MMA Fighting - The MMA Hour with Luke Thomas – Episode 453

Episode Date: October 15, 2018

On this episode of the MMA Hour, Luke Thomas speaks to double UFC champ Daniel Cormier about his upcoming title defense against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 (39:00); lightweight contender Dustin Poirier about his cancelled fight with Nate Diaz and the injury that forced him out (1:13:50), Chael Sonnen about his loss to Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 208 and what's next, Michael Chiesa about his move to welterweight and his fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 232 (18:30). Luke also breaks down some of the action over the weekend at Bellator 208 and PFL 9 on the Monday Morning Analyst (1:23:55), and gives his thoughts on Ronda Rousey's recent comments about the UFC 229 melee on The Weigh-in (05:25). We also answer your voicemails on Sound Off (1:48:15) and your tweets on A Round of Tweets (2:08:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Welcome, everyone. This is the MMA hour right here on MMAFiting.com. Thank you so much for joining me. I greatly appreciate it. Fun show planned, as always. We'll do a little way in, a little Monday morning analysts, some tweets, your calls with the sound off, and a trio of great guests as well.

To talk about his UFC 232 fight against Carlos Connors, at Michael Kiesa will be here. By the way, the double champ returns. Daniel Kormier will talk about his UFC 235, which is going to take place right down the street against Derek Lewis, a few other things, I'm sure. And here to reflect on, I guess, his loss in his future. We appreciate Chil Sona making some time for us as well,

facing Fedor at UFC, excuse me, Belator 208 over the weekend. So a lot to get to. Appreciate you guys tuning in. The tweets, keep sending them. Use the hashtag the MMA hour. And of course, you can always call at, I never memorize the number, 844-866-2468. And by the way, the PFL comes to my hometown of Washington, D.C. this Saturday. I will be there if you see me.

Please say hi, but don't be weird. And we're going to give away some VIP tickets to that a little bit later on the show. So you've got to watch the whole show, and we'll give them out at a time of my choosing. So be on the ready for that. Should be a lot of fun. Okay. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I did.

Got a little sick on Saturday night, but otherwise I was just fine. And happy to be back in the chair. I'm a little tired because your boy has more anxiety than a dog with separation anxiety. But I am finding a way to soldier through. Let us go now to the aros to my frioles. the Arequipa to my pen The man from Bogota There it is, look at him

Yop, how's it going? Danny Sigura. Hi Danny That makes two of us, you know, being tired and sick And over the weekend This job just, no one cares that we're sick But just so you know this job does make us sick Doesn't it? Yes? Yeah How are you doing? Good weekend? I'm doing well, yeah It was a good fights over at Bellator

Some good fights this weekend, yeah It's pretty good, yeah Belator got a little bit overshadowed with all the UFC news, but by the time the fights came around, they were actually pretty decent. Yeah. Biggest, outside of the main event,

biggest takeaway from Bellator was what? For the two main events. Forget those, because we'll talk about them on the Shore. Anything else stood out to you about the Belator fights? Karatanov looked great. The paratrooper, man. He had a rough start for his Belator career,

and, you know, he's been around for forever, so a lot of people were wondering how, you know, how he was going to do. And big country, still a threat. And he looked great. I would have loved to see him in the heavyweight Grand Prix. I think he's a legit heavyweight. And moving forward, man, he's got some exciting, you know, matchups out there.

So, you know, that was a good one for Belta. I'd say Benson Henderson. Benson Henderson. Looks good against Adawad, man. I mean, I didn't know what to make of Benson in this Belator run. Certainly, there are still some questions to be asked, but that was a commanding performance and a bit of a redemptive one as well. Yeah, two-fight win streak now.

Hey, that's not nothing. Real quickly, there was something in D.C. I told you us before the show called the H. Street Festival. It's this big festival on the East. east side of town. And it was the biggest I'd ever seen it this year. Your boy went with his wife. Yeah? Dude, this is not something I'm trying to brag about. I'm just trying to tell the truth. Listeners of this show stopped me, I was there for maybe three hours. I got stopped. You got lynched? I got, no, I didn't quite get lynched. But I got stopped a gazillion times.

People have been like, oh man, love the MMA hour, blah, blah, blah, blah. M&A beat. They've been referencing this show and, of course, the show we do on Thursdays. I don't know, man. I guess it was maybe surprise, Yeah, I guess I am surprised. I wasn't expecting that kind of outpouring of support. You go to MMA events and you see a lot of MMA fans, right? It's to be expected. But like in regular old D.C. where people think the nationals are edgy,

I didn't think anyone watched MMA. And yeah, man, I guess they do. I was very happy to see it. Yeah, underestimating the M.A fans. There's a lot of them out there, man. There's a lot of them out there. By the way, do you have your caffeine? I'm not detecting enough high energy.

Wait, hold on, hold on. Your boy, dude, I... All right. Let's go. Let's get the show started. I am so tired. I could cry. I could legitimately burst into tears. Hey, you got that Iguardiente bottle in the corner if you ever hit, you know,

bro. I'm about to hit it up. I'm about to hit it up. I need something to help with my anxiety because I woke up at three in the morning. My alarm's not set to like 4.30. And I could not go back to sleep. And whenever that happens, I cannot go back to sleep. I just stay there like this.

So I'm the same way. Once I'm awake, I can never take naps. Once I'm awake, I'm awake, that's it. It's killing me. But you know what? This is my 50th coffee and my heart's going to explode sometime during the show,

but that'll be good for entertainment. Yeah, good for the radio. Good calls, good tweets? What do we got? Yeah, very good. I mean, the calls and the tweets just keep getting better. I feel like the calls are every week

getting excellent. Quality, the questions, everything. All right. We'll come back to you a little bit later in the show. And yeah, we'll have all those calls and those tweets a little bit later. All right.

That's good. All right. Stare that shit back there, young Padawan. All right, with that, out of the way. It is time for our opening segment. Let's go to the way in. Time now for the way in right here on the

MMA hour, and it actually is not anything related to Bellator. I know some folks were talking about where's the main event fixed? We're actually going to get to that ridiculous argument in the Monday morning analyst, which will be a little bit later in the show. But there was something else that kind of got brought

up on the news cycle. I think it came from a TMZ interview. I try not to watch too much TMZ, although they do break news. Anyway, Rhonda Rousey made some news, and I believe she was asked about what had happened with Connor and Habib and the melee, and she took a broader point. I believe we have her quote, if we can put that on the screen, I would love to see it and love to read it as well. What do we have here? Yes? Here we go. Here is what she wrote. I'll read it out if you can't see it. I think that Habib jumping out of the octagon was not as bad as throwing objects at a bus.

because my friend Rose Nama Yunus was on that bus. My friend Michael Kiesa missed his fight, of course he'll be on the show a little bit later, because he suffered an injury from broken glass. And here is really the bigger point. She says, I just feel like there has to be, excuse me, equal treatment all the way across the board.

I don't think that anyone should get special treatment because they're a bigger draw. Now, this naturally drew some chuckles from everyone because if, oh, Jesus. Danny, I'll get back to you in a second. Just give me one minute. Give me one minute.

Naturally, let's do suckles from everybody because they're saying, well, if anyone benefited from unequal treatment, it was her. Now, there's a couple of points here I want to make because some folks pushed it back on it, right? Look, in some ways, Rousey's really not unique. I mean, she is. Let's be clear about that.

But in some ways, in some ways, she's really not. Here's the reality, and I think a lot of folks are missing some of the context here. I made a point that when she said this, I wrote on Twitter like, that is rich coming from her, right? Somebody who really benefited from preferential treatment. And folks were saying, my colleague, Jeff Wagenheim, I love Jeff. He disagreed to me, which is always great. I love having a debate. And he tried to make the point.

Look, there's one thing if you're Connor and you're chucking furniture at a bus window and literally, literally breaking laws, going to jail versus maybe skipping out on some media obligations. They're not really the same. And my response would be, you're right. They're not the same, which is why the comparison is really, really, really important to make here. Here's the truth. What did Rousey get in the way of preferential treatment? Probably a number of things, including, but not limited to the fact that at UFC 207, she did not have to engage with the media or Joe Rogan virtually in any capacity whatsoever. And you're going to say, well, big deal. She doesn't have to talk to the media. I even said during that time, I don't feel like personally she owes me anything. But you'll recall, Connor McGregor and Nate Diaz were supposed to be. We're supposed to. to fight at UFC 200, that got yanked because Connor didn't want to do enough media. And of course, that's how they ended up on UFC 202.

In other words, she got treatment all the way back then that Connor McGregor couldn't get in a roughly similar time frame. And he was one of the biggest stars in the sport. That should tell you something, that they were willing to bend over backwards for her in ways they weren't for him. So there's, there's, it's not necessarily that was the biggest ask in the world, although it was pretty substantial, but rather the tone they took, the approach they took that was so dramatically unequal. And there's a couple other things you could point to as well in terms of, you know, the way which they pushed her and promoted her. You'll recall that the lack of her doing any kind of media, I would argue, dramatically hurt Amanda Nunes, right?

when your opponent never has to talk to the media and your opponent is the hugely celebrated popular one and they never have to speak to anybody about you. They never have to mention your name. They never have to acknowledge you. Their name never has to come out of their mouth. None of these things ever have to have any kind of reality. And as a consequence, people just never paid attention to Amanda.

And so I really believe that was supposed to be a passing of the torch moment. It's not just that she didn't talk to the media. No one treats us as victims. I'm not asking us to. Or I'm not asking you too, rather. But sorry, Amanda Nunes was very much a victim in that. And that never got addressed. That's not really all that fair to be quite candid with you.

And you could point to a number of other things. And folks who have said, well, what does that got to do with Connor, Chuck, and Adali at a bus? Here's the reality. It's a difference in degree. it's not a difference in kind, folks. When the UFC, there's some historical perspective that's required here. I'm going to sound like Clint Eastwood, Sands the Racism, you know, in Grand Terismo, telling all the kids to get off his lawn.

But it's true. If you followed the UFC from the moment they began to flex their muscles, you did see preferential treatment all the way back then, but it was a little bit different. So, in other words, what would it include? It would include things like before it got taken away, Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell being set up for life. It would include, to some degree, the way the contracts were set up, right? Like, you know, yes, someone who is headlining a UFC show and fighting for a title should make more.

But in and of itself, there's no negotiated union setting up standards or best practices for the fighter. So there's really unequal treatment there. Again, some of that's justified, some of that's not. You could go to some other things, right? like Gilbert Melendez negotiating in certain things from Belator offering a contract. But most of it was fairly, fairly minimal, fairly low-key. And here's what happened. When the UFC was powerful and flexing their muscles, there wasn't a lot of opportunity

to be anything other than a partner and to have a degree of subservience to them. And you were rewarded for that. When the business began to flag a little bit and the stars begin to get a little more powerful, then you'll notice there was a ratcheting up of how much preferential treatment and accommodation took place. You know, dating all the way back to what Rousey got was some things. And again, that's not the worst of it. But you've got to recall, how about Brock Lesnar getting his USADA requirements for his UFC 200 fight waived? That was accommodation.

And its accommodation, I don't know that would have necessarily happened all the way back in a bit of a different era. How about the fact that CM Punk fought in the UFC at all? I mean, this is the height of accommodation. And it was a move that was done to shore up their flagging year to a degree. He was brought in to kind of help these efforts in a way that made no sense other than he was willing to do it. and he was needed for some kind of financial consideration. So you have this, what I would call, fairly modest escalation of accommodation,

to the point where you get to Connor McGregor, literally breaking the law, and that something should be done about it. You can say that there's, well, one is minor and one is major. Dude, it's all part of the same continuum. And one accommodation has given rise to every, other escalating accommodation, you cannot disconnect the two. To the extent the UFC had all the leverage, they made some accommodations for people who were better for business, or they made some kind of

concessions. And to the extent that that star power got greater, they made more. And to the extent that their business began to flag a little bit, or at least their relationship to the consumer as the primary driver of quality began to diminish and began to all the power used to be, transfer to the stars, and then you saw more and more and more accommodation. But it's the same impulse. It's the same impulse to say, we'll treat you like X, we'll treat you like Y. Now, Connor just forced their hand because he was so popular, he is so good for business, he is so beloved by so many parts of the world, and the UFC as a brand doesn't have the same kind of fan loyalty that it once did. But they are not separate. They are not separate. They are absolutely

unequivocally tied at the hip. And you can say if you were in Rousey's position, well, wouldn't you want the accommodations? If you needed them? Well, yeah, of course. Everybody is going to want whatever they want in this world. They're going to want to get a raise. They're going to want to have 100 days off a year. They're going to want all these things.

It's just up to the people in power to make choices about whether or not that's deserved, about what kind of message that sends to the rest of the company. Here's the reality. Fighters doing what's in their self-interest is just something that's always going to be that way. Take for another example. If Daniel Cormier was offered to fight, I don't know, Marius Puginowski, the Strongman or something, or pick somebody else who's a big bodybuilder who's famous. You know, Larry Wheels or something, right?

Cormier would win. Right? But let's say they were going to pay him a ton of money to do it. he's going to take it because it's in his self-interest. Rousey asking for that, it's in her self-interest, at least so she thought. There's a question about that. I'm not necessarily mad about that instinct that she has. My issue is not that. My issue is, number one, when you are a contributor to a sliding scale of how justice is met it out, how it's distributed, and how it's distributed unequally,

you don't get to lament that sliding scale. You're part of the problem. You can rationalize all the things that she or Gilbert or Brock or C.M. Punk or Chuck Liddle and Matthews, all these favors that they got, all this favoritism that they got. You can rationalize that, but you can't divorce their role in this erosion of standards either. They're connected. they're absolutely connected. And so to me, when I see things like that, I'm like, look, I get it.

She didn't chuck a bus or whatever, a hand truck, a dolly at a bus. She didn't do any of those things, nor am I suggesting she should. Nor am I suggesting she should be thrown under the bus, metaphorically speaking, for any of the things that she had. But there is absolutely unequal treatment in the UFC. Yes, it's been around for a while, but it's gotten way worse over time as the stars get more popular. The brand gets less. And as the fighters began to ask more, they begin to get more. And it didn't just start with Connor.

