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just go into the mix yeah I did you know I um I don’t think I don’t know how not to get into something like that you know um I believe he’s the same way you know um I like to say I want to stay calm and it just just never happens you know so I was like it felt good to be back um Big W you know I’m just I’m just all smiles right now but she didn’t get out of there scot-free caught a little damage as well uh I mean how did you think the fight played out of me what what he brought to the table versus what you expected I know you had a lot of respect for him but yeah um I know he’s gonna be quick I felt he’s gonna be quick um yeah I know he’s gonna have that like you said that boxing style go to the body um big shots and all that um just wanted obviously uh you know wear him down if I couldn’t I didn’t try to grab him trying to get on top of him a little bit but it just didn’t work out um and then just got right back to what I was doing right that didn’t work so get back to that Jab I mean I think this is a fight a lot of people thought you needed to win to really make a statement so I guess can you talk about just the importance like the emotion I guess of tonight of making a statement like that yeah man I def I needed that man I needed it for the team I needed for me needed for my family and um yeah we’re back I love it last thing for me there’s a whole bunch of interesting matchups for you at the top of the division now you prove that you still belong there give us the idea I mean you had a year away is it let’s turn this around quickly it takes some time off what’s the plan you know I would love to do figgy versus fun man figure out I’d love to introduce him to the 35 Division I think that’ll be a fun fight I think uh you know I like fighting big names um I definitely want to fight backwards um but I think uh me and him would definitely be a great fight right on the front uh well Chris Rodriguez was in here he obviously he beat uh Royals is another young fighter who had a lot of hype I know you don’t consider Adrian young like you said at media day but he said entering this he felt like he had something to prove against Raul did you feel the similar situation against Adrian I mean I want to say I had something to prove against Adrian I think it had something to prove for myself um obviously I think uh I I just I needed that for myself I needed uh to remind myself that I’m still here I’m still that guy you know you know if I get going on anybody that that’s exactly what’s going to happen to everybody and Joe Rogan on the broadcast said that the damage under your eyes and stuff he he thought it was from the years of fighting catching up to maybe you damage like easier or you bruise easier because of all the damage that you’ve taken over the years is that true or was it Adrian that was actually hitting you man I’d do it throwing bombs man what are you talking about like hit me with a bomb man so uh yeah I mean obviously uh I don’t know I don’t think so um I think I have more damage on this side than the other side but he caught me with something quick early I didn’t even necessarily see it either and um yeah he hits hard the broadcast also made it seem like Adrian was kind of agitated at his coach saying something yelling at his coach or something did you hear him saying anything in there I didn’t I I didn’t hear what he said but I saw it I was like I know he’s not saying that the early stop is I heard I’ve seen his eyes roll back like if anything I was like ref what are you doing man save this guy but um yeah I don’t I don’t know uh I that sucks you know I would I don’t know I don’t know what what he thought like what I don’t know Rob um I know that you believed going into a fight that you were still that guy but now you know uh so is it relieving to to kind of you know match the the belief with the with the factuals yeah 100 you know I uh obviously losing the Cheeto and all those sucked um and I needed to bounce back uh again like I said for myself for my team for my family and and um to go out there and do it on a big pay-per-view who gets a dangerous guy like Adrian it was uh just start getting them all smiles man I just can’t stop cheesing it’s a big night a great night and um yeah on to the next one though what would you say are like the biggest things that you want to add to your game or work on uh after suffering those defeats like what what is it what is the Rob font 2.0 look like um yeah I’m just trying to like you know steal a page out of George St Pierre’s uh book you know just want to just consistently get well-rounded um you know I want some more finishes it’s been a while since I finished the fight I want some more uh some more takedown some more just being well-rounded everywhere you know figure it’ll match up interested just that he’s a former champ would you like my champ he’s excited um I know he’s gonna talk a lot of you know like I think it’ll be a great entertaining type of fight and I think I need I need another another big name like that thank you and congrats hi Rob thanks for representing Puerto Rico in UFC as always before this fight you said battle me if you want to make some money did you felt slighted that maybe you were being used as Janice uh stepping stone I wouldn’t say that I think uh I think people saw more until how I lost the last two fights and they were probably you know uh banking on that my Chin’s gone and you know that you know all the stories everybody writes but uh you know like I don’t want to get hit but like I showed that I can still take it you know um obviously the goal is to never get hit but uh yeah I think it was more of people banking on that I wasn’t gonna be able to last with this guy one second second question uh you just asked for Davidson figuerado perhaps you and figuerado in Puerto Rico let’s go I would love to that’d be awesome let’s go man I appreciate you guys foreign yes sir congratulations I mean obviously an impressive performance tonight how are you feeling after that Victory uh feeling great you know I was I was really looking forward for a finish but I think it was a good fight you know I tried to to put on the show every single time I was really really looking forward to a finishing with the good shots took him down a couple times if I’m not wrong I had three takedown attempts and I finished all three and uh a lot of wrestlers didn’t do that you know like a lot of guys high level rushes that he fought having trouble taking down what didn’t and I sure I think I showed a lot of improvement and that guy was freaking slippery that’s a old dog Miami trick with the lotion because he was so slippery wow uh obviously he dominated the last two rounds kind of a slow start in round number one was that by Design or was that just kind of the way things played out no not at all by saying I want to start putting a lot of pressure but I speak Spanish and I was listening to his paulini he’s uh his coach and he was like whenever he got closer you hit him with uppercut with the knee and then I kind of felt a little weird trick and he was kind of listening to that and I was just like trying to find him trying to do a couple friends to see if he throw it was just a weird distance from the beginning and then I’m like and he I I I I hate that that I have a slow start I want to start pressuring putting a lot of pressure on the beginning be a little bit more aggressive that might would change the results you know if I put a lot more pressure maybe positive maybe negative we would never know but yeah we I