MMA Fighting - What the Heck: Episode 41 | Stephen Thompson, Casey Kenney, Tristan Connelly & Lerone Murphy

Episode Date: January 12, 2021

This week on What the Heck, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck speaks with Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (4:57) to recap his win over Geoff Neal in the main event of UFC Vegas 17, and get an update on the apparent leg injury he suffered in the bout. Casey Kenney (26:12) previews his bantamweight showdown with former champion Dominick Cruz at UFC 259 on March 6. Tristan Connelly (43:16) gives an update on what life has been like since his 2019 upset debut win over Michel Pereira at UFC Vancouver and when we can expect to see him compete again. Finally, Lerone Murphy (1:13:42) previews his UFC Fight Island 8 featherweight matchup with Douglas Andrade on Jan. 20. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is What the Heck with Mike Heck on MMAFiting.com. Now, here is your host, Mike Heck. What the heck? Well, hello there, everybody, and welcome to a brand new edition of What the Heck here on MMAFighting.com. It is Tuesday, January 12th, 2021, as we have embarked on a new era in the short history of the program. As you may know, this show. has dropped on Thursday since the very beginning back in April of 2020.

And we decided to make a switch sooner rather than later. So here we are. Two shows in five days, eight interviews for your viewing pleasure. We do have another interview in the can as well, a fight island participant, a little bonus chat ahead of Abu Dhabi, the return of fights for the UFC. But I'm excited about the switch. And with that, between the links moves to Thursdays beginning this week. So stay tuned for that.

Got some fun things planned for BTL. But for those who have been missing UFC action, the wait is over this Saturday as the promotion is back in Abu Dhabi, back on Fight Island, UFC Fight Island 7, which will also be the debut event for the UFC on ABC. That one is headlined by Max Holloway versus Calvin Cater, and good gravy, is that an amazing fight? I've been talking all about it for quite some time.

I'm very excited for it. We did speak with Calvin Cater already. You can go back into the archives and check out that chat, which a lot of you did already, which is much appreciated. But that is a pretty damn good card. And then four days later, we have UFC Fight Island 8, a nice early morning start time. 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time for the prelims, noon Eastern Standard Time for the May card. That event, headlined by Michael Kiesa versus Neil Magni.

Definitely the under the radar card of the trifecta. Although, if you really take a look at it and look at it, and look at some of the matchmaking, some sneaky good fights on that card. And of course, the main event is a really good one between Kiesin-Magny, fascinating fight for a division that needs some movement up the top.

And then, of course, how can we not mention UFC 257, January 23rd, headlined by the big one between Dustin Porier and Connor McGregor, a rematch more than six years in the making. But there's a lot of fun fights on the horizon. We'll talk a little bit about that on the program. But let us run down the lineup,

and we'll say hello to our first guest on this first Tuesday edition of what the heck. Rapping up this week is one of the UFC featherweight divisions bright, up-and-coming prospects. The unbeaten Lerone Murphy will join us. He will be competing on Fight Island on that Wednesday, January 20th event against Douglas Andrage. That is a crazy fight. One of the under-the-radar bouts for sure on Fight Island. Lorone looked phenomenal in his last fight against Ricardo Hamos in July.

Excited to check in with The Miracle, which, by you. the way, if you have followed this man's career, you know that the miracle is a, is a pretty perfect nickname, no doubt about that. A lot of people have been asking me where Tristan Connolly has been. When is he fighting again? Why haven't we seen him since he came out of nowhere and beat Michelle Beheada in Vancouver? Well, a lot has happened with the boondock, and it seems as if the worst of that is behind him and he's ready to come back and compete to the Octagon, but you're going to hear that crazy story a little bit later on rather than, you know, figure out and answer the question.

Might as well bring the man on. He can explain it himself, and it's pretty crazy. He'll join us in a little bit. As the great John Anick has called him over the last several months, Mr. October, Casey Kenney is going to join us in around 20 or so minutes because he has himself booked in the biggest fight of his career on March 6 at UFC 259. He's going to be taking on the former longtime UFC Bannamway champion, Dominic Cruz. that whole event is absolutely ridiculous.

Three title fights. We got Blahovic versus Adasania. We got Nunes versus Anderson. We found out late last week that Piotr Yon's first title offense against Al Jemaine Sterling. That will take place on that card as well. What an event that is shaping up to be. And Casey Kenney is a massive opportunity to become a major player in one of the UFC's deepest divisions. We will get his thoughts on that fight and that opportunity momentarily.

But first, it has been a minute. Since we have chatted with the great Stephen Thompson, he defeated Jeff Neal in a pretty outstanding performance, pitched a shutout to put a bow on 2020 on December 19th, the UFC Vegas 17. He seemed to have had an issue with his knee in the latter stage of that fight. So let us get an update on the injury and on the life and career of Wonderboy himself right now kicking us off on what the heck. All right, as we have jumped into this new year with hopefully some,

some good vibes. I thought it was a good sign that the last man to get his hand raised in the Octagon in 2020 was the nicest MF for champion and outstanding shoutout performance against Jeff Neal at UFC Vegas 17. Let us say hello for the first time in 2021 to Stephen Wonderboy Thompson. How are you, man? Doing good, my friend, doing good. Glad to be on with you, my friend, glad to be on with you. Love to chat with you. It's always a good time. Absolutely. So I want to start with this TikTok video that is made the round, Stephen. Good Lord, that is hilarious with the new boot goofin from Reno 911. Absolutely classic, my man. This video is all over the place. Did you expect this thing to blow up the way that it has? I really didn't, to be honest with you.

You know, for New Year's, my street-the-conditioning coach had like a cowboy-themed, like, New Year's party, and my leg was still swollen and it didn't fit any of my jeans, so I cut him off. You know, I did like the, just the cut off jeans. Of course, I have my, my ostrich skin boots on. So I thought, what better, you know, way to go about this by doing a TikTok video of Reno 911, Reno 911 video, you know, of him coming out in the new boots, right? So just doing it for fun. I didn't really think it was going to blow up like it did. People were loving it. When it comes to, like, classic TV shows that are underappreciated, Reno 911 is in like the top five. Is it not?

Oh, yeah, 100%. I mean, I actually started watching the, the Reno 911 one again, started all the way back over from doing the TikTok video because I love it so much. You guys are hilarious. Love it. Who actually recorded the video?

My girlfriend actually, Carrie, she did the video. And she was spot on. I mean, video credits to her because it was perfect. You know, she told me when to jump out there because you had to, you know, go in and, you know, talk as if you're, you're talking, right? Because it's dubbed. So it was perfect. She did a good job. Was she cracking up like the entire time? The whole time. We had to do several takes, several takes.

That's earlier said. Great, great stuff. It was a great show. That was a great show on TikTok, but you also put on a great show on December 19th against Jeff Neal. First and only fight of 2020. And you got your money's worth, man, 25 minutes. How did it feel to just get back in there and compete? Because it looked like you were having a blast in there. Oh, it was awesome. man. It was really good. I mean, being out for a year, and obviously everybody knows why. Of course, broke my hands, you know, hurt my collarbone, COVID, all that stuff. But just to be able to go out there and do 25 minutes was just awesome. You know, being out for a year, you don't expect to be able to go out there and be able to do that. But, you know, like I was telling everybody, I stay in shape, you know, helping my teammates get ready for their fights, helped Chris Wybin get ready for his fight.

And when I do get ready for fights, even though it's a three round, I always do the championship rounds. I always do five-fives. So when I got the call to do, hey, you're a main event. You're going to do five rounds now. I'm like, let's go. I'm ready to go. So I was just excited. It's just a step back out there.

The end of 2020 and have my hand raised at the end against a tough opponent. Jeff Neal is super strong, super tough. And he's got a, you know, he's got a long road ahead of him. I know we're going to see him at the top. I mean, he's young. I mean, he's young and still improving. So I know we'll see him back out there again with his hand raised for sure. Yeah, I know the NMF title wasn't on the line.

But to me, this felt like an NMF title fight because you can't find two nicer guys in the sport. Like Jeff is such a nice guy. You're obviously such a nice guy. And Jeff is surging up and comer trying to take this next step while you're there defending your spot. And I know you really wanted that Leon Edwards fight. So when Jeff was offered to you after all of this, because obviously the Shamiya thing came about, how did you react to that? You know, I was game. I was definitely game.

Even though he's ranked significantly, you know, he's ranked number 11. And I felt like I had just fought the number 11 ranked guy and Vicente Lucke a year ago. So I'm like, man, I hope these guys weren't making me the gatekeeper. You know, that's kind of going through my head. But, you know, at the same time, I was in Jeff Neal's shoes, a Vicentee Lucas shoe not too long ago when, you know, Jake Gellemberger, who was ranked in the day. the top 10 gave me that shot. And then Johnny Hendricks gave me that shot. So to be able to kind of give back and give these up and cummings a shot at it,

I didn't mind it at all. You know, Jeff Neal is definitely an MF in my eyes because, you know, there was several times where I had fallen down and he actually gave me the opportunity to stand back up. You know, I had slipped. And for me, you know, there was a point where he fell and I let him back up, you know. there was a point where he had me up against the cage and his mouthpiece came out. I let him pick his mouthpiece up and get me back up against the cage.

So it was the battle of the NMF for sure doing that back in that fight. Are you, like you mentioned it, because you've been in this spot before. You offered the spot to Darren Till, Luke A and now with Jeff Neal. Are we past the stage now? Are we over this? Or do you feel like we're going to have to keep doing this again? Because, I mean, this fight was a lot of fun. You look great.

And Jeff couldn't solve the podcast. that has been difficult for a lot of other fighters, but are we past this trying to take on prospects phase of your career? I know I am. I'm definitely. I hope the UFC is on the same page. You know, I think I've proved it, proved it my last few fights against some tough guys, some up-and-comers, undefeated. Jeff Neal was in the UFC and the seven-fight win streak that, you know, Byzante Leuke had, you know, they've got to give me somebody in the top. You know, I know there's a lot a lot of these guys are booked or maybe got fights coming up. But, you know, I really know that I could fight for the title for sure. And I was telling everybody, 2021 is going to be my year. It is my year.

