The Joe Rogan Experience - JRE MMA Show #168 with Khalil Rountree Jr.

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Joe sits down with Khalil Rountree Jr., a professional mixed martial artist competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC.www.ufc.com/athlete/khalil-rountree-jr This video is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/JRE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Joe Rogan Experience. Trained by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. Check it, check it, check it, check it. What's up? What's up? How you feeling? What's going on? Oh man, back from an amazing Thailand vacation. Oh really? After that, after the fight.

It just feels like I've been on like just a great vacation journey. Baku was amazing, let me start off there. Please. Let me start off with Baku, Azerbaijan. Oh my God, what a place. I heard it's amazing there. Absolutely incredible.

Everybody who went there was raving about how great it was. Absolutely incredible. When we got the news like, okay, the flight's gonna be postponed, it's gonna go into Baku. I had never heard of the place in my life. I agreed without even looking it up, but in my mind I was thinking like,

okay, this is a place I've never heard of. I started thinking like, I don't know, it's probably gonna be something similar to Saudi, and it's probably just like a lot of desert blah blah and I get there and my mind was absolutely blown amazing treatment from Baku city circuit welcome to saying the fans were some of the best I've ever Encountered man. They were so happy to have the UFC there Everyone in the streets like people who weren't even fight fans were just excited that the UFC was in Baku So like that added to the experience and then It's just beautiful man. It's like

So where we were yeah, so that's old town, so I did a tour through there For his old town it I forgot so I forgot but I know that four thousand people still live in old town There's boutique hotels in there There's just so much history That's like when it was built Kind of what they're known for I don't remember what that building is But the architecture there is one of the things that that's the the flame towers So at night there's just projections and like it'll be like the flag or it'll just it'll actually be like flames

Because Baku is be like flames because Baku is known for oil, like being one of the first oil countries. This is the carpet museum, an amazing place full of carpets that are like century years old. I mean they built it to look like a carpet, how fucking wild is that? It's crazy and all these carpets are handmade, like passed down generation after generation,

so like they tell you how deep the culture and the stories of these carpets and how, oh my God, and clean, clean, friendly people. That's a- I know, a bunch of people that went there and decided to stay for a few days. I would've, honestly, I wish that I would've stayed longer. I've already booked family trips, I've told everybody we're going back to Baku. Wow. Man. Cool. Just thinking about it. I'm like, dude, this is a place

that I want to I want to visit for the rest of my life. I want to just keep going back to Baku, man. That's dope. Yeah. So and obviously you had an amazing result there, too. Yeah, I think I think that the you know, I think that it really played into just my performance. I was just in a really good place Let me okay, I was in a good place, but I was also in kind of a fucked-up state like not gonna lie I Was just so happy to be Across the world doing what I love to do and to be treated like we're actually appreciated for what we do.

And so that helped me get through all the other shit that I was doing. What was the other shit? What was going on? Oh man, so I knew that we were gonna be jet lagged, no matter what. I knew it, because we're traveling super far. It's like a 16 hour flight, right?

Yeah, super long flight. So I knew we because we're traveling, you know super far 16-hour flight, right? Yeah super long flight So I knew we were gonna be jet like so I made sure that we got there two weeks early to adjust It took about Six almost about a week to like fully adjust and then so during fight week it's a second day first day of fight week, I'm like throwing up and shit and Non-stop oh no Okay, this is great. It is exactly what I want to be feeling right now. You know pressures on I got a fight

You know like I'm super motivated Yeah, and I'm just like I don't know what I'm gonna do man like what was it I don't even know food poisoning. I don't know what I'm gonna do man like what was it? I don't even know food poisoning I don't think so because everybody everybody that I was with we all ate the same thing You were the only one who got the only one man. It was the only one and so and you don't cut a ton of weight No, so I think what do this? What do you walk around at? Right now, I'm in vacation modem, you know, to 28, 230, something around there.

That's still compared to guys. I don't get over 230. Like Pereira. Yeah. You know, he cuts a ton. Yeah. I just do not let myself get over 230. That's just like my, that's my oath to myself.

And then in camp, what do you get down to? 20, I'd say between 20 and 25 is where I like to balance. 220, 225, and anytime in there I'm good because I know that that's where I'm gonna fight at. So when I'm in camp, it's, you know. And then when do you start your cut? So the way that it happens is, the last kind of two weeks, I don't necessarily do too much of

like a diet change. It's just my like, I'm always looking to peak on fight day, not like a peak plateau format that a lot of people go by. So I'd say usually, let's say we weigh in on Friday, that Tuesday, I'm around two 14. Two 13, something like that. And then, you know, those last days is kind of like water load, proteins and fats only. I sit in the sauna no matter what, like an hour, maybe. Like my weight cut this time took I Hit mitts for an hour and a half I laid down in a sauna blanket and I was on weight like I so it was like under two hours for me to be on

So you're not depleted not at all feel good How long did it take for that cold to get out of your system or whatever it was? Uh, I? Still felt it. I Still felt it a bit on flight day, but there was nothing that was going to like my mind For like through this camp through this fight man, like i'm so happy for everything that I went through honestly, like there was nothing that was going to take away like my shine or my joy or my Feeling of like being ready, being prepared. It was a battle with my mind and every day I had to make a choice to like

to just be better, to be bigger, to be happy, to just you know to just like embrace everything. This was all like everything's just been about embracing the obstacles that... This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Summer is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do I mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered a day in the sun. No, a bottle of rum.

Yes, Uber Eats can definitely get you that for almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. So the last time we talked was before the Pereira fight. Yeah. And it was a great fight. Thank you. You had some great success. It was a tough fight. And then what is it like after that fight?

So you faced the best in the world and you know that you can hang with them. You lost the fight, but you didn't gain a ton of experience. You went five rounds with one of the greatest. And what is it like after that? I'd say Everything seems very different now I Have been since the Pereira flight I've been to I'd say more than six countries and Every I've their fans there everyone say more than six countries and

every other fans there everyone like knows who I am now and That is something that was a shock to me Especially coming off a loss and just knowing that like I gave my all in that fight, and that's, I guess what the people wanted from me to get that type of like acknowledgement because I've been in the UFC for so long. But that fight, I guess really showed people like who I am, and I got to show the world who I am. And against a guy like Alex. So now I feel like I've at least kind of made my mark

and been like, hey, I'm here, you know? And so people are now like, okay, Khalil, I know this guy, as you can say the name. And now people kind of, you know, they're familiar with who I am now. But the other thing that it showed me was that But the other thing that it showed me was that I know, I now know who I am and what I'm capable of. I spent majority of that fight just soaking in the moment and just like, oh, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. I was excited to be there. I gave everything I had. But then going back and watching it, I'm like, oh, I saw here, I'm here, I'm here. I was excited to be there. I gave everything I had, but then going back

and watching it, I'm like, ah, I saw a lot of the mistakes that I made. What mistakes specifically? The number one mistake that I think was made in that fight is that it was my first five rounder. And when I was going into the fourth, because I took a lot of damage in the middle to end of the third, so I was up into the fourth, because I took a lot of damage in the middle to end of the third.

So I was up one and two. The beginning of three, I was starting to kind of, he started to kind of take over halfway through the round. And once he started hitting me, I was like, oh shit, he's established his range, and now I'm feeling it. So it wasn't necessarily like a cardio thing, it was just like like I started taking damage and everybody knows this guy hits hard.

So I was taking the damage, I was rocked, I was dizzy, going into the fourth in the break, I remember John Wood saying, all right man, you're doing great, 10 more minutes. You can do anything 10 minutes, just stick in there. We got this and Because I wasn't familiar with the five rounds. I took ten minutes as sellout so in the fourth round I came out like Ready to you know, I wasn't thinking with the mindset of like I'm up to he just took the third fourth round I need to maybe

Relax, you know, maybe not so if not get hit, you know, whatever fourth round I came out I bit down and I went to war I Think that's what lost me the fight for me personally So you made a lot of adjustments in the Jamal Hill fight one thousand percent? Yeah, you could see it. You could see, first of all, what a performance. Thank you. I mean, he dominated a world champion. I mean, dominated him.

It was such a clear cut victory. And it was a victory where a lot of people thought that you were gonna struggle with him. And you just really, you really showed a level above the Pereira fight. And I think maybe part of it is what you're talking about, like choosing when to engage and when not to engage. Like there's moments in that fight

where you were dominating the fight, but there's moments where he was coming after you, you just moved, you just moved, you moved away from him. And I know it pissed him off, but it's like, hey man, you know, you're way ahead. You're way ahead and you were dominating the exchanges. Then when you chose to like hey man, you know you were way ahead your way ahead And you were done you were dominating the exchanges then when you chose to exchange with him you were hurting him Yeah, and dropping him. It was very impressive man. Thank you, and that was

that was the product of you know really reviewing Mistakes and you also do some wild shit like standing hammer fists that's how you practice we're artists you know I think that that's one thing that you know I try my best to always embody the artist in mixed martial arts I think it gets lost in the growth of the sport of MMA you know but you know from this the past conversations we have

and you understanding kind of how I was before, like, man, I need some type of outlet for creativity. You know, and I... That's what it is, standing here. I mean, my mind, you know, just my essence is art. So I'm like, how can I, you know, paint this picture of like expression of combat? You know what I mean?

There's so many different, we got Salat, we got Krav Maga, we got all these things, and it's like, let me paint, what can I use to... That's a bold thing to do, to use something very creative like that on a world champion, too. Jamal Hill's a dangerous guy. Yeah, he's dangerous man Standing hammer fist. Yeah, I'm dangerous too. You know like I tried it. Yeah, I try to like I always try to

Insert myself into you know into these things too cuz I think about it Yeah, Alex can hard-hitter dangerous guy, and I have to, like, yeah, someone might, let's do it. You know? Alex, or Jamal, same thing. Like, I know he's got one-punch power, you know, all these things, I'm like, let me insert myself. Let me take some chances. Let me be bold, you know? I think that's the fun part.

I think there's an advantage that you have also as a lighter guy in that division is that you move quicker. And that was kind of evident in that fight. You're like, you know, there's a range of light heavyweights and you're on the smaller range like there's a lot of guys like drickus. He's bigger than you Yeah, who's the middleweight champion? Yeah, he's fucking huge man. It's the opposite thing right? He's cutting a ton of weight I don't know what he cuts but every time I interview him. I'm like how yeah, how the fuck are you? 185 pounds you're enormous. He looks like a heavyweight.

And he is a heavyweight when he fights. I mean, he's over 205 for sure. Yeah, these guys, they blow up. Blow up. And you don't. And I think because of that, you have speed. And not just speed of the strikes, but the way you move in and out.

It's like when you close the distance on Jamal, you could see it was like, there were some moments where I think he was surprised by the speed in which you were able to close the distance. Yeah, I think so as well. There were some reactions in there that I was picking up on. I could see a bit of frustration.

I feel like I was able to read a lot of the things before they you know before they would come and Yeah, I I mean I heard everything that his coaches were saying and in my mind I was just seeing him struggle with like not being able to react the way he wanted and maybe that was because You know there was there was the speed that they weren't necessarily dealing with. The speed and also the leg kicks. You fucked him up early with leg kicks. And it really had a significant effect. When you see him switching stances

and he doesn't like to stand orthodox, you saw a lot of changes. Yeah. I can say that there were some improvements made. I think that he probably spent some more time working on his footwork. He was a lot less flat-footed than he usually is. I could tell that a lot of the times his toes were pointed at me,

and that wasn't what I studied. You know what I mean? So he'd made some changes. He'd made some changes. He landed some very good leg kicks, specifically in the first round. Yeah, thank you. I always do my best to try to channel my Muay Thai.

Yeah, you're like one of the few, I remember we talked about that, about the Eric Anders fight. When you came back from Thailand the first time, you were fighting like a Thai. Me and DC were having a blast with it. We're like, look at this. Like light on the front foot, It was like totally different approach. But he landed some very good leg kicks in the first round too. It was a good exchange, but yours were doing a lot more damage.

Yeah. He started off with the leg kicks. Like I think he threw maybe three or four calf kicks before I actually started answering back. Yeah, so he started it and I was just like, okay cool, if this is the game we're playing, I love this game, I love this game. Yeah, it was a great fight, man. Why did you start the beginning of the fight with your hands down, just walking towards him? Because that's how I felt, Joe.

