MMA Fighting - We Got Next | Alexander Hernandez, Julian Erosa, Bryan Battle & Joe Penafiel

Episode Date: February 10, 2022

Alexander Hernandez is excited to kick off 2022 at a big event in his home state, but he is not at all thrilled at the lightweight bout's placement on the card. Hernandez (8:20) kicks off this week's edition of We Got Next to preview his fight with Renato Moicano this Saturday at UFC 271 in Houston, Texas, talks his reaction to getting offered the bout when he wanted to get a quick turnaround following his quick KO win over Mike Breeden in October, being unhappy fighting on the early prelims, his focus for the bout, where he may want to go following Saturday's fight, and more. Julian Erosa (21:10) recaps his Fight of the Night earning victory over Steven Peterson at UFC Vegas 47 this past Saturday and discusses winning the full $100,000 bonus, his reaction to Peterson's weight miss that netted him 30 percent of his opponent's purse, squashing the beef with Peterson after the fight, his career turnaround, and only wanting exciting fights moving forward. Joe Penafiel (51:50) talks capturing the Cage Titans bantamweight title via fifth-round TKO of Lionel Youngs at Cage Titans 51 this past Saturday in Plymouth, Mass., why he wasn't all that upset Young missed weight prior to the bout, why he lost a point in-between the third and fourth rounds, getting a late start to his MMA career, and eyeing a shot at a major promotion such as the UFC or Bellator. Finally, Bryan Battle (1:05:55) discusses his unanimous decision win over Tresean Gore at UFC Vegas 47, feeling like the undisputed TUF 29 middleweight champion, Gore not shaking his hand after the fight, moving forward from the show, the idea of bringing the TUF trophy coming from another cast member, if he would've given the trophy to Gore had he won the fight, thinking a fight with Nick Maximov next would make sense, and the BKFC rise of teammate Taylor Starling. 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

Workday knows there are two kinds of people in business, backward thinkers and forward thinkers. And when you're a forward thinker, you need an AI platform that thinks like you do. Built to evolve with your organization, Workday reimagines how you manage your people, money, and agents for long-term success, bringing all your most valuable resources onto one powerful platform

so you can add value even faster. Workday, moving business forever forward. To the Vox Media Podcast Network. To a brand new edition of We Got Next here on the MMA Fighting Podcasting Network. Thanks for having us on once again this week. It is a big week for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. UFC 271 going down this Saturday in Houston, Texas. Our own Jose Young's, is in the Lone Star State right now to provide you all of your UFC 271 coverage.

And, of course, we'll have plenty of coverage here on MMA fighting throughout the week. So stay tuned for that. We'll be talking about that card a little bit on this show. We'll also be talking about some of the action that took place this past weekend in the world of mixed martial arts. Most notably in the UFC. We have some regional talents joining the program as well. Of course, the UFC was back in the apex, UFC Vegas 47. Sean Strickland was victorious in the main event against Jackson.

Jack Kermanston. Yeah, he might have been a little hard on himself, but at the end of the day, I think he was probably the appropriate amount of heart on himself, because for a guy that wants to fight for a title who has championship aspirations, who sort of says the things that he says, I mean, it was a fine performance. He went out there and won the fight. I thought he won all five rounds. One judge is just awful and scored it for Hermanson. I don't know what the hell fight he was watching. 49-46 is fine. I scored a 50-45 for Strickland, but good win. But again, when you're in these spots and you're fighting guy like Jackramans who's very good and very tough, I don't know. I just thought you got to be a little more impressive, a little more dominant.

He's going places at 185. There's no doubt about that. The UFC seems to really like him. It'll be interesting to see who he fights next. I want to see the Polo Costa fight. That would be fantastic. They do Martin Vittori fine. I know they've got a pretty good relationship. They're buddies. I'm sure they would fight each other if the price is right.

But, God, Sean Strickland v. Policosta, which would just be absolutely ridiculous. Of course, the middleweight division is going to be fully on display this Saturday. Middleweight title on the line. Israel, Adasanya, defending against Robert Whitaker. I love that fight so much. It is flying under the radar. I don't know why the UFC isn't promoting these cards to their fullest. I don't know.

Maybe they're just coming up at 2021 and feeling like the world is their oyster and they don't have to really go crazy promoting these cards. But I felt like 270 flew under the radar. I really feel like 271 is flying under the radar. I feel like they're almost jumping ahead to 272, the Covington Mazadol card. But even then that one's kind of flying under the radar. And then 273 is starting to come together as well. The two title fights official.

Jacksonville, as we first reported several weeks ago, and things are starting to come together. I just really wish the UFC would put a little more pop on the promotional push outside of the norm. Do something a little more exciting. This fight is so good. Adasania versus Whitaker. Really intrigued to see how Whitaker looks this time around. I know his mental headspace is in a much better spot. I don't know if that translates into a championship win over a guy like Israel, Adasania,

but I expect this fight to be much more competitive than the first fight was. So we'll see what happens. And who knows? Maybe Adasania will do what he did even better the second time around. I really love the fight. Derek Lewis versus Taito of Oz is going to be crazy. The card's pretty solid and excited to talk more about it throughout the week. But let's talk about this program.

Let's run down the lineup. And then you're just going to hear me asking questions to the fighters moving forward. So we're going to wrap things up with Brian Battle. who I guess is now the reigning defending undisputed tough 29 middleweight champion and defeated Trayshon Gore at UFC Vegas 47. Gritty performance, especially in that third round with that eye looking all sorts of nasty,

but he gets the win. The actual tough 29 finale goes down. So basically he's won the title twice in a lot of people's eyes. So great win for Brian Battle. He's now 2 in the UFC. He retains this tough. crown. We'll talk to him about that fight, moving forward, so forth, and so on. We're going to talk to the brand new Cage Titans Bannamweight champion, Joe the party

Penafiel, who just won the title this past Saturday. Cage Titans 51 became the Bannamweight champion. The title was vacant for some reason. It was held by Jay Perrin, who has been a guest on the show. Even not that long ago, Jay is about to defend his C.E. Bannamway title, but for a minute there, he was, Jay Perrin was the Bannamway champion in both promotions, but for some reason, Jay Perrin no longer the Cage Titans champion. Now Joe Penafiel is the champion after finishing Lionel Young in the fifth round, got it done. He's now 4-0 with Cage Titans since July of 2021. He's on a tear, and there's a lot of buzz behind this guy.

And what's interesting is he comes from Orlando to, fight in New England. And I'm curious as to why. Now, I will say this. His nickname is the party. And I think his nickname, I think the moniker fits because we were supposed to talk on Monday. He was supposed to fly home Sunday. Then we were supposed to talk on Monday. He said, no, I'm actually flying home Monday now. And then we scheduled it for Tuesday at 1 o'clock. He said, I missed many of my flights. So we're going to have to do this before. I was like, well, we've got to do it before you get on the plane. Otherwise, we're going to have to wait. So that's what happened. He's at Logan. We basically do the conversation 30 minutes before he's supposed to fly back to Orlando, Florida.

So we're at the mercy of the time he's supposed to board the airplane. We got as much as we could out of it. It's a great conversation. Look forward to talking to Joe Panaffi a little bit more. But you'll hear that conversation coming up a little bit later on. How about Juliana Rosa? What a night he had on Saturday. Gets a win. So he got a show money, his win money. He got 30% of Stephen Peterson's purse. And he got a fight of the night.

And since Stephen Peterson missed wait, Juliana Rosa got the entire $100,000 fight of the night bonus. And I think it's only fitting for a guy like that who, his story, I've said this a million times. His story is flying under the radar in a big way. Not enough people are talking about the Juliana Rosa story. And I think they should because it is. well-deserved. What a fight. What a victory he had over Stephen Peterson this past Saturday.

So we'll talk to Julian, Juicy Jay, Rosa about all of that, where he goes from here and much more. But let's kick things off with the man who's going to be competing this Saturday at UFC 271 on the early prelims. Now, when this fight was booked and we confirmed it and it was announced, if I told you in that report that this fight was going to happen on the early prelims, you probably wouldn't have believed me, but that's what happening. And Alexander Hernandez, getting ready to fight Hanata Moikano, is not happy about that. Not happy at all. So let's check in with Alexander the Great Hernandez, who it is fight week.

You tell he's trying to cut a little bit of weight. And I'm glad we got a few minutes with him before he took off to Houston. So we'll take a short break. When we come back, we will talk to Alexander the Great Hernandez right here. on We Got Next. Thank you for listening. Enjoy the rest of the show, everybody. 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 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. Hack the holidays with the PC Holiday Insiders Report. Try this PC Porchetta, crackling, craveworthy. You gonna eat that?

Who are you? I'm the voice for the next ad, car commercial. But I noticed that show-stopping roast and... Help yourself. Mmm, designed for indulgence. Precision crafted to navigate every corner of my mouth. All for just $18. Okay, okay.

Try the season's hottest flavors from the PC holiday Insiders report. Please feast responsibly. All right, let us welcome back. Alexander Hernandez to the show. He will compete this Saturday. UFC 271 in Houston, Texas, taking on Hanato Moikano, a fun one at 155. Alex, good to see you, sir. You know, it wouldn't be an interview of ours if the phone didn't fall or you're getting a massage or something, man.

