Latest / The MM-EH Show / The MM-EH Show 7 - Jake Craig, TJ Laramie, Fred Dupras, Ryan Yapsam, Saeed Abi-Issa, and Scout Meyer

Transcript

The MM-EH Show 7 - Jake Craig, TJ Laramie, Fred Dupras, Ryan Yapsam, Saeed Abi-Issa, and Scout Meyer · The MM-EH Show

• 0:00
  Hey there fight friends. We have a
• 0:01
  special treat today. We're joined by the
• 0:02
  man himself, Jake Craig, who is fighting
• 0:05
  MZA HopVac at uh Unified MMA 68 Nemonton
• 0:09
  for the Unified MMA light heavyweight
• 0:12
  belt. Jake, how are you?
• 0:14
  >> Well, I'm well. Thanks for having me on.
• 0:16
  I really appreciate it. Been a band for
• 0:18
  a long time, so it's cool to finally be
• 0:20
  on here.
• 0:22
  >> Yeah. Well, thanks. It's always kind of
• 0:23
  cool for me to hear stuff like that.
• 0:24
  Like, I know people look at my stuff,
• 0:26
  but it's, you know, just to hear it out
• 0:27
  loud, it's kind of nice. So, I
• 0:28
  appreciate that. Thank you.
• 0:30
  >> No problem.
• 0:31
  >> So, this is a pretty big fight for you
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  and it's funny how you really haven't
• 0:35
  been fighting all that long as a
• 0:36
  professional, right? It's only been a
• 0:37
  hand small handful of years. Would you
• 0:39
  mind just taking a second to talk about
• 0:41
  your exposure to to to combat sports and
• 0:44
  how you got involved in that in general
• 0:45
  and then in particular mixed martial
• 0:47
  arts?
• 0:49
  >> Well, uh I always kind of was like
• 0:52
  interested in jiu-jitsu. Um but I never
• 0:55
  really had the the goal to try it. And
• 0:57
  then um I was working at the jail uh in
• 1:00
  Edmonton here and I met a guy who was a
• 1:03
  professional fighter named Dave
• 1:04
  McMillan. Some people might remember
• 1:07
  him, but um
• 1:08
  >> his nickname was shoulders. Dave
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  shoulders McMillan.
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  >> Most jack guy I ever seen in my life.
• 1:14
  >> Um and then he he's like, "Hey man, like
• 1:16
  why don't you just come out and try it?"
• 1:18
  Uh like everyone will treat you good,
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  you know? Like it's a pretty chill place
• 1:22
  and calm atmosphere. And uh so I was
• 1:26
  like, "Oh, you know what? I'm kind of
• 1:28
  sick and tired of running all the time
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  cuz it was like right after CO and none
• 1:33
  of the gyms were really open and I just
• 1:35
  was tired of lifting weights all the
• 1:37
  time. So I was like, I'll try it." And
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  so I started and I really just fell in
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  love with it and then started taking the
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  classes at Little Sweat Shop, which is
• 1:48
  uh basically now turned into Bulldozer
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  MMA. Mhm.
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  >> But um yeah, I just kept doing it, kept
• 1:55
  doing it, kept doing it. And then I did,
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  uh like a smoker tournament like a few
• 2:00
  months after I started training. Um
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  you know, gotten a couple good scraps
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  and and the guys were like, "Well, why
• 2:08
  don't you try to do amateur?" So, I
• 2:10
  trained a little bit harder, trained a
• 2:12
  little bit more and uh started going out
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  to the pro team classes and uh did some
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  amateur fights. uh fought for unified a
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  bunch of times and then fought for
• 2:21
  absolute MMA and uh turned professional
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  I think after a year or four fights and
• 2:28
  then yeah since then I just kind of been
• 2:31
  trying to fight but it's hard sport to
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  stay healthy and so the laws in my
• 2:37
  competition have been been mostly
• 2:39
  injuries.
• 2:41
  >> Yeah, I remember that. And you were
• 2:43
  originally supposed to fight MSA at
• 2:44
  Unified 66 in Toronto in January,
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  weren't you? Yeah. Yeah.
• 2:50
  >> Yeah. I was originally supposed to fight
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  him at 64 and then I had some uh family
• 2:54
  issues like some and some uh someone
• 2:58
  really close to me was not doing so
• 3:00
  well. Uh so I just needed to dedicate
• 3:02
  some time to uh you know I had to leave
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  the province and not be able to train
• 3:08
  for a little bit.
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  >> So thankfully you know he was cool
• 3:11
  enough to not give me a hard time about
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  it and uh push it back to the Edmonton
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  card. But I think we needed uh some big
• 3:18
  guys on the card anyways and yeah, so it
• 3:22
  worked out anyways, I guess.
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  >> Yeah, you are both really big guys, big,
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  strong, tough guys. And it's funny how
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  uh the sport has evolved over the years
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  where back in the day it seemed like
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  almost every fighter was was on the
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  bigger side. Maybe not Hoist Gracie, but
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  usually the larger guys. In fact, there
• 3:39
  wasn't even such a thing as a
• 3:40
  lightweight title in the UFC for years
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  and years until they brought in Jensen
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  Pulver and guys like that. So now it's
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  sort of migrated more where it's
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  lighterw weight guys, you know, they're
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  fast, they're explosive, and so I think
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  the fans when they see like a true true
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  two big men go at it like you and MS are
• 3:54
  going to go at it, they really
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  appreciate fights like that.
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  >> Yeah. I think like obviously when
• 3:58
  everyone started watching probably it
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  was like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, you
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  know, Randy Couture, you know, Brock
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  Lesnar, Daniel Cormier.
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  >> And when I started training, I was
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  training with guys like uh like Tanner
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  who was a heavyweight, you know, KB who
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  was like a
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  >> was a 180 like a big guy
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  >> and uh Chris Larson, humongous guy, you
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  know, like Graham Park, like everyone is
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  well over 200 pounds. So, I kind of
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  lucked out in in the sense that I have I
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  found like a really good place with
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  really large training partners right
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  away. I think like when I go down to
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  Ontario, sometimes I'll train at at
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  other gyms and there's a very very
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  limited amount of big guys, especially
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  skilled big guys. So yeah, it's it I
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  feel like there is a migration to the
• 4:49
  lower weight classes, but I think that's
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  because like some of the UFC guys said,
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  like if you're 6'5, 285 pounds, like
• 4:57
  just go fighting or just go play in the
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  NFL or something like that. You know
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  what I mean?
• 5:02
  >> Yeah. Yeah.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> So, you've been fighting now and uh I
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  see you also have some boxing fights
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  under your belt. So, is that typically
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  what you migrate to more is is the
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  standup fighting? Do you enjoy that the
• 5:12
  most? Honestly, I enjoy both. I really
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  love grappling and I really love uh
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  striking. Um I mean, I really always
• 5:21
  enjoyed watching boxing my whole life.
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  And then uh I was lucky enough to meet a
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  girl who is uh like a pretty highlevel
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  amateur boxer and she introduced me to
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  John Mendoza who has a gym called
• 5:36
  Alliance in Edmonton. And uh I basically
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  been training there since I returned
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  from my Achilles injury. And like just
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  the atmosphere and him as a coach
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  himself kind of like made me really fall
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  in love with like the nuances of boxing
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  and like the footwork of boxing. Um, I
• 5:53
  still train uh kickboxing a little bit
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  like more with um my other coach Mike
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  Newton, but I really enjoy the nuances
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  of boxing and and I can focus more on
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  specific things boxing in terms of
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  distance management and footwork and
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  stuff where I feel like that sometimes
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  that's a little bit lost in uh Muay Thai
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  and other kickboxing sports.
• 6:19
  >> Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned you there's a
• 6:22
  few different places you train. Would
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  you mind taking me through a typical
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  training week for you? How many gyms do
• 6:27
  you go to? What uh what is your focus or
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  or or you know do you have things set up
• 6:32
  a certain way?
• 6:33
  >> So like you're you want to know like uh
• 6:35
  like a mid camp training week?
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  >> Sure. Just Yeah. Like a training camp or
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  or or just whatever you want to say.
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  >> Sure. Like so usually on Mondays I'll
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  train uh with my I'll have a private
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  with my head coach Mike Newton uh and
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  we'll work uh pretty much anything that
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  he wants me to work that week. Grappling
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  uh striking. We kind of he blends all of
• 6:56
  the things I do together in that
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  session. So Monday I'll usually go to
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  Arashido East. They're nice enough to
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  let us train there uh and have the space
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  to oursel during the day. And then I'll
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  go to uh Mabati usually on Monday uh
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  afternoon and do like a cardio session.
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  Uh and then in the evening I'll go to
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  Alliance from about 6:00 to 8:00 and and
• 7:21
  box. Uh Monday to Friday I'll go or
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  sorry Monday to Thursday I'll box from
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  6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and uh spar on
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  Tuesdays and Thursdays. And then Friday
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  evening I go to Bulldozer and I uh
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  wrestle with Tanner and um like Evan and
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  another guy named Parker and we have
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  like usually our head coach Roger is
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  there and uh Jeff Monttoro Tanner's head
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  coach is there and we get some good hard
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  rounds in. Um and then so Tuesday uh at
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  Ludith MMA uh Justin Sanderson is the
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  head coach there. uh and he is uh he'll
• 8:02
  be in my corner this fight for the first
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  time, but he's my uh head grappling
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  coach. So, we'll grapple usually do like
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  10 fives of hard hard grappling. And
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  then Thursdays, we'll do the same thing,
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  10 hard fives of hard grappling.
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  Wednesday, I'll have like another
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  private with my coach Mike where we'll
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  blend everything that we've been working
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  on together. And in the afternoon, I'll
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  do another hard cardio session.
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  And then Saturday, I rest. And Sunday I
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  go to Tanners and we usually will spar
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  with like all the big guys that we can
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  get in the city. We'll go out there and
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  we'll spar like anywhere from six to 10
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  rounds and then we'll do some jiu-jitsu
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  rounds after. So pretty busy.
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  >> Wow. I'd say that's a pretty hectic
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  week. It's probably going to be a
• 8:48
  challenge just trying to keep it all
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  under management and remember where you
• 8:51
  have to go sometimes.
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  >> Yeah. Thankfully I have a schedule uh
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  like um what's it called? like a
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  calendar that I just write everything
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  down on or I
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  >> Yeah,
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  >> especially when you get tired and you're
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  low calories and stuff.
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  >> Oh yeah. No, I got it. Totally.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> Uh so Merzah, I've seen him fight in
• 9:11
  person a handful of times. Big guy,
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  strong guy. He's got good KO power. Talk
• 9:15
  about him as an opponent and what you're
• 9:16
  going to have to uh challenges you're
• 9:18
  going to have to overcome to get the
• 9:19
  victory here.
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  >> Well, I think obviously he's mega
• 9:23
  dangerous.
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  Uh he is big, he's strong, and he's got
• 9:27
  Kale power. Uh he's a pretty proficient
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  Muay Thai fighter. He trains out of a
• 9:32
  really good gym in Edmon or sorry in
• 9:34
  Ottawa 613.
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  >> They have a good lineage of highle Muay
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  Thai kickboxers there. I think that uh
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  you know he's going to be explosive. is
• 9:44
  going to come forward and he's going to
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  want to, you know, knock me out and uh
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  I'm just going to have to manage that
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  the best I can and
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  and uh try and land probably before he
• 9:56
  lands.
• 9:57
  >> Yeah. Yeah.
• 9:58
  >> Yeah.
• 9:59
  >> This is a question I like asking
• 10:00
  fighters because it sort of gets me a
• 10:02
  read of their their mindset. If you had
• 10:05
  a a perfect fight against a perfect
• 10:07
  opponent set up at some point in the
• 10:09
  future and all the all the marbles were
• 10:11
  on the line for this fight for you,
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  would you rather win the fight
• 10:15
  impressively with a KO or a submission
• 10:18
  in the first 30 seconds of the fight or
• 10:21
  get pushed and have a war through the
• 10:22
  whole fight and win the same way either
• 10:24
  by submission or KO impressively in the
• 10:26
  last 30 seconds of the fight?
• 10:29
  >> Definitely the latter.
• 10:31
  >> Yeah.
• 10:31
  >> Yeah, for sure. I just think you learn
• 10:34
  so much about yourself when you go into
• 10:36
  the cage and you spend a lot of time in
• 10:39
  there. Like I had a three- round fight
• 10:40
  in Toronto versus a guy named Jimmy
• 10:42
  >> Heel.
• 10:44
  >> Good opponent from the States. He's won
• 10:45
  quite a bit since we since we fought. He
• 10:48
  was 2 and 0 at the time. I was 2 and0 at
• 10:50
  the or sorry, I think he was 3 and0. I
• 10:52
  was 2 and 0 and man we went to war and
• 10:54
  and that completely changed every single
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  thing I thought about fighting and
• 10:59
  changed me on an entire different you
• 11:01
  know trajectory of what I want to train
• 11:03
  how I want to train what I need to train
• 11:05
  the mindset it takes to go that far and
• 11:09
  uh yeah I just really I think that if
• 11:11
  you want to grow as a human being and a
• 11:13
  martial artist the second question the
• 11:16
  second answer there is the right answer.
• 11:19
  Yeah, I really like the way you phrase
• 11:21
  that because I I sort of liken MMA
• 11:24
  analysis in the in the form of questions
• 11:26
  and answers, right? Like I've got
• 11:27
  questions about you, I've got questions
• 11:29
  about MSA, and those questions can only
• 11:31
  be answered when you fight each other,
• 11:32
  right? Like, who's the better striker,
• 11:34
  who's the better grappler, who's got a
• 11:35
  better game plan, all these things. And
• 11:36
  you you don't know the result until it
• 11:38
  happens.
• 11:39
  >> And uh yeah, I'm just really curious to
• 11:42
  see how this is going to go. I'm really
• 11:43
  excited for it. There's a yeah, there's
• 11:45
  a lot of hype toward this fight. A lot
• 11:47
  of people were expecting it for a while.
• 11:48
  So, I think a lot of people are going to
• 11:49
  be tuned in in uh in Edmonton at 68 and
• 11:52
  watch you guys go at it.
• 11:55
  >> I think it's we were on a collision
• 11:56
  course for a long time and uh the like
• 12:00
  obviously like I decided that I didn't
• 12:02
  want to be a heavyweight, so I went down
• 12:05
  to 205. I just think it's the right
• 12:06
  weight class for me. And uh you know,
• 12:09
  it'll be I don't know if he's ever
• 12:11
  fought at 205 or what, but he's he
• 12:13
  doesn't sit too big when he fights at
• 12:14
  heavyweight. So, I'm sure I'll have no
• 12:16
  issues making the weight and I think
• 12:18
  it's just going to be like it's going to
• 12:21
  be a really interesting, you know, fight
• 12:25
  in terms of the regional scene for
• 12:26
  Canada. I don't think I think Sunny was
• 12:29
  saying that there hasn't been two
• 12:30
  undefeated guys fight for a title in a
• 12:32
  long time. So, it'll be pretty
• 12:34
  interesting and and it'll be an honor to
• 12:38
  to be able to, you know, fight for the
• 12:41
  fans in front of the whole country
• 12:43
  hopefully. I know the Unified Plus app
• 12:45
  is great and hopefully like a lot of
• 12:47
  people subscribe to it. It's it's really
• 12:49
  cheap and it it's good quality and
• 12:51
  they're making like wicked promo videos
• 12:53
  and stuff. So,
• 12:54
  >> yep.
• 12:55
  >> You know, it's pretty cool. I think that
• 12:56
  hopefully a lot of people are hyped up
• 12:58
  about it. I mean, a lot of people are
• 12:59
  messaging me pretty psyched about it.
• 13:01
  So, you know, it's just that little
• 13:03
  extra drive when you're training to just
• 13:04
  go as hard as you humanly can and
• 13:07
  prepare, you know, to the last little
• 13:09
  detail.
• 13:11
  >> Yeah. You mentioned unified MMA owner
• 13:13
  Sunonny Serene. He and I had a great
• 13:15
  conversation a few weeks back, an
• 13:16
  interview that I posted, and one of the
• 13:18
  segments of it, we talked a good 10
• 13:20
  minutes. Well, he talked for a good 10
• 13:21
  minutes about he he really dislikes it
• 13:25
  when fighters
• 13:28
  essentially don't fight in the fight,
• 13:30
  right? They he likes fighters that are
• 13:31
  going active, that are going for it,
• 13:33
  that are are moving forward or trying to
• 13:34
  make advances in the in the in the
• 13:36
  outcome of the fight. he really doesn't
• 13:37
  like it the fighters who are sort of
• 13:39
  laying prey or sort of, you know, take a
• 13:42
  step back or or even fighters that don't
• 13:44
  want to fight the best opponents. So, I
• 13:45
  think he's really excited for for you
• 13:47
  two guys because both of you, if anyone
• 13:49
  has ever seen both of you fight, you're
• 13:50
  both aggressive in an intelligent way,
• 13:53
  though. It's not too overaggressive, but
• 13:54
  you're like moving forward and you're
• 13:56
  trying to get that KO finish. So, I
• 13:58
  mean, if you're going to make him happy,
• 13:59
  the fans are going to be happy and
• 14:00
  that's ultimately going to make uh
• 14:02
  probably you a better fighter.
• 14:04
  >> Yeah. Like in terms of in terms of
• 14:06
  wanting to win fights, like I mean if
• 14:09
  I'm down
• 14:11
  three rounds or or two rounds in a three
• 14:14
  round fight or a five round fight,
• 14:15
  right? Like I'd rather lose doing every
• 14:19
  single thing possible to win than sit
• 14:23
  there and be content losing a decision
• 14:24
  and just going the distance. You know, I
• 14:26
  think anybody that knows me or has seen
• 14:28
  me fight
• 14:30
  >> knows that, you know, I'm willing to to
• 14:32
  put myself in the fire if I need to and
• 14:35
  uh and really try and win in a in a way
• 14:40
  that people will remember or that, you
• 14:43
  know, I can be proud of.
