JRE MMA Show #140 with Gillian Robertson

Smoking oil those wacky kids and their dabs and oil There is there's way too many ways now I feel like you go to dark places Dude dabs you go to dark places. Yeah, especially with dabs and like that's the like next level extreme Yeah, I'm not interested in that. Do you just get too far gone? Like you don't even know how to move your hands, right? There's this stuff that I'm a medical patient in Florida and there's stuff you can get from the dispensary It's like literal nose drops and that shit like makes you like literally I feel like I can't form sentences Is this a spray? Yeah, it's just like a nasal spray There's so many wacky people in Austin spraying ketamine up their nose. It is a real issue We had a girl going to a k-hole at our comedy club the other night Yeah, and her boyfriend's like she just did a lot of ketamine Jesus fucking Christ do that at home you nuts. They're doing ketamine and going to see comedy From the moment I got here. It's been offered to me frequently. What is going on? How does ketamine ketamine is a fucking tranquilizer, right? It's a powerful psychedelic too, right? Also available in clinics for people to defeat like, you know PTSD working I feel like there's a lot of people that are doing it like every day though. Have you done it? No, no I've never messed with anything like that. I took a little at Duncan's Duncan had one I think he made it in his bath. How did it feel like remember weird, but it was very little you just Take one pump. I took like one pump and I was like, this is odd But I know the source and I know where he's getting it and it's all medical grade legit, but it's like What is that? Yeah, I don't know. I I like a lot of natural things better and THC nasal mist Well, um, yeah, I guess Marijuana is the ultimate natural thing I was just saying that I had I hurt my back a little bit to tweak the muscle and it would locked up and I Put on this CBD MD recover cream. I was I'm not I mean that stuff is insanely good It's incredible how much better I felt. No, that's amazing that CBD has that kind of power Yeah, I've never used a topical cream like that But I've used like pills and things like that with CBD and I feel like it definitely does make it different Like there's I don't know. There's a huge difference huge difference My friend and Dave Foley had real bad arthritis in his hands and he started taking CBD and also in his hand started working fine Like it just took while it took it Just your your body is filled with inflammation and CBD is just an awesome way to get rid of inflammation Especially the fighter. Oh, yeah Everything's inflamed constantly who needs CBD more than fighters, right and who needs marijuana more than fighters Like the stress that you go through on a regular basis is so Bonkers if you really think about it you're around, you know All these other human beings that are going about their day driving their cars going to work You're preparing to throw bones at girls. You're preparing to strangle people You put people to sleep for a living You know, that is a wild thing to do sister Oh, yeah, it's like pre fight when I'm sitting there and I'm feeling all my nerves my boyfriend He's told me he's like you need to be thankful for this because he's like most people don't get to experience it like this And they're like if most people don't get to like experience these kinds of feelings like these extreme feelings because they just have their regular Jobs, it's like what I'm doing is something crazy. It's so crazy It's so crazy and when you do it in a place like when you what was it in? London with Molly McCann. Was that London? It's actually Liverpool Liverpool. Yeah That was crazy That was crazy when you got her back and put her to sleep. Oh Yeah, that was pretty much it was my first fight out of the tough house, you know, so My UFC debut was technically against Emily Whitmire, but it was still we were in the tough house Like we didn't have our like our actual fight kids things like that right, so Molly McCann I feel like was really the first fight where I was like, this is a real UFC fight for me and My flight was delayed Everything she missed weight. I feel like everything went wrong that week. I got booed walking out So it's like I I don't know just to get that success after that. I feel like was such a great thing for me How do they treat you when you got out? After I got out honestly everybody was great like even Molly invited me to her after-party My brother flew out there. So I ended up going out with him And we're just walking around Liverpool and everybody coming up to me trying to get pictures like that Liverpool fans were 100% supportive. It was great. Well, that's cool. Yeah, of course. They're gonna boo you. Yeah, just a girl Oh, yeah, 100% I expected every minute of it Plus like what a personality she has she's awesome. Oh, I absolutely Love her probably out of all the girls I fought in the UFC Molly's death Play probably the top. She's a character. She's her and Patti together are fucking amazing. It's hilarious. She should be a reality show She's absolutely like genuine sweet heart of a person and like you said a absolute character as well and she could fight Yeah Her standup is nasty. It's really she's so tough. She's so tough Yeah, all girls. I feel like from that area. They got that extra toughness to them and she definitely Superior in that yeah for her. It just feels like grappling came like a little later for her And that that can be a problem with someone of your caliber You know the thing about like grappling is God It takes so long to catch up and why you're catching up that person's still getting better if they're training every day and they're it's like when someone is a super high grappling level and if you're just getting into grappling now like you're just you're just Surviving and it's a long time until you're doing anything other than surviving unless you're some athletic freak You're some just unbelievable specimen of a human that just learns quicker than everybody else most of the time It's like really hard to catch up when you're a pure striker. Okay, there's just so much to learn Even like I got my black belt I think two or three years ago now and I feel like I still don't know anything I feel like it's just like there's so much to learn so many different Styles different things like even like leg locks. I don't know a lot of I don't know deep into that game I know good defense to leave but offensively I feel like that's a completely different world The leg lock games crazy because that just took over It was so amazing to watch something that you used to get booed for like if they went to tournaments But especially in Brazil people would boo you they did not like when you're doing stuff like that. I guess cuz the Really messes people up in training like they had to know it was really effective But they too many people had to ruin knees and they just decided like hey, this is a bad idea And it might be a bad idea in the ghee You know in the ghee it's like whoa, man You can't get out of that very well at least in no ghee. There's like a little bit more maneuverability When someone's like grabbing your legs and they got your pants and they're holding on to coffin here That's tight for a leg lock. Yeah, that's scary. I'm almost more nervous competing no ghee now than versus Fighting MMA just because no ghee girls are so well versed in leg locks and that shit's dangerous It's like that can put me out for six months a year plus where it's like the worst First thing I've ever had happen in a fight is I got 11 stitches in my nose It's like besides that well and even that I grappled a month later Who was that woman that heavily tattooed woman? And you you got her back to she had a crazy nickname like the Demon Slayer Oh Maria He says wild nickname, right? Yeah, it's something like that. Yeah Um when you were fighting her she hit you with a bunch of like really hard elbows Why you were trying to take her down and that was just amazed that you just stuck with the path You just kept you just you like uh-uh. I got you. I got you. I got You're not getting away with this. I'm gonna hang on to you and I'm gonna drag you to the ground I'm gonna get you and when you finally did I was like damn. That's Systematic, but you you endured like some hard shots Honestly, I don't think like I don't know I didn't really have any much damage off of those shots So I didn't really feel a lot of those and they weren't really like the only reason that I even thought About them is because the ref was like you need to do something. I'm gonna stop this and I was like, oh Shit, I got to change something up like but I was initially going for a knee bar and when she was just hitting me with elbows and Then I gave up on that because of the rep Isn't it interesting how subjective refereeing can be and There's some referees that are really good at letting people just fight out of stuff And then there's some referees that like just getting hit even with a few hammer fists that aren't gonna stop you if you don't Defend it. Some refs will just stop it right there. It's just completely subjective Like for that ref to tell you that like you can't endure these shots It's you don't like you have the time like actually they're not that hard It sounds bad, but it doesn't really hurt I'm okay, like you can't say that in the middle of a fight So there's this weird like communication issue like he sees you getting hit by I saw you getting hit by those shots I was like Jesus Christ like can you see we could find that? See you find that cuz in that in that exchange when you're trying to take her down like Jesus So there's some hard elbows Travis Brown was the master of that. Oh, yeah. I Feel like no one had more power than him And I think he kind of invented it or at least he popularized it we Call the Travis Brown because he would drive down those elbows when you were trying to take him down That was a horrible place to be I don't think I've seen people drop like I have Well, he obviously drilled it, you know, it wasn't not an improvised thing At least I don't think it was it just seems so well Timed and the force that he could generate because he's so big and long When you're a long person like a John Jones Jones type person the amount of extra force that you have and all that length and torque Yeah, so Somewhere in the clinch so that we're gonna get a few your whole fight here Was it like watching you watching yourself fight? Is it weird? I I Guess I don't know. I I do it a lot. I use myself as Motivation of how I should perform Sometimes I watch my past wins just to really I guess relive that kind of Feeling it so then it gives you something to chase the next fight That sounds that's brilliant. That's a great way to do it, especially since you've got these You know well documented awesome videos from these you have saved your wins I mean, it's so it's one of the coolest things ever to be a fan right now You can just watch fights at any time you want any time any time instantly you're watching fights Okay, I'm a huge fan of the sport just in general So just being able to do that like look up any type of any fight anything you want. Oh my it's crazy I love it. It's like the best time ever for high-level kickboxing. It's the best time for amateur wrestling It's the best time for submission grappling There's never been more people that have been more interested in submission grappling now. I think we got past the elbows here This is where the choke. Yeah They must yeah first round. Oh, is that round two? We can still watch that though. I still want to watch that choke I'll go back. Okay Yeah, these so is right here he's telling you you have to do something no it was I had her butt on the floor by this point because I actually knew she had an injured knee going into this fight Oh, how'd you know that? Uh, she talked about it in interviews and I Actually knew a couple people she trained with who told me a bunch of rats. Yeah Rats but already rats. Do you feel bad taking that information? I Definitely utilized it. I have to I try like you'd be crazy not to I probably wouldn't have committed to the knee bar So hard if I didn't know that that knee injury was there Right, uh, so it's like I Started going for the knee bar and she just kept on hitting me with elbows and then once we were on the floor I think he thought I was injured because I don't because I was committing to the knee bar So I was trying to put hips down. So I that's when he told me I needed to move Why is it going in slow motion Someone breaking down some specific. No sunny SPNs. Oh Just freaking out it's the Russians the Russians don't like Americans Americans winning the truck They don't like it Okay So at one point you were getting drilled with elbows I don't know if we're gonna find it watching the whole fight, but it was just an awesome performance Overall that and the Molly McCann one you just you've had a bunch of them I think I was equally impressed with the Rose Nama Eunice grappling match. That was That was so slick like the way you took her back and the Controlling the position like you've never lost an inch like you just kept progressing until you got the choke It was awesome. Yeah, I feel like my choking game is definitely It's different than anybody else's and it's something that is a feel that I've been working on for years And I feel like I still haven't even perfected it But I feel like I'm getting closer closer to making it perfect and I think the rose Grappling match was probably one of the opportunities where I feel like I really got it just that little bit more Close to perfect where she I was I wasn't even on her throat at first. She had her chin tucked and My hand was in poor position. I feel like I was just able to walk it closer closer and closer until I was able to make that whole tighter and She had to give up her throat at that point well what I was super impressed with was your use of the shoulder how you're using your right arm to control the shoulder because you don't quite have it but you've got a nice grip on the cup of the shoulder and you use Isn't that leverage like that improvised then when you switch to the gable crib? I was like, oh shit The gable grip was it but when you were using her shoulder, I was like, that's brilliant Oh, yeah, Dean always tells me he's like if it if her chin touch you you should be able to break it you know, it's like the goal is to break the jaw so just creating that pressure with Just closing in the circle, you know trying to make that circle smaller So I'm just inching my hand deeper my head deeper until I can really just make it so it's too small And I'd love what you said that you have like a feel for it because I think People would think of it like oh, it's just like, you know, you know the movement you do it, right? But it's just like everything else. It's like playing guitar It's like any other thing that you learn how to do that's difficult there's like levels and levels and levels and levels and levels and When you watch like really high level black belts going at it going back and forth and trying to keep up with each other's Like you're watching like the craziest kind of game Ever. All right. I'm