My Mom's Basement - EPISODE 27 - ADAM COLE/STIPE MIOCIC & GIAN VILLANTE

Episode Date: September 23, 2019

We've got a jam-packed show this week, kicking off with a pretty lengthy From The Top Rope interview featuring Adam Cole where he tells the boys all about working with Shawn Michaels day-to-day at the WWE Performance Center, what opportunities he's most excited for with NXT moving to USA, and the insane degree to which his wrestling fandom stretched as a teenager. Afterwards, Robbie is joined in-studio by the UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic, as well as UFC Light Heavyweight Gian Villante, and the three shoot the shit about fighting, the Browns, and more! Follow this week's guests on Twitter... -@AdamColePro -@JaredCarrabis -@StipeMiocic -@GPVillanteYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/mymomsbasement

Hey My Mom's Basement listeners, you can find our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. This week's edition of My Mom's Basement is brought to you by SimpliSafe. Ladies and gentlemen, week after week, I talk to you about SimpliSafe, and sometimes I bring up my favorite character of all time, Bruce Wayne, Batman. I bring up Batman all the time because most Batman stories start with a burglary being stopped by the Caped Crusader himself. Over this past weekend, Batman celebrated his 80th birthday. It was Batman Day. They lit up the Bat-Signal all over the world. It was a pretty nice celebration.

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than other home security companies, probably just about as fast as the Cape Crusader himself would get there. For my listeners, SimpliSafe has a huge deal going on right now, so go to SimpliSafe.com slash mom and get free shipping and a money-back guarantee. That's SimpliSafe.com slash mom and get free shipping and a money back guarantee. That's simplisafe.com slash mom today. simplisafe.com slash mom. Jared Karabas and I had him in the office right before the premiere of NXT on USA. And we discussed a plethora of things with him for over 35 minutes in studio. It was a blast.

And I also had the UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic back in studio with his friend John Volante this time. So we'll get into the Adam Cole interview first. We discussed all things wrestling, all things NXT, all things training with Shawn Michaels down at the Performance Center. And I'll meet you on the other side to intro the Stipe Miocic interview. All right, Welcome back to the show. Jared Karabas and I are now joined by a very special guest. We got a little From the Top Rope action going on in the building. We are back.

We are full-fledged back. We have Adam Cole, baby. Adam Cole in the building. What is going on, guys? In the building. These headphones, I had to take them off. They were blowing my ear drums out. Fuck them.

We're not doing it. Adam Cole, he's in the building. Adam, how are you? You're in New York. You have a lot of memories in this city. How are you feeling in New York City? Yeah, anytime I'm in the Northeast, it's always really exciting because obviously I grew up in this area. I trained in Philadelphia.

Some of my most memorable matches over the years have been in New York. So, yeah, anytime I get the chance to come back here, I'm always thrilled. And you said you trained in Philadelphia. I've been following your career back since CZW, since Best of the Best, yeah, against Sammy Callahan and all that kind of stuff. I've been a huge fan of yours and we actually met once before.

So we met, you're not going to remember this, but I was trying to design shirts for people when Pro Wrestling Tees first started as a company. I met you at, what was it, War of the Worlds at Hammerstein when you had a match against Jushin. Oh, cool. Yeah, and I came up to you, and all I said, I was like, listen, man, big mark for you.

I love you. Sorry to be one of these guys. And you said, nope, don't worry about it, man. Everyone's a mark. I've always remembered that, so I just wanted to thank you for that. I do, too. Of course. Of course.

Absolutely. Kicking off the interview, we got NXT. It's coming to USA Network. It is some of the biggest news in wrestling this year. about NXT to USA excites you so much uh but for me most importantly uh I'm incredibly proud of the the show that we put on I really do think bell to bell NXT puts on the best shows in the world and I really do stand by that especially for anyone who's seen our takeover events so for me just for the sheer opportunity that so many more people are going to get the chance to check out NXT has me thrilled. Because I know a lot of people who have never gone to a wrestling event before, and they'll go to an NXT show, and they're like, wow, this is amazing.

I've got to go to another one of these. Or they check it out on the WWE Network. But now so many more people are going to get the chance to see it that i really think the fan base is going to grow like crazy that's what has me the most excited and i feel like our team has really worked hard for this not that it's like a stigma or anything but like don't you think that the casual wrestling fan is like okay nxt developmental it's like they look at nxt as like the minor leagues how would you sort of convince a wrestling fan like hey it's not the minor leagues like we're putting on some of the best shows like what would be your like selling point well the perfect thing now is we're on the usa network right exactly yeah that number you know before

it was just about you know just give it a chance watch the event you'll see these guys are world class high caliber athletes who put on the most exciting pro wrestling matches excuse me on the planet um but now with this move to the usa network i mean that's just proof right there that nxt is the third brand like people used to call it uh moving up when you would go to roller smackdown now it's just moving yeah now guys move from brand to brand or at least that's how it'll be going forward but yeah this move to usa network is just proof right there that nxt is a legitimate brand for the the WWE what was like the coolest moment like when you were in NXT originally before like the main roster move where you were kind of just like

going at the like the takeover events compared to like competing with like the actual pay-per-views was that ever like a mindset where it's like we got to put on a better show so our focus generally and this is kind of the case at least this has worked for me as far as succeeding within wrestling. I focus so little on what's going on around me, which can be good or bad also. But like, for example, with one of my matches, especially at a takeover where every match is trying to steal the show. I'm happy for other matches when they're doing great. But in that moment, all I'm focused on is making sure I put on the best match that i possibly can yeah nxt has that mentality about their shows as well we're not really thinking about what everybody else is doing we're just focused on us and making sure that again we put

on a super exciting wrestling show that the fans have come to expect from us now so i don't really think we're too focused on on what everybody else doing. We're more focused on just making sure our show rules. Yeah, it works. Is there something that surprised you when you weren't in NXT, when you were still unsigned, that you thought about NXT, that once you brought in was completely different and you were like, oh, wow, this is not what I thought? Yeah, that's a good question. Something that was different that I didn't expect. Well, okay. As far as my relationship that I've built with Shawn Michaels, being around him all the time, being able to pick his brain 24-7,

is definitely not something I expected. That's got to be the most insane thing in the world, especially as a wrestling fan as big as yourself. Because to me, he's the greatest who's ever done it. So for him to care so much and be so invested of so many of his kids in NXT has been the coolest thing um so because I knew obviously a lot of guys were very you know hands-on in NXT but to see again just how into everything Sean has been especially with a certain core group of his guys. It's been invaluable.

