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Conceive, believe, achieve. Shut the f up. You're listening to believe you me with Michael the Count Bisbing.

You know my name yet? And Anthony Lionhardt-Smith.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Believe You Me podcast. We have got an epic show for you planned today. We are joined by the one and only Dan, 50K. Save the day, Ege. He's joining us in just a minute. We got the one and only Payton Taubert. Just got to knock out 17 seconds, 19 seconds. Regardless, just a few seconds, regardless. Just a few seconds. He'll be joining us. We've also got Joey Piper that knocked out Marc-André Barriol, and we've also got President Orson, the President of Karate Combatt, who choked out a madman at his own event on Saturday night, Friday night, and he's going to give us the whole story. And on top of that, we got UFC 303. We got lots to discuss, to digest, and we've also got Mike Herringbone. How are you, Mike?

Oh, man. Last and least for sure in the list of things that we have on today's show. I am so excited, man. That was one hell of a card on Saturday night.

It really was. It really was in quite a turn of events. I mean, it was just unbelievable. From where the card first started, of course, Conor McGregor, co-main event was Jamal Hill, Carlos Oldberg. Then the changes kept on coming. Anthony Smith steps in against Oldberg, then Oldberg's out, then Roman DeLindsay steps in. We'll talk about that in a second. Diego Lopez is fighting Ortega at 145, then it becomes 55, then 4 hours before Danny Gates steps in. Just a wild turn of events, but a great event nonetheless. I do want to talk about the main event. Of course, we got a lot to talk about there, but I guess we'll just quickly start on Anthony Smith. I spoke with Anthony. Well, I say spoke, exchanged a few text messages this morning. He's okay. Listen, It was a roll of the dice. It was a roll of the dice stepping up on short notice. I know he said that he didn't feel like short notice, but it was. And there was a change of opponent, Roman DeLizze, who had a very different style from Carlos Ulberg. But he doesn't want me to sit here and make a No excuses for him.

I texted him this morning and I said, Look, listen. I said, How are you? He said, Well, you know how it goes? And by that, I think he meant he's not doing too well and he's pissed off and all the rest of it. And that's how it is. You're licking your wounds, you feel depressed for a short little while. I said, Look, listen, trying to cheer him up. I said, If you look at it through the lens of being a provider, of being a family man, of being a husband and a father, which is ultimately your greatest role in life. That's my first and foremost. That's my most important job. If you look at it from being a provider and taking care of your family, you did an amazing job, right? Look at it from that lens. Now, once you get past that part and you look at it from a fight career, listen, I want to choose the correct words because obviously I want to be very respectful. It wasn't the best performance. We'll just say that. Everybody knows, it got tired very quickly. When you're tired, it's the loneliest place on planet Earth.

You can't fight at a good level when you're tired. And he's got to stop taking these short notice fights. It's as simple as that. He really does because one day, of course, it's great when you roll the dice like that and you pull it off. You're a legend. You got a big check for doing not much work. The public thinks you're a badass and all the rest of it. But when it doesn't go your way, which is more than likely the case unless you're training all the time, really training all the time and really living a disciplined lifestyle, it's going to cause your career to take a hit. So it's a loss. It's a loss to a middleware that took it on short notice. It's It is what it is. It's back to the drawing board. He's still 35 years old. He's just got to get super disciplined. He's got to make sure that he puts his career... He gives the career the respect that it's worth because he's a super talented guy. He's a great guy. We all love him. He's also on the podcast. He knows the sport inside out. He's been around it for bloody years.

He's a 53 professional fight or something. So he's a very, very experienced veteran. And maybe that's even costing him a little bit because he's so comfortable He's like, Yeah, I'll step in. I'll fight. I'll take a short notice upon him. But if he wants to maximize the last few years of his career, he's really, really got to be meticulous in the planning, in the preparation, and he's going to be upset There's a young kid that I'm looking after and paying for his gym fees and stuff like that. He wants to fight. I said, Well, if you want to do this, you've got to be obsessed. You can't half-ass it. You got to be obsessed. Now, of course, as I said, his first job is being a father and a husband. Outside of that, you got to be obsessed. And being obsessive isn't taking short notice fights rolling the dice. Anyway, it's disappointing. We were talking about doing a live stream. I'm glad we didn't because it's like, Jesus Christ. What are your thoughts, Harrington?

I'm glad I wasn't livestreaming. For nothing else then I got to watch the fight with family instead of being a loser who's in the In the study, streaming away there. But yeah, it was obviously tough to watch. Anthony is a friend. It does stink when I'm watching a situation where I, A, don't want to see him get hurt. I'm seeing Roman lance a big bombs on him. But it's more of a thing where it's like, I don't know, can we just get to the end of this fight? Because I don't see the turnaround coming. So yeah, it's tough.

Yeah, no, it wasn't. It comes down to conditioning. It's conditioning, first and foremost. That's It's your first priority in any sport. If you're tired, if you're a boxer, a kid boxer, if you're a footballer, a basketballer, whatever the sport is, if your conditioning isn't there, and it clearly wasn't there, and I'm not being a prick, I'm just being honest, the conditioning isn't there, then unless you're Alex Pereira and you've got insane knockout power, you're not going to win. You're just not. You're just not. And the conditioning has to be there. And to get the conditioning, you've either got to do what Danie Ye did and be training for a fight and be three weeks out, or you've got to live that lifestyle. You've got to be disciplined. You've got to be obsessed. So it's a real shame. It was hard to watch from a personal standpoint, of course. We're all rooting for him. He's a great human being. So I'm disappointed for him. I'm a little frustrated as a friend and as a fan. It's like, fucking hell, because he's got a lot of potential. He's just got to now be very meticulous, as I said earlier, with the next phase of his career.

So that's in real shame. Well done to Roman De Litte. You got to say well done to De Litte. He took it on nine days notice, and he stepped up a weight class. So it was worrying when Because he charged Anthony, and Anthony stumbled and went down, and he landed some big bombs, some big ground and pound and stuff like that. So fortunately, he didn't get the finish, so he was able to see the final bell. It does feel better as a fighter. Trust me, the moral victory of seeing the final bell as opposed to getting finished. Third round, he did. It was a much closer round in the third round. De Lizey took advantage of that scramble where Anthony ended up on the back in the second round. But it all comes down to conditioning. It comes down to conditioning and prep. So there it is. Well done, De Lizey. Commiserations to Anthony. But we do have Dan, 50K, EA, Mister Save the Day. He will be joining us in In just a second, I think. This episode is sponsored by Better Health, which offers convenient therapy done online by licensed professional therapist. So if you're thinking of starting therapy, this is the way to try it.

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Go to betterhelp. Com/beliefs to get 10% off the first month. I say it all the time. If you don't want to do it for you, do it for your loved ones. Be the best version of Be the best husband, be the best father, be the best friend. Okay, go to betterhelp. Com/beliefs to get 10% off your first month and good luck on your journey. Betterhelp. Com/beliefs, 10% off your first month. You sound good and you really are good. Stepping up on 4 hours' notice, ladies and gentlemen, the one and only, Mister Save the Day, Dan E. J. That should be the new nickname. Dan, the floor is yours, buddy. What the hell happened on Saturday?

Man, I blacked out. You tell me what happened. You guys probably heard the storyline, but I got the call and I've been dreaming of an opportunity like this. Not exactly like this. I didn't know how it would come, but some type of form in some way just to become a legend, to do something extraordinary. And we got the I got a call Saturday around 4:00 PM. I trained the day before. I trained that morning. I was recovering, getting ready for Monday, just getting my body. I was getting a deep tissue massage and had 10 missed calls. I was literally 10 missed calls from Hunter Campbell, Ali. He's not even my manager. People are just trying to get a hold of me. My mom, they somehow got a hold of my mom. My wife comes up, they're like, Dude, you're getting SOS alerts. I'm like, What's going on? And finally, Ali calls me right there. I answer the phone. They're like, Brother, brother, Ortega is out. There's an opportunity for you to fight tonight. And I was like, No, it's not even possible. And so I'm like, Yeah, let's do it. I didn't even think it would actually happen.

They're like, Let's do it. So he's like, Okay, hold on. I'll call you back. So I'm just sitting there waiting. I'm like, This is crazy. Can this really happen? I get a call back. They're Start packing your bags. I'm like, What do I... I'm running around the house. I'm like, What do I need? Like a mouthpiece cup. And I was like, Why? I don't have my cup. It's at the gym. So I called Eric. I was like, Bro, are you near the gym? Grab my cup. So he grabbed my cup. We had to size up on the cup. Wow. Yeah, dude. It was a crazy experience.

Well, I'm not surprised we had to size up on the cup because you have got some big balls, my friend. I'm not sure if that was a joke or if that was serious. But man, talk to me about those emotions. So you're getting a massage, right? And you were supposed to fight in a few weeks time, correct?

Correct. Delight. I 20th.

And who was the opponent? Pardon me.

I had multiple opponents. So originally, I was supposed to fight Joe Anderson, Breto, the one that called me a money, for eight times. Remember him? You're like, Dan Egan, what's the problem with Dan Ege? Remember? Yeah. Then they gave me Sean Woodson as a replacement, and then something happened with him. Then they gave me Chepe, Mariscal, another up and comer, pretty good three and a in the UFC. So I said yes to that. And then all this happened. I had no clue I'd be fighting. I was planning to fight on July 20th, and that's how I was approaching my day. I was like, Hey, we're getting end of the week. Get my last hard workout in Saturday. Recover Sunday. We'll get back to work Monday. And I got the call and it was all... There's no time to think. I had that initial nervous energy, excited, grabbing shit, sourdough bread. What do I do? I don't know.

Sourdough bread. Why sourdough bread?

I don't know. I was in the kitchen just grabbing things. What am I doing? What do I do with my hands?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can only... Come on, sorry.

No, I was just like, I got to eat. I got a few. I'm starting to grab things. I'm like, What do I need? I start hydrating because I was like, If I'm going to buy, I need to be hydrated. I didn't even know I had to weigh in, Bizvin. I didn't know how this was working. They told me, They're like, What do you weigh? I was like, I was 164, 165 this morning, somewhere along those lines. So they sent me the contract. It said 165 for the Bout Agreement. The only thing I read was the numbers because I was like, sweet. Okay, the money's in there. We're good. Let's go. Nice number.

I don't know the details.

