00:00 I'm very grateful to where I'm at now.

00:02 Again, I'm only 8-0 and I think to an

00:04 outsider, it would look like, oh, maybe

00:06 he's unexperienced, he hasn't faced any

00:08 adversity. But I think if you really do

00:10 the research and you and you look at the

00:12 fights that I've had, you'd be like,

00:13 okay, these are not these are

00:15 you know, he's had to win fights, not

00:17 just bully people.

00:20 >> Welcome to the Y2K podcast. Today's

00:22 special guest is Mr. Shane Collins. He

00:25 is a UFC featherweight who just made his

00:28 debut this year in 2026 and is 1-0 in

00:31 the UFC, 8-0 in his professional career.

00:35 Now, we got to ask him a few questions

00:36 about how he grew up. His best friend is

00:39 also in the UFC, John Paula Bosnoyani.

00:42 To support the channel, please leave a

00:44 like and subscribe. That's all I ask for

00:46 you guys. Please just leave a like for

00:48 your boy. Um it's free. And I hope I

00:52 really hope you guys enjoy this episode

00:54 as much as I did. So, catch you guys in

00:56 the comments. I'll hit you guys back.

00:58 Enjoy the episode.

00:59 >> I'm not like a sneakerhead. I'm trying

01:01 like I can appreciate I'm starting to

01:03 appreciate more so just like Jordans and

01:06 stuff like that, Nikes. But I always

01:07 wanted those cuz I do skate.

01:09 >> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:10 >> So, I was like, I want the the SBs with

01:12 the

01:13 >> I tried to

01:14 I tried to do like have you played that

01:16 Tony Hawk Underground game?

01:18 I tried doing like a Chad GPT with your

01:20 face on it. It just came out pretty bad.

01:22 >> [laughter]

01:23 >> I was like but it was cool cuz it's like

01:25 it has Hollywood in the back. And I'm

01:26 like I assume I did did some research

01:28 and you did you know, you used to skate

01:30 and stuff like that. I thought it would

01:30 be sick but it just

01:32 >> It's just like I haven't recently cuz I

01:36 have just been like so active fighting.

01:39 But before that, I was I was doing it

01:40 way more.

01:41 >> Yeah, Payton Talbott still skates which

01:42 kind of surprised me. I don't know if

01:44 you've seen clips of him and like I was

01:45 like it's kind of risky, you know?

01:47 >> It's extremely risky.

01:49 But I it's just like one of those things

01:51 where you

01:52 you get bored quickly so you continue to

01:55 increase the difficulty and the danger

01:57 level, you know? It's the only way to

01:59 get the thrill. And then that's when you

02:01 That's when you get caught.

02:02 >> Well, what you do is definitely the

02:04 danger level is there, and that's kind

02:06 of what fighting is, right? So,

02:07 >> Yeah, but you got to save it for that.

02:09 >> [laughter]

02:09 >> For sure.

02:10 >> Any little tweak,

02:12 you know,

02:13 you're out of training.

02:14 >> Yeah. You started training at like a

02:16 young age, like 15. How How was that?

02:18 How were you introduced

02:19 >> by the way? We're

02:20 >> Yeah, yeah, we're on.

02:21 >> Chill. Let's go.

02:22 >> Yeah.

02:24 Yeah. So, yeah, but you did start

02:26 training at 15 years old, right?

02:28 >> 15, yeah.

02:29 >> So, how how did that start? Like, when

02:30 were you introduced to

02:32 the sport, or what made you want to be

02:33 like, "Yo, I don't want I'm going to

02:35 school. I want to fight."

02:36 >> Yeah. Honestly, like now it's it's crazy

02:38 because we're here. It's International

02:40 Fight Week, but I'm like I'm from that

02:42 generation of like Conor McGregor, you

02:44 know? So, I remember I I heard about uh

02:48 Ronda Rousey losing to Holly Holm. That

02:50 was in November of 2015.

02:53 And uh I was like, "Who's this?" And

02:55 then the next pay-per-view after that

02:57 moment was Conor Aldo. So, that was the

02:59 first fight that I ever like sat down

03:01 and watched with my like friends and my

03:03 family.

03:04 And uh

03:06 yeah, after that moment, I was like,

03:07 "Damn, this is This is cool." And then I

03:09 remember I uh

03:12 looked at a jiu-jitsu gym that was near

03:14 me because I saw like videos of people

03:15 training with Henry Gracie

03:17 at uh the Gracie Academy in Torrance.

03:20 >> Was Ortega there already?

03:21 >> He was already there. I didn't know who

03:23 Brian was at the time, but um

03:25 I remember just saying like, "Oh, oh,

03:27 these UFC fighters, whatever, they train

03:29 at Gracie Academy. It's like 15 minutes

03:30 away from my house."

03:32 So, I went there and started training

03:33 when I was 15 as like a means to enter

03:36 the sport, you know? I didn't

03:37 necessarily want to be like, "Oh, I just

03:39 want to go learn jiu-jitsu." It was a

03:41 It was like, "This is a gym that I know

03:43 has MMA fighters, whatever." So, it was

03:45 like a means to enter MMA as a whole.

03:47 >> For sure.

03:48 >> But, essentially, I started training

03:48 jiu-jitsu there, and that's when I met

03:50 Brian, and

03:51 uh

03:53 yeah, I started

03:54 kind of becoming cool with him and he

03:55 started showing me like how to box and

03:57 all those kinds of things. So, I kind of

03:58 started training with him.

04:00 >> That's sick. Like, um for me at least, I

04:02 was like wanted to go just train

04:03 Jiu-Jitsu solely just for Jiu-Jitsu, you

04:05 know, just for like self-defense. So,

04:07 that's cool that that you were like,

04:08 "Okay, I'm going to train Jiu-Jitsu to

04:10 translate." Like, when were you able to

04:12 kind of realize like, "Okay, like I have

04:14 Jiu-Jitsu. When is it time to start with

04:16 the other martial arts?"

04:18 >> That's what I'm saying. Like, I feel

04:19 like I went to that gym. Of course, I

04:21 was learning Jiu-Jitsu, but I was trying

04:23 to learn I started like with everything,

04:24 you know? So, like as I was doing that,

04:27 training Jiu-Jitsu there, I was also

04:29 doing boxing and and other things like

04:32 from the moment that I knew I wanted to

04:34 do the sport, it was like all in, you

04:37 know, when I was like 15.

04:38 >> Wow.

04:39 >> Essentially at that

04:40 at that moment, that Conor like era, you

04:43 know?

04:43 >> So, you just fought your first UFC fight

04:46 10 days notice. It's a very risky move,

04:49 you know, you want to be able to have

04:50 your UFC debut, get the win, and um you

04:53 know, how how was it, you know, being

04:55 able to, you know, go [snorts]

04:57 undefeated throughout your your career

04:59 and be able to take a fight on short

05:01 short notice? Like, what were your

05:02 feelings and your thoughts at the time?

05:05 >> Um I think

05:06 for the most part, like when it comes

05:08 [snorts] to me and and my teammates,

05:10 like we we try to always take like the

05:11 smartest approach possible.

05:13 When you're on the regional scene, it's

05:15 a little bit easier to take

05:17 the more intelligent approach because

05:19 the reward isn't as high, you know? But,

05:21 when you're talking about like going to

05:22 the UFC, getting signed, starting that

05:24 UFC journey, that that's something you

05:27 definitely have to take into

05:28 consideration. So, I definitely knew

05:30 after my last fight in May that I was on

05:33 the

05:34 you know, the short list, if you will,

05:36 to be signed to the UFC, and I knew that

05:38 maybe my opportunity was going to come

05:40 Contender Series, but maybe it was also

05:41 going to come short notice, and that was

05:42 something I was going to have to be

05:43 willing to do, even though if it's not

05:45 the Of course, you want a full camp. You

05:47 want to know who you're fighting. You

05:48 want all of those types of advantages

05:49 and and things going into such a big

05:51 moment, but

05:53 these days, man, like there's so many

05:55 guys out there and just getting into the

05:57 UFC is something that is like so rare

06:00 and only 0.01% of all fighters get a

06:03 chance to ever really be signed by the

06:05 UFC. So, it's hard to turn down those

06:07 opportunities and

06:08 especially if you know that they're

06:10 they're coming, it's on you to be

06:12 prepared. So, at the end of the day,

06:14 like it was an easy decision. Luckily, I

06:16 had a little bit of like time, a little

06:17 bit of leeway. I knew something was

06:19 going to happen.

06:21 I I was saying I I felt that

06:23 I I looked at that card like 2 weeks

06:25 before it happened

06:27 and I was like, "Ah, there's like four

06:28 featherweight fights on the card. I'm

06:30 like, I feel like they're going to call

06:31 me. Like, I feel like something's going

06:32 to

06:33 >> Before they called?

06:34 >> Something's going to go down. Like, I

06:34 could just feel it. And so,

06:37 it motivated me a little bit to get my

06:38 weight down, get it in in on point a

06:41 little bit. And then, a week later, they

06:44 they called me and they were like, "Can

06:45 you make weight June 20th?" And I was

06:46 like, "Well, this is what I said I would

06:48 do, you know?" So,

06:49 it's definitely not easy.

