Anthony Showtime Pettis & Lisette Pettis: From Champion to CEO

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I think it's the same thing.
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Like going into a fight camp, you gotta be obsessed with the next guy you're fighting
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and what you're eating, your schedule, and I think in business when you lock in, if
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you guys experience that, when you lock in, you have a seven days in a row of like lock
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in and you just feel like you got so much shit done and that's how fighting is, so you
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do a training camp.
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And then the thing in a fighting is you get to reward at the end of it and then eat a
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little break.
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And business is just nuts.
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Right.
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Right.
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I would say it's the same game that you're playing, it's like young, you versus you.
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There's no like school for them to learn that bit inside of it, but now it's crazy to
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how much money is in that online space and we've learned that kind of organically.
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So even our guys that are younger, that we managed, I'm yelling at them about posting
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on Instagram.
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I'm like, post what you ate today, like, oh, in terms of like going out there for a
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moment.
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Because companies will reach out to us and they want to sponsor them, but they're not
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like, you know, acting on socials, which is obviously really popular in the business
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world right now.
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And so getting them to think about themselves as a business is really interesting to me.
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Because they got to build a brand outside of the fight world, but if they can build a brand
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outside of the UFC, then they can sustain the life that they don't have to go get a job
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afterwards.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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What does 2026 look like for you guys?
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Ten shows in the US and then six in India and then I'm probably going to fight again
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this year.
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Oh, no.
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Our fighters have fights too.
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They all fight three times a year.
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So like, we're just getting their schedule is put up to as well.
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Welcome to the exit interview.
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Today we are here with UFC sensation Anthony Showtime Pettis and his lovely wife, Lysette
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Pettis.
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Welcome to the podcast.
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Welcome to the exit interview.
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Yeah.
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Thank you for having us.
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Yeah.
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So this is obviously a business podcast, but we also are very big in sports.
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I played sports.
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I was a division one athlete.
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You obviously are a legend.
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And so we appreciate that.
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This is a business podcast and the unique thing about you guys as a power couple is both
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of you have your own individual businesses and together.
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You also have a business.
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And so from my understanding, you have been business Anthony since you are kids since
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the teenager actually and the catalyst for that was the death of your dad.
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And then have you always been business mindset is sort of my question and how does that
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also feed into how you've approached your fighting career?
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Yeah, I think some of my dad was killed.
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I was 16 and like we were in the situation where we had to come up with like $750 for rent.
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And like that was like my goal is how we can pay for this rent.
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My mom was like kind of gone to just because she lost the love of her life.
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Yeah.
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You know, he was like the rock of our well, he was in our life for a whole time.
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So he was like, he was part of our family.
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The Tecwondo business was so everything we study was type martial arts.
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So we got into the Tecwondo business from my coach actually.
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I was too young to like sign a lease or anything.
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So we took over a gym that my coach actually ran and then that was like my introduction
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to business.
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And like I had to figure that out, the gym memberships, you know, selling gear, everything
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about business I learned over the young age and it just stuck with me going into my
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fight career.
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I opened my gym up before I started fighting and I started fighting because of my gyms.
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Like I knew like if I wanted to keep up with everybody, UFC was becoming super popular
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and we had to like learn to see when kickboxing and the rest of the martial arts to keep up.
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And I want to go learn that to teach our students and that's kind of my introduction to
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becoming into the UFC was going to learn to teach to my students, suppose to try to become
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a UFC fighter.
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That's so interesting.
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So one of your uniqueness as a fighter is you are probably the most well-rounded mixed
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martial artist.
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And so you're actually saying then from what I'm hearing you say is it was actually part
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of a business necessity that turned you into such a well-rounded fighter.
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Sure.
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And then that translated into your fighting.
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Yeah.
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We knew if we wanted to keep up with everybody else, UFC was so popular like we had to teach
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what the UFC was showing on television and that's how everyone was coming in like I
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want to learn this.
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I want to be on TV.
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Right.
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That's how the whole thing started really.
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So started young in business, you started making money out of necessity for your family.
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You enter the space, you become sensational UFC fighter, you obviously have a signature
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kick and you were the first person to be on the ESPN top 10.
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Weaseprox.
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Yeah.
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And the first on the Weaseprox.
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You've been the first like breaking into lots of things all the time.
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And so how does that kind of manifest into what you're doing now where you've started
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now your own fight promotion and setting the stage and becoming the stage for the next
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generation?
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What does that mean to you?
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I think when I was up and coming like noticing the lack of like when I was coming up, there
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was no real path to becoming UFC fighter even still now, it's kind of like go fight around
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a bunch of organizations and hopefully they recognize you and get signed or it's like
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every other sport.
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There's like a high school college, there's divisions, there's a process.
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So I felt like I knew like when I was up and coming, like I want to come back and fix
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that.
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Like there's the spots to fix that.
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And our first fight show, we had to figure everything out like from Billy the Cage to
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you know, finding the venue selling tickets.
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So like I like those, I like those challenges like when they challenges me, it makes me
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like into it more, it makes me like more obsessed with it, I think.
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And I think when I was up and coming, I saw that and then the management game, which
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we also have a management company, so fighters get to the UFC and guide their careers and
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make sure they don't make the mistakes that I made, you know, up and coming.
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So I think all those things I seen when I was up and coming, like I saw the whole
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of the management company, I saw the need for a rural organization to give these guys
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a stepping stone to get to the UFC and then my gyms, so that's why I have gyms that
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we run in Milwaukee.
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So we'd start kids like three years old, I think it started was very young and then work
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all the way up to UFC fighter or become a coach or so we have some pretty cool, you know,
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a full-round process.
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Yeah.
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And I'm just curious on just on the management side, you know, when you talked about sort
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of the holes in the management, from what little we see from just the box side is what
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you kind of see, right?
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It's like, it just seems right with corruption, right?
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It just seems like dudes going to some side room, they do some shady stuff, right?
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You come out and you have a box, they badge like it just seems, you know, and it's young
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people going out there putting their lives on the line, right?
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So I'm curious for you coming up, like when we said holes on the management side, like
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what things that you experience and then when you guys were creating your company, like
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what kinds of things were you trying to potentially solve and fill to help the new people coming
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through to that hopefully to deal with something that you didn't have to deal with.
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Yeah.
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I think too, I had a different perspective because as someone behind the scenes kind of
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and being with him so early on in his career and seeing, you know, what went into making
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the deals and being in those rooms and being part of those conversations, I think it was
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cool to be on that side of it and then for him to start this company, and I don't want
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to say like we didn't know what we were doing, we had a lot of knowledge, but it wasn't
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on that side of it.
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So it was cool to come in and be able to have those two unique perspectives as an athlete
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and as an athlete's wife to be able to kind of guide these guys and give them all the
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knowledge that we learned throughout the years.
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Yeah, I would say the big holes in MMA management is just no requirements, like every other
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sport you've got to have a lot of great years.
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Yeah.
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You have something, right?
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And the main you could be a car, a used car sell that's missing and become a manager.
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So I feel like that's like one of the biggest holes.
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Right.
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There's no licenses.
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No nothing at all.
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So there's no regulations.
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No one's looking in.
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So like all the, all the deals are, you know, behind closed doors and like, so they're
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like, yeah, for a right.
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Right.
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But then like a lot of these managers acquired like big teams of like hundreds of guys.
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So their guys are fighting each other and stuff.
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So I feel like, right, there's just a lot of, it's just a new sport.
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So like right now, it's all, it's all, it's all developing.
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Right.
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And make sure it's not like boxing because like, it's boxing.
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It's like, there's no manager promoter like, that's a different conversation.
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But when I may, you're kind of, you sign to the UFC, that's your goal.
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You know, when I'm coming, like, become a UFC fighter, PFL is like, still, uh, new
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organization.
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Right.
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Uh, UFC is like the main objective.
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So I feel like these, these managers know that like, if I can get a lot of UFC guys,
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I'm, I'm, I'm on the control of the board.
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I'm on the races.
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Right.
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These guys, I give them more fighters.
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So I'm trying to like separate that part from it.
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I think the one thing that's unique about the two of you together is both of you are
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very invested in giving back to your community.
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You're both still very involved in Milwaukee.
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You also have a Cinderella project where you give prom dresses back to girls in high
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schools.
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Um, and you, you will, that have also been a voice to advocate for more care for the
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fighters after fighting, um, as UFC was up and coming.
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Can you talk a little bit about that experience?
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Yeah.
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I think just when, you know, early on when there were injuries, I think the UFC was also
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learning along with us, they didn't maybe have the infrastructure that they do now, um,
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to be able to help the guys post fight, even immediately after the fight.
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Like they were still figuring it out their medical teams and, and now it's such an amazing
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organization and they've grown.
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And I think just being part of those like, I guess like pioneer in the sport, you know,
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the place that he was at the time, um, I think a lot of our, our voice had a lot of impact
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on how they shaped the future of their organization, which was really cool.
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What was sort of the catalyst to have you be somebody who's more involved on the business
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side as opposed to just being, you know, a wife of an athlete?
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I think he really involved me in his fight camp.
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So I really learned, um, the nutrition side of it, like his weight cuts, he, he loses,
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you know, 40 pounds, um, very quickly.
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So being, being a part of that, getting to know all of his chefs and like nutritionists
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and kind of taking over that role, I think first kind of started getting me involved in
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more of that and then going to his trainings.
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And then I think because both of us love boxing and kind of grew up in that space, um,
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boxing so different in the sense that your whole family is watching you spar.
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They come to all of your sparring days and they're really involved in, um, the training
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and in UFC, I didn't see that at all.
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So I would be obviously at his training practices and getting to know his coaches and it just
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felt more like a family.
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So I think I got involved on that aspect.
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And then, yeah, when the deals were making, you know, being, being made in, in those conversations,
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he just involved me in those things.
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So I got to learn a lot.
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Yeah.
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Do you speak her confidence and like her advice whenever you're going to go shade her?
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For sure.
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Yeah.
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On everything.
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Is that a typical of the culture, or is that I think so?
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Yeah, I don't know.
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I think so.
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I think so.
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I trust her.
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Yeah.
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She's between the right direction a lot of times I trust her.
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It's interesting how we work together too because you were talking about how he started
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the gym and he's very much, um, you know, let's just do it.
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We don't know what we're doing.
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Let's just immediately jump in and I'm like, wait, let's do some research.
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All right.
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Let me go to school first.
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I don't mean, you know, get the education behind it and he just very much is throw it
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all in there and let's, who cares if we mess up?
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We can try something else or we can try it again.
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So I think that's really made me, um, start maybe businesses that I wouldn't have or jump
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into.
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I just that I typically wouldn't have.
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Um, but it made me realize, you know, that messy action is better than no action.
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And it really, I think that's how we, we live our lives.
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We just really are like, let's try it and let's do it and we'll figure it out along the
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way.
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Luckily, everything's been successful, so all of the businesses and all that have been
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really successful.
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But, um, yeah, I think we figured out and you mentioned building the cage and it's funny
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we always tell people that he's like, who builds the cage and he's like, we set builds
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the cage and I actually do build the cage.
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So it's, it's funny, the things that we've had to learn, like I've never knew I would
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know how to build a MMA cage, but so things like that that we had no clue, like we sent
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someone down to go pick up the cage in a, in a semi truck and they didn't know, you
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know, none of us knew what we're doing.
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And I feel like if you're just confident and, and really disciplined, that, you know,
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you can make a bracket.
255
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Yeah.
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So is, is that an underlying commonality you both have is just like proactiveness initiative
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and, um, just like that figure it out mentality is that like a common characteristic
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between the two of you.
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I think the discipline, I think is, is key in everything we do.
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Like we both are very much like if we say something, it's, it's going to happen and we're
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going to do it.
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And I think that part of it is how we, you know, approach all, all things in our life.
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So I think that's why a lot of them have been successful, a lot of our businesses and
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our nonprofit and all of those things, yeah, um, because we know that we're going to make
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it happen.
266
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Yeah.
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I mean, so I was like to you were able to, you, you were growing and your businesses
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were growing at the same time, UFC, and the support was growing.
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So you, yeah, it feels, feels like you were able to exactly, like, feels like you were
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able to capitalize.
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And so it's, you know, like what happened with you, like you just, like that's, you were
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able to just sort of just dive in and be like, we're just going to move because if we slow
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down and figure out the waves going to get too far ahead of this.
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So yeah, it seems like you, yeah, like that momentum was a, was a really key part of, you
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know, realizing like we, we got to run while it's moving exactly exactly what is the
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motivation to be a trailblazer and everything that you do?
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I don't even consider myself a trailblazer.
278
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I think I'm, for the MMA, I'm more of a pioneer like these guys are looking up to be like,
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what does he can do next?
280
00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:03.100
Right.
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Like a lot of them are trying to follow my, my, my path that I'm kind of figuring out
282
00:14:06.020 --> 00:14:10.700
as I go, like made a lot of mistakes, but yeah, I would say I'm more of like a pioneer
283
00:14:10.700 --> 00:14:11.700
than a trailblazer.
284
00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:14.820
Why do you feel a need to be able to guide the next generation?
285
00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:18.060
Because a lot of fighters, they just, they take their money, they go, they live lavish
286
00:14:18.060 --> 00:14:19.060
lives and that's it.
287
00:14:19.060 --> 00:14:20.620
And they, they just care about me, me, me.
288
00:14:20.620 --> 00:14:23.660
So what, what motivates you to think about?
289
00:14:23.660 --> 00:14:27.300
I think because I had my gym, like, so I was starting kids at, you know, three years
290
00:14:27.300 --> 00:14:31.620
old and like, some of these people are my, my coaches right now on my gym, you know,
291
00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.900
these kids are worth me for 15, 17 years.
292
00:14:33.900 --> 00:14:34.900
Right.
293
00:14:34.900 --> 00:14:38.100
So I feel like I'm knowing that that, that's going to happen again and again and again.
294
00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:42.020
It's kind of why I want to put my foot in there and like have my twist on it.
295
00:14:42.020 --> 00:14:46.700
Did, you know, obviously your brother was much younger than you when your dad died and
296
00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:51.300
when you and your older brother had to start the business did sort of, you know, starting
297
00:14:51.300 --> 00:14:54.580
to take care of him also kind of give you that experience.
298
00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:55.580
Yeah, sure.
299
00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:57.180
I think I, I include him and everything I do.
300
00:14:57.180 --> 00:14:59.380
She knows like any, any business deal happens.
301
00:14:59.380 --> 00:15:02.700
I'm like, hey, can you guys give my brother in there, can you, can you give him on there?
302
00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:04.260
Like put him in the deal somewhere.
303
00:15:04.260 --> 00:15:08.580
So I feel like having that already, like in when I was in a go, she didn't deal with
304
00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:12.420
like having him there, like, made me feel like I could do it for everybody else too.
305
00:15:12.420 --> 00:15:13.420
Yeah.
306
00:15:13.420 --> 00:15:18.580
So what was the hardest part of business that you had to like learn?
307
00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:23.340
Like what, what were the, what was the place that you felt like you made the most mistakes
308
00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:24.340
that so many?
309
00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:25.340
So many.
310
00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:29.340
I would say, I mean, the fight show business is probably the hardest one, like the APFC.
311
00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:30.900
It's called it as fighting championship.
312
00:15:30.900 --> 00:15:35.700
I think that was the one we had to learn everything, like from booking a venue to getting
313
00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:41.380
a lawyer to do the deals and like booking fighters to fight, getting insurance, commission
314
00:15:41.380 --> 00:15:46.340
state commissions, yeah, getting licensing, like it was a, a lot of tedious work that took
315
00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:51.180
a lot of, like a little, like stuff that she would do, I can't, like, make up for this
316
00:15:51.180 --> 00:15:52.180
application.