It's always something crazy. You almost caught me in the sauna. I just got out, so I was going to try to keep it on. as possible. Yeah, we were going to, we were going to hit bingo if that was the case. We would have done interviews in every way, shape, or form. But the last time we spoke, I think it was like it was probably like three or four days after you knocked out Mike Reed in early October. And you were hoping to get back in there at least one more time in 2021. If something came up short notice, you told Jason House, get me in. You wanted to get back

in there as quickly as possible. Not long after that conversation happens, we find out about this fight, but it's happening in February. So I'm curious what your thought process was like because yeah, Moikano's a fun fight, a good name, but having to wait four months for it, was that a decision you had to ponder sort of opponent versus time frame? Yeah, absolutely. Me and Mark going back and forth on that because, I mean, we keep, we keep getting pushed on this delayed timeline, which is super frustrating. But the opponent was great, you know, a great opportunity. And so, you know, we thought about passing it just to try to step in on a short. or notice or something at the end of the year just to get the volume more.

But after bouncing it back and forth with Jason House, we decided to take the fight in February, just get the security and make that happen. So we're all the ready to go. Super exciting. It's in Texas. You get to go back home. Yeah, that's a beautiful thing too, man. Just being able to be in Houston, Texas. I'm stoked. So let me ask you this, just based on what you just said about,

the frustrations about waiting. With this fight in the division that you're in, needing to work out quite a few things, does the activity even really matter that much right now? And what I mean by that is, if you're gonna ask for a quick turnaround, fight in a month, month and a half, and you're viewed as sort of a bigger spot guy, right?

Let's book them on a card four months out. Is that something you'd be more open to embracing now? Because if you're gonna take four, five, six months in between fights, why not take care of some annoyances, some injuries, some small tears, pain. Let's take this time and get as healthy as possible, because if we're going to have to wait four, five, six months, let's just take care of that stuff.

You know what I mean? Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at with this next fight. Well, if people are asking, what I want to do, you know, afterwards and after I beat my Kano. And for me, especially with these delays, I'm getting, you know, I might going to take this time to get some things cleaned up, like you're saying. You know, maybe even go under the knife and get a surgery or two, I don't know, and then get back and fight at the end of the year.

You know, just little things I've been dealing with the last few. camps, you know, that I get through with, but, you know, maybe it'd be nice as we start to breach the top 15, top 10 again to just to get cleaned up. So I'm thinking about that. And, man, I'm fired the fuck up because of the amount of disrespect with the UFC showing me on this car. We're going to wait four months. And then I'm on the early fucking prelims. I mean, that just, that incites such a rage in me. So, so I'm coming to make a statement. I'm so fired up about that. I'm so pissed off and I'm, I'm so motivated. So I'm really eager to make a statement.

Why are you so fired up by that? I mean, only because like some fighters placement matters and I get that, but at the same token. I'm in my state. I'm practically in my city. The only other guy there's Derek Lewis, you know, and rightfully so, he's a co-man. But how the fuck did I get on the early, early prelims, you know, not even the prelips, you know? Not the main card. And I'm, it's, it's my peers that are just like barely above me. know, or even people that are statistically below that are above me.

And so I'm, I'm frustrated. We're in Texas. So I'm going to go out there. Please the 15 people in audience, you know, get those 20 homies. Just me and my 20 to 30 homies hyped. And I'm going to take out in Wakehamel and make a statement and let them know not to, you know, not to discredit or disrespect like that again. And I'm so fired up about it.

They usually come out in droves in Houston, don't they? Don't they usually fill up pretty quickly? Maybe they will know because you're on the card. I hope so, yeah. I really hope so. But your night ends a little earlier. That's a good thing. Yeah.

And I might just, you know, I might take that W, high-five a few of thieves, and then just like flink the security, jump the rail, and then mob into the crowd because they stay on you. They try to get you in and out as quick as possible. They don't let you hang out in the audience to watch the fight. So I might have to pull an audible and, you know, pop the rail, get that front row seat or maybe somewhere in the back. So I'm hit it. And so, yeah, I mean, you seem a little fired up about this.

Is this a nice little chip that you're carrying on your shoulder? It's not personal with the fighter, but it's this whole thing that there's what this chip falls is, is the placement on the card. Yeah. Man, it really is. It really is positive. I don't feel, I mean, it's annoying, but I'm not necessarily discouraged. I'm just, I'm fueled. Yeah, I'm really fueled.

I really want to, I really want to show who I am. And because maybe I've done myself a disservice. So, so I'm going to go off and prove that. Yeah. And everything you're saying makes so much sense right now because not just the, you know, the placement on the card and fighters try to find chips everywhere, but just what you said previously about just taking that time to your advantage. Because, I mean, especially at 155, you are in just a crazy division right now.

We got big fights and need to play out. Connor's going to come back. He needs to figure out what he's going to do. So let these chips fall, opens up the waters a little bit. So by the time you're ready to come back, maybe we have a little more clarity in terms of this division. So you can use that time of you. And by the way, you haven't even reached your athletic prime yet. So I feel like the timing is perfect here.

Yeah. Mentally, psychologically, physically, I feel like I keep getting better. I keep maturing and come and getting in my own. And like you said, that's been kind of a perpetual frustration. since I got in because I got in so high in the roster that it's just been this kind of delayed game because at the top 15, it's always laying the chess pieces fall and it's kind of this political chess match. So I've been on these like standoffs where I'm waiting and waiting and the opportunity for for fill-ins or quick turnover as hasn't come as rapidly. And then again,

like I said, doing myself a disservice of not building the momentum I need to get that kind of like Bobby Green streak where I'm like picking up fights every week, you know. So, um, you know, a little bit of just where I've kind of fallen in the organization and then a little bit, no, and then a lot bit on my own back, you know, I need to get this street going. That's why I tend to do. I'm like, I feel like this is the type of matchup you should have gotten like five or six fights ago because you and I have talked about not really getting to grow up in the UFC. You get the Darius win. You're already fighting rank guys, cowboy in your third fight. And it's just like, boom, right away. It's rank I have to rank guy after rank I have to rank guy. So in a way, like it's almost like you're starting over because you got Gritzmacher.

You got the tough fight with Moises, the breed and knockout. And now you get a veteran who's not ranked in a newest weight class who is still really tough, who is fought who's who of guys. This is one of those. This is what it should have looked like kind of batches when you're winning those first couple of fights. Is it not? Building up. Yeah. Yeah, you're absolutely right about that.

And that's the thing, too. Put some respect to my name. But shit, put him on Moycanos too. I mean, it's a fantastic match. The guy was like top five at 145. He's been a lot of the who's shoes. He's fought him all. And he's doing well at 55 as well.

I think his only loss came to possess. So it's like, man, this is a great, this is a great fight. So I like the progression of it, like you said, it's a good, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a talented challenge to keep on the streak on, but I feel like everything I'm going to do is going to play against his game. Every one of his twitches and defense responses are going to play into my office, is going to play into my game. So I love it.

I love it. I think that I'm, the way I move, the way I explode and the angles I hit are going to be. just a terrible matchup for you guys over at factory x are always doing these different kinds of things to evolve in between fights and i was talking to your good buddy brandon royval before his last fight and one of the things he wanted to figure out was how can i use my chaos in a calculated way so mark montoya would have him like walk around the gym just like kind of walk in circles and when mark would tell him hey you're just about done brandon would sort of freak out a little bit and go faster and move quicker.

And Mark would be like, what are we doing? Why are you not being, what you're being chaotic again? We got to control that. So that was something he wanted to work on. What have these last three or four months been like for you? Is there something in particular that you've wanted to focus on heading into this fight? Yeah. You know, I've been, I've been showing like metrics of growth and,

and like sections of development in the last three fights, right? Like that group smocker fight, I did a really great job, trap setting and kind of flint finding this like flow state. The Moises, kind of building this like volume and this cadence and this pressure. And then and also great reaction. And then in the in the breeding in closing, you know, really closing the show and putting putting the blend together that I was

holding back before, hitting the shots, take downs into striking, back in back in the clinch work and then finding that. that kill shot. So putting together like each one of these elements and finally finally executing it as a whole. And that's what I feel like I'm doing now. When I'm moving, you know, whether in sparring or just in drills, I feel like all that handwork that I was playing with is coming together. It's more purposeful. I'm not just doing like superfluous movements. You know, I'm kind of throwing out the extra shit. I'm trap setting. I'm blending really well. I don't, I don't think I'm the best at any one department, you know, like I'm not coming in any.

here as a specialist. I believe that I'm among the greatest blenders in the game. I just haven't exploited it. I haven't been able to show it in my performances. And that's something that really the belt here is just the ability to perform better. That's my inconsistencies. You know, my inconsistencies are a lack of performance, you know, a lack of professionalism on my performance. So I finally feel like a veteran, I feel like a better enough here in my mind. And I feel like I'm going to be able to blend my performance. And I just made the decision. There's just no way I'm going to let myself down here. I'm going to perform.

