MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani - Episode 419

Episode Date: January 30, 2018

Ariel Helwani speaks to Daniel Cormier (00:07:15), Eddie Alvarez (00:30:45), Paul Daley (00:52:08), Roy Jones Jr. (01:10:33), Stipe Miocic (01:29:14), Marshall Zelaznik (01:49:43), Al Iaquinta (02:10:38), Matt Brown (02:37:44), Cain Velasquez (02:54:28), Douglas Lima (03:12:56), Max Holloway (03:27:08), Kevin Lee (03:48:00), Dave Meltzer (04:06:31), and NewYorkRic for The MMA [After] Hour featuring Ric's Picks (04:39:57) and the answers to your questions (05:15:51). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The meeting will begin when passenger Fisher is done celebrating. 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly concerned by your gambling or that if someone close, you call 18665330 or visit Comex Ontario.ca. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. It's the mixed martial arts hour with... The mixed martial arts hour back in your life on this Monday, January 29, 2018. Hello again, everyone. I'm Ariel Hawani back inside our New York City studio.

Hope you had a great weekend. Hope you had a great week. Boy, oh boy. I have to be honest with everyone right off the bat. I am so excited about today's show. You know, sometimes I'm nervous. Sometimes I'm anxious. Sometimes I dread it.

This week, I am freaking excited. There is so much going on. There is so much to discuss. So many fun things to talk about this week with so many interesting people. One of my favorite lineups of all time. And yes, I know I say that a lot. But truly, this is one of my favorite lineups. Great characters.

Headliners, newsmakers, three champions, current champions, one former champion, one former Bell Tour champion. There's just so much going on. And I'm very, very honored and I'm humbled that these people would want to come on the show today to talk about all this exciting stuff. So last time we spoke, of course, the big news. Steppe Miochich is going to be fighting Daniel Kormier. The heavyweight champion is going to be fighting the light heavyweight champion on July 7th, UFC 226 in Las Vegas. And that's not all.

They'll also be coaching tough that starts this week. How do we get to this point? We'll be talking to both of them on this program in their first. interviews. Last night, you may have heard, Ronda Rousey, she finally debuted for World Wrestling Entertainment. She showed up at the Royal Rumble. She was pointing all over the place. There's much to discuss there. But that's not all. There's so much going on since we last spoke. Nate Diaz says he wants to come back. What's going on there? Who's he going to fight? The UFC had a show in Charlotte, North Carolina. Not great ratings on Fox.

Somewhat entertaining main car. Jacare is back. I know New York Rick is happy. about that. He knocks out Derek Brunson in the first round. There were some nice performances here and there. They're back in Brazil this weekend with Eric Anders versus Leona Machita. Belator had a show on Friday. PFL is back. Some TV news. We're going to talk about all this and a whole lot more on today's program. Let us not waste any time. Let me run down the lineup. And then we're going to get to our first guest of the day because once we do get to our first guest of the day, we'll be making history, my friends. And I'll tell you why in a second. First, the lineup. 445. After after hour, rick's picks, your questions. You know the drill by now. 425, we're going to be joined by

the reigning defending UFC featherway champion Max Holloway. We'll talk about his title defense against Frankie Edgar at UFC 22, March 3rd in Las Vegas. Also, that bizarre press conference, which, by the way, we still don't have any kind of resolution to. What exactly are they fighting for? What's the belt? Who the heck knows? 4.05, we're going to be talking to our own Dave Meltzer, also of the Wrestling Observer newsletter about Ronda Rousey's debut. She shows up yesterday, end of the Royal Rumble. She comes out wearing Roddy Piper's old leather jacket, the late great Roddy Piper. She's wearing a shirt that is paying homage to Hot Rod.

It's in the hot rod lettering, if you will, the font. If you know what I'm talking about, you know the shirt. It's white with the red trim. She comes out, shakes a few hands, points a bunch, doesn't say a word, but she is back, did a bunch of interviews with ESPN before and after. She is back in the wrestling world, and we'll talk about what that means for our world, how she will be received, how did it all come about, what's the road to success for her, what are her plans in WWE? What are their plans for her? We'll talk about all that and more with Dave Meltzer at 405.

345, we're going to talk to Douglas Lima, who is no longer the Beltaire Walterway champion. He lost to Warren McDonald. You may have heard Rory on the show last week. We'll talk to him about where he goes from here. Matt Brown is back. Remember back in September? We spoke to Matt Brown. He was going to fight in his retirement fight against Diego Sanchez.

Well, he's back. He's fighting Carlos Condon in April. We'll talk to him why he's back, why he unretired in the span of a couple of weeks. Ally Quinta is back. He signed a new deal with the UFC. He's fighting Paul Felder in Brooklyn on April 7th. And he seems happy.

And that's great news. We'll talk to Raging Al at 305. 245. We're going to talk to Marshall's Elasnik, a long-time UFC executive, over a decade in the UFC, instrumental in building the UK market for the UFC, and also launching fight pass, among many other things. Now he is the new CEO of Glory kickboxing. Left the UFC last year as they were letting go of a lot of executives, cost cutting. You remember that story.

went to e-sports. Now he's back in combat sports. We'll talk to him at 245. 225. We're going to talk to Stepe Miochich in his first interview since defending his title against Francis Inganu. And since the news came out Friday night that he'll be defending his title on July 7th

against Daniel Cormand, also coaching tough opposite Daniel Cormier. And he's going to join us for the first time via Skype. How exciting is that? 205, Roy Jones Jr. will stop by. He's having his retirement fight on Fight Pass on February 8th. So we'll talk to him about that. Paul Daly, 145, he'll stop by and talk about what's going on with him in Bellator.

Does he want to get released? Does he not want to get released? What's his future like? And at 125, we're going to talk to Eddie Alvarez about what's next for him, his current contract situation, and of course his desire to fight one Nathan Diaz. But first, my friends, let us make history. We have been doing this program for what, nine years, almost nine years. never before have we had a guest on for three straight weeks. And as you know, this isn't gratuitous. This is because this man has been in the news, one of the top newsmakers for the past three weeks. And being the neurotic Jew that I am,

I didn't want to ask him to come back on the show because I felt like I was bothering him for a third straight week. But I couldn't help but ask because he is one half of the biggest story of the past week. he is the reigning defending UFC light heavyweight champion he is the man who will be looking to make history on July 7th he is the man who will be trying to cement his place once and for all as the greatest fighter in the history of this sport he is the man who's going to be who's going to try to become the heavyweight and light heavyweight champion on July 7th he is moving up to a division where he once was 13 and 0 a perfect 13 and o only moved down to 205 because his friend was on route to becoming the champion there and didn't want to stand in his way became the champion at 205 and now with essentially one year left in his career, as he said last week on the program, he's looking to make history in just a few months' time as he goes up against the baddest man on the planet, Steve Miochich for the heavyweight title. Oh, by the way, they're also coaching tough. Of course, I'm talking about the one and only Daniel Cormier, who is joining us on the phone

for a record-breaking third straight week. DC, are you there? I'm here, man. It's crazy. it's crazy that I've been on the show three weeks in a row now if we were still in the place we were in before you would have not wanted to ask me to come back on but since all things have been patched up and we are now once again living happily and merrily yes yes I've won the show for the third week in a row and I couldn't be happier about it no one's more excited than me I was dreading asking you I waited until Saturday night I was eating dinner with my

family I said I have to ask the guy and I I proposed it to you like I have a serious problem. I think you thought I had a serious problem. I just felt really bad asking you again, but what a journey it has been for you three weeks. Three weeks ago, you're in New York en route to fighting Volcanozmir trying to get your career back on track. Then last week you're on route to the hospital to figure out what's wrong with your hand. Now all of a sudden you're about to fight for the heavyweight title in a few months. And oh, by the way, coaching tough.

So let me start here, D.C. And no, we're not going to start with Ronda Rousey, but I might squeeze one hand at the end because I know you were watching it. Very excited about that. But at the end of Saturday night, last Saturday, two Saturdays ago, at the press conference you said, you know what, Steve A, it's a great idea, it's cool and all, but no, I'm not really feeling it. I got Kane. It's just not for me right now.

And you sort of reiterated that last Monday. How do we go from there to this point where now you are officially fighting him on July 7th? Well, you know, when you come off of a fight like that, it's a couple days removed, there are a whole bunch of thoughts just kind of floating around in your head. And then when it was supposed to me as reality, I was like, well, you know, I really don't want to fight a heavyweight. I don't want to interrupt what's happening with Kane.

And then I started talking to him and he was like, you know, he was like, I don't think that they would give me a title shot right away, man. He was like, so I think it's a great idea. Would you've done it before? And, you know, it's a chance for you to try to make history. You know, and I was like, you know what, man, let's do it. Because reality, when I think of a fight against Stepe, you know, it's a very tough fight, and it's a very difficult mountain for me to climb.

But the reality was I've always talked about competition and legacy. And when you think about legacy, if I'm able to pull this off, there is no denying what I have meant to this sport and what I will leave behind, whenever I'm done. So my coaches all were on board. My teammates were all on board. From Kane to Justin Willis, another heavyweight that's in the USC and a teammate of mine,

they were all like, dude, you got to do it. And all were very confident with the matchup, you know, and obviously I feel pretty confident with the matchup myself. So, yeah, we're all excited. So we said, let's go do this. It also doesn't hurt that, you know, the UFC's calling, asking for such a big fight, presenting the opportunity to do tough

and also the financial upside to a big fight like this. How is the hand? Do you have an update on it? You know, my hand is still what it is. Today I'm supposed to get some PRP just to try to help the healing and the ligament. And then I'm just going to kind of rehab this thing. I'm always a guy that doesn't like to do surgery. Now, a byproduct of being in Vegas for the ultimate fighter is that I'm actually going to have access to that UF the UFC Performance Institute.

So I can do all my rehab on my finger there, which is one of the top facilities in the entire world. So it's going to be really good for me and Kane both because I'm not sure if we would be doing the rehab necessary in town because there's so much more to do. but because we have nothing to do in Vegas, we're going to be doing our training, also our rehab. You're the captain of AKA. You are a wrestling coach for kids in the San Jose area.

You're very proud of that. You're a family man, your husband, you're a father of two. You're very involved with your kids' athletic careers. You talked about this last week as well. You work for Fox. You do UFC tonight. There's so much on your plate.

How do you feel about going to Vegas for six weeks? How are you going to pull this off? How are you going to be a coach on the ultimate football? sweater. It was rough. You know, that was one of the first things I told Dana. You know, when he asked me, I was like, you know, my kids have so much, you know, my wife, I said, I've got my wrestling program. I go my thumbs jacked. I was like, I've got so much stuff going on. I don't know if I can do this. I said, the fight's interesting, but I don't really want to do the show, you know, because I have so much going on.

And then, you know, things happen. And I was like, okay, I think I'll do the show. But in terms of me and my family, like, my wife and my kids will come to Vegas on weekends. And then when little Daniel has competitions or Marquita has a competition, I'll just come home for it. You know, I mean, it's just I've got a great staff of coaches that are going to be in Vegas with me. And they will be able to take care of, uh, of the practice, you know, one or two practices if I do need to travel. You know, both of us, you know, both of us are coming off a big win,

so six straight weeks in Vegas is going to be very tough because there are obligations after you have a championship defense, and I'm sure that Stepe will have to do a little bit of travel too during that time. So to be clear, the UFC approach you with this idea of not only coaching on tough, but fighting him on July 7th, right? This isn't something that you went after. No, no, no, they asked me. They were like, would you be interested?

I mean, Dana asked me on Saturday night after the fight. He was like, it would be, that would be a fantastic fight. He was like, I think it's the fight. And, you know, I kind of, you know, I was like, nah, no, I don't want to do that. But again, you know, the well-wishes of everyone close to me, from Selena to Javier and Bob and Rosendo and Ken. and Willis and all my teammates, Rockhold, everybody was so forth.

They were like, dude, you got to do this. And it never was me not wanting to do it based out of fear. I've never been afraid. I've never been afraid to fight a steep amiotic. It was always all the other things that were surrounding the circumstances. And once those hurdles were cleared, I was like, you know what? I'll give it a shot. Let's do it.

So once this news comes out, everyone's wondering what Kane thinks about it because you said before, you know, before it all came out at the press conference that, you know, you know he's coming back, you don't want to stand in his way. He tweets, like always, I'm going to be in the gym every day to help my brother, D.C. become the next heavyweight champion at UFC 226. Once he wins, things could get interesting and knew we are a.k.a. going to get my belt back. And thus everyone exploded and thought, holy moly, what's going on? Is there dissension looking into it, trying to. to read the tweet a million different times. What was that tweet all about? Do you know? I mean, that very interesting tweet, I thought it was, the goal has always been for him to get the bell back,

and that will never change. That's his goal, that's my goal for him. That'll never change. Once again, the decision was made after the well-wishes were granted. But what if he said things may get interested, I mean, he might go to 205. Ooh, that would be interesting, wouldn't it? That would be some interesting stuff, right?

You mean, I don't know what's interesting. He never really know. That's something that we know that you guys know, and it feels good to not tell you. So you have a plan. You've talked. See what Kane says. Let's see if you can get Kane to tell you. Good luck with that.

I have a better chance of getting Donald Trump, Dana White, and Barack Obama in studio then I do have, you know, getting Kane on this program. Even, you know, even a text message back from Kane. It's unbelievable. That's a guy. Say, hey, Kane, would that tweet read? You know, see, I'll see it's your spot. Are you done it?

I mean, I don't know. Like, it's as good. Look, listen. You know, read the tweet for what it is. You know, I don't, I don't, I mean, I don't really pay that much attention to, you know, characters in the Twitter, but, yeah, you know, it's, uh, it, uh, it was, uh, you know, it's always been the goal. The goal has never changed for Kane, for myself, and for our team.

It's always going to stay the same. You know, we are a team, and if people think, you know, that it's like, oh, my God, what's that mean? What's that mean? I mean, we're going to Vegas, you know, to film the ultimate fighter together. Okay. So, I mean, I think that's, uh, that, that should say enough. My whole training, I can't do this without Kane-Wilaskett.

I cannot go beat Steve Emilich. without my main training partner to prepare me. And he's going to play a vital part in getting me prepared to win this championship. So last week on the show you said, come next March, come your 40th birthday, you're done. Does this change anything at all? Does this extend your time? No. Nothing changes.

The only thing that this changes is that I get to have two belts at once and become the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champions at the same time. do something that no one thought was possible. I mean, I'm a dream chasing, man. I'm chasing dreams. I've always been. I was the kid from Louisiana

that is from a state that's not traditionally known for wrestling. They're known for football and basketball and baseball. And I was the kid that said, you know what, I can be just as good

as the kids from California and New Jersey and everywhere else, Oklahoma, even though I'm from here. I've always never allowed for, what people think is the norm to derail me.

And I'm just doing that right now. I'm trying to do something that's unheard of. I know there's been two division champions. There's been guys that have been... Randy Couture had the light heavyweight belt and heavyweight belt, but he didn't do it at the same time. Connor McGregor is the biggest star in mixed martial arts, and he held two titles at one time,

and I'm about to actually do that too. So he's been on the cover of EA Sports two years in the row. Next year, I go on the cover of EA Sports U.S. see. If, when you win the belt on July 7th, are you done at 205? Are you just going to stay at heavyweight? Because at that point

I'm sure you're cutting weight, no, you think you'll go back down? Yeah, and then I said that I wasn't. I never said that I was abandoned in this weight class forever because if I was saying that I was done at 205, what wouldn't I just take either title right now? I wouldn't, I wouldn't just hold on to the belt.

I wouldn't just hold on to the belt. and hold up the division if I had no intention on ever going back. You know, it's not fair, you know, so, no, I never said I was abandoning this weight class forever. I've never said that. This is a fight for the heavyweight title, and then we'll see what happens afterwards. Once you agreed, once the news got out, once the dust settled over the weekend, you had time to digest it. Honestly, now, at any point did you say to yourself, wow, this is amazing. July 30th, I'm on TV, I just got knocked out, I'm crying, who knows what my future is, and this fight, this opportunity is the fight that's being talked about for John Jones, my greatest rival.

He's going to go up to heavy weight, he's going to fight either Brock Lester or Steepa, which Dana revealed was the plan, and now here I am almost fulfilling his destiny. This was supposed to be him on July 30th, and now I'm going to do it. Is this a little shot to your rival? Is this sticking it to him? Did that give you any sense of? satisfaction. It's surreal, right? It's surreal that if I could do this, if and when I do this on, I keep saying if because I don't want to sound arrogant. I don't want to sound arrogant when I'm going up to fight the baddest man on the planet.

But so I keep saying if, but I would never do anything without the idea that I was going to win. I believe I'm going to win this fight. But last year, at this, at that time, I was at my lowest. You know, and for me and I, like, because I wouldn't let her do anything, we watched Game of Thrones, seven seasons in like three months because I didn't want to go anywhere.

But next year, in six months, I could be accomplishing the ultimate goal, you know, and it's not a shot at Jones because, again, like I said, my career is not dictated by him anymore. The bigger, the bigger thing in this whole sequence was, uh once uh jones said it's one thing to go up and fight heavyweight but it's a different thing to go up and fight a heavyweight that's really good so so my so my intention and my desire to fight anyone is the thing that stands out i'm sure you saw alexander gustafin he's not happy about this what's your response to him too late let's

what are you doing? Like, you wait until the fight's already announced to say something. Like, it's too late, Alex. Like, what are you doing? Why didn't you say something before? Maybe he was doing out of respect for me having the win that I had just had. But, man, it's like, it's too late. Like, you know, and to say that, look, I'll go fight him and rematch him afterwards,

but this opportunity is way too big for me to pass up for a rematch at Alexander Gustafson where we didn't really do anything. We didn't really do business. Like, it's crazy how people, I get so many tweets and things about Alex and how much I fear Alex, how good Alex is and all this other stuff. But God, dang, guys, buy his pay pay per views. Buy his pay per views. And it would actually make him much more appealing than everybody.

For a guy that has such a crazy following in terms of people that support him, it is unreal how few people actually pay to watch him fight. There is a plan on the table that has been discussed to do three champion versus champion fights on that pay-per-view. You versus Steve A, DJ versus T.J. and Cyborg versus Nunes. Do you like this idea or do you think that's too much to, you know, sort of separate fighter, you know, from analysts for a second, be the analyst, be the fan? Do you think that's tying up six divisions? Is that tricky or is that kind of our version of, you know, the Super Bowl, WrestleMania? Why the hell not let's say le Bon Ton Roulet, as they say back home? Yeah, man. Let the good times rule.

You know, like, I mean, I think it's okay because here's the deal, right? Out of those six champions, five of those weight classes don't necessarily have a true clear-cut person that the champions should be fighting, right? Like, who's Steve A supposed to fight next if they weren't willing to give Kane a title shot right away? Who am I supposed to fight next unless I just go into a rematch of Alexander? there. Who is cyborx supposed to be fighting? I mean, with the whole, nobody knows what's going on with Megan Anderson. Who's a man that's supposed to fight next? I guess Raquel Pennington is injured or something. I mean, five of these champions don't have clear cut number one contend it. So what's the issue? While we're doing these fights, why you put all these title fights on the

same card, then you let the divisions kind of sort themselves out. So when we're done in July, come the end of the year, a new contender has truly shown themselves. Because Alexander, for as deserving as he is, he's won two fights. And he looked pretty good against Glover. But, you know, Glover's a little bit slow, so he's going to look good against Glover. And against Jan Blahovitch, he was getting pieced up and had to start wrestling. Jan Glohovich, he had to wrestle. Okay. How much you expect to weigh on July 7th? I know it's early, but how much you expect to weigh?

2.35, maybe. Okay, wow. What a gift that's going to be, right? I feel like at my best. I feel, what did you say? What a gift that's going to be, right? Oh, it's going to be great to not cut weight. I mean, it's going to be amazing. But at my best, I was 235. When I fought Josh Barnett, I weighed 235. Anything smaller would be a problem, because Steve is a big, strong guy, but at 235, he'll probably weigh about 10 pounds more than I do. Are you able to tell us who your coaching staff will be on tough or not yet? I think it's easy to figure out with me. I have the same guys.

I'm just going to take my coach and stop. Okay. I'm going to take my coaching staff to go and help me coach these kids. I'm going to give them the opportunity to learn from the same staff that helped me and Kane and Luke become world champions. You have a relationship with Stepe. You just filmed the show with him not that long ago in The Clinch. Fantastic program on FS1. Is it weird to be fighting a guy that your buddies with that you're kind of, you're cool with?

You have respect for. You just spent the day with him at the firehouse. How do you feel about that? I think it's cool, you know. It's going to be a respectful bill to the fight. This one's based on competition and nothing more. This is based on my dream of doing. something special in doing something

unheard of. I have nothing against Steve A. I think he's a fantastic guy. I think he's a phenomenal father, husband, integral part of his community. But this is an opportunity to do something truly, truly special and I can't pass it up.

Two more. If you went on July 7th, are you the greatest ever? I win this fight July 7th. I'm the greatest fight of all time. I've done something that was unheard of. And that's what I've always chased, right? I've always chased it. I chased it in a fight for Jones, because even regardless of the belt, I would always say once I beat Jones, I will be the greatest fighter of all time. So I believe that once I do this, something that was so crazy that no one even has attempted

it, I feel like I'm in the conversation for the best fight of all time. I certainly agree with that. Now the big one, the one I've been dying to ask you, what did you think of Ronda Rousey's debut Sunday night at the row? I thought it was cool. Give me the breakdown. cool, you know? So, like, I sat through the whole entire Rural Rumble, right? The women's Rumble, hoping that she was one of what are the fighters. And number 30 came and it was

Tristratus, which was pretty cool. But it wasn't around us. I was like, oh, my goodness, oh, my goodness, they did this to us. And then it was cool to see her walk to the ring and point to the WrestleMania logo. Don't truly understand the meaning of it. Like, she doesn't really have a rivalry with any of those people.

Maybe it was just to get her out in front of the crowd to see the reaction, but I'm interested to see what becomes of this because I don't know maybe she just wasn't ready yet to go into the Royal Rumble right because if they were to rush her and she looked bad it would have been much worse than just kind of holding her back

giving her months to prepare to make her debut but yeah very excited happy for Rhonda so happy for Rhonda that she's doing something she loves I have to ask though like the reaction from the MMA fans they don't seem to be all that excited for like you say you're happy for it and she seemed genuinely happy. I'm concerned about her acting skills. I'm concerned about her mic skills.

That's her issue now. She has to figure it out. Personally, I think she should team up with Paul Heyman and he should be her mouthpiece. That's neither here nor there. But do you feel like the fans maybe feel like she turned her back to them? She never said goodbye properly. She never addressed the losses.

She won't address the losses. And unlike you and Connor and other people who have suffered great defeats, it dust yourself off. You talk, there seems to be a disconnect now. They don't feel like she's one of this. them going off to do great things. And I find it fascinating when talking to someone like you who's always sort of been, you know, open with his,

with his setbacks like he is with his triumphs. There's something missing there. Do you sense that as well that the fans just aren't happy for her like maybe they should be? I mean, I just think it's, I think it's weird, you know, because like she chooses not to discuss it. That's her right, you know, like people deal with loss in their own ways. And obviously, Rhonda doesn't feel comfortable or doesn't want to. doesn't want to deal with it in the way that we did.

People deal with it differently. Would it be, if she was to do it, it's a massive weight off your chest if you're able and willing to discuss it and try to move past it. But what does she have to move past now? She's not in this sport anymore, and she's getting paid millions of dollars to do something else. I mean, look, they can love her, they can hate her.

It ain't going to change her paycheck. and she's going to be Ronda Rossi. So it doesn't really matter. Like I think she's going to approach this in the way that she wants to approach it. And obviously she has made it pretty clear that she won't discuss those losses or discuss those setbacks. All right. Well, we'll see what happens. D.C., you're the man.

I can't thank you enough. I don't even know if I can promise I won't bother you again because you continue to be in the news. You are a perpetual newsmaker in this business. but I think I will leave you alone for at least a few weeks. Good luck out there. It starts this week, right? It starts this week. We leave tomorrow.

I'm taking off. This is it. I'm taking a couple weeks off of the MMA hour. Wow. Now I feel like you're mad of me. Now I'm going to be all self-conscious about it. I'm not mad at all. I'm not mad at all, man.

It's been great. I appreciate it. Thank you. I'm so happy for you. Congratulations. Good luck on the show and, of course, training. I have a feeling I'll talk to you before the fight on July 7th. But congratulations and best of luck to you out in Vegas.

Thank you, Ariel. I appreciate it. All right, there he is. The light heavyweight champion of the world, Daniel Kormier, the man who will look to make history on July 7th, day before my 36th birthday, by the way, you don't care about that, when he fights Sipe Amiochich for the heavyweight title. Only one man has ever held two belts at the same time. You know that man, Connor.

Four men have held two belts at different times in different weight classes. D.C. is trying to become the biggest man to ever do it. 205 heavyweight July 7th. We'll have plenty of time to talk about that. We'll talk about it with Steve Amyoich later on the program. But now let us move along and welcome in one of the best fighters in the lightweight division, a man who is very much in the mix at 155, a man who has been in the news over the past week. And we'll get into that in a second. We'll talk to him as to why he's been in the news. And where does he go from here? We're talking to the underground

king. We're talking to the most violent man in the UFC. We're talking to the one and only Eddie Alvarez right now. Eddie, how are you? Excellent. What's up, Ariel? All as well. I appreciate the time, Eddie. There's much to discuss with you. You sort of popped up midweek last week. Nate Diaz, a guy you've had your sort of run-ins with tweets out that he's ready to come back. He's tired. He's bored. He's coming back May June. You come back and say, all right, May June sounds good. Let's go.

And then there's some more tweets there. why did you why is this of interest to you right now why did you respond to him where's your head at as it pertains to Nate Diaz uh none I just thought it'd be a good fight um you know Nate did the name the name in general would be like the one it'd be one I'd like to have my sharedoll record you know have a win over over that name uh like you know during my career collect the names is it's an important thing. Some people got me. I've gotten most, but just having that name, my resume, it'd be a real honor. So when he said something, I just thought it was like, you know, it'd be, it was the equivalent of a guy, like, calling out a bunch of, you know, there's a bunch of fighters in a group,

and then some tough guy yells out, you're all a bunch of bitches and then walks away. So, like, he had to expect at least one guy to turn around and say something. And when you say that, you kind of got to be ready to fight. Someone or some, or at least one of the guys that you called out. That was my, that was my thinking. Like, we're all called a bunch of bitches and then the guy just walks away. And he don't say shit. It was, it was really odd.

I had, um, I had a, a tough time, like, understanding. why he would even say anything. I'm like, why would you say nothing if you're not willing to fight anybody? So that's why I started. I treated again, like, I kind of understood, like, this guy just wants to fight one guy.

So if you just want to fight one guy, just like kind of talk to that one guy. Don't yell at a group of guys, you know? So you believe he has no interest in fighting any of you, whether it's you, Kevin Lee, who also said I'd love to fight him, you believe he only wants to fight Connor? no yeah yeah like I'm like the more I think about it the more I'm like when Connor takes a break

Nate takes a break you know what I mean like Connor's like I ain't fighting to August and he's like oh I ain't fighting no July or some shit he just yeah I guess his ego doesn't let him say like I just want to fight connor just say it let's be honest with everyone um if that's who you want to fight there's nothing wrong with that. But don't call everyone out. You know, if you don't have no intention of fighting anybody, you're getting a bunch of fans excited who, you know,

you're just bullshit, you know? You don't want any work from any lightweight in the division, then just don't say anything to any the lightweights in the division. Everything will be cool. But when you, you know, when you say things like that, you should be ready, you know, to at least fight somebody.

So once this came out and you tweeted back at him, even the UFC's Twitter account, started to play it up. I'm just curious, behind the scenes, can you tell us if there were any talks between you and the UFC, your management in the UFC, are they interested in this fight? Are they trying to make this fight happen?

The UFC wants it. They called and said, what do we want? The UFC called just recently and said, hey, what do we got to do to make this fight happen? Basically, asking me on my end, you know, it isn't my last fight. I only have one fight left in my UFC contract.

So for me, I'm like, hey, let's let's do this shit with a bang or whatever we're going to do let's let's make it a big name let's uh let's have a big fight so for me i don't um it doesn't really matter ufc saying what do we got to do make this fight happen so i i'm willing the ufc's willing um and you know you got one guy out there talking a bunch of shit to a whole division and they're not not willing to step up or do anything so um i don't know i don't quite know what where nates had that or what what he wants to do but But, you know, we had some shit go on in the past where the UFC officials had to break us up, you know, back in Mexico.

And I just thought, hey, you want to return and you're saying some shit about the whole division. Why don't we finish, you know, what we kind of started. But if you don't want to, no big deal. Like I said, it's just, you know, it was like a pit stop for me before Ferguson and Khab, anyway. But if you don't want to, then I'll just keep helping, frankly, get ready for Max, and we'll do it that way. So you say the UFC is interested, and that's great news, I think, in a lot of people's eyes. Did they say to you, okay, if we make this fight happen, if we can get it done, we want to resign you as well? Would they let you go into the last fight of your contract against Nate Diaz, or if you want the Diaz fight, you're going to have to sign another deal?

I think the U.S.C. We, I think, wants to keep on, you know, wants to resign. I have a, you know, they want to resign. Okay. We haven't got, we haven't got to that agreement yet, but I'm sure we will. I have a good rapport with everybody there, and we're definitely going to sit down and come to an agreement. But for me, it's real about, like, what this next fight is, who it's going to be, whether

it's the Tony the Tony Khabib, whether one of them guys drop out and I step right in or whether Nate wants to do something in the meantime or whatever or whether I'm just helping Frank get ready for Max.

That's just what it is, but I'm sitting here idle and you know, May, June just sound like a damn good date to me so it is what it is. In your mind, how are you approaching the last friend on your deal? Do you want to play it out? Do you want to test, you know, you're kind of

guy who sort of kickstarted this whole free agent thing. Do you want to test the waters or would you like to get something done even before that last fight happens? To be honest, I don't care. Free agency is great. In this sport, to be one of the top guys in the world, champion everywhere and become a free agent, that's an amazing thing, you know. I'm sure there'll be offers everywhere.

But I have a good report with the UFC as well. And I'm sure they'll, you know, they'll stay. step up and they'll do the right thing and pay, but I don't carry either way, I just want some big fights, some fights that fans are going to get excited about, get some people in front of me that is going to force me to fight in a way that gets everyone excited. I'm having a good time either way. I'm outside dance studio right now. My little daughter's dancing. I'm living life, living a dream, brother. I appreciate you taking some time out, because I know she means the world to you.

So thank you for that. We won't keep you too long. But I'm just curious, like, if you can put yourself in his body, it's interesting. The timing, you bring up a great point because they booked the title fight between Habib and Tony Ferguson. So that kind of frees up Connor for a second. And then he comes out with this tweet. Why do you think he does this?

Why do you think he throws it out there? Hey, I'm coming after all of you. When in your mind, as you said, he just wants to fight one guy. Why do this? And does this make you think any differently of, of, of Nate Diaz, the way he's going about it based on what you think his ultimate end goal is? I don't know. I think as a fighter,

we're in the public eye. We get a lot of attention, you know, but mostly attention we get is when we're fighting. You know, so when you're sitting there and there ain't nobody giving you love or attention, maybe you throw a tweet out. Maybe I see if people still love me or not. I don't know. I don't know what is.

is, you know, if you're not fighting and nobody's saying shit about you or giving you any love, maybe you just kind of want to, oh, maybe let me get some attention of fans. You got to fight in order to get that attention from fans and get them to kind of, to care about what you're doing. If you're not fighting, then, you know, fight things aren't going to be all about, all about, you know, that, you know, you in general. So I just think it was maybe a little ploy for a little bit of attention, because he hasn't been getting any or whatnot,

but, you know, he has his own shit going on. But I just, I sincerely thought, initially I sincerely thought, hey, this guy's trying to rumble, you know? He said Mayor June, he's calling the division a bunch of bitches. Maybe he has a guy in mine. So I just raised my hand. In Mexico, I got in his face after weigh-ins because he kept, you know, doing that shit he always does to everyone.

and nobody says shit to him. So I went right up to him. And then when I went right up to him, he couldn't even look me in his face. He looked down at the ground. I'm like, oh, this guy is supposed to be so, so fucking hardcore, so gangster. He couldn't even look me in the face

when I was confronting him about, you know, all the mean mugs and all that shit. And he looks at the ground, and then the UFC officials kind of jump in the middle of me and him and then squashed the whole thing. But I told him, You know, after I beat Gilbert up, I said, you're fucking next. And we almost had something going right after a Gilbert fight, but that kind of, you know,

it kind of fell to pieces. So I was like, hey, let's kind of, let's figure that out. Yeah, I remember you being on the show two days after. I remember talking to him at the arena in Mexico, and it seemed like both of you wanted it at the time. Why didn't it ever happen? Do you remember? Because they were telling me I'm going to, I was on my way to get the belt.

I don't fucking want to fight. I'm about to get the belt. Who did I have in front of me? I came in UFC and we had Gilbert, who was number three, and then next was going to be like Pettish or something like that, and then right to Dosanio. So it was like three, two, one, and it wasn't like three. And then, you know, I was already on a, you know,

trajectory to get the belt. So I'm like, I was going to face the guys who were in front of me. And in this case, the two guys are in front of me are fighting each other. and I'm probably still going to end up fighting one of them guys that fight probably going to get scrapped they're 0 for three there so somebody might get scrapped

so I'll be ready for that and if I'm not I was just looking at Nate like Nate'll be a pit stop before it could be where Tony and that was that was my thinking but he don't want no work he wants one guy and I don't even care I'm not even blaming him for it take that dude

but don't say shit to anybody like I just don't get people excited. You know, I don't, I'm like, you know, I don't do your thing. Like, if you want to, you want to fight that one dude, go out and fight them. But don't, you're saying, he's just, like, kind of lying to everyone. Oh, you're all bitches. Like, all right, man, you're tough. I don't know what to say.