I feel like in that fight, so there was not necessarily like beef between Jamal and I. Like, we never really exchanged, you know, there wasn't any like heated discussions or anything. But we all have phones, we all have social media, we all, you know, I get Google alerts and stuff anytime I mentioned and so like I've seen things that were said and I'm just like okay Whatever, I don't agree with it, and I don't you know whatever if this guy looks at me is However, that's just his opinion. What was he saying like what was it?

it was just like I think it were like things again about like the Alex fight or just saying that like It was just like I think it were like things again about like the Alex fight or just saying that like He's gonna outskill me or you know, I don't belong in the division Just you know things like that like don't take my exact word for it But that's kind of how like that's the stuff that I kind of saw so for me There was no real reason to Show any like respect, you know if we're in the same building if we're in the same room I just like whatever I wanted to just kind of block him out.

And then, during the weigh-ins, so I had a press conference and they were saying like, hey in the Alex fight, you know, there was a lot of blood, you got cut up, da da da but uh can we expect the same thing from you in this fight and I said no there's not gonna be any blood on my face how you're interviewing me now is how you're going to interview it me after the fight I'm gonna look the same he didn't like that I didn't say his name but he didn't like that and so at the weigh-ins he come like and mind you we had three days

before the weigh-ins and we seen each other in the hotel room and blah blah blah or in the hotel you know there were many more opportunities for him to say what he said but he chose to do it at the weigh-ins in front of Dana White and I thought that was like come on. What did he say? He said oh you're gonna bleed You're gonna bleed you better believe that you're gonna bleed like in my face like oh, I'm gonna make you bleed and I was like, okay like Sure, you know like that was just really like internally like I'm okay sure yeah, whatever and Why did you think that you wouldn't get cut like what made you think I knew how I've been training and what I'm prepared for and I know

the type of athlete and fighter and man that I am and I just knew that it wasn't gonna happen I was just that confident in my abilities and the work that I put in that I just knew it wasn't gonna happen it's pretty wild also considering you're coming off of a loss so you had more confidence coming off of a loss. One hundred percent. Because the loss just showed me that there's more work to do. You know, like people always say back to the drawing boards and like it was more than the drawing boards for me.

It was like back to the dirt, back to the Vegas weather, back to the dying on the assault bike, back to challenging myself, back to going deeper on the assault bike back to challenging myself back to Going deeper who am I really what am I really capable of then you know like that? Well, that was it was just like deep deep internal digging to get out and to discover What I'm made of and so in that comes confidence and that comes like I'm I know what I'm capable of And I know what I can do and so

That's how I felt you know wow so That's why I walked out like that because I was just like because it's kind of wild. I was doing what is he doing? But I was also prepared You know like I didn't want to rush anything like nothing needed to be rushed like the cage is closed And we got 25 minutes. I'm gonna run out you know No, like I walk here. I know that you're not gonna do anything I wasn't threatened like that that statement in my face didn't like I was just like

like Like another guy wants to like get in my face like yeah And I did the job that needed to be done This is a very measured performance and some people didn't like that some people you know at the casuals I think there's casuals that they wanted to see blood. They just want to see chaos They don't care about your health They don't care about me at the age of 50 with you know what I mean when this is all over and I want my knees And my hands and my fingers and everything to work Yeah

And I want to be able to speak sentences and go through the airport on both my feet and not in a wheelchair They don't care about that. No, and that's okay Yeah, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay. I mean, you know, like the only time it bothers me when referees react, like when referees separate people because of booing, like, don't do that. Yeah. Yeah. You can't get the referees can't be influenced by the crowd. Don't don't give into the casuals. You can't man. Um, because I thought it was a very smart performance. Like if you're going to fight a guy like Jamal

Who's an awesome counter striker one punch knockout power? Got a series of bodies behind him like yeah, he's knocked out a lot of dudes Yeah, he knows how to do it you got to find him smart for sure and that's what you did and I wasn't yeah I just like to be clear. I know the things that I said can come off as like Overly confident whatever I wasn't sleeping on Jamal You know like I knew what he was capable of and I trained hard for him I really did every day was was dedication every day was you know strategy and planning When did you feel like everything was coming together in the fight?

Before the fight really yeah the the the win for me happened before the fight. Really? Yeah, the win for me happened before the fight. Like I said, I think with camp, the training, you know, my head training, like with John, with Lorenzo, Christian, he's just the guys who are in my circle, and the work that we do, I just really helped me with you know a lot a lot of confidence and a clear vision and path to victory And I just stuck to it, so I just had a feeling that if I if I stick to the plan I win this fight And he did

Yeah, it was it was very measured very smart in and I liked it. I really enjoyed it Thank you. I enjoyed it because I like when people fight smart I really do when people maximize the amount of damage that they put out minimize amount of damage they receive in return That's what you did. Yeah, and so yeah now we got the next one Yuri pro Huska. Yeah, you see that news I did just saw yesterday. Yeah So this is now I'm excited about this fight. Yeah, I really am Another guy who's you know what I mean like former champion very skilled very dangerous Another guy's got a lot better since the prayer fight. He's gotten a lot better since the prayer fight. He's dynamic

He's you know he's strategic He's awkward as fuck. Yeah. He can be awkward so we're He's the weirdest and it's in Vegas, so yeah, this is great. It's gonna be the first time since The go-kansaki fight that I've been able to fight in front of a crowd. Oh is that really my hometown? No, that was the last fight I had that's crazy at-Mobile Arena in front of the Las Vegas crowd. I had not realized that. Yeah. Oh wow. So that's huge. Don't have to fly. Don't have to travel. Don't have to fly. Don't have to travel. And then Las Vegas can come out and support a local. So that's cool because with the growth of Las Vegas, we're getting sports, you know,

got the Raiders, getting a baseball team, you know, women's basketball. It's the local scene in Vegas right now. I'm proud of it, you know, to come from there and to see that now we have something besides just gambling and you know, all the debauchery. Yeah, so it's going to be nice and I'm very happy to represent that night So how do you train for a guy like Yuri? Like what what do you do? I mean, are you gonna watch a lot of tape on him? Like how do you prepare for a guy like that? That's very unusual Without giving away too much. I think that it just requires, you know study like

passing any test, you know what I study, like passing any test. You know what I mean? Like it requires dedication and focus and doing the right study, making the right adjustments and training. The rest I think is art. Like how we go about solving the problem is for everybody to enjoy. But I think that, yeah, it comes from study and good training partners as well. I think that

that's a huge thing in anybody's training camp. Do you have anybody that could emulate that style? Or will you even try? You know what? I to emulate someone's style, I think is it's helpful. It is it is helpful. But it's very hard because you can never really truly, you know, be someone so someone can give you certain looks that maybe you'll see. So I don't I don't rely too heavily on you know on people emulating but I do appreciate you know bodies and people that are around the same size just so I can you know get used to that body contact of maybe someone who's

a bit taller and yeah not training with guys who are maybe shorter You know like if I had a short guy who can emulate my opponent You know it doesn't help so if I have if I have a taller guy who maybe can't emulate and I can do What I want to do against a taller body then the rest is up to like my awareness and like Making sure that you know a guy who maybe has this weird style Okay, I'm I'm aware of that But I know what I can do against someone of the same size Yuri's just he's so unusual in that a lot of times His hands are down really low his stance is very wide and he moves back and forth like a cobra

Like he hinges at the waist more than probably anybody. He does a lot of unusual stuff that you could see guys like try to adjust to that when they're inside the cage with them, it's like, you know, this weird moment we have to think and consider these new possibilities. Yeah, I think that, know like I said I just I've just returned from you know a reset and

Yeah, now as soon as I leave here. I'm you know I'm locked back into Samurai mode you know what you do in Thailand we just train were you just vacation or do you do it raining? It was incredible Joe so My wife and I got invited to Thailand from the Thailand Tourism Authority So they invited us to come they hosted us in Bangkok Amazing hotel do sit tiny hotel you have to go If you ever go to Bangkok, Dusit Thani. So they hosted us, they took us to like a small, the smallest province in Thailand called Samut Sunkram.

And in that province, they are known for having the best coconuts in all of Thailand. So all like coconut water, coconut sugar, all that stuff, most likely comes from Samut Sangkhram, salt farm, a bee farm. What's a salt farm? Salt farm. So they, they made these channels that come from the nearest like body of water and they get the salt, they extract the salt from the sea and then they create a bunch of different things from it, you know, bath salts. Oh, so they do it with some kind of machinery?

No, it's like, yeah, there's a little bit. Yeah, it looks like this. Yeah, exactly. Oh, so they do it by hand. Yeah, they do it by hand. These people, they're out there. Yeah, just this is their daily life. And so we got to hang out with these people that are that like live in this Problems, that's how they do it. Yeah, man. I would have never known

So how are they getting salt out of the water like that? Like what do you do to I honestly like I? Was so excited to be there that I probably missed out on a lot of the details But that's how it looked like there were these windmills and I know they're like yeah, the water evaporates and Then there's like salt left at the bottom and then Yeah, they rake it into a pile and then it goes through other processes, but It's really cool to just experience, like they're very passionate about.

And there's different salts from everywhere. Like that up there on the right is salt. I don't know where it came from. That stuff that looks like dark cereal? Yeah, it's salt. Does it look like cereal? No, but yeah, corn flakes, toasted corn flakes. That's salt. But yeah, and so they had different like salts that came from everywhere, and you can see

How it forms to based off of like the you know the whatever ecosystem Yeah, so so cool, so that's Samut Sakan we were in Samut Sankram and It really cool man,. So we went there. They took a bunch of, I guess, influencers from around the world and flew them into Thailand to welcome us and show us just different sites. It's not always about the beaches in Phuket and all this stuff.

Like they took us and then spread us out So that's where we got to go and then we went back to Bangkok and had this crazy cool gala Boca was there, you know, yeah, like all these you know movie stars and and the people from just like the Thai government and stuff just Showing people pretty much like the heart of Thailand. So it was very welcoming it was a really cool way to kind of come back and and Feel home again And then I ended up staying an extra week or two

Same thing Thailand tourism, you know, look made sure that we Just continue that experience. So we stayed at some other hotels, did like the boat ride cruise down the river, you know, just had dinner, just really got to live it up and experience, you know. So it was all basically vacationing, not training? No training, because it was fresh out of the fight. So I flew, I was in Baku two weeks.

I flew from Baku to Vegas, stayed in Vegas eight hours and then flew from Vegas to Thailand. So I like went around the world in like 24 hours. So I was fresh out the fight. So there was no train. Would it be closer to go from Baku to Thailand? Yeah, but the trips were booked separately. So like in order for that ticket to you know to actually work I had to be in Vegas to fly out But I did it I thought did out and Yeah, it was it was the best way to recover like this was a good recovery recovery for me because I started the camp

For Jamal in February is when I heard about it, but then it got postponed due to like one of his injuries and Yeah, wow yeah, and now I'm back and but then it got postponed due to like one of his injuries. And yeah. Wow. Yeah, and now I'm back. And when you get a big victory like that over a guy like Jamal, what does that feel like in your head when you know the work paid off? To just keep going.

And to just keep digging. You know, like It's nice, because before, when I went on that fly-fly win streak, I was coming back from Thailand, and now I'm fully in this. I'm 100% in, and with that, that means I'm committed to diggingging this tunnel and so like a win Over Jamal like that tunnel isn't open yet like I gotta get the belt first

You know like but I'm digging and I saw like oh, maybe I got this like cool Gemstone like okay cool put that in my bag, but like now. I'm you know I'm committed. I'm still I'm still in the mine. You know and I was on the prize eyes on the prize man Yeah, yeah, and the prize is it's very interesting now right because Pereira lost on Goliath And they're gonna rematch on that same card same card. Yeah, which is gonna be wild yeah That's the main event and then coming is marab and Corey Sandhagen. Which is another awesome fight. Yeah So it's gonna be one of those cards. Yeah.

I mean, right now. It's going to be a busy night for John Wood. He's got me amarab'd the same night. Just those three fights. That's an insane card. Obviously, if it stays together, MMA is rough with that. People get injured. But if that card stays together the way

it's pieced up right now, just with those three, I mean, whew. What a card. This is an advertisement from BetterHelp. Stress in the workplace is becoming an issue around the world. Did you know that 60% of the global workforce has reported experiencing higher than normal levels of stress?

So it's more important than ever that we learn to take some time for ourselves. Plan a nice long holiday this summer, go hiking, read a book, play video games. I found that even a few minutes of meditation can help. Another great option is therapy. Everyone can benefit from it and it's arguably one of the better long-term solutions to stress. Therapy can teach you how to positively cope and manage anxiety while improving your self-confidence and self-awareness, it can be very empowering. And thanks to BetterHelp, therapy is becoming more

and more convenient. All it takes is a few clicks to join a session. You can also join from anywhere, whether you're at the beach, on your vacation, or at home after a grueling day of work. Plus, as the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com slash JRE. That's better, H-E-L-P, dot com slash JRE. From what I've seen so far and like just the text that I've gotten, yeah, a lot of people are really excited about it, which

Hypes me up and makes me want to you know train smarter Well, you know Yuri who also beat Jamal in one of his last fights looked fantastic in that fight and coming off of the prayer Fight he also made some big changes and big improvements. That's one of the things that makes your fight with him so much more interesting. Yeah, because I'm sure from his last, even a loss to Pereira, I knew him coming back, he mentioned it. He wants to fight for the title again,

you know what I mean? So he's hungry for the title again as well, and so am I. And yeah, we've both made the adjustments, so I think it's... The thing is though, it's like he lost twice, you lost once, so it's like, it's a little tougher to sell his fight than it is to sell a rematch with you.