• 14:45
  >> Yeah. Let's take a second now and move
• 14:48
  away from you and Ma and talk about
• 14:49
  Tanner Bozer. He's one of your training
• 14:52
  partners. He's just opened up his own
• 14:53
  bulldozer MMA. And for fans who are
• 14:55
  listening who might not realize, Tanner
• 14:57
  Bozer is a fighter out of Edmonton. He
• 14:59
  used to compete in the UFC. He was let
• 15:01
  go. However, he was just ressigned to
• 15:03
  compete at UFC fight night in Winnipeg
• 15:05
  on April 18th. So, just talk about what
• 15:07
  it's like having a guy like that with
• 15:08
  that much experience and that much
• 15:10
  exposure uh in your in your corner and
• 15:12
  just the things he maybe can share with
• 15:14
  you about about competing at a high
• 15:16
  level. Does he is he helpful that way?
• 15:19
  Yeah, honestly, like I don't definitely
• 15:21
  wouldn't be where I am today if it
• 15:23
  wasn't for for guidance from a guy like
• 15:25
  him, you know, like there's been times,
• 15:28
  you know, where especially leading into
• 15:30
  the last fight, you know, I was fighting
• 15:32
  a UFC veteran Jared Vandera, you know,
• 15:35
  and uh he had a significant amount of
• 15:37
  fights in the UFC, you know, and I was
• 15:40
  just an upandcomer. I never really had
• 15:43
  fought anyone with more than three or
• 15:44
  four fights. So, obviously, it was
• 15:46
  intimidating, right? And uh Tanner, you
• 15:50
  know, called me a couple weeks before
• 15:52
  the fight and he was just like, "Yo,
• 15:54
  like I've been in the UFC. I've fought a
• 15:57
  lot of people. I've been around, man."
• 15:59
  He's like, "You can do it and you're
• 16:02
  ready for it." And uh he's like, "You
• 16:05
  are capable of doing things that you
• 16:08
  might not even think you're capable of
• 16:09
  doing yet." And really having someone
• 16:11
  like that instill their confidence in
• 16:14
  me. And he's a like if you ever met him,
• 16:16
  he's like the least [ __ ] guy you'll
• 16:18
  ever meet in your life. Like he wouldn't
• 16:20
  just bump your tires for no reason. He
• 16:22
  wouldn't just give you a pat on the back
• 16:23
  if he didn't deserve it. So, you know,
• 16:26
  spending time with him over the last
• 16:28
  couple years and grinding alongside him
• 16:30
  and seeing what it took for him to get
• 16:32
  back to the UFC and and go to Dubai and
• 16:34
  win a fight against one of their top
• 16:36
  contenders and then get resigned by the
• 16:39
  UFC. It's just like extremely
• 16:41
  inspirational and it and it makes me
• 16:43
  believe that maybe one day I can do
• 16:45
  something along the same lines that he's
• 16:47
  doing.
• 16:48
  >> Yeah. Yeah.
• 16:49
  >> Yeah.
• 16:50
  >> I I think we were you and I were
• 16:52
  originally supposed to chat yesterday
• 16:53
  and something came up I couldn't make
• 16:55
  it. Uh which I apologize for again, but
• 16:56
  you mentioned in our chatting that
• 16:58
  you're a big fan of the sport. You like
• 16:59
  you like MMA, you like talking about
• 17:01
  MMA.
• 17:02
  >> What's your just overall impression of
• 17:04
  the state of MMA in Canada right now? Or
• 17:06
  if you want to focus on Edmonton or
• 17:07
  Alberta, that's fine, too. I mean, I'm
• 17:09
  an Ontario boy. That's where I was born.
• 17:12
  So, lucky enough to live in Niagara. My
• 17:14
  parents live in Niagara Falls. So, you
• 17:16
  know, I train in Edmonton, which I think
• 17:18
  is one of the better spots in the
• 17:20
  country to train, especially if you're a
• 17:21
  big guy. And then when I go on vacation,
• 17:23
  I get to train on Niagara Top Team.
• 17:26
  >> And they've been nice enough to invite
• 17:27
  me out to some of their pro practices
• 17:29
  and stuff. I get to spend time around
• 17:32
  guys like, you know, Aaron Jeff, you
• 17:34
  know, Cody Shovinick, you know, like I
• 17:37
  get to see guys like Mike Malad and, you
• 17:40
  know, watch the way that Matt Jelly
• 17:41
  holds pads for people and and gets and
• 17:44
  see the way that Chris Pricket teaches
• 17:46
  wrestling and stuff. So, you know, and
• 17:48
  then like obviously seeing Jasmine, who
• 17:50
  also started at an older age, you know,
• 17:54
  make it as far as she has and probably
• 17:57
  contend for a title in the next three or
• 17:59
  four years. It's really cool to to see
• 18:02
  like, holy crap, like, you know, we're
• 18:04
  not just known for GSP anymore. You
• 18:06
  know, we got a lot of really good
• 18:09
  fighters. And I mean, the younger
• 18:11
  generation that I'm seeing in some of
• 18:13
  these gyms now, I'm just like, man, like
• 18:16
  there's a kid at Niagara Top Team, his
• 18:18
  name is Aiden.
• 18:20
  >> Aiden Appel.
• 18:21
  >> Yeah. He's like freaking 17 years old,
• 18:23
  man. I go down there, I spar with him,
• 18:24
  and he just lights me up. I'm like, yo,
• 18:27
  like, who's the professional here? Like,
• 18:29
  this kid is
• 18:30
  >> Don't Don't feel so bad. Aiden's
• 18:32
  actually 19 now, so you're okay. But I'm
• 18:34
  just like the sky is like it's just the
• 18:36
  level of things happening is a lot
• 18:39
  higher and I'm just like I don't know if
• 18:41
  I'll ever catch up because I'm older
• 18:43
  now. But I I seriously think that we're
• 18:45
  going to have some good good good
• 18:47
  competitors and now you're starting to
• 18:49
  see it too. And like you know we got
• 18:51
  Aean Zahab fighting at the White House,
• 18:53
  right? Like that's a humongous fight for
• 18:56
  Canada. Mike Malot fighting Gilbert
• 18:59
  Burns at, you know, UFC Winnipeg. We got
• 19:02
  Tanner back in the action now. There's
• 19:05
  We got that Jeremy Lynn Horses. She's
• 19:07
  fighting at uh UFC Winnipeg. We got
• 19:10
  Charles Jardane. He's the co-main event.
• 19:13
  >> I mean, I'm not a massive fan of this
• 19:15
  guy, but Hunter Lee just won the title
• 19:18
  at 185 and unified. Obviously, he's a
• 19:21
  very, very, very talented athlete and an
• 19:24
  amazing wrestler, and I am sure that he
• 19:28
  is going to make it to the UFC one day.
• 19:30
  So, it's uh I think the future's bright
• 19:33
  for for Canada.
• 19:36
  >> Making it to the UFC, is is that a goal
• 19:37
  you have for yourself at some point?
• 19:40
  >> Well, when I started, I didn't think I
• 19:42
  would ever be able to. So, um you know,
• 19:46
  I try not to think about it obviously
• 19:48
  too much. I just do the daily grind and
• 19:50
  just try and uh be there for my training
• 19:53
  partners and and train hard. And, you
• 19:56
  know, I think if it's meant to be, it's
• 19:58
  meant to be. and and if that's what
• 20:00
  God's plan is for me, then that's what
• 20:02
  God's plan is for me. All I can do is
• 20:04
  control my effort and uh you know, and
• 20:08
  my discipline and and the amount of
• 20:11
  preparedness I can have for each fight.
• 20:13
  And if things go my way, amazing. If I
• 20:15
  get my shot, amazing. If I don't, well,
• 20:18
  you know, I did a lot more than I
• 20:20
  thought I would ever do.
• 20:22
  >> So,
• 20:23
  >> how old are you right now, Jake?
• 20:25
  >> I'm 34.
• 20:27
  >> Okay. And how did you get the name
• 20:28
  nickname Bronson?
• 20:30
  >> It's funny. Um, do you know a guy named
• 20:33
  Mike Scarcelo?
• 20:35
  >> He used
• 20:35
  >> I know the name.
• 20:36
  >> Yeah, he used to fight. He fought guys
• 20:37
  like Shane Campbell. He's out of shade
• 20:40
  bears. He fought quite a few times as uh
• 20:43
  on Unified like in the 40s and the 30s.
• 20:46
  He's one of the better guys to come out
• 20:48
  of Edmonton over the years. And he's
• 20:50
  still one of my training partners. and
• 20:52
  he looked at me one day. He's like,
• 20:54
  "Dude," he's like, "You look like that
• 20:55
  Bronson guy from the the Tom Hardy
• 20:58
  movie." And he's like, "And you work out
• 21:00
  of jail." He's like, "You you should
• 21:03
  make your nickname Bronson." And I'm
• 21:04
  like, "Well, I can't choose my own
• 21:07
  nickname, so what do you think?" He's
• 21:09
  like, he's like, "Yeah, make it your
• 21:10
  nickname." So, I was like, "Screw it.
• 21:12
  I'll make it my nickname. Might as well
• 21:14
  run with it, right? I got the mustache,
• 21:16
  so I might as well just ride with it."
• 21:19
  It was funny when I I first became aware
• 21:21
  of you a couple years ago. I wasn't
• 21:23
  quite without doing too much research. I
• 21:26
  thought your name was Bronson. I didn't
• 21:27
  get that Jake Craig was was another
• 21:29
  thing like it was like added on to
• 21:30
  Bronson.
• 21:31
  >> Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty just like it it
• 21:34
  kind of just all came out in like a
• 21:37
  weird funny way and I just kind of was
• 21:39
  like I'll ride with it. You don't want
• 21:41
  to give I don't want to give myself my
• 21:42
  own nickname so might as well just
• 21:45
  >> you know. Can you can you think of can
• 21:47
  you think of one notable Canadian
• 21:49
  fighter I know I can who gave himself
• 21:51
  his own nickname when everyone made fun
• 21:52
  of him for it?
• 21:55
  >> Uh
• 21:57
  no I can't actually
• 21:58
  >> bit of a trivia question. It was Rory
• 22:00
  McDonald used to be known as uh the
• 22:02
  water boy and then he gave himself his
• 22:05
  own nickname of Aries and then he gave
• 22:06
  himself his own nickname of the red king
• 22:09
  and I don't know if people actually made
• 22:10
  fun of him but you know people were
• 22:12
  saying you can't pick make pick your own
• 22:14
  nickname and but I guess he did
• 22:16
  >> I like the red king obviously after like
• 22:18
  I mean he I mean Robbie Lawler versus
• 22:21
  Rory McDonald's obvious probably my
• 22:23
  favorite fight of all time so
• 22:25
  >> nuts
• 22:25
  >> you know what I mean I mean you can't
• 22:27
  chirp a guy that has done what he's done
• 22:31
  in this country and in that setting
• 22:34
  ever. So, good for him either way. I
• 22:37
  think I think the name Red King suits
• 22:38
  him. I just think of his bloody nose and
• 22:42
  him
• 22:42
  >> Yeah.
• 22:43
  >> face to face with Robbie there.
• 22:45
  >> That was sick.
• 22:47
  >> Yeah. And that's something like as a as
• 22:49
  a nonpro fighter, I will never
• 22:51
  experience that. But something you can
• 22:52
  experience is that when you face an
• 22:54
  opponent who really pushes you to to
• 22:56
  your limits, I mean, you've got to
• 22:59
  almost like love that person a little
• 23:00
  bit because they're giving you a gift of
• 23:02
  of knowing yourself. And so many people
• 23:05
  in this world don't know themselves
• 23:08
  really. And so, you know, I'm a little
• 23:09
  bit envious that way. I think that if I
• 23:12
  didn't have that three round war in
• 23:14
  Toronto against Jimmy, I don't know if I
• 23:17
  would have been able to come back from
• 23:18
  the catastrophic Achilles injury that I
• 23:21
  had. Honestly, I remember sitting on the
• 23:23
  couch, you know, for months on end at my
• 23:26
  girlfriend's house and I couldn't even
• 23:28
  walk or whatever, right? And and it was
• 23:30
  I felt pathetic, right? And he's just
• 23:32
  shooting me texts one day out of the
• 23:34
  blue. He's just like, "Hey man, see
• 23:35
  you're injured. How you doing?" and we
• 23:37
  started talking and it just really
• 23:39
  invigorated me to just be like I can do
• 23:40
  this. I got to come back, you know, I
• 23:42
  want to feel that feeling again, right?
• 23:45
  >> Mhm.
• 23:45
  >> And luckily I was uh I was able to heal
• 23:48
  quite well from it and I've had a couple
• 23:50
  fights since then and I was able to, you
• 23:53
  know, win the title. So,
• 23:55
  >> you know, awesome.
• 23:56
  >> Props to to him because I I'll forever
• 23:59
  be thankful of the lessons that he
• 24:00
  taught me life.
• 24:02
  >> Yeah.
• 24:03
  >> Life, you know.
• 24:07
  Okay, Jake. Uh, Jake, this has been a
• 24:09
  phenomenal conversation. I'm I'm very
• 24:11
  happy with it. I'm wondering though
• 24:12
  before we go, is there anything that you
• 24:14
  think we should have talked about that I
• 24:15
  didn't ask you?
• 24:18
  >> Uh, yeah. Can we talk about the other
• 24:19
  two title fights on the card?
• 24:21
  >> Yeah, for sure. Actually, give me a
• 24:23
  second. I'm going to bring up the
• 24:24
  unified card and we're going to read it
• 24:25
  from top to bottom. So, start starting
• 24:28
  is is you defending your title against
• 24:29
  MSA for the light heavyweight
• 24:30
  championship. followed is a lightweight
• 24:33
  championship between Nick Rabbik and
• 24:34
  James Nakushima and followed by a 125
• 24:38
  championship with Tony Rohas against
• 24:40
  Enrique
• 24:42
  Pacheco Par. Are there any of those that
• 24:44
  are you're you're eager to see?
• 24:47
  >> I mean, Nick and Tony, we all train in
• 24:49
  the same gym together, right?
• 24:51
  >> So, my coach Mike will be cornering all
• 24:54
  three guys back to back to back for
• 24:55
  title fights, which is pretty freaking
• 24:58
  cool. And Mike's like my hero. So, I
• 25:00
  just want to give them a little shout
• 25:02
  out here. But I'm so excited to watch
• 25:05
  those guys be able to fight for titles,
• 25:08
  too. Like, I mean, they were there for
• 25:10
  me every single round I've ever needed,
• 25:13
  you know, leading like Tony has been
• 25:15
  there since the day I walked in the gym,
• 25:18
  >> right? He taught me a lot of jiu-jitsu
• 25:20
  classes and even though he's a little
• 25:21
  guy like he has shared a lot of good
• 25:24
  knowledge with me, you know, went to his
• 25:26
  wedding and stuff and, you know, I'm so
• 25:29
  so grateful to have met him and I'm just
• 25:30
  really excited to watch both him and
• 25:33
  Nick, you know,
• 25:35
  do their thing. Like Tony is one of the
• 25:38
  most spectacularly
• 25:40
  talented martial artists I've ever seen,
• 25:42
  you know, up close in person. He's fast.
• 25:44
  He's got jiu-jitsu. He's got good hands.
• 25:46
  Scott, he can do it all, right? And you
• 25:48
  know, watching him and, you know, his
• 25:50
  his main training partner is Gabe, who's
• 25:54
  also fighting on the card. Um, so it's
• 25:57
  really cool to watch those guys spar and
• 25:59
  be like, "Wow." You know, like we're all
• 26:01
  doing it, you know?
• 26:02
  >> So, I'm so excited to watch them fight
• 26:05
  and I have a feeling that uh it could be
• 26:07
  a good night for all of us that night.
• 26:09
  And Nick is uh he's he jumped around a
• 26:12
  lot of gyms over the years, but I think
• 26:14
  he found his place with us and uh he
• 26:16
  just needed someone to just know no
• 26:19
  nonsense coach him. And uh we've been
• 26:21
  lucky enough to, you know, he's built a
• 26:24
  good good relationship with my coach
• 26:26
  Mike who pushes him in ways I don't
• 26:28
  think he's ever been pushed physically
• 26:29
  and mentally before. And uh he's on a
• 26:32
  big win streak and and I definitely
• 26:34
  anticipate him continuing his win streak
• 26:36
  on the 27th as well.
• 26:39
  Yeah, I I deal with a lot of people who
• 26:41
  are not necessarily MMA fans. You know,
• 26:44
  they might watch a UFC event here or
• 26:45
  there, but they don't really know the
• 26:46
  sport. And a common uh viewpoint a lot
• 26:49
  of them have is that fighting it's a
• 26:51
  solo sport that you do it by yourself,
• 26:53
  right? Because when they watch, they see
• 26:55
  you get in the cage, there's only three
• 26:56
  of you, and then there's the two
• 26:58
  opponents and the referee. But you know
• 27:00
  as well as I do that that to be
• 27:02
  successful in fighting, it takes a whole
• 27:04
  community, man. It takes a whole bunch
• 27:05
  of you. You can't be there by yourself
• 27:06
  as an individual. You need people to
• 27:08
  boost you and to support you, to push
• 27:10
  you, to train with you. So, I think it's
• 27:12
  great that you uh you know, you want to
• 27:13
  make sure we shouted out those guys.
• 27:16
  >> Yeah, they deserve it. You know, like
• 27:18
  I'm just been doing it for a short time.
• 27:20
  These guys have been doing it for their
• 27:22
  whole lives. So, it's really exciting to
• 27:24
  watch someone be able to, you know,
• 27:27
  hopefully um put their life's work to
• 27:31
  use and and do something special. And
• 27:33
  I'm just happy to be able to be a part
• 27:35
  of it. Honestly, it's really humbling to
• 27:37
  watch people accomplish goals that they
• 27:39
  put their minds to and and put the work
• 27:41
  in that uh not a lot of people are
• 27:43
  willing to put in and and see their life
• 27:46
  progress on the outside as their career
• 27:48
  progresses towards you know the
• 27:51
  trajectory of up and it's just really
• 27:53
  exciting and I hope that uh you know one
• 27:56
  day I'll be able to look back and and
• 27:58
  reminisce with those guys when we're all
• 28:00
  retired and be like yo we did it man
• 28:02
  like we we pushed ourselves as as far as
• 28:05
  we could and we got no regrets.
