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Like I said, guys, this thing is life changing. Welcome back, everybody. This is the ETCs podcast with Kevin Durant. It's always on my co-host, Eddie Gonzalez. OK, how are you doing, man? You're in the news this week again, and I'm good.

What's going on at the moment? Happy to have you back on the East Coast. You getting back to work. So how are you feeling about the season?

How are you feeling about the way it came about getting started here in about a month? Right.

You know, you're going to get almost a full season. You got to be anxious to get back on the court.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's been a long time, actually, and working to get to this point. So we're going to see that. We will see. Looking forward to seeing it.

And the rumor is you're ready. Everybody's saying, look at everybody that's been on the court with you. Everybody has been in the gym. Isaiah Thomas had a lot of nice things to say. Everybody's saying you look like you ready.

You feel like you ready ready to be back out there early in the process, Mariota hasn't seen or been playing a game trying to pick up and start a real game. So we going to see more of that.

And this is easily the longest you've went without actual game action, right? Yeah. So we were excited for the season.

A quick turnaround for some of these guys, but a lot of you guys been waiting a long time to get back on the court. So excited to get back on. How are you feeling about fans in the arena?

Everybody's safe, man. The safest way for us to play.

And I'm looking for feel like the league did a good job with the Bubu. They're going to. Yeah, they're going to make sure they don't cut no corners here, make sure everything's straight. Yeah.

So I'm excited about this episode, man. I know. I know you're a big fight fan.

You know, we lock in on a big Saturday nights when it's time to ask them why. So we got we got one of the best in the world here.

You know, we like to gas our gas here. So our on the resume real quick, man, we got the Nigerian nightmare.

Comoro Ousman with us here, the welterweight UFC welterweight champion, undisputed. He has the most welterweight wins in a row in U.S. history, tied right now with the legend, George Saint-Pierre. He's a former detA NCAA wrestling champion, one of the best fighters in the world. Do you feel like you're the best man?

There's no gas. There's no gas. There's no gas. That's that's right.

I am the best welterweight in the world. You know, of course, that parents are powerless. They can make that how they want to make it. But, you know, that's up to me to continue to make that case for myself, you know, as far as if I am the best possible fighter in the world. But it is what it is. But I am the undisputed champion. So that's the most important part.

Well, today, one of the most historic divisions may be the most historic division in the history. The UFC, the old stomping grounds of GSP, somebody I've heard you talking about, hopefully fighting.

Who knows if he's coming back. That's something you still looking hopefully to make up of something that I want to happen.

Because, I mean, if you think about it, he's still able to do it. At least that's what he says. So if you're still able to do it and this was your division that you root for a long time, right now we're both tied at twelve consecutive wins, which is the longest ever in history. So why not come back in and try your luck in one of those? Not everybody want that.

Well, I've known Kevin for some time. And, you know, we're talking about one of the greatest of all time. You're one of the greatest of all time with what intrigues me is what makes you guys tick. And you have a fascinating background. We'll get into a little bit here, I'm sure.

But what I want to know is why did you choose this sport initially? Wrestling eventually may. You know, you're six foot tall, you fit guy, strong guy, great stamina, all that good stuff. You probably could have played just about any sport if you wanted to. If you put the time into the craft, what led you here by it?

I wasn't always six foot tall. Now, I was in high school, you know, growing up in high school in Texas. Everybody played football. And so I played football too. And. Middle school, seventh and eighth grade, I was I was OK, I was pretty good, but. And I played basketball, too, I was on a B team, but, you know, I was still out there doing my thing and now you get to high school, everybody grows.

I mean, if you know anything about Texas high school football, like you do the like college NFL players. And so everybody grew my freshman year, I didn't grow up. I was a late bloomer. So I'm five foot to one hundred and four pounds.

So I'm trying to run the ball through the middle, get smacked heavy and I'm like, yo, I got to do something else like this. This ain't working. So I tried out for baseball. I never played baseball in my life. I can feel very well. But when it came to hitting the ball, making contact, you know, just we had the technique for that, you know, for how long would I be tired from out?

And the assistant football coach was also the assistant wrestling coach. So he kept telling me, why don't you come and try wrestling? And I'm like, man, I'm trying to get hit with chairs.

It's not that I want to come in and take a look and try it because I never heard of wrestling. So I'm like, God, I'm going in. So one day I put my head in there and and I just was watching it like sixty, seventy five dudes in the same shorts, a t shirt just sweating, slamming each other down. It was the smell that come from the room. It's just the smell of sweat, that hard work smell, you know, as I grew to farm out that, you know, initials real nah, man, that I mean, I knew that I was lucky as being a freshman in high school.

I was scared on the inside. But of course, I wasn't going to tell them that my mom and I going to do that.

Man These dudes grabbing each other, you know, they do slam each other. I'm not doing that.

And so the coach just knew how to push my buttons because I had study hall with him. So he kept, you know, you make fun of me, you study hall. We kept calling me. What, you scared you scared you. You weren't doing you scared. And so, you know, you can only get called out for so long, but you've got to show that you heart.

I have talk about me like that. I'm like, yo, I'm coming in.

So one day I decided I was going to go in there and and I went in there and they put me they had shorts and a shirt ready and shoes ready for me. So I'm like, I must see what's up with this. So they put us in a group. It was a group of for me to other dudes and a girl was in our group. I know who this girl was, but was just a girl in a group. I'm so I'm looking across the room.

I'm looking like you serious man that this chick in this group with us. Come on, man, I slammed her. I get in trouble.

And so the practice went on and we started we started going and this girl, yo, she beat the shit out of me like she slammed me, picking me up, slamming me on the ground. And I'm fighting every you know, it's rusty, so you can't throw punches. So I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to defend myself. This girl took me down, held me down and put me in a half. Nelson, I'm on my back.

I had no idea how to get out. And I just remember feeling so powerless because you have no idea what to do about this without without throwing punches at her. Yeah. And and I just remember that feeling of just being dominated just by this girl. So I used to walk home after school. So I got up and practice though when I was walking home. And the whole time I'm thinking, well, I'm walking home. I'm thinking I'm a fuck this girl up tomorrow.

And so after that, did you understand it took technique a little bit more as she was taking this this assault.

This assault went on for a while.

So that basically basically I walked on thinking, Mom will get it. Mom, get it. I'll get it. And I'll come back and she will beat me up again. Pass me. I'll come back and same thing over and over and over and over. And I think about it at that time. I'm 14, 13 to 14. And, you know, boys and girls already developed at that time. Boys are still you know, I hit puberty late, so I'm still developing.

So at that point, girls can be stronger than guys. You know, she she's had the technique, which is better. But it was just something in me that forced me to keep coming back each and every day. You know, it was the hardest thing I ever did, but I just kept coming back. And then I got to the point where I had to really I was thinking about it the next year. Over the summer, I was thinking in football, we win a game or we lose a game.

You have the quarterback over there talking trash about, man, if the receiver caught the ball, we won and then you got the running back of the line a block from you would have won. And then you got to learn about the running back and fumble. We'll learn all these excuses, all the people making excuses of why they lost. Now, the wrestling, it was just me. I was in control of my destiny of how. So I got out what I put into it.

And I just so I was used the next line and go off of a ball. I just kept coming back and coming back. And it took a while. I think it was a couple of months before we were wrestling and wrestling or we totally we them in a bull market in the mall, which is a headlock due to a drought. And I'm holding on squeezing and I'm looking across the room and look at the year last year, what now?

