00:00 What up, boys? We are here. I don't even

00:01 know where we're at right now, but we

00:02 are introducing you to the new episode

00:03 of the day. Welcome to the channel,

00:04 guys. Today, we have a nice little video

00:06 up and coming for you guys. We're going

00:07 to go to San Francisco. Haven't been to

00:08 San Francisco in so long. We're going to

00:09 film with Joe Cropshot his UFC debut on

00:12 Halloween. So, uh reached out to Joe and

00:14 you know, ask him if it was cool if we

00:15 could go there to his gym, ask him a few

00:16 questions, and just get the vibes. You

00:17 know, I feel like uh making your UFC

00:18 debut is kind of like a video game

00:19 moment in your life. But, uh we're going

00:20 to check out the gym over there. I think

00:21 it's Gilbert's gym. So, we're going to

00:22 get the vibes, talk to Joe, and record

00:23 some of his training. you know, of

00:24 course, with his permission, of course,

00:25 and try to get an inside look of what

00:26 it's like for someone preparing for the

00:27 UFC debut, you know, ask him a few

00:28 questions about his life, so you guys

00:29 can get to know a little bit more. I

00:30 feel like the main goal with my channel

00:31 is to like let you guys know how these

00:32 fighters are in person before you guys

00:33 see him out there on the main stage, you

00:34 know, get know a little bit more about

00:35 the story, the personality, and, you

00:36 know, I'm I'm the boy that kind of, you

00:37 know, uh, gets that out there, you know

00:38 what I mean? So, that's the goal. I

00:40 think we we should when this comes out,

00:41 we should have at least 5,000

00:41 subscribers, you know what I mean? So, I

00:42 thank you to every single one of you

00:43 guys who has joined the channel. And if

00:44 you guys are watching for the first

00:44 time, welcome. We have a freaking fun

00:46 one today. Um, let's let's find out who

00:47 Joe is, bro. Who's Joe? Who's Joe?

00:50 [music]

00:57 >> [music]

00:58 >> You've arrived at your destination.

01:11 >> Got the man Joe Crop Shot.

01:14 >> What's up to the YouTube?

01:15 >> What's up, YouTube? Just got to get the

01:17 uh photons on my training gear. smells.

01:20 >> Is this how is that's how it works?

01:22 >> I think so. I think the sun helps the

01:23 most.

01:24 >> Thank you for, you know, letting us come

01:26 through the gym, you know. So, what what

01:28 should we expect today?

01:29 >> Um, today Gills lead an MMA class. Uh,

01:32 basically, it's whatever he says. Uh,

01:34 he's probably going to torture me today

01:35 with some sort of Shark Tank for

01:37 sparring. Kind of like a fight

01:38 simulator. So, I'm going to go through

01:41 some hell today, but it's like one of

01:43 the last tests before the fight.

01:45 >> How does it feel? Like, I'm a big fan of

01:46 like the UFC video game. It seems like

01:49 this is kind of like a moment where you

01:51 know you're going ready for your debut.

01:52 Does this feel any different than any

01:54 other uh training camp or anything like

01:56 that?

01:56 >> I mean uh the Contender Series fight,

01:58 the pressure for that was crazy like to

02:00 that's your that's your one fight to get

02:02 into the UFC. Um doing such a quick

02:05 turnaround from Contender Series like

02:06 not even 3 months. I feel like ready to

02:09 go just right back into it. It's another

02:11 fight. All right, let's do it. I was

02:13 thinking on the drive over here, it's

02:14 like if you get on the mic and you say,

02:16 "Who's Joe?" Because I feel like there's

02:18 like within the the MMA community, who's

02:21 I don't know if you've seen that clip of

02:22 Ilia and Max, they go like this and they

02:24 they had like a little you know, it's

02:25 like who's Joe?

02:26 >> Same exact Joe I don't know who's Joe.

02:30 Who's Joe?

02:32 >> What?

02:33 >> Uh Max.

02:36 >> They were talking about like a drill.

02:37 >> Drill, right? Yeah. Same exact drill

02:39 because the accent that's good, you

02:40 know,

02:41 >> you are Joe.

02:42 >> I'm Joe. Exactly.

