MMA Fighting - What the Heck: Episode 13 | Shane Burgos, Justin Jaynes, Youssef Zalal & Sean Woodson

Episode Date: June 25, 2020

Check out episode 13 of What the Heck with Mike Heck on MMA Fighting. This week, Mike chats with Shane Burgos to recap his incredible co-main event bout with Josh Emmett at UFC on ESPN 11, the UFC rankings and more. Justin Jaynes talks his 41-second TKO win in his short notice UFC debut over Frank Camacho this past weekend, the wild beginning of his career, and what he wants next. Plus, Youssef Zalal and Sean Woodson preview their sophomore UFC appearances this Saturday at UFC on ESPN 12.  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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. What the Heck with Mike Heck on MMAfighting.com. Now, here is your host, Mike Heck. What the heck? Hello there, everybody. Welcome to a brand new edition of What the Heck on MMAfighting.com. I am Mike Heck. Thank you, as always, for checking out the show.

We're coming off the most loaded episode of What the Heck that we've ever had last week. And we have another really fun lineup joining us this week. Of course, and I say this on this show or between the links or literally anytime I talk about the sport at all, there's a lot going on. And we're coming off a memorable event this past Saturday. It was headlined by Curtis Blades, gets a big win over Alexander Volkov in a pivotal heavyweight matchup. Dana White was pretty critical of Curtis Blades after the victory. And I think part of that has to do with the co-main events because when you have a fight like Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos had 15 minutes of just an all-out battle of attrition. It was a clear

fight of the night and of course, hats off to both men, but, you know, it's hard to follow that. It's almost impossible to follow a fight like that up, but man, how tough is Josh Emmett? Tears his ACL in the opening seconds of the fight. And this is amongst many other injuries that he suffers in the fight and gets a big win over a very exciting guy, very game Shane Burgos. And obviously, we wish Josh nothing but the best in recovery. And we'll be talking about this fight a little bit later on in the show. But our own Damon Martin caught up with Josh Emmett. Check that out on M.Afighting.com.

But probably the biggest story to come out of that event this past weekend was not the main event, not the co-main event. It was what happened during the first fight of the night. So if you missed it, I'm sure you've all heard about this by now. Austin Hubbard defeats newcomer Max Roshkopf via second round TKO. And you already know this, but just very brief. Between the second and third rounds, Max was done, kept telling his coach Robert Drysdale to call the fight. Robert tried to motivate him to continue on and the fight was eventually stopped. And a lot has come out of this.

There's been a lot of finger pointing, a lot of scrutiny towards Max, his coach, Robert Drysdale, even his manager I've seen. from time to time, but in the end, Dana White speaks to the media after the event and kind of had Max's back on this. And the reason I bring this all up is because I spoke to Max Roscoop on Tuesday afternoon. The interview dropped on our YouTube page and on the site yesterday. And I would say like the comments and what people are saying, it's been, it's been pretty fair, honestly. I mean, of course you're going to have a couple people who are just going to be like, oh, he's quitter, fire him. He never deserves another shot. But the interview is pretty amazing.

Like, like I said, before you pass judgment, the guy clearly not in the greatest place. And who would want to sit there and talk to a reporter for 30 plus minutes after what just happened on Saturday night? Like, not many people would do that. And Max went ahead and did it and offered no excuses. You know, he gave Austin the shine that Austin Hubbard definitely deserves coming out of that performance. because no one's talking about Austin Hubbard winning that fight, and they should be. And Max feels that way as well. But he goes into not just the fight, but what he deals with mentally on a day-to-day basis.

And it was a really fascinating conversation. It blew me away for being honest. So if you haven't watched it, if you haven't read the article, I think watch it. I think a little bit of both kind of puts it into context. But it was something else. I was blown away by it. So I highly recommend you go back and check that out. but the UFC train will continue to move.

And it's going to move along into this Saturday. It's the final event at the apex until August. And this one's going to be headlined by Dustin Porreier versus Dan Hooker. And good Lord, do I love this fight. And I think all the apex cards to this point from a competitive standpoint, we've had some fun main events. We've had some fun co-main events. But if we're comparing main events between, even including UFC 250,

the May 30th event, this is the best main event for, sure. And I'm really looking forward to this fight. I'm really looking forward to a number of fights on this card. And we're going to discuss a couple of those on the show. And you know, in the biz, it's called a segue. So we'll segue from that statement into what the lineup's going to look like for this week's episode of what the heck. So wrap it up the show. We're going to chat with Sean Woodson, undefeated fighter coming out the contender series. The story to get to the contenders for him was unbelievable. Huge weight cut. Gets in there. It's a pretty sizable underdog gets a finish, gets a contract, and he made his UFC debut in October on that card in Boston

and had a fantastic showing in a victory over Kyle Bokniak who returns this Saturday, and now he takes on Julian Arosa, as we found out on Tuesday evening. And I will say, Sean and I discussed a lot of different things in this conversation, but we did speak on Monday when his opponent was still Kyle Nelson before Kyle had to deal with the visa issues and was forced out of the fight. But But it is what it is. It's good stuff from the sniper. You're going to hear that a little bit later on. We found out around a week or so ago that Yusuf Salal will make his second walk to the Octagon.

Again, on very short notice like he did earlier this year, he's going to fight Jordan Griffin this Saturday. And as you guys probably know by now, Jordan was supposed to fight Derek Minner on that June 13th event before Minner was forced out of the fight during the way-ins. He had a problem with his weight cut. He got sick. And Griffin gets back on a card and he's going to fight Yusuf Zalal. and this is going to be a lot of fun this Saturday night. If you're not familiar with these guys or Yusuf Salal, it's going to be a fun fight. Mark my words on that.

We're also going to hear from a man who made a huge impact this past weekend. A man by the name of Justin Jane. Step in on 48 hours notice to fight Frank Camacho, makes his debut. And 41 seconds after the fight begins, it comes to an end. What a debut, a quick finish, a bonus, just huge stuff for Justin Janes. We'll chat with the guitar hero a little later on. But kicking us off this week, one half of the fighting night this past Saturday night in Las Vegas. And I never really enjoy reaching out to fighters who lose the previous weekend.

I know I talked to Max. I thought that was more than just wins and losses that conversation. But Shane Burgos is just the man. Like, he's just the man. So let's check in with Hurricane Shane Burgos coming off his incredible fight with Josh Emmett five nights ago right now on what the heck. All right, we have Hurricane Shane Burgos back on the show. We just saw him compete on Saturday night in an absolute classic against Josh Emmett. He may have lost on the scorecards, but in all honesty, there were no losers in that fight on Saturday night.

Shane, how are you, man? I appreciate you doing this. I've been better, but not too bad. That's good. Are you back at the gym? Did I hear that correctly? Yeah, like, I'm pulling up to the gym right now, so I flew my camera around. I don't know if...

There you go. Oh, there you go. You're actually going to train? Yeah. Obviously, no contact or anything like that right now, but I'm going to do that condition right now. There you go. So obviously that fight was bananas, man. Like it lived up to the hype and then some, but more important than anything else.

How are you feeling physically after a 15-minute war like that? I feel pretty good, honestly. It's more mental than anything. I'm really fucking salty, man. I really did think I did enough to win that fight. So I'm a little bit pissed about that. But physically, not too bad. I got some x-rays done.

make sure everything's good. But as soon as the doctor says, I'm good, I'm good to go back to the training. I want to fight again soon. Yeah, so it's interesting because your reaction to the decision was something that was discussed on social media and stuff. And like all three judges gave the first round to Josh. All three judges gave the second round to you. Did you and your coaches?

Like, what did you guys see in between those rounds? Did you think you won both the first and second round? I still haven't watched it yet. So I got to go back and watch it. But I clearly remember both the first and second round. Even the third round, I remember all of it. But I really thought I won the first round. After the first round, I was like, oh, that's it.

I got this. Especially I noticed he hurt his knee in the first, like, 30, 40 seconds of the fight. So I was like, all right, his legs hurt. I started attacking that. I was pressing the action the entire time, the first round especially. So I was shocked that not one judge gave me that first round. It's crazy. And it's obviously, like, it's better to come out of a fight with your hand raised.

And that's about as obvious a statement as one can make. But you looked like you had a blast in there. Like, how much fun did you have in there? Like before the decision was read. Yeah, I said it even in my post fight, like a post when I put on Instagram. That was probably like, I'm pissed that I lost, but that was, I really fucking had a good time. Like, that was a fun fight. I enjoyed it.

