Key to having an Unstoppable Drive *INSPIRATIONAL MOTIVATION *(Ft. Zion Clark) || Monk Mode Ep.3

Join George Foreman III on this inspiring episode of the Monk Mode Podcast as we welcome Zion Clark, an incredible athlete and motivational speaker. In this conversation, Zion shares his journey of overcoming extraordinary challenges and how he channels his unstoppable determination into his training and life. Learn about the mindset and strategies that help him push past barriers and how his story can inspire us all to conquer our own obstacles. Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or anyone facing your own hurdles, Zion's insights and George's reflections on discipline and resilience will motivate you to reach new heights. Don't miss this powerful discussion on what it means to live life in Monk Mode. Join George Foreman III on this inspiring episode of the Monk Mode Podcast as we welcome Zion Clark, an incredible athlete and motivational speaker. In this conversation, Zion shares his journey of overcoming extraordinary challenges and how he channels his unstoppable determination into his training and life. Learn about the mindset and strategies that help him push past barriers and how his story can inspire us all to conquer our own obstacles. Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or anyone facing your own hurdles, Zion's insights and George's reflections on discipline and resilience will motivate you to reach new heights. Don't miss this powerful discussion on what it means to live life in Monk Mode.

👉 Subscribe to the channel for more thought-provoking episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeForemanThird

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dania. Yes, sir.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Thank you

Speaker 3 (00:01):
for joining me, man.

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Absolutely. Big gosh.

Speaker 3 (00:03):
Appreciate you, man. Yes, sir. It's been a a pleasure
over time, you know, here andthere getting to know you. And,
obviously, you know, you likeyou are for millions of people
here. Probably the inspirationfor me.
Yeah. I try to think of somebodywho inspires me more than you.
And I'm like, I'm really hardpressed.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
And I'm

Speaker 3 (00:23):
sure you're tired of hearing that, but I'm a say it.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
No, man. It's not.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
So I'm really excited to have you here, man. I, you
know, first, I just wanna gothrough some of the some of the
the basics that, you know, everso often there's still some
people who may not know who youare. Yeah. And if they happen to
be listening, I would love forthem to hear about kinda where
you're from and so on and soforth. So if you don't mind just
starting kinda back at thebeginning, like, where are you
from and and, and, you know,where are you from and,

(00:49):
honestly, your your path fromwhere you started to, to
college.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely, man. Man. So, I'm
from Canton, Ohio.
You know what I mean? We're ahome of the NFL Hall of Fame and
all this cool stuff, but, I grewup I grew up in a foster care
system, so I didn't have familygrowing up for 17 years. And the
thing about that is, you know,you see a lot of different
faces. You jump around a lot ofdifferent things, and not
everybody's the best. So mysituation growing up was I was

(01:16):
want sometimes I wonder where ifI had food or if I was gonna
have a roof over my head, if Iwas gonna have clean clothes,
clean water.
And, you know, it's somethingthat you had to just kinda deal
with, you know, as a kid. Youknow, as a kid, there's a lot of
things out of your control. Sofor me, it was about a factor of
factor of survival. And go just,the grace of it all was I was a

(01:40):
wrestler. You know?
I, got to go to school, and Iwent to school, and I would go
to practice. Try to stay awayfrom home as much as I could.
And so I

Speaker 3 (01:49):
How old were you when you when you first developed the
interest in wrestling?

Speaker 1 (01:51):
I was 5 years old.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Right away?

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah. So, like, I've always been I've always been
just enveloped into it since Iwas legit. And so, you know, I
would just stay stay as far awayfrom home as I possibly could,
and I would go and I'll be at awrestling practice. You know
what I mean?

Speaker 2 (02:06):
So,

Speaker 1 (02:07):
as the years went on, you know, I lost a lot. I lost
almost 200 times before I wonanything. Really? Yeah. And this
started in, like, junior high?
It started in, like, 1st grade.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
Great. They had

Speaker 1 (02:19):
a team? Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
See, I didn't even know wrestling started. So you
started okay. Go on.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
I started. I was, like, literally, like, dude,
wrestling wrestling, you couldstart when you're, like, 3, 4
years old in, like, youthprograms where you got your
little, little kids all it'slike it's like, oh my god. I

(02:49):
could never I could never dealwith it. I'm telling you right
now. Yes.
You could. If you really had to,you could. But, you know, it's
something that, you know, itkinda get like, humbled me
about. Alright. If I get my ifif I get my ass kicked, am I
gonna be a sore loser about it,or am I just gonna keep pushing
forward?

Speaker 3 (03:06):
You know, it's funny. I'm gonna this reminds me of
something not even remotely thesame, but I'm a I'm a get get
get to the point. Yeah. Like,I've one of the one of the, my
mentors, he's a great he's oneof the best salesman, period, in
the in the fitness industry, andI think in general, in in the
world. And, and not like thesnake oil salesman.

(03:29):
Like, you know, sound somethingthat can help people. But long
story short, you know, he wouldtalk about how, like, you wanna
get as many nos as possible. Themore nos you get, the closer you
are to a yes.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah. I you

Speaker 3 (03:39):
know, understanding how to get the yes. But then
also if someone tells you no 10times and they still, But then,
also, if someone tells you no 10times and they still haven't
walked away from you, you youknow? And then you're doing
something. And that was weirdfor me. That changed my you
know?
So, like, when I'm when when I'min the position where I'm trying
to, like, influence somebody, Itake that mindset. Not even
close to being the same thing.Yeah. But my question for you is

(04:00):
when you're, you're going onyour 100 and second loss, 100
and third loss, and I thinkabout so many people who get
frustrated coming off 1 or 2.Right?
Or not even trying. What do youwhat what's the mindset? What's
going through your mind,especially as a young kid?

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Man, actually keep going. As a kid, my coaches
wouldn't let me quit. I justthought, well, when you know
you're a kid, man, let me tellyou right now. You lose once,
it's like the world ends. Youknow what I'm telling you right
now?
Most kids, they lose.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
They're like, you especially a wrestler, I'm I go
to these I go to these hugetournaments every once in a
while. I see how kids are doing.You see a kid when you see a kid
getting whooped. Yeah. And, like

Speaker 2 (04:35):
That's why I'm getting all that. Yeah. You know
what I mean? It's like it's so,like, man, I'm telling you right
now.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
As a kid, it sucks. But as I was getting older and,
you know, my team had a good setof coaches around me, and my
teammates, they were some of thetoughest wrestlers I knew. Like,
when I say just either I knewor, like, that the entire state
knew, like, my my teammates,they were, like, top 5 in the
state consistently. And I was,like, the worst guy that there
ever was, you know, and I hadguys like that to look at. So,

(05:05):
like and on top of that, youknow, you they stay at your
practice with you and they keptworking.
So, like, I was I lose and I'dbe like, I mean, I'm having a
good time. I'm gonna watch myboys win. You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah. It's about the team.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Exactly. Because, you know, wrestling's a single
sport, but it builds comcamaraderie like like none
other. You know? So as I wasgoing up through it and going up
to a 110, a 120 losses, I waslike, and here's the thing. It
wasn't like I'll just get flatout blasted.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
You know

Speaker 1 (05:31):
what I mean? I would be doing good, not lose. You
could be yeah. I I would make adumb mistake every single time.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
You know

Speaker 1 (05:39):
what I mean?

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Like, An error.

Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah. Like, I'd be I remember I'd be up on, like, a
single leg, and I'd double legoff double leg off on somebody.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
And then I get to take down, but next thing I'm on
my back.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (05:52):
Are you at it?

Speaker 1 (05:52):
It's like one little spark and then it's gone. And

Speaker 3 (05:56):
And it's funny you, did it reminds me of something.
A friend of mine says that, hername's Stephanie. She's a boxer.
And, she's lost, I think, herfirst could be, like, 7 amateur
or 5 or

Speaker 1 (06:08):
something, but the most

Speaker 3 (06:09):
of her first her first batch. And I was asking
her about it because she'sstill, like her optimism is
still there, and she was, like,I've become so obsessed with
getting better. So obsessed withgetting better that I'm sorry.
I'm more obsessed with gettingbetter with, like, about I'm I'm
more obsessed with gettingbetter than winning. That's what
she said.
Yeah. You gotta hear the way shesaid it. So I'm I'm assuming,

(06:30):
like, 175. Well, at some point,you start noticing, like, I'm
improving. I'm improving.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Closer, I would assume.

Speaker 1 (06:36):
Bro, I remember my junior year, I I won one my
first win junior year, they putput put me up varsity for 1
first time. And I remember Ithey bumped me up to 113. I was
a £106. I was a little guy.Like, little like, skinny dude.

Speaker 3 (06:53):
And you went up to 113?

