It’s official! Conor McGregor is set to make his UFC comeback against Michael Chandler but first they will face-off as coaches on …
we just confirmed the coaches for season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will go head-to-head as the coaches of the Ultimate Fighter Team McGregor versus Team Chandler this season premieres Tuesday May 30th and runs through Tuesday August 15th on ESPN the network and ESPN plus boom there you have it announced team Chandler versus Team McGregor on The Ultimate Fighter and then fighting later this year Connor was the fight that I wanted Conor has expressed interest in wanting to fight me and now here we are I want to win this thing I don’t just want to beat Connor later this year whenever the fight happens I want to beat Conor badly on tough I don’t even want him to win a fight I still got one dude on my mind Conor McGregor heading to Vegas baby [Music] thank you foreign what’s up guys welcome to a brand new episode of DC and RC I’m Daniel Cormier that’s my guy Ryan Clark that news made a lot of people happy none more than Ryan Clark but before we get to that we got to talk about what we do on the show we’re going to talk about UFC 284 we tap it and tap on I also spoke to Islam makashev and Alexander volkonowski together we go face to face with those two but Ryan Clark big news my friend coming out of Vegas last weekend as you head into a big weekend at the Super Bowl how’s everything going my guy man this is another Super Bowl DC what are you talking about I get two Super Bowls in two weeks bro Conor’s coming back and we get Philly Kansas City you know what happened the sports gods were looking down on me and they said to themselves we want to make Ryan happy and he reached out and touched Dana White and said Dana do this for Ryan and he did and you gave me the two number one seeds in the Super Bowl I just couldn’t be happier yeah I’m trying to figure out a way that me and Jordan can get into the tough house for some of this filming and we’ll see if we can make it work hey bro let me tell you something you and Jordan be just like praying for stuff to happen in sports and like he got Izzy back last week you get caught him back this week y’all just getting blessed over and over again but you are heading out to the Super Bowl that’s why we are on today on Monday right I could have went to the Super Bowl but as a kid from Louisiana I never thought I would turn it down but my daughter has a National Gymnastics competition in Orlando so I am choosing to go with Marquita right so it’s more important for me to go watch her compete but the Super Bowl big week for you in the NFL big week for the UFC as we go UFC 284 but before we get to that RC before we get to those guys in the main event later in the show Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler are not only fighting they’re coaching The Ultimate Fighter but here’s where it tells you how big Connor is Conor’s not coaching The Ultimate Fighter just on ESPN plus they’re gonna run this Ultimate Fighter on ESPN he goes he goes what’s it called uh linear Conor McGregor gets linear television with the ultimate fighter how big is this for the sport to have that reality show on ESPN and on ESPN Plus bro you can’t you can’t put it into words or measure what Conor McGregor means to the UFC from a sense of publicity but also when you look at marketing and actual success and ratings and ESPN understands that ESPN ain’t new to broadcasting Sports and they understand how Conor McGregor moves the needle and if you’re Dana White if you’re the UFC this is why Conor McGregor seems to have different rules when it comes to the fights that he’s able to get the cards that he’s able to headline based on where he is in his career and winning and when Conor McGregor comes back the UFC elevates and we’re going to see it not only Elevate in the sense of the pay-per-views of this fight versus Michael Chandler but also what ESPN is able to do with the ultimate fighter and just the excitement that’s already surrounding this lets you know why ESPN made this decision DC but I want to ask you this question we saw the video of the guy that was basically like man I’m coaching against the UFC Hall of Famer how in the hell am I supposed to win this wrestling match but when you think about Connor and Michael Chandler as coaches of the ultimate fighter who you picking as the best coach I would probably say in terms of coaching Michael Chandler because he was in the college wrestling world he was wrestling under a coach like that kind of never did those uh team sports all the way up through college but I think for as important as Michael Chandler can be to the young athletes as a wrestling guy a coach I believe that for him it’s more important to understand and try to prepare himself to deal with the Mind Games he is going to be under constant attack by Conor McGregor and Ryan I’m telling you it is not a week it’s not too it’s six weeks with someone that you are going to fight with and for the annoying guy me I tried to poke at Stipe Connor was poking at Uriah Faber the whole time even though they weren’t fighting he managed to cause such a dissension in that team that TJ Dillashaw who wasn’t even the coach against him left alpha male because he was convincing you’re right that he was a backstabber just he’s going to be under constant attack from McGregor and he can’t allow for McGregor to get into his head too much but we did feel like this would be the fight you and I’ve talked about it for a while Chandler is a good style matchup for for McGregor and I think that it works and I think that Chandler is the right dance partner for the return DC you know what I like about this is these two dudes though it’s going to be an extremely exciting fight couldn’t be different humans it is literally impossible to dislike Michael Chandler if you dislike Michael Chandler I question your character right this dude is an amazing fighter an amazing father amazing husband like loves everybody no hate in his blood at all and then I don’t have to explain to you who Conor McGregor is and so I think that that’s a super cool you know added characteristic that this show can have but let’s get away from the matchup of the coaches the matchup of the fighters and just talk simply from an MMA UFC point of view DC as someone who’s been in that octagon who calls fights now who is so much intertwined in what the UFC is how big of it how big of a boost or how important is it that Conor McGregor has returned you know it’s a massive boost for the sport in general The Ultimate Fighter could not have gotten anything better because even when Dana announced last year that the Ultimate Fighter was coming back it was met with a very tempered reaction because it was well the show’s been going for so many years what can they do to make it different