Like, I enjoyed every second of it. You know, when he dropped me in my butt twice, I pissed me the fuck. Still pissed me off. But I remember just laughing at him and being like, dang, you fucker, like, I thought it was good. The first two rounds, I was eating all his shots, third round. He just called me about that with those two left hands by surprise. but it was a good fight it was fun fight

you went into that fight and you talked about it like you knew you were going to get hit and the way most pundits sort of described the matchup on paper was and I remember Anthony Smith joined me in the preview show to talk about it as well

it was going to be your technique your pace, your game against his power and one thing Anthony said that really stuck out to me he said that Josh doesn't have to be perfect for 15 minutes he just needs to be perfect for one second did anything surprise you in the fight overall

the only has surprised me that he heard his knee that early in the fight That's really the only thing. But I, and I'm a little bit more surprised that he didn't wrestle more. But after hurting his knee now, it makes a little bit more sense. Other than that, no, he fought the way I trained for him to fight. I knew he was looking for the big overhand, right, the big left hook. And I knew he wasn't going to be a bunch of a combination guy,

but it's a big sit-down and his punch kind of guy. And I feel like I was able to read it the first two rounds, the third round, he definitely called me by surprise with a couple of those. But overall, it went almost exactly how I expected. When did you know like right away that his knee was hurt? Because like you could see at least at least on the replay. It was pretty funky. It looked like it was just going to be like a hyper extension of some kind.

And it turns out it was complete ACL tear like with a litany of other injuries. Did you know like right away that he hurt himself and was going to be compromised? Yeah, he just moved and he bent and his knee buckled. And again, this was in the first 30 seconds. And I noticed that. And he grabbed his leg a second time. And I was like, all right, his leg is legit jacked up. I could tell if he was like playing possum or not.

I could just see it on his face. that he wasn't playing. He wasn't playing around. He really was hurt. Obviously, it sucks going home with the loss, but you at least got to make it back on Father's Day, get to see your daughter. And that means much more than winning and losing, does it not? Yeah, 100%. I only got to see her for a little bit, though, because I got home. She was sleeping, so I had to take her back from her grandma's house and bring her home. So I only got to be with her for about 15 minutes, if that, and then she knocked right back out. But, yeah, this is what I do it for. I couldn't wait just to get home and just hang out with her.

I just took her toy shopping just now. That's the best part about the fight. Just getting to hang out and be normal and be dad again for her. Fighters are so self-critical. You felt like you did enough to win that fight. I actually thought there's a chance it could have been a draw because the first two rounds were you could have won the first two rounds. And if they counted the third rounds of 10-8, very possible.

And some people thought I was nuts for saying that, but it is what it is. But any silver linings at all in this fight? Like any regrets? Is there something you wish you did more? Bye. It sounds fucked up, but I honestly wish I would have kicked more. He did a good job at, like, after the first two rounds, like, I was kicking still, and he was just eating him and not really flinching from him.

So I guess the adrenaline really kicked in from him. But I wish I would just attack the legs even more. I didn't do it nearly enough as I even game plan to do that. That was a huge part of my game plan was to kick the legs. And I kind of amended it after he starts landing some bombs. I was like, I got to land some bombs too. So I wish I would just stuck with the leg kicks a little bit more. and just a little bit more output with my hands.

Like when I had him in some positions on the cage, when he had to his back to the stage, I wish I would have attacked even more. So I do want to bring something up that I'm sure you've heard a lot about over the last couple of days, especially since you were the biggest talking point in the conversation, the rankings. Like you go out there and you have a fight like that.

Fight of the night, extra 50 Gs, both stocks rose, in my opinion. But the latest rankings come out and you drop five spots, five friggin' spots? What is that all? about. You tell me, man. I don't know. I don't know if you're one of the media members that controls it, but I knew you wouldn't say that, but dude, it's fucking weird. It's honestly, like, I lost and I was pissed enough because I really felt like I won, but then on top of that, to have that happen, it's just like, dude, that was a slap in my fucking face. I lost to the number

eighth-ranked guy, a guy that's been sleeping everybody that he's been fighting. I went out there and I had a fucking fight, everyone's talking fight of the year, potential kind of fight, and then you're going to disrespect me with that and put me, like, I fucking. hate the rankings first of all. The rankings, they kind of fuck everything up with, like, obviously you only want to fight guys that are ahead of you. So you only have X amount of matchups that you can even go for. So then on top of that, you're going to knock me back even more and say, what the fuck more do you want? Like I lost a close fight to the number eighth guy when I was ranked 10. How do I go back that many spots? It's fucking crazy. And, and a lot of people are like,

oh, fuck that. The rankings don't mean shit. I completely agree with you. They don't mean shit. There's somebody's opinion. But then, on the other hand, they do mean something. So it's like they don't mean something, but when it matters, they do mean something. So it's frustrating. Yeah, I know our mutual friend Eric Coal was the one who put this all out there and made it public and he got hammered by the UFC, but it looks like they're going to keep him on the panel. But the reasoning behind the, I guess the direction they wanted to go seemingly was, you know, dropping you down so much opens the door for Bryce Mitchell to enter the top 15, which, listen,

like Bryce is a great talent, no doubt about it. But comparing resumes and strength of schedule, et cetera, I found that a little. little bizarre, not showing any disrespect towards Bryce, but you know what I mean, right? Like, the competition's so different. Yeah, we have the same management team. So nothing against him. I actually like the kid a lot. He's a fun fighter to watch. So I hope he gets ranked too. But yeah, like you said everything. I don't need to say anymore about that. There you go. You just fought. So like the next, the what's next conversations are interesting, especially after a 15 minute battle like you just had. So I guess like when would you like to return? Like, have, had, you had,

Have you even thought about that at all? I thought about it a little bit, but I have to take some time, obviously. It was a hard fight. I took some shots, and I pride myself in being able to take shots, but I pride myself of being a smart fighter and a sport athlete. Like you talked about earlier, I have a daughter. So I don't, my health is number one. So I'm getting all my tests done around that, making sure I'm good.

I have no concussion, making sure I have no broken bones or anything of that. Once that's set and done, I'm going to take at least a month off the sparring. I definitely want to be back by, I'd say, September. Sounds good, man. I suggested Jeremy Stevens. Thoughts? Say it again? I suggested Jeremy Stevens as your next opponent.

That's an awesome fight. There are so many good fights. My division is, like, obviously I'm not, I have a little bit biased, but bias aside. I'm a huge fan. Like, my division is the best division when it comes to matchups. Like, you can put anybody in top of team against each other and you're going to have a fucking good matchup. Not even in top of team. You got guys that are outside of top 15 that are just so fun to watch.

Incredible fight, man. I know you got to go train and get your cardio on, but hats off to you and Josh and a big thank you as well, because you guys personified why we all love this sport so much. So thank you for the time, as always. Anything else you want to get off your chest before we let you go, sir? No, man. I appreciate you having me on. And shout out to Josh, too. That was a fun fight, man. I'm happy you came to bring it. And we stood in there. We had a good fucking time. I hope he heals up. I hope he comes back soon. All the best of you, man. We'll talk soon. Have it going, brother.

Hurricane Shane Burgos, great stuff from him. He's certainly going to grow for from that fight with Josh Emmond and always looking forward to seeing Shane compete and get back in the octagon, whatever that is. And I think a lot of people will be excited to see our next guests back in there as well, Justin Janes. After a memorable night in his UFC debut, a 41 second finish of Frank Camacho and an extra 50 G's to boot. Let's check in with the victorious Justin Janes. All right, let's check in with a man who made a huge splash in his UFC debut on Saturday night. He finished Frank Camacho and just 41 seconds. The guitar hero is here. Justin James looking like a million dollars with the

flamingo shirt. How are you, sir? Hey, I'm doing really good, man. I feel like a million bucks right now. I bet. And it's always always nice to talk to a fellow member of the bald contingency. That's what's about. Yeah, I'm just talking these fights. There you go. First of all, we need to put some respect on your name because I don't know if you noticed watching it back or not, but the broadcast team, they kept calling you Jesse Jane's throughout the fight. But with that extra 50 Gs, I guess you can wipe away the tears with $100 bills. Am I right? Yeah.

You know, John reached out to me personally, a message and apologize up and down. I don't give a shit about that stuff, man. I mean, mistakes are made. Man, if I got mad at every time I had a mistake at work, man, I'd been fired years ago, dude. It's no big deal. I know he won't do it again.

He's a professional. He's one of the best in the game. I respect him. I appreciate even, you know, just talking about him talking about me, even if he did say the wrong name a couple times. He got my name right most of the time. It's not that big of a deal. me, man, I'm over it. Yeah, John's a friend of mine, so I kind of bust his balls a little bit.

Sure, sure, sure. So it's all good fun. I'm not trying to cause problems or anything. But good Lord, man. What a debut. Take the fight on like 48 hours noticed, at least. That's when people started finding out what was happening. I know I reached out to you on Thursday, but when were you made aware that this was a thing that you'd get your long-awaited shot at the UFC on super short notice? You know, Wednesday night, I was going out to dinner. I was about to go eat some Thai food, man. And Jason calls me, and usually he texts me. So I kind of got like a little pit in my stomach, answered the phone.

I was really quiet. And he's like, all right, you better be ready to go this weekend, man. And how's your weight? And I just happened to train that day. And I was like 166 or 167 pounds after training after being dehydrated. So I stepped on the scale. I was like 170, 171. And, you know, the next day I just planned out.