317
00:15:52.180 --> 00:15:56.180
It's interesting because like my background is more like marketing and are not running
318
00:15:56.180 --> 00:15:57.180
on profit.
319
00:15:57.180 --> 00:16:01.260
So I had experience, you know, doing events and fundraising.
320
00:16:01.260 --> 00:16:02.260
Sure.
321
00:16:02.260 --> 00:16:04.860
So I think we just kind of put all the little random things we collected throughout the
322
00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:06.820
years and all of our knowledge to make it happen.
323
00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:10.540
But like, yeah, it was never, we're still learning though, yeah, we're still learning.
324
00:16:10.540 --> 00:16:11.540
We're still learning.
325
00:16:11.540 --> 00:16:12.540
We're on the show with 24 now.
326
00:16:12.540 --> 00:16:16.740
24, yeah, 24, our fourth year in, so still our newest business.
327
00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:20.420
So when you hit a bump in the road or you both are trying to figure out like the regulation
328
00:16:20.420 --> 00:16:26.140
of something or who do you need to talk to to negotiate a deal or, you know, when you're
329
00:16:26.140 --> 00:16:31.300
going to try and find like some sort of big wig to make a deal, what's that conversation
330
00:16:31.300 --> 00:16:36.420
like between you and how do you like prepare to figure out that next step or break through
331
00:16:36.420 --> 00:16:37.420
that barrier?
332
00:16:37.420 --> 00:16:40.620
It's weird because like some of the deals are like signing a fighter or some of them like
333
00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:45.300
a new sponsor for a fighter over the show or like signing a new venue.
334
00:16:45.300 --> 00:16:48.860
So like it's all over the place when it comes to like what we're talking about or like
335
00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.860
what we're excited about or like what's at the moment.
336
00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:55.540
But I think it's usually like sometimes she brings deals too.
337
00:16:55.540 --> 00:16:57.140
So I can't say it's like me bringing all the deals.
338
00:16:57.140 --> 00:17:00.500
Like our team might bring the deals and then we'll have a conversation about it.
339
00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:02.980
I just get her advice and then we go from there.
340
00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:03.980
Yeah.
341
00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:04.980
A lot of times too.
342
00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:08.980
Like it'll be more, you know, big brands that reach out to him that want to like sponsor
343
00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:12.460
him or have a form some sort of business relationship with him.
344
00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:16.100
And then that's where we kind of like that we have a business partner, Damien.
345
00:17:16.100 --> 00:17:20.100
He and I will have those conversations too of like kind of the what do we want to actually
346
00:17:20.100 --> 00:17:22.580
get out of this and like how do we structure the deal.
347
00:17:22.580 --> 00:17:28.900
This is really good at opening the door for the deals and then we kind of slide in there.
348
00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:34.300
So between the two of you, who would you say is more of the negotiator?
349
00:17:34.300 --> 00:17:36.300
She's probably in the back of the go-shade.
350
00:17:36.300 --> 00:17:37.300
Yeah.
351
00:17:37.300 --> 00:17:39.540
But I think I'm like, it depends on when we're negotiating.
352
00:17:39.540 --> 00:17:40.540
Yeah.
353
00:17:40.540 --> 00:17:41.540
It's like something on the beach in Mexico.
354
00:17:41.540 --> 00:17:43.540
She's going to get it for the sheep as well.
355
00:17:43.540 --> 00:17:44.540
Yeah.
356
00:17:44.540 --> 00:17:45.540
I don't know.
357
00:17:45.540 --> 00:17:46.540
I don't know.
358
00:17:46.540 --> 00:17:47.540
She's got some good deals too though.
359
00:17:47.540 --> 00:17:48.540
It depends.
360
00:17:48.540 --> 00:17:49.540
He's really good though.
361
00:17:49.540 --> 00:17:55.060
I said he makes me a little more brave and he's more willing to just ask, like, can we
362
00:17:55.060 --> 00:17:56.060
have this?
363
00:17:56.060 --> 00:17:59.380
And can we, you know, he's fearless when it comes to those things.
364
00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:02.420
And I'm like, wait, let's think about how we're going to structure this and how do we bring
365
00:18:02.420 --> 00:18:04.980
up this conversation, I think.
366
00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:05.980
But yeah.
367
00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:11.020
But it sounds like from really early, yeah, like you guys were basically saw each other as
368
00:18:11.020 --> 00:18:15.260
partners and collaborated from like, Damien, she didn't know it, she like saw it.
369
00:18:15.260 --> 00:18:23.860
But did you ever get like pushback or like where people are like, why do you have your
370
00:18:23.860 --> 00:18:24.860
wife in everything?
371
00:18:24.860 --> 00:18:25.860
Oh, yeah.
372
00:18:25.860 --> 00:18:26.860
It's on.
373
00:18:26.860 --> 00:18:27.860
Oh, really?
374
00:18:27.860 --> 00:18:28.860
Oh, yeah.
375
00:18:28.860 --> 00:18:30.860
It's very strange for women to be in this sport, I think.
376
00:18:30.860 --> 00:18:31.860
Yeah.
377
00:18:31.860 --> 00:18:34.860
And even like right now, I'm talking to a fighter to get her to be one of our special guests
378
00:18:34.860 --> 00:18:35.860
that are show.
379
00:18:35.860 --> 00:18:37.260
So they're like, wait, do I talk to you?
380
00:18:37.260 --> 00:18:39.100
Like, it's just so weird to them.
381
00:18:39.100 --> 00:18:42.820
Like in this sport, women already are kind of in the background.
382
00:18:42.820 --> 00:18:43.820
Right.
383
00:18:43.820 --> 00:18:45.380
And the fighters, the women fighters are.
384
00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:49.980
So I feel like in the business side, there's some amazing, amazing business women in the
385
00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:51.740
UFC corporate side.
386
00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:56.260
And I honestly like have formed relationships with them and love learning from them as well.
387
00:18:56.260 --> 00:19:00.980
But it's just like a male dominated sport, so I think all of all the women, whether
388
00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:04.020
it's on the business side or as a fighter are kind of in the background.
389
00:19:04.020 --> 00:19:05.020
Yeah.
390
00:19:05.020 --> 00:19:09.380
And then where do you find the confidence to be able to be different than the other wives
391
00:19:09.380 --> 00:19:10.380
and girlfriends?
392
00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:16.780
Because it's not so common for a spouse of a professional athlete to be so vocal.
393
00:19:16.780 --> 00:19:22.460
So where do you sort of like tow that line and have you had, and then he had to be like,
394
00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:28.620
go to people and be like, shut up, you know, and or have you just like been accepted?
395
00:19:28.620 --> 00:19:34.580
No, I think I'm pretty vocal in life, you know, on socials, especially like I talk
396
00:19:34.580 --> 00:19:37.500
about a lot of my views about different topics and stuff.
397
00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:41.060
So I think people already know I'm coming in with like my own voice.
398
00:19:41.060 --> 00:19:45.660
And then he, the way he respects me, like publicly and privately, I think has played a big
399
00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.160
role in it.
400
00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:51.580
Just a lot of athletes, wives in general aren't like in the public eye or they kind of keep
401
00:19:51.580 --> 00:19:52.580
them behind the scenes.
402
00:19:52.580 --> 00:19:55.860
I don't know if that's intentional or not, but like he never did.
403
00:19:55.860 --> 00:19:59.580
So I think they're like, oh, she, you know, it's kind of a pair coming together.
404
00:19:59.580 --> 00:20:02.100
It's not just him and then she's in the shadows.
405
00:20:02.100 --> 00:20:05.740
I have more to say, I'm just going to figure out what I'm going to say.
406
00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:11.820
Because it's like, if my husband actually could fight, I'd be like, hmm, let somebody
407
00:20:11.820 --> 00:20:12.820
talk to me.
408
00:20:12.820 --> 00:20:19.860
I'm sorry, but do you know my, do you know my man?
409
00:20:19.860 --> 00:20:23.980
But, but it, but it sounds like, like I said, it seems like you had pushed back, but you
410
00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:28.700
never really, it sounds like, y'all seem like such a firewall that like, it seems like
411
00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:32.820
it was able to basically just sort of fall away and it was ever like an issue.
412
00:20:32.820 --> 00:20:33.820
Yeah.
413
00:20:33.820 --> 00:20:34.820
And he got that far.
414
00:20:34.820 --> 00:20:37.940
And if he gets invited to like a business meeting that he thinks I can contribute to, he's
415
00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:40.780
like, oh, my wife's coming to it's not like a question.
416
00:20:40.780 --> 00:20:41.780
Right.
417
00:20:41.780 --> 00:20:45.260
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426
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What kind of growth would you guys like to see for all the different sides of the business?
427
00:21:21.860 --> 00:21:26.420
I mean, obviously you said you wanted to see like more infrastructure around like a path
428
00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:29.500
for people to be able to get into the sport more cleanly.
429
00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:33.940
How are you feeling, you know, how are you feeling about that progress?
430
00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:34.940
I think it's happening.
431
00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:39.500
I think the more the sport grows and they just sign a paramount deal, which is like $77
432
00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:41.660
billion or something crazy.
433
00:21:41.660 --> 00:21:44.980
They're building up, now that you have sees building up the infrastructure, and then I'm
434
00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:47.220
just one of the shelves that's on their platform.
435
00:21:47.220 --> 00:21:50.740
So I'm just like, it's going to happen, it's just going to take time and the right people
436
00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:54.540
got to be in the game to have their hand in that play.
437
00:21:54.540 --> 00:21:56.100
Do you end it on the management side?
438
00:21:56.100 --> 00:21:59.020
Is that something you said there's clearly no structure?
439
00:21:59.020 --> 00:22:00.020
Is that something?
440
00:22:00.020 --> 00:22:01.420
I don't think that's going to change.
441
00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:07.900
I think I think it's going to stay long as forever, but I think you'll see bigger organizations
442
00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:13.220
and bigger like management companies get like the top athletes, like the management companies
443
00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:18.700
that do a NBA NFL actors and actresses, they'll come get the top guys, but I don't still
444
00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:22.340
at lower level, middle level guys are going to have to deal with, you know, these managers
445
00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:23.340
are just out there.
446
00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:28.380
But when you left, there was like a lack of control in terms of like how you were able
447
00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:31.420
to sort of manage your kind of career.
448
00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:34.620
No, I think when I left the UFC, I just did everything I could over there.
449
00:22:34.620 --> 00:22:39.620
Like I fought at 155, 145, 170 pounds for, you know, two titles.
450
00:22:39.620 --> 00:22:41.420
I was like, I've done everything I could over there.
451
00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:44.940
And then the sport was growing so much that other opportunities were out there.
452
00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:48.820
So that's why I want to make relationships with all the organizations.
453
00:22:48.820 --> 00:22:51.180
So when my guys come in, I know that's all too.
454
00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:53.180
What would you say?
455
00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:58.220
What were the sort of milestones in your career that really pushed you into?
456
00:22:58.220 --> 00:23:03.660
Oh, now I see an opportunity for not just fighting, but for me to be a businessman.
457
00:23:03.660 --> 00:23:09.020
I think right away, my first fight in the local scene, like you get paid based on how
458
00:23:09.020 --> 00:23:10.020
many tickets you sell.
459
00:23:10.020 --> 00:23:11.020
And I own my own gym.
460
00:23:11.020 --> 00:23:12.020
I had like 500 students.
461
00:23:12.020 --> 00:23:14.020
So I would sell like crazy tickets.
462
00:23:14.020 --> 00:23:18.620
I was making more on the local shows and guys were like making a fighting TV just because
463
00:23:18.620 --> 00:23:19.620
of the ticket sales.
464
00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:21.940
Because you control the students were coming in.
465
00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:24.460
So they were coming to watch me fight and I would make the money on the ticket sales.
466
00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.060
And then I'm going into the UFC.
467
00:23:27.060 --> 00:23:32.180
I think when I got on the World of Janks MTV show, they did on me.
468
00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:34.580
It was I was 21, I think or 22 maybe.
469
00:23:34.580 --> 00:23:36.060
I think I just turned 21.
470
00:23:36.060 --> 00:23:38.860
And then all these brands started coming, you know, trying to sponsor me.
471
00:23:38.860 --> 00:23:40.300
And I didn't even know that's out of the business.
472
00:23:40.300 --> 00:23:41.300
I was just trying to fight.
473
00:23:41.300 --> 00:23:42.300
Yeah.
474
00:23:42.300 --> 00:23:43.460
I got that really young in my career.
475
00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:47.580
That was my second fight on me in the UFC where MTV came and followed me and all these
476
00:23:47.580 --> 00:23:48.580
brands.
477
00:23:48.580 --> 00:23:49.580
You know, we're coming to sponsorship deals.
478
00:23:49.580 --> 00:23:51.060
And I'm like, man, that's even, I didn't know that was a thing.
479
00:23:51.060 --> 00:23:54.580
And then like, I got, I got a, you know, keen to that and understood like, man, that's
480
00:23:54.580 --> 00:23:57.780
a whole other process of the business that I didn't know was there.
481
00:23:57.780 --> 00:23:58.780
Hmm.
482
00:23:58.780 --> 00:23:59.780
That's so fascinating.
483
00:23:59.780 --> 00:24:02.780
And then between the two of you, you know, we've talked about community, you giving
484
00:24:02.780 --> 00:24:03.780
back.
485
00:24:03.780 --> 00:24:08.500
Can you talk a little bit about your, your nonprofit involvement and then also just what
486
00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:14.460
it means to you to give back to the youth and specifically because my cousin is a very
487
00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:19.580
big fan of you and he had said that one time he was waiting to meet you, you this was
488
00:24:19.580 --> 00:24:23.460
years ago and you showed up a little bit late and which was fine.
489
00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:28.460
But your answer, he super admired because you said, you know, the kids, they really wanted
490
00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:29.460
to meet me and take pictures.
491
00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:31.060
You can never say no to the kids.
492
00:24:31.060 --> 00:24:32.060
Oh, yeah.
493
00:24:32.060 --> 00:24:34.460
And he just like, he was like, dude, that's a good dude right there.
494
00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:35.460
Yeah.
495
00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:36.460
Yeah.
496
00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.460
Yeah.
497
00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:38.460
Yeah.
498
00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:43.700
Well, we both grew up in the same neighborhood in Wisconsin in a very low income area.
499
00:24:43.700 --> 00:24:48.180
And I think in everything we do, we try to, you know, put people on and like give back
500
00:24:48.180 --> 00:24:51.820
in the ways that we can, whether it's through the nonprofit, through the management side
501
00:24:51.820 --> 00:24:57.220
and where we do our fight shows, we do three to four shows in Milwaukee, Wisconsin still,
502
00:24:57.220 --> 00:25:01.100
even though we're doing them all over the world now, but we want to make sure that these
503
00:25:01.100 --> 00:25:05.460
guys have a platform and we're reaching out to the gyms there, the local gyms where they
504
00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:09.580
might not have another opportunity to be, have so many eyes on them.
505
00:25:09.580 --> 00:25:13.740
So I think we really try to implement that in every area of whether it's business or
506
00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:18.700
a nonprofit work, but the nonprofit, I started, it's called Empower Youth Foundation.
507
00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:21.340
I started it 17 years ago.
508
00:25:21.340 --> 00:25:26.140
And our biggest event is called Cinderella Project MKE and we do mentoring with teen girls.
509
00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:32.660
And I really try to make sure that the mentors look and come from the same area that these
510
00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:37.260
girls come from, because I just think representation is super important in the Latino community
511
00:25:37.260 --> 00:25:39.340
and a lot of minority communities.
512
00:25:39.340 --> 00:25:41.980
So we try to do that in everything we do.
