Latest / The MM-EH Show / TMS 028 | Canadian MMA: Elijas Leonardo, Hudson Gregory, Mohammed Abakar & Sam Reyno (POTW)

Transcript

TMS 028 | Canadian MMA: Elijas Leonardo, Hudson Gregory, Mohammed Abakar & Sam Reyno (POTW) · The MM-EH Show

0:16
Hey there fight friends. We are joined
0:18
today by Elias Leonardo, a promising
0:20
professional mixed martial artist out of
0:22
Niagara Top Team. He's currently 1 and0
0:24
as a pro with a really good amateur
0:26
under his belt as well. and he is
0:28
fighting his second pro fight next
0:30
weekend in Flint, Michigan for WXC.
0:32
Elias, good to see you, man. How are
0:34
things?
0:35
>> Doing great. You know, we're seven days
0:36
out from the the fist fight and six days
0:38
out from weighing in, so feeling pretty
0:41
good.
0:42
>> We had a brief chat before we started.
0:44
And Flint, Michigan is not normally a
0:46
place, nor is WXC that that Canadian
0:48
fighters typically go to. I'm I'm sure
0:50
there have been Canadian fighters there
0:51
before, but you don't hear it all the
0:53
time. You hear LFA, you hear a whole
0:54
bunch of different organizations. How
0:56
did you get connected with WXC?
0:59
>> WXC reached out to Niagara Top Team
1:01
directly because we have so many active
1:03
fighters and my coach Jelly um he caught
1:06
wind of that. And so he mentioned to
1:08
Josh Hill, a local matchmaker for BTC
1:11
saying, "Hey, these guys are looking for
1:13
fights. What do you think?" And he's
1:14
like, "Oh yeah, there's this one guy,
1:15
Ethan York." And uh they kind of were
1:17
just thinking, "All right, Elias can
1:19
fight Ethan." And uh that's just how it
1:21
happened. Just word of mouth, just
1:22
people randomly shooting their shot. And
1:25
uh it just worked out.
1:26
>> Nice. And then you actually contacted
1:28
WXC yourself, didn't you?
1:30
>> That's right. I uh managing my own
1:32
career. So I just I I uh messaged them
1:35
directly and said, "Hey, uh I'm
1:37
available. Heard you have a guy." And
1:39
they were they're interested. So
1:41
>> that's awesome. I love it when people
1:42
take initiative for their lives and
1:43
their careers because if you wait around
1:45
for somebody else to do it for you, it
1:46
might never happen.
1:48
>> Yeah. My team captain, Aaron Jeffrey,
1:49
was telling me that he had to manage his
1:51
own career and he would go on like
1:52
Facebook, like fight club uh messaging
1:57
uh groups and being like, "Yo, I'm
1:59
looking for a fight." And then some
2:00
random guy from the states like, "Sick,
2:02
let's let's let's throw down." And then
2:04
that's how he would find his fights like
2:05
way back probably seven to 10 years ago.
2:08
>> He used to fight all the time in Ohio.
2:09
It's either Ohio or Idaho. I get them
2:11
mixed up. And I'm pretty sure it was
2:12
Ohio. He fought there all the time.
2:14
>> Yeah. Yeah,
2:15
>> he and Matt Dear Antonio, they're two
2:18
road warriors just always going down to
2:20
the states and I'm kind of following
2:21
suit. Uh, Cage Thunder, I fought for
2:23
them now WXC in Flint, Michigan. Like,
2:26
I'm starting to turn into my own little
2:27
road warrior.
2:28
>> Awesome. Well, uh, that nickname was
2:31
already taken, but you've got your own
2:32
nickname, so I think Easy is a is a
2:34
really good nickname.
2:35
>> Thanks, dude.
2:36
>> All right, before we get too much
2:37
further into this, I should have done
2:39
this right from the start. Would you
2:40
mind just taking a couple moments and
2:42
introduce yourself? Say who you are. say
2:44
where you're from and how you got
2:46
involved in combat sports.
2:48
>> Hey guys, I'm Elias Leonardo from
2:50
Alberta and British Columbia. I kind of
2:53
uh lived equally in both provinces. I
2:55
moved out to Ontario 3 years ago just
2:58
for Niagara Top Team just to pursue
3:00
fighting. And I got into fighting for
3:01
money. Um some guy told me I could earn
3:03
some cash getting into fist fights.
3:05
Biggest lie I was ever told. There's no
3:07
money to be made. But I fell in love
3:08
with the process, fell in love with the
3:10
people who are in the community. And
3:12
I've just realized there's a a lot of
3:16
feeling in fighting. And if you want to
3:18
feel life, getting in fist fights in a
3:20
cage is a pretty good way to feel life,
3:23
you know.
3:25
>> What was your first experience with
3:27
martial arts?
3:28
>> Uh I was trying to pay for college with
3:31
football and it wasn't working out. I'm
3:33
a small guy. The level was starting to
3:35
get away from me. I wasn't going to pay
3:36
for college with football with
3:37
scholarships. So, in my senior year of
3:39
high school, I was leaving my
3:40
weightlifting gym and in an office
3:42
space, there was these two dudes just
3:44
getting in a fist fight, beating the
3:45
hell out of each other. I'm like,
3:46
"What's going on up there?" And I went
3:48
checked it out. It was a gym in
3:50
transition from location to location.
3:51
So, they were just in the office space
3:53
for a couple months. And it and it was
3:54
that night. I I just joined the class. I
3:56
was like, "Yeah, give me a pair of
3:57
gloves. Let me try this." And it was
3:58
that night. A guy was like, "Hey, how
3:59
long you been training? You know, you
4:00
can make money doing this." This is my
4:01
first night, dude.
4:03
>> What city was that in?
4:04
>> That was Colona, British Columbia. Yeah.
4:07
Um the gym was called Pacific Top Team
4:10
and uh I started training there the
4:13
summer of 2019 and then COVID hit
4:17
uh 2020 uh in February. So I had to stop
4:20
training. But then that summer this
4:22
legendary gym, Tashidto MMA, opened
4:24
before Pacific Top Team did they? So
4:27
just by happen stance, I was like, "Oh,
4:28
they're open first. I'm going to go
4:29
check them out." I walk in, I'm like,
4:30
"Yo, this is an MMA gym." It was just
4:33
two dudes throwing down um professional
4:36
kind of sparring. And uh I started
4:38
training at Toshidito MMA. That's where
4:40
David Lee, he owns the gym. Rory
4:42
McDonald started his career there. It's
4:45
um it's the old school of hard knocks.
4:47
They they throw down there
4:49
>> for sure. Colona can be very rough and
4:51
tumble uh town at times. I mean, did you
4:53
ever get in any sort of fist fights
4:55
before or was it just new to you when
4:56
you went to that gym? No, I was Yeah, I
4:59
when I was a little kid, I got in a lot
5:00
of street fights, but then when you're
5:01
like 12, 13, it starts to hurt. So, I
5:04
stopped. But then when I was like 18,
5:07
19, I got in two street fights before I
5:09
started doing MMA, and they were like, I
5:13
just felt terrible. It feels icky. I'm
5:14
like, this is like hurting people in
5:16
real life. It just I don't like it.
5:18
>> Yeah, you're right. Just rough and
5:20
tumble. It was Yeah, it was Yeah, he was
5:24
like a crackhead on the stream like
5:25
this. He was messing with me.
5:28
>> Now, when I first met you, you were an
5:29
amateur. You had traveled to Niger Top
5:31
Team. How did that decision come?
5:33
Because, you know, you could have gone
5:34
to Vancouver. There's some great gyms
5:35
there. There's great gyms in Calgary.
5:37
There's great gyms. A lot of people go
5:39
to Tristar. How did you pick Niger Top
5:41
Team?
5:42
>> Uh, at the time, Henry Cejudo was at the
5:44
top of the bantamweight division, my
5:46
division. So, I was thinking about
5:47
Arizona. I was thinking about Tristar.
5:50
And then I had a buddy who trained at
5:51
Toshido who visited Niagara Top Team.
5:54
and he said, "Hey, there's this really
5:55
good gym right by Niagara Falls." Living
5:58
by Niagara Falls would be cool. Like
6:00
eighth, it says sixth wonder of the
6:02
world or something. And um I made one
6:04
phone call, loved what I heard. I saw
6:06
Cody Kavanchek was there. He was a 5-0
6:08
pro. So I knew I'd have at least one
6:10
really good uh body to train with. So
6:13
I'm like, "Okay, I got Cody and uh the
6:16
guys on the phone sounded professional.
6:18
I'm just going to call around, see if I
6:20
can find a place to stay." And as soon
6:22
as I found a place to stay, I just
6:23
packed up my stuff and and and and drove
6:25
out. And then I just I found work once I
6:28
got here. But it was just I was like,
6:30
it's either going to be here, Tristar,
6:31
Arizona. It was just I liked what I
6:33
heard. It was my first stop. And I'm
6:35
like, this is the place to be right
6:37
here. Niagara Top Team.
6:38
>> So you didn't even go for like a week
6:39
trial just to feel it out or anything.
6:41
You just packed up and went.
6:43
>> Just a just a hooligan. Yeah. Like I'm
6:46
just going to drive. What did your
6:48
family and friends think when you told
6:49
them you were making this big move?
6:52
>> They're just confused because it was
6:53
abrupt. They're like I I was sorry about
6:56
that. I was living with my mom in an
6:59
apartment.
7:00
>> I'm telling a bit of a separate story
7:02
here. And anyways, I was able to save 10
7:04
grand. So I went to Thailand for like
7:06
five or 6 months and then I came back
7:08
from Thailand and only a few months
7:10
later I moved out here. So it was like I
7:12
had never even been on a plane and now
7:14
I'm flying to Thailand all by myself. My
7:16
family are like, "What are you doing?"