how does it do better and then we had the coaches last year were um who were the coaches last year Jake somebody whispered my ear who the coaches were on last year’s uh season of The Ultimate Fighter Amanda Nunes Amanda and Juliana right so it’s like that right so it’s like even that me having the question well who are the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter last year it was very temperate but when you get Conor McGregor when you get the biggest star in the game and he’s saying I’ll do Vegas for six weeks I’ll coach these kids against Michael Chandler it is a massive boost and I could only imagine the conversations in the back and forth that had to go into making this happen Ryan you know very few will understand like when you go to Coach The Ultimate Fighter some people in the beginning got cars you might have got a car you might have got like an Escalade Josh Koscheck got like a brand new Range Rover you get these things I got money I’d rather the cash you know it’s not from Louisiana but it’s like you don’t know what you’re gonna get but could you imagine what you have to give Conor McGregor to draw him into doing The Ultimate Fighter or do you believe kind of just did it like you know what man I want to make a big statement in my return and this is the best way to do it be in front of everybody for six to eight weeks right before the fight I think the like the the big thing with with Connor now is he has to remind everybody again before the fight a lot of times it’s it’s just about the build up to the fighter we already know so much about Conor McGregor that we’re drawn in already and it’s the the Dustin Poirier matchup in his last two fights so it was kind of that bad blood there it was a rematch coming into fight too Connor was being nice Connor then he turned back into evil Conor so you had all of these other pieces going into those fights you don’t really have that with Michael Chandler what you have with Michael Chandler is the expected excitement of what’s going to happen in the Octagon when these two meet but Conor’s been away for a while he doesn’t get that build up that we had with Jose Aldo or it isn’t the following that he built headed into that fight so this is different so for six weeks on like you said linear TV on the big Network we’re not even putting this on ESPN2 or something like that you get to see Conor McGregor again you get to see him in his fullness you get to see him as a coach get to see him as a man we’re going to see certain things when he’s explaining to guys how to throw that left hand or what’s the perfect kick and it’s going to start to remind you and give you that Nostalgia of oh yeah that’s who Conor McGregor is oh yeah that’s why we fell in love with him and so I think it’s a smart strategic and marketing move by Connor to say Connor to say nah I’m not just proper proper to Whiskey anymore like I’m still that dude that all of you people grew to love but speaking of a dude that we all love and someone that used to strike fear in the hearts of his opponents in the Octagon Derrick Lewis lost again to Sergey Spivak this weekend and I remember last week DC we were talking about tapping in or tapping out on Derrick Lewis being able to win this fight and I said I don’t think he can win it DC I believe he’s done and your response to me was I don’t know if Spivak is that guy to do it and now we see him submitted early on in this fight in watching Derrick Lewis DC was any part of you saying you know what this might be time to stop it’s hard right Ryan because you and I were talking about this last week and I spoke about how you can you speak so freely because you have no relationships to kind of like keep in the sport right so it’s very refreshing to walk like that whereas Derek Lewis and I are buddies after we fought right even last week when I said I think he’s done at the top but I don’t know if he still can’t beat these types of guys he came back at me through an insult at me and and was just he’s very sensitive but come to find out I might have been giving him too much credit and that’s sad right like that’s a sad thing that he might I might have been giving him too much credit because I was saying maybe he can’t beat five to one anymore but seven to 15 he can still get those guys but not only did he lose he got wiped out he got wiped out and now he has lost the Cyril gone while he got stopped he got stopped by Ty two of us he got stopped by pavlovic very early and now he got stopped by sergey’s pivot and stopped in a way that led fighters to go publicly and question whether or not he tried that to me is very telling Ryan and that is the only time in which I question whether or not it might be time because it just seems like that fire isn’t burning inside of him as it used to because he gets stopped in a certain way and now he’s getting submitted by guys that a couple years ago man that dude would not have gotten the Derek I mean you gotta remember Derek Lewis knocked out Curtis blades whenever he still cared as much about this thing as he he did back then so yes Ryan in the moment I thought wow maybe it’s time for Derek to walk away especially if that fire doesn’t burn in you anymore you cannot you can’t you can’t you can’t hide that you can’t like fake the fire to go into an octagon and fight someone you know what DC whenever I think of Derek Lewis now and I hate the fact that I watch so many movies and they pop up in my head I think about Rocky when he was fighting Ivan Drago and even though Derrick Lewis had losses they were to the top guys you know it was you finding a way to get Derek Lewis to the mat and submitting him and so it wasn’t it wasn’t ever like guys walk through his punches you know we didn’t see dudes due to Derrick Lewis what we saw tied to avasa do to Derrick Lewis you didn’t see guys due to Derrick Lewis what we saw this weekend with Sergey spivot because there was so much fear you just was so scared that he would catch you with one of those strikes and the night would end right there and then I remember when Rocky finally cut Ivan Drago he was like he’s just a man he’s bleeding he’s just a man once guys realize that Derrick Lewis had finally aged or gotten to the point where he was just a man now skill was the ultimate equalizer in all of his fights and people were more skilled than Derrick Lewis and if you were more skilled and you also weren’t afraid of being knocked out anymore the fights got quicker and quicker and quicker and he was put out because he didn’t instill that fear and then didn’t have the skill to fall back on in any other way someone who a part of this sport had more skill more fear in MMA or instilled more fear than anyone was Fedor Emilia Lincoln and I became a Fedor fan and don’t say nothing crazy DC because Fedor is Troy Polamalu’s favorite fighter and I always thought that it