• 28:08
  >> That's awesome.
• 28:09
  >> Yeah.
• 28:09
  >> Jake, any final words or anyone you'd
• 28:11
  like to thank before we go?
• 28:13
  >> Uh yeah, I'd just like to thank my
• 28:15
  sponsor um Perfect Sports. You know,
• 28:18
  they give me a lot of supplements every
• 28:20
  month and and without them, I definitely
• 28:22
  wouldn't be in a financial place to
• 28:24
  train the way that I do.
• 28:25
  >> I would like to shout out um Gumshoot
• 28:28
  Dental for giving me amazing mouthguards
• 28:31
  and uh Pressure Grappling. They're
• 28:33
  making all my clothes right now and all
• 28:36
  the merch for my fights. Uh I'm
• 28:38
  definitely not capable of doing any of
• 28:39
  that myself. I have zero creator talent.
• 28:42
  So, thank God for those guys. And uh
• 28:45
  yeah, they uh they they got like the
• 28:47
  Shopify and all that. So, yeah, it's
• 28:50
  really great. And I just want to thank
• 28:52
  Alliance Gym, Lutus MMA, and I want to
• 28:56
  thank Bulldozer MMA for being able to
• 28:59
  have me train at all three spots and and
• 29:01
  not make a big deal out of jumping gyms
• 29:03
  and
• 29:05
  >> and having any of that uh [ __ ] that
• 29:07
  comes along with cross training, you
• 29:09
  know, around. So, I really appreciate
• 29:12
  all those people.
• 29:15
  >> Okay. Well, Jake, I'm going to be
• 29:16
  watching you and Ma go at it in the cage
• 29:18
  in Edmonton. and I wish you the best of
• 29:20
  luck. I hope training goes well. I hope
• 29:22
  you don't get injured and I hope you uh
• 29:23
  have have a fantastic fight.
• 29:25
  >> Thank you. I'm going to put it all on
• 29:26
  the line for everyone that's watching.
• 29:28
  So, if you if you're watching, hopefully
• 29:31
  you get your money's worth because I'm
• 29:33
  going to do whatever I can to make it
• 29:34
  exciting for you.
• 29:36
  >> There you go, fight friends. Edmonton's
• 29:38
  Jake Craig who is fighting Murzo Hopovac
• 29:40
  in the main event of Unified MMA 68 in
• 29:43
  Edmonton.
• 29:44
  >> Thank you.
• 29:45
  >> Hey there, fight friends. We have a
• 29:47
  special treat right now. We are joined
• 29:48
  by TJ Laramie, one of my favorite
• 29:50
  Canadian fighters. I don't know if he
• 29:52
  knows that, but he knows it now. He is
• 29:54
  getting ready to fight Medie Zand for
• 29:56
  the vacant featherweight championship at
• 29:58
  Samurai MMA this upcoming weekend at
• 30:00
  Samurai 18. TJ, how are you?
• 30:03
  >> I'm good. How are you
• 30:05
  >> doing? Awesome.
• 30:06
  >> I'm so happy to speak with you. I've uh
• 30:08
  I've been following your career for a
• 30:10
  long time, well before you got to the
• 30:11
  UFC. You and your brother Tony, of
• 30:13
  course, who's sitting beside you. He
• 30:14
  just had a great win in Japan. uh you're
• 30:16
  doing great right now. Uh you've had ups
• 30:18
  and downs. Uh and I feel like right now
• 30:20
  you are on a really strong upwards
• 30:23
  momentum right now. This is potentially
• 30:25
  in my opinion a very huge fight for you.
• 30:28
  Uh just to give a little background for
• 30:30
  some of the watchers who are seeing this
• 30:31
  who might not know, uh you're extremely
• 30:33
  successful fighter in Canada. You made
• 30:35
  it to the UFC. You had mixed success
• 30:37
  there and they released you. Uh you at
• 30:40
  the time had a very what I thought was a
• 30:42
  mature attitude towards the whole thing.
• 30:44
  you said right out loud that, you know,
• 30:46
  you're you're young, you still have a
• 30:48
  lot to go, you have a lot of maturing to
• 30:49
  do. Uh, and I really appreciated hearing
• 30:52
  that at the time. And for what I've seen
• 30:54
  now is you're riding like a is what a
• 30:55
  four or five fight win streak against
• 30:57
  good opponents
• 30:58
  >> and now a win here against Medi at
• 31:01
  Samurai could propel you back to the big
• 31:04
  stage, I think. And I'm wondering if
• 31:06
  that's sort of the way you're thinking,
• 31:07
  too, or if I'm way out to lunch. Yeah, I
• 31:10
  mean I definitely think it could happen
• 31:12
  even it could have happened prior to
• 31:13
  this. You know, we were definitely in
• 31:14
  talks with other with other promotions
• 31:16
  and stuff, but uh you know, this fight
• 31:19
  definitely I think would seal the deal.
• 31:21
  I think the biggest thing the UFC looks
• 31:23
  for now is kind of uh how your
• 31:24
  performances are going. So for me, my
• 31:27
  last two fights were a little bit I'd
• 31:29
  say on the boring side to the to the
• 31:31
  viewer anyway. You know, despite coming
• 31:33
  out with zero damage and being
• 31:34
  completely dominant, that's just not
• 31:36
  what they're looking for. uh especially
• 31:38
  with the the angle the UFC is taking now
• 31:40
  I think.
• 31:41
  >> Um so I think that plays the biggest
• 31:42
  factor in me not being there again just
• 31:45
  now. Uh
• 31:47
  >> but yeah if if not this fight, you know,
• 31:49
  the next or the next or the next, you
• 31:51
  know, it doesn't matter to me. It's uh I
• 31:53
  just take it one fight at a time right
• 31:55
  now.
• 31:55
  >> Sure. You're still super young now, too.
• 31:57
  How old are you right now?
• 31:59
  >> Uh 28. Yeah.
• 32:00
  >> 28. And that's you've still like some
• 32:02
  like Jasmine Jazz Dishious didn't even
• 32:04
  start training till she was 20 to 29.
• 32:06
  So, you know, you're sitting pretty. I
• 32:07
  think you're doing okay.
• 32:09
  >> Yeah. You know, I think uh experience
• 32:11
  prevails over everything else. And uh
• 32:14
  just all the experience I've been able
• 32:15
  to acquire in the cage and throughout my
• 32:18
  career has paid off more than more than
• 32:21
  anything else.
• 32:22
  >> Another thing you do that I like a lot
• 32:24
  is you keep yourself competitive outside
• 32:26
  of the cage, too. Like you enter
• 32:27
  grappling competitions. I know you won
• 32:28
  the was the Greater Niagara uh
• 32:30
  championship. You won a cool samurai
• 32:32
  sword and that's kind of sweet. How
• 32:34
  important is it to you to just keep busy
• 32:35
  and and just always be advancing your
• 32:37
  your martial skill set?
• 32:39
  >> Honestly, I feel like it just it keeps
• 32:41
  me in the gym. It keeps me motivated for
• 32:43
  other things. The when I first started
• 32:46
  fighting pro, I kind of went away from
• 32:48
  all that and it just uh you know, I just
• 32:52
  I was so zoned in on just MMA, just MMA.
• 32:56
  But, uh that's not really the reason why
• 32:58
  I got into the sport in general. like I
• 33:01
  got it. I got into the sport because I
• 33:03
  wanted to compete and be the best
• 33:06
  martial artist I could be, you know what
• 33:07
  I mean? So, I really do feel like these
• 33:10
  other avenues of competition really uh
• 33:14
  expand my ability to do those things,
• 33:17
  you know?
• 33:18
  >> Do you do you I'm sure you've been told
• 33:20
  this before, but do you and Tony think
• 33:22
  that you have a natural fighting
• 33:23
  ability? I know you put in a lot of time
• 33:24
  and effort to training, so you're really
• 33:26
  skilled and you're making yourself
• 33:28
  skilled, but even without that training,
• 33:30
  do you think you'd still have an
• 33:30
  affinity for fighting?
• 33:32
  >> Yeah. You know, I think just, you know,
• 33:34
  upbringing and stuff like that, you just
• 33:37
  you're either kind of born into like a
• 33:39
  tougher life or just the way, you know,
• 33:43
  you're raised, I'd say, uh, makes a big
• 33:46
  difference. That's the biggest
• 33:48
  difference. I wouldn't say like a
• 33:50
  natural fighter by any means, but it's
• 33:53
  uh luckily we got into it young, but I
• 33:55
  definitely always felt like,
• 33:57
  you know, I definitely had a little bit
• 33:59
  of a chip on my shoulder, I would say.
• 34:01
  >> For sure. And that's okay. There's
• 34:03
  nothing wrong with that.
• 34:04
  >> Yeah. No.
• 34:06
  >> A long time ago, this is when you were
• 34:08
  probably teenagers or maybe early 20s, I
• 34:10
  don't remember. Somebody told me
• 34:12
  something about you and your brother.
• 34:14
  They gave me a little bit of intel and
• 34:15
  they they asked me not to share it, not
• 34:17
  tell anybody because they didn't want to
• 34:18
  insult anybody, but they told me that
• 34:20
  the two of you were down training at
• 34:22
  Duke Rufuses down in wherever in the
• 34:24
  States it is, Minneapolis or Milwaukee
• 34:26
  or starts with an M, I think.
• 34:27
  >> Yeah.
• 34:27
  >> And uh yeah, Milwaukee. And they told me
• 34:30
  that you guys were lighting up everybody
• 34:31
  there. That you were just like the cream
• 34:33
  of the crop when you showed up there.
• 34:34
  That uh you know, you guys were just
• 34:36
  really not even holding your own, you
• 34:38
  were you were excelling down there. So,
• 34:40
  I I think it's been known for a long
• 34:41
  time that you guys are are really
• 34:43
  skilled and that's that's kind of cool
• 34:44
  to know that people outside of your
• 34:47
  local area and outside of Canada
• 34:48
  recognize your skills.
• 34:50
  >> Yeah, you know, it was definitely one of
• 34:52
  my earlier earliest experiences training
• 34:54
  with like higher level guys. Um I would
• 34:58
  say my very first experiences would be
• 34:59
  like training with guys like you know
• 35:01
  the adrenaline crew, stuff like that
• 35:03
  would be my first experience really
• 35:04
  training with the elite guys. Uh, and
• 35:06
  then Duke Groov's place uh, shortly
• 35:10
  after that. Um, and yeah, you know, just
• 35:13
  it kind of it's a little bit eye opening
• 35:15
  when you're that young kid to kind of go
• 35:18
  to a place like this and be able to do
• 35:20
  well. You know, at the end of the day,
• 35:22
  training room is the training room and
• 35:24
  everything falls a little bit different
• 35:25
  when you're under the lights. So, I
• 35:28
  don't take all of it to heart,
• 35:29
  especially now that I'm a little bit
• 35:31
  older and stuff. I really do see like
• 35:34
  again the training room's the training
• 35:36
  room. There's plenty of guys that are
• 35:37
  fantastic in the training room that
• 35:39
  can't
• 35:39
  >> there for a sec.
• 35:40
  >> Yeah. Sorry. Sorry.
• 35:41
  >> That's okay.
• 35:41
  >> Can you hear me now?
• 35:42
  >> I I got I got the rest of it.
• 35:43
  >> Sorry. There's a call coming through.
• 35:45
  >> No worries at all. You just talked about
• 35:47
  the training room. Talk to me just for
• 35:49
  people watching who don't know. Talk to
• 35:51
  me about MTC Windsor and what the
• 35:52
  training environment is like there.
• 35:55
  >> Uh MTC is great. You know, there's a
• 35:57
  there's a big uh young What the hell?
• 36:00
  >> Popular guy.
• 36:03
  No, it's uh for some reason my phone's
• 36:06
  overheating. I don't know why.
• 36:08
  >> Um
• 36:11
  um can you hear me now?
• 36:12
  >> I can. So just just start over. But MTC
• 36:16
  >> Yeah. So MTC, there's a good group of
• 36:18
  younger kids coming up now. Amateur. Um
• 36:22
  when my brother and I first went to MTC,
• 36:24
  it was kind of just me and him uh coming
• 36:26
  up with all the pros at the time. um
• 36:29
  like Kyle Prepick back then, you know,
• 36:31
  all these guys. Um and for a while
• 36:34
  there, there wasn't really a a young
• 36:35
  group of people coming back coming up.
• 36:37
  Uh now there is and they're able to push
• 36:40
  us, you know, they're they're not really
• 36:42
  scared to to throw down with us either,
• 36:44
  which is the most beneficial part, you
• 36:45
  know, and I'm also doing a big Well,
• 36:48
  majority of my camp honestly is out of
• 36:49
  Aegis MMA right now.
• 36:52
  >> So, do you actually go to Oakville to
• 36:54
  train Aegis? Do you stay there for how
• 36:55
  for how long? Uh, so I actually live in
• 36:58
  Oakville now. So, I didn't know that.
• 36:59
  Uh,
• 37:00
  >> yeah, I live in Oakville now. Uh, my
• 37:02
  girlfriend's up this way. Uh, so I just
• 37:05
  moved here and kind of relocated here
• 37:07
  and then I go back to MTC here and there
• 37:09
  to to train still.
• 37:10
  >> Yeah. So, Aegis MMA, of course, that's
• 37:13
  Lyndon Whitlock, Lucas Chaston, and Paul
• 37:15
  Jalbear are the are the main coaches
• 37:17
  there. Talk about your experience
• 37:18
  training there at Aegis.
• 37:20
  >> Yeah, so I've been uh I enjoy it a lot.
• 37:22
  You know, there's definitely a lot of uh
• 37:24
  other bodies there. They come through
• 37:26
  from all over the GTA. Um, I've been
• 37:29
  working with Lucas Chaston quite a bit
• 37:31
  for this training camp and uh, it's been
• 37:34
  great. You know, different eyes on you,
• 37:36
  different opinion. You know, I've always
• 37:37
  been a guy who's kind of trained
• 37:39
  everywhere.
• 37:40
  >> Uh, and I like the input. You know, I
• 37:43
  like to kind of take things from
• 37:44
  everybody and see what I can do with it.
• 37:46
  I've always had a little bit of an eye
• 37:49
  for the sport. I've always had a little
• 37:50
  bit a good mind for the sport. So, I
• 37:53
  genuinely think, you know, being able to
• 37:55
  get other people's opinions, take what I
• 37:58
  want, you know, maybe not take what I
• 38:00
  don't want, and then, you know, ma make
• 38:02
  my own little mix of everything.
• 38:03
  >> Yeah. I'd like to chat with you more
• 38:05
  about your your eye for the sport and
• 38:06
  delve into things and like like the
• 38:08
  state of mixed martial arts in Canada,
• 38:10
  but I think we'll skip that for this
• 38:12
  conversation. If you don't mind, maybe
• 38:13
  we can move on now to your samurai fight
• 38:15
  in uh in two weekends. Yeah. Uh Medi
• 38:18
  Zadvand is a former uh Iranian fight.
• 38:20
  Well, he's a a fighter originally from
• 38:22
  Iran. He's got a quite a a a large
• 38:24
  wrestling pedigree in Iran. Did very
• 38:26
  well for himself. He's done very well as
• 38:28
  a mixed martial artist as well. He's got
• 38:30
  a well-rounded skill set. He's not just
• 38:32
  a wrestler, he's got good hands, too.
• 38:34
  So, when you were first brought up the
• 38:37
  possibility of having him him as an
• 38:38
  opponent, what were your thoughts when
• 38:40
  when that came through?
• 38:42
  >> Uh, I think it's a very good matchup for
• 38:44
  myself. Um, I don't really see any area
• 38:47
  of the game when it comes to MMA where
• 38:48
  he can uh compete with me personally,
• 38:51
  you know, um, despite his high wrestling
• 38:54
  pedigree, I don't really see that think
• 38:55
  that we see that too often in his
• 38:57
  fights. I think he's actually a better
• 38:59
  boxer than he is a grappler in my
• 39:01
  opinion. Um, I think he's got a quick
• 39:04
  first step. Uh, uh, but I also, you
• 39:07
  know, I just don't think he's got the
• 39:09
  the skills and the tools to beat me
• 39:11
  personally. Um he's uh definitely for
• 39:14
  somebody that's competed his whole life.
• 39:15
  I know he's a he's a
• 39:18
  extreme competitor in the sense where
• 39:20
  it's like he comes to win every time.
• 39:22
  You know, a guy who's competed since he
• 39:24
  was a kid and done well, he expects to
• 39:27
  win. He shows up to win.
• 39:28
  >> Um so I expect that attitude out of him
• 39:31
  and that kind of performance.
• 39:32
  >> But it's also pretty clear he's never
• 39:35
  fought anybody even remotely close to my
• 39:37
  level of fighting. something you said is
• 39:39
  really interesting about being able to
• 39:42
  sort of make yourself fight the fight
• 39:43
  that will win the fight and not just
• 39:46
  fight what you like doing the most. Like
• 39:48
  for example, um I don't know if I
• 39:50
  expressed that very clearly, but for
• 39:51
  example, you fought Joash Wilkins and
• 39:53
  you beat him pretty handily, I would
• 39:55
  say.
• 39:55
  >> I was there in attendance when he had
• 39:57
  his fight with Adam Asenza and Adam
• 39:59
  mostly does kickboxing when he when he
• 40:01
  when he fights, right? Yeah, he can
• 40:03
  grapple, but it's not often that he goes
• 40:04
  to the mat. and Joash had the better of
• 40:07
  him in the feet. And so you just didn't
• 40:08
  let that happen. Like you you took
• 40:10
  charge of that fight right from the
• 40:11
  get-go. And so to me that's an
• 40:13
  indicative of good fight IQ where you
• 40:15
  know you you take away the strengths of
• 40:17
  your opponent. It doesn't matter what
• 40:19
  you might want to do.