I've said this before. If I were to leave WWE tomorrow, that time with Sean would be the most invaluable experience. I mean, he's been so incredibly helpful in so many ways. That's awesome, and I'm interested in that. I'm a huge Shawn Michaels fan. He's the best. Yeah, he's the greatest of all time in my opinion. I think him as well.

How does the teaching styles of like Sean and Hunter, you have so many brains to pick at the performance center how do their styles differ from each other like do you go to certain people for certain things there yeah yes well generally speaking i work with sean i'd say 99 of the time okay you know sometimes michael hayes is involved obviously hunter has his hands in everything uh but to me I don't know if this really answers your question but one of the best things about Sean is he's very aware of the new school style like he loves cool moves he loves crazy athleticism more importantly he just loves the fans going crazy yeah that's really like comforting to hear because a lot of times in wrestling the old--timer is like, well, you should be wrestling the way I used to be wrestling.

You shouldn't be evolving. I love that Sean is not that way. He is so embraced. The crazier, the better. All the crazy ricochet stuff and you guys doing crazy Canadian destroyers and everything. Because he dealt with the same thing when he was first coming up. He was told to slow down or not do so much so i think he has a soft spot for us because he knows that sometimes you know guys like us deal with that a little bit especially guys on the smaller side he can relate to us so much have you have you had moments where like you

popped sean and you were like i just popped sean michaels doing something i don't know i mean i've gotten to make him laugh but i can't think of anything off the top of my head um i my favorite thing though as far as the popping sean is when i when i come through the curtain and he's super amped up about a match i just had that's like the 20,000 people can be losing their minds and it's an amazing feeling yeah but to have him all giddy yeah the best feeling in the world yeah it's yeah it's it's like you're like it's your dad getting your report card yeah what's the what's the greatest piece of advice that you got from Shawn Michaels? I'm glad you said that because this is what I was going to bring up.

So the best piece of advice for sure is Shawn's ear for a wrestling audience is unlike anything I've ever heard. There's a certain formula that sometimes we can fall into, especially a big match formula for guys who have been on the independence. And you get used to the structure of match and you're focused on your match but not really listening to the audience in there. He has such a good ear for being able to know when to maybe speed things up a little bit or slow things down a little bit. And being able to listen to them and know when you speed up or when you slow down is again like an invaluable piece of advice that for the longest time i didn't understand i'm still learning it as we all are um but for me to now pay attention to those things because he's put that in my head i think has been invaluable as far as a match being exciting or entertaining to the live audience so again his ear for the audience now is something that i've really tried to focus on even more. And you spoke about coming up from the independents.

You came up with a very interesting crop of people. I think kind of your era of the independents, I think it's safe to say, has a happy ending. Like kind of everyone seems to be doing very well for themselves. Everyone that was on those PWG shows and those Ring of Honor shows now seems to be not only in the WWE, but in other companies that have signed and, you know, they're making a good living for themselves. Looking back at that era of the independence, if you want to call it that, those few years, what do you take away? Like, what do you think you guys accomplished moving forward? So the biggest thing for me is, and I know,

you know, a lot of those guys, when we all came up together, there was this crazy obsession with wanting to be the best that all of us had. Like we weren't really focused on too much of the stuff outside of wrestling. It was all 24-7. How can we have the best, most exciting match going forward? And all of us, because we had that mentality for so long, I think that's a huge reason that there's been such success with our Krapa guys. We just all had our minds made up that we were going to make it or that we were going to do well or we were going to travel the world and make a great living as pro wrestlers. So I think the fact that that generation of guys has not only done that now, like you said, we're literally all over the wrestling world in different places or different parts of the world. It's wild.

You watch like a PWG show from, I don't know, 2013, 2014, and it's every single match somebody is now main eventing a pay-per-view in a massive arena. So that's really crazy. And also you've come up with a lot of groups. You've had Mount Rushmore. You've had obviously right now the Undisputed Era. Do you prefer – you've also done a lot of solo stuff. Do you prefer going through the wrestling world with a group, with a stable, or do you like going through it, navigating it, kind of just being your own guy? I love doing it how I'm doing it right now.

I love having a group to play off of, especially when it's guys who I'm so tight with. I've known Roderick, Kyle, and Bobby for 10 years. I was in Kyle O'Reilly's wedding. I was at Roderick Strong's wedding. Like we talk every – I was talking to them before I came in today. So we talk all the time. So I think when you have people to share the pressure with or share like a really cool moment with, it just makes this job so much more fun. And I love all the different things you can do.

If we have an eight-man tag, it's going to be way different than a singles match that I have. But at the same time, I do love, even though I'm in a group, predominantly I'm wrestling in singles matches and still doing what I feel is exciting or showcasing Adam Cole individually. But I love being in a group. Just, again, not only to play off creatively, but the passion is there.

Having a group of guys to travel down the road with is fun. True. I love being in a group. Just, again, not only to play off creatively, but the passion is there. Having a group of guys to travel down the road with is fun. True. I love being in a group. And people really like groups. Like the Undisputed Era is cool because it's four guys who they like. If it was Adam Cole by himself, would it be as cool? I don't know. I feel like the whole armband thing doesn't become as cool if it's one guy wearing it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. True. band thing doesn't become as cool if it's just one guy wearing it. There's something that people are attached to when it comes to a group and four guys wearing the same t-shirts and stuff like that. It's cool. Did you turn 30 this year? I did. I turned 30 this year. Congratulations.

We're a 30 club. My question for you because I remember the first time that I saw professional wrestling on television but it didn't grab me the first time. The first time you saw professional wrestling, did it grab you the first time that I saw professional wrestling on television, but it didn't grab me the first time. The first time you saw professional wrestling, did it grab you the first time? And what was that moment if you remember? So actually, it's kind of a detailed story. But the first time I saw it, I was seven years old.

And I remember being intrigued by it. But my parents were so against me watching it that I just forgot about it. It was a WCW thunder, I think. Yeah. I saw WCW and I just forgot about it. It was a WCW thunder, I think. Yeah. That was the thing. I saw WCW and I was like, eh. And then I remember seeing a WWF at the time, like pay-per-view, and I was like, yes. That's kind of exactly what happened.

Because two years later, I was taking karate lessons and I really admired my instructor. I would get there early and stay late. I just loved doing it. And one day I got there early and he was walking on a treadmill watching a taped Monday Night Raw from the night before and it was Kane and Steve Austin putting Paul Bearer in a sewer. That's his guy.

