MMA Fighting - We Got Next | Pearl Gonzalez, Eryk Anders & Cody Brundage

Episode Date: March 17, 2022

This week on We Got Next, Pearl Gonzalez (6:41) joins the program to discuss her fighting future, diving into a broadcasting career, what she would do if she saw Britain Hart on the street, if she would return to BKFC, Amanda Serrano headlining MSG, who Jake Paul should actually fight in the UFC, and gives context to her Tweet about the MMA media. UFC middleweight Eryk Anders (58:14) shares the gory details of the foot injury he suffered this past weekend due to a live chainsaw, what happened after, and when he plans to return to the octagon. Finally, Cody Brundage (1:08:06) recaps his submission win over Dalcha Lungiambula this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 50, talks overcoming the storm, referee Mark Smith allowing the fight to continue, taking steps to overcoming self-doubt, quieting the narrative from media members who labeled him as a quitter, the special armband the UFC created for him in support of his daughter, and more. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Cudulian 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 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 Cudulian 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. Buddy and welcome to a brand new edition we got next here on MMAfighting.com. I am Mike Heck.

Hope you're all having a wonderful week. It's a very busy week in the world of combat sports and in mixed martial arts. More important than anything else. This deserves to be said. This deserves to be the spotlight. Our very own. E. Casey Liden is getting ready to make his mixed martial arts debut on Saturday night in California.

And I'm so proud of this dude. I really am. So you're not going to be seeing him a lot on the programming this week from BTL on because the man has a fight to prepare for. We should all give Casey in his baddest stash in MMA media. I mean, it's official now. He does have the baddestash in MMA media that I think it's important he gets all of our support. We'll be rooting for him.

And we're trying to figure out how we're going to stream and air and keep you all updated on his fight. So details to follow. We will figure it out on MMAFinding.com. UFC is back in London on Saturday. UFC London, headlined by Alexander Volkov taking on Tom Aspinall. It's a very interesting card. It'd be nice to see the London fans getting back after it. You know they bring the heat, they bring the passion.

So it should be a fun event. And it's even more fun that the prelims kick off at 1 p.m. Eastern. And the main cards at 4 p.m. Eastern. We're going to be wrapped and packed by like 8.30 Eastern. This is amazing. A Saturday night where we can actually do stuff. I'm very excited for that. I'm actually going to play some golf Sunday morning.

AK and I, my best friend and I, are probably going to record on to the next one Saturday night. So we don't have to do it on Sunday morning. I mean, this is a glorious thing. I wish the UFC would do more of these. I understand it's a logistical and a geographical thing. But, I mean, you want to go to London once a month. I'm all for it. All for it for these early start times.

So looking very much forward to that. Much like I am looking forward to this show. We get some interesting conversations. So let's run down the lineup. And we'll get to our first interview. Rapping us up, we're going to talk to Cody Brundage, a tremendous come-from-behinds submission win over Dulce La Gimbula this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 50. He was in big trouble.

He looked like he was on the way to getting finished. He overcomes it. Jumps a super tight and nasty guillotine. gets the tap, gets his first UFC victory, gets a bonus, and at the same time he proves some folks wrong, prove some narrative builders wrong. And it was a really good performance. And Cody and I have been conversing

and doing these interviews for a long time now since he was really early in his pro career, and now he's got his first UFC win, and I'm very excited to have that kind of a conversation with him. A lot going on in his life. So we'll talk about that and the big win and much more. You may have heard, you may have seen the story, but Eric Anders, UFC middleweight contender, went one-on-one with a live chainsaw, lost the battle, but didn't lose the war.

It could have been a lot worse. You'll hear the whole story, but you probably saw the photos on Instagram this past Friday. His foot all just sort of cut up and mangled. You can kind of see the inside. of it, the white meat of it all. It was just nasty, but it could have been much worse hearing the story. Eric Anders joins us for about 10 minutes to discuss what happened, answering all my questions, and apparently he's good to go because apparently he's got a fight lined up that he signed before the accident happened, and he is going onwards and upwards to that fight in May.

So this thing is not going to slow him down at all. We'll get the details from, you boy. Eric Anders coming up a little bit later on, but first, it's been a minute since I have spoken with Pearl Gonzalez. Pearl and I have had many of conversation over the years. I think she's one of the sharper minds in the sports of MMA. We talk, you know, we would talk about her fights and all this stuff, but she's, she's always had a good mind for, for the game, for the analytics of the sport. And she's getting an opportunity to, to sort of spread those wings and show that side of her.

She's doing a lot of stuff for UFC Fight Pass, doing a lot of stuff for extra rounds on UFC Fight Pass with T.J. DeSantis, a really good dude. Worked with TJ for a cup of coffee over on the Anakin Florian podcast before I came over to M&A fighting. But she's doing a lot of stuff

for UFC pay-per-view events. She's been on the road for Dana White's looking for a fight. And as far as her fighting career goes, not sure where she's going to go. She doesn't really have to go anywhere, but if the right thing comes along, she's going to jump all over it. But Pearl and I have been trying to get something set up for a couple of months now.

And earlier this week, we were able to line up a time. We hit record and we talked about a million things. We just hit record and went after it. And that's what you're going to hear. It's around 50 minutes, but we talk about anything and everything. So hope you guys will enjoy that conversation again. I think Pearl is one of the sharp.

dark minds in this sport. Never really got enough credit for that. And hopefully through the work that she's doing now, after listening to this conversation, you will kind of get the same glimpse of that that I've had for years now since probably like 2016, 2016, when I first started interviewing her. So you get to hear that conversation.

We're going to take a short break, short break, hear from some of our great sponsors. And then you'll hear that conversation with Pearl Gonzalez us coming up next on We Got Next. Thank you for listening. We'll see you next week on the show. Enjoy the program and enjoy everything we got coming up this weekend. Casey, you're the man.

Get it done, son. 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 slash Black Friday. IKEA, bring home to life. We know you love the thought of a vacation to Europe, but this time, why not look a little further?

To Dubai, a city that everyone talks about and has absolutely everything you could want from a vacation destination. From world-class hotels, record-breaking skyscrapers, and epic desert adventures. to museums that showcase the future, not just the past. Choose from 14 flights per week between Canada and Dubai. Book on emirates.ca today. Welcome back to the Shytown Princess herself. Pearl Gonzalez has a lot going on since we last spoke, so I felt it was fitting to get her back on here, discuss those things.

She might be one of the busiest people in combat sports these days. She's traveling all over the place. She's got a million things going on. Pearl, it's great to see you again. How are you? I am amazing Mike. Thank you so much for having me on. Absolutely. So like I said, you are super busy right now. I want to go back a little ways because you were in Kansas City for that FAC events, the looking for a fight car with Dana White. And I was blown away by like how many people were at that event. I mean, it was just, it was unbelievable.

And I know you did some stuff for 271 and 272, a lot of stuff for UFC Fight Pass. How are you enjoying just hitting the road a bit more, getting to spread the, analyst wings a little bit more so to speak. Oh my gosh. As far as traveling all around, this has been my goal for probably the last 15 years is to travel as much and often as I can. So I absolutely love the travel. I am like late all the time. So I'm very challenged when it comes to making my flight and those things. And so like my boss got at me not too long ago. So I've been like really on point with it. Like I have to be there. But the commentary world, the analysts work like this is a dream job that I had absolutely no idea was a dream.

If you would have asked me about this two years ago, I would have said you were crazy. And I just kind of found my way in. Big shout out to T.J. DeSantis, who kind of was the one that was during an interview for Invicta, actually, was like, I cannot wait to see you on this side. And I looked down like, what are you talking about? He's like, you're going to be great for analysts and commentary. And I thought he was crazy. But he actually called me for, I come. and ask me, hey, there's an open spot for icon for commentary. You're amazing. I think you should try.

And I was like, all right. I was in a really hard place in my life at this time. And I was like, okay, I was really open to opportunities and new things. And man, I haven't looked back since. And it's just been so cool. It's been kind of, it's very different. I have a whole new respect for the athletes for the sport itself. As a fighter, you know, you're so focused on yourself, your skill.

your team, your training, the opponents in front of you, and you go in and you do your job, and you have to be. You have to absolutely be 100% focused on these things. But from the other side, there are so many people like I'm busy. I can't imagine with the like the production team behind the UFC or even like someone like yourself that has to follow, not just the UFC, but all these other platforms and promotions. Like you must, you guys never sleep. The work is constant.

It's nonstop. It's extremely exciting. It's so fun to study these athletes to hear their stories. And for me, I believe that this is one of my callings and one of my duties as a vet in the sport, as a lifelong martial artist to help the athletes now that I have this platform to help them get their story on this platform, to help showcase their hard work and just recognize them. I think that for me as a fighter, you know, I didn't always feel like I got that. So I had to get crazy and creative and make.

that happen for myself. And now that I have this platform and these tools, I can use my creativity and help some up and coming and help the athletes. You mentioned, like, if someone asked you about this two years ago, you would have been like, nah, this probably wasn't going to be the path I was taking, but you seem to be enjoying it more. And TJ saw something in you that maybe you didn't see in yourself at the time. When did you know that, you know what? Because you see fighters getting like guest commentary rules all the time. And they do it like once or twice. And maybe they sprinkle them in and out once in a while, but you seem to like just be all in on this, like get as many of these reps in as possible. Like when did you know, you know what? This isn't just like a one time thing for me.

This is something I want to continue to do. So my first commentary job and I can, I got to go shopping, find a dress, get my hair done, like do my makeup. And I was like, oh my God, I love this. And even today, I'm like, holy shit, I never knew I was this big of a diva because like eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, like nails, everything. I love it. I really do it. It's a lot of work. It's like 10 hours a week of maintenance just to look like I do. And then the shopping for the dresses and looking for the outfits. I've always loved fashion. I've always loved dressing up.

