I was like,

you know, she asked me like four or five times. And then finally, I was like, Yeah, let's go. I might not make it. Let's go. Wow, you thought you might not make it? But I'm through that. I really didn't think I was going to make it, man. I was dying, literally dying. But we're good now.

I'm through, I'm in the best shape of my life. I'm stronger and better than I've ever been. I'm so fast. I'm so ready for this. I can't wait for Saturday. So when was the car accident? May 25th. Oh, wow, that's not that long ago.

No. And did you find out, like, how bad was the accident that you actually ingested metal and didn't recall? You know, accidents are tricky, man. You know, something like that, especially a tough guy like me, like I'm feeling pain. Like, the two herniated discs in my back, it was a mix of a piece of metal in my stomach. and herniated discs in my back causing nausea, and I couldn't decipher the two until they told me about both. And then I started realizing the differences in my body between back and stomach,

where the pain was really coming from, and it was coming from both places. But, I mean, I know I'm better now. My appetite's normal, and I'm just grateful, man. I'm thankful. What kind of accident was it? Can't say much else. Did someone... Oh, we were stopped at a light,

waiting to turn, and we got rear-ended by some kid, probably texting or something, and he hit us pretty hard. Like, my head was off of my seat rest, so, like, I got hit by the seat rest. My head went back, boom, and... Oh, no. You know, I got had some headaches from the car accident

for a couple of weeks, but wasn't really paying attention to none of this stuff. It was, it was like, oh, it'll go away, or it's just pain from training, or I'm just sore, or I'm just, I'm tired or something, you know, but it was every day, I was tired, I was exhausted. I was, I wasn't hungry. It was weird, man. Wow. But it made me stronger mentally. And did you find out what you ingested? Like, what exactly it was? No. No, I had no idea. Wow. It passed and I missed it. We tried to look for it.

Like, I wasn't digging through shit, but like we were hoping to hear something. Yeah. And we never did. So you just, Pat, you went to the restroom one day and started to feel better? Yeah, I thought that, you know, I was thinking so highly of myself that I created a piece of platinum inside of my stomach and it hurt me. Wow. I hurt myself. It's fitting, given your nickname.

I'll tell that to the insurance companies. I'm pretty sure that it happened in the accident. Okay. One day I was healthy, superhero platinum Mike Perry, and it's Platinum Mike Perry, by the way, Ariel, not like Platinum Perry. My bet. My bet.

But, and then the next day, I'm almost dead. So, you know, there's a car accident. Yeah. By the way, what is a platinum party? We went to the club, maybe we just, it was my party. It was a party for me. Okay. Club paid me to show up.

Oh, nice. And we invited a bunch of people out and they showed up to have a good time with me. And I couldn't even really have a good time. I was dying. So this is kind of like a staple of your victory parties. You call them the platinum parties. You have big bashes after you win a fight. Yeah.

All right. That was actually the first one. Okay. We were done before. We're trying to find other ways. We're trying to find other ways to get money when the fight's not here. Oh, you get like an appearance fee. I like it.

By the way, how do you feel this is interesting because both you and Tiago are represented by the same management team, first round management. What's that like for you? Yeah. You know, I mean, it ain't nothing. I was like, I told my manager and his brother, it's Abraham and Malky. Yeah. And I was like, man, why wouldn't y'all want us to fight? Because Malky was like, why would we accept the fight with you, Mike?

I was like, because you're going to get paid double. Like, why wouldn't you want that? There's another guy that got that everybody wants us to fight is Moss Fidel. A lot of people want that fight to go down. I like that guy too, but, you know, it is what it is. It's the fight business. It's business, baby. I'm the best.

I'm going to keep proving that. So the better they are, I'm coming for them. I get the impression that Abraham is team platinum and Maliki is team Tiago. No, you can't say that. We're not going to say that at all. I mean, I don't know Malki at all. So he's probably Team Tiago. That's right.

But Abe knows both of us. Okay, fair enough. And he's with both of us. He's cordial men, we're just, we're both cool with him. Okay, okay. I don't want to start any drama within the team. You know, it's not. often that you see this type of situation, especially in a high-profile fight.

And you were campaigning for a lot of people. You wanted to, I mean, you're very active on social media as far as saying who you want to fight. Were you happy with the Tiago fight? Was this, in your opinion, a nice step up from the last fight, proper progression in your career? Yeah, I think this is, it's not about the progression in my career for me. I think the fight night itself, it doesn't matter who it is. that's going to progress my career because I'm going to show up, I'm going to perform, I'm going to entertain, I'm always going to be entertaining. And Tiago just happens to be, to me and to many other people, the legend, the champ causing the original welterweight.

And, you know, that's what he is, man. Tiago's a beast. And I get to prove more and more each time, I mean, the opponents keep getting better. And after I smash him, you know, we're talking, I should get a top five opponent. What's the name? Kobe Covington, number 16, he got number one, number two, or number three, wherever Monspeed all is now. Maya, or not Monspeed all, but Damien Maya, he's fighting Damien, Maya, I should get a top five. People want to see me and Robbie Lawler. People want to see me and Donald Soroni.

Neo Magnet just got smashed by D'Ossanos. D'Oseos ain't no real welterweight, man. And he beat a stick figure. But I said one Brazilian at a time. That's right. I saw you say that on Twitter. Were you impressed with RDA on Saturday? He did a good job against a little stick figure.

He got him down with the leg kick and just stayed on tight, smashed him, man. What can I say? He did a good job. But that wouldn't go that way with me. What did you think of Woodley's last fight against Maya? I thought it was championship. performance. I think they did a great job. Everybody hates on him. I think that's

what they're supposed to do. I think they're supposed to hate on T. Woodley. That's who T. Woodley has become this hated figure as a champion who just fights smart. People mad how smart he is. I like the champ. He's a good guy. I've talked to him a few times.

He knows there's a possibility one day we're going to fight. You know, but it is what it is. Like I said, it's the fight business. And, you know, he ain't going to have that clean performance against me. Because Damien Maher, he can't throw in a punch. He couldn't punch his way out of a wet paper bag.

He grabbed him. He ain't had no wrestling to take him down. He just grabs people, takes the back, and hugs on tight. Mosby Dogg did a fantastic job of defending that he just couldn't get him off his back. He couldn't keep him off. T. Woodley's an amazing wrestler. And it was way too strong. Simple stuff.

I'm learning from watching now. I'm going to keep it all up here for the future. Yeah, yeah. Don't let too much out. By the way, you and Ari Emanuel, you guys still keep in touch from when you got together at the retreat? Oh, no, man.

He don't talk to me. But he said he was going to be in my next fight. So I hope to see him this week. In Pittsburgh, let's see it. You think he'll be there? Yeah, man. I have no idea. I can't say he's probably got a billion other

billionaire things to do. Apparently he made a strong impression on you because it seemed like you remembered who he was. Ari Emanuel, remember the name. Well, I do want to say that when you said his name just now, I was like, who is that? Who is that guy? Oh, and then I was like, oh, the guy who bought the joint. That's right. By the way, it just occurred to me, Platinum Perry, ingested metal, you're fighting in Steel Town.

Did you know that Pittsburgh was Steeltown? That's its nickname. It's all coming together for you. I love stuff like that. That is wild. I love stuff like that. See, I'm about to be 11 and 1. And all training camp, I've been eating this food.

Shoutout Fit Meals that got my boy Demetrius and Daytona, Florida, who gives me meals and stuff like that. I warm them up 1-1-1 on the microwave. I just see all types of coincidences like that, the number 11 and all types of things. So now that you said that, platinum and I'm in Steel City and things like that, that's cool, man. Did you know that it was called Steeltown, that that was Pittsburgh's nickname? Unbelievable. I did. I did because the Steelers, you know.

If they're playing next week, man, or this week, I hope to go watch. I don't know if they are, I know. Oh, wow. It's all coming up platinum. Hey, let's get my bank account platinum. That's right. piece of platinum. That's just expensive. Okay, so the plan is...

Connor McGregor just bought a $12 million yacht. I got work to do, baby. I got a catch up. That's right. That's right. But you've got time. Trying to get that fight. That's the one you want. That's the dream fight. Of course, for everyone. I'd cut the 55 for that one. That's right. By the way, the first time that we actually get to...

The only one I'm cut. First time we get to do a Skype interview. What is this here under your... left eye. Is that another tattoo? Yeah, you never seen that, man? I never saw it. I know. Is that a new one? No, I's been there. I got these three at the same time. Oh, okay. This is my little

emblem I came up with. Oh, I like it. PP, yeah, PP. Yeah, PP is a little split spade. You got those all... I got a patent on that. All three at the same time? Yes. Damn. Any more planned? look with my boy down and for them.

Any more plan? On the face? Yeah. Or like anywhere. No, on the face. The face is the unique part of the body. I don't know. I think I might need one like right here.

Right there. Like a little phrase or something. Okay. Just a little tiny, like the cross. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Subtle. Anything come to mind? Subtle.

Not yet. God will tell me what to do. All right. We're going to leave it at that. Mike, great stuff. I think we have... I appreciate you. I think we need to set a rule that you can't come on this show unless it's on

Skype from now on, all right? It just changes everything. Hey, you want the view? Oh yeah, yeah, let's see the view. And look, there's the... Oh, hello. That's my view. Wow, what a lucky man.

What a lucky man. Well done. Well done, Mike. Hey, follow her on... Follow us on Instagram at Platinum Princess Official and Platinum Mike Perry. Check out the view. Damn, Steel City. Beautiful out here, man.

Representing. They need to wash those windows. I'm up here. Yeah. You're doing well, Mike. Proud of you. Yeah, I'm doing all right, man. Feeling pretty good.

I appreciate you talking with me today, man. Look forward to entertaining you guys Saturday night. What else can I say, bro? Just get ready for fireworks. Can't wait. Keep doing you, my man. All the best to you and your better half over there. I didn't know that we had company.

I would have said hello earlier. but all the best to you guys. Hello, there she is. Is that, is that a piercing right over there? She can't hear you. Oh, okay, that's right. All right. Is that, does she have a piercing on her cheek? You need to get that beat's concept. No, she doesn't have a piercing man. She has the beauty mark of Marilyn Monroe. Oh, there it is. There it is. Well done. Well done. All right. Well, best of luck to you guys. We're looking forward to Saturday. Thank you for the time, Mike. Appreciate it. Good luck. Thanks, bro. All right, there he is. Mike Perry stopping by.

All right, great stuff there from Mike Perry. That's the co-main event on Saturday. Now in the main event, it's Luke Rockhold versus David Branch. A very interesting fight in the middleweight division. Love this fight when it was announced. Kind of reminds me a little bit of the Darren Till versus Donald Soroni fight. In some respects, not completely the same. But we are pleased to be joined now by the one and only David Branch, who joins us via the phone.

David, are you there? Yeah, I am. How are you? I'm very good. I'm happy that you're on the program I was afraid that you weren't going to come on I get the sense that you're not happy with me David Is that accurate

It's not that I'm not happy with you I just don't deal with a lot of people like you You know what I mean on a daily basis I try to stay away from that You're a very sarcastic dude You know you got you you're worried about your show You know what I mean And you do what you got to do to sell your shit

You know like I'm a businessman I understand the nature of business I'm not like you're normal Lumbering fucking idiot That puts on a pair of four ounce gloves and swings you know, so I get a lot of shit, you know, I can see a lot of what goes on. Why do you say some sarcastic? Why do you think I'm sarcastic and don't have respect? I mean, I didn't say that you didn't have respect. I mean, like, that's up to you.

I mean, like, I just think that, like, you know, you're media, you know, you do what you have to do, you know. Like, this is the way that it's always going to be between athletes and media or fighters and media. You know, you guys are always going to have strong opinions, but don't know shit about fighting, really. And, you know, that's just the way it goes. You know, people give you, you know, people value your opinions because, you know, you're able to talk to the fighters and create stories, you know. So that's just the way it goes, you know. I got this. I think that the last time that we talked, I told you a life story, you know, like that was like, you know, you asked me how I started fighting and stuff like that.

And, you know, I just noticed the way that you headlined it, you know what I mean? You know, you talked about, you know, you headlined with crackheads and chicken. But like, you know, that wasn't the moral of my story. The moral of my story was, it's like, you know, I was able to get, like, rescue or like, if you were, like, if you. would have you like, you know, some kind of divine intervention or some kind of intervention from a guy who was just out on his luck, you know what I mean? And it's just very amazing the way, like a lot of media, like, you know, what they use the headline depending on what you tell them. No, I agree with that. And I take full responsibility for that, even though I did not

write that article. It is on my site and, you know, I consider myself to a certain degree maybe the face of the site, but I just want to make clear that I did not write that or write that headline, but I'll still take responsibility because it was my interview. And I'm sorry that you feel that way about it. I got the sense, though, even after that, that we were... It's cool, man. It's cool. I know the nature of the beast, man. We can just get on with the show, you know.

I get it. You don't even have to go on into a personal thing. You understand what you do, and I understand what I do. Very clearly. You're very intelligent, man. I am, too. You know, we don't have to go back and forth. No, no, but I think it's interesting because after my interview with Luke

Rockhold, I got the sense... That's when I really got the sense you were upset because you posted that video. And I wasn't sure if you were referring to me as a punk ass or Luke as a punk ass. So I wanted to clear that up and try to clear the air with you Because I do have a lot of respect for you You've done a lot in the sport Right, I mean like you know I was referring to Luke

And when I referred to you I said you know on your boyfriend show I didn't really listen to it But people were telling me how much you are admiring his eyes And like you know Talking about like his features and things like that Mine it was natural It wasn't something that was premeditated

I usually am a kind of guy that speaks from the heart I don't sit down and salt And think about what I'm going to say it just comes right off and rolls off. Fair enough. But we're cool then, right? I mean, I feel like that, because you're on the show,

that's kind of a symbol of the olive branch. Like, we're on pretty good terms. Is that fair to say? Hey, man, we're on pretty good terms. I don't hate you. I understand the nature of the beach just like you understand it, and the show goes on, man, you know?

Okay. Regardless of what I think or not. You know, like I said, we don't have to go back and forth. We can talk about what's pressing, you know, and what's pressing is this fight. Yeah. This is a big opportunity for you.

What was your reaction, David, when you found out that they were giving you Luke Rockhold next in the main event? I jumped up and down like a wild ending. No, I just, this is something that I wanted. I'm a big game hunter, you know. I like to get up for big fights. I like getting up from fights that seems that are challenging. I like when people think I don't, I'm not going to win, you know. I've been in a situation many times.

I believe the last time I talked to you, it was the Yushin Okami fight, you know, and everybody was like, this fucking guy's not going to beat this guy. And I told you I was going to beat him. Yes. I told you I was going to knock him out, you know, and that's exactly what I did, you know. So, I mean, I've been in this situation before. It's just another day in the office for me. This is my 25th fight.

If I don't got my faculties together upstairs mentally or physically by this point in my fucking career, I might as well hang him up, you know, exactly what I got to do. And I understand the things that I need to be, you know, be mindful of. I'm not going to be, you know, retarded and just go in there and rush at him, like, you know, recklessly. But I understand what it is that I got to do. and how to get the job in. And by the way, we actually spoke in Dallas after your last win in the UFC.

So, lest you forget that we spoke not that long ago. And is it fair to say, though, David, that you were a little disappointed. You seemed in the moment down, but afterwards, did you change your stance on the fight over Jodko? No, man. I was still disappointed.

I was still disappointed, but then I took it for what it was and I won. I was happy that I won, obviously. You know, you lose. If you go out there and you, you're the most exciting fighter of the night and you lose, guess what, Ariel? Me and you know you get half a fucking check.

Unless you got some kind of special deal with your pay, you still get half a check. So, you know, you get a pat on the back for being exciting, but, you know, you're getting half your fucking money. That's right. And that's not fucking good business for me. You know, as far as that fight goes, you know, yeah, I wanted to finish that kid, you know.

I don't, you know, I didn't expect anything else. I think that, like, what my skill said I wanted to when I got in there, you know he presented a lot of more problems than I anticipated and the way that I trained for him was so specific and I didn't I didn't I didn't train for him in a varied amount of ways like I did for Luke so to where if one thing went wrong I can just you know adapt to something else I had to adapt on the fly in that fight and I was able to but that kid's tough you know he's going to be around for a wall he knows how to win when Luke was on the show around a month ago he said that he thinks that you question yourself a lot, that at this level, he said, quote, you can't question

yourself, quote, I'm going to eat him up, I'm going to push him to that breaking point. He's going to feel the pressure. He can't keep up with me. What do you make of these comments? He says, and he continued to say that he thinks that you doubt yourself, that you question yourself throughout the fight. What do you make of that? That's kind of a specific thing to say about your opponent, right? Yeah, I mean, I do doubt myself sometimes. You know what I doubt Ariel? I doubt like sometimes like I sit there and I'm such an analytical person that like when I get into these fights sometimes I make it a chess match when sometimes I don't have to be I also have like another side of me and that it comes out in some fights at certain times you know that you know sometimes I just need

to just go out there and just kill somebody you know what I mean so sometimes I just got and I just got to let it go and blank out but sometimes my carefulness makes me follow game plan strategy those kind of things, you know. But as far as doubt in my abilities and my conviction and my techniques, I mean, I don't think so at all, man. And, you know, this kid's got to tell herself whatever he's got to tell himself to get himself up.

He can think what he wants to think, but he's going to feel it, you know, when we get in there. I mean, I'm going to meet him in there, and we're going to fight. You know what I mean? This is happening. You know, I know he's nice and tucked away in Pittsburgh right now. You know, I feel bad for all of the people

who are suffering from Hurricane Irma. And I know they, that they were able to get him and a few of the guys that are fighting on that card out of Florida in time. And I'm glad because that was my only concern. I just wanted to make sure that he was nice and safe and that he doesn't have any injuries. You know, I don't want to hear any excuses from this kid after I do what I do to him. Because this is, you know, it's not personal, you know. It's just business. It's just business.