You know, win, lose a job. I'm performing. So it's the feeling of satisfaction more so than the win or the loss. It's just knowing that you left it all out there. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to go in there as a complete version of myself, which I've, you know, I've yet to kind of, I feel good about what I've done before, but I haven't really shown this complete version.

I feel like that's what I'm going to be able to come this for it. So what's the vision like in your mind with this fight? How do you see it all playing out? I'm sure you see yourself getting your hand raised and you want the feeling of satisfaction. But deep down when you think about the fight, I'm sure you're not thinking about, oh, he won, but I feel good about myself. I'm sure you're thinking about hand raised and how the fight might end. What's the constant vision in your mind?

Like that, that Nate Diaz, you know, pop, pat, pin with some good shit, miss some of that bad shit and finish the fight one way or another. Open book, empty cup of water when I go in there. No way to throw it up. So, hell yeah. Oh, before we let you go, and I appreciate you doing this so close to the bite. Josh, from getting a UFC contract. That's pretty badass, right?

Fuck, yeah, big friend locking it down yesterday. Man, we had a great weekend. We've had a great year. Brandon, Brandon started his soft right in the UFC with a fantastic win. And like you said, I thought he showed a tremendous amount of growth in a proposal. And then we had three regional ws with guys that are all on the cusp of the UFC. and of course, Josh Frimm got it. So we're doing good right now.

We've got great momentum going in this next week of February. I'm fighting. And I know the brother of mine, Mark Domoderos, is fighting in Houston also regional. And yeah, the block is hot right now. In fact, yeah, it's going to be. Well, we look forward to see if you can keep this team momentum rolling along inside the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Alex, I appreciate the time, man. All the best, safe travels, all the best with the weight cut, fight week, all that good stuff.

We'll see you in the cage on Saturday, my man. Right, or Mike. Thanks for a man. Thanks, man. Let us welcome back. Julian Arosa to the program. What a Saturday night this man had was in an epic battle, probably the fight of the year to this point.

He gets the win, got himself a win bonus. And then on top of that, because his opponent, Stephen Peterson missed weight, he got 30% of his purse. And then because it was the fight of the night, he got the entire $100,000 bonus. So not a bad Saturday night at the office, Julian. And how are you? Oh my gosh. It was pretty unreal. Doing fantastic, obviously. You know, in my mind, I just wanted to get in there and get the wind, get my hand raised,

which was, you know, that was the most important thing. But, you know, him missing weight started off even better because I knew I was going to get 30% of his purse or a show money. So that was just a cherry on top. And then, you know, my manager called me about, I don't know, maybe like two hours after the fight, probably about 20 minutes after the fights had concluded. I knew he was calling me with only good news. And my intuition told me that I got the fight of the night. And then it really dawned on me that I was going to make some money because I knew he had missed weight and that I was going to get not only my $50,000, but his as well.

There is some heat heading into this fight, obviously. And then the weight miss and everything like that, outside of just thinking to yourself, okay, I'm probably going to get some extra money. What were your thoughts? Like, how did you react to the fact that not only did he miss, but he missed by a pretty considerable amount? Well, so there's a little bit of a backstory. You know, I was looking to try to get a fight after I lost a toy.

And he had called out Landware and Landware got booked up. And I said, well, shit, man, maybe I'll message Stephen Peterson and see if I'd get this fight going. And I'd message him if it was polite about it. and then even called him out on my Instagram. And he just kind of ignored me. He just didn't respond. And so I would kind of like chip away at him a little bit and, you know, kind of

I troll him a little bit. And, you know, there was probably like five or six instances where I posted on things that I know he'd probably seen, but just didn't acknowledge me. Then I got the Jordan fight and fought him. And I actually forgot about Peterson. And then my manager called me, I would say maybe like a month after I fought Jordan and said, I got the Peterson fight, and it would have been like, it was about four months prior to the fight. And so I was like, oh, shit, man, it's awesome.

It was a fight I wanted. And then out of nowhere, Peterson, you know, started posting things and talking about me a little bit more. I'm like, well, you didn't respond to me at all before we had the fight, but now you want to respond to me. So it was a bit, I don't know, I felt it was a bit disingenuous. I felt like he was only talking shit a little bit because he now had to fight. So I started chirping a little bit at him, even some more. He had posted on his story, a food prep meal or a food prep sponsorship. And so I had just been watching his fights.

I watched his previous fight where he missed weight against Hooper, Chase Hooper. And so I was trolling him more, and I responded on his story and I said, hey, man, just don't miss weight. And then he finally responded. probably like six or seven messages in his DMs and he'd not responded to and he finally responded and he's like oh you like to talk shit don't you i was all like i just i just think that you're a cheater man you missed wait last fight and uh and he kind of cheap shot of hooper in the third um and i didn't really notice until i watched the fight myself but they went to go touch gloves in the third round and uh and peterson kind of started swinging on them and even the commentators had

mentioned something about that. But I didn't know he missed weight until, you know, until I was starting watching his fights. And, you know, about six weeks before the fight, that's when I had kind of trolled him on his Instagram and told him that. And then I told my wife that I told him that. And I was all like, what do you think the odds are that this dude shows up off of weight?

And she's like, there's no way he does. There's no way he shows up missing weight after you trolled them. And he missed it last time. And I was all like, yeah, you're probably right. And then sure enough, the only guy on the car to miss the weight was Stephen Peterson. And, you know, it was one of those things that was like, it was almost comical to me. It was like, are you fucking joking me? Like, I was talking shit to you about missing weight last fight and you're going to show up missing weight this fight.

And so some people were asking me if I felt bad about him not getting his money and stuff. But it's like, I don't think he was, he didn't give a fuck about me fucking suffering while I was losing the last few pounds. And he wasn't really, he wasn't concerned. considering me when he showed up missing weight. He didn't give a fuck. Even after he missed weight and he officially missed weight on the scale, he was walking by to go do his, uh, his, his, his, his, his, his fight physical, and he was mean mugging me. And, you know, it was like, are you joking me? Like, the audacity, you have to miss away again after this whole situation and then start mean mugging me talking shit. And then even face off was talking a little shit to me.

I'm like, brother, the only, only thing that you have to say to me is sorry. And thank you for taking the fight regardless because I could have said no I could I I showed up made weight and I would have got my show money without even having a fight if I wanted to but I didn't you know that's not me that's not how I built I you know I was there made the way I've known about this fight for four months I was so ready for it I was just praying and hoping that the fight was going to hold together and even if he missed way I didn't care how much how much he missed by I was fighting him and and they incentivized me with 30 30 percent and they could have probably incentivized me with a free Big Mac. I mean, I was so ready to fight Peterson. It was ridiculous. But,

you know, even after all that animosity after the first round, we definitely gain each other's respect. You'll see us touch clubs into the second round and into the third. And after the fight, see that there was a lot of respect there between us. And even now, we've reached out to each other and really smooth things over. So it was a guy I thought I would never do with a smooth things over like that but um you know he really earned my respect and i think i did the same with him and uh everything's all good now so uh it kind of worked out uh it worked out good obviously it better for me but yeah what did um what did he say to you when you guys are facing off after the way ends yeah so when we so it was a little weird because like i i figured for sure he was

going to say something to me but then we get up there and about half the face off time has gone and nothing is set he just kind of tearing me down, I'm staring him down. So I automatically, at that point, I think there's nothing completely said. I was like, all right, we're just been staring. It's going to be kind of weird if he says something now. But sure enough, he says, say something now to me, bitch. And I thought like, I was like, what?

I was like, three pounds. I was like, the only thing that could come to my mind was three pounds that he'd miss. So I was all like, bro, like, what are you talking about? Three pounds? And he's like, three pounds, what? I was not like, what? I'm like, you missed weight by three pounds, bro. I'm like, how can you beat me if you can't even beat this.

hell bro and uh and he's like well we'll fucking see tomorrow and i was like okay and then he just walked off and i asked sean if i didn't if i could just go the other way and not go around with him because i just didn't want any i just don't want anything weird going on all i wanted to do was you know get to the get to the fight and i knew once we got to the fight it'd be all good i just didn't want to um jeopardize anything by getting pushed or pushing him or getting physical i wasn't going to get physical i even told my corner my my corner george I said, you know what, man, I really don't even care. Like, who knows?

Maybe his grandmother died last weekend or maybe something's going on with him, and that's why he missed weight, and that's why he's so angry or whatever. Like, honestly, I don't know him from fucking a hole in the wall. So, like, if he wanted to shake hands, and if I walked up there, after even all this stuff that was said and done, if he would have had his hand out, I would have shook him, but, like, hey, man, it's all good. And, like, just move fast and let's just go fight. So, like, all this trivial bullshit doesn't really bother me in the little detail.

I was dumb, but I could tell he was a bit fired up and wanted to, you know, wanted to let me know how he felt. And so it added to it a little bit, but it was like, it just didn't make sense. It was like, man, there's no, you really have no room to talk. Like, the fact that you showed up missing weight after we, I'd already told you about it is just unbelievable, unbelievable to me. And the fact that he's made 135 before, I could never make 135. 45 is a hard, is a hard cut for me. I have to do everything right. And so that's why I don't feel bad about him missing weight. I don't feel bad about him missing out of money because that's the hardest part.

