Paul Felder and Michael Chiesa preview Saturday’s much anticipated UFC 288: Sterling vs Cejudo fight card. Subscribe to get all …
[Music] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] obviously as usual welcome to UFC Roundup Michael’s in his log cabin in the middle of nowhere but he’s got great Wi-Fi as usual lately so we thank you for that Michael welcome to Elon Musk Elon Musk thank you for the Wi-Fi that Michael now has and uh we we’ve been smooth knock on wood here we don’t yeah but you know we’ve had we’ve had some glitches in the past and I think we’ve been good we got UFC 288 coming the UFC’s coming back to Jersey we’re gonna get right into it let’s talk Main Event Henry suhudo is back and he is challenging algeman Sterling somebody you’re very familiar with the Long Island boys and um this is an interesting match there’s a lot of questions here how’s the layoff going to affect him I mean he was one of the greatest Combat Sports athletes of all times and I say was only because you retired and you’ve had years away from the sport algae mean certainly has been in there he’s been mixing it up he’s had pure yawn matches he’s been Corey sandhagen he’s been fighting some of the best guys that are out there what are your thoughts on that Michael how does it affect him coming into this title fight I just think ring rust is like this mythical thing like I I’m really not a big proponent for the whole ring rust thing um you know I think that for Henry stahuto he’s a guy that has incredible fight IQ like in his time off think about how many champions that he’s coached he’s been in the with Jon Jones’s team he’s been coaching Yuri prohaska John Wayne Lee so it’s not like him he figured figuerado so it’s not like he’s been walking away from the sport and not doing anything he’s been staying active so I think that while some people might say he has lost years of his prime because he retired at 33. you know as well as I do Paul that there is a balance when it comes to fighting you look at all the champions in the UFC every buddy there’s a lot a lot of the Champions are older than 30. it’s the perfect blend of being a veteran and having experience and having your body preserved so you think in the in the three years he’s still that same Championship caliber fighter his body is probably recovered he knows how to train I mean if you even look at the way he simulated his last sparring he did a walkout he got greased up he had an announcer in the outcome did it seem a little corny yes but what that shows me is he is doing everything in his power to shake what could be potential ring rust and and the one thing I love a lot about Al Jermaine Sterling he gets a lot of flack and for most Fighters you know when he gets a lot when you get to fight week you’re always ask like what’s the game plan most guys like they’re really dodgy about that question they don’t really want to answer what the game plan is I love that Alex Jermaine Sterling is like I’m gonna tell you what I’m going to do I’m going to find a way to get to your back whether it’s a missed Punch or a takedown I’m going to jump on your back I’m going to ride you like Seabiscuit until you Fork up your neck and then I’m going to choke you out and I’m going to go in with my belt so that’s one thing I love about algeman Sterling is you know what you’re going to get and he’ll tell you right to your face I’m going to take you down and choke you out love the confidence and I love that if algeman Sterling wins I I there’s no controversy everybody’s like well TJ got hurt or oh you know there’s always some excuse that everybody wants to not chalk it up to the fact that he’s just good everybody wants to be like oh that was that was just a lucky sub on Stan hagener you know that was a BS decision against John I feel like this is the fight where if he beats Henry sahuto everybody can just shut the f up and just accept the fact Al Jeremy Sterling’s that good I I agree but I I don’t know if that’s the if this is the fight because there’s the three-year layoff people are gonna find something and I think that Al Jermaine has just got to learn to embrace it right as the champion as somebody the top of a division especially arguably if the best division right now active it is the best division for sure right I mean it’s unbelievable we just saw songidong again just in another incredible bantamweight it goes the the list goes on past the top 15 of how good yeah absolutely but I agree with you on how algermane just doesn’t doesn’t hold back on listen I do what I do try to stop it I love guys that are like that you got to be able to stop that pressure that any any fights at a distance that almost welcomes God I’m gonna kick at you I’m gonna welcome you to come at me but suhudo is so explosive he fights almost with that karate like stance on it I think he’s faster on the feet I think he’s more powerful with his punches and obviously if we’re gonna go wrestling to wrestling now this is MMA wrestling it’s a it’s a different ball game in there when you’re in the Octagon versus when you’re fight you know competing at an Olympic level like sahuto did but I’m still going to give the edge in wrestling to suhudo I I think it’s going to come down to how did those three years really affect him because if it if it didn’t and like you say if there’s no ring rust man I I I I think everybody in this division is going to have a really hard time beating Henry sudo I think he’s that good yeah I think he’s obviously I’m gonna give the wrestling Edge to Judo how could you not dude you do you do have a Jamaica cup for people