02:44 >> You're a big uh caffeine guy.

02:46 >> I am.

02:47 >> You are.

02:47 >> Yeah.

02:47 >> How many milligrams are we talking

02:49 today?

02:49 >> I mean, I'm like a I'm a big coffee guy.

02:52 Okay.

02:52 >> Yeah. I used to do like pre-workout

02:54 [ __ ] but I started doing just coffee

02:56 and I feel like it's better.

02:57 >> That's probably is better for your

02:58 heart.

02:58 >> I love coffee.

02:59 >> Yeah. How many coffees we talking about

03:00 like throughout the day?

03:01 >> Maybe like one now, girl. I used to do

03:03 like two, but now I'm like one in the

03:05 morning and I'm good. Okay.

03:06 >> A little dark in here. It is dark,

03:09 >> right? Am I dark?

03:11 >> So, you mentioned earlier that you've

03:13 been training with Gil since you were

03:15 18.

03:15 >> Yeah.

03:16 >> When How'd you get introduced to

03:18 Gilbert?

03:18 >> Um, I got introduced to Gil through Dan

03:21 Black.

03:21 >> Okay. Yeah, I got introduced to Gil

03:23 because Nick Diaz was coming out here to

03:25 train for Anderson Silva and my first

03:28 kickboxing coach wanted me to like

03:30 emulate Anderson Silva

03:33 >> and train for Nick Diaz. this like UFC

03:35 183 I think way back in the day. Um

03:38 [snorts] and then I trained with Nick,

03:40 trained with other guys at Scraback and

03:41 then um just kept coming back and then

03:44 it grew more and more and started

03:46 training with Gil like consistently like

03:48 three days a week since then pretty

03:50 much.

03:50 >> Did you know that was like your goal

03:52 that you wanted to become a fighter at

03:53 18? I feel like that's a young age to be

03:55 >> Yeah, I mean dude I I wanted to be a

03:57 fighter before I even trained. And I was

03:59 like, I thought I could do it, which is

04:00 crazy to think, but uh yeah, I wanted to

04:02 be a fighter right away when I was like

04:04 16year-old in high school, but finding

04:06 Gil just kind of put me on that path

04:08 even more.

04:09 >> So, what what kind of goes through your

04:10 mind? I mean, you've been training for

04:12 so long, like before training sessions,

04:13 like what's kind of going through your

04:14 head?

04:16 >> That's a good question. Um, I guess

04:18 before training session, I'm I'm trying

04:19 to think of what is the goal of the

04:21 training session today? Today is like to

04:23 get the fight feeling. Um, it's not like

04:27 we're not here to play around today.

04:28 We're here to actually put in work and

04:30 get like a fight simulator today. So, I

04:32 know that's the goal today. So, I got to

04:33 be locked in like I'm having a fight.

04:35 So, right now guys, we're going to get

04:38 ready for training about like 10 minutes

04:40 or so. But, this is a cool stuff that

04:42 I'm talking about, bro. Inside the gym.

04:44 Get a fresh look of what what goes on in

04:46 here. They got some cool music going on.

04:49 Getting the vibes right. The boys are

04:51 about to go to war, bro. The boys are

04:52 about to go to war. So, this kind of

04:55 like the the pregame, if you will, you

04:57 know what I mean? So, we got Joe right

04:58 here.

05:07 >> We're We're rolling right here. Hell

05:08 yeah, bro. Yeah. Gilbert Melendez here

05:10 at El Nino Training Center, Scrap Pack

05:12 HQ. Just another Wednesday um for the

05:15 MMA team. You know, today's a sparring

05:17 day. Uh not too much talking, not too

05:19 much technique. We know what the job is

05:21 today. That's to push for 15 minutes

05:23 hard. Um, get ready for a fight. A

05:26 fight's 15 minutes, so we want to sprint

05:28 for 15 minutes. Definitely some extra

05:30 credit afterwards, but um, yeah,

05:32 Wednesdays are fun. We get warmed up, we

05:34 get to business, then we hit some extra

05:36 credit.