It's not personal. But I don't want to hear no excuses. I don't want to hear, you know, I took too much of this or like it wasn't enough of this. So I didn't take him serious. I didn't do this, you know what I mean? Like, I'm letting him know that I'm a dangerous motherfucker to get in that way, you know? So please take me serious. So when you go in there, give me an A game, I want you to fight the best and the hardest that you can fight.

I want you to kick at me and punch at me the hardest that you can. I want you to try to... I want you to pull your A game out in wrestling, submission, whatever you got to do. I want you to do the best of it and do the most of it because I don't want to hear no excuses. What do you make of Luke at this point in his career? because he hasn't fought since losing that fight to Bisping a year and a half ago, and we weren't quite sure when he would come back, how he would come back, how he would look. It's always interesting to see a guy after he loses the belt,

and especially in that fashion how he responds. It's been so long. What do you make of him at this point? What do you think you're going to see from him on Saturday? I mean, he's going to come out and try to establish his dominance. You know, he's going to try to run his alpha-mail shit on me, you know, and I'm going to shut that shit down, obviously. But, like, you know, I think that in that fight with Bisping, the motherfucker's slipped up, you know?

you can't go out there and take anybody lightly. See, that's the thing with me. You know, I come from a different background than Luke, and I don't have that kind of indoctrination that he has, you know? I come from the fucking streets, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, with me, I don't take anybody lightly. You know, Ariel Hwani?

If they put you with a pair of gloves in there, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to fucking train for you, you know what I mean? I'm going to train for you just same way I train with for Luke Rockold or any other fight because you're a fucking man, you know what I mean? And you got the capability to fucking hurt somebody if you get angry enough, you know? So, like, you know, that's what I think of him. You know, I think that, you know, he's a tough opponent. You know what I mean? Like, you know,

I respect him enough to have trained for him the way that I trained for him. And that's, that's about the most respect that this motherfucker is going to get from me. He's not getting no more respect. I've already given him enough enough respect by training him, training for him as hard as I have, you know? That is respect enough. That is respect enough. You know, when I go in there, I'm going to be very, very disrespectful to him. This is your 25th pro fight. None bigger than this one. Do you feel like it's all coming together for you here?

Like it all led to this moment? It really is. And I feel like my first fight back in the UFC was almost like a, it's similar to like my fish tank. I have a very aggressive fish tank, a really big fish tank. And usually when I put a new predator fish in there, a new cichlet fish, you know, it's, on paper, it's supposed to be able to match it with the rest of the fish that are in there. but it goes through an acclamation point where it needs to take a day to acclimate

and sometimes you see the fish breathing heavy. It's not its normal self. When you wake up the next day, you see the fucking fish that you thought was going to die and not make it chasing the other fucking fish around, you know?

So that's what I needed to go through in the UFC is like a new set of staff, a new set of media people, you know, the new new ring announcer, you know, new people who do the commentary, color commentary, you know, and I just need to, to be like, you know, break back into that.

That's just, like, the kind of person that I am. I've done that in front of 20,000 people on a paper view card. So, like, you know, I've already been headlining fights before. So it's not, I don't like look at it like, oh, I'm so happy. And, you know, like, it's just another day in the office. I know exactly what I got to do, you know? And I got to go in there and I'm going to win. Did a part of you say to yourself, let me just get the victory out of the way.

Let me get back on track in the UFC. You know, not so much play. It's safe, but just let me just worry about getting the W by any means necessary. and then the next fight, you'll see the real David Branch? Well, the thing with me, definitely, definitely. You got to get the W. The W means everything because nobody's going to remember you if you fucking lose. Nobody fucking gives a fuck about you if you fucking lose, you know?

You got to get the W and, you know, I got to get paid, you know. So, like, I got to win. So definitely I wanted to do that. And it's also a business standpoint. Like, I look at it like this. If there's more for me at the time, top. You know, I've always reserved myself to a certain point in my career. I've had 25 fights. I'm going on 11 years fighting MMA now, Ariel. And I feel like a lot of fighters, they put so much

of themselves and they take so much punishment earlier on in their career that when they get to the championship level or their championship run, where it's time to really start making that bread, their bodies can't take it no more. Their brain can't take it no more. They got a bunch of scar tissue. I haven't suffered that kind of damage because I've always been careful. Now that I'm on this championship run. Now I can go in there and be a fucking fool. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to have fun on Saturday because I've been able to preserve myself all this

time for 24 fights leading up to this one. So now because this one means something and now this is a money fight and this means more money, now I can go out there and act a goddamn fool. You know what I'm saying? And let people know like, yo man, you know, you don't really know what

branch is going to show up depending on like the business situation and the money involved. It's how does kids going to perform me? that he's a consummate professional. You know, you're not going to go and abandon interview with somebody who's a real big star in MMA to go to some amateur show

and give a guy interview there, would you? No. No. Exactly. I love this. I love this, David Branch. You're fired up. Are you usually this fired up on Fight Week? You seem like you have a healthy chip on your shoulder, not the bad kind of chip, but the healthy kind of chip on your shoulder. Is this common for you? I love this.

This is me, man. This is the person that I've grown into. You know, I stay positive. You know what I mean? I got to, I got to, you know, just put things into perspective. I got to concentrate on each task that I have in front of me, you know, and, you know, I have this task in front of me, and, you know, that I got to take care of. And I take care of those things, take care of this thing. Like, you got to do, you got to knock down one goal at a time, you know. You can't get caught up and being too hype. You know, it's not about being hype or anything like that. It's just being present and being in the moment. You have to understand. that your engagement and what you're getting yourself into. And you need to be a little lively about that, you know? It's great. If you're not, you're in the wrong business, you know? I feel like the UFC made a big mistake by not bringing you out to Pittsburgh to do that media tour. Why didn't they send you as well? I'm not too sure.

I'm not too sure what their plans were and stuff like that. You know, they're just getting acclimated with me as well, you know. You know, I had a bad rap in my first runner in the UFC, but I'm a completely different fighter, a completely different human being, a completely different animal, you know? So, you know, hopefully they'll be able to get more acclimated than used to this one, and, you know,

they like what they see, you know? I am what I am. I'm steak and potatoes, man. I'm not going to change. You know, I'm a grown fucking man. I'm 35 years old. I'm not one of these fucking young kids that's going to do too much fucking sucking ass

and shit like that, you know what I mean, begging on fucking TV for money and all of that bullshit, you know? I ain't doing all of that, you know. You know, when you get to a certain thing, age, you just cut the fucking bullshit, you know, and that's just where I'm at right now, you know. Man, I love this. This is incredible. Where has this David Branch been? I don't know. He's been somewhere tucked away, man, under the radar. Wow. Can I take some credit here? I feel like I brought out the fire in you. I feel like I brought out the beast in you. I'm

going to take all this credit. How about that? You can take as much credit as you want, area. Do you feel, David, that if you win on Saturday, that you'll be next in line for a title shot? Is that, Is that possible? I don't like to think too far down the road, but to answer your question, Ariel, I mean, the way that I want to win this fight and the way that I intend to win this fight, I think that there should be no doubt about it, you know,

because Luke was the former middle-weight UFC champion. You know, everybody's been saying, everybody's been saying for years, you know this, how would this kid do? How would Branch do in the UFC? How would he do? All right, like, we can even erase my last fight or we can bring it up.

Okay, I won in the UFC. the top 10 guy. That's to answer everybody's question. But now everybody's like, okay, okay, he won. But like, now how is he going to do against an elite guy? Okay, what about that? What about that? Okay, now this guy was a former champion, all right?

Like, what the fuck else? I mean, this is a tough kid, you know what I mean? That's why I want to fight. I wanted to fight him. I wanted to fight him. When I got the name, when I heard that I had the opportunity to fight him, I was like, hell, motherfucking yes. Hell yes.

Hell yes. This is the kind of fight. that I fucking want to do right here, and I'm going to be able to, like, you know, get it on. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to be able to rumble with this kid because he's going to want to bring it and I'm going to bring it, you know what I'm saying?

And that's the kind of fight that I know that he can't beat me in, you know what I'm saying? He can't fight me a certain way because he doesn't know how to do it, you know, and I'm used to that shit. I've been doing it for years. You can't have a slow start doing that. You can't have a late start doing it. So when I got the opportunity to fight this kid, you know,

I was very happy, you know? Does it bother you when people say you're boring? Do you work to try to shed that label? Hell no. Do you ever, you ever see Andre Ward's fight? And when he wins, and they sit there and say, oh, how

boring he is, you think that that motherfucker gives a fuck? Hell no. You know, Bernard Hopkins has been getting accused of being boring for years. I mean, I hate to take it to boxing and stuff like that, but these are combat athletes. Nobody gives a fuck about that, man. I'm concerned about the motherfucking W, you know?

My record is 21 and 3. and you think that that's attributed to me giving a fuck about people fucking how they feel about me fighting hell no I'm going out there and I'm gonna fucking win I'm gonna win I'm not a circus elephant

you know what I'm saying I'm not one of these fucking kids out there trying to please some other motherfucker who never fucking bawled up his fist and it's like to do a goddamn thing you know what I'm saying I'm gonna win by any means necessary and yes I want to put on the value of entertainment

but that's just dependent on the style of the fight you can't control that but isn't there part of you that acknowledges that the more exciting the fight, the more fan-friendly, the more fans you have leads to more money? Yes, but a part of me

as being a former world champion, a two-time world champion and having the experience in that is knowing that if your ass becomes the fucking champion, then you're going to be able to get the money. That's where the fucking money is. That's called short-shot money, you know?

Now you can go out there and gamble if you fucking want to, and you can try to be fucking Mr. Hero if you want, you know what I mean? and go out there guns and go trailblazing if you want to, you can play that road. Yes, you can. You can do the Rocky mode and go out there

and go blow for blow with a motherfucker on your early in on your career. But you're going to waste yourself. I'm not telling people how to fight, but for me, I always felt that like I was going to waste myself for moments like this. Now I'm on a championship run. And me being a former champion, getting paid more than everybody,

I understood the value of that. And I understood that becoming the champion is where the short shot money is. That's where the money is. No matter what. No matter even if your fight is fucking boring or not if you're the champion and you win, you're getting paid. You know what I mean? You know, obviously you can take more risk when you're at that level because you know you're

involved in pay-per-view buys. So you're going to be able to be more exciting. Who the fuck wants to be fucking exciting when the fucking, who in their right mind wants to be that exciting when you risk losing half your fucking money, but you're going out there for all the fucking risks. You're going out there for all the danger, right? You're going out there for all the danger, and then your ass gets fucked up because you're trying to be exciting,

and you get half your fucking money. And they say, good job, son. We'll put you back on. Get the fuck out of here, man. I'm not going for that. Hell no. That's not good business for me, you know? That doesn't sound like a good business transaction.

I don't think that you would do that. I don't even think that you'd put on a pair of gloves. But if you did put on a pair of gloves, you wouldn't want to do it like that. You don't think I have it in me? I don't know what you got in you, but I don't think that you would want to do it like that. No.

That's what I'm saying. I've been saying for a long time, I've been saying for a long time, they need to do away with the show money, the win money. You step foot in that cage. You should be getting everything, everything that it says on your contract.

None of this incentive anymore for exciting fight. Hey, listen, man, I'm not trying to make a wave on how these fighters are getting paid. This is how it is. This is how it is. I accept it. Okay, boom, I'm on with it. I ain't fucking trying to be no part of no whole movement

or anything like that or about fighters. Because that's not my speech. here. I'm just letting you know for me personally how I feel. You know what I mean? I'm not trying to like, you know, but it does bring up an interesting point. I mean, you bring up an interesting point. What I'm trying to say is what I said, you know what I mean? And what I'm trying to say is that I'm not going out there in the early part of my career. You asked me, you know, about being exciting. And that was one of my reasons. I'm not going to go out there and risk more than I have to when I know that the, that the objective and my short shot money is from winning. You okay? So that was my reason You know what I mean I'm not, you know You know

It is what it is man The sports the way it is I love the sport You know Yes things could be more fair But we don't live in a fucking fair world You know And that's just the way it is

You know But this is it You know I'm just giving you my spiel For me You know me as a fighter David Branch I'm speaking for myself

I have to say David I feel like A massive weight Has been lifted off my shoulders I feel so happy now That you came on the show That we talked it out I feel like a big lesson

Can be learned throughout the world from what just transpired here. You know, I thought that you weren't going to show up. I thought that you were upset. And I'm really happy that you came on, and this was a phenomenal interview. I want more of this, David Branch. Can we get you in studio next time? You're in New York.

Can you come visit us? Not a problem, Mary. All right. I appreciate it. Thank you, David. All the best to you. Thank you for coming on. Really looking forward to the fight on Saturday.

Good luck against Luke Rockhold. Likewise. Thank you. All right. There he is. David Branch. Holy smokes. Wow.

That was incredible. If you weren't excited for Saturday night, go back and listen to Luke's interview a couple weeks ago and then this interview. I mean, the return of Luke Rockhold is interesting in its own right. But this David Branch, I have to rethink my plans for Saturday. I was all in on Triple G Canelo.

Give me David Branch versus Luke Rockhold now. Holy smokes. That was unbelievable. Can we please promote this guy like this? You can have the clip, UFC. Take it. Do what you want with it. Get this man in the Pittsburgh.

media. Sell this damn thing out. That was amazing. All right. Speaking of promotion, speaking of having gold in the palm of their hands, holy moly, does the UFC have something with Arjun Buller? In case you missed it, Saturday night, Arjun Singh Buller, the first fighter of Indian descent, the first fighter of Indo-Canadian descent, the first Sikh fighter ever to compete in the UFC, and to be successful in doing. so, by the way, won his debut on Saturday night against Luis Henrique at the UFC 215 card in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This is a massive deal for the company. Gold medalist 2010 Commonwealth Games, competed in the Pan Am Games, competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games. They have never had

someone of Indian descent competed in the UFC. Not only that, but be successful and be a heavyweight with the background and as well spoken as he is. I feel like if everything goes right, if they They promote this man the right way. He could be one of the biggest stars in the world. And he got off to a great start on Saturday and really wanted to have him on the program to talk a little bit more about his journey up until this point and the future. He joins us now via the magic of Skype. Here he is, Arjun Singh Buller.

How about that? Wow. There he goes. What a great performance on Saturday. Thank you so much for having us, for being on the show. Excuse me. I feel like I'm in your world here. Thank you so much, Arjun, for coming on.

I'm very excited right now. I could see. You usually are very mild-mannered and composed. I'm very happy to be here, man. It means we're doing the right thing, and we are right where we should be right now. Absolutely. Well, let me start there, Arjun.

I mean, when you started this journey just a couple of years ago, your 7 and 0 now, 6 and 0 going into the UFC, did you think that you would be here as quickly, not on this show, but in the UFC, one fight under your belt, did you feel like it would come this soon? 100%, man. we had it mapped out.

You know, there was the biggest learning curve in the transition, aside obviously from the skill set, was one, dealing with the business aspects and promoters and contracts because you don't do that as an amateur athlete. And then two, just the nature of the people pulling out and dropping out and that type of thing. So we had a general plan and timeline on how we wanted things to develop and go. And there were a few stalls in there, but the overall, this is exactly how I envisioned it. And it was all, all pieces were already there.

We just had to put it together in all things for what we were successful. So as I mentioned, you have fought on the highest stage as possible as far as amateur wrestling is concerned. How would you compare your UFC debut? I mean, it's hard to compare it like your debut on the prelims to the Olympics. But in terms of how you felt the buzz, just being there in front of your fellow Canadians, you know, saw a ton of Indian flags in the crowd. I mean, for you personally, where does Saturday night compare it to the other? events that you've competed in.

Ariel, you were there. You witnessed it. You felt the energy. I don't think anyone's debuted like that before on a second fight out out of the card. You saw the Indian flags. You felt the energy.

We had a charter jet 737 come out of Vancouver filled with our people. You know, we had people from the UK, California, Toronto, India fly out. We sold up the Union Hall after for the after party. You know,

And if Jinda was able to get out of that damn hurricane, it would have just been a pandemonium. So, you know, it was, it was special. But all those pieces were also put together. They were there. I've had so much support over the years, man. It was, you know, I, if you're familiar with my story, man, my family able to get it from India. My father wrestled in India for many, many years. As a child, those are my earliest memories are accompanying my dad for his term and going to India.

And I've been going every year ever since. And we've got so much involvement on the ground there in terms of the sport and just giving back. And, you know, throughout my wrestling career, I had a lot of support worldwide. And that's also because, you know, there's deep roots of the sport and wrestling in the Indian culture. So it's been a special ride. Was your dad in attendance on Saturday? For sure, man. For sure he was.

You would never miss it. my father wrestled he was there so he wrestled before me um if you just knew the story bro it's tell us tell us the story uncles so they we came so my my grandfather immigrated in 1959 um he came here not a dollar in his pocket never knew the language had a turban and a beard uh there was racism back then he was allergic to sawdust but he worked in a sawmill because all you had for work then was labor work. So he was carted off on a stretcher to the hospital several times because of respiratory issues, but that's all he could do for work. He stayed here. Like I said, many people to a house, to a room. 11 years he sacrificed here by himself. And then he called over my grandma

and my father who was unborn. He had never seen his dad. My grandma was pregnant with my father in India when my grandpa left. So he was 11 years old when he came over. He had never met his dad. They came over. My uncles got to work right away. You had to bring in bacon. And my uncles, they actually hit weights in their clothes to be allowed to work in the summer because they were underage. And I about their age. And they were too small. But we needed the work. We needed the money. So that's where my family comes from, that hard work. And my father, being the baby of the family, the one thing that came over with the family was a sport of wrestling.