Speaker 2 (06:54):
I went

Speaker 1 (06:54):
up to 113, and I'm thinking, like, look at my coach
level. Fuck.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
Here we

Speaker 1 (06:58):
go. That's how you doing. You feel me? And he's
just like, that means, like, yougot this? And I went

Speaker 2 (07:03):
out there, and we're at

Speaker 1 (07:04):
the Wheeling Park Duels wrestling against the
number one team for WestVirginia. And I go out there,
and I just worked my butt off. Iwon 5 to 4. Really? Yeah.
And I finally won. And Iremember I was so happy, but,
like, I just, like, I felt whatit's like to, like, push past
that limit and, like, figureout, okay. This is what it

(07:25):
takes. I remember I went to gostand up on the mat, and I just
fell over.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
Really?

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yeah. There's this there's an old picture of my
teammates, like, picking me upbecause, like, I literally
exhausted every ounce of energyI had to pull it down for the
team. And after that, I waslike, shit, I can do something.
And even after that, I keptlosing until the next year. You
know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (07:47):
If you knew you could do it, then what I what I heard

Speaker 1 (07:49):
you said took one time.

Speaker 3 (07:50):
You say you knew what it took.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah. Once I, like, I finally realized, okay. Now now
that I won, I know what it'slike to lose.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
This is what it's like to, like, put all the work
in. And now, like, use yourskills to your advantage and
win.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
So at that this point, was that that was, high
school? Yeah. And then what atthis point, what is what's
what's life like at home at thatpoint?

Speaker 1 (08:09):
Home home life is still crap. I'm I have Bossier
Brothers. You were getting thefist fights every day. Wow.
Like, beating the hell out ofeach other, man.
It was bad. I couldn't stand theboys I live with. They couldn't
stand me neither.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
And, you know, so

Speaker 3 (08:22):
like They couldn't stand me neither.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
So, like, man, it was it was a war zone where I was
at. Plus, like, we're in a badneighborhood where I'm from, so
it's like you're just kindatrying to survive, and I'm like,
I really mean that.

Speaker 3 (08:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
You

Speaker 1 (08:33):
know, sometimes we I wake up and, like, have to have
to fight fight cats fight catsin the morning. You know what I
mean? Like Waking up to out mysleep to somebody ready to
square or somebody, like, overyou over you like that. You
know? Because, like, we havereal, like, real it was live,
but I won.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
You know, I've, I I've been, you know, thank God.
I've been fortunate enough tohave not been in foster care.
Right? But I've had some friendswho have been. And, and there's
people I'm sure that are gonnabe watching this that maybe in
foster care right now waking upto having a fight.
Right? Then then go to practice.Yeah. What what the last thing
I'll ask you about yourchildhood, what do you what do

(09:10):
you what's going through yourmind in the morning? Is this
just, like, part of life at thispoint, or is there, like,
something you're tellingyourself to get past it?
Like

Speaker 1 (09:16):
So for me, I know I wake up, and I'm I'm not gonna
say that it. But I'll I'll belike, man, I hope no I don't
know what it's like. So so don'tcome up to my face this morning.
I just like, in the back of mymind, I'm like, I hope you do.
You you

Speaker 2 (09:29):
you you gave me, like,

Speaker 1 (09:30):
I was I was that dude.

Speaker 2 (09:31):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (09:32):
So, like, I lost all the time, man. I'm telling you.
I just lost all

Speaker 2 (09:36):
the time.

Speaker 1 (09:37):
The time.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
You do.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
But what it so what's like, going to that like, even
after that, like, during the dayat school, I just I kept to
myself. You know what I mean?Most 90% of the time, I just
kept to myself.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Right.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
And what wrestling did for me, especially once I
really started figuring out whatthe work it took to put in. Man,
my senior year, I won the 1st 12matches of my year, like,
undefeated. Like, I beat I beatout some of the I beat out

Speaker 2 (09:59):
the top

Speaker 1 (10:00):
15 yeah. I beat out the top 15 guys in the state
Wow. And beat the number 1 guyin the country right out right
out the gate senior year. Good.Yeah.
God. So, like, when I was dowhen I was on that, I was, like,
when I was doing that, I waskinda just stop having an
aptitude and wanna, like, get infights with people. You know
what I mean? That that

Speaker 3 (10:17):
that's when it went away?

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah. It went away after that. Like, it really went
away. Because once I started Iwas, like, 1, I was too tired.
You know what I mean?
Because I was, like, I'mthinking, like, man, like, you
talking all you talking allthis? I was, like, you just need
to go sit down because, like, Ididn't help you.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
So, like

Speaker 3 (10:34):
I know what it

Speaker 2 (10:34):
is. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah. So,

Speaker 1 (10:36):
like, it taught me it taught me patience, you know,
and it taught me a lot of thingsthat not not that I just use now
as professional, but as I I usein just life in general.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
So so so tell me about, the transition from, high
school. So you were in, in, Ohioauthorized school? And then, and
then tell me about thattransition right into college.
Getting picking a school,getting in. I'm sure you had to,
just like anywhere, go into anew place, get some respect on
the team and so

Speaker 2 (11:07):
on and

Speaker 3 (11:07):
so forth. Tell me tell me about that. And I know
there's a Netflix documentary,and it talks you get to see a
lot of that. Yeah. But tell me,you know, obviously, this
doesn't tell you everything.
What what was that transitionlike going to college, being
away from home? Was that abetter was that the good thing?

Speaker 1 (11:23):
Man, I'm telling you right now, I was I couldn't wait
to get a good way to go. I waslike they said they said you can
go here. I said, bye. Yeah. Imean, see

Speaker 2 (11:30):
you again. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
I was like, you'll see me when you see me. Yeah.
You got something to do. And Iwas like, I had opportunities,
so I jumped on it. You know?
And I might my very firstcollege match, I made I made the
starting lineup, freshman year.Really? Yeah. And I lost my
first match at home.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
It happens, though.

Speaker 1 (11:49):
You, like, shit up. I was wrestling against, Lake Erie
College.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
I was

Speaker 1 (11:53):
wrestling against the 125 finals. It's, like, in
turning national places.

Speaker 3 (11:56):
How much are you weighing at the time?

Speaker 1 (11:57):
I'm weighing, like, 110.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
And you're 125? Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
So you

Speaker 3 (12:00):
find people bigger than you?

Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah. But I I gained a lot of muscle mass. You know
what I mean? Strength and speed.So, like, I was, like, I might
have been lighter than you, butI I was equal.
I was your equal. You know what

Speaker 3 (12:10):
I mean? Just talk can you talk about that for a
second? Because we were justtalking about and I wanna talk
about your, your box the

Speaker 2 (12:16):
the people

Speaker 3 (12:16):
you like in boxing too. Mhmm. But we were talking
about Canelo and Floyd, andthese are both guys who and,
these are both guys who foughtabove their weight class a lot.
Floyd is going and fight a guythat weighed in at a 154, walked
in the ring at 165. Floyd walkedin the ring at £146 less than
what he weighed in.
Right? Yeah. And and then Canelois fighting giants. Right? Yeah.

(12:39):
And you find that sometime yourspeed is your ally, and
sometimes these guys put onweight to fight bigger guys than
they do worse. So I'm justcurious, why were you fighting
above your weight class? Andthen number 2, what type of,
edge did it give you?

Speaker 1 (12:51):
For me, I What

Speaker 3 (12:52):
did it give you?

Speaker 2 (12:53):
I have

Speaker 1 (12:53):
a I have an edge of speed.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (12:55):
I never used to be fast. But, like, when it comes
down to it, one moment I'm righthere, and next moment I'm under
you. And your feet are off theground. You know what I mean?
Like, I just gotta get to whereI'm going, and I'm extremely
accurate.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
You know? Like, in the heat of it, you could be
throwing a flurry of, punches atme, and I'm just gonna look at
it. I wanna watch it

Speaker 2 (13:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
And wait for you to wait for that opening right here
where I can just grab your leg.And, like, you could be coming
right here, and I could justwait wait wait wait wait crap.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah. You know

Speaker 1 (13:20):
what I mean? Because that's what I know best.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
You know

Speaker 1 (13:23):
what I mean?

Speaker 3 (13:24):
It's interesting because my, my coach, he told me
when it from what the coach I'mworking with now, he told me the
1st day probably not not the 1stday. Probably 1st month we
started working. I was trying tocounter punch somebody, and he
was like, George, he was like,you're never gonna be able to
counter punch this guy. He'sfaster than you. Yeah.
He's like, he's just faster thanyou. And no one had ever talked
to me like that, and I didn'tlike it. Yeah. No. I didn't like

(13:45):
it.
But I was like so it made but itmade me start saying, alright.
But where am I better?

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (13:50):
And focus on that. And I started going from doing 7
or 8 things to, like, I'm justgonna be really good at these 3
things. Yep. And theneventually, I was counter
punching them, by the way. Yeah.
But just curious, did, can youtalk about your development as a
as a wrestler from how how whatwas your journey? Just just talk
about skills and the craft.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
So skill wise skill wise, man, I used to I used to
have a lot of trouble withsomebody getting on top of me.
And, like, say, like, I gottaken down

Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:19):
You could, like, just ride me out Yeah. Like, for the
whole period. And I I just hatedit.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
And you were just fighting the whole the whole
day?