7:17
And then I get home like, "And now
7:18
you're moving across the country. What
7:20
is going on?" I'm just like, "I'm just I
7:22
just want to be good at fighting. I
7:23
don't know. I'm just doing stuff."
7:26
>> Yeah. So, how was your your overall
7:28
experience? Like I know the answer to
7:29
this already. I think you had some
7:30
injury time, too, where you were kind of
7:32
sidelined for a while, weren't you?
7:34
>> Yeah. I dislocated my shoulder and then
7:37
I just redislocated again in a fight
7:39
like 4 months after the original. I've
7:41
actually like
7:43
>> uh Yeah, it's just a nagging thing. Oh,
7:46
>> yeah. We're shoulder buddies, man. I did
7:48
the same thing. I I I popped my arm out
7:51
of my shoulder socket in December of
7:53
2024, and I did the same thing. I tore
7:55
my shoulder in January of this year, and
7:58
it's just like, oh man, it's the worst
8:00
thing ever.
8:01
>> It's the worst. Yeah,
8:03
>> it's probably worse. Like, like maybe a
8:05
back injury like with a shoulder. I
8:07
mean, it sucks, sure, but you can still
8:08
walk.
8:10
>> I've had a back injury.
8:12
>> Yeah.
8:12
>> Yeah. I uh I always said I hurt my back.
8:15
Um but then the smashing machine, what
8:18
what's his name? Mark Mark Kerr.
8:19
>> Mark Kerr.
8:20
>> Mark Kerr had the same exact injury as
8:22
me and he said uh he was on the Joe
8:24
Rogan podcast. He's like, "Oh, I broke
8:26
my back." And he had the same injury as
8:27
me. It was three vertebrae in the bottom
8:30
left just broke. And so kind of like how
8:33
you have these fingers and they look
8:34
like lines. That's what my CT scan
8:36
looked like. It was just three vertebrae
8:38
cracked off.
8:40
And I'm like, well, if he's saying he
8:41
broke his back, I'm saying I broke my
8:43
back. I'm not saying I hurt my back
8:44
anymore.
8:45
>> Broke that Um, sorry, pardon my
8:47
French.
8:48
>> That's all right.
8:49
>> And uh that was part of the move also
8:51
cuz the break happened at Toshido and
8:54
like I said, we were like just fighting
8:56
three days a week, not really sparring.
8:58
It was really hard sparring. I'm like,
9:00
"This is gangster. This is cool. We have
9:02
like a pride in it, but it's just not
9:04
for me." So that also
9:07
>> helped the move. I'm like, "Okay, I need
9:08
to switch things up. I just broke my
9:10
back. I'm always getting hurt at this
9:11
gym, and I broke my freaking back. Like,
9:13
I I got to just switch things up."
9:16
>> Yeah. Suffice it to say, you've had a I
9:18
think you're pretty pleased with your
9:19
experience so far. Um, and you always
9:21
seem like you're smiling. Every time I
9:23
see you, you always see me like you're
9:24
in a happy and a good mood. It comes
9:25
from being in a positive environment
9:27
like that with so many good people that
9:29
are there for themselves. Sure. But
9:31
they're also there to boost up their
9:32
teammates. You've got a really strong
9:33
team spirit there.
9:35
>> Absolutely. and we're a tight family and
9:38
I got a going back to what you said
9:39
always a smile on my face. I've been in
9:42
the gutter for a long time and then I've
9:44
gone out and then back in the gutter and
9:45
then I and then I get my head above the
9:47
water and then I'm back down. So I just
9:49
realized when life is feeding you
9:51
nothing but sandwiches, it's better
9:54
to keep a good attitude. So it's
9:57
>> uh it's it's by choice. You can the last
10:00
the ve the the very last freedom any
10:02
human has is the freedom to decide how
10:04
they feel. Even in the extremes of like
10:06
a prisoner of war in World War II, he
10:09
could still be happy. I know that sounds
10:10
ridiculous, but
10:12
>> what I'm getting at is life can suck.
10:14
And if you can smile through it, then
10:17
the at good times, like healthy times,
10:19
of course I'm smiling then. I was just
10:21
smiling when I had a dislocated shoulder
10:23
and like no money in the bank and now
10:26
it's like I'm working a lot, training
10:27
hard, life is good. Of course, I'm
10:29
smiling. Every day is like a blessing
10:31
now.
10:32
>> Agreed. Well said.
10:34
If somebody is watching this interview
10:36
and they've never heard of you before,
10:38
they probably haven't and they've
10:39
definitely never seen you fight before.
10:40
I mean, some people have, but most of
10:42
the people watching this are across the
10:44
country. Take a moment and explain your
10:46
fight style. What can fans expect to see
10:48
when they watch Elias Leonardo walk
10:50
through that cage door and have a close
10:52
behind him?
10:53
>> Uh, just always entertainment. I've
10:56
never had a boring fight. Um, right now
10:58
my coaches are a bit on my ass about
11:01
getting into the fire. Um, whenever I
11:03
spar a fight, it's like the only break
11:05
is 2 seconds long and then there's
11:07
another exchange or there's another
11:09
grappling exchange or like now we're
11:12
trying to like um just slow things down
11:15
a little bit. I have like the best
11:17
cardio in the sport, so I like to use as
11:18
a weapon. And they're just saying like
11:20
you can use it as a weapon and not just
11:22
go to war for 15 minutes, but like find
11:25
a shot that'll take someone out, find a
11:28
submission, you know? So, just more
11:30
patient, but always entertaining.
11:32
>> Your cardio is that good? Hey, what is
11:34
you do anything special for it or is it
11:35
just a natural given talent?
11:37
>> It's it's it compounds, right? So, you
11:40
start with running and then swimming and
11:42
then hard rounds in the gym and and you
11:44
just don't stop. So when I first started
11:45
it wasn't like that. Each and every year
11:47
it just gets more and more. If I ever
11:49
get hurt and I take time away, it it it
11:52
doesn't reset, but it definitely goes
11:53
down.
11:54
>> So it like you get one level of cardio
11:57
and as long as you stay with it with the
11:59
running and the hard training, like I
12:01
said, it compounds. So like it took 6
12:03
months to build this, the next month 6
12:06
months I feel like it's going to be
12:07
double that and then and then double
12:09
that. And it so it just keeps like the
12:12
cardio distance from your opposition
12:13
just the the gap keeps getting wider and
12:15
wider as long as you just stick to hard
12:19
training. But then I get overtrained and
12:21
then the cardio starts to cuz my body so
12:24
it's like
12:24
>> it's a it's a fine line balance.
12:26
>> Yeah. So so to answer your question, the
12:28
special thing I've done is found the
12:29
balance between training hard and not
12:31
overtraining.
12:32
>> Mhm. Now, I'm clearly not a fighter, but
12:35
I have been training for a long time.
12:36
And there's nothing in the world that
12:38
sucks more than doing some sort of
12:40
sparring and gassing out and having your
12:42
opponent still going strong because
12:44
you're helpless. If you can't you can't
12:45
lift your arms, you know, it feels like
12:46
you're dragging your foot up six inches
12:48
to the right, man, it sucks. So, if you
12:50
have that that little weapon in your
12:52
toolbox, I mean, that's got to be a very
12:54
powerful thing.
12:55
>> Yeah. Yeah. I like it.
12:58
>> All right, let's talk about your
12:58
opponent at WXC, Ethan. What's his
13:00
Ethan? Ethan York is the ex like he's
13:04
like a clone of me. We're very similar
13:06
fighters. We we both made our amateur
13:08
debut in 2022 and our pro debut in 2026.
13:11
We have similar uh amount of fights,
13:13
like around a dozen, maybe a little
13:16
more. Um, and his fight style is a lot
13:18
like mine. He uh throws a lot of
13:20
straight punches. I like to throw
13:22
straight punches. Um, he's gritty. He he
13:24
doesn't mind the fire. So, it's uh very
13:27
competitive on paper. I I have I have
13:30
all the respect in the world for him,
13:31
but obviously I I'm not looking to have
13:33
a competitive fight. Looking to
13:34
dominate. Um
13:37
but on paper it it's it's good. We're
13:39
like dead even. It's just in reality I'm
13:42
going to dominate.
13:44
>> So I hear you say that and I'm wondering
13:46
you said like on three different three
13:48
or four different occasions how similar
13:50
you are. Start at the same time, same
13:52
style. He's you said he's a clone of
13:54
you. So, how can you be so confident
13:56
that you're gonna dominate a guy that
13:58
you say is basically you?
14:00
>> Well, it's like that's the style his we
14:03
have similar styles. We have similar
14:05
experience. I just know he doesn't train
14:07
the way I train or with who I've trained
14:09
with. And I know he hasn't fought as
14:11
good of guys as I've fought.
14:13
>> Like my second amateur MMA fight was for
14:15
a title. I came up from 135. The guy
14:18
came down from 170 and we met at 150.
14:21
Like that's a tough fight. I was 1 and0.
14:23
he was 4-1
14:25
>> and um
14:27
>> I know that Ethan York didn't take those
14:29
fights. So, it's just in the back of my
14:32
mind. I know I just have like I guess he
14:35
call the it factor just
14:37
>> Yeah.
14:37
>> You know, we're fighting. I'm like, I'm
14:39
I'm going to beat this guy.
14:40
>> Awesome. This question I'm going to ask
14:43
you now, I I asked it for for quite a
14:46
while to a bunch of fighters and for
14:47
whatever reason, I stopped and I just
14:49
I'm revisiting it. I'm bringing it back.
14:50
I like it. So my question I'm posing to
14:53
you is would you rather
14:56
win a fight in impressive fashion either
14:59
a knockout or submission it doesn't
15:01
matter in the first 10 15 seconds of the
15:03
fight or would you rather have a allout
15:06
war for three rounds you and your
15:08
opponent going back and forth pushing
15:09
each other challenging each other and
15:11
then you dominating and winning in the
15:13
last 10 or 15 seconds of the fight.