A pretty good number. I said this earlier, but people can easily negotiate themselves out of a deal. You know that. Although money is a big part of it, I want to get paid, I want to be treated fairly, this wasn't about the money for me. This was to earn something that no money can buy. My coach said it well. He's like, It's like you almost gained some immortality. I gained some status that you just can't get. So the purse was the first. That's the cherry on top. I got paid. I'm happy about it. But anyways, back to the... It said 165. So I show up to the arena, they escort me. I go through this room. A VIP room, jelly rolls over there. I'm like, What's up? Jelly roll? And Dana, Hunter, everyone's there. They greet me. They take me to the scale. The whole commissions there, they're like, All right, strip down, weigh in. I'm like, Oh, is this an official way? Let me go take a piss real quick. Because I'm super hydrated. I just started drinking water, getting ready for a fight. I go take a piss, come back. Boom, 164.5. Thank God, I was Because had it been like 166 or I don't know, does the fight happen?

Do I get fined 20% of the money they just offered me? That's a lot of money. So anyways, yeah, we make weight and the fight on. They announced it. I'm like, I'm fighting in two hours. Let's go.

I mean, that's unbelievable, Dan. And all credit to you. A lot of people always say, and it's true, it's incredible what the UFC are able to pull together last minute, which is true, but they wouldn't be able to it unless they had people like yourself with that warrior spirit. And I know that sounds like a cliché term, but it's unbelievable, Dan. And as you say, that has to be a record that's never going to be broken. To take a fight on about four hours Is that what it was, four hours?

Yeah, just about because I had missed calls. I was finishing up on the massage table right around 4:00, 4:15. And that's as soon as I called them back. And then, yeah, I was fighting at 8:00 PM, 08:15 PM.

So four hours notice at UFC 303 International Fireweek T-Mobile Arena. Gigantic crowd sold out one of the biggest cards of the year, and you're swanning in on Four hours notice. What was going through your mind as you're walking into the arena, you're weighing in and all the rest of it. Were you confident? Were you panicked? Were you stressed out? Were you just relaxed? And like, you know what? It is what it is. I believe in my skills, my training, and I'm I was confident in my ability and my cardio.

Three weeks out, you're usually feeling pretty good, right? You're starting to peak. So I'm feeling good and I'm feeling confident, but there's a lot going on. There's media, there's cameras in your face, there's people asking you questions like, How does this all happen? So once I did all that, did my USADA test, had to piss in the back, I just took a moment to just breathe and just calm down, calm the nerves, start trying to find, get in my zone. But game plan? There's no game plan, right? I've watched him. I've seen this guy fight. I know how he fights, but I can't sit there and start watching tape and trying to come up with a game plan. So in my mind was be in the moment and just let your instinct take over. I'm a black belt in jiu-jitsu, judo, brown, but I wrestle in college. I have good boxing, good kickboxing. I'm good everywhere. So just trust Trust in the 15 years of training, the last 15 years of training. And that's what I did. I had to constantly remind myself, Hey, just have fun with this, man. This is awesome. This hasn't been done.

Have fun with it. Go out there and Yeah, we put on a great fight. And then perhaps to Diego, too, man, just the roller coaster of emotions that guy had to go through, making weight, changing weight, changing opponents all last minute. I'm sure mentally, that's got to with you. It's just he deserves a lot of credit because this fight wouldn't have happened without him, too. So we went out there, we put on a great fight. We elevated each other. I didn't get the victory, but I put on a good performance. I'm not mad. I could have sat there and been mad that I didn't get the win, but I was like, You know what? I'm going to smile. I'm going to smile right now because I'm proud of myself. This hasn't been done. And the way I finished the fight, too, to go out there, I I felt him starting to break in the third round. And that's really when I started finding my groove and having fun with it. But again, it wasn't about the win or the loss. This was the opportunity of a lifetime that who knows, it could change the whole trajectory of my career.

So I'm proud of myself.

Well, first of all, you should be proud of yourself. And I think it will change the trajectory of your career. It'll go down in history. It'll never be beaten, in my opinion. I can't see that ever happening again. Diego Lopez was on a meteorite rise, one of the hottest prospects, three first-round stoppages. You walk off a massage table, walk into the T-Mobile arena, you give him a great fight, and you say you were starting to break him. You were literally breaking his face in the third round. When you start to land with some of those right hands, he looked a little bit wobbled, and I was like, Oh, my God, he's going to do it. He's going to get the finish. And then he hits you with a good calf kick, gets a scramble, but you get on top, he's landing some big Shots. I mean, talk to me about the excitement in round three when you're like, Oh, my God, I'm going to do it, or were you just completely dialed in, zoned in?

I remember I hit him with one shot round three And he wobbled back. And then I saw him look up. He took his eyes off me and looked up at the clock. And there's probably three and a half minutes. And I was like, Oh, he's done.

And that's a good feeling. When you see your opponent look at the clock, you're like, I got him.

I was like, there's a lot of time. When you're tired and you see three and a half minutes, that's a long three and a half minutes. So I was confident right there. I stood my ground. I remember he countered me with something, but I ate it, and then I came back with something, and I saw him back up again. And then he started grabbing his throw and grabbing his face. And I felt him, something changed. You feel his spirit diminish. And yeah, that calf kick, he hit me with the good calf It got me off. It hurt, but it got me off balance and he grabbed onto me, and I was like, he was on my back again for a second. Then I shucked him off, and I ended up on top. You can go back and be like, Man, should I have stood up? He had a good guard. He knew how to survive, right? He's like, Man, if I could just survive for a minute, I'll probably win this fight. So I was just on top trying to inflict damage. I hit him with some good shots. Didn't get the finish, but the standing ovation at the end was something I've never just sold out.

19,000 fans. Yeah, he was getting interviewed, and Rogan's like, Stay there for a second. I'm going to interview you after. And just everyone was on their feet. I can't explain that feeling. It was the best feeling ever. And I mean, as a world champion, you've experienced that. And it was the best thing I've ever felt in my life. And yeah, I don't know how to top it, the sphere.

It's hard to top. It will get to the sphere in just a second. But those are the moments that you dream of when you first put on a pair of gloves, when you first walk into a gym, going through that experience that you did Saturday night. You'll forever be a legend, Dan. I'm telling you, that will... Thank you. I mean, yes, you didn't get the victory, but your stock has elevated so much. You proved who you are as a person. You stood and went toe to toe with Diego Lopez, almost got the finish in round three. I'm 100 %. I would be very shocked if you're not on that sphere card. What did Dana say to you afterwards?

I mean, he told me whatever I want, I got it. Hunter, the same thing. Sean told me he'd work on finding me an opponent for that. That's what I want. So I believe it'll happen. It's just the who doesn't really matter to me. I think if I go on there, that's an amazing... That's going to be a spectacle of an event. I can't even fathom what it's going to be like. That place looks crazy. So that's what I'm going to prepare for, physically and mentally. And I guess, we just have to wait and see what happens.

I've got a crazy thought for you. You've got a bout agreement for three weeks. You haven't got a mark on your buddy. Look at you. You still look fresh. You just had a nice little move around. You had a good sparring session Saturday night. You got used to the crowds. Three weeks, is that at the apex? Where is it?

Well, it's funny because actually, I never got a bout agreement for that fight. I was waiting because of all the changes, but you never know, man. You never know. So my leg's a little sore, but we'll see.

You should message Dana and say, Listen, give me the original fight and give me the severe. That's three paydays for one training camp. I mean, come on, let's go. Unbelievable.

I like what your head's at.

No, unreal, Dan. Unreal. And you should be proud of yourself. It's unbelievable. Talk to me about Diego. Did you guys share some moments afterwards? Because he seems like a class act and a great fighter.

Yeah, dude. He's a great kid. Immediately, I told him, I said, Hey, listen, dude, you have a really bright future. Keep your head on your shoulders. Just keep doing the right thing. Keep showing up. I know he came from nothing. So his rise in the UFC, I was Just stay humble. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't change anything. And he was very receptible. And he's like, Brother, if you need anything in Vegas, you need training, you got it. But you never know how that goes. We could end up fighting. We might fight at the sphere.

Do a rematch. Five rounds. Hey, brother, listen, I'm not going to take up too much time. I'm assuming you got a lot of interview request today.

A few, yeah.

Yeah, because you're the man of the moment. Listen, that was some legendary shit. So as I said, I'm not going to take up too much of your time. I just wanted to hear it from you. Say congratulations in the fight, in the attitude, in what you showed. You showed who you are. That's something you're going to take to your grave. Your children are going to be proud of that. You're going to talk about this and look back in years to come as the day you saved the day on four hours notice. It's wild, man. It's wild. Be proud of yourself. Your whole team are not that proud of you as well. So enjoy this moment, and I look forward to seeing you kick some ass at the sphere.

Thank you so much, Bizvin. You're a legend. Your words mean the world to me, and I really appreciate it. And thank you for your time.

No, I appreciate you, brother. Okay, enjoy it. Take care. All right. All right, there he is. 50k Danny Gay. What a legendary story. And as I said to him, that's going to go down in history. Unbelievable. We would love to pontificate and hear your thoughts, Harrington. But we have guest after guest after guest joining us real quick. Alex Pereira. Oh my God. The main event, the main talking point, there's so much to digest, so much to get into. But Talbot is going to jump on in a minute and bloody interrupt us. Joking Talbot, if you see this. I thought Yuri Prohaska was going to have a better day. I picked him to win, and a lot of people gave me a lot of abuse. I was like, Jesus Christ, it's a pick. It's nothing personal. I don't think I'll ever pick him against him again. He That was his best performance. He was so clean. He was economical with his strikes. Everything that he threw was perfect. The left hook was devastating that he dropped him with at the end of the first round. And then that head kick, that was so clean at the start of round two.

I mean, Yuri, he's a warrior. He's a fantastic fighter. He brings a lot of entertainment. He's got a super aggressive style. Takes two to tango, but Alex Pereira was just... He was levels ahead. It's as simple as that, Harrington, you take.

Well, did you see the... I think it was his coach and translator talking after the fight that they saw the video of Yuri blocking the calf kick with his hands down. As soon as he sent that to Pereira, Pereira was like, Okay, I'll set that up. For the head kick. We're talking levels and levels beyond what people would consider when they were talking about blood sport and gladiators and all the stuff. This is high, high, high-level mixed martial arts. I don't know how you pick against Alex Pereira going forward.