was Troy’s favorite fighter because their bodies kind of looked alike and they were like the ultimate they were the greatest in the sport Theodore fights this weekend and loses and then announce says that he’s retiring in your opinion is he the most dominant MMA fighter of all time you know I you know why I smile at you first off if I go on there like you you really have come far like you talk about the Derrick Lewis thinking I’m smiling because I’m like look at my guy man look at my guy man so like you know you’ve come far bro like seriously that was a great like you’re really you’re getting really really good you’re getting really really good I’m proud of you thanks Doug when I think of when I think of when I think of Fedor I think of back in 2007-89 that scary guy the Russian who barely spoke he was quiet he was like a mythical monster that would show up and he would just beat everyone but I think for fatal I think is is Fedor is the story of Aging fighters who don’t get out when they possibly or probably should he’s 46 years old he’s fighting Ryan Bader he gets just demolished and then you start to forget about all the great memories yeah that he had because all you remember lately is what you’re seeing and what you’re seeing is what you saw last weekend I think that the myth of Fedor is bigger than what he is in mixed martial arts history it’s the lore it’s the tall tale I don’t believe he’s the greatest heavyweight of all time I think that belongs to Steve amiocic but only because Kane Velasquez was injured so much I think in terms of skill there is no one that every match came velasque as a heavyweight but I believe that Stipe mioces in the title defenses in the long Reign that he had on top of the division puts him atop but Fedor is in the top five and I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of you know when I think about Fedor his run from what was it like 2000 or 01 to like 2009 2010 was one of those runs that builds that myth but it was always crazy to me that he was that quiet guy he didn’t necessarily have this body or bravado of someone you looked at as a killer but he just couldn’t be beaten and wasn’t beaten and then when he became more mainstream to us when it was more now we could see fate or Amelia nanko he wasn’t what he was then so to many of the masses if you weren’t if you are in an MMA fan who will dive into old videos on YouTube or who was around during that time and understood who Fedor was you never got to see him at the top and I think that’s the big difference between him and astipe miocic who when we saw him at the top when he was part of the consciousness of the MMA world and UFC and Beyond that’s when we saw him at his best and I do believe that that changes the perception and of a fighter as it goes into greatest of all time best of all time top heavyweights in the world which Fedor definitely was but speaking of top fighters in the world and speaking of greatest of all time we get an opportunity to see Alexander volkonowski and Islam mahatchev face off this weekend and this is for best right now this is for pound for pound number one you had an opportunity to speak to both of these men over the week in DC what stuck out to you about their interactions confidence confidence it was both of these guys are extremely confident and Alexander volkanovsky carries a a chip on his shoulder that will he will try to use to propel him because I understand more than ever right so there’s these websites and one out they put a quote out every week in the quote yesterday said the quote of the day was I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder it kind of drives me it’s something that allows me to train harder train longer and work better so just that tip that was something I said over the course of my career and as I talked to them it feels like volcanovsky’s carrying that same chip that they say I’m too small they say I can’t go with that guy they say I can’t beat this guy he’s unbeatable and he’s carrying that into the fight but you know what was funny about the conversation was as Alex was talking and Alex was explaining why he is who he is the whole time Islam smiled it’s like he was hearing the funniest thing he’s ever heard his entire life he didn’t really you can tell he takes them serious but the things volkanovsky were saying is something he’s heard so much that he’s almost immune to oh this guy’s gonna be different than the last guy because they all say it but none of them can actually do it it was it was very interesting yeah you know I think that that’s what’s so crazy about these two dudes is they both should be ultimately confident right nothing about their recent stretches inside the Octagon says that they are going to lose or that they they’ve even been close to losing if you if you take you know if you go Ortega Max Holloway Korean zombie like if you’re a volkonowski like it doesn’t matter you’re always fighting people who are are at least taller and then you think about what Islam was able to do to Charles Olivera who was running through the best of the best at 155 pounds you say shoot can’t nobody beat me either and so I think you’re seeing two guys who aren’t just confident because they need that for bravado they’re confident because of what they’ve been able to accomplish in the octagon and so I’m extremely excited for this fight I want to see how Alexander volkanowski can find ways to get off of the ground with Islam hot chill takes him down I also want to see how Islam handles the movement uh the ability to get in and out that we’ve seen from Alexander volkanowski in every one of his fights that we’ve witnessed and so this is a very exciting fight to me and I think it’s big for the UFC after sitting down with these guys DC and knowing everything that you know about them they’re ranked within the UFC what does this fight mean for the UFC as a whole and what does the winner of this fight become you know Ryan the winner gets the ultimate bragging chip either he’ll be the number one powerful fighter in the world and if Alexander volkanovsky wins this fight he keeps his position but he beats the guy that people think it’s like hey that that Ivan Drago analogy made earlier Islam is that right the unbeatable the guy that’s supposed to be only human volkanoski gets to show he’s only human he’s just a man like the rest of us volkonoski gets the ultimate bragging rights if he beats makachel because he’s already to pom pom number one but for makachev he goes on the top of those rankings he sits the place where he has sat and watched many of his teammates go to before myself Habib all become number one pound over the course of our careers so that stuff means something to those guys it is a massive fight in terms of the stakes a massive fight in terms of the standing in the world in a massive mistake fight for two of