06:51 Um

06:52 of course, it's like the biggest moment

06:53 of your life and [snorts] you got to do

06:56 it on 8 days' notice. It's a little

06:58 scary, but uh at the end of the day,

07:00 it's like this is what we work for and

07:02 this is what we dream for and uh

07:05 I just we wanted that moment. It worked

07:07 out.

07:08 >> yeah. And you right now you just said

07:09 how rare it is to be able to enter the

07:11 UFC. You also are in the UFC with one of

07:14 your best friends from school.

07:16 >> Yeah.

07:17 >> Like, you mentioned over there at the Q

07:18 that you guys had a ceramics class

07:21 together or maybe John mentioned that

07:22 they were in a ceramics class together.

07:24 So, both of you guys, friends

07:26 from the same type of area, are both in

07:28 the UFC. How does that How does that

07:30 feel?

07:30 >> That That is like it's honestly like

07:32 it's extremely surreal, you know? It

07:34 really is. It really is. Like, I always

07:36 knew he

07:38 was going to be there cuz like in high

07:40 school as a kid, like he had a long

07:42 background. He was like touted, you know

07:44 what I mean? Like everyone knew at high

07:46 school like that was the fighter guy.

07:48 He's not going to college, he's going to

07:50 the UFC, you know what I mean? And I was

07:52 like friends with him cuz I was like

07:54 um I was a fan, honestly. He was a year

07:57 older than me and I was like

07:59 this is the sport that I was obsessed

08:00 about like kind of secret like

08:02 privately. No one really knew what I was

08:04 doing. I was going to the gym and

08:05 training and working with Brian and all

08:07 these things, but like no one really

08:08 knew that. And then Jon Paul was like

08:10 the

08:11 I don't want to say like famous, but for

08:13 all all intensive purposes, he was like

08:15 famous at our high school for like being

08:17 the fighter guy.

08:18 >> Yeah.

08:18 >> So, when he started like actually having

08:21 his first couple fights,

08:22 he was a senior, I was a

08:24 junior. Yeah, and we had a ceramics

08:26 class together and we just kind of

08:27 became friends because I was interested

08:30 interested in the sport and all this.

08:32 And then yeah, I actually went to his

08:34 like first couple amateur fights.

08:36 First amateur fights when he was 18

08:38 years old, you know, so it's just crazy

08:40 that that we're here like all these

08:41 years later, especially from kind of

08:44 where we come from, which isn't

08:45 necessarily like

08:47 a place you would think breeds tough,

08:50 you know, elite fighters.

08:52 >> Manhattan Beach is where you're from,

08:53 right?

08:54 >> I'm from Manhattan, he's from Hermosa,

08:55 but our high school's Manhattan Beach,

08:58 you know? Like we're not from the slums,

09:00 if you will, you know?

09:01 >> you describe Manhattan Beach and that

09:02 type of area like

09:05 >> It's like Beverly Hills.

09:07 >> Really? [laughter]

09:07 >> Yeah.

09:08 >> Okay, cool.

09:08 >> It's like one of the

09:09 It's one of like the richest,

09:11 wealthiest, you know, neighborhoods in

09:13 the South Bay. Straight up. It is, you

09:15 know?

09:16 >> So,

09:18 for I mean, he was more so like bred

09:20 into the sport because of his father and

09:22 all those things. So, like he had a path

09:25 that was leading to this since he was a

09:27 a kid, you know? Whereas I feel like I

09:29 had a more unconventional It was just

09:32 sparked out of complete like

09:35 dream and motivation and just like want

09:37 for this weird specific niche job.

09:40 And um

09:42 like I said, the fact that we're both

09:44 here now and the fact that it could

09:45 happen like so quickly. Like he just

09:47 made his debut like, you know, a couple

09:49 of months ago and then I I make it right

09:51 after. It's just like what a surreal

09:52 moment, especially for um

09:55 not just us as like friends and like

09:56 knowing each other for so long, but just

09:58 us as like teammates and being uh on

10:01 this journey together when we started

10:03 Cobra Team and all that for Ozzy to get

10:06 there and then JP to get there and then

10:07 Mateus get to get in there and then

10:09 Jonathan getting there and hopefully

10:10 Bruno getting back. Like all all of

10:12 those things like mean a lot, you know,

10:14 so it's just like validation and uh

10:18 it's just it's a cool moment for

10:19 >> It's us as teammates.

10:20 >> It's honestly so cool and just to see

10:22 like in person the Titanit squad and I

10:24 was at your 559 fight. Uh

10:27 not uh

10:29 I think I did an interview with you

10:30 right after your fight and um we're kind

10:33 of like on the cusp of, you know, see if

10:35 you're going to make it to [snorts] the

10:36 Contender Series and stuff like that. So

10:38 it was just very cool to see that in

10:39 person. Seeing JP there coaching you.

10:42 The question I wanted to ask is like how

10:43 do you see that relationship going now

10:45 that you guys are both in the UFC. I'm

10:47 sure you guys are going to have fights

10:48 around the similar times, you know,

10:50 cornering each other. How do you feel

10:51 like that relationship is going to be?

10:53 >> Yeah, I mean that that's kind of like

10:55 when we started uh Cobra Team, there was

10:58 no Mateus, there was no other teammates

11:00 and all this. It was just the five of

11:01 us.

11:02 And uh we we're all responsible for each

11:06 other's fights and coaching each other,

11:08 being training partners and all that and

11:09 that was like amazing, you know, but on

11:12 a on a

11:13 certain level it becomes kind of

11:14 unsustainable, you know? Everyone's

11:16 fighting in different locations.

11:18 Everyone has different dates. And uh I'm

11:20 just happy that we found our our team

11:22 and everything and it's cool. Uh

11:25 but yeah, I mean at the end of the day I

11:29 I always think like you

11:31 you're focused on your fight, but it

11:33 only takes so much energy. So, even when

11:35 I have a fight, he has a fight, it's

11:37 still easy to to make time for for each

11:39 other. And I love like researching their

11:43 opponents and helping them out in that

11:44 way, watching all their sessions, and

11:46 just kind of being in the in the game

11:48 kind of helps remove yourself, even if

11:50 you have a fight, can help remove

11:51 yourself from the

11:52 stress, anxiety of your own fight, and

11:54 focus on something else. I really enjoy

11:56 that, but uh we're definitely all still

11:59 like a very close-knit family, you know

12:02 what I mean? And when they fight, it's

12:04 extremely important to me, whether it's

12:06 I'm helping him through every single

12:09 training session or not, but

12:11 um it's still definitely that team vibe

12:13 and and all that, you know.

12:14 >> I would love to get into like Mateus and

12:16 his story. I'm not too familiar. I know

12:17 he's kind of like the master splinter

12:19 behind, you know, over there. So, um if

12:21 you could just like share a little bit

12:22 of what you've learned from Mateus and

12:24 kind of his story.

12:26 >> Yeah, we

12:27 uh when Aussie got signed to the UFC, we

12:29 all moved to Vegas, and uh Mateus was

12:32 running like a small team of guys. You

12:35 know, obviously when you come to Vegas,

12:37 there's the Syndicate, there's the

12:39 Xtreme Couture, there's Nick Sick and

12:41 Wood, they're the two best coaches in

12:43 the world, all this.

12:44 Uh Mateus was just running like a small

12:46 class with

12:48 like

12:49 honestly like seven people,

12:51 >> Mhm.

12:51 >> you know?

12:52 And um

12:54 we wanted to be a part of that. We

12:55 wanted him to run Aussie's camp for his

12:58 comeback fight after he got signed cuz

13:00 we weren't able to be

13:02 uh

13:03 as involved as we were back when we were

13:05 all in LA because he moved here to be a

13:07 part of the PI and all of that. So, we

13:09 were driving back and forth every week,

13:11 and we needed somebody to kind of like

13:12 consolidate his

13:14 plan and and all those things for the

13:15 fight. So, Mateus became that guy, and

13:17 we all started training with him. And

13:20 the thing that I love the most about him

13:22 is

13:23 you can honestly tell like

13:26 he's not in it to be this like mega

13:29 coach and have all these UFC fighters

13:31 and all all all these things or

13:32 whatever. It's It's more like It's

13:34 definitely a way more intimate. Like he

13:36 cares

13:37 about the development of you as an

13:39 individual versus just the team as a

13:41 whole. And I think that's very unique to

13:43 find at this level because [snorts]

13:47 you know, like you see, especially in

13:49 Vegas, it's definitely uh you have 100

13:52 guys on the mat, you know, maybe 30 of

13:54 them are UFC fighters. It's a It's

13:56 crazy. It's unsustainable for one coach

13:57 to be

13:59 you know,

14:00 uh

14:01 the head coach for everyone.

14:03 >> give the attention to each person.