And I'm going to have that belt around my waist for sure. How would you grade your performance overall? I thought you looked fantastic. I thought it was almost like the time was a good thing for you because you just kind of got to let it all out in that moment. I mean, of course, you want to fight three, four times a year if you could. But to get in there, you could just kind of see yourself having fun and just letting all out, like that extra. time out in that octagon you know what i mean yeah you know after every fight i always feel like i did terrible i don't know why i do that you know um the end of this fight i know i know i could have done better and that's always going through my head i just know that i could have been a better fighter

and you know i'm in i was so close to knocking this guy out or i should have thrown this roundhouse kicked this way i should have moved this angle or that angle there's a lot of what is that's going on my head, but I was very happy with my performance to be able to go five, five-minute rounds against a tough guy like him and an up-and-comer. And at the beginning of the fight, like I was the favor. And then leading up to the fight, he became the favor. I don't mind being the underdog at this point, you know, during the fight. But it goes to show that I'm still in this game and that I'm still improving for sure. And, you know, even though I'll be 38 in February, I feel like I'm 25, you know. I don't.

take a lot of damage. I heal up fairly nicely, as you can tell. So yeah, man, I got a long time in this game and I'm still improving. So, you know, I definitely left with a smile on my face, especially after, you know, going back and watching the fight, listening to D.C. talk about me and the fans and everybody on ESPN just had nothing but good things to say. So after the fight and listening to that, listening to them, give me praise, it was just amazing. So all smiles here. Did you feel like with the odds and, you know, how everything sort of played out getting closer to the fight, did you feel like you had a bit of a chip on your shoulder at all?

Like, did it get to that point? No. I mean, do I ever have a chip on my shoulder? Come on now. I just going to say, no, I really didn't. It's understandable when somebody's out for that long with injury. and, you know, everybody knows how old I am, which I don't think I'm old, you know, who was area Hawaii, said I was a veteran.

I'm like, really? I mean, I'm looking around like, hey, dad, am I a veteran in the sport? He's like, yeah, man, you've been in the UFC for eight years. And, you know, I'm like, like, time flies. I really, it's amazing how that I've been in there for that long, which is, I don't think a long time, but, you know, am I a veteran, Mike? Am I really? Yeah.

I mean, there's, I mean, there's 22-year-olds who have like 30 fights and they're veterans. That's crazy. I know. I mean, look at, look at Jose Aldo. I mean, he's 34. He's younger than I am. And I consider him a veteran, you know? So, yeah, I guess I am.

I'm a veteran, man. Veteran doesn't mean old. It doesn't meet old. And if you're old, I'm old because I'm a day older than you. See, that's what I'm thinking. When I think veteran, I think of, I'm too old from the sport, right? And I think that's my problem. You know, I'm experienced.

Let's let's think of that. I'm experienced. I like that better. There's like experienced veteran, then there's like grizzled veteran. Like to me like grizzled veterans, like a guy who's taking a lot of damage that's like maybe making a decision on the way out. You're an experienced veteran. Thank you. Thank you.

You just made my day, my friend. Made it a whole lot better. There we go. Happy birthday. Happy early birthday to you. How's the knee man? Like I know that was something that was a concern into the later rounds. You were still getting the.

best of him despite all of that. But I mean, was it difficult to move around in there? Were you feeling it despite the adrenaline pumping towards the end of the fight? I did. The pain wasn't quite there. I knew it was normally when you don't feel the pain, you'll definitely feel it like an hour later. I ended up tearing my quad. And I felt it out there in that fifth round, which is one of the reasons why I kind of had to, you know, cut the movement down, kind of stay stationed, a little more stationary. But at the time, I, at the time, I, I felt like Jeff Neal was getting a little tired. His strikes weren't as powerful as they were in the first or second.

So I was like, you know what? It was funny. This actually went through my head. Like, I'm going to stand in here and duke it out with this guy and we're going to win Friday the night. We're going to win five of the night. We're going to win this bonus. So I grit my teeth and had to stand there and duke it out with one of the best in the biz.

Good boxing this guy had, obviously. And I felt really good. I took some shots and kept on going. which I knew I haven't lost my chin. I got a hard head, you know, thanks to my, thank you, dad. I was blessed with that, thanks to him. But yeah, man, that was kind of going through my head. Couldn't move.

It still had trouble moving on it now. Like pushing off is okay, but bending the legs kind of painful. But other than that, I'm fine. So hopefully, you know, the MRI shows that I won't have to have surgery and I'll be back in the gym here pretty soon. I worked out last week, kind of regretted it a little bit, you know, the next day. My leg was a little sore and hard to move around on it. But, you know, we'll be back. We'll be back. Hopefully sooner than later. I don't want to have to be out for another year again.

Do not want that to happen. I was just going to say, like, are you sitting there like with your leg and paying that fight? Like, come on, man. Like, I can't be injured again. It seems like every fight, like, whether it's the hands or like some strange thing that happened along the way, like, you must have been like, oh, come on, man. Like, really? I was, man. I was. And then after the fact the doctor said, listen, you'll be back in no time. Four to six weeks, you'll be back. So I'm like, yes. Oh, nice.

So hopefully, you know, early next year, we'll be back at it as well. We'll be back in the octagon, duking it out with the fans, baby. There you go. Where do we go from here, Stephen? Because, like, you called out Mazdao in the nicest way possible, and I love that. I know you wanted to give him another chance to run it back. I dig it. Of course, he's tied to Colby.

Nothing has been made official in regards to that fight, though. But what are your chances in your opinion that you, get a fight like that. I like it. It makes sense. Yeah. I really do hope so. You know, I think I've proven myself. So, you know, obviously I poked a little bit at Leon Edwards and he wasn't having it. But I know Monsmeda was interested in it not too long ago when he was fighting Usman. He said he wanted to defend the title against me and he wanted that went back. So, you know, it's still in his head. Obviously, it's still in his head about facing me again. But we have to see what's going on and what happens with these fights coming up?

So is Mazma's all going to be fighting Colby Covington? What's going to happen with Leon Edwards and Hamzah? Like, who's going to win that? You know, and obviously, everybody's looking at that title fight in February. Is Burns going to beat Usman? Is Usen going to beat Burns? So there's a lot of things going on there that we just kind of have to have to sit back and wait until after to see where I go from there. I feel like you have more options now than you did before.

Like, I mean, it seems silly to say after coming off of a win, but you fought the number 11 guy. normally it's kind of like a stagnant position where you go from there. But I feel like you do have a lot of options now. Like despite that, do you feel the same way? I do. And, you know, what really makes it makes me more confident is that like a lot of people are talking about it. They're wanting to see me move up the rankings and face these guys in the top four,

top five. So as long as they're talking about it, man, like it gives me more confidence every day. You know, I'm in the gym. Like, you know, they're thinking about it. They're talking about it. is the UFC talking about it. We'll see. But I think I've proven it, man.

Give me some money in the top five. I don't care who it is. Just make it happen, man. Do you feel like you're the Reno 9-1-1 of the welterweight division? Like you are the most just underappreciated guy? Because I feel that after every fight. Like you see it on social media and they're like, oh, I can't wait. And then by like the third round, they're like, why do we underestimate Wonderboy?

Like, why do we do this? Yeah, man. And I feel like sometimes I do feel underestimated. And I believe it's the fact that those losses that I had, like, you know, when Anthony Pettis came up from 155 and knocked me out in the second round, you know, people look at that and see, you know, Stevens done or he's lost his chin. I can't believe people are even talking about me losing my chin. I've never been knocked out of my life.

I've been rocked many, many times and came back to win the fight. You know, the shots I've taken with Tyron, the shot I took with Ellenberger. the shots I've taken with the Sente Lucca and Jeff Neal, like, man, I'm still here, man. I haven't lost a dang thing. And I'm getting better. Every time I step out there, I feel like I'm improving. And, you know, my last two fights have been fine of the night. Like, come on, like, give me this.

So sometimes I feel that way. But at the end of the day, you know, I just got to be happy with what I got and where I'm at in the division and, you know, being healthy. So they got every day, man, that I'm just glad to be apart. Perfect, perfect world. When do we, when do we see Wonder Boy back in there in 2021, you think? Say that again? I'm sorry. Perfect world. I mean, considering the MRI is beautiful. We're going to stay positive here. Perfect world. When do we think we see you back in there?

I'm hoping March or April is the plan, you know, depending on what the MRI says. I'm thinking March or April because I, you know, I'm still doing some cardio, still doing some strength and conditioning with my coach, obviously doing upper body stuff, working my left. like not my right leg but still doing things and I still feel in shape I still feel great I'm going to be working and experiencing some some mitt work with pops we're going to test that out next week just doing some hand stuff so man I don't take days off I really don't even though I'm injured there's always something that you can do actually I did a YouTube video on it last week on on you know being injured and still going into the gym and working out so yeah man that's the goal looking for March or April. Hopefully next week we'll get the MRI and see what the doc says.

And maybe some discontary, but we'll be back at it again. I'm glad you mentioned your pop because I don't know, I don't know if it was on Instagram or Facebook that I saw this, but you post this picture of him wrapping your hands and you talked about how that's just such an amazing moment for you guys. And like, you know, I think about that with my father too. Like we'll sit there like, we'll watch a Red Sox game or watch a Celtics game. And I'm like, man, I remember like being eight, nine years old doing the same thing.

Like how cool is that like every time you're about to fight to like share moments like that with your father? Because like people watching from the outside in, they might not think it's that big of a deal. But you guys have been doing this thing for a long time, the two of you. Yeah, man. And I don't see myself doing it without him. I mean, just like Khab and I kind of understand, I felt for him when his dad passed, you know, rest in peace. And, you know, my condolences to him. So, you know, for him not to be there, like I understood that.

