Marlon “Chito” Vera is an Ecuadorian mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is currently ranked 8th in the bantamweight division.
In this episode Theo and Marlon discuss UFC 270, the Ecuadorian military, being a father, and his path to the belt.
Find Marlon Vera:
https://www.instagram.com/chitoveraufc/
This episode was recorded at Howie Mandel’s studio in Los Angeles. Thank you Howie!
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Music: "Shine" - Bishop Gunn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3A_coTcUek
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Producer: Colin https://instagram.com/colin_reiner
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Um I want to let you know though I got some new tour dates that you can check out and I'm grateful for them.
Uh February 2nd I'll be in Jacksonville, Florida.
The third St. Petersburg The 5th I'll be in Orlando.
The 24th I'll be in Lafayette, Indiana.
The 25th Rockford, Illinois, home of the Rockford Peaches.
And that's America's team right there, female ball.
February 26th, Chicago, Illinois.
May 6th in Tulsa.
May 7th in Los Angeles.
Today's guest is a wonderful man.
And he is the number eight-ranked UFC Bantamweight fighter.
He's a fighting man and a family man.
He's a lot of types of man.
And he is the pride of Ecuador, the country of Ecuador, and of America as well.
I'm very grateful for his time today.
It is Mr. Marlon Cheeto Vera.
For me to set that parking brake and let myself unwind.
Shine that light on me.
I'll sit and tell you my stories.
Shine on me.
And I will find a song I will sing it.
Just go.
I'll be moving.
Dude, thanks for coming in, man.
Thank you for having me, bro.
Yeah, bro.
You're so exciting, man.
I feel like you're like one of the most exciting guys to be.
Like, whenever I watch you, I almost feel like I need to go for a run or something because I feel like my energy gets just watching you, like my energy gets up, you know?
I got pretty high energy, dude.
Like, when I get to the catch for me, it's not about just winning the fight.
I want to just, I'm a performer, you know?
It's like a movie for me.
I want to go in there and not just make it like, yeah, like you got in there and did enough to win.
I want to take your head off.
Clean.
And I train so hard for that.
I don't train for like just get away with it.
I train to like clean cut.
Damn, boy.
Damn, you want to take him down like a lumberjack.
I train, that's all I do.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, I feel like most fighters sometimes think they should work when they call them to fight.
I train year-round.
That's my job.
I don't have a second job.
I used to have a second job when I didn't make money.
But now that this is my life, this is everything I do for a living, it's year-round.
Like, I trend Monday through Monday.
There's no seasons because we don't have a season in the GFC.
Like, tomorrow they can tell me, like, hey, the top, from five to number four, everybody's in your, or everybody's book.
I can fight for the belt next.
I don't know what's going to happen.
Like, somebody can get COVID, somebody can get hurt.
And they call the guy that is below.
Next.
So you got to be ready.
For me, it's like just being ready.
Like, my only job is to fight.
Well, I'm ready to fight at any moment.
Wow.
You said you had another job at one point.
What was that other job you had?
Dude, it was some fucking awful job.
It was like kind of like work for the city hall.
It was like a governmental stuff.
Like chasing animals?
Was it like animal catching or something?
I wish, dude, that would be nice.
My shit was like sitting on a booth and it was like a window and everybody brings papers, like legal stuff.
Like a bunch of lawyers coming in and out, people that put, I don't know, let's see, you stole my car, you bring the paper saying that the cop report.
And my job was to take the paper and put it in specific folders, like crime, I don't know, smaller TV.
Small crime, mysteries.
Whatever, from something huge to something small.
And my job was just to grab a paper and put it in a folder.
And these people was like, hey, it's been the third time.
What the fuck?
Like, is your phone?
Like, bitch, I got paid like $300 a month.
Like, my job is to grab the paper and put it in here.
Like, if you have an issue, go inside, go talk to, I don't know, to where the fuck lost here.
Yeah, somebody.
I'm nobody here.
And wow.
My job was the shitty job.
I swear to God, I would rather clean the floors than do that because every day somebody was mad because their stuff wasn't being processed.
And they will tell me to fuck off or fuck you.
I'm just a paper guy.
I just grab papers and put it on.
And one day I snap and I just...
And what happened on a man or woman?
A guy.
I will never snap on a lady.
Well, most of them, I wouldn't.
But once in a while, maybe.
I'm a lover.
Yeah, I'm like, with the ladies, all respect.
My dad teached me good manners, but this guy was like treating me like a piece of shit.
And I guess he was like a big-time lawyer, whatever.
And he just throw the papers and when he was leaving, I was just like, fuck you, asshole.
And he walked around, but he didn't know I was a fighter.
I was a guy trying to be in the UFC one day.
And he came around, like, what do you say?
And I was like, I was just like, dude, you know, it's not, this is not your day, trust me.
And then he just walked away, basically saying, I will kick your ass.
He wouldn't do shit.
But then that guy was probably friends with somebody high in the...
It's a business.
In a building.
In a building?
Oh, fancy people, like rich people?
