The Ariel Helwani Show - Rampage Jackson, Chris Weidman, Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor trial reaction, weekend recap

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In Back discuss the Conor McGregor verdict, the latest fallout from McGregor's case, Petr Yan's big win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Macau, the Jiri Porchazka vs. Jamahal Hill booking for UFC 311 and more (07:44).Chris Weidman discusses losing his UFC 309 booking against Eryk Anders on fight day, what happened, whether he was paid for his efforts, his continual run of bizarre luck, getting re-booked for UFC 310, Merab Dvalishvili's rise as UFC champion and more (01:15:29).Quinton "Rampage" Jackson discusses a potential comeback fight against Rashad Evans, why he's pissed off at Jake Paul, the saga of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, why he thinks Stipe Miocic was a tougher challenge for Jones than Aspinall could ever be, his love life and more (01:44:35).Eddie Alvarez discusses his BKFC KnuckleMania main event against Jeremy Stephens, why Tom Aspinall would have nothing for Jon Jones if their bout hit the mat, the mistakes MMA promoters continue to make outside of the UFC, Conor McGregor's BKFC ownership and more (02:29:41).

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Aria Hawani Show! The Aria Hawani Show is back in your life on this monday november 25th 2000 and 24 did that sound familiar frank yeah man what are we doing you didn't like it i mean it was great it just it gave us all a little bit of a scare i said i had something special for all of you a lot of people have been telling me now a lot of people have been telling me they missed the the. They thought the back in your life was too abrupt. Did it not work, guys? I've been working on that all week. It worked.

I actually, I am in favor. That was good. You smiled? I loved it. Did it bring back good memories? Oh, nostalgia on top. It was fantastic. It doesn't feel quite the same because I used to say like,

Mixed Martial Arts Hour, Ariel Hawani show. I think it kind of works, no? No, it flowed perfectly, man. Sounds like Frank didn't like it. Frank? Oh, I loved it. Frank said it's a tough one. Let's do it again. Rick, your thoughts?

That's a no from me. Really? Wow. Why? Haters. Why? Too old school? Yeah, just we're in the new era now.

No, no, no. You can bring that over. Can I ask the chat? Maybe we can get a poll up there. What did you like better? Let's see what they're saying. Thumbs up to the chat. Thumbs up to the chat.

Yeah. I think some people are saying they like it. We love it. All right. So there you go. Maybe we can get a poll and get an official reading on it. But I actually was working on that more than the iron incident of 2024. Iron!

There it is. Is that the new one or the old one? I can't tell. You'll always wonder that. Yes. Anyway, hello, everyone, and look at this setup. I'd be remiss if I don't acknowledge it off the top. I mean, I think, dare I say, I think this is GC's best work.

GC, agree or disagree? I mean, I feel like is GC's best work. GC, agreed or disagree? I mean, I feel like. It's up there. It looks good. It looks good. I didn't know what I was going to do this morning coming into it, but I'm happy with it. I mean, you freaking nailed it. You got a turkey over there.

You got a pumpkin over there. You've got a bunch of leaves here, which I love. I love the fall light colors. Turkey here. One of my favorite little details is the turkey hat over there, over there, which replaces the war hat, which I think is a nice little touch. Um, not everything. I have pumpkins here.

Of course, uh, you can see the, the screen is different. Uh, the screen on the table is different. The screen on the table reminds me of the Today Show on Thanksgiving. Uh, it looks like the peacock, but in Thanksgiving colors, which is a compliment, by the way. I hope you don't take it any other way. It's supposed to be a turkey, not a peacock. Yeah, I know, but it looks like the peacock.

I still got an update back here. I still got my cow up. Yeah, you got to update that. Yeah. A pumpkin pie, is that in the bug over here? Yeah, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, however you feel. I love it. What do we got? Pumpkin? What do you prefer, pumpkin or sweet potato? Yeah, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, however you feel. I love it. What do we got?

Pumpkin? Like, what do you prefer, pumpkin or sweet potato? I'm pumpkin, for sure. And of course, we are all still buzzing after the pound for pound rankings from the Boys in the Back program where you guys ranked your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. We can go over some of that, but a lot of chatter, a lot of discourse surrounding that. So anyway, we'll be rocking this all week because of course it is Thanksgiving on Thursday here in America. It was Thanksgiving on Monday, October, I think it was October 12th. Wait, what was our first day?

Our first day was the 14th. Yeah, it was October 14th. 12th was that better be a bivouac fight uh so yes um in canada it's the second monday in um in october here it's the last thursday and i do think by the way that they're starting to push the issue a little bit like my kids have off thursday friday half day wednesday and i feel like we're moving towards like No school Wednesday at this point And I was even talking to Jerry my agent His kids have half day Monday Tuesday no school Wednesday I mean it just seems like a lot

My whole life growing up I was no school Wednesday Is this why you keep complaining about the Wednesday show Why is that a holiday Why is that a holiday You get the five day weekend Five day weekend for what it's's a one-day holiday. It's Thanksgiving, man. Come on, have some respect.

I love Thanksgiving. I love it. Probably my favorite holiday because it's non-denominational, denominational, denominational, denominational? Yeah, you got it the first time. No religion attached, just good times, giving thanks, and being grateful for everything we have in our lives.

Grateful that Andy is back in full force on this Monday. Great to have her back. Thumbs up to Andy. Thumbs up. Wasn't the same without her on Thursday. And, of course, we have a lot to get into. I'm alpha. Yeah, on this particular Monday.

That man is going to be joining us, one of our favorites, and obviously a man who knows a thing or two about pecan pie, the great Rampage Jackson. Quinton Rampage Jackson will join us on today's program. He'll join us at about 2.45. A lot to talk to Rampage about, first time in the new era that he's on the program, so I'm looking forward to that chat very, very much. We will talk to Chris Weidman, who has been rebooked for UFC 310. That is December 7th, not this weekend, next weekend against Eric Anders at 195. We found out about this back into the week. Wanted to have him on last week, but it was still kind of up in the air. And so we'll talk to Weidman about what happened. He was supposed to fight at MSG. Anders got sick and now they're going to run it back, so to speak, on the final pay-per-view of the weekend or of the year, I should say, when it comes to the UFC.

That's next weekend. And Eddie Alvarez is going to join us. The great Eddie Alvarez will join us at 3.30 to talk about his return to the bare-knuckle ring on January 25th. That is coming up in a month and a half or so, a little bit more than that. Actually, two months from now.

I'm moving a little quickly here. And that's the big one. Okay, so I was about to say headline by Jeremy Stevens versus Eddie Alvarez, but I'm actually starting to hear that it might not be the headliner and that they're going to add a bunch of big fights that it's going to be maybe their best offering yet.

It's Knucklemania 5, January 25th, their debut in Philly, Wells Fargo center, which is a great arena. And there's a press conference tomorrow. Maybe we find out, I don't know if we'll find out, but maybe we find out more about that car because, um, you know, they, they, they typically treat these knuckle manias like their big super bowl, their WrestleMania. So let's see if they've got something bigger than Eddie fighting at home for the first time since Bellator 33 way back when, that could be a very special card. Perhaps Mike Perry will be on the card,

and Mike Perry was in the news this weekend. We're going to get into all the news of the weekend. First part of today's show, there's a lot that happened. Obviously, UFC Macau, Piotr Yan defeating Davidson Figueredo about eight months after ACL surgery. Turning back the clock, he looked fantastic

against Figueredo, 50 to 45 on all three judges' scorecards. Hopefully you saw it. It was very early in the morning here in the United States, midday in Europe. It was in Macau,

like I said, Macau, China. And a pretty solid card if you watched it. And that was an important fight in the bantamweight division and all kinds of chatter in the aftermath between Jan and Murab and, of course, Umar Nurmagomedov, who we presume is the number one contender at 135 pounds. So a lot of that is to come. We will talk about all of that. But the big news of the weekend, if you will, and the big news since we last spoke is, of course, the Conor McGregor news. This all broke on Friday. And I do have to give a special shout out to Pizzi Carroll, to Ben Folks, to Chuck Mendenhall, who jumped on live. The crack is live now. They jumped on the crack literally an hour after a verdict was reached and announced.

And that's not easy. It's not easy talking about this. You know, it's easy to react to fight news an hour after or a press conference or a fight. But it's not easy to react to something that is this heavy and sensitive an hour later, especially when we're not legal experts and this is not our domain, but obviously it's a gigantic news story because it is about the biggest star

in the history of the sport. And so I do want to give them a shout out. And if you want to watch their conversation, which was an hour on this and the aftermath and comparing it to Mike Tyson back in the day. I do think it's really worth your time and that's up on the YouTube channel and on our podcast feed. I want to read the article that PT wrote on uncrowned.com because again, I don't want to get any of the verbiage wrong. This was a civil case. And so because it's a civil case and not a criminal case,

there's just stuff that I'm not well versed in. But this is the actual information that came out Friday afternoon, Friday evening in Dublin. Conor McGregor has lost to about $259,149.36 to Nikita Hand. That was the woman, the Irish woman who was accusing him of sexually assaulting her against McGregor on Friday after ruling that she was sexually assaulted by the former UFC champion in a Dublin hotel in December of 2018. Hand, 35 years of age, claimed she was raped by McGregor and another man named James Lawrence in a penthouse suite at the Beacon Hotel, which is in Dublin. The jury found that Lawrence did not assault Hand. Damages of 188,603 were awarded, and that's euro, were awarded to Hand with an additional 60,000 euro, also added, making it a total of 248,603 and 60 cents. McGregor was accompanied to the court by fiancé D. Devlin, with whom he has four children, for the first time during the trial's two-week proceedings.

To hear the jury's decision on Friday, several of McGregor's family members were also present at the high court. Reports from the court state that the jury took six hours and 10 minutes to come to their decision, leaving the court at approximately 5 p.m. local time. McGregor declined to make a comment as he was swarmed by the waiting media. He has since tweeted. I will get to that in a moment. The case was a civil case, not a criminal case, meaning the assault is deemed a civil wrong and therefore the plaintiff is entitled to compensation. However, McGregor will not face criminal sanctions. Hand was forced to move after her property was reportedly invaded in June by a group of masked men wearing balaclavas and wielding weapons. Multiple Irish national outlets reported Friday in the aftermath

of proceedings at Dublin's High Court. The man also stabbed Hand's partner and broke the front windows of her house, according to the reports. Outside the court, following Friday's verdict, Hand gave a statement to media thanking her legal team, the Rape Crisis Center, her family, and friends. So the rest of the article you can read. It's quite lengthy, and I do suggest that you read all the coverage on uncrowned.com. But those are the nuts and bolts. Almost, I don't know, 30 or 40 minutes after this news broke, Conor McGregor did tweet that he is planning on appealing the verdict.

I will be appealing today's decision, he wrote. The judge's instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages. I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed. I'm with my family now, focused on my future. Thank you to all my support worldwide. I did reach out to Conor's team and ask them if they were in fact

going to move forward with the appeal because I noticed that that tweet had since been taken down, deleted, but I've not heard back yet. Based on the stuff that I've read and listened to, and there's been a lot of, I think, fair and balanced coverage coming out of Ireland from all the national media,

he does have 28 days to file an appeal. So the clock is somewhat ticking. That's four weeks, and that would be around the end of December. He did tweet a couple more times regarding the verdict. This one is a lengthy one, which I also do believe was taken down in the aftermath. At the very end, he wrote, this is not a court of hard evidence and truth. It is a kangaroo court of opinions and feelings. We are not done yet. Not by a long shot. No chance. On we of hard evidence and truth. It is a kangaroo court of opinions and feelings. We are not done yet. Not by a long shot. No chance.

On we fight. Justice and truth will prevail. Appeal, appeal, appeal, as well as other. Congrats, James. Onwards and upwards. That is James Lawrence that he's referring to. His friend who was also accused, but deemed not civilly liable in the verdict. I think that was the only tweet,

the only other tweet from him. Was there another one? Am I wrong? There was one more, okay, I'm being told, and I think that one was eventually also taken down. He retweeted an RTE news story saying falsely accused a man of rape and loss. Justice was served for James Lawrence. Yes, deplorable what they done. The key to hand, vicious liar appeal. So it sounds like he wants to appeal unless someone has told him since not to do that or not to talk about it anymore. Who knows? We did see today, so you wonder about like the trickle down effect here, right? Because obviously since it's a civil case there there's no criminal charges but you know it's not just the the money that he is uh he's being told to pay nikita hand

it's also what could come from a business standpoint and and one of his uh business partners um the game hitman uh released this statement on twitter this morning. It's a game that apparently Connor is a downloadable character in, in light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive, which is the producer of the game, has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete effective immediately.

We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today. And so that would be, I would say, the first and probably the biggest, at least as of now, domino to fall since Friday. I mean, all of this happened Friday evening. It's now around the same time, Monday. So not a ton has happened in terms of news pertaining to this because it was the weekend, but I did want to bring in our own PT Carol to talk more about this because it just so happens that he lives in Dublin and all of this transpired just several kilometers from where he lives. And so he certainly has his finger on the pulse

and has been able to read and see all the reaction and obviously talk to everyone back home about what is going down and where Connor goes from here. And so first, as far as the nuts and bolts, Pete's seeing again, well done to you and Ben and Chuck on Monday, immediately reacting to all of this. Did I miss anything that was glaring? Did I miss an important detail in all of this? Oh, you are muted. You have to unmute yourself, Pizzi. I heard Frank lambasting you

for not muting yourself before the show, and here it has come to roost apparently. Yeah, it has come to roost. So let me know when you do unmute yourself. Is he unmuted? Stand by for us. It's just a quick little button there, right? We'll reconnect to them

Yeah I'm going to reconnect with them please Alright working through the kinks It's that new microphone isn't it He's on the old one He went back to the old one But it's a new camera It's a new camera but I'm going to talk to him real quick Alright alright

This is what uh nikita said outside of the court house i want to thank my daughter freya she has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep pushing forward for justice i want to show freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you no matter who the person is and justice will be served to show Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served. To all the victims of sexual assault, I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up. You have a voice and keep on fighting for justice. I know this has not only impacted my life, but my daughters, my family and friends tremendously. It is something that I will never

forget for the rest of my life. Now that justice has been served, I can now try and move on and look forward to the future with my family and friends. So that was part of her statement immediately afterwards outside of the courtroom. Like I said, Conor didn't speak to media. There were a ton of people surrounding him, but he did go on X immediately afterwards. We have not seen Connor fight since July of 2021. Of course, he was supposed to come back in June of this past year, didn't fight. And Dana White saying recently that, uh, the plan is for him to fight in the backend of 2025. I did ask Pizzi a few times, um, when he was, um, when he was, uh was on the show talking about this, like how much is she asking for? What are they seeking in terms of monetary damages? And did find out in the aftermath

that it was approximately 1.7 million euro. I do believe a million for damages and 700,000 for, um, you know, the, the moving houses, um, because as I was talking about earlier, there was the incident, um, at her home. And so in the end, she did not get that. Um, in the end it was, uh, a little more than 248,000. So a big difference, but, uh, she did also say that this wasn't about the money for her. So, um, we will see, you know, we'll see what happens if in fact, Connor does appeal this, this gets dragged out. Um, and, um, and who knows how long it, uh, it will actually last because this is an incident that happened in December of 2018. And we're only now reaching this point six years later. Do we have Pizzi?

What is going on? We do not have him. Yeah, we'll get him in just 30 seconds. Okay. So that is the nuts and bolts of it all. Um, like I said, a lot of people have done a great job of covering this case. Um, and you've seen a bunch of it on social media. I've seen a bunch of it on, um, podcasts and, and YouTube and whatnot. And, uh, it's, there's no, there's no other way to slice it. It's a very upsetting and disturbing development

as far as the story of Conor McGregor goes. And you do wonder how this will affect his future. Now, it comes about seven days after Mike Tyson was fighting on Netflix and celebrated and has turned into Uncle Mike and beloved. And he is someone who actually went to jail and was accused and convicted of rape. And look how far he has come in 30 years, not to suggest that the same thing is going to happen and that the two cases are exactly the same. They are not. But the timing is, um, is interesting if nothing else.

Um, it is amazing as someone who grew up in the nineties and was well aware of Mike Tyson, I remember when he was brought in, I remember the, the handcuffed, you know, a shot of him. I remember, I remember all of this stuff. Uh, it is amazing to, uh, to see how far he's come in about 30 years. It's really incredible. Um, and so we, we, we see, you know, we see what happened to him and, and obviously with Conor, he is, he is, he is a vowing to fight back. And, uh, I see that there is support for that and people saying that he wasn't given a fair shot. So it continues to develop and we continue to it we continue to monitor it i do believe that we have pz now we try this again pz you there i am a dick can you hear me oh yes

wonderful um working through the kinks working through the kinks you just have to press that microphone with the line through it listen let's not get into it mate all right let's not get into it uh well i don't know if you heard my initial question when you came in um did i miss anything in in in talking about all this and i've said some more stuff since you left but in in general do you think that i missed any pertinent details um just i would say the only thing that i think we should point out is that um nikita hand uh when this information came out about, uh, her house being under attack, in no way did Nikita Hand's legal team suggest that McGregor had any involvement with that. What their argument was, was that McGregor's support is so fierce in Ireland that some of the supporters may have been driven to do this off their own initiative. That's the only thing I noticed.

Okay. That's, that's a great, um, that is a great point. Thank you for bringing that up. And so what new, you know, I read your article that you posted on Friday. You guys spoke on Friday. What's the temperature been? Anything new since then?

As of right now, we don't know if he is in fact going to appeal, right? I said, I reached out to his legal team, didn't hear back and those tweets have been taken down. I don't know if that's a suggestion that he's not going to, you know, that happens quite often often with with connor with all sorts of things fight related benign things but um what new if anything has happened since friday's verdict um well apart from the the story about her home being broken into um the story really on the sunday papers

as you know they kind of wrap up the week there's a lot more opinion involved in them there was a lot of um praise for the bravery of nikita hand like we even saw the t-shock um the eric with a prime minister coming out and commend her for going through this prospect at an incredible risk to herself given that you know the they've waived anonymity basically by going to the civil court um as mcgregor retweeted himself um the minister for justice also came out and commended her there is an awful lot of talk about the bravery there's huge public support for nikita hand uh the person who accused both connor and james law Lawrence of sexual assault in December 2018. You mentioned the Hitman game.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre have also called on a boycott of all Conor McGregor products, which has been largely publicised through Sunday newspapers and online. And there's actually, as we speak, there is a solidarity march for Nikita Hahn taking place on Dublin City Centre on Dame street, which is one of the main roads in Dublin city center. So, um, and, and you're saying that's happening right now or it's, it's being planned for. No, it was due to kick off at six o'clock today, as far as I've seen reports. And as far as the, the media, oh, six o'clock today, that is, that is quite literally right now. Um, it's, it's six 26. Um, what about the about the media coverage?

The media coverage has been scathing of McGregor, to say the least. You know, a lot of it is focused on the bravery of Nikita Hand, you know, taking on this, you know, massively famous sports star. A lot of it is about the verdict, the damages being settled on Thursday. Obviously, the court will sit again on Thursday to decide who is paying the fees here. It's a very confusing situation in that

Conor McGregor has been found liable for assault, but the co-agys James Lawrence hasn't and that's a very confusing situation for a lot of people because in most of these cases you will find that the the person who loses is usually on the hook to pay the the fees of the lawyers but Han's situation is unique in that she has the jury has found McGregor liable but not James Lawrence so everybody very intrigued to see what happens on Thursday, including McGregor, who tweeted about this and later deleted it, and pertained to James Lawrence and his situation. What do you think happened?

I mean, I'm putting you on the spot here, but do you think he actually appeals? And if he does appeal, what is that process like? Because I know your system is different than ours. And I also want to say you are not a legal expert so i'm putting you on the spot but like are we looking at another three four years if this goes into appeal and and and the appeal is granted how does this work as far as i know like i think a lot of people are looking at this appeal like it would be kind of a rematch of sorts like they just go back through the whole situation again but my understanding is that it isn't that you would have to have an objection to protocol not you know a legal protocol not being

followed during this trial and obviously as we just said i'm not a legal expert i wouldn't be able to pinpoint anything like that um and and also the the appeals can largely pertain to the amounts of money that are changing hands here. And in Hans' case, I think a lot of people, including Ben Foulkes and Chuck, who we talked on Friday, a lot of people were surprised that it was such a low number. I've since listened to Frank Graney. He was on with Luke Thomas. He was on with Newstalk.

He's one of the most revered court reporters in Ireland he described that there's four different brackets in which the damages would have been broken down into general special aggravated and punitive and general would have been the 60,000 and special would have been the 188,000 we had testimony from people breaking down potential losses of earnings. Nikita Hand would have been subjected to do. She had a budding career as a hairstylist. They kind of found the 180 odd thousand in that category. They could have given more again for the aggravated damages,

but they chose not to, and the punitive damages, which could have been a lot more money, but the jury chose not to go down that road. Yeah, I was just going to ask you that. How do they even come up with such a number as opposed to the number that they're seeking? What is the calculation there? How do they even do that? What's the calculus?

Well, it is based on these four divisions, as far as I know. The general would have been focused on, and this is according to Frank Graney, this is not my own intel, the general would have been just about the trauma, the mental anguish, the situation she was put in, you know, being a subject to a lot of publicity. The special would have been more to do with the uh the amount of money she was missing she said she couldn't go back to work and again we heard testimony about this and the aggravated i heard was um to do it like if if the person has been found liable like are they apologetic um you know words like re-victimization where you use publicity which all seem to you know all seem to kind of fit

in to what we saw over the last three weeks with um nikita hand and conor mcgregor but they were not aware in that situation punitive as far as frank graney has said is would have been to send a larger message like to society like this cannot happen we need to draw a line in the sand here we need to show an extreme level of displeasure with this situation to do punitive damages. And that could have been a lot more money than Hand had originally looked for, which has been reported as $1.7 million in the aftermath of the case. Like I said, I thought you and Chuck and Ben did a great job of not sort of comparing this to the Mike Tysonyson situation especially since he's been in the news so much as of late in 2024 who would have thought um what do you think happens let's presume

he fights again in 2025 as dana white says back end of 2025 what do you think happens what do you think the reception will be obviously the fight won't be in ireland um it will be you know most likely in las vegas but how do you think he will be, you know, most likely in Las Vegas, but how do you think he will be covered, talked about, et cetera? What does this do for him as far as being an athlete and somewhat of a,

an ambassador of Irish sport? I think it would probably be very badly received in Ireland, if I'm honest. Um, but I, I do see support from McGregor. I mean,

we'd be silly not to say like all of these tweets he put out are viewed by millions of people. We've seen Andrew Tate and these guys come out and support him as well. So there is a strong support for him somewhere. I haven't noticed that much in Ireland, if I'm being particularly honest. And if you looked at the Sunday papers,

you wouldn't have thought there was any. Even outside of the papers, grip media have been more sympathetic, I'd say, to McGregor during the case than a lot of the publications. But even their editor put out a piece today that said that regardless of how you feel about the outcome, McGregor has shown himself to be an awful human being during this core process so and that was one of the talking points in all the publications as well and how mcgregor carried himself on the stand and you know people were mentioning like a kind of lewd comments gestures with his hands stuff like this um yeah i don't think it would be received well in orleans but there's certainly still a fan base there for conor mcgregor there's no doubt about that yeah and so um and so let's see what happens let's see um what happens with this this protest that you're talking about let's see if you know i feel like a lot of this is still up in the air and the biggest question of all is will he in fact appeal right because if he does go through that that's more time that's more money

being devoted to all of this and um it's it it's that, that to me is the biggest indication as to whether or not he thinks that he is being falsely accused and, and, and, you know, the, the, the verdict was incorrect. If he doesn't, you know, then that, that kind of says it all right. That kind of, that kind of ends that, but it can't, by the way, go back to now here in America, if you're, if you're charged in a civil case like the most famous one probably is oj simpson that was after his criminal case it can't go back to criminal i'd imagine that's the same thing in in ireland yes absolutely and everybody who's commented and just talked about like the higher burden of proof it would have taken for the dpp to bring this to court obviously one of the big arguments from mcgregor's side of things was um the inconsistencies in nikita han's initial report um in contrast to what we saw on cctv um there's also you know a lot

was made of her lying to her partner at the time and while she was there there were several text messages uh sent to her partner at the time um saying she was fine she wasn't under duress anything like that so that that was a big part of their counter argument to nikita han and you could understand based on what the the the jury saw images of uh nikita han which she found very difficult to look at she couldn't remember anything she couldn't recognize the person she was watching but essentially causing up to james lawrence and hugging mcgregor before he left um you could imagine that in with the dpp when it's not on the balance of uh the balance of probabilities which a civil case is um it's beyond reasonable

doubt certainly you'd imagine dpp looking at footage like that and saying you know this may present some doubt in this equation but to Nikita Han's credit um a lot according to Frank Graney a lot of people would have stopped their pursuit at that point and had they gone the civil route they would have been told that they will likely lose a lot of money going in this direction but she kept on it and that is really the the narrative that's being forged in the newspapers in the mainstream media that like this was exceptionally risky for her to go down if she was simply looking to uh to gain money from this situation this would have been a terrible route to go and yet she she still went through it and she came out with um you know with the jury jury deciding that McGregor was liable for assault on that night and James Lawrence was not.

