Latest / The MM-EH Show / MMA Fighters, Branding, & Promoting Events | Devon Lozej, Kelton Sneve, Zack Powell & Alisha Kler

Transcript

MMA Fighters, Branding, & Promoting Events | Devon Lozej, Kelton Sneve, Zack Powell & Alisha Kler · The MM-EH Show

0:15
Devon Jose and Kelton Sny. Welcome guys.
0:17
It's so good to see you again.
0:19
>> You're as well Andy. Nice to see you.
0:21
>> Welcome.
0:22
>> And I would like to give you an official
0:24
thank you and congratulations from
0:25
myself and MMA because you are my first
0:27
ever duo dual interview. So, this is
0:29
kind of cool.
0:31
>> Yeah. Couldn't pick couldn't have picked
0:33
a better two.
0:35
>> I know you guys are like And especially
0:36
with with Devon's nickname of the dream.
0:38
You guys are the dream team.
0:40
>> Dream team for sure.
0:41
>> No kidding. Speaking of look at his his
0:43
merch that he just dropped. That's his
0:45
new sweater, new shirt that he's got on.
0:47
So, everyone could buy that from him,
0:49
too.
0:49
>> Awesome. Well, make sure after the talk
0:51
you send me the details for that, Devon,
0:52
and I'll make sure that's all posted
0:53
with whatever you post.
0:54
>> Sounds good.
0:55
>> Awesome. And I want I want a shirt or a
0:56
hoodie or whatever. So, I'll I'll order
0:58
one. I'll get I'll hook you up for sure.
1:00
>> Awesome. Okay, guys. So, it's uh it's
1:02
it's exciting time for both of you. Two
1:04
young guys from Northern Ontario. You
1:07
always uh keep yourself busy. This is I
1:09
think for each of you it's either your
1:10
fourth or your fifth fights with Legacy
1:12
Fighting Alliance and that's a big step
1:14
for a lot of fighters because often
1:15
times a lot of fighters will start off
1:17
with like a small local uh organization
1:20
as as you guys did, but then it takes
1:22
them a long time if ever they get to
1:24
expand and get their faces shown to a
1:26
bigger audience. and and Legacy Fighting
1:28
Alliance is definitely a a bigger
1:30
audience. For a long time, they're on
1:31
UFC Fight Pass. Uh and they send a lot
1:34
of their fighters to the UFC and you
1:35
guys have had a lot of success with them
1:37
so far. Like I said, lots of fights.
1:39
What's the experience been with them
1:41
overall?
1:43
>> I mean, yeah, LFA is great. It's uh you
1:45
know, it's one of the biggest promotions
1:47
in the world. It's got some of the
1:48
toughest dudes outside the UFC. And I
1:51
think that's I can't speak for Kelton,
1:53
but that's why I'm there. I want to
1:54
fight the the biggest the best dudes and
1:57
try to get to the UFC. And I think that
1:58
uh you know, a place like LFA's got the
2:01
best talent. And a lot of people avoid
2:03
it or never make it there because they
2:04
can't uh they can't hang with that level
2:06
of talent because you're not getting any
2:07
easy fights. You can't uh be stuck in
2:10
witness protection like some of these
2:11
other guys in Canada in these
2:13
promotions. And I'm just being honest,
2:14
they're they're stuck in their hometowns
2:16
fighting guys that are brought in for
2:18
them. You know, we're going to all these
2:20
promotions in LFA fighting the bad
2:21
dudes. And that's that's the way I want
2:23
it. Um can speak on that as well.
2:25
>> Exactly like Devin said, you know, like
2:27
this will be my sixth fight with LFA. Um
2:30
I fought there since my second pro fight
2:32
and you know, we're always just looking
2:34
for the biggest challenges and um I I
2:38
see a lot of guys that want to add their
2:39
records and I call those guys Tampax
2:41
records. Um so I'm not looking to do
2:44
that. We're looking to fight the baddest
2:46
guys and and take on the toughest
2:48
challenges. So when we both get to the
2:50
UFC, we'll be ready for that elite level
2:53
of competition. We won't be getting
2:54
washed out because we fought low tier
2:57
competition and then took a big leap
2:58
when we made the jump. That does happen
3:01
a lot. You see some some fighters get a
3:03
little bit shell shocked once they get
3:04
to like a contender series or something
3:05
when, like you said, maybe they've been
3:07
fighting guys that they maybe shouldn't
3:09
have to to to give them a boost. Um, and
3:12
then once once they get to the Contender
3:13
Series or something like that, they just
3:15
they're done. It's it's they still have
3:17
a long road to go.
3:17
>> It's true. It's true.
3:19
for sure. And like you know the the deep
3:21
end of these LFA divisions like say for
3:23
myself who I just fought Chapelene for
3:25
the title, myself and a couple of the
3:27
other guys like all these guys I believe
3:29
were all UFC level. Um the UFC just
3:32
wants to see us try to kill each other
3:33
first on the regional scene and see who
3:35
comes out alive and who's ready for that
3:37
next level. But I mean at the top of the
3:39
all of the elevated divisions, those
3:42
guys are all UFC caliber and you see
3:43
these guys constantly going to the UFC.
3:45
I think they they have like over 350 LFA
3:48
alumni to the UFC. So, I think it's
3:51
pretty proven and everyone knows that.
3:52
So, a lot of uh pro fighters are either
3:55
they're either avoiding that or guys
3:57
like us are going out of our way to
3:59
fight for LFA and take on the toughest
4:01
fights cuz I mean you're either going to
4:03
make it or you don't. And I know for me
4:06
in my heart that if I don't at least I
4:08
could say, "Hey, well, I went to the
4:09
toughest promotion. I fought the best
4:10
guys and you know, I got as close as I
4:13
could." But it's like I know I'm going
4:14
to make this [ __ ] happen no matter what.
4:16
But it
4:18
>> Exactly. Exactly. I can't really say it
4:20
better myself. It's it's just the
4:22
absolute truth, right? You know, we're
4:24
we're looking to take on the highest
4:26
level and look to catapult ourselves
4:28
into a position where the UFC looks at
4:30
us and say, you know what, these guys
4:32
are undeniable. They fought the elite of
4:35
the elite and they're ready for the
4:37
jump. It's not going to be a bunch of
4:38
question marks by the time we get to the
4:40
UFC.
4:41
>> That's how I first discovered you guys.
4:43
both of you. A few years ago, I was just
4:45
randomly going through topology one day
4:46
and I was looking at upcoming events and
4:48
I saw that one of the LFAS, I don't
4:50
remember which one it was. I think maybe
4:51
it was Devon. I saw your name on there
4:53
with a little Canadian flag beside it
4:54
and I thought to myself, "Wow, who the
4:55
heck's this guy and he's a Canadian
4:57
fighting?" Cuz I it's just, you know,
4:59
when I'm exposed to a lot of the bigger
5:01
fight camps and and larger cities and
5:02
stuff, but when you come from where you
5:04
do, uh, you know, I didn't really have a
5:05
lot of inroads back then. It's it's
5:07
changed since, but that's how I
5:09
discovered you and then I saw Kelton and
5:11
it's kind of cool to see how you guys
5:13
have really carved a niche for yourself
5:14
and you're both doing so well. It's got
5:16
to feel good.
5:17
>> For sure. For sure. You know, we both um
5:20
we're we're really from a small town,
5:22
right? We don't have a lot of the same
5:23
opportunities as uh maybe the guys from
5:26
the GTA or even out in Alberta, right?
5:29
We're like unified. They have all these
5:31
promotions that are kind of catering to
5:33
them where we're usually like the guys
5:35
on the road. So, it's like we we've had
5:37
to like pave our own way and I really
5:39
wouldn't have it any other way to be
5:41
honest. For sure. You know, a lot of a
5:44
lot of like I said, I respect all the
5:45
Canadian promotions and I think they do
5:47
a good job, but they do they cater
5:49
towards the local talent. You know, if
5:50
you're a kid from wherever, they're
5:52
going to get you the best matchups
5:54
possible, you know, and they're going to
5:56
do what they can to protect their guys
5:57
and build them. We're from Thunder Bay.
5:59
There's no fights there. We've always
6:01
been in the US on the road. And I've
6:03
always seen like, hey, the UFC is in the
6:05
US. All the toughest fighters are in the
6:08
US. It's like that's where I'm going to
6:09
go. You know, I'm going to go to where
6:11
the challenge is and I'm going to, you
6:13
know, bring the best of myself and we're
6:15
going to we're going to find out what
6:16
happens with this [ __ ] So, you know,
6:17
both of us have been on the road
6:18
fighting everywhere, you know, in the US
6:21
and training in the US now full-time.
6:23
You know, I came down to Sacramento a
6:26
couple years ago and then brought Kelton
6:27
last year and now we're, you know, we're
6:29
both out here living the dream and it's
6:30
[ __ ] awesome.
6:32
Yeah. And you guys are still actually in
6:34
California right now. We're speaking.
6:35
You're in San Francisco, I think, right?
6:37
So, you just went down for like a
6:39
>> you just went down for like a like a
6:41
little vacation day at the end of your
6:42
training camp.
6:42
>> Yeah, just just a one night trip. Just
6:44
coming into the last week of camp. We've
6:45
been in S I've been in Sacramento since
6:47
the end of December. Kelton's been there
6:49
for over a month now. We're finishing
6:50
our camp off and then we're going to go
6:52
fight in Minnesota in what, 12 days, I
6:55
think.
6:55
>> Yeah. Yeah. It's less than two weeks.
6:57
You know, we both just figured it'd be a
6:58
good little reset. You know, you got to
7:01
people I I've even noticed myself,
7:03
right? We get so focused on our goals
7:05
and and there's nothing wrong with that.
7:06
It's having that tunnel vision and
7:08
having those blinders on, but it's also
7:10
like you have to enjoy and and be
7:13
grateful and especially, you know, happy
7:15
Easter, right? That's what day it is
7:16
today. You got to be grateful for
7:18
everything that we get in this life. And
7:20
uh you know, I wouldn't wouldn't have it
7:21
any other way. We went on the Golden
7:23
Gate Bridge this morning and uh head
7:25
down to the beach and you know, you just
7:26
got to appreciate the fruits of your
7:28
labor.
7:29
That's awesome. I'm really happy for you
7:31
guys and uh you know, a lot of
7:33
opportunity for a lot more excursions
7:34
and visits to to different places like
7:36
that in your futures, especially if
7:37
you're uh you know, you're on an upward
7:39
trajectory like you are.
7:40
>> So, I'm I'm happy.
7:42
>> So, let's take a second now and move on
7:44
to your actual fights. I'm just going to
7:45
go to a different tab on my computer
7:46
here and I'm going to read off your
7:47
opponents.
7:48
>> So, Devin, we'll go each one at a time.
7:50
So, Devin, you're fighting a guy named
7:52
Ernesto Ibara and Kelton, you're
7:54
fighting a guy named Cedric Katawa. So,
7:56
what do you know about these guys? And
7:58
uh what's the process like when when you
8:00
get reached out to by LFA or I'm
8:03
guessing managers or however it works
8:04
for each of you.
8:05
>> Um and you get given a name. I'm
8:07
guessing you might have heard of some of
8:09
them, but you haven't done a deep dive.
8:12
So, what does it look like from the time
8:13
you hear a name to before you accept a
8:15
fight?
8:16
>> Um for me, it's always starts with
8:19
saying yes. You know, as soon as they
8:20
offer me a fight, I say yes. I don't
8:22
even look at the opponent really. like
8:24
some of the the guy I'm fighting,
8:25
Ernesto Ibara, they sent me the name. I
8:28
already agreed that I wanted to fight
8:29
April 17th in Minneapolis. You know,
8:31
it's close to home. I have a bit of a
8:33
name there. I fought there uh you know,
8:35
won a couple uh belts in Minnesota. So,
8:38
it's kind of like a little bit of home
8:39
away from home. Um yeah, they just sent
8:41
the guy and I I liked his record right
8:43
away. I seen 11 and one. I'm like, "Fuck
8:45
yeah, let's ride with this." And then I
8:47
said yes. And then then I was like,
8:49
"Well, is he in?" And they they said he
8:51
already accept like he accepted fight.
8:52
Then I went and looked at his fights and
8:55
uh I actually seen one of them in LFA,
8:57
but I it kind of, you know, it clicked
8:59
in my memory once I actually looked at
9:00
his record. I'm like, "Oh, wait. I seen
9:02
that fight." But I I just couldn't
9:03
remind. And then obviously after the the
9:06
contract's done is because I've said yes
9:07
to so many guys and then next thing you
9:10
know, they're, you know, I'm not saying
9:12
they're ducking the fight, but maybe
9:14
they don't agree to the date or or
9:16
whatever. So, I don't really I just say
9:17
yes. When I sign the contract, I'll
9:19
actually watch their fights and invest
9:21
time in it because I'm not going to. If
9:22
not, I'm going to be watching, you know,
9:24
because LFA will send you a lot of names
9:26
of top talent and say, "Hey, what do you
9:27
think about this guy?" I'm pretty much,
9:29
as long as the date works for me, I'm a
9:31
Yes. This guy's got a good record. He's
9:33
on a sixight win streak. Um, he's tough
9:35
as nails. So am I. So, I'm just excited
9:37
for the fight.
9:38
>> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Like, you know,
9:40
>> hold on, hold on a sec. Hold on a sec,
9:41
Kevin. K, we'll get to you in a second.
9:43
Okay.