Like, I don't want to be here. Because my dad's been here since the beginning. You know, he's been in my corner for every fight, never missed one. So, you know, when it gets to the point where my dad is not able to do it, I think that's going to be the end of it. You know, I don't want to be out there without him in the corner because he's been there for every fight. So, and to be able to do that and experience that with your dad, not a whole lot of people can say they can do that, you know. And to be able to look on that and smile is just amazing. Because my dad always told me, like, his dad passed way too soon.

And his dad would always tell him, say, listen, man, you know, spend as much time with me as possible because I won't always be here. And he regrets it. He regrets not, you know, doing the things his dad wanted him to do with him and, you know, take that fishing trip or take that little vacate with pops. And now I can say that, you know, I consider myself an observant person. And I take that to heart because, you know, I train with him. we travel the world together. We know how to separate the coaching and the father aspect. But just to be able to experience that with him, it's just awesome.

I know it makes him happy. That's great. I do want to get your opinion on this before we wrap things up. Cobra Kai season three. Can I get your thoughts on this? I don't know if you've watched it. I'm sure I binged it New Year's Day. I couldn't wait.

I know you're a big fan. Did you watch it yet? Don't ruin anything for me. I haven't seen it yet. I'm definitely looking forward to. it because when I had when it was before it was coming out I was into I was watching the mandolorean and then I wanted to finish that before I got into the third season so finished it season one season two of mandolina I don't know if you've seen that know if you're a star wars fan it's amazing and

Gina Corona's in there some cool martial arts stuff you would love it uh so don't ruin anything I haven't seen it yet but I can't wait I'm definitely going to be binge watching it uh within the next two days. Don't ruin it for me. I would never. And even if you did, we wouldn't ruin anything. I would just want to get your score on it because it's, it's very good. I think you'll dig it.

Some good stuff. Some familiar faces. I will just throw that out there. Some faces from some of the older movies. So you'll dig it, man. But listen, I'm, I'm glad the injury is, is not as bad. When you said you tore your quad, I'm like, oh, my God. I was thinking of like Triple H back in like 1999 WWE when he tore his quad and was out for a

year. But it seems like, you took. yours isn't too bad and we'll see you back then March April sounds good to me man thank you for the time as always happy new year to you and yours and uh and all the best to you my friend is always thank you brother always a pleasure and hopefully we can do it again very soon you have a good one my friend a nicer guy you cannot find Stephen Thompson joining us and happy to hear March or April is the time frame for a potential return because like I told him when he said the injury out loud I was like, good Lord, this could be a while.

The bad luck continues to strike for Wonderboy, but it turns out not that bad, some good juju in the air. So hopefully he can get himself in a big fight because he deserves it. He's top five. But he's an interesting position because he might be in a tough spot,

which we talked about in the conversation, but he might be in an opportunistic spot as well if some things don't pan out. For example, Leon Edwards versus Hamza at Shemayev, That fight does not have a date. I know there have been some reports that they're looking at March 27th. I'm told those reports are a bit premature. In fact, one source told me that was like throwing a dart and hoping it sticks.

But that doesn't mean March 27th is out of the question. It just isn't anywhere near being done at this moment, I'm told, by multiple sources. So there you go. There's the update on that. But Wonderboy could slot himself in there for some reason. They can't put this fight together or something happens. But we will move ahead to our next guest. The positivity continues on.

A big opportunity coming up for Casey Kenney. Let us get his thoughts in regards to a massive fight coming up in a little less than two months right now. All right. Well, 2020 was a big year for our next guest. 2021 could be even bigger as we found out a little over a month ago. This man is going to be facing Dominic Cruz, March 6th at UFC 259. Happy to welcome back Casey Kennedy to the program. Happy New Year, sir.

How are you? Happy New Year, man. I'm doing great just getting home from training and got a few more weeks before the big dominant cruise fight. But like you said, always trying to spread some positivity and enjoy life, man. So I'm doing my normal stuff. Yeah, especially we're recording this on Wednesday and we need this positivity right now. But we're going to stick to fighting. By the way, and I'm sure you've probably addressed this before at some point.

So excuse me for being redundant. But every time I've done an interview with you, Casey, whether it's for this website or any other website, comments are flooded with, hey, it's T.J. Dillishaw's little brother, T.J. Dillisaw Jr. From a guy that gets like Dana White's little brother and Dana White Jr. Do you get that a lot, the Dillishaw comparison? Yeah. The messages, the, you know, the normal casual comments that you see, I've even been tagged in a couple like Dillishaw and Yon having a baby type thing. You know, I'll take it all.

I'll take it all. I always tell all my teammates that I'm going to have to kick Dillishal's ass eventually, you know, kind of switch that around. So he could be like Casey Kenny Jr.? Right, exactly. I love it, man. So you got yourself a nice early holiday gift, Dominic Cruz. I have to tell you, man, this one came out of left field, but I absolutely love the matchmaking. I'm sure you do as well. But coming out of the fight island trip and getting the two wins over there, big 2020 for you, how did you react to finding out the your next fight would be against freaking Dominic Cruz? It was amazing, man.

It was a little longer than I wanted to wait, but for a fight like that, I'll wage as long as you want me to, you know. I was actually, I thought I was going to be back December 12th. I actually signed a contract to fight and opponent backed out, and then they hit me with Dominic Cruz,

and I'm like, let's do it. Who were you supposed to fight on December 12th? You don't mind me asking? Song you don't. Oh, really? Yeah. I guess verbally. agreed, but when it came time to put pin to paper, he had some second thoughts. So, uh, but that's

okay. I'm, I'm glad where, where I ended up and, uh, you know, the Dominic Cruz fight was offered shortly after and I'm like, let's do it. I'm ready. It's funny because when this fight was announced, I had like a little theory about it and it was that my immediate thoughts were Casey or your manager, Jason House have been all over the matchmakers to try to get you another fight out of coming off fight out and like get you another card, just constant messages like, Casey wants to fight. Casey wants to fight. Because of that, Sean or Mick just said, you know what, stop bother me.

We know Casey wants to fight. How about we give him Dominic Cruz? Will you stop bothering me then? I mean, obviously, I'm mostly joking, but that's kind of a theory of mine that I had coming out of that fight. Yeah, you know, close mouths don't get fed. And I was ready to fight. I signed my part. And I would have been back one more number five for the year.

But that's all right. When it came time to getting back into camp and stuff, I'm like, Maybe a few months wouldn't hurt here to kind of heal up and recover. Yeah. I mean, 2020, it didn't start great for you. You lost the fight to Mara, but I mean, you went on to win the three straight and it ended great. Losing sucks, but I feel like that loss, I don't want to say it was like the best thing to happen to you, but I feel like the timing of it. It was a great timing, you know what I mean?

Like it helps put things in perspective like so early in the year maybe. Like, is that somewhat accurate? Yeah, exactly. And, you know, I've been a competitor my whole life. and some of my greatest runs I've had in other sports have been off of a loss where, you know, mentally I change a few things. You know, physically I got bigger after that. You know, the Marab thing was kind of an eye-opener on that one.

And, you know, how you respond after a loss is what a true champion does. And, you know, I've been doing that my whole life. And, you know, happy with the way I responded and, you know, no stopping now. We spoke right before your fight with Nathaniel Wood. you were on Fight Island and you guys put on a show at UFC 254 is the fight like everyone had hoped to see when the fight was announced what a gritty hard fought battle that was it was the fight of the night on one of the biggest cards of the year you get it done but I mean you get the win and the bonus but you probably learned so much in that fight where were those 15 minutes

like for you man oh it was great it was a fight that I've been wanting for a long time you know as sick as it sounds you know those are the fights that you know I've dream I've dreamt of being And then, you know, a tough fight where the dudes, you know, not backing down for the whole 15 minutes. And, you know, guys like Alatang, he did back down, but he wasn't really hit me with anything. You know, Wood was, you know, right in the mix. And, you know, I still felt like my shots were bigger than his, but he was not backing down. He was throwing. He was connecting the whole time.

So it was an amazing fight, man, you know. And like you said, the, I don't know exactly. I couldn't put words on it, what I learned from that fight, but. you know, I gained a lot and improved a lot and, you know, especially the confidence. You know, I guess that would be the biggest thing that I can throw down for 15 minutes, you know, anytime you want. It's the fight you want it. It's the fight like you've been dreaming of a battle of attrition like that.

Is it one of those things who are like, okay, I've done it now? I don't need to do that anymore. Right. You know, I always knew I could be in a fight like that, but now I've done it. And now I'm looking to get in there. Well, you know, I was trying to put wood away the entire time. You know, it just happened to stick around. But, you know, hopefully I go in there and, you know, I put Dom away in a round or two.

And I don't have to slug it out for 15 minutes. Like when you look back on your career in, I don't know, like 25 years from now, do you think that that fight with Nathaniel in the book of Casey Kenney, that fight alone is going to, like, have its own chapter? Because I feel like when you share something like that with another competitor, it's just one of those things that's never going to leave your mind, you know? Right. You know, most of my fights, I got, I think that was my 19th professional fight.