I was like, all right, I'm going to start my weight, cut at noon. I'll probably cut weight for three or four hours, take a break, come back to it and get on weight. Well, let alone I didn't know that. I had five doctor's appointments to go the next day. 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, noon, 1.30, 3.30. So I'm in a panic state right now. Like, fuck, how am I going to make weight? But you know what?

I thank my team for staying on me and getting me to the gym at 8 p.m. And Roman Isbel, you know, one of my coaches, we were there to like 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. And he's there sweating with me in the sauna, hold minutes for me. kept me diligent in the process and kept me honest. Unbelievable. What a story that is. So with Jason House, when there's good news, like you said, it was a phone call. Normally, it's a FaceTime call. It's like a video call of some kind when he has good news.

Was it like that or is just a straight phone call for you? No, it's just a straight phone call. Yeah, usually, I mean, we talk on the phone periodically, but usually we're just texting back and forth. And, you know, one of my other managers is a part of Oridium, text me in the morning, just asking me how my weight was. Jason may have. I can't remember. So I knew I had a good feeling that it was going to be something good.

So very excited. And when I saw his name popped up, my heart sank because I knew it was either make a break, he was going to call me and break my heart or he was going to call me and make all my dreams come true. This is your first fight in over a year. And you're typically a pretty active guy in there. Was there, I guess, a lot of pent-up frustration in those 41 seconds on top of just one showcase yourself in your UFC debut? You know, I'm going to tell you, man, Camacho is so

awesome, man. He's a stand-up guy, a stand-up fighter. He's a heavy-handed guy. You know, he's just a slugger, and it wasn't about any, it wasn't any frustration taking out. But, you know, when the dust and everything said, you know, he's in the way of my dream, man, he's been here. He's had seven UFC fights. This is my debut. You know, Dana White, the day before, you know, sits all the fighters in a room. And he's saying, you know, you want to be the guy. that, you know, that, that, uh, that everyone's talking about for the week. You had, everybody in this room has that opportunity. And I took that to heart, you know, like I got out there. I visualized it all. And, you know, I was going to run my, I was going to swing hard

until I ran my gas tank to zero, man. I wanted that highlight real finish. I want people buzzing about the fight. I want people buzzing about me. I want to come in, make a show and have people talking about it, you know, and that's what Dana talked about the day before, you know. And that's, that was my goal. And that's what I went in there and did. By the way, how's your, how's your, your head right now. You could see sort of the remnants of the fight on Saturday. How's a, uh, how's a feeling? Oh, that's good, man. It's ain't no thing but a chicken wing, man. It's, uh, it's just, just a little cut. No big deal. I'll staple it up. I'll be, I'll be back to fight. Fuck, I'll fight next weekend. I'm fight on, let's go.

You've been, you've been fighting for a long time, right? Like, and according to the listings online, you made your amateur debut in 2009, but you came up on the Michigan, in the Michigan MMA scene. I remember talking to a fighter named Jose Johnson last year, another guy from Michigan. He had a highlight real finish for LFA. And he said that despite like all the amateur fights that were listed, he had like 90-something amateur fights and like 75 of them weren't even listed. Some ridiculous number like that. Was it similar for you coming up in that scene? Yeah, man. I had my first amateur fight in 2007, June of 2007 for Rough House Productions, ran by a good friend of mine, Phil Davy, and Jerry Higgins, Josh Lawrence,

a couple from the OGs back in the day. But understand it was unsanctioned. You know, they put a ring up in a bar, and then you'd sign up. Who wants to fight? I was a good high school wrestler, so a guy named Andy McLaughlin came into a gym that I worked at, and he's trying to get me fired up. And he ended up, I didn't want to really fight at first. But after he talked me into it, after, you know, his consistency,

he gets me to take a fight for this rough house. it was called Roughhouse Productions. And I remember it very, very well. It was in a ring. The guy threw a head kick at me. And I moved out of the way. And I remember thinking my head like, what the fuck am I doing? And I just ran at him like I was tag because I played high school football, college football.

And I was trying to tackle like a quarterback, a lineback on a quarterback. And he sank in a guillotine. And I know what his guillotine was. I didn't know what a choke was. I tapped out, man. And I have an ego, man. If me and you are flipping coins and you flip heads more than I flip tails, I'm pretty upset about it.

So I said I was only going to do one fight, but I can't go out 0-1. I took my next fight. I can't remember what the promotion was, but I remember it was in a VFW hall, and I won that fight by decision, and I was hooked. And I end up having 47 amateur fights in Las Vegas, in Michigan, in Ohio, Wisconsin, King of the Cage. CCC, TWC, there's just countless different promotions that I'd fought for throughout because, again, there was no sanctioning. So there was times, I remember one set time, I fought on Saturday, I fought on Thursday, and then I fought on Saturday again because there was no medical suspensions.

You know, I was 18, 19 years old. I thought I was tough, and I just wanted to fight, you know, and I know another time I fought for a promotion in Indiana, and we were allowed knees. and stumps to the head on the ground. And then another time I fought in Michigan, it was a four-man tournament and I fought two full fights in one night. So, I mean, we used to call that the Wild Wild West days, you know, if you were around during that time. And those were the good old days, honestly.

You know, I know I'm talking a lot, but those were the times where people fought because they wanted to see who the toughest mother effort was. All these businessmen nowadays, these 20, 25-year-old kids are coming up. Oh, I want to handpick my opponents. Oh, well, I have an edge on him. Fuck that.

We used to show up at the bar and be like, hey, you're tough. You're tough. How much do you weigh? I weigh the same. Let's fight. And let's see who's tougher. And I feel that M.MA is getting away from that. Everyone, you know, see the Connor McGregor's talking shit.

They can handpick their opponents, man. I feel I'm like kind of the last generation of that kind of fighter that just fought just to see who the baddest guy was. So after you said you wanted to have one fight early on and then you lost. and you were like, F this, we're going to keep on going. When did you realize that this is what you wanted to do and that someday I want to get to the UFC? Was there a time for you that you remember that you're like, you know what? I love doing this.

I'm just going to keep doing it. There's a picture. And I remember, there's a picture on my Facebook. And I remember the thought and the feeling is when I won my first amateur fight. You know, I lost the first one that I won the second one. And I remember taking myself, it's like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. You know, and I was, like I said, I was 17 or I would just turn. I think I was 17 years old, and my dad had to sign the waiver.

And I just remember thinking, man, I want to be in the UFC. And I went home, and I ended up watching, I remember the, it was the first MMA fight I ever see professionally. It was Ken Shamrock versus Tito Ortiz, pay-per-view. Me and my buddy bought it. And, yeah, man, I was hooked. And, you know, when I graduated college, I decided, like, you know, I can go down a business route with my degree. Or I can try to punch people in the face for a living and have some fun. And so I moved out to Vegas almost immediately upon my graduation, and I haven't looked back since.

What a crazy story that is. So from your first amateur fight at 17, you're at a bar being like, oh, let's just go fight to fighting during the middle of a pandemic in an empty UFC apex. What a crazy ride you've been on? Man, the highs have been high and the lows have been lower than 99% of people can even imagine, man. I've almost quit dozens of times. And, you know, thankfully for my family, my mom, my dad, and my dad, and, my coaching staff, you know, Andrew Jacob, Dennis Davis, Roman Isbell, you know, James Lee back in Michigan, he's a UFC vet. Darren Crookshank was my college roommate. Cody Stamen, we used to train together in Michigan on the amateur scene. I used to ref Cody's fights.

Now he moved out to, I guess, now we're back to training again, just like we used to do it all of that. Man, Carol Roe, I mean, the list just goes on and on. You know, like I said, the list goes on and on. The people that have kept me going and have sharpened my skills. and, you know, I can't even say all their names because there's just so many of them. I assume that little spark plug. Jared Brooks is on that list somewhere.

Oh, yeah. Jared Brooks, man. We're more, we've trained together several times. That guy's a freaking phenomenal fighter, man. He's just a freaking stud. His hands, Kara has made his hands so sharp and his wrestling was already so good. You know, the first time I worked with Jared or ever rolled with Jared, I'm like, all right, I'll take it easy. I only weighs like 110 pounds soaking wet. Next thing I know he's double-legged me throwing my feet up.

up in the air, pressure and right my face. I'm like, this motherfucker. And, you know, that's, it was, it was a pretty surreal experience to get tossed around by a kid that weighs, what, what does you weigh, 105, soaking wet, like, beat my ass the first time we rolled. And I was like, motherfucker, man, but that kid's an awesome guy, too. Yeah, I hope he gets his shot back up there. I think he absolutely deserves it, no doubt about it. But, uh, so you, you, you cut the weight, you make the weight, and then Frank was the last fighter to hit the scale. And unfortunately, he missed by two pounds. How did you react to that on Friday? Here's the thing, man.