Speaker 2 (14:26):
The whole the

Speaker 1 (14:27):
whole time just fighting. But as I developed,
you know, my coaches, we workeda lot of, like, speed drills and
accuracy. You know, like, onemoment, like, I just had to sit
here and they they callpositions. I'm just saying,
here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here. You know
what I mean?
And I'm sitting there, like,okay. The more I was doing, the

(14:48):
faster I I found myself gettingto the point where, like, you
could, like you would go to,like, snap my head down or
something, or, like, say you getbehind me, you go to, like, put
your arm across my neck, I'mliterally, without looking,
catching it right here. And,like, just pulling it over
because I know it's coming.

Speaker 3 (15:03):
Got it.

Speaker 2 (15:03):
You know

Speaker 1 (15:04):
what I mean? Whether I whether I've competed against
you or not, I just expect it tobe there.

Speaker 3 (15:08):
Now hold on.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
And so with that being said, all my skill just
based off, okay, what can youdo? What can't you do? We
crossed off everything that Ican't do. And everything that I
kinda could do, we modified itto make it work. That's why,
like, when I compete or I trainor I when I'm sparring or I'm
fighting, I move so differentlybecause it's hard to describe my
skill set Yep.
And the fact that I'm sounorthodox.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yep. And that way you're gonna practice. Right?
That's why I was talking about,there's, like, this heavyweight
champion. He's 6 for 9.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yeah. That's crazy. Tyson Fury. Oh, okay.

Speaker 3 (15:41):
And I was telling somebody, they're like, man,
they're I was explaining one ofhis advantages. I was like,
where are you gonna findsomebody 6 foot 9 who can move
like this guy, Floyd Mayweather?

Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah. He can roll the punch and get under. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:53):
You're not gonna find a guy with those type of skills,
6 foot 9. So then when you getin the ring, that's the first
time you've seen it. You knowwhat I mean? Yeah. And people
don't realize how much of anadvantage that is.
I was gonna ask you. So tell me,you said speed and accuracy. And
I think you already answeredthis, but I just wanna double
check. You said those are 2things you're you're great at.
Yeah.

(16:13):
Was that because your coachsaid, hey, you're gonna have to
be fast and accurate? Or it'sbecause he said, I'm looking at
you, and I see that you could bereally fast and accurate.

Speaker 1 (16:21):
He was looking at me because, like, I was, like, a
real, like, I was one of thosekids that, like, couldn't sit
still.

Speaker 2 (16:25):
I was on the back. You know

Speaker 1 (16:26):
what I mean? Like, you see so, you know, a lot a
lot of people, like, they theyjust, like, get they'll snap
your head down. They'll tie upand, like, hang off the head and
move you around. You know, Iwasn't one of that. You know, I
wanted to get in, and I wantedto push you away

Speaker 3 (16:40):
and get

Speaker 1 (16:40):
off the mat. You know what I mean? Like, that's how I
that's how I was alwaysthinking. I was like, I didn't
wanna I didn't wanna be outthere. I don't want especially
in college, I don't wanna be outthere I wanna be out there for 7

Speaker 2 (16:51):
minutes, potentially

Speaker 1 (16:52):
potentially 12 when we go into overtime. You feel
me? Like, that's a long time.

Speaker 3 (16:56):
You don't get paid for overtime.

Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah. So I'm like I'm like, alright. What's the
quickest way that I can get inand, like, either run up the
score so I can relax or, like,put you away and get the pin?

Speaker 3 (17:06):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (17:07):
And so I was always looking for something like that.
And my coaches, they realizedthat, like, they're, like,
you're they used to call mejumpy because, like Did

Speaker 3 (17:14):
you always

Speaker 1 (17:14):
because I was real, like, real jittery. Even now,
like,

Speaker 2 (17:17):
now it's more controlled. I can sit there, and
I can

Speaker 1 (17:17):
wait, and I'm so good at it. I can I can controlled? I
can sit there. I can wait, andI'm so good at it. I can

Speaker 2 (17:22):
I can fake a takedown and come over with the left
hand?

Speaker 1 (17:22):
Got it. You feel me? Real easy. You know? Just
because, like,

Speaker 3 (17:25):
I have the speed

Speaker 1 (17:25):
for it. Yeah. You know? Or just fake the takedown,
and and then you think I'mtaking down, fake fake up top,
and still take you down anyway.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
You keep

Speaker 1 (17:36):
keep going like it's, like, a complete sellout. You
know what I mean? So, like,there's a

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Speaking of Tyson Fury, that's his feints. Have
you have you seen him 5 minutes?Yeah. He's like he's always
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
He's always sitting like, dude. Me, I when I fight,
I'm sitting here just like this.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
Because, like, I wanna I want you to understand
that if I wanna come up top, Iwanna come up top. But if I
wanna grab your leg, it's it'sjust as simple as a
misdirection.

Speaker 3 (17:57):
And you might still come up top. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
And I still might come up top anyway. And so,
like, my coaches all the waythrough college, all the way
through high school, all the waythrough just, when I joined MMA,
they're all like, dude, we needto hone in that accuracy and,
like, try to up your speed. Andon top of that, like, I'm
already a strong dude. That'swhat that's been established a
while back. You know what Imean?
Like, I had the strength, and Ihad the stamina. Now we need and

(18:22):
I have the speed, and I have theaccuracy, and I need the skill.
So then now with all that puttogether, now we start drilling
in drilling in what I need todo. Exactly. Yeah.
Exactly what I need to do. So incollege, I they see I used to be
they used to fear me because I'dmy headlocks are really tight.
You know what I mean? Like, myteammates, bro, like, even my
own teammates, they'd be like,alright. We're doing headlock

(18:44):
drills.
And I'd be like, who's mypartner? And my my my main
partner, he'd be like, nah, bro.

Speaker 3 (18:49):
I'm onside.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah. He said Oh, you can do that.

Speaker 1 (18:52):
Like, nah, bro. I ain't I ain't with that today.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
But, man, that that's a testament. So tell me tell me
a little bit of I wanna ask youabout your strength and then
your, and then the skills realquick and then a couple more
things about college.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (19:04):
But your strength, was that gift? Was it developed?
It

Speaker 1 (19:08):
was developed. You know, I used to be real weak,
and I used to be real small.And, dude, I had this I had the
craziest growth spurt in myentire life when I was 17.

Speaker 3 (19:18):
Can I speak on this real quick? Interlude, like,
just to be clear. The other day,Zion was here, and he was, we he
was like, yo. How can I do youhave something where I can pull
the sled? And the sled, like,every the sled here is
everybody's worst nightmare and,everybody's worst nightmare.
So I went in and found a 20pound weight vest and attached a

(19:40):
strap to it and then put it onthe sled. The sled weighs £80.
He put £90 on it. Long storyshort, it was £200. And I was,
like, looking at him, like, Idon't know if you wanna do this
because we do that in class andwe do not put that much weight
on it.
Yeah. We put, like, a 35 or a 45and people are dying. Right?
Yeah. And so, even me, like, Iput about the same amount of

(20:00):
weight, and I go down and back,and I'm, like, that's that's
what me and him did yesterday.
And so

Speaker 1 (20:05):
You're tired.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
I'm, like, and then you drag the thing down the
fucking turf.

Speaker 1 (20:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (20:10):
And so that changed me as a human being. And so I'm
really fascinated at how to howto fuck excuse me. How did you
develop that type of strength?

Speaker 1 (20:20):
Man. I'm telling you right now. After that little
taste of victory, it's my junioryear of high school.

Speaker 3 (20:26):
That that when you said you completely exhausted.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
Yeah. When I completely exhausted myself,
like, when I pushed, I gave iteverything. You know what I
mean? Like, I I don't think Ihad given it everything up until
that point. You know what Imean?
I have no I can't couldn't tellyou a time where I thought I was
giving it everything, but I Icould've told you times where I
thought I was giving iteverything.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
But it wasn't.

Speaker 1 (20:45):
Oh, really? Oh, reality, it wasn't. But that
time I did, that was everything.Because I'm telling you, bro,
like, my arms felt like pureliquid.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
You you feel me? Like like,

Speaker 1 (20:55):
I could not move. So, like, I'm telling so but, like,
after after that feeling, youknow, going into the summer
between junior and senior year,I trained 7 days a week, 3 times
a day for 3 months straight. YouDid not hang out with none of my
friends all summer. And Igained, like, 15 pounds of
muscle. You feel me?

Speaker 3 (21:14):
Yeah. Because that my moment changed the weight.

Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah. And I was like, if I'm gonna if I'm gonna do
this, I gotta get big. I gottaget bigger.

Speaker 3 (21:20):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (21:20):
Because I do I used to be, like, small fries, small

Speaker 3 (21:22):
fries.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
Yeah. You know

Speaker 1 (21:23):
what I mean? So I after that, dude. And then I had
a growth spurt. My arms gotlonger. You know, I started
getting some hair on my chest.
You remember? It's like, youknow,

Speaker 2 (21:32):
it's like, you know, it's like,

Speaker 1 (21:32):
you know, it's like, you know,

Speaker 2 (21:33):
it's like, start to get big. So, like, man,

Speaker 1 (21:36):
I'm telling you right now, I came in. I look I look
completely different that nextyear. Everybody was like, dude,
I was doing so well that, like,I was getting, the the school
and, like, other, like, otherdivisions for whether I was
doing track and field orwrestling, they were drug
testing me for performanceenhancers. Are you fucking
kidding me? Dude, I went becauseI was a literal nobody.