Maybe he took it to the furthest degree. Maybe he abused that privilege. Maybe you could say he took it to a degree that is absurd. And I would agree with you. I would agree with you. But this idea that this all started with Connor and he's the one that has really changed the way business is done? No, he's the one that shed a light on it. before you could sort of like, you know, you could squint and maybe you couldn't see it anymore.

That's not that way anymore, man. And it didn't start with him. It went all the way back. And she benefited from that system the entire time. Now, she pulled her weight too. She made millions. And I'm glad. I hope she makes even more millions doing what she's doing with the WWE.

Good for her, man. I really have no issue with it. But Connor gets a lot of criticism. Some of it fair. Some of it not so fair. and he absolutely has been a beneficiary of the UFC's uneven distribution of justice. No doubt about it. But here's the reality, man.

He ain't the architect of that system. He's just the latest engineer. All right. And that's the way in here on the MMA hour. All right, with that out of the way, let's go to our next guest. I haven't spoken to this gentleman in a while. He's changed weight classes. I don't know if he's changed his haircut or not,

but he'll be fighting Carlos Condit at you, 502.32, I believe he is joining us on Skype today. The one and only Michael Kiesa joins the show. He did get a haircut. It's gone. It's gone. Why did you cut it? I think my girlfriend was getting burned out on the whole Joe Dirt thing.

And I was kind of, I was starting to get ready to shave a mustache. And she's like, all right, you either can keep your haircut and get a mustache or you can cut your mullet and keep your beard. So I was like, yeah, I'll just, I'll cut the mullet. it start fresh hold on if you had gone through with the mustache idea what would it have been oh oh i was just going to get the nice the classic handlebar just nothing nothing to no handlebar like down to straight top lip not too thick not too thin not like a tom sellic but just like a nice like a nice clean like freddie mercury style mustache all right well you know what it looks good you're back to you know normal society here you can fit in with the rest of us

How are you feeling these days, man? I know you're obviously, you changed to welter weight. I'm assuming this has had a bit of a carryover effect in your life and your training to a degree already, even though your fight's not till late December. Yeah, you know, it's just nice. I haven't to stress so much about my weight, you know, it's like when I'm fighting in 55, you know, as you've seen, I'm not a small guy. You know, I'm 6'2.

I've got a decent frame. And, you know, I used to have to stress about my weight before I'd even get in the camp, you know, and then, you know, and then from then, you know, my camps were just miserable. I'm just always thinking about the weight and this and that. It's like even if I make, even if I eat right and do the right things, you know, I'm still a big guy. Like right now I'm 205 pounds, you know what I mean? I'm not.

Are you really? I'm not a small guy. Yes, I'm 205 pounds. But I've been on, you know, I've still been working with both Sandoval from the PI, working on my diet, you know, and I've been bulking a lot the last eight weeks. But, you know, still, even at that, I'd still be north of. of 193, 194 outside of camp. So I'm just glad that I'm just done fighting the weight.

I'm ready to just focus more on being a fighter and being an athlete. You know, I work. It's like I tell people, I get tired of training three times a day just to be some scrawny dude. Like I'm ready to be a big athlete, you know what I mean? I want to be a big, fast, strong athlete. I know I have technical skills to go with it that I think I could have some success at welterweight in my aspirations and stay the same.

I'm still going to work towards winning the UFC world titles. So I'm very happy with my decision so far. What do they have you doing at the PI that's different than what you would do at 155? Well, not running as much right now, that's for sure. You know, right now I'm just focused on lifting weights and just making sure I'm eating the right things. You know, most bodies are made in the kitchen, not just in the gym. So I'm just eating the right things, eating the right amounts, and just doing a lot of bulking right now. Like lifting weights?

And it's just, yes, lifting a lot of weights and lifting heavy, you know, and that's, I can tell I've probably gained about six pounds of muscle in the last couple, like, two and a half months. So, you know, I just feel good, man. It just did not have to stress about weight. And to some people, I sound like a psycho because I'm like, I'm only, you know, a little more than 30 pounds over. They're like, that's still 30 pounds. I'm like, yeah, well, it beats 50, you know what I mean? It beats having to cut all that weight. And just you see the trend nowadays.

Look at Dustin Pore. Look at Kelvin Gastel. and look at Robert Whitaker, you know, there are guys that are making that 15-pound jump, and they're killing it right now. And, you know, so I just think the trend now is just go to the weight class

that's most suited for your body. You know, I was still kind of part of that trend where it was see how low you can get, get as small as you can get, be the biggest guy in your weight class, and I just, I just,

it started to burn me out. Do you think you did any long-term damage from all those weight cuts? Sometimes I do. For a long time, I did. I think I kind of got out at the right time. You know, I wasn't fighting. You know, when I first got in the UFC, I wasn't lifting weights. And, you know, I had a full-time job. And then once I got in the UFC, I started working on strength conditioning and stuff. And, you know, I wasn't fighting as much. So I wasn't making that huge weight cut as much. But I could definitely tell that, like, when I would get done with a weight cut, it was the residual damage would last for, you know, like a month and a half. I'd just be super bloated, super lethargic. I just feel heavy. Like, like, My body's not digesting anything. You know, it just really wasn't a good feeling.

You know, I'm just excited to go. The biggest thing for me, Luke, is I've been doing this for over 10 years. And I love it. It's a blessing to be able to get up and compete and train and make fighting my job. But it started to lose its luster. You know what I mean? When all I'm doing is just killing myself again, I'm like, this used to be fun to me. And now it's like, this is fun again.

Like, I don't have to stress about making this certain weight. I don't have to eat spinach and egg whites year-round. Like, I can eat, and I can be an athlete, and I can lift weights, and I don't have to just focus on cutting weight all the time. I can focus on becoming a better fighter. That was my biggest focus is I'm tired of focusing on my weight. I need to focus on being a better fighter. I have deficiencies I need to work on.

And it's hard to do that, and it's hard to enjoy your training when you're just focused on hitting a certain number on the scale. You know what I mean? All right. So you're going to be taking on Carlos Cond. your first fight at Welterweight. Why Carlos? Well, that's just the fight that came to me. You know, when I talked to my manager, Daniel Rubinstein and Sean, you know, they're just like,

you know, you're not going to, just because you're going to up to 170 doesn't mean you're going to get, there's not going to be any easy fights from the get go. You know, you're still going to have to fight tough guys. And I'm like, cool, that's, you know, I'm not looking for an easy way out. I'm looking, I'm looking to win a world championship. The goal stays the same. Nothing changes. And, you know, and they offered Carlos Condit, you know, that's, you know, that's Those are the challenges I'm looking for. This is a guy that, you know, could be my toughest test in my career. You know, he's a former world champion.

Those are the types of guys I want to fight. You know, Anthony Pettis was my first shot at a former UFC champion. And that's a win I wanted to get really bad to beat somebody that held the title that had the thing that I'm striving for. That I need to get that win under my belt. And, you know, I like the challenges that he presents. You know, if you ever, you know, I'm a big fight fan. So I just remember watching the prime time countdown shows of Carlos Conradson. to leading up to the fight with GSP.

And he listened to his mindset, that killer be killed mentality. That's scary for a lot of people. And for me, I like that. I feel like the guy with Carlos' mindset and his skills is going to bring out the best of me.

So I'm really, I'm expecting the best Carlos Condon. I'm expecting a violent fight. I'm expecting to go out there and have to fight tooth and nail from bell to bell. And I just love the challenge it presents.

And I think that I'm going to be able to show, I've got to show even half the fighters that I am just because I've just been cutting too much weight. I'm really ready to just go out there and be who I really am as a fighter. Do you think, I'm going to ask this question as fairly as I can, do you think he has been affected by the amount of damage he has taken? You know, that's hard to say.

I think Carlos was smart, and, you know, we saw him after the Robbie Lawler fight, kind of take a hiatus. You know what I mean? We haven't seen him as active as he has been in the past, and I think that maybe that's just being conscious of that. that he said something after the Robbie Lawler fight saying, you know, that he got kind of smacked around a little bit and wants to give himself a rest. You know, it's hard for me to say.

You know, I see in the pictures when people, you know, tag me in the Instagram post of him and I next to each other. It looks like he's got a pretty big head, you know, big bones can take more damage. So it's hard to say, you know, but nonetheless, you know, whether he's taking too much damage or not, I'm still expecting a really, really tough fight. He's a game competitor. I mean, he's no slouch.

This is a guy that's, you know, won world titles in multiple organizations, and he's game, and he's violent, and he's got a crazy mindset, and I'm just ready to go out there and scrap with him. Why do you think they paired you two up? You know, maybe it's because we're both on a skid. You know, maybe it's a matchup.

You know, who knows? I'd like to think it's more than matchup. You know, Carlos is, you know, I've had 11 UFC fights, and I've had five performance of the night bonuses, so I'm not necessarily a boring fighter, and we all know Carlos is about his, exciting as it gets.

So, you know, maybe that's it. Maybe it's the skid. Who knows? But either way, I'm, you know, I'm looking forward to it. I don't think this is any loser leaves town fight by any means. You know, I've had a lot of success in the UFC. We've seen guys, you know, you know, Michael Johnson acquired four losses and they never cut him.

He just went out there and got to win. So I'm not even thinking about that. But I'd like to think that this is a matchup thing. I think that this is a fun matchup for the fans. I think it's going to be on the main card for the pay-per-view. So it's like, you know, I think that. And this is just, they're putting this fight together because what do they do on the end of the year? End of the year, cars usually got a lot of exciting fights.

And so I think me and Carlos could go out there and steal the show. By the way, the post-fight bonuses, like some people do something special with them? What do you do with them? Do you just throw them in the bank account and it's all part of the same fund or what? No, I focused actually, I bought a house. So my dream is to always have a log house growing up. I'm from Washington. So it's a, you certainly are.

I grew up just being, yeah. So I grew up, you know, just being in love with log houses. And so, you know, I stacked up enough money until I was able to buy a log house on some property out here in Washington. And I bought it off a bank auction. So I had to buy it kind of outright and remodel it and stuff. So I really put all my money into that. And now we got, we call it the Kesa Dojo. So I got a nice little spread with a log house, a pool, a big garage and stuff like that.

But it's all logs. So it's a that's where I put all my money if I put it into, put it in. into my dream home. What is a reasonable and attainable goal for you in 2019 in terms of advancement at welterweight? Just get back in contention. You know what I mean? I got as high as ranked being seventh at lightweight.

And I truly believe, I really believe this deep down to my bones that I was really only fighting to have my potential. You know what I mean? I really feel like that going up to 170, I'm going to really be able to show my skill set. I'm not going to be a small welterweight. I'm bigger than I would say. say probably 80% of the guys that are already Welterweight right now. So my goal for 2019, win fights, getting the top 10, maybe shoot getting closer to the top

five by the end of 2019. But my long-term goal is still the same, Luke. People may say I'm crazy. A lot of people say I can't pull it off. I don't give a fuck what they say. I know deep down, I'm destined to be a world champion. And maybe it's to be obtained in the most prestigious division in the UFC at Welterweight. So that is my long-term goal.

But for now 2019 and in the top 10. So you think that's interesting. You think welterweight is more prestigious than lightweight? In a sense, I do because you've got to look at the champions. You know what I mean? Matt Hughes, you know, nine-time world champion, George St. Pierre. As of late, Tyrone Woodley's really cemented his legacy as being one of the best welterweights. I think that we, you know, and then you could go back even further than that to like Pat Militich.

You know what I mean? Or Carlos Newton or those types of guys. So I think it's, you know, welterweight, you know, as we know, what Lightweight had a hiatus in the UFC. they kind of got rid of the weight class for a while. But, you know, it's had great guys as well. You know, they had BJ Pan. They've had, you know, as of now, Kibb and Megamette of Connor McGregor,

a lot of great phenomenal fighters. But I feel like Welterweight is one of the most prestigious ones. I feel like that's part of the reason why they won't start 165 and 175 is you can't just drop a weight class like 170 when it has as much history and as much of a legacy as it does. You are, though, in favor of 165? Oh, you saw, you saw my tweets. You saw my idea.

You saw where my brain's at. By the way, it was a sensational idea. But for the folks who did, and I was asking for a clarification. So my idea, I think, you know, for obvious reasons, we need more weight classes. You look at the event for MSG when it's hard to find a championship title fight

when everyone's kind of tied up or there's injuries and stuff. And I think more titles means more opportunities to have more main events, some more opportunities for a guy like, let's say, you know, let's say, you know, they start 165 and then you could do Connor and Nate Diaz for the 65-pound title and Connor gets a shot at becoming a three-time three-division champion. That's lucrative to me, you know, and I think that right now it's a perfect time to start a 165 and a 175 because you make the

GSP wordly deal done. Somehow you find a way to get those two to fight, give them the offer that they can't refuse. I think it's more on GSP. end than it is on tyrants. You have those guys fight for the last welterweight fight of all time to solidify who's the goat. I mean, George St. Pierre, it's not out of his prime. The guy just won the middleweight title from Michael Bissing less than a year ago.

You know what I mean? So I think that he still has a lot of fight left in him. Make that the last well-to-weight fight for goat status. And then let's start something new. You know what I mean? Changes need to be made. I think there needs to be more divisions. And I'm not even for sure at this point. If I would go 65, I might go 75. I might opt to go a little heavier than I would to go a little lighter. You know what I mean?

But I think, you know, take myself out of the equation and just thinking about the sport as a whole, I think it would do a lot of good for us to have more champions. More champions means more title fights, more opportunities to create more superstars. And that's what the UFC's fueled on. They're fueled on superstars. They're still fueled by the pay-per-view model. You need more champions. You need more superstars.

All right. Now, I know I'm going to be very careful with this. I know that there are certain things you probably cannot talk about. You have an ongoing lawsuit. And I'm not going to ask you about anything you can't talk about. But I'm going to try to ask you about things maybe you can. Number one, the response from the community to the lawsuit. I'm wondering if you can speak about some of the negative pushback that you received. Yeah. That's, you know, I'm going to tread lightly with this. obviously I can't really say a whole lot but it just has not been good you know what I mean and it's you know a lot of you know even my girlfriend and my mom get messages and comments and you know they don't

they're not a part of this and it's it's kind of a shame when you know my mom's a sensitive lady you know what I mean and I do my best to protect her and stuff and when she tells me about some of the mean things that are getting sent her way it really It's a shame, you know what I mean? Anybody can say whatever they want to me.