And I just remember that day when I was walking home, I was like, I actually stayed in this. I gave it my attention and look what I've learned a while. I'm coming back. And it was just something that click for me mentally. And I just kept coming back each and every day and took off from there.

The fact that there's a woman somewhere who maybe in Texas telling people within a city that I beat the shit out there do for a month or so.

So Emma is next, right? You have it. You have a storied wrestling career. While Immerman boxing at that point is a good question.

I I wrestled a high school and then I went to college and then I hit another milestone in my career because I had every my thing was it was a quote that I heard early on and in high school and it stuck with me. To this day, I still live by that quote is, you know, when you strive for perfection and fail, you still achieve excellence. And it was just something whenever I decided I was going to do this, when I made the decision, I was going to wrestle with the highest thing I could have done in high school.

You had to be state champion. That was all that was on my mind. So I didn't care how long it took. I don't care how much I had to train, how hard I had to train. But this is what I wanted to achieve. So in high school, I wanted to be a state champion. Unfortunately, I didn't get it. I ended up getting third on my senior year, so I just burned in me. I was like, no, I need to go to college.

I need to be a national champion in college. So I go to college and I'm in college and I put everything into I mean, I sacrificed everything. I was I was dude on the team who didn't party. We really drink, you know, and I just worked tirelessly until I eventually got it. And as soon as I achieved it, I remember that now I'm sitting in the hotel bar and I'm like, what's next? Oh, the Olympics are let's do that.

So we started training and then I got an invite to be a resident at the Olympic Training Center to train for two years. I think I'm not sure why was it. I'm not sure, Katie. You probably can't do while I was there for you, it was mostly for the twelve, but I was there from twenty ten to twenty twelve to over to the camp.

Yeah.

So so I was there, I was training and while I was there I was dating this girl who was a boxer and now she just actually won a title. She's a world champion right now. So we miss Dane and. And I got heard a couple of times and my motivation for wrestling, I started to dog in it for so long, I just wasn't fun for me anymore. And so I'm thinking I might. But I'm still a competitor. I want to compete.

What can I do to still compete? My girls and boxing them. And I love boxing. I'm not you know, I'm against that. But then I started thinking about it.

I'm like, wait, all these people, these boxes have been doing this all their lives forever and they're just getting to the Olympics day. I'm like, yo, I'm thinking I can do this in four years and go do a cycle and be on the team and make tea. But then, you know, I was talking it over. I'm thinking, yo, I'm going to give up this skill that I spent the last 12 to 14 years perfected and wrestling and why not me?

And then at the time, I would get a call from these big fighters and the fighters would say, hey, once you come out and help me train and fight in a wrestler, I need your help. At the time, Richard Evans sugar, Richard Evans was the top dog in the sport, so he asked me to come help him. So I'll go out and help them and then I'll come back to Russell and I'll go overseas for a tournament.

And if you won the tournament, you know, you get a check from USA Wrestling, maybe fifteen hundred twenty five hundred, and I will go help these fighters. And I'm turning around and they go out and make one hundred in one night and I'm like, yo, I'm in the wrong sports.

Right. I've got to. Yeah. And then that was ultimately the deciding factor was that I still wanted to compete in wrestling. Let's say I won the Olympics. I was going to get a check for two hundred fifty grand and that the work, the amount of work that it took to get there, it just wasn't worth it as opposed to me fighting and, you know, making more money. So I just decided, you know, at the end of the day I got a family that I have to help.

I got a mom and dad, brothers and sisters, that if anyone can make their lives better, I want to do that. So.

So it was a transition from wrestling to Invermay hierarchy. Was that role in the first tour?

It was scary. Very scary, because wrestling is controlled. You still you know, you still control, to a sense, a form of martial arts. You can you can punch somebody. Neom can do none of that. So it's still, in a sense, control. But in my day, it was at the time it seemed like everything was legal.

Yeah, exactly. Like now.

So, yeah, well, I'm scared. I'm like, yo, I'm not trying to get slapped on TV. I'm scared. But I had the most single most important skill when it comes to any combat, hand-to-hand combat with the men. And that's I have the ability to control where that fight takes place. If you think of a regular fight street fight that you see, there's three positions that you could end up in a fight. One is where you both ended up swinging at each other, too.

You can be down and the other dudes on top of you or three years that you're on top of him. So if you think about it, sixty seven percent of our fight is on the ground. And already have the single most important skill to control if I stay standing or goes to the ground. So I just basically bet on myself, you know, it was one of the biggest decisions that I ever made in my life. But I just decided that I better myself.

And I said, you know what, I'm going to make this happen now. I'm happy to do that. I have a plan ABCDE. I have a plan A and Plan B is to make Plan A work.

So at this time, you're constantly in the gym. You lived with Travis for some time, right?

Yeah, yeah. So when I moved out, like I had offers to go somewhere else to train and there was some of these places offering to give me an apartment, give me a car, you know, there's a stipend or whatnot. But on the back end, there was going to had to collect that money. And and for me, it just didn't seem wise that if I'm embarking on something, why would I put myself in that I was already in enough debt with student loans.

So I'm like, why would I put myself in that situation? But I'd rather just rather just hustle it out and just struggle. And then when you have you get a blessing, like someone like Rashad, like you can see that potentially you want you can stay with me. And and it was just that was so meaningful for me to where I was like, man, I going to go out there and struggle. I might not have the bread right now, but I will make plan a work.

And so I moved out there and I just lived on the job. You know, I was there every day, twice a day, most days.

And I just got better. And it was tough at times because, you know, when you look at their bank account and they say you got two dollars and 17 cents hour, it's like, yo, I don't know how I going to get this money. I know what's going to happen. But, you know, I just kept separate it, stayed paid up and made a away from me.

Is this a different type of fitness for you? Like like I know wrestling. You do a meet you're doing especially in college. You're wrestling way more often than you would fight. Right.

So when you fight you, you're getting yourself into shape to peak at one night and you're going through all this stuff.

A cutaway. Is this a different type of fitness for you as you kind of have to train your body some more?

It's a different type of fitness, but wrestling prepares you for all of that. Like wrestling is probably the hardest sport in the world. You know, being able to to get to a certain point fitness shape, to be able to compete at the highest level is it's one of the hardest sport to do. And now, as far as making the transition over to and it may wrestling, being able to wrestle and not knowing that shape prepares you the best way to get into animation.

But it was definitely different because I had to learn how to punch and grab or grapple and punch punch in that. It's not easy. It's not easy at all. Like you could be in the best shape of the next thing, too. It's also a mental and an emotional game because you can be the most prepared in the best shape in the world. But when you get out there, if you're not in control of those emotions and you catch an adrenaline dump like that, you don't look like you never train a day in your life.

Well, that's something I want to ask you about, too. When you let your emotions kind of get hold of you, you've been in some real grudge matches. Kevin, I want to ask you to because you've faced something similar.

You're not fighting, but, you know, you've had to go back to cities that weren't happy to see you there. You've got teammates as my version of hand-to-hand combat.

Yeah. Yeah. Not that tension for like, for instance, for you, that sense when you return to Oklahoma like that felt like like a big fight, almost, you know, how are you able to keep both of your how are you able to keep your emotions under control? You know you know, Comoro, you fight and somebody like Kobe Covington's you saying anything he could say about you, you know, in your family, in your home country and everything.

But you got to like you can't get out of your shit. You can't get out of that and fight his fight, right?

Yeah. No, it's the biggest thing. It's and I say this is what separates the the great, the good great and the elite. This is what separates them all is being able to the elite are the type of people to have that they are able to tap into that mentality. They all work. I must show you on the show you can go out there and show them. And that's that's the way. But I had to approach that. You know, I got into a space where I was like, man, I want to show you.