Yeah, I guess.
And then I get kicked out in that moment.
You got kicked out, but you didn't hit the guy.
No, I wish I hit it because I was getting kicked out anyway.
So I was like, but when they kicked me, I was like, thank God.
I was free, but there was no money.
So I have to go back to my dad and basically, hey, I need some help.
Help me.
And then my dad was like, okay, I'm going to help you.
This is the last year I helped you.
I was like 19, but I was already married.
I already have a daughter.
So he's like, hey, this is the last year I'm going to help you to get your fantasy UFC, whatever, your dream.
But this December, you're done with me.
And then either you work for me, like not training, just work for me, or you find whatever to do with your life.
And literally, my dad put me a day, like this December, you're done with me.
And the UFC coming November.
It was just meant to be.
It's life when you do so much for something, you will fucking get it no matter what.
Yeah, one of my friends used to say, he used to ask me, he said, have you ever worked really hard for something and not gotten it?
And the answer was no.
Like, if it's something I really, really work for, you always get it.
It's impossible to, if you don't get something, if things don't go right in life, it's because either you're not doing enough or you're doing it wrong.
There's no way you don't get there if you put everything together.
There will be obstacles, there will be bad days, there will be setbacks.
But if you keep on going and you really want to make it happen, it's just impossible not to happen.
Facts.
Wow.
That's powerful, man.
It is.
Well, especially coming from a guy like you who's put that to the test in his own life.
You know, you burned that candle and lit up your own future with it.
I heard you say on Joe Rogan's that there were times where you fought where you didn't even want them to pay you.
Yes.
Because you just wanted to get your name out there.
100%.
Like, why do you think you fight?
Like, I think some people fight for different reasons.
This is just me.
Some people fight.
They want to be seen.
Some people, they need to win.
Some people need to prove something.
Like, do you, do you know what it is inside of you that makes you?
Yeah, I, I love crazy shit.
Like, uh, when I was a little kid, like, for example, let me start with this.
In my family, I will call them the normal people.
Like, my dad have a farm.
He worked the farm.
He figured out how to make money.
But regular guy, he will work anywhere to provide for the family.
I saw that as a kid.
My mom, she stay at home.
Make sure the house is clean and nice.
Make sure the kids, me and my two, my brother and my sister, we good.
Like just normal family.
Sister and brother, graduate, were in college, have normal jobs.
But when I was a kid, I was just trying to find my dad guns and play with them or just jumping from breaking my arm.
I was just looking to do crazy shit.
And when I was a little kid, I was a huge fan of like Ramble or Chuck Norris.
And I was like, I want to be like a Navy SEAL.
I want to be like a real badass.
But no offense to my country.
You go to the military in Necro, you're a fuck.
Really?
We don't even have guns out there.
Like we have, but.
What?
They have more swords, maybe?
Yeah, maybe a couple of machetes.
Yeah.
You know, we don't have the Navy SEALs like in here.
Like, in here, you got like every single division, and they're all like real killers.
In Ecuador, we have a small army.
It's just different.
It's a third-world country.
So I was smart enough to be like, okay, if I really want to do this, not in my country.
I love my country till death, but it's just not for me.
The military.
The military.
So I will get in street fights all the time.
Like, you know, my cousins or my brother for fun will homeless kids, like, hey, I give you a couple bucks and you fight my brother.
And for me, it was a game.
It was an expiring.
Did you lose sometimes?
Yeah, I get my ass kicked a thousand times.
Did you ever fight any grown men or it was just children?
Most were my age, but you know, they live in the street.
They got more experience.
They got more everything.
I was a kid from my mom would give him the food in my mouth.
Those kids have to hustle, for real.
Yeah, those kids, they got a lot more hoof to mouth from a lot of disease and stuff.
I got a lot.
They got a lot.
Yeah, they got a lot.
And then I just like fighting.
And when I get to see Pride, the UFC and everything else, like, well, that's going to be my life.
I'm going to become a fighter one day.
Yeah, I heard you talking about that.
Like, whenever you first saw it, you're like, whoa, this is a real thing.
And then it just beckoned you.
But so do you think you fight because you just like anarchy kind of?
Do you like the insanity of it?
I love all that.
I love the browsers.
I love the...
I'm an expectator to two fucking guys in a cage beating the shit of each other for money.
And of course, you know, somebody want to people want to be famous.
People want to advance in life.
You want to meet the cool people you will never met, whatever.
It's insane.
It's like the gladiators.
It's a coldest thing.
Two guys fighting till death.
And I'm pretty mean.
I'm not in there just to like, okay, I want to be famous.
I want to fuck you up.
Outside the cage, I will never get in a fight unless the limits are pushed too much.
But I'm not even thinking about it.
I'm training all the time.
Is there a fight that you've been in where you didn't, you still obviously wanted to, where you obviously wanted to win the fight, but the respect level was different against the guy you were fighting.
So it kind of maybe wasn't the same type of like, I'm going to kill this guy as much as I just want to win this match.