And I think you probably had more success, certainly than him in the second fight. The second right fight, he got kind of tuned up. Yeah, I think second round. Yeah, second round was the head kick. Well, the first round, he got dropped hard. Dropped hard and then came out second round head kicked. Yeah.

He was out of it going to the second. And that left hook landed clean at the end of the fight. It could have been the end of the fight right there. Yeah. No, no those those Prayer has got a different power man for sure like it's it feels like a stone does it feels Remarkably different remarkably really yeah getting punched I've never been punched as hard as I did when I fought Pereira, like ever, inspiring.

There was just something, it's kind of crazy, because I give credit where credit's due, I don't want to gas him up too much, but there is just one thing, and it's like, I don't know, I think that it's real. It's obviously real. Yeah, it's the power the power of the strength is real. It's not it's not anything lucky. It's calculated

But when it lands it's like yeah Now he was a guy I talked up big time when he was in glory when he when I found out he was coming Over the UFC I was like buckle up because this is just different. He just hits different and You know his frames different too. It's a very he's yeah moves different I remember when like during the weigh-ins When we faced off and Like he just bent his arms up like this and I was like fuck. This is a big man We weigh the same but like you know like that could look I was like that

Okay This is a big guy like cuz he just bent his arms and like his his hand was kind of like right near my face So I could see just like, you know, the mass the mass so it's like boom and it was I was like, okay How the fuck did that guy weigh 185? I don't know. That's what I want to know. Yeah, I don't know what kind of torture Torture man. It must been unbelievable I think that's one of the things that contribute to contributed is is he knocking him out other than the perfect punch I mean is he landed an absolutely perfect punch? Yeah, but I think you mean It's well noted that when guys lose that much weight. They're a little bit more vulnerable to getting hit. Yeah

100% man and You what you watch the the poor you fed him sure. Oh, yeah, you were there. No, no I wasn't there you weren't there the last one you mean with that yeah with max pretty sick man very good I was very happy and what a cool like I Don't know I like what the UFC is doing now with like the exits You know like Anthony Smith got a sick exit like Dustin's got a sick exit for me I don't know I doubt that was kind of one of the highlights of of that night for me not only did I feel like they both put on a really good fight I just thought like what a cool way to to be able to just like do that much work

and then like be appreciated for it like win or lose I think yeah maybe the tides are changing a little bit maybe you know? Felt like for a long time and still to this day my It's still pretty like heavy but to lose an Mma was almost kind of like the end of the world to the fans because it is in boxing yeah Everybody wants to be undefeated yeah like undefeated and like you know sometimes like someone can be on a tier and then they you know They lose and then like you can just see the direction of the of the support like completely shift like

fluke and you know, but Yeah, I think that it's you know when I see things like you know Dustin's exit and all stuff granted he did a lot in the company, and he's done a lot in his career. But to see that kind of gave me hope, like, okay, maybe this will, you know, give the fans a little bit of different perspective, and maybe it can start to shift towards, like...

Appreciating people. Appreciating the fighter, man. Yeah. Yeah. Like, appreciating the fighter for what we do. It's not the easiest job. We don't get paid the most. So like, yeah, like a little appreciation goes a long way, win or lose, for sure. Yeah, I hope the tide is turning in that direction, too.

I just, people need to, it's like, again, it's casuals. It's like people love, it's one of the things that I really struggled with in the early days of commentary is that regular sports people were starting to do MMA commentary and they were talking about fighters the same way they would talk about like a football player who drops a pass or a basketball player who misses a shot, very disrespectfully choked. They were saying a lot of shit, I was like, hey, hey, hey, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

This is the wrong sport to be coming over here and talking like that. For sure. And the early days in particular, there was a lot of that. There was a lot of people that they wanted to get credit for their work by just being that arrogant. You know, there's like a bunch of those people in the sports world that are just like insulting

and then, you know, there's a long history of athletes meeting those people and fucking them up and slapping them. It's super disrespectful and I don't know why, but there's like a culture, particularly in America, that embraces that and that likes that because that's the kind of talk that like dum-dums have when they're on the job. Like, you see him last night? Fuck it, loser. Yeah, yeah.

Missed that three pointer, should've passed the ball. Like, you know, shut the fuck up, man. Just, you know. It's, I hate that shit. I hate that shit Because I didn't do a lot of team sports You know I only was involved mostly combat sports when I was a kid and so disrespect like that was like god You don't know what you're even talking about. Yeah, it's annoying. You don't understand what this is

These guys are risking their fucking life. It's different than everything else you watch you miss a basketball Miss it going at the hoop. Okay, next day, you know, you get to shoot some more basketballs and practice and then you'll be playing in a few days and you're back at it. With fighting, it's your fucking soul. It's everything. 100% broken nose. People calling people bums. It's like shut your mouth. Yeah dude. Stop. Yeah, it's super annoying.

And that also brings to thought like, I went to the ESPYs and that was really cool. Like first time going to the ESPYs and seeing all these other athletes, you know that we see on football, you know just on television. Being in the same room, it was amazing. And I remember seeing just like the opening video.

And I think there might've been maybe one clip of an MMA fight, but I'm listening to all the like awards given out and you know, best play and all this stuff. And I was just thinking, man, I know MMA is new, and obviously it's growing because we're here, and they got John Jones in the crowd, and they got Marab here, so it's growing. They're starting to acknowledge us,

but I can't wait until the day where there's more fights on in the ESPYs. Yeah. We're doing great things. You know what I mean? I feel like- It's the most exciting sport on Earth. It's so exciting, man.

By far. And even, I had pro hockey players, all these guys coming up like, oh man, watch your flight. So even the athletes that are playing the NFL, NHL, and MLB, all these things, they're even watching what we're doing.

Oh yeah, for sure. So I think it's, you know, I'm excited for the growth of the sport as well and hopefully the next generation or even sooner will be able to know what it's like to be an MMA fighter and still get like an SB award. I wonder what's going to happen if the UFC doesn't renew the ESPN contract because there's this negotiation thing that's going on right now and I don't know where they're going to land. There's talk of Netflix, there's talk of other networks, there's a bunch of different talk.

And one of the things that we benefit from is ESPN not just as the host of the fights but also covering the fights. All the additional coverage, all the sports, but also covering the fights all the additional coverage all the Sports Center talk all the different Shows that they have on ESPN plus the post fight shows. Yeah, those are all huge Yeah, you know the breakdown people love that shit though. They do the pre fight breakdowns Yeah, I think yeah, I think it's great. I would shot Evans It's gotta it's gotta stick around man. Like I think that so I love I love ESPN and I love that I like getting getting it that way off the app. It's easy

You know, and I think it helps us too I mean, it definitely helped the sport grow right and I think that people who I think it helped us as fighters gain those Fans who are you know football fans Oh, yeah people who just have ESPN on all day. Yep, you know what I mean or in a PT clinic It's just like okay. Yeah ESPN's on you know and to be able to yeah to be shown through that I think it's been really helpful to us and and the thing is it's like you can get converted to a fan with one fight Mm-hmm. All you need is one undercard banger one undercard banger. You look oh shit. I mean that was me with the Alex fight Honestly, dude, like these people came out of nowhere like one fight changed my life. Wow, like one fight changed my life, too. It's

It's what you dropped him. You had great moments in that fight. Yeah, you know, dude It's what you dropped him. You had great moments in that fight. Yeah, you know dude Off topic. What's it like to be Joe Rogan these days? What do you mean? What's it like? I'm here. Welcome to the Kalil roundtree Experience today's guests. We have Joe Rogan joining us Joe. How you doing? It's pretty much the same for me really sit down talk to cool people yeah and I live my life pretty insulated so I don't deal with all the hoopla yeah and chitter-chatter yeah I just keep it moving okay that's the way to stay sane you gotta just keep moving yeah my day is basically the same every day get up up early, write, shoot arrows, get in the cold plunge, lift weights,

workout, do what I gotta do, come here. It's the same. Then I go to the club, tell jokes, go home, go to bed, rinse, wash, repeat. That's what I do. I don't do anything any different, so as chaotic as it seems, it's the same for me. I think what fucks people up is when they get caught up

in other people talking about them, and then they get involved in it, and then they start reading things, and they start thinking, is that who I am, or is this who I am? Who's right? Am I a fucking loser? Am I the coolest guy ever?

Who am I? You know, uh-uh, just keep working. I love that. Yeah, it's the only way. The only way to not go crazy when you get really famous is to keep doing exactly what you've always been doing and make sure you fucking burn yourself out. You go hard all the time with everything you do.

Because if you don't, then you're gonna just wonder, you know, am I slipping? Is this what's happening? Is this all gonna go away? Like, that's one thing that people really do freak out about like once they start getting some success. What if it goes away? Yeah, what if it goes away, and then you get imposter syndrome? You don't think you should be there, and then if you read a bunch of comments, you know most comments are negative Yeah, people telling you over and over again. You're a fucking loser you start going damn am I a loser? They start reading things.

I've seen it happen to fighters. I've seen it happen to many fighters where they get too caught up in reading comments and interacting with people in a negative way online. It's just not good for you. It's not smart, it's not the way. You're dealing with the crabs. It's crabs in a bucket. There's a lot of people out there that don't think

the only way for them to succeed is to pull you down. It's a dumb mindset. But of course, there's a lot of people that they're not that aware of how much time they're wasting. They're not aware of how much energy they're wasting, thinking about other people, constantly dwelling on the hating and all the stupid shit. And they don't realize that they're stealing from their own life. They don't realize it. They're just caught in this weird trap because we have this undefined new modality of communication,

this social media modality, this new thing, this new device that you have that interacts with your brain, and oftentimes a very negative way. And you're wasting hours and hours a day. How many people look at their screen time on their phone? When you do, you go, whoa, six hours, that's crazy. Six hours that I could have been doing other shit? Obviously, it's like 10 minutes here, five minutes there.

But it fucking adds up, man. It adds up. It's like a work shift. Yeah. And it's really time. It's really energy. It's focus that's just being robbed from you and with no reward.

That's what they don't understand. You're like you're getting robbed and you're not getting anything back. There's nothing positive coming. You're not growing. You're not getting smarter. You're not getting you're not like contemplating. Not getting wiser. No, you just fucking it. Just you just. Yeah. Just being like taken out of you. Yes. Yeah.

Wow, dude, that's no, that's that's great And it's good it's a good reminder and refreshment for me to hear you say that because How do I put it like let's say if I get asked question like How's Joe Rogan? Oh, he's a rogue in Rogan podcast. But like, how is he? And I'm always like, Joe's great. Like, tell me about, this, is he that? I'm like, dude, I'll say, I say this. I can tell you, here, I'll just give you like four things.

Every time we talk, it's fucking good. We hang out, we talk. I feel like he likes me, I like him. It's always a great time. Two, there's a lot of books when I walk in there.'s a bunch of books all types of different books I think Joe's a curious guy I think he's smart guy well read a lot of cool things and it's always just based around like yeah when I think of you I think just genuine dude good vibes I feel the same way about you and it's always it's always fun to to

just come here and just like a chop it up with you That's why I like I guess I just needed that own like I just wanted that for myself. Just like Joe what's up? How you doing? And you tell me like cool? I'm I'm doing the same thing I wake up. I go to the gym. I shoot my bows. I you know I go to the club I get like that to me to know that just personally without Being one of those people that are just like sucked into my phone or whatever to just hear it come from your mouth face to face That that's what you're up to that makes me feel. I think it's the only way to live Yeah, I think getting I mean I've been sucked into my phone before for sure

But now for the most part if I spend time on my phone at all, it's watching things. I watch YouTube videos. But it's always stuff on like, it's either watching MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, boxing, or watching YouTube videos on ancient history, interesting things. So I'm not interacting with opinions and people. Yeah, and all that stuff. Yeah. The stuff that'll piss you off. Yeah. And take from you.

Do you ever watch, like, fighters' YouTube channels? Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Have you seen mine? I have seen yours. Oh, OK, cool. You like it? Yeah, it's great.