would love to to show a little bit more pressure you’re not used to getting booed a whole lot man so I mean you were the enemy all week long I guess what did that feel like going in there and having the crowd trash it in there uh it feels great to be honest he does feel great I like I love that energy I love the fans the guy is uh the guy’s a freaking Superstar right here Brother Gotta respect I gotta give that I gotta give that to him you know and the guy 52 profiles because that’s not for everybody you know I respect the hell of this guy a warrior on my eyes and plus the the plus the street fights that doesn’t count you know the backyard so yeah a lot of respect to this guy nice you call it you know title shot I mean you know the welterware title picture as well as anybody so how do you see this thing shut down but you think you’re gonna have to stand around and wait for a while or if there’s going to be a fight like what are you thinking uh I almost say done deal Kobe in in Liam in in London if I’m not wrong he’s almost a done deal everything just a little details I’m going to be back up I’m going to I’m not I’m not asking I’m demanding that I’m going to because whenever they ask any time the UFC gave me a call asking for a point I say yes and now I’m demanding that I’m gonna I’m going out there I’m gonna do my training camp to five rounds I go to London I’ll be the backup and I’m next online I’m not online I mean that’s in line to to fight for the title and otherwise let me go my guy let me do my thing you know this guy is making a million dollars here on the other organizations you know step up I’m I’m that’s it I’m fighting I’m I’m a backup for the next fight and I’m fighting for the title next over right when you said that Jorge felt slippery in there do you think he actually had something on him 100 I do believe I I know those old tricks those guys do they you know what they do they wake up on Sunday and they take the first shower and they put pass a lot of lotion on the body and the lotion goes like the the skin observes the lotion and then you do that after three hours you do it again and then after you do it again then after you do it again and your body observes whenever he starts to wedding a lot for sure he did that truth 100 he did I’m telling you I’m not oh maybe not 100 he was so slippery whenever you guys if you guys have watching the highlights or watch try to see you’re gonna see like like he’s bright his his Skin’s bright that guy I Gotta Give It Up to this guy the guy has all the tricks do you think if it wasn’t slipper you could have finished him 100 I didn’t feel he’s strong at all I saw a lot of little details that he does good he has a couple good answers to get up but remember he give a lot I’m not even going to say names but he fought a couple high level wrestler he lost those I had three takedowns attempts and I finished all three whenever I get on top he didn’t got up I think he got up one time but that’s it I dominate the guy on the floor if I have a last last lotion my guy if I had a little bit less lotion I think I could get it done Muhammad was also in here he was speaking with us and he he seems to think he might want to fight Kamara Usman next if you can’t get the Kobe coming fight if you were uh telling like what what do you think the law should do next if he doesn’t care to be honest uh I don’t like what I was doing I was kind of trashing below a little B but the guy deserves a shot you you know we’re both in the marathon trying to get it that title shot and uh yeah I think he’s doing his thing he just gotta fight the next guy and I think he’ll be right there I’m already demanding I’m not fighting anyone if you’re not give me a shot let me go that that’s on my head right now I’ve been fighting anyone anytime you guys know already I don’t need to be the anywhere anywhere anytime you guys know I’ve been fighting I’m willing to fight anyone I’m demanding a title shot all right let me go bro I’ll do my thing you know and I think Muhammad he’s right there too you know you would be willing to go if you don’t get this title shot or if you’re the backup yeah let me go over going into the third round did you think you were ahead or you weren’t even thinking about that uh I think it was close but I had a lot of energy going through the tehranos and you know what I don’t even think I’m just gonna try to finish even if I was winning I’m gonna push the pace I’m gonna try to finish like I said I wanna I wanna I finish so bad so bad that I’ll keep chasing that Dan I noticed that you were Toe to Toe with him in the third round but then without about a minute left then you decided I’m just gonna go for the takedown and you did it was that because then you figured all right I got the fight or was it because of the the lotion that you mentioned that you weren’t going to do it until later in the round that’s you but uh I kind of saw that I hit him with the hard shots and the guy was kind of knocking down came back he was taking I I thought maybe grounding powder would do it so and in that shoe those judges are crazy nowadays they cannot I don’t know what they think he’s in time so I need to be a little bit more do more damage it’d be a little bit more the way the way I see the fight is uh it defines it’s it’s close it might those I don’t know what they’re gonna do right so the way I see I gotta convince everybody the judge the guys at home the media the fans everybody that I want the running I think that takedown with the grounding party at the end he did it you know he did it and lastly for me do you also think too with the hometown crowd that could have swayed the judges a little more too if it was coming to that maybe maybe those just those judges they they got to investigate those charges Jesus um you know your brand has always been I’ll fight anybody anywhere any given time but now we’re seeing a change you you want you’re demanding this that you’re the next title uh Contender after you know Leon and and uh Kobe do their own thing what’s changed change that I’m not getting any younger my brother you know and uh and being willing to find anybody and literally fighting anyone didn’t give me that now I demand he give me that or or I don’t care yeah and uh who do you think would win between Leon and Kobe it’s a good fight I gotta I gotta stop and take a look at that I do think Kobe wins I don’t think it’s gonna be easy if you want to get Kik a lot he’s going to get hit a lot the deal is big for the division long I think way better Striker than than Kobe but maybe copy that pace in the wrestling he might get it done but I think Kobe against me is an amazing fight I think I think on the show I can have a little I have Advantage I do believe in on the ground will be I will be like will be so nice I cannot wait for this fight yeah and Kobe has obviously you know his whole brand started by going to Brazil and saying you know everything that he said um I I know you’re a pretty chill dude but you are Brazilian right is there anything there that extra besides warning fight for the belt that you would like to get your hands on Colby not really I know I know he’s just doing his thing I and like like I said same thing with Bilal Mohammed with all these guys I’m not gonna push no one of these guys down to elevate myself I think they do their own thing get respect every single one but always almost there too Kobe’s there already doesn’t deserve it doesn’t matter he’s there now you know so I’m not here to judge these guys I’m here to do my job and I want to I want to fight for the time and I don’t