the most important weight classes we have had for a long time in the UFC long have people thought featherweight and lightweight are the two deepest weights we have in the UFC this weekend we get those two Champions fighting each other to ultimately prove who is the best it’s as important as it gets Ryan I’m all in I love it little Daniel is so excited he’s like Dad let’s just make sure Saturday night wherever we’re doing in Orlando we’re back in the hotel so we can watch the market shell fight then we get into the Super Bowl the next night dude’s all excited about this fight weekend and uh football it’s crazy well first off I just think it’s awesome man you get an opportunity to go watch your daughter compete and also spend that time with little Daniel watching two sports that you guys love I think aside from being a Hall of Famer inside the Octagon you’re a Hall of Fame father too man and that’s so important but you mentioned yourself and Habib uh khabib Memorial being two guys who reach pound for pound number one another thing that khabib had become one of the best to ever do was coach was lead Islam marketev um hot Chef inside the octagon and so I can remember hearing him explain to Islam or take Islam step by step through ways of submitting Dan hooker if you remember back to that and why and watching Islam listen to those things and eventually uh get the submission what is it going to mean or how will it affect Islam not having khabib no Morgan Madoff in his corner for this fight against like you have already said the power for pound number one in the world you know RC it’s like khabib was playing a video game it was like he was explaining like he was holding the controller with Islam as the character that he was using as he got that submission but I think I think he’s come to terms with it I think Islam’s come to terms with it I haven’t had an opportunity to ask him about it but everything I see publicly everything I see him say uh tells me that he’s come to terms with now I have to go and compete without my guy and although it sucks it does happen right we have been in situations before where we’ve had to go fight without each other or you got to fight without this guy or this guy it just kind of happens and I believe that Islam has many great coaches uh he’s got uh many great training Partners people that are going to be there to support him and he’s going to need it because he’s going into enemy territory to try and beat the number one powerful bomb fighter in the world but Ryan as big as this fight is this weekend it’s not the only championship fight because Alexander as he goes up he leaves his division without a champion to defend the belt the UFC has now booked Josh Emmett and yair Rodriguez for the interim title you got the PowerHouse in Emmett the guy who has the wrestling skill but tends to Love The Knockout and you have the dynamic fighter that he that is Rodriguez what do you think about this matchup and how exciting are you about those guys being the the the the the appetizer to the Main Event the big time thing that happens right before the main event hits the Octagon what you’re feeling about this fight and how they match up well I think I’m excited because these two dudes are so different if you go back to yair Rodriguez’s fight against Max Holloway he turned Max into a Grappler which is something we don’t normally see and then you look at Josh Emmett versus Calvin cater and the way he was able to continue moving forward inflict enough punishment but also control the octagon and find a way to get the decision at the end of that fight I want to see which man’s style overtakes the other guy can yair and his strikes from all different angles the unorthodox kicks and movement overpower Josh Emmett who’s more straight line come right down the pipe and try to inflict his physicality on the opposite fighter and so this is going to be as exciting because of how Dynamic both of these men can be as it will be strategic in watching them kind fuel each other out and figure out the best way to go in the attack it’s it’s one of those things DC and I can be honest to you about this I have to look at the fight singularly as opposed to holistically because in my mind right in my mind I’m saying this because I believe what yeah yeah gets here because Brian or Tate or Brian Ortega gets hurt uh while they’re grappling hurts his arm or whatever it was shoulder is yeah it’s hard for me to not look at this fight and think to myself well Alexander volkanovski and Max Holloway are the two premier featherweights in the world and even though that these two men are fighting for the interim title these are not the two best fighters in the division and so I once I reconciled myself to that I can enjoy it for the explosive stylistic matchup it is and I’m very excited about that yeah I’m excited about the fight I’m excited about new guys to challenge Alexander volkonowski that’s my that’s where my excitement lies tonight I’m excited about the matchup because I’ve known yair since he was on the ultimate fight of Latin America in season one and he was not the guy that he is today he has improved so tremendously and I’m telling you Josh Emmett has gotten so much better and this is a guy that has done everything needed to earn a championship opportunity but just kept falling short or he didn’t seem to be the sexy Challenger sometimes you got to be sexy you got to be sexy you got to have sex you’re always sexy hey bro I’m trying to tell you I’m okay you already know you already know I don’t want to say we this face right here boy this face right here but you gotta be you gotta have something that draws people in and maybe Minnie didn’t feel like Emmett had that he finally gets his opportunity and I’m so excited about it man I cannot wait for this weekend it’s going to be a fantastic car from Australia but Ryan before we get to everything else in the show we gotta tap into tap out this time you’re not tapping the tap out let’s go Jake all right guys Dana White over the weekend announced that Sean O’Malley has signed a new eight fight contract as one of the sports rising stars and with the number one next to his name RC tap in or tap out O’Malley will be a champion within the first three fights of his new deal I I tap out because of the people I’m thinking to myself Sean O’Malley will have to face when I go back to that Kyoto yawn fight he showed he belonged he showed he was the top five Fighter um Al Jermaine Sterling being there now uh Henry cejudo possibly being an opponent in their experience their ability to Grapple their ability to wrestle and kind of negate some of the things that Sean does well I believe it’ll be difficult for him to beat those guys so that’s the only reason I tap out but I can say this if he pulls it off with that Dynamic striking I won’t be surprised foreign because