Kane is his guy. Biggest Kane fan in the world. And he goes, oh, do you watch wrestling? And I lied. And I was like, yeah, I watch it all the time because I just wanted to fit in with him so bad.

Long story short, he let me borrow tape that was WrestleMania 15 with The Rock and Austin won headlining. And the first time I watched that, I was hooked. And I think my mom let it slide because she was like, well, if this karate instructor is letting my nine-year-old son watch wrestling, it can't be that bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the rest was history.

Yeah. Middle of the attitude era. Like, right, exactly. Yeah. That was like the same with my mom. She was like, eh, I don't know, because, like, Sable was big at that time. She was like, whoa.

But then, like, my dad got into it. He was like, all right, if it's, like, a father-son bonding thing, like, it is what it is. So who was your guy growing up? Steve Austin. Okay. Yeah, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

I actually, when I was in sixth grade, I shaved my head bald. When you were in sixth grade? Yeah, shaved it bald. Such a weird time to shave your head bald. I wore the, I was in sixth grade, I shaved my head bald. When you were in sixth grade? Yeah, shaved it bald. Such a weird time to shave your head bald. I was a weird kid. I wore the steel chain that he wore. I wore rock jean shorts.

Is that why you went with the plain black tights? Yeah. Really? Because of Steve Austin? Yeah, him and Shawn Michaels are my two favorites of all time. But I really, really, really loved Stone Cold. Yeah. Like, the first time, I don't know if this is interesting or not, but actually, I became a wrestling fan at nine. But then two years later was when I was like, oh, I'm going to be a pro wrestler.

Yeah. When I saw WrestleMania 17, which is Rock Austin 2. Yep, yep. And I remember Steve Austin's entrance with 67,000 people losing their minds. It was the first time I ever got goosebumps in my life. Was that in Houston, right? It was in Houston. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I remember just being so moved by that. I was like, I need to do this for a living. So yeah, he's a big reason that I wanted to be around. Did you have a pay-per-view buddy system? So when I was growing up, it was like I bought one, then my friend bought one, then we took a month off. Then it was me and then, yeah, we had like this big cycle. I have a very sad story regarding pay-per-views you didn't get to watch them i had to listen to them

i would put it on the scramble on scrambled yeah that's that's what i had to do for the off month yeah right because so my my parents would uh they obviously let me watch cable tv wrestling but as far as the pay-per-views it was very rare i think wrestlemania 20 in madison square garden let me get on pay-per-view but uh besides that i would sit there and listen to the scrambled television failure and one time there's an this is when uh steve austin was out with an injury and one of the advertisements for the next pay-per-view played his theme song and jr was talking in the background so i was freaking out out. Yeah, it was just an advertiser. That's very funny.

I wasn't going to put you on the spot like this, but now we're talking about how big a wrestling fan you are. And I feel like I have to bring up this story because you probably haven't told it in a while, but there's a great story you told on the Kevin Owens show, an old high spot show about buying a DVD at the mall, going out on maybe a double date or something can you tell the viewers just how big a wrestling fan you were as a teenager percent this perfectly

describes the type of wrestling fan that i was so again a buddy of mine it was either middle school or early heist i think it was middle school it might might have been high school, Adam. I think Rey Mysterio was involved in the story. I might have been 24 years old. No, but yeah, long story short, we got this wrestling DVD. I think it was No Way Out 2006. Don't quote me on that. But the semi-main event was Randy Orton versus Rey Mysterio. It probably was around that time because that was WrestleMania 22 era when they had the triple threat. And that's when it was in Baltimore as well.

I got a weird brain, too too just remember all this stuff um but anyway uh my best friend from high school um he was with a girl and then uh i was with another girl again double date scenario and those two were kissing on the couch and being all flirtatious and i'm sitting there just watching this this dvd and she's grabbing at me and trying to get my attention. And I eventually turned to her and I said, you're going to have to wait until this match is done. That's not even the best part. The best part, I went to this event.

I'd already seen that. I was re-watching the DVD of an event that I went to live. Was it the first time you saw it on film though? Yes. Alright, so that's a completely different experience. Commentary, a whole different thought. You want to see, oh maybe I can see myself in the crowd there. I think we've all been there at one point, but I'll tell you

what, a girl does not want to hear. Wait until this match is over. Actually, my first girlfriend, I've never told this story publicly. My first girlfriend, when she cheated on me and broke up with me. I was a freshman in high school, told all my friends afterwards maybe if he cared as much about me as he cared about wrestling, we would still be together. And I was like – I took that in pride. I was like, I fucking did care about wrestling more than her, and that's why she did cheat on me. Same thing.

I felt so proud that I was like, no, I don't got time for anybody. I'm going to focus on this wrestling match. Right. So I'm just – yeah, I don't got time for anybody. I'm focused on this wrestling match. Right. Yeah, I was a little bit into it. But I mean, I look at that. I mean, I'm sure I have similar stories of girls complaining about me. But it's like, look at where you are. Look at where he is.

It's like there's reasons for that. If you're dedicated to something and it pans out, those are the people that actually make it when they're like, hey, listen, we'll get to it, toots. But for now, I need to see the one, two, three. I've said this before, too, and I'm not saying that it's healthy, but having an obsession with something does sometimes pay off. Oh, for sure. For a guy like me, I'm not the biggest guy. I didn't go to college.

My dad wasn't a successful pro wrestler. I had to kind of figure this all out on my own. So it was so important for me to literally obsess over it and make sure that I did everything that I could. I just didn't want to get to the end of my life or the end of my career. And I want to be able to say that I did all that I could. And part of that was, again, just absolutely obsessing with this job. Was there a moment where you almost thought it wasn't gonna pan out was there a moment where you were like you know maybe this isn't the what i want not not what i want to do but like

maybe this isn't what's gonna end up happening for me well there was um there was never a point where i lost hope or focus of saying okay you know i'm gonna make it but there was an interesting point where in 2013 i think i had my second wwe tryout and um i was told by all the coaches uh all 14 of them that yes you're you're gonna get a contract you're gonna you're gonna get signed and you're gonna end up in in wwe and i remember being so excited and i was with roh at the time um so i was planning to finish up there like the game plan was alright you're done good luck congratulations and then I got a phone call saying that it's not a no forever it's just a not right now

and I remember being so crushed because in my brain I was like had you told people and stuff everyone was expecting because again I was told it wasn't an official yes were you the ring of honor champ at the time I was the ring of Honor television champion. Okay.

