The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Daniel Cormier TV - Sean Strickland CALLS OUT Israel Adesanya ahead of UFC 293 fight

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

DC checks in with Sean Strickland ahead of a career-defining fight against Israel Adesanya, and Strickland does not hold back! Check out why Sean tells Daniel Cormier that he doesn't hate Israel Adesanya, and he's only "stating facts." Plus, Strickland reveals why fighting "saved his life." And don't miss Tarzan get into his life journey that got him to this point in his UFC career, and find out which fight he feels he was robbed of a crucial victory. #Volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The volume. All right, guys, I'm here with Sean Strickland.

Main event UFC 293 from Sydney, Australia. He takes on the champ Israel at Asana. Sean, thank you for checking in with my man. DC the legend. So this whole thing came fast. It was, drink is duplice, and I remember talking to one of the bosses, and he kind of softly hinted that it might be Sean Strickland. Yeah. And I said, well, let's look into Sean Strickland.

And when you look into Sean Strickland, outside of the Paeta fight, you do deserve a championship fight. Was this when you expected this to happen? I mean, it came fast, but, you know, I've never said no to the UFC when they call me. I say yes. You know, I thought I was next in line. I thought I got robbed with Cannoneer again, Canineer, a great guy, I thought I got robbed. It's kind of funny after the...

You thought you won the fight? Yes, I even had judge... I've even had... I've had some people in the UFC coming and be like, oh, man, you got robbed. It was kind of funny. One of those things were they're like, well, Sean, you show damage, I had a scratch in my nose. Oh my guys, I'm fucking white. Cold weather damages me.

Fucking, you get some wind and I get damage. You get some fucking cold air and I get chapped lips and I start fucking bleeding. A scratch on the nose doesn't lose a fight. Yeah. So you thought you should have won that fighting was the rifle number on content?

Yes, 100%. It doesn't happen, you know, but here's the thing about opportunity, guys. Never happens when you want it to happen. Would I have loved to have a full 12-week camp and brought in all the tall, lanky kickbox? It would love that shit. That's not how opportunity works.

It just shows the fuck up and you either answer or you don't. You answer. You always got to answer, you guys. And, hey, a lot of times you answer, you always fail. But unless you answer, you don't know. Well, you can never succeed

if you don't take the chance. Right. And that's what a lot of people, they don't realize, like a lot of successful people, whether it be they bought real estate, they invested. It's not that they have anything over you guys. They just say, yes, I'm down. I'm going to take the risk. I'm going to fucking do it. And what has been so beneficial me to the UFC when the UFC calls me and they say, hey, you want this risk? And I say yes. And sometimes it pays off. Sometimes it doesn't. With Alex, it didn't pay off. But you keep saying yes. You keep grinding and you slowly get what you want. Sean, you got on a shirt that says cancel me. Oh, yeah, no. It's, yeah, I'm finally starting to make money, you guys. I don't want to be broke my whole life. But to certain people, your breath of fresh air, right? Because we live in a different world today.

Everybody doesn't kind of just say and talk as they want. But is this really you or is this like a little bit of a, I get it now? It's more than just fighting because there are a lot of guys that are great at fighting. but they don't connect to people and whether people love you or they hate you they gotta feel something either way. So when I was getting booed going to the outclown, I was happy. When I was

getting cheered, I was happy because they felt something. Is this really Sean Strickland or is this a little bit of a Sean Strickland with the volume turned up to 100 to make sure that people are taking notice of you? You know it is you guys I can't take I can't take off the glasses. And what I mean

by that, like when I walk to the world and even when I get cameras thrown in my face, when I get people coming up to me, like Izzy is the embodiment of the superstar. Like the LeBron James, the NBA, the NFL, like, you have these people that are like artificially inflated by the world. And they wear the belt, they drive the car, they wear the jewelry. And like it means absolutely nothing.

It means absolutely nothing. Like the car you drive, what you wear, the clothes you have means absolutely fucking nothing. And I think people like me because I'm, when you see me in front of a camera fighting, when you see me do an interview, they're like, oh, man, you're, you are like me. You're not the LeBron James. You're not the Izzy.

