MMA Fighting - We Got Next | AJ Dobson & Mitch Raposo

Episode Date: October 6, 2021

On the third episode of We Got Next, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck speaks with the UFC's newest middleweight AJ Dobson following his first-round submission win over Hashem Arkhagha at Dana White's Contender Series this past month, the story of how he met Matt Brown and how the longtime UFC welterweight, along with Mark Coleman, have influenced him, immediately booking his octagon debut for UFC 270 against Jacob Malkoun, and how he almost made his promotional debut just days after getting a contract. Then, New England prospect Mitch Raposo discusses his upcoming Contender Series matchup against Jake Hadley next Tuesday night, his experience on The Ultimate Fighter and what he took away from his loss to Ludvik Sholinian, Alexander Volkanovski's motivation and his thoughts on the featherweight champ's recent title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 266, how he likes the matchup with Hadley, the reaction the bout has gotten since it was revealed, and more. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Shop now at IKEA.ca.ca slash Black Friday. IKEA, bring home to life. Welcome to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Hello there, everybody, and welcome to a brand new edition of We Got Next here on the MMA Fighting Podcasting Network, as we're shining the spotlight on those. incredible athletes who were on the cusp of very big things in our sport of mixed martial arts. I am Mike Kack.

Thank you for checking out the program this week. We have a couple of great chats on the show for your listening pleasure. One fighter who got himself a contract on Dana White's contender series and already has his UFC debut set. The other is one of New England's top prospects. He was on this past season of the Ultimate Fighter and now he gets his shot on Dana White's contender series next Tuesday, in my opinion, one of the most highly anticipated fights of this entire season. So wrapping us up, we're going to chat with AJ Dobson, who had the only finish on week four on Dana White's contender series a couple weeks ago, submitted Hashem, Argaqa,

in the first round. He got a contract to boot, and now he's going to make his UFC debut January 22nd, a big show, the first pay-per-view event of 2022 at U.S. UFC 270 against Jacob Malcoun. So we'll chat with the newest middleweight in the UFC, AJ Dobson, in a little while. But kicking us off this week, we're going to chat with Mitch Raposo, who prepares for his chance to fight in front of Dana White once again, back out of ESPN Plus, looking to go from signed or unsigned to signed. From the tough host to the contender series, he takes on Jake Hadley in an absolute bangor

at 125 pounds next Tuesday. of the Contender Series. We kick things off with New England's own, Mitch Raposo. All right, let us say hello to Mitch Raposo, who returns to action October 12th on Dana White's Contender Series. Taking on Jake Hadley in a fight that a lot of people are very excited about. Mitch, good to see you, man. How is Las Vegas treating you these days?

Vegas is good, man. It's kind of just, you know, doing some media for the fight. Like that, obviously, it was short notice. So they flew me out a little bit early. But, you know, things are good, man. She's living the dream. So when did you find out about this fight? I would say like, probably about like a week and a half ago.

Probably, yeah, I said probably like a week ago. I was at work, actually. I do like security for my coach. And I got a text for my manager. And he was just like, oh, can you make wait October 12? And I was like, dude, you know what I sent me the name? I was like, I already kind of know of Jake, obviously. He's a big time prospect out there.

So I was like, I was more than I was down, man. I was like, let's do it. So as many people are aware, you were just on this past season of the Ultimate Fighter. It had been gone for a while. And then it came back and we did the Bannam weights. We did the middle weights. And there you are. Massachusetts being represented.

Mitch Raposo on there. How would you like to, I mean, being able to describe the tough experience is probably just like a 45-minute podcast within itself. But like, how would you like describe the experience? Like, what did you like about it?

What did you not like about it? Like, how would you, If someone asked you, like, just a stranger's like, what was tough like? What would you say to them? Yeah, it's definitely the hardest thing I've ever did as far as like, you know, I mean, it's definitely where everybody says it is, what Dana says it is. And nobody wants to talk about, like obviously nobody wants to talk about when you lose.

But that shit's hard, man, being there and still training twice a day, being away from your family, your friends. And I stood motivated, man. I tried to, I just took every opportunity I could. You know, I created like a real good bond with Alex. And he just instilled so much knowledge into me. You know what I mean? to my, you know, I'm just like my skill set, just my mindset, my confidence, everything,

man, especially after that fight. Because I was training him probably like four days and then we fought, you know, so then I was there because I was the first fight. Like, I was the first fight out of everybody. Regardless of how they put it on the show, I was, I was the first fight. And so obviously, you know, you deal with that, but the experience is priceless, man. That type of, like, you can never do anything harder than that. You know what I'm saying?

And I, like, I handled it, right? I think pretty well. I would say the things I Obviously the training was so high level It was obviously great I would say the things I disliked obviously You know the one You don't see the shit

Like I didn't really watch the show But you don't there's a lot of shit you don't see You know what I mean? Obviously Especially I would say like Like the thing The way things happened The order of things

The timetable And I've heard so many guys Some tough say that It's like it's really just not You know what I'm saying But it's just a reality show There is what it is I don't really care

I know like the people Who know me back home know who I am, you know what I'm saying? And like, you know, it was a blast either way. I was real cool with the guys of my team, the guys in Otega's team. And like I said, I took it. I said, it was a great experience for my career, especially being young. Yeah, I was going to ask you about how you did stay motivated after losing the fight because I was aware that you were the very first fight too. And, you know, then you have to stick around for the rest of the filming. And yeah, you want to get in the training and stuff like that. But, you know, maybe there's

hopes you get back in. There's some kind of injury or something happens. And you could slide back in there, but like, did it take a while for you to like kind of get that motivation and get that clearheadedness when it comes to like, listen, I have this experience. I could train with Alexander Volkinovokinovsky. He's a freaking world champion right now. I lost. It sucks, but like I got to get back on that horse because I may never get this opportunity again. You know what I mean? I fought April 29th. I trained April 30th. You know what I'm saying? That's real. That's really that simple. Like I didn't miss one day of training. I mean, Alex could clear like confirm that. I was spawned with Alex. I was asking to do rounds with him

at least once or twice a week. I was before practice, I was picking his brain. After practice, I was picking his brain. I'm not, you know what I'm saying? I lost. It fucking sucked. It was definitely hard. Like, it was not easy for me to be. I didn't wake up next day.

Oh my God, let's go train. Like, dude, I was, obviously, it was hard. And a lot of guys who were like didn't really want to train or didn't really, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, even like, just a vibe in the house after you, after guys would lose. Obviously, it's just not the same. You know what I mean?