Fighting is fucking tough. And, you know, I see I got a lot of keyboard warriors that, you know, might even be, you don't even say they're my fans. Like, all, fuck that for him miss weight. I don't give him a fuck about that. Now, if he would have came in at like 160 or 165, all right, now it's like, come on, what's going on? But he missed by two pounds.

Those two pounds aren't going to make or break the fight. It's not going to change the outcome of the fight. Frank is a season vet. You know, something just went wrong. man, I've missed weight before. It's, it happens. Unfortunately, it's the sport. We never wanted to happen, but it happens. What am I going to get mad at the guy for something I've done before? You know, it's, like I said, it's, we're in a pandemic right now. You know, his training probably wasn't the same as it normally as I know mine wasn't, you know, like I'm trying to,

most people would don't even want to train right now because, because of this coronavirus thing. So, you know, hats off to Frank. He got within two pounds. I'm not mad at him. You know, it's, I don't give a shit about that shit. So let's get to Saturday night. You make the walk. You're standing in the hallowed octagon at the UFC apex. I mean, what did it all feel like? Like, was it like any other fight or were you like, all right, this is pretty cool.

We made it. I mean, it was like any other fight, man. It's like I've said before is I feel that I've deserved to be here for the last couple of years. You know, I've been in extreme couture since 2009. I've trained with the best of the best fighters. I've trained with champions. I know where I belong. I know how tough I am.

So when I got in the ring, it was the first time that I can remember that I wasn't nervous. You know, like I said in my post-fight interview is, you know, fighting on these regional promotions, those are nerve-wracking. Because it doesn't matter who you're fighting, you know, everybody has a puncher's chance. And, you know, I fought at 170 and 185. These, like, I'm not unknockaudable. I guess if that's even a word, you know, it's, you know, those fights are nerve-wracking to me. You know, I knew me and Frank were going to get in a phone booth and slug, and I knew one of us was going down. I obviously hoped it was him, of course.

But no, man, like when I was in the cage and I just remember looking at Bruce Buffer and you see in the video where I'm shaking my head like, yes. And that's just me thinking like, I'm supposed to be here. This is my time. I'm supposed to be here. I'm talking to myself. And I'm getting goosebumps right now thinking about it. You know, I've been watching Bruce Buffer as an announcer for years and years and years. and he's, you know, this close to my face screaming at me, pointing at me,

and I'm just like, yep, I'm supposed to be here, motherfucker. Let's go. And, you know, when the fight started, you know, we have a brief exchange, and he threw a body kick. And I remember in the back room, you tell my coaches, I'm not backing up for one step. I'm in his face until I gas out or I get knocked out. I'm going to be right in his face.

And I'm in pretty good shape. I've been training full time for the last couple weeks. But he threw that body kick, and I remember I took a half step backwards. And I remember thinking myself is, motherfucker don't go backwards. And that's when I just leaped in with that left hook. I felt it land. I felt his body kind of stopped for a second.

I'm like, oh, he's shocked. And I was like, fuck it, throw it again. Bink, hit him again. He fell. We clashed heads. And the rest is history, man. Because you were, I mean, you just kept landing those hammers. Like you said, you were just going to keep throwing him until somebody dropped or

you ran out of gas. Were you like, holy crap, dude? Why won't you drop? Because he wasn't dropping. He just kept taking him. And I was wondering how many more of those you were going to land before the ref eventually stepped in and stopped him. and then finally he did.

I, you know, I have hit some people as hard as I can in my life. And Frank has one of the best chins. And, I mean, he was out on his feet, I think, briefly. But even when the referee separates us, he still tries to throw a punch. Like, he's, I mean, fucking hats off to him, man. One of the toughest SOBs I've ever stepped in the cage with. I mean, I hit him with 100% power shots, four, five, six times.

And I couldn't, I mean, I think the case was holding him up at one point. But still, man, you know, hats off to Herb Dean, too, protecting the fighter. Because, you know what, Frank wasn't going to quit. Frank wasn't going to fall down. He was going to stay up and he was going to try to clinch me and slow me down. He, you know, Herb Dean came in and I think did the right thing. You hear the cliche all the time that like everything happens for a reason. And as soon as I found out that you were stepping in to fight Frank, I was like,

I'm sure Justin was going to fight anybody at this point. point, but matching you up with a guy like him, I feel like that was like the best sort of stylistic matchup you could have possibly asked for. You had a tough guy who was willing to stand in there and throw bombs with you. This couldn't have worked on any better for you. You know, and you could be talking to him the same way right now because you could be saying to him right now, like this perfect style matchup, you know, you could be having the interview with him. I just happened to catch him first. I agree, man. It was so much fun and exciting. I had no interest in wrestling. Frank had no winch in wrestling. Like we came to put on a show, man. When I, when I step in the ring,

I'm not looking for my show money and my win money. I'm looking for that performance bonus. The show money and the win money is great. But I want people fucking hitting me up saying like, wow, you fucking put it all out there. What a great fight. You know, that that's what I care about, man. I'm finally to a point in my career where I don't have to worry about grinding out these boring wins or, you know, stuff like that. And that does happen. And it has happened. You know, fortunately I've had mostly finishes, you know, because that's one thing I do. I, I, I, I find ways to finish fights, but, you know, Frank's the guy that we could get in a wrestling exchange and go 15 minutes.

But honestly, nobody wants to watch that. They want to watch me get hit in the face. They want to see him get hit in the face. They want to see him get hurt. They want to see me get hurt. And that's what me and Frank did. We went out there and put that show on for everybody. Herb Dean pulls you off.

You finished the fight. Can you put into words what that felt like? Dude, I wish I could. I genuinely wish I could, man. I've dreamt about it and visualized about it. it so much. I like broke down. I laid down on the canvas and I looked up at the lights and I'm just like this isn't real. This can't be real right now. I almost felt like I was laying in my bed when I opened my eyes and looked around and I'm like, what is happening right now? Is this nice, you know,

and I wish I could put it in words. I just can't. It's so emotional for me and the emotions over these last couple of years have been so high and so low and I've went through phases of depression. And You know, back to my coaching staff that always believed in me, Andrew Jacob, Dennis Davis, Roman Isbell, all my family from Michigan that always kept me in that for this feeling, man. It's like, I don't think I'll ever, no matter what I do the rest of my career, I don't think I'll ever replace that feeling with anything better. So you wouldn't change a thing. The way this all happened, I mean, obviously, if you could get in earlier, great, but, you know, you wouldn't change a thing right now. The story writes itself. If I could get in earlier, I wouldn't change a fucking thing.

know, I talked to talk to my boss, my friend Eric Nixick yesterday. And I always say believe in the process, believe in the process, man. I've been believing in the process for a long, long time. And, you know, I see guys, you know, they train for a couple of years. They get in the UFC. They have a run. They're done. And I'm still here training and fighting these regional shows.

And it's in and I think the hardest part for me is it's not like I'm a boring fighter. It's not like I'm going in there winning decision after decision after decision. I have 13 first round finishes out of 16 wins. I have, or is it 16 wins? I have 14 finishes, and 12 of them are in the first round, and the other finishes in the second round. Like, what am I doing wrong? And, you know, I come home and I think and I reflect.

It's like, I just never knew what I was doing wrong, but it wasn't that I was doing something wrong. I just wasn't in the right place at the right time. You know, I wasn't in the right, you know, I didn't have, maybe I wasn't on weight at this time, or, you know, it just didn't. And now the stars aligned. I got a dream matchup against a fucking killer, and him and I went out there and did what we do.

How did you celebrate the win? Did you do anything exciting? No, nothing too exciting. You know, I went and got my son. He was at his friend's house. Him and I went out for dinner. Him and me and some friends went out for dinner. Then I went to Stonies.

I had a couple beers, and I think by 12 o'clock, I was done, man. I was tired. I didn't have much to do. No, no, that's not true. I, yeah, and yeah, and that was it. I had a couple beers and thought it went to sleep. How old is your son? He's 11.

He's 11. So what a Father's Day present for him, right? And what a Father's Day present indeed. Good for you. That's another thing. Like, I live out here by myself. I moved out here by myself. He lives in Michigan.

He comes out and stays with me through the summers. But, man, it's like the sacrifice that I feel. I'm not, and all fighters have a sacrifice, you know, but I think to each and every one. that, you know, everyone thinks that there's just more now, but man, I left, left my family for this dream. You know, I've turned down countless job opportunities, you know, career opportunities for this dream. And Saturday night, it all unfolded. And it all worked out exactly how I dreamt about it for years and years and years and years. What was the first thing he said to you when you picked them up?

You know, he, he hides his emotion towards me. He doesn't get excited in front of me. I don't know why. I was like, hey, what you think of that? You know, he's like, cool. And I was like, oh, that's it. He's like, well, there's like five O's and cool. And I'm just like, what? But my buddy's mom, or his buddy's mom was videotaping him watching the fight.

And he jumped up in the air screaming, that's my dad, that's my dad. And like, yeah, woo. But as soon as I walk in the room, I'm just his dad again, you know. Cool as a cucumber. He's just like his dad. Unbelievable. Yeah, yeah. What did that be obedient to you when you actually got to see it?

