MMA Fighting - What the Heck: Episode 33 | Alexander Hernandez, Brandon Royval & Lex McMahon

Episode Date: November 12, 2020

This week on What the Heck, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck chats with Alexander Hernandez (12:20) as he recaps his impressive first-round KO win over Chris Gruetzmacher at UFC Vegas 12, his big payday, Thiago Moises' callout and more. UFC flyweight Brandon Royval (31:51) previews his pivotal 125-pound matchup with Brandon Moreno at UFC 255 on Nov. 21. Titan FC COO Lex McMahon (49:24) discusses his decision to make his MMA debut at Fighting Force 4 Nov. 21 at 49 years of age, working with the likes of Stephen Thompson and Walt Harris in preparation, raising awareness for military veterans suffering from PTSD, and Titan FC 65 going down the day after his fight, Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is What the Heck with Mike Heck on MMAFiting.com. Now here is your host, Mike Heck. What the heck? Well, hello there, everybody, and welcome to a brand new edition of What the Heck here on MAPFiting.com. I am Mike Hack. I hope you're having a great week, and what a week it has been in the sport of mixed martial arts. I feel like that's a very common phrase pretty much all the time.

especially in 2020, but this week has just been bananas, because we've been debating the future of the light heavyweight division following Glover to share his fifth consecutive win over Tiago Santos over the weekend, the main event of UFC Vegas 13. Incredible performance from the man who is now 41 years young. Submission win. I'm very intrigued to see where he will go from here because his next fight should 1,000% be for the light heavyweight title.

but as everybody knows by now, we have Janbovich versus Israel Adisanya or Adisanya. I mean, you could say both. I don't want to hear it, but that fight's being targeted for 2021. So we will see what happens with Glover to share because that man is a problem right now. He matches up well with absolutely everybody in this division. And you can make an argument that if you fought Janbovich next, he could beat Janbovlovich.

That would be a really interesting fight. But of course, Israel Adasania, massive star. it seems like all signs, or at least the planning of it anyways, pointing towards Adasani versus Jones, which by the way, and I talked about this on between the links, if that's where you're trying to go,

like if this is the road you're trying to take, then why move Adasani up to 205? Just have him fight John. Just have him fight John. Like if the plan is to fight John in July, have him fight Robert Whitaker, have Jan fight Glover, and then no matter what happens,

Adasani can bump up to heavyweight and fight John Jones after that. Like, we don't have to go up divisions. We don't have to try to capture the 205-pound title to make that fight. Just make the freaking fight. Just make it. If that's the direction you want to go, then just make the fight. Just make it. You don't need to...

It is what it is. Of course I want to see it. It'd be interesting, but if we're going to John, if the plan is Adasani versus Jones, just do it. Just book it now. You don't have to do that. Everybody wants to see it. Both guys want it.

We don't need to do a crazy build. It's already big. It's as big as it's going to get. I mean, if he beat Jan, yeah, it's a little more intrigue, but the fight's already massive. Everybody wants to see it. It's an anticipated matchup.

And if Adasania loses Jan Belovich, it's gone. It's all gone. I favor Adasania in that fight, but Jan has been overlooked like his entire UFC career, and he gets it done a lot. So I just, I don't know.

Well, go watch between the links. You'll get my take on it as well as Jose Young's and Shorty Torres. But that was this past Saturday. From there, we find out on Sunday that Islam Makachev is out of the UFC Vegas 14 main event against Hotfield Osangios. From all indications, looks like a staff infection was the reason for the scratch. So we're sitting here wondering what's going to happen because, and I'm not trying to be negative. but the card this weekend for the UFC, it could not afford to lose Hopiados anjos in any way.

So the plan needed to be, I don't care who you have to match him up against, he needs to stay on this card. And what does the UFC do? They go out and they get Paul Felder in there to fight RDA and good grief. What a freaking fight that is. I cannot wait to see how that all plays out at the UFC apex.

And especially with things at 155 so up in the air right now, that's a massive fight. That's a big one. Especially if Felder wins. And crap, RDA2. Whoever wins that fight is in the mix and has something big in store for them next, whether it be Dan Hooker.

I know Felder just fought Hooker, but if RDA wins, do RDA versus Hooker. We got Charles Oliva, Gaichy, we got Ferguson, we got Chandler, and like Chandler, Ferguson, Gachie, two of those guys.

are going to fight. The other one's going to be the odd man out. So, a lot at stake. That's a really good fight. I favored Machachev to beat RDA, but in terms of like entertainment and action, this is the better fight on Saturday. So that should be a lot of fun. The rest of the card stylistically should be fun, but in terms of name value, it's just not that great. I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy, but that's just the way that it is. So that's going down. We got that fight made heading into Saturday. And then on Tuesday, our own Damon Martin confirms with multiple sources that the fight between Connor McGregor and Dustin Porier, the rematch from UFC 178, it is a go for UFC 257 on January 23rd.

Obviously, it has massive news. And let me just address this real quick because since Damon broke this news that the fight was a go, Dana White has come out and said that it wasn't a go. and there's all these hurdles and lots of what-ifs. Let me just be very clear about something here. MMA fighting, and this is one of the reasons that I love working for this website so much, we do not report anything unless it is confirmed by multiple sources.

So even if another site breaks the news, even if like Brett Akamoto comes out with the report saying, like, per day in a white, this fight is happening against this person, we don't just write that up and take it as gospel because sometimes that information is incorrect too. It will not go up on the site until we reach out to managers, reach out to the fighters, and both sides of the discussion confirms that information. Then we'll write it, then we'll put it on the site. We got McGregor-Poyer confirmed via multiple sources because if we didn't,

we wouldn't even be talking about this right now. That's just the way it is because I saw some people on Twitter and like, oh, Dana White said it wasn't true. Dana White has said things aren't true like 500,000 times and guess what? They were true. So there you go. Now, was there some fake news out there on Tuesday? Yes, there was. It was not from us. I'm not here to call it anyone publicly, but there was some fake news. It was not McGregor versus Porier 2 at UFC 257. I can assure you of that. But listen, Conner's come out with the statement. He was getting all nostalgic, going back, looking at the UFC 178 faceoff between him and Dustin Poyer saying, see you soon.

Certainly didn't read like a man who didn't sign a contract. John Kavanaugh, head coach Connor McGregor, said that it was a go. Like I said, Dana White is stretched or redirected the truth like a half a million times at this point during his run on the UFC. It is the fight business. It is what it is. And you can bet your Bippy that Dana White and the UFC wanted to release this information before we did, before ESPN did, before anybody else did.

Okay? That's just that they like to get the information of themselves. They probably had a cool package, cool video ready to go to release this news, maybe even at the pay-per-view on November 21st, UFC 255, but it is what it is. That is the job. And if you get the information, it is the job to report said information. And as long as you got it from multiple sources,

I can tell you right now, I'm sitting on like two, or three fights that I could go out and report right now, but I can't because I haven't gotten the other side yet. And I won't until I get that other side. And if I don't get up that other side and someone else reports it, good on them. That is totally fine. I can live with it. I would rather be last to report it and have the information to completely be accurate than then be first and be incorrect. So there you go. So basically what it comes down to, and I know I'm rambling here. Last thing I'll say about McGregor-Porty. just get excited about it.

Stay positive about it because it's a great fight and it's happening. Okay? Unless like something absolutely bananas happens over the next couple of weeks, that fight is happening on January 23rd. But the ramble is over. Let us get to the fighters. That's who you want to hear from. Let us run down the lineup.