Yeah. I mean, first of all, do you want to just back that microphone up or lower it a little bit? It looks like you're trying to, I don't know, give it some… You're doing something to it. You know what I mean? You look like this. You look like this. You know what I mean? You're sucking the microphone, okay? Just lower it a bit or do something. Bloody hell. I've got a forehead and a microphone, but you're doing a great job. No, you're right. They did. They spotted that on social media. I'm not surprised here. He was paying extra special attention to the calf kicks. He's one of the best carve kickers in the game. So of course, you're going to have a game plan for that. But never mind that, Payton Talbot joins the show. Payton, how are you, brother?

I'm good. How are you, Mike?

Good to meet you.

Yeah, likewise, buddy. Good to speak to you. Unbelievable performance at the weekend. 19 seconds. I want to hear all about that stuff, but we'll get into that in a minute. Whereabouts are you now, Payton? You're home?

Yeah, I'm finally home back in Reno. Midtown is where I live.

Okay. So Harrington, just jump on a second. Harrington, our producer, he was quite excited that you were jumping on the show. He's like, he's the first Gen Z star of the UFC, right, Harrington?

I mean, I think that's fair to say. I double-checked. I googled the dates that Gen Z starts. And in my mind, you have a lot of guys who are watching these millennials and Gen Xers trying to become stars in the UFC, but you're the first of the next generation in my mind.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I started MMA. I took my first fight in 2019, so I haven't been at this very long.

Yeah, so how old are you now, Payton?

Twenty-five.

Twenty-five years old. Harrington, get off the screen. Piss off. Get out of here. Twenty-five years old. You started MMA five years ago, and now here you in the UFC. That is quite the rise, my brother. Very, very fast, just like you knock out at the weekend. Yeah.

I think I actually had my first fight when I was 19. So, yeah, I picked it up super fast and I went all into it initially, and that was just all I did for a little while.

Nice. So you're on quite the tour in the UFC right now. Last time, it was Cameron Simon. Cameron Simon, you got to finish in round two, I think it was. Cameron Simon had a tremendous amount of hype around him. You step in, you finish him, you land some beautiful shots of him, and then you follow that up with this knockout the weekend. Talk to me about your experience at UFC 303.

It was a It was a big learning experience. A lot of new things came my way, and life was just going by real fast that week because everything's new and you're just trying to keep up mentally with everything. But it was a good week. I really enjoy it. That's like a week of work for me. That's my week on the And I was happy all week, aside from the weight cut. So I love my job because I just get to show up and experience all of that and then go and celebrate. So it was a really good week. 10 out of 10, I'd do it again.

Yeah, I bet you would. I was saying on my YouTube channel, that was one of the cleanest right hands I've seen. Do you have a boxing background or did you literally just start with mixed martial arts?

No, I boxed for two months when I was, I think, I was 12 years old, but I got my ass whooped. I took a fight against a kid that was like five and I had to go up a weight class. It was awful. And I quit after that.

I mainly just started with mixed martial arts striking, which is cool because you don't have to adapt anything.

You just start right in the principle.

Yeah. Well, as I said, the right-hand was absolutely phenomenal. I mean, listen, it's one of the most basic shots in the game. If I remember right, you threw the jab, he threw a kick, one, two, boom, and that was it. I was going to say, was that the game plan? Of course, the game plan is always punch them in the face, but was the right-hand, the clean right-hand, was that something that your coach said, Listen, this is the shot that he's open for?

Yeah, that's actually funny because we were drilling that all camp. And then in the back room before I walked out was that jab, stutter step, and then all the hand down because he likes to keep this front hand out. He was doing that a lot prior fights, which really frustrates people. So my game plan was just to get around it by jabbing, pulling on the way back, and then opening that up for a cross. And that hop step in I did right when he threw a kick, which was always the intention to step in on kicks. That's what I always do. But I didn't even know that he was throwing a kick. It just happened that way. But I hopped in, and then there was just no telegraph. I just turned my shoulder over and the right-hand was there.

So I'm just looking at your record here. Nine and all. Congratulations. Unbelievable. Seven knockouts. So before that, it was the apex, I think, right?

Yeah, apex for two fights.

Apex for two fights, and of course, the contenders at the apex. Talk to me What a difference of feeling after competing at the apex, which, of course, is a privilege to sign with the UFC, and that's where you start and you work your way up. But to be a part of UFC 303, sold out crowd, and then to get the knockout like that. Talk to me about How was it, what were those emotions.

It was just so much more fun. Walking into the apex, it was very easy for me to focus and lock in and stay, keep the task at hand in my mind. And then walking into the crowd is a little bit more distracting. It was my first time ever being in there. I've never been to a fight event. So when I was walking out, I was looking around at how big the arena actually is. I did not realize how big it was. But despite I was just trying to be present while I was walking out, and that was part of it. I was just noticing how different it was. But I loved it. I want to just always compete from the crowd. You don't get to hear as much as the thud of the shots and everything. It's not as intimate in that way, but the trade-off is feeding off the energy of a live crowd. There's nothing like that.

Yeah, that must be crazy. If you've never been to a big UFC event and then you're walking out, that's your first time and you're looking around. How do you deal with those You seem to me, and this is the first time that we've spoken, you seem like a very centered, emotionally stable, intelligent young man. So talk to me about the mental prep for something like that.

The mental prep was just enjoying everything and just all that stuff. I'm never going to have a first event again in front of a crowd. So my main thing is just going out there and just enjoying it and trying to suck everything that I can out of it because I'm never going to get that back again. So it's just admiration and just the fact that I'm doing what I love. And although it's a little scary to go out there and fight someone, it's scary in the most healthy way. You're changing your life with every performance.

So changing your life. Did you used to be a skateboarder?

Yeah, I still skateboard quite a bit. I'm going to probably go skate today.

Well, careful you don't injure yourself. And did you almost injure yourself siding out? What do you call that move that you did when you were at the celebration, the bloody backflip, bloody whatever it was.

Yeah, it was a cork. It's called a corkscrew.

A corkscrew, of course. Okay, well, congrats. The ankle's okay?

Yeah, it was fine. I knew I probably wasn't going to land it, but.

Hey, it looks cool, though. It looks cool, buddy. So my producer said that you were... Were you skating with Tony Hawk recently? Yeah. Doing something with Tony Hawk?

Yeah. Three weeks ago, I went out to his warehouse and skated with him.

That's cool. So you skateboarded at quite a high level, I assume?

Not really. How the fuck do you end up with Tony Hawk then? I guess he initiated it. He reached out to the UFC Because he wanted to meet me. His kids are big fans, and we have mutual friends. I can hold my own in a bowl or in a pool, but flatground is hard for me.

Well, you say you can hold your own in a bowl. I saw a video of on your Instagram, and you went for a fall, buddy.

Oh, yeah. I go for falls very often. I've got scars all over my hips.

You got scars all over your hips, and you've got some very interesting tattoos as well. Talk to me about these tattoos because they're just like circles. I'm sure there's more to it than that. But would you mind explaining what they are?

Yeah. So there's one in front of the chest and the back of the chest. Yeah, there you go. But yeah, it just signifies a hole that goes through me represents just a void that is unfillable. It's an internal void that a lot of us feel, but mine is just very apparent, and I felt it for a long time throughout my life.

Wow. Well, that's deep. That's a bit above my pay grade as a former knucklehead. Are you filling the void now with being a world-class fighter, fighting in front of 20,000 people and getting bonuses? Did you get a bonus Saturday night? I did.

Yeah, it helps. The thing about a void is you can't fill it, but it definitely helps, and it's very fulfilling. I try to keep my cup always empty so that it can be filled with whatever. So yeah, fighting does a lot for me, psychologically. I love it.

So when you say your cup is empty, do you mean pessimistically, you look at it half empty as opposed to half full?

No, I just try to remove a lot of my life that chains me I have certain responsibilities. So I just try to stay super open to experiencing everything and just enjoying everything that comes with this, like buying process and everything that comes into my life. You got to empty your cup so that it may be filled. So I have recently done that.

Yeah, my cup is overflowing all over the place. I've got to empty it. I've got to empty it. Hey, Payton, man, I just wanted to talk to you, get you on the show real quick. Say congratulations. That was an incredible performance. It really was short but very sweet. When do you want to get back in there? Have you got a name that you want to call out?

Yeah, I called out Adrian Yanez.

Yanez, you're right. It's Yanez.

Yeah. I'm probably going to have to get at him at the end of the year because I think he's booked with somebody pretty soon. So Yeah, I'm going to get in at the end of the year for sure. Maybe if I have something cool comes my way, I'll accept it sooner. But I want to enjoy life for a little bit.

Yeah. Well, enjoy it. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep in that cup half empty Keep that void. Keep doing what you're doing, Pate. Thanks for your time today. I really appreciate it, buddy.

I got one thing for you, Mike.

Well, please, listen, this is a conversation. Please ask me whatever you want.

Yeah, rate my setup.

Oh, shit. You got the turntables. What did you say? Why didn't you say? Well, I will say this, buddy, buddy, buddy, buddy, You can have the CDJs or the mixers, whatever. You're going to have a couple of vinyls on the end of there, buddy. You're a DJ until you can scratch. Can you scratch?

Not very well, but I got a vinyl right there. I just need somebody to show me how to do it.

We got to fill that void. What music do you like?

I like Hard Groove, Deep House.

Nice. Yeah. Very cool. We'll have to talk about that some other time. Payton, thank you for your time today. Enjoy this moment. Congratulations again. Talk to you soon.

Well done, Mike. Thanks.

My man. Take care. There he is, Payton's Albert. All right, this episode is They're also by Hexclad, which is the new set of pots and pans that you need for your kitchen, and they are even recommended by the great Gordon Ramsey. Okay, so listen, non-stick. Non-stick pans, they don't stick, but they will release a ton of chemicals. Apparently, they're really bad for you. Another option is using a cast iron pan or a skillet. That's what Ellie does in our house. Well, the problem is with those is that they're super heavy and they get hot as hell and they're very cumbersome. You know what I mean? They're not the best They're not the most convenient, they're not stylish, they're not slaking for cooking on. They're a pain in the ass because every time I grab the bloody handle, I burn my hand. So that is where Hexclad comes in. They offer durability, they offer style. And the durability mobility, by the way, that will last a lifetime. Correct, a lifetime warranty. So whatever it is that you're cooking, from just drilling in the backyard to a high-brow dinner party, Hexclad has got you covered with unbeatable performance and style.

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We can't get into all these deep and meaningfuls. What a great guy. What a great guy. I had no idea he was a DJ. You never told me that, Harrington.

Dude, I don't know everything about the guy. My cameras haven't been installed yet.

