MMA Fighting - What the Heck: Episode 36 | Kevin Holland, Marlon Vera, Brandon Vera & Montana De La Rosa

Episode Date: December 3, 2020

Check out episode 36 of What the Heck as MMA Fighting's Mike Heck chats with Kevin Holland (5:28) as they discuss his removal from this Saturday's UFC Vegas 16 headliner with Jack Hermansson, getting booked a week later against "Jacare" Souza, why he prefers the new matchup, and more. Marlon Vera (31:41) previews his upcoming matchup with Jose Aldo at the UFC's event on Dec. 19, talks his reaction to getting the matchup and what an impressive win could lead to. ONE Championship heavyweight titleholder Brandon Vera discusses fatherhood, not being able to compete in 2020, expectations to face Arjan Bhullar in the first quarter of 2021, and former opponent Jon Jones' move to heavyweight. Finally, Montana De La Rosa (1:21:32) previews her upcoming fight with Talia Santos this Saturday at UFC Vegas 16, explains why she's had to work with coach Eliot Marshall via Zoom, training with Lauren Murphy ahead of the matchup, and more. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, and welcome to a brand new edition of What the Heck here on MMAfighting.com. We have made it to December, everybody. Earlier this year, we all thought it would just take forever

to get to the end of 2020 with the pandemic going on and all the craziness and all the negative. but we made it. We're here. It is the holiday season. A lot of festive lights, a lot of big fights left on the calendar before we get to turn it on over to 2021, take that 2020 calendar and just throw it in the trash. But we made it. So pat yourself on the back if you're watching and or listening right now. As we end in November with the pair of events, we had UFC Vegas 15 on Saturday night. Anthony Smith got back into the wind column. Of course, he had, We had the Mike Tyson versus Roy Jones Jr. event in the boxing ring, which was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed that card. We talked all about that on between the links. I know it didn't get up on YouTube. Casey is on vacation. That show is a lot more difficult to navigate from a production side. But we did audio for that show. But if you haven't seen it, it's exclusively on the podcast network. It was Jedmishu versus our old pal, Sean Al-Shadi.

An absolutely amazing battle. but you can get everyone's thoughts on those events right there. Casey's still on vacation, so bear with me. I'm the host, the producer, the editor, all that stuff. I'm putting this all together myself. So if I mess up, it doesn't look as good as it has in the past, which you probably won't. Casey, this is what he does and he's the best of the business at doing it. Please be kind. Just please be kind. We do have a really fun show this week. So if there is any production things that are wrong. Just enjoy the conversations because they're great.

A lot of really solid guests, great conversations. And I do want to say we're off the bat for you. Run down the lineup. I appreciate all the great feedback from last week's episode, the special Thanksgiving edition of What the Heck. A lot of you enjoyed it, especially the interview with MJF from All-Eet Wrestling. That was an amazing conversation.

And I hope we're going to, I think pretty soon, we're going to release that interview on its own. It's just been a crazy week, but I thought it was a breath of fresh air, something a little bit out of the box. But I enjoyed that one for sure, the entire episode with Brandon Moreno and Rob Font and everybody else that was on the program. But let's talk about this week's show. Let us run down the lineup and get to our first guest. We're going to wrap things up with Montana de la Rosa. She returns to action this Saturday night against Talia Santos at UFC Vegas 16.

Should be a fun one at 125 pounds. One of the nicest fighters on the UFC roster. Really enjoy this conversation. excited at Montana de la Rosa on the program for the first time. Also joining the show for the first time, the one heavyweight champion, Brandon Vera. Really, really loved this chat. He'll be featured on The Apprentice,

one championship edition, which will drop on the one app pretty soon. I don't think they've actually released the actual date that's going to come out, but he's going to be on that. He's doing some movies. We're going to get an update on when he plans to defend his title once again, talk Tyson versus Jones. Plus, he gives his thoughts about John Jones moving up to heavyweight in the UFC,

and then he kind of takes us on this nostalgic trip through time from their fight at UFC on versus one. That was in March of 2010, over 10 years ago. But he remembers that fight like it's yesterday. He remembers each and every piece of it and talked about how much it changed them. Like it really, it gave me chills, if we're being honest. There's really great stuff. I think you're going to enjoy that conversation with Brandon, the truth, Vera coming up in a little while. Another Vera, Marlon Cheeto Vera returns to the program.

He's going to be fighting Jose Alto on December 19th. That card is ridiculous. Of course, it took a hit with Leon Edwards, testing positive for COVID-19. Reports are out there, got pretty bad, lost 11 or 12 pounds. He got it real bad. So that fight with Humzette Shamiath has been postponed. Wish him a speedy. recovery. He's been on the show as well. Just a good dude. He's at a rough year. But even without that

fight, still a really good card. New main event, Stephen Wonderboy Thompson versus Jeff Neal. Love that fight at 170. And this fight between Cheeto Vera and Jose Aldo is an excellent piece of business. I think this is superb perfection of matchmaking. I don't like to throw out perfect or perfection out lightly. This, I think, was absolutely perfect. We'll get Marlon Verra's thoughts on that big fight at 135 pounds in around 25 minutes or so, that fight going down December 19th. But first, I wanted to do this, wanted to have this conversation because Saturday was just nuts for this man. I wanted to check in with the Trailblazer and a lot has changed for one of the breakout fighters of 2020. He was originally scheduled to headline the event this Saturday in Las Vegas against Jack Hermanson.

That is no more, as you may have seen on the broadcast. He's got other plans. So let us kick off this week's episode of What the Heck with our old friend. UFC middleweight contender, Kevin Holland. All right, well, to say 2020 has been a crazy year for this man would be a giant understatement. Kevin Holland joins us right now, and to keep in line with the craziness of the year, last week ended with a little bit of a shakeup. He was scheduled to headline this Saturday's event against Jack Hermanson.

We finally tested positive for COVID-19, but it looks like he'll still have the chance to join that elusive 5-0 club as he's scheduled to face Jacqueray-Sosa, December 12th at UFC 26256. There's a lot to unpack here. Kevin, first off, good to see you, man. How are you? I'm good. Good to see you as well. How about you? How are you doing? I'm doing all right. I guess the most important question of all is, how are you feeling right now with everything that has happened, not just physically with the COVID, but mentally with all the changes and everything that have happened here. Another day in the office. Another day in the office. It's all good in the hood. I'm loving it. You know what? Honestly, it's not a big deal, you know, used to it.

So we found out, like, early on Saturday that you had tested positive. When did you find out? Probably around the same time. You guys found out. Thanksgiving was, what, Thursday? So I think I found out Friday, Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon. Were there, like, symptoms or anything?

Did you take the test on your own? Or was this, like, the UFC test that you had to take before you travel? So UFC sent the test, and we take it before we travel, took the test. I had, like, a minor cold, a couple snibbles and stuff like that. And then I was like, oh, you know, we're like probably allergies, you know, season change. And then, you know, took the test, came back, I had COVID. I was like, wow, this is COVID. I was like, no way.

It's not a way this could be COVID. But, you know, it is what it is. And here I am. So, yeah, I think I found out Friday the day after Thanksgiving. Which sucks because I had people at the house, you know what I mean? Not a lot. But, you know, it's like I had my mom's husband here. my mom was here, you know, and it was just like, you know, my old lady's dad was here.

It was just like, all right. So now we have to call them and let them know, you know, and it's like somehow and some way. You know. You're obviously taking this in stride, just another day at the office, like you said. But when you found out that it was COVID, like, how did you react to that? Because you knew that things were going to change. I was like, so I can't fight with a mask on? What's up?

I was like, is there any way we can go around this? I don't even want to retest. Is there anything we can do? But no, ultimately there was a... That was it, you know? So I kind of understood what was going on, and I was just like... It took me a day.

Like, the next day, I was just, like, hit Orenup, manager, and I was just like, yo, what's the verdict? So, like, do I fight another week against Jack? I'll fight somebody else. Like, there's still a couple cards for December's over with.

You know, it takes two weeks. They say it's out your system. I'm like, shit. It wins my two weeks. You know what I mean? Like when can I fight again? Like I'll train in the garage. What's up?

What you got for me? I don't want to end the year like this. I just spent all these money on cars. Let's make some more dough. And I reacted. Like obviously I felt for you. And then to find out that your old pal Marvin Vittori was stepping in to take the fight, it just kind of came full circle based on like all of our conversations this year.

How did you feel about Marvin stepping in and getting that shot? I was proud of him. You know, it's like, it mean, it sucks that I can't go. fight, you know, main event. But the end of the day, check's a check. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, you get a little bit more for main event in the card, but, you know, that's whatever. Make it up on some sideline sponsor money, you know, so it is what it is.

Just make you grind a little harder. But to see Marvin step up and take the fight, I was like, dang, why didn't he take the fight before? You know what I mean? Like, I know it had to be offered to him before it was offered to me. It's probably one of those five to turn down, but prompts to him. I'm glad he stepped up, had some. Add some, what do they call it as Benish?

Quabels, you know what I mean? Step up in there, got the job done, you know what I mean? So, when loser's draw? You know, he gets brownie points for me for being a man. And then I checked his age and I was like, oh, dude, he's a little younger than you. I was like, no wonder why he acts the way he acts. I was like, what? It's finally becoming a man.