The hardest part is being disciplined and getting that weight down and showing up to the fight. And he lost that first battle. And it was a lack of discipline. And that's what happens in life. When you have a lack of discipline, you end up not getting paid, what you need to get paid. You end up not getting the jobs you deserve and these kind of things. So I think it just shows that, you know, his, his lack of discipline and his lack of priorities as well. So I don't feel sorry for him missing out of my money.

You know, I earned it myself and I earned it by showing up, making way and doing my job. So we have these live streams before and after the card. So after the car, I mean, everyone was obviously talking about the fight. And even before the card, everyone thought this fight was going to be a banger. I'm sure you saw it. Everyone was excited about it. and it obviously over exceeded expectations, but we had one commenter,

just comment and said, Juliana Rosa should be the UFC 150 pound champion after that performance. Because I feel like, I mean, you fight, you find yourself in these like catchweight battles, whether you just jump in on short notice, it's always like right around 150 when it's all said and done. They feel like you're the 150 pound champion.

So, I mean, your stock continues to rise, man. And I say this every time you're on a card, the Juliana Rosa story is the most under the radar story in MMA right now. You coming out of the UFC, the way that that second run went, winning on the regional scene and coming back and doing what you have done is unbelievable, man. Like it's really unbelievable. Like have you noticed your, I guess, popularity, the way people view you? Like, have you noticed, like, compared to like two years ago?

I mean, it's got to be like night and day now, is it not? Yeah, you know, it's just, it's one of those things. that I surround myself with everybody that I trained with on a day-glo basis and all my friends and my family. So they already know. Like, so the people around me aren't surprised by these things. Like they're like, like, man, it's about time this is happening. Like, holy shit. Like, I can't believe, like, it took so long or so many ups and downs. And finally, it's, it's happening for you. And, uh, but for sure, like, other UFC guys that I run into, like, you know, at the PI or like I'll run to run, run into like, you know, the gyms that I have.

haven't really trained with some of those guys like it's really nice to like kind of get their feedback and hear what they got to say about it you know but you know for me like it's just it's been such an up and down situation that nothing surprises me anymore and I always kind of just go in there just just thinking that this could probably be my last time I'm ever on TV so if it's going to be my last time on TV I might as well go out with a bang so like like and that's kind of what I was thinking of like halfway through that fight. Like the first round, if you wanted to know what my game plan was in that fight, the first one was perfect.

Went to game plan. I was picking him apart. I felt like I was off, you know, coming off quicker with all my striking. I felt like I was pressuring really well. I broke his nose or busted his nose up pretty bad at the first round. It looked like he was kind of fading. And I figured it was going to be inevitable that the round was going to, the second round was going to create the finish.

But his toughness and durability really surprised me. But that's what I was thinking. of about halfway through that fight, I was just like, you know what? He seems to be holding up pretty well. So I guess this is just a fight that's going to break out in an MMA match. So let's just do it.

And every time he hit me and every time I hit him, and even in my mind thinking, oh, shit, that was kind of sloppy. Like, I was thinking some things were sloppy and some things weren't going towards the game plan. But I was thinking in my head, man, everybody's probably enjoying the fuck out of this fight. So if we can just keep this going,

I don't really care who wins. We're both going to be winners at the end, so let's just do it. And it just kind of escalated more and more into that as the fight was going. And my attitude, I've always kind of been like a fuck it, like let's just let it happen,

whatever happens. So that kind of fed into even more of my, into my personality and my attitude anyway. So it was something that I enjoyed doing, but yeah, it was just like literally just got more progressive of just like letting things go and become a little,

looser and a little bit sloppier as the fight was going on, but only because I could hear that the corners and the people in the in the apex were just starting to freak out more and more. And I was like, that's all I really want. I strive for is just for the fights like that. So it just got me more and more pumped up. It's so crazy to think back to one of the first times we chatted. It was right before you got back in the UFC is right before the cage sport fight. Yeah, yeah.

We're getting back in the UFC. And you were telling me, I mean, I could not believe some of the things you were saying. And I was just like, this guy, like, I don't even know why he's fighting at this point. You were just like, you know, I'm just going to do this. Like my family's been calling me and telling me like I probably shouldn't do it. But I'm just like, listen, you know, don't give up on me yet. Like, we'll go and we'll, you know, we'll see what happens. And then you told me that the door, like, Jason House had told you that the door for a UFC return wasn't closed.

And I have to be honest with like half, like part of me was like, how is this even possible? And then you just like, every time you win, it's just crazy. and I feel like everything's coming up Julian right now because the last couple times we talked, you were coming off of finishes and you didn't get bonuses. And now you're getting like double bonus here. So I feel like everything is kind of working out for you right now. It's just crazy to think about.

Yeah, it's funny that you say that because I was talking to my wife. And someone was asking me about all the interviews I've been doing, they've asked me about, did you think you were going to get a bonus? You think you were going to get better at the night? How did you feel about it when you, you know, you heard about it? And for me, it was like, I was just happy to get my fucking hand raised

and just have a fight that everybody could love and enjoy it because that's really what I do it for. I do it for the fans I do for everybody enjoying it. And I know that all my friends and families said they were about to have a heart attack. They were on the edge of the seat the whole time. They were worried for me. And so like I don't really like that part of it,

but I do like the part that, you know, everybody was on the edge of the seat and they were excited the whole time. But I was just happy to get my hand raised. There's been so many times I gave my hopes up on a bonus. Jordane, I thought I should have got a bonus. Nate Land, where I thought I was going to get a bonus, like those two fights, I was like, man, I missed

out on bonuses when I thought maybe, you know, I was at least, you know, qualified for a bonus and they didn't give me one on either one of those fights. And I was like, man, felt like I was jipped. I felt like they would at least give me one on one of them. It would have evened out would have been okay. But I got zero on both those. And this time I got both of them.

So it makes up for it. And I was like, I was talking to my wife. And I was like, it's all coming to fruition. and like it's all kind of coming around in circle, you know, it's all, it's all coming in full circle, you know, like, you know, you can sit there, man, I remember when I first got in the UFC, I was like, if I just fight like I do on regional shows, I'll be getting bonuses, I'll be fucking, I'll be, people will love me, this is going to go great,

and then get, you know, and then I was one-on-one a long time ago, and this was after that, and I went 0 and 3, and I was like, are you joking me? Like, I haven't even been able to showcase anything. All I've been able to showcase is how. to lose and and and and ever since that Sean Woodson fight up until now it's been like it's been so like unbelievable for me because it's it's it's just been so nice to be able to just showcase what I'm about like this those fights are exactly what you'll see when I fall on the regional scene people used to fucking love watching me fight on the regional show like they would drive two and a half

three hours to go watch me fight a cage for because they knew it was going to be a fun night They knew it was going to be a fantastic fight. And that's all I really care for for the UFC. My name's on a card. I don't feel like, oh, I don't do what fuck with the main event is I'm watching Julianny Rosa. Like, that guy's fucking, he's coming to bang every time and he's going to have a great fight.

And so, like, finally, I'm at the point where people are really recognizing that, especially like other fighters and, and I get messages, you know, I get DMs from, you know, other UFC guys that are just like, oh, my God, that shit was crazy. Like, keep it up juicy. like I'm glad to see you finally made it to where you were like where you feel like you believe that you should be and uh and that's really what I do it for you know I just I really want to just I want to be the guy that other UFC guys are like holy shit those guys really laid it on the line for him and I couldn't do that without Peterson if Peterson would have folded in the second round I might have

not got a fight on the night you know I might have not got that and so I'm glad that he hung in there tough for the three rounds just like I did and be uh we were able to have such a iconic fight like that How much do you think fighting in the apex has sort of helped that mentality of, I want to just kind of feel like I fought on the regional scene because it's not, the glitz and glamour is kind of there, but it's not the same as if you're fighting in front of 15,000 people, like fighting on paper views and stuff like that. And you'll probably get there.

And at this point, you could probably just picture fighting at the apex and just go off of that. But at the same time, you know what I mean? Like, how much do you think fighting at the apex has helped? Yeah, yes, 100%. You know, I even had a conversation with my coach. It was like, it was like I was telling him, like, you know, like fighting's easy. Like if Peterson met me at my hotel room, meeting him would fucking scrap it out and it would be no problem.

Like, or if we fucking met like in the, I was like, man, I wish he could just come into this warm up room and we could just fight right here. Like fighting's at the hard part. It's doing it right now under the lights in front of everybody. Do it now. Like that's the hard part. And so the apex, you know, obviously is almost like a middle stepping stone between, you know, the regional scene and these big paper views or like the MSG or, you know, going to Anaheim and some of these, the Staples Center and the Hana Center and these places. Like, if you can, if you can really like make it happen at those places, then you're unstoppable. And so for me, I think early on in my career, you know, that kind of, it kind of like gave me a little bit of that shock, you know.

walking into some of these big places with all these fans, you know, can take a hold of you a little bit emotionally, physically, mentally. So doing the apex thing, it's been just amazing for me. I like how it's a little more intimate. It's almost like we're just, it's almost like we're just meeting up with like a rival dude. He's got his coaches. I got my coaches and we're just going to fucking see who's the better guy. And it's almost like we just got like a group of friends in the audience because it's only like, you know, it's such a small amount of people. And a lot of people that are, there are guys I train with. A lot of Vegas guys are getting tickets to go there.