It is, in retrospect, the fact that it went this far and ultimately that she, that the verdict was essentially in her favor. And again, I'm sorry if I'm not using the correct terminology here. It is crazy, maybe crazy is not the right term, but like that it didn't even, that the DPP didn't even allow it to go to a criminal case. You know what I mean? That it, it never even got there, right?

Didn't they just say there was not enough evidence and it kind of just, it kind of just ended there. Yeah. That's obviously a massive difference. Yeah. It's, I believe that the stat I read during this case is that only 14% of rape accusations brought to Angardisha, Yoconda outstanding, he is a correspondent for Newstalk, he said it was, in fact, quite rare for someone to go this way in a complaint like this, like Nikita Hans. So, again, I assume that she would have been told on this journey that this is, there is a strong likelihood that this does not go your way.

All right. So let's see what happens here. I wanted to bring in a New York Rick, get his thoughts on all of this. We've had a chance to weigh in to some degree. Rick, as far as the future, like I asked PT that question when he fights again for the greater MMA community, not just the Irish MMA

community and Irish MMA fans. How do you think this will play out how will he be received in your opinion yeah i can't i can't escape the feeling that this will color everything like this feels like a demarcation right this feels like a a an event that cannot be removed that that will color all the conversation from now on i wonder what his words are about this when if he ever returns uh to fighting i wonder what the ufc will say if anything at all about this um i imagine that the fans are wanting something to be said about this um one way or another right i don't think that necessarily the ufc is it would be good business for them to

necessarily condemn conor McGregor. But you do wonder if they even have an opinion at all, if they even have a thought at all that somebody on their roster has now been found liable for something like this. You wonder what impact that will have. You wonder what impact that will have on sponsors. You wonder what impact that will have on the wider business, the combat sports business, how fighters are viewed. There are a lot of implications here that I think we're still fresh in this. And obviously, Conor McGregor has expressed his his intention to appeal this. And so this is not a completed story yet if he if he does follow through on that.

But I think there will be ramifications and and widely felt for this i do wonder when we start to see and feel and hear these things but i should obviously note first and foremost like there are victims in this scenario and that is the most important thing um but the future of conor mcgregor is something that we cover as as a combat sports outlet and that is that is where we're at i mean this is unfortunately is unfortunately a, um, a type of story that we've seen quite often with the likes of Floyd Mayweather and, uh, Gervonta Davis, um, all different varying degrees. There's domestic violence, but these sort of uncomfortable, uh, conversations, um, about fighters and about superstars. And then you wonder how they are going to be received, covered,

whether the public will buy the tickets, buy the pay-per-views, all these things. So unfortunately, not the first time that we've been met with something like this. And Mike Tyson, probably the most famous example of them all. So let's see. let's see where it goes from here. I guess it continues to develop even though a verdict was reached. And let's see if he does plan to appeal and then where he goes from there, because that is going to be the next big domino, I presume, to fall. So that was the story that came out on Friday. Unfortunate news uh to put it mildly disturbing news and uh honestly when you read some of the details um from her testimony in particular it's uh it's it's it's it's disturbing it's not it's not a great listen it's a very uncomfortable and, um, just disgusting stuff, uh, that, that, uh, you wish no one was subjected

to. Um, so very unfortunate, but again, great job by Pizzi and the team and him in particular covering it all. Uh, no great way to transition from something like that. And if something pops up in the middle of the show, show, we will definitely bring it to you or throughout the week. Do want to also let you know that there is no crack on Friday, no boys in the back on Thursday because of Thanksgiving.

So it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, this week, A8 show. And then we break for the Thanksgiving holiday. So sort of like my kid's school and all the schools here in America. And then we'll be back on Monday

for the final stretch of UFC action. And there's only two fights left this year. And then we get into like a bit, this is the closest thing that we have to a, an off season in the UFC. Like there's the event this past Saturday, Macau, and then no event this weekend. And then the pay-per-view on the 7th and then

the Tampa show on the 14th And then nothing on the 21st Nothing on the 28th Nothing on the 5th And I believe nothing on the 11th as well Or sorry the 6th or the 4th Sorry you get the point A bit of a let me just double check that

Oh there is an apex But still I mean it's You know a couple weeks here a couple weeks there it's the closest that we have to an off season if you will in the ufc the 11th is the fight night 18th is the um 311 pay-per-view macao uh on saturday morning saw peter yan as i say uh somewhat turned back the clock he had come back and and um and won relatively um recently about what was it uh when was that fight against sonia dong that was uh in march um but then you know had acl surgery per his management team danny rubenstein and comes back and beats davisigueiredo 50-45 I know GC was hyped about it

Your thoughts GC on Piotr Jan's performance against Figueiredo who was the former flyweight champion And 3-0 Since moving up to 135 He had been on quite a run and coming off Maybe his best performance Against Marlon Vera

3-0 in the span of Essentially 8 months dating back to his debut at 135 back in December. Yeah, it was incredible. It was what you said. It was a vintage performance from Piotr Jan, the way that he mixed it up, how good that he looked in the striking, and to do all that to Davidson Figueredo was simply incredible. It proved that he can still compete at the top level, that he is a title contender. And I see a lot of people, maybe even you, calling that he should be next for the and i see a lot of people maybe even you uh calling that he should be next for the title shot so i thought this was a really important

moment to to prove that he was still at the top of the division uh and he did that in a massive way 50 45 across all three judges scorecards uh and he looked great man it was it was a lot of fun to watch yeah uh very very like i was not expecting that i i didn't know how the fight would go but considering the injury considering um you know figgy looking so good i wasn't expecting that kind of dominance it it doesn't necessarily tell the full story of the fight right 50 to 45 but it felt closer than that like when they read the scorecards off i was like oh damn all three 50 45 but uh i guess if you go back and watch round by round like jan was doing the better work across each round and so the question is uh was that enough to put him as

the number one contender because afterwards uh he called for it and afterwards marab do alishvili seemed to really like the idea specifically calling for march uh in fact we do have some of this stuff marab jan and um, and Umar. And really, Marab and Umar in particular were really going at it. Marab, in the immediate aftermath, tweeted, I'm impressed Peter Jan's performance tonight slash UFC Macau.

And then he later posted... We actually have the video that he posted for Jan. Alright, let's go. With the last poster. Here we go. Great fight, Peter. I like your call-out and I like your respect. Let's go again

after two years. March 8th. Team Mobile. Let's fucking go Murab very excited obviously that was the poster from their first fight in March of 2023 um your your thoughts on that because I was joking in the group chat that you know you guys aren't ready yeah we're not ready for the conversation I'm fully prepared for the conversation but I'm just not sure that Iiotr Jan earned a title shot with that.

I know he had a great performance against Sonia Dong as well. Before that, he did lose three straight and two of the last three champions. And when he did fight Murad Davalosvili, it was a 50-45 in the other direction. Murad blanked him, and it really wasn't even competitive. I think you put fresh blood in there. You give Umar the title shot. He's 18-0. He's undefeated.

He's got their Namaga Medov last name. He did get a big one over Corey Sandhagen. You see if he can beat Murad the Balashvili And I think you book Piotr Jan Sean O'Malley too Winner of that

Gets the winner of Murad and Umar Yeah the By the way What's all the chatter Back there What's going on Oh Frankie

He's in it Don't worry We're working through the kinks Is everything okay Everything's good Never been better Never been better back It's louder than usual.

So about that Marab thing. So what I like. Well, let me ask you this. The problem is, though, is it not that the first fight was just like, Marab's calling for it, but the fight was so one-sided. It's 100% that, but it's also the fact that you want to see the champion being somebody who, and I believe truly that Murab is this type of person to accept all challengers, not to be the one to be picking the challenger, right? Not to be saying, Jan, great performance. You just fought.

Now I'm the one who's calling you out when it seems like he's already tried to angle for the O'Malley rematch, when it seems like now Um uh, Umar is, is in play and probably in the driver's seat for that. I just want to see Murab just take the next challenge. Uh, you know, I get it. I totally get it,

but I just, again, the Jan fight was not competitive. There's not really like a story there. Like Murab handled O'Malley. He handled Piotr Jan. And after that, it's Umar.

It's, it's a credit to Murab more than anything it's like we don't think they're viable challenges for you because of how easily you dispatch them we'd rather see the fresh challenge why do we think marab isn't like acknowledging umar like obviously he gets on twitter and he starts tweeting at peter and umar is tweeting at him relentlessly all weekend whether that be you know umar ali whoever it may be uh but like marab doesn't he like doesn't acknowledge him as as the next shot yes this is umar if i were him i wouldn't want to fight me either he's right to be afraid this is him responding in real time there were a

bunch of tweets um there's a couple others umar can beat him that's why he's avoiding him that's from umar and then he wrote sometimes people talk about themselves in the third person i think this is because some people were shouldn't the second tweet have been like umar talks about himself in the third person if we're trying to be consistent you know um then he tweeted a coward will always find an excuse for his retreat which uh according to umar is a Georgian proverb. Murab then quote tweeted that and said, this is why I lost respect for Umar and Ali a long time ago.

They played dirty games and write stupid shit, disrespecting my country and my people. Keep this same energy when I see you in person, see what happens. This could get very ugly because of course of the history between Georgia and Russia, which is Mur you know, Murab's home country versus Umar's home country. Umar then quote tweeting Murab's accusation that Umar's manager was tweeting on his behalf. And Umar then says, the man you fear at the mere mention of his name, your body trembles and your heart beats faster, which I don't know, might be some poem or something because that was some heavy duty stuff. he is 6-0 in the UFC the only win over a top 10 top 15 guy is Corey but the Corey win is so great

I guess the question to ask if we are really going to debate this and I don't think that Peter is going to get the fight over uh Umar is is is the 18-0 6-0 in the UFC uh was it six or five uh 6-0 in the UFC and and uh the or 5? 6-0 in the UFC and the undefeated record. Is that greater than the win over Song and the win over Davis and Figueiredo? Especially when you consider that, you know, Peter was champion, he was on a losing streak and has already gotten his chance to fight for the belt multiple times. I think ultimately that they are going to give it to Umar. The problem is that Murab is pushing for an early March fight and that's right at the beginning of Ramadan. And so

my read on that is Murab wants to fight in March. They're saying he is not ready for March and that is pissing him off and that's why he's pushing for March. I don't think he will get what he wants. If that's truly what they want and Umar is not going to fight Ramadan, which, you know, none of the Nurmagomedov slash Dagestani fighters who are observant do,

I think he's going to be upset that he's going to have to wait. And I think that's part of the problem here. I genuinely feel like if it wasn't a scheduling issue, and I obviously have no issues with Umar not being able to fight during ramadan everyone should have that right and especially for religious reasons

it's 100 understandable i i feel like if that wasn't if this was august or september marab would just be like serve him up to me i'll beat him like marab doesn't seem like the type of guy who is ducking opponents doesn't seem like the type of guy who is trying to pick and choose um especially considering his run to the top and what he had to go through. I feel like he's just kind of annoyed by the scheduling and is annoyed that they, in his mind, are catering to him. But I don't think it's going to be him versus Pierre-Jan too.

The rematch that I would love to see is, well, there's actually two rematches that I would love to see for Pierre-Jan. Jan versus Sugar too, or Jan versus Sanhagen 2. I feel like Jan versus Sugar 2 is the real money fight, if you will, because that fight is still being debated as we speak because people still talk about Sugar being gifted because it was a close fight, because it was only three rounds. Make that a main event, five rounds, Jan versus Sugar. What do you guys think? What do you think? Does anyone have any better idea?

Because I feel like that's the one. Jan versus Suga is the one. That's the one? That's the fight. The five rounds, too, would be fantastic. It has to be five, though. Well, yeah, because that's the story, right? First one was three.

It was split decision. It was so close. Now we do it five. Yeah, leave no doubt. And also, I think it would be an opportunity for either one of them to say, I deserve a title shot, right? I think on the heels of that, you can really say, okay, they belong in that line. Yeah. That is the title shot right there. That's the, that's the contendership. I love that. It would be interesting if, if, if, if that's sugar's next fight and sugar beats Jan,

does he get a title shot? Oh yeah, definitely does. Yeah, no doubt. Maybe the best thing to happen to sugar is the fact that Figueredo lost, because I feel like if Figueredo wins, he probably would. I mean, if Figueredo would have won, by the way, he would have had maybe a better case than Umar. Undoubtedly, he would have had a better case. He would have had wins over Rob Font, Chido Vera, Kofi Garbrandt, and Jan. I think that's three top 10 Bantamweights and then a former champion. Absolutely would have had a better case. And he would have that's three top 10 Bantamweights and then a former champion, like,

absolutely would have had a better case. And he would have been undefeated at Bantamweight, 4-0 in less than 365 days. He absolutely would have had a better case than Omar.

What do you think, PT? Yeah, I love that rematch. Yeah, and look, I thought he won the first fight, if I'm being honest, but it

was a brilliant fight. Yeah, and if anything, we learned that O'Malley was really elite that night. Like, regardless of how I feel about the result but it was a brilliant fight yeah and if if if anything we learned that O'Malley was really elite that night like regardless of how I feel about the result it was exceptionally close um and he fought brilliantly both guys fought brilliantly and I love the five rounds and and it it automatically as the lad said it will push one of them into the title picture again and I think Jan's always wanted that one back I think he felt hard done by that night I think a lot of Jan fans did as well.

Of course, a lot of gamblers probably in the mix there being upset, ripping up their parallels. But I love the rematch. And I think both guys like this kind of fight. These lads are going to be in the pocket trading with each other. I think Jan would have looked at a Figueredo fight like this could be more difficult. We saw some of the beautiful takedowns that Figueredo was landing early in that fight. Very difficult to deal with

on the ground. He knows that O'Malley and him are going to bang it out for the most part. And if you can't remember, go back and watch the first fight because it was amazing. Any belief that Jan versus Murabtu goes any different than the first fight? I think Nope. Nope.

Alright. So there's no like that's unfortunately a nightmare for everybody but particularly peter yan like peter yan's game is predicated on just being an incredible striker which he is he is the he is the cream of the crop he is the creme de la creme he is the top of the class but the other part of it is how he's able to execute that is because he's so sound defensively, right? Everything that somebody is trying to do back to him, they are unable to do except Marab. And Marab is somebody who spams takedowns to the point that he does not need the takedown. His pace is the weapon, right? He's able to get in on you. And if he doesn't get the takedown, it does not matter

because he's just going to reset and shoot again. And he's going to be able to just make you be on the back foot the whole time. Jan can stuff everybody's takedowns as we've seen. That is his skill. That is his art. That is his excellence. But Murab does not need the takedowns to execute his style. It's unfortunately just this style clash that I don't think will ever favor Jan because Murab can just continue to shoot and he does not need to secure those takedowns in the way that other people, when're getting boxed up by yan need to and and it's just a real bad style matchup for him yeah uh yan did say he was injured going into that fight but i think i think this performance on saturday by peter yan only just shows how good marab is right because like the aljo fights were somewhat controversial like the guy peter yan i still think there are a lot of us who believe if he doesn't land that kick you know he may have had

a three four five year run he was that good and is that good and so to see this version of him back is very exciting but it also just speaks to how freaking great marab is the fact that he did that to him and it was so one-sided and so dominant i think there are some people who saw saturday and still think that i think there are some people who go yeah that is that is still the guy who i believed he was uh you know connor and i broke it down on boys in the back i think the whole like jan was falling off kind of narrative or the idea that like he wasn't how good he was before was a little bit misguided because if you look at the performances who they're against and the and the circumstances like i think that dude's is every bit as good as he was three four years ago

um and that is a championship level fighter i as i said just a moment ago i do think marab is a very bad style matchup for him but he is the best of the best in that division he could compete with anybody by the way if it's marab umar and it's, let's just say, Shuga Yan, who does Corey fight next? And in case you need a refresher, it's Marab, Shuga, Umar, Yan, Corey. Corey's four. Five is Davison. He just fought. Davison and Corey's not bad.

Figgy versus Corey isn't a bad matchup. The problem is Corey's kind of fought everybody and to his credit, that's his thing though. Corey is the one when nobody was willing to give Umar a shot was like, yeah, I'll fight him and that's why we love Corey Sanhagen. He's kind of fought everybody.

Figgy is a fresh matchup. I wouldn't mind Corey versus Figgy. I don't know how long Corey is willing to wait, but I like that one. Last week, we had the whole back and forth between Dominic Cruz and Henry Cejudo. I love that fight. But, I mean, he could be in the mix as well. I love that fight.

Because, yes, you're right. And when I'm saying that fight, I mean Cejudo versus Corey. Well, I love Cejudo versus Cruz, but if that's not the thing. Oh, you love Cejudo versus Corey. I like both. But I'm just trying to find someone for Corey. Well, I love Cejudo versus Cruz, but if that's not a thing. Oh, you love Cejudo versus Corey. I like both, but I'm just trying to

find someone for Corey. I mean, we all kind of want Aldo versus Cruz, right? I mean, if we're being honest, like I know this, I

know this Henry and Cruz stuff is drumming up. We want Aldo versus Cruz. Aldo versus Cruz is a legendary WEC fight.

That would be an incredible way for both of them to kind of ride off into the sunset. I wouldn't mind seeing Aldo versus Sanhagen either. I wouldn't mind seeing,o versus san hagen either i wouldn't mind seeing um damn aldo versus san hagen

can actually be pretty fun now you put that on the table i wasn't thinking that way but that's actually pretty good cory is beating sonia dong like he's beating all these guys is the problem um he's being rob font like i don't think he's going to be calling for the o'malley fight he said it in interviews that's the one that he wants i don't think Corey's a... He's going to be calling for the O'Malley fight. He said it in interviews. That's the one that he wants. I don't think Corey's a young,

hungry prospect enough. I think he's too veteran to fight out, though. We need somebody who's like 22, absolute savage

on a roll. Corey's too veteran in the game. Does O'Malley want to do Jan, too? I mean, he's

skated out with a split decision. Does he want to go fight Well, that was the thing. I don't know. But I feel like there's two big rematches that he I want to do Jan too. I mean, he skated out with a split decision. Does he want to go five rounds with Jan again? Well, that was the thing. I don't know.

But I feel like there's two big rematches that Jan can go after. And obviously, that would be the big one. Sanhagen might be another one. Not as big. I don't know. That fight, Sanhagen versus Jan, man. It was amazing. It is one of my favorites of all time.

Is it a bad look? Is it a bad look for Murab to be pushing so much for the Jan fight after he beat him? You think so? The optics of this are just bad. To a point you were making earlier, he's frustrated, right? He wants to fight when he wants to fight. He's the champion, and it's seeming like it's not coming together. But on the outside, that's not what people are seeing, right? They're not seeing the negotiations behind the scenes.

They're not seeing the UFC laying out the calendar. They're not seeing the schedule and how Ramadan is affecting that. All they're seeing is you calling for a guy that you just dominated. And so it's just bad optically. I don't think it's doing him any favors with the fan base, even though us who are analyzing this whole thing and can see the whole field recognize like, yeah, of course, Murab would fight anybody. Of course, he's not just like Jan or nobody. He'll fight anybody. We know this. That's who he is. But I don't think it looks good.

Yeah. I'm really curious to see what they do. Do they just keep Murab on the sidelines and wait till Ramadan is over? By the way, in case you're wondering, Ramadan ends on March 29th. So I don't know.

That would maybe be like he would need a training camp afterwards because it's quite taxing on the body. You can't drink or eat. So what, international fight week? Then we're talking almost a year. June pay-per-view? Then we're talking about almost a year in between fights. Yeah, maybe the June pay-per-view might be the soonest. So let us see.

Let us see how it all plays out. Now, I did want to talk about a few other things from that card. Shout out to Yan Shaonan. Looked great against Tabitha Ritchie. Afterwards called out Zhang Weili. It sort of feels like Zhang doesn't have a great dance partner. I don't know if there's a great demand for yan versus zhang too or zhang versus yan too because uh we just saw it and it was pretty one-sided um

there's nothing really great out there for her she's such a superstar and she's so beloved especially in china but i i feel like she's really starting to break through you're seeing her with like the likes of steph curry and whatnot and i just don't feel like she has her dance party, which is very unfortunate because she's incredible. I love watching her fight. So let's see. Muslim Salikhov with an incredible spinning wheel kick over Keenan Song. Massive, massive, massive upset. Gabriela Fernandez.

What was she? She was like a plus 625, according to topology, beating Kong Wang. Kong Wang is the fighter that fought Valentina Shevchenko in, I believe, Muay Thai back in the day. And she did the,

I thought it was great, the Joker thing, and people were saying it was cringe. I thought it was great. Did you guys not like it? Did she do it wrong? No, I liked it. I liked it.

Anything to add personality, anything to get us to know who you are, anything to stand out. She did the this, and then the this, and the this. It was the only thing people were talking about. Yeah. So, yeah, it worked. I don't find any of that stuff crazy.

Maybe don't get choked out as minus 15. Yeah. It is definitely, as they say, tough. You can imagine that Valentina was so invested in that as well. Just the way she talked to you about her, which came on the show. She's like, yeah, fair play to her. I get it. Come back, try and gain a bit of traction off my name.