I'm sorry? When you saw the video of him reacting to it, that must have felt like the greatest thing in the world. Oh, man, I start crying, man. Immediately, like, because my biggest thing, you know, I don't ever plan on being a millionaire. You know, my goals in this sport are to have highlight fights, whether I'm getting knocked out, whether my opponent's getting knocked out. I want to travel the world, and I want my son to be proud of his dad. And that's my number one goal is I want my son to be proud because, you know, I have been away for for some time now.

You know, I'm missing a lot of his childhood. And when he's older, when he grows up, you know, I don't want him to resent me for it. I want him to understand why I was, why I did it. I want him to understand all the perseverance I had to go through. And I want him to be proud, you know, when I go home, when I go to Michigan and he grows up, I want him to be like, yeah, that was my dad. You know, he, he wasn't around during the school year. We got our summers together, not Michigan relatively often. I probably go every other month or every third month to stay for a week to spend time with him.

So it's not that I'm not in his life by any means. It's not what I'm trying to say. But I do live in Las Vegas. He lives in Michigan. And my number one goal is just, you know, at the end of the day, I just want him proud of me. And when I saw that video, man, I started breaking down because, no man, I'm starting to break down right now, man, because it was like super emotional for me and see all the hard work. you know, the dedication and stuff finally paid off, man.

And I know my son's proud, whether he says it or not. I know he is after seeing his reaction. Yeah, as a dad myself, I can completely understand what you're talking about right now. And an incredible moment for you to share with him and get to see that video. And you know how it is. It's tough transition for this. But you get a win and you get a bonus. You get to savor the flavor for like 11 seconds before people want to know what's next for you.

And obviously there's Fight Island. Looks like most of those cards are filled up. the UFC has some events coming up in August in Las Vegas right in your backyard. I assume you're trying to get on one of those cards and make up for some lost time, right? Oh, hell. Yeah, man. I'm looking to make it quick on this cutting. I'm going to cut the stitches.

I'll probably pull them out myself next week. I'm going to go to Michigan. I need to see my family. I need to see my mom. I need to see my dad. You need to see the people that are most important to me. I'm probably going to be there for 10 days. And I'm right back to the grind, man.

I got a hit list, you know. Jakar Klaus, I think that would be a great fight. I'd love to fight Jakar. We have history from 2007. Austin Hubbard, man, that'd be a... He's coming off a win. I'm coming off a win on the same show. I'd like to fight him probably the most.

He beat my friend Max, and, you know, I would like to redeem Max's loss. You know, years ago, me and I don't know how to pronounce his last name, Bruce Leroy, Alex, Karras. Casares. I mean, I'd love to, you know, if me and my manager decided to go to... down to 145 because it is in the talk I'm only like five foot three so you know going down a way class might be an option you know I'd love to fight Alex Casares he's a he's a great name he's a great fighter he has a lot of you know he's coming off a two win streak so you know if I can if I decide to go down to 145 I'd love to get a crack at him true veteran of the sport you know Austin hubbard again

coming off a lot or coming off a win over a very tough backs uh you know a friend of mine training partner love to get that crack at him as well so those are those are the three names on my list right now. Yeah, man. And hopefully by August, I'd like to be back in there. Shit, I'll be late July, man. Well, now, maybe not late July, but August for sure, because I'm going to be in Michigan until mid-July.

And I want to get back and get my weight back under control and enjoy my time out there. And I have to stress about training and stuff like that. There you go. What kind of history with with your car? Is this like an old wrestling rivalry? Yes. So Dr. So Jekar is from South Haven.

I am from Richmond, Michigan. he's from South Haven, Michigan. And in 2007, I was ranked the second of the number two guy in the state. He was ranked number one. And by shitty bracketing, we got put on the same bracket or the same side of the bracket in the state finals. I believe he was 55 and 0 and I was 58 no. And if I'm not mistaken, he beat me by a stalling point.

So I don't know if you know wrestling or how points work, but he beat me by a stalling point. and you know I'd love to punch him in the face for it and let me let me say this jacara is a great guy man I think I think he is an awesome fighter he's exciting he's a great wrestler I don't I wish I had one thing this bad to say about the guy every time I see him I tell him I'm like oh you motherfucker like you know you beat me in high school I mean we're talking 20 years ago but it's a cool story I think and I think it'd be cool to get in there you know two Michigan guys uh locking horns after you know 13 years ago we we competed against each other. Not 13 years later, we're going to compete.

We compete again. At that time in our lives, that was the biggest stage there was, the state championship in wrestling. And now the UFC is the biggest stage in anyone's life in any competitive sport. So it's not a hard feelings thing. Like I said, I talked to Jkar. I met. We talk on Instagram. When he comes to Vegas, we're going to hang out and drink some beer. When I go to Phoenix, we're going to hang out, drink some beer.

If we both end up in Michigan, we're going to hang out and drink some beer. But that doesn't mean I don't want to punch him in the face still. Oh, man. See, that story just writes itself. I'm a storyline guy and this one checks up all the boxes for me. But Justin, congratulations, man. The story from 2007 to get to the UFC is just absolutely incredible. I'm glad you got to share that moment with your son and have that video to keep with you forever. And just an incredible performance.

Enjoy the 50 Gs and can't wait to see what's next for you, man. Hey, thanks, man. I appreciate you so much for reaching out. And anytime you need anything, let me know. Really enjoyed that conversation with Guitar Hero. The guy is on an absolute. tear. I love his attitude. I love the old school mentality, how he broke into the sport. I'd love to dive into that a little bit more later on down the road. But big things coming

his way, it looks like a lot of excitement surrounding Justin Jane. So let's check in with one of the bright young prospects in the UFC who is fighting this weekend on Saturday night. He takes on Jordan Griffin. Here's my conversation with the Moroccan devil himself, Yusuf Salal. All right. It is Fight Week for Usel. of Salal. He takes on Jordan Griffin this Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. And this thing came together very, very quickly. Yusuf, how are you, sir? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing great. It's good to see you, man. How did this thing come together for you? Like, I was able to confirm this fight as a done deal on Friday. Is that when you found

out about it, or is this in the works a little longer than that? I found out on Wednesday. And then that's when they announced it on Friday. But yeah, I was, I found out on Wednesday. So you wanted to break your own record for how many days you noticed you took a UFC fight? Like 12 wasn't good enough for you? We needed to get close to those single digits. I don't know, man. I was like my pro career when I started that fought I think it was in August as well. And then a week later I had my second professional fight. So I was like I've been so used to fighting back to back and like so quick or short notices. that that al-a-fay fight was six hours notice or i think three hours noticed something like that so it's like it's like you get you get used to it and then if you step up you step up like you're always training and stuff like you're always in the gym but there's a difference between like training and then there's like fight camp training like that's what most fighters tell me like when was the last time you had like an actual full or foolish training camp for a singular fight oh god i think it was like

since my last LFA not the last one that I won before that I lost actually I was my actually the only time is like hey you have seven weeks this is the guy train and be ready so how much time did you have before the flying

knee fight before you got the call it's literally the same thing I went to Morocco flew to Morocco they texted me while I was in Morocco and they said hey a la Faye is coming back to Denver and they want to have you. And I'm like, I'm like, okay, sure, but you know,

I can't make 35. And then they were like, well, we found you a guy at Ketsuay, 140. And I was like, sure. So I came back here. I had two weeks of training and then one week of cutting weight. Yeah, so no more seven week training cans for you. We'll just go bang, bang, give you two weeks, maybe two and a half. As soon as it's not all this going on, I was like, with the pandemic, and stuff and I seen the UFC's back to back to like basically they're going putting on shows and stuff I was like and I seen guys like five days notice and all this and this now and I was like well a call may be coming in soon they need somebody they're going to need somebody and I was like just staying ready and hoping hoping we'll get fight before that so you made your UFC debut in February at UFC 247 you defeated Austin lingo via unanimous decision and this was one of the very last events to take place in front of a live audience in not just the UFC, but like in all of sports. And I know you were the first fight of the night on that card. So it wasn't like you were fighting in front of 15,000 people in Houston. But still, where we're at in the world, it's kind of strange to think about like three,

four months ago, things were pretty normal. You were fighting, you were fighting in front of people. And this Saturday, you're getting right back on like 10 days notice and fighting in front of nobody. It is crazy to see how things like change so quick. It's like, you almost don't believe it. You know, you almost like, literally don't believe it. You're like, I was fighting and fought of hundreds of people now to thousands of people. Now you're like, oh, you're back to zero now. So it's like, like, well, this is going to be, it's going to be an interesting night. Have you done anything like this before?