9:44
>> Um, sorry to cut you off,
9:45
>> but just sticking with Deon for a
9:47
minute. So, I I've been told by a lot of
9:49
different fighters and coaches that at
9:50
the amateur levels or at the beginning
9:52
of your fight career, it really doesn't
9:54
matter uh that much how much preparation
9:57
you do for the individual opponent. It's
9:59
more about preparing yourself and
10:00
getting ready and making sure that your
10:02
skill set. But as you as you progress
10:05
and you get higher in ranks and
10:06
especially when there's a lot more on
10:07
the line, like this is your guys living,
10:09
>> it's crucial that you have a good
10:11
understanding of your actual opponent
10:13
and know what he's good at, what he's
10:15
bad at, where he might be able to
10:16
capitalize.
10:17
>> So, I'm wondering what's your process
10:19
for doing that with with this guy like
10:21
and and how important is it to have like
10:23
a full extended fight camp getting ready
10:25
just for that skill set?
10:27
>> For sure. It's very important. Um, you
10:28
know, I've been out here for this is
10:30
going to be over three and a half months
10:31
that I've been in Sacramento at Team
10:33
Alpha Male. The first two months, you
10:34
know, I was just doing general
10:35
preparation, training, sparring, just
10:37
kind of, you know, training with some of
10:39
these world-class guys and coaches. Once
10:41
I got the fight, you know, I six week
10:43
training camp is basically all tailored
10:44
towards him. You know, he's a southpaw,
10:47
gritty dude, good boxing, good
10:49
wrestling, a lot of similarities to me.
10:50
We've, you know, kind of formulated a
10:52
game plan. Obviously, I can't get too
10:53
much into that.
10:54
>> Um, but, you know, pretty much every
10:56
day, everything's specific. the partners
10:58
I'm working on are the most similar I
11:00
can to my opponent. You know, I've
11:02
watched most of his recent fights and,
11:04
you know, I have a a process that I'm
11:06
following with coaches and whatnot. And
11:08
yeah, at this level, I mean, it does it
11:10
does matter a lot because, you know,
11:12
it's not like you're just fighting some
11:14
low-level guys like these guys are, you
11:16
know, preparing to, you know, kill you
11:18
in that cage. So, it's like I'm looking
11:20
to do the same. But at the end of the
11:21
day, me and Ken were just talking about
11:22
it on the drive up here. It's like, you
11:24
know, we all have weaknesses. We all
11:26
have flaws, strengths. It's like it's my
11:28
job to go in there, exploit this guys
11:30
before he does before he exploits mine
11:32
and try to get the win cuz I at the end
11:34
of the day, I don't really know what
11:35
he's going to do. You know, he could
11:36
come in wrestling, he could come in
11:38
striking. So, I'm just preparing for
11:40
everything and I'm preparing for a super
11:41
tough fight. Um, and that's just kind of
11:43
what my intuition is telling me. And
11:45
most times I'm I'm right with it of like
11:47
how the fight's going to go. And I feel
11:48
like this one's going to be it's going
11:50
to be a tough fight and it's going to be
11:52
grueling. But I think that uh you know I
11:55
I'm one of those guys I've never broken
11:57
in the cage. I've been knocked out. I've
11:59
lost on the cards, but it's like no
12:00
one's going to break me in there and
12:01
stop my will to win. So I'm going to
12:03
keep coming forward for 15 minutes and
12:05
get the job done.
12:07
>> What's your assessment of Ibara as a
12:09
fighter?
12:10
>> I I think he's a great fighter. I think,
12:12
you know, he's from uh he's from Mexico,
12:14
so he's I train with a lot of Mexicans
12:15
here at Team Alpha, and I know they're
12:17
all tough. They're all tough. They're
12:18
hard-headed. They come forward and they
12:20
like to fight. Um, I'm kind of like an
12:23
honorary Mexican here. I train with so
12:24
many that, you know, I fight like them.
12:26
Uh, I respect them a lot. I I think he's
12:29
very good. I think he's very skilled as
12:30
well, but I think I'm just a little bit
12:32
better everywhere. I think like I when I
12:34
watch his fights, he reminds me of
12:35
myself when he fights strikers, he takes
12:37
them to the down, he beat or takes them
12:39
to the ground and he beats the [ __ ] out
12:40
of them. When he fights, you know, a guy
12:42
that's more of a grappler, he'll keep it
12:43
on the feet and try to knock them out.
12:44
That's what I do as well. He's
12:46
intelligent. He's smart. Um, I
12:48
definitely see some holes in his game,
12:50
but I also got holes in mine. So, I just
12:52
I just see it as an exciting fight and I
12:54
think he's the guy that, you know, he he
12:56
believes he's going to get to the UFC.
12:58
He's got some hype around him. Um, and
13:00
he's on a win streak and, you know, I
13:02
was just in the position, so I know
13:03
exactly how he's feeling and I know I
13:05
know what this means to him, but this
13:07
also means a lot to me coming off a loss
13:09
and getting back to where I need to be.
13:10
So, I just I just, you know, as soon as
13:13
I got the fight, I've just been super
13:14
excited about it because some fights,
13:16
you know, you just stylistically you
13:17
don't know how it's going to go. This
13:18
one I I know it's only going to be, you
13:21
know, madness from the minute the bell
13:22
goes. So,
13:24
>> well, that's exciting. I'm glad you uh
13:26
that's a good assessment. It's good
13:27
breakdown. I like the fact that you
13:28
think it's going to be an exciting fight
13:29
because that's what really draws
13:31
eyeballs to fighters and helps propel
13:33
you to higher levels. Like fight
13:34
organizations, specifically the UFC, but
13:36
others as well, they don't want they
13:38
don't want boring fighters. They want
13:39
fighters that go in there and put on a
13:41
show that the fans are going to be up on
13:42
their feet and cheering and roaring. So
13:44
that's pretty cool.
13:45
>> Yeah,
13:46
>> exactly. This
13:46
>> is the entertainment industry.
13:48
>> Yeah, it really is.
13:50
>> Don't get it twisted. You know, I'm
13:51
coming for performance on the night. I
13:53
want to knock this [ __ ] out in
13:54
the first round if I can, but I'm just
13:56
accepting the reality that it might be
13:58
three rounds of us, you know, going to
14:00
battle and, you know, showing off our
14:02
skill. And I'm fine with that, too. But
14:04
it's like I don't really want a fight of
14:05
the night. I don't want to break my face
14:07
if I don't have to. But I will. But you
14:09
know, I'm trying to get a performance of
14:10
the night, another knockout, something
14:12
sick, you know, something for the
14:14
highlight reel. That's what I'm that's
14:15
what I'm hoping for. But
14:17
>> exciting. Well, I hope you get it. So,
14:18
best of luck on that. Now, Kelton, let's
14:20
talk about talk about your fight.
14:23
>> Um, you know, I originally when I came
14:25
out here, I was scheduled to face a
14:28
different opponent. Yeah.
14:29
>> Um,
14:30
>> I don't I don't know where he went. I
14:32
ducked up goose, but uh he went sprint.
14:35
So, LFA uh gave me this other opponent,
14:38
Cedric, and I appreciate him for taking
14:40
the fight. Um, I respect his skill set.
14:42
Uh, I just know he he's been out of the
14:44
game for about two years now, right? And
14:46
that's that's a pretty long layoff. And
14:48
for me, I've been very active. I'm now
14:50
on a two-ight win streak after losing a
14:52
close split decision at LFA 200. And I'm
14:55
looking to just keep on cementing myself
14:57
and keep on proving that, you know, I I
15:00
am the elite of the elite and I am the
15:02
guy that the UFC will be calling on. And
15:05
that's that's really it. You know, I
15:07
think going out for this fight, I
15:09
respect his skill set. I respect what he
15:11
brings to the table. He has my he has my
15:13
full attention. It's undivided. I won't
15:16
overlook him. But I will walk through
15:18
him.
15:19
>> When you take a look at yourself now,
15:21
you've been training for quite a long
15:23
time. Uh you're very skilled young man,
15:25
but there's always room for improvement,
15:26
always an upwards possibility. How do
15:30
you like self assess yourself as a
15:32
fighter right now?
15:33
Are you as good as you're ever going to
15:35
get at one thing? You only have to work
15:36
on other things or do you still have a
15:38
lot of lot of work to do?
15:39
>> I think it's u I think it's a mindset
15:41
thing, right? If you look into it,
15:43
there's there's always these talks like
15:44
even in anthropology like a growth
15:46
mindset versus a fixed mindset. And and
15:48
I know I always have that growth
15:50
mindset. I think the ceiling is as high
15:52
as you could put it. Um I I wouldn't say
15:55
there's ever a threshold on how good
15:57
your skills can become. And I would also
15:59
argue that if you believe that those
16:02
skills, it's it's the saying, if you
16:03
don't use it, you lose it. So I think
16:06
you need to be sharpening all your tools
16:07
in your bag. And you know, we look to
16:10
add new wrinkles to our game every
16:12
fight. And even after my last fight, I'm
16:14
sure everyone was entertained, right? It
16:16
was an absolute blood and guts war. Like
16:18
shout out to Kevin Carrier. He brought
16:20
that fight. And uh he brought the best
16:22
version of himself that night. But I
16:24
also showed that I got like the heart of
16:25
a lion and if I need to walk through the
16:27
fire that I'm willing to and you know if
16:30
it's a trench war like I got the biggest
16:32
shovel and I'll dig deeper than anyone.
16:34
So I've showed that I got both the
16:36
skills, the heart and the grit to to pay
16:39
the bills. Man,
16:41
>> hearing you talk it it it raises a
16:43
couple questions in my mind. It's I
16:44
don't often hear a fighter say the word
16:46
anthropology which is the study of human
16:48
nature. Has it always been something
16:51
that has interested you in in sort of
16:52
learning about people? And I'm wondering
16:54
about for both of you when it comes to
16:56
training for a fight, everyone talks
16:58
about the fight camps and the
16:59
physicality and the reps and the rounds
17:00
and the sparring and stuff, but not
17:02
often do we hear about the the mental
17:04
preparation, any sort of uh psychology
17:06
tricks or not even tricks, any sort of
17:08
things you look at or or or apply to
17:10
yourself during your training or a
17:12
mindset?
17:13
>> I absolutely, dude. I absolutely look at
17:16
those things. Um, I think every fighter
17:18
can attest to this, right? Like, you
17:20
know, we get our bodies ready. We're in
17:22
the peak performance shape of our lives,
17:24
but going out there, it's it's 90%
17:27
mental. If you if you don't have what it
17:29
takes between your ears, you you'll fold
17:31
under the lights. And I think mental
17:33
work is something that all fighters
17:35
should be doing um and practicing. I
17:38
think it's very important because on the
17:40
night, it's about operating at the the
17:42
highest level. And you know, your brain
17:45
is the one that's going to be making
17:47
those decisions. And I think the, you
17:48
know, the goat GSP always says that like
17:51
the muscles help fighting, don't get me
17:52
wrong, but it's like my mind has won me
17:54
every fight. And I believe that like
17:56
understanding yourself and understanding
17:59
your opponent and understanding how to
18:01
break a man's will is a is a vital thing
18:04
for fighting.
18:06
>> That's pretty cool just to think about.
18:08
Uh cuz I know I've been in that case
18:10
where you you're in the training room
18:11
and I've always been a bigger guy and
18:13
I'm just a hobbyist, right? So I'm not
18:14
like a like a hardcore killers like you
18:16
guys. So you know at the I might be
18:18
huffing and puffing a little bit at the
18:19
end of the jiu-jitsu warm-up before the
18:21
class even starts. And I know that when
18:23
uh you know you go deep in the rounds
18:24
and you're you're drilling hard or
18:26
you're sparring or something. I know for
18:28
me personally nothing sucks in the world
18:29
more than than than gassing out and just
18:32
being tired. And I find even myself like
18:34
again once again a hobbyist my mindset I
18:38
look for ways to give up and and and
18:39
stop and get out of it. I don't always
18:41
do it but you know it's it's there. So I
18:44
guess that's something you sort of train
18:45
yourself to to fight through.
18:47
>> Yeah.
18:47
>> I I Yeah, exactly. I would say like you
18:50
know Devin and I we kind of have built
18:52
this style together. You know we've um
18:55
it's hard nose. We have the ability.
18:58
We've always we've come from a small
19:00
town man. We are tough people. We are a
19:02
tough individuals. We come from a tough
19:04
land and and you really like I don't
19:06
think you can teach that stuff, but you
19:09
know, we're always willing. We have the
19:10
cardio that can go for days. Like he
19:12
said, like we're not the type of guys
19:13
that are looking to slow down a fight or
19:15
quit or break. It's like we're always
19:18
willing to push forward and and find a
19:20
way to win. I think that's a really
19:22
important part of of a game that that
19:24
that you need to have and I know a lot
19:26
of guys don't and you know I'm willing
19:29
to to test it and I'm looking to go out
19:31
there and and impose my will on Cedric
19:34
on April 17th and I know that him being
19:37
two years removed from the game. I will
19:40
remind him early why it's my game now
19:43
and he can he can go off and do whatever
19:45
he wants and go be a hobbyist and and go
19:48
do whatever. But this is this is mine.
19:50
this is mine and I will take it.
19:53
>> Yeah, just to Yeah, just to touch back
19:55
what you were saying about the mental.
19:57
For me, I look at it as like, you know,
19:59
you got to train your mind just like you
20:00
train your body, right? You got to keep
20:02
your mind in shape for fighting. You
20:04
need to constantly work on it just like
20:06
your body. And you get injuries when you
20:08
lose. Like after my last fight, I felt
20:10
like I had it, you know, it's like an
20:11
injury to my mind. And I had to
20:13
rehabilitate my mind and get it back to
20:15
a place where I could prepare for a
20:16
fight psychologically, you know, cuz you
20:18
get these wounds from battle in your
20:20
mind and from training. And you got to,
20:22
you know, you got to take care of that,
20:24
you know, just like you would with your
20:25
body. You ice your elbow when you hurt
20:26
it. You hurt parts of your mind deep in
20:28
your psychology. And I'm no, I'm not
20:30
super smart with it, but I know it for
20:32
fighting. I know what goes on between my
20:34
head. It's like it's a daily practice of
20:36
you know just making sure your mind is
20:38
in the right space to go to battle
20:40
because the farther out from a fight
20:42
it's basically physical. 3 months out
20:44
you're just training every day. You know
20:46
like you know every day now we're 12
20:47
days out. It becomes more and more of
20:50
just what goes on in your mind every
20:52
day. The physical is already done. The
20:54
prep preparation's happening but it's
20:56
like you're more in your mind and your
20:58
mind can go a lot further than your
21:00
body. you know, your body will break.