That's fantastic. Valentina strikes me as the person that absolutely is all in on this and will be cackling in her household as she watched that unfold. And just shaking her head like you hate to see it. You to see it not everyone can be alex brayer look at her trash talk towards uh my no furo like she she goes for the jugular um i was thinking of our good friend juliana who made a great debut on the boys in the back juliana talking about carlos ulberg is is great television i knew she was going to choose him too the most predictable thing of all time i love it i love the way she talks about him.

The, the, the love of Tom Aspinall and all that stuff is great. What'd she say? I fall in love 10 times a day. Yeah. Something like that. Wanting to sing his song behind him and all that. No,

sing it. She's, she's all in on it. It's, it's ingrained. It's burned into her mind. Um, he defeats Volkan Ozdemir and he's on some kind of role.

They've got something special with him. I mean, just look at the guy. Uh, they a hundred percent have something special in him. And I did want to mention, um, Ming Shi's win over Shao Kahn Fang. Uh, that was a, uh, road to UFC, um, fight, a, a, a final. And it was one of the most vicious head kick knockouts that you'll ever see. Truly, truly, truly vicious stuff and scary stuff because afterwards Feng was put on a backboard and taken out of the cage. She was put in a neck brace. It was pretty scary. I mean,

you see the scene there. You don't often see that, especially in the UFC. You really don't. And I reached out to a bunch of people because I do want to give credit to the UFC. I thought they did a great job of at least providing some kind of update. Like they didn't just sweep it under the rug. You can't do that, especially because it happened so early in the card. It was like the, I don't know, the fifth or so fight, I believe on the card. And I thought even, I don't know, the fifth or so fight, I believe, on the card. And I thought even during the main event, it was commendable that they would bring it up and talk about it and at least give us some kind of update. I've been trying since Saturday to find out who manages Feng, but I can't seem to find out. But what I did find out was she appears

to be okay and in great spirits and will be making a full recovery. So it's, I'm not going to say it was a precaution, but it doesn't appear as though it was something that will, you know, affect you. You think the worst when you see something like that. and who spoke to people close to her team, there doesn't appear to be the same type of worry about her long-term health or her current health. So I wanted to provide that update. While I was asking around, I actually reached out to Alex Davis, the longtime MMA manager,

who I know was in Macau. And I was just trying to think of anyone anyone i reached out to a bunch of people uriah faber some managers just because i i didn't know how to get an update on her uh to be honest and while i was talking to alex davis i i asked him about his fighter the pfl fighter diane silva who was uh hospitalized after her bellator Bellator London weight cut that resulted in her going into a coma and was extremely scary stuff this is from a car that happened on September 14th she was admitted to the ICU at London's Northwick Park Hospital on September 13th following a failed weight cut to 145 pounds I hadn't seen an update on Silva, and he provided some incredible news. He told me that she's back in Brazil, that she is at a rehab

hospital in Brazil. She is able to walk. She's able to talk. There was fear that she would have to be on dialysis for the rest of her life, and that is no longer the case and uh he he kept saying this is a fairy tale like it was terrifying and uh it was it was you know this is a guy who's been in the sport for 30 something years and something that he had never seen before still too soon to say you know the kind of effect that it will have on her long-term and also still too soon to say, um, whether or not she will fight again, uh, that, you know, that is definitely down the line stuff to discuss, but the great news is she's not in London anymore. She's back home. She is staying at a rehab, uh, hospital slash center in Brazil and is able to walk and talk. And, uh want to mention that the PFL was really great.

This is what he said. He said that we are very thankful to Mike Kogan from Bellator, which is the PFL, and Eduardo Lima from the PFL, who stood by her through thick and thin. And he also said that he believes in what the doctors are saying, she is on her way to making a full recovery. So that is some tremendous news because there was a lot of fear that this would be an awful turn of events for Diane Silva. And let's be honest for the PFL, who is essentially the parent promotion of Bellator.

So I wanted to provide that because we were talking about a scary situation. And that was a scary situation on the card on Saturday. They did announce, um, Yuri Prokhaska versus Jamal Hill for UFC 311 on January 18th. I love this fight and I think it makes all the sense in the world. Anyone have any objections to this fight? Rick, you like it? I like it. It gave us the genesis of that uh yuri screaming i'm coming video and then jamal's actually like quite funny um reply so i'm in let's let's do that one i'm all for it but that video wasn't about jamal right no i don't think it was he just did like a he just reacted to it yeah and i think oh gee i think originally it was about maybe it was i forget because there was a lot of like

Moving pieces at that time Because he was coming for the belt that he That Jamal won after Yuri vacated And then Jamal did the I'm coming back Yeah Alright well anyway It was great

It's what we want Do you like it? Do you like it, GC? Love it. Love it. Why not? I mean, two guys that are near the top of the division, maybe not title shot next.

Obviously, Yuri having lost twice to Alex Pereira now and Jamal having lost to him as well. This is a great, you know, maybe not earn a title shot. Maybe Jamal earns a title shot off of it, but high-level fight. I'm looking forward to it i'm glad yuri is not moving down to 185 just yet who's the favorite oh yeah i don't think he should move down to 185 why that'd be fun who cares i'm i'm in i think he's too big for 185

he says he's not i trust i trust he says he's not man i don't know i could feel him like 205 to 185 is a gigantic jump by the way are we acting like Alex Pereira Didn't fight at 185 for the bulk of his career And is a massive human as well It'd be fine don't sweat that Yeah but he did it the opposite way Yeah he did but I'm confident that Yuri could

Find a way to make 185 I'm not rushing him there I'm not pushing him there but when you've lost to the champ Multiple times I'm okay rushing him there. I'm not pushing him there, but when you've lost to the champ multiple times, I'm okay. There we go. He's coming. Minus 110 each way on the odds. Ooh. That one's going to get chaotic.

I would have thought Yuri would be favorite there. No? I don't know, man. He got put out by Alex twice. I mean, so does everyone. Yeah. I mean, that's true. If we're doing the everybody got put up by Alex It's a long list Honestly to me

Feels like a coin toss fight I have no idea It's just going to get super chaotic they're going to swing And someone's going to get knocked out I do think there's a lot of concern about Yuri's knee as well like just how he recovered He got back to it so quickly I think that is a concern as well

For sure and look they're actually very similar stories aren't they when we consider uh jamal's quick return to fight perera that everyone thought that was kind of a rush job i think yuri was similar concerns about him too they're in very similar situations i think these guys where they we all kind of know they're at the top of the division and they've already fought for the title, but they want to remind everyone how elite they are. So I like it in that regard for sure. Yeah.

I don't know if that's a number one contender fight. I mean, it does clear out Jamal from the discussion surrounding Alex Pereira because I know he was trying to campaign for that fight, but I think we all agree that it has to be Magomed on Kalaev, right? It's got to be Magomed on Kalaev next. Yeah, I'll go live next or heavyweight.

Yeah, Pereira's at 205. I don't know. I feel like if Jamal wins, he might get a title shot off. John Jones or Tom Nassman. I knew you were going there, Rick. John Jones or Tom Nassman. Or heavyweight.

What about, by the way, what about the tour that Alex Pereira is having in Korea? Golly. This guy is coming off like a superstar. This is why when we're talking about the star power, this dude can be in Korea and people are jumping out windows to see him.

You don't think Tom Aspinall is going to be the same? I think if Tom Aspinall walked down the street in Korea, not a soul would know who he was. You think so? All due respect to Tom. Are you serious? Look at these scenes. There's no way that he's getting an airport entrance like this and people are like, Tommy, Aspinall, Aspinall.

These people are chanting Shama so he can do his intro. Juliana Pena would be there, though. Yo, look at this turnout in Korea. Oh, he's got the moves. I love it. I love how Plinio's always by his side. Look at this freaking. The tag team.

This is in the airport. By the way, how do they even know when he's coming? Like, how do they know that he's arriving at this time? I never understood that. Yeah, somebody sets this up. Oh, Plinio on the banner. I love the dude who they keep bringing out to keep taking damage from Alex. Like, the tough guy who's taking the body shots and the leg kicks and all that,

that dude's a savage. Do we have that guy? What about this tracksuit? What about the tracksuit? The tracksuit is beautiful. Unbelievable. Is it possible that could be an addition?

What is it? Is it called St. Stephen's Day? Yeah. Stephen's Day tracksuit. Unfortunately, we're already in the process of developing this year's

Stephen's Day tracksuit. Wait, wait, wait. Why is that unfortunate? I need a better explanation. You don't know what this is? No no no Oh wow I'm very intrigued

Go ahead go ahead PT Well you know It's a thing In particularly Working class Dublin That Stephen's Day

British people Call it Boxing Day We call it St. Stephen's Day Why is it called that By the way? St. Stephen's Day Yeah

Because it's the Feast day of St. Stephen I guess And way? St. Stephen's Day Yeah Because it's the feast day of St. Stephen I guess And who is St. Stephen's? Don't know It's a little cheeky too to be like they call it Boxing Day But we named it after St. Stephen Yeah They've done a few cheeky things to the Irish over the years as well If you look into the history there

But anyway We get tracksuits on because our bellies are so swollen from eating all the food and everything it's just a tracksuit day and we just sit down and watch all the football and the darts and everything else that's on the tv it's a bit of a custom so when you used to go to shop with your parents to get your christmas clothes you'd also get a stephens day tracksuit and i've kept it alive into my 30s now this is incredible so everyone comes and flexes their different sweatsuits and tracksuits yeah the day. I've kept it alive into my 30s now. This is incredible. So everyone comes and flexes their different

sweatsuits and tracksuits the day after Christmas. I've done it every year now. I think I've done it about five years now I get out my tracksuit and this year bespoke tracksuit

for the first time. Sorry, I missed that. You were saying unfortunately because you can't adapt the plan now. You're already in motion. Got it, got it, got it. No, there's nothing

unfortunate about it. I might be in on that. I might have to get my own sweatsuit. I would if you did that i might get a shaman track suit by the way you get that's it you get that and i'll do more one fantastic all right i'm gonna start looking at the one you had on last week pizza no no you just love that one that in here the green one yeah come on it was like i'm trying to troubleshoot things at the end there's a guy in attraction i'm like i don't even know if you're taking me seriously right now. They were like, are you taking the piss out of me

just based on the clothes you're wearing? By the way, PC, did Connor just admit that he hasn't been following you on social media? Because I feel like this has been a bit for several years now. He has me muted, I think. I think he must have me muted. Oh, okay. I was going to say I follow him on everywhere.

I mean, we don't need to. My controversial takes. I recently came across a memory about when New York Rick first followed me after me knowing him for like 13 months. Longtime fans remember that one. What do you mean a memory? You screenshotted it and it came up? Yeah. It was like three years ago today.

New York Rick started following me. I was like, ah, yes. This is when my heart was torn out of my chest. The guy sat next to me shoulder to shoulder for months on end and didn't want to. Wow. I don't remember this. Let me put it out there. It was a whole't wow let me i don't remember this let me put it out there there was a saga about it let me put it out there i'll text people that i that i know and care about i i don't give a shit about follows on yeah respect yeah i wouldn't follow me either i'm not all that exciting no i love what you see

i do look forward to the tracksuit i have to admit i'm sure i have tracksuits over here now it's it's the biggest post of the year. Wait, GC, you're going to partake? Absolutely. Are you kidding me? So this is Boxing Day, by the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's not fucking Boxing Day. December 26th, to be clear.

Sorry, if we're going to call it Boxing Day, if we're going to call it Boxing Day, you're not fucking welcome, all right? St. Stephen's Day. St. Stephen's Day tracksuit. Thank you. We don't care for Boxing Day. Thank you.

St. Stevie's Day? Stevens. Is that allowed? What? Is he. Thank you. St. Stevie's Day? Stevenson. Is that allowed? What? Is he allowed to call it St. Stevie's? He is now. St. Steve? Irish people call it St. Stevenson's Day. We get locked up on that one for a bit.

Yeah, that is a little bit. I'm going to walk downstairs the day after Christmas in a sick head-to-toe tracksuit. You know what rolls off the tongue? Boxing Day. Just call it Boxing Day Especially for like a combat sports show It's perfect. By the way do we have the video of him Kicking the guy or was it just that one Because there's been a ton of great

Alex Pereira videos Let's see it before we get to our first guest So it's the same guy every time Oh he's barefoot His legs must be in tatters Jeez Louise So it's the same guy every time? Oh, he's barefoot. His legs must be in tatters. Jeez Louise. This poor guy.

That doesn't look like it hurts at first glance, but if you come... I kind of want Alex Brer to leg kick me. Oh, jeez. Now he's doing it without. This guy is just a glutton for punishment. Ah! You feel that, right? Ah, poor guy. One would have been enough but he took three this isn't

yeah does this guy not take like eighth i saw a guy taking like 20 kicks prayer said one more one more oh could you imagine helm which oh that one looked like he put a little extra mustard what do you think on a scale of one to, how hard is he going? I feel like a 6. Oh, you think a 6? I thought a 4. Yeah, okay. You guys both said a 4. Also, like, it's just not worth it. Imagine he actually

breaks the dude's leg, he gets sued. Oh, what if Alex Barrera broke his leg? Oh man, that would be worse. Yes, that would not be good. At all. I think that's why he goes 40%, because he knows he's not going to break the dude's leg. Anyway, as I've been saying, he's an international superstar and he deserves a big-time fight. This is exactly what we've been saying.

Good for him, though. It's nice to see him get all this attention. He's such a superstar that his trip to Korea took over MMA social media this weekend. The most amazing part about it all Is he doesn't speak English And he certainly Doesn't speak Korean He needs to speak one word, Shama

It's unbelievable I mean even our guy Rampage took a picture with him lately And he's like marking out and calling him Or saying Shama In his post Just to see how he might be i mean i guess the first since because by the time khabib became a superstar he did speak a little bit of english he might be the first since anderson silva and i don't think anderson was this beloved

certainly the sport wasn't as big right he might be the first guy that is this popular who doesn't speak english i would think like a lick of english doesn't say anything doesn't even say like i am very happy to be here yeah i just think that adds the aura amazing um all right well coming up back into the show uh the underground king eddie alvarez will join us on january 25th exactly two months from today. He will return to action against Jeremy Stevens in a highly anticipated bout in his hometown of Philadelphia. That's Knucklemania 5, their debut at the Wells Fargo Center. So looking forward to talking to Eddie. It's always a very interesting conversation with him. We will also talk to Rampage Jackson about a whole host of

things, but I did want to have our first guest on for about a week or so because we were so excited about him fighting at Madison Square Garden. And then we found out literally the evening of UFC 309 that the fight was off. We then found out a few days later that it was being rebooked for ufc 310 on december 7th at a catch weight and so here he is our old friend the one and only the all-american the pride of south carolina chris weidman hello chris how are you what's up ariel how are you good to talk to you it's been a while good to talk to you as well how we doing i'm doing great by the way those two mma awards what are they for do you remember uh yes fighter of the year and breakout fighter of the year

fighter of the year let me guess we're gonna say 2013 yes you don't have to guess don't act like you're struggling you're you're an encyclopedia and and breakout fighter, that's a good one. Would it be 2012? Yeah. Wow. One after the other. That was the year of the Mark Munoz elbow. Yep. Yep, exactly.

There was the Damian Maia fight. Oh, right, of course. And then it was Munoz. I'm not sure if the Tom Lola fight was in there, too. It might have been 2012, too. What card was that? That was in 130 Law fight was in there, too. It might have been 2012, too. What card was that? That was in 130... That was in San Jose.

139. You're talking about Tom Law. Yeah, 139. You're right. No, that couldn't have been the same year because Mark Munoz was also in San Jose. Who did he fight? No, you. He fought you in San Jose.

Oh, no. Well, the year before it was San Jose, okay, so maybe We did San Jose around the same Time the year before and I fought Tom Lawler Because I fought twice in San Jose Yes, he says Tom Lawler was 139 Which was November of 2011, the anniversary Was just last week, November 19th

And then Munoz was Munoz was the Wednesday The Wednesday after UFC 148 It was a Wednesday Fuel TV card Remember that? It was so weird Yes, that was my first main event And I've had a couple On Fuel TV

The Anderson Silva fight was my first Pay-per-view card ever I was actually even on the main card And then obviously for the belt So it was a big step up As far as promos go And here you are, still kicking it Some 12, 13 years later obviously firm for the belt. So it was a big step up as far as promos go. And here you are still kicking it some 12, 13 years later.

You were supposed to fight at MSG. I was so excited for you because I know how big of a deal it is to fight at that arena, to get a chance to fight back home. And so could you tell us the timeline from your perspective? When do you get word? Is it just one phone call the fight is off? Or do you get a phone call like, hey, this is in trouble. Hey, stand by. How does it go down? No. So I was, uh, we were doing so right, right before I always head down to a fight, um, and get to the shuttle and before my coaches come. So usually my coaches come to my room about 10 minutes before we're going to be in

the shuttle. And so right before they come down, we do a prayer with my family we facetime my sister and uh just a bunch of my family is there and uh we you know say some prayers and as that was happening and i had my phone on do not disturb my my sister was on my phone uh on facetime and i guess all of a sudden you know hunter campbell came came ringing and I go, Oh no, I got to pick that up. And I just, right away I started having a weird feeling. And, uh, so this is about, uh, 5 15, uh, 5 30. We had to leave that. We had to leave at, uh, six o'clock for the shuttle. So I get the call and, and, uh, he just says, Hey, you know, if I'm calling you, it's probably not a good thing. And I go, uh, and he said, uh, the fight's off.'m calling you, it's probably not a good thing. And I go, and he said, the fight's off.

Anders can't fight. He has food poisoning. He, you know, they're pumping him full of IVs and everything, trying to make him, you know, get better. But he's not going to be able to fight. The commission will let him fight and whatever. Yeah, I was, I was, you know, like devastated. Yeah. Completely devastated. I was, you know, I felt great for this training camp and it was 12 week camp. Um, and, uh, the weight cut was definitely a tough weight cut, got through that part. Then you're waiting all day long,

anticipating the fight and, uh, you know, the pressure of that. And then all of a sudden they get that phone call right before your walk and you're ready to tear that band-aid off and uh walk into the octagon and you know be able to put on a show and it just gets taken away from you i couldn't i can't i couldn't believe it and it was like is this a joke yeah um yeah that's never happened to me before so it's a new one and after all these years what time is that around? About 5.30. Oh, I see. Yeah. So, I mean, I was about to walk.

We were about to get on the shuttle. My coaches were literally walking to my room to walk down to the shuttle when I got the call. And so, yeah, it was kind of heartbreaking and just sucks. And then you're like, what the fuck? You know, what do we do? So that's kind of where we were standing at that point. What do you do when you hang up the phone? How do you even collect your thoughts?

What is the first thing that you do? I was spinning. I couldn't find any blessing in disguise over it. I was crushed. I teared up a little bit, a little cry. I got my whole family there. And they spent thousands of dollars, you know, to get down to New York and tons of friends and family that flew in.

And they're not going to watch, you know, the main event. They're not going for anything other than to support me. And so it's just like, I just felt so awful for all of them, you know, and it was too late to sell the tickets. Some of them were able to do it, but the majority of them couldn't sell the tickets because the event had already started um i think they had they were trying to like go down and scalp them but like you know some of my family members older they're not going down you know in front of msg and doing that so a lot of them had to eat eat it um and uh yeah i just awful. I was super excited to fight in New York, uh, in front of all those people.

And, um, yeah, you know, I had two fights in Madison square garden and, uh, we know how those went. So it was kind of like the third time's a charm. I was ready for some, uh, retribution and redemption. I don't know if that word means the same or not, but redemption. And, uh, and so I, And so it got taken away from me. And I was excited. You know, Trump was there, Elon Musk, the whole Republican appointees.

I was excited to put on a show for everybody. And yeah, it just sucks. You're not going to get that one back. You know, you don't have that opportunity very often. And, you know, you mentioned like this is the opportunity to rip the band-aid off how do you then release that anxiety you know like you don't even get that chance right you just cut weight you just rehydrated do you even work out like what do you do to or does it not matter is that just a thing that we talk about like because you're about to like release everything that you've probably been going through for the past eight nine weeks what do you do uh i i'm i i'm i'm pretty good at being

optimistic and like being class glass half full type of guy and there was a lot of people that came out to see me they weren't going to go to the fights anymore they they lost this money so you know as much as i just wanted to hide out of my room and like sulk and uh be upset they offered me tickets to the fight and everything i'm like like, uh, I'm good. Um, I'm not going to do that. I want to, you know, spend time with the people that came out. And so we went to a restaurant and, uh, had a private room and we hung out, we watched some of the fights and, uh, just got to spend some time with the people that came out and to support me. Um, and, but I will say it was, you know, it was weird for me because

I, I usually, and especially with all the people I love, like being around them, I'm super happy and, um, you know, outgoing and I, it was hard for me to be that guy that night. It was just really eating me up. I just, it was hard. It was a tough one. Uh, but ultimately like having faith in God, I think is what gets me through these types of things. Like, I just feel it was hard. It was a tough one. But ultimately, like having faith in God, I think is what gets me through these type of things. Like, I just feel like God's plan is always hard, you know, to understand and just got trusted and have faith. And that's kind of where I'm at.

Like, we may not know ever until we're at the pearly gates on the reasons for things that happen in our lives. So it's ultimately in the grand scheme of life, this is not a big deal. So I just had to put it in perspective and have faith. That is a good point. That is great perspective. I am wondering, and not trying to get like too, you know, deep as far as religious talk, but I'm happy to go there if you want to, given that you are, you know, such a religious person and all the things that you have been through over the past three, four years, even upon returning, like even the Bruno Silva fight, like it's not just a regular boring

fight there's all kinds of do you ever sit back and do like golly can i just have like a a non-boring fight experience a fight week leading up to a fight and it just kind of all is there that's it yeah without without adversity and and you know break breaking legs, poking eyes, you know, just things like that. Yeah, I would love that. But, you know, like I said, you know, there's always blessing disguises. And I do feel like the more uncomfortable situations you get put in, the more adversity you get put in, the stronger you have an opportunity to grow stronger from it if done right. And I always just got to roll with everything that comes at me the best I can and opportunity to grow stronger from it if done right and I always just got to roll with everything that comes at me the best I can and try to grow as a person and it does when you're

it's I feel like a lot of times it's easier to be faithful when you're hitting adversity you know at least for me when everything's going right and everything's good you kind of lose sight of God and that's when your life kind of falls to crap. But I think when you're in adversity, you really, at least for me, I tend to really like focus on God more often. And I just feel so much better actually through tough times. Wow. Okay.

Well put. The reason for the withdrawal from Eric Anders was that he had food poisoning. Is that what you were told as well? Yeah. Yeah. I spoke to him. I actually saw him the next day. Oh, wow.

Yeah. I saw him walking through the hotel, uh, hotel lobby and stuff. So we chatted for a little bit. Apparently he got him and I don't know if it's teammate or a guy that's managed by the same management company. Is it McGee? Did he fight that night? Uh, yes. Marcus. Marcus McGee. Is that, that's managed by the same management company is it mcgee did he fight that night uh yes marcus marcus mcgee is that that's his name yeah so he uh apparently he got food

poisoning too he fought and i guess did he get a knockout or he won by decision or something he won yes yes yeah um you should know that ariel but um no i just said yes so i guess he i guess they went to the same spot same italian spot in New York, and they ended up getting food poisoning. And I guess McGee's might have been not as bad. I don't know. But either way, he was able to fight, and Anders couldn't. You know, the UFC, I guess, told Anders, like, to try. I guess he had told.