OK. It kind of inspired by you a little bit. I remember you saying in the past, like, oh, you should start a podcast. I was like, maybe not yet. But how about a YouTube channel so? People love behind-the-scenes stuff they really do they love to see people train training in particular Yeah, you know I spent a lot of time watching usic training before this last to boi fight. Yeah, is it crazy?

I saw something the other day. It was like us's it swimming five hours. I was like oh my god He's an animal man. I mean he's so Fucking good. He's so good. I mean think about what that guy has done He beat AJ twice he beat Tyson Fury twice and now he beat the bar twice. Mm-hmm. That's crazy No, it's incredible. Those are two of the best of this era. I think he's one of the best of all time. I really do. I think he's one of the best heavyweights of all time.

And his movement is so deep. One of the things that was interesting, they were talking about the fight and AJ was, Tony Bellas was talking about when he fought him. And AJ was saying that when he fought him, it was saying that when he fought him it was the most exhausted he's ever been because he's always moving. You never, you're not, there's no rest with him. There's like constant, there's constant twitching. Under fire the whole time. You're constantly thinking when is this coming? There's no silent agreements. There's no relaxation.

There's no, you know, there's no, there's no rounds off. There's no relaxation. There's no you know, there's no there's no rounds off Everything is he's putting it on you and moving constantly Like I always say he's like a giant Lomachenko. Got it. They were both trained by the same guy Oh, yeah, Lomachenko's father trained usik as well. Ah Yeah, so there's something yeah, there's obviously gravity keeps him from moving the way Lomachenko does cuz Lomachenko so small Yeah, he can like dance around you for sure in footwork Just majestic footwork, but Usyk's footwork is like it's there's a bunch of breakdowns of the final combination that he hit Daniel with and you know he steps off to the side and lands that fucking left hook from hell

God it was good. You could see Daniel was already tired. You could see it Yeah, just dealing there's gotta be something like, you know Lomachenko's dad like some type of philosophy or something, you know, I mean these guys just Kind of tap into you know, cuz like to be a big guy Yeah, there's footwork and all that stuff. But I think man shout out to the coach like yeah it's skill man it's it's a skillful type of boxing it's like you know there's there's guys that are like heavy bangers and they rely on that and there's guys that have you know good defense and they rely on that but his thing is like this constant movement and

constant faints and jabs and it's all with a purpose. Everything is like setting you up. Everything is reading what your reaction to this is and anticipating what your reaction is. When's that right hand coming? Duck under counter. It's like constant.

The jab was going in an upward direction sometimes. He was catching Daniel with this like upward jab. Here's the, oh, okay, here's a breakdown. Yeah, I've only seen highlights I'd actually get fucking movement man. It's so good man. It's so good the movement. Do you know what's his age damn? He's 38. Oh my god. Yeah, I was old he's old for a boxer, you know and the fact that he was a cruiserweight champion too and you know and the fact that he was a cruiserweight champion too and That was the first drop but here's the big one the left hook that he knocks him out was extraordinary man

What are they showing here? Okay the counters Yeah, no it's amazing I mean he's one of the most skillful heavyweights of all time. I think you have to go back to Cassius Clay before they took his title away, before they made him sit out for three years. Look, there's the final left hook. Oh my goodness. Look at this counter. Steps off to the left and then full weight into it. Really long.

You can tell that weight transfer was everything it's just constant footwork and movement and a lot of his training is that yeah you can see it he's never stationary exactly like his feet are never in one place they're constantly moving well there's a lot of russian fighters who fight that way you know and obviously he's from ukraine but you know bevol bevol fights that way there's a lot of these Eastern block fighters that have this this movement style Like there's a like constant like movement style And it's like there's a lot of value in that man like when you see flat-footed guys And you see guys you fight like that you go man. There's something in that like yeah, that's

Extraordinary yeah flat-footed guys. I feel like a lot of them That's where they generate their power right sure and I like relying on that like a Deontay Wilder, you know, like sure If his feet are planted and you're up against the ropes like bye-bye. Yeah, you know like George Foreman in his day Oh, man. Yeah, it's heavy plotting, you know, like moving forward like this covering up just but everything has just death on it Yeah, you know just looping them but a guy like Dubois he can do that. That's the thing. That's how he fucked up AJ. He has that crazy power but when you're not getting hit and You're just moving away and this guy's just whiffing these nuclear bombs by over again

And then after a while, he's like he's like headed into the third. He's like, oh Jesus Christ Yeah, this guy is fucking not there And I'm exhausted and then you're dealing with him Like you sparks are flying every time he's hitting you and you don't know when these punches are coming because they're coming from these weird angles and Every time you throw a punch he's countering you and you're you're nervous that which one of these is gonna look really rock me Dude to be in that situation like during a fight is oh It's the worst. I remember like feeling like that in the Alex fight. It's just there was a feud like jabs and stuff

I was obviously just dizzy And just dealing with like okay this guy's not slowing down and I'm hurting You know like you're on the fourth. He started getting that time. When was the fight stopped? fourth round was the fourth round I think like Probably two and a half minutes in something like that. He started getting that rhythm Where he's like moving away from stuff and then yeah, yeah, yeah coming back in

Yeah, it was unusual move obviously deceptive, but like my eye was shut It was I thought I was blind in my eye, but I was like okay. Whatever. This is just I Don't know what was what was going on. Yeah, I was so excited to be there and so great I mean even even in the fight like not being able to see out of my right eye at all like not Blurred vision it was just like all I saw was white light like wow all I saw and in that moment I was like oh, I'm blind fuck it Wow yeah like literally so I Don't I don't know what it was like maybe?

All I know is I just saw light coming in couldn't see shadows when did that start happening? That was sometime in the fourth round so you got hit with something I hit something maybe like a jab boom and I just remember like my eye wasn't closed all the way yet But like all I could see was just white light and I was like, oh shit. I think I went blind but whatever Let's go. Like, you know, like internally like it was such this like light Positive voice going on the whole time in that fight. How do you think you developed that I? Don't know man could be like a series of just like life experiences and my like, I don't know, books that I read or just like things that I try to practice or some enlightenment thing that

I'm trying to get or you know what I mean? Like I think that it comes from that because I'm just, I'm kind of always searching for the light in short, you know, so God, it's gotta be so hard though in that situation because generally speaking There's a moment in fights where you see guys starting to get hit and tuned up and you see hesitation and you see panic And you didn't show any of that you were getting beat up But you were firing back you were fighting at the best that you could it was very obvious that you were doing that. Yeah well you know what so right before we went out or

right before we got to the arena my coach Lorenzo is like all right your nose is already cut so it's gonna open up and he's like looking at me in my face you know like he's like face to face with me he's like your nose is already cut. Accept it. It's going to open up. First time you get hit, it's going to open up. All right. That's out of the way. He's like, now expect that you're going to get the shit beat out of you.

You're going to go to bloody fucking war. He's like, you might break a hand. You might break a leg. You might get your jaw broken, but you don't give up. You keep going. We fucking come out of this fight victorious. And he's like, you hear me? And I'm of this fight victorious And he's like you hear me and I'm like yeah, and he's like so just fucking soak it in now You're about to go to fucking full-on war. It's going you're like you know you're about to go to hell like In my face you know and he's like we're face to face

He's like I need you accept it now son cuz he kind of looks at me like like his son He treats me that way and I appreciate it. He's like, but we're fucking winning this fight, son, and you're going to fucking war. And I was just, swallowed that, walked into the arena, just kind of accepting it already. You know what I mean? I wasn't like, ah, I was just like, okay.

Like, Lorenzo said it, all right, this is what it is. This is what it is. This is what it is. And so like in the locker room, my warmups and everything, I think subconsciously I'm just already programming myself for the worst of the worst. All the way there. But not in a way to where I'm like,

oh, I'm gonna lose this fight. I'm like expanding. Just like internally, like okay, fuck, I'm ready for this all right Boom all right my fucking hands are gonna get broken my face is gonna get split up Alright, and every fights not like this like not every opponent. We have the same you know what I mean this same thing cuz the strategy is always different for everybody, but some they He just had a feeling that this is the type of fight was gonna be so When it got down to that point, I think I had already accepted it. So the only thing I could do was just enjoy it

You know cuz I was like such a crazy thing to say I knew it was gonna happen Like I knew it. So yeah, if I remember you like the third round fourth round something in there. I'm just like Thank you Fighting for the world, you know title crowd. I'm like, oh my god eyes closed. I think I'm blind. I'm like fuck. Oh shit He's not going back, you know, like even to the last I'm like swinging I can't see boom body shot hurts I'm like Even to the last time like swinging I can't see boom body shot hurts. I'm like Backing up a bit, but like I just remember like the whole time this just this very like positive feeling man, they would like and That's why like those shorts are framed in you know like I got the shorts frame never washed them

You know blood still on them gloves never wiped them off and I just put it in a shadow box it's on my wall you know like that for me is just it was a just a pivotal moment for me just in my life as a person as a human you know just yeah that's like the beginning I think I was like that's the beginning of the well of the journey now so that's like the beginning. I think that's the beginning of the journey now. So that's wild. The World Title Fight is the beginning of the journey. I thought, yeah, I thought, you know, like, no, this is like that was the beginning because when I was there, I felt like I belonged.

Like it wasn't foreign to me. Like, you know, final, you know, main event lights go dark. It's just the spotlights. You know we I've only ever watched it so Yeah, I was like okay. This is Different It felt like it was supposed to feel if that makes sense like everything I felt like that vision that I've had and it was like being there and I was just like yeah feels about right like wow cool fucking prayer right in front of me hell yeah this feels right like this feels

like yeah this is it right here and then obviously like you know the loss was it took a little bit of an emotional toll on me because my focus was to win and that was my you know That was my intention But I Think like in hindsight I look at it and it's like no my I was meant to be there to experience it and to learn from it because The things that I did learn and experience from that fight have made me a better person for sure.

That's awesome. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, it really showed it in the Jamal Hill fight because you came in that fight, it just looked like you had gone through something and come out on the other end. That's what it looked like because again, Jamal's world champion. He's a dangerous dangerous man You know and you look supremely confident in that fight. Yeah a lot of a lot of training man, like I I

Understand that there's a lot I'm a striker, you know, like that's just I love to strike don't stray away from a striking match But I think that, like lately I've been training a lot with Buchacha who just got signed to UFC. Incredible guy, amazing, like multiple time jujitsu champion. Rolling with guys like Luke, Rockhold, I mean being able to be like on a team with those guys and us trained together has really helped me as well because it's just given me more confidence in my abilities and my development as like a championship level

fighter. So yeah, I mean like even to, I brought you those shorts today, the Santo Studio ones, man, we're building an incredible team down there. I think it's like the first time, are you familiar with what we're doing at all? So like over at Santo Studio, Newport Beach, we've got Santo Studio, we've got Jackson. Jackson's like men's jewelry. Yeah, men's jewelry, but there's also like Jackson Media House. And over there, we're trying to include all MMA fighters, extreme sports athletes,

like give them like a platform to showcase, you know, their talents and build themselves. But Santo Studio, the clothing brand, we have the sickest team. So we've got like Bucceccia, we've got Armand, we've got, I mean, Dillashaw's behind it, we got Rockhold. Man, the list goes on.

Gabriel Silva, Anderson Silva's son, on just like the fighting side, but then it's like Paul Rodriguez, skateboarder, Nyjah Houston, Ryan Sheckler And then we got motocross riders like Jett and Hunter Lawrence and like so there's all these kind of like extreme sports athletes Under one umbrella, but like in one place in Newport Beach, and we all support each other Under like the same type of brand and what is your role in this? Ambassador like the same type of brand. And what is your role in this? Ambassador fucking I was a part of the vision before there was like the first T-shirt ever printed like Baron.

I had a conversation. He's like, hey, I got this vision and I'm like, dude, I'm behind you. Like, I love how this sounds. It's right up my alley. Sounds creative. There's clothes involved. There's training involved. So he's gone to just build this.

We got the Santo Performance Studio, huge gym, jujitsu mats, weightlifting, but also shopping. Dude, it's unheard of, but it's so cool, and it's put us all in the same place to be able to train with each other, collaborate with each other. If it wasn't for Santo Santo I would have never been able to train with guys like Buchacha and Bernardo and Leo Vera you know the checkmate guy so like now

there's a partnership with checkmat which makes me like have access to training with these guys it's I would have never been able to you know what I mean have that same like connection So we're just doing everything we can to just you know like support each other within this like MMA community help each other grow And and just like expand and also include the community Within right now in Newport Beach, but I mean, I'm sure that the vision is bigger than just that. So this is something also that you can do once you retire. I would love to. Yeah. I mean, right now, like I think the understanding from Bear is that like,

I'm just focused on becoming a champion. But I'm sure he knows that like, I'm heavily interested in, you know, doing something'm heavily interested in doing something. Because I believe in the brand. So yeah, after this, maybe there's something. But right now, I have no distractions. You know what I mean? I have no distractions. I'm just making sure that I'm fighting and that my money's in the right place and places. Do you have a time?