Are you preparing for April 7th? Do you think that either Habib or Tony is going to pull out and then you can step, step in? Is that what you're preparing for right now? to be honest i'm not i don't have any body or person in mind i'm in the gym and um right now edson don't have a fight marlin marlin i don't have a fight um i don't have a fight book so right now the only people kind of on our mind person on our mind is max holloway and getting frankie ready for max holloway so um until they throw opponents in our face and stuff like that that's where our minds that it's kind of getting my rounds in, get my working out in, and then if I could walk

Frank Spar or even give him a round or something like that and help him out, that's where, that's where I think everybody in our training camp, that's where our minds are at right now. Did you see that press conference they put on in Boston with Habib and Tony where they said that they're fighting for the real belt, but Connor still has the belt, and they were skirting around it, and we don't really know what's going on, and neither do the fighters? And if you did see it, what do you think of this whole situation with the belt? You once held. So initially, all the reporters are gone, so what's going on?

What's going on? But then I had a couple of, I put a tweet out, and I was like, you know, it's silly that people are asking is it for the belt. If they're fighting for the undisputed title, then they're going to strip counter. They have to strip Conner. You can't have two undisputed titles. But then I seen another theory online. I'm like, oh, that's exactly what it is.

What's going on is this fight is over three. they're not going to strip Connor of a bell and then have a vacant title for a fight that's 0 for 3 they have not been able to make this fight every time they book it they're not able to make the fight either uh... kabeed gets hurt or Tony gets hurt or someone gets hurt

so I think what the UFC's thinking is a theory I'm not I... it's just opinion on my point is um... you know this fight is not going to happen it's a very unlikely chance that it's going to happen so they're not going to strip the champion and then have this fight fall through and not have a champion.

So I think the Bay Wayans, they're going to strip him, it's going to make real big news, and then they're going to have a title fight, and it's also going to make big news. So it's going to make for a lot of publicity in one day, and that's my theory. Okay. By the way, speaking of people you know, Dustin Porre is fighting Justin Gaichie on April 14th.

Who do you like in that fight, your last two opponents? It's going to be a great fight. You mean, a hell of a great fight. That's hard to say. Justin don't, he's just not, he's kind of like me, he don't go away. I think Dustin technically is a more sound fighter. Probably, Dustin probably a more sound fighter everywhere. Like, he's standing up, he's a little bit cleaner.

Justin got the better wrestling. Dustin would better just say I mean it can go either way but I don't know man Justin just don't quit you know he has zero zilch like no quit in them like not at any point in the fight when I was fighting Justin Gaichi there's certain points where I was just damaging them bad and hitting him with really hard shots and there was in any point in that fight now for one second where I felt like he is accepting defeat, like not at any point, but where he was accepting it. He was just, in his mind or even in his spirit, I felt like he just, he just always felt like he was going to win, always trying

to do damage, always never giving up, you know, and I couldn't say the same about my fight with Dustin Poirier. So like, if that, if that fight kind of gets into a little deeper rounds, I feel like Justin could, Justin could take over and then start, like, doing serious damage, kind of kind of like on the way the Michael Johnson fight went. But I think the first couple rounds, you know, he's going to have to have an uphill battle technically. So we'll see. Last thing for you, Eddie, and again, thank you for the time.

Your road in the UFC has been incredible. I mean, a who's who, Seroni, Melendez, Pettis, RDA, Connor, Poria, Gaichie, arguably one of the toughest roads ever. You get this Nate Diaz fight. Where do you put him? Like, in your mind, how tough is Nate Diaz? right now. Where does he stack up considering the opponents you've

faced thus far in the UFC? He's up there. I barely look at ranking anymore because it's so subjective. I don't look at rank. I think guys who get ranked are just guys who the UFC is just trying to put in title contention.

It's kind of what it seems like. But he's up there, man. And to be honestly, I'm just trying to get the biggest names. And I've done that in the very beginning of the UFC, I just want the biggest names. I feel like the people tune in for that. They want to see the biggest names fight each other, like two giant entities, like Pepsi versus, you know, or like McDonald's versus Burger King, like the biggest giant corporations fighting each other. So Diaz-Alvarez would go well, Diaz Melendez-on-Well, I mean Alvarez Melendez, so like the biggest

names we can get going against each other for the fans. always is always where I want to be at. And it's funny, I'm cool with these guys. Like Nick, Nick came to my after party in Texas, where I had that foot, in Dallas, at our foot Des and Porier. Nick was, Nick, I think, was getting kicked out of the club. And my manager, my manager, um, had an after party for us booked where we got to stay a little later. And I, I invited Nick up. I invited Nick up. And Nick came up. He hung out with me, my wife, my brother, my friends, yon-out with all of us.

I always been cool with the Diaz. It wasn't until Mexico where, you know, that shit happened with Nate. But even after that shit with Nate, Nick came up, hung out with us and that was a year ago, something like that.

And we chopped it up and everything, everything was cool. So does it happen? What's your prediction? What do you think? Does it actually have you said UFC wants it? You want it? Does it happen?

It's going to be purely up to Nate Diaz. if he wants to rumble or not. I'm here. If he wants to do it. He's had a lot of stuff, so we'll see. It's all. It's on him.

And there's fans who go, oh, he just wants money. This is money. Let me tell fans something. I know Nate's contract. I know it. I know exactly what he gets. I hired his management

when I was doing my McGregor deal. So I know his deal in and out. So Nate's getting paid money. He's going to make millions, regardless of who he fights. So like people saying, oh, he don't want to fight for $200,000 or $300,000. He won't fight Alvarez for $2. He's not going to. If he fights me, he's going to make over a million dollars.

Guaranteed. So don't worry about Nate making money. If he don't want to fight, it's because you don't want to fight the opponent. It's not because of your money. He's going to make money. everybody's going to make money. So I'll make that clear because there's always like

a reasoning behind fighting certain guys and if it's a money reason then I get it. I totally get it. I got a wife and kids at home too. You got to make money. But you don't make money. You're going to do over a million dollars for a fight you know, a couple

million dollars then money can't be the reason after that. So we'll see. All right. Well, best of luck getting it. I'd love to see it. Years in the making. I think it makes sense from a whatever ranking, whatever, stature standpoint, whatever you want to say. I feel like it's the fight that makes sense. So I'm curious to see if they actually get it done. If they can get it done, if they can convince him to get. Do you know if they've actually offered it to him, by the way? Have they approached him with the idea? Do you know? I think he was offered me months back, not recently. I just got a call recently. saying, you know, we kind of interest and what do we want on our end to make the fight happen, you know what I mean?

So that just lets me know the promotions for it. Yeah. So the next, next person in line is not doing me. Okay. And I was, I wanted to, hold on, there were some, I wanted to clear some things up. Okay. I forget. I forget.

I love you guys, though. And my fans, everybody, everybody out there, who's live. listening who's supporting me and behind me. This shit is far from over, and I'm just getting warmed up and just having some fun with it, so I appreciate all my fans out there who continue to follow, and I'm going to bring it every time. Much love, Eddie. If you remember what you wanted to say, just text me. I'll read it on the

air, all right? I sure will. I sure will. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Good luck. Thanks, Aaron. All right, there he is. The Underground King, Eddie Alvarez. interesting to note the UFC has approached him we'll see it happens I've reached out to Mr. Diaz

as you know a tough man to pin down but hopefully we'll hear from him sooner rather than later okay let's move along someone who knows a thing or two about the Diaz brothers remember way back when

round of the year one of the greatest rounds ever against his brother Nick Diaz the one and only Paul Semtex Daily has been in the news as of late I want to talk to him about his career where he stands

with Bellator his future let's check in with England's own Paul Daly he joins us now on the phone Paul are you there yes I am

what's up good to talk to you Paul it has been a while it's it's great to have you on the show so you have been in the news as of late can we start before you went to Facebook you went to Facebook a few

days ago and said that you've asked for your release from Bellator why did you do that why did you ask for your release what led to that it's just been an accumulation of both shit basically on that Belator's end.

And it just kind of got to a point where I was like, you know what, if you're not going to keep your word, and if you've been throwing up smoke screens, then just let me go. If I'm not a valued member of Bellatorall, then just let some other promotion who feels like to make use on me and put me where I feel I need to be deserved,

which is at the front of a promotion, then just let me go. And the response was, yeah, you'll get us. can I have it in writing? The response that I got was, yes, you will have it in writing. And I've got the whole text message I can screenshot it. I'm not going to name with the Belito VP where the whole conversation went down. But it's a guy that's up there that sits next to Scott at all these big press conferences and stuff.

So I thought it was legit. I thought I was free from Belator and then the next time I'm hearing. I'm not. Could you tell us why you're upset, the smoke screens, why you don't feel like a valued member? Like what happened that led you to feel that way? It's a bunch of things, to be honest with you. I think it got sour with Belicle when I didn't take the March 9th date that was offered for Bailey versus MVP. It wasn't MVP himself.

It was the date and the time of it. I wasn't happy with them. For me, you know, I lost to Roy McDonald's, one of the Boundst Fount-Bourkewarm best fighters. in my eyes anyway and I went back in against another highly ranked USC cashed off

if you can show you that in the runs and I won now in my eyes the next fight for me isn't MVP off the back of that

it's somebody else and you know I mean Belito I had a list of names I put it to them and said okay yeah this kind of timeline works for us and we're going to make it happen and that's what I thought

but it just didn't happen that way. And then, you know, from the recent times in Scott talking about MVP, and, you know, it just kind of got to point out of this is bullshit. For me, our local team here in Notting is Rottenham, is Rottenham, is not in the forest. They ain't in the Premiership. Recently, they just beat Arsenal.

You know what I mean? If that kind of thing happens, you publicize it. For me, Bella told you do any of that. I beat the Wrens Lock, you know, he was in, and all the press is coming from the UFC blah blah blah he just went five rounds

of Lima I knocked him out within two rounds the buildup was great and the whole way thing is good and then for me I don't feel like

they capitalised on that and they didn't capitalize on it then they didn't give me a fight that I thought made sense and then they sort of like just forgot about me and I just got talking about MVP

who was booed at his last fight for a terrible boxing match on British TV against some guy who should be working in, I don't know, working on the doors or flipping burgers and McDonald's as we look like anyway.

And I just kind of got pissed off. As I do, everybody knows what kind of character I am. I send what I think, and I just said it. So when you asked for your release, you said this Beltor executive said yes. We will grant you that release. You have it in writing. Then what happened? I went straight to Facebook and says,

I've asked my release from Bellator. It's been okayed, you know, and whatever. said, you know, I've had eight months in the sport. I just want to make exciting fights. And that's the truth, you know. Before I came on the she's giving, you can look at my Facebook page. Somebody said, I don't know the person who goes to me, but they said,

don't let Ariel bait you. And my response to him is you can't bait you. That's what they said. I don't know what kind of reputation got nowadays, Ariel. What are you talking about? That's what they said. Beat you. They said, don't let him date you.

And I said, I can't be bait you because I always tell the truth. what I put on Facebook is a truth. What you're hearing and interviews is a truth. Man, if I was telling lies and this and that, then, yeah, I could be putting it in fact. But everything I'm saying is exactly how it happened. And it's the God's honest truth. Okay. I don't know what these people are talking about.

I'm just asking questions. I need one, man. I was for you as a straight-up guy. Yeah, come on. I mean, we've known each other for years ago. So then what happens? Because now it seems like you're not released, right? They're saying you're not released.

Yeah. Now it seems like I'm not released. and I thought, oh, okay, so I hit a contact that I have a bellator again. I say, okay, the Rory Lima fight played out. The Gonzales, Fernando Gonzales, the Larkin fight played out. I'm figuring, therefore, the world's awaits of note. You know, now I'll approach me. So now do you have anything lined up for me,

a possible opponent or anything? No, we still have nothing for you. And again, my response is, like, How can you have nothing for me, an idea of what you're going to do with me as a fighter when you're supposed to be one of the premier shows in the world? You have something planned out. You have something that you can tell me. You know, we're waiting on this, waiting on that.

It's going to be here, there. But they're giving me nothing. It's like Bellator's kind of shot shot on Centex, mainly because it's because I could beat my mind. But either way, you know, my career is in your hands. and I'm not at the beginning of my career I'm at the end of my career and there's certain things that I want to do

so just let me know that's all, that's the problem they're not telling me anything and this is, I would like to say it's just me but since I've gone public I've had managers of other battle fighters kind of telling me the same thing

so obviously they've got, they've got shit they need to sort out over there, but they need to sort it out quick. I feel like over the years you've had a pretty solid, relationship with Scott Coker? Have you talked to him at all about your issues, the things that are bothering?

As far as a solid relationship goes, me and Scott, we don't talk like, I talk, he enjoys the way I fight. So that's a kind of relationship. He knows he can put me in a fight and I'm going to entertain the crowd. And I honestly don't think it's Scott. I think it's the TV guys, you know, Paramount, the guys making movies and kids' entertainment or whatever. They have got a certain draft of Delaton, a real straight-up fighter like me might not fit

the plan, which is my own explanation to why they like this guy bouncing around the Pokemon hats and doing spinning bird kicks and while they're getting characters like a rampage. I love him from back in the day, but, you know, it was clearly out of shape and, you know, not half a guy used to be, but that's the only thing. That's the only, you know, the thing that's in my head. They're trying to make this community when you got a fight. Like, me, he just wants to fight.

This is my argument. I just want to fight. They're like, Paul, you know, they said some things, whatever. We would pay you well. Like, you fought three times last year. I'm like, okay, that's cool, but it's not about the money. It's not about last year. It's about I haven't fought since September.

And I've come up a fantastic win. Probably as far as namesake goes, probably one of my biggest swings in recent times. And you've done nothing with it. Like, you've done nothing with it. It's like there's no follow-up to it. That's my problem. And so when they told you that you were released via text message, do you have any idea why they're not releasing you now?

I have no idea. You would like to... Is it fair to say you still want to be released, though? Nothing's changed, really, from your end? I would love to be released because I feel like, you know, I've always, you can see from my fight record, I've had a hell of a lot of fights. I like to keep active.

I do like to be with a big promotion, maybe for the TV exposure, the person is slightly bigger, but for me, I like to be active, especially, like I say, and I'm on the back end of my career.

I want to keep going. I don't want to be sat out, starting twice a year or a few times. I want to be fighting. I'll be doing what I love to do. So, yeah, I would love to be released. my contract.

And since I put that, I've never seen a response. Like, you know, for me, I feel there's a lack of respect from Bellatory as well. I feel like it's like they don't respect

or really value me as a fighter. They know I'll fight. That's why they like me. You can put Paul in any fight. You don't accept the fight. He'll go out and entertain. But I don't think they value me as far as as demand as such.

But since I put that post out on Facebook, every promoter. you can think of. Literally every promotion you can think of has been inboxing me, has sent a middleman to contact me. Does he want to go here and everywhere? I don't know if the words got round, but maybe that's why Belific's holding on to me. Like, shit, people are still interested in Shemtex. You know, he is a valuable, marketable fighter people. Do you like to invite around the world? These are Russian oligarchs. These are people.

like preach is the king of fucking Brunei. I don't even know who these people are. Over in Asia, the big promotion of USA just off a Facebook post. So obviously there's something still left. There's something still left in some text that other people see. But they're just fucking blind to it.

Does that include the UFC? You talk about promotions contacting you, middlemen. Does that include the UFC? I don't know what I can say as far as my contract. The contracts comes from. So I'll just use regions and promotions, middlemen and give you an idea. But every promotion, I said,

every promotion has been in contact with me via some kind of middleman. Hypothetically, if you are a free man, would you like to go back to the UFC? Do you feel like your career will be incomplete if you don't get another chance to write the wrong of your first stint there? I think it's a great storyline.

I think the guys at the USC now We'll see that. It's a great storyline. I think there's some great fights for me still there at the UFC, but, you know, my main objective is just to fight and be active. That's what I want to do. And I want to ask you about this 18 months. So in 18 months, you're done.

That's it. You put this hard deadline on your career? Yeah, I just, I don't want to fight much past 35. And 35 real soon. and yeah, I think I've been very sensible in the way that I've been in my career. I think I've got things comfortable enough to me to go on into that next stage of my life

without struggling too much. But, you know, if my tarser can blow half a billion, you know, then anything's possible. But I think my mind's in the right place and I've got things set up so that I can step away and look to do other things with my life.

What would you do? Like in around 18, 19, 20 months? No money. Just make more money. Make more money. Would you be involved in MMA or something completely different? No.

I have a gym already. You know, that's something that I have I've spread down legacy in Nukua. And I have other things going off for me. And I like business. And I'm very different. how people would imagine me to be, you know, very, very different. And I'd just like to pursue some of those other things that I'm involved with.

How many fights do you think you have left? Like in those 18 months, how many times do you want to fight? As much as possible. As much as possible. How many fights were at, what, 67? There's not many of the fighters. Perilermenay fighters have had as many fights as I have 63 or something like that. not including the kickbox

and I can fight as long as I'm able to if I had a fight this weekend I had no injuries I'll fight the weekend after that's the kind of fight I was since day one you can

you can look for old interviews I said I'm in at school obviously I want to make money and you'll be able to do it full time but I wanted to I wanted a fight record like there was more Thai guys I have said that in interviews

as far back as 2006 I just thought it was cool you know 196 fights whatever 157 ways I just want to fight I think you've learned so much more

from fighting and just bumming around and doing nothing or whatever I just want to fight I'm like old school so what do you think happens here with Belator is the damage done

are you not willing to ever fight for them again there's damage there the damage is there already like how it goes is completely completely up to them. Obviously,

because I'm on... As far as I'm aware, at this point, I'm still on the contract to how they want to play out it's completely up to them, but I will not be signing an extension. We can go as far as saying that,

and I think I have two fights left. So, either way, whether they release me now or they release me after these two fights, I'll be looking to do something else. Do you have a dream fight? Do you have a fight that you would love to have before it's all said and done?

There were loads of fights Well, there's a few fights Obviously the Nick Diaz fight would be crazy But You know, he's made a hell of a lot of money During his time on paper through the UFC I'm not sure it would interest him It's more interesting

Smokinin, and investing those type of companies But fighting right now Tyron Woodley I would love to fight And I have a lot of respect That guy, as I said in the recent interview He's one of the two guys Always credits

have in thought me. There's not many guys that even as champion in safe. I thought Paul Daly you know

puts me up there I'll say Paul Daly I thought Warren McDon and that's all I'm asking I just want respect

I've done a lot for the sport of MMA worldwide and especially for the UK all I want in the last meeting months

is to have some more great fights more great knockouts and people even who's a peck that is there's no other British fighter that has been

fighting in America over a decade. There's only me, and he's still fighting with Michael Bispy was done. There's no other fighter right now

that's still fighting in the USA 10 years or more other than Michael Biscby. And I don't get that. I don't get the credit I deserve. I'm not getting it at Bell at all.

So, fuck it. We'll see where we can get some respect, make some more money and put some more entertaining fights. Last thing for you, Paul,

and I always mean to ask you about this when you're on and I always seem to forget. But here we are in 2018. You spit fire all day on Facebook, yet you still don't have a Twitter account. What the heck is going on? It drives me nuts.

Why can we get on Twitter? I know. I just don't feel it. You're so good on Facebook. Yeah, I just like to keep it to Facebook because there's only one place people can find me. And it's right way. I like it like that.

So it's never happening? Not for now. Not unless I said, but that business or something away from myself that needs the extra marketing. But as it has poor syntax daily, you can find me on Facebook. All right. Fair enough. I appreciate you coming on, Paul.

I'm sorry to hear that this has happened. No, I appreciate the invite. Yeah, but keep us posted, please. And I hope you will tell your fans on Facebook that there was no baiting here, that it was a nice, friendly conversation between two old mates, all right? All right, great. Nice, look. All right. Talk to you soon. There he is. Paul Daly. Stopping by.

Hopefully they get that issue sorted. He is still one of the biggest names in Bell Tour. And as he mentioned, coming off a big win over Lorenz Larkin, who was victorious on Friday. But interesting comments about promoters reaching out. And, of course, UFC, what a story that would be if he can end his career there after what happened way back when? Remember that? UFC.S. 113, Josh Koshchek, the punch after the bell. What a story that would be.

tuned. We'll see what happens. Developing situation. All right, let's move along. Some exciting news came out on Friday regarding one of the greatest boxers of all time. You heard me talk about Roy Jones on this program many of times. One of my favorite songs ever. I say it all the time. I've even labeled fights on cards as y'all must have forgot. It's one of the great lines in combat sports history. They even included it in the actual press release announcing that his retirement fight would be February 8th in Pensacola, Florida, and it would air on UFC Fight Pass. That's the plan. His retirement fight, Roy Jones Jr.'s retirement fight, is going to air February 8th from his hometown of Pensacola as he approaches 50, and it's going to air on UFC Fight Pass, the very first boxing match to air on

UFC Fight Pass. And who better than Roy Jones to kick off that venture? And how about this? He's joining us via the magic of Skype. There he is, the one and only, the legend. Y'all must have For God, he's still around. Kicking it. Roy Jones Jr. How are you, Roy? Doing good, brother. How are you doing?

I'm doing great. Great to talk to you again. How did this come about this deal with UFC fight pass having your last fight there? Just we've been friends for so long, myself and Dana. And when I got to this last point, I was like, you know, what would be good to do? How could I go out with a bang? Something that's different, which is what I like to do. And I thought, I think I said, you know, if I did the first box.

match on fight pairs, that would be pretty interesting. That would be different and I'll be the first. I love to be first. I love to be first. So we made the call. Dana put some things together for me. We made it happen. I'm so blessed and so honored and so happy to have that happening now.

So you reached out. You were the one that pitches to him and he was into it right off the bat. Of course. My team reached out to him and, and, of course, he was into it. We've been talking about back and forth anyway, but we're like, well, why that start right here. This will be perfect. We're right. The worst last fight, first time we do it together and we go from there, you know?

So it worked out and it's a perfect marriage, I believe. Okay, so then let me ask you about the quote unquote retirement fight. We know how these go in boxing. Is this 100% without a shadow of a doubt your last fight ever? Well, you know, I'm not God so I can't predict the future.

And it's like because of certain situations, you know, myself, Dana, Anderson Silva. A lot of us have been in a lot of talks for a lot of years about an Anderson-Silver Roy Jones' football match. Yeah. Because of my age, it gives Anderson a better chance now.

It makes it a more believable fight and a fight that could be probably big and a fight that, you know, would be interesting because we both are entertainers. But I love boxing. I love MMA. I love UFC. I love any type of combat sports

because I have nothing but the utmost respect for anybody who's willing to go out of, and face another man, mono to mono and whatever they want to do. So it is my last fight for boxing's concern for me. Unless something like that jumped on the table, there was big, then no reason for me to fight other than that.

Is there any interest on that side of the table? On the UFC side of the table, you know it's been out there. They pooh-poot it, but they did Connor versus Nate, excuse me, versus Floyd recently. Do you feel like there's interest? No, I know there's interest.

There's always interest because we were two of the biggest showmen in the game. He was one of the biggest showmen in the game. He was one of the biggest showmen. showman of his era. I'm the biggest showman of my era. So there's always interest into what would happen because he even used to mimic some of my tricks in his MMA fights, UFC

fights. So it's like, of course people want to see, can he do what I did to other people? Can he do that to me? Because he's learned how to do it by watching me. And of course they want to see, can I go in my tank? And they got something new that he hasn't seen and do it to him. Because he knows all my old stuff because

he's seen it. So I have to go find something new for him. So of course, there's always interest but right now I'm just focusing on getting this done February 8th and you know if something big happens it happens if not I'm cool. Have you changed your stance on Anderson at all after you know the two failed drug tests? Do you do you feel differently about them at all? No I don't feel different about them because for me you know it's like people nowadays you can fail a test just about for anything I mean look how many people feel a test now um you know you can take refuel out the store and you can a drug test. I did that before.

So it's like, there's so many things that they're fell a drug test for now until it's like, you never really know the true details of what happens. So I don't really get into, I don't think he's a cheating guy, because fighters are fighters, we don't want to take nobody else's life and we don't want to us to take our life.

So I can't see a guy who is an upstanding citizen, a real fighter, truly just cheating for an advantage to hurt somebody else. I don't really see it too often. guys like Anderson, there are some guys, you know, have those personalities who would do anything to win, but he doesn't strike me as one of those type guys. So I don't know. I mean, not that he didn't feel the test. I don't know. It could have been injury related, something that he was trying to heal off as. I don't know. I don't have enough evidence to really know the true facts.

So with that being said, I don't think he's a type person that would cheat me in a mental to mental duo. Even though he knows that boxing I shouldn't have somewhat of an advantage, I don't think he would try to cheat me in that because he didn't want to do it to me. long. He has nothing but the utmost respect for me, just as I have for him. I don't think that he would be willing to try to take a chance and cheat just to get an advantage. As you may know, Dana White has been talking about going into boxing, launching something called Zufa Boxing. Does your fight fall under that umbrella? It could. I mean, it would, I mean, it would be a start. And I think that Zoufa boxing will be a great thing because he has done a lot of things with the UFC that

boxing needs. So I think he would be a shot in the arm to boxing to help him out because it would be something that's definitely needed. And the way that he promoted the UFC has now given people open minds about the way that we can promote boxing better and make it a better situation for everybody. So you feel like he would be successful in boxing? You would be in support of this. Because I've talked to some other people who say yes. I've talked to some who say no. How do you feel? I couldn't see him not being successful in boxing because he's open mind. enough to hear what people have to say. The problem with boxing is everybody's closed-minded and stuck on the old ways.

Nobody wants to bring new things and infuse new ways into boxing. When he knows in order to make a change, you've got to do something different. You can't do the same things and expect different results. You have to do something different. Floyd came out and did different things and got different results. So we have to do different things to get different results. Okay. And as for your future in boxing, you're still going to promote after this, right?

you still have your promotion island fight. You're still going to be in boxing. Yes, I still be in boxing, promoting, and training fighters. Okay. And just curious, Roy, you know, last time we spoke was before the Mayweather-McGregor fight, and, you know, we've had some time to digest it. Do you feel like that was good for boxing, bad for boxing, just kind of a fight? There were no repercussions, good for MMA, bad M.A.

Like, if I asked you, okay, what was Mayweather-Megro? What's your take on what transpired on August 26th? No repercussion for Nevisport. it was an event. And that's what boxing, that the boxing had to back on and realize that it wasn't about the sport of boxing. It wasn't about the sport of MMA.

It was an event. And in an event, we got a chance to see what happens when, I mean, if you think about boxing-wise, this guy has never been 10 rounds. How could he possibly survive for 12 rounds? And when you think about MMA-wise,

if they took the gloves off and he got a chance to kick and do all he do, Floyd would have had the same thing, not a chance. So it's like with them, this was not about, I need the sport, it was more about an event. Something that people want to see them share the

ring to see how would it look. What would the outcome be? What would happen if he could hit Floyd? Nothing really happened, but we want to see that. What would it happen could you not kick? Could you go a whole fight without kicking? What would happen with Florida hit him? There were a lot of questions that people wanted to answer. So it's like, when you

have fights like these, these are sometimes bigger than the actual sport itself because they become events. People pay attention. Roy Jones and the self, it's not about the boxing. It's not about In Maple, it's about an event because people want to know, can he really keep up a roar in hand speed? Can he really take Roy's punches? Can you hit war hard enough to cause a word problem?

There are a lot of questions that people want to know. Can he use Roy's own tricks on war and trick work? People want to know that. Can you survive with his hand down, playing? What are like doing other people? People want to know that. So it's like it's not about the initial sport sometimes. Sometimes it's about the event.

Did you see anything out of Connor that makes you think that he could have a, a career in boxing, a successful career? No. Nothing. No. You weren't impressed? I mean, you weren't impressed? Well, I wasn't impressed with the boxing.

What I am impressed by the old is that he had the heart get in there and that he skills wise, technique wise. Technique wise, it wasn't really why I would have wanted to see it. Not that he couldn't get there because with the right training, he probably could get there because if he wants it, he could get there because he learns fast and he has a big heart. But right now, from me, what I've seen. No, I didn't see anything going in that direction yet. Okay. It could happen

but right now, yeah. You're 49, you're about to be 50. When you started this, did you think that you would last this long? Was this always part of the plan? No, no clue whatsoever, but, like I tell you to I didn't even have a clue that I'd be ever fight for the heavyweight championship of the world.

And I became heavyweight champion of the world. So there's a lot of things that I didn't see coming. Including this extended career. No, I didn't. But that lets you know, that I'm not on my time, I'm on God's time. So why are you, like, do you feel good? Like, is your body holding up? Why are you saying goodbye now?

Well, I feel wonderful, but the body don't hold up as good in training as they used to. So now things start to happen to you, you know, tendons go, lignolids go. And it's like, it's kind of hard. So it's like, now if you're not going to make something happen pretty quickly, it's time to start getting out because your body starts telling you. When you start getting all these injuries, your body's telling you that, hey, maybe it's getting a little rough on your body, it's time to go. Okay. And like, do you feel like at this point, you're approaching this fight, it's Pensacola. This is always what you said, right? You always said that you were going to end in Pensacola, right? How big of a deal? Did it have to be in Pensacola? I know that's your hometown, but why does it have to end there, in your opinion?

It didn't have to, but for me, just the type of person that I am and who I am, I would have loved for it to end at home. So I'm going to do just a regular box and call it today. Why not sit up at home and finish where I started? Okay. And say goodbye to your people, right? That's where you still live. I want to say goodbye to everybody, but I want to finish. Sure. That's the best thing. You know, I feel, yes, I feel like boxing had a better year than MMA last year overall. And I think that it's starting off great for, there's been some big fights. There are some big ones to come. You know, HBO Showtime, PBC, all that stuff. How do you feel, it always drives me nuts when people say boxing is dead. This narrative boxing is dead. It's crazy. It's absolutely.

crazy the ratings. You know, we just saw Aero Spence do great on showtime. How do you feel about the current state of boxing right now with the top draws? Like, what's your, what's your take on it as we stand here today, as we talk here today? Boxing is in a very good spot now. Boxing is on his way back.

And the reason it's on his way back is because we went through a time when we weren't getting a chance to see the best fighters fight the best fighters in their crime. Now there's gotten out of the way and we're back to getting when we're supposed to be. The best fighters are fighting the best fighters again. And that's all the boxing had been missing for a long period of time.

So when you got top guys and they win the fight top guys to make for the best fights, then boxing comes back because it's the oldest sport around, but it's still one of the best sports around, and people want to see that. And I think even have UFC involved because UFC also does that. They put the best against the best. And by making that happen, you get people get a chance to get what they want. Just like people want to see the best boxing and the best MMA guy in the way together. Now, he may not be complete the best ever make.

that's because people can argue that John John John's been the best SMA got today. You know, people may auger, and this field was the best enemy. It doesn't matter, but there were two high-name people. And to put those two high names in the ring at the same time made for an extravagant event, the biggest money-making event of all times in sports. So that's what you want to strive for. Those are the type of things you want to make happen. But boxing and they came together to make that happen.

So why wouldn't it be a beautiful marriage? Is there a name or two that really, gets you excited. Like when you find out this guy's fighting, you have to watch your favorite fighters right now? A lot of them get me excited. I mean, John Jones, Carmier, I mean, all of them get me excited. These guys are the guy from Russia that, uh, Habib fought there. Yeah, Habib, with Habib fights, I get excited because he's a wrestler, a bear. Yes. And he knows there's a lot of guys that get you going. If you ride favorite fault right now, if BJP, anybody, any of the old guys, two, I get excited about all the guys.

I love fighting. I love any kind of combat sports. I love to see what guys bring to the table. What have I contributed to them even taking a step further? You know what I'm saying? So it's like, I like to see what the phase is, what are they going to incorporate? What are they

learning? How much better they're getting? What are they using to get them? You know, back in my day, I was a kid growing up. I didn't have a bear, but I used to watch the game chickens because I knew I wanted to be a real fighter, so I want to watch something that God gave. He had a bear that he wrestled. So he learned a lot from that bear.

So it's like, I like to draw things that God has given us, put them together and make for a better situation. That's what makes it different for me. So I love things like this. When I saw Habib and I realized he was wrestling a bear as a kid and learned how to fight, that blew more mind because that's using what God gave us to enhance us and make us better. That's why I feel that God gave us these things.

What about on the boxing side of things? Like for MMA fans who may be, you know, trying to get back in or having watching a while. Is there a name or two that you really love watching that people should look out for right now? I love watching a lot of guys fight. I love Errol Spence. I love Lomachez-Croft.

I love Terrence Crawford. I love Jorge Lenarius. I love Triple G. Canelo. The list goes on to fight that you love to watch. And there's a lot of big fighters. Andre Ward when he does fight. You got a lot of good heavy weight right now. I mean, Deonté Wilder,

very exciting, knocks out, almost everything he touches. I mean, there are a lot of good guys in boxing right now that you should pay attention to. And they're on different networks,

and you know, the networks have their beats too, but there are a lot of really good fighters out there that you should watch now. Mainly, they will have one coming up to Cinco de Mayo, I think Triple G and Canelo fight in a rematch. That's the biggest fight of the year so forth.

Yeah. But now, I'm going to tell you right now, they put Jorge de Norez and Lovochenko together. That's another big fight with some little guys that really can fight. So there are a lot of big.

big fights on the horizon right now. A lot of good things about to happen. There's a Kuzweigh tournament going on for Kuzwey supremacy. The one of that tournament would be the world Kuzweigh champion. And it would be really fun if Andre Ward can't make a fault to one of that tournament. So there's a lot happening in boxing. Boxing is very well in the lot. Just curious, if Wilder fought Joshua, who would you pick?

Today I probably will pick Wilder, but that, you know, with a few more fights, a little bit more experience, that fight is going to get more equal because Joshua's a very, good puncher and a very good fight. He just needs a little bit more experience to be able to deal with that straight right hand. And once he gets to what you deal with the straight right hand becomes a much more evil fight. I love both guys. Both guys are phenomenal fighters. Just that I think Wilde has been more of an experience edge right now. But Joshua just won this title last year. So when Joshua gets a little bit more experience, that's a beautiful fight to see. Last thing for you, Roy, you know, you've been doing this for decades. This is old hat for you.