I let you talk like a lot of these guys. I just let them take the I let them take the gas because that's the job. The media has to build them up as these giant as you willing to come in and dethrone me. And and I'm just like, ah, I'm a do my thing. As long as I take care of it, I take care of I'm going and I'm gonna show you that I am the best, you know.

And I could assume that if you do. Yes, it's an approach that you have to have. As an individual, you have to have the supreme confidence and that comes from preparation, that comes from experience, that comes with repetition. And if you don't have those things, you know, working or if you believe just that's a challenge I want you to take over in certain moments. You know, putting it all together in an individual sport is kind of easy for me to take a sport without have all that work for you.

This guy that we have been in a ring and having to make adjustments on the fly like that without just having somebody to tell you what we were you might be like and then like, how tough is that? Just knowing that throughout the fight that you have to make these minor adjustments, haven't I accused? Well, that's how quick the that is crazy.

I remember the first the first fight that I had a professional fight because I didn't fight in the amateur fights I just saw. I thought that my wrestling was good enough to where I could control certain situations. And if they got out of hand, who was trying to put the paws on me that I could control that situation by getting them down. So I remember the first we get out there, you know, you practice all the time, but training is different, you know.

Yeah. It's the best at getting you prepared for that. But it's nothing like when you're actually in there in front of people that you don't. Random people, fans. And I remember I just walked out, got in there, you know, I'm, you know, kind of look as scary as possibly walking out this. It's it's like so you walk out there and, you know, I got it. I got to I don't know what I mean.

Or would actually be straight face or smile now. Not can't smile. You know, you look sore. So so we get in and we start, we're moving.

We move in. And I remember first time I hit him, I was blown. I felt different. I didn't feel like I did not try to hurt your guys. And then it is just like, oh, man, that's different. And then I'm trying to stuff that I worked on in practice and it's not working and I'm not. OK, so your heart starts racing because now it's like your arms still slow when you're throwing punches. They're not going.

They do. They're not connected and not even close. And I'm like, oh, I don't know if I could do this. So it's a constant fight within your mind that you have to continue to fight with to to make it happen. And then it gets to a point where. I think this is part of why my career is gone, how it is I get to a certain place where I'm like Plan B is to make plan work. So I'm just like, oh, that's not work.

That's not working hard. I don't care. I'm going I'm going forward. They matter. Get it done. I'll put myself in harm's way, but I won't make this work. And, you know, that's that's my that's not all else failed plan. I just I'm coming forward and we just fight it out.

So Joe Rogan, you know, on the way to Covington for a job, I would like to say that you'd never lost a round up until that point in your UFC career.

You get in that fight, it is a close competitive fight. You know, you won, you won emphatically broke his jaw the whole night. But you get in a Ligeti's those a little stronger than I thought it was. You know, you had respect for him going in, but it was it's a closer fight than you've ever had. What's he like in that moment? There's no there's no panic. You didn't look panic. But was it like like, OK, now we in for a fight?

Yeah.

No, it's crazy. I was talking about this a couple of weeks ago. That was the one like me, I'm a very because for me, it's about winning. That's the most important thing is winning. You could be the most exciting player, but if you want to support team you losing every time, at the end of the day, nobody cares, you know? And so I can I think I have the best I.Q. when it comes to the tactical win fights.

But it was just something about that fight, you know. But he ran his mouth. Buddy had talked about this, talked about that. So it was just such a character that. That everybody in the world, it didn't matter. I went to Abu Dhabi, people running up to me in the mall saying, man, we can't wait for you to kill this guy. You know, I'm going to Brazil, I'm going to Dominican Republic and on the whole night.

And so it was just something about that fight where I didn't want to be tactical. I could have been tactical and tried to win it easier, but I didn't want to be tactical. As you said, some people you just got to you got to thump with and and with him. I was just like, now we just got to.

So we came out right away. Right away. We came out and we started back and I. Did I remind you what he learned would say for sure. He was tougher than I thought. But I knew at the end of the day he his mentor wasn't as strong as mom. I knew I was going to break him at some point and eventually it came. But it was probably the most fun I've ever had in a fight. Fun. Fun.

And he got distracted by the antics. It's it's a shooting. The thing is, it's a certain it's a certain responsibility. You got to be able to talk shit like that. You've got to live up to the responsibility. And and a lot of people are afraid to go there, a lot of afraid that are very afraid. But that's just for me. That's just not who I am. Like, you know, I was I was brought up to compete.

My biggest thing driving force is to and so I'm not really with the horse shit talk. And I like that you don't talk to me. You don't talk shit to me. I'm exhausted, but I get it. But, you know, for that it was it was personal. And so it was just I he I felt like he the moment got big for him there. But then when she got in and realized and would have real African came, you know, that ain't going nowhere.

And I, you know, I think he realized like.

Oh I see. After like the third round I've seen his eyes get big. He's like, oh shit.

Like this angel on our show before you go. Yeah, I know how I got the words right.

And then people were making a lot about you and yeah.

I want to shake his hand, you know, because for me it's about competition, you know, and that's that's a crazy thing too about fighting is one of the rawest things that you can do with other man. And so at the end of it, when you have somebody go to battle with you like that is very hard for you to hold in that animosity like that, especially if you work them. It's very hard for you to hold it in your head, or at least it.

Yeah, I would have shook his hand, but he you know, he took a run in and cried and about literally ran, literally ran out during his.

Now, there are more ways to be a team with Microsoft teams bring everyone together in one space with the new virtual room, collaborate life drawing, sharing and building ideas with everyone on the same page, and make sure more your team is seen and heard with up to 49 people on screen at once. Learn more about all the newest team features at Microsoft dot com slash teams. So how do you feel like your crew is all involved? You know, as you move forward and that's that's another good question.

I ask myself that on time and I think I have the mind, like I could jump into a practice right now is to do well with anybody. You know, I think I have a mind for it, just knowing how to do certain things at certain times and how to make people doubt themselves. How many people do is such a mental game? Like, of course, before you get close, before you get to the fight, I would say probably about 70 percent of physical thing getting physically prepared to get in shape.

But by the time you step in there and compete, it's going to be closer to 80 percent mental. And I think it's for me now, it's learning how to grow mentally and not necessarily because I'm getting older and I bounce better. So I'll just jump a cold just like I used to, you know? So so now it just being wiser and learning how to get the body warmed up to be to be able to peak and perform at the right time.

So your next fight is not in jeopardy, but has been canceled twice now. Right. If I do, you know, if I can give it back next or what was the plan there.

I mean. There's really no plan yet right now because I've been I've been injured for a long time and I just kept find it. Yeah. And I just kept fighting through it, you know, like I'm trying to do like my manager laughs at the site before the comment. And five, you know, I broke my toe and I and I had a boot on. So I had to go do an immediate press. And I had a bullhorn and then I walked out of a car.

I'll take the boot off. And sure enough, it is limping. And and before this last one, I actually broke my nose two weeks before the. And so I've just been doing that my whole career because I needed to get to a certain place. And so now as a champ, it just you know, I'm in a place where and after that fight, during the pandemic, it was kind of like the perfect time to just kind of try to fix some of those injuries.

And now I take a little time off. And that's what I have I've done is take that time off. So I'm looking to definitely fight in the first quarter of next year. The rest, you know, it's a business thing now. So we're going to get with the UFC and see what makes sense. And and if, you know, if the flag makes sense for.