05:36 >> What's one thing that you miss the most

05:38 about days like this? [laughter]

05:40 >> Um, man, I enjoy being in here, but just

05:44 the ability to bang and to to stay in

05:47 here with these guys and to compete on a

05:49 high level like them. I definitely

05:50 missed the good old days, but what a

05:53 treat to be able to be here and, you

05:55 know, guide these guys and enjoy it and

05:56 have a front row seat. Sometimes I have

05:59 better fights in here that I see on TV.

06:01 So, um, it's a real treat, but um, yeah,

06:04 man. You know, uh, I wouldn't say like

06:06 things are really missed, you know what

06:08 I mean? It's good old times in the back

06:09 in the day, but, you know, living in the

06:11 moment now.

06:19 >> [music]

06:27 >> Heat. [music]

06:34 [music]

06:37 Heat.

06:41 [music] Heat.

06:48 [music]

06:54 [music]

06:59 Heat.

07:01 [music]

07:10 >> [music]

07:18 [music]

07:28 >> Thank you.

07:32 >> I was trying to punch you, but your hips

07:34 are tight, huh? I couldn't ground

07:35 [clears throat] pound you. Yeah,

07:37 >> cuz your grips are so good. I don't want

07:39 to ground pound

07:42 forces to bring your hand here

07:45 >> and I can carry

07:53 torture.

07:59 >> Good work. Jiu-jitsu is really nice,

08:01 man. Thanks, bro. I can tell you you've

08:03 been been doing it for a long time.

08:06 >> It's so hard to be like that round is

08:08 designed to just break too.

08:10 >> Yeah.

08:10 >> The shark nontop.

08:13 >> It gives me a lot of confidence going

08:15 with him. Like middleweight just don't

08:16 have the same.

08:19 >> You talk about your Naruto tattoo since

08:21 we're here.

08:22 >> You want

08:24 breakdown of this tattoo?

08:25 >> Yeah. This just the uh Sasuke's curse

08:28 mark from Orochi Maru. [music] Um, it's

08:30 kind of like when I break the seal, the

08:34 [music] power comes over my body. It's

08:36 like a power up. Um, I got it a few

08:38 years after I finished the series, but I

08:40 I grew up watching Naruto and then, you

08:43 know, life happened. I fell off and then

08:45 I restarted it like when co [music]

08:47 happened and re got into anime and

08:50 everything. You feel like you connect to

08:52 Sasuke the most?

08:53 >> That's a good question. I'm a maybe I

08:56 would like to be more like Naruto, but I

08:58 am probably more like Sasuke for sure.

09:01 >> Why would you say that?

09:02 >> I don't know, man. I got like a weird

09:04 dark side to me. Uh I would like to be

09:07 more pure like Naruto, but I do have

09:09 some anger in me like Sasuke. [music]

09:11 >> Feel like like martial arts and MMA, it

09:14 is a dark sport. You know, everything

09:16 all the emotions are in le. When did you

09:18 realize that that [music] kind of have

09:20 to have that [singing] type of energy in

09:21 this sport?

09:22 >> That's a good question. Uh I think when

09:25 I uh when I was young and I got sent to

09:27 the wilderness for like 11 months, I got

09:29 or I got sent to Utah for 11 months to

09:31 one of those like troubled boys uh

09:33 groups and uh I realized that the world

09:37 is not a sunshine and rainbows place.

09:40 Like there's hard [ __ ] out there. I saw

09:42 a lot of gnarly things. Uh and then I

09:45 just realized like in this sport I I'm

09:47 trying to hurt you and take money off

09:49 your plate. You're trying to hurt me. It

09:51 is what it cuz I'm not I have no malice

09:53 towards the guy, but I'm going to hurt

09:54 him.

09:55 >> Yeah, that's tough right here, right?

09:59 [music]

10:00 >> Got to back out.

10:02 >> Don't stay

10:04 locked soon.

10:06 >> That whole that whole shark thing.

10:08 Thanks, Gil.

10:08 >> Yeah, good job.

10:09 >> I I think I was better than Monday would

10:11 have been,

10:11 >> huh?

10:12 >> I feel like round three I did better

10:13 than round two.

10:14 >> [ __ ] yeah, bro. You're doing great.

10:15 We're putting you into the ring, dog.