I hate to say I want to fight for the time I want I want to win the title and I want to gather that that’s what I want thank you and congrats thank you um and it took commercials Gilbert um you said anyone anywhere in an event where you don’t get that title fight would you be willing to run it back with tomorrow again 100 percent 100 uh if I really really need to think if I’ll be so mad I would be so mad if they make me do another fight I don’t think I will do it to be honest but on on lazy they said hey Camaro or shimayev that’s the True Romance that I’m dying for that of okay for this you also yes but other than that no give me a title shot or or I’m out might drop on that one thank you guys I like it if I knew it would do it before have a good one guys foreign guys the uh fight of the night went to Curtis and gasolum and uh performance of the night went to font in Israel they all won fifty thousand dollars the attendance tonight was 19 032 sold out highest grossing event in the arena history the gate was 11.9 Million six highest grossing event in UFC history and there’s a new sheriff in town ladies and gentlemen it beat msg’s last gate Miami beat Madison Square Garden last gate there was uh 11.5 and it was the same fight so unbelievable when you think that last time we came here we did a gate of 446 thousand and now we just beat Madison Square Garden so I’ve been saying this all week Miami is like Miami reminds me of LA 10 years ago this place is booming I’m sure you felt it when you’re I’m sure a lot of you are from here but those of you that aren’t I mean every restaurant is packed till midnight one in the morning people out in the streets it’s just like this place is as cool and as hot and as incredible as ever it was it was a really I’m glad we came here it was a cool experience John Morgan what’s it say so when you said at the press conference hey we’ll be coming back I mean do you think this is like an annual type destination for you now yeah we’re in we’re coming to Miami this this place is such a different place than the last time I was here um obviously I’m assuming a lot of this was built up you know during covet and you know all the stuff that you know went on here it’s just this this whole this place is at a whole nother level it’s incredible a lot to talk about with the featured fights but I just want to ask you real quick about Chase Sherman do you have an update on his condition or exactly what happened there no no okay fair enough he got sick he he was you know snapping a couple times and I think he ate something bad is from what I heard I don’t quote me though because I don’t know for sure I don’t know obviously amazing result the main event Israel out of Sonya Champion again uh thrilling second round especially I mean just tension I guess talk about the fight overall what you thought and that win yeah I mean it was it was an absolute War Israel and Sanya was saying this coming into this fight I mean this guy never turns down a fight when it came time to fight Pereira he was ready let’s do it I want to fight three times I only want to fight the best he lost he was ready for an immediate rematch I mean this kid is uh and people were asking you know in interviews leading up to this fight you know do you think he’s messed up mentally and and do you think he’s in his head and I did not think that because it was the way is listen a lot of these guys a lot of is talked in public like oh I want this one and then behind the scenes it’s a whole nother ball game Israel out of Sonya is not that guy Israel out of Sonya will fight anybody anywhere anytime and and the guy likes to fight three times a year even though he’s he has the belt you know a lot of these guys get the belt and start making that really big money I’ll fight two times then it goes down to one time and you know how it goes you’ve seen it but not this kid especially he’s different emphatic victory tonight so what do you think I mean a great rivalry between these two right it was a great storyline is there unfinished business now like do they need to do it again to settle the UFC Trilogy or or what are your thoughts honestly I think that Pereira probably moves to 205 after this fight he’s a monster you know I know that he had he still had like two pounds to cut leading up to there was like an hour left of the weigh-in so and uh yeah I mean I’m not saying he’s moving to 205 but I would assume he is you guys can ask him himself but it wouldn’t surprise me coal Main Event uh Gilbert Burns came into enemy territory got an impressive win he was here just before you and says hey I want to be the backup for the next title shot in fact he didn’t say I want he said I demand I’m not asking I’m telling you uh normally you like attitudes like that dude I love that you put on that position yeah I love that why not deal you got a deal we got it done uh and then I guess last thing I want to ask you about uh Kevin Holland I saw that he was talking to you I mean no surprise he’s talking to you during the fight after the fight but just seemed like a weird week all around that you kind of didn’t want us talking to him about other fights well I guess what happened with Kevin Holland what happened well the reason I didn’t want you guys talking about other fights is guys we’re two days before a fight he’s not fighting Jorge Mavado whatever they got into whatever first of all it creates backstage and at the hotels right when you guys ask them questions like that and they say something we still got two days until the fight and these guys run into each other backstage and everywhere else and it’s so disrespectful to their opponent there’s an opponent sitting up there that they’re gonna fight and uh I I just hate that I get it you want your clicks or whatever it is you guys want to get your little moment that you can post but I will attack you if you do that you know what I mean it’s it’s just uh causes a lot of backstage and at the hotel and um but you know it’s like the time the stuff went down with Diaz and and all those guys uh and hamzat you know these guys have 20 30 guys backstage and just that just can’t happen here and you guys can’t instigate it what was he saying to you tonight crazy I mean I don’t know what he was saying he was yelling at me and I don’t even know what he was saying it was just it was crazy yeah I I don’t know you know Trump looked at me and said what’s he talking about I said I don’t know is he talking to me or talking to you and uh yeah I don’t know I don’t know what was going on but yeah he’s he’s had a crazy week he’s he’s been acting a little a little crazy this week data going back to Israel you mentioned that he’s kind of special right and he wants to fight as often as he can but you’ve dealt with a lot of guys who are different mentally in the history of this sport right you’ve got people like Connor and all these who are kind of like artists but in terms of mental strength to be able to find a guy who’s beating you three times do you think Israel might be on another level of just self-confidence yeah I just think you know you you meet some of these guys that are literally true Fighters they’re just they’re Fighters and and that’s what he is this kid loves to fight he loves to prove himself he loves to challenge himself and uh yeah he’s a very unique guy very unique yeah I mean even knowing already the celebration he was going to do like seconds after he noted out like having that stuff already pre-planned yeah um yeah I don’t know you guys should really has he been here yet oh yeah yeah you guys should really dig