• 40:21
  >> Yeah, 100%. And also too like I'm I
• 40:24
  think I'm so wellrounded that I have the
• 40:26
  ability to take fights in different
• 40:27
  areas and really expose it. And at the
• 40:29
  end of the day too, it's not a one-
• 40:31
  style fight. So regardless if somebody
• 40:34
  may be a better striker, maybe a better
• 40:35
  grappler, when you combine the two, your
• 40:38
  striking doesn't look so good anymore.
• 40:39
  Your wrestling doesn't look so good
• 40:40
  anymore. So the thing with the Joash
• 40:44
  fight is I knew he was really bad at
• 40:45
  fighting off his back foot. Couldn't
• 40:47
  really do too much damage. So
• 40:49
  >> even on the feet, I outlanded him, you
• 40:51
  know. So because I was able to put that
• 40:53
  wrestling threat there and I was able to
• 40:54
  put that pressure on him.
• 40:56
  >> For sure. this fight with Medi, it's uh
• 40:59
  might be a good matchup for you, but
• 41:00
  from my perspective as a as a fight fan,
• 41:02
  I I don't like it only because I like
• 41:05
  you personally and I like Medie
• 41:07
  personally. I've met you both. You're
• 41:08
  both super sweet guys. You know, on an
• 41:11
  individual level, I like you and I
• 41:13
  understand it's a fight. Like, you guys
• 41:14
  are going in there, it's a job, it's
• 41:16
  your career, but one of you guys is
• 41:17
  going to walk out of there happy with
• 41:18
  your hand raised and the other guys are
• 41:20
  going to be pretty devastated. So, you
• 41:21
  know, I don't want it to be either of
• 41:22
  you, but I guess that's it is what it
• 41:24
  is.
• 41:26
  >> Yeah. you know, uh I've met him, I've
• 41:28
  trained with him prior, uh and seems
• 41:31
  like a great guy, but I don't take
• 41:33
  anything in this sport personally at
• 41:35
  all, you know. Uh for me, it's just uh I
• 41:37
  think of it, it's like a game. I just
• 41:39
  got to win the game. That's it.
• 41:40
  >> Yeah, for sure.
• 41:41
  >> You know, I don't uh uh nothing's
• 41:43
  personal. I don't look out at him like
• 41:45
  he's not my enemy, you know? It's just
• 41:47
  an obstacle. It's a blank face to me.
• 41:50
  >> Yeah, for sure. Almost like uh the
• 41:51
  faceless man from Game of Thrones. It's
• 41:53
  just a just a face. Yes.
• 41:55
  >> Yes.
• 41:56
  >> So, let's fast forward to two weekends
• 41:58
  from now. It's it's Samurai MMA 18. It's
• 42:01
  the end of the night. We've had 10 or 11
• 42:03
  fights before that. And finally, your
• 42:05
  walkout music comes on and you walk out
• 42:07
  to the cage and it's just you and Medi
• 42:09
  and the referee. The doors slam shut in
• 42:12
  the cage. You're locked in there.
• 42:14
  Anywhere from 20 seconds to 15 25
• 42:17
  minutes later, you're going to have a
• 42:19
  result to that. Tell me what a perfect
• 42:22
  fight for TJ M TJ Larmy would look like.
• 42:26
  >> Uh perfect fight would be minimal damage
• 42:28
  coming out with my hand raised.
• 42:30
  Preferably a finish, but to me it
• 42:32
  doesn't matter
• 42:32
  >> for sure. And then once you're Samurai
• 42:35
  MMA champion, what what's going on?
• 42:36
  What's next from there?
• 42:38
  >> Uh go back to work, you know, like
• 42:40
  actual work.
• 42:41
  >> Yeah, that's all you can do.
• 42:42
  >> And uh Yeah. Yeah. Go make some money.
• 42:45
  And uh that's it, you know, because this
• 42:47
  sport don't pay. So
• 42:48
  >> no, I've never made a penny. Like the
• 42:49
  only money I see for for covering all
• 42:51
  these events is what I'd spend going out
• 42:53
  the wallet. So, it's
• 42:56
  >> Okay, man. Uh, last question. If there's
• 42:59
  anything that I didn't ask you that you
• 43:00
  think I should have asked you, what
• 43:02
  would that be?
• 43:04
  >> Um,
• 43:05
  nothing. I think you pretty much covered
• 43:07
  everything.
• 43:08
  >> Okay, awesome. Well, TJ, once again,
• 43:10
  it's uh the week before fight week and
• 43:13
  so I know you probably have a lot going
• 43:14
  on. and you're busy and so I truly
• 43:16
  appreciate you offering your time and uh
• 43:18
  thanks for rescheduling with me. I
• 43:19
  appreciate it. Best of luck next weekend
• 43:21
  and I hope you and have a a fantastic
• 43:23
  fight and you both walk out of there
• 43:24
  accomplishing what you want to
• 43:26
  accomplish and what you take out of it.
• 43:27
  Uh only one person's going to win and uh
• 43:29
  best of luck to both of you.
• 43:32
  >> Thank you.
• 43:32
  >> Thanks TJ. Take care. There you go fight
• 43:34
  friends. TJ Larmy fighting Mediz Vand in
• 43:36
  the main event for the bantamweight
• 43:37
  championship of Samurai MMA next
• 43:39
  weekend. Hey there fights. We are joined
• 43:42
  today by one of our favorite guests,
• 43:43
  Fred Dupra, on his s Sophomore
• 43:46
  appearance here on the MMA show. He is
• 43:48
  fighting in the PFL next weekend against
• 43:49
  Ethan Goss. Fred, thank you for joining
• 43:51
  us.
• 43:52
  >> I'm good. And you, Andy?
• 43:54
  >> I'm really good, thanks. Fantastic.
• 43:56
  You're you're one of those guys. I've
• 43:58
  only met you two or maybe three times
• 44:00
  and we this is our second interview, but
• 44:02
  it seems like you always uh have a
• 44:03
  positive attitude and you're always
• 44:04
  smiling and you're always in a good
• 44:06
  place. Is that is that reality? Is that
• 44:07
  what you're really like? I tried but I
• 44:09
  look like more a crazy guy normally but
• 44:12
  in my in my life I'm a very nice guy.
• 44:16
  You don't
• 44:16
  >> Why do you think you're a little bit of
• 44:18
  >> out of fing I'm more a social guy.
• 44:22
  >> Yeah. With training you get a lot of
• 44:24
  your uh your energy out and you know you
• 44:26
  just you're able to just relax a little
• 44:27
  bit more I think. And that's that's
• 44:28
  common to a lot of people. That's why we
• 44:30
  do it.
• 44:30
  >> Yeah.
• 44:32
  >> So what's been up with you the past
• 44:34
  little while since we chatted? And it's
• 44:36
  crazy because it was like a very upside
• 44:39
  up and down because I was supposed to
• 44:42
  fight uh in PFL Europe in December and
• 44:47
  my fight got cancelled like three day
• 44:50
  before and uh was crazy. It was a super
• 44:53
  [ __ ] show and I got cancelled like I
• 44:56
  think 20 minutes before just I was
• 44:58
  leaving my house to the airport and
• 45:01
  >> wow
• 45:02
  >> it was the crazy day. very crazy crazy
• 45:05
  like I was supposed to go there and at
• 45:08
  the end when I go to the airport they
• 45:11
  when they cancel everything they cancel
• 45:13
  my ticket and didn't work and uh crazy.
• 45:18
  So at the end of it I never went to
• 45:21
  Europe.
• 45:24
  >> That's got to be really distressing. I
• 45:26
  mean first of all you went through a
• 45:27
  whole fight camp and you know what going
• 45:29
  through a fight camp's like. First of
• 45:30
  all, it costs a lot of money because
• 45:32
  you're not working right then or you're
• 45:33
  taking a lot of time away to be in the
• 45:35
  gym. You maybe I don't know about you,
• 45:36
  but some some fighters pay for training
• 45:38
  partners, you pay for your coaches, you
• 45:40
  pay for supplements, you pay for food,
• 45:42
  you've got to get lots of sleep, so you
• 45:43
  have to you can't be working the during
• 45:44
  the time you're sleeping. And that's
• 45:46
  just the the time and the money
• 45:47
  commitment from you, but also the
• 45:49
  psychological commitment. You're getting
• 45:50
  yourself prepared to to fight like
• 45:53
  another person, and you might get hurt.
• 45:55
  And so that, you know, you you go
• 45:57
  through a lot getting up to that point.
• 45:59
  Does the PFL I know different
• 46:01
  organizations treat the fighters
• 46:03
  differently when things like this
• 46:04
  happen. Did the PFL pay you any show
• 46:06
  money or give you
• 46:07
  >> they give me my at least my show money
• 46:09
  but I was you know when it's happening
• 46:11
  it's crazy because it's my opponent that
• 46:15
  >> fix me. I was like
• 46:17
  >> what you really?
• 46:18
  >> Yeah it was super crazy like Andy when I
• 46:21
  said to you it was a [ __ ] show. It was a
• 46:23
  chill and I just get out of the shower
• 46:26
  and I I just see his name on my
• 46:30
  Instagram and I see the this guy tried
• 46:34
  to message you and I was like, "Oh man,
• 46:36
  it's starting. I know like it's not my
• 46:39
  first video. I know when the [ __ ] show
• 46:41
  is starting. I know when it's starting
• 46:43
  and I knew right away. I was like, "Oh
• 46:45
  my god, it's starting."
• 46:48
  >> But
• 46:48
  >> what did the message say to you? They
• 46:50
  would just say like he's not going to be
• 46:52
  able to fight and he's injured, but he
• 46:55
  they hope that they gonna find me
• 46:57
  someone. I'm like, they notice. Come on,
• 46:59
  man.
• 47:02
  >> Well, to be fair, that's kind of cool
• 47:03
  that he he thought of you and messaged
• 47:05
  you right away.
• 47:06
  >> Yeah, but you know, in this kind of
• 47:08
  game,
• 47:10
  >> it don't really change nothing, you
• 47:12
  know, like I treat why you didn't tell
• 47:14
  like you know, you know, we all injured.
• 47:17
  We all go we all like
• 47:19
  >> if
• 47:20
  >> if at three day you get more injury we
• 47:23
  have a problem you know.
• 47:25
  >> Yeah.
• 47:26
  >> You should not pull out three day before
• 47:29
  a fight. This is you know you should be
• 47:32
  professional. You should be more um
• 47:38
  how I can say like minuticious like
• 47:41
  food. You have to be careful. You have
• 47:43
  to go,
• 47:45
  >> you know, it's, you know, it's our life.
• 47:48
  We get paid for this. So, you you have,
• 47:52
  >> you know, if you're a real professional,
• 47:54
  you have to be careful. I know it's
• 47:56
  maybe it's not his fault. I understand
• 47:57
  that. But today is kind of
• 48:05
  >> it.
• 48:06
  >> Mhm. I've seen it happen a lot to a lot
• 48:09
  of fighters and I always feel bad, but
• 48:11
  to me it seems like it's especially
• 48:12
  egregious. It's especially bad at a
• 48:15
  level that you're competing because the
• 48:16
  PFL, UFC, th and uh prior to that,
• 48:20
  Bellator, those are like top tier
• 48:22
  organizations where you are an absolute
• 48:24
  professional. This is your livelihood.
• 48:26
  This is what you do. And the the the
• 48:28
  most important thing you're losing out
• 48:30
  of all of us is you're losing time
• 48:31
  because a fighter's career only lasts so
• 48:33
  long. You're using your body.
• 48:35
  >> And anytime you're taking time off to
• 48:36
  get ready for a fight and you've got to
• 48:38
  restart the whole thing without getting
• 48:39
  a fight, man, that's that's terrible.
• 48:43
  >> It's more
• 48:45
  I have to give them seriously big
• 48:48
  credibility because like for me the it
• 48:50
  was a very [ __ ] show. I was not there
• 48:52
  like I I emotionally I was not there
• 48:55
  like I was very mad and a lot of emotion
• 48:59
  but they felt right away they tell me
• 49:02
  like I'm going to have my shi at least
• 49:04
  and you know they already almost booked
• 49:07
  me on the the next card right away and
• 49:11
  give me a name and everything. So it
• 49:13
  kind of go very fast. So, I went to
• 49:15
  Christmas with I knew I have a
• 49:18
  a fight and
• 49:21
  um yeah, I knew I knew the guy. I knew
• 49:24
  everything. So, they were pretty fast.
• 49:26
  Normally, I'm always get last minute
• 49:28
  name and they're like, uh
• 49:31
  >> yeah,
• 49:32
  >> you should like, you know, they try to
• 49:33
  push it or but I it is what it is.
• 49:38
  >> So, I was happy with the end of it. Was
• 49:42
  that the first time you had a fight uh
• 49:44
  get pulled out from you so close to the
• 49:45
  fight?
• 49:46
  >> No,
• 49:47
  >> was the worst. Just was 30 minutes
• 49:50
  before the fight.
• 49:53
  >> Wow.
• 49:53
  >> Yeah, I thought when I told you it was
• 49:56
  not my f my first radio. I got some
• 49:59
  crazy nights. Yeah, this I think was one
• 50:03
  of the craziest.
• 50:05
  >> Yeah, sorry.
• 50:07
  >> No, it's okay. When something like that
• 50:10
  happens, when you are getting ready for
• 50:11
  a fight and all of a sudden just without
• 50:13
  any fanfare, it's just over. It's done.
• 50:15
  And you haven't even fought yet. What's
• 50:18
  it like? How do you prepare yourself
• 50:21
  mentally to get ready for the next
• 50:22
  fight? Are you still thinking the same
• 50:24
  thing that like why should I bother
• 50:26
  putting on all this effort because we're
• 50:27
  just going to stop the fight before it
• 50:28
  even happens?
• 50:29
  >> It's very hard. It's more the
• 50:32
  the day the day of, you know, you're so
• 50:35
  disappointed. you know, you didn't like
• 50:37
  even your team all the sacrifice you
• 50:40
  done like they sacrifice time for you
• 50:42
  and it's hard because you know you
• 50:45
  cannot kind of pay them back too you
• 50:47
  know your performance sometime it's
• 50:51
  their gift for them when you win those
• 50:54
  kind of fight they're like man this this
• 50:58
  their win
• 51:00
  their their win too and um yeah but
• 51:05
  >> it You have to roll with it. You have
• 51:07
  you kind of it it kind of make me feel
• 51:09
  sometime now more prepared for the next
• 51:13
  one. I kind of know with feel with
• 51:14
  karma, you know. It's kind of destiny.
• 51:17
  So I know
• 51:20
  I know when [ __ ] happen like that I know
• 51:23
  the next fight is going to be a very
• 51:25
  good one. Mhm.
• 51:27
  >> Oh, I gotta roll.
• 51:28
  >> I've said it.
• 51:30
  >> I've said it. I've said it over and over
• 51:33
  again that uh some people, especially
• 51:36
  just maybe just basic fans of MMA, look
• 51:39
  at the sport and they think that it's a
• 51:41
  solo or an individual sport where it's
• 51:43
  just the fighter going into the cage
• 51:44
  against their opponent. But, you know,
• 51:46
  it's more than that. And you just
• 51:47
  alluded to that a minute ago. your
• 51:48
  teammates. You You wouldn't be where you
• 51:50
  are now without trusted people on your
• 51:53
  in your in your gym in your team who are
• 51:56
  with you every day. They're punching
• 51:57
  you. You're punching them. You're
• 51:59
  rolling. You're sweating. Uh you're
• 52:01
  putting a lot of time and effort
• 52:02
  together. So, I like the way you said
• 52:05
  that that if you win a fight, it's it's
• 52:06
  also somewhat their victory. That's got
• 52:08
  to be very special.
• 52:10
  >> Yeah. But the this what I think it's
• 52:13
  that's why me I have a big circle like a
• 52:16
  friend. That's why I was a lot of time
• 52:18
  when you selling ticket and things like
• 52:20
  that. It's a lot of friends and family
• 52:22
  and they know they try to help you even
• 52:24
  like diet or thing like that even change
• 52:27
  your mind you know in the weekend and
• 52:29
  you sometime see some friends it's nice
• 52:31
  to just release the stress and things
• 52:34
  like that and you know for them just to
• 52:37
  go and like go see the fight it's for
• 52:40
  them the way to support you.
• 52:44
  Yeah, I I totally got it. It's a lot
• 52:47
  more pressure though for you as a
• 52:48
  fighter too if you know that a big part
• 52:50
  of the audience are your supporters or
• 52:52
  your family and your friends.
• 52:54
  >> Me I kind of like it
• 52:56
  >> like because when you you know like it
• 52:59
  give me another voice and just say don't
• 53:02
  go crazy, don't do stupid [ __ ] and you
• 53:04
  know like a lot of people is watching
• 53:06
  you. You know, sometime when you're too
• 53:07
  much in your zone and you have nobody to
• 53:10
  think about it, you're kind of doing
• 53:13
  some mistakes.
• 53:14
  When you hear people like, you know,
• 53:16
  like you see some friends, you're like,
• 53:17
  "Oh, no. I don't want to lose in front
• 53:19
  of them and things like that." It kind
• 53:20
  of motiv
• 53:23
  it motivate me to not do stupid [ __ ]
• 53:29
  >> That's good to know. Okay, so let's uh
• 53:32
  take a moment now and just move on to
• 53:33
  this upcoming weekend. Ethan Goss, your
• 53:35
  opponent, when he was g when you were
• 53:37
  given his name as somebody you would be
• 53:39
  fighting next, what did you think about
• 53:40
  him?
• 53:42
  >> I thought it was a good match up for me,
• 53:45
  you know, like I don't know he's going
• 53:47
  to see this and everything, but you
• 53:49
  know, like some of his train
• 53:54
  I think is going to be very good for me.
• 53:57
  >> Kind of similar
• 54:00
  what I see before.
• 54:02
  Can you elaborate what what makes you
• 54:04
  think that he is a good opponent for
• 54:05
  your skill set?
• 54:07
  >> I don't want to say too much.
• 54:10
  >> Okay, we never know. We never know if
• 54:12
  he's going to watch this or not, but you
• 54:14
  know, style, you know, style make fights
• 54:18
  and I think my style is a big problem
• 54:22
  for him.