This is, you know, now this just could be rumors. I don't know. But based on what he says and what the UFC says, who knows really what's true um, that he told them early on, he did a shakeout. He couldn't hold up his hands in the morning. And I think he said that, you know, he doesn't think he's going to be able to fight, but they want him to be able to get like push through and try to get to the locker room and see how he feels when he's in the locker room. So I think that ended up being the goal. And then, I don't know, at some point they decided, uh, I don't know what really would happen, you know, around that five 30 time before uh, I don't know what really would happen,

you know, around that five 30 time before we were walking into the locker room. Uh, but that's when I got the phone call. Was that, was that a meeting that conversation awkward or was it okay? No, you know, he, I've, I've, uh, I've been out with Anders, uh, once and he's, I think he's a cool dude. Um, I don't think he's, you know, canceling a fight, you know, we make money to fight. And so he wants to make his money's i think he's a cool dude um i don't think he's you know canceling a fight you know we make money to fight and so he wants to make his money i think he wants to compete it was a big opportunity for him too so you know there's always people running up to me he was scared of you i'm like i don't know about that i think uh i think he had food poisoning uh and i and i believe him on that and you know it is what it is what it is. Right away, I had a lot of, you know, decisions to make because UFC was being, they were being very good with me. You know, hey, when do you want to fight?

Will he get you on the Macau card? Oh, geez. Will he get you, you know, December? You want to fight in January? You want to fight in March? All these different opportunities. And so, which is nice. And, yeah, I chose this one because i'm

healthy right now and i could have chose one later on and had more time to recover from the camp and everything like that but you know then there's a chance of getting injured then i'll have regret right now i feel great and um i just kind of just tacked my camp on a little bit longer with the weight cut in there and uh now we're doing a catch weight i don't know if you saw that yeah um yeah so they offered me you know i could fight pretty much any way i wanted and um i could have done 205 but i said you know let's do 195 just so i don't feel like lazy eating whatever i wanted you know i have to stay disciplined for the next couple weeks and so 195 it is so they asked you all these things and was it basically all up to you and he had to agree to it? I think so.

Wow. I think I became the A-side without question. Even according to him. He goes, listen, he said that to me. That those words never came out of my mouth to this point. And Hunter, we had a conversation too about when I wanted to fight and some other things. And he was, you know, very open with like kind of whatever I wanted to do goes. Could I ask, I mean, do you get compensated in any way for the MSG card?

They're going to, they're going to take care of me. I'll say that they're going to, they're doing something for me. I'll make more money. I'm not getting my full purse. I'll that out there yeah um which you know it's tough you show up you do everything right and you don't get it but they are giving me the opportunity to fight again um here very soon to make to make me whole so i uh i can't complain too much i still i still they're gonna hook me up with something from that fight for everything i went through and the traveling and getting my coaches and everybody out there uh and uh and then i get an opportunity to fight here just a couple weeks later so i'll be fine i get my full pay then and i don't know what happens if andrews doesn't show up this time

they also said side note they that they were trying to find another opponent for me i guess that whole day oh my gosh they were looking for like 205 pounders um that um that either fought that day or anybody in the area trying to do like one of those dan iggy yeah situations and but apparently new york commission uh was was not going to allow anything on that side so on that type of short notice so that's what stopped that from happening i i do you know i do believe that they tried their best to find some type of fight for me that day, and the New York Commission, I guess,

was hard to deal with. And we have heard that they are very, very strict. A bunch of people have told us that, but can I just offer one bit of commentary? I personally do feel like the tickets are sold at that point. You're a draw. Everything is kind of

you know the haze in the barn uh they they had you know they had allocated that money to someone someone was going to win and so it feels like the proper thing to do is to just pay you for your troubles you did everything my show money is my win money i have guaranteed money yeah um so that was my point. I showed up. You guys had that on the budget sheet to begin with. You guys made a great night. Why do you guys keep that money? And I don't.

That was my thought. Their thoughts were, listen, this happens on like 40% of the cards. And if we pay people to not fight, like they just want to be consistent on what they do in those situations. And that's what I think they decided to do consistently for their business. Yeah. But Anders isn't getting paid. You're getting paid. So it's not like you could say, oh, this sets a precedent that, hey, you pull out, you're getting paid, right?

It's the guy who didn't pull out is the one who's getting paid. The other guy is not getting anything. Yeah. Yeah. But, well, I don't know. I don't know what's going on with anders and his payment um but like i know the one that boy won was pretty um yeah was was pretty uh public on what happened there and he ended up getting some money um he was in that a similar situation where his guy didn't make weight by like seven pounds but they gave him

the opportunity to fight but he was like no this is this is crazy i'm not gonna fight the guy didn't make weight by like seven pounds but they gave him the opportunity to fight but he was like no this is this is crazy I'm not gonna fight this guy didn't make the weight he's supposed to and he had already gone through something like that when he fought Darren Till years before and he ended up losing when Darren Till was like four pounds over so I think he had made that decision in his mind if this ever happens again not just him but him and his coaches his dad that if that ever happens again they're not just taking the fight if the guy isn't professional enough to make the weight um especially when it's by that much weight so um but they they ultimately took care of him uh and you know it's not like that you're not getting your full money but they will try to take care of you and get you a fight when you can't when when they can and

i guess any expenses that you had during that camp or whatever, they're going to try to take care of and then rebook you quick. And so they have, by the way, how does that work? Like, do you come home on, I don't know, Monday, Tuesday, and then go right back to work? It's kind of rare to go through a whole camp and then all of a sudden have another fight booked

in two weeks. Yeah, my coaches, they wanted me to take off like three days the following week. They're just kind of like chill decompress, you know, from everything that you go through with the weight cut and, um, you know, 12 week training camp and then kind of get back into it slow. Just keep your cardio going and, you know, not get injured really, uh, just stay healthy. Um, I took off, I took off a day. Um, I felt like that was good enough. I slept in and I was, uh, I did feel one, there was one day I just felt beat down. Uh, and then after that, right now I feel good and got a, yeah, I've been working out

since, you know, last week and this week we're going to get a good one in and, uh, kind of take it as like, it's another, you know, last week of a training camp. How are you, by the way, I just have to note, I'm sure you hear this quite often with a little bit of that salt and pepper coming in. You're starting to look a lot like your dad. You know way, I just have to note, and I'm sure you hear this quite often, with a little bit of that salt and pepper coming in, you're starting to look a lot like your dad. You know this, right? That's my boy. It's amazing how much you're starting to look

like your pops. Listen, genetics are a hell of a thing. What can I say? He's not a bad looking dude. No, not at all. And he's never worked out a day in his life. I'm going to keep working out. I'm going to have him trumped. Is that true? Really? He's never worked out? I don't think he's never worked out a day in his life. So I'm going to keep working out. I'm going to have him trumped. Is that true, really? He's never worked out?

I don't think he's ever been in a gym and worked out in his life. How's that possible? He's just a worker, man. He's just a blue-collar guy who, you know, he does, you know, grew up rebuilding stars and old in there since, like, he's in high school and then ultimately took over his dad's business, and then he's just nonstop. He's just a workaholic uh when it comes he's just a grinder and uh stepping in the gym i just don't feel like it's a part of his dna i'd love for him to do it he does like

weird things and it's actually pretty good like he'll he'll wake up in the morning and do like 20 sit-ups he'll do like these little stretches like calisthenic type things Every morning And that's how he feels like he stays in shape But he's got to take care of himself His joints and everything Are shot But like health wise He's in a good spot

He's like one of those old school guys He just does the prison workouts He lifts the motors around And starters and alternators. He feels like that's a good enough workout. He's a strong dude. He's a strong guy. You look fantastic. By the way, how do you

feel about this matchup? Did you like it? Was this one that excited you coming off the Bruno fight? Yeah, I think it's a fun fight. His big, strong athletic kick comes forward. Southpaw tries to throw his left hand. He's been wrestling and, and I know in his last fight, he was taking his opponent down. Um, so he's mixing it up a lot. Big, strong athletic kid. I do feel like I have a big speed advantage on the feet, technical advantage on the feet. And as well

as, uh, you know, just, I think I'm levels above when it comes to jujitsu and to rest and wrestling. So I think it's a great fight for me to showcase where I'm at. I wanted to ask you also about your boy Murab. I haven't talked to you since. And to see that guy in particular, like climb the whole freaking thing from where he came from. I think working in construction, right? I spoke to Aljo about him recently, but like to just see him actually make it, what were the emotions that night when you saw him win the belt in september i mean i am so happy for that kid um you know to see where he came from in the gym i still remember when he first came in he started fighting for us and he was in the ring of combat and he just would make he would make the

dumbest mistakes he would he was just so wild and would like you know try to throw people and then land on his back and they're in mount position he's like punching off his back you know from mount like he would make crazy mistakes but you always knew his uh his work ethic was always there and his his gas tank but he just felt like um as far as like his how how his fight iq was his biggest issue and and i never, I feel like that's a hard one to change. And he ultimately like turned into one of the smartest fighters I've, I've seen. He, his fight IQ is unbelievable.

Um, he's the most grateful person probably I've ever met, like just super happy and grateful for the team, for, for the, for America loves his country, Georgia. Um,

he loves all the people around them. He truly does. and he's constantly trying to let people know how he feels about them he's not afraid to be emotional and get up on he he's constantly giving speeches every dinner you know every dinner anytime you're with him he has to in his and his you know english is not his you know first language obviously uh he's not afraid to get up there and try to like just let everybody know how he feels uh before he even had this success that he has now he's a great human being and a side note my father-in-law who passed away when he was going to the gym to watch marab spar he i don't know if you do you remember this story yes yes of course yes he was uh he was crossing the street

uh about to walk into our gym and as he was walking the street about to walk into our gym. And as he was walking the street, this was during COVID, and he didn't want us to get in trouble with seeing people walk into the gym without a mask on. So he touches his pockets to see if his mask was in his pocket. And he realizes, oh, crap, I forgot in the car. He goes to turn and there was a car coming the other way, clips him. That car happened to be going to our gym, and it was like a kid that he knew, well, it was a guy that he knows with his son that did private lessons for wrestling with Jamie Franco, who's now the head coach of Hofstra. He got clipped, and he was out of commission for a week,

and he ended up passing away, and it was awful. But the reason why I bring that up is that he was on the way just to watch Merab spar. He loved Merab so much, and he always had Murab as the next champion way before other people did um and uh he loved his work ethic and just um just his grinding mentality and just his how how grateful of a kid he is like you if you spent time with Murab it really just makes you more grateful for your life and realize how more, how blessed you are because this, you've never met somebody more grateful.

It's an amazing thing to be around. It's just super magnetic. I couldn't be happier for somebody on what he's accomplishing. I mean, to see the love he got in his country in Georgia. Isn't that nuts? Isn't that surreal to see someone get that kind of love? Like that's like rock star status. It's crazy to see people.

Listen, you've been around for a long time. To see people in MMA, they look to you like that. Almost like a godlike figure. It's really just crazy to see. And it couldn't have happened to a better person. I'm truly just so happy for him. And I think the sky's the limit. I do think, um, you know, he's got the belt now, but he's very hungry and he's not, he's not going to stop working. Um, and, uh, I think he could hold that belt for a really long time.

When you were back home in New York, did you guys have an old school training session together? You, Aljo, Murab, Al, you know, the boys, the OGs. Well, Aljo and Murab didn't go to the fights. Yeah, what's up with that? I don't know. Apparently, it was tough to get tickets for that fight. I don't know what happened. I think it was the Secret Service's fault, or at least that's what it was being blamed for.

Secret Service might have took their spots. I don't know. So, Murab and Aljo, they were in the city on like thursday and they were trying to meet up but i was cutting weight and uh my weight cut was tough so they they didn't come by and then uh they planned on coming in for it and saying what's up to me but it just uh it's it's a pain in the ass you know what it is to get from long island to the city. So, yeah, I didn't see them. But Longo came out. Volante came out.

We had a good dinner. Volante is going to actually be in my corner for this next one. Wonderboy can't make it. Old school. I love that. The crew is back together. We're taking Volante out of elementary school. High school football coach, right?

He's a high school football coach, but he's like a kindergarten teacher. No way. Yeah, he's a K-3. What subject? Imagine that guy. Phys Ed. Wow. Math or something?

Come on. I don't know. That's amazing. When's the last time he cornered you? That's a good question. I feel like you know that better than me. I remember you cornering him in East Rutherford and MSG. Yeah, MSG too.

I don't remember the last time. I love that. in East Rutherford and MSG. Yeah, MSG too. Yeah. I don't remember the last time. I love that. He's always been in and out of my corners. Just kind of depends on the scheduling and I always loved

having him there. He's great. You know, he's one of my best friends for a long time and I trust him and we just have a great relationship.

He has great energy. He was out of his mind at that dinner uh he's so funny um but uh he couldn't he's not coming till friday after school he's coming out with his wife he's a completely different dude now he's completely different than the like he was kind of like the rob gronkowski of mma uh now he's married he's obsessed with his family and that's it he's doing the right thing He's working hard for his family, providing. I'm real proud of him.

That's amazing. Yeah, it's really crazy, his transformation. He's still funny as hell, but he's not going out looking for girls anymore. He has zero interest in any of that stuff. So it's crazy. It's an amazing evolution of Jean-Pierre Volante. By the way. Sitting in your office. Sitting.

Well, not that one, but one of them. That's where it all started. Me, Volante Sitting in your office Well not that one but one of them That's where it all started Me, Volante and you Back in 2011 You want to know something insane That was at AOL That show was at AOL That was my first home

And Yahoo Who I'm working with now on this show Bought AOL And when I came here to tour the place And they were telling me the address and they told me the floor, it sounded familiar. I typed it into my email. It was the same floor, same building as the 2011 studio. It could have been right here. That is crazy.

That really is full circle for you, man yes man yes that's got to be surreal that is surreal when i felt it when i when i when i came to the the realization i got like this lightning bolt chills throughout my body yeah i was you you uh even back then 2011 your show was it was the biggest right it was at what point when did you start that show uh 2009 2009 so in two years you were pretty much the show to get on which is pretty crazy i'll never forget being in there i was nervous as hell um and uh fedor you do you remember that fedor yeah yeah and i mean fedor was like a mythical creature walking around and he had you know they all had the same warm-up suits on tons of russians and just i remember just being like overwhelmed with uh you know

the whole the whole thing and i was just i was volante sidekick and yeah i called you chris weedman yeah probably yeah a lot of people did um that's funny and um i was just i was i was the volante sidekick he was inforce. He was making his debut. I was trying to get into UFC. They didn't want me. Then I was trying again. I was close to signing with Bellator. I had a fractured rib.

And then it was very soon after your show. Actually, it was that weekend. Yeah. It was. It was. Was he on your show the week of his fight? Ian Parker came up to me. Ian Parker came up to me at that show And told me about the short notice

Fight against Celestia Sakara Yes, very weird, two and a half weeks in From the fight And yeah, crazy How this journey goes Well, the journey Continues on December 7th Always great to talk to you Chris

Appreciate it, much love to you and the family And good luck in a week and a half Looking forward to it Alright Ariel, I appreciate it brother You're the man, take care Alright there he is, the great Chris Weidman Back on the program, always great to talk to him And see what all went down at MSG

And today kind of feels like An old school kind of day where we get to catch up With some old friends Chris Weidman, Eddie Alvarez to come and uh no greater friend to us no greater uh co-pilot if you will no greater uh dare i say ally throughout my career and and a relationship that is enjoying a second and and third life if you will because uh due to the help of TikTok And Instagram people are passing around these clips As recently as today the internet hall of fame Twitter handle

Posting the Post UFC 135 interview Between the great Quinton Rampage Jackson And myself it's hard to get him on the program There was once a time where I could get him on like that Now I have to go through multiple Different layers but I do

Think that we have secured His presence is he there Yes hello Quinton How are you it's been a while my man I was up I'm live Yeah we're live we're live Oh okay what's up have you Not paid for your internet recently you're all choppy

Am I choppy Yeah My internet is strong it's your shit well it's good to see you how are you i'm good i'm good um i hate i hate internet being choppy you need to fix your shit homie no we just had chris and he looked fantastic it was crystal clear oh damn you're right it was what do you think it is Are you on wifi or are you on like that Like uh cricket wireless Oh you know what

I got my VPN on cause I'm with Kirgo And I be gambling and shit Can I turn it off real quick Sure go ahead My bad I didn't think about that See there we go Perhaps a question that could be asked before he comes on Yeah I didn't think about it.

You probably need to start asking people because I be gambling on Kirgo. What is that? Kirgo is a new online casino. Is it not choppy anymore? It's actually gone much better, yes. Yeah, it was my VPN. I keep forgetting about that. Oh, wow. And so why do you need a vpn for it all because it's um you know america be putting restrictions on every goddamn thing so it's like overseas i'd be uh playing poker and blackjack

you know what's my favorite vpn nord vpn that thing is a lifesaver when i'm overseas yeah that's i think that's where i'm on. If you ever like to gamble and bet on some fights, use my link. It's on my Instagram. This is sponsored. No, it ain't no sponsor. I got a damn link. If you gamble, if I hear about you betting on any fight and you didn't go through my link on

Kirgo, I'm telling you, I bet I find out. You better go through my link. Okay, do me a favor How do you spell that Cause I can't Is that a K-I How do you spell that

God damn it You putting me on a K-I-R-G-O Okay Here we go You know how You know how to spell it You just fucking with me

I just didn't know I'm not familiar No no no No no Chill the fuck out man You fucking smart as fuck You wearing those big ass glasses That's right

And you And you know me for a long time. You know I'm not the best spelling. You get me on live. You talk about my fucking internet. Now you're asking me to spell some shit. What the fuck? You asking me to do some math next, motherfucker?

No, but I do want to ask you this. You appear to be extremely slim right now. Like, your face is so svelte, and I'm only seeing the top half of your body. Are you in incredible shape right now oh um my face is slim because um see i don't know if i should tell you um there's this new workout that um i invented where you um you let fat bitches sit on your face and make your face sweat And you lose face fat

Come on man What? Have you not settled down at this point? Bro, the last girlfriend I had You broke me up with This can't be This was literally 11 years ago at this point I haven't been in a serious relationship since

That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem. No, brother, it's a you problem. You brought it up. I just was asking. I don't got no girlfriend. I'm still out here in these streets, homie. Alright. You got somebody who cooks me a nice Jewish woman?

Oh, for sure. It could make you some nice Shabbat meal. Matzo ball soup. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on, hold on. I ain't with that freaky shit. No, it's Shabbos. You put the candles. You light them up.

You got the challah bread. Have you ever had challah bread? No. No, no, no. I'll tell you something. I don't want a nice Jewish woman. Unless she got money. I'm looking for a sugar monk.

Have you ever dated a Jewish woman? No. I don't even think I even. Have you ever dated a Jewish woman? No. I don't even think I smashed one of those. No docket. I don't even think I smashed one. If I did, she didn't tell me she was Jewish. Yeah. Her parents probably wouldn't have approved.

Oh, tell me. That's the story of my life. When you date others like Asians, white, Latinos, Mexicans, Hispanics, you ain't meeting their parents when you're black, homie. Bad news? No, you just don't meet their parents. I'm okay with that.

Who's calling you now? Man, my... Well, he just hung up. It must have been that gambling thing. The VPN struck him. We'll get him back.

I actually do love Nord, but I have noticed that if you have it on and you try to do some sort of, I don't know. This just in from the sales team. Please, only positive things. Yes, yes, yes. Of course. No, but I knew what he was talking about. That's why I said it to him. I was in France, and it was huge for me having NordVPN

because I was able to watch the CBC coverage of the Olympics, so I knew what they were talking about when I was there covering the Olympics in Paris. So it is a great thing. I've never heard about using it for some sort of gambling thing, but God bless. And he does appear to be in tremendous shape, that Quentin Jackson. And there have been some rumors and discussion regarding a potential return, especially against one Rashad Evans. You'll recall his very lengthy feud with Rashad Evans stemming UFC 107 was like 2010,

and then they ended up fighting at UFC something or other. Have we got him? Yeah, is he back? Yeah, hey, what's up? What happened? I'm sorry, my phone is Do Not Disturb, but my manager Tiki called me. I guess he did go through anyway. I don't know how he called me on Do Not Disturb.

He was trying to tell me some news about that fight with Rashad. Oh. I had to cuss him out. I know he didn't know I was live, but I sent him the voicemail. That should mean, like, leave me the fuck alone right now, motherfucker. Right? I mean, you probably have him on one of those that goes through do not disturb like you can whitelist people you know

I ain't whitelisting no motherfucking guy on this motherfucking planet and I get embarrassed about shit like that so I don't want to mess up your show no I appreciate it you're a pro I know you haven't had me on in a while and um you know why is it so hard to book you these days i mean i feel

like you're so busy yeah um ever since i started doing that jackson um podcast blowing up yeah but it's like that shit keeps me busy so i'm trying to do that and train twice a day and have a sex life thank god my sex life only lasts like 30 seconds at a time then you know i got a bunch of kids now i got i haven't had another kid since a time. Then, you know, I got a bunch of kids now. I haven't had another kid since the last time I talked to you. Really? Oh, yeah. I got a bunch of kids.

How many total? Five. Okay. Are you done? Hell no. I need a Middle Eastern one and I need a Hispanic one. Then I have like all the major food groups. Okay. Do you enjoy doing the podcast? Hispanic one Then I have like All the major Food groups Okay

Stop Do you enjoy Doing the podcast? Yeah I do I enjoy Doing the podcast But

I think I'm You pause it I think I'm like Yeah Sometimes I don't enjoy Because you know I'm a Gemini. Some, some day, some days I just don't feel like being around her, but I like, I just like to stay home and, you know, someday I got to go in, I got to be social and, um,

I'm kind of, um, socially awkward. You think so? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I used to be a big people person, but, um, but now I think I'm socially awkward. Some days I don't want to be around nobody. Why do you think that happened? got like super popular overnight and then um and it's still hard for me to get used to it even after all these years i'm still not used to it because uh when i wake up in the morning brush my teeth

i look in the mirror i see the same guy that i was uh in high school before all this and then you know you soon you leave the house you go to the wrong place you gotta take like 50 pitches and shit and it's like you know even when you don't feel like it, like, do I be an asshole today or do I be nice and like stand there and take a bunch of pitches? And then people, it's not just the pitches.

Sometimes people want to talk to you about stuff that you already talked about with people like a hundred times. And it's just, it's just, it's just texting. But I don't think I would complain

if it was, if it wasn't just only men. I think I would, I like the attention from women. But hey, I got hit on by two hot chicks last night at the restaurant lounge. They came up to you? Yeah, they came up to me. They didn't know who I was. Women never know who I was before. But I was fresh to death. I was fresh to death yesterday. And me and my homeboy, we came back from a meeting in L.A.

And we just stopped to get some food. And I went to the restroom. And he said, hey, man, that hot chick smiled at me. I said, well, shit, let's get him some drinks. So we sent him some drinks to the table. And they came over and thanked us. Like, I wanted to get him drinks and then not say nothing. Because, you know, when you buy a girl a drink, guys always, you know, you know getting their face girls used to getting drinks so i wouldn't be like hi i'm a

little different just give them drinks and you know that's it they still think but they came over so i talked to me asked me for my phone numbers and everything i hooked i hooked the black chick up with congo and and i i i got the persian chicks number like i facetimed congo and she saw congo Her eyes got big. She said, well, because she speak a little French, and her and Congo can chat and speak in French. I hooked Congo up and got me one. I got the Mexican.