I'm proud of him. Good job. So, Rob some Marvin Vittori. You know what I mean? Hats off to him. you know if he goes out there and do and does what i would have did then you know he gets the job done he goes out there and looks how he looks in his last fight it won't look too good then it was interesting because i thought your year was kind of shut down here i mean you knowing you

like you said you called your manager you're like how can we get this get another fight in before the year is over and i'm watching the event this past saturday along with the tyson jones card and then brenn fitzgerald's on the screen and announces the change for the main event this Saturday and then he reveals that you're going to fight jockey at ufc 256 and i think a lot of people were surprised by that i i have to admit that i didn't see that one coming so quickly especially the same day we found out about the original change how did that happen like was it just like one fell swoop or did this come together afterwards like when did orrin kind of present this to you it was you know i'd be messaging make back and forth on instagram trying to get on his nerves

so i can get extra fights and stuff i'm just i'm just bugging people you know what i mean trying to get what I can get. And Mick's always so cool about it. You know, shouts out to Mick Manor for just always keeping it so player, so cool, you know, just a dope guy, super dope guy. I always thought he was a dope guy ever since Legacy. But, yeah, so I was messaged Mick like, what's up? And he was like, so what's up, you're going to take a jockey fight or what? And I was like, yeah, why not? He's like, you sure you're feeling okay? I'm like, man, I feel fine. I was like, what do you want me to do to prove it to? Let me know. Of course, I'll take the jockey fight. I was like, I'll gladly, I'll gladly become the alligator catcher overnight. You know what I'm saying? So here we are.

You know, now I got to go out there and become an alligator catcher overnight, which I, you know, I used to take little trips to Louisiana out here from Texas to Louisiana and my old town car back in the day just to get a drive-in. So, you know, it's the same deal. Now I'm just riding to Las Vegas, like, it's a swamp land and catching me an alligator. A legendary alligator at that. I'm loving it. Bada, ba, pa, pa.

I'm loving it. Let's go. Yeah, I feel great, man. If anything, I feel better than I did before. Just, I guess it's a quick glimpse of, like, how you started to not pay attention to what COVID was doing to everything. You kind of just started zeroing in on everything I had going and stop worrying about the other stuff.

But you have to pay attention to COVID, you know? It's like, you have to pay attention to what's going on. on the road and I started taking it lightly and so I guess it just opened my eyes you know do what I got to do I'm actually getting some mats built for the for the for the house for the garage and I got a say COVID center on there so remind me never to forget you know what I mean be smart about this so yeah missed out on on that fight but now we got jacqueray and jacqueray's legend if I may say so myself I'm more excited about the jacqueray fight than I was about jack I I wasn't even excited about Jack.

I was excited about a main event. But Jack, good guy, but I wasn't that excited about it. Now, Jaceray, I'm excited about the Jack Gray fight. Why were you excited about Jack, highly ranked guy? You know what? It puts me up in the rankings, and then it means I can't have fun. You know what I mean? It means that I have to do all these things where it was like you beat him,

and then more likely more fights were going to be a main event, and then we're going to put more camera time on you, and it was going to take more publicity to get you in fights and stuff like that. You get what I'm saying? Like it was a bigger package. Beating jacqueray, I still get to have fun for a little bit longer. You know what I said? I can still step in, take last second fights, do this, do that.

And I like that. So you just kind of wanted to slow it down just a tad? No, I was down. I'm down for whatever. At the end of the day, I'm down for whatever. But it's just a jockey rate fight. It makes more sense to me. You know, and it's like I wasn't even ranked, you know,

so now I can jump into the rankings. And I don't have to, I don't have to be high ranked. It can put me in right there at 15. 16 right now. I can go to 15. I can fight. Like I said before, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9. And I can do it all on last second. I don't care. But it just gives me a chance to fight, you know, multiple times. Think about it. If I knock out five fights during a pandemic year, I did it in seven months. Imagine what I can do with a full 12th. That's true. That's a good way of looking at it. Is there, I know you're taking, you may have taken the COVID thing a little lightly. And I think there's a lot of people who are doing that even right now. But is there like a small part of you that's, I know it sucks to get COVID and you miss out on the opportunity, but you get a more exciting fight, but is there a little, like, relief to it now that, like, you got it and it's over and done with now, in a way?

No, that's a sad part about it. I used to play like that when it first came out. I used to be like, well, it's like chicken parks. You can't get it again. Maybe I should just get it, get it over with, so it won't interrupt any fights. Nah, you shouldn't play like that. Because you never know who you can give it to, you know,

and you never know who could become worse off of it. You know, it's like, A, it might not be hurting me, but let's say this happened. I was around my grandparents or, you know, let's say my kid caught it, you know, let's say somebody in the house really, really took a dive off of it. That would have sucked, you know, that would have, that would have hurt, you know, so it's nothing to play with, you know, it's like some people aren't doing so well. Leon Edwards, four days, you know, they say lost 11 pounds, you know, it's like being an athlete

losing 11 pounds, that's not nothing to play with, you know, your body is your tools and that's something to work with. So when you see something like that happening to somebody and it's not happening to you, you're kind of like thankful that it's not. But at the same time, it reminds you why you shouldn't play with something like this. It's like you have to take it serious. You know, you have to follow protocols, even if the protocols don't make sense. You know, you have to follow them.

You know, just to try and be a little bit more safe. Stay at home. You know, I was like all year, all year I was going ham. You know, it's like I was going ham with my mask on. I was going ham, I put gloves on. It's like I was taking advantage of it. I was still going out and doing things and other people were scared to do things.

But in the beginning of the year, I didn't have my full family living with me. And it's like things changed throughout the course of the year. Now I have to stay at home and be a little bit more safe. I can't be hitting the mall and having fun. Just because I said that, you little trolls don't go on my page and say that shit back to me.

I swear I'll go off with me. But, you know, it's like, it's just a truth. You have to be careful with this. I don't want to ramble on with it too much, but you definitely have to be careful. Am I getting more time at home? Do I get to play my video game a little bit more than I was before? Yes, sir, but still, nothing to want to wish on anybody or wish on yourself.

So what's, like, a typical day like for you now, now that you're at home? Like, I assume that you're training at home. That's how you're going to have to spend the remainder of this camp. Yeah, just buying more stuff to make the house better, you know, order stuff online. I got my coach, my strategic condition coach, CD Power train, shout up the Shug. We're running around like a madman. And people always talk about him because he does so much for me. But that's what a good friend is for.

That's what a good coach is for. That's what a good partner in crime is for. That's my dog right there, you know? He goes out there and he goes. He gets me everything I need for the garage. You know, we make some phone calls. We set up some things. A guy Jason at the gym sets me up with some mats.

Like, they'll be coming this week. It's like just knowing that I might have a little mini gym in the garage. It takes me back to like when I originally started. You know, my grandma and grandpa. My grandpa was always about fitness. And they had like their own little, you know, gym in the garage. They didn't have these type of mats and they didn't have this type of equipment, but it's going to be sick. It's going to be better than some gyms I've ever been to.

So a little three-car garage and taking half of it and hooking it up for that. Still got a spot for my old school on my motorcycle. I'm good to go. There you go. Like we mentioned at the top, you know, it's just been a crazy year for you and you've rolled with the punches as well as anybody has in the UFC and, you know, short-noticed fight here, a new opponent a few days before a fight there, you're slotted in here, and now you're on this card. With everything going on and COVID and everything, are you just kind of playing the act as if game,

like roll with it as if everything's going to play out perfectly, then if something happens, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Like, how are you sort of handling this? Because I don't know if you can, can you confidently say that 100% you're going to fight jacchari on December 12th?

No, you cannot say 100% acoly that you're going to fight jockey December 12. You know, it's like that's the crazy thing about this year. You can never, for say 100% if you're going to do something

that it's for sure going to happen. You know, it's like you put your word out there, you'd be lying to put your word out there half the time, you know, unless you're Dana White, then you're just pulling shit, pulling miracles off. That's a different story. And it's like, I don't have that much power in this road yet. I can't control whether Jack the Reyes stay healthy and I can't control whether or not I'll pass

every COVID test that they have. If it's in my system, then it's in my system and I can't control what tests pick it up, what tests don't, right? But, I can stay ready so that way I don't have to get ready and when December 12 comes around I will be ready And then if December 12 doesn't work out you know it's like I'll try and get on December 19th It's like I don't cut no weight to get the 185 so it's not a big deal you know it's like I'm gonna keep shooting for the stars until I hit And then after that I'll shoot a little further and it's like uh and then let's say the fight does happen December 12

my job is to go out there knock that out the ballpark such great fashion that uh quote unquote the guy that everybody called the last second king Kazmat you know hopefully he wants to step up within a week's notice and take back his main event slot but let's see how much cloud I get after this one because you all know ain't nobody fight nobody if they ain't got the cloud right

that's very true that's very true unless you meet then you just fight anybody and everybody guys who show up on their first day at the job smoke them even though you're supposed to be fighting somebody else still smoke them like a blunt that's what I do I smoke them like a blunt if I say I'm a smoke on my smoke on Michael Blunt.

All's to the face, baby. This is a fun fight, man. I mean, you said you're going to have a lot of fun in there more than you probably would have had with Jack, in your opinion. And, you know, Jockery's been a perennial contender at 185 for so long. I've been watching Jokre forever. You know, he's been in there with pretty much everybody at this point. And yeah, he's getting up there in age.

But, man, this is a really solid name on the resume. Is it not? Yeah, he just went the distance with the 205 champ not too long ago. That's right. You know, uh, but, His last losses came by, what, split decision? And then the fight that he won before that, he won by a knockout against Chris Wyman in the last round.