14:04 >> It's And it's nothing against them

14:06 because they're kind of like a victim of

14:07 their own success in a way. But if you

14:09 can keep it to the point where you have

14:11 like a couple of guys that you really

14:12 care about and you really want to grow

14:13 them and you care about their

14:14 development as an individual,

14:16 then that's where you can do really

14:18 great things. And I think that's been

14:19 proven over most of, you know, most of

14:22 history when it comes to like the

14:23 champions and stuff like that. Like if

14:25 you look back, they all had Even like

14:27 Trevor Wittman is somebody who does it

14:29 well, you know, he He's like, "Yeah, I

14:31 would probably

14:32 I could get 500 UFC fighters to come out

14:34 here and train with me, but I just want

14:36 my three or four guys because I can

14:38 focus on those three or four guys and

14:39 make sure that they're getting what they

14:41 need and

14:42 and all of that. So, I think for him

14:43 he's he's somebody who

14:46 uh really values that and I feel very

14:49 lucky that me and my team are

14:50 uh

14:51 some of those people that he has, you

14:53 know.

14:53 >> For sure. And he Did he fight as well?

14:55 Like he's from Brazil, right?

14:56 >> Yeah, he's actually one

14:58 a unique thing that is great about him

15:00 as a coach is he's in his physical

15:03 prime. He's like 33 years old, you know.

15:05 He just stopped fighting when he was

15:07 younger because he felt like it wasn't

15:09 the right path for him and he

15:12 learned a lot of things as a fighter

15:14 about the way he wanted to be coached

15:16 cuz he didn't feel like he had the

15:17 direction. He felt like he was kind of

15:18 all over the place.

15:20 And I think for his perspective, it's to

15:22 try be all those things that he didn't

15:24 have when he was [snorts] fighting

15:26 as a coach, you know, he wants to have

15:28 those things for his fighters. So,

15:30 uh it's unique and it's very awesome to

15:33 have somebody who's as skilled as he is

15:35 and if, you know,

15:37 all of us have trained with him. He's

15:38 actually like he's extremely good. He's

15:40 nice with it. So, to be able to like

15:42 learn things and practice them with him,

15:44 sparring or grappling or whatever, like

15:47 that's a massive benefit than just

15:49 having somebody who's on the outside

15:50 looking in. He can be in there mixing up

15:53 with a little bit as well, which is

15:55 something that, you know, we as Cobra

15:57 team all believed is as well as easier

16:00 for me to coach, you know, let's say

16:01 John Paul or Jonathan because I train

16:04 with them a lot, you know, I feel what

16:06 they do. I know what they're good at. I

16:07 know what they're not good at. I know

16:08 the how they react when they're feeling

16:10 uncomfortable or panicky or whatever.

16:13 Like I understand all those things from

16:14 training with them for years. So,

16:16 I think there's some sort of advantage

16:17 you get from actually being in there

16:19 with your guys than it is just watching

16:21 them from the outside, you know.

16:22 >> Yeah. And that you have you have

16:24 Aljamain Sterling as a training partner.

16:26 Like what are what are some of the

16:27 things that you notice that from a

16:29 high-level athlete like a like from like

16:32 Aljamain Sterling as a as a partner?

16:34 >> Oh, man.

16:36 I don't

16:37 He's definitely from anyone I've ever

16:39 trained with, he has the most like

16:41 complicated and comprehensive game that

16:44 I've ever

16:45 been with. Like I've ever trained with.

16:47 He's the hardest guy to win a round

16:49 against in the gym and it's just like

16:52 he knows how to win fights. He's

16:54 extremely impressive in that way. I

16:56 mean,

16:57 I don't know if there's one specific

16:59 thing that I could like identify would

17:00 be

17:01 um

17:02 something I would take away from like

17:04 the level that he's at, of course.

17:06 But, I always try to learn as much as I

17:09 can from him, especially when it comes

17:10 to the wrestling and the grappling and

17:12 the strategies and when to go for the

17:14 takedowns or just kind of the kind of

17:15 the way that his game is like

17:16 formulated, but

17:18 I was

17:19 I can trust what he is showing

17:22 because I know it works at a high level.

17:24 That makes sense? Like a lot of people

17:25 have

17:26 techniques like, "Oh, try this. Try

17:28 this. Try this." I'm definitely somebody

17:30 I love watching film. I love studying

17:32 fights.

17:33 And for me as a martial artist, I like

17:35 to practice techniques that I know work

17:37 at a high level because there's so many

17:38 things you can train in MMA when it

17:41 comes to all the different martial arts.

17:42 There's a million different techniques

17:44 to do.

17:45 But as a fighter, you need to be able to

17:47 identify the techniques that do work at

17:49 the highest level. So, you spend your

17:50 time working on those things because

17:53 why develop a takedown or a sweep or

17:55 whatever that works, you know, on the

17:58 regional scene, but doesn't work in the

17:59 UFC or works, you know, in the top 15,

18:02 but doesn't work in the top five. So, to

18:04 be able to work with him and to see all

18:06 the like kind of the tricks and

18:07 strategies and techniques that he uses

18:09 is amazing because I'm like, "Wow, I get

18:11 to learn these things and I know that

18:13 they work at a high level because I can

18:15 see him do it in his championship fights

18:17 or see him do it now."

18:19 Um that's probably the biggest benefit

18:21 is having somebody who really

18:23 understands what works at the highest

18:24 level.

18:25 >> He's definitely inspiring. I was over

18:27 there at the Q. We're doing a little bit

18:28 of media and Aljo's just like still

18:30 teaching people like a body triangle,

18:32 like a little adjustment to do here and

18:34 it's like he's still learning. He's

18:37 still being like able to show these

18:38 techniques and also kind of like, you

18:40 know, he gets some feedback from the

18:41 other fighters as well. So, I I found

18:43 him like, "Oh, this guy's competing at

18:45 the highest level, has been at the

18:46 highest level for a long time and still,

18:48 you know, evolving and stuff like that."

18:50 >> That was like the the main thing that we

18:51 all realized when he first started to

18:53 come and and train with our team. At

18:55 first, it was like very like surreal.

18:56 I'm like, "Oh, damn, it's Aljamain

18:58 Sterling." But he's honestly like the

18:59 most humble guy and he's the first

19:01 person that will spend 30 minutes with

19:05 you after training explaining to you

19:06 whatever it is that you want to know and

19:08 trying to help you out and asking

19:09 nothing for return, you know?

19:12 Like he's really

19:13 I have nothing but nice things to say

19:15 about him because he's

19:17 not just with me, but with anyone on the

19:19 team from heavyweight to flyweight, he's

19:22 helping them out, showing them things,

19:24 offering to work with them, and and do

19:27 anything he can to just make sure that

19:28 they have success in their own career,

19:30 you know?

19:30 >> Yeah.

19:31 >> So.

19:32 It's It's That's the man right there.

19:34 >> No, no, he he's really cool. I mean, you

19:36 you've dealt with a lot of adversity,

19:38 even though like you're undefeated, like

19:39 there was a fight where you got poked in

19:41 both of your eyes.

19:42 Um like how are you able to kind of

19:45 lock in in those types of moments, and

19:47 you know, really, you know, bite your

19:49 bite your bite your mouthpiece, and and

19:51 keep on going? Cuz you could have You

19:52 could have like just stopped the fight,

19:54 right? Be like a no contest and stuff

19:55 like that. Like how how are you able to

19:57 kind of fight through those things?

19:59 >> Uh I don't know if there's any specific

20:02 skill set or

20:03 >> Yeah,

20:04 or like the the feelings that you have.

20:06 >> No, for sure, but like I've been doing

20:08 it since my very first fight, and I

20:10 think

20:11 what most people suffer from

20:14 when they're usually 8 and 0, 7 and 0,

20:17 and you look at their typology, and

20:18 they're,

20:19 you know, 8 and 0 with eight first-round

20:22 finishes. Like, that's great, but those

20:24 are eight first-round finishes. Those

20:26 aren't eight fights.

20:28 You know what I'm saying? Fight is very

20:29 different than just one-way traffic

20:31 where you steamroll somebody.

20:33 And I feel like I've been very lucky in

20:35 that

20:36 my typology is all green. I'm 8 and 0,

20:39 but the way that I had to win those

20:40 fights are extremely gritty. Like even

20:42 my first pro fight was kind of a dog

20:45 fight, and I ended up getting him with a

20:47 TKO in the second round, but it was back

20:49 and forth, and

20:50 of course, the fight that I had with

20:52 Saifullo was nasty, you know? Eye poke,

20:55 then he broke my orbital, and I had to

20:57 fight through that.

20:58 I I don't know if there's any specific

21:01 like thing that I have. I just refuse to

21:03 let somebody steal a win from me,

21:06 especially in a sport that's so

21:07 dangerous.

21:08 I feel like uh in a jiu-jitsu

21:10 competition, it's much easier to allow

21:13 your opponent to

21:14 kind of

21:16 run away with the victory. That makes

21:17 sense. But in a fight, it you're aware

21:19 of how apparent the danger is.

21:21 And so, it's much easier at least it's

21:24 been much easier for me in my career to

21:26 never give up on myself cuz I know the

21:28 consequences if I do.

21:31 And I also just put way too much

21:33 of my life, probably to a fault, into

21:36 this sport where I just again, I just

21:38 refuse to let somebody beat me.