into that one I mean you know how mentally strong this kid is and and like you said like he he believes in himself so much and he’s willing to test himself against a guy who’s beat him three times you know what I mean he comes out tonight and knocks him out viciously yeah it’s just pretty awesome uh appears to be dumb with the sport obviously that’s his decision and whenever you hear a guy talking like that it usually means the end is near but he’s also a fun guy like Nate was where you can put him in big fights and he’ll make big money for himself would you like to see him walk away or would you be happy to see him stickers yeah no listen as soon as you think about retiring you know you should in this business and he’s made a lot of money he made a lot of money tonight and you know he’s got things outside the Octagon going on to like Conor does and and some of these other guys and I I think he’s uh I think he’s proved everything he needed to prove to himself and he’s changed his family’s life and why not is he an example for a younger fighters they’re like hey you know your career might be going one way but if you have one good year or one the right fight at the right time if you take it you can change your entire career oh that flying knee changed his life you know what I mean when he threw that flying knee um it changed his whole life and and uh yeah last one for me I’ve always been curious about this Donald Trump was here watching the fights with me what sort of fight fan is he is he like a guy wants to see a brawl does he want to see a terrible back and forth like what was he sitting there saying to you so this guy calls me twice a month and will talk to me for an hour about fights that have happened you know since the last time we talked and uh he knows everybody he he knows uh you know what they did and and uh who they fought last and he’s a huge fight fan loves this stuff he’s his favorite fighter yeah three guesses Connor huh Connor Colby Covington and jorgeous that yeah that has been all in Covington uh what would you like to see royal roses go from here I know he had a lot of hype and then he kind of ran into Christian Rodriguez it just looked like a grown man fighting someone that might have been 19. yeah it happens he’s a young kid you know um I had that two rounds to one and uh you know he’s got a lot of growing to do he’s got he’s got a lot of work to do people love him this isn’t you know this isn’t as damaging to him as a nobody really goes undefeated in this sport it’s it’s very very hard to do um but uh you know you just got to get back in there get back on the horse and keep going Muhammad was in here too and he said he would actually be interested in fighting Kamara Usman next if he doesn’t get a title shot or a backup shot or anything I know you said you were interested in Booking him against shavkot in London is that still the plan with below to do what with them you want in London you said you were looking at Bilal versus shav cat below was in there saying he’d actually be interested in fighting kamaru because he’s the only one ranked higher than him uh in the rankings interesting yeah we’ll talk about it but yeah the the other fight is the fight that we wanted to do he also said that he actually asked to be the backup in London and it was that ended up being Colby Covington was that true I don’t know but if he said it then yeah it’s true yeah he’s a nice guy and he’s not lying do you see a shirt out here is what shirt no what would it was Colby Covington with a broken jaw oh really yeah it’s been crazy around here lately um your Africa dream is back now with Izzy becoming a champion um how how is that coming along because I did speak to some people in Africa the last time we spoke and they are building a facility in Nigeria it’s huge that’s what we need we we need some real infrastructure over there to go over there and pull off you know fight like tonight um but yeah I mean I’ve made it very clear that I’m focused on that we’re building the PI right down in Mexico right now so once that gets done we’ll start looking Lawrence when will we start looking in Africa there you go yeah did the car Arena he’s the guy who sends people out to start looking he’s the guy that found the place in Mexico and he’s the guy that will find a place in Africa for us yeah the car arena is like 12 000. it’s it’s hosted a bunch of events in the past so yeah perfect Kevin Holland um at this point don’t you have to upgrade security first time that now we have I mean nobody got in a fight that day until you guys started trying to start and get stuff going right I mean nothing happened a lot of yelling at each other and stuff like that but the thing is you gotta understand these guys are grown men so when when Holland left the press conference that day I told the security guys I want more Security on them and they told them when he when he got off the stage you know what he did he ran out the back and left by himself because he doesn’t want security you know these are grown men and and we can do as much as we can do um yeah last one for me um we Africa has had three champions in the past now we have one back um what’s the what’s the next level and I know he probably has to work his way back to the top again what’s like the next thing you might have for it yeah I don’t know yet I don’t know yet for tomorrow but um we’ll get him figured out soon getting it back here thank you yeah Dana over here yeah oh how you doing congratulations on another great night so with the success of the Miami card and New York card you look at your people do you talk at your people say hey we got to open up her calendar a little bit more and come back to Miami more come back to New York Market more like what’s this an indication of well I don’t think I need to tell anybody at the office I know we need to come back to Miami I thank everybody first of all it’s just such a great place to come I’m sure those of you that came in town this week had a blast like I did and uh you know like I say 10 years ago La was the greatest city in the world and I I look at Miami now like like La was his place is is booming man it’s just a really cool City tons of great restaurants uh hotels et cetera et cetera and you know like I said when I opened this thing there’s a new sheriff in town now man I mean this thing was looking like it was going to be um right behind MSG in Vegas it beat MSG so um we definitely made the right decision and now we’ll figure out when to bring it down here again cool uh one more question so I actually wanted to talk about the uh Endeavor deal uh with the WWE anytime you can get Vince McMahon and Dana White on the same depth card that’s 1992 dream team type type stuff so uh what’s your thoughts about the deal and what are your thoughts about WWE and UFC congrateness sports and entertainment conglomerate yeah I like the deal I’m very supportive of it you know um you know I knew that they were working on a long time ago and Ari’s super uh respectful like that you know Ari wanted to make sure that everybody was good with this before we move forward with it and um I think that Ari is going to bring a lot of value he’s going to that doesn’t change anything around here there’s no you know we had Brock come over here we had Ronda go over there that that’s all if that’s ever possible if guys leave here and they love wrestling and they’re good enough to do it before this deal we would have been good that but what’s going to happen now is Ari’s going to add a ton of value to WWE whether it’s sponsorship licensing and a lot of other