We'll get to the first guest. We're going to wrap things up with Lex McMahon, the C.O of Titan FC. And they have an event coming up next Sunday afternoon in the Dominican Republic on November 22nd, that's Titan FC 65, but the day before that, at 49 years of age, Lex McMahon, the former Marine, will make his mixed martial arts debut against Justin Thornton at Fighting Force 4 in the main event. It's going to be on UFC Fight Pass. I know UFC 255 is going on at the same time, but good Lord. I mean, this is, it's amazing stuff, and the reasoning behind this decision is equally amazing.

and after you watch this interview, I highly recommend, because Lex does mention in the conversation, I believe UFC Fight Pass already dropped like the first part of sort of the video vlog series leading into the fight talking about it. And Lex is going to talk about it here. He basically says that for most of his camp, he's just been getting his ass kicked. And in this video, it's basically three and a half minutes.

of him getting his ass kicked. But then he gets a little better. But you'll hear all about that. You'll listen to the conversation and go watch that. It's very, very cool. Lexington wraps us up a little bit later on. Brandon Roy Vow is going to return to the show ahead of a massive fight against Brandon Moreno. Next weekend at UFC 255.

Talk to Brandon Moreno a few weeks back on the program. Reno is fired up. He's pissed because he got passed over for a title a couple of times. And one of the big topics of conversation as of late, especially over the last couple weeks, has been about who will or who could be the 2020 male fighter of the year because normally at this point,

like, there's like one, two, maybe three people who are in this conversation. Right now there's a whole bunch and a Brenna Royval can beat Brandon Moreno and do so impressively. He's in that conversation. Surely, like in the top eight to ten people in that conversation

because makes his UFC debut in May, On short notice against the top 15 guy and Tim Elliott. Very hard guy to submit. Submits him. Then he fights Kai Kar, France. I think he was number eight at the time. Guy who doesn't, he was on a good streak. Submits him in the second round.

Gets another bonus. And now he's going to fight, in my opinion, the number one guy in this division, not named Davis and Figuedo. I know Figueros fighting Alex Perez. I think Perez deserves a title shot. Or if we're going by rankings and meritocracy. Moreno is ranked number two.

Joseph Benavitas is ranked. number one and Benavides has lost his last two fights. So right now, Brandon Moreno, my opinion, is the number one contender in this division. So Brandon Moreno beats him. He's in that conversation. But Brandon Royval, he is just as fired up as Brandon Moreno was a few weeks back. We'll talk to him in around 20 minutes. But first, let's bring in a man who, in his first appearance on this program back in

in, you see, late April, early May. It was one of the first episodes of the show, once I came over to M.A. fighting. It was the infamous massage interview. It was like right after UFC 249 got postponed. And he's been on for some separate chats along the way. But Alexander Hernandez got himself a win, a performance bonus, a whole new outlook on the fight game since he's made the decision to head to Colorado and work with Mark Montoya and everyone over at Factory X. So following his quick finish, first round knockout win over Chris Gritzmacher, UFC Vegas 12. Let us check in with Alex Hernandez to kick off this week's What the Heck.

All right. Back of the show is Alex Hernandez. What a performance he had this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 12. Knox out Chris Gritzmacher in the first round, just under two minutes of Octagon time and got an extra 50 Gs for his troubles. Alex, welcome back, man. How are you? What's so? Dude.

How are you doing? I'm doing great, man. The last time you were on, we discussed all the changes that you had made. And I asked you if it felt like this was going to be your UFC debut all over again. and it was something that you hadn't really thought about, but it seemed like that's how you approach this fight in a lot of ways, from the walkout to the actual performance itself. Is that accurate?

Oh, a thousand percent, dude. Yeah, it was something special, you know, just to kind of enjoy myself, you know, and definitely set apart from any other performance I've ever had. So I definitely felt like, yeah, it was a UFC debut kind of moment, coming out party to myself, you know. Yeah, I would agree with that. And it all began sort of with the battle of the walkout songs because Chris walked out to More Human Than Human by White Zombie,

excellent choice, but you came out first to dreams by Fleming Backman. It was crazy. We had a whole different groove, baby. Yeah, groove into my own drum on that one. Yeah, that was definitely a fun vibe for sure. And I kind of helped but smiled, man, you know, like I'm walking out. And I found that song being just kind of like, I don't know, sort of a source of joy for me as I would be getting ready for our heavy sparring days on Fridays.

You know, there was a period where I was listening to like just a bunch of gangster shit and trying to get hyped up. I listened to a ton of audiobooks, but on the way to practice or whatever, you know, I was real tense. And then when I came back for that Abu Dhabi trip, kind of flipped the switch and stopped over stressing everything so much and taking it all so seriously

and started having more fun on my way to the gym and in the gym. And like that song was like a bit of a catalyst for that too. And so started kind of like just swaying more and jamming more and then, you know, having more fun. And so when that came on, I just couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, it was cool Did you just like hear it on the radio one day

On the way to practice? You're like, oh man, this is a This is cool Yeah, no, I mean I'm like, fuck, I know, I know music bro, okay? Okay, okay, all right. That's the most universally beloved song Probably at all the time.

But no, I like, I like Fleetwood a lot And like kind of like Tom Petty And just some like easy jams. And so I always kind of circulate them But they were just, you know, hand a little different this time and just Yeah, I don't know,

know it was just really sitting and trickled down my spine of positivity so i was running with it so you're kind of an old soul at heart deep a bit a bit yeah definitely uh eclectic for sure so you i mean your actual debut was just this like flurry of chaos and you put benile der a ushae in a matter of seconds this fight there's a lot of patience you took some you gave some then you had them heard and you took your time and put them away at your own pace how important was it to have that calculated yet pacey sort of patience to your approach. Yeah, yeah, kind of like a poised explosiveness as what I've been trying to like honed in on. And definitely just calculated for sure, man.

That was the most calculated I've ever felt and composed and cerebral. Like you said, the Dary Hush fight was just kind of like an explosion, you know, that really worked out well for me. But it wasn't something that can just be replicated all the way to the top, whereas this is something that can be replicated to the top and I feel really good about that. And then not stressing about like if you made contact on something like a late kick, I wasn't worried about it or like if I let a jab touch me or something, you know, I felt they were insignificant and I was I was using it as as intel, you know, as opposed to getting upset with myself that I got touched at all or, you know, why am I letting this or that happen? So just keeping a cooler head on my shoulders for sure. Yeah. And it translated

even after the fight because, I mean, you won fights in the octagon before. You've had finishes before. But this one, you just sort of basked in it. Like, you soaked it all in. You didn't go crazy, like, rah! But you just sort of, like, smiled and was like, yeah, this is pretty cool. Like, how different did the aftermath feel compared to those other fights? Yeah, you know, it's funny you said that because that's exactly what I felt like kind of transcendor of me where, you know, normally, you know, I didn't feel like jumping on the ring of the cage, you know?

Like, I just kind of felt like, all right. That was like, I felt like Tiger Woods, you know, when he was. He just like hits that birdie. He's like, you know, and I just felt, I just felt like that. I just felt like, just composed and cool about it. And, and on to the next one, you know, like, let's get, let's get the next one under our belt. Just keep moving. Yeah, like, it just seemed like all those stresses that have been weighing you down in the past, they just sort of floated away.

It was very, it was very zen-like in victory. Yeah. I think that was probably it, too. Like what you just said is that if you carry too much going into it, you get done. You're like, oh, fuck. You know, like, woo! Oh, yeah. Fuck, yeah, that's done.

You know? I don't feel like that because I was having a good time going into it. I had a cool head. And then during the process I did too. So then afterwards, I guess it only makes sense that you just kind of maintain that, you know, that ease about you and that coolness. And so, yeah, yeah, it was just pretty even tempered. What was bigger for you, winning the fight or sort of winning that battle with the chip on your shoulder?

Because that's something you've had a constant battle with throughout your career. Like you may not have fully defeated it, but you certainly use it to your advantage. on Saturday. Yeah, you know, that was the biggest thing. Even my grandparents love them to death. They were like, you know, Miho, this was such a big win for you because, you know, despite anything else, you know, you conquered those inner demons essentially, you know, and that's, you know, that's a thousand percent it, you know, I felt, I felt like I finally

align, you know, all the chaos in my mind with, you know, what I wanted to, what I wanted to act upon. And so that was, yeah, that was the biggest victory for me. It was just being able to compose myself because, like, the fights that I had fought in the past, like that Dober lost, like, it didn't take Dober to beat that guy. That guy could have lost to anybody that night, you know? And so that's why I was upset. And, like, the guy on Saturday, that guy couldn't beat anybody.