513
00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:46.460
Even on the business side, we're always hiring friends and family and cousins and whoever
514
00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:51.460
can come help with stuff because we just want to make sure that we were given opportunities
515
00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:52.700
when we were younger.
516
00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:55.980
And I think if we weren't given those, we wouldn't be where we are now.
517
00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:58.660
And we definitely were two people that took advantage of all of them and we want to make
518
00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:03.140
sure that people know that opportunities are there and they just have to grab them
519
00:26:03.140 --> 00:26:04.820
and run, I think.
520
00:26:04.820 --> 00:26:10.180
And you both, I mean, you have a daughter and then you both have daughters also from previous
521
00:26:10.180 --> 00:26:11.180
relationships.
522
00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:14.740
So you're setting a example for them as well.
523
00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:19.060
Do you guys also, I mean, your youngest is probably too young, but your older ones see
524
00:26:19.060 --> 00:26:24.380
you also sort of encourage them to have like a giving back mentality as well?
525
00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:25.380
Definitely.
526
00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:26.380
Yeah.
527
00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:31.500
And everything we do and my kids are sick and tired of carrying prom dresses because
528
00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:32.500
yeah.
529
00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:36.820
And it's like my whole family already knows I'm like, so it's going to drop off 20 dresses.
530
00:26:36.820 --> 00:26:37.820
Can you take it?
531
00:26:37.820 --> 00:26:38.820
And they're like, yeah, of course.
532
00:26:38.820 --> 00:26:39.820
Yeah.
533
00:26:39.820 --> 00:26:40.820
It's a whole thing.
534
00:26:40.820 --> 00:26:45.220
But yeah, we do a lot of give back things in our community like different holidays.
535
00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:50.940
We do, you know, toy drives and food drives and all the things and so we make sure the kids
536
00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:52.700
are involved in all of it.
537
00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:56.300
How do you guys, because you do, I mean, you have also other businesses.
538
00:26:56.300 --> 00:27:00.500
You haven't even talked about yet, but you guys, obviously you work together.
539
00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:01.500
You have businesses.
540
00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:06.220
You have other things that you're doing, obviously, you know, you're in a relationship.
541
00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:12.740
How do you, how do you sort of keep all these different balls in the air?
542
00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:17.580
Like, well, how do you, you know, do you have like cold words when you want to start talking
543
00:27:17.580 --> 00:27:19.580
about different parts of your life?
544
00:27:19.580 --> 00:27:25.780
Yeah, even if we're sitting on the couch together and we're on our phones where I'm, you
545
00:27:25.780 --> 00:27:27.500
know, running all these other businesses.
546
00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:28.500
He's doing that.
547
00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:31.540
I'm working on the nonprofit stuff for managing the kid schedules.
548
00:27:31.540 --> 00:27:33.220
So it just all works together.
549
00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:35.020
I think, yeah, I don't know.
550
00:27:35.020 --> 00:27:36.020
We just.
551
00:27:36.020 --> 00:27:37.020
Yeah, it just all blends.
552
00:27:37.020 --> 00:27:42.460
I like to think I'm a little bit more organized with that stuff, but he's just throw stuff
553
00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:43.460
at me.
554
00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:45.460
Like he's like, okay, we have to be here on this state here on this state.
555
00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:48.220
I'm like, okay, let's figure out how to make this all kind of much.
556
00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:52.540
You had mentioned discipline earlier in that being a commonality between the two of you.
557
00:27:52.540 --> 00:27:57.620
So I want to talk about the mentality of both an athlete and then being into business.
558
00:27:57.620 --> 00:28:04.300
So how much of your athletics, like being a fighter, has really led into your business
559
00:28:04.300 --> 00:28:05.300
mindset?
560
00:28:05.300 --> 00:28:06.300
I think it's the same thing.
561
00:28:06.300 --> 00:28:09.900
Like going into a fight camp, like you got to like be obsessed with the next guy you're
562
00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:14.980
fighting and what you're eating, your schedule, the, and I think in business when you lock
563
00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:15.980
in.
564
00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:19.060
I don't like if you guys experience that when you lock in and you have a seven days on
565
00:28:19.060 --> 00:28:22.140
the row of like locking in, you just feel like you got so much to done.
566
00:28:22.140 --> 00:28:23.580
And I think that's how fighting is.
567
00:28:23.580 --> 00:28:26.380
So you do a training camp and then only thing I don't fighting is you get the reward
568
00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:29.380
at the end of it and then eat the little break and business is just non-safety.
569
00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:30.380
Oh, no, no.
570
00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:31.380
Right.
571
00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:34.900
I would say it's the same, it's the same, the same game that you're playing.
572
00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:39.060
It's like, you know, you versus you wake up, especially being an entrepreneur, having
573
00:28:39.060 --> 00:28:40.060
no schedule.
574
00:28:40.060 --> 00:28:44.500
Like you wake up, you have to be motivated by yourself and things that, you know, remind
575
00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:49.740
us to be in, in at home and at your place that you're at, but also like on all the different
576
00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:53.580
things that they're, they're going on and so it pulls your attention and pulls your time
577
00:28:53.580 --> 00:28:55.020
away and fighting's the same way.
578
00:28:55.020 --> 00:28:59.260
Like, I'm here next to my wife and like, you know, at dinner, but my mind's on the fight
579
00:28:59.260 --> 00:29:03.540
and my mind's on the goal that's coming up and business, it's like, you know, a deadline
580
00:29:03.540 --> 00:29:07.500
or numbers or whatever, whatever your goal is at some.
581
00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:10.460
And how do you overcome a misstep?
582
00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:11.460
Same thing with fighting.
583
00:29:11.460 --> 00:29:15.180
Especially, you know, MMA, I feel like it's not like boxing or if you lose a boxing fight,
584
00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:16.180
your career is over.
585
00:29:16.180 --> 00:29:19.580
MMA, like if you lose, you're not, you can go back and become the best thing in the world
586
00:29:19.580 --> 00:29:20.580
again.
587
00:29:20.580 --> 00:29:25.740
So I feel like in, in, in business world, I just, well, the losses are going to happen.
588
00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:28.860
Like, you just get to accept that and as long as the wins are better than the losses
589
00:29:28.860 --> 00:29:30.700
than you're good.
590
00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:34.980
We've talked to NBA players in the past who talk about the difficulty of shifting from
591
00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:39.500
being like an all-star athlete and then into the business world, but it doesn't sound
592
00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:43.520
like that was a struggle for you because it, it's almost like you started business
593
00:29:43.520 --> 00:29:44.520
and cards.
594
00:29:44.520 --> 00:29:45.520
Yeah, I think I was doing it the whole time.
595
00:29:45.520 --> 00:29:46.520
And then, exactly.
596
00:29:46.520 --> 00:29:49.300
And then you became, you know, professional athlete.
597
00:29:49.300 --> 00:29:55.300
So for, you know, people aspiring or getting ready to also make that shift, at what point
598
00:29:55.300 --> 00:29:59.460
should a fighter be considering like, I'm a business, not just a fighter?
599
00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:04.060
Right, when they start sign that UFC contract, like you immediately open your LLC up and then
600
00:30:04.060 --> 00:30:07.700
treat yourself like a business and there's like so many different parts of the business
601
00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:10.860
that you got to understand and hopefully learn it quick because like most fighters don't
602
00:30:10.860 --> 00:30:15.620
last, you know, I've, I've turned pro when I was 18 and I had my last fight at 37, so I
603
00:30:15.620 --> 00:30:16.620
had a long career.
604
00:30:16.620 --> 00:30:21.020
So it's like, most guys don't last that long, so I learned a lot of stuff in that amount
605
00:30:21.020 --> 00:30:22.020
of time.
606
00:30:22.020 --> 00:30:26.860
And I was just going to say there's no like school for them to learn that business side
607
00:30:26.860 --> 00:30:27.860
of it.
608
00:30:27.860 --> 00:30:28.860
Right.
609
00:30:28.860 --> 00:30:30.820
So even our guys that are younger, that we manage, I'm yelling at them about posting on
610
00:30:30.820 --> 00:30:31.820
Instagram.
611
00:30:31.820 --> 00:30:35.740
I'm like post what you ate today, like, oh, in terms of like building out their brand
612
00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:36.740
right?
613
00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:39.420
Because companies will reach out to us and they want to sponsor them, but they're not,
614
00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:44.340
you know, active on socials, which is obviously really popular in the business world right
615
00:30:44.340 --> 00:30:45.340
now.
616
00:30:45.340 --> 00:30:48.660
And so getting them to think about themselves as a business is really interesting too.
617
00:30:48.660 --> 00:30:49.660
Yeah.
618
00:30:49.660 --> 00:30:53.220
They got to build a brand outside of the fight world, like they can build a brand outside
619
00:30:53.220 --> 00:30:57.380
of the UFC, then they can sustain the life that they don't have to go get a job afterwards
620
00:30:57.380 --> 00:30:58.380
or.
621
00:30:58.380 --> 00:30:59.380
Right.
622
00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:03.460
And is that what, I mean, is that what you see happening like people are just like peaking
623
00:31:03.460 --> 00:31:09.180
and then like they're working like, you have seen money is not like Ryan, but even
624
00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:14.220
then people who are like going broke even in the, and if that, I mean, it happens in the
625
00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:16.020
quote unquote, you know, right.
626
00:31:16.020 --> 00:31:21.140
So, you know, someone don't go, they didn't ever want rich, so it's like, they're famous
627
00:31:21.140 --> 00:31:22.140
what they just want.
628
00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:23.140
Right.
629
00:31:23.140 --> 00:31:24.140
Right.
630
00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:25.140
They can't go broke.
631
00:31:25.140 --> 00:31:26.140
They just didn't.
632
00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:31.780
And a lot of these guys are famous for still having jobs during their entire fight
633
00:31:31.780 --> 00:31:32.780
career.
634
00:31:32.780 --> 00:31:33.780
Yeah.
635
00:31:33.780 --> 00:31:34.780
Like there's Steve Baywright.
636
00:31:34.780 --> 00:31:35.780
Steve Bay's firefighter.
637
00:31:35.780 --> 00:31:38.780
He's a firefighter and he's still, he was at the top of, you know, the camp, and he's a firefighter
638
00:31:38.780 --> 00:31:42.260
and he's still a firefighter because sometimes they're just not making enough money.
639
00:31:42.260 --> 00:31:46.060
I mean, he was making enough money every time, but he's a good example of someone that
640
00:31:46.060 --> 00:31:47.060
kept his job right.
641
00:31:47.060 --> 00:31:48.060
But it does happen a lot.
642
00:31:48.060 --> 00:31:53.460
Like, these guys, some guys only last, you know, two, three fights, your entry level contract
643
00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:58.460
is like 10,000, 10,000, 2,000 of fights, 10,000 of win, about 20,000, 3 times a year.
644
00:31:58.460 --> 00:31:59.460
Yeah.
645
00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:00.460
Right.
646
00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.460
You know, win those fights.
647
00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:02.460
You know, you're out of there.
648
00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:03.460
Yeah.
649
00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:04.460
Wow.
650
00:32:04.460 --> 00:32:09.260
I've heard you say before in different interviews that like you had to learn to say no and
651
00:32:09.260 --> 00:32:13.060
set those boundaries because initially, you know, when you become famous and everything,
652
00:32:13.060 --> 00:32:16.740
there's an expectation from your community around you that like, okay, you made it like
653
00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:19.740
now he's going to take care of everything and, you know, do all of this.
654
00:32:19.740 --> 00:32:20.740
And everybody.
655
00:32:20.740 --> 00:32:21.740
And everybody.
656
00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:22.740
Yeah.
657
00:32:22.740 --> 00:32:23.740
Yeah.
658
00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.740
Yeah.
659
00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:25.740
So where did that come from?
660
00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.740
Yeah.
661
00:32:26.740 --> 00:32:28.660
Where did that management and ability to say was it, so you solicit you influenced him to
662
00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:30.900
be able to be like, no, that for sure.
663
00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:31.900
No wasn't him on the head.
664
00:32:31.900 --> 00:32:32.900
Yeah.
665
00:32:32.900 --> 00:32:33.900
Yeah.
666
00:32:33.900 --> 00:32:34.900
Yeah.
667
00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:35.900
It's your phone.
668
00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:41.580
Well, I think too, as he matured, he started thinking more long term too, because I
669
00:32:41.580 --> 00:32:43.980
am like, well, okay, that's great now.
670
00:32:43.980 --> 00:32:48.180
You made X amount of dollars this last fight, but, um, yeah, it's not always going to
671
00:32:48.180 --> 00:32:49.180
become in like, right?
672
00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:50.180
Right.
673
00:32:50.180 --> 00:32:53.900
So do you want, you know, would you rather your kids be able to go to school in college
674
00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:55.820
or do you want him for this random person's dinner?
675
00:32:55.820 --> 00:32:59.500
So it was just kind of like a mindset, you know, a mindset.
676
00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:00.700
Wait, how much is a dinner?
677
00:33:00.700 --> 00:33:01.700
Yeah.
678
00:33:01.700 --> 00:33:02.700
We live in Vegas.
679
00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:03.700
Oh, it's interesting.
680
00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:04.700
It's interesting.
681
00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:05.700
Yeah.
682
00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:09.980
But, no, I think it was just like shifting his mindset and then, you know, the more serious
683
00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:13.660
we got in a relationship, then he started thinking long term about like, oh, sure, our
684
00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:17.020
future and like, okay, you know, we want to think about what the things we want to do
685
00:33:17.020 --> 00:33:19.300
and the investments we want to make more long term.
686
00:33:19.300 --> 00:33:20.300
Right.
687
00:33:20.300 --> 00:33:21.300
That's just money, too.
688
00:33:21.300 --> 00:33:22.300
We're my time.
689
00:33:22.300 --> 00:33:23.300
Like, say no, just certain things.
690
00:33:23.300 --> 00:33:27.820
I was just like, waste of time or like, because I was just a dead end and like, so I don't
691
00:33:27.820 --> 00:33:28.820
think she told me a lot.
692
00:33:28.820 --> 00:33:31.820
That just say no, like, just no more vocabulary.
693
00:33:31.820 --> 00:33:32.820
Right.
694
00:33:32.820 --> 00:33:33.820
No, but it's a real thing.
695
00:33:33.820 --> 00:33:38.620
We've talked to other people, like, you know, like about coming into money and like
696
00:33:38.620 --> 00:33:45.300
making some really, you know, bad choices, you know, in the beginning, I mean, like,
697
00:33:45.300 --> 00:33:46.300
could you?
698
00:33:46.300 --> 00:33:47.300
There's no right.
699
00:33:47.300 --> 00:33:48.300
There's no road make.
700
00:33:48.300 --> 00:33:51.300
Like, you get this big check and you're like, you want to do what you saw in the room.
701
00:33:51.300 --> 00:33:52.300
Is that you turn up?
702
00:33:52.300 --> 00:33:53.300
You go out.
703
00:33:53.300 --> 00:34:00.300
You know, we've all been there, you know, you have that moment and you're like, oh, wait,
704
00:34:00.300 --> 00:34:01.300
I'm supposed to pay taxes.
705
00:34:01.300 --> 00:34:02.300
Right.
706
00:34:02.300 --> 00:34:07.340
But I think, too, because we both grew up, like, so low income, I think, yeah, you know,
707
00:34:07.340 --> 00:34:09.420
we got, we still got to pay the rent every day.
708
00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:14.460
I think we still both had that in the back of our head where even though we know we're
709
00:34:14.460 --> 00:34:19.100
okay right now uncomfortable, like, it's still maybe a fear for both of us that like,
710
00:34:19.100 --> 00:34:21.100
that could be the reality for us, wouldn't it?
711
00:34:21.100 --> 00:34:22.100
Yeah.