It's got a huge, huge history in the country of India, the founders of our religion, practiced wrestling that's in the cave paintings all the way through. You had old rivalries, villages against villages, pitting their champion wrestlers against each other. So that sport came over with my father. And so he got into the school system out here, high school,

and he went to wrestling. I know this. I don't know the language. I don't know anybody else here, but I know they're sport. So he trained here. We have a gym in our house. It's called a Nakata,

which is a dojo, some other people call it or what have you. My uncle's built that by hand, cinder blocks on our farm. I'm born and raised on a farm. For my father, they had no heat. He's like, you guys got luxuries nowadays.

We had it burned wood for heat and then they got a full paint tank later on. And that's where he did work, man. And, you know, you look at the home video. you look at him competing, I was always right there beside him. My journey started in diapers in that sport. And I've had the love ever since, man. Wow. What a story. That's unbelievable.

So obviously, you know, you go down this wrestling road and you make it to the Olympics, you're successful. When do you start to think about MMA? When do you start to think that, okay, post-rest wrestling, post-amateur wrestling, this is the path that I'm going to go because I've heard you say, and I've read you say on multiple occasions, you didn't need to do this. This wasn't something that you had to do. You chose to do MMA. Why did you choose MMA ultimately? 100%. You know, growing up, there were no Indian athletes to look up to.

I'm sitting in school, people coming in for assemblies, that start talking to kids. It was never someone I could personally connect to who was raised like me. Ariel, where there's over 20 of us living in a house, right now even. We're Indian, man. We're as Indian as it gets. I have multiple sets of parents. My uncles and my aunts are my mother and father.

They did change my diapers. You know, we all still live like how we, when we first came in from India, we have a bigger house now because we're we've sacrificed and got that work ethic and we're forwarded that. But we're packed in tight the same way. So, you know, when people used to come to school and talk to us about growing up and struggled, I could never relate to it. They weren't, didn't look like me, didn't come from the family I came from or had the culture or upbringing I had.

So that had a huge impact on me. And then growing up, hearing about the struggle of my family and other people from my community that came here, sacrificed for the future for someone like myself, that had a huge impact on me. You know, the physical altercations that, you know, my family had to go through the racism that was prevalent in the community at that time. Those stories were passed along and that was wood on my fire. You know, I thought, I'm going to make something on myself. So that sacrifice, my grandfather came home. when my parents came over, it wasn't for nothing.

And I'm going to remember who I am. And I'm going to, for the next generation, they'll know that one of our own did something, you know. So that was my motivation. And when I went, when I was finishing up with wrestling, you know, I was looking at the sport of MMA. I wanted a greater platform. For me, it's a platform to connect with people.

That's what sports always been. The one person I didn't look up to when I was growing up was Ali because of what he did beyond sport. He wasn't the most skilled guy. out there. He found a way to win, beat the odds, but what he did for his people beyond sports, what he's remembered for. So there are things I'm passionate about, but I want to stand up for and live beyond sport and do beyond sport. And I felt MMA would give me greater access to the people to be able to do that. It's a hybrid of the sport of wrestling. People could understand it

in India and around the world. And I could also use a skill set that I've been sharp. since I was a kid, the sport of wrestling in a different arena. So all those things. And then you look at the sport of MMA, especially heavy division, the wrestlers have dominated, man. You know, D.C. was a guy looked up to when I wrestled. That guy was an animal on the wrestling scene. You know, King Moe. These were the guys I knew on the U.S. team.

Henry Sehudo. We shared a locker room that night. That was cool, man. Came full circle. You know, and these guys were all dominating. And I'm like, look, I've been in the training room with these guys that competed against others. Cole Conrad. He's the first Belator champion. That's one of my first big

wins when I was coming up to the wrestling system. I'm like, you know, I can compete with these guys. I can beat these guys. There's nothing. They're doing that. I know I can't. So I just dove in after that and said, you know what? This is my platform. This is where I'm going to make the impact. You mentioned sport as a platform.

Sport is an opportunity to get your your thoughts out there and to connect with people. What are some of those things that you are passionate about? What are those messages that you're talking about that you want to get out there and fight for and represent? Man, in terms of, there's just so much stuff, as you can tell, first and foremost, I'm a proud Indian, right? I wanted me to tell the story of my people of who we are, who Sikhs are, what seeks, where they come from, people don't understand. You see a guy with a turban and a beard all throughout history that they've been respected. We're not Muslim, we're Sikhs.

We've been respected for hundreds of the years for the types of people we're always. very inclusive. We stand for certain something. Beyond that, humanity. You know, there's so much out there because of the social media stuff that's BS. That's not even real. They got people, you know, live passionately,

be fulfilled, you know, listen to your inner voice, know who you are, chase your dreams, all that type of stuff. That's the stuff that needs to get out there. Not this bullshit about money and clothes and this, that stuff is real. You know, like, like, for example, example, like you touched on me, many other things I could be doing. But I choose to do this

at this time because this is what I want. People don't understand it. Like you're smart. You got so many other other options that you can be doing. Why are you going out there and, you know, getting in a fist fight? But it's something that speaks to me, you know, that's what I want to do. So I'm going to chase that. When I'm done with it, I'm done with it. Did you consider pro wrestling? Yes. After the Olympics, that conversation was had. And I gave my man, Jinder a call at that time because he was on his first go around. I go, what's it about, man?

Let me know what this thing's about. They reached out to get me down in Florida and at the Development Center. And I just want to know what the lifestyle was like. And he told me how long they're on the road and how grueling it is. And I'm a family guy, man. I can't be on the road as much as they are. Some people

love it that much and it's worth it to them. I love pro wrestling. I'd love to dabble in it, but fall time, heck, know I grew up on the stuff. It's cool. I support gender from afar, and I still want to compete. I have that itch.

And then, so I got to come out with King Moe. I want to give him a shout out. I said, Mo, he's down at an A.K. I don't know what this MMA game is about. A.K. has got the best heavy weights. I got family 15 minutes from the gym. I want to know what's about. He's that come through the gym and just throw yourself in here

and see what it's about for yourself, man. And that's what I did. And you walk in there with. King Moe and Cain Velasquez and D.C., did they put you through the grinder right off the bat? What was it like as a newbie, if you will, in that sport to go in a room with those guys? You know what? To be honest, it was intimidating. It was nerve-wracking. It was exciting. It was exhilarating. It was all those things, man. Because it was still competition, and I knew I could still, I could wrestle,

but I didn't know what all this punching and kicking business was about. But I liked it. I've been a fan of boxing forever. you know so so I I've taken like I've studied that sport and I've enjoyed it watching it for many many years and I was like I wonder what it's like to really get in there and see what these guys do for training that's when you know whether you can do it or not so I got down there and it was very cool man I was a big props to Kane he was a man he was a champ at that time he came up introduced himself Avierre Mendes Bob Cook Daniel no Sean Bunch all these guys I need for the wrestling scene You know, you know, these guys are on the big. You know, you think these guys on TV, big paper music, stars, champions, maybe you have assumptions that they might be there,

you know, head in the clouds, but they were amazing Hey Arjun, we're kind of losing you there and I want to lose anything that you say, let's try to reconnect with Arjun here because all of a sudden the connection got a little tricky there. So we're going to reconnect with Arjun here in a second

talking to him, man, that guy, what a storyteller. See what I mean when I say that the UFC has something with Arjun Buller? I mean, this is this is a representative. This is an ambassador right here. This is an incredible stuff. All right.

I locked you there. Sorry, are. Are you back? There you are. Here we go. So you were talking about walking in there for the first time and seeing those guys. Yeah.

So this is how I went, man. Like I was there. I didn't even know how to wrap my hands, Ariel. Kane of Alaska has wrapped my hands the first time. Wow. You know? So I had to borrow some gear. Hobb got me wrapped.

He got me, I think I had gloves at that time. They got me head here. And D.C., funny enough, was getting ready for his first fight with Jones, I believe, that first time through. But, you know, they showed me so much love. You know, I knew that's where I wanted to be. You have all these assumptions. These guys are champions, big deals. They aren't paid for views.

But if those guys from the top show you that kind of love, it tells you what the team's about. Javier Mendez was fantastic. Those guys were fantastic. And the way they train, it's very similar to wrestling. It's the grind. I love it. So, funny enough, so my dad is there with me. You know, and how it goes.

So can you go? And I'm like, well, I'm here. I want to see what this is about. He's like, okay, you're going to be in the cage with D.C. Be ready. I was like, what? My first time through. And that was wild.

We went one round. And it was pure adrenaline, kind of like that end of that second round. I was just going on pure adrenaline and I went for a couple of minutes and we finished the whole round. It was good, man. It was my first introduction to A.K.A. and the team and it was fantastic. So what do you do now? You spend the beginning of your camps at A.K. And then you go back home to B.C.

Yeah. So I've got family 15 minutes from the gym there at A.K. So I'll be here in between. I've got great coaches up here in Vancouver, trucking up my tools, that sort of thing. And then it's safe, you know, I've been down there when D. fights or if I've got something coming up, I'll dip down there. I can go anytime. Funny enough, so my dad, when he was wrestling, my parents got married. My dad's traveling all over the world. My mom's like, look, you know, I want to be a part of this. She got a job with Air Canada,

which is our national carrier. So she flew everywhere. He went for free because she's in a three, so I get the same benefits. I can go anywhere. Oh my gosh. What a deal. That's amazing. Does she still work for Air Canada? Yeah, she just did. She got her 30th year in this year. So all throughout wrestling, my parents have been in every tournament, man. Every training camp, they'd be there because they'd just jump on a plane. That's amazing. But now only my dad's coming because my mom's like, I can't watch this punching stuff. But I pray for you, be safe, and my dad comes.

I love that. That's great. And speaking of weddings, I saw a video yesterday of your wedding. This is unbelievable this thing, like a thousand people. It was in some backyard. Was that your backyard that it was in with the tents and all that? Yeah, bro. That's our farm.

How big is your farm? We live, we've got several farms now, but the one we live on, I believe, is 10 acres. 10 acres. This was the biggest wedding I've ever seen. I mean, this was like a royal wedding. Is that typical for your family? I heard that they had to shut down the streets. I saw this video, I think it was your wedding planner talking about it.

And it was just, I mean, if I didn't know, I would think that you were part of, like, the royal family. Like, that you're that important of an individual. I mean, it was incredible this thing. Is that typical? Well, first of all, I believe you're Montreal born. You know how Indian parties, we do it first. When it comes to Indian weddings, we do it big. That's bigger than big.

But aside from that, it's indicative of the love we get. And then it was a special wedding. We had a lot of people. A lot of people flew in. It was a special night, for sure. Wow. Was that this year? It was our one year this July.

So less than that. Okay. Wonderful. And this is the home that you're in now and you live with 20 other people there? Yes, sir. We're backed in tight, but I love it. And so you mentioned the WWE champion, Jinder Mahal. Fans were disappointed not to see him walk out with you. How long have you known him for? So, yeah, so the story with Ginder, man, that's another cool one. So I was in university at that time and I was wrestling for our university.

So he's a native Albertan. He's from Calgary, which is about two hours. outside of Edmonton. So I was there, actually, and that's what we first connected. So he knew me from the wrestling scene, you know, that sort of thing. And he was trying to make it, he's developing in the pool wrestling arena himself. He wrestled a little bit in high school as well. And we ran into each other after one of my tournaments out in his hometown of Calgary. When I was out after the tournament, he was like, hey, you're Argentine and this town.

I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, bro, what's going on? And he was probably one of the few people, like, in that whole city, he was the only other Indian who's bigger than me. I was like, who's this guy? We kind of head off. And we stayed in touch ever since, bro. I was, what, 19, probably then 20. And we stayed in touch ever since.

And here we are now, right? He's the top of the food chain where he's at. And I'm looking to make my mark out here. So it's pretty cool. What life lays out for you. Yeah, it's incredible. And I thought it was a tremendous idea. Was it on your part to have him walk out with you

to get him. And that just shows how your mind works as far as promotion is concerned. Unfortunately, due to the hurricane, he couldn't get out to accompany you to the cage on Saturday. For the second one, are we going to try to do this?

Is that the plan? This has to happen at least once, right? For sure, for sure. So, yeah, he was, we had already talked about him before. He had come out to Vancouver for one of his shows. I saw him do his thing to put him through a table area.

Oh, my God. my guy through a table. So it wasn't cool. Seth, Seth Rollins, put him through a table. I wasn't happy about that. But I told him,

okay, it's your turn now. You've got to come out to one of my deals. And it was kind of lining up. So his schedules were usually pretty packed. But he shot me a message. He goes,

hey, bro, I got the weekend off. I'm coming out to your fight. Let me know if I could be a part of it any other way. It's that. Because we already talked cross-promotion. We're like, look, man,

how cool could it be? We've got a personal relationship. But, you know, the two sports go handed. hand, especially in a market like India, where majority of the people still think it's not scripted out there in the pro wrestling. Wow. So, yeah, it's, so when I got that mess, I'm like, perfect.

And then the wheel started moving. And, yeah, he was supposed to walk out and we were supposed to do big, but the hurricane came through, man. So everything's meant to be the way unfold. So it'll happen in the near future, for sure. Yeah, I think, as I said, I mean, it's such a big deal to have someone like you in the UFC now, they've never had someone like you in there before. And I was talking to your manager, Abraham, this past week. And I was like, why isn't this a bigger deal? Why aren't they pushing him

more? This is such a huge deal, not just for Canada. There's so many Indians in Canada, but all around the world, I can't say it enough. This is a gigantic deal. And plus the way you speak and the way you represent yourself. And what he told me was, you know, they just want to get the first one out of the way. And so then afterwards we'll see the big push. Is that your understanding as well? Were you expecting more publicity going in? You kind of flew under the radar a little bit. I know locally it was a big deal, but I feel like they should have pushed you more going into this debut.

Area, the approach I'm taking is we're doing everything in-house. And anything else, the company or anyone else does is going to be bonus. So if you can tell, we had everything planned out from our flights to everyone coming into town, our own shirts, our own everything. So I'm taking that same approach. Like I said, we've got great connects throughout the years of success that we've had. The Indians are real tight. And like you said, we're global, man.

It's not just India. You got the UK, you got Dubai, you got support. You got the U.S., you got a county. You got everywhere. We're everywhere. There's 3 billion worldwide. So there's so much, you know, I had a guy document my, follow me into my last fight, into my signing of my contract.

And we're cutting that documentary now. It's going to be called 1 billion strong. And we're going to look for a distribution deal for that. So people can understand the full story and what it took to get. So there's so much stuff that I just took it upon myself. You know, you only got one shot at life, especially as an after your, your window's open for this long. So we're going to make it happen. And shame on you, Ariel.

Some people had reached out to you and said, our boy's coming before the fight. And you didn't believe or you didn't reach out. Yeah, they told me, my friends and family were on you. And hey, we told Ariel, I go, don't worry that the first fight get through, they're all going to come. And here I am. Now, in my defense, in my defense, I get a lot of tweets. I don't see them all. But ask D.C.

I've been talking about you. I've been talking about you to D.C. for quite some time. And at the way, he was sitting there. I was joking with him. He was like a little fan in the front road taking pictures of you. It was really cool to see. But look, I'm on the bandwagon. Trust me on this.

I'm putting you over, my man. But I didn't see those tweets. So I'm sorry. We need to up your social media game. You just got a thousand Twitter followers. What's up with that? Man, I wasn't even on social media heading into the Olympics. I got on social media after.

Again, my belief on that was, number one, I don't like distractions and stuff anyway before. But number two, I was like, I'm not a fan of this social media stuff. I don't want people watching me live my life. Go live your lives. Go do what you guys want to do. Be, you know, live purposefully and chase your dream.

Why are you guys watching millions of people watch others do what they want? When you're wasting your time, go go do something. Then someone actually sat me down and gave me a different spin on it. They go, look, if you can write that spark into someone, when they're following you to go do that, wouldn't you want to? I was like, you know what? You were right. That's what I got on social media. Aside from that, and even now, I have to get those pieces together.

Like I said, the business aspect and all that. But the story's there. The real deal, you know, all the pieces are there. You just have to do this the right way now moving forward, I guess. Now, Arjun, I have to ask you about this, and I'm not trying to create some kind of big drama here, but the fight game is all about personalities, individuality, being unique, standing out. There's no one more unique than you right now in the UFC. You are the first representing billions of people.

When I was a young boxing fan, there was a fighter by the name of Dimitri Salida, who was an Orthodox Jew, and he would walk out with a Kippa. And to me, as a Jewish person, I was like, that is so cool. I don't see Jewish people walking out to the ring. I connect with this man just because of how he looks. How are you not allowed to wear a turban to the cage? To me, that promotionally, that makes no sense. In fight sports, we accuse promoters of sometimes using stereotypes, right?

You want to do this. You know, like dressing the guy up as such and such to connect with people. Here's a guy who wants to do this to connect with people who wants to represent, and you were denied that. How did this happen? How do we rectify this? I understand the Reebok deal. I get it. But this is just a small thing to represent your people that you want to do. I mean, this is a travesty. We need to correct this. How does this happen?

Okay. So, you know, I didn't want to really touch on that too much, especially before the fight and immediately after. But you being the ace journalist that you are, I don't know how you got wind of this. But it is something that I'm looking to rectify. and, you know, it's, I'm a prideful Indian, man. And it's, it's both ways. If I'm able to do that, there are benefits for that for the company and such that they have to be able to see. I can kind of walk you through what happened as well, I will in a second. But, you know, even as a wrestler, as I was dreaming as a kid, I said, you know what, I get out to the Olympic ceremony.

I want to do that. I want to wear a turban. So everyone knows that's an Indian. one of our people. You know what I mean? And I did that opening ceremonies, and it was huge. I got messages from around the world for that. And I wasn't even on social media at that time, you know?

So that was something I had envisioned for that, and it's something I envisioned here. You guys accompanied the WWE who embraces that. And for me, it's not like I'm not dressing up to be to sell something. It's who I am. If you know what kind of passion I have and pride I have of who I am. That's a natural thing for me.