And so, you know, it's more about, yeah, the internal battle that was waged. And I feel, I feel really good about that. I feel a cool place all around. Like I said, that kind of that Zen daddy. right now, so I feel good. Yeah, because I mean, I know you, that's been something you've been working on trying to, you know, be more sort of cerebral and have that battle mentally. Like even going into the Trinaldo fight, that was something that, you know, was very important

to you. But I feel like you've, I don't know if you took the step in that fight, you were proud of the performance and some of the things you're able to do. But this one was just like a totally different ballgame. Right. And that goes to the coaching and the preparation of the team, you know, because in the Ternaldo one, I was trying to get on that level, but I didn't know. I didn't know how to technically, you know, put it in a practice as far as, you know, adjusting the stance and the entries and developing a game, you know, it's just kind of like, okay, let's just be really cool and let's try to skate around this or that.

And, you know, but I didn't realize maybe how to execute the same. And then after working with just some wizards, you know, this guy on Oregon, this Roots Fitness guy who's just kind of like a life coach doesn't even mean to be. but he's this mobility farmer. I talked to him, and then he's like, he's the guy's guy who I was working with the new brothels before

with the ponytail and shit. So he's like that Yoda. And then also, just Mark, you know, working with Mark Montoya and Avodavie and having some really good talks

with him and some one-on-ones with him. And him teaching me, like, that platform to build on that I can, like, develop my game where I can, like,

maintain that. I can recover from it and I can explode from it as well, as opposed to always being in that, like a fighter flight state that I was fighting in before you know it's like now mark taught me how to like put that actually in a practice and so then I get my head right now I have kind of like the platform to actually move on how to how to how to enter and exit and um and yes it's just coming all together better you know now that I have like a UFC coach and team you know

which is just something I didn't have before you know one thing that I also noticed no callouts I mean Alex 1.0 would have probably had a name or two ready to shout out from the rooftops but this time. Your only call-out was for the cashola. Like, you want to make that cheese, as you said on Saturday? Yeah, the name doesn't matter, man. Like, again, another change that you made. It had to have been nice to just focus on one thing and not have to have, like, some sort of fiery promo in the background ready for after the play, right? Yeah, you know what? That's so funny. You said that too. Yeah, like, not really prepping anything, you know, like, okay, here's how, you know, if I do it like this and this who I want to call and et cetera, you know, it's just kind of

like, yeah, being very present, just being super present in the interviews after and in the moment and like even now, you know. But, but yeah, I definitely changed like the trajectory of what I want to do and how I want to do it before it was just like you got to race to the top and get there and, you know, just fuck everyone along the way. And now I don't feel that same kind of hostility or even like urgency. I'm very like, very ambitious and like I need to execute on time. And I was having a hard time this year, especially approaching my birthday, you know, because, like, I, I hold such high expectations for myself every year.

And, like, this was the first year in a long time where I was like, man, I don't think that, like, I've accomplished what I've, like, sell out to accomplish this year. And I feel like I'm just behind on, like, time and everything else. And I was, like, kind of a bit of a slump. And that was during that upadabia period. And Mark's like, no, dude, like, you don't even realize what, like, extraordinary changes you've made this year and the decisions that are going to alter the course of your life. and like the evolutions that are taking place even right now. And just because it hasn't been manifested in a fight or anything else, doesn't mean that this hasn't been like an extraordinary year already.

And then having that win translate over, you know, just kind of proves that. And that's like, it's just a really cool, you know, thing to kind of manifest and see, you know, see coming to fruition. So I just want to keep developing and keep building. Like I said, keep making money because I got a good contract now and I want to keep that growing. So yeah, I want to make some good money this year. I want to get another fine. I want to have another excellent performance.

I want to keep growing myself. And then, you know, next year I want to accomplish even more. But it's not a race to the title until the title, you know, presents itself. You don't have to answer this. You can tell me to kick rocks. But was this a, with the bonus and everything, was this a six-figure knife for you? 150 grand, baby. Oh, you get, okay.

150 grand, baby. Let's go. Let's go. Yeah, you can fucking, we can load the bin up with rocks, baby, and run it together. Yeah, we're picking good money. So cash out another one of those in those six weeks, and I'm pretty happy for the year, you know what I mean? It's the best minute 41 of your life. Best minute 41 ever for sure, yeah, just because of, yeah, just because of the mind and everything else.

That was cool. That was cool. And it was like a perfect execution of what we've been working, so I was happy with it. You know, there's always things to clean up. Like, I'm looking at all the things I need to tighten up off that performance. I'm happy with it for sure. Something, I haven't said I've been proud of like a performance in a long time, and that's, you know, that's one of them. You did have your name spoken on Saturday.

Tiago Moises called you and Cowboys. I heard something about that later. Yeah, I mean, this obviously isn't the first time you've been called out, but, you know, this is Alex 2.0. This is a new era. Did you, like, how did you react to that and once you found out about it? Oh, it's exciting because, you know, I was looking at him the whole week and, um, truthfully giving him no respect. all but but I like I like the matchup. I think it's a super great fight and I was talking my manager actually about already and we're playing with the idea of that or because we both just fought

the way that the matchups would go if I was trying I really want to get one in like December 19th card and so he was saying because you both fall on the same car the likelihood that you both fighting again on that would be unlikely it'd probably be like you fill in for someone who's been trying to get a fight throughout the course of the year. because there's so many, so many guys trying to get in, right? So he's like, you'll probably have to fight one more, and then you'd probably fight, like, Moises, or if that's who you want or whoever. I was like, that sounds great.

That sounds perfect. So we'll fight whoever, and then I'll take Moises out and start it next year, and then probably hit, like, one of these 15 guys again, and just keep climbing, dude. But it's, I'm really just, like, enjoying the process now. Like, and like I said, just, like, kind of not taking my time, but making my time count and be worth something, you know, getting paid what I'm worth.

So, yeah, Moise is definitely on the radar. I'm positive. We'll be fighting each other pretty soon. Yeah, I mean, now you get to sort of, like, grow up in the UFC again. You didn't get the chance to do that the first time around. Right, right, exactly. And that's just it. You know, I want to develop my skills.

I want to develop all these things that I'm working on and not just feel pressure to take shit because of, you know, timing or whatever else. I never, I didn't even know say no as an option, not that I would have. You know, I never say no to any flights, and that's why they gave me, you know, that's why they're giving me these opportunities and the pay and things like that because it's like, you know, I've been here. I've always been here and I've always showed up. So, yeah, you know, whatever the end of the year brings, we're definitely trying to get some scrap in December 19th. It'd be awesome. There is one question.

There is one question. I've been dying to ask you since the weekend. And I got Adrian Yannes's opinion on it. But I saw the photos on social media. Where did you get that suit, man, that you wore for the after festivities that your manager's off. something that's crazy. It's a dope suit, dude. Get the green light on that suit?

That's awesome. It's so my manager, my manager works with a company called Fine Line Threads. Custom suits, they're badass, man. They're badass. I'll put a link up actually on that photo. I'll tag them. And so they can check it out. But they took me of some pretty gangster-ass suits.

Yeah, there's a lot of good knockouts. Adrian's knocko was pretty sick, too. He said you had some kind words for him. Yeah. Yeah. He looked great. I mean, that's what was so crazy about that card. He knows, like, everyone was getting finishes.

And I'm like, fuck, man. You guys chill out. And I thought, I thought for sure, I thought for sure the co-main event with Philly and Mitchell was going to get a five a night or a performance bonus. So I was pretty relieved, but it didn't do either. And I guess they just threw out four performance bonuses that night, right? And then I was looking at it.

I thought there was a good chance I get it because I thought I had the nastiest one. but, you know, there are just so many, like, there's just so many finishes, you know. Any cornering in your future? Like, I know Roy Val's got a big one coming up against Brandon Moreno. Are you looking to keep this cornering winning streak intact? Oh, yeah, the boys are back in town, baby, November 17th. We're out of dude, back in Vegas. I need to fight on the 21st.