21:40 Like you're going to have to take me

21:41 out, which is not the mentality that I

21:42 would have in a jiu-jitsu competition or

21:44 a sparring session at the gym, you know

21:46 what I'm saying? It's very different. Um

21:48 but I think those are really really

21:50 valuable experiences that not a lot of

21:52 people talk about because again,

21:55 everyone wants to preserve their record

21:57 and they want to be undefeated. And

21:58 that's great. We all want to be the

21:59 undefeated. And yeah, again, I'm glad to

22:02 be undefeated. But I also know the type

22:04 of like caliber of fights that I've had.

22:06 I also know like the type of things that

22:08 I've had to overcome

22:11 uh to get a lot of the wins that I have.

22:12 Even my first amateur fight, first punch

22:15 the guy threw it broke my nose.

22:18 Immediately. First punch ever. You know,

22:20 first punch I ever took in a fight, ever

22:22 took in real life,

22:23 broke my nose.

22:24 And again, that was just something that

22:26 I don't expect to go in there and have

22:27 these one-way traffic fights like some

22:30 other people probably do.

22:31 I expect it to be tough, but I was

22:33 always expect me to

22:35 figure out a way to win, you know? And I

22:37 think

22:38 I'm very grateful to where I'm at now.

22:40 Again, I'm only 8-0 and I think to an

22:42 outsider, it would look like oh, maybe

22:45 he's unexperienced. He hasn't faced any

22:47 adversity.

22:48 But I think if you really do the

22:49 research and you and you look at the

22:50 fights that I've had, you'd be like,

22:51 okay, these are not These are

22:54 you know, he's had to win fights, not

22:56 just bully people, you know?

22:58 >> Right.

22:59 >> So, I value that a lot.

23:00 >> What What would you say you learned the

23:02 most from your first UFC debut?

23:06 >> Hmm.

23:07 All right.

23:08 >> I would say first UFC debut. Is it a UFC

23:10 debut? All right.

23:11 >> I mean, man, I

23:13 I don't know if I've

23:15 nothing.

23:16 >> Really?

23:17 >> Nothing. You know, it's just a fight.

23:19 Like

23:19 >> Mhm.

23:20 >> at the end of the day, I've learned more

23:22 from other fights that I had. This was

23:24 a tough fight. Like he basically broke

23:27 my rib in the second round. I had to

23:29 fight through that. A lot of things that

23:30 people probably didn't see. Obviously, a

23:32 tough weight cut on short notice,

23:34 fighting at 02:00 p.m. instead of 08:00

23:36 p.m. because you get 6 more hours to

23:38 rehydrate. All those types of things

23:39 like play a factor, but they're all

23:41 things that I've

23:43 I've done before. Again, talking to

23:45 experience and like having those fights

23:48 in my pro career, having them in my

23:49 amateur career, I'm used to all those

23:51 things, you know. Fighting probably when

23:54 you're not fully rehydrated, fighting

23:56 through injuries, fighting through

23:58 weight cuts, all these types of things.

23:59 Like I've done them before, you know.

24:01 The only difference for me in this fight

24:03 was

24:04 uh

24:05 I was fighting with a different pair of

24:06 gloves on and I was in the Apex. But at

24:08 the end of the day, it's it's the same

24:09 thing. It's just a fight. And uh

24:12 I'm just glad to be on the journey. I'm

24:15 grateful to be where I'm at now. Now I

24:17 get to have my run in the UFC and like

24:20 really improve and and and have all the

24:22 things that the PI can give me and the

24:24 UFC can give me. But at the end of the

24:25 day, man, like

24:27 uh it was just a fight.

24:29 >> Just a fight.

24:29 >> It was just a fight.

24:31 >> I thought it was just cool that you you

24:32 know, short notice UFC debut, put the

24:33 gloves on for the first time. Yeah. Um

24:36 when I was talking to Jean Paul, like he

24:37 made it seem like you know, or you know,

24:39 he's he's been building this up. You

24:40 know, he's been training since a kid.

24:42 Like did you feel like you had those

24:43 similar feelings of like, oh, like this

24:44 is real or you're kind of just like

24:46 this is where it starts. Like where What

24:48 were your feelings for that?

24:50 >> Yeah, I mean, there's

24:51 conflicting feelings, you know, cuz of

24:53 course I've been training for 10 years

24:55 now, you know. Training with 10 years

24:56 for the the moment that I'm here, but I

24:59 think for me I've always been like I

25:02 my goal was never to be a UFC fighter.

25:03 It was to be a UFC champion, to be

25:05 somebody who really made a

25:06 a name in the sport, you know? So,

25:09 being in the UFC is

25:11 is unbelievable, you know? And I can

25:13 be appreciative enough and grateful

25:15 enough to like smell the roses and

25:17 understand how unique and rare this is,

25:19 especially only 2 years into my pro

25:21 career and making my UFC debut, which is

25:23 like so extremely fast turnaround, you

25:25 know?

25:26 Um

25:27 extremely grateful, extremely surreal. I

25:29 had the same feeling when I put the

25:31 gloves on and I did all the posters and

25:33 all all those kinds of things, but

25:36 for me, the day of the fight, I was just

25:38 like, I'm focused on the fight. I

25:40 I knew I wasn't getting any UFC jitters

25:43 or any of these things because

25:45 uh

25:47 I was focused on the guy that I had to

25:49 fight, you know? Because it's different

25:51 than a job promotion and a different in

25:54 a different field,

25:55 >> You know, it's like

25:55 >> For sure.

25:56 >> this job promotion is harder. Like, you

25:57 got to fight tougher guys now in front

25:59 of more people and on a bigger platform.

26:01 >> Mhm.

26:01 >> So, if anything, it's like lock in more

26:04 for the fight, you know? But, of course,

26:06 like I I had the same

26:09 feelings of it being surreal, but I

26:11 think it more so hit me after the fight

26:14 where I was like in the back doing the

26:16 media, taking the photos, finally could

26:18 like take the pressure off my shoulders

26:20 and be like, it's over. I won my UFC

26:23 debut, you know?

26:24 That's where I feel like it hit me the

26:25 most.

26:26 >> Yeah. I mean, you said you were all in

26:27 at 15. Like, did you just Did you have

26:30 any other hobbies outside of fighting

26:32 that you you like doing just to take

26:34 your your mind off it?

26:35 >> Yeah. I mean, I'm kind of like a hyper

26:37 obsessive person. So, if I like have

26:39 something that I'm doing, I'm all in on

26:41 that. I don't really have anything else,

26:43 you know? So, as a kid, it was, you

26:45 know, skateboarding. I That's all I did.

26:48 I watched videos this My life is just

26:49 skateboarding. Then it's surfing. And

26:51 then it's [ __ ] Call of Duty or

26:53 whatever the hell it is.

26:54 When I made that transition to like

26:56 fighting, and fighting became kind of

26:58 everything for me, I

27:00 I can't It's hard for me to say that I

27:01 had any other hobbies. Like

27:03 Yeah, like

27:05 started playing Call of Duty more

27:07 or like skateboarding again, like just

27:09 kind of dabbling in things I used to do.

27:11 >> Right.

27:11 >> Just more nostalgic purposes, but at the

27:14 end of the day, like

27:15 yeah, I don't especially MMA is like so

27:18 all-consuming, you know, and moved out

27:21 here to Vegas and

27:23 my life is just all this. My girlfriend

27:25 lives here now, supporting the journey.

27:27 So, other than training and focusing on

27:30 fighting, like I just hang out with my

27:32 with my people. You know what I mean?

27:34 >> But, yeah, I I knew I was going to do

27:36 this from the moment that I like saw

27:39 those fights. I was like, this is what

27:41 I'm doing with my life

27:43 because of

27:44 you know,

27:46 other reasons, but

27:47 >> Yeah. I know probably people ask you all

27:49 the time, but you your

27:52 your girlfriend is Jon Pall's sister.

27:54 >> Yeah.

27:55 >> It's

27:55 >> [laughter]

27:55 >> What are How do people feel when they

27:57 figure that out? Cuz I was

27:58 >> Surprised. Lance was like I told him

28:00 Lance yesterday, he was like, no. No

28:02 way.

28:03 >> Yeah.

28:03 >> I was like, yeah, bro. We've been

28:05 together for like 4 and 1/2 years. So.

28:06 >> It's crazy.

28:07 >> Yeah, it is it's pretty crazy. But, I

28:09 guess like now it's like it makes sense.

28:11 It's just like we're so used to it now.

28:12 We're like a little family.

28:15 >> Yeah, for sure.

28:15 >> But, yeah, I met her when he got his

28:17 black belt

28:19 >> Okay.

28:19 >> at his like black belt ceremony.

28:21 >> Yeah. I have a picture I have a picture

28:22 in my room with him like I have I had a

28:24 some pictures he signed them all. So, I

28:26 I know what you're saying.

28:27 >> Yeah.

28:27 >> Yeah, yeah.

28:28 >> Yeah. So, you were there.

28:29 >> Yeah. That's where I met him. I was his

28:30 teammate at the time.

28:32 She was living in San Diego for college,

28:35 so she came up to do the black belt

28:36 thing. She came to the gym to train with

28:39 us

28:40 that day, and then I met her there.