Guys, always dangerous, always has been, always will be. I don't care how old he is. But, you know, we'll see if age has caught his number yet. And if it hasn't, we'll see if I've caught his number. And I'm pretty sure I can catch anybody's number in the road. So put me in the right spot at the right time with the right mentality. And it's going down. And I got the right mentality going into this play.

So stay healthy, stay right, and I'm going to be an alligator catcher that night. Can I ask you about that Instagram post you put out a couple weeks ago? Which one? The video? You said, well, looks like I'm not fighting on December 5th. And you had everybody. I said, it looks like I will not see you guys December 3rd. That's right.

That's right. That's right. I apologize for mention the words of it. And then everybody went crazy and they said, oh, he's not fighting December 5th. Look, here it came. I didn't fight December 5th. That sucks, right? No, so when I was like,

I won't be seeing you guys December 5th, it was perfect. It was perfect because I won't be seeing anybody December 5th, but they'll all be seeing me on ESPN. But I didn't get to work it out. So I had bought this cool little mask, right? I had everybody all gameed up and everything. About this cool little mask, right?

This mask right here costs freaking $100-something dollars, you know, after taxes about $150, close to 160. They were going with this little anime theme, you know, me being Batman and him being Joker. I was going to put the mask on. I was going to highlight it up, throw some smog in the background. The badass little highlight video behind it. The eyes light up red in the dark and you can take the face off, put the face back on.

I was going to say, see you soon, Jack. Then I was going to be like, of course you won't see me December 5th. I'll be seeing you guys. Of course I won't see you guys December 5th because you'll be seeing me. And then I was going to put the mask back on, eyes light up. red smoke everywhere it was going to be some dope shit but didn't work out caught cobbin 19 in 2020 it's a great idea though that thing would have been great still might do it you still should like the ultimate alligator catcher i got to do it i got to do it right i spent it 139

on this mask came up to about 150 after taxes yeah i got to put it on i got to rock it any uh any movement video game yet on a you know what my you know what i'm hearing the game's trash i haven't played it but i'm hearing the game's trash right so if the game's trash i don't want to be on but but but if you're out there in this road and you haven't bought ufc four go buy it asap support the company fair enough fair enough that's the way to do it are you paying attention to like the fighter the year stuff like because i know shimmya is right up there the champ the champ the champ gets it the champ the champ If he fights December 12th the same time that I'm fighting, my bad, my bad. If he fights December 12th the same time that I'm fighting, defends his belt the third time, right, or the second time, got it, defended it all in one year, right?

Back-to-back title defenses and a pandemic. And I'm talking about a couple weeks later, hands down. That man gets fighter in the year. Like DC said on one of them, when you're the champ, it's a little bit hard to go against. the champ, right? Well, that's a champ that's put in work during a pandemic year. Hands down, that man gets it. And then I think everybody has forgot about what Gilbert Burns did in the beginning of the year. It's not his fault. He didn't get a chance to go out there and possibly capture the title. And I'm at, man, let me say that. He would have captured the title. You know, it's like

Usman don't be representing, you know, the DFW enough. So, you know, fuck him. He definitely would have got the title. So shout out to, shout out to my man over there, you know. He would have got the time. So he would have whooped Uzman. Gilbert Burns would have whooped Uzman. He would have got the title, and he would have been fighter over the year. So, yeah, I think I'd give it to Diego.

I had a hell of a year with five runs and then beating a guy like Jacqueray would be nice. But had I smoked Jack and then stepped up and beat Kazmat on the 19th, that would have been magical. But it didn't work out that way, right? So I'll beat this man, and then maybe they'll take off that Pettus Marino fight,

You put me versus Casman on the 19th because I can go back to back like that because you guys know me. And then I'll get a fighter a year. But other than that, the champ deserves it 100%. Fair enough. How do we, at least for the break. I mean, breakout fight of the year, you're right up there. You end? That's Casman.

That's Amza? You think so? Like how many followers he got, he came into the game, turned things upside down. He did his thing. I'm not a hater by any means. He did his thing. So Breakout Fighter of the Year, you can definitely give that to him. Or a rookie of the year.

You know, it's like, I don't know if they do that or not. You know, it's like if you just really want to give me something, you know, give me OG of the year. You know what I mean? Give me OG a year. The guy who just kept going when nobody else wanted to. I like that, man. How do we get this thing done against Chakuree on December 12th?

Hands and feet. Hands and feet. But don't get it twisted, though. Don't get a twist. I hear everybody always talking about it. goes on the ground, Kevin Holland is done. Yeah, I've been a rear-naked choke by Rafael Lovato Jr. Step in there against Rafael Lovato Jr.

You'll probably get rear-naked choke, too. Brandon Allen, shout out to Brandon Allen. I'll take nothing away from him, but I slipped on a banana pill. Jockey Ray, don't get it twisted, man. Jockey Ray can get finished in any way, any shape, any fashion. I can hurt them and sub them. I can slam him on his neck and finish them, right? I've done that before.

I mean, what haven't I done? You know, it's like, I'm going there, I'm fighting a veteran. I'm fighting an OG in the game. I'm fighting, you know, somebody who's had a belt in a lot of organizations just not the UFC. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to have a great time. This is exactly what I was asking for.

This is exactly what I was asking for last time. And this is exactly what I've been begging my managers and everybody for. You know, I couldn't remember what legends were left, you know. Sad that I forgot about Jocchari. A legend in Jokuree. I'm going to go out there and take him out. You know?

Remember how John's not? John Jones was coming through and he was taking out all those legends. I mean, taking them out. I mean, just completely destroying them. You know, I'm going to do that without the pick, though. Who do you think wins this weekend? I got Jack. I got Jack.

You know, I like Marvin stepping up last second like that. I like Marvin stepping up last second like that. But like I said, if this has, if it performs anything like he did in his last fight, he was kind of in a rear-necked choke. position against Carl Robertson, right? If Jack puts him in that position and him trying to do that muscle flailout thing that he did last time, it's not going to work. Crops for him for having some quibbles, quibbles?

Quibbles? Yeah, shouts off for him to have some quibbles, but, uh, nah, and for, I don't, I don't see him beating Jack. He beats Jack shouts out to him, but I don't see him beating Jack. Plus, Jack just seems ready this time. He just mentally seems like he's down. for whatever. That's why me and Jack would have made a fun fight. Because we were both down for whatever.

Did you watch Tyson Jones on Saturday? Yeah, I did. Actually, I caught it later in the fight. It was awesome. You see him fake that roundhouse kick? You know what? And the Tyson's ability to get over-under. I don't know if a lot of people paid attention to that, but anytime it gets in a clinch position, he grabs over-under-hook.

He grabs an underhook and an over-hook so fast. It's almost like if he was the transition and do a an MMA fight, he might be hard to take down. You know, it's like, he squares up a lot, but he might be hard to take down because of that over or under. Who knows? I'm not the best wrestler in the row. Did you enjoy it, though?

I did enjoy it. I enjoyed it a lot. I don't remember, I don't ever remember watching Tyson live. I'm pretty sure my mom and him would order it while I was a youngster. So watching him live on my little app, my app was tripping on my phone. I should have actually downloaded the app instead of just doing it live and ran on the phone. But, dude, it was amazing. watch I don't care if I had to rewind it fast forward rewind fast forward rewind fast forward

forward I did that all night to watch Tyson fight so I know we're not supposed to promote all the old guys out there scrapping but for me to be able to see Tyson fight you know like that that's awesome you know and shout out to the arch emiss style dinner being there live live dick I was gonna say what did you think I thought he did a great job I thought he did a great job I think he got no love from Snoop Dog like he wanted but I thought he did a good thing I was Snooped out. I would have not laughed that hard when he said that's what she said.

I would have been like, but shout out to him for taking it well. Raw dog style. Did you like Karen Snoop on the broadcast? Yeah, I love your Snoop, bro. I'm a fan of all the OGs, bro. So, yeah, I liked him on the contender series. A lot of people didn't like it.

I loved him on the contender series. I thought I was dope. I liked Snoop. I'm a big. Big fan of Snoot. I got a story about that. We'll save that for another time. Oh, come on. Come on. Oh, man. That's inappropriate. It's not PG-13. You're out here telling people you're going to smoke jockey like a blunt.

Yeah, I know. But if you think about it, that's 420 friendly. That's true. Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. But listen, you're the man, Kevin. It's been, it has been a lot of fun watching you do your thing this year and break out the way that you have. I'm glad you're feeling better and hope all goes well for you ahead of UFC 256, man. All the best to you, my man, and we'll see you in there against Chakaray. Thank you. And look, look, it's still pending a nose wipe, but if that nose wipe don't go well, I'm down to fight in one of those hazard suits, bio.

Let's do it. And if not. Put us in saran-wrap bubbles and we can go at it. I'm down for whatever. Don't shirk me out of that 5-0 this year. And if not, we'll see you December 19th then, right? Yeah, one way or another, you will see me. Everything that has happened and all these changes,

the man has taken it all in stride, no doubt about that. Kevin Holland scheduled to face Jokkeri Soza at UFC 256 on December 12th, the final pay-per-view event for the UFC of 2020. That one's headline by Davidson Figato versus Brannan Moreno for the UFC Flyway title. Both guys coming back on three weeks notice after their wins at UFC 255. If you haven't seen my chat with Brandon Moreno, head back into the archives. You don't have to go too far because he was on the show last week. But Brandon Moreno, the Assassin Baby, one of my favorite fighters to interview in 2020.