712
00:34:22.100 --> 00:34:23.100
Yeah, for sure.
713
00:34:23.100 --> 00:34:24.100
Yeah.
714
00:34:24.100 --> 00:34:25.100
Yeah.
715
00:34:25.100 --> 00:34:26.100
No, it's still very, you still remember that like something.
716
00:34:26.100 --> 00:34:27.100
Yeah.
717
00:34:27.100 --> 00:34:28.100
Yeah.
718
00:34:28.100 --> 00:34:29.100
I'll be coming up with that.
719
00:34:29.100 --> 00:34:30.100
Yeah.
720
00:34:30.100 --> 00:34:31.100
Absolutely.
721
00:34:31.100 --> 00:34:32.100
Yeah.
722
00:34:32.100 --> 00:34:33.100
I don't think it ever leaves you in this strange way.
723
00:34:33.100 --> 00:34:35.100
And I don't, I don't know that you ever want it to.
724
00:34:35.100 --> 00:34:36.100
Yeah.
725
00:34:36.100 --> 00:34:37.100
Yeah.
726
00:34:37.100 --> 00:34:40.100
Like, I, I, I, I, I, I kind of want to stay hungry in that way.
727
00:34:40.100 --> 00:34:42.100
But I think that drives so much of what we do now.
728
00:34:42.100 --> 00:34:43.100
Right.
729
00:34:43.100 --> 00:34:44.100
Not also the hunger, the hunger.
730
00:34:44.100 --> 00:34:45.100
The kids will never be hungry.
731
00:34:45.100 --> 00:34:46.100
Yeah.
732
00:34:46.100 --> 00:34:48.100
But also like just wanting to give back.
733
00:34:48.100 --> 00:34:49.100
I think that's where it comes from.
734
00:34:49.100 --> 00:34:50.100
Right, right, right.
735
00:34:50.100 --> 00:34:53.100
The way that we grew up in, in, in the programs that we took advantage of and the help that
736
00:34:53.100 --> 00:34:54.100
we got when we were younger.
737
00:34:54.100 --> 00:34:55.100
Absolutely.
738
00:34:55.100 --> 00:34:56.100
Absolutely.
739
00:34:56.100 --> 00:34:57.100
Yeah.
740
00:34:57.100 --> 00:34:59.100
You had spoken about personal branding earlier.
741
00:34:59.100 --> 00:35:01.100
You have a business that's all around that.
742
00:35:01.100 --> 00:35:05.500
Can you talk a little bit about your business and then also you mentioned about also influencing
743
00:35:05.500 --> 00:35:09.100
some of your fighters to understand the importance of that?
744
00:35:09.100 --> 00:35:10.100
Yeah.
745
00:35:10.100 --> 00:35:12.740
I, um, I am partnered with like an online beauty brand.
746
00:35:12.740 --> 00:35:16.740
So in that space, I learned really how to like market myself and help other women do the
747
00:35:16.740 --> 00:35:17.740
same.
748
00:35:17.740 --> 00:35:20.740
And I think that it really carried over to all of our business stuff.
749
00:35:20.740 --> 00:35:25.620
Because social media was so new and, um, Instagram and now TikTok and just learning how to
750
00:35:25.620 --> 00:35:27.740
brand myself, brand all of our companies.
751
00:35:27.740 --> 00:35:32.740
And that was, you know, my degrees and I have degrees in sociology, anthropology and psychology.
752
00:35:32.740 --> 00:35:35.740
So nothing related to any of this.
753
00:35:35.740 --> 00:35:38.740
Well, I feel like I still use it every day and in all the businesses.
754
00:35:38.740 --> 00:35:39.740
But I don't know the anthropology.
755
00:35:39.740 --> 00:35:40.740
Yeah, it's a brand.
756
00:35:40.740 --> 00:35:41.740
I don't know.
757
00:35:41.740 --> 00:35:42.740
Yeah.
758
00:35:42.740 --> 00:35:43.740
But a little related.
759
00:35:43.740 --> 00:35:51.060
But so I think that we, you know, I, I, learning that for myself as a brand really carried
760
00:35:51.060 --> 00:35:54.900
over to him and how he presented himself online and in the online space for our fighters
761
00:35:54.900 --> 00:35:59.580
and for the women that I mentor as well, um, I think it's just, you know, it's everywhere
762
00:35:59.580 --> 00:36:01.740
and it's so important right now.
763
00:36:01.740 --> 00:36:04.980
And so whenever I meet somebody that is in the business space, I'm always trying to help
764
00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:08.860
them with their socials because I just know how important it is and how much money I've
765
00:36:08.860 --> 00:36:12.900
been able to bring it on just on social media alone, even with my kids now, like, my kids
766
00:36:12.900 --> 00:36:16.620
are, you know, my daughter is an athlete and she's getting recruited now in college and
767
00:36:16.620 --> 00:36:20.780
I'm like, okay, you need to post on socials, like they're, you know, and even in, in those
768
00:36:20.780 --> 00:36:25.180
deals, these kids that have a large following or are doing a lot of, have a lot of motion
769
00:36:25.180 --> 00:36:29.140
on social media are getting better deals than maybe the better athlete is.
770
00:36:29.140 --> 00:36:30.140
Yeah.
771
00:36:30.140 --> 00:36:31.140
It's interesting.
772
00:36:31.140 --> 00:36:35.660
It's, it's, it's fascinating because you didn't have a choice, essentially.
773
00:36:35.660 --> 00:36:40.740
Like you're, when social, you, you and social media kind of inflected at the same time.
774
00:36:40.740 --> 00:36:46.860
And so, um, you're same as a fighter, just like, organically grew that social.
775
00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:51.980
And now today, people can be a nobody and then start developing and, and to become somebody
776
00:36:51.980 --> 00:36:54.780
who's like social media, um, famous.
777
00:36:54.780 --> 00:36:59.580
But I'm curious as to when you're coaching or talking to, like, different fighters or
778
00:36:59.660 --> 00:37:06.540
even your, your clients who are women, how do you convince them to get over that, like,
779
00:37:06.540 --> 00:37:13.140
judgment barrier because you were thrown into it, you didn't have choice, you know, um,
780
00:37:13.140 --> 00:37:16.620
so what is that, you know, talk like, coaches?
781
00:37:16.620 --> 00:37:19.820
Um, I think it's, it's scary.
782
00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:21.140
It's scary for everyone.
783
00:37:21.140 --> 00:37:25.900
And I think, um, when you look at who you follow on socials, it's the people that you
784
00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:29.980
relate to and it's the people that are real and raw and, and, and that's what made me
785
00:37:29.980 --> 00:37:33.540
really think that, you know, the kind of the messier you show up in the more authentic
786
00:37:33.540 --> 00:37:37.740
you show up, the more authentic you are to yourself and, and that's what your brand
787
00:37:37.740 --> 00:37:38.740
is.
788
00:37:38.740 --> 00:37:39.740
It doesn't have to be pretty and perfect.
789
00:37:39.740 --> 00:37:42.860
And I think that's what people are scared of, like, they're like, oh, I don't have the
790
00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:46.540
most aesthetic house or I don't look the way I want to look, um, to show up on socials.
791
00:37:46.540 --> 00:37:50.260
And I think once you get rid of that and you're like, no, the people I connect with are
792
00:37:50.260 --> 00:37:54.340
the ones with the messy kitchen and the ones that, you know, don't have it all together.
793
00:37:54.340 --> 00:37:58.060
Um, once you can do that, that's, that's where the magic happens.
794
00:37:58.060 --> 00:37:59.060
I know it's scary.
795
00:37:59.060 --> 00:38:02.340
And I tell everyone, I'm like, this is the scariest thing I'm going to ask you to do.
796
00:38:02.340 --> 00:38:06.020
And I'm going to ask you to post five stories today and then they're like, what, like,
797
00:38:06.020 --> 00:38:11.300
I've never posted this very vulnerable and I think once you, and I'm like, okay, but
798
00:38:11.300 --> 00:38:15.100
people that have millions of followers are posting and they get all the hate mess, your
799
00:38:15.100 --> 00:38:17.980
25 followers are not going to send you hate mail yet.
800
00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:21.860
So it's just kind of like getting over yourself.
801
00:38:21.860 --> 00:38:22.860
And it really is.
802
00:38:22.860 --> 00:38:28.100
And I think a lot of us think that we're, you know, brave and not scared of people's opinions
803
00:38:28.100 --> 00:38:29.580
as much, but we really are.
804
00:38:29.580 --> 00:38:30.580
Oh, I don't.
805
00:38:30.580 --> 00:38:36.500
They're clear how to reply to about the people's opinions, but I mean, when I first started,
806
00:38:36.500 --> 00:38:39.700
I was like, oh, I have to put my makeup on before I post a video and now I'll roll out
807
00:38:39.700 --> 00:38:40.700
about it.
808
00:38:40.700 --> 00:38:41.700
It's crazy.
809
00:38:41.700 --> 00:38:42.700
And I'm just like, I don't even care.
810
00:38:42.700 --> 00:38:46.940
But I think a lot of that came from being his, his significant other as well because
811
00:38:46.940 --> 00:38:50.420
when I would post it was like, you saw he lost his fight because of you and you're
812
00:38:50.420 --> 00:38:51.420
a gold digger.
813
00:38:51.420 --> 00:38:52.420
And you're this and that.
814
00:38:52.420 --> 00:38:56.660
And I'm like, so I think having to get over that made me a little bit more like, okay,
815
00:38:56.660 --> 00:39:01.020
if I look crazy right now on my Instagram, like at least they're not calling you.
816
00:39:01.020 --> 00:39:05.740
Do you guys share with each other or did you, whenever you would get hate messages, like
817
00:39:05.740 --> 00:39:09.620
if something got under your skin, would you have a conversation about it or are you just
818
00:39:09.620 --> 00:39:11.420
to internalize and deal with it yourself?
819
00:39:11.420 --> 00:39:13.420
I don't have so much hate messages.
820
00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:14.420
I have so many of them.
821
00:39:14.420 --> 00:39:15.420
I don't even think about it.
822
00:39:15.420 --> 00:39:16.420
No problem.
823
00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:17.420
Yeah.
824
00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:18.420
Yeah.
825
00:39:18.420 --> 00:39:23.420
So I see like a 2013-15 era, man, I was like the worst hate messages ever.
826
00:39:23.420 --> 00:39:24.420
Oh, what?
827
00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:25.420
It's like Instagram.
828
00:39:25.420 --> 00:39:26.420
Well, that's my lost my belt.
829
00:39:26.420 --> 00:39:31.340
So I feel like everybody switched on me and like, I was like going, win loss, win loss.
830
00:39:31.340 --> 00:39:35.540
I was getting so much hate messages and like, just people hating and I like, I just,
831
00:39:35.540 --> 00:39:36.980
I just, I became immune to it.
832
00:39:36.980 --> 00:39:37.980
It's like, it's part of it.
833
00:39:37.980 --> 00:39:41.100
So you just become desensitized because of the volume of it kind of.
834
00:39:41.100 --> 00:39:42.100
I expect it.
835
00:39:42.100 --> 00:39:43.100
Like, she tells me something.
836
00:39:43.100 --> 00:39:45.100
It's like, guys, they're going to say that.
837
00:39:45.100 --> 00:39:46.100
Yeah.
838
00:39:46.100 --> 00:39:49.100
I'm worried about my daughter's, though, because I'm not my, my other daughter's, you know,
839
00:39:49.100 --> 00:39:50.100
15 to be 15.
840
00:39:50.100 --> 00:39:51.100
And she's on Instagram.
841
00:39:51.100 --> 00:39:53.100
So like, hopefully that doesn't go over to her.
842
00:39:53.100 --> 00:39:54.100
Yeah.
843
00:39:54.100 --> 00:39:55.100
Yeah.
844
00:39:55.100 --> 00:39:56.100
Yeah.
845
00:39:56.100 --> 00:39:57.100
Yeah.
846
00:39:57.100 --> 00:39:58.100
Yeah.
847
00:39:58.100 --> 00:39:59.100
Yeah.
848
00:39:59.100 --> 00:40:00.100
Well, and so then that's interesting.
849
00:40:00.100 --> 00:40:04.380
So I think one of the hardest things that professional athletes have to do is overcome a loss
850
00:40:04.380 --> 00:40:06.540
after you've been at the top.
851
00:40:06.540 --> 00:40:10.420
We all know the saying that it's very lonely at the top because you work your whole career
852
00:40:10.420 --> 00:40:12.340
to get to this point.
853
00:40:12.340 --> 00:40:13.340
You're there.
854
00:40:13.340 --> 00:40:14.340
And then what happens?
855
00:40:14.340 --> 00:40:15.340
Like, is it?
856
00:40:15.340 --> 00:40:16.340
You didn't pass it.
857
00:40:16.340 --> 00:40:17.340
You didn't pass it.
858
00:40:17.340 --> 00:40:18.340
Right?
859
00:40:18.340 --> 00:40:21.220
And so how long is the, like, elation there versus now?
860
00:40:21.220 --> 00:40:22.220
It's like now what?
861
00:40:22.220 --> 00:40:24.140
And then knowing that everyone's after you now.
862
00:40:24.140 --> 00:40:25.140
Yeah.
863
00:40:25.140 --> 00:40:26.140
It's crazy.
864
00:40:26.140 --> 00:40:27.140
Yeah.
865
00:40:27.140 --> 00:40:28.140
It's crazy because like, uh, when you're the champ, everybody's studying you.
866
00:40:28.140 --> 00:40:31.140
So like, I was the champ for like two and a half years, so they had a long time like
867
00:40:31.140 --> 00:40:32.140
studying my style.
868
00:40:32.140 --> 00:40:33.140
Right.
869
00:40:33.140 --> 00:40:34.140
Where my hole's right.
870
00:40:34.140 --> 00:40:37.540
And then when I lost about the next guys I fought with, the toughest guys in the world,
871
00:40:37.540 --> 00:40:40.420
it was like, you're going right to kill their role, like top 10 guys.
872
00:40:40.420 --> 00:40:41.860
So it's like, there's no breaks.
873
00:40:41.860 --> 00:40:43.900
It's like, everybody could be the champ at any even day.
874
00:40:43.900 --> 00:40:45.900
Which just depends, you know, it was a better day that day.
875
00:40:45.900 --> 00:40:46.900
Right.
876
00:40:46.900 --> 00:40:47.900
Yeah.
877
00:40:47.900 --> 00:40:48.900
So it's a crazy sport.
878
00:40:48.900 --> 00:40:49.900
Yeah.
879
00:40:49.900 --> 00:40:50.900
Like, I mean, it's a wild, wild sport.
880
00:40:50.900 --> 00:40:51.900
But that's why the fans love it.
881
00:40:51.900 --> 00:40:52.900
Because it's like so raw.
882
00:40:52.900 --> 00:40:53.900
It's predictable, right?
883
00:40:53.900 --> 00:40:54.900
Right, right.
884
00:40:54.900 --> 00:40:55.900
Anything to happen.
885
00:40:55.900 --> 00:40:56.900
Yeah.
886
00:40:56.900 --> 00:40:57.900
One thing that I think people don't realize about this sport as opposed to like basketball
887
00:40:57.900 --> 00:41:00.900
or football is they can make it up the next night, like, hmm.
888
00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:01.900
Right.
889
00:41:01.900 --> 00:41:05.900
And in this sport, they have three months of hate before they can, or four months of hate,
890
00:41:05.900 --> 00:41:06.900
you know, right?
891
00:41:06.900 --> 00:41:07.900
Right.
892
00:41:07.900 --> 00:41:11.900
Or internal hate, um, to deal with it and put the next night so it's really different.