21:01
But if your mind is there, you will go
21:03
forever and ever and ever. But if your
21:06
mind quits, it doesn't matter if you're
21:07
in shape and you could run 10,000 miles,
21:09
you'll quit like that. And it's like I
21:12
sometimes forget that when I fight a lot
21:14
of these guys and after one round,
21:15
they're ready to quit. And it's not that
21:17
they're not in shape and they're not
21:18
great fighters. It's just here, you
21:21
know, they have, you know, weakness
21:22
here. And it's like that's basically
21:24
when I'm looking to attack someone in
21:27
the cage, it's not physical as much as
21:29
it is mental. I'm trying to attack you
21:30
here. If I can attack you here, you're
21:32
going to be dead fast. Versus if I
21:35
attack the body, it's like 15 minutes
21:37
ain't enough time for me to hurt your
21:38
body enough for the most part, right?
21:41
That's just the way I see it.
21:43
>> Yeah, for sure. Well, I'm kind of It's
21:45
kind of cool that you guys are both on
21:47
the same page like that. It sounds like
21:48
you do everything together. You you
21:50
you're training Canada together, you
21:52
train the States together. You've got
21:53
the same mindsets. You said you're
21:54
working on a fight style together, which
21:56
is kind of cool.
21:57
It's like a It's like a high pace, high
21:59
action, never ending like push push push
22:01
kind of fighting style, isn't it?
22:02
>> Yeah. It's, you know, we got the we got
22:03
the same dream, but it's like we're on
22:05
different missions. You know, we both
22:06
got to fight the same night. We've done
22:07
it before and it's tough and it's like
22:09
and it's like I've wished the best for
22:11
him obviously and I want him to win and
22:12
I know what he's capable of and I know
22:14
he's going to win, but that night it's
22:16
like, we know we have to separate
22:18
ourselves and focus on ourselves, you
22:20
know. Mhm.
22:21
>> Um but every other day, you know, it's
22:23
like it's so awesome to be here with
22:25
this guy and be able to train. And I
22:26
look over at practice and we're training
22:28
at the highest level at Team Alpha. It's
22:30
one of the best gyms in the world, you
22:31
know, and I see him over there choking
22:33
some dude and I'm on top of some dude
22:35
and we just smile at each other and it's
22:37
like some days it doesn't feel real, but
22:39
it's also super comforting. I remember
22:40
the day he got out here, I'm like, [ __ ]
22:42
just felt a lot more normal out here.
22:44
It's like it's all business. But now
22:46
that he's here, it's like it's still all
22:47
business, but it's like he gives that
22:49
home comfort and just, you know, we keep
22:51
each other motivated. If one of us is
22:53
tired one day, it's like, "Hey, get up,
22:55
[ __ ] It's time to train." And
22:57
you're like, "Shit."
22:58
>> Yeah. You're like, "Oh, this guy's
22:59
working hard. Oh, he's going to out try
23:01
to outsprint me on the hill." It's like,
23:03
"I don't think so. I don't think so."
23:05
So, it's it's always that healthy
23:06
competition between brothers, man.
23:08
>> Yeah.
23:09
>> Love it. Yeah. You're accountability
23:10
buddies,
23:12
>> for sure.
23:12
>> Exactly.
23:13
>> So, Devin, let's take a second now. I
23:15
know we talked about this already, but I
23:16
don't for the life of me remember if we
23:18
talked about this before we started
23:19
recording or after we started recording
23:21
and it's not going to hurt if we talk
23:22
about it a second time. Just uh talk
23:24
about your hoodie that you're wearing
23:25
and your in your merch that you've
23:26
developed and talk about.
23:28
>> So these are just some local ones. It's
23:29
kind of if you could see it says the
23:30
dream. It's kind of like a Metallica.
23:32
One of one of my sponsors back home
23:34
helped get it done. Um they're going to
23:36
be I don't have them on sale. Like I
23:39
have uh some stock back home that I'm
23:41
going to sell after the fight and that's
23:42
been selling a bit, but there's probably
23:44
going to be an online way to order and
23:46
I'll be able to keep people updated.
23:47
I've just been really busy out here
23:49
taking care of these things are kind of,
23:50
you know, it's kind of difficult when
23:51
you're in fight camp and you're 3,000 km
23:54
away from home, but they sent me out
23:56
some stuff and you know, so I'm just
23:58
it's kind of like an after thing, but
23:59
I'll keep people posted and I'll make
24:01
sure I'll send you some stuff as well,
24:02
Andy, when you're I'm assuming you're
24:04
going to be back home in Canada sometime
24:06
soon. Yeah, I'll be home in in a few
24:08
days.
24:09
>> Okay. Well, yeah, then after the fight,
24:11
I'll be home in less than two weeks.
24:13
I'll connect with you and I'll be able
24:14
to get you some stuff and whatnot.
24:15
>> Nice. Yeah, I think there's ways to do
24:17
it re really easily. I know Aaron
24:19
Jeffrey, he's a middleweight fights in
24:21
the PFL. His shirts, I bought one of his
24:23
shirts or two of his shirts actually,
24:25
and he doesn't really have much to do
24:26
with it. He set it up with a company.
24:27
So, I go to the go to the website, I
24:29
order it, and the shirts are like made
24:31
on demand. So, like I get the shirts and
24:34
then Aaron gets a percentage of the
24:35
money whatever we buy from. So, I'm sure
24:36
it's super easy.
24:38
>> That that's great. Um, I've thought of
24:40
like some of those things are good, too.
24:42
But with us, too, it's like I like to we
24:43
both, you know, keep things local if we
24:45
can. Thunder Bay is a a smaller city and
24:47
there's people there that are willing to
24:49
help and can print dope stuff. So, I'm
24:50
like, "Hey, you know, if they could take
24:52
care of it and they could make some
24:53
money off of it and help me, um, that's
24:55
kind of like a win-win in my mind." Um,
24:58
maybe, and obviously just being
25:00
realistic with my brand, it's just like,
25:01
you know, it's like we're fighting an
25:02
LFA, but it's not like I'm some big
25:04
superstar. So, it's like I I like to
25:06
just be able to sell stuff to people
25:07
back home locally, you know, and then
25:09
maybe maybe once I'm in the UFC, I'll be
25:11
pulling into some Aaron Jeffrey moves
25:13
and uh selling some [ __ ] on a bigger
25:15
scale.
25:16
>> Awesome. You can do it.
25:18
>> All right, guys.
25:18
>> Yeah. Like what Deed though, the just
25:21
the fact that, you know, we we like to
25:23
support local, right? Like we got our
25:25
guys at Superior Screen Printing, like
25:27
they've always helped us out and they
25:28
always get get us like essentially
25:31
everything we need, right? like, you
25:33
know, we we always come up with these
25:34
ideas. Like Devin's got the Metallica
25:37
version and like the theme of his uh
25:39
shirt is the revenge tour, right? I love
25:41
that. It's his it's his touch on it and
25:44
uh it's it's got all of his fights um
25:47
listed here everywhere he competed.
25:49
Yeah, it's good. And um it's just it's
25:51
it's us, right? It's like we're selling
25:53
us. It's not just someone else marketing
25:55
us. And and it's always like nice to
25:57
like help elevate a local company as
25:59
well. It's always good to see people
26:00
from our hometown elevating each other.
26:03
>> Yeah. And build our brand where we
26:04
started, you know, cuz when you go to
26:06
the UFC and [ __ ] and this [ __ ] takes
26:07
off, it's like people, you know,
26:09
sometimes it's easy to forget where you
26:10
came from. You know, we're both from
26:11
Thunder Bay. We [ __ ] rock with
26:13
Thunder Bay and love Thunder Bay, but
26:14
it's like it we have to come out here
26:16
and train. And some people look at it
26:18
like, hey, we're taking off from where
26:20
we started. But it's like we're just
26:21
trying to do what's best for us and
26:23
we're trying to be the first UFC
26:25
fighters from our town so that these
26:27
future generations of kids can look to
26:29
us and say, "Wow, this shit's possible."
26:31
Cuz where we come from, you either play
26:32
hockey or that's [ __ ] it. You know,
26:34
so we're going to fight. We're going to
26:35
get to the UFC. We're going to beat some
26:37
[ __ ] asses in the UFC. And if
26:39
these younger kids are going to say,
26:40
"Damn, you know, maybe maybe I won't
26:43
play hockey. Maybe I'll try this
26:44
fighting thing because maybe it's
26:45
possible now because these these kids
26:47
did it, so so can we."
26:49
>> Exactly.
26:50
I think that you you touched on
26:52
something and this is uh something I've
26:53
I've mentioned to a a handful of other
26:55
uh newer fighters in the past couple
26:57
years is the importance of self-branding
26:59
and getting in on that immediately. Like
27:01
if you're so if you're a young fighter
27:03
watching this or if you're maybe even a
27:04
more experienced fighter and you haven't
27:05
done what I'm about to say yet, you need
27:07
to do it today.
27:08
>> Go online and register your domain name
27:10
with your own name. So I've got
27:11
andydrawal.com.
27:14
Uh it's there's nothing on it yet, but
27:16
uh you know that's just mine now and you
27:18
should have that. should always have it
27:19
because if you're not profiting off your
27:21
own name, at some point somebody else
27:23
will. So, you know, you got to
27:28
>> for sure.
27:28
>> Who who is coming out to uh corner you
27:31
when when you go to LFA?
27:33
>> Um, so we got our head coach, Matt Rish
27:35
from Leading Edge in Thunder Bay. Shout
27:37
out to Matt the goat. You know, he's the
27:39
one that, you know, got this [ __ ]
27:40
started for me. um you know, basically
27:43
got my first amateur fight, taught me
27:45
how to throw a [ __ ] punch, and you
27:47
know, the rest is history. But so, yeah,
27:49
shout out to Matt. He's cornering us at
27:50
both. And then we got some coaches as
27:52
well from team Alpha, Alex Sandival, um
27:55
Josiah Male, like guys that just train
27:57
here uh are going to fly out with us and
27:59
corner us.
28:01
>> That's amazing. Are you going straight
28:02
to Minneapolis from from there, from
28:04
California?
28:05
>> Yeah. Yeah, we're going separate because
28:08
yeah, just the way it worked out, you
28:10
know, like we're we're we're not going
28:11
the same day. We everyone's got their
28:13
fiveweek protocol, blah blah blah. Oh,
28:15
yeah. We're both going straight from
28:16
here. It's just different times.
28:18
>> Nice. Awesome. Okay, guys. Last question
28:20
of the of the conversation by fantastic
28:23
conversation by the way, but I'd like to
28:24
know from each of you, is there anything
28:26
that we didn't talk about that you would
28:27
have liked to have talked about
28:29
>> first?
28:30
>> Um, yeah. I just I just want to extend a
28:31
big thank you to my sponsors, right? Um,
28:34
I've got I've got a few of them now. Um,
28:37
Caleb Heert, good friend of mine. He
28:40
he's really helped fund my fight camps.
28:42
Um, my buddy Wolf Bannon from Bands on
28:44
Feet. Um, my my also my buddy Blake
28:47
Collins from Smoke Signal. Um, events.
28:51
Um, which is my buddy Anthony Valente.
28:53
And, you know, um, Barry Misero, former
28:56
cross country uh, ski champion, national
28:59
Canadian ski champion. Uh, him and his
29:01
son, they have a construction company.
29:02
They helped me out a bunch and you know
29:05
I'm just so grateful for all the support
29:06
from local back home. I've acquired a
29:09
few new sponsors too on my on my social
29:11
media with Pier Hos. You know it's it's
29:13
really great to have all the support and
29:16
I just got to you know pay homage to all
29:18
those guys that helped make this dream a
29:20
reality.
29:22
>> Yeah. Same thing for me as well. You
29:24
know, thank you. Thank you to all my
29:25
sponsors um for my whole career. You
29:28
know, I I understand how this business
29:30
works. You know, I've had some sponsors
29:31
come and go and it's like, you know,
29:32
they just trying to help out maybe for a
29:34
fight here and there. I've had a few
29:36
that have been with me my entire pro
29:38
career and help fund this. But, you
29:39
know, just shout out to every sponsor.
29:41
Even if you were a sponsor 10 fights ago
29:43
and you gave me, you know, a small
29:45
amount of money to help me chase my
29:46
dream, it it means the world to me
29:48
because that's how I'm here today is,
29:50
you know, not just because someone gave
29:51
me money a week ago because somebody
29:53
believed in me five years ago when, you
29:55
know, I was still finding myself in this
29:56
[ __ ] So, thank you. Yeah, all my
29:58
sponsors and thank you everyone. Thank
30:00
you to [ __ ] Andy for interviewing me.
30:02
Thank you to everyone that watched these
30:03
fights. Tune in to LFA. You will not be
30:05
disappointed.
30:06
>> Fact.
30:07
>> Awesome, guys. I make sure I I'll put
30:09
the details because LFA is not on Fight
30:11
Pass anymore. I'll I'll find out the
30:13
details about how to watch you fight.
30:14
I'll make sure that's included in this
30:16
interview.