that don’t know you know this might come as a surprise Henry sahuto is actually an Olympic gold medalist not a lot of people know that so I would definitely give I would definitely give the wrestling Edge to Henry cejudo but is he gonna be you’re saying he wrestled before he actually did he was actually pretty decent too was he a double champ at one point I think he might have been a double champ I think he used to wear a medal around his neck yeah he did but but is he willing to engage in the wrestling against a guy which it’s I think the biggest when you get down to how these guys match up I feel like the biggest Gap in skills would be algeman Sterling’s grappling compared to his yeah I give the Striking Edge I’d give the Striking Edge to in terms of power I’d give to Judo and I think that that’s how he’s going to have to beat Sterling he’s gonna have to find a way inside and land some short powerful shots I don’t see him being being able to use this kicking game I don’t know if he’s willing to take that chance to use his wrestling it’s what makes this matchup so intriguing you know um it is good and and the one thing I love is is it’s we’re gonna get him for at least two more fights if he wins we know if he beats Ultraman Sterling we’re going to get him for Sean O’Malley because we I mean I’m sure we’re going to touch on this later but yeah you know all signs point to who’s next for both of these guys so it’s going to be a fun fight and whatever comes after this fight in terms of the bantamweight Championship is going to be a lot of fun all right well listen before we get into five rounds as we always do and I’m not working this event on on the color side are you not working this event let’s make a pick oh no I’m not a commentator yet Paul I’m going to be sitting right in this spot on my couch looking at that TV yeah I’m I’m in the same room that I will be walking in on Saturday night as well uh Michael I will give it to you man what do you got I am going to give this fight to Al Jermaine Sterling I think that he has a fight IQ is is grossly underrated and while Henry suhuto has a great coaching staff you have people forget who is in the corner of Al Jermaine certainly you’re talking about the team that beat GSP the team to beat Anderson Silva twice the team that took uh took khabib five rounds on short notice I’m talking about Sarah Longo so I think that that’s another factor in this fight that could play a big role I’m going with algeman Sterling Strong Island stand up you know what we got a sandwich bet we gotta say listen I’m I’m a huge Alger main Sterling fan I I consider him a good buddy I I wouldn’t say that we’re we’re best friends obviously I’m from Philly’s from here we didn’t train that much together over the years but he’s a cffc vet I was the cffc vet I have no stake in the game I would love to see him win I’m you know I’m not calling the fight I can say that out loud this is not Jared Gordon I’m not going to get any grief for that be called bias here um so but I do think that’s Sanders Udo is a little too exposed with too fast and we will see how the years have affected him yeah um and uh yeah but I’m going with that but I think you owe me a sandwich before we move on to five rounds I think 287 I picked Izzy double double or nothing and that’s how it works that’s what we got to do we just gotta next time I see with the Apex we just ubereats and if Al Jermaine Sterling wins I will eat both of those sandwiches at the same time and I will film it’ll round up that’s uh what yeah what kind of sandwich you want if we had the we had because we haven’t talked sandwiches yet for the first one in spirit of 287 being in Miami I want to get a Cuban oh right I love the Cubans and that remains to be seen of algeman Sterling wins I’ll think of something else all right yeah so maybe like a jerk chicken sandwich yeah Shiba Subs in Vegas has a good uh they got a good look there we go sandwich there we go all right well that being said this is UFC Roundup and we do five rounds let’s bring up to five rounds Morgan boom boom if Henry Beats aljo does he call out Volk in his post fight um I’ll go yeah I I think if he’s gonna come back and he goes and gets that first W the dude’s just trying to do things that nobody else has ever done before right why would he be coming back he’s a maybe he wants some extra cash sure we’re prize Fighters that’s but I think a guy like triple Triple C wants to be quadruple C he wants to be all the Seas he wants to win as many belts and accolades as he possibly can it’s either him or Sean O’Malley and he just wants to keep that belt and keep uh getting paychecks what are your thoughts uh I think it’s going to be O’Malley I think that both of these guys have said like their next fight like algeman said if I win I want O’Malley and then I’m gonna move out of the division and let morav work his way up um and I think that’s the same for sahudu I mean both of those guys are looking at Sean O’Malley and he’s a tough out I’m not saying they’re they’re picking on like low-hanging fruit but that’s that’s just the money fight you put you put Sean O’Malley in a pay-per-view he’s gonna draw something I think it sounds fun to watch I mean we must see TV for sure I was just talking to somebody involved in the UFC I won’t say who but yeah we were talking about that matchup in particular if sohudo were to win and um if O’Malley is next so who knows got an ego man he might want to knock him out like he might want to prove a point to this kid and that would that would leave it in Sean’s wheelhouse where it could be an ugly