So it wasn't like a pro. I started for November 19 day, but getting up in the morning and throughout the season, like, take me to a day where you prepare for a fight like a normal day, like now this training or is it the day of the fight just trying to into the training?

I'm pretty much I live this. So I have a daughter. So, you know, when she's with me and I'm here to take my last flight, I did training camp somewhere else. Where she wouldn't be here is usually I can't sleep seven o'clock in the morning. So so my head clock, usually six, six, 10, six twenty up. So I get up when I'm in training camp, I get up, I'll get a glass of water, come downstairs and then I'll get on air bike in my garage and I'll get on that bike.

Probably do twenty, twenty five minutes, get a good little sweat going and I'll come in and maybe stretch for a little bit, get her up, get her ready for school, drop her off by out you know. Eight o'clock in the morning, and then I go straight to the gym and then I'm usually in gym from anywhere from nine to about, I probably walk out twelve forty five, one pm.

Do you guys watch film? I watch film. I like to do that personally because, you know, for something about fighting, like I said, when you're fighting somebody, a lot of it becomes mental. So when I'm watching film, I'm watching more than just the technical ability. I'm watching how I would make him feel in certain situations and how he would react. And so I do like to watch film by myself. I do. I watch it with my coaches, too.

Sometimes I like I like to watch for myself and and then my coaches also watch family and we talk about it. Some of the things they saw. Yeah, I go in and I train usually that first session I'm usually down by like twelve forty five one p.m. so when I get home I'll get a quick lunch and then I probably go straight to go see a therapist or my car or have somebody work on me and then come back. I saw my knees and my body whenever I need to eat and then I go back and pick up my daughter from school, bring a home plate for a little bit and then drop her off at her practice, whether it's gymnastics or jujitsu or whatnot.

And then I had her mom come and meet me there and probably pick her up. And then I head out to my second training and that's usually about two, two and a half hour training. And then I'm by the time I'm in the house, it's probably eight thirty PM. So this is an all day thing for me.

Just to see, how tough was a wake up for you? I know you've been fighting it this way since you started. You fought near this weight we rescued.

Is there ever any thought of moving up, moving down like you just this is what you're comfortable with.

And I'll see my lap. And I know already that the weight cut is insane, but like, what are we talking about?

Of course, it's a thought of moving up my body, want to starve themselves or, you know, cut back on that weight off like they like. That's it makes you a very interesting relationship with food, because now we now, you know, I don't like to share my food like that with my brother when we start to get something to eat. And I'm like, yo, what you want that I really knew what I was doing.

I wanted to share with you, but you had a wake cut is it's still tough. I'm not the biggest. Like we've got some news out of cutting from like two or four.

They get fat, they get to like two, ten to fifteen and they have to cut all the way down to 170. I state I'm always under two hundred, but I'm so lean my body just so lean all the time, like I'm under two hundred and I'm probably seven percent body fat. And so by the time you know the Cheney camp is down, I'm down to about three percent body fat and my threshold is about one hundred and eighty five pounds.

So that extra fifteen got to come off somehow. So that's a lot of that is water weight. And I don't know if you ever dehydrated your subsequent water, but it's.

Yeah, I heard a fighter saying that the night before is when it's darkest days and his like trying to cut that way. And I never really thought of it that way. I haven't to twenty ten to twenty pound in days like heartbeat that she can go.

It is always a it's a it's a, it's an experience. It's an experience. It's probably the toughest thing that I've ever done ever. It's probably it's ridiculously crazy. It's the biggest fight. Like the fight itself is not really nothing. You train for that. The worst, the hardest fight is that weight is making weight. And there's a video on on this really big page, Anatomy of a Fighter. It's up on YouTube and it shows when I had to step when I can't wait for the Dallas fight card because I was the ultimate to fight for the title and and I had to go.

I did things like I think thirteen pound. I think that, you know, fifty two hours. So I had to bring it out like a G.

But you blacking out so you do you dihydrogen so you, you've got to do it. I got to get as much water off until I hit one seven. What are methods for that.

I, I'm trying to figure out how you do that so that we don't see.

I'm just kind of over the years of wrestling you kind of got to get it down to a science was like oh I see.

Is more is one of those oil secrets. You got to continue to you know, I mean. No, I mean, a lot of everybody knows it, you know, like I mean, I do it. It's really like for me and, you know, you know that the certain things that hold water in your body, like solid salt holds water. You know, you don't want to have too much carbs in you because that, you know, all of that attracts water.

So you don't like me. I'm so lean all the time. Like, I know muscle holds more water. And so I want to have more muscle mass towards the end. So I know it's holding a lot of water because I need to get that water off at the last minute. And so and basically you've got it. And you've got to be able to keep your body in a place where it's not the amount that it's going to get a little bit of food, but that for that night, the wind before way is going to be the darkest because your body is you shocked when you hit it with that, that you basically deplete everything, you know?

So it's very dangerous. It's like this is dangerous because your cells need water. And so when you drive like that, especially like me, I like to cut the night before because I don't want the anxiety of worrying about what I'm going to make the weight or not. And so I have to stay dry like that for about six to six to eight, nine hours. And it's probably because you can't sleep. You know, you're going your body is is, you know, having spasms.

And it's probably some of the worst spasms that you're lightheaded. You might pass out sometime. You might not you know, you might go in and out. So it is a very dangerous thing. You've got to know what you're doing. And once you have it down, you got it. But you've got to make it for that check.

You got to be so so middleweights right above you. Yeah. Close friend of yours is the champ. I know you said you would never fight stop injuries. Well, Alisyn, you have you guys competed in the gym in any way. You know, it's wrestling to help him get ready for a fight. You guys go at it in a way that's still friendly.

Not you have never competed with him. He has been in our gym some years back. And this was before he came in the UFC. He was already a monster at that time, too. But no, I would I would love to train with them. As you say, he lives in New Zealand and I live here in the States. So it makes it a little tougher for us to train together. But you know for sure, I would love to train with them.

And yeah, I would never say, oh, I'm going up to take his title or I'm going up to try to take his title or something like that. I don't I don't even want to do that because, you know, I went to Africans with belts is better than just having one African with two belts. You know, that's how I look at it. But if it if it was down to the point where it was for for an unthinkable amount of bag me, I would have to talk and have that conversation, you know, and say, hey, we try to get this money or not.

But I've grown up to try to challenge him.

Do you feel like, you know, the lights come on, you could just go and get right to it? I we we can. We're competitors, man. It's like it's like it's like 80, you know, like somebody telling you like, yo, would you be able to just compete against against Kyrie or against Steph Curry or Draymond.

Yeah, but I'm not putting him in a face that is a different element to it.

Yeah that's. Yeah.

So you have to go to a different place in order for you to just be more and it is a little bit more competitive. But yeah it is just like you got to dive into a deeper place.

It's really very true because it's like it's a gladiator thing, you know, is mano a mano. It's like, it's like you think about back in the day you've got your family crest on, like you've got to uphold the family name and he got to know his family name. So. So, yeah, it's a different element. But at the end of the day. Win or lose in life, you have to be able to say, let's go, let's go grab a beer sometime after that.

But, you know, of course, I want to be on the winning side.

It's easier for me to do that, you know, quick. Are you able to see if you like, as soon as the bell rings and you're done? It's like all we could we could pick up. We could be cool, you know, some some fights and some guys are different. Yeah.

Mean it's a it's a it's a weird dynamic, that weird mental space. It's very tough because fighting is not it's not like anything else, you know. So being able to turn it on and off like that, it's it's tough. It's very, very tough. And a lot of people don't, you know, don't do well with it. So I you see back in the day, you see a lot of news about these fighters. Don't miss it.