You're one of the greatest of all time. I'm just wondering, come February 8th, you know, come the morning of that fight. Come the afternoon, come the time that you're in the locker room, you're in front of your people in Pensacola. Do you think that you'll be nervous? Do you think you'll be more anxious? Do you think you'll feel more pressure because this is the last one and everyone wants to go out on top? How do you think it will feel come fight night? I probably be crying all day. Because it's my last day in the ring and I know it. So I'll probably be crying all day, but it'll be all good. You know, I'll do what I got to do, put myself in the same. I'll be. together for the fight and then he's that.

Are you dreading it? Are you dreading saying goodbye? No, I'm never dreading it. I know you know there comes the time, you know, and it's like when you start, like I said, seeing that time come, you've got to accept and move on. All right. Well, I look forward to it. I'll be watching February 8th

on UFC Fight Pass. Thank you so much, Roy. I really appreciate it. Best of luck in training the last couple weeks here and of course, best of luck in the fight. Thank you for everything. Thank you, Marrilla. All right, there he is. The one and only Roy Jones, How cool is that? Y'all must have forgot.

The man. The man himself, Roy Jones Jr. Let me tell you a little more about that fight. He's fighting Scott Sigmund, 30, 11 and 1, 16 KOs, cruiserweight division. It's Thursday, February 8th, only on UFC Fight Pass.

75th fight of Roy Jones Jr.'s career. What a career it has been. Five-fight main card from his island fights promotion, starts at 6.30 p.m. Eastern time. It also features MMA prospect Mike Davis and

a bunch of other rising stars from the boxing world. Fight Pass now adds live boxing to live UFC, live MMA from around the world, of course, Invicta as well. TKO, Cage Warriors, a bunch of other promotions. Live tie boxing, live grappling,

live kickboxing. In 2018, Fight Pass, according to them, will stream over 80 events across combat sports. This is a first for them. As I said, first time they ever air boxing.

It is not technically a ZUFA boxing event. Kind of, you know, it would be a little bit rushed to do that sort of thing. But it does seem as though they are dipping their foot, the toe, if you will, in the proverbial water.

So there you have it. Roy Jones Jr. saying goodbye. But it does seem as though he would be willing to fight Mr. Anders and Silva sometime down the line. That's the fight that will never go away. We'll see what happens. For now it's February 8th. That's his retirement fight. You know how retirement's going boxing. They're retired until their next fight. But pretty cool. It's on Fight Pass. I'll be watching. All right. Let's move along. We go from a man who was once the baddest man in the world in the boxing world, heavyweight champion of the world, to the current baddest man on the planet in the world of

mixed martial arts, the reigning defending UFC heavyweight champion, the man who broke the record for the most title defenses in UFC heavyweight history. The man who will be fighting Daniel Cormier, as we found out on Friday night, July 7th, UFC 226 for his heavyweight title. The man who'll be coaching opposite Daniel Cormier on the upcoming season of the ultimate fighter. The man who started his own Skype account just to join our program for the first time ever on Skype, the one and only Steve Amyosches. Look at that smile. Look at that smile. This is such a an honor. How about that? Steve Amyocha on Skype. This is great. How are you? Good. How are you doing? I'm doing great. Look at that. This is a whole new you. This is so great. Wow. Skype. Is it true that

what's that? I've always had Skype. Oh, you had what? I was told that you love coming on the show so much, but you wanted to take it up a notch. You wanted to come on via Skype. Is that a lie? No, I totally did it count for you. Wow. This is great. And you got great. And you got great connection. out there. You live in the middle of nowhere in Ohio, but you got great connection. Yeah, you know, what we do here, you know, we don't have much, but, you know, we have good internet connection. Wow, it's so great to see you. Your eye healed up very well. I don't see, I mean, I saw you on Instagram like a day later and it was kind of puffed up, but it's virtually gone, right? There's no real swelling left. No, it's gone. It's just a little black and blue,

but not much. Okay. Well, it's great to see you, champ. We have a lot to discuss. I want to start at the beginning, okay? you leave Boston, you say goodbye with your belt, you win that fight. Did you think in a million years, you know, five days later, you'd have another fight book, you'd be on the ultimate fighter? Like, was this on your radar at all? Not at all. I was just going to go home and sleep and relax and enjoy the downtime. So when are you approached, or you, your management, when are you guys approached about this idea, not only to fight Cormier, but to also be on the ultimate fighter as a coach?

Well, they said something to me that Thursday before the fight, and I told them no, I'll worry about it after the fight. And then Monday or Tuesday, they came to me and asked me, would you do it? And I said, well, if it's right, yeah. So I made sure I was okay with my wife. And, you know, it worked out well. So here we are. Initially, what did you think? Did you think it was a little too soon?

I knew your wife's pregnant, right? Do you want to be with her? You just had training camp? How are you feeling about it? Well, I wanted to make sure it was okay with her. You know, she's ultimately the boss. She's in the decision maker. And so, you know, she was okay.

And she thought was a great idea. And, you know, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't, if it wasn't right. But, you know, we feel it's good. We're good to go and, you know, all good. Is she coming with you? I mean, six weeks away from home is a long time. Is she going to come with you? Yeah, she'll be there a little bit.

She'll come and go a little bit. You know, she won't be there the whole time, but she'll come for a little bit, leave, come back. Okay. So you got that figured out. As far as, like, being on the show, show, the cameras, that whole deal reality show. How do you feel about that? I don't mind it at all. Listen, I'm excited for the opportunity. I'm grateful for the opportunity.

You know, and give these guys a chance, you know, hopefully I can help them out and, you know, a long journey and, you know, we're definitely, you know, show them what I know and all my coaches know and pack it up and coming to Vegas for a little bit. So, you know, I'm bringing some guys with me that they're exceptional coaches. And, you know, I just hope I can, you know, give them a little bit of knowledge and help in their game. Can you tell us who's the coaching staff? Do you know, have you finalized it yet? Well, my head coach is Mark Montoya from Factory X.

Okay. He's a great guy. My head coach couldn't do it. Unfortunately, he couldn't get away. But Mark's going to come in and help me. He's an amazing coach. And I'm very grateful that he's coming with me. And so it's going to be a good time.

We're finalizing the rest of the coaches, but he's my head coach. Okay. And then, of course, I mean, like tough for me, with all due respect to the show is kind of the gravy. The big deal, the big news is the fight. July 7th, you versus Daniel Cormier, champion versus champion. How did you feel about that? When that was, you know, brought your attention when that was, you know, brought to your table, so to speak. Did you like this fight? Did you like this idea? What were your thoughts? Oh, you definitely. I match up well. You know, first of all, Daniel's an amazing person.

I think he's a great guy. I've known him for a while. You know, I like the guy. We've done shows together. and so he's this amazing guy. He's super tough. You know, he's an Olympic medalist. You won the Grand Prix, you know, Strike Force. The L.A. Heavyweight champ, you know, the guy has so many, you know, accolades. It's amazing. But, you know, bumping up as a super fight, you know,

and so I would make sure it was right for, you know, both of us. And, you know, it was. And so we're doing it. Do you feel like he's a bit in over his head here? I mean, he's biting off a little more than he can chew. It's one thing to do it at light heavyweight. You're a big guy, heavyweight. What do you think about him taking this fight?

I think, I mean, listen, he wouldn't take it if you didn't think he had a chance, you know. He's a tough guy. He's fought heavyweights before. He's a great mixed martial artist. You know, he's one of the best in the world, you know, if not the best. I mean, he's fought numerous of top caliber guys his whole career. And so, you know, it's going to be amazing night. I'm excited. I feel like there's maybe something to be said for the fact that he can make history in this fight. You could just extend history, right? Like, he'll be the guy winning the two belts.

You're just defending your title. Do you feel like this is being set up for, like, the Daniel Cormey legacy, fight as opposed to just another fight for you. Did you get what I'm saying? Yeah, I got you saying, but it's not about him. It's about me. I'm going to win the fight. I'm going to extend my defending streak longer. It's not going to be three. It's going to be

four. As you mentioned, you guys spent some time together. You know, home in Cleveland, you went, you went to the firehouse. He did a whole show following you for a day, BP, all that stuff. You like him. He likes you. Is it weird at all? Would you rather not fight a guy who you have this relationship

with? I mean, I mean, it's business, I guess. You know, it's business at the end of the day. You know, I got no hard feelings. It's a little towards them. I think you feel the same way. I hope you guys. You know, but, you know, we're doing it to better our families than ourselves.

Let's address the elephant in the room if we can, Steve. The big news coming out of Saturday was not only that you won, but let's be honest, what happened with the belt and some of your post-fight comments. Now that we're removed a few, you know, a few days later, nine days or so later, could you tell us why you did that, why you took the belt from Dana White and gave it your coach Marcus Marinelli to put around your waist? Well, like I said in the preview, in the post fight, you know, my coach respects me. I respect him.

I mean, nothing more to be said. Was that something you were thinking about or was that a spur of the moment? And you know what? I love seeing your smile now. I could see, I could read you as opposed to just listening to your voice. It's a whole other experience here with you, Steve. This is great. This is great.

You're never allowed to come on via the phone again. Maybe you'll never come back on. But if you do come back on, it has to be via Skype because this is great. There's two layers to this now. Anyway, was that a spur of the moment thing? Or was that something that you had been planning on doing for a few days, weeks, whatever? I don't know. It's between any of my coach.

You'll never know. It's a little secret. Have you talked to Dana since then? Yes, I have. Okay. And how did that go? You apologize over and over again. Wow.

No, he didn't. He didn't apologize. Okay. So what? Yeah, he always congratulations in the flight and offered me the tough, you know, coaching stint. And I, you know, took it. I was very grateful I thanked him so much for that opportunity.

This wasn't addressed at all. You didn't clear the air. You didn't talk about it? No. You didn't want to talk about it. No, man. I'm good. Next question.

Okay. I'm over talking about this. Okay. Are you being treated? well, like, are you happy now? Did you get a new deal to take this fight? Listen, I'm always going to be happy no matter how I get treated. I got a good life, man. I'm happy with my life. You know, I get paid the fight. I'm a firefighter. I get paid for that too.

And, you know, I love my wife and my family where I expect being a first child. I'm nothing better than that. So you're not looking to clear any errors or talk while you're out there or settle anything. You're good. You're going to move on. We'll figure it out, man. You know, like, you're just digging right now. I love it. Why don't you like talking?

This is massive news. Yeah, who's writing about it? ESPN's writing about it. It's huge news. We want to know what's going on in your head. You say little things, but we want to know. I want to keep you guessing. I'm giving you a teaser, so you're always wanting more.

That's true. You do a great job of that, by the way. Thank you. What about the firefighter job? How are you going to get away for six weeks? I would talk to my chiefs. They were okay with it. They allowed it.

They understood. And there was they wish me good luck. And I'm very lucky at the two departments that I'm at. I'm very lucky. What are the two departments? Oakland Village and Valley View. Okay. Are those two different districts?

Yeah, the two different cities. There's several of Cleveland. Okay, okay. I'm sure in the history of those firehouses, they never had someone say, I'm going to do a reality show for six weeks. Is that cool, right? This has to be a first for them.

I'm pretty sure. Not that I know of, but I'm pretty... Has it changed it? I mean, I've asked you this a couple of fights ago, but like now when you're out, I'm assuming you get noticed every time now, right? Yeah, I mean, but everyone's real... They're nice. They don't bother me.

You know, they don't come up to me like, oh, hey, like, if I'm in the middle of dinner, they wait until I'm done or with my wife. I mean, everyone's real nice and they don't bother me. Maybe if I'm by myself, I ask for a picture or whatever, but, you know, they're very, very nice. Okay, no one's intrusive, no one, you know, like, it's the worst when you're eating. and someone asks for a picture, right?

Who wants that? Yeah, no, I mean, it happens, but listen, I don't get mad. I just say, hey, can we do it after dinner? Do you mind having dinner with my wife? Okay, all right. How many times have you watched the Inganu fight? Well, a couple times. You know, we're working on some mistakes I did

and try to work on some, you know, working on bad things and try to get better at the good things. If you could share, if you don't mind, what are some of, I mean, it was a pretty dominant performance. He didn't win around, obviously. What are some of the mistakes that you think you made? I was standing up too tall. I wasn't bouncing as much as I should, more movement.

You know, but stuff like that. And, you know, I could have probably a little bit more ground and pound. But, you know, he's a big man. You know, a guy's strong. And I was just trying to wear him out. Did you feel like you ran out of gas in the fight? Like, were you disappointed at all in your cardio? No, actually, I felt better as the fight went on.

That first round, he was coming at me like a freight train. I was just by the way. but I know I felt good conditioning wise I felt good I felt but as the round went on but at first I think you know I just wasn't used to that you know I'm not used to someone coming to swing you know hey I'm married I mean trying to take my face off considering how hard he punches and you've been in there with you know some of the hardest punchers in the sport where does he you know where does he stack up like was are those the hardest punches you've ever felt in a fight no I mean I thought I thought harder for sure of course but he definitely hits hard every time

you know you don't want to take any chances but I just wasn't given the opportunity to you know land one of those meat hooks on my face. Sure. And the night early for him. So he definitely hits hard. Do you think he has it in him to become? It's interesting. Like everyone jumps off the bandwagon after he loses, right?

You've been there before. You lost years ago. And it's almost like crazy to think that you lost at this point because you've been so dominant. Do you feel like he has it in him to get back on track? Like, do you think at some point you'll see him again? Oh, 100%. He's definitely, he's got a lot of potential, man.

And, you know, he just got to work on a few things. And, you know, I think he'll be fine. I think he's still, you know, still relatively young for the division. And I think that if he, you know, works on some of his flaws, it'll be fine. I have since a shift in your popularity, especially since this fight, like, in the last week, like, even when we, like, post a post-fight interview with you, the press conference, like, your numbers, your views, I feel like people are starting to finally give you the respect and attention that you deserve. Do you feel the same way?

Like, do you feel like there's a shift in your popularity as well? you're more loved, you're more respected, you're, you know, you're kind of a bigger deal now. Do you feel like something has changed in the last few days? Maybe, maybe not. And I don't worry about it. You know, people are going to like me. People are not going to like me. I don't really care.

You know, I just, you know, I hope they're on my team, you know, backing me up. But if they're not, it is what it is. That's what makes sports, you know, like just like the Patriots versus the Eagles. You know, there's Patriots fans as the Eagles fans. It is what it is. But I'm just, I'm just happy with everything. I'm blessed and not. I'm just, you know, grateful.

Yeah, it's amazing, though, because there was a time I remember used to like troll everyone on Twitter, but now, like, you're big time champion. It's a very clean Twitter feed. It's a very, like, the message is very succinct. You could tell exactly what's going on. I mean, it's kind of a new you here. You're on Skype. I feel like you've taken a turn is what I'm trying to get at. I think I'm becoming a man, maturing.

I'm not as much as a guy. Right. Father, father to be. Right. Yeah, I mean, that's what I'm excited about. I'm terrified at the same time. I'm actually mostly terrified, but I'm super happy and excited. Do you feel like anything's changed in the way you approach your job because you know that

you're going to be a father? Like, do you feel like you have a different set of goals or your motivation feels different? Like, do you feel like a change man already? No, I'm always, the way I thought is always, you know, securing my family's future. You know, knowing, I knew we're going to have a child. I just didn't know when, but I want to secure that future before they were born. By the way, do you know if it's a boy or a girl? It's a girl.

Okay. Why do you say it like that? Oh, because I'm going to be mush. That girl's going to have to be wrapped around her finger. Whatever she wants, she's going to get. Yes. It's going to be bad. Yeah.

Let me tell you something, my friend. I have two boys and I just had a girl. There's something different. You, yes. Whatever you're expecting, you're right, because that's true. That's going to happen to you. all my friends have had girls told me the same thing that I do nothing like a girl I'm telling you the boys are awesome because I put the girls just it's a different bargain

and so you're I mean this kind of works out well for you right because you can get the fight out of the way in July and then focus on you know the birth and then getting settled and stuff right is this timeline good for you yeah it's looking good so far unless she comes early right right well because it's August right yeah August first okay all right so you got some time there And other than, I mean, you had the swelling and everything, but any serious injuries coming out of the fight, hand, anything like that? No, I mean, I got a little cut of my ear, but that was about it. Okay.

What do you say to people like Fabrice Ovidum who may be upset that you're not fighting him next, that you're taking this fight? But what's your response? Don't be mad at me. It's not my decision. But this is, I mean, was this not the most interesting decision that, I mean, this is a super fight. This doesn't happen every day, right?

This gets you excited. Yeah, definitely. I'm definitely excited. I mean, I love fighting. I love what I do. You know, I definitely, right from this fight, I'm coming out,

you know, guns blazing, training like a madman like I always do. And, you know, and you can wait until after the fight's done. Last thing for you, fight happens. You win July 7th and still,

right? Four straight title defenses. Just curious, if someone were to put the belt around your ways, who would that person be? Who were we going to give that honor to? I don't know. It's a big, it's going to take some time. Let me think about that.

That's our pressure to put on me. Oh, man, it's great. I love it. You know, you remember you used to call yourself Stone Cold Steepet? You remember that? I know. I still do. You still do? Really? I'm so, I don't. This is the second coming of Stone Cold v. Vincik, Man.

Everyone loves this kind of stuff, right? Oh, yeah. That's awesome. I'm excited. Turn around, Stone Cold, Stunner? I don't mess around I'll do it I'll drop the hammer Do you think you'll be one of those guys Who does a lot of pranks

And stuff like that on the show I don't know We'll see Decisions decisions You know You can't be going out My like stuff And I'm you know

I got things going out I'm trying to Go You never know I might see something All right Fair enough Well this is very exciting

Who would have thought A week later You've got a show to tape You're going out In a day or so Right Yeah I'll do tomorrow

So you got a show to tape you got a super fight on international fight. I mean, business really picking up for you. Who would have thought? Right. Craziness. You're treated well, you're respected, you're happy, you're smiling, you're on Skype. Life is good.

I mean, I can't complain, man. I'm just, I'm happy and I'm blessed. I'm just very lucky for what I do. Did you see Ron Dorousey on Royal Rumble yesterday? I did not. Actually, I was going to watch it. I didn't because I had dinner with the family, but I heard about it. I saw a little bit of it.

What do you think? That's awesome. Good for her. You like it? Good for her. Yeah? Yeah, for sure. All right.

Okay. Well, Steve, congratulations on everything. Yeah. You don't like it. What? You don't like it. Well, you know, this is my thing.

If you care about my thoughts, I think it's great for her. I'm happy for her. I have some concerns about her acting abilities, you know, on the microphone, things like that. It's not just about fighting anymore, right?

You got to be a performer. I have some concerns. Yesterday, there were a few things that a few red flags came up. So I'm a little worried. about it. How would I do in the WWE? I think you would kill it.

I mean, already you got the feud with the boss. It's like Stone Cold versus Vince, right? You got that down, right? Baddest man on the planet. You're gigantic.

You're a fireman. You come out with the fireman gimmick, knocking people out. I mean, I feel like you'd be, you want to do it? Is that what you're saying? Don't tease me, man. I mean, I was just getting your opinion here.

Is this a bucket list thing? When it's all said it done, do you want to be in WWU versus Brock? Oh, whatever, man. I'm just like, I'm worried about July 7th. Let's make some headlines. Steppe Miochich, sick of UFC, I's WWE debut. Is that what you're saying right now? You're just trying to get me in trouble now.

No, no, no, I would never want to do that. Steve, you're the man. I appreciate it very much. Thank you very much for doing this. Congratulations on getting the show. Congrats on getting the big fight. I hope they're paying you boatloads. Millions upon millions upon millions. You deserve it, my man.

And thanks for doing this. I really appreciate you going the extra mile and going on Skype. Thank you so much. Great to see that smile. Look at that smile. It's great. Thanks, man. I appreciate everything. All right. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Stipei. Good luck out there. Yes, sir. You too. Bye-bye. All right, there he is. The one and only Stipe Miotich. The baddest man on the planet. You got to love him.

Ultimate Fighter taping next week. Excuse me, tomorrow. Not next week. Tomorrow. Starts tomorrow. Stipe's the man. Everyone loves him. He's smiling. He's happy. He's on Skype, you got to love it. So it starts taping tomorrow and then July 7th, we've got the fight that everyone is talking about him versus Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight title. And we'll have a lot of time to talk about that, I'm sure. Great to hear from both of them on the show today. I mean, mensches, right? Quintessential menses, those two. What is it going to be like? They love each other. They're friends. But this is the kind of fight where you don't need that sort of, you know,

you don't need that friction. I can't wait for it. And I think the UFC made the right call. By the way, I'll tell you why later on in the program. Okay, let's move along. Some big news last week out of the world of glory kickboxing. A familiar name is headed over to glory. In fact, he is there already. He is the new CEO of glory kickboxing. There was a time when Marshall's Lasnik was one of the most powerful people in the UFC.

He helped launch the UFC in the United Kingdom, all the success early on. It was essentially him, Aunt Evans, and Michael Bisping doing their thing. And of course he helped launch UFC Fight Pass and he did so much in between over a decade with the worldwide leader in mixed martial arts. And now he is headed over to glory kickboxing. There was a pit stop in e-sports. But now it's back in the world of combat sports. He tried to leave us, but he is back in and he is kind enough to be joining us on the phone right now. Marshall, are you there?

I am. Hello, Ariel. It's great to talk to you, Marshall. How about this? Congratulations on the big news. Yeah, thank you. It's really exciting to be talking to you again. I feel like a fighter who can't hang up the gloves.

That's right. I am back. Yes, because you left the UFC last year and then you go to e-sports and things are great there and you're making big deals, Twitch, millions of dollars. And then you get called back. How did this come about? Did they reach out to you? How did this whole thing happen?

Yeah. So I met Glory. You'll remember when FightPass did the deal to acquire the live rights to the Super Fight series and then they had that K-1 library. we did that deal. So I met some of the board members, as well as John Franklin, and we had developed a bit of a relationship as part of that deal. And then after I left the UFC, I had a non-compete for a while, so I wasn't really in the market at all. And nevertheless, Lori would reach out to me to find out if I was interested in coming on board, and I would continually tell them that I had a non-compete,

which expired in October. And after October, when the non-compete was over, I started in earnest discussing with them the possibility of joining their group. As you mentioned, I was at Activision Blizzard with MLG, and we were launching the Overwatch League, which is a pretty cool e-sport league, city-based franchise with all the big sports owners taking an interest in the league.

And it was not an easy decision. I have to tell you, the office where I was at Activision Blizzard was three miles from my house. I had a great group of people I was working with. I became very attached to them. But I've always loved the fight game. I've always been really infatuated, frankly, with the athletes that compete in combat. And while I've always loved the competition itself, there was something unique about stand-up fighting that I always enjoyed. I was always a boxing fan first. It took me a while to come around to MMA. I became a huge fan while working at the UFC. But there was always something unique about

stand-up combat and Glory offered me this opportunity and to get associated with the greatest stand-up combat league. And my wife and son were, as you know, I always talk about my wife and son, making sure they're okay with this move because I knew it would require a lot of travel and they were okay with it. So I jumped on. is it fair to say Marshall that you're the new sort of face figurehead of glory i've said on the show before that i feel like it's something they've missed um you know a scott cocker a dana white every fight promotion kind of has their face vincent McMahon at w wd are you going to be that guy for them well look it's not a role that i'm overly comfortable being but i definitely am going to

take on the or take the reins of being the promoter you'll see me in the media uh discussing not only the business but fights you may remember it's the UFC. As we were growing our business internationally, you would see me in front of the media, but I would rarely talk about fights, fighters, matchups, things like that. So in this space, as I get my feet under me and learn our fighters and learn from the great matchmakers and talent that we have or talent scouts that we have at Glory, I'll become more comfortable discussing the fighters because at the end of the day, Ariel, I am a massive fight fan. And I've been watching glory fights since we acquired them at UFC for Fight Pass. And I'm digging into the archive now.

I need to bone up really on sort of the history and who all the fighters are. But you can expect I'll be out there pushing our brand and pushing our sport to even higher levels. Could I ask you about your departure from the UFC Marshall? Why did you leave that organization? Well, I was asked to leave. No two bones about that. It was, was obviously when the company was acquired by WME and IMG, IMG has one of the world-renowned media groups in terms of distributing media. By the time the acquisition happened, I had taken on more of an exclusive role around our content and media sales

and obviously launching Pipe Pass. And as soon as it was announced that IMG was going to be the acquirer, if you're someone who was at my level, I was an EVP and chief content officer, I was making a good salary. If you're coming in as a new acquirer and you have the sort of media shops that IMG had, you would look around as an acquirer and say, okay, what do we have? That's a redundancy. What can we replace? And so it wasn't a surprise that I was asked to leave.

But that's in essence what happened. And I think that in the end, IMG's got a really good backbone for media sales. We had never done a deal with IMG when I was at the UFC to take on our distribution rights because we had a team that was managing it. But ultimately, I was asked to go. And how did you feel about that? Did you feel betrayed? I mean, how did you take it? I was anticipating that this would happen.

I told the team that was working with me, some really committed lawyers. people that because the IMG was a component of this, that we should all be prepared, that we may be asked to leave. So while I wasn't surprised, I think, you know, in the end, no one ever wants to go out that way. I think the one disappointing thing was when the day came and you knew it was coming, it was an awful day for the company. It was terrible.

You didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to anybody. You kind of got walked out of the building, and that was a little funky to me. I mean, I get it. I understand it's a company, and that's how it has to work. And we were lucky. There were a lot of people that gathered together after people were let go that day, and we all got together in the nearby bar and hung out. And so I got my chance to say goodbye to people, and I'm really lucky because I've stayed in touch

with all of them. So, yeah, no one ever wants to leave that way. But in the end, with now with hindsight, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. a chance to move into e-sports. I met some incredible people working with a Fortune 500 company, have on certain lifelong contacts there. You may know I was commuting from L.A. to Las Vegas every day for the job. I shouldn't say every day, but I would fly on Monday, return home on Friday. My wife and son were here. So that wasn't ideal. I was living this life for about five years of that

commuting world. So in the end, it was, I'd probably still be at the U.S.C. if this didn't happen. And I probably would be in a not so healthy marriage and not be a great dad. So with all hindsight, I think this was the best thing that ever happened to me. And now I have an opportunity to help grow another combat sports and help it to move the way I feel like I help the UFC grow. Well, have you kept tabs? Have you been able to watch? I mean, like I said, I'm not just blowing smoke up your butt.

I mean, you were huge in launching the UK market, Fight Pass. you were a massive part of their success over the past decade. I mean, the reason that company was sold for around $4 billion is thanks to people like you. Have you been able to watch? Or, I mean, is it just too fresh? Are you not ready for that? Now, I always watched. You know, I became a real fan.

And I have a lot to be thankful for at the UFC. You know, I saw the world. We not only ran the UK business from London where I was living, but we did every event from Abu Dhabi all the way to Australia into Ireland. And so I was really lucky to be able to be sort of a tip of the spear as we were growing the business internationally. I do know some of my friends from the UFC who were caught up in the same thing that I was caught up in, who don't watch anymore, who sort of just said, you know what, it hurts too much to watch. But that was never me.

I think I watched the first fight back after I left. I've always been a fan. Again, I've always loved the athletes. and I have a lot of really good friends at the company, and I root for the company. I honestly do. I think that there are amazing things that are still left for the company to do. I think the fighters there are incredible.

And I think what the UFC was able to do shows that there's a real interest in combat sports, and I have no doubt that Glory is going to take its part of the stage when it comes to combat and putting on exciting fights. So could you tell, for the fans that don't, No, no. TV is always most important, right? Distribution is most important. What is, what is the current state of the Glory distribution deals? And specifically, I know it's an international brand, but we're a North American show, so to speak, you know, like, how do you feel about the state of them? And could you tell us, like, where could people, because I always

feel like that's a problem with Glory, like sometimes on ESPN2 and ESPN3 and FightPass, can you lay it out? How do people watch Glory and how do you feel about their current contracts? So the way to watch in North America, really the U.S. for the glory number series, it's a unique structure the way these events are run. They have a preliminary card which gets some exposure on a digital platform called Pluto. But when it comes to sort of the meat of the card, you've got the Glory Superfight series, which in UFC or Parlins would be sort of the prelims and then you have the main cards. But you have the Super Fight Series. That was the deal we did at Fight Pass when I was there. So all around the globe, if you want to watch the Super Fight series,

and we have an event in Chicago coming up on February 16, you'll be able to watch the lightweight championship there, our lightweight belt fight going on there. So that's fight pass. Then you have the numbered events, which are more that sounds like really the main card. Now, that deal is currently with ESPN. What makes it a little funky, and I know why you raise the comment, is ESPN 3, which is the digital version of ESPN,

will have all of the matches live, all the number of the matches, and then they will replay the matches on ESPN 2. Now, there are times that ESPN2 will take the matches live. We're going to try to get some consistency there so that we can better serve our fans so they know where to watch it. And as far as the characterization or how I'd character the deals, I think we have work to do on some of the deals. I'm really, really committed and understand that 10 years or 11 years ago when I was at the UFC,

the space of media was totally different. It was all about television, whether it was pay or free TV, depending on the market. And that's still a huge driver. It still drives a lot of viewership. But we have to be really smart as a company to make sure we're preserving content for the platforms like Amazon and Facebook and Twitch, which you mentioned the deal we did for the Overwatch League. I've built some really good relationships in the last year with a lot of

these digital platforms. I think there's a role for them to play. But I think the team led by John Franklin and Scott Rudman, one of the board members, I think they've done a really good job with our distribution. We're in a lot of countries. But we need to, as they would say in the gaming space, level up some of our deals and level up some of the promotion. So that's what we're going to be focused on. But we're lucky that we've got some good distribution partners and the content is available. I know I'm putting you on the spot here because you're new to the job, but you have thought about it because you, as you said, you help strike the deal with Fight Pass.

Why do you think that so many people have tried to launch kickboxing and sustain it as, you know, a popular combat sport here in America and all have failed? Now, Glory has had moments and, you know, they're still around and that's great. But why do you think that kickboxing has never caught on like MMA and, of course, like boxing? Well, I think one of the best things is, at least to a North American guy, guy from the U.S. kickboxing has this connotation around it, a perception that people have around the sport. And I think sometimes, and maybe I'm projecting a little bit, that it seems like there's a bit of point fighting that's going on, that it almost has an Olympic quality to it. And I think that is

sort of a hangover of some of the fights from back in the day. I think if people take a chance to watch the fights that are happening now, this is really, if you will, this is comprised of various stand-up arts. So you've got Muay Thai to traditional kickboxing to karate. Any martial art where there's a stand-up component is a genre of fighting that's welcomed at glory. So we like to call ourselves a stand-up combat league. Now, the phrase stand-up has taken on a certain meeting with the growth of MMA. You'll hear people describe an MMA fight as a stand-up war, or even there are times when you have a fight, and I've seen them where you know you have a guy who's got superior stand-up skills, but he's facing the wrestler, and the wrestler gets them

down, and you hear the crowd start to boo because they know the drama's going to occur if these guys can just stand-up and let the stand-up guy get to him. what we are is we are stand-up combat. So if you're an MMA fan and you like it when the fighters are up banging and standing up, that's basically what you have with glory. You have knees, you have flying knees. You don't have all the clinching that takes place in MMA. There are opportunities to clinch that have to come with a strict, with a very swift strike you can't continue to hold. So it just makes for nonstop stand-up combat action. And so I think when you think about maybe what the perception of kickboxing is, I think we need to work on getting people

to change their perception of what, quote, kickboxing is, and have them understand that this is really just stand up fighting. And what you'll learn is when you see the fighters who are competing at this level, that there isn't another fighter in any genre of sport, whether it's MMA or in boxing who can step in against the world's best kickboxers who are competing in glory and expect to compete well. There is an art and a style in this fighting, which you'll see the sweet science right in front of your face if you watch these guys compete. Just curious, I think that there are some similarities between the world you just left, e-sports and combat sports, MMA, you know, niche sports, growing exponentially. And I'm just wondering how difficult it was to leave

after you were there for essentially a year. And someone is asking me this. I wanted to ask you, I know you were, you were vital in, in that last minute deal with Twitch and Overwatch. I do believe another former executive from the UFC, Jamie Pollock, was, was instrumental in striking that deal. Why did it take so long? Why did it get to like the last 24, 48 hours to get that deal done? Well, it was interesting. You know, the, there was so much demand around Overwatch League, which just to the audience that doesn't know. This is a basically a first-person shooter game that was produced by Blizzard. and the company, we developed a league around the game, which was city-based leagues.

You have a team from New York, a team from Boston, a couple teams from L.A. You have Shanghai and Seoul. So it's a true global city-based league. And there was a lot of interest. You know, what I learned when I got into e-sports initially was that the ecosystem was very messy. It was really hard to differentiate between different e-sport or competitive matches going on. You couldn't tell what was Premier and what wasn't Premier. And so in the development of Overwatch League, which had germinated before I got to the company,

but I was there as part of the follow through to the sales, there were so many, whether there were sponsors or platforms looking for the content who were dying for a product like this, we literally were weighing up a lot of options before we launched. We had our own option, which was MLG has this really great video platform that was being built, and Twitch is the incumbent. they're the group to go to. They're like the old free to air television network back in the day. And what ultimately resulted was the community of Overwatch fans who watched

Overwatch were accustomed to watching it on Twitch. And as that deal started to come together, it started to make more and more sense that Twitch was the right partner for us. And while we'd have the content on our platform by also making it available on the Twitch platform was going to make sure the community could access it. because it was, to your comment, which started this, there are so many similarities in the two. I remember UFC was, no one in the early days really understood it.

There was this perception of brutality of who the athletes were. The media companies didn't know how to deal with it. Like, should I put this on television? Is this not ready for television? East sports has the same thing at a different level. The athletes or the players themselves misunderstood. You know, people think they're one way. When it turns out, they are a committed hardworking group, much like what the ultimate fighter did for MM8 fighters.