You're just a normal guy fighting you guys. I know what it's like to be broke. I know it's like to have to ride a bike to work. I've experienced all these things. And no matter how many cameras are thrown in my face, no matter how many people beg me for an interview or how many people ask me for something, then day, man, I'm just a fucking guy and I'm just here by chance and hard work. And, again, that is what connects you with a lot of people.

Really, like you said, taking off the glasses to the world. It's hard, man. Like, trust me, every day. How do you operate in this world, right? Because there's a lot of people that go, this is ridiculous. I detached myself from it, you know? It's like, I mean, I did an interview with Mexico and, you know, and the Fox Sports Mexico and the guys ask me, and, you know,

Mexican people are some of the toughest, most hardworking people. And I cannot, I can't even not think about it. Like, you take his job just because he's working. working out of Fox Sports, Mexico, doing the same exact job out of Fox Sports U.S., he's probably getting paid a quarter of it just because he is in Mexico. And there's so much shit in the world, dude, where I can't unsee, I can't take off the glasses. So when I talk about it, people are like, oh, this guy gets it.

I'm like, bro, how do you not get it? Like, how do you not get it? I can't stop. I can't not see it. You know, you are different in the way that you approach to me than everything. and now you find yourself on the verge of fighting against one of the most dominant middleweight champions of all time.

One of the best. And you don't like him. And I wonder... No, I don't say, I don't necessarily say... Are you guys' interactions aren't pleasant? No, I don't have anything against Izzy. Everything I say about Izzy, you guys, I'm not like, I'm not making up.

I'm not, you know, these aren't fictitious things I'm making up. These are things that he's done and he said, and if Izzy, maybe you should look in the mirror and understand that, you know, being a isn't being a man. Okay,

okay, D.C. No, let's ask, you say you aren't going to edit this out, D.C.? No, no, no, I'll fucking do that right. You're African-American. We could assume, right? You never know. I'm black.

I'm black. You're black. Yeah. How much would it cost to do what he did? How much would it cost? What did he do? This is all public knowledge.

You guys go Google it. He was fighting for a Chinese kickboxer, and he had his shirt off, and he said, you look at the color of my skin and blah, blah, and he held up a flag and he says but I am Chinese and that

there's this fact you can look it up and then later on somebody confronted him and said hey Izzy what about you said this and Izzy was like because they're fucking paying me so I'm asking you DC how much money would I think that I think Izzy was probably saying he sees himself

in everybody regardless of the race but that's like that's probably what he sees in himself no Izzy was being a but I'm saying I'm asking you I'm asking you DC I'm asking you DC I'm asking you You go wrestle in China right now. You go wrestle in China right now. I hand you a Chinese flag.

I say, D.C., here's what I want you to do. I want you to say, you look at... You can't really ask me that. I'm like America. I'm a U.S. guy. But what would you say? But how much money? But how much money?

But I don't think... Because D.C., you're a man, that's why. Because you're a fucking man and someone's going to hold a dollar in front of you and you're not going to just strip out down who you are. You're not going to put an apeal show. I'm like, you have dignity. You have been one of the staples of the sport. And so whenever people say, hey, I don't hate Izzy.

I have nothing wrong with Izzy. I just point out who Izzy is and I point out why people don't like Izzy. Do you think that this all started with that press conference? Izzy said that he walked up behind you slapped you on the ass and you said something to the effect of, don't do me like Polo Costa. Do you guys go out in front and it's just immediately arguing?

It's just like cringy. It's just cringy, you know? And like, for instance, when Izzy called out Dreykis, like what did you think about that? When he goes and tried to, he tried to race bait Dreykis to say something to, What do you think about that? I mean, it was a bit uncomfortable.

It was it been uncomfortable. And another thing about Izzy, you guys, Izzy. But did he talking right now? I'm sure about Izzy? It doesn't sound like you don't like Izzy. But one more thing. I'm sure I'm sure Izzy's a nice enough guy. But let's say another thing about Izzy.