Set in your head where you want to exit the game? How about this I can say that I would like for my current contract to be my last contract Mmm, how many fights you have in your current contract? Left, six or seven. And that's it? That's what you'd like? In an ideal world. Or like maybe sometime down the line

there's like a renegotiation and it's not for as many fights. But like I think six or seven more fights would be nice and be able to look around and say, okay, is this enough? Is this okay for me to step away from? And am I secure? Is my family secure?

Okay, then, cool. Because time waits for no man. I don't wanna be 41, 42. How old are you right now? I turned 35 in February. So you're still in your prime? Still in my prime, so they say. Especially for a larger athlete.

Yeah, and I don't have the- Who's like 38? Yeah, I don't have the wear and tear of a lot of the fighters like I didn't grow up wrestling and all that stuff so 15 years into that's a big type of it's a big factor. Yeah sports or athletics Football is a big factor wrestling. It's a big factor knees back neck. Yeah. Yeah but yeah, I mean like by the way that things are looking it'd be nice like October 4th win over Yuri sets me up for the title fight against here's an ideal situation

Win over Yuri in October Alex beats on Koliath rematch for the belt against Alex sometime in the begin like the first half of next year Right beat Alex in the rematch get the belt and the champion all summer Then Somewhere in between summer and fall There's a child that comes into play. My wife's not pregnant yet, but it'd be nice. Oh, you got this idea. It'd be nice, you know what I mean? You got

a vision board, man. I got it. That's still like, everyone says, all these guys, success and da, da, da, you gotta have a vision, man. You gotta have a vision in life, you do. You know? If you don't have a vision or something to aim at Like what are you doing? You know, so like yeah, these are like, you know, these are Just my vision but there's like goals in between, you know goal Be eerie goal Get another shot at the title

Vision Start my family Finish my fight contract. Be done with fighting. Live in Asia. Live in Asia? Yeah. Yeah?

Yeah, I'm moving back to Thailand, man. Really? Yeah. 100%? 1000%. Why? Because that's where I want to be. That's where I belong.

Really? Yeah. I belong in, right now, what my heart is telling me I belong in three places either Thailand Hong Kong or South Korea Why those places? Obviously Thailand, you know, you had amazing experiences there Hong Kong's amazing. I love it there. It's good I Just came back from Hong Kong as well. So in that Thailand trip, I went to Hong Kong's amazing. I love it there. It's good.

I just came back from Hong Kong as well. So in that Thailand trip, I went to Hong Kong. I love how it's set up. I love the structure of the city. I love that there's so much outdoor stuff involved. So like when I imagine the rest of my life and how I want to live that after fighting, it's like, let's say I do have my family and there's a child in play Okay, cool. If I live in Hong Kong I

Can just walk outside and Take my child for a hike right outside the house and it not be like I don't have to even own a car. I can just Everything's walking. You know, I mean, it's like the way that this city set up It's set up for people to to walk to interact, you know, it's very beautiful. It's not, you know, I love it. It's just for me when I'm there, I'm like, ah, this makes sense. Like especially with the vision of like who I want to be after fighting. And why South Korea? I like the culture in South Korea, man. I really do. Like when I see that, like when I, when I, when I see just like the, like the culture in South Korea, the people, how I

envision just like my family interacting with society and stuff, like to me, another thing that just, that makes sense. And Thailand for me is it just, it feels like home. The language is very like easy for me to, you know, to speak and to like learn more of and to where I can be fluent. I love the community there. I love how people live their life there. Amazing. A lot of growth happening in Thailand. It's also a lot less expensive. A lot less expensive for sure. And to be able to like, so like, let's say in Thailand,

I'm American, right? We're all kind of born like to live the American dream. I can live the American dream anywhere I want. But for me, if I could live the American dream in Thailand, that would be ideal. If I could live the American dream in Hong Kong, that'd be ideal. But it's a lot more expensive in Hong Kong.

It's a lot more expensive in South Korea. Do you think you say this because you live in Vegas? Because Vegas is kind of a crazy place in America. Oh Not so much like I've been to many different places I mean, I've been almost everywhere in the states when I was on tour, you know Austin's nice Do I want to live in Austin? No, California. Absolutely not New York. Absolutely not Florida. Don't like it Shout out to my Florida fans like you I love you I love you guys. I'm not saying anything against, don't hate me if I don't give you a place, if you, you know, whatever.

But there's nowhere else in the world that I feel the way that I feel when I'm there. That's interesting. Has that always been the case or is it just like, does it represent something to you in terms of like personal growth? or a vibe The the relaxing vibe of it because it's not so much like it's not so much like when I'm there I'm relaxing. You know what I mean? Like it's very busy. There's a lot going on, but I just I can I realize how I Feel inside, you know and how I feel inside, you know,

and how I'm interacting with people who I don't even know on a daily basis. And when I think about, like, I always, I'm constantly thinking about, like, like my future or my vision, you know? And when I think about, and when I think about my future and my vision, there know? And when I think about my vision, my future and my vision, there's a child involved.

And I try to think about like, okay, as a dad, how do I want to operate with a child? Or like, how do I want our child to experience life? And there's just a lot of different questions and visions that come and The way that I've seen it or like the way that I envision it. It's kind of like it makes more sense that way Hmm, you know like if I could If I could let's say take away some of the stress of raising a child from my wife by, let's say,

hiring help or instead of having a car, having a driver to have us get through traffic so that we can still enjoy life and you know go on like a family you know dinner or take the kid here or whatever but I don't want to drive the damn car because there's too much traffic and you know what I mean like all lacks so I can relax but we can still have family time we can still do the things that families and kids do but it not cost me so much. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like if I wanted to get a live-in helper here in the States to help my wife, it cost a fortune.

Yeah. It's almost impossible. But if I wanted to get a live-in helper, let's say in Hong Kong, it cost me a thousand or less dollars a month to have a full-time live-in helper You know and there's nothing wrong with it there. That's just the culture like in Hong Kong You have just groups of women who were live-in helpers that like on their off day in the summer Or and on their off day like on Sunday. You'll see them. Everybody's just in the streets with tents Combing each other's hair boomboxes out sharing food. It's just a part of it Like that's not like literally tents in the streets everywhere Jamie if you want to pull that up you it's crazy

Do I don't know if you ever seen it? No, but it's so cool because like they enjoy the life, but like Hong Kong helpers Hang out or enjoying a day off or something. It's just a way of life. It's a lifestyle. It's just a new perspective that I've never seen, like that I didn't see here. And I like it. I just think like for me and my development and growth

as just like a human being, that's just kind of where I, it's like a never ending, like finding out what's next you're like I'm I've constantly got to adapt and evolve like I'm American I have to learn a new language. I've got to adapt to a new culture I've got to learn new rules and laws and all this stuff and like cool sign me up like Because that's just I don't want my life to be like okay I know it all and I'm done, and I'm just okay cool And I got the kid and I'm just you know like I want to continue to like grow to grow right as well as you know

Showing someone else how to grow Yeah, see like they're not homeless They're just hanging out on their off day because they can't and they like they enjoy it no one's mad to be doing this huh you know what I mean like it's a totally safe environment for these people to be out here they're not interrupting anybody they're literally just this is a day off like oh what are you doing on your day off I'm gonna go hang out with the other helpers around the city and we're just like we're just chilling interesting because the to live there around the city and we're just like we're just chilling. Interesting. Because the to live there like the places are really small you

know like if you have it a thousand square foot apartment you're most likely a multimillionaire so most of the life like lifestyle is spent outdoors. So for them to go outside like this and this is like a normal thing on a Sunday normal Yeah on a Sunday or on a weekend. Yeah, absolutely And like Hong Kong the city supposed to be very safe to right very safe man. Very very safe very safe very clean like When I think about the stuff that I had to go through as a kid and just like the dangers and you know, right? I'm like hmm

how about like My kid doesn't necessarily have to go be worried about certain things or you know I mean being worried about like getting shot at school or like you like just different things It's just kind of like what can I take off like what mental load can I take off my offspring? In the beginning? I can take on whatever. I'm a grown adult, like whatever. But do you think you're going to be dealing with your time other than that when you're done fighting?

I have zero business experience because I've just been so dedicated to fighting. But I do want to like start to learn man. Like I want to learn business, how to operate a business because I'm creative and I have ideas but I don't have structure. I don't have you know really like the right mentorship. So like, yeah, like I'd like to have multiple businesses. Like what kind of businesses? What do you want to get into? Something like...

Obviously, something where you can express creativity. Express creativity but also like something that helps me and people like health You know health Health products is this one of those things that you can't really think about right now I can't because it's just like I'm you know I mean like I'm locked in I don't want to get too distracted But like I think that's a giant One of the signs that someone when when people spread themselves too thin like There's a bunch of fighters when things start going really well They start getting movie offers and you see them on talk shows you see a lot of this a lot of that like oh

Oh, yeah, you're getting outside of your lane. Yeah, and you're spreading yourself then Yeah You're getting outside of your lane and you're spreading yourself thin. And there's just no way to really be locked into training while also doing that stuff. So when you see someone preparing for a major fight and you see a lot of extracurricular activities I'm always like, oh. Like Daniel Dubois had a fucking party the day of his fight. Before the fight? Yeah. Oh boy.

It's a big issue now. People are talking about it. There's like 90 people at his place partying the day of the fight. That's absurd. That takes a lot of energy. Just being around those people. Yeah.

When it's dark, you're like, ugh. Even if you're just sitting in the party, your energy is being zapped. Right. And obviously, if it's your fight night, everyone wants to talk to you. Everybody has questions. I just can't imagine why anybody would do that or watch there's videos of him hanging out partying with everybody I mean not

drinking yeah yeah but obviously like a lot of loud people talking a lot of music a lot of you know yeah no I mean occasion that's Zaps the nervous system for sure like how do you expect to go fight? Usik after your nervous system has been I can't understand it. I when I saw it after the fight was over. I was like Look, he's probably gonna lose anyway. Yeah, but What is that? No, it's tough man. I honestly you know, I Agree with that. I think this fight in Baku really got like it made me realize How important

Like being locked in is because I was I think that's why I got sick to be honest, Joe I think that's why I got sick because I was just exhausted No exhausted from the things that I had to do from my obligations. Oh, so the week that I'm obligation So the week that I landed I had to do from my obligations. Oh, media obligations? So the week that I landed, I had to do, I had to do like four or five days of filming with DraftKings for this online. So it's like I just landed, but then I didn't get time to adjust because the next day we gotta wake up, the first filming session's at 9 a.m.

And then so we're like- Fight week? No, the week before fight week. The week before 9 a.m. Oh and then so we're light week. No the week before fight The week before fight, you know exactly so like I land and they came they went to my house 2 a.m I'm not bitching about this because the guys were great, but this is just like my experience How much time did you have to spend doing that? Oh, I mean we we spent You know we spent a week of filming. How much time each day? Five, six hours? What? Yeah. What? That's crazy. It wasn't every day that we, I don't remember, but that it was like we we did a lot of filming that we raise you know for this content piece

That's exhausting and then as soon as they left then it was fight week, and then I had all the media stuff for fight week Oh my god You know what I mean, and I think by time like with jet lag with training involved yeah with the filming with all of that I think by time fight week came like my body's like fuck you fight we came like my body's like fuck you yeah that's exactly how it felt what were you doing that they needed you for five six hours in a day? like you know I here's the thing I'm grateful because I wouldn't have been able to experience Baku the way that I did had I not done this so it's like right you made some extra money yeah so we go to the old town and then like get a tour through old town for three hours and the ladies

like this is this so I got information and they're filming me get information and then from the old town then we go somewhere else and you know so where ideally you would be resting or doing my own training yeah resting or adjusting yeah but when you're when you're forced to interact Like that's I mean you're dealing with something where you have this monumental moment that's coming up in 14 days Mm-hmm, and then you just yeah, but I just like that's what I'm saying. Like my my main thing was like Embrace it. You know what I mean? Like just embrace it take it all in yeah, it's fucking hard But that mentality can only get you so far right? That's why I like I really I

feel like I'm gonna get fucking eating alive for this not if you don't read it I Really feel like that would like Alex having so many fights last year and Obligations and travel and all that when he I feel like that probably had a big Played a big factor and why his performance was the way it was against uncle I well supposedly he went into that fight with Norovirus and he had a fucked up hand I Honestly like I

Believe it it seemed like I believe it wasn't hitting the gas as much You know it seemed like he was a little bit more was also uncle. I was fucking good man. He's good That guy's really good. I mean he's he's you're smiling I Can't smile you can but you're smiling. Come on, man I'm just smiling. What do you what is your opinion on that alive? I Don't have one You don't have any opinion at all no not one no cuz he's the champ Okay, I

Get it. Yeah, let's go back to Alex. Yeah Norovirus are you just not a fan of his? I Can say confidently am I a fan? Absolutely not as a human or a fighter Both okay, so if you had bad interactions with him as a human He just talks shit, and I hate people that talk shit like a dude. I just don't like it I don't like people who talk shit for no reason if I didn't say anything to you if I've never fucking mentioned your name

Then why are you talking shit to me or about me or disrespecting me? Well people talk shit because he gets some attention. Exactly. And I think a guy like Akhalya, there was a long period in his career where he didn't talk shit and he wasn't getting a lot of attention. Yeah. I mean look, he had that fight with Jan Bojovic.