It was a Mexican one there, too. She's like a little older lady, and she said, find somebody for me. She said she want a white boy. I was like, so I got to find her a white boy. Luke Rockhold. Ah, good idea, but she older. Luke model, Luke be getting a dime. She probably used to be a dime like 20 years ago.

She's beautiful though, but she was a little bit older than the other two girls. Must be nice to have people come up to you and not know who you are, right? I like that. I like that when women come up to me, they don't know who I am. I like that. And then I could be myself. But most of the time, as soon as that happens, five minutes later, some dude come up and ask me for a picture again.

But isn't that kind of good? Aren't you happy when that happens? Because then it's like, oh, you didn't mention it. And then you get the street cred. No, no, no. Because I got a weird personality. You know, I like to joke around and laugh. And I be trying to be incognito.

And, you know, sometimes people think my jokes are like, oh, he's just telling jokes because he's famous like that. No, it's not me. It's just, I just how I am. You know, I just be trying to walk around, man. I just be trying to like blend in. By the way, I do want to thank you. Speaking of the podcast, I saw a clip recently where Bobby Green was talking about, you know, coming on the show or King Green. And then I think your co-host was like, don't go on his show. And you were like, nah, you should go on Ariel's show. And a lot of people sent that to me saying that like, you had my back and you were showing love despite sometimes, you know, appearing like you don't like me. I felt like that was your way of being like,

yeah, I fucks with Ariel. That's my guy. You know, over the years, you know, I fuck with you because you know, you stopped hating on me the last time you hate on me when I went to Bellator. And then, you know, I have a forgiving heart because I'm the son of the most high. Yes. Amen. So I have a forgiving heart. So I forgave you and stuff. You cost me a lot of money.

You cost me a girl that gave me threesomes and stuff. We're not going to talk about that no more. But I think that you are a good journalist. And I feel like you don't hate on other fighters. You just hate on a few. And and I think that you have a huge platform. And Bobby Green, I really like his personality. I wish more fighters would be outspoken and stuff like him. He should do he should do more press and everything. So I was like, yeah, it's good. And my co-host Bear, he's a a good guy he's a really good dude but um i ain't gonna lie i ain't gonna say nothing i ain't uh i ain't gonna say nothing

about him that i won't say to his motherfucking face he'll control free he won't control every goddamn thing so he won't he won't he won't just the people to come and and and sit down with him but like bro this is a podcast it's not an interview like it's different well i mean it's i think it's both but uh you shouldn't be exclusive to one show right if you're trying to get your name out there you have to kind of be smart unless he's like an actual person but even you go on other shows and talk to other people it all comes back to the show anyway it's all good right the the cream rises uh the rising tide lifts all boats you know what i'm saying right right yeah i bet you make a lot of cream rise, don't you?

Don't you, Eric? I knew it. Can I ask you about this Rashad stuff? Is it true? Is this happening? I saw him do an interview recently, and I think there was some talk of you guys fighting in one championship.

Where does this all stand? All right, let me break it down. Please, please i i haven't been very boisterous about it because this shit happened between me and shannon briggs yeah well okay what happened there uh we got scammed by some scammers in qatar that was from pakistan but living in qatar acting like they was guitarians and um i think i think allegedly the scam was to act like they put on a fight and get investors and sponsors i still can't figure out for the life of me what this guy's scam was because i was spending hours on the phone with this guy and he was promising me a whole lot of stuff to do my own league over there and everything and all this stuff um anyway he was

promising me like mansions in dubai i was like it's too good to be true somebody he was talking about giving me a lead and over there and he said i could make like 30 million dollars a fucking year once they went full with the investment because um he was going to do like a big um mma show and he was going to let me put my influence in. He showed me an arena. So I was like, okay. So I was trying to stick it out. Then Shannon Briggs went off on the guy.

I was like, no, you full of shit. I did my research. But Shannon Briggs is the one that brought him to me. And he said, I did my research. And the guy was supposed to send Shannon a deposit. And he never did it. But at the due date, he won the contract. So Shannon pulled out.

And I ain't going to lie. My ass was still holding on because he had sold me a motherfucking dream and i was talking to him all the time i just didn't feel like he was scamming come find out shannon was right he was he was scamming so now time i'm gonna buy rashad and i talked that's rashad come on the podcast and uh i told him man you know i'm getting up there in age i want to get that get back um before i get too old because um i had to i had to fight um the shot or the ufc is going to sue me as soon as i got off the damn movie the 18 movie because remember we were supposed to fight memphis in my hometown but i chose the movie oh fight

her shot and um so i knew i wasn't like really prepared you know not being able to train for six months then cold just go right into a training camp. It just wasn't right for me. That's my excuse for losing. And so he's like, yeah, let's do it back. But let's do it boxing. I'm like, all right, fuck it. Let's box.

Because I always wanted to box before I got too old. So Rashad knew some promoters. And we was working with one group first. And they was offering a video game, do all this stuff. But like I said they um they they didn't come through and then this other promoter offered more money to do it and we signed the contract i'm supposed to get the i'm supposed to get the deposit this week and when i get the deposit then it's real for me because i ain't doing this scam shit i got scammed once wasted

all my money for the time so as soon as i get the deposit, I'm talking about what Rashad said is real. Wow. So I think that's what Tiki was calling me about. That's why he disturbed our interview. So as soon as I get the deposit, you're going to see me talking about it more. Rashad can talk about all he want. I'm not letting my fans down no more. So it is supposed to go down in Florida sometime sometime in february that's all i know

right now i don't wow i didn't i didn't really get the uh the name of the uh i did get the name of the promotion but i don't remember it they told it to me instead of texting it to me so when the one here that the other but uh i i trust i trust rashad to uh put a fight together because uh he he know deep down inside that that he had a layup with that fight because you know what I'm saying he knew I wasn't at my 100 I wasn't at 100 but and you know I still almost beat him you know Herd Dean could have stopped that fight in the moment when I was ground and pounded but that's a whole nother different interview but you know that and after I knock out Rashad, I'm coming for

Jake Paul's neck because I see him trying to bully Connor McGregor. So I did a tweet I'm waiting for him to tweet me back He's on mouth you want to fight Conor McGregor MMA and somebody that Conor McGregor going through some some other bullshit With false allegations and getting sued and shit like that. So, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, Carmen Greger, you know what I'm saying? He the king of MMA right now. So you got,

you gotta, um, you gotta lay off MMA, Jake Paul. He already, he already pissed me off. What he, what he did with Mike Tyson,

you know what I'm saying? Uh, you know, I ain't playing around. I ain't playing around with Jake Paul. So, so Rashad Evans, he can get it first. And,

you know, even though I'm, I'm still, I'm, I'm, I'm four to six. And, you know what I'm saying, I'm four to six. I think with a bio-accelerator,

I always take care of me getting these stem cells. That's why I'm looking so thin. That's why you notice I'm looking thin. I'm trying to get in the shape of a bio-accelerator. I'm Columbia, bro. They changed my life. I think that I will have enough energy to beat the shit out of Rashad Evans and Jake Paul

can come in and get in the ring the same night and I'll fuck them both up. That's how I feel with this stem cell. All you people out there that was skeptical about stem cells, you listen to the American pharmaceuticals and the doctors and all those big words that my black ass ain't even gonna try

to pronounce. Y'all been sleeping on stem cells. I told y'all been sleeping on stem cells i told y'all that shit worked shit healed me up it got me back in shape it got rid of my my my my problem that i had when i got misdiagnosed with hypothyroid but i said already changed my life and i'm ready to kick ed by that area you keep talking shit i'm gonna come and kick your ass i want to be in your corner can i be in your corner for your return fight i want to be in your corner. Can I be in your corner for your return fight? I want to hold the spit bucket. Imagine that. I'm thinking about having Riddick Boat in my corner.

Well, there could be more than one person. How many people you can get in your corner? I think four. All right, we'll think about it. I got to get Coach Bobby. Right now, I'm getting trained by my boxer, Coach Yogi. Coach Bobby is in Saudi Arabia training at Mike Tyson's gym. Oh. Yeah, he's turning those guys out there into boxers.

They already winning belts and stuff. Because Saudi Arabia, they want to bring up a new generation of boxing. So I didn't lose Coach Bobby, but I miss him. I miss him. He just had a birthday. Happy birthday, Coach Bobby. We miss you in America. And Coach Yogi and Riddick.

Okay, maybe I can get you. But you got to come on my podcast, though. I told you I would love it. You only do in person, and I haven't been, like, since you brought this up, I haven't been Anaheim, right? Is that where you do it? Or OCC? New point.

You got to get on the airplane. We'll fly you out. You got to fly Coach, though. Nah. Nah, yet, man. And I want some of that jewelry too. We're going to let you up. We're going to let you up. Yeah?

Yeah, we're going to let you up. With the bling bling? Listen, we're going to let you up with the bling, a watch. We're going to give you some... So much ice you can skate on me? Yeah.

Man, you got to say no giddy after some of the stuff you be saying. I don't do that. By the way, you said a lot there. Can I just ask a couple of follow-ups? When you say they scammed you, the Shannon Briggs thing, did they take money from you or did they just waste your time? Okay, all right. Yeah, yeah, they waste my time.

I still feel like they got scammed because I was on the phone with this guy for hours. No, I get it, I get it. But at least they didn't take money from you or something like that. No, but waste my time. I still feel like they got scammed because I was on the phone with this guy for hours. No, I get it. I get it. But at least they didn't take money from you or something like that. No, but that was time. We could have went to another. I turned down a fight. Somebody else wanted me to fight. I think, damn, I'm bad with names, but it was another promotion that wanted me to fight.

It wasn't the type of money that I normally get, but i wanted to do a boxing match i think it was still a million dollars or so but and i turned i turned that shit down now okay and and is the one championship thing real i don't know if this and i don't know if this one this promoter is in bed with one championship so i can't speak on it you gotta ask to ask Rashad. You got to ask Rashad. Rashad talks to them all the time. These are Rashad people. Okay, okay, fair. And then is it, just to confirm, is it boxing or MMA? It's boxing.

It's boxing, okay. And what weight? Heavy weight. I thought it would be super heavy weight. No, I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I'm kidding.

I don't know how much Rashad weighs. How much does Rashad weigh now? Because I thought... Rashad said he looks small, but he's thin. We fighting at 230 or 235. I got to get down to 235. How many rounds?

I think it's six or eight rounds. I can't remember. Three-minute rounds or two-minute? Three-minute rounds. I don't do no fucking two-minute rounds. Well, Mike Tyson just did two minutes. Mike Tyson's 58 motherfucking years old. I'm 46. I'm still young.

I'm a young 46. Did you like the fight? Did you enjoy it? That fight was ass. Come on, man. What about seeing me in there? Did you enjoy seeing me there? You're like, oh, that's my guy.

Yeah, actually, I'm proud of you. You did a good job interviewing people and stuff like that. But that fight was ass. You didn't. No disrespect to Mike Tyson. I love Mike Tyson. But that fight was ass. It was all ass.

That's all I remember from that night. It's ass. I thought, I mean, I thought there were some moments. First couple of, no? Yeah, I got mooned? I got mooned that day Yeah you did get mooned That fight was bad Mike Tyson biting on

I never seen Mike Tyson biting on a girl This is something that MMA world might not know about me Before Outsiders outside of my family Knew my nickname And my hood My first hood nickname was Mike Tyson uh what do you mean I grew up fighting on the street that's why my that's why my my um

my style I was them brawler you know I've been in over a thousand fights growing up you didn't know that no yeah I was like I was like Kimbo Slice but not for sport it was like beating up bullies that's why I hate when people call me a bully and shit, because I make fun of people. Like all these soft-ass, new-age people calling, we call it the dozen or checking motherfuckers. That's our culture in Memphis. They call it bullying. If I make fun of your shoes, I'm a motherfucking bully. Now, fuck that.

In my day, a bully was somebody who beat you up, tried to take your money, tried to take your shoes, not make fun of your shoes. And I hated bullies growing up. And so I had a whole lot of little bitty-ass friends. And my little brother, my little cousin, he'd get bullied. I used to fuck up the bullies. And so I've been in over a thousand fights, especially me fighting my cousin that's six months younger than me, R.I.P. Tony Montana.

I miss you. Yeah, me and him six months apart. And we grew up fighting. My mom said my first fight, I was in Tampa and I always been a brother. I always been a brother. I won most fights and I lost. One time I really lost when I got jumped, but you know what I'm saying? They, you know, that's street shit.

Um, you, you do have to say about the Jake Paul thing. Like he is getting better as a fighter. I know you probably don't like that. He was fighting a 58 year old Mike Tyson, but he has made improvement, right? Like there's something there now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Jake Paul is actually a good fighter. like that he was fighting a 58 year old mike tyson but he has made improvement right like there's something there no yeah yeah jake paul is actually a good fighter he's a good boxer uh especially if you're going to say like his background being uh uh entertainer uh doing youtube dances and tiktok dances and shit you know i'm saying yeah he he's he's a good boxer

he might be a better boxer than i am because he gets more time to train boxing. You know, MMA guys, I think that's the only thing that we lack. And if we had, like, straight up six months, eight months, just to train boxing with a straight up boxing coach, I think that, you know, we can do well. I'm impressed with his skills and everything. But what I don't like is him disrespecting my sport you know saying um knocking out wrestlers and jujitsu guys and and and you know what i'm saying and then uh fighting mike tyson and i ain't stupid i ain't gonna come

i ain't gonna come out here on live and say exactly what i thought it was but um you would have been watching fighting for a long time we know what that was right and we and we know why mike tyson was biting his glove. You know what I'm saying? I didn't want to sit here and play stupid. But I get it. It's a money grab. They made a lot of money.

Man, fuck the money. Fuck the money. Don't fucking call out MMA fighters and talk shit. You know what I'm saying? Don't do that. Call me out. Talk shit. You know, in a weight class.

Don't do that to a little bitty guy, motherfucker. Conor Greger walk around, like 160, 170, wet. You know what I'm saying? I'm 240 pounds. Like, what's up? Well, I appreciate you saying that. I think it's a very fair point.

I know, I told you, you asked me how long this interview would be and we're approaching 25 minutes. So I don't want to keep you much longer because I told you it'd be around 25 minutes. But just- No, I changed my motherfucker day up for you. I'm sorry, I don't want to keep you much longer because I told you it would be around 25 minutes. No, I changed my motherfucking day up for you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

So do you have to go? No. I changed my day up so you don't got to rush. Okay, okay, okay. Thank you. I saw you with Alex Pereira, one former 205 champ with a current 205 champ, and you seem to be a fan of his.

You wrote Shama. What did you think of him, and what do you think of him in general? Like, are you a fan of his? Because it's incredible. He doesn't speak English, and yet he's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, beloved star in the UFC right now. I'll go off people's energy, and he has good energy.

I can tell that he has a fun and sense of humor, even though we don't speak the same language. And when I met him, I was at a karate comeback, and his sister was fighting, and his manager and his friend was with him. And he translated for him. We had some good conversations. He's a cool dude. Every MMA fighter is my comrade.

The only MMA fighter I don't like is Ian McGarry. That's the only one I don't like. Everybody else is cool. You know what I'm saying? I got respect for every other fighter, but that little ugly motherfucker. And I like him. He's a good guy guy he's a great athlete great fighter you know i said i wish him much success in the rest of his career and um you know i will always cheer for him unless he he fights like uh one of my friends and i stay neutral okay um what about john john had a great performance. I saw you show him

some love recently, your old foe. What do you think of this whole thing about him fighting, wanting to fight Pereira, but the UFC wanting him to fight Tom Aspinall

and Aspinall wanting to fight John and Dana saying he's going to fight Tom. Like this whole thing, what is your take on all of it? If I'm going to be 100,

John Jones really impressed me because I thought that Stipe was going to be a little bit too much for him. Even though Stipe had that long layout, I just figured that Stipe would be John Jones' first real hard-court challenge. He really impressed me. I wasn't surprised that John Jones won. I was just surprised at how he won.

I see how smart Jon Jones is. He was right. He don't have knockout power in his hand, so he had to use, like, other techniques that spin and back kick. But one thing, I'm kind of disappointed in Jon Jones, and don't take me wrong. I respect Jon Jones.

He's got to beat me at my best. I got no excuses for Jon Jones other than eye-poking and kicking my knee back and all that bullshit and crawling inside the ring and all that motherfucking shit. But other than best. I got no excuses for Jon Jones other than the eye poking and kicking my knee back and all that bullshit and crawling inside the ring and all that motherfucking shit. But other than that, I got no excuses. I'm trying to say that without laughing at myself. Anyway, I got no excuses. That was my first time losing a fight

where I was close to 100%, right? But when I fought Jon Jones, I don't know if you guys remember, I remember people saying, who are you fighting next? I was like, Jon who was that it was like who was that and um his thing I heard the interview he said he didn't want to give um ass and all of a fight because people didn't really know he felt like asking I will make a name off his back I was like but you know John Jones like when I fought you you

know saying nobody really knew who you were you wasn't superstar yet and I think we forget that as a fighter you know saying I you know that's what that's what the UFC do the older guy passes the younger guy touch but I feel like on the John Jones last performance I don't think I don't even think any heavyweight it could Jon Jones. I think he solidifies himself as one of the greatest fighters on the planet. And no disrespect to Aspinall. I think Aspinall is a great fighter. I'm a fan of his as well. But I figured Stipe would be a tougher challenge than Aspinall.

Really? You think Stipe is a tougher fight for challenge than Aspinall. Really? You think Stipe's a tougher fight for John than Aspinall? Aspinall's like 11 years old or 12 years younger. Sorry. I was thinking that on paper. Now hear me out. Hear me out.

I think John Jones is the Neo of MMA. He's Neo. Don't hate me for asking this question who's neo motherfucker you ain't never seen the matrix one of the best motherfucking movie series ever made keanu reeves i know that is he keanu reeves yeah all right yeah that's my guy that's my boy no you can't say that now because you didn't know what the fuck. You can't say that. I know Bill and Ted's

Excellent Adventure. That's a classic. You saw that? Yeah, when I was like 12. Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, pretty good sequel, if I may say so myself. Yeah.

Anyway, what does that mean, Neo, though? For those that may not, of course, I know what you're talking about, but for the audience out there who don't know who Neo is or what he's about. I think the reason why Jon Jones has been so successful in MMA and been dominating for so long is because his mind is super strong.

You know, I've been in a cage with a kid and I heavily underestimated him. And I've been watching his fights ever since. And I see the stuff that he do. He was doing stuff that nobody was doing. Nobody was doing spinning elbows, even though they were illegal because they were in the back of your head. But it was a good technique

when about doing stuff like that. And this is the way he controls the octagon, the way he does everything. His mind is really strong. And I've been telling people for years, I think MMA is 95% mental. And I used to be able to tap into that mental game a lot more when I was younger with less injuries. And he's figured out a way to bypass those doubts and stuff. And I'm convinced that he has like a real good sports psychologist or something because he knows how to bypass those doubts. But whenever you fight and you always have like those doubts, but you got to you got to push those doubts out and put like a thousand more images of positivity and positive thoughts in your,

in your mind. And, and John Jones, he, he's had the process. He's Neil. So you, so you give him the respect you show.

Cause I saw you posted that picture of him from that movie, the Damon Wayans character. No, you put, I didn't say that was John Jones. Okay. That was just somewhat. Okay. Sorry. That's a great movie. I actually saw that movie Jon Jones Okay that was just somewhat Okay sorry

That's a great movie I actually saw that movie I love that movie The great I think it was called The Great White Was it Great White Hype? I think it was Great White Hype

Yeah yeah yeah But wait wait Why did you think It was Jon Jones Cause Cause Cause he's Nah nah

I mean Nah nah nah Why do you Why do you Why do you think That was Jon Jones? Uh I just You know You posted it around The same time as his fight Why do you think that was Jon Jones?

I just, you know, you posted it around the same time of his fight. It was a great weekend of fights. It was, it was, it was, it was. But listen, I'm going to say something. I like to joke around and laugh. You know what I'm saying? If anybody gets butthurt about anything I say, that just shows your lack of sense of humor. You know what I'm saying?

People make fun of me. My co-host, Barry, makes fun of me every motherfucking day. And if it's fun, I laugh. And sometimes I play it off like I'm mad because, you know, this is me. I like joking around. So I'm going to make fun of all of them.

People make fun of me. When I fought Fedor, I was fat as fuck. You know what I'm saying? I had to take it. You know what I'm saying? It sucked, but I had to take it. Jon Jones, he wasn't fat. He wasn't out of shape or nothing like that. But, you know, he'm saying? I had to take it, you know, it sucked, but I had to take it. Jon Jones, he,

he wasn't fat. He wasn't out of shape or nothing like that, but you know, he's, he's headway. I used, I'm used to seeing him at light headway. So I like to joke around.

And now that I'm, I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm still like a fat guy. I used to be fat. And just like,

uh, just like black folks call other black people, um, niggas, you know what I'm saying? Fat folks will call other fat folks fat. Okay. I mean, I wouldn't know anything about that,

but I just... I bet you talk shit about people with big noses. Definitely don't. By the way, it is a fair point, because I will make fun of my own nose. You know, Hawani nose, all that stuff. El Nairiz, of course. I need to get you some of my merch. I got merch over on arielhelwani.com

if you want to rock it. Would you wear any of it? I got to look at it first. I ain't going to lie. If it's fresh, I wear it. But, you know, I show you support.

Once you go on my podcast, I wear size large now. Bring me a large. Yeah, right. You wear size large. I wear XL. I wear large. I like my shirt tight

so I can show these guns. I'll give you that. I love these. Yeah. By the way, forget Cali. We still haven't done the Memphis walk and talk. We did Japan.

We did New York. And it was supposed to be on you to invite me to Memphis. Never did. You said you were going to show me your hood where you grew up, meet your family. Yeah, we got to do it.

I think we fell out. That's what I fell out for. It was so crazy. You had to tell them to bring in another interviewer to interview you. You know how much that hurt me? Hey, you shouldn't hate on me when I went to Bellator. It's crazy. Look what happened to Bellator after I went there.

I was the first big name to go over there. The Enkidu problem. Look what happened. Look what happened to Bellator. You see Bellator now. All the fighters are complaining. Yeah. Because it ain't my fault

they didn't know what the fuck they was doing. They didn't promote shit. It was a cussing fuck. I was like, how you guys be owned by Paramount and

they got all these channels and stuff y'all can promote and they ain't promoting. So I found out. I did a little research, a little digging. And all them motherfucking channels, they compete with each other. They ain't helping each other I found out, I did a little research, a little digging and all them motherfucking channels, they compete with each other.

They ain't helping each other. Yeah, it's not good. It's not good that there's only two major promotions, right? This is not good for the fighters. No, it's not good for the fighters. But what I'm doing now is I'm developing my own amateur MMA league.

Oh. I'm doing it right now. So early 25, I'm, I'm going to, um, I'm going to, uh,

do my own MMA league. And so you, you know, some people that want to sponsor some, um, MMA league, I'm, I'm going to,

uh, try to get on one of these streaming platforms. I'm not going to say no names, not yet, but, uh, I'm, I'm bringing something a little bit different.