10:18 >> That's supposed to break you. I feel

10:19 like that's supposed to not you're

10:21 supposed to just not quit.

10:22 >> Yeah, that's what I thought.

10:23 >> If you don't quit, you keep moving, you

10:24 win, bro. You know what I mean? Most

10:26 guys just flatline.

10:27 >> Yeah.

10:38 >> I might do some other [ __ ] I don't

10:40 know.

10:53 Oh yeah.

11:15 a while.

11:27 Here you go.

11:34 Got a lot partner. He just got married.

11:36 Hold in front of you. Hold

11:39 >> in front of you. Just

11:41 pick her up.

11:47 >> Frank is real.

11:50 >> I'm a Goya. I love Frank.

12:05 Wait, watch out. Watch out, bro.

12:18 Take your

12:23 feet.

12:30 Hands in the air. Make me laugh.

12:34 We're getting ready for war. Got war

12:38 coming up.

12:42 That's good.

12:44 >> That's good.

12:56 >> Break us down the middle, Coach Rod.

12:57 Great job.

13:03 Let's go. Hey, go practice. Good

13:04 practice. Hey, keep that energy. Energy

13:06 is contagious. Come on.

13:07 >> Coming in here.

13:09 >> Go. Hey, don't make your [ __ ]

13:10 somebody else's [ __ ] Come here.

13:12 Positive eyes, ready to work, ready to

13:14 grow, ready to learn. Got a phenomenal

13:16 out uh uh showing out with by Clark.

13:22 >> That's a product of what the [ __ ] we're

13:23 doing in here. Believe in what we're

13:25 doing and go out there and achieve it.

13:27 Okay. Strap back on me. STRAP BACK ON

13:29 THREE. 1 2 3. LET'S GO.

13:40 All right. Uh, just got done with pro

13:42 practice. Uh, had a brutal, brutal

13:44 session today. Three fives, like a fight

13:47 simulator. I had Clark the Shark round

13:49 one. Had Dri and Jesse Shark take me in

13:53 round two and then back to Clark round

13:55 three. Today is one of those days where

13:57 it's just try not to quit. Gil wants to

14:00 see if you're going to persevere and

14:02 that's what I did today. I had to just

14:03 dig deep. Um, still found some good

14:05 openings for submissions. uh got some

14:08 takedowns, was able to get back up.

14:10 Today was just a day for the mental

14:11 toughness and really feeling what it's

14:13 going to feel like in a fight. Uh I'm

14:15 grateful for all these dudes I train

14:16 with cuz they push me so hard. It's uh

14:19 it's awesome to train with these guys.

14:20 >> Yeah. Do you want to shower and stuff

14:22 and cool down a little and then we can

14:23 do it after

14:24 >> you take a photo for me real quick?

14:25 >> Hell yeah.

14:27 >> Ready? Three, two, one.

14:31 >> Bryce's like, I'm not going to grab you

14:33 guys.

14:34 >> But Zach didn't [ __ ] sparm him today.

14:36 I didn't handle my hip.

14:38 >> Yeah, I know that that was the whole

14:40 time. Bryson, you're over here fighting.

14:43 >> What's up? I'm Joe Cropscott. Uh, I've

14:45 been fighting. Okay, let me restart

14:47 this.

14:48 >> Cut it out, Glenn. Stop, man.

14:50 >> What did you want again? Name.

14:52 >> Yeah, a little intro.

14:54 >> All right. What's up? I'm Joe Cropscot.

14:56 I'm 9 and three. I'm fighting out of

14:58 Scrap Pack and Team Santos Jiu-Jitsu.

15:01 And I've just been a fighter my whole

15:03 life. uh was getting in trouble as a kid

15:06 getting in street fights. Um I spent

15:09 like a year in Utah in a troubled kind

15:11 boys group and uh I just had this

15:14 aggression in me that I needed to

15:16 channel into something and fighting was

15:18 that avenue for me and I really just

15:21 want to see how far I can take it. I

15:22 believe I could be a world champion. So

15:24 I'm committing everything to it.

15:26 >> You're very experienced. You're 31,

15:28 correct?

15:29 >> Yeah, 31.