things that he can do when he touches the business and these two the UFC and WWE will become their own stock uh you know we’ll have our own they’re talking about I don’t know how much I can talk about this I should shut the up actually um yeah my Lord my Lord is shaking his head yes um yeah yeah we’re really happy about this deal and we’re looking forward to it uh one more actually uh with uh Donald Trump and audience obviously uh when you first bought the UFC uh zufa uh you know when you got the provisionary license in New Jersey Trump uh Plaza he hosted you guys now all these years later you see it and now it’s a huge conglomerate worldwide like how cool is it that your friend who you know was helping you at the beginning now is a part of it and now is watching it as it’s grown to uh Mega sport yeah I say it all the time I mean when we did that first deal at the Trump tosham Hall um you know you got to remember and it’s hard for a lot of you to even think about this because of where the brand was at that time and what it meant but he saw it he got it he cut us that deal at the Taj when we went there got there for the first fight of the night and stayed there to the last fight and uh he did it both times that we were there and tonight he got here tonight at 7 30. he’s here at 7 30 and he stayed till the to the last fight and then left he loves the sport he loves the fights and uh like I said many times he’s been an incredible friend to me thank you very much Dana thank you hey Dana Joe pifer he didn’t get the bonus but he’s been nothing short of spectacular great Contender series and his two fights spectacular finishes what are your thoughts on his performance and where we go from here and he spectacularly beat a real guy tonight I mean that that was a great performance he didn’t win but you know I’ll take care of him and uh who’s the other kid that we were gonna uh you can’t I brought him in the back and yeah and uh yeah we’re gonna take care of him too yeah how important was this victory for Calvin gaslum because he had that injury he lost that fight he had to come back to this how important was this for his career yeah he’s a dog you know and he fought tonight like the old Calvin you saw him go in there and go to war and uh you know he comes back he wins wins fight of the night it was a big night for him not to be overlooked When Donald Trump came out he had Kid Rock I don’t know who planned the choreography but you had the music going on him next to him who synced that up because that was perfect there was no choreography I mean it just we we were all back there together I’m good friends with Kid Rock too so um we were all back there we’re all friends me him and and Trump and we walked out and the DJ played American Badass you know um yeah it wasn’t there was no choreography whatsoever we just we were just the show was about to start and we walked well played thank you Dana yeah welcome back to Miami thank you I was one of the few there back way back when for that show and just to see tonight it was amazing thank you electricity I’m just curious what do you think over those 20 years has helped grow MMA and make it so big here because it was dead back then well two things well you know it wasn’t dead that was we were on the we were just growing the sport and the brand at the time um but uh Miami isn’t the same place it was when I came back then either like I say this is a completely different city this is one of the most powerful cities in America now um it was not what it is that like I keep referencing LA because when you think of La ten years ago it was probably one of the if not the coolest city in the country not so much today Miami is on a whole nother level man this this place has boomed so if you look at the growth of the UFC the growth of Miami it was the right time to come here and and uh and we were right we had other options and we looked at other options and we pulled the trigger on Miami and we’re all very happy that we did now and with that said you were here in Sunrise Fort Lauderdale a few years ago and that show did fairly no they were very good for us too yeah so did that help too in making the decision or not really if you look at if you look at what we’ve done in Florida since 2020 and again going through covid we had Florida and we had Abu Dhabi so you know we we’ve been bouncing around here and doing well because of what the mayor did for us um up in uh Jacksonville yeah we’re going back again that that’s our last thank you sir we appreciate everything you’ve done for us and we’re going to go back there and give them another event Florida was very good to us and and tonight was amazing and then lastly for me I don’t want to talk a lot about it and I can’t not talk about not not say something about your governor too another guy who was incredible to us through you know coven and everything else and uh who also takes a lot of credit for how Kick-Ass this uh state is right now too American top team kill Cliff FC even Masters in Miami how has that helped too in the growth of this area for MMA again credit to Dan Lambert the guy who is uh spent his own money to not only take care of Fighters but you know uh create world champions and essentially help build the UFC in the sport and lastly for me I know you don’t want to talk a lot about it but UFC WWE still will be two separate companies doing their own thing and not merging per se or anything like that right no no it’s it’s you know they’re going to do what they do we’re going to do what we do the parent company and Ari will help them in a lot of ways that they know they can help them some of the things as as much as WWE is kicking there’s a lot of things in that business that can be tweaked and and can make a big difference not to mention the fact that their right steel is up so their television rights are up and when your television rights are up there’s nobody better than Ari Emmanuel Dan I just straight ahead here yeah who are the transports to the hospital tonight did what the transports to the hospital no transport okay yeah and there’s been a few reports the UFC are coming back to London in July uh can you confirm that and I’m guessing that’s a yes uh will it be a fight night or a pay-per-view I’m working on it and I want it to be a pay-per-view awesome yeah guessing it’ll be Colby Leon when I talk about Florida let’s talk about London now London has been incredible to us man it’s been it’s been amazing the fans over there are amazing we’re supposed to have a fight night in July I want it to be a pay-per-view so um there’s a lot of internal that needs to be worked out and I’m working on it so thank you yeah go ahead sir Rob font just knocked out Adrian Janice after a year layoff and he asked for Davidson figueredo uh when Davidson makes his 135 debut what do you think of that fight yeah I mean the big win big win tonight for Rob font man that was huge impressive uh the fight was a war and yeah tonight tonight was a big night for him man I I I I don’t know if that’s the answer to your question but big night for him I mean huge with Endeavor uh buying WWE WWE is having an event in Puerto Rico May 5th Smackdown and then they’re having the pay-per-view on May 6 with uh Bad Bunny as an associate those two events in the 17 000 Puerto Rico Colosseum got sold out in a week perhaps UFC May consider finally coming back to Puerto Rico I’m all about Puerto Rico I’ve talked about Puerto Rico a lot when I talk about building pis um yeah I mean I I I wouldn’t say no yeah and what about that pi we’re doing Mexico right now we got to get