MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani- Episode 424 (Part 4)

Episode Date: March 6, 2018

Ariel Helwani speaks to Nick Newell (01:00), Mackenzie Dern (18:25), and Cris “Cyborg” Justino (43:43). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Thanks for checking out the show. Okay. Let us move along now and say hello to our next guest. And it has been a while since we have talked to our next guest. It has been, I think it's been like two and a half, three years since he's been on the program. And there's good reason for that. Not because we were shunning him. It's because he walked away from MMA.

You'll recall that back in 2015, Nick Newell announced that he was walking away from the sport for various reasons, injuries being one of them. He was a mainstay on the WSOF scene. He fought for the belt back at WSOF 11 in 2014. He fought on NBC till this day. That's his only loss. 13 and 1, he followed that up with two victories. And he announced recently that he was coming back.

And not only is he coming back. He's coming back on Friday. He's coming back at LFA 35. It's great to have notorious Nick Newell back on the scene. And there he is via the magic of Skype, the one and only Nick Newell. How are you, Nick? How's it going, Ariel? Long time, no speak.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's great to be back on the show. It's great to be fighting, man. I feel phenomenal. I'm really happy to have this opportunity and to, you know, have people interested in me again now that I'm returning back to mixed martial arts. I remember we spoke to you after you now to your retirement, and it seemed. I don't know. And correct me if I'm reading this incorrectly, there was a little bit of sadness to the interview because it felt like here's this young guy who still has a lot to accomplish,

who didn't make it to the UFC, who was good enough to be in the UFC, and the injuries caught up to you. And I don't know, it felt like there was like this cloud hanging over it all. And now to see you coming back is a great thing. Why did you decide to come back, though, considering all the things that you said

when you were walking away two and a half years ago? Yeah, I mean, I honestly, I really meant the things that I said. And I felt like my last four camps in a row, my body was just shutting down and I wasn't able to train the way that I wanted to train. And now, while no fighters come into a fight 100%, you know, I was at a very low percent.

I was feeling really bad going into these fights. And honestly, it was hard for me to train for them because my back, my neck, my knees, everything. So what I needed was I needed some time off. you know and um the thing that sucks is if you're a fighter and you need some time off then you take time off but you don't get paid you know and uh and you can't really make a living so i wanted to focus on something that i can make a living off of so i opened up my own gym uh fighting arts academy ct and west haven connecticut and once i got established i started getting some uh some good

training partners and people to go with uh i decided that it It was good to come back. And I'm still working with my same team that I worked with before. I just have to, I'm just a little bit busier, you know, owning my own gym too. So at what point, how long ago did you start to get that itch again and start to think, you know what, I can actually do this. Everything's good in my life. The stars are aligning.

When did you start to have those thoughts? Probably, honestly, like a year ago. Oh, wow. I was I've just been I've been training and I've been training since the last time I thought I just had to kind of figure out my body and figure out ways to do it smarter and what I can handle and and I just really needed that time off and and it was a good thing because I feel great now and I'm actually better than I've ever been you know teaching I've kind of put an emphasis on my technique has gotten a lot better and the only reason is why I haven't fought earlier than I have now is because I got married. So I didn't want to do that to my wife. You know, she lets me do whatever I want pretty much. So I kind of thought it would be kind of rude to take anything away from getting

heading. So once that was over, I decided that it was a good time to get back out there. Congratulations on getting married. How is married life? Are you enjoying it? Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's awesome We live together for a number of years before we got married So not much has changed

I'm on her insurance You know, other than that You know, things are the same I like it, I like it a lot You still have your cats? Yes, I do, yes I do You know, they're getting old They just turned three

And then I still have my cat That I had growing up But she is at my mom's house. She's 20 years old. So I'll always be a cat guy. I got my little three-year-olds cats, and now I'm killing it. You know, I love those things. So you can make fun of me all you want for it.

But those are my babies from now, you know? And how did you end up with LFA? Because I'm assuming you weren't tied to anyone, given the fact that you were retired. How did you or why did you end up with them? There's a few reasons. you know um one is is the opportunities they give me and the freedom and and everything that they provided and how they build fighters i really like that you know they offered me a good contract um good fair contract and you know i decided i talked to my team and we decided that that was the

best move did you did you even reach out to the ufc did you try to go that route um obviously i'd like to fight in a UFC, I feel like I've earned it, you know, but life's not fair sometimes and you know, I think maybe after this one, I don't know, but who knows? So that's

still, that's still a goal of yours. That's still something you want to accomplish. Well, when you're good enough and you know it and you know you could beat these guys out there that are fighting, it's kind of difficult to just kind of sit back and watch, you know, when you want to be the

out there. So at the end of the day, yeah, that's always the goal and that's always been the goal. And I feel like now more than ever, I'm ready. I'm ready to go out and make a name for myself, even more so than I already have. So did you or your management talk to anyone at the UFC when you were planning on coming back? And is there a reason why you didn't sign with them? They didn't give me an offer. You know, that's it. They didn't give me an offer. So that's the reason why. and it's fine. I'm happy with LFA right now and I'm just ready to go out

and make a statement and kind of do my thing and take it from there. Have you been watching a lot of MMA in your time off? And when you watch the top dogs at 155, are you saying, like, I can hang with these guys. Like, do you think like that as you watch it? No, I absolutely know that I'm world-class.

I know that I belong and I know that I could do well, even in the UFC. You know, I'm a blackbell. in jujitsu and I'm a college wrestler and my with my striking my my footwork I'm always in the right spot maybe I don't have the multi-punch attacks that everyone has but I have very good range and now that my body is is working as well as it is I really feel like I could take a fight with anyone and be fine not only hold my own but but win do you find yourself keeping tabs and maybe even rooting for Justin Gachie considering what he's doing

in the UFC because you you shared that time in the cage together? Yeah, I mean, I always like Justin, and we always had a good, um, uh, good relationship. We're always friendly with each other. I mean, at the end of the day, it's just business. It's just a fight. And obviously he beat me. So the more he wins, the better makes me look.