15:29 >> 31 years old. Do you feel like that

15:31 gives you an edge that you have this

15:33 much experience going into your UFC

15:34 debut?

15:35 >> Yeah, I feel like I'm 31. I feel like

15:38 I'm just getting into my prime now,

15:39 especially at middleweight. Look at the

15:41 champions. They're all a little bit

15:42 older. Um, and I had a lot of hard

15:44 fights getting into the UFC. I've had I

15:47 fought really tough people from my

15:49 fourth pro fight on. Um, fought UFC

15:51 veterans, won the LFA title. So, I think

15:55 that experience and having been through

15:56 those hard fights is going to carry me

15:58 far in the UFC. As far as middleweights

16:00 go, I think I move better than all of

16:02 them. My jiu-jitsu is crazy. Like,

16:04 they're not you're not going to see

16:05 transitions like me on the ground. I

16:07 don't think anyone in the UFC has better

16:08 jiu-jitsu than me, especially at

16:10 middleweight. So, you're going to see

16:11 just nasty rangy striking and then the

16:14 craziest jiu-jitsu transitions.

16:17 >> What What do you enjoy most about

16:20 jiu-jitsu itself?

16:22 What I enjoy most about jiu-jitsu is

16:24 just the it's like a chess match, but

16:28 you're kind of you get to impose your

16:30 will at the same time. And there's no

16:32 correct path really. It's like you have

16:35 a lot of freedom with how you choose to

16:37 do things. And some things that work for

16:39 you might not work for someone else. Uh

16:42 yeah, it's just it's like a crazy

16:44 puzzle. You have an opponent, you're

16:45 feeling their like spirit while you're

16:47 going with them. So, for me, it's just

16:49 the ultimate like chess game.

16:52 >> What What are some animes that you like

16:54 watching before you go into battle?

16:56 >> Animes, man, you're getting me start. I

16:57 love anime. Uh, I mean, classic Naruto,

17:02 Bleach has got a spot in my heart. I

17:04 mean, I got the Sasuke curse mark tattoo

17:06 on my shoulder, so Naruto is up there.

17:08 Um, Baky, straight hands, fighting. I

17:12 could go on for animes. Uh, right now,

17:15 Black Clover is crazy. Um, I've seen all

17:18 the all the fighting animes you could

17:19 think of. I've seen. Do

17:20 >> you have a favorite fight scene or a

17:22 fight?

17:23 >> No, it's kind of like

17:24 >> No, that's a good one. That's a real

17:25 good one. Favorite fight scene? I mean,

17:28 I think of two right off the top. I

17:30 think of Rock Lee versus Gar. Uh, where

17:33 Rock Lee has no powers, has just work

17:36 ethic, and he's fighting this dude who's

17:39 got crazy powers. And then Rockley takes

17:42 off these ankle weights that he's got on

17:44 and they create like an explosion on the

17:47 ground. And then once he takes those

17:48 off, he's like as fast as light almost.

17:51 Straight hands fighting this dude is a

17:53 demon. That's one of my favorite fight

17:54 scenes ever. And then the final battle

17:57 with Sasuke and Naruto is classic.

18:01 >> Have you ever had a fight that felt like

18:03 kind of like an anime type of was like

18:06 >> Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Uh, when I fought

18:08 for the LFA title, I fought this

18:10 undefeated Russian dude with the

18:12 craziest power of anyone I've ever felt.

18:14 He was so powerful. He dropped me in

18:17 round one and then going onto the stool

18:20 between round one and two, I literally

18:22 had like a anime, it felt like an anime

18:24 fight. It was like I was fighting a big

18:26 villain and that was my moment to decide

18:28 right there to like evolve to the next

18:30 level and just I on my stool I was like

18:32 I'm deciding to like go get knocked out

18:34 or I'm going to break this dude. And I

18:37 literally saw my life like two paths I

18:39 could have taken after that round and I

18:42 took the right path and broke him in

18:43 round two and finished him.

18:44 >> What does that feel like? Because it's

18:46 like it's one thing to say it but like

18:47 to actually experience it. [snorts]

18:50 How how did that feel?