So, but now thinking back on my career, that could not have been better. I mean, I went on to have a great run in ROH. I got to go wrestle overseas and in Japan. Like, it was huge for who Adam Cole the brand was. Because now ending up where I was, coming into NXT and being Adam Cole and saying Adam Cole, baby, I don't know if that would have been me had I ended up in WWE in 2013. I can pretty much guarantee that wouldn't have been me.

So it worked out perfectly. Wouldn't have changed anything. Seems like those kinds of things like always happen for a reason. One of those things, every time we talked a little bit about all the groups you've been with. A lot of those groups are very funny. A lot of those groups have very funny people in them that seemingly are trying to make you laugh the entire time they're cutting promos what is i guess some of the hardest times you've tried not to laugh either around kyle o'reilly playing his

belt like a guitar or kevin owens and the bucks you know cutting the most ridiculous mount rushmore promos ever yeah so many of the but when you said trying not to laugh i instantly thought of kyle uh kyle o'reilly is the most undercover funny guy that i've ever met he's hilarious and especially as time has gone on he's opened up more and more like people are like catching on more and more right right he's just a hilarious guy there are so many little things that he says that um that almost make me laugh like the one thing that comes to my mind is we we cut this uh promo for somebody like a young fan and it was just a standard like hey thanks for being a fan of the undisputed era don't remember you know don't forget stay undisputed like that type of thing and we did

all this and i cut most of the promo and then we're all doing the Undisputed Era hand sign. And Kyle just dead serious with a big smile on his face goes, shock the system, Jack. We almost had to redo it. Just the most absurd. Shock the system. Shock the system, Jack. I love that. Even like in his wrestling, Kyle does like subtle things that crack me up.

Like he's been doing it forever but the cell he does where you know he'll get hit with you know huge power moving power up and then fall through the ropes it just cracks me up so much like he's he's so good in the subtleties yeah but i think that's part of what makes him so good though because when he gets super serious too like he's the man but but he does he has so many little funny entertaining things so who do you like watching now as a kid? You know, Austin used to be your guy, but now watching as a wrestler through the lens of a wrestler, which wrestlers are you like? I love like picking things up from them still. Do you go back and watch old stuff or are you watching like Ricochet and guys that are in the ring with you?

A combination. Like, you know, I'll still obviously go back and watch Shawn Michaels stuff. Believe it or not, and I know he's had an incredible career but i seriously think fans sometimes underrate how good triple h was yeah unreal yeah like it was such a good heel the way he moved was so impressive especially i think still look at like the match with uh stephanie and ronda and kurt angle like The way that whole match was put together and structured where him and Ronda had their moments. They were able to cover up what Ronda probably couldn't do in her debut. That's part of what makes him so good. It was amazing to watch.

Even guys now like AJ Styles is unreal. Seth Rollins is great. There are so many things from guys like that where you can pick up modern day stuff but then also go back and watch older stuff the the best thing now is you just there's so much wrestling you can get your hands on i know the network is so easy thing you want and i feel it feels like they add like dozen matches a day where it's like you can never catch up and get all the new stuff i'm so glad that wasn't around when i was a kid though oh god i would have had no social yeah no even that. I would have failed out of school. I barely got by as it is,

but if I had the WWE Network back in the day, because I used to videotape Monday Night Raw, and I would rent the pay-per-views, so I would watch those back. If I had the WWE Network, and I was going back to access the things that I just couldn't before, no social life.

Bull, were you a backyard wrestling guy? I was. I was going back to access the things that I just couldn't before no social life well did you did you were you a backyard wrestling guy I was I was give me a backyard wrestling story because uh those were I mean I don't know how name sure why to buy awesome I mean horrible 100 yeah so actually our our backyard wrestling group was only uh three people yeah so we all played a bunch of different characters. We would have ten match cards and I'd wrestle ten times. It was absurd. We were called APW

is what we were called. It stands for Amateur Pro Wrestling. Amateur Pro. The reason being though is if you look up the definition of amateur, it's you do it for fun and you're not getting paid for it. So we're like, okay, this is maybe contradicting itself, but it kind of makes sense. Kind of amateur pro wrestling.

Yeah. But it got to a point where we would do our big events on half days at school because the kids had time to kill until two or three hours whenever their parents picked them up. So there have been phases where we had like 50 kids in Momo and Buddy's backyard. We got t-shirts made. We got championships made. We sold DVDs. We thought we were so cool when in reality they were probably just coming there to laugh at us. But we felt really, really kind of legit.

How old were you if you were selling DVDs? Yeah, I was going to say how old were you if you were selling DVDs? Yeah, I was going to say, how old were you if you were selling DVDs? Late middle school, early high school. Okay. Were you wearing, like, wrestling gear? So, no. We had wrestling shoes, but had, like, shorts. The garbage bag shorts?

No, just standard, like, Nike shorts. Damn, yeah. You know, some guys were shirtless. I took it seriously. I shaved. I was real serious about this I was passionate What was the ring? The ring was a nightmare

If I remember everything correctly The base was tires And then plywood And a little bit of padding Thinking about bumping on that now Just makes me cringe And the ropes weren't even real You couldn't hit them.

Like if you hit them, they would just break. So I forget exactly what they were made of. So you'd run towards them and then run back. Run towards them, stop. Yeah. Absurd. Oh, God. I'm surprised.

Because we did like the trampoline stuff, which was dangerous as it is. But yeah, the trampoline stuff. And then, so I'm from Boston. So we would have like all like the winters and everything. So it would snow. I'd be like, all right, now we're having a wrestling match. And it's like, we would just like be breaking fucking icicles over each other's heads. Like these thick ones.

Like they could give you just a straight up concussion. You wouldn't be able to hear it. Yeah. What was your steel chair? We went cookie sheet. Okay. Our actual, so we really prided ourselves, because we were giant ROH fans at the time, on being

pure basketball wrestling. So no weapons. No weapons. No icicles. Did you do a code of honor before matches? We did. Amazing. We did a random belt shot here and there.

But the one thing that we really abused was just the snapmare big kick to the back. Yeah. We used to do that to each other all day. Yeah. And now again. Kick pads or no? I was going to say no kick pads.

Of course not. We'd never even heard of kick pads. So, yeah, no. Just awful. Awful. No soccer shin guards. I think that's what we used for kick pads. That sounds even worse. No. No. No. They were foam No soccer shin guards. I think that's what we used for kick pads. That sounds even worse.