Um, but aside from that, he's a good dude. So I, I, I always root for him, you know, he's, uh, he's, uh, you know, I'm, I'm just a fan of his. So now he's fighting. I mean, I don't want to get on that, but he's fighting Poet, who I also know and like a lot. So it's good. I'm just a fan of the sport, you know. So I have not stopped watching MMA.

No, that's not a question. I am obsessed with it. People ask me my hobby. I tell them this is my hobby. Yeah. And do it every day. Did you consider entering the PFL tournament? You know, my manager really.

handled all that and it just didn't come up. I don't know what they said when they reached out to them, but LFA was the best offer we got and that's what we went with. You know, it's so interesting that we're talking on this Monday of all Mondays. I don't know how much you pay attention to other sports, and I'm sure you're very focused on your task on Friday. However, there's a football player, a college football player, who's making a lot of noise and ton of news over the weekend,

who obviously reminds me a lot of yourself. Are you familiar with, and I may be but but Chequem Griffin, have you seen what he's doing in Indianapolis? Yeah, I'm going to be 100% honest with you. I didn't know who he was until this week. I don't really watch any other sports besides MMA. Yeah. But I train with a lot of football players.

I train with a lot of guys in the arena football league for strength and conditioning. and I'm impressed with how athletic these guys are and they're not in the NFL yet. I mean, I've been hearing this guy's going to get signed maybe first round, you know. I could be wrong. That's just something I heard, you know, but all the power to them, you know,

I just like to see people be successful. And he kind of went through a lot of the same things that I went through. And it's good to see someone make a name for himself. And aside, whether how many hands are, he has, man, that guy, that guy's fast, you know, he's impressive. He's a, he's a specimen of an athlete, and I'm sure he busted his ass to get to where he is, so, um, obviously I'm a fan of his. I started, I liked his Facebook page.

I started following him on, uh, on Instagram and Twitter. So, uh, you know, I, I, I wish him all the best. It's really cool to see. Oh, it's unbelievable. And not only is he killing it in the, the 40-yard dash, but, um, uh, bench pressing. What he did? you see that clip of him bench pressing? I think he hit 20 in a row. Did you see that? No, you ought to send that to me. Oh, my God. You have to send that to me.

Yeah. It happened over the weekend, and I've just been so insane, but I definitely saw him running. I'm sorry, I cut you off. No, no, no, no. It's okay. It's just, it's amazing, you know, now that we're talking, he's been all over the news this past weekend. So, you know, reminded me of what you've overcome and how you are able to defy the odds, given what you are born with. And I think it's just such a great thing to have you back. you're an inspiration. And I wonder if that continues to be part of your motivation to show to other people that they don't have to let this, you know, stop that you can do anything that you want. You can be like everyone.

Do you still think like that or do you feel like you're past that at this point in your career? No, I've always felt that the power of the mind is a very powerful thing. And your work ethic is not, your work ethic will allow you to achieve things that other. people could never imagine you could achieve because they don't have the same hustle they don't have the same work ethic you have so for me i've always busted my ass at everything i do you know i i started off not good as a wrestler and i worked all year while everyone was out partying doing what doing god knows what i was in the gym training training training and and i got good that way so i i appreciate the the value of hard work and and i really believe that anything that you want

You'll never know how good you can be unless you try. You know, so I started this M.A. thing kind of as a hobby and it took off. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I only have one hand. It has everything to do with the fact of how hard I work and how determined I am. You know, I'm, I look at myself and I think of myself is like the most badass dude that there is. And it doesn't have anything to do with me having one hand. It's not because I have one hand. It's my attitude.

So the thing that makes me different isn't that I'm this one-handed guy out there fighting. The thing that makes me different is mentally I'm ready to do whatever it takes to win. I'm determined. You're never going to see me quit. You're never going to see me give up. And obviously, like anyone, I have my moments where mentally I get broken down and I have my high highs and my low lows. But I'm a determined guy. And I am where I am not because I want to prove something to anyone but myself.

last thing for you nick and what a great answer i appreciate that um there's a kind i've never experienced this i'm not a fighter but i'm i'm certain that there's a feeling that comes with fight week right it's different um you're about to go you know uh into battle in a cage locked in a cage of another huge did you and i'm sure there's nerves that come with it even if you're the most confident fighter and some anxiety as well did you miss this feeling on this mondays you're probably about to you know head out soon did you miss the feelings that come with getting ready for the fight on fight week? I mean, making weight always sucks,

so I don't ever miss that. But this is fine. I always make it just fine. I'm a good size 55 pounder, and it's not a big deal. This one's actually at a catch weight, so it's easier. What's it at?

160? You know, the nerves, everything. 160, yeah. Okay, okay. I can make 155, no problem. It's just, I don't know, I just thought it was a good idea, maybe, to just have a little more fun with the fight.

this time and my opponent agreed with it. So here we are. And, you know, I, of course, of course you get nervous when you fight. Of course, there's always that little bit of fear, but that motivates you, you know, that motivates me to fight, to challenge myself and to face that and to go out there and really show why I'm different, show why I'm special, and show why I deserve to be the guy that people talk about.

I deserve to be known as some. someone that's a skill martial artist, a good fighter. You know, I really believe that I am one of the best in the world, and I am incredible at what I do. But I'm also a very humble man, so I don't really like to talk about it that much. I like to just go out there and just kick people's asses and collect heads. Looking forward to it, it goes down this Friday at Arena Theater in Houston, Texas. It's LFA 35.

co-main event is Nick Newell returning to action at 160 pounds against Sunny Lucay. It airs. Main event. Main event, no. You're the main event? What happened? They moved me. I don't know.

I don't know. There are these two girls are supposed to fight for the title. Yeah. Sabina Mazo. They moved it on the main event. Oh, all right. I'm upset about that because I kind of wanted to sit back and watch that fight. It's canceled?