like I've taught my choke to multiple people and I feel like people just don't get it still because it's like It's just it's something I've worked on for years. What's what's specific about your choke? It's just the way that the I have my pressure I Feel like I can generally finish it with one hand. I never really look for the hooks. I'm usually just searching for it opportunistically, so I get it when it's almost too late to defend it and Even just like the the pressure of my choke though I think it's something that anybody you could learn but it's just a lot of patience because it's something that's so Basic and so simple, but like I said, I've drilled it a thousand times and I don't think I have it right yet So I think it's just you really have to put the time and effort into one specific motion Which a lot of people don't have time for so you just over and over again drilled it Or you just over and over again used it in training. What would it would spark this? Strangulation rain that you've been on like how did that start? It's definitely both I feel like a lot of my technique comes from Dean Thomas. He's that kind of like things a man Yeah, he's the engineer behind a lot of whatever I do and He kind of devised this way of going for the neck I get just off balancing opponents attacking the throat and we've been drilling it for years and years and years And even like I feel like the way he's described it to me Hasn't really clicked until like recently where we we've been drilling it for years and now it's like alright. I kind of get this Yeah, it's um the way you do it is it's it's so it's so brilliantly like The way it progresses What's beautiful to watch like especially the rose match in particular is like the the squeeze that you put like the progression of it is what you want to see at a really high level That's what you want to say and when someone executes and executed on someone who is Champion of the UFC. It's really incredible. I mean that was a amazing Showcase for you again into MMA. It just plays in perfectly like my last fight with Pierre Rodriguez I was in Mount throwing elbows the whole time and every time she trying to turn her back a little bit her coaches are like No, no, don't give your back. So they're just making her lay on the ground and take elbows The face instead of giving up her back. So I'm like it's it's you know, the worst of two worlds there You get your choice Do you have as the rest of your game as strong as your choke game? I think so I think my top pressure and jujitsu It is definitely something that a lot of girls especially have is even a lot of guys I feel like I got a lot of compliments that I feel like in the jujitsu world It's the only place where you can tell a girl she's heavy and it's a compliment, you know Right you got heavy hips what yeah, everybody tells me that I'm really heavy and It's I feel like it's that kind of top pressure which is gonna be dominant in an MMA game Yeah, it absolutely can be I mean and you look at the guys from Dagestan the all the Khabib disciples It is Islam Akhadev Khabib those guys did just crush you they get on top you and crush me when you see We're really good, you know high level Submission artists get smushed by guys like Khabib you're like, wow Like that's that's some crazy It's like there's layers and layers to everything and we didn't know the layer of like control in the legs with the legs Until Khabib came along did it and when he would do it so thoroughly you'd be like Jesus crazy. He does this to everybody Like he didn't even have a bad moment you know until Like there was like I get the glaze and t-bow fight was a pretty close fight I believe and then one round with Connor But even that round was like a round he took off, you know Like that guy but felt the squeeze that guy had it's like everybody that trains them Says you don't understand like you know, it's like he's weighs 400 pounds. I could doesn't even make any sense Yeah, that top control is just completely different And it's like I always say I'm like people had a lot less like they don't hit this hard when they're on their back Right, so I'd rather have somebody on their back than standing face to face with me, you know, and you're draining them exactly Austin you that person carrying your weight. It's exhausting. You're always moving to try to defend It's very difficult to get out of and especially with someone if it's a superior grappler in the the scramble Can't take your back Exactly. I always looking for the submissions the strikes If I'm on bottom, it's the strike sweep submit or stand up, you know, we're just working for the finish constantly Well, that's what I love about your style and I think that's what makes it so fan-friendly to it's it's so exciting And I love the the technique the technique is so sharp But what you were saying something that I wanted to ask you to elaborate on you said you don't even go for the hooks You just you're you're so concerned with the choke that you'll like take the choke even if you have no hooks and then get the hooks later Hooks aren't even like that's like last priority or I don't need them even I don't think I had any hooks my choke throws but I just I Have such a unique grip with the how I with my head and hand position on my choke So it's just it doesn't really matter. That's where my control point is. It's not on the lower half of the body it's on the choke and usually when I have the choke before I get the hooks in it's like people aren't ready to Fended it usually you put the hooks in and people are already here and now you have to hand fight And you're there for who knows how long right where if I get my choke first Then it's like if I need the hooks for control I can get them in but you're already choking so you're worried about that so Is this Dean coaching that he coached you to do it this way? Oh, yeah he definitely came up with a whole game plan of that where it's just Going for the choke just opportunistically Wow just because you're so good on it I I feel like he literally I've worked with Dean since day one One so I think it's key kind of also just More old at this game plan for me. That's awesome. He's a second best dressed guy in MMA It's like just like a neck-and-neck with him and Bruce buffer. Well, I think you gotta give the nod to buffer Yeah, I think you have to give it to such crazy suits. Yes suits with like pictures Elvis inside of him and shit He's like every suit is weirder. They're crazy. They're so beautiful, too. They're all perfectly tailored Must have a hundred thousand of them. I mean how many fucking suits is that guy? No, he's a maniac main card suit. Yeah, I heard suit bro. His tailor must be balling Cuz it's all custom-made shit. It's beautiful. Oh That's Miami. What's in there? Vegas oh, it's all him He's the lining of his own jacket How dope is it though that when that guy yells your name, I know literally last fight I had to think to myself I'm like, all right, that's Bruce Buffett. Just focus Just think about Pierre right now Weird it's definitely weird. I don't know. It's everything is weird about this for me It's just like I don't I'm just like I guess a socially awkward kind of don't really put myself out there well, I do With fighting but it's like I've never really put myself out there in life So it's like to be in these kind of positions. It's just it's all a lot for me Well, it's amazing that the way you handle fighting you get handle this the same way you handle fighting You just get comfortable with it. I think that I don't for me social situations are a lot harder than like fighting Situations Wow, I think crazy. Oh, yeah, like does it always been like that? 100% since you were a child. Yeah, I I feel like I've always been like the like socially awkward kid in the back of the class like the nerds look I still am like at the gym, but my volunteer appeared with animals my whole life I volunteered at like the Humane Society a horse rescue Wildlife rehab, but just like animals were my thing and then it Was just kind of a left field. I started kickboxing when I was 16 just for fun Yeah, I really don't know where it came like what the idea was but I just start with Jim at Dean's gym Oh, yeah, well, you got lucky. So exactly one of Dean's pro fighters worked for my dad So I wanted to start kickboxing and then my dad found out that this guy was a pro fighter for Dean So he ended up finding his gym and that was the first time I started out Wow Wow, what a great place to start and so then you start kickboxing and how long before you Decide well, what about this MMA stuff? How long was that? I think it was probably like four or five months before I started taking the MMA class there But I wasn't like thinking about fighting. It was just There was a kid who was on the wrestling team at my high school who started training At Dean's gym and he was like, oh, why don't you take them a make class and I thought okay I'll have a partner why don't I try it and I just kept on doing it and then I was training like Every day for like three hours a night, you know, and they're like, all right. Well, why don't we just get you a fight at this? Wow What was it about? Fighting and martial arts that you became so obsessed with I Really think it was a one I I don't know what it was at first because I didn't start jujitsu especially in the gi until like a year After I started training But when I started gi jujitsu, I felt in love with that a hundred percent where it's just the technique of it and the The little tiny details of jujitsu them Matter so much like if you put your thumb on this side of the hand or on this side of the hand It makes a huge difference. It's like the little tiny techniques They can make the difference where now a hundred and fifteen pound girl at the time could Do whatever she wanted to a 200 pound guy, you know I was manhandling these guys around the room and I'm like just cuz these techniques that I learned and I thought that was awesome Yeah, that is an amazing thing. It's jujitsu is the one martial art that delivers as promised Where the smaller trained person can defeat the larger? Untrained person whereas a lot of other martial arts mean You have a better chance, but when they're really big, you know Some guys swinging it if you know set a punch a little bit and you get clubbed with one of those Giant hams you get fucked up But if you get into a struggle like some sort of a scramble and you knock into some chairs and all of a sudden you Get a hold of this person. Oh now he's fucked. That's what's crazy it's like that a small all person can physically control and submit a much stronger person Regularly it happens all the time. It happens with black belts. Even in striking. It's like a Person cannot know anything. But if they're big enough, they throw their hand the right way. They cannot you out Yeah, yeah, if you get hit with Francis and gone, it was pinky You're in trouble. Exactly certain people that they're so powerful Like the idea that you're gonna stand and trade with them is crazy gonna hit you once and you're dead That just doesn't work that well jujitsu it's just there's the not the Variant of space so There's not that element of guessing where it's like I can control and I can feel what you're gonna do by touching you It's like it makes a lot easier. You're not guessing what that space is striking. You're also not guessing The variables like how fast is this person? But how fast am I accustomed to people punching me? Is this person much faster? Do I have to? Anticipate that because if you ever see like Street Fight videos though The most horrific ones are some poor asshole who? Wants to start a fight with someone who's a trained fighter and the trained fighter fucks them up But you you could see like they have no idea how fast things can happen Like you I'm sure you seen a Joe Schilling one. Yes Killing was ridiculous, but there's no way that guy could have known that that can happen that quickly There's no way and people don't expect like like for someone like me a lot of times I get oh I would never forget that you're a fighter for someone like Joe Schilling is still even like oh, yeah, you wouldn't like Just like an axe murderer. Well, you just see him walking around it like most people you don't expect that there Joe Schilling You don't expect it Yeah, but say like Ryan Hall Ryan Hall's a great You don't expect him to be a fighter But it's like you never know what somebody's capable of when it comes to sports like this Oh for sure what you just to Mikey Musimachi Mikey is a stone cold killer and he looks like a guy who comes over to fix your computer He's he's he looks like the friendliest super nerd. Oh, this video is horrible This is Street Fight in in a parking garage. Have you seen this? No These guys start fucking with this dude in a parking garage the guy trying to get away No, he fucked the other guy up before this. This is a shorter version. Okay, this is a shorter version. So this guy He's trying he's like, come on. You want some and he moves for this guy leg kicks him and Then this is where it gets ugly He punches them bam Yeah, you don't want that like what like It's it's it's awesome to see that stuff works right for people like hey, this is real someone tries to attack you You have an upper hand, but also like what are you doing? Yeah, fucking people I've never been in a street fight in my life. Good for you. Like I don't intend to ever but It's just I don't get it. Like yeah, there's I don't see a you For fighting outside the cage for me like people make anger management issues and then there's criminals too, you know Bad folks. Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of weird stuff in the world, but I just for me I think it's fascinating that you are more afraid of social interaction that you're afraid of cage fighting That might be one of the greatest line and said anyone has ever said I think that's gonna get you a lot of fans Real for me. It's just like literally I never really Did any kind of interviews or media or anything like that until I got in the top house So that's going from absolutely zero to 100% What was that like you were like 22? 