This is about me. This isn't about my family. And, you know, it hasn't been great. So I can imagine the harassment has been substantial. Let me ask you about something else. It's semi-related. One of the reasons, correct me if I'm wrong. Oh, this is your house, by the way.

Yeah, this is, as you can see. You aren't kidding. That really is a log cabin. Yeah. That's wild, man. Hell yeah. One of the reasons why, as I understand it, you went to Welterweight was for your health. The other one, though, was you didn't like the way you promoted the Pettus fight,

that trying to trash talk, not that you minded trash talk per se, but it got to a degree that it was inauthentic. Let me ask you about the game generally, because as an MMA media guy, I've just sort of had to make peace with it. I have no desire to hear it. It doesn't do anything for me, but the market speaks so strongly that I have of no other choice, but to recognize its value.

But I'm wondering, do you think it's toxic? Do you think it has, is it just for fight-fighter, or has it gone too far? I think there's a certain line. I think if it's authentic, let it happen. Like, you know, for instance, me and Kevin, when we had our beep, that was real. You know what I mean?

There was nothing scripted. There was nothing staged there. That wasn't forced. Dude piped off about my mom. I flipped out. That created authentic beef. The pedic thing was just me forcing something. That was me.

you know, this goes back to when the fight got over and everything got done and I'm sitting at home shelf-shocked. I've been gone from my, I literally, I was gone from Spokane for like five months. I spent four months down in camp down in Las Vegas and you know, I'm talking to John Wood

and I was like, you know, what do you think about the fight? He's like, you know what I think Mike? He's like, I think that you need to just go back to who you were before. He goes, you were, when I met you, you were just a blue-collar, humble guy who let your wedding do the talking and he's like, I think that you let trying to, trying to feed into this monster that the

MMA, you know, fan base has come to be consumed by, which they like this trash talk. They like the banter. They like the belittling. They like the, you know, everything that goes with that. He's like, you know, that's not you. He's like, why, so why are you doing it? You know, and I was like, man, you're really right. Like, that really isn't who I am.

I was this whole petting like deep down, I'm a fan boy. You know what I mean? This is a guy. I love this. I'm a fan boy first before I'm a person. fighter. This is a guy that I was excited to get matched up against Anthony Petit. It's a guy that I've been a fan of since before I started ever even training. You know what I mean? So why am I talking

shit to the guy? That's just not who I am. And you know, I'm glad that I, you know, I learned my lesson. You know what I mean? I don't know if that's why I was meant to lose. I got beat by a better guy that night, but you can't just look at it like that. You got to take more from it. And I think that that was just like a reality check. Like, you know what? Even if, you know, I might not get more followers on my Instagram. I'm just not going to be that guy to talk shit anymore. That's just not

who I am. That's not how I was raised. That's not that was not my upbringing. I'm a blue-collar guy from Spokane, Washington. It was raised to just be respectful, be a sportsman, and just you know, speak with your performances. And I'm just glad that I'm just back to my old ways. You know what I mean? Yeah, but let me ask you about the game more generally. Is it good for MMA? Is it bad for for MMA? And I know that's a

okay, go ahead, go ahead. I think it's bad. You know what I mean? in the era when it was Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes and those guys, you know, MMA fans weren't the way they are now. They weren't mean. They weren't volatile. They weren't, you know, they weren't calling people names, bantering their social media and stuff. And granted, social media platforms weren't where they were now.

But it's definitely like, you know, as athletes, you know, we have a fan base, some smaller than others where they follow us and they emulate us, you know, in a lot of different ways. I think that when we're promoting fights by talking shit to each other, belittling each other and all that, the fans, they absorb that. And I think that that's what creates this toxic fan base. You know,

I hate hearing people say, you know, MMA fans are the worst. And it's like, ah, dang, you know, like I don't want to say that because I think MMA fans are great. But in the same sense,

like I don't ever see people that don't like LeBron James say ball tile, mean-ass shit about them, but for some reason, MMA fans just have like a, they just, they throw a lot of shade to a lot of the athletes and it can be pretty bad, especially, you know, some, there's certain female

fighters I'm good friends with and I, they take it very personally and I feel bad for them. I take, I take what said to me with a grain of salt, but some, some people, you know, they don't tread lightly with it. They, they take it very personally. Well, you know what? It sounds like you're turning over a new leaf. You're

literally living in a log, a log, in the woods, man. And you got a fresh haircut, a fresh weight class, and a fresh outlook. I'm looking forward to your next fight at UFC 232. And what you got in store for us at 2019, man? 2019, man, is just winning fights, getting back to my old ways. And I just want to end the contention. I got a lot of people to prove wrong.

And you know what? I'm just excited to, I'm excited. I feel like this is like after being in this sport for 10 years, I feel like I'm starting over. You know what I mean? So I'm just really excited for this fresh start. and I'm excited for what's to come, man. Can't wait to see it.

I'll be in Vegas for your fight. Thank you so much, Michael, and we'll talk soon. See you, buddy. Thank you, Luke. Yep, there he goes. All right. Like the new haircut, the beard's always on point. Can't hate on that.

Let us go now to our next guest. It doesn't need much of an introduction. He's the UFC's double champ. He's the lightweight and heavyweight champion of the world. He'll be fighting Derek Lewis just down the street from here at UFC 230 in the main event. Daniel Kormier is here. Hi, Daniel. How are you?

Hey, good. I'm doing quite well, sir. Boy, Daniel, you took us all by surprise with this one, man. So I'll start off with this question. How on earth did this fight come together? Man, you know, I've always wanted to compete, but, you know, I was hurt. I kind of set my sights on just waiting for Brock, and then... Is generally how it goes, but this time.

time they said, you know, can you fight in a few weeks? And I was like, well, I mean, honestly, I'm not ready to fight right now, but, you know, I could see where I stand. I could see if there's any chance that I could get in the fight. I go, if I fight, when they said, Derek Lewis, I said, okay, let me go see if my hand will hold up when I punch something if it does, and yeah, I'll go fight. Yeah, so give us an update on the hand. I guess it's not 100% but it's good enough to fight? Yes, it is. It's good enough to fight.

It's not 100%. You got to be honest. You know, I still, my fist is like closing, but not all the way. You know, it feels like now I have

like a badly jammed finger, right? Like, it feels like my fingers just jam really badly right now. You ever had like, you ever, you ever have like a, you ever have like a jam finger

and you just can't really, like pop it so it kind of like sticks up a little bit more than the other finger. That's what my hand is right now. So my pointer finger doesn't close completely. Like I can't make it closed tight fist, but it just feels like if I could pop it, I would be okay. The problem is I'm just too afraid to pop it. It hurts. I'm like, I'm not popping.

I'm just kind of hoping that if I'm sparring, I punch someone and it pops. And then I'm back to normal. How has it affected your training? Because I'm guessing you're doing, you can do something. some things, but probably not a lot of things, though, right? No, I can do a lot of things, right? So I'm sparring. I'm just not hitting as hard with my right hand.

All right. I'm not hitting as hard on my right hand. I can wrestle, but, you know, I'm just trying to be very careful, look like looking around it, because if it's going to, like, if something's going to happen, I prefer to happen in the fight and in the training room. Because how horrible would it be if I take this fight three weeks to the fight and not to pull out a week later. Right.

I was wondering about that. So you have to really kind of dial it back a little bit for self-preservation reasons, which is normally true anyway, but it seems like especially true here. Oh, yeah. You know, just really managing it. I'm telling you, I'm going hard, though. Like, I'm hitting dudes. I'm punching dudes and trying to get ready to fight.

You know what I mean? I'm not going to cheat myself and go into this fight with Derek. You know, I have to be very prepared. I'm a big, strong, tough guy that's there to win the first. fight, so I've got to be prepared to do everything in there. All right, let's talk about Derek Lewis. I'm sure you've seen all of the

Popeye's references. What do you make of all of that? Do you like that people bring that up? Do you not like it? Where do you stand on it? I think it's fine, but I think they need to stop doing it and making these free posters until Popeye's gives me my money. We've been talking to him.

It's like, what are you guys doing? It's like, you guys are really messing with my finances here. I think I've been in talks with Popeye, you know, and like about stuff. And we really haven't come to like a great agreement, but it's like everybody's like giving them shit free. It's like, what's the point? Never like making a deal with this guy. Wait, wait, wait.

Let's look back up a step here. So you've legitimately had some talks with Popeyes about like what a sponsorship deal or something? Yeah. Well, see, kind of, look, I'm from Louisiana. So me just being even on a Popeye's commercial isn't a bad thing. It's not just a chicken. I'm like, I'm from Louisiana.

So it's like a company and a restaurant that I've grown up on, you know? So, yeah, I was spoken to them on a couple of occasions. And we were very close back in 2014. When everybody was mad about the cake and chicken video, Popeyes were like super excited about it. So I'm going to got paid out of that deal. And then it just fell apart because we couldn't come to terms. And now we're chatting with them a little bit more since you know that old thing.

Derek's from Louisiana too. So it just kind of makes sense. But everybody making those things postings. and shit, man. It's like, go, guys, calm down. Like, don't give it away free. All right, but in terms of Derek Lewis as an opponent, it's like, I don't know what to think, man. He's super perseverant.

He comes back and fights all the time. But, you know, while your hand is it necessarily 100%, dude, he took a lot of shots in that fight against Volkov. What exactly are you expecting from him on November 3rd? I expect him to come hard very fast to try to knock me out. I mean, I think

Derek, Derek understands that he has to win this fight quickly. and his best course to victory is to come out there and try to get this fight finished quick. Because over 25 minutes, people have no one's shown the ability to go with me that long except for Jones. So I don't think that Derek would see himself in that light, but he needs to get this done quick if he's going to win this fight. All right. So there's a lot of different complicating factors about this. Let's sort of get into some of the details here. Number one, it looks like they're going to take away your title

because now Jones and Gustafson are going to be fighting two months later. You will actually get to compete as the champ champ, which I don't think anyone has done in the UFC, so that's kind of cool. But I'm wondering your feelings about losing that heavyweight title. It sucks. You know, it sucks, but because I defended the belt in January, I do understand the promotion having to move forward to. You know, I'm not, I'm not so stuck in myself that I believe that they could never, they would just wait for me as long as I needed them to wait.

I understand, you know, but it does suck. You know, it does suck, but it is what it is at this point. You know, I'm not going to change it, you know, so it's like, what's the point in wasting the energy on complaining? You know, so I'm like, you know, I'm shouldn't go and do this thing as go into November 3rd as the double champion. and compete, hopefully defend my title, and then be a heavyweight championed a war and move forward to the Brocklands and the fight. All right. Do you think a champ champ should have the right to at least defend once in each weight class

before they get stripped? I think my intention when I won the second vote was to do both. But I think now, as I look at it, it's kind of. Hypothetically, it's much more difficult to do than actually doing it. Right? Like when it happens, you have these grand aspirations of what you're going to do as a double champion. It's just very difficult to think how you're going to do it. Now, if I still had two, three years left in my career,

then maybe my approach would be different. But being that next year or the last year, I don't think it's possible. Your prediction for the Jones Gustafsson fight, what is it? I think Jones wins a fight. I think, you know, I've never once shot away from the fact that he's a fantastic fighter. You know, he's a really talented guy. And it seems, I mean, obviously he can go with me and keep up with me. So he obviously has to be putting in a lot of hard work.

So he must be a hard worker in that sense. And I know that Alex for as good as he is, too, because he's a good fighter for as good as Alex is he struggled in those big moments. this is a really, really big moment and he's going to have to fight to his level or above his level to try and win. And the major issue is that, you know,

Jones had a point in power which he fought, I think, maybe more recent than Gus doesn't did. He did. That's a pretty good factor. It is. I'm wondering, like, do you... What was different about John

the second time you faced him in terms of physicality, was he slowed at all? Was it fight IQ higher? And I'm not because I'm asking you to weigh in on a potential fight with you guys in the future, but for Gustafson. In other words, like, is John immune to ring rust in your mind? No, he wasn't different.

He wasn't different. If anything, I hit him easier. I was able to hit him more clean in the second fight, but I don't believe that was due to him having anything, him being any worse. I just think that we had prepared ourselves for to fight him again. You know, I had been in there with him before, kind of knew what to expect and, you know, what to expect and, you know, had more success because of it, you know, so I don't think,

I think that, that, I think that he got hit more because of the preparation that we put in for the fight. But, yeah, he's a very smart guy. he works and he makes adjustments very well in there. And obviously, he showed him to land in that kick. And it wasn't even a kick. Like, I mean, the kick hurt. You know, it really put me on Beach Street, but it wasn't even a kick, you know,

with the finishing sequence, you know, he's one of those guys that when he gets an opponent hurt, he has a really, really good ability to go find a finish. All right, real quickly, if I can ask one more question about the fight with Lewis. Now, he, as I understand it, we were going to get him on the show, but he has to do his medicals today. presumably he'll be cleared. But you are fighting in New York, man,

and they are a strange bunch up here. I'm wondering, do you have any concerns even in the back of your mind that either of you might get prevented from making it to the finish line by an overzealous commission? I hope not. I mean, I think it's a fun fight.

You know, it's a fight that we need to make right now. It's the fight that works in this moment. All right. Let's talk about Steve A. Miochich. I'm sure you have seen some of the things. You responded to some of the things that he said. Here's the interesting question. I had this debate on my radio show because I don't know what the right answer is. You already fought him. You already beat him. You guys had a fight scheduled in January. You fought in July. You had seven months. And he called the win a fluke. I don't know that I understand that characterization. But here's the better part. He accused you of ducking him on the third. And this is like an actual question. I'm sort of asking you to put on your analyst hat here. Can you duck somebody you already beat? I don't think so, but I think, so, again, it's all about perception, right? So if you can create this idea that I ducked them, then, okay, maybe you'll get some people to rally and support you. And it's work, Luke.