There's a young male audience that follows e-sports. Obviously, there's a young male audience that follows combat. The audience is rabid. They're very niche, but they're hardcore and they're loyal. So how do you deliver to them? How do you stay authentic for them and then start expanding out to other fan bases? So a lot of similarities. I got recruited.

I was actually being recruited to Activision Blizzard while I was. at UFC before the hammer dropped. And so I had been speaking with them for a little bit. And they saw the similarities with the two sports. So coming back now into combat and with glory, there are a lot of learnings from UFC and a ton of learning from e-sports that I feel like I can bring to help us.

Wow, it's fascinating. I am fascinated by e-sports. I have no knowledge of it at all, but it's just amazing to watch it grow. Last thing for you, Marshall, I appreciate this very much. Just curious when this news came out, did you happen to hear from either Lorenzo Fertita or Dana White?

I did not. I did reach out to Dana. Dana's still a good friend of mine. I let him know about the news. I let some of the other executives know about the news. Everyone was really congratulatory. I was really, by the way, blown away by the response, whether it was on my Twitter or on Facebook, I had so many people reaching out to me to congratulate me and tell me how this is something that I deserve. And I was so, so humbled by it all. I really, for anyone that reached out to me, thank you. And if I didn't thank you personally, I know one day I will.

But I did hear from a lot of the people who are still at UFC. And that makes me feel good. That makes me understand that, you know, the reason I left had nothing to do with me as much as it had to do with just a moment in time and the business. And I've always had that confidence anyway, but it's nice to be reaffirmed that that was the situation. Very well deserved. congratulations. Very happy for you, Marshall. I won't lie. I'm now going to watch Glory

a little closer now because I'm a big fan of yours and want to see what you're going to do with them. I have no doubt it's going to be great over there. So great move on their part. I'm really curious to see how this all plays out. And welcome back to combat sports. We knew that you wouldn't leave us for good. It's good to have you back.

It's not MMA, but it's close enough. I wish you nothing but the best over there with Glory. All right, thanks, Ariel. I'm always been a big fan and I will keep listening. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. There he is. The brand new CEO of Glory kickboxing, Marshalls-Alasnik, a familiar name, face, voice to MMA fans. He has been on the program before. Wish him and Glory, nothing but the best. I think it's a great move for them. All right, let's move along. Some great news was finalized last week. We knew about it for quite some time,

but they made it official. Ally Quinta is coming back. He's keeping up the tradition of fighting every April. He's fighting in Brooklyn, April 7th. And in fact, of all the great, you know, fighters, New York. He's finally getting his New York fight. Most of them by now have had their New York fight. He's finally getting it April 7th in Brooklyn against Paul Felder, UFC 223. It's so exciting

to have him back. Let's go to the Skype machine once again and say hello to our old friend Reginald. There he is. Al-I Quinta. So happy to see you, Al. How are you? Doing good, Ariel. How's everything? Congratulations. Can I say that? Welcome back. What do I say?

I don't know. What do you say? You tell me what you say. I don't know what you say. Welcome back, Al. Congratulations. There's a lot to discuss here. Let's talk about this. Okay, so this fight was proposed for December in Detroit and then you withdrew from the fight. Why did you withdraw? It just wasn't right. It just wasn't a whole bunch of everything going into it. It just wasn't. wasn't right and I did uh you know I wasn't I wasn't as healthy as I should have been for the amount of money they were going to pay me for I really have no interest in going to wherever they were going to have me fight so I was just all roads led to know I was rushed into accepting a fight um and I after thinking about it and consulting the people that I respect and, you know, thinking about it was just not the right time.

Okay. It wasn't right. So then once you say thanks but no thanks, then what happens? Does the UFC come back to you and say, okay, let's figure something out. How do we make you happy? How do we get you back? How do we end up on April 7th? Oh, I don't even know what happened.

I just started, I just went back to my regular life. and kind of just didn't think anything of it. One, you know, Dave Martin, Martin advisory group was with me the whole time. And kind of, I think he had, he was putting out feelers with the matchmakers and kind of trying to get a fight together. And we were close, but it just came down to one day. I saw an article on Twitter or something where it said, like, Paul Felder didn't. interview I've got until the end of the month to make this fight happen or he was

gonna take another fight or something like that so I called Sean Shelby and I was just like I texted him I said shoot you go call can you give me a call when you get it when you get a chance and he gave me a call and I just basically laid it all out there again for like the 10th time we had the same conversation basically again um and this time you know I he said well you know what are you gonna what what what is a number that is will get you to fight you know out like, what do you want? And I told him what I wanted.

And he said he's going to talk to who he's got to talk to and give me a call back. And I ended up getting a contract. Wow. So they gave you what you wanted or did they meet you in the middle or something? Or did you get exactly what you wanted? No, they gave me what I was. They gave me exactly what I asked for. Wow.

Yeah. Are you surprised? I'm kind of surprised on one hand. And on the other hand, I'm, you know, I know, I know what I'm, I know what it's worth. I know what I'm worth. I know what, you know, I know that Paul Felder, I'm a fight that Polfelder wants. I know he thinks this is a good fight for him for whatever reason. So, and I know he's kind of like their guy.

And I know he was asking them. He wants, he wants the fight. They want to give him what he wants, you know. He's like their little whatever. So they want to make him happy. So they, in turn, made me happy. which I'm always happy, man. I'm living on the south shore.

I'm living on the south shore of Long Island, Ariel. You know, I got great people around me. I'm always happy, but, you know, they gave me just enough for me to not give a shit. When I go in there and fight, I'm not going to be holding back anything, you know. Wow. I've been paid enough to where,

and that I'm scary when I'm doing. When I'm in that state of mind, there's a problem, you know. So they gave me just enough to where I get in there. I don't give a shit. I'm not, you know, I'm not tapping out to a choke like these guys. They're getting paid a lot of money. I'm freaking, I'm going. I'm going for it, you know.

And so I told short of Shelby, I said, dude, you got, you know, I laid it out there. He understood it. It's like everyone in the UFC, they all, all the, they all know, they all the, they all know, they know. But it's like, they, they just have, they have people to answer to and they have to, they can't, you know, they have to go by their protocol. and I get it, you know. So they ripped up your old contract, you signed the new contract, correct? They ripped up my old contract.

They gave me a new contract for the last fight, and then they ripped that one up, and then they gave me a new contract for this fight. How many fights is the new contract? I won. One. We're going, one fight deals? That's the dream right there.

A fight deal in my mind. That's what I'm going to worry about. I'm worried about one fight. In their mind, it's a one fight. deal in my mind it's a one fight deal you know could I ask you what you asked for and what you got I asked for 80

to show and 50 to win and you got it I'm not even worried about I'm not worried about I just want I said 80,000 dollars I'll go in there and I'll fight Paul Felder and I don't give a shit what happens I'm just gonna guts I never think about

like when I fought Diego Sanchez it was 20 what was it 20 it's insane to even say 23,000 26,000, something like that. But that's what I, that was the number in my head. I'm getting paid 26 to fight. And anything else is extra, you know, because you can't, the judges, you can't, you can't, there's nothing guaranteed.

This is like, showing win money is just insane that they even do that. That's, you know, that's, you know, that's, you're putting your, your win bonus, your win bonus money in, in judge's hands, like, I don't know. So I said 80,000. And then, you know, give me my bonus. You know, if I win, I get my, I finally get a bonus. That's 50,000 because they ain't going to give me a bonus. I don't think anyway.

So, so that's how I, that's how I came to the number. Oh, wow. And that's how, that's why we're at where we're at. I'm getting paid $80,000 to win if I win, to fight. If I win, I get my bonus finally, and that's it. And then if somehow, I don't know, they give me a bonus bonus. I get really, you know. Yeah.

Wouldn't that be great? I was wondering where the 50 came from. Like usually it's 80 and 80, you know, 16, 60, 100, 100. 80 and 50 is a unique number there. And so the 50 is symbolic. It's the bonus you've never been able to get. I don't know. I just, that's not what I, I don't think I was really even thinking about at the time.

I just kind of threw out a number, win number. But yeah, I guess. Let's go with that. And how did you come up with 80? So that's essentially four times, right? What you were making to show? Why did you feel like that was the number? Well, it's kind of like,

I see what everyone's getting paid, you know? And I see what it's kind of like, you know, you see what people are getting paid. You see where the, it's like real estate. You see what the houses are worth. And you see where the market's at right now. and although the market with the UFC is not where it should be, you know, I think the fighters are in a little bit of a, you know, a little bit of a slump and we've always been there.

But where the market's at right now, $80,000 is pretty reasonable. Now, we've got to still work on the market. We got to, you know, I think everyone should be getting paid like at least three times what they're getting paid. For guys fighting for a title not getting a million dollars right off the bat is just insane. Um, it's just, I felt that that's what they, I felt like that was a number that they would. It was pushing the boundaries of what they would agree to, you know. So talking too much about this contract nonsense, Ariel. We got to talk about Paul Felder.

Okay, okay. I'm just, I'm fascinated by the business side of things. And you're an open book. Sorry. Contracts in the test. We made it happen. We got it done. All right.

I stuck to my guns. I want to thank all the, all the, uh, the, the, uh, The intelligent fans that knew know what's going on and they had my back. They knew that I'm not bitching. I'm not whining. I'm telling it how it is. You know, I stuck to my guns. All the fighters that were like, oh, he's a little whiny.

Guess what? You're a little bitch because you don't know what you're worth. You take what's given to you. I told you I'm the man. I know what I know what I'm doing. I've been in this sport. I've watched. I studied this sport since I was a little kid.

I might not know much about much, but I know about this sport. and I held out I know I'm worth way more than I did but I got somewhere near you know could you imagine I'm fighting Paul Felder for what I'm on my old contract bullshit fuck that are you nuts no way

no way and you got these guys making you know like I told Sean Shelby Kevin Lee like you're gonna pay Kevin Lee to fight in an interim title fight the guy's like inventing his own language like yo this yo like

he leaves out word like he taps it you're getting paid that much money you're going to tap out to a choke what what what what you know he talks all tough and then he gets in a little bit of a little bit of adversity and he taps I you know it is this what this what's what I said to him I said is that what is that what you want to promote you want to promote guys that like he calls me he called me the N word like like like like that's what you want to promote you want that to be your guy you're He's like, yo, yo, I quit the end, and this. I don't know.

I want to say it, but I don't even want to offend people. Because it offended me for you to say that. Like, that's the guy you want to promote. He calls white people the N-word and then taps out to a choke. Like, what do we, what is, I said. I said, if you don't want to pay me, I don't care. I'll freaking do something else. This is not, you know, I'm very passionate about this sport.

I'm very passionate about, like, the people that I looked up to growing up, the people that, had an impact on my fighting style and I would never want to be that guy that like taps out to it like like I could get it yeah like if you're getting paid like I got I got paid whenever I got paid to fight when I got choked out I should have just tapped out and like cold it a day like I'm out you know you know you're not paying me enough to fight this you know you know you like these guys don't even know what it's like to be in a deep choke when you're out of breath and you're fighting for your life and you you know you do everything you can to fight out of it they don't you know you do everything you can to fight out of it they don't don't know what it takes, you know, and they're going to tell me what I'm worth, you know? So am I bitching or am I saying it how it is? I'm putting it out there and, you know, telling it how it is. I'm going to go in there and fight now. You paid me enough to go in there and fight. I'm going to fight. How's the knee? Good, man. I signed that contract and everything healed up. Yes. You mentioned Paul Felder. You feel like he's their golden boy? You feel like, you know, They want him to win this fight?

You feel, how do you feel? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think so. I think so. He's like, he's their announcer. You know, he's kind of like, I watched one of his fights. And after the fight, he won the fight and he was like, oh, Dana White, I wish you were here. Like on, I guess he wasn't in the crowd, you know?

And he looked into the camera. He goes, oh, Dana White, I wish you were here. Not like, like, why? Why do you care if he's there? Like, what is that going to do? You, like, want to impress that guy? Like, he's lost touch with the fans. He's lost touch with...

I don't know if he ever had touch with the fighters. You know, he's like... He's worried about people on... He's talking shit on Instagram to people. He can't even pick up the phone and, you know, and call his fighters up. You know, he's like, that's the guy you want to impress, you know? No, you're a kiss-ass, bro.

No, I wish you were here. I don't know. And I don't know. I shouldn't... Because he's a... It's a tough fight. He's... I watched his fights and he's skilled, man.

That's why I didn't take the fight the last time. I need to be paid. I need to do, I need to train right, and I need to put it on this guy. And I have every capability of making this fight look great. You know, I think I really do. He's, you know, he's been in there with some tough guys. He's had some good fights. But I think he's a great, you know, he's a, he's a tie boxing.

He's like a, he's very basic. But then he's got his spinning techniques, which he, can't help himself. He's going to do at least two of them in the fight. You know, so he's got, he's got his, he's very basic with his, his stance. He's got good defense. His hands are up. He's hard to hit. His head movement's decent. He's got strong legs. He's got powerful kicks. And then he throws in his crazy spins every there, every now and then. So he's got, you know, I think me and Ray watched the fight. We pretty much broke him down the first, the first time, you know, we watched this fight.

And, uh, I think it's a really good fight. I think it's a really good fight. fight for me to showcase my skills and I've been training hard feeling as good as I've ever felt. I've trained more for this fight than I've trained for a long time. So I'm really looking forward to this.

I mentioned at the top you're like the last New York guy to get the fight in New York. What does this mean to you? I know it's not MSG I know it's not the Coliseum, but it's pretty darn close. It's Brooklyn. Was that extra motivation? The date? The location?

yeah yeah that was that was uh you know at first i was kind of like i don't even know if i want to fight in new york um because it's a lot of extra like i think people are going to be like everything like tickets everyone's going to be like all it's a little a little bit more but i do thrive in like uh when i'm in the um when i'm uh someone texting you got a deal house closing What up, dog? Yeah. Michael Chandler? No?

Michael Chandler. I'm trying to get Michael Chandler. I want to get some training in with him for this fight. What were you talking about? Fighting in New York. And if that was extra motivation to... At first, I really... I didn't really...

But when I do fight, like, I thrive. I like... You know, when I fight in on like the undercar. hard and there's like no one there and like you know i was like whatever you know it was like not but when i'm finding in new york and there's people my friends and my family are there and the place is packed and i walk out and my you know that's that's what i'm all about i like that you know so once i started talking about i was like yeah and then on top of it you know i don't have to worry about traveling you know i like traveling if it's like a cool place or whatever but i don't have to worry

about like flying people out and this and that. So I love Brooklyn. I'm going to hop on the train. I'm going to go way in. I'm going to come home. I'm going to sleep in my own bed. And, you know, it's just going to be like another day. Go, you know, it's like I'm going to be, it's going to be like I go out one night in Brooklyn and I get in a street fight. You know, it's like, it's going to be just. Yeah. It's not, you know, except a bunch of people watching root me on. It's going to be fun. Good card for you to be on because the lightweight division is in focus. It's the main event, Habib v. Ferguson.

We don't know exactly what they're fighting for. What do you make of this whole situation with the press conference, real belt, interim belts, not stripping Connor. I'd love to get your take on this. It's business as usual with what's been going on lately. See, it's kind of like, it's more like, I don't know. It's just like a show, man. It doesn't really mean.

someone asked me the other day like does the belt mean are you still like you still want to fight for the championship like are you still like that like and i want to fight i want to be like the best in the world but i don't think the ufc belt really means what it meant like there's interim titles there's this and that you know these guys like jumping weight club i mean whatever i it's honestly the two best guys in the weight class are fighting for the championship whether it's for the real championship or not it's the different two best guys fighting for the best. So whoever wins it is the champion or the not champion, I can guarantee you, Connor is not coming back to fight Kabib Namagamatov. Guaranteed. That guy is going to,

you know, he's got, and I don't blame him. I wouldn't either. You'd have to pay me right now, $200, you'd have to pay me $2 million to file, a million dollars to fight Kabib.

I don't want to fight that fucking guy. You see what happened to Barbosa? What are nuts? You want to fight fucking Kabib Namaama'i? You got a freaking, you know, You gotta pay me to fight that guy and if you pay me, I'll go in there and freaking find him. But like Barbosa got paid $70, whatever he got paid,

get the fuck out of here. That's not silly. You're nuts. The guy's like, I don't know. That being said, I feel like you're pretty close. I feel like a win over Felder. And based on what your last few fights, you know, have, you know, the way they've gone down.

I mean, I feel like you're pretty darn close to being in that discussion. I mean, Kevin Lee, a guy you beat, just fought for the interim belt. Right? Do you agree? Kevin Lee fought for the interim belt? Uh-huh. Kevin Lee fought for the intern belt. That was going to be the interim champ.

Like, he'd be, yeah? I'm done. I feel like I just ruined the mood. That was a buzz kill. I don't know. Like, he got that because of what, like, I don't know. His new little persona, he like, his line, like, you know, like, put he like I

every now and then one of his things will come up on Twitter and it's like put yo money where your mouth is your money where your mouth is I'm like not even a smart guy and I'm looking at this I'm like Jesus Christ this fucking guy is trying to be ignorant you know what I mean like his his

his whole thing is now like that's not who he is that's not who he is he's like a smart he's like a smart kid he's not like gangst like yo yo my Mama, yo, this. Like, no. And then you tap out. You're not tough.

You're a little girl. Like, what do you think? A little bit of, a little bit of resistance. And he just crumb. He's a little, he's a little, he's a sissy. He's a little crumble, a little girl. The guy was had a great, he was fighting a great fight. From what I remember, it was a good fight.

And then you get in a triangle, you don't even defend it. And you tap out. Like, I have no respect for that. And I never had, I don't know. He's just one guy that. There's a million guys that I beat in my life, and I always root for them. We're the guys that beat me. I root for them.

He's the one guy that I just can't, like, root for. I don't know. I root, like, Kevin Lee, yo mama. Like, yo, yo, yo, it's your, your, your, not yo mom. Your mom, he goes, yo money where your mouth is. No, it's your money where your mouth is. You tap out to a choke, and, like, you were winning the whole fight. I don't know.

Kevin Lee for it for it. interim title. That's who the UFC's banking on, Kevin Lee, with his outfits, Pootie Tang. They got Puditang on the interim title. What are you fucking kidding me? It's a joke. It's a joke. I laugh. I laugh. All right. Last thing for you, Al, does this mean that the real estate stuff is being put on the back burner? Are you still thriving? You're still going strong with that, even though you're coming back? Oh, no. We're selling houses, man. I got, I got list things called. I got, yeah, we're, we're rocking and rolling, man. It's, uh, we're doing good.

I've learned a lot. That's going to be something that's going to be around forever. So I'm going to, and I think that's the reason I got this contract because they knew that I really just don't give a shit. I'll fucking leave in two seconds. You know what I mean? That's my biggest negotiating power is I don't give a shit. I'll never fight again.

They need me more than I need them. Trust me. They do. Because they got nobody. They got Kevin Lee. Like, are you kidding me? I'm out. Goodbye.

I'm freaking knocking people out. What does he do? What does he do? What does he do? I don't know. You know? This is the fight. Me and Felder, we have, I think, I have what, five fights, four knockouts.

He's got, he's knocked his last three guys out. That's eight knockouts. Neither of us has been knocked out. This is the fight right here. Do all these other guys, you know, these guys, they talk a lot, nothing, you know, bullshit. fucking Polfelder's a tough motherfucker and I'm a tough motherfucker and I know what I'm worth and now they get now they give me what I got to go in there and fight this guy this guy is a tough guy Philadelphia it's an East Coast fight like this is what it's all about man this is what this is

fighting right here this is UFC this is back when the real this is when people fucking fought when you don't have people coming from Dana White's little reality show looking like all cute and stuff and getting paid a lot of money to tap out the chokes no this is fucking neither of us have been knocked out, right? And we knock people out. So we're fucking, I'm going after this motherfucker. And he, and the whole UFC, a lot of them want me to win. I know they do, because trust me.

I know, I know. But Dana White won, they don't want him, Dana wants him to, that's his guy, you know, that's his, they want, they want him behind the mic, you know, looking good. And, you know, I think it's. It's a great, I think it's a great fight for me. I think I put in the work, I put, like, none of these guys have worked as hard as me. They haven't. There no one's, I freaking drove to, you want to hear like, like Kevin Lee, you want to act like a gangster.

Bro, I, a white kid used to drive to Gleason's gym in Brooklyn by myself. I used to walk in there and by a freaking box the toughest kids in the world. Like, Kevin Lee ain't, he's nothing. He's not, like, you're not nothing. No way. I know what I'm worth to this company. know I'm the man I'm the guy and I'm I'm I'm training my ass over I'm gonna go in there I'm gonna put on a show in Brooklyn and I'm gonna I'm gonna do it this is what

this is what it's all you know I told you I had a plan Ariel I told you I had a plan I just gotta I just now it's all fall into place I just gotta get my job done right now this is this is the point where I got to prove what I'm worth everybody I know what I'm worth and let's go let's fucking go you know Holy smokes. Welcome back, Ally Quinta. That was phenomenal. That was phenomenal. The UFC should take that clip and use it to promote the fight. That was incredible. You know, when you were in studio for episode 400, I felt like you were a little subdued.

There was a lot going on. You are back. And I'll say it once again, as I said at the top, welcome back, my man. Welcome freaking back. That was great. It's good to have you back, Al. I was very, I wasn't, I was in a, no, I was not in a fighting, you know, I was not in the fight mood. This is raging out. This is the how we love. So about two weeks ago, when I first signed the fight, I was in like the same mood. I was like, man, I don't even feel like I'm up for this thing. Then I watched a couple of his fights.

And that got me, I was like, oh, spinning shit. I was like, oh, you know, leg kicks. He's going to be going for my legs. I know he's going to, freaking, and I'm going to have an answer for everything he comes. he throws at me. You know what I mean? I know he's going to be going. I know what he's,

I know his game plan. He's, he's gotten a little bit better every fight. You know, he's gotten some little new, he's got some new tricks. He's feeling more comfortable and,

and doing things. But I know his game plan. He's very, he's very, he's very tie boxing. He's very straightforward. He gets hit and he gets tough. He gets frustrated very easily.

Especially if you're matching him with the cardio. I think, you know, match him with the cardio. Get him frustrated. He's going to self-destruct. I think I'm so excited.

This is, it's going to be a good fight. It's going to be a good one. And you know what? The other thing is that I love? You know what I love? I sorry I keep going on and on, but I do. I love when he says it's going to be, when they announce a fight and they go,

it's going to be fight of the night. It's going to be fight of the night. Fucking great. I hope you think that because I'm going in there to make it very easy and very simple. I want to go in there. I want to leave with no one even. saying a word, I want to make it look, you know, I want to make it look easy.

I want, I don't want a bonus. Because if I get, because I know how they look at the bonuses. Dana White, he loves like, oh, crazy, like, you know, slug fest, war, no technique, you know, guys getting tired and in the third round, like, I'm not going to get, you're not going to see me get tired in the third round and just like, wah, crazy. No, I'm going to, I'm put it, the way it's to be put. You know what I mean? I, I, it's, it's going to look, it's not going to look like what they want.

want it to look like for me to get a bonus. So I'm glad with not getting a bonus. I'd rather not. Because if you're getting a bonus, it means you got your ass kicked or you made it look hard, you made it look difficult. I want to make it look easy. You get Friday the night. Take it. Take Friday the night all day. I don't think I'm going to look easy and quick knockout, quick submission. That's what I'm looking to do, you know? Tremendous. Tremendous stuff. Thank you so much, Al. Welcome back. Congratulations on the new deal. It's so good to have you. You're the man. Thank you. We'll talk to you soon. good luck in training. Boom. There he goes. Ray Janelle, it's good to have you back. We missed you.

Okay. By the way, Kevin Lee, late edition, he'll be joining us in 30 minutes, so stay tuned for that. But we have kept our next guest waiting long enough. Let's go back to the phone lines in September. He told us he was going to be done in November. He's not done. He's coming back in April. We're talking to Matt Brown right now. Matt, are you there? Yes, sir. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, Matt. Aliquita. He loves to talk. He's very passionate. it. So I feel like there's a few things that he said there that you can certainly relate to. But I do want to apologize for keeping you waiting. So let me ask you, Matt. September we spoke. It was a beautiful conversation. You seemed at peace. You look phenomenal against

Diego Sanchez. You knocked him out with the elbow from hell. I mean, it was like an axe. What a way to go out. And now here you are. Two months later, you're back. What happened? Why did you change your mind? Well, first off, I didn't mind waiting because, man, I was just entertained me the whole time. I'll just sit online the whole time. I don't even need to do the interview. I'll just listen to out the whole time. But it was pretty.

Thank you. That was pretty awesome. But the, yeah, nothing really happened. I mean, look, man, Carlos is the type of guy you're going to get up for it every time, right? Everybody wants to see. I mean, you're excited for this fight, right? Yes. I'm excited for this fight.

There's no reason not to come back, fight Carlos. you know, like you said, I'm at peace, comfortable, feeling good with my life and where things are at. You know, I don't have to come back, but when you get a call to Mike Carlos Condit, a former champion, and just an all-around warrior, one of the legends of the game, all the way back to the WCJs, and you sign that contract every time, and there's no way I'm turning that down. So is it fair to say if you don't get the call to fight Carlos, you remain retired? You know, that's a tough call, to be honest. I told Sean, I said, look, I'm not, I don't want my contract suspended.

I want to stay in the Usada pool. You know, send me names anytime something comes up. If something sparks my interest, then I'm right back in it. He actually sent me the Cowboy Fight First, a rematch, would have been, what Yenzi Medeiros ended up getting, but I wasn't able to, it was too short of notice. I wouldn't have been able to make the weight and everything that quickly. So, you know, I was, because I had basically retired for the holidays and put on a significant amount of weight. But then I got back into shape and they called me for Carlos and I said, yeah, as long as the dates work out, let's do it.

If it was a, to answer your question, more clearly, if it was a different person, it would be dependent on the person. There's a lot of people that I wouldn't be interested in coming back to fight. That's for sure. When you walked out of the cage on November 11th after that incredible knockout of Diego Sanchez, did you think that it was, like that you were done? Did you think that was going to be your last fight or was there a part of you that said, man, that went so well, I might have a little more left? You know, it didn't have anything to do with the fight itself going so well, to be honest.

It was more about how well the camp went, how well my mind was, and how well the people around me felt and be in time hole. And it's the same in this fight, right? Win or lose or draw. It comes down to a lot more, how is the camp, how's my body feel, how's my mind feel, how much stuff in my kids have gone on. I have three kids now, you know. busy life. So, you know, am I handling the stress better? You know, obviously it's not an easy

sport that we do. Obviously, we put ourselves through a lot of pain, physical, and mental suffering is always a daily part of it. And I think I've matured a lot and able to handle this stuff a lot better. So as long as I'm able to stay on the path that I stay on, could have a lot of fights left. but again in September I was not feeling that I thought it all taken its toll on me and I just didn't have enough left in the tank to really again like I was saying and I didn't have enough left to compete at the top level

and that's really if I can't compete with guys like the Condits or you know top 10 guys then then I should hang them up there's no reason to be fighting just to be fighting just to be making a paycheck to paycheck type fights and just being in there just beating guys up or taking beatings, whatever. That's not really what it's about to be.

In the past, I've felt like when fighters start talking retirement, when you have a foot out the door, then it gets a little tricky because you're sort of in and out and maybe you're looking for reasons to stay and you don't have the same motivation. Are you worried at all that just because, like, mentally you talked about retirement that this, like, are you doubting your stuff?

I know you're full of confidence. You've always been that sort of fighter, but this is different, right? I mean, you left and now you're coming back. How does that feel? That's a great point. To be honest, you know, it was never about the confidence. And, you know, I know, like you said,

I mean, I'm that type of fighter. You know, I have the confidence. And but I'm very clear with everything that I'm doing. And I work specifically with, you know, I have what I call mental coach, and then I have also a dedicated sports psychologist, and I keep those are right positive people around me that have intelligent and perspectives on things. And, you know, I'm very clear with what I'm doing that there's not really a foot out the door

type of thing. It may be a little bit more fight-to-fight now than it was before, where before I was, you know, I had one long end goal. that the point A and point B, the point B was always the title, right, and be the best of the world. Now the point B may even be a better thing because now it's just my next fight. Right now my point B is April 14th, and now it's easier to draw a direct line to that. So it could actually end up being a positive thing. And honestly, the thought of retirement is across my mind probably 100 times.

I think this is probably a common thing with fighters. I mean, our sport, again, is very difficult and is very taxing. And especially, I think, with someone like me who didn't come from a wrestling background, you know, wasn't brought up really in a sports. I kind of made my own path and ended up. Just my journey has been a lot different. So I think I've worked harder than anybody else in this sport. So I think it's probably more taxing for me than others.

And a lot of times you just kind of think to yourself, may, how long can I sustain this? How long is this going to be healthy for me to sustain and different things like that cross your mind. So it's not like that was the first time that retirement had ever come into my thought process, but it was the first time that I ever committed to it. And to be honest, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So, of course, it was a short amount of time. it wasn't as bad as I thought. Is it fair to say that maybe you're going to go until you lose?

Do you think that it won't win? If that time comes, then you'll walk away. Are you giving yourself a new deadline? How are you going to approach your career now? Yeah, I could see that on the outside, someone looking at it like that, where on my side of things, it's really not about the wins and the losses. Again, it's about the daily grind and the attacks that it's taken. the toll that is taking on my family and different things like that.

It doesn't really have to do with the wins and losses. That's sort of, in my perspective, that's really an American sort of Western, you know, and like more Asian and Eastern cultures, it's not really about wins and losses. It's really something that's just over here in America. It's like, you know, you win and you should just do this forever and you're so awesome and you're great, you lose. and you're just nobody and you're only as good as your last fight and things like that where I think I at least try to keep my mind more on the Bushito type mentality and, you know,

look at, you know, I'm doing this for other reasons than just wins and losses. And, of course, that plays a part in it. And you can, you know, you have to look at it objectively and see, you know, if you're just getting smashed every time. Maybe it's, you know, maybe your nervous system is just slowed down too much. you know, whatever different things there is. But, you know, I try to keep that not. You still there, Matt? Yes, sir.

Did I cut out on it? Just for a second there at the end, but I think we still have you. It was a beautiful scene, you know, as a dad watching you with your kids after your last fight. You know, that stuff is the stuff I would imagine fighters dream of to say goodbye with your kids in there. Did that play a factor in all? Like, it was just so perfect. Did you not want to ruin that? by coming back. Did you think about that at all?

You know, I didn't actually. I mean, I guess I shouldn't say I didn't think of it at all, but, you know, that wasn't really a factor. I don't believe that it's unlikely for that to happen again when the next final retirement comes. So, you know, like you said, it was a beautiful thing. And it's going to be something we remember forever. This is a fight. Longtime fans will remember. has been talked about, has been booked in the past. A lot of people have wanted to see it

for several years now. Why does it interest you so much? Carlos came back as well. He sort of left. I mean, there's some similarities there, although his quote-unquote, retirement, if you will, lasted longer than yours.

But why does this fight interest you in 2018? Well, again, I tell you what that probably motivates me. From the outset, I've always wanted to be a champion. I've always wanted to be a champion. and Carlos is a former champion, and I don't know for sure

he's really where he was mentally or physically when he did have the championship, but so far at this point, everybody that I have fought that has either been a champion or fought for the championship other than Wonderboy,

I've lost to. So, you know, I want to beat someone that was actually a champion in the past. You know, and that would be Hendricks and Lawler, you know, both those guys are lost to. you know, mental thing.

And, of course, I mean, a fight with Condit, again, you know, he's a legend. He's an exciting fight no matter what. And, you know, I want to test my skills against him. We were supposed to fight before. He said, I mean, there's so many, so many things. I have a lot of respect for him. I mean, there's so many things that excite me about this fight. I would say the number one thing is, you know, beating a guy that has been to that level.

And after that, I'll reflect and look in the mirror and say, okay, now do you have what it takes to beat a guy that's at that level right now, which right now is Tyrone Woodley. Like, do I have what it takes to beat that guy? I tell you, in September, I didn't think that I had that in me. I changed a lot of things. I put a lot of things in place that should have been in place a long time ago and I'm implementing a lot of the things that I should have implemented a long time ago,

and I felt like I could have beat anybody in the world that night that I fought Diego. and if that's a repeat process again this time, then you can see more fights out. I mean, if it's not a repeat process, then again, we'll look in the mirror and we'll figure it out. Did you watch his last fight against the guy you know Neil Magnene? If so, what did you make of Carlos' performance? I watched it, and, you know,

I thought Carlos looked a little bit rusty, and then he started to find his rhythm again, but it felt like he never had a sense of urgency, really, you know, until maybe the very end at best. And it's my opinion that he, and also, you know, you congrats to Neil, right? Like, Neil may have been the one who did that to him, too. Sure, sure. Carlis may have been 100%.

But I think that Carlos probably wants to come right back, redeem himself after that fight. He probably knocked off some of that ring rust, and wants to come back and make an example out of me and show that he's back, and he didn't get a chance to show it either because of Neil or because of himself. Yeah, so I think he's going to try to make an example out of me.

So I think it makes for even more exciting time. Just curious, where will you be training for this fight? I know you've done some boxing training recently. I saw Ellie Secback doing some videos of you training, boxing exclusively. Where will you be training for this, fight? I'll be doing my camp in Colorado.

I'll be doing part of it out at the Mussel Farm Gym in L.A. I've been doing a lot of work with them. Thanks to those guys for really supporting me the whole time. And, you know, we're building it. We're going to be building a great thing out there. You know, whether I retire or not, I mean, it's going to be something that to be a long-term project that I'm working with muscle farm on. We're going to be building just a great thing. We have a great facility right now.

and I'll be building a lot more. So I'll be doing part of the camp out there and I'll be doing part of the camp, part of the finality of the camp here in Colorado with Team 33X, my longtime coach, Dorian Price, and, you know, a few other guys that... I know, my shoot coach, Chris and I just came from,

forgot of water, so my mouth is kind of dry, so forgive me if I'm, you know, a little rusty voice. You know, working with the same people. I've been working with for a long, time now and we're going to make sure this is a really strong camp and we're going to come in looking good for Carlos. Well, welcome back, Matt. What a story. I mean, we've been talking about this fight for so long. People are very excited regardless of what happened in Carlos' last fight. It's happening April 14th. It's happening in Glendale, Arizona. We found that out on Friday.