22 and I was having interviews every day cameras on you 24 7 literally after every single interview I had to go and change my shirt because I'd be dripping sweat like I just got out the sauna. Whoa So nervous after every single interview Do you think they brought you into the house knowing that you were nervous to that like that? You're a little socially awkward in that regard and like that. Maybe that would make good television I guess I never thought of it that way Obviously they brought you in cuz you're skillful But but they also cast that show as a reality show. It's a very cleverly done show, you know Like it's smart the way they do it Like even with what they're doing now with Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler It's great, but perfect perfect shit talking when Connor tells him you'll do as you told It's amazing Kale, I hope that fight takes place but it's it's such a It's such a show right so it's not just an athletic competition. It's also they want to make sure the people are fun Oh, yeah, our season seems pretty like tame though. I feel like in general We had a lot of there is me and Montana de la Rosa were the two like younger girls and then everybody else I feel like was like older and more mature like around like at least like 30s and like They were like, I don't know. Nobody was trying to start drama Nobody was trying to like get in each other's faces or we didn't have any alter occasions. It was like it was a Pretty chill season. That's great. So no one ever encourages Like any bickering or anything like that, they don't ever tell you It's been science and shut Do that Nobody ever really does anything like that, but it's just like the boredom gets to you if anything else It's like I feel like no phones, right? No phones. No TV. No music. No books. No, no books Nothing at all Nothing so it's like can you have a notebook book you're allowed to get a notebook and then they gave us we asked for Coloring books and they gave us sketch pads. Oh My god, I think I would go nuts that sounds like one of those like Anti-tech retreats, you know exactly where they try to weed people off their tech tech addictions I was just talking to one of the boys who's actually on the Conor McGregor season over the weekend and he said the Exact same thing as me. He's like it was the birth best and worst experience in my life Because it's like when you're in the gym, there's so many high as it's so great But then when you go back to the house, you're just sitting there for hours and you're bored and it sucks What do you guys do to kill time? Can you play games? Do they have like a nice these stuff pool, right? Yeah Oh, I think they had a pool table and a chess table and then they have like the list or you can order anything So you order like monopoly? Yeah, so we would order a bunch of bullshit just trying to entertain ourselves. God Did you bow it did you have good conversations? Or was it weird cuz you're all competitors it's weird look not cuz you're competitors cuz I'm weird Like I felt like I I Especially back then I wasn't able to just like I don't know acclimate to that going into a house with 16 different girls that I don't really know right? Yeah that that a completely alien experience and You're so you're feeling a little bit awkward and you're also 22 and then also bam now you're on TV And it's my first time like really like leaving home I'd say you know for a long period of time. So it was it was definitely a big Spirit like a lot to do gone. Go was that now? Six years six years. So would you would you say that now you're entering into your fighting prime? Do you think that's happening right now? Oh, yeah, I think this is like just the beginning of my prime I'm just getting into what where I've really found the right combination for everything and I feel like I'm Just getting better every fight. Are you ranked right now in where you at? My next fight is against the number 15 girl Tabitha Ricky interesting She's tough. I don't be fun. That'll be a good one. Yeah, I'm like it's coming up quick June 24th Oh, wow, that is quick How how many would you what it was like your ideal camp size like like in terms of weeks I'd say probably about six to eight weeks. I like just to get focused on that opponent really started Breaking down their style and game planning for them specifically But it's like with the FC you never know what you're getting right? Like how often do they call you last minute? I've gotten a handful last-minute ones and I feel like it's almost just as bad getting like the ones 16 weeks out and things like that because you're just sitting there waiting for so long Or you run the risk of over training yeah, well have you ever done that? Too early in the camp. I feel like I train you around no matter what so it's like it's never really Like we're I don't we push it the last couple weeks, but that's about it So you just always training so hard that you can essentially take it. Well, that's great Take a short notice fight. Yeah, you're always prepared. I train probably Four or five hours the morning in about an hour at night, even if I'm off camp like in Camp out of camp. It doesn't matter. I'm on the same schedule Just obsession. Yeah, I got nothing better to do But it means what an amazing way to get better, you know, I mean When you think about grappling and you think about Gordon Ryan It no one doubts that he's the best no-geek grappler ever right, but no one also doubts that he works 365 days a year like that's That's an insane work schedule and these are insane results and you're Essentially doing that in MMA. That's what I think you see with like a lot of black belts They're like people who are at a high level is they stop drilling They stop doing the stuff that like Gordon Ryan still drills every day and that's why he's so good What he does is like people at a high level in MMA. They're just doing what the black belts Doing sitting on the side until it's time to roll, you know Yeah, it's like you got to be drilling every day. You got to be putting in the hours like My coaches are there with me Every hour of the day if I wanted for them to be you know They're willing to put in the work and like I said as fighters. We got nothing better to do This is what we do like You got to treat it as like you're going to school a doctorate, you know Well, I think that approach your approach is perfect. That's the right way to do it. I really do I mean, but everybody's different you know People have like different ways of fighting and different ways of approaching fighting Some are much more chaotic than like you and your style but I think that's That's the best way to look at it and I think Too often people love to roll because rolling so fun It's so fun that you just don't even want to do all that other stuff I'm gonna get warmed up a little bit and let's fucking go. Let's go You just want to go because it's so exciting. It's the most fun thing and it's exercise So it's like engaging intellectually. It's physically it's emotionally engaging It's like sometimes you fuck like you're gonna tap and you don't and there's a lot going on there's battles going on and it's a great workout and if you can do it and if you could do it on a regular basis that could Change your life. It could change your life. It's available to everybody like this idea. That's all brutes When you go to 10th planet you just so you see these like dudes like skateboarders and surfers and they'll strangle you It's weird. It's like they're super nerd assassins. There's a ton of them and you're one of them on the female side Yeah, I feel like that's I don't know for me it's like I said, I've never been like someone athletic I volunteered with animals growing up, you know, I was always the quiet kid in the back of the class and it's like Just it I don't know what you did to is being able to be that like it I don't be that voice in the way, you know being that way to express myself and it's I feel like it it was just like Completely not who I was when I was little, you know, it's just it's a complete But it's you you know, you're just growing you know, this is the new you Right. I mean it is you. Yeah, you're gonna if you continue and you become champion you're gonna have to do a lot of this shit Oh, yeah, you're gonna have to do a lot of this shit, you know, I Mean how many fights do you think you are away from a title shot? It's a stacked vision I don't think I'm too far away from it. Currently. I think that on as After this fight I would like I'm not looking past have it at all, but I'm also like looking at the true direct trajectory of where I'm going and Obviously Mackenzie Dern just put on a great performance a couple weeks ago and She has the second most submissions in Women's history and I have the first so it's like I think I Would like to you know, just solidify that everybody calls her the submission queen even though I'm like I have more than her Well, she's pretty awesome. But you are too. That would be a crazy fight Okay, and I think then that after that fight, I wouldn't be too far away from the title fight I was very impressed with her against Angela Hill. Angela Hill is so tough She was taking so many shots like oh my god And she's can't fight would not give up that arm bar like so many times But Kenzie came so close to getting that arm bar and Angela was just not giving up, but Whoo, I think that's the best Mackenzie we've seen so far ever Just like to it was incredible incredible performance and super aggressive to Exactly. That's what I feel like was so beneficial for her. She doesn't have to worry about getting taken down Typically, you know so she can be a little bit reckless And coming with those strikes and that's exactly what she needed to do with Angela Hill and she was able to do it And she's dangerous on her feet now, too. It used to be just the ground But now she's winging bombs and she hit Angela with a knee, you know, she's very dangerous He says she doesn't have to be scared, you know, so she can throw over commit to any strike throw with all her power And it doesn't matter cuz it's like put me on my back like thank you like coming to my guard Yeah, there's guards, you know, and then something mean her guard is fucking nasty her guard is so high level Everything she does is so highly level. It's like when you can watch you get to like that in MMA like a real world champion when it goes to the ground like her like Moving from position to position the petition to finally securing it's like whoo It's so quick. She's so good. So good and so technical, you know her dad's a legend It's just like that kind of like high level jujitsu an MMA some of my favorite shit to watch You know, there's there's certain people that just have either one or two Elite high level moves that they could pull off and when they do it You just like you're doing this to the best of the best in the world Yeah, I feel like what jujitsu it's just like I don't just Moving with people so much. I feel like it's so impressive to watch how people can just float on top of people It's like knowing when to control and when to release almost, you know when you really need it I don't some people are special Control but like for someone like me, I feel like I'm better at flowing, you know and letting people fall I think people fall make their own mistakes and fall into things where it's like someone like could be but Is that pressure kind of fighter right? You're you're better at finding the openings as you you threaten them in different areas And just move into position hold it or uh, not necessarily me threatening them, but them falling into their own mistake I feel like I like to Like I'm just sitting there doing damage until I see the opening until I see my opportunity Until I see that one mistake that you made and I capitalize on it and is this How you've always done it or is this something you're you're doing now better than you've ever done before This is something I'm definitely doing now better than I've ever done before Was this the same approach that you had in the beginning of your career when you first started? um, I don't think as much just because now I feel I feel Like I went from a jujitsu girl who did mma to an mma fighter more Where it's like now, uh, I don't like a lot of my early Submissions were arm bars off my back where I was just comfortable playing guard I didn't care because I was good at jujitsu where it's like now I'm always looking to do damage wherever i'm at typically Like to sit on top and do heavy ground and pound and heavy top pressure until they're like, all right We need to get this girl off me. I need to stand up and then that's when I capitalize typically A lot of times off the stand up is where I find my choke or if they're just standing on their back is where my arm bar Or like head and arms other opportunities where I just don't like to give up that top position Yeah top position so so important. It's just if you can control the top It's just much easier for you than it is for the other pro and it's also kind of humiliating Someone's on top you in front of all these people punching you in the face It's also just a lot to carry on top. Yeah makes it you gas Yeah And that like I feel like nobody understands the cardio that it Takes to get up and get down and get up and get down in mma versus Like if you're just doing jujitsu or you're just doing kickboxing rounds. It's like once you mix it all together It's just it changes the pace Clearly yeah, I remember one of the most brilliant things that um, uh when jorsey and piair fought bj Pen he wanted to grapple with them immediately He wanted to really get a hold of him right right away to wear his arms out He goes I want to disarms to be filled with blood So like it changes it changes your ability to throw punches changes your ability to get snap off to explode You're kind of gassed out because you've been pummeling and trying to avoid being taken to the ground It's just this when people don't know when they see Like your fights these these exchanges against the cage Those are some of those grueling moments in all of mma just a Battle to see who wins this thing Yeah, exactly, especially against the cage. Honestly a lot of those battles i'm just like Like if we can find an opportunity to break off i'm willing to because it's like if I didn't get the takedown initially then I'm just going to be grueling like you said like it's going to be hard work to get them down Where it's like When let's break off reset and find the opportunity find the right timing for the takedown instead of sitting here and just grinding it out and just tiring both of us out it's um It's such a an interesting time for uh, mma Because you're seeing people like yourself that are young and grew up with it and got to watch it on television and got it What was the first mma fight that you ever saw? I think the first one that I ever watched was uh John jones and I think he was your shot evans. So you are watching it at a very high level As opposed to a lot of the people that like even john jones The stuff he got to see was stuff from 10 years before that And like the kids of today the kids like you said yourself like you the the people growing up now You guys have the most amazing library of champions to study in in all the different forms of martial arts and to see people like yourself that are putting it together so obsessively and And and to watch it succeed over and over again inside the arkad. It's fucking cool. I love it It's such an exciting time I feel like it's the beginning of mma as a sport where it's like for so Long it's been jujitsu guys who do a little bit of striking or like Like wrestlers or strikers, but now it's like is people putting it together and making it style systems Based upon these things. Yeah, where it's like I Feel like honestly dean's obviously I work with him, but he's one of the best in Trying to innovate and that's why I appreciate his mind so much of just trying to make it Mma as a sport whenever he's on the techniques that he has me drilling where I feel like it's like Donna her innovated the uh, no no geek game with leg locks It's like we need to change this from being kickboxing jujitsu and wrestling to being mixed martial arts Dean always has awesome input whenever we're doing the shows and that they cut to him He'll always point