15:15
>> If anyone says the latter they're a
15:17
liar. We don't get paid by the hour. I'm
15:19
looking to finish the fight as fast as
15:21
possible.
15:22
>> Yeah.
15:23
>> Yeah, man. I don't want Wars are cool.
15:27
They're iconic, but you're taking damage
15:29
and I'm looking to dominate. He's not
15:32
touching me.
15:33
>> Yeah. You want to be able to get back in
15:34
the cage a month later.
15:36
>> Yeah. Yeah.
15:39
>> All right. What do you do with your time
15:40
when you're not training, Elias?
15:41
>> Oh my gosh. It's a bit of a boring
15:43
answer, but I just work. I'm like the
15:45
definition of a hustler. I started my
15:47
own company called Scoop Duty where I
15:49
just go to people's backyards and scoop
15:50
up dog poo. I bounce at a nightclub. I
15:53
do some landscaping, some concrete work.
15:55
I hold pads for the who's who
15:57
16-year-olds to 50year-olds, like um
16:01
seasoned athletes, uh girls who need
16:04
self-defense. Um so I just I work a lot,
16:07
but what I do for fun is um
16:10
>> I like to uh like cook for people. That
16:13
sounds a bit weird, but um
16:15
>> No. Why would it sound weird?
16:17
>> Yeah. I just I I'm good at cooking and I
16:19
know how to cook like uh foreign dishes,
16:22
so I I don't mind slapping together some
16:23
cool stuff and like making people try
16:25
it. And usually it's weird food and
16:27
they're like, "What is this?" And then
16:29
they usually end up liking it.
16:31
>> What's your favorite dish you've ever
16:32
made?
16:33
>> Uh real simple. It's called uh chicken
16:36
lab and it it's from Thailand. It's just
16:40
ground chicken with like ginger, garlic,
16:42
fish sauce, chilies, lime, a little
16:45
sprinkle of MSG, and you eat it with
16:47
rice and uh lettuce tacos. It's super
16:50
simple, but it's just like an explosion
16:52
of flavors. Oh, and you also toast rice
16:54
and you blend the toasted rice into a
16:56
powder. You need to stop right now.
16:59
>> You put that outered rice and it gives
17:01
the meat like a super unique texture.
17:03
It's like
17:04
>> chewy and carby. It's It's
17:06
>> cool.
17:07
You just gave me an idea, my man. Right
17:09
now, I need to start an MMA cooking
17:11
segment where I bring fighters in to
17:13
cook a meal and we showcase all that.
17:14
You might be my first guest for that.
17:16
>> Right on. Yeah, you can do a nice meal
17:18
and then you could do like a a cutting
17:20
meal or like a struggle meal.
17:22
>> Oh, yeah. There you go. I'm really
17:23
boring, man. Like I I eat like chicken
17:26
breast with a little bit of seasoning. I
17:27
have boiled potatoes with a little bit
17:29
of seasoning and I've got veggies with a
17:31
little bit of butter and that's it. But
17:32
>> that's what your body likes, man.
17:34
>> It's working for me right now. So that's
17:36
what I'm sticking with. But yours sounds
17:38
much more appealing.
17:40
>> That meal, what I eat on the dayto-day
17:42
is just like what you're talking about.
17:44
It's the only way to get these, you
17:45
know.
17:45
>> Yeah, I know. Look at those guns. Put
17:47
those things away, man. This is a
17:48
children friendly show.
17:52
>> All right, Elias, that's all I got, my
17:53
man. But before we wrap up, I'm going to
17:55
ask you, is there anything else you
17:56
think we should have talked about that I
17:58
didn't ask you?
18:00
>> No, that was a that was a great
18:01
interview. It was a it was a pleasure. I
18:03
always like sitting down and talking
18:04
with you in the gym. Uh, it's cool to be
18:06
on your show. Just shout out to Niagara
18:08
Top Team. They're a really special
18:10
community and I I'm so grateful to be
18:13
involved.
18:14
>> Speaking of which, you just gave me an
18:16
idea for a final final question. Um, now
18:19
that we're just a, you know, very short
18:21
time away from UFC Fight Night in
18:23
Edmonton. What was the atmosphere in the
18:25
gym the next day after both Jasmine and
18:27
Mike won their co-main event and main
18:29
event fights at UC Edmonton? We were all
18:32
inspired. Um to watch people struggle in
18:35
the gym like every fighter, but to watch
18:38
it and then watch them compete at the
18:40
highest level is inspiring. Both both
18:43
Mike and Jazz did not have perfect
18:45
camps. They trained hard, but obviously
18:47
I'm not going to get into the details,
18:48
but they both had struggles throughout
18:50
the camp and then they both dominated.
18:53
And to see your friend struggle as hard
18:56
as they did and then dominate as well as
18:59
they did and like it's like it's right
19:02
there. They they've just put in more
19:04
time and had more performances, but it's
19:06
right there. Just stick to it. Niagara
19:07
Top Team has a freaking good blueprint.
19:10
So just inspiring, man. That was the
19:13
vibes. We were all all inspired. Even
19:16
with uh Cody, he didn't get the uh the
19:19
um
19:20
>> what's it called?
19:21
>> The the result he wanted. Yeah.
19:23
>> Still inspiring because he like had
19:26
tenacity off the ground. He had a
19:28
presence in the cage and we're like,
19:30
man, tough night, but he didn't get like
19:33
beat up or nothing. He just like
19:35
>> even that was inspiring. It's it's very
19:37
cool. It's very inspiring. That's all.
19:39
That's that's the
19:40
>> that's a great learning opportunity for
19:42
him, too. So, I'm sure that will never
19:43
happen to a game for the rest of his
19:44
career.
19:46
>> And a UFC debut is a very reasonable
19:48
fight to lose. Like, it happens all the
19:50
time. Moral lost his first two UFC
19:52
fights. Like, it's very understandable.
19:54
>> Yeah.
19:56
>> All right, Elias, I think we're going to
19:57
wrap it up from there. Thank you very
19:59
much for your time. Uh, and I'm going to
20:01
just wish you the best of luck at your
20:02
fight and I hope you kick some butt.
20:04
>> Uh, thanks, man. I appreciate it.
20:06
>> All right. There you go, fight friends.
20:07
Elias Leonardo fighting at WXC in Flint,
20:10
Michigan next weekend.
20:14
Hudson Greg, it's good to see you, man.
20:16
How are things?
20:17
>> Doing good. How about yourself? I'm
20:19
doing awesome. Thanks. I'm happy to have
20:21
you on the show. I saw you fight at FLA
20:23
26 a few months ago in Picto, Nova
20:25
Scotia. Uh the fight didn't go your way.
20:27
You lost a split decision, but like I
20:29
mentioned, it was a fantastic fight. You
20:31
looked really good, and a split decision
20:33
means essentially one judge thought you
20:34
won the fight. So, you know, you weren't
20:36
out of place. You showed some good skill
20:38
sets and uh and I was impressed. So,
20:39
congratulations on that.
20:41
>> No, thank you. I mean, short notice
20:43
fight, so it always comes with its own
20:45
problems, but yeah, I did feel pretty
20:46
good in there getting my feet under me.
20:47
He's a He's a pretty quick and he was a
20:49
good wrestler and He had a smart
20:50
game plan. So, I'll give him that for
20:52
sure.
20:54
>> All right. Because this is a national
20:55
show and people watch from British
20:57
Columbia to Nunov to Newfaland. Please
21:00
take a moment just introduce yourself.
21:02
Say who you are. Say where you're from
21:04
and how you got involved in combat
21:05
sports.
21:07
>> All right. Well, I'm Hudson Gregory. I'm
21:09
from Carbon, Alberta, which is an
21:10
insanely small town that probably nobody
21:12
will know until they search it up. And I
21:14
mean, we started training. We used to
21:16
kind of fight like we had boxing gloves
21:18
so we kind of just fight in the
21:19
backyard. I got some brothers and
21:20
whatnot and some friends. So, and then
21:22
at some point we're like, "Okay, we got
21:24
to get in a gym here."
21:26
>> So, a small town Alberta, you said near
21:28
Drum Heller. Were your family farmers or
21:30
anything like that?
21:32
>> Uh, that's like what the area is or
21:34
whatnot, but actually my my family ended
21:36
up moving there. Like my dad moved there
21:37
to get an oil field job. So,
21:40
>> I had no idea there's oil field jobs in
21:41
Drumheller.
21:43
>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean they go everywhere
21:45
else and whatnot but that's where the
21:46
company was based out of. So
21:48
>> Okay. Okay. So you started off boxing
21:50
just with your friends having fun just
21:52
messing around. Eventually that had to
21:54
transfer into actual training. So talk
21:56
about that process.
21:58
>> Yeah. So there especially around the
22:00
area like there it's pretty far to drive
22:01
like it's at least 50 minutes to a gym.
22:03
So there was a purple belt that lived
22:05
like 20 minutes away. So my buddy ended
22:07
up finding out about him and then got
22:09
into contact with him and that's how we
22:10
started training. So, it was just some
22:12
random purple belt that was a cop that
22:13
worked in uh Three Hills, the town was
22:15
called.
22:16
>> So, you and your buddy, was it just two
22:18
of you? You started training jiu-jitsu
22:20
with this cop?
22:21
>> Yeah, it was just the two of us to start
22:23
with. Yeah.
22:24
>> Okay. And then you had a gym. It was
22:26
called Carbon Something, too, wasn't it?
22:28
>> Honestly, that one's not even a gym.
22:29
That was kind of running out of my
22:31
basement if I'm not going to lie. Like,
22:34
>> no. That's awesome.