No doubt about that. Let us move to the Bannamweight Division. Huge fight at 135 coming up on December 19th against a former, long-time UFC featherweight champion. In my opinion, he's top five, top 10, greatest of all time. I don't think Jose Aldo gets mentioned enough in those greatest of all-time conversations. But Marlon Vera is going to have the opportunity. to face that man on the final UFC event of the year. So back on the show, Cheeto Vera, here he is.

All right, the UFC's final card of the year is on December 19th. It is a ridiculous card, and it got even more ridiculous with the addition of a fan-of-way matchup between Jose Aldo and this man back on the show. Marlon Cheeto Vera. Marlon, good to see you, man. How are you? Good to see you, brother, too. I'm good.

Turning in the morning. Right now I'm going with my wife to pick up my daughter in school. and life is good, you know. I'm blessed. I have the chance to work. And in this crazy year, you know, many people lose jobs. Many people live just get to fuck over. I'm so lucky the UFC is helping me I can provide for my family because without UFC,

we all are fucked. So thanks, JFC. Let's start with that. Yeah, well said. I mean, this is something else, Marley, because this is, like you said, 2020 has been a crazy year and it's been a crazy year for you. because it started off with that controversial decision loss to Sang Yudong. You go on to Hanschaun O'Malley's first loss, which sort of catapulted you to another level.

And now you're going to fight Jose Freakin'Aldo to cap it off. Like, things can change and evolve rapidly in the sport. And you are big time proof of that, are you not? I always saw people like life is a trip. You know, one day you might be down on the next day without you knowing. You're fucking rocking up. So it's all about energy. It's all about how you keep your mind,

how you keep your mindset, your work ethic, because, you know, in M.MA, it's specific. Life is so crazy, you know. You can lose three fights. Then you won't one. Somebody get hurt. And all of a sudden, you are catching a great fight and nobody even knew you were supposed to be there.

But it's life, you know. And I just, I mentally stay positive. I mentally stay sharp. the whole time and yeah I started you very shitty corona hit right before that we all were scared it was all panicking and bullshit and guess what you just you just say fuck it and you just keep going forward and you find a way to to make it happen because there's there's always a way that is just people that don't want to put enough energy and effort into things and i always think like that there's always a way so worse of the worst it didn't go my way I will never

regret anything because I know I'm putting everything on every single day just to make sure I keep my goals and I make it happens for me and my family. Yeah, and you've shown a lot this year for sure. I mean, after the win over O'Malley, the buzz just sort of continued on. And, you know, the saga between you and O'Malley kind of moved on because Sean continued to talk about you. You addressed it enough. But it certainly has fizzled out at this point, at least for the time being, that chapter in your career is behind you. that has to be refreshing ahead of this fight. I'm sure you're going to get asked about it at the media day and such, but it has to be a refreshing feeling knowing that the page is officially turned from you and Sean O'Malley at this point, right?

For me, fighting is just, for me, fighting is one night, you know. We're going there. I make sure I get that double check, and after that, I can care less about you. Like, even if you beat me, the next day I'm over, like, what I can fucking do? to your house, knock your door and tell you I want to fight you, I'm fighting for free. Don't get me wrong.

If there's a chance to fight you again, if the UFC call me like, hey, you want this really much? I'm like, fuck, yes, maybe. Like, you got to see where you are at that moment and if that's what is convenient for you. But, like, for example, if they will call me right now, like, hey, Sonia don't need an opponent, I'm like, yeah, I fuck him up again, why not? But if they call me for some fight that I'm like, nah, it's okay, it's okay. He beat me, good for him. Go, bless you.

If you go see there at the beginning of a gypsy career, the guys had beat me at the beginning. Where they are, where I am, why do you want to change that rematch with somebody that is dead? So, fuck it. Fair enough. I remember we spoke like a couple days after that win, and you listed off a few names that you thought made sense for you next.

Jimmy Rivera was kind of the one that everyone sort of put their finger on. You seemed to want that fight. You mentioned Jose Aldo as well. You shot for the stars a little bit, and now you're going to fight him on December 19th. When you found out that Albu's, was the guy, how did you react to that? I kind of knew a little bit before we talked,

like Aldo was in the conversation, Cruz was in the conversation. Rivera was in the conversation because everybody knows. He will run away from his whole life. So I passed out already months ago, years ago. But with Aldo, they told me, hey, there's a big chance you can fight him. Like, you're coming off a big win.

He is lost for the title. So it's kind of like a fight that makes sense. I'm a fucking nerd. So I can see how things work in the JFC. So that's the chance for him to prove he can still beating the up-and-combers. And he's a fucking chance for me to send him home and be like, hey, hey, motherfuckers, I'm going to be a world chamber right now. So we both have a big opportunity and I'm not going to let you off the hook.

So when they called me like, hey, all this is the guy. I'm like, fuck yeah, let's do it. Like, let's do it tomorrow. So I'm always excited. I was as happy as any other. When they called me, there's a. fight, I'm excited because there's a chance to show my improvements. There's a chance to climb the letter. And there's a chance to put in a fucking hell of a fight. And I love that. I love with the

word locking a cage and somebody's going to be going to cry and somebody's going to laugh after it. It just excite me. Excite me a lot to be in that position. And against somebody like that, fuck, yeah, let's do it. Yeah, worse places to be in your career than having your options be Dominic Cruz and Joseo Aldo coming off a win over Shot-O-Malley, right? I mean, man, that's got to tell you something about how the UFC views you, too. They obviously have a lot of faith in you, and they see a lot

in you to put you in this position, right? I still don't even know why they make... That was probably the worst match for him, you know? But they called me, you want to fight that guy? I'm like, fuck yeah, I fight that guy. I fight that guy or any other one. Like, after I beat him,

Dana told me one thing, like, hey, kid, you never refuse a fight. I'm like, I would never fucking refuse a fight. Like, for me, it's not a bunch. Like, oh, these guys, style is nothing for you. Like, all these guys do that. Like, I'm a fucking fighter. I'm going to fight my ass off against anybody.

I don't get a wrestler, karate, kid, your boxer. I'm a fighter. And I turn every single area to make sure I'm not just a one-dimensional guy. And I prove it. I submit guys. I beat up guys. I kick guys. I punch guys.

I'm not a master of anyone. But I'm pretty damn good. at every single area. So, and there's something that is really important, and people don't realize that. It's not just me knowing technique. It's a fight that isn't me. It's the hunger I have inside me. Like, I always want more.

I will always will to put my everything on the line in order to make it happen. So, you know, it's called, it's going to be a motherfucker. I'm ready to go any time of a year. I train hard. I have great coaches and good energy around me. And I always said, it's always. about energy. Does this one feel any different to you, or does it feel like any other fight?

It's just another day in the office. It's a different day. It's December 19, and it's a fucking fight. When they lock the cage and after Bruce is out of the cage, I'm going to go and fight my ass up. And I'm willing to hurt this guy and I'm willing to take it in order to win. So I'm not going to shy away. and like a samurai say, I'm accepting that in order to achieve victory,

and I'm not fucking wrong with that. I want to be the last guy that I'm going to left anything off the hook. So I'm coming. And I'm coming in the heart. That was my post when I announced a fight. I'm coming in hot. I'm coming in red fucking hot.

He obviously long-time champion at 145, dropped a 35, had the very close fight with Maraul Marius, fought Peter Yan for the title in July, got finished in that one. But Aldo was certainly competitive for a good chunk of that fight. So, you know, you said you're a nerd, you pay attention to what's going on in your division and around the sport. What have you made of Aldo at 1.35 in how he's performed at this new weight class?

He's a fucking great fighter. He's a tough guy. He's not an easy match for nobody. He's been fighting huge guys his whole career. So I'm not thinking it's going to be any different than a hard fight. So I train hard. I make sure I do everything possible. I can train, I can work, I can improve.

I can make questions to my coach. Like, how can I improve? How can be this guy? And I ask them separately, and they might make up. And, man, I'm like, okay, like, this makes sense. This part is hard to me. Like, hey, coach, I don't think I like that. But I'm an open book.

And I let them write everything they want. and then, you know, I take what's the best of it. And I just wake up every morning thinking there's something to be done. So I'm always busy. I'm always training. And I'm lucky my family understand. You know, my wife understand, my kids understand. Because it's for them.

Like, I'm not trying to win a fight because it's cool to win. Fuck, who like fighting? It's stressful. And then you don't know when you're fighting, blah, blah, blah. You might get hurt. But at the same time, I love it. And it's for them. And I love them more than I have.

love myself so it's for my family so I wake up every morning thinking I need to do something and he's going to be a hell of a fight the guy is tough the guy's good and he's good everywhere too so we're going to have a great fight yeah it's a little different a different setup from the omali fight because the o'malley fight was you know it was all about the height can you get over this next level there's a little bit of trash talk there's some games and ship with the hair this fight builds itself we don't need any extra shenanigans there's no trash talk just two high level fighters getting in there and they're going to fight and you guys are going to see who the better man is. How much are you looking forward to this fight week where it's just about the fight

and not about any of the other BS? I'm cool with both. I'm cool with the quiet guy and I'm cool with the loud guy because at the end of the day, we're going to be locked in the cage. And again, it's all when mental games comes in the table and you see who's the real deal because how many guys lost the fight before they walk in? already like consume about it like Aldo McGregor. Aldo walked to that cage lost.

