MMA Fighting - We Got Next | Andre Petroski, Javid Basharat & Bruno Souza

Episode Date: November 4, 2021

Andre Petroski (2:58) picked up his second octagon victory this past Saturday at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi, but why didn’t he walk out to “Island Boy” to get immortalized on The MMA Hour wall-of-fame? The TUF 28 contestant answers that question, recaps his submission victory over Hu Yaozong, how awkward it was fighting a much larger fighter, if he tried to talk with Virna Jandiroba about getting the iconic walkout prior to the event, his experience on The Ultimate Fighter, some behind the scenes stories that never made air, Sean Brady being the best grappler he’s ever trained with, and when he’s hoping to return. MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin speaks with new UFC bantamweight Javid Basharat (37:06) who addresses his dominant win over Oron Kahlon on Dana White’s Contender Series and the ugly ‘racist’ epithet that preceded their fight, as well as his hope to serve as an inspiration to the people of Afghanistan now that he’s in the UFC. Finally, featherweight Bruno Souza (55:22) discusses his upcoming octagon debut against Melsik Baghdasaryan this Saturday at UFC 268, getting the fight on just eight days’ notice and if he prefers it that way, training with the Machida Brothers since he was four, how Lyoto Machida guided him into a transition from karate to MMA, his familiarity with Baghdasaryan, and why a bout with Max Holloway would be his dream fight. 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

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two, ghosts in the machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love?

The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original, The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster, The Downloaded.

It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, Ghosts in the Machine, available now only from Audible. The Vox Media Podcast Network. Hey and welcome to a brand new edition of We Got Next. Thank you for checking out the show wherever you listen to your MMA fighting podcasts. I am Mike Heck.

Let's shine the light. on the next wave of talent in our great sport. This week, we have a UFC fighter who is relatively new, a fighter who is making his UFC debut this Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and one fighter who will be making his UFC debut in the very near future. Plus, a special guest interviewer will join the show as well, add a little assist, Stockton to the Malone, so to speak, so stay tuned for that. Before we run down the lineup, make sure you check out all of the shows.

on the M.M.A. Fighting podcast arc. We have on to the next one. We have Fighter versus Writer. We have Guillermo Cruz's new show. Let me see if I get the pronunciation right. Tricaco Franca. Great stuff. If you are a fan of Brazilian fighters and you enjoy interviews in Portuguese, Guillermo, the Brazilian Beast, has got you covered. So make sure you check that show out. BTL Tourney kicks off Thursday, 3 p.m. Eastern live on the M.A. Fighting YouTube channel. miss it and go back and watch it. Plus, if you want the audio version, that will be up on the podcast network shortly thereafter. The new ranking show is up. We'll preview and post shows for UFC 268 coming up so much content. So check it out. Rate review, subscribe. You will not be

sorry. Now, here's the lineup. Rapping us up. Bruno Sousa will join us. He's won 10 fights in a row. He's going to make his UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 268 on just eight days notice against Melzic Bagdasarian, stepping in for T.J. Laramese, a young guy, a ton of upsides, been trading with the Machita brothers since he was like four years old. Great guy, very excited. You'll hear from him later on in the show as he gets a big opportunity. Before that, special guest interviewer, Damon Martin will join us. He had the chance to speak to one of the newest members of the UFC roster.

Javid Basharat, who earned a contract on the contender series when he stopped. Oran Kalin. course, there was some nastiness, some awfulness from Javid's opponent prior to the fight. He'll talk about that and more great stuff from Damon. And I appreciate him adding to the show this week. But first, a lot of people are excited to hear this interview. You may have seen a clip on the MMA fighting social media pages over the last couple of days, but let's speak to one of the big winners from the UFC's most recent event in Abu Dhabi this past weekend, Andrei Petroski. All right, let us say hello to Andre Petroski, who improved the 2-0 in the UFC.

Another submission win this past Saturday at UFC 27 over Hugh Zhao Zong, excuse me, and he's back home in the States with another victory in tow. Andre, how are you, man? Doing really well. It's good to have you here. First question, and this is obviously a very important question, did you end up making it home in time for trick-or-treating on Sunday? I know that was something you wanted to make happen.

It was a long flight back. Were you able to get some trick-or-treating in? Sons, tell me no. No, I'm a loser. Not a loser. I mean, you flew back from freaking Abu Dhabi. How are you a loser? I didn't make it.

I didn't make it for trick-or-treating. But I got her Disney on ice tickets. There you go. All right. You made it happen. I made it happen. Well done. I mean, here's the thing.

And I know you're probably super disappointed. that. But what a lot of folks may not understand is that you're, I mean, you're out there. You're fighting in Abu Dhabi. You're fighting on ESPN. Fighting is your job. And for some people, fighting his life. Not the case for you because, you know, you fight on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. You got to go back, pack your stuff, get on a plane, get home and you're tired and probably a little cranky and you still have to be dad and the parent and the husband and the significant other, all that. But it's something that clearly you don't take for granted. It looks like, how would you describe for you how you navigate those huge parts of of who you are i mean i love my daughter like

she's super cool she's fucking really cute um but like i mean i don't get to spend like like i'm not with her every single day you know what i mean like we're always fighting i'm always in a gym um so like the times that i do get to spend with her or like i i appreciate that my much more, you know. So, you know, I have her Tuesdays and Wednesdays when I'm home. But you know what I mean? If I'm fighting, I'm going for a week or two. When I was on the ultimate fighter, I was going for six weeks. So, like, there's a lot of times where, you know, I don't really get to see her. And, you know, I just try to like, when I'm with her, like, I try to be, like, as present as I can. Like, leave the phone in the car and just, like, really

spend quality time because I know what it's like when you can't see them, you know. Yeah, well said. So let's talk with an interesting matchup because you fight a guy who has had three UFC fights, one at heavyweight, one at light heavyweight, and then obviously this one at middleweight, huge guy for 185 pounds, but you seem to navigate it well, but how awkward was it? Like, I don't know if it's something you noticed right away or something that continued on throughout the fight, but was it kind of awkward fighting him? Yeah, dude, the weigh-in picture was hilarious.

I mean, it wasn't like really like that. Like he had the shoes on and I was barefoot. But like the weigh-ins, holy shit. Like he looked like he had seven inches on me. He was tall too, but he had these little short arms. It was kind of cute. I don't know. He was big, though.

When we got in the cage, I looked across the cage. I thought it was a joke. I was like, damn, this motherfucker's big. He was a big boy. And man, he was tough, man. I hit him with everything. I was looking, I was watching that clip earlier. I landed this elbow when he was rolling from his back to his stomach.