22:37
>> Like, I was training for fights before I
22:39
moved into Calgary and whatnot. was just
22:40
in my basement. And then we had the guys
22:42
on the page, Sawyer, Deacon, Emerson,
22:44
and Wyatt. And then, yeah, we just get
22:45
rounds in, trained down there. So,
22:49
>> so obviously you guys love fighting. You
22:50
had a great time.
22:52
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's It's been something
22:54
we've done for a while, for sure. Yeah.
22:55
>> What is it about fighting that you enjoy
22:57
so much?
22:59
>> Honestly, it's just the competition and
23:01
the the stakes. Like, it's You can't
23:04
really get any more real than that. So,
23:06
it's it's always a good time.
23:08
>> Yeah. Awesome. All right. So, you did
23:10
mention though you moved to Calgary.
23:11
Calgary is uh it's it's a good city for
23:14
mixed martial arts. You've got some
23:15
really good gyms there. And you said you
23:17
trained Alvanaka.
23:19
>> Yes. Yes. So,
23:21
>> yeah. Yeah. So, I trained Yeah.
23:23
grappling with Dear and Dave Pogson. And
23:26
then, uh Johnson Garz was a striking
23:28
coach that I've worked with for a couple
23:29
of years and whatnot. So, that's who
23:31
I've been training with the last little
23:32
bit.
23:35
talk about uh your uh evolution into a
23:38
mixed martial artist. You know, boxing
23:40
with your friends in the backyard is one
23:41
thing, but you know, there's other parts
23:43
of mixed martial arts. Talk about how
23:44
you've gotten to where you are now.
23:47
>> I mean, really, it's just a lot of
23:48
having to get smarter. You know what I
23:49
mean? Like, when you're boxing in the
23:51
backyard, you just want to hit each
23:52
other and whatnot. So, you learn over
23:54
time, though. You're like, "Okay, this
23:55
this has strategies and whatnot." And
23:57
obviously learning from people that are
23:59
good, you just pick stuff up. So that's
24:01
really just realizing, okay, you got to
24:02
be and then the grappling too in MMA.
24:04
Obviously in MMA, you got little gloves
24:06
on. You probably want to hit the guy,
24:07
but you're like, okay, I got to learn
24:08
how to work up on the cage, get back to
24:10
my feet and whatnot. So
24:12
>> yeah, what happens if I get mounted?
24:14
>> Yeah, exactly. You don't want to be
24:16
getting smashed out on the ground like
24:18
>> No, that's right.
24:20
All right. Talk about a a typical
24:21
training week for you. Is it Do you
24:23
train full-time or do you have a job or
24:24
do you go to school?
24:25
>> I I have a job. I work in construction,
24:27
so it's a pretty like a grindy week or
24:29
whatnot. Usually work during the day,
24:31
train for two two and a half hours at
24:33
night. So, grappling couple days a week,
24:37
striking, and then obviously when you're
24:38
in camp, you got to up that cardio, the
24:40
running, the assault bikes, and that
24:41
stuff, row machine. So,
24:44
>> do you know who Dorian Yates is?
24:47
>> Uh, no. I'm not familiar, actually.
24:49
>> Dorian Yates, you should do yourself a
24:51
favor and check him out. He's a former
24:53
multiple time Mr. Olympia. I think he
24:54
won seven or eight times. He's from
24:56
England
24:57
>> and he's from England. He was the first
24:59
real mass monster, the first bodybuilder
25:02
who went from like the Arnold
25:04
Schwarzenegger area where it was
25:05
aesthetic, still big, but you know, look
25:07
very defined and sculpted to
25:09
>> like how you look at him and you go,
25:10
"How the hell did you get that much
25:12
muscle on your body?" Anyway,
25:13
>> I'm going somewhere with this. He always
25:15
said that
25:17
the reason why he was successful or or
25:20
bodybuilders getting that big is doing a
25:22
manual labor job like construction or or
25:24
concrete or something like that. They
25:25
said it's a really good thing just to to
25:27
have your body under continual stress.
25:29
It just forces you to grow, forces you
25:31
to get strong, forces your
25:33
>> I was like that's one thing people tell
25:34
me all the time is that I look strong
25:35
for my size and whatnot. I get that all
25:37
the time and I'm like yeah that's
25:38
probably from stuff like that. So
25:41
>> yeah. So it's working for you.
25:43
>> Yeah. 100%. Yeah.
25:45
Now, uh, that you've got a few years
25:46
under your belt, what's your favorite
25:48
part about training? Is there a specific
25:49
aspect of fighting that you enjoy the
25:51
most?
25:52
>> Yeah, I just like the actual hard push
25:54
of training. Like after you're done a
25:55
session like that, you're like, "Okay, I
25:57
feel like I did something for sure."
25:59
>> I'm talking more so like when you're in
26:01
the fight, like do you like to strike or
26:03
did you fall in love with grappling when
26:04
you started doing it or you like
26:06
monster?
26:06
>> That's where I'd say right now. I'm
26:08
liking to mix it up, but I'm liking the
26:09
boxing and the wrestling and MMA. I
26:11
started out doing Muay Thai and
26:12
jiu-jitsu. So, I did really like those,
26:14
but the boxing and the wrestling is what
26:15
I'm liking now.
26:17
>> Especially boxing and small gloves is
26:19
that that's pretty it's it's pristine.
26:22
>> So, the reason why we're talking right
26:23
now is you were fighting on November 6th
26:25
at Havoc FC and you're fighting named
26:28
Just Give me a second to bring up his
26:29
name. Sorry. It's Carter Patterson.
26:31
You're fighting Carter Patterson
26:32
>> when you got uh Havoc is a Redear based
26:36
organization and you're in Alberta. I'm
26:38
guessing he's also an Albertan. What do
26:39
you know about this guy?
26:41
>> Uh, he's got a knockout finish and a
26:43
submission finish. So, he's a dangerous
26:45
guy. He's 2 and 0. He's coming down from
26:48
45. So, I think he's going to be a
26:49
little bit bigger. But, this the kind of
26:51
test I'm looking for right now. So, go
26:53
out there and try to make his face a
26:54
ketchup sandwich kind of thing.
26:59
>> So, you said you want to make his face a
27:01
ketchup sandwich. That's kind of
27:02
disgusting.
27:04
>> Tony Ferguson quote right there. I love
27:06
that one.
27:09
And it's as soon as you said it,
27:11
everybody is listening to this knows
27:12
exactly what you mean. We see those
27:13
every once in a while. It's always
27:14
shocking,
27:16
>> but impressive.
27:18
>> If somebody hasn't seen you fight
27:19
before, what would they see when Hudson
27:22
Greger gets inside the cage? What would
27:23
they expect?
27:25
>> Uh, you're going to see some speed, some
27:27
focus, and some smarts as well. I'm not
27:29
going to lie. Like, you can always go
27:31
out there and claim, "Oh, I'm going to
27:32
put on the best show and this and that."
27:34
But I'm definitely going to do it smart
27:36
and try to break the guy. So that's my
27:38
game plan going into it.
27:40
>> Nice. So you are relatively new to
27:42
fighting, I think. Are all four your
27:44
fights in this year? I think
27:46
>> I have my first amateur fight in
27:47
February of this year.
27:49
>> Wow, that's crazy. And your four fights
27:50
under your belt already? Um, that's a
27:53
pretty pretty hectic pace. Are you going
27:54
to try to keep that up?
27:56
>> Yeah, 100%. As long as my body holds up,
27:58
I just keep go, keep go, keep going. I
28:00
mean, I'm just working and training, so
28:01
it's like I really have no reason to
28:03
stop. Like maybe a little bit over the
28:05
holidays or whatnot we might we might
28:07
coast a little bit, but we'll have to
28:08
see.
28:09
>> How old are you right now, Hudson?
28:11
>> I'm 21.
28:12
>> Wow, that's crazy.
28:14
>> I didn't start.
28:15
>> I got a bit of time. I'm still wet
28:16
behind the ears and whatnot.
28:18
>> Yeah. Well, that's okay. It t it takes
28:21
time. As long as you're on a natural
28:22
curve where you are keeping busy and
28:24
you're still learning, I mean, you're
28:26
just going to skyrocket your skill set.
28:27
>> And and that's exactly what's been
28:29
happening. Learning a lot from the
28:30
fights. I went like almost two years
28:32
between taking an amateur Muay Thai
28:34
fight and an MMA fight. So, I did a lot
28:37
of training and growing in that time.
28:38
And I'm like, I need to get the
28:39
practical skills now, learn these holes
28:41
that I got and whatnot. So,
28:43
>> who's your favorite fighter?
28:46
>> I I'd have to say probably Vulcganovski.
28:49
>> Yeah. When I started watching, he was
28:52
fighting every three or four months and
28:54
I love that activity. fight.
28:59
>> So, that's something you want to
29:00
emulate, hit a career like his, which I'
29:02
I'd say is a pretty good career to
29:03
emulate.
29:04
>> Oh, 100%. And even just the main thing
29:07
with him, like he he's very very
29:09
hardworking guy and, you know, he he's
29:11
he's fighting constantly and fighting
29:12
the killers and stuff. So, showing
29:15
levels, I like that stuff.
29:16
>> Yeah, for sure.
29:19
All right, Hudson. Uh, before we get
29:20
going, I'm wondering, is there anything
29:22
you think we should have talked about
29:23
that I didn't ask you?
29:25
No, honestly, I I'm liking the questions
29:27
here, so
29:29
>> Okay. This your first interview?
29:31
>> Yeah. Yeah. I honestly I haven't done
29:33
one before, so it's the first time for
29:34
me.
29:36
>> Cool. It's always exciting. I always
29:37
like being the first. So someday in the
29:39
UFC, I can look back and say, "Hey, I
29:41
talked to him,
29:42
>> right?" And I'll I'll I'll be saying the
29:44
same thing. I'll be like, "That's the
29:45
first guy to put me on." So,
29:49
>> all right, my man Hudson, it was great
29:50
to talk to you in person. Uh, I didn't
29:52
get a chance to speak you with you at
29:54
FLA, but once again, you did impress me.