I could, you know, I got a pretty pretty good image in my head of each and every one of them that I've been in. So, but that one especially, you know, that that's going to go down in the record books, you know. Wasn't fight of the year candidate, but I think it was pretty close. Is that like, is that your favorite fight of your career? man the last two are pretty good but I feel like it's my that's my favor in its own way

you know I got some other ones I got some you know my knee knockout one is a pretty pretty good one in there but you know for different reasons so the Nathaniel one definitely goes down and it's like you know one of those wars that we'll put

in there forever so let's talk about this next fight against Dominic Cruz he returned after a lengthy layoff in May, got finished by Henry Sehudo at UFC 249, and I know a lot of people questioned the stoppage in that fight. Dominic certainly did. He had a lot to say about the referee,

but what did you think of the stoppage? Man, I get both point of use, you know, but when you get dropped and you take, I don't even know how many, I think it was five to ten unanswered shots, you know, he was trying to get back up, but he wasn't defending himself, you know, I never put his hand up to defend himself.

which I feel like is what a ref looks for, you know, when someone's swinging on you. So, but I get his argument as well, you know, but I'm going to leave that one to the referee. You know, I'm going to leave that one to the referee, but I think it was a decent stoppage, you know. But I get at Dom's point, you know, as a fighter, we want to stay in there until we're unconscious. But, you know, decent stoppage. Fair enough. I mean, you're a guy that's always trading. You're always working, especially in these times, in case that phone would have

a ring and something pops up, you want to be ready? But have you started like a quote-unquote actual training camp for this fight yet? Yeah, you know, the main thing that I'm working on this camp is my booze intake and my cigarette intake. You know, here Dom has a krypton night for booze and cigarettes. So that's the first thing I'm going to start off with in camp. and then we'll worry about the technique and the cardio and all that, the good stuff. Oh, my God.

That is freaking hilarious. So how is the intake? You're building up that tolerance? Building up that tolerance, right? You know, I come from small town, Indiana, or the king of booze and cigarette. But now, for real, yeah, camp started. You know, it's up and going. Like I said, I'm always training right now.

I think I was nine weeks out last Saturday. I'm kind of just waiting to turn the notch on camp. You know, still got some time. And over the years, I realized when I have this much time, I need to kind of just keep training the way I'm training. And then, you know, when it gets a little bit closer, you know, I'll turn it up a little bit. What is, I mean, I know you're going to be turning up soon,

but like what do you think like the preparation is going to be like? I know fighters focus on themselves and improving what they're going to do. But, you know, Dominic's kind of a different cat with the footwork. the angles and the different things he brings to the table. Like, do you approach this fight any differently than others in the past, or is it mostly the same? It's pretty much the same, you know. Each and every person, you know, I look at how they move

and we're going to try to get similar looks or as close of a look as we can get to that person. But in reality, you're never going to mimic, you know, especially a guy like Dominic, you're never going to completely mimic him. You know, you can get some decent good looks to give you an idea, but the main thing is keeping what I have sharp, you know, making my improvements and, you know, the way I fight and, you know, my IQ, I can, you know, make adjustments in there. And I'm always ready for anything. There's nothing dumb, you know, it's going to do that I haven't seen before.

You know, he's got two hands, two legs, you know, maybe a little bit different movement, but, you know, he's not going to have any third arm coming out and hitting me or anything like that. So I'll be ready for it. But, you know, obviously the level we're at, if I get a couple guys to try to move like him, gives me, you know, a slight idea of how it's going to be. What about, like, from a mental perspective? Because I'm sure, like, Dominic's a guy you watched coming up as a fan and getting into the sport. And he's definitely the biggest name you've been paired up with. And sometimes, and I'm sure you've seen it watching the sport, like the respect one has for a legendary competitor and a former champion.

Like, it does play a factor once you're in there. Like, the moment becomes, like, so surreal that it can throw fighters off. And, you know, is that something that you think about? Like, do you have, like, ways to ignore that noise and try to focus on getting your hand raised? Like, it just seems like such a strange thing. And most fighters, like, I don't even think about that. But then once you're in there, it's like, ooh, this is a little different. That's a real moment.

I think one of my best, you know, attributes is my ability to compete. And that's going to, I'm going to go in there and I'm going to be myself no matter who's in front of me. You know, and I approve that time and time again with, you know, showing up to all my title fights. you know the contender series my UFC debut all the above one when the the moment's big you know I rise to the occasion and you know I don't see it going any other way with Dom you know this is what I got into this sport for is to fight guys exactly like him and you know in moments exactly like the one I had on Fight Island so I don't see it being any different what about this fight excite you the most like is it the opportunity is it is it fighting a guy like Don

Is it the chess match? Like where it could take you? Like, it seems like such a cliche question, but there's obviously a lot of play here when you fight a guy like that. Like, what excites you the most about this fight? I think it's going to put me in a position where, you know, where I want to be in the UFC.

Obviously, jumping into the top five, top 10, chasing a belt, you know, that's the ultimate goal. And, you know, Dom just happens to be the next guy in the way. And it's a great guy to be in the way. You know, his last fight was for the best. belt. I think it's a, you know, he only has a few fights left in his career, you know, as far as, you know, he's not going to have many more opponents than, you know, after me. So I'm grateful to have that, you know, that shot. But really, whoever they put in front of me is, is going to get

taken out or, you know, the next, the next target, you know, maybe Aldo or Edgar will be next. I wouldn't mind going on a legend tour. There you go. Yeah, it's funny because when this fight was announce that seems to be like the consensus like if you beat dominic cruz at ufc 259 like this could be it for him like he's on the broadcast team he's get different projects he's working on like have you allowed yourself to to even think about that like i could be the last guy that dominic cruz ever fights like i could be the one that potentially i guess retires the guy is that like too dangerous of a thing to think about um you know i don't want to think about that too too much you know obviously that's out there you can hear people talk about it but you know i

don't want to ever count anybody out. And when I say he's only got a handful of fights, you know, that could be anywhere from one to five more fights. But, you know, Dominic Cruz isn't going to have 10, 20 more fights. You know, he doesn't have 10 years left in the game type of thing. As far as like this being his last fight, who knows, you know, I'm never going to count the guy out no matter what happens on March 6. But I know it's probably going to be one of his last few, that's for sure. So how do we get this thing done? Massive opportunity await you. You're going to go in there and help. have some fun with the former champion. How does this thing play out on March 6th?

I'm due for a finish. I'm due for a finish. I'm going to touch his chin just like I've touched everybody else's and we'll see if it holds up. And then if, you know, he wants to grapple. Let's see if maybe I'll be the first guy ever to submit Dominant Cruz. It's funny, like, talking about this because I remember like some of our like early conversations, like when you first got to the UFC and you've always been like, you've always been like a next span up kind of a guy, but in every conversation we've had, like, you've always, like, through a name out there and, like, shot for the stars, like, like, Faber and Edgar, I remember you calling out and although was another guy, like all these interview calls, but if you beat Dominic, like,

these matchups that you've been calling for for a while, like, they could be there for you. Like, with that said, do you have, like, lofty goals for 2021? Like, is there something in place in your mind that says, you know what? This year kicks ass for me if this and this happens. Yeah, I mean, step one taking out Dominic. It's early in the year. I like to fight a lot. I'm trying to get, you know, three, four fights in this year. And obviously, the more I work up, I may have to wait a little bit longer to get, you know,

the matchup that they want me to have. But definitely two or three in this year. And I think two or three in this year. And I think, you know, I'm going to be right in there for. for, you know, title talk or one or two away. You know, I put Dom away and I finished two more people this year. I got to be right up there. Yeah, man.

Well, I'll tell you, when this was announced, like I said, it was an eye opener, but I was like, ooh, this is really good boat. I know I don't speak for myself. Definitely looking forward to this one, man, against one of the greatest ever foot and step inside the cage. March 6, UFC 259. Casey Kennedy takes on Dominic Cruz. Appreciate the time as always, man.

We need this positivity in 2021. All the best to you. And happy new year, man. Happy New Year man. Always a pleasure, and I'm sure I'll be speaking to you sometime soon. All right. Take it easy on the booze and the cigarettes, though. Yeah, you know, I had my fill today.

I just had a few after sparring, but we're going to call it quits. Casey Kenny, ladies and gentlemen, I love that fight between he and Dominic Cruz. It was a little out of left field when it was reported and when we confirmed it. But the more I thought about it and the more I think about it now, that is a super interesting fight that makes all the sense in the world, considering where both of these gentlemen are at in their careers. We'll see what happens on March 6th. That card is bananas. UFC 259. It's really, really good. And that's a nice little appetizer for the three title fights beyond a shadow of a doubt. Speaking of crazy, Tristan Connolly's 2020 was crazy. His 2019 was also crazy, but his 2020 was crazy

for totally different reasons. And that is probably an understatement. So let us get a an update from the man who delivered the upset of the year in 2019 when he defeated Michelle Bejeda making his what the heck debut. Here he is, the boondock himself, Tristan Connolly. All right. So I've had a lot of people reach out to me recently that have asked me where our next guest has been. When is he fighting again?

And I figured why, you know, let's just bring him on and talk to him all about it. It's been well over a year since he made a big splash at his UFC debut against Michelle Bejada. Let's check in with Tristan Connolly. How are you, sir? I'm doing well. How are you? I'm doing great. So a lot to catch up on. First off, it's a new year. We're still dealing with this pandemic. And where I'm at, it's actually gotten way worse than it has since March.

How has everything been going up north? I mean, better than down there, but it's, you know, getting worse as well. You know, everything. It's, you know, hopefully this is just the last bit of it before it ends. Because, you know, we're at work, everything's shut down now. Like, we're, like, luckily being a professional athlete. I'm allowed to create a small training bubble with me, but we can't have classes if, like, they come by. And I'm training with anyone that's not another professional

or another recognized athlete, then we'll get in trouble. And so it's like, it's hard for everyone up here, man, where everyone's on lockdown, there's nothing to do. gyms are closed. There's no, everyone's starting to go crazy. So, I mean, it's kind of, I mean, you know, down for you guys, it's like people are, sort of doing things, but it's, you know, what's better?

I don't know. Like, for me, I'd rather do stuff, but it's crazy watching everything happen. Yeah, it's just wild, man. Yeah, man. In terms of, like, your fighting career, like we said, the last time we saw you fight was September of 2019, that short notice went. And I know you were supposed to fight in April on that card in Portland, I believe, before everything got officially shut down and the event started getting canceled.