No. No. No, they were foam. Oh, okay. Yeah. They were essentially kick pads, but like not wrestling kick pads. And now you've been in WWE, you've gotten the opportunity to be in a ton of different match types, even match types that have been brought back from the grave, like war games.

Yeah. Are there any match types? I know everyone always says like, what are your dream matches? Do you want, who do you want from the past? You would say Shawn Michaels probably. What are – is there any matches that you're like, I haven't done this match type that I would like to try in the WWE? Maybe even if you've done it in the indies or before WWE. Yeah, so there were two.

The first, which I recently got to do in Toronto, was something along the lines of Three Stages of Hell, which was so cool that I got to do that with Johnny. That ended up working out perfect. But now, really, the one that I haven't done that I would love to do is Hell in a Cell. Oh. Now, to me, would be – I just – watching those matches just absolutely blew my mind when I was a kid. They still blow my mind. Just the giant structure and the anticipation you have for when two guys or six guys or whatever get in get in that cell um that to me is something that i would really love to do and now with the move to usa and the growth of nxt who knows i mean listen i know pg and all

that you got to be a sick fuck you want to be in a hell of a well i mean that's insane if if if any of us i thought you were a normal guy till just now. But if any of us got out of the way, we're talking to a crazy man. Of course you would want to do that. That's like making it to Major League Baseball and not wanting to play in the World Series. You get there and then it's like someone suggests like, oh, Adam, what if we throw you off the top? And it's like, oh. That would end up being me. And I'm terrified of that.

You've always done the crazy stuff too. I remember watching some matches against Jay Briscoe. Jay Briscoe is a psychopath. So if he would take a crazy – if he would take tax or something, I'd be like, oh, what is that I'm going to do to one-up this guy? This psychopath. You'd get something stapled onto your forehead or something. Well, do you remember the first Hell in a Cell match that you saw? Yes, yes.

It was Mankind to Undertaker. Okay. King of the Ring 98. Did you see it live? No. I back-watched it. No, he wasn't watching at the time. Oh, yeah. So that was what, 98 Ring 98. Did you see it live? No. I back watched it. Oh, he wasn't watching it at the time. Oh, yeah.

So that was what, 98? 98. That was June 98? Yeah, yeah, yeah. In Pittsburgh? Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's correct.

100%. This guy's – I mean that's a very wrestling thing too. Wrestling fanatics have like brain man type things. Yeah. Yeah. Up until like 2003. Do you remember your own matches like that though? No.

So bits and pieces. There are certain things that I really remember. But then there are other times for sure, which I thought – I used to be that person that kept a match log. Like I had a book and I would write down every single match, the finish, how the crowd was. Until when? And then what happened was I went to England for a month and a half for a tour. And I worked for Brian Dixon. And there you work every single day, sometimes twice a day day so it just got to a point where i got overwhelmed yeah i was like yeah i'll

catch up on it when i get back right and i had 30 matches to record and i was just like i forget it but i kind of regret not keeping it it was right yeah it'd be cool to have yeah all right we got a few more before we get you out of here yeah we gotta mention before i mean we have we have a buddy that maybe you're not friends with we have a buddy that maybe you're not friends with. We have a buddy that you're friends with, Kevin Owens. He said, put me over. We have a buddy that you're not friends with, Pat McAfee. And your rivalry with Pat has been something to behold.

How has working with the eccentric Pat McAfee been? Terrible. I know. There has been no one more annoying or no one who's gotten on my nerves more than Pat McAfee. I can't believe he's still here. He's not here. He's at WWE. He used to work at Barstool. Did you know that?

Yes, I did. For the win. Definitely. I can't wait to get the phone call to hear that Pat has left WWE. It's like winning the NXT championship and then right underneath it, Pat McAfee getting fired. If you could pick a stipulation for a match against Pat McAfee,

what would you pick? Yeah, Pat McAfee on a pole match. Okay. And he'd just be up there and I would just never take him. He'd be upside down, maybe hit him every now and then and just laugh at him.

I love that. Yeah. I love that. One question that I wanted to ask everybody, but I'm just going to start. I love that. Yeah. I love that. One question that I wanted to ask everybody, but I'm just going to start. This is my new question. If you could pick any entrance theme, any song, what would it be?

The whole catalog of existing music in the world. You've got good ones. Your original in the Indies was great, I thought. And your current one with Undisputed Era, I think is a good one too. Yeah, but they'll make them for them. I'm saying you could pick any song. An existing song.

Yes. Any song. And obviously I keep... You get the rights to it. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's such a good question. Because I really do,

and not to sound like I'm tooting my own song's horn, but I love the song we come out to now so much. I'm so used to... Because so much of a song is like getting used to how you walk and how you move when you hear an entrance. But as far as – gosh, an actual – it would have to be like either a hip-hop or a Rage Against the Machine song in some capacity. Off the top of my head, I can't think of exactly what it would be. Now I'm going to think about this all day. It would be good.

Gorilla Radio. Yeah. Kind of sick. sick yeah he's got a good build-up you know that would be cool yeah or even if you go with like rage without you know zach and you go to audio slave coach eyes yeah it'd be kind of sick scott hall did this but the ready or not song yeah was so cool i feel like that was a really cool song to come out to you're gonna have to think about this i am gonna have to i'm sorry yeah i'm gonna have to think about this. I am going to have to. I'm sorry. I'm going to have to think about this. Think about it. Do you have a favorite match you've had in WWE?

Do you have one that you could point to or no? Is it like picking between your children? Yeah, well, that too. And to pick a favorite, maybe a favorite I'd be able to pick. But probably the WrestleMania weekend match with Johnny strictly for the last five minutes. Just for me, there was never a point that I've been in a ring and I feel like the fans have been that invested. I was there. It was crazy.

And I was there with somebody that had never watched wrestling before. And they were blown away by the main event especially, obviously, because you guys went like fucking fucking crazy it was like watching a fight out of a superhero movie or something so like that was it was an awesome environment to have someone that had never been in a wrestling environment that's that crowd to be going crazy and then we ask everyone for an obscure match recommendation a match that you don't think our listeners have seen but you recommend they go back and check out it could be you could be in it or you could be you know just from the past sure sure um an obscure match recommendation okay so there was um a lot of people appreciate this uh roh's first show ever in 2002 the main event was daniel brian aka brian danielson versus low-key versus christopher daniels it was a really

really cool three way. And I remember that kind of got me into it. Cause you see that now. And that's kind of the style that NXT has now as well, or is the kind of the style that's been adopted in 2002. That's the style that's been adopted today. So it's so cool to see when you watch today's wrestling and people who really enjoy that,

if they go back and watch that match, that's so much of what this style has kind of come from right and it just holds up just as good today it's an it's an awesome it's a little show yeah 300 400 people in a in the murphy rec center and the crowd's going nuts also like if you like ring of honor it's like you kind of have this to thank because without this show ring of honor doesn't become much of the style like i, so much of the style today is instituted from that three-way that those guys have. And Daniel Bryan writes a lot about that three-way in his book. And I think it's like if you haven't read that book, definitely check that out.