Yep. Where it was for the title, it went to a draw. No one gets the title There was a crazy experience right? Mm-hmm and very good fight. Yeah, and People were mad at him and he had to sit on the shelf for a while. It was kind of fucked up So that makes him talk shit about me I think he talks shit about everybody because you realize like this is what happened to Colby Covington talk shit about everybody because you realize like this is what happened to Colby Covington this is like there's a thing that happens like if you talk shit you will get more eyes more attention more money and you'll get fights and if

you do not talk shit there's a possibility you'll be cut I know it's not you it's not you yeah look and I appreciate getting good fights and good money and it's like as is Pereira, right Pereira just fights Yeah, I mean he doesn't even speak English and he's beloved over here Yeah, you know, but you can you can get by with just your performance But some people they think like man, I gotta get people to fucking pay attention. There's so many killers out there There's so many people that are popular. I gotta do something yeah, so fight better That's that that's the only thing is like it's just a shit-talking I hate it dude like I fucking hate it like it really bugs me because you're a martial artist

And you feel like it doesn't have a place in my just hate it because it's fucking Unnecessary and it's like and and even as an adult like I had to deal with this shit my whole life Right, and it's how it's a fucking toxic Way of fucking being and it's passing along through social media and kids are fucking getting beat up for it Yeah And then we're fucking grown men on a large platform where people are looking up to us for many different things and they envision us as these fucking gladiators and this is what you're choosing to do as a, we have a responsibility.

I feel like as an athlete, as champion, number fucking one, as champion, you have a responsibility. You have a belt around your waist and all these eyes and microphone and that's what you're gonna choose to say is talk shit and degrade my name and I'm not even above you, I'm not even challenging you for a fight and you wanna mention me and like,

that to me is just like, dude, spend your time wisely. So that, in a way, it's motivation for me because I'm like I Just won't do that like I think that there's so many different things that can be done when you have that belt Like that belt is an honor you like to have that there's a responsibility that comes with that There's things that you can do with that like it's not just about you realize the responsibility that you have when you carry that title and so there's just I'm getting passionate about because there's just I want to say some of these things, but I'm not going to I know Feel like there's a couple guys to kind of change the game one of them was Chail Son and another one is Connor McGregor

Yeah, and part of the way they changed the game was talking mad shit And getting a lot of people to pay attention to them. Yeah, which Cool, you know like it got them a lot of attention. It got them a lot of money, but like And if that's what makes them happy cool, you know, I think some people think it's a good business decision Like I said, I know nothing about business. Maybe that's why I don't own a business. I just, I don't know. It's good that you don't own a business.

You don't want to own a business while you're in the middle of this journey that you're on. It's just like you, it wouldn't, it would just drain you. It would take time from you. It's not, you can only do so many things in this life. And especially when you're doing something that's all encompassing physically. It's not like, you know, you have a, you have a business and you have a side business project that's a passion project that you're working on. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you're fighting. Fighting, you have to be all in and you really do. And you are all in.

Yeah. Yeah. And while you are all in. Yeah. Yeah. And while you're all in. Look, I admire people that don't talk shit, but I also like a little shit talking. I do because it's fun. It gets people excited and it does get a lot of eyes on the sport and it makes for more pay-per-view buys, which is why I think the UFC encourages it. Whether they encourage it or not, they use those things. Like when Conor fought Khabib, they threw in the video

of Conor throwing the fucking, the dolly at the bus. Remember that? Which is crazy. It's kind of almost encouraging that kind of behavior, which is crazy. No, it's, I mean, like, UFC, as real as it gets, right? So you kind of get everything. You get everything.

They don't say that anymore, though, do they? I don't know. As real as it gets? I don't know. Sometimes, like, I don't know. Early days. It's stuck in my brain. But yeah, there are different things.

There are a lot of different, I guess, characters, personalities, you know. Yeah, Connor in the thing Through you know, the the dolly through the window Is it gonna make people watch the fight? Absolutely. You know what I mean? Did he do it for that reason? Don't think so I just think He is who he is, right? He's like we never know what's next with with Connor and respect, you know respect to him for everything but

I with Connor and respect, you know, respect to him for everything. But I just, yeah, I understand your perspective as well. Like, little shit talk, you know. Yeah, it's entertaining. You know, you see two guys like, oh yeah. But I completely appreciate your perspective as well. Yeah. And I certainly appreciate your perspective having grown up through all that stuff like why include it especially when what you're doing is the ultimate test of who you are as a human like what was the ultimate test of who

you are as a man the actual fight itself which is gonna happen no matter how much shit you talk yeah and whoever like whoever talks shit to me you know from Not even from now on but like whoever talks shit to me like I back it up You know what I mean like I don't need to say anything in return like I'm just going to back it up I'm not I don't want to give anybody any more attention or you know say people's names It's well, but like Connor and Khabib is the ultimate example of that, right? Yeah. When Khabib was on top, almost like, let's talk now. And he kept punching him in the face.

Let's talk now. Yeah. I mean, I love Khabib for that. Like I, you know, I can relate to that. You know, like I can relate to that feeling of how good that felt. He's a fascinating guy. Yeah. He had this really amazing conversation.

Someone was interviewing him and they were talking about different addictions that fighters fall to and different things that sidetrack people. And he's like, the best addiction is discipline. And he was talking about his discipline. The best addiction is discipline. You got to become addicted to discipline addicted to heart training addicted Completely addicted to that that makes me feel like a scrub Fucking good he was man. I'm disciplined but like damn addicted to it. I

Mean when he taught see if you can find that Jamie you got it here here listen to this Every man addicted to something some smoke some drinks some chase girls some whiskey But the real man he addicted to discipline to early wakes to prayer to training to silence Discipline no need motivation. Discipline move without feeling. Discipline say, I go anyway, even when tired, even when lonely. Discipline is best addiction. You want strong life? Discipline build it. You want peace? Discipline protect it. You want respect? Discipline earn it. No shortcut, only work. Be be man with control not man with excuse no cry no blame you want better life start with better habits discipline

every day until discipline become you I'm gonna use that as my morning wake up now do you know that that's what I was just thinking in my mind I'm like dude where do I include this in my daily routine? Like is it when I wake up? That should be your alarm. Or is it like, you know, do I just sit and like listen to this before I fall asleep? No, no, no, no, that'll fuck with you.

You won't be able to sleep. Why sleep? Why sleep? Run, run, pick up log. Dreams of Khabib just standing over here like. No, you're not real man, you sleep. It's interesting because Chael Sonnen had a video recently. That's so incredible man, shout out to Khabib for that.

Shout out to Khabib, I mean that's why he is who he is. Chael Sonnen had a really interesting video the other day where he's talking about how people say that Dagestan is the place where you should take your kids, you wanna take them Dagestan two, three years and forget it. There's like a fun line that like Cormier has said, he's taking his son to Dagestan, you know, and that's one of the things that Bala Muhammad said, if I could do my career

over again, I would have went to Dagestan earlier and I would have stayed there for years. And then Chael Sonnen had a very interesting point, which I think he's totally accurate. And he's like, they're not doing anything any different. He goes, but they don't have football. They don't have basketball. They don't have baseball. So the best athletes go in MMA, the best athletes go into wrestling, the best athletes go into combat sports in Dagestan. And so he's like, what you get is you have genetics, which is an ultimate requirement of the elite of the elite.

At the top of the game, it's like discipline and genetics. Those are the two things that separate the men from the boys. And he's like, we have all those things in America. It's just when you're dealing with the elite of the elite, it's like, what pool are you drawing from? One thing that I think they do have there, though, is this. The fact that they're all very religious, and the fact that there's no drinking, there's

no partying, there's no nothing, there's no chasing girls, there's no bullshit, it's just prayer and training. That's no chasing girls. There's no bullshit. It's just prayer and training That is a that's a man. That's a major advantage, but You could do that anywhere Yeah, you could do anyone could live that way. Yeah, anyone can live that way I'd imagine that like being in dagestan because of you know, just like the cultural differences Not to say that it would be easier cultural differences. Not to say that it would be easier, but you're dealing with less, right? Like you can do it here, but like you go outside, you're going to find a bar, you're going to

find something. You know, like the, you know, but you have to make conscious decisions not to have that in your life. Yeah. Which like doing it here would probably actually make you stronger. Right. Because you have to here would probably actually make you stronger, right? Because you have to deal with more resistance because you have to deal with more resistance Yeah, you know what I mean? Yeah, like if you go out away where there's nothing like yeah cool But then come back to the real world and try to do it and it's gonna be like, yeah Right, but isn't that why most I mean from the beginning of time fighters would take their camps away from life Yeah, like Marvin Hagler he would he would go to the Cape he would go to Cape Cod and train in the

winter. Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali you know they would go up into the mountains you know there's definitely the cat skills. There's something different about it right like there's something big there everybody goes to Big Bear and trains up there. Yeah when when I fought Alex I was in Salt Lake or I was in What's the mountain up there what's the in Utah yeah, was hatch no above Salt Lake everybody goes Skiing up there. Damn it. What's it called dude? Why can't why am I? No, Park City Park City. I was out in Park City for like two or three weeks before the flight. There's a lot of distractions

in Park City son. But not where we were. No? No like the cabin that I rented out there was like nice. There was nothing there. So how much time did you spend up there? Like 17 days 18 days something like that. So like the tail end of the camp, we were just like up there. Did you have to acclimate to the- Yeah, to the altitude. How much time does that usually take?

Because that doesn't seem like enough. 17 days doesn't seem like enough. We, I don't remember exactly how much time, but we, for two weeks before that, were regularly going up to Mount Charleston and to running other mountains and stuff like outside of Vegas. That worked.

Right, because there is quite a bit of elevation outside of Vegas. And I think Vegas itself is, Five? I think it's, no, I think it's 2,000 feet above sea level What something like that? What's Vegas above sea level? Yeah, so there is 2,000 feet above sea level There's a road right up by where we train like it's called Mount Potosi, and that's like seven no 6000 something like that. Okay, so it's like and it's oh

It's very short like very short distance drive And you go train up there We just drive there and then we just run out there train out there come back down home One of the things that I've heard it's there's different philosophies on how to handle training and altitude But one of the things that I've heard is what you should do is you should train at sea level and then sleep and live At a high altitude so that way you get more output at sea level because you're getting more oxygen so you can put in more work. And then when you're at the higher altitude,

your body is adapting and developing more red blood cells and all that stuff and more adaptation for oxygen. Makes sense, I've heard that as well. I just haven't tried it. That makes sense to me. Yeah. Because it's just that the idea, but then it's like there's a mental benefit of being able to put in the work at a higher altitude, you know, and then knowing that like, say

if you train, like I lived for a while outside of Boulder. I lived at this place that was 8,500 feet above sea level. Oh my God. It was, it was working out there was rough. It was crazy that when I would go to Boulder to train, I would go to Amal Easton's Jiu Jitsu gym. It felt easier because it was only 5,000 feet. Because that's like Boulder's like 5,000 something.

And then one time we had to go to Philadelphia for like a UFC event. And I was working out in Philadelphia. And I felt like a fucking Juggernaut. Yeah, I was like I have so much energy. This is crazy It's because I was at sea level. Yeah, and I'm not used to being at sea level So when I was working out I felt so good. I was like, oh my god I have so much fucking energy is because I'm used to being oxygen deprived

Have you have you seen that thing they have at the PI that ozone machine No, what is it the one that takes your blood and recycles? No, it's like it's a Altitude simulator so I want to do it But they're like you got to commit to like a couple months of training to see like the real benefit of this Oh, so you have to be there for a few months. You have to like train. Do you utilize that place? Because you are a Vegas guy. I love, like, they have, you know, amazing physical therapists.

Nutrition. Yeah, nutrition. It's very convenient, you know, especially like living there. I just try to stay, I don't try to get too involved because every fighter can go and it's just like, you kind of run into other camps and blah blah blah You know what I mean?