Like, especially I was the first fight. I had to deal with that shit the longest. And I had guys coming up to me. oh dude i don't know how you dealt with it for so long because they were like in the they were in like the second more laid around in the fights like oh i don't know how you you dealt with you're dealing with this so like well dude i'm ready to lose my mind like i just lost my fight i'm like dude like you know what i mean and i stood motivated and i still training so i think that's what i realized like my i'm a lot more mentally tough than i actually ever gave myself credit for going

into that you know what i mean so it definitely shaped me for the better yeah i remember rickie terseos was on ariel's show the m m m mhm a hour was talking about how he learned so much about the mental aspect of fighting and just about himself. And it seems like he was journaling and doing all these different things. I feel like you and him probably bonded pretty well, having similar experiences and kind of dealing with similar things. Were you and Ricky kind of tightened that way? Honestly, yeah, Ricky was one of my best friends in the house.

You know what I'm saying? Like genuinely, he's just a great dude. Like he was my number one trainer partner. I trained with him every single day. And we definitely bonded really well with me, him, Ryder, Aaron, you know what I mean, Brian, uh, battle. Dustin was my roommate. Like, Brady, me and Brady were similar age, so we really, we bonded. You know, it was, uh, even, you know, Gil was really chill, uh, Gilbert Arbina. Um, it was, you know,

that was cool with everybody, but Ricky was definitely one of my best friends at the house. The fight with, with Ludvick, obviously, I mean, it's, it's tough being the number one guy. Like, it's cool to be the number one guy at the time. You're like, yeah, I'm number one draft pick. But then you realize, like, they're going after you right off the bat. They're going to try to get rid of you right away. You go in there at Ludwig, tough wrestlers, tough fight. What were the biggest takeaways from, from sharing the cage with him and just,

actually, like your first real loss in MMA. It doesn't count on the overall record, but still something you have to deal with personally. Yeah, and regardless for it counted or not. So obviously, I think about that fight every day. And I just think the biggest thing I took away, man, is just like that self-belief, if you can't, like going into it, like I knew I was talented and I,

you could say you think you belong there or something. You got to feel it. You got to experience it. And going into, I just, I knew I had the skills to win the show. And honestly, it'll probably be something that I regret forever. But at the end of the day, it's an experience. And my path, and I'm sure five years for now, nobody's going to be even thinking about that fight.

But at the end of the day, you got to have that kind of like self-belief. Like I was in the fight. And I remember after the first run, I went back to the corner. And I told, I asked dogs like that, wouldn't that? And he looked at me. He was like, yeah, like easily. You know, like that was that kind of like,

I was kind of, like, I was kind of, I just going into a fine who's the type of wrestling was like that's a different you know a four-time Ukrainian national champion you know

who's a wrestle at the world team trials like that's a that's high level you know what I'm saying I've never experienced anything like that especially upper weight class

you know what I'm saying so I was just overthinking it going into it I think and but then when I was in there man I feel like I was I feel like I I won the first eight minutes of that fight easily you know I got a bad time

you know he took me out at the end of that second round I take another that happened or I just get up I wouldn't that fight never even went to a third round I would have cruised right to the semis, you know? And my mind was in there, man. When you're not focusing the moment,

you're thinking of all these different things, that's what happens. I lost focus going into the fight, and that's exactly what happened during the fight, you know what I'm saying? You got to be locked in. You've got to be zoned in the sport. And that's what I realized, man.

You know, and it sucked, but I needed that. Because, like I said, I was cruising in that fight, and I took my foot off the gas and look where I happened. I remember I was talking to, I don't remember if I was talking to Tyson about this with somebody else, but I remember telling somebody that this, that fight and what happened there, that's probably the best thing that could have happened to you, especially being so young, going through that experience,

fighting a guy like that and, you know, kind of taking your foot off the gas. It just, the mental struggles that in fighting and all that stuff, and being a part of that, I felt like this was the best thing that could have happened to you. As bad as it was, the opportunity that was there, I feel like when we write the story of Mitcherposo, the fighter, that fight in particular

is going to be the most important chapter in the novel, you know what I mean? No, I 100% agree, man. Like even like you look at his last fight, man, you just fought Jack Shore. You know, Jack Shaw is 4-0 in the UFC and I honestly think I did way more punished for my feet than Jack did.

You know what I'm saying? Like, I think I'd even get hit in that fight. You know what I'm saying? Like, I really genuinely, I didn't get hit once. And like Jack Shaw's on the brink of being the top 15 Bannerweight, you know? And like I said, that's a bad bad banding weight.

You know what I'm saying? I'm a flyweight. I mean, these people don't realize there's a huge difference between those weight classes. I remember I walked into the cage. I was like 140, you know what I'm saying? Like, and like, if it's opportunity, I took it. And going into the fight, I had a fight for LFA. I was going to drop down on a flywood anyway, so my weight was already down.

But when I was fighting at 35 before, I was a little bigger. I was like 150, like 55. So I was a lot more accustomed to 35. But obviously, you know, I took the opportunity anyway. I'm never going to say no to the UFC. I actually I'd fight at any grade class when it comes to the UFC. So, you know, like I said, 100% is the best thing that ever happened to me. And, yeah, I ain't taking my foot off the gas in this one.

I'll tell you that. I have not been a fan of Tuff for a long time. And the reason why is because I just feel like the show hasn't evolved at all. Like, I feel like it's been the same show since day one. And they're going through and I'm like, all right, this is this new generation of the ultimate fighter. I can't wait to see the changes they made. And they made no changes. Like, none.

except they took the finale away from us. They took the finale away. Like they threw a couple of fights in there, like all the final fights on a regular card, but there was no finale. Like were you, were you pissed that there was no finale? I mean, it's like you can't,

like the end of the day I lost, so like I didn't, I can't not owe it. Nobody owes me anything. But we were kind of being told, like before we left that we were like, it was going to look good. Like they were like I said,

it was the big return. Like I thought, man, like the way guys were already hearing in the house that they were already, on it, you know what I'm saying? I feel like I performed. I wasn't like, I feel like my performance. I mean, I didn't win, but like I had, I had one of, as far as feedback in, I had one

of the better performances as far as it taking a Nell in the house. So yeah, I was surprised, like, you know what I'm saying? But I just think it came down to space. I mean, the UFC is so packed now. It's like, it's like, it's crazy. So it's like, I just think it came down his face on the card and they kind of was like, I would just put the finalist on. And then Andre got a call like 10 days before something opened up.