out something that I probably missed And when you're watching these high level people that are that are coming up right now There is still the room for the specialist There's still the room for like the anderson silva style striking That the problem is with all fights is they all start standing up And if you are standing up with a guy like alex beheada like you're in a world Of danger is a terrifying world like so there are still Those specialists that are so goddamn dangerous at this one aspect of the game That they can get through and the problem with like I always wonder Will there be like because israel is a striking specialist, too? But will there be an ma fighter that is Complete everywhere to the point where they can stand with a world champion kickboxer Is that a real thing or is that it's a only a few freaks? Or is that it seems like in order to be a world champion kickboxer? You have to really dedicate yourself only striking the timing that's involved the distance. No, you're not thinking about takedowns You're not thinking about anything else For you to be a world champion Mma fighter you you have to be well versed in so many different things Ken do you really have the time to dedicate to get to the kickboxing level that this guy is and every fight starts? kickboxing every fight starts way apart from each other And when you got a guy like beheada moving towards you with that crazy style like oh jesus christ You know or alex on yo like standing in front of you Moving you're like this motherfucker has me three moves ahead. We haven't even started Exchanging yet. Yeah, I guess you gotta hope to get those guys on their back quick, you know But it's interesting to watch like the evolution of robert wittaker You know because robert wittaker, you know He evolved so much more from the first fight to the second fight. He got so much better Yeah, no, I had It's definitely uh when you have a good striker it's hard Obviously like we discussed earlier with the space, you know, you can never guess what's gonna happen But it's just like I feel like if you are a good grappler or a good wrestler And you are able to get it to the mac you can be that much more effective than having a good striker in front of you Yes, well you certainly can the the Differences you can control what's happening when if you can get someone and you get on top of them, right? What I always wonder is like I wonder If if there are the people like bejeda or of that ilk Cedric dune bay who I think is now going to fight for pfl He's have you ever seen that guy fight? Holy shit he's a glory world champion kickboxer and he he's a bad man And he has a crazy work ethic too. He used my gym when he was in town And he has a coach And they do these strength and conditioning routines. Excuse me They do these uh strength and conditioning routines where it's um, like one round of sprinting on the uh One of those self-propelled treadmills and then one one round of going hard On the bag and then one round of plyos and they're just rotating back and forth between all these different exercises His cardio is off the charts and he's like that's it It's the that's the game plan The game plan is you put heat on them with technique and athleticism and tech and in strategy When you put heat on them, they can't keep up. They just can't because they're not they're not going to work that hard If you get to that level of fitness Like you can have of this extra thing that other people just don't have and cedric dune bay has that extra thing but Can he wrestle like is he going to be able to stuff takedowns? How how are these guys going to deal with getting him to the ground because as you're moving in on him You could get any second you get knocked unconscious It can come out of nowhere and he might just take a wild shot at you because he doesn't want to get taken down Maybe he just maybe says let's see. Let me just throw a head kick You know, it's like I like watching that too I I love watching someone like yourself. I love watching these MMA fighters of today. They're these full complete artists Get some of his highlights not the training highlights, but I know he's been doing a lot of MMA training but go to his kickboxing highlights his kickboxing highlights are preposterous He's a bad man And he's got some vicious knockouts And he's just clever in there. He's just clever. I love the way he's fighting that guy's nikki. Holdskin. He was a beast I mean doom bay is Constant pressure like you don't get breaks with him If you get a break, it's because he wants you to have a break. I mean he just swarms on dudes I just feel like if you look at that pressure in mma, it's like it would be Impossible to maintain with with the variable of takedowns. Look at that Just it would be impossible. Yeah, you're true. It's absolutely watch this when when you miss this look at this Just chilling he's actually a comedian. Oh, wow. He's a comedian in france. Oh, wow It's crazy. It's one of the best kickboxers alive Multi-talented very multi-talented super funny guy too and he You know if he can figure out the grappling my my question is always like is it better to be well rounded or is it better? To be a specialist it used to I used to think it'd be better to be a specialist wrestler I felt like and I still think that to a certain extent that at least the base beginning of amateur wrestling Those guys seem to be the toughest they seem to be they have the most mental fortitude the grind of becoming a successful wrestler Is unlike any other athletic pursuit that I ever I only wrestled in high school for one year is one of the hardest things In my life, it's fucking hard, but these guys are it's particularly Good at the most important thing Getting the fight to the ground and getting on top of people right? That's the number one thing those guys Is the best at it? So I felt like that's like the cornerstone but Every fight does start standing up and so then you get a guy like merkro krokop who figures out how stuff takedowns and now you're dealing with one of the most elite kickboxers alive and it's horrifying, right? So it's I always wonder like what is the best approach? Do you think it's to be a fully rounded Mixed martial artists putting all your time and all these different things or do you think maybe there's some Room for the idea of like the world champion specialist. I think it's best to focus on everything try to make yourself a mixed martial artist, I think if you are a specialist to begin with say like Someone like him who is a world? World champion kickboxer you probably Shouldn't be investing like all your time into jujitsu at that point. You should probably stay the specialist, you know, like go to mma and Like learn how to defend takedowns. You shouldn't be learning like how to finish arm bars necessarily You know putting a gi on day one. It's like you don't need to learn that at this Point you should focus on what you're good at. But if you are day one I think you should like focus on everything and putting everything all together because it's like I can have someone who is a better wrestler than me, but I can guarantee you they want to Don't want to stay in my guard, you know it's like it and I for me especially I think the two most important are striking in jujitsu because They are the finishing elements. So it's like those are the ways I can take people out of the fight Where it's like wrestling I can control a little bit more but it I don't have any finishing options Well, that's a brilliant way of looking at it. I think you're right I think if you're starting from the beginning, I think learning everything would be very advantageous because you wouldn't want to think you're You know You wouldn't want to think you're safer than you are and then someone takes you down at will and you're like, oh jesus You're like if you just learned martial arts like striking martial arts and you don't maybe I should learn jujitsu Maybe I need to learn that's probably not the moment to learn No, but I do think there's there's some room for people that at least if you come maybe it's like if you get to a certain age maybe at a certain age you you must Go all in on all mma, but if you could be a specialist early in your life Like if you're a specialist in striking, I think Maybe early in your life You would have a like if you look at all the best Kickboxers and even all the best boxers for the most part a lot of them start when they're very young It seems to be like striking for some reason I think there's freaks There's there's people that just learn it and even when they're in their 30s that you can learn it and they get really good At it But for a lot of people there's something about the timing of striking striking that if you don't pick it up when you're really young You don't really achieve this sort of there's like a plateau for a lot of folks. Have you ever noticed that? For me i'm like, I don't striking has ever been like my For I started striking before I started jujitsu. It's just jujitsu just clicked for me striking. I feel like It just takes out a little bit more of like athleticism. I guess where it's like I I'm not the most athletic fighter. So it's like I feel like I can't really use my mind to just make quicker decisions Striking as much as I can in jujitsu where it's easier to Well, that's a brilliant way to do it. I I think you know, especially for your mind and your approach Striking is just a means to an end right? You're just trying to Just trying to strangle people. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it's like i'm not gonna say i'm Never gonna have a knockout because obviously I want that's the goal is to be able to develop power But it's just it's so much easier for like a heavyweight to just throw his fist and knock somebody out where someone a girl like any of the 25 or 15 or just the smaller girls. It's like it's really hard to develop that Kind of power unless you're born with it Well, that's why valentina is so scary Valentina shipchenko when she landed that uh head kick on jessica. I was like That was nasty Oh, yeah nasty knockouts like that with girls. I feel like it's just they're not common So when you see them, it's like you gotta have respect for that girl Yeah, well valentina that fucking left high kick. Holy shit, and she set it up to the body before that She's so good and she's always like light on her toes, you know, her style is so interesting, you know, it's a very like when she You know, she lost the title now obviously And I would love to see the rematch because the fight was awesome. But if you look at her Like the best moments in her career She's like always moving always on her toes perfect technique with striking Oh, yeah, she's rarely out of position. I feel like that's one of the things because i've always admired about her. It's like it's It's hard to do what alexa did is to be able to get her out of position and be able to capitalize On it get her to like mentally not be there for a split second and be able to see that opportunity Isn't it crazy that she did it off a spinning back kick? I it's I I feel like valentina was just kind of like this Kick won't go away. I thought this was gonna be easier and she started making like Not the smartest decisions. You really think that's what happened. You don't think maybe it was just Fatigue I think a little bit that but a little bit of frustration maybe too just Like valentina was winning the fight and had a lot of good opportunities But alexa like alexa was the only one walking in there knowing that she was Gonna win that fight no matter what that night well Is that real? Can you know that you're gonna win no matter what you can have that attitude? She you could say afterwards. I knew I was gonna win no matter what but there's that's two world titles That were essentially lost to a spinning back kick miss You ever see uh chris wiedemann when When chris might rob wiedemann fought luke rockhold. He was Winning the fight. It was like a really good fight and then he throws a spinning back kick And he misses and luke rockhold takes him to the ground and beats the fuck out of him and it was a horrible Horrible beating it was it was a really dominant performance by rock It was hard to watch and That he lost the title And then you look at valentina same thing Spinning back kick misses alexa gross who gets her gets her back chokes her crazy It's like two world titles on a spinning back kick miss I feel like it's just like I don't it wasn't a smart thing It was just like a lapse of thought for her for that second where she was just like, all right I'm gonna throw this and Alexa just capitalized she saw the opportunity and took it Well if she landed it then it would have been something different She has a nasty spinning back kick. She really does So this is uh, why i'm in and they were in the middle of this fight. Wyman was moving forward on rockhold And this is a wyman was the fucking man. This was a tough fight Very tough fight, but wyman's putting all this pressure on him kicks him to the body Looks like he's putting to him head kick So right there right there One he it's like he's beating him up like he's big brother in them, right and he throws a lazy wheel kick And he gets taken down And now luke rock holds a motherfucker on the ground And that boy's big luke rock holds big, you know, he makes 185 for about 15 seconds. Yeah, he's he's well in the 200s. I'm sure when he's fighting He's a big fellow big long strong and shit with crazy top pressure And so here you go. Wyman's exhausted now and they can't believe he's in this position It's a terrible position to be in I mean rock holds training with dc He's training with kabib. He's training with all those people down there all those animals and aka came in valasquez It's just a savage soup down there. Yeah, exactly And so luke rock hold people forget, you know People see some of his losses and see him in the later stages of the career When luke rock hold was the champ and this right here that he won the title this motherfucker had staff He came into this fight on antibiotics. He just gotten over staff You know how hard it is to get over antibiotics fuck you up and to be winning this fight in this way is fucking credible And all off of wide men missing one shot really look at me. He's just beating the shit out of him It's hard to watch man Because wide men is like really kind of helpless at this point and he's so battered from these elbows and it's like And he's too tough. He's so tough. The guy will never quit. And so this is this is one where i'm like Maybe this could have been stopped earlier You could stop this in any second here. You know what i'm saying? Like don't you think it keeps going too, bro. This is crazy This is crazy that might have been the round I think it was the round even I think they keep going because what yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. What? It went on after that that's right, that's right and it gets oh my god, it happens again though It happens again, that's right Oh How tough is chris wideman that motherfucker so tough But sometimes careers can change off of one missed technique, which is one of the wildest things about mma Careers can change anything can happen at anything at any Moment. I