Y'all know how, how I do. And, um, I'm, I'm, I'm just going to try to put on the most exciting fight and get these amateurs ready for the pro.

Okay. And when is that? In 2025? Early 2025? Mid? Late? Yeah. No, early.

It's coming soon. I'm getting everything done. I'm doing all the stuff you got to do. The website. I got the deck going. I'm going to make the shorts for the guys, get the website. I got the deck going. I'm going to make the shorts for the guys, get the gloves. My business partner, Harrison Rogers over at F3 Energy

and UFL, he's hooking me up with some MMA gloves. I'm getting all this stuff. I got Antonio McKee helping me source the ring and do all this stuff. I have these ideas, but I don't know how to do the grunt work and you know,

I'm too busy to do all that stuff, but I'm going to put a lot of energy into making this amateur league a real dope league. And I want to invite everybody to support these, these amateurs fighters because these guys might be your next superstars. They're going to be your next favorite fighters. I love how entrepreneurial you are now in your, in your current form. I love this. You are now in your current form. I love this. There's some guys who just kind of fade away and maybe be grumpy.

Look at you. You're giving back. You're trying to help out the new generation. You've got a podcast, Giving Fighters a Platform. You're working with sponsors. You've really turned out to be a really solid citizen in this MMA world. I'm proud of you. I'm not going to lie. Thank you.

I appreciate the compliment. I kind of lost the love for MMA for a while. I'm not going to point fingers at nobody. I'm not going to point fingers at nobody. But, you know, some people took the love of this sport from me, but I fell in love with this sport. And when Bear asked me to do a podcast over there at Jackson, I hadn't been watching MMA and stuff that much. I only watched, like, Conor McGregor fight.

I'm a big fan of Conor McGregor. And, you know, I watched some of my friends fight and stuff like that. But I'd been out of the loop for a while. And so now I'm watching fights and stuff again and getting back in. And I got my love back. And, you know, my son is fighting. And I want him to do well and stuff like that. So I want to get real, you know, real involved and get these.

I want to teach these these up and comers and a little stuff to help me out. And during COVID, I actually wrote a book, a book. an mma book and um i just found out that instead of just trying to go through a publisher i can um i can just put it on amazon myself because i was trying to get it published right and the guy i guess him and his team his assistant secretary wherever they are they looked they googled me looking me up and they saw that i humped a reporter and they was like oh we can't publish your book because you humped the reporter and I was like thinking to myself should I tell him that was a skit back in the day before there was before there was skits like a lot of people believe everything is something in there should I go through that or I said you know what I ain't gonna waste my time and so I just decided to tell

him all right it's okay I respect your decision but just remember that OJ Simpson got a book yeah that is true I mean that's a good point. So what happened? The Muggers didn't publish my book. So I just put it on the back burner. It's been there for years. I can keep adding to it. But it's not like a traditional book.

It's more like a manual that fighters can take to the gym with them. And basically, it's teaching them a lot of stuff that I wish somebody would have taught me when I first was coming up. Because, you know, I got, it's no secret I got ripped off by managers. You know what I'm saying? I got fucked over by promoters.

You know, I lost friends, gained fake friends. So my book, I don't want to get into it too much, but it'll be coming out here pretty soon. It's getting edited now by my friend, Popeye Vasquez. I think he's a cousin to

Cain Velasquez, but he looks just like that motherfucker, but he won't admit that he related to him. So he's editing it right now as we speak, and hopefully soon I'll put it out there on Amazon. I'll let y'all know when it's out. I would love to read it.

Yeah, it's a man you take to the gym with you and you keep it with you in your gym bag and you have a little pen with you and you take your notes and you make sure you're on the right path to being a successful MMA fighter. Okay. One last quick thing.

I saw you in Columbia and the kids were loving you there. It was really nice to see. Do these kids, you think they know you, and maybe they know you because of our videos having a second and third life on the internet. Maybe I'm responsible for this. I don't know.

You tell me. I mean, I don't want to take credit. Far be it for me to do such a thing. But it was really nice to see. I saw some of the footage of you over there in the streets of Columbia hanging with the kids. Fuck those kids. They tried to rob me. They i was lebron james

these guys oh no not those guys okay i love those guys these guys are doing splits and stuff oh yeah those guys they was cool they that kid beat me in a dance battle so yeah fuck him too he look at you damn yeah i yeah i was trying to like I was trying to get jiggy with it a little bit but that little motherfucker beat me wait who tried to rob you no I thought you talked about the other one when I walked when I left this area I was walking out of that that whole

area and then some other kids thought I was LeBron James they were trying to rob me like legit rob you? no they were trying to jump me I think they were playing these kids? yeah they were trying to jump me. I think they were playing. These kids? Yeah, they were trying to fight me. They called me LeBron James. They kept calling me LeBron James. On the basketball court.

I'm not no stranger to getting jumped. I done fought four motherfuckers. Oh, you saw that Crested kid? Yeah, that was nice. I didn't even stretch. I didn't even warm up. I would kick those little kids ass. When you're getting jumped, you got to put your back to the wall so people can't get behind you. That's true.

Man, it's like, what is this? This is like eight on one now. Yeah. No, they're joking. They wasn't trying. They were just playing. They thought it was LeBron James. Then one guy that spoke Spanish.

No, he's an MMA fighter. They said, oh, let's play. God, you're so beloved. You know, I do have to say, I genuinely love you. Like a brother. If you called me today and said, Ariel, I need a place to live,

I would bring you in my family. I would put you in a guest room and I would treat you like one of my own. Oh, Ariel, I'm glad you said that. I'm trying to buy a $2 million house. Nah, I mean, I think the connection is all... I mean, what's up with that VPN? We got to find... What? You got a phone? What?

You there? Bro, come on. Hey, come on now. I love you. You can't just say something like... You can't just say something like that. I said I'd give you my home as your husband,

Kassasou Kassasou. No, no, no. I'm not giving you a home. No, no, look. You all rich and shit. Coast down for a problem. I'm trying to get a $2 million house. I ain't hunting the beef.

Look a nigga up. I'll give you the shirt off my back. And what a nice shirt it is. I'll do anything for you, honestly. You've, I think, maybe taken my friendship and love for granted at times, but I've never wavered. I've always stood by your side. Alright, I appreciate it. I called you on text.

I was like, yo, can you come on the show? And you were like, what'd you call me? Yeah, I was like, fuck with you. Oh, because I was like yo on can you come on the show And you were like would you call me Yeah I was like fuck with you Oh cause I was like shit did I offend him That's the greatest sign of respect Like you're my uncle Man you haven't After all these years you haven't

Known that I just like fucking with you I just like trolling you I love you too Thank you for coming on Continued success with the podcast You've given us a lot of time here today. We appreciate you very much. And I can't wait to be a guest on your show in 2025. And I want to come to Memphis too. Walking in Memphis. hometown and me and my childhood wrestling buddy uh chris eubank we um building 215 houses so when you come to memphis you know because i gotta go there check on the land and stuff like that when you come to memphis i i'll take you there to the land that i bought so i have a i have a piece of memphis now i own a piece of yeah memphis i'll take you i'll take you to my hood and stuff like

that then i'll show you like what i'm building if i'm building myself a sick ass house that i'm never going to live in but my parents and so can can can can live there so good for you well done rampage love you take care much love brother all right there he is the great quentin rampage jackson what a guy uh adore him like a brother like like one of my own and uh always great to have him on the show yeah there he is oh we should have played that when he was on. Yeah, there was a few times, but I don't want to freak him out, you know? You might have been busy also during the... Absolutely. Is it?

Just putting out my resume to different places right now. Yeah. Well, we can talk about it later. We can talk about it later. I mean, I looked down and I was like, wow, people are really liking this interview. And then I was like, wait a second. What's happening?

We'll talk about it later. We'll talk about it later. We'll talk about it later. We'll offline, we'll offline. Yeah, we'll offline, we'll offline. All right, let's get to our next guest, our final guest of the day. And he is returning to action. We found out, again, like I said, fun show, a bit of an OG show, if you will. Some people who have been very kind to us over the years and still very much in the

game and no one more so than our next guest, returning to action on January the 25th in Philly, home game for him. Been a while. Wells Fargo Center. KnuckleMania 5 against Jeremy Stephens. It's the pride of Philadelphia, the underground king,

the one and only Eddie Alvarez. Yeah, there he is in the familiar spot Hello Eddie, how are you? What's up, Ariel, how's it going, buddy? Everything is going great, great to talk to you as always It's been a great day And when I found out about this last week Loved it for two reasons

You're still going, great Jeremy, fight great But probably the most exciting about it is the Philly component Obviously you're very proud to be from Philly. Knucklemania's debut in Philly, BKFC's debut in Philly, Feldman, a Philly guy. It checks off all the boxes. Is that the reason why you're taking this fight? Or if this was happening in any other state, in any other city, you're still fighting against Jeremy Stevens?

That's a large part of the reason i think when i joined uh when i joined bare knuckle part of that was to deliver philadelphia to dave feldman to bare knuckle and kind of make that my added value to the company so um that was a big part of the reason for me joining is that i thought that'd be a possibility i haven't fought in philadelphia and i mean the last time the only time i ever fought in philadelphia was against ro against Roger Huerta in Bellator back in like maybe 13, 14 years ago. And it was an awesome experience then. It'll be a better one now. Yes, Bellator 33 in 2010.

That's when you fought Roger Huerta. Crazy, right? What do you remember about that? I remember we sold out the Lea Cora Center. I think I sold like 900 orange t-shirts they were the colors of the flyers i think and um i stopped roger roger at the stool in the second round he never came out i just i just felt i felt the fans behind me i felt the spirit of the stadium the spirit of phil, the spirit of Philadelphia.

And I'm looking forward to feeling that again in my hometown. There's really nothing like it. And I used to love fighting locally back in Atlantic City, near New Jersey, when my hometown fans would be able to enjoy it. And fighting became less fun the minute I had to travel and get on bigger contracts and TV and stuff. But it was funner when it was local. Your last fight was in December of last year.

So it's been pretty much a year since your last fight. Any particular reason why you essentially took this year off? I took this year off because my this year off because um i brought my orbital got broken my last fight and i didn't want to uh there was no rush to kind of get back into sparring getting my face punched this and that so i gave myself not just ample time but like extra extra time i didn't need surgery or anything like that but but I just wanted to give my body enough time to heal. So I didn't have like a re-injury or anything like that. So I gave it like plenty, plenty of time, the rest all to get better, to get back to action.

Considering that, was there any talk of not fighting again? Was there any consideration? I, yeah, honestly, the last five years, I just, I'm back and forth with my family members and and you know me and Jamie talk about the idea of retiring stuff like that but like I'm just kind of sick of talking about it I just kind of do my own thing it feels right to fight um it feels right to fight and I'm in the gym and I'm feeling good and this and that I'll go fight I I don't look at it I look at fighting as an opportunity it's not like a it's not a career I don't think it's a career and I never looked at it as a career it's like it's an opportunity

to compete and as long as I can compete at a high level I take advantage of the opportunity given to me um I you know I'm not going to harp on this but the only other question I'll ask on it is it's it's it's storybook to to end it where it all started, right? In Philly, is there a chance this is the, the last dance, if you will? don't know because I I've I felt like retiring 5 10 15 different times already throughout my career and I've never stuck to it I never talked about it to publicly to anybody but I've never stuck to my thoughts my thoughts and feelings are like crazy temporary that's that's all that's all that's ever came to uh how I feel about that is that I realized that my thoughts and feelings are like really temporary and I really should just not make decisions especially based like after or before a single fight so now that that won't be a subject um going into this fight at all the only subject is Philadelphia

sold out Wells Fargo and I'm not surprised to hear that. DJ told us that you shared with him the story of like, you know, the day you'll retire is when you'll be at a coffee shop with your wife and say, I'm done and not make a big to-do about it. So I'm not expecting you to do that sort of thing. And he said he was going to adopt the same thing, although there he was in a one cage, you know, crying and whatnot, getting the whole celebration, which I thought was fun, which I'd love to see for you as well did you see what they did for him because i thought it was uh it was pretty classy and it was well deserved i did i think one wanted that moment

you know i mean one wanted that moment and you know and maybe in his contract regardless he had to do that moment for one in order to get them that exposure or something but um you think that was more about one than him uh i don't know i because i know i talked to dj about the possibility of retiring like we've spoken about it over the years plenty of times like when that time comes like what what it's going to look like for each of us individually and he was like i told him mine and he's like well i never thought about that and i'm like yeah well i mean this all initially started with me and my wife getting on this journey and i think it you know maybe end there i thought it was a good idea and we talked

about it and we moved forward and did it and i don't know if it needs to be a public thing. When I want to be done, I'll be having a cup of coffee one day and I'll say, hey, that was fucking awesome and we're done. Did you like the idea of this fight, this Stevens fight? I did. Honestly, I looked at a number of different, maybe not a number of different opponents, but we were trying to find as big a name as we could the same thing we've been doing since the beginning we had Chad first and then Mike Perry we were just trying to find a big

name that fans would get excited about and um you know Jeremy pretty much, I want to say he was one of the only ones to step up in that rung of names to say, I'll fight. So it didn't really matter for me. As long as I got to Wells Fargo, the opponent didn't matter and it won't matter the night of the fight. If Jeremy shows up and great, if he doesn't, and if it's's someone else it's really not going to matter i um in philadelphia um i'm i'm a different animal what weight is this at 165 okay that's perfect for you right that's that's my premier weight 65 is my premier weight a 55 is It's very difficult It would be very difficult for me now And

75 is just I'm not a 75 pound man Like that I'm out of my Rung at 175 so 65 is like I'm at the top of my weight class At 65 Is this the main event?

Yeah. It is, okay. Because it hadn't been mentioned as such, I wasn't sure, because Knucklemania is usually their biggest show of the year. It's like their Super Bowl or WrestleMania. Do you know, I'm assuming some other big names, I think of big cards for BKFC, I think Mike Perry,

that hasn't been announced yet. I think there's a presser tomorrow, right, in Philly? Maybe more will be announced then not tomorrow i got pushed back to i think december 2nd i believe okay it's one week later i don't know who the co-main is yet i think they're still still going through that um could be some heavyweights could be a number of different guys but uh i don't know if mike perry's going to be on on the card i have no clue i just know we'll be the main event at the wells fargo and we're gonna show what elfie is going to sell out the event and um whoever shows up on the other side of the cage that night he'll be in trouble uh do you um like the direction that bkfc is going for

example conor mcgregor now a big part of them. He's kind of become the face of the promotion and I think invested in the company as well. How do you feel about that? You were just breaking up big time. Oh, did you hear me? Did you hear me? You said, do I like a direction of BKFC? Heard something about Conor McGregor, but then it just started going odd and weird do you hear me now all good okay i was just asking what you thought

of conor being uh an investor in the company the face of the company in many respects how do you feel about this i think like for for bare knuckle, um, I think that's the closest and fastest way to gain exposure and world recognition. Um, when Connor enters anything, um, it immediately gets attention, like it immediately demands attention. So, um, I think that was the fastest way to kind of get that. And, um, I understand their moves to do it. And, uh, I think he's been on the sidelines kind of with his eye on bare knuckle from the very beginning um he was at the chad fight uh again he

was at he was i think he was at other fights besides the chad fight but i think he's had his eye on this thing since it begun and i think the chad fight was when i think he really made the decision that he wanted he wanted to be a part of uh something like this it doesn't it doesn't feel to me like he's like half-assing it he feels very invested he's tweeting about it he seems very much uh into the product um him being around fight week we don't know but would you be okay with that yeah i don't i i don't i don't have, people assume since I fought Conor or I took a loss to Conor that, like, there would be some sort of animosity. Like, there's nothing personal and fighting for me ever. Like, there's very few guys that I sit across the ring from that I disliked.

So I've never actually talked to Conor on a level outside of promoting a fight when we were talking shit back and forth. So I don't even know who he is. I couldn't even tell you what type of person he is or anything like that. I don't know him. I know other opponents. I know Justin Gaethje kind of well. We hung out quite a bit. There's other opponents that I interacted with more. I just never interacted with Conor, so I don't know what the type of dude he is or what he's like.

I do know that with him involved, we're recognized around the world immediately i know that sure no no he's brought a lot of attention and um i would say that you're probably the best person to ask this question to because you have been in the game for so long and fought for so many different promotions um do you like the direction that bkfc is going because it does feel for me um like they are doing a lot of good things gaining a lot of momentum the connor deal brought them a lot of good things, gaining a lot of momentum. The Conor deal brought them a lot of attention. The DAZN deal has brought them a lot of attention and a consistent home to watch their events. And when you consider what PFL is going through

and some of the negative press that they're getting from the Bellator fighters complaining that they're not getting fights, BKFC, while not specifically MMA, and certainly leaning towards MMA fighters and fans, has a real opportunity to gain a large portion of the non-UFC market share. And so, based on what you're seeing, how the company is operating and moving towards, do you like the steps that they are taking? I love it. And I knew this after the Chad

Mendes fight. I got out of the ring. I looked around the ring. Conor McGregor was there. Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje. I looked around. I said, we're entertaining the most entertaining fighters in the world. So we became the entertainment point of the fighters, the entertaining fighters. Where do they go to seek entertainment? And it was bare knuckle they did. And what's, what's there, it reminds me of Bellator when I first started, because what Bellator did that was did was they never compared themselves the UFC um Bjorn Rebny

would also be quoted all the time and I don't want to take on the 500 pound gorilla because he knew that there is no competition this isn't a competition between bare knuckle and UFC uh create some sort of something different or maybe a different night and don't compete just be something cool something different and fans need that things you know fans don't want to see mma all the time sometimes they want something different and bare knuckles just that it's something different it's not competing with the ufc there there is no competition with ufc um ufc is in a league of their own and they'll always be in a league of their own as far as MMA is concerned. I think it's foolish when I hear other promoters, almost every promoter I

hear who gets an MMA promotion talk about how they're better than the UFC or they're going to compete with you. It's so silly. Stop that. It's're not you're not going to be close and you should not talk like that um just be your own thing be great at what you do try to differentiate yourself a little bit maybe i don't know i bellator did it because they they went uh had their special day on a thursday and they were a-based promotion and they kept their promotion in little casinos where they would pay a psych fee to them so it kept them alive during the early stages um BKFC reminds me a lot like that they're not competing with UFC they're they're they're keeping their expenses where they need to be. And they're staying alive and they're gaining footholds and gaining fans. So I see it as the fastest growing sport outside the UFC.

And I don't even want to say they're a viable number two, because they're not in competition. They're number they'll be number one in the realm of bare knuckle. Why do you think, I'm just curious, given the landscape and the sport is so popular maybe i should just say the ufc is so popular why do you think there is maybe now more so than ever such a big gap between the ufc and everyone else because no one's doing it right i bet i've been i've been

with every single one of these promotions i've signed contracts with almost everyone. And the only one who's done it and had longevity is Bellator. And I paid really close attention when I was with their promotion about how they're behaving, how they're spending money, what they're doing, where we're fighting, all of that. And all that played a key on their longevity and how they stayed around so long. They're the only ones who've done it. Everybody else I've seen, they thought that if I buy the big name, that immediately that'll make that'll give me some legitimacy. And they didn't think about the long term, like, you know, making money, which ultimately is that way. That's what you need to get to if you want to make your investors out. So I don't, I don't know.

I just, all I see is a lot of overspending from every other MMA organization that comes out. They come out, they spend a bunch of money and their investors get pissed and they tank and get her bankrupt in two, three years. A lot of them.

So UFC, UFC, they're bankrupt in two three years a lot of them so um ufc ufc uh they lapped everyone twice and they're lapping everyone again so there really is no really other gaming town when it comes mma yeah your friend and teammate cory anderson was public about his frustrations uh patricia pipple patchy mix uh leandro higo um it definitely feels like Bellator is just kind of fizzling out and PFL will be there. And I don't know if that's healthy and good for the business, right, to just have two promotions and nothing really else. There's like the KSWs of the world

and like the kind of regional European promotions, but nothing else. And so the days of Pride and UFC and Strikeforce and then Elite XC and and ifl it just feels like i don't know if we ever get back to that to be honest there's there'll be more there's always more i i know i know personally there's one on the way oh next year next year there'll be another there's another one another viable option on its way with large funding that's that'll be here next year they'll never end. It's just a matter of do they strategically do the right things and spend their money the right way to have longevity.

But just like in anything, even in fighting, the fighters themselves, only, what, a small percent make all the money. You've got to be elite. You've got to be the best to make the money. If you're not number one, number two, number three, you're just trying to get there and you're just traping along. It's the 1% that make everything. And that's the same thing in any realm of business, any realm of sports, athletics, everything. The 1% get all the money. And then the rest of the people just hope that their time comes.

Can I ask you about one championship? RDR, Rene Arder-Ritter saying recently, like, if you're a fighter considering them, don't sign with them. They've let some American fighters go like Mikey Musumeci and Sage Northcutt.

What do you think of the State of One Championship? I have no clue. I got out of one championship two years ago because I wanted to come back to America. I wanted to end my career here in America. I don't know what's going on there. It seems like they're having a bit of a falling out. I couldn't tell you left from right when it comes to the promotion or what's going on. Uh, I've seen articles with guys pissed off about contractual stuff, but I, myself, I, I, I did a good job there. I feel like I went there. I had my run there and they were in my life for a short period of time and then I was back here in America That's fair. One thing that I would

love to see more from BKFC is bring in younger fighters and develop them and I saw that you were a part of their tryouts recently. Was there a youth movement there? Because I feel like that's the one thing that they need to get on it's not just be the not just be in the business of getting guys who are established you have to build your own stars need to get on. It's not just be the, you know, not just be in the business of getting guys who are established stars.

You have to build your own stars too to get people really on board. And so what could you tell us about the tryouts? Yeah, so, and that's like growing pains, right? Like this is in Philadelphia, what you're showing here. 200 competitors showed up for the tryouts in Philadelphia,

which was record-breaking uh attendance for bare knuckle uh contender series not contender series but a prospect series so 200 people showed up and we had a vet 200 guys we end up picking i believe and interviewed seven guys toward the end um and i think six or seven of them will be fighting on the Philly card. So they got a pretty good, healthy handful of guys that look good, that are ready to fight and are fighting and going to showcase on the Philadelphia card. So that went really well. And they never had a showing like that.