And so, so, yeah, we're going back out there again. I'm fucking stoked to get away for that fight, dude. You already know how excited I am. And it's always just such a good time. I mean, Brana, such a good time. and we get great work and then being with coach, you know, that's what I involved the most are just our one-on-one session. So we're super tight. That'll be a great, it'll be a great week, super successful week. Has he talked to you about sort of, I mean, because he's just on this unbelievable surge in 2020,

like jumped in against a top 15 guy, got a quick finish, jumped in against a top 10 guy, got another quick finish. Now he's like a fight maybe two away from fighting for the belts. Like if he wins this fight, he's right there. Has he talked to you about like trying to stay composed with all this since you've been through kind of both sides of it? Yeah, man, he, you know, he's not getting talked about enough because, yeah, he's on the craziest trajectory out of anybody right now in the UFC. I can't think of a single person, you know. Chamev's obviously does some pretty impressive shit that he's on the hype, but like,

Brandon's got two bonuses and finished two top ten guys on his two first fights, and now he's about to fight the number one contender. And that's fucking insane, dude. And, yeah, you know, it's all like, if you stop and overthink it too much, I bet it could become pretty overwhelming, but he does a pretty good job with just like always getting back to work back on the grindstone.

Like, we always joke because if one of us is in the gym and the other one's not getting a session, it's like, you know, I joked about how he was like, oh, you're going to start fucking coaching Kai Kar-France now too? Like he's not going to invite me to these sessions. It's like, we're always competing against each other.

I think me and him more than anybody else, we're always competing against each other on who's getting more work in. And, you know, like if, I'll be doing, I'll be doing like privates or work outside. maybe a group class or something, but I'm not there in that group class. And, you know, I'll get a text.

Like, hey, the rest of us are just out here getting better. It's not like you don't have a fine in a couple of weeks. Like, fuck you, bro. I'm busy doing work right now. Okay, just because you don't see me doesn't mean I'm not working. But no, we always stay hungry. We stay push each other. And I think that he realizes where he's at right now, like what it showed him is that

he just should have been here a long time ago. You know, and that's the perspective to the whole. Not the perspective where it's like, holy shit, I can't believe I'm already here. I'm already, you know, against this guy. It's like, wow, I should have been doing this a long time ago because I'm taking all the cookies. You know, I'm being your guys as lunch right now and it's coming easy. So, yeah, I think we're just keeping grounded and everything's moving so quick that we only have time to stop and over-overthink anything. You know, it's just another opponent, another date.

Yeah, Brandon Royva with confidence is a scary individual because he's never really had that before. He always questions himself, like, do I even belong here? And now it seems like he's starting. to get there, but once he gets there, geez, Louise. Yeah. Yeah, he's just such a psychopath in general, dude, because that guy, like, I didn't see it so much his last fight, but he was saying, he'll be like

an emotional road coaster in the back, and then inevitably he always just goes out there and pops the fuck off, you know, like, so he might even have some tears in his eye, dude, if I'm standing across and that guy's, like, hiking his short stuff the way he does all ghetto and gangster and shit, and he's got, like, some tears coming down his face, I'm freaking the fuck out, dude.

I'm like, okay, what is this guy about it do? And so, no matter what? He just shows up. You know, he just shows up. So this will definitely be a dog fight, another 50K or for sure. I'm looking forward to that. But congratulations to you, Alex. Great performance.

Again, glad to see you in a great place, taking advantage of this quasi-career refresh. And enjoy the holidays, man, not too much because you want to get on that December 19th car, but we'll talk soon, man. Definitely a different approach to the fight game. And if you missed the 30- or so minute chat, we had around a month ago, month and a half, Alex Hernandez is well aware that there's a lot of folks against him after the way he approached the Donald Seroni fight.

And there's a lot of fans who haven't really forgiven him for that or haven't really been able to get past that. Hernandez was on the show and he said that there's a good part. There's a good chunk of him that regrets approaching the fight in that way. But he definitely seems like he's in a great place now. I like the Tiago Moises idea. And we'll see how that plays out. He's going to try to get another one in before the end of the year. We now go from Mr. Hernandez to a teammate of his.

Brandon Royval, massive fight for him next weekend at UFC 255 against Brandon Moreno. My opinion, Brandon Morano is the number one contender at 125. His next fight, my opinion, the winner of this fight, their next fight should be for the belt, especially if Brandon Moreno wins. He should be fighting for the belt, not Cody Garbrand. We all know what's going to happen with that. But let's check it with Brandon Royval, head of a massive fight next weekend. All right, what a year it has been.

for the OG Raw Dog, the man who was that nickname before anyone else try to make it cool in the UFC. He's now set to fight Brandon Moreno next weekend at UFC 255. Big night for the flyweight and Brenner-Roy Val is a big part of that and he is back on the show right now. How are you, sir? I'm doing good, man. I'm doing great. So 2020 has been your year, my man. I mean, from signing to the UFC, two submission wins, two bonuses.

Now you're set to fight the number two guy in the division. A guy, many feel, is the number one guy at 125. pounds outside of the champion. This is just unbelievable. I think I think you felt like something like this would happen at some point, but when you signed with the UFC back in May, did you ever think you'd be in this position this soon? No, not at all, man. It's been kind of a wild year, a wild six months. It's been six months. It's been a crazy six months for sure, man. What has it all been like for you, like emotion-wise? Because, I mean, compared to signing the contract to where you're at now, your confidence, where you're at mentally, it must be at like an

all-time high right now. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Man, I'm enjoying all of that. That's literally what it is. Just kind of finding the motions and just finding out that I'm, like, as good and I belong while it's all kind of going on, you know? Because you're not really sure when you first like, when you first like, I don't know, you want to be in the UFC, you think you belong, all that stuff. Now that I've been going against all the top 10 in the world, like, I'm here. I belong. Like I'm passing these tests with flying colors, man.

And nobody can tell me I don't belong anymore, you know? So it's been great, man. And it's been great kind of just learning along the way and just learning that I'm here. And I'm doing good, man. I'm right at the level of these motherfucklers. How good is it feel to know in your own mind that you belong, that you've proven yourself to be here? Because we've talked about this before, you know, it was never really like a big confidence issue with you, but sometimes your mind plays tricks on you and you're like, do I really

belong here? How freeing of a feeling is that to know that, holy crap, like I'm here and I belong and and I'm about to fight the number one, number two guy ranked in the world right now? Yeah, it's literally the best feeling ever. Just like, I don't know, man. I'm just like passing these tests with flying colors. And you watch some of these dudes and you're like, I think I'm better than him.

I think I can beat him, you know. I think I'm like here and here. And you say it in your head and maybe I tell my friends and stuff, I'm like, I'll beat him, you know, like with confidence or whatever. But you don't really know. Like I'm just shooting the shit and just trying to build confidence in my own head, you know? And then I go out there and win a fight and I'm like, oh, shit. I'm good.

Like, I can do this, you know. It was funny because my luck with broadcast this year, has just been wild because you and I did our interview right after the Kai Kar-France win, and you were looking to the future a little bit, and then we found out Cody Garbrae was out of the title fight, like the next day after that interview was released. Alex Perez was in the title fight, and now you're going to fight Brandon Moreno.

When did you find out like this was a thing? The day after my fight with Kai Kar-Franz were on the beach, and I kind of like, I found out, like, I found out, caught wind of what was happening, Cody Gar-Brent, and Alex Perez got their title. shot and then I turned to my manager Jason House. He's like, yo, if you put my name in for the Brandon Marino fight and he's like, you, I'm going to throw that in there. And I was like, for sure, man. And yeah, so then that's kind of how it happened. And I pretty much knew right off the bat that it was like a go. He texts, he texts, God damn, McManard and asked. He's like, can Brandon Roybal

fill that spot? He's ready and he's on waiting and ready to go kind of thing. And McMainer was like, yeah, would love that. It's perfect. And then ran into McMaineradler. during Fight Island, so I just got to finesse my way in there. But I pretty much knew the day after the Kaufferin's fight. And once it was like signed, sealed, and delivered, you were ready to go? How did you react to that once you got the word from your manager and from Mick that this was happening? A little anxious, man, because I was stuck on Fight Island.

