MMA Fighting - What the Heck: Episode 18 | Carla Esparza, Manel Kape, Tanner Boser, Curtis Millender & Jesse Ronson

Episode Date: July 30, 2020

On this week’s episode of What the Heck, Mike Heck chats with Carla Esparza (5:37) as she recaps her UFC on ESPN 14 win over Marina Rodriguez, talks being ready for a big fight next, which includes a title fight with Zhang Weili.  Manel Kape (22:44) explains why he’ll no longer be making his octagon debut at UFC 252, his thoughts on Deiveson Figueiredo’s flyweight title win, and why he loves the idea of Cody Garbrandt potentially dropping down to 125. UFC heavyweight Tanner Boser (39:34) recaps his second-round TKO win over Raphael Pessoa at UFC on ESPN 14, talks a potential matchup with Maurice Greene, a recent Twitter contest he introduced, and more.  In addition, Curtis Millender (56:53) previews his upcoming fight with Sabah Homasi at Bellator 243, and Jesse Ronson (1:08:14) explains how his first-round submission win over Nicolas Dalby at UFC on ESPN 14 almost didn’t happen.  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

With Instacart, you get groceries that over-deliver, like when you get groceries that are the same prices in-store. With no markups at select retailers, you get in-store products for in-store prices, and the only thing that isn't in-store is you. That means you could order in-store products at in-store prices while you're in sweatpants, in spin class, in stuffy work meeting, in anywhere but in store. So download the app today and get $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Service fees exclusions in terms apply. 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? Well, hello there, everybody. Welcome to a brand new edition of What the Heck on MMAfighting.com. I am Mike Heck. Thanks for joining us once again this week. The fight island trip for the UFC has come to an end, at least. for right now, at least for the month of July.

They're going to be heading back there. One would assume Dana White pretty much said it without saying it, but they are back in Las Vegas for a bunch of shows beginning this Saturday, which is headlined by Derek Brunson versus Edmund Chabazian. The contender series starts their new season on Tuesday. Bellator is back. They had their event this past Friday.

Sergio Pettis defeated Ricky Bondi House in the main event, but they will have their second event since their return from the COVID-19 layoff next Friday on August 7th, headline by Michael Chandler versus Benson Henderson 2. There's a lot to be excited about. A lot of MMA coming up. Of course, we get the LFAs, the Titan FCs. If you're into the bare-knuckle stuff, we get the bare-knuckle stuff. So combat sports leading the way here.

I mean, we've seen all the issues with Major League Baseball. We're seeing it in the NFL. The NBA seems to have a pretty good plan. going with the bubble. But, you know, say what you want about Dana White, but you got to take your hat off to the man. My fellow bald guy, Dana White, making it happen, leading the way for all of sports. I mean, it's just unbelievable seeing all these stories come out of Major League Baseball and everything with countless guys on teams testing positive. But the UFC just keeps plugging away and plugging away and moving forward these events. It's pretty unbelievable. So

when you look at the schedule for the UFC, especially when it comes, to pay-views. I mean, just listen to the main events for three of the next four pay-per-view cards. August 15th, which is like two weeks away, Steppe Mietich versus Daniel Kormier for the UFC heavyweight title, UFC 252 on August 15th. Massive, massive fight, probably the biggest heavyweight fight of all time in the UFC plus is DC's final fight. Is it Stepe's final fight? So much to think about when it comes to just that matchup. And then next month. And then September,

we get Israel Adesania defending the middleweight title against Paul Costa. Two undefeated guys fighting for a world title? This is crazy. Crazy. Can't wait for that fight. And for maybe like what? A week, I was like, this is the biggest fight the UFC can make right now. Until earlier this week, Dana White goes to CNN of all places

to announce that on October 24th, Habib Narmaga Madoff is going to defend his undisputed title in the lightweight division against Justin Gachie, the interim champion. Massive fight. These are three gigantic title fights. So buckle up because it doesn't look like the UFC is slowing down in any way anytime soon. But we can just talk about things that are upcoming for another hour.

But we have a lot to get to this week. A lot of great guests. let's run down the lineup and get right to it. Rounding up the show, we're going to talk to Jesse Ronson. He returned to the UFC on short notice, up away class this past Saturday in Abu Dhabi took on Nicholas Dalby, gets a first round finish, gets a bonus, and it turns out this fight almost didn't happen this past Saturday night, and Jesse Ronson will explain why to wrap up the show a little bit later on.

Curtis Millinder returns to action next Friday night at Bellator 243, takes on Saba, Mawesi at Mohegan Sun. That's a fun fight at 170 pounds. We'll check in with Curtis Millinder later on in the show. Another big winner from Saturday night in Abu Dhabi. Tanner Bozier is going to join the show for the first time. Very excited about this following his second round TKO win over Hafiel Pisoa. It's a second win in around a month's time. He is in quarantine in Canada. So he's going to join us and talk all about it and what could be next for him. I have to say that so many people, over the last week, 10 days have been asking me,

Mike, what is going on with Manel Cape, the former rise in Bannamway champion? Because he was scheduled to face Rogerio Bonsoran at UFC 252. We found out Bonterin is out of the fight. And I kind of gave an update on social media. The UFC was trying to book him some different options. One that I reported was Alexander Pantosia. That was being heavily discussed.

But in the end, it didn't really happen. So we're going to get an update from Minnell Cape in around 20 minutes. And spoiler alert, his debut is going to happen, but it's going to happen a little later than anticipated. It will not happen to UBC 252. But the conversation is fantastic. But kicking us off this week, we're going to be joined by Carla Sparza, four wins in a row for the Cookie Monster.

She defeated Marina Rodriguez this past Saturday night in Abu Dhabi. You have to imagine she's got a very, very big fight coming her way next. no doubt. So let's check in with one of the big winners from UFC on ESPN 14, Carla Esparza. All right, we have Carla Sparza on the program coming after a decision win over Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 14 over the weekend in Abu Dhabi. Carla, good to see you. How are you? I'm great. Just got home yesterday and yeah, just been relaxing and grubbing. There you go. Congratulations on the way. It was a hard-fought victory for you. You showed that that dog toughness and grit that we see from you so often.

How does it all feel a few days after the fact? Well, a little sore, but I'm honestly like really stoked about the way everything went. I feel like it was a pretty decisive win. And, you know, I'm on a good little streak right now. So, yeah, just feeling good. How is the eye feeling right now? Like, we could see some remnants from the battle. It looked pretty nasty on Saturday.

Does it feel better that it looked on Saturday? than it looks right now? Yeah, it's definitely feeling better. You know, it's bumps and bruises and all that. It's just, you know, another day at the office for us. So, you know, nothing too crazy. Fortunately, no, like, real injuries other than, you know, I've just got a couple stitches, so nothing too bad for me.

It was quite the road to get to that fight. First of the being in the middle of a pandemic, Fight Island, the dates being changed. First off, what did you think of the setup and the Fight Island experience overall? You know, I thought it was a really good setup. The only thing that kind of threw things off was a time change for people. You know, we were fighting at, like, you know, some people were fighting at 1 a.m. over there. So, you know, just kind of stick on a schedule back home. And our obligations were all during all time. And, you know, everyone was just kind of like a little bit off. And, you know,

that was the only thing that threw things off. But other than that, honestly, like, everything was super smooth like you know everyone was really friendly and accommodating like um i i was lucky enough to show up on the on the final week so i feel like they really got everything kind of you know locked down and you know for the most part it was really like well organized you know of course we had to jump through a couple hoops you know doing all the testing and you know quarantining and everything there but you know it's i feel like it's just part of part of our journey and we're just lucky that we're able to even fight honestly. For sure. Marina, obviously, a very dangerous opponent heading in, entered the fight

unbeaten, terrific striker from everywhere, as you found out on Saturday. But I spoke with Alex Perez a couple of days before the fight, and he told me that you looked great, that you were ready, and that he saw some things personally that he knew you'd be able to take advantage of in the fight. Any surprises, anything unexpected that she brought your way? You know, honestly, I feel we were pretty well prepared for a... everything that she had. The only thing that caught me off guard a little bit was, you know, like her strikes off the

back, you know, like where I didn't think she would be as dangerous as she was. And, you know, when she did, when I gave, well, when I gave her the opportunity, like, to come on top, you know, going for those footlocks, I feel like she was very aggressive and took advantage of the short time that she had down there. And she's just like super tough, I guess I would say. That's watching her fights. She does have a lot of friends. And, you know, she definitely has a no-quit type adage.

I've seen her in some really spots with Calvillo and Rhonda Marcos. And she just kind of kept pushing, kept pushing, and, you know, has that like no-quit mentality. So when I went for my second foot luck, I thought that I did feel a few pops. and I thought she would have, you know, like, tapped to that, but she's, you know, just super, super tough. What was the conversation like between the second and third rounds? Because the scoring, at least on social media, was kind of all over the place heading into the third round. What was that conversation like between you and your coaches? I think it was basically like, hey, like, you know, you're winning the fight.