I mean, I have never seen Stephen Mioch's have so much support in my whole entire career. I mean, people are like, why are you ducking steep? say, like, I put a picture up on a kid that signed a scholarship to go to college the other day, and I got, like, a whole bunch of him going, why are you ducking steeping him? I'm like, I can't duck a guy I just beat within one round four months ago, or three, not even three months ago. Like, I'm not ducking him. If anything, I was trying to give Steve A credit for the fact that he's a good fighter,

that I wanted to give him my best effort, right? I want to fight him at my best, so I need six weeks and not a busted up hand to fight him. to fight him. But, you know, people get a little bit desperate when something that they truly love gets taken away from him, and you can see him in the steep. And so why do you think the UFC picked Derek? I mean, it seems to me the answer, D.C. is that

he had this incredible comeback win. Yep. And, dude, people like Steepay. No doubt about it. To your point, they're hitting you up for it about it constantly, right? But people also love Derek to a pretty amazing degree. People love Derek, man. I mean,

the number, you know, Derek, Derek, Derek Lewis's social media exploded after a UFC, UFC 229. UFC 229. You know, I think the guy gained like 700,000 followers overnight,

you know, like, it's crazy. You know, like, he, he has a way to draw people in because he's so loose. You know,

the guy is out there, having a good time. I mean, Derek Luton in one night, he's got 1.3 million social media followers. Steepa was the heavy league champion of the world for almost two years and have 700,000, you know. And it's sad, too,

because Steve A is the type of guy that everyone should rally around. He's a fireman. He's a great guy. He's a good competitor. But they like that's something different. And Derek, is there something different than he's got momentum right now. Interesting. All right. Let's talk about a couple other issues if I can.

just in terms of the fight itself from UFC 229, how would you grade your teammate Habib Numergumadal's performance? I thought he fought beautifully. I thought he implemented the gameplay that he wanted to implement, fought the way that he wanted to fight, and did exactly what he needed to do. I thought he fought beautifully. The third round, did you score that for McGregor or for him?

I thought it was very close. But, I mean, it was a complete stand-up fighting. I thought either Connor won at 10-9 or 10-10, just like an even round for me. I really did not see that much of a difference. He made a lot of good shots himself, you know, but I kind of thought it could have been a 10-10-0 because they're the new scoring system, right?

You know, I can't even keep track anymore, to be honest with you. It's my job to keep tracking. I can't even do that. Yes, come on. All right, but let me ask you about this. What did you make of McGregor's wrestling? I thought, you know, here's my sense. It was like, Habib just keeps knocking at the door,

and you might have the ability to close the door two, three, maybe even four times. But he just keeps knocking until he finds an answer for it. And there's just no way anybody, Connor McGregor or God knows who else, can keep up with that. honestly, man, that first take-down, I thought he did a freaking, I was like, wow. I was like, wow. He really made him work for this takenown because this is what we said at AKAA, right? We try to get you lost in the sauce. We want to get you lost in the sauce, right?

Like when we're on a leg, we want to give you one, okay, you'll defend two, you'll defend three. Then you start going, okay, wait a minute, like, then you start to get lost. you get lost in all the different transition from move to move to move and eventually we get you down and once we get you down obviously you know it's very difficult to get back up when we try to I was like wow he didn't get lost in it like Khabib had to hit him with like number Kibib had to go to level four to get that first take down he went high crotch he went crack down he went try to get the angle he tried to run the pipe then he had to actually go to his knees look across the to get to a double just to get Conner down the first time. Hunter didn't get lost. Like, he really did a good job. And that's why if you're a team McGregor, there's cause for concern.

Because I don't know if you could do that any better, and he still got beat in the way that he got beat. That's why I think if you're two McGregory, you'd be concerned about a fight with the Mega Medal. Because I don't think he could defend any better. I thought that was as good because he did a good job. and I don't know if he could do it any better. Right.

Like a year of training, you can't make up the difference. You can do better, but you can't really make up the difference, can you? Well, he's going to, because then he's going to go to level five, and he's going to go to level six, and he's going to just keep putting different things behind each other until eventually you kind of can't keep up. That's what he, that's what he does. That's what he did the DJ a couple times to get those takedowns.

You know who did it really good was Tatiana Suarez, right? Like, so Tatiana shoots a double leg on Carla Spars and know when Carla is going to defend it. She knew. Like, there's no way I'm just going to take this girl down. She can wrestle too long. She shot that double leg not for that first shot. She shot that double leg to get Carla to defend, drop her hands, and when Carlo dropped her hair, arm dragged, now Carla on the bottom.

She, the first shot was never the intent. That's why my takedown offense is like 45%. I don't care. I'm just throwing shots at you until eventually I'll grab one of them. I'm just throwing different things at you until I get the reaction I want then I can go to my trip finish. Let me ask you one

final question here before we let you go and I really appreciate your time DC. It's the we've talked about the brawl to death but there's something that relates to you about the brawl which was I noticed you had a social media post afterwards saying like hey look everyone here has got some responsibility but like look if you cross these lines not everyone's

playing with you and I think that's a point well taken. I wonder in writing that do you reflect at all on some of the back and forth you and John have had. Now, I'm not suggesting you or John have said anything the level of what Connor did to Habib. That's not what I'm saying? No, no. No, I get it. No. But here's the

thing, though. If we were to fight afterwards or do anything like that, John and I would be okay with it. And I think you know, there was never going to be a time where either of us were looking for essentially in Olive Brants like,

yo, we're just doing business out here. You know what I'm saying? Like, there was never going to be a time and that's where the difference is.

It's like what we said and did to each other was so truly real and we were looking for an olive branch and that's I think what the difference was

like everything we said was not for fight promotion. Those are true things, you know? He makes fun of me crying because he truly enjoys the fact that he made me cry.

I make fun of those things because I know that that bothers him. So we're never looking for an olive branch. So no, it's not different. You know, and I think he was building a fight, and there was just a little bit of a difference in the approach. You know, when he was building the fight and kind of going home, going, you know, like, okay, yeah, I think that might have got him a little bit or, you know, got under his skin.

The whole time it's causing this guy to just go, God, I hate him. man, I can't stand this dude. I want to hurt him. And then going back to the gym and training harder and more. You know, so that's where the difference lies. It's like we never regretted anything we said to each other or about each other. And it was okay if it just continued to escalate. Interesting.

Well, D.C., I could talk to you for 1,000 years, but, of course, we don't have that kind of time. I look forward to your fight at UFC 230 versus Derek Lewis. I will, of course, be covering it. And we always appreciate your time here on the show. Thank you so much. Hey, thanks, Luke. Bye-bye.

All right, there he goes. We go from one great wrestler and great analyst to another great wrestler, great fighter, and great analyst. Didn't necessarily go his way on Saturday, but I wanted to check him with him just the same. He was in the main event opposite Fador O'Millionenko at Bellator 208. He is a podcaster extraordinaire in the whole nine. Chil Sonan joins us now. Mr. Sonan, how are you, sir? Well, listen to that intro.

That was very nice of you. I'm doing good. What's happening, Luke? How are you feeling, sir? What I mean by that is, first, physically, how are you feeling? All right, physically, everything hurts. And that has nothing to do with whether you win or you lose, man. You know what gets me more than anything is those canvases.

My knees are all skinned up. My toes are all skinned up. My elbows are all skinned. Every time I have a fight, it's like falling off a bicycle. But that's about it. You know, my head, he hit me with a missile about five seconds in. And that one still hurts a little bit. But other than that, I am doing well.

You know, what's interesting about that. I went back and I watched some of the punches. This is a serious question. How are your teeth? Are they okay? Yeah, my teeth are okay. It's some funny you ask that. You know, if I had one wish going into a fight aside from serious injury,

it's that I won't lose a tooth. I've had that same wish since I started this when I was 19 years old. So it's very kind that you thought of old Chale's teeth, but you weren't the only one. And yes, they're all intact. All right. Now, emotionally, how are you feeling? it's a weird fight, right? Like it was a chaotic affair. You took them down at times. There were moments that you had. You moved to mount for a brief moment. But in the end, obviously, it didn't go your way. So like when you reflect on what happened, what happened? Emotionally, well, you know, I get heartbroken about these things. You know, it's, it's, from a competitive standpoint, Luke, I have dedicated my whole life to it since I was nine years old. And I would have started earlier if my dad would have let me. He wouldn't let me start until, tell I was nine. So, man, it hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

really bad. You don't get those moments back. I've had this same feeling before, though. I'm convinced in my own interpretation, but I'm convinced this is what it means to be a fighter. And, you know, somewhere over time that word became corrupted. It became about the punches and the kicks. But I've always believed that it was feeling like I'm feeling right now and getting out of bed anyway and facing the media, facing you and this phone call and everything else and getting back on it. So now I've got to be a fighter. I prefer to be a winner. I prefer to be a winner. I prefer to be on top of the world and looking down on everybody else. But today, I got a fight.

Okay. Well, I won't make this too difficult for you. I hope I'm not part of the painful process. I will be as limited in that regard as I can be. So let me ask you about this. What was the game plan? Now, your game plan's never vary too too much, but I'm wondering if there was anything particular tactically you were hoping to implement

with him. Well, so I wanted to come right across the range. I fought 49 guys, I guess 50 now, counting. I've never been outstruck. Not one single time have I lost the stand-up part of a fight. And I can't say that anymore. I guess this is, this is as in what I woke up Saturday morning. This is the first stand-up I've ever lost, but these guys didn't think he was fast enough to catch me. I didn't think he—I thought it'd be too quick, so I was going to come across and distract him, distract him with some punches, get into a quench or get into a double-leg, but make it a wrestling match.

I wanted to have my hands on him at all times. I was ready for some of those sombo throws. I was ready for them to go against me. I was ready for him to succeed with those throws and have to scramble on the mat. So it wasn't like a real sophisticated game plan as much as it was just pressure-based. I just wanted to fight. Excuse me, I wanted to be on him.

I wanted him to have to respond. But I also thought I could take his shots. I didn't see that. I didn't see that... I still didn't see those punches, Luke. They were so fast. I was so impressed. I feel like even in spite of a...

hang in my head a little bit today. I got to give him his credit. I don't want to take it from him. He earned it. And I got to credit his speed. His speed and his power was very difficult for me. You know, it's interesting. There was always this narrative about Fador. Like, oh, he had all the success at heavyweight, dot, dot, despite being a guy who could have fought at middleweight. But it sounds like what you're telling me was he actually, maybe he is a smaller guy when you look at him. But in terms of his punching power, it sounds to me like what you're saying is he hits like a heavyweight. Yeah, oh, most certainly, and I saw that through the TV. I just saw some of those big guys.

Brett Rogers comes to mind, maybe because they played that highlight for me. But, you know, when he connects with those big guys, and that was another thing I thought I had opportunity for it, I thought, yeah, he's hitting these guys. You know, but these guys are heavy bags. These guys aren't bouncing. These guys aren't moving. These guys aren't offering a threat of a takedown or an accuracy of a take-down.

I just thought I am going to be able to deal with this. It doesn't matter that it's a heavyweight. I'm smart enough and I'm athletic enough. I'm going to be able to deal with this. And I wish I would have had more minutes. You know, anytime you get stopped, that's usually my biggest wish, even in front of getting my hand raised, just more opportunity to try, more minutes to see if I could explore some things or find some success.

But, yeah, he hit like a heavyweight. I think those were your words, I'm going to agree with you, yeah. Does this at all, I don't know what you're, actually, it's interesting. I don't know what your opinion was on who the greatest heavyweight of all time was. prior to this fight, but I'm wondering if the result in any way perhaps edits that a little bit. Well, so I have it down to three. My three might surprise you, and I actually enjoy this topic. So I have Fador in the conversation. I have Verdum in the conversation, but I always am very strong and always surprised if people don't say Josh Barnett in that conversation. I feel like

they weren't watching, you know, back in 1992 and 2003. So I have those three guys, and then what order you want to do it? I would probably put Fador at one, but I love the debate, but for me, it is down to those three. I think Kane took himself out. How disrespectful, but he just, Kane sits in the locker room a little too much for me to put him on that list. Yeah, I was just about to ask you because your opponent, Fador, said that was the guy I like to watch. And he said something kind of like lamentable, right? He was like, but he doesn't really compete nowadays.

I got kind of sad when he said that. But it seems like you agree that would probably affect his legacy a little bit. I think that it would. I think he had some fantastic moments, and I'm not sure there was anybody alive that could beat him. But all we can do is discuss that. He just didn't walk out there and show it enough times. You know, because these are just conversations anyway. It comes down to popular opinion.

You've got to be able to out-argue the guy across from you. That's how these pound-for-pound grates last. And I do think that can shorten himself. I think he was the most intimidating heavyweight when he was in there ever. I put him right up there with George Foreman as far as the scariest guys to ever have to get in the ring with. But, yeah, I kind of have him as a fourth or a fifth out of the conversation. All right, Chil, so I know you were probably busy,

but at this point, you probably have seen the Bader-Mitrione fight, right? I know all about it. I don't physically watch it, but yes. I mean, it was completely what you probably thought it was, you know, complete and total domination. I'm wondering now, size up those two. What are you expecting in the finals of the Heavyweight Grand Prix? Well, I think that Bader is pretty underrated.

I think that that should be blasphemy to call a sitting world champion who's now a number one contender for yet another World Championship underrated. But I think you know what I mean. I don't think that people fully give him his due. I think he's got really good hands on top of the condition and the wrestling. He's also the right size, you know, right around that 2.30 range, that's a good size for a heavyweight. if Bader gets hit, he's going to be in big trouble. You know, I don't know what his chin in his jar like.

He doesn't usually have to test it. I think he's got a lot of ways to win the fight. I think particularly the longer it goes and the more he can keep his hands on him and the more pressure, I think that it's – I think Bader's in a really good spot. But I can't deny the power of Fador either. I think as a fight gets a little close. Lager Luke and old Chale's head starts to feel a little better, I could give you more of an eloquent response, but I kind of like Bader's spot. Yeah, I like it too. Here's the interesting

part about that, Chale. If Bader wins, he becomes the first Bellator champ champ, which is interesting in its own right. What do you think it might mean if Fador wins? Because I'll be honest, Chale, and I thought after the Fabio Maldonado fight, I had left Fador, metaphorically speaking for dead. I thought that was truly the end of his career. And if he wins the heavyweight Grand Prix, even against the guy light heavyweight like Bader, I don't know, man. That would be a pretty remarkable career resurgence, wouldn't it be? Yeah, yeah. Hard to not give them this due, right?