And I threw this elbow. And I caught him with this elbow right behind the ear. And, dude, I thought I killed him. And he was fine. Like, I'm like, this. guy can take a shot. So, uh, hats off to him. Yeah, I thought it was amazing heading into the third round because, and you had a dominant second round. He heading into the third round, the horn sounds, you get up and walk to your corner. He gets up, but he smiles. He's smiling after

that second round before he goes back to score. Of course, he gets finished in the third, but I mean, that is a, I mean, that's a tough dude right there. Like, did you expect him to be as big as he was? Like, I'm sure you expected some sort of size discrepancy, but were you shocked, like, and how big, how much bigger he actually was? Um, yeah, I was actually, because like, I didn't have like a great weight cut, to be honest. Um, and I'm just thinking like, how can this dude be that much bigger? Um, yeah, it's funny. Like Daniel was saying all week, he's like, he's like, uh, the Chinese fighters are really hard to knock out. Uh, but they're easy to submit. And he kept saying like, oh, you're going to submit him.

going to submit him like they get choked out easily um and i was like all right all right and dude he was not easy to submit either i'd dude i had him quite a few times and he he was not uh he was not quitting that's for sure yeah i mean you got the finish with a little over 10 seconds left in the fight and you were on your way to winning anyways a hard fought battle you guys left it all in there how would you describe the feeling of the tap like did did you even know at the time like how late in that round it actually was. Was there like a, was it like relief? Like, oh my God, finally, I put this dude away.

Yeah. I heard someone. I heard someone. I don't know if it was my corner or his corner, but I heard someone yell 30 seconds. And when I heard that, I was like, okay, I can squeeze with everything I got right now and know that like, because like in the beginning,

like I wasn't putting everything into the chokes because I didn't wanna blow my arms out. because, like, I didn't have a camp. Like, I was just kind of going out there. I didn't want to fade too hard. And, but at the end, I knew that I could give everything I had into it. And I knew that he was tired, too. I know that he was tired and he was getting ready to quit as well.

So in addition to that, him knowing that he was tired and ready to quit and me knowing that, you know, I could squeeze with everything I got. That was kind of the recipe for the finish. did you enjoy the trip to Abu Dhabi? I know you wanted to travel and do the damn thing, but did you enjoy like the actual experience of being out there? Yeah, hell yeah. I did, I thought it was going to be like,

my manager was like, look, you're going to be in like a luxury prison, just like go go down there, get the job done and come home. And I was, that's what I was expecting. You know, I was expecting us to be locked down 24-7. I was like, you know, it to be a nice hotel, but then us not be allowed to go anywhere. But we actually went everywhere. We had a good time.

We got to see all the palaces and everything. Daniel Gracie was my corner, my coach. His cousin Kim was down there. He's been teaching jiu-jitsu there. He's lived there for six years. So he was able to show us around. Yeah, I like the area. You know, I met a couple good people out there.

I plan on going back. There you go. So I know after the fight, you said you want to try to get back in there as soon as possible. You said essentially you're not great at saving your money. And we'll talk about that more in a minute. But one thing you're not supposed to do in my line of work is bury the lead. And I need to know this story from your perspective because, Andre, I have a tremendous colleague. You may have heard of him.

His name is Ariel Hawani. He hosts a show called The MMA Hour. puts out a bit of a challenge to any fighter on the card to walk out to Island Boy. And it seemed like at least what we saw on social media with some help from the great Sean Brady, you were going to be the guy that was going to get immortalized on the MMA Hour Wall of Fame. There was some back and forth, apparently some negotiations. You wanted to add a basketball game into the mix. And then we find out that Vanda Jandadoba made the walk.

She was going to do it. It was amazing. And now she is on the wall now. So I got to know what happened. Why are you not on the wall? Why did this not happen on Saturday? I submitted it to, I won't say her name, but I submitted it to the UFC lady that does the walkout songs on.

It was the next day I submitted it. And she said that Johnny Rob already took it. And they wouldn't let me do it. And I was like, okay, who cares? Like, I come out first. You know what I mean? if I come out to it first, then that's, that's, you know, that's her fault. That's her problem.

But they wouldn't let me come out to it. Man. I know. Did this, did this, did you submit the request? Did you submit the request before the, the Nets game thing? Like, did you already know that it wasn't going to happen for you when you started throwing out the other stuff or like, how did that all play out? No, I, dude, I don't even really have Twitter, to be honest.

So, like, I didn't know, like, how to use it. I was kind of writing back and forth with Ariel. And I was going on. I'm already going up there November 17th for the Nets game. So I was trying to get him to come with me. He didn't seem like he was into it. But whatever, I was going to come out to it anyway. And I sent it, yeah, I sent it over and they wouldn't let me come out to it.

Oh, man. What day was this? I have the email. All right. What day is? I got to know. This is the awesome picture. I sent this email. Yeah, here it is.

Thursday. Thursday at one o'clock, I emailed her and said, I sent her the link. And she said, Hi, Andre. That song has already been selected by another fighter. Please send me a different choice.

Oh, man. All right. Let's get your video back. So when you saw that email, how did you react to it? Were you like gutted? I went down to like plead my case. I was like, look, I come out first. Like, what are you telling me?

No one has ever come out to the same song. I was like, it's not like we're fighting each other. And I just figured I would come out first. I would come out to it and I would get to credit for it. And they were like, no, you can't. I was like, whoa, whoa. Like, what's it going to take here? Like, you don't make that much money.

Like, can I pay you or something? Like, they wouldn't take a bribe, nothing. Did you try asking Verna if she would take a bribe to step aside? No, I saw her at, uh, at the wayans. And I was like, you stole my song. And she like, I mean, she's, I think she speaks English, but not like, I don't know, like how great, but. we had the mass song like i don't think she knew what the fuck i was talking about to be honest

so all this so so from what i gather i'm trying to remember date from what i gather this whole challenge is put out on the monday on the monday wednesday we found out jandadoba was was like she said video of her dancing to the song like it seemed like she was going to do it why did you wait till thursday to submit the song i had that conversation with ariel on Wednesday. So the next morning I woke up and sent the song in. Oh man. To be honest, Sean was the one that called me and was like, you got to come out to this song and I watched it and I was like, go fuck yourself. And then I saw someone sent me the video of Ariel dancing to the song, saying if someone comes out to it, you know, they'll be on the wall.

And I'm like, no, this is, this is the worst song. Like, there's no way I can do it. And then me and Daniel are just in the hotel room and he's like, just keeps playing it over and over and over. I'm like, dude, I'm going to shoot myself. He's like, no, we could come out. We could do this. You have to do this. And I was like, God damn it.

Like, I have to. You're right. like I have to do this. I was like, all right, fine. And then we found like a remix that I really actually like. I actually really liked the remix. And then we sent it in and then they said no.

Oh, man. Was it like a gut punch? I don't have Twitter. So like I didn't, I probably could have saw it earlier, but I don't know. I don't never really had to use Twitter to be honest. Fair enough.

I guess I got shit. Well, fair enough, it happens. And we, we, you got the win. You got to finish. So that's good. That's, that, that's worth all of it, right? I mean, being on the wall would be great, be up there forever. But I'm be, honestly, I'm happy for her.

Like, she, she, uh, I mean, it's a shame she lost. I mean, Rebus is tough. That girl's tough. John D. Robb is tough, man. Her jiu jiu-jitsu is good. I didn't get to watch the fight, man. What did you actually walk to? Because they didn't show it.

They didn't show it on the broadcast that I was watching. What did you actually walk out to? Ted Nuget, strangled. Oh, all right. It's a good choice. Because I put them in a little old butt. So it's not just a proper name. I get it.