(21:57):
And in the span of, like, 2weeks into the season, I was
ranked top 10.

Speaker 2 (22:02):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (22:02):
So, like, I'm like they're like they're like, what
the hell is this dude?

Speaker 3 (22:06):
They go to drug test.

Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah. So that was I was pissing in the cup, like,
pretty regularly.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
And you weren't wealthy or anything like that?

Speaker 2 (22:12):
No. I was horrible. I was just I was just my I was
eating mine.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
That's so expensive. That's why. I was eating. Eating
my mom's food. Yep.
And we're going to the gym andbusting my butt. And, like, I
didn't have a car, so I wouldpush my wheelchair across town
to go to another spot. And thenI push my chair to my detailing
job in detail cars for 4 hours,and then I have a night session,

(22:34):
and then do that for another 2,3 hours.

Speaker 3 (22:36):
I've traded.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
And then I come back home at my mom's house and fall
asleep at the bottom of thesteps, like, to just crash out.
Wake up next morning, take ashower, do it again.

Speaker 2 (22:44):
And And,

Speaker 1 (22:45):
like and my mom told me this is after this is after.
So I didn't get adopted till Iwas 18, but I was taken in
before that.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
Got it.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
And so

Speaker 1 (22:51):
I remember when Did

Speaker 3 (22:51):
you say your your mom that's after you adopted?

Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah. So I remember when she told me, she's like,
you ain't she said she said,listen. You ain't gonna be
sitting up in my house allsummer doing absolutely nothing.
I said, you either gotta go workout and get better at wrestling
Yeah. Or you better go get ajob.
I kinda I went and did both. Youknow what I mean? So, like, I
was making some money, and I wastraining everything I possibly

(23:15):
have.

Speaker 3 (23:15):
You said detailing cars?

Speaker 2 (23:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
I didn't know that.

Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah. I was I do I detail all my own cars.

Speaker 3 (23:20):
That was my first job, by the way.

Speaker 1 (23:21):
Oh, shoot. That's what's up. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
Man, all them chemicals, by the way, those
were good for us.

Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah. No. I mean, but you know. I'm I'm just in there,
like

Speaker 3 (23:34):
Looking back, that was bad.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
Oh, yeah. I got good tips, though. So, like

Speaker 3 (23:38):
You got oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:39):
The tips are always good. So, man, I'll I'll I'll
I'll be like, alright, boys.What we doing this week?

Speaker 3 (23:44):
Let's get it. Man, so to to I gotta ask you about this
workout regime, and then, onemore question about college.
Sorry. I because every time youtalk, I think about something
else.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
But Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (23:53):
Tell me 3 you working out 3 times a day, 7 days a
week. What type of what whatwhat are you doing? Is it
calisthenics? Is it weights? Isit, drills, skills drills?
Like, give me kind of a day an amix an idea of the mix.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
So we had these one drills where, like, for
instance, when I when I go towhen I say I catch, like,
whether it's a MMA fight oranything, if you throw if you
throw a punch and I can see it,I'm gonna I'm gonna do I'm gonna
grab your wrist and pull youtowards me. Like, the last thing
you would think somebody wouldwanna do, you think. You know
what I mean? But for me, youpunch at me, and I see a fist
coming. If I get out the way,it's gonna grab it

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Right.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
And pull you down. And you throw an uppercut, or
pull you down, take you down,and throw an elbow or something.
You know what I mean? So, like,for me, it was more, like, we do
all these drills where, like, mycoach would hold on to me, and
then we'd have somebody else andput their feet together. And I
usually do it with ourheavyweight coach.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:46):
And we just sit there tug of war, like, pulling,
seeing who had the who had themore strength. So now when I go
every time I do anything, I snapyour head down, pulling it in. I
I grab your wrist, pulling itin.

Speaker 3 (24:59):
Just straighten it in.

Speaker 1 (25:00):
Your legs, pulling it in. You know what I mean? I it's
just like a collection service.And then on top of that Come
here.

Speaker 3 (25:08):
Get over here.

Speaker 2 (25:09):
That's what I'm saying. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (25:10):
But then

Speaker 3 (25:12):
Get over here.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
On top of that, you know, I was benching. I was
doing pull ups.

Speaker 2 (25:16):
I was

Speaker 1 (25:16):
doing a regular just regular thing, but, like

Speaker 3 (25:19):
Push, pull.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
I would do, like, extra sets. You know? By the
time I turned 18, dude, I wasbenching £230 on a bench.

Speaker 3 (25:26):
And you're doing you're getting 4 sets, 6 sets.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
I'm getting, like, 4, 6, 10. Like Yeah. And, like,
after a while, I just stopped at2:30, and I just tried and I was
like, now now let's see let'ssee how many see how many times
I can push £230 for reps.

Speaker 3 (25:40):
Twice your body weight.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah. So, like, I'm like, alright. Now we're getting
now we're there. Now I got thestrength.

Speaker 3 (25:46):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
Now let's get faster. So then I'm sitting there, and
coach would like we have to,like we've we he would play this
game, where we would, like, haveto throw things at each other
real close up front.

Speaker 3 (25:58):
Yeah. You know

Speaker 1 (25:59):
what I mean? And try to catch it, like, catch it. You
know? Like, we'd have, like, 4or 5 guys, like, take, like, a
little pong ball

Speaker 3 (26:05):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
And rocket it at us. You know what I mean? And try
to, like, either block it orcatch it. You know? Like,
whatever angle it's coming at,don't let it hit you.
You know what I mean? Whoeverlet the whoever let the Leafs
hit them win. 1.

Speaker 3 (26:18):
Hey. I would just do that over and over again.

Speaker 1 (26:20):
I would try to crack my homes. I would just like, be
like, seriously, like, I'm inthe MLB, dude. Shiley Welton.
Are you feeling me? Just fuck.
Hey. But it was like it was agame that, like, either you
gonna move or you're not.

Speaker 3 (26:34):
You gonna get hit or you're gonna catch it or you're

Speaker 2 (26:35):
gonna have to. Gonna get hit or you're

Speaker 1 (26:36):
not gonna get hit. You ever seen the movie
Dodgeball? He said if you candodge the rest, you can dodge
the ball. No, man. Same samelogistics.

Speaker 3 (26:45):
There's a story that, Joe Louis you've heard of Joe
Louis? Yeah. That his, chappy,Jack Blackburn, they said he
was, was getting hit with righthands. And so they had a fight,
and he told him he said, man,I'm a have to teach you how to,
how to, duck a right hand or getout of the way of right hand.
But long story short, he waslike, alright.

(27:05):
And then he was getting ready,and he took a break and threw it
right at his head.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
And got the way there. He

Speaker 2 (27:11):
just And

Speaker 3 (27:11):
he said that's that's how we do it. Yeah. Now that's a
true story. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
Bro, but it's it's crazy. Sometimes it takes it
takes the it takes the knowledgeof imminent danger for somebody
like us to, like, push ourselvesand be like, okay. If we're
gonna be a real savage, man,like

Speaker 2 (27:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:29):
You gotta be able to dodge these punches. You know, I
train with guys like AJ McKeeand, like, Baby Slice and, like,
Antonio McKee. These guys arecertified savages.

Speaker 3 (27:38):
Killers. Dude, you

Speaker 2 (27:39):
know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (27:40):
So, like Gotta

Speaker 3 (27:41):
have a cup.

Speaker 1 (27:41):
You you know, if you think that I'm just sitting in
there letting them piece me upevery day

Speaker 2 (27:45):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:45):
You mistaken. Because, like, I bro, I was
trying to make a day today, andI hit him a little too hard on
1. He said he said, oh, yeah?Yeah. He came back with some
heat, and I had to I had to hehad I had to get serious.
You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (28:00):
That's imminent imminent imminent.

Speaker 1 (28:03):
Yeah. Imminent danger. So, like, he started
throwing him throwing heat. Igot real focused and started
getting out the way. Yeah.
Because if he hits you 1 or 2 1or 2 times with these bombs that
he's throwing at a high speedIt's

Speaker 3 (28:13):
a problem.

Speaker 1 (28:14):
He's gonna push you down. He's gonna sit you down.
And so, like, just the levels oftraining like that where you
have to move and you have toreact real time. Yep. That's
what it is.
I don't like I don't like thedrills where they're like, here
here comes a golf ball at thesame speed. Try to catch it. Try
to catch it because you're onlygonna know that speed then
rather than here's here's 40golf balls all at different

(28:37):
speeds.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
Try to

Speaker 1 (28:38):
get them out of your way.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
No comfort zone.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
Yeah. No comfort zone. You're not gonna know what
you're not gonna know what toexpect.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Catch 1, 2,

Speaker 1 (28:44):
3, 4. Because I might throw a punch that fast, but my
next one might be just to seehow you move. You know what I
mean?