Just do, like, stop going, you know, keep your position. You're having great position. just keep like, fight smart pretty much. Like, I was going for like these Hail Mary type of things and, you know, like, and just to like fight the smart fight and keep, keep a good position and win that round like decisively.

And my coaches saw me like just let go and with the ground and pound. And he thought that, you know, she was, she was going to quit. And I felt that she, you know, kind of started breaking a little bit towards a, towards that third round.

It was a bad. in there is a very close fight, great competitive matchup. I felt like this is one of the under the radar fights, not just for the card, but for the full slate of Phi Island events. This is one that was circled on my books for a while, but when the fight's all over and you have that battle and Joe Martinez is getting ready to read the scorecards, what is going through your mind? I honestly thought I had to fight in the bag and then, you know, you hear that like, split decision. You're always just kind of like, oh my God, like, what? you know like what's going to happen right now and you know always kind of a scary moment but i mean

i felt that i had it and i didn't even personally i felt that i won like all so i was uh you know like a little bit like aired at that moment when i heard that but um you know like i i would have been kicking myself definitely um for those those those uh those hailed block attempts um you know had the decision gone the other way, but fortunately I was able to pull it off. One of the beautiful things about this sport is that no matter how long you've been doing it, how many big level fights you've had, you can always grow and take something away from a fight. It doesn't matter when or where or who. You always take something away.

What did you take away from those 15 minutes with Marina? I guess what I took away was, you know, just being more conscious of, you know, if I am going to go for like, you know, submission, just more conscious of the time, you know, on the clock, more conscious of, you know, where the fight is, you know, like how I'm doing in the fight. And do I really need this submission right now? Like, just be more smart about, you know, when I'm throwing these things out there. And, you know, I would say that's the biggest takeaway for me.

You know, everything else is pretty much, like, pretty standard. like fights are hard, you know, things happen, things that I've seen before. But I really wanted to, you know, test a couple things out and take some more chances. I want to start getting these, you know, exciting finishes. I want to start putting people out and not leaving it to the judges. And I think I just have to be a little bit more smart about when I do them and where I do them. You know, I got caught on the cage, you know, my first time. So I would say that's a biggest takeaway.

So let's talk about where you go from here because, that's what we do in MMA, right? Like, you get to enjoy the victory for two minutes before these questions start coming. And, you know, you've been wanting a fight with Claudia Gedalia for a little while now. She's got a fight booked. And then Amanda Heba has called for the winner of your fight with Marina. Claudia seems to be like the number one on your list. But Amanda's got herself some momentum right now after that win over Paige Van Zanzan.

So what have you made of Amanda's sort of rise over these last several months? You know, she's definitely been someone that I've been here. about for a while and the division is, you know, an up andcomer, an up and coming start, you know, so, you know, I would definitely love the opportunity to take that challenge, you know, especially if she's asking for it, you know, I would love that fight. I think it's a, it's a really good fight. You know, Claudia Godella, it's, you know, it's going to happen. I've, you know, I feel like it's just, that's a tough one. I mean, I've been won in a fighter since, you know, the last fight.

We've had this back and forth thing going for so many years since back in Invicta. This has been going on for seven plus years, you know, just this kind of rivalry. So, you know, she wants to fight me. I want to fight her. So it's going to happen eventually. I'm not going to hold my breath for it, though. If Amanda's the next fight for me, Amanda's next fight. If there's another fight for me, if, you know, if a title fight is in the tops, you know, I'm in for that too.

so, you know, I'm game for whatever. I feel like you're on this great streak right now. You've won four in a row, and Amanda right now would be like a nice notch in your bell, considering how much people have been sort of gravitating towards her. And you've been known to hand these surging fighters, that veteran L. Do you enjoy, I guess, being that sort of hype trained derailer for the 115 pound division? Honestly, that's starting to feel like.

I feel like I'm like the gatekeeper. for the young, like, for the young up-and-comers. And, you know, it's like, is this person ready for that title shot? And, you know, but I'm tired of being that gatekeeper. You know, I feel that I'm ready for that, for another title shot. You know, I feel like I'm the next fight that makes sense. There's, you know, a lot of people that are out right now and not able to fight or coming off losses. And, you know, for me, I've, you know, I've been knocked down, but I've been clawed my way back to that title shot.

and I feel like I'm ready for it. Do you feel like fighting, Zhang, is like right there for you? Do you feel like the stars have aligned to make that fight happen here? You know, I would say I am ready for that fight. With everything going on in the world, it is really like stars aligning, you know, just kind of has worked out this way where I feel that, you know, everything is just kind of lining up, you know, like Rose is out for a while with her, you know, no surgery.

I hear like Tatiana has a neck injury and Nina is pregnant and, you know, like, you know, this division, there's a lot going on in this division right now and a lot of people are not able to fight right now and I'm coming off, you know, four big wins against really tough opponents and I think that the stars are aligned for me to, you know, take this opportunity. This pandemic has honestly been giving me nothing but opportunities, and my hands are open for them. I'm ready for the taking, you know? I feel like it's a two-horse race right now for that next title shot.

It's either they run back to fight with Yawanna, which was a classic for 25 minutes, or they give you the title shot. And I've always wanted to know, like, what about Yowana? Like that first fight happened five years ago. It was a much different time. It was your first, like, big event in front of a huge crowd, like that. Like, you've come a long way. You've got so much big fight experience under your

belt since then. Is that a fight you'd like to get back at some point? You know, I think if we fought again, the fight would, you know, it's a tough fight. You know, it's one of the best fighters in the world. You know, who knows where the fight's going to go, but I definitely feel that it will go a lot differently than it did the first time. You know, I'm not, I'm not one who's hungry for rematches, for this person or that. that person, I'm just hungry for that top spot, you know, whoever that might be, whoever's in that spot, if it's Yawanna, if it's, if it's Waile or whoever, you know, I'm not, I'm not chasing any specific person. I mean, aside from, you know, the rivalry between, you know, me and Claudia,

like, I'm just, I'm game for whoever's going to put me next to that title shot. Yeah, the Claudia fight just needs to happen at this point. I can't believe it hasn't happened already. It's bizarre. Yeah, exactly. Do you want to try, I mean, When would you like to come back? I mean, obviously you're healing up a little bit here, and it's a crazy time. So these events are just going to keep popping up. These big fights keep popping up out of nowhere. When would you like to get back if we're up to you?

You know, like I did not take any too much too bad of damage other than, you know, stitches and a couple of bumps and bruises. So, you know, I definitely like to come back sooner rather than later. You know, I'm going to get back to training in the next couple weeks. I mean, I'm going to take time off, you know, to kind of like mentally and physically recover a little bit, but I'm going to be back at it soon. And, you know, I'm ready to fight and take advantage of these times right now. There's a lot of opportunities out there. And, yeah, I mean, I'm game to come back in the next, you know, like two, three months or whatever.

And you get to play, you get to be a fan for a little while. Your good friend, Felice Harrig, is about to get back at it after nearly two years away. She's been recovering from the torn ACL, and she's facing an opponent in Verna Gendaroba, someone you're familiar with because you've already fought her and defeated her, handed her first loss. How excited are you to see Felice get back in there and do her thing? Oh, my God. I am so excited for Felice.

You know, we've been talking a lot over, you know, the course of her injury. And, you know, injuries are never tough for fighters. You know, we love, this is what we do. This is our life. And, you know, I feel that it's lit lit a fire on her. her though she's hungry to come back she's ready to you know to get in that wind column and and i and i feel like she's mixed things up you know with some new new coaches and training partners so i think we're gonna definitely see a new neat uh new police out there so i'm really excited for her true or false by this

time next year the team o yama gym will have two ufc world champions and yourself and alix perise true true true true i'm excited to see what what comes of this 25 thing. I've been saying it for a while. I think Perez is next for that title shot. I think he's earned it. I think the finish in his last fight put him over the top, but it's the UFC and crazy things happen. Is he, where do you think he is? Do you think he gets that shot? I don't know if he gets that shot. I think he deserves that shot. I think that Alex has gone in this division and has just been finishing people right and left and fighting these tough fights. And even before the UFC, I feel like he was a long time coming, you know, to get in here.

He wasn't just some, like, young fighter with, you know, five, like five, ten, you know, ten fights. I think he came in with over 20 fights. So, you know, Alex is a force to be reckoned with. And, you know, he's just getting better and better. And as we've seen from his last fight, you know, putting these bets out with leg kicks, you know, like he's just showing more and more weapons. And I feel like he's definitely in line for that next type. I think that's a fight that makes sense. And the only thing that might, you know, like, derail it potentially is Cody coming down.

But, you know, outside of that happening, I mean, even with that happening, I just, I do feel that Alex is entitled to that next shot. But you know how it goes. Yeah. And he's ready to take another fight if he needs to. But Carl, again, congratulations, another hard far win. You are a tough cookie, punning completely intended. Enjoy the win.

All the best to you is it looks like a big fight and a big opportunity is coming your way here. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thanks, Carla. Great. Having Carla Sparser on the program for the first time, another big win for her on Saturday. And she is becoming the Strawweight Division's prospect derailer.