Nicely done. Okay, so after the fight, you say you just want to get back in there. You say you're not good at saving money. And I've talked to fighters in your division who are very similar. Kevin Hollins, I remember before. the pandemic shut everything down. He was like, yeah, I spent all my money. I should probably, like, get as many fights as possible and yada, yada, yada.

But, you know, I just spend money. I don't care. Like, I'll get it back. It's not a big deal. And he didn't think it was that big of a deal. So what about what about your saving habits precludes you from saving well? Like what happens? Like a fight ends, you get the money.

Then what happens if you don't mind me asking? Dude, I just like, I want to take care of everyone. want to have a good time. And money is usually required for that. I'm really trying to buy a horse, to be honest. That's like my real goal. I wanted to buy this house really bad. But right now I'm just like obsessed with these horses.

I think they're so fucking cool. I would like to buy my daughter a horse, but I think she's a little young. I think she's a couple years away from being able to ride a horse. How old is she? She's two. She's two, yeah. She's probably a couple of. years away from that. Even if I got her like a pony, she's not going to be able to like ride it.

Right. She could look at it. I don't know how much fun that is. She could look at it. Whatever. I got it to Disney on ice instead. Yeah, that's a good time. And then the horse in maybe a couple of years. Do you have horses already? No. No. I've only like rode them like twice, but I'm like obsessed. I think it's like the coolest thing in the world. Like, Like I kind of get like a little bit of that like adrenaline rush when I get on a horse. Not as much as fighting, but like a little bit of it. Because I'm like, this thing could like kind of do some damage. When was the last time you were on a horse?

In Florida, probably about like nine months ago. Yeah. And you've only been, you've only ridden like two or three times? Yeah. So we got to get you a horse. got to get a horse you got to get you a horse I don't think buying a horse

fuck it we'll buy the horse I mean you can't you can't lease one I mean maybe you can I don't know maybe you can go and just ride when you want

find a place close to you I don't know if there is a place yeah that's what I really want to do I want to go to Columbia there's a Gracie school down there in Columbia and we're actually going to Costa Rica

in December to do a seminar with Daniel, Gracie. But in Columbia, there's another Gracie school, and they just like, they pack on the horses, and they take the horses out, and then they'll just stop at these, like, they have, like, crazy waterfalls in Columbia, and they're, like, really cool.

They'll pull off, they'll stop, you know, have lunch, drink, whatever, and then they'll just get back on the horses and keep riding. It's like a full day. It's right up your alley. That's right up my alley. That sounds like a good time.

That does sound like a good time. Of course, you mentioned Sean Brady. He's got a big fight coming up at a couple weeks against Michael Kiesa. I'm sure I'll be talking to him before that. That fight actually goes down. But, you know, you just came back from Abu Dhabi. You know, what have you seen from him?

Big opportunity. He was supposed to fight Kevin Lee. And then that gnarly sort of infection that he had knocked him out of that fight. But now he gets an even bigger fight. How is he looking right now in preparation for that one? Yeah, I had the same impact. It's funny.

Dude, he's a fucking killer, man. I've been, I've said this before. Like, I was at American Top Team for about two weeks. And then I went to Stanford for about 10 days. And then I went to, I went to Factory X in Denver. I was there for about two months. And then I came to Hensio Gracie's. Enzo Gracie Philly with Sean.

And, man, Sean's the best. Sean's the best grappler that I felt, you know, of all those places that I went to. He's just, his top pressure is, I've never seen anything like it. He's good, man. He's super tough. He does everything right. He doesn't make any mistakes. He lives right.

He lives clean. Like, he does all the right things. And, man, he's got a bright future. for sure he's he's definitely uh he's definitely going to be a nightmare for kiesa yeah i'm looking forward to that fight last thing how would you describe 2021 i mean we're coming off of a crazy year at the pandemic it still hasn't fully gone away you're on the ultimate fighter you get signed to the ufc you get two wins two submissions the island boys opportunity i mean so much has happened along the way and here we are with two submission victories right before thanksgiving you

I know you want to get back in there as soon as possible. How would you describe this year of your life, this year of your career? Yeah. So the first fight was in May. Yeah. So Aaron Phillips in May, Brian Battle in May. And then I fought Michael Gilmore in August. And then Yao or who.

So I've had four fights in like five. months right i'm like that yeah august september october so that six months almost yeah just about probably like five and a half yeah right right around there so like i don't see any reason why i can't fight six times a year you know what i mean like give me six fights a year like i i've shown that like you know like i'll fight on short notice um i want to be active i want i want i want to fight you know what i mean. It's been a good year, though, man. The opportunities, I mean, I can't. Only way, I'm blessed, man, there's shit. That ultimate fighter was like, it was like Taylor made for me, like to win that. Like everything, all the cards were like exactly the way they should

have been for me to win that tournament. Everything was like, it was just perfect. Taylor made for me for me. And then I lost. You know what I mean? And I still think I'm the best guy from that show. And I was, you saw the first round against Brian Battle. And so then from there, to blow that opportunity of a lifetime, I really had an opportunity of a lifetime and I kind of blew it to go from that to like still getting a second chance with the Gilmore on the finale. And, you know, luckily I was able to take advantage of that opportunity. And then I was offered another opportunity on short notice against, you know, a good opponent. And, you know, luckily I took advantage of that as well.

So, man, I'm lucky for sure. I mean, I can't, can't deny that. Can I just ask you since you were part of the show and you were part of the whole thing? You probably watch like the early seasons the Elspite fighter. And it was a very big deal. It was, you know, it's what got a lot of people into the. sport, especially the first finale and the Griffin Bonner fight and so forth and so on. But I have an issue with tough.

And the issue is I don't feel like the show has changed one bit since the first season. Like everything is exactly the same. Even from the basketball jerseys, like there's got to be some other way to, and I like it. I get it. It's reality. It's all that. There's got to be some way to ramp it up a little bit, change it. Like, bring it into the 20, bring it into 2021 and beyond.

I just feel like it's the same exact show that, that we watched, you know, 10, 15 years ago. You were there. Am I crazy? And if, if I'm not, what would you do to change it to make it better? I agree. I think they could have had, like, a few more wild cards on the show, to be honest. I thought that, I mean, there were some. cool guys they had like good stories but like you know everyone was well-behaved you know like

didn't want to start any any uh cause any riffs or start any trouble i don't know it was everyone was like so well-behaved that like they almost tried to start make they were like looking at me to be like the bad guy it was like all right i guess if i'm the only like if i'm the closest thing to the bad guy like come on we got we can do a little bit better but that's what they said they're like well with ESPN with it being the first season on ESPN like we don't really want all that we just want a you know to an accurate portrayal of of our sport you know like a respectable portrayal of our athletes and I was like cool that like good I'm going to win this shit anyway so like I don't really need to fucking you know cause you know create a lot of attention on

the show. And then like three weeks in, they're like, come on, guys, you guys got to do something. You guys got to like, and I'm like, dude, you say it. I'll do it. Like, what do you want? And like, dude, there was a lot of really good scenes in the house that they like completely cut out. You know, they, what my, personally, what I thought, what I would have done if I was directing that show was I wouldn't have told the stories of the guys that lost in the first. round you know I would have or I would have spent less time on their stories and a little bit more time air time on the shit that was happening in the house like there was good shit going down in the house and they just didn't they never aired it they

spent you know 30 minutes showing a kid's life back home that that lost in the first round and I don't know I just like I get it that's what's kind of building up to the fight but personally I think that more more people would have been interested in the stuff that went down in the house, considering it was a reality TV show. What happened? Give me one story. Dude, I popped this cyst on Mitch repose his back.