Have you fought in front of like, obviously not an empty arena? I don't know if you've ever been in that position. But have you fought in like very little crowds, something even close to what you're going to do on Saturday? Oh, yeah, man. I won't say like there's a couple hundred people in there, but it's not, it's not a whole lot. Half of them were drunk, but it was like a bar, but I won't say, I won't say like I haven't, like I fought in front of some audience, you know, not, not no audience, but so it's, it's, it's, it's definitely different. I feel like it's going to be another Friday night for us at the gym, basically. It's it's, it's, we do spire

night on Fridays. That's where everybody comes in and you see your name. on the board and you got to get ready like it's a fight and you got to you even got to do the walk out like you got to walk around the mat before you even stepping in the cage like it's a fight oh wow so you're prepared for all this stuff yeah mark monta has this has this he's not playing around it's like if it's your fight coming up let's let's stop two rounds before the you're round and like be ready get mentally ready for your round and stuff like that and you just get ready I like it. That's a good little added step to add to the training camp and or lack thereof for you. But you get Jordan Griffin. And I know you guys were in LFA together for like a small stretch of time before he got the contender series call.

He's been in the game for a little while though. Like, has he been on your radar at all? Do you know much about Jordan? No, man. I, I'm not the guy who has like people on their radar. To be honest, I'm like, especially at the UFC at the high level. I know they're going to offer as many as people as possible, you know. And especially when you get after a win and the win and win, you're going to get tougher guys and you're going to get bigger name guys. So for me, it's like just see who's in front of you, do the best you can, and then let's move on from there. You win now you have a bigger opportunity to get after that. But I never like, I never really seen him fight before. I seen him actually fight when I was coring my teammates to go to, we went to like Pueblo in here.

It's like an hour and a half drive and they had fights on and he fought T.J. Brown. And we were watching them fight and I was like, holy, oh my God. Like this kid, this kid does not stop moving forward. Like he'll take all the damage and he walks forward and it was an interesting fight. It was like it was like it catches our eyes and we were watching it. I never thought I was going to fight that guy. I'll tell you that, I never thought I was going to never, ever. Yeah, he just got his first UFC win like three weeks after you got yours.

And that fight with TJ was crazy, man. And that Danny Ege fight was interesting. That Chas Skelly fight was super crazy. So from like a stylistic perspective, this one has to get you fired up for the action, potential scrambles, etc. Oh, yeah, man, especially in a smaller cage. You know it's going to be some fireworks. It's going to be all over the place. Ground, standing up, trying to knock each other out and all that.

So I'm excited, man. He's a vet in this game, for sure. So you've got to give the respect to the vets. You know, they have a lot of fights in their belt. So for me to go out there as a 23 and 8 and 2, it's very important to me to show my skills at that level. Speaking of Scrambles, your teammate and your buddy, Brandon Roy Val, makes his UFC debut a few weeks ago.

He gets a submission win, 50 Gs. He's trying to raise that bar on you, man. How much did his performance get you fired up for your fight? I don't know, man. We'll see. Like, it's a motivation, I'll tell you that. I told you, man, I've been speaking on that kid when he was in LFA. I was like, I knew that kid was nasty, man.

I told him in his face. I was like, I could see you fighting for the belt by the end of 2020, to be honest. This kid is an animal, man. He's not, he's nonstop. pace. I was like, you think your cardio is good, go with Brandon, and then you'll figure out how good your cardio is. You know what I mean? That's why I'm blessed to even train with a guy like that, you know, Brandon Whiteball, Chris Gutierrez, Jonathan Martinez, DeVante Smith, and all these guys. So I was like, I see it all. It's not like I don't see it all. I train with one of the

best people in one of the best gyms in the world for me to go out there. So that's why we never worried about who we're fighting and who we're going to fight and none of that. It's all. We see it all. I spoke with Brandon after the win and still wasn't happy with this performance, which kind of blew my mind. But one of the things that really stuck out to me was before he makes his walk to the cage, he looks at his coaches and he's like, why do I do this? Like, I hate this effing sport. He just has those moments of doubt within himself until he actually gets in the cage and full pun, like he gets locked in there

and has to fight his way out. Do you ever feel like that? No, man, he's definitely a different fish. I tell you that. He's something else. Like, that kid will go so emotional on the back and like all that. But man, when they locked that cage,

oh my God, it's like a whole different breed came out. I swear to God, he's never like this in practice. He's never like this on practice. In practice, he goes on, it's his lifestyle. But when he goes on in that, In the locker room, oh my God. It's like two different, completely different brand. Once he's in there, he's good.

Yo, God. For me, man, I would like, like I said before, like I was trying to have as much as fun as possible. For me, it's like, if I'm not having fun, I'm doing something wrong. That's what I learned throughout my career. When I'm having fun, I'm having a blast, man. I'm the best in the world when I'm having a blast. Well, you get to have a blast in Las Vegas.

This perfect city to have a blast in, although things are a little bit different right now. And he gets to have a blast. I didn't expect my Vegas debut like this. But hey, I'll take what I take. How does this thing all go down in a fun fight at 145 on Saturday night? Oh, man. Like I said, it's going to be fireworks, man. This kid is going to bring it out out of me, and I'm bringing it out of him.

So trust me, it's going to be fireworks for sure. you just completed Ramadan a few weeks back because I remember the last time we spoke you said you didn't really care who you fought you just wanted to try to get in there before Ramadan started you want to get a quick turnaround but this works out to get in there just after but you know what is that month like for you as an athlete and as a fighter and probably more importantly as a person it's awesome man I get to really appreciate food once that's and water how much you appreciate those things. So, you know, you forget about those things. Especially in the United States, you have all the ability to get anything you want. So it's for me, it's like, you get to appreciate

where I came from and all that. So for me, it was by my family and just giving back. That was the month for me just like focusing on that. So that's why I was like, they're the going fund me up for for my country and really help the people in need and stuff like that. So you really just focus on things, especially with MMA, man. You're like training, you got to go recovery. You've got to go do this. You got to do that. You got to make a living in training as well.

So it's like, it's very hard to really have time for your family and really control all that stuff. You can't control it because it's training. So for me, that month, I leave it all from my family and really giving back to the people and me. How did the GoFundMe go in terms of raising money for it? It sounds like it looks like it went pretty well. It actually weren't pretty good, man. I was very happy with the support that I have, man. It's amazing to see that, like, I never thought I would even be close to have the support.

Like, I even thought it was, like, past 500 bucks, like, to be honest. I thought I was going to be, like, maybe 400. Literally, like, first week I was in a thousand-something. So I was, like, people really support, and I'm very happy, and I'm very proud to say, like, these people, like, supporting people didn't even know. This is the crazy part. Like, they didn't even know these guys. You know, like, I don't know those guys.

So, like, for me to even, like, support those guys, but it's, it's awesome to see how we can all work together and really help each other out and stuff like that. So that's, that's pretty cool to see it. It made me happy, man. He made me my day. That's amazing, man. How did your, uh, your home country react to receiving all that money? Were they as blown away as you? Yeah, man.

They, they love them, man. They, I got them a bunch of, like, we did like a bunch of care packages, basically, bunch of food and stuff that can last them for the whole. Ramadan basically for the whole month because everything was closed down in Morocco. Like you can't, like you can barely like if you don't have a paper that says you can be out, you can't be out. So it's not like here. Like I had the opportunity. That's what I'm saying. Like for me to appreciate food, I can go to grocery store when everything was shut down, you know? Like I had that opportunity to go like not worried about food, you know, even though the stores were completely empty still. I didn't have to worry about no food. So for me to see people like that,

I don't know, man. I come, I'm like a very helpful guy. Like, I want to help as many people I can. Sometimes it kicks me in the ass because I forget about myself and help more than I should. But hey, man, it's life we live. That's what that time's all about. It's time of reflection and things like that. And it seems like you use your time very wisely and helped out a lot of people. You deserve a lot of credit for that. Is it too crazy of a time for you to say, you know what? This is going to be my last fight at 1.45 in the UFC before I dropped to 35. I know this is something you want to do, but man, with all these different events happening and opportunities,

doesn't seem like something you can guarantee at all, right? Man, listen, 35 is definitely the home that we want to go to, for sure. But if there's an opportunity at 45, I would not say no. I would take that. Let's do it. I mean, I'm trying to get out. I'm trying to just get better and better than every five. And for me not, especially the UFC, man.

I understand they be like, oh, at the highest level, you need like six weeks, seven weeks, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm young, man. I'm 23 years old. I want to take as much as experience as I can, especially as 23 years old. So I feel like blessed enough to be in that part. So for me, 45 is not going away, especially I'm 23. I'm still growing in my body, man. It's like I'm not fully there yet.

You know what I mean? These guys are like 30 years old. Like they're fully growing. And you can see the size. difference in fighting. And I was like, holy shit. This guy is like, yeah. But in the end of the end of day, you just learn how to really use your IQ and stuff

like that. And that's what I feel like my IQ took me through my career. It's being trying to outsmart people just like strategically and go from there. Some of your teammates are walking by the car and they're just looking at you. Like, what the hell is he doing right now? Who is he talking to? It's hilarious. I'm trying to keep my, my, my face.