You know, I think so. I think they've been saying I'm the main event. event and since I don't know so I guess it's canceled maybe unless they moved it to the co-main but I think it's I think it's canceled yeah it's just I'm the main event all right look at you breaking news on the show thank you for that Nick appreciate it welcome back it's good to have you back Nick I wish you the best on Friday thanks for taking some time and looking forward to checking it out this Friday on Access TV thanks after I win this fight I'm coming I'm coming in New York and you're going to have me in studio deal deal

It's not far. Anytime. Anytime I got the seat for you right over there. You've got to check out our news. You've been to the old one, but it's time you check out the new one. So that is a deal, my friend. I'm comfortable. All right.

Thank you, Nick. All the best to you. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. So there you go. Notorious Nick Newell. He is back.

First time fighting since October of 2015. And I was just going to say the main event is for the vacant women's flyway title, Sabina Mazo, who's a big-time prospect competing. But apparently Nick just broke the news that, that fight isn't happening. We'll check on that just to make sure that that is accurate, but that is big news having him back in the swing of things, and it's clear that he still wants to fight in the UFC. And if you did not see the one-handed, the congenital amputee, Shaquem Griffin, wow, what a story that is coming out of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis,

20 reps, bench pressing. It's just, it's a marvel to watch. You can find it anywhere online. the 40-yard dash, just incredible, an incredible athlete, as is Nick Newell. So it reminded me, and it's kind of wild that we have him on the show just, you know, coming off the weekend where Griffin did all of that. Okay, so that's this Friday. Let's go back to our discussion of UFC 222. One of the big stories, of course, over the past weekend in Las Vegas was the much-anticipated debut of one McKenzie Dern, and she picks up the victory over Ashley Yoder, hard-fought victory.

She had her moments, almost had her submitted in the closing seconds. But in the end, most important, she improves to 6 and 0. She is still undefeated and she's one of the bright young stars in the UFC. We wanted to check in with her and see how it all went down. She is kind enough to be joining us via the magicist Skype. There she is. Mackenzie Dern, how are you? Hi, area. I'm good. How are you? Thank you so much for the time.

So I see you're a little beat up. Is this the most damage you've ever had on your face on the Monday? after a fight? Yeah, for sure. I never, like, really had this much. So they didn't try to put makeup anything. You know, you guys saw my fight. So I think it's like good to see and then I tried my best.

Yeah, I think it's important to see. How do you feel about it? Like, do you feel comfortable with these, like the cut on the lip and the black eye? No, I want to put my glasses on, you know? But no, it's okay. And I know it's part of the, part of the game. Like I say, my goal is to try to go. in there with the less amount of damage as possible.

But, man, I tried to be striking with her, so I knew that I could get punched in the face, you know, so it's part of it. So on Thursday, when we spoke at the media day, I asked you about if you had any nerves, if you're the kind of person who gets nervous, you said that not really, and quite frankly, you said that you kind of rise to the occasion on the big stage. You prefer fighting on the big stage. But now that it happened, now that you're in the locker room, T-Mobile Arena, Bruce Buffer saying your name.

pay-per-view, all that stuff. There's a big crowd, right? You're the headliner for FS1. Were you more nervous than usual? How did you feel in the closing seconds before the fight? Man, I swear, it felt so normal, felt so relaxed, felt just like I was ready to be. I didn't, like, hear the people, you know? Like, I felt Bruce was talking with me, like, when he was saying my name, but I was just looking at Ashley, you know, like trying to focus on what I want to do. Like, I felt like I was meant to be there. I didn't feel any nervous at all, you know? So the whole like UFC like jitters or the butterflies, you know, I didn't feel anything. Wow.

It felt great. It felt great to be there. Have you watched the fight yet? No, I haven't. Is that on purpose or you just haven't had time? Just having had time, you know, just trying to spend time with my family, you know. Like my phone's just going off, you know, so I turn everything off, you know, trying to like take my mind. After I'll probably see, I'll go to watch, you know, but.

I'm excited to see just how it was to be fighting with Ashley because I felt like a little bit hard to get some distance sometimes you know so like I like I want to see like if I was moving my feet on the fight

you know like the little things from the pictures that I see sometimes I see my head is down a little bit you know when I'm punching you know just kind of like go you know so I'm excited to go back and do the homework and see what I need to get better at but right now I'm just you know

having time taking my mind off the fight and spending time with my family. Based on what you remember, are you happy with your performance or do you feel like you could have done better? No, that's like a mix, you know, because I'm like very, I always say I don't feel too much the pressure from other people, but I put a lot of pressure on myself, you know? So it's back and forth like, I'm happy with my performance. I think it's always better for me to fight three rounds, go through three rounds now, than to have never been through three rounds and go to the belt

and, you know, I have to get pushed to five rounds. And, oh, my gosh, this never happened before, you know. So I think the time in the ring, there's nothing better than experience like that. Of course, I wish I got the submission on the end, you know, like I tried to, but it didn't have enough time. So I feel really happy that I was able to do, like, standing up and, like, practice my stand-up and do, like, takedowns and ground and cage work. Cage was something I really wanted to work on, you know. I really tried to not be my back on the cage so much

and be able to control the cage better. So there were so many things that I'm happy with my performance. But then at the same time when I see my black guy, I think like, man, maybe if I would do the takedown and go to the back on the first round, maybe I would finish, you know, and be done. And maybe that would have been better, you know? But so it's like back and forth, you know,

like, okay, if I would have really tried to take down on the first round and maybe go to the choke in the beginning, maybe that would have been better and to stay and try to stay standing up. but I think was good too at the same time. So I don't know, it's like both. I think it was a great first fight. You know, I'm happy with the performance. You know, so I can go either way.

I'm not too, like, oh, I wish I got the submission in the first round. I think also, too, I had, like, not a struggle on the weight cut, you know, but a lot of people were, like, nervous about my weight cut and thinking that, oh, you know, like, she's not going to recover good, you know. So I think the fact that if I would have submitted fast, They say, oh, like, she's lucky that she's so many fast because that she wouldn't have handled the whole. Like, I had the weight cut and I still went the three rounds. And, like, of course, I had some knees to the stomach, so I got a lot tired.