It was like, I swear to God, it would have been the number one video on Dr. Pimple Popper. Like, I jabbed this thing with a pin, like a closed pen. It was three days before his fight. And I jabbed this cyst on his back with a closed pen. six times. And they were like, just get it. Just got it. It's not going to, it's not going to pop. And I just keep like jabbing it. And then one final time, I was just like, all right, I'll just try. And I squeeze this thing, dude. And it squirted literally like all onto my beard, right? It was so gross. And you see in the background, like, everyone just goes ballistic, crazy. And I like swan dive into the pool to

try to get this mountain of pus off my beard. It was crazy. And we can. proceeded to pop this thing for like the next 20 minutes. I shit you not. Like my mom's into that like weird stuff like watching the pimple popper videos. And I watch this one was better than all of those that I've seen. Wow. And they never showed it. Mitch never told me that story.

I talked him before his contender series fight. I know Mitch pretty well. And yeah, he didn't, he didn't tell me that story. That's, that's wild, man. That's crazy. Yeah, that would have done very well on the show.

I think people would have been talking about it would have gone viral on the ESPN pages. I know they have the footage. Like, why do they make, like, deleted scenes episode of the Ultra Fighter? They should. Did you watch? Did you actually watch the season? Yeah, of course. Okay.

I mean, some people didn't. They felt like they were, you know, at least talking to some of their friends and so forth and so on. They felt like they were not accurately portrayed according to, like, what they actually did in the house. Did you feel like you were presented? accurately on the show. Yeah, I mean, who? I mean, obviously you're talking about Mitch, right? I mean, I've talked to many people on the cast.

Some were okay with it. Some were like, no, I don't need to watch it. Like, I was there. And then some were like, yeah, I watched like the first episode. And I was like, they made me look like a jackass. Yeah, what's the kid's name? I'm drawing a blank right now. the one that got hurt.

Oh, man. Now I'm drawing a blank. I'm going to look it up. I can, I'm picturing his face right now. How am I going to miss this? Oh, gore, gore, gore. No, no, no, no, no.

Not gore? No, the kid that got hurt and pulled out on the show. Heist. Brady? No, no, no. He was an 185. He was a redhead kid, and then he pulled out and Gilmore filled in for him.

Oh. Oh, I think I guess. I got it, hold on. He's a 70-pounder. It was like 7-0-0-6-0. I forget his name. I can't find it. And I can't find it.

Awesome. Cooper? No. Cooper? I don't know. I just Google tough injury and it's all trace on Gore. They fried him. They did him dirty.

I mean, that's a tough one man they really they really did him 30 but in in their defense like dude they spent like a lot of money on him and he like he was cleared the fight you know what i mean like and it's one thing to like you know not want to fight because you're hurt but when they showed him in the doctor's office and the doctor asked him hey is it okay if your coaches come in when i read the results to you and he said no i want to be in here by myself when i saw that i was like because i didn't you know i mean i wasn't in the doctor's office we didn't know that part but when i saw that i was like damn this dude never wanted to

fight i was like this this dude really was trying to get like i don't know that that was miles miles miles honsinger there it is but man they've really made him look bad It happens, man. Would you ever do it again? Hell. Well, I mean, I don't need to now, but like, yeah, 100%. Yeah, they did like a tough veteran season and they just had like a fat cash prize. Same, same stakes, all that stuff, same layout, everything, you do it again? Yeah, 100%. It was, I thoroughly enjoyed like the whole experience.

It was, it's a simple life, you know what I mean? they take away all the all the distractions your cell phone the TV the radio they take away all the distractions you got nothing else to worry about but training and getting better every day like dude what's better than that if you love your job you love fighting that's fucking heaven you know so rickie terseo said he grew so much from being on the show he journaled and just he learned every like he would do it i don't know if you do it again but he took a lot away from it. But it seems like you,

like that just, you said it fit you very well. Like what else? Like, what were you able to take away from it? Like, if it fit you so well, like what else were you able to?

How would you say you grew the most from that experience? Like bring that type of structure back to your life, right? Like, I mean, like, the idea of like Rocky going into the mountains to do like his camp. Like,

it sounds really good. But like, that's not realistic, man. Like, there's so many distractions back home. Like, it's just my life is chaos. You know what I mean? Like, I have a kid. I work. I do privates.

I train every day. Like, it's just, there's so much shit. Like, you can't just abandon everything. It's not realistic. And you got to kind of do that. So. Yeah, I did. I did.

But I wish that. I mean, I wish I could bring some of that structure back to my, my home life. you know what I mean? You still can. Not having a phone is like one of the most freeing things in the world. It's like I can't explain to you how amazing that was. Hey, you don't need Twitter in the tough house, so you're all good there.

Yeah. Not to mention like the stuff you learn from like what Hennard. So a lot of the guys on the. show, especially the 35 pounders, they just cut weight the whole time, like, or they were hurt. A lot of guys were hurt the whole time. So, like, every day I'd show up to practice and Henner and Gracie would be like, hey, do you want to work? And they'd be like, I got to cut weight. I'm on treadmill today. Do you want to work? Be like, mm, my knees bother me. And I'd be standing like, I want to work. And I would get two hour privates with Henner Gracie every day.

Like, I asked them, I was like, how much would it cost to get like a one hour private with you outside of here he's like dude 300 bucks like easily i'm like done like i'm getting this every single day so every day that i would do a private with henner i would go home and i would write down everything like every technique dude i literally work his series his sequences that we work like that's what i've been working every day like a lot of that shit um i was what i did in the fight and obviously i made some mistakes and i didn't get to finish but um you know his whole anaconda guillotine series is that's gold you know what i mean so um you know that's stuff that's like invaluable information yeah it sounds like you took a lot from it and that that's what

you have to do in those types of situations and it sounds like you got a lot out of that but and you got a win you took a win and now you get two wins two wins in the ufc two submissions and uh i guess the message here for the matchmakers is if one of these 85ers fall out you'll be there huckleberry right Call you up. I mean, they know who to call. There you go. Andre, congratulations on the win. Thanks for the conversation, man.

I can't believe this is the first time you and I have chatted, but we'll have to do it again definitely before your next fight. But great, great stuff, man. Congratulations on the victory and enjoy Disney on ice when the time comes. Thank you, brother. Ontario, the weight is over. The gold standard of online casinos has arrived. Golden Nugget Online Casino is live,

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that you had joined the UFC roster? If I'm honest with you, I expected exactly going into those firework that I would get the contract. I was very confident. I knew that they just need to look at me, look at my style, I'll get the contract. I'm exactly what they're looking for.