And then you go from being on Fight Island to, like, partying a little bit, and then I was eating a shit ton, and then I'm like, stuck on Fight Island, not with my team. And then I'm like, all right, well, I just want to be back to training. And, like, you know what I'm saying? You have the anxiety of, like, an immediate fight. and the best way to get rid of it is just training and get that going. But I'm in shape and I've been back with my team for a minute, so it's been good now.

But immediately it was like anxiety and like, fuck, man. I put myself in a situation where I can't even party after this fight. Do you get to enjoy at least a night or two of partying, have a couple of libations? Alex is going to try to deny it because he had a fight the next month. But me and I spent a week drinking and had fun. Oh, man. I got to ask you about this speaking of Flight Island because I've heard I've heard a story about you Brandon heard a story about you and about you and a someone you may know by the name of

Yusuf Salal and perhaps a jet ski was involved ah shit yeah we had fun out there um we had some allegations uh we paid our debt and and we left Fight Island Scott free Yeah, I heard, I heard mostly that Yuselal is a master negotiator is basically. Yeah, for sure. I guess you heard it from a couple of the MMA junkie guys. So, yeah, it was a pretty funny story hearing it. So you don't have to talk about it. I just wanted to bring up.

Well, I left, I left the Fight Island with some rock and roll fees. I'd pay for like a little bit of a jet ski mishaps. And I broke a TV while I was there on accident. So, like, right when I left, I was like $700 in hotel. hotel damage fees. Yeah, it sucked, man. It was, but I was trying to set up my PlayStation and Alex was like not helping me at all. So I said it up against something and left like a little crack in the screen, man. Oh, it sucks so bad. But we're paid our debts. We're out of it. We got 50, we got 50 Gs. And then one of those Gs went strictly to damage of just

fight island. So drop in the bucket. Yeah, a little bit. So heading in rock and roll, right? Absolutely. I mean, you get the mentality, you're winning fights, you know, enjoy yourself a little bit. But I'm curious what your mentality is like right now heading into this fight because, yes, you have a fight to prepare for against a very dangerous guy. But at the same time, it has to be creeping in your mind that if you win this fight, your next fight will likely be for the title. Like, I know Garbrand is still there, but you'll be in a position where that next fight should be for the belts. Like, are you using that as motivation? Are you trying to block that out and stay focused on this fight and this fight alone? I don't really have that at the forefront of my mind because I don't think that's necessarily the route for me.

I think if Brandon Marino beats me, his next shot as a title shot, I don't necessarily believe that mine is just because I'm really new to the UFC and just kind of capping on all these little mishaps and people pulling out of fights and nobody wanted to take fights during quarantine. So I've been able to capitalize on some of this stuff. So I'm not necessarily sure that that's my route and I don't want to get it in the forefront of my mind thinking that and put pressure on myself and all that. What gets me out of bed anyways is just fighting Brandon Marino. Brandon Marino's a stud. He's a dangerous opponent. And I have that as a forefront of my mind right now instead of that title shot. There you go.

Well said. I mean, I spoke to Brandon a couple weeks ago and he has a lot of respect for you. He thinks this fight's just going to be like a tornado of destruction. And he's obviously personally bummed with how this all played up because he was passed over not once but twice for a title shot on the same card. I did that. Yeah. So, I mean, from a stylistic perspective, you mentioned that. it gets out of bed, but just you thinking about how this fight could go and, you know, the chaos

that you two can put forth in the Octagon, you must be loving this right now. Yeah, yeah, for sure. A little bit. I always, like, I think it's funny. Like, I was telling me about my training partners yesterday. It's like, when I fight a wrestler, I don't give a shit what's going to happen. When I'm out there, I'm like, I'm going to fuck this dude up really bad or I'm going to get wrestled for 15 minutes.

It really doesn't matter. Like, it's not that scary, you know, but like, when you're fighting someone that's going to try to drop you, like, knock your head off and all that, like, perspective changes. Like, it definitely, like, you're like, all right. well, like, I can't get away with that on this motherfucker. Like, you know what I'm saying? If I don't keep my chin tucked or I don't do this or that, like, there's consequences to it in fighting against someone like Moreno

or Kai Kar-France, you know? When you're fighting like a wrestler, it doesn't really matter. So I don't know, it's funny. It's funny, like the different thought process I have going into this fight compared to, like, if I was fighting into some wrestler or whoever it is, you know, that Braynor Marino is going to try to finish me every second that this fight goes by and same goes for me, you know? I assume Mr. Hernandez will be in your,

corner once again don't want to mess with the hot hand i'm guessing yeah yeah well i mean i've had different corners and stuff but he's just fun to hang around and uh when that fight got scheduled right off the i was like well fuck you what do you got what do you got going on over there because i was gonna go corner him originally for that uh the Halloween card but then i got the fight and i was like can't really leave town at that point you know like i'm kind of stuck here for the peak of my training camp so uh i was just like all right well then i'll just throw you back in my corner and stuff we'll just party afterwards because uh we're trying to celebrate the wins together and stuff you know How important has he been for like the atmosphere of the gym in general?

Because, you know, we talked about it before and you weren't really sure about what he was going to bring to the table. I mean, he's got a little bit of a reputation. Clearly, he's found himself at a great place there and it showed on Halloween when he finished Chris Gritsmacher in the first round. But he's telling me stories about how, you know, if you're showing up for practice and he's out running or doing strength and conditioning, you're, you know, you're texting him saying, well, it looks like I'm better than you today or, you know, something like that. If he's there, he's pissed that you didn't text him or he didn't text you. It's just competition, right? It's everything, man. Then you have something that works hard.

And I have like, like, so before I started at Factory X, I was at this gym. And same goes for him, man. I'm not trying to tell his story, but this is like how my story was before. When it was at Factory X, I outworked everybody at my gym. I was like the best by far. And then I came to Factory X and I'm like, damn, all these other dudes have the same dream as me and like the same passion, same drive and stuff. So I think that he had that like mind.

state where he's like, I'll work everybody, this, this and that. And then he comes to this gym and we're all putting in work together. And like, he's blending in with us. You know what I'm saying? And not saying that he's not an extra hardworking guy. And he's putting all this hours in for sure because he does do that. But he has some of us that are like similar minded and all that. And that is how I think of it, man.

I try to win the day. And winning the day is beating your teammates a little bit. And beating my teammates is getting up earlier than I'm putting a little extra work in, getting a harder run in, making them feel like. making him feel like I outworked him and I want them having that in their mind. You know what I'm saying? So if I can get a little mind fucked before practice goes, I'm like, damn, where are you at? I've been here for an hour already, like catch up, you know what I'm saying?

Just fuck with his head out. Then I'm going to make him a little bit better and push him a little bit more and vice versa. You know what I'm saying? So it's fun, man. It's all fun competition that we have the whole entire time, man. That's the best part of training factor X. Not only is it like a team environment, but like we are like an actual team, man. We hang out together.

We talk shit to each other and, um, we talk shit to each other and, um, you It's all family around here. I'm curious. I'm sitting there watching this past Saturday's UFC event, and they flash up the main card for UFC 255, and I noticed that you and Moreno were not on the main card. Like, I was kind of surprised by that. They put Calvio and Chiquetian on there over you guys.

Like, are you okay with that? Like, I know ESPN brings more eyebrows, but. Honestly, I cannot care any less about that. I think this is better. I think, one, I'm going to go fucking steal the show for the flyweight. Me and Brandon are the flyweight fight to watch anyways, I don't give shit who's main eventing it. I like Alex Perez a lot, and Fiki is obviously exciting or whatever, but fuck that, dude.

And like the girl flyway fight, they're awesome. Whatever her name is, is an exciting fighter. But that being said is me and Brandon Marino are the fight to watch, man. And that being said is we're not going to get eyes on that pay-per-view fight. Nobody's going to buy that pay-per-view. So fuck me on that paper-few. I'd rather be on the prelim main event right there. So I'm the main event.