And it's interesting because myself and Alex K. Lee, we host a audio-only podcast that drops on Monday mornings after these events called onto the next one. It's kind of a matchmaking podcast. And A.K. thinks that Carlos Sparza should just get the next title shot. And I wouldn't be opposed to that. I think what they're going to end up doing is go with the Sparza versus Amanda Hebas. And this all depends on how quickly Zhang Weili wants to get back in there. If they do Asparza versus Hebas, then you do the rematch between Zhang Wei Li and Yuani and Jacek. But I get to tell you, and if you've been reading my columns for a little while. You know this, because I've said it a few times, I really want to see Esparza versus Janjachec that rematch five years after that first fight they had because

it'd be a really fascinating fight. It's just a different time. I'd like to see how that would play out now that it's 2020 and then maybe the winner can fight Zhang Wiley. But again, Zhang has become one of the UFC's global stars. So it all depends on when she's ready to go. But let's move ahead to someone a lot of people are excited about in the UFC's flyweight division. He has an update for everybody. So let's check in with Manel Cape. All right, we have the former rise in bandamweight champion, Manel Cape back on the show. He is set to make his UFC debut on August 15th at UFC 252. He was originally scheduled to face Rogerio Bonterrin at that event. He is out of the fight. So people have been hitting me up left and right, wondering what is going on with Manel

Cape. Is he still fighting on August 15? So I thought, you know what? Let's just bring him on the show and hear it from the man himself. Manel, good to see you. How are you, sir? Good see you again. Thank you so much for the invite me again for interview. Absolutely. So we are, we are getting closer and closer to this debut on this huge card. Bontarin, as we all know by now, he is out of the fight. And I know the UFC has been trying to find you a new opponent. What is the latest on that? Have they found you somebody to fight yet? First, I had new, I heard the new that Roger can fight. He had an injury.

And my manager and UFC's type. Try to find a new opponent. And these opponents should be Formiga, for me for a fight against me. But he don't accept the fight. He don't accept to the fight. We try to fight. to eat pantosia too, but I have an injury too.

Oh. Yeah, I broke my ligaments. I broke my ligaments, full ligament, and I had another injury in the ligament. I tried to train it like that and I then become worse, you know. And then I come to hospital for make MRI and they say for stop the training one month. The doctor said, don't do nothing. So we'll be Ross if you do something again. I was training like that.

Keep my training because I really want to show my potential, show my skills, you know. And forget the pain. It's just training, you know, keep myself. But they say, I stopped one month, so now no fight 100%. No fight 100%. What ligaments did you injure, if you don't mind me asking? My uncle. And your ankle?

My uncle. Yeah, before I had many injuries in my foot. It's not the first time when I fight in rising. I had every time, every two weeks from fight, I have some injuries. It's like, I don't know what's happened, but every two weeks for my fight, I have an injury. And now I saw all fighters all pull up from fight, so this is not for happen now. All right. Is it a little frustrating for you?

Because, I mean, this is an injury. It's the fight game. These things happen from time to time, but you know, you're getting ready to debut on this huge card. It's going to be your first fight in eight months. And if memory surgery corrected, this is the longest you have gone in your career without a fight. Has this all been like a little discouraging for you? Or in a way, is this like a blessing in disguise that you have this extra time now? You know, every time, if something happened, happened for some reason, you know.

From first time, of course, when I had the injury, I was training wrestling and had these injuries. The injury. And of course, I become mad stress, you know, from first time. But then I know that this will pass. And I know that I leave everything in hands of God. I know that he do every time in the right reason. So all my life, everything happened for some reason.

I believe that. I have this in my mind. Many, many stupid things happen in my life like that for something good happen, you know. So this is one of the most things. So for you, now you're going to be a month without training. You're trying to heal up the ankle. When are you thinking you might be able to get back in there? Like October, November, maybe the end of the year.

What are you thinking at this point? You know, I don't have the right answer because the doctor say for stop one month. So I would like stay healthy for October, you know, October. I would like stay healthy for October. If you know, I need to respect my body, you know, respect what the doctor say and what is better for me. This time I want to stay 100%. healthy for fight. I don't want to make any skills like many fighters do. Oh, I fight with this injury. Oh, I come like, you know. So if I want to stay 100%, you know, I don't, I never

make excuses. So if stay healthy for October, I will fight in October. That'd be huge. If they put you on that pay-per-view card with Habib versus Justin Gaghi, that'd be pretty massive. So, do you remember like the last time? Because you said that it seems to be like every two weeks before a fight, some sort of crazy injury pops up and you have to fight there. Do you remember like the last time you entered a fight as close to 100% as you probably will be for this one? 100%.

It's like impossible to say, you know, 100%. Or close to it, you know what I mean? Yeah. No, you know, I never think about my injuries. I had the injury before, but I never think, you know. And I was training for this fight. I was training for this fight. And I think for myself, okay, I have this injury. I have a lot of pain in my uncle.

So, but in the fight, I don't will feel nothing, you know? Right. I know that I don't feel nothing. You know, I say so excited for fight. So I think I can. I can't fight like that. Because in the day the fight, I don't feel nothing. I know.

I know myself because one time my first fight with Kaiyakura, I broke my finger. I broke my finger and I fight with broke finger, you know. Like I don't feel nothing, you know, just when finished the fight. And a lot of things with the, fight against the um

um uh origuchi or my last fight my knee is a lot of pain I'll swallow you know

my knee swollen but I don't feel nothing I in the last fight I opened my eye in training

I open my eyes like two weeks for fight you know this is the the is the last week that I need

to push more hard and then next week rest but no I cut my eyes and just stay in the hospital, rest, do some cardio, you know, and feel a lot of pain and I feel for if a guy gave me some

some punch hard in my in my eyes can open you know can open and they can stop the fight but it's okay it's part of the job you know yeah we saw a champion recently crowned in your new division.

Davidson Figuerreiro finished Joseph Benavides in the first round. It took a little while, but the 125 pound division in the UFC can start to move forward a little bit now that there's a champion crowd. What did you make of Davidson's performance and becoming the flyaway champion?

I saw the fight as a good performance, you know, good performance. I saw Benavides, I think, is old for continue. the fight, you know, for, you know, for follow. He loses the speed, you know. He lose many things that, you know, I'm young, have another young fighters, you know. You can't compete like that, you know, with the young fighters.

I saw some mistakes from Davidson, you know. You can see that he's confidence with his strike, Jiu-Jitsu, he don't have something, he don't have something, you don't have cardio. I don't know if he's cut weight. I don't know if he cut too much weight, but you can see that he becomes tired very early, you know. If he fight against me, like a guy against me, that my cardio start to grow up every, every, every round. It will be something like he's not, it will be good for him, you know. He's don't really like stay in same octagon with me.

I will let work in the first round, but in the second round, 100% that I will smash him like I want, you know. So I think he needs work more this because I'm coming, you know. I'm coming. You need to work more your cardio, try to train your speed, you know, because I saw my game.

I saw my game. I can see that it's not due respect to any fighter, but I can be a champion very easy, you know, in this division. Very easy, believe me. It looked like coming out of the card, like a lot of eyes were on August 15th for your fight because we're talking about what could be next. And then there were three guys that are probably in consideration to fight for the belt next. You got Brandon Moreno, Alex Perez, and then Asker Asker Off got a win on that same card.

And now from all indications, it seems like the UFC is interested in booking a title fight between Davison and Cody Garbrandt, who's going to drop down from 35. That is not done yet, but it seems to be the direction they want to go. As a guy who's about to enter this division, and you want to be championing yourself someday, what do you think of Cody Garbrandt coming down to 25 potentially and jumping the line and getting a title shot potentially here? We'll be good. Have Cody Garbage in a 135 division because he's the former Baltimore champion, and this gives some motivation, you know.

I like fight with big dogs. You know, for the first time that I will make my debut, I don't know that they pull my, I talk with my manager, and they want to give me, I don't know, some easy fight, you know. I say, like, I come here, I don't, I don't will accept any, any fight. If he's not someone, then top five, you know. I come here for making my career, like, you know, Now, I come to be a champion, you know.

I'm a world champion. I know my potential, you know, I know my skills. And I can see in 125 division, no, have nobody better than me. And if you call it garbage, come for 135, we'll be good, you know. This will give me extra motivation, extra power for fight against him. I saw his fight He's a tough guy But just have this

It's just a tough But in this game you need to have more Not just be a tough You know He's not smart You can see work with his emotional You know Just he was a friend

And I'm more complete than him And all the respects That I saw that they don't have. So it'll be good. I'm excited, you know. I'm very, very, very excited.

So you're happy. He's in the division so that you could fight him essentially, right? I'm 100% in me. I'm excited, you know. What do you think of like, because a lot of people are like, if Cody drops to 25, like I'm cool with that, I just don't want to see him fight for the title right away because he's never made that cut to 25.