Get in trouble doing math, you know, because it's very difficult to turn it off. But for me, I'm I'm learning that you want to turn it off to be able to get in and turn on. Usually it takes maybe getting hit the first time. You know, once you once you get hits like you wake up like, oh, shit, this is real, you know, so that usually takes time. But after you don't complain if I won.

Yeah.

Then it's, you know, if you would if that is what I'm good at, it's not back.

There's there's the famous video you in a tower in Woodley's mom at the you beat him dominant fashion. So and she's she's giving you like all kinds of love that only a mother can give. That's you know, it's kind of crazy to me that you're able to just in his family and everybody involved the fight because it gets intense. Right. I have family that boxing.

You know, you go see your family literally fight. They're getting punched in the face. You know, then to be able to embrace the person who punched him for twenty five minutes is kind of crazy. But, you know, that's kind of like one of the preeminent UFC moments in the last few years. Yeah.

And she she's a strategy. She's a strategy. I, I, I spent some time with her, a couple of fights before that, like when I was still on the climb up there on. And so I got to know her a little bit and an amazing woman, you know, she's one of those mothers that is like she's a G forever and she knows what it is. She understand the sport, you know, and that's that's the thing that my mom is the same way.

That's why I was able to just be open and bare my soul like that at the end of that fight, because, you know, I know what it is to watch your son go out there and compete. And she has watched her son do that to many, many people, you know, for years to come and to watch that happen. It takes a real a real strong woman to be able to do that. And and I just broke down, you know, I walked out in.

I broke down because, you know, like this is one of the guys that I looked up to. Coming up in our life, you know, like a brother like myself, that's the champion. That's where I want to be and not having to actually get the opportunity to go up to the throne. And so it was it was a big special moment for myself, you know. But at the end of the day, you know, walking back to this theme, Harrow's just kind of broken off, man.

I had to do that to some.

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Let's talk about outside the sport, outside the ring, outside the octagon, you chant one of the coldest men on the planet when it comes to these hands because of, you know, fighting. How is your life changed since you kind of you've elevated into that space? Are we talking drastic changes? You get mobbed when you go out. Like, what are we talking about? No, I'm not.

I'm not. That's the thing. I like where I'm at one with my fame. You know, I'm not too famous so I can go anywhere, you know? But at the same time, you know, sometimes it does get annoying. You know, when you're a certain place, you just kind of want to be regular. You just want to do the regular things. And then people kind of saying that you people are staring. They all know when they should come up with the same results and then some they get the brave.

When I just come in and say, hey, can I get a picture? There is no need for it in. But, you know, I like I like where I'm at in that aspect, you know. But the one thing that I would say is getting up here has turned me to kind of a bigger introvert to where I don't necessarily like to leave my house if if I don't have to. I don't necessarily like to leave because, you know, you like that, Kevin.

I know you keep it real normal when you leave.

Yeah, I think I've developed that like it's like you'd rather be it. You just kind of energies now, you know, and then you kind of where they are usually the best and most comfortable environment environments that was, you know, so like being where your family and friends are the best place to be, especially when you live your life out of having a job, is out in the parking lot like ours is. It's cool to be at home and that's when you develop introvert tendencies or feel like I'm more in tune with myself now.

OK, so let's say you do want to go somewhere now. You can't go by you. Are you able to go by yourself like me?

I can still duck off by myself, you know, like, you know, you you stick out, like, know, many seven footers that I do stuff by myself.

I do stuff with the whole group. But more than anything, I'm not afraid to be out. You know, I don't mind people coming up to me show, but that's mostly what it is. It's nobody is ever came to me to talk trash, even though I'm the most talked about guy guy on Twitter. And, you know, that's all fun. I that's a part of entertainment. But most public is nothing. But the people show and I enjoy that is cool because we have something in common.

We enjoy the game of basketball, you know. So it is a it's like a small connection I had with people going outside. So I don't mind it. And sometimes it can be a lot, you know, twenty people right up to you one time, you know, sometimes you put yourself in those situations where it's not now.

And I know it escalates to because there's even some people, maybe some people in the room that don't really know who you are, you know, but it's like as soon as that one at Yo, can I get a picture? And it's like, oh, you must be somebody who can I get a picture?

Yeah. Yeah. Just curiosity that everybody is coming after that. So well maybe that's a part of the job, but we do entertain millions on TV with a skill and a craft. Like as a kid, did you believe did you think it could get this big from you, like from star direction, from being not just a bat, just what you do inside the octagon, but more so like the impact that you got out for the next generation of fighters looking at you, you know, coming after you.

Do you do you realize that now as you got older?

Yeah, no. I realize now when I was a kid, you know, when you and I say this all the time now is when you're in the same place, your mind can only comprehend so much. You know, you can only control and where you are, like there are some kids that are like, yeah, man, I'm going to be a you know, I want to be famous to this person, famous actor or this now. Well, you don't really know how to get you don't know the plan to get there.

You just you just say it and you know it. Just for me, it's. I think it was the attitude of I always was trying, I was always aiming for perfection. What I was doing. And so when I got there, got close to what it was, what was above, what was above, what was next after that. And then I just kind of follow the path and I don't do anything like go I don't go into anything saying, yo man, I just want to see I was going to be OK at this.

No, I want to be the best at it. And then I just let that kind of guide me to whichever direction it takes me.

We were just talking about that, Kevin, like, you know, you can reach these mountaintops, but then find other ones.

And I think that's kind of what separates, you know, successful people from, you know, people who don't really know how to get there, don't really kind of reach the heights they want to get because it's real easy for you to get there to be you know, you have.

But for you, Kevin, to be NBA champ or whatever the call was or whatever the peak was and be like I you know, and just settle in.

But you got there and looked around and said, all right, what's what's going to fulfill me. And that is it's not always on the course, not always a knocked down. But I think that's kind of what separates that type of success from, you know, lesser success. Do you? I think you'll see it that way.

Yeah. I feel as though if you you hone in on something that you're good at, you understand what your identity is. And then especially from a sport where you play with other players, which is kind of harder to find a little niches, especially around the different groups and individuals, or you kind of craft all your skills by yourself. And it's like once you get to that peak of mastering, you know how you want to move out there, just show aesthetic out there, how you want to play, how you want to operate out there, just like where you started.

And then you have some success on top of that. You want to do it again.

I'm all it is because was just like I work so hard to acquire the skill and I've won in a very successful and, you know, been in every situation scenario, just like I wouldn't mind trying this off again, you know, see what's happening next year. And then you regroup after that. So it becomes something that it definitely becomes you sit in the driver's seat a little bit more. You should just sit back a little bit more, relax.

Once you get to a certain point, you feel like it's more more pressure now that you're there. Now, had that mountain top. Yeah. Because you're like championship of Bus and Komoro.

Like, if you get in the ring, you got to win, you know. Do you feel like more pressure now?

It's I wouldn't call it pressure. It's like that standard that you hold yourself to every day trying to reach that every day. You know, that's too bad. You know, I would say as pressure for doing badly. And so, you know, but obviously, people once you become great at something, people will put expectations on you, but you're really just barely. And so if you can stay at that elite level every day, that's hard to do.

And that's the part that's really the only bad one.

Yeah, I agree with that. It's you know, it's yeah. It's that that battle within yourself. But at the end of the day, too, which is the part that. It might be a little different for you guys. It's very safe, like so everybody has to fear that everybody has to do their part in order for this to work in my sport. So my mindset is a little different. I got to bring on my piece to the puzzle along with point guard has the brand and the next position and next position seems like only to control what I can.