And we know also that the main event is Justin Gaichie versus Dustin Poirier, two very exciting fights, two great matchups. So I know a lot of the fans in Arizona. It's a big fog. fight as well. I'm very excited about that. Thank you for, I mean, thank you for doing this and thank you for coming back, Matt. You know, after that last performance, I was wondering if you'd be able to, you know, to stay out with that. I mean, it really was like an axe, what you did to Diego Sanchez. And so here you are. Let's do it again. Well done. Congrats on getting the fight. And again, welcome back. Thank you for doing this. Yeah, thank you. My pleasure. All right. We'll talk to you soon. There he is. The immortal one. Matt Brown, he doesn't want to go away. It's going to be

to get him out there and he breaks that three-fight losing streak in November against Diego Sanchez. Again, the elbow from hell, the axe elbow from hell. They cut away, remember that? But Diego went down. He sticks around. He gets to Carlos Condit fight. It's going down April 14th in Glendale. All right. How about this, my friends? Around three hours ago, we had Daniel Cormier on the program and we were talking to him about Kane Velasquez, of course. And he said to us, why don't you ask Kane Velasquez these questions? And I joked that I had a better chance of getting Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Dana White in studio than I had getting Kane on the phone. I take that back.

Kane Velazquez is joining us on the phone. I kid you not. Kane, are you there? Yeah, I'm here, man. Hey, don't be talking crap, okay? What? What? What crap you're talking?

I know what you're doing. I know what you're doing. I know you. Wow. It is so good to hear your voice, Kane. I've missed you. How are you? I'm good.

I'm doing really good. Spending a lot of the time with the family. Yes. You know, nursing all my injuries. Just getting back to 100% healthy. You know, and doing it, you know, while, wow, just having a baby. So I'm good. I'm really good.

Wow. Okay, congratulations to you and your wife. You just had your second child. A boy or a girl? The boy. Wow, you got the boy. Well done. What's it like being a father of a boy?

I mean, he's so young right now, you know, just a baby phase. But it's good, man. You know, everyone's different. Every kid's different. I would just say we're blessed to have two babies that were just really good. you know, really good baby. So, man, that's all I can ask for right now. You know what I mean?

I'm happy. They're happy. Yeah. If he tells, if he says to you one day, Daddy, I want to become a fighter just like you want to be a wrestler. Are you pushing him to do this? Do you want him to go down the same path you went down? No, I think just like with, I think this is true with everybody else, you know.

You want better for your kids. You know what I mean? Not to say that that fighting. isn't, you know, wouldn't be a good option, I guess. But, you know, you want them to have the easier route. So, you know, we're paying well for their education, for our kids' education, you know what I mean? And hopefully they won't have to go the route that we, that I went through.

You know what I mean? It's harder for, I think, to, like, see your kids and think of them as actually training and going out there and fighting. I think, to me, it's a little different, you know what I mean? Okay. But if they were 100% certain and they wanted to do this, then of course they'd have my blessing. And of course, I'd help them in any way that I could.

So, Kane, as you know on Friday, we found out that your good friend, Daniel Cormier, is fighting for the heavyweight title against Steve Miochich. And the moment we found this out, everyone wondered what you thought of it and what that meant for you and your future. Daniel told us three hours ago that he spoke to you before agreeing to the fight and you gave him your blessing. Is that true? And if so,

could you tell us what the conversation was like? Yeah, you know, we just talked about it. And I'm all for it. You know, I support Daniel 100%. You know,

I still have to, I feel like I just have to go back and prove myself. You know what I mean? I have to get a fight and show people why, you know, why everyone should fear me.

So I have to go out there, I have to look impressive. I do plan on fighting again. You know what I mean? I've never had talks over retirement. Not yet. I still want to do this. So, you know, he called me up.

He told me he wanted that he had his opportunity. Then, you know, I was just like, yes, you know, we can do it. We can get ready together. You know, that's the best, that's the best for us. You know what I mean? He's fighting on that. my card in July, I'm going to try to get on that, hopefully. I think that'll be perfect enough time for me to get on that card.

And me and Daniel can train together and, you know, get ready together. Because when we do that, that's when we're the best, you know what I mean? So I think it's a really good scenario. I think it's perfect for Daniel. You know what I mean? I think he can pull this off and shit, I'm going to make it, you know, my priority to go out there and train with him and so he does get that W. He will. She will get that W.

That is amazing to hear. That is true friendship. You are true teammates. You did tweet, as you know, after the fight was announced, like always, I'm going to be in the gym every day to help my brother D.C. become the next February champion. And that, you know, you just echoed that sentiment. You also wrote, once he wins, things could get interesting, and then the whole internet explore. What did you mean by that? What did I mean by that?

get interesting, man. He's that heavyweight? You know? I'm at heavyweight. What? Am I going to drop down? I don't know. But things could get interesting.

Yes. Yes. I don't know how things are going to play out. I think it's, I think it's cool what he's doing, you know? He's going up a weight. No shit, man.

He's fought in there before at heavyweight, so he can do it again. And, man, he don't have to cut this time. You know what I mean? I wasn't in the last time with them cutting weight. I haven't done it since junior, since high school.

Sophomore year in high school, having cut weight. And that shit was hard. Let me tell you. I mean, have you really seriously considered going down to 205? He's hinted at this as well. Is this truly something that you're thinking about? Man, you know what? If I had to do it, yeah, I could do it.

You know, I think it would be hard. But, no, man, you know what? It's just the will of the person. You know what I mean? If I really want to do something, I could do it. Again, things could get interesting. So we're just going off of that. We're just going to play it by the year.

First things first, helping him get ready, get ready, you know, and getting that job done in July, both of us. And by the way, what are the chances that fight in July for you if you get on that card is at 205? Is that a possibility? that's whole five no let's do one at headway first you know what I mean

let me do it you know comfortably okay I'll let that how's your health situation how are you feeling how's the back great the back is great you know what I took a lot of extra time off just to make sure that it was all

all good and solid you know things they needed to be done you know I've done that the thing too much where I've kind of came back too early you know what I mean and I don't come back early and take a light

I come back early and just go 100% so I've done this a lot where I'm gonna be smart about it at you this time you know what I mean you gotta be smart about it and you know

just just make sure that I'm 100% healthy do you feel 100% right now or are there still some limitations no there's no limitations man I feel 100% healthy I again I just need to get back, you know, to where the body was as far as, you know,

getting back in the gym, training, you know, start the hard training, start that the hard lifting, you know, lifting smart, so you're not, so this thing, stuff doesn't happen again. But I just need to, like, harden the body, you know what I mean, for combat. I know you've had a lot going on. Again, you became a father for the second time. there's a lot of exciting things happening in your life, and of course you have to get healthy. But if you fight in July,

it will have been two years since your last fight. How much should you miss it? Competition being out there. How much are you Jonesing to get back in there? I've always missed the competition. I've always missed the training, because that's what I love to do anyways. I'm not in it for the fame or, you know, for anything else,

but that I love it. You know, I love the competition, and I love the train. For me not to be in the gym, that was the hardest part. You know, that was the hardest part in that I couldn't help my teammates like I wanted to, you know. That made it hard. But again, I had other things in the family to keep me preoccupied, you know. So it's been good.

It's been a good trade-off. Was there ever a point where you thought you might have to retire? No, it's long. You know, I've always heard positive things that, you know, that my back would give. better from my doctor. And I wasn't so sure just because of how bad it was before, but

now that I've taken the time and, you know, nursed it and then the rehab and all that stuff that, it's awesome, man. It's just like that, you know, in-day difference. So, so I'm good, man. You know, last week, Steve Amyochich

broke the record for most successful title defenses at Heavyweight in, and we always talk about you and we always want to see you back and we miss you so much. When you, when you heard about all that stuff, you know, the greatest of all time, all that talk and considering the time off that you've had due to injury, do you ever sit back and say, man, if I was healthy, I would be at eight title defenses now. Like, what could have been? Do you ever think about that? Does that ever keep you up at night? No, it doesn't keep me up at night. Um, no, man, I'm a mature, dude. Like, you know, yeah, if I was healthy enough, that could, I could have done that.

You know, or I wouldn't have tried my damn hardest to do that, you know what I mean? But that's not the road that was given to me. You know what I mean? You know, I had some other stuff to deal with, and that's what I had to deal with. You know, I had to deal with injuries. So I couldn't be out there. But, you know, now let's get back. Like, I feel like, you know, there's a sunshine, you know what I mean, that I can go out and do this now.

So, again, nine-day difference. You know, just congratulations to Steve for doing what he's done in the heavyweight division. You know, he's a competitor, true champion. You know what I mean? There's just good things. Just good things that to say about him. But yeah, man, I'm looking to get back, you know, fight again and get back and get back up there and be a world champion again. Is there a particular name that excites you a perfect scenario for that card in July?

Is there someone that you're thinking about? To me, it doesn't matter. I don't care. Just whoever they put in front of me, it's just another challenge that I have to go out there and just, you know, just, you know, go ahead and win. That's basically it. D.C. wins the belt on July 7th.

Would you ever fight him for the heavyweight title? Would I ever fight him? No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't fight him. No. You know, I think he feels the same. way. We're teammates, we're friends. You know what I mean? We've done this a lot, you know, with each other. I think it'd be easy, you know, me and him, like, just because we spar so much,

shit, it's just being up a day at the office. Yeah. But, but yeah. In your opinion, what's the, what's the path to beating, Steepa? Like, based on what you've seen, you were there, right? You were in Boston, you saw that fight. What's the path for D.C. to beat him? DC needs to use his strength, you know? He can wrestle really well. He's really

fast in his exchanges with boxing, you know, he kicks to. He's a very complete fighter and it's hard to deal with D.C. Because he goes forward to a lot, puts a lot of pressure on.

he just makes it really tough. You know, I've been training with him for a while. And, you know, when we get in those hard sparring sessions, it's like one of those hard fights, you know, that you're kind of have to dig deep. And it's kind of back and forth. You know, you get some good looks in. He does, too.

It's kind of back and forth. You know, into the later rounds. You both have to kind of, like, dig deep to see who gets the better of the two. But D.C., just, you know, doing what, what he does well, and that's putting the game, you know, putting everything, all his game just complete.

You know, with his striking, with his wrestling, he's just very much a threat everywhere. Even when you get tied up with him, you know, you don't know if he's kind of like taught you. So he makes you very uneasy everywhere that you're fighting him. So, man, just doing what he does.

I think he can win it that way. Are you going to be coaching with him on the ultimate fighter? Yes. Okay. And by the way, Kaine, I have to ask you, because it's been a while since I've talked to you, do you think that you were pulled from that fight against Verdume last December because of the whole union thing that came out a couple of weeks prior?

Do you think that that sort of set you up for them to pull you? What do you think? Are you a conspiracy theorist? My conspiracy theorist? No. You know, no, I don't think it's because of that. I think it was, because I obviously said too much of what was going on.

Normally we don't do that. But again, it's like everybody goes through this. Everybody who fights goes through the same thing, and we all just keep it quiet. You know what I mean? So I think it was more because of that. You know, I spoke out a little too much, you know, and I think for my safety, you know, they pulled me.

But I thought it was good for us. for the people to know what was going on, you know, with not just, but just everyone else. Is there any talks of that association anymore, or is it kind of quiet now? It's kind of quiet now.

You know, I think, you know, we're still working on it, obviously, right? Like, what's going on and everything else.

But I think it's kind of quiet now, but I think there's other guys that are doing well, you know, just good stuff when it comes to that. You know what I mean? Okay. And before I let you go, Cain, are you thinking like, okay, you're 35, you're not that, you're not old, you're 35, I'm 35, we got a long ways to go.

How much longer you want to do this for? Once you get back healthy, you fight in July, you do well in that fight, what are you thinking? It all depends on field, you know, that's what it depends on. All depends on field, there's no number to it. It's just, just, how do you feel, how do you feel day-to-day, how do you feel when you go out there and train? how do you know it's all about the the individual person

everyone's different right but you're feeling good I'm feeling good I am I'm feeling great I am and then I was in Boston there for DC's fight

and I was talking to your boy hang out with your boy Andrew oh Andy mayor yes yeah are you are you are you involved in the the pokey business as well

like he is POK OG I talk about it Something interesting So, you know We'll talk a little bit more about it But he knows what he's doing He's been in that in that restaurant world

Forever You know And so So yeah man He knows he knows what you're The great Andy mayor Wow This is something else

I can't believe Three hours ago I said that there was a better chance of getting Barack Donald and Dana And now here you are I'm speechless. I feel like I've seen Sasquatch, Kane. I've missed you. Thank you.

Well, it's been a, it's been a while, okay? Yeah, two years to be, two and a half years to be exact. Well, it's good to come back. Well, I miss you. I think I speak for everyone, Kane. It's great to hear that you're feeling healthy. You're in good spirits, that you're on board with this DC idea, that you're going to be a part of the show,

that you're going to hopefully fight in July. This is all great news, Kane. I'm very excited about it. How about we do the Verdume fight? Once and for all, we get that settled. What do you think? No matter me, man. Again, whoever they want to put in front of me, I'll do.

I would love to get some revenge again. But, I mean, whoever they put in front of me, you know, for me, just the goal is to go out there, fight, and just show the people why, you know, why I have this kill, just so people who know what that I have grown as a fighter, even though I haven't been in the gym. You know what I mean? That's what I'm excited.

You know, excited to show people that that I can do a lot of neat stuff out there, that other heavy, which actually can't. Wow. What great news. Thank you so much for doing this, Cain. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for the time.

Thanks for popping in. And all the best to you and your family. And again, congratulations on the birth of your second child. And I hope your wife is feeling well as well. She is. Thank you so much. Awesome. Thank you.

We'll talk to you soon, Cain. All the best to you guys. Cane Velasquez. We did it. We did it. There's some people, it's hard to get them on the show, but when you get him, it's awesome. And it's great to hear from him. We miss Kane Velasquez. We need him back. Heavyweights need Kane Velasquez back. The UFC needs Kane Velasca's back. We all need Kane Velasquez back. What could have been. There's still more to come. He's feeling healthy. You heard it. He's on board with the DC fight. Things could get interesting. Light heavyweight. Tough. This is so great. What a show. And it keeps. 's getting better. We still got a lot more show to go, my friends. We've still got Dave Meltzer on the Ronda Rousey signing with WWE. We have Kevin Lee who wants to come on. Who knows what he wants to say? He told New York, Rick, he has something that he has to get off his chest. We still got Max Holloway, the UFC featherweight champion. We still have your questions and comments. We still have Rick's picks. But now let's go back to the magic of Skype and say hello to our next guest.

He is the now former Bellator Welterweight champion, an amazing fight against Rory McDonald, two Saturdays ago in Inglewood, California. We're talking now to Douglas Lima, who's joining us via the magical Skype. And great Skype, too. Wow, great connection. Douglas, how are you? Good. Feeling good, man.

How are you? I'm doing great. Great Skype connections. These are the things that get me excited, Douglas. So that's why I reacted that way. Got lucky today, then. Yes. Okay, so nine days removed, Douglas.

How does it feel when I say former Bellator champion, when people talk about fight how is it feel do you feel like it's still fresh it's still bothering you you're starting to get over it how do you feel about the fight uh i'm starting to get over it for sure but uh still doesn't feel right you know uh man it was so close man it was so close you know a little mistake that cost you know the whole fight it cost the belt you know so i can't stop thinking about it so uh main thing for me right now is just a rematch man get over get the belt back and uh yeah it sucks man you know it sucks man you know it's It's a mistake that I did.

You know what I mean? I should have pulled the string a little more. I should have fought harder that last round and it cost me to fight. So I can't stop thinking about it and just can't wait, you know, to fight him again. What's the mistake? Can you elaborate on that? Yeah, man, I just, you know, last round, you know, during the fight I thought, you know, it was two to two. You know, I still haven't watched the fight yet.

But I was just thinking, man, it's, you know, two rounds for him, two rounds for me. you know, I got to finish him right now. And, you know, he was hurt pretty bad. Instead of just moving around a little bit, kick him one more time, I think the fight would be over. You know, instead I just rushed towards him. And, you know, and then he grabbed me and took me down. After the take down, I just locked my guard and just stay there.

You know, that was the huge mistake. I should have, you know, try to get up, you know, open the guard, push away, even give the back, find a way to get off, you know. and stand up again. And I didn't, I just stayed there. So it still, I don't know, I don't know why I did it. You know, I wasn't tired and I wasn't guest. I was just holding on to him, you know, waiting for a ref or something to stand those up.

And it was a mistake. It was a mistake. You know, I should have tried harder, you know, that last round. I mean, props to him, he kept a good pressure and he didn't stop punching, you know what I mean? So props to him on that, but I should have fought harder there. Could you tell that his leg was as injured as it appeared? Like, I mean, obviously it was on television it was obvious that he had a massive hematoma. But could you tell that he was hurting there as well?

I could. I think it was the third round. I clenched him and I looked there and I saw his leg. You know, it was just that big bump there. So I was like, man, I got to kick. I got to keep kicking. Keep kicking. And that's what I shouldn't have done.

I should have picked the shots a little better instead of just trying to kick that leg in that same spot. I should have box more. I should have, you know, throw the knee instead of the kick. So I was just focusing too much on that leg when I saw that he was hurt, you know, and that kind of gave him the take down because he was waiting for it. You know, he knew he was hurt and he couldn't take any more shots to that leg. So he was just waiting for me to kick so he can time the shot. And he did it, you know.

So I just, I should have picked the shots a little better. You mentioned just moments ago that you still haven't watched the fight. Is it because it hurts too much to watch to think about it? Why is that? It's just frustrating, man. I still remember the whole fight, you know, I was like, you know, if I watched that last round again, I'll probably throw a phone of the TV. You know, it's like, why, man?

Why is just standing there taking punches to the face, you know, just get up, get off? I just feel it's going to be a little frustrating. So I'm kind of waiting a little bit more, maybe next week, you know, a couple more days. But I definitely learned a lot from that fight, you know. And I was ready. My condition was good, you know. But, you know, moving on, I just got to move on. You know, I'm ready for round six.

And I'm healthy right now. You know, I'll be back to training today. And I just can't wait to come back. So you took last week off? Yeah, I took the whole week off, you know, ate some bad food. A little sweet, but it's back to the grind right now. You know, I don't want to gain too much weight. I think that was one thing that I did good in this camp was keeping the weight down.

You know, so, you know, I was walking around 190, 193. You know, it's the first time that I walked around that low, you know. So I'm just trying to maintain, you know, enjoy the time that I'm healthy and just keep training. And by the way, I'm curious, in that fifth round, when you said that you were on your back and you just kept them in your guard. Could you hear your corner? Were they telling you to try to get up? Yeah, that's all they were saying.

It's like, man, scoop, you know, squeeze yourself, go back to the wall, find the wall, and try to get up. That's all they were telling me. But I was just, I don't know, man. I froze. I don't know what happened. You know, I should have opened. I don't know.

I didn't want to give them, you know, position, I guess. I just didn't want to lose, you know, stay on the worst spot. You know, that's a mental thing that I had, you know, I have to work on. I mean, it's just go. Because, man, I was, I was in shape. I was ready. I should have just tried to get up. Because I hate giving up position.

I don't like, you know, when a guy gets side control or take the back, you know what I mean? And that's something that I got to move on from. I think if I had, you know, give the back and get up, I would escape. He would not take my back, you know. So I just got to do it. You know, I just got to push more and just do it, you know, believe. He paid you a great compliment afterwards. He said you were the toughest guy he ever fought.

he's ever fought. How about the guys that you fought? You fought an incredible amount of tough people. Where does he rank? Where does Roy rank for you? He's definitely in the top for sure. Because, man, a lot of guys give up from that sort of injury. Like that leg kick, I had a bunch of guys.

My second pro fight was through the same thing, leg kicks. He couldn't come back. You just say to the referee, no. I know it listed as a submission. but it was a TKO from leg kicks so I've been doing that for a long time and he just kept pushing he kept coming forward

and he's definitely one of the toughest if not the toughest opponent I fought for sure it's just the wheel to fight I respect I respect that about him a lot he just keeps coming forward even if he's hurt if he's badly injured

so that's something that a lot of fighters don't have that type of mentality so I respect that a lot on him. Do you recall talking to yourself in the fight and saying like wow, I mean, like the amount of damage that he's taking not only his legs, but his face as well, and he's not going away? What is it going to take to get this guy to quit? Do you remember thinking that? I just remember thinking I'm one kick away from finishing this fight. You know, after that

third round, you know, the third round, I think that's when I heard him the most, you know, that I I dropped him with that kick. I think that was the round that I, you know, I just, I just kept thinking, man, one more clean kick there, he's done. He's not going to come back, you know what I mean? And every time I kicked, he clinched, you know, so I never landed it. After I heard him really bad, I don't think I landed another clean shot, you know, and that was the one shot away from winning that fight.

That's what I was thinking the whole time, you know, just one more kick, one more kick, you know, and that's, I think that was a mistake. You know, I should have gone to something else. because everything was open, man, he couldn't move, you know what I mean? He was pretty much just sitting there waiting for me and I just rushed in front of him, you know what I mean? So I don't know, man. For me, I think that was an amateur move.

I should have known better than that. You know, I'm experienced fighting. I've got almost 40 professional fights, and it's something that I can let happen again, you know what I mean? So you said a couple of times you want a rematch. Have you or your management expressed this to Belator and do you think that they're interested in an immediate rematch? Yeah, we've been talking about it for sure.

I don't know. They didn't really give us an answer yet. I just think in a close title fight like that, you know, I think I deserve it. You know, when I got my, you know, my title back from Karaskov, I really, you know, I got it back. I KO the guy and took the belt. You know, this one was closed. You know, this one was a close fight. you know, I have, you know, even though it was an unanimous decision,

I have a lot of people saying that I won that fight, you know, just towards damage and stuff like that, you know what I mean? So I think I deserve the shot for sure. You know, I don't know what Bellator's plan is. You know, I don't know if there's anybody next in line, but I think I deserve it. You know, I put up a good fight. You know, a lot of people are excited about it.

And, yeah, I just can't wait for round six, man. I'm ready to fight him, you know, again. By the way, before they announced the judge of scorecards, because I did see some media say that they scored it for you. Did you think you had done enough to win? Honestly, after that fifth round, I'm not going to lie, I don't think so. You know, I was just so mad. You know, after the fight was over, I was walking around. I was pissed off.

I think I let everything slip on that last round. You know, so I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to be here saying that I won, blah, blah, blah. I got to watch the fight again. But at the fight, at the time that they were about to announce it, You know, I didn't think I won't. You know, I thought it would be closer than unanimous decision. I thought at least the split because the damage, I'm the one that did all the damage, you know.

I was good. I was fresh after the fight, you know, but I don't know, man. That last round, I was just, you know, I was just upset on that, you know. Great picture afterwards, and this is always nice to see, especially in our sport, when two guys are involved in, you know, a bloody fight and it's back and forth. and it goes to distance, and then you see them backstage, hospital, whatever the case may be. You and Rory had this nice picture that came out.

It just shows the class that both of you have. He's on a gurney with the belt. You're standing up. He's bloody, everything. How difficult was that for you to be there? Like, you're the guy who's not going to the hospital, right? And he is, and he's lying down, and he has your belt to take the picture. How much were you hurting inside then?

Yeah, it was tough. It was tough. I still feel it, too. You know, it's like, man, yeah, he went to the hospital. Yeah, he's hurt. You know, he's not walking. I'm walking, but he's got the belt, you know, so it doesn't, nothing matter. Nothing matters, you know what matters is he got the belt.

And that's what hurts me. You know what I mean? It's like, and I work hard for that, man. The belt is something that, you know, it means a lot to me, you know. It's tough competitions, you know. I've been through some tough fights and I lost it, you know. So I'm sure it's going to motivate me a lot. more. I'm just hungry, hungry to get back, you know, and fight for that belt again. You know,

I want at least two more fights this year. And all I'm looking forward right now is to fighting for that belt again. You know, it's not a good feeling, you know, it's not a good feeling. But, man, just got to get it back. Perfect scenario. When do you want to return? Maybe I think three months, four months, you know, as soon as possible. I'm happy to hear that worry, you know, nothing is broken. You know, the nose. nose is good, his leg is recovering, so that's good because he can't come back quicker, you know, so we'll see if it's up to me three more months, I'll be back in that cage. You know, like I said, I'm healthy.

I haven't been this healthy in a long time, and I just can't wait to get back in there. I got to do whatever I have to do, you know, to fight for that belt again. What does your gut say? Do you think that they're going to give you the rematch? I'm hoping so. I'm hoping so. It was a close fight. You know, people loved it.

You know, people are still talking about it. And that's the plan. You know, Scott, if you're hearing, man, need that rematch. Yeah, and make it the main event, for God's sakes. I mean, the fight set it itself, you know, it's like, man, I love, you know, I love Rampage, but man, you know what I mean? Our fight should have been the main event, and it showed, you know what I mean? It was the fight that people were more excited about it, you know,

he got some pretty good views. But yeah, man, it needs to be the main event, especially at side of fight with the main event. especially at a title fight with that caliber of fighters man like main event for sure well i appreciate you coming on douglas i'm sorry i didn't go your way uh but you know a valiant performance a great fight an entertaining fight and i know a lot of people wouldn't be upset if they run it back so good luck getting that rematch um don't don't be too hard on yourself my man you you've come back uh in the past and uh and you have it in you to come back again so all the best to you and again thank you very much for coming on and congrats on a great fight it was

it was very entertaining to watch. Thanks, man. Next time I win, though, but I appreciate it. Appreciate it. All right. All the best to you, Douglas. Thank you so much. There's Douglas Lima stopping by,

looking for that rematch against Roy McDonald's. Now, former Bellator World Trade Champion. We'll see if he gets it. It's interesting in the Belator Welterweight Division, and all their divisions, it's hard to really tell who's the number one contender. So, you know, the fight went well. It drew well.

Let's see if they run it back. If not, next, the one after that. We'll see. All right, let's move along. So we are. rapidly approaching March 3rd. That's UFC 222. That is headlined, of course, by Frankie Edgar against Max Holloway. How about this? Max Holloway fights in Detroit. He fights in early December. He says, let's go. I'm ready to go. No games, no negotiations, no talk of super fights. Let's just fight the next man.

Who's got the next cupcake? I'm hungry. Let's eat the next cupcake. So he's fighting Frankie Edgar in Las Vegas, the 9th Island. How exciting is that? He's joining us on the phone right now. Max, are you there? I'm here, man. I'm a fucking great intro, Doc. I was one of the greatest ones ever. Well, thank you.

You know, there was a time before you were champion, Max, you'd come on via Skype from the room with the Pop Patrol. Now you're big time.

Now we can only get you via the phone. What happened, Max? Have you gone big time on us? No, and I actually would apologize. I say, sorry I could get my TIR asshole

and see me face to face, but we're trying to re-empt, man. We can really do it. in the gym. I'm not in my crew, but a proletoe to go in my son's room. So, yeah, we got the phone, but I'm here,

so I'm glad to be it. Thanks for having it again. No, it's a pleasure as always. So, you know, it was so refreshing, Max, and this is what I said after the Detroit fight. Like, there's no games with you. We know exactly what you want. Next man up. Next cupcake, as you say. You just come right back. At this point, I feel like you're taking pride

in being that soldier for the UFC. Yeah, you're getting paid. Yeah, you're making a living. But for you to come right back and fight, Frankie. Greg, I just think is so valiant. Why did you not want to wait, you know, negotiate this, that, take some time? Why did you want to get right back in there three months later? You know, like a great Chandlot movie, they once said, heroes get remembered, but legends never die, man.

I want to be a legend this part. I want to live on for forever. And this is the kind of things you got to do. You know, we get the negotiation part. I'm sure negotiations will come later on down the line but you know right now we have unfinished business with

with the answer you know and as I told you guys I got a lot of questions for a man and I know a lot of damn questions so I'm excited to see them you know the sooner the better and we put March you know and the closer the better you know like I said

the last time they were trying to ice my ass and trying to to Canada to Detroit Brazil when it was the wintertime was freezing to me and now I'm back to the 9th Island you know

the 9th Island I heard of a bunch of Hawaiians I heard about you guys coming up for this fight so excited if it's not UFC Hawaii if it's not here at home the closest thing in Las Vegas and I decided to get the damn thing done

yeah you know I I mentioned that I know you tweeted as well about the 9th Island do you know why it's called that like why is there this connection between Las Vegas and Hawaii do you know why yeah I know exactly why

you know, the connection between us is, I don't know if people know this, but Hawaii is a pretty expensive place to live, so a lot of Hawaiians leave to go to Las Vegas. So that's why it's probably my island. If you go up there, you see a bunch of wines. On my state, you see a bunch of wines in the arena, man. You can see the Hawaii flight flying high in the Timo Center,

and I'm happy I'd have no one headlight in the car. And what better man to do against a guy who took gold, you know? It took gold from Hawaii two times. They actually beat Hawaii two times, though. So it's time to bring gold back home. So I'm excited. After the Detroit fight, were there any talks, any serious talks? Because there seems to be some movement there.

Our man, our brother, Rob DeMello, is doing some great reporting out in Hawaii. There seems to be some movement about Hawaii. Were there any talks at all about doing this fight in Hawaii? The Hawaiian area, Rob DeMello, baby. God. That guy always teach me in the loop, man.

And it was talks, you know, there was talks that maybe maybe we could have, we could have a fight with Edgar, which made the most sense

for here in Hawaii, you know, but like I said, the next best thing was off Vegas and we're here in Vegas, you know, and I said,

I should hope to the year's in Hawaii, this guy giving my job done, you know, on March 3rd, and we should be the next guy up after that. But, you know,

right now, I'm focusing on Edgar and the Hawaii event, you know, his name was doing in it, and they had an idea, but I heard the HTA, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, had talking with U.C. last weekend. It went super well, so, you know, I'm staying proud of it, I'm staying great, you know.

I got to make sure I do my work on March 3rd and have fun, go out there. We came to my tire, bring good back home, and I think so they're going to bring me home soon, soon later later. Max, honestly, now we saw you in Boston, you were at that press conference. How weird was that from your perspective sitting there listening to these questions about the lightweight division? It's a complete mess. Your division is crystal clear.

We know what's going on. But there was a time where it was a bit messy, much like this lightweight division. What were you thinking as all these questions were being asked about the title? You know, I was just thinking, I was just thinking, man, we up here. We got four active fighters. And you guys talking about a guy who's in retirement right now, you know, leave the man alone. Let him enjoy his retirement and whatever. And, you know, and if you want to be the champ, act like a champ, you know what I mean?

The guy out there, you know, with the claim of he's not the intro in champ, he's a champ, talk like it, you know, speak like it. That's what I did. When everybody keeps giving me, you know, a hard time about the belt and this and that, is like, man, I'm a champ. I act like a champ. I actually speaks louder in words and who's the one fighting, you know? You can take it from the other men's mouth.

You know? You know, who's fighting? Who's staying active? That's the champion. You know, that's the chance who's fighting. So, you know, and they kept talking about a retired guy.

You know, you guys could talk a little bit more than what you do. You know, I was there to a single fight and they got to do a pretty good job at it. So your advice to Tony Ferguson would be just start acting like you're the real champ. Enough with this interim stuff. Yeah, you know,

you got a belt. You know, be a champion. Act like a champ. Talk like a champ. Stop bringing up, stop bringing up the other guys. And stop talking. about them, you know.

It's fair enough, no one's going to even care. People's catching on, people catching a hint, you know. And, you know, when he comes back and he's actually fighting in, you know, that may be raised the question. But right now, the man just tired, happy life, talking about this and that, blah, blah, I don't have to talk about the guy. I got, you know, fair place that man. I got no hate to him.

It is what it is, you know. If you want to fight the best, you come fight best, baby. So when they're ready for doing that, do all that talking, we're right here, we're staying after, but right now I'll focus on guys. who was active in their career who wants to fight and not talking about it. Do you think that the UFC

should strip him, though, like they did in the featherweight division? I don't know. It's a mess, but, you know, the way I look at it, you know, if you're the champion,

if I was 20, I would just be like, I'm the champ, you know, walk around, when I didn't have the ball I was acting like the champ, that's why I'm here, you know?

So I don't know what the UFC can do. They're businessmen. That's what they do. Whatever they do, you know, it's how you control. It's how you have to yourself in the media and stuff. So if you want to do the champ, act like a champ, talk like a champ, just like a champ. And guess what? You want to be the champ?

It's like Buzhou Bantan. You know Buzhou Bantan? I have no idea what that is. Bujubantan. He had this great rap song, Walk Like a Champion, act like a champion. You know this song? Check it out afterwards. I heard that song.

never know who was saying or something like how I go to others, yeah. Bujubantan. Exactly. Buzubantan. There you go. Yeah.

You did post on Instagram just a couple of days ago, Max, a picture of you next to those two belts and you said it's coming. What did you mean by that? Or it was actually yesterday, I think it was.

What did you mean by that? It's coming, man. It's coming. It's coming. You guys, everybody keeps trying these things I can't do with this and that, you know,

with the whole UFC, every time after the down, my last two fights, My last four flights actually, I got email by USC about my week, about, about, they have a at the PI, look, UFC, start saying these down emails. I got the best nutrition again. They're tired of method. And we make the damn weight.

I don't cry about weight. And when I go out there, I perform. So it's not crying about my weight. But medically, if they change a couple of things around, I'm probably not going to be able to be able to 45. So, you know, just doing it a little here, you know, I give me a little talk. You know, if it happens, it happens. Very clean. If you see come along with new rules, I most definitely might have to step up, you know.

But right now they did it. I'm a 45 around, but everybody, everybody talks. Everybody talks about being chants, being active chance, whatever, this and that. I'm a champion in my mindset. You know, like, I told you before, I'm surviving, I'm Hawaiian. I have a, I have nothing, nothing but time on my side. You may see me with two of these gold dots. Who knows?