We saw what happened with T.J. Dillel. He looked terrible at that weight and then he tested positive. So it was kind of a disaster when Dillusha tried to do the same thing. No, can be different, you know, because you can see Cordogarvage his body. He don't have legs, you know. He just has up, he's bigger, but his leg is skinny, you know, he's like a chicken, you know. So maybe he can cut. He can make you 125 easy, you know.

but Dillardot is more is more hush than him you know he's more bigger have more legs his body

is huge you know but Caudine not Cody not have any legs is skinny

you know just body is a strong in up you know he can he can make he can make

1.25 but I think he easy I think he easy you know I think he easy you know I think he is it all right

well that's good all right you're selling me on this because when I first heard about him fighting for the title, I was like, or potentially fighting. No, you can see his body. No, no, he can see his body. He can see his body. He's very skinning leg. He's very, very skinned. Yeah, I think, I think he can get there. I just almost want to see him take another fight first. And if he wins, then give him the title shot. I just want to make sure he can make that cut first. And then we can talk title fights. Yeah, yeah.

I agree. I agree. If he's like that, I was supposed to the man fight a lot. I against the target shot because I'm a world champion too. So I can fight against another show, word champion. What a debut that would be. Champion versus champion. That'd be fun. We'll be good. We'll be good 100%.

I love it, man. I'm sorry that you're dealing with this, Manel. It's pretty rough. I know you're getting ready for your debut. But like you said, these things happen. And it probably happened for a good reason. This division is starting to come along. And I think it's the best time in a long.

for you to come in and make some waves in this division. So I wish you all the best in your recovery. Hopefully when you go back to the doctor at a month, you're cleared and ready to go. And hopefully we see you in October with a huge fight. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. This is what that I want.

And I'm now in physiotherapy all day. Make everything good for my recovery, become fast and make my debut. All right, man. Thank you for the time, as always, and we'll get you back on here before that first fight happens. All right? Thanks so much. I appreciate.

Thank you so much. There is Manel Cape, the former Risen Bannamweight Champion, set to make his UFC debut on August 15th, the UFC 252. We will not see that happen. But we do wish Manel a very speedy recovery. But I got to say, even though it was kind of a bummer hearing him say that he's not fighting August 15th, he got me fired up. He wants a top five guy. He wants the Cody Gep. Garbrantz. He wants the Davis and Figueros. And much like, you know, we say with Hamzad Shemayev,

Manel Cape, he's a proven winner. He's a, he's a champion in a major promotion. If he wants a top five guy, give him a top five guy, especially in this division right now. Cape versus Ascaroff would be a lot of fun. I'm down for any of those fights. Perez, Moreno, sign them all up. I want to see Cape fight all these guys. He's going to be a really good addition to this division. No doubt about that, but let's move all the way up to the heavyweight division. Second straight finish on Saturday night for Tanner Bozer. Second big finish in a month's time. So let's see what the bulldozer is up to in Canada during his 14-day quarantine right now on what the heck. All right, we have Tanner Bozer joining us. He picked up another impressive finish

of Raphael Pisoa on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 14. Happy to have the bulldozer on the program for the first time. Tanner, good to see you, man. How are you? Hey, I'm doing pretty good. How are you? Doing great. Another big finish for you. This time you got a bonus to go along with it. And personally, I thought you should have gotten one in your last fight as well.

But all things considered, pretty successful trip to Abu Dhabi for you, was it not? Yeah, it was the most successful it could have been. I got a bonus on top of a win. That's amazing. I'm stoked. Yeah, I thought I should have got a bonus last time too. But I got a bonus this time. So I'm not going to complain.

There you go. And the fight, honestly, and I'm not throwing shade at Raphael, it went pretty much the way I thought it would. Like the first round would be more of a calculated round for you, kind of see what was out there. And then the second round, you'd come out more explosive. Was that how you approach it as well? Yep. Yeah, that was it. You had fought like less than a month ago, and I'm sure we kind of discussed this off here a little bit.

The word quarantine probably makes you cringe a little bit at this point. But you were able to pull this off, get that quick turnaround. If this was a year ago, this would have been much easier for you, I'm sure. But how much more difficult was it for you to turn around in this COVID era from the Linz fight in Vegas to get to Abu Dhabi and then do this all over again? Yeah. So it was more difficult because I wasn't able to train. I fought Linz and then I had to quarantine for 14 days. When you return from out of country in Canada, you have to stay in your place of residence for 14 days.

You can't leave. So I obviously didn't train. So I got off quarantine, heard about the fight. Monday and I trained Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then we flew out Thursday. You know, I would have been in the gym for at least a week if COVID wasn't the way it is right now. So yeah, there was obviously that added a bit of difficulty, but oh well. And I mean, it turned out good. So so be it. Did you have a feeling you would have an opportunity to fight in Abu Dhabi? And if so, how did you spend those 14 days of quarantine? Did you do anything to train and, you know,

try to keep yourself in shape because you had an idea something might come along i called for it i didn't actually think i'd get it and no i did not train it all first of all i live in an apartment so when i'm not allowed to leave it and even go outside there is not a whole lot i can do here uh and i just my main diet was burgers and beer so yeah it was not an ideal training camp but i was able to salvage some some physical shape that remained from my last fight and put myself through three days of hell and try and transform myself back before flying out. I was going to say, burgers and beer, that might be my new diet because you still look pretty darn good on Saturday night, all things considered.

Yeah, on Saturday night, the poison was out of my system by then. It was a painful process, though. Don't think it was fun. All right, so maybe not burgers and beer for me, but what did you think of the overall experience of Fight Island and Abu Dhabi? Like, long trip, hot weather 24-7. Did you even have a chance to take in any of like the cool stuff made a very? available to you guys? Or was this more like a full-on business trip for you?

I did get to take in some of that stuff the day after the fight. The day after the fight, we went down to Yaz Beach, swam in the sea, and had some drinks down there, had some food. It was awesome. And the weather is beautiful when you're not preparing for a fight. It's lovely. I just, you know, you don't want to go out and overdo it and get, I don't know, some sort of kind of can slow a guy like me down. I'm not used to that kind of heat. So before the fight, I treat it like a business trip because it is it's it snows to the grindstone and sit in your room and be miserable and just wait wait until the fight so it was definitely nice though to have that one day of of uh of getting to enjoy uh getting to enjoy yaz island because yaz island and abu dhabi is definitely

a beautiful place what was the water like i was talking to calvin cater yeah he said that he did uh he he was on the jet skis and he said like it wasn't even refreshing because the water was like hot it was like going in bath water the water is is is it's warm like border like not just oh that's that's that's comfortably warm like it's it's warm almost hot but the water's so salty that if you dive in with your eyes closed obviously but obviously you open them when you come out there's so much salt that it burns your eyes pretty badly even just even just going underwater with your eyes closed it's crazy different i've never experienced anything like that but uh it was um definitely a cool thing that i'm glad i got to do what most people

forget about you, Tanner, and I see this all the time, is that, yes, you have a lot of experience in this sport, but you're only 28 years old. And you're turning, what, 29 on Sunday, I think. Is that what it is? But you're still, like, growing in this game. You haven't even hit your athletic prime yet. So would you agree that the timing of you, at least getting into the UFC, is perfect compared to say, if you got in there, like two years prior? Yeah, actually, I do agree. And I wouldn't have agreed with that two years prior. I would have thought, I deserve this. Why? Why am I getting signed. But I think it all worked out for me well in the end. I mean, we're not at the end, but where we are now, I'm happy with it. And I'm happy the way things are progressing and everything's

going. And I'm still seeing improvements constantly in training. I haven't ever stopped getting better or learning. So I think that the timing actually just happened to line up well. You know, the stars aligned in my favor here. So I just got to roll with it. And yeah, I hope you're right. I hope I'm not at my athletic prime or my fighting prime for several years. I hope this is just scratching the surface. And it's a beautiful thing being in the division that you're in right now because, yeah, everyone's dangerous in the heavyweight division, but a lot of the top guys, they're in their 30s, a couple are in their 40s, and you're like the young buck on the block right now.

I'm one of them. Yeah, there's a couple, right? I think Dawn's 29. but yeah most most of the heavyweight division is is later 30s most of the top 15 guys are in their in their 30s and lots of them are late 30s and yeah some of them are early 40s so heavyweight division matures later than every other division so again I see that as an advantage I have hopefully and potentially a lot of time to grow the road to getting to the UFC for a lot of fighters I've spoken to in the past they feel like there's way more pressure that

comes with like knocking on the door of that call as opposed to getting the call like being in the UFC once you're there you know a lot of that pressure's off and you could just kind of grow from there like how would you view your road like would you feel the same way or do you feel you know just as much pressure being in the UFC there's as much pressure on every single fight I don't think it changes necessarily fight to fight your your back is always against the wall at least a little bit. Every loss you take hinders your career. You get significantly less money. It's every single time the stakes are so high that I definitely don't think there's ever a fight where I can go in and be like, you know, whatever happens happens, right? Like, say, Levy, we're just going in here for fun.