But I was okay with my cardio, you know, I felt good, you know, on each round. I felt okay, you know, so I think it was good to show like, man, okay, I had a weight cut. You know, my weight cut for 115 is always hard. I had, like, I felt good during the three rounds, you know. So I think it's good for people to believe a little bit more in me. Well, since you bring it up, I have to ask, You were the last one to weigh in and we waited for you for a few minutes. And it made for great drama.

Everyone was wondering, you know, if you were going to show up. So I appreciate the theater. But how difficult was the cut? Were you nervous at all that you may not make 115 or 116 actually? You had the one pound allowance? No, I wasn't nervous. You know, I was nervous. Like, I think you get to a point where, you know, in your mind, you don't really like understand how bad you are or how good you are, you know?

So I had like three pounds left one day before, I think around like 9 p.m. You know, so in my mind I was like, okay, no, I'm sorry, two pounds. I had two pounds left the night before. So in my mind I was like, no, I'm going to make $1.16. My manager called me, you know, like was like stuff was happening. I didn't even know what's happening. You know, I said like, man, no, I'm just going to go back to the sauna and lose my weight. And then the morning, you know, they did that little sauna, little room.

a thing, you know. Yeah, yeah. Like a new thing. They set the room and they did that. So the whole thing, I don't know, maybe because I was so like just, I want to get this over with. Maybe I didn't realize really how close I was, you know? But I went there and like I really, I waited on the check one with no clothes.

And then they, and I was 116. And then they put on the little like bikini, the top and the panties. And then they went in. They said, okay, you can go with the outfit, you know. So I said, okay, like, it's better than you have to do the thing. Sure, sure. Yeah, yeah, the hoop of shame. Okay, so that's what I like to call it.

And I think they should use it for the men, by the way. I don't know why they just use it for the women, but that's neither here nor there. That's not your problem. It was amazing to watch the closing seconds because we know how good you are on the ground and it looked like you didn't have your arm under her chin, but still we've seen some people tap to that just given the pressure on the chin and the neck. Did you think that you had it close? Yeah, really, you know, like a lot of people tell me about that, like, oh, it's on the chin. man like I know from all the chokes I do like man we have the air choke and then we have like the blood choke you know and the air choke is usually what they're defending when they put their chin down even like my last my with mandi poke at 125 she had her chin down but with ashley I could feel like I was squeezing on the sides you know like I wasn't squeezing here so I felt that she was like breathing but I was feeling her like more that she will pass out than to be out of breath you know like cut the blood off like they felt sl

you know so they have two different types of chokes you know they have the one that the people can't breathe and like stop to breathe and then they have the ones where they don't feel it and then when they see they just pass out you know so i was feeling like was really tight i was squeezing more like to the side and you know i was just like trying to go like man i hope she taps you know i wasn't thinking how many time was left and it was close to the end uh you know my last fight with uh karlene medeiros i got this admission like 15 seconds left so i was like hoping that that was going to happen again. But, you know, she was able to release the pressure and everything. So it was a good fight, you know. I'm excited. I'm happy with how it was. Was she tougher than you expected her to

be? She did, it seemed, drop you very quickly in the middle of the fight. Were you expecting her to be that tough? And how hurt were you when she dropped you? No, not, she wasn't like tougher than I expect her to be because I knew she was going to be tough. I didn't think she was going to be a easy fight. But for sure, she was like a little, like, not longer than I thought, but I did have like more trouble to understand distance and to like, I don't know, to believe like in my takedowns and stuff. Like sometimes I was thinking to go to take down and I saw her like lifting her knee up, you

know, like, oh, if you go, I'm going to do my knee to your face, you know? So I kept thinking like, maybe I'll stay more, staying up a little bit longer, you know? and so in just sometimes like okay now I'm going to go to do the combination and then she would hit me first and I said like okay I need to keep my left my leg outside her leg you know like some so little things like that you know but she was tough just like I thought she was going to be you know I know she wasn't going to uh you know be like scared to fight or anything like I said she came from some losses I know she had like the fire in her eyes to win and honestly like the when I fell down, I don't remember.

I don't remember, like, when I, my coaches, they always tell me, like, the ones, the punches that hurt us are the ones that we don't see coming, you know, and I really didn't see where it came from, you know, like, when I saw, I was just on the floor and say, okay, get up, get up, you know. It's like, cut up fast. I didn't really, like, know it was a punch or it was a side or what it was, you know? So I just feel like she didn't, like, come at me, you know, when I was on the ground when I came up.

So I was able to, like, recover fast, you know, I didn't, I didn't feel pain. anything, you know, which is like a click, you know? So I'm like, okay, good. Let's get back into the fight. To me, it was pretty clear that it was 29, 28 for you, although it was a split decision. How nervous were you when you heard her name, when Bruce Buffer said her name when he was reading the scorecards?

You know, I was surprised, but I wasn't nervous, you know, because I know, like, if you live to the judge's hands, can be anything, you know, and especially, like, when I'm fighting. And, you know, like, my coaches, each round, I ask my coach, like, did I win this one, did I lose this one? And they said to me, like, the first one, you won. Okay, the second one they say, okay, it's one one. And then the third, they say, okay, you need to win that one.

So, but, you know, sometimes I think, oh, maybe the coaches, they, like, not on purpose, but maybe they're biased, you know, like, maybe they think, like, with emotion, you know, like, you know, so I don't think, like, if when I heard they gave splits, they're like, okay, maybe it'll be to her. But I wasn't nervous, you know, like I said, like, I want to be undefeated. I want to win everything. But I know it's a part of the game, too, you know, like to lose. I try my best.

You know, it wasn't, like, scary for me. I just think, like, okay, let's hope that they choose with me, you know. Was your dad at the fight? No. Did he watch it? Yes, he did watch it, yeah. What do he have to say about it? I'm scared.