I'm a finisher that can get submissions and get knockouts, you know? And then when I finally got the contract, it was just like a great, it's just relief, you know. It was a great feeling I expected it, but it was just still relieving, you know. Yeah. Now, I got to be honest to me, you know, knowing your record and knowing where you fought and the kind of style you have, you know, I think you could have been a guy who just would have gotten in the UFC just, you know, generally, you know, gotten a contract.

But there is, to me, some benefit, kind of like going on the ultimate fighter, there is some benefit to go into the contender series because I think you get a little bit more individual attention for your fight. and then you get to the UFC, and then immediately everyone's going to say, oh, I remember Javid from the Contender Series. So was there any part of you that, like, one part of you saying, hey, I wish I would have just got the contract because I deserved it, but then the other part saying, well, you did get, you know,

you did get a lot of attention, you know, being on the Contender Series. Exactly. So this was definitely a blessing that I fought on Contender Series. Let me just start off with that. But initially, I didn't like it, to be honest. I was just annoyed, like, oh, man, what else do I have to do? And I was willing to take bigger fights outside the U.S. to just get into the UFC straight away.

But I couldn't get matched and there were no fights and stuff especially during COVID and I didn't have like the right people around me as well to get me the fights. And when I got the when I managed to get the right people around me and stuff and the contender series came up and I wasn't really happy about it. But my manager said to me like, hey, look, the contender series, if you're impressed, you get a contract and people get to know you before you get into the UFC.

And I said, yeah, but like, what if I don't impress, like, if I don't get a contract? You know, Dana, sometimes funny with it, sometimes you may be in the mood to give you the contract, sometimes not, like we saw what happened with Brendan a lot and he had a great performance and he never got in. But at the same time, then I went home and I thought about it, I'm like, why the hell am I thinking

like this bum? Like, that's some bum behavior. Like, why wouldn't he like me? Like, I'm the guy, like, he would definitely like me. If I fight in front of him, he will for sure like me. And as far as who he's going to put in front of me, if they're not in the UFC, they're not beating me. Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely. Well, it was an amazing performance, but let's backtrack, of course. One of the biggest things that happened leading into this. And, of course, I know you've already kind of talked about this, but I'd be a bad reporter not to talk about it. It was the incident at the way-ins. I did a story on it, and I had spoken to your manager about it. It was really ugly.

Man, it just, I know it sounds weird. to say it's but like it really made me angry like I was like really really angry when I heard that and uh you're the guy who lived through it so can you kind of give me your reaction to win that whole like were you taken back re-sprit because also I know the right before this of course he had missed weight which is again disrespectful in and of itself you know to come in three pounds over the limit to begin with and then he's jaw at you and then he says that I mean it's just it was such an ugly unnecessary moment exactly um and first of all like I'd like to say like the fact that I made you that angry kind of shows the type of person you are and and I appreciate everybody

that it did offend only because like it shows and the support that I got because it just shows like man these these things cannot be tolerated and people are on the same like wavelength of me even though it wasn't directed at them it was directed at me but they they still got offended by it's because racism's a no-no like you just don't get racist and you just don't don't do that sort of stuff and as far as like I was mad at him anyways for missing weight but I didn't really care because I wanted to fight so I took the fire and stuff but I thought I could just let him know that you know what I mean I don't like hiding my suppressing my feelings too much you know so so I let him know and then he said that and it just literally caught me by surprise and

but I was thinking to myself like if I slap him now I'll only get one slapping you know and then before everybody breaks it up or or something and then the fight's going to be called off. I went in there, I'm thinking, look, I'm going to fight this guy and I'm going to make himself for 14 minutes. When I make himself for 14 minutes, I didn't get him when I want to get him. And that's exactly how the fight played out. You could ask my brother or Jake Shields, that's what I said to them. And they were like, no, man, look, if he gives you the opportunity to take it. And I was like, look, I'm going to work towards the finish. I'm going to take every opportunity he gives me. But when I feel like he's broken, I'm going to, I'm going to slow down

and just make, I'm longer out for him. He's going to give me submissions. He's going to want a way out. I'm not going to take it. He's going to give me a knockouts. He's going to want a way out. I'm not going to take it. I'm just going to beat him up until when I, when I've had enough, I'm going to submit him. And to be honest, I had enough. It's amazing you say you did that because, you know, that is kind of like the ultimate revenge right there. Not only did you beat him, but you beat him pretty severely for, you know, for two rounds and several minutes. And you could have, you know, you could have cruised a victory, but then you put him away. I mean, again, we'd like those to never be said in the first place and you'd hope that he learned something from this

to never say something that horrific again. But do you feel like that was kind of the best revenge to go out there and beat him the way you did and you get the contract? And I'd imagine, and I don't know this for sure, but I'd imagine it's going to be real hard for him to get, you know, attention from other promotions. He didn't get to the UFC. I don't know if he'll ever get in the UFC. But, you know, now he's going to be branded for what he said.

And we've got to be honest about that. Yeah, off the game being up like that. you don't want to fight anyways, period. And then he didn't want to fight, no one's going to want to take him. Like, nobody, you can't brand that. You can't, you can't, uh, at end of the sport is a business. Yeah, you can be a good fight and whatnot. But he's that's so unmarketerable.

Like no one's going to want to, like people are going to want to tune into it for him to get beaten up. But then again, people are not going to want to give opportunities to a person like that, you know? Yeah, absolutely. You know, to go out there, though, and have that kind of performance. I mean, again, you know, I think you were a guy. a lot of people would look at anyways and said, hey, here's a guy who will make the way into the UFC, but to go out there, get that attention.

And again, you know, get the winning way you did. I mean, it had to feel good, right? Like, I'm not sitting there saying, like, you were emotionally cheering. I mean, you had to feel good. You got to, you got to serve it to him. No, no, I felt, it does this. It's like I said, the best word to describe is relief.

Like, it's all my work that I've been putting in, and it feels good, man. I'm a UFC fighter now. Like, it's crazy. Like, honestly, like, there was no blueprint for me anywhere to, okay, this is how you do it, this is how you're going to fight.

I did so many things wrong. So many things wrong coming up on this journey and I had to figure out on the job, on the flight, how to do all of this, you know? And I had a brother that was looking up to me and following my footsteps too, so it made it that much harder. So I had to make sure I made the right ones.

And obviously, if you don't have a blueprint, you feel kind of lost at times. And the fact I'm in the UFC is just a great feeling. But at the same time, like, I'm not getting carried away. I'm in the UFC while like I made it like no like I expect to be here my goal is the title you know and then after the title was to defend it you know it's not like oh I'm in the UFC and that's here my job's done my job just began you know like it's just started yeah I love that attitude and one thing you know I had read a couple interviews with you before the fight and another one of the many you know the multitude of reasons his comment bothered me was because I know one thing you've really taken pride in is you want to be a good example you know, for Afghanistan and for people at home, you know, to give them something to root for, give them something to cheer for.

Again, there's only been a handful of fighters coming out of Afghanistan. I know, you know, C.R. Baja Zadr. Nazarq Pras. There's a couple guys. And I've actually interviewed them and talked about that before about, you know, giving people some hope, giving people something to root for it. And I know that's been a big part of year. Because I know you didn't, I know you didn't actually grow up. You left and you moved to England. I think you're like, you said you're like five or six years old, right? Yeah, but like, look, I was. in that same situation. I was one of the lucky ones that was able to get out. I could be those kids right now.