I think it's one of the better wrestling autobiographies out there. But it could obviously be a nice go-along if you check out the match, check out the book. Adam, thank you so much. You could, of course, check out NXT on USA finally on Wednesdays. This is going to be really awesome. I can't wait for it. And we thank you for coming in. I can't wait. Thanks a lot for having me, guys. All right. I want to thank Adam Cole for coming on. It was really cool getting to talk to him about, you know, getting to work with Shawn Michaels so often at the Performance Center. Before we get into this interview with Stipe Miocik and John Volante, I want to thank our sponsors at

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Protect your eyes and look great doing it. Go to MVMT.com slash mom and join the movement. Now, our interview with Stipe Miocic and John Volante. Enjoy, and I'll talk to you next week. Welcome back to the show. I am joined by two very special

guests. One guest that I had in here not too long ago, and he came in with a little more hardware this time. The UFC heavyweight champ of the world, Stipe Miocic. And, John Volante. John Volante, what are you doing here? He rides my coattails. It's like 8 a.m., John Volante

in the building. No joke. No joke. So we went to the Jets game last night with the Browns. We had a good time. Turned up a little bit, but nothing bad. We went to bed about midnight we had to be up we'd leave by 6 30 this morning this dude was up at 6 15 rolling around like i'm like what is going on man i don't know if it's having the baby thing but he he was like on point i was like you just had a baby i'm uh he's gonna have a baby oh you're gonna december 27th congratulations so yeah because i remember

one time remember one time I was going to church. I'm like, hey, do you want to go to church with me? He's like, yeah, for sure. So I woke him up. And I was like, all right, I'll be ready to go in half an hour. And I'm like, yo, yo, didn't wake up. I'm like, I'm out. He called me crying.

He's like, please come pick me up. And so here's the worst part. I pick him up, right? We get in the car, and I'm like, bro, did you brush your teeth? He's like, what do you want me to do, bro? I was sleeping, bro. So the whole time at church, I'm like trying not to vomit because he's like. I can just smell it, you know, but he's a good guy.

I really didn't expect to see you. I'm a Jersey guy, so I've been a fan of yours for a long time, just as an East Coast guy, as the whole Long Island crew. How did you guys link up, the two of you? Tinder. Grindr. Sorry, Grindr. My bad.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I try to say Tinder to just be more socially accepted. Absolutely. You know, I forget who linked this up back in the day. It was a while ago, but he was fighting Gabriel Gonzaga. Yeah. So it was a long time ago, probably five, six years ago, maybe. Yeah, holy crap.

And, you know, a guy who kicked a lot. I was something I did pretty well and And I came in and trained with him. And he had me stay at a hotel at like a Red Roof Inn. Yeah, I switched the next day. And I got you a car, too. Never again. Never again. I was like, I got like, he was like bougie, dude.

I got him like a sick Tahoe. Ever since then, I come in, I stay with him. We became really good friends. We just knew we clicked right away. We were good buddies. And then always messing with each other. We'd stay in touch playing video games together. Is that like an MMA?

Is that the rite of passage to become friends with someone? You just kick each other's ass, bring someone up to the bar? There's nothing like a friendship you'll gain than when you punch the other guy in the face and you laugh about it. We just laugh about it. He's a good one on my car. He hits me in my car. There's been times where he's hit me

and like my face has gotten numb and I'm laughing at him. One time, yeah, Sam Elvey, right? We were fighting. I was training.

He came over. He would come to us to start a camp. Even though I didn't fight, he would still come for like a week or two. And so he's like, hey, yo, can you go to Southpaw?

I'm like, oh, so I'm going, which I don't know what to do. So I'm going Southpaw. This dick hits like a push kick like to my liver and I'm not used to itaw? I'm like, oh. Which I don't know what to do, so I'm going to Southpaw. This dick hits like a push kick to my liver, and I'm not used to it. And I'm like, and knocked it down. This dude was so happy.

He's like, I knocked the champ down. I was so mad. I get up, and I was like, all right, we're not friends right now. And I just repeatedly try to punch him in the face many times. You hit me with a push kick in your gym for an original commercial? I'll tell you what, I'm still feeling the effects of that on the liver. You're welcome. I still can't have a sip of a Coors Light.

My stomach just curdles. It should be a Modelo. It'd be time for some Modelo. I mean, you were throwing some crazy body shots in that fight with Cormier, though. I wanted to ask you about, I mean, as soon as you throw that piercing left to the body, I was cringing. I was like, oh, Jesus Christ. He's got a lot of flab there, but you were clearly getting through it.

Yeah, I mean, listen, man, it still hurts. It's a liver shot. That's really the thing they think an immobilizer did so bad. And I've been hit, and Vellante, and I've been hit like twice during practice when I was younger, man. I know how bad it is. And I hit him the first time, and I'm like, ooh, okay. When you throw something like that in a fight, though, as a fighter,

are you thinking, obviously, that's the turning point in the fight? You started spamming those. He couldn't deal with it at all. You get the finish. Amazing. Heavyweight champ of the world. But when you threw it, were you just like, maybe this will work? Are you throwing shit at the wall, seeing what works?

That's what John does. I actually have a game plan. No, I – yeah. He didn't have a game plan. First of all, the first three rounds – first two rounds, he was still clinging to that butt. I saw you said you were fighting like a pussy. You got to stop being so hard on yourself, man. No, I didn't.

No, really, I was fighting like a pussy. You were all mad at him. Yeah, I was. I was like, what are you doing? But how could you be mad at this guy? He's trading shots with Cormier. It's like one of the most unreal. I know how good this guy is.

Trust me. All right, fair. I'm telling you right now. I've seen him go. We have a heavyweight boxer at my gym who's probably number one contender. And I've seen him box rounds with that guy and hold his own pretty damn good and get the better sometimes. I mean, this guy can box and move his feet so well

and do a lot of things really well. And when you see him not doing it in the ring, he gets it. I mean, he can say the same thing about me. It's tough to, you know. Yeah, I mean, when you're in there, it's a little bit different. But also, you know, I think the 13 months might have hurt me a little bit. But not, I mean. You think the layoff, the felt, like rust?