that one but pis aren’t cheap they’re expensive to build man we’re working on Mexico now and then we’ll get our together and figure out what’s next because we’re talking about opening one in Abu Dhabi I want one in Puerto Rico and I would love to have one in Africa too thanks yep it’s going to take time though you know here um is there an update on Jon Jones as far as what like what’s next for him Jon Jones came out paid quick work and poof disappeared man he went back to whatever he’s doing he he’s ready to fight he wants steepe so we’ll get it figured out and that’s that’s definitely the fight steep is next that’s the one he wants yeah and uh just a couple quick ones with uh masvidar retiring you know he’s not entirely retiring from Combat Sports in the sense that you know he is doing his own thing as a promoter with game bird boxing just curious what’d you think of the of sort of the bringing MMA guys into boxing what’d you think of the the show the promotion I actually watched the fight um it was uh I liked I liked the undercard I thought the undercard had good fights the other thing that I was impressed by with them is that they actually had good production when you when you watch a small show like that right one thing that you have to understand how whether the production is good or not is how fast the replay comes they’re right on top of the replays the replays came out fast they they did they did a damn good job with the production I was impressed with it um and uh I I the thing that I don’t like is 50 year olds fighting it’s just just not my thing man um uh so so the co-main and the main put the rest of the card was fine I mean Jose Aldo and and uh Jeremy Stevens was an awesome fight awesome fight uh and then the boxing fights the kid that was undefeated I think it was Puerto Rican actually right yeah yeah that kid that he fought didn’t just show up for a paycheck that kid showed up to win it was a great fight I liked that fight too and yeah I had fun watching the card I was home Saturday night didn’t do anything and I watched it nice and I know you a while ago you spoke about having some interest in maybe going down the boxing route is that still up in there or no uh what does that smile mean we’ll see hey Dana it seemed like seemed like all the answers for roses in the first round and then he had a bunch of questions in rounds two and three who’s this roses yeah can you talk a little bit about his performance yeah I don’t I don’t know I mean problems he encountered they were tight this kid was obviously you know there’s this thing with 18 year old strength and 25 year old man strength you know and and the other kid was a really good Grappler so um like I said that this kid has a ton of room to grow tonight was a good experience for him and and that’s what the Sport’s all about and he was 7-0 but it’s very very hard to go undefeated and and especially when you come into the UFC and as young as this kid is just if you you know he was right in there I had it I I had it uh two to one and yeah he’ll get better okay he’ll get better thanks Dan yep hey Donna yeah decided to stay it’s religion yeah well I was saying to him earlier I I I I would bet anything he moves to 205 after this fight yeah but you you approve the trilogy like if you want to stay in the middle of it it’s like it’s like two I don’t know we’ll see what happens we’ll see what he decides after that I mean the fight just happened 30 minutes ago I don’t know we’ll see digging over here Dana you’ve mentioned the Pim when’s the pi open in New Mexico for the UFC to Mexico is this like an issue with the arena maybe the promoters down there why is the UFC not going to Mexico this 2023. got it um you know as the world starts to open up now there’s a lot of other places that we got to go but you’re not wrong I mean for the first time ever we got three Champions why did we not do a Cinco de Mayo fight why did we not do this why we’re it up that’s why we’re it up we’re trying to fix it and lastly we’re making a lot of mistakes right now and I know we are and we’ll we’ll get our together I promise you and lastly can we confirm that yeah in international fight week I cannot confirm that sir you’re welcome hey Dana hey Dana right here hey uh quick question you’re talking about all these other places Hubble Canada Toronto Montreal we’re going to Vancouver awesome any timelines for that or yeah we’re going huh yeah June awesome thank you Dana over here where have you been we announced that two days ago are you Canadian [Laughter] uh Dane over here uh a few events over the over the past few years with WWE and the UFC have combined on both days and I think this is the same event with 288 and backlash are you guys going to talk with WWE and Ari in regards to making sure that doesn’t happen in the future well I I also think that any time that we ever went on the same night our fan bases are completely different you know what I mean I don’t think there’s a ton of crossover um with the fan base so it it’s not like it ever hurt us yeah but maybe we won’t I don’t know I don’t know the answer to that question but I I don’t think it makes a difference appreciate it thank you if anything what I’ve started to notice is when you have uh you know these type of things on the same night you make more people stay home and maybe people will watch both or whatever the deal is rael’s here you guys done with me go ahead what do you got for me okay just one last question Dana yeah about Gilbert Burns yeah besides fighting business uh Gilbert he speaks Spanish Portuguese English um he’s good with media he’s always his social media is increasing do you see himself in the future as one of the biggest star of the company maybe one of the face of the sport in the near future well he’s the number one ranked guy in the world he has all these uh things that you say and and he’s one of the nicest guys ever and and and if a fight if he has to dog it out like against the hamzat like when he goes in there that guy’s willing to go Toe to Toe and and and do anything so yeah I mean the way this guy fights and all the other attributes he says he has yeah he could be a big star especially in Brazil you guys done with me go ahead sir what do you got he’s a big boxing fighter in a couple weeks Ryan Garcia Javonte Davis yeah in the fight and these two young guys are you know going at it the boxing we haven’t seen boxers in a while got a big fight like this just your thoughts on the fight yeah I agree with you there’s uh very few good boxing fights out there this this is a good one uh this should be fun and that’s that’s a fight I would definitely watch huh you think the fight I have no idea I have no idea I mean gervante is a bad dude and and Ryan’s gonna you know he’s uh he’s unproven yet this is his first real big test so if you can go in and pull it off it’s it’s a big deal um but I’ll be watching even though de la Hoy is involved with it thanks have a good night you guys and thanks Miami two o’clock but after party to go to I have other patients so um no generic questions ask me some real that’ll make me want to answer you if not I’ll just go next well the outpouring of emotion that we saw in the cage was pretty special for you can you put in the words for real I’m just I meant every word I said like leading up to this fight ah if I didn’t know me I wouldn’t believe in me oh this guy already beat this guy three times oh my God you know how’s it gonna do it and I told you I’m locked in I’m coming I’m coming for the kill I’m hunting so I did that and I just wanted to show people the