28:42 >> She must be pretty stressed when you

28:44 guys fight.

28:45 >> Yeah. It's It's a torturous life for

28:47 her, for sure.

28:48 >> can't I can't imagine cuz I have a

28:50 friend who fights. And even when I watch

28:52 him fight, I'm like, oh, this is this is

28:53 different. This is

28:55 >> Yeah.

28:55 >> It's It's way harder when your friend

28:57 fights.

28:58 And imagine like your brother fighting,

29:00 and then your boyfriend fighting is like

29:03 it's the worst. But, we we always talk

29:04 about that. We're like, me and John Paul

29:06 are like, how crazy it is it that we're

29:08 both in the UFC, both came from like

29:10 we're friends in high school and all

29:12 this. I was like, dude,

29:13 you know how much more rare it is that

29:15 your brother and your boyfriend are in

29:17 the UFC, you know? And you didn't like

29:19 you didn't start dating him when he was

29:20 a UFC fighter. Like, she was

29:22 We We were dating when I had my third

29:25 amateur fight, you know? So, she's been

29:27 around the whole journey. You know what

29:29 I mean?

29:30 >> And obviously been with him the whole

29:31 journey. So, it is very unique. But, I

29:34 think her her perspective on things is

29:36 probably even more unique and even more

29:38 rare than me and John Paul both being in

29:41 the UFC together, knowing each other

29:42 from high school or whatnot.

29:43 >> Right. And so, like when when you're

29:45 training, like when you were, you know,

29:47 going up the the amateur into the pros,

29:49 how are you able to make sure that

29:51 you're making the right improvements to

29:52 make sure you're you're you're locked in

29:54 for your next fight, even though you you

29:55 know you've been winning? A lot of

29:56 people make adjustments after they lose.

29:57 How are you able to find those

29:58 adjustments after wins?

30:01 >> It's It just comes easy to me because I

30:04 don't necessarily rely on anybody else

30:07 to help me make improvements. Like, it's

30:09 just something I always want to do, you

30:10 know? After my last fight,

30:12 I have a bunch of things that I want to

30:14 work on. Unfortunately, I can't do much

30:16 of it right now because I'm like

30:17 suffering from a rib injury and it's

30:19 driving me crazy, but I think a lot of

30:21 people they rely People are just

30:23 different, you know? Some fighters are

30:24 like soldiers and other fighters really

30:26 like to take command in their own

30:28 journey and really kind of be the head

30:29 coach for themselves.

30:30 >> Right.

30:31 >> I feel like I'm a little bit more on

30:32 that side where I always take

30:34 accountability and want to figure out

30:37 what it is that I can improve. And like

30:39 I said before, I'm always studying the

30:41 sport, you know? so watching the sport

30:44 at the highest level is always my

30:45 reference point for what it is that um I

30:49 need to get better at. And if I have a

30:51 problem in the wrestling department for

30:54 me, then I again, I'll go watch a bunch

30:57 of fights, I'll figure out which fighter

30:59 does what I need to work on the best.

31:02 Does he have the similar body type? Does

31:04 he have a similar style to me? Great,

31:07 now I can study that because I know that

31:09 works at the highest level. So, it's

31:10 kind of like the process I'm always

31:12 going through, and it's something that I

31:14 do even when I'm in camp, which is

31:16 probably again to It's up to a point,

31:18 right? Almost to a fault, you know,

31:19 where you start changing things you

31:21 don't need to change because you get so

31:22 obsessed about oh, this guy does this

31:24 thing well, I could do this, and then

31:26 >> Yeah.

31:26 >> I just like love the sport, you know? I

31:29 like I'm a fighter, yeah, but like I

31:31 really do feel like I'm a I'm a martial

31:33 artist first, and making improvements,

31:35 finding new techniques, and trying to

31:36 refine things are are something that I'm

31:38 always always trying to do, so. Of

31:41 course, I have my coaches and people who

31:43 will be honest with me and be like,

31:44 you're neglecting this area because

31:45 you're obsessed with doing this right

31:47 now. Like, let's keep going, but um

31:51 yeah, it's never really been a problem

31:53 for me, so I feel like that's helped me

31:54 a lot in just improving, and I I feel

31:56 like every fight I show something that I

31:59 didn't have before, or something I

32:01 wasn't able to show in a previous fight,

32:03 but like from my pro debut to where I'm

32:05 at now, you've seen

32:08 three or four different styles, fighting

32:10 southpaw, orthodox, wrestling here, back

32:12 foot here, like I feel uh that I've been

32:16 very diverse in my approach to the game.

32:18 >> Do you have a favorite fighter to watch

32:20 right now? I feel like I have a few

32:21 fighters I could guess, but

32:23 >> Who would be your guess?

32:24 >> I would be I would guess uh Petr Yan or

32:27 Volg.

32:27 >> Yeah, that was good, yeah. Petr Yan. I

32:30 uh

32:31 I watch a lot of Ilya, watch a lot of

32:33 Petr Yan, watch a lot of like when it

32:35 comes to the wrestling, GSP's always my

32:37 favorite.

32:38 >> Of course.

32:39 Merab, all those guys.

32:41 Um

32:43 But yeah, I was big on the Ilya style,

32:45 developed a lot of that. My teammate

32:47 Levon Chokheli kind of has a similar

32:49 style, so I've learned learned a ton

32:51 from him in that in that department.

32:54 Petr Yan is is somebody who's like

32:55 really fun to watch. Stands a little bit

32:57 more square than bladed. It's a

33:00 different style, which I think works

33:02 well for MMA. Helps him defend takedowns

33:04 and other other things other things like

33:06 that. But

33:08 in terms of like

33:10 fighter I've watched the most

33:13 it'd probably be GSP.

33:14 >> Yeah.

33:14 >> Yeah. GSP's my favorite fighter of all

33:16 time.

33:16 >> What's most interesting interesting

33:17 about GSP is that he when he when he

33:19 lands takedowns he never has the need to

33:21 the mat.

33:22 >> Yeah.

33:22 Yeah.

33:23 >> It's like

33:24 >> Yeah, he's like the master of

33:26 using uh strikes to get into takedowns.

33:29 He's always my favorite like

33:31 those stories are are my favorite

33:33 because I'm not somebody who comes from

33:34 like a wrestling background or a

33:35 jiu-jitsu background or I grew up my

33:37 whole life doing Muay Thai or all of

33:39 this. So

33:40 for somebody who's never had a

33:42 background in anything like Georges

33:43 St-Pierre did he's the most effective

33:45 wrestler in in mixed martial arts

33:46 history and he never wrestled in high

33:48 school, college, nothing. He just picks

33:50 it up as an MMA fighter. His base for

33:53 wrestling was karate essentially. Yeah.

33:55 And those those are things that I love

33:57 cuz I love

33:58 you know

33:59 how am I supposed to out-wrestle a guy

34:02 who you know went to Oklahoma State and

34:04 is a two-time national champion? Like in

34:06 my mind, of course, that's going to be a

34:08 hard thing to do, but

34:09 there's ways to

34:11 fight in MMA where you can get takedowns

34:14 or do submissions on people who have

34:17 you know

34:18 jiu-jitsu experience and jiu-jitsu

34:19 accolades and all these things. So like

34:21 mixed martial arts is kind of the great

34:22 equalizer if you know how to do

34:23 everything well.

34:25 And I feel like GSP is somebody who like

34:27 really

34:28 exemplifies that and shows you like

34:30 anything is possible. He can take down

34:31 Josh Koscheck, two-time national

34:33 champion, you know?

34:34 >> cool.

34:34 >> So, I love that kind of that kind of

34:36 stuff.

34:36 >> For sure. And I think that

34:38 like being able to

34:41 share technique, I feel like GSP is just

34:43 so open. Even on podcasts of being able

34:45 to like being open about his nerves, the

34:47 fear of being able to be like to go out

34:50 there and fight. I I find it very like

34:52 admirable from from Georges St-Pierre.

34:54 >> Yes, relatable, you know? Those are the

34:55 things that all fighters

34:57 suffer from, unless they're idiots, you

34:59 know?

35:00 >> Do you remember your first fight? Like

35:01 your first fight like that,

35:03 the feelings and nerves before that like

35:05 or were you kind of What was going

35:06 through your mind during that?

35:07 >> Yeah, you think you're You think you're

35:09 in the wrong sport, you know? [laughter]

35:11 But I think if you if you have performed

35:15 in anything, you know, like at a high

35:18 level or

35:19 I I think fighting is just such an

35:20 interesting one because there's like

35:23 there's reputation and and and all those

35:25 stakes that go into just performing, but

35:27 then there's also this massive like

35:29 danger element. So, I think the feelings

35:32 that you have before an MMA fighter are

35:34 are just like next level. They're

35:36 different. But of course, you have you

35:38 have all those feelings that you feel

35:40 like you're an impostor. You you don't

35:42 want to be there, but you And those are

35:44 the things that we all deal with now,

35:46 you know? Because you dream about having

35:48 your fight, but then you actually get to

35:49 the fight, you're like, "Fuck this. I

35:51 want to go home."