• 54:24
  >> You're a really well-rounded fighter and
• 54:25
  I think one of the things you're really
• 54:26
  known for is your transitions between
• 54:28
  striking and grappling. You're
• 54:30
  scrambling. you're really good, you're
• 54:31
  fast on your feet, and some people I
• 54:33
  don't know much about Ethan Goss. I
• 54:35
  confess I haven't even really looked at
• 54:36
  who he is, but uh a lot of people have a
• 54:39
  really difficult time dealing with your
• 54:40
  your maneuverability, I think. And I I
• 54:42
  think maybe hopefully that's something
• 54:44
  that he'll have a challenge with as
• 54:45
  well.
• 54:45
  >> Yeah, I think it's mixed with the
• 54:48
  pressure and explosivity.
• 54:50
  So, it's kind of you don't know where
• 54:53
  I'm going. And uh you know the mix with
• 54:56
  pressure with explos explosivity it's
• 54:59
  kind of
• 55:01
  uh hard hard mix to deal with.
• 55:05
  >> Mhm.
• 55:06
  >> You know and I'm going I'm very going.
• 55:09
  >> You are you're a bunny. Go go go.
• 55:12
  >> Yeah.
• 55:15
  >> Let's talk about your training camp for
• 55:16
  this. You train uh majority of your
• 55:18
  training if not all was at H2O MMA with
• 55:20
  coach Richard Hoe. Uh was it the same
• 55:22
  for this camp or did you do any
• 55:23
  traveling?
• 55:24
  >> Most of it yeah with uh I did with
• 55:27
  Richard and but I did some a lot of
• 55:29
  boxing too with my my two friends with
• 55:33
  me and Dave. They're more boxer but uh
• 55:37
  for me it was good to just get back to
• 55:40
  uh you know some other things and than
• 55:43
  just my usual.
• 55:46
  >> Mhm. So they helped me a lot for this
• 55:48
  camp.
• 55:51
  >> Where when you take a look at where you
• 55:53
  are now as a fighter and by that I mean
• 55:56
  your overall skill set and mental
• 55:59
  preparation and just o and physicality
• 56:01
  and your age and your maturity
• 56:03
  everything. Where do you think you are
• 56:06
  right now in comparison to where the
• 56:09
  100% best Fred Dupra fighter you'll ever
• 56:12
  be in your life is? Like are you close
• 56:13
  to that point or do you still have a
• 56:14
  long way to go?
• 56:16
  It's a good question because I feel you
• 56:19
  know like everything always give me
• 56:24
  it make me better every time. Every
• 56:26
  fight I get better even the [ __ ] show
• 56:29
  make me better because they make me
• 56:31
  handle things differently and you know
• 56:34
  make me
• 56:35
  think different you know make me more
• 56:38
  enjoying things sometime you know.
• 56:43
  Well, that's good. I think if you're not
• 56:44
  enjoying this process, I know it's it's
• 56:47
  a job and that's weird for people to
• 56:48
  think of. Like say you have friends who
• 56:50
  are office workers or they work at
• 56:51
  Costco or they work at the post office
• 56:53
  or wherever and they go to go to work
• 56:55
  Monday to Friday 9 to5. To them, that's
• 56:58
  what a job is. But this is your job. And
• 57:00
  if you hated it, it would really suck
• 57:02
  and like why would you do it? I mean, so
• 57:03
  you've got to love it. So that that's
• 57:05
  good.
• 57:05
  >> It's weird because it's not I like the
• 57:08
  buildup. I like to see myself getting
• 57:10
  better, you know, like me, I'm preparing
• 57:14
  myself every time. It's not a random
• 57:17
  thing. I'm preparing myself for one
• 57:19
  person only. So, you know, things I'm
• 57:22
  not focusing on all my rounds with
• 57:24
  anybody like there going to be certain
• 57:26
  rounds I'm focusing and I like to see,
• 57:29
  you know, the development of it. Like I
• 57:32
  see I'm getting better at this. I see
• 57:35
  like I like to go for this and you know
• 57:38
  the fight I don't really like it because
• 57:40
  it's stressful but you know the after
• 57:43
  for me when you see all the the
• 57:45
  sacrifice you you did and it work and
• 57:49
  you know
• 57:52
  they have no more they have no more best
• 57:56
  feeling than this for sure
• 57:58
  >> then winning
• 58:00
  is the best
• 58:02
  >> I have no doubt I'll never experience
• 58:04
  that in your capacity. It's It's pretty
• 58:06
  amazing to think that,
• 58:08
  >> you know, you can one point in your life
• 58:10
  you're just this young gcky little boy
• 58:12
  kid and then all of a sudden you're a
• 58:13
  grown man and you're walking out to
• 58:15
  crowds of people cheering your name and
• 58:17
  applauding and watching you perform.
• 58:18
  It's it's pretty crazy.
• 58:19
  >> Yeah, it's super crazy. I don't even
• 58:21
  Every time I'm making the walk, I'm
• 58:23
  like, "All right." Like I don't even
• 58:27
  understand why I do it. But it's kind of
• 58:30
  it's after the fight, you know, why you
• 58:32
  do it, you know? It's kind of a mixed
• 58:35
  feelings. It's kind of It's kind
• 58:40
  >> Yeah, it is what it is.
• 58:44
  >> Have you ever been a part of any
• 58:45
  conversations or been aware of the PFL
• 58:48
  if they've ever said anything about
• 58:50
  maybe holding shows in Canada someday?
• 58:52
  >> Yeah, I did. But uh it was not for me
• 58:57
  like it was more at the time like Oci
• 59:00
  was fighting for PFL. He he tried to put
• 59:04
  in in Canada in Montreal because he was
• 59:08
  already champion and his name was pretty
• 59:10
  big.
• 59:13
  >> Yeah.
• 59:13
  >> All the Reggie in the Montreal.
• 59:17
  >> Yeah.
• 59:18
  >> Yeah. It was [ __ ]
• 59:20
  >> Yeah.
• 59:21
  >> For the listeners wa watching listening
• 59:22
  who don't know what the reg is, it's the
• 59:24
  Rajida Alul and whatever. I don't know
• 59:26
  what is in French, but it's essentially
• 59:27
  the uh the mixed martial arts commission
• 59:30
  in in Quebec. And uh you know I I've
• 59:34
  never I don't even know what to say. I
• 59:37
  have to be careful what I say here. But
• 59:38
  I've been told that they can be quite
• 59:40
  challenging to deal with sometimes and
• 59:41
  you have to really be careful and
• 59:43
  careful what you do.
• 59:44
  >> It's not like for you know like it just
• 59:48
  I think this the the reason I don't
• 59:51
  understand. I can't sometime it's it's
• 59:54
  crazy. You're like uh it's small detail
• 59:57
  and you're like why you don't let those
• 59:59
  kind of thing go? It's just like they're
• 1:00:01
  rolling on old rules, you know. They
• 1:00:05
  they are they have a paper and if it
• 1:00:08
  don't follow the paper, they don't they
• 1:00:11
  don't do nothing. But sometime it's
• 1:00:14
  could be a different of a circle or an
• 1:00:17
  octagon, you know.
• 1:00:20
  >> Yeah, I totally get it. I got I don't
• 1:00:22
  know if you know this, but I got in a
• 1:00:24
  little bit of trouble from the regime
• 1:00:25
  two years ago. I think it was one of the
• 1:00:28
  samuris I was attending. I don't know if
• 1:00:30
  you like when I travel around the
• 1:00:32
  country to Canada, I've I've been to
• 1:00:33
  fights in British Columbia, Alberta, uh,
• 1:00:37
  Ontario,
• 1:00:38
  Montreal, Quebec, the Maritimes. I've
• 1:00:40
  been all around. And it's just one thing
• 1:00:42
  I do is after the fights, I go in the
• 1:00:43
  cage and I take pictures of the fighters
• 1:00:45
  and the the the teams and get your hands
• 1:00:47
  raised and all that stuff.
• 1:00:49
  >> So, I never when I was in Quebec for the
• 1:00:51
  first time, I never asked anybody. Just
• 1:00:52
  the fight was over. I walked up in the
• 1:00:54
  cage and I started taking pictures
• 1:00:56
  >> and I did that for half the fight. Like
• 1:00:57
  I was I was there for like five or six
• 1:00:59
  fights and then finally this one guy in
• 1:01:02
  a coat in a blue coat looked at me and
• 1:01:04
  says, "Who said you could be in here?"
• 1:01:05
  And I said, "What do you mean?" He said,
• 1:01:06
  "You're not allowed to be in here." I
• 1:01:07
  said, "Oh, I didn't know." So I thought
• 1:01:09
  they were going to kick me out of the
• 1:01:10
  venue, but uh no, they just looked at me
• 1:01:13
  like this.
• 1:01:14
  >> Yeah.
• 1:01:14
  >> And then uh
• 1:01:16
  >> they're very It's not that they're not
• 1:01:18
  nice or things like that. They're just
• 1:01:20
  very strict and they follow rule by
• 1:01:23
  rules, you know? they they don't they
• 1:01:26
  don't go with flow sometime they should
• 1:01:28
  more be loose you know
• 1:01:30
  >> yeah I know what you mean it's important
• 1:01:32
  to have flexibility and being able to
• 1:01:33
  make new decisions you know during the
• 1:01:36
  time of something happening like get
• 1:01:38
  together get the top two or three guys
• 1:01:40
  together or maybe one person in charge
• 1:01:41
  of the regime and say hey this guy wants
• 1:01:43
  to do this tonight can we do this and
• 1:01:45
  then you have a discussion about it then
• 1:01:46
  you make a decision
• 1:01:47
  >> and uh I think most organizations have
• 1:01:50
  that ability but I'm I'm not quite so
• 1:01:52
  sure the regime is there
• 1:01:56
  All right, Fred. Uh, this is a great
• 1:01:57
  talk, man. Uh, is there anything that
• 1:01:59
  you think I should have asked you that
• 1:02:00
  we should talk about that I didn't ask
• 1:02:01
  you?
• 1:02:03
  >> No, I think uh we could hope you go and
• 1:02:06
  see the fight.
• 1:02:09
  >> I hope so. Yeah, I'm going to try to. It
• 1:02:11
  all depends on what my uh my work
• 1:02:12
  schedule's like, but I I try to see
• 1:02:14
  every single fight that I can. So, uh
• 1:02:16
  anyway, man, uh thank you so much for
• 1:02:18
  the time to speak with us. I know it's
• 1:02:20
  uh it's always, you know, getting up to
• 1:02:22
  a fight, you're probably nervous and
• 1:02:23
  have a lot going on. So, I appreciate
• 1:02:25
  your time and uh thanks for everything.
• 1:02:27
  >> Thank you, Andy.
• 1:02:29
  >> There you go, fight friends. Fred Dupra
• 1:02:31
  fighting in the PFL next weekend in
• 1:02:33
  Pittsburgh. Hey there, fight friends. We
• 1:02:35
  are joined today by the future art of
• 1:02:37
  war featherweight champion, Ryan
• 1:02:39
  Yapsson. Ryan, how you doing, man?
• 1:02:41
  >> I'm so good, man. How you doing?
• 1:02:44
  >> Also so good. I love that. So good. It's
• 1:02:46
  not just boring. I'm okay. I like to
• 1:02:48
  hear that. So, as I mentioned, you are
• 1:02:49
  fighting uh for the featherweight
• 1:02:51
  championship for an organization called
• 1:02:52
  the Art of War. This is their 46th
• 1:02:54
  event. It's held in King of Prussia,
• 1:02:56
  Pennsylvania on the 28th of March. And
• 1:02:58
  you're going to be fighting a guy named
• 1:02:59
  Matt Turnbull. Uh tell us how this fight
• 1:03:02
  originated. How did you get lined up for
• 1:03:04
  this?
• 1:03:04
  >> I was originally offered their 35 champ.
• 1:03:07
  And when they contacted their champion,
• 1:03:09
  they came back to me and said, "Hey, our
• 1:03:11
  35 champ isn't going to be ready till I
• 1:03:13
  think they said May." They said, "Do you
• 1:03:15
  want him in May?" And I said,
• 1:03:16
  "Absolutely. that'd be a great
• 1:03:17
  opportunity. I was like, "In the
• 1:03:19
  meantime though, I'd like to stay busy.
• 1:03:20
  I know you guys are having your events
• 1:03:22
  in March. Is there any way you can keep
• 1:03:23
  me on the card?" Uh, they got back to me
• 1:03:25
  and said, "Are you willing to do 140 or
• 1:03:27
  145?" And I said, "Yeah, I'm reluctant
• 1:03:29
  to do 145 or 140, but I'm definitely
• 1:03:31
  open to it." And they came back and
• 1:03:33
  said, "Well, our 45 champ is ready if
• 1:03:34
  you want them." And I said, "Absolutely.
• 1:03:36
  That sounds like a great opportunity."
• 1:03:37
  So, I jumped all over it when they
• 1:03:39
  offered it to me.
• 1:03:40
  >> Now, that's quite a big leap. I mean,
• 1:03:42
  people might not realize going from 135
• 1:03:44
  to 145 doesn't sound like a lot. It's
• 1:03:47
  it's only 10 pounds, but a lot of that's
• 1:03:50
  your your weight class. You select that
• 1:03:52
  because your natural body type because
• 1:03:53
  the way you normally carry weight. So,
• 1:03:55
  you know, that could be a big big
• 1:03:57
  difference on on fight night.
• 1:03:58
  >> It's a huge factor because I've grappled
• 1:04:01
  with guys who are 35ers and I've
• 1:04:02
  grappled with guys who are 45ers and the
• 1:04:05
  lower the weight class, the bigger the
• 1:04:07
  difference is that 10 pounds would make.
• 1:04:08
  When you're a heavyweight, 10 lbs
• 1:04:10
  doesn't make too much of a difference.
• 1:04:11
  But when you're already in the smaller
• 1:04:12
  weight classes like like myself, 10
• 1:04:14
  pounds makes a difference. So I've
• 1:04:15
  grappled with guys who are 35s and I've
• 1:04:17
  grappled with guys who are 45s and I can
• 1:04:19
  definitely tell that the 45ers have a
• 1:04:21
  different frame to them in their hips
• 1:04:23
  and their shoulders. So looking at my
• 1:04:26
  frame, I consider myself a huge
• 1:04:28
  bantamweight, but I think that's where I
• 1:04:30
  naturally fit is more so for my body
• 1:04:32
  type. I think I fit more so in the 35,
• 1:04:34
  but because I'm so because I'm such a
• 1:04:36
  big 35, it makes it kind of makes sense
• 1:04:38
  for me to take this opportunity and move
• 1:04:40
  up to 45.
• 1:04:41
  >> Tell us what uh training is like for
• 1:04:43
  you. When you started off as a mixed
• 1:04:45
  martial artist, everyone goes through
• 1:04:46
  their own journey. You you probably
• 1:04:48
  started off with a couple classes a
• 1:04:49
  week. I'm just guessing here, I don't
• 1:04:50
  know, a couple classes a week,
• 1:04:51
  kickboxing or something. And then you
• 1:04:53
  made a decision to go all in. So, you
• 1:04:55
  probably ramped it up a whole lot more.
• 1:04:58
  But now that you've got a little bit
• 1:04:59
  more experience under your belt, you
• 1:05:00
  kind of know uh you know how you're
• 1:05:02
  going and how you're training. What's a
• 1:05:04
  a typical training week look like to
• 1:05:05
  you?
• 1:05:06
  >> Typical training week for me, I have two
• 1:05:09
  very good striking coaches. I have
• 1:05:11
  Andrew Cummings and I have uh one of my
• 1:05:14
  main coaches, I call them crew fresh.
• 1:05:16
  They help me out once a week. I do a lot
• 1:05:18
  of pad work with them and they just make
• 1:05:20
  sure that I'm on point as always. As far
• 1:05:22
  as the training goes, I like to set up
• 1:05:24
  my own training where I call out my
• 1:05:26
  training partners and they come from
• 1:05:28
  sometimes from Toronto, sometimes from
• 1:05:29
  Barry. Uh I have guys who travel from um
• 1:05:32
  from all over to come out and train with
• 1:05:34
  me. So I'm really really grateful for
• 1:05:35
  that. So I set up my own training where
• 1:05:37
  I'll do a lot of uh a lot of grappling
• 1:05:40
  like I'll set up uh six five minute
• 1:05:41
  rounds. That's what I like to do. And
• 1:05:43
  then I'll take a little break and then
• 1:05:44
  after that I'll get some bag work in or
• 1:05:46
  I'll get some working with my coach or
• 1:05:48
  I'll get some sparring in. It really
• 1:05:50
  depends on the day. But typically on my
• 1:05:52
  harder training days, I'm in the gym
• 1:05:53
  from anywhere between about 10:00 11:00
• 1:05:55
  a.m. till about 3:00 3:30 in the
• 1:05:57
  afternoon.
• 1:05:59
  >> Wow. What's your main base of
• 1:06:01
  operations? Do you have a main gym you
• 1:06:02
  train?
• 1:06:03
  >> Yeah, the main gym that I train at is
• 1:06:05
  Ajax MMA. That's where I've been at for
• 1:06:07
  quite a quite a long time now. But
• 1:06:08
  that's kind of where I do all my
• 1:06:10
  training now. That's where my two
• 1:06:11
  striking coaches are. And right now I
• 1:06:13
  don't necessarily have a grappling
• 1:06:15
  coach, which I have uh grappling
• 1:06:17
  instructors that I visit from time to
• 1:06:18
  time, but as far as like a grappling
• 1:06:20
  coach, I don't necessarily have one
• 1:06:22
  right now. Uh so that part of my game, I
• 1:06:24
  would like to uh add a coach in into
• 1:06:26
  that aspect at some point. Uh so right
• 1:06:29
  now I just have my own training partners
• 1:06:30
  that I've called out and they come and
• 1:06:32
  see me uh throughout the week whenever
• 1:06:33
  they're able to and we'll get some
• 1:06:34
  training in then. So my main gym is Ajax
• 1:06:36
  MMA.