I'm not doing it to dress up or what have you. So essentially what it was was I brought it up, and I think there was some ignorance within the company with the individual I had first brought it up to. So they said there's a Reebok issue in terms of head pieces because they have their hats and their own headbands, that it has to be Reebok. And I'm like, well, I didn't get too much into it

because I was emotional and I had a fight in two days. And my team was like, look, does Reebok sell turbans? What are you saying? This is, these are, this isn't the same thing. And, you know, I've seen that, I've seen before, Kabib walk out with, with his, the papaca, I think it's called, right? So I know that they're not that stringent on this type of stuff. That's why I wasn't brought up sooner.

I didn't think it was going to be an issue. Like, for sure, you know, this is, this isn't some other company you're representing reading. This is you, you're representing yourself. So there was a Reebok issue there. And then there was some ignorance, you know, because we told them that, you know, the feedback was,

if you can't wear it on your head, can you wear it somewhere else? I go, you don't wear a turban somewhere else. I don't think you know what this is. You can't, maybe you can wear it around your arm, like an arm sleeve or something, and we can work with you on that.

And I want to be respectful because the individual didn't know. And she had to Google what seeks to, work. She had to really, you know, look into it beyond that. And she was being respectful. How can I work with you to do this? So there was a bit of ignorance there. And we said, you know what? And she goes, okay, we sent her some more information. Our defense minister in Canada wears a turban. There are our RCMP in Canada have made an exception where all Sikhs can wear turbans. This is what the turbine, how important it is. And so we sent some of that information to one and said, can you just look this over? please. And I'm sure she's got people that look over her that she had to pass it along to

because she said the call is not going to come from me. And then I'm sure he got passed around like a hot potato. No one wanted to touch it, I'm assuming. And we didn't hear anything. And then at Wayans, someone from higher up came and talked to me. He's, you know, higher up in the company. And he goes, look, I live in Fresno. I know exactly what a turban is. I know what your people are. my kid has class mates and peers that are tributteaks and he goes you know please don't take this a disrespect it's just a little late to kind of get this going and i was disappointed because i thought you know it's the first time you know you don't get your first time back um it would have been something very special um and um you know he said moving forward we want to rectify this um so

i didn't want it to be a distraction for the fight and overshadow kind of what we were trying to do I'm taking as an opportunity to educate and get more awareness out there, which I will do moving forward and not just within the company beyond as well. And funny enough, Dana's neighbor is a turban sea.

I know the guy. And I sent him a message. I'm like, hey, man, funny enough, this is what's going on. He's like, you want me to go wake up him and his lawyers right now, we can get this sorted. I go, no, I don't want it, I don't want that reproach to happen. I just, I'm fresh in the company.

But I think maybe, you know, if we can pass some messages along, moving forward, I want to educate, you know, the decision makers on what we're trying to do. So, you know, shout out to Jess Winder. That's his neighbor, and he's going to help me on moving forward to. Okay. So you're confident that for your next fight you'll be able to wear the turban? Everything from, you know, the higher-ups beyond the first interactions, I've had higher-ups on the ground there. from what they've told me, the head of the PR had told me, heading into your guys' Media Scrum, that gentleman,

it should be rectified. And I want to work with them. They say they want to work with me. So I don't see it being an issue, and I'm excited to make that happen moving forward. Good. I hope cooler heads prevail. I hope that they come to their senses on this one,

because I think it would be a great visual, and you are an inspiration to a lot of these people. And I've heard from a lot of them, and a lot of fans have come up to me and told me, how excited they were to have you in the UFC. So you're going to open a lot of doors for them. It would be foolish to not let you do that. By the way, speaking of the next fight,

I mean, Winnipeg seems like a no-brainer. Is that the goal in December for you to return then? We will see, man. I'm just handling a few things right now and after all this fight. I'm heading off to India in three weeks. I'm going to do some PR out there. Oh, nice.

Like I said, we're wrapping up this documentary. So I want to, I can fight up. I can go every other month. really, I'm healthy, I'm good to go. But at the same time, I understand the business aspect of any other pieces I'm trying to create beyond sport. And I want to make sure everything's up to speed. It is a new market we're trying to break over there.

So I want to make sure everything's developing at the right time. And ultimately, the decision of jumping in the cage, I'll leave up to my coaches. I just trained and I make sure I'm ready to go. Last thing for you, Arjun, and again, thank you so much for the time. This has been a lot of fun for me. I am a really big fan of yours and your story. Do you consider yourself a pioneer? Do you put that label on yourself?

For sure, why not? For me, it's always been to be the best period. The fact that I could be a first for my people, definitely. I'm huge on legacy area. You know, when I look back and I'm old and I'm done, and, you know, people forget what I was about. At least I want to look back and say I did something. You know, I called for something.

There's a reason for me to be on this earth and I have an impact. So anytime you can create a lasting legacy and be in the history books, it is special for sure. What a great debut. What a great story. We're looking at some of the photos right now. That slam. I like that nod to your wrestling roots with the slide. You're just kind of chilling there with Enrique on your shoulders.

That was great. Congratulations to you, Arjun, continued success. I hope that they push you to the moon, put you in the right fights because this could be a huge deal for the sport of MMA and for your people as well. Thank you so much for coming on the show. I have a feeling we'll be talking to you soon. And thank you also for representing Canada so well on the global stage. As a Canadian, I appreciate that greatly as well. So thank you all the best. Congratulations. And we'll talk to you soon. Safe travels out to India as well.

Thank you. My brother, we'll be in touch. And I appreciate you getting me on the show. It's one of the things on the bucket list. Thank you so much. There he is. Arjun Singh, Buller, stopping by. Newest member of the UFC's heavyweight division. Great stuff from him. as you can tell, I'm impressed. What a story. And let's figure this out. The Turban deal.

Like I've said before, I get the Reebok deal. I get that they signed it. I get it. But this board is all about individuality. It's all about being unique. It's all about being yourself. And you have someone with his background who wants to represent in the past. Like WW has been accused of stereotyping, of taking people who aren't even from a certain background and trying to make them into the worst kinds of stereotypes. And here you have a guy who's so proud of his roots, who all he wants to do is wear a turban, and then take it off. He doesn't want to fight with it, and then take it off as he enters the cage. What's the big deal? Rebox everywhere. Let's figure it out. And I'm assuming as this gets up the chain, I have a feeling it will all get sorted.

And I am not, lest you think I am overstating how important he is now to the company, Just Google how many Indians live in this world. Google how many people live in India. Google how popular fight sports are in that country and to those people. This is a big deal. One down, successful. Daniel Cormier speaks the world of him. That's good enough for me.

Looking forward to his next fight. All right. No more interviews. Now it's time for everyone's favorite segment. Now it's time for Rickpigs. Yeah. MMA fans Yeah

It's time for Rick's Picks Rick's Picks His hair is in a bun Because it's You already know what it is Big Fank Ladies and gentlemen Boys and Girls

It's the moment you've all been waiting for It's the new craze Taking the world by store Yeah He's back baby Where you at It's time for Yeah

There he is Mr New York himself, Mr. New York. Hello. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Great photo here from Synchronic MMA, showing me a collage of some people who have worn things on their heads. Brad Pickett, in the Reebok era. Brad Pickett had his chapeau. That's right.

Seroni with the cowboy hat, right? Chabeeb, as Arjun mentioned. It's a big deal. Are you on the Arjun bandwagon like I am? Yeah, I'm feeling it. I'm liking the package. He has a little DC in him. Do you know what I'm saying? The way he speaks, that wrestler talk? That's what I was thinking is that he has those early DC signs. And, you know, it may be too long for you to remember,

but back in those days, there was only one of us, you know, touting DC and really pushing that forward and talking about him. And that wasn't you. Yeah. And then you finally came around late to the game, but it's okay. Yeah, but did you not jump off the bandwagon? No, I didn't. What I said was he's not going to be John Jones.

And would you look at that? He didn't be John Jones. By the way, what's going on with the facial hair now? Are we going a little Zoro action? What are we doing? Zorro? Well, it seemed like you're kind of, let's get a good look at that. It seems like you're doing the little twirley thing.

And then we're going with like the triangular chin hair. Is that what we're doing? I dig it. Can I make a suggestion? I'll be real. We're not really doing much of anything. It's just kind of happening. Let's be honest.

We've stopped caring. a long time ago. I mean, that's pretty clear at this point. But can I just make one suggestion? That's it. Talk to me. Can we shave the sides and leave this? Do a goatee. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but like the triangular goatee. And then

who has that look? Like, you know, like I'm talking about there's a few people, you know, Johnny Depp. And what movie was that? Pirates of the Caribbean. That's what you look like. I mean, that's a compliment, by the way. I'm not, I'll take, I'm not disparaging. I'll take Johnny Depp. Okay. Can we do that for next week? No. Okay. Why not?

Not shaving. Okay. You're just going to let it go crazy. Let's see. Let's see. No, maybe not. If I'm going to shave it, I might tune it up. But we'll, can we move on, please? Can we just clean up above the lips? That's all I ask. I mean, really, can we at least just, oh my God, this is horrible.

This is horrible. All right. Well, if you're listening to our show via iTunes, audio only, be thankful. You know where to find me on the internet. You can find pictures of this wonderful. facial hair here. Okay, it's time for Rick's picks. First pick. Breaking news, a bit of breaking news for Rick's picks. Had to add this one in late, but I thought worth highlighting. As reported by Damon Martin,

although it seems like Legacy at some point announced it, I couldn't find it first source, but again, this is happening all quickly a few minutes ago. Nick Newell, coming out of retirement. Legacy announcing that they've signed to a multi-fight contract. How about that? Nick Newell. Great to have Nick Newell back in the fold. Our old friend. Felt like he did it right in retirement. We know how little MMA retirements mean, but he had

enough time off to contemplate it. I'm sure he's making what he thinks is the right decision. And let's see him back. Let's see how he performs in a new organization now. How about that? Did they announce his return fight? I didn't see it. The thing was, all I saw was Damon's tweet, and I couldn't find the source. on that. Like I couldn't find whether it's a press release or whatever the case may be. All I found was Damon's tweet, but again, this happened minutes right before we did

this segment. So, um, yeah, Brian Tucker, our editor just sending me. What? A rare Brian Tucker appearance? Appearance. I mean, you know, we're settling for speaking of the Wizard of Oz. If we get to see, that would be... He's as close to an appearance as

we're going to get. What's he saying? Um, he forwarded me. me from LFA. LFA announces the signing of Nick Newell. I can read out a little bit of it for it. They've got a picture of Newell at the top. Legacy Fighting Alliance officials today announced that Nick Newell, 13 and 1 has signed

a multi-fight deal with LFA. Nick Newell, okay, we know the story behind Nick Newell. No, just going into his career a little bit, no a date and opponent for Newell's LFA debut are still undetermined at this time. So nothing about who he's going to fight and when, but just that Newell is signed, and they've got him in some promotional photos.

Okay. Welcome back. What else you got? Okay, moving on. Thought it was appropriate to just at least highlight a little bit of fighters talking about 9-11 and paying tribute. Here we got Frankie Edgar. If you look at the emojis.

Oh, I like those. You know, paying tribute to the service people involved in. September 11th. And this from Steepay, I know you retweeted this one, an important one. Stepe Miochich saying, I will never stop being a fighter, firefighter. You are my heroes forever grateful

for those that made the ultimate sacrifice, a picture of him with some of FDNY, and just appreciative of anybody showing support for the city that I love. New York, Rick, I mean, this is my city. I know. By the way, can I ask you, wait, can you go back? Yeah, yeah, talk to me. Where were you on 9-11?

I was in high school, freshman year of high school. And I remember being in biology class and them talking about some kind of horrific thing going on and then throwing it up on the TVs. And my first thought was, well, what's happening to my mom who worked in downtown Manhattan? And I wasn't able to quite make contact with her until we got out of school. So they released everybody early. I was at school in the Bronx. It took me a while to get home. I went to. my friend's house because I wasn't sure what was going on and finally was able to talk to my mom and then came home later that evening. But I just remember, I was a little bit too young to really understand the impact of everything that was happening. Again, I was a freshman in high school. What is that? Freshman. Because I know it's different in 14, 15? 16. I don't even know. Yeah, like 14, 15 years old. That's 8th grade. Eighth grade. or ninth grade ninth grade

ninth grade um and so I realized the magnitude of what was going on I realized that this was not a normal day um but more than anything

I was just really concerned about my mom and you know ultimately she was okay um a little shaken but uh and what about the rest of the week did you have school did they can't it was a Tuesday I don't recall

I believe we may have had the rest of the week off it was it was where was your school in the Bronx Yeah, I went to school at a Bronx Science up in the Bronx. And no, we didn't have school because I remember the next day listening to watching MTV and they were just talking to people from New York and things like that and talking about the impact of the city. And the reason I remember it so distinctly watching MTV is because it spawned a Dave Chappelle joke regarding Jarl Rule reacting to certain things. What? Yeah.

Basically, one of the people they spoke to on the day following 9-11 was Jha Ruhul. And it spawned a Dave Chappelle joke where anytime an important or impactful event would happen, where's Jarl Ruhul? We need to get Jarl Ruhl's thoughts on this. And that was a joke that I always thought was pretty funny. MTV, Jarl rule, we're going into a real time warp here. Yeah, it was a moment in time. You don't hear from people who say, I was watching MTV the other day, right?

listen, I still watch TV. I remember it like it was yesterday because I was my first year at Syracuse University, so I'm away from home, and I wake up. So I was first year of your high school, you were first year of college? Yeah, well, technically not. I was technically a sophomore.

If you must know, in Quebec, high school is from seventh grade to 11th grade, and then we go two years to something called Sijep, which is essentially like junior college. Gotcha. Then we go three years university. So I did the two years of, Siegip at Marianopoulos College in Montreal and then I did three years at Syracuse but my age,

my, you know, my schooling up until that point would have made me a sophomore but it was technically my first year. And so it was just a couple weeks in, wake up, see that on my little TV in my, dorm and I'll never forget it because Syracuse is filled with New Yorkers and just, you know, seeing kids walking up and down looking like ghosts being really afraid. And that was after the first tower fell. Between that time and the second tower falling, I went to, I believe it was psychology class and we're in a big auditorium. And the TA told the professor when the second tower fell and then he announced it to the classroom.

And everyone just like, he was going to tell everyone that you can leave. but everyone just got up and like ran out and they told us that all night long we would hear helicopters because there wasn't enough space in the local hospitals that they were going to bring people to the Syracuse hospitals

and I remember that night listening to the helicopters and feeling very homesick my brother actually worked in the financial district for Merrill Lynch and was very close and initially my mom couldn't reach him she was chatting with him online.

And so it was just a very, it was, I'll never forget it was just a very emotional thing to experience from afar as a Canadian living in America for the first time in the state of New York. Rest of the week was off. And then I also remember the following week, we had to, this is, so this is how it all kind of comes together.

The following week, I did a, I took a speech class. and my speech was what we had to do whatever we wanted. It was kind of free format. People could talk about whatever they wanted in the moment, how they were coping. And my speech was how pro wrestling was allowing me to think of other things and escape valve for me,

you know, to not think about what was going on. So, you know, it runs deep. How far we've come. Yeah. And also I remember, I'll never forget this. I remember that following morning, so the Wednesday morning I was working for, a radio station on campus Z-89, and my shift was at 3 a.m. And I remember waking up and turning on

CNN. It was the first time I saw the scroll. And I remember the anchors were standing outside the now fallen World Trade Centers and just wake up and be like, I can't believe, you know, it's 3 a.m. You're a little bit out of it. Like, I can't believe this is the world that we live in. And so that was just a very memorable time. I would do that show for the entire semester. And, you know, of course, I remember Derek Jeter and Mr. November. in fact, I lost the job after that semester because I would only be able to talk for 15 seconds in between songs. Like, you know, they time it and they'll be like, I don't know, a Jha Ruhl song. And you could say like, all right, coming up next is Jarl. But I would delay it and just talk about

last night's baseball game and whatever else was going on. And they're like, well, you can't really do that. We're a music station. So that's when I realized that I had a few more things to say to people. I guess from back then I was creating a reputation for going a little longer than I should have as the people who work on this show know very well but anyway those are some of my thoughts when I think of 9-11 I don't know if we've ever done the show on 9-11 and I'd have to go back if it's ever fallen on a Monday

while we've been doing the show but yeah first time doing the show right near Wall Street I'm happy that people are remembering it and we will definitely never forget proud of my city yeah okay on to an interesting topic here

Connor McGregor this one this tweet is the headline from MMA fighting a pick an image of Connor throwing the can of monster Connor McGregor being sued for USC 202 press conference bottle throwing incident yes but that's not the real story by you read how they came up with the amount

yes it was based on his purse from Mayweather McGregor correct no no no it's based this is a this is crazy let me just read it too so I get it right because it's so crazy. This is courtesy of Mark Monday, as you said. Conor McGregor's debt to the Nevada Athletic Commission for the bottle-throwing mess last year during a press conference has

already been paid, but Notorious is not out of hot water just yet with regards to that situation. McGregor is being sued by a man who says he was hit in the back by a can of monster energy that the UFC lightweight champion through during the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference

August 26, okay? M.A. Fighting confirmed with Clark County Court Records. The blast was first to report the news, but this is the interesting part, all right? Listen to this. The man who filed the suit, William Pegg, said that he was struck near his left shoulder by said Ken. The blast reported that Pegg is claiming he sustained just below $5,000 in medical bills due to the injury incurred. He's asking for a total of $95,000 from McGregor, based on the UFC stars, presumed $15 million revenue from the UFC two to fight with D.S.

as. Okay, okay, okay, okay, wait a second, wait a second. Where is it? It's not in this. Okay, wait a second. I'm going to the blast. Stand by. This is crazy. I look, okay. This is what the blast says. $5,000. He's seeking, okay, seeking damages he believes he's entitled to at least $95,000. How do he arrive at that number, you asked? This according to the blast.com. Pegg claims in the lawsuit that Connor McGregor made $15 million from his fight with Diaz, during which he was significantly struck by Diaz 166 times. So, $15 million divided by 166 is about $9,000, $90,000. And then the extra $5K comes from the medical expenses. Do you follow that? He took the $15 million that he presumes he made divided by the significant strikes? What? How do you even come up with that? That's the

craziest thing I've ever heard. The reason I picked this is because I'm proud of this guy for shooting a shot. Yeah, a year later. Good for you. Like, go try and get whatever you can. But yeah,

I mean, based on that, can there be any reasonable expectation that there's that there's, uh, I mean, I get the 5,000. I get the 5,000. But then shoot your shot. Good. job. Yeah. But

let's go into the next Rick's pick, which is, I don't think Connor McGregor's sweating this too bad. Here from his Instagram on the yacht, the 60 Gs. Great caption. Where's me fucking socks? By the way, did you notice something? The first boat was called the 188.