fight it could be fun fight but it would be fun it would be a ton of fun and you know what O’Malley showed if he can keep Peter yawn at range and beat him there’s no reason there’s nothing that tells me he couldn’t be suedo on the feet and Sean O’Malley visited me in the hospital when I was in Phoenix after I beat James really punctured lungs so always always uh oh what a guy always a big shout out to Sean O’Malley what a real Mensch what a mensch round two round two Sean O’Malley I think we got one about him the Sean O’Malley have better odds of beating Sterling or cejudo for the next title match up at 1 35. I’ll go first on this one I think O’Malley would have better odds beating Henry and I know people are going to think I’m nuts but I just think when you look at somebody in Al Jermaine Sterling and what favors his style in terms of grappling is a longer body to get a hold of there’s just it’s easier to change levels and get to their hips their legs are longer there’s more to work with there’s more real estate to grab it’s like for arm bars it’s hard to arm bar somebody with like artem low Bob arms you know but if you got an arm like mine which I’ve been caught by armbar in my second amateur fight uh there’s more there’s more to latch on to so I think for O’Malley I think he would have better odds beating Henry than he would algeman Sterling I 100 agree with you there I I think the same things right Al Jermaine it’s just man once he gets a hold of you it’s it’s it’s a it’s a nightmare it’s different more to hold on to look at what he did to Corey sandhagen man that’s what I think of when I think of him fighting O’Malley I think of a missed Punch or capitalizing on a spinning attack and him he’s latching onto him and just like we were talking about with what I said where I was having a conversation with somebody where we agree that sohudo might be he’s Gonna Wanna he likes to stand up he likes to show that he’s more than just uh a wrestler you know he’s pretty Dynamic everywhere Sean’s got a chance in that if that happens aljo doesn’t have that ego algo is going to be like listen the same as he just said about sahudo I’m gonna try to get a hold of your ass and put my armor on your neck and put you to sleep and go home like that’s what I’m gonna try to do yeah and there’s a good chance he could do that against either guy but I definitely think he matches up better with O’Malley yeah I agree almost to the championship rounds with less than a month turnaround for burns advantage or disadvantage Paul I’ll let you take the reins on this one okay um a lot of times I would think that this could be a disadvantage however I think that since he is on a bit of a roll and he’s had camps that have lined up and he’s fighting Bilal who but listen Muhammad is always in the gym he is always pushing it and training however there is a difference between oh my God I’m in a five round co-main event I’m training my butt off for months so that I can get the next title fight which I mean which is Palau is probably one of the guys that’s as close to doing that full year as you possibly can be but there’s a difference Burns is coming from one camp where he’s got a big huge fight right into another one so it’s easier to to just Spike the fitness a little bit versus the law who’s got to be like all right listen I’m not I’m not dropping this opportunity for anything this is what I wanted it’s in front of me now and there’s nothing that’s stopping me and he’s a cardio freak I don’t think it’s going to be an issue but in this particular Fight For Burns I do think he has the slight advantage of having a little bit more momentum he’s fresh from the Octagon he’s felt the punches he’s felt the arena it was a big live event in Miami I’m not saying it’s an advantage that he’s got a huge advantage over below but in this particular case him having a fight recently I do think is an advantage you know and not to mention too it’s the Ramadan thing you know I know below look for people that don’t know what these guys have to do when they’re doing when they’re practicing Ramadan they can’t eat or drink anything from sun up to sundown and pull all Is Such a Gangster he has had some of the biggest fights in his of his career during Ramadan a time of the year when a lot of people in the UFC a lot of Muslims say hey I can’t fight at this time yeah he’s one of the few that’s like I’ll I’ll still do it he knows how to work around you know the parameters of that but the difference is it’s not like he had a camp and went through that he it’s like he was in the thick of it and then they call him with the burns fight he is a guy that’s always in the gym there is a difference between being in really good shape all the time and peeking now on the flip side of that with Burns you can only Peak so many times in a short window but like how much can your body take I know Burns is methodical with this training but it’s like for me with just what I went through at 287 I peeked really hard got to the end and it was like well I have to we gotta back off now a little bit you can’t peek hard for for harder for longer than three weeks when you’re pushing hard those last three weeks the Sprint to the Finish Line is hard but I just think about Burns is in this groove that cowboy was in when cowboy was fighting 2014 2015 the dude would have fought he would fight every weekend and I feel like at some point he just hit a roadblock where it just like he just wasn’t he just got tired and he didn’t know it so I don’t know if it’s kind of want to say that the edge I don’t think this is disadvantageous