Yeah, no. But you barely got a microphone. No, great guy. Congrats, Talbot. Payton, should I say. He's going to have a good rise. He really is. He seems like a cool kid. So anyway, we were talking about Alex Pereira, Yuri Prohaska, beautiful knockout, lands that head kick. We were talking about the carve kicks. I'm not surprised that he was obsessive in Yuri about the carve kicks because he's one of the best carve kickers in the game. And it's the old classic, fake low, go high. He didn't necessarily do that, but he knew that he was mentally obsessing over it. But to be fair, it was impressive He was appreciative about Yuri because he got knocked down at the end of round one, and it was a hard, hard knock down. And straight away, he was calling, Come on, come on, let's go, down on the ground. And then he went back to the corner, and he was speaking to his corner, and they were like, Are you okay? Essentially, he's like, Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. But you're not fine. Sixty seconds after getting your bell rung like that, it's very hard to recover.

And of course, Alex Pereira knew that, so he capitalized on the moment. That was sensational, that head kick. And then the follow-up hammer fist as well. I mean, he was quick on him with those follow-up shots as well. And it was really sad to see Yuri stumbling around everywhere because he tried to get back to his feet a little too soon. So commiserations to Yuri. I know he's saying he's going to have to improve and have to evolve, otherwise he's not going to continue to fight. I think he will improve. I think he will evolve. I still think he's got a lot to give the sport of mixed martial arts. He just went up against. A man right now that has taken over the sport in Alex Pereira, and the world is truly his oyster. Now, all the talk at the moment is him going up to heavyweight and becoming a three-weight division champion. Dana was asking, Sorry, Joe Rogan was asking him about it. Dana was talking about it at the Post-Fight Press. He was saying Rogan was going on to him about it. Dana said, We'll see how this thing all plays out.

I would love to see go up and challenge for a third belt. And yes, and give me your take in a second, yes, there's Magamed Ancalea. That is, of course, without a shadow, over that, 205 pounds. That's the next fight. It has to be. You're looking like you disagree there, Harry's it.

Look, I don't know who's excited to see that fight. I'll tell you a fight I would be excited.

Well, that was going to be my point. In line, according to meritocracy, the next guy to get a shot should be Magamed Ancalaia. But I think when you've got a guy which is like dynamite in a bottle with Alex Pereira, who's become this massive global sensation that's knocking people out, headline 300, headline 303. He's a knockout artist. He's insanely popular. I would say outside Side of Conor McGregor, probably the biggest star in the UFC right now. I say, and I don't know all about the other side of the business, I'm not a promoter. If he fights Magamed Ancalyev and he loses, okay, That whole narrative is done. I say, let him try and create history just like Dan Highe did. Let him try and become the first ever three-way champion. The fact that he's taking these fights on short notice, give him a shot, give Give him a try. The audience, the crowd, the buying public are all behind it. Let him try. And I say, not John Jones. The winner of Tom Aspenal versus Curtis Blades, if you saw my YouTube video, I was saying it. They need to go out there. But whoever wins that, let's just imagine that Tom wins it.

I'm not saying he does, but let's just imagine he does. He needs to be like, Hey, John Jones, forget about that. You're only looking for fights with old age pensioners. I get You don't want a real test, which, of course, will irk John Jones or Steepay. It will stoke the flames for that fight. Say, But I've forgot about that. I've moved on to real tests, real challenges, people that actually want to fight. Alex Pereira, you want to move up to heavyweight? Let's go, buddy. I'll defend my interim strap against you, a man that wants to fight while these dickheads sort it out. That's not me saying that. That's Tom Aspinal or Curtis Blades. They would deliver it much more lightly, but what do you think?

I think Curtis Blades or Tom Aspinal should stand up in Manchester after the win and say, This is the real heavyweight title because the heavyweight title needs to be defended. Jon Jones, Steve Amiochik, those guys aren't defending the title. I'm defending it here in this ring, and I'm willing to defend it against Alex Pereira when he moves up. Who knows what's going to happen? One of these guys retires or whatever. This is the real belt, and it's on the line, Alex.

Yeah, I agree. I would love to see it. I just think for Alex Alex Pereira, what a journey, what a story that would be. Because for Alex Pereira, as I say, Magamed Ancalyev, that is the next correct contender at £205. But I just don't know if that's the blockbuster event that I think he deserves. He's already making tons of money. You see him at the Post fight Press. So he's probably got about $100,000 in gold around his neck. He's got a beautiful solid gold Rolex that he was gifted, mind you, at UFC I don't know what this man is getting paid. It'll be very, very good. There ain't no complaints coming from him. And his schedule is really insane. I mean, he's fighting every few weeks at this point, mainventing pay-per-views. Do you know what I mean? No wonder he's a happy man. He's from bloody Brazil. He was working in a factory. He was drunk in a pub. And now he's the bell of the ball with millions of dollars in the bank, and he's done it without breaking a sweat. Do you know what I mean? When I was winning fights, I was covered in scars, I lost an eye and all the rest of it.

But never has a scratch on it. Do you know what I mean? Boom. Chama, let's go. In fact, there's a video. He's in the gym today. Monday morning, he's back in the gym. And that's what I was saying before. You've got to be obsessed about this, to be a champion, to be great, to truly maximize your potential. And this, in a sense, goes back to what I was saying about Anthony, and it's not It's not an insult, but it's just to anybody that's trying to maximize their career in fighting, in whatever it is, in business, whatever it is you're trying to do. You've got to do your best. You've got to do your best, and you've got to maximize these opportunities. Which is because they go away. They go away eventually. A few losses, they go away. You get older, they go away. The popularity drops, they go away. Whatever it is, whatever it is. So whilst you're there, whilst you have it at your first of your fingertips, make the most of it. Train, be appreciative. Don't look at it like this morning, I went for my run. And it's such a cheesy thing right now.

Try and look at it through a lens of gratitude. You see that all over the place on social media. But it is true. You know what I mean? This morning I was on my run. I was like, oh, God, I've got shit. I got to get back from the podcast. Then I've got this, then I've got that. I got another busy day. It's been a pain in the ass. And I was like, No. Look at it from a lens of gratitude. And it did change everything. I'm like, Hold on a minute. I'm going to run. It's in California. There's not a cloud in the sky. I'm sweating. I'm able to run, even though I've got two bloody bust-up knees and a bad neck. I'm running. I'm enjoying myself. I'm listening to music. I'm going back to do a podcast rather than slogging away for minimum wage in a factory or whatever. Once you change that mindset, it is lecturous, and I'm not that guy, but once you change that mindset, it does make a big difference difference. But anyway, Alex Pereira, take a bloody bow, man. He's unbelievable.

Yeah, I don't know, dude. That's one guy where you're like, The sky truly is the limit. Could you ever remember a prospect that came up where you were like, Yeah, I could see that guy winning a belt in three divisions. That's totally within his realm of possibility. And mind you, in what? The 10 UFC fights, 9 UFC fights? He's done all this? This This is a resume unlike any other.

Yeah, no, it is. I put a tweet out this morning because I was fishing for a little bit of homework for a YouTube video that I'm going to do later. It's not got released yet. This is an exclusive for BYM, and we're going to have a conversation, and this is research for that. Top five light heavyweights of all time, because right now, there's a lot of talk of Pereira being one of the pound for pound guys, and I think that's fair to say. Anthony's criticism, which again was fair, is that he's one dimensional. But that one dimension is working. People haven't been able to take him down. Granted, Magamed Ancalyev has a style on paper to beat him. But Magamed Ancalyev even came out and said, No, I ain't going to grapple. I'm going to knock this guy out on the feet. He might regret that. He might change his course of action halfway through the fight once he eats one of those bloody left hooks. If he does it, and it does knock him out for a But the question I'm getting at, where does he stand in terms of not pound-for-pound rankings, in terms of greatest light heavyweights of all time?

Because when you think about the greatest light heavyweights of all time, I mean, listen, number one, you got to go with John Jones, okay? Who's currently the greatest of all time. After that, I think Daniel Cormier. Brian, just look up who defended the belt most times at light heavyweight. It'll give you a list on Wikipedia. Number one is going to be John Jones. I I know there's other people that defended the belt more than DC, but DC was running parallel with Jon Jones, and that was his only issue. Yes, he became the champion, and he defended it once or twice, and he became the heavyweight champion. He was a strike force heavyweight champ, but I still have him as probably the second. There's Chuck Liddell, who defended the belt a number of times. Can't forget about him. There's people like Randy the Natural Couture, Quintin Rampage Jackson, Mauricio Shogun Hua, Loyalto Machida, Richard Evans. This is back when the light heavyweight division was the glamor division. And I'm telling you then, the competition was harder. That's no disrespect to the light heavyweight division now. That's why it's not the glamor division anymore. Back in the day, now it's the lightweight.

The lightweight's top to bottom, stacked. But that's how it used to be. I just went through some of the names. But if you had to pick a top five or a number one for now, or just give me whatever, and Brian, give me yours, what do you think? I think one, Jones, two, DC, three, Chuck. Probably a rat. I don't know. What do you think? It gets hard after that.

Anthony Rumbel Johnson's massive fan favorite, one of my favorite guys. Granted, never got the title, but still very much in the mix. Yeah, no. Gus is in that same category?

Gustaveson's in that category. Listen, rest in peace, Anthony Rumble Johnson, an incredible fighter. Knockout power. And rest in peace. But he's not on that list. Just because you got to crack him right-hand and he launched DC across the octagon. And as I said, a great human being and rest in peace. But just because he's not with us anymore, it doesn't get him on that list. And I mean that with the greatest of respect. You got to win titles. You got to be one of the best.

Tito Ortiz is one of the best records of light heavyweight.

I put Tito Ortiz on a tweet today, and people were like, Tito Ortiz. It's like, dude, you forget what Tito did in this sport back in the day. And these were the people that built this sport. Without people like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, they're three of the biggest stars in the earlier days.

You got Rampage, Rashaad. You also have Lyota Machida.

Yeah.

Shogun.

Shogun. Not for sure.

No, Shogun without question. He was one of my favorite fighters and an absolute legend. How would you just look up. Just talk a minute. Give me your thoughts.

What I was going to say is the way I would look at it is if in their primes, you had a time machine and you did a tournament, let's say, the old-school single night tournament, who would you pick? I think your five you would have to go with would be Jones, DC, Chuck. I do think Alex makes that list just because, I mean, yeah, you can discount him for being one dimensional, but nobody's discounting Francis for being one dimensional. Then probably Tito.