No, I keep the same energy.
Like I fought guys like Aldo, Frank Kedeger, like Ley and you know, everybody respect them.
For me, it doesn't matter if the guy talks shit, if the guy's a quiet guy, if they want to shake hands.
I just keep it up.
I'm very honest.
I'm not in there to shake hands and bow to each other.
I'm like, the catch is luck.
I'm going to make sure you're the one feeling bad afterwards.
Wow.
And I lost before.
When I lose, I fight, I cannot sleep for months.
Because all I do is put everything to win.
You know, it's an obsession.
Like, because of everything that comes with it.
Like, it's the money to provide for the family, my house.
Like, I'm not just fighting because it's cool.
It's fucking right to fight.
You know, the UFC is awesome.
Celebrities come around.
Like, people, like, when I was a kid, I would look up to, now I'm friends with them.
The whole entire circle is cool.
Yeah.
But I like fighting.
That's your thing.
I like fighting.
Do you think that some fighters, they start to lose that focus?
Do you think that there's guys that it starts to get too much about the ambiance?
I think that because it's definitely gained a lot of track.
Like, there's a lot of, I mean, I was at, I mean, who was there last night?
I'm sure there were.
Like, for example, for myself, like, I, Mike Texas was there.
Wow.
Like, we make eye contact and he kind of like say hi.
And I was like, fuck, that's a tiger of the universe right there.
I was like, holy shit.
Yeah, that's a devil's dope.
100%.
I want to give him a hug, but he was walking fast.
I was like, I'm going to see him soon, but whatever.
But like, Johnny Knoxville was there.
That's a fucking legend too.
You kind of remind me of one of those guys in a weird, because they have that same thing inside of them.
When I was a kid, I used cut my hair yesterday.
It was like almost double as yours.
You've had a lot of styles.
Bring up that photo, Nick.
Can you bring it up?
You brought up that photo colin I sent you?
I just cut like the people changing password for different accounts.
Dude.
That's what you do with your hair?
You change that password to your brain.
Yesterday, I was looking at the mirror and it was like, Don Carter, you look good like that.
It's not about looking good.
It's about being a new person.
And I was like, you don't like to fuck a new guy every two weeks?
And she was just laughing about it.
Because I really change my hair every four or six months.
Oh, you've had a lot of different styles.
Do you have it, Colin?
But going back to what you said about Jenny Knoxville, Steve-O, everybody used to call me Steve-O when I was a kid.
Really?
They used to call me like Chito, because I would do just dumb shit.
Here you go.
This is definitely...
You could be a...
You know, when I was a kid, watching the Gancer movies from New York and shit, I was like, oh, that's a good avenue for myself.
I can be a great hitman.
See?
And that's why I know my wife likes me.
He's a new guy every two months.
And I can make her laugh.
Yeah.
Bro, that might be the funniest thing anybody's ever said on this podcast.
That's so funny, dude.
Look, I believe you.
Look at the guy at the top right.
Who is that guy?
That's a Viking.
That is a Viking.
Dangerous Viking.
This guy on the top left maybe is also maybe business.
He might be a businessman or like a rich grandson, wealthy son of like a rich man.
Poor little shit.
Yes.
Yeah, I see that.
The guy in the middle on the left obviously is going to prison.
Yeah, he was caught with some crack and some shit.
The guy on the right in the middle now, that guy is a conquistador, huh?
Conquistador.
There you go.
Yeah.
Dude, I'm surprised with this picture.
I never saw this one.
And the guy on the bottom, is that you on the bottom right?
Yeah, that was before the Aldo Fire.
Oh, that was before Jesus Christ, bro.
That was a long time ago, man.
That looks like it's from the prehistoric times.
Yeah, I saw the water turn into wine.
Yeah.
I saw that.
Like, you're from the jungle, man.
That's wild.
And, dude, I can tell you, there's like at least six or seven missing here.
Oh, totally.
I have like fully shaved head with and without beer.
Even the one when you were on Ariel Helwana, you look like a guy just on a boat, you know, like a guy from like a...
I'm a hippie.
I'm not worried about...
I'm not worried about the way I look.
I go by feeling.
Like, it doesn't matter who I'm going to see or who I'm hanging out with.
I don't change that.
That's why I told Joe, I'm a hippie.
Have you always been like that?
When I was a kid.
I guess it's different.
You can't really be a kid and be a hippie kind of.
Of course.
But when I was a kid, I used to be like cowboy boots, blue jeans, jean shirt.
But because I was on a farm, yeah.
Yeah, like I would be in a farm every week.
And so for me, it was like, that was the buy for me.
And I love it.
Like, I still have cowboy boots.
Like, I like that.
But it's kind of hard going surfing in the morning on cowboy boots.
It's like, I got in flea for barefoot.
You don't show up to the water with your homies and you're with jeans and boots.
And we're like, bro.
Okay.
You're like, good day, Ocean.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
Yeah, that's true.
So it's kind of, it's hard to keep it up in Cali, but they're there.