893
00:41:11.900 --> 00:41:12.900
Right.
894
00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:14.900
What do you manage your mindset during that time?
895
00:41:14.900 --> 00:41:15.900
Yeah.
896
00:41:15.900 --> 00:41:16.900
You, man, I learned.
897
00:41:16.900 --> 00:41:22.900
Um, I had to go, I saw a sports psychologist, um, he had a big time, like just separating myself
898
00:41:22.900 --> 00:41:23.900
from the fighter.
899
00:41:23.900 --> 00:41:27.900
Like, you know, when I fight and I'm Anthony Showtime, but it is a different version than me
900
00:41:27.900 --> 00:41:29.900
at home or me just chilling with my family.
901
00:41:29.900 --> 00:41:30.900
Yeah.
902
00:41:30.900 --> 00:41:31.900
Because I never had like a difference between me.
903
00:41:31.900 --> 00:41:35.900
I was always trying to like keep on this, this certain act or this certain, like, we're not
904
00:41:35.900 --> 00:41:36.900
to act.
905
00:41:36.900 --> 00:41:37.900
It was who I was, like, at that time.
906
00:41:37.900 --> 00:41:42.620
But then like when he, uh, gave me a couple quotes and just like thrills the dude to make
907
00:41:42.620 --> 00:41:45.900
sure I'm bringing myself back to attention and bring myself back to like this present
908
00:41:45.900 --> 00:41:46.900
moment.
909
00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:48.900
Am I being the right version of myself or where I'm at now?
910
00:41:48.900 --> 00:41:49.900
Hmm.
911
00:41:49.900 --> 00:41:50.900
And I think that helped out big time.
912
00:41:50.900 --> 00:41:53.900
I'm like, all right, if I lose a fight, my daughter still loves me.
913
00:41:53.900 --> 00:41:57.900
My wife still loves me and like being able to go back to family and it's there.
914
00:41:57.900 --> 00:41:59.900
I mean, and still it's hard to put that away too.
915
00:41:59.900 --> 00:42:02.900
Like when you lose a fight, you like, you work so hard, your coach has worked hard.
916
00:42:02.900 --> 00:42:04.900
She dealt with like so much emotion.
917
00:42:04.900 --> 00:42:06.900
And we missed me at like every event.
918
00:42:06.900 --> 00:42:07.900
And then you go out there to lose a fight.
919
00:42:07.900 --> 00:42:09.900
It's like, man, like you've let everybody down.
920
00:42:09.900 --> 00:42:10.900
Yeah.
921
00:42:10.900 --> 00:42:11.900
But then like you got to separate yourself.
922
00:42:11.900 --> 00:42:15.900
Like, all right, I got another opportunity to go do what you get and keep doing it until
923
00:42:15.900 --> 00:42:16.900
I can't anymore.
924
00:42:16.900 --> 00:42:17.900
Yeah.
925
00:42:17.900 --> 00:42:18.900
Wow.
926
00:42:18.900 --> 00:42:19.900
It's me.
927
00:42:19.900 --> 00:42:20.900
Yeah.
928
00:42:20.900 --> 00:42:23.900
How do you, how do you, how do you, like, how do you handle that and like what's your support
929
00:42:23.900 --> 00:42:30.900
system look like when you're at home, like trying to support someone who's going through
930
00:42:30.900 --> 00:42:31.900
that?
931
00:42:31.900 --> 00:42:34.900
I honestly, that's the one, like my superpower, I think.
932
00:42:34.900 --> 00:42:41.900
I'm totally able to, I think early on, I realized how much the sport requires of him.
933
00:42:41.900 --> 00:42:42.900
Yeah.
934
00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:44.900
Compared to any other career or any other sport.
935
00:42:44.900 --> 00:42:45.900
Yeah.
936
00:42:45.900 --> 00:42:48.900
You're getting hit every day, even in training.
937
00:42:48.900 --> 00:42:49.900
Yeah.
938
00:42:49.900 --> 00:42:53.900
And you're messing with your diet, your malnourished, you're doing all the things.
939
00:42:53.900 --> 00:42:55.900
You're cutting all this weight, doing all of those things.
940
00:42:56.900 --> 00:43:00.900
And I realized early on how much attention and dedication the sport needed.
941
00:43:00.900 --> 00:43:04.900
And I think I was like, okay, so for these eight weeks, I'm going to be ignored.
942
00:43:04.900 --> 00:43:08.300
Like, don't even think about me kind of, what does he need?
943
00:43:08.300 --> 00:43:09.300
Like I need to bring these nuts.
944
00:43:09.300 --> 00:43:13.380
I remember when I was doing Dolce's diet, like I'd bring nuts to his practice because
945
00:43:13.380 --> 00:43:14.380
that was his only snack.
946
00:43:14.380 --> 00:43:21.140
Like doing things like that, I had to completely, like, remove my emotions from it.
947
00:43:21.140 --> 00:43:22.140
I couldn't be needy.
948
00:43:22.140 --> 00:43:23.140
I couldn't be.
949
00:43:23.140 --> 00:43:25.900
But I'm, like, a little, like, I'm nothing.
950
00:43:25.900 --> 00:43:27.060
I had to, like, make a list.
951
00:43:27.060 --> 00:43:30.140
So the day after he fights, I'm like, oh, you did this and it pissed me off.
952
00:43:30.140 --> 00:43:31.140
You did this and it pissed me off.
953
00:43:31.140 --> 00:43:32.140
Oh!
954
00:43:32.140 --> 00:43:33.140
That's interesting.
955
00:43:33.140 --> 00:43:34.140
So I'm really, it was a comparison.
956
00:43:34.140 --> 00:43:35.140
Like, I'll stay that for later.
957
00:43:38.140 --> 00:43:40.140
When his fight is over, we can go through his place.
958
00:43:40.140 --> 00:43:41.140
Okay, actually.
959
00:43:41.140 --> 00:43:46.140
But I, I think in the beginning, it was hard for me because I'm like, oh, he's ignoring
960
00:43:46.140 --> 00:43:47.140
me.
961
00:43:47.140 --> 00:43:48.140
He cares more about that.
962
00:43:48.140 --> 00:43:49.140
Oh, god, I got it.
963
00:43:50.140 --> 00:43:55.640
So just taking the relationship and removing my emotions from it was really such an interesting
964
00:43:55.640 --> 00:43:56.640
thing to learn.
965
00:43:56.640 --> 00:43:59.140
But I was like, if he's going to be the best in the world, he has to be obsessed with
966
00:43:59.140 --> 00:44:00.140
this.
967
00:44:00.140 --> 00:44:02.140
And he can't think about this right now.
968
00:44:02.140 --> 00:44:03.140
Yeah.
969
00:44:03.140 --> 00:44:05.740
And I think I, once I learned that in the first few fights, I'm like, okay, like, what's
970
00:44:05.740 --> 00:44:06.740
locked in?
971
00:44:06.740 --> 00:44:07.740
And I think I did a good job.
972
00:44:07.740 --> 00:44:08.740
Yeah, for sure.
973
00:44:08.740 --> 00:44:11.540
That's not something everybody could have.
974
00:44:11.540 --> 00:44:12.540
But I have my list.
975
00:44:12.540 --> 00:44:15.540
I think there's her sitting cage on it, like, all the fights he sees, like, the damage
976
00:44:15.540 --> 00:44:17.540
that he could take if you're not, like, locked in.
977
00:44:17.540 --> 00:44:18.540
Yeah, absolutely.
978
00:44:18.540 --> 00:44:19.540
Yeah.
979
00:44:19.540 --> 00:44:20.540
Right, right, right, right.
980
00:44:20.540 --> 00:44:21.540
Oh, god.
981
00:44:21.540 --> 00:44:22.540
So it's like, you know the price.
982
00:44:22.540 --> 00:44:23.540
Yeah.
983
00:44:23.540 --> 00:44:24.540
I'm not being focused.
984
00:44:24.540 --> 00:44:25.540
I get it.
985
00:44:25.540 --> 00:44:28.540
I didn't know that this was going to be a masterclass on what a healthy relationship is.
986
00:44:28.540 --> 00:44:29.540
No, no, no.
987
00:44:29.540 --> 00:44:30.540
It's an intern, man.
988
00:44:30.540 --> 00:44:31.540
Yeah.
989
00:44:31.540 --> 00:44:34.540
This is what real support looks like.
990
00:44:34.540 --> 00:44:37.100
But I think a lot of people can't do that.
991
00:44:37.100 --> 00:44:41.020
And I, I've realized that later on in, I'm not like, oh, I'm so cool.
992
00:44:41.020 --> 00:44:46.260
But like, it took me a minute to learn, but once I did, and I look at other athlete relationships,
993
00:44:46.260 --> 00:44:50.300
it's hard for a woman to be able to, or a partner to be able to say, don't worry about
994
00:44:50.300 --> 00:44:51.300
me.
995
00:44:51.300 --> 00:44:52.300
Right.
996
00:44:52.300 --> 00:44:58.020
And I think that is a detriment to a lot of athletes, you know, and to be able to do that
997
00:44:58.020 --> 00:45:02.300
is difficult, difficult, probably the hardest thing I've had to do ever.
998
00:45:02.300 --> 00:45:05.940
But like, you know, once you master that, I think they can, they're able to be the best
999
00:45:05.940 --> 00:45:06.940
in the world.
1000
00:45:06.940 --> 00:45:07.940
Right.
1001
00:45:07.940 --> 00:45:08.940
Right.
1002
00:45:08.940 --> 00:45:14.300
And I can assume for you also, it's, it's even trickier because you're getting blamed
1003
00:45:14.300 --> 00:45:18.500
like, you said for his loss, it's like, well, if you wouldn't tell what you was supposed
1004
00:45:18.500 --> 00:45:25.500
to do, it wasn't all in his business, it may be, so, so you're also carrying kind of
1005
00:45:25.500 --> 00:45:30.260
this extra burden and then also having to really sort of stand aside.
1006
00:45:30.260 --> 00:45:35.380
So I can imagine that's also kind of complicated to then really have to kind of like stand
1007
00:45:35.380 --> 00:45:36.860
down and step aside.
1008
00:45:36.860 --> 00:45:43.820
So, so, so kudos to you for like holding that extra piece and then still kind of, you
1009
00:45:43.820 --> 00:45:44.820
know, stepping aside.
1010
00:45:44.820 --> 00:45:45.820
Yeah.
1011
00:45:45.820 --> 00:45:49.420
How did you find the internal strength or the mental toughness to navigate through both
1012
00:45:49.420 --> 00:45:53.940
of those things, like being a supportive wife, understanding that you're not the priority
1013
00:45:53.940 --> 00:45:54.940
and that's okay.
1014
00:45:54.940 --> 00:45:57.300
That doesn't make you less than.
1015
00:45:57.300 --> 00:46:01.540
And also that the negative comments coming towards you is just noise.
1016
00:46:01.540 --> 00:46:02.540
Yeah.
1017
00:46:02.540 --> 00:46:06.700
I think watching him as far as the noise side of it, like watching how he dealt with
1018
00:46:06.700 --> 00:46:12.340
the hate I think was inspirational to me because also I feel like I'm like an empath.
1019
00:46:12.340 --> 00:46:17.980
So just having all this, even though I didn't like listen to it or let it affect my, I just
1020
00:46:17.980 --> 00:46:18.980
still felt bad.
1021
00:46:18.980 --> 00:46:19.980
Yeah.
1022
00:46:19.980 --> 00:46:20.980
Why do so many people hate me?
1023
00:46:20.980 --> 00:46:24.220
Like, I know that if they knew me, like they wouldn't hate me like this or if they
1024
00:46:24.220 --> 00:46:29.980
knew what I, like I just think it made me feel bad also for like, I'm like, just that
1025
00:46:29.980 --> 00:46:31.340
people had hate in their heart.
1026
00:46:31.340 --> 00:46:34.740
Like it made me sad to see how much hate people like had.
1027
00:46:34.740 --> 00:46:38.340
And I'm like, if they were more happy in their lives, they wouldn't be so hateful.
1028
00:46:38.340 --> 00:46:40.460
Like it just made me kind of took me down that path.
1029
00:46:40.460 --> 00:46:43.020
And I realized early on it wasn't about me.
1030
00:46:43.020 --> 00:46:46.820
And I think changing that mindset really helped me and watching how he dealt with it helped
1031
00:46:46.820 --> 00:46:48.220
me deal with it as well.
1032
00:46:48.220 --> 00:46:49.220
Yeah.
1033
00:46:49.220 --> 00:46:50.700
Becoming famous.
1034
00:46:50.700 --> 00:46:57.860
How do you, both of you are still very grounded people, humble and even like I've seen you
1035
00:46:57.860 --> 00:47:00.460
guys move as a couple and everything like that.
1036
00:47:00.460 --> 00:47:04.300
And you're just still very, it's still in your roots down to earth.
1037
00:47:04.300 --> 00:47:10.660
Like you haven't been kind of some of those professional couples that are like, no, I'm
1038
00:47:10.660 --> 00:47:11.660
up here.
1039
00:47:11.660 --> 00:47:13.780
I don't have time for you ever.
1040
00:47:13.780 --> 00:47:16.940
How do you not let all the fame get to your head?
1041
00:47:16.940 --> 00:47:22.460
I think this is how it grew up, like how we grew up so poor, like no one, that anybody
1042
00:47:22.460 --> 00:47:25.940
that, like those fans that you say, like they want to picture autograph, like who knows
1043
00:47:25.940 --> 00:47:29.820
how hard they work to get to that spot to like come shake my hand and to give them their
1044
00:47:29.820 --> 00:47:30.820
respect.
1045
00:47:30.820 --> 00:47:34.100
So I just like to hire up, but play to be rolling that.
1046
00:47:34.100 --> 00:47:35.100
Yeah.
1047
00:47:35.100 --> 00:47:38.820
I think we're both very, very involved with our family still, but you know, have a huge
1048
00:47:38.820 --> 00:47:40.940
family and our culture as well.
1049
00:47:40.940 --> 00:47:44.180
I think plays a big role in it because they'll, they'll humble us quick.
1050
00:47:44.180 --> 00:47:45.180
Sure.
1051
00:47:45.180 --> 00:47:46.180
Yeah.
1052
00:47:46.180 --> 00:47:48.180
They'll keep you alive.
1053
00:47:48.180 --> 00:47:49.180
Yeah.
1054
00:47:49.180 --> 00:47:51.420
For sure.
1055
00:47:51.420 --> 00:47:57.420
This episode is brought to you by Blue Monkey Realty, the team that doesn't just sell homes.
1056
00:47:57.420 --> 00:48:02.180
They guide you to your American dream, whether you're a first time buyer or aiming for the
1057
00:48:02.180 --> 00:48:06.420
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1058
00:48:06.420 --> 00:48:10.340
Check out BlueMonkeyRealty.com and let them guide you home.
1059
00:48:10.340 --> 00:48:16.500
When you go into business and you guys are going to go to negotiate, is it like, are
1060
00:48:16.500 --> 00:48:20.820
you sort of, is your mindset like, well, I'm fucking Anthony Showtime pet us.
1061
00:48:20.820 --> 00:48:21.820
This is getting done.
1062
00:48:21.820 --> 00:48:25.820
Or do you just come at it from just a completely, like, I'm Anthony?
1063
00:48:25.820 --> 00:48:27.820
No, I'd say I'm Anthony Showtime pet us.
1064
00:48:27.820 --> 00:48:34.580
I mean, the most confidence I can, like, make sure this happens and it usually does.
1065
00:48:34.580 --> 00:48:36.100
It works out for us.
1066
00:48:36.100 --> 00:48:39.860
I think people like us, like, they like to be around us and hang around us and like,
1067
00:48:39.860 --> 00:48:43.060
we're a likable couple and I think that helps out big time.