Yeah. That was the amount that he would receive from his welfare check in euros. The second one is 60 G's. That's the amount that he asked Dana about, right? 60 G's baby, Dana. It was 50 G's no. No, I went back and look at what he said

He said 60. He's going by That's kind of cool. I have to admit. The next one will be the Floyd Mayweather I feel like there were a couple in between there. A million. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Yeah, he's got time. He's got time. So when he's doing Carnival Cruise liner size yachts. Can I just say something about Connor for a second? When you go back to that interview, when we sat down and spoke to him before the Mayweather fight. When he spoke about this trip to, and as he put it,

I think he pronounced it as Ibiza. Mm-hmm. With that, you know, that th. I think that's, yeah. Catalonian, the th. Sure. Anyway.

His eyes lit up. This guy, you know, he's worth millions now, right? Hundreds of millions. And yet he was so looking forward to this trip with his friends and to go to his friend's wedding and to be, It's still kind of cool. You don't hear, you don't kind of hear people talk like that

at his level, just wanting to go on a trip with his friends. It sounded like me talking about going on a trip with my friends. When you've done everything you can in the sport, I think that's all you got left. He wrote about the wedding where it was like two childhood friends. Could you imagine just doing a wedding? And then like two weeks ago,

this guy's fighting McGregor, like Mayweather, it's worldwide news. And then all of a sudden he's sitting at table 16 at your wedding eating orders. I think he's at table one. In fact, I think he's sitting on the dais where they're supposed to sit, and they're sitting in the audience at their wedding.

I don't care how popular you are. If you're not part of the family, you're not sitting at table one, all right? We've got to draw a line somewhere. No, table one is for them. I think he gets up on, he's sitting next to the DJ and the meals. Maybe he gets his own table. He gets his own table. Oh, there's Connor.

Like people would pay to have Connor just be a, you know. Speaking of the meals. Last one, Connor McGregor. Again, clearly not concerned about this. You need to get yourself a wealth belly kid. It's the new six-pack. I mean, he's living his best life. I think we can all establish that.

And I'm along for the ride. I love the Connor McGregor Twitter and Instagram. It's my lifeblood. Yeah, he just posted one about eating sardines, and he's actually putting his belly out. And, I mean, his big belly puts all of ours to shame. But, you know, people said that Floyd is laughing all the way to the bank and that he's going to teach a class in Harvard.

You can say the same about Connor. I mean, does that look like that? like a man who lost? Wealth belly. Hashtag wealth belly. Okay. Next Rick's pick. Can we get the audio up on this?

My last professional fight here in Edmonton this is the last time I'm going to put these on. So thank you Edmonton and thank you Joe. Thank you Mitch for an awesome career.

Emotional. Mitch Clark retiring. last night, or not last night. This is from Saturday after losing at UFC 215. There was some kind of negativity on Twitter. Didn't want to really highlight that. Just wanted to say, congrats to Mitch Clark on what? About him? There were some people saying like, you know, you suck, this and that. After the guy retires and he went back at them and was like, hey,

oh, no, no. Now is not the time. Of course not. Screw those people. But MMA Twitter can be a cruel beast. But shout out to Mitch Clark. Congratulations on a, an incredible career. Mitch Clark, man. I mean, you think about him and what he's been through in his UFC career,

let alone MMA career, this guy was, you know, to say that he exceeded everyone's expectations. I mean, do you remember his debut? I believe his debut was UFC 140 against John Cholish.

Remember John Cholish? How long it's been? New York. I've seen him. Yeah. UFC 140 lost that fight via second round TKO, lost his second fight.

So he started 0-and-2, then beats John McGuire, then beats a guy by the name of ally Quinta, which was by far his biggest win, gets the big opportunity against Michael Keisa, goes the distance with Keisa, and then loses to Joe Duffy, and then of course Alex White.

He had an injury in which an acupuncture needle was stuck in his arm. You rebounded from that. It's like one of the grossest injuries I've ever heard of. So he's been through a lot. Getting an opportunity to retire in his adopted hometown of Edmonton,

pretty cool. would have liked to have speak to him after the fight. Unfortunately, they brought him to the hospital. He was a little banged up, but well done, Mitch Clark, one of the great Canadian fighters to compete in the UFC.

Very proud of you. Also, from Saturday night, we get the after shot of Gilbert Melendez's leg. If anybody isn't aware at this point, the fight between Gilbert Melendez and oh my god

Jeremy Stevens Stevens was going to the leg kicks nice and early and it seemed like Gilbert suffered an injury real early into the fight now we see the aftermath completely swelled up this might be the new this one's been passed around a bit this might be the new

Uriah Faber post Josealdo picture that we get for a little bit but from his wife Kerry Melendez everyone asking about Gilbert's leg here's a pick he's doing a okay should have seen have stopped it sooner between the second and third.

We will address that in the MMA after hour. So we'll talk about that later exclusively on Twitter. MMAfighting.tweeter.com. Look at you. Alistair Overeem. Yes. And Francis Inganu, a little back and forth.

Francis calling him out on Twitter a week or a week and a half ago. Alistair replying, I heard someone is trying to skip the line to allow such a thing to happen. They were talking on a week and a half ago. They were talking on a week and a half ago. They were talking on our show in Gunna,

who was talking about getting the title shot. What are you talking about? Yes, I'm talking about Twitter, though. Yeah. When Francis, is when the fight fell off. The first name was Alistair Overeux. Yeah, but Overeem is referring to the interview about skipping the line, about getting the title shot.

Yes, okay. I mean, what I'm talking. Give the credit to our own show. It's not about the credit. I'm chronicling the social interaction. Okay, fair enough. Jesus. Alster saying,

I heard someone is trying to skip the line. Can't allow such a thing to happen. so Francis and Gano let's go What I found interesting about this one was the Photoshop skills of Alistair over him You believe that he put this together or is this a little bit of Chase Sherman? I don't know

Chase Sherman He'll forever be known as Chase Sherman. I'll say this, Chase Sherman would have done a better Photoshop Hell yeah, he would have had some gifts in there he'd have had some little guys with heads and moving around, you know? But it seems like Alistair is warming up to the idea

And what was those guys? Who are those people? Random. All right. Whatever MS Paint had A little paper clip popped up and said, here's what you got. People online.

What do you prefer to see? That fight or Anganu go for gold right off? If the Overeem fight is there, I'd like to see that. If the timing can't work, I'm okay with him getting the title shot. But I would like that fight. It might have to happen because... Steepa. Yeah, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Yeah. Although Steepa was in Edmonton doing some PR stuff. Although Geiger Musasi did PR for the UFC. And that led to him signing with Bell Tor, so it doesn't mean much. I'm going to go to these quickly. Malki Kawa doing some work on Instagram, supporting the people of Florida. A long message here, but essentially all that to say that he's with the people of Florida.

Oh, not only that. Malki was out there delivering plywood. Wait, we got more. We got all of it here. So here's Malki delivering some sandbags. There's a lot of posts on his Instagram. So if you're interested in following the story in a much more in-depth way than this,

go to Malki Kawa's Instagram. But he's helping people with sandbags, delivering plywood, supporting his community. And I think, much like with Derek Lewis who is supporting Houston, it's important to highlight the people supporting their community.

Hopefully everybody who's an athlete, a manager, a trainer, whatever the case may be out in Florida, is staying safe. Same for the people of Houston. The work is not done. there. So anybody who's

doing something good, we're with... I love Malki. I mean, these guys are, you know, lifting up all the plywood. He's taking videos on Instagram. No, he's right there. Come on,

don't sell him short on that. There's nothing better than the Malky motivational speeches on... Yeah, he has a very DJ-Kallet kind of vibe. It's like straight on self-shot. Let me tell you guys, let me tell you about something.

My easies are dirty. They don't want you... Yeah, they don't want you to lift plywood. Okay. Saw this in various different accounts. I thought it was something worth highlighting. GSP getting himself into the e-sports sphere here facing off with Justin Wong for Bud Light Canada, but also I had this sent to me by a lot of different people.

I wonder, I never saw video. I wonder how George actually did. I wonder how his skills are on the sticks. Definitely. Who is Jay Wong? Justin Wong is like a competitive. fighting game player. A competitive fighting game player?

Known for like Street Fighter. But is he like an E? Like one of those E game guys? E-sports guys? Is he like one of those guys who makes a lot of money doing this? Is he famous? Oh, are you?

Justin Wong. Yes, he's famous. He actually kind of predates that a little bit before like Twitch and all those were huge. He's a pioneer. Yeah, he's a pioneer. Sure. One pioneer next to another.

Here we have George St. Pierre and... Wow, I love it. Okay, this clip hosted by Mick Duck MMA. Get out of here. Nick Diaz. Shh. Hey, Nick. Yeah, well, pretty damn good, isn't it?

The briefest of cameos in Ballers. So much that you might even not call it a cameo. But Nick Diaz on Ballers. Let's hear that again. They were looking pretty damn good. Hey Nick. Yeah, well, pretty damn good. It's been a good.

HBO's Ballers, The Rock. Have you ever seen this show? I haven't, no. I may have seen one episode, but I don't even recall. I couldn't say like it's a regular viewing for me. But Nick Diaz on Ballers for half a second. Hey, Nick.

Well done. This is a compilation put together by somebody named Full Contact M-T-W-F on Twitter. It's a great video. Great video. Everybody missing the high-fives. Let's get that music going. Yeah, bring it up a little bit.

Oh, okay, sorry. Okay, bring it down. This is great. This is great right here. Oh, these are hilarious. Can I say something, though? I was surprised at my interview with, oh, this Mike Goldberg going for it. where's it

oh surprised that your interview oh this one's so good remember when I interviewed Nate Diaz after and you yeah but see

there's a difference between being left hanging and botching botching adapt like you're just you know look that one herb Dean

and he goes what what oh this is great now this one was a little weird like she's trying to touch him she's trying to touch Diego she's just reaching out yeah

here we go Oh, that one is the weakest. That one actually hurts me to see that one with Brian Stan. This is a great one right here. Karen Bryant going for the hug. Yikes. No. But doesn't really qualify that one, does it?

No, that one does it. This one is great. DJ just struggling. Oh, my God. Finally gets it, though. See, that's the perfect way to end in the video. That is the perfect way to do. Well done, full contact, M.T.W.

Gosh, how long did that take to put together? don't know, but I liked it a lot. We talked about this earlier, but I think it's worth one more discussion. We talked about e-sports. Ariel Halani. The least that he can do. Finally following Mighty Mouse on Twitch. Here's the question.

How much of his content did you watch? What did you get? What are the takeaways from Mighty Mouse's channel? So Friday to after the way ends. And again, much respect to Edmonton. I was really impressed with that place. I went to the mall on Saturday. Don't go into that yet.

Okay. We got stuff on that later. Save it. All right. So I go back to my room and I'm feeling a little down. You know, I feel like the city's kind of down. Like they were so excited. UFC, first time, Edmonton, new arena.

They're pumped. Beautiful, beautiful city. Up and coming. Tons of new buildings, restaurants, all this stuff. And I'm feeling a little down. Just came from the wands. And the crowd, I must say the ceremonial wands are like a ghost town these days because there's no real interest in them. They've already, you know, seen the way.

Anyone who's going to the ceremonial wanes already knows what happened earlier in the morning. They've watched our stream on Facebook. They know the drill. So they're not going to that anymore. But this time, the people actually showed up and they were into it and they were clapping and blah, blah, blah. And by the way, it was a very knowledgeable crowd. Like when DC came out, they cheered him. When John Jones was on the screen, they boot him. When Rhonda Rousey was on the screen, they boot her. Like they were up to date with the narratives, if you will. And then I get back to my room and I'm a little down and you said, you know what, let me just brighten his day. Let me lift the spirits. Oh, how noble of you? What a man. Let me sign up for Twitch. So I got to go on my computer.

You can't do it on your phone, by the way. You can't sign up for Twitch on your phones. I got to pull out my computer. I got to try to figure this out. I have to try to link, because he told me that you can link it with your Amazon Prime. So I'm like, all right, I'm going to link it. It's a whole big rigamarral. And finally I figured it out. And then all of a sudden, once I subscribed and I screenshoted it and tweeted it, then I got all these people, trying to chat with me. Like messages started popping up. I was like, all right, I'm out of here.

But it was fun. So what is the, to answer the question, to answer your question, I didn't spend a lot of time after subscribing, but the fact that I did it and he gets whatever he gets out of me subscribing, he wanted me to do so so badly, I feel like I did my duty and I lived up to I would like to get a fight week video. Next time Demetri's fights. Let's say it's 216. Let's say it could happen right away.

I would like to get a video of you. and Demetrius sitting down and watching some of his Twitch content. I want to get the Ariel Holandre reaction video. In fact, I pitched that idea. I pitched him that idea on Thursday and he told me I'm not doing any interviews with you because you haven't subscribed. And that's why we did... Now the door is open. That's why when we did our interview at the media day

or the workouts, the open workouts, he was like a little bit perturbed. And then of course the fight falls through. So now I have to question, based on this timeline, I have to question whether the motivation was really to lift DJ's spirits or to further your agenda. No agenda. I felt like it was the least that I could do because I said to him, if you break the record, I will subscribe. Well, he didn't get that opportunity.

So I knew that this would lift the spirits. And guess what? He didn't make any mention of the cancellation, yet he retweeted. The first thing that you saw from DJ in the midst of all this was him retweeting my Twitch tweet. That's big. That's real big.

I'm skeptical and dubious. But we're moving on. All right. Say what you want. I don't typically use this as a platform for myself. Oh, great. But we're going to today. Because I had my first Jiu Jitza.

Oh, wow. Last Friday. Taken by young Danny Segora of MMAFighting.com. Where was this? Williamsburg, the grappling club. Oh, I love the grappling club. Yours truly getting the first, the first role in, the first of many signed up.

and it's time to do the BJJ. How to go? I think it was okay. Are we talking ghee or no ghee? Well, I didn't have my ghee, so I was going no ghee, but I planned to do the ghee. Were you rolling around with that glory shirt? Yeah, it's like a compression top. It's a little weird, kickboxing, glory.

Oh, man, yeah, you're right. I mean, the thing that was printed on it, how could I have overlooked the fact that my grappling skills would have been lessened by the fact that it? So is he your teacher? Danny didn't. What's going on? And did you actually get choked out? No,

is that just a cool hashtag? Actually, I did get choked out. Danny choked me out. Wow. And what's the plan now? We're going to do this every week, once a week, twice a week.

Yeah, we're going to try and do it as many times as possible. You've got to stick to a plan because if you just do like, you know, willy-nilly, you're never going to see this through. Listen, my money is in their account. I signed up for the membership.

Oh, okay. So it's all happening. We'll follow along on the journey. Maybe we'll get that grappling match with Stephanie going if she ever shows up again. Yeah, what happened to Stephanie? Is she gone? She got the axe? I don't know.

Dang. She was over training her striking in Thailand. Oh, you're doing jiu-jitsu. She's doing striking. It sounds like we're moving towards a fight. We'll do the first intergender, uh, MMA fight. We'll do the first intergender, uh, MMA fight. Oh, actually, no, that's not true.

was germane no that was moitai I think india edia and india gomes has done one either way doesn't matter not going to happen but it was only kidding well done good luck to you

hopefully it works out better than your amateur fight that you promised us many moons ago that was a that was a situation where you thought that getting into shape was the same as fighting where you equated those two things was that the best shape of your life by far i mean i was a really good Did you miss that?

Like, did you feel better? I remember you talking about how much you felt better. I really did. I never felt better in my life, but I'm working on that wealth belly, as Connor McGregor says. Everyone's got one.

And I think, I think things are going well. I'm feeling very wealthy. Very wealthy. Lastly, from Mike Heck, don't forget New York Rick. Rick's picks theme from MMA hour still available on iTunes.

Get it. because it goes to a good cause. Water 4. It's the proceeds. It seems as per Mike, we're at roughly 80-ish dollars now. So we've sold a few. Let's get that number up.

And let's do something nice for Water 4. So go get the ringtone on iTunes. And now it's time to open up your ears and your minds. Well, we're just going to hear it. Okay. You know what you're getting. Ricks picks. Oh, that was just a little.

taste. Yeah, you know, you can't give away the milk for free. All right. Go get the ringtone from iTunes. And before we go to

After Hour real quickly, I mentioned the clip art paper clip. Esther Lynn, our own all elbows, saying that his name is Clippy,

reminding us that his name is Clippy. What are you talking about? Remember I was saying the MS paint, I mean the MS. Oh, from the old ring thing?

Yeah, the little clip art. That guy has a name. He has a name. He has a name. He told you. Clippy. I recognized him. Clippy from

Esther. So shout out to you, Clippy. And shout out to us. I'm sure you're doing great things now. Yeah. And that's it for Rick's picks this week. All right.