• 1:06:38
  >> Awesome. Now, just so we can clarify,
• 1:06:40
  when you say you call out your training
• 1:06:41
  partners, you mean you telephone them
• 1:06:43
  and say, "Hey guys, can you come train
• 1:06:44
  with me?" You're not like calling them
• 1:06:46
  out like calling them out.
• 1:06:47
  >> I'm not calling them out in any
• 1:06:48
  disrespectful way. No, I I I message
• 1:06:50
  them directly. Uh some the way it comes
• 1:06:52
  up, it's weird. It sometimes it'll just
• 1:06:54
  be I'll randomly message message people
• 1:06:56
  who I believe are like pretty high level
• 1:06:58
  and that's how I've got some of my
• 1:06:59
  training partners and uh through that
• 1:07:01
  I've been able to network to other
• 1:07:03
  people. So, I I contact them directly
• 1:07:05
  and say, "Hey, I need a training
• 1:07:06
  partner. Can we meet at 11:00 a.m. on
• 1:07:08
  Saturday or something like that? Um, and
• 1:07:10
  so sometimes it's weird like there's
• 1:07:12
  some weekends that's usually when I set
• 1:07:14
  up most my training. There's some
• 1:07:15
  weekends where I have like an abundance
• 1:07:17
  of training partners where I have so
• 1:07:18
  many people to choose from and I'm like,
• 1:07:19
  "Okay, this is fantastic." And then
• 1:07:21
  there's other weekends where there's
• 1:07:22
  like nobody available for whatever
• 1:07:24
  reason. Maybe they're competing soon,
• 1:07:26
  just life, they're not able to come out,
• 1:07:27
  they're out, they're out late last
• 1:07:29
  night, whatever the case is. So I'm not
• 1:07:31
  always to get training partners.
• 1:07:32
  Sometimes I'm like scrambling to find
• 1:07:34
  people, but then um more often than not
• 1:07:36
  I have have somebody there who's willing
• 1:07:38
  to train with me, so it kind of works
• 1:07:39
  out.
• 1:07:41
  >> Yeah. Uh I'm going to take a couple
• 1:07:43
  steps back and go back to the art of war
• 1:07:45
  organization. Often times when I see a
• 1:07:48
  Canadian fighting in a in an American
• 1:07:49
  promotion, it's typically as part of a a
• 1:07:52
  bigger contingent of Canadians, like
• 1:07:54
  maybe three or four or five teammates
• 1:07:55
  from one gym go down for an event. So,
• 1:07:58
  it's not that normal that just like a
• 1:08:00
  solo guy like you is going down. How did
• 1:08:02
  you get associated with these people?
• 1:08:04
  How like how did you get in contact with
• 1:08:06
  them originally?
• 1:08:07
  >> I I was wondering the same thing. I was
• 1:08:09
  looking at the situation. I'm like, I'm
• 1:08:11
  the only Canadian going down. They
• 1:08:13
  contacted me directly offering me these
• 1:08:15
  fights. They offered me two title
• 1:08:16
  fights. They don't even know who I am.
• 1:08:18
  >> So, from my end, I'm looking at them
• 1:08:20
  from a promot promotional perspective. I
• 1:08:22
  actually feel pretty honored because
• 1:08:24
  from I imagine they must have somehow
• 1:08:26
  found my footage and saw my saw my uh my
• 1:08:31
  I guess my footage in the cage and said,
• 1:08:32
  "Hey, you know what? This guy's going to
• 1:08:34
  put on a good show and he's going to put
• 1:08:35
  on a good fight. Let's get let's give
• 1:08:36
  him the opportunity." Because I'm only
• 1:08:38
  three and two, which is not a great
• 1:08:40
  record, and I've never actually competed
• 1:08:42
  as a professional at featherweight. So
• 1:08:44
  here I am 3 and2 record which is not a
• 1:08:47
  great record and then moving up to
• 1:08:48
  featherweight to challenge for to their
• 1:08:50
  to their champion. For me I'm like I I
• 1:08:53
  almost feel like I definitely skip the
• 1:08:55
  line and I almost feel like I don't
• 1:08:56
  deserve the title shot but I also feel
• 1:08:58
  like I deserve it at the same time
• 1:08:59
  because I know what I'm capable of and I
• 1:09:01
  know that I'm going to put on a good
• 1:09:02
  show no matter what. So for me I'm like
• 1:09:05
  this is fantastic. This is great. I feel
• 1:09:07
  like this is what happens when you stay
• 1:09:08
  ready like I do and you're always in
• 1:09:11
  shape and you're always training. like
• 1:09:12
  these kind of opportunities just kind of
• 1:09:13
  fall in your lap and this that's what
• 1:09:15
  kind of happened here. This opportunity
• 1:09:16
  just kind of it kind of came to me. You
• 1:09:18
  know, I was looking to compete here in
• 1:09:19
  Ontario. That's what I always look
• 1:09:20
  that's what I always looked to do. But
• 1:09:22
  the opportunity wasn't going to come up
• 1:09:24
  and I had missed so much time last year
• 1:09:26
  for trying to compete in just in
• 1:09:27
  Ontario. So now I was like, well, I need
• 1:09:29
  to start exploring other options. And I
• 1:09:31
  didn't even know who these people were.
• 1:09:32
  They contacted me and offered me two
• 1:09:33
  title fights. I was like, wow. And I'm
• 1:09:36
  the only Canadian going. So, they're
• 1:09:37
  either thinking, "Hey, this is this is
• 1:09:39
  someone who we're going to feed to our
• 1:09:40
  champion, who our champion can beat, or
• 1:09:42
  they're looking at me like, "Hey, let's
• 1:09:43
  see. Let's see how he does." Either way,
• 1:09:45
  no matter how he looks at it, it's a
• 1:09:46
  great opportunity for me, and I'm
• 1:09:48
  excited to go out there and showcase
• 1:09:49
  what I'm able to do. So, it's it's a
• 1:09:51
  great situation for me. I'm loving it.
• 1:09:54
  >> I say this a lot that when you look at a
• 1:09:56
  fighter's record, it can tell you a lot
• 1:09:58
  about that fighter, but it doesn't tell
• 1:10:00
  you everything. So, I know that I've
• 1:10:02
  seen you fight a handful of times,
• 1:10:04
  including one of your losses, and it
• 1:10:06
  wasn't a blowout by any means that, you
• 1:10:08
  know, you still performed really well.
• 1:10:09
  So, a three-2 record in the one hand, it
• 1:10:11
  shows it's it's about a 50-50 record.
• 1:10:13
  But in the other hand,
• 1:10:15
  you can't look at a record and just
• 1:10:17
  understand that a guy is super skilled
• 1:10:18
  like you are. Like, you are an excellent
• 1:10:19
  fighter, man. Like, I'll never forget
• 1:10:21
  the the the first time I ever saw you
• 1:10:23
  fight was a Durm Fight Series. It was
• 1:10:24
  your first fight. And what really
• 1:10:26
  separated from you from everyone else in
• 1:10:28
  my mind was just initially was the
• 1:10:32
  amount of time you took preparing and
• 1:10:34
  visualizing in the cage beforehand. You
• 1:10:36
  were in there for a long time. I don't
• 1:10:37
  know if you remember, but I was I was
• 1:10:38
  cage. I was watching you and I got some
• 1:10:40
  video footage. You were just like
• 1:10:41
  inspecting the cage and like sitting
• 1:10:43
  there and just focusing on whatever it
• 1:10:46
  was you were focusing on the fight the
• 1:10:47
  fight or what you were going to do. And
• 1:10:50
  that kind of detail, attention to
• 1:10:51
  details is is pretty extraordinary. And
• 1:10:55
  if that's what you need to do that,
• 1:10:57
  that's fantastic. So, you know, I think
• 1:11:01
  on the one hand, the Art of War, they
• 1:11:02
  see a three-2 record, think here's a guy
• 1:11:04
  with a three-2 record, our guy should
• 1:11:05
  beat him easily. But I know for a fact,
• 1:11:07
  nobody's going to beat you easily.
• 1:11:10
  >> I don't think so either. I think I'm a
• 1:11:11
  tough matchup for everybody. So, me
• 1:11:14
  going into this fight, like I said, I
• 1:11:16
  don't know how they're looking at it.
• 1:11:17
  They could be looking at it like this is
• 1:11:19
  someone we're going to feed to our
• 1:11:20
  champion, or they're looking at it like
• 1:11:21
  this is going to be a great fight.
• 1:11:22
  Either way, I'm not too concerned about
• 1:11:24
  that. I know what I'm capable of. I'm
• 1:11:26
  more concerned with how I view myself
• 1:11:28
  than how others people view me. And like
• 1:11:30
  I said, at the end of the day, I know
• 1:11:31
  what I'm capable of and I know I have a
• 1:11:33
  lot of skills to bring to the table. So,
• 1:11:35
  it's a great opportunity for me to
• 1:11:36
  showcase my skills. I'm moving up a
• 1:11:38
  weight class. I'm fighting a guy who's I
• 1:11:40
  think he's like nine and seven or
• 1:11:41
  something. So, a guy who's more
• 1:11:42
  experienced, higher weight class, he's
• 1:11:44
  the champion. This is a great
• 1:11:46
  opportunity for me to go out there, put
• 1:11:47
  on a stellar performance, and show
• 1:11:48
  everybody what I'm capable of. So, this
• 1:11:50
  is great.
• 1:11:52
  That guy is named Matt Turnbull. What do
• 1:11:54
  you know about him? Were you able to
• 1:11:55
  find any tape on him?
• 1:11:57
  >> Yeah, I just watched some of his
• 1:11:58
  footage. He seems like a very good
• 1:12:00
  fighter, honestly. All around he seems
• 1:12:01
  fine. Uh his fundamentals on the feet
• 1:12:04
  seemed pretty good. Like nothing too
• 1:12:05
  crazy. Like, you know, uh his ground
• 1:12:07
  game looked pretty legit. He likes to
• 1:12:09
  transition quite a bit. He transitions
• 1:12:11
  very well on the ground. His wrestling
• 1:12:13
  didn't look too bad either. Uh he just
• 1:12:15
  doesn't look amazing anywhere, so to
• 1:12:18
  speak. Like, he's definitely good all
• 1:12:19
  around. a very a very worthy opponent.
• 1:12:21
  He's definitely deserves to be the
• 1:12:23
  champion. I just don't see anything
• 1:12:24
  that's too that's going to be too
• 1:12:26
  overwhelming for me. So, I'm excited for
• 1:12:28
  this matchup.
• 1:12:30
  >> I'm excited for it, too. For it, too.
• 1:12:32
  You know, it's a it's a championship.
• 1:12:33
  It's out of country. Uh you get to
• 1:12:35
  travel internationally and do it. Just
• 1:12:36
  make sure you uh don't make the mistake
• 1:12:38
  a lot of guys do and don't get a visa.
• 1:12:40
  Make sure you get a visa well in
• 1:12:41
  advance.
• 1:12:43
  >> Yeah, I guess I got to get on top of
• 1:12:44
  that. I don't even know how to where to
• 1:12:46
  even begin to do that. But I guess yeah,
• 1:12:48
  I have to get on top of that.
• 1:12:50
  >> Yeah, I know I know of at least two
• 1:12:51
  occasions in the past little while. One
• 1:12:53
  just two two or three months ago where
• 1:12:54
  the fighter shows up at the border to go
• 1:12:56
  down. The border guard says, "Hey, why
• 1:12:58
  are you going there?" "Oh, I'm going to
• 1:12:59
  fight." And they said, "Where's your
• 1:13:00
  visa?" "I don't have a visa." "Well,
• 1:13:02
  you're not going to fight." So, uh yeah,
• 1:13:04
  just one of those small things that, you
• 1:13:06
  know, it's it's easy to forget.
• 1:13:08
  >> Yeah, that's that's interesting. It's
• 1:13:09
  good to know. I'm glad you noted that.
• 1:13:11
  >> All right, Ryan. Uh that was a great
• 1:13:13
  talk, man. I'm I'm rooting for you as
• 1:13:15
  always. I've always valued you as a
• 1:13:16
  fighter. I think you know that. And I'm
• 1:13:18
  wondering before we go, is there
• 1:13:19
  anything that you wish I would have
• 1:13:20
  asked you or want to talk about that I
• 1:13:22
  didn't bring up?
• 1:13:25
  >> No, honestly, it's good to catch up as
• 1:13:27
  always as I'm as I'm going on in this
• 1:13:30
  fight career. I'm learning a lot about
• 1:13:31
  myself and just finding out the best way
• 1:13:34
  to conduct myself when I do interviews
• 1:13:35
  like this or if I'm preparing for a
• 1:13:37
  fight. I feel like when I was just
• 1:13:39
  starting my career, I had a big ego and
• 1:13:42
  I let just a couple wins get to my head
• 1:13:44
  and just the way I was conducting
• 1:13:45
  myself. I I'm almost like shaking my
• 1:13:47
  head, cringing at it like, "Wow, I can't
• 1:13:49
  believe I conducted myself that way." So
• 1:13:50
  now I'm in a position where I just want
• 1:13:52
  to be a lot more humble as I go forward
• 1:13:55
  uh while still maintaining the high
• 1:13:56
  confidence that I have and to find that
• 1:13:58
  balance between being confident and also
• 1:14:00
  humble at the same time. It could be
• 1:14:02
  tough,
• 1:14:02
  >> but I think I'm finding a good balance
• 1:14:04
  where
• 1:14:04
  >> I'm conducting myself in a way that I'm
• 1:14:06
  going to be happy with later, win or
• 1:14:08
  lose, cuz I know anything can happen in
• 1:14:09
  there. But I also right now my
• 1:14:11
  confidence is skyhigh and I'm really
• 1:14:13
  excited to get in there and just do what
• 1:14:15
  I do and express myself in the way that
• 1:14:17
  I that I know that I can. And it should
• 1:14:19
  be a good show for everybody.
• 1:14:22
  >> I hope it will be. I'm not sure. I
• 1:14:24
  haven't looked into it yet if I'll be
• 1:14:25
  able to watch a stream of any type, but
• 1:14:27
  I hope I can watch you fight. Uh, so all
• 1:14:29
  I can say is Ryan, best of luck. kick
• 1:14:31
  some butt and hopefully when you see you
• 1:14:32
  next time you'll be the Art of War
• 1:14:35
  champion.
• 1:14:35
  >> Absolutely. Thank you so much for taking
• 1:14:37
  the time to talk to me, Andy. I
• 1:14:38
  appreciate it.
• 1:14:40
  >> Anytime, Ryan. All right, there you go,
• 1:14:41
  fight friends. Ryan Yapsum is fighting
• 1:14:43
  on the 28th of March at Art of War 46 in
• 1:14:46
  King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Hey
• 1:14:48
  there, fight friends. We are joined
• 1:14:49
  today by Sed Abi Issa, who is a Canadian
• 1:14:52
  amateur mixed martial artist with nine
• 1:14:54
  fights under his belt. But big news, he
• 1:14:56
  is currently in Arlington, Texas, or
• 1:14:59
  Texas anyway, where he's getting set for
• 1:15:01
  his pro debut, and that is on the 27th
• 1:15:03
  of March against Islam Abazil Zillv at
• 1:15:07
  XKO72 in Arlington, Texas. Say, thank
• 1:15:09
  you so much for joining us.
• 1:15:11
  >> Thank you for having me. I appreciate
• 1:15:12
  being on here.
• 1:15:13
  >> I'm super excited. I I love talking to
• 1:15:15
  amateur fighters. I like talking to
• 1:15:16
  fighters in general, but amateur
• 1:15:17
  fighters for sure, because 100% at this
• 1:15:20
  point, you just do this because you love
• 1:15:22
  it, don't you?
• 1:15:23
  >> Yeah, it's it's a passion of mine. and
• 1:15:24
  I'll never I'll never change it for
• 1:15:26
  anything.
• 1:15:28
  >> So, for many of the people watching,
• 1:15:30
  they've probably never seen you fight
• 1:15:31
  before. They've never maybe heard you
• 1:15:33
  before, even though you're quite
• 1:15:35
  prolific, but that's just the way
• 1:15:36
  amateur goes. Just take a moment, please
• 1:15:38
  introduce yourself, talk about your
• 1:15:40
  background, where you're from, uh how
• 1:15:42
  you got introduced to combat sports or
• 1:15:45
  MMA, and how you got into training.
• 1:15:47
  >> So, my name is S A Isa. I'm 21 years
• 1:15:50
  old. I've been in martial arts since the
• 1:15:54
  age of four years old and so it's kind
• 1:15:57
  of been a part of me.
• 1:16:00
  That's the Jets outside. Sorry about
• 1:16:02
  that.
• 1:16:02
  >> No, it's okay. So for everyone watching,
• 1:16:04
  say's currently in Texas, right? So the
• 1:16:06
  dogs barking. That's not his house. It's
• 1:16:08
  And
• 1:16:08
  >> no, I promise it's not mine. But yeah, I
• 1:16:11
  know. So I've been I've been in martial
• 1:16:13
  arts since I was about four years old. I
• 1:16:14
  started off with habit. So that's
• 1:16:16
  traditional martial art martial arts.
• 1:16:18
  class with the ghee, learning
• 1:16:20
  self-defense, jiu-jitsu, kind of mix of
• 1:16:22
  everything. And my parents threw me in
• 1:16:26
  when I was younger and obviously when I
• 1:16:28
  was a kid, I cried lots. I didn't want
• 1:16:30
  to do it. And I kind of just once I hit
• 1:16:34
  about 13, 14 years old, I found a love
• 1:16:37
  for and I started to take it on my own.
• 1:16:39
  I got my black belt hub keo at 13 years
• 1:16:44
  old. And then after I got my black belt,
• 1:16:46
  I transitioned over to jiu-jitsu and did
• 1:16:50
  jiu-jitsu for a while. Still doing it
• 1:16:51
  from now, but I started from Hikido,
• 1:16:54
  then went to jiu-jitsu, competed loss in
• 1:16:56
  jiu-jitsu, and then once I got about 16
• 1:16:59
  years old, I transitioned over to Muay
• 1:17:02
  Thai. So I worked loss with Abdul Hadad.