29:55
You look really good. I have no doubt
29:57
you're going to perform just as well at
29:58
at Havoc, so wish you the best of luck,
30:01
and I'm hopefully we'll talk again.
30:03
>> Yeah, for sure. I'm down to have a
30:05
conversation in the future for sure. Who
30:06
knows, maybe after Havoc if you want to.
30:08
We'll see. I know there's a a unified
30:10
card at the end that I might call for or
30:11
whatnot, but I I got to get through this
30:13
one first, right? I don't want to be
30:14
looking too far ahead. So,
30:16
>> you can win and still not
30:20
>> Well, you never know. You might you
30:21
might be friends with the Daisy and hop
30:23
on that card. That'd be awesome. All
30:24
right, Hudson. Take care, man.
30:26
>> Then there's also the good luck in your
30:27
fight.
30:28
>> Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.
30:32
>> Hey there, fight friends. I bet you are
30:34
looking at the screen right now and
30:35
wondering what the heck is going on. Why
30:37
are there four people on your screen
30:39
when there's usually just me and a
30:40
guest? Well, today we've got a couple
30:42
translators helping us. Our guest, we're
30:44
fortunate enough to have uh Muhammad
30:46
Abakar, an exciting young fighter out of
30:48
Quebec on your left and he is fighting
30:50
at Fight League Championship on November
30:52
7th. Muhammad speaks mostly French. I
30:55
speak mostly English. So, he is joined
30:57
by his brother Musa to help translate
30:59
and I've got my good friend Jean with me
31:01
who will be as a backup just in case
31:03
it's needed. All right, Muhammad, it's
31:05
good to see you again. How are you?
31:07
>> I'm fine. And you?
31:09
>> I'm great, thank you. For the people who
31:11
are watching who who might not know who
31:13
you are because my audience goes across
31:15
the whole country, take a moment, please
31:18
introduce yourself, say your name, say
31:20
where you're from and how you got
31:22
involved in fighting.
31:39
Muhammad Abakar.
32:11
So yeah, for those who don't know him,
32:12
his name is Mohammed.
32:15
He's uh training at JCMA in Lashin,
32:20
Montreal, Canada.
32:22
and um
32:28
>> he's 19 years old
32:33
>> and it's been two years since he started
32:38
combat sports.
32:41
>> How did you first discover fighting? Did
32:43
you watch a fight and you said said to
32:46
yourself that's something you wanted to
32:48
try?
32:51
But he
32:53
he always he always used to to watch
32:57
like WWE
32:59
the
33:00
>> John Cena
33:03
um
33:05
like Rampage Jackson action to
33:10
he's always been like
33:12
he always love to see like
33:16
everything that invite me
33:21
So, how did you get started? How old
33:23
were you when you started? You're 19
33:25
now. Have you always been with GSSE
33:27
Academy? And did you just start off
33:29
taking a class and then fell in love
33:31
with it?
33:34
>> We used to at first we used to, me and
33:38
him, we used to to train to train at
33:40
home just doing like push-ups and
33:42
everything
33:44
because we always we always wanted to to
33:47
fight. He always wanted to fight.
33:50
And when we we moved to Lashin, we were
33:54
looking for a good gym.
33:57
So we looked up and we saw that there
33:59
was a a gym 5 minutes walks from here.
34:03
So we went we went and see how it was
34:05
going. We met one of our friends, Ali,
34:09
and yeah, he started from there. We
34:12
he started training. He started training
34:15
from there. when when you first got in
34:18
the gym, he asked
34:21
um how much time it would take him to go
34:24
to professional.
34:24
>> No, go to champion
34:27
>> to to be a champion.
34:30
>> Oh yeah.
34:31
>> He told him he he can be like eight
34:34
years
34:36
and
34:38
here he is now.
34:40
>> Here he is now. A professional mixed
34:42
martial artist. Muhammad, I've had the
34:44
pleasure of watching you fight in person
34:47
either twice or three times, I don't
34:49
remember. And every time, you're always
34:51
a very exciting fighter to watch. You're
34:54
extremely technical. You're a very good,
34:56
very, very good striker. You're very
34:58
fast. And you're exciting to watch.
35:21
Thank you, sir.
35:43
So yeah, he said thank you. Thank you
35:45
for the compliment. It means a lot
35:48
because uh he it all comes from the the
35:52
work he been putting in with the with
35:54
our coach.
35:56
So yeah, thank you for thank you for the
35:59
compliment.
36:01
>> When it comes to training and preparing,
36:04
that never ends. You're 19 years old
36:06
right now, and if you stay with this,
36:08
you're still going to be training and
36:10
learning when you're 29 years old, in 10
36:12
years. So my question to you is, what
36:15
are what is important for you to learn
36:17
right now? What what is important that
36:19
you think you need to develop in your
36:21
skill set?
36:24
>> Can you say that again?
36:27
Yes. So, the journey of a of a martial
36:31
artist, it it never stops.
36:33
>> So, at 19 years old right now, you still
36:35
have a long time to keep fighting and
36:37
training and learning. So, my question
36:40
is, what types of things do you need to
36:43
work on? We know you're an excellent
36:45
striker already. Are there any areas
36:47
that you think you need to work on to
36:49
focus on?
37:03
Okay.
37:16
M please.
37:20
Come.
37:29
for
37:51
Venet
37:55
Champion GFC.
38:08
realism
38:12
for him. He don't see the fact that
38:18
he's young because
38:21
he's trying to do it like
38:24
the fastest way possible because for him
38:27
the more important thing is put in more
38:28
work to get better and
38:33
try to
38:37
to be on the top them the the fastest
38:40
way possible.
38:43
talk about training at GSC Academy. Uh
38:46
who are your coaches and what is the
38:49
training like there?
39:03
My coach is lucky for
39:06
>> Yeah, his coach is lucky for
39:29
Yeah. So, yeah, with the coach Lucky,
39:32
it's been only two years, but he feels
39:34
he's he's only bit like he's only bit
39:37
like family with for us. It's like it's
39:41
been a lifetime since we know him. He's
39:43
like a father. So, yeah.
40:00
And he made him discover a part of him
40:03
that even he didn't know that he had it
40:06
since he started this this sport.
40:10
>> So yeah,
40:11
>> which is
40:24
New jiujitsu nil box nothing
40:39
every time.
40:42
for
40:48
develop.
40:51
Crica,
41:21
Um can you translate because
41:23
>> yes absolutely. So what Muhammad is
41:26
saying is actually really interesting.
41:28
So where he comes from Africa um he used
41:31
to fight on the street quite a bit and
41:34
what he found is that you know that was
41:37
um leading to something negative in his
41:39
life. Now that he's with his coach, he
41:42
has taught him the right ways and to use
41:44
combat in his favor and make it a
41:46
positive event. And that's how he's uh
41:49
really uh enjoying being able to become
41:52
go from being a young man to now a more
41:57
uh wellrounded man.
42:00
>> Nice. I love that.
42:02
Muhammad, where did you come from in
42:04
Africa?
42:06
>> Chad.
42:07
>> Chad. Nice. Yeah.
42:12
>> Um, let's move on now to your your fight
42:15
at Fight League Championship. You're
42:17
actually fighting for the championship
42:19
uh on November 7th. Tell me about this
42:21
fight, how this this happened.
42:29
Um,
42:36
because
42:54
experience.
43:10
adversity. We are
43:40
uh and step.
43:45
um
43:50
>> so what he's saying is that uh you know
43:53
this fight and he believes that you
43:56
actually witnessed his last fight didn't
43:58
go as planned. didn't go the way that he
44:00
wanted to. And this fight coming up is
44:02
more proving to himself that he's what
44:06
he believes he can be and it's basically
44:09
him fighting for himself and even though
44:12
there's going to be an opponent, um he's
44:14
there to prove himself that he can be a
44:16
great fighter.
44:18
>> Great. Awesome.
44:20
Muhammad, what do you do with your life
44:22
when you're not uh training to fight? Do
44:25
you go to school? Do you have a job?
44:28
No, just fighting.
44:30
>> Just fighting.
44:31
>> Just fighting. Just training. Training.
44:33
Eat, sleep, training,
44:36
and go um mosque because I'm a Muslim.
44:41
>> Mhm.
44:42
>> That's it.
44:45
>> Have you in your fighting career before,
44:48
have you had to fight uh I know that
44:50
some fighters, Muslim fighters do fight
44:52
during Ramadan. Have you ever fought
44:54
during Ramadan before?
44:57
Yeah,
45:34
Ramadan.
45:37
So yeah,
45:39
he fought in in his second fight
45:43
in his second pro fight. he fought high
45:45
during the Ramadan
45:47
and he said that he wasn't really proud
45:51
of himself because
45:55
the Ramadan is a is a month where you're
45:57
supposed to focus on your religion, your
45:59
practice,
46:02
your faith and
46:05
is not really the moment to fight. It's
46:08
not it's not good physically and
46:10
mentally to fight during this month. So,
46:13
and he knows that he's not the the image
46:16
he wanted to trans to to
46:20
come transmit.
46:23
>> Yeah.
46:26
>> Is not
46:26
>> this is not the image that he wants to
46:28
portray.
46:29
>> Yeah. Yeah.
46:29
>> To his brothers and to anybody who's
46:32
Muslim moving for forward as well.
46:35
So yeah,
46:37
>> that's that's a fair thing to say, but
46:40
to you I will say that
46:43
I think you're either winning or you're
46:45
learning, right? So everything that we
46:48
do in our life, we can take a step back
46:50
and we teach ourselves lessons. So
46:53
you're still a young man, you're still
46:54
growing, you're learning, and that's why
46:56
your life keeps getting better as you
46:57
get older.
47:01
>> He understood.