So a lot of the guys in my gym are there hanging out. And I look in the crowd and those are the guys I see. So I'm like, fuck, I feel like I'm at the gym. Plus, you know, a lot of my sparring I've been doing has been earlier than like I'll go and spark 23rd extreme and they usually start 330. But when I'm sporting a 230 at the cage, when no one's really there, people are starting to file through to extreme to get ready for sparring. And so it's almost the same concept.

I have those guys watching me, spar, my opponent in the cage, uh, getting ready for these fights. And so when I go and fight, I see the same dudes hanging out in the, in the crowd, it kind of puts me back in that same situation. It kind of gets me, brings me back down to earth. And it makes me realize that it's just a fucking fight. Yeah, even, even talking to Calvin Cater after he beat Giga Chikaze, it was all like Cater fans who came from New England to Vegas. And he said it felt like he was fighting his fourth pro fight, which is 100 people, all his fans, and they're all wearing his shirts, and they're all just screaming for him.

And he felt like very little pressure. It was just, I'm going to go in there and beat this dude and my fans are going to be happy. And I feel like while some people want to fight in front of all those people and fight on a pay-per-view main card and stuff like that, like there are some definite value to fighting at that apex. No doubt about, especially for you since you're in Vegas. So it's like a hometown fight for you every time.

Well, and plus, I mean, I did the ultimate fighter, had four fights in the ultimate fighter to contenders and the other fights. So it's five fights that I had at the apex before I ever fought the apex. And it wasn't necessarily at the apex. I was doing at the old, at the old Ultimate Firehouse where they used to have the fight there, and the old contenders place. But it's very similar.

You know, it's small, it's more intimate. There's only a couple of bleachers worth of people there. So having that experience helped me, you know, obviously transition into fighting the apex. And I like it like that. and I actually prefer it like that. And no matter what anybody says, like, oh, the fans get me pumped up or whatever, like for sure the apex when there's less people there, it definitely takes a little bit of the weight off your shoulders.

You're not walking out and seeing, you know, 100,000 people, you know, you're only seeing, you know, a couple hundred people. And it's definitely toned down a bit more. And, you know, I think some people are. kind of crazy and they like that. But I feel like me being pretty cool, calm and collected, I would understand. I would see, you know, that difference. And I do see that difference. And I feel like even for someone like me, it helps me out to not have as like a crazy crowd like a like a regular venue has to just be at the apex for a lot less people.

So you said you and Stephen are cool now. You've talked, you've spoken, the beef is squashed. Who initiated that? Did you reach out to him? Or did he, did he, did you? he hit you up first? I think, well, you know, it really all happened going to the end of the second round. I told myself I wasn't going to touch gloves with him because, like I said, I watched the hoopah fight and it looked like he, I don't know if he just had the adrenaline running, and he was just in the fight mode, but it looked like he kind of cheap shot him, or was trying to, like, give him a little cheap shot.

And so I told myself before the fight, I wasn't going to touch gloves with him. But I looked at him, he looked at me, and he said something like, we fucking, scrapping or something like he had a smile on his face and I was like you know what like this is what it's all about like the whole missing way the whole animosity that's whatever like once you get to that point where you you've been punching each other in the face there's that bond that you guys kind of have and so for me it was like fucking man like I don't even care like like if you want to touch gloves that's okay so I put my hand up he touched gloves both the second and the third round and we didn't like I didn't like have to like defend myself

from him trying to get crazy and throw anything cheap. So I think he just, we both just had that mutual respect right then. And then after the fight, I talked to him for a little bit inside the cage. And we kind of squashed it then. But I messaged him that night, DMs on his Instagram. And I was like, hey, man, epic battle. I'm just glad I was able to share the cage with you. And nothing but respect.

And then he sent me a message back, pretty similar. And then ever since then, you know, he, me and him have posted a couple of things on Instagram as well, you know, including both of each other. And it's been nothing but positive stuff. So it's, I think it's clear. I think it's good to say now that everything's all good with me and Peterson. And it was just more, you know, I think it was just, you know, leading up to a fight, you know, people, you know, you have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder too. You want to give yourself in that mind space. And so I think maybe that was more of what it was.

Because like I said, I don't know him from a hole in the wall. You know, Peterson could be a great guy. I just didn't really respect some of the things that he had said or done as a fighter. But after that fight, you know, you earn the respect and you move on. And there's no reason for me to hold any animosity towards him or any resentment towards him. You know, that's only detrimental to myself anyways in the long run. So, you know, we share a cage. We have respect for each other.

Let's move on. where do we go from here because we host a matchmaking show on Sunday mornings. We get a lot of listener feedback. You were a very popular name. And pretty much there is no, there's no wrong answer with you because, I mean, so many different ideas got thrown out. You, I mean, from Billy Q to Shane Burgos to rank guys to unrank guys, everything was on the table.

So what kind of stands out to you on the street that you're on coming off of that crazy ass fight you just had yeah you know i like i said i want i want fights like that um i want guys that are you know are going to be a fun fight going to be like a fight of the night it candidates and stuff and i think it's been lucky for me too is i haven't also fighting at the apex i get on some of these cards that aren't like uh that that i will be the favorite for the fight of the night's like uh a shitty so billy q is a really good friend of mine and i probably want to fight him anyways i I think we have that mutual respect with each other because we're on the ultimate fighter. We've stayed in touch pretty good and we're always willing for each other.

And I don't want to stand the way if he's making money. And I'm sure he doesn't want to do the same to me. But I feel so bad for Billy because I feel like he's gotten jipped on some fight of the nights, especially just because of like Hardsy was on, like him and Bergo was like, God damn, that fight was a fucking insane. But it was like they fought right before Gagee and fucking Chandler. I mean, how can you really like, how can you compare that stuff? I mean, it's just, it's so hard to really, even if, even if people arguably say that Shane Burgos and Billy Q had a better fight, just the names, like, just the name of Chandler and Gachis, like, you got to give it to those guys.

And so, like, I feel like he got jibbed out a couple times based on this carts he was on. So, like, I feel bad for him in that sense. And I was lucky enough that somebody at the apex were some of these fight nights where they don't have these crazy fucking. cards put together where like I have a good chance of being you know getting a performance or a fight of the night because just the card that I'm on versus some of these other guys but uh for me I just want fights like that you know um and I'm not even I'm not worried about getting in the top 15 top 10 fighting for belts and stuff per se I in my own mind I I I feel more successful and more achieved and more content after a fight like I have with Peterson because I'd rather have

people be, you know, talking about my fight over the main event versus, you know, talking, talking about me and getting a title fight or something, you know, so those are the fights I'm looking for, I'm looking for fun guys. I think Alex Casares would be a fun one, but he's booked up. So I don't know when he, but he fights a lot anyway. So who knows, even after his fight, maybe he won't want to book it for later or the line. I think it'd be, I think at some time, me and Casares would have a good fight. I know Dawadu fought the night I fought, and that's always, it's always,

it's always like you're always keeping your eyes peeled if you have same weight classes on your, on your card, especially guys that are like kind of hovering the same area of you, you know, and I think me and Dawadu are pretty close in our abilities and where we kind of stack up in overall feather weights. And so, and I'm not saying that me and him and having a super exciting fight by any means, but we fought on the same card. So it kind of makes sense when you see guys fight on the same card.

They might fight, you know, they might schedule out, hey, you go take a break, I'll take a break. And then in a couple of months, let's book something up. So like, I could see maybe me and him fighting. But he's not necessarily something, someone I would, I would lobby to fight just because I don't think he necessarily would bring that kind of dog fight out. I think he's a bit more technical. he wants to be a little bit more smart in his approach. I'm looking for dudes that just don't care about being smart.

I just want to talk and Chuck, you know, and have those kind of fights. And that's ultimately why I chose Stephen Peterson and have been calling him out because I just knew that if me and him got in there, I knew he was tough, gritty, and durable. And he only had been finished one time in like almost 30 fights. So I'm like, this guy's going to be a fun one. I feel like I can outstrike him. But I feel like he could last. So I felt like it was going to be a long, grueling, like, fun fight.

And that's the whole reason why. And I even told him afterwards, I'm like, bro, I don't have anything personal against you. I just thought it would be a fun fight. And so that's what I wanted. And obviously turned out to be one of the most epic fights in a while. So those are what I'm looking for. But usually, like I say, February 5th was the last day in my life leading up to it. You know, that's the only thing I had on my mind.

I wasn't, you know, I never looked past anybody. I look at my fight, try to get to. through it and my hand raised and then after that we can talk about people. And I'm suspended for 30 days. So I'm just going to hang out and enjoy myself. But within those 30 days, for sure, I'm going to try to find a couple of guys that would be fun matchups like that. And I talk to my manager and see if we can iron some details out.