No, I think I just couldn't get my gears. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I just couldn't get my gears going. I just, you know, I'd just be an idiot. And then the second round, I started moving on a little bit more. And then third round, I started opening up. End of the third round.

Yeah, so I started moving. And then the fourth round, you know, I caught him with that. I was thinking about it all week because I saw, you know, I say social media is a motherfucker. Because you see everything. And I saw something he was doing pad work. I'm like, hmm, he lifts his hands every time he throws. I'm like, you know what? I bet you

batting shots wouldn't work well. And my coach would always tell me about it. And then all of a sudden, you know, I saw it the one time. It took me, you know, 20-some minutes to throw it, but I did it. I hit him the first time, and I saw it. I'm like, yeah, you don't like those. We're going to keep going with those. I didn't care.

I don't know if you – I mean, watching the fight, you couldn't tell how much it was bothering him, but Stipe kept going back to it. Yeah. You could tell it was bothering. You couldn't tell it was like – Well, I saw his face in the first one. I saw his face in the first one.

I'm like, yeah, he did not like that. And so I kept going, kept going. And then the last one, right before I hit him with a one-two, he almost went down. And that was probably the best posture I've ever done in my entire life. And I hit him with a one-two. I was like, all right, we're getting out of here. I'm done with this.

He even got hurt when, remember UFC 200, he had that fight against Anderson Silva? That's right. I talked about that too. And Silva kicked him to the body on that short notice fight. It looked like he got hurt. It was crazy. Yeah.

You do that dance afterwards that you hated. You were so pissed off at yourself. What was that? Was that a Fortnite dance? I don't know what it was. You were in here the week before. You were telling me about Fortnite. I was like.

Yeah, no. The Irish. It was my Irish jig. The Irish dance. And you hated that you did that? I've never seen you when i drink i do it because i think you know i i just i mean it's not me and i just bro you can't control yourself oh yeah i drank the tank like from old school man yeah i blacked out and started doing like when i went on the title the first time like i'm a world champ i remember that i remember that yeah

right so i yeah i yeah, I did it. I mean, whatever. It's all that matters. So last time we said, I said, are you going to be able to do what LeBron couldn't do? Bring a title to Cleveland again. Bring two titles to Cleveland. You did it. Now we're talking about a different Cleveland team.

The Cleveland team that you saw last night, the Browns. I don't like the Browns. I wrote my notes. Odell's watch. I fucking hate this guy, Odell Beckham Jr. Again, right? He did the watch again? I hate him. He did the watch again.

Here's the thing, Stipe. He's been to the playoffs once. He acts like he's Tom Brady wearing the watch. What do you think about this guy wearing the watch? Browns got curb stomped last week. This is true, but not because they beat us, because they were better. It's just because we pretty much sucked. This is what Browns fans say all the time.

What are you, a Jets fan? No. Are you kidding me? 182 yards on penalties. Come on, guy. 180 yards on penalties. Yeah, come on. Yeah, so anyway.

You're getting there. I'm just trying to rile you up. I don't even like football. I'm a Redskins fan. I don't have a dog in the play. I'm just trying to rile you up. Last week sucked, but this week, they look better. Of course, it's a work in progress.

A bunch of new guys, new coach. I mean, you can't just fly in there and do everything right. They're going to find it. And, listen, OBJ is great. Listen, I love it. I love his fitness. He's got a lot of weapons. Yeah, and Landry.

Like, I love that, dude. I love that. And especially Miles. Those two guys, like, one on the offense, one on the defense. Like, when we got Jarvis, I was so excited because, like, his just demeanor. Like, he changes. He's a leader, right? So we were at the Oakland Raiders game.

We lost, but he started a fight. And he's like, that's what we needed. He's like, good motherfucker. And he's like, oh, I didn't do it. And the guy got flat. It was great. But we never do that. And he did that.

And I swear to God, that changed the season. Against the Raiders, too? That's a team that is known for that? Yeah. So using their own shit against them? It was great, man. And I was like, that's what we needed, man. And you could just see it. And you could see our demeanor change. We became like...

I'm a fan of Jarvis. Not a big Odell fan, but Jarvis... We were 7-9 last year, but it was great because he was like, F you, dude. That's how we're doing it. How can you not be a Baker fan? You're not a Baker fan? I like Baker. No, I like Baker. Baker's fun to watch. Baker's so much fun to watch.

I was talking about it last night even like the way he's still like college-y and his movement and everything. Yeah, even his swag and flash. Like a lot of people sometimes you don't like

something about his flashiness. I love it. Well, it's not cocky, dude. He's just like, listen, dude, this is how I'm doing it, man. With Odell, it is cocky. That's why it pisses me off.

Okay, but it's one of... Oh, listen, dude. Don't be mad because a guy can catch any ball from fucking anywhere. I mean, the catch he made last night is crazy. I mean, right? We're watching a game. We're like, did he catch that? One hand on the side.

What? Snap the ball. Snap the ball. Snap the ball. Because we didn't know. And it was clearly a catch. But yeah, I mean, him and then like, you know, just, you know, and we had Miles. Miles tore it up three sacks last night.

I'm like, God damn it. That dude's a freak. I'm a big fan of Miles' guy. Ever since college, actually. He was Texas A&M, bro. Did you play with Willie? Did I overhear that? Yeah, Hofstra.

I saw Willie's Willie, if you know what I'm saying. Hofstra no longer has a football program? No more football. Title IX? That's brutal. No, it's just money, man. Hofstra, we didn't make a lot of money. It's Long Island, so not a lot of – it's Long Island,

so not a lot of people came to the games. Football didn't make the school any money, and eventually it cost them more than they were making, so they got rid of it, which kind of stinks. Timmy, what are you going to do? It stinks for me and Willie. We have nowhere to go back and watch. We're like, hey, we went there, show our sons what we played.

Kind of stinks, but yeah. What are you going to do? Willie tried to get one over on our boss the other day. He was talking about how great Hofstra is. He's like, yeah, we've still got a great program and all this. And then all of a sudden, everyone's like, bro, what are you talking about? They don't have a program. He's like, stop.