Because the Grand Prix is just so fair and so honest. It's just so, I'm so fortunate to get to compete in it. Only in that it's the first time I've ever, there's no politics. Luke, you know, people ask where's the trash talk and where's the, what trash talk? It's a straight line bracket. It's a tournament. Your skills are the only thing that are going to get you through. And when you look at the hammers that stepped up into that tournament, yeah, it's really remarkable.

And I like that you said that because, you know, I've had to break a lot of rules in my career, too, and I'm not talking about laws. I'm talking about, you know, there are rules out there that say if a fighter gets old, if a fighter slows down, when a fighter starts not looking at saying, he can never come back. And I don't like that. I've never been in a situation where, including the one I'm in right now, where you don't use it as a motivator and use that tape and use that footage to get better. But there seems to be a rule out there that once you look bad against a Fabio Maldonado in this business that it's over.

And you've got to break those rules. You can't let that stuff apply to you. And I don't feel that Fador let it apply to him. He started training differently. He started going out wherever he was, Amsterdam, wherever that country's at. But he started training differently, and that's what a real fighter does. He gets better. He finds a way to come back.

And I admire that in anyone that can do it. But I also look down on the guys that can't, man. Don't let that stuff stick to you. So are you probably, are you done competing for the year in terms of being inside the Bellator cage? Unfortunately, I mean, they only let you have three fights a year. It drives me absolutely insane. but I don't know what's going to be next or where I go,

but if you're asking me about this calendar year with only a couple of months left, I wouldn't think I'd get back in there that quick. I would like to, but it just doesn't usually work that way. You're still, you still have a fight contract with the promotion, right? That's right. Okay. So I thought for a second you were hinting that that was over. I was a little bit surprised to hear that.

Okay. Are you going to go back to light heavyweight? Does this heavyweight experiment over? Wherever, when I get a phone call and they have an idea, I say yes. I would ideally like to go back to, I think, to light heavyweight. Yeah, you know, if you want to do a catchweight or have a little bit of fun with somebody. But I think as far as a straight weight class goes, I think it's more appropriate. I had a hard time.

I had a really hard time in both my heavyweight fights, getting to some of the positions that I wanted to be in. I think physically, I think physically it's a little better for me at light heavyweight. There's also a discipline, Luke. There's also a discipline that comes with losing some of the weight. There's, you know, if you go run two miles at night, well, if you're trying to lose some weight, it's three and a half miles. But those are benefits over time. You can get a physical benefit from the anguish and the discipline is required to lose some weight.

I think that's appropriate for me. Are you surprised at some of the, I mean, I guess you can never be surprised at the Internet anymore, right? But the fight fix talk? I heard it last night. Scott Coker had to answer a question. You know, it doesn't surprise me, but I never know how to take it, and I could be taking it wrong. I don't think anyone thought the fight was fixed.

I think I got some loyal fans, and I think when I get beat, sometimes it's just easier to make the ultimate excuse for all shale, that, well, he must have left the guy. Well, that's how I interpreted it, but who knows? Maybe I deserved it. I've accused other guys of having fixed fights. Maybe they're letting me see how it feels. I don't know.

You know what it is? It's the falling off the back for the rolling back take, which I've tried to explain to people. It's a legitimate maneuver. Obviously, it didn't quite go your way, but they don't see it that way. And I think that kind of, I don't know, it's got folks to think something else. Oh, look, that's a great move. I don't even know what that's called. It's a great move. Now, you have to have the chin tucked, but I did. I had the chin tucked. And I was going to fall off the back. I would have much rather pulled in the other direction or putting my legs in. But I was going to fall off the back. all he had to do was lift his butt up a little bit, and I was going to be gone. So when I had the chin tucked, I thought, well, here's my opportunity. I got to hit it now. And if it would have worked, I would have his back and had some opportunity for a choke there. But, yeah, instead, I rolled off and that was that for that move.

All right. And what's your next commentary on, Simon? What are we going to see you back? Are you just going to take some time off? You're a weird guy. You don't even like time off. I despise it. I absolutely despise time off.

My least favorite thing in the world is a day off. Let's see. Commentating, I mean, I'll be doing Arrow and the bad guy as soon as this Wednesday, but we don't travel again until the Madison Square Garden, November 3rd, Derek Lewis, Daniel Cormier. All right. If there's any chance, and if there's not, it's fine. But if there's any chance to get you in studio here at the MMA hour, the door is open for you, sir. Well, I appreciate that. I'll be in town. I will look you up. All right. Well, Chale, I know it didn't go your way, but I really, really appreciate your time. I always like it when someone's willing to talk about both their highs and some of their lows, and you're never a guy who shies away from candor.

Thank you for your time and enjoy your miserable day off. I appreciate that a lot, but you've got to give the other guy his credit, man. It's a hard part about the sport, and I don't fall a lot of rules on sportsmanship. But if you want to enjoy the highs, you've got to make sure you tip your hat when it doesn't go your way. I really believe that. All right. Well, thank you so much, Chad. We appreciate it.

Kaboom. There he goes. All right. Yeah, I was hesitant about it. having him on the show because, I don't know, you know, like, do you want to harass a guy who just lost? But then, like, no one's better about talking about their losses than jail. So it was like, well, I kind of do want to have him on. All right.

We have a short time with our next guest. We weren't sure if we were going to have him or not. It's a bit of a surprise. No time to waste. Let us go now to, I believe he's on the phone, right, Danny? Because I can't imagine he's on Skype, right? Yeah, he's on the phone. Yes, he is known as the Diamond.

He was supposed to be fighting on that November 3rd card and just some things that's kind of unraveled. Let's talk to him next. Dustin Poirier is here. Hi, Dustin. How are you? Doing all right, man. What's going on? I'm just glad to catch up with you.

Well, first of all, I'm sorry to hear about everything falling apart. So let me ask about your health first and foremost. Can you tell us what the injury is and how it happened and what the diagnosis is going forward? Yeah, it's an. I got a lot of stuff going on with my hip. Really uncomfortable. My range of motion is messed up. So, you know what?

We've got one doctor's opinion. Next week I'm flying out to L.A. to get another scan and another opinion. And if the second doctor agrees with the first, I think it'll be a pretty quick return. We're just going to do some stem cell stuff, and I think I'll be moving around real quick. So I don't think I'll be out long at all.

Okay. Well, that would be great news. Now, is this a chronic injury? Is this something like freak accident in the gym? This is something I've been dealing with the last few camps, and it just progressively got worse. And then I did something to it this camp to where, you know, like, I can still move around on it.

I can still train. But if I say I do a sprint the next two days, I won't be able to, you know, my range of motion is going to be horrible. I'm going to be in a lot of pain. It's just like, it's just got too bad to keep pushing at this point. with it. Interesting. Yeah, because you're a guy.

I was looking at the record. This is the first time in over 30 fights you've ever pulled out due to injury. So I'm guessing that relative to all the aches and pains and bumps and bruises and everything else, this must have been rather significant. Yeah, whenever, you know, like, of course, every fighter, whether they've admitted or not, they have aches and pains and they're going to fights hurt. You know, if you're training for a fight, you're going to be pretty much, you know, there's going to be days where you're hurting.

And this actually, you know, normal pain is no problem. You know, that just comes with the job. But this actually got to a point where it was stopping me from doing the kind of training sessions I needed to be doing. And like I said, range of motion and internal rotation. A lot of stuff was just really, really bothering me. And it's time to get something done about it. All right. Now you said a short time.

So let me guess. Something like, what, six weeks, two months, something like that? you know, I don't want to speak too soon until we get the second opinion. But the first doctor and also the UFC doctor was saying if we do go that route with stem cell or PRP, that it's going to be really, really quick. Like a few days I'll be resting to let the injection get into where it needs to be and get settled, and then I'll be moving around within a few days. So, you know, it just depends what the second doctor says.

but I think, you know, I'm trying to stay optimistic. I think I'll be moving around really, really quick. Yeah, so it sounds like, and again, knock on what best case scenario, you could be fighting first quarter 2019? Oh, yeah, that's worse, worst case. Oh, okay. Wow, you could fight in 2018? I mean, we'll see what happens,

but if the doctor agrees that a stem cell injection or alleviate what's going on with the range of motion and stuff, and my body takes it well, I mean, I don't see why not. But like I said, man, I'm just trying to be optimistic one day at a time. All right. So let me ask you about the fight buildup itself. It sounds like for you and for Nate, maybe for different reasons, this whole thing was exhausting. Like y'all were out there campaigning for 165, Dana's saying no, well, then what about making it just the main event or something and no?

Like how many times did this fight change or try to get changed behind the scenes? I mean, dude, I don't even We don't have enough time to talk about how many times It got changed and the fight was on It was off, you know, it was just crazy It was a lot of crazy stuff going on All right, can you give us just a hint of like Maybe a couple of things that had happened

That threw you off the path Or were just difficult to deal with They wanted to switch it to five rounds Man, it's just so much stuff, dude I don't even Nate was being hard to deal with, I believe what was he objecting to what were you hearing every weight class

but they I mean they offered it at 55 he wanted 160 I agreed to that and he kind of negotiated himself out of the main event spot they offered us the main event I accepted mate overnegotiated we lost the main event it was just back to back days after day of him trying to have his way honestly so all right so what you're saying is

they offered you guys the main event five round but at 155 and he said no Yeah. And then they did it at 160 and he said no? No, no, no. Then he said he'll do it at 165 or 160. I said, okay, they didn't want it. UFC wanted no part of any other catch weight or anything like that.

Oh, I see, I see. Okay, okay. And you would have been happy with a one-frey. They were totally against it. You would have been happy fighting on a main event with no belt, right? Of course, a pay-per-view main event. I mean, all lies on us. It's a big deal.

Crazy. Do you think would you fight Nate again if they brought it up and said, okay, the stem cell went great, you're looking great, he's ready, you're ready, let's try it again.

Are you interested or no? I would, but like I said, man, so much stuff went on behind the scenes. This guy, you know, even if everything went smooth,

I'm not even sure if you'd even, you know, if this fight would have went, would have went through with this guy. But if the UFC wanted, I'm down. If they can make it happen,

I'm down. Right, I see. But in other words, you're looking for a, what do you want to call it, someone who's more committed to the process? Right, yeah, I would rather that, you know. Who wouldn't, right, in your position? You know, a lot of these fans are like blowing me up on social media and stuff, like saying you blew an opportunity or your big payday and stuff like that.

They don't understand how contracts work. Like, I'm getting paid. I don't get pay-per-view points to fight in eight years. I don't know what everybody thinks is going on here. but I took this fight, not because it's a big money fight, because it was a big opportunity. They turned into a huge headache with all the stuff that he was playing. Man, so like, do you have your eye on the winner of any other fight?

Like, for example, you got Kevin Lee, Ally, Aquinta. Does the winner of that interest you? Yeah, I have my eyes on everybody, man, honestly. But just like I said after my last fight, I won big fights, you know. My goal is to be the world champion. So whatever fight makes sense, I felt like this Nate fight did make sense. You know, if the UFC can get him to play ball, maybe it comes back together, maybe we do it. If not, we see what shakes out, man, and what's next?

But I need big fights. Yeah, yeah, no, I can certainly understand that. Who wouldn't want a big fight against one of these guys? Okay, what about the 165 division? Now, were you advocating for that because you believe that that's something the UFC should do or just, hey, I'm game for whatever? I think they should do. I think that's something they should do.

You know, making $155 is not easy to me anymore. This is a tough cut. But, you know, honestly, whenever my hip's feeling a lot better and I can do a lot of road work and do the sprints and do the amount of stuff that I need to do to get my weight down, it'll be a lot smoother. But that was kind of some of the reason why I was pushing for it too. I was like, well, my hips bother me like this.

165 is a little bit less weight to cut. It'll be smoothed process for me. So if the UFC opened a 165 division tomorrow, right? And let's say your hip is feeling great, you're feeling great. Do you want to do the road work and stick at 155 because you put in so much work there? Or would you jump up to 165 and then try your opportunities there? No, I would stay 55, I believe. Okay, all right.

For now, anyway. Yeah, I'm a 55er. Yeah. Okay. By the way, did you and Nate ever talk at any point? Never. Never. Do you ever talk to an opponent?

behind the scenes or is that unheard of for you? You know, there's been times at that event where I mean a guy have mutual respect for each other and we'll talk a little bit before, you know, like maybe at the day of weigh-ins where we're around each other a lot, like, see you out there tomorrow, let's handle business or let's put on a show, simple stuff like that, but I've never hung out and with an opponent or anything. No, but what I mean is there was one day where you guys were both tweeting like right next to each other about 165. It almost seemed like you guys had talked and planned it.

But what you're telling me is that's not true. No, not at all. All right. All right, so you fly out to L.A. You said when? So I'm still in Coconut Creek right now. I'm getting everything tightened up over here. This is where I do my training camps.

I'm flying back to Louisiana tomorrow morning. And then Wednesday afternoon, I'm flying to L.A. And so you should know by what, Wednesday, Thursday, whether this is a thing you can do? Well, I'll know by Thursday afternoon, Thursday night. exactly what the next step is, and I'll have a timetable of when I'll be able to get back to 100% training.

Right. Okay. All right, man. Well, look, I won't keep you any longer. We got you on short notice. I really appreciate you making time for us. And obviously, we hope that the doctor has some good news. It would be great to see you back. And sorry you couldn't be here for UFC 230, but I'm sure the fans are eagerly anticipating your return.

Thank you, man. All right, there he goes. The diamond. Got him on short notice. Really appreciate him making time for us. All right. With that out of the way, let us do this. It is time, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, yes, it is for the Monday Morning Analyst. Donkeys, let me get around, huh?