He went to that cage like already giving up. So I'm not that person, you know. If you talk to me, I can play the game. If you don't talk to me, I can hurt less. I'm gonna try to kill you anyways. I'm not here to make friends and be cool with anybody. I'm here to make money and one day become a world champion. And if I have to fight hard for that, I'm down for that.

So it's the same for it. It's the same for me. It's just another day in the office, and whoever is in front of me, it's going to be for a long night. You're riding this nice wave of momentum right now heading into this fight. Naldo, of course, has lost three in a row and five of his last seven. And, you know, there's some people in this, you know,

the fans especially can be a little fickle. And they're like, oh, Marlon's fighting Joseo. He's lost three in a row. It's not the biggest deal. But to me, I look at it differently. I feel like regardless of where Aldo is at in his career, This is a very important fight for him. You're probably going to see the very best Jose Aldo that we've ever seen in the Octagon

because his backs against the wall and there's a little extra pressure on him. Do you feel that way as well that you're going to see the very best Jose Aldo we've seen? I hope so. So I can see where I am. But at the end of the day, I'm going to just push every single limit that I have on myself. And I'm going to break this guy. I'm going to just walk through him. And I'm not just talking.

I'm going to do it. Like, I'm going to go to make, I go in every single fight. I want to go and fight like a fucking motherfucker. I'm going to put it on him. Have you thought about where a win over Jose Alto can take you in your career? Like, you go from, you know, a rank guy to a title contender in a matter of months. Like, have you allowed yourself to think that far and envision where a win can take you, especially if you do something impressive in there?

A hundred percent. I already see myself knocking that door. But, you know, first and first is first. You're going to go and beat the guy. You know, first things first. You got to beat the guy, but I already have the picture in my mind. I already know what I will say when I win. I know who I'm going to ask for when I win.

And it's all about that. It's all about, like, winning first. But, you know, you can make all the trash talk. You can get all the hype in the world. You lose the fight. And people won't believe your bullshit. So I keep it very honest in that sense. And fight and win first.

You need to win. You can talk. You can be confidence. no one cares when you lost so you better win and I'm walking to that cage confidence I can win oh la nita so you already have a name ready to go you don't have to tell me now obviously because you won't I'm sure uh I do have the name to my head you know you you beat the guy that just fought for the title like I can care less if he lost three in a row he just fought for the title so that put me right there in the line so first is first I go put this guy out and

and then I call my shots. Do you have an official prediction here? Like, obviously you're not going to say Josale's going to win, but do you see yourself getting the finish? Do you see a specific way? Like, are we even thinking about that at this point in your career? I'm going to stop it. I'm going to stop it.

There's no doubt I'm not going to do it, you know. I worked too hard for just going there. And this is the fight that I need to show what I've been showing in the last seven or five fights. I was going to go in there and just push it until breaks. And you won't keep up with me. I know that because I know how hard I push myself. And I always find people better than me so I can push extra.

I'm never with the same circle. I'm like, oh, if I beat you, I only go with you. I'm always looking for people that kick my butt so I can be better. And that's what I've been doing. And that's where I can push it forward in the fight. That's where I can give that little extra mile in there. because I'm always looking for a way to be better before the fight happens, because it's so easy to get comfy and try with the same guy every day.

And then, you know, you get used to that guy, you know, what this guy is going to do to you. I'm always looking for, like, brand new opponents in the gym so I can get better. Because that's what you really need. And then I'm always asking to my coaches to help me get better. I make them questions. And I'm always in a search for getting better because it's so easy to just get confident with what you have. doesn't know me. If I'm running 13 miles, I put up to 14, and then I go to 15, and I'm always going up, up,

because it's easy to get comfy in the same place. I'm never comfy. I'm always, I'm always started, and I always know I'm putting in the good work, and that goes with the hand and with the recovery, too. My recovery is great, too. I use a lot of tools that help me recover, and I just make them, I can keep up with my training because I'm going to push myself hard-gillard any other day, they follow with day.

There's a science to it, right? There is it. You need to make questions. You need to do research. That's why I have a nutritionist. That's why I have a boxing coach. I have a kickboxing coach. I have a Uy-Gyte coach, a wrestling coach.

I have a mind coach. And I have one guy for every single area, and they do a great job. I love the work they do for me, and we have all we have great relationships. So it's all about that. It's all about just finding the best around you to become the best. And it's been working so far so good. Really looking forward to this fight. Last thing before you let you go, I don't want to keep you too much from your family.

But did you have a chance to watch Mike Tyson versus Roy Jones on Saturday night? And if so, what did you think of it? That was awful. But good for them, good money. That was awful. But I heard they're making a big check. and it was for the charity, so good for the whole cast, but this is not a sport for all people.

We all know that. I respect their legs. I'm a fan of them. Of course, I'm not a really boxing fan, so I'm not like, I'm not going to fake. I don't even know who they fought. I just probably don't want to one or two fights ahead, but I'm an MMA guy, but, you know, that wasn't,

that wasn't a good fight. That was a good, that was a good sparring session, but it would be good at it. But for what? here the charity thing and I'm sure people get the help for that that that's a novel cause so I respect and I appreciate that the fire went out how did you react to the draw like did it surprise you at all really from from already on this start I understand I don't think I'm making this up but I I thought

when you do both guys so like actually I thought I thought Tyson did a little more in my eyes he could win the decision, but when you do an exhibition match, there's a winner. It's an exhibition match. It's two minute rounds. Two minutes. The greatest box is a minute's 40, 60, you know,

I don't know, every minute on a day, but that was funny. But again, good for them. They make a lot of money. Well, sad. Well, Marley, I appreciate the time, man. I'm very excited you're getting a fight of this caliber to wrap up the year. And it's been an interesting year for us all.

in a very good year for you, despite how it began, and where we're at right now. So wish you all the best, man. Good luck in the rest of training, and best of luck on December 19th against Jose Aldo. I appreciate you, brother. Thanks for everything. Absolutely. Good talking to you again. With Instacard, you get groceries that over-deliver so you can over-share your preferences. Want russet potatoes with no brown spots?

You got it. Want turnips that look light but feel heavy? Easy. Want honey-crisp apples that are firm green and definitely not Macintosh like last year when you lost the fall bake off to perfect Penelope Johnson. Okay, a bit TMI, but we're here for it. So download the app today and get

zero delivery fees on your first three orders. Instacard, groceries that over deliver. Service fees exclusions in terms apply. There he is. Marlon Cheeto Vera. Always appreciate his time. What a personality he is. What a year it has been for him. And

it's going to be a really interesting 20-21. If he can get a win over Josie Al that'll be unbelievable. And one of the things I really enjoy about this job is it is always great to talk to the fighters about fighting and they're in their element. Sometimes you get fighters while they're in their gym after practice or something. But I always enjoy when they are kind of being regular guys and gals, like doing everyday things outside of fighting. Like Marlon Vera, he has this huge fight. You would think he's in the gym training.

And honestly, I'm surprised they even got the opportunity to interview him because it's such a big fight. But he's out driving around with his wife, picking. up as kids at school. I love that stuff. I love that stuff. It's just really great. And I really love that fight on December 19th. Should be a good one at 135 pounds. Speaking of parents in MMA and the Vera last name, of course, joining the show for the first time is Brandon Vera, the one heavyweight champion. I will, I will say ahead of time, there's not a lot of different camera angles in this conversation. Like normally go from like the split screen shot to like the single shot. In fact, I don't think there's any transitions at all.

So I hope you guys are cool with that. Because we did this chat on Zoom. I'm still trying to work out the intricacies of Zoom because the quality, especially like with the video, it's just not as good as Skype. Skype is my go-to. There's other things that we use as well. Zoom obviously is a very popular thing in 2020 with the pandemic.

But I'm still learning it. Sometimes the quality isn't great, especially if you zoom in on Zoom. I'm done saying Zoom. But listen, you don't really care about the technical. crap it just is what it is this is a great interview though really enjoyed it with the one heavyweight champ brandon vera all right we have the reigning defending one championship heavyweight champ brandon the truth vera on the program you can catch him hopefully defending his title soon but in the

meantime you'll be able to catch him on the apprentice one championship edition in the near future brandon how are you sir i'm very very good how are you doing i'm doing great so one thing i wanted to touch on right after bat, I saw a few months back that you became a father. Congratulations to you and the family. And the way you described it, those first moments of seeing your child coming into the world, it brought me back around seven years or so when my son was born. I had the same exact reaction you had. There's just no better feeling on earth than that, right? That's very cool. Thank you very much. I'm smiling so big, yeah, man. Like, it's, I don't know how to describe it, man. Like, yeah, it's, it's just, man, if you can, you have to experience it.

If you can, you have to. It's, it's amazing, man. Congratulations on your baby seven years ago. I know, it's crazy, right? Wow. I know. He was yelling and screaming at me this morning before I took him to school, so I have to, I have to remember those nicer days where, you know what I mean? At some point, but how have you, how have you been enjoying fatherhood thus far? I love it. I love hanging out with him. I love all of it. I don't like changing poopy pamper's. Nobody does. That's part of the gig. Other than that man, he's shit, man. He is awesome. Like we lose hours just hanging out with him. Like just listening to him talk, watching what he's doing. I'm like, man, I should be doing something

else. No, I don't really have to be doing anything else right now, I suppose. And we just lose time with him, hanging out with him. It's really, really cool. It's the best, man. It's the best. It's a good sleeper? Dude, he just, so he started becoming a good sleeper. Then he went through this little thing for two weeks where he wasn't. And now he's sleeping again, like six to eight hours through the night now again. Wow. Crazy. So yeah, he's a good sleeper. Yeah, he's just going through, I guess, you know, they go through different patterns. Yeah. Yeah, the teething and then there's the growing pain.