You were actually out in, in Las Vegas when all this was going on, were you? I was. I was. I was three weeks out of that card when it happened. And, uh, and, I, and, you know, everyone, we were, we were there. All the sports are getting shut down. Uh, me and Cole Smith were there. We're, we're, we're, we're, we're getting ready. And other people were leaving town. Like, everyone else was like, you know, it's time to go. And we're like, we're not leaving. We're not. I'm staying. Like, so I was planning going home and coming back. I'm like, well, I'm going to stay in the States like fight now. And so I'm already here. We're all good.

I was. I was. So literally, they came in while I was in the sauna at the PI and they're like, they told us me, they're like, no, we're still open. still going and we're in the sauna an hour later. They came in like, yeah, this last day. You got to leave after this. We're closed. We're like, well, and the gyms are all like, yeah, we're closed. And we're like, okay.

And you're like, you better get back to Canada because they're going to close the borders. And we're like, oh, okay. So then I came home. And then that actually started a cascade of things that I am just sort of getting on top of now. I ended up getting neck surgery. And that was actually from an injury that was before from a car accident. Actually two years ago now, it was in January of 2019.

So I think the only thing keeping me going was the fact that I never really stopped. Like after the car accident, you know, the next day I started getting pain down my arm. My fingers started going numb. But I was so fit and strong and I just, I didn't stop sparring and doing stuff, but I just kept lifting weights and kept rehabbing. In about a month, two months, I was felt back to more or less 100%. And the doctor assumed it was just a muscle spasm. Like my fingers always still stayed numb. I had a little flare up.

And sorry about that. There is. It's all good. You say me? Yeah, I'm going to, yeah, perfect. Sorry, someone tried to call me there. But yeah, so I, he had a little flares. We just thought it was like a muscle thing that was pushing on the nerve because I was able to do so much.

And it would see, like training made it better. So I just carried on. Then, you know, flash forward to be getting ready to fight. It felt great. Three weeks or four. Come home. And then everything's a lock. So there's no training. All I'm doing sitting around, stretching, doing pushups, and be going for runs.

And two months in, I've recourse of about five days. The pain started getting worse and worse and worse and worse to the point where it was like 10,000 percent of the normal pain. It felt like my arm was being held in a fire while being electrocuted. I couldn't hold my head up for more than two seconds. My wife, who was eight months pregnant, I was yelling at her to get a towel and put it in my head and just pulling up because neck traction was the only thing giving me any relief. the doctors kept up in my meds, up in my meds, up in my meds, nothing was doing anything. I didn't sleep for two weeks straight.

I just lay in bed in agony going and just like, laying on the ground, pulling my head, putting my head on the ground. And then I finally they ordered an MRI and got an MRI. And the doctor freaked out. They're like, oh my God, like I have three severely herniated disc. One that's just like, they're like, are you falling over? Are you pissing your pants?

Like this is pushing on your spinal cord. Like how am I? No, I'm just my arms on fire. My fingers were totally numb at this point. I couldn't hold my head to be like this. I'd hold it up for 30 seconds. It'd be too weak. It would fall down.

I'd have to hold my head up like this. And I tried desperately to avoid surgery. I did everything they could. I started being able to shadow box, and that was the best thing ever because with nervous stuff, rest is the worst, right? You rest and it just makes it worse. But if you do too much, you make it worse.

So you got to keep moving, but not doing too much. So I found shadowboxing is the best thing. And for three months, I just shadowbox three hours a day. Every day I go out and that would kind of make me feel better. But as soon as I tried to do any resistance type training, it would just get really pissed off. And there was no strength. Like I couldn't do a push-up. I couldn't do anything.

And finally, I talked to the surgeon. Dr. Sanada to Victoria, I have to give him a shout-out because he, you know, in Canada, it's a long way to talk to a neurosurgeon. He got me in like four days and it was time for surgery. And there's not many. most surgeons in Canada are going to want to do a fusion and even talk to some American doctors and they wanted to do like a two or three level fusion and one maybe one artificial disk and two level fusion. And this surgeon was like, look, we're only getting symptoms of one disc. He's like,

and I don't want to fuse it with what you do. He's like, I want to put an artificial disc. And so he started doing his research. And he found that Chris Wyman had the prestige LP disc, which is it's only a two piece disc. It's only two pieces. There's not many moving parts. It's a ball and socket. So, you know, there's other discs out there. And you went with that one because it's the simplest disc as far as there's nothing to break. It's just there's one piece that's like a trough and one that's a ball and they hammer it into your, like they go in through your throat. They pull it all the disc and then they hammer the new disc in.

And then there's little teeth that kind of bite in. And over a course of a year, really, but they said three months is really the most important. The bone just sort of ossifies or heals around that disc and just comes connected. And then there's just this two titanium, like titanium tranktack or tranktac titanium pieces that just slide around. There's nothing to break. So I actually, I reached up to Chris too and he said, man, I think I've had like 25 surgeries or something. This was the most scary surgery and it was the best surgery you ever had. Like you're going to feel great.

Like you wake up and you feel awesome. And he was right. Like I woke up and my pain was gone. The only thing I had left is my fingers. They get any pain killers because they cut your throat open and go through. but pain in the throat is nothing compared to nervous pain. I mean, I deal with pain well, and I was an agony. I've never been in such pain in my life.

And then I had to wait three months, so I went down to actually Vegas for a month and started my rehab. And that was going well, the strength, you know, it's still coming back. I'm probably about 75% strength right now. But I've been clear about a month and a half to start contact training. So I've just been sparring, rolling, grappling, feeling good. But the cardio has still got, you know, a little ways to go.

I feel like I'm almost like I'm, my cardio is fine compared to other fighters, but I'm a cardio fighter. Usually like I will crush other guys in cardio. So I feel like about 50% there. Give me another month and a half and I'll probably be good to go. Jump right into a short notice camp. Like I don't need an eight week camp, particularly or even eight or 10 or 12 week camp. I want to get to a point where it's okay. I can fight in four weeks.

I've been, my diet has been awesome. I am lighter than I'm leaner than I've ever been. Everything else is on point. And I was doing a lot of technical stuff whenever I could do technical stuff. So I feel like I've leveled everything up. Now it's just getting back into shape. My time is feeling good now. I feel like my grappling improved.

My striking improved just shadow boxing and doing it and watching videos and stuff because I couldn't train. So I was really focused on the mental side of everything. And then I feel now like I'm going to be a new try and coming in here. in 2021. Man, what a gnarly story. That is, that's crazy, man. That surgery is, is something else. I mean, luckily, like, Chris got back to you and did, did conversing with him and him saying what he said about the surgery being the best thing for him, that sort of like ease, ease things a little bit for you? For sure, for sure. I mean, you know, neuro surgery is never something you want to do.

I did try, like, I probably, I could have gotten a surgery right away, maybe been three months ahead but I talked to the surgeon right away and he's like I'm like well you know I talked to him two weeks after this episode and I'm like you know I am improving it's just slow and like I mean he's like well I don't want to just cut you open right now he's like let's let's see in a couple like try for like a couple months and see what happens and and my pain was getting better but is the pain because I you know I was doing stuff I was moving but the weakness started becoming more apparent initially when he asked about weakness it's like weakness. be talking about. Like I can't even, I'm just an agony. And then as that started to clear,

it became more and more obvious that, uh, the neurological line. So like, it was like my rotator cuff, my tricep, my forearm extender and like up my peck. Like I like a dip. I couldn't even hold myself up a push up. I couldn't even pull myself up. Even after the surgery on the PI, they wanted me to do like a angle push up and I like started like twisting on the other arm. Like, no, okay. No, not doing that. Um, and so now I'm at a point where I can do like 25 push again where before this you can probably do 45 pushups so it's coming it's getting there and I don't notice it when I'm actually fighting I don't notice at all like I mean the strength in fighting these little fighting is more than just one thing right you're able to compensate so I feel

great when I'm fighting it's when I do those like when I work with my my strength coach we see okay yeah that it's still not quite as strong as the other arm but it you know every week better and better and better and that's it's totally about about six months probably I should probably pretty much back to 100%. So I'm about five months now, so I'm almost there. I'm obviously not a doctor. And I don't even know if like the doctors that that you spoke with can even answer this question. But were you fighting the whole time with these injuries? Or was this something that sort of built up along the way? Well, my, what I think and what the doctors seem to to go along with, obviously, you know,

like we didn't have imaging before. But, you know, I never had neck problems. I know that the car accident and caused a lot of issues because my head snapped forward and the airbag went off and I held myself and it snapped forward and the next day started it. It was all tight after and the next day started getting it. So I know that caused a lot of the damage, but we know that with these things that movement is king, right? So like any kind of injury, rest is only good for a short amount of time. And then after that you got to get things moving. You got to stimulate the body, you have stress it and that will make it adapt to the new situation. So I just kept going.

And that and that, so that kind of kept, kept me all right. Like I had like little things where I might get a little bit of pain. But if we're talking percentages, like, say it was 100% after the car accident, it went down to 10%. It might go up to 20, and back down to 10 would not very alarming. But then we wanted to 10,000 percent, you know, it was, there was nothing I could do. It was, I didn't think about anything else. You know, I was in agony for the birth of my daughter. And like, you know, obviously it was awesome.

But we went into the hospital and they're like, I had like, a 10 pound dumbbell resistance bands and I feel like are you moving it in? What's going on? I'm like I have to do I can't just sit here

I have to do this like if I stop moving I'll just die like I had a neck hammock in the hospital they come in and I'm like check on her

and I got a neck hammock going to my head like but you know you're the best I could and you know I feel great now yeah man

how are you enjoying fatherhood so far oh it's amazing you know everyone everyone tells you It's going to be how awesome it is, but it's just nothing else in life like it. You know, as soon as you hold that little baby, it's just, you know, you love them more than anything else and everything else melts away. You know, as much as this year has been horrible with everything.