I just was always, I've also been a tomboy my whole life and an athlete. And so I think that after that first event, I was like, it was so nerve-wracking. It was scary to speak. And then I did it. And it was, I did okay. And even T.J. was very impressed. And the promoter at the time and Dean Toul, the matchmaker, they were like staring at me as I was doing my first opening and I'm like oh shit I really got to do

good and I did I ended up killing it I was like oh man one thing that I am not afraid of or intimidated by is a camera I love the camera and when I look at my life and look back at it my aunt who's been a model for 25 years who makes my way in outfits who makes my fight outfits has been a part of my entire amateur and professional fighting career she has kind of groomed me for TV she sent me to to acting classes when I was young. She had me doing photo shoots when I was like seven. And she would have me practice in the mirror. And we would fight constantly, especially in my fight career,

because she'd be like, put makeup on. I'm not fucking wearing makeup. I'm an athlete. I'm a fighter. I'm not just put a little. And I fight. I still fight. But I would fight her all the time.

And now I'm like, holy smoke. She groomed me for TV. And I had no idea. So when it comes to the camera and speaking, I have no problem. I love, I thrive in those challenges. And then when I look at my work, right, as an athlete, I am not satisfied with where I'm at in my career and the performances I've had, the record. And there's still some fights left in me that I would like to have at some point. But when I look at my training and all of the things, I've traveled the world, like alone in Thailand to Thailand, to Japan, to train, to meet these instructors that have been teaching for 15 years.

and hear their story, learn the culture. Like, I absolutely love mixed martial arts. It is very dear to my heart. And I get to kind of showcase, I never took it easy in training. I went to training. And if I didn't understand, I was asking you why and asking why until I understood. So now when I hear myself speak, when I break down fights, I understand what all this training and teachings were for for me to help kind of break

down the fights for the people. I feel like that FAC card was kind of perfect for you because we get to see guys like Josh Frempt and Isaac Dolgarian who not a lot of people knew like they weren't household names but they get an opportunity on a big stage to fight in front of Dana and we get to learn a little bit more about them like Isaac Delgarian story he's a freaking beekeeper which I had no idea like there's all these crazy things in his life and then we see like some of these vets like Eduardo Dantis goes out there and has one of the most sensational knockouts we'll see probably the entire year and he ends up not getting a contract. So I'm curious just because you were there

and you felt the buzz in that arena, which like I said, there's a ton of people there. When Dantus didn't get a contract, were you surprised by that? Because this is a former Bellator World Champion. He has this incredible finish and then he doesn't get a contract. You know, I don't know. I believe at this point where the fight game is, he's going to have an opportunity. And maybe it wasn't that particular one with the Nelke boys with looking for a fight, but there's the Dana White Contender series coming. They need last minute replacements all the time. Like this is the best time to be active and to be a fighter ever, ever in the, in the

history of the sport because of the amount of opportunities that are presenting themselves. So I think that I hope he doesn't get down. You know, they were probably looking for a particular look and vibe for the Nelke boys, because you got to add in the Nelk Boys. And that card was insane. I remember like we were perfectly set up kind of where the beginning of the, the floor was and for extra rounds. And like, I was like, holy shit, this feels like a UFC.

The lighting, the way that they had that it was just so many people. There were so many Nelke boy fans there. It was so cool to kind of watch. And even interesting, like when Dana came through, like his whole entourage came and you just feel like this wave of energy as he walks past. And then the Nelke boys and they had lying like people would just went crazy. And then the fights, right? And then the fights happened and you have these big knockouts like that knockout.

where the crowd was nuts. It was, it felt like a UFC. It was, it was in Kansas City. Like, who the hell is in Kansas City? It looks like January, you know? So it was, it was bad ass. It was so cool. It was so cool. Then you got to do some, some preview stuff for, for 271 and 272. So you're in Houston for 271, and we saw some of the videos of the Cal and Kater stuff was hilarious. And then, you know, out in Vegas for 272 with, with Colby and Mazadol and all that. Like, what were those fight weeks like for you? Now that you're in this new role, you're doing, and all these different things. I mean, 272, there was a lot of meat on that bone with Mazadol and Covington.

And just to be a part of that entire thing, what was that experience like for you? It's amazing. We, so Extra Rounds was the podcast is, is who I am working for. We started this podcast last, I believe they started before me. I came in about 40 episodes in last year. And we were a podcast, a mobile podcast from home that was hoping to eventually go live. well, all in a year, I came in and maybe like 20, 30 shows later, we were already preparing to go live. And we started our first live show last July.

And since now we travel with all of the pay-per-views. And we do a pre-fight show beginning of the week, and then we do a pre-and-post fight day. We're at the venue. We're in the concourse. So we get to be around the fans. We got speakers. So you can hear us. We got cameras.

It's a very interesting setup because we actually get to interact with the fans. And it is, it's really amazing, but it's also challenging in the sense like when you have like a big fan favorite, for instance, like Jorge Mazviro, who doesn't do well, the fans are pissed. They're coming out. They're upset. They're mad. They're screaming. You know, they're, they want to argue about it. They want to fight about it. I think that the fight that was probably worse was the Moreno, Brandon Moreno, um, Figero fight because there was so many Brandon Moreno fans in California. And they were in the fight was so close. Like, they were with us. They were so mad at that decision. So it's challenging in that sense because we have that interaction with the fans. But I think like it's pretty amazing, especially the lead up to the fights. Like you feel that energy. You feel like you become a part of it. And it's, it's really, really cool. Because I get to sit and spend hours dissecting each and every fighter, looking for where the advantages or where they're disadvantages. And to me, man, that this is why I say I have a whole new respect for this sport.

As far as your fighting career goes, I know you're dealing with some injuries, you're doing some PT, you're trying to heal up. And we last saw you compete at BKFC 22. You had that fight with Britton Hart. We spoke right before that. And what a freaking fight that was. I mean, that was a war. Things were kind of personal between the two of you heading into the fight, press conference,

et cetera. In the end, she walks away with the win. What did you take away from the fight, the build, just that whole experience of being in, you know, a bare knuckle battle. that because I felt like the fight didn't get enough love in the build for being honest, but then it delivered in spades and you guys made me look like a genius by telling everybody, this is probably the best fight of the weekend and you guys going out there and had that battle. What was that all like for you, the fight, the build, et cetera?

Oh my gosh. Let's start with the fight. The fight itself, it was a war. There was blood. We were fighting all the way to the back. She threw it. She threw a can at me. She was swearing at my, like, if I see this woman on the streets, I'm fighting. I don't need to get paid to fight this woman again. I cannot stay. her. But the fight itself, when I look at it, this is one of my, the funnest fights I've ever been in. Blood everywhere. She's looking at me and I'm like, fuck you, bitch, you feel my power. And she's screaming at me. Fuck you. I mean, we were just nonstop. And that is what I live for. Those are the moments that I live for. And I've trained my whole life for us to enjoy that.

So gosh, if I could have, even like going into the fifth round, I was like, am I in the, is this the fourth or the fifth? I asked my aunt. And she's like, it's the fifth round. And I just remember being like, Fuck, man, like, I need more time in here. I didn't want that fight to end. The decision was shit. You know, I thought that I did enough to win that fight. I knew in the fight, we both knew who was winning that fight. She was coming forward, but she was missing.

She was missing. So the decision was whatever. Feldman came, and I was very grateful that Feldman called me after. He's like, I think you won that fight. I'm sorry. I would love to have you back on. But I was very emotional. I was like, fuck this.

I'm fucking done with this. I never want to do this again. And I was pretty upset with it. I will say this, signing to bare knuckle was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my professional career. As far as the lead-up in the press conference, that was fun. I can sell a fight. I know that. I've never really talked shit because that's really not my MO, but she was messaging, commenting, calling me a bitch and a hoe and all these things.

And I was just waiting. I was waiting because I knew her husband messaged me a while before. I think maybe right in the beginning when they were dating. He was friendly. And I was being in a day. I was a little ass on that, but I don't regret it. I don't regret any of it. It was fun.

I absolutely loved it. Barrenuckle was a fun sport. As far as fighting goes for me, yes, I'm trying to heal up. The goal is to get back on the mats and to do jitsu. I think that where I'm at right now, I'm not sure if that's going to happen, but I can box and I can start a camp soon. And before I had my surgery, I got offered, like, there's some fights. At this point in my career, I don't want to take fights.

I don't need to prove myself anymore. I only want to take fights that excite me, that make me want to go to the gym. Because my new priority is my analyst work, is the commentary world. This is where I enjoy myself. This is where I'm spending most of my time right now. When it comes to fights, like I got offered a fight between Rachel Ostovich. I love that fight. I would love to fight Rachel Ostovich.

In MMA, if it ever presented itself and I can get there, like Amisha, tape fight would be amazing to me. So there's only specific fights that I want to take at this point in boxing, in real professional boxing. There's Elaine Bridges. I would love to fight Elaine Bridges. So these are just particular fights that I'm going to pick and choose whether or not, you know, Paige was a fun fight too. She's gone in wrestling. Maybe I'll meet her in wrestling someday. But there's only specific fights that I want at this point in my career. I can box now. I can get back to boxing. I can train and get back into a camp. I'm working. every single day twice a day on recovery. I'm either in physical therapy or I'm lifting weights. I'm in the

gym. I'm working every day to get back to being stronger and better than when I had my surgery. But the reality is if my body isn't, doesn't want to fight anymore, I'm not going to force it. I've done this way too long. I've been in the sport. I beat my body up. I'm going to listen to it. If it does not want to go to MMA, if it cannot, then I'm not going to force it anymore. boxing if the right fight comes along it seems it seems like just just hearing what were you saying and you can correct me if i'm wrong it seems like you're more open to buck i mean if mama something big comes up shore but boxing seems to be the path you would want to take if you had a choice is am i reading that accurately uh if i had a choice it would be m m m ms i love i love m ms is my heart

but my body right now will only allow for the boxing to happen i can't grapple yet um i have haven't even touched the mat and tried. So at this point, if I can, if I, if I can book fight sooner than later, I would start with boxing just to get back in, let my knee continue to heal. And then, and then when it's ready, if I can, I would love to, ideally the goal is to get back to MMA and have a couple of more fights there. So just to clarify, the BKFC thing, because, you know, we saw your message after you, you were like, you, you post the Instagram after the fight. You said that was, that was it. That was the last bare knuckle fight. You said, even after Feldman was calling you, say,

We'd love to have you back. You're like, F, no, but I was emotional at the time. Like, do you still feel the same way that that was your last bare and knuckle fight? I'll come back for the right fight. I'll come back and fight for the right fight. I know that I'm very good in boxing. I'm a draw. I can sell a fight.