• 1:17:05
  That's even till today when I go back to
• 1:17:08
  Calgary, Alberta. Abdul Hadad's like my
• 1:17:10
  guy for striking. He's my standup guy
• 1:17:13
  100%. He's been by my side from day one.
• 1:17:15
  Um, so a big shout out to him, too,
• 1:17:17
  because he's stuck by me through
• 1:17:20
  everything, right? Um, did Muay Thai,
• 1:17:23
  competed, lost in Muay Thai. I came
• 1:17:25
  number one in Canada. I was on team
• 1:17:28
  Canada, competed in worlds, and I came
• 1:17:31
  number two in worlds for Muay Thai at 17
• 1:17:34
  years old.
• 1:17:35
  >> Wow.
• 1:17:35
  >> I lost to England in the finals.
• 1:17:38
  >> So that was that. And then I had a ex
• 1:17:42
  exhibition MMA fight when I was 17 in
• 1:17:46
  Grand Prairie, Canada. I won that first
• 1:17:50
  round submission. And then after that, I
• 1:17:52
  hit 18 on my 18th birthday. I made my
• 1:17:54
  MMA debut. And now I'm here. Seven wins,
• 1:17:58
  two losses, and I'm making my pro debut
• 1:18:01
  in a couple weeks.
• 1:18:03
  >> That's absolutely incredible. When I I
• 1:18:05
  hear people like you tell your stories
• 1:18:06
  about starting so young. Like, dude, I I
• 1:18:09
  did judo when I was a kid. I did judo
• 1:18:11
  when I was a kid. I did kickboxing in my
• 1:18:13
  teenage years. I didn't start Japanese
• 1:18:15
  jiu-jitsu till I was 30. I didn't start
• 1:18:17
  Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muai till I was
• 1:18:19
  40. So, like, I hear your stories and I
• 1:18:22
  just go, "Wow, I I wish I could go back
• 1:18:23
  in time and just start all over again
• 1:18:25
  and know know what I know now."
• 1:18:27
  >> Yeah. No, for sure. I'm I'm very
• 1:18:29
  thankful for my parents who keep pushing
• 1:18:31
  me when I was younger because if they
• 1:18:33
  didn't push me, I wouldn't be where I'm
• 1:18:34
  at right now. So big shout out to them
• 1:18:36
  too because their main reason why I I am
• 1:18:39
  where I am.
• 1:18:41
  >> You have shown, like you mentioned,
• 1:18:42
  great success, 7-2 record as an amateur
• 1:18:45
  against some really tough opponents,
• 1:18:46
  really good opponents. Why pro, why go
• 1:18:49
  professional now?
• 1:18:51
  >> We just So after my BFL fight against
• 1:18:54
  Bernie Lou, I got 15 second knockout
• 1:18:57
  there. I won the BFL championship title.
• 1:18:59
  >> Um
• 1:19:00
  >> I was there I was there for that. Yeah.
• 1:19:01
  >> Yeah. So after that fight, I I've always
• 1:19:05
  had problems getting fights in Canada.
• 1:19:07
  After my first fight, I had my first
• 1:19:09
  fight I ever had sanctioned was a first
• 1:19:12
  round knockout, minute and 30 seconds,
• 1:19:14
  knocked the guy out, and then I went a
• 1:19:17
  year and two months without a fight.
• 1:19:19
  Nobody would want to fight me at 18
• 1:19:20
  years old. So I ended up taking a twoe
• 1:19:24
  notice fight, the next one. And then my
• 1:19:26
  third fight, I took that fight on like a
• 1:19:29
  day notice. I went up two weight
• 1:19:31
  classes. I fought at 170 and I weighed
• 1:19:34
  in with a bunch of stuff in my pockets
• 1:19:36
  just to make sure the commission was
• 1:19:38
  okay with it. So I in Canada all
• 1:19:42
  majority of my fights were last minute
• 1:19:44
  fights just because that's the only way
• 1:19:45
  I was able to fight. And then I was
• 1:19:49
  lucky enough to connect with my team
• 1:19:51
  now, Del Rosa MMA, Mark Delosa, Montana
• 1:19:54
  Del Rosa um down in Texas and now
• 1:19:58
  they're my official team. And ever since
• 1:20:01
  the BFL fight, all my fights have been
• 1:20:03
  in the States. So after fighting so
• 1:20:05
  much, I got three championship belts and
• 1:20:07
  three different promotions.
• 1:20:09
  And it only makes sense. There's nobody
• 1:20:12
  else that wanted to fight me as an
• 1:20:13
  amateur. And even going pro leading up
• 1:20:17
  to March 27th, I had five, six offers
• 1:20:20
  and they all turned me down. Pro
• 1:20:21
  fighters that's already have been pro,
• 1:20:23
  older guys. I've already had guys
• 1:20:25
  turning me down as a pro. So,
• 1:20:28
  it's a it's a like it's a good thing cuz
• 1:20:31
  I they know I know that I have the
• 1:20:34
  skills that it takes, but also sucks to
• 1:20:37
  strongly get fights. But after I get
• 1:20:39
  this fight in, I don't think I'll have
• 1:20:41
  problems getting fights because I'll be
• 1:20:43
  able to fight higher record guys and
• 1:20:44
  stuff. So,
• 1:20:46
  >> yeah. And there's always going to be
• 1:20:47
  somebody out there who's going to look
• 1:20:48
  at you and your record and think, man, I
• 1:20:50
  want to be the guy to take this kid out.
• 1:20:52
  >> Exactly.
• 1:20:53
  >> Say, how old are you right now? 22.
• 1:20:55
  >> 21. I just turned 21 in February.
• 1:20:57
  >> Oh, sorry. Okay, awesome. Yeah, I'm glad
• 1:20:59
  you brought it up. And first of all, I'd
• 1:21:01
  like to compliment you on just uh your
• 1:21:03
  speaking. Sometimes when I speak with
• 1:21:05
  people, I like say, "What what's your
• 1:21:07
  favorite color?" And they go, "Blue."
• 1:21:08
  And I can have another person say,
• 1:21:10
  "What's your favorite color?" And they
• 1:21:11
  talk to me for 25 minutes about the
• 1:21:12
  color red. So I it's good. I can ask you
• 1:21:14
  a question. You just go with it.
• 1:21:16
  >> Thank you.
• 1:21:16
  >> So I'm going to take a look at your
• 1:21:17
  record for a second because I was going
• 1:21:19
  to bring this up. Yeah. Your last fight.
• 1:21:22
  Geez, that was at also in Texas and
• 1:21:23
  before that it was peak fighting, then
• 1:21:25
  XKO fight night, then peak fighting
• 1:21:27
  again. So, a lot of American fights. So,
• 1:21:30
  uh is that Mark Del Roza? Is he So, is
• 1:21:33
  he your main coach now? And is he also
• 1:21:34
  sort of your manager and sort of who
• 1:21:36
  guides you on where and how to get
• 1:21:38
  fights?
• 1:21:39
  >> Yes. So, that's exactly it. So, when I
• 1:21:41
  come down from Canada to America, I
• 1:21:43
  usually come down to America for fight
• 1:21:45
  camps, right? Because obviously it's
• 1:21:47
  costing lots, so I can't be living here.
• 1:21:50
  Um, so I usually come out anywhere from
• 1:21:53
  4 to 8 to 12 weeks for fight camps. I've
• 1:21:56
  been here since January for this March
• 1:21:59
  fight and I stay with my coach Mark and
• 1:22:02
  Montana de la Rose. I stay at their
• 1:22:03
  place and they just take me in and treat
• 1:22:07
  me very well. But yeah, Coach Mark's my
• 1:22:09
  main coach. He's my manager as well. He
• 1:22:12
  get books my fights and like him and his
• 1:22:15
  wife both they've both been to the UFC,
• 1:22:17
  the biggest show in the world, right? So
• 1:22:19
  my fully my trust is fully with them and
• 1:22:21
  I just all the way to the end kind of
• 1:22:23
  thing.
• 1:22:24
  >> How did you first get introduced to
• 1:22:26
  them?
• 1:22:27
  >> So it was through one of my teammates
• 1:22:30
  Nico. Nico and Mark known have known
• 1:22:33
  each other for many many years. Um funny
• 1:22:36
  actually cuz Nico used to he knew me
• 1:22:39
  when I was about 15 and would always
• 1:22:41
  tell me come down to Texas, come down to
• 1:22:43
  Texas. And I never took him up on the
• 1:22:46
  offer until
• 1:22:48
  uh I was 19. I was 19 years old.
• 1:22:52
  Probably two years ago. I took Nico up
• 1:22:54
  on the offer and I came down for a
• 1:22:55
  couple weeks. Met the family, met the
• 1:22:57
  team, and then ever since that meet up
• 1:23:01
  and two that twoe meetup,
• 1:23:04
  I just continued coming back, talked to
• 1:23:07
  Coach Mark, ended up saying, "Hey man,
• 1:23:09
  like I want you guys to be my team, my
• 1:23:11
  coach." and he took me under his wing
• 1:23:14
  and took me under the team kind of thing
• 1:23:17
  >> in order for him to do something like
• 1:23:18
  that. You know, I haven't spoken with
• 1:23:20
  you about this before, nor have I spoken
• 1:23:21
  with him, but I can only imagine that
• 1:23:24
  bringing somebody into your home is is a
• 1:23:26
  is a big decision, right? Because you
• 1:23:27
  never know so many crazy people out
• 1:23:29
  there in this world, even people that
• 1:23:30
  seem kind of normal. So, I can just
• 1:23:32
  imagine you must have been very
• 1:23:35
  respectful and he must have seen
• 1:23:36
  something in you that knew he knew he
• 1:23:38
  could trust you to live with his family.
• 1:23:40
  Yeah, that that was a big thing that he
• 1:23:43
  had to do obviously was that first two
• 1:23:45
  weeks I guess was him just seeing who I
• 1:23:48
  was and I Mark obviously knew who I was
• 1:23:50
  before I knew who he was because just
• 1:23:53
  Nico was always talking about me coach
• 1:23:55
  Mark and
• 1:23:58
  like you said I was I'm a very
• 1:23:59
  respectful person. My parents raised me
• 1:24:01
  the right way. So I know how to read a
• 1:24:03
  room, you know. I'm very respectful to
• 1:24:06
  family. It's not my house. So, I always
• 1:24:08
  got to pick up after myself and carry my
• 1:24:10
  own weight and stuff. So, Mark ended up
• 1:24:12
  seeing something in me and he's always
• 1:24:14
  told me that he's willing to invest in
• 1:24:16
  me and
• 1:24:19
  take that chance because he sees success
• 1:24:21
  in my future hopefully one day. So, he's
• 1:24:24
  taking investment in with me and like
• 1:24:26
  I'm very thankful for him and the family
• 1:24:28
  always housing me, having me down here.
• 1:24:31
  Like I would never not be thankful for
• 1:24:34
  it.
• 1:24:35
  Do you still live in Calgary when you're
• 1:24:36
  in Canada?
• 1:24:37
  >> Yes.
• 1:24:39
  >> And talk about your training in Canada.
• 1:24:41
  >> Yeah, so when I'm back in Calgary, I
• 1:24:43
  bounce around with a few other gyms just
• 1:24:46
  to get different bodies and different
• 1:24:47
  different looks. Um, I bounce between
• 1:24:50
  elite martial arts, that's with Francois
• 1:24:52
  and Abdu, that's where Abdu Hadad is. I
• 1:24:55
  bounce there and then I go Alivanka for
• 1:24:57
  my MMA
• 1:24:59
  >> and then say again
• 1:25:00
  >> with Tim Blanchard.
• 1:25:02
  >> Yeah, exactly. with Tim, Kerr, all those
• 1:25:04
  people over there for my MMA. And then I
• 1:25:07
  also do tense planet jiu-jitsu just so I
• 1:25:09
  get a bit of everything. So I got my
• 1:25:11
  Muay Thai striking, I've got my pure
• 1:25:12
  jiu-jitsu, and then I kind of blend
• 1:25:14
  everything in with my MMA while I'm down
• 1:25:16
  there. And then I'm also working with my
• 1:25:18
  strength and conditioning guy, Dan
• 1:25:20
  Bolam. He's in Calgary, too. So when I'm
• 1:25:23
  down there, I'm with him. And then when
• 1:25:24
  I'm out here, he just gives me a workout
• 1:25:27
  routine and then I just follow it.
• 1:25:30
  >> Well, man, it sounds like you've got it
• 1:25:31
  all figured out. You've got a welloiled
• 1:25:33
  machine running for you. So, I'm happy
• 1:25:34
  for you.
• 1:25:35
  >> Appreciate it. Thank you.
• 1:25:37
  >> Let's talk about now what's next. I'm
• 1:25:40
  not talk I don't want to have you look
• 1:25:41
  past this fight and we'll talk about
• 1:25:42
  this particular fight in a in a moment,
• 1:25:44
  but I'm just wondering about your future
• 1:25:45
  career. Obviously, you have a goal in
• 1:25:47
  mind. You've done well with amateur.
• 1:25:49
  You're moving to professional. Have you
• 1:25:51
  given extreme thought into how you'd
• 1:25:53
  like it to go? Like fight by fight or
• 1:25:55
  every five fights, you know, any
• 1:25:56
  milestones you want to achieve, or are
• 1:25:58
  you just taking it one fight at a time?
• 1:26:00
  So after this fight, we have Fury FC.
• 1:26:03
  I'm not sure if you've heard of them or
• 1:26:04
  not. They're on UFC fight pass.
• 1:26:06
  >> I have.
• 1:26:06
  >> Yeah. So after this fight, I'll be
• 1:26:09
  signing with them a three or four fight
• 1:26:11
  deal. And hopefully I'll be fighting
• 1:26:14
  with them again in May after this fight.
• 1:26:16
  But my end goal obviously is the UFC is
• 1:26:19
  the big shows. I want to be a world
• 1:26:20
  champion one day. And Coach Mark wants
• 1:26:22
  to create world champions in his gym all
• 1:26:24
  around. So for me, I've told you this
• 1:26:28
  too, by end of 2027, I want to be in the
• 1:26:30
  UFC. Doesn't matter how it is, Ultimate
• 1:26:33
  Fighter, Contender Series, last minute
• 1:26:35
  calls. I don't see myself like I see
• 1:26:38
  myself rising quick. If I stay active, I
• 1:26:40
  stay busy. I don't think I need long
• 1:26:42
  until I start getting eyes on me cuz all
• 1:26:44
  my fights are exciting. Nobody wants to
• 1:26:46
  miss my fights. And I'm always putting
• 1:26:48
  on a show whether it's on the ground or
• 1:26:50
  on the feet. I'm I'm always down to
• 1:26:52
  bang. I just I want to create damage. I
• 1:26:54
  want to draw blood. I just want to hurt
• 1:26:56
  the guy across from me. Obviously, I
• 1:26:58
  want to win, but I want to walk out that
• 1:27:00
  cage knowing that I hurt them and
• 1:27:02
  they're going to feel it the next day or
• 1:27:04
  the next week.
• 1:27:06
  >> Yeah. Before I tell you my opinion, just
• 1:27:08
  what do you think the UFC looks for when
• 1:27:10
  they look for a potential signees to
• 1:27:11
  join their organization?
• 1:27:13
  >> UFC right now is looking for knockout
• 1:27:15
  artists, people who's willing to bang.
• 1:27:17
  Like obviously grappling is part of MMA,
• 1:27:20
  but if you're going to grapple, you got
• 1:27:21
  to do damage while you're on the floor,
• 1:27:23
  right? So UFC is looking for guys who
• 1:27:25
  are going to put on a show, guys who are
• 1:27:28
  fan favorites, obviously social media is
• 1:27:30
  a big side of it as well. But if you're
• 1:27:32
  willing to do damage and you're able to
• 1:27:34
  knock a guy out or you're able to take a
• 1:27:35
  punch to give a punch and draw blood,
• 1:27:38
  UFC is definitely going to want you for
• 1:27:39
  sure.
• 1:27:40
  >> Yeah, I know for a contender series for
• 1:27:42
  sure UFC President Dana White, he
• 1:27:45
  doesn't like people that don't go for
• 1:27:46
  it. He likes people that have grit, that
• 1:27:48
  have tenacity. They try to finish fights
• 1:27:50
  and they do finish fights and even if
• 1:27:52
  they don't finish fights, they're going
• 1:27:53
  for it the whole time because we've seen
• 1:27:55
  sometimes where guys can win a fight but
• 1:27:56
  it's kind of lackluster or you know they
• 1:27:58
  were just running out the clock and Dana
• 1:28:00
  says no maybe ne maybe next time.
• 1:28:03
  >> Yeah, exactly. So for me that's that's
• 1:28:06
  my style. If I got a guy in front of me
• 1:28:08
  who wants to stand and bang, I will
• 1:28:10
  stand and bang all day. I don't mind it.
• 1:28:12
  I will take a hit to give a hit and I'll
• 1:28:14
  take your hardest punch and keep walking
• 1:28:16
  forward kind of thing. So, I'm excited
• 1:28:17
  to see what the future holds for me, but
• 1:28:20
  it'll be good. It'll be a good run.
• 1:28:22
  >> Awesome. Well, I'm excited to follow
• 1:28:24
  you, say, I I was really impressed by
• 1:28:25
  you when I saw you live. Uh, before we
• 1:28:28
  get going, is there anything you think I
• 1:28:29
  should have asked you that I didn't ask?
• 1:28:32
  >> Honestly, no. You've hit all the
• 1:28:35
  questions.
• 1:28:36
  >> Every single one. What's your favorite
• 1:28:38
  color?
• 1:28:42
  >> I like uh I'd go with red for sure. Red.
• 1:28:45
  I don't know. It's just been a color
• 1:28:47
  that goes good on me and just growing up
• 1:28:49
  red's always been something I've always
• 1:28:51
  loved.