They're there safe for me.
When you were watching last night, I know that stamina fight and the Nirmaga made all of that guy.
That's a good fight.
Yeah, and they say he's not related.
They're related.
Somebody's lying.
These guys are related.
You can't be the same name.
Yeah.
And coming into the UFC right there.
No, they're cousins.
Somebody's cousins.
They're something.
There's something.
Somebody definitely has seen somebody naked in the family, you know?
Yeah.
When you watch that fight, do you think that there was anything else that Cody could have done to give himself a chance?
Or do you think that there was just?
Seeing, because I'm a fucking nerd.
I'm watching.
I know all these guys.
I watched them fight the last couple of fights.
Cody, I think he tried too hard to wrestle.
But it's also, I think, like, he don't...
But, you know, some guys get hit and they turn up.
Like, for example, Brandon Moreno, you can crack that motherfucker with a baseball bat and he will fire back at you.
Cody Salman gets cracked in the face and it's almost like he goes into panic mode.
Like when he fought Jimmy Ribera, he was doing well.
And Jimmy Ribera landed a big right hand and he was like, oh shit, let me wrestle you.
And then it's almost like fighting is energy.
I mean, like, as soon as I crack you and you go, like, fuck you, it's like, okay, I'm in a real fight.
But if you crack somebody and that person is like, you know what?
Let's not do this.
You can feel the energy.
Oh, you can.
Oh, 100%.
I've been there many times and I've been hit and I'm like, fuck you, dude.
I'm going to make your mom cry right now.
Is it hard when you get hit?
Say you take a good shot, right?
Yeah, thank God.
That's unbelievable.
But is it, I, I credit that to my work ethic.
I credit that to the way I eat in and out of camp.
I credit that to my recovery.
I go to bed at 9.30, 10. Like last night after the fight, it was like 11, and everybody was like, Okay, time to party, let's go to the club.
I'm like, I'm not celebrating tonight, right?
Like, what are you celebrating?
Like, and even like me and Moreno share the same manager.
They asked me, you want to come to after party?
And we lost our draw.
I like him, I respect him.
I'm like, yeah, but we don't even try together.
Like, I went with the fights with my coach.
We want to start back home.
And I was like, on Sundays, I do long distance run, like 13 miles.
So I was like, that's what I have to do tomorrow.
And I set for it.
But the reason I feel I don't get a stop or anything like that is just because of my consistency.
And mentally, I know if I work like that, how somebody will just come and run through me.
So I just keep the same work ethic and you pay the price.
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
And you got to take care of your pubic hair on your body.
You got to do it.
Nobody's going to do it for you, not at this age.
And that's probably good.
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That's a question I ask myself probably 60, 70 times an hour.
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It's interesting.
It's almost like it feels like you're in the cage even when you're not in the cage.
That's kind of the energy.
I live like that and I'm always thinking.
I sort of got to wake up every morning thinking I'm going to have a tough fight coming up.
I don't let none of these cloud or every fight you get to get more known by the world.
I don't let none of that come to me.
Like, I enjoy it.
It's cool.
I make money.
I get bigger fights.
I get recognition.
I get to hang out with people I love.
But fighters, I think it's the only sport.
There's other ones, but I think it's the only one that you cannot fuck around.
I know surfers that party, go hard, the next day they win a hit.
I know guys, I know soccer players, they're fucking going crazy.
Doing Coke, doing everything.
Parkers, party, the next day they go cloak.
They look fucking bad diet, whatever, sugar.
They look fucking great.
Basketball, I don't know no one there, but I'm sure you can drink a little bit before the game.
Oh, I think a lot of those guys.
I'm friends with Blake Griffin, and he said they had a guy on his team used to smoke cigarettes before the game, man.
See, fighting is too narrow to fuck around.
Fighting is too crazy.
You're in a cage.
The energy, it's only one against one.
Like, it's too much to risk.
Is there an animal that you ever see that reminds you of you?
Like that reminds you of fighters or that like?
Yeah.
A crazy, energetic monkey.
You've always felt like that?
My whole life.
When I was a kid, I was really good at climbing trees.
Like, I would love to get in the top of the mango trees and just chill there.
I would like sit on the top of a root for like hours and just chill there.
Dude, the beauty of fuck.
It's beautiful.
Do they have, and they have, do people, is monkey like a food even in Ecuador or no, they?
No, we just eat cows and fucking pork.
We don't fuck around.
We don't eat dogs.
We don't eat nothing.
Nothing wild?
Like if you go to the...
I think that's just more for fun.
In one town in Ecuador, they eat something called kui.
It's basically a rat.
Oh, it's rat?
It's like, looks like a rat to me.
Damn.
And I've been in that town, and they're like, you want to?
I'm like, nope.
Oh, it tastes delicious.
I don't give a fuck.
A steak tastes delicious too.
I'm sticking to that.
I leave the kui aside.
I don't fuck around there.
Yeah, yeah.
You never seen a cow in a dumpster, you know?
So that's the thing, you know?