It's actually been a great year because of her. Like, she is, the positivity of her is better than all the negativity of everything else. Obviously, I'm not happy to go to any of the other stuff, but it's really been something that's kept me going. A good sleeper? No, not at all. I haven't slept in like, you know, six months. Other than when I was, I went to Vegas for months through rehab. That was the best sleep I got.

Oh, there you go. There you go. Have you, have you, like, noticed a change in yourself? Because, like, I know that's kind of like a cliche question that reporters ask fighters when they become parents and stuff. Like, have you noticed, like, a change within yourself? Like, I know you're dealing with a lot of other stuff, but have you, you've always been a pretty focused guy.

I don't see a lot of, like, cheap. No, no, I'm, I'm. I'm pretty much, no, when I'm after, no, there wasn't really any change in that way, you know, more motivated for sure. But I was always pretty motivated. So, I mean, it's hard to, it's hard to go past 100%. It just, you know, you reaffirm that, you know, reignited. I mean, not the fire's ever gone, but just one more thing, right? Like, it's just, I'm super excited to keep fighting here. You know, I just turned 35. I was late to the party. My first fight wasn't until I was 25. And I, so I, you know, I was behind. hind to start. So I'm here now. I've got at least five years left, I think. I was a late bloomer.

I was late bloomer in life. Like even, even as a kid, I was like I looked like I was 12 when I was 18. So when I was 25, I started fighting. I looked like I was probably 16 at that point. So I feel like I'm 35, but I'm outworking all the 28 year olds. I'm, I'm fitter. I have less miles on me. You know, I feel great. I don't have any like other than the neck. That was that was the first real bad injury I've ever had, and it wasn't even from fighting. It's so wild. I know. I'm like, I've never, I mean, knock on wood, I've never had anything bad happen to fighting.

You know, bumps and bruises, you know, I've had my knee scoped a couple times, but I don't even know if that was, I'm going to have some skateboarding years ago. It was in a long time since that happened. Other than that, like, man, I'm gerbil and tough. I kind of joke. It's like, you know, it takes a car, you know, a car accident at highway speeds. to slow me down. And even that, you know, it only brought me to my knees and I'm right back up again.

Was there, was, was there any talk about your fight career being in jeopardy at all? Like, even if you got like the, the other surgery, would there been any issue of coming back? Well, so when I talked to the O.C. doctor, I said, you know, if you get a three level, then yeah, a lot of commissions won't let you fight. Two level, you know, maybe. But in my head, that was never, I was like, well, then I'm not getting. that. Like, I won't get the thing that, like, I'll just go through the pain and fight for the pain. That's how to go. Like, I won't make the choice that tells me how to stop fighting.

And, you know, I talked to, I talked to one guy from New York, and he was like, some MRIs, like, you're going to go paralyzed if you fight again. If you get choked or hit, I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, why has no one else said that to me? Like, my team of physiotherapist, chiropractic, doctors, even the other neurosurgeon I talked to, like, why are they not worried about that. So I started doing some research. I'm like, okay, well, clearly if he is worried about it must have happened. In the world of fighting, that's never happened. Okay, okay, fighting small, let's look at other sports. Paralysis in the sport. No shortage of paralysis in a sport. Guess what? A herniated disc can't find a single example of it ever happening. Even, okay, in the entire

history of the internet, let's look for an example of that happening. Can't find a single one. All I can find is anecdotal evidence that says in extreme rare situations, a herniated disc could potentially cause paralysis, though very unlikely. And even talking to my, you know, physiotherapy, and chiropractorics, they're like, in school, we talk about it. And they're like, you know, like, we've never seen or heard of this happening. But theoretically, apparently it can happen. So I'm like, okay, well, that's not really a concern then.

And you look at what causes paralysis. It's when someone's head gets spiked in the ground and it breaks, either breaks the vertebrae clean in half or the discs completely slides in half and separates it. So it's like that, well, you know, there's always a risk of that. I mean, my neck could be perfectly healthy. And if that, like, that's a situational where it doesn't matter what the state of my neck is, that's going to pair of eyes you or kill you. So I was like, well, I'm not going to listen to the guy that's, I think you're just trying to still fear me

and try to get me to get surgery from him because he wanted to do like a year and a half stem cell shots with an artificial disc and a fusion and all this stuff. I'm like, I don't know about that. Jeez. So they're like, you basically talked to a bunch of different doctors. and they all had like different pitches I guess. Yeah, and then the surgeon that I talked to actually, I had a bit of a rapport with him.

I had a lower back issue about 10 years ago. I had sciatica, bad sciatica and some bulging discs. And the surgeon actually works out of my friend, Jamie Grimes, is off at Synergy in Victoria. And he's a good friend of mine. He's been raving out this guy for years. He's like, you know, he's the rock star surgeon. He's a superstar.

And I'm like, Jamie's your buddy. You're just, you know, I figured like he's probably lost a surgeons like him, but then I'm quite needing neck surgery. And I'm like, well, let's talk to this guy. And I know he did the artificial discs, which are rarer. But since then, I've actually talked to Medtronic, the company that makes the discs. And I'm, you know, they're super excited about me, me having the disc that I, but in my neck and following me. And I've talked to them a lot. And they said, yeah, that doctor's son, he's like, he's known for being one of the rock star surgeons in Canada. He does the surgeries that no other people won't do. I actually talked to

going into the surgery. So another thing that sort of suggests that this was there for a while is when the surgeon went in, the disc had actually fused to the nerve. And most surgeons, apparently, a lot of them, when they see that, they just pull out and are inoperable because what he had to do is he had to take an extra two hours and slowly cut it off the nerve, which is super dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. But when I woke up from the surgery, he would be, you know, it took me a couple extra hours. you know, it's fused on that, but I got it off, no problem.

And we got that in there. Like, it was just another day, you know, no big deal. And I'm like, okay. And then I, after I'm talking to other doctors, they're like, you know, that's pretty fucked up. Like most surgeons won't even touch you when it's like that. And he even said, he's like, it was way worse than the MRI showed when I went in there. Sometimes the MRI doesn't really do it justice.

It was really messed up. He's like, you definitely needed the surgery. So I was actually waiting to get an epidural first, that epidural in the neck, which is only, is very specialized. There's only a few doctors around that do it because you need a live CT machine or a live x-ray machine. It's super expensive,

and they have to inject you with all these dyes and everything. And it's supposed to, 90% of people, apparently it helps. But when he said when you want him, because of that, he's like, you wouldn't have done anything. And he's like, not that it necessarily would have been bad. He's like, but it's just, there's a risk with it. He's like, so it's been an.

extra risk that you didn't need to take and you wouldn't need to the surgery anyway. Jeez, I mean, you probably know more about necks than anybody in the UFC right now. I do. So Medtronic actually sent me little models of the discs in my neck. The guys say, oh, I want to send them. So I have like the surgeon models of like, I should go get it. The actual disc so I can show people. And I'm always, I've been always a science guide and I always research everything.

I always say, you know what, I've either seen a lot of things hurt or, you know, I've, injured most things and I research everything about it. So as far as sports injuries go, I'm pretty well versed in most of the things that can go wrong. In most of the, you know, not as well as to all it's like the paths of treatment. I don't necessarily know how to do the treatment or anything, but like I can tell you where you probably need to go see and different options and what you should sort of think about and go research yourself. Like I'm, I'm pretty knowledgeable and that kind of stuff. What do you think this whole situation and the layoff and everything? what do you think it's like taught you the most?

It's a good question. You know what's taught you the most? That I'm doing the right thing. I'm in the right career because all I've thought about is getting back to it. And there was, you know, people like, well, you know, a lot of people like this, you know, retire. Like, what are you talking about? Like the first thing I called Jason House, my manager, I said, we're going to tell him about it. I'm like, first thing before I tell you any of this.

retirement is not even a word that I know. Like so, because I want him to go on top of my neck and have him, oh, you're like, no, like, just just end that one right away. And then I told him about the situation, said, hey, it's going to be a bit. I got it. We're going to have to chase this thing, get it dealt with. But then once it's done, I want to hit the ground running. Like, I want to fight five times this year if I can.

Like, I plan on we're just, I'm actually just, just finishing up the rentals in my gym. They're sending a picture yesterday. It's just, uh, all my. I've been doing so that's another thing I've been working on since all these lockdowns is we've been moving our, we were planning a renaming and moving our gym. So I just put way more effort into that. I've been there like 10, I've been doing my training and then 10 hours, you know, eight hours, 10 hours a day just there doing stuff. And it's like yesterday I put the last paint on. Now it's, it's literally brooding stuff up and decorating like the gyms. We can train in it now.

So I get that. I got to get a new payment system set up for everyone. And then after that, I brought actually super excited. I've teamed up with Dennis Kang, who's, you know, Canadian MMOA icon. Yeah. He's now coming in as our head MMA and jiu-jitsu coach. And so take off the load off my shoulders. Like I'm getting it set up. So I can just fight and train.

I can take off, go to Vegas and I want. And he's going to keep everything running. Like come back. I have top-knocks training. And his guys are great merging with our guys. Now they're like, there's no one in the lower mainland. So even a hold a hold candle to us at this point. because like we're pretty much the best two teams around and now we just merge.

So really looking forward to that partnership. The super team on Canada. Yeah. We're looking to be, you know, Farahs on the West Coast. That's our goal, you know. There you go. So Perfect World, April May, first one or even sooner than that? Even potentially March.

You know, I plan on as soon as I get this done, I mean my wife for just getting the place our place ready to list and sell as you need to move with the baby to need more space. So what the plan is now, the gym's pretty much done. Next week we're going to be cleaning the place up, getting it ready to list. Once that's done, I can put most of my stuff in storage so that way, like, there's no clutter for me. And I'm just going to head down to Vegas. And I'm just going to stay training there.