Well, what a fun fight it was on Saturday, Julian. Unbelievable performance. Unbelievable fight. That third round was insane. That second. The whole freaking fight was insane. And $100,000 is well deserved. And like you said,

I think it made up for the bonuses that you probably should have gotten in the other two fights. So full circle, everything worked out for you. The story continues on. And I can't wait for the Julian Arosa 30 for 30 someday because it's going to be glorious, my man. Thank you very much for the time, as always. Congratulations on the win and looking forward to seeing you back in there whenever the time comes, my man. Thank you, Mike. I really appreciate it.

It's always fun to be on your show. You obviously do your homework and you're really good at combating these things and asking me a good question. So I really appreciate you and what you do, and thanks for having me on again. Black Friday is here at IKEA, and the clock is ticking on savings you won't want to miss. Join IKEA family for free today and unlock deals on everything from holiday must-haves to cozy at-home essentials, all the little and big things you need to make this season shine. But don't wait. Like leftovers at midnight, our Black Friday offers won't last.

Shop now at IKEA.ca.ca.com slash Black Friday. IKEA, bring home to life. 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 AeroPen members on equipped flights sponsored by Bell. Conditions apply. See Air Canada.com.

Let us say hello to the brand new Cage Titan's BANAM-Wa-Champian, Joe Pennefeel. For those listening who aren't familiar with Cage Titans, it is a very successful promotion up in New England, a promotion that has had a few fighters go through there on the way to the UFC, guys like Randy Costa, Peter Barrett, Rob Font, to name a few. But right now, a lot of buzz behind the party in the New England region. So I wanted to get him on here to learn more about him and recap his big win this past Saturday at Cage Titans 51. And he's at the airport right now. Joe, how are you, man? Hey, I'm having a great day. We're just sitting here at the airport about to fly out and go back home to Orlando and enjoy some time with the kids and with family and bask in the glory of the Caged Titan gods.

That allowed me to win this 135-pound title this past weekend. So we, for those, most people don't know this, but we've been setting this chat up for a couple of days now. You were going to leave Sunday, I believe, then Monday. And now it's Tuesday as a record. So you're about to hit the, hit the plane now. Did the post-victory celebration to the party, quote unquote, last a lot longer than anticipated? Yeah, it definitely did. I didn't want to go home so fast.

Like I'm supposed to work today, I think, at three, but that's not going to happen. They're going to have to wait so tomorrow probably to see me. Yeah, we ended up missing my flight the first time or the first time we wanted to push it back because we drank so much the night of the fight. We're like, you know what, let's stay. Let's not leave right away at 6 in the morning. It's going to be a bad hangover. So we try to get a later flight and then flights got, I don't know, filled really quick. So the next day became the best appropriate time to leave and then we missed that flight.

So then we stayed at the airport hotel and now we're here. The fight on Saturday was. Yeah, I mean, it's a good spot right there. Because you've become, I remember, I remember you posted a video on your Instagram the first time you fought for Cage Titans and you walked out. You said everybody was saying F you to you and you were like, I love you guys too. You're getting kind of boot out of the building. But now I feel like things have changed in such a big way for you.

What do you attribute that to? Do you think fans just kind of just got on board and they understood who you are and they just kind of get to know you over these last four fights? I think humans in general gravitate towards real or like people that aren't fake. But when you're trying to put on an act or put on a fake type of show, I think people in general sniff you out right away. And they know what I bring to the table is authenticity, uh, passion. and a lot of a lot of heart and guts. So I think that's why I relate to the New England crowd. They're there to watch, even if you're only there to watch me one time,

like it was your first time. I think you leave with a memory to go talk about it at work and talk to your friends or your girlfriends at the salon. And like, you know what I mean? They saw a hell of a night, not just by me, but by the rest of the card, including all the amateurs. And we put on a hell of a show. It was fun.

You got the finish in the fifth round. you took on Lionel Young, who's a very game fighter. Unfortunately, he missed weight on Friday, but the fight ended up going down. Did that make it a little bit sweeter going out there and finishing him late in the fight, knowing that he missed weight by probably, what, five pounds he missed by?

Yeah, well, he came in so heavy. He was even heavier than that, but he was cutting so much weight. And I told them already, like, I didn't need to know if he was going to make way or not. It was my task or my goal was to beat him. So no matter what he was going to weigh in that, I told him, and I told Mike the Mr. Povere, the promoter, I told him, listen, it's going to happen.

So just send me the money or the extra cash that he's going to have to float me if he missed his weight. And if he doesn't, you know, God bless him and we're going to fight anyways. I just wanted to get him out of the way so I can get my belt. And I know getting the belt solidifies me now as the champion. when you have four fights in a row, like the way I did up here, some guys haven't fought since 2019 and they consider themselves the champion. But I think you have to be active. You have to be around and be in the toss. Like you said, everyone's talking about me. I'm the, I'm New England's new champ.

And I assume you're talking about Jay Perrin, right? He was the champion for a little bit. He's now the CES champion. Pandemic, everything. We couldn't seem to get him back in there. Do you know, is that the reason why this title was vacant? It's just because he hadn't defended it in a while. What was the deal? Because from what I understood, his plan was to still try to defend the title. I know he had one more fight on a contract with CES, which he's about to take part in next month. But then his plan was to go back and defend that title.

Do you know why the belt was vacated? I'm not sure. I'll go with next question and no comment. Anytime we talk about that certain person, I just say next question. I don't talk about cry babies and spilled milk. I'm not that type of person. And I don't like the bad mouth people. So him, you know, I don't know what's going on.

He has his own career path. I have my own journey and I'm just riding my wave. And my wave is just groovy. And I think, like I said, I think I get a lot of love, but there's a lot of hate. You know, people will come out of the woodwork and, you know, steal your shine or whatever. I think I was able to do a lot in the amount of time that I've been up in New England.

And that's, you know, it's just facts, you know. It is what it is. People love me. And I love them back, too. It's not like I really do connect with a lot of the people and the fans out here. I have special fans and their friends and family. Some are sponsors now. Man, it's amazing.

So I love it. Oh, I want to talk about. the third round of this fight because it was a big round for you. It seemed like he won the first. You won the second. You got the takedown, stole some momentum. And then the third round, you almost finished the fight. But did the referee take a point from you between rounds? What happened? Yeah, the referee took a point for me, which is, which is the most random thing. But he took a point for me. And I think it was because he said I held the cage. I don't know when I did. But before that, I had definitely held a cage at one point or two.

I don't care. I was like, I kind of was like, you know what, we'll chop that up, you know, whatever. I should have, you know, I got caught a couple times, whatever it was. I just didn't care, man. I was going there to destroy him. And I knew eventually I think I was gonna get to finish.

I was putting a lot of, a lot of heavy blows to him. Then they might have not seemed as heavy, but looking back at it, I was looking at the fight. I was throwing my whole body to some of these ground and pound positions. And you can tell Lionel's face was hurt after the fight as well. I mean, I really put a lot of weight in my whole body behind some of these shots. And he's just a really tough guy and durable and found a way to come back when he needed to

and show signs of life until I had to drop some elbows. And that was it, the people's elbows for the people's champion. So after those people's elbows landed and the referee called the stop to the action, you're the champion now. What do that mean to you? What does it mean to call yourself the Cage Titans champion? It means a lot, you know, like when I first started, I had a really late start in my career. I started in my 30s just because I was doing other things with my life and I really didn't think MMA was going to provide anything for me, spiritually, financially or anything. But it ended up taking me away from a life of alcoholism and a life of bluttony.

I was overweight. There's a lot of stuff. So I love MMA and the title. Like I said, like when I started this, I would never envision myself being a maid of that or headlining anything or doing the things I do. And it's really fun. It's a really, it's like a dream come true. I always envisioned it.

You know, lately I always used. use the envision it and wake up and like, man, it would be great to be a crowned myself as the champ. But now it's real and it feels great, man. It really feels great. I'm going to go back home to my gym and it's going to be fun to party. Yeah, the party continues. So you've been a pro for what? Four years, almost four years now?

So you mentioned sort of the genesis of MMA that you didn't think you'd find what you needed out of it, but eventually you did and you're finding it. now, what got you in the gym for the first time? Like, was it just like life at the time? Like, I got to, I got to do something or, you know, what, what eventually got you over that line to feel like MMA was going to provide what you needed? I think it was life. I was living at my parents' house. I was real young. I didn't have anything to do. I was drinking a lot and I could fight and I could wrestle. And it just kind of like fell on my lap. And I was coaching high school wrestling with some kids and and I met this guy named Seth Petrazzelli and he opened up the

doors his gym called the Jungle and the Jungle MMA in Orlando him and the guy named Mike Lee he's a pioneer of Florida MMA they opened the doors and that's where I was at for the first for my amateur career mostly at the Jungle MMA with Seth Petrizelli he's well known for the Kimbo Slice fight he had and find pride UFC's cool awesome guy And then from just looking at tapology and stuff, it was probably around a two and a half year break you took as an amateur between 2015 and 2018. But then you came back and now you've just been fighting two, three, four times a year. Now you get five fights in the last 10 months and you're just running away with this thing. What led you to taking some time off and what got you back?