for burns I think that that’s what I’m trying to get at here I think if anything it’s a little bit more disadvantageous to the law I think this fight would be dead even if Palau had a full Camp yeah but that doesn’t mean the law can’t win that doesn’t mean I think that doesn’t mean I’m sold that burns has this thing game set match ballal is hungry dude if anybody can fight through adversity it is below like that dude is very resilient so if there’s anybody that can rise to the occasion on short notice in a in a moment like this it’s blah it is blah and I can tell you that I’ve been through some of those camps I’ve been at the practices when he is practicing Ramadan and not drinking or eating anything bro and I’ve seen him go five full hard rounds and then I’ve gotten to see him at night when it’s finally time when he you know he was um I think at the time living with somebody else that was going through the same thing and and to see them finally get to you know you had a plan but he also had a plan he was smart like it was like you know pedialites and Gatorades and Waters and he would almost practice rehydration like he had just done a cut so he would get all that in then he would eat and he would wake up wake himself up again so he could eat so that he would make sure he got enough ends for the next day when he would start training him listen this dude’s an absolute stud and I’m so happy for him on where he’s at and to finally hit the opportunity to lose this fight dude if he wins this fight I mean I texted him I was like bro unreal it would be amazing it’s it it I just think about when I first started training at Rufus Sport and he was there it was like man you know he was in the grind like me like we were just trying to make a name for ourselves we had you know nothing going on a couple you know we had wins in the UFC we had bonuses but we were nobodies you know to see him get to where he’s at now and be one of the absolute top guys and we’re talking about him here on a podcast it’s great he deserves it dude he deserves it all and then some a big shout out to Paul and Gilbert Burns you guys are both studs you’re both studs for taking this fight the way you both did it shows you guys want the next title shot and you better freaking get it or I’m gonna start breaking stuff in my house anyway let’s go to round four I love when you get fired up what lessons did you learn as an MMA fighter that helped you in your post-fighting career as a former endurance athlete my inner strength was cultivated in the trails I know you can speak to this more than I can Paul but you know I will say my two cents you know I’m still in the thick of my career I’m still trying to get in the mix right now I think that from the outside looking in um I think Hobbies I think that’s what helps guys when they’re transitioning out of competition have hobbies have hobbies that keep give you something to push yourself with I think that that’s where fighter struggles we’re so used to having something to push our bodies push our minds we get so used to like struggling like we like to struggle we like to have strenuous activities and things to work towards and I think when guys don’t have hobbies when they hang them up I think that that’s where they kind of have some some struggles yeah I mean um you know that that that was it for me right if I hadn’t found you know starting to race and do all that kind of stuff I I’m sure I’d be much more depressed I’d be much more um kind of lost and as far as lessons that I learned as a fighter that have helped me in my postcard other than finding Triathlon obviously but even things that I learned just as a fighter for me it was like I enjoy like you talked about I enjoy having a schedule having things that I need to wake up for and and and do and execute and I feel like if you’re that type of person you’ve got to do that even after you’re done fighting it doesn’t matter if it’s business it doesn’t matter if it’s a new job that you picked up it doesn’t matter if it’s investing money it doesn’t matter if it’s your kids and how you’re going to get them ready for school you’re going to do this you’re going to wake up that if you’re an athlete that’s fought for so many years right we all have a I wake up I drink my coffee I take a dump I go to the gym I hit a run I go to Jujitsu whatever it is you got to find that structure and you’ve got to keep it I feel like if you’re a guy that that has been or a woman that’s been an athlete that long you’ve got to find something to keep you on on task like that post fighting career it doesn’t matter what it is but you’ve got to keep yourself accountable like you do when you’re fighting and you’ll be all right so that’s a lesson I’ve learned and I love that he says he’s he found like his inner strength on the trails and doing that kind of stuff for me now as an endurance athlete somebody that’s doing that for me I wish I’d Incorporated more of this when I was training for fights is for me it’s it’s Hills it’s running hilly routes is my like if I feel like I’m on one one day and I got an hour run on the schedule I will pick it up Bobby Bobby green upsets you you’re like I’m gonna go to that hilly run and I’m gonna but seriously if I keep running up and down Hills is uh it’s not fast it’s not something you’re gonna post about like look at my speed but it’s you gotta dig deep when you’re looking straight up of a like go run the I run the red rock yeah Scenic Loop in Vegas go run the red rock scenic loop it’s 15 miles yeah and it’s 1500 feet of elevation game I’m gonna bring you out to Hazard Hill