People watch. They tune in to watch me fight. If you watched my fights, you see that I come to fight every single time. And I think that they have, they have Rachel, which is a fight I'm very interested in. They offered me that before the surgery. Um, Britt and Hart, I would love to beat her ass at any given point. Um, so there are specific fights. Like for those for the right price, yeah, yeah, I will go back to bare knuckle. I think that I respect Dave Feldman in a lot of ways. And I wasn't happy with not just the decision, but the way I was treated in my in coming through bear knuckle. And I don't think it had anything to do with him. I think that there are a new promotion and they're trying to figure this out. And I understand that. And, um, and I respect him a lot. So I would go back for the right fights. And I'm not going to, I'm not going for just any fight, though.

It's a Rachel fight, sure. And maybe he'll put up like a belt, like the baddest bitch belt. Like that would be fire. Two bad bitches fight. I would love it. Man, can you imagine? Like if they booked you and Rachel, Britain would have a freaking feel day with that.

Like if she didn't have, like if you put a badest bitch title on the line for a fight between you and Rachel and she wasn't a part of it, she would go bananas. And that would be kind of fun to watch. She's not a bad bitch though. Yeah. She's not a bad bitch though.

So she can fight me if you don't like it. Fight me. There we go. Amanda Serrano is about to headline Madison Square Garden. I mean, that is phenomenal. Like you've been you've been tooting that Serrano horn for a long time now. And she's finally starting to get that respect that many people felt she'd deserve for years. She's getting the headline MSG. They're pulling big pre-sale numbers.

I'm sure like the gate overall will be right up there. I think it was the second biggest pre-sale ever for a boxing event at Madison. Madison Square Garden, which is insane. And this is headlined by women. This is a very big deal. What is that like for you to see Amanda start to get this shine and just get this big platform? Headlining MSG, that's amazing. Oh, my gosh. When she, man, that's my sister. And when I see if there is nobody more deserving that I know in combat sports than Amanda Serrano, she is one of the hardest working women that I've ever had the privilege to watch and learn and just see. She, She doesn't have a phone.

She's never owned a cell phone. She's like 33 years old. You know she's never had a boyfriend. I mean, she's never, it's just been boxing. Boxing since she was, I think 15, maybe a little younger. And this is her life. And she's so committed to this and her family. And when she wasn't getting the respect that she, you know,

she didn't get a lot of hype behind her. I didn't understand it. I was like, I don't, she's got 31 knockouts. Like, what woman do you know that other than maybe Christy Martin in the history of any? combat sports that has those type of numbers of knockouts. She's she's going to be one of the greatest of all times when she's done. And yeah, it's amazing not only just to see her get the shine, but to start getting, she's getting paid. She's getting paid real money now. Very

deserving. She's so deserving of it. And this fight is, this is a real fight. Like Amanda's the type that she doesn't just want to fight who's that she goes and she they look and they they seek the best champion the best woman in that division that's who she wants to fight to challenge herself that's the type of fighter she is and so this this fight katie taylor her older sister cindy who also fights and is a professional fight she fought katy taylor and went the distance she lost and dropped that fight to a decision katy katy was superior in that fight but this is kind of so there's a little more to this fight this is like she's got this is little sister coming back for big sister you know the power puncher and katy's so got so much

much finesse in her game. Katie's a huge name. So this fight is huge. And then she's got, you know, such a big draw with the Irish community. Irish community is huge in New York. Like this fight's amazing. And it's so deserving for Amanda and both Katie, both of these women. And I think that right now where women's boxing is because of these two ladies, it's going to grow. And it's at the best and the peak of where women's boxing has ever bet. So I went my last event I covered in 2021 was Jake Paul, Tired. would be too and Amanda was on that card in the co-main event and one thing that annoys me to no end about women's boxing is that the men get three minute rounds and the women only get two minute rounds

like all due respect to Frank Gore and Darren Williams because that fight was awesome those two went out there former NFL player versus former NBA player they're out you just throwing bombs in each other like it was entertaining but even those guys are getting three minute rounds but Amanda Serrano is not getting three minute rounds. Like, what's your take on that? Like I know at this point, they're so used to it, but even Amanda, even at one of the press conferences, was like, Katie, let's, let's do this for three minutes. I thought that was such a gangster move on her part. What do you think? Like should we be going to three minutes for these women's fights? Absolutely. Like, I don't understand even, you know, how Jake came out yesterday and he wants to

make the UFC better and then MMA. Why not work on boxing? The sport that you're in, the women don't have equal rights in boxing. We are still fighting for less time. Why? Why is that? You know, in the beginning of MMA, when it first started getting sanctioned, we had three minutes in that fight. They changed that to fight.

We have equal opportunity in a fight. And we're worthy and we can handle it. So why not in boxing? Amanda's a beast. Like that woman just trains hard. If you watch her, she doesn't care how many times you hit her. She does not stop coming forward. She's a truck.

And she hits harder than most men that it. have hit me like she's made me pee on myself like just from body shot that's how hard she is. And yeah, I think that they absolutely deserve those three minutes. You just can't even for me, I've fought in bare knuckle two minutes. It's so hard to get in your rhythm and find your stride and before it's time to take a break. And now you've got to reset. And so, you know, I think that it's extremely important that we get the extra minute, you know, why not? Why can't we We've proven we are very capable and worthy of it. You are an MMA analyst.

You're doing all these different things. I'm curious to get your take on what Jake Paul has been trying to do with the mixed martial arts space. More notably, the UFC, because he keeps trying to poke and prod the bear that is Dana White. And I think Dana's actually being smart because when he was making videos and trying to fire back at Jake on social media, you just don't want to do that. There's like certain avenues you might be able to get the best of Jake, social media, not the best place to do it. But you don't want to poke the bear there. But Jake's trying. Do you think there's sincerity to him that he is looking out for the fighters

and he does want to make a difference and try to get these fighters paid more money? You know, I think that there is just because of my experience, not with him, I've never met him, but watching my sis, Amanda Serrano, and now that she's managed by him, watching how he's changed her life, watching the things that he's done for her. I know that genuinely that there is a part of him that does, want to help fighters and make the world better, honestly. I think that he's extremely creative with his marketing, obviously.

And the reality is, is this dude can box. He's learning. And maybe he wasn't the greatest boxer last year. This is motherfuckers. He's coming. And he's becoming a really good professional boxer. So you've got to give him his respect there. I think that his genius what he's doing because he's poking the right bear, right?

He's poking the right person as far as the UFC. The UFC is the greatest sport, greatest combat. that's for, or excuse me, the greatest promotion. MMA is the greatest sport. He's poking the right promotion because that is right now where all the hype is. But the reality is, is to me, it reminds me of a young Dana white. So it's like, you're creative and you're awesome and some in your, in your ways, but you're still doing the same shit Dana did.

Wasn't this a young Dana? That's, that is, that's a great point. That is an excellent point. So I think that it is. I think that you're right. Like Dana, there's no point in going back and forth. you can laugh at it like he's doing because you should it's comical he's he's a genius when it comes to social media for that reason you have to give jake respect because he's bringing eyes and ears

that the sport would not have seen with his creativity with his youtube and everything that he has so it's it's awesome it's great for the sport in that way but i think there's there's a different i don't like you talk about my friends he talked about like daniel corbier horre my those are my friends even data like those are my those are people i look up to so i'll tell jake paul this if i ever see you, I'm choking you the fuck out. And if I wrap my hands around your neck, you're going to stick. But other than that, I think he's awesome. He is. I mean, he is creating buzz. And yes, he kind of is like a young Dana because like there's been criticisms of Dana. Like maybe he's lost that that promotional edge. You know what I mean? Like we saw it for a while early on. Then the UFC got

huge. It was on Fox. And then it kind of went away a little bit. And then when Mayweather McGregor happened, we saw Dana yelling and screaming into the microphone, the Atari. And we were like, all right, this is data we remembered and you know I feel like he's still the face of the company but some of that like promotional emphasis if you will has been kind of alluding him but Jake seems to have it in spades in a much different way because of the use of social media but it's but it's wild but uh it's hilarious right he does these like he adds his YouTube to it with the little the disc the videos and like that's just funny it's hilarious you can't help but damn that was good but like I don't know I think that if anything like Dana to me he that's like one of the

hardest workers in this sport that I see like for me I know what it takes for me to promote my own fight to build it up and then it's like fuck I have my fight I get to relax for a couple weeks and chill out eat fucking pizza do whatever I want but like that man is like on to the next it's the next week the next fight card and he's promoting and he's pushing and he's doing the media for it like it's non-stop all year long and for that I have so much respect for Dana he is like one of the hardest workers that I've seen in this sport and so I to me I'm like shitty as all he has to deal with, the last thing you want to deal with is Jake Paul.

The unfortunate thing is Jake Paul is so massive that you have to deal with him. I think he should just send me in. And I'll just, I'll just choke him out. That's it over. True, true or false? Jake Paul will fight in the UFC someday.

Hmm. Um, true. You think it happens? I'm a, I do. I do think it happens. Um,

I don't like the Connor. fight. I don't think that's the right fight. Like, why don't we put him against someone that's his weight? And maybe even, like, in his experience, you know who's someone that I think would be a pretty fun fight is he just fought this week in Alex Pidea? Oh, my gosh. He's like, but he's how many professional fights does he have? Six, right?

Seven? Six, maybe. Fairly new in the U.S. Give him that dude. Like, why Connor? Yeah, exactly. I get why he's calling Connor. Connor's the biggest name. He's the biggest drawing. And rightfully so, Jake is a huge draw. So I understand that when it comes to that. But skill-wise, body shape, body frame-wise, it doesn't make any sense. So give him a real dude. What about Hansa?

Oh, geez. Well, he'll test those wrestling chops. He'll test those wrestling chops. It's for damn sure. Good. He said he had the right hand of God. Let's see it. Or like even Usman.

Usma wants a boxing fight. Okay, let's make that happen. like give him someone that's more his size. Connor, that doesn't make any sense to me. I like the Connor Mosbydolfi. I think that's a fun fight. Those guys are,

Connor looks big. Mazvedals, you know, can meet somewhere. I think that's the better, more realistic fight for, for Connor than Jake. Jake doesn't make any sense to me.