35:52 You know, those are like the inter

35:54 conflicts. You start having doubts. You

35:55 start being super, you know, start

35:57 self-examining yourself. Oh my god, can

35:59 I do this? Do I know how to do this? And

36:02 um that some stuff like people like GSP

36:04 talk about those things make you realize

36:06 like, "Okay,

36:07 these are just feelings. You don't have

36:09 to interact with them."

36:11 Uh but if you have these feelings, it

36:13 doesn't mean that you're an impostor or

36:14 you're in the wrong business. It just

36:15 means that

36:17 you just these things will be here now.

36:19 And if you don't involve yourself with

36:21 them, if you don't examine them too like

36:24 too hard, they're going to go away, you

36:26 know? And, for me um like I said in in

36:30 the Jiu-Jitsu competition versus an MMA

36:32 fight it's much easier to let the

36:34 feelings win

36:36 >> Mhm.

36:36 >> in a Jiu-Jitsu thing because there's not

36:38 as much danger, you know? For me, when I

36:41 had my first MMA fight, like I was

36:43 nervous. I did have all those feelings.

36:45 And then the guy hit me in the face and

36:47 broke my nose, and now it was just

36:49 there's no more feelings. It's just

36:51 survive or die in my mind, you know?

36:53 >> No, for sure.

36:54 >> And so, that's just the mode that I went

36:56 into.

36:56 >> Right.

36:57 >> So, I know that I have that. I know that

36:59 that's always going to come out for me

37:01 in a fight, you know?

37:03 >> But

37:04 yeah.

37:05 >> So, as we're shooting this, it's

37:06 International Fight Week. Uh main event,

37:09 Max Holloway and Conor McGregor. How is

37:12 it as a UFC fighter kind of just seeing

37:14 how things are with a like a big event

37:16 like this like Conor McGregor? I know

37:18 he's like an inspiration for you as

37:19 well. Like, how how does it feel as as a

37:22 fighter?

37:23 >> It's interesting. I don't know. I feel

37:25 like I'm still kind of a fan, you know

37:26 what I mean?

37:26 >> For sure.

37:27 >> Front desk told me that Conor was going

37:28 to be at the PI. I was like, "I'm going

37:30 to stick around and wait until see him,

37:31 you know?" So, I was like

37:32 >> [laughter]

37:33 >> it's just like it's weird, but I do feel

37:34 like there's a lot of like there's

37:36 levels in the UFC, you know? Like

37:40 and uh you see this from all the

37:42 fighters that are even on the card, you

37:44 know? I feel like everyone's kind of in

37:45 awe that they're on a Conor McGregor

37:46 card because there's so many people like

37:49 I look there's a lot of guys my age that

37:51 are fighting on this card as well. So, I

37:53 know they're from that same like

37:55 generation.

37:56 >> sure.

37:56 >> And uh it's cool, but I don't think

37:59 there's anything like uniquely defining

38:01 about it other than just like I'm being

38:03 at the PI and I see all the guys and a

38:06 little bit more on like a

38:08 you know

38:09 chill co-worker basis at that at that

38:12 stage, but

38:14 I mean, I'm just going to be like

38:15 everybody else, you know? I'm going to

38:16 be excited when Conor walks out and all

38:18 of that like just a fan, a kid again,

38:20 you know? But nothing nothing too

38:23 different.

38:24 >> Are you excited for like

38:26 uh like a a event outside of the Apex?

38:29 Like what How how would you say

38:31 from competing at other venues from

38:33 outside the Apex? It seems like the Apex

38:35 is very intimate. I've

38:36 I've went Actually, I was there at

38:38 Sterling versus Zaleski. So, I was there

38:40 and I saw you and uh

38:42 um How is it just

38:44 competing there at the Apex? Is it

38:46 different? Do you feel the energy from

38:48 the fans? Anything that you've noticed?

38:51 >> I mean

38:52 as opposed to my last fight that was in

38:54 kind of a similar sized venue, but I had

38:57 uh not my last fight, but my fight A1

39:00 before that. I had 110 people there. So,

39:03 I definitely much more energy for sure

39:06 when you when you or people are there,

39:07 but I'm excited to be on a big stage,

39:11 you know, in an arena and feel just the

39:14 energy from fight fans, not just people

39:17 who know you, but just fight fans, you

39:18 know.

39:19 And uh

39:21 but like I said before about the the

39:24 nerves and the jitters and all that,

39:25 like once you're in the cage, you don't

39:28 really feel any of that. You kind of

39:31 you're you're zoned in. You're locked

39:32 in, you know.

39:32 >> I hear that all the time, but like how

39:34 is that even possible when you have

39:35 thousands of people screaming? Like Does

39:38 Does something happen with your brain

39:39 where you're able to just focus and

39:40 >> Yeah, I think for sure there's something

39:42 that

39:43 Look, it's a dangerous sport. You know,

39:45 it's like You Yeah, there's thousands of

39:47 people looking at you right now, but

39:48 like that guy over there is about to try

39:50 to like kick your head, you know? So,

39:53 you have to be locked in. If you're not

39:54 locked in, then I I imagine that's how

39:56 people have those types of experiences

39:58 where they're just like, "Oh, the lights

39:59 got to me, and then I wasn't focused,

40:01 and the guy knocked me out this and

40:02 that." It's like

40:03 I can understand how that happens, but

40:06 at least for me, I know from every

40:08 experience that I've had in all my, you

40:10 know,

40:11 I think I've had 20 fights now.

40:13 Um

40:14 I've never been a problem for me. It's

40:17 never been a thing, you know. [snorts]

40:19 Sometimes you'll you'll look you'll see

40:21 someone you know or whatnot, but then at

40:23 the end of the day you lock back in

40:25 and you just focus on the job, you know.

40:28 >> Do you have a dream fight?

40:30 >> A dream fight?

40:33 Not really, man. I just like

40:36 I

40:37 just can't wait to be back. I can't wait

40:39 to like really show the

40:43 the mixed martial arts community like

40:44 what I'm capable of.

40:46 And

40:47 I feel like I did some of those things

40:48 in the fight, but of course there's a

40:50 lot of different X factors that

40:52 can cause you to have

40:54 you know

40:55 missing elements of your performance.

40:56 And I feel like that's what happened and

40:57 I'm not like making any excuses or

40:59 anything like that. Tough opponent,

41:01 tough scenario. I'm in the UFC now. I'm

41:04 super grateful. It was awesome. I just

41:06 excited to come back and show everybody

41:07 what I'm capable of doing and

41:09 I know that when I'm operating at my

41:12 best that there's no one in the division

41:15 that can

41:15 >> Yeah.

41:16 >> can mess with me. And I'm excited to

41:17 show that over the coming years, you

41:18 know.

41:19 >> Yeah, for sure.

41:19 >> Of course, 26, 8-0, just made my debut.

41:21 There's a lot of work to do. There's a

41:23 lot of like foundation I got to set, but

41:26 I'm excited for that. So, for me there's

41:28 not a specific name

41:30 >> That's right.

41:30 >> in mind. It's just the way that I

41:32 perform against everybody going forward

41:35 is more so what's important to me.

41:37 >> Yeah. And what I was surprised I was

41:39 surprised to see like kind of like hate

41:41 comments under your like your stuff.

41:42 Like I I felt like it was like, you

41:44 know, like is that something that you

41:45 know going into it like you might you

41:47 know get a lot of people like on social

41:49 media. It's like it's like a weird

41:50 thing, right? You get on your phone and

41:51 you see like like

41:53 >> [laughter]

41:54 >> How how does it feel like yeah, you

41:55 know, preparing for that cuz I'm sure

41:57 there's going to be stuff like that.

41:58 >> I thought it would get to me more, you

42:01 know, but it didn't. It was just kind of

42:02 funny. Like I had like DMs of people

42:03 just like, "Fuck you." I'm [laughter]

42:05 like, "What?"

42:07 Like this is crazy. But um

42:10 No, there was definitely a lot of hate

42:11 comments, you know, especially from the

42:12 Georgian fans. They did not like that

42:14 decision. And that's fine. But I mean

42:18 cry about it at the end of the day.

42:19 >> Yeah, it's an interesting thing cuz

42:20 like, you know, training with Merab and

42:23 you guys are cool with Aljamain Merab.

42:25 So it's kind of like I always kind of

42:26 wonder about like the relationships like

42:28 with gyms and partners and stuff. Like

42:31 it's always a Is that just something

42:32 that you just have to deal with as a as

42:34 a fighter and just kind of just work it,

42:36 you know, tunnel vision on on your own

42:38 stuff and

42:39 >> Yeah, I mean I This was a very like

42:41 Obviously, there were so many elements

42:43 of this fight that were unique, the

42:44 short notice, the opponent, all of it,

42:45 but

42:46 being in I've trained with Otar before.

42:49 We're We're cool. I'm cool with all of

42:51 his friends. Like his friends are my

42:53 training partners. I don't know if

42:54 people know that, but all of his like

42:56 Georgian teammates train with us at the

42:59 Q or Georgian friends, sorry, train with

43:01 us at the Q. So they're my teammates. So

43:03 it was a very like interesting dynamic.