Philly showed up huge for their prospect series. And all them kids were excited about the opportunity to play at the Wells Fargo are you sorry go ahead no but um yeah then them kids they're young kids and they're excited about it are you opening up uh your own gym is it uh I saw that there's a grand opening on December 7th is that your own gym yes that's my gym nice um i partnered with uh i partnered with jim worthington from the newtown athletic club we spoke about it for the last five years about the possibility and potential to have our own performance institute and um finally it meant manifest in itself and um it's open now but we're having a grand opening december 7th um frankie egert's coming down to help out to help me out um we're gonna have a bunch of stuff uh

like competitions the the power punching competition some impact rap is uh joining us to kind of have some uh punching competitions on end. There's a lot of like bounce houses, things, all that stuff like that. Things of that sort for kids. The grand opening is going to be amazing. It's going to be a packed house. And I'm looking forward to kind of teaching the next generation about

fighting. So that, that that's something I'll be able to move into in my later career. I, you know, I love the fact that you're doing this. I love the fact that you're so active with BKFC with the tryouts and whatnot. And, uh, it, it feels like you've kind of reached that sort of, uh, you know, giving backstage to the sport where you're,

you're, you're, you know, you're, you're the vet who's like looking to, to bring up the new generation, which I think is tremendous. Do you want to be a coach? Like, do you want to have a team? Like, do you want to be the next Mark Henry? I think Mark's trying to phase out of the game. Is that the next move for you at some point down the line? Yeah, I'm going to, so I'd like to move into that. I'd like to have my own facility. Number one, um, my sons wrestle for counter rock South, and I'd like to have a facility for them to go to, for us to practice off hours and stuff. But number two i want to build my own elite team like on the lines of like an att or kill cliff and i want to create

a ufc champion so um i think it's one thing to be able to become a champion of a number of organizations like i've done i've traveled the world and fought the best guys and i have a lot to share but i don't think there's anything better like that. I can find out what to do for the rest of my life than to teach someone how to fight. And I feel like everyone should fight. Um, I told my son, he's like, I was like the, you know, the idea of fighting for me is like suffering optimistically. And there's not a better way to go about the rest of my life than to help people suffer more optimistically. Suffering optimistically. I've never heard that before. I think that would be awesome to do.

I think everybody needs a little more than that, more of that, and more practice in that. And I would love to be a coach of that. Can I just ask, what do you mean by suffering optimistically? Meaning your body goes through the ringer, but it's for good? Yeah, fight's chaotic. And it's not comfortable. And I think much like life, it's not comfortable. And you're not going to be comfortable.

And a lot of the stuff you feel is going to feel like suffering, but you have to do it with a hope, with an optimism and go about it with a smile. And I think fighting has been like that for me. It's been the idea of that. I'm going through something that maybe it's a little bit uncomfortable, but I know it's going to help me grow. And I'd like to do it in a way that, um, I'd like to go through the process with a smile. And if someone could teach me how to do that or help me, you know, change my perspective to do that more than I, then that person would be of value to me. And I want to, I want to do that for people. I saw you even getting to a little politics in the build-up to the election yeah me me and my wife always been big big donald

trump fans so like oh just in general okay i didn't know it's not it's not something new for us like we've uh we've been to plenty of uh rallies and things like that and um at the knack i'm at my gym um jim worthington is one of the largest uh fundraisers for the trump campaign so he's he um he helps out on that realm and i kind of help use my influence the best i can or did help to um right get president trump elected uh he was at the ufc event i'm just curious because he's always going to be linked to you what did you think of Chandler or Oliveira um I just I think it was a maybe I don't know what but it's a poor showing for Chandler like uh maybe he got fixated on uh Conor too much which which Conor's a southpaw you know a lot different sort of fighter than Oliver, I guess. Um,

but maybe he got fixated on Connor too, too much for too long and wasn't able to adjust back to a fight in Oliver. I don't know, but just, it just looked like a poor showing I've, I've had on myself. So I'm not hating. It just looked like, it looked like he could do better than he did. I just want to ask you this, and we'll let you go in a moment, but I think you're one of the best at breaking down fights. We just had Rampage on, and he said that he thinks that Stipe would be

a tougher fight for Jon Jones than Tom Aspinall. I obviously disagree with that statement because I think Tom is tremendous and would give him a really tough fight. How do you see that fight going? If it, if it happens? Rampage is saying that because when I see the Aspinall fight, I just see John taking him down and doing what he likes to him on the ground the same way he did like Serral gone. I don't see John having a problem with getting Aspinall to the ground. And Aspinall is like a crazy dangerous threat standing up. He moves like a lightweight crazy athletic but none of that matters um when you're on when when you're on the ground and i feel like that allure of tom aspinall being so great the movement the speed the athleticism all goes completely out the window

when john rips them to the floor and submits them so I don't um as powerful as Aspinall can be if John rips that away then we're just looking at something Sarah Ghan-esque that John did to him which he proved that he can do that if he wants to go there and I feel like he would go there the fact that he's training with uh gordon gordon ryan and and uh sorry the other wrestler it's not coming gable stevenson gable stevenson and like heavy heavy grappling based people some of the greats so um i just don't see a reason why he just wouldn't rip tom down and take away all his powers and just do what he wants. I'm not going to argue with you, obviously, but did you know that Tom is actually

a BJJ black belt and that's his foundation, that's his base. He never shows it because his fights end so quickly, but that's actually his introduction to martial arts. Is a black belt a BJJ? Yeah, his dad. Yeah, but how's his wrestling? Well, I'm just saying once he gets to the ground,

he's not going to be a fish out of water. I don't care if you have a black belt. I'm more concerned with your wrestling. Fair enough. Because look, you get punched, you go from black belt to purple belt. And then you get punched again and then you're a white belt. So I've submitted so many black belts after a few shots to the head that your black belt don't mean anything it's what guy is going

to get top advantage and be able to control the other guy on top wrestling means more to me than anything okay that's fair i would love to see it do you think perera has a better chance against him no i think john takes pierre perera down the same way i think i think both them guys john john's intelligent and often has a lot of fight iq to be like i'm just gonna wait for my shot to get on the floor to submit these guys there but we'll see we'll not who knows uh bkfc sold 5200 tickets on the first pre-sale day last week They're expecting a sellout 18,000 at Wells Fargo They just had Boots Ennis

At Wells Fargo, another beloved Philly fighter Didn't sell 18,000 And I would say a lot of that Would have to do with you So kudos on that And this will be your first time competing at Wells Fargo Because your other one was at The Lea Chorus Is it Lea Chorus? Le chorus yeah it's a dream it's a childhood dream for me so like we'll

sell it out and um and i'll i'll finish whoever it is whether whether jeremy jeremy uh is there or i get a replacement or whoever whoever my opponent is at wells fargo i'll finish on the night on the night of that fight and in front of a sold out arena. And, um, it'll be storybook. It'll, it'll be absolutely storybook. I can't wait. And, uh, just in case you didn't know the, are you coming? Uh, I would like to go, you know, I do some work for a DAZN now and, uh, I have thrown out, you know, it's, it's very close to where I live. It's about an hour and a half from where I live. I've never been to a BK event. It's a short drive.

Don't have to go on a plane. I would like to be there. In fact, can I throw something out there, Eddie? Yeah. I've never been to a BKFC event. I've never covered. I've never had the pleasure of being at one in person. I don't know if you watched the Netflix card last weekend, Jake Paul, Mike Tyson.

My favorite thing to do is the in-ring interviews. And I don't want to take anyone's job. So if someone's already assigned to it, God bless. But if there's a chance, that would be a great thrill for me. If there's an opening, if there's a possibility with the DAZN deal now, and I do work for DAZN, that would be very exciting for me. I will talk to Dave Feldman and see if we can make something like that happen hey am i great but again i don't want to take anyone's job if someone has

that already i'm not trying to bump anyone out there but that's that you know to be in there with you guys after your sweat i've done it a few times now not as many as i would love uh but there's no greater thrill than those immediate post-fight interviews in the ring, in the cage, et cetera. You got to wear a raincoat though, when you do the KFC one. They're not, they're not for the squeamish. I know, I know, especially for a germaphobe like me, but no, it would be an honor. Absolutely. And by the way, What are you doing December 7th? Can you come to my grand opening? Are you available? What are you doing on December 7th?

That is, what day is that? Is that a Saturday? Saturday, yeah. available what are you doing on december 7th that is uh what day is that is that a saturday saturday yeah that is uh i'll be flying home i'm going to the mma awards um and then i'll be flying home on that day because of the pay-per-view but uh let me see how far it is from my house because i would love to bring my kids or do i have to be at the ground nobody i mean i could just come bring them by one day if it's close i'll have you picked up i'll get a car i'll do whatever i know it's all right you can get there you can get there i love that to have you there that's very kind of you i just wanted to mention that the modern combat sports attendance record in philly is ufc 101 august 6 2009 17 411 at the wells fargo then known as the wachovia Center. So something to shoot for. I'll beat it.

I think I'll beat it. I'm almost positive I'll beat that attendance record. I love it. And still one of my favorite interviews ever was our walk around Kensington and to see the love that you got and just to see where you grew up is something I will never forget. So I know that you are ingrained in the DNA of Philadelphia, and I love that you're getting this opportunity. So thank you very much, Eddie.

Much love, my friend. Good luck to you as you prepare for this fight, and can't wait for the 25th of January. Thanks, Ariel. Peace out. There he is. Good luck to you, the great Eddie Alvarez, the underground king. Kind enough to join us.

It's going to be quite the scene. So I was told there was a press conference tomorrow. I guess it's happening the following Tuesday. Yeah, looking forward to that and curious to see what they put on that card, who they put on that card. DAZN does have a Thursday Misfits card this week, their super card in Qatar. And it's a classic Thursday Thanksgiving card, kind of like the

old school WWE survivor series days when they used to have the pay-per-views on a Thursday. Um, and, uh, they obviously have the misfits January 18th, Darren Till, Tommy Fury card, and then this one on the 25th, in addition to everything else that they have coming up December 21st, tyson fury alexander usic 2 or should i say alexander usic tyson fury 2 and a new program called ariel ade ariel and ade ariel x ade the ariel and ade show have you guys heard about it episode 2 yeah tomorrow at 5 p.m eastern we'll have the newest member of the Matchroom Boxing stable, George Cambosis Jr. on the program to talk about signing with them a potential fight against Liam Parrow, who returns to the ring on December 7th. Liam will join us, I do believe, next week.

So a lot of exciting things happening here at the Uncrowned Network. You even get, while you watch the program, you get a little financial Advice, I understand Even when you didn't ask for it So let's just Like I always say Working through the kinks, no one's fault I make mistakes always You guys are working your ass off

Back there, people think that we were Hacked, which I don't want to give credit where it's not due. So people are like, oh my God, they were hacked. What exactly did happen? This is the one case where the chat is actually right. We were completely cyber. No, no, we weren't hacked. Oh.

It was just a crossing of wires of whatever was leaving these studios and we've gotten to the bottom of it and we'll make sure that that doesn't happen again. Right, we're not the only program that comes out of this building. Yeah. So there is a financial show that is put on by Yahoo Finance. They do a great job. They have an incredible setup. And so is it, I mean, I'm putting this in the most simple terms. Did the wires just get crossed?

Yes. Quite literally. Yes. So I had the stream up. I just like to keep it up to make sure everything's okay. And then all of a sudden I saw a lot of activity and I was like, oh wow, people are really loving this interview with Rampage. Those weren't thumbs up. No, they were just shitting on us in the back. And I actually have to say that I feel bad for Frank

because I feel like the first comment is, this is Frank's fault. It's tough. Don't feel bad, that's correct. Oh, okay, sorry okay it's entirely my fault frank was it your fault uh no okay um i did notice that like the picture became weird yeah yeah we can just debrief after the show i think actually people like this answer yeah people like this that was the hack what was the answer the audio was not this. That was the hack. What was the answer? The audio was not the hack.

That was the hack. Oh, I can't tell if you're joking or not. I am joking. Okay. No, no, no. We don't have to hide this. Things happen. So what happened? That one we don't have as much visibility to.

Same signal processing. But it is a similar situation. We did put up a poll, and this is all Ant's fault, by the way. He was asking who was to actually blame for the hack. Those fighting words. Was Ant on the poll himself, or only everybody else?

No, but he probably should have been, given the fact that he's the YouTube guru. You know, watching end-to-end, maybe flag it in real time. Well, I could tell you that in our internal chat, the first thing that alerted me was Ant asking if we got hacked. So that kind of put the bug in my ear. I'm like, oh, geez, why do we have to go there, Ant? Geez.

57% blamed Frank. 25% blamed Rick. GC, 0%. Blameless. 0%? I don't know if that's good or bad, because that means you really don't have influence on the show, I suppose. I just think it's a good thing.

I just make no mistake. People are like, is he still in Georgia? I think it just speaks to the fact that you're the biggest baby face in the game. He is the biggest baby face. Yeah, what can I say, man? What can I say? I just want to point out. I can also confirm it was not my fault.

Someone just paid $1.99 to see if it's not Frank's fault, whose fault is it? That's a good point. If we said the name, you guys wouldn't know. Also, am I the only one every time Frank speaks, there's almost like a... Like a big buzz? No, like a smattering of talking underneath you. Oh, yeah. They're cracking up back here.

Oh, no. I don't think that's it. It sounds like it's a financial show. Oh, God. Fourth option, by the way, was 100% not Ed's fault. At least I know What to invest in now Well what were they Talking about

We don't know Portfolios We were not focused On listening The chat kept saying Something about like Indian finances Yeah yeah yeah

I was like what Because at first I was like Are they saying that I'm of Indian descent Or Rampage I couldn't quite get it And then all of a sudden

I realized after ant's message that something had gone terribly it was like a don davis interview or something that would have been oh my god that would be incredible like the pfl is trying to overtake us what if next time this happens it's don davis from yahoo finance which is that would actually be a best case scenario we just turn that turn that joint up and pipe. Well, at least it's MMA content, right? Yeah. I also said next time. There will not be a next time. Yes, it's never happening again. Working through the kinks. We're working through the kinks.

By the way, speaking of the PFL, they've got their finale this week. What day is that, by the way? Friday. Black Friday. 9.30am Eastern kick. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Another early morning card. Do you like that? I know you're a big Black Friday guy

Do you like a morning Black Friday Or do you like an afternoon Evening Black Friday card? I absolutely love it Because If I'm not mistaken There's 16 fights

Total on this one But because They're doing the MENA championships as well So 10 fights Oh my gosh That could potentially go 5

5 minute rounds So yeah It starts at 9.30. We're probably not going to be in until 6 or 7 p.m. Eastern. So just have that on in the background, hold time. The tapology page is insane. It's insane, dude. It goes down like five scrolls. And also, remember, PFL is not known for moving things along and keeping it brief.

So I'm very curious to know how how long this entire card is going to take you guys talked about it a little bit and we can get into it as the week goes on but uh it does feel like it's it's lacking i mean to me the most interesting fight on the card is dakota against tyler santos just to see if she's you know if she is uh ready for a step up like this. If she finishes Tyler Santos, it's like PFL really has the potential for a star on their head. Superstar.

The fights themselves are all good, but it is lacking the names. It is lacking the draw. But that is PFL's system, right? Bellator and Championship Series and all these other spinoffs have a different structure. They create the fights the way they want to create them.

The tournament is the tournament. You get the fighters in it, and the results are what the results are. And so this is inevitably what a tournament format has. You cannot control who is fighting on the card. You get the championship-level fighters from that year's tournament. It just feels like there's usually one, I don't know, a Kayla. Yeah, I mean, I guess, but, you know, this year the entrants are different. Lachnane, Dakota, like you've got some names on there.

Yeah, Lachnane is a big dog, man. Lachnane's a big dog. Kisrev is undefeated. He is on the show tomorrow, Brendan Lachnane. So we'll talk to him from Riyadh going up against Timur Kizriev, who is 17-0. And Loughnane, currently, according to our friends

at Tapology, plus 240, minus 300 for Timur. Impak Sangane, looking to get another big one, looking to go back-to-back at 205 pounds. Magomed Umalatov, another 17-0 fighter going up against Shamil Musaev, 19-0-1.

That's two undefeated fighters going for a million dollars. Like, that's intriguing in itself. I know the name value is not there, but, like, it's still. This is PFL's problem from the jump. Yeah, from a decade. Like, this is not new. This is not new. This is their problem that is why the rosters should have always been combined and so we don't end up in the

situation where on one half of the bracket not uh sorry i'm not talking about the pfl tournament bracket but one half of the company on the pfl side of things we've got a championship with fighters that are not necessarily big names star power and draws and on the other side of the the ledger you've got bellator fighters who are not getting fights and complaining and not being active like it is a it is a worst of both worlds as opposed to a best of both worlds when you have the opportunity to just combine them and make the best of both worlds i referenced this with rampage and with eddie alvarez but there are a lot of bellator fighters who are upset

and it's starting to become a bit of a snowball. And remember last week, I was talking about this in the press release. It felt like the Bellator brand was being phased out. And I did reach out to the Bellator or slash PFL brass about this and didn't get much back. But you had Patricia Pitbull put out like, I think it was five or six tweets about it.

Seemingly very frustrated. Here's one. He's quote tweeting Leandro Higo, who says, this is very frustrating. This is Leandro. We have no clue about when we might be fighting after two fight cancellations in a row. Time is of the essence in this game. We can't waste our primes on the sidelines. I'm working hard to take that title, spending money, sweat and blood.

What's going on He was quote tweeting Patchy Mix Who I think kind of got this rolling Patricio Pitbull says, oh if we can just go back to that Okay well here's Patchy, alright well here's Patricio I haven't fought since February I wanted to fight three times this year But I was told I'd have to wait until December 31st

And found out online my opponent would fight someone else Then they had a replacement I bring people over, spend more money with the camp and there's no fight here's patchy mix who i think kind of got this rolling i've been training my ass off for the last half year and he's one of the best 135ers in the world this is frustrating in the prime of my career i've had my fight in november canceled then now again i'm being told i'm off the january dubai. I'm the best in the world and I want to fight to prove it. Corey Anderson also weighed in on this. Aging like warm cheese over here waiting for PFL to give me a call.

But don't get it twisted. We still ready to defend the strap against anybody young or old and still. Even the coach, Duke Rufus, weighing in on this. Anyone have any answers for the fighters at PFL, at Bellator MMA? So this isn't great. And this is what we feared, right? When they take over the other promotion. It's hard to run one promotion, let alone two.

And this is what I think we all feared. And that card in January feels like it's the phasing out process of the brand and so do you bring in all these guys do you bring them in but you got to pay them the same and they all like a lot of these guys were well paid by bellator um a lot of them were very happy with their pay and so i don't think they're going to want to take a pay cut so this is a tough one and and i would say a lot of those names are some of the biggest names on the PFL slash Bellator roster. Apache Mix is arguably the best fighter on their roster.

Corey Anderson is a top fighter as well. Um, Sergio Pettis, Pitbull, Leandro Higo, like these are the top guys that they have. Uh, so not, not a great situation. And maybe this week with them being out there and doing media and having, you know, press days and whatnot, there'll be more on it. Obviously the fighters who are competing this weekend are going to be happy with their situation, but you just don't like to see it. And they've had to cancel now the back end of their shows, um, back into this year.

So not a great, not a great situation. There was a new, uh, promotion that popped up over the weekend and it was called dirty boxing championship uh headed up by platinum mike perry we found out about this launching in january and they had their first show and it was interesting because it uh it did not air anywhere they had it closed off a tie event, in a sort of old school, like, warehouse type of vibe. And I actually thought it looked great. It looked like a movie. It looked like old 1920s boxing. And Yoel Romero was in the main event,

and he absolutely smashed it. Now, his opponent didn't appear to be high level, but here's Romero. Look at this guy, jumping up like he's shot out of a cannon and he freaking smashes it the rules are interesting you see he's wearing shoes you could box but you can use ground and pound you can use elbows and I believe that guy there's Mike Perry I believe and there's John Jones who was in attendance it was an absolute beat down Perry's all fired up I do believe uh that guy was a former slap fighting guy

or a current slap fighting guy uh something like that there was a um a beautiful superman punch knockout as well that uh kind of went all over the place there wasn't a lot going on on saturday because of the macao card happening saturday morning so this was kind of being talked about a lot look at this knockout here damn what do you guys think of the vibe at dirty boxing what do you think of the look do you see what do you think i mean you nailed it it looks like a movie like it looks yeah i should have been filming like a a creed or something in there uh but i mean i'm interested in it i I will obviously be more interested once it's broadcasted somewhere where you can watch it live. This kind of felt like just a lot of hype on social media for now and something that's getting started.

But yeah, I mean, it's intriguing. It's always intriguing when someone starts a new promotion with a different rule set. I also think it actually, in retrospect retrospect was kind of cool that they closed it off to the the greater public it kind of made it into a thing like oh shit like it's a little bit mysterious it's a little bit exclusive no is that crazy no i don't think that's crazy and you got all the clips out there anyway like the yoel romero knockout went pretty viral and then you got the superman punch and stuff like that uh so people were talking about it people were chatting and i think once they have a real broadcast people will be interested in tuning in yeah that's the

thing if you don't have like a an a-tier broadcast partner what's the point at the you know like you could even keep it this way as a kind of an underground thing until you have that broadcast partner um unless you have an opportunity to utilize your own platforms and you stream it on youtube for example or somewhere else or there's many platforms platforms and you stream it on YouTube, for example, or somewhere else. There's many platforms that you could do it on. I know people were there, but was it invite only to get in? Yes, no tickets. It would be really interesting if they started doing tickets

and you could go and it was not broadcast anywhere. The only people who are watching it are the ones watching it live. Yeah, and maybe that's the next step. I think they kind of just wanted to, as you may hear hear on this program work through the kinks yeah um does it does it feel like they i don't want to say wasted but like having yoel romero fight in a situation like that no i mean the guy that he fought i don't think you heard that right uh what's the name like they could probably get your oil back for another one. Yes, and obviously the FRM guys are a part of this promotion. Malky Abe, the other Malky Kawa,

they got Adam Kovacs from formerly of Karate Combat on there as well. So I'm trying to find it. They don't even have it on his page here, the name of the gentleman that he fought. I know I tweeted out the picture. Oh, uh, Dwayne Crespo,

um, was his name. And I think he's a slap for you. I mean, I w I would think, why not have him a part of it? Uh, platinum Perry said he would fight on one of the

upcoming cards as well. We don't know if he's going to be on the January 25th card in, um, in Philly. Uh, Mike Perry, by the way, going to be on the show tomorrow. Oh, in um in philly uh mike perry by the way going to be on the show tomorrow so we can ask him about this stuff and looking forward to that as always i

still can't believe the shape that yoel is in at 47 it's it's absurd and he was fighting a heavyweight and he looked freaking shredded this guy's fought all the way down at 185 and looked the exact same shredded i'm already laughing thinking did you i mean it was i said it was fitting i'm already there there only there only was one guy who was you know qualified to headline the first ever dirty boxing show and it's the dirty boxing legend himself shorty man dirty boxing that's that i think we need to introduce that to the rotation frank uh we've actually got it oh we do yeah we've got it not not on the soundboard but we've oh hold on

wait oh we got the video yeah hold on i was talking about the no but let's just let's just have you guys seen it have you ptc has ptc seen it is the real question we got it we got it i don't know maybe he's watching now find out shorty man diddy boxing he beat him one time so good it's perfect because it ends before you get to the good part you know it's a double whammy

diddy man diddy boxing well shout out to him congrats I saw there was all kinds of drama with them and Karate Kombat I don't know, I don't know what's going on over there I missed that, what was the drama? Oh God, you missed all of that? I missed all of that

You're very lucky Okay, forget it, forget I asked There was all kinds of tweets between President Awesome and Malky Karate Kombat saying they used one of the guys who was on their roster And they didn't get the proper clearance to use him. Got it. I don't know. Who knows?