Yeah. I mean, Connor's looking, looking pretty thick these days. So he's got that muscle. So he's probably like 180, 185, but still Jake's probably in the twos right now.

yeah, that's definitely a mismatch. I have to ask you about this because I would kick myself if I didn't. You got the MMA media space a bit riled up a couple months ago. I know. I didn't you? You created this post that said essentially, and I don't have it in front me, it was like, MMA media today is trash. You know, you've never fought. You guys stir things up for clicks. There's no coverage on the prospects. There's nothing about the regional fighters and the overcoming adversity and things like that. I think I got it, I don't want to misquote you or anything, but I have to know where this came from and what got you to this point.

Because I saw the tweet and I saw a lot of media members reacting to it. I was curious where this all came from. They were pissed. You pissed a lot of people off. I know I did. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I think that I've dealt with the media my entire career, obviously.

And I think that in some instances for a lot of my career, or until I finally gained some confidence within myself. Like, I was scared of the media and it was like, oh, whatever they say and do. And I felt like they ruled, they had control over my life and a lot of my narratives in which they do. They really do. And at that time, that week particularly was the Jake Paul.

This video came out. And it was just, it was everywhere. And then they were like, I think they were grilling Dana and Francis and Gano thing. Like, there was just so much like negativity. And I just felt like in that moment, The media was trying to divide us to divide our sport. And our sport is so small and it's, it's so unique.

And it's still, and it's still a baby, right? Like, we don't have that. We don't need that. Like, I get it. They want clicks. I get it. But why the hell do I see Jake Paul on every single platform all day long? He's never even fought in MMA.

Why are we covering him? What about all the other athletes? I understand and know what it's like to be a fighter. What I've given up. I've given up relationships. my merit, I've given up everything in my life, family time. I'll never get to see my dad again. I gave up a lot of his last years to fight.

I've given up food, water, like, that's the small things, right? You give up for it to fight. There's so much that you put in. And then, like, I had, I read an article, and I don't know if it was MMA fighting or the other one that wrote, uh, they wrote an article about the Britain heart fight and they said, Britain heart outpaces Pearl Gonzalez. And I was furious. How the fuck do you outpace someone in a boxing fight?

is this a this is a marathon now you don't fucking outpace someone in a boxing fight and those type of things if they knew the amount of work that i put in to even get to that fight the travels i moved all of the things that i went through and then to write some shit like that and not even go and watch the fight that really infuriated me and i just think that the media this has so much power over the people and ability that they're like they do things to to like break us apart to separate us. And like they were bashing Dana and the UFC and I'm just thinking if it wasn't for Dana and the UFC to continue on, we wouldn't have shit to talk about this last couple years. We all have a job because they pressed on. It was one of the only sports to do that. And so I was

just upset in that way. I think that now that I have a platform, now that I am working to and am a part of the media, I'm going to help the sport in that way where I don't need to talk about the bullshit. I don't give a fuck about the bullshit. I care about the athletes. I know how much work, the effort that it takes to be there to even get there. So and also now I'm seeing on the other side, the media reporter, like how much work this is. I really appreciate it. And for that, that's what I want to highlight is the hard work, the great shit. For me fighting, if I look back, it wasn't the skills that I gained from this. I gained character development from this. I've read so many books, and I've grown as a woman, as an individual because of fighting.

Fighting saved my life. And so I want to help the world in that way and help the sport in that way show and get people to see the good stuff, not the shit. Not all. And I get it. Shit's fun. It's fun. It's crazy. And so it's needed, right?

We need some of that. But at the same time, like, where's the other side? Where's that hard work? How come I don't see any reporters writing how hard they've traveled to the? 10 different cities to these fights. And this is what they, like, I don't see any of them. All I hear is Jake Paul sends a disc track. Like, what the fuck is this?

Come on. So that was why I was upset. And I had some reporters that were like, I wrote a great article about you. I was like, you were fucking rude to me. And he was like, I wrote a great article. I was not rude. And then his friend comes in and you weren't rude. Yes, you were.

You were rude as fucked to me. And at that time, I didn't have a voice. And so I allowed you, and I still did your stupid ass interview. And yes, it did come out great because I'm great on camera. So that's the kind of shit that to me that I don't I'm not going to accept and I'm going to call people out. I'm at a point in my life and in my career where I've worked very, very hard to establish myself. I've been through so much hell and back. I refuse to let anybody devalue me or put me down and I'm and I look at the sport in that same way.

That is a terrific answer. I have to say I saw the I saw the tweet and I was like I saw everybody responding and I was just like, why are you responding? Like if you're responding, then you probably like have something on your mind that maybe like you're thinking about this too much. Like if you're responding and I get where you're coming from. Trust me. Like from a fighter perspective. And I also understand that you're starting to see like kind of the cycles that the sport can take on media members because like you said, it is a lot. And I have built and I'm not trying.

I mean, you're probably familiar that you and I've done interviews in the past. even before you're, you know, before you're this world-renowned traveler and analyst. Like, look at you. Like, we've been doing chats for a long time now. Like, I love the prospect stories. This is how I built my entire career was built, was interviewing everybody. Prospects, amateur fighters, like, just crazy stories. Like, if you go to my Twitter and you see the pin tweet, it's about a kid who has four

pro fights and he got shot in the neck and paralyzed. And like, like, his whole story. story is trying to fight again, like doing, getting stem cells and like trying to fight again. Like that story took up like almost my entire 2021 trying to write, getting all these different perspectives. So like there is that kind of journalism out there. And I, and I know you see that. And let me just say this. And they find did not write that headline about the outpace. I was, I was so bad. There you go. Because I was, I think it was MFA junk. And I was so fear. I was like, what the fuck is it? They at least go and watch the fight. And that's, that's what happens sometimes is people

people get caught up and they just, let me just put this together. And I get it. You guys are working hard. Like you said, it took you a year on one particular story. And I understand it like that. So when you have these other stories, you're trying to, you know, hurry up. But you, but that's my livelihood. This is my life. These are my years of effort and work that you're just writing some bullshit about. And so that to me, it was like, why? And at that time, again, it was like Jake Paul everywhere with the district. It was just, it's all I saw. And I was like, what is this? Like, that weekend we had that on the Francis and that Ingano Gond card there was like the most debuts.

It was the most debuts in the UFC or something. There's so many. And there was some badass fights on that card. Victor Henry was on that card. You know how excited I was that Victor Henry was making his UFC debut. It took up like 10 years to get there. It was amazing. Oh my.

See what I mean? Like, I didn't see that. I didn't get to see that article. I didn't get to hear about that though. You know, it was like Jake fucking ball everywhere and Dana this. And I get it. The whole Francis, the money, I'm a fighter. I respect him.

I get what he's coming from and a lot of his things. You know, and so I see that. I saw that. And it was more so like they're just dividing. The fuck is this. Like, tell me about that guy. Let me hear about that. Like, it took him 10 years.

I don't know his story. What did he do to get there? Why did it take so long? What happened to him? You know what I mean? And that was where I was that day. And I didn't mean it to, like some journalists did reach out to me. And they were like, hey, I was like, I'm sorry.

I'm not talking about you. You know, like they're good, they're good people in our sport. There really are. They've covered a lot of my story and things. And my story wouldn't have been heard without the media. 100%. I would not be here today without the media. So I do understand.

And I have a lot of respect for the media in that way. But there are some points where it's like, this is fucking ridiculous, you know, like, give us some good shit. And that's just where I was that day. I'm sorry if you took that to offense. Oh, no. Listen, I get it. I mean, like, and there's part of me that, I mean, I get where you're coming from. Like, if I could run my own website and try to make money, like, I would just do prospect interviews all the time.

But unfortunately, it's like not the sport we're in. Like, and I like, I share a platform with the biggest name in sport right now. Like Ariel Hawani is interviewing. And it actually like helps me out a lot because when Ariel got brought back and the M. May hour got brought back. Everyone was like, oh, my God. Like, what about you, Mike? Like, who are you going to interview? I'm like, I'll be okay because I interview everybody. So it doesn't matter. Like, I'll interview someone who's fighting on UAE Warriors or LFA or CES or Titan FC or any Eagle FC. It doesn't matter. Like, there's other Propella Tor.

There's all the UFC isn't the only game in town. There's plenty of names that need a little bit of shine. Like, I'll talk to Pearl Gonzalez about combat sports. Like, just we should hit record and shoot the shit for 45 minutes. Like, that's what I like to do. I just like to have conversations with people who understand the sport and have stories to tell. And I feel like, I feel like you have a story to tell. and like that hasn't even been told yet like there's there's just layers to everybody that not

everybody knows about and that's what makes the sport so exciting exactly and i think for me like that's what i mean where this is my job is my responsibility to help find those layers in some of these athletes you know and i'm looking to do a story like for instance kevin holland just fought kevin holland's a single father i was raised by a single father i don't know what my dad went through as a single father. I have so much respect for this man. And where he comes from, both of his parents were in jail. They were drug addicts. Like he has an incredible story. And yeah, he's silly and he's wild and he's fun and he's crazy. But there's also a very serious and a real side to him. And you know that he's struggled and probably will struggle at some point again in his life being a single father.

And so those are the kind of stories. Those are the kind of things to me that inspired me. I didn't have examples. I didn't have, you know, people to look up to when I was growing up. I'm from the fucking hood. I was gangbanging at 12. I've been stabbed. Like, I've been through hell. And I've been to jail several times.

Like, I had drug dealers to look up to. I had, you know, that was my, that was the examples. So when you hear a story like that, that touches the city. That touches community. That touches some young kid out there who thinks that all men are shit or a woman, young woman out there and can potentially get them into, I don't know if it's a fight gym or somewhere to get help. And I think that that is what is, it just needs more, a little bit more love and a little bit more highlight too. I like seeing Khalil Roundtree get a lot of attention now.