Not how I view it. But I mean, if some people do view it that way, good for them. But no, the pressure is the higher the stakes are. And I mean, the stakes are highest now in terms of person. At the very least. So, I mean, that alone makes the stakes higher than it would have been in a regional promotion trying to get signed, you know. So I would disagree, but, you know, teach their own. And you signed a new deal before this fight too, right? I assume very happy with that deal. Yeah, I'm happy with it, yeah.

You were mentioning how some fighters look at it as like, yeah, I'm in the UFC, this is fun, this is cool. But a lot of guys come in on the opposite side and they're ready to, you know, just take the world by, world by the balls and they want top 10 guys right away and not saying that you necessarily don't want that, but you seem to have, I guess, more of a methodical approach to things. Like, how would you describe this path that you're on right now? I'm just, I'm just happy to be here, man. I'm just having a good time, you know, I take it one fight at a time and it's a marathon, not a sprint. I'm not, I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to jump in there and fight Francis and Gany with my current pay grade. You know what I mean? Come on. There's, uh,

There's smarter ways to go about stuff. I was actually in Boston covering that event when you made your debut against Daniel Spitz, and it was a great win. You got the second half of your pay, which is obviously very important. You got to show a lot in that fight as well. But I guess what would you say is like the biggest difference from the guy we saw that night in Boston to the guy we saw in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night? About 15 pounds. That's it. I got in really good shape and that's shown.

It's paid off for sure. I'm stronger. I'm hitting harder. These things are for sure finally starting to show. But I felt good in the Daniel Spitz fight. I didn't finish him. I think Spitz is very tough. I think he's actually a really difficult guy to finish.

He also proved that when he fought Godbear. He took some insane punishment in that fight. So I don't look at that fight and be like, oh, man, I should have finished. that no, it was a good fight. I showed a lot of my skill set. I'm not upset at that at all. And Spitz is an extremely durable guy.

Like the way that he didn't, like I know the leg kicks hurt him, but he never buckled. He never just kind of wilted because of it. That's, it's pretty impressive. So I am not going to look at a decision win and be like, oh, man, I'm so much better than that now. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, I improve every fight. And yes, I believe I'm better now a bit. But I don't think there was anything wrong with that fight. And I liked my performance in that fight. So I'd say the biggest difference is I'm in a bit better shape now. But I'm the same guy. Yeah, I would agree with you on that one. It was a well-rounded performance.

And I think you got to show a lot more, like you said, of your skill set in that fight. When did you sort of realize that you needed to drop those 15 pounds? I didn't. It just happened? Yeah, COVID happened. And I couldn't train. I couldn't grapple. I couldn't kickbox. I couldn't train with people. So all I did was focus on strength and conditioning by myself most days. And I would just do strength and conditioning for like three hours. So I just got in the best shape of my life because I just really couldn't do anything else. And then when we were finally able to start, you know, carefully group training with our cohorts and other buzzwords. I felt a noticeable difference in my strength and power especially. And,

I don't want to go back. So I'm going to keep a steady focus on strength of conditioning. I'm going to hit it hard five days a week as soon as I can get back to the gym after this anyways. But yeah, from here on. Aside from the burgers and beers diet during the quarantine. There's nothing else to do in here. I know. Right. You, as expected, after the when you doubled down on the call at Amori screen, and And, you know, Maurice from speaking to him, he's up for that as well. And I think the timing works

out great because he was a little banged up in that Volante fight. So he was thinking like September, October-ish, I think that makes a lot of sense for him. That makes a lot of sense for you, since Maurice was a top 15 guy less than a year ago. So when you look at it from a stylistic perspective, the X's and O's of it all, how do you like that matchup? Oh, I like the matchup, but it's a good fight. Like, I'm not kidding myself. Maurice Green is a big man and he's athletic. He's, He's got a dangerous skill set, and I think it's a good test. But yeah, I want that fight, and I've called for that fight, and I think it lines up good for both of us.

And I know Maurice's games. So, I mean, if UFC wants to book that fight for September or October, just call our managers up. And I don't think either one of us is going to turn it down. Yeah, I think it's time for that fight. What happened? Like, didn't you call for him? Was it after the Spitz fight?

Or was it after the gone fight that you would ask? Because he looks, his story's a little different than yours. Okay, so he, I was offered him in August after my July fight in Edmonton fell through. When Captain Dipshit there tested positive on the eve before, uh, Wayans. Uh, I was offered Maurice Green in Anaheim and he turned me down. And he turned me down because he wanted a top 15 opponent was his words. And I do believe him. He did want a top 15 opponent.

It didn't work out for him. But although his logic is fine, and I see where he's going with it, they didn't have anyone else for me to fight. And because of that, I didn't get paid in August and I could have got paid in August. So fuck him for that, you know? I'm trust me when I tell you this. I'm not going to ask you about 205. It's so silly to bring that up at this point, honestly.

But I do have to ask you about a somewhat viral moment from your post-fight scrum on Saturday, the opening of the monster can. Like, it was just the slickest opening of a can I've ever seen. Like there was no, hold on one second. I have to open this can with my teeth. You just grabbed it and you went for it. Like, did you think that moment would get clipped and get the attention that it's gotten? Because I can't go anywhere on social media without seeing that freaking clip, Tanner.

That's hilarious. No, I just, I always want, I always crave sugar and carbonation after a fight. Pepsi is my go-to. But the monster can was sitting right there. And I'm like, hey, man, a monster old tooth. And I mean, I'm missing my second front tooth. and I opened cans like that. I don't know when I started doing it,

but at some point I did. So I just cracked it and chugged monster. So whatever. That's funny that it went viral. That's all right. I mean, what else can you open like that? Like, can you open beer bottles?

Like, what other things can you do? No, I did it one time. I was really drunk once and I was open everybody's beer bottles with tooth. But then I tried to do it when I wasn't super drunk and it hurt like hell. So I never tried it since then. I just cans. It just works on cans. Yeah, I would say so.

Can I ask you about this, um, this cyber bullying campaign that you heard on Twitter? Like I have to admit, I was falling along with this. And because we see like, we see how fickle some of the MMA fans can be like some of them just like the greatest world. That's a nice word for it. That's a nice word for it. Yeah. For those who haven't like seen it. Downright shitty is a better word.

You said that not me. But how did this all happen? Like what inspired you to do that? I was just going through the comments. I told the story of my missing shorts, right? Said that if anybody sees, right? I mean, first of all, I wanted info. If anybody knew where my shorts were.

Second of all, I mean, whatever, it's kind of a funny story. So I'll tell it. And then, yeah, of course, there's always no matter what. There's people who appreciate it. And then there's always a handful of people who just got nothing but dumb shit to say. But when buddy came out and said, no one wants your shorts, you fat fuck. I was like, oh, he just, he just lobbed one right up for me. Because I bet there are some people who are willing to say mean things to a stranger for a pair of shorts.

So, yeah, I just threw it up there and said, whoever says the meanest shit to this guy can have a signed pair of fight shorts. And I had hundreds of people message me screenshots in my, in my Twitter DMs. And I went through all of them. So that took up one day of, took up one day of Fight Island waiting around. So that was all right. So this might be a new thing for you. Just keep posting about something. There's only so many pairs of shorts I got to give away.

But, I mean, I had one less now. So, no, it was good. And sometimes you got to put those people on blast. You can't let them have it. You got to let them know. So, okay, so you didn't find the shorts. After all that, no, no shorts were found. Oh, no, no, no shorts were found, no.

And now I hold a pair of shorts to someone else who said something mean to a guy. That's so funny. Yeah, if you guys have been checked that out, go through Tand or. Twitter and see it because it is absolutely wild. But hey, you didn't get your shorts back, but you come home with a win under your belt, another finish in a $50,000 bonus to boot. So congratulations, Tanner. All the best of you. I think the Morris Green fight makes all the sense in the world. Maybe in the fall. Love to see that one go down. And continued success, man. Big things are coming your way, I think. Yeah, no, thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Thanks for the time.

Fun conversation right there with Tanner Bozier. Really enjoyed that one. And it makes all the sense in the world. I really like the idea of Cana Bojure versus the Crochet boss, Maurice Green, later on in the fall. But let's head to the world of Bellator MMMA. They returned this past Friday night. Next event, coming up next Friday night at Mohegan Sun, Bellator 243. Curtis Millinder joins the program right now ahead of his fight on that card with Sabah Hamasi. Here it is. All right. Curtis Millinder is joining us on the show for the first time. He's coming back in the Bellator cage next Friday, Belator 242 taking on Sabah Hamasi. Curtis, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm great, sir. How are you doing? I'm doing great. It has been a crazy year for the sport and for you. You returned to Belator. This time as an active member of the roster in January, he took on Moses Marietta. You look terrific in that fight and he got the win and he got to do it in front of people, which a lot of fighters cannot say in 2020. So, what was that night like for you getting back in the bellator cage your first fight since since the ufc

release and having a performance like that um that that night was awesome you know it was it meant a lot because i've got to go out there and show that i'm just i'm not just striker i can take you down i can go for submissions i can do different things and then um just the the whole stress of not fighting from april to january and uh the uncertainty uncertainty that i had like just leading up that whole eight months It was a real stressful second half of 2019. I'm actually having a better time this year than I was this time last year. Did the whole scenario just, like, feel different to you? Like, did you feel like a different fighter compared to maybe the Bilal fight, getting back in that cage?