18:51 >> It's weird. And I I do a lot of like I

18:53 visualize I do a lot of like

18:54 affirmations and I try to visualize my

18:56 fights and it was almost like I

18:58 visualized in advance this happening and

19:02 then when it happened I was like I've

19:04 dreamt this happening before. So when I

19:07 choked him in the second round and got

19:08 up I was like I've seen this exact

19:10 moment in my visualization. It was

19:12 weird. It was like a dream that happened

19:15 in the past came into the future and

19:17 like connected on a timeline. It was so

19:19 weird. That's insane.

19:21 >> Yeah, this here.

19:23 >> Yeah, it's trippy.

19:24 >> So, you're getting ready for your UFC

19:26 debut. Um, what are kind of the thoughts

19:28 and kind of feelings you're

19:29 [clears throat] having, you know, right

19:30 now? Cuz, you know, this is the only

19:33 time we get to speak to Mr. Joe Cropscot

19:35 before his UFC debut. So, what what is

19:37 the the emotions and feelings you have?

19:40 [sighs]

19:40 >> Right now, I'm just feeling like I feel

19:42 grateful to be here. It took a lot of

19:45 hard work. It took a lot of sacrifice.

19:47 and I feel ready and capable for this.

19:50 Like I think the test that I've had

19:52 outside of the UFC really prepared me. I

19:54 see a lot of guys get to the UFC that

19:56 have had a bunch of easy fights and then

19:58 when you're in the UFC there's no easy

19:59 fights and then they get they get beat

20:02 up and hard to come back from that. I

20:04 had three losses in a row so I know what

20:06 it's like to lose. I know what it's like

20:08 to get better, come back. Um so I just

20:11 feel I feel ready. I feel excited for

20:13 like showing who I am. I think I'm just

20:15 getting into my prime. So, I think

20:17 people are going to realize there's a

20:18 contender and middleweight after I fight

20:21 on Halloween.

20:22 >> Yeah, it's going to get spooky. And uh

20:24 you mentioned earlier that you were

20:27 trained under Gilbert Melendez at the

20:29 age of 18. How have you evolved and how

20:32 has Gilbert evolved as a coach and you

20:34 as a fighter?

20:35 >> Well, yeah. I I'll add to that too cuz

20:37 like when I first started and when I was

20:39 16, I trained with my my OG jiu-jitsu

20:42 coach, John Santos. It's the first gym I

20:44 walked into and I'm still with him since

20:47 day one. He's like a Caesar Gracie black

20:49 belt. Him and Gil trained under Caesar

20:51 together. Um, so he's been huge for my

20:55 journey. John Santos been like a second

20:57 dad to me. Um, and then Gil, he's in the

21:01 same family. So once I met Gil at 18,

21:04 like I feel like John had the jiu-jitsu

21:06 piece, Gil's got the MMA genius. And I

21:09 feel like I've just learned so much.

21:10 Like I never wrestled as a kid, but

21:12 training with Gil for 12 plus years, I

21:16 feel like I'm a pretty solid wrestler

21:18 now. He teaches us to grind and like

21:20 fight like wrestlers and just get after

21:23 it. And uh I I owe everything to my

21:26 coaches. Those guys really help me a

21:27 lot.

21:28 >> So wrapping it up here, I feel like the

21:30 jiu-jitsu kind of scene has evolved from

21:33 the beginning of the sport and now it's

21:35 kind of in a place where it's like it's

21:36 [snorts] not really thriving. What do

21:38 you feel like missing and what can you

21:39 bring to the table that could help the

21:42 MMA in jiu-jitsu?

21:44 >> I think uh like the [clears throat]

21:45 jiu-jitsu itself, like if you're

21:48 watching jiu-jitsu as a sport, I really

21:50 think the butt scooting makes people it

21:53 turns people off cuz it's not a real

21:55 fight. You could just soccer kick a dude

21:56 who's butt scooting towards you. I came

21:58 up doing jiu-jitsu tournaments where it

22:00 was points oriented. So like you had to

22:03 wrestle and get on top to score points

22:05 like 80CC style. you got to wrestle and

22:08 get points, which I think is way more

22:09 exciting. People don't mind watching

22:11 people wrestle and hand fight and have

22:13 crazy transitions. People People don't

22:15 like seeing two guys scooting on their

22:17 butt towards each other and lacing up

22:19 legs. Um, I think I if you look at all

22:22 my fights, they're the jiu-jitsu

22:24 transitions are exciting. You don't see

22:25 a lot of guys my size moving like that.