So for them to see like, yo, he got out and he's now representing us, for me, it's priceless. Honestly, even if I didn't wanna represent that, I would represent it by default because that's who I am, that's where I'm from. I can't hide it, you know? That's in my blood. So like, especially like these people,

they don't, like if you see how, you saw some of the videos and stuff, people literally jumping on planes on the aircraft and then they're falling off from the sky. Like these are real people. They're falling down. Like these videos went viral. Like, and it's like, that's the desperation over there for people to get out. And the fact that I was lucky enough to get out and not make anything of myself will almost feel like, to me, like, to me, like, disrespectful to them, you know?

So I carry their hopes and dreams on my back. And it was a shame I couldn't carry the flag with me because it's not recognized apparently by, I don't know, some issues. Apparently the flag is not officially recognized now. But yeah, but I'll always be, I'll be the flag. I'll be the flag in human form, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Well, I know that. And all the other Afghan fighters are there, you know, they all do them a great job.

Yeah, well, I know for a fact, I mean, I've talked to so many fighters over the years that representation matters. I mean, it does. If you are from a certain place and you see somebody from your area and find success, that's inspiring. I mean, that's just the reality. Representation matters. there's going to be a kid somewhere.

He's going to, you know, some kids are going to hear about UFC. Some kids are going to hear about MMA, you know, from Afghanistan, and they're going to see you and say, oh, he did it. Javid did it. He's from here. Now, I could do it. Like, that matters. I don't think people who, I don't think people like, you know, again, I'm from the U.S.

So, you know, we're kind of just, we're kind of so used to it. But you don't know how much that could mean to a kid saying, oh, my gosh, look what he did. And he's from here. Exactly. And if he, and if I can do that. to one person, I've done a great job. But even more so than that,

like it doesn't have to inspire somebody to, to fight and whatnot and stuff. It could be any field they choose to do. And also, just the simple fact that it makes them smile and it makes them think like, this guy's thinking about us and he's represented us on a global stage like we are not forgotten. These things are other things that really matter, you know?

Because some of them, sometimes there's no opportunity in that place and even if they want to do something, they can't. And that's the sad reality. And for this is why everybody was so upset about this guy's comment, because like how can you say something like that? Like clearly, if that's what you think, what else do you think about other people and other races, you know, and you forget, like, there are people out there that are somewhat hopeless.

You know, they are. Unfortunately, that is the case. But you just have to make sure you represent them in a good light and make them feel like they are important. Absolutely, absolutely. I think that's amazing because, again, that's putting a lot of weight on your shoulders, Javid. I mean, let's be honest.

You know, you're going into an opportunity where you're trying to live your own dream, to make it to the UFC, to get a contract, all those. And, you know, again, you've got a guy in front of you've got a beat to do that. To put all that, the weight on your shoulders, and handle it the way you have is pretty amazing. I know it's not why you're doing it for, you know, congratulations or for me to say these things,

but it is amazing you can handle it because it is a lot of weight on your shoulders to handle as a young guy. You know what I mean? Like that's a lot of weight to say, hey, I want to represent my country. I want to represent my people. I want to give them something to be inspired by on top of everything else.

So that's pretty amazing, man. I got to be honest. Yeah, I really appreciate that, man. I'm just trying to, look,

I'm not the best person in the world. I'm not the best role model and whatever, but I feel like I have a platform now. And, and even if I didn't probably, I didn't even start off doing this. fighting thing because I wanted to represent my people. I want to be honest with you. I like to fight. I like to train. I wanted to be an athlete. I was very athletic. I can do pretty much all

sports, you know. But then when you realize and you get older, like, man, there's more to life than just it being about yourself, you know, you can help people. You can represent them. And that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to be a good ambassador for these people. and I just want to represent them, you know. They don't have much, and I just want to help them out and stuff. And it is pressure, it is whatever, but, like, it's necessary. It has to be done, you know? You can't ignore.

Anyways, I can't. I can't ignore it, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Let me ask you, now that you are into UFC and now you've officially made it here, I know you train, of course, you know, primarily you've trained out of England in the past, but I know you were over in the U.S. working. Jake Shields, who is a friend of mine, has been speaking your praise, this nonstop for the past few days.

He also told me, make sure to mention to you that your brother is going to probably join you in the UFC soon enough. He's also another undefeated fighter coming up, and he's going to make waves as well. But now that the UFC journey is complete, let's say, you're in the UFC. What are your training plans? Are you going to spend more time into states working at Extreme Couture with Jake and those guys? Are you going to be back home in England?

Like, what are you going to do now that you've gotten this contract? Do you have any idea what your training schedule is going to look like? Yeah, I'm trying to stay and base out of him. Vegas because this is where all the high level guys are, you know. I feel like I'll be at a disadvantage if I train anywhere else. But here, I'm in the big league now. Now there's no messing around and fighting anyways. But I just need to be able to get the training from the people that have been there

and done that, you know, and what better plays than Vegas and Jake Schills and stuff. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And again, your brother, it sounds like he's going to be joining you in the UFC pretty soon. Honestly, man, that guy, he's a very, very special talent. He's still young and he's ready. He's ready for the UFC now. It's just about them with the UFC picking him up

and they need to pick him up soon because everybody else are going to be interested, especially after knowing me and then automatically the attention is going to go to my brother. But if you guys want to know how good I am and stuff, that's because he's my main training partner. And if you want to know why I'm so confident fighting there because he's my main training partner.

And I know if I can do the things I can do to him, I can do them to most people because I know how much I struggle with him and I know how much other high-level guys struggle with him. You can pretty much ask anyone that I've trained with him. They're just like, who the hell is this guy? Like, he is very, very good. He's very, very good.

And he's got a lot to learn. Don't get twisted. He's got a lot to learn, but he is a special talent and he will be there. And he's undefeated as well. Like I said, he does many things better than me. I thought it's just to have their little experience over him. Yeah, of course. Now, with that being said, we have seen a lot of the people from the Contender series kind of making the quick turnaround to fight.

You had a pretty dominant performance outside of maybe your hands being sore from hitting him so many times in the fight. I would assume you're pretty healthy. Now, you've got a great team, great management team, but give me an idea, like, in a perfect world, like, how quickly would you want to make your UFC debut? Look, I trained that morning. After I fought this guy, the next morning, I got no sleep, and I was just like, I just want to train. And I got some training in with Jake and my brother and stuff. And even today, I wanted to spot, but my brother was like, no, man, like, you need to chill. I had a long camp, you know. But again, like, this is what I do. I'm a fighter.

I trains. I'm dedicated to my craft. And I'd like to fight as soon as possible. But I don't really, I don't have any injuries and stuff. But the only issue is, I think the cards are all booked up. But if I can get a fight at end of this year, I'll be more than happy. I'll jump on that straight away. if not, then as soon as I can, to be honest with you, I'm good to...