Did you feel like almost rejuvenated in a way being back in that environment? Yeah, you know, I had a lot of time off, so I got to hill up a lot. I got to sit down and refocus and go over things and to see what kind of, fighter I wanted to be and how I want to, you know, kind of go with the second half of my career. So, I, you know, I had to step up some things. Since that fight, a global pandemic has taken the world by storm. It halted operations for Bellator for a while. They're obviously back up and running now.

But you mentioned 2020 has been a better start to the year than 2019 was for you. What has this time off been like for you? You know, I got to get in the gym, lift some weights. I've never been a big on. lifting weights and preparation for fights. So I kind of had, I got to add that to my repertoire, you know, sit down, studying a lot more fights, more conversations with my coaches and other people about fighting. So just mentally and physically, like I've been able to put a little bit more into fighting

and without the stress of getting ready for a fight. So it's been just a big learning, big learning curve. I was speaking with Aaron Pico last week. And he said that he was made aware that Bellator was targeting July, August to get back to work. And he actually, like, made himself a fight camp. Like, he had about a nine or 10 week training camp. He had no idea who he was going to fight. He just looked at a date and said, it looks like we're going to fight at this time.

So at least he did what the 2020 version of a fight camp can be and started preparing. But when were you sort of made aware that everything was going to get back up running for Belator? They're getting ready to turn the lights back on and that you could be getting back in there and getting a fight. I knew towards the beginning of June, I was scheduled to fight May 29th. So when they canceled that, I want to say like a week or two later, they said that probably July, August was going to be around the time they were going to start bringing fights back for Bellator. So I was able to get, you know, pretty much stay in shape. I wasn't in full, full-fledged Camo, but like I said, I was doing a lot of things to mentally and physically. physically prepare for fights without putting the stress of my body from a camp.

So back-to-back fights, you have like a seven-month layoff between fights. This is not like you. Usually you're, you know, three, four months at the most. Like, do you prefer, like, once this fight ends and Bellator keeps going here? Do you want to just get back to what you normally do, get in there every couple of months? Yeah, I'm ready. I like to fight three to four times a year. You know, just sitting around has been way too much sitting around. I'm getting, getting heavy and having a go away class I like to be active that's my thing

three or four fights a year minimum Sabah Hamasi he wasn't the original plan right is that accurate I thought you had maybe somebody else lined up yeah I was so originally it was supposed to fight

chilling May 29th that fell apart and then I was supposed to fight Tony Johnson Friday this past Friday and but so now I have Hamosi but you know

at this at this point in my career everybody's going to do the same things um once start punch them in the face once they see the speed once they see the power and the way i move they're going to start diving for the leg so um at this point there's not going to be too much that i haven't seen yeah sabah had a run in the ufc as well didn't go swimmingly for him but he's won his last two fights i was at his last fight where he had the 17 second knockout in august but he likes to get in there and stand and bang and finish fights in violent fashion. I know you're no stranger to that as well. So from a stylistic perspective, you have to be loving this fight, right? Yeah, I love it. But like I said, everybody, everybody turns into a wrestler once they actually got to stand in front of me

and they see what I bring to the striking game, maybe half around before he starts shooting. Does it change things up at all in terms of preparation? Like, you've been in the game for a while now, like you said, not a lot changes for you, but I can't imagine too, too much is going to change for you going from one opponent to the next, right? No, not at all. I'm always focused on what I can do and my skill set. And, you know, like I said, this last year,

I've been getting back on the mats, wrestling a lot more, grappling a lot more, doing a lot of competitions, just so I can be comfortable showing everything. Not just, I know I can do it, but I haven't had the complete confidence that I can do it, like, when it's time to do it. So that's what I've been working on. What does that confidence mean to you?

Now that you have it and you're feeling it, what does that mean to you? It means everything. You know, now that I know I can do it whenever I need to, however I need to, I'm going out there to apply it. I need to get some submissions, these next two or three fights I'm going for submissions. Did you watch the card on Friday? Yes. Well, I watched most of the prelims. I didn't get to watch.

I watched the main and the co-main and all the prelimes. I missed the opening Pico and the fight right after. What did you sort of take away from the execution in this COVID-19 era we're a part of? Because it seemed like everything went off without a hitch and it was pretty well done. Yeah, it was smooth. you know, the, usually the belts or cards are really long.

They feel like they're really long. And this was like nice, smooth, short, simple, here, let's fight. Here's some hype for the next one.

There's some more fights. And it was awesome. I liked it. How do you see this all going down next Friday night? You want to go for a submission. Do you see it ending in a submission next Friday? I see it ending with a finish. You know,

that's the only way I'm going to get what I want is, go out here and finish these dudes. And what do you want? Because you did say after your last fight, you had your eyes locked. on a on MVP on Michael page that's a fight you want obviously we don't want to look past saba next week but is that still kind of what you're looking at if all goes well that that's always there but you know we've been paired and matched so many times and I'm not the one saying

no to where you know if it happens it happens if it doesn't it doesn't but uh I'm sure um anybody anybody that's going to get you know get me the the get me closer to the belt being the top of the heat getting paid like I think I should like I feel like I should that's that's what I want how many times have you been offered that fight or four or five times really yeah the last time yeah last time on a week in a week's notice when he definitely when he had his best chance he didn't take it so wow I saw um I saw an Instagram post of yours a while back I'm pretty sure this is you and if it's not then I'm gonna eat some crow here but you were wearing a like a double WW face mask and you said that you were a WWE fan for life.

Do you, do you still watch WWE now? Like, do you, I have to be honest with you. I've tried. Oh, is it just right? Oh, yeah. Always. I've seen that era I was very much into. But now it's got to be tough for me.

It's a little tough for me, man. Do you watch now? I watch now. My sons, they're big fans too. So I watch it now. I find, I find people to like to make me, stay interested. So there's a lot of guys who are connected to the older guys that that work out for me.

Who's on your, who do you watch? Who do you guys like to watch? Randy Orton. And I like Bray Wyatt, the theme. His, his mic work. Like, it brings me back to the day, like Stone Cold, listen to the Rock, Stone Cold, those guys on the mic. So it's fun.

I still find, like, the gyms that kind of keep me interested. Yeah. I was actually at WrestleMania 14 when Steve Austin won the title for the first time against the guy you're wearing right now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

Sean Michaels is my best, my favorite of all times. Yeah, not a bad person to put in that category. But Curtis, I appreciate the time, man. Looking forward to seeing you back in there. I'm glad Bellator's back to work. And we get to see you in an exciting fight with Sabah Hamasi. And looking forward to see what this, what 2020 is going to look like for you. towards the end. All the best to you next Friday

and thank you for the time, man. No problem. Thank you very much. Have a good one. Curtis Millinder, big W.W.E. fan, big wrestling fan. He's returned in action next Friday that fight with Zabahamas. He should be a fun one, of course. The main event of Bellator 243 next weekend.

Next Friday, as a matter of fact, Michael Chandler versus Benson Henderson, too. It's a pretty good card. It is. It's, you know, last Friday's was a seven-fight card. This is going to be a lot more than that. Co-man event Matt Matrione versus Timothy Johnson, the man with the golden mustache. Miles Jury versus Georgie Carcanion. That'll be a fun fight, 155 pounds, and even the prelims are really strong. Taylor Johnson's back against Joel Bowman, Adam Borch versus Derek Campos.

There's no way that fight's not going to be insane. AJ Agassar versus Chris Lencioni, Christian Edwards is back. Nainoa Dung, he's a great fighter. Three and one, he's looking to get back. who is winning way. Grant Neal is finally going to make his Bellator debut. And then Valerie Lareda is back in action against TerraGraph. So it would be a good little change of pace for Bellator getting a full card back together. We'll see how that plays out next Friday night.

As we head to our final guest to the show, Jesse Ronson, returned to the UFC in a big way at UFC on ESPN 14. His post-fight interview was just as fiery as the performance itself. So here's my chat right now with the Body Snob. Jesse Ronson on what the heck. All right, we have another one of the big winners from Saturday night, UFC on ESPN 14 event. Jesse Ronson took on Nicholas Dalby, submits him in the first round. What a story this was to get back to the Octagon.

Welcome back to the UFC, Jesse. How are you, sir? I'm good, man. I feel great. You know, most interviews I think I've ever had to do after a fight, so it's exciting. I think everyone at this point is well aware of your story. of what happened a couple of years ago

and your road to get back to this place you're in right now and you get the opportunity to come back into the UFC, you get a quick finish, you get a bonus. I mean, this is like out of a movie script. Is it not? This is crazy. Right? It is, you know, movie-esque.

It's got that level of epic to it, especially with the background story and everything that I've been through to get back and to get that win the way I got it. over a guy that's never been finished before. A weight class up is good, especially not too many people know what happened during the day, if you guys wanted to touch on that.