Like after the, not just the performance, but everything you said after and backstage, like he was just on Ariel show talking about like, and he was asked like, if someone asked you to describe who Khalil Roundtree Jr. was like, how would you describe it? And he was just like built up with emotion like this guy I mean just it's these people like I feel like with these platforms I think we're getting there like I think like you said we're kind of in an infantile spot that we're a little new we have to figure out what works and what doesn't and try to like try these different things but I feel and I don't know if you agree with this but I feel like I feel like we're getting there it's a slow process but I feel like slowly but surely we can turn the needle the other way

do you agree with that yes agreed and the only way that I can do that not is by using my voice and being and living that style living by example and trying my best to play my part i can't make anybody else to it i have no control over anything else other than myself and so that was what i that was why i put that out there it wasn't to piss everybody off it wasn't to be point fingers it was like hey this shit sucks i have to do my job i am responsible for myself and i'm going to help make a difference here and that was my real purpose of saying and to store the five a little bit i like i like drama come on I'm a woman. Listen, when I saw that, I was like, I heard you saying those words.

I was like, uh-oh. She goes, pearls, Pearl's getting after it. Get out of the way. That's so funny because that's exactly what I was doing. Oh, yeah. I knew that. That's why I didn't respond to or say anything. Everyone's like, why are people responding to this?

I'm like, I'm just enjoying the show. Popcorn, crunch, crunch, crunch. Getting the response, it's unbelievable. Will you be, I assume you will be in Jacksonville for UFC 273? Yes, yes, I'll be in Jacksonville. I'll cover all of the paper views. Hopefully we'll extra rounds will start to cover like the looking for the fights or any other big events that come up. But for now, yes, that's where I'm at.

I'll be at the next one. And then this weekend we have ICON, which is badass, man. Yeah, we have ICON too this weekend. It's a big, big deal. We've got some big fights happening. I'm actually sponsoring my second fighter on this card. SD Dumas, co-main event. He's from Chicago, which is one.

One reason why he's dear to my heart, but more so he was shot eight times. The dude was shot eight times, almost died from the hood of Chicago, left, went to Pensacola, got fat was like 250 pounds, was like, all right, I got to lose some weight somehow. Found an MMA gym. He was 10 and 1 as an amateur, and I believe he's either 8 and 0 or 9 in O as a pro. All of his wins are by knockout. All of his wins are by knockout. And he is just one of the most humble who he's got like,

dreads and he's got tattoos all over his face and he's like one of the but he's so chill and calm and humble he's not at all like and over and overly aggressive and so um he's just one of those very inspiring stories to me and so uh i've started this year sponsoring athletes where we're making fight kits for them and making outfits where create my aunt my aunt's doing it all i can't take any fun for it i give her colors and i give her ideas but my aunt does the everything else and she's like creating their logos for them she's really helping them like what color like just helping them try to create a vision board in a sense and where they're going. And for me, like my part is I come in and I'm sitting down with them and just giving them my advice. What's your game plan? Why are you fighting? How long

do you plan on fighting? You know, what what drives you? What motivates you because these are the things you're going to have to go to when you're tired, when you're sore, when you're cutting weight, when you don't want to train, when no one's watching, you've got to pull from something. And so there are so many mistakes I made in my career. So if I can help these athletes in this way, I've had so much mindset, training, mental, you know, worked with mental coaches. I've read so many books. Like, so if I, that's my kind of way of helping the athletes as I can. And then my aunt gets to make all these. She loves making outfits. So she gets to make their fight outfits. But SD Dumas is just a huge story. And he's, he's the co-main event on the, on icon. He's fighting a high bomb,

which is a, he fought on Jared Gooden, yeah, gooden. His last icon fight. You have. So it was a big fight and he did amazing in that fight. This is a really big fight for SD. There's there's a lot of when I asked Dean this week, what is the theme for this week? Give me a theme and he was like, what do you mean? And that was like, give me a theme. He's like, you know, there's a lot of UFC vets and veterans that are fighting on this card. They're fighting the up and coming prospect.

So they will all have to leave it all on the line. Is the vet, the experienced one who wants to get back to that big name going to make it or is these up and coming athletes going to make it? And that's kind of the story of ICON is we have young athletes. We got another, I think, Amun Cosme. These dudes are 2 and O and they're like 1, 235ers, and they're fighting like they've had 10 pro fights. Like, it's insane the amount of talent and skills they've already developed. It's understandable because we are in a very interesting place in our sport. But like, it's cool.

It's cool to see these. Like, I love doing this kind of stuff with working with these fighters that are so new to the game, you know, and have so much potential. And, you know, you can be, you can be distracted in so many ways. Whether it be, for me, I have bad management my entire career. Up until now, I have finally have great management. So like there's so many layers and pieces, coaches. I've had trouble.

You just have these problems. So if you can create, you know, if you can really set yourself up to, I think the people that are most successful in our sport know absolutely this is what I want. I don't care how long it takes me. And they do it. And they stick to the game plan. They don't change and switch and that kind of thing. You know, you look at like a Valentina.

Like she's been with her coach her whole life. She has one training partner, her sister. They travel all over the world together. And still she's a fucking assassin. Like these are really cool stories. But she knew what she wanted very young. And they did not stop at the goal. And so yeah, I'm going on and on.

But, you know, like if I can play a part in this, that's where I'm going to play that part. It's amazing to see these young incoming athletes. I tell people all the time, if you want to get an MMA, this is the absolute best time. Like you could put together an amateur career, a pro career, and be on a Dana White Contender Series in two years, you know, and get to the big show where for me, that was like a life like, it was just unheard of. And now you have so many opportunities to get, and it's so realistic to get to the big show. The Isaac Dolgarian story, amateur pro for a year, already got a UFC contract.

I mean, it's just, it's insane. If you're in there and you're talented and you're active and you're in with a good team and you just go after it. Like, yeah, it can happen very quickly. And there's something special about that icon co-made event slot now that it's under the Mazadol name because what happened on the last card when a guy was put in the co-main event slot? He got the UFC call before he could even fight for icon.

He got Pete Rodriguez got the phone call that changes life. So, I mean, that's a big spot for that guy. Could you see yourself managing fighter someday? It's something I've been looking at and playing with for the last couple years and thinking about, I do think that it, I could help the sport in that way. And I would love to. I sat down with Malki and asked him if I could kind of like shadow him. And he was like, Pearl, I'll give you the whole women's, my whole, you'll be the director of the women's sports. I'm like, whoa, I'm not ready for that. I do. I think that that would be some place that I am confident that I could really help the sport in that way. But we'll see. Right now, I'm just. I'm really focused on the commentary and the analyst work. We'll see where this takes me. I am so open to everything. Like,

I'm fucking doing all these, this rehab on my RV. I'll do a home improvement show. No idea what I'm doing. But, like, I can do that. I can do a cooking show.

I love food. I love nutrition. There's so many avenues that I'm open to at this point in my life. I, and it's definitely not close to management. You got to get a YouTube channel, Pearl. Do you have one? I do it.

I have one. I have one. I don't use it. Why not? to because if you saw the crazy shit that I've done in this RV, like, I just took down all the clocks because it looked like shit. That took me at like five hours to remove all that cock. It took me like seven hours to put the talk up. Like, I'm like, oh, my God, what am I doing? But, you know, this is a process. I'm enjoying it. I know, no real reason why I have an RV.

I'm just decided to get one and remodel it. And yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. I do need a YouTube. You do. Because I mean, I'd be intrigued to watch this whole process. tearing an RV apart and putting it back together, 100%. I mean, that's good quality stuff right there. Who wouldn't want to see that? Do you take the RV to these events? No, I try to fly everywhere. But my goal, what I do want to do and I plan on doing

is I want to travel America for probably six months in the RV. And I want to hit as many different gyms and talk to as many different trainers and instructors as I possibly can and document it. And we'll see where it takes me. think that that's something for my soul, for myself that I want to do. But who knows, maybe I could really put together something really cool. And then the goal would be to go, you know, overseas and travel the world and do the same thing. I've always wanted to do that. I've always wanted to travel and meet and see the cultures. I think like we haven't even touched Africa yet. Like I want to

go in there and like what's that like to see some of those athletes over there training? Like, how can I help? Is there a way to get mats and get some, you know, some things, some gear? You know they don't have gear there. And like, if we could help that over there or Mexico even and help them and also go and see what their training and their, their cultures, like, like, that to me is like something that intrigues me so much. I would, I would leave fighting for something like that, absolutely to focus on the sport in that way. A lot of irons in the fire for, for Pearl and Dallas right now. Man, I could talk to you for like an hour, another hour about all this stuff. But I, I know you have a life and I got to let

you go at some point. So, uh, I always appreciate the time. I got to go paint this RV. Yeah, now you got to go paint the RV. I mean, you probably would have talked to me another half hour to keep you from doing that. But now you got to go paint. So thank you so much. Like, like I, like I've been saying for a while, I think you have one of the sharper minds in the sport. And, you know, even though you call it all the media members, I didn't take offense to it. But I, I mean, still. Thank you. Because it didn't. Not that it would have mattered anyways. Well, no, I wasn't towards you and you know I got asked several people to do an interview and I was like that's not what I'm not saying this to get some kind of coverage so I did I didn't talk about it at all and I was like

fuck I don't really want to but I do I respect you in in so many ways and so I haven't figured it would come up so I figured you would be the one to you can you can share with the world if you want to yeah I mean it's I was just curious where it came from that's all I mean because I mean people probably agree with you so so that's that's it but thank you so much looking forward to I may even see you in Jacksonville because I think I'm going down there for that one. So if so, we'll maybe we'll link up and do some content or do whatever. Give you a fist bump down there. But I appreciate your time very much.

Thank you for being so open and talking about everything. And maybe we'll see you in Jacksonville. If not, we'll see you competing. Hopefully, if the right fight comes along. Exactly. Thank you, Mike, so much. It was a pleasure to speak with you. 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 at 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're going to eat.

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. I gotta say hello to Eric Anders, one of my favorites to chat with, been chopping it up with this gentleman for years since his

V3 fights made events leading into that almost six years ago. But if you told me back then, we'd be having the conversation we're about to have. Not sure I'd believe you, but here we are. Your boy joins us once again. Eric, good to see it, man. How are you? Good. You're doing great.

So let's get right into this because over the weekend, you go on Instagram, you create a lot of buzz. You posted a slew of photos. The post is entitled, they don't make left-handed chainsaws. and then we saw some gnarly photos of your foot in your leg. What the hell happened, man? You know, just a weight-cutting accident, you know? I'm just playing. Now, I'm just cutting down trees and the chainsaw jumped

and landed on my foot. And, you know, the great thing is, dude, I've been doing yard work and, you know, like making a garden and saw in my backyard. And I've been wearing steel-toed boots all week. And then the one time I go to use a chainsaw, I thought it would just be a quick little, you know, trim or whatever, you know, easy work.