He got the call good for him, you know? Hey, he won his first fight. You know what I'm saying? obviously he deserves that and then like ludic got signed and gil got signed and tray signed like i think it was kind of like trinkling down uh and i was kind of just in that like short notice pool like i said i wasn't going to wait forever obviously you know I mean but i was definitely bummed that uh I didn't get on the finale it was kind of it was they usually always do like a full finale card you know what I mean like even guys like

vince dude that didn't get a shot like yeah like that's kind of crazy you know what I mean what did you think of the fight between bolkanowski and Ortega I mean maybe the fight of the year. Round three is definitely the round of the year. I mean, you were around both these guys for several weeks and to see it all play out and the two guys having the fight that they had. I mean, that must have been like super surreal for you to watch, like, from the lenses that you were looking at it from, right? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. That fight went exactly the way I thought it was going to go low. I mean, the third round was competitive. Like, obviously, let me not, I mean, third round of vocal is about to finish him, you know? And like, he couldn't even get out

off of the mat. So I kind of felt like the fight should have been stopped. But I got to what Volk, like everybody's been kind of saying. And I see what Vogue's point is on that. But it was in the same fight. Like I kind of thought, like, the fight was going to go that way.

Vocal was just going to be too much, too strong. His striking was just going to be, he was maybe one step ahead all night. Like, you just don't know. Like, when he's in front of you, it's like, he kind of like, obviously, like, being around him, I picked up so much, like, fight IQ-wise, how he thinks, things like that.

You can fight anybody. But when you fight him, you're going to fight his fight. You know what I mean? that's kind of what happened. Like, it was apparent from the bell. That third round just showed, I'm sure he wasn't glad to happen,

but, you know, that show the difference, like that championship grit, you know? It was funny because in the house, like, we were so excited for the coach's challenge, because we just,

like, no way Vogue's going to lose. He's too competitive, like, there's no way. And like Ortega just had that kind of more, like he would always show up late and shit. Like, he didn't really care. I feel like more he got that vibe, like he just didn't really care that much.

She's like, oh, there's no way. But then they fucking do, fucking cornhole or whatever, dude. That shit was, Volka's never played a big game of corner on his life, so he kind of got screwed. But then you saw it in the fight, man. Like, you saw that kind of like,

he's just, dude, like, he's the champ for a reason. You know, anybody that beat Max Holloway twice, regardless of how you feel about the second fight, that's just something, you know, like obviously Max is a legend. You know, so the fact what he's done, man, Volk is, you know, like I said, he's probably, he's the goat now,

by the way, you really think about it. Like, obviously, you need, I'm sure he's, you know, he's super humble. He's going to go, I need the numbers. I need the title defenses, which I'm sure, you know, he's going to focus on doing. But, man, beat Aldo, beat Holloway twice, did what he just did to Ortega. I mean, it's pretty insane. Yeah, I actually, I'm one of the people who thought Volcanovsky beat Holloway in the second fight.

I thought the way he adjusts in fight is just phenomenal. I just, yeah, people just don't like, people got to realize a fight is judged round by round. Like, it's not like Holloway, Kay, he won his first two rounds. Yeah, third round was extremely close. But at the end of the day, it's how do you feel about the round? round. All right. The judge thought Volk won the round. That's it. Boom. We move on to the fourth round. Same shit. Fifth round. Boom. He edged out the last three rounds. You know what I'm saying? And people don't understand that there was a chess match going on between the two, a high level

chess match. And I mean, so, you know, like I said, the second one, yeah, the second fight could have gone either way. But the first fight was, I really wasn't close at all. In my opinion, I thought it was 4-1 Volk in the first fight. So, I mean, it's taken forward. The second round was close. To call it a robbery is just stupid. Yeah. You can't really do that with fights that close. So, so you took this, so this contender series fight, you took on short notice. Did you have anything else cooking because New England MMA starting to, starting to get going again. CES said some cards. Cage Titans obviously back doing their thing. So was there anything else a brewing before you got this call? Yeah. So like I said, after the whole finale situation, I told Tyson, okay,

I was like, dude, what's going on? Like I, I, like, he was kind of just trying to work, like, you want me to be patient and wait and see. I did. But then when September came, I was just kind of like, You know, it sucks, obviously. And I was, like I said, I was kind of in that short notice pool. But, like, I'm 22 years old. I'm not going to wait forever. You know, so I told him I want something big. I wanted to fight for CES' flyweight belt against Shuck.

I was hearing that he really wasn't going to take it. Or he wasn't available, whatever. I mean, he's always been, he's been talking to shit for a while. And then I've been trying to fight. I was trying to fight them, like, literally as soon as my first fight back. And I was kind of, I wanted something big, though, something that was on fight pass. A lot of people are going to see, go out there, get a big win, get signed.

That was my goal. That was the plan. And then we got this call short notice. It's not like I'm in the gym constantly five, six days a week all year round. It doesn't matter if I'm in camp, not in camp. So like I was already wrestling for a month. You know what I'm saying, sparring every week for you for about a month like I was kind of getting into camp. So I've been in, I'm in fight shape.

So we obviously got the call and I jumped all over. What's so interesting about this fight is not, I mean, those who covered the sport and follow the regional scene and stuff like that. When they saw it, they were just like, damn, like this fight rules. Like, we're opposed to versus that. This is great. But I was clearly not the only one who felt the same way. I mean, everybody reacted to this fight.

In fact, this might be the most hyped fight of the season so far in terms of name value and the reaction on social media. And it's very difficult in the contender series to get an overwhelmingly positive reaction to a fight. This one delivered, in my opinion. And did you notice that as well? Like everybody was like, oh man, Reposa versus Hadley is a banger. Yeah, I gives me fucking chills.

And you say that, man. I love that. Like, that's what I wanted. Like, I know Nolan tweeted it out and like it was a scrap. Everybody was kind of reacting to it. You know what I mean, me versus Hadley. Yeah, man, he is what he is in the UK. But I feel like I've done, I've made my name out here in America and being a New England guy and being where I'm from.