It was my kids and everything and a lot of peer pressure from family members and stuff trying to burst my bubble. and I really thought I was like that if I give up MMA, I would have been able to further myself financially if I focus on my other career. But it ended up like I said, see-sawing on me and I ended up having other problems emotionally and mentally from all the, from not being happy, I think, and just working late nights and not enjoying my job and not getting paid much. So it was hard, you know, I was doing stuff for the money. and I wasn't doing for a love. Obviously, I get paid for these fights, and I get paid handsomely by Mr. Pover. But I do this for the love more than anything of competition

and proving myself to be the best and one of the best. But listen, I got to leave because I got to catch my flight in five minutes. They're about to call the boarding, guys. So you got to let me know what's up. Talk to me. We've got five minutes. I got five minutes. All right.

So what's the end game here? What's the end game? Are you looking to get to the UFC, Bellator, PFL, one of these big organizations, so you're getting paid handsomely by Mr. Polvere. Are you happy just fighting into Angon at this point? Like, where does this go in your eyes? I'm an idiot savant. And I really like this guy, this Greek guy. There's this guy named Diogenes. He's like this old philosopher where he was like known to be a drunk and crazy person. And he would like bathe naked in the middle of the town square. But kings and stuff. stuff would stop by and like kind of be like enamored by him because they were like yo this guy

could do whatever he wants whenever he wants he lives an awesome life he gets to have sex you know what I mean no but um but yeah I feel like the next thing for me is the the UFC Bellator one FC whoever wants to call like PFL I'd love to do a one-night tournament why I could fight everybody I'd fight anybody and anybody at 135 um 125 I think I could still make but I really don't want to cut down so I'm I'm going to stop saying that. I don't want to pick on the 25ers. And I would. I would destroy 25ers.

But yeah, I haven't made that wait since 2020 when I won my last championship belt for Atlas fights in Mississippi and Biloxi. So, yeah, I think the best thing for me is going somewhere big. But until that happens, I'm not going to have anything on my mind except for destroying whoever's in front of me. And that's going to be in the Cage Titans cage. and that's where I'll be at for now. I'll be defending this bell every weekend if I really had to.

They gave me an opportunity. So you're at Fusion Excel, right? That's your gym? Yeah. Yeah. So good night for Fusion, right? Goldie, everybody. Phil Roe gets a win right before you got your win.

It was good. Is that bump box you brought to the press conference? Is that a Phil Row special? Yeah, this is a special edition. You can get it at the Florida Mall. If you're ever visiting, come check out Phil Roe's. door at Bumpbox Orlando at the Florida Mall, the loudest Bluetooth speakers. The commission in Massachusetts even shut me down.

They told me to shut down the boombox in the locker room. I'm not sure why they're party poopers, I guess. But who's not allowed to listen to loud music in the locker room? Like the NFL, you know, any other league, sports league, you're going out there to perform. You can do whatever you want, you know, Guns and Roses style. But it is what it is. But listen, I got to catch this fight. I got to go.

Oh, good, my man. Thank you for the time. I appreciate it. I love you, brother. All right, let us say hello to Brian Battle, the tough 29 champ at 185 pounds. And I guess he successfully defended that title this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 47. Either way, great win, great third round, especially for Brian Battle against Trayshon. Gorney joins us right now on the show for the first time.

Brian, how are you, man? Yeah, I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on the show today. Absolutely. So congratulations on the way, and I'm looking at it right now. So how is the eye? Because that thing was, I mean, it looks way better than it did on Saturday. No, I mean, the eye was always cosmetic.

You know what I'm saying? Like I didn't even feel when it got hit. You know what I'm saying? Like my foot hurt really bad. My elbow hurt really bad. But yeah, no, the eye was just, it was always, like, you was annoying. Like when it swelled up, obviously I could tell that I couldn't see after my eye. And I was like, I knew that it wasn't a good.

look, but it was never something where it was bothering, you know what I'm saying? So could you, I mean, could you see at all out of the eye, or was that thing just, were you basically a one-eyed fighter in the third round? In the third round, I fought. I could see out of it, but it wasn't

worth the energy to, like, look out of it because I had to, like, really, like, try to open my eyes. So I basically just fought with my one-eye that round. At least I think so. I don't know. My adrenaline was kicking. might have been looking with both eyes, who knows, you know what I'm saying? But, you know, by the third round, you know what I'm saying? You kind of got a vibe for what your person is going

to do anyway. So, you know, you know, vision's always important, but you know, by the third round, you know, you can kind of get away with a couple things. Yeah, especially with what was at stake and how you approach the fight. So I'm curious how vindicated you feel now a few days later, because like you said after the fights, some folks, the tough crowd, M. May fans, especially, they basically crowned you like the interim tough champion, which is silly because you went through that whole experience. It's not your fault that Trayshan got injured. You got the fight that they offered you.

You won. You got the damn trophy. You entered the fight as the underdog and come out with the win. Like how vindicated do you feel now? How vindicating was that win for you on Saturday? Man, did I tell you what? It felt great, but it was something where, you know, the, immediate feeling of satisfaction, you know, it doesn't last very long because, you know,

there's still a lot of things. There was still a lot of things I left on the table with that performance. You know, I could have did a lot better. So, you know, in the back of my head, you know, I just know the next person I'm fighting is going to be tougher than Trace. So it's just, you know, we've got to get back into the, get back into the gym, get back training, get back improving so that we're ready for whoever's next. Like what? Like what stood out that? that you needed to do better? I think making sure that my hands always come back to my face. That was definitely, I was doing well with that for the most part,

but there was definitely a couple times where I got a little careless. That was one of those times where he landed in one of those clean hooks, was definitely one of those situations. Also, I think in the third round, I could let my hands go a little bit. You know, I was very happy with the change of pace going with the wrestling, but then maybe, you know, recognizing that, you know, there was an opportunity to go back to, you know, being just strike heavy on them. So, you know, just certain things, you know, things I noticed that I could have done better, that I'll be looking to do better in the next fight. Have you, have you gone back and watched it a couple of times since Saturday? Oh, absolutely. I mean, me and all my coaches and my teammate, we watched it, you know, as soon as the event was over, we got on the ESPN Plus app and we're all watching it and looking at different things, you know, that I could have did better, you know what I'm saying? You know, obviously we looked at the things that I did well.

You know, we were happy with the performance overall, but there's definitely things where, you know, we can go back to the lab and, you know, make improvements, you know what I'm saying? So how would you grade the performance after watching it back? I would grade that performance a solid B-plus. I mean, I don't think a performance can be in A unless there's a finish, you know what I'm saying? You know, it was a B plus.

I felt very strongly that I won the first round convincingly. I felt like I won the third round. I could have won the third round a little bit more convincingly, but he didn't really do too much in the third round. And, you know, the second round, I should have won the second round. You know what I'm saying? I gave that round away. But, you know, like I said, it was definitely a good performance.

I'm happy that I got the W, but I'm also happy that I got the W. and there's a lot to learn after taking that, winning that fight. See, that, that was a positive, honest answer right there, because every time you ask a fighter, how they grade their performance, it's always like a C minus or, you know, it's, to hear you say a B plus, that's very refreshing, Brian, because not a lot of, not a lot of you guys and gals out there give you, give yourselves enough credit in this sport, and this is the most difficult sport in the world.

So I appreciate that very much. Listen, man, that was a hug. You know what I said? I was working out there. So I'm not going to get myself anything less than, you know, you know, at least, you know, an upper, you know, an upper, you know, middle of the road grade, you know what I'm saying? I'm not going to trash myself too hard.

I did go out there and went to that fight. So did. Things got a little heated in the build to the fight. Things got heated in the fight. There was some chatter between rounds and chatter after horn sounded. What were you guys saying to each other in that octagon in those moments, if you don't mind me asking. Well, I know at the end of the first round,

he had kind of landed a nice punch and, you know, he was saying that he was going to find me because, you know, we had a hard time, you know, getting to me in the first round. So he was like, hey, I'm going to find you. And I told him, I told him, I was like, you landed one punch, one shot that whole round, and it didn't even hurt. That's what I said to him in between the rounds.