Speaker 3 (28:51):
You might throw fast and then slow.

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah. Just to, like, just to, like, test the waters.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
You know

Speaker 1 (28:56):
what I mean? I like to see, like, what's up.

Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah. Yeah. So so tell me, it's funny because
you're not, so much your well,you I I know, like, MMA, like,
you gotta use your hands like aboxer, but so much in the way
you talk about strategy is howwe talk about it with
traditional boxing. So lastthing, tell me college, highs
and lows. Like, highs and lows.
What what would you say the thelow was? And what would you say,

(29:18):
like, the the high was? Becausethat was to the way I understand
that school, that's one of thebest wrestles.

Speaker 1 (29:24):
Yeah. We are we are definitely a prestigious
wrestling program. I don't knowabout so much anymore.

Speaker 3 (29:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:28):
But at my time and the years before before me,
yeah, they they were they hadsome big hitters. Yeah. So,
like, man, we did it's it was itwas a lot being there. You know
what I mean? I'm just gonna I'mnot gonna speak bad on the
school even though I could saysome things, bro.
So, like

Speaker 3 (29:45):
But it was a lot.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
It was a lot. But, like, here's the thing. When it
came to my team, I would haveasked for a better Band of
Brothers to fucking go to warwith that every single time. You
feel me?

Speaker 2 (29:55):
If I

Speaker 1 (29:55):
could do it all again, I would do it exactly the
same way. But my thing is thethe dynamic in there, it's like
the different like, there's,like, people like, I I love
these, like, state champs. Like,these, like, state champs or,
like, high school nationalchampions that, like, come into
college thinking that they'relike, oh, come on, dude.

Speaker 3 (30:16):
Did a SHOT? Yeah.

Speaker 1 (30:17):
And then you get somebody like me that never went
to state, whooped their ass.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (30:22):
So, like

Speaker 3 (30:22):
Take care of them.

Speaker 1 (30:23):
That's what

Speaker 2 (30:24):
I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
Like, like, here's the thing.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
You see the gyms all the time.

Speaker 1 (30:28):
Yeah. And, like, a lot of people, they don't
understand because the level isso, like let's say high school's
here. College is here. You knowwhat I mean? But at the same
time, you look at the Olympiclevel and college level, they're
too far from each other.
Because if you're gonna be ifyou're gonna be the most elite
college wrestler or you wanna bean Olympian, you gotta work you
gotta

Speaker 3 (30:47):
About the same

Speaker 1 (30:48):
just about the same amount of work you put in.

Speaker 3 (30:50):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
You feel me? Being an Olympian is a little higher. But
high school is, like, the jump,man, it's like you're trying to
jump a 20 foot 20 foot crevice.You know what I mean? Yep.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
Yep. It's

Speaker 1 (31:01):
gonna be hard. And, you know, it was for the level
for the amount of work I put inand amount of times there, the
ups and downs. My my high wasthe fact that, you know, I
figured out how far I couldreally go when I was by I
remember the regionalchampionships.

Speaker 3 (31:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (31:18):
I broke my ribs in the regional semifinals.

Speaker 3 (31:21):
Semifinals.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah. And I ended up ended up winning my semifinal.
And, I remember that first thatfirst place match, I won it by a
hair. You feel me?

Speaker 3 (31:34):
You won it?

Speaker 1 (31:34):
I won it barely. Like, I should I feel like I if
I was healthy, I shouldn't have.Like, it shouldn't have been,
like, close if I'm gonna be realwith you.

Speaker 3 (31:41):
You said if you were healthy.

Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yeah. But I was, like, I was my wrist is broke.
You know what I mean? What youexpected me to do? Like, you
know what I mean?
And my opponent, he knew that.Like, he he wholeheartedly he'd
been studying me the entire timebecause he was the one that was
predicted to go get into thefinals. Yeah. And I was the
number one seed.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (31:59):
You know what I mean? So, like, me being the number
one seed, I have I have a bigold big old target on my back.

Speaker 2 (32:06):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
And so I'm in that 1st place match. And every time
every time that he, like, wouldget a takedown on me, he would
just tight waist me around mywrist and squeeze.

Speaker 3 (32:16):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (32:17):
You feel me? It would just take the life out of me.
And every time I say yousqueeze, I'm telling you
something activated in me. And Iwould turn around as hard as I
could without without exposingmy back, and I under hook him
and sit there, throw it up, andthen, like, push his body away
and get back to neutral. Sitright back here, like, alright.
We ain't having that. Because,like, you know, it it forces you

(32:41):
for me at that time, my highestmoment would become the regional
champion because I figured outhow far I could go. I figured
out that I'm I'm one of thebaddest dudes in the country
now. You feel me?

Speaker 3 (32:52):
Like Literally the baddest dude

Speaker 2 (32:53):
in the country.

Speaker 1 (32:53):
Me, you gotta really whooped my ass. You feel me? And
so at that so for that being ahigh, that's it's it was just
like I've kinda realized I was aman at that moment. And then my
lowest was I just didn't like Ididn't like the dynamic of the
team all the time.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
You know what

Speaker 3 (33:09):
I mean? Denial. Yeah. Yeah. Just the the I

Speaker 1 (33:11):
just I beef with our, like, other guys in my weight
class. Yeah. They hate me. I'm aI'm a tell this one story one
time, but just only once. But Iremember, wrest loss freshman
year, I won.
And then the next day, we'redoing drills, and, like, we're
doing mat return.

Speaker 3 (33:27):
He coming for you?

Speaker 1 (33:28):
Yeah. And, like, we're doing we're drilling.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (33:31):
And this dude picks me up and just drops me, like,
hard. With his way on top? Yeah.Hard. Like Yeah.
Like, doing the mat return.

Speaker 3 (33:40):
In the drill?

Speaker 1 (33:41):
Yeah. And then you guys started talking shit. So I
got to come down. But I'm notI'm not joking with you. I'm a
savage.
I took off his wrestler shoes.

Speaker 2 (33:48):
It won't matter.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
I was just like I was just like, bro, I should throw
it I'll throw you pictures away.So I was always like that was,
like, probably the lowest momentI had there because, like, after
that, I just didn't really likemy teammate some of my teammates
no more.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
Yeah. Because I was like because

Speaker 1 (34:04):
I was I was always the guy, like, sophomore year, I
was cap I was one of thecaptains of the team. You know
what

Speaker 3 (34:08):
I mean? Summer year.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah. Yeah. And so, like, from the get go, I was
always trying to lead the guysto do better. I was always
trying to push out push them tobe better.

Speaker 3 (34:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:16):
Always trying to be that dude that, you know, if
nobody's up at 5 AM, I'm gonnabreak your door down and make
you get up because, like, if Igotta be up and coach is calling
my phone, you gotta get upbecause I'm calling your phone.
You feel me? So, like

Speaker 3 (34:30):
You were that guy.

Speaker 1 (34:31):
I was that guy. And like me or not, we're all gonna
get better together. And I feellike not everybody a lot like,
my my my roommates

Speaker 3 (34:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:39):
Those are some of the guys closest guys to me for the
rest of my life after theexperiences we had, but those
guys, they they were like mewhere, like, I'd be like, bro,
we're getting up, or, like, hey,bro. It's, like, 8 o'clock at
night. Wanna go to the restroomand get a scrappin'? They'd be
like, hell, yeah. Let's go.
And we'd be in the restroom 8o'clock, 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock
just scrapping, trying to helpeach other lose weight.

Speaker 3 (34:59):
And they still get up the next morning. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:01):
We still get up the next morning and keep going, and
that's why we were the guys thatwere placing at nationals.
That's why we were the guysplacing in that region, being
the regional champions. You knowwhat I mean? So k. Highs and
lows at Kent, there are there isand there's not.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
It's it's it's interesting, man. You taught me
you I learned a lot in that. Iwas gonna ask you well well, I
got 3 questions. 1, how did howdid you break the rib?

Speaker 1 (35:25):
So I went so he went for a so this is semifinalist
against the University of LasVegas, I think.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:35):
And, if I can't remember, like, red and black.

Speaker 3 (35:38):
UNLV. He goes to UNLV.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
Oh, okay. Cool. And, this dude, he, like, he, like,
he, like, tried to hit, like, asuper duck on me. In a super
duck, so you have the you havethe, elbow, and you duck it.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:51):
And you come under and then you come around the
leg. You pick it up. You candouble, or you can single it
off. And he tried to hit aversion of that on me, but
instead, him getting it, I justkinda grabbed his neck and his
arm.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
You feel me?

Speaker 1 (36:05):
So, like, because, you know, I'm up in the air like
this.

Speaker 3 (36:08):
Yeah. And he came.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
I'm thinking, like, alright. If I let go, because
the second I take my fingers offthe mat, the ref's gonna call
potentially dangerous.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (36:17):
And we're gonna have to go back to neutral. So I'm
trying to play smart. Incollege, they also give you a
lot lot more leniency.

Speaker 3 (36:22):
Gotcha.