power of the human mind the human Spirit you know what what you can do no matter what no matter if they count you I watch too much anime too much seen too many montages when the guy Rock Lee gets knocked down and asked if all Guy sensei has to fight back up and then fight through adversity you know you never stay down within a rock even Mike angle was playing Rocky one two three four five six seven in the house all week so I know you get knocked down seven times get back up eight but as mentally strong as you are were there any moments along the way where it creeped into your like a little bit of Doubt creeped in you thought maybe this guy just has my number for some reason that’s that’s human that’s human um I guess that’s the human animal it normally happens but I just know myself you know yourself if you know yourself no one else can tell you who you are so I’m able to shut that out real quick most people just can’t do that they they let that negative self-talk sit in there and starts to weigh down on them by being through too much of my life to be able to let this kind of thing weigh me down so whenever that little dirty yeah it tries to creep and I tell you shut the up and I keep going tense opening round tactical I know you said you want to put the pressure on them how did you feel about the first round it went quick I was surprised I thought it was three minutes um but yeah uh uh I was on bro I was on from the get-go and I was hunting him down and he wasn’t comfortable with that was that a decision on your point to Really Turn It Up in round two obviously the volume increased quite a bit I just knew I could hunt him down every time I fight this guy first fight second fight third fight I always have him in the early rounds and then I just give him enough room to breathe so I can come back in the later rounds so this time I said I’m not giving them room to breathe I’m gonna suffocate him and yeah I embraced the dark side I embrace the darkness so I could show them the light nice last thing for me I know you said you were not thinking past this moment at all I’m not thinking yeah nope nope no I’m still drinking I ain’t thinking Izzy uh obviously this week with the engagement there’s been a link with yourself and Muhammad Ali I know that’s one that you’ve logged throughout your career yeah is it cool that you had your own rope-a-dope moment you know you’re against a big Punchy look back and find the right hand possum so I’ll tell you he’s good with those leg kicks and I was like again literally I think in the first round I was like again you can’t catch my leg it’s so quick because I was ready for it I was ready to catch him and he’s so sneaky with that I’m gonna learn that off him actually but then um yeah I changed the tactics up a bit and I listened to my corner and I trusted my instinct but there was a moment when I was visualizing this fight I was like if I get the chance and when I get the chance George Foreman Muhammad Ali phantom punch would I just let him slide but I was like nah that he wouldn’t have done the same to me he will he’ll come for the kill so The Honorable thing I could have done was put him out of his misery and after that rope or dope moment I saw him lying flat on the ground Frozen like Elsa you also obviously had a quite an emotional celebration where you fired and not one but three arrows into him I wonder if there’s a significance to there being the number of three arrows and then I’m sure you sort of uh motioned someone in the crowd and took a little dive I know I was I’m Petty bro I remember so the first time you knocked me out in Brazil um his son came into the ring and then started to just lie Dead next to me and I’m like you little I’ll whoop your ass every day I don’t do it for you but then um yeah I looked for his kid and I pointed at him and I saw him and I was like hey hey hey just to remind him I saw him backstage we’re cool he’s a great Champion he’s a warrior he is his story bro I mean that he’s I’m the antagonist in his story he’s a beast man coming from where he’s come from the adversities he’s been through in his life to get to where he’s got he’s got he’s gotten now and taking me out the way he has this beautiful story for him but like I said tonight it’s not about his stories about Meister which is history if this was an anime that kid now becomes a fighter and comes what was the significance of the blue shorts usually we see in green on Champions I promise next time it might be pink shorts you know me I like I like I’m a colorful guy um I think it was 16th March I texted Tim I was like I want the blue shorts this fight Tim was just like okay it just made sense to me because like I’m gonna be in the blue corner I was like I don’t want to wear something that doesn’t that doesn’t go well with it so you know last time was green shorts read the complementary colors trust me I know art so yeah blue shorts blue tape around the wrist it made sense and then I still have to Channel nipsy A little bit I kept on saying everyone else can stay on the sidelines they used to because when this when it’s time I’m front line every time it’s sewn and last one for me traditionally right everyone’s gonna be like oh this one-on-one in MMA there should be a Trilogy I don’t keep score I settle them but I’m gonna say it’s settled look I I I gave him a fast track to the Belt you know I could have said nah no who was he fought like E4 one top five if not but you know he did well fought some all right guys and beat the Strickland I was like okay fine there’s no one else but also I was looking for that challenge the guy that beat me in kickboxing I was looking for that channel that’s why I took that fight the rematch I got the immediate rematch because of what I’ve done in this game I won the belt against Kevin I defended against Rob Romero Costa uh vittori Rob again Cannon here at seven my other belt will have seven gems on it you know so I I did the hard yards and I earned my rematch you know now he’s going to do the hard yards if he wants to do that but I don’t think it’s gonna because he go cause problems at 205 and good luck to everybody else because he’s a to deal with I’ll tell you that congratulations thank you Oscar Israel over here uh you’re trending on Nigeria and Twitter right now um I should be yeah definitely I want people mean you’re an African Champion again um look the three kings still exist even like I said we’re with patan no matter what he’s always going to be a champion a lot of people will try and like write me off and like oh you you know the champ anymore but I was like bro they still call me champ and I’m still a champion I still carry myself as a champion so kamaru Usman Francis sanganu they’re still Champions they’re always going to be Champions no matter what once a champion you’re always a champion sport is one thing that unites Us in Africa um we had an election recently and all the three all the three major tribes of factioned tonight you were uniting people Nigerians were talking about you the same people who were arguing and fighting each other just last week we’re talking about you talk about how important Israel Israel Israel look I don’t want to give this no clout I don’t whoop that uh I don’t know whoop his ass so bad I want to whoop his ass so bad I want to do it in South Africa or Nigeria and there’s there’s uh but he’s got to do work he’s gonna do something show me something so I can whoop that ass and I can show you history I’ll I’ll remind you because you got to choose your words wisely when you speak on people that have come before you