I'm walking into this shit. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like it's kind of like not like an underdog story. But in my, you know, he's a big time champ out there. whatever but you know like i said i've done what i've done out here i love it like shit that's what i that's what i live for man i'm not i go out there beat this kid i'm getting signed you know what i'm saying that's the way of winning he's yeah he's good at what he does he's a stud way he does but i think his way of winning's a little more boring that i would say like he's more of a top grappler's

he's good at what he does like i give great respect to what he does but i think and he looks at he he will strike like i don't i'm not saying like he's a tough kid but i think there's gonna be on the feet. I just think I'm going to be one step ahead. And like I said, I'm coming for fireworks, man. It's a contend of series. I'm fighting in front of Dana again. I'm not really, I'm in the moment right now. My only mindset is just putting on the show and stealing the show. You know, doing what I, doing what I need

to do, focus on the little things to get the win, but my main focus is going out there. And you know what I'm saying? And really, silencing any doubters, you know what I'm saying? About the potential that I have. You know what I mean? It's a great fight. It's a great matcher for me. And I'm just going to go out there and send this shit. When you heard Jake's name

where you're like, oh, man, really? This is crazy. Yeah, I don't really, I don't know much about him. Like, I've seen, I've seen him on Twitter and things like that because like, like, uh, like talking shit to like people and stuff like that. But I've, like I said, I don't know. He's never talked that shit to me. And, uh, so I saw the name and I was like, I didn't really know what he was good at. Like, that's probably the only thing. I didn't really know. I just knew his name. So I just like, obviously like Googled and whatever. So I would like, like, uh, watched a couple of videos and stuff. And I saw kind of what he does and things like that. And like I said, it's a banger man.

I think this fire, those fire has fireworks went all over it because he's never for a wrestler, like you said, people, like I said, I got to take down my last fight and held down, but that's at a bigger weight class against a way more accomplished wrestler than what Jake is. You know what I mean? My ears are, my ears are, this is that happens. You have a collier far away, man.

It's a lot of it. But, you know, way more accomplished wrestle than what Jake is. And I was stuffing most of those shots, made some crucial mistakes. You know what I'm saying? Obviously that I've been working on fixing. You know what I mean? So, I just think matchup wise, man, it's, it's tough.

especially my return down at flyweight. I'm not the smaller guy anymore. You know what I mean? Like I'm going to be, I'm going to walk in there probably bigger than everybody else. And it's going to be tough, you know, to hold me down and try to just, you know, take me down. And hold me down and try to get to the back and things like that.

He's going to be forced to strike with me. You know, so I think that fight is it. The fight's going to be fireworks. Yeah, that's a great matchup. By the way, did you get a chance to watch, do you get a chance to what's Tom Brady's return to Foxborough? Me and my buddy, we were trying to find it, I mean, out here in Vegas,

but we couldn't, we were flipped through the channel, I was trying to find it, we couldn't get it, maybe we were late or something, because at the time zone was all, like, messed up and went to Whole Foods. And so maybe we missed it.

I heard about it, I mean, it's definitely, you know, definitely mixed reaction, but. Best result. Yeah, a lot closer to a game that I thought it was going to be. Yeah, it's the best result. Brady breaks the record,

gets a standing ovation. The young Buck, Mack Jones played really well, probably outplayed Brady. They didn't win, but still, yeah, you left there with some positive vibes.

you're like, all right, maybe this team doesn't suck after all. This is good. I'm not like a big football fan or a big basketball fan. I love sports in general. Like, you know, sports on it, I have no problem watching it, but I'm obviously a fan of like the goats, the icons. Like, I'm a huge Kobe Bryant fan. Like, I don't watch basketball every week,

but I'm a huge Kobe fan, always been a fan of his mentality, things like that. And the same thing with a guy like Tom Brady. He's an icon. He's a legend. He's bigger than football in a way. you know what I'm saying? Like as far as the name that he made for himself. Yeah, I'm with you on that.

I mean, it's amazing once you get enthralled into this MMA world, you kind of just focus on it and everything else is just like cherry on top of the Sunday at the end of the day. Last thing before we let you go, one of the big talking points heading into the Volcanovsky-Rotega fight was Ortega was the unprofessional guy. He had you guys waiting around. He was late to everything.

He was unprofessional. And Volk sort of talked about how, a lot of that was just to kind of get in his head, talk a little trash, maybe get him off his game, get a little riled up when he got in there. But what did you think? What was your overall? I know you and Otago were probably cooled down the stretch, but what was your overall thing? Did you agree with that?

Was there a little unprofessionalism going on there from that you saw? So as far as like obviously that, me and like honestly, me know what Tatega were literally cool. Like that literally, obviously the timing of it, I think that was like the sixth episode where all that shit happened. That was the first freaking week I was there. Like they do four fights at one time. It's like, you know what I'm saying? So, and like I said, we all, we went 0 and four.

And like obviously, you know, the matches played out how they played out. And like he said, then he came to the house and he was kind of rubbing it in, kind of being a dick. But towards the middle and the end, he was cool. He was always cool with me. He actually pranked me at the end of the season. But they never should. There's a bunch of shit they didn't show. I heard.

Like we were, we were. So we were after practice, me and Ryder stood at the apex. We had something to do. I think it was a COVID test or something. And the rest of the guys went back to the house. And Ortega's team came in. And Ortega kind of came in and like corrupted rider. And like they like put the Ortega jersey on them.

And then Ortega came in and like kind of like jumped me from behind. Like they kept trying to convince you to put the jersey on. And then we were kind of just like talking shit back and forth. And then like he ended up putting the like I ended up put the jersey on like half a second. They ended up getting like a picture. And then they took the picture and they posted it all over our locker room. and like blew it up and shit. It was actually pretty funny.

But in the picture, you can see how invisible I am taking it. So at least that was good. That's good, man. Yeah, I mean, the show, and that's probably why you didn't watch any of it, right?

Because it's just, you were there. You don't need to see it. Exactly. And this is, like I remember in the show, they didn't put it, but in the countdown show,

because obviously I watched the countdown show before the last fight, they put where Ortega was kind of like talking shit to us saying like, oh and four and all that stuff. They didn't put that in the season, which is so weird. weird. You know, so obviously the whole team

felt some type of way about him, you know what I mean? And, you know, especially me, Brian Battle, you know, obviously they call us kind of talking shit, but, you know, the whole, we obviously all felt some type of way that sucked, you know what I I mean, to obviously everybody's bummed out that they lost and then they got to hear that. You know what I mean? But he was cool towards the end, man. Like, no, like

I said, literally the show makes it blows it up way more. Like, even on, me and Andre, me and were cool pretty much the whole time. Like, we would argue, like, cats and dogs, man, because he was always eating my shit and trying to cause, like, trying to get me annoyed and stuff. But, like, and Andre were cool the whole time. I got nothing against Andre. Like, it's just the show. It gets blown up. It is what it is. It's stupid.