Absolutely. Well, Javid again, congratulations, man. Like I said, you were a prospect to watch before the contender series. Congratulations on the way a contender series. And got to be honest, as a journalist, my job is to be unbiased. And, you know, I treat everybody the same. Not going to lie. I was written for you to win.

After what happened, I was just like, I want to see this guy succeed. because I do not want to see another guy like that to get any kind of success after what he did and I was like, good, this is like, this is karma serving justice right here. Yeah, I appreciate that, man. I'm very happy that you enjoyed the performance and I hope, and I know I'll keep this up, to be honest with you.

I know even in this fight, I didn't get to show what I can really do, you know, this one was just like me, me letting this guy have it and the story was about the comment he made and whatnot. In terms of my skill and stuff, I've got so much more to show. Like, I just can't wait. And especially now that I'm here, I realize how much I have to learn, you know,

like there's so much I don't know. So imagine how good I can get, you know, that's why I'm grateful. And I'm like, I'm just going to stop everything. And I'm just going to train out here in Vegas full time if I can. Absolutely. Well, Javidia, and congratulations on the win. Enjoy, and it sounds like you're already trained,

but enjoy a little bit of a celebration here. Congratulations again, again, in the UFC. And thank you so much for taking the time for me today. I definitely appreciate it. I appreciate you, man.

Thanks so much. All right. Talk soon, okay? All right, brother. Thank you, Damon. It is the first UFC fight week for this man, Bruno Sousa, who will make his Octagon debut

this Saturday, UFC 28 against Melsik Baggdesarian. Bruno, thank you for the time, especially so close to the fight. It must be a whirlwind where you're at right now. How are you? This last week is, being crazy, crazy, my man. We got the fight on the Friday, so we are cutting weight training

and doing the medicals as I was telling you enough. But I'm not complaining. That's what I always ask in my life. And here we are. And if it happens now, this is the first one. It's just going to get easier and easier after this, right? Yeah, for sure. I think, I don't know if you get easier, but at least I think I'm going to get used to. Exactly. So, I mean, obviously, a big week for you. Congratulations on getting the call. You get to make your UFC debut on this massive card at Madison Square Garden. One of the biggest cards of the year, man. What are you feeling right now? Nerves, excitement. Have you even had time to think about it? Like, how would you describe it? Actually, I didn't have time to think about it. But it's one thing that I always ask it for, right? The biggest stage, the biggest fight, the biggest everything, you know? And does it get a debut doesn't get any bigger than that, you know? MSG, as you said, one of the biggest card of the year. It looks perfect for me. That's what I always ask it for.

So how did this happen? You were obviously knocking on the door with the wind streak and everything you've done, but you found out on Friday about this opportunity. How did you get the news that you were even an option here? Was it like a smooth thing like you're in? Or was it like, hey, you might be in. I'll call you back. Like, how did it all work?

Zero smooth. Jason He Jason has a My manager He called me And like hey Can you make weight

Next Friday I'm like yes I don't know I'm fighting I don't know Where is it He just asked if I can make weight Once I say yes

He was like Okay so you're fighting Malsay MSG I'm like okay So that's it You know And then I start getting ready

Freaking out a little bit In the beginning Right Because of course we need to enjoy the moment that was really happy. But then we settle and we still have to fight. That's like get signed to the UFC is not the end of the process. It's just the beginning of it.

So how did you how did you celebrate and how long did you celebrate for before it was time to put it down and go to work? We didn't, we didn't have. I could not celebrate the way that I want you with a good wine, with a good pizza, you know. But me and my wife, we worked so hard for this. So we were really happy like trying to figure out and like trying to understand what was going on and all like something that we are we move it to to you last exactly for that. And it's happening. You know, after two years and a half that we move it, it's happening now. So it was a little bit like weird, I would say, but good, you know, in a good way. What was how did your wife find out? Did you call her afterwards? Was she there when when you found out? The story is so funny.

Friday, it was, I teach in the Machida Karate Academy, right? So Friday was the Halloween. So I was dressed up as the, as the tiger from the poo. You know? Or Tiger? Tigger from Winnie the Pooh? Yeah, Winnie the Pooh. So I was dressed up like that.

My wife was training. We were having fun that day. So I just see, I see, I see the Jason, Jason, phone number calling me through FaceTime. I was teaching my phone. My phone was far. I was like, Shenzel, please take care of the class because I have to call. I have to answer this call. So I answered. I'm dressing up like to get. And you was like, oh, I like your outfit. I'm like, yeah. That's not better way of it. I forgot to take a picture of it. We shoot. Anyway, but then my wife was training and I go there. I was like, hey, I just accepted fight. I don't know. I'm like, we, we, we, we, we,

just we just said that the deal is done after we we signed the contract right so I didn't have the contract at the time so I was like just as up the fight we might be fighting next next Saturday then she was really happy then we started freaking out a little bit so how did you get through the rest of the class with this kind of hanging over your head I did it I did it she's took care of the class I went to the office I started calling the my nutrition is chicon so we can do the the wake up and everything is moot you know so I didn't, I didn't go through the class. Oh, man.

As Tigger, I, I'd love to talk to Jason House about his reaction when you answered the phone and he saw you in the costume. So, so you've been on it, you've been on a great role, man. And from what I understand, you know, you mentioned the machitas. You've done karate your whole life with the machitas. But from what I understand and correct me if I'm wrong, it was Leoto who helped kind of nudge you in the direction of transitioning to mixed martial arts. Like, how did that all happen?

What did Lioto say to kind of push you in that direction? Like, I'm one of the luckiest guy in the planet, right? Can you imagine your biggest, the guy that you look for? And usually it's far from you. And I have this guy on my side, right, that I can call anytime. And I can, you know, like just really, really good relationship. When I move it to you, as he gave me all support, me, or what we were. living in his house, you know. So, and I follow his career since the beginning. The nice story is that

when he did his first fight in Japan, for example, he went back to Belain, the city that we are from, and he brought the VHS of the fight so we can watch. So he went to my house. We watched the fight, you know, so I watched it since the first fight. And when you see someone being so successful, In your side, like, oh, he's just like me. I know him. You know, you feel that, okay, I'm capable of. If he can do, I can do. You know, we come from the same gym.

We train the same thing. And the best thing of them, the machitas, they never underwent. They was like, no, go train you. Go train jiu-tzee, go train this. Since I'm like, I'm talking about when I was 10 years old, 11 years old. You know, I started training with then when I was four years old, only karate. So they've been with me. whole path. And when I did the, the, the transition to the MMA, they were giving some advice,

yes, but they were already living here and I was in Berlin. So I did a little bit by myself with Master Quix that it's in my corner this time. And I moved here. They work with me. And then I started training to Chad George and everybody from CMMA. Al Zay Diaz that's also my corner. But they are always with me. I'm always asking for them, right? But in the other hand, I always look for my things too, you know. It's not because working for Leotro that's probably going to work for me. Maybe, but me and Leotro have this thing that we call sometimes. They're like, hey, I'm trying this thing.

Do you think it's work? And then it's not working for me, but it's for you. It's okay. You know, we have this exchange of my whole life and daily, I would say, you know. So it's something that's really amazing if you look from the outside. For me, inside, just normal. But like, if I go outside and look for the situation, I'm like, dude, that's amazing. That is amazing.