feel like it's like it like you say you can go in and you can be a better Striker than the person you can just get caught it can be their night. They can show up better It's like there's a lot of my fights where it's like I feel like I am I'm the better fighter, but they showed up that night it's Is it all it's always a learning process though, right? Like every experience that you have You're putting into your your mental database of like how to deal with different Conditions how to deal with different thoughts that come in your head. Oh, yeah I feel like it's a huge learning process and for me I think like I didn't really get a lot of regional experience, you know, I was three and two when I Came into the tough house. Wow So i'm going on my next fight i'll be in my 15th ufc fight to go three and two tough house And then liver pool. Yeah Exactly That's so crazy Oh my god, what a wild ride. Yeah, so a lot of my learning experience was in the ufc In the ufc in front of the whole world. Yeah, exactly chris wideman when he knocked out anderson silva. That was another one of those How did that happen? What what is going on moments? We're like everybody thought that anderson silva was Untouchable at that point. That was that moment where? You know you realize like this sport is nuts Even the people that you think are the greatest of all time they can get cracked and knocked unconscious Like it like leon edwards when he knocked out kamara usman in the last round like what? What kamaru? When he lands that head kick and you see kamaru who's like one of the most durable guys that's ever lived He gets cracked. He gets back up. He seems fine always in every fight and this one he gets Put out it almost seemed surreal like when tyson got knocked out by buster douglas like what like what is happening? It's crazy It's like like you say you can be a better fighter You could beat win that fight nine out of ten times and then just That one time is that night is that's what happens especially at a high level, right? Especially at a high level. It's like You can't make any kind of mistake It's like on a regional level say you make a little mistake, but they're not going to capitalize on Like because they're just they're not smart enough maybe you know, it's like A lot of people are like whatever it is, but then once you get up to a high level It's like these people are good. If you make that one little mistake, then you're getting knocked out You're getting subbed. You don't have those kind of opportunities. So it's definitely A learning experience there. There's also the difference between people that that are fighting Being that train and people that train like you train There's a big difference the fact that you do it constantly and consistently. It's just such an advantage I believe Because you know, I mean I know it just from training in jujitsu even when I was training like four days a week like really regularly I would be in with those guys that are training five six seven days a week and they would be getting better than me Like and I knew it you could tell you it's in your head Like okay Do you want to go psycho and be here seven days a week or do you want to try to live a life? Like how are you gonna balance this? You know, they're gonna get better than you. It's impossible to stop It's just a thing that people do if you can dedicate enough time and focus To something over long periods of time if you really stay true to it You get better and better and better and when I see someone like yourself that does that and goes from The tough house and goes to that fight in Liverpool to me. That's like one of the great American success stories That was fucking I mean, that's really amazing It's an amazing thing to be this person who's a socially awkward kid And then all of a sudden you strangle some girl in her hometown in front of the whole world In this crazy arena Like that's wild. Oh, no, it's a hundred percent. Everything is surreal about it to me It's like for me, it's like i'm just a kid who loves this shit. I love this sport And that's about it. I love showing up every day. I love going to the gym every day and it's like even on my bad days It's better than going to any other job. Like I love training more than anything else Like I can always remember it's like i've worked at vets offices, I worked at chilies right before I got into the tough house and i'm like There's my worst days at the gym or betty better than any day I had to go to one of those jobs Of course, I remember like getting off of a shift at chilies getting off of a shift at the vets office working like 10 hours a day and just going straight to the gym and there's nothing Nothing better than the feeling of the mats underneath your feet. Like wow, that's just what I love more than anything You can't beat that kind of dedication that dedication trumps everything because even if you're really really disciplined You're enthusiastic too Like there's like discipline to get you through like a five mile run, you know, but like it's not gonna you're not gonna learn as much Just with discipline like you kind of enthusiasm and discipline is really the right combination You can't just be disciplined and just kind of trudge through it because the person that's more interested in it It's more passionate about the more excited about it that person seems more jazzed up They're gonna learn it quicker and they're gonna put it on you quicker It's like it's the ultimate testing ground for ideas and focus Really is I don't get people who don't train out of camp or they're like, oh, yeah I took like a month off or something. Like what did you do? Do you do anything other than train like what is what is Fun time I had nothing no hobbies. No, nothing. You don't play golf Nothing I have like a like I live in Miami. So it's like i'll go out like paddle boarding sometimes things like that uh, but that's really Like training is so much of my life and I feel like Like it's like a lot of the times i'm not training. I just don't want to do anything because i'm tired I'm exhausted from training Yeah, I think masayama said that about As karate students think they were talking about why they don't I think it's masayama They it's not that they're more noble they're tired from training Something like that. I might have I'm pretty sure I fucked that up But yeah, it's if you're training all the time like that's why street fights seem so stupid, you know, like oh my god That's like more training More training with danger and weapons Yeah, no i'm like I don't I don't get how people are so confident to get in street Crazy, right? It's that that's like you said without weapons like that's a crazy thing to me You don't know when somebody has a weapon you don't people people shoot people just be nice. Let's not fight exactly So many fucking loons out there though Have you uh ever had uh, like a girl come to the gym specifically to try to train with you? Uh to come train with me. Yeah, definitely. I train at a smaller gym The goat shed in miami. So it's like that is a wild place that you train at Yeah, it is. I love that you train there. Uh, my those fellows are wild Yeah, my coach awesome. He has like a controlled chaos Going on in there, but they're getting good. Oh, yeah, we did. Everybody's getting good He said we're there at 8 a.m 10 a.m 11 a.m Then i'm doing cardio after everybody's there focus working is like I feel like people see all the The crazy shit online and don't think we're actually training. We're actually working But it's like there's so much technical like ability that's behind Into all the chaos that you guys see no for sure. There's there you can See that on instagram, but if to the casual observer, I see what you're saying But the the infectious energy in that gym is so apparent that it comes out through instagram Like that's how you know, it's a legit gym. It's a little a little wild about us right uh rootin seminar Basito he was just here. Yeah, he was there. He's the fucking man last week. I want to say we had a seminar He's the fucking man. I love that dude Okay Some girl had her legs open. I don't know what that was all about. I don't don't look at that one chammy Yeah, miami's a wild ass place It's not it's clever. It's clever. Oh you click it and it's something else. Oh, she's selling sunglasses Oh glasses That's a genius you gotta entice them, you know, there's a lot of dirty people okay the clickbait What do you think about fighters starting only fans is that not Uh, yeah, I don't know It's not my thing definitely like obviously like I have friends who do it things like that, but it's just I don't know. It's It I feel like you you gotta be decide what you want. I feel like it's hard to be committed to fighting when you're in To doing it any like if you taking pictures and looking cute and doing things like that that takes time where it's like I don't have time for that shit It's not just that but then that probably makes you as much money as fighting. Yes That's that's also a thing about it too or more money. There's a lot of girls making more money than sure Yeah, i'm not knocking it If I was a girl i'd be in my underwear for sure I'd be like come come see this Give me money Especially if I was young if you're a young girl, I mean I i'm not encouraging anyone to start But I am saying Like what what is worse? What is worse someone looking at your butt or or you know you having to work some stupid job for four months? I can't remember who it was, but there's uh, some there's a girl. She had an Only fans and she was a fighter and she tweeted one. She's like you guys can Pay me to use my body to fight people But you don't want me to like pay me to use my body to like on only fans like you guys are just someone's telling Not to do it. Yeah, I don't believe in that. I don't think you should be able to tell anybody what to do with your personal life Especially like social media personal life like do whatever you want to do. You want to show everybody your butt go ahead You know, I mean the thing is then your butts on the internet for the rest of your life And that's okay, too I think probably there's going to be no privacy in about a decade or so I don't think any I think we're going to be Like remember back of the day when you had privacy, I think people are going to know everything thought that everybody has There's nothing hiding. You're not going to be able to hide taxes You're not going to be I think the way our lives are getting more and more interconnected with technology We're going to come to a point in time Where I don't think there's going to be Anything to hide than anybody has and that's going to be a weird time to be alive I swear I think about things and my iPhone tells me like oh yeah for sure. It's like oh why? Why don't you order this? I'm like, how did you even I swear I didn't say it out loud But I just thought of it and it comes up there. I was googling something And then the thing that I googled started showing up in my instagram feed Very specific. It's a very Specific thing. I'll tell you what it is. It's a 1968 bullet Mustang Tell me how specific that is. That's really fucking specific Never should that never showed up in my instagram feed before but I was googling the scene from the movie bullet You ever heard of the scene the movie? Yeah, it's steve a queen Movie, it's filmed in san francisco. It's the greatest car chase scene ever and steve mcqueen has this 1968 highland green Mustang and they're going through see we could find it. It's fucking wild. It's a wild scene and this is 1968 cars drove like shit So, uh, I google this I watch this chase scene And i'm looking at like builds that people have made where they've made replicas of uh of that car including this company called revology that makes us sick mustang and um, they make like a New 1968 mustang instead of it being a 1968 mustang is like a 2023 1968 mustang but with modern technology in it So this is steve mcqueen and this dude getting this wild chase scene in san francisco And it goes on for a while. This is when movies didn't have music playing when shit was happening Look at this. It's just the sounds of the car steve mcqueen's face And now they'd be fucking this up But back then they knew it to make a fucking movie, but look at that car. Look at that car. That's a 1968 mustang that's a 68 charger So anyway, this Starts showing up in my fucking instagram feed now. That's really Specific that's how dope is that car? That's a dope. That's a fucking dope car. I saw it The scene's incredible goes on forever Do you think they cleared traffic for this? Uh, for sure. They just clipped that car. You saw that I know but my point was I was there's a movie i've seen Recently same time period. I think it's a jack nicholson chase scene Makes sense and maybe new york or chicago. I read they didn't clear traffic. They just filmed it Oh, I don't think it's as dangerous as this one probably but They just filmed it and we're like, okay for something like this. This is high speeds You can't have people walking their baby stroller Across the street when steve mqueen kills him. You just pay an intern if they hate No, that's not gonna work That car is 100 part of the movie. So is that car? Watch how this car reacts. These are all like stuntmen. These are all stuntmen now 100 See how slow that that volkswagen's going that dude would not be going that slow look at this help cupcap loss Look at this shit. All right. This is a wild fucking movie son. This goes on forever This is what they used to do in movies if you watch like Old like a lot of steve mqueen's movies lemonde the same thing like the whole beginning of the movie. No one even talks forever I'm really good at falling asleep during movies You don't give a fuck about anything but training I love it I love it. I like anytime I lay down for too long. It's like it's a risk. So You just pass out. Yeah, yeah, I can't movies. I don't know it has to be like I don't know kids movies. I usually like kids movies Good with like animation things like frozen. Yeah, i'd be cool with watching that I could probably stay up for that. But like any real movies. I just don't have the I don't know I don't have the intentions Well, it's also like the drama that people go through in some real movies like think about the The actual real drama you go through for your profession. Yeah, exactly They're there things are so mundane You know Yeah, I I feel like I like to Try to get away from that like I don't know. I am a huge fight fan, too So I spend a lot of time watching fights. Yeah, yeah every weekend last weekend. I was like, what do I do? There's no fights on I just feel lost if I don't have a week a weekend And a fight do you watch only mma or do you watch other sports to watch muay thai or anything else? I have more mma than anything else. I I don't know even jujitsu. I feel like i've never really gotten deep into watching but Really? Yeah, it's more just mma specifically, but I think mma as a Four is completely different than like say like no gi jujitsu versus gi jujitsu versus like kickboxing Versus wrestling. It's like those are all Like even I feel like people look at like mma Jujitsu versus no gi jujitsu. They're like, oh, it's the same Same when it's completely