And so, you know, that's more or less, you know, when me and Trey are talking to it, there's not a whole lot of sophistication going on. You know what I'm saying? It's kind of like two guys like playing 2K or something talking junk over like the internet. You know what I'm saying? There's no, like we're, we're like a call of duty lobby. You know what I'm saying? And me and Trey are talking junk to each other, you know? how much of a relief is it to kind of move on from this whole thing almost like you could almost like move on from the show altogether the whole thing and you could be brian battle the UFC middleweight and not Brian battle the dude from the ultimate fighter you know what I mean like you'll still you'll still be sort of attached to that but now I feel like you can put the show behind you and you can take steps forward as a UFC fighter do you feel that right now do you feel a bit of that weight lifted off your shoulders? I tell you, especially I was really trying to downplay it and I was trying to ignore it,

but there was a whole lot of pressure going into this fight with Trey, just like you said, with the vindication and, you know, the validation and whatnot. But, yeah, I mean, you know, I'll always be intrinsically, like, involved with the ultimate fighter. You know, I have no desire not to be, you know what I'm saying? My time on tough was amazing, you know what I'm saying? and it changed my life. And so I'm not ready to necessarily put it behind me,

but I'm ready to build on top of it. You know what I'm saying? I'm ready to start adding to those accolades and start becoming, you know, like I always want people to remember that I was an ultimate fighter winner, but I want them to remember me for doing more things than winning the ultimate fighter, you know what I'm saying? So I'm not ready to, you know, pretend like it never happened,

but I'm ready to move on and chase other accomplishments. Right. Did, has Treson reached out to you since the fight ended because a lot of people noted on social media, there was no handshake, there was no congratulations, none of that that you see in typical. I know there was some heat on some meat on the bone here between you two guys. You guys have the history of being on the show, but any, anything since Saturday? No, I mean, you know, he shot me a message. You know what I'm saying? We're pretty cordial.

You know, he wants to have a rematch. So, you know, maybe maybe one day down the line we'll have a rematch, you know, so, you know, we'll see. You know, now, Trey, Trey, Trey, Trey is Trey, you know what I'm saying? But there's no beef right now, you know what I'm saying? There's no, I don't think he's wasting any energy thinking. He might be wasting energy thinking about me because he's mad about the fight. But on my end, you know, I'm just enjoying time with my wife, my nephew, my baby, you know what I'm saying? ready for the next challenge, you know what I mean?

Was that your first fight as a dad? That was my first fight as a dad. That was pretty crazy. You know what I'm saying? It definitely adds a little bit to when you're fighting. You got like a little dude that, you know, you got to go back and see afterwards. I mean, granted, he's a baby, so he doesn't really know what's going on. It's amazing.

It's almost in a weird way you and Tresan are kind of like kindred spirits because he just had baby too. He had a baby while he's on the show and, you know, I think that was his, I would, I mean, he had fights. His baby was born while he was on the show fighting, but this is your first fight as a dad. So there's, there's some similarities between the two of you guys in, in a weird, you know, kind of a apocalyptic, you know, space way, you know what I mean? Yeah, I know. We're like Batman and the Joker. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, we're like one of those forces, you know what I'm saying? Very similar at all, but there's a lot of similarities at the same time.

Yeah, no, it's weird, you know. It wouldn't surprise me we ended up fighting each other again in the future, you know what I'm saying? I think Trey's going to really learn from this, and I think he's going to really, you know, start impressing people in the future, you know what I mean? So, you know, maybe down the road we do get to run it back. I think that'd be an interesting storyline. But yeah, for right now, like you said,

I'm just enjoying life, ready to move on to the next chapter, ready to fight a bona fide UFC fighter. I think that's going to be a lot of fun. I love how you brought the trophy with you. I thought that was a brilliant move. Why did you feel the need to do that? I don't know if this person is going to want credit through this, but I got to give credit where credits do.

Ricky Tersios actually gave me that idea because he was reading the comments and I phaestimed him and you know Ricky was talking like how Ricky thought he was like man it was so crazy because I was thinking about you today and it was crazy because I was thinking about you today

now we're on the FaceTime together and he was like he was like I got this crazy idea he was like can I tell you this idea I was like Ricky tell me the idea he was like can I tell you the idea It's a crazy idea. I was like, yeah, man.

Because, you know, anytime Ricky's got to say something, I got to listen to it. And so he was like, he was like, I think you should bring the trophy. And, you know, it wasn't like one of those things were, you know, when he was striving it, it wasn't like, you know, you rub it in, but it was one of those things where, yeah, you know, he was reading the comments. We're all reading the comments. Saw what people were saying. He was like, you know, go out there and defend your tough title.

And, you know, I was like, I was like, Ricky, I love that idea. So I just kind of ran with it, you know what I'm saying? And so I got to give Ricky his credit, you know what I'm saying? That was Ricky's idea. I don't know if I would have did it if Ricky wouldn't have suggested it. So one of the questions I had just because my mind was racing when I saw you holding the trophy after the win. And it doesn't really matter now because it's all hindsight. Had he won the fight, would you have given him the trophy?

Of course. Yes. In 2020, 100%. 100%. Oh, that's amazing. That's amazing. The answer I hope for right there. I mean, I thought that whole thing was brilliant. Well done on your part.

And kudos to Ricky Terseo. And your Ricky Terseo's impression is amazing. Because the way you repeated yourself like a couple different times, it's so funny. That's pretty spot on, man. A lot of time with that, man. You know, Ricky's a cult leader. You know what I'm saying? He's got one of those personalities, you know what I mean?

So where do we go from here? I mean, you got to heal up a little bit. You get to move forward. You're officially 2 and O in the UFC. Now you're trying to climb that ladder. You don't really know yet because you don't know how long you're going to be out for for healing up. But perfect world, when do you want to get back in there? Perfect world.

About summertime, I'd like to fight at least two more times this year. You know, I think that's a solid schedule where, you know, I can heal. up, you know, train, get better, and then, you know, really lock in for a fight camp and get ready for somebody. And, you know, just keep on, you know, because who knows what kind of person they're going to throw out and be next, you know what I'm saying. And I have no idea what direction that they're going to go. But, yeah, fighting, fighting about two, two more times this year, I think that's good.

So about the summertime, it would be cool. Anybody stand out in particular or just whatever's clever, let's go? Yeah, you know, I don't know if I'm at a place yet where I have enough clout to where I can, you know, really call people out. But, you know, there's a couple people where I think it makes sense. I think me and Maximoff, I think me and him, we would make a lot of sense. I think that would be a fun fight. You know, there's a couple guys who are coming off the contendous series that were calling me out, you know what I'm saying? And, but really, you know, I'm not a picky guy, you know what I'm saying?

You know, I didn't get into the fight business to pick and choose. I got into the fight game so I could beat up anybody. So, you know, I'm just get back to training and, you know, get ready for whoever may come down the line next. I wanted to ask you about this because several months back I had Taylor Starling on the show, obviously one of the rising stars for BKFC. And I remember it was probably like the day or two before I had her on. posted this video of the two of you in one of those big tires, having yourself a good old fashion sparring session. She talked about, you know, obviously how great of a training partner you are, but she also enjoys punching you in the face. So I'm curious from your perspective,

what has it been like to kind of see her get some more notoriety in the combat sports world? And also, I'm sure sparring with her can can be a bit crazy at times. Oh man, no. Sparring with Taylor is, it's funny because Taylor is just crazy, you know what I'm saying? So it's always fun spying with crazy people. So, and yeah, like the fact that Taylor is like a 120 plus pound woman and, you know, she's like, yeah, let's go. You know what I'm saying? It just cracks me up. I love Taylor. But no, seeing her come up, you know, it's been really, nice, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, she's had her rise almost at a similar time as me. So, you know, there's times where we can, like, trade notes, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, well, what do you do when, you know, you get these kind of DMs or, you know, I'm saying? Like, you know, we're just talking about how we're dealing with things differently.

So, you know, it's kind of nice to have someone who, you know, fully came up with you, You know what I'm saying? We both were, you know, unheralded when we met each other. You know, I'm trying. And a short while later, we're both, you know, she's about a fight for a title. So, you know, she's doing a little better competitively. But, you know, we're both making waves in our own separate promotions. So, you know, it's a lot of fun.

What's the craziest DM you've gotten? What's the one where you're just like, what? Are you serious? Like, someone really took the time to. to send me this message. Man, there's a lot of, there's a lot of, like, what is the threshold for like inappropriate stuff I can say on here? Like, there's one that really sticks out to me.

Well, this is, appropriate. This is the internet. So I think you're good. Yeah, I think you'll be all right. And if it's not, I'll just, I'll cut it out. So it sounds good. All right. There was, right before I fought in the tough finale, someone commented underneath one of, like, the weighing picture or something.

And they said, hey, and, you know, I'm paraphrasing. I don't remember it verbatim. They're just with this. And they said, hey, you know, good luck tonight. Maybe after you get the win, you can meet me in the back of the locker room. It was a weekend. Yeah, it was a dude. It was like, you know, stick our fingers up each other's bunch or so.

Like, it was just, like, so random. You know what I mean? It was like, I was just strolling. And I saw that. I was like, what? But, yeah, I sent that to my whole fight team. That's still, that's my favorite one to this day. That won't crack me up.

I actually, like, stop and laugh out loud when I read that one. It still makes me laugh. And I blush when I tell the story, you know what I'm saying? Because it's so scandalous. So you want to be an ultimate fighter, right? I mean, geez, Louise, especially, you know, in the social media era. What a crazy time we reside in, Brian.

But I appreciate you coming on. Congratulations on the win. Again, I'm glad you're able to kind of put this whole thing behind you. You are the champion, the undisputed tough 29 middleweight champion. And great performance, man. Very happy for you. Congratulations for everything, winning the show, all the success, a new baby, all that good stuff.

And hopefully we see you back there inside that octagon over the summertime. Appreciate your time, my friend. Thank you. Thank you for having me on, man. You have a good one. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.