But I'm glad I did it, obviously. The people know me, know me. You know what I'm saying? I wasn't really stressing it. So now you get to do the, uh, I get to do the whole tough right into the contender series thing. You just go in there and fight. You don't really deal with much else. Some media and some, some vignettes, so to speak. But for the most part, just go in there and fight and try to get a contract, right? 100% man. That's it. Just focus on what matters. That's it. There you go. Mitch, I wish you the best of luck.

Enjoy your time in Vegas getting ready for this fight. And I can't wait, man. This might be my favorite contender series fight of all time. So all the best to you. Hopefully the next time we talk, you are a UFC fighter, man. 100% man. Much love. Welcome aboard Air Canada. Rocky's vacation here we come.

Whoa, is this economy? Free beer, wine, and snacks. Sweet. Fast free Wi-Fi means I can make dinner reservations before we land. And with live TV, I'm not missing the game. It's kind of like I'm already on vacation. Nice. Air Canada.

Nice travels. Wi-Fi available to Aero plan members on equip flights, sponsored by Bell. Conditions apply. See Air Canada.com. You may have heard of the sex cult nexium and the famous actress who went to prison for her involvement, Alison Mack. But she's never told her side of the story. Until now. People assume that I'm like this pervert.

My name is Natalie Robamed. And in my new podcast, I talked to Allison to try to understand how. how she went from TV actor to cult member. How do you feel about having been involved in bringing sexual trauma to other people? I don't even know how to answer that question. Allison After Nexium from CBC's Uncover is available now on Spotify. All right, let us welcome to the show. One of the newest members of the UFC's middleweight division.

He earned a contract on Dana White's Contender Series very recently with the first round submission victory. and a little over a week after that performance, he's got his Octagon debut sets January 22nd, UFC 270, taking on Jacob Malcun, and like Ferris Bueller once infamously said, life moves pretty fast, and it has, for one, A.J. Dobson, AJ, how are you, man? Great, great, feeling really good.

Good. Welcome to the UFC, man. Like, how does that sound? Like, does it sound real, especially now that you put pen to paper on a fight? I mean, it's still surreal, but I tell you what, I've been, I've been visualizing and thinking about this day for so long that I'm almost jaded. I'm like, oh, finally. Like, I mean, you know, I should have been here years ago, you know what I mean? But it definitely feels really good. So if you had a chance, like, since you visualize it so much, like, have you had a chance to really take it all in, enjoy the whole process and of all that? Because sometimes, like, when you think

about it, you forget about the little things that come along with the road. I've been able to really, like dive in and let it all just kind of sink in the whole road to from from contender series booking to fight week to where we're at right now yeah i've definitely been able to you know take everything in and you know live in the moment and really appreciate what's going on um but yeah i've been ready for this i've been ready for this moment for so long and you know it i can definitely see where i'm you know skating by and missing a couple things but i'm sure i'll look back and be very fond of these memories yeah so so like we're saying saying like this all happened pretty quickly. So I'm curious, how long was it from the time you got

the contract from Dana White to the time you got this contract to fight on January 22nd? I tell you what, that same, wasn't that same night or, yeah, I'm pretty sure that same night or that next morning, they'd give me a call because there was a fight that weekend that was in jeopardy or I'm not sure if they changed, if they were able to recover it. But one of the middleweight fights got scrapped and they asked me like hey how are you feeling did you do you want to take the fight right now and i would have i was ready to go but my hand was a little messed up still and i couldn't make a fist but yeah they they announced they gave me an opportunity really quick so and then right after that um i think the day after um that they told me about this fight so yeah very very

quickly. So for the, oh, so for the pay-per-view, for 266? Yeah. So for, which one? Yes, that was Volcanowski, right? Yeah. Yes, that one, they offered me to fight on that. How crazy would that have been? Like, if your hand wasn't banged up, whatever. Oh, my God. I was, I was going to do it. I was ready to go, but I just couldn't make a fist. If I was able to make a fist, even if it was just a little bit of cuts, if I was able to make a fist, I would have done it. It would have been so great. That's so wild now. What was it against Maximoff before they got Brundage in there? I'm not sure. I think so. It might have did. So that, man, I couldn't even imagine like going from Tuesday winning a contract and then fighting Saturday in your debut in front of fans.

Like that's been so wild, though. So I'm glad you're here because we got to see you on the Contender Series. And I know a little bit about your story, but how did you find this crazy sport of ours? Like when did it all begin? What made you say, you know what? You know what I want to do? I want to get into a cage and punch a bunch of dudes in the face. Well, the first time I saw mixed martial arts was way back of the day.

I was actually introduced through like Ken Shamrock. I was a really big WWF fan, WWE fan. I'm 29, so I was right in the middle of the attitude era, and I was really, really influenced by them. And Ken Shamrock was one of my favorites. And I found out that he had done real fighting before. And I was like, what? And I started kind of, you know, dabbling in there.

But I was a little too young for that, and I was still, you know, really big on wrestling. And then in 2005, I was one of the many viewers that was flipping through channels and saw the Forrest Griffin fight. And I was like, oh, my goodness. Like, this is crazy. And it resparts my interest. And from then, I was a super fan. I was watching it every day. I'd be on the underground, looking up all the forums and all that stuff.

So definitely the 2005 was when I really became a super fan. I'm glad you mentioned pro wrestling and Ken Shamrock because, I mean, oddly enough, that was the first pay-per-view I ever bought was UFC 40. when Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz. You're just coming off, WWE, goes over to the UFC, kind of got bolted by Tito. But I remember, I was, I convinced my parents, I was like, please let me buy it. And they let me buy it.

I was so excited because I was a big WWE mark like yourself. So, yeah, yeah, attitude era. Like, was it Austin Rock or were there other guys that really stuck out? I'd be Shamrock, obviously, but other than that. Man, everybody, Billy Gunn, Xbox, you know, I love them all. I love them all. It was such a, such a great era. Al Snow, Biggs, everybody. Are you an ECW fan too? Oh, yes. I love ECW. Rob that damn, Sabu. Oh, my goodness. Sandman. I love that. I'm so excited right now. I'm a big wrestling fan. I'm geeking out right now. 17-year-old Mike is losing his mind right now. We could talk for wrestling all day. But going through your amateur career,

I noticed that the last two amateur fights you had, at least on record, were the John Gunther fights, who of course was on, when it was on Tough 27, what a personality that guy was. He's a man. You know, made it to the UFC. What did you take away from those two fights with John? Because that guy is a tough dude and such a personality. I'll tell you what.