30:16
>> It's free on YouTube in Canada, which is
30:19
awesome. now for promotion. They got
30:20
over 600,000 uh subscribers and the
30:23
whole cards are free in Canada until
30:25
they get a deal done. Um in the US it's
30:27
on Vice TV on cable network. Um tons of
30:30
it's easy to watch and there's a lot of
30:32
coverage to it. So, but in Canada you
30:34
don't got an excuse now. You don't got
30:35
to pay for pass. Get your ass on YouTube
30:38
and watch us fight.
30:39
>> Yeah.
30:40
>> Yes, sir.
30:41
>> Well, I'll be watching.
30:42
>> Go battle in the comments, too. There's
30:44
going to be people in the comments
30:45
saying we're going to get [ __ ] up. If
30:47
you're from Canada, make sure you're in
30:48
there saying, "Fuck that [ __ ] We're
30:50
gonna whoop their asses." You know how
30:52
it is.
30:52
>> Yeah, I'm just joking around. But yeah,
30:54
you can [ __ ] around if you want, buddy.
30:56
>> I don't think you should joke around. I
30:57
think you should have everyone do
30:58
exactly what you just said. Just start
31:00
lent,
31:01
man. We got to represent.
31:04
>> Okay, guys. Well, I know I'm rooting for
31:06
both of you. I wish you the best of
31:07
luck. Thanks so much for your time. I
31:08
appreciate you,
31:10
>> Andy. Thank you.
31:10
>> Yeah, you actually left the beach out of
31:12
a beautiful day to come chat with me, so
31:13
it's much appreciated. Nothing better,
31:16
man. Nothing better. Show them the view,
31:17
though.
31:17
>> Yeah, we got to show you the view of the
31:19
city. We're living a good in here in San
31:21
Fran.
31:22
>> Wow.
31:23
>> Pretty nice. Pretty nice. I think
31:25
there's still snow on the ground in
31:26
Niagara where I'm from.
31:28
>> Yeah.
31:28
>> Yeah, there might be.
31:30
>> All right, guys. Uh, we're going to call
31:32
it a day, wrap it up, and I just want to
31:34
say thanks again. Best of luck and kick
31:36
some butt.
31:37
>> Thanks, Sandy. Cheers, man.
31:38
>> Cheers.
31:39
>> There you go, fight friends. Devon the
31:40
Dream Lose and Kelton the Conqueror Navy
31:42
both fighting at LFA in Minneapolis in
31:45
two weeks. Make sure you like, follow,
31:47
subscribe this video interview, and make
31:49
sure you watch them for free on YouTube.
31:51
Zack, it's uh it's not often that I
31:53
speak to somebody in your situation
31:54
right now. And by that I mean usually
31:57
when I'm talking to somebody, it's a
31:58
fighter who is preparing for a big fight
32:00
coming up or it's a fighter who just
32:01
just had a a big fight coming up. And
32:03
you're in neither of those right now.
32:05
Your situation is what really intrigues
32:07
me. And I mentioned this to you the
32:08
other day when I when I reached out is
32:10
that, you know, you've had your ups and
32:11
downs in your career. You seem like you
32:13
go through your different seasons and
32:14
right now you seem to have embraced
32:16
something that I'm just loving. You
32:17
you've gone all in on in content
32:19
creation. Uh you used to do that that uh
32:21
conversation cars a long time ago that I
32:23
always liked. I told you the time I
32:24
really liked it, but now it's just
32:25
you've gone to a whole different level.
32:27
just wondering if you could take a
32:28
moment and just talk to everybody and
32:30
say, you know, what it is about your
32:32
career right now that that has prompted
32:34
this this push and, you know, what goals
32:36
you have with it.
32:37
>> So, yeah, uh I've been all in on the
32:39
content creation for one simple reason.
32:41
Uh I'm getting my business going. Uh I'm
32:43
building myself more as a brand, more as
32:45
a coach, uh less as an athlete.
32:48
Basically, my transition right now is I
32:50
want to help as many people as I can. Uh
32:53
and I owe a lot to that to having a
32:55
daughter. Uh, I think if I had a son,
32:57
I'd still want to get in there and scrap
32:58
and be one of the best fighters in the
33:00
world. But I don't know where I'm at
33:01
right now with that. I don't know if I
33:02
want to get punched in the face again.
33:04
Uh, I'm kind of sitting it out right now
33:07
uh and figure it out at some point.
33:09
Maybe I'll fight again, maybe I won't. I
33:11
don't know. I don't think I'm officially
33:12
retired. Uh, maybe I'd like to go out
33:14
and win. But as of right now, like I'm
33:17
focused on setting my family up, setting
33:19
up my daughter for a good life. And for
33:21
me, that starts with building a brand,
33:23
having my own business. Uh, and that's
33:25
what I'm set out to do in the next few
33:27
years. It's build my business, build my
33:29
brand, and uh, set up my family. And
33:32
content creation is an organic ways to
33:35
get your business going. And I think
33:38
every fighter should be ready for that
33:42
after the fight life because let's be
33:44
real,
33:45
>> how many of them are going to have to
33:47
work when they're done fighting?
33:50
Probably 95% of them, 96%, right? Like
33:54
>> I've been around some of the best in the
33:56
world and I know they're going to have
33:57
to work when they're done fighting. Uh I
34:01
like and yeah, I'm sure you there's guys
34:03
like DC, right? Like yeah, he has to
34:05
work, right? But he's broadcasting and
34:07
doing what he loves, but not everyone's
34:10
like that and not everyone's going to be
34:12
able to do something they love after
34:13
work. So, learn as much as you can, do
34:15
as much as you can, uh, pursue fighting
34:19
as hard as you can, but also know that
34:21
there's a life after that, and you got
34:23
to be ready for it.
34:26
>> You're absolutely, you're right, and I
34:27
say this all the time. And even though I
34:28
focus solely on Canadian mixed martial
34:30
arts, there's a American fighter, Derek
34:32
Brunson, who just came out on social
34:34
media the past couple weeks. He's fought
34:35
in the UFC a bunch of times, and he's
34:37
showing how he's working at a fast food
34:38
place now, and what he's doing to
34:40
survive after the UFC. So, like it's
34:42
like that with every major sport,
34:43
whether it's a National Football League
34:44
or NHL or or what have you.
34:46
>> You have so many athletes who put their
34:48
whole lives into this and they prepare
34:50
and they get ready and they train. A
34:52
small percentage of them make it to to
34:53
the big leagues, make it to like the NHL
34:55
or something or Major League Baseball,
34:57
>> but the the even vast majority of those
35:00
of that small majority of that small
35:02
minority, they play a season, maybe two
35:04
seasons. It's not it's not a lifetime
35:06
career like a lot of people think it
35:07
might be. And other than George St. Pier
35:09
who seems to be doing just great.
35:12
Everybody else, man, everybody else has
35:13
to have a gig when you're done fighting
35:14
because even in the UFC, it's not going
35:16
to not going to pay the bills, is it?
35:18
>> No, 100%. And even like you look at
35:20
George Shane Pierre, like yeah, he made
35:22
he made some money fighting, but look at
35:24
his sponsorship deals, look at his brand
35:25
deals, look at the deals he kept after
35:27
fighting.
35:28
>> Uh he appeared in movies, he's got deals
35:30
going on still now. Uh he's still a
35:32
brand at the end of the day, right? So
35:35
the the guys that still make money when
35:36
the game's over are the guys that
35:38
branded himself properly. The guys that
35:40
started the business side before that
35:42
final belt, before the final round. Like
35:44
they got going early, right? Like look
35:46
at a Dustin Porier. He was never the
35:50
best fighter in the world, but he
35:51
doesn't have to work. Like he made his
35:53
money fighting. He started his own
35:54
business, his own foundations. Uh and
35:57
like he's probably set now, right? He's
35:59
probably more businessoriented. he's not
36:01
working a job versus I see a lot of guys
36:04
get in the UFC, get out, they got to go
36:07
work a job, work construction, work a 9
36:09
to5. Um, and yeah, I don't think um, for
36:14
me anyways, that's not what I want to
36:16
do. I don't want to put my career into a
36:17
sport and then go work a 9 to5. Uh it
36:20
takes so much drive to be good at
36:22
something that if you take that drive
36:24
that you took to be good at fighting and
36:26
you put it into business or being an
36:28
entrepreneur that you'll be able to
36:30
accomplish it. It's just doing it which
36:32
is and deciding when to do it. Right?
36:37
>> If you were a young fighter coming up
36:39
now, maybe you haven't even had your
36:40
first amateur fight yet, but you're
36:42
training every day, you know you're
36:43
going to go ammy and your goal is to go
36:45
professional at some point. What advice
36:46
would you give to that fighter and and
36:48
what steps should they take to brand
36:49
themselves?
36:50
>> I think um like if you don't even have a
36:53
single fight yet, don't worry about it
36:55
too much. You know, train as much as you
36:57
can because you don't even know if
36:59
you're going to be good at the thing. Uh
37:01
at that point, you have a decision to
37:02
make. Like do you want to pursue
37:03
fighting or do you want to pursue
37:04
business? And if you want to pursue
37:06
business and fighting as a whole, then
37:08
get as good as you can as a fighter
37:11
because then you're you're learning
37:13
valuable skills that not a lot of people
37:15
can teach. Um, and think of AI as well.
37:18
AI is coming to take over everything.
37:20
Like I don't think AI is going to be
37:21
able to take over teaching fighting,
37:23
teaching jiu-jitsu, teaching combat. So
37:26
the more time you spend to learn as many
37:28
techniques as you can, as many skills as
37:30
you can is something you're going to be
37:31
able to teach one day when you're done.
37:33
Uh, I always say it's like my parents
37:35
always wanted me to go to school to be a
37:37
doctor, whatever, because I always had
37:38
super good grades in school. And I'm
37:39
like, no, like I want to fight. This is
37:41
what I like to do. Like to me, this is
37:42
harder than studying medicine. It's you
37:45
it's high high stakes problem solving
37:47
with dire consequences. Like you can get
37:50
severely hurt. Everything happens really
37:52
quick, quick decision- making. And I've
37:54
been doing this sport for 15 years now,
37:55
and I still learn something new every
37:57
day. Um, and the day is never the same.
38:00
So, learn as much as you can so that
38:02
when you're done, you're able to teach
38:04
as much as you can.
38:07
>> Yeah, that's great advice. U just to add
38:09
on to that, I I had a chat with a young
38:11
fighter at a Thick Boy event, the last
38:14
thick boy I went to named Daniel Gmbos,
38:16
and he's an amateur fighter, amateur
38:17
championship for Thick Boy, and he was
38:18
asking me some questions. He he wants to
38:20
get into fight photography. So, I gave
38:22
him a bit of advice, and man, he just
38:23
ran with it right away. Like that night,
38:25
he messaged me like I had to drive back
38:26
to St. Catherine's. So, in the two hours
38:28
it took me to get home, he'd already
38:29
done some stuff that I I told him to do.
38:31
And that is I don't know if you you can
38:33
tell me what you thought think about
38:34
this. I think everybody, every young
38:36
person, whether you're in mixed martial
38:37
arts or any endeavor, I don't care if
38:39
you're an architect or whatever, you
38:41
should the very first step, like parents
38:43
should do this for you, is register your
38:44
domain name is as is your own name. So,
38:46
like I've got andy daughter, Andy.com,
38:49
I've got andrew.com. I've got a couple
38:51
variants on that. Everybody, you should
38:53
have a zackpow.com and everybody should
38:55
have that just to have it in their back
38:56
pocket so they can get started
38:57
somewhere. And then because you never
38:59
know what's going to happen, right? And
39:00
who might try to take that from you like
39:02
if you become popular overnight or or
39:04
what have you. And then with Daniel that
39:06
night, he created an Instagram account,
39:08
uh, Daniel Gmbos Photography. So he had
39:10
that done already. He was so keen to do
39:12
that. And I think with social media,
39:14
it's so easy to get multiple accounts.
39:16
Like you can have your personal account.
39:18
You could also have an account for like
39:20
Zack Powell,
39:22
whatever your next next endeavor is.
39:24
Zach Powell, something else. And I think
39:26
that's a really easy easy first step for
39:28
for those young people to take.
39:29
>> Oh yeah, 100%. Be out there. Um like I I
39:32
I train some kid right now who wants to
39:35
get his first amateur fight in and he's
39:36
super eager, but he doesn't have social
39:38
media, right? So I'm like, "Look, like
39:39
I'll show you as much as I can on the
39:41
fighting side, but get social media." Uh
39:44
very simple. your social media needs to
39:46
be very clear and straight to the point,
39:48
even though if you don't want to post on
39:49
it every day,
39:50
>> social media is where matchmakers are
39:51
going to find you these days. Uh, from
39:53
amateur promotions, promotions, and
39:56
social media is where you're going to
39:57
get sponsorship deals. It's where you're
39:59
going to get your brand going. And like,
40:01
it's where you're going to get fans.
40:03
Like, people like see you fight, they're
40:05
going to go follow you on social media,
40:06
right? It's social media is the ultimate
40:09
way to brand yourself now. There's no
40:10
other way. Uh, logos on shorts do not
40:13
matter anymore. It's what can you do on
40:14
a digital platform because that's where
40:16
all the eyes are.
40:19
>> Logos and shorts do not matter anymore.
40:21
Yeah, I can see that you it's you know
40:23
there's so many avenues for fighters
40:25
only so many avenues for fighters to to
40:27
bring income and sponsorship is one of
40:29
them with logos. But yeah, social media
40:31
it's it's it's so much more easy now.
40:33
And it's a shame to say, but it's it's a
40:35
part of business, I guess, is that fight
40:37
promotions, not only do they want to
40:39
bring in good athletes, of course, they
40:40
want to have exciting fights, but they
40:42
want to bring in the fighters who will
40:44
bring eyeballs to their organization.