Naturally, no one put this up high enough because y'all are all members of the Lollipop Guild. Whereas your boy, there we go. I've got to get this up to man's height. All right. Time for the Monday morning analyst right here on the MMA hour. So here's what I'm not going to do. I can't show you footage style for anything because then we get sued and our video gets taken down.

But I've got some clips. I've got three fights we're going to show, but here's what we're going to do. I'm going to go through a couple of the clips from Fedor v. Sonin, including that backtake. We're going to go through it. But here's what I'm also going to do. No one is talking about this, and I really don't know why other than a yes, it happened on, you know, PFL 9 was a great show on Saturday, but it got a little bit drowned out with all the Fador talk. Did you all see what Vinnie McGalach did over the weekend?

Oh my God. He had an incredible kumora and a ridiculous sweep, which we're going to go over. But he also had a kumora from Triangle that was sublime. Truly, truly sublime. I mean, it's about as perfect a submission as you're maybe ever going to see from Guard. Absolutely artwork. We're going to go through that as well. First, of course, we have to go through some of the stuff here.

I had forgotten with this Fedor and Sonin about it. I had forgotten that Sonnen was a South Pole. I actually went back and watched some of his other fights to verify that. Yes, in fact, he is a South Pole. I've got just a few clips of this. We're going to go through them. I'm not sure which one this is. Oh, I think this is the, I'm going frame by frame here, the zone.

This is the punchy lands. You're going to see Sonin come in. By the way, I've been very grappling heavy for the last few weeks. it's only because that's what most of the action's been, but we will get to some of the striking stuff as the weeks develop. But what you're going to see here is you're going to see Fador land the punch. Two things you're going to notice. Number one, how accurate it is.

And number two, how powerful it is. I want you to notice something else that Fador does, that you can go back to watch him in pride and he didn't do a lot of. I'll show you that right now. First of all, look at Fador, always on the balls of his feet. See that? Like a tennis player. Have you seen a tennis player waiting for a serve?

They're always on the balls of their feet because that's what they, or a goalkeeper in soccer, because they're waiting to make a leap or a move, right? He's always in the balls of his feet, kind of got that upright posture, but he's got his weight lowered. That's going to allow him to sit down on his punches, really put maximum power into him. Here's what I want you to see. He doesn't really set it up.

He doesn't really, I don't want to bag on son. I'm just saying, like the tape shows with the tape shows. He doesn't really set it up. And you can see, by the way, whenever you do a double, you want to be able, as a rule of thumb, to reach out and touch them. This is where they need to be for a double. So he's already kind of far away. that he doesn't really set it up and he comes in,

Fador measures with the left, watch this, he gets out of the way and comes in under the right. What do you notice about this punch that's a little bit different than the Fadour from Pride? Fadour from Pride was a little linear this way, and he would throw these like looping Russian hooks. The Russian boxers are kind of known for this a little bit, at least they used to be,

and a lot of Sombot fighters do this too. They have these really windy hooks, which is fine if you're quick enough, and he was. Here, he's throwing a punch. He did the same thing Tamir. He's actually getting off the center line. That is not something he used to do very well, and now he's incorporated it. You were hearing Chal Sondon talk about some of these developments and improvements to his game.

Here's one right here. And by the way, he punches in combination. Sonan gets drilled with that right, and then look, Fador comes back and drills him with the left. Right? Nice shot, right? So he gets off with the right. He gets underneath the punch. His hips are already loaded this direction.

So when he comes around and pivots and throws with this one, he cracks him on the jaw. Nice, nice shot, right? So there's that. All right, let's jump around and move forward, shall we? To the next one. All right, here's the next one. Where are we going with this one?

Let's see. I believe this is one of failed takedowns, right? So we're going frame by frame here at DeZone, because that's what we do. Bouncing in and out, Fador throws a punch. All right, and then Saanen leans, a little bit out of the way. That's nice. Let's see.

He throws his own right, and he tries to clinch. Let's see what happens. All right, so this clinch, when your arm is like this high, it's not necessarily the end of the world, but just think about where you have the most balance. It's when your shoulders are square. So he tries to remove it. Fador tries to spin. This is amazing. Hold on.

Watch this. So he's... Chale is going to take him to the weak side. The weak side is going to be here, right? He's going to step, and then eventually, if he finished the takedown appropriately, would switch his hips. I want you to watch something. Fador is famous for this. He's done this in a million bouts in pride. Fador has incredible balance. I believe he did this in the Nooya O'Galwa fight, if I'm not mistaken. He has ridiculous one-legged ability to redirect a takedown that's not

completed with appropriate authority, and he can reverse it. Let's see where he goes. So he plants the leg here, right? And now what is this? it's almost like a hurrah, well, it's almost like an Uchimada. Haray Gosha would be if the, if one of his, if the non-planted leg was on the outside of the hip, Harai Goshi is major outside reep. Uchimata is between the legs. It's really neither of those because the leg is on the other side. I don't know what the name of this is in judo, but here's the point.

What is he doing, right? He is balancing on this leg and he's going to lean forward to bring Sonin's weight up and forward. Imagine going over a diving board. If I lean and lean and lean and I keep doing that, eventually I'm just going to fall over into the water, right? There's going to be a point where you tip over. It's what he's doing here. He's grabbing him almost by the head.

Sonan has attached himself to him. He's going to plant his weight. He's going to lean forward to bring the weight of Sonin up. Once he's up, now he's light. Then you can redirect it. So it's a question of let me make him light and then turn him. So now he's light, and now you can almost just, you see how he throws the leg up? This forces the hips over of Chelsanin and then brings Fader on top.

And look at Fador, land on his shoulder and roll to keep his hips. Watch this. This is the part I love the most. Basically, on top, and he hooks that leg, by the way, the far leg. Let me go back a little bit. He hooks the leg. When does he hook it? He hooks it on the roll through there, right there.

He brings it through. And that's to keep his hips on top and facing the mat. So the whole time he goes through this. More time here. You can see the leg. It doesn't go in between or out in front. And yet he's still able quickly because Sonan being attached and the takedown was loose. He's able to throw this in the air, raise the base of Sonan up in the air,

and then redirect him mid-throw. to come out and roll on his shoulders on top, and then he hooks the leg to prevent Sonin from coming up. Remember, whenever you have a takedown to the extent possible, you want your hips facing the mat, right? Because think about it. If my hips are facing the mat, I'm landing on all fours. Or if we're ground to pound, that enables me to open up.

It's when your hips are facing the sky. It's a problem. Now, here, of course, they're facing over here. But it allows him to then turn and look whose hips are facing the mat. Nice little adjustment there. Okay, here is the part where everyone was like, this was fixed. Bellator's out here. Fixing fights.

No, they're not. It's just a poorly executed. I don't know what they call it either. There's lots of guys who are good at this. Danny Segur was telling me that Juicya Formiga did it in one of his fights. I don't really remember that. I'm sure it's true. I'm just saying I don't really remember it.

But in sports jihitsu, you see it all the time. There's a lot of different ways to set it up. I've seen guys do it. Douglas Lima was talking about it, having double unders from the back. That's not the way I was ever taught it. Remember, what was it last week? Two weeks ago, I talked about the Marcella Garcia over under. The hand that comes over the top is stabbing.

The one that comes underneath, secures the stab. I know that is a fairly gruesome mnemonic device to remember how this goes, but that's the way it works. Arm over the shoulder, stabs the heart, underneath the one, secures the stab. That's the way to do it. And what you're looking for is you want to have a moment. the person when you roll through, you have to, I'm telling you, hard. You have to attach them to you. Think about, it was from the back. It was a little bit different. But think about Luke Skywalker and Yoda and the Dago Boss system. And Luke Skywalker's running around and he's flipping over shit,

whatever. And Yoda was with him the whole time. It's because they were attached. They were together. If that grip is not tight enough, it will not work. It has to be super, super, super tight. So when you flip over with no hooks, they don't have a choice to go with you because they're locked, right? But here was the other key component. Whenever you do a throw, let me fast forward a little bit so we can get to it. Okay. Hold on. I missed it. Okay. Whenever you do something like this, to me, his base is a little too high in the air? Yeah, all right. His base is a little high. I'm going to go closer to 10 because I just need more time. His head is too far. forward. What you're looking for is you want to stuff the back of their head underneath them.

If I take someone on all fours and I stuff their head underneath them, the body will roll. That's how you do it. Think about the arm bars. I've talked about this a million times. You ever seen people do arm bars and they'll do it where they take their whole body and they'll come off the back like this and they'll extend their whole body? First of all, they're not doing it right because they're extending their legs. You really don't really. You want to extend your hips, but not your legs, do different things. That's the first problem. The other problem is they never put the shin behind the head.

Rhonda Rousey was super good at that. She put the shin behind the head so when she rolled through, the opponent would come out on top. That's how you do it. Go back and look at a three-quarter stack. What is a three-quarter stack? It is driving the head and then a hand underneath the armpit and you're turning them. It's the same motion for all these different ones.

For the back take, for the three-quarter stack, and for the Jujicatami. You've got to stuff the head inside so the body comes over. The way it was taught to me was you drive a shoulder into the back of their head, and your head posts on the outside, you roll over to that same side, if you attach them with the over-under, you bring them to you, and you go through. Here, I don't see any evidence of that. Look at how high his base is. Look at already the separation.

Now, some of that is probably okay, but look, Fador's head never gets stuffed. And Chale goes, does a head stand? there's no attachment here there's no stuffing of the head from what i can tell and so he just comes look he's attached but not very strongly and phaedore just sits up look at that he didn't really stuff the head and by the way whenever you do something like this let's see one more time i don't mind that he went to his head first but what shoulder is stuffing the head of Fedor here. It's not the left one. It's not the right one. You have to drive that shoulder in and then the head goes diagonal to the mat. Now, there's other ways to do it. Maybe Douglas Lehman

knows a better way. I don't know, but that's the way I've always been showed it, is that the shoulder does the work and then the head posts on the mat so that by the time you roll, it's already tucked. Which shoulder is pushing the head? I mean, yes, his chest is pushing the head down, but that's not enough. You've got to drive that thing. You have to pull there. You have to push on one end of the spine so that the whole body comes over. There's none of that here. So folks are like it's fixed. It's not fixed. It's just a badly executed technique. And there's a take down here. Oh, let's go to this mount real quick. Watch this mount. And then we'll go to the Vinnie Megalais stuff because we've got to move on.

Let me see how he takes it here. All right. All right. So he's in half guard. He's trying to secure the head. See that? How do you take mount? Go back and watch how Gordon Ryan takes mount on everyone. He does it different ways each time, but there's one consistency each time. It's that he has shoulder pressure and is controlling the head and neck to prevent the hips from moving. If the head and neck are tightly controlled, the hips can't really move all that well. That's what this has to be in place before you go. This is loose. There's not really a whole lot here. You can see it's up around almost like the crown of the head. That's not what you need. You need it tucked under, right? So let's see. Let's see him try to take them out here.

All right. He's going to punch. Hold on. Just fast forward this. Boo shit. All right. Here we go. Now look at this.

He's got some shoulder pressure here, but Fador's looking at the ceiling. He needs to have this pushed over. You have to hurt him. You have to hurt your opponent and your Uki, if it's Judo. I think it's the Uki. You have to make them look away. Again, remember the shoulder with the back of the head to make him turn? You got to drive that thing in there.

So he's not really doing a whole lot of that. He's going to push on the arm here to free his head. God, come on, Chil, take this goddamn out. Here we go. All right, let's see. Now look, as he goes to take him out, you can fake the Comorna if you want. Yes, that's a way to do it. He goes to take him out.

Fador's already bucking his hips. Look at this. Once he let go with the head, what happens to Fador's hips? They come right up. What's controlling him? Nothing. He comes right. right up, Chale posts his hand to stop the push. He tries to take it. Once you take him out,

the instant you take it, you're the most vulnerable to be turned because you haven't settled into the position. And sure enough, that's when he does it. Look at the hips of Fador. He always has done this. He's had really good, active, mobile, powerful hips. And he britt, look at that nice bridge. He doesn't bridge just to a side. He bridges diagonally over the shoulder. Chale tries to balance here, but he can't. He wraps the arm, turns his hips over. Look at him posting on the toes. And he just rolls through. Look at that. Just rolls through. Boom. The pressure was too much. If the pressure underneath is so strong that it beats a hand that's posted, that's a very, very, very, very powerful hip underneath. He's just so quick and dynamic. So what's the question there? One, the head. head and the neck weren't really controlled. And two, the timing on Fador. As soon as the, as soon as Chale got to it, when the position hadn't settled, he drives. Really good timing. All right. In the interest of time, I'm going to move along. Because as good as this all was,

yo, sorry. Shouts to Vinnie Magalach. The winner, the coolest thing that happened all weekend is from him. Let's jump to that now. All right. So here he is. By the way, real quickly, this is just a screenshot. I'm not going to show anything from this is from Quintet. This is what a standard triangle looks like, right? So here's what I want you to pay attention to. It's the left arm of Josh Barnett, and so it's the right side of the body. In other words, the arm that's being attacked and the locking of the triangle are on the same side. This Gordon Ryan's right, the left arm of Josh Barnett. But the left arm is across the body. That's typically how you get it. But what happens if they tuck the arm underneath the body? so you can't get it across because the triangle choke works by one of the person's legs cutting off this carotid artery and then this arm coming across, you can hear my voice change and cutting off the other one. But what if I put it under you can't do it? Well, that's when Vinnie McGillay shows you what time it is. Look at this. This was unbelievable. All right, he pulls guard here, right? Which I just love that he does in MMA now. He pulls guard

and I want you to notice something about this triangle. And this guy comes down, Cleveland, I do not know who this gentleman is. You'll have to forgive me. All right. Look at this. What do you notice right away about this triangle? Once he locks it up, and by the way, he's grabbing his own shin, he's like, Vinny does everything correctly, instinctually.

What do you notice about this triangle real quickly? And he's going to readjust it, boom. What do you notice here? The lock is not on the same side as the arm. They're on opposite sides. Oh, isn't that clever, right? You don't see that too often. He jumped guard and right away knew that this guy was going to hide the arm.