22:28 I take people's backs. I have nasty

22:30 ground and pound. There's blood in every

22:32 one of my fights. You'll see. I've never

22:34 had a fight where there's not blood

22:35 leaking out of both of us. Uh yeah, I

22:38 just bring a weird I I make jiu-jitsu

22:40 exciting in MMA.

22:42 >> Thank you. That was

22:43 >> Hell yeah. You got more? You want any

22:45 more?

22:45 >> I mean, since we're here, I mean, I feel

22:47 like your mindset is a little different.

22:49 I mean, I heard you talk about you're

22:50 ready to kill someone. What does it

22:51 actually mean to be ready to to do

22:54 something like that to somebody? Cuz I

22:55 mean, outside the cage, it's illegal,

22:57 you know? So, how does that feel? How

22:58 are you able to kind of put that that

23:00 side of you away but have it come out in

23:03 the right time?

23:04 >> Well, that's like I I think growing up I

23:06 had a anger problem and uh training kind

23:09 of like helped me get rid of that a

23:13 little bit, but it also just kind of

23:14 channeled it. And I know in a fight it's

23:16 really me versus him. They're trying to

23:18 hurt me. I'm going to try to hurt them.

23:20 And I I always tell myself, I'm willing

23:23 I'm willing to die myself and I'm ready

23:25 to kill my opponent. So, I make peace

23:28 with that. Like, I could get knocked

23:29 out. You know, there hasn't been a death

23:32 really in MMA yet, but it's a

23:35 possibility. And I just make peace with

23:36 that. That I could be on the receiving

23:38 end of that, but I'm going to do

23:39 everything I can to make it that it's

23:40 the other guy. It's better him than me.

23:43 >> You mentioned that one of your favorite

23:44 movies is Gladiator.

23:46 >> Yeah.

23:46 >> You feel like you are a gladiator

23:48 yourself?

23:50 >> Yeah, I feel like I'm a gladiator in

23:52 there. This is like the most modern day

23:54 kind of gladiator thing you could do

23:56 besides being like special forces in the

23:58 military, which I don't think is as

24:00 scary as that, but I think the glory of

24:04 fighting in front of a crowd is pretty

24:05 sick. Uh, so yeah, I think we're like

24:07 modern day gladiators for entertainment.

24:09 >> I feel like a lot of fans will connect

24:11 to you just because you are pretty well

24:14 versed and you know a lot of ball about

24:16 anime.

24:16 >> Yeah. Yeah. So like seeing those

24:19 connections from anime, how are you able

24:22 to implement those things into actual

24:25 fighting itself?

24:26 >> Well, I think I think a lot of like the

24:28 the messages in anime are like

24:32 you your struggles are going to help you

24:34 grow. Like it's not like your struggles

24:36 define you. Like you everything you go

24:38 through that's hard in your life, it

24:40 it's up to you how you take those

24:42 struggles and grow from it. Like I think

24:44 all those tribulations can make you

24:46 stronger if you use it in the right way.

24:48 So I think I take that and like I think

24:50 of it like I'm leveling up. Everything

24:52 I've been through has leveled me up to

24:54 become a better fighter. And then I

24:57 think your your times to prove it are

24:59 when you get that fight. So you better

25:00 put everything you can into your

25:02 training. And yeah, I mean anime just

25:04 shows you like training arcs. You can

25:07 get way better. You can fight a bigger

25:08 villain each time. And that's what I'm

25:11 doing. I'm I'm like the main character

25:12 in my own anime.

25:13 >> You are. You are. And uh you mentioned

25:16 that you're a fan of EO the anime

25:18 personally watched myself. Um is there a

25:21 character that you kind of resonate with

25:22 maybe besides itself? Maybe there's a

25:25 lot of the different other side

25:27 characters.