Me and Brandon Marino are the main event right here. Nobody's buying that paper fee fight. There's going to be more eyes on this fight than the paper fee. So I don't give a shit. I'm actually stoked about it. So you're the featured bout on ESPN, right? Yeah, yeah. Look at this little small.

Oh, man, the dapper dandy. Hardest hit him in the gym. I just want to let you know he just watched me work out for an hour, I swear to God. He just watched you? He was just watching me work while he was chilling, taking notes. That's all there is.

That's so funny. man. So you're, so I mean, you guys in that spot, you could actually increase the buy rate because of your fight's going to be so exciting. I don't necessarily think that. I think that they should tune into my fight and then do whatever the fuck they want or do it or they care. Enjoy their Saturday nights. That's like such a horror. I'm going to get fired from the EOC. I got to shut up. Buy that pay-per-view and then go see if I'm going to fight next. There you go. So, I mean, how do you see this fight play at eye? I mean, you called the Kai Kar-France won pretty much to a T.

You, like, we did the, we had our interview, you called it almost exactly the way it went down, and you were 100% accurate that. How do you see this one playing out? Hey, oh, man, we got legends everywhere. We got the master over here. I think it's going to be a difference in M&A IQ is really what's going to win me this fight.

I think that's going to be a tactician versus brawler. And I think if it goes to a little bit of a brawl, so I'm going to beat the shit out of them there, too. I think I'm longer and I have the faster hands. And I don't know, man. I think it plays right into my hands. no matter what goes on in this fight. I'm really stoked about it.

I think I haven't beat, at least just the main portion. I think I haven't beat jih Tzu-wise and striking-wise. I think he's stronger than me, and I think he has a better wrestling, but I don't really give a shit about that. So we'll see. So after this fight, you're going to enjoy some time off, enjoy the holidays, eat some delicious food, party a little bit? I'm going to be on whatever they're on for that flyweight title.

If they reschedule that fight right away, and Garbrandt's going to fight Figi, whoever wins that title I mean and they're doing that right away I'm gonna start cutting weight and just being on cue for that fight for sure because I know I know where I'm at I know that I know what what could happen and like said Garber has made 125 yet might as well just stay ready and get ready to make 125 at the same time he's going to because I think it'd be worth it right it'd be worth it just be ready on the queue that UFC know that only 125 are weighing around fight weight and to stay

motivated for this because anything can happen you know I've been I've been around for a while and a lot of time shit doesn't work out the way it's supposed to work out and I can capitalize off that the only thing scarier than a raw dog is an opportunistic rod dog yeah for sure man and like I said I mean I'm not necessarily like got to win this fight or the Kai Kar France fight and all that and any of the most dangerous person is someone with nothing to lose man I really have nothing to lose out there nobody fucking did someone with a fight I don't give a shit though Yeah, so I mean, I feel like I'm the more dangerous opponent in this situation because I have nothing to lose.

Everybody expects this to be my ass. You know what I'm saying he has all the experience, all that, and a lot of hype behind him. So you got a right. You got a different look in your eyes for this one, Brandon. I have to say, like I've interviewed you before, like before and after like your last four or five fights at this point. And there's a look in your eye that I haven't seen before. Does this one just feel different to you? Um, a little bit, man. It definitely just feels like something that's like, oh, like, I don't know.

I don't know, man. Like, I've changed my life in the last year. So it's been, it's been, it's been, I'm pretty grateful for all this stuff. And like, I really just feel like I've nothing to lose out there. Like, I really just like generally feel that I'm getting tagged and messages that I'm going to get my ass with and this, this and that. And like, it's whatever, man. I don't shit, man. I'll have to do is go prove these motherfuckers wrong again. And then maybe, uh, maybe I'll stop being the underdog and every single spite I have, you know. There you go. Well, I wish you nothing but the best, man. really looking forward to this fight potential show stealer i appreciate you uh stealing that our

taking the time to interview me every time man and uh we are going to spill that show for sure that uh that 50 jesus is ours for sure as much i don't want to be i want the 50 jesus to be mine the performance night but uh it's going to be ours for sure man fuck enjoy man appreciate it great stuff from brandon rooval the man is ready for a scrap and he will certainly get it from brandon morano next weekend that one absolutely absolutely unequivocally could steal the show at UFC 255. We're getting ready to put a bow on this week's episode of the program. We do have one more interview to get to, and we'll get to that momentarily.

But just a quick rundown of things that are happening. Bellator is back tonight. It is Thursday morning after all. Belator 252, headlined by Patricio Pitbull, defending his featherway title against Jafiel Carvalio. Part of the featherway Grand Prix. We got Emmanuel Sanchez versus Daniel Whitechell, another Grand Prix. fight on the card. Aaron Pico, Kerry Melendez, all be competing. Should be a good one. We

got UFC Vegas 14 going down on Saturday. And we may do another live preview show for that on Friday, but it will have you covered throughout the night on Saturday with results, news, post-fight show, et cetera, on Saturday. But with that said, big thanks to all of you for watching and listening. Big thank you. And shout out to Casey Lyon on the production, Alex Savis and Jose Youngs, helping out the graphics. As always, have a heck of a week, everybody. as we leave you with my conversation with the C.O of Titan F.C. Lex McMahon, ahead of his professional MMA debut next weekend at 49 years of age. Great stuff. Thank you very much. All right. We have Titan FCCC, C.O. Lex McMahon joining us. And in a couple weeks from right now,

he's going to have a very busy weekend. Titan F.C. goes down Sunday, November 22nd, in the Dominican Republic. But the day before that, he's going to make his MMA debut as a fighter. he's going to face Justin Thornton, a 23-fight vet in the main event of Fighting Force 4, and both those events will stream on UFC Fight Pass. Lex, how are you, man? I'm doing great, man, getting a little bit of recovery working right now as we talk, got the massage chair working, getting ready to get myself an IV drip, you know, with vitamins and all that good stuff, just to take care of the body a little bit, but doing well.

Good to hear. So this is something else, man. You have a fight card to prepare for as a CEO for. Titan FC. You have your own fight to prepare for right before you eat your Thanksgiving dinner. What is going on in that head of yours right now with all this going on? You know, right now I'm just thinking I'm really happy that I've got a great team that can help me manage, you know, all the responsibilities that I have between the two events. You know, to be honest, I really didn't want to, you know, fight as well at a Titan event during the

same week. I wanted to have the fight experience be autonomous. so that I could really enjoy it. But, you know, the UFC wanted an event, a Titan event that same weekend. And my reality is just different than a lot of other people, you know. And so I talked about it with my coaches and they said, listen, man, you're a different dude. You know, your reality is just different. You'll be fine. You've got a great team.

Let's go with it. So, you know, I'm going to juggle both, but we'll be fun. Like I said, I got a great team of folks and great coaches and training partner. So I'm ready to roll. So when did this idea come into your head? Was this something that you had been planning for a while, just hadn't been able to find the time to really pull the trigger? Or was this something that you just woke up and was like,

you know, I'm going to go fight. I'm going to, you know, I tell these guys, you know, essentially like you go in there and you fight for entertainment and you do all this stuff. But I want to put my money where my mouth is. I want to do something for them as well as the veterans, which we'll get into in a moment. But when did this idea kind of pop into your head? You know, and for, you know, because of what I do,

professionally, you know, I do a lot of media. And for the past few years, I've been, you know, getting this question. Tell us about your experiences in mixed martial arts, you know, because I've been in the business almost 13 years now. And the response has always been the same, you know, hey, I've done pretty much every job you can do, you know, I've been a manager, I've been a matchmaker, you name it, I've done it. The only thing I haven't done is fight. and for a while that didn't really, like I didn't connect the pieces, right? But at some point, I answered that question in the same fashion, and I said, well, why? You know?