two different worlds. Well as soon as striking is involved And also the gloves prevent a lot of stuff It's it's very interesting the difference if I you know, obviously Um never fought mma, but I've grappled with mma gloves on just trying to get chokes when someone's not punching you You can't get things under chin. Is it so much harder? Well, it's just how you have to work for things too. Like I think Like when I go into jujitsu competitions, I get stuck in a girl's clothes guard and i'm like How the fuck do I open a clothes guard like oh, I punch you in the face. That's how I like your clothes guard Right, I can't do that right now. So it's like I haven't drilled that shit in Years, just where it's like these girls are doing that every single day Yeah, the uh, the strategy of punching in the face can't be ignored That's a good way to get out of someone's clothes guard. Yeah It's like well, it's just easy a lot less effort. Exactly. It opens up so many opportunities even with submissions It's like uh, I feel like for the rose It was a grappling match too short notice for both of us. I think the whole card was Put together on 11 days total. Oh, wow So, uh, I just had like a short camp, but me just doing straight jujitsu for that short camp It's like it's so much harder to get submissions when you can't punch them in the face When you can't just like get them to like try to push you off or create the space when you can't do the damage That's a really good argument for learning it the way you're learning it then from the beginning Because that's a really good argument for learning mma jujitsu Do It's a completely different sport. I think like I don't know I think no Ogi and mma jujitsu they're just like getting farther and farther away from each other as the years ago I think that no gi is taking its own path and mma Is a completely different world where it's like even my choking style? I feel like doesn't translate as well to no gi as it works for mma hmm That's interesting but it's It's like the the level That exists now both in in jujitsu and in mma it is so different than at any other time I'm looking at these guys that are Just now entering into the ufc and they look they look like world champions like they move like world champions It's so it's such an interesting thing to see And for you to be a part of it And to love it so much it's got to be One of the wildest experiences a person could go through Oh, it's crazy like at my gym right now. We have a kid who just started training with us. He's 11 and one and 20 years old and i'm like, like where did you get the time to get those fights? That's amazing like my niece. She's three and just started training jujitsu. I'm like, I can only imagine like people Starting mma at this stage now where it's like you've never really seen that before And if you keep going at the pace you're going I think You you could hit like really crazy levels. I really believe that I really believe that you're you're you're one of the most exceptional Contenders that are coming up right now. It's really exciting to see I think I built a A really good foundation over the last couple years. Like I said, I learned a lot. I got into the ufc extremely young So I feel like it was a lot of stepping stones But now I am in the prime of my life and I am I have the right combination with goat Shed and dean thomas and I feel like I don't i'm just in a good spot Mentally and physically and I feel like i'm ready for these opportunities that are coming my way That sounds like you prepared that one. Did you prepare that one? No, I didn't not at all. Not at all. Yeah That's perfect print cut Make it real. Oh put that shit on instagram. Yeah, that's awesome. I'm excited. I'm excited for you when you're Watching some of these upcoming cards What fights are interesting to you that are coming up right now? Uh the upcoming cards. Oh, um on the And anouna's card the banil darushin charles aloe vera bad fight. I'm like i've been waiting for that forever It got cancelled now. Were you scheduled? I'm like That is the that is gonna be a matchup banil dariushis fight With jakar close was one of the craziest fucking fights i've ever seen in my life. It was so nuts It was so back and forth Banil was almost out like we thought he was hurt bad and that he finds a way to win and his grappling is nasty He's got one of those types of grappling styles that's just ideal for mma. He's really blended it in such a perfect way It's gonna be interesting to see because aloe vera is very very good off his back and it's like darush Technically doesn't need to take this fight. He could probably get a title opportunity. I'm assuming Before this, you know, it's like I feel like he takes opportunity like he's just a gangster, you know He's down to take it. He is just a gangster Um, you know who i was thinking about earlier. I forgot to mention Nasty off their back paul. Craig Yeah, he's something different Something different that dude's triangle was elite Holy shit, uh him and jamal hill. Mm-hmm. I'll never forget that his arm I'm just like flopping around there. There's nothing worse than that. It was horrible Luckily jamal's arm was fine. Believe it or not. It was just dislocated. Oh, which is true. I thought it was broken It looks so terrible. I've seen a gang of arms get broken in my day And that one was uh, one of the most awkward ones misha when ronda broke misha's arm. Oh, yeah, that was a good one, too I'm like It's so funny because in a fight. I don't have a problem like doing things like That but then watching it i'm like, oh that's gross I think the scariest ones for me the leg breaks When uh anderson broke his leg against wide men when wide men broke his leg against ira hall like those are the scariest ones That those freak me out for wide men to be a part of both of those i'm like crazy. What are the odds? That's absolutely insane. There was one that happened. Uh a few years back corry hill rest in peace And then there was anderson and then after anderson Who else chris wide men Connor No one else Is that it? I think that's it. That's it. And one of the worst ones is tyron spong. You ever you ever Yeah, oh my gosh, that was disgusting Just oh, that's a hard one It's something different with a in kickboxing too I feel like the kicks are just thrown with more intention. Oh my god The way he stepped back on that is just something And that was essentially the end of his kickboxing career. I mean he's boxing now That's a dangerous man. Oh, yeah. He's a dangerous dude. He's a big dude Yeah that one fight where he got dropped early in the round and the dude swarming on him and he measures him measures him measures him bollam See you can find that Tyrone spong crazy first round knockout because it's it's nuts this dude comes after him big tall dude Hits him with a big shot and drops him And then the way he responds and the way he he cracked that dude just how staying calm under fire Looking for his shot extending his left hand then drops the right arm. Just like a sniper Some people it's like I don't know it is Just the way some people michael dute. Yeah, some people's minds are just Hey, I feel like they can just see shit that it's I don't know. They see something different. Look at that Perfect one too drops him. I mean on the chin and perfect one too He gets up Okay stays calm this dude's just swinging now now he's just wild and reckless measures bam And that's the fight this dude gets up and he's like what the fuck Fuck this It took him a second he's like this is not i'm not good It's crazy the way people's bodies reacts to Like being knocked out sometimes it's like I think it was uh Edson and shane burgos. Yeah, shane burgos. I'm like it took him like five seconds before He really felt it. Yeah, that was one of the weirdest ones i've ever seen ever Just something happened and he's backing up and as he's backing up he's losing consciousness It was like he was good and then it just he wasn't good anymore So Shane burgos is such a tough man. Oh, yeah. He's a dog. Oh, he's a dog He's a dog always so here he gets cracked with a good shot here Then he gets cracked with another good shot here Edson with those horrific leg kicks So, I don't know where the Is it coming up soon? Yeah. Oh, it's the whole they put the whole fight in there So obviously edson is catching him with a lot of stuff And as tough as shane is he's probably been hurt on multiple occasions in these exchanges right there That's it. So it was a one two. It was the one two right there Right there one two boom boom and then it just the lights go out Crazy have never ever seen something like that. That was weird. Yeah But there was a hard punch that and multiple punches before that Edson barbeau rose is a guy who doesn't get enough credit that guy has the fastest switch kick I've ever seen in my life. His switch kick is bananas his last knee against uh, billy quarantino and then His knee against baneil darouge both of them were fucking insane Yeah, I wonder how much of a struggle it is for him to get the 45 Uh, I was on the last card with him and it looked like it was a struggle. He was so shredded. He was uh Like we're sitting there an hour before weigh-ins and everybody was just sitting in their chairs And he was laying on the floor in the back just looked like he was Struggling but the next day he went out there and performed A hundred percent apparently like he got that knockout got that fight the night bonus So i'm like, I don't know how people do that. I don't I don't know how they do it either I don't get how you can make such a huge cut and just feel good on fight night crazy It's crazy because it's the amount of damage that does to your body It's not zero So like how how much damage are you doing 24 hours before a cage fight just for that advantage? And it's like how much of a size advantage is it maybe five ten pounds? Is like how much of an advantage does that give someone if they Are technically better than you? I think the advantage I think there is Advantages there has to be otherwise people wouldn't keep doing it I think that it's also you also feel like if you get someone who does a lot of it and then they get a Hold of you you're like, oh my god, i'm too small for this weight class You know if you're one of those guys like frankie edgar is an animal frankie edgar weighed 155 and won the 155 pound world title He beat bj pen to do it frankie edgar was beating everybody and they were way bigger than him He just did it with skill and heart and and also he was so durable because he didn't cut weight It's one of the things like some of these guys that cut a lot of weight. There seems to be There's it seems like the guys who cut the most weight have harder times after a while taking shots It seems to have an effect. It's hard to tell whether it's just the overall Accumament of effect of their career or if it's the weight cut, but there was a lot of Questions about pahita a lot of people brought that up Like whether or not the weight cut makes him more susceptible to getting knocked out, but we know it's not zero Right. It's not a zero effect. It has an effect, but it's also to be this bigger person And to be able to especially in the early part of the fight You can get a hold of someone When he walked into the cage, oh my god, that's crazy really that's crazy. That's 25 pounds That's crazy That's so much weight. Oh, yeah. No, I don't think about 25 pounds of water on this table Exactly remove that from his body and put it back in What without an iv No, it's it's absolutely insane to see and after that being able to perform I think that's the thing is that so many guys are doing it when you see a guy who's as big as edson At 145 or as big as billy. I don't know what billy cuts if But there's some guys in some weight glasses that are just like how are you like how is marvin vittoria? 185 pounds that guy's giant he's huge. Oh, yeah, but he gets down to 185 My all my fights besides my last one have been at 125 in the ufc and the my last one was at 115 so just the difference between the 25ers and the 15ers is Extremely different. I feel like so like that girl we watched earlier mariej pova she I remember I trained with her at att and she would come into the camp around like 150 155 and cut down to 125 I've where I was coming into camp at 130 and cut thing down to 125 So yeah, it's just I don't know But I I don't know how the girls do it, but I'm like there is a huge difference between like the 15ers and 25ers just size wise nobody does it crazier than patty Yeah, he's out of his fucking mind because he does in front of everybody. I feel like he tries to though Oh, he does try to yeah, I think it's part of his persona now, but it's also fun The dude gets fat in front of the world and then gets shredded again. He disappears And then gets shredded again, and then he gets fat again Even that I don't get i'm like by the amount I train I don't get Look at the difference between the lower left hand corner the upper middle when he's down to fight He's a fucking character That kid's a star You know if he gets matched correctly, and that's the thing like if it was any other sport you'd get matched If it was boxing you'd have a manager that manager would go. Okay patty you got a lot of Fans, but we got to set you up with the right opponents We got to make sure that we test you in all these areas and build up all the holes in your game and you know Like boxers like to get to the title undefeated. They like to get to that title Fight 16 and oh the challenger that's what everybody loves in boxing I feel like it's getting more and more like that in an mma too I have more respect for fighters who is like you can see that they've taken tough matchups versus This is the fighters who is like they fight nobody, but they have an undefeated record What do you think about a fighter that gets an opportunity to take a fight? They know they probably shouldn't take And they take it early in their career against someone who's far more experienced and it can be very dangerous But sometimes an opportunity presents itself and they say hey, do you want to fight in the ufc? We got to fight against this guy, you know top whatever Contender and people have done that before first fight in the ufc you're fighting a contender Which is really wild, but it happens all the time. I've never taken opportunities like that big like fighting contenders in the ufc, but I feel like It is important to take every opportunity that comes your way because it's like It's more eyes on you. It's you have an opportunity to show what your Ability these are too, even if you are like the b side of the matchup necessarily, but uh Every opportunity i've taken win or loss. I feel like it's helped lead me to The point that i'm at today and it's also built the foundation that Like you need losses you need to learn and you need uh that to fall back on Even if you know like you're seriously overmatched take it anyway uh I I don't know. Is it for me? It's like i've never said no to a fight. I think that's a tough situation Uh, i've definitely went into fights where I know I was seriously undermatched like When I fought on the tough house, like I said, I was three and two I was 22 years old And I fought bar ponchak who was 10 