I think, you know, give me a month there training, just sure fight camp. And then if they offer me a fight within like eight to ten weeks there, I would take it. But after that month, if I feel good, everything's going well, no surprises, which I don't suspect any. I'll just be like, hey, four weeks, let me know. Like, I'm ready. I'm here. You booked me a fight. I'm just going to stay here until I fight.

Like, I don't want to leave until I fight. So now I'll come home and, you know, provided I'm healthy, I'll be like, you know, give me another one. I'm just, I'm going to stay near weight. I've gotten over, you know, had the binge eating thing after. I just, I don't want to run weight loss camps. Like usually they walk around like 185, 190, just standard. Right now I'm, you know, probably 9% body fat walking around at 175. Like, and once a week I get down to about 170, 169 just to see that I can do it

because I just want that easy cut to 55 and then right back up to 175 easy. and that's, I typically have blown back up to 180, 180, my fight and it's too much. You get like, you know, it's hard for your body when you've been going so low and you're trying to stay low for a while and then you blow up and it's like, well, your body's carrying this weight

that's not used to anymore. So I want to kind of stay in that 170 and 175 range so I can fight there where I feel like I'm good, I'm strong there. I get bigger than that. Like, it just slows you down. a bit you feel i always feel like when i'm that big i'm huffing and puffing after the fight in ways that i'm usually not so i just want to get my body used to this way drop down drop back up and be able to fight

over and over and over again like i i want to be the the guy that's just taking all the short notice fights and he's fighting forever like that's i mean like i said i'm 35 i want to get i want to have a good five years here i want to make up for a lost time and uh you know i want to make some fans and excite the fans. So you want to be the Kevin Holland of 2021. That's right. That's right. I did want to ask you about about Michelle Beheada because that 15 minutes he spent with you, I think you changed him, man. Like I think I did. I joke my friends on my watch him fight now, but oh, thank God he didn't fight like that against me. Yeah, because he's looking awesome. Like I mean, I could be people, people I say, oh, this clown is finally like, what are you talking about?

Like, I got nothing bad to say to the guy. First of all, I just showed up. He did most of the work for me, right? He was the one flipping and jumping and making it exciting. I just didn't go down. Like, you know, it wasn't actually that hard for me. I was just me. And he was him and it.

That's what made it so exciting. But, yeah, and I've seen him a bunch of times. I saw him in Vegas. It was pretty funny. He came in with Johnny Walker. And me and Johnny Walker's your buddies. We were hanging out last. I was in Vegas before we were hanging out a bunch.

And so he walks in and everyone's in like the hot top and they're like, oh, oh, he takes like, oh, what's he going to have? And he, so he doesn't really speak English. So he talks to Johnny, like, hey, you know, so it's Johnny and Johnny says, he said, hey, my friend, I make you rich. And I'm like, oh, yes, thank you, thank you, thank you, you know. I'm actually looking forward to going back and actually train with him. Like, you know, I'm sure when we train, I'm, it's going to be a very different thing

now that he's spot me. He's not going to give me any of the chances to give me that fight. But yeah, I read, hey, man, the better, I want to see him go straight at the top. Just the better he does, the better I look. So, hey, I wish all my opponents, all the success, unless they fight me again, of course. And with Michelle, he's never getting that one back because I'm not going back to 170. I mean, you got that one forever. It's got a, in that extra $100,000 in your bank account doesn't get much better than that, especially with everything you've got going on.

Yeah, it's really kept me. I have very, I don't do anything. I don't go out. I don't eat out very often. I, you know, I cook me on food. I eat like one to two meals a day, really, because I don't want to gain weight. I just don't have a real food.

So I don't have a very high cost of living. My biggest expense is really like gas because I drive all over it. So that's, you know, it's been really, really helpful over this layoff. It's, you know, I haven't had to work. worry too much. And it's certainly, again, helping my wife be able to afford now to move into a bit of an upgrade. So we're going to, I plan on just keeping going and making way more of those bonuses. Talk about a wild story. Jeez, Louise. But the good news is we could see Tristan Connolly back in the Octagon by April, maybe as early as March. But that story of him running

into Michelle Paheta in Vegas with Johnny Walker is sort of the middleman. Absolutely hilarious. Great stuff right there from Tristan Connolly as we prepare to put a bow. On the first Tuesday edition of what the heck here on MMAfighting.com, this will be the norm. Moving forward, ladies and gentlemen, BTL between the lengths moves to Thursdays. It's going to take some getting used to for all of us, myself included, but in the end, I think this is going to be the best thing for everybody, especially during these fight weeks. And it gives me a little more time to knock the interviews out as opposed to having to scramble, get them done on Tuesday and Wednesday. I basically have the whole week to knock out interviews now, and I think that's pretty awesome.

But a big thank you for sticking with us, with all these changes, and for checking out the show each and every week. A big thank you to Casey Liden on the production, Jose Youngs and Alex Savis on the graphics and dealing with me being a pain in the rump, asking for a million favors. They never say no, they never complain, and that means the world, of course. The great Jose Young's in Abu Dhabi, as we speak. So we will have all of your on-site fight island event coverage, weigh-in shows, media days, preview shows, pre-fight show Q&As,

post-fight shows, all that and more right here on mMAfighting.com. With that, I wish you a heck of a week, everybody. It is Fight Week. The UFC is back for the first time in 2021 this Saturday. And we're going to close the show by chatting with one of the participants on this trip to Fight Island. Right sandwich in the middle. two Saturday cards, Wednesday, January 20th, one of the bright prospects in the UFC's featherweight division.

Back at it, you'll see him compete against Douglas Androge. We leave you with my chat with the miracle, Lorone Murphy. All right, the UFC is returning to action for three events on Fight Island over an eight-day stretch. And one of those matchups will take place in the featherweight division on Wednesday, January 20th. This man will face Douglas Androge at UFC Fight Island 8. let us say hello to Lorone Murphy, who is kind enough to join us while in quarantine. Lorone, how are you, man?

I'm good, man. Just spending this quarantine time. Good. I just finished my workout stuff. Just chilling and relaxing. There you go. I know you're in London right now, getting ready to head over to Abu Dhabi where you'll go ahead and quarantine again once you get there.

Do you kind of enjoy this time to, I know you're training as well, but to kind of chill and relax a little bit, or is it kind of rough just sort of being stuck in one spot? Yeah. It's always good to relax because obviously when I'm at home, I've got other things going on and up and down. So it's good to just get in a hotel and just relax and do your workouts and sit and chill. I've been playing college duty all day. I don't mind it. I don't mind it.

So you're a big video gamer? Yeah, I play a lot of video games in my downtime. It's a way, like there's no energy yet. Spended. I just relax and chill after training. Don't make fun of me too much. I've never once in my life played any call of duty games. even for a second.

No way. Do you not play no video games? I'm a good chunk older than you. So like my gaming was like Nintendo. Like Mike Tyson's punchout to me is like the greatest video game of all time. But I know it is evolved so much. What else is good besides Call of Duty? I play a bit of FIFA.

Yeah. That's it really. Just them two at a minute. Yeah, I could play. I could see myself playing FIFA, even though I get washed. Yeah, FIFA is sick. But, you know, talking about like quarantine and stuff, like this has been, you know, some road for you to get to where you are right now. Like, I know you've talked about the incident where you were shot in the face twice when you were when you were younger at a barbershop.

I mean, if you can go through that and come on the other side, I'm sure a couple days in quarantine or like a walk in the park for you. Exactly. I've been through it all. I think I've been through it all. I've been through the ups and down. So this is all part of the journey. I'm happy to even get to fight in this climate right now. So this little quarantine here is nothing to me.

Do you think about that day a lot? Like I know it's helped mold you into the man and the fighter you are today. And I'm sure when something like that happens, you can't just like block it out of your mind. But is that something that you reflect on and think about a lot? Yeah, a lot of things like that don't leave your mind. Like it don't matter what's going on in your life. Like you think about them things it comes into your minds.

But it also gives me more fire in day to day. your life to succeed and do better for myself. Yeah, just such a wild story. But now you're getting prepared for your second trip to fight island since joining the UFC. You had that great performance against Ricardo Hamos in July. You put them away in the first round. I mean, to get your first UFC win like that in that incredible fashion, what was that

like for you? Oh, it was amazing. It was amazing. Like, ever since assigned to the UFC, I've just been thinking about getting that first win. I fell short in the first fight. I got draw against Sabira. and then to go out and get a win against Ramos,

another guy that's highly targeted in the UFC. It was massive for me. Yeah, even like the Zubaira draw, you got a lot of praise from that fight. I mean, you come in on your debut, fighting a really tough guy, but did you notice the buzz that came from the Hamos win? Like a lot of people were talking about that performance.

You got the $50,000. Did you notice, like, an uptick in your following on social media and stuff after that fight in July? Well, to be honest, I got more of a following from Zizabera. obviously he's like big in Russia so that's why but getting the finish and getting the finish is also always going to boost your stock in this game you need to go out there and perform and try to finish guys that's that's the way you're growing this sport you even got a shout out from the big boss Dana White after the win I mean you get a first round finish a bonus and

some love from Dana White doesn't get much better than that right it doesn't it doesn't obviously when when the big man's watching your fights and and he knows who you are it's always a good thing that I just want to get onto like the level of people like Kevin Holland and Hamza Tchamaya that I just get that got the real buzz. That's what I'm aiming for that real buzz. So for me, the way to get that is to fight more often. That's it. Did you use the $50,000 for golf lessons?

I saw your video. You were on the driving. A ball flew a little. Your club flew a lot. It's hilarious, man. Have you been swung on clubs since then? Do you know what? Yeah.

I took 10 good shots and then I told my mates a video and the one time I told him to a video I tried to put extra power in it and the golf club just went flying. Were there other people there on the range? Yeah, like the person that was sat on the desk that must have been seen on the cameras

like come over because he must have thought he was messing about or something but obviously it was a genuine accident that happens in it. Did you scare some folks? Yeah, yeah, yeah. but I'm standing back after that one. That's so funny, man.