Oh, God bless you. Just all sorts of fun stuff to look forward to. But congratulations to that to you, of course. But this has just been a wild year overall. So in a wild year, that was obviously a great blessing. But like we said at the top, you're going to be a part of the Apprentice One Championship edition along with names, such as to name a few, Demetrius Johnson, Ben Ascran, George St. Pierre, and many other.

I know you've been doing some filming already. How have you been enjoying it? And are you able to discuss your role on the program? So I'm pretty sure I can tell you guys. I am a mentor slash coach on the program. I don't think I can talk much more about that other than the challenges are awesome. The questions that they ask and have to answer are awesome. Man, I learned a lot being on that show.

filming was a breeze it was the film crew in Singapore the one the one championship edition for the apprentice those guys are class a the contestants they're all cool and they all have their own quirky little thing about them man it's I don't know how to explain it it was fun it was really really fun I'm glad I got to be a part of that I can't believe the blethora of superstars they had guesting on the show and doing that. So it was really cool to see. And it's really cool to see maybe normal people, I guess you could say, working through the physical aspect before they have to go do the mental aspect.

That's cool. That's really, really cool. So I'm really excited to watch this one championship edition of the Appropriationship Edition of the apprentice. Did you think when you when you got into the sport and started evolving in your career that someday in in 2020 or sometime in your career you'd be you'd be part you'd be mentoring in a reality show that's like not just about MMA but the business world and all sorts of other stuff like that? I know short answer no what what do what yeah it's none of this Yeah, none of this made sense.

None of this mathematically made sense. You're not supposed to do this and end up here over here, but things have changed, times have changed. And I guess Dwayne the Rock Johnson, he was the first one to do it big from the sports world moving into the entertainment industry, you know? So I guess a lot of people have got to follow him. And there's a lot more opportunities now.

You need action heroes. you don't have to go train nobody. You don't have to fake anything. They have action heroes all over the place, ready to go jump off buildings and do fight scenes in two takes instead of 80. You know, it's really cool. The whole world's leveling up, and it's nice to be able to have these different opportunities, you know.

Thank you, one championship. Thank you very much. You will take it. Speaking of one and speaking of your fighting career, we haven't seen you compete since the lost to Angla, a little over a year ago. You were scheduled to face Arjun Bueller in May I believe before that event was canceled

due to the pandemic. And you know, you've obviously had a lot of things going on this year with the apprentice, becoming a dad at all. And you fought like once a year or so for the last several years. So how has Brandon Vera,

the fighter, the heavyweight champion, how have you dealt with this crazy year? You know, um, so after the loss to champ, um, I was going to be competing two times a year. That's what I want to do.

Pandemic hit, the world went upside down. So really, the world has been just moving at my pace. Instead of me competing twice this year, I'll just be doing one this year. You know, again, like it'll be a year and a half, I believe, when we finally get back in. But it's my normal pace. This is what I've been doing anyways, my entire career. So I'm on track for how I've been doing. I just want to be more active and finishing up. I want to go ahead and burn the candle at both ends

and get them all in now, especially with all the recent signings for one championship. I know there's a lot of guys chomping at the bit to get in there with me, and I want to make it happen. So, you know, but can I really complain about anything for all the stuff that's happened in the world and people that have lost everything

from their life savings to their houses to the families to some people their lives you know i i have no right to complain or bitch and moan about anything so i just take it in stride stay in shape we stay sharpening the sword and we stay stay ready to get ready my next match will be with mr arjohn buller we are competing we already had the contract signed a date scheduled ready to go before all this hit and i'm hoping and expecting to fight uh first quarter of the year 21. I have a movie to finish in the Philippines and I have some endorsement stuff to finish up still that we were actually shooting and got the call of the lockdown while we are on set. Oh, really?

Yeah, so we're in, we still have a bunch of stuff to finish that the world stopped. So everybody's excited to see me compete and get back in and I love it. I still have stuff to finish. You know, my timeline didn't change just because the world's timeline changed. And it's a hard balance. So we have to make sure that everything is like this. Being a dad, though, that I don't think I have to balance that. He just is with me all the time.

So it's okay. At the gym, in the gym, wherever. He's just there with me. So it's cool. That's awesome. So the first quarter you're thinking? I think March April. March April is what I'm thinking just because

we have to finish that movie, man. I have to finish that damn movie. What movie is it? Can you talk about it? Man. So the movie is about a virus. What? Yeah.

Yeah, man. What the hell? Oh, man. Do you have a lot left to finish? you know more probably you probably have so much you know so much knowledge with it now you could probably just walk in there and just knock it out of the park you know it's a it's an action movie so we had before the shutdown we had probably like six days left to film but now because we've had time they got to add more stuff the trailer looks amazing like I cannot wait to see

the movie myself just as a fan like I'm just watching like that's me I'm just watching the action scenes and like it's a zombie movie that starts from a virus so I'm excited to film it. It was six days left, but now with everything that's happening, they got to write more. It's probably going to be like 10 days, 15 days left to film. So I'm just excited to get started and finish that project still again. Right.

You mentioned some interesting additions to the roster. Tom de Blas, Amir, Ali Akbari, makes his one debut on Friday. Marcus Almeida, he's signed as well. So for people like me, you say Marcus Almeida, I had no idea who Marcus Almeida was until somebody off on the side said, hey, that's but Checha. Oh, my God. That's how much of a fan boy I am of his. You know, I don't even know his real name.

I just know Bucetia. That's so funny. So that was been a great siding. And then immediately, Ali Akbari started calling for you right away. Like the ink hadn't even dried on his one contract yet. And already he's making social media images of you guys side by side, fight posters and such. You got to respect the gusto, right? Why?

Why not? Shooting for the stars. Yeah, let him shoot. He hasn't got here yet. He's not even on the ground yet. Get your first one in, get your feet wet. then I'll hang out with you. Bro, you better respect the heavy weights of front of you.

Better stop worrying about me. This is one championship. This isn't some little other ranking organization that they hooked you up. You could get hooked up here and fall asleep. So make sure you paying attention who's in front of you first. So yeah, him calling me out and wanting to do all that stuff.

It's like Connor to me again. Sounds like Connor all over again. bro, just do what you have to do first. And now we're going to meet up. If you're that good, we're going to meet up. I promise we're going to meet up. It's what's interesting about, like, kind of the spot he's in, because, like you said, with Kahn,

like if you go out there and you talk that greasiness and you back it up, you can become a star very quickly in this sport. But if you go out there and talk the greases and lose or get stopped, fans like to play the point-in-haha game. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Our fans love us and hate us at the same time. It's part of the game, but you know, when you claim to be the biggest alpha, the best alpha in the world, and you're the best warrior in the world, that's what they expect that day, you know? I get it. That's part of the gig. That's what we signed up for. It's not just the good days. You got to take all the bad days with it. So, man, I'm excited for all of the matches coming up. Like, I'm really, really excited.

And he just happens to be one of them. I think I was playing a game, and I think I ranked him number two in the division under Arjohn. So, man, if you're that good, we'll meet each other anyways. But he's got to get that, he's got to get that first one out of the way. He's got to win on Friday, right? That first one out of the way, stop worry about me. Don't worry about what's in front of you. I mean, look at a, like, look at a guy like Jake Paul, right?

YouTuber, running his mouth, Colin O'Connor, Colin O'Brien, Conno Floyd, Ben Ascran, Mazvidal, all these folks, and people want to see him lose. And then he goes out there and flatlines Nate Robinson, which, listen,

it isn't the, it is what it is, but everybody's talking about him. Did you watch that on Saturday, by the way? Yeah, I saw it. Just, whoever is sanctioning that fight for Jake Paul, they need to get in trouble.

Because those aren't professional athletes, you know, big hits. Like, doesn't make sense to me. Like, that's not a professional sport, but they're treating it like one. So if they're going to treat it like one, you need to be competing against some professional than Mr. Jake Paul and find out what it's really like. I have my own opinions of that guy anyways of that kid. It is what it is. It's entertainment, you know, it's all entertainment. So I'm glad that he's doing what he's doing, but be careful what you ask for. That's my advice for everybody. Be careful what you ask.

for it. Yeah. What did you think of, uh, of Tyson Jones? I, I thought it was a lot of fun, man. I enjoyed it. I thought, I thought it was so, I thought it was so cool, man. It was like watching, it was like watching a masterclass on boxing. And, you know, everybody was talking shit about Roy Jones Jr. Sorry, I'm cussing, Roy Jones, Jr. being tired after the second round. Like, come on, man. Even if he was tired of him, second round, he still would beat 99.99% of y'all into the ground. And with that happening, it was beautiful to watch both of the athletes do their thing. Like, Roy, Mr. Jones Jr. got, he still hit Tyson with a no-look jab. He got to move around a lot. He got to make Tyson miss.