47:02
>> Okay. Okay,
47:03
>> I guess uh two two final things. I've
47:06
got one last question to ask you, but
47:08
before we do that, I'm going to show you
47:09
a video and get your reaction. Okay.
47:19
>> Okay. You ready?
47:20
>> Yep.
47:30
>> I'll show it to him.
47:33
That was good.
47:34
>> Yeah, that was good. One of my favorite
47:36
videos I ever shot.
47:37
>> Thank you.
47:39
>> That's all.
47:41
>> All right, Muhammad, last question. I
47:43
always like ending my interviews the
47:45
same way. Is there anything that I
47:47
didn't ask you that you think we should
47:48
have talked about?
48:00
Fore!
48:12
Foreign! Foreign!
48:28
Yeah.
48:47
Edwin Petria.
48:51
And
48:59
longch.
49:44
Don't excuse
49:47
for
49:58
me.
50:16
Please
50:24
challenge
50:33
challenge.
50:36
Forever
51:05
Um,
51:25
This
51:53
category
52:00
experience.
52:02
Please repeat
52:11
Edwin.
52:16
key. So juice
52:32
No,
53:04
So
53:10
try
53:39
not fight.
53:44
So please
53:50
All
54:07
right, I'm going to do my best Andy. Um,
54:09
so this going to be a little bit shorter
54:12
version of what he said, but um in in uh
54:15
in essence what he says uh is that after
54:19
his last fight when he lost um he sort
54:22
of went quiet on social media. A lot of
54:25
people on social media seen that as a
54:27
weakness, sign of weakness. Um and him
54:31
in turn doesn't see it that way. In
54:33
fact, he sees that as a a way for him to
54:37
learn from. So even though he lost the
54:39
fight, he has learned a lot from it and
54:42
uh and believes that he can actually
54:44
improve from it and you know if it
54:47
becomes a rematch again with Edwin or
54:50
anybody else because the other thing
54:52
that he mentioned in there is that he's
54:54
never turned down a fight and in fact
54:56
he's always trying to go fight someone
54:58
bigger stronger than what he um would be
55:02
uh fighting in general and that's for
55:05
him you know uh very important from
55:07
people to know that he's never turned
55:09
down a fight and he's always willing to
55:10
fight.
55:11
>> The other thing that uh was mentioned is
55:13
that um you know his coach believes in
55:16
him. Um he's only been fighting for two
55:18
and a half years.
55:21
Yes, he does have a lot to learn but uh
55:23
for people to understand where he's come
55:25
from, who he is as a human being, and
55:28
what he's willing to do in the future.
55:32
>> Beautiful. Very beautiful.
55:34
>> Yeah. Okay, Muhammad, thank you very
55:36
much for those words.
55:37
>> Thank you.
55:40
>> Okay, I think I'm going to wrap it up.
55:42
Uh, Muhammad, I'm very uh grateful that
55:43
I got a chance to speak with you and you
55:45
today, Musa. Good seeing you both. Uh, I
55:47
know I will be seeing you fight sometime
55:49
in the future. It's inevitable. Uh, I
55:51
always enjoy speaking with you. You're
55:52
you're both very nice young men and I
55:54
wish you, Muhammad, best of luck on
55:56
November 7th in the year championship
55:58
fight.
55:58
>> Thank you.
56:00
>> Okay.
56:02
Mercat
56:30
come
56:38
Tulman.
56:49
I'm ready.
57:07
Wow. I believe in my dream.
57:12
So yeah, thank you and thank you
57:25
So he wants to thank you for the
57:27
opportunity. This is a great platform
57:28
for him to be able to express himself
57:31
and to be able to you know um prove to
57:34
the world that uh you know he's yeah
57:37
even though he's a young man but he's
57:39
got a big dreams and a big future in
57:42
front of him. So he wants to thank you
57:44
again for the opportunity to be part of
57:45
this here today.
57:46
>> All right. Thank you Muhammad. They go
57:48
fight friends. Muhammad Abakar fighting
57:51
for his championship match at Fight
57:52
League Championship on November 7th.
57:54
Make sure you watch it.
57:55
>> And my brother too, him to him too.
57:58
Fight fighting on the same.
58:00
>> Okay. Well, Ma, good luck too.
58:05
>> Okay. Hey guys, Bush Pa, don't hang up.
58:09
>> Hey there, fight friends and welcome to
58:11
the MMA prospect of the week. And if you
58:14
don't recognize the young man on the
58:15
screen right now, don't worry. In two or
58:17
three or four or however many years it
58:19
is, you are going to see this face be a
58:21
household name. His name name is Sam
58:23
Rhino. He's a 2 and 0 professional mixed
58:26
martial artist from Halifax. And uh I
58:28
think he's got a speaker. Sam, good to
58:30
see you.
58:31
>> You. It's good to see you.
58:33
>> Talk about uh you know, just life in
58:36
general. Do me a favor and just
58:38
introduce yourself to the audience
58:39
because even though you're well known in
58:41
Fight League Atlantic circles and in the
58:43
Maritimes, I'm sure probably most of the
58:45
country, anybody who's watching this has
58:46
no idea who you are. Take a moment,
58:48
introduce yourself, say who you are, say
58:50
where you're from and how you got
58:52
involved in combat sports.
58:54
>> Uh yeah, my name's uh Sam Rhino. Uh I'm
58:57
from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Uh, I've been
59:00
doing mixed martial arts and martial
59:02
arts for about 10 or 11 years now. Um,
59:08
and I kind of just got started,
59:09
honestly, the real reason I got started
59:11
is my I was kind of just a lazy kid who
59:14
didn't really do anything other than
59:15
play video games. And my mom had enough
59:17
of it one day and she was like, "You, we
59:19
got to get you into doing something." So
59:21
then she took me into a into a fight gym
59:24
and that was kind of the the start to
59:26
the journey, I guess.
59:29
How old were you when that happened and
59:30
what was the first fight gym?
59:32
>> Uh I was 12 when I started. Um and I
59:36
started training in uh Titans which is
59:39
at Bears Lake under Peter Martell. Uh
59:42
>> started training boxing there originally
59:44
when I was 11 or not 11, 12, and then
59:48
kind of quickly moved over into doing
59:50
mixed martial arts.
59:53
>> How old are you now, Sam?
59:55
>> Uh 23. So, I've been doing this Yeah.
59:58
about 11 years now.
59:59
>> Well, half your life. Yeah. It's pretty
1:00:01
>> Yeah. Yeah. Majority of my like
1:00:04
conscious life has been just has been
1:00:07
combat sports. So,
1:00:09
>> when you first stepped foot into Titans
1:00:11
at at at 11 or 12 years old and you were
1:00:13
exposed to it,
1:00:14
>> was it something you took to immediately
1:00:16
or was it just something to do and then
1:00:19
eventually you realized you were good at
1:00:20
it?
1:00:22
Um, it's str when I first started,
1:00:26
honestly, like I hated every sport as a
1:00:29
kid. I didn't like to I didn't like
1:00:32
playing hockey. I didn't like soccer. I
1:00:34
didn't like anything. So, I kind of told
1:00:37
my mom that I wanted to like box and do
1:00:38
martial arts cuz I didn't think she
1:00:40
would like let me continue doing it.
1:00:42
Once she saw me get beat up once or
1:00:44
twice, she'd pull me out. But I started
1:00:47
going and I like I really I really
1:00:50
enjoyed the culture around it. I really
1:00:51
enjoyed the people that I met and I kind
1:00:53
of just took to it pretty quickly and
1:00:56
kind of right off the bat I was I was
1:00:59
hooked like I couldn't every every other
1:01:01
day I was at the gym and then eventually
1:01:03
it turned into every day and I just
1:01:05
couldn't seem to pull myself away.
1:01:08
>> You said you started off with boxing. Of
1:01:10
course, that's a component of striking,
1:01:12
which is one of the main disciplines in
1:01:14
mixed martial arts. But MMA, of course,
1:01:16
is more than that. There's the clinch,
1:01:18
there's ground work. When did you start
1:01:19
doing any ground training?
1:01:22
>> Um, I started probably after
1:01:25
to like seven, eight months. Um, cuz
1:01:28
when I first started boxing, I didn't
1:01:30
even know what MMA was. I remember going
1:01:33
into the uh to the gym and the coach,
1:01:36
Peter Martell, asking me, he said, "Uh,
1:01:38
well, why do you want to box?" I was
1:01:39
like, "Oh, because they're they're the
1:01:41
best martial artists. It's the best
1:01:42
martial art." Like, cuz I didn't know
1:01:45
anything. And he was like, "Well, that's
1:01:46
just not true at all." And then after
1:01:49
some time, I started seeing uh the guys,
1:01:52
you know, training jiu-jitsu and Muay
1:01:54
Thai and MMA. I was like, "Oh, this is
1:01:58
this is way cooler." Especially when uh
1:02:01
Gavin Tucker, my my coach now, he came
1:02:03
in and he uh he came into a boxing class
1:02:06
to just do some sparring with some of
1:02:08
the the younger guys. And I remember he
1:02:10
had a broken hand and he like just dog
1:02:14
walked me. Like there's nothing I could
1:02:16
do. I was like, "Oh, this seems like
1:02:19
this seems like way better. I I should I
1:02:22
should switch over and start doing MMA."
1:02:24
And after that, it just kind of it
1:02:26
spiraled from there.
1:02:28
>> Yeah, that's awesome.
1:02:30
um your relationship with your coach
1:02:31
Gavin. Um Gavin, I'm I'm a very uh I've
1:02:35
a lot of uh a lot of praise for him as
1:02:38
an individual, as a human being, but es
1:02:40
especially as a coach. I've said for the
1:02:42
longest time that he's a he's he's maybe
1:02:45
the best unsung coach in Canada. Uh you
1:02:47
know, you've got a lot of a lot of big
1:02:49
people together. He's just one guy in
1:02:51
his in his in his little corner of of
1:02:54
Dartmouth and he's producing some really
1:02:56
outstanding fighters in there. He's got
1:02:57
a great mindset, uh, very sharp mind.