The John Gunther loss that I had was probably the most important fight in my career. It really took me to the next level because before then, I would go into fights going like, ah, I'm strong enough. I'm faster than these guys. I can do whatever. I don't really have to do too much. And when I rematch them, he had been hitting the weights hard. Like I remember we showed up at the weigh-ins, and I didn't have abs until I cut weight.

And he showed up at the way-ins just deep, just got strong. And I'm just like, no, I got this. It's fine. And man, like when we locked up together, like, it was like a man. and holding a child. Like, he was so strong. And after that fight, that's when I started taking a west side barbell seriously and strength conditioning and really having that be a very important key part of my training.

You know what? Something just popped into my mind. I think it was you, but I just want to make 100% sure. There's a photo. I remember seeing like, I don't know if it was like four or five years ago. Probably would have been around that time frame. And I don't know if it was like before you're pretty pretty, but I remember seeing a photo of a hand like all blistered up like it was it was just wild like was maybe it was burn like i think it was

like burns or something like that was that was that was you right yeah yeah it was actually before my um pro debut it was so stupid i um i was i was frying uh bananas so like i i'm cutting weight i'm like oh what's a nice you know healthy sweet treat that i can have oh i just fry some bananas and have like, you know, a little whatever. And the oil got too hot and caught fire and spilled all over my hand, my knee, part of my foot. And I had like really bad third degree burns. I don't know if you could still see the pink.

Yeah. Really, really bad third degree burns on these fingers to the point where the doctor was like, yeah, I mean, you might not have full function of that hand. You know, it might atrophy when it heals up. So I really had to go through, you know, some pretty. some pretty hard, you know, rehab with that. But, yeah, stupid. So I end up fighting, I end up fighting, like maybe a month or so later.

And I knocked a dude out with my, with that burn hand. So how did you get cleared? Like, are you just like the fastest healer of all time? Well, I got Everdeen or no, Silverdeen put on it. And I applied that like twice, three times a day. And then I would force my. my hand closed. I'd have to force my hand closed like every hour just so it, you know, it can get used to that motion so it doesn't atrophy. So just staying on it, you know what I mean,

like just being really, really diligent, not, you know, not drinking or doing anything that will, you know, slow down the speed, the healing process. I was devastated during that injury. So I wanted to do anything and everything I could to, you know, make sure I got back. Did it fully heal? Yeah, yeah. It fully healed. Everything came back. It's just a little bit. you know, sausagey, you know what I mean? Yeah. And I think that's why, uh, that's why they got, they got cut, uh, pretty easy because the skin's a little delicate.

Yeah. But it's all good, man. I mean, it's part of the journey, part of the journey. Fighters end up ugly anyway. So I'm gonna, there's gonna be some kind of deformity on me. Yeah. I mean, at least it's the hand and not, not here, right? Yeah. Not yet.

But not yet. Sure. What, what, when did you mean Matt Brown? Um, yeah. So Matt, I met, Matt threw my jiu-jitsu coach, Carlos Carvio. He actually, you know, he trained cowboy and Amanda Nunes. So he knew, you know, some people in the UFC and was helping Matt for his, which fight, I think it was right at the beginning of his, his, like, legendary run. I forget the guy's name. But he was helping him.

And Carlos was like, hey, you know, like I have this amateur, you know, he's really good. and like, you know, get some training, the match was like, oh, yeah, whatever. And I remember he had a, the first time I saw him, it's so funny, the first time I ever saw him, he was rapping one of my teammates' hands because they had known each other for years, like for him prior to come to the UFC. And he's wrapping my buddy's hand. And my buddy's like, hey, Matt, this is my good friend, AJ Dobson, he's, you know, training partner or whatever.

Matt's wrapping his hands. Didn't even look up. He's like, eh. I'm like, oh, God. And he starts holding, no, he says he's going to hold like a tryout for new training partners because he was coming back to Columbus and he wanted to build up, you know, the MMA program there. But he was looking for, you know, the best fighters around.

So he had like an open, open tryout and had a whole bunch of guys come in and sparring and everything. And I remember he was sparring with a couple of guys and they were, you know, acting as a if it's it's UFC Matt Brown. So they're like, ah, kind of being, you know, a little timid and whatever. And I go up against them and I'm just like, fuck it. Like if he's gonna beat my ass,

he's just gonna beat my ass, but I don't care, I'm just gonna fight him. And I ended up doing really good. And I remember the time ran out. And like, I'm, you know, I'm an amateur, but I'm, you know, able to land a little bit and move and kind of, you know, make it somewhat competitive.

And the time runs out. He's like, no, keep going. I'm like, oh, oh, God. So, but then afterwards, I thought he was like mad at me, but afterwards, he's like, that was really good. Like, show up this time, this time, this time. And that was for the Mike Pile fight. And yeah, ever since then, we've been training together and we've been friends.

And he's been such a big influence in my life. So definitely, definitely grateful for that day. Yeah, I mean, have you, I'm sure you guys have had some crazy experiences since then, right? Does he still get a little riled up when you're in their spars? and things get a little. Yeah, the best is, like, he'll always lull you to sleep, too. Like, he'll be like, oh, yeah, you want to just move around today? We'll just move around.

Like, we'll just move around. It's fine. We don't need a timer. We'll just, we're just going to, yeah, we'll just go for, like, a couple minutes. It'll be fine. Man, 20 minutes later, lungs are in your throat. He's the best. He really knows how to bring out the mental side of fighting.

You know what I mean? because everybody can go super hard for five minutes or whatever, but can you go that hard for 20 minutes, 30? You're going to have to adjust your style, you know what I mean? So he's been very good with that kind of stuff. Matt's one of those guys who like defies time in a weird way, like him and Jose Aldo because there are times when certain fighters, I think Matt's probably been there at certain points,

at least in fan's eyes where it's just like, I love that Brown and I want to remember him in such a such a way, but maybe he should stop. And then he goes out and just like bolt somebody with an elbow and knocks him out cold or, you know, goes out there and knocks out Diego Lima, like just, just crazy stuff. And then he has this like incredible fight with Carlos Konda that's like so entertaining to see what he's able to do at this point in his career. I mean, that's got to be pretty cool for you at just 29 years of age.

Like you must feel like I got at least a decade here. Right? Absolutely. And like it's all his mentality. Like his whole thing is about evolving. Like he's always, you know, evolving, changing. something implementing something you know what i mean so like as soon as you get used to one style of matt brown he's he's been developing a whole different thing so he's really taught me to kind of

you know elevate and and innovate and you know change your style you know so yeah i'm definitely inspired and definitely ready to to um you know ready for the future being around matt for like ufc fight weeks did did it kind of make your contender series fight week and what that all entailed did it make things a little bit easier for you now that you're pretty much like you used to win, and you knew what to expect? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he's been really good with, you know, getting me to tune out the white noise and focus on what we're doing and, you know, know that it's all on me, you know.