That's true, too.
What were we talking about?
Oh, we were talking about that fight.
Do you think that there was anything that Stanman could have done to get in a better situation there?
I think when he hit the single, it was almost like he don't hit the single to take him down, it was more to don't get hit, and that's why probably it was so easy to sink the choke.
Let's be also honest, those Russian guys came pretty prepared.
Like a necktie, bro.
This Nur Magomal in specific have a really good spinning wheel kick.
So, like, he hit him.
He started fight with two hard ones.
Like, the moment somebody do that to you, I saw he get hurt a little bit, and he kind of like was like, fuck.
You throw that to me, I'm in your face.
I'm like, I'm gonna try to take your head off right away because it's energy.
Like, if somebody hit you that hard and you kind of like don't do nothing about it, you let them get a step ahead.
So, no, I do see what you're saying.
Like, I mean, I don't know.
I mean, you know, like, but I know what you're saying.
Like, I always wonder, yeah, what the energy is like in there because we just see the fight, you know?
It's hard to get an idea of what that manoeuvano like.
It's a conditioning.
Like, do you have to pretend?
Sometimes do you have to almost keep this force field up?
Even if there's something that hurt, do you have to like keep an energy right there?
I'm saying it's okay to be hurt.
Like, we're not invisible.
We're not made for fighting.
But once you decide that you're going to be your life, the moment you get hurt, you got to either go for a walk, you got to either step on the gask, but you cannot just try to avoid the fight because your opponent will notice.
Oh, no.
You can see the colors, like Mortal Kombat.
You know, when you get hit, it goes down.
It's almost like you can sense that.
And I'm really good at least with that.
I can tell when my opponent is ready to die.
Like, he's a hard fucking guy.
Or it's a guy that is kind of like, you know what?
You can take me out today.
I'm going to leave another day.
Wow.
You do can tell that because you can be winning in a fight and the other guy land one and then the guy that is winning kind of wobble.
You can see how that thing shifts like whoop, completely move it.
And that's when you have to like, even when you hurt, you have to learn how to fight.
The worst thing is when somebody gets hurt, they start swinging.
I'm like, protect yourself before you start swinging.
But, you know, not everybody got a, got the brain pretty focused at the moment.
Most people is fit, but how many people is actually training their minds to be ready?
Ready, especially when they're in real turmoil, when they're really pained out.
Yeah.
Like, I've been hurt before.
I've been hurt in the head, in the body.
Like, somebody threw a low kick and I feel my knees like completely dead.
And I'm like, you got to figure it out.
You got to make sure you figure it out.
And you can only do that if you're prepared to be there.
Like some people, I see some people don't really train for a family.
What are you doing, dude?
Yeah.
Go do something else.
Right.
Why get your ass kicked in front of the whole world just because you're a fucking lazy fucker?
Who was the best fighter you ever trained with that didn't train that hard, do you think?
Because you've trained with some interesting cats, man.
Yeah, I've been, I shared much with really high-level people.
I think all the good guys I train with, they all have a pretty set mentality of like, this is it for me.
Like, I'm not, I'm not going to in and out after sparring.
And honestly, with me, if you are a person that you're not trying to be on top of your game, it's almost like I stop hanging out with you.
I don't do that in a mean way, but I'm like, if you're not willing to be better and leave the people around you, I'm just not interested in you.
Like, I just literally get better.
In everything in life, like, just be a better person, be nice to people, be kind.
You know, you can be a world champion.
And if you treat like shit everybody, I don't want to hang out with you.
I don't want to be around that shit.
Because it's like, even if I'm not like that and I let you be like that, I'm part of it.
So in all sense, it's like, I just want to be around people that is happy and is just doing something to be better.
Because yeah, because that'll only elevate you.
Wow, that's powerful.
It's only elevated.
I don't want to waste my time.
Even if you are a famous person and you're a piece of shit, I'm like, I don't want to be part of that.
It's not worth it.
There's no reward on that.
So for me, it's more about that than anything else.
When you look at where you're at now with fighting and you look at your division, is there a fight that kind of tempts you?
Is there a fight?
I know people talk about Cruz, people talk about O'Malley, people talk about who's up there?
Sand Hagen's in your division, isn't he?
Oh, I love it.
I think that was a fight to make.
I get offered San Hagen February 19. Really?
Main event, and it never happened.
I definitely don't think he run away from the fight.
He's a solid fighter, but I think he's hurt or something like that.
He may need more time.
He just had that big.
He had a big fight against Jan.
Yeah, that was a great fight.
That was a great fight.
But maybe he needs surgery.
I don't know.
But when they offered me that, it only took me like a minute to say, like, you sign the contract.
And then that never happened.
So I don't want to waste time.
I'm ready to go.
Right.
Do you feel like you get enough fights?
Yeah, I fight three times a year normally.
This past year I did twice.
But when you get to the point, like you're fighting like Edgar, Aldo, those guys, you can fight six times a year.
You're fighting the top guys.
You have to just wait for the top guys.