And so I had my tennis shoes and I even looked at my boots as I pulled out of the driveway and didn't give it a second thought. And cut down two trees. And then when I was on the third one, the blade got stuck. So, you know, kept the chainsaw running with one. hand and push the tree up a little bit up with my other hand. And I thought that it would just like kind of cut through the tree, but it didn't like ran across the tree and landed on my foot.

And, uh, yeah. So I mean, as it's happening, I'm sure you're in shock like a freaking chainsaw that is running has landed on your foot. Are you just like freaking out at the time? Like what, what's the first thing that that comes into your mind? To be honest, I didn't even know that it had cut my foot. And, you know, I looked down. You know, I realized I was like, damn, that shit is in my foot. And I looked down and like the shoelaces on my shoe and the, you know, my shoe was all mangled.

And I was like, oh, shit, that did cut. And, you know, I slid my foot out of my shoe. And how you can see was white meat. And they're just like filled in with blood just, just lava. And, you know, I was really nervous because, you know, the first thing I thought about was my career and, like, how am I going to fight if I can't move my toes? So, you know, I started wiggling my toes and, you know, I could wiggle my toes. So I was like, ooh, I could feel my toes. So I didn't think that I had did any, like, ligament or tendon damage or nerve damage.

And, you know, drove like a bat out of hell to the, an urgent care down the street. And, you know, it's funny because I walked in there and I was standing standing in the doorway and I was like, hey, I just cut my foot real bad. I think I need stitches. Do somebody want to help me out? Like, hey, come fill out this paperwork. And I was like, lady, I don't think you understand that my foot is leaking right now. I'm fleeting all over your placement, your floor mat here. And she looked down.

And she said, oh, so they got me a wheelchair. To me back there, when I got back there, the doctor was like, I don't know, I'm going to walk down this little thing. The doctor was like, hey, I'm about to leave. You might have to go to the emergency room. Because the next doctor on shift doesn't do stitches. I was like, huh? Come on, man, look at my shit.

And long story short, he ended up staying and did my stitches. And man, it's cool. Like I'm walking. I'm going to go train here in a little bit. Let me grab some breakfast first. And so I don't think there's too much damage at all. So there's no. So even the doctor said, like, listen, we're just going to stitch you up.

Like you'll be good to go in a few days. Like, all good? Yeah, I don't think he like put too much stock. Damn, I almost killed myself. Fell off his wife. And dodgy death all the way. week. I don't think he put too much like thought or, you know, he's kind of like tickle my feet. He's like, can you feel that the bottom of my feet? And I was like, yeah, he's like, okay, good.

And then gave me about 20 stitches and that was it. That's it. I mean, can you feel it now? Like, does it, does it sting? Is it annoying? Like, what does it feel like now? No, the swelling's gone down tremendously. You know, I have more inflection in my foot. I'm walking. Like yesterday, I was walking with a limp today. I don't have a limp. And yeah, like I said, I'm getting ready to go do some jujitsu over at Ruka in here in Austin, Austin, Texas. So, you know, obviously I'll be training with the rest on the shoe on, but, you know. A week. Holy cow, man. Can you hear me? Yeah.

All right. There you go. Yeah, dude. I mean, it just seems crazy. So, like, if the UFC called your manager right now and said, hey, we got to fight for Eric in May or June, would you be able to take it? Like, you'd be confident enough to say yes to that? Yeah, I already have a fight lined up. You do?

I can't give out the details like who, but it is in late May. And, you know, that's plenty of time to train. The stitches come out on Monday. So I'm already training, getting ready for it. So here on Sunday I go back out to Arizona to go, you know, train with Eddie and Santino. Wow. So, I mean, it worked out.

Now, was there a fight offered to you before this happened or did you get the contract after this time? No, I already had a fight sign, so, you know, me. I don't show up, so, you know, as long as I can walk, I'm there. There you go. So the doctor knew you had a fight coming up. said no limitations. You're good to go for late May. No, I didn't ask him neither. You know, obviously the doctor's not going to be like,

yeah, go fight, go train, you know. All he said was don't run. So I don't run much anyway. So it's all good. There you go. The last time we saw you compete was against Andre Munez. You step in. And I mean, obviously, Andre is nasty. You saw great jiu-jitsu, surgeon contender. You went in there and did your best. Like, what else can you do? And just kind of got caught in a submission and no real injuries, nothing really that sets you back too much. But what did you sort of take away from that fight?

Because not an easy one. A lot of people gave you a lot of credit for even accepting the fight. You go in there, did your best, didn't really pan out for you. But I don't feel like your stock dropped at all. You know, I'm not a moral victory kind of guy, you know. But judicious used to be my thing, man. I'm, you know, won the World Championship. at the Purple Belt level, but, you know, kind of got away from the grappling and the,

and the jiu-jitsu just because, you know, I kind of fell in love with the hands and the striking a little bit. So, you know, I'm really taking it back to not really my roots because I did everything at the same time, but, you know, really taking a lot of time to grow and develop my grappling and, you know, submission offense as well as defense. Yeah. So, I mean, you're going to focus more on that, mixing them. So we're going to see, like, D1 Eric Anders in there maybe in late May? You've taken down and transitioning all different spots? Man, you might see Eric and a mega men off or having to stay, man.

Oh, man, I love it. All right. Hey, I'll let you go, man. I know you had a lot going on this weekend. And I'm glad you, by the way, with the fight, you don't have to tell me who it is. But is this like, is this a fun one? One, when it's made public, we're going to be like, oh, damn, this is a good one. Yeah.

I think so. I think we're both gamers. I think we're both the type to kind of like meet in the middle. and, you know, let him ride, you know, not necessarily a brawl, but like, he's certainly more, you know, technical than I am, I would say. But, you know, I think, I think the fans really enjoy this one. All right. Well, I'm glad you're okay. I'm glad we're going to see you back in there, May. Things got a little hairy, and I'm glad I worked out, man. I'm glad we're going to see you back in there. I'm glad the foot's okay. And I'm glad you're right back to training, like, five days later.

It's, I mean, it's insane. You're something else. For the situation, that's the best possible scenario, you know. Like I said, no tendon or ligament damage, no nerve damage, just, you know, a really deep cut. There's actually three of them, to be honest. You can kind of see where, like, the chainsaw jumped across my foot. So I have a gnarly little scar, you know, a nice little story to tell. I think I'll stick with, like, head kicking a chainsaw instead of that I was trying to cut

down a tree. Well, I mean, your spirits are quite high despite all of this. So, yeah, good for you, man. I'm glad it all worked out. And all the best to you late May when we see you back in there against opponent TBD or TBA to be announced. Appreciate it, brother. All right, let us say hello to Cody Brundage.

And Tim and I have spoken after many of his professional victories, but it's pretty cool to have this chat after his first UFC victory this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 50 against Dolce La Gia Bula. Submission win in the first round, nasty guillotine show. Cody, welcome back and welcome to the UFC win column. How are you, man? I feel great, man. Thanks for having me. It's pretty cool. You know, like you said, we've been, you've been on the journey with me. So it feels good to come back here after the biggest one of my career and be able to chat it up. How does it all feel a few days later? Because you often ask these questions after you get signed to the UFC, like does it feel real?

And oftentimes fighters will say, well, I got to have that first appearance. Then I got to have that first victory before it kind of feels real. Like, how does this feel? Does it feel kind of surreal like three or four days later, first UFC win in the books? It definitely feels kind of surreal, just kind of the way it all happened, I think, too, you know, getting the bonus, kind of having to come back

and fighting through adversity and things like that. And just, yeah, like winning the first one. I feel like the first one is the hardest one to win because I feel like I belong there and I feel like I deserve to be there. But until you cash in on an opportunity and, and get a W there, I feel like it's hard to really feel like, okay, I do deserve to be here. I do belong.

So getting that, you know, confidence wise is like, okay, I do. I proved it to myself. I can overcome adversity against the best guys in the world and still get a victory. And, you know, everyone always has been telling me my whole career, like, you're going to be here, you're going to be successful. And guys that I really respect, you know, my coaches, my teammates who have done it and have been there. But until you do it yourself, it's hard to believe.

before the finish. I mean, what were those moments like for you? Because you landed some big shots. You could see it in your face like, oh, you son of a bitch. Like,

but eventually, like you said, you fought through it, gave you an opportunity. You jumped the gilly and he got the tap. So, you know, what was the impact of those shots like,

like how hurt were you? How bad did it get for you? Right. So I hate coming on here and being like, oh, it wasn't that hurt because I hate when people do that. If I fight him and they beat me and they're like, oh,

I was fine. But really, man, it looks really bad. I won't lie. It looks really bad when I watch it. Like, I would not want to be my wife and my mom watching that fight. But in the moment, the only shot that really buzzed me bad was from his knees. I was in on that single leg. He whizzed down and threw an uppercut.