It's what everyone does in MMA. So he put the triangle lock on the other side. Why is that important? Because if you want to do a kumura from triangle and the lock is on the same side as the arm, you can do it, but there's really no room. Very, very hard. You want to lock the other side. He switched to the other side and now does everything perfectly.

But you can't square up on them. You've got to get turned at an angle, right? If you're just in front of them, even if you put the lock on the other side, you don't have enough space to grab the arm. So what is Vinny going to do? He's going to turn at an angle. Watch. And this is the best part about it.

And this guy tries to put the arm behind him. Not only does Vinny, you'll see him. He'll turn more in just a second. Here's the other part about it. If I just, even if I turn and I just grab the arm, I might get a Kimora, but I got to break your hands apart from your body. Look at what he does. He plants his elbow on the ground, Vinny, his own elbow, grabs this other guy's wrist.

Why is that important? Because no matter how hard you push and try to keep your hands together, you can't break this frame. The frame is more powerful than any kind of grip you can have or any kind of muscle you can have. So he's going to turn while, look at that, pulling the arm out by framing on the ground. Dude, this is ridiculously good. This is like ridiculously good, right? Now watch. He still doesn't quite have enough space.

This guy's going to bring his leg up to block it. Now, Vinny has one task here. He can get the arm through, but he's got to get it away from this guy's body. And it's going to take him a second to do it. He actually does the right thing. You actually would want to go low because the more you stand up, the more space you create. So this guy actually does the right thing and sitting for a bit. But the end is almost near.

Now watch Vinny. Look at him up on his shoulder so he could corks. screw inside. So when he comes back the other way, he's got enough attachment to it and he can give it enough torque. Right? Watch this. This is ridiculous. Ready? He's going to pull back. So he sits his whole body weight forward. And now he's going to use that to lean back. That's going to bring this gentleman's weight forward. And now, watch this. He's just going to attach the arm to his body and then bring his body back. If I try to wrestle your arm with my arm, I may or may not be successful. But if I attach your arm to my body and I pull, my body will beat your arm 10 times out of 10,

which is exactly what you see here. Look at that. He uses his own body weight going back to pull it away from the body and look at this torque. Checkmate. Checkmate. Dude, that is nasty. Super nasty. Dude, I couldn't believe. I saw this on Twitter on Friday night or whatever was Saturday night and no one was talking about this. I was like, did y'all not see the shit he did? And here's the best part. That's not even the only thing he did. With one minute we have left.

Well, I'll jump to the end here. Sorry, I took it some BJJ Scout because I couldn't find anywhere else. It was on his Instagram. Sorry, BJJ. Hey, BJJ Scout. I stole your stolen footage. It's okay. All right.

Hold on. Watch this. So he tries to go. He pulls guard. and he tries to spin for an arm bar, and it doesn't work. So he's like, all right, I'm going to switch to an omoplaata. So he switches to the omplata. He takes a couple punches in the process.

All right. And so there's his omoplaata. I want to show you this. Here is what Vinny is amazing at. Vinny knows all the common counters to your attacks. So what he does is he puts you in a position where you're going to go to your common defense. And when you go to your common defense, then he overwhelms you. Right? That's what he does. So here, if you're trying to, if you're this guy and you want out of this

omplata, how do you relieve the pressure on your arm? I mean, you could stand up and shake him off, or you can come around this way, right? You can come around this way. So that's what this guy tries to do. All right, here he is. Vinny anticipates this. Watch how he does this. Ready? Watch. He is waiting for this guy, and I'm going to show you what he's about to do. He's expecting this guy to keep going. Hang on. Hang on. Here we go. All right. Watch this.

This guy thinks that if I come around to this side, I'm good. But you can run against Vinnie McGillac. You will only die tired. Watch. He waits. He puts a hand here. Look at this. He's going to wait.

He's blocking this. And he's going to push this. And he's going to turn him like this while he holds. while he holds the bottom leg as he sits up, and now he's going to grab it and sit back, and he swept him just like that. Look at that. Well, it's not quite a sweep,

because it's a sweep from a guard, so it's a reversal. But look at one more time. He just waits for it. He waits for the guy to come across. If you're going to do one of these things on him, you've got to do it fast. If you do it slow, look at that.

It stops it, turns him, underhooks the bottom leg, sits up, and now turns into him. And by the way, look at this Camorra. Look at this. We saw the other Camora. Look at this one.

Watch this. Sits his weight back, attaches it to him. Watch him drop his weight. Look at the left shoulder. Watch what he does with the left shoulder. Drops. Look at that.

Are you shitting me? Look at that, dude. Again, if it's just his arm versus his arm, who knows? If it's his body, versus your arm? It's a rat for you, son. Ridiculous. I couldn't believe people weren't talking about Vinnie Magalach. That guy's a bad motherfucker, man. That's the Monday morning analyst. All right. We're back. We're back. All right. You know what? Is the thing in the way, Joe? If you got to get

on screen, you can get on screen, Joe. People want to see you anyway. All right. There's your Monday morning analyst. It went a little long. I'm trying to get these things narrower. Let's go to my friend in the back. The one and only, Danny Sigora. Hi, Danny. How are you? Yo, what's good? Let's see your beautiful face on screen here if we can. There we, wait, hold on. Stand by. All right.

By the way, what did you think old Vinny? Man, there's nothing better than watching an expert work is scrapped in anime. Whether striking or jitzus just... Joe, if you want to get on camera, it's fine, dude. Don't worry about it. And so much detail goes behind it. And he's making this in real time, you know, in just seconds. Hey, everybody.

Say hi to Joe. Wait to the camera, Joe. Yay. Hey! I know. We're Charles trying to figure all this. out. You can just take the whole thing, man. We'll get on with this. All right, here we go. Thank you, Joe. I appreciate it.

So we're a little bit short on time. What do you want to do? Let's knock out a round of tweets real quick because I don't want to leave anything out. No, no. Let's do calls and I promise I'll do a round of tweets. I promise. Okay. Let's just fire into these calls, please. All right, let's do it. So we got, again, the calls keep getting better and better. Let's talk about the weekend,

Bellator. Let's do it. This is an opinion that I didn't agree with, but, you know, we share all kinds of opinions. All right. Yeah, yeah, sure. All right. This is Tommy. calling from Madison, Wisconsin. My question is talking about the Chale and Fyodor fight.

It did not seem like one of the sloppiest and ugliest fights you guys have ever seen. Chales take down attempts look like they were happening in super slow motion. So my question is, does Fyodor stand at chance against a much more agile Ryan Bader in the Grand Prix final? Thanks.

So two things I want to address here. Do you agree with this guy's analysis of the fight was at a like a sloppy slow fight. I thought it was a pretty competitive and both guys looked pretty crisp. Here's what I thought. I think the first punch

rattled chale a little bit. It's always bad body language if you see a grappler shoot and then they don't get it and then they immediately keep flopping to their back. That's one of those taill-tale signs like when a striker stops throwing

or when a grappler does that that's always a bad sign. So like was it the prettiest technical fight? No. But I thought the one against Tito was or you know, there's many I would pick that were worse.

In fact, as I mentioned before, I just showed you some of the great things Fador did. Yeah, did, did make some mistakes. He did. But there were a lot of positives taking that as well.

And he got that little single. You know, he looked good. I thought Chale, even in the feet, looked better than his previous performances. And, man, Fader looked just,

you know, rejuvenated. It was incredible. So the second part of this question was, what are his chances against Bader? Fader was obviously.

What do you think? I keep counting Fadoor out. I think he's proven me wrong. So I'll say this. It seems like Bader deserves to be the favorite. I think he's going to win. But Fador, man, he, as I showed here just recently,

he's got a few major adjustments, I don't know, but he's got some nice tweaks, and they're making a big difference. I think it's actually pretty competitive. I think so, too. And at the open workouts, man, he looked good. Like, he looked like he was packing power. Yeah, man, he looks good.

I think it's going to be a lot more competitive than what people make it out to be. And we'll see what happens. Also, like, Ryan Bader has had issues with guys that have, you know, really heavy striking, right? Really good striking. Anthony Johnson is a good example. So we'll see how much he buys into, you know, the fadour, the fadora, the fadour, you know, legend. So I think that's going to be key mentally for Ryan Bader.

All right. All right. Now, let's talk about rivalries. Hey, what's up, Luke? It's Michael from New York. I have a question. What do you think is a rivalry that has more bad blood? Connum McGregor, which can be.

Peter Magamadov or Daniel Kormay versus John Jones. All right, let me know. Thanks, man. For the reasons that what Daniel Kormier just said on the show, I'm going to say Daniel Kormier, John Jones, because he's right. Connor was just saying stuff to sell. You know, these two guys hate each other, and they mean every word they say.

So because there's two-way traffic, I'm going to go with D.C. Jones. Do you agree? I would someone agree. I mean, there was no, hey, you know, D.C. didn't go, hey, this is just business Jones or vice versa. That never went down. But I think there's so much bad blood on the other side with Habib that I think it evens out.

I think it's a draw, man. I think it's a draw. In other words, is Habib's bad blood greater than or equal to Jones plus DC? Yeah, you might be right, actually. I think so. I mean, Habib, this is not a game. Like, I feel like, I feel like Habib is willing to take things maybe farther than Jones or DC would.

I don't know. I mean, we just saw that crazy. Just the only thing for me is when two guys are so poisonous, it's like a bad marriage, you know? It's like, ugh, it's so ugly. Yeah. Versus just one guy who's consumed with rage. Plus, they're also the nature of the fights. Both fights were really competitive, you know, the D.C. and Jones, you know, obviously with the McGregor and Habib.

It's a bit of a watch. So the bad blood kind of drags out longer, you know? Yeah. With the result. All right. Now, let's talk about rematches. Come on, Mr. Luke Thomas. It's Charles J.

and calling her to Georgia. My question is regarding this Connor and Kabat rematch. If the UFC books this rematch immediately and Connor loses the exact same way, would this kill his aura, so to speak? Would they be making a mistake? Looking Connor against, on paper, and literally the worst matchup he could ever have.

Right. If he loses again, would that pretty much kill their cash cow? What are your thoughts on, my minute? Thanks for taking more call. Shouts to ATL, Georgia. What can we do for you? By the way, I'm from Marietta High School, so shots to ATL.

Okay, here's what I would say. Passions for fighters die hard. It takes a long time for people who love a fighter to stop loving him. So if you lose it again, would Connor stop being a star or something? No. However, would it affect badly his image? I would argue, yes. This is not the fight for him to have right now.

he needs to go fight somebody else. I think it's not an easier fight per se, although maybe that's a way to look at it, but someone who's got a skill set more in keeping with his own. And I think if you just put this guy out there and let's say he loses the exact same way, Danny, to say that wouldn't affect his market power is not true. It wouldn't turn him into a non-star,

but it would definitely knock him down a peg or two or three. I agree with your analysis there. The only key to that right there is that you know that if you booked the rematch a few months from now, that thing's going to kill on pay-per-view, right? Yes. If you put him up against Nate Diaz and he wins,

I think the rematch will even be bigger just because he's got, you know, some wind behind him, but also the Nate Diaz fight is not a given. Like, Nate Diaz is a tough dude. He could very well win it as well. True. So it's a gamble. What do you think business-wise would be most,

like, I guess the safer bet? You know, go straight forward to the rematch or have him fight someone else. Have him fight somewhere else. Someone else. Sorry. It's a very bad idea. If Khabib goes in there.

And by the way, everyone's like, Connor can get better in the rematch. Right. so can Habib not a good idea. So about Tony Ferguson. Interesting character. Speaking of Tony. Hey, Luke, this is Drew from an impoverished shithole called Lewis and Maine.

Listen, the Tony Ferguson fight the other week got me thinking about how Tony, as good of a fighter as he is, gets hit a lot. Seems to be a staple of a Tony Ferguson fight where he gets put in serious danger and finds a way out of it. A fighter like that can only lean on that fact and their chin for so long. So how much longer do you think it'll be until we start seeing the decline of Tony's? Ferguson and what fighter on the UFC roster could really exploit the shortcoming of his. Thanks. So you know what's funny on my radio show on Friday, I had Kevin Lee on. And Kevin Lee said the exact same thing. In fact, Kevin Lee thinks that he is not quite shopworn, that being Tony, but that Tony is taking a lot of damage and people aren't acknowledging that fact. Now, he said that

Tony looks slow and lethargic and didn't have his legs under him. I don't agree with that at all. But I do think that Kevin's got a bit of a point, Danny, that Tony does take a fair bit of damage. And he's, I think, 35 years old. So I would say, you know, he has obviously kept himself an impeccable condition, the knee injury notwithstanding. I don't know who the right guy is to exploit it, but I do wonder if he gets into some kind of war if that might put him over the edge, because he's had enough damage where

he hasn't crossed that line, but he might be close. I don't agree. I mean, the dude snapped his leg and he came back, what, six months later, five months? months later and fought. So he went through a training camp. I mean, Dominic Cruz was out for years for similar injuries. Out of 35. So, you know, I think Tony Ferguson is somewhat somebody else.

You know, that guy. And also, I just want to add to this, he said it. He hasn't sparred in years. That's so smart of him. And how much damage do you take from sparring? Tons, and people don't realize that. And I think most of probably the top lightweight spar, just an assumption. You know, just the fact that he's not sparring as well.

I like that aspect as well. And, you know, he takes damage well. I mean, he's not getting hit by scrubs. You know, he's not getting dropped by small shots. You know, he's taking shots by very game fighters, you know? Fair enough. So I think he's fine. I mean, obviously there is some damage done.

Obviously, you know, you got to keep that into a factor, but I don't think enough to a point where we might see him, you know, in a downhill somewhat sooner or anything like that. All right. So it's a good argument you make, though. Of course. So about Lewis and D.C. We just had D.C. on the show.

It seems, you know, a lot of people are just... By the way, can I just say it's great to have a show where a guest doesn't duff? Yeah, right. It's nice. We had... We actually had an extra guest. Yeah, we had an extra one.

Can you believe it? I mean, it hasn't happened in weeks. Yeah, I mean, you know, booking a live show is difficult. It's not easy, man. It's not easy. All right. All right, let's talk about Louis, D.C. Hey, Luke.