Yes, he's so little scared, you know, like, oh, that was scary, you know. But he's happy about it, you know. He's waiting for me to get back to Arizona to go see him. So, but really, that's the whole thing. I think, like, everyone asked me about him, but he's been my coach for so many years. We really just want to, like, preserve the relationship of father or daughter, you know, and I think just my whole weight cut, you know, like, you're kind of tripping out a little bit, so many sauna, you're saying things, you don't really know what you're saying,

and to see me, like, go through a fight where maybe I get knocked down, you know, and have to fight, fight out of it and stuff. That stuff is kind of like, I don't know if a father's, want to see that all the time, you know? So I think was good that he saw that from his couch with my family there, with the dogs, you know, all comfortable. Oh my gosh. I have a one-year-old daughter. She like slips and just like falls and I like have a heart attack and run and hold her. I can't imagine seeing her get punched in the face and the black eye and all that stuff. Is it fair to say that he would prefer that you didn't do this for a living? Oh yeah. For sure. My dad is definitely like,

he supports me, but Ariel, he's not. He was like at lunch or something, he'll be like, you know, so you should go compete jih Tzu next month. You know, always like trying to do a little, a little, you know, clues to get me to stay in Jiu-Sit-T you know. I say like that. I have M. I have M.M.A. fight, you know, this day. He said, oh, okay, you know.

He definitely doesn't want to see his daughter getting punched. This experience, though, did it reinforce your love and interest in MMA? Because, you know, the question is always, are you going to stick with MMA? Are you going to go, you know, full on with MMA, no jiu-jitsu, all that. did this reinforce that for you that decision? For sure, for sure. Like when I was like going back to think my post that I want to post like on Instagram, you know, like to thank everyone and just to feel like to share how I felt

like really was like man, I felt like I was meant to be there. You know, like I know that each fight is I would be a better better fighter. You know like really enforced like yeah, this is what I meant to do. I made the right decision to stop Jiu-Jitsu now and focus on this. you know, so I'm excited for the next fight. Hopefully I can be like you have seen Rio. I'm like ready to get this black eye away and come back to training. So you did say that on Thursday that you want to fight on the Rio card, May 12th.

Is that still what you want? For sure, yeah. Okay. Do you have an opponent in mine? No, no. Okay. You just want to fight anyone? Yeah.

No, not anyone. Sure, sure, sure. But someone, you know, like that the next level just keeps, you know, the process going. And you know what's so crazy about it. It all went well and you win and everything. But again, this this sort of infatuation with your accent continues because here's George Griselle who comes in the translator. Now everyone, I've gotten more questions about the translator being in the cage at the end of the fight than anything that you did in the fight. People are, why does she need a translator? From my understanding, I'd love for you to speak on the.

this, you didn't ask for him to come in. I think he just came in because, you know, he wanted to help you and Rogan went to him. You didn't need the translator there. You didn't ask for him. Is that correct? Yeah, I don't know. People thought that I asked for him. I didn't ask for the translator. I didn't ask for the fight. I didn't ask after. I didn't, like, Joe is telling me, like, you want to take out my mouth protect, you know? So I was finished the fight, having my mouth protect in my mouth, you know, like, I didn't even remember I had the thing in my mouth. So for me, when I saw, you know, all the translator, like, I don't know, obviously, but I have a lot more fans in Brazil than I have the USA. So for me, my first, I, uh, one of the he brought the translator, I thought that they wanted

me to speak Portuguese for all the fans, you know, and him to translate for everyone in the US, you know, but just for me to speak to everyone in Brazil, you know, to both and both, you know, not, not to understand what he was asking, you know, I thought that they just wanted me to be able to speak to all my fans in Brazil, you know, like, because I finished the fight, I didn't get say anything to anyone in Brazil, you know? Like, you know, so when I saw, I thought he just wanted me to speak Portuguese for everyone in Brazil, not because I couldn't understand the question, you know? So I said it was more like a fan than me speaking Portuguese.

So when I asked, I said, like, do you want me to speak English or Portuguese? I don't know which one you should say, you know? Then Joe wrote that, oh, I think she understood then. I said, like, okay. So I was not confused, but I didn't understand what was happening either. You know, I don't know what people thought that I asked, translator, I didn't ask. Well, I'm happy we cleared that up, and it's understandable. You're just in a 15-minute fight, so it's okay to be confused.

But it's just amazing how people are nitpicking this sort of thing with you. It's crazy. Last thing for you, McKenzie. And again, thank you so much for the time. I know Dana White was there. I know Ari Emanuel, who's a co-owner in the UFC, was there. Any of the big bosses come up to you afterwards and talk to you about how much they like the fight, having you on the roster, things like that?

No, I mean, I got messages from Mick and Sean. You know, I know them from even the beginning when I first started MMA. They've always been supporting me. So they send me messages just saying, like, was a really good job and that they hope to see me soon. And that's about it, you know? So I know, like, the card had so many great fights, like Brian Ortega, his knockout, his knockout, sugar shun. He had, like, such a good fight, you know. They had so many great highlights this card, you know.

So it was just good to be part of it and to finally get the whole debut out of the way. Yeah. Well, it couldn't have gone better. You passed with Flying Colors. Congratulations, McKenzie. It was a real pleasure to watch you finally in there after all this time talking about it. Enjoy the victory. Enjoy your time off. I hope you you heal quickly. And hopefully you get that fight in Rio. That'd be really cool to see. Yeah, thank you so much. Ariel. Always great to talk with you. Thank you. All right. We'll talk to you soon. There she is. Mackenzie Dern now one and oh inside the octagon. Her debut is out of the way. Everyone talking about it going in and now everyone's talking about it going out. Who will she fight? She wants to fight in Rio. She has the connection. Of course, her family is Brazilian. She is of Brazilian descent. And of course, she lives in the Arizona area. She was in Los Angeles, I do believe. But that would make a lot of sense. You put, you know, a rising star. coming out of Brazil on the Rio pay-per-view. I think that that would make a lot of sense. I find it interesting. You know, she said it.