So when did you, you said 10 or 11, you started MMA or was it a little bit after that? No, I started training in MMA. Because Liotr used to train, he used to have his training, right, at the gym. And in my vacations of the school, summer school and everything, I used to go and train him for Frank. in the same training, but on the side, right? We used to do the same things that they were doing, but on the side. We were playing at the time.

Like, you're just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's play. So we used to spend the whole July there, you know. Then after I was starting to grow up 14 years old, 15 years old, I started to make friends on the MMA world. That is a friend of my Altai, that's really important on that. That I start training with them, MMA, all the guys that.

I used to fight and the thing starts to get more serious, I start to feel like, okay, maybe I want to do this with 15 years old. And it's not the best example, but sometimes I used to skip school to go train because it was the same time, you know. My mom, my mom forgive me nowadays. But not all the time. But every time that I could, I would go to MMA, you know, train. After I turned like 18 years old, I start training for. real and I did my debut with 20. Oh, wow. So how long, so it seemed like you were pretty comfortable with the move. I know MMA, you know, especially coming from a karate background, it can be a little

humbling, right? Like you sit there and you get in there, you get taken down, you get submitted and all that stuff. Like how long, like when did you start to feel completely comfortable with the move to MMA that you, that this is what you were going to do? Yeah, great, great, great, great question. Actually, I just start to feel comfortable through fightsable. I was fighting already with, I would say, five, six, seven fights, but I didn't feel comfortable with that. It's still like with my roots of the karate too strong. But nowadays, the way that I train, the way that everything is around, I feel completely comfortable with the transition to MMA. Karate to MMA is really hard.

If you can translate good, it's amazing. But it's hard to translate like real good. Not everybody can do this transition, you know. It's really hard. What part of your game would you say is improve the most? Like when you look back at where you started to where you're at now and you think about your skills and where you were then to where you're at now, like what are you most proud of?

Yeah, like definitely everything. I will give you a specific answer. But like, for example, there's striking. I hadn't got a striking, but it was too karate. Now I feel that I'm more comfortable to be on the pocket, to move back if I have to, to be inside if I have to. But definitely, definitely the wrestling board, the grappling port, you know, like the Jiu-Gita have been training for a while,

so I'm pretty comfortable with that. But the wrestling port, the take down defense, even though offensive sometimes, I feel that did a jump, you know. And now look at you. About to make the walk at MSG, such a rich, history of combat sports, some of the biggest fights of all time have taken place in that building. Have you been a guy that has been sort of in tune with the history of that building and some of the big fights that have happened there? Yes, for sure. Everybody fought there, right?

We were talking about boxing back in the days. So you have Ali, you have Tyson. Everybody fought there. It's amazing to fight there too. UFC has pretty great shows there. The Conno McGreg was double champ there, if I'm not wrong, right? For me, the best performers of a fighter in a title, title fight, you know? Like, so it's a magical place, and I hope the magic is for me next Saturday. What does it mean to you to, I mean, most, most fighters in your position are making their debuts at the apex. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not the same. Like, it's maybe 50, 60, 100 people in there.

We see them every Saturday. There's nothing really truly special about it watching on TV at this point. But to make your debut and fight at Madison Square Garden, like, what does that mean to you? It means, like, as I said in the beginning, doesn't get any bigger than that. And that's what I always ask it for, you know? So in my mind, it's like, okay, you always ask it for this. So take it. Let's see now.

You know, like, so you want that, right? So now let's see. What are you capable of, you know? So it's also a test for myself. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm asking for it. Now I'll improve myself that I can handle it. Do you prefer it this way, like making your debut on like eight days notice? Like you said, you haven't even had time to really think about anything.

You just go, go, go, go, go. You can't overthink. You can't sit there and obsess about the opponent or anything like that. Is it almost better this way that you can just go in there and fight? Yeah, you're not wrong. Funny story. I always like a short notice, like three weeks. One week short notice is too short.

But I think I actually prefer like that. Maybe if I had like one more week, it would be smoother. But definitely, I like the short notice because, as you said, you don't overthink. You're just like, okay, I'm going to do this. If it works, if it doesn't work, doesn't work, you know, and that's it. Do you know a lot about your opponent? I know you're focused on yourself and making weight and just getting in there and fighting and doing your thing.

But do you know a lot about your opponent? Yeah, we definitely watched him. He's a really good kickboxer, you know. He has a nice style. And I was saying that it kind of looked like more of combat style. You know, he comes to kickboxing and comes to the karate. And let's see which style are going to be the best one. There is not a better place to do this, if not in MMA, in the UFC.

But, yeah, we definitely watch him. And we started, we had time to do it. So how do we get this thing done? How do we set the table for what you hope will be a long, successful UFC career? I don't want to say much, but I think if I go there and put my game on it, nothing that, no surprise, just put what I, just be myself and do what I usually do. I think we can be successful on this fight. And look at the division you have inserted yourself into.

the UFC's featherweight division is probably, in my opinion, the most underrated division in the sport right now. People talk about lightweight and bantam weight. Featherweight is super deep too. Some of these matchups that you could be looking forward to. I mean, I know you're not looking past Saturday, but you got to be thinking a little bit like, oh, man, like imagine if I fight this guy or this guy, you must be dancing a little bit. I'm definitely not looking fast Saturday, but a lot of a lot of fight comes in mind, you know, like, I'm like, ooh, it would be amazing if I fight this guy. Oh, this other guy I would do this game plan, you know, like, but, but that's, that's something that I'm doing my whole life, you know. I was telling my wife the other day, I was like, dude, I already did that.

In my mind, I'm doing this since I'm 13 years old. I'm walking to the octagon since I'm 13 years old. So, of course, it's different when it's real. But I always did that in my mind. So now it's just, just the time to do it for real. What's the dream fight? What's the I made it fight? Like, you know I made it if I get to fight this person. No trash talk.

Good question. Legit. Definitely Max Holloway. I knew you're going to say that. Because, dude, he's output on the striking and my output on the strike and I think just going to be a crazy fight, you know. Awesome, Bruno. Well, we're looking forward to it. I know you got a million things going on.

So I will let you go and take care of those things. Looking forward to the fight on Saturday. Congratulations on the call. We'll see you making that walk at the world's most famous arena, my man. Thank you very much. Hope you guys are tuned. Let's go. There you have, great stuff from Bruno Sousa, Javid Basharat,

and thank you to Dame Martin for the assist on that one, into Andre Petroski. Great stuff from him. The tough stories, especially the pimple-popping story with Mitch Raposo. Just disgusting and insane and entertaining all at the same time. Thanks for checking up the show. I will, you know what, I'm going to go ahead. I don't normally do this, but I'm going to go ahead and release two names

who will be joining the show next week. One is 100% since I already talked to him. Aaron Pico. join us ahead of his Bellator 271 fight versus Justin Gonzalez. That is a sick fight. Really looking forward to that one. And also, also competing on that card, Valerie Lareda will join us as well as she prepares to try to get back in the win column next Friday against Taylor Turner. But until then, everybody, thank you once again for checking out the program. We'll see you next week right here on We Got Next.