where I do my biking oh bro you know I was just thinking that I want to come out there and I want to bring my road bike and uh I’ll show you how to ride some clients I’ll let I’ll link you up with somebody that can keep up my my old wrestling coach is like he’s been cycling his whole life oh I’ll let him lead the way I’ll let you guys lap me you guys slap me and I’ll just kind of hang out in the back and then we’ll get we’ll get some delicious beers and coffees while we’re uh while we’re in the area perfect round five round five round five if Jessica and Josh wins on Saturday does she get the title shot or is she next in line after the rematch is songidong the phantomweight prospect that no one in the top five wants to fight and who has the edge in the five round co-main event on Saturday from a cardio standpoint a little loaded a little loaded question Paul Michael I know the first part was something that when we were reading through these before we started to shoot this you brought up a good point what about instead yeah you know everybody’s talking about I I just answered this question this weekend when I was working the desk and they’re like if Jessica drops wins is she next in line to find Jean Wei Lee I’m like well what if Yan Zhang wins like yeah this is a two-sided fight I know she’s only coming off one win over Mackenzie Dern but nonetheless I mean andrage has bounced around weight classes I mean I think I think her last two strawweight fights she went one and one uh chickagon and or no two no she lost to Kagan in the rematch right they fought twice didn’t they either way you know she’s just bouncing around weight classes and I think there’s Jean John’s again forgot about it and I think that if you think about a John Wayne Lee Yan Zhang title fight in China does that not sound like a ton of fun like I think that that would be great they don’t train together it’d be a lot of fun and I think that you know and draw just kind of fought everybody I think she should have to staple herself in this weight class and maybe get one more win yeah I mean that that’s um that’s what I I I think that too it’s like man you jumping around you’re coming off a loss just one win and you jump back in the mix I I don’t think so I I I I I don’t know if that’s accurate and I don’t know if that’s what’s gonna happen on uh on Saturday um and then the one for about um songidong I don’t think he’s the guy that people are going to be afraid of in the top five I think I think marob’s the guy in the top five where people are like oh my God you just see what he did to Peter yawn and to know what you would have to go through in a training camp to fight that version of murab that’s the guy people you know would want to deviate from for sure yeah I I agree with that he is definitely the Boogeyman in that division where it’s just like walking you just you might as well just feels like you’re going absolutely nowhere and then what was the last one was it who has the edge who has the edge in the comane okay I both guys I think are very dialed in on being very in shape when they show up and I appreciate about both these athletes I think that these are two guys that if you are also a young fighter and you’re like man who should I really look at to see who I I think these two guys are you know in my top five my teammate from Philly as well Michael you you fought Sean Brady’s another guy where if you’re looking at people who are disciplined and actually stay on constantly trying to be an athlete year-round those people are up there but Bilal is that guy Gilbert writes these notes he’s got motivational like he is John attic always talks about he saw these sheets that he just writes for he’s very meticulous very meticulous in his Camp yeah and I know how much of a cardio machine below is but I just I have to I have to give the edge to Burns just given the fact that he has just been in one constant training camp Yeah well yeah in this particular fight probably yeah just like rolling right from the Mazda fight which was relatively easy on his body rolling right from that fight um into this one yeah before we get off is there any fights you’re looking forward to this weekend we were just talking about I mean um thug nasty is back again bananas where is it that’s a great fight that’s okay Matt frivola gotta give it a shout out I mean yeah I think Dover frivola is gonna steal the show Dover frivola is just one of those fights you just know like it’s like when gaichi Chandler got put together yeah this fight’s gonna be nuts like you just some fights Get Jinxed when you’re like this fight’s going to be crazy but this is one of those fights like no you know both these guys they’re going to stand Toe to Toe Dober has got a freaking chin on him like it’s unreal gonna be improvised oh uh Marina Rodriguez is back in the mix from Gracie Chrome Gracie Charles Jordan who’s always fun man oh yeah brings it obviously Jessica Andreas and Jan who we just talked about this card is stacked in absolutely fun there’s no doubt about that I mean you do not want to miss this one I might take a two three hour nap in the middle of the day it’s it’s Ashley’s communion we got a lot of things going on this Saturday but I will somehow find out time to do an hour and 10 minute run there you go an hour and a half swim yeah nap communion party and 288 so anybody out there that says they’re tired suck it up a guy a fight soon all right let’s go come on board I want to fight somebody a lot of yard work he deserves it yes sir peace out everybody see you guys next week [Music] thank you [Music] thank you