Thank you for that, Esther. Thank you to everyone for your great tweets this past week as New York Rick says goodbye. But it's not goodbye for long because now what we're going to do,

my friends, is go to the M.M.A. After hour. And what we do with the M.A. After hour, as you know by now, is we go exclusively on MMA fighting, mMA fighting.

Twitter.com. By the way, where's my mall picks? Is that coming in the after hour? No mall picks, come on. What? I wanted to talk about my trip to the mall. There's a question that addresses the Canadian crowd and all that.

Don't worry. You'll get to talk about the mall. All right. I love them all. Anyway, now we're going to mampofinite.com all show long. Hopefully you've been sending us some questions, comments.

We've a lot to discuss. Still haven't really weighed in on the main event. Still haven't really weighed in on the Ray Borg situation. still haven't really weighed in on RDA, on Henry Sohudo. There's a lot to discuss, my friends, and hopefully you've sent us some good questions. So we're going to go to mhmapfighting.com in a matter of moments, hashtag the MMA hour.

It's exclusive on Twitter. So if you're watching us on YouTube, on Facebook, on MAA Fighting, shut those things down, go to Twitter, either on your phone or on your computer or on any other kind of device that has Twitter.m., MMAFighting.com. I've been tweeting the link all day long, so it's not hard to find. We're answering your questions. We're talking about 215. We're talking about 216.

A little Canelo Triple G action, if you will. Soroni-Till, if you will. Whatever's on your mind. We're doing it right about now. Yeah, we're back. MMA after hour. What a fun day it has been. Four hours strong, but plenty more to discuss.

In fact, we've got a lot to discuss. 215 is in the books. Mandaninez. Raining, defending. UFC women's Bantamway champion A debated fight A somewhat controversial fight I don't think it was a robbery

Talk about that, talk about Ray Borg Talk about the rest of the card We'll talk about Pittsburgh, talk about Kinella Triple G There's a lot to discuss We are here exclusively on Twitter Once again, thank you very much to Twitter for the platform for the support MMAfighting.com

Let's bring back Mr. New York, Rick. Let's get crazy here. Let's let our hair down. Hello. Let's let our hair down. Let's see it. Okay. Yes. Come on.

Do you actually want to? Yes, I want to see it. After all these years, let's finally see this damn hair. It's very long. Let's see it. Now, this comes with the caveat that... Yes. You know Kyle Bratowski from South Park?

Yes. As he has that, like, very currily. Oh, my God. Did hair just come out? What do you mean? I thought a little piece of hair just came out. Oh, that's going to happen with long hair. I'm sure that's from here. But I'm going to give you the Bar Mitzvah luck.

You ready? I don't understand. Oh my lod. Oh my lod. Oh my gosh. Please get the gifts ready. Oh my God. This is incredible. Why don't you wear your hair like that? Oh, you look like Jesus. You look like the second coming of Jesus. By the way, can I just say something? This is a much better look. Well, wait, no, no, no. Stop it. Okay. When you do that, you look like, you know, Sean Michaels, circa 1980. I'll take Sean Michaels. I mean, I've gotten, so far we've got what, Johnny Depp, Sean Michaels, Jesus. I mean, these are all, these are all legendary figures. Why do we have to do the whole thing at the top? The bun. Why can't we just let it down? We can't. We can't. What's it like taking a shower with that kind of hair? When's the last time you cut the ends? I haven't cut it since I started growing it. You're kidding. You haven't like trimmed it? It's been years. You haven't touched it. I haven't touched it. I haven't touched it. It's surprisingly long though. People don't realize how long it is. because I keep it bunded up.

And you're... Honestly, you ever wake up and you're like, you know what, screw this hair? I'm considering, and I'll put this out there, I didn't expect to. I'm considering upon the birth of my baby daughter... I think that's... There may be a symbolic shaving of the...

The whole thing. You know what? I like that. It's time to grow up. Excuse me. What will she say when she sees this? How far away are we? That dad...

That dad was a trendsetter. No. quite the opposite. How far away are we? We are two and a half months. More importantly, how much time are you taking off? Is it time off?

Yeah, that's what I thought. How does that go? Oh my God, yes. Esther got a screen grab of it. Let's see it. Esther got a screen grab. Esther's supposed to be here taking a photo. Take the real deal.

Well, I mean, wow, that was a big deal. Wow, look at that. And also your hands. Did she do that on purpose? Your hands are actually together like you're praying. You look like, oh, you did. You said Jesus and I gave you the look. This might be the greatest moment in the history of the show.

Listen, I live to serve the people. Thank the heavens. Thank Jesus. Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. For being quick on the trigger.

Gilemi says that you look like Elias Theodoro. I can see that. Look. Not as good looking. I'll take any of these. I'll take any of these. You tell me Johnny Depp, you tell me Elias. I mean, Elias is a very handsome man.

Okay. Yes. Look, focus. Stay with me here. That was fun. Esther, you go about sharing that. But let's get to the most important thing. Your question of the week.

And now, last week, I didn't want to start with your question of the week, but you forced it in there, like a real self-server. But here, I think it is appropriate to start with this question. This was one of the questions that many people asked. Yes. Ariel Hawani says the question of the week Who won UFC Who won the UFC

215 minimum? Yes Can I see the results? You'd have to look. It doesn't have it here. What kind of operation is this? Look, it doesn't This is not a perfect system, Ariel.

Well, let me see what the people think first. You have the results. I wasn't ready for this. You told me you'd have the tweet. I do have the tweet. Well, that's not really the tweet. The tweet is the poll. The poll results.

are, here it is. All right. Wow. How about that? Tell me. Essentially 8,000 votes, 7,900. One day left on it. 36% for Amanda Nunes, 64% for Valentina Shavchenko. Now, I believe on my phone,

you can actually see how many people voted for each, but that's the gist. I'm a little surprised. Are you surprised? No. You're not. You know what?

Maybe I am. I thought it'd be more split. I thought it'd be more split, but I think the instinct in that situation is to go with the loser of the fight. I was surprised at the reaction to the decision. I'm surprised. Now, in the arena, I wasn't surprised. That was a hot crowd. It was late.

You know, they're getting antsy. They want to see a big, you know, a big finish, a crescendo. And that fight wasn't that. No. Like I said to Raquel Pennington, that fight reminded me of Woodley Wonderboy 2. in that they both fought each other. They're two very high-level fighters. They know how dangerous each of them are,

and they kind of neutralize each other. And it doesn't lead to the best kind of fight. And so the crowd I felt was going to boo either decision. I was surprised at the Twitter reaction, most of it seemed to be that Valentino was robbed. I don't agree with that. I think it was a very close fight. I thought it was two-two going into the fifth.

I thought Amanda won the first, third, fifth. I thought that Valentina won the second and fourth. I think the takedown may have sealed it for Amanda. I think those fights were really hard fights to score, hard rounds to score, I should say. Look, I don't think it's going on either of their highlight reels. I don't think it was an incredibly entertaining fight. I thought it was a high-level fight between two very, very, very good fighters.

And unfortunately, it didn't lead to the kind of crescendo that I think that that crowd wanted. but it wasn't a robbery. And I think in the end, Amanda did enough to win the fight. And one more time, can we please put to bed this idea that to be the champ

or to become the champ, you must beat the champion. No judge scores a fight based on who's the champion and who's not. No judge looks at a round and says, all right, this is what happened.

But this person was the champion, they did a little more, and this person didn't do enough to actually beat the champion. No, a judge just scores rounds based on what he sees, or at least that's what, he or she should do.

And all you have to do is win three rounds. That's it. You don't have to beat the champion. You don't have to do more than a five-round non-title main event. You just have to win three rounds. That's it. A few things on this. One, quite often when people use the word robbery, it doesn't apply.

I'd say 90% of cases in MMA, people are outraged, calling for robberies, and it really doesn't apply. Outside of a few very specific circumstances. Secondly, the thing about the champions. getting the benefit, I could see an argument, and this is the specific case where, let's say it's supposed to be a 10-10 round. We very rarely

actually see a 10-10 round. I could conceive of a circumstance where a judge who's looking at a 10-10 round sides with the champion. Danny Segura scored the fourth 10-10. Yeah. And you know what? I'd like to see it more. I really would. I don't think in this case

it was used... If it's used more, I think fighters will be a little more aggressive. I don't know how much it would change. I didn't think any of those rounds were 10-10s. Yeah. Can you give me your scoring again? First, third, fifth, Amanda, second, fourth, Valentina.

But they were hard rounds to score, but that's what I was thinking that night. And I think that most people have first and fifth for Nunes. Yeah. Although the judges were all over the map. Second and fourth for Shevchenko. I think three is the one that most people people are kind of back and forth on. But either way, no robbery.

I don't think either fighter really put their stamp on that fight to the point where you could be upset that a round was scored the other way. They were all close rounds. I am surprised by 30-whatever percent, though, because I thought it would be more split. I honestly think that some of that is a trickle-down effect from what happened in July. I think Amanda Nunes isn't in the best graces. of the fans. I think her saying

afterwards that she doesn't care that she was booed, that she wanted to go five rounds to prove to herself. This one was for herself. Maybe wasn't the best PR answer. I think some fans are mad at her. And I think that

some of that is kind of seeping in here. I think it's best for the UFC to move on from this feud. I don't think that Valentina is going to get a third crack anytime soon, especially because Amanda beat her twice. I know one of them was a non-title fight,

but I just think that they want to move on and I have to say Valentina in my opinion right now I mean I think you can make a strong case that she's the second best Bantam weight in the world I think that if she goes down to 125 she is the frontrunner to be the champion now

I don't know what Yohanna is planning on doing but I'm not incredibly impressed with the talent at 125 on the ultimate fighter there's some other fighters out there you know like Andrea Lee like Maya in Invicta.

There are some names out there who aren't a part of the show and we've seen in the past that those who go on the show don't end up being the champions or the face of the division. We saw that at 115. We've seen that at 135 as well.

I think if Valentina goes down to 125, she could be a force there. I agree with that. And just goes to show how good she is. I think she's still a force at 135, but she waited at 133. She doesn't have to. I'm just saying there's a real opportunity

if she's not going to get another crack at Amanda, there's a real opportunity to become a champion and do some damage there at 125. I agree with you. No disagreement there. And by the way, do you agree with my assessment that Pennington is next? Just based on, you look at the rankings, it's almost like who else could it be?

I like this idea of if it's, I mean, she should be next today. But if Nunez is taking some time off, I like Pennington's idea of Pena next and then the winner of that. And I know Pena is coming off a loss, but she was patient. She's been through a lot. I think either way,

the UFC wins in that regard. So our next question is specifically regarding that from Jay Walker. What's next for Nunez? Hard to market another fight with Shevchenko. Does Zingano get the fight as the only one to beat Nunes? I mean, Zingano's been out for quite some time and she has been campaigning.

She's a name as well that I'd like to see return. She's coming off the loss at UFC 200, right? I mean, she hasn't fought in a while. So I really think I think the problem is that people just have forgotten about Pennington because her last fight was almost a year ago. She retired, Misha Tate, and she's won four in a row. And I think that, you know, she has a great story. She's marketable. And she's really put it all together.

So I'd like to see her get that opportunity. I just don't know if the timing is going to work out. Although she's coming off three pretty extensive surgeries. I didn't know about the mouth one. So I don't know. I kind of feel like, also we don't know about Katzenegano at this point as well. And Pena is kind of, there's a lot with the top people there. Like, you know, Holly Holmes at 145, Pena is kind of mysterious right now.

Again, I don't know why Rhonda's still being ranked, but okay, she's four. Pennington, McMahon just lost. You know, Caitlin Viera is in that mix, but no one really knows her at all. Pena has the ultimate fighter behind her. I think Pena versus Pendington makes the most sense, if Penaena. doesn't just wait for a title shot and they can convince Nunes to come back soon rather than later if that surgery gets done soon, we'll see

what happens. But that's kind of what I'm thinking as far as the top of the division is concerned. Yep. Still a lot to be seen. What should the UFC do about main events falling out at the last minute from Kegan Webster? Sorry. Replacements should be on the same card as the

co-main mate. I disagree with that. I actually disagree with that. I don't think it's fair at this stage to expect and I know that you're upset. I get it. I was upset. I didn't have to pay tickets. I didn't have to pay all that money. But I get it. But I think it's unfair to expect Demetrius Johnson, who's this far along in his career, who's on the cusp of making history to just say, all right, I'll fight someone else, someone who he's fought already, someone who he has a fight. No,

I don't think that's fair. There's too much. I thought that, you know, Amanda Nunes and Nina answer off, put it very well in the build-up to this fight. There is too big of a discrepancy between being champion and not being champion, especially if you're not the biggest name. If you lose that belt, you fall all the way down. And that is part of the issue with a guy like Steve Miochich. Luke Rockhold had that issue. Chris Wyman had that issue. You become champion, you get a great deal. But part of that deal states that if you are no longer champion, your purse goes all the way down. That's a very hard thing to deal with. That's a lot of pressure. And so I understand. And so I understand when someone like Amanda Nunes isn't feeling 100% says, you know what, I'll live to

fight another day and I'll wait two months to fight again. And I certainly understand when someone like Demetrius Johnson says, no, I prepare for this guy. I'm going to fight this guy. Now, what's the remedy to this issue, which has become somewhat of an issue over the past few months? But, you know, it's not something that's happened all the time. What's a remedy? Remedy is better cards. Back of the day, we, you know, we talk these days about this is the best card in UFC history. Back of the day, you know, the top nine fights, top ten fights were all spectacular with the biggest names. The, you know, the expectations, our expectations as to what makes a great card has significantly lowered. And kudos to Demetrius Johnson for telling it like it is last week and saying that there

are too many cards. And just look at this stretch that we're embarking on now. 16 out of the next 18 weeks, there are UFC cards. That's a lot. And it's the UFC just doesn't have the roster to sustain that. They don't have the depth of talent. They don't have the stars. They don't have the names. They're creating a title to main event their next pay-per-view. I think that there's a chance, and this is no knock on 215. This is no knock on Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shifchenko. I think that there's a chance at 215 is one of their lowest pay-per-views ever, only because it's in the same billing cycle as Mayweather-Megregor. If you bought Mayleather-Megger, you're the kind of person who is also interested in 215. Are you buying both? Are you spending $150 in the same

billing cycle for pay-per-view. And by the way, if you're the kind of fight fan that buys everything, you're also probably buying Canello Triple G. Are you paying $200 plus in a month for pay-per-views? So it's a very strong possibility that people skip that one. And especially with, you know, the news that the DJ fight was off and you wouldn't be seeing history anymore. There's too many cards. There's not enough fighters to, you know, sustain those cards. And, And so the answer to this question is, how do you remedy this? You just have to have better cards. You just have to have better cards.

So unfortunately, if you lose a main event, thank God they had another title fight on this card. What would they have done if there was only one title fight? What would they have done if Amanda Nunez and Valentina Shepchenko fought on July 8th? They would not have been fighting on September 9th, right? Nunes or Shafchek. Yes. No. But this card could have looked different.

I mean, you can't say like... No, they moved that fight. they moved that fight to September 9th after it fell off because you'll remember DJ was involved in that contract issue his hand was busted it became a silver lining for them they didn't have a main event that night and they moved that so what happens if all right they end up getting DJ DJ fight falls through RDA versus Magni is your main event right in a vacuum yes I think there's things they could do to change that if who's available look at their next pay-per-view Or maybe it's not on pay-per-view. Maybe it becomes not a paper-bue. Yeah, but anyway. I get what you're saying. They need deeper cards.

They need better cards. They need, you know, stronger lineups. And that's the only way to remedy this. So that if you lose one fight, you still have tons of other great fights. If, from Cody Spurling, if Johnson v. Borg gets rescheduled for 216, how many more pay-per-view buys do you see it getting? Essentially, how much does DJ and Borg add to 216? In a weird way, I feel like this has elizabeth.

elevated DJ a little bit. I feel like he's becoming a bigger star. I mean, just him sitting there on Saturday and Sohudo winning and like talking to him. I don't know. It just felt like the controversy elevates him a little bit. I don't know what that translates into. I'll say this. There isn't a right answer here, right? I mean, there clearly isn't a right answer as far as who's next for DJ outside of Borg. But I'm thinking long and hard if I'm the UFC about giving him that shot. And that's knock on Borg. That is no knock on Borg, but we're just looking at the history. I mean, I read it before to D.J. More often than not, he doesn't show up. And at the last minute, so he was sick, he had trouble cutting weight. Whatever the story is, he pulled out 48 hours

before, right? He was unfit to fight. He was not medically cleared. You're going to turn around a month later. Part of the reason why, you know, I was saying, go with Borg over T.J. Dillishaw was because TJ has never made weight at 125, and there's history at stake here. You're promoting that. You can't risk him missing weight. The only thing worse than what happened on Thursday was Borg missing weight,

and this no longer being a title fight. Now, it would have been somewhat coincidental because a lot of people think that Anderson Silva should actually have 11 title defenses because Luter missed weight at 67, and that should be no knock on. Anderson. For example, if Anderson would have missed weight, Luter could have still fought for the belt. So why can't Anderson defend the title against a guy? You know what I mean? Why can't it be both ways? Well, I can answer that. Please. Because it's not a five-round fight anymore. It should be, though. Like if DC,

DC, Max Holloway situation, if DC missed weight, 210, right, he would have been stripped, but Rumble could have still become champion. Right, because it was still a five-round main event fight. Yeah, so was this. It was the main event. Was it? Yeah, it was the main event. So, anyway, so that would have been somewhat, you know, ironic, I guess the word is. The point is, wait, wait.

I'm thinking long, yes. Back in those days, main events were all five rounds? No, no, and that's not my point. My point is, why, if Anderson would have misway, why would Luder have had the chance to become champion? but Anderson can use that as a title defense. He's still the champion fighting the same guy. But in that circumstance, it becomes a three-round fight.