Who knows what is going on? There are all kinds of wacky events going on this weekend. I was at the mall, the American Dream Mall with my kids on Friday. And all of a sudden I see a ring in the middle. I see an actual ring. Well, not really in the middle i see an actual ring well not really in the middle it was actually as fate would have it okay there's actually a couple of as fate would have it uh moments it was right next to h mart which we talked about shout out last week did you pick anything up while you were there yes i got a spicy tuna little triangle thingy oh nice

with the rice or no wrapped in seaweed yeah in seaweed? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you bring it in for us? You know the one that you, like, rip the thing down and then... Yep, yep. Those are delicious. Got a couple of those, actually. My kids love it there. And so I got that.

And then we went back and got more. And then I see Liz Karmouche there, randomly. I'm not sure why. But it was great to see her there. And I said hello to her, and I haven't seen her in a while. And then I i see a ring and it was just like a ring set up and it was a gcw ring they're a very popular promotion i was like what the heck is this what's going on

and they tell me they're having a show the next day meaning saturday i was there on friday and kurt angle was going to be there and mcfoley was going to be there and uh some of their stars you know they're very popular. The likes of Mark Ramondi likes to go to these. I think Casey as well, our old friend, Casey Lydon. And I tried to convince my kids to go on Saturday, but they didn't want to go. Anyway, I was wondering how it was going to look. And I looked on social media and it was actually pretty cool.

They had the actual event. Here's Ricky Starks showing up And this was a big surprise and I was wondering Like could you just be walking around Like you're going to Louis Vuitton Or Walgreens And then all of a sudden look at this guy he's like yeah what's up This kid's going to you know

Get some new clothes From Foot Locker and there's Ricky Starks in the white Showing up In the mall And It's just happening American Dream Is some place

Look at this This was a big surprise Apparently Him showing up there And I think some people Think he's going to WWE Or something like that Wasn't quite following

All of it But GC and I Were just talking about American Dream Look what they're doing There at American Dream. They're having actual wrestling events.

Now, do we think he actually- They do everything there. It's crazy. I saw they had curling championships there once. It's, the place is nuts. Yes, they did have curling championships last year. Do you think he actually went to Louis Vuitton to buy something or just asked for the bag? Oh, he just asked for the bag.

Yeah, it's so cool. It's merchandise, huh? Did anybody do a spot off the second floor? No, but I'm still unclear i think i'm a sicko that's where my head went well they were selling tickets but like you see people standing up top there i was thinking somebody yeah okay yeah i don't know how they could monitor yes like who like it's a gigantic place yeah it's it's massive i think it's kind of brilliant though the one the one thing that that mall is lacking it's it's the biggest mall in north america it's bigger than the minnesota mall it's bigger. I think it's kind of brilliant though. The one thing that that mall is lacking, it's the biggest mall in North America.

It's bigger than the Minnesota Mall. It's bigger than the Edmonton Mall. It's bigger than Mall of America. Yeah. I always thought it was number two. No, it is bigger. This is the one that Action goes to, right? Yeah, he does surfing. He does the surfing there.

He does the surfing there. And not only that, I mean, they've got every single store under the sun. It's truly remarkable. He does surfing. Yeah. He does the surfing there. He does the surfing there. And not only that, um, they've, I mean, they've got every single store under the sun. It's, it's truly remarkable, but they,

uh, they don't have a movie theater, which I find very, yeah, no, keep going. What the fuck is that? Yeah.

I find that very, very weird. How do you not have a movie theater? They have a whole like top, top, top, top, top floor that has nothing there.

Movie theater next to food court is always the mall key. That's what you need to do. Have you been there? I've never been there, no. Frank, have you been there? No. Only GC, huh? It's kind of a Jersey thing.

Yeah, I'm a New Yorker. No, but it's right over the bridge. I'm on the other side. You got to pay the tolls. They even have a ski hill. Yeah. First time I ever went, I didn't know what all was there. And when I saw the ski hill, like, not only do they have the ski hill,

then they have, like, the ski resort restaurant bar next to it that's, like, built like a ski lodge. It is absolutely insane. And they have a water park and roller coasters and theme rides and every story you can imagine. And the place is nuts. This makes it even more crazy to me that they don't have a movie theater. They have all this but not a movie theater? How is that possible?

Well, I have good news, guys. An eight-screen movie theater is slated to open at American Dream Mall in East Rutherford with a date yet to be determined. Oh, wow. Wow. There's a 270-degree panorama in each theater. That's pretty sick. They do it big over there. You know what? I might make the trip out. We'll go watch a movie. It feels like

a major miss. Yes, let's go on a movie excursion. I'm in. It feels like a huge miss. I feel like they can have the greatest. Yeah, you guys want to do it? No, I will not be taking part in that. Why? I have a movie theater right down the street from us. I accept the invite, Ariel. I'll be there.

I would love to go. You would. I'm in. Let's go. Me and Frankie are showing up. We'll go surf and then we'll go watch a movie. In fact, I did a first. I purchased movie tickets a week in advance.

Never done this before. In fact, this is a big deal. You can now buy movie tickets and get reserved seating. Welcome to 2016. I was going to say like, you can pick and choose where you sit a week in advance.

This is incredible. Did you know there's like a line you can wait in to get popcorn as well? No, that's crazy. Actually, you know that like all movie theaters are reserved seating now. Really? Not Not all but like The vast vast

99% Because it used to be the thing Like oh get there 20 minutes early No more And you don't know So this is incredible And I couldn't believe it A friend of mine said

Oh we're gonna go see Moana 2 And I was like Oh that's a brilliant idea On Friday And then I started looking at All the theaters And they're like

75% full already a week in advance. That is the problem, right? You used to be able to hack it by showing up, and then you could get online first. Now you have to be purchasing first. That's the new. Let's get you on the AMC A-list. I'm on that stubs. Remember that time I invited you to the Alamo Draft House for my birthday?

Nah, that was no birthday. All right. He actually did. Frank just said, okay, and he's done now. A birthday party? Yeah, it was Shogun Assassin like three years ago. It was May of 2022. So I actually was gonna

text Frank about D-Box. What is D-Box? So that's the one where it vibrates. Yeah. You got my take on that, right? Oh yeah, I was on that because there were several things. I don't even know what D-Box? That's the one where it vibrates You got my take on that right? Oh yeah it was on that because there were several things I don't even know what D-Box is myself I go to the movies a lot What theater are you going to?

Regal? AMC? I'm an AMC No I think it's Is it AMC? Anyway I learned that D-Box is like a thing where it's like haptic seats Oh it's like 4D They call it Enjoy that man that's going to be a thing where it's like haptic seats? Oh, it's like 4D. 4D, they call it. Enjoy that, man. That's going to be great.

No, no, it's good. Because I was like, guys, I got D-Box tickets and Frank was like, yeah, it sucks. Not worth the price. You asked our opinion. You know the first time I used D-Box? It was Tron Legacy. I'm pretty sure that movie came out in like 2011. Yeah. It just enhances your experience.

It's great. You'll love it. I feel like a vibrating chair you'll love it and inexpensive it's right up your alley it has it has like some um so ominous gc gc just shaking chair yeah like moana's gonna like rip a sick wave and it's just gonna your kids are gonna go in your face isn't that what they have at the Sphere? That's a good question I don't know Never been Wouldn't know Missed the invite to that one Yeah

I think that's what they said That In the press release That it was like Haptic seats and all that Anyway I think it sprays like a Perfume too

Yeah Let's call it the ocean Yeah Oh I'm looking forward to it You're gonna love it Yeah Have you seen the first one? Yes yes

I've seen it a zillion times. Confession? I still haven't seen Moana. You need to see that with the kids. I actually tried to go see Wicked yesterday, and every seat was sold out. Yeah, you and half the planet, apparently. It's done so well.

Has it done well? Yeah, super well. Gladiator 2 as well. Is it about the, is Wicked about the, is it Wicked Witch of the West? Prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Oh, Wizard of Oz, yeah.

I'm surprised Rick wasn't first in line. I still haven't seen the musical, and I have a gift certificate to Broadway.com, so I think I might just go see the musical if it's still playing. Didn't you say that it's the best movie of all time? Wizard of Oz?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't even think that's a crazy take. That's a super obvious take. Is Wicked in black and white as well, and then it fades to color at a certain point? I guess the whole thing would be in black and white because it's a prequel.

Yeah, because it's a prequel, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, God, really? What a mix. Is it Ariana Grande in that? Yep. I saw her in the co-star. They were the ones that no-sold me at the Olympics

on the red carpet, so I'm not watching that. They were trying to memorize their lines for Wicked. Right. They were the ones that no-sold me at the Olympics On the red carpet So I'm not watching that They were trying to memorize their lines By the way, speaking of pro wrestling What about your boys? The Rizzler and company At AEW this weekend What about them? I mean, that was gigantic

A huge success for all elite wrestling You had the Rizzler as the timekeeper And then you had, who is it? Big Justice? Yeah. Big Justice and AJ. AJ, that's right. Here's the Rizzler coming out with the big show.

Look at this guy. He's so cute. Oh, there's Big Justice with the spear. The spear, excuse me. What did I say? Double chunk chocolate cookies on the pants. Boom on the ass. Boom on the knees too.

Yo, they got a huge pop look at him He's doing the mew is he Mewing yeah that's what my kids say Um In any event I tweeted like Are they the uh you know are they Are they more over than 75% Of the roster people viewed that

As a knock on the roster I was just Saying like it's crazy how popular these guys Are they are legit mainstream right now I saw somewhere that like Their Them winning on AEW was like the third Most popular wrestling clip ever posted On social media

That's crazy Like only behind Undertaker at Wrestlemania And then Some other dude at NXT this summer Somebody's NXT debut. John Henley or something. I believe in John. Oh, Hendry. I believe in John Hendry. Wait, that's bigger than this?

I don't know. It took me down a rabbit hole of whoever the hell John Hendry is. He sings his own songs. I believe in John Hendry. So what do you think? Is this, I mean, is there a higher ceiling? Or is this a flavor of the month type thing it feels like? Month, it feels like a few months.

Higher ceiling for who? For AEW? No, no, no, for these guys. The Costco guys. How much bigger can they get? I mean, they've been on Fallon. They've been on AEW. That's true.

Are they going to betray AEW and go to WWE and start a whole new storyline? Or what if the Rizzler turns heel on the dudes, on the other guys? It would make sense. They are not family. They are not related. Yeah, I found out about that. I thought they were all one big wishbone. That's confirmed. You confirmed it? You looked it up? I confirmed it.

The Rizzler is not related to... I thought he was their cousin. Nope. No. He's just a social media guy. I want to see the picture Of Triple H shaking The Rizzler's hand Oh my god I want to see that It's good for business

Is he into a Knicks game? Like they are They played in the Knicks celebrity game It's like them And Stefan Marbury And Jamal Crawford Ooh

Heroes I mean that is And Evan's correcting me Joe Hendry my man Joe Hendry For fuck's sake Sorry man Uh

Yeah isn't that what I said? No. I think I said John. That's what I heard. Oh, I heard. I originally said John Hendy. Joe Hendry. Anyway, your boys were-

Killing it, dude. They're on fire. People love them. Yeah. Costco guys. I want to know if Costco is actually signing these guys to a deal because I think they brought more positive press to Costco than- All right. Here's an argument. Costco

almost never has any negative press. They just do everything right. That's a good point. So maybe they don't need the boys. They keep the hot dogs low. They keep the chicken bakes low. The gas is low. Membership stays at $60 a year. I think I would make the argument if I was Costco that they grifted on our stuff to

get their popularity, so we owe them nothing. Has Costco ever acknowledged them? I would actually love it if they never had. They've got to give them free food, right? Maybe like a free membership at least. Hold on. Is Costco not on any social media? Ah, never mind.

I found them. I found them. They've got to give them like the free pizza. Oh, they've never tweeted. Costco has zero tweets. That's when you know you're next level. They show up at Chipotle with the special gold card.

They show up and get the cookies and the pizza and everything. I don't know. I don't think they need it. I don't think they need to do it. How are they making money then, these guys? TikTok? Oh, how are they making money? They just run 10,000 different television shows. They're promoting their stuff.

I would imagine they're not doing AEW for free right Um No of course not but I wonder what that deal is Like does the Rizzler get X amount Does the other dude get X amount The Rizzler is raking it in They're set for college now By the way how old is the Rizzler

I think he's like 7 or 8 I think his real name is like Christopher Joseph Teenage years are going to be old is the Rizzler? I think he's like seven or eight. Yeah. I think his real name is like Christopher Joseph. Teenage years are going to be something for the Rizz. I mean, they are pro wrestling. Like, the whole thing is pro wrestling. You know, like the character thing is pro wrestling. All right. I've scrolled all the way back to last year on Costco's Instagram,

and I see nothing of AJ, Big Justice, or the Rizzler. Yeah. Though I don't think the Rizzler is actually a Costco guy. What? I think he's a separate entity. I think he's just the Rizzler, and then you have the Costco guy. How are you guys keeping up with all this? It's the whole boom-a-verse.

There's AJ, Big Justice, the mom, the sister, the Rizzler. They have cousins in there. They've come out with multiple songs. So is Costco not the unifying theme? It's actually just the boom? But isn't the boom based on the Costco review? They are the Costco guys, yeah. And then their scale was invented originally

for the double-chunk chocolate cookie and the chicken bake. But then where did the Rizzler? The boom scale came into. I swear I saw an interview with AJ, the dad, and he was just like, yeah, I saw the Rizzler on aj the dad and he was just like yeah i saw the risler on social media and he was like we got to get this guy in the crew so they brought him on genius he's so amazing i mean he's killing it he's a former pro wrestler yeah he's like trying

to do this before he did like a youtube like family vlog thing that never really took off like dreams are finally becoming a reality for him what about this guy who was kind of like an indie scene wrestler and now all of a sudden after doing this costco thing is getting to be on the second biggest promotion on pay-per-view in front of a sold out but like talk about using something completely different to then cross over and actually realize your dream because one would think that the dream was at one point and i see them on like all the big shows, right? You mentioned found, but like all throughout the week, they were on news shows and morning shows and stuff like that. It's great. And,

and, and just to be clear to the AEW crowd, I wasn't shitting on the roster. I guess it might've been taken that way. I do think you, you guys could be a little bit sensitive. Sometimes there's a hair on my microphone. Uh,

I was just saying like, holy shit, these guys just showed up and I didn't really know of them other than rick and and gc and the kid got a massive pop for the the spear i mean dude he's doing ads with like ksi and and logan paul for uh prime like he is all over the place man he might be the hottest celebrity out right now i was gonna say i think rizzler's like the number one celebrity in america he's the number one he's the number one celebrity for chronically online people mr beast who's bigger because imagine if you went somewhere and you tried to be like so you guys know the costco guys and the rizzler and people are like i have no idea what you're

talking about you would sound like an insane person um that's what people mean when they're like i got that riz are they making a reference to r? No. I don't know what the Rizzler is. No, the Rizzler has charisma, i.e. his name. Shorten it. Drop the cut. What is his real name? Rizz at the Ler. What's his real name?

I think it's like Christopher Joseph or something. Don't break his name. His real name's the Rizzler. We only address him. Christian Joseph. And how old? Chris Joe. Let's see if we can get a Rizzler DOB over here.

This says April 19, 2016, so that means he's eight. He's from New Jersey. Shout out. Trying to do a collab with him. My daughter just turned seven. She could have been the Rizzler. Could have been in there as the guest timekeeper. People are saying...

What are the people saying? Was the Rizzler really born the same day Lil Peep died What the Viral reincarnation conspiracy Wow I don't know I mean he's the biggest thing going right now AJ

Bifumo Shout out It seems all very Innocent and wholesome So good on them And GDP Right Shout out. All right. Well, it seems all very innocent and wholesome. So good on them. And GDP, right? Get that paper?

That's what they say. Look at those purple lights on the Empire State Building. Look great. Oh, wow. Why do you think it's purple? I have no idea. I was hoping you would. Probably because of that financial advice. Yes. The city is now benefited from this information. Probably because of that financial advice. Yes.

The city has now benefited from this. Yes. Empire State. Let's see. Purple lights. It appears to be... What does it mean when the Empire State? Well, they did it back in 2022 to honor the life and legacy of her majesty queen elizabeth ii but

i don't think that they're still showing the respect it's usually up to date on their twitter but they haven't posted anything about like why they have certain lights maybe an employee was just like i feel like purple today and no one was there to stop them because they're on vacation they also illuminated it in violet in tribute of nyu class of 2024, but that was in May. Well, they still succeeded in graduating, right? No. By the way, have you seen the Venture Brothers? Have you guys seen the Venture Brothers?

Yeah, from a few years ago, right? GC, have you seen the Venture Brothers? No, I don't know who these guys are. I was just reading an article about Big Boom AJ wrestled with a broken foot Ah shut up Might have been one of the best athletic performances of all time Who are the Venture Brothers? I don't know someone says

Ventura Brothers? Someone says that you look like Dr. Venture from the Venture Brothers Super chatter metal faced gamer Says who does? You do Oh god which one? The bald one? God damn it

Someone else says that GC I get told i look like i have gout so i mean well actually actually someone else said that uh the empire state building is purple in honor of gout awareness month there we go there we go i've had literal doctors emailing me about gout this has taken a life of its own the discord was not happy this morning they weren't like oh you guys can't make jokes about gout but they were like it isn't funny while you're in the middle of an episode

they were exchanging stories of their pain so shout out to them we are there in solidarity Frank is the most gout sensitive person on earth some grace some sensitivity please We are there in solidarity. Yeah, Frank is the most gout-sensitive person on Earth. No, we... Some grace. Some sensitivity, please. Yeah.

We support... I'm looking at the Venture Bros guy. I mean, do I really look like him? Just because I'm bald? I mean, he has a goatee and glasses. It is the prerequisite. Like, you couldn't have long hair and then someone would be like, yeah, you look like him. Yeah.

I mean, talk about lookalikes. I got the homeboy from MasterChef. Professional? Professional MasterChef? Oh, that was incredible yes i saw that i dm'd him um his name is gareth crimmons uh and i dm'd him just because i was like everybody's telling me i look like you shout out to you you're a very handsome man did you really he's the head chef of heaney's in cardiff uh and yes i i absolutely did DM him. Did he write you back? I mean, I don't know if I'm famous enough to be with the MasterChef guy.

Who made the gout emoji on the chat? GC. Our design team. Oh, wow. I think it's probably the most used one since last Thursday. Yeah, I mean, it's probably our best one. Shout out to my brothers and sisters suffering with that gout.

When I got in today, I said, I think today's show will probably go to like 401 and Jordan was like, ah, sick. He's already left. He's already left. So that is probably our sign to say goodbye. Like I said, Platinum Perry on tomorrow, Brendan Lochnan on tomorrow,

and the great, much talked about, Rosie Perez on tomorrow Brendan Locknane on tomorrow And the great much talked about Rosie Perez on tomorrow New York icon Words that start with the letter Do you know what I'm saying? I don't catch this Words that start with the letter Q

You know white man can't jump What's your second favorite Rosie Perez movie? Sometimes when you win, you really lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really win. And sometimes when you win or lose, you really tie. Second, Do the Right Thing, bro. Were you a big fan of In Living Color? Yeah, of course.

You really think I don't know about Do the Right Thing? That might be her all-time best. I think White Man Can't Jump was her all-time best, but Do the Right Thing is freaking legendary. Have know about Do the Right Thing? That might be her all-time best. I think White Man Can't Jump was her all-time best, but Do the Right Thing is freaking legendary. Have you seen Do the Right Thing? No. You were trying to catch me in a moment of not knowing any other Rosie Perez movies.

We can see. Me and Rick got caught in that when we were watching the broadcast. Do the Right Thing. We were like, legend, absolute legend. I was like, what else is she in other than White Man Can't Jump? And Rick was like, what else is she in other than White Man Can't Jump? And Rick was like, admittedly, I know her more

as her New Yorkness than I know her for her filmography. Do you guys, okay, first of all, did you see Do the Right Thing?

No. Did you see the White Man Can't Jump remake? No. There was a remake? Oh, I did not see the remake,

actually. I didn't see it either uh some some rapper guy was in it um not jack harlow jack harlow wow for real yeah jack harlow jack harlow is the white the white in the white man can't jump he's the woody harrelson who's the wesley snipes character oh now i have to finish this. You said the white. He's the white. The white guy. He's the white man. Who's the Wesley Snipes in this? That's a great question. Is it a Wesley Snipes? Are we doing 5.2

on IMDb? 26%. It got a 26%. I won't be watching. I will not be watching. Just started a Bourne trilogy last night for the first time ever. Wow. Is it good? Yeah, that's some good stuff. Never seen it. Big Matt Damon. Matt Damon is a beast. You've never seen the Bourne trilogy last night for the first time ever. Wow. Is it good? Yeah, that's some good stuff. Yeah. Never seen it.

Big Matt Damon. Matt Damon is a beast. You've never seen the Bourne trilogy? Never seen it, no. I always wanted to read it and then it shipped on sale. That was a clear layup to you to just be like, dude, you haven't seen the Bourne trilogy. Who, me? I've only seen the first one.

Did you guys know that movie that Rampage was talking about? Yeah, the A-Team? No. No, he was talking about? Yeah, the A-Team? No He was talking about Neo Oh, the Matrix? What the fuck? In fact, it was one of the greatest movies ever made We weren't having audio issues, I would have been embarrassed

Yeah, one of the greatest movies ever made The truth is, I was so focused on the On the audio issues That I didn't hear what he had said No, that hadn't happened yet No, I really I have never seen The Matrix so focused on the um on the audio issues that i didn't hear what he had said no i really no that hadn't happened yet no i i really i have never seen the matrix uh i encourage you to see it i think you would enjoy a great movie yeah i'm gonna go see it i gotta say i'm tired of this 445 getting dark stuff i've had enough of it yeah we only got we haven't even got to the shortest

day of the year yet oh when is that the winter stole solstice? Yeah, I think December 21st. Golly, it's awful. Once we get there, we're just climbing back. That's a positive spin on it all. Yeah. December 21st? Yeah. Lucic Fury 2.

Can't wait. What is with all the lights behind you? Is this city celebrating something? Is this just the sun? I hope that these lights... It looks like a very pink sunset. It looks great. I hope that these lights stay on tomorrow because when very pink sunset. It looks great. I hope that these lights stay on tomorrow

because when we did the Yaday show last week, they were off and it just was black. I don't think any lights are on right now. I think it's the sunset. Serious? Yeah. Every building just happening to be pink? Come on.

It's the sunset. No, no, no. But the lights in the building were off. Yeah, I don't see one. I'm going to go put something on the door now. Reflecting off the windows, those are not lit up. You don't think those rooms are lit up right now? Just go buy all the apartments.

Oh, we're screwed. I'm not going to stay there. Can someone call them and let them know? Yeah, we'll just go knock on the doors. Yeah. Do you mind turning your lights on for the Ariel Adé show? I mean, this would be fine. The Ariel Adé show?

I'm watching right now. It's actually getting darker and darker as we speak. This would be fine. It's crazy how time works. The sun is actively setting. Well, this time tomorrow, the show will be starting. So this would be... If they could just keep it like this.

Can we take a screenshot of this and put it in front of the window? And then it will be a fake window. No? It's a lot of steps. Yeah, it's a lot of lot of steps anyway great day uh thank you very much to all our guests thank you to chris weidman rampage jackson thank you to the financial show thank you to eddie alvarez as well thanks all of you thanks to them back on tuesday same time and place until i say peace i'm out