I think Alex Pereira would be on that list. But you know who's not on that list? Joey Piper and Harrington. You're not on the list. Get the hell out of here. He always likes to get a little bit of our time, Joey. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, my man. Hey, Mike, appreciate you having me on again, brother.

Not at all, man. Not at all. Listen, dude, when you go out there and you knock out Marc-Andre Barrio, the power bar in stunning fashion like that. Come on, man. Come on. I was dying to talk to you. Congratulations on a great win over a tough opponent. Barrio is on the come up again. He's had some ups and some downs, but he's doing well. He's a tough guy. You went out there after a tough learning experience against Jack O'Manson, and you right at the shit. You got back on course and knocked him the hell out. The floor is yours, buddy. Talk to me about the weekend.

Yeah, a lot of ups and downs, man. Tough weight cut. I was healthy. I was prepared. I had less injuries than I've had since I've been in the UFC, thankfully. Still had injuries, which we all do. And I really dialed in my sleep, my nutrition. I learned so much from the Jack or Manson fight, and I had a chip on my shoulder. I was mad at the crowd, mad at the fans, and I wanted to silence people. And that's why I didn't do any interviews leading up. I'm still even pissed. I'm I'm still pissed off about it. I don't feel like I'm turning into the villain guy, but I think just being so disheartened with just the MMA fans, you could lose a decision. I was half dead that entire camp. I got through two sessions leading up to that fight where I only went two five, five-minute sessions that I made it to completion, and then I fought. My coaches wanted to pull me and everything, and I still fought. Boris Ankel saw me sick. Joe Rogan saw me sick. All the media for the UFC saw me sick. And these are all excuses but reasons as well for those that want to take him as that.

But my point in saying this is Jack was 100 % better. That's what led to him winning. But I don't feel I was my best prepared self. So coming out here this time and being able to get that redemption and set the record straight that when I am healthy and I am able to focus on nothing but the fight, I'm a very dangerous person in this division and I have some of the biggest power in this division.

Yeah, well, without question. But Joe, listen, that was your first five-round fight as well, and you went a distance. Jack and Manchin have been around forever, and that's the way it goes. That's why experience has to be earned. You can't give it, you can't buy it. You know what I mean? Only you as a person. And granted, you were sick, so that only adds to it. When you go out there, you've got knockout power, you're knocking everyone out, you're finishing most people, you're trying to finish them. You know what I mean? There's nothing wrong with that. And maybe you don't manage the gas tankers economically. It's all good, brother. Those people online, anybody talking shit, they have got no idea what it takes to go through that. Otherwise, they wouldn't be talking shit. They wouldn't be talking shit. Now, granted, you're in a great position. You fight for the UFC. You're earning money, you're on TV. So anytime you're doing that, you put yourself in the public eye. So that's just the give and take. You know what I mean? You get the stardom, you get the rub, you get all the positiveness, you get the money and the recognition You also get the dickhead.

Just ignore them, man.

Yeah, no, I've gotten good at it now. That's why I didn't do any media. I wasn't on my phone most of the fight week. I had my friend managing, putting up the posts and things like that for me. I tried not to go on there. It's just a distraction, man. The phone is probably my biggest enemy just because I get to see everybody who doesn't matter talk shit. Luckily, now I look at it and it's comical and it doesn't hit my heart when I read it anymore. But yeah, I don't know, man. I feel like, Mike, I'm just embracing this. I'm going to be a dickhead, bro. I don't like these people. I don't like shitty people like that. Them telling me to kill myself and everything It killed the love for the fans.

Who said kill yourself?

Just a bunch of nobodies like we're talking about. Nobodies.

Why? Because you lost against Jack O'Manson?

I got fraud checked and I always cry when I win and cry when I lose. And bottle of water. It's like, yeah, my whole life is in this. So it just really brought me the wrong way, man. I feel like it's, I don't want to say it's matured me, but it's also like it's made me put my hands distance on keeping these people at the bay. And for the ones that are always super respectful, they make it all worth it. I will say that. And I'll always be respectful and smile and take pictures for them. But I had a bit of chip on my shoulder, man. I think everybody, not everybody, but even DC saying my hype was gone and he was right. But I was also right. I said all I needed to do was knock Mark out, and I'll be right back to where I was and then something. I got nothing but respect for Mark, like you said. I think he's a great human being outside of the sport. I actually didn't know anything about him until this week with him being involved in men's mental health and everything. I hope he's okay.

I have nothing but love and respect for that guy. And unfortunately, I hate that part of promoting his posting that he gets knocked out.

Yeah, it is what it is. That's what we signed up for. Joe, never lose that chip on your shoulder. That is your best asset right now. Of course, you got knockout power and all the rest, but that chip on your shoulder is going to fucking help you. It's going to guide you because I had that all the way through my career. I've calmed down a bit now, thank God. Otherwise, I'd be fired from everywhere. I do a little bit to work for.

I've lost your career.

Yeah, but when you're fighting, man, that fucking chip on your shoulder, you need that. That's why when I won the belt, I jumped on top of the crowd, I turned around and went, What's your name? Rock I call, but I'm saying it to the whole world. I'm saying it to all my haters. I'm saying it to everyone that said, He's shit. He's not good enough. So I'm saying it to you all. How about me now? So that chip on your shoulder is going to get you out of bed. That's going to make you go for a run. It's going to I'm going to push you to train your ass off because you want to prove yourself to the world and to all those haters. So don't change that. Embrace it, man. Embrace it. Let it fuel you. 100 %.

They did. They fueled me, and Jack helped me. He gave me a lot more than... It's not a loss to me. It really isn't. I didn't get knocked out. I didn't get submitted. I didn't get humiliated. It was competitive. So in my heart, I know I belong with the best. I have to get my feet wet more. I have to get my repetitions in. I'm cool with that. And no better of a person to lose to in my mind than Jack. He's a good guy as well. He's one of the best.

He's a great human being.

Great human being, exactly. It wears well with my heart. And the amount of things that I've learned from that fight and from him handing me my first UFC loss, I will forever be grateful for it because I feel like I'm making leaps and bounds in my mental and my physical, spiritual, everything. I just feel like it allowed me to reevaluate when I wasn't ready to and I had to. It was like I wasn't ready to face it. I got humbled and I lost. And it put a stop to all that momentum. And all that momentum, though, was from the heart. It was just me being me. It wasn't anything of a fake character. I'm not one of these fake that are out here hiding behind a mask.

I say what I say, I say what I feel.

And yeah, man, so there was never no hype. I was just Joe Piper and I still am. And I showed that this weekend that nothing changes.

Well, that's what people love, and that's what they resonate with. And listen, because that's what I've always been. I can't really do anything else. I've always just been me. And people resonate with an authentic person. And yes, okay, they don't necessarily always agree with what you're saying, but at least you're being authentic. At least you're being true to yourself. And a lot of people may see themselves in you. You know what I mean? So just never change. Always be you. Don't try and put on an act. Don't try and become somebody else because you're not someone else. You're Joe Piper. You got four knockout power. Go out there and try and knock everyone's head off. And that's what you do. And you're talking about Jack O'Manson, and maybe you learn from that. I didn't see you trying to pace yourself on Saturday night against Mark-André Barriol. My God, you were swinging for the This is right from the opening bell.

Yeah, I am, man. There was no need to pace myself. I know I can push 15 minutes hard as shit. I wasn't sick, Mike. I wasn't sick. People can take what they want with that, say, Excuse, whatever. I wasn't sick. I knew I could push 15 minutes. I trained my ass off. My gym trained so hard. It's probably why I get sick. So sometimes I have to tame it back. But, dude, I was very well prepared for it. I was expecting in my head, I didn't see the knockout. I didn't envision the knockout. I don't know why I couldn't this time. I envisioned a three-round war and this guy trying to make it ugly and clench and uppercuts and all this. But I was still going to walk forward. And I knew Like I've always said, I don't look for it, but I know if I catch one clean one, I'm rocking somebody's world. And then when I smell blood, I'm going to get you.

Yeah, well, I was just looking at his record while you were talking there. He's only got one knockout loss on his record. He's not got lost. He's teedy. Of course. No, it's you.. Yeah, so Chidi got him, and then you got him. But he's been in there with Chris Curtis, Eric Ganders, all kinds of big hitters. On the content this year, Dana was very high on you, and he was like, Be like Joe. Be like Joe. Remember those days? Have you done a T-shirt? Be Joe Piper. You're going to do a T-shirt, Be Like Joe. That'll sell well. That's a good little expression.

Yeah, they made a couple of shirts like Be Joe Piper and stuff like that. But I I don't know what it is, Mike. Maybe it's an embarrassment. I don't know if it's embarrassment. I don't know what it is.

I'm not high. What have you got to be embarrassed about?

I have nothing to be embarrassed about, but I'm not high on it for some reason. I don't know why. It doesn't do anything for me. I don't care. I don't have any interest in, I guess, the apparel. I hope somebody else will take the responsibility for me, which to have, and try to promote that, but it's just not something... I'm a very flawed person.

Well, I was a very flawed person. Yeah, no, me and you both. I mean, I've been trying to do merch for my podcast for four years, and they're still not available. So who am I to lecture? Would you mind opening up? When you say you're a flawed person, in what ways? Because I've got many.

I just was on Ariel Hwana's show, and I'm like, ripped in Paul Craig.

Well, that's floor number one.

I just don't like the guy. I don't like the guy. I don't have a reason not to like the guy either. I just don't like him. And my reason And it's just because I want to punch him in his face. And I just feel like there's something about him that I want to fight. And when I say flawed, obviously, besides that pettiness, it's just I still got my my everyday struggles of just being a normal dude and a human and trying to keep myself healthy mentally and keep my mind in the right place and not let people get to me. You know what I mean? So I do a good job with social media now, but then you got, sometimes you got some... There's always going to be a No matter what problem you solve, there'll always be another one. It's about how you roll with it. Sometimes I tend to crash head forward with some of those problems. I need to be a little bit more patient. So I'm a very guy. I want to get results right away.

But that's okay. You're still young with respect. You're 27 years old. I'm very young. You're 27. You're very young. I was a similar age when I broke out into the UFC. I won the ultimate fighter, and I was the same way. If I was going to fight someone or someone was in my weight class, I was a I was a freaking prick. Do you know what I mean? But to me, it was like, this is the only shot I've got of making something out of myself. And anyone that's in my fucking weight- Same here, brother.