40:45
Like, you take a look at that fighter.
40:47
Have you ever heard of Wing C?
40:48
>> Yeah.
40:50
>> Yeah. So, Wing C, he's he's a good
40:52
fighter, but he's not, you know, he's
40:53
just a tons of great fighters out there.
40:56
Just the way he marketed himself is
40:57
pretty pretty smart. Just the character
40:59
he's created. I don't know how many
41:01
account how many people he has that
41:02
follow him now, but it's it's staggering
41:03
and like every promotion is going to
41:05
want to bring him into their to their
41:06
fight and that's some bargaining power
41:08
for him. You know, maybe he could ask
41:09
for a bigger paycheck to come fight and
41:11
so
41:12
>> you know some kind of social media
41:13
presence is crucial.
41:15
>> Yeah. Like he's kind of like uh as far
41:17
as being a a persona and nailing it like
41:21
he's he's right there. Like he did a
41:22
really good job with that and you can
41:24
see the opportunities he's getting and I
41:26
don't think he's a good fighter at all.
41:29
So, it's like for for him it's like a
41:31
double-edged sword because he branded
41:32
himself so well that everyone's out
41:34
there to try and go and take his fame
41:36
away from him. All the organizations
41:38
want him, but now it's going to be a
41:40
tricky road for him to get there because
41:41
he's so well branded that and like the
41:44
branding doesn't match the skill level.
41:46
And it's like
41:48
>> you think look at Aaron Jeff when he
41:50
fought Austin Vanderford, right? Like
41:52
I'm not saying Austin Banner isn't a
41:53
good fighter, but look at his branding.
41:55
Look where he was at that moment in his
41:57
career. He was seven and0 dating Paige
41:59
Venzant, all these followers on
42:00
Instagram and getting thrown in like
42:03
tough matchups pretty early on in his
42:05
career, right? And I think that's where
42:07
Wink C is too is you don't want to get
42:09
thrown into matchups too early because
42:11
you've branded yourself so good. So, I'd
42:14
say kind of pace yourself because it's a
42:16
double-edged sword. But let's say in
42:19
wing C situation, he needs people
42:22
guiding him in a way where he's winning
42:24
all these amateur fights he's taking.
42:25
there's no reason to have him having
42:27
been knocked out twice by head kicks,
42:29
not getting paid any money as a
42:31
professional since these are all amateur
42:32
fights, right? So, you people just need
42:35
to be guided in a certain way, I think,
42:38
in a better way. Um,
42:41
but as far as branding, he is he's he's
42:44
great. Like he's he's doing a really
42:45
good job at it. He nails it down. He's
42:47
consistent with his content. He's got an
42:49
image. He follows it. He's got his fans.
42:51
Uh, like I like to call it an avatar. He
42:54
he displayed a specific avatar that
42:56
reaches a specific type of people and he
42:58
reaches them and it's been working great
43:00
for him.
43:02
>> For sure. Okay, let's uh move away from
43:04
him and and back to you. I'm curious to
43:06
know about your your your creativity and
43:09
where you get your ideas for all your
43:10
your posts because I I like them.
43:12
They're really interesting. Um like I
43:14
put out a lot of content, right? But I'm
43:16
fortunate I'm really fortunate in that
43:18
my content is based on other people and
43:20
stuff that's happening, right? So if a
43:21
fight gets announced or
43:23
>> you know what have you I it's it's
43:24
already there for me to comment on. But
43:26
you you've got to make your own stuff.
43:28
>> So where do you get your ideas from and
43:29
and how much time and effort do you have
43:31
to put into preparing posts and then and
43:34
then not only preparation but actually
43:36
filming it and doing it and then posting
43:38
it.
43:38
>> I'd say uh at first it takes a little
43:41
bit more time but the more you it's like
43:42
anything the more you do it the better
43:44
you get, right? So that's uh I've been
43:46
working with a guy that's been helping
43:47
me get better at doing content. uh call
43:50
him my content coach, I guess. And he
43:51
explained to me in a very simple way
43:52
that I have to post every day only to
43:55
learn how to do it
43:57
>> more efficiently and seeing what works,
43:58
right? Because all you're doing is
43:59
gathering data, right? Uh all I'm doing
44:02
is gathering data, seeing what's work,
44:03
what's working, what's not working.
44:05
Okay? Was this hook in a good position?
44:07
Uh was this video too long? Did I have
44:10
something not cut quick enough? Uh did
44:12
it provide value? Did it provide
44:14
connection? Did it provide proof? Those
44:16
are like the three big pillars right
44:18
there. value, proof, and connection. So
44:20
for anyone looking to create more
44:21
content, remember that if your video
44:23
needs to provide one of those three
44:25
things and especially to build a brand,
44:27
that's the only thing you need to know.
44:28
You need to provide value, proof, and
44:29
connection. And depending what you want
44:31
to accomplish, you got to do it on a
44:33
different rate, right? So like as far as
44:36
like let's say I'm doing a lot more
44:38
coaching and online coaching right now.
44:40
Well, if I educate you on how to lose
44:44
two pounds a week, right? Maybe you're
44:46
not going to work with me from that
44:48
post. But if the post after is proof of
44:50
me showing you I've helped someone go
44:52
from 250 pounds to 200 pounds in a
44:54
certain amount of time, maybe you might
44:56
shoot me a message if I link leave a
44:57
link at the bottom. Right? So you got to
44:59
like and all the different type of
45:01
contents due to different type of
45:03
things. Like the funny stuff that I post
45:06
does so good. Lots of eyes on it because
45:08
it's funny. People share it, right? But
45:10
if I post something more like uh trying
45:14
to help people in a nonfunny way, it'll
45:16
do less good. But that's okay because
45:18
that's targeting the people that I want
45:19
to target.
45:22
>> When you So you've had some time now
45:24
that you've been gathering the data like
45:26
you said, what do you find that you put
45:28
out the most other than just overall
45:29
funny stuff, but what do you find
45:31
resonates the most with with your fan
45:32
base?
45:33
>> I don't know. I think I'm a funny guy
45:34
because everyone loves the funny stuff
45:36
and that's what's been resonating the
45:37
most and getting the eyes on it. And
45:38
then I think of myself in like uh my
45:41
day-to-day life. Like I like, you know,
45:42
I make my friends laugh. I'm known as
45:44
like a funny guy at the gym. So that's
45:46
pretty good. That resonates well. It
45:48
fits my personality. It's natural. Uh
45:51
but as far as like if I'm thinking on a
45:53
business side, what's been resonating as
45:54
far as like making the needle move like
45:57
it's been the proof content and
45:59
providing value as far as education. uh
46:02
like that solidifies like as far as like
46:04
getting clients interested, getting
46:06
people wanting to work with me, uh
46:07
helping people on their weight loss
46:08
journey, their fitness journey, or just
46:10
using combat to to be a honestly to be I
46:13
have so many people right now that want
46:15
to be a better man and they use combat
46:17
for that because it's helped so many
46:19
young men, shape them into better
46:20
people. Like I got like these
46:22
30-year-old dads that are like starting
46:23
later in their journey that just want to
46:25
hit pads or grapple and stuff like that
46:27
just to defend their family in this
46:29
crazy world we live in now. um like the
46:32
content I shoot up for them, I'll get
46:33
messages from that. I'll get less likes,
46:35
I'll get less views, but at the end of
46:38
the day, those numbers don't matter as
46:39
much, right? Like what's going to matter
46:41
is lead lead conversion and like who's
46:44
committing to your what's going to make
46:46
you money, right? Everything else is
46:47
just
46:49
doesn't matter. Like people always think
46:51
like, oh, I got this I got 3.4 million
46:54
views on this reel, right? But how much
46:57
how much money did you make from it? How
46:58
many followers did you get from it? How
46:59
much
47:00
How did it benefit your life other than
47:03
have being able to say you got so many
47:05
views, right?
47:07
>> Yeah. So, what's your what's your plan
47:10
now? Are you just going to keep grinding
47:11
and just putting in effort into your
47:12
businesses and and trying to promote it
47:14
with social media?
47:15
>> Yeah, that's
47:16
>> and being the best that you can be.
47:17
>> Yeah. Be the best that I can be, right?
47:18
And for me, being the best that I can be
47:20
right now is grow this business. Grow
47:22
Pow Fit to its full potential. Uh, I'm
47:25
kind of I kind of see it as like a
47:27
boxing fitness studio except it's MMA
47:29
fitness studio and uh the goal is to
47:32
franchise across Ontario and then
47:34
eventually maybe Quebec and then get
47:35
into the states uh have locations
47:37
everywhere and like really just
47:39
revolutionize the fitness games. Like I
47:40
see people spending like $200 to $250 a
47:44
month on an F45 membership and just
47:46
because there's a good sense of
47:47
community, they feel like they get a
47:49
good workout in. But at the end of the
47:50
day, you don't learn that valuable
47:52
skill. And I think here uh when as far
47:56
as combat, you're going to learn that
47:57
valuable skill, but at the end your goal
47:59
is also fitness, right, and community. I
48:03
think in the traditional MMA gym, you
48:06
get the people that want to learn the
48:07
arts, you get a lot of the beginners
48:08
that want to learn the arts, but the
48:09
people that are there for fitness don't
48:11
really stick around. So, I want
48:13
>> Yeah.
48:14
>> MMA to be used for fitness purposes,
48:16
right? I'm not a competitor to any MMA
48:18
gym in the region or in the world. It's
48:21
unless you have like a fitness class in
48:22
the morning like
48:25
then maybe we're competing but other
48:26
than that it's like my fitness classes
48:28
are going to be in peak hours like the
48:31
the biggest thing is I had this
48:32
opportunity come my way as soon as I
48:34
lost a job and a job that I didn't
48:37
really like doing right and I was
48:39
already I already incorporated like two
48:41
days before so great timing but they
48:44
offered me a a lease for a cheap a good
48:47
amount right a a good opportunity for me
48:49
to get myself going and I just had to
48:52
take it cuz it's in a good space and I
48:55
was already getting the ball rolling
48:57
with private clients. I was already
48:58
having like my exit plan as far as the
49:00
job I was working. Uh but then I was
49:03
thinking like I don't want to make an
49:04
MMA gym. So what do I do? And it just
49:07
like came to me. It's like I have so
49:09
many people working just basic fitness
49:11
with me hitting pads but I can never do
49:13
the peak hours because there's always
49:15
classes in those peak hours. So, in
49:17
those peak hours, now I'm offering those
49:19
MMA fitness classes that are usually
49:22
offered in not peak hours, right? Like
49:25
in traditional MMA gyms, those classes
49:27
are not in the best hours possible,
49:29
right? But like now, let's say,
49:31
>> sure,
49:31
>> some lady finishes work at 400 p.m.,
49:34
right? Swings by at 4:30 p.m. Well, we
49:37
got an MMA fitness class going from 4:30
49:39
to 5 and then we got the longer one
49:41
going from 5 to 5:45 and then it keeps
49:44
going throughout the night, right?
49:46
um versus in traditional MMA gyms. Well,
49:48
right after work, you're bringing your
49:49
kids to a jiu-jitsu class and the
49:50
jiu-jitsu program is at 4:00 and at 5
49:52
and then you don't have any of the like
49:54
the MMA stuff until 6, seven or eight,
49:56
right? So, it's kind of where my idea
49:59
was at and it's been getting a lot of
50:02
like leads, a lot of people interested.
50:05
Uh my private client list went from like
50:07
five people that I kept for the past two
50:09
years. So, I'm now at like 25 in the
50:10
past month. So,
50:12
>> it's been solid. Yeah, it's been going
50:14
really well. I'm really happy with it.
50:16
So, it's it's and it's it's fun. It's
50:18
nice to help people. Uh especially since
50:21
I like I said, like if I had a boy, I'd
50:22
probably feel different about it. But
50:24
since I have a younger daughter, like I
50:25
just feel so different that like I want
50:27
to help as many people I can. Uh more
50:30
empathetic about stuff too. Uh like my
50:34
reputation at the gym was like, you
50:35
know, I mean, you've been around the
50:37
gym, you've seen me. It's like never I I
50:40
was never the nicest guy, but I feel
50:41
like I made that switch of like I just
50:44
want to help as many people as I can
50:46
now.
50:48
>> Yeah. The first time I ever met you and
50:49
and talked to you, I did you did an
50:51
interview with you and I thought you
50:52
were angry at me the whole time, but I'm
50:54
not sure if that's true or not.
50:55
>> I just think it's like I don't know,
50:57
maybe I fought because I had this deep
50:59
anger inside me I didn't even know about
51:00
and now I don't have it no more because
51:02
I wake up in the morning, I get to see
51:04
my daughter and just starts my day off
51:06
right every day, right? and I go to bed
51:08
at night and put her to bed and
51:11
>> yeah, it it changed a lot for me as far
51:13
as perspective and how I see life. So
51:15
yeah, I don't know. I don't have that
51:17
same anger, I guess, anymore.
51:21
>> Speaking about family, uh, one of the
51:23
series that you're doing that I'm really
51:24
liking is you're training your wife now
51:26
to fight and she's looking really sharp
51:28
after a short amount of time. Like she's
51:30
got some zest in her in her punches.
51:32
>> How did that come about? Is that is that
51:33
serious? Like does she actually want to
51:34
train to be a fighter? Yeah, she
51:36
actually wants to try it out. She
51:37
actually wants to do it. She wants to go
51:39
as far as she can. Uh it's kind of uh
51:42
she's we've been together for over a
51:45
year and a half and she's basically had
51:48
a job the first little bit that we were
51:50
together, but it was a night job, so she
51:52
would always come to my training
51:53
sessions. She loved watching it. She
51:55
loved watching us spar, but anytime I'd
51:57
bring up her doing it or Prit would
51:58
bring up her doing it, she's like, "Oh
51:59
no, I could never do that." And through
52:02
the pregnancy, she was there even more,
52:04
right? We were together all the time.