World Stage. World stage, UFC event. World Stage. He wears a shirt that says what? He is not your bank. World stage, man. World stage. You're about to, you're about to announce a next big

fight and you take that opportunity to shit on your ex-girlfriend. Oh, I didn't, I mean, I thought that would, do you, I mean, maybe, do you remember when Dana said that they don't put how much we actually make because our families all start reaching? Well, no, that's what that way. That was his ex-girlful. Again, I don't, I don't talk about spouses and nobody should. Yeah, no, we shouldn't.

This is just public knowledge. This is the shirt you wore, you chose. I thought that was for his family. You could have said anything, bro. You could have talked about Ukraine. You could talk about hungry Africans. You could have said anything. You could, you open your mouth.

the world listens, and you wear a shirt that says not his bank, you get drunk, and then imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years. for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You go try to race bait Dreykis. You guys have that interaction on stage.

Do you think that helps still? That helps to get you in this position where we can always go back and the company can always go back and run those clips. You guys arguing back and forth. There's bad blood. Again.

It could sell like this is the fight because these guys have a history. You know, guys. This is U of C, W, W, it's all related. The more you talk, Connor McGregor, the more you talk, the more you make, man. I have, the fans want me to be Izzy because Izzy is not likable. I mean, everything Izzy does is fucking cringe from everything he does. So I know why the company wants it.

I know why the fans want it, but all I could say, guys, if I win that belt, we're going to bring Digny back into the middleweight division. How do you do that? How do you beat a guy in that Asana who shows he's so. skilled and well-rounded, especially with you're not a guy that's going to be trying to wrestle them, right? You're a striker. No, let's not say that. I might wrestle you guys. I might wrestle. I wrestle like three days a week. Maybe I could

actually use it once. Really? Oh, yeah, I'm actually pretty good at wrestling and I just don't ever do it. You, you're a good striker and your volume and your boxing is what allows for you to as, as the fight goes on, you start to separate yourself. How do you do that with a guy like Anasania who's such a great counter striker? You know, if I had to say anything, it's Bisbinger

versus Anderson Silva. It's like, you just got to give a little bit to the gods. Like you got to just accept that, like, your path to victory is going to be hard, it's going to be bloody, it's going to be brutal. I mean, at the end of the day, when you're fighting someone of that skill, and not have that skill of that length. Yeah. There's a lot of weapons you've got to get through to get to him.

So, no, it's going to be a rough fight, but it's, you know, it has the makings to be one of the best fights. You know, a lot of times in these situations when Izzy fights a guy that on the surface isn't as threatening, they become a little bit slower fights cannonear fight Ramero fight those fights get a little slower because it seems as though there's a lot of risk with not as much reward

how do you pull him out of that because those guys they get in there with is and they start to take pictures right they start to watch him and they don't fight him and then it ends up being a slow and that's one thing with Alex Pereira you know Alex again you want to talk about a guy stand-up guy

great husband great father you know I was like stand up stand-up stand-up guy but you know I overthought that one I had like oh if you beat him you have a guaranteed title shot so I kind of like I kind of froze I didn't fight so you know if I learned anything from that fight just go in there and fight just going there and fight you know going there what do you mean like everything I thought I overthought everything whether it be a straight cross whether it be his hook everything I was just overthinking everything as opposed just going there and fighting so if I learned anything from that fight just

you know, turn off the brain and just go in there and try to fight. Just fucking fight hard. I've heard some stories out of your training camp that not many people have seen a man work as hard in preparation. I hear stories that you sparring in pads 20 rounds

in a row. How are you carrying that type of workload as you head into this? Like, it seems as though you're very aware of the challenge that's ahead of you. Yeah. No, I mean, I'm going to go train. I'm going to go do hard five rounds of wrestling after this interview. I just, a big reason to you guys, I love it.

I love fighting. It's like, I pretty much fight to train. Like, I love when I have a fight, I have an excuse to spar hard. I have an excuse to spar the best guys. A big reason why I train so hard is because it makes me happy. It has nothing really to do with a fight. This fighting is not about being an athlete from some other sport that chose this. Did you play any other sports before?