Hey, Danny. This is David from the great country of Austria. I'm a huge fan, keep up the good work, and here's my question. Everybody is talking about Daniel Colmier, what's next after his fight against Derek Lewis, and I want to know it sounds like nobody is really given Derek Lewis a chance in this fight. So I'm going to cut it right there, but it is a fair point. point that he brings up, everyone's talking about, okay, what's next for DC Jones or is the Brock Lesnar fight still on the table? What about Derek Lewis, though? I mean, the guy,

the guy can win this, right? I mean, would you agree? Yes, although, I mean, there's a reason, you're talking about a guy in Cormier who, when he was in the Strike Force Heavyweight Grand Prix, they were calling him the Black Fedor. I mean, we're not for the Jones fights. Look, if he had never dropped out of heavyweight, would he be the greatest heavyweight of all time? bet he would have put together the kind of resume to, like, well, I would favor him over, you know, I don't know about Kane necessarily, but, because it wouldn't have fought, but I would favor him over every other heavyweight of his era easily. So the question is, you know, do you have to take Derek Lewis's power seriously? Yes, of course you do.

Do you have to take all the other things to the intangibles, the heart that he showed? Absolutely, yes, you do. You cannot take him lightly. But if you're just thinking about probabilities, so there's possibilities, probabilities and certainties, if you're just thinking about the probability of it all, the chances are extraordinarily high that DC wins. But to your point, I thought that Volkov was going to walk away with it, and he did it. It's just the same Volkov, man. This is another level. So is it possible?

It is possible, but it's more probable that DC walks away with it relatively easily, I think. Do you think it's a big gamble by the UFC? I mean, also, you know, Kormier is going injured. You know, I asked them about the New York thing. It makes me nervous, man. Yeah. They'd be like, hey, you're a big gamble. lips are chapped and you feel sad.

We're not going to approve this fight. What? You didn't sleep last night? Cancelled. It's like, ah. You know, both these guys have like literally noteworthy injuries. Not like devastating injuries, but they're not, it's not, we're not guessing.

So I'm, I'm, you know, knock on wood, right? But I'm a little nervous about it, man. Well, we'll see once we get to, I know. And it's here in New York. I'm like, kind of excited for it now. Yeah. We'll see.

All right. This is an interesting point. This is actually from a call that we got, you know, last week, but we just didn't have time to feature it. And I think it's a great point that very few people talk about, and it's something that I notice all the time. Danny, Luke, that's from Los Angeles. How about a hot take on who is the blame?

UFC says they had all the security. They had all the police. I'm watching back this fight. And in the ring, it's just a bunch of old fat guys. and not like kind of old or kind of fat, but like really fat, really old. What the fuck are those guys supposed to do? That is an awesome question. That is such a good question.

Have you ever seen the fighters walk out and then you look at the bodyguards? You know, it's usually the people who work for the venues. And these guys are getting close to, they look like 70. I mean, it's up there, man. That is such a funny question. So you know what's funny? When I first moved to New York City, I had no money. I had $500 to my name.

supposed to last me for two months. Danny, you could attested the fact that $500 in New York City doesn't get you very far. Nope. Gets you a beer. I literally was going through pay. This was back when payphones still existed. I was going through payphones and trying to find change just so I can get on the subway. I was so poor. And I tried to get jobs bouncing. And I had a big problem doing that because I was huge at the time. I was still in the Marine Corps lifting weights. But they all want, have you seen the bouncers in New York City? They're all like 610, 400 pounds, right? Because they all come from agencies that recruit them.

All the guys who don't make it to the pros in the NFL, they recruit them. That's they ever seen like Floyd's guys? Yeah, those dudes. They're all huge. These venues, these newer venues, they don't do any of that apparently. They don't hire from the same agencies. I found that out. So I're not sure who they're hiring, but it ain't those guys.

But if you get the guys who are bouncers here in NYC, bro, that fight gets stopped a lot faster. Because it's not fist fighting, it's controlling chaos. And these bouncers here, I mean, I'm a lot. large man, and these bouncers here make me look very small. So that's what you... But those guys are expensive. Like these guys who are 400 pounds and 6, 7,

they get work at the big clubs because that's who has the money to pay them. But did you notice that? Have you noticed that? Yes. Well, there's the one guy, he's an African-American guy. He's big and fat, but he used to be a pro football player. He works with the commission. He actually carries a badge. You can see them, but you're right, dude. Their security there, they looked a little bit trifling.

You know what I'm saying? They got a... I don't know. They may be upgraded. They need the BAS body action system. That's what they need. Or the McGregor fast, right? To get nice and agile to hold down... Yeah.

Fucking A. All right, you want to do one more or you want to go to... Yeah, yeah, no. We got time for a couple more. I'm just going to run like I always do to my next job. Sounds good. All right. So let's talk about Cyborg Nunez a fight that's not being talked about at all.

All right, all right. Hey, Luke, this is Lance from Kentucky. I want to ask you real quick. Do the results of Rory versus Gailer? Gagar give us a window into what the outcome of Cyborg versus Nunes will be in terms of both having similar skill sets, but also differing in weight. Thanks, love the show. No, I don't think so. Amanda has not taken the kind of damage Rory has taken.

I would actually say she's probably as physically talented. Dean Thomas talked to me about this. He's like, dude, I am telling you, I am telling you. I know everyone's coach, big ups their fighter. All this guy's amazing. This lady's amazing. she's the best. He's like, dude, I'm telling you. She hits like a man. You must believe me. And then I know Misha Tate now. She works with me at Sirius XM.

Bro, she was telling me, she was like, I'd never been hit like that ever in my life. Not even, she told me in sparring, which includes women and men. She said that the power that Amanda Nunes possesses, and it was effortless power. She wasn't like, ah, trying to he man it across. Just pop, pop. She said she couldn't believe how physical she was. Now, we'll see about the gas tank. We'll see about the over. overall game, but in terms of the physicality difference, no, I don't think so. Yeah.

And I would also say that there's a bigger jumping weight between 170 and 185 than it is from 135 to 140. By the way, Gaygard, a guy who's fought as high as 205, too. Exactly. You know what I mean? And also, Chris Seiberg has made 140, too. I know, you know, not the best shape, but she's made it. Barely.

And Amanda Newn, she's a big girl. I've seen her in person and she's just dense. She just looks. She's not a small fry at all. Yeah, exactly. And I agree damage-wise. I mean, Nunez, I don't think historically has taken much damage throughout her career. And we've seen 35ers have some success against cyborg like Hollyholm, you know?

Hey, is that Esther behind you? Yes. Hey, Esther, say hi. Can you wave? Where is she? No, other way. To your left. Hi, Esther.

Hey, there's the world's best combat sports photographer. Pretty great. All right. What's next? All right. Let's do one more question, Rie McGregor, and we are going to tweets. Okay. Hello, Luke.

Darius from Romania. I have a question. Do you think Connor McGregor's Star is fading away? Because I really, I'm not looking forward for any of next fights he possibly can do.

I don't know. It's just my feeling for it's every once. Okay. By the way, shouts to the home of Royal Schwarzenegger, Austria calling in, and now Count Dracula, apparently from Romania. Nice to see that. Here's what I would say.

I would say, I don't know if you agree, Danny. I've definitely noticed a little bit of a softening intensity for the fandom that he had. Very slight, very minor. But the idea that, like, if what you're suggesting is if he fought again relatively soon, let's say within six months, that it wouldn't do well, I don't buy that at all. I mean, his star power is still extraordinary. He visited the worthless POS Dallas Cowboys, the worst sports organization on the planet, whose fans are literally vermin.

And it was everywhere all over the sports news. People loved it. Can't be worse than Real Madrid fans, though, right? Well, I mean, those are Knights and Shining Armor, you absolute prick. Anyway, point being is, do you see him at the game? Everyone was loving him. Jerry was back in him, back slapping him, and the fans were all there, and then the players loved it.

He had a great throw, too. The throw was he had a sick spiral, you know what I'm saying? Laces out the whole bit. I'm just, look, I'm just saying, I get that some fans are, some fans believe he got his comeuppance. But the idea that his popularity has waned in any kind of real or significant way, don't buy that at all.

He's going to fight again, and he's going to get rich. And I think, if anything, it's gotten bigger. He was just at Amigos concert, and they knew who he was, and they were giving him a chains and taking pictures and whatnot. I think, if anything, he's bigger than ever.

However, I would have liked to say that what is fading away is his aura of invincibility. I mean, against Eddie Alvar is, I mean, I would remember watching that and I was just like, this is something else. It was almost like watching Anderson Silva,

when he was fighting the top dogs and just destroying them and looking it was the same feeling I got when Anderson beat Forrest Griffin I thought that is a once-in-a-generation talent he was on top of the world at UFC 205 His speed, his timing, everything was just perfect

And I think that has gone down You know, especially Habib exposing him You know, on the ground That has been Not exposing him, not exposing him But, you know, setting a blueprint out there Like look, you can wrestle with this guy And you can turn him into a different fighter

Yep. All right. Are we done with calls? Yeah. Let's go to tweets. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, one thing. Let's give away the PFL tickets. Yeah? Okay. Actually, do you want to do that after a show week? I can always tweet out the number. Real quickly. Let me do it right now. Call the number. Do you give the number out? Yes? Yeah. 646809-0-7. 646-809-07.

Washington, D.C., my hometown. I'll be there this week. He gets some VIP seats. You get to go watch PFL 10. With that, Danny Segura, it's time for a round of tweets. Five minutes on the clock when the first week goes up. Here we go. All right. How can a fan show that the doping allegations bother them without punishing themselves and not ordering paper views with tainted fighters? We should have to miss an entire car to voice our displeasure with one particular fighter. Look, guys, I'm open to suggestion about ways in which you could protest beyond that.

But here's the point that I've made. You cannot reasonably tell me that it really bothers you to the point where you cannot stand it. that is something that existentially is not okay, and then act as if everything is okay. If your behavior doesn't change as a consequence, if your behavior is the same as somebody who doesn't care about that stuff, who's just wanting to buy it no matter what, then how can you reasonably say that you're doing anything about it? You're just expressing displeasure, but you're not voting in any kind of way that matters. Maybe there's another way besides not buying it.

I'm happy to hear some suggestions, but simply saying, I'm mad. or being angry on social media, you're not really all that mad, are you? Next. Ryan Bader mentioned in a recent interview that he would have struggled against D.C. if they fought five years ago. But he would win for sure if they fought now. How do you see this playing out now? And will the results be different depending if they fought at light heavyweight or heavyweight?

I do think Bader has made some substantial, excuse me, some substantial improvements. I have a hard time picking anybody to beat D.C., you know, not named John Jones, I suppose. but I do think he'd be closer than it was five years ago. I do think, you know, look at the knockouts he's against Alir Latifie, and he looked good against Phil Davis even if it was a close fight. And obviously, in Belter, he's just run through people. So I would definitely say it's closer. I would definitely be like, I would like to see it.

But I don't know that they would be substantially different. Next. Do you think Diaz versus Poirier bout is going to be replaced in UFC 230, and do you think Diaz will stay on the card? Well, he sure is F ain't staying on the card, and I don't think it's going to be replaced. I mean, I don't know what they could do on two weeks notice. to get not one but two people to fill in.

I think we're just short. Next. Luke, please. Look, please unblock me. My buddy, shots to my buddy, Chad Dukes in Washington, D.C. He makes people Venmo him 20 bucks to get unblocked. I might start doing that, but Danny saved that tweet all unblocked this guy. What's next?

What do you think about Habib calling out Floyd Mayweather? I'd rather have carbonic acid. sprayed directly into my eyeballs while I am fed to scorpions alive. What a stupid-ass idea. Couldn't possibly want to see anything less. I didn't even want to see Mayweather McGregor, to be honest with you. And this is even worse.

But if you're asking me if it might get made, shit, dude, seeing punk fault in the UFC. Anything's possible. Next. Why do people think every fight chill son and loses is fixed? Well, look, he has certainly blended, I should say, or crossed the lines in terms of being a character, being a person. The way in which he loses is sort of like hard to comprehend because the technique,

we're used to seeing guys try techniques and maybe not get them. We're not used to seeing them be almost like a blooper reel kind of failure. And so I think folks like, it was so clearly he could have done better. When the reality is, you know, Chale has a bit of a habit. Sometimes I really respect him as a fighter, but sometimes in these big moments, he goes for like, you know, high risk, low reward techniques, like the spinning back fist against Anderson. And it just kind of blows up in his a little bit. So between that tactical choice and the sort of character he's played over the years, I think a lot of people get the wrong idea about them. Next. Is there a disconnect between media and fans regarding Habib's connection to Kadiqarov? While media seem to be acutely aware of the horror

that is Kadeerov, fans don't seem to see how ugly Habib's friendship with Kedirov is for MMA. Well, look, our job is to report the truth that the fans can do what they want with it as a consequence. I'm just going to put it this way. You want to come on this show on the MMA hour and you've ever done any business with Ramzan Kadir. It's going to be the first question I ask you about it. So, you know, we'll see who has the willingness to actually acknowledge some of this bullshit. It's ridiculous that this guy is a part of the sport. It's ridiculous that this keeps happening. I can forgive, Habib, if he does it to protect his family in Russia, I really can. But everyone else out there, not forgiving at all. And I swear to God, if you come on the show, it's the first

goddamn thing I'm going to ask you. So you're duly warned. Next. has nobody talking about Aldo versus Connor 2 at 155 because it seems like there's no momentum. But I wouldn't mind seeing it, to be honest. Next. What type of wild game have you eaten? I've eaten Rattlesnake. I have eaten turkey. I've eaten deer. I've eaten boar. I've eaten, God, what else have I eaten? A bunch of stuff. If you're asking, how does Rattlesnake taste? Like ass. Next, please. Luke, do you foresee UFC ever sending fighters to challenge to other promotions again, like when they sent Chuck to pride?

Maybe if Dana White leaves the organization, and that's it. All right, folks, one more time, 646-809-0-3-7 for the PFL tickets. We went long again. Thank you guys. Thanks to everyone in the back for watching. Thank you guys for watching. We'll be back next week.

And until then, stay frosty.