So, yeah, having to, you know, getting to bounce ideas off of him and pick his brain and, you know, when I'm feeling all weird, you know, have him reassure me. It's, it's been very, very, very beneficial for me. Only finish on the card that night. You must have felt pretty confident you were getting a contract, right? Definitely. Really. I mean, you never know, though, because I've definitely seen, you know, really good finishes that don't get the contract. But I did notice with me having the only finish, you know, kind of was a shoe in a little bit.

But you never know. You never know. So my whole goal was just to fight as hard as I could. Were you watching the card throughout? I mean, there were a couple of bangers on the car, but were you watching throughout being like, I just need to go out there and get a finish. I'm probably in. Not really. I think I maybe tuned into like maybe the last two just so I knew like where to warm up. But, you know, I just knew I had to do something big. How do you like the matchup with Malkoon coming off his first UFC win? And he beat a super dangerous guy in Abdul Razakal Hassan. And we saw what that guy just did to Alessio to Curico. So Jacob is young in the sport.

You guys both have six pro fights. I feel like for a debut, this is like as perfect as it gets, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, this is a really good matchup. I think this will be a really exciting fight. Yeah, he had a nice, nice, nice win against, but I'm pretty sure that dude was a welterweight, wouldn't he? Like a Abdul Razak. Isn't he a welterweight that couldn't make weight?

Well, he went up to 85 and then he just fought to Kiriko, who's also at 85 or so he's like, he's an 85er now. Al-Zan is. And he has like one of the best knockouts of the year this year. Yeah. Yeah, that was a good fight, but I think this is going to be a really good breakout fight for me. You know, I wasn't really injured from this last fight. I've already been back to the gym. We're already programming. We're already ready. So the fact that they gave me this long, too, I just, I don't see where this guy could win. I'm going to be faster, stronger, a lot more crazy, you know, so it's going to be a good one. Yeah, and the UFC must see a lot in you because to put you on this card, this is the first pay-per-view of the year with fans in an arena. There's

not a lot of people these days who could say, I'm making my debut on a card in front of a lot of fans like you're going to get the chances. That must, is that like a confidence boost for you feeling like, I think the UFC sees a little something in me to throw me on this card? Absolutely. It's a nice little pat on the back, them kind of telling me that, hey, we like you going for the finish. We like that you're exciting. You know what I mean? So I'm just going to double down on that. And, you know, prove that I'm here to stay, prove, you know, why I'm from the Matt Brown lineage.

You know what I mean? Show, you know, show some exciting technique and get the finish. How do we get this finish? When does it happen? How does it happen? Have we thought that far yet? I know we're still a ways away. But have you started to visualize that part of it yet?

Yeah, yeah. I really see myself, well, the whole game plan, honestly, is just kind of seeing how he reacts to stuff. He's a little panicky if you pressure him. He's not really that good in the clinch. His takedowns are decent. So just put some, you know, good feelers out there and see how he reacts and then go from there. All right. Well, we will see what happens there. I just want to rifle off some questions your way, some just sort of talk. of the mind stuff to get to know you a little bit better. First question, MMA goat. Who's your MMA goat? Ooh, man, I have to say it's John Jones. How do you feel with everything going on right now? Very disappointed, you know, very, very disappointed. He's, uh, yeah, I remember, um, seeing his profile, because I don't know if you remember back in the day, the UFC website, whenever they would have new, new signies, like they'd get like the gray screen.

Oh, yeah. And then like the guys that have been there, they'd have their little animation. I remember, I remember when his profile popped up and he like, you know, was flexing, doing like a weird face. And I'm like, oh, man, like, this guy's going to be a beast. He was like maybe a eight to know at the time or something like that. And like, I remember calling it. I'm like, yeah, this guy's going to be it.

And then seeing his rise and everything like that was so inspiring, seeing his, his, his, mentality seeing how he called out how he was going to knock out DC four years prior I was like oh my God you know but it's definitely a hard to see you know somebody that great you know battle with with that big of demons but you know I can't really say for you know I can't really I don't know it's yeah definitely hard it's definitely hard weird story like I got a phone call from a friend it was like a at 2010. He's like, yeah, tickets to this to this MMA card right down the street. It's like 10 minutes away. And I was living in the Boston, Massachusetts area at the time. And I was like,

all right, I'll go. And John Jones fought on that card against Parker Porter, who was a heavyweight in the UFC now. And John beat him in like 10 seconds. It's just wild to see like where these guys are at 11 years from now. Parker Porter now in the UFC winning fights and John Jones, like one of the greatest ever do it. It's just crazy to think about. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I His, his, you know, his outside of the cage life, you know, it is what it is. But inside the cage, man, I really don't know anybody that has been that proficient from that young of an age. You know what I mean? Like 23, 23 getting the belt.

Like what? And never losing it. Like, not even really close. Like last two fights are kind of close. But other than I, just smashed everybody. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it is what it is.

Yeah. he's definitely that my MMA goat for sure what's your favorite fight of all time what's the one you go back and watch as much as possible oh oh man so many but the one that really stuck out to me was Matt Brown versus Wonderboy that's a great yeah that's good fight and like man the big thing like they got me with the buildup because I'm like holy shit I was a Matt Brown fan from the ultimate fighter so I was like oh yeah Matt but then I saw them matching him up with one I'm like, holy, this guy's an undefeated, whatever, doing all kinds of crazy knockouts and Matt's going to get killed.

Why would they even do this? And then he goes out and his moitai and wrestles this dude. I'm like, yes, let's go. None of that, the Christmas is, or Santa isn't real. You can, man, oh, that was, I was so shocked. I remember being so impressed by that fight. I remember coming up from the basement, because that's where my room was when I was in high school.

I was living in the basement. And I remember coming upstairs with my laptop in my hand, and I'm like trying to show my mom. I'm like, Mom, look at this. Can you believe that or not? And she's just looking at me like, what? Like what is this? Why aren't you doing your homework right now?

What's a wonder boy? Yeah, wonder boy? Like what? But yeah, that. That fight, Wonder Boy versus Matt Brown was one of my favorite fights for sure. That's a crazy fight. Dream opponent, not trash talkie, but maybe it is, but dream opponent. Just skill for skill, who you want to test yourself with someday. Sean Strickland.