Speaker 1 (36:23):
You know, like, you could have one finger in the
ring, and it's still alive.Okay.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
You know

Speaker 1 (36:27):
what I mean? So I'm upside down, and I'd go to,
like, try to, like, let go andtry to, like, like, double
under, scoop him from behind.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
And it just didn't work out. He saw it coming. And
so, like, he kinda stepped backand kind of all his body weight
went down. I missed it. And Icame down like this and just his
weight, like, just I hit theground and then he came down on
top.
And just at the angle, I threw Ifelt my ribs crack. You know
what I mean? Like, immediately,I felt them crack.

Speaker 3 (37:01):
Hurt when you breathe?

Speaker 1 (37:01):
Oh, yeah. It really hurt. They had to they had to,
like, tape my body around and,like, compress my ribs.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
So and then last thing I wanna get back is I
wanna make sure anyone who'slistening understood this. You
said had you not had the injurybecause of that that reflex you
have when the guy the guy in thefinals was messing with it?
Yeah. Had you not had theinjury, you may not have won.

Speaker 1 (37:22):
Oh, I might've lost. Yeah. I might've I might've
straight have lost, but, like,not that you know you know what
it's like that say, never corneran injured wolf?

Speaker 3 (37:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
Yeah. Because, like, you might get messed up.

Speaker 3 (37:34):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
That's how I felt. Because, like, I didn't wanna go
home. I mean, obviously, I wasgoing up. I didn't wanna get a
lower lower,

Speaker 3 (37:42):
lower seater.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yep. I didn't wanna look bad in my 1st year. My mom
was there. Yeah. So, like,didn't wanna look bad.
You

Speaker 3 (37:48):
feel me? That was that

Speaker 1 (37:50):
was a moment. Yeah. So, like, I just was like, you
know what?

Speaker 2 (37:53):
Fuck it. You feel me?

Speaker 1 (37:55):
Like, if we're gonna run it, like, I don't care what
happens next after this, but I'mabout to be the regional champ.
And I just I just I remember Iblast up with this dude with,
like, a couple seconds left

Speaker 2 (38:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (38:06):
And just rode it out. You feel me?

Speaker 3 (38:09):
Yo. You know, it's funny. I was I was I've been,
like, scratching my head aboutthis one moment and, like, once
again, not even close tocomparing it. Not even close to
like, this is this is literallyI'm not being, modest. This is
child's play compared to whatyou just described.
But I was I've been scratchingmy head about this. I was
sparring recently because inhigh school sports, I was I
suck. I get on varsity and theyfigure out I couldn't run plays.

(38:31):
I couldn't, like, remember aplay.

Speaker 1 (38:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (38:33):
I just I freeze up and, so, like, can't play at the
highest level of basketball.Can't play at the highest level
of football. Like I could readit, but when, you know, I would
not open up the gap. You knowwhat I mean? Yeah.
And so on and so forth. And thenI finally settled in lacrosse
that works for me because Icould just do 1 on 1. But I just
wasn't a good high school highschool athlete. I found boxing
late. So, I haven't had a lot ofthese these experiences.

(38:55):
But recently, I was sparringand, I had a hamstring injury,
like a bad one.

Speaker 1 (39:00):
Oh, shit.

Speaker 3 (39:01):
And so I wanted to get some work in, and we had, 3
guys, I think, that day. Butlong story short, I could not
throw body shots, and I reallycouldn't do, like, a a quick
rotation this way, and Icouldn't rotate that way. So I
couldn't throw a hook. And I ran2 of my sparring partners out of
there. Ran them out.
And one of them I drop almostdropped them, and I didn't even

(39:21):
mean to. But I rememberthinking, like, why does it take
me to have

Speaker 1 (39:24):
Why does it take you

Speaker 3 (39:26):
For me to

Speaker 1 (39:26):
because now you're compensated. And you know that
if they if they reach that areaof they reach that area of
weakness, you might go down.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
Yeah. You you should have Yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:37):
I can't let them find out.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (39:40):
See, most people don't get that. I know. I get
it.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
My ribs, man, like, you like, the fact that you knew
about it put more urgency on me

Speaker 3 (39:47):
I got that. To end

Speaker 1 (39:48):
it earlier against you. Because the longer we sit
out there, especially havingbusted ribs and, like, you know,
you can't at wrestling match,you can't just call a time out.
You know what I mean? Like, itdon't work like

Speaker 2 (40:00):
that. You

Speaker 1 (40:00):
know? So sucks. Yeah. No. And if you're busted up,
you're busted up.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:05):
Only time they'll stop it is that you lose too
much blood. Like, that's it. Youknow? And even at that,
sometimes they don't really carethat much.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
Really?

Speaker 1 (40:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (40:13):
So it's about how much blood you lose. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:15):
It's like, if you're about to pass out, oh, yeah.
It's stopping it. But, like, ifyou're fine and you're just
leaking, have fun. Like, you

Speaker 2 (40:22):
know what I mean? So,

Speaker 1 (40:25):
like, but it's that it's that urgency of that's that
that's that, natural instinctthat we have as mammals, as apex
predators. You know? Like, thehumans, we're all part of the
animal kingdom. But, like, we'rewe're at the we're at the top of
the top of the chain when itcomes to intelligence, when it
comes to savagery. You know whatI mean?

(40:45):
When it comes to everything. Youknow? So with that being said,
you corner a man

Speaker 3 (40:52):
You go.

Speaker 1 (40:53):
And you corner any grown man in, anywhere. Oh, no
matter if you have the up arm ornot, he's gonna go out fighting.

Speaker 3 (41:00):
You got a animal on your head.

Speaker 1 (41:01):
Yeah. Yeah. You're gonna go out fighting. Yeah. And
for me, I was like, if you like,you're gonna have to break my
ribs even more for me to, like,say, like, okay.
You win. You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (41:11):
You better snap. You better break some more.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Yeah. Like, I better not be able to breathe. You know
what I mean? So, like, that'show I felt. And then I went out
there and I pulled out a dub.
Ray got my hand raised and then,like, went to the hospital. So,
like, that's how that went. Ithat's how

Speaker 2 (41:24):
that went. I enjoyed it for a

Speaker 1 (41:25):
second with my team, said hi to my mom, and then,
like, they put me in theambulance. They were, like,
sitting down. So yeah. So thatwas So That those experiences,
that's what

Speaker 3 (41:32):
does it for me. So tell me, so college and how how
old are you?

Speaker 1 (41:41):
I mean, I'm 26. So That wasn't that long ago. I was
around 5, 3 years ago. 1, 3years ago. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:47):
So then college into now. And so since since I've
known you, you transitioned intoprofessional boxing, fighting
Yeah. M, MMA. Yeah. And, talk tome about that transition.
Like, college is up. You'vecompeted at the highest level,
won at the highest level. Whatwhat do you do now?

Speaker 1 (42:07):
I remember I walked into my gym and thought I was
hot shit. My my, my boy JoeyDavis Junior. You ever heard of
him?

Speaker 3 (42:13):
No. No. I don't.

Speaker 1 (42:14):
So he's a he's a 4 time NCAA wrestling champion at
a £170. He had a 133 wins and 0losses. Yeah. I know. Right?
That's what the dude's nuts.

Speaker 3 (42:26):
I know who he is.

Speaker 1 (42:26):
Yeah. That you know what I'm talking about? No.

Speaker 3 (42:28):
But I'm no. I know what I'm saying. I do that.

Speaker 2 (42:30):
Oh, you

Speaker 1 (42:30):
know, you get, like, the type of dude you A

Speaker 3 (42:31):
133 wins?

Speaker 1 (42:32):
Yeah. A 133 wins, 0 losses.

Speaker 3 (42:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
He beat the best guy, but he beat all the Olympians
that stepped in his way. He beatall the national champions that
stepped in his way. He was adifferent breed.

Speaker 3 (42:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:43):
And he's also he's also one of my best friends.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
And this is where? Where are you at?

Speaker 1 (42:47):
I'm in Ohio. USO.

Speaker 3 (42:49):
You were back to Ohio. Got it.

Speaker 1 (42:49):
Yeah. No. This is why. I met him while I was still
in still in college.

Speaker 3 (42:52):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (42:53):
And it was, like, I met him. My my sophomore year
was the final year he defendedhis last title.

Speaker 3 (42:59):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (42:59):
Yeah. Alright. So, like, he, got me to come out to
California because, like, he'sfrom Compton.

Speaker 3 (43:06):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (43:06):
He's the 1st wrestler from Compton to do something
like that.

Speaker 3 (43:09):
Good. You know what

Speaker 1 (43:09):
I mean? So I remember he was, like, yeah, my team were
savages, and I was, like, yeah.Because, like, he was, like, 8
and o in Bellator. Like, AJ atthe time was, was, like, 16 and
0 in Bellator. Like, you knowwhat I mean?
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (43:22):
That's that's big.

Speaker 1 (43:23):
So I it was, like, yeah, you gotta come meet my
coach because, like, coach Tomis his uncle. Mhmm. You feel me?
So we pulled we pulled up, and,I'm gonna coach Tom was so blunt
with me. He said, if you wannabe in my motherfucking gym, you
gotta work your ass off and getthe hell out because I don't
wanna see you slack.
I don't wanna see you compliant.Yeah. So if you wanna be a real

(43:45):
one, we got some we some bigdogs in here, man. So you either
roll with us or you roll. Weroll without you.