25:28 >> Yeah. Um what was his the big dude who

25:30 brought him into the gym? Takamura. Yes.

25:33 Takamura was my guy. And uh I put on a

25:36 bunch of my like cuz I teach a

25:37 kickboxing class at Team Santos

25:39 Jiu-Jitsu. And a couple of my students,

25:41 I put them on to the anime and they were

25:43 like, they were all like, "You remind me

25:44 of Takamura, bro. Bringing me into the

25:47 gym, beating me up." So, and Takamura

25:49 was fighting for world titles, um, which

25:51 I got to fight for and win. Um, so yeah,

25:54 Takamura was a G. I love that dude. Um,

25:57 and he was kind of like he brought the

25:59 whole gym up with his success. Everyone

26:01 wanted to be like Takamura, too, which

26:03 is cool. Like, I would like to be a

26:05 leader and inspire people around me. For

26:07 sure. And one thing I feel like is not

26:09 talked about enough speaking about Taco

26:11 is like the weight cut and kind of your

26:13 diet and stuff. [laughter] How are you

26:15 able to with all your experience being

26:17 able to kind of hone in on those skills

26:19 of being able to diet?

26:21 >> Yeah, weight cuts are like the worst

26:23 part of fighting. I that's always the

26:25 hardest part. I get pretty I'm like

26:26 heavy outside of fight camp and then uh

26:29 the weight cut's always hard but it's

26:31 part of the game and I think I think

26:33 going through that weight cut and like

26:35 how hard it is makes me excited to fight

26:38 afterwards. So I I think you the diet

26:41 part you still need to fuel yourself

26:43 during fight camp and I still will eat a

26:45 good amount but that last week is going

26:47 to be hell no matter what but it makes

26:49 the fight fun after you make weight. Are

26:51 you excited to kind of like maybe peek

26:53 out the cage and you see a bunch of

26:54 people dressed up in Halloween costume?

26:56 I feel like that would be pretty rare.

26:57 >> Yeah, that'd be it'll be cool to fight

26:58 on Halloween. I was trying I was

27:00 thinking of like some gimmick [ __ ] to

27:01 walk out with, but I think I got a scary

27:03 walk out song uh for Halloween. So, that

27:06 should be cool. Um yeah, it'll be I hope

27:08 there's some costumes out there and then

27:10 get this win and then go celebrate in

27:12 Vegas. Should be awesome on Halloween.

27:14 >> Thank you.

27:15 >> Thank you, bro. Thanks for coming out. I

27:17 appreciate it. That's I really respect

27:19 the grind. I drove all the way out here.

27:21 >> Got you, bro.

27:22 >> I'm And I'm hoping, dude, to just keep

27:23 winning and working with you in the

27:25 future. I like your stuff.

27:26 >> Hell yeah.

27:26 >> So, that concludes our little vlog.

27:29 Great experience. Uh really cool that I

27:32 was able to experience a Gilbert

27:34 Melinda's training session in the first

27:36 person. And you guys got a little

27:38 insight on Joe Cropscot. I always

27:41 thought it was crop shot. So, when he

27:43 said crop Scott, I was like, I've been

27:45 saying it wrong this whole time. So,

27:47 that's cool. That's cool. But yeah, man.

27:49 Great great vibes, good training. And I

27:53 was thinking during that class, I'm

27:54 like, "Bro, these guys would be like the

27:57 modern-day crusaders, bro. Like, if you

27:58 put all these guys on a damn boat and

28:01 you shipped them off to freaking battle,

28:03 they would do freaking work, bro. I'm

28:05 not going to lie. Those were some

28:06 interesting type of guys there. And uh

28:09 they know violence very well. So, if you

28:12 guys enjoyed this episode, make sure to

28:13 leave a like on this episode right here,

28:16 subscribe to the channel, and stay tuned

28:18 for more. I appreciate you guys so much,

28:20 and I'll catch you guys on the next

28:22 episode. What's in store, bro? I have no

28:24 idea. Every freaking every, bro, I don't

28:27 even know. We just we end up freaking in

28:28 the craziest freaking situations,

28:31 and that was one of them. So, thank you

28:33 guys. I'll catch you guys on the next

28:34 one. We out.