1068
00:48:43.060 --> 00:48:44.060
Yeah.
1069
00:48:44.060 --> 00:48:47.660
But also, I feel like you also are pretty humble when you do deal with people because I think
1070
00:48:47.660 --> 00:48:50.380
sometimes I'm like, does he know who you are?
1071
00:48:50.380 --> 00:48:55.100
Like he has to remind, like, I know he knows, but like in, especially in the fight world,
1072
00:48:55.100 --> 00:48:58.980
like when people try to lowball him or something, I'm like, no, we're not doing that.
1073
00:48:58.980 --> 00:48:59.980
Right.
1074
00:48:59.980 --> 00:49:00.980
You're not signing that.
1075
00:49:00.980 --> 00:49:04.020
So I think sometimes I have to, like, remind him a little bit.
1076
00:49:04.020 --> 00:49:05.020
Yeah.
1077
00:49:05.020 --> 00:49:08.220
Was there ever a time where you ended up getting a contract and you're like, that number
1078
00:49:08.220 --> 00:49:14.220
is way too low and you had to have that all the time, and so what was, can you remember
1079
00:49:14.220 --> 00:49:18.420
back to the first time and sort of how old you were and what that experience was like
1080
00:49:18.420 --> 00:49:19.420
to ask for more?
1081
00:49:19.420 --> 00:49:22.500
Well, I think when I first started, I got signed to the UFC so quick and then the UFC,
1082
00:49:22.500 --> 00:49:24.900
you can't, because no negotiation, like, this is what it is.
1083
00:49:24.900 --> 00:49:25.900
Right.
1084
00:49:25.900 --> 00:49:26.900
Take care of leaving somebody else to take it.
1085
00:49:26.900 --> 00:49:31.700
So I think after the UFC's, when I saw the negotiations happen, like, but people were
1086
00:49:31.700 --> 00:49:34.540
offering in what the market was at.
1087
00:49:34.540 --> 00:49:39.780
And so then what was that time where you were like, I need to ask for more and had that
1088
00:49:39.780 --> 00:49:40.780
conversation?
1089
00:49:40.780 --> 00:49:42.540
Like, what was that sort of experience like?
1090
00:49:42.540 --> 00:49:45.100
Yeah, it's hard as a fighter negotiating for yourself.
1091
00:49:45.100 --> 00:49:49.460
So I always try to have somebody like be the middleman, but yeah, it's hard to negotiate
1092
00:49:49.460 --> 00:49:51.260
yourself, because you're speaking on your own behalf.
1093
00:49:51.260 --> 00:49:56.180
So I usually have somebody else in front of me, like, speaking on my behalf, my life
1094
00:49:56.180 --> 00:49:57.900
or other partners or something.
1095
00:49:57.900 --> 00:50:01.260
But yeah, and they all come with the lowest offer, then it's your job to bring it up
1096
00:50:01.260 --> 00:50:05.700
to where you want it at and go back and forth and either come do a deal or does it work
1097
00:50:05.700 --> 00:50:06.700
out?
1098
00:50:06.700 --> 00:50:11.340
Is that something that you, how did you learn that no, I need to ask for more?
1099
00:50:11.340 --> 00:50:12.340
I don't know.
1100
00:50:12.340 --> 00:50:16.500
I think, I've been on the fight game so long, I know what the offer, like other organizations,
1101
00:50:16.500 --> 00:50:17.940
I know what the going rate is.
1102
00:50:17.940 --> 00:50:21.500
So I don't like, right, if they, if they're offering this as how much this organization
1103
00:50:21.500 --> 00:50:22.660
has or what offer.
1104
00:50:22.660 --> 00:50:26.580
So I feel like that helps me understand like that part of it, but sponsorship, that's
1105
00:50:26.580 --> 00:50:30.340
a totally different thing where she helps out a lot on that, like, how many posts I'm
1106
00:50:30.340 --> 00:50:31.340
going to do?
1107
00:50:31.340 --> 00:50:36.140
Like, I just say, yeah, everything on my, yeah, it's something I use, like, I'll do it.
1108
00:50:36.140 --> 00:50:37.940
And then she's like, you see, let me post that you're going to do.
1109
00:50:37.940 --> 00:50:40.980
How many like, I used to do so much of that back then, like, now I stopped with all
1110
00:50:40.980 --> 00:50:41.980
that.
1111
00:50:41.980 --> 00:50:42.980
Yeah.
1112
00:50:42.980 --> 00:50:46.380
But now it's crazy to how much money is in that online space and we've learned that
1113
00:50:46.380 --> 00:50:51.340
kind of organically, but also seeing how much money they, money, they offer him for
1114
00:50:51.340 --> 00:50:54.860
a post is insane and I'm like, no, let's ask for a double and like, why not?
1115
00:50:54.860 --> 00:50:58.820
And I think he's kind of taught me that, that why not ask for more and why not, like,
1116
00:50:58.820 --> 00:51:00.580
what's the worst that can happen, I guess.
1117
00:51:00.580 --> 00:51:03.500
So in all these business deals, I'm always like trying to figure out how we can get more
1118
00:51:03.500 --> 00:51:07.420
out of it and the worst thing they can say is no, and they go back to the original
1119
00:51:07.420 --> 00:51:13.460
offer usually, but it's a little bit more fearless than I would have been, I think, typically.
1120
00:51:13.460 --> 00:51:18.820
And so now, helping him negotiate brand deals and fur fighters and whether it, even the
1121
00:51:18.820 --> 00:51:21.740
venue contracts, things like that, I'm like, let's ask if they can throw this and let's
1122
00:51:21.740 --> 00:51:27.100
that even negotiating with the UFC now because our show is on the UFC's platform, right?
1123
00:51:27.100 --> 00:51:28.300
So we have to negotiate with them.
1124
00:51:28.300 --> 00:51:31.980
So we're always kind of figuring it out, but we're both learning that, that side of it,
1125
00:51:31.980 --> 00:51:32.980
I think.
1126
00:51:32.980 --> 00:51:33.980
Yeah.
1127
00:51:33.980 --> 00:51:34.980
But I always think that we should ask for more.
1128
00:51:34.980 --> 00:51:35.980
Always.
1129
00:51:35.980 --> 00:51:39.180
In every deal, I'm always whatever they offer and sometimes he'll say, like, we can't
1130
00:51:39.180 --> 00:51:40.180
negotiate with them.
1131
00:51:40.180 --> 00:51:41.180
This is there.
1132
00:51:41.180 --> 00:51:42.180
They just.
1133
00:51:42.180 --> 00:51:43.180
This is what they do.
1134
00:51:43.180 --> 00:51:44.180
Right.
1135
00:51:44.180 --> 00:51:45.180
Let's say, yeah, it's firm and fine on.
1136
00:51:45.180 --> 00:51:46.380
I'm like, no, let's just ask.
1137
00:51:46.380 --> 00:51:47.380
Let's see what happens.
1138
00:51:47.380 --> 00:51:48.380
Let's take them to dinner.
1139
00:51:48.380 --> 00:51:49.380
And then.
1140
00:51:49.380 --> 00:51:52.220
Usually we can make something happen.
1141
00:51:52.220 --> 00:51:53.220
Yeah.
1142
00:51:53.220 --> 00:51:54.220
Yeah.
1143
00:51:54.220 --> 00:51:58.540
Have you ever had issues because, you know, especially, except how you came up very
1144
00:51:58.540 --> 00:52:03.060
young in this process, and I just wonder in your process of teaming up with management
1145
00:52:03.060 --> 00:52:07.180
or lawyers, or because you hear so many horror stories of people teaming up with bad,
1146
00:52:07.180 --> 00:52:15.260
you know, bad, having bad, you know, partner, but it seems, but have you, did you have any
1147
00:52:15.260 --> 00:52:16.260
of that sort of friction?
1148
00:52:16.260 --> 00:52:17.260
Yeah.
1149
00:52:17.260 --> 00:52:18.260
Yeah.
1150
00:52:18.260 --> 00:52:19.260
Yeah.
1151
00:52:19.260 --> 00:52:20.260
For sure.
1152
00:52:20.260 --> 00:52:21.260
And what?
1153
00:52:21.260 --> 00:52:22.260
That countenance management.
1154
00:52:22.260 --> 00:52:23.260
I went through all the managers.
1155
00:52:23.260 --> 00:52:24.260
I've seen how they all do business.
1156
00:52:24.260 --> 00:52:25.260
Right.
1157
00:52:25.260 --> 00:52:26.260
I know they call their games.
1158
00:52:26.260 --> 00:52:27.260
Right.
1159
00:52:27.260 --> 00:52:28.260
How they operate.
1160
00:52:28.260 --> 00:52:29.260
So I wouldn't say they're bad.
1161
00:52:29.260 --> 00:52:30.260
Like, I learned where I need to learn from.
1162
00:52:30.260 --> 00:52:31.260
Right.
1163
00:52:31.260 --> 00:52:35.900
I went to the next guy and saw how they operate their system and then I was with the U.S.
1164
00:52:35.900 --> 00:52:36.900
for ever.
1165
00:52:36.900 --> 00:52:37.900
I think so.
1166
00:52:37.900 --> 00:52:38.900
Like my career with U.S.
1167
00:52:38.900 --> 00:52:39.900
I can't say nothing bad about that.
1168
00:52:39.900 --> 00:52:40.900
Right.
1169
00:52:40.900 --> 00:52:41.900
I got paid while I was supposed to get paid at that time.
1170
00:52:41.900 --> 00:52:42.900
Right.
1171
00:52:42.900 --> 00:52:43.900
But I've been more for sure.
1172
00:52:43.900 --> 00:52:46.580
But like, I appreciate what I've got for you.
1173
00:52:46.580 --> 00:52:47.580
Sure.
1174
00:52:47.580 --> 00:52:51.700
If you haven't already thought about this, you can definitely do like a workshop for up
1175
00:52:51.700 --> 00:52:58.460
and coming athletes to help them with this exact struggle because you guys are obviously
1176
00:52:58.460 --> 00:53:03.580
learning on the fly and have a very good support system and you have a strategy of having
1177
00:53:03.580 --> 00:53:07.300
others be sort of the middleman to help you get more leverage.
1178
00:53:07.300 --> 00:53:14.340
These are all things that you did by experience and so that could be very helpful for training
1179
00:53:14.340 --> 00:53:15.340
others.
1180
00:53:15.340 --> 00:53:16.340
For sure.
1181
00:53:16.340 --> 00:53:17.340
You should think about it that way.
1182
00:53:17.340 --> 00:53:18.340
That's why they should shine with us.
1183
00:53:18.340 --> 00:53:19.340
That's right.
1184
00:53:19.340 --> 00:53:20.340
That's right.
1185
00:53:20.340 --> 00:53:21.340
That's right.
1186
00:53:21.340 --> 00:53:22.340
That's right.
1187
00:53:22.340 --> 00:53:23.340
That's right.
1188
00:53:23.340 --> 00:53:24.340
That's right.
1189
00:53:24.340 --> 00:53:25.340
That's right.
1190
00:53:25.420 --> 00:53:29.180
Guidance and mentorship, like real business guidance and mentorship.
1191
00:53:29.180 --> 00:53:34.060
What would you say are some of like the biggest mistakes that fighters do early on when it
1192
00:53:34.060 --> 00:53:36.420
comes to their business side?
1193
00:53:36.420 --> 00:53:37.420
I think they made it.
1194
00:53:37.420 --> 00:53:38.420
Yeah.
1195
00:53:38.420 --> 00:53:40.020
They think they made it when they signed the UFC contract.
1196
00:53:40.020 --> 00:53:43.420
I'm like, man, like I had so many fighters that like they get to the UFC and they have
1197
00:53:43.420 --> 00:53:48.100
all the potential in the world and they like stop trying to get as much or get focused
1198
00:53:48.100 --> 00:53:52.100
on different things or like trying to start different businesses and like, you got
1199
00:53:52.100 --> 00:53:55.220
to build your name first before you can like go do something else.
1200
00:53:55.220 --> 00:53:56.220
Right.
1201
00:53:56.220 --> 00:53:57.220
Right.
1202
00:53:57.220 --> 00:54:01.940
One thing I think your last question that I wanted to add was that one of the reasons
1203
00:54:01.940 --> 00:54:06.300
I think we didn't make a lot of mistakes on the business side or like they weren't
1204
00:54:06.300 --> 00:54:10.220
expensive mistakes was because we were self-funded when we started the fight show.
1205
00:54:10.220 --> 00:54:15.180
So I think that saved us a little bit because a lot of companies wanted to partner with
1206
00:54:15.180 --> 00:54:19.020
us and do deals with us and we're like, no, let's try to figure this out first.
1207
00:54:19.020 --> 00:54:22.460
And I think that's why we've been way more successful than a lot of the other fight
1208
00:54:22.460 --> 00:54:25.860
shows because they had so much money throw it at them that they just spend it.
1209
00:54:25.860 --> 00:54:29.100
And I think for us, we didn't have money, like we just had our own money.
1210
00:54:29.100 --> 00:54:33.580
So we're like being extremely charged with every single deal we made.
1211
00:54:33.580 --> 00:54:38.780
We didn't get in situations like a lot of bad deals because we were so cautious with
1212
00:54:38.780 --> 00:54:39.780
it.
1213
00:54:39.780 --> 00:54:41.260
It's coming out of our money.
1214
00:54:41.260 --> 00:54:44.580
So all of our venue deals are people are like, how did you get that deal?
1215
00:54:44.580 --> 00:54:46.620
Like we didn't have another option.
1216
00:54:46.620 --> 00:54:51.380
And I think that saved us because we have such a different perspective than maybe other
1217
00:54:51.380 --> 00:54:55.580
up-and-coming fight promotions that had a lot of money throw at them and used that money
1218
00:54:55.580 --> 00:54:58.420
because they're able to make those kind of expensive mistakes.
1219
00:54:58.420 --> 00:54:59.420
Yeah.
1220
00:54:59.420 --> 00:55:01.380
That's really good perspective, actually.
1221
00:55:01.380 --> 00:55:05.060
If it's actually yours and you know, you're going to lose it, it suddenly puts the
1222
00:55:05.060 --> 00:55:06.060
value on your face.
1223
00:55:06.060 --> 00:55:07.060
Sure.
1224
00:55:07.060 --> 00:55:08.060
It's very different.
1225
00:55:08.060 --> 00:55:11.460
When we look at other fight promotions and they have crazy amount of money, like all
1226
00:55:11.460 --> 00:55:15.140
this funding from huge companies and they're not making any money.
1227
00:55:15.140 --> 00:55:22.940
We're like, we were profitable on our second show, third show, and to see these companies
1228
00:55:22.940 --> 00:55:29.740
flop over and over and I think that was a big part of why we had to grind to make sure
1229
00:55:29.740 --> 00:55:32.980
we weren't losing money and looking over those contracts and all of those things.
1230
00:55:32.980 --> 00:55:33.980
It's like the music business.
1231
00:55:33.980 --> 00:55:39.660
It feels like you can get this all this advanced money, but you have to make that money back.
1232
00:55:39.660 --> 00:55:44.100
So it looks great, but then it's like you haven't really done anything unless the back
1233
00:55:44.100 --> 00:55:45.100
and makes it.
1234
00:55:45.100 --> 00:55:48.100
And then if it doesn't, then it'll all, like you said, it just like comes out in the
1235
00:55:48.100 --> 00:55:49.100
wash.
1236
00:55:49.100 --> 00:55:50.100
It looks like that.