Brian Ortega said it. Others have said it before. Like, this is a blue-chip prospect. This is a blue-chip prospect. And no-like, the brass isn't coming to the back and shaking. I feel like that was a part of the routine. Lorenzo's in the back. Dana's in the back, shaking your hand.

No one's going up to McKenzie Dern after the fight and shaking your hand and saying, welcome to the UFC. No, there's nothing of that. congratulations. Brian Ortega, congratulations. You're getting a title shot? Like, is that,

I don't know, am I nitpicking? Is that asking for a lot? But I just feel like that's the sort of thing that's always been done. Like that, like that's, that's just a part of combat sports. Big win.

You come in backstage. Congratulations. I mean, the days of, you know, the, the bonus, you know,

the discretionary bonus that they used to give out in the, the little envelope they would, they would give out this stuff but i don't know i find that um i find that a little surprising how about this um just saw this come up on tmz canel alvarez test positive for banned substance blames mexican cows i'd like to see who first reported this this just i just saw this out of the corner of my eye on on uh on twitter let's see let's see anyone else have it all right i'll read i'll read i'll read this next up, Chris Seiberg is going to join us, but let me just quickly read this. This is

according to our friends over at TMC, our good friends over at TMZ. Canel Alvarez has admitted he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, but he's blaming the dirty test on contaminated cow meat. The boxer was tested in advance of his upcoming May 5th rematch against Gannadi Golovkin and says results show he had trace levels of clenbuterol. F.I. Clenbuterol is a banned substance, often used by athletes to cut body fat while retaining muscle mass. It's banned by every major doping agency. We've seen some MMA fighters get popped for this as well. Let's see what else.

He believes the traces of clenbuterol are, quote, consistent with meat contamination that has impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last years, end quote. Canelo says he will immediately move his training camp from Mexico to the United States and will submit to any number and variety of additional tests that the voluntary anti-doping association Vada deems necessary head of the fight. Quote, I'm an athlete who respects the sport and surprises me and it bothers me because it had never happened to me before. Canello says, I will submit to all tests that require me to clarify this embarrassing

situation and I trust that at the end, the truth will prevail. Canello's team notes he has tested clean dozens of times over the course of his previous 12 fights. So it does appear, according to this, that the fight is still on. I'm trying to, okay, there's a press release from Golden Boy saying as part of the voluntary testing program that Canella Avers insisted on ahead of his Mayfith fight, this is a press release from his promoter, Golden Boy. One of his results came back positive for trace levels of clambuterol consistent with meat contamination that has impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last years. As Daniel Eichner, director of the SMRTL, we actually heard from him during the John John. Jones case, the WADA accredited lab that conducted the tests stated in his letter today,

these values are all within the range of what is expected from meat contamination. Upon receiving the information, Golden Boy immediately notified the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Ganadi Golovskins promoter Tom Loeffler. As has been planned, Canello will immediately move his training camp from Mexico to the U.S. and will submit to any number and variety of additional tests that Vada deems necessary ahead of and after May 5th. added Canelo, I'm an athlete, okay, that's the, that's the Quote, Canel has tested clean dozens of times. So it seems like, fascinatingly enough,

he tested positive for clenbuterol, tested by Vada, but the fight is still on. And they came out with the test. I mean, it's interesting because what's the point of the test if there's no ramifications for the test? Right?

But it did come. So I appreciate, you know, I appreciate the transparency. It did come from Golden Boy, but what's the point of the test that there's no punishment for said failure, unless I'm missing something here. I mean, we've seen some UFC fighters get multiple years.

Francisco Rivera's careers essentially finished because of something like this, right? Francisco Rivera, Usada, he received, according to the Usada website, received a four-year period of ineligibility for his anti-doping policy. Yeah, he tested a. positive for Clinton buterol. So in an out-of-competition test, interesting. I guess fight fans would be

happy that the fight is still on. But why do the test if there's no ramifications for it? All right. Well, that's some big news coming out of the world of boxing. This is bizarre. All right. Well, just trying to figure that out. That is late breaking news, as they say in the TV business, my friends. We still have a lot of show left. Coming up, we'll be answering your question. and comments. You have been hitting us up using the hashtag the MMA hour. We're also going to do Rick's Picks as per usual. And we are also going to, okay, well, I should, I should note this because I do recall, but thank you to Mark Romani for letting me know. Augusto Montanio and Brandon Marino both popped for a clambuterol and got cleared. Mexican meat contamination is a real

thing per Wada, which I know, but they did have a period of sort of being provisionally suspended. It doesn't appear, at least from what I'm reading, that Canelo, will be facing any kind of sanction here. But let's give us some time to digest this. We'll also be joined by Mike Goldberg. But first, we've talked to Brian T.C.C.O.Rtega. We've talked to Shugashana O'Malley. We've talked to McKenzie Dern.

The headlining act on Saturday. Of course, it was Chris Cyborg. She defeats Yanukunitskaya in the first round, arguably her most dominant performance in the UFC. She is still the reigning defending UFC women's featherweight champion, and she is kind enough to be joining us via the match of Skype. There she is. Chris, how are you?

having great how are you I'm doing great congratulations tonight uh... parabins congrats on winning the fight overall

I'm assuming you were very happy with your performance it was pretty much a flawless performance out of you right you know I'm really happy you know I was

you know it'll be five rounds I always take that you know I took my heart and I was so great to the fight and

yeah not you you know I didn't make performance are really happy. It seemed to me like you landed a big punch very early, and she had to adapt, and then she went to her wrestling and her clinch work,

and that maybe prolonged things a little bit. Did you feel like you connected with that punch? Did you feel like she was on the verge of going out after landing that first punch? No, her interview, she's always said, I don't have a chaos power. And I said, well, she's going to fight me now instead of my share dog. You know, before you go and check it out the share dog.