Same here. I have no plan B. I had no plan B. When I broke my arm and I was sitting there in my wrestling coach's basement and I was suicidal, and I thought I wasted 21 years. It's the same story that I've said over until I'm blue in the face, but it was like, I felt like, Man, did I make the wrong decision? Because if this is the wrong decision, I'd never known what's right, and this is all I have. This is everything. This is all I am. I didn't plan for school. I didn't have a fallback. I don't have a trade. This is what I got. I think when I say I'm flawed, I might be taking on this villain role because I'm just sick of these people. I'm sick of people trying to take my checks from me. It fuels me. It fuels me to be angry. When I'm angry, I'm not angry in the cage. I'm I'm just locked in. I had bad intentions. It does well for me. I think some people are like, you can't fight angry, and I definitely don't. I think you see I fight with IQ. I'm not stupid.

I fight. I try to fight very smart. But yeah, I think I'm starting to just... I don't have to smile as much, and that's okay with me. I'm here to hurt you. I think that's what I mean by becoming a villain.

Well, that's totally fine because I think you're in the perfect job for You're fine in the UFC. I think people are going to resonate with how real and authentic you are and just speed your fucking mind. At the end of the day, you're not trying to make friends, are you? You're trying to knock people out.

I'm trying to change my financial future.

Yeah, well, you will. You keep knocking people out like that. You will keep talking the way you are. You will because it's captivating and it's interesting as opposed to someone sitting there going, I don't know, I'll fight with the UFC. Give me. Fuck that. Talk some shit. Say you want to fight Paul Craig. Paul is a great guy, but I understand he's in your division, so you want to punch him in the face. That's totally fine. Regarding the emotions in the octagon, it took me until about 36, 37 to start figuring that side out. I think for the most part, I was pretty okay, but around my training camps and just my life had a lot of chaos around it. So that affected my performances and my training camps and all the rest of it. So just try and chill on that side of things and just don't get mad because I used to always think, if I get mad, I'll be the best version of myself. I'll smash this because no one can beat me when I'm mad. That's until you're stepping in there with an Anderson Silver or something. You've got to be cool, calm, collected.

You know what I mean? So walking there- That's what I think I'm doing a good job of, though, because I was pissed off about a lot of things.

My coaches don't let me be emotional when I lose control. It's very rare that they ever have to step in where I lose control. I think I've been in it long It took a long enough time starting at four years old. I understand that there's a level of anger that if you go above, you don't come back from. That's how you get caught and that's how you make mistakes. I don't let it like, I need to hit him now. I throw with intentions because I know that even me punching through your gloves, if I can catch you, I'm going to hurt you. So when I came out against Mark, I thought I was trying to really get him to throw at me because I wanted to exchange with him. I really did. I wanted to do some bar room brawl shit because I just believed he was going to fall first, and he didn't do it. So then I went after him.

Your coaches, are they... And this sounds like an insult, but it's not an insult But are they man enough for want of a better expression to be able to check you on your bullshit?

Yeah, 100 %.

Coach John doesn't care about my feelings.

He cares about me performing, and he cares about my well-being, and he doesn't give a fuck about how I feel, to be quite honest. I pride myself in being able to say that. He cares about me as a person. He cares that I'm okay. But his job is to make sure that I am prepared under his guidance and under his school and under his teaching. And if I'm not going to listen, then he's not going to coach me. That's just how that works. Perfect.

That is the fighter student respect that we need to have.

I know some people criticized him last time because he mentioned my father in the later rounds to try and motivate me against Jack, but he was just searching his fighter that he saw a look in my face where it was like, I wasn't all there. After I got hit in my eye and I couldn't see him from round three on, I just was accepting him dictating everything. My point is, yes, they're very all good. Even Sean braided will put me in my place.

Well, good, because the only reason I say that, and by the way, off the top of my head, I don't even know who your coach is. So it wasn't like I'm basing that on anything. In the world of mixed martial arts, as the sport has grown bigger and there's eyeballs on it, and there's a little bit of fame and a little bit of celebrity, even for the coaches. And of course, there's money to be earned on the fighters. A lot of coaches are yes, man. They're fighty, and You nailed it. Exactly. That's why I asked, because I've had them over the course of my career. They let you do whatever the fuck they want. As long as you're repping their team, as long as you're with them, as long as you're cutting them a check, they don't really give a fuck. And that was that. And we lost I think he's got a phone call. He's had enough of my shit. He's had enough of my lecture. He's had enough of me slagging off his coaches. Harrington, jump on and just save the day.

Call me Mike 50K Harrington, saving the day right now.

Yeah, 50K Harrington. I think he'll be back in a minute. I think he might have a phone call or something if he was on his phone. I hope so. I was joking when I said he was like, I'm out of here. I'm done. I like his energy, though, man. I like the realness.

Oh, yeah. Joe's the man. Oh, and he's back with us. Oh, wait. No, he's not.

No, he will be. He will be. If he wasn't, he will be. Oh, no, that's President Orson. My God.

What's happening, man? Look at that. Dana Brown. I made Dana Brown's shirt.

Oh, there you go. Well, send me some.

I will.

Who the fuck is Dana Brown?

Well, there's Dana White, and I'm Brown. I'm Dana Brown.

Hey, hey, hey. Azim, President Awesome. This is Joe Piper. Do you know Joe Piper?

Of course, of course I do.

We were just wrapping up an interview and we lost you. Joe, I lost you for a second there, brother. I was just giving him a speech. I forgot where I was. I was just going to say, one second, President Awesome, if you don't mind, sir. I was just saying a lot of these coaches, they don't have your best intentions at heart because there's a little bit of fame and celebrity being around UFC fighters, and you're going to pay them money. So you're going to have a team team around you that are willing to say, Listen, it's my way or the following highway. Check your bullshit at the door. Don't bring that into the gym. We don't want that negative energy. Basically, you do as you've been told and act like a student, but it sounds like you've already got that anyway.

That is verbatim, word for word, what my coach will say to any of us, no matter how, no matter if you're number six being Sean Brad or number eight, whatever he is, it doesn't matter if you're me. Bjo applies for that bullshit. He doesn't care about any of that. He also keeps a log of every time somebody misses a practice. He's not one of these coaches that's happy with it. If you're trying to tell him how you feel, he does care, but he'll say, your feelings. You know what I mean? I'm not here for your feelings. I'm here to coach you. I like that. It keeps us accountable and it keeps us as students. I don't ever want to lose that respect as a student teacher or else. I feel like I don't learn and I'm constantly learning, man. And I think, obviously, I think I'm showing that I'm improving.

Well, you certainly are. Congrats on an epic win at the weekend. Beautiful knockout. And I would apologize to you and say, Sorry, you got to go now. But for your feelings, just like the coach says, get out of it, Joe. I got to speak to President. Awesome. Thank you for your time, brother. I appreciate you. Joe Piper. He's feelings. President Orson. How are you, sir?

I'm doing well. I'm doing well. You like the joke, obviously. You genuinely laughed.

I had no idea at first. I'm like, Oh, Dana Brown. I'm like, Oh, send me one. I'm like, Hold on a minute. Who's Dana Brown? And then, of course, I get it. Dana Brown. I saw you talking shit about Dana at the weekend.

About Dana?

You were saying, Could Dana white, choke somebody out?

No, that's not me. That was the commentator. I would never do that.

I want to be that guy's apprentice. No, I know you weren't talking shit. It's a joke.

No, bald people, we support each other. We don't do that. We don't talk to each other. Of course.

No, of course. Listen, for anyone that doesn't know, this is, of course, President Alsoam. Asim Zaidi. Zaidi? Yes, sir.

Asim Zaidi.

Yes, sir. Asim Zaidi. President of Karate Combatt, of course, joining the show once again. Thank you for your time, sir. Since the last time we spoke, it seems like Karate Combatt is blowing up. You've had some massive events. You had Luke Rock called out there in Dubai, knocking out Joel Schilling. The events are incredible. I will get there one day, but I'm very rarely home. I'm traveling all over the world. But I had to get you on today, and the floor is yours. I want to hear it from the horse's mouth. I'm sitting at home Friday night and I'm- The camel's mouth for me. The camel's mouth, whatever it is, you could say that. I'm not saying that. They're going to cancel me. But what actually happened?

So this is really things because we had a Horst-Griffin, Stefan Bonner fight, where it was an absolute war, a really amazing fight. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a controversial decision. One athlete won, the opponent's coach got He was really upset at the decision and then basically jumped in the pit and charged to fight the opponent himself. So that's basically what happened, like a disgruntled corner man, I would say. And because of that, it was pretty remarkable because when he jumped into the pit, two guys tried to grab his T-shirt. He ripped them off his T-shirt, and he must have jumped at least 12 feet because when he landed, he was just like a fucking superhero. He landed in the center of the pit, and then he just sprinted at the opponent. Now, let me Let me ask you this. What do you think the opponent did when this guy just jumped, lunged in the center? The opponent jumped out of the pit. He didn't want it. He's like, No, forget this. He jumped out of the pit. He was terrified. This guy was an animal, man. And four people tackled him. He ripped away from all of them.

He actually technically, he did a technical wrestling grip escape. He broke their hands apart. He attacked the thumbs. You know about that because you're wrestling.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He attacked the thumbs, broke away. Man, this guy was I got in the pit. I looked like a confident man, but I was scared.

Hold on. All I'm hearing right now, Mr. President Olson, is that this guy was a badass. He did a superhero jump into the ring. He was so tough and mean that everyone else fucked off. People had hold of him. He knew what he was doing. He was skilled. He knew how to whistle. He broke the grip, and there was only one man in the entire building that could possibly take him down.

Oh, Well, I wasn't meaning to do that, but I guess it does sound that way, doesn't it?

No, of course. I'm joking. Hey, Brian, I want you to give us a bit of play by play, please, sure. Brian, roll this tape.

Okay, there we go. We got the coach flipping the guy off. A couple of people are trying to hold him, and he jumps, leaps. He reached the center of the pin, he's printing. Look, a referee tries to tackle him, and he breaks the grip. He fights the hand, good wrestling technique, climbs up the pit to charge, and that's where he tripped He was up, he fell, and I was able to get behind him. He had already fought through three dudes, and I'm like, You know what? Let's put him to sleep. Let's de-escalate the situation. Let's eliminate the threat immediately of anyone getting hurt. And just I put a rear naked strangle in, put him to sleep, and then we can carry on with the show, right?