And I just, I don't, I think I just wasn't expecting that much power from the knees. Because, I mean, the guy hit like a truck for sure. But I felt like other than that, I did a good job of head movement. And things were kind of landing on my chest and on my shoulders. You know, he did have a few sneaker. through but I was I was aware you know I literally in the fight uh Mark Smith was like you got a fight you got a fight and I looked at him and I looked at him and said I'm good and you know I told him after him like thanks for giving me opportunity to continue to fight he's like well you communicated with me

and that's all we we really asked so I was in it you know I heard my coaches I heard him yell in 90 I heard him yell at the times out and I don't I didn't know if I was going to finish it right but I was like okay no matter what you know I think Daltcher is a great fighter I think he has a lot of power. He has a lot of great attributes. His weakness is his cardio. And I don't think, um, like that's controversial to say. I think everybody knows that. Uh, and he would have had nothing in the second and third. I felt him starting to fade and I was like, okay, I'm not going to win this round. Chalk this round up to him, props to him. But I have great cardio and I'm like, I'm going to come back second and third and get the job done. Uh, luckily I didn't have to. You know,

obviously the first round win is, is amazing and feels good. But I felt, okay, I'm in it. I'm good. I'm recovered. Mentally, I felt good. I wasn't like, oh, I'm out of it. I got killed. You know, I was like, okay, I'm going to come back. I got two rounds to make this work. And I think a lot of that is just the work I've been putting in into my mental and into my physical. So yeah, the shot, it looks. I don't think it was as bad as it looks. It probably still wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as it looked for sure. Yeah, Mark Smith coming through there because usually only, only vets get the luxury of getting that opportunity to let it ride out. And, and he let you go. So that's that's pretty cool. And you mentioned earlier that just going,

going through the adversity. And I feel like you needed to win this way because I didn't necessarily agree with the assessment of the fight heading in because if those who followed you early on, like you've had some some bloody battles. Like you battled through and fought some grizzled bets. You've been in like these situations before. But for some reason, like if you listen to breakdowns of the fight, people said, you know, this coding. guys got talent, but when the going gets tough, he kind of allows that trend to continue. And then they kind of go back to the William Knight fight. Like, if it doesn't go your way, you sort of just allow it to happen, like that way of thinking. I didn't necessarily agree with

that because I'll, I mean, we do our NBA fighting picks. I might have been the only one to pick you to win because I felt like you had that there. But with winning this way, I feel like you squash this narrative all together. So when people break down this fight, they're not going to think about that anymore because you came, you saw, you felt you submitted. Like, does it feel more special getting the win in this fashion in particular than say like you just go out there and win a decision or get a third round submission in a fight that you dominate like going through it the way that it happened i feel like this is the best way that this could have happened for you do you agree with that yeah i think it's probably the best thing for my career and just like i said in terms of mental

like i've always been like okay i have the dog in me i'm tough i have a good chance i've always felt those things but it's another thing like until you do it until you have to be put through the fire and really test those things, you don't really know, right? And I did. I went through it. I'm like, okay. And now I know, not that I ever want to, but if I need to, I can fall back on that. Like, that's a skill that or an attribute that I have that maybe not everyone else has.

You know, I've seen a lot of fighters be put in a position that I've been put in and be put, they go right to the fetal position and it's over, you know. And I remember, I think part of it is the culture I'm at now. I think part of it is the people that are around me. You know, I watched Dustin Jacoby the week before me in a dog fight where he was absolutely taxed, gas, trying to finish the kid and find a way to win. And he was in my corner of this fight, you know, and I just was thinking, I remember having this thought in the fight that I'm not going to lose this fight and go back to the hotel and be like, I'm sorry, guys, you know, I just couldn't get it done. Like, I'm not saying I was going to win, but if I was going to lose, it was going to be because I was unconscious and they were going to carry me out of there. And I've never really felt like that before.

Not that I've ever been like, I'm going to give up, but I've never felt like you will. have to end me to end this fight. And so I feel good about that. Yeah, I went to a dark place that I've never had to go to. And that, like you said, I do like to prove that narrative that I'm not tough or that I quit when the going gets hard wrong. I think sometimes MMA fans forget, like William Knight's a beast. And he's killing it in the UFC.

It's not like he's some pud that hit me a couple times. And I was like, oh, man, it's over, you know. Like the dude's really good. He's talented. He was able to find a finish, props to him. But that doesn't mean that I have no heart or that I quit when it gets tough. It just means that guy was better at that point, hit me in some spots that he was able to secure the win. You know, I'm not a quitter.

I've never been a quitter. So that is kind of a tough narrative to deal with. I was seeing that. You know, a lot of people were like, well, I guess this is the battle of two first round fighters. Or I guess this is a battle of who gets out ahead early. You know, that was kind of the narrative going into it. And I didn't feel that way. You know, I felt like the longer the fight went, the better it was going to be for me.

I think I told everyone in interviews, like the first four minutes will probably be nuts. It'll probably be chaos. You know, I said that multiple times because I know how Dolcha is. He comes out. He's powerful. He's explosive. But I knew that I could go 15 minutes. And I knew that adversity would be there.

I would just have to overcome it and that I could do that. So thank you for, you know, believing in that and knowing that was true. Because a lot, yeah, a lot of people weren't giving me that props, which kind of sucks. Yeah. And even like the Maxima fight, like, that's, I mean, fighting William, William's a freak. Like normally when you when you take a guy down, you take us back. Like the fight's done. Like it's over shortly thereafter.

And William just needs to go like and then he just explodes up in like one movement. Like nobody does that. Nobody does that. It's crazy. Yeah, he's absolutely free. I told my mom was like, can you please stop fighting these absolute monsters of humans? I'm like, yeah, I think I fought the biggest monster at 205 and the biggest monster at 185. So should get better from here.

Yeah. And then mixed in between those, you have, you, fight Nick Maximoff, who is like a middleweight version of Bryce Mitchell, who just, that gas tank doesn't stop, man. He just take that. If he doesn't get the first, he gets the second. He doesn't get the second. He just keeps shooting for them.

And you were hanging in there, man. Like, it was just, it was just, again, another freak, another free. Yeah, I thought after that Puna fight that maybe people would circle back and give me a little more credit for what I was able to do with Nick, because I felt like I had more success than Puna. I think Puna is a great fighter. You know, I think he's very talented. I think he has really good stand up.

really good wrestling trains at a legit gym and he got uh pretty well dominated by nick you know and i felt like i might there were points where i was getting dominated but i had my moments where you know i was close to to do to finish in doing a lot of damage like i had good moments in that fight stopped a lot of his takedowns uh so i was hoping like oh maybe people will circle back and be like but nobody does that right it's like what have you done for me lately and you know i did something lately so hopefully i get a little more love next time yeah it's just the way this sport is and social media and fans. I mean, I, I, I understand we were coming from, from a different angle. But it's just, you know, being a dad now, too, like you, you're fighting for just more than a

second paycheck, right? I mean, obviously that helps. It all kind of entangles together. But, I mean, just, just being a dad and like, how much has that changed you as a fighter? Like, the, the motivation has probably been there more than ever. But at the same time, like, you know, it's just that dad, you get that dad strength that you didn't really know, knew you have until. you actually see, you know, your child for the first time. Yeah, for sure. And like my daughter, you know, she's had some medical issues. I've kind of talked about them a little bit.

And, you know, she's, she's, everything she does is going to be based off what she sees her parents do, right? So if she sees me quitting, maybe she feels like it's okay to quit. And, you know, like there's no out anymore. There's no like, well, everyone will still love me because they will. They'll still love me. But it's like, what message am I going to send to her and to my team and to my coaches? to my family in general if I quit.

And that's not really an option anymore. And yeah, there's a lot of motivation. There's a lot of motivation to, like, do what I think everyone thinks I can do. I think I've had, like, my whole career, I feel like I've had really big expectations, which is great. You know, I feel like people have always kind of talked about me

since I was a young pro, like not even really on the UFC's radar, just because of, you know, one, I was married to a UFC fighter, which isn't very common. So I think that people talk about that. But then also, like, there's a reason that Dustin Jacob,

always brings me to corner him. There's a reason that I'm in Anthony Smith's corner. There's a reason that these guys have me in their circle and that I'm in, and that they're in my circle. And that's because, you know, they're champions and they're guys that are killing it. And they want to be around other people that are killing it. And I feel like that has led to high expectations. And I feel like for once I finally met the expectation that people had, you know,

which, which is huge, you know, because if I hadn't met that expectation, say I lost, it would be hard to look my daughter in the face, my wife in the face, look in the mirror because, like, you don't, like, you don't want to feel like a failure, but if you're not meeting the expectations, you feel like a failure regardless. You know, that's just how it is. That's just the sport we play. And this sport is the highest of highs and lowest of lows, more than any other sport. You know, like football, you go lose a game.

You play next week, and you got 30 other people that you can blame it on. Fighting, you lose. You got to wait. Like, I waited six months for this fight, and there's no one else you can blame it on. It's all on your shoulders, you know? So it's tough that way, but it's also awesome because when you win, it's like, okay, I did it. I accomplished these things, and I did way more than win a fight. I beat these demons that I was having.

I proved a lot to myself and proved a lot of my family. And, yeah, just a good feeling. What kind of demons were you having? Because you mentioned how important sharpening up mentally was. as opposed to the physical. And you're at a team, and Mark Montoya is a mental machine because I'll never forget the conversation

that with Brandon Royval, and Brandon was telling me how Mark just made him walk around the gym. Like, just walk. And anytime he tried to, like, speed up, Mark would yell at him and be like, what are you doing? We're not done yet.

Like, why are you rushing? Why are you running? Like, slow down. Just enjoy the process. And, like, those are like mental lessons he had to learn. But what were some of the demons you had? What were some of the biggest things

you needed to improve on mentally? I think, I really didn't believe that I belong, you know, and I really didn't feel like I deserve to be there, which is tough. Because I put in all the work and I compete with UFC guys every day and I have the talent. Just a mental thing where you're like, do I belong? Like, I took second in state in high school three times in wrestling. I was around from All-American twice in college. I was, I lost on contender after dominating the beginning of the fight and then I lost.

And then I lost my UFC debut. And I just had this like black. cloud over me of like you're just the guy who falls just a little short like you're really good but you fall just a little short every time you know and like that's just how I felt and you know obviously there were some other demons you know with my daughter's medical condition and everything uh you know real life is a lot heavier than it used to be uh you know fighting used to be the only really really important thing you know in my life that had a lot of consequence and now it's not even top three So those were demons too.

But yeah, just like having to prove a lot to myself, you know, like you can do this. And that's more than just fighting. Like that's life. Like you're not going to be the guy that just falls short. You're not going to be the guy that doesn't meet expectation. You work too hard for all these things. But I didn't feel that way until I got my hand race. I'm still starting to just feel like, okay, you proved it.

You know, we got to keep doing it, but you proved it. And, you know, I remember being backstage. I was like, man, my legs are really heavy. You know, I got bad anxiety. My legs are really heavy and my coach and Colin Anglin are like, oh, well, no one cares. So, you know, go make it happen. You're absolutely right. You're not wrong.

We signed on the dotted line. It's not like I'm going to walk out of here and not compete. But yeah, so there's some real demons. I think the sport brings them out a lot more. You know, I think like you have to face a lot of issues with this sport with yourself. And only you can answer. I'm like, before you walk in the cage, did I do everything I could do to be successful in this? endeavor I'm about to undergo.