I know. So therefore... You get my point. I do. Anyway. If you're the UFC, are you going back to Borg? No, I'm not. But then what do you do?

You wait for Joey B to heal up. You give it to Sehudo. Joey B's out for a while. You do whatever it is, but it's not reward. The problem is, Pettis should be the guy. You do. Petis doesn't want it. Petis wants a hood on.

I love that fight. Wait for the winner of that. It's really tricky right now. You go back to that well. It's very difficult for you to have trust in Ray Borg at this point. No matter what the circumstance is, whether it was weight cutting issues, not weight cutting issues, there's been too many fights where he hasn't made it to fight time to make that type of investment. And let me just say this.

It's a business. Ray Borg's team reached out to me perfecting athletes and they provided a statement. And I appreciate that. You don't see that from a lot of nutritionists. they wanted to have a statement and we put it up and then Borg's statement afterwards saying that he parted ways with them

why did you part ways with them if you were sick well maybe he didn't want them making a statement on his behalf first fair but is that really I mean that's one of the top nutritionist teams in the sport yeah all I'm saying is

last fight was perfect for him March of 2017 made weight one that's the batting 1,000. Prior to that, Louis Smolka, UFC 207, missed weight, 129 and a half. Then there was...

Which is an insane number. What do you mean? That's way too much. Like, there's missing weight and then there's just completely blowing it. Right. And that's too much. And so,

and that wasn't that long ago. That was in December. Yeah. Then prior to, I mean, a year ago, do you remember in Cleveland, UFC 203? Just a couple days before.

So you had the DJ fight that was canceled. Formigo was. batting a thousand. Smolka, he misses the weight. Ian McCawaw 3, illness. Yep. UFC 201, pulled out, injury, 10 days out. Skagans. Fight was in 2016. Lost that one. I think he made wait for that one.

I don't know. I read it before. Let me just get it. I think he may have missed on the first attempt or something with that. Then I remember something with that one. My man Michael Chiapetta wrote it down very nicely. Just give me a second here. I want to get this right. But, I mean, overall, I think it's very difficult,

yeah, to put your trust in that. Now, that's not to say the summation of this is that's not to say that Rehborg is a liar. That's not to say that Rehborg isn't sick. I think people are missing the point here. even if that is the case there's a history

of just not making it to the fight whether whether you know it's related to an illness whether it's related to missing weight there's there's a track record that's being developed and that does not mean that

Rayborg wasn't sick and shouldn't have fought that can be true I believe like I believe his team that can be completely true they've told me you know throwing up it sounded like a nightmare yeah I'm not

saying that he can't make the weight. I'm just saying there seems to be a pattern. August of 2015 missed weight. February of 2016 makes weight, loses. July of 2016 pulls out 10 days before the fight against Serrano. September of 2016 pulls out three days before the fight against McCall. December of 2016,

wins but misses weight, as we said. And then the March one, wins, decision, no issues at all. That's a victory. And then of course what happened a couple days ago. So this is a product of there not being enough contenders at 125. I would bang down Sergio Pettus's door, but if he doesn't want it, he doesn't want it.

You can't force the guy. Yeah, I mean, I was excited to see the fight. I was telling Borg's coach, Brandon Gibson, at the open workouts, I was like, you know what? There are times when guys say, like, oh, I'm going to shock the world, I'm going to beat this guy, I'm going to make history, and you don't really believe it. Like, he speaks with conviction.

You know what I mean? He speaks with confidence. He seemed to really think that he had the answer to, you know, to Demetrius Johnson. he could figure him out. And so I was excited for it. And then this happens. And so all I'm saying is, if I'm the UFC,

I'm thinking long and hard about rebooking it because there is a pattern there. It's not a first. If it's a first, you say, look, tough crap, got sick, let's move on. But how do you ignore all of this? Yeah. I mean, it's all circumstance, though. There may be no alternative. That may be working out timing-wise.

So I could see it being reimb-booked just as easily as I could see it being overlooked and bypassed. the same way Amanda Nunes was not going to headline a pay-per-view and ends up headlining a paper view. There's always circumstances that can make these things happen. And I wouldn't be surprised in either case, but I think there's definitely cautioned. Oh, the plan is to rebook. There's no doubt about it. And I think part of that reason is because there's not a lot of other options. I'll just say this on DJ.

He has turned in, in my opinion, into one of the more entertaining interviews because he just doesn't give an F anymore. and he's completely free and unfiltered. And I have a feeling, excuse me, that we will appreciate this man as a mixed martial artist, not as an interview guest, not on anything like that, just as a fighter.

As a Twitch streamer. A lot more when he's gone than when he's around right now. I feel like people will, I feel like he's starting to get appreciated more, but I feel like we'll look back on his run with fondness and respect and admiration a lot more than we show him right now.

at least the general public will. That's my prediction. What about Henry Sehudo? This is from Jesse Drebitt. Does the Henry Sohudo we saw on Saturday night pose the biggest threat to DJ? And then they say, or is Sehudo Pettus the next step? Yeah, 100%. I was told from Sehudo's team that Pettis was actually up against the cage,

and as they put it, mean mugging Henry Sehudo after the victory. I'd even know that Sergio Pettis was in Edmonton. How they... How they missed that? I have no idea. Now, it was cool to see the back and forth with DJ, and I did think that that elevated DJ, but I think it's a little too soon for Henry Sehudo to be in that discussion.

I mean, that first fight, the problem with the first fight at 197, it was too soon in Sehudo's career. He was only 10-0. He had only been doing this for three years, didn't have an amateur career. I remember saying this at the time. I wish he was 15-0, 16-0-0. Had a little more fights, especially cutting to 125.

especially being in the UFC under his belt. Followed that up with the fight against Joseph Benavides, which I thought was super close and he had a strong case and unfortunately he went three rounds maybe he goes a little different

if it goes five, but that was a very interesting fight. So he only has one win. Now that's a great win, but it's his first finish in the UFC. It's his first finish in four years. Yeah, first finish in four years, little over four years,

it's been a while for him. And so, I want to see a couple more. I think the Pettus fight makes all the sense of the world. They're supposed to fight in May. He pulled out due to a hand injury. That's a fight I want to see. Less we forget also,

it's not like Henry Sohudo is Mr. Reliable when it comes to the week. No, of course. As well. So you're dealing with a similar gamble here. I do think that was a statement when, though, by Henry Suhudo. It's hard to criticize anything that happened there. He looked absolutely flaws against a contender,

against a former title challenger in Wilson Hayes. I like how DJ says that he put out the blueprint. to be it wasn't his. I don't think that was necessarily like a best-selling blueprint. I don't think anybody was searching for that one. Okay. There's two questions here that are very similar.

We're going to read them both. Random hero says, considering how long the refs took to stop the fight in the Tucker fight, should we see corners throw in the towel more often? Yes. We see from handsome Rob, after what we saw at Gilbert Melendez,

should corners be more proactive in throwing in the towel? Essentially question being, do corners, a responsibility should they be taking more on themselves in terms of stopping fights. We saw, and this was a question regarding Gilbert Melendez versus Jeremy Stevens and with Rick Glenn and Kevin Tucker. Gavin Tucker.

Now that referee, by the way, in the Gavin Tucker fight, his name is Kyle Cardinal, and he's a local referee. He did a horrendous job. I was happy to read, Gavin Tucker put out a statement. absolving the referee and saying like don't blame him, you know, that was on me. I mean, it was a very good statement. He said, or he wrote, I should say, on Facebook that Kyle actually visited him in the hospital. And, you know, kudos him for doing that. What I had heard, and I've yet to officially confirm this with the commission, but that I heard that Kyle was essentially told

your night is done after this. Not necessarily punished, but he was clear, his schedule was clear. after that. In a city in which Tim Haig recently died as a result of the injuries that he sustained in a boxing match, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, you would think that the radars would be a little stronger and that they would be a little more sensitive to this kind of damage. Now, I had heard all week long that that that was the case, that they were on their P's and Q's, that they realized that the spotlight was on them. Well, apparently, Kyle Cardinal didn't get the memo

because what he did to Gavin Tucker, or maybe I should say what he didn't do, was reckless, was egregious. Gavin Tucker should not have taken that much punishment. Gavin Tucker is a young fighter, an undefeated fighter up until that point, who's got his whole career ahead of him. Why in the world did you not stop that earlier? And then, I'm sorry, but his corners should be criticized as well.

Why aren't they looking at their guy who they have to go back to the gym to, who they have to go back and rebuild, say, look, let's live to fight another day. We lost the first two rounds. Rather convincingly, let us move on. Let us just move on. Let us just end this fight. And from my conversations,

I think that Gilbert Melendez's team had those thoughts afterwards as well. Like, it's not worth it. Now, we've seen some Hail Mary punches. We've seen some crazy turn of events. But at some point, you have to think about the future. You have to think about sustaining long-term damage, living to fight another day. And yes, the referee's job, first and foremost, they are there in a neutral capacity to try to protect both fighters.

I understand this is part of the problem with the win and show money breakdown. A fighter will go back and be like, you robbed me. I had 15 more $1,000 that I could win. Why did you stop that fight? I had him. Ropa dope a dope. was going to do it. I was going to shock the world. This is a very awkward position to be in if you're a cornerman. If everything is already, you know, promised, you don't have to think about that, but

unfortunately they do. That's a problem with the way the sport is structured, or at least with the UFC pay structure, is structured. And so the referee, first and foremost, needs to understand that responsibility that he has to both fighters. And he needs to recognize when a fighter is no longer intelligently defending himself and taking unnecessary damage. That referee that night did not do a good job. That's the kind of job that, in my opinion, puts you on the sidelines. You've got to build yourself back up and prove that you understand what it means to officiate a combat sports fight. So yeah, the referee needs to answer for his actions. The corners need to explain why they did that. I understand probably money was involved and they don't want to rob their guy and it's a tough

position, but how you can watch a friend, a teammate, a sparring partner, a student, go through that and not think, you know what, maybe we should just call this off is beyond me. Maybe that's why I can't do that. Maybe that's why, you know, to answer David Branch's question, I can't do what they do in the cage, I can't fight for a living. And I certainly can't watch a friend, a teammate, a training partner, a sparring partner, a student go through that kind of unnecessary damage. He was not coming back. He wasn't. Yeah, I think much. more so in the Tucker Glenn fight than with Gilbert

Melendez but in either case the path to victory seemed very limited and we could have seen something from the corners for sure I understand you know you touched on it exactly they have to then answer to that fighter later and say hey I took that

opportunity away from you because the tide wasn't changing where the fighter can come back and say I had it in me I was going to do this or that it's a difficult position to be in but that's why I think the referee has to be that first line of defense where the corner has to step in if they're not doing their job. Wait, can I just, I was trying to find it. Come on.

Oh, okay. So Gavin Tucker posts this on, damn it, I can't make this bigger. I have very bad eyesight. So he posts this on Facebook. Four broken bones in my face, the first of which started on the jaw in round one, and the fight went down from there for me. Two fractured orbital bones and another fracture, no, another vertical fracture in the jaw according to the x-ray scan CT scan. And then he says the heartbreak of losing hurts much more. That is unnecessary. You know what I mean? That's a young fighter. Live to fight another day.

You weren't the better man that day. And who knows what kind of damage Gilbert Melendez sustained. The picture is gruesome. Hopefully no structural damage. Please, corners, do your fighters a favor. And then of course, I mean, it goes without saying for the referees. That, to me, is the no-brainer. We need to see more corners step in. They don't have as many opportunities as they do in boxing, right? They don't have 12 opportunities or 11 opportunities or nine opportunities. Or, you know, if it's a four-round, they don't have as many in a three-round fight.

It's only twice that they get to talk to them, right? They only get to talk to them between the first and second and second and third to actually speak to the fighter and be like, hey, should we stop this? You know, because it's very rare to see that because a fighter, guarantee you is going to say, why did you stop it? In the midst of the fight, right? Why did you stop? You know, it's very rare to have that, you'll never see it. You see it very, very rarely. It's super rare. I remember, you remember that Nate Diaz fight against Josh Thompson? I think it was Nick Diaz throwing in the towel, although it was kind of a moot point. Anyway, I would love to see

that more. At least those conversations happen more. Gilbert Melendez, one in five in the UFC, one and four in his last five. What are your thoughts on him? his future. This was his first fight at Featherweight. I think, you know, it's a little too early to say it's over. I think probably he could make another run. You know, I think he at least could have another fight at featherweight to see where he stands.

Jeremy Stevens, probably not getting the credit he deserves in a really, really good performance from him. One of his best. But what do we think about Gilbert? One of Jeremy Stevens best. And I love that story that he postponed his wedding to take this fight. That's how much it meant to him. and he certainly showed up.

Kudos to Jeremy Stevens, who it always seems like has these great performances and then kind of takes a step back. Hopefully this ignites a bit of a run. I'm not ready to write off Gilbert Melendez. I thought he looked fantastic at 145. I thought he looked to be in great shape. The fight just didn't go his way. But I want to see one more at 145 before, you know,

I start campaigning for him to retire. But yeah, it's amazing to me that he hasn't won since UFC 166. That was a long time ago. Kane Velazquez was the champion then. From PDNGIA, why have a no open fingers rule if it isn't enforced? Nunes was warned four more times and nothing does this send a bad message. I guess if we're not going to enforce the rules, why do we have them?

And we see this a lot. But in particular, I think, you know, there was a thought that this specific foul was going to be addressed more clearly and regularly. Maybe someone can answer this form. me on Twitter. I don't recall and I don't want to speak out of turn, but I don't remember if the Eminton Commission adopted the new rules or were still on the old rules. I feel like it's the new rules, but I don't know 100%. But yeah, you're right. This is said every single time that we watch MMA, if you're not cheating, you're not trying. Yeah. Unfortunately that that's the

circumstance. It's very rare that on the first egregious offense that you are actually penalized for it. Now, three, four is just, you know, on a whole other level, but you're more inclined to be worn repeatedly than be punished repeatedly. And so the fact that we don't see this more, don't see more cage grapping, don't see more eye pokes, don't see more blows below the belt, you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, is actually more surprising than the times that we do. here's our opportunity to talk about Canada.

Yes. Does Canada have the best crowds in MMA in your opinion? 206 and 216 were fairly weak on paper and the crowd still showed out. I would say 215 wasn't very weak on paper. I'd say it was pretty solid. It was solid, but it wasn't what we saw in Anaheim or the New York card coming up. 206, though. 206, I mean, that crowd in Toronto was incredible.

They were hot as hell. They filled up the place. They were loud. They came there early. Same can be said about the Edmonton crowd. Don't get it twisted. I mean, yes, they were booing. And, you know, again, I have my hypothesis as to why, you know, end of the night, they're maybe getting a little anxious.

It wasn't the most exciting fight. Okay. But that was a great crowd all week. They were into it. They rolled out the red carpet. Yeah. Very rarely does Canada not show up. Actually, UFC 186 was one of the few times.

And I think that the market in Montreal was just killed. and I'm hoping that the return of GSP signals a re-igniting of the entire country that in Vancouver they get a little more excited because there was a time. I mean, just look at the lack of regional shows. You know, people were talking to me about MFC. MFC is gone. There was the score fighting series. TKO is starting to get back, but they certainly aren't what they once were.

There are all kinds of shows all over Canada that were doing great things. And now it's just, it's very, it's very, very quiet. And I know that this is kind of a trend in MMA these days, but Canada was, you know, the, in my opinion, like the crown jewel of fighting countries. And I'm hoping that GSP returns and is able to get people excited again and there'll be a trickle-down effect. So yeah, I think that they are some of the best crowds as a country. And I know we're talking about a lot there. I'm curious to see what the Winnipeg crowd now, how do they look the second time around? How do they sound the second time around if the UFC comes back to Edmonton. Every employee of the UFC who I spoke to

about the experience of working with the Rogers Place Arena, the Edmonton officials, they told me that they were just blown away by how accommodating everyone was, how much of a pleasure it was. That's part of the issue with Calgary, by the way. They just have issues securing a date working with the arena there, the Saddle Dome, older arena, but the blame isn't solely on the UFC. Edmonton with their new arena they want to be considered a prime venue with prime talent

I saw that Jay-Z was coming in the next couple months they rolled out the red carpet and what has happened there I mean it's just like a textbook thing opened the new arena in an area that was not very good and now you see that if you're there

there's like tons of things going on around it Emmitton's a great city if you are a hockey fan if you are just a sports fan I urge you to go check out that arena it's fantastic and then while you're there, go to the West Edmonton Mall. That is the greatest mall that I've ever been to.

This mall used to be the biggest mall, but I learned in 2004, they lost that title to a mall overseas, I think, maybe in Dubai. And I think I've been to that mall as well. But this one, to me, they had like a beach in there with a wave. I don't know if it was like big waves. I don't know what you call then. You could go surfing. They had a skating rink, which was currently under construction,

but it's there. They have an amusement park for kids. tons of cool things. I mean, it was just amazing that place. I love them all. They have everything. Yes. It was amazing.

I could have spent the whole day there. Did some shopping. I felt like I was Christmas shopping. I never do this. But I got something for my two sons, my daughter. I got something for my wife even. Anything for me? Nothing for you.

I even bought some things for myself. And I rarely do that. I just said, you know what? It's Saturday afternoon in Edmonton. Let me just go, let me go, walls out. Let me just have a great time. Danny Skura is telling me that it's called an artificial ocean. There you go. That's what they have at the West Edmonton Mall. So I had a great time. And I will say the one drawback, the one drawback is it is a long journey, my friends.

I had to go from New York. Listen to this. I had to go from New York to Toronto, Toronto to Edmonton to get there. But the New York to Toronto flight was delayed. So I changed my flight. because then I had to take a later flight to get to Edmonton. And then I almost missed the connection. And I was running. This is Wednesday night. I thought for sure. But my connection flight was 10 minutes late.