Why? That would be an amazing fight because he's one of those guys that just goes forward. He fights, you know what I mean? Like he's not trying to play paddy cake. We're going to figure this out right now. And I love fighters like that. That's how I want to fight. You know what I mean?

And that's, as a fan, that's what I always wanted to see. And as a fighter, that's always what I want to bring. You know what I mean? Stay in this, you know, figure this out right now. Let's see. Let's see what's going on. Let's see who's the best. Let's see who's the toughest.

So, yeah, Sean Strickland, I feel like that'd be a great fight. He's about that life, Annie. He almost fought a guy in the contender series in the parking lot last night. He tried to challenge a dude to the parking lot. And I got a lot of respect for him for that win against Yariah. Because, like, man, I thought Yorai was going to give him problems. And he just said, no, no, jab. jab to your face.

Over and over and over and over. I love it. Favorite post-waying or post-fight meal? Post-fight meal got to be steak, man. It's got to be steak and veggies. And I'm still waiting on it. I've been waiting for, I had to wait for Coleman to get back. And then we were trying to book reservations and everything.

And so I'm still waiting for my steak dinner. Yeah. So Mark Coleman's going to buy your steak dinner? I'm buying Coleman's. Oh, you're buying Coleman? He's done enough. done enough. Yeah, I would agree. Yeah, that's a, I can't believe I didn't mention him just to see how far he's come recently as well with the sobriety and stuff. He's been a big influence a lot

of people. What's that been like to be around and see what he's been able to do? It's been amazing. I'm telling you, like especially like the, again, the mental aspect. Like these guys are really good with the whole mental aspect of MMA. Every, I would say every morning, like two weeks prior or two or three weeks prior to the fight, I would get like these like not, not panic attacks, but like just like anxiety, you know what I mean? Like you wake up at like seven o'clock or at six o'clock hours before your alarm and you're just like thinking about everything. But every single time that would happen, I would look on my phone and within like the 10 minutes of it happening, Coleman is texting me. Hey, how are you doing? Positive thoughts. Make sure, you know what I'm

saying? Like all these. And it's like, how does he know, how does he know that I'm going through? this right now. How do you, every time. And he's always on me. Are you coming to the gym? You know, what are you doing today? What's going on? How are you feeling? So it's really good to have that support system. Yeah, you got two legends getting your back like that. Jeez, Louise. At 29, you haven't had a UFC fight yet? That's amazing. That's wild. And then last question, who wins in a fight? Israel, Adasania, or prime Anderson Silva? I mean, the Anderson Silva from that's not even a question man prime anderson silver prime Anderson silver all day doesn't even make sense

prime Anderson silver I love Izzy he's great that would also be a really fun fight I would love to fight him I'd love to earn the right to fight him but come on man prime prime Anderson is like beautiful technique I was there when he knocked Tito out like in the like in the building the boxing as heartbreaking as that whole night was for a lot of people, that moment was pretty awesome. And to see Anderson just like, and to see Anderson just go in the corner,

so stoic afterwards, it was just like, wow. He knew what was going to happen. He knew what was going on. Yeah. Wild stuff. Yeah, Anderson, Prime Anderson versus Adasani,

it would be fun. But I'm with you. I'm with you. I think Prime Anderson wins that fight. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But here we go.

J Dobson, January 22nd, UFC 270, Octagon debut, kick it off 2022 in a big way, the newest member of the UFC middleweight roster. AJ, congrats on everything, man. Looking forward to this debut. And thank you for coming on and sharing some of your story with us. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me. Hope we talk to you soon. Good stuff right there from AJ Dobson. Good stuff earlier from Mitch Reposo. Best of luck to AJ Dobsons, who prepares to make his UFC debut. on January 22nd, a UFC 270. And best of luck to Mitch Raposo, as he looks to secure himself, a UFC contract.

Something tells me when it comes to Mitch Raposo and Jake Hadley. This could be one of those fights where both guys get contracts. I think both those guys are young. Both of those guys have very high ceilings. So it would be be a whew of Dana White and the brass to just lock these guys up. And even if we do the old developmental deal that we haven't seen a lot of this year, I would have no issue with that either. But really looking forward to that fight.

Of all the fights in the contender series, that one really stuck out to me, Hadley versus Raposo. I really liked that one. So thank you for checking out the show. Next week, a couple of different conversations, at least for right now. One, a multi-regional champion. He has the two biggest Bannamweight titles in New England. We'll talk to Jay Perrin as he looks to take his next step forward.

We're looking forward to see what is next for him. Maybe in November for C.E. Maybe he fights for Cage Titans. I know he's got a lot of suitors that want to fight him, or at least say they want to fight him. Jay Perrin will talk about that, his big win over Josh Smith to capture the CES Bannamoy title, is also the Cage Titans Bantamoy champion. Always good catching up with Jay the Joker Parrott. We'll also talk to Stephen Win.

Stephen got a win on Dana White's contenders series a couple weeks ago, but he was the only man to secure a victory, but not to secure a contract after a pretty technical performance, a pretty dominant showing. Second time on the Contender Series and did not get a contract, but he's staying ready. Hopefully that phone rings, and I feel like he's in that sort of short-notice pool of fighters that could get the call if his services are needed.

So two great conversations. There could be more. So look forward to that coming up next Wednesday on We've Got Next. Of course, UFC is back again this Saturday. UFC Vegas 39. An early start time. Very excited about that. Main event is a good one in 115 pounds.

Mackenzie Dern taking on Marina Rodriguez. Maybe one of these fighters can jump over Carla Asparza to get the winner Rosenominance versus Zhang Wei Lee going down November 6th at UFC 268 in New York. I think it would be an absolute travesty if that happened to Carla Sparza after her last performance. But stranger things have happened in the UFC. So we'll have all your coverage. getting ready for that card.

Of course, don't miss the MMA hour. Mondays and Wednesdays with Ariel Hulani. We get the ranking show coming out this week. Things got a little heated on the ranking show. The new global rankings for October are going to be dropping. They probably already dropped by now by the time you hear this. Maybe you're listening pretty early in the process. So look forward to seeing that in a couple of hours.

And, of course, AK and I are back with on to the next one on Sunday. So lots of podcasts, lots of great stuff to look forward. to don't forget daman martin's fighter versus writer always great guests on that as well so we get you loaded up we get you ready gear and almost pretty much every day of the week on the m-ma fighting podcasting network but until next week i am i cack we'll see you once again on we got next