and two the Invicted champ she was like pinned to win it and is that was my first fight In the house and I ended up losing second round tko, but it's still I had my moments in the fight. I almost finished an armbar at one point and it's like I still Still had that opportunity obviously got my face in front of day and I Got uh to be on the tough house. Like it was still An opportunity that opened doors for me in the in the long run You also escaped that straight arm lock When she had your arm extended. Oh, yeah, you got it I was like super impressed that you got out of that. I was like, jesus Christ, I hated the angle when I was looking I was like jesus It was one of those there was a moment where she was yanking on it or it was like yikes literally, uh I thought during that moment because everybody knew me as like the jujitsu girl in the house So i'm like, oh I cannot let her Love me like i'm not gonna let her get this shit How close was it? Uh, it was definitely hurting but it's like I feel like it That that little bit of frustration gave me that little bit of like push that That little drive That's funny Well, you got out of it But that that was a very tough matchup for you. Yeah, that's that's the thing about You know the the progression of uh of mma You you get these tough matchups you learn and it's fascinating for me as someone And who gets to see fights over and over again? See fighters progress through their career You get to see these people that have put these things together and you see the the the learning growth And the curve and you see like where there are where they're at now And it's like ever since I was Oh even in my amateur fights, I had a lot of tough girls, but like all my pro fights i've had one Or no two fights with the girls haven't made it to the ufc at this point So it's like I fought all ufc level competition. Uh, my last amateur fight was actually against shy and blissness on Rise of warrior my little hometown show So it's like another ufc girl fighting when I was an amateur. So it's like i've always had the highest level of competition That's very fortunate But also miami's a hot spot for mma, right florida in general. I feel like it's a hot spot But it's just I don't I don't get how people train in the cold. So I get why The only thing you have to worry about is hurricanes exactly And alligators and they're not that bad. They're everywhere. They're everywhere, but they leave you alone Until they don't until they don't just be comfortable. We'll have monsters walking around you. All right, that's crazy I remember when I went to the tough house. It's like that's the first time I was really I don't know around a lot of girls from They were all around the world And they were asking me about alligators. They're like, like, what are you doing? About them. I'm like, what do you mean? What do we do about them? Like they're just there We just kind of ignore them They're like I feel like everybody expects them to be like chasing aftee or something like that. They have this weird stigma around them Well every now and again they do get someone every now and again, but like you She's so comfortable with living around monsters that every now and again eat of people We have There's sharks snakes, yeah, everything's trying to kill you in the water you don't have to worry about the sharks And well the snakes you had a real problem in the everglades. Yeah, that's nuts. Yeah The everglades those like 14 foot pythons like they're fucking huge. They just Find them. They just go they don't even have to look that hard. They look good. There's one. I saw a video One eating an alligator. Yeah, I'm like, that's crazy. Yeah, we played it a bunch of times There's there's a bunch of dead ones. They found with alligators like poking out of the side of their body Yeah, they've run out of things to eat. Uh, it's just insane though. Like to be able to swallow literally bigger than you Yeah, literally really bigger than you well, they've eaten everything. There is an estimation that 99 percent of all the deers rabbits raccoon Everything in the everglades is gone. Wow 99 percent. Yeah All from the snakes. Oh, that's crazy. There's like nothing left. It's just monster soup. It's just It's just snakes and alligators that's all it's left And some poor fuck imagine if you're some dipshit, it doesn't know what you're doing. You want to go hiking in there There's a half a million pythons a half a million Oh, wow in florida. I'm like you're opening my eyes to this. Yeah There's a half a million pythons estimated in florida I've always seen things on the like news and stuff about that. Obviously you see like the florida man things like it catches a python I'm like, I didn't know there's that many I think you guys are way too comfortable Way too comfortable. I don't think you realize what's like right there's this there's Wooded area that you go into it's filled with monsters and those monsters have eaten every mammal And it's like I with me. I think like crocodiles alligators are so cool It's like they've eaten every animal and they've been around for thousands of years. So it's like millions of years Yeah, so it's like they survive everything and can kill anything. They're cool as fuck. They are cool Yeah, I think alligator Crocodiles are really cool to me. I'm really fascinated by them crocodiles are very very different though crocodiles like a wolf or as alligators I'm all like a dog In florida, uh, so like the crocodiles aren't as aggressive usually well Are they as big? Hey, we don't have a lot of crocodiles. It's just a crocodile a person inside of it Snake python with a five foot alligator inside. It's coming. Oh, jesus Eight hit hole Whoa, oh my god Look at that. That's insane That is fucking insane It's an 18 foot maybe 20 foot python 20 foot python With a giant ass alligator inside of it. And where was this? Where'd they find this? Well, florida. This was in florida That's where I ever go national. Wait a minute. I thought the biggest python they ever found On florida was like, uh, I thought it was less than 20 feet. Well, this is 18 This is roughly 18. Oh, okay A five foot alligator inside, but you know what i'm saying? That is so it literally is monster soup It's monster soup. There's nothing left. There's no raccoons. They're all fucked. Imagine being a raccoon trying to get laid. You're out there Anybody there's no one there no one lives there anymore. There's no deer. Good luck finding a deer. They all got jacked by monsters Tell the monsters the all the people too. There's too many Buildings now. I feel like miami. I feel like there's no I don't know. There's no Wildlife, maybe you should encourage people to go hiking In miami. Yeah Go to the everglades go for a hike So That would be a real real reality show here's a real reality show Take some clout seeking dipshit And and let them camp out for the longest in the everglades Don't say no, don't do this There's someone's gonna take this idea and someone's gonna die Hey, you gotta put the disclaimer on it One of my favorite stories about florida was this guy was involved in a car chase with the cops and uh, He parks on a bridge jumps out of the car lands on a gator and gets killed in front of the cops Like that's one of those ones where like can we get that fact checked? How does that happen? Just an asshole and karma come get you Karma can you got him land on an alligator? It's like a movie. There's this Sometimes scenes happen in real life that seem like a movie florida man runs from police directly into an alligator's mouth When brian zuniga fled a traffic stop in t-well you fucking pop-ups When brian uh zuniga fled a traffic stop in tampa yesterday He had the right idea sprint away from the cops jump offense hide behind a water treatment plant But zuniga wasn't counting on jut a justice loving reptile He's back in custody this morning with nasty scars in his face. Oh, this is a different one I think yeah, this is a different one Many of these dipshits Yeah, one guy died This dis dude jumped off a bridge though got his arm bitten off. Yeah, that's gator man That guy wandered around for like days with one arm He's like man. I don't know where it was Oh, this one just happened recently It's a wild ass place who would have thought that florida would be like the battleground for freedom in america Like who would have ever thought that florida would be the place where all the people like we hate freedom florida was the spot Yeah, no, especially I feel like during like covet and stuff like that It's like I think that's what's drawing all the people to us That's it. It was like since covet everybody like you said like With the freedom and everybody's just kind of rushed their way there It's so funny that he got so much desantis got so much criticism from that But at the end of the day, he was right and no one wants to admit it. He said protect your elderly Treat your elderly Everybody else you should be able to go back to life And he was right and everybody's like you're killing everyone. He was right Yeah, I think we never really like gyms might have shut down for like a week But we were still open, you know Like there is nothing that really like shut down for a long time in florida jitsu gyms in la Got hit hard. Oh, yeah. No, they got hit hard. I heard a lot about new york how terrible it was Well the donahurt desk squad they all went to porta rico so they could train imagine that Literally going to an island in the middle of the fucking ocean so you could train. Yeah, that's so crazy. Yeah, it was I don't like I worked with dean a lot during that time. So it's like we would constantly Just wherever we can find matt space, but we don't even need matt So i'm like dean would drill on carpet with me if it's if we got it So i'm like it wherever it was we made it work We made it happen during that time, but it's like there was a lot of opportunities and there wasn't a lot of places This is closing either Well, the place is in la they You know people had to meet privately in different spots They had to try to keep their game going and then you know Just hope someone wasn't sick and everybody had so much anxiety But I didn't hear of anybody really getting fucked up by the jiu-jitsu community No, and then it's like like I fought an abu dabi during that time. So it's like flying over there. It's like you have to Covid test I think 10 times before you touch the island It's just crazy all the things that you have to go that We had to go through during that time period. It's like it feels like it was a different world then I know And it's amazing that the ufc pulled it off. It was brilliant. They everybody was telling them. What are you? Doing you're gonna have fights on during the pandemic. You're gonna kill people you're risking people's lives And they're like look we're gonna do no crowd. We're gonna test everybody. No Not good enough people still didn't want it stay home as if somehow another a respiratory virus is going to like dissipate because everybody stayed Home like stop you're talking nonsense doesn't work that way So they did it and it all took off and then NBA Started doing it with no audience And then they started creeping audiences back in and like the apex center and I remember the first time we did it in an audience Again, it was uh, I think it was jacksonville It was crazy because like florida was one of the only places where he could do it And it was a full packed arena and I was like, this is the super spreader event of all all time Because this is the middle of everything And everything was fine. Yeah, I feel like the audiences have come back stronger since covet too It's just like it used to be like first couple fights there'd be nobody in the audience during the prelims and now it's like the First two fights there's already fans there. Everybody's just like ready to get in there I love that when I get there and we're there for like 4 p.m. Fight, so it's already packed though. That's exciting But I get it Six hours is a lot of fights. Oh, yeah No, it's definitely a lot of fights but it's it as the fighter it's like it's nice to have That crowd there. It's nice to have that energy there and like I like probably one of my Me being canadian fighting in edmonton was probably like my one of my most memorable fights just because of that The energy and the crowd just because of how many people were screaming and it's like i'm not walking Out and Liverpool and getting booed, you know, right did that feel like it had added pressure on you It's an add pressure. It just makes me. Uh, I I love it more than Anything else. It's like the fights at the apex almost like Don't have the same feel to me. They don't have the same like vibe around them even Like the what even the wins i'm like, it's just like you're celebrating by yourself Oh to have the crowd there and just that energy in the room. It just makes everything Different when you walk in the cage. I I totally get it But as a fan watching the apex is really special. There's something about being able to watch fights It's with no crowd and the fights are being broadcast on tell I mean I always I was thinking at every one of them like wow I'm so lucky that I can be here and do this because just to be in this moment There's only a hundred people here and this is in the middle of these crazy weird times But i'm getting to experience tony ferguson Versus just engage this wild crazy fight with no audience and it was a fucking war a crazy fight with no audience It's so weird. It feels like it's almost like too chill of a scenario when you're in there. It's like Okay, i'm in a fist fight, but it's just like I don't because it's so quiet. It's just so relaxed. It's weird It is It's it's very different To experience as a fan. I couldn't imagine the difference in like when you do something and there's no cheering You know, maybe you hear your coaches now That's it, but you also can hear like specific instruction very clearly Okay, and you can hear her coach is very specifically then too. So it's like that F le plays into it and it's like or I always like when Just watching as a fan like you can hear the shit talk between the fighters, you know The mike so like it just definitely adds a different aspect. Well, um, that's why mark henry's got such a fascinating Way of doing it where he comes up with nicknames for every move and they're different for every camp Yeah, which is crazy. Yeah, I feel like trying to remember that would be hard Where shod said he was blown away. It's like this guy He writes out all these different names. Like this would be the name of your friend This would be the name of your daughter. This is the street you grew up on like what? Yeah, I'm not remembering all that Dean I feel like he relies on my decision-making ability a lot and he relies on the fact that we're prepared that we spend 10 weeks 12 weeks whatever preparing for this moment. So it's like I should be ready for every Opportunity or every obstacle she throws at me So, uh, you will hear him in the corner, but not often I feel like he only talks when he feels necessary So it's like there's like he trusts me to make my own decisions majority of the fight. That's awesome I feel like also that's what's helped me build great decision-making