And that really kind of started last November, where I said, you know what, I need to start focusing in on this. So for the past year, I've really been, you know, kind of focused in on the idea that I would fight. and then, you know, we finally got past coronavirus, and I was going to fight non. That slowed us down a little bit. You know, I think the timing is right now. I feel good. And, you know, I'm excited, man. I think that, you know, as a Marine, for me, I've always believed in leadership from the front.

That's the way we were taught, you know. You don't ask people to do something that you haven't done or aren't willing to do yourself. And so that's a big part of why I decided to fight, man, so that I could understand. intimately what it is these fighters go through it because man you know with almost 13 years experience I thought I had a really good understanding it's just different when you it's you that's really going through it personally as opposed to being a vicarious bystanders it's just entirely different do you feel do you feel more like a fighter now like do you like going through a camp and all stuff and getting ready for a fight I mean obviously once you get in there and

perform that's that's a whole different thing you'll probably take that next step, but do you have more of that understanding that you were seeking? Yeah, for sure. I mean, here's a difference. I'm like, I mean, I'm 49 years old. I'm a business guy. I'm not a fighter. I'm not. You know, I will fight my ass off November 21st. And I have a fighter's ethos and spirit, but I'm not a professional fighter the way these guys are. I mean, yes, technically I certainly will be. but, you know, for that night. But it's not that I'm trying to do this because I want that title, right? That's not what matters. I want the understanding.

And I want my fighters and the athletes that we work with to know that, you know, I do kind of put my money and where my mouth is and try to get out and understand what they do. But it's also obviously about the awareness piece, which I know we're going to chat about. Sure. And where have you been training? Who have you been working with to get you ready for this? And how did the coaches react to you saying, you know what? 48, 49 years old, I'm going to get in there and fight.

Yeah, you know, my coaches are great. You know, I've been very fortunate. I originally broached the subject with JZz, Calvin Conte, JZ, considered, you know, at one point, the number one lightweight fighter in the world, you know, back in the heyday of Japan. And then Roger Kroll, who is, I think, probably the best striking coach in the sport that nobody knows about. You know, he just doesn't self-promote with a lot of the other guys do, but he's an absolute, you know, ninja when he comes to striking. So I originally had the conversation with them, and, you know, they both looked at me like, all right, bro, you don't need to do this.

You understand that, right? And I said, you know, I get it. But I feel that I want to. And here's why. And they said, all right, well, let's do it, man. let's build a plan and you know you got to put in the work and um and we did and I've been very fortunate that I've all had fighters you know probably the past seven eight years live at the house from step and strouve who lived with us for almost five years Jose shorty Torres

and now Rami Ahmed um you know world champion um movie tie and kickboxing guy who's just awesome and has also kind of become deadly on the jiu jitsu side so you know I train with these guys It's nonstop. And, you know, even before I thought about fighting, I was training with them. And so now, you know, I've been able to work a lot really extensively with Rami in particular because during coronavirus and everything shut down during quarantine. We just train twice today, you know, sometimes three times today. That's all we did in strength.

I have a gym set up in my garage. So in that regards, it's been awesome. I did, I figured, hey, I'm going to do this one time. So I really want to have an epic, you know, experience all the way around. And one of the things that I did was create a really kind of old school fight camp where we went up to Alabama. And I had Stephen Wonderboy Thompson, Walt Harris, Mohammed Usman, who's Cameron, who's brother, who's 7-1 heavyweight and an absolute bear of a man. And then plus the coaches, Rami, Shorty, you know, all those guys that came. And we were on a 2,000-acre farm up in rural Alabama.

and we built a, you know, a gym, man, we had a boxing ring, we had a mad air, because we, you know, had everything you would need. And we just isolated ourselves for three weeks, and the guys, like, I named my fight camp breaking legs. And it's because I knew that I needed to be broken down and built back up, right? Like, in the Marine Corps, we have this idea called the Crucible, which is an exercise, and it does exactly that. It's designed to beat you down and kind of take you down to your very fundamental level.

and then, you know, build you up from there. And that's kind of what happened with me during this process, you know. I was humbled. I was crushed. I mean, we had one point, our camera guy, Justin, who was with us the entire time, was doing double duty and he was taking frozen alligator meat and rubbing it all over me because we didn't have ice. We had a lot of frozen alligator meat because it was up in the, you know,

the redneck backwoods of rural Alabama. but you know to try to help me recover you know and there was days where I broke down crying because I was just getting my ass kicked and I was like holy shit the emotion of it not that I broke down because I was getting my ass kick like just the emotions of getting ready to go in like you know I've been I've been you know plenty of fights in my day but man this experience and I think that's what a lot of people don't understand is what are an emotional roller coaster preparing if it is and that's a lot of something that I've come to understand. And, you know, I'm excited we have a series of videos

that Fight Pass is going to be launching. And man, Mike, when I tell you, I get my ass kicked, like, I get wotped, man. But I'm getting my ass kicked by guys that fought for the UFC Walter Wade title, guys that, you know, 7-1, 260 pound on Muhammad Usman, who literally hit me harder than I've ever been hit. And, you know, he was in the last round of a shark tank set up. And I was just so gassed. And I'm like, looking across at this monster. And I'm like, holy shit, this is going to be a rough round. It was, it was. But I'll tell you, you know, with all these guys that are, you know,

such a high level, no disrespect to my opponent. I'm ready for him. But he's going to have nothing. He will have nothing to offer me that I haven't already experienced, you know, from, you know, guys like Uli Diaz, who's, I think, 15 and 1 combined combat sports record with 14 knockouts between bare and knuckle boxing and MMA. You know, like just guys like that that are just monsters, you know.

Wonderboy. I mean, look at Wonderboy. I mean, if I can deal with anything that Wonderboy has, you know, or Walt Harris or Eric Andes, like I had all these amazing people that came out to help prepare. So it was a hell of an experience. Not to mention, you know, we were on this beautiful farm and got to shoot a lot of guns and hang out and have a lot of fun as well. I know your team has really come through and getting this Titan FC-65 event ready and

roaring for you so you could focus on training and all that stuff. But in a way, because of what it takes to prepare for a full. fight, is it almost helpful to have something to just kind of jump into if you want to? Like if you want to focus on an FC-65 just to get your mind off the fight a little bit, I mean, I know it's not your sole focus, but it's for you, you know what I mean? Because I've talked to so many fighters over the years, they treat each fight like it's everything. You know what I mean?

They think about it 24-7, they're training. But on the flip side, you have somewhat of a distraction because you have a lot on your plate. Do you kind of dive into the event planning just to get your mind off it? Or are you just fully engulfed in this thing? You know, I mean, it's both, right? I know that come fight week, I'm, you know, I won't need to really do a ton of work if I don't want to. But the reality is I'm going to, you know, because it will help me, I think, focus.

And, you know, I think one of the things that I watch fighters struggle with, like I just got back from Abu Dhabi with Stefan Strude when he fought at UFC 254. You know, I mean, we're sitting around for 12 days and you're training once or twice a day. and the rest of the time you're just sitting around like Netflix and chill, right? Like to me, that leads to an idle mind. And I'd rather not be idle because then I start thinking about the what-ifs. Just keep me busy, man. Train when I need to train. You know, we're going to have a lot going on because we're going to have, you know,

media day for two fights. Lots of media on the ground in the Dominican Republic. TV, print, and radio. You know, we have meetings with the minister. sports president of the country. Then we've got way-ins for two different fights and two different fights themselves. So it's going to be a busy, busy week next week. And I think it'll probably go fast.

And next thing you know, I'll be going, holy shit, the fight's done. And then I'll be sitting on a beach, you know, going now it's time to relax. As you mentioned before, this is a way, one, to show the fighters, hey, I'm not asking you to do something I wouldn't do. And at the same time, you're also going to be raising money and awareness for our military veterans. this is not a money play for you whatsoever because you're donating everything to a hero, even your sponsorship money. So for those who don't know, what is a hero?

Yeah, thank you so much, Mike, for asking. So, you know, I did two tours of duty in Somalia as a Marine in the 90s, what we kind of called the unpleasantness of the early 90s. It was hard, man. You know, you are exposed to a lot. You see and do things that, you know, are really demanding. physically, mentally, and emotionally. And, you know, it leaves a mark on you.