Speaker 3 (43:50):
That's that's his open monologue.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
Yeah. Yeah. That's how you started.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
I was

Speaker 1 (43:54):
I'm not gonna lie. I was intimidated Yeah. Just for a
second. And then I was like, Iwent to you know what I mean?
And then first day of practice,I almost got knocked out.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (44:04):
You wasn't playing?

Speaker 1 (44:05):
I was yeah. And I came in there like I was big.

Speaker 2 (44:07):
You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:09):
Yeah. I got one I got one takedown on somebody. Yeah.
And, like, they stood they gotback up and did I sat back. I
was like,

Speaker 3 (44:18):
But this is MMA. Right? Yeah. You can't because
the the wrestling, you can'tpunch. Right?

Speaker 1 (44:22):
No. So I I was just getting accustomed to striking.

Speaker 3 (44:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:24):
So, like, I was just like just kinda just out of
here.

Speaker 3 (44:30):
I remember my first time.

Speaker 1 (44:32):
Yeah, man. So then after that, coach was like, I
remember me talking. He's like,you you still wanna do this?
Because I was feeling down badat the practice that first day.
You know what I mean?
And I really had to think aboutit, but I I sat there for, like,
about 10 minutes.

Speaker 3 (44:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
He He said, let me know before you leave. You gonna
come back or not? And I was like

Speaker 2 (44:49):
He said,

Speaker 3 (44:50):
let me know before you leave.

Speaker 1 (44:51):
Yeah. He's I said, I'll see you tomorrow. You know
what I mean? And, like, I'm notI'm not I remember that at that
moment. I remember I wasthinking, like, why the fuck?
I just say that. You

Speaker 2 (45:00):
you remember that?

Speaker 3 (45:00):
And where do I get myself into?

Speaker 1 (45:02):
Yeah. Like, what did you just do?

Speaker 3 (45:03):
It's a different sport. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (45:04):
It's a different sport. Yeah. But fast forward to
now, those guys have taught meto be, like like, you and you
thought people thought I wassavage back then.

Speaker 3 (45:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (45:13):
Now look at what I can do. I can I'm way I'm a I'm
a 100 times more dangerous thanI was before. Yeah. Because now
I added on a gander of martialarts onto my onto my belt Yep.
That I can access at any time.

Speaker 3 (45:25):
All these different skills now. Yeah. So so so talk
to me a little bit about,coaches for a second if you
don't mind. Because it soundslike to get here and then I have
some questions about yourcareer, and I wanna talk boxing
before we get done. It I I keephearing coach.
Co it sounds like you've hadsome great coaches.

Speaker 2 (45:43):
I don't know

Speaker 3 (45:44):
if they were all great. But can you tell me,
like, was there, like, 1 or 2that stood out, or have you been
coincidentally fortunate enoughto have great coaches at every
level?

Speaker 1 (45:51):
I've I've coincidentally had great coaches
at every level. You know, forinstance so, like, the dude that
taught me everything I knew inhigh school, his his identical
twin brother was my firstwrestling coach. And then I
switched school system, twin.The other twin was my coach. And
then I went to college.

(46:12):
Our coach, he was a 2 time allAmerican for West Virginia State
University. And then going outhere, Antonio McKee, he is one
of the he is one of the, like,the pioneers of fighting for,
like, UFC fighting for Yeah.Like, the open, like, the big
leagues back in the day. He wonit, like, 4 times. Wow.
And he also wrestled for teamUSA, and, like, did all this

(46:33):
shit. And then, you know, NateKarras, you,

Speaker 3 (46:35):
I've heard that name.

Speaker 1 (46:36):
Yeah. He took 30 Olympics back when Dave Schultz
was still around. Mhmm. And, hewas my next door neighbor
growing up. So, like, I'm inhigh school.
You know those days when I toldyou I was, like, I was training
2, 3 times a day? You bet yourbet your butt. I was sitting at
his house Yeah. Listening toeverything he had to tell me.
Yeah.
I would I would help mow hisgrass and, like, cut his bushes

(46:59):
just to get some wrestling workwith him.

Speaker 3 (47:01):
So then tell me and the and the guy that's from
Compton that you that you got toknow while you were in a
sophomore in college, what washis name again?

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Joey Davis.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
And then how how'd you connect with him?

Speaker 1 (47:12):
Our schools wrestled each other.

Speaker 3 (47:13):
Okay. So then that's another connection there.

Speaker 1 (47:15):
Yeah. So, like, turns out, like, we have a lot in
common.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
But did you just live in the wrestling neighborhood,
or is this coincidence?

Speaker 1 (47:21):
It's, like, coincidental, man.

Speaker 3 (47:24):
So the reason I asked you that, man, is I was like,
man, there's gotta be a have youread Malcolm Gladwell's book,
Outliers? Uh-uh. So what he hebelieves, and you should read
the book or read the cliffnotes, but just that stories
such as yours. Right? There's,some coincidental things.
Right? For instance, you know, agreat hockey player, you know,

(47:45):
maybe he was 6 months older. Hewas born 6 months later, so he
got to play above his, his his,what do you call it? You know,
his, skill level. Yeah.
So he was always, like, playingat the highest level even though
he was

Speaker 1 (48:00):
a little bit younger or something

Speaker 3 (48:01):
like that. Little things like that or like Bill
Gates. His I believe his motherwas on the board of the United
Way and knew one of thepresidents, I mean one of the
executives at IBM. And basicallycalled in a favor and said, hey,
will you try my son's operatingsystem? And that Oh,

Speaker 1 (48:17):
it's superb.

Speaker 3 (48:18):
IBM had that not been there, that he wouldn't, you
know, and then she knew somebodywho would get him computer time.
She just happened to knowsomebody who could help him.
There would be no Bill Gateswho's worth 300,000,000,000 or
whatever he's worth. Right? Andso listening to your story, it's
like, obviously, the man youare.
Right? You happen to have acertain type of attitude. You
happen to have great mentors,but like the great wrestler that

(48:40):
lived down the street, the factthat you knew one of the
winningest winningest wrestlersof all times that told you come
to LA so on and so forth. Whenyou read the book, you'll be
like, okay. I see what he'stalking about.
It's a kind of an outliersituation.

Speaker 1 (48:52):
Yeah. No. I kinda like it's it is weird that,
like, it went like that because,like, in the

Speaker 3 (48:56):
beginning, man You didn't do the work too.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
We ain't got shit. You ain't had nothing. You know
what I mean? I say nothing likethe like, we had less than
nothing. You feel me?
And so, like, the fact that itjust kinda happened like that,
kinda like when I think aboutit, it's weird to think about.
But at the same time, like, Idon't like to think about it. I
just like to think that I'mblessed. You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (49:15):
Yeah. You are. Yeah. You are. It's blessings work and
and so on and so forth that andmore you you obviously know more
than me.
I'll give you another examplequick one. My dad, so he won he
had 25 amateur boxing matches,and his 25th was the gold medal
match. Yeah. So he startedboxing in, I believe, February
of 1967, somewhere in there, orit could have been November of

(49:37):
1966, somewhere in that 3 monthperiod. And then it just so
happened that the Olympics werecoming up in 1968 in the summer.
So pretty much all thetournaments were qualifiers.

Speaker 1 (49:46):
Oh, shit.

Speaker 3 (49:47):
So he was just kept closing his eyes and getting
knockouts. And if you win, youadvance. Yeah. But had he
started a year before that, hewould've got so frustrated
because he didn't really like tobox. That he would've just given
up because that would've been 2years later.
There's no way you get into theOlympics. And he may have lost a
couple times. He actually, like,he actually left and went back
home and tried to get out of it,and his coach called him back

(50:09):
and was like, trust me. Comeback. And you Yeah.
But the point is just 6 monthsbefore or whatever, I don't
know. It's just really special.Please read the book.

Speaker 1 (50:16):
Yeah. No. I'm gonna have to.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
So, last couple questions, man. If you don't
mind, were there any outside ofwrestling, any mentors for you?

Speaker 1 (50:26):
Not really, man. Like, I I never really had a
support system.

Speaker 3 (50:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (50:30):
So, like, I made my own support system.

Speaker 3 (50:32):
Gotcha. You

Speaker 1 (50:33):
know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (50:34):
Tell me what was it for me about it. Uh-huh. Yeah.
That you you you did ityourself.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
Yeah. And that's the that those people that taught
me, like, those those coaches,some of those coaches, they
weren't just coaches. Like,those guys, like, would pick me
up and, like, take me totournaments and, like, let me
spend the whole weekend withthem. You know what I mean? Or,
like, they, like, give me foodbecause, like, they worked at
the school, and so, like, theygive me food and, like, make it
so I have something to eat atlunch.
Because, like, 9 times out of10, I would pull up and not be

(51:00):
able to eat lunch. You know whatI mean? Probably didn't get
breakfast neither.