He tied him up a lot. And then missed the Mike Tyson. Still doing it. Man. So this is a no-knockout event, you know, which I think makes a lot of sense. Those guys are, those guys have proven themselves. Like, what's it called the Legends League? I would love to see something like that. Those guys have proven themselves. They don't need to be tough no more. But the techniques that those guys can show and the styles and the footwork and the

head movement and the fancy stuff they can do during the exhibition about, Tyson showed the world that he can still do Tyson. Who, who, who, who, who. and then he was doing the reverse the reverse hook angle on both sides i was like oh my god man this guy kills somebody i think it was a boxing match mr roy jones is definitely unprepared for that if that would have been a fight Tyson would have knocked him out i think but to see both of them be able to work and move and do their thing it was it was a blessing you know it was a blessing for for us old school heads who've been watching them since back in the day before they retired and then

it's a blessing for the new kids on the block who have no idea what real boxing is. Yeah, I mean, you definitely got flashbacks. You know what I mean? Like going back and watching like some of those old training videos with coups and stuff, man. Throwing those hooks. It was just

gnarly to go in there watching. I don't know. Like, I think everyone's expectations were so all over the place that it was just so fun to watch. Like I didn't care that it was a draw at the end of the day. I didn't care about any of that. There was guys who got to go in there move around. And I think, I think, Brandon, that that Mike Tyson that we saw on Saturday

beats the Mike Tyson from 2005. I think he's better. More cares more. I don't know. I can agree with that. I'm not going to say physically. Like, if you took that young as Mike Tyson, oh my God. Oh, the guy for you. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. But yeah, I think emotionally, mentally, spiritually, spiritually, and I think this Mike Tyson is way more mature and would have kept the world as his oyster as opposed to younger Tyson who was still fighting his way, you know, who still becoming that man. So it was good to see. It was really cool. And for me, like, I didn't expect a fight. I just expected a show. And it was a good show. People got hit. They were getting lit up still once in a while. It would be a good job.

have come through a good box i remember uh tyson got one in and was like oh yeah that was a good one in the seventh round i think landed right to the body yeah yeah you can hear the thumps yeah it was good they were still giving it to each other you know it's sorry it's like hard sparring so it was really really cool both of them got to show off it was cool both of them got to do their thing still yeah it was a lot of fun i really enjoyed it did you did you enjoy snoop on the on the desk? I didn't see Snoop on the desk, actually. I only saw the fight from round one to round eight.

Jake Paul, I saw the last round on his clip. So I didn't see Snoop on the desk at all. I didn't see anything. You didn't hear him at all? No, sir. I did not. Oh, good for you, man. Listen, I liked him in the Jake Paul, Nate Robinson fight,

I thought it was fine. Like you were in there, you did your thing. Like him on the contender series hated it. Could not stand. It was terrible. Him in that spot made sense. Like in a celebrity boxing match, Jake Paul versus a day, Rob's the perfect.

Then he performed for like 14 minutes. Like all of his hits. It just seemed like it was just forever and ever. Yeah, it was crazy. And then he joins Maro, Sugar Ray and Israel out of Sanya in the, in the booth. And he's calling the main event too. Like I was just.

I was snooped out at that point. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. Like his show. He's trying to be like the new Ryan C. Cress. Yeah, that's a lot of snoop, man. That's a lot. It's a lot of snoop.

Whoa. It's a lot, man. It's not even a movie. It's just a show. It's a sporting event. Oh, man. I wanted to get your take on something before we let you go. I appreciate you give me so much time.

We're just shooting the breeze here. I saw, I'm sure you've seen it as well. An old opponent of yours is making the move up to the heavyweight division. John Jones vacated a light heavyweight title. Now he's focused on this new challenge. What are your thoughts on that? And how do you think he stacks up against the steep A's, the Ingannus, maybe the Brandon Verres of the world in 2020, 2021?

I think that if John Jones puts his mind together and gets his, his, man, I guess really just his brain gets his mind right. He could still be a force to wreck him with. He's always dangerous inside the inside of the circle or wherever he's fighting, the octagon. But man, he just can't stop being John Jones. And that's the problem, you know. He could do so much more for the world if he could do. figure that part out and that kind of it makes me sad about him man because this this kid man he can do he could do so much for the world if you would just stop being that guy i don't even know how to say it you know like he's just being that guy him moving up to heavyweight is is definitely a cool

cool thing. I would absolutely love to do a super fight and heavy weight. I would absolutely love that. I welcome it. He's faster than the guys at heavyweight. But

heavy weights hit a little bit different. When they win, when they hit you, even if you block, even if you move out the way, even if you take some off. things just a little bit more. Oh, heavy weights are slow. Okay, they're slow until they touch you one time.

Then you slow down. Then they touch you again. Oh, you slow down again. So I think it's going to be a good move for him. Entertaining for the fans, for sure. If he can keep it together. Yeah. I think one thing we sort of learned from Mike Tyson through this whole thing is that

it's never too late. It's never too late to get it together. because that man has gone through so much in his life and like even just physically and emotionally too over the last probably like five or six years and just to see like the physical and mental shape he got himself in to prepare himself with this fight it was outstanding yeah man you know it's never ever too late and man what's your excuse it's it's mike tyson man fucking mike tyson your life was not as hard as this guys you didn't go through all the the bullshit and he went through. You didn't have somebody rob you at the point, the peak of your career. You didn't have

people trying to fight you for lawsuits. Like, dude, your life is nowhere near as hard. That's what that guy went through. So, man, like you said, it is possible. You can get it back together. You just need to want to get it together. And maybe it's just too many yes men around that guy. I don't know if that's what it is. And I don't know, maybe it needs a new group of friends. It happens, you know? happens. I mean, it would be very interesting to see you and John fight over a decade later. That'd be fascinating. I would absolutely love.

I would love and welcome that, you know. He definitely taught me something that day. He taught me a lot about myself. I would love. I got goosebumps just thinking about that. What did he teach you? Like what sticks out? What kind of sticks out at the top of the list there?

Always be humble. Always. I remember when we were on our feet, we were dancing. He couldn't touch me on my feet. I remember just moving stuff out the way of pairing, just slipping out the way, and I remember the look of panic on his face. I'm telling you, Jones, you can tell you can tell the story how you want. I remember your eyes. I remember how you look.

And then he shot it and took me down. I was like, man, you're supposed to be this amazing stand-up guy. Why would you take me down? Like, man, this guy is horrible. And I remember I just booted him down. kicked them off me and stood back up. He was like, man, you can't even hold me on the ground. Man, this guy, so we start, I start dancing even more.

Like, oh, I'm gonna, we're gonna, who's gonna who's gonna whoop in this guy's ass, like I can, I start feeling, I start feeling myself on the feet, you know? But this guy that wants nothing to do with these, just moving away. It's supposed to be this, this, what I say, second coming of Jesus Christ and supposed to be really good at this,

come on man, let's do this. And they took me down again. And I remember thinking like, this guy, listen while I'm on my back this guy's trying to work on top of me and I'm just pumbling with him like this guy everybody thinks that this guy's that good he throws an elbow I move out the way

like come on man and in my head I said man this guy fucking and right when I got the first S out what? That's when he elbowed me on my face and broke my face and I grab my face and turn my face

and turn the belly down and I remember thinking like what the the hell was that? I was sitting there holding my face. And I'd never felt nothing like that before. Even to this day, like all the injuries and all the surgery and stuff, never had no pain like that before.

It wasn't an orbital fracture. It was a tripod fracture. So my face broke here, here, and here. Like this whole bone caved in. And as I'm holding my face and I'm like thinking, what the hell was that? Next thought was, That's what you get.

That's what you get, asshole. That's what you get for being so cocky. That's what you get for talking shit during a fight. That's what you get for thinking too much of yourself. So thanks, Mr. Jones. That's something I definitely learned and never ever forgotten to this day. So I take that with me all the time. You know, no matter how the match is going,

in less than a second, it can go the other way. It can go the other way mid thought, man. You gave me chills just like you tell him that story. It was just wild to get your side of that. Because I think this is the first time you and I have chatted. And I got to tell you, this will not be the last thing. Because I have enjoyed this very much. But before we get to John Jones' superfights or anything like that,

our John Bueller is first. Hopefully we see back that happened, you know, March, April like it gets planned sooner rather than later. I think everyone wants to see it at this point. But again, congrats on fatherhood. Brandon, happy holidays. All the best to you and the family, man. I appreciate the time today.

Thank you very much. Merry Christmas. You guys stay awesome. I'll talk to you guys again soon. Good having Brandon Vera on the show. Big shout out to one for making that happen. But seriously, the stuff with John Jones and about John Jones was amazing. Like hearing him go through that fight from over a decade ago, just step by step,

the trash talk, the build up to that fight. Because the build to that fight was absolutely insane. It was nuts. Like go back in time, whether it's on ESPN Plus or fight pass, try to find that one. Jones versus Vera from UFC on versus one. Such a wild buildup. Brennan Vera is like on another level there.

And then in the fight too, like everything he talked about in the fight and just how much that loss changed him and the elbow that he took from John Jones that basically changed the path of his career and how he approached fights. It's just really so fascinating. Just amazing stuff from Brandon Vera. He expects his next title defense against Arjun Boular to go down first quarter

2021, March or April. And that should be a really fun fight for the one heavyweight strap. We do have one more interview to get to, but at this point we're going to wrap up the, I guess, kind of segmented portion of the program. First off, the usual shout out to all of you crazy MMA fans who check this program out every week, whether it be on YouTube or on the podcast network, it just, it just means a lot. A lot of you are shouting from the rooftops. Let's get those numbers up. Let's get those numbers up. I appreciate that. Share it. Let the peeps know. I feel like we're doing a hell of a job here.

We're all doing it together. We're 36 episodes in. And it seems like just yesterday. We did episode one from my old office upstairs. There's just, we had the big desk, the camera, and then we had like the entire room behind me with like two posters. There's just kind of a weird setup. But you guys stuck with it. Your comments were read. We got Command Center 2.0 set up. Still work in progress. Background, kind of cool.