But it was just an absolute crazy, crazy time. Well, what happened during the day? At 7 in the morning, I got a phone call from the UFC saying I tested positive for COVID-19. On Saturday? Yeah. So six people that day had false positives. All of it came back negative, but at 7 in the morning, they called me and they're like, yeah, you have to stay in your room. We're sending people up to test you again.

So 7.30, they came and they tested me. 3.30, they came back and they tested me twice. They did the nose test, which hurt like hell and another throat swab. And then finally at 10.30 at night, on Fight Day, they said your tests are good and negative. Don't worry, six other people had false positives. They're all negative. Everybody's good. Yeah, you're good to fight.

I'm like, oh, great, it's good to know that I'm good to fight now on fight day, you know, an hour and a half before I got to go down and start warming up and getting my hands wrapped up. You know, I haven't slept at all all day because I was super nervous. And, you know, it's out of my hand. I probably should have. But, you know, with the screw up that happened in 2018, I was like, just my luck. This would happen to me where I would get screwed over the day of the fight. So luckily it all came back and sorted itself out. and I was able to go in there, fight, and get that W.

Wow. So 90 minutes before you were supposed to, like, get your stretching in and get your warmups in, you find out that you're cleared to fight. That is, that is wild. Like, what is, when you finally got the news that you were cleared to fight, like, what was your reaction like? Because you probably thought when you got that call, you were like, up, this is like my destiny.

This crazy road continues. And then all of a sudden you get cleared. Was it like the stars officially aligning in your brain in a way? Essentially, yeah. It's like, okay, you can't. you can't just keep me down and keep kicking me when I'm down. It's like, because I've been consistently tested the whole time.

So it's like, you know what, Jesse? This has been a super sweet moment for you. But we need to test you one last time to see if you, if you've got the conviction and you can persevere through it. And I did. So it's like, it's not the universe trying to screw me over, but it's like,

are you really worthy of it? Are you mentally strong enough like you say you are? And 100% I was. And, you know, you suck it up. You go there. and you just got to put it all behind you. And I used it. I used all that emotion and all that strain

and put it to use and, you know, put it to use on Delby. So how did this all happen to get you back? Like because 2018, you're scheduled to fight Diego Faheda at UFC 231. We know what happened there at the weight. And most would agree, and I think you probably said this yourself,

that another opportunity to get back in the UFC at best was unlikely considering the reaction in, like, precedence set in the past. So, you know, Dalby needs an opponent. How did you get this call? Like, how did this all come? Was it like you presented as a,

as a potential option? Or did your manager just call you and say, dude, you're in the UFC again? It was Canada Day for me. It was like 10 o'clock at night. And he goes, the message, I swear to literally is as follows. July 25th, 170 pounds versus Nicholas Dolby.

And I said, sure. And he goes, no, no, no, you're doing it. And I'm like, okay, is it for the UFC? And he goes, who else is putting fights on your dumb shit? Let's go. And he's like, yeah, we're going. And I'm like, okay, thank you. Shit, let me tell my coaches and people that I've been training with so they know what's going on.

And like, I was still in shock. And then the next day I got the contract, I'm like, okay, so he's not just pulling my leg. This is for real. All right, let's go. I was not expecting a UFC fight because I've been harassing him for for months trying to get me a short notice fight. It's because you needed a P1 visa to fight in the U.S. But for Abu Dhabi, you don't need that P1 visa. You just got to go there.

So I lucked out on there. So yeah, I guess the stars aligned for me. And it just worked out. Yeah. And it was like a little reunion between you and Abu Dhabi because you found. there a couple of times in your career right and then like you know all the craziness of covid 19 and the pandemic you're probably like i don't care if this thing's on the moon this is my time to to show some people what's up right oh 100% over the last seven years excuse me i've done

everything and anything i could to improve myself when i was in the ufc in 2013 2014 i i had i had wrestling defense is what i had i had jiu jitsu defense i was just a two-stripe white belt and all I had was my kickboxing base. Now my kickboxing is better. I'm a two-stripe brown belt. I'm out-wrestling D-1 wrestlers and submitting black belts and high-level brown belts and everything.

Like, I just feel that my skill set, the where it is right now, and it can still improve. I just feel like now is the right time. And I'm glad I got to showcase what I got to do, or what I could on July 25th. And I'm looking for a real tough guy for, my next fight, which I'm hoping November or early December.

There you go. But right in the middle, right smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, huh? Well, actually, well, not Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving's here in America, but Christmas and stuff, right? My birthday is December 24th. So I'd love to fight before December 24th so I can celebrate my birthday. And then Christmas right after and the New Year's rate after that and then get back to it. So like I said, November would be perfect.

I could be ready for late October if they needed me. It would put a lot of stress. I mean, as soon as I get out of this quarantine, I got to get back on the diet, which is probably good for me. At 14 days of rest and being able to splurge is more than enough. So I'll be ready to get back to it after this. So I could be ready for late October,

but November would be ideal, mid to late November. But before you got the call, I'm curious about this. Was, did you still have like a feeling that this might happen or had you accepted the fact that the UFC may not be an option anymore for you after everything that happened? Did you still have that feeling like, like, I'm mad. Because you know, like, I don't know if you're married or not. Like, I'm married. And when I met my wife, I wasn't looking for anything. Because normally guys were like, oh, I can't wait to find that girl at the bar. And when you're not looking for it, that's when love hits you. Is that kind of

like how this was with the UFC call for you? Or did you believe that it was going to happen for you? I knew at one point, not this soon. I was thinking maybe next year, but the guy that I just fought before UFC, Troy Lampson, he was like the number one guy in North America, like Dana White talked to him and they loved them, they wanted them, the UFC wanted them. So I was like, that's bad. I want him. I want to fight him and I want to make an example of him to show like, hey, you know,

this is your hot prospect that you want so bad. Are you guys going to be paying attention to me after I smash him? You know, after dropping him twice and choking him out, you know, he's the D1 wrestler in Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and I absolutely annihilated him. I made a statement. So I was like, yo, this is the guy that you want.

This is your next up and coming guy. And he just got smashed by me. I told you. I've been trying to tell you, I am good. Like, trust me. Like,

give me my shot and I will show you. And yeah, then the COVID-19 thing happened. And I was like, all right, well, UFC is probably not going to happen this year. So I'll just,

you know, again, keep developing my skills and keep pushing. And then, uh, yeah, boom, call happened.

And, you know, the best part of all of that was a lot of people were given Sean Shelby shit for signing me. They're like, oh, why would you sign this guy? He's 21 and 10, you know, 34 years old. We've got this guy, this guy, and so on so forth. It felt so good to hearing Sean Shelby say, thank you for that, Jesse, because now there's a lot of people out there that I can tell to go eat shit and to never again. I'm like, yes. Thank you, sir. 100%. He's like, yeah. He's like, you don't understand how many people I've texted to be like,

uh, what about that? What did you have to say about my judgment and me signing this guy? Oh yeah, that's right. Shut the hell up. He just beat this guy, a weight class up, first round submission and got a bonus.

Wow. How satisfying was that? Well, it was so, it was so good to hear that. And, uh, you know,

and that was on the plane ride back because he was like sitting like right across from me. It was like me, uh, Tanner Bowzer was to my right. Carla Sparzer was my left. And then he was up to the left. So we had 15 hours of flight together and it was good.

I got to know a figure old, not figure, but I got to know a lot about Sean Shelby and what he used to do back in the day. It was pretty cool. What did he used to do back in the day? He told me he was a stuntman. Really? Yeah, he used to do it. He wrestled for 10 years or so and did martial arts and then he became a stuntman.

And yeah, I think he said his biggest role was being a stuntman for Colt and the three ninjas. Oh, my God. It's unreal. I was like, get the hell out of here. So he's like, yeah, he's like, he did that for a couple of years, and it took its toll on his body. And then, yeah, it was, he's led a pretty interesting life to say the least. You wouldn't expect, I was like, no way.

Yeah, he's a, yeah, and he's actually a super nice guy. He's super cool. And it's just something you wouldn't expect. Wow, I haven't heard three ninjas in 25 years, probably. A great movie growing up, too, right? So good. Wasn't expected. at all. Wow. Your story is just like amazing even adding that to it because, you know,

with all the things that happened, you go in there in your return up a weight class and you finish a guy, like you said, who hadn't been finished. When the referee like pulls you off, what is going through your mind in that moment? Like, could you even put it into words? Yeah. The first feeling is, you know, F yeah, I just did, and then it's like, did this, is this happening? It's like, you see when the ref pulls me off, like get out. I get out. up and I lift my arms and then I look down at him and I'm like, this, this is real. This is. Oh shit. This is real. Yeah. You know, then I get back to the cage. I'm like, woo. Holy shit. And then the commission and they all come over to me because my nose was

leaking a little bit. They're like, how do you feel? I'm like, I just got my UFC debut and how the hell do you think I feel? I'm super excited. Like, yeah, go go enjoy it. You're good. Right. I was just super excited. Like I'm shaking right now thinking about it. It's like it's still fresh. You were on fire in your post-fight interview on a roll. I mean, it was probably just like mostly the excitement, but you call out Louise Pena, you call out Jalen Turner, you tell him to go eat some food and go up to 170. Like it was great stuff. Like was that was that something you planned on doing or is that like adrenaline and momentum at the top of the dome there? Well, everybody always says, you know, because the way the UFC is going right now is that you should

have somebody in mind to call out before, like, just like when you get that win, like, who do you want next? Then you're most likely going to get it. So I love fighting tall guys. 90% of my training partners at the gym are, you know, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. So I looked them up and, you know, we got Luis Pena, that's 4 and 3 in the UFC and Jalen Turner, that's 2 and 2. I would love to fight Luis Pena because, you know, on the plane ride back, they were asking

me, like, who do you want? And I was like, oh, Luis Pena or Jalen Turner. And they're like, oh, man, Luis Pena is tough. And I'm like, oh, he's tough. Perfect. I love tough guys. I love tough, tall guys because you know what? That means they can take it.