You know, I'm coming for the greatest. They're trying to be a legend. Let me ask you again, Max, because it got a bit distorted. You were getting very excited when I asked you about it. What are you talking about medically that things may change? What are you referring to? You know, what did you see? You know, you know what?

You saw it in and the weight cuts and you want to be to something late when you check in and blah, blah, blah. All those medical stuff. That's what I mean. If they start passing more better off of stuff, I probably won't. You know, every time I come into checking weight, they're kind of in disbelief, but I'm like, I never miss weight in my life, you know? So I don't know why it gave me a hard time, but, you know, medically, if they pass certain rules, then I probably won't medically be able to pass it

because of their rules that they set. So, you know, 55 might come sooner or later, so we see what happens. Do you think it's inevitable at some point you will move up? Oh, yeah, for sure. I just turned 20 I'm 26 you know and I love cup cakes I love food I get scored I get scoting from my coaches right in Lazars dad yeah I influence I didn't I just going from my nutritionist like he told parliament and he I talked to him on a daily you know I felt here and there I talked to him at least twice a week and after fights people like I see people right to him be like hey we're like Max Max max is on offseason camp and he's like no max is off season he weighs in you know how Like, I'm a big boy for February, so it's going to happen. 55 is going to happen sooner. Sooner later, we don't know when.

We're just waiting, but when the time comes, it comes. Wow, that's interesting. Let me ask you about this, Max. A couple weeks ago, there was this crazy story, I think it was on a Saturday, where everyone in Hawaii got this alert that there was this ballistic missile coming, right? Yeah, oh, yeah, that was a couple weeks ago, yeah. Did you wake up, like, could you tell us what happened? What happened? Do you actually wake up to this news?

Yeah, my mom, my mom was over, and my son, and, you know, my mom woke me up. It was like, 8 o'clock I think. He's like, oh, my God, look at this. And then all the iPhones, my iPhone was ringing. Like, I thought it was a flash trailer or something, but it was like a ballistic missile coming. And it's kind of crazy, you know, when you read that, but, you know, at the same time, you got 10, 12 minutes, you know? Like, and then it's going to hit. That's what they usually say.

10 to 12 minutes. So it's kind of crazy, man. I don't know. It was in the same time, you know, the guy who, whoever pressed that button, that is the most hated guy in Hawaii right now. I tell you that much,

but, you know, it was insane, man. I wouldn't, I wouldn't wish that on anybody, you know, that's a life check. But, like,

at the end of the day, you know, it's like, what do you do? You got 10 to 12 minutes, you know, people panicking and roasting and driving on the road

and playing crazy. It's like, you know, 10 or 12 minutes, and Zuel was last 10, 12 minutes, your loved ones and it happened. It happened. It's life, man. Were you freaking out? You know, I, like, I, I didn't say I was freaking out, you know, I was with my son,

so I think so, I think that I helped out a lot. Like, I always kind of freak out too much fun of them. I was my mom, you know, the first kind of call was, was a guy who wasn't in an idol, was my manager, you know, so I don't know what I was thinking, no, I was, I was like, man, it's just, you know what it is, man. You got 10 to 12 minutes, man. You're not going to hide from a missile in 10 to 12 minutes. Unless you have a bunker underground, you're ready for his doom day stuff, you're shit.

But other than that, you know, I ain't got nothing on the ground. I didn't build no secret passageway or anything, you know. But it was crazy for sure. Your social media game is incredible. Like when that came out, you got the shot of you with the knee, saying that you got Hawaii's back. the Jeopardy one with Frankie Edgar. And I've talked to you about your partnership with Moscow.

You have a T-shirt now with the iPhone alert saying, this is incredible. This is one of the best T-shirts I've ever seen. It says ballistic max hallway threat inbound to Las Vegas. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill. And it says the date is Saturday, March 3rd.

And I noticed it says 808, which of course is the Hawaiian area. This is brilliant stuff. this is an amazing shirt, who thought of this? As my man, Pooley from Moscow, man, Pooley. He's when I made all my shirts, and I didn't even know his big of that shirt. And he's like, oh, you're ready to drop a new shirt for this fight? I was like, yeah, he made that.

I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop them. I was dying rolling, laughing, man. That was a, like you said, that was an awesome shirt, man. And all great. I think that was good. A lot of people who saw it was like you. He reacted like you.

Like, this is an awesome shirt. So it was great for sure, man. I got some of the best guys. And, you know, you talk about the Instagram game, you know, some fans, you know, the internet nowadays, man, you know what could you see it before you become a meme, man? And that's what's happening, you know?

Like, fans and he's got my back with these Instagram stuff. They tag me all in his post. So it's great, man. It's great, man. It's been fun poking at them. And, you know, I see Frankie Pokkin Beth. So it's great, man. I can't wait.

I can't wait to fix the guy of guys. the guy, you know, instead of one of the best, and this is my third champion, I get to fight, you know, in a row, so I get to go out there and prove out of the best again. You squared off with them, you looked at him, what did you see

from it? What did you take away from that square off in Boston the night before 220? Did you take anything away? No, I didn't take nothing. When we squads, that's all right, it's like, it's just, you know, I don't take nothing away from the guy, You know, the scrolls that you take away the most fun

is some weighing bank when you did a fine way, you look to that guy's eyes, and you can go out of knowing. It's going to happen. You know, the first time we spread off, so I don't really take nothing away from these early scores. It is what it is. And I can't wait to look at him after we weigh in, after we weigh in. And the next day is gold day.

And that's when you find out, it's a simple swim. I mean, it's a nice story, but do you really feel like you're sort of fighting, to avenge the BJ Penn losses. Because I've always kind of felt like, I mean, you and BJ, like, you're not best friends, right? You never trained together. Like, does that, is that really mean something to you

to try to beat the guy who beat BJ three times? Yeah, for sure. I think so it means, it means a lot to Hawaii, you know. Hawaii, like I've seen, I always tell you guys, why is all about culture, where we have a, we've got a great culture, great history here. And, you know, and the last couple fights with the last two and older, actually,

It made me go to a roof here in Hawaii, and, you know, there's, like, there's so much pride here. Like, everywhere I go, and people see me fighting Frankie now, they just, all they can say is, like, that's get one back in Hawaiian, get it for us, do this for the Hawaiian. So it's great, you know, and I feel it, you know, but there's no pressure at all, no pressure at all, man. I just going to go out there to do what I do best,

that's fighting, and, you know, at the time of my life, and, you know, taste this new flavor, and then on to the next one. Do you think Brian Ortega is the guy standing by? Is that what you're feeling right now? You know, I don't know, man. I don't know who's next, you know. But whoever there is can get him, you know.

At the end of the day, you know, he's got to talk about waiting around and I'm going to wait my way into a title shot, you know. Unless your name is, you know, GSP or the notorious one or whatever. I don't think you should be waiting. You should jump at your shot, every shot you got, and the man's waiting.

I never waited nothing to my life. Could be, what, 10 fights to get a freaking intro and down fight and 11 foot a real damn thing. So, you know, if you think you're the best, you should be out there fighting and proving to everybody while you're the best, not sitting around. Yep, I definitely agree with that, especially when you're kind of younger in the sport.

A last thing for you, Max, what are you envisioning right now? How is this fight going to play out on March 3rd? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What's, is there, is there, is there, is there, is there, is there a vision that keeps coming up as you think about the fight? Yeah. You know, the vision is, is he's, bless it all. It's in full effect.

And you guys are going to see something special. The last, the last three guys I fought was champions, you know, and, uh, well, I was Pettis and, and, uh, well, it was Pettis and, you know, two times Aldo and Pettis, and they all was champions. And they all had. kind of something in common. They really didn't get finished before, you know. So, you know, I'm here facing a new challenge. Everybody keeps telling me that Frank Diego never got finished before. So I'm going to go out there, do my job and make history. You know, I want to be the first guy to finish Frankie. Just like how I was with Perez, you know.

And just like with Aldo, you know, I had to prove that it wasn't a fluke. And this is how you used to mention your legacy. I get guys like this. And, you know, I'm going to go out there, fight my fight and once he opened the door like I said with everybody else I'm holding to the door and say thank you you know on to the next thank you for doing this Max

I really appreciate it and I'm glad to know you're not too big time for us even though we're going backwards we're going from Skype the phone then maybe you'll big time us and not show up like like maybe some others but but it's just good to hear your voice still Max I appreciate it I can't wait to be there you're better you better

you better after after I get things that we figure things like like I'm like the following week, what is that? The 10th or no, not the 10th or a couple days. Yeah, fifth, yeah, you gotta get my back on the show then. I'll be

on Skype, I have this the loud blue and all from them. I'll be in Paul Patrol just for you. I might buy Pop Patrol shirt just for you and you've been on a half of your stream. I love Paw Patrol. And by the way, before I let you go, Max, and that's a deal, that's a date 100%. Did you see your boy Lomachenko wrestling?

Did you see this clip that's online? Yeah, yeah, I started wrestling. I knew he was the wrestler before. People keep talking about how he was a wrestler before. He actually talks about wrestling being why he's so good in his angles and why he understand angles. But, you know, yeah, I just saw him about wrestling, you know. But that's pretty cool.

A lot of, even stuff, what's his name? Karen Scarford is the rest of that. Yeah. You know, don't have them want to try and dabble in every. I know, guys. Don't let me know. Thank you, Max. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. We'll see you March 3rd.

Best of luck in training and, of course, best of luck in the fight. Thank you, brother. See you later. All right, there he is. Max Holloway, the reigning defending UFC featherweight champion. Yeah, Lomachenko, his guy, remember after his fight, they were in New York together hanging out. A clip of him has surfaced online pretty cool wrestling. And speaking of boxing, we talked to Roy Jones earlier, officially announced that the Triple G-K-Kinello fight is going down in May that came out earlier. today and it came out on

where was it announced? I think it was online. I think the rock announced it of all people. Anyway, May 5th, Cinco de Mayo. It's going down the rematch, Triple G against Canelo. Okay, still more show to go, my friends. We keep going. Another late edition. Earlier we had Cain Velasquez. Now we have Kevin Lee and it's interesting because Kevin Lee reached out, wanted to come on. Always happy to have him on. His name has come up

earlier, as you may have heard in the Ally Quint interview. He asked to come on before that interview, so I'm curious, what's up? Let's go to the phone lines and say hello to the Motown Phenom himself. Kevin Lee. Kevin, are you there? What's happening with you, Ariel? You're usually on Skype, too. You can't join us

on Skype? I like seeing your face. Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way to the gym right now, so I really couldn't, you know, I didn't want to get you a bad reception, and it goes in and out, and I'm on my way headed up to start some training right now. But I text you earlier because I heard the thing with Eddie with Alvarez. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And, you know, I just got to speak on it, even just as a fan. You know, I see what Eddie's trying to do, but I think the man's just got it all wrong. I think the fans, they don't want to see who's the biggest name against the biggest name. It's the best. So if we go on from it from a sporting perspective, you know, I got to throw my head in the ring versus Diaz. I think that's the fight to make. That's the fight that I've been pushing for. That's the fight that I'm going to talk my talk and I'm going to keep going.

But I think that's the, from every other perspective other than a fun fight, like that's this fight to make. Why is it the fight to make, Kevin? Well, really when you look at it, I mean, you got, you got, like, we'll just call it what it is. You know, Diaz is coming off the loss to McGregor, who's the champ. I'm coming off the loss to Tony. I mean, it just makes more sense from a, from a sporting perspective to see who's going to be, you know, am I going to bounce back?

You got Diaz who, you know, we call it what it is. I got tired versus Tony. I mean, Diaz is known for not getting tired. That's going to answer, like, a lot of those questions, you know, the tiredness, the, you know, the mental warfare, all that, this is going to answer all the questions. If you got Alvarez in you, it's like Elberos too. You know, the man's washed up.

We all know that. The UFC brass, they know it. Albrez is never going to be the champ again. He's never even going to sniff that title again. If they want to make me an overall thing, like, I'm cool with that, too. but, you know, I'm just looking at it from a fan perspective and seeing what I would want to see. I want to see the two guys that just challenged for the title.

And I'm going to be back in the title shot within the next year. And I think the UFC knows that. I think the fans know that. And I think that's what makes more sense. What do you make of what Eddie said about Nate? He said that he doesn't think Nate actually wants to fight anyone in the lightweight division. He just wants to fight Connor McGregor. Do you believe that as well?

No, Nate just want the money. You know, he wanted to fight. Like Connor, because Connor is the easy fight. You know, he lucked up the first time. He got that shot with Connor when he really didn't even, he wasn't really expecting it. You know, it just kind of came, you know, RDA had fell off the card. He kind of took it on short notice. Lucked up to beat the man.

I mean, he beat a 140 pounder, though, a 145 pounder that wasn't prepared at all. He lost to him again. So, I mean, you can't have, you know, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Like, he had a shot. He lost to it or whatever. Like, let's go back to fuck all this pick him. fights and you know you just want to see the big name versus the big name let's let's try and clear up this division a little bit i think the division is already muddled enough if you you know if you're trying

to mess it up even more and not looking at the longevity if you're just trying to make short-term fights happen then that would be the fight but if we're looking at the longevity of the sport and me speaking as a fan of the sport then i'm looking at uh you know a more clear title picture have you reached out to UFC and have you said I want Nate Diaz and if so, what's their response? Yeah, I mean, I told Dana, you know, I'm about to head up to the

UFCPI in a few minutes anyway. You know, he's constantly in and out kind of checking on everybody, seeing out with training and all this. So I'm going to tell them straight up like, you know, this is the fight to make. If you want to make a fun fight and one that's entertaining, like, you know, they know me too. Me and Diaz,

we're going to be talking that shit. So it's going to be even fun and fun from that perspective. But, you know, if I'm speaking from Dana, like, I think he already knows what fight can make. You know, I don't really have to tell him. He already know, you know, even Alvarez is saying it's Diaz's shot and all this. Like, Diaz really ain't got no clout. You know, he just got clout just because everybody be dick eating him. But the man don't, he don't really, you know, he don't fight like that. So he don't fight enough to have enough respect and have enough clout to really call his shot. He already done called his shot once. He got the counter fight. And now it's up to the promoter

to offer them the right fight. Since we're talking to, Kevin, I have to ask, because you've been in the news, Bobby Green was calling you out on Saturday. Did you hear this? And if so, what did you make of that? Yeah, I kind of heard it through the great vibe. But, you know, Bobby, I guess he's sticking up with his boy

because they used to blow each other in college or whatever it was. I mean, come on. I'm not even going to give him no shot. I mean, Bobby Green has lost how many of his last couple fights. He lost like four in a row, something like that. He fought on my undercard in the last fight. I mean, I get it. He's trying to stick up for his boy.

If that's really his boy, then kudos. But, you know, you're going to need a little bit more than that. What he's do is they're trying to send a hitchman after me because they know I'm the real fight and I'm the fight that they don't want to have. You know, Khabib tried it the week before with the Islam kid. But that kid lost to a kid that I just beat less than a year ago. So, I mean, you're going to have to show me a little bit more than knocking out a guy that's 40 years old and already done. You know what I mean?

Like even Bobby. Bobby beat a 145-pounder. his last fight didn't even look good doing it i don't know it's it it it doesn't make sense from a from a sporting perspective you know at the end of the day i'm a competitor like i want to see i want to even answer some of the questions for myself you know and i'm going at the diaz like bobby is uh is the poor man's version of ds and he and he sucks at it too i mean he's terrible so i mean if he want to do that like i'll do it i love free money bobby wouldn't last more than two and two and a half minutes with me. So if they offer me that, if that's the bottom of the totem pole, and it's Bobby

Green, but, you know, I ain't really looking forward to it. The man is, he ain't really no challenge. I mean, too small. You said you heard Eddie on the show earlier. Did you happen to hear Al-I-Quinta? No, I didn't hear Al. Come on, I don't listen to Al. Nobody listen to Al. I'm looking at Al. I'm flurred his words. You know, he probably has drunk anyway. I don't know what I'm listening to that for. I got better things to do with my time, Ariel. right. Because, I mean, he said a lot about the way you dress and the way you speak and and it was very upset when I brought up the interim title fight again, the fact that you got an interim title fight and it just feels like there's still something there between you two.

And so I was wondering if you had any thoughts on him or his return to the lightweight division. It'll always be something there between us and like I've got to get that with that. That's been on my radar forever. I offered the man his shot. I got offered him his shot. I offered him his shot two or three times a couple years ago. They offered me him. I signed the deal. I passed it to him, and he turned it down.

So, I mean, it's not, you know, now he's going to be chasing at the meet, and, like, he don't have to do a little bit more chasing. Like, I offered you a shot at it. I'm kind of, like, already forward and past it. If he kind of level up a little bit, if he can get some fights, get some wins, you know, look good doing them and makes him know it. But, I mean, really, I ain't too, I ain't too interested right now. I'm looking at towards the top of the division.

looking towards the guys that are going to give me a bigger challenge than Al. I mean, if you go back and you watch our fight, any of the fans, no, like I'm a way, more complete fighter than I was in my UFC debut. You talk about 12, 13 fights ago. I ain't trying to go backwards. By the way, why on January 27th did you tweet out posted and deleted? Oh, because I posted that video with me talking shit about me and then I deleted. And, you know, being my brother, we've been teasing this podcast for a long time.

We kind of like working out the kinks of it. So I kind of, like, posted that as like a little teaser. Then I deleted it so that I can make a real video about it. You know, it kind of got some steam behind it. And then I kind of took it down because I wanted to make a real one that can really get some steam. So, you know, I got to play with the folks a little bit. You know, keep people on the edge of their seats. By the way, Mr. Al-I-Quinta is listening to this interview.

he said that he was just making fun of you and he's not chasing you, so he just wanted you to know that. I mean, that's cool. I mean, he should be chasing me. I mean, I don't know what he's chasing. He out there trying to sell homes and all this and, I mean, good on him, but, I mean, he should be chasing me, if anything, I ain't looking back at him. He should be

looking forward at the back of my head. So, I mean, if he wants to fight, we can still make it happen. I just don't see it happen in no time, so I'm already looking forward. If he if he wanted, get a win, get two. And then how you people call my people. And by the way, what do you make of the whole lightweight division? It's a hot topic right now. Chabeeb, Tony, fighting for some kind of belt. Conner still has the belt. What is your, as a guy who's

in the mix there, what do you, what do you think about what they're doing right now? Yeah, I mean, it's muddled. I'm looking at it. I'm kind of looking at it from the outside to wait and see when I'm going, you know, kind of jump in there. And I don't know. It's interesting. It's an interesting in time, I think anyway, Tony was the champ, Tony's been the champ, regardless of what they want to call the title, blah, blah, blah, you know, even Tony, he's doing a terrible job at the press conference. I wish he would just do better because Tony is the man. I mean, Tony's the man to beat.

Tony's the man that I'm chasing right now. If I got to go through Diaz, then McGregor and then whoever, like, to get back to Tony, and that's what I'll do. But I think Tony's the man to beat and Tony versus Khabib is a real fight to be had. you know, I don't really see even Connor in this discussion. So, I mean, it's an interesting time in the division. Like I said, I got a lot of options right now. I love options.

You know, I got S. and Barbosa that's right there, too. You know, me and Eddie might make a good fight. I'm pushing for the Diaz one more than anything. But, you know, it's a good time to be had, and it's a good time for me to sit back, reassess my skills. I've been training every day since it. So when I do come back, the folks are going to see a completely different, Kevin Lee and I think they already know

that I'm gonna be the champion of the division regardless. And it's interesting because a lot of people don't seem all that interested in fighting, Habib, but you're, I mean, you tweeted when he was fighting on December 31st, you said, I can't wait until I get my hands on, Habib, you still really want this fight. Man,

I've been calling out Kabib for years. You know, Khabib, Khabi know it, too. Khabib know it, Ali know it. They all know it. Like, I am the fight to make with Khabi. Like, right now, I'm getting, I'm still training every day because, you know, these guys fell out three, four times now. So I think if either one falls out, I'm going to fly my way up through there.

You know, it's April 7th. I'm already being shaped. I'm already getting my weight down even further so I can make the weight on time. Because, again, the fight with me and Tony reshails, rematch, and then Khabib, I've been calling him off a year. Like, I got to be a number. I just know it right off the bat. I know it.

I can see the way the man moves. I can see him fight. I just know I'm a whoop his ass. So when that does happen and it's going to happen, I hope I'm the one to take the O if Tony don't get it first. When do you want to return, Kevin? I'm looking at about the same date. About that, you know, right now it's kind of like a transition period for me.

We just had the memorial service for my coach last night. So right now I'm still kind of like in the transition. I'm still getting better. Still trying to structure my camp before I even started. So right now I'm looking at about May or June. But we'll see. If the right fight comes along, you know, if it's an interesting fight, if Diaz want to fight next week, like shit, I'm ready for it.

My weight is already starting to come down anyway, so I'm ready for any fight, but I'm really targeting June, May, somewhere in there. And, of course, you mentioned Robert Follis, who tragically passed away in December. How are you handling things? What are we a little over a month after his passing? How are things going for you? Yeah, like I said, I mean, we just had the memorial service for them last night, and it really put things in the perspective for me,

and it really kind of gave me a bigger vision, and it just showed that I'm really out here to get it, and especially to get it for them. So right now, like I said, I'm still in a little transition phase, but the rest of my camp is still staying the same. I'm still improving every day. So to me, right now it's just about getting better, however that is, with whoever it is.

I'm going to go up and train with, for us a hobby a little bit more in a few weeks here. Kind of just train around, maybe train over at Duke's a little bit, kind of get a different feel for guys, and then we'll see. But regardless, it ain't going to make no difference to me. You know, it's still the same.

Okay, so where, so who, do you, like, I know you don't have a fight yet, but do you know who your coaches will be the next time you fight, like who your corner will be? I don't. I mean, I know I still had Dewey Cooper in my corner, of course. Yeah. A striking coach, but I don't right now.

You know, I'm kind of, like I said, I'm in a transition. So we'll see. But regardless of who it is, it's something to be learned from everybody. And that's what I'm doing right now. I'm trying to train with different people, kind of learn something from every time I walk in there. And kind of taking, trying to take a step back. You know, I'm really taking the Tony fight, me losing that fight as such a positive because I can get back in the gym and start, you know, really learning and losing again

and not like get a big head about it and, you know, act like I can't get tapped out and all this. Like I'm getting back in. I'm learning. I'm getting better constantly. So that's what's important. It don't even matter who the coach is or, you know, I'm not going to be able to replace Robert ever.

So we're going to see how that works out. Is it hard to watch the press conferences and all that stuff knowing that you were one fight away from that Habib fight, that title fight? Yeah, it's a little more irritational. I think it would have been so much more fun. and it would have been better. But, you know, it is what it is.

All things come in good time, so I'm still waiting at it. Okay, so Nate Diaz loves this show. He watches it all the time. He's told me this. What's the message to Nate? Why should he fight you next? Why do you deserve this shot? Nate, he just got a man up.

The man got a man up. If he really want to fight, he know who the real fight is. I mean, Alvarez, come on. Alvarez, he bound for retirement. If you want to beat a man into retirement If you want to continue to take his brain cells, don't hit But if you want a real fight If you want a real champion

If you want a real future champion Then he know to come to. If he really a sportsman, if he really a competitor, then he knows what he'll come to. If he's just looking to make a quick cash grab And get out and not see a risk on the investment, then I mean, he can do whatever you want

I don't give a fuck really. I'm still going to be doing my thing. So, I mean, shit, it really don't matter to me. Do you think he takes it? Do you think he actually takes the fight? Nah, he won't. He won't, because Alvarez, no. I mean, he has no.

He knows I whooped that ass. So he sees him around Vegas all the time. I see him in and out some of the stories around here. He know, he knows the deal. I don't think he would take it. If he was a better man, he probably would, but probably not. All right. Well, we shall see.

Good stuff, Kevin. Thank you for joining us. I appreciate you reaching out. Good luck getting the fight. And do keep us posted, all right? as always my man all right thanks so much there he is

the Motown phenom himself Kevin Lee stopping by a late edition got the text we always have room for Kevin we always have room for anyone you want to text me in the middle of the show

and come on the program the more the merrier that's how we like to do it over here what a show it has been how many guesses it thus far one two one two three four five six seven eight nine

ten eleven twelve thirteen is that possible And now we're going to, yeah, 13. We've just done 12. And we're going to lucky number 13. Last but not least. How about this? This is a lot of fun.

Okay, I've been looking forward to this particular one. All day I've been looking forward to it since last night. This is the scene. This is the situation. I decide last night, you know what? I haven't watched a wrestling pay-per-view in a few years now. I pop in and out. I'm not a hater like some other people,

but I just don't feel the same about it. things have happened. I've changed. Anyway, I decide I'm going to watch the Royal Rumble because there are strong rumors that Ronda Rousey is going to show up that she's going to debut in some way, shape, or form. And also, they're doing two Royal Rumbles. There's a male Royal Rumble. There's a female Royal Rumble. This is interesting stuff. And it's somewhat of an MMA story. Lest we forget, Ronda Rousey was once a very big deal in our sport. So I watch it. Royal Rumble, it's fun. It's one of the best events of the year. It's all well and good. Make it to the main event. females are last interesting. Do they end with her? They go through the 30 competitors. They

bring out some nostalgia acts. Tori Wilson, Trish Stratus, Lita. It's all well and good. 30 come and go. There's no Ronda Rousey. But then it's over. The match is over. There's a winner. Great. And then bad reputation hits. And then on the graphics on the screen, it looks like Hot Rod, the old Roddy Piper font, text, if you will, but it says, Hot Ronda. And there she is. Our old friend Ronda Rousey, she walks out wearing an old Roddy Piper leather jacket, wearing a shirt that looks like Roddy Piper's shirt, but it says Hot Rhonda, and she walks out to the ring, and the place goes nuts. The Wells Fargo Center goes nuts. Philadelphia is on its feet.

Wow, Ronda Rousey has finally showed up. She is here. She has made it to the Royal Rumble. And what does she do? She points to the WrestleMania sign. And she points again, and she points again, and she points again. And then she walks in the ring and some hatchakes here there, and then she walks out of the ring. ring and then she shakes Stephanie McMahon's hand and then she points again and then she leaves.

And there's a smile on her face and she looks genuinely happy. So what does this all mean? Well, then we go to ESPN and we find out she has signed a long-term deal. She is all in. She's not just, you know, cash grab. She's going to go in there. She's going to be a part of the roster. She's going to be a consistent figure in the storylines.

She is here. She's probably going to debut at WrestleMania. But there are so many questions that have, that have me thinking about, you know, what is the future? what is the path? What is the story? How did this all get done? There's only one man who can truly answer all of this, and that is our friend Dave Meltzer. He joins us now via the phone. Dave, are you there? I'm here. How are you? Is that a good recap of what happened? That's what happened. Yeah, it was quite the, quite the thing. I mean, we kind of knew it was coming. I mean, especially, I mean, people, it's funny because, you know, it was, it was totally kept a secret,

but it's been no secret that she's been training for since July for professional wrestling. So it was a given, it's been a given for a long time. I mean, the idea that they just made this deal and they've been denying this deal has been kind of like a joke because everyone knows that, I mean, you can't train in the WWE Performance Center unless you have some sort of a deal. They won't let you because of the liability issues. So she's had a deal for a long, long time. It was just a question of how they were going to bring her in. And the Royal Rumble, I thought she was going to come in at number 30 and win the Royal Rumble, but they did it this way. but, you know, essentially introduced her at the Royal Rumble.

So let me ask you, Dave. So you mentioned, you know, July and training at the performance center. When did this all start? Do you know, like, when the talks first started, who reached out to who? Was it Rhonda reaching out to them or vice versa? I don't know. I mean, they had made it, well, you know, she did the WrestleMania a couple years ago. And they were, and the idea was to build for a match at the next WrestleMania,

but she was still fighting. And Dana White said there was a one and done, you know, it was a favor for them and all that. and Dwayne Johnson had other things, and he couldn't do the show anyway. So it just kind of fell in a different direction. It never really came together. And now that her MMA career looks to be over, you know, obviously it was revisited. I think it was always going to happen as far as, like, you know, some stuff, as far as going all in as a regular character.

You know, I don't know exactly, but the fact that she took the training seriously, they debuted her as far as on at a TV or at an internet streaming taping, you know, in the corner or in the crowd yelling at Charlotte Flair and some other women during Shane of Basler's matches last summer. So that was where it kind of started and it was going to build to the four horse women versus four horse women. But that seems that they've gone in a different direction since then. Based on any conversations you may have and I don't know how open they are to talking about this, what if anything are you hearing about her training? Is she developing well? Is she taking to it well? Is she a work in progress? What if anything can you

tell us about, you know, how she's doing as far as her pro wrestling training is concerned? I've actually heard nothing other than, um, that, uh, that several of the other women really like her, but that's because she's kind of a hero to them anyway, because deep down, the emphasis on women's wrestling stems, you know, WWNet would have never done this if, if Rhonda hadn't become such a big drawn MMA and people are going like, you know, you're behind the curve. And the last thing they want to be is behind the curve. They think that they're in front of the curve. So it was like, we better catch up. So, um, you know, they, started really emphasizing the women and, you know, now Rhonda's in. But yeah, I couldn't tell you

how we're talking is doing. I couldn't tell you how her wrestling is doing. I don't know. I'm going to ask around, though. Okay, so you just mentioned that you thought she was going to be number 30 and she would win the Royal Rumble. And I have long felt that if you're going to debut someone of this magnitude who has this crossover appeal, this mainstream appeal, why do you give the first in-ring action away for free? Why not just do some kind of tease and then, of course, have her debut at WrestleMania. Why did you feel like they would go the route of having her actually in the match without announcing it beforehand?

Because it doesn't, you know, now the way their economic structure is, it really doesn't matter, because they're really not on pay-per-view, so there's not tons of millions of dollars that she can move. You know, just because it's WrestleMania, and that's the big show. WrestleMania is going to sell with or without her. The network numbers

are going to be pretty similar with or without her. You know, it's basically the, you know, they'll get a little bit of a boost for sure, but they'd have gotten the boost here, and she'd still be at WrestleMania, and it's a low-priced thing at $9.99. So, you know, under normal rules, I would say it'd be stupid for her to work anything first but WrestleMania, but because the rules have changed, I thought, you know, you debut, you get all the media publicity and you have that media publicity run into WrestleMania where she has her big first advertised real match. I know this is somewhat of a layered

question, but, all right, she's on camera for what, four, five minutes on Sunday night last night, what did you make of it? If you could assess everything from, you know, the walkout to the graphics, to what she was wearing, to how she acted, I mean, can you break it down for me? What did you make of that five-minute debut? It's just, um, I wasn't blown away, but I mean, it just doesn't really, it didn't really register to me too much other than, you know, I mean, her body language didn't look perfect, but, you know, a lot depends on, you know, it really depends on her talking and she didn't say a word, and it depends on, I mean, the people took to her as a star, but you knew they would. So that wasn't really a surprise. It's really her talking and, you know,

how well she does physically and how well they handle her storylines. But really, I think at the end, as far as her long, you know, from a business standpoint, she's super, super valuable. And because the key to this is, the real money here is not like it used to be in the old business. It's not selling pay-per-views, and to a degree at selling network subscriptions and not selling tickets to a live event because those tickets are going to sell, you know, to WrestleMania either way. Her value is in television rights fees, and all of a sudden, WWE, when they're going to these, you know, their television deals up at the end of 2019, so it's a year after UFC. It's essentially the same type of thing that UFC's working on, but UFC's going into their

negotiations right now with, to me, low momentum because the ratings are down in this, you know, you don't know about Connor McGregor's future and Rhonda's gone. John Jones, you don't know about his future either. Whereas WWE has just picked up Rhonda Rousey and the talk is she's going to be there for several years. All of a sudden I think that makes WWE far more valuable to television stations because it's like we've got this, you know, mainstream star that's going to get publicity for them that, you know, John Cena or any of these other wrestlers aren't going to be able to get. So I think that that's the untold value of her being in that company,

not to mention the fact that they can really merchandise her. Okay, so I'm not one to sort of give my two cents in an interview, but I feel like I can share this with you and we can conversate. My issues with it were, like, I love the symbolism. First of all, I love that they use bad reputation. Great song. It's the old UFC song. It's perfect.

She came out, and I love the symbolism of wearing the jacket, but she came across a bit as a little child wearing like a grown man's jacket. Yes. She had her hands kind of tucked in like she was shy. She's not the Rhonda who's walking out with the death stare that looks like she could kill anyone in the arena. She's kind of just happy to be there.

And I'm worried that she's going to play pro wrestler. And we've seen this in the past with MMA fighters who come over with celebrities who come over. You play pro wrestler because that's what you did as a kid. But as you know, better than anyone, you don't play pro wrestler. Brock does not play pro wrestler. he plays Brock Lesnar at the behemoth, as does all the greats.

I'm worried by her body language, by the way she points, by the little moments we've seen on camera, that unless she's paired with someone like Paul Heyman, and it blows my mind that she's not paired with Paul Heyman, at least as of now, that this may not go very well, that she may be a great athlete and competitor,

and she has that mean streak in her, but when it comes time to actually be on camera and play performer, that maybe she doesn't have it in her. And maybe we could look to her movie, career, which hasn't gone probably the way she wanted it to go as an indication that maybe she doesn't have that in her, and they need to protect her in that regard. Do you see what I'm saying? Believe me, I think the exact same thing you do. And, you know, having Paul Heyman come out with her for this one, I don't think you really needed it. But yeah, I've advocated the same thing,

that she doesn't need to talk. She needs to stand behind Paul Heyman. She needs to dress more of as a badass. You know what's funny is, Shanea Bazeler is doing an absolutely phenomenal job of playing badass shooter, pro wrestler. If Rhonda can do what Shana does, considering Rhonda's name is so much bigger, she'll be phenomenal with this. But yeah, I didn't see that. Shane has been,

Shana walks like she's, you know, like she's a badass, and Rhonda needs to, you right. She needs to walk to the ring exactly like she does at UFC. She needs to talk like she does it, UFC. She needs to treat this like it's UFC, not I'm playing pro wrestler. I'm going to do, you know,

I'm going to copy pro wrestler interview. You know, no, you're doing your serious interviews or else it's not going to work, yeah. The best thing they could do again is to put her with Paul because Paul has that connection to Brock. She is the female version of Brock. He will talk her up better than anyone. All she has to do is stand there, put in a mouthpiece and annihilate women in 60 seconds. Are you hearing anything about her pairing up with Brock? I mean, it just seems like too much of a no-brainer.