I can control the outcome, but not as much because we've got a team. So if you, I'm sure is like your mindset is quite different than what I just described. Yeah.

When that door closes, it is just you, your opponent in the ref is like, oh, it's go time.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, a lot of it very similar, you know, like what you said is just, you know, when you're at the top, the stakes are so high because and then also now you have so many people that depend on you, you know that you got to you've got to take a four for you. The difference is you guys that you locked in, you know that contract on that.

So for me, you know, you set that night that can't be cut in half and you go there. And so it's a lot at stake each and every time that I go out there. Now at the top and that's the thing, too, is competing with everybody's training for one person. They training for me. And I'm training for everybody, I have to be ready for flight number to number three and four, five, six, all the way down Rankins to where all those guys got their eyes on one guy at the top.

Mm hmm.

Well, Kevin, I think you said the right words who, like you, all set a standard and you got to hit every time you go in the gym. You got to hit every time you come to the arena and it's hard to keep up their standard. That to me, does that seem like the pressure that is kind of like which also does the pressure of being you every time you come out and you know, you're not going to be there every night in Chamorros is different for you.

You know, this is two nights a year, you know, three nights on a good year. And you really got a peak in front of these people.

So that's I mean, it's a lot of a lot of a different type of stress for you.

It's a it's a it's an insane amount of stress. I mean, you and me sometimes when I watch fights because I'm a fight fan, too. So when I'm watching these other fights and I know everybody needs you know, it wasn't fight like, oh, man, I don't know why it's slow like he's going on. So you start watching with your eyes and you don't really know how difficult it is to be in. So get I get into it now, too.

I'm watching. I'm not. I could have. What does he do. What could he did then. I think he'll tell you it could because before or fight you feel every emotion possible here.

It's a win. It's a window like I usually like to wake up that morning to eat breakfast and I like to train. I get a hard training in that morning. Before the fight. Before a fight.

Yeah, I get a hard training because the night before was the day before was weighing at 8:00, all the food trying to replenish myself. So I'm trying to get all of that bad stuff out of me. You know, the best that I can that morning to get ready to go that night. So it's let's say I do that. And then by noon, one o'clock, and then there's that window of that one o'clock to that four thirty window to where they come and pick you up to take you to the arena for the fire.

And you that that's that's a lot of times where fights are won and lost because your mom could go crazy in that time because now you're scared. Oh shit. It's about to be real. You scare you, you happy. You Asias you excited, you nervous. And you're scared because you're scared of what could happen and you're scared of you know, this too can knock me out in front of my family, can knock me in front of the world to see tomorrow.

And you're scared of all of that. But it's the courage that separates the leap from from the other way, as you scared, but you able to grab that and take control and go out there and steal before I covered a UFC event one time.

So I got to watch the fights on press row. And I I'd never seen me from that close. I'd seen boxing ring saw and it took me like a fight to realize I kept hearing this clicking sound and I finally realized, like, oh, those are bones.

Like those are fist bones and cheekbones. And like this it hurts.

And then you hear you hear the breath and the breathing and how exhausting this is. And then I have to fight. So I would go in the back and you guys are ten, fifteen minutes after the fight, still like heck. And I'm still breathing crazy hard.

And it's like, yo, that shit they do is ridiculous. Like, I don't understand how you could even make your body do that. Like I said, the sound of punches. I treat me like I was almost ashamed to ask somebody and I finally realized, like, oh shit, that's the bones from his face.

Like, that hurts.

So, yeah, that's the I live in a different kind of life if crazy with me. The first I'm hearing it kind of kind of cringing a little bit when I hear it. Yeah. I'm a little, I'm a little used to it now, but I still kind of cringe a little bit and it's a different. So like the thing with the UFC, UFC does such an amazing job of putting on the show today. It's nothing like the energy that you feel and you can see that it's ridiculous, you know.

And so but it's it's when the fights going on, it's it's a weird energy because the crowd can just be quiet and you could hear from the kick and they'll go Chimmesyan shake body to the head.

And it's a little I don't understand how you keep going up the side of the elbow to the to the elbow, to the dome. I was like, oh my goodness. Daly After the fight is just like you literally. Yeah.

It's, it's a it's a it's a weird thing. It's like as a human being, there's so much that we're. People will love that we don't necessarily even know, but we never had to tap into that energy. But it's you'd be surprised, man, when you're in, you're like I did. I did a couple of times a couple of fights where I would go, I blast somebody with my chin and I'm not Chimmesyan. I would kick it, boom.

I'm like that one night when he hurt, you know, because your adrenaline is going. And I'm like, first of all, adrenaline is a hell of a draw, that's for sure.

Well, I say this and I'm like that. Like that. That was cool. And I'll fight for it. And then as soon as you walk out, you go to the back. It's like, oh, you look down your legs, like move slowly. It's like, oh, that wasn't a good idea.

And that was how long is the recovery?

Usually you have to go straight home now and it's a little faster if you win. So it's mentally it feels better, but it's adrenaline on the body. Yeah, but it takes a good a good week. Two weeks to comment. If I took me like a good two weeks because, you know, I it was probably the most I ever been hit in a fight, you know, like my cheeks are really bad. I might have had a concussion.

I'm not sure, you know, like and I'm sitting at the APT. I think I had a concussion because I had to be my afterparty. So I'm sitting there, too. I got it. I got a crazy headache in two hours. I'm not this I don't want to. I'm like, yo, I definitely got a concussion. And all these lights and the club, everything is going crazy. I'm like, yo, I got to get out of there.

But what is usually I would say about two weeks to a month, it usually takes depending on how severe injuries are, but two weeks to a month with no like ACL tears and nothing crazy like that, you usually usually start to snap back.

Fighting is such a lifestyle and such a dedication level today, especially at the level you're at. When are you able to kind of let loose and what do you what do you indulge yourself with? Like what do you do besides go to the gym? And I know you have your daughter and like, what are you doing? Like, what are your hobbies? Man, it's crazy. Mark, among the people that some of the guys that we keep telling you this every day that I know you got to start doing stuff, you've got to pick a hobby, you got to get into something else because I'm like, I live this, you know?

So if I'm not in a gym for, like, more than two, two days, I don't know what to do with myself. And it's just some of the pain of the workout just a little bit that little sting of the workout that I have to have. And yeah, now I'm starting to, you know, trying to pick out certain things that I'm I'm trying to get into golf. You know, I'm still I'm still saying I need to buy a club.

I need to buy clubs, and I need to start get more and more into it. But I got to pick something else up because it's right now is if I'm not doing that, I'm in my house. Maybe watch some Netflix shows that you can only watch a couple of hours before I get bored and I'm like you. I got to do something.

What do you what are you listening to? You must have an interesting palate. Born in Nigeria. Raised in Texas. You live in Florida now, right?

Is live in Florida. Now, I listen, I have a very eclectic taste in music like big, big, wide range of music that I listen to. Like on my it might be some mornings I'm into like somehow shit. Like, I'm, you know, I need that. I need to get up to go. You know, I'm a huge fan of Afrobeat music, you know, bring the boys one on one of my dudes. And so, you know, big enough Afrobeat, of course, being from Nigeria, of course, I like a lot of hip hop, know, like I was really big in old school hip hop, you know, like I'm talking like Mob D and stuff the like on DMX, like stuff like that.

Like I was, you know, I was really big into that. But now, you know, with all the new school stuff, it's hard not to get into, you know, like little baby, like, you know, like a young thug like Otis future. Like it's hard not to get into that because that's the way, you know, and you just you get into the way. So I like I like a little bit of everything.