I know, it's funny. They're probably going to be asking you, like, what the hell you were doing? But it's just funny. They're all walking by, and they double take because they look at you. Like, what else are he talking to right now? It's so funny, but. I'm doing an interview right now. I'm cutting a promo here.

Come on. Yusuf, always a pleasure, man. I'm really looking forward to this fight. I got a little excited when I saw that you were fighting Jordan Griffin. This is a perfect matchmaking. Despite it being booked on short notice, this has the potential to to steal the show without a doubt. But it's great, you see.

But it's great catching up with you as always, man. All the best to you on Saturday night. Thank you, Brian. Thank you, guys. Appreciate you guys. What a great guy and an exciting fighter to boot. He's someone you should certainly keep an eye on. Yusuf Salal.

That fight with Jordan Griffin should be an absolute banger on Saturday night. Definitely an under the radar, fight of the night. Contender, no doubt about it. Finally, on this week's episode of What the Heck, also competing this Saturday. Sean Woodson. Now, talk about a guy who has had a hard time trying to land a fight since his win over Kyle Bokniak in Boston this past October.

He got one, put pen to paper to fight Kyle Nelson this Saturday, and then the old switcheroo. Due to visa issues, Sean Woodson gets a new opponent. He's going to fight Juliana Rosa, who you remember him on an old season of the Ultimate Fighter. He got a crack at the UFC after getting a win on the Contender Series and got released. now after one win on the regional scene, it was a finish for Juliana Rosa. Juicy J's back in the UFC, he's going to fight Sean Woodson.

Again, Sean and I did this interview on Monday before the opponent switch happened, but we talked about a lot of different things. It wasn't just about Kyle Nelson and just that specific fight. So check it out. Here's my chat with the sniper, Sean Woodson. All right, we have Sean Woodson joining us right now. He returns to action this Saturday night. He's taking on Kyle Nelson at UFC on.

ESPN 12 in Las Vegas. Sean, good to see you, man. How are you? Pretty good, man. Excited to have a fight. Excited to have a fight week on my hands. Yeah, I bet. Because it's been a minute since we've chat,

and it's been a minute since we've seen you compete. It was back in October where you defeated Kyle Bokniak in Boston. So it's been like six or seven months of this point. You must be chomping at the bit to get back in there. Yeah, man, I really am. It's been, I didn't think it'd be this hard to, you know, get a fight. But, yeah, it's been hard to get a fight. get a fight, but here we are.

I'm sure, like most fighters, as a member of the UFC, you wanted to travel around, visit new places, maybe see the world, and for the second time in three fights, you're back at the UFC Apex. I'm sure you were happy to get a fight, but these are some crazy times. So coming out of the Boston win, I'm sure fighting at the Apex was like the last place you expected to fight, right? Yes, the last place I expected to fight, but I'm definitely thrilled with it. I'm happy to be fighting at the Apex.

You know, a lot of guys have been, you know, making a big hoorah about that fight. but man, they can have that. I don't want no parts of that. That's too far of a fight for me. No fight island for Sean Woodson. So if you get a quick win, no fight island for you, more than likely. Nah, I'll wait until August. It'll come right back to the apex.

There you go. So you've had, like you alluded to, an interesting time finding a fight. Like, I know a premature report surfaced last month that you were going to step in on short notice and fight Jared Gordon. Turned up the report wasn't 100% accurate. and Jared sort of jumped on this show. He explained his reasoning behind it. I also saw that he sent a comment on Facebook to you explaining why he didn't take the fight. So you mentioned having a hard time finding these fights.

Have there been other matchups sent your way at all since October besides that one? And then the one for this weekend? Yeah, well, I had an offer for, they didn't give me a name, but I had an offer for February on that John Jones card. And it was on like a week's notice again, like my contender series. and I just, you know, I told myself, you know, I'd never do that again, you know, that week's notice cut into 45 that, you know, kind of jacked my body up a little bit. So, yeah, I had to pass up on that. There was no name or nothing. Had to pass up on that.

And then my manager said that two other guys turned me down. I didn't, they didn't give me any names, but he said there were two other fights in the works, and both of those fell through. And then, yeah, the whole instance with Mr. Gordon on the 16th, then, yeah, that fell through. And, yeah, now here we are this week. taking on Kyle Nelson. So what happened from your perspective with the Gordon situation? Because I know you said yes. The report comes out.

I remember talking to Jared like right after. I'm like, oh, man, I was like, you're fighting shot Woodson. He goes, no. So what happened from your perspective? Man, I feel like I've already been talking about this dude too much. You know, I'm really focused on Kyle Nelson, but I will address it again. Yeah, I was waiting for an opportunity, and my manager hit me up and said that I want to take on Jared Gordon. and about a little under two weeks,

a couple days under two weeks or something like that. Jared, yeah, he was set to fight and his opponent fell off. He was looking for a replacement. I was another impression that all I had to do was say yes and sign on the dotted line and it was a go. And I did that. And, you know, UFC, you know, staff started emailing me right away

getting, you know, flights and everything set up. And it was pretty much a go. And I'm pretty sure that, you know, his manager said okay with it, too, and was good with it, and it was a go. And then I think, I think, not sure that once he found out who the, you know, my name, the replacement was that he turned it down himself. And, yeah, you know, I remember he came on your show and gave his reasoning and all that, but it just, you know, didn't add up to me quite well.

You know, he was saying that he's had six fights in UFC, I believe, and his whole angle was that I've only had one fight and that I wasn't, I guess, a worthy opponent in his eyes. But yeah, that didn't really make sense to me because the guy he was originally scheduled to fight with Matt Sales. And, you know, Matt Sales is a good fighter, but, you know, his record is 8 and 3.

And, you know, I think he'd had two fights or three fights in UFC at that time. So it's like, you know, you weren't originally scheduled to fight no top 10 or top 15 guy. You know what I'm saying? So it's like him acting like, you know, taking on me was just this huge downgrade

was just ridiculous to me. You know, again, he was scheduled to fight an eight and three guy. Here I am seven and oh. I think, you know, him, you know, fighting me would look a lot better on his resume than his original opponent. So, yeah, that just didn't add up to me. But, yeah, I think he just, you know, I'm the tallest featherweight in the division, man. I'm a bad matchup for anybody. And, you know, he knows that.

And, you know, he did mention that, you know, he went from fighting a really short guy to a really tall guy and didn't have time to prepare for that. you know, you should have just left it at that, you know, as far as saying all that other stuff about, you know, me not being worthy and him and all that, that you didn't make sense. Yeah, I honestly didn't get the impression that he thought that way about you, that you weren't worthy of it. He thought that the matchup stylistically didn't favor him in a way

because he was preparing for Matt sales the entire time, and then to thrust a guy like you into a fight on two weeks notice, he was like, I'm in a position where I have to win right now. So he felt like he was kind of handcuffed taking a fight with a guy like you being long and rangy and being a completely different style. You know, Southpah to right-handed, all that stuff. It felt like it was a complete switch, especially with him dropping to 45. So I don't think it was more, I think it was more about that than, I guess, disrespecting you if that makes sense. I totally, yeah, I totally understood that.

That's why in that Facebook post that you mentioned, I had said, you know, I get, you know, the short notice. change up, you know, kind of threw you off or whatever. So maybe we can run it, you know, later on. And his reply was he didn't, he said, I don't see us, you know, ever fighting. Because like he said, he's had six fights in UFC and I'm, you know, early on in my career and all that. Man, I think, man, I think we both know what happened, man. Yeah, I'm just going to, I'm really, yeah, like I said, I've mentioned him in a bunch

of my interviews in the past. And, you know what I'm saying? I'm, you know, I'm really done talking about him. I'm focused on Kyle Nelson. And, you know, I mean, if he sees this and you. I'm not going to bring it up anymore. If he sees this, though, and, you know, feel some type of way about it, then, you know what I'm saying?

He can say my name and we can get that matched up, but yeah, it is what it is. All right, fair enough. I appreciate you talking about it again. I apologize for being redundant. No problem. It happened on this show, so I wanted to make sure that we got both sides of the story. But do you think that the more you get out there and perform and the more wins you get, that you're going to continue having hard time booking fights?

Yeah, yeah, I do. Well, I mean, Yeah, I do. I think I am going to have a hard time getting fights at featherweight because, like I said, I'm the tallest featherweight division. And, yeah, that just presents a problem to all these guys. But, I mean, I'm not to say that, you know, I'm not sitting there trying to say everybody's scared to me or anything like that. It's just, yeah, I just think, yeah, I think they're going to, man, I don't even know how to explain it, man. Yeah, I think just people just see a threat with my, you know, my length and my height and my skill set. But no, I think once I do start picking up a couple more wins, you know, my undefeated record, the UFC's full of killers.