1237
00:55:50.100 --> 00:55:52.860
Like you said in the beginning, because you had your own gym and you had your own kind
1238
00:55:52.860 --> 00:55:58.100
of infrastructure at the beginning, you kind of like you recognize the platform, piece
1239
00:55:58.100 --> 00:56:00.980
of it, like you said with ticket sales and things in the beginning.
1240
00:56:00.980 --> 00:56:05.620
So you kind of saw the game early, it sounds like, like you kind of recognize like, oh,
1241
00:56:05.620 --> 00:56:09.980
there's this fight, but then there's also this whole other thing going on.
1242
00:56:09.980 --> 00:56:10.980
And there's this platform.
1243
00:56:10.980 --> 00:56:13.860
If I can know how to get butts and seats and I know how to like market and I know how
1244
00:56:13.860 --> 00:56:14.860
to.
1245
00:56:14.860 --> 00:56:19.100
So you, it seems like you recognize the game early, I think I came in the game as a business
1246
00:56:19.100 --> 00:56:20.100
man.
1247
00:56:20.100 --> 00:56:21.100
Right.
1248
00:56:21.100 --> 00:56:22.100
Like you said, yeah.
1249
00:56:22.100 --> 00:56:23.100
Exactly.
1250
00:56:23.100 --> 00:56:25.900
I was looking at like all the, the, the, how much teachers they resell in and I'm like,
1251
00:56:25.900 --> 00:56:26.900
right.
1252
00:56:26.900 --> 00:56:28.900
You're like, it was making some money.
1253
00:56:28.900 --> 00:56:29.900
Yeah.
1254
00:56:29.900 --> 00:56:30.900
Yeah.
1255
00:56:30.900 --> 00:56:31.900
Yeah.
1256
00:56:31.900 --> 00:56:32.900
Right.
1257
00:56:32.900 --> 00:56:35.940
I was force upon me like, I had to like look at everything differently.
1258
00:56:35.940 --> 00:56:39.700
Like it was like, I had to learn a budget at, you know, six years old.
1259
00:56:39.700 --> 00:56:44.740
And I, when we had a very successful gym, we started at 16 and I get 17, 18 when I
1260
00:56:44.740 --> 00:56:46.140
went to go train in the May.
1261
00:56:46.140 --> 00:56:47.340
We really had like 500 students.
1262
00:56:47.340 --> 00:56:48.340
And so we're doing very well.
1263
00:56:48.340 --> 00:56:49.900
Like I could have just did that.
1264
00:56:49.900 --> 00:56:50.900
It'd been, been fine.
1265
00:56:50.900 --> 00:56:51.900
Yeah.
1266
00:56:51.900 --> 00:56:57.340
But then I think the competition side was what I missed, like because I was, I was,
1267
00:56:57.340 --> 00:57:00.060
I was competed in my whole life, and then I just got to the business side and I saw
1268
00:57:00.060 --> 00:57:03.900
like that life was there, but I wasn't competing anymore. I was just doing like the business
1269
00:57:03.900 --> 00:57:08.460
out of it. And the Maybach, the competition. And I was like, that fire lit again. And yeah,
1270
00:57:08.460 --> 00:57:14.460
I think that's all happened. Yeah. So speaking of, you know, sort of your dad passing, you obviously
1271
00:57:14.460 --> 00:57:22.460
understood mortality at a very young age. Being a UFC fighter is very dangerous. And there could be
1272
00:57:22.460 --> 00:57:27.660
a lot of damage done. You can become disabled, the concussion, spring damage, different types of
1273
00:57:27.660 --> 00:57:34.940
things. You could lose your life permanently, injury yourself, those types of, of situations.
1274
00:57:34.940 --> 00:57:39.740
So was it ever, you know, a shack interviewed Mike Tyson and said, like, do you ever get scared
1275
00:57:39.740 --> 00:57:46.300
when you go in the ring? And he said every time. And, and so I'm curious for you as like a fighter,
1276
00:57:46.300 --> 00:57:51.980
did ever cross your mind that, you know, something bad could happen? Or is it you compartmentalize
1277
00:57:51.980 --> 00:57:56.060
it completely? Or what's that weird? It's weird because like for you guys, it looks bad on TV,
1278
00:57:56.060 --> 00:57:59.820
but like we're literally doing that every day. So it's like the spawn is like normal to us. Like
1279
00:57:59.820 --> 00:58:04.540
punch me and kicking is like, it's something we do every day. So it's like, once we get in there,
1280
00:58:05.100 --> 00:58:08.940
with no shin guards on it, like gloves on, it looks a lot worse, but like, it doesn't feel that
1281
00:58:08.940 --> 00:58:13.260
bad when you're in the cage. Like, you're adrenaline's going so hard. And then the day after, it's like,
1282
00:58:13.260 --> 00:58:18.220
oh my god, I hit by a truck, like, everything wears off. And like, it hurts more if you lose, too. Like,
1283
00:58:18.220 --> 00:58:23.180
if you wait inside, yeah, of course, you lose, you're like, oh my, everything hurts. But yeah,
1284
00:58:23.180 --> 00:58:27.500
I think, I think it looks worse on TV. Just, well, I mean, if you're doing it every day,
1285
00:58:27.500 --> 00:58:31.500
it's like, it de-sensitize it. Like a mile daughter. She sees so many fights. Like, she's like,
1286
00:58:31.500 --> 00:58:35.340
oh, yeah, she's like, he came, like, came side and she's really on her iPad. Like,
1287
00:58:36.780 --> 00:58:42.460
wow. Yeah. But I feel like, like, if you do it so much, it's like, it's, it's not the same, like,
1288
00:58:42.460 --> 00:58:46.700
impact. Like, thinking more about the movements. Like, man, I sit in the like, just
1289
00:58:46.700 --> 00:58:51.100
slipped his crosses where I said, it's kicked when I sit in the, I said, I did this move and like,
1290
00:58:51.180 --> 00:58:55.980
more than the damage that happened. Focus on the craft, yeah. I think so. I was, remember,
1291
00:58:55.980 --> 00:59:00.540
the, I forgot who you fought, but it was after a fight in his covered in blood. And he went
1292
00:59:00.540 --> 00:59:04.460
viral because he was, your hand was covered in blood. And he looked his hand. He looked like a
1293
00:59:04.460 --> 00:59:10.860
crazy person. And after the fight, he's bloody. Like, he looked like someone threw paint on him.
1294
00:59:10.860 --> 00:59:14.860
That's how much blood was covering his body. And he looks at me. He's like, that was so fun.
1295
00:59:14.860 --> 00:59:21.180
I was like, oh. And I'm like, ready for him. Like, okay, crazy. I thought, what is it like
1296
00:59:21.180 --> 00:59:25.740
for you? I thought he was going to be upset. Like, I just was waiting for this, like, big reaction
1297
00:59:25.740 --> 00:59:29.020
after. And he was like, that was so fun. And I was just like, oh, you're okay. Okay.
1298
00:59:31.420 --> 00:59:36.540
But I think there's been some early fights where he got pretty injured. And I think, in my mind,
1299
00:59:36.540 --> 00:59:40.700
I was like, okay, that's the worst that can happen. So I'm like, okay, broken bones, like, that's fine.
1300
00:59:40.700 --> 00:59:45.260
Like, they heal. And I think I saw that process of him getting hurt and healing. And I think for
1301
00:59:45.260 --> 00:59:50.380
me, it was more the emotional side. Like, just had the defeat that he felt when he didn't perform
1302
00:59:50.380 --> 00:59:55.580
how he wanted sure. So for me, that was like, I don't want to say I didn't care if he won or lost.
1303
00:59:55.580 --> 00:59:59.420
It was just more that I didn't want him to feel defeated at the end of the fight. So when he was
1304
00:59:59.420 --> 01:00:05.020
happy with his performance, we're good for the next three, four months until next. But if he wasn't
1305
01:00:05.020 --> 01:00:10.220
happy, I felt terrible for him. I know how much he poured into it. And I think that side of it is,
1306
01:00:10.780 --> 01:00:15.660
is the hardest part of it. All of the shit talking in the beginning and the showdowns in the
1307
01:00:15.660 --> 01:00:22.860
beginning. And then there's the actual fight. So how much of that actual fight is mental versus
1308
01:00:22.860 --> 01:00:27.900
the final physical? I think the, the mental is more like inside the actual cage. Like when you're
1309
01:00:27.900 --> 01:00:31.580
actually in the actual cage, like, you got to be more locked in mentally than ever. Because if
1310
01:00:31.580 --> 01:00:35.340
you're thinking about anything else, like one little mistake, you know, cost you the whole fight.
1311
01:00:35.340 --> 01:00:40.140
So I feel like that's the mental side. I don't like the shit talk doesn't bother me. Like,
1312
01:00:40.140 --> 01:00:43.660
you know, people talk shit. It's like, it's part of it. I feel like back then the shit talking
1313
01:00:43.660 --> 01:00:47.820
was real. And now it's like, these guys are doing it because kind of my career made it popular.
1314
01:00:47.820 --> 01:00:51.900
And like, it's trying to like copy side of you doing it, like making, making stuff like more
1315
01:00:51.900 --> 01:00:55.660
than it actually is back then it was like real shit talk. Like guys were like really didn't like
1316
01:00:55.660 --> 01:00:59.820
each other. Yeah. So I feel like that was like, it amp you up. But like, I think as a martial
1317
01:00:59.820 --> 01:01:04.220
artist, you know, like, I got to not fight with emotion. And you practice it every day. Like,
1318
01:01:04.700 --> 01:01:09.340
all your thoughts on your head hit the passenger coach, go through the steps of the fight. Like,
1319
01:01:09.340 --> 01:01:14.220
you visualize it so many times in your head that like, it just plays out in real life. Yeah.
1320
01:01:15.020 --> 01:01:19.420
I think you being able to become is the craziest thing that like people that know him
1321
01:01:20.220 --> 01:01:25.420
think he's a comment. Like, when you see him on TV, you're like, oh, he's just crazy. Like,
1322
01:01:25.420 --> 01:01:32.220
he just does all these crazy things. And he's, you know, so I don't even know what the word is. But
1323
01:01:32.300 --> 01:01:36.860
like to know him and know how calm he is and to be able to carry that into fighting and keep his
1324
01:01:36.860 --> 01:01:40.860
mind calm. Well, he thinks about what movie I said, like, staying calm when someone's punching
1325
01:01:40.860 --> 01:01:45.420
you in the face and like, figure out what he has to do next is really crazy to see that part of him.
1326
01:01:45.420 --> 01:01:51.100
Right. Yeah. Your fighting seems to have a very like innate intuition to it. Because even,
1327
01:01:51.820 --> 01:01:57.740
you know, your famous kicks, those seemed that it was just like an instinct for you to be able to
1328
01:01:57.740 --> 01:02:02.460
do. Would you agree? No, I think it's a taekwondo. It's like most MMA guys are kickboxers and they
1329
01:02:02.460 --> 01:02:06.780
kick way different than taekwondo people like taekwondo. Well, like more flexible hips. I think
1330
01:02:06.780 --> 01:02:11.100
I was the probably the most famous taekwondo person to come over in the mixed martial arts. So I
1331
01:02:11.100 --> 01:02:14.300
think like all my fighters that come over have a different style of kicking than everybody else. So I
1332
01:02:14.300 --> 01:02:19.900
think, which is why yourself doesn't look like anybody else. It's like, it's like movie shit.
1333
01:02:19.900 --> 01:02:24.620
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I did as a kid. Like, that's I grew up in taekwondo. So like, I was kicking,
1334
01:02:24.620 --> 01:02:28.700
like, breaking boards and like, right. Yeah. And it just transferred into the fight. My fighting
1335
01:02:28.700 --> 01:02:32.860
stuff. Yeah. So is that what you encourage for your fighters for them to spend time learning taekwondo?
1336
01:02:32.860 --> 01:02:36.780
Well, now it's the game's change. So I feel like back then, like, there was like a taekwondo gym,
1337
01:02:36.780 --> 01:02:40.300
a boxing gym, a wrestling gym now. It's like these gyms have everything in one place.
1338
01:02:40.300 --> 01:02:44.060
Right. It depends on your coaches. So like your coach, the owner of the gym, like, that's usually
1339
01:02:44.060 --> 01:02:48.860
like the influence of the gym. Right. The one way or another gym with kickboxing, you're like,
1340
01:02:48.860 --> 01:02:52.860
yeah. So I think like for fighters, you got to I tell my guys a bunch of different places,
1341
01:02:52.860 --> 01:02:57.580
like find one coach, that's like your head coach, but the stuff you're learning or seeing thrown
1342
01:02:57.580 --> 01:03:01.740
at you, you got to see it like you, you can't get it from one gym. Like, you got to spar with a lot
1343
01:03:01.740 --> 01:03:05.260
of guys. You got to spar with different styles. So it's not new to you when it happens in the
1344
01:03:05.260 --> 01:03:10.380
in the cage. Right. Yeah. What do you feel like? Where do you feel the sport in general headed?
1345
01:03:10.380 --> 01:03:15.740
Like, what do you see? What do you see coming that's you expected or what's what's not expected
1346
01:03:15.740 --> 01:03:20.540
about where the sport is? I think what the paramount deal changes like everything. So a fan back
1347
01:03:20.540 --> 01:03:26.780
then had to pay like $85 for pay reviews of $7, $74. I forget what it is, but like seven times
1348
01:03:26.780 --> 01:03:31.740
eight times a year, if they wanted to be a fan plus the UFC fight pass. Now it's like $10
1349
01:03:31.740 --> 01:03:36.940
a month and you get to watch everything. So now it's going to be like NBA NFL. Right.
1350
01:03:36.940 --> 01:03:40.220
More successful with everybody. Yeah. Now they're going to do way more events. So I think this
1351
01:03:40.220 --> 01:03:45.260
sport's going to just it already was like had, you know, crazy momentum, but that deal is going to
1352
01:03:45.260 --> 01:03:50.220
change everything. Yeah. And what's the future then for you guys fight show and your management
1353
01:03:50.220 --> 01:03:53.260
company and everything? We're just going to keep growing. I think we started like at the
1354
01:03:53.260 --> 01:03:57.740
ground up, even with the management company, like we didn't take no UFC fighters already in the UFC.
1355
01:03:57.740 --> 01:04:01.420
We started our guys from the local scene and now they're getting to the UFC. So I feel like now
1356
01:04:01.420 --> 01:04:05.500
we'll have a bunch of guys graduating and getting the next five years. We'll have a big roster of
1357
01:04:05.500 --> 01:04:11.580
UFC guys that started with us when they first started in MMA. APFC, I think, you know, we're launching
1358
01:04:11.580 --> 01:04:17.100
in India, the fight show. We're doing Puerto Rico. So we have a Puerto Rico launching basically
1359
01:04:17.180 --> 01:04:21.820
giving everybody a chance to perform on a big stage, you know, like the fight fans in the world,
1360
01:04:21.820 --> 01:04:25.580
all around the world, watch that UFC fight pass. So these guys have a fight in front of the,
1361
01:04:25.580 --> 01:04:29.580
you know, millions of fans that they would normally wouldn't have the opportunity.
1362
01:04:29.580 --> 01:04:33.580
Then my gyms, um, can keep building the gym. But I think I opened location number two this year.
1363
01:04:34.460 --> 01:04:38.300
And, you know, have that have these kids starting, you know, three years old and graduating.
1364
01:04:38.300 --> 01:04:41.820
Three years old. It's wild. Yeah. They started three. So Tecwan was a lot easier than like
1365
01:04:41.820 --> 01:04:46.940
your gyms who were wrestling. Like it's, it's controlling their body parts. So we started
1366
01:04:46.940 --> 01:04:51.260
them a lot younger. We started, we started them at three and I think our oldest student right now is
1367
01:04:51.260 --> 01:05:01.820
like 78. Wow. Wow. Wow. Still training. Wow. School. So do you see, do you see your organizations
1368
01:05:01.820 --> 01:05:06.780
as like the primary feeder for UFC? One of them. I feel like each, each like UK is going to have
1369
01:05:06.780 --> 01:05:11.180
its own Mexico's, developing its own. But it's becoming like, you know, each, each place in the
1370
01:05:11.180 --> 01:05:15.580
world is going to have its own feeder place to, for all these guys to get seen by the UFC.