You know, I don't know. I was, of course, all of you had a plan to fight, but when you're going in the cage, you just have to feel your opponent. And then I went at punch, and she fell to the first punch, and then she decided to be disoherstery for go to the ground. Were you frustrated that she was able to prolong things,

the way she did with the takedown, with the clinch work? Was that frustrating for you? Were you disappointed? You know, I worked in my stand-up, use the cage for the stand-up. I work a lot of work, wrestling with Petito and I work a little bit my guard. I think she tried to

heel hooks too. You know, I was just patient. I know she's in panic there and she used a lot of her strength for her take down me and I just relax and it's different and I knew after she's doing all this when she's doing she's going to be tired. She said afterwards that she was very nervous. Our photographer Esther Lynn has a picture where it looks like

the fear of God is in her eyes. Did you get the sense that she was afraid in there that the moment was a little too big for her? I really don't check it out, really. A lot of people talked to me, oh, you see her face. She was scary. I never looked like this.

I look at her. I don't see anything in her face. I just remember, remind me about feather. Like, Pedder no is mild. Feather don't make any sense in the face. I was just thinking, Russian, let's go to the war. You know, but I really respect Yan, you know. she's the talk to fight like three weeks like me,

you know, and then for sure she's going to have other opportunities. And her first fight, she, of course, she's going to be a little bit nervous, you know. I think it's normal. Would you say that that was your best performance in the UFC thus far? I think so. I think it's all right. I think any fight has a lot of challenge for me. The two fights more 40.

I think Tony Everga, you can see a little bit patient and fight. I'm hardly within the very structured, the training. You know, I really, I really go patient and the fight. This fight is getting a little bit crazy, you know, violence. It reminds the cyborg, real cyborg again. And I think I think it's a fight to have a specialty. So I remember not that long ago when they were talking about you taking a fight on short notice. Dana White said, you know, if you can't make weight in eight weeks at 145, what are you doing at 145?

Here you made 145 in three weeks. So were you, was that kind of, you know, something very important to you to prove the people that 145, you don't have trouble making that way. You can do it on short notice. No. You know, it was crazy because before I fight to a heart, I had to injure in my hand. And my right to hand have an injury. And because I worked too much, and then I was injured in my hand.

And then I was, for a holiday fight, I had to have the injury. Yeah, I did a lot of sparring, a lot of sparring, a lot of sparring, like six months straight, sparring, sparring, sparring. And after the fight, I told I need me, I need break. I can't punch. You know, I have two breaks. And I continue to just work, like a conditioning training. I was doing scares, but I was no work to like a sparring for my hands in the cover.

And I was really don't think when I was going to fight. You know, I was going to fight in July because I have to do a lot of things about my knees, everything. And I was in Europe, you know, doing community service seminars and doing Mexican art. I was doing mixed. I would never think about those fights. But I was dead and went and called me. I just first think I did I checked my weight. And I checked my weight, and I did one training, and I did sparring with Farturo, one guy in Europe who had a fight from Angola.

And I said, man, first fight I went to do sparring, you know, for see how I was the feeling. And I still great, and I text my man to me, I know I think I can do it three weeks. But the first thing I did, I checked my weight. But I was really happy because now I learned work with my body, and my way to stay very closely the ways I fight, you know, like better for me. It's less damage. How is your hand after the fight now? No, my hands are great because I stay like one month after a holy fight

and just do ice and the therapy and nothing hurts. Okay. Great. Is my real apple. Chris, do you get tired of after every win, we can't just celebrate the win. We can't celebrate the performance. We have to talk about the division and are you fighting real 145ers and stuff? It's not just like any champion.

Oh, Max Holloway beats. Saldo, great, he's great, we celebrate. But with you, there's always so much that goes in with it. And none of it is your fault, but it's because of the division that you fight at. Does this get tiring for you? About what? I understand the question. That it's never just Chris Seiborg won, two minutes, etc.

It's always, there's no one for you to fight. It's all 135ers. You're the only one. You're not fighting the toughest competition, all this stuff. There's always all this other stuff that comes with it. You know, now it's changed a little bit. I think now the girls start to show up, you know, just, don't want to fight me and I think they have the big opportunity they want to

and now I think change me a little bit you know after the flight uh... Meganso sent a Twitter for me and after Holly you understand two years after I'm under sent two years you know I think the girls start to show up but I really want my decision growing and I'm really happy Holly Homers going to continue 145 and I think this is going to be better and you have more girls going to stay one for the fight. Okay, so let me ask you, because it was a bit confusing afterwards. It seems like

they're doing Amanda Nunes versus Raquel Pennington in Rio. However, after the fight, Dana White said that he'd like for you to fight Amanda Nunes in Rio. Is this of interest to you at all? Will you consider this? Have they asked you to fight her yet, officially? Do you know, after my last fight, I said I would like to fight a month and July. And, you know, I did three fights in seven months. And Amanda going to be in one year. She's going to, like, almost no fights. Her last fight is this September.

And she's really defending her belt. And they have Kelly Villera. She's fighting me in semi-card, beat from Captain Gunner. She's the next line to my fight 135. She's 1510. And, you know, have a girl for Amanda fight. She's happy to defend her belt. But I'm open for fighting her, you know.

I keep training. And then I'm open for a fight to her. probably going to be July. I'm not going to fight in Brazil May. I have a lot of things to do in the D3 fights in seven months, and I really have to take the break. Have they even offered you the real fight? Have they tried to get you to take it? I've been asking a little bit, but, you know, because I'm going to Brazil now,

end of the month, I have to do something about my niece. And I really, I was never, this fight, beginning of the march is perfect. I had to have a ticket for going to Brazil, end of the march, for me. all my stuff and and then you know yeah and then I said I have to fight her but of course now she has to defend her bad to get her to get a win you know I never fight a month before because she's the ones alone 45 she never keeps to win her for fighting you know once she fought the 145 because this fight never happened you know it's not sitting in because she's never getting close and but now I think it's the fighting people would

like to watch but of course I think the girls have to respect and you know it's not make them defending her belt. I don't know. But she doesn't want to wait until July. It's cool, you know, from this school. Okay. What's wrong with your knees? No, no, because I'm going to adopt my knees.