There'll be some guys that, you know, want to take me out and want to take my own. Yeah, I think, you know, you're just going to have to put him into a position where they're just not going to have any choice, Sean. And I think you have clearly the ability to do that. But let's talk about Kyle Nelson as you next opponent. One and two in the UFC. He's coming off a quick finish in his last fight. against Polarayas. First off, these fights are coming together very quickly during this crazy time of the world. When did you put pen to paper for this fight? About 16 days out. So, yeah,

when I got the call, I checked my phone, and yeah, I had 16 days per pair, so a little over two weeks. Kyle obviously has a great wrestling pedigree, but he's certainly not opposed to standing and trading on the feet from a stylistic standpoint based on what you're going to bring to the table. Do you like this fight? Oh yeah, I really do, man. I mean, I like any fight. I just like to fight. You know, I'll fight anybody, man.

Yeah, I love this fight because, you know, like I said, I had several opponents fallout before, and this guy, you know, signed and, you know, stepped up and wants to get in there with me, and I'm just, I'm thrilled about that. Heading into your last fight, you obviously worked at the Wolves Den, but you also added Glory M.MA to the mix, working with guys like James Krauss and that team over there,

working with guys like Grant Dawson and others. I assume you're doing the same thing for this fight, correct? Yes, sir. Yep. As soon as I got the call for this fight, I packed my bags and headed out to glory. But yeah, I still, you know, I still train here at home with Wolvesden. But, yeah, whenever I get these, you know, fights, I'm definitely going and putting in a lot of time out there at glory with James Krauss. Like you say, Grant Dawson. And, you know, those are just the well-known names from out there. But that gym is full of killers, man, full of a lot of guys that are going to be in the UFC soon. And they got a good handful of UFC fighters currently.

When's Witt getting into the UFC? Come on now. He's long. Yeah, that's the guy. Top of the league. Yeah. Witt, Mike Breeden, Kevin Kroom, David Onama, those are all names you guys expect to see in the UFC pretty soon. Does the buildup for this fight feel any differently for this one as opposed to like the Boston

fight? Like obviously the notice a little bit shorter, fight week stuff will be a little different with all the restrictions and everything. But you've also been through it all before being on the contender series and then do it again in Boston. Does it feel any different for this one? Just a little bit with the, you know, the, whole pandemic going on and the uh yeah the whole pandemic going on right now it's a tad bit

different but no not too much because you know i've been preparing and been trying to stay ready so yeah it's it's the same old same hope i still can't believe you make 145 pounds john for being honest i know we've talked about this before but it still boggles my mind that you get down there and you did it for the contender series on like a week's less of a week's notice it's just crazy where are you at right now if you don't mind me asking well this is by this is a catchweighted 150. I could have made the 145 pound limit for this fight. I'm, uh, I'm, I'm super close, man. Like, though, this weight is going to be a breeze. That contender series, man, still to this day, I don't know how I made that weight. It was just, it's like, it was an accumulation,

like, me knowing, like, this was my moment to get in the UFC and just, yeah, there was some, uh, there was some higher power at work there, man, to help me make 145. It was unbelievable. How does this thing all go down on Saturday? How do you keep that unblemish record intact in the empty UFC apex? By nothing crazy going on because of this COVID stuff, no, you know, last minute cancellation. And just by me stepping foot in that cage, man, I'll keep my unblemish record. I'm going to wait for openings and however it plays out, it plays out. Yeah, man, I just, man, yeah, he's a tough dude.

He comes forward. He's my toughest opponent to date. Yeah, I feel it's playing out a lot like the Bokniak fight, you know. He's going to keep coming forward in all of his interview. the ones that, you know, my Instagram followers, they tag me and they send me stuff that he's been saying and stuff. And yeah, in all his interviews, you know, anytime he gets a camera in front of his face, he's saying, you know, I'm going to knock him out. I'm, you know, he's going to feel his power. He's going to stand his strike.

But, I mean, I don't think, I think he might think he's being, you know, really smart by every interview saying he's going to stand and strike and, you know, knock me out. But I think he thinks that, you know, if I don't even mention the wrestling, he won't even see it coming. But he's coming to wrestle from the jump. I know it. And I'm ready for it. You're not buying it. Not at all, man. Not at all.

That's the oldest trick in the book. In every interview, I'm going to say, I'm going to knock him out. I'm going to knock him out. So you won't even see the grappling and the wrestling. I see it coming. And I'm ready for it. So this is mind games he's playing with you. He's hoping you watch these interviews and you just hook,

line, and sinker get in there, ready to stand, and that he tries to take you down. I think so, man. And if that is the case, he ain't as smart as he thinks he is. It's been a crazy year for a number of reasons. especially here in the U.S., not just because of COVID, but we're seeing the fight against inequality and injustice becoming a much more prevalent topic after the death of George Floyd.

It's just a horrible, horrible situation there. It's been a wild time. I know you have a fight to get ready for, but what is your take on the current state of the country with everything going on right now? Oh, man, to be honest with you, like, to be completely honest, I stay in my own little bubble. And, like, you know, when that George Floyd thing,

you know, that is really sad and all that. But when it first was popping up on Facebook, I didn't even, you know, like, read into it or look into it. I just mind my own business, man. Like, you know, 2020 is crazy and it just keeps getting crazier. Yeah, I just mind my business, man. I don't really look into all this stuff. I don't really read into it all. These people, like, you know, riding and doing all that crazy stuff.

I don't, you know, agree with that at all. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I don't really have a real take on it because I don't really have all the knowledge and info about exactly what's going on. I just, you know, mind my business and do my thing. You're just one of the nicest guys on the planet, and there's just a lot of hate going on right now. So it's just, it's tough. Yeah, I do feel that. I feel, yeah, that's one thing I can feel like there's so much hate and negativity. It's like there's like a ton of people, a large lot of people that's like they wake up every day and just like look for the negative and look for the bad.

stuff to talk about and, you know, the police are doing that and, you know, this is unfair and that's unfair. Like, it's just like people are like trying to seek out the negativity all the time. And it's just, yeah, it's just pretty sad to see. So how do you stay positive besides just staying in your own lane and doing your own thing and try to be nice to everybody? Man, setting goals, man, setting goals and, you know, focus on my mind on stuff that, you know, I want to achieve and stuff. And, you know, I know a lot of these people that are, you know,

you know, protesting and stuff, you know, they have, they have something to, you know, they have an actual reason to protest, you know, they feel like, you know, there's some wrong going on and they're trying to make it right. But a lot of these people, man, don't, they're just, they have no cause and they're just looking for a cause. They're just looking for, they don't have anything going on in their lives and they're just, They're just trying to, man, they're just trying to be involved with some stuff. And they need to, you know, they need to worry about, I just feel like a lot of people need to worry about them.

Do what I do. Mind your own business. And worry about yourself, man, focus on yourself. And, yeah, not seek out the negativity so much. And, yeah, a lot of people just ain't got nothing else better to do. So what are your goals for 2020? I mean, obviously it starts. We don't want to look past what's going on this Saturday.

But overall, like on January 1, 2021, where are you hoping to be? in this division in your career? Well, I just turned 28 on June 7th, and I know my 28th year of life I would like to have at least three or four, I would have, I'd like to have three or four fights in the UFC. You know, like I said, I made my debut, and I haven't fought in eight months, and I don't want that to happen again. I'm looking forward to going out here and putting on a performance that makes the UFC want to turn me around pretty quick and give me right back in there.

You know, I want to fight three to four times this year. the United States, UFC. Just keep that out there. We're not going to Fight Island. We're not going to Yaz Island. No, not Fight Island. I want to stay in the U.S. for as long as. I know it's coming.

I'm going to have to fly overseas at some point. But, yeah, I want to keep racking up these wins here in America for as long as I can. Well, we are looking forward to see if you can rack up another one this Saturday against Kyle Nelson. Always appreciate the time very much, sir. Looking forward to this fight. All the best you on Saturday. Any final thoughts before we let you.

go? Now, I'm at tune in on Saturday for my second UFC performance. It's going to be a good one. And, yeah, catch me on Instagram, STL sniper 314. Got to get those followers up. Maybe if I get my followers up, they'll keep me more active. And yet, tune in Saturday. Safe travel, Sean.

We'll see you Saturday night. All right, big thank you to the undefeated Sean Woodson ahead of his fight with Julian Arosa this Saturday night at UFC on ESPN 12? Yes. They're all just, they're all just like coming together at this point. You know, UFC Vegas 4, UFC on ESPN 12, UFC Fight Night, Porier versus Hooker, I mean, good Lord, so much, so much, just so much. But as you know, lots of stuff on the website heading into this weekend,

a lot of stuff from this past weekend. So make sure you stay locked in to MMAFighting.com. Throughout the rest of the week, we have virtual media day going down later today. We've got the way in show tomorrow with Jose Young's and company. I've got the preview show with myself and Jose Young's more than likely. Fight night coverage on Saturday during host fight shows after the event and press conferences. Folks, we got you covered, all right? And then we get a week off from the UFC and then it's on to Fight Island.

So ladies gentlemen, we are done. Big thanks to Casey Lydon on the production, Esther Lynn with the graphics of the fighters. And of course, all of you guys and gals for watching. And as always, have a heck of a week, everybody. Thank you.