of the time frame it’s just very fast like three more fights that’s not that long to elevate yourself to a championship no he’s number one I get it that’s why uh we imagine it could happen but he’s number one because he beat Peoria and he went from ten to one and many thought that he lost the yawn fight so um I’m gonna tap off for those reasons but I will not be surprised if somewhere down the line Sean O’Malley does become a UFC champion but Sean O’Malley gets a new contract every single time he fights it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen recently RC was a guest on the brilliantly dumb Show podcast and had this take on ice cream yeah I’m a hot dessert guy right so I don’t know you’re saying ice cream can’t stand alone Ryan ice cream ice cream cannot stand alone I don’t think that’s fair so think about this I got the pie brownie with the ice cream with it oh that’s a great play the alamode is a great play so DC tap in or tap out that ice cream is a dessert side being completely honest with you I don’t disagree with Ryan as much as people are trying to make it seem s because you do have the pie with the ice cream you get the hot brownie with the ice cream everything that all those desserts that are hot they stick the ice cream on top of it so I don’t disagree with them as much as most people but you can eat a good ice cream by itself you can’t have a bowl of ice cream I mean dude even on the airplane they give you ice cream this is it is a dessert rhyme you see here’s why I tap out think about this now if your ice cream is a snack I agree with that ice cream is a snack but I tap out on ice cream being a dessert because of this you eat a dessert after you eat a meal a lot of times if you’re going to your refrigerator to get ice cream you’re just sitting on your couch and you might be watching the fights like I want a bowl of ice cream you’re right but if I’m at a restaurant and I’m eating food and I just finished my entree I don’t normally say hey you got a cup of ice cream it’s give me the bananas foster give me the bread pudding give me the Brownie and with that they bring the ice cream out because it’s a add-on it’s a side and a lot of times you might say nah you put ice cream on the side of it because I don’t want it on top of my warm cookie just saying DC makes a strong case he makes a very strong case garbage he makes a very strong case all right guys last one with UFC 284 in the Super Bowl a day apart this weekend if you were to place a hundred dollars on a parlay with both underdogs volkanovsky and the Chiefs to win you can walk away with close to 850 RC tap in or tap out risking a big payout on both underdogs this coming weekend all the way in I’m glad you told me that what this is oh here’s wow that just blew my mind Corp for Jake think about this the people that we are calling the underdog and that you would have to bet money on to win big are both already Champions Jake and DC who acted like KC don’t have a ring with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid we acting like Alexander volkanowski ain’t just ran through everybody at featherweight Jake oh yeah somebody except I tap off man I tap out I get I get what you’re saying but the fact of the matter is for as great as they are and they would beat 99.9 of the world they’re just in front of two a team and a fighter that most believed that they can’t beat so I tap on I’m not wasting my money on that because they’re not both gonna win if one wins okay but not both they’re both not winning sorry Ryan you know why you say that DC you say that because you don’t believe that vote can beat Islam a hot Chef I know in your mind you already have your pick of why it can’t happen which is why it will happen and when it does happen DC I’m going to FaceTime you octagon side and when I do answer pick it up DC I want you to pick it up and show them back on that me and you are on FaceTime then you know what I might not do is FaceTime you in Kansas City wins but I think like the the cool part about this Super Bowl which I mentioned on Monday after the games and after the teams were set was that in black history month for the first time we have two African-American quarterbacks that are starting this game and also pointed to both of their fathers I pointed to Patrick Mahomes senior and also avrion hurts and the reason I did that was because so often black fathers aren’t pointed to for helping their sons to success black fathers aren’t pointed to for being in the house and continuing to help a young man become a man it’s often important when that black man isn’t in the house right it’s also it’s often made a story when we could say this kid overcame the adversity of coming from a single parent home well neither one of these quarterbacks had to do that neither one of these quarterbacks have had to live without seeing their father every day and I spoke to Doug Williams over the weekend who was the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl and the sort of Pride that he has in being able to always be associated with that but now seeing the game progress to the point where we have two quarterbacks I think that’s a testament to these young men a testament to their mothers and fathers and their support systems that have helped them get to this point I also think it’s a testament to the NFL to coaches to Executives finally starting to recognize the leadership skills that these young men can have and also the talent and the brain right because it was always said it didn’t have the intelligence to play the position giving these young men opportunities to prove it and that that’s that for me you know I’m no Insider right you and I just completely flip hats whenever we start talking football because you’re the guy that lived it you’re the guy that still lives it today but for me it wasn’t hidden that the intelligence was always the factor as to why most of those black quarterbacks didn’t get the position they always had the athleticism they always had the ability but could they handle the Playbook I’m not even a guy that lived in the world Ryan but I would hear that so that tells me that I was hearing that in public places can they handle the Playbook can they handle all that stuff that comes with leading a team to a championship we now have two young black men doing that right now heading into the Super Bowl come from families with strong Role Models strong dads that took an interest that took the like like us Ryan we want to be there as fathers for our children so we give them an opportunity they took the initiative to live the life that they want to give of their children and it shows and I am so proud to watch these two men lead in the way that they lead as a black man because it just gives me more hope that I’m doing the right thing for my son to give him an opportunity to do something whether