And yet, as of right now, it doesn't seem like that's the direction, at least as of last night. Maybe tonight things change. Are they talking? Are they considering this at all? I haven't heard anything from their side, but I, you know, I've written it. I've told people, I think that it's like, it's exactly what I would do. I mean, Paul Heyman's the perfect guy. He knows how to do it.

He did it with Brock. They have a connection. You know, I know that, you know, they know each other. And I think that, I mean, Paul doesn't want to manage anyone but Brock, but I think, you know, I think he even said this that he would make her an exception for Ronda because of the, you know, it's just the right exception to make. So I hope you're right. I hope that that's exactly what they do.

But I, you know, I haven't heard them going in that direction yet. Do we know who she will be wrestling? I mean, maybe I'm skipping a question here. She's going to debut at WrestleMania, right? There's no way she debuted before. Yeah, yeah. There's a would be ridiculous for her debut before WrestleMania now, yeah. Do we know who she will compete against?

No, I don't know for sure, but the idea is the tag match, you know, with her and a partner against Triple H and Stephanie with the whole idea that you can carefully work some spots with her and Stephanie, and you can have the two guys kind of carried the match,

and Ron, it just comes in for the hot tag, does a few judo moves, arm bar type of thing. You know, I mean, that's probably the way to do it with the debut.

Obviously, they would want the Rock as a partner, and I think that if the Rock was free and allowed to do it, that's a match he would come back for because he only wants, wants to come back if it's something super huge, and I think he would see that as super huge. But there's insurance reasons if he's working on a movie, the insurance companies don't want him doing it for the risk of injury.

You know, he's a leading star of the movie. If he gets hurt, it puts production back and things like that because that's happened before to one of his movies. And that's why he hasn't done a serious wrestling match in years. So I don't know what that, so I don't know what the situation is when it comes to that. You know, his movie career is bigger than pro wrestling. As far as somebody else, you know, I mean, Braun-Stromen is, probably the right guy to put in that situation just because he's their, he's their hottest, he's their hottest commodity.

But I haven't heard anything in that direction. That's just me speculating on what I would do. It was really Brian Alvarez last night because why do they put Braun in there? And I go like, that's the right idea. That's the guy. But I have, but that's us, not them. Do you like that idea? If it is a mixed tag match, do you think that's the way to go or should she be in there

in a singles match? I would put her in, I wouldn't put her in a singles match unless it's against somebody super experiences with Stephanie, no, because Stephanie's not experienced at all, even though they can choreograph, you know, certain spots and things like that. If she's good enough, I mean, what happens is it really depends on if she's good enough to do a match, and you've got, you know, there's, there's women there. Ossica's like the best one, and they've really been preparing Ossica for her. You know, Osska's now doing the arm bar as a finisher, and she's got an undefeated streak

going on a couple of years. So it's really like they've got somebody groomed for it. She's an excellent wrestler. She's been worked, she's worked with new people before when she was in Japan, so she knows how to work with new people. So I think that that's the right person for her first singles match. But, you know, so it just depends. If Stephanie doesn't want to wrestle, then Ossica's probably the way to go. And, but it feels a little early.

I think you can do that one later. Don't you think it's a bit silly to have Ronner Rousey, who at one point was maybe the most dominant fighter on the planet, regardless of gender, fight, you know, a mom who's an executive. Like she should be the killer. This is when the Floyd Mayweather stuff should come into play. Like she is not only the most dominant female in the world, she's the most dominant athlete in the world. She could beat up the men.

Like that's the way you should do it. Why are you having her fight an executive who's a mother of three who's in her, I don't know, late 30s, 40s? Like why Stephanie McMahon of all people? Why do you have her fight her? That doesn't make any sense to me. Well, who runs the company? You know what I mean?

So it's just an easy. thing? Yeah, yeah. I think that they did the angle with Stephanie, and, you know, the writers loved to do stuff with Stephanie. I think that, you know, yeah, if it was me, you know, I would put her in a mixed tag, but yeah, maybe you have Ossica or Charlotte Flare.

The Charlotte Flare's a good one, because Charlotte Flare's a good size. She's got the Rick Flare name. She's a very good talker. That's another one who they can put her with. There's several of the women that are good, but to me, Charlotte Flare and Osika are probably the two standouts for different reasons.

And if she's around, look, she's going to wrestle everyone on the roster at some point that's good just because if she's around there, she's going to have to go through all of them. But it's going to be interesting, like, when it comes time for her to lose, how they do it, and to, you know, to make sure to protect her, because with Brock, they didn't really, you know, they had Brock loses first match in, and I thought that was really stupid. But, you know, Brock is such a great performer that in the long run, it didn't really matter. but with her, you know, if she loses too early or doesn't dominate at first,

yeah, you're going to lose what makes her special. And they have a, sometimes they do that. You know, they kind of have like this idea, this is how you do pro wrestling. But with Ronda, it's got to be, you know, and I think they know it. You know, Ronda's got to be female Bill Goldberg. That's what I think.

Yes. She told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne on Sunday night, well, the interview came out Sunday night, they spoke beforehand, that she's all in here. Like, she's not just coming in to do like a one-off she's all in. What does that mean? Like, is she going to be on TV every night? Is she on TV tonight next week? Is she at house shows? What exactly does that mean? Do you know what the terms of the deal are?

I don't know what that means. No, I think that the best thing for her would be to a Brock Lesnar's schedule where she comes in, you know, maybe does, I don't know, 10, 15 TVs a year and you advertise for a week, Ronda's on TV this week, maybe, you know, three or four big shows a year. if she's out there, you know, if she's out there and she's going on the road and doing the 150 dates, I think that the specialness of her will wear out very quickly. I think if she's kept up, you know, always, always as a special attraction, I think it means more in the long run. You know, and, you know, they have done pretty well overall keeping Brock special. I can't say it's like 100%, but, you know, 85, 90% well.

So they have the game plan. You know, I mean, Brock's the game plan on what to do. So that's my impression of what they should do. And also, plus, if she goes on the road 200 days a year, she may get tired of this real quick. And she doesn't need it. You know, like these other women that are there and the other men that are there, I mean, they don't really have options. You know, the one who has options is John Seen, and he's not on the road 200 days year anymore either.

So, you know, it's like it's a very, very tough schedule for someone who has millions and millions of dollars in the bank, just like fighting becomes very, very tough when you're rich as compared to when you're poor. Did you see that ESPN interview? Yes, I did. One very telling 32nd part, the most telling for me,

was when Ramona Shelburne asked Rhonda about the two losses, Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. She pauses, she gets emotional, she says, I don't want to talk about it. So still, you know, two plus years after Holly, one plus year after Amanda Nunes, as she still cannot speak about the losses. And to me, this is just, it's hard for me to wrap my head around it because I'm not a

fighter. I haven't devoted my life to fighting. However, week in and week out, as you do, I see Daniel Cormier show up to a press conference and talk about his losses just as eloquently as he talks about his wins. I see Connor McGregor get tapped out and show up and dust himself off and countless others. The fact that she still can't get over these two losses to me just feels like a major character flaw and it still feels like she's still like harboring these these these these feelings to it like she's not over it she hasn't moved on yet and i don't know what to make of that but i just find that to be

fascinating what was your takeaway when you saw that but the same as it's been i mean you know like look at what happened when she lost to holly home and she basically she became a different person you know she went from being you know this person willing to do interviews and everything and then she just shut everyone off and everyone was her enemy and um yeah i mean like and and i and i I think it hurt her greatly. I think if she had handled it like Daniel Cormier did, I mean, just as an example. I think Ronda Rousey would be the most popular female athlete in the country today. With those losses, the bosses would have humanized her.

And people wanted to like her. I mean, I think that that's been the key to her success. But she definitely turned a lot of people off because, you know, we all lose it something. We all have our disappointments. And we got to get up. That's just life. And with her, it was just like, you know, the same thing. I mean, again, the same thing is like,

when I think about her judo, she went to the Olympics and got a bronze medal at 21 years old. You know, everybody that was in that Olympics that placed in whatever it was the top 10 in her weight class were 25, 26, 29, 30. Do you mean they were much older, much more experienced? On paper, you look and go like, okay, you got a bronze medal at 21. When you're 25, you're going to go in there and win a gold. She didn't even step on a judo mat for a year. And then when she finally did step on a judo mat, like after two days, she walked away and, you know, didn't do anything, you know, until she found M.M.A.

So it's like, she's wired. I mean, I think that probably helped her to get to be as good as she was in both of those sports. But it was, that character flies what killed her from being a gold medal, and judo, and it probably killed her from having, from being, you know, as popular as she was, far more popular and a far longer career in MMA, making far more money in being, you know, you know, getting far more endorsements and things like that. There was a potential for, you know, she was just gigantic in M.M.A. But she, in many ways I look back and go, you know,

and she, you know, after that first loss, change camps, things like that. There's so many things that I think of that it's like it's staring you're right in the face what you need to do and how you need to handle it and everything. And really, everything from that first loss on, it feels like it's, it's unfulfilled, you know, potential. to speak. Yeah, and there was a great opportunity last night with this interview to just address it once and for all, and now you can move on with your life. Yeah. I am, I'm in awe, when I'm at these press conferences, and it's late at night on a Saturday night after these long fights, and you see these men and women who come up and face the music and they're heartbroken

that they didn't fulfill their dreams. I'm in awe of these people. I find them so much more inspirational and admirable when I see them act like that as opposed to even when they're, you know, celebratory in a win. And, and that leads me to my name. next question. I put up a poll earlier and I know that I'm dealing, you know, mainly with MMA fans, but 24,000 people have voted and I asked how interested are you in Ronda Rouse's WWE career? Sixty-six percent said not at all. 20 percent said a little. So that's 86 percent that are kind of like, eh, 14 percent said very. To me, I'm wondering if the MMA fans are going to follow her like maybe they did with a Brock or a Ken Shamrock,

whatever the case may be, because maybe they feel like I just didn't connect with her at the I don't have an emotional attachment to her because she shut us off. She turned her back. She walked away and we never got to say goodbye. We never got to actually have some finality. Do you feel like maybe this won't do as well as far as bringing over the MMA fans as maybe WWE thinks? Yeah.

It's so hard to say because I think the Ronda thing isn't so much the MMA fans, but just the idea that we have this celebrity. And then from there, it depends on, it really depends on her performance at this. Like if she gets really good at this, You know, I think people will want to jump on that bandwagon and they'll forget about her loss. Because in pro wrestling, everyone's forgot about Brock's losses. They don't matter anymore. Right.

But if she's not good at it, it becomes cold at it, doesn't come across as enduring or compelling. Yeah, there's the chance that, you know, and there's a decent, there's definitely a chance that it won't work. Like I said, I think that the big thing, though, is, you know, the media buyers and what they think. and the stock and all that type of stuff. I mean, it's just a different thing. It's not so much wrestling fans. It's not MMA fans. I don't expect like the 1.1 million people who bought those Ronda Rousey pay-per-views

to be jumping and buying WWE, you know, WWB network, so to speak. Some will, you know, the people who love Ronda Rousey, like read her book and, you know, people who, you know, still feel like she's a hero to them, I think that they'll be interested in her. but generally speaking, you know, the casual MMA fan, I think they'll just, hey, look, she moved on,

she's been gone for a year, once she lost to Holly home, she fell apart. That's kind of like going to be what people say. Five years from now, do you think we look back, she's driving in WWU, she's Brock, she's a successful member of the roster, or do you think we look back and say, yeah, that didn't, like, you know,

I don't want to compare it to the King Moes of the world as far as Star Power, but King Moe Titor-Tees, many have tried this. You know, it's, that's, I, I hate to try, because I just don't, I just don't know. I would say, if you're looking at this, the odds are more, you know, the odds are going to be more non-successes than successes, like King Mo is like the example. And King Mo loved wrestling. You know what I mean?

Rampage, Rampage. And I thought Rampage was a can't miss as a wrestler because of his character. And the first week he wasn't, but he fell apart right away. He wasn't, I saw him on the TNA shows, and after a while I was just bored. So I think that the odds are, certainly if she's there every week, especially. But the odds are more towards not success in that regard of being like this giant superstar. You know, got to remember that Brock, when he went back, Brock had a great experience. He was already great at it going when he went back.

So that's a completely different animal. I mean, how many guys, you know, the only ones who I know that were really MMA fighters that went into pro wrestling that did really good, Don Frye, but that's the Japanese market. It's a completely different thing. In the U.S. market was, has anyone, Shana, you know, but Shane is still early in her career. She's doing very well, but she's still early in her career.

Matt Riddell, I guess, would be, Matt Riddell has phenomenal potential. Okay, now, but Matt Riddell, you know, he's like a duck to water in pro wrestling. I mean, I've seen like, you know, he's like Kurt Angles. It's like how many amateur wrestlers went in there with their medals and everything and went into pro wrestling. and so many of them, you know, like, were Brad Rangans who were just kind of there and no one

even remembers them. And then you got Kurt Engel, who was, you know, one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation. And so, like I say, the odds are probably against her, but, like, Kurt Engel may be the example. Like, if he can, if she can kind of muster, you know, and that's really down to her talking ability. At the end of the day, her talking ability and her ability to understand it and, like, you said it perfectly, not go out there and play pro wrestler, but be Ronda Rousey and pro wrestling.

The WWTV deal is up this year, right? In the 2019, but they're negotiating right now. Okay. They're in the midst, this is their negotiation year, so to speak. Great parallels between... Go ahead. They want to get the new deal done by the summer. Is there a frontrunner? Is it USA?

I'm... You know, the way I... What I'm hearing is they're talking about... talking to a lot of people. I think USA is going to do a lot to keep them. The way everything has sort of been talked about, if Fox loses UFC, then Fox will make a big bid for WWE. But if, you know, especially for FS1, because they have all that programming that they'll need to fill all those hours. So the best thing for WWE is for UFC to be off of Fox because then they're going to these two companies bidding against each other. And I think that's what they're hoping for.

So there's a great parallel there because here comes WWE. They get this house. whole name, recognizable star, mainstream star. She's on the cover of ESPN.com last night. This is a shot in the arm as you're trying to, you know, buzz heading into WrestleMania and you're in negotiations. And then on the flip side, you have the UFC who now doesn't have Ronda. Connor is MIA. Of course, we know about Brock, although his deal is coming up. We'll see what happens there. John Jones still MIA. And, oh, wait a minute. We get these Fox ratings. And it's their lowest overnight ratings in the history of the Fox series, a little over 1.5 million. When we said goodbye to Spike at the end of 2011 for the tough finale with Mayhem and Bisping,

that one drew over $3 million by the time the main event aired on Spike TV back in December of 2011. What is going on? What is your take on what's happening to the UFC? Don't you think that every move that the UFC makes right now is sort of centered around the TV deal like Kormier versus Mioch, TV deal? Nate Diaz coming back, TV deal, all this stuff. They need to be hot. They need to be buzzing right now, and it doesn't feel in January like that's really happening.

Maybe in July, like, they're setting up for it, but this is a little worrisome, right? I thought that was a really weak card that they put on, you know, as far as marquee values. And I was expecting a low number. But, yes, they feel, they're lacking the big stars. It's all about the big stars. And yeah, I think that the Stipe and Cormei fight,

to me, says, hey, look, we can't rest on our long. Laura's, we're going to have to do some, like, really interesting things this year. We've got to think out of the box, and we need to, we need to just get people back to being excited because the one thing that the last two years have really shown, I mean, it's like, it's not, the momentum of the company is the big thing, because in 2016, they were putting on these Fox cards and these FS1 cards and everything like that. And, you know, Ron and John Jones and Connor McGregor and Corny and even them, you know, none of them fought on those shows. They only fought on the pay-per-views, but they built up U.S.

to see to where those, you know, those TV ratings were up. And now when you've got nobody, the TV ratings are, you know, it's like there's a, the popularity of the sport is down without the big stars of the sport. I think that they rise everyone up. And I think that right now what they're trying to do is, you know, get that excitement back, which is somewhat, I mean, it's not completely gone, but it needs kind of a boost or a booster shock for sure. Yeah, April 7th is going to be great. I think the main event in March is great, although you look.

You look at the card on Saturday, the one in February, the Fox card you could say is even weaker than this one. So, you know, I don't know what to expect from that number. It could even be lower. It does feel like they will pick up second half of the year, but I'm very curious to see what happens because it feels like all their decisions are centered around trying to become a hot commodity as they enter the final months of these TV talks. This is great stuff, Dave. Thank you so much for this.

I really appreciate the insight. And by the way, last thing, do you think that she'll be on raw tonight? I haven't heard a word, but I'm thinking if she was that they would push really hard that she is, and I haven't heard that. So, you know, she is in the middle of filming a movie, and maybe that was this. But I do think Ross going to get a hell of a TV rating tonight, especially the first hour, because I think people are going to assume that she is. Thanks so much for doing this, Dave.

I appreciate it. Looking forward to your coverage later on this week as far as Rhonda and everything that went into this at the Wrestling Observer, wrestling observer, wrestling observer.com, the newsletter, all the places we like to check out your stuff. Appreciate this very much. Okay, thanks. All right, there he is. Dave Meltzer, the one and only, the legend himself. No one knows pro wrestling. Better than Dave Meltzer. And yes, I know that, I mean, there, I saw some people say, oh, this is Mayweather-Runger. I mean, it's a little different, obviously, but let's not kid ourselves. Rhonda is a massive name in our sport. She still is a massive name in our sport. It's going to take a long time before she stops being a massive name in MMA because she is an MMA fighter. And her whole persona is going to be based around that. And so this is intriguing to someone like myself. I want to see how they handle her. have some thoughts as I shared with Dave. I also saw some people say, oh, you sold out. Why would you even talk about this after she did you dirty? Yeah, yeah. Honestly, Rhonda did do me dirty.

She did do some things that I didn't appreciate that kind of mess with my career. She refused to talk to me in Melbourne. You know, the Fox people weren't happy about it. UFC wasn't happy about it. When I did absolutely positively nothing and I addressed all this episode 333, I did zero, nothing. And I was told I was in the penalty box and it was ridiculous. And I feel like I've always been great to her. But as I've said with other cases, I don't take it personal. If she wanted to come on the show tomorrow, I would talk to her. Of course, I'm going to talk about this. I don't have a grudge against her. This is a big story. And I can't allow personal feelings or personal experiences affect how we cover these stories. And so I wish her the best. It was great to see the

smile on her face. It really was. You could tell she was genuinely happy and excited to be there. And for someone who's been through a lot in her life, that's good to see. She doesn't want to fight. I don't think she should fight. I don't think she necessarily owes MMA anything. I do think it would be hoover to speak about what happened. And I do think it's very telling that she won't talk about her two losses. And I do think it's hard to relate to how she handles those two losses because we all go through crap. We're all dealing with stuff. We're sick. We lose our jobs. We lose loved ones. We all go through a lot worse than losing fights where you got paid a lot of money. Yeah, it sucks. Yeah, it's embarrassing. I get that. I get it. We all stumble in life.

But to not be able to address it two years later, to me, is very unrelatable. It's easier to relate to Dominic Cruz, the picture I put up there, which, again, I've said before, is not the greatest picture of all time, but it represents something. It represents dusting yourself off. I was even talking to my kids about this on Saturday. My son kept falling and skating. And I quoted Rocky. I said, it's not how many times you fall down. It's how many times you get up.

That's what we relate to. That's what we can rally around. And I think it's something that they're going to have to work on. I think it's something they're going to have to get, you know, try to get people behind. This person did not handle their loss as well, or at least the way we'd like to see our stars handle their setbacks. And so how are you going to get past that? Over time, I think that will fade away. But for me, like, I was sitting there watching that interview and I'm like, okay, how's she going to handle this?

And she can't. And that just says that it's still fresh. And how is that going to affect her moving forward? They put her with Paul Heyman. You don't have her say a word. you have her be a stone cold killer you have her stare down everyone you have her go in there and win in 60 seconds all right now you're on to something but if it's going to be acting and things like that i just i just don't know if that's there i hope i'm wrong i wish her the best i think it's going to be cool i'll be paying attention from time to time and i've certainly heard you guys loud and clear via the poll i appreciate you all weighing in but i do think it's a story worth keeping our eyes on not dominating the headlines not dominating our conversations here on this show or the beat but you know this is a interesting stuff. All right. What a show. 538. Still a little more to go. And how about this? You see this right here? We're going to be doing it on boxing over on Twitter in a matter of

moments, the MMA after hour. Look at this. This is like one of 10. Do you know what this is? This is the Rory McDonald plastic cell. You know the one? The one we talked about with Rory yesterday. I have a lot of information about this. You know how excited I am? I've been staring at this. I haven't taken it out of the box. Look at it. It's incredible. This is the greatest figurine in the history of figurines. Look at this. It was hand delivered earlier today. We're actually going to open it live on Twitter right there at live.

dot Twitter.com slash M.A. Fighting. Not only that, we're going to be answering your questions. Not only that, we've got Rickspicks. There's a lot more show left. There's a lot to talk about. I can't wait to open this. We're going to do it live on the air like my man unboxed therapy. Look at that.

Boom. Sculpted and hand painted by Danny Tran. Box art designed by Gian Jalang. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. plastic cell, big cartel.com, the roaring McDonald. It is here. We're going to open it

on the MMA after hour right after this. Stand by. Here we go. Let's do it. And we are back. Time now for the M.A. after hour.

Yes. exclusively on Twitter. Live.com. slash M.A. fighting. This is it. Plastic cell. Look at it.

Look how beautiful it is. Oh my God. Look at this thing. Can't wait to open it. I'm going to do it with New York, Rick. I think he should be here. here because I think he helped get this done. So let's go to everyone's favorite segment.

Time now, my friends, for Rick's Picks. Here we go. M.MA fans, it's time for Rick's Picks. Got my body armor here. Rick's Picks are lots of fun. Yeah. What a show? 13 guests?

Is that a record? Wix Picks. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's the moment you've all been for. Can't stop, won't stop. It's the new craze taking the world by storm. from the Vox studios in beautiful New York City. It's time for

Rick Spinks. Yeah, here we go. Rick's Picks in the house. How are you, Mr. Ricks Picks? How are you, Mr. New York, Rick? I'm doing great. How about you? What a show.

Great show. I feel like I just ran a marathon. But I keep going, my friends. What else we got? I mean, anyone else want to call it? I'm going to call it. Ian Velasquez. You got to love it.

What do we do about this? Can I open it? It's my first Ricks pick. So let's just go that way. Okay. So we'll kick off Rick's picks. I've been staring at it for almost... Okay, okay, okay, hold your horses.

I heard how excited you're getting. But Instagram from Danny Tran. I like that little transition there. That was nice. Nicely done, Austin. Well done. Instagram here from Danny Tran, aforementioned. Right at the bottom of the show, you mentioned him.

Him and his brother started Plastic Cell in 2012. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention them because last week I didn't do my appropriate shout out to Danny and his brother for making it happen. But they're actually the ones who created Plastic Cell, the mold for the figurine, and then they sculpt and hand paint every single one of these. So they're not mass produced. It is you're getting a hand-sculpted and hand-painted thing every time. So that one that you have on your desk was made by the two brothers at Plastic Cell.

So shout out to Danny and his brother. It's absolutely incredible stuff. Is this what Christmas morning feels like? I think it's time to open up. Who designed the box? And shout out to Gian. Who came over today. The freaking guy.

Yeah. Tell him. Tell him what happened. We had Gian in studio today. Dropped off some incredible art. You've probably seen them doing work with Fightland and Reebok most recently. Excuse me. One of the true designers that people are, you know,

clamoring for he sought after in the fight space he did that incredible romack yeah where's my francis shirt i don't know did you take it it's it's under the desk area we can't just leave things just sitting around um but he yeah he did the the francis and gone who walk out shirt actually yeah might have been the most recent place to him but uh he did the box design for that so two two great artists coming together i love your voice but let's uh let's speed this up i got i got open this all right here we go we're opening it here it is romay Mac box. I just can't wait to touch it. You know what I mean? It's just... Oh my God. Look, yeah, I'm opening it up right here. You got a good shot. Let's go on camera.

There it is. I'm opening it up. There's the box. There's nothing. Oh, it says plastic cell right there there on the box. This is what he does. This is what he does. Something like that. My kids watch these YouTube videos that have like 64 million views of people opening up Kinder Surprises. Have you seen these videos? It's... I'm not there yet. My daughter's too young. It's madness. So hopefully this one gets at least, you know, 10 views. So here we go. the box. Do I even want to know what a kinder surprise is? Probably not. Not yet. Chocolate eggs with the little toys.

Okay, sure. What's wrong with you? There's a thing to opening chocolate eggs? Yes. Oh my God, this is unbelievable. This is on... Okay, here it is. I'm taking it out of the box. There's some confetti thingies. Wow. This is packing peanuts for those. This is unbelievable. Wow. I am blown away.

I am absolutely blown away. the actual detail on this thing, the blood. Can you see it? Can you see that? Wow. I actually feel like lightheaded right now and it's not because I've been talking for almost five hours. This is, this is, it's unbelievable. It's like it's real blood on his face. The cuts. All done by hand. Oh, this is Joe Rogan one too. Did you know that? Yeah, they've got a few in the fight space, big fight fans, lots in the horror space. plastic cell hand-painted sculpture. This was hand-painted.

Yeah, and hand-crafted. Like all the clay put on. What an honor for Roy McDonald, eh, to get this? I mean, that's, and that moment, it is truly one of a kind. Look at that murderers row right there. See that? All Bellator. That's true.

With some UFC ties. Everyone has fought on the UFC except for Mr. Fjodor. Well, this is something. Well, thank you. Thank you to the guys over at Plastic Seward. Thank you to Gian. Am I saying that correctly, John? GN.

Gn. Thank you to Danny. Thank you. I mean, this is an honor. This is one of the greatest things I've ever received. I appreciate. I'm going to cherish it. And you can best believe I will not be keeping it here in the studio because those thieves in the office, not the ones who work on the show.

Other people like to come in like scavengers. I see your shows on SB Nation where you take my stuff. I see it. I see it loud and clear. You ain't taking this one. I'll tell you that much. Or an in studio guest. walking off. And that too. Yeah, where's my Tiffany Van Seuss

Bobblehead? She said you was sending it to me. Someone probably... Someone probably stole it. No, no. No. No. Stop. You know what? You're making it sound like a real terrible place to work with all these people stealing things. That's not the case. Okay, okay, I'm sorry. We only work with the best of the best, and I'm sure it's on it. I'm sure it's in the mail, as they say. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay. Second Rick's pick. This is from WWE's Twitter. There it is.

I feel like we talked about it enough, but not enough at the same time. I can do a whole show on that. You can't say enough about this moment, but we have... I've kind of given my thoughts at this point. What are your thoughts? Did you watch it?

I did watch it. What did you think? I didn't watch it live, but I did go back and watch it. Okay, the five minutes... Crazy, I watch it live, you didn't. I did not. The tables have turned.

So what do you think? Well, there's a few things to think, like to unpack. One, I didn't believe for a second that she was not going to appear. They were overplaying. I've never heard a movie that, you know, leaving to film a movie more publicized in my entire life

than going to film the Smile 22 movie. Yeah. They could not have made it more obvious that this was going to happen. So I wasn't caught off guard when I saw, I saw the activity starting on Twitter. When I went back to watch it, I wasn't,

it wasn't what I expected. Rhonda seemed a little bit happy go lucky, and I don't blame her. This seems to be something she wanted for a long time. But it kind of ruins the badassery of it. With her being so smiley and so happy and so happy go lucky, it doesn't make, I don't think it has the intended effect,

but I think athletically, you can't help but be excited about this. There's no doubt in my mind that, she's going to have the tools to excel as an athlete when it comes to professional professional wrestling. But we'll see how the acting comes along, which is a crucial part of it. Although, you know, Brock is not exactly known for his performances.

He has somebody like Paul Heyman to help him along with that. Ultimately, I mean, it made huge waves. I think that's the intention. and I think she will definitely take it seriously, get herself in the best possible wrestling shape she can. Are you interested? I'm definitely interested. Are you going to watch?

Not any more than I would typically. Like it's not going to be something that if I hear- You watch WrestleMania? Yeah, but I would have watched that anyway. You know what I mean? Like the pay-per-views or whatever things show be on, I will probably have been watching anyway. Like I would have watched the big ones.

What is it? SummerSlam. SummerSlam and WrestleMania I probably would have watched those anyway but I'll definitely be more interested

now that Ronda Rousey's involved I don't know I'm worried I'm excited for her I think it's cool great it's good to have her back you know it's good to have her back in any capacity

of course as MMA fans I'd love to have her back in the UFC right I think the UFC would love to have her back I'm just worried about the way they're going to go they're going to go

Stephanie McMahon and I don't know about that they're going to have her you mentioned happy go lucky yes that's a good way to describe her her demeanor here's the thing you should have been happy go lucky like when no one was in the arena like do the walk

get it out of your system but you're not like it was weird it was like at first she's Rhonda showing up as a fan because we've seen that look on her face when she's been a fan and then she looked like Rhonda playing pro wrestler and then she tried to put the mean face and then the pointing like

I've never seen pointing look so forced first of all why do you have to point We know, like, just look up. You don't have to point. We know what you're talking about. Yeah, but isn't camera shot? Enough with the pointing. Enough with it.

I don't know if that's specific to her. They're all doing that kind of point thing. It's crazy. What do you have to point? It's like, here's, you know, I don't know, James Hardin, and he plays against the Warriors pointing to the rafters where the NBA championship banners hang. Like, come on, we know what you want. We know what you're here for.

Just show up. Shake some hands and walk out. That's all we need. I'm okay with the pointing, but it just, the vibes felt off to me. It was a force point. The vibe wasn't right for what this was supposed. If you're not going to speak, you have to be kind of like imposing. That's kind of the point.

You have to, you know, make your presence feel larger than that. And it was too light. It felt the light, you know? Yeah. But it was cool. I mean, look, what a win for WWB. Of course. Get all this coverage on ESPN.

You get the sit-down interview. You get the Breaking News Sports Center. you know, it was big. By the way, I noticed, did you see that? Ramona. Yes, I spotted her sitting in the front row. Yeah. Can't get it by me.

Can't get it by me. But yeah, big news. We'll see what happens. Interesting. It couldn't be, I don't think there's any way that it goes wrong. Because I think as, you know, as long as the invent, this is not somebody who will go by the wayside.

the investment in her, I imagine, will be big. And typically when that happens, you can at least guarantee some level of success. If you have the company's support, I feel like there's a level of success that's kind of baseline. I just think that poll that we can get to later by the poll, I mean, I read the results. I don't sense, sometimes I feel like the fans will get behind, like, again, if Connor showed up WWE, I think people might lose their mind. And I do think that people would say like, oh, you turn back because his situation's a little weird right now too, right? If Habib showed up, right?

People would be like, okay, this is fun. But I got a lot of people saying, I don't care about this. She turned her back. I don't want to hear about it. And no one feels more on, like no one gets their panties in a bunch more than MMA fans when you talk about pro wrestling. They take it so personally.

Like, oh, my God, I'm going to unfollow you. And I'm going to like, come on, relax. There is a connection, get over it. But they just take it so personally. they get so upset, so all up in arms. Ooh, pro wrestling, how dare you? It's like they're insulting their moms. Relax.

It's a story. We're covering it. It's crazy not to cover it. Of course, we're not going to cover every single step of the way, but I think right now it's a story worth following, and we'll see what happens. I think overall, WW has to think it's a success because it was covered the way it was,

but now comes the real work. Now let's see actually how she performs. Yeah. I thought this was cool. To continue on this, this is the only other thing from this moment was Travis Brown sitting in the living room

with his boys and we hear her music hit, he's reacting. Can we get the audio up on that? Do you think they really didn't know? I mean, they're acting like they didn't know and he in the post is saying

that he hit it from them. Pretty awesome. genuine moment there Travis come out Do you think Travis debuts? No, I don't Speaking of fake Oh

Speaking of fake fighting Rampage Posting to his Instagram A run-in With Rashad Evans I'll read the caption Of all the places I see Sugar Rashad Evans sweet ass

On my vacation In the same effing club I better not see him When I leave this B word Yeah, this was... But it does lead us to talk about Rashad Evans. I reported on Saturday, there is a fight on the table from Michael Bisping.

There is a fight on the table from Michael Bisping on March 17th in London, a retirement fight. He talked last week on his show about weighing an option that there's some people telling him say goodbye, some people telling him, you know, take the fight. And it's Rashad Evans. And so how do we feel about this?

Rematch of UFC 78 validation. In fact, the first pay-per-view I ever attended. I like that fight. You like that fight? I like that fight, yeah. Why? Both in the right place in their career, I feel like. Don't want to see another Bisbing-Gastelam-esque matchup.

I like Rashad and Bisbing there. And you can sell the rematch story. No issue with it. I think there's quite a few options, but this is one I would definitely be okay with. Too soon. too soon? Too soon. How much longer are we going to wait?

What do you mean? Do it in July. Oh, you're talking about the timing of the fight is too soon, not that that fight specifically would happen too soon. Yes, I understand why the UFC wants it because they don't have a main event for this card. It's January 29th. And by the way, we're going to find out soon because, you know,

the tickets won't sell this week. So I would imagine they'd have to have something. Although they have announced, you know, gone on sale with tickets without main events as recently as St. Louis and Orlando. So that's not out of the ordinary, but I just feel like it's too soon for Mike.

That's fair enough. I don't hate the matchup, it's fine. The matchup is what I'm kind of focus on. Why can he have his moment in London, wave to the crowd, play the music, walk to the cage, thank you for all the support. I want to tell you guys that I got one fight left in me.