So if they allow you to play golf on that course in Abu Dhabi, I don't know if you're going to play, are you? Oh, man, I'm a danger to everybody, you know. Well, that video's great. Go on Lorone's Instagram and check that out. But let's talk about this fight on January 20th. You're fighting Douglas Andrade, a very experienced guy. He said seven fights in the UFC,

but the level of competition that he has faced has been wild, man. Like yourself, he fought Zubaira. He's also fought the country. current Bannamweight champion, Peotra, he's fought Cheetah Vera, Rob Fon, and now he's back in featherweight,

got a win over Henning Barra. What did you think of the matchup when it was presented to you? I just know, I know it's a tough fight. I know it's a tough fight. He's skilled, he's experienced.

I know it's a tough fight, but I've already, I've already been offered two tough fights before that. And I'm like, you know what I'm saying? I've been in there, been in there two very high-level guys before that.

So for me, it just comes with the USC you're going to fight these guys but from watching him I've seen that he stands up a lot and he's a moiety so I feel like that falls into my into my game a lot did you think you maybe get and this is no disrespect to Douglas but I mean coming off that win against a guy like ricotta Hamos I thought you were probably going to get a bigger name like someone closer to like the top 20 top 25 and Douglas is no sludge so I'm not saying that but Did you expect maybe a big name than Douglas? Not really, because in my eyes, is a big name.

Like, he's been ranked. Do you know what I'm saying? He's been ranked. So for me, for me, it's a big fight. Like, I'm not trying to rush to top 15. I feel like I need a good two fights this year and then start thinking about that kind of jump up. I need to be active.

I've had, what, two fights in nearly two years or something. So for me, for me, that's not active enough. Do you think styles-wise, this can be like kind of a showcase for you to build upon the momentum of the fight in July? Styles-wise, this is going to bring out the best fight in me, like somebody that comes forward, somebody that slings bombs, something that's there to fight until the end. Like, it's going to be a good fight and a good showing and good test of my skills as well. So when Dana White breaks down this card and does the, if you don't know, now you know video, like you're going to be featured in this thing, right?

Like, I know you talked about it after your last win. Like, there's just, there's no way this fight can't be, can't be in that video, right? Yeah, looking at, looking at the card, obviously there's some good fights on the card, but I feel like for a viewer that likes fighting, this is the fight to watch. Like, it's going to be fireworks. Like, he comes forward and sings bombs and eyes, I come forward and sending bombs. So I feel like stylistically, it's a fun fight to watch him, so he should be, it should be shouting that one out.

Are you just very excited to have this fight so early in the year because like you mentioned, you only got to fight once last year. This time, you know, you can get this one out of the way. It could set you up for a much more active year because, yeah, I mean, if you go through your career, you typically fight two, three times a year. So I'm sure that's something you're looking at in 2021 to be as active as possible. Yeah, most certainly. And fighting in January gives me the best chance of doing that.

I want to get four fights in in the perfect world. I want to get four fights in. and we've been working with guys that are going to try to keep me healthy throughout the year. Just more strength on work and more mobility stuff and try to stay healthy and try to stay on this ladder. I'll get four fights and that'll be perfect for me. Have you been on a strict strength and conditioning regimen for a while now, or is this something that you picked up along the way so you could be as active as possible? Yeah, something I've picked up on the way.

I've been picking up some more stupid little injuries here and there that I shouldn't really be getting if I was doing things properly. I'm kind of trying to take the, I'm professional. I'm training all the time, but I'm trying to take the more scientific way and build my body. So these little niggles are harder to come by. Obviously, they're going to come out in it because we're in a high-intensity sport and we're training hard and things happen.

But we want to try and minimize the risk factor. Do you feel differently at this point heading into a fight than you did for the July fight because of all of that? Yeah, 100%. I've gone into my first. my first two FD fights with pretty significant injuries. And this time I feel healthy, so we'll see, in it. But you know how the game goes?

Like, you just don't, you know, it don't matter, it doesn't matter. What's going to happen is going to happen. You don't feel it when you're in the cage anyway. Exactly, exactly, exactly. So how do we surpass what you did in July? I mean, that was, that was damn impressive. How does this one play out? What can we expect from you on January 20th?

I can surpass that one But it's one of them It's like for me I just want to go and give a clean performance Clean performance That's what I want to do That's my main goal in this If the finish comes,

great, that's what I fight for I don't fight for points But if it doesn't come And I get the win That's also massive to me That means I've beat up a guy For three rounds That's high level

So that's a lot of experience For me But obviously I'm going to be fighting for the finish I feel like this is going to be a really big year for the featherweight division Lauren. Like it's just, I mean, there's so much talent, but the division kind of slowed up a little bit in 2020 just because there wasn't a lot of activity at the top of the division. And I know that you're not in any rush to get into the top 15 at this point.

But with that, it does create opportunity for guys like yourself, like we saw with Kevin Holland and Hamza At Chamaif to make a name for yourself. We don't want to look past Douglas on January 20th, but what kinds of goals have you laid out for yourself in 2021? Yeah, so if we're talking in the perfect world, like I want to have two fights and maybe head for the top 15 after that. If obviously it all goes well, that's my plan, end of the year, start fighting these top 15 guys.

I'm just gaining experience as I go along. And I feel like every month I'm getting better, every training session, getting better. I'm learning new things about myself. My team's stronger now. I've got a solid team around me now. So I feel like now is the time to go. and we're growing daily.

So you're in London right now. It's Thursday as we're recording this. When do you fly to Abu Dhabi? So we had our cold test this morning and wait for the test to come back. If all was good, we fly tomorrow night to Abu Dhabi. There you go. Before you fight, there's a big featherweight matchup going down

between Max Holloway and Calvin Cater. That's the main event on January 6th. How do you see that one going down, man? Do you think the former champion gets it done or do you see Cater picking up the biggest win of his career? Well, if Cater wins this fight, it's definitely a title shot for him, well, in my eyes anyway, but it's a tough fight for them both. I feel like stylistically, it's a great fight for the fans and the neutrals,

and I'm neutral in this one. I'm a fan. I want to say I'm a fan of them both, but I like both of the styles. I think they're both exciting to watch and they're both great fighters. So I'm just going to be watching as a neutral, and whoever wins wins. me the best man win. I think this fight is flying under the radar so much. I mean, you got Connor and Porier, I get that,

but I feel like this one just is so good. It's so good. I feel like this is a better fight. This is a better fight. It's talking, talking mean events on this island. That's the one to watch. Yeah. So you think from like a competitive standpoint,

this is more competitive than Connor and Dustin? Yes. I feel like this is like the biggest 50-50 fight and mean event. And it's 50 and it depends what Holloway shows up, really. And I feel like if the best Holloway shows up, then we're in for a bang or a fight. I can't wait to see how the first round plays out because typically they're both like, they're both slow starters.

Like Max looked great in the first round of the second Volcanowski fight, but typically like they start slow and then they come on as it goes. I wonder how this first round is going to go. I feel like both like, I feel like both like, I feel like, I feel like, I feel like both. Both of them have lost close fights also. So I feel like they're going to push the pace from the get-go. I feel like they're going to try to take control in the first, win that first round, get that under the belt.

And then because it's going to be so close, you can't have no rounds off at that level. You need to be going through it from the get-go. And I feel like Max Holloway is going to try to push the pace early. Is there like a dream matchup that you have in mind right now? Like, is there someone in the top 15 that you're like, you know what? Like, I'm not there yet, but at some point in my career,

Like, I have to fight this guy. I wouldn't say anybody in particular, but the title fight is whoever's got the title for me. For me, it's just about, I'm just trying to provide for my family and get to the top of the title. That's all I'm about. I don't care who I'm fighting or whatnot.

I've got no Vindexic, nobody. I just want to provide for my family and get that title. That's me. So whoever's got the title at that time and whoever's in my way, I'll fight. Yeah, it's business, right? It's not personal.

It's business. Yeah, of course, of course. Got to take care of the loved ones. But saying that, I would like to fight somebody that's a legend and I've been watching growing up. That would be nice to see people, because I've been watching the UFC before I even trained. So like I've asked to fight somebody that I've been watching growing up,

that would be massive for me. Like who? Who would stick out? You smart, you smart. I listen. I'd say somebody like, Maybe Cobbs Swanson or some, I've been watching these guys for years. Like these guys are legends.

And for me, I wouldn't call, I'm not calling him out, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't start saying names of people that I think have over the hill and past it. Cubs Swanson looked great in his last fight. So even like Ricardo Lamas, like people like that, but I think he's retired now. But these guys still look, still look good. And it'd be good to test himself against these people. Yeah. I mean, I spoke to Cove, like after that fight.

And the mindset that he has right now, just. Going through the ups and downs, losing four fights in a row and seeing and hearing where he's at right now. It's amazing, man. It's amazing how your mind just kind of mold you, even in a physical sense. He was just a completely different guy than the last time we saw him. Yeah, it's true, man. The mind is a crazy thing, isn't it? Look at fighters like Madsvidal.

I won't say it was an average fighter, but it was getting average results. And then he changed his mindset and look where he is now he's one of the biggest fighters in the world. So it's all about mindset and just just change, just getting that right mindset for you. And to learn that this early in your career, I mean, you've obviously learned that. You've gone through a lot. So your mind is as strong as a lot of these guys in the organization. But to have those things in mind now compared to like the Mazadaws and the Swanson's. That's got to be like a huge advantage for you, right?

I'm just watching these. I'm just looking at the blueprint of these guys. I've been in a sport a short time. So I'm just looking at how long. these top guys are doing it and trying to build my own blueprint off that. There you go. The Lorone Murphy autobiography is going to add a new chapter on January 20th. Looking forward to seeing you back in there, man.

You had a great performance in July. I appreciate the time very much. Happy quarantining, safe travels, and all the best to you in the fight, man. Yeah. Thank you. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.