52:05
She was pregnant, kind of watched me
52:07
train at the gym. She had been to all my
52:08
fights and yeah, we had the baby and she
52:13
was studying to be a nurse and stuff.
52:15
Um, she she's been out of school for it
52:17
for a bit, but she doesn't have that
52:19
same she doesn't think she wants to do
52:21
that anymore, right? So, she was kind of
52:22
like questioning what she wants to do.
52:24
So, I kind of told her Jazz's story
52:26
where Jazz didn't know what she wanted
52:27
to do and then Jazz got in the US.
52:29
>> Yeah, I was going to bring that up.
52:30
>> Right. So, she's like, "Oh, that's super
52:32
interesting." thing and then like she
52:33
talked to jazz about it a little bit and
52:35
like she's like committing to this stuff
52:37
now. So like we're training like three,
52:39
four times a week, right? Until she gets
52:40
to a point where she feels comfortable
52:42
grappling with people and doing classes
52:43
and stuff. But uh yeah, she's pretty
52:45
good. I think from watching for the last
52:47
year and a half, she's picked up some
52:48
tricks. Like she knows all the names,
52:50
right? She watches the fights with me
52:51
every Saturday. It's like I don't even
52:53
put the fights on and she puts them on
52:54
at this point. And it's been like that
52:56
for the past little bit. So yeah. And
52:59
we're lucky cuz our daughter's really
53:00
calm. So like anytime we like hit the
53:02
pads or whatever, like she's just
53:03
sitting there in the background on her
53:04
chair and she's just watching and she
53:06
loves it. So she's she's doing a good
53:08
job. I'm proud of her.
53:09
>> That's amazing.
53:10
>> Yeah, she bounced back from the
53:12
pregnancy and the birth like so well.
53:13
Like we're like Bella's going to be four
53:16
months in 5 days and like Neil is back
53:18
down to like her pre-birth weight and
53:20
like on this whole fitness journey and
53:22
she doing a really good job. So I'm
53:24
super proud of her.
53:26
>> Yeah, what's showing she's looking good
53:27
in there. So I'm excited to see where
53:29
she's going to go. So, you and all that.
53:31
And I love the fact that Bella, your
53:32
baby,
53:33
>> is watching that and that's those are
53:35
what her memories are going to be, her
53:36
core memories. Mom and dad working out
53:38
together and hitting the pads and having
53:40
fun. And, you know, maybe that'll prompt
53:42
her to to want to try it at some point.
53:43
>> Hopefully not. Hopefully, she stays away
53:46
from it.
53:48
Hopefully, she just knows enough to
53:49
defend herself from all the bullies in
53:51
school and that's it. But we'll see.
53:53
>> Yeah, for sure.
53:54
>> Yeah. I'd like her to tell me about
53:56
Puffet.
53:59
Yeah.
54:00
>> Um, so Powit, you said you have a lease.
54:02
Where are you located and how, if people
54:04
want to reach out to you, if they want
54:05
to talk to you about maybe some advice
54:07
on social media or uh, branding and all
54:09
that kind of stuff, how could they reach
54:10
you?
54:11
>> Yeah, so Powit's going to be located
54:12
inside of a gym called Just Be Strong.
54:15
Uh, so I can turn this around. You'll
54:16
see where I'm going to be exactly. Okay,
54:18
we're getting all the mats up in here in
54:20
the next few weeks. Okay, this is our
54:21
lobby. Okay, this is where we're going
54:23
to be in. And then we're inside uh a
54:25
strong man's weights gym that's
54:27
transitioning to more trying to help
54:29
more people, right? So, this is like
54:31
this gym in in Niagara Falls that has
54:33
like the strongest people in Niagara uh
54:35
or in the area and they're transitioning
54:38
to trying to help more and more people
54:39
because like they're trying to grow
54:41
their business as well and they're
54:43
trying to service more people. It's a
54:45
really nice gym. Uh so, but we're having
54:47
our our gym located in here. It's a like
54:49
a private room in the area. And for
54:53
anyone that's trying to reach out to me,
54:54
like my Instagram, uh, it's powell MMA.
54:57
You can shoot me a message there. I'm
54:59
pretty hands-on responding to it. Uh,
55:01
like I've been giving some fighters some
55:03
tips on what they can do as far as
55:05
branding, sponsorships, and stuff like
55:06
that. So, if that's of any interest of
55:09
getting more information, I'm always
55:10
open to talk. And then someone in the
55:12
fitness world sees this and wants to get
55:14
fit, like I'm your guy.
55:17
>> That's awesome, Zach. Well, yeah, like
55:19
you know, like you know, I've told you
55:21
I'm I'm really intrigued by all this.
55:22
I'm really happy with with your success
55:24
and you're going with this and I I hope
55:25
you, you know, go shoot straight to the
55:27
moon with all this. I'm I'm really uh
55:28
I'm really, you know, excited for you.
55:31
>> Thanks, Andy. I appreciate it.
55:34
>> Okay. Uh, Zach, any final words or is
55:36
there anything that you think I should
55:37
have asked to talk about that I didn't
55:39
ask?
55:40
>> No, that was great. That covered it all.
55:42
Uh well, as far as fighting, like I'm
55:44
still signed under Dirty Boxing and they
55:46
do message me every now and then the
55:47
fight. So, something pretty interesting
55:49
came up and uh if if I lock it in, I
55:53
guess I'll let you guys know, but we'll
55:54
see. Uh helping Mikey get ready for his
55:57
fight and getting punched a bunch kind
55:59
of like lit a little fire under there.
56:01
But we'll we'll see where I'm at because
56:03
maybe that fire will disappear now this
56:05
camp's over.
56:08
>> Yeah, that's only a week away now. It's
56:09
happening April 18th in Winnipeg. I'll
56:11
be there to watch it. Any chance you'll
56:12
be there?
56:13
>> Uh, no, I won't be there. I just want to
56:15
stay back, stick around with my family.
56:16
So, I'll be watching on TV.
56:18
>> Yeah.
56:20
>> Okay, Zach Pal, uh, thanks again. I'd
56:23
love to come out and visit your gym at
56:24
some point and we'll keep in touch and
56:25
I'd like to see where you go with this
56:26
and, uh, if there's anything else you
56:28
need, don't don't hesitate to reach out.
56:30
>> Awesome. Thanks, Andy.
56:32
>> All right. Thanks, Zach. There you go,
56:33
fight friends. Zach Powell, professional
56:35
mixed martial artist who is
56:36
transitioning to a different stage of
56:39
his life. And if you were in that
56:40
situation and you want to learn, reach
56:42
out to him and I'm sure he can help you
56:43
out. Alicia, it's so great to meet you
56:46
for the first time, it's a it's a
56:47
pleasure. It's it's a I've been around
56:49
for a long time and I've met a lot of
56:50
people and I I've seen I've seen uh a
56:52
lot of different things, but you're
56:53
you're a first- timer for me. So, would
56:55
you mind just taking a quick second? I'm
56:57
sure you're introducing yourself to much
56:58
of my audience as well. Just tell us who
57:00
you are, what your name is, where you're
57:02
from, and why we're talking right now.
57:04
>> Uh yeah, hi Andy. Thanks for having me.
57:07
First of all, um my name is Alicia
57:09
Claire. I'm the promoter for OFC. It's
57:11
Okonogan Fighting Championship. We're
57:14
based here in Vernon, uh in the
57:16
beautiful Okonagan in BC. And you're
57:19
talking to me because I have my third
57:20
event coming up in a couple weeks. OFC 3
57:23
is happening April 18th here in Vernon.
57:26
>> That's so exciting. I I love I'm a big
57:28
proponent of amateur mixed martial arts.
57:30
And I'm guessing your show is is
57:31
strictly amateur, is it?
57:33
>> It is strictly amateur at this time.
57:35
Yeah, we've got MMA, kickboxing, and I
57:37
do have a couple grappling matches on
57:38
there, too, but no pro, not yet.
57:42
>> So, before we get to the actual event
57:44
itself, let's take a step back and just
57:45
look retroactively. Would you mind
57:47
telling me what was it about the
57:49
environment where you are in Vernon that
57:51
made you think that this was necessary?
57:52
I know there's already a different
57:53
Okonogan based fighting uh league. I'm
57:56
not sure what it's called, but just what
57:57
what what brought you your husband Raj
58:00
Claire is also uh with the organization.
58:02
between the two of you, what made you
58:03
think that this was something that you
58:04
should do?
58:06
>> Yeah. So, uh, you mentioned my husband
58:08
Raj. So, he runs Unity MMA and
58:10
kickboxing out of Vernon here as well.
58:13
Um, and we had over the last, I'd say
58:17
probably 10 years, quite a few amateur
58:19
fighters that were looking for
58:21
experience, right? Um, and like I was
58:24
saying to you before, uh, we started
58:26
recording,
58:27
>> it is a little bit difficult for amateur
58:30
fighters, especially young athletes,
58:32
they're, you know, maybe they're in
58:34
school, maybe they have a job, maybe
58:35
they have a young family they need to
58:36
take care of. And so to take time off of
58:39
work and finance travel and all that
58:41
kind of stuff to get to, say, their
58:43
debut or their second fight or something
58:45
like that is is a little bit
58:47
prohibitive. And that's kind of the
58:48
situation that we found ourselves here
58:51
uh, in the Okonogan. So we thought,
58:53
well, you know, it's a little bit of a
58:55
gap that that could be filled. Why don't
58:57
we go ahead and fill it? So we started
58:59
OFC just kind of, you know, to to
59:01
provide an opportunity for athletes from
59:04
the Okonagan to be able to fight at home
59:06
and kind of skip that travel and
59:09
financial portion that they were coming
59:11
up against. And also to have an
59:13
opportunity to perform in front of their
59:14
friends and family, right? It's it's
59:16
awesome when you can um do what you love
59:20
in front of the people that have
59:21
supported you throughout your training
59:23
camp.
59:25
>> Prior to uh uh OFCA number one, had you
59:28
had any any experience uh organizing any
59:30
large scale events or anything like
59:31
this?
59:32
>> Um not that large scale. Um, so back in
59:36
my athletic days in my 20s, I played
59:39
roller derby um for a number of years
59:41
and I ran a league and did help
59:43
organize, you know, tournaments and
59:45
games and that kind of stuff. So, a
59:47
little bit I'm going to say I'm not I
59:48
wasn't 100% inexperienced, but this was
59:51
this was definitely a step up from
59:53
anything that I had taken on uh as that
59:55
kind of project before. As you
59:58
mentioned, we had a nice little chat
59:59
before we started recording and you told
1:00:01
me that essentially the learning curve
1:00:04
from what the first event to now, it was
1:00:06
a big learning curve. You went through a
1:00:08
lot. I'm sure there are a lot of
1:00:09
challenges. I'm sure you made some
1:00:11
mistakes. I'm sure you've done a lot of
1:00:12
great things. Where are you right now
1:00:14
with regards to your comfort with
1:00:16
putting on a show now that you're going
1:00:18
into your third event?
1:00:19
>> Um, it's getting there. I'm like you
1:00:22
said, it was a it was a steep learning
1:00:23
curve. Mistakes were made, that's for
1:00:26
sure. Um but the what I've found most
1:00:29
helpful in um you know my comfort level
1:00:33
as you said is building relationships
1:00:35
with people who can help you get things
1:00:38
done right so it's not just the fight
1:00:40
community it's also the business
1:00:42
community it's also the city right the
1:00:44
venue the paramedics the BC athletic
1:00:48
commission the um you know just
1:00:50
communication with coaches and that kind
1:00:52
of stuff there's so so so many little
1:00:54
moving parts when it comes to putting
1:00:55
together something like this that um you
1:00:59
know the more people that you know the
1:01:00
more people that want to get involved
1:01:02
the easier it is. So I'm I'm finding
1:01:04
that as we grow and we make more
1:01:06
connections in the community just across
1:01:08
the board it's becoming a lot smoother
1:01:11
for me for sure.
1:01:12
>> That's awesome to hear. So you find
1:01:14
there's a lot of acceptance in the local
1:01:15
community with with a a mixed martial
1:01:17
arts fighting event.
1:01:19
>> Yeah. Yeah. Vernon is a little bit of
1:01:21
what I would call a bluecollar
1:01:22
community. MMA is uh a big hit here for
1:01:26
sure. Like our we our first two shows
1:01:28
like I mentioned before um sold out um
1:01:31
and OFC3 is very very close to being
1:01:33
sold out. We're about two weeks out now
1:01:35
and I only have a handful of tickets
1:01:36
left which is awesome. I'm I'm really
1:01:39
excited to have that sort of response
1:01:41
from the community and people seem
1:01:43
really excited about it. So
1:01:45
>> Oh, that's amazing. Congratulations on
1:01:47
that. Would you mind just for the
1:01:48
non-British Columbia people watching
1:01:50
just give us a little bit of the lay of
1:01:51
the land. Where is Vernon? And I'll ask
1:01:53
you to say in relation to Vancouver cuz
1:01:55
that's what everybody might know.
1:01:57
>> In relation to Vancouver, we're about 4
1:02:00
and a half hours um in land from
1:02:03
Vancouver. So, if that's helpful, we're
1:02:06
in the Okonogan Valley. So, we're about
1:02:08
half an hour north of Colona, which is
1:02:09
another kind of major landmark that most
1:02:11
people would know about if they don't
1:02:14
know exactly where that is. But, we're
1:02:15
we're very close to Colona uh and Cam
1:02:18
Loops. So, about an hour south of Cam
1:02:20
Loops.