1:03:00
Talk about having him as a coach and how
1:03:02
he has guided you from
1:03:04
>> where you were then, uh, through an
1:03:06
amateur career, three three fights,
1:03:08
three victories to a pro career, two
1:03:10
fights, two victories.
1:03:13
>> Yeah. I mean, I I'll give Gavin as much
1:03:17
praise as I possibly can. Like said,
1:03:20
there's a lot of guys who are like very
1:03:21
good fighters, but it doesn't translate
1:03:23
to to coaching. Gavin is a phenomenal
1:03:26
fighter, but he also is an amazing
1:03:29
coach. Like he he's got the the mindset
1:03:32
for it. He knows how to how to structure
1:03:34
things so that you'll actually get uh
1:03:37
advancement. You're he's not going to do
1:03:39
anything just for the sake of doing it.
1:03:41
Everything has a plan. And even when it
1:03:44
comes to the the mindset behind fighting
1:03:47
and uh being there for the guys
1:03:50
mentally, he's
1:03:52
he's world class. And it's showing, you
1:03:54
know, the the gym's relatively young.
1:03:56
It's only four or five years old, but
1:03:58
we've already got so many highlevel
1:04:00
guys. You look at uh Abdell, who just
1:04:02
fought in UAE Warriors. You look at Tai,
1:04:05
who's fighting here soon. Tai Bordon,
1:04:07
who's fighting in 3 weeks now. Uh just
1:04:10
super highlevel guys. And all of us will
1:04:13
attribute that just to to Gavin's genius
1:04:17
when it comes to being a coach. like
1:04:19
he's everything is structured so well
1:04:21
and he he knows how to work and change
1:04:24
things individually to each person. He
1:04:26
understands that the things that I do
1:04:28
might not work for another guy and the
1:04:30
things that that other guy does don't
1:04:31
work for me. So he's legitimately a a a
1:04:36
genius when it comes to to structuring
1:04:38
and making sure that people are getting
1:04:40
getting better.
1:04:42
When you try to analyze your skill set
1:04:44
as a martial artist, is there anything
1:04:47
that you feel like you're particularly
1:04:49
good at better than anything else, or is
1:04:50
there anything that you you love doing
1:04:52
more than others?
1:04:54
>> I I mean, if you look at the the record,
1:04:56
I love to I love to stand up and strike.
1:04:59
Uh I've I've been to the ground really
1:05:01
only once in my entire mixed martial
1:05:04
arts career. Um I I like to stand up and
1:05:08
I like to strike. Uh that also comes
1:05:11
from just my body type and my the the
1:05:16
training that I had before I switched
1:05:17
MMA where I started with boxing. So
1:05:19
that's where I kind of gained my my
1:05:21
comfort originally. But I I think my my
1:05:26
ability to to maintain my distance and
1:05:29
keep
1:05:30
uh to lay traps and just be a a good
1:05:34
striker and a well-rounded striker is
1:05:36
something that I think gives me a little
1:05:37
bit of an edge when it comes to to
1:05:39
competition. Not to sound too cocky.
1:05:42
There's definitely guys out there who
1:05:43
are strikers who I'm definitely shooting
1:05:47
takedowns on, but like I think uh you
1:05:50
know my ability to kind of keep it on
1:05:52
the feet and utilize my my natural
1:05:55
abilities I'm I'm quite confident in.
1:05:58
>> Awesome. I think when you take a look at
1:06:01
your success, of course, you've got
1:06:03
different factors that are involved in
1:06:04
it. There's there's you there's your
1:06:06
internal whatever is inside you that
1:06:09
that helps you prepare. There's your
1:06:11
work ethic. There's your coach Gavin,
1:06:13
but don't forget uh Oh, I know you
1:06:15
haven't forgotten, but I think a key
1:06:17
component is probably your your
1:06:19
teammates. I know I've always been very
1:06:20
impressed with the with the team at
1:06:23
Tower One and how tight-knit you seem. A
1:06:26
lot of gyms are really close and a lot
1:06:27
of them refer to themselves as families,
1:06:28
and I have no doubt they are. Uh, it
1:06:30
seems like Tower One is I don't know if
1:06:32
you take it to a further extreme like I
1:06:34
see pictures of you guys like renting
1:06:36
Airbnbs together and playing D and D and
1:06:38
stuff like that and watch
1:06:40
>> watching watching pay-per-views and
1:06:42
stuff. Talk about your teammates and how
1:06:44
you know just they they help support you
1:06:46
who you are.
1:06:48
>> They're they're family. Like I I say
1:06:52
this to you know my my teammates as
1:06:56
well. I don't really like to to talk to
1:06:58
anybody else other than my team. like
1:07:00
they're my they're my best friends,
1:07:01
they're my family. Um, and it helps
1:07:03
because the the gym itself just breeds
1:07:07
people who are are serious about martial
1:07:10
arts. We all have kind of the same goal
1:07:12
and we all have that same like love and
1:07:15
uh that love for martial arts where
1:07:17
we're not just, you know, not that
1:07:19
there's anything wrong with guys who
1:07:20
want to go in and just train to stay in
1:07:23
shape and just as something to do, but
1:07:26
everybody in there is like obsessed with
1:07:28
advancement and these little these
1:07:30
little details that kind of make the
1:07:32
difference. And having that to where
1:07:34
we're we all share that ability just
1:07:38
kind of makes us super tightly knit. Uh,
1:07:40
so I really wouldn't be able to do half
1:07:42
the things that I'm doing without them.
1:07:44
Like, uh, all my teammates who support
1:07:47
me through camp and help me outside of
1:07:49
camp and the ones that I help when
1:07:51
they're in camp, uh, we all are just,
1:07:55
yeah, like you said, we're super tightly
1:07:56
knit, we're we're all just a a family.
1:08:02
Out of all the other fighters in the
1:08:03
world, whether they are regional local
1:08:05
fighters to you or perhaps UFC or other
1:08:07
big organization, are there any fighters
1:08:09
that jump out to you and and you know
1:08:11
you feel attracted to in that you know
1:08:13
you you admire their fight style and you
1:08:15
like the way they they they fight?
1:08:18
>> Yeah, when I was uh first getting
1:08:20
started, the guy that I really like was
1:08:23
drawn to right away was Cory Sandhagen.
1:08:26
Always one of my my favorite fighters.
1:08:28
Uh, I remember back when I originally
1:08:31
started doing MMA, I was training with
1:08:33
uh Jake Kelly, who you know, who was,
1:08:36
you know, his style. He's like a, as a
1:08:39
kid, he was beating me up all the time.
1:08:41
So, I had to like, my style is basically
1:08:44
based around just trying to not get beat
1:08:46
up by Jay Kelly. So, I remember uh being
1:08:50
being a kid and the fight I found was
1:08:52
Cory Sanhagen versus John Lker, which
1:08:54
was a very like a mover versus like a
1:08:56
forward heavy pressure guy. I remember
1:08:58
watching that fight over and over, day
1:09:00
in and day out, being like, "All right,
1:09:01
this is what I got to do to Jake this
1:09:03
Saturday." To be honest, didn't work for
1:09:06
me right away. Jake still beat the
1:09:08
out of me for years and years and years.
1:09:11
But yeah, that was the guy that I was
1:09:13
originally like super invested in. Uh,
1:09:15
Robert Whitaker was another guy that I
1:09:17
was a huge fan of lately. We just saw
1:09:19
win yesterday. Uh, Poran, one of my
1:09:22
favorites of all time. I think maybe the
1:09:25
most well-rounded mixed martial artist
1:09:27
of all time. Just a a phenomenon. But
1:09:30
those are the guys that really kind of
1:09:32
helped shape my style, I'd say.
1:09:35
>> Mhm.
1:09:37
>> Yeah. When you take a look at the guys
1:09:39
you just explained and you take a look
1:09:40
at yourself, if somebody's never seen
1:09:42
you fight inside the cage before and
1:09:44
they were to watch you, Samurai know
1:09:46
inside a cage, have that door falls
1:09:47
behind you, what kind of thing would
1:09:50
they expect to see? What kind of
1:09:51
experience would they have from watching
1:09:52
you get into a fist fight?
1:09:55
>> I think that's kind of a a hard question
1:09:58
to answer because most of the time it's
1:10:02
there are going to be certain things
1:10:03
that are similar. I'm always going to
1:10:04
try and implement the my striking and
1:10:07
the things that I have kind of honed to
1:10:10
be my my favorite techniques I guess but
1:10:14
uh a lot of the time you kind of have to
1:10:17
just wait a little bit and see how it
1:10:19
plays out before I can give something to
1:10:22
expect. Uh I remember in my professional
1:10:24
debut which I uh took to the ground and
1:10:28
won via submission. Uh the game plan in
1:10:31
that fight really wasn't to take him
1:10:32
down. I was going to strike with him and
1:10:35
try and get my my hands going and my
1:10:36
kicks going, but he was uh
1:10:40
he was he wasn't doing everything that I
1:10:42
fully anticipated him doing. And I knew
1:10:44
that there was an opening for the
1:10:45
takedown. So, I had to kind of switch up
1:10:48
in the moment to to kind of get that get
1:10:51
it into a position where I felt better
1:10:53
with.
1:10:54
>> Mhm.
1:10:55
>> Yeah. Well, I think that's you might not
1:10:59
realize it, but critical part of having
1:11:01
success inside, you know, long-term
1:11:02
success as a fighter because, you know,
1:11:05
as they say, the the the bestlaid plans
1:11:07
often don't survive first contact with
1:11:09
the enemy, right? So,
1:11:10
>> yeah.