No, no, man. fighting was I was a kid I played football Junior American but obviously I got I think I went to like four three four years of actual school

and I couldn't keep a 2.0 got kicked out of school It was hard It was hard man And then I remember I was about You know 14 years old Just kind of miserable, angry I walked in the gym the first time

And then it was the first time my life I've ever felt happiness And this is what I try to tell people And even talking about it Like it kind of tears me up because it brings me back to like that first day of like happiness. And you know what I try to tell people like, man, the world's fucking rough. The world's fucking rough.

It's hard to be a man. You have no pillars of masculinity. You're designed to be insecure. And a lot of people, man, walk into a gym. Walk into a gym, go spa, go grapple. It's like it's a brother's ship. It's a home. You meet people from all different races, religions,

nationalities, and truly it's the last safe haven for mental health and masculinity, which is insane because we try to kill each other. You said that, I read something somewhere where you said that if you weren't doing this, you'd be doing some bad stuff in the trail. Like, this stuff, it saved your life. Yeah, so, I mean, you know, when I was younger, I got kicked out of school for hate crimes. Whenever you come from an extremely violent childhood, you start grasping on, like, sense of masculinity.

and strengths and like, you know, I had, I had racist influences in my life. So the only really masculinity and strength was these pretty much pieces of shit that I grasp onto. They work out. They're strong. They get respect. It's just like this brutal cycle. It's this brutal cycle. And it's not just whites and not, it's everybody. It's fucking everybody. And I mean, it's a damn shame, bro. And, you know, I don't know how to fix it. For me, I started training and I was exposed. I was exposed the world and there's actually kind of dawned on me you know my entire life my entire life everybody who's kind of put me down who kicked me out they're all white everybody everybody who's really held at Lorenz Larkin you know he's actually you see that every guy everybody

who's actually held out their hand and said hey Sean even me after saying all this crazy shit when I was a kid everybody who held out their hand who tried to help me either black or Mexican and I'm not saying I'm not saying I'm not putting down white people but I'm saying like at some point you take a step back and you look and you're like man like the world is the world is not what you the world is not what you think it is

yeah a lot of times they say the people that hurt you to most of the ones that are closest to you yeah yeah and uh and you know that's one of the things about fighting which I wish more people would like especially like inner city communities man like fighting boxing like it literally is like a safe haven

and I wish that fuck I wish it would grow more I wish you grow more like boxing, MMA. I mean, it saved my life. You guys, like, you guys, for the average people, you guys don't know what it's like to be angry. You don't, like, if we're talking about inner city kids, like, you don't know what it's like, you don't know what it's like to be so angry that you just walk down the world saying, like, if I could hurt somebody, I feel good. And it doesn't matter white, black, Mexican, people who grow up like me with shitty fathers, abusive households, we, we have

this anger in us and we have to put it towards something, whether it be a, gang selling drugs, racism. We've got to put this anger towards something. And that's like, you know, MMA, man. It truly is amazing. And I wish we did more of it. Sean, you are a story of someone that's not supposed to be. Yeah.

But on Saturday night, you have the opportunity to become the champion in the world. If you win that belt, what does that mean to you? And to all the people that do support you and follow you and have seen you through this journey, right, from being a guy at wealth weight that was okay. To a guy that's now fighting for the middleweight championship of the world, from a guy that got hit by a car riding his motorcycle. Like, what does that mean to you and those fans if you get that job done on Saturday? You know, you guys, and I'll tell you, buddy, I'm pretty stoic.

I don't really get excited of things, but it would mean something to me to bring the belt to represent my fans, to represent you guys of all, you know, black, white, Mexican. I was in New York, and it's kind of funny, I was in New York, and the only people who recognized me were the Nigerians in Central Park. They all wanted pictures. So, like, I represent a broad spectrum of people. that they don't get representation from guys like Izzy. They don't get reputation on the guys like that.

So, you know, it would mean so much to win a belt, to amplify my voice, amplify my voice to make better men, make masculinity great again. It would mean so much to me to be able to represent you guys and have a louder platform for you guys. Sean Strickland takes on Israel to sign you this Saturday. UFC 293 from Sydney, Australia. Sean, thank you for checking in for me.

True legend, bro. If I could wrestle half as good as you, it's going to be an easy fight. Guys, make sure you hit the purchase button. Watch this man try to chase history. Until next time, like, subscribe. Peace. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with a game. athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.