it be sports or something completely different I’m giving them a chance just like those dads gave their boys who are both now leading teams in the Super Bowl Ryan it’s an absolutely amazing thing my brother and uh it makes me very happy to see yeah man I just think it’s it’s so dope and speaking of our opportunities to be fathers and give our kids these better opportunities tell us a little bit of Mayor about your wrestling team over the weekend DC man I heard y’all y’all had some bumps early and you get the way I had to go but when y’all hit the mat it was Total Domination yeah it was domination man once we got to going you know we had some hiccups uh with some stuff uh you know viewed Sports Ryan can be ugly man and we had some Anonymous people trying to say our kids did things wrong and uh didn’t want them to get the opportunity ultimately the right thing was done uh my league uh was they voted on letting our kids wrestle to my commissioner in my conference let the kids compete uh my kid my team will get some sanctions for some of the things that we didn’t know or didn’t recognize we’re gonna do but you know what it is what it is because ultimately the kids get a chance we scored almost 500 team points in that tournament so uh wow Gilroy Mustangs did a fantastic job and showed Ryan why they are champions and I’m improvi I’m proud of them guys Ryan and I want to thank you so much for supporting us as you have been doing since day one maybe day two because in day one you guys really didn’t support us all that much they didn’t know RC they know now though we love you guys for the support we appreciate you you’ll find us every Tuesday wherever you get your podcast we’re also on ESPN2 12 midnight Eastern nine Pacific every single Tuesday but obviously we’re here today for DC and RC but before we go guys I sat down with Islam in Alexander volkanovski and those guys were filled with confidence and I love being in between these two because guys there’s so much greatness and shared among them as they head into the main event at UFC 284 take a listen to the interview in its entirety right now on DC and RC until next time guys peace we have the main event of UFC 284 we have Islam market share we have Alexander wait a minute wait a minute actually I should be introducing volkanovski first because he’s the powerful partner would fight in the world so we got Alexander volkanovski and we got Islam bahachio Jordan is both from beautiful Australian fellas IO dude we’re good I’m good I’m very good Islam you like that like volcanovski is number one pop box so he should be introduced first right right this is my jungle he jumped to my jam okay boys all the preposition going we are getting very close to Fight Night Alexander did great you first like how’s the preparation going how did you feel as you head into this massive opportunity where you try to become double chin well that’s exactly what it is massive opportunity uh obviously Kip uh it’s been a long one I’m on campus I’ve been trying to hide over the bulking and all that type of stuff but everything’s uh all coming together you know I mean so now we’re getting the weight where we want it now I’m uh as sharp as I am at Midway but as strong as I would be bowls are welcome weight so I’m very happy with everything is right now and I can’t wait to do work just around the corner only a couple more hard sessions a couple more hard sessions and we’re ready Islam what about you man house training camp how long have you been in Australia I know you did the vast majority of the camp in Dagestan like how long have you been there how’s the training been going training going is good I am more than almost two weeks here but everything is same just weather in Russia and Australia so different now it’s so hot place yeah so I get I get to this fight right I was in the act that would you do whatever Islam became the champion and vote you walked into the Octagon next to him the first thing I thought to myself is Alexander volcanovski is not small thing no no right when you dropped because you think you made it about it I don’t make mistake of course brother takes like a mistake for her because his teammate I decided a job to the other with it showing him bad example but you don’t listen how to make mistake so like when I saw you I said he’s short but he’s not small because in the Octagon on the night you look thick you look big brother he read big shoes always what’s up with this guy you’re giving away all my secrets now mate now but you’re right you’re right you’re right obviously we’re all mad we all know that and I’m sure I’ve always paid sure it doesn’t matter everyone better fights he’s taller than me uh so uh for that to play a factor this spot is just silly I’m I’m one guy that uses inside very very well and uh we all know when you close the ground uh and it definitely helps you in the the wrestling exchange at the beginning back to your feet and all that type of stuff so we can we can talk about sort this short that we all know that’s uh that’s always good in these sort of circumstances so people can say what they want but obviously you’re right when you see me then obviously I still look big but I had plenty of time to bulk up that little bit more so uh you’re gonna see me looking a little bit thicker a little bit thicker and uh the weight would be exactly where we want to still be sharp but uh they’re a little bit bigger as well you know why I went into the same situation people look at the visual and they think oh he’s too small but that’s not necessarily the case but when you stood in front of Islam for the first time uh what were you thinking looking at him he’s a tall bathroom weight blast looking at him he’s big what was your addition thought standing across from Islam and Islam I have the same question for you oh my so maybe I was excited I absolutely loved it again before the flight I didn’t know I didn’t know who I wanted because I wanted to reacted as soon as they said they wanted me in Australia and oh you could take the smile off my phone you know what I mean this is the the perfect scenario not only fighting soon fighting in Australia and all that so as soon as I heard that I was buzzered and I was like give me you there please get me in again with this short guy get this shotgun all right anything I want to be so uh and mate I absolutely love that you know what I mean I’m looking at every opponent for the same obviously I got respect for him now that’s why I prepare accordingly it was to say this is a mistake and short and all that cup of stuff hopefully he’s a training actually really thinking about that because he’s going to be a forward shot Islam what was your thought when you stood across from vulcanovsky from the first time because you guys the the size differential is real right he did you did look a little bigger than him when