And if you did, great. Like, I knew that. I knew no matter what happens, I've done everything in preparation. Like, I changed a lot. I did a lot more cardio. I did a lot more extra private sessions with coach. I was reading, like, my mental books, which I hadn't done.

Like, at fact, you're ex, we always have a book of the month. I was reading all my books, which I think helped a ton. And so I was taking all the extra steps to do it. But it's still tough. Like, I'm like, do I belong? Do I belong? Do I belong? And that question is like plaguing you, this whole six months.

And then you see everybody online. He sucks. He doesn't belong. How do you get to the UFC? Mr. Cooper, like all these things, right? Like people just going in on you. You're like, maybe they're right. Maybe they're right.

And then you prove it to yourself. And yeah, like I said, it feels really, really good. So do you feel like the win, obviously, and the way that happened, obviously, you feel a little bit better about it. But do you still feel like you're going to have to have that battle within yourself? Like, I feel like you've taken steps. but I mean, are we talking maybe like a mental coach? Like it's not uncommon.

It's maybe like more uncommon to not have one. You see now. Right. And it is to have one. Like to, you know what I mean? Like are we getting, are we thinking maybe that step or do you feel like we're on the right track? I think it's like it.

Yeah, I think we're on the right track. But I think it's like anything else. Like you got to practice, right? Like you got to do mental reps. You got to keep reinforcing the good things. You know, I've worked, uh, all through college wrestling, our team had like a mental coach and did the exercise. and he actually, like more, he trains a lot of the fight ready guys.

You'll see him a lot on their social media. Yeah, he's good, man. He's really good. He's done a lot of stuff. I use a lot of the techniques that they use just because we worked with them all through college. But also, it's a lot of like, because you can do all the reps in the world. But when it's time to really get in there and do it, it's tough, right? It's still going to be tough.

But now that you, I've done it and proved it to myself and prove, okay, I can go to a dark place. I can do this, I can do that. I know it's there. So, like, experience, like, if I, you don't ever have the experience, it's hard to draw from. I've had the experience now, I can draw from it. You know what I mean? I can say, this is how I felt before this fight, and I was able to get the victory. So it's okay to feel that way.

It's not going to affect your performance. You can make it happen. And I'll be honest, like, I'm not necessarily super happy with my performance. I'm happy with the result. I'm happy with the bonus. But was that my best fight? no, not at all. I mean, I got my ass beat for four minutes and I gridded through it and got the win. There's a lot to draw from and get better. But to know that I can beat a guy like Dulce who's super successful, you know, who took Uncle Live to the third round, dropped him a couple of times in the fight.

And I can finish him when I'm not fighting my best. You know, that's a lot of confidence too. So I think, yeah, it's still going to be a lot of mental reps. There's still going to be doubt. But that's just the sport. That's just the way it's going to always be. So I just got to keep working at it. I'm still young, too. You know, I'm only going to be, I'm going to be 28 in May. That's probably a little bit of part of it too. But yeah, we'll keep working. We'll keep getting better, physically, mentally, all of it.

So it's definitely not conquered. You know, it's better, way better. But it's not ever going to be conquered, I don't think, no matter what. There'll always be little seeds of doubt, and you just have to make friends with that. That's my coach always says. He says, make friends with those feelings because they're not going anywhere. So I think there was maybe one teammate who was disappointed. about Saturday and that was Josh Fremt because he didn't fight on the same card as you because

that was one of the things he's like he gets the contract he's like you know I want to be patience I want to I want to take my time before I make my debut I'm just what do you think he goes well Cody's fighting in March I'll fight on that I'm like dude that's like five weeks from now well it's a long time for me so seeing him in the UFC and like he obviously has very high praise for you um and kind of spoke about some of the things that you're speaking about that you're way better than a lot of people think you are, maybe even better than he thinks he is. A guy clearly has your back. So now that he's in the UFC and you get to work with that guy every day, what does that like? Oh, it's great, man. You know, ever since I moved here, it's been like me,

Dustin, and him. That's the three big guys. We grind all the time and, you know, Josh has deserved to be in the UFC a long time. And he just got signed, but he's deserved to be there for a while. His last five fights have been either contender series vets or guys that very easily could be in the UFC or are in the UFC. So, you know, I'm really happy for him to be there. And that's another guy who's just going to go on a tear. He's a killer. He's got all the tools in the world. We're at like the same point in our career.

So it's cool to like always be able to talk to each other, bounce things off each other. And we deal with a lot of the same stuff mentally. So it's good to have that person to fall back on. Like, hey, man, I kind of feel like this today. like, oh, I feel the same way. And you're like, okay, cool, I'm not a bitch. That's just how it is, I guess. So, you know, it's really good.

And I'm really happy for him. And, yeah, it's more confidence, you know. We got three guys in the UFC that are all going to be killing it together. And that gives you a lot of confidence to know you're crushing it, you know, with your boys that are also crushing it. Have you played golf with Jacoby yet? I haven't gone with him yet. But I know he's really good.

So I'm like, man, I maybe should practice a little bit before he go. He's like, no, it'll be fun, man. I'm like, no, you're too good to the point where, like, you're going to put a little pressure on me to, like, pick up my game, speed it up. I already don't play great. You start doing that. We're going to have some real problems.

So let me practice for about three, four months, get back in the swing of it. And then we'll go because he's absolute savage on the golf course. You mentioned, you know, your daughter and everything she's going through. And I saw, obviously, we saw the armband. Did you say, I just want to make sure I got the strike, the UFC. actually made that for you. Is that what I heard? Yeah.

So the UFC made that. So just allow me to kind of promote on their brand, which I think is really cool. You know, sometimes UFC's a little finicky about what they're allowing you to promote. But I thought it was cool. Like no questions asked. They made it. And I just thought it was a neat way to honor her. You know, like, and my sister also has epilepsy.

So, you know, it's honoring her as well. You know, I made it about my daughter a little bit more. But yeah. So it was cool. It was really cool that they did that. And, you know, to be able to do that at work and with such a large audience is neat to be able to get that story out. Because I remember trying to think, I watched a like, like one of those 30 for 30s, trying to think who it was on. It was on the, maybe it was Kenny Smith.

I can't remember. But it was one of the basketball guys. And he was talking about his son has disabilities, right? He's older kid disabilities. And when I watched that, it just made me feel like inside, like, okay, there's other people going through things similar to me, and they're making it work, right? Like, they're making it work and they're successful and their kids are happy

and they're living a good life. And for me, I was like, okay, I can do this. So if I'm able to do that for anyone, even like one other person, like that's huge because it's, man, it's scary. It's really tough being a parent in general. You know, I think it's like the scariest thing in the world. But then you throw in on top of that, like uncertainties of what the future holds. and what that's going to look like.

And it's really tough. There's a lot of dark days. But, you know, we try to stay hopeful. And things like that just help, I think. When you know you're in it with other people, other people are going through the same thing. It helps, you know, strengthen numbers for sure. Because they're like so resilient too.

Like, you know, half times they even know what's happening. Like you sit there and we're all horrified and they're just like, what? What are you so upset about? Yeah, I always tell everyone that too. Like it, I think it would be really a lot harder. if she was like, say she was like 20 and gotten some terrible accident and like lost all her functions. But whatever this ends up being is what all she's going to have ever known for her

whole life. So this is just going to be her life. And so I can I, I'm, if it ends up being bad, that's sad. But also it's better than if she knew this crazy other thing. And then all of a sudden all that was taken away, you know. So I mean, it's a weird way to look at it. But you got to try to find positives and try to find things that make you hopeful. And those do that for me. So, yeah. A couple last quick things. I know you're on a time crunch, but.

Oh, you're good, brother. When do we want to come back? What are we thinking? Hopefully, like June, maybe early July, like International Fight Week. I know Dustin and Anthony are trying to fight around that time too. So it would be cool to kind of be in camp with those guys. Hopefully Josh gets booked here soon. We can all just be in camp grinding together.

But yeah, my body's good. you know, I'm not banged up at all and be back in the gym on Monday. Coach basically makes us take a week off or else I'd be back in sooner. But, yeah, I'll be back in Monday training. So hopefully we can get booked in, yeah, June or July against maybe someone a little less Jack, but we'll see. Yeah, I mean, like matchmaking wise, we do Anthony versus Ancolaif. I think that makes all the sense of the world. We do Jacoby versus Roundtree.

I think that makes all the sense in the world. And then we got to do Cody versus. TBD like who we thinking like you say less jacked but and you're not saying it to talk or anything but yeah no we're just we're trying to to grow your career i like there's a lot of fights that i like i think there's a lot of easier fights than dulcia matchup wise not necessarily like they're worst fighters just matchup wise there's easier fights um i like that jacob malkoon fight i think that he's kind of at a similar point as me you know he's six and one i believe I think I'm seven and two.

He's two and one in the UFC. I'm one and one. I don't know. I like that fight. I think he's a wrestler. I'm a wrestler. It's a good matchup. But like I said,

there's tons of guys. Darren Win. I like that fight. Andre Petroski. I like that fight. All those guys, you know, I've trained with Andre in the past. We kind of have a feel for each other.

I'd be shocked if he wanted that fight, to be honest, but we'll see. He's fighting somebody. He's booked against somebody. He's fighting Max. Yeah, Nick Maximo. Oh, that's right.

Oh, Jesus. I mean, yeah. That one's going to be, yeah, we'll see how that one goes. That's going to be an interesting match. It's an interesting matchup. Both those guys are really good wrestlers. But Nick has cardio for days and is super relentless. I think Andre's biggest knock is he doesn't have the cardio.

He has a little better stand up than Nick probably, but you can only throw that overhand left like so many times before you're going to gas out. We saw that in his last fight. So it's going to be interesting. I'm definitely going to be tuned into that one. I'll tell you that. That'll be a doozy. Yeah, it's cardio versus Cajone's.

That's what it's all right. That's right. That's hilarious. Cody, congrats, man. Very happy for you. You made me look like a genius and I respect that about you. So thanks again for the time. Congratulations.

Smell the Roses. We'll see you back in the gym on Monday and hopefully we see you back in there, June, July, right around the same time as your teammates, my man. Awesome. Thanks, brother. Thanks for having me. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.