1371
01:05:15.580 --> 01:05:20.300
Because they can only sign so many people until they start doing, you know, two events a week or
1372
01:05:20.300 --> 01:05:24.700
you know, multiple events. So I think that's what we'll see that. You know, we'll see like one event
1373
01:05:24.700 --> 01:05:29.900
every week or two times a week, like where it's a lot more fighters getting through. Yeah.
1374
01:05:29.900 --> 01:05:35.500
You might actually end up being more successful than the NFL of making UFC bigger internationally.
1375
01:05:35.500 --> 01:05:39.180
Faster. Right. Then all the effort that I was going to try to do.
1376
01:05:39.180 --> 01:05:43.660
I mean, it has the best quilt. It didn't wait. It always says like no matter what language you speak,
1377
01:05:43.660 --> 01:05:49.260
like you know what fighting is. Like, right. NFL, there's like a certain soccer or a certain
1378
01:05:49.260 --> 01:05:53.660
sport NBA, but like fighting is worldwide. That's true. It just goes to each place really quick.
1379
01:05:53.660 --> 01:06:00.220
Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of Dana, are there other, are there other people who have
1380
01:06:00.780 --> 01:06:06.940
positively influenced you in not just as a fighter, but as a businessman in the space?
1381
01:06:06.940 --> 01:06:11.980
Man, so many people. I think, you know, seeing, because we were in with Zufu, with the original
1382
01:06:11.980 --> 01:06:16.140
people, like when Zufu at first started and then we seen the new, we seen the wave of new people
1383
01:06:16.140 --> 01:06:20.220
coming through. Right. The Frititas, Lorenzo. Lorenzo Frititas was like one of those guys that taught
1384
01:06:20.220 --> 01:06:24.940
me so much. Like, I mean, I remember when I got surgery him and Dana were outside of the hospital
1385
01:06:24.940 --> 01:06:28.380
after I got surgery. Like they cared about their fighters and their athletes. So I'm like,
1386
01:06:28.380 --> 01:06:32.860
man, if I ever, when I do my shows, I make sure my fighters feel like that same care and that same
1387
01:06:32.860 --> 01:06:37.100
love that they showed me. Yeah. It's like really community building. Yeah.
1388
01:06:37.100 --> 01:06:39.900
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're obsessed.
1389
01:06:39.900 --> 01:06:43.340
Yeah. This was their baby and they treated it like that. And like you mentioned, they
1390
01:06:43.340 --> 01:06:46.940
were sitting in the waiting room with me waiting for him in a lot of surgery and you just don't see
1391
01:06:46.940 --> 01:06:52.300
that, you know, the owner of the company and the CEOs, like, yeah, it's crazy. Like they actually
1392
01:06:52.300 --> 01:06:55.180
cared. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that makes a big difference. Like is that you were
1393
01:06:55.180 --> 01:07:01.340
advocating for, like, security and for better, like, care early on. So they were just learning.
1394
01:07:01.340 --> 01:07:05.340
I feel like they just. Yeah. I can't. Yeah. I can't be too, like, you know, fault them too much
1395
01:07:05.340 --> 01:07:08.620
because there was a baby company in a baby store. Right. They're trying to figure it out.
1396
01:07:08.620 --> 01:07:12.700
When social media happened, everybody became a superstar quick. Yeah. Right. They didn't even
1397
01:07:12.700 --> 01:07:16.060
understand, like, oh man, we have all these fighters that are superstars now. Right.
1398
01:07:16.060 --> 01:07:19.660
organization. Like we got to, like, set certain things. Right. Right. That was all like, like,
1399
01:07:20.140 --> 01:07:25.820
you guys came up, like, everyone was like, baby, like, you all, like, came of age.
1400
01:07:25.820 --> 01:07:32.380
It's like an neighborhood. Everybody, like, grew up together, you know, because, yeah,
1401
01:07:32.380 --> 01:07:37.980
that's so that makes sense. Yeah. But it just, I just say from a standpoint of, like, it feels like
1402
01:07:37.980 --> 01:07:44.540
the, the ethos of what you were trying to do feels like it's, it's part of now what you're building.
1403
01:07:45.020 --> 01:07:49.900
Together. And like, and as you recognize, like, the care that, you know, that you had,
1404
01:07:49.900 --> 01:07:54.620
when you were coming up from the organization, is the care that you want to show and build
1405
01:07:54.620 --> 01:08:00.060
within the organization that you're, you're now crafting. That's something you want people to feel,
1406
01:08:00.060 --> 01:08:03.900
that you want people to feel taken care of and that you don't, you know, you don't just feel
1407
01:08:03.900 --> 01:08:07.740
like left out there to the wolves. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, yeah, you're with us,
1408
01:08:07.740 --> 01:08:11.900
but like, we don't give a damn about you. And like, when something happens, you're on your own.
1409
01:08:12.140 --> 01:08:16.700
That they feel like they're, they're with a company that cares about their health and their
1410
01:08:16.700 --> 01:08:21.340
well-being to an extent. That, that, that's an important part. And I think you also being an
1411
01:08:21.340 --> 01:08:26.300
athlete and knowing what it's like is a, is a, is a part of that. Yeah. Yeah. I feel for me.
1412
01:08:26.300 --> 01:08:31.100
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely has like a unique perspective as an owner of a company
1413
01:08:31.100 --> 01:08:35.420
because of that. And I think that a lot of the athletes see that when they come in with
1414
01:08:35.420 --> 01:08:40.620
on the management side, or even just to fight on our show, because nobody else thinks about
1415
01:08:40.620 --> 01:08:44.620
the details that he thinks about. Yeah. That's the same. I think that comes from your, your,
1416
01:08:44.620 --> 01:08:49.020
your, like, your point of view, yeah, and your experience that you can create that, because
1417
01:08:49.020 --> 01:08:53.260
everyone would know how to kind of build that. And I think that's really important. Yeah. And
1418
01:08:53.260 --> 01:08:58.060
it's interesting when we do the, like, work on things because our partner Damian and I will talk
1419
01:08:58.060 --> 01:09:02.060
on the business side or like the marketing side. And then he's like, well, you guys didn't have,
1420
01:09:02.700 --> 01:09:06.300
like, ice for that, like, like, things that were like, oh, they need, like, you know,
1421
01:09:06.300 --> 01:09:11.500
we do, we're never enough. Right. So he has a totally different perspective than we do,
1422
01:09:11.500 --> 01:09:16.300
but yeah, I think it really makes rounded. Yeah. It really makes our show and that is what you need.
1423
01:09:16.300 --> 01:09:21.100
This is got behind it. Yeah. Yeah. It's good. You guys are covering each other's blind spots.
1424
01:09:22.460 --> 01:09:26.380
That makes it. It's, it's very on brand also for you being a mixed martial artist.
1425
01:09:28.060 --> 01:09:32.780
So we obviously know that, you know, we're turning into an AI world that we live in.
1426
01:09:33.740 --> 01:09:39.980
I'll say that one. And so do you think, and Dana's very innovative with everything that he does?
1427
01:09:40.860 --> 01:09:45.900
And he's also on the, I believe he's a board member for meta. So they just made the PI where
1428
01:09:46.540 --> 01:09:51.580
it's the meta something now. The meta apex meta apex. I'm sorry, where we watch how the local
1429
01:09:51.580 --> 01:09:56.300
fight, the local UFC shows here. It's now the meta apex. Oh, there you have. Yeah. Yeah.
1430
01:09:56.300 --> 01:10:04.380
And so, and also Zuckerberg is like a big UFC fan. So do you think we see a world where fighters
1431
01:10:04.380 --> 01:10:10.620
are fighting AI robots? I saw those robots. I don't know. I mean, that's why I'm asking. You saw
1432
01:10:10.620 --> 01:10:15.260
those robots, right? You know, I mean, a human want to win though. I mean, I can just keep these
1433
01:10:15.260 --> 01:10:18.620
robots. I just keep getting up. Like, how would you beat it? This is why I've thought of this idea
1434
01:10:18.620 --> 01:10:23.340
because I've heard you talk about how, you know, with each kick, you're sort of like bringing the
1435
01:10:23.340 --> 01:10:28.460
person's level down. So you're hitting their belts down as you hit them each time, which makes
1436
01:10:28.460 --> 01:10:32.140
them a little bit weaker over time. So here's the idea that you take to Dana now.
1437
01:10:35.260 --> 01:10:39.820
We were talking about her, but basically effectively, you hit a robot in a certain spot and then
1438
01:10:39.820 --> 01:10:45.260
you model it off of your kicking ability, like a video game. Yeah. That might be the video,
1439
01:10:45.260 --> 01:10:49.420
like a training partner in your house. That might be a way to go with it. Yeah. One thing is when
1440
01:10:49.420 --> 01:10:54.780
that they did the apex meta, I was thinking that it'd be cool to have the fighters like point of
1441
01:10:54.780 --> 01:10:59.820
you. So I don't know. I know it would be hard. That would be really cool. But like, if there was
1442
01:10:59.820 --> 01:11:05.660
some wearable thing, maybe, oh yeah, context, um, during the fight, that would be like such a crazy
1443
01:11:05.660 --> 01:11:11.420
perspective. Oh, I know somebody who works at meta who does VR, pop to connect. Yeah.
1444
01:11:12.220 --> 01:11:14.060
Come up with that idea. I'd be like, Hey,
1445
01:11:16.140 --> 01:11:18.940
to the one eye.
1446
01:11:22.620 --> 01:11:28.220
So fighters have contacts, right? No fighters. They can't. No, you can't. I follow contacts before.
1447
01:11:28.220 --> 01:11:32.540
It's the worst one punch and then one eye is good and the other eye is like blurriens.
1448
01:11:33.660 --> 01:11:36.540
Because that's what I'm saying. Right. Because once your eye swells up, it's the right. If you
1449
01:11:36.540 --> 01:11:41.020
touch the eye at all, the contact falls out. There's so many eye pokes. But I follow contacts before,
1450
01:11:41.020 --> 01:11:45.820
but you're not supposed to. Yeah. So you got to make it like a little laser on your eyebrow then.
1451
01:11:52.620 --> 01:12:02.460
And then I record you see all the blood when it splits. They'll find a way and they will
1452
01:12:02.460 --> 01:12:07.500
find a way eventually. They'll find a way eventually. They don't find a way. What does 2026
1453
01:12:07.500 --> 01:12:13.580
look like for you guys? Yeah, busy year coming up. We have 10 shows. 10 shows in the US and then
1454
01:12:13.580 --> 01:12:19.580
six in India. And then I'm probably gonna fight again this year. Oh, wow. Oh, our fighters have
1455
01:12:19.580 --> 01:12:23.180
fights too. They all fight three times a year. So like we're just getting their schedules put
1456
01:12:23.180 --> 01:12:28.300
up too as well. Nice. Yeah. Very nice. Very nice. Well, looking forward to all of that.
1457
01:12:29.260 --> 01:12:33.980
So what we like to do is wrap up at the end by asking all of our guests this universal question,
1458
01:12:33.980 --> 01:12:40.780
which is what is your definition of success and has it changed over time from when you first
1459
01:12:41.420 --> 01:12:48.140
became the champ to now? And then you also will ask you your answers. Well, I think mine is
1460
01:12:49.100 --> 01:12:54.460
being able to do whatever you want, whatever you want. And I think it definitely changed like
1461
01:12:54.540 --> 01:12:59.980
when I was first up and coming, I just wanted to be the UFC champ. If I was like, that success
1462
01:12:59.980 --> 01:13:03.740
was becoming the champ. And then once I got to the belt, I'm like, okay, now I just want the freedom
1463
01:13:03.740 --> 01:13:11.260
of being able to do whatever I want. That's a hard question. I definitely like that
1464
01:13:11.260 --> 01:13:16.700
user freedom. I feel like that's definitely a big part of it. The freedom to give back in the
1465
01:13:16.700 --> 01:13:23.420
way that you want, I think, is a big thing for me. And also keeping the promises that you make
1466
01:13:23.420 --> 01:13:29.020
to yourself, I think that makes you successful because whatever, whether I want to run a marathon
1467
01:13:29.020 --> 01:13:35.420
tomorrow or start another business or another one girl, whatever it is, I just want to see those
1468
01:13:35.420 --> 01:13:39.820
things through. And I feel like every time I do that, I feel like I guess another level of success
1469
01:13:39.820 --> 01:13:46.620
has been reached. But it's evolving always. What would you say were the top three highlights of
1470
01:13:46.700 --> 01:13:55.980
your career? For sure, the Weedies box, like that was that, I mean, the Showtime Kick,
1471
01:13:55.980 --> 01:14:00.220
that was one of the, and then that World of Janks, those three probably, the MTV show, the Showtime
1472
01:14:00.220 --> 01:14:02.940
Kick and the Weedies box. Those were all like two, there's a part. So it was like,
1473
01:14:04.380 --> 01:14:10.220
who is the first person you called when you got the Weedies steel? Man, I remember. It was a
1474
01:14:10.220 --> 01:14:14.220
crazy way I got the Weedies deal too. Like I was just in Dana White's office. And it was supposed
1475
01:14:14.220 --> 01:14:19.020
to be John Jones, actually, the Weedies box. And then I was, I just won the belt. And he's like,
1476
01:14:19.020 --> 01:14:23.260
something happened with John Jones. And he's like, he's like, he's like, Dan was like, I'm tired of
1477
01:14:23.260 --> 01:14:28.860
this shit. I'm like, the Weedies box. I'm like, hey, I got the Weedies box.
1478
01:14:28.860 --> 01:14:32.540
It's the first person he told me. Oh, it was the first person I told. All right, my little brother,
1479
01:14:32.540 --> 01:14:37.100
I think, you know, I share a lot with him. Like we both, like, grew up doing this and like,
1480
01:14:37.100 --> 01:14:40.940
he was an instructor at my gyms and like a teacher there. And he was the first world champion
1481
01:14:40.940 --> 01:14:45.420
of our family. And then he's a, he's a world champion in May too. So like, we shared a lot
1482
01:14:45.420 --> 01:14:49.020
together. Yeah. Yeah. Cause that's one of those things you can't even like, it's like one of those
1483
01:14:49.020 --> 01:14:53.980
goals. I can't even like, right? Yeah, you can't even be like, I'm going to be a Weedies,
1484
01:14:53.980 --> 01:14:58.940
but it's just like, yeah, let's say it's not even on the list. It's so, yeah, it's so iconic.
1485
01:14:58.940 --> 01:15:03.500
You can't even dream. A lot of a couple years. Yeah. I was like, crazy couple years.
1486
01:15:03.500 --> 01:15:07.500
Well, thank you both so much for coming on to the podcast. We appreciate you sharing
1487
01:15:07.500 --> 01:15:12.300
my business insights and your life with us. Thank you. This is a perspective. I think that we
1488
01:15:12.300 --> 01:15:17.420
don't have to hear a lot from professional athletes. So thank you very much for being part of it
1489
01:15:17.420 --> 01:15:22.060
and helping the next generation up and come. Thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah.
1490
01:15:24.220 --> 01:15:28.300
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the exit interview. If you like this episode, please like,
1491
01:15:28.300 --> 01:15:34.060
subscribe and comment below. And we'll continue to curate guests like this for you to enjoy. Thank you.