I know some of you have questions about the cards in the background. It's really cool. One day I'll show you guys what those are, but it really is pretty cool to see. These are boxing cards. They're like tobacco cards. Like if you bought a pack of cigarettes in the 1930s,

you would get these cards. And these are like full sets. Ones from 1930. I think they're both from 1938, but some of the legend the OGs of the boxing game are all over it. But one of these days I'll go back and check that out. But I'm rambling here.

Anyways, thank you all. Big thank you to the birthday boy, Jose Youngs. Make sure you wish him a happy belated birthday on social media. And of course, Alex Savas for their help on the graphics and be bugging them each and every day for different things. Can you do this? Can you do this? And they never bat an eye and means a lot.

But in the meantime, we will leave you with my chat with the number 15th ranked flyway contender in the UFC. She's going to take on Talia Santos this Saturday at UFC Vegas 15. Montana de la Rosa will join us as we say goodbye. Have a heck of a week, everybody. All right, we have Montana de la Rosa joining the program. She returns to action this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 16, and we'll face Talia Santos at the apex in Las Vegas. Montana, how are you?

I'm doing great. Can't wait for this weekend. It should be a very entertaining card. Thank you for doing this so close to the fight, by the way. I appreciate it. off, how was Thanksgiving? I'm sure you weren't able to partake in the festivities as much as you maybe would in previous years, but it's always nice to reflect and spend time with family. How did you enjoy the holiday? Yeah, I just had my sister come down and kind of went to my parents'

house, ate a little bit of turkey, nothing else. But yeah, it was fun hanging out with them and just being around my daughter and family. And it's always good to get together with my family. Absolutely, especially this year where it's so hard to travel and get together. with anybody right now right yeah a lot of people are going through it i'm i'm glad i'm able to have my family here absolutely so we confirmed you were taking this fight around 11 or so days ago as we record right now when did you know that this fight was a thing and that then pen went to paper um they told me about three weeks ago so i had a good three week camp um yeah they they announced it really late it was kind of weird but i was like itching to announce it but i had to wait till they

like officially announced it. Oh, interesting. Okay. Yeah, sometimes they do that. Normally we get the stuff out right away, but but here we are. So it wasn't, so it wasn't like a super short training camp, not as not what you would probably like or would would rather go with, but still, it's more than like, than maybe we thought it was. Yeah, and I was training already really hard. I was actually hoping to get a fight like early December. So I was, I was glad when they gave it to me. I immediately said yes. So we last saw you compete a couple of months ago. You took on, Viviani Araujo and, you know, the fight didn't go your way, but you showed a lot of toughness in that fight. So I guess silver lining-wise, what were you able to take from that fight despite

being on the wrong side of the decision? It's just always good getting in there with high-level girls like that. She was super tough. It probably was one of the hardest hitters that I've ever gone against. She hit super hard. And I was able to strike with her the whole time. I really wanted to show my striking in that fight. So I feel like I was able to do that and just get better and learn from it. Yeah, I was going to say, because, I mean, you definitely showed a lot of improvement in that aspect. You seem to have a lot more confidence in your stand-up and you had your moments in the fight. You were landing some hard shots of your own. Is it just a comfort thing for you? Because it did seem like, you know, you were evolving in the striking game.

You wanted to show it, but you seemed a lot more comfortable in there on your feet than maybe you were in your previous fights. Yeah, just getting more and more confidence in the cage. I was doing like a lot of, working on my mind and trying to just trying to be super confident in there like I am during training. Like it's always hard to get that out of me when I'm actually in in the cage because it's just so so different being in that cage in front of all those people. So I think just working on my mind and stuff really helps me bring out the confidence and helps me showcase my skills better. What sort of things did you do specifically to help work on your mind and improve that aspect? Um, just lately working a lot with my coach, uh, Elliot Marshall and just journaling and

reading books and yeah, all that. Reading books? What kind of, what kind of books? Um, just like, uh, audio books, you know, mindset books. So you feel like you're in a much better place now that you've been able to, to write your thoughts down and then listen to some different things as well? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I feel a lot. more confident getting into the cage now. So you started off the year with the win over Mara Borella and then COVID struck and it's just

been kind of a world wind since then. Like even like this fight, you found out three weeks ago that you're getting a fight at the end of the year. Three fights at a year struck by a pandemic. Did you think back in March that we'd even be having that conversation? Yeah. I mean, well, I guess everyone kind of thought that the pandemic would be a lot quicker. Like I thought we'd be over it by the time like August came.

but it just kept lingering on and lingering on, but I'm really glad the UFC is still putting on the fights because, I mean, that's how we make our money. So, I mean, I'm just grateful for that because I know a lot of people couldn't make money during the shutdown, and I was able to get three fights this year. So it's been a really good year for me. So you're going to face Talia Santos on Saturday,

her third UFC fight. She had the loss Tamara in her first fight, but she bounced back with a really nice win over Molly McCann on Fight Island. And that was one that certainly surprised them, folks, not just because she won the fight, but many people thought if this fight went to the ground, this is Molly McCann's world, and it turned out that wasn't the case at all. How do you like this matchup from a stylistic perspective, especially after what we saw

and her win over Molly McCann? Yeah, I mean, she was able to show how good she is everywhere, really. I'm just excited to get in there and showcase my skills. And yeah, I just think it's a really good matchup. I mean, yeah, she's no slouch anywhere, so it'll be a good night. You mentioned Elliott Marshall. I know you spent a lot of your last camp with Elevation Fight Team. Six or so weeks or so you spent out there a little more difficult to put together this time around,

I would assume with the short notice. But how have you sort of navigated the waters for this particular camp? So I was going to go up to Colorado, but Elevation Fight Team had a whole bunch of COVID cases. Like they were just popping up everywhere. So he's like, you know what? Stay home. Stay with your coaches. And I was just Zoom calling him like every day.

And we were just like going over a game plan. and just he was just has been a really big help for the whole camp even not being in the same state as him so i've been working with eric sands my wrestling coach and that's been going really good and i always had my husband here mark del rosa and then yeah just having him to be able to zoom call me and go over game plan and stuff that's been great when did you start working with elevation um so i was i think i started going out there in the summer so around like June and I went for a few weeks and then I went another couple weeks and then I decided to have my fight camp there when my fight was announced so I got a good seven weeks there before my last fight

was that always kind of the plan or like the first trip did you go out there and just be like let me just see what this like it's a little bit different and then it just kind of grew on you yeah I just kind of wanted to fill it out see if I clicked with the coaches and see how the training partners were and stuff Shonda Dobson had a lot of great things to say about you Before her last fight She said that she worked with you extensively And getting to work with you And taking punches and being worked on the ground Really helped her

And her win over Maria Agapov And we saw what that did for her And kind of launched her in a different way People got to see how good she really was How fun was that to work with her And then to watch her have a win like that Oh, it was awesome I don't think I've ever been like more excited for somebody

Like I was so happy when she got that win Yeah, I've been working with her. I've known her for a while now since I started fighting, and she was down here in Texas, and then we were actually on the Ultimate Fighter together, and then she's kind of how I got clicked up with elevation, because I messaged her, and I'm like, where are you training out these days?

And she told me about them, and I decided to go over there and try it with her. I saw on your Instagram a photo of you and Lauren Murphy, and I know Lauren can be pretty active on social media. She's all over your posts, shouting you out and giving you some good vibes. How great has that been to work with her, especially with the tear that she's been on?

Oh, yeah. She's like about to get a title shot. So just having her come and spar me has been amazing. Like if I can hang with her and we're getting good rounds in the cage, then I mean, I'm going to be confident to go with anyone in my division. Yeah, she's an interesting case because she is like the definition of adversity because she was at 135.

She overcame some really tough controversial decisions. which a lot of people thought went her way. She had her ups and downs, but now she's finally, like, found her groove. She's in Texas now back with her old team, and things are really clicking like right now. So being able to pick her brain, not just about fighting, but just about, like, life itself. How beneficial has that been for you? Oh, yeah. She has, like, a great mindset all the time.

Like, she is super tough. She's just great to be around. She's always positive. And, yeah, I just couldn't be more grateful to have her, like, come help me. And what a good time to be in this division because there is a lot of interest in it right now with Valentina. And then there's multiple people like Lauren, like Jessica and Gerage. They're both right there in the title picture. And then you get Cynthia Calvio there and Caitlin Chacon.

And it just seems like 125 is as interesting as it has ever been. Have you noticed that as well? And if so, how excited does that make you for your fighting future in this division? Oh, yeah. I mean, I just want to keep getting there and getting in there and getting the wins. I mean, I'm not looking too far forward into, like, title or anything, but I just want to keep getting in there and getting my wins and just see where it takes me. Well, you have a chance to get another win on Saturday,

the number 15th ranked fighter in the world taking on Talia Santos, who would love nothing more than to put that number next to her name. So how do you get this thing done on Saturday? How does this all play out Saturday night in Las Vegas? I'm going to go in there and be super aggressive and just do my best to get my hand at the end. We're going to see more of that stand-up game? Yeah, you'll see. Very well-rounded. There we go. There we go. Well, I appreciate the time very much. When are you heading out tomorrow? Yep, tomorrow morning. There you go. Well, I wish you nothing

but the best. Thank you for the time. Anything else you want to get off your chest before you say goodbye? No, I don't think so. Okay. Well, thank you about it. I appreciate it. All right. Thank you. Thank you.