and I feel like At a championship level decision-making is what makes one of the biggest differences Mm, that's a very good point. That's interesting That's thinking about it like as the over for the overall health of the pupil Yeah, because as you're going through the challenges They're going to get more difficult and you're going to have to kind of sort it out on your own and then Whatever mistakes are made you correct in the gym It's like for me at the end of the day. It's like i'm walking in the cage by myself, you know I need to be ready for that moment. I need to be ready to answer everything and like I think it was my Second or third UFC fight. I literally I had just one girl in my Corner and she was an amateur fighter just because it's like I just needed someone to warm me up It's like we have those 12 weeks of preparation and i'm ready no matter what walking in there So it doesn't really like matter like who's in the corner What does a camp look like for you? Is it is it laid out in advance and does it include what do you have strength and conditioning sessions that you do separate to your MMA training? I actually don't do strength and conditioning at all. You just do mma. Yeah, I just do mma Is that unusual? I think it is. I think a lot of people think i'm weird because I don't do it uh, I think that it's more beneficial like you only have so many hours in the day and There's so many sports. There's jiu-jitsu wrestling striking is Like there's so much to learn so it's like I can only invest So much time into each of them. So I I choose to invest my time into technical abilities and uh For my cardio more I get it In rounds so it's like I do jiu-jitsu rounds or strike or like mma rounds I do mma rounds three times a week. So it's like i'm constantly Instantly getting that cardio work getting that push and I feel like there's nothing That can really match that mma pace that mma cardio So it's like you can do striking for six months then come to jiu-jitsu And have shitty jiu-jitsu cardio. So it's like I think you have to be doing mma to get mma cardio I don't think running or anything like that necessarily really supplements it. Do you guys do things like Switch out opponents and live drills and things like that to like ramp up your heart rate and simulate moments Inside fights, uh things like that or like uh, we said say it depends on who my opponent it Is in the cage like if i'm going with the boys or with the girls Uh, if i'm going with the boys, it's like they can push the pace for me no matter what just them. They're stronger faster typically and uh So and we have a good group of 125 homeboys who can really push the pace for me technically And then with the girls we usually set like goals for me So it'll be like just try to score as many submissions as you can this round or we're trying to score five takedowns around so just make sure you push the pace to make sure that I want to be ready to shoot 10 takedowns around every fight that I go into Just so i'm confident in that and it's not like an necessity of Me like I need to get it to the ground this time I can shoot 10 more times. We'll just come up with strikes that we'll figure out the When the opportunity is right? I like that strategy because you're doing You're essentially doing strength and conditioning through skill drills. Exactly. Yeah, all my Strength and conditioning is just getting rounds and doing sparring Well, I mean there's nothing that makes you stronger than wrestling, right? and if you if you're doing that kind of thing like trying to get as many takedowns as possible in 20 minutes That is a form of strength and conditioning for sure Absolutely. It's a different type of we uh, usually once a week we'll do uh big gloves So boxing gloves and takedowns And we just do king of the hill and those there's two 10 minute rounds and those two 10 minute rounds Will kill you every time just trying to take someone down and because we have big gloves on we're hitting hard and then getting takedowns And it's like those rounds. I don't feel like there's anything that pushes my cardio like that That's interesting. How much harder is it to take someone down with big gloves? It's definitely adds a different element, you know, especially like I said the These rounds we specifically like know we're going for the takedown. So it's hard hard hard rounds Yeah is like when you're talking big you talking like 16 18 how big are the gloves yeah like 14 16 Okay, yeah, just boxing gloves. Yeah versus using like mma A sparring gloves like six ounce or what are your thoughts on uh hard sparring versus technical sparring? I think you need a little bit of both I think you definitely need to learn how to bring that dog out in the fight when You need to so you need those hard sparring rounds, uh, you need those rounds They uh to make you confident in walking forward and confident pushing in the pace, but it's also technical sparring rounds You need a hundred times more of those you can do as many of Those as you want because you're not taking the damage, but that's what's going to build your reaction Action time, uh, what's going to make you think more a lot of times if you get Too much hard sparring then you get a little bit like punch high You don't want to you're not going to build the right reactions So if you get uh more technical sparring you're building more right reactions and you're building uh Just I don't know. I feel like you need both I think you're probably right and I think um, most people would probably agree with you but for uh Longevity the one concern is like how much hard Sparring you do in training and how much that takes out of your longevity how much that takes out of your overall career like uh, max hallways not sparring at all anymore, which I found really fascinating and his His reasoning is he'd take unnecessary damage and sparring and I know how to fight and i'll just do drills and work on my conditioning And and do it through drills and and he's been very successful doing it Someone like him it might be a little bit of a different circumstance where he just has that dog in You know, you don't need any he doesn't need the hard sparring to bring that out of him at all or It like right like make him feel comfortable there. Like that's just Max has that in him. He's also had so many high level fights It's that like the timing and the it's all in his head. He understands what happens He's been there with volkanovski, you know over and over again He's been in there with connor mcgregor in the early days, you know, he's he's a he's a fucking an animal You know max halloway is an animal. He's really good Max is yeah, I feel like he's like the people's champ. He's such a good guy He's like the nicest guy ever He's so he's so friendly and fun, but man when he turns it on inside the cage, holy shit He's got extra gears That guy's got extra gears like he's he's another one. That's a fantastic example of dedication and hard work and the results Because like and he'll tell you he's like i'm like the most athletic guy. He's not there's nothing. It's just He worked harder than everybody He's more intense than everybody and then when you saw him in his prime And he was a monster. He just would put it on people and put a pace on people They just couldn't keep up with I feel like that's so much about what it is is just showing up It's just being there willing to do the work willing to be coachable and And it's like you have to show up like I feel like so many people will think it's just I don't know people fall in love with the stardom and The starlight of the sport and they don't realize that it's just like it's the showing up every day and growing Finding and getting the work and that's really going to produce results Yeah, it is. It's a long process. It's a long long long process But it's got to be exciting to be in the spot of the process that you're at knowing how you were in the beginning And you just started taking kickboxing classes to look at you now I mean, oh, yeah, I feel like it's been a short process in the grand scheme of things Um, it's been 12 years since I started training and six years of that Has been in the ufc, so it's really fun. Yeah Yeah, exactly So that's crazy. Yeah, um, like it's uh, I Feel like it's just gone by so fast. Really? It's just It's it's crazy easy to work with people and like I don't Work with people who it's like their first day and you're trying to teach them like all right move your hip over here and They can't like figure it out. Yeah, they just can't comprehend it and you're like was I ever like that Do you remember what you were like when you first started did it come to you easily? Did you it definitely came to me more easily? I don't remember like me ever Being like I don't know super super awkward. Yeah, super terrible, but I know I Was uh, I know it definitely came easy and I was good at judicacy from the time that I started Did you do any sports before that? I did nothing nothing. I uh Did gymnastics when I was probably like five or six For a year and my parents put me in soccer multiple times because they played soccer My brother played soccer my dad coached soccer. So it was like they tried a couple times and I quit a couple times And then uh, it was just they were like you need to get some type of like hobby some type of activity And that's when I started volunteering with animals Oh Did they was it totally out of left field and you became a fighter for them? Oh, yeah completely out of left field What the hell girl? Everybody expected me to be a vet like that was just like the trajectory I was on and I don't like Literally, my parents growing up would tell me that like if somebody's like Trying to start problems if you just walk away, you know, like don't start any like Fights or anything like that. They they are like complete pacifists on That side and I couldn't tell you the difference between like the ww We in the ufc when I started really like I had no idea what bristly Jiu-jitsu was nothing. I had no idea. So it's like it was just I really don't know where I got the thought where I wanted to do it You just well Was there a lot of high level people that are around you at the time because you walked in Dean's gym? uh, yeah, well it's I I guess before that like to walk into there. I don't really know what was my motive But in the gym, he had a couple of Um, I guess the pro guys who were doing all right Nobody too high level, but it was just I don't know. I fell in love with the just The environment of it all I love I just loved the The grind of it all I just remember when I was in the cardio kickboxing class with like a bunch of Soccer moms pretty much and after the first Day, I didn't expect it to be that much of a workout for some reason So I was like beat right in the face and one of the moms she was like Just make sure you keep coming back and like I just remember Like always thinking about that because I don't know if it like I probably would have kept coming back But it definitely was like I didn't want to on the first day. I was like this shit's hard Do you think that lady saying that to you made you come back? I think it might have like influenced something because I was like wow I was like, all right. Now I have like I have to like she's expecting me to be there, you know, isn't that crazy? How just one weird moment one weird interaction where someone could say something to you to change the course of your whole life Oh, yeah, even I feel like it's so weird that it's like something like that. I walked into dean's gym Hey, what are the odds the chances that that happened is like he's still my coach 12 years later Like that's just like I feel like you can't walk into a better spot. Really you can't you just got lucky I mean, but is that what it is or is the destiny? I mean, it's a great story if I wanted to tell a story about a an mma fighter Who did nothing until she was 16? Cardio kickboxing and then some little old lady says you keep coming back and she's like, ah Okay, I said hi to the old lady now. I gotta keep coming back. She's gonna be mad at me I feel like everything I don't know everything in my career kind of did just like line up like that It was like whenever ronda got into the ufc I was just getting into my amateur career and then whenever I stopped being able to make 115 They opened up the 125 pound division and it was like so you had to have three uh Well, you had to have at least three fights in a winning record to get into the tough house And I had I was two and two and I was like searching for a fight searching for a fight couldn't find anything Then the week before the tough house tryouts I got a fight and I fought the saturday before then tried out for the tough house the next weekend Wow, so i'm like, I feel like everything's just kind of lined up perfectly just I don't know Do you ever wonder whether or not there's like a divine plan? Uh, I definitely think that I was made for this Like I feel like I was made for this spot made for this sport and uh, I feel like there is a reason that everything lined up What do you think that reason is? I I don't know yet. I guess. Uh, I I definitely uh I don't know. I think i'm a capable of something That a lot of people aren't capable of and how I can I guess show this sport how I can translate this sport hmm You you're definitely a unique person and a very thoughtful person And a person that if someone talked to you and they did not know that you are a professional cage fighter of the highest level They would never imagine it He seems so like friendly and normal and then if I show like there should be a show Where people get to meet you and then guess what you do They don't they don't guess what you do. They just talk to you. They can't ask you what you do They just talk to you about life. They can't ask you questions about martial arts They can't ask you questions about anything for an occupation. Just so how do you you know? How do you feel about climate change like whatever just talk to you about shit. What do you think she does? Zero people would say cage fighter Zero, I feel like it's almost like two completely different people like jillian and the savage I'm like when i'm in the cage. I'm like it's a completely like after uh, it's actually the mariag pova fight I um sit down on the floor and I throw up two middle fingers and Post fight one of the ufc guys he was like, uh, so you throw up the two middle fingers Like what was all that about? I was like I did that like I completely like blacked out didn't remember. I did that at all Wow, I'm like it's a completely different person there. I don't take any accountability for that Do you um have like a switch where that person comes in or is that only when the fight starts? I want to say it's whenever like my walkout song starts that I start because there's definitely the pre-fight nerves I feel like everybody has them and I go through them all day in the locker room and then as soon as like i'm making The walk I don't have nerves anymore. Like i'm just ready to go ready to walk out there And it's like I don't know like even in that fight. I was sitting there and i'm choking that girl And i'm just looking at the ref like oh, she's out trying to tell him calmly i'm like, it's just