I like the new school. I like the old school, too. So, you know, everything I'm into, it just depends on my mood. My mom, this is like I have a good ten, fifteen minutes drive to the gym.

So people are going to drive to the gym also because much, much earlier in the year that was very important as an athlete or a walking song is big for you, too, right?

Yeah, it's it's humongous for me because I put a lot of I put a lot of thought into it. And it's and they always they always ask because they got to the to show. So they like. What did you say when they ask you like a month now sometimes I'm like I don't know what I'm feeling right now. Like I got it narrowed down to maybe three different song. I want to come out to sing along with it. Come.

I want to do some hard mieke stuff. You know what I might not be on. I might not be on a vibe that night. I might not be enough for that.

So I'm I'm I want something small to wear, you know, I'm calm and I'm ready to just flip the switch. So I usually wait super late to give them my song. And then I don't want to listen to that song until that night because what I want is I want to be able to control my my emotions. And so that walk is very dangerous. If you can't control you can't get too high, you get too high before you get in there.

You can get that adrenaline dump right away. So when I have that song playing, I just kind of zoned out and I just don't I don't even remember the wall. I'm dancing a little bit. And next thing you know, they check on me. Next thing you know, I walk in the cage. Next thing you know, the rock is asking if you're ready. And I want to say no.

I want to I want to say everything that I like.

I get it, you know, but then I walk out. Song is very important to me.

That's what that's about, because I know it's important the care I know this you when you lock in on game day, it's like get my seat. Right.

Yeah, I wish I walk on now. Let's give you all little something like, you know, you actually tell them that like when they do the introduction, the starting lineup introduction, they say they should have a little sanpei even if it's twenty seconds, you've got to be an expert to play list that they'll play like throughout the arena to warm ups.

But like we don't have like a personal specific song for each one of us, you know that to take a lot of time because a small amount of time before we get there. But that would be so sweet.

Can I ask how's your pops read a lot about.

So for those who don't know, he just he just did a long, long bit over ten years. Is right. Yeah, and obviously tough for you, your family, your whole fighting career essentially happened while he was there. How are your how is he not at his home? And I know you got you excited to get him to one of your fights. Do you know if that's even going to be possible for you, depending on where you fight, when you fight?

Yeah, I think, you know, hopefully it's not out of the country, but if it's not out of the country, it would be definitely very possible that he's a straight you know, he's good his home now, you know, but that's that was a big thing is we never really lost touch with him, you know, like he was always like we was on the phone once a week or twice a week, sometimes more, you know. So he was always into one of his calls that I was about forty five minutes from the house where I grew up.

So every weekend my mom was in and my brothers was there to see him. So my dad was. And that's the thing about, you know, about our family. You know, being Nigerian is, you know, my dad is the center of the family, the center of the house, you know, the head of the house. And so, you know, things still had to flow to him. Like, I remember when I made a decision, you know, of course, it's my decision to make.

But when I make a decision that I'm leaving wrestling live in the Olympic cycle and go on to chase this dream, I still had to call him up and talk to him about it. And I think I'm gonna do this. So he's doing great now, is he's it's it's crazy when and I know a kid I saw on the speech. It's crazy when you. When you really make someone, your family like that, when you floor, I call it, and when they do, you just you just melt their heart completely with your success and how hard you work to get them to a certain place, you know, and and that's what it's crazy for me to see in my body is how proud my dad is of me, you know, and I know that he can never fully just quantify how much it is, you know.

But I can you could just tell that, look, you know, as kid, I'm sure you with your mom, you could just tell of, look, you know, your mom's probably like, you know, that's my baby right there. Yeah, my.

So in those moments, man, that, you know, those are some of the moments that I live for. Yeah.

I mean, it's crazy to think about that, like, you know, you're making them proud and they're looking at you a certain way. But sometimes you feel like you don't know if they understand it, that happiness that they get. It is kind of like what makes you in that place, too. So not as does Dusseldorp to hear. I know, you know, having your family tighten it. And, you know, the movie piece, which is obviously famous and, you know, it goes back.

So like you said, like having a dad is the head of the house. That's part of that pressure to want to live up to the standard. It's one to one to impress him with his standards as well. You know, I had that in my family. The everybody held accountable for every single thing in the same way in your household, no matter what. So I'm sure that guide you to we are the foundation of which you are today. So that was a major part of the big fact.

I mean, you can when you when you have so much on the line and you realize so many people that that look up to you, it's a different responsibility. To uphold when you go out each and every time. So it was it's, you know, a big man and my dad is loving every moment.

So, you know, I'm glad that I can make him proud to, you know, even like in a speech, like the speech, you and I, you know, I kind of got a little tight on that day back because we understand we understand that when you speak from the heart and that's it, then when you speak from the heart, a lot of people can relate to that.

And when a lot of people really into it and I and I think I'm now I feel like I'm getting softer as the older I get, I feel and especially being being a bad girl, dad. Now, you know, I feel like I'm getting softer because I might see something on TV and watch some then I'm all through.

I called myself Don that day to help you get out of this.

I started putting me on a plane and said, I'm going to play and I'm sitting next to this lady. We love the first row and first class. I'm like, I'm sitting. I have my headphones on, I got my hoodie and I'm watching this movie. And they saw father and daughter, something like that. I don't know how, but he was the only movie that I could get on. So I'd watch the movie. And now and it was a point where like that the the daughters, like, be reunited with their dad.

And but as long as she didn't know where her dad was, you know, and and it was just somebody hit me. I was like, yo, like kids wonder, like, where's daddy like? And I was just they hit me and I'm sitting there and I'm like, no, I'm proud the plane.

So I'm like, you know how you know, I'm not trying to blame, but then it's just gonna start rolling around.

Like, this is why women see me crying on the inside sometimes. Right.

So you got your little big brother.

Your little brother is a human being. He's getting going his career. You know, you must get the most get the tingle is over. That's who I must be crazy watching him because he played college football, right? Yeah, he played in Arizona.

He got some college. But, you know, they kind of sent them here, there and signed by a couple of Canadian teams to where he just decided, man, you know, got to give up on the NFL dream and go somewhere else. So he's he started fighting and nasty thing with him. I mean, it's come I can still get them so that they know if I was the fighter in it. So, yeah, he was bigger, but I could tangle them up if we needed to, you know, I could still slow them down and put them to sleep if I needed to.

But now that he's learning how to fight too, it's like so now I'm with him, you know, he like to sixty six to eight to sixty.

I'm like and he is getting that long as much. Yeah. I'm like if he learned to take me to get up. So these are things that I'm, you know, my, my dad's right about.

My son came home for like a month at about my height. Now I'm doing the same thing. I'm kind of like, you know, look at adults are like size of a military base, are still big dog in the yard. They're like kind of keep it cool right now.

It's I think it's it's a mindset that you get to a certain point where, you know, it's just not physical anymore. You have to be able to mentally talk him down, you know, mentally hurt him without getting physical because that's the worst thing. You can be a dad. Just let your son embarrass you when you can't physically know what your son can.

We can't. OK, you know what I told him? I said, I mean, he not big dog tell he he could beat me and my friends.

He's like in like in whatever he's like. Nah, that's not fair. Because Kevin like like, hey man, that's the rule.

I don't know what to say. I could beat all my best friends, whatever they want to do. So yeah.

So before we let you get a get out of here, I did want to ask you about one thing that I know is near and dear to you and I know has come up and was world news at the moment. And that's insource. You've been outspoken about that and for. I also don't know, this is essentially the police brutality fight that they're dealing with in Nigeria and the government is fighting back and it's been ongoing, has been ongoing for years and years and years.