Because there's guys that they're not ranked.
Like when I wasn't ranked, the guys in the top 10 don't want to fight me.
There's no reward.
And I get it.
It's a business.
So I don't cry about it in neither end, even when I was low or when I'm high.
So now I just gotta wait for that top five guy or something that makes sense.
And what fight is still happening?
Because I don't even know if there's any band and weight fights on the docket right now.
Are there?
No, not right now.
I think Jadong is fighting Moraes, but they're below me anyway.
The only guys ahead of me is Mirab, Font, San Hagen, Aldo and Cruz.
Yeah.
And Cruz is crying like three, four times already.
you guys aren't going to fight, you don't think?
Oh, they call me.
They offer us to fight multiple times already.
He's an interesting guy, isn't he?
He's kind of like, he reminds me of like, he almost reminds me of Tom Cruise, the actor.
Because he like, he's had a great career.
You know, he's had all these, he's had a really illustrious career, long career.
And he's also this kind of like unique, mysterious kind of dude, you know?
He, when I hear him talk, he sounds, he sounds too smart.
Like, he tried to like say perfect things and be perfect and he take his time.
But I don't know him personally.
Like, we do the commentary.
He does in English, I go in Spanish.
So we cross paths often.
And I call him out all the time.
But I just keep it real.
When I see him, I say, what's up?
You know, if he says, fuck you, then I guess we're fighting.
But he's not like that anyway.
Do you think he wants that fight?
Honestly, a guy like that, I'm guessing he's just one big fight.
But, you know, he's coming off a win.
I'm coming off a win.
I think makes sense because he's just, I think his number is six or something like that.
He's not too high up there.
But they offer us to fight three times already and he just declined it.
So when somebody declined it that much, I'm not losing my time.
Right.
You can't keep calling it.
Maybe it's just not what they want.
No.
Especially if maybe, yeah, sometimes you don't know, I guess, maybe what the fighter's plan is or what their path is.
Yeah, that's why, like, I told him, like, just send me the contract with anybody higher than me, and it's on.
Like, it's either a striker or a wrestler.
And I'm training everything, so I'm not worried about specific things.
We had a question that came in here right here.
Here we go.
You can see it that good, but you'll be able to see it enough, I think.
Oh, we're going to need the headphones for this.
Yes, sir.
We can hear him for sure.
What's up, Cheeto?
Oh, and Theo.
Cheeto, Theo.
Theo, Cheeto?
I don't know.
I just wanted to ask this.
That fight against Sean O'Malley, every single time I just keep talking, not talking, but hearing about it, and I have to keep talking about how, honestly, you won the fight.
So my question is, when are you going to get the ballot?
When are you going to go for the ballot?
To be honest, that's the real question.
But no, yeah, honestly, Cheeto, I'm a huge fan.
I think, oh, you just kind of answered that really, too.
I think even just like you were saying, the only, yeah, what would the path for you to get to the belt be like?
I wonder.
I believe at the moment, if I get a fight with somebody in the top five, I'm going to fight away from there because either my fight with Aldo, even if I lost that fight by decision, coming to the third round, he was pretty defeated.
He was very tired.
And after that, I get too cocky.
I get too excited.
And I pay the price of that.
I went too hard, too fast.
He took me back and he hold me there.
So I will never sit down and put an excuses like, oh, he just hold me down.
No, I'm the idiot that couldn't get out.
And I put myself in that position.
So I used technique like a man and I definitely work on that.
I took like six months working on don't get hold in that specific position.
And I believe I figured it out.
Even when Frankie took my back, I was like out quick.
So that was something that I'm glad I fixed.
An improvement, yeah.
And after that, Aldo went and kicks Font as he beat up Munoz pretty well.
So that just put me in a good position because he couldn't do none of that to me.
So that can set us up for a rematch easily.
I feel I can do a fight for tower elimination with him.
Or I can just fight somebody like Merab that is a tough wrestler.
Nobody can beat him lately.
He can take you down and hold you down.
So if I go in there and I just put him out, like simple, because no one called him out for reasons.
He's not popular.
He's boring, but he's effective.
He wins.
He don't talk shit, but he wins.
So if I go in there and just clean cut, put him out, stomp him.
Yeah.
Okay, that's how you...
And people is like, fuck, this guy's real.
I'm not worried about anybody.
It's not like some fighters are like, they have a path to the title that is very well done.
Like, okay, fight this guy.
He's a heavy puncher.
Okay, clinch him.
Okay, now you're fighting a good grappler.
Don't go to the ground.
I'm willing to fight good or bad fights because I know one thing.
If you're ready, you have a chance to put him out.
You have a chance to get away with something.
I'm not worried about the striker or the wrestler because I do it all.
Do you ever, sometime you're in there, do you ever forget that you, do you like kicking or punching more?
That's one sometime I'm always wondering, do these guys like to kick more or punch more?
Do you ever forget that?
You like to kick or punch more?
I like both.
Like now that I'm with Parillo, he's a great boxer.
I feel my punches are getting pretty crisp.