43:05 The whole fight week was very

43:07 interesting, but for me, I've never been

43:09 a part of something that felt so just

43:10 like respectful, you know?

43:13 Everyone was super respectful. Like it's

43:15 like best man win. We're No, like this

43:17 isn't just business. We're happy for

43:19 both of you guys, all these types of

43:20 things. So um for me

43:23 yeah, it's just business. I've been a

43:25 part of like I I feel like on the

43:27 regional scene, there's much more like

43:29 rivalries because it's like you're

43:30 fighting for peanuts. You know what I'm

43:32 saying? It's like only one of us can get

43:34 to the UFC or any of that. So

43:38 at least on the regional scene, I feel

43:39 like things are more hostile because

43:41 they're

43:42 like I said, it's Yeah, you're fighting

43:44 for scraps, you know? And so this team

43:46 versus this team, everything's like

43:47 super personal and all that, but at this

43:51 level, it just feels like it's it's

43:52 business. Everybody has respect for each

43:54 other because at the end of the day,

43:55 it's like

43:56 I respect my opponent because he's here.

43:58 You know, he put himself in a position

44:00 to be where I'm at, and I know how hard

44:02 I work to be in this position. So we're

44:04 all just respectful of each other, and

44:06 of course,

44:07 fight is personal to a certain extent

44:10 because there is so much on the line and

44:13 your future in the sport is on the line

44:14 and all those types of things, but

44:16 um for me I think it's just business,

44:19 you know, so I I don't This is a cool

44:21 experience cuz if it happens going

44:23 forward, I'm going to be like, all

44:24 right, done it before, you know. It was

44:26 my first time doing that against someone

44:28 that I've known or trained with or any

44:29 of those kinds of things, so I'm

44:31 grateful for it.

44:32 >> The thing I was like always wanted to

44:33 know, I mean, I I did speak to Jose

44:35 Delgado and he said when he fought Andre

44:37 Fili, you know, he kind of had those

44:39 like, you know, his feelings like, oh my

44:40 god, I'm fighting Andre Fili. As a fan

44:42 of the sport, do you feel like you're

44:43 going to [snorts] run into those moments

44:44 where you're just like, oh [ __ ] like

44:45 I'm actually going to fight Andre

44:46 >> Yeah, maybe.

44:47 >> Yeah.

44:47 >> Maybe. I mean, again, like I said, I

44:49 don't think it will affect me in the

44:50 performance

44:52 cuz even if it is Andre Fili,

44:54 I'm like,

44:56 I can't let this guy like hurt me, you

44:58 know, in front of my mom. She's sitting

44:59 right over there. So like in that way

45:01 >> Yeah.

45:01 >> for sure, like I don't think it would

45:03 affect my performance or anything, but I

45:04 think for sure it would

45:06 it would definitely be weird.

45:07 >> Yeah.

45:08 >> You know, if I I think about that all

45:10 the time for these guys that that come

45:11 up and

45:13 you know, I'm like, what if 5 years from

45:15 now I'm fighting Ilia and Ilia is like

45:17 ranked number seven and he's like the

45:19 gatekeeper for It's like it those are

45:21 super weird things that that could

45:24 definitely happen and will happen, you

45:26 know, but um

45:29 I'm excited for those those moments, you

45:31 know, I'm excited for those moments.

45:33 >> like this is this is weird, but like I

45:35 had a dream one time, bro, and you were

45:36 fighting like Charles Oliveira, bro, and

45:38 I was like, what? I woke up and I'm

45:40 like, what was that? It felt so real,

45:42 bro. And I was like, I told my brother,

45:44 I'm like, that was that was insane. I

45:47 don't know why that that dream kind of

45:49 like stuck with me cuz I I don't dream a

45:51 ton, but that one felt like super real.

45:52 I'm like, huh, that seems that seemed

45:55 very odd, but I love Charles Oliveira. I

45:57 don't know.

45:57 >> I don't know. I don't know, man.

45:59 >> want to fight Charles, bro. love

46:00 >> I love Charles, though, you know, I you

46:03 know, he fights at 155 and you know, he

46:05 is

46:06 he's doing good with the the BMF and

46:07 stuff like that too. So

46:09 >> He's another guy that I love watching

46:10 and studying. He's amazing, dude. He's

46:13 only getting He's only gotten better

46:14 since like his championship run.

46:17 You know,

46:18 >> It's It's crazy.

46:18 >> crazy.

46:19 >> His his his grappling so high level. I

46:21 honestly I thought he was going to beat

46:22 Arman to be honest, you know, with those

46:24 submissions and stuff, but

46:25 Yeah.

46:26 >> It was a little tough. Um I did want to

46:27 give a shoutout to Michael. I know you

46:29 know Michael and LA H Media. You know,

46:31 yeah, so he's your boy like

46:33 you know, he's helped me out a ton. Like

46:35 we're at the awards, you know, we're

46:37 chilling with Aljo and Joshua Van was

46:38 there and you know, he invited me and I

46:40 had a great experience, you know, so um

46:42 I wanted to shout him out. Is there

46:43 anything any stories that stand out to

46:45 you with you and Michael? A lot of a lot

46:46 post fight interviews you had with the

46:48 fedora on, you know.

46:49 >> that was my first pro fight. I like

46:52 that was a cool moment. I remember being

46:54 like kind of like

46:56 uh he asked me to do the interview and I

46:58 was like, yeah, bro, like what's up?

47:00 Like, you know, it was definitely a cool

47:01 moment so to like

47:03 I've I've done interviews with him and

47:05 seen him after all of my big moments in

47:07 my career and uh it's cool. The only two

47:11 years later we're we're here now, you

47:13 know, so

47:14 shoutout to him, dude. He's one of the

47:15 good guys in the sport and uh I hope

47:18 nothing but success for that guy and if

47:19 there's anything I can do for him going

47:21 forward, especially as as I start to

47:23 take off here shortly,

47:24 >> Hell yeah.

47:25 >> I'll bring him up on the ride, you know.

47:27 >> Oh yeah, for sure. No, Michael Michael's

47:29 he's super cool and you know, just

47:31 seeing him putting in all the work, he

47:32 does commentary, does interviews.

47:34 >> grinding.

47:34 >> You know,

47:36 >> He was driving like I remember he was

47:37 telling me he driving this venue, this

47:38 venue. He was like driving all [ __ ]

47:40 day.

47:41 And yeah, that guy grinds, bro. Grinds.

47:45 >> For sure.

47:45 >> Respect.

47:46 >> Yeah, man. I mean, I feel like you

47:47 really take fighting like a like a video

47:49 game, which is which is cool to see cuz

47:50 I love video games and stuff too. So I

47:52 just feel like you're able to increase

47:54 your level. Is there any like

47:56 comparisons that you can make with video

47:58 games and fighting that that kind of

47:59 stand out to you as as a gamer?

48:02 >> Uh

48:03 man, I don't know because I feel like uh

48:06 I'm like fighting is more you're like

48:08 trying to increase a like a What do they

48:10 call those? Like a role-playing game

48:12 where you have like one character and

48:14 you're leveling them up slowly over

48:15 time. That's like World of Warcraft or

48:17 something [ __ ] like that. It's like more

48:18 like that. I'm playing more Call of Duty

48:21 like just right in the right in the

48:22 paint, you know?

48:23 >> Mhm.

48:23 >> But

48:24 uh I definitely I can definitely see the

48:27 comparisons there because you you spend

48:28 so much time like it's really like a

48:30 project, you know? You as a martial

48:32 artist, you as a fighter

48:34 is um

48:36 it's a project and you have to add

48:38 pieces to it. It's like art. You have to

48:40 add all of the

48:41 things that you want. Add the flair, add

48:43 the you know, everything that

48:46 you want the fighter to be, you know?

48:48 And in that way it's it's very um

48:51 it's artistic cuz you get to

48:53 you get to like really build yourself if

48:55 you want. Or if you you want a coach or

48:58 somebody else to like help you do that

48:59 because that's what they think is the

49:01 most efficient just for fighting, that's

49:03 cool, too. For me, I love being a just a

49:06 martial artist, so I'm not always

49:08 thinking about just fighting, you know?

49:10 I'm always thinking about like what's

49:12 the cooler

49:13 coolest or most efficient thing I can

49:14 add to my game as a martial artist just

49:16 in training and and these types of

49:18 situations like that, so I really enjoy

49:20 like building the character, if you

49:22 will, you know, over time.

49:23 >> That's what I was about to ask you like

49:25 actually like a character. I mean, you

49:26 see

49:27 Conor McGregor, you know, Aljo does it,

49:30 Josh Barnett. Do you see yourself doing

49:32 stuff like that on social media? Maybe

49:33 playing a character, doing these like

49:34 media things to get your name out there?

49:36 Do you see yourself doing stuff

49:37 something like that?

49:39 >> No. I don't think I I've

49:40 at least from my experience like I've

49:42 never

49:43 done that

49:44 >> Mhm.

49:45 >> and I've gotten to where I'm at pretty

49:46 quickly, you know? Because I feel like I

49:48 just allow my personality and the way

49:50 that I fight to do most of that for me.