Hey, never a dull moment. Never a dull moment.

Definitely, man. There's a lot of... I'm sure we're going to get into it right now. There's a lot of controversy going on on social media, and not to jump ahead, but one thing I definitely want to state, and it's what you talked about, right away, I had to come out with a statement. A lot of people were saying, Hey, ban this guy for life. He should never be allowed at a cruddy combat event. I went left field on that, and I did. Yeah.

And this is why I wanted to reach out to you because Sadly, at events, there's often stuff like this. We don't really see it in the UFC because it's the big show and there's commissions and security, and they're ready for this stuff. But I'm not saying yours is a smaller level show, but on some of the smaller level shows, I've seen riots. I've seen some crazy stuff. When I was coming up, crazy stuff. So this happens because you get a lot of highly testosterone-fueled men. Tensions are high. They're passionate about their fighters and all the rest of it. And sometimes you get bad apples, regardless. But when I saw your statement, I was blown away at the understanding of a fellow man, how you were able to put yourself in his position. And the statement that you said, it was mind-blown. I was like, I'm going to reach out to this guy. So just walk me through that. If you have the statement or you remember what it was, please say what it was. The floor is yours.

Of course. I don't remember exactly what I wrote, but I'll tell you basically my genuine opinion. I was a I was a full-time coach for a long time. And at the Goachet, I get a lot of the misfits. And a lot of the savages that get into MMA, they don't come up with the best upbringing or maybe they've gone through some stuff. Not every fighter is completely all there in their head when it comes to controlling their emotions and all that stuff. And it's very normal. Martial arts is what's saving them. Martial arts is getting them on the right path and keeping them disciplined. So when this all happened, I think the first instinct of most people was like, ban him for life. But the coach inside of me says, No, don't remove him from the martial arts. Bring him closer to the martial arts. Let's bring him back, bring him and his family back. I think he will realize he made a mistake, and he'll grow from it as a martial artist. So that was the coach and me betting on him that he'll learn from this and grow and understanding that we're in a sport where it's full of savages, and emotions are high, tension's high, and egos are high.

If I just bash him, it'll just be a never-ending circle of maybe him doing something like that again. If I show some love, some appreciation towards him, maybe we get a different reaction from him, which is happening. Today, he will be posting a statement actually thanking us, which is pretty shocking, thanking us that we did the safest thing possible to stop him. He wasn't hurt, and he wasn't arrested. He wasn't suspended He was suspended by commission. He was guided out politely, and he feels it's the appropriate measure. So he's going to put that video out today.

Perfect. And that is how it should be handled. Listen, no one wants her at the end of the day. It's not great. You don't commend it. You don't reward them for acting like that. It's not allowed. But as you just said there, I had a shitty background. I did a little bit of time in prison. I was a maniac when I was a kid getting on this path. I've spoke about it many times, so I'm not going to bore you all. Don't worry. But it saved my life. And a lot of the people involved in mixed martial arts, boxing, combat sports, there's a reason why they're involved in these sports because they've had a bit of adversity in their lives. So for you recognizing that, I'm telling you, that It's incredible. It really is. So congratulations.

Thank you. One thing that's really hard as me as a president right now, to be honest, is to separate that coach and president role because a lot of these fighters, I really care for. And it makes things tough because you want to really go above and beyond. But at the same time, as a president, you want to keep your emotions out of it when it comes to these fighters, you want it to be business. But in the end of day, I really care about all these guys, and I want to do right by everybody. So everybody that wants to punish this guy or bash him, definitely, we settled that right now. I think that needs to be removed. And then the second thing is, I'm getting trolled on Instagram, nasty about this Instagram. Nasty.

Really? What are they saying?

Dude, they are trolling me. They're like, Well, good job, dude. You choked out a guy that was being held by two dudes. And it's like, okay, look, me and that guy one on one, I wouldn't bet on me either. But that wasn't the point. We're not fighting here. We're trying to de-escalate a situation. And I think people, the trolls on Instagram may be misinterpreted of like, I went too far, whatever it is. I feel that was the safest measure due to exit.

Listen, the man was out of control. What are you going to do? Innocent bystanders could have got hurt. There could have been women and children in the vicinity. You never know. Glasses get knocked over. A shot of glass goes in someone's eye. Who knows? You know what I'm saying? So you're right. You apply a bit of pressure on the neck. You lose consciousness. You wake up, you're getting escoured out of the building. You spoke to, you calm down, you get your shit together. And you know what? The sun comes up tomorrow and everything's fine. You know what I'm saying? So well done. Listen, what's going on? I'm seeing rumors of Luke Rockhold say, Oh, where'd he go? Where'd he go? This keeps happening.

He's back. Okay. Say it again. You broke up, I want to hear it.

No, my bad. So what's going on? I'm looking online. I'm seeing all kinds of rumors. Luke Rockholds on a podcast saying that I'm fighting him. I'm in a four-man tournament. Me, Anderson Silva, Masheeda, Luke Rockhold. The fire in me is like, Let's go.

I'm like, Hold on a minute.

I've never heard anything about this.

Oh, man. Yeah. I think he knows how to stir the pot, and I didn't hear anything I thought that either until you said it on the podcast. I was like, Okay, what a great idea, right?

Amazing.

Yeah, amazing idea. Wait, we're on air. We're live. Michael Bisbing, are we seeing you in cruddy combat ever?

Maybe. I've got a bit of a neck issue. Okay. Let me get this neck issue dealt with, and you never know. I would love to. I really would. Who would you fight?

Who would you want to fight?

This is a million dollar question, and you're putting me right on the spot. My God. Give me Rock Hall. Give me Anderson. Give me all of it. Who's the champion? Who's the champ?

It's Sam Alvie at 205.

Fuck Sam Alvie. I remember Sam Alvie. I sparred Sam. I'm joking about Sam Alvie. Shout out Sam Alvie, of course. And he's great. Sam's hilarious, and he's a great fighter as well. I sparred Sam Alvie. I had bad ribs. I was at the Raintraining Center. And I'm like, Sam, we will do a little bit of sparring. But please, please, nothing to the body. My ribs are really bad. I shouldn't really be sparring. He says, Yeah, okay, no problem. So we start, boom. Give me a big body shot straight away. I'm like, What's going on, Sam? You don't tap and tell, but I'm like, It's on, brother. Bum, bum.

Oh, shit. He's maling the façade. He's tricking you. He's an evil guy, man.

Yeah, it is. Sam is the man, though. He's fantastic. Smiling, Sam. President, awesome. That was awesome. I'll let you go. Dude, I'm going to be at an event soon. I can't wait.

I told you, we'll fly you out anytime you want. You let me know.

I I'll be in touch. Take care, buddy. All the best. Bye. Herringbone.

There he is. What's up, Mr. Bisbe?

How awesome is President Awesome?

Dude, he is the man. Look, you're talking to Joe Piper about needing to make these shirts from his contender series debut two years ago. He comes up with Dana Brown. He's got presidential shirts in time for the election.

Yes. I need some new merch designs, please. If you make a good design, a believe you me, logo, it's getting made. It's getting printed. I've got people going on at me. They're in my ear, and they've been sending me some designs. They haven't been very good. And I'm like, I'm sorry, these are garbage. So if you're a designer, I'll give you a shout out. I'll give you your props, and we'll turn it into a reality. Anyway, thank you, Joe Pfeiffer. Thank you, Danny Ege. Thank you, Peter Talbot. Thank you, President. Awesome. Commiserations to Anthony Smith. We're not finishing the show. We got plenty of other stuff to talk about. Opening, UFC 303, Michael Vennen-Page versus Ian Gary. We haven't spoke about that at all. Ian Gary beat Michael Vennen-Page. Now, on the scorecard, it could have gone either way. Round one, Gary won. He forced him to his back. He almost had the choke. I thought, It's over. It's over. Rebecca is still in bed at the moment. We're on the bed eating pizza, and I'm watching. I'm like, Oh, God, because listen, I like Michael. I don't mind saying it. Ian Gary is I got nothing against him, but Michael's a great human being, and he came on my show tales from the octagon.

He came to the first one, so I've got more of a relationship with him. So I was like, Oh, God, he's lost. He's going to get choked out. This is bad. And then he doesn't get choked out, right? And I don't know if that's because of incredible heart and will for Michael Van den Page or just a lack of rear necky chokeability. I mean, maybe President Orson needs to teach Ian Gary a thing or two. So he gets out goes to round two, and he has a great round two, wobbles Gary a few times. I thought Gary was very hesitant. He didn't back up the words that he's been spouting for the last God knows how long. He was hesitant. He looked slow. He looked a little intimidated. He lost that round, but then he won round three. It started off, Page was winning round three, if I remember rightly, landed a few shots. Then Gary goes for a leg It was a sloppy attempt. Mvp gets the top, lads of ground and pound to get back to the feet, and then he takes his back. So I think the first half of the round went to MVP.

The second half went to Ian Gary, and that's down to the judges to decide. I, personally, I don't know if it's my friendship with Michael Ben and Page, skewing it, which can happen. I would have given it to MVP, but I've got no problem with it either way. It was one of those day and I said it should have been a draw. I don't even know, can you score a 10-10 round?

I don't know.

Technically, is that a thing?

I know it's a 10-must system, so one guy's got to get a 10, but I think both guys can... I think you can score around 10-10. I will double track that.

I should know that given my position, but Brian just looked that up. But if so, give that a 10-10 because it was a very, very even round. So it should have been a draw, in my opinion. But I have no issue. So Ian Gary is calling out Shabcat Rachmaninoff, and I respect that a lot. Other people aren't calling out Shabcat. There's a lot of people don't want to fight him. So for that, he saved it. You know what I'm saying? Because he does hold himself in high regard, and he does talk about himself being one of the greatest, and he'll be a goat, and he'll be up there with John Jones and all the rest of it. That's all well and good. You want other people to talk about you like that. You shouldn't necessarily... It's all well and good having ambitions and setting your stall out, but you shouldn't be constantly just trying to remind everyone about that. I'm not having to go. I'm just saying the boos on Saturday night were very loud for him, and they will continue to be so. And I think that is the issue. Let other people sing your praises.

Of course, say you're going to win the fight. Say, I believe in my abilities. Say, I believe I'm better than this guy. But don't try and brainwash everyone into thinking that you're one of the greatest of all time. Let other people formulate that opinion by themselves. He has the scorecards there. I think it's one of the rare situations. And again, MVP is not an easy man to beat. He used a strategy that was obviously blatantly obvious, and I touched on that. I said, I think you might do that. He's been training at shooter box. The wrestling wasn't really of a high level. The jiu-jitsu wasn't necessarily a high level, but it was effective enough to get the win. And he's now only one of three people to do that. So again, props. But I feel that he's probably in a rare situation where the stock goes down with a victory.