And that just helped my kicks to be better.
Because if I can punch you, I can click...
Yeah.
But then when somebody put a good combo on them, they get clip.
So I feel like now that I get my boxing, my base pretty good, I can kick better than before.
Just because I fix little mechanics with him.
And I feel like I'm very complete now.
I feel like there are things like people who want to take me down now, which I trained with one of the best people in the world, on the ground anyway, so I'm not even...
And there are things like some people is very talented, but then you can get them tired.
Good luck trying to get me tired.
Just good luck with that.
It's never happened.
It's not going to happen.
It's never happened before.
It's never happened probably since you were born, man, I think.
Yeah, because I'm a very active person, so I'm like, if you want to get me tired, I can guarantee you you will get tired in the process.
And it's just a mindset.
Like, I'm willing to get a heart attack.
That's what I think when I'm running, when I'm sprinting, when I'm sparring, like, I'm just pushing the pace.
You're willing to have a heart attack all the time.
That's what I told myself when I'm doing a sprint, when I'm sparring.
I'm a human.
I feel the same shit you feeling.
But I can control that feeling.
I can tell myself it's okay to feel like that.
I just make friends with those demons.
And it's like, I just keep them close.
I can tell you all the crazy shit in the world.
I can lie to you.
I can tell you, fuck, that my dick is bigger four inches more than it normally is.
But I will never lie to myself.
So you got to keep it real.
I have the same feeling.
My chest is burning.
My legs are tired.
My forearm are gas.
But it's okay.
It's just okay.
I like that idea of making friends with those things, you know?
You have to.
Of keeping those demons close.
Yeah, when I get to the part where my heart's beating, I'm just like, damn, I might die.
But you say, hey.
I just say that it's cool to feel that and just keep going.
What's going to happen?
Have a heart attack?
That's not losing.
You know what I'm saying?
That's not losing.
Nah, nah, that's just one round.
It's when you break your leg.
I'm not saying I want that to happen to me, but if you kick somebody and your leg snapping twice, you're not getting...
I did say TKO, but it's not like somebody...
It's not like somebody kicked your ass.
Something really bad happened to you in the process.
So when I'm throwing a kick or a punch, that's the mindset I have.
I'm like, I'm going to break myself through you.
And it works pretty good.
When you were in the O'Malley fight, did you feel like at the end of that fight that he had given when you got him on the ground, you're on top of him, did you feel like he'd given up at that point?
Did it feel like that?
Because obviously he was injured.
Like he was injured.
And that happened the same to Sejuro.
Happened to Chandler before.
So it happened to me, but in my arm, like young Liniker punched like a truck.
And he punched me in the elbow and my arm went numb.
It's this, like, I'm not a doctor, but I think like this, if a nerve gets affected and you start like panicking, your nerve resistance goes firing up.
So I was just telling myself, like, my arm was numb.
Just take my time.
Just run around a little bit, clinching, whatever.
And my arm went back to normal.
So I was just like, it is okay to have something like that.
Right, to have that happen.
We actually, Sean actually sent this question in.
Let's see.
Is it okay if we played it?
I don't want you to feel like we have to.
Oh, bro.
Come on.
Okay, cool.
Let me see what these dogs say.
And look, literally, we just put it.
He just sent it in through like the regular channel.
He didn't send it to me.
He just sent it.
I believe that.
Through the Dropbox.
Let's see what he say.
Cheetah, what up, bro?
It's your friend Chuka Sean.
I'm just wondering if you actually thought you won that one fight.
Let me know your thoughts.
I will.
Theo says he doesn't think it counted.
Let me know.
I did not say that.
It's cool.
That's another thing about me.
I won't get offended by that shit.
Oh, I didn't say it, but I. I know you didn't.
Okay, good.
But if you told me right now, bro, I don't think you won the fight.
I'm like, cool.
No, I just, I was re-watching it the other day, and I was just, I don't know what it's like to be in a fight like that.
Right.
So I was wondering if something happens to me where I feel impaired, right?
Do I then get into a situation where I give, where I'm just like, it's, I'm out.
I'm going to live to fight another day.
Right.
Or, and then if you're in the ring with them, do you, are you able to know that?
You know, when, when I, when the fight started and I started walking towards him, like most guys kind of like run away from him.
He's Rangy and he can be clowny.
He can, like, I dye my hair colorful many times too.
We look funky.
And people sometimes like, because you have pink in your hair, you're not tough or something.
That's your looks.
Like, I'm not most people think he's not training.
He's fucking around.
He's just another fighter doing his job, doing whatever.
Right.
People get fooled by the way we act.
If you hear all the shit I say sometimes, you will think I'm not this person.
But it's just the way I'm talking shit 99% of the day.
Yeah.
And most of the time, I don't mean none of that.
I'm just talking shit.
People get fooled by that.
Like when I was finding him and he was talking, I don't had one day that I sit down and pay attention to anything.
I was like, I'm going to fucking see you in the case, bro.