people that paved away for you you got to pick your words wisely you want to try and be a big boy you want to bomba you want you with the big boys you gotta choose your words wisely but I don’t want to give him no clout but if he does work and I pray to God he keeps winning I will gladly drag his caucus across South Africa One Lie you have pampered on him now obviously you’re having a Jack and Coke I’m sure you’re not thinking about your next fight but you like to fight three times a year when do you think would would be the time I’m not even thinking nothing like that that’s the last question but I’m not thinking about nothing like that right now to me I’ve been doing JJ I’ve been I’ve been I’ve been a good boy so now it’s time to be a bad boy in Miami mother’s milk please can I have another one Hey Izzy Mike felma with NBC sports did uh Brandon Marshall reach out to you yet that’s my dog um yeah he put 100K on me but I told him look shout out to Brandon shout out to Drizzy shout out to everybody else that bet on me but you have to realize every time I step in that octagon I put my life on the line that’s the biggest bet on this line that’s the biggest parlay you can make is put your life on this because a lot of people don’t come back out when they when they step in there you know he uh I don’t know how long he was out for but again I left them Frozen like Elsa he could have stayed frozen but I’m glad he melted and came back to life but um yeah honestly that’s it I’m a betting man too so shout out to steak um we’re about to make another deal and uh yeah run that up more money yeah yeah get more money more money more money your your post five words were electric talking about being in that moment if anybody could just experience a fraction of that I meant that man how happy I feel right now I hope people can feel this level of Happiness just once in their life but I really mean that because honestly people I I’ve talked to people every day and just like bless me um but um yeah they’re so defeated you know so I just want people to feel happy but I just feel like you’re never going to feel that unless you go through the adversity you go through the trials and tribulations you know so yeah yeah I really meant every word of what I said and my last thing uh my friend is in a group chat there saying uh when you were in that that moment it was kind of reminiscent of the previous fight where you’re against the cage are you able to remember what you’re thinking in the moment like I’m not going out like that I play I play possum I I knew my leg was hurt so I went Southpaw and I was like I can’t keep getting kicked in a leg like this I was like I he just good at those leg kicks I even I can mimic them and I’ve heard them in the leg as well but he’s so good at them but then I knew I was like this is it possum possum possum and then yeah I set traps man put him in a gejitsu and do you believe in cover jinxes you’re on the cover you lost I don’t know if you saw this when I was on the cover when I was on the cover of the EA I won I won that weekend I shot the cover with Miles that weekend my bad and I won I beat the Drake curse I haven’t brought what did I say what curse what I did I framed the gloves and the wraps and I wrote on the frame inside what curse and that was my gift to him because he can buy whatever he wants but that right there that was priceless so yeah um I don’t do no Juju like that like my Juju is different you know I’m a spiritual person my family always praying for me my parents always fasting and they got my back as well and yeah we got it done it’s around in the front few more questions I gotta go after your win you walked by us on press row and you’re yelling typing type your everybody everybody type your now I don’t know what I don’t bro I’ve tuned out from everything I don’t follow no MMA Pages really I just like to because I I’m not as immersed in this game as a fan as I used to I’m still a fan but I’m not like following everybody else’s career because I’m really doing my own in this game running my own my own legacy so yeah I was just saying type your now because again I maintain what I say I can do your job you can’t do mine I mean that from the bottom of my heart as well I can really if I sit down and really immerse myself I can study I’ve done it before but I just didn’t have a publication but when I was a fan of this game I studied everybody coming up BJ Penn Tyson Griffin Sean shirk you know uh Rashad Evans I can run numbers on what UFC’s this happened even there was a moment it was Rashad and Machida linking up and I was like oh behind the stage and I was just like UFC 98. what oh my God and you made me not like you anymore because you beat my boy but then yeah I can do your job trust me but I’m doing my job so just remember that uh last one for me uh I have to ask why you chose headstrong my trapped because the words back up or take you on headstrong I take on anyone the words spoke to me and me and David were on the way to the airport and they just came to me I’m a vessel I tell you it just comes to me and yeah I with that track that’s the old one and I haven’t heard that in years and I was like this is it this is a track and yeah I think Jeff caught the moment on camera as well it’ll be on my documentary somewhere Israel right here uh quick question love the jitsu’s uh references to Naruto last question done with Alex or anything left there or onto them it’s done it’s done that I don’t settle I don’t keep scores I settle them so it’s done he’s had his story now it’s my story and I’ve closed that chapter and again I move on where’s the after party 11 in Miami so I gotta roll yeah yeah there was a lot of turnover uh my Champions like over the past few months with like Camaro you um like why do you think that was and then how does it feel like for you to kind of regain the building um that’s the game but also I’m an active champ I’m always fighting I’m always uh I’ve got less than 20 fights left in in this game I’ll be honest is it when I was in China in 10 months I fought 24 times but I was China um yeah oh 20 okay maybe two that speak to sentin my bad as in like 20 fights in this game that I I just so I know like I’m gonna take off I want to fight different heads different people I don’t want to fight the same guy again and again I’m like it’s boring um and I finally beat him so if I didn’t beat him then oh I’ll go again but I beat him he’s beating me on the big stage so now it’s yeah cool we’re done just two quick ones real quick um what felt better uh winning the title for the first time or reclaiming it amen they say it doesn’t feel as good as your first time that first nut I’ll tell you one thing it feels even better the second time because you get to do it again and again and again and again and uh Dana White said of that uh it looks like Miami’s gonna become an annual destination just wondering Miami loved me it’s not my first time here I was here in 2015 to help Rumble Johnson rest in peace to a great man I was here to help him in 2015 for his fight and Miami showed me a good time I’m back here I’ve been working but now it’s time for me to show Miami a good time so I gotta roll I’ll see you guys at 11 in Miami I appreciate you and don’t take offense to what I say I don’t take offense to what you say I know you have a job to do some of you I’m cool with some of you I really don’t know so please don’t take offense to what I say type what you have to type if I ever up be honest talk the real no matter what I’ll always take it on the chin because I’m a champion [Applause] foreign