So that saved me while I'm running in the Toronto airport to catch the connection flight. Because then I'm going to have to sleep in Toronto, miss the workouts the next day. I see a high school friend who I've not seen in 15 years just randomly in the Toronto airport. And then on the way back, I had to go through Denver. By the time you're home, you're very tired. see the kids, get ready for the show. So if I had to say one negative thing about going to Edmonton, it's a very long flight.

It's a very long journey. But otherwise, I enjoyed it immensely. Sounds like it's worth that journey, though, based on your raving review. I mean, it is worth it. But like, am I, you know, hoping to go there again next month? Maybe not. Went to this great ramen place.

They put Gouda cheese on it. It's fantastic. I can use some of that right about now. I'll tell you. I mean... Could have brought me back something. Next time, I promise. Ariel, any word...

This is from Kazin. Any word on Rory Max next fight? And is it for the belt? I think we know it's not for the belt, but any word on... What do you mean? It's not for the belt. Of course it's for the belt.

Wait, what? Douglas Lima. Did I miss this? I mean, it's happening. It's just a matter of when. That's done. That's done deal. That's not like booked,

but that is the plan. Oh, okay. That is the plan. But you said of course not for the belt Why wouldn't it be for the belt? Who else is there? Maybe I'm misremembering. Wasn't there something about Rory not getting the title fight?

Remember he said something on Twitter to somebody to the effect of? No, he was talking with Michael Chandler. He was getting very anxious that he wasn't getting booked. And there is something to be said for that. There just aren't fights. They were very top heavy early on in the year and then they'll end the year with a lot of fights, but there's just this lull in the bell to our calendar.

We're expecting Roy to fight for the belt in the next fight. Yes. The question is where there have been some talks of Canada which I think would be a lot of fun. I think that would be a big deal perhaps in Toronto or British Columbia or even in Montreal. I think that that would be a huge deal.

But yes, I am expecting him to fight for the belt next towards the end of the year. By the way, one thing to keep an eye out, Bell Tour 200 is coming up and I think that they're going to make a big deal about that. And by the way, I should tell people that I didn't say this last week.

Where is this guy? The Fedor Bobblehead, if you attend the event in San Jose on September 23rd, like the first 5,000 or so fans, I could probably pull it up. But remember I was looking for a plug as to where people can get this?

Now we know. Let me just give away the plug here. It's the first 5,000 Belltor 183 ticket holders to arrive at the SAP Center will receive this free limited edition Fedor Emilienko Boba Head. So there you have it. And we have it right here?

Yeah. How about it? Next question. Sweater and all, baby. Yeah, the sweater of absolute victory. Okay, Hafeo Dosangos versus Tyron Woodley. Yes. Hafeo Dosangos versus Robbie Lawler. Which of those or any would you pick next?

From Horse Racing Digest. Woodley might be out for a bit. So I really like the idea of RDA versus Robbie Lawler. I also really like the idea of RDA versus Woodley. So basically what I'm saying is if Woodley is available, I like the fresh matchup. I think it's a fun style. matchup, I like it.

If he's not available, then I want to see RDA versus Robbie Lawler. You feel me? Look, I think it's good to have a new face at 170. That's what I was going. He's looked really good.

Doesn't have the issues with cutting weight. What a story for RDA, right? Last year. Can be an instant contender in this division. He is already won. He needs that one big win, but just because there's kind of a lull there and Willey has wins over Wonderboy and Robbie Lawler,

but I'm okay with either of those scenarios. The big question is when does Woodley come back? But how about this change of fortune for RDA last year has the Connor fight, Busses foot like a week before, horrendous luck? Think about how much would be different if RDA actually fought Connor McGregor. We wouldn't have the Diaz rivalry. Who knows if we have we had. have the MSG fight. Who knows if we have the Mayweather fight? The entire course of

MMA history would be changed if that fight actually happens. Imagine if RDA knocked out, McGregor. Anyway, so that happens, changes teams, changes management. He loses the belt. He loses Tony Ferguson. Just a bad year for him. 2016 was a miserable year for RDA. It comes back this year as a 170-pounder, reinvents himself 2-0 now. Good story. From Keegan Webster Would this be a good time for Chris Weidman to make the change to the light heavyweight division?

I've been saying this for a while Remember I said that? Months ago. You've been beating that drum. Who would we want to see them matched up against? No. I mean, it's just... I have one person that people are interested in finding out where they are.

Okay. Let's ask this next question. What do you mean? From Eric Fields. What's going on with Rampage Jackson? Oh, yeah. Haven't heard much from it. Yeah. I think we'll see him fight again. He's been quiet.

I think he has some contract issues. How about that for a... Is Rampage cutting to 205? Yeah, that's a good point. That is a good point. I mean, look, we've got Sarkinov out there. We've got Latifi. Latifi's not too big.

By the way, let's get props to Littifi, who was clearly set up for like a stepping stone fight against Tyson Pedro, and he wasn't the guy doing the stepping, if you get what I'm saying. And he came in there. He told him get the stepping. Yeah. He came in there

and completely derailed that hype train. Well done. Absolutely. Yeah. And a really like top to bottom performance. Like just completely controlled it. It didn't really look like Pedro was able to get his game off while Latifie did the damn thing. So congrats to him.

I don't suspect Wyman fights at 205 next, but I certainly think that there's an open. I mean, here's the problem. Are the guys at the top just too big for him? The gust of sins of the world. My answer to that, my quick gut reaction is yes. Yeah, that's the problem. I don't think that he's a 205er. That's the problem.

What about Rampage? Do you think we'll see him anytime soon? I think we'll see him soon. I do. Would love to talk to him. I mean, if he's back with his girl, you guys should be okay. Yeah, let's see. Aside from McGregor versus DS3,

what's the biggest fight the UFC can realistically put together this year? Oh, that hasn't been made? What do you mean that hasn't been? Well, you can make a rematch again. Well, GSP Bisping, I think we'll do pretty well for them. I think that that can be a sufficient answer if you think that that's the second biggest fight outside of McGregor. No, because I feel like that's, that doesn't count because it's been made. So I want to give you one that.

Okay. Yeah, because they booked it. Damn, look at you. Let's go. Now you're struggling, though. No, there's one that comes to mind. I just want to see if there's a bigger one. Five.

178, 155. Okay, so the one that comes to mine, because I really think if promoted correctly could be a very, very, very big deal. It's Chris Seiberg versus Holly Holme. Oh. I think that that could be a very big deal. How does that rank to compare to GSP Bispink?

I think the return of GSP is pretty damn big. Is the return of GSP on par with McGregor versus DS3? Hell no. Are you nuts? Okay. Okay. I don't know. By the way, I don't know if GSP's return gets a million.

Right. I think that it's been botched. I think that it's been a while. I don't know if the fans are like foaming at the mouth to see. But it's a big deal. And it will certainly do better than most of the pay-per-views, if not all the paper views this year. And I think a cheating answer is McGregor versus X.

Yeah, I'm not the biggest. Gregor versus a broomstick does better than anything. Let's be real. That's a cheating answer. And the biggest fight they can make right now is McGregor versus DS3. Make no mistake about it. But that's the biggest fight. money-wise

that they can make right now. Like, Stipe's return is big. Yep. I think Stipey versus Angano would be a fun fight, a great fight, a spectacle,

but I just don't know. Like, Stepe v. John Jones would have been big. Of course, I'm excluding John right now. And I suspect that we'll get the answer

to that B sample sooner rather than later. I like it. And there are some big fights coming up. Holloway versus Edgar is a big fight. Yawanna versus Rose is a big fight. Of course, that one's booked already.

So there are fights on tap, but I think that of the fights that aren't booked, Cyborg versus Hollyholm could headline, and it would be a big deal. I still think Holly Home, without Ronda around, is probably the face of women's MMA in the UFC?

Is that fair? Like, the most... Is Cyborg not? No, I think more people know Holly Home. I definitely think more people know Holly Home. I guess. I mean, I guess the whole face thing is a subjective measure anyway. I just think she's more popular. She's been around longer, the UFC.

I mean, she's got the Rondo. Okay, well, then here's the question. Would a home versus X fight do bigger than a cyborg versus X fight? That will be the indicator of it. I think it's tough to say. A cyborg versus X does better. I don't know about that. I still think that, I mean, home, you know, the last fight was a nice finish, a little bit slow.

I think together, it's like, DC alone, does he do big numbers? No, but with John Jones, he does big numbers. You know what I mean? So I think together. Yeah, but that's because John Jones does. Look at UFC 197. Wasn't the biggest event of all time? Different. Why? That would, that's different time and place. Why? John Jones is the, is the secret ingredient in that. DC versus John Jones. Certainly there's a perfect storm there. Takes two to tangle. I wouldn't argue that DC's the A side of that. Of course not. Of course not. The same way I would think 197 to 32

I think Cyborg is the is the main draw there but I think together she is the main draw because she hasn't lost in a decade you know and certainly not on anyone's you know in MMA I know

the Maitai fight so the question in that fight is can Holly be the Cyborg slayer like she was the Ronda slayer right so there's a story there it's absolutely but like Holly's the face Holly is the name Holly's the one that Holly would be the highest

level opponent that Cyborg has fought in how long? You know what I mean? Yeah, it's been a while. And by the way, not taking anything away from Tony Avenger who I have a ton of respect for, but just giving her background former UFC champion and all that. Tanya is not a 1-45er.

She's best at 135. She's a champion and evicted there. She's just super tough and stepped into that fight because Tanya Avenger would fight anybody. By the way. But you're right. By the way, Tanya Avinger versus Raquel Pennington. That's a, you know? Yeah, Tanya's definitely got to be in that mix at 135 now.

Okay, that was it. We're done. That's it. No, we're done. Level of interest in Canello Triple G. Whatever the highest possible level. Whatever your scale is, it breaks that. What are you going to do as far as Saturday night is concerned?

Sit down, order it and watch it. So you're not going to watch UFC? I'll watch UFC. I got two screens. Don't worry about that. You got two screens? Tell me about your setup. Dog.

What do you mean? You got two screens? I don't have two screens. screens? First of all, I got the projector. You got the projector? Shee. You don't know about the 110?

What? 110 across from the couch. I don't know what that is. Then 110 inches. Oh, wow. Diagonal. Wow. Yeah, that's a bad boy right there.

Throw up the, you know, sad to say, I think the boxing match gets that one. Then you got the desktop. You could put the rock hold branch fight on there or, you know, the laptop right next to but yeah that one the interest in Triple G Canello is whatever is high

the highest possible one notch higher than that I think that that's I'm really looking forward to but I'll say this David Branch did a hell of a sell job today David what about Mike Perry okay yes Mike but Mike Perry

he ingested that from Mike he's not sure but he thinks he ingested metal don't don't ingest metal kids that's the best part he's not sure. Yeah, we don't know.

We don't know. We'll find out. Who knows? That guy. Holy smokes. He cracks me up. I'll tell you this. He's not going to miss the fight.

Yeah. Well, I'm worried about Tiago Alves. I think he should make it on time. Maybe a little late. Yeah. By the way, Hector Lombard versus Anthony Smith. I expect that from Mike Perry. David Branch gave me the new side today.

But he was right when he talked about, he gave us that story last time about how we got into MMA, there was some, you know, he brought it that time too. This is a different. By the way, he sold us a fight. He sold us a fight. He had some chicken heads or whatever line. I mean, he can't really, like,

I don't know. I feel like he's more mad about the Rockhold interview where I said that, are you afraid that he will lull you into a boring fight? I think that that's what pissed him off. Maybe. By the way, I forgot to ask him how he gets his haircut while wearing a toque next time.

I didn't know if that was, I thought of it. I will be honest, but I didn't want to ask. But, you know, he sold me. Look, and you know what? When I watch back the Rockhold clip of him talking about Branch, I don't think he's taking him lightly. I think he really is aware of how well-rounded and how good David Branch actually is. He talked about, you know, he's not a slouch in the stand-up.

He's not a slouch on the ground. The one thing he was pointing to was, you know, talking about he thinks that, you know, Branch is thinking, is calculating during the fight and not pulling the trigger. And I think Branch said, you know, he put it as perfectly as you can. This is that fight where I'm going to do that. It's been building to this point. And now caution to the wind, it's time to put it on. So we'll see how that turns out for Branch and Rockhold collectively.

Let's see some promotion, though. Let's see them put, I mean, they've got a story here with Rockhold coming back. They've got Branch. I mean, I know that the clock is ticking in. We're, what, five days away? but I mean, I feel like with those two interviews, we've done a better job of highlighting this main event than promoting it. Come on.

Let's step it up. Right? I'm in draft. And then you got Perry Alves. Hector Lombard against Anthony Smith, Gregor Gillespie coming back. Camaro Usman. Camaro Usman.

Big prospect. Yeah. Against Sergio Marais. Huge prospect. Camaro Usman is undefeated as a welterweight in the UFC. One, two, three, four, five. Looking to go six and O? Come on now.

he needs like a flashy finish though he needs a finish he needs a step up but a huge prospect anyway I'm really looking forward to triple who's the favorite in that fight by the way let's look that up I'm not actually sure and by the way while you're looking that up let me just give a shout out to Sarah Morris

if you did not see her post-fight scrum on Saturday a very emotional one talking about her walkout song and how it was her dad's favorite song her dad who passed away six years ago from brain cancer. Then she said she was very emotional for being as honest as she was. She said that she was emotional because she got her period that day. She wasn't expecting that and that she's still a male woman in Canada and she delivers the mail and sorts the mail. And she was hoping for a bonus. Unfortunately, she didn't get that.

But I was having a hard time not crying, watching her cry, especially she was very, very much. emotional. So congratulations to her and her coach, David Lee, who's doing a lot of great things for Toshito MMA. He said that he really wants to come on the show and he thinks that I've been ducking him. And so I will make things right. And how about Cajun Johnson? Our guy Cajun, coming back after two years off with a flash knockout, if you will, right above the year against Adriana Martine, some great performances on Saturday. I really enjoyed it. Absolutely. Big upset for Sarah. Triple G is a slight favorite over Canello

Minus 155, Canelo plus 125. Oh, wow. You betting on it? Nah, man. Betting on boxing is a... Is a tricky thing. Crapshoot, those judges. Just a couple of the things.

Karolina Kovaakovich against Jodi Escobel. Yep. In Dansk? That's kind of a surprise, right? I think Jody's definitely of that caliber. I think it's a good... it's a good comeback for Carolina. The Fertitas sold the rest of their shares,

so they're officially out, those guys. On the same day that the DJ fight gets pulled, just showering in money now. And their cousin just bought the rockets. Showering in money. Shout out to my pal Leonard Ellerby, who two weeks before May Mack said that they had already surpassed the $60 million number

for their gate, and it ends up being $55 million. How that happened. someone needs to find out what happened to that extra $5 million. And then he said that they were well in their way of surpassing the record, which was $72 million. Shout out to him. And shout out to my good friend, Kane Velasquez,

who I saw, who was oh so happy to see me in Edmonton. I saw him there in the back. I think when he saw me, he was like, oh, crap, now I have to talk to this guy. But he seemed to be in great spirits, said that he was probably not going to come back this year, that his family, his wife is expecting their second child, a boy, so Mazatov to them,

and that he's getting better, but couldn't quite put a you know, a time frame in place for his return. But it was nice to see him. I miss Kane Velasquez. Shout out to all those people who told me that I was wrong when I said that he wouldn't fight on October 7th. And now we're done. You're just given a lot of shoutouts, huh?

Thank you very much, New York, Rick. And oh, by the way, we're back on Twitter for the M.A. Beat, and we're going to debut a new segment called the afterbeat. No, after the beat. Still getting used to it. Still getting used to it. Nailed it. Page wants to call it beat tweets.

I think that's the worst name in the history of names. I'll say this. The after beat or after the beat? Neither of those is very good. I think after the beat is fun. Anyway, I will remind you on Thursday about this, but we'll be answering questions, your questions on Twitter,

an exclusive post show after the beat. with the A team. So look out for that on Thursday. But for now we're done. Yes. Thank you for that, Rob. Best in the biz. MMAfighting.com.

That's where you can watch the MMA beat on Thursday. Same time and place, 1 p.m. Eastern. On Thursday, MMAfighting. Twitter.com. And then we'll have after the beat at around 2 o'clock to 2.30 answering your questions with the crew. How fun is that? But for now we shall say goodbye.

We have taken up way too much of your time. This has been a lot of fun. Shout out also to the people in Edmonton who came up to me and said, look, I listened to your show. I was just listening to it. I still have 30 minutes left. And to the doubters and the haters and the critics out there, every single one of them says more. We want more. Not less. Not it's too long. Give us more. That's what they say. And I appreciate it. Appreciate all of you for tuning in on another Monday. It's good to be back on Monday. It was weird to be on a Tuesday last week. Appreciate all of you who stopped by.

Appreciate all the guests. Thank you very much to Dimitri O'Sonston, who stopped by. Hopefully his situation gets sorted sooner rather than later, and hopefully he gets paid sooner rather than later as well. Thank you very much to Darren Till. Great stuff from him. Looking forward to that main event on October 21st against Donald Cowboy Soroni.

Again, if you have not seen Seroni's outfit on Saturday, go check it out. It's on my Instagram. Incredible. Thank you very much to Raquel Pennington. good luck to her as she attempts to get that title fight against Amanda Nunes. Thank you very much to Brian Stan. Oh, how we will miss Brian Stan. All the best to him in this new chapter in his life and career.

Thank you very much to Andrea Lee. Sorry we couldn't get her on Skype, but good luck to her on September 22nd. She defends her LFA flyweight title. Thank you very much to Mike Perry. Fantastic stuff. Good luck to him on Saturday against Tiago Alves. Thank you very much to David Branch. Good luck to him on Saturday.

in his first UFC main event as well. And of course, thank you very much to Arjun Singh Buller. What a fantastic interview. Love that guy. Thank you very much all of you as well. Back next week, same time and place. Until I say, peace. I'm out of here.