• 1:28:52
  >> All right, good choice. All right,
• 1:28:53
  thanks man. There you go. All right,
• 1:28:55
  fight friends. Say Abia, amateur fighter
• 1:28:57
  from Canada, making his pro debut in
• 1:28:59
  Texas at the end of this month. Wish him
• 1:29:01
  luck. Hey there, fight friends. We are
• 1:29:03
  joined today by the very patient Scout
• 1:29:05
  Meyer, an amateur mixed martial artist
• 1:29:07
  out of Ontario with a record of six and
• 1:29:09
  one. He is heading down to the Dominican
• 1:29:11
  Republic on March the 28th to fight a
• 1:29:15
  man named Jose Ventura for the Dominican
• 1:29:18
  Fight Club Lightweight Championship.
• 1:29:19
  Scout, thank you for speaking with us.
• 1:29:23
  >> Thank you. So happy to be here.
• 1:29:26
  >> Uh fight friends, just to let you know
• 1:29:28
  that Scout is a very patient young man.
• 1:29:29
  I mentioned that already. I've had a
• 1:29:31
  whole bunch of technical issues this
• 1:29:32
  morning in a time zone mixup. So, you
• 1:29:35
  know, the fact that he's still here, I I
• 1:29:37
  owe him something in the future. A
• 1:29:39
  beverage or something or pat in the
• 1:29:40
  back. I don't know. Whatever. I I'll get
• 1:29:41
  you something. Scout. Okay. Awesome. So,
• 1:29:44
  for the fans who don't know who you are,
• 1:29:46
  uh you're an amateur fighter. You've had
• 1:29:48
  a really good career so far at six and
• 1:29:50
  one. Like I said, I've had the pleasure
• 1:29:51
  of watching you fight in person at least
• 1:29:53
  twice, maybe three times. And overall,
• 1:29:56
  very impressed with your well-rounded
• 1:29:58
  skill set. When I I've been doing this
• 1:29:59
  for a long time, and it used to be when
• 1:30:02
  you watched amateur fighters fight, you
• 1:30:03
  could automatically know that that
• 1:30:06
  dude's an amateur, you know, he still
• 1:30:07
  has a lot to learn. When I watch you
• 1:30:08
  fight, you could be a pro now, I think.
• 1:30:12
  So, just talk about your your your
• 1:30:14
  training, how you got to where you are
• 1:30:16
  now, how you first discovered mixed
• 1:30:18
  martial arts, what your training started
• 1:30:20
  started like, and and where it is now.
• 1:30:23
  >> Yeah, I definitely agree. amateurs are
• 1:30:25
  getting like a lot better and I think
• 1:30:28
  the pros are getting better so the
• 1:30:30
  amateurs have to get better. It's it's
• 1:30:32
  just the way it's going to be if you as
• 1:30:34
  the sport continues guys are going to
• 1:30:36
  get so much better.
• 1:30:38
  >> Um but yeah, I started not too long ago.
• 1:30:42
  Um I I first heard about MMA through
• 1:30:47
  watching a Conor McGregor Instagram
• 1:30:48
  video and I was like this looks awesome.
• 1:30:51
  So I I went to my local gym. I said I
• 1:30:54
  wanted to do MMA, wanted to be champion
• 1:30:56
  of the world. They were like, "Wow, slow
• 1:30:58
  down. Maybe we'll get you a a kickboxing
• 1:31:01
  match." So, started with kickboxing.
• 1:31:04
  Um, did that for I think like a year and
• 1:31:07
  a half before I transitioned to MMA and
• 1:31:11
  uh had my first fight, did really well,
• 1:31:13
  and then had my second fight and I lost
• 1:31:15
  that fight uh to Dimma.
• 1:31:17
  >> And that's where that's where I met
• 1:31:18
  Thick Boy. So, I I I've now moved to the
• 1:31:22
  city and I'm training with them, getting
• 1:31:25
  better every day.
• 1:31:27
  >> Yeah, Demetro's a you know, you don't
• 1:31:29
  need to be upset about losing to him.
• 1:31:30
  He's an excellent fighter and he, like
• 1:31:33
  you said, he introduced you to Thick
• 1:31:34
  Boy. Talk about Thick Boy uh fight club
• 1:31:37
  and the Thick Boy gang and what it's
• 1:31:38
  like being a part of that team because
• 1:31:40
  you guys are very cohesive.
• 1:31:42
  >> Yeah, it's it's great. Um I love the
• 1:31:45
  team.
• 1:31:46
  Everyone on the team's great. We're all,
• 1:31:49
  you know, always letting each other know
• 1:31:51
  what we can do to improve. You know,
• 1:31:53
  helping guys where they they struggle
• 1:31:55
  and encouraging guys where they're
• 1:31:57
  already really good. Um, you know, some
• 1:31:59
  guys are are better at grappling or
• 1:32:01
  striking and together as a team, uh, we
• 1:32:05
  can make some pretty pretty well-rounded
• 1:32:07
  fighters.
• 1:32:09
  >> Tell us your impressions about Tyson and
• 1:32:10
  Buy as coaches.
• 1:32:12
  >> Yeah, great coaches. um you know,
• 1:32:16
  grappling heavy guys, great great top
• 1:32:20
  pressure. Um if you roll with either of
• 1:32:22
  them, you know, you can, you know,
• 1:32:24
  there's a lot of experience. Everything
• 1:32:26
  they do is to set you up. Um yeah, great
• 1:32:30
  coaches.
• 1:32:32
  Uh I've I've learned so much and I've
• 1:32:35
  only been at Thick Boy for um just about
• 1:32:38
  a year now and I I've learned so so
• 1:32:41
  much.
• 1:32:44
  Yeah, it's important to have a team that
• 1:32:45
  you mesh with. Like sometimes I get
• 1:32:47
  people like friends or family, they ask
• 1:32:49
  me for recommendations about what gym to
• 1:32:50
  try. And even though me personally, I
• 1:32:52
  might have a a strong impression and a
• 1:32:54
  not so strong impression of certain
• 1:32:56
  gyms, I still tell them, you know, try
• 1:32:58
  try two or three, whatever is around you
• 1:33:01
  because your fit might not be the same
• 1:33:02
  as my fit. So, it's important to find
• 1:33:04
  what you'd like. And I'm happy that you
• 1:33:06
  did that.
• 1:33:08
  >> Yeah, for sure. Um, thick boy. We kind
• 1:33:10
  of have a
• 1:33:12
  boxing wrestling heavy base. Um,
• 1:33:16
  I really like Ilia Tapora. Tyson, my
• 1:33:19
  coach really likes Ilia Tapora. Um, I'm
• 1:33:22
  trying to like if I'm trying to style
• 1:33:24
  after him and my coach also agrees that
• 1:33:26
  that's a good style. It's just a good
• 1:33:28
  fit, you know,
• 1:33:30
  >> keeping the the level low, jabbing,
• 1:33:33
  having a good wrestling base. Um, it's
• 1:33:36
  just, yeah, thick boy is is the the the
• 1:33:39
  fight system that I like.
• 1:33:42
  >> Fantastic. Let's move on now to this
• 1:33:44
  fight in the Dominican. You're fighting
• 1:33:46
  that Jose Ventura. Um, were you able to
• 1:33:49
  find any tape on him?
• 1:33:52
  >> Uh, a little bit. You know, I I went
• 1:33:53
  through his Instagram. There's pictures,
• 1:33:56
  some clips. Looks like he's got a fast
• 1:33:58
  finish and then some other longer longer
• 1:34:01
  fights. Uh, ended with a rear naked, I
• 1:34:03
  think. Um, yeah, I haven't seen any like
• 1:34:07
  full full fights, but uh I've seen some
• 1:34:09
  clips, so you know, I I have an idea
• 1:34:12
  what to expect. I I think he's 5'10, so
• 1:34:15
  little bit taller than me, but yeah,
• 1:34:18
  about the same.
• 1:34:20
  >> Yeah, at a certain level, you you can
• 1:34:22
  only prepare so much for your opponent,
• 1:34:24
  but the main focus should be on
• 1:34:25
  preparing yourself and just what you can
• 1:34:27
  control. And I think that's probably
• 1:34:28
  what you're doing.
• 1:34:30
  >> Yeah. Yeah. I'm not, you know, like I
• 1:34:33
  have in the past definitely worked on
• 1:34:34
  things that I thought would be good for
• 1:34:36
  specific opponents a little bit, but
• 1:34:38
  mostly right now for like in the amateur
• 1:34:41
  stage, I'm really just training
• 1:34:44
  to like make myself a better fighter.
• 1:34:46
  I'm not focusing too much on the
• 1:34:48
  opponents.
• 1:34:49
  >> Let's talk about you becoming a better
• 1:34:51
  fighter. As you're continuing to train,
• 1:34:54
  uh, you're clearly going to get better.
• 1:34:55
  Talk about your training life. What's a
• 1:34:58
  what's a a a week look like in the life
• 1:35:00
  of Scout Meyer?
• 1:35:02
  >> Yep. Um training training pretty much
• 1:35:06
  every day where we go striking and then
• 1:35:09
  grappling striking grappling. So
• 1:35:12
  Monday's like a boxing. Tuesday's
• 1:35:14
  wrestling. Wednesday's uh back to
• 1:35:18
  striking. Um like kind of like Dutch
• 1:35:20
  drills with uh with kicking, switch
• 1:35:22
  kicks and stuff. Thursday's back to
• 1:35:24
  wrestling. And then Friday we do a
• 1:35:27
  sparring day. Then Saturday and Sunday
• 1:35:29
  we also train uh in the mornings though
• 1:35:32
  we do a MMA grappling rounds. So
• 1:35:34
  basically grappling with MMA gloves. You
• 1:35:37
  can like simulate punches and and ground
• 1:35:39
  and pound. And then Sunday is probably
• 1:35:42
  my favorite day. We do boxing with 16
• 1:35:44
  ounce gloves but you can shoot
• 1:35:46
  takedowns.
• 1:35:47
  >> So it's great to work on like you know
• 1:35:49
  fainting and overhand and you can grab a
• 1:35:50
  single or you know something like that.
• 1:35:53
  Jeez, that that's a that's a busy week.
• 1:35:55
  Is there any uh aspect of fighting that
• 1:35:58
  you gravitate towards the most that you
• 1:35:59
  enjoy doing the most? You said just the
• 1:36:01
  the the Sundays, but any like aspect?
• 1:36:05
  >> Yeah, like I I love I love boxing. I
• 1:36:09
  love I love feeling, you know, something
• 1:36:11
  just just go by and miss and then
• 1:36:13
  counter. Uh I think it's to me I think
• 1:36:16
  nothing beats a clean knockout. Um, you
• 1:36:19
  know, lead lead hand, power hand,
• 1:36:23
  doesn't matter.
• 1:36:24
  >> Yeah, boxing is probably uh my favorite.
• 1:36:27
  But then again, there's a wrestling like
• 1:36:30
  when you wrestle someone and you you out
• 1:36:32
  cardio them and just they're dead and
• 1:36:34
  you still have energy. That's also a
• 1:36:36
  really good feeling.
• 1:36:37
  >> Yeah. I had a talk with somebody else
• 1:36:39
  yesterday the day before and I don't
• 1:36:41
  remember who, but I talked about how
• 1:36:43
  like people who don't train, who don't
• 1:36:44
  fight, will never truly comprehend the
• 1:36:48
  absolute suckiness of when you gas out
• 1:36:50
  either in training or in a fight, right?
• 1:36:52
  There's nothing in the world worse. So
• 1:36:54
  to know that you've got that cardio in
• 1:36:55
  your bank is has got to be a great
• 1:36:56
  feeling.
• 1:36:59
  >> Yeah, for sure. I think,
• 1:37:02
  yeah, I think cardio
• 1:37:04
  cardio is one of the biggest things.
• 1:37:06
  Like even if you know like two or three
• 1:37:09
  basic moves, right? If if you don't gas
• 1:37:11
  out and the other guy knows everything
• 1:37:12
  but he gasses out, it it doesn't matter.
• 1:37:15
  >> Yeah, that's right.
• 1:37:16
  >> You have to be in great shape always.
• 1:37:20
  >> This fight in the Dominican will be the
• 1:37:22
  eighth of your amateur career. How much
• 1:37:24
  longer is this going to go? Are you
• 1:37:25
  considering going professional at some
• 1:37:26
  point?
• 1:37:29
  Yeah. So, my coach wants me to get 10
• 1:37:31
  amateur wins.
• 1:37:33
  So, we've got this one coming up. Uh
• 1:37:35
  there's a card for unified. It's a ProAm
• 1:37:38
  card. Looking like we're going to get
• 1:37:40
  that fight. We'll see. Um we got an
• 1:37:43
  opponent, but we just got to see if he
• 1:37:44
  accepts.
• 1:37:45
  >> Mhm.
• 1:37:46
  >> And then, um maybe uh the tournament in
• 1:37:49
  the fall that uh I don't know, you know,
• 1:37:50
  Scott Heathco, my teammate,
• 1:37:52
  >> he just went pro. He did that, too.
• 1:37:54
  >> And uh he actually won. He's world
• 1:37:56
  champion. Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:37:57
  >> So, uh I'm looking to do the same.
• 1:38:01
  >> Who are some of your main training
• 1:38:02
  partners at Thick Boy?
• 1:38:05
  >> Yeah, right now, uh well, Scott's in
• 1:38:07
  Brazil, so uh he's not there, but when
• 1:38:10
  he is, he's great. Um right now, I train
• 1:38:12
  a lot with Donovan, Artage,
• 1:38:15
  Dimma, Little Dimma. Um yeah, there's so
• 1:38:19
  many. Phil, great wrestler. We have uh
• 1:38:21
  Max, he's really good boxer.
• 1:38:25
  Yeah, different guys are are great for
• 1:38:27
  different things.
• 1:38:28
  >> Yeah, of course. And you have a brother
• 1:38:29
  that fights, too, don't you?
• 1:38:31
  >> Yes. Yep. My little brother is great.
• 1:38:33
  He's he's a really good grappler. Um he
• 1:38:36
  learns he learns quick, faster than me.
• 1:38:38
  >> And what's his name? I'm sorry.
• 1:38:40
  >> North.
• 1:38:41
  >> North. Yeah, I I knew that at some
• 1:38:43
  point.
• 1:38:44
  >> Okay.
• 1:38:45
  >> He's looking to get another fight soon,
• 1:38:46
  too.
• 1:38:48
  >> That's good. And uh it's important to
• 1:38:50
  sort of to to pace yourself
• 1:38:52
  appropriately. And by pace yourself, I
• 1:38:53
  don't mean go really slow. I just mean
• 1:38:55
  make sure that you have the appropriate
• 1:38:56
  amount of time of time between fights
• 1:38:59
  and give yourself time to rest and grow
• 1:39:01
  as a fighter because, you know, if you
• 1:39:03
  go in there and fight every week, sure,
• 1:39:06
  you know, you can get the experience,
• 1:39:07
  but you're not really improving as a
• 1:39:09
  fighter in that week.
• 1:39:10
  >> Yeah, I'm I'm trying to fight as much as
• 1:39:12
  I can, but uh but still always win, you
• 1:39:16
  know. I'm not I'm not trading uh losses
• 1:39:19
  for just experience. Trying to win every
• 1:39:22
  time. Be prepared every time.
• 1:39:25
  >> Okay, Scout, I thought this was a great
• 1:39:27
  conversation, but before we go, I'm
• 1:39:29
  wondering, is there anything that you
• 1:39:30
  think we should have talked about that I
• 1:39:31
  didn't ask?
• 1:39:34
  >> Um,
• 1:39:36
  I guess uh just my support from home.
• 1:39:39
  Like my parents, all my siblings come
• 1:39:41
  from a big family. Everyone supports me.
• 1:39:44
  Um, yeah, friends and family. It's
• 1:39:46
  really great to have everyone's support.
• 1:39:48
  Uh, it just it Without that, it would be
• 1:39:52
  a lot more difficult.
• 1:39:55
  >> 100%. That's one thing I, you know, I
• 1:39:57
  actually could have asked that, so I'm
• 1:39:58
  glad you mentioned it. Whenever I've
• 1:40:00
  seen you fight in person, I distinctly
• 1:40:03
  remember the huge support system you had
• 1:40:05
  there. Your dad's there very loud and
• 1:40:06
  proud, right in front, a whole bunch of
• 1:40:08
  people. And in fact, at the last thick
• 1:40:10
  boy number nine, uh when I go in the
• 1:40:12
  cage at the end of every fight to take a
• 1:40:14
  picture of the winner in their fight
• 1:40:15
  teams, most the time it's the fighter
• 1:40:18
  and maybe two or three cornerman
• 1:40:20
  coaches. With you, uh in the main event,
• 1:40:22
  yet you won the main event like you came
• 1:40:25
  in and then just they didn't stop. They
• 1:40:27
  just kept piling in. It took like a good
• 1:40:28
  five or six minutes to crawl them all.
• 1:40:30
  There must been 40 people in there with
• 1:40:31
  you.
• 1:40:32
  >> Yeah. Yeah. That's uh that's the
• 1:40:34
  advantage to winning the main event, you
• 1:40:36
  know. there's nothing after, so everyone
• 1:40:38
  can come in the cage and uh get a photo.
• 1:40:40
  It's great. Um it feels good to make the
• 1:40:43
  team proud, too, you know. Uh when
• 1:40:45
  you're the main event, there's a little
• 1:40:47
  bit more pressure to win because uh the
• 1:40:50
  whole team's waiting for that fight that
• 1:40:52
  night. So to win, it's like I'm winning,
• 1:40:55
  but also the team's winning, you know?
• 1:40:57
  So
• 1:40:57
  >> yeah. Yeah.
• 1:40:58
  >> Good feeling.
• 1:40:59
  >> Yeah. That's awesome. Well, Scout, once
• 1:41:01
  again, this was fantastic. Thanks again
• 1:41:03
  for speaking with us. Uh, and fight
• 1:41:05
  friends, there you go. Scout Meyer
• 1:41:06
  currently six and one, hopefully seven-1
• 1:41:08
  as an amateur very shortly, fighting for
• 1:41:10
  the lightweight championship at
• 1:41:12
  Dominican Fight Club in Dominican
• 1:41:13
  Republic. Thanks goat.