He didn't know that. I was trying to get one over on him. Brown's hopes. What are your hopes for the season? I mean, some people are saying Super Bowl. No, listen. As long as we make the playoffs, win the division, that's all I care about. You guys start somewhere. That's a win for you. Brown's hopes what are your hopes for the season I mean some people are saying Super Bowl no listen as long as we make the playoffs win the division

that's all I care about you guys start somewhere of course what's that if we go 3-14 for the rest of the year I'm okay with that if we beat the Steelers twice

no joke but no honestly like everyone's like Super Bowl yeah it'd be great of course yes

end of the day of course but listen you know first year baby, baby steps. You've got to work your way up just like everything in life. I think if we get the playoffs, win the division, put a little scare in everyone, I think it will be good because next year then the confidence grows.

Yeah, all right, two more questions for you. First of all, UFC heavyweight division right now, it's a mess. It's an absolute, I don't know what's going on. I'm the champ, so I don't care. You are the champ. You're at the top. You have picking order. What do you think is next for you? You said you had a long layoff, so I assume you don't want to do that again.

Yeah, you're still young. I'm 37 now, so I'm trying to heal up a little bit. We're not taking 13 months. It'd be great again, but we'll see. There's the trilogy with DC, Ngannou, Jon Jones. Who knows? It's what the UFC wants, what's best fit for them. They're smart with that stuff.

I like that Jon Jones fight. I mean, everyone does. Knock that guy off for me. Come on. I got you, man. But yeah, it's what the UFC wants. They're smart about that. So you don't have one person in particular.

You're not like, I would love to do that. I never. I don't care. I fight. I'm from the Midwest, bro. That's how we do it. I figured. That's exactly the opposite of how I am.

And finally, this is a question for both of you, and it's a question that I've never asked someone before, but I'm just curious. Yes, John Vavate has a small penis. That's true. Habib, this guy's a problem for everybody, right? He was just in Abu Dhabi. Did you watch the fight against Poirier? No, I did not. It was terrifying. It was an absolute mauling. I felt bad for Poirier the whole time. Well, he almost caught him, though. You almost caught him. Yeah, he had a guillotine that looked tight.

But if you were presented with a Habib problem, either of you, if picture Habib is just in your weight class. He's whatever. He's a heavyweight. He's only heavyweight. I'd be going to a different weight class. And you had to fight him. How do you approach that fight? You know, it's a tough one, man.

I think, you know. Is it that much different than approaching a regular fight? Do you think someone that trained in one discipline? Well, the first thing you have to do with a guy that can beat is, you have to be in the best shape. You're right. That's number one. That guy's really going to push you non- Yeah.

Like, he's got a crazy pace, though. Yeah. But, I mean, I saw some changes in his armor. I mean, if you watch his fight against Iaquinta, I mean, that's a very dangerous fight for me. For the guy that went from being on the, you know... Prelims. Prelims to the main event. So, like, there was no lose for Al, and he knew that.

But Al showed some good takedown defense against him. The biggest thing, I think, against Khabib is to stay off the cage. And Al also survived. That's, like, another, like, huge thing, yeah. But if Khabib gets you against that cage, you're getting taken out. But if you could stay and keep him going backwards a little bit or –

Or if you stop his takedowns because I don't care how great a shape you're in. If you get stuffed in your takedowns, that's exhausting. And also it's demoralizing because you think you can take everyone down. And there's always a guy that's tough to takedown and it sucks. And is there a way for one of these guys that – If you step a couple of them, it kind of demoralizes the guy a little bit. And that's what I think Al was doing to him was demoralize him a little bit. And that's why he kind of – he chose to stand with Al a little bit.

I was going to say, that's why he said he was testing his striking and stuff. And I think that's something you could do to Khabib is you have to – the first two takedowns you have to stop from him are in the middle of the cage and that's what, not as hard as you think and I mean I'm an okay wrestler I was a good wrestler I got one of the highest takedown defense

at Light Heavyweight because you don't have to be a great wrestler to stop good wrestling DC's an Olympian and Stipe was doing, didn't get taken down at all. So that's also interesting in that DC, on paper, I guess, people would look at him in that fight as the superior wrestler, right? He got the good takedown.

I mean, I was doing the right, that takedown. I just got it. You jumped. I'm an idiot. Yeah, I don't know what to talk about. I was an idiot. But he did everything right. He's a great wrestler, and he got me out.

But he also struggled to get it. And then I got those double hooks. It takes a lot out of you, man. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Taking guys down. If you can stop them a little bit, it's going to wear that other guy down, man. Yeah, make him work. I should have pushed his head down more, but it is what it is.

But then I got those double hooks, stepped in. I don't think he was expecting that. And I wasn't expecting it either. I'm really a Greco guy. But I knew what to do. And then also he went for the other takedown. I just smashed into him, and he let go, and I got on top of him again. I think with fighting, wrestling does help, but it's the way you use it.

Yeah. To stop great wrestlers, you don't have to be a great wrestler. So you don't subscribe. Strong punches and knees and all that. It's scary to take guys down. There's the theory that commentary always says all the time. You can never train for someone like Khabib. Even they say someone like Cormier because you don't have that much wrestling.

They've been training for that long. You don't need it, though. You don't buy into that. Well, also, here's another thing. Every fight starts standing. You can get punched in the face. I don't care how great a chin you got. You can get caught.

Look at Masvidal, bro. That guy ain't wrestled in his life. I'll tell you this. The most dangerous fighter, I think, at that weight, and I love Khabib and everything, I think Tony Ferguson's going to stand out. He's just so nasty. He's out of his mind, too.

And he fights like he's out of his mind. So that's going to be a very interesting fight. Khabib's going to try to take him down. He's going to do 12 flips. I honestly can't wait for that fight. If I could have two matchups, it would be Steve Bay and Jon Jones and Khabib and Tony Ferguson. Those are like my two dream fights. I even love now, we just saw Gaethje got that great win over Cowboy.

I would love to see Gaethje and Conor. Gaethje and Conor, you face off the winners and then the losers with Khabib and Ferguson. I feel like that makes a decent amount of matchups. I just think Gaethje dominates. Conor, you think? Yeah. His pace is too good. I think Gaethje's like the same thing as Habib, but his pace is up on his feet.

He doesn't stop. Yeah. Because he's on the ground. I think he's such a good dude, too, man. He's a real good dude. I love that kid. All right, guys. Yeah.

We're going to head over to the Twitch room. I think we're going to hit some Call of Duty. Shut up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got you, babe. I got you hit some Call of Duty. Shut up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got you, babe. I got you, babe. The beta? I got you, babe.

He's soaking it up. Thank you for coming on the show. I got you, babe. Congratulations on the kid. Congratulations on the title. Dad strength. Dad strength to make you win that fight. Fuck my kid, right?