You and your friend Israel have spoken out about it.

Tell us a little bit about what that's like watching from home.

This is your home country. You still have family there. And, you know, I guess the responsibility you feel to speak out and to make your voice heard about an issue like this are back at home.

Yeah, it's it's something that even you know, because I left there when I was young, about eight years old.

And, you know, it was an issue that I witnessed while we was there. And it's so tough because, you know, for such a wealthy nation, I mean, if everything was ran the right way, you know, probably the most powerful nation in the world, because we have every resource, every soil that it is, every mineral that it needs to have and that the world makes money from. And it's really sad to see how the government has mismanaged that for so long to where they basically mismanage it to the point where they start to the police that are supposed to be there to protect us.

They mismanaging them, too. So you think about it, if these cops haven't been paid for six months, their salaries where they won't get the money to feed their family. So then they resort to extorting the people, extorting the people that live in these. So they see somebody with a nice car. You're why you've got a nice car, what you do. And it's a that that that starts to be a chance for this. It's been ongoing for years and years and years and years to where, you know, the government has already kind of taken away from the people.

And now the cops that are supposed to be there to protect us are doing even worse because they can get away with it because they got a gun and badge. And so that has just been to the people for so long to wear. Now we're in a situation where the youths are taken out anymore. You know, the youth of this generation. This is the one thing that I'm proud of. I mean, I think there's a lot of flaws in the use of this generation.

But that's one thing that I'm proud of, is that they're willing to stand up. They're not one that is not not going to just take it. They're going to stand up and they're going to speak out. And they just decided that they've had enough that it have to change and the government has changed. So it's an ongoing thing now. And they were hoping to get good govt, better government to really implement and change what's going on in that country, because we are truly one of the most powerful nations in the world.

Yeah, I mean, it's it's crazy to watch. And I think people don't fully grasp the weight of it. I think what you said to you about it being such a developed country, such a rich country, I feel like there's a lot of ignorance about what people think of when they think of African countries, period in Nigeria. You know, I know just on TV arguing with Kobe and he's talking about smoke signals and shit like that. And it's like, nah, that's not that's not who we are, what's going on out there.

So, yeah, I want to make sure he was able to see a piece.

I know something. And then you still have family out there, right? You sort of.

Yeah, of course. All my extended family is out there. You know, uncles, aunts are all still out there, naked cousins and everybody is out there, you know, and that's that's crazy. It's crazy to me that people don't really like you people. You go out there and you see. So some houses you never even seen. No, we're not even here. You see you see mansions. You ain't seen nowhere. You like like you see some of these artists like Party B was out there like like the Amigos are like some of these artists have gone to be like, yo, we dig.

This was here because the media paints a picture to whether it's like they want to hold us back. They want to make sure that Africa is looked at as this place where it's just wild lions running through the middle of the streets or doing this. And that's not the case at all. You know, Africa is truly a beautiful place, a beautiful country. And the biggest difference that I, I, I get from that is in Africa, we are so kind of everybody that we love to celebrate differences so somebody like you can do degli.

Oh well why is he. So they are so tall. They want to know about you, they want to see you, they want to take pictures. They might do you know who you are. But they just, you're different. So they want to take pictures, they want to see you, they want to touch you, they want to be around you to wear it. It's not like that. These European countries, you come here, they hear you different, but you need to learn a language.

May you speak Spanish, you speak that now. You can't get out of here, bro. Learn the language, bro, you know, and that's the biggest difference. And so, you know, Africa is such a powerful, powerful continent that, you know, that I feel like the media just wants to keep it down. And I let everybody know how wonderful that continent is. We'll look.

Man, I appreciate you doing this. We're rooting for you here, hopefully. Tom, you and we are able to come so close to something and, you know, I want to check that out that you guys man me appreciate you. I hear your claim. The best pound for pound far out here.

Yeah. You know, I mean, I still I still got to go in there and do my thing. And it's the way you see the way you start to finish up, too. So, you know, I want to finish my career on top and walk away and let everybody just let everybody see, you know, look at my body. And that's the thing to a lot of people determine who the best is. The best that I would best.

Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and make that discussion now. My thing is I want to walk away on my terms at the top and let's discuss you putting together one of the better resumes in the sport right now.

So you were on your way. Last question. I'm just curious, does the rematch would either match with all that intriguing? Because that's that's a lot of the chatter is those two fights after, you know, you take care of business. We don't want to look forward and pass opponents or whatever, but I know they seem like they're on a collision course. The prize for winning that seems to be you find intriguing, like one of them was very, very clear.

They can talk all about the training and all that stuff they want. It was very clear, I think a full train is just as clear.

The other one, one of the great fights of this time so that people will see that remains too dangerous.

Yeah, absolutely. Because I love it for one of the fights. I loved it because it was it was fun for me. It was one of the fights to where I just like I was really in there to just fight with somebody, you know. So that was fun for me. So, yeah, of course I was for that. That aspect alone was fun. And then when they still talk and it's like, OK, let me go in there, break his face again and then, you know, let's see what happens now.

And then the other one is, you know, I just kind of I feel like it would be easier the second time around, like the first time you were saying, oh, the training. So, no, it wasn't. He was training, you know, and I had to make a mental shift. I was training for somebody else. I had to make a mental shift to beat him. And I did it flawlessly. And I think it'll be worse the second time.

So, yeah, they both intrigued me. And I don't mind as long as the bag is right, I'll fight them all.

I feel like a casual fan doesn't it doesn't necessarily appreciate you just grabbing Masvidal and pinning him and he just could do nothing.

He had he had a little flash again. But after that it's like, no, you're you're mine. You're on the cage, you're on the ground. And that is funny to me.

Like people fans don't get the fact that the grown ass man and you are trained professional fighter for another man to put you on the cage and stomp your feet. That's almost as disrespectful. It's almost as disrespectful as being spit on, you know, or be lost in a place. KDDI, another man loose you in the face. Oh, it's stopped. What happens, Katie? What happens? Do stepped on somebody else be in the club?

Ninety nine percent of the time somebody had to fire you taking other off. I'd like to sit in the back seat. I wasn't one of those guys.

They step all you all do like your Air Force One.

I guess we all knew why you're broke. Yeah, I do. I do.

When you go abroad, people can put you on a cage to stomp your feet for twenty five minutes. You should be ashamed of yourself, you know, so it doesn't matter. You know, people can say what they want, but, you know, I'm making it look easy. Some people hate that people want to see crazy back and forth and they don't like it when you make it look easy. Like Floyd made it look so easy for years, everybody hated that.

Everybody was like, man, it's too easy for a man who is boring. We don't watch it, but they want to see you hurt.

People only build you up to watch you fall and they want to see that they know I'm not giving them this. I they hate it.

Look, man, I'm excited to see what's next. I'm OK. He's excited. You know, like I said, you know, hopefully the world of be open to go watch you play your trade in person. And that's a game sense of he said that. Yeah. And I'm looking forward to the season, Kadee. Looking forward to are you going to be back doing your business.

Yes, sir. Yeah. If you have a New York man, that's like a big factor.

I USC welterweight champion the luck going forward. Man, I paid. What up, guys, is Kevin Durant from my podcast, the setters who are partnering with Verizon to provide exclusive access to Verizon rewards program members for once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of our podcast, download the Verizon app on your smartphone to get started and be on the lookout for a super ticket that would grant you access to a must see exclusive live taping of my podcast.

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