And everything that I dish out, if they're tough and they can take it, that just means I got to dip into the tool bag and pull out more skills. So it's like I can use more of my flashy fancy stuff, stuff that nobody's seen before because it takes a real tough guy in order to showcase everything, right? because if you just, I didn't get to showcase much versus Dahlby other than some good counterpunching and finishing ability, but against a tough guy like Luis Pena, you know, I can show off more head movement angles, fancy kicks, fancy footwork,

you know, wrestling defense, because apparently he's a wrestler. I get to show off more, especially if he can take it. So I would love to fight a guy like that. And yeah, I've been practicing that speech a little bit. The only thing that I had saved in my head was the ice cubes and lettuce. part. Seriously, how can you be, you know, a full grown man at six foot three fighting at 155?

Like, have you hit puberty yet? Like, is manhood actually come to you? Because that doesn't make sense. Like, you're just too small. Like, you're skinny as hell. Like, I don't get it. Like, how do you, how does the, how do your bones not break under the weight of just going down the stairs?

Like, I don't get it. So, yeah, the chirps are plenty if they, if they want to answer. But, uh, Louis Pena is definitely. the number one guy that I want to fight. He tried to get to 45 once before. And like, I think he missed, but he was close. No, I heard he missed weight by like eight pounds or something. Was it that much?

I thought it was like four pounds or five. I don't know. I just, I remember hearing somebody he missed by a lot. Like, it wasn't even close. So four pounds is close, I guess, but I think it was more than that. Like, I don't think he hit under 150. So, and you're just no, six foot three. What are you doing at 145?

like ice cubes and lettuce like that's that's not enough you're Jose Aldo when he cuts the 35 he's got to eat like four pounds of lettuce a day or salads and I'm like no no no that's just not right that's crazy you were on the you were on the same card with him because everyone who got a finish outside of Trinaldo got a bonus but you guys both had first round finishes but Hamzat Shamaev that mania is running wild right now and you got to share the card with him. What have you sort of made of his entry into the UFC, getting the two wins in 10 days and all the hype he's picked up and just, I don't know how much you were around that guy on Fight Island, but, you know, what was it like sharing a card with that guy and seeing what's come out of that? I didn't even get to see his fight. When I got to the island, like the first day I got to the island, he was in the elevator with me as I was going on my room.

And I'm like, who is this guy? Because I didn't know he was fighting on the card. But that guy's, he's, what is he, 8 and 0? and all finishes and he just looks like a crazy SOB and he just seems so calm. Like he's the type of guy that a grenade would go off and he wouldn't even jump. Everyone would be like, whoa, what was that? And he would just be like, I mean, I know a lot of people are putting him up. They're like, oh, he might be next for Camaro Isman or whatever.

Nah, like give him a good test. Like he just fought a guy that, you know, took the fight on short notice. And then, you know, him fighting at 85 and getting a quick win, you know, but give him somebody with good credentials. Like, you know, Damien Maya would be a good test for him. Colby Coventon would be a good test for him. But those guys, again, it wouldn't make much sense for him other than to fight a big name because he'll make what, like 16, 18 and 18 to show maybe at most,

whereas those two guys are making over a hundred. So even on a win with a bonus, he won't be getting paid like those guys. So to me, that doesn't make sense. But for him, he probably doesn't care. He just wants to slay people. but yeah I said watching him I mean our producer Casey is just like throw this guy to the wolves like let's go give him top five I give him top 10 and if they gave him a top 15 I wouldn't mind I'd like to see it but I think him and like a guy like seroni makes all the sense in the world like it's not a top 15 guy it's a guy with a name and it's a guy who will test hamzad anyways like the guy's not going to be afraid of shamai of whatsoever he's the numbers and the stats and the 192 strikes to two over those two fights. That's not going to scare, cowboy.

So I kind of like that idea. Sink or swim kind of a fight. Is this guy ready for a top 15? If he beat Saroni, maybe. If not, we know he's not quite there yet. We can push him back a little bit. I was thinking maybe like a cowboy Olivera, because they're both coming off wins on the same card,

him versus cowboy. Both tall, lanky guys, Cowboy can, or cowboy Olivera can throw down and he doesn't have much quit in him. So we would probably get to see Chimayev get tested on the feet before he starts wrestling again. But yeah, Cowboy Soroni, however, would be more of a threat to Chimayev on the ground. Right. But I can see him just blasting through Cowboy, too, at this point.

Maybe Cowboy five years ago would be a good test for him. But Cowboy right now in that young stud, I can see, no offense to Cowboys, he's like one of my all-time favorite fighters. But I can just see Chimayev just pounded right through all of this. the jihitsu that he has. Yeah, he's on another level right now. And so are you coming out of that win. That was, that was very impressive. Could you ever see yourself fighting?

I mean, you may have, like, is it amateur, maybe early in your career, but turning around that quickly, 10 days down a weight class? Like if you fought at 170, one day and then 10 days later, fighting at 55, like a week and a half later, would you do that, like now? If I could, yeah, like this fight, I had my weight cut from 176. down to, and I got down to 170 and then rehydrated up to 171 for weigh-ins. But fight day, I was 182, which means that I would have to lose, you know, 25 pounds in 10 days, which would be just a lot of water manipulation.

That'd be a lot of stress on my body to handle. I would probably do it the other way around where I would go 155 and then 10 days later, 170. But I don't think I could, at this point in my life, I don't think I could do it the other way around 170 and then 155. I'd have to do it backwards. 55 and then 70, I would totally do it because who wouldn't want that double paycheck. There you go. So best case scenario for you, November, you and Pena, makes all the sense in the world to me as well. I would love that. Even though they say it's like, well,

he's coming off a loss. Well, it doesn't matter. Like he's four and three in the UFC. I'm technically one in three in the UFC. One and no now. But so to me it makes sense. Like, just give it to me. And like, yeah, he's a tough guy. It is what it is. I don't care if he's coming off a loss or a win right now. To me, we're around the same pay grade. And we have, you know, almost around the same amount of fights. He's got seven. I've got four. But I got more experienced than him for overall fights. And it just, to me, it makes a lot of sense. And me and Violent Bob Ross can paint an excellent picture of violence together in the cage. You have a way with words, my man. And then we're just going to play the lettuce and ice cubes thing.

and you got the promo all set up for that fight. It's a beautiful thing. So congratulations of the wind, man. I appreciate it coming on and talk it all about it. What a road it has been for you. And now because of you and telling me that Sean Shelby story, I'm going to have to probably buy now three ninjas and watch it tonight. So I appreciate your time.

And congratulations on the win. Hopefully you get what you want with the pain you fight in November. Sounds good to me. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your time and call. Very happy for Jesse Ronson. What a crazy story that would have been if that wasn't. a false positive COVID-19 test on the day of the fight.

Just crazy. That's just a crazy story. Very happy for that guy coming off his big win. Then he had names ready to go in the aftermath. So people are still talking about Jesse Ronson gets a bonus as well. Pretty solid return to the octagon for the body snatchers. You wrap up another edition of what the heck right here on M.AFighting.com. Thank you for watching.

Thank you for listening. Make sure you subscribe. However, you partake in this program. whether it's audio or video. We appreciate that very much. Of course, all the other great content on the program. We have on to the next one on Mondays. That's an audio podcast matchmaking the UFC event from the weekend before.

We have Between the Links, which drops Tuesday morning. I love doing Between the Links. That might be my favorite show to do. And I love Talk to the Fighters, but Between the Links is just so much fun. We have the A-side on Wednesdays with Jose Young's, E. Casey Liden, and a pot-hri, if you will have different guests, fighters, journalists across the sport of mixed martial arts. And then we get this show on Thursdays. And then Fridays for the foreseeable future, weigh-in show, preview show, events on Saturday,

post-fight shows, all that good stuff. Because it doesn't look like we're going to have much of a break in the action from this sport for a long time, at least the next couple of months. So get ready for a lot of mixed martial arts action. Big thank you to Casey Lyon on the production. Esther Lynn on the graphics that you all very, much for watching I am Mike Hacken as always have a heck of a week everybody the Vox