you guys stood across from each other what were you thinking when you saw the Champ for the first time not only the jet but the powerful never will fight in the world that’s one thing brother I want to be five for pound King this is my new dream this is my goal you know and I’m training so hard for this fight I know akanowski not not gonna be easy that’s why I spent three months for the camp and I’m training so hard for this fight and I want to be powerful pound King not just Chen this expectation Islam let this expectation that you’re gonna dominate everybody right you are a passive favorite over vulcanovski like what does that feel like to you to live up to that every time because at this point you just became the champion it’s not like you defended the belt ten times but there is a massive amount of expectation for you to not only win but Dominate and they’re expecting you to dominate one of the greatest fighters in the world I need a lot of prices a lot of pressure there and I think British small guys come to my division and I just want to you know show people my level somebody stays gonna be hard he’s but everybody know they might my My Level because all my last five five or six five I show good performance and I finish all my opponents that’s why I’m gonna look for the finish on wish and my goal I want to sorry but I want to knock you out a lot because that’s why do you want to stay end up in a tripod but we won’t have that and again we wanna you wanna back yeah but that’s so good I’m preparing the good that’s what they said as he said he loves his friend or not obviously a couple uh top five for you you know what I mean they’re not silly they’re smart they know what I’m capable of they’re gonna prepare accordingly as well I can say that he’s obviously been trying to he’s got a couple of black guys right now so I’m sure he’s doing some rounds in and uh but we could pass up bro so uh and I salute that’s cool that’s what I want to say but bulk if he’s getting touched up if he’s getting dressed up in the training room and he’s telling you that he’s gonna stand with you I mean that’s got to feel pretty good to know especially after the performance you had against Max Halloween I mean you look as good as you have ever looked in your entire career and sharp you never get tired you’re as good on the feet as they come like looking at Islam with the black guy and everything I’m telling you hey I want to stand with you does that make you smile more right very good boxing you know I have good boxing but I’m different I’m very good MMA fighter so there now I obviously he’s calculated and uh you sit there and you say I’ll be so excited uh for the stand up we all know that he’s gonna want to shoot he’s gonna you know do all that type of stuff but he might be comfortable because he thinks I’m going to be easy to take down I’m going to hold him down and all that so I think he might be a little bit comfortable at the start but what about if he doesn’t what if he can’t hold me down what if I bounce straight back up or stop or or a frame or footworks too much you can’t above a hold that’s when you’re going to really see him start the Panic before that you might think you might think it’s smooth sailing don’t know two piece they’ll get a plan but I’d like that we can talk all we want again for me I know I know I know what to expect watch all these flights I know he’s a great fighter his last one we’ve heard Charles Oliveira I expected him to win so I’m expecting the same on Islam that’s that’s always been there so I might be preparing for a guy that I know he I know what he’s capable of but just talking to some women he was saying things or whether he actually believes it’s going to be that easy I wonder correct I’ll give you an absolutely hey what do you expect next fight Islam next flight which way the one that’s coming is I guarantee you’re going to be uncomfortable you’re gonna have to stand with me and then we’re gonna put we’re gonna really want what I love about it I’m hearing a lot of people say you stand up is underrated and all that type of stuff we’ll find out Islam I wouldn’t stand though we can say no problem hey you talk like can you back out your own opportunities yeah and that’s all right that’s all around here the whole time I don’t understand why you’re smiling I mean what if it doesn’t I’m very excited man waiting you know what is it what if it doesn’t go according to plan like bulk is saying what if when you try to take him down you can’t take him down what if you do it three times five times it’s gonna be brother I’m gonna keep working keep following my plan and all the my opponents say I’m gonna stop his wrestling he’s not gonna take me down but Australia don’t have wrestling Australia yeah he was national champion Olympic Games as you said as you said this is in my mind but you just don’t remember you’ve got a we all know your hope is to try to have a hold of me and hold me down but if that doesn’t work in your favor we know our company you don’t think that he can stand with you for 25 minutes all right the thing is very inspiring he’s very calculatable he’s a very calculated and he thought he just said you think you’re Muhammad Ali I think I’m not happening right I’m just happy I I know where I’m at I’m confident in my ability and and that’s that I know I could strike I know I put a puzzle in him I don’t care if he needs Parts if I’m gonna need more you know I’m going to keep working I’m going to fly but I’ve got that fight IQ especially no matter where the flight goes that’s that’s what’s made me who I am you know what I mean if you look at my career and you break it all down it’s the fight IQ it’s a never give it up never backing down it goes there’s so many layers it there’s so many languages and you can say whatever you want we all know I know that he’s not got a great great wrestling uh great uh Jitsu and all that type of stuff but what if she’s only one game plan does it it doesn’t go that way eventually I’ve already added years that’s what I’m trying to say in honor I don’t know I’ll find out I’ll find out but I know for a long time it’s usually not one game plan it’s just that he’s had to use one gameplay he doesn’t need to use that hey ourselves that’s that’s foreign that’s right it’s so different you can be fat but you cannot be big you can be afraid I don’t need to do this I want to be sharp I want to be fast I want that movement the hell with that movement over there and like you said don’t knock that butterfly yes what do you think of Alex Andrew Wilson because he’s colored quite there to a little bit he’s right there she’s gone he’s telling you he’s gonna tell you that he’s gonna beat you like I I can sense the confidence coming off Alexander and why wouldn’t he confident all he has done is win his entire career you two are talking he put in his