Yeah, a lot of shit talk or just yeah, yeah energy energy and everybody would has such a great gym. Yeah It's indicated syndicate so good. It's John's such a great guy. Yeah, man Great vibe so happy for for everything right now with just like marab and him and I and what we're building. I love the fact that Marab, even like he's still tight with his old crew. You know what I mean? It's like, and the same thing, even when AJ was training down there,

they're still tight with Ray Longo and Matt Serra and all those guys that got him to the dance. And then you see those guys also in his corner. It's a very collaborative thing where there's no the egos don't get in the way no That's huge. That's a cool thing to respect so cool like everybody around him training partners to like He just it's all top down George and guys in it. It's like yeah if the guys at the top have a great vibe and they're all like

Collaborative and work together, you know really you feel that vibe in the gym Yeah, it spreads his energy is definitely like infectious and one thing that's cool, too. Is like the way that John's organized training in syndicate now when when people have fights coming up and like you're doing your live cage rounds and The whole gym's watching you know like yeah Everybody's around the cage you know what I mean and so you get used to that. It's so cool It's so cool, and what is it like having my Robin training there Is there a fucking guy that has a better gas tank than that motherfucker. I haven't seen him dude my week the fight week

Actually I had just The day of my fight okay day of my fight woke up Call John like hey man want to get a shakeout just like you shake out some nerves like you know just hit some pads He's like okay cool. I'm down in the in the ballroom with with Merab He's like, but you got to wait a few minutes like he's going some rounds. I'm like rounds And he's like yeah, you just got you got to come down here and see it So I'm like I go downstairs in the elevator we can get to the room Merab is doing live rounds on carpet hard floor in a fucking ballroom

with some guy And they're they're sparring rounds bro the day of the fight of my fight So he didn't have a fight, but it was this was a week after his His second fight against O'Malley, so they're doing live rounds on the carpet shin guards everything but like takedowns You know on hard floor and carpet and he just doesn't stop. It's like it's like training never ends Let's how you get staff. That's probably why you got stuff who knows, you know But you like like they're just no one can stop the guy Yeah, like he's just a big ball of energy It really is like whether it's running up and down mountains and all this stuff

Like John would actually has to have some type of like monitor on this guy He's like Merop don't train today. Okay, coach. Okay coach next thing You know, he's on social media like out in the mountains, you know or in some river like it just he's yeah Having him having him around is crazy Yeah, DC went to visit him the day after the O'Malley fight the first fight and he went to his house and he was running Yeah The first fight and he went to his house and he was running Yeah, the day after he won the world title isn't and DC goes to his house and he's like look at my Rob's home gym He goes, you know where this motherfucker is. He's out running. He's not running the discipline Oh fucking yeah, can be a second about discipline. He's addicted to discipline. Mm-hmm. It never ends. That's it Yeah, I think he's just one of those guys think it being there

I just there's a lot of people that are analyzing it Like it has to be genetic Does it does it like is his head is his head bigger is his chest bigger like what's bigger? It's all the same. He's a normal-sized guy. Yeah, there's nothing there's nothing extraordinary about his physicality Other than the fact that he's very strong. Yeah, which is there's a lot of strong guys, but it's not it's a accumulation of time spent on the path and he has not deviated Yeah at all, and I don't think he's anywhere close to He's not even in his prime no

I mean I mean He's in his prime clearly But I don't think he's reached his full potential because I think he was even better in the second O'Malley fight that he was the first fight and I think O'Malley was considerably better Yeah, but Merab's that much better now and you know this thing that happens and hopefully you'll get to experience this when you win A title you get better. There's like DC says it's like 10% It's like there's something that happens some people say 30%

But there's something that happens to where you realize like I am the fucking best in the world and you take That into your heart in your mind and then you carry that like now you have that title you see it It's sitting there on your table or you have it on your wall Whatever wherever you put your belt and you're like I am the fucking man now and now I will live this way And then you see them going into the fight, you who you see that with? Pantoja mmm. Yeah That dude does not get the love that he deserves when that guy gets into the octagon It's it's like a fucking leopard just entered the room. Yeah, it's wild man. It's wild He's got this feeling about him that you know

Champions have when when they're just fucking feeling it You know when that guy steps into the octagon you see him across the ring from whoever the fuck he's fighting It's like that's a that's a cat man. Yeah Honestly, yeah like yeah like a fucking jaguar orars Jaguar mountain. Yeah, it's something like Elite killer you can kind of sense that like a little instinct in 100% man 100 guys in it like he's for sure and he's locked in I mean and you see the like I think the perfect fight for him Was seeing Kai kawa France they fought in the Ultimate Fighter and it was a good fight and then you see this new fight where as he's the champion Kaikoura France is the contender.

He fucking ran through him man. Like you see it's a different human being. He's a champion now. When does he trade? He's ATT. ATT. Yeah. I mean, I don't know if he spends his all of his time down there I don't know if he's there all the time if he just goes there for camps. Yeah, make sure. I don't know if he How he does it? Okay. I don't I'm not sure if he's a Florida resident or if he lives in Brazil and just goes there for camps. Yeah, I'm not sure no, but yeah, whatever I mean whatever he's doing is definitely...

Damn, this is the thing about being the flyweight champ, where if that motherfucker was the middleweight champ, he'd be a superstar. Yeah, he'd be the baddest mountain climber. And to me, that drives me nuts, because it's like, you just, I like martial arts. I like someone who represents the best of martial arts. Like, and in my mind, like, that guy's as good as anybody alive.

When he's running over every fucking contender and choking them out or knocking them out or whatever the fuck he's doing, damn. Yeah, it's tough, man. It's tough in this sport because of the weight classes. A lot of guys don't get. What's crazy is 35 gets so much love. It's just 10 pounds difference. 10 pounds difference. Isn't that nuts's crazy is 35 gets so much love. Yeah, this is ten pounds difference ten pounds difference

Isn't that nuts? Yeah, that's kind of nuts Yeah, because when you see pantos and next those guys there's not much difference in size. It's kind of the same that's why I like I forgot somebody not too long ago asked me like my What would my MMA like Mount Rushmore be? And I remember saying like Anderson Silva GSP Demetrious Johnson and Amanda Nunes and they were like Demetrious Johnson like oh why would you even why would you even hesitate hesitate why are you even asking me that question you know if you weren't there during his time You had to see him during his prime you know when he was about martial arts like yeah, and just skill

angles and intelligence knowing exactly how to engage in his ability to transfer between grappling and striking seamlessly Perfect word seamlessly like oh Transfer between grappling and striking seamlessly Perfect word seamlessly like oh in his prime in his prime. He was unstoppable Yeah, but imagine Demetrius Johnson at light heavyweight. They're statues of this man You know what I mean? It'd be like the Rocky Statue in Philadelphia.

Who knows where it would be, but there would probably be multiple statues of this man all over the place. And what a great guy, too. Oh, he's the best. And just, again, just underappreciated for whatever reason. And during his reign, just like his pay-per-view numbers were not what they should have been. But it's because he's small. That's all it is.

It's like the casuals. Who gives a shit how big he is compared to you? Just look at how he's the same size as the guy he's fighting, and look what he can do to that guy. We need to have a joke. This isn't serious. This is a joke. But smaller weight classes in a smaller cage

Well, it will make them look bigger on television and people get what they you know No, they don't care people don't it's interesting because boxing has the same thing You know I mean when you get into the heavier weight look look Usyk made Somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred and $132 million for that fight. That sounds amazing. Doesn't it? Yeah. I know.

It was me and Volkonovsky and Izzy were backstage at the UFC. We're at the weigh-ins and I pulled up the numbers. I go, have you seen the fucking numbers? There's a video of it on Stylebender's website or his YouTube page. And I go like, check this out. Because I had saved on my phone in case I ran into any fighters like look at this look how crazy this is and Dubois made like 71 or 72 million and Usyk made like a hundred and thirty two. I Mean like if I made that type of money

I wouldn't have to I wouldn't be looking to like leave to live the What has to change for that to happen? I mean does the Saudis have to buy the UFC? I don't know because I don't understand like it's kind of what they're doing with boxing. They're kind of buying boxing Yeah, I don't know man. I don't know like I don't know what needs to change But I Mean all I'm saying is like it would be really cool That's like a dream like To be able to make those kind of numbers. I would really love that for fighters I mean, I'd love when I hear fighters are making millions. It's great

Yeah, because I remember the early days the UFC would make pennies. Yeah when there was no money to be made I mean I started working for them in 1997 the previous owners, you know, when it was before Zufa. And nobody was making any money. There was no money in MMA. You know, it's like everybody was scratching and clawing, and they were just doing it out of love with the game. Or because they had, you know, had a career in wrestling, and then that amateur wrestling career was over,

and they're like, all right, I'm going to be a fighter. Yeah, the money was in Japan, no? There was money in Japan. But even the money in Japan was not boxing money. No, no, 10 grand, 15 grand, something like that. I'm sure they paid him well, and at the time it was a lot. But I mean, like, Fedor's still fighting. Is he fighting because he wants to?

Or is he fighting because he has to? Which is crazy. If one of the greatest of all time is fighting because he has to, it's not like fador is like Living the craziest flashiest lifestyle like diamond like Floyd Mayweather. Oh, yeah. I mean whether went broke you'd be like Yeah, meanwhile, he's not you know, you still got tons of money Yeah, but you know Floyd made hundreds of millions of dollars. He probably made more money than any boxer that's ever lived.

Oh man. I, yeah, it's a dream. Yeah. It's a dream. It'd be nice, but I'm not like, I'm glad that it's improving. It's improving. It's improving for sure. It's definitely improving.

It's definitely, it's like, you know, fighters can get rich now. Yeah. You know? Yeah, we can actually plan now. Yeah, you know, yeah, we can actually Plan retirement. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's like that yeah that that for now Like I'm saying that like I'm grateful and one things that I really like about the UFC too is they give fighters a chance to Have a career outside of that, you know, like Paul Felder and DC do commentary Chelsun and does his stuff Yeah, all those guys in the desk Alan JoBan. They all do their stuff like Rashad does his stuff. That's nice

It's like there's there's an opportunity to work outside of having to fight you asked me, you know, like before like oh, you know What would you do or like have I thought about anything? I honestly I would love to work with the UFC not as a commentator because I don't really see myself like to work with the UFC, not as a commentator, because I don't really see myself commentating or being someone speaking, but I'd love to work for the UFC. Why wouldn't you want to commentate or speak? I don't know. I personally, I think I've mentioned this to you before,

I just don't know if I have so much input when it comes to other fighters skill or whatever. I'm not the most exciting person on a microphone You know, you guys have great reactions I'm kind of more like hmm interesting like the old grandpa, you know, right Rubbing my chin like but maybe not as a commentator then maybe as someone on the desk analyzing things because you definitely have a very unique Like point yeah viewpoint. I mean that could work, but I think something like I don't know I'd rather be like I guess behind behind the like on the other side of the camera

What would you want to be doing? I don't know something within the bit They do that like the UFC is such a large company There's so many departments. I am friends with I Try to make friends with everybody in every department because they're just great people that make that make this all happen The equipment team, you know Ember Stephanie Like I've been testing the gloves for the UFC for the past year making sure we get the right ones You know what's going on with the gloves because you and Alex fought with the old the new the new the new old gloves yeah because they got rid of them yeah they're

like a fucking year developing them yeah and so I was a part of that entire process what happened what was wrong with those gloves the main thing was that like because of the leather the the logos weren't sticking so the logos were peeling off peeling off peeling off, peeling off, peeling off. That's it? And we tried, Joe, I'm telling you, we tried hundreds of different ways to get the UFC logo printed on the gloves

so that they will not come off in the octagon. From me testing it on the canvas, doing live situations, sparring, rubbing it into the cage, blah, blah, and I don't get it, but why does the old leather work better? Because with everything in the world, but especially like in the industry of like leather and suede and all that stuff, like you can't, if I had a pair of leather shoes from 1970 it's going to be different than the leather that's made today you get what I mean like it just it changes both of them are made today the old gloves and the new old gloves it's a different

type of leather so the softer leather it's just it's it's just not the same, it's just not the same. Like it's, it's, it's a little, it was a little softer, but it's, it's, it's treated differently to be able to, you know, to, to before like while it's being processed or whatever that whole like process looks like, it's just, there's some type of, you know, chemical or something that's just different. Cause what I had heard was that there was less knockouts with the new old gloves the gloves that they developed and then they abandoned recently.