Well, I mean, you're looking at a guy who's eight known as UFC run, right? Now, normally, that's like you're clamoring to get that guy a title shot. You're on an eight-fight win streak, all eight of them in the UFC, three finishes over that run, all against the lower-level opponent. Once he started getting higher up in the rankings, the finishes went out the window, decisions only. One performance bonus in eight trips to the octagon, that is not... There's just, where is the fanfare coming from? I'm reading you John Fitch's resume. You know what I mean? I'm not trying to be a dick here. That's the God's honest truth. He wins in... I mean, it's less than dominant fashion, but he wins in convincing fashion to the point where you can't take anything away from the guy. But you're on an eight-fight win streak with one performance bonus and no fans clamoring for you to get these higher and higher shots. I mean, who does that remind you of?

Yeah, well, I don't think any of the top guys are necessarily going, We need to avoid that guy. Listen, on the feet, he's a good operator. He was just outmatched on the feet against MVP. So that took away the majority of his skillset. And he had to, as Nate Dias would say, Oh, you're a grappler now. You know what I mean? Or you're a wrestling now. Which I get, I understand. I've got no issue with that. But it wasn't necessarily executed well. It would have just been better going to the post fight presser. And I've been there. When I fought Matt Hamill, I was still full of my own shit, and I still thought my performance was great in the moment. Of course, now over time, I know it was terrible. It was a close fight. I was very lucky to get the decision. And I think it's a similar situation. He was at the post fight presser saying, Do you snake charm? Snake charm, the snake charm. You know what I mean? And all this type of stuff. You didn't. You scraped a decision And it wasn't fun. The crowd was booing, do you know what I mean?

And there was nothing really that's going to really worry people like a Kamara Usman, a Shavcat Ratmanoff. I do think stylistically, a fight with Leon Edwards But to be honest, could be fun, could be good, could be competitive because he is a good striker. He is a good striker, but that skillset was taken away because he was clearly outmatched on the feet against MVP and wanted no part of that contest. The reality is you got to say, well done. He's undefeated still, which is a great accomplishment. But just stop trying to brainwash people that you're the shit. Just let your actions in the octagon do the talking. Be proud of your achievements. Say, listen, I'll beat the guy. Not many people have done that, but don't try. What's that? What's that expression? Don't gaslight us. You can't put on a fight that was not the best fight ever, but then try and convince everyone that you're watching for Muhammad Ali versus bloody the Rumblin' the Jungle. Do you know what I mean?

I believe it's, Don't piss on my shoes and tell me it's raining.

Yeah. If the milk turns out to be pussy, or not, if the milk turns out to be sour, I ain't the pussy to drink it. You know what I mean? Don't fuck it. What is the expression? It's like, Don't do something. Yeah, don't piss off my shoes and tell me it's raining.

Yeah.

Is that what you just said?

Yeah.

All right, okay. God, we need a guest back. I've been talking to Harrington for too long. Yeah, man, listen, it sounds like I'm being really mean. I'm not being really mean, I'm just being honest. I think, right, do you agree with that?

Well, I mean, look, my big issue with him after the fight, he runs over to Dana, he's like, Give me Kolby Covington. Oh, the fight nobody wants to see. Cool. I'm glad you're really managing this well. I liked at the post fight pressure, as you said, the Shovac call it. I feel like somebody on his team got in his ear and was like, Dude, that's not That's not going to up your Q rating. Let's call for the Shovac fight. I don't think you're being mean. I think you're being very fair. I think this is something that a lot of people do think. But as you said, give him his props. He's 8-0 in the UFC. He's on an 8:00 fight win street. He's doing something.

Listen, 100%, that's not an easy thing to do. He's 15 and all. He's had eight fights in the UFC, and he's still undefeated. That has to be recognized, and it has to be celebrated. And he's got a really good skill set in terms of striking. The grappling still is a work in progress, but that's okay. That's fine. It was good enough to defeat MVP. It wouldn't be good enough to defeat some of the other fighters because Michael Van den Page, again, is a really good striker with a developing grappling defensive skillset. So he got it done. He got it done. And for that, I say congratulations and well done. I think for MVP, obviously, it slows the roll. He was thinking he beats He's MVP, maybe gets a shot at Leon or Bilal or whoever it is in the near future. Of course, that isn't going to happen now. However, I still think there's a lot of big fights still at play for MVP. He's a fun guy. He's got a great style, an entertaining style. And you put him in there with a Jack Dela Madalena. You put him in there with a Wakeem Buckley.

You put him in there with a Steven Wonderboy Thompson. These are all really, really big, fun fights. And I think there'll be people still clamoring to watch in fight. So it's not the end of the world. Certainly, it's a bump in the road, but it's not a dead end of the road that he's on. What else?

Well, the other fight on the main card, Macy Shasson.

Yeah, of course. Of course, yeah. Of course, Myro Bueno Silva looking dangerous early landing some shots, Macy Shasson. Looking good as well. Looking good Well, so fair play to her. The story is the cut, right? She gets on top, she lands the big car. I'm just trying to look here. Yeah, round two. Massive cut from the guard, slices through, great shot, nasty cut, opens It was wide on the eye. The doctor comes in, he's like, I don't know. And then the referee is like, Well, what do you think? What are you saying? He's like, I don't know. He's like, Will someone just be mad enough to make a decision? Because Chris Tognoni, to be fair, the referee, that's not his call. He's trying to decipher from the doctor because the doctor knows he's on TV. He knows what's at stake. He doesn't want to ruin someone's career or whatever. And then when he went, well, it's Too deep. And then that was it. Then the ref is like, It's off, it's off, it's done. Now, my thoughts on that, which is probably going to be disagreed with en masse, is that I think that fight should have continued.

It was a bad cut. The blood was going into the eye. Of course, no question. Could she have continued the fight? Without question. Because, yeah, it's bad. The blood goes into the eye. You wipe the eye. The blood goes out of the eye. You fight a little bit, the blood goes into the eye. You wipe the eye. It just means that every so often you're going to have to wipe the eye. And granted, the cut could get worse. All right? But I don't think it was going to. Joe Rogan was like, We should have let that go. I agree 100 %. However, well done, Messi Shassod. Got another win over a great opponent.

I'm not going to... Look, I was concerned with the possible loss of blood there, right? That's a deep cut. It was leaking a lot pretty quickly. We saw the same thing in PFL.

We've seen a lot of blood, Hamilton. That's true.

I don't know. I I thought it was very fun. I know Dana said not only did he agree with the stoppage, but that she should get away from him because she was bleeding all over him. He was Hunter Campbell.

No, see, that's the thing as well. I forget who else it was. Someone jumped over and they were talking to them and they were covered in blood. I've had this when I'm commentating or whatever, because this is what happens, certainly at the apex. At the apex, people don't know this. So you go in, you commentate with a fighter or whatever, so you do the questions and all the rest of it. Then I run back to my seat, I got to sit down because I got to start getting my shit together, get my notes for the next fighter that's about to walk out. And I'm like, get me a duck in a roll type thing. And then the fighters walk by and then they're buzzing. They're not thinking of the TV broadcast. They're like, oh, this is been the grabbing hold of you. Let's get a picture and all that type of stuff or the cornerman or whatever. And the whole time, my primary thought process is, Don't get that blood on me. This is very expensive. I'm lucky the UFC paid for it, not me. But still, I know what it cost. It's a custom suit.

It cost a fortune. Please don't get that blood on me. But yeah, she was pissing blood all over the place. Okay, so we've had a long show here. We've We're going for an hour and 50, almost two hours. We're going to wrap this one up here, guys and girls. It was a fun one. Thank you, Paton Taubert. Danny Gay, absolute legend in every way, as is President Orson. Really enjoyed talking to Joe Piper. Harrington, you brought the energy once again. You weren't on the Joe Biden juice. You were stuck on the microphone a bit too much. You know what I mean? But one day we're going to get the perfect one. Anyway, if you have a question, send it into bympod@gmail. Com.

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Ryan, I know we said we weren't going to do this. I said we're not going to do a question. We've had four guests. It's ridiculous. But do we have a video we can play? We're going to do a question. Sorry, I don't care. Ryan's like, I'm not prepared.

We have some questions that came in, but they're not They're not good. Some people commiserating Anthony, somebody talking shit about Anthony. Some dude sent in a two-minute video just to sing how much Harrington sucks, and we got invited to a wedding in Geneva.

Where's the wedding? Switzerland? I think so. I want to go back to Switzerland. I went there as a kid, but we're not going to the wedding. Vienna, not Austria. Vienna, Austria, the home of Alexander Racket. Apparently, a very dangerous place if you're going to the wrong section. We're hoping to do a live podcast in Manchester for UFC 304. We need a venue. We need a place that can accommodate, hopefully, 200, 300 people. If you are a venue in Manchester, reach out. If you're not, don't reach out. If you have a question, send in a good one. Final thoughts, I guess, for this episode. It's for Anthony. You know what I mean? As I said at the beginning, our main role in life as a father and a husband is to look after your father. And that's why he did that. That's what was That's where the motivation came from. Of course, the UFC called it. They offered him a large check, a bump in pay, and all the rest of it, I'm sure. And ultimately, why you do this, why you sacrifice yourself is for that reason. Yeah, okay. You want the glory. You want to be world champion.

You want to be the best fighter in the world and all that type of stuff. And that's fucking awesome. That's great. It is. As a man, it feels good. But the main reason you do it, the main reason why most of us start down this path in this journey, which is a hard journey, which is long and arduous and doesn't get the recognition unless you really start making some gains in it. It's thankless often at times until you get to a certain level is because you're doing it for your family. So in that regard, he's smashing it out of the park. If he wants to still be a great in the sport, he's just got to address a few things. He's got to address the short notice fights. He's got to make some changes to his conditioning routine and whatever he's doing. And it was short notice granted. It was short notice, but he said it wasn't. You got to hate camp. You got to hate camp. I couldn't wait for training camp to finish because it's hard. If you're not hate in camp, you ain't doing it right. Anyway, he'll be back, though. Hopefully next week, but we shall see.

Everton will, Brian will, I will on Thursday. Goodbye. Take care. Bye.