I'm going to bring her to her back. Oh, your niece. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. I thought you said your knee. My missus. Yeah. No, my mistake.

No, I don't have any injury. I feel great. I feel perfect. So you're adopting two nieces? No, just one. Just one. Wow. How old is she?

Yeah. Now she's 12. But when I make the problem for her, she's on five years old. Wow. They take a long time. But, you know, today's the day coming true. Wow. Who does she live with now before you actually adopt her? She lives with my mom. You know, when I went to my, when I live in Brazil, I leave with my mom. And then I always take care of her. And she's like my daughter. And then when I came into America, I told her to bring her because, like, I was going to speak in English.

I really have to work for this somebody in Britain. And I start to work. And I told her when I have everything sick and everything prepared, I bring you. And today, because now it's a wedding, you know. I'm ready for bringing her. I think it's going to be a good opportunity to her in living America. And I feel very happy and blessed because it did promise, you know, going to come true.

That's amazing, and congratulations on that. If you don't mind me asking, where are her parents? No, her parents is my brother, my brother. But my brother, when she's born, he's still young, and he's having like a brother. But her mom, she never met her mom. Oh, wow. Okay, okay. Your mom left.

Okay. Wow, that's a beautiful thing. Congratulations on doing that. I just want to ask you also, Holly Holm was on our show earlier, and she said, She would love to fight you again. Does this interest you at all? You know, Holly, she's having one and four.

She's having to be the last four-five-fight. Okay, we did, like, amazing fight, you know. I won a decision. But I think she still have some fights. She's having to get a win for a fight again. You know, I don't have any problem fight her again. But, you know, I think she's having to get a win. I think she can fight catch in general 145.

I think she can help me invest my decision in 145. You know, I think she can do this. But I have two fights left. And if the goal is still fights, Amanda Nunes and Meg Anderson. If Amanda Nunes, not be ready, or she lost her last neck fight, or not be ready for International Fight Week,

I already told my manager, I want Megan Anderson. Okay, and do you think Megan Anderson will finally get clear to fight you? Are you confident? You know, she sent Twitter. Yeah. She sent Twitter for me the day in my fight. Congratulations on a fight you, you know? I don't know.

I don't know. I should like to play like this. but I don't know, but maybe she's supposed to be ready. If she's Twitter, maybe she's going to get clear soon. Okay. And you say you have two fights left on your deal. But I never take the table. Go ahead.

I never take the table about Amanda. Oh, Eddie, really. Before this fight, after Hollyholm, I contact Valentina, where she could help my campus Amanda, and she's going to be part of my team when I'm Amanda, Valentina. Wow, Valentina Shafshanko. Yes. Wow.

Have you ever trained with her before? No, no, no. I just heard about this, man, she's had a lot of fights. She's had a lot of experience. And she fought two times with Amanda. She stayed a long time with Amanda in the Uttargon. And then I talked to her. Ray is her friend.

They like know her. And she'd say yes, Chris. I mean, and it'll be great. It would be great. That would be great. Last two quick things for you, Chris, before I let you go, you said you have two fights left on your contract. And are you saying like that?

And that's it? You're done? Or then you're going to renegotiate? What are you thinking? No, I'm not done. But probably we want to renegotration. I don't know. But I've no done.

You know, I have more fights I was to do. Because I remember my division and this two. I remember when you were talking about retirement, you know, a long time ago, this was around the time. So I didn't know if you just had two fights, period. No, no. I have two fights left in my deal. Okay, gotcha.

And then after quick. Yeah. And I love the story of you and Dana shaking hands after the fight. You guys are your buddies now. Hey, I don't know if your buddies, but I told him out. Now we're friends. I get it to fight three weeks notice for help. You know, for them asking me, I did want favor.

But, of course, favor for me too. But, you know, I approve like anyway at any time. And we're going to be ready. And you guys, always I say that, but I never have the opportunity. And this time I have the opportunity. And I told him, now we're friends. You know, it's funny, but, you know, he's getting, I think it's cool. But I don't know.

What do he say to you? I think he didn't happen. What do he say when you said that? He just smiled. He just smiled and he turned his red face. He's shy. Yes, he's a very shy guy. Shoot a box style.

I loved it. Shoot a box style. I was trained when in beginning of my career, and I was here, I didn't need to be bad, be ready, you need to prepare for any situation. But I was never thinking it happened with me. And this time happy when I say, I fight. No, I feel like, oh, it's cool. It's a football style.

And then all my partner in the football is really happy because, like, before, we can only see YouTube who you're going to fight. You just have to be ready for an situation. Just go over that and fight. And I feel like that's just fighting like this. Chris, what a performance once again. It's a pleasure to watch you compete. Congratulations on the victory.

Enjoy it. And also congratulations on the upcoming adoption of your niece. amazing thing and hopefully we'll see you back in there in July. Okay. Thank you all my friends. Thank you, Ariel, for so opportunity. Thank you for CyberNation, everybody in Vegas. And hopefully you'll see Vegas again. Bye to week. Thank you so much. Looking forward to it. There she is. Chris Cyborg. Thank you so much to her. Parabenz. Obrugado. Appreciate her stopping by the most dominant female in the history of

this sport. She is now undefeated in her last 20. And man, hasn't lost it. her very first fight 12 years ago or so. It's an amazing story, and she continues to fight. Whoever that they put in front of her continues to beat whoever they put in front of her. Unfortunately, there isn't the talent depth at 145. She said Megan Anderson, hopefully that that fight can happen. Mandaninez would be interesting. We'll see what happens.

She can only do the tasks that are put in front of her. So credit to her, and what a great story that is her adopting her niece. I totally watched that. I thought she said knees, but she said niece. My bad. Thank you.