I don't know about that because I'm just hearing straight from what you know the equipment teams being yelled at for. So the equipment team is saying that's the issue is that this leather doesn't suit. It has nothing to do with the lock the knock knockouts. It's that every time when the fighters come to return a pair of gloves or whatever or even in the fight, it's peeling off or chipping off and that's a hazard if it gets in your eye. Right. You know what I mean?

It's more about the safety of the fighter, not like, we need more knockouts, change of gloves. Interesting. Because the knockout thing didn't make any sense. No, no, no. It has nothing to do with the knockouts. It's more that the logo wasn't adhering and it doesn't look professional To have these guys fighting a championship fight and then here's this guy raising his hand

You don't even know like no UFC logo on the glove like what it all gets worn off. It all gets worn off So we we've tried so many different marker that wouldn't work Who can't sell a glove with magic marker on it? Yeah, but we have to make an official glove You know like but the training gloves, you know, just have UFC somewhere else The training gloves what about the people who want to buy an official UFC glove? Yeah, what are they doing with them if they're gonna work out with them still gotta be official. I get it You know, the best gloves are Trevor Whitman's. He makes the best gloves.

Oh, Onyx. The best MMA gloves. They're the best. And the UFC was trying to get those for some... I don't wanna speak out of line here or out of turn. I don't know exactly what went on, but apparently Trevor wanted more money than they were willing to give him.

But he makes the absolute best MMA gloves. They're the best. And they turn over like this, where it's not like this. So you don't like the thing that people, the problem with the old gloves that are now the gloves that everybody uses is that everybody says that they kind of force your hand into an open position and you have to tighten up to make them close. Do you feel that? Do you agree with that? I agree with that, but I have found the solution to that.

What's the solution? Just size up. Oh, one size up? Yeah. They all weigh the same. Interesting. Yeah. So what size do you use?

This last flight, I used a double X. And you usually use an X? Yeah. Interesting. And I think it's like, you know, a lot of fighters we don't like to stray from what we do. You know what I mean? And like every little thing can fuck with us.

You know what I mean? Right. Some fighters just- Maybe I shouldn't have gone to XXL, fuck. Yeah, yeah. That's why I didn't knock him out. You know what I mean? But yeah, if like, if you not come out you know to me, but um Yeah, if like if you're like you just have to think it's like okay the glove weighs the same whether it's an XL or an

Extra small it weighs the same how do they manage that I don't know But it weighs the same that sounds suspicious Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense to me. But we're all fighting in, you know, forehands love. Unless they make it with thinner pads. I don't... Would have to be. Maybe. Would have to be. Oh yeah, cause then your hand

can't fit in the... Yeah. Yeah, like if I tried to get into an extra small one, it wouldn't work. Right. So, yeah, but like let's say the size between an XL and a double X they weigh the same okay, and I have to consider Okay, I'm getting my hands wrapped as well right so yes this XL glove fits like a glove But what about when I wrap my hands right now I wrap my hands It's too tight and then now my hands are like this and I'm like I cut off your circulation almost yeah

So the idea is size up even if it's two sizes up. You're not gonna have an issue You know or you go with a thinner wrap or no wrap you have that option well Joe Pfeiffer fights with no rap Yeah, which is crazy. I think it's savage. I kind of want to do it. Yeah Yeah, I would have fought with no rap with the other glove the new glove the new old glove the The new one that they abandoned the old new glove. Yeah. Yeah. I Would have fought those felt so much better to me with no rap man If I was the UFC and clearly I'm not a good businessman

But if I was I would say listen, how about You sell us the gloves will promote your gloves you sell them on your website We don't make any profit off of it. Just give us your gloves to use for the fights and we'll blow your business up That's what I would do. Hmm. I would say look you want a lot of money for your gloves good sell them Everybody should buy them. Anyway, he makes best bag gloves, best sparring gloves. Trevor's a fucking wizard, man. Yeah, that's what I've gathered from just like a very interesting guy. Very smart guy. Great trainer. Just a great person.

But his gloves is MMA gloves. You put them on. You're like, oh, why aren't they all like this? Yeah. The padding is a much more sophisticated I tend the boxing. I remember I think one time he sent me a pair of boxing gloves Like this was a couple years ago and I saw it like it came with this paper and you're supposed to put a blow dryer And at first and you turn the blow dryer on to warm up the padding in there Specifically like for that and then once it's heated up then you put the glove on and you wrap it up and then you let the padding cool down and then it molds to your hand I don't know if people remember that about the

glove but that's why I didn't know that's the that's how you should wear those gloves oh that's interesting I didn't know that that makes sense yeah but he told he was explaining to me the different kinds of foam that you can buy and that people buy cheap foam And it's not it's not as like high density It's not as good doesn't protect you as well and his is like the most expensive but the best But when his gloves the design of his gloves your hands are curled like this so it's an effort to do that, but I

Don't know man. I I I feel like we're stagnant in innovation with glove development the first place because I don't think this is necessary no I train with the old like Ali Mittens okay those are my favorite gloves in the world to do MMA with put a wrap on under it you know for padding or a pad whatever and I can still grapple with it Yeah, my fingers are just like this, which is but this this is how you grapple anyway. Yeah exactly You never do this. No, they never interlace your fingers So why are the fingers even exposed because I pokes are a giant issue Yeah

And if you let's say you could just eliminate finger pokes and all you have is thumb pokes You would take away eighty ninety percent of all I pokes yeah, and it would be obvious if someone did it on purpose And then Derek Lewis would be fucked The truth about like hitting someone the nuts cuz he was tired. Yeah, he's I was tired I needed five more minutes or some shit. He's like I'll pull them with a high cheat He was just like I cheat I was like dude this the what the hell, but he's also crazy enough to say that That he's like oh, yeah, the UFC is scripted Anybody I was like I know you're joking, but like...

The problem is that gets on the internet and there's like so many videos. There's so many people that now believe you. I knew it! Yeah, like there's so many people that believe you now, like that's a funny joke, but damn it, dude. Bro, there's no script. When you see the way he knocked out Curtis Blades, there's no script for that, bro. Yeah, you can't script what we do. That's just, Derek has got some phenomenal, God-given power.

He cannot script what we do. Yeah. No, of course You can't script it. It's super obvious to anybody that watches that that's the dumbest ever casual fan like Comments, it's a scripted fake. He was supposed to Made him win that fight So crazy to say but that said like Stop, stop, shut up. And the U.S. Dana White made him win that fight. Oh, it's so crazy to say. But that said, like, here's the thing. You know, Aspinall's gonna fight Cyril Gahn?

Yeah. I might, if I was running things, I might set up the Derrick Lewis fight with Aspinall. I might say, forget Cyril Gahn for now. Like, Derrick just has this big knockout win. Who's more popular than Derrick? who's more beloved by fans and Derek Yeah, I mean that would be a great fight to set up absolutely But I think that from I guess a business standpoint it makes sense to use serial because of everything that he's doing in France

Okay, yeah, that makes sense right movie? Movie star, you know what I mean? He's got the entire country behind him now, so. Like, yeah, with the UFC expanding internationally, it's like, you know, Aspenall is a British icon. Serial's a French icon. The whole Aspenall, John Jones thing is so crazy the whole thing is so crazy yeah absolutely um John doesn't seem to John marches to the beat of his own drummer son yeah yeah I mean like he's he's dead set and what he wants and how you use it

so like now he wants to fight for the title at the White House and Dana Shane is like no, I can't trust John. Yeah, do not fuck something up. Yeah, which is wild. Yeah, but also What are you gonna say when John just recently got in more trouble? I Mean, it's it's It's tough. I mean For Dana, you know and his position. Yeah, it's too risky It is it's a very risky like oh, yeah, and it sucks because it's like man You've got so much talent and the most talent and such an incredible resume

Yeah, and now I there's nothing that I can really do about it. The story is old as time though, isn't it? Yeah, the story is old as time. Well, that's one of the things I appreciate about you. Like you're a very different kind of dude, you know, who's in the same business. Yeah. Same wild ass chaotic business, but you choose to put your sights on a different prize. Like you're about growth. Yeah. You know, you're about your own mind and conquering these challenges

This is what it's about for you Yeah I'm I'm I'm grateful and blessed to be in the position that I'm in and like I don't want to I don't want to waste Anything you know what I mean like I don't want to waste it I want to be able to look back when I'm older and and know that I use my time You know and in and in a good way, that I continue to grow and to learn and develop until it's over, you know, like. I think John does that too,

but also he just loves to party. He just, he gets crazy. He just loves to get crazy. And I think that like, we've seen that so many times. We've seen so many athletes and celebrities fall victim to fame and partying and what that comes with. We're watching it with Connor in real life. And we've seen the same people who are addicted to discipline.

Who you admire. And what they. Who are you admire? And what they... Who are you gonna listen to first thing in the morning? You listen to Khabib. Khabib. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's like, if there was anybody as a combat sports practitioner and fighter,

if there's anybody who I would say I'd wanna be or model myself after in my career to be Muhammad Ali. Mmm Just Because of everything, you know what I mean? Like humanitarian Yeah, like he was beloved by people from all around the world You know what I mean? Like just different medals from United Nation and like you don't like there's a cultural cultural figure and like not that like I'm not as outspoken as you know as he was but For just like the things that he was also remembered for outside of the ring

I just look at that as like so admirable and he gave young men like me something to kind of like Aim at and like model myself after, you know? Like that to me, I feel like is very important, especially in this country and as a young man who maybe doesn't have a father figure or who doesn't know what to become and then you read the story about Lee and you're like, oh, that's similar to me. I can become something. I can be an Olympian. I can be a champion. Like it just takes this, you know what I mean like like I'm not different I'm actually there's actually people like like me out there

And I like you know it just gives you something to kind of hope to become and so I try to I Try to just be authentically me so that Whoever out there does connect with me can see that you you know, yeah, you can go through certain shit, but like, there's so much stuff that is possible for you. Like your life's not over, yeah, you're in a bad position now, but you can get yourself out of it. There's tons of help out there.

You know, mental health is a big thing. You know, it's not the end of the world, you know, and if you feel like it is, there's support, you know, and if you actually have a disorder, there's support, you know, and if you actually have a disorder, there's support for that too. There's also outlets like martial arts and, you know, communities and things like that that will make you feel less alone in life and like.

Martial arts is a big one. You know. That's a big one. For people that feel outside, go to a martial arts studio, go to a gym where you're gonna find a whole lot of people just like you that are already on this path. Yeah and that are cool people to learn from. I mean that's what changed that which I just put

myself in a new environment and then I started learning how to eat and how to think you know what I mean and started to get courage and carry myself differently and weight started coming down and blah blah blah. And then there you go. You know, my mental health stuff was a lot less, you know, it's never gone away completely, you know, but it's a lot less than it was when I was 19 years old. But I mean, does it ever go away completely? No, it does. It's life. You know what I mean? Like it's life, but we don't, a lot of people, we don't have the tools, you know,

or we don't have the people to listen to or whatever to be able to be like, okay, it's not just me, it's everyone. So what can I do to deal with this? You know what I mean? Like, I think that, yeah, that's kind of my thing. So I think about when I get on a microphone or when I go fight or whatever,

like there's a sense of responsibility. It's not just about me in this world, you know, like. And that's it's to be honest, it's a struggle. It's hard to not. It's hard to think that way. It's very easy to be selfish. It's very easy to just think me, me, me, me, me, you know, my problems, my struggles, my this. But like to to consider. Millions of people and lives and children

And youth and teenagers that are watching the sport and I like I Have to be conscious of the things that I do and how I live my life because I don't want to be the guy on the news Like I just don't want to be that I'm terrible. I'm terrified of prison. You know what I mean? I just don't want to be that guy. I'm terrified of prison. You know what I mean? I'm fucking, you know, I'm trying to make friends with police officers. You know what I mean? I'm just like, okay, like,

trying to do the right thing, not only for myself, but for my family, for my father, you know? So there's just a lot of responsibility that comes with this game and how we live our lives, man. Well, that's very admirable. And I'm glad there's people like you out there that do present a very positive role model because I know for a lot of young people,

they turn towards really successful people in sports and particularly fighters, especially if you are a martial artist yourself and you look at someone who carries themselves a certain way and you admire it and you want to be like that person like I want I aspire to be my own version of what that means to me what this person means to me what they represent to me which is like a championship mindset like someone who's really like there's a lot of people with championship mindset that never become a champion, but they 100% inspire people to live better lives.

Yeah. And that's the journey. That's the path that I'm on for the rest of my life. Beautiful. Yeah. This is the best way to end the podcast. Yeah, absolutely. Um, listen, brother, I appreciate you very much and I wish you all the best of luck And I'm real excited to see this fight with Yuri Prohaska. Thanks should be a banger. Thanks for having me my pleasure Congratulations on everything. I look forward to congratulating you again Alright, bye everybody, later.