1:11:10
>> Yeah, you've got your plans. You you
1:11:12
know what you want to do when you get in
1:11:13
there, but there's somebody else in
1:11:14
there and they've got their plans.
1:11:16
>> So, like sometimes what you want to do
1:11:19
isn't going to work and you need to
1:11:20
adapt immediately. And it sounds like
1:11:22
you did that.
1:11:23
Yeah, that was a moment where I had to
1:11:25
because he was, you know, all respect to
1:11:28
Juan Pablo, he was a uh he was a super
1:11:32
tough guy. Um, and I know that like he
1:11:34
had a fight in FLA with me and Abdell
1:11:37
and uh they kind of they didn't
1:11:39
obviously go his way, but I think that
1:11:41
he was super tough and I remember he was
1:11:43
he's hit me harder than anybody else has
1:11:45
hit me in the cage. So, I was like,
1:11:47
"Okay, I got to I don't really like this
1:11:49
right now. I'm going to shoot a takedown
1:11:51
and let's let's hope this works out
1:11:52
better. So, I just kind of Yeah, you
1:11:55
have to you have to be adjustable. Um,
1:11:58
and if you don't have that ability to
1:12:00
switch things up on the fly and and find
1:12:02
those openings in the moment, uh, then
1:12:04
you're really you kind of trap yourself
1:12:06
in a box that that limits your path to
1:12:08
victory. Um, and I think that's
1:12:10
something that I can attribute to Gavin
1:12:13
where a lot of the the game planning we
1:12:16
have is very in like very in-depth. We
1:12:20
always have a plan of what we want to
1:12:22
do, but at the end of the day, we're not
1:12:24
just focusing on that game plan. There
1:12:26
needs to be contingencies on
1:12:27
contingencies on contingencies of if
1:12:30
this game plan doesn't work out, what's
1:12:31
your B game? Okay, what's your C game?
1:12:33
What's like you need to have you kind of
1:12:36
have to go in with the mindset that
1:12:37
everything that you're going to try to
1:12:39
do that you've been working for the past
1:12:40
eight weeks might not work and you need
1:12:42
to be able to adjust on the fly.
1:12:47
>> Give me a sec, Sam. I having a bit of a
1:12:49
brain fart. I had a question on the tip
1:12:50
of my brain. I'm going have to cut this
1:12:52
part out once I think what the question
1:12:53
was.
1:12:55
The behind the scenes things you don't
1:12:56
normally see. What was it? Oh my god.
1:13:01
>> Oh yeah. Okay,
1:13:03
Andy, this is where you cut the video
1:13:04
back in.
1:13:06
>> Sam, when you're not fighting or train
1:13:08
to fight, what do you do with your life?
1:13:11
>> Honestly, I I just work and train. Like,
1:13:14
there's not really much else going on.
1:13:16
It's it's my life is just based around
1:13:20
training and and getting better and
1:13:22
earning enough to where I can afford to
1:13:24
train and go into these fight camps.
1:13:27
>> I think those
1:13:29
>> uh I work for a a construction company
1:13:31
just kind of in the in the back office
1:13:33
doing some administrative stuff.
1:13:35
>> I'm a I'm a desk jockey.
1:13:37
>> Hey, that's good. You don't break your
1:13:39
back before a training session. It's
1:13:41
it's quite nice to go from I don't have
1:13:44
to be out, you know, working
1:13:45
construction or out all night working
1:13:47
security. I can just sort of I got my my
1:13:50
little desk gig.
1:13:52
>> So, a a question I used to ask
1:13:55
>> I'm going to backtrack a sec. Not that I
1:13:57
really used to ask, but I sort of
1:14:00
>> get fighters to sort of talk to me about
1:14:01
how they're getting ready for the UFC or
1:14:05
whatever because let's face it, everyone
1:14:07
I talk to, they all want to get to the
1:14:08
UFC someday. But a lot of that's outside
1:14:10
your control, right? You can only sort
1:14:12
of do what you can do. Keep training,
1:14:15
keep taking good fights and winning good
1:14:17
fights.
1:14:18
>> But clearly there's going to be in your
1:14:20
head somewhere there's an idea. You've
1:14:21
got a thought process of where you're
1:14:24
going to be someday and how it's going
1:14:25
to happen.
1:14:27
>> Just loosely generally talk about how
1:14:29
you see your career progressing and
1:14:31
what's going to happen the next two or
1:14:32
three or five or 10 fights.
1:14:35
Um, I think that one like when I was uh
1:14:40
because I took a little bit of a break,
1:14:41
but before I took that break, I was
1:14:43
super focused on
1:14:46
getting everything in place so that
1:14:47
everything was perfect and that
1:14:49
everything had to go an exact way so
1:14:52
that I could get to here and there was a
1:14:54
time crunch on everything. Um, right now
1:14:57
I've kind of taken that pressure off.
1:15:00
Um, obviously you want to get to these
1:15:02
bigger shows and uh more eyes and more
1:15:05
more kind of notoriety, but I think that
1:15:10
I I just want to keep fighting. I'll get
1:15:14
the fights that make sense and that
1:15:16
they're good fights and I'll take tough
1:15:18
tests and I think if I keep fighting and
1:15:20
I just keep doing what I do, uh, then
1:15:23
I'll get to the point that I want to be
1:15:25
at. Um, I think if I just I think if I
1:15:28
put too much pressure on myself, then it
1:15:30
it hinders my performance. Uh,
1:15:33
especially even inside the gym, if you
1:15:35
know, I go in and I've I have that
1:15:37
mindset that I used to have where
1:15:39
everything needed to be perfect because
1:15:41
I need to get into the UFC within this
1:15:44
many fights and I need to do this and I
1:15:46
need to do that and I need to, you know,
1:15:47
have everything in place. uh the moment
1:15:49
that like somebody would land a jab on
1:15:51
me, it would just like make my like, "Oh
1:15:54
my god, it's not I need to I need to
1:15:56
switch up." Um now I'm not putting that
1:15:59
that pressure on myself to where I'm
1:16:01
just going in to fight because I love to
1:16:04
fight. Um so I'm not there's nothing
1:16:07
really
1:16:09
outside of my mind other than just go
1:16:11
in, fight, perform, do the best you can
1:16:14
do. Um, and if I keep continuing the way
1:16:17
that I've been going, I have no doubt
1:16:19
that those opportunities will come.
1:16:22
>> Usually when I talk to fighters, it's in
1:16:24
the week or two weeks before the
1:16:25
upcoming fight, but you, as far as I
1:16:27
know, don't have anything scheduled,
1:16:29
unless that's kind of behind the scenes.
1:16:31
>> What's your plan? When do you want to
1:16:32
get back in there again?
1:16:33
>> Um, I'm hoping
1:16:36
early next year. Um I was kind of hoping
1:16:38
to fight in uh November in 3 weeks, but
1:16:42
there was some things behind the scenes,
1:16:43
some things that I wanted to tighten up.
1:16:45
Um especially where you know the first
1:16:47
one two pro fights uh you can like
1:16:53
the the trying to think of the word for
1:16:55
it. After two fights is when things
1:16:58
start to get a little bit more more
1:16:59
serious. when I hit 2 and 0 with two
1:17:01
first round finishes, then it's like,
1:17:03
okay, there's more eyes on it and then
1:17:05
the fights are going to get a little bit
1:17:07
tougher. So, I wanted to make sure that
1:17:08
when I do take this this kind of third
1:17:10
professional walk to the cage that
1:17:12
everything is in place to where I don't
1:17:15
have any any holes that I'm too worried
1:17:16
about. Um, and I felt like there was a
1:17:19
couple of things that I just wanted to
1:17:20
to tweak and get up. Uh, but now I feel
1:17:24
like I've closed up those holes. I feel
1:17:25
a lot more prepared. So hopefully within
1:17:30
the next couple of couple of months I'll
1:17:33
be able to get back in the cage.
1:17:35
>> Awesome. Well, as you know, I I make it
1:17:38
out occasionally to fight League
1:17:39
Atlantic, so hopefully I'll be there for
1:17:40
your fight, assuming it isn't
1:17:42
fightantic. It could be elsewhere.
1:17:44
>> Uh but regardless, you're an exciting
1:17:45
fighter to watch, Sam. I'm I'm glad we
1:17:47
got a chance to speak. Uh before I let
1:17:49
you go, I'm just wondering though, is
1:17:50
there anything else you think we should
1:17:52
have talked about that I didn't ask?
1:17:54
>> Um there's not too much that I can think
1:17:56
about. It's um the only thing I can say
1:17:59
is that I I appreciate you for giving me
1:18:02
the chance to talk and kind of uh I
1:18:05
guess talk about myself for the past
1:18:07
couple minutes and then um for whoever
1:18:11
is interested um I'll most likely be
1:18:14
fighting on the the East Coast again in
1:18:16
the next couple of months. So make sure
1:18:19
that you uh you tune in. I'm looking
1:18:21
forward to putting on another show. Uh
1:18:23
hopefully getting another exciting win
1:18:25
under my belt. Um because so far that's
1:18:29
luckily been what I've been able to get
1:18:31
with uh you know five fights under the
1:18:33
FLA banner with five finishes, four in
1:18:36
the first round. Um so I'm hoping that I
1:18:39
can keep that train going and if
1:18:41
anybody's watching who hasn't tuned in
1:18:43
for a fight, please tune in next time. I
1:18:45
promise I'll make it worthwhile.
1:18:48
>> Well, there you go, fight friends. You
1:18:50
heard it from the man himself, Sam
1:18:51
Rhino. Make sure you tune in. Watch him.
1:18:53
I'll let you know when that's going to
1:18:54
be when when I find out. hopefully
1:18:56
sooner rather than later. Sam, thanks
1:18:59
again for your time and I appreciate
1:19:01
your your life with us and best of luck
1:19:03
with everything in the future.
1:19:05
>> Thank you.