1:02:21
Yeah, I've never been to Vernon, but
1:02:23
when I was a child, my family, we used
1:02:24
to vacation in in the Okonogan at uh
1:02:26
Lake Shushwap. We used to go there for
1:02:28
like every summer in an RV. And I had
1:02:30
some really fond memories of driving
1:02:32
along the Okonogan and stopping and
1:02:34
getting like roadside uh fruit roll-ups,
1:02:36
like with actual fruit made into
1:02:38
rollups. That was so good.
1:02:40
>> The dried ones. Wonderful. Yeah, it's
1:02:41
it's beautiful here for sure. And I'm
1:02:43
not from here. I am not a Vernon native.
1:02:45
I grew up in the prairie. So, I'm from
1:02:48
the middle of Saskatchewan in a from a
1:02:50
town that no one's ever heard of. Um,
1:02:52
and I uh some in my late 20s, I had
1:02:56
driven through the Okonogan once and
1:02:58
thought it was really pretty and I
1:02:59
wanted to move somewhere. So, I kind of
1:03:01
threw a pin and ended up in Vernon. Um,
1:03:04
and then I met my at that time future
1:03:06
husband here. So, here we are.
1:03:09
>> Nice. You wouldn't be from Zen Park,
1:03:11
Saskatchewan, would you? Because I've
1:03:13
heard of Zenen Park.
1:03:14
>> Zenan Park. No, I'm not from from
1:03:16
Kinderly, Saskatchewan.
1:03:18
>> Okay, there you go. So, life is good for
1:03:20
you there. You're now a mixed martial
1:03:22
arts promoter. What do you do with the
1:03:24
rest of your life, Alicia? So, you said
1:03:25
Raj runs Unity. Are you part of Uni as
1:03:27
well, or do you have another employment?
1:03:29
>> I am. Yeah, I kind of I wear a lot of
1:03:31
hats. So, my career that I've been
1:03:34
working on since I uh graduated college
1:03:37
in my early 20s is I'm a animal health
1:03:39
technologist. Um, which is just a fancy
1:03:42
way of saying a veterinary nurse. Um, so
1:03:44
I've been doing that for almost 20 years
1:03:46
now. Um, and I still do that. So even
1:03:49
though I've kind of taken on this other
1:03:51
job of of MMA promoting and I've also
1:03:53
started teaching uh jiu-jitsu
1:03:55
fundamentals at Unity MMA. So I run a
1:03:57
class there three days a week. I work at
1:04:00
the vet clinic one or two days a week
1:04:01
and then I do this MMA promotion job uh
1:04:05
on top of that. So
1:04:06
>> that's really cool.
1:04:08
>> Well then I'll do something with you
1:04:09
that I haven't done with any other
1:04:10
guest, but I'm going to introduce you to
1:04:12
somebody. I'm going to let you say hi to
1:04:13
Dexter. I'll slide the way for a second.
1:04:15
He's right there.
1:04:17
>> Oh, you're hiding.
1:04:20
>> Yeah,
1:04:21
>> he's a good boy. He's
1:04:22
>> Dexter. Dexter's a good boy.
1:04:24
>> Dexter. Nice.
1:04:25
>> I'm actually in England right now, so
1:04:27
I'm in England right now, so he's an
1:04:28
English cat.
1:04:29
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah.
1:04:30
>> Good.
1:04:32
>> Um, so yeah, you mentioned before that
1:04:34
you're a you're a BJ purple belt. Tell
1:04:36
me what it is about uh Brazilian
1:04:38
jiu-jitsu that that that enthralls you
1:04:40
or or like so many of us, we take
1:04:42
jiu-jitsu and we love it. Why do you
1:04:43
love it?
1:04:44
>> Yeah, I really love it because I tell
1:04:47
people that well, first of all, there's
1:04:49
you're never done learning. Like you're
1:04:51
never just
1:04:52
>> now I've now I know jiu-jitsu and I'm
1:04:54
done with it, right? There's always
1:04:56
always always something new or a
1:04:58
different way um to do something. So,
1:05:00
it's kind of a continual challenge even
1:05:03
though you do obviously level up. Um, I
1:05:05
I enjoy that aspect of it and just to
1:05:08
know that it's I'm never going to be
1:05:10
done and there's always going to be
1:05:11
something new to learn. Um, but the
1:05:13
thing that I I kind of gravitated
1:05:15
towards when I first started is that I
1:05:18
first of all, I like combat sports, like
1:05:20
contact sports,
1:05:22
>> being in, you know, like that kind of
1:05:24
one-on-one action. I really do enjoy
1:05:26
that. I said before I played roller
1:05:27
derby for years and years, which is
1:05:29
pretty rough, uh, in and of itself. Um,
1:05:32
but I appreciate, especially with my
1:05:34
really hectic life right now, is that
1:05:36
when I step onto the mats,
1:05:38
>> nothing else exists then, you know, it's
1:05:41
almost like like an etch a sketch for
1:05:43
your brain. I can have a thousand things
1:05:45
going on and I'm worried about this and
1:05:46
I have to be there and I have an
1:05:48
appointment and then I go on the mats
1:05:49
and it's all it doesn't matter until
1:05:52
later and then you get back into your
1:05:54
regular life with a a fresh
1:05:57
>> mindset and a new perspective and it
1:05:59
really does help me to manage that that
1:06:02
kind of hecticness of the rest of my
1:06:05
life.
1:06:06
>> Yeah, I I exactly what you mean. It's
1:06:08
really difficult to think about your
1:06:10
house taxes or your uh or your upcoming
1:06:12
driver's license renewal when you have
1:06:13
someone in your back trying to choke you
1:06:14
out. You got to concentrate on that
1:06:15
right now.
1:06:16
>> Priorities, right? Yeah.
1:06:18
>> Yeah. So, I wonder though, when you're
1:06:20
ever sitting there cage side and you're
1:06:22
and you're watching the fights inside
1:06:23
the Okonogan fight uh fighting
1:06:25
championship cage, do you ever look at
1:06:27
them and think to yourself, geez, I
1:06:28
could do that. I could hop in there and
1:06:29
I I want to test myself,
1:06:31
>> right? You know, I
1:06:33
I do jiu-jitsu and I do enjoy it and I
1:06:35
like contact sports and combat sports
1:06:37
and all that kind of stuff, but I
1:06:38
personally dislike being punched in the
1:06:40
face. So, it's not
1:06:44
I do go to kickboxing every once in a
1:06:46
while, but I enjoy more the cardio
1:06:47
workout aspect of that. I've never
1:06:50
really had any aspirations to um you
1:06:54
know, train specifically in MMA and for
1:06:56
sure not compete in MMA. I think my
1:06:58
athletic glory days are behind me. Um
1:07:01
and I really do um you know I enjoy the
1:07:05
organizational aspect of it and and um
1:07:09
the way that I'm able to support our
1:07:11
team at Unity and then also just the MMA
1:07:14
athletes, the kickboxing athletes, the
1:07:16
grapplers um across the Okonagan. I feel
1:07:18
like that's a role that I am really
1:07:21
fulfilled in right now. So no, you won't
1:07:23
you won't catch me in there anytime
1:07:25
soon. Mhm.
1:07:27
When I look at OFC, it's you're kind of
1:07:30
reminiscent of the early days of Fight
1:07:31
League Atlantic. I'm not sure how
1:07:33
familiar you are with them, but they're
1:07:34
a they're a fight organization based out
1:07:36
of the Maritimes. And when they started
1:07:38
off, they're on their 24 upcoming on
1:07:39
their 24th event. And when they started
1:07:41
out, this is what I I tell owner Derek
1:07:43
Clark all the time whenever we chat is I
1:07:45
really like the way they started off
1:07:47
with it was just a whole bunch of
1:07:49
amateurs. There was 0 and0 amateurs
1:07:50
fighting O and O amateurs. Maybe if they
1:07:52
were lucky, there was a 1 and0 amateur
1:07:54
that had a fight somewhere else. And
1:07:55
over time those 0 and0 amateurs became 1
1:07:57
and0 amateurs became 2 and0 amateurs
1:08:00
became like 4 and one amateurs and
1:08:02
ultimately became professionals and now
1:08:04
a lot of their their fighters who
1:08:06
started off being amateur fighters are
1:08:07
fighting in the professional ranks in
1:08:08
their organization. So I'm wondering if
1:08:10
that's something like you envision for
1:08:12
OSC. Do you think over time you might
1:08:13
build up a roster of of people who can
1:08:15
just get really experienced and continue
1:08:17
to fight for you?
1:08:18
>> Yeah, that's that's the goal, right?
1:08:20
like we are not only providing a
1:08:22
platform for uh like I said our athletes
1:08:25
and athletes across the Okonogan to be
1:08:27
able to get experience, build their
1:08:30
build their records up um and do it at
1:08:34
home. Um but we it's not something I
1:08:38
necessarily envision. We've seen it,
1:08:39
right? Our last two champions,
1:08:41
bantamweight uh champion from OFC 1,
1:08:45
Riley Marshan, she's pro. Uh, and then
1:08:47
bantamweight champion from OFC 2. Uh,
1:08:50
Curtis Anderson, he's pro, right? Um, so
1:08:53
we have three championship matches
1:08:55
coming up on OFC 3. And I strongly, you
1:08:59
know, see that at least two of those,
1:09:02
uh, three champions are going to be
1:09:03
going pro in the next year or so. So,
1:09:06
it's
1:09:06
>> awesome.
1:09:07
>> It's, yeah, that's that's the goal, like
1:09:08
you said, to build a roster. Uh, you
1:09:11
can't get good at fighting without
1:09:12
fighting. So, we really want to help
1:09:15
promote and almost slingshot these
1:09:17
athletes into careers that they're, you
1:09:20
know, they're working towards. Yeah,
1:09:22
absolutely.
1:09:23
>> Okay, I'm going to slide my eyeballs
1:09:25
away from you for a second and look at
1:09:26
your page I've got brought up. I'm going
1:09:27
to read off to you the three title
1:09:29
fights and maybe we can talk about those
1:09:30
in a bit. So, your bantamweight
1:09:32
championship is being contested between
1:09:34
Ethan Northcot and Justin Fernandez.
1:09:36
Your lightweight championship between
1:09:37
Dominic Perry and Shawn Carroll. your
1:09:40
cruiserweight championship between Riley
1:09:41
Houston and Terrell Johnson. So maybe
1:09:43
just take I know I I've seen Ethan
1:09:44
Northcot quite a bit. I've actually saw
1:09:46
him fight on Fight Pass. He he fought at
1:09:48
a at a Battlefield Fight League and I
1:09:50
saw him fight. He was really impressive.
1:09:51
Maybe just talk about some of those
1:09:52
athletes and which fights you're looking
1:09:54
forward to the most.
1:09:56
>> Yeah. So the ones that I know the most
1:09:58
about are obviously the Unity MMA
1:10:01
fighters, which are Ethan Northcot,
1:10:03
Dominic Perry, and Riley Houston. All of
1:10:05
all three of those guys are out of um
1:10:08
unity here at home. So, I kind of see
1:10:11
them at the gym often. I'm not directly
1:10:14
involved with their training. Um but,
1:10:16
you know, they're around. I see them. I
1:10:17
talk to them all the time. So, I know
1:10:20
that the the the main fight, Ethan
1:10:23
Northcot versus Justin Fernandez, is
1:10:25
going to be a great fight. Like, Ethan's
1:10:27
no joke, right? He's 4-0. He's the
1:10:29
number one ranked amateur bantamweight
1:10:31
in Canada um at this point. And he's,
1:10:34
like I said, one of those ones where I I
1:10:36
suspect that he'll be going pro in the
1:10:38
next little while. I want to keep him in
1:10:40
OFC for as long as I can. Um, obviously
1:10:42
he's a he's a great draw for the
1:10:45
community. People want to come out and
1:10:46
watch him fight. Um, but yeah, he's
1:10:49
really good at what he does. He works
1:10:51
really hard. Um, and I'm I'm looking
1:10:53
forward to watching his match with
1:10:54
Justin. Justin's no joke either, right?
1:10:56
He's really good at he's he's a
1:10:58
wrestler, which is kind of Ethan's
1:11:00
strong point, right? Ethan is also a
1:11:02
good wrestler, so he's going to come up
1:11:04
against an opponent that might call his
1:11:06
bluff at his at his own game, right? Um,
1:11:08
so lots of scrambles. That one's going
1:11:10
to be really fun to watch.
1:11:12
>> Nice. I'm not very wellversed with the
1:11:15
regulatory requirements of of the BC
1:11:17
Athletic Commission. Uh, professional
1:11:19
mixed martial arts. Is is that a a is
1:11:21
that a difficult thing to achieve? Like
1:11:23
is say tomorrow or for OFC number four,
1:11:25
you wanted a pro fighter or a few. Is
1:11:28
that an easy thing to accomplish or are
1:11:29
there a lot of hoops you'd have to go
1:11:30
through to get that done? And is that
1:11:32
something you want to do?
1:11:32
>> I I'll be honest with you, I don't know
1:11:34
exactly what that is going to take. Um I
1:11:37
am for 2026 focused on we have um this
1:11:41
April card and then we also have um OFC
1:11:44
4 scheduled for November 14th uh 2026.
1:11:47
That one's going to be an amateur only
1:11:49
as well. And then no no commitments have
1:11:52
been made, no conversations have been
1:11:54
had with the commission. Um, but we are
1:11:56
considering having some pro fights um,
1:11:59
circa 2027 at some point. So, I'm really
1:12:02
not sure of the exact I think we can do
1:12:05
it. Like I I you know, I'm pretty
1:12:07
confident in our ability to to segue
1:12:10
into professional MMA, but the details
1:12:12
I'm I'm a little loose on at the moment.