mind he gonna take time I’m gonna give up but he have to make some other plane too you know because it’s not same guys who take him down somewhere all in this is other pressing you know my style it’s so different and it’s not gonna be shame like he’s trained sparring partners or all these guys it’s so different yeah you just need to remember when I when we prepare we prepare properly we we we we break down position we baked about these we break that specific opponents we don’t just do Jiu Jitsu we don’t just do this we we study we look we know what you we know you’re good you’re good we know where you’re good we know where you’re really strong we’re gonna give we’re going to give you that respect but at the same time you know I’m gonna put myself and do the hard yeah that’s why I’m they say yes you’re saying that if this isn’t Cockiness this is confidence in my my preparation I always prepare women I’m always going to do that and it starts by respecting your opponent knows where this could go you’re mad if you think I have myself at some of the worst position I’ve done I mean I’m doing 35 minutes straight in bad position as late late stage uh submissions you can get with some of the best Grapplers in the world what we’ve seen in 19th priority in our Digger match we’ve seen you escape something that not many fighters would have escaped and I feel that that came out to the Arden of unwillingness to give up most would have said in at back then put your put yourself in that position and you learn a lot from that so uh training from there on uh was uh obviously a whole nother level we leveled up after that when it comes to submission and defense and all that kind of stuff purely from being in that position and knowing what you’re capable of again I believe in myself I know what I’m capable of I don’t actually I don’t even know what I’m fully capable of yet I want to find out that’s why you certainly take on this challenge that’s why you see me challenging myself you see me doing these things I think it can be done I believe it I’m gonna go and try to take it I guess he’s a lot of the tough opponent I know that but I still want it last Halloween fight then you weren’t the first two but Martin sure have you continued to improve but Alexander’s stature as a shorter guy as a guy coming up in weight class do you anticipate that being a little bit of an issue because it’s a little harder to level change into a guy that’s shorter Alexander does have a wrestling back Alexander does have a championship mindset in mentality how do you do to Alex would you have done to so many because I have seen guys over the course of your career mentally check out when dealing with you how do you do that to Alexander volkanovski a guy that doesn’t seem like he’s ever willing to quit on himself how do you break him how do you smash him well you know all that my opponents say I’m gonna defend something but when they feel the power depression and they all give up like like my last thing last fight what he say I’m gonna stop him knock him out but when he feels some you know and after first round I give him some hard time and he think I don’t do fill this fight around and he give up that’s right you know this is not I’m not like all fighters I have different style I have nobody have like style I have different Power that’s right when the my opponents feel this and the always did same things they just give up and tap you know I I actually I’ll head to bring you up you think I lie you think you can write out the volcanovski give up Islam of course why not that’s a that’s something I actually agree with you when he talks about his other opponents feeling that stuff and then grumbling so he’s got to understand that I will not crumble like you could bet like you could try put me to sleep kill me whatever all right that’s probably the only way you can stop me otherwise I’m gonna keep doing what I need to do I’m gonna fight for every single millimeter that’s the thing that’s just what I am what I’m all about again I ain’t nothing special but I’m not I put my ass in the in the gym and do what needs to be done time and time again and now look where it’s got me and that mindset that I have that mentality that I have is why I’m in this position that’s why you see me being confident again there’s confidency you can see the respect of getting Beyond telling you how good it is but that’s why I’m confident because I know I do read what needs to be done to try and take that nice shiny building Jim you are so confident going into this final word for Islam mockership before you guys are locked into the Octonaut this weekend what do you want to say to him as the guidance the holder of the belt in the league class above you and the guy that seems to be another Russian machine just writing to dominate the lightweight division let’s get it let’s go out there and put on the show and do a weeping sign we’re gonna do he’s gonna he’s gonna try a name plus he’s well I’m gonna try first Bible and that just means it’s going to be a bump up for the Fate One thing I just really really wanna again have enough respect for Islam I just want to uh say to you to your face is loud you know make me want promise and that’s a make weight comfortably and healthy and then let’s dance Islam you have anything to say to the champ the number one qualified in the world hey you’re fighting for more than just events of your title you went this weekend you will be ranked number one follow the world joining many of the guys that have trained and lived and the American kickboxing academy what will that mean to you and what do you say to Alexander especially as he leaves with make sure you make the wait before we get locked from the Octonaut this weekend brother I don’t have this great program the Lord is all I am very excited waiting for that moment and you know after when I won my belt I just don’t want to like you know defense like and and when Alex jumped to the candy and I understand it’s gonna be new girl new Target it’s it’s dream for all MMA fighters to be number one from football king that’s right I understand what that mean and I’m training so hard this game you know that’s right I’m very close and very excited ladies and gentlemen you don’t get number one versus number two powerful very often that is our reality going into UFC 284 this weekend as Islam tries to keep his lightweight Championship from Alexander to Great vulcanovski boys you both seem to be living in beautiful palatial Estates out in Australia right now I wish I was there with you but I will be tuning in locked in on what promises to be one of the greatest fights of the entire year champ champ thank you for joining DC and RC I appreciate each and every morning what you do and what you are to this sport good luck enjoy the fight and boys just really tear it up out there this week thank you