49:53 And I'm not a big fan of WWE or any of

49:56 that stuff. I never like grew up

49:57 watching it. I understand it.

49:59 >> When I see the Josh Barnett and all all

50:01 those sorts of things, like I actually

50:03 get it. Like I I can appreciate it

50:05 because I know what they're doing and

50:07 it's a

50:08 um

50:09 it's one a hard thing to do. Like you

50:10 see Josh Barnett have a fight with

50:12 Curtis Blaydes three rounds hard and he

50:14 gets on the mic and has like the whole

50:16 rehearsed like skit. It's extremely

50:19 impressive. You know, and I know a lot

50:21 of people who love WWE and appreciate

50:24 the skill and all those things that go

50:26 into it. So, I appreciate that. You know

50:28 what I mean? But I think at least in

50:30 fighting the best thing you can do is be

50:32 genuine

50:33 because

50:35 WWE is scripted

50:37 for the fight. You know what I'm saying?

50:39 But in MMA

50:42 it's raw in there, you know? There's

50:44 nothing else other than you and your

50:46 opponent and you have to fight and

50:47 that's it's genuine. It's real, you

50:50 know? So

50:51 I always think your your personality

50:53 should just match what it is that you

50:55 bring to the cage, too, you know? So I

50:57 don't like seeing the

50:58 guys who talk a bunch, but then they

51:00 don't back it up really. Colby's kind of

51:02 one of them. It's just like the way you

51:04 talk doesn't match the way

51:05 >> Okay.

51:05 >> Yeah. Like again, I

51:07 I don't mind Colby, like but the way

51:08 he's talking doesn't match the way that

51:10 he fights. Like you can tell it's a

51:11 persona.

51:12 >> Mhm.

51:13 >> You know? I don't [snorts] know. If

51:14 you're hooked, like go for it cuz he's

51:16 kind of fighting like a dog, too, you

51:18 know? So

51:19 it kind of video mirror, but I don't

51:21 know. I just think the best way you can

51:22 do it is just be genuine.

51:23 >> Be yourself. Authenticity, I think

51:25 that's that's huge. I just always always

51:28 curious because you you see the the

51:30 eyeballs, you know? You kind of get the

51:32 attention from the people and you kind

51:33 of like last guest we had was Bobby

51:36 Green and he also plays the show. He

51:38 plays it in the fight, you know? I'm I'm

51:39 very excited to see how that fight plays

51:41 out with Terrence McKinney.

51:41 >> Yeah.

51:42 >> He's going to do anything like that cuz

51:43 it's it's a risky thing. He's like I'm

51:45 I'm like in a movie, but it's real." So,

51:48 >> Yeah. Yeah, he's But like is that not I

51:50 mean I don't know Bobby Green

51:51 personally, but that seems like him.

51:53 >> Yeah.

51:53 >> That seems like it doesn't seem like

51:55 he's being fake or putting any It seems

51:56 like him. Again, I don't know him, but

51:58 that genuinely seems like the type of

52:00 person he is, so That But I'm saying

52:02 like the way he acts at the press

52:03 conference, whatever it is, Max

52:05 looks exactly the way he fights, you

52:07 know? Hands down, talking [ __ ] Like

52:09 that's that's him, you know? So, I

52:11 appreciate that.

52:12 >> Yeah. If there's one thing that you want

52:14 the the fans, the people

52:17 to know about you, you know, for your

52:18 next fight, say they're watching you,

52:19 you know, is there anything that that um

52:22 you would like to to share?

52:24 >> Not really, other than, you know,

52:27 I don't want to make excuses for the

52:28 last one, but all I can say is I'm

52:30 excited for the next one.

52:32 You know, I'm going to build uh

52:35 just

52:36 be the best version of myself the next

52:37 time I show up, so

52:39 if you don't know, you will know soon.

52:42 That's it.

52:43 >> For sure. We'll end it off there. Thank

52:44 you guys. Appreciate it. Make sure you

52:45 like, subscribe. Um I had tons of fun

52:48 with this conversation. I feel like

52:50 you're a real fan, also a technician in

52:52 the sport, so very excited to see your

52:55 your growth in your career, and uh thank

52:57 you for, you know, taking the time to

52:58 >> Thank you, man. Appreciate you. This is

53:00 awesome.

53:00 >> No, thank you.

53:01 That's it.

53:02 That's it.

53:03 >> Dope.

53:04 >> Hey, you guys did good, man.

53:05 >> Yeah.

53:06 >> I [snorts] would say I would say that

53:07 was like the best flow I've I've had

53:10 with the

53:10 >> Oh, yeah?

53:11 >> Yes. Yeah.

53:11 >> Do you people like just want to answer

53:13 [ __ ] or

53:14 >> No. Like Bobby's like

53:16 >> I don't know what the question is.

53:17 >> Yeah. He might just jump across the

53:19 table. I don't know what he's going to

53:21 do. [laughter]

53:21 But

53:22 JP was super cool, too. I feel like the

53:24 connection was was was cool, and um

53:27 I don't know. It's like I'm a huge fan

53:29 of the sport, so I always have tons of

53:30 questions for you guys. It doesn't

53:31 matter. Yeah. Yeah.

53:32 >> You're you're great.

53:33 >> I appreciate I appreciate it. I mean I

53:35 really

53:35 >> One question after another. You never

53:36 stutter, you know?

53:37 >> Well, I've I definitely stut- I think it

53:38 was

53:39 I've stuttered like twice. I think John

53:40 Parr like forgot. I'm like, what the

53:42 fuck?" I got to ask.

53:43 >> [laughter]

53:43 >> But, I was going to ask you maybe for

53:45 the podcast, but like the

53:47 what like what's one thing that that the

53:48 fans don't appreciate that the fighter

53:50 knows about? Like, what is something

53:51 that's like

53:52 >> Oh, that's a good question. I'm not

53:53 sure.

53:54 I'll have to think about that one.

53:56 Something that the fans

53:57 >> Like the fans don't see like or

53:59 appreciate that

54:01 you guys go through.

54:02 Or you wish they knew. Like, man, if the

54:04 if the fans only knew like the stuff

54:06 that I've

54:07 had to do to

54:07 >> Yeah, I mean, I guess

54:10 I do I guess it would just be like

54:12 everything they go through

54:15 the weight cut to the

54:17 I don't think people understand like

54:20 even I don't understand

54:22 watching fights. It's easy to judge

54:23 people.

54:24 >> Yeah.

54:24 >> But, it's like you have no idea how hard

54:27 it is to just get in there, you know?

54:30 Especially in those big moments like

54:33 you have no idea the type of emotions

54:35 that you're dealing with for like

54:38 weeks before the fight, but the day of

54:40 the fight is the worst [ __ ] thing

54:43 ever, bro. The second you wake up and

54:45 you realize it's fight day,

54:46 >> [snorts]

54:47 >> it's like instant stress cloud over your

54:50 head. It's like your heart rate is 10

54:51 beats faster than it normally would be

54:53 the whole [ __ ] day.

54:54 >> Yeah.

54:55 >> You know, so the whole day is just about

54:56 trying your best to like calm yourself

54:58 down, calm yourself down, calm yourself

55:00 down so you don't burn out before you

55:02 get there. That's something that every

55:04 fighter deals with unless they're an

55:06 idiot because

55:08 it is a big moment. It is extremely

55:10 dangerous. And if you're a smart person,

55:12 you

55:13 understand that there's a lot on the

55:15 line. It's just natural for your body to

55:17 be in that kind of

55:18 >> at state

55:18 >> mode, yeah.

55:19 >> Yeah.

55:20 >> But, bro, everything from like being in

55:22 the back waiting for your fight, you

55:24 know, you got two fights before you and

55:26 then one of them gets finished in 10

55:27 seconds.

55:28 >> You're like

55:29 >> All those things like it's so difficult

55:32 >> Yeah, it's a manage like

55:33 >> mentally. But, well, you see like Cody

55:34 Steel's opponent like

55:36 you know, for the contender series or

55:37 whatever. Literally couldn't like he

55:39 >> He those feelings beat him.

55:41 >> Yeah.

55:41 >> You know, and that's a guy who

55:42 >> Beat prayer, too.

55:44 >> That's a good bro. That's a guy who's

55:45 like got himself all the way to

55:46 contender series. You know, you have to

55:48 be pretty good to get to contender

55:49 series.

55:50 >> Yeah.

55:50 >> He literally got defeated by just the

55:52 feelings before he got in the took his

55:53 gloves off. He was like, "I'm not

55:54 [ __ ] doing

55:54 >> Twice.

55:55 >> Like that's that's crazy.

55:56 >> out twice. He He was like, "I'm back."

55:58 And then he's like, "All right, yeah."

55:58 >> he's like, "No. No, no, no." Yeah. So,

56:00 like dealing with that and then go out

56:02 there and perform and do all the things

56:04 that you

56:04 you know, you said you were going to do,

56:05 etc., etc.

56:06 >> Yeah.

56:07 >> I think that's probably the hardest

56:08 thing.

56:08 >> For sure.

56:09 >> All right.

56:10 >> Appreciate it, man. Yeah, for sure.

56:12 >> All right. You were talking about