I'll be back. I hope you'll be there to support me. If not, I hope you'll watch it. Like address the crowd. Have your moment. moment, but don't fight just yet. And do it the next trip there? Next trip, do it Vegas, do it, you know, I don't know where...

Can't do it in Vegas. You have to do it there. You don't. You don't. You don't. You don't. You don't. Worry about your health. Guess what? In 10, 15 years, your brain doesn't care if you had your last fight in London or Vegas or anywhere else. Take a break. It means something. I get it. It means something. But they're going to come back if you want to wait. That's what I'm saying. Wait till they come back. You have to do it there, though. Too soon. You can't tell that crowd.

Hey, thanks for all the support guys. I'm going to go fight now in Vegas. Why not? They do it all the time. They do it all the time in pro wrestling. They do it all the time. Like, what's his name? Who came on the mic?

It was UFC 219 and said, Who wants to see me fight in, in Perth? That one over like a... That was the weirdest. Because it's like, why are you asking these people if they want to do Perth? Yeah, you can't do it. You cannot address the crowd

and not do the fight. Just say thank you for everything. Let him have his moment. Yeah, you can have that moment. But then when you do do that fight, it has to be back there. All right. I just feel like it's a bit too soon. That's fair enough.

I don't mind the matchup. I just feel like the actual timing is too soon. Fair? Okay. We move to the world of basketball. Oh. What's this? A lot of social media activity.

Oh, I didn't see this. The Charlotte Hornets here. We see Michael Carter Williams. Friend of the show. Friend of the show. Guest of the show last year. I have no idea. doing a challenge where

Derek Brunson is whispering and Michael Carter Williams has to figure out what he's saying. This is the most bizarre challenge you've ever seen. It must be something they do because they also did one with Dwight Howard and Derek Brunson.

I only picked this one specifically because our boy, Michael Carter Williams evolved, Derek Brunson involved. I like the NBA MMA thing. In fact, we're going to continue this here. We're going to go to our next one. Yes, yes. Which is Dwight Howard

Post-game interview I'm gonna knock you out when I see you Dwight Howard Telling Tyron Woodley That he's gonna knock him out when he sees him I love that they prompted him with this question Tyron Woodley And he sold it

You know what I like Dwight Howard His MMA I've seen him at a bunch of UFC Yeah even when he was with the Rockets I remember He was always into the MMA stuff Okay You know what the fight is. Dwight Howard versus Derek Lewis.

Remember Derek Lewis on the show? Called him soft and everything. That's the fight. Come on. I mean, what is he probably? He's probably like 610, 265 or something. Dwight's got to be a legit 7-4th. Oh, really?

You think? Yeah. I think he was always kind of... I'll check it out. But you never know with those heights in the NBA. Okay, more from the NBA. This one we're just going to throw up. It's a longer clip, but we have Tyron Woodley.

court side with the Atlanta Hawks No no no he's with the the hornets 6-11 it says for Dwight Oh yeah you're right and then He's gonna call out He's gonna call out the Hawks mascot in this one But this one's too long

I'm just calling this Look at Tyrant's selling the fights huh I'm more interested if he had called out Dwight Howard though That's what I want to see Yeah yeah yeah If Dwight's gonna call you out Oh he picked Derek Brun

That's okay. We can't be perfect on all of them. All right. We see the Hawkshead of nice three. Okay. I like all this NBA MMA. This is our last one involved with that.

You mentioned Eric Koch too. Here we go. We got the fan cam. Oh, wow. And his Wonderboy is next to Chris Wyatman dancing. Look at this. Look at the moves.

Wow, Wonderboy. Well done, Wonderboy. Get it down with the rest. Although they could use some more fans in the arena, that's for sure. They've got the section to themselves. But well done. Charlotte really showing the UFC some love. Yeah, look at Wyden.

All shy. Byrdman enjoying it. Yeah, why is he up there? Well done, Wonderboy. Yeah. And then this one from Shams, courses. Oh, you know what?

This one's not about MMA. How did this get here? Is this a joke? This one wasn't, you know what? I must have been scrolling through my Twitter. That's hilarious. Shall we talk about joking Noah? They're parting ways.

I'm excited about that. The Knicks. I mean, they paid him $72 million. I apologize, but I also don't apologize. Look at New York, Rick. Sleeping at the wheel, throwing in basketball. Listen, I appreciate it. I don't know if you were trying to rub it in that they signed up to the bad deal.

Oh, okay. That's cool. It's very purpose. By the way, this is a great deal. I mean, I'm thrilled. If they actually get rid of him? Was Noah not one of the guys, though, that, like, I felt like. Get out of here.

No, no, no, when they signed him, the contract was bad, clearly. But when they signed him, I thought, like, he's a passionate, he's the type of player you want on a winning squad. And then it just, like, deteriorated from there. Yeah, I don't know. The contract was bad.

I'm good. I'm good, bro. You're good with Noah. It's over. Thank you. Thanks for joining us. It was great. I appreciate it.

Love the hair. It's all good, bro. How about Stephen Jensen, tweeting? Got to love Travis Brown with a bone yard of beer. Cherry Piranha with the kids you gotta love it Look what better way

to watch the Royal Rumble maybe you drink a beer per per entrant What is it 30 30 per? I mean they're on the West Coast also so it was like that was like 730

Listen You gotta get yourself lubricated for these things Okay We go back to the MMA world Okay Daniel Cormier posting to Twitter Boom

Hashtag Dreamchase We see him screaming here in the back. Hashtag Dream Chaser, hashtag U.S.C. 226. Hashtag 2-8 champ. Hashtag hashtag gangsta shit. Hashtag. Oh, no, not hashtag. Finally, let's go.

Gangsta shit is the funniest one. Yeah. Gangsta shit for DC. I'm feeling it. Not ter. The one thing, I mean, I love the fight. I think they made the right call. Yeah.

As he said, no clear-cut contenders. Yeah, we could talk about, we could pull anyone. There's always going to be someone. But they need a fight like this. It's exciting. It's never been done with the big boys. You get the tough coaches. They'll be entertaining,

although the tough thing is kind of gravy to me. I don't love the tough. I mean, listen, is gravy. Like, however we get this is fine. I would say that you lose momentum, but I don't even really watch tough anymore, so it's neither here nor there for me. It's the undefeated season, whatever it is.

There's probably two more, and then we'll see what happens with the new TV deal. But the one thing I couldn't help but think about was like, what is John Jones think about all this? This was his fight. This was his destiny.

This was the opportunity that he was going to get after beating Daniel Cormier. Now here's his rival in that spot. I mean, I can't imagine. I cannot imagine. I think he's sleeping okay with it. You think so?

Because this is a shot when you're not even in the game. If he comes back. Yeah. Can you imagine DC wins? It's his shot. It's still his shot. Imagine DC wins and he fights John Jones, third fight, last fight in the heavyweight division.

As long as John Jones can mind his peas and cues and figure out a way to come back, I don't think he's lost much. I really don't. Which is crazy to say because of how long he's been out, because of the circumstances of why he's been out, because of how he's tarnished

what was due to be the best legacy in MMA, I really think he could come back and jump right into the same spot, similar to how he did. We'll see. I mean, he could be out for three more years. Could be. So it's hard to really gauge at this point.

They seem confident that he won't get the book thrown at him. I just couldn't help but think about that. Sure. This was him. This was supposed to be. And how about this? I mean, you're a PR extraordinaire, right?

Sure. You come out with news of this magnitude on a Friday night on the FS1, I believe, Wayans, which let's be honest, there's no intrigue in those shows anymore because the wayans happened in the morning. Right, all the suspense is on. You do get the stair downs.

That's what I've always said, you know, is the last, look, those matters to me. You're going to be on Fox. Yes, it was a low rating, but it was still 1.5 or so. Yeah. Why don't you, wait 24 hours to announce this. I don't know. Maybe...

A split screen interview? Makes no sense. I agree with you completely. That would have been the time. That would have been the platform. Maybe there was something logistically going on those behind the scenes where they had to get this out because of X, Y, Z to... That's the only thing I can think of. In terms of determining when to do this, I don't understand why Friday was better than Saturday at the fight.

I don't know. But Friday night, that's, you know that. That's like the classic Friday night dump. You bury it. Yeah. That's when you put out bad news. that's when you put out Brock Lesnar has failed a drug test

that's when you put out John Johnson's film like the Usada ones they're the classic for that you don't put out the great news you put that out on Saturday night when everyone's watching if there's a you're being forced into that's the only thing I can

say but look either way they're filming this week we get it and I don't love having to wait for it because of filming the reality show but he's banged up anyway we'll get a good fight

and that's all that matters at the end of it. Okay. Interestingly, a guest of the show, I wasn't expecting to have him on, so we've asked him about it, but like always, Kane Velasca saying, like always,

I'm going to be in the gym every day to help my brother, Daniel Corme, become the next heavyweight champ at UFC 226. Once he wins, things could get interesting. And new,

hashtag and new hashtag, we are ak. Hashtag, I'm going to get my belt back. But he's going to get his belt back. Yeah. But if Cormier has the belt, is he still going to get his belt back? Well, Cormier says he's going to retire.

So, like, in a – literally one year from now, 13 months from now, right? Yeah, you could wait it out. You could figure out. He gets a fight in July. I don't know if that – He could also just look, hand over the heavyweight belt. That too. Here's the big story.

I vacate this belt. Fair, but here's the story. Kane Velasquez didn't stand in his way. And came – you know what I mean? And that's worth noting. that's very commendable. We've had situations that this has gotten close

where we've been close to this. The only concrete situation that I can remember where this played out in this specific fashion was Rashad Evans, John Jones, where that opportunity was

given to John Jones and it put him in shaky ground with Rashad Evans. In this case, we saw how these two have handled it And it is clear that they are their teammates and they are not going to fight for this. At least at this point, you know,

who knows what happens once the belt is in his hands, but I believe it. I believe that they will not fight each other for the belt. And for Daniel Cormier, I feel like he has options that he doesn't need to impede Cain in that way. And for Cain, I feel like he wants to help Daniel get there and knows that that could be a limited amount of time. That could be something that, you know, is no longer errone.

block once he's ready to come back. Who knows? But I believe them when they say they're not going to fight. Me too. Robert Whitaker posting to Instagram, not much here, but he does say pumped to get back to work. Hashtag will be back stronger than ever. We've heard a lot of things about, you know, the condition that he's in. Yeah.

Good to see him back. Yes. At least on Instagram. Yeah. Still not, you know, revealing much. Yeah. But hopefully once they have that fight, I mean, the fight is really. rapidly approaching it's two weeks away.

So hopefully we'll get some clarity either before or after the fight, what exactly they're fighting for. But we have Robert Whitaker back in the gym. We also have returning Nate Diaz, at least to Instagram. Neidea saying on Instagram, sick of sitting around waiting for you

efforts to do shit, there's no excitement in this fight shit. Step your games up. I'll see you around May or June. Sincerely the real champ middle finger. Yeah. We had tons of people react to it. Eddie Alvarez on this show. Who does he fight? Now who do you want to fight?

What's your prediction? He will fight Connor McGregor. Yeah. I'd love to see the Eddie fight. I thought it was interesting. He posted all these pictures on Instagram. It was like, did you notice like he posted one,

20 minutes and then another? And then it led up to this. I want to hear from Nate. And sure, I'm selfish and biased. And I'd love to hear him on this show. But I just want to hear it. I know if the tweets like, what's going on? What are you thinking?

What do you want? Let's talk. Listen, when you're at the top of the game, all you need to do is hop on the Instagram. Nate Diaz, Connor McGregor. All it is is, yeah, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of like the Instagram fun. I'm tired of like the mixed messages and the game. Like just, let's, what's going on?

Who doesn't like to see a Connor McGregor car or watch every once in a while? I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it. Give me something. Let's talk. I think this is more of something, though, than when we've been getting This is good. But I want more. I'm with you.

Come on the show, Nate. Come on the show. Let's do it. We'll do a little chat. Okay. We also saw somebody stepping more into the public eye. Chuck Liddell booked as a contestant for Celebrity Big Brother. I believe run our test also on this season.

Excited about that. You know how I feel about reality television. Although I have my love for the challenge. I have my specific niche there when it comes to that. I wish he was doing that show instead. Yeah. But good for Chuck. I like this.

I like seeing Chuck, you know, out there. I've never seen a single second of Big Brother or Celebrity Big Brother. I have seen, I want to say one episode like 10 years ago of Big Brother. Wasn't really my thing. Didn't really do it. The only time I saw was when Ricky Jervais had that show, I think it was called Extras, and he was on the Celebrity Big Brother. And then he quit.

but wasn't that a fictional show? Yeah, yeah, but that's the only time I actually saw any variation of celebrity big brother. I'm with you. I don't know much about it. I know, I don't know if she still is. I believe Julie Chen was the host of CBS,

but good for you, Chuck. We go throwback. I don't typically post old stuff. I don't typically post throwbacks, but Max Holloway posted this this week. Picture of him, young Max Holloway with the captioned blonde hair. don't care.

Second kickboxing match. Hashtag, Lil Evil, hashtag throwback. Yeah. I mean, the picture, if you're listening and not able to see it,

go on Max Holloway's Twitter and see the picture of... Max Holloway does it right. Slim shady Max Holloway. He does it right, you know? Yeah, he knows how to play the game for sure. Yeah. I like Max.

Okay. This was talked about. Oh, yes. Now we're going to show it. Yes. There it is. Boom. Machenko.

getting his grappling on with the caption if not oh he's asking another boxer if he's willing to fight him at 135 and then saying if not he'll go win a belt in the UFC while he's waiting he also did this thing where he would like dunked in

cold water scary stuff freak athlete incredible reflexes boom boom Roy Jones Jr. today on the show mentioning him as one of the ones to watch obviously

yeah yeah look that boom. I imagine if he took it seriously, he could probably do quite well. I'm not even talking about MMA. I think just grappling, he would probably be fantastic.

Okay. Picture with no caption, but I think the picture itself says it all. Look at those pecks. Let me describe for you. Look at that bad. A shirtless Sage Northcut sitting on the back,

I'm guessing, like in the cab of a Ford truck, on the phone with somebody. Don't know what. No F to give. But, but, uh, what a G.

This is the real deal. This is what I want out of my Caged. Look at that. A little edge. But I will, I would also say that last week spurred the idea of Sage Northcutt being on a reality show and I would.

Yeah, I know, I know. You're still buzzing about that one. I want, I want that to happen very badly. Look, maybe Celebrity Big Brother comes calling. Maybe the challenge comes calling. I want to see Super Sage. to the reality show circuit.

Okay. Paige Van Zat? Getting engaged. Mazeltov. Her fiance down on one knee. And of course she said yes. Congratulations to Paige on her engagement.

It would be nice if she came on the show and I could say to her in person. I heard she was sick last week. So, Austin Vanderford, fellow MMAFi. Yes, also a fighter. Yes. Mazeltov to the Young

couple very young. How old is this page? Was she 24? I don't know about that. Is that too young? 1994, so 23. Turning 24 in March. All right. Oh, you gave me crap. That's all, come on. 24 yet. She is, she's a young buck. 24. Although I got married, I got engaged when I was

25. So, no, not the... This whole thing of like, you... Look, this is life. I don't know. For some reason, I still picture like 19. She's grown up so fast. She's still got so much spirit. Yeah. She doesn't face the crushing realities of life.

Of life. Well, I wish her the best and him the best. Well done. Congratulations. Way to get it done, Austin. Austin? No, is it Austin? What's his name?

The guy's name? It is. Oh, it is. Okay. But I was looking at our awesome. Yeah, yeah. Well, way to get it done as well. Last thing here, our friend's secret moves of M.A., Justin,

last week I featured a comic. This week I'm featuring his comic. He did a comic featuring Darren Elkins. I find it interesting that these MMA comics follow one subject. They follow one person. Last week, it was Chuck Liddell. This week it's Darren Elkins. Maybe an overall MMA comic.

I don't know. Maybe that exists also. You got to follow one guy. No, I feel like that's too. There was a comic. Narrow. That's right. The Cage Heroes.

No, no, no. There was Cage Hero, but there was another one. we used to have it on the desk I drank a blank what it was called a friend of mine who was on G4 Blair wrote it

anyway there are some MMA comics I need a contemporary one yeah I don't know if you're gonna maybe Justin can do it maybe our artist from last week I mean it's pretty damn contemporary

it was like two years ago maybe three no two years ago I don't think so maybe. Are you big comic guy? I follow the culture. It's actually kind of like wrestling for me. I follow a lot of the culture.

I try to keep up with the news and the things like that, but don't actually consume the product myself too much. Ah, yes. I'm more fascinated by the culture and try to immerse myself in that than necessarily like sitting there and opening page to page, the comic. Same way I wouldn't like sit there and watch like

a wrestling thing, but I'll every podcast or every news article about it, I'll consume it. Very similar with the comics. Blair Butler, formerly of G4, had a comic series called Hart about an MMA fighter. There we go.

It was a good comic. Shout it to him. No, Blair Butler, she's a girl. Oh, shout out to her. What, Blair can't be a guy's name? What else we have? What else? That's it for Rick's. Okay, let's go rapid fire here.

We don't go out all night. All right? Yeah. Geez. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keeping me here forever. I mean, look, I thought you'd be excited. We just had a great show.

We did have a great show. We broke our streak two in a row where we had no shows. And I tried to fight, you know, the bad juju with adding more guests as the show went on just to fight. Yeah, that was the way to do it for sure. That was less risk. Can I Velasquez, you know? Yeah, the notoriously difficult guests to get. Let's just throw him in wild card.

Every week I try to top myself. I feel like on paper this one was already next level. This was 400-esque. And now we added in Kevin Lee, lightweight contender, and King Velasquez's former heavyweight champion. I mean,

yeah. This ain't your daddy's animation. This is the real deal. Okay. Question of the day. We start every week with this. How interested are you in Ronda Rouse's WWE career?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The options were very, a little, and not at all. And with nearly 25,000 votes, 66% saying not at all. 20% a little, 14% very interested. I've told you why.

66% not interested. Yeah. I think a lot of that is, 24,000 people. I think a lot of that is people trying to like take a stand and trying to say, I don't care,

but you really kind of care, but you don't want to admit that you care. But I do think that there is something to the idea that a lot of of MMA fans, at least right now, will not follow her until she kind of says goodbye or addresses what

happened, addresses the losses. You get what I'm saying? I just feel like that's really important. I feel like that there's a disconnect between the MMA fans and Ronda Rousey. And I do think she's trying to put on a happy face and go out of her way and be happy. And I think she is happy. But I also think that the way

she left wasn't the best. To play devil's advocate. It wasn't done the best way. To play devil's advocate. Yes. Is that tension? Is that feeling of not having closure? No.

Working in her favor. I would argue actually the very opposite and say that that is her best asset. People want to see her fail on this stage at this point because they're not happy with how it went. She can't. I mean, of course she could fail, but it's all like we're like, oh, she's going to get her head knocked off by Stephanie McGahn. So the only way she fails is if she embarrasses herself. and I don't think anyone's rooting for her to embarrass herself and look like a fish out of water.

No, but maybe not be successful in this run or maybe comes back to him. I don't know what that, I don't know what that feeling is because I don't personally... Look, I talk about the word emotional attachment a lot and I feel like people, especially in fight sports, they want that emotional attachment.

They want to feel like they're a part of the journey with the fighter. So you feel like they're detached? I feel like they're more attached. No, they're detached. They want to feel like they're a part of the journey. And you know what happened? Along the way, she said,

I'm getting off here. or she said you're getting off here. Someone got off. You get what I'm saying? Yep. Again, I keep talking about these people, but like, Cormier brings you on the journey. And I honestly think that that's why people love him so much. Connor, for better or worse, brings you on the journey.

The way he speaks, the interviews, the ride, he brings you on the journey. Other fighters do that as well. Faber brought you on the journey. Like there's a connection there. You can't disconnect from the fans who made you into the star that you are today. You can't do that.

And there are going to be fans who are going to be there regardless, but I think along the way a lot of fans jumped off because they were kind of forced to jump off. Like you just disappeared. And I don't know if a lot of those fans are going to follow. And I do agree with Meltzer. She would be the biggest female star

if she just handled those losses differently. I'm not, be very clear, I'm not knocking her for losing. We all lose at everything that we do. We all fail. Like no one expected her to go undefeated. I know she thought she would. No one expected her.

Everyone loses the greatest ever. No one has retired undefeated an MMA of note, right? Yeah. It was just different the way she handled it. And I think it was hard to, it was hard to properly say goodbye to her. And it was hard to really feel a connection to her

because she didn't allow us to feel a connection. She didn't allow us to feel emotional towards her because she just never showed up. I may be alone. Maybe I'm not vocalizing what I'm saying properly. I may be alone in this. I don't think I am though in saying that if she had said, yeah, those losses sucked.

sorry, you know, I should have handled it better. I'm now going on to wrestling. Yeah. I would be less interested in her path in wrestling. No. This is what's keeping me interested. She can't speak. Because she hasn't addressed it yet.

That is, I feel like that's an unanswered thing. I'm seeking the closure, so I am continuing that. You're crazy. You're absolutely crazy. She gets asked about the fight and she can't answer a question about it, and that makes you want to see her wrestle more? not necessarily it makes me want to

keep tabs on her more crazy maybe she will address it maybe what do you mean maybe it's been two and a half years I mean I'm hoping before you know we're all done here we'll get some sort of reflection like it's not like I'm staying up and I think I wonder what Rhonda thinks about her loss to Holly home

at this point we've heard from all the particulars Holly has lost three times since you know what I mean and she's still trucking it's not because I want to figure or out from her perspective why she lost these fights. We know why she lost the fights. I just think it's a mistake. Like if I was trying to guide her, right? If she hired me to guide her as her manager, I would say, look, let's just address it. Whether it's on SNL, whether it's on ESPN, whether it's on a podcast, whether it's on, like talk about it. Talk about what happened and moved on. But you can't

just pretend it didn't happen and you can't just brush it aside and you can't just say I'm a wounded animals still like, I just don't think people can relate to that in 2018 when we're all going through crap and we all have to, you know, address it in our own way. And look, you're a public figure, so we want to see you address these things in a public way. Yeah, I'm sure she's adjusted privately with her husband and her loved ones, but it's just sort of unprecedented, really. I mean, do you recall any other situation in sports where someone, you know, like Chris Weber faced the music? I just saw, I just saw, oh, yes, but years. It took years for that. I just saw a, I just saw a, a 30 for 30 on the bills.

I watched it again. And Scott Norwood, who went, you know, I'm sorry, Austin, went wide right, I think it was against the Giants. That guy faced the music for 30 minutes after the game. Okay. After the game. But you brought up Chris Weber.

Chris Weber notoriously waited too long to talk about it. Okay. The point is you speak about it. I don't remember the particulars about when Chris Weber spoke for the first time. Neither do you. Let's be honest. Yeah, it was, and he wouldn't participate in the, in the ESPN film that they did.

That's because they stripped them all of all the wins. It's not because of the timeout. He's talked about the timeout. I know he has. Yeah, he has. But it's because of what happened with Michigan. It was because of what happened in Michigan. Anyway, that's neither here or there.

People talk. And I think that people want to hear from her. And I think it would behoove her to speak because I think people would be like, all right, let's get back on it. Let's do this wrestling thing. Let's kick some ass. And I think that that's why you're seeing that number.

That's my two cents. That's fair enough. Question of the day number two. Should the UFC book three champ versus champ fights, Miotich versus Kormier, DJ versus Tj, and Cyborg versus Nunes on the July 7th paperview? Let's be clear about this. Miotich, Kormeer is done. DJ versus T.J. is trending in that direction.

Cyborg's trying to get on that one. But it has been bandied about. They need a pay-per-view headliner for the May show in Rio. Cyborg Nunes makes all the sense in the world. I think two champ versus champ fights would be enough. I think three is awesome for July 7th, but what does it do on July 8th? And I think the problem is you're holding up six divisions.

And someone said to me, well, you're not holding up six divisions. You're only defending three titles. But you have to consider the fact that those champions aren't available leading up to July 7th. And then six divisions are now on ice after July 7th because those belts, whether or not they're being defended or not, their champions are still being represented. somebody said that yeah yeah someone said that to me that doesn't make any sense there's six champions in the fight just because their belts are not on the line yeah and guess what it was a very smart guy someone who you know but I won't I will spare him uh his name I was like what are you talking about

like my brain like if DJ if DJ beats TJ and Tj goes back to you know 135 he's not fighting on July 8th or not he just jump in the cage yeah he's preparing for as if it was a championship fight for him except it's not his belt on the anyway that's just completely weird. Anyway, 18,000 people voted. 81% say yes, please, why not? 19% saying, no thanks, too risky. So people want to see the

novels. Yeah, you know why? I'm not surprised about that number. You know why? Because they don't have to worry about the future of the UFC. They just want a fun night. I worry about it. Give me, give me, give me, give me, I worry about the UFC. I care about the UFC. I'm the only one who cares about the UFC. I care about the future of the company, the health of the company. I think it would be a mistake.

I think two you can get away with. still kind of tricky, but I think you can get away with it. I think three would be a mistake. I think Cyborg Nunes should probably be in Rio. And DJ, TJ, let the two smallest guys go with the two biggest guys. And it's kind of cool, right? I like it. You only need two.

Maybe chicken fighting? No. Three is overkill, in my opinion. But it's all about the TV deal. It's all about being a hop property. It's all about being a buzz topic, headlines, all that stuff. But I do think that that's enough. I think two is enough.

Cyborg Nunes and Rio is what I would do. Okay, I want five words or less. Do we think we will ever see Nick Diaz back in the Octagon? Again with this question, every week this question. I don't want to close the book on Nick Diaz. I do think it's a long shot to see him in the UFC. Does he show up at some point in some weird, you know, Stockton, War, MMA, 4 or whatever it is? Maybe.

I'm not going to close the book, but UFC at this point seems like a long shot. He just doesn't seem interested. Were you surprised that Shana Bazler did it make an appearance in that broadcast? I don't understand. I don't follow it

day to day. So I guess she's still an NXT, I was told. But I mean, that seemed like a better platform to debut her, at least give her a cameo.

Once upon a time, there was a guy named Maven who won tough enough and showed up and he dropped kicked Undertaker and people went nuts and it was crazy and it kind of like,

you know, put him somewhere. So like, why not have her debut there as opposed to one of the older people, you know, like did we really need

Jacqueline there? Hey, wait a minute. That's my wife, my beautiful wife. I mean, Miss Jackie, you know, Miss Jackie. I know, I know. But, yeah, I was a little bit surprised. I mean, isn't that like the whole thing? I remember we were kind of talking about this forever ago on Rick's picks.

I featured like the four horsewomen of the WW versus the four horse women of the UFC or MMA rather. I feel like she's tied to this story. Yeah. She's making her. No, no, no, I think it's good to keep her separate. I really do. but you know she's one of their blue chip prospects I think and oh so you're saying she should have appeared on that night maybe not related to ronda no no no no no keep her away from ron let her have her own journey

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah let her have her own journey and then and then she should have just been in the match yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah fair enough ronda has to have her own thing right now will the nfl like the ufc recognizes their competitor they do i think the point the sarcastic sarcastically saying that they don't at all will the nfl talk about the xx tell you something. I am all in on the XFL. I think that was one of the weirdest press conferences I've seen. Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean by all in? I'm interested. I was a huge

XFL fan. I used to have watch parties at my house. First show, I had a watch party. So you're the one, huh? I had the gear. I had a Chicago Enforcer's shirt. I mean, why Chicago I don't know, it was a cool logo. I watched it. I watched it all. Like the 30 for 30, I watched all those games.

The second week when it went into overtime and it went into SNL, I was all in. If the Chicago Enforcers is, the Buffalo Bills. No, let's not get crazy. But I watched the million dollar game. I mean, I watched, San Francisco demons, New York, New Jersey, Hitman, Orlando Rage, Los Vegas Outlaws.

This is a deep XFL. L.A., what was L.A.? It wasn't the Galaxy, but it was something like that. No, that's the soccer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But anyway, I was all in. I think they're kind of like, they're going too hard line on some of these things. like if you've had a DUI, you can't be in our league.

Like, there's Johnny Mansell's like, I want in, but he's had a DUI. And like, they're going the opposite of the old XFL, like no cheerleaders, no personality, things like that. I don't know if that's the way to go. I do think that there's somewhat of an appetite for another league. And especially when it's not going head to head with the NFL, but no, of course the NFL is not going to recognize them. What kind of question is that? What if some guy got, you know, big? Like, I remember what was the guy's, he hate me?

Oh, yeah. He hate me. Rod Smart. Got to the, like, would you talk about it? Would you say this guy's from the XFL? I think it'll be interesting to kind of see how they handle it. They talked about it. They talked about when Tommy Maddox came over. The best part of that press conference was when someone asked Vince,

did you talk about this with your wife, Linda? And he just, like, had this look and he said, no. And that was it. Okay. Is Roberta's the best pizza in New York City? The one in Brooklyn? Yeah. That's a great question.

Bushwick. Yeah. Fantastic. I don't know if I could go best, It's hard to pick a best slice. You kind of have personal preferences. You have proximity. Yeah, but that is a phenomenal pizza.

In particular, the pineapple, they go thin slices, not like chunks. I love pineapple on my pizza. So you're saying Roberta's up there, for sure. Phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. There you go. Okay. My praise.

What city would you like to see the UFC come to for the first time? Oh. Well. Mine's easy. Can I go state? Sure. Hawaii. Yeah, that's it.

That's the one. Honolulu. I mean, no other city has been talked about this much, you know? Yeah, that's the one. It's for sure, Hawaii. By the way, I hear that they're going back to Atlantic City and Utica. How about that? Ariel, did anyone ever tell you that when you get angry, you sound a lot like Jerry Seinfeld?

Last week, I was, what's his name? Larry David. It's definitely Seinfeld. It's the agitated Seinfeld. Remember Chale said that I was like, how about that? That should have been in Rick's picks. Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays weighed in on it On the tweet

Who's that? MVP He was tweeting about the clip with Chale I'm just kidding That's the bringer of rain Yes the man Anyway yes I have been told that I get excited

Can I say Sometimes I lose Signfeld ask Yeah I lose control of my voice Okay we're not going to do this one Sorry Namdi We had one of those quizzes Cued up but it's going to take too long

Okay That's it What that's it's you're going to end it on Look you want to you want to do a quiz, it's going to take forever. What do you mean a quiz? What are you talking about? We've never had a quiz. Remember the event? You have to name the headliner.

Just give me one. Just give me one. Okay, we'll give you one. Just one. Well, done one. Namdi, you're back in the game. Yeah, where are you in? No, no, he's been asking. Oh, okay. UFC 138. Who is it?

138 is an interesting one because, so... We're going to stretch this out here? I mean, come on. You say, give me one and we're going to do two hours? Oh, wow, look at all this. This is what he wanted to do? Well, I don't know if he knew there was going to be 15 guests on the show when he asked this question. Wow, 187, 83. Oh, my God, Ariel.

By the way, 83 is the easiest one ever. What about 138? Obviously, you know, what I wanted to tell you was 139 was one of the greatest pay-per-views ever because it was Dan Henderson v. Shogun in the main event the same night as... Thank you for that. Alvarez. now. 137 was BJ Penn

versus Nick Diaz 138 though was the great Mark Munoz versus Chris Leibon and I believe that was a Spike Show and it was in Austin can you bring this down so that we can see Ariel on Wikipedia right now instead of

I'm right here I'm skeptical you're skeptical all right be skeptical all you know well well done what was the comate no I can't do that any other fight on the card

the way it's gone in the past is headliner and another fight. Do you remember anything else that happened on it? It wasn't Spike it was. That's good. I mean you did. You did great. USC 187 wasn't that like a super easy one or is that what am I thinking of 189? Which was the

huge card? The one with the only great fights 187 was DC versus Rumble 1 and Wyden versus Belfort. Oh maybe I'm thinking of 189 was Connor versus Chad Mendez. Yeah. Maybe maybe I think you know 1.89. Well, Namdi, we did a half version.

Namdi, keep trying, bud. Keep trying. Look at this thing. Thank you to plastic cell. Whoa. Yes, I love it. Did that just happen? Can we show this to my kids. They're going to love this.

What do you talk about? Ooh, it's beautiful. Thank you very much. What a show it has been. One of the all-time greats. New York, Rick, everyone in the back. God bless. Sorry for keeping you waiting.

Austin, please hit my music. We have to go. We don't have to go home. But I tell you what, we got to get the heck out of here. We've stayed far too long, but I tell you I could do five more hours, six more hours. There it is. There's my shot.

What a day it has been. And by the way, the UFC train continues to roll along this weekend. They're in Belin. I've been practicing all day with Guillermo. It's Belin. Belin. And it's our man Eric Anders. Your boy.

Eric Anders. against Leona Machita, John Dotson versus Pedro Munoz, Desmond Green, Chiago Santos against Anthony Smith and a whole host of others. That's this Saturday. That's on FS1. Congratulations to Jacques-Gre Soza. Great return. Gregor Gillespie, by the way, New York's own. Would love to have him in studio talk a little fishing with him.

You know what I'm saying? That would be fun. But alas, it is time to say goodbye, my friends. What a show, it has been a who's who. Thank you so much to Daniel Cormier for stopping by. Good luck to him on July 7. and of course on the upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter. Thank you very much to Eddie Alvarez.

Great stuff from him. We'll see what happens with the Nate Diaz sweepstakes. Thank you very much to Paul Daly. Interesting stuff there. We'll see what happens with him as well. I appreciate his time. All the best to Roy Jones Jr. Retirement fight, February 8.

Thank you very much to him. Thank you very much to Steve Amiotich. Good luck July 7th, tough as well. All the best to Marshall's Lasnik. Appreciate his time. Congrats to Ally Quinta. Good luck on April 7. Thank you very much to Matt Brown.

Good luck to him, April 14. Thank you very much to Kane Velazquez. Thank you very much to Douglas Lima. Appreciate the time of one. Max Hallway. Good luck to him. Kevin Lee, thank you very much. And, of course, thank you to Dave Meltzer.

And thank you to all of you as well. Back next week, same time, place. Hey, Sambay.