1:12:15
>> Okay. Yeah. No, totally get it. So
1:12:18
Alicia, I we don't really know each
1:12:20
other, but with my limited interaction
1:12:21
with you just talking for the past week
1:12:23
or so or whatever it was, I get the
1:12:25
feeling that you're the type of person
1:12:27
who would rather get stuff done
1:12:28
beforehand than waiting till the last
1:12:30
second. I'm getting that vibe. So I'm
1:12:32
wondering leading up to a fight leading
1:12:35
up to April 18th, fight night, what's
1:12:37
that look like for you? Are you totally
1:12:39
prepared when the when when the doors
1:12:40
open and the fans start walking through
1:12:42
the door? Is everything done? Are you
1:12:43
ready to go? or are there always still
1:12:45
like a like a last minute kind of hustle
1:12:47
to get everything done?
1:12:48
>> There's always a last minute hustle,
1:12:50
right? So, I am like you said very uh
1:12:53
what I'll say type A. Like I like to
1:12:56
have all my ducks in a row as much as
1:12:58
possible. I do not necessarily thrive in
1:13:01
a chaotic environment. Although I am
1:13:03
pretty good at managing um you know kind
1:13:06
of little fires that need to be put out
1:13:08
at the time. And I think my my um
1:13:11
experience with working in veterinary
1:13:13
medicine for as long as I have with
1:13:15
emergencies and that kind of stuff has
1:13:17
really given me a good background on how
1:13:18
to stay calm, cool, and collected and
1:13:21
get things done as they need to be done.
1:13:23
But I do try to communicate effectively,
1:13:27
have everything, you know, make sure
1:13:28
that everybody knows who, what, where,
1:13:30
when, and why. And then that makes it a
1:13:32
lot easier on the night of if something
1:13:34
does go a little bit sideways that you
1:13:36
just have to deal with that one thing
1:13:37
instead of trying to put together
1:13:40
everything that could have been
1:13:41
organized ahead of time. So,
1:13:43
>> we do my best.
1:13:44
>> Speaking of,
1:13:45
>> but Well, we all do. That's good. That's
1:13:47
good to know.
1:13:48
>> Um, speaking of the night of, what's
1:13:50
your favorite part of the night of an
1:13:52
event that you're promoting?
1:13:54
>> Oh, my favorite part of the night so
1:13:57
far, and and again, I'm gaining
1:13:59
experience with this as I go, too. So,
1:14:01
this might change in the future, but
1:14:03
what the part that I'm really looking
1:14:04
forward to with this coming event, um,
1:14:07
is when everyone is in, the lineup is
1:14:10
not at the door anymore and we're
1:14:12
started the fights and everything's
1:14:13
going smoothly and everyone has, you
1:14:16
know, their drink and their popcorn and
1:14:17
they're having a great time and the
1:14:19
music is playing and this everything is
1:14:21
just running and we're actually having
1:14:23
the event. Um, and you know, the
1:14:26
fighters are getting ready in the back
1:14:27
and just once every once the ball starts
1:14:30
rolling and it's no longer prep time,
1:14:32
that's my favorite time because that's
1:14:34
what we've been working towards this
1:14:36
whole time, right? All the hours, all
1:14:38
the stress, all the texts, all the
1:14:39
emails has come to this point where it's
1:14:43
happening. And that's that's so fun. I
1:14:46
really enjoy fight events. Um, and so to
1:14:49
have my own coming to fruition is the
1:14:52
best part for me. That's awesome. That's
1:14:55
really exciting. It's cool. Like I hear
1:14:56
you say it and I just can just imagine.
1:14:58
I've never put on a a fight show, but I
1:15:00
can just imagine like being in charge of
1:15:01
the whole thing and being responsible
1:15:03
for it. It's It could be nerve-wracking,
1:15:04
but it's also really rewarding. It's got
1:15:06
to make you feel really great when you
1:15:08
see all the pieces to come together and
1:15:09
the fighters get in the cage and and
1:15:11
everyone happy and everyone excited and
1:15:12
and having a successful night. It's got
1:15:14
to feel great.
1:15:15
>> It does. It feels really good. And like
1:15:17
I said, there's always little things
1:15:18
where you're like, "Oh no, I got to deal
1:15:20
with that or run around or scoop." But I
1:15:23
have such an amazing group of people
1:15:26
around me from the community, from the
1:15:28
gym, from the commission, from, you
1:15:30
know, the liquor team. Like, everybody's
1:15:33
there to make sure that it's safe and
1:15:35
fun and well-run and everybody has a
1:15:37
good time. And and um, you know, I'm not
1:15:40
doing it by myself. Even though I'm, you
1:15:42
know, it's my show or however you want
1:15:45
to put that, I'm definitely not out
1:15:47
there alone. I have a lot of people that
1:15:49
are there to support me and and want to
1:15:50
see it be successful and wellrun as
1:15:53
well.
1:15:54
>> Yeah. It's funny how some people might
1:15:56
look at at different uh successful
1:15:58
people in whatever endeavor it might be
1:16:00
and they think they're they're doing it
1:16:02
by themselves. But for the most part,
1:16:03
what I've seen is people who achieve
1:16:05
true success, it's because they surround
1:16:06
themselves with good people, people they
1:16:08
trust, people that can make smart
1:16:09
decisions and just take care of a a
1:16:11
process for them. So, it's it's good to
1:16:13
know that you're acknowledging that.
1:16:15
>> Oh, yeah. Absolutely. There's nothing
1:16:17
that I do really by myself. It's just I
1:16:20
organize and I bring in people that, you
1:16:23
know, I'm not good at everything.
1:16:24
Nobody's good at everything, right? So,
1:16:26
there's always going to be someone that
1:16:28
can do something better or give you good
1:16:30
advice or help you out or or that kind
1:16:32
of stuff. And I'm absolutely um always
1:16:34
looking for people like that. So,
1:16:37
>> so, as you and I are speaking right now,
1:16:38
we're just over two weeks away from your
1:16:40
event. I'm wondering, where are you
1:16:41
right now with your preparations? How's
1:16:43
everything going? Do you have any big
1:16:44
milestones you still have to reach? any
1:16:46
any hurdles in your way?
1:16:48
>> Yeah, I think like I said, couple more
1:16:50
tickets to sell and then we're sold out.
1:16:52
So, that'll be a big milestone. Um, and
1:16:55
uh, you know, that's that's a really
1:16:57
great I think an indicator of how we're
1:17:00
building the response from the
1:17:02
community. Um, being able to kind of
1:17:04
reach that soldout point at two weeks
1:17:06
before a show. I'm I'm pretty happy
1:17:08
about that. I'm really proud of it. Um,
1:17:10
and uh, as far as the organization stuff
1:17:13
goes, most things are in place. the big
1:17:15
stuff's in place, right? The insurance,
1:17:16
the fight card, the paramedics, like all
1:17:19
that stuff is booked and taken care of.
1:17:21
Um, so it'll just be last minute
1:17:23
changes, right? Two weeks out from a
1:17:24
fight, there's there's injuries, there's
1:17:26
changes to the card, there's um, you
1:17:29
know, just kind of last minute
1:17:30
organizational things. Um, but for the
1:17:32
most part, the big stuff is taken care
1:17:34
of. And then, like I said, we can put
1:17:36
out little fires as they happen, but I'm
1:17:38
just about ready.
1:17:39
>> Yeah.
1:17:40
>> So, my last question, this is something
1:17:41
we talked about prior to starting
1:17:43
recording. Uh, I know that leading over
1:17:46
the past several years, there was a
1:17:48
certain point where amateur MMA was not
1:17:50
allowed in British Columbia that it was
1:17:52
finally accepted into legislation a few
1:17:54
years ago. So now it's it's pretty
1:17:56
common place.
1:17:57
>> I'm just wondering what the acceptance
1:17:58
like in the Vernon community with with
1:18:00
the other with businesses and with the
1:18:02
fan base and the people just what it's
1:18:03
like in Vernon itself. Are they very
1:18:05
accepting? Are they happy that you have
1:18:06
an MMA organization there?
1:18:09
Yeah, I mean, for the most part, the
1:18:12
reception that we've had is
1:18:14
overwhelmingly positive. There's always
1:18:15
going to be someone that's grouchy about
1:18:17
this or that, but that's just with
1:18:20
everything, right? You're never going to
1:18:21
make everybody happy, but we are um
1:18:24
yeah, incredibly grateful that actually
1:18:26
in I think it was uh 2019
1:18:30
uh there was a promotion called XFC. I
1:18:32
think that might be who you were
1:18:34
referring to um earlier. So XFC is run
1:18:38
now by Bill Mahood and they're uh up
1:18:40
north Grand Prairieish I think. Um they
1:18:44
did an event XFC did an event in uh 2019
1:18:48
here in Vernon and that was the first
1:18:50
MMA event in Vernon uh I think it was 10
1:18:53
or 11 years um because it had been
1:18:55
banned
1:18:57
>> right by you brought him up. They were
1:18:58
just
1:18:58
>> I actually I actually just spoke with
1:19:00
Bill today and the next XFC is in June
1:19:03
in uh in Grand Prairie. But I mean no
1:19:05
there was something else. Let me just
1:19:06
bring up a different page. I have a
1:19:07
little tag. There's another Okonogan
1:19:09
Fight Night. I'm not sure if that's uh
1:19:10
what that is, but it's
1:19:11
>> Okonogan Fight Night is um uh Victory
1:19:15
International promotion and they're a
1:19:17
Muay Thai promotion out of Colona.
1:19:20
>> Yeah. So, they do uh Muay Thai and they
1:19:23
also have um
1:19:24
>> they do some uh ghee and no ghee
1:19:27
jiu-jitsu on their cards as well.
1:19:29
>> Okay, cool. Cool.
1:19:30
>> Yeah. Yeah. Um, so like I said, XFC
1:19:34
happened in 2019 and it was a success.
1:19:37
Like it was also sold out. It was great.
1:19:39
Um, you know, got a good response from
1:19:41
the community at that time as well and
1:19:43
we were all geared up. So I wasn't
1:19:45
promoter on that one. Um, but uh, like
1:19:48
Bill was was involved, Raj was involved.
1:19:50
I helped behind the scenes coordinate
1:19:51
some stuff and we were all really
1:19:53
excited about how it went and then 2020
1:19:57
happened. So, it all just kind of
1:19:59
>> fizzled, you know, like there wasn't
1:20:01
really much to be done for the next
1:20:03
couple years there. Um, and then we
1:20:05
started talking about it 2023ish and
1:20:07
then we came out 2024 with uh OFC and
1:20:11
started this promotion and we've just
1:20:13
been building it from there. So,
1:20:16
>> amazing. I absolutely love it. Alicia, I
1:20:17
I mentioned at the start, but I'm a a
1:20:19
big fan of amateur mixed martial arts.
1:20:21
Everyone's got to start somewhere. like
1:20:23
every fighter that you're gonna watch in
1:20:24
the UFC today or or April 18th, same
1:20:26
night as your event in Winnipeg, uh they
1:20:29
all started off as as an oh and no
1:20:30
amateur somewhere. So that's why I love
1:20:32
it. You go support the amateurs, give
1:20:34
them a chance. You never know where
1:20:35
they're going to be someday and you know
1:20:37
one day one day Alicia Clar you'll be
1:20:39
able to look at at a fighter main event
1:20:41
in Houston and go they started with me.
1:20:43
>> Yeah, I know that guy.
1:20:46
>> Yeah. Which is great. That's that's kind
1:20:48
of what I love about it too because like
1:20:49
I said jiu-jitsu wise I'm more of a
1:20:51
hobbyist. that kind of stuff. So, I
1:20:53
really enjoy um you know, taking someone
1:20:57
who maybe is just going to try it out,
1:20:59
you know, and then they find that they
1:21:00
love it and they kind of, you know,
1:21:02
build a career off of that or maybe
1:21:04
maybe they don't do it professionally
1:21:06
for the rest of their life and that's
1:21:07
okay. But, um giving people the
1:21:10
opportunity is really what kind of
1:21:13
fulfills me and what we're looking to do
1:21:15
at OSC.
1:21:17
So, Alicia, this has been a great chat
1:21:18
and I've got one final question before
1:21:20
we go and that question is, is there
1:21:22
anything that you think I should have
1:21:23
asked you that I didn't ask you?
1:21:27
>> Um,
1:21:29
no, I don't think so. I think we kind of
1:21:31
covered most of the bases. I really
1:21:33
appreciate you taking the time and and
1:21:36
giving me a chance to come on here and
1:21:38
use your platform to kind of promote OFC
1:21:40
and let people know what we're doing
1:21:42
here in the Okonagan. And yeah, I just
1:21:44
really appreciate it.
1:21:46
Well, that's great. That's fantastic.
1:21:48
Uh, there you go, fire friends. Alicia
1:21:49
Cler from Okanogan FC in having their
1:21:52
next event April 18th in Vernon. Uh,
1:21:54
Alicia, sorry. Are is it going to be
1:21:56
streamed at all? Is there any way people
1:21:57
can watch online?
1:21:59
>> Yeah. Yeah, it will be streamed. So, you
1:22:00
can go on to our socials. We got
1:22:02
Facebook and Instagram. There's a link
1:22:03
to a stream there through Valiant Media.
1:22:06
Um, and yeah, there's a couple general
1:22:08
admission tickets left. Get them now.
1:22:09
Otherwise, the stream will be your
1:22:11
option. Yeah.
1:22:12
>> Okay. And I will take the link, the
1:22:13
stream. I'll put it on your page on MMA
1:22:15
on my website as well. And uh that's it.
1:22:17
So Alicia, thanks again once again and
1:22:20
uh I appreciate your time and best of
1:22:21
luck in your event.
1:22:23
>> Okay. Thank you so much.