And so I wanted to serve those who are still serving, you know, now that I'm not in the military, you know, anymore. And one of the ways that I found that I could do that was getting involved philanthropically with various military veteran nonprofits. A hero is one that I'm very involved with, which is America's heroes enjoying recreation and outdoors. And the idea is it was founded by one of my really good friends who's a Marine Corps major. He was a sergeant in Fallujah and then did several more tours as an officer in Iraq. During a, you know, one month period, he lost like 20-some-od of his soldiers that were assigned to him because he was working with an army unit at the time. And, you know, I took a toll on him, man.

He was blown up several times. And finally he came home and he had the phone next to him, a bottle of Jack Daniels in front of him, and he was 45 in his mouth. And he was squeezing the trigger and the phone rang. And it said, Mama, literally his mother saved his life without even knowing. And he explained to her what he was doing and are about to do. And she said, baby, you got to come home. And he lives in rural Alabama.

And he went home and he spent time out in the woods, hunting and fishing, but he did it with other veterans. And he found that that was really cathartic. So he decided to start a nonprofit and he called a day hero. And he reached out to me because he's a pro fighter as well. And I managed him from a period of time. We met through Wonderboy, actually. And he said, I need your help, man. I need you to get on the board of the thing and help me, you know, grow it.

Well, that's been almost 11 years now. And we've had close to 9,000 veterans come through. And we've taken them all over the board. world. You know, the whole premise of what a hero does is we take people that are like-minded, we put them in a fun environment, and we let them engage in peer-to-peer counsel. You know, there could be, say, myself, somebody else who didn't serve in the military, and then we could be with a, you know, a veteran who's injured. Maybe he lost both of his legs. They could say, oh, wow, I'm so sorry, you know, what happened? And the vet probably isn't going to give a detailed response,

if any response at all. Not that he doesn't appreciate the compassion and the empathy. The problem is that person doesn't understand. Whereas I could say, hey, man, how did you get hit? You know, one leg was over my shoulder. The other one was, you know, 30 yards in front of me. And I was like, oh, shit, what just happened? You know?

And they begin to loosen up because someone else that has either similar experiences or at least the point of reference is trying to connect to them again. And they lose that a lot of times when they leave the military because it's such a tight-knit group. And then they go back to wherever home is at and you're not part of that anymore. It's probably one of the things that veterans struggle with the most is that transition. And so a hero, our mission is all about, you know, helping deal with PTSD and stopping veteran suicide. And so I decided I was going to donate my entire fight first, my sponsorship money, and I set a goal to raise at least $50,000, donate. to a hero to help them with their mission.

And, you know, we're doing good, man. And just got to keep pushing to raise that awareness and keep those funds coming in. One thing about this community and, you know, sometimes the fans can be a little fickle, but I try to tell everybody, like, when the chips are down and help is needed, this community comes through in a big way. So have you had a lot of support from people in the MMA community

helping you out with this and trying to get that number close to that $50,000? Yeah, I mean, definitely people are stepping up. And I think once the videos that we did with the UFC, we have a four-part documentary that's going to be dropping starting this week. I think once those start, people will really begin to see what it is that, you know, myself and my team and the eight heroes and the UFC are really trying to do. And I will tell you, you know, there has been no better partner than dealing with the UFC as I've gone through this.

I will tell you that they have for me to be able to do this and to show that fight on to fight pass so that it can get the proper visibility. But they're also stepping up a major way financially and they're contributing in a large way. And I am humbled by what they are doing. The fight pass team led by Crowley Sullivan and Stephen Tennessee have been incredible.

And they're a tremendous part. And when push comes the stuff, once we got everything tallied up, I'll kind of let everybody know. But suffice it to say that they've been incredible and they're stepping up in a major way for a hero. That's great. So you're going to fight Justin Thornton, 23 fights. He's, you know, the record's not great, but he's been in there with some tough guys. He's been there with Chase Sherman, the aforementioned Walt Harris, who you've trained with. So Walt probably has some insight to what you may be seeing in there.

But do you have an official prediction for this fight? Are you allowing yourself to think in that manner? Are you just going in there and the chips are going to fall how they may? You know, man, for me, this journey has been the true fight. You know, when I get to fight night, I've been really well training. You know, I have the benefit. I'm not going to take anything away from Justin. I wanted a really credible opponent, somebody that had a lot of experience,

so that people just didn't look and say, oh, you know, this is like a setup thing for Lex to stroke his ego. And I'm fighting somebody with a hell of a lot more experience than me. And, you know, he's been in with UFC veterans. And, you know, so he's going to be coming. And I know that he used this as his opportunity to, you know, get some awareness about himself. And, you know, he's probably looking and going, oh, here's this 49-year-old guy older. Like, what does he know?

Well, what I will say, I'm not going to, like, you know, get crazy with, you know, predictions. and all that. But if Justin doesn't take me seriously, he's going to get knocked out by a 49-year-old man. And that's going to be embarrassing. So I really hope that he's prepared not to get embarrassed because I want a good fight. I want something that's going to be a true challenge.

I want to be bloodied. I want to feel the pain. I don't want it to be over fast. But if he underestimates me in the slightest bit, I guarantee that my coaches will have me ready. And I'm ready to go. At this point, I'm like a tiger that's, and pinned up, man. I just want to pound

and want to go and get after it and make it happen. And whatever happens, happen. But I know it's going to be, it's not going to be a fight. I mean, it's two heavyweights. It's not going to be a fight where we're sitting around, you know, playing touch blood in the park. I mean, this is, we're going to get after it. And hopefully he's ready to do that.

Otherwise, it's going to be a quick night form. And then you have your fight, and then you get Titan FC-65 the next day. Love the little Sunday afternoon, M.A. Action, Lex. Same venue as your fight. I believe and pretty good card here. You got Mike Graves and Oton Jase for the for the wealthway title. Matt Wagggy's on the card, Juan Puerta trying to punch his ticket to the UFC.

This is a guy that's definitely one of the best 125 prom prospects outside of the UFC right now. There's a lot to like about this card. You know what I mean? Puerta is, he's a guy who's been a champ for us. He is someone who's finished the majority of his fights. He's always been an exciting fighter. I've taken him to hostile territory multiple times between going to Kazakhstan

going to the Dominican Republic previously, then now again. I love that guy, man. He's such a competitor, and I hope that he gets his 20th win, and I hope he does it in an amazing fashion, so that the UFC looks at him and says, yeah, it's time, son, come on up, and I'm definitely

going to be advocating. But yeah, you're right. Great card. I wanted to make sure that we put on with the guys at Fighting Force who also put on a good card. I wanted to make sure that Titan steps up and deliver really premium cards, getting towards the end of the year. And I wanted to make sure that we put the info out there that, you know, we're taking, you know, this year has been a big year for us.

And, you know, despite coronavirus, we put on a lot of cards and, you know, put people into the UFC, put them on the competitors, series, all that. And so for us, business as usual, and we're just going to continue making great fights. So, honestly, I think we're doing is amazing. Getting in there, fighting. You're an inspiration to some of us, older folks, trying to get off our asses and do something meaningful with our lives, but I do wish you nothing but the best for the rest of this camp in the fight itself,

fight week, all of that, as well as Titan FC 65 in November 22nd. But anything else you want to get off your chest before you say goodbye, man? You know, just thank you. Thanks to the UFC, UFC Fight Pass team. And to all the fans that will tune in and hopefully

support the cause, you know, I appreciate it. It means a lot. It's a meaningful cause. I've really given of myself substantially to make this happen. And, you know, I just hope that everybody helps us raise as much money as possible. And I would say, you know, please go to AheroUSA.org, fight, and it's the number four, Ahero. If we can get people to go do that, that's how they can check out information about my fight, as well as how they can donate and support A Hero's mission of stopping veteran suicide.

Well said, Lex. Thank you so much for the time, man. Thank you, brother. Take care. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.