Speaker 3 (51:04):
I gotta ask you this. Those those, those jerk, jerks
on your wrestling team that,that you said you didn't like so
much in college, do, any of themtry to holler at you?

Speaker 2 (51:14):
Nah. They

Speaker 3 (51:15):
don't. I'll imagine. They know where you y'all know
where you stand.

Speaker 2 (51:17):
Yeah. Yeah. We all we all know what we said. Okay.
Have a

Speaker 1 (51:37):
nice night, bro. I hope you do well, bro. You know
what I mean? Like, I hope youhave a fruitful life. But, like,

Speaker 3 (51:43):
it's not We're good.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (51:45):
So tell me about, boxing. I'll ask you about your
MMA for a little bit, and then,I'll let you get out of here,
man. Who your, do you likeboxing? I heard you talk about
Canelo earlier. And if so, whoare some of the people you look
up to in the sport?

Speaker 1 (51:58):
Shit. I'm more of an MMA MMA guy. I'm a be real.
Boxing, you know, I was a kid,like, watching videos of
Mohammed, like, as a kid.

Speaker 3 (52:07):
Wasn't he great, man?

Speaker 1 (52:08):
Yeah. I got to recently meet, his first wife a
few, months ago

Speaker 3 (52:12):
Really?

Speaker 1 (52:12):
In, Miami

Speaker 3 (52:14):
Nice.

Speaker 1 (52:14):
At, Art during Art Basel. Yeah. And I was like,
she, they used to, like so I'vebeen on TV since I was, like,
17, like, with all the stuffI've

Speaker 3 (52:22):
been doing.

Speaker 1 (52:23):
Yeah. Yeah. So she, like, back in the day, like, her
family, they used to, like, theAli's, they would watch me

Speaker 3 (52:27):
on TV. Really? Yeah. I'll let you

Speaker 1 (52:28):
know that. Yeah. It was a cool thing

Speaker 3 (52:30):
she let me in on. Because I think I know maybe
Lonnie and Hannah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
And there's

Speaker 1 (52:33):
a few

Speaker 3 (52:34):
of them I know. I don't know all of them.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
I guess, cool, like, him and you know, I was I saw a
lot of fights with your dad and,like, man, it's real cool, like,
being around, like, being aroundstuff like this because, like,
these guys, like, I was me or,like, their families that I
meet, I was, like just, like, itmakes me wonder, like, what's it
like to be around, like, a manlike that that

Speaker 3 (52:54):
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
Just has the power of a bomb in his hand and a voice
to change the world. You knowwhat I mean?

Speaker 3 (53:00):
Yeah. It's, it's it's definitely an interesting
experience.

Speaker 1 (53:03):
And like and it wasn't just that. But like I was
like watching somebody move likethat. It was like elegant.

Speaker 3 (53:08):
Yeah. You

Speaker 1 (53:09):
know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (53:09):
He showed what it showed us all what it could be.
Yeah. My pops always says thathe wasn't he he's quick. He
would be like, Muhammad Aliwasn't the greatest heavyweight
of all time. That was Joe Louis.
But Joe Louis Joe Louis was thegreatest heavyweight of all
time. Joe Louis would say SugarRay Robinson was the greatest
fighter greatest fighter

Speaker 2 (53:27):
of all time.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
I was really good with Sugar Ray. I know him
pretty personally, though. SugarRay is amazing. He's an amazing
man.

Speaker 3 (53:31):
You're talking about Sugar Ray Leonard?

Speaker 1 (53:32):
Oh, Leonard. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (53:33):
So Sugar Ray Robinson where you got his name from.

Speaker 1 (53:35):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (53:35):
So Joe Louis would say Sugar Ray Robinson is the
greatest fighter of all time,but Robinson would say it about
him. Now, Muhammad Ali would saythe he's the greatest
heavyweight of all time, but buthe would say the greatest boxer
of all time is Sugar RayRobinson. He called him my
master, my idol, my mentor. Andthen lastly, my father said,
Muhammad Ali, although not thegreatest boxer of all time, he

(53:56):
believes he's the greatest manto ever box.

Speaker 2 (53:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (53:59):
And what he did for the sport, no one could ever do
that.

Speaker 1 (54:01):
Oh, I know. No one's ever gonna do that again, man.
That's that's a whole it'sawesome. What

Speaker 3 (54:06):
about Canelo and, Floyd? I gotta ask

Speaker 2 (54:08):
you.

Speaker 1 (54:08):
I've I've watched Floyd for a long Floyd's like my
generation.

Speaker 3 (54:12):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (54:13):
Yeah. He's like he's like he's like our generation's
Ali, our generation's Foreman.You know what I mean? So, like,
Floyd growing up, you know,everybody's like, Floyd winning
again? Yeah.
Alright. He's gonna win nextweek probably. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (54:25):
You know what

Speaker 1 (54:25):
I mean? Growing up as a man.

Speaker 3 (54:26):
Get some.

Speaker 1 (54:27):
Every time I heard Floyd made my way, his name was
like dub dub dub dub dub dub dubfor years.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
Money. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Like, just the epitome of, like, being, like,
he might be the best there is.You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (54:37):
I think so. He

Speaker 1 (54:38):
Like, personally personally speaking.

Speaker 3 (54:41):
Respect to Canelo, but the way he dispatched
Canelo?

Speaker 1 (54:43):
Bro, he dispatched Canelo. Canelo at the time was a
savage. He still is a savage.

Speaker 3 (54:47):
He still is.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
Bro, when them 2 clash heads, nobody knew what's
gonna happen. But Floyd made itvery clear it was gonna happen.

Speaker 3 (54:53):
And Floyd was almost 38 years

Speaker 2 (54:54):
old. Yeah. You said, let me

Speaker 1 (54:58):
take you to school real quick, my boy.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
He made

Speaker 3 (55:00):
it look so easy. I watched that fight more than

Speaker 2 (55:02):
any fight. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (55:03):
But, so now these days, you you, I'll let you tell
me. What what's going on in yourcareer now, being a professional
MMA fighter? And what are youlooking to accomplish, in and
outside the ring, but inside thering first?

Speaker 1 (55:17):
Inside the ring. Octagon. Inside the inside the
octagon, man, I want a belt. Iwant the belt. Give me the belt.
You know what I mean? I reallymean that. I wanted to take it
home, give it to my mama, and,like, my grandpa or something
like that. You feel me? Yep.
And, you know, I like I can'tsay what I don't wanna say it on
film.

Speaker 3 (55:33):
Got it. Exactly. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (55:34):
But I already

Speaker 3 (55:35):
told you. Yeah. Yeah. But yours is yeah.

Speaker 1 (55:37):
Yeah. Something's coming.

Speaker 3 (55:38):
Good.

Speaker 1 (55:38):
So, but aside from that, outside the ring, man, you
know, like, you know, I had MMAin general, like, mixed martial
arts, everything from wrestlingto boxing to karate to all this
shit, it's it's it's helped me,like, develop in who I am and,
like, it's also made it'sdemanded respect for me too,
which I didn't get a lot of as akid Yeah. Or as even a young

(56:01):
man. But now people are like,that's that dude that, like,
like, that's a nice guy, but,like, mess you up. You know what
I mean? And, like, I get that,and I kinda like it, but at the
same time, like, you know, it's,it's almost like a stamp of,
like, alright.
You put the work in. Now this iswho you are, and I'm trying to
use my voice to change a lot ofstuff in foster care, and I'm

(56:23):
trying to change stuff just forjust for my family too and,
like, my people. You know what Imean? I I'm trying to change
shit for things that matter themost.

Speaker 3 (56:34):
Final question for for you know, obviously, anybody
can benefit from hearingeverything you have to say, but
for the young man or young womanwho's in foster care with no
sense of, hope, or belief of anysort, what do you what do you
say? Because you you wouldassume they're gonna need some
sort of hope at some point, somesort of belief. I don't know.

(56:55):
I've never been in foster care.What do you say to that person?

Speaker 1 (56:58):
I tell them, like, look. Like, whatever you wanna
do, keep that keep that rightthere. Because, man, even all
the crap I was saying, I waslike, man, I want somehow, some
way, I managed to find my wayback to a wrestling mat year
after year after year with allthe torn turmoil I was going
through. If you really wanna dosomething, you'll you'll make it

(57:19):
happen. You'll find a way.
You know what I mean? And youjust gotta you just gotta, like
if you would say everything istaken from you, find what makes
you happy. You know what I mean?I used to sit there and wrestle
my pillows. Like, my giantpillow that I'd wrestle.
You feel me? Like Yeah. Yeah.Just, like, as a kid or as a as

(57:39):
a preteen, like, you know what Imean? When I wouldn't be able to
go to practice, you know, and,you know, as a kid for
especially those kids that arein the system that might not
have it as easy, like, listen,and it's not it's not gonna be
like this forever.
Someday you will be an adult.You're gonna have to make some
choices for yourself.

Speaker 3 (57:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:56):
So with that being said, keep true to what your
faith is and what you believein.

Speaker 3 (58:01):
Alright. Alright. What up? Thank you, brother.
Yes, sir.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.Thank you.