And I am the type of person that let's see him pop up right now and he says something I don't like.
I'm not sitting down.
I'm going to fucking go and throw at him.
Like right away.
I don't have those issues.
So that's why this shit talking or promos, it don't give me or take nothing away from me.
It's just normal.
And Sean's a real master of communique.
He's a great, like...
He's a great character.
He's a great character.
Good for him.
And fighter.
And he's a great fighter.
He can fight.
Yeah, did you feel like you won at the end?
Yeah, I wasn't mad or bugged about the way it went.
I kicked him in the leg.
He should give up.
That wasn't an injury on his ankle.
That wasn't the same thing that happened when he fought Sukanta.
Which Sukanta, if your fucking opponent have a broken foot, why you take him down, bro?
Like, why you don't let him stand up and just kick his ass?
But that's also what they call being a little smart in a fight.
Like, if my opponent break his feet, why you take him down?
You're making him a favor.
Right.
Just let him walk where and the referee will stop it.
When I was walking him down, I felt his energy.
He don't like pressure.
And most guys want to go too crazy at him.
I took my time.
He'd throw punches, but I saw them coming.
He's very sharp with his hands.
But if you're calm and cool, you can see them coming.
I don't close my eyes in there.
Well, I don't think you close your eyes to anything in the world, it doesn't seem like.
Have they pitched You that fight again?
Yeah, they offered me to fight him when he fought in the McGregor car.
Oh, yeah, I was at that fight.
Oh, against that green-haired boy?
Yeah, the green-haired boy, man.
Never fought again.
Wow, yeah, that guy.
He's still getting hit somewhere.
That guy took a lot of hits, didn't he?
Yeah, he can take punches in the face.
Yeah.
But that also say, like, if you punch somebody that many times, you don't punch it that hard.
Right.
O'Malley's a snappy.
I give him that.
But if you punch somebody that many times.
That's a good point, huh?
Yeah, bro.
That guy guy, he punched him as many times as you could punch somebody.
I don't think you could punch somebody any more times.
No.
Even if you knew somebody their whole life and you didn't like them, I don't think you could punch them.
No, no, no, no.
That was awful.
That was an awful fight.
I'm like, like, what type of competition is that?
And I think that's also why people took shit on him, which I don't give a fuck what people say or not about him.
But going back, I think I won.
I was happy with it, but I also live it in the past.
I don't live off that shit.
I don't give a shit who he is or what he does for a living.
I move on.
They call me last year.
You want to fight him in July?
I was like, this is what I did.
And this is what my coach advised.
It was a good point.
He's like, Tito, you know you fight anybody.
Like, no problem.
Tell the UFC to call him first and see what happened.
They never called again.
And do you feel like there's anybody else in that that's like, do you ever feel like, like, because you kind of came in as Cejudo is kind of leaving out, right?
Like, do you ever wish that you'd like that would be a cool fight?
Is there anybody that's kind of like that was right before your time or somebody that you're like, man, that would have been some.
Not really.
Not really.
Like, I don't.
You just kind of live in the present, sort of.
Yeah, like, I'm not thinking like I would.
Sometimes I wish I got to met guys that retired, things like that in other world classes, but people that I could fight, I don't really give a fuck.
Like, Favorite at some point was trying to fight me.
And then kind of like.
Uriah?
Yeah.
Because you guys fought a few times, right?
A couple of times.
Y'all never fought.
I fought his guy.
I fought a couple of his guys, but at some point he was like, I want to make a comeback and fight you.
Who did he fight a few times?
Cruz now.
Yeah, Cruz.
They fought three times, didn't they?
Yeah.
He lost the first one.
He won the first one and lost two.
He lost the second too.
One was in LA when Rocco fought Bispin, and the other one was with the green muscle fight.
The second fight was in the GFC with the green muscle firing cage.
Yeah, that's...
Fuck it.
That dude is, his hands are so crazy.
Yeah, he broke both of his hands against Mike Brown in Del Luis here.
Dude, his hands are so big.
His hands, they're like the biggest thing I've ever seen.
You almost got to use two hands.
Yeah, but it's also four feet tall.
So his hands are going to look big.
You know what I'm saying?
Maybe it's proportional.
He's got some real mitts on him, though.
He can play catcher without a mitt, man.
He's got some real mitts on him.
Yeah, so I guess it's kind of interesting because it's like in your division, it's like, how do you, because there's not even any fights coming up.
So do you feel like you're going to have to sit and wait?
Do you feel like you're going to have to fight somebody that's lower ranked than you?
and what do you think you're going to have to do?
Because there's not even any...
No, it's just them.
It's just Jam fighting Starling in April, I believe.
Yeah.
In Florida.
And then that's about it.
I saw Sean last night and I was like, hey man, I want to fucking...
Before they ask you for anything, let me say hi.
Shake his hand, give him a hug.
I was like, did you have a date?
Don't give me a name.
He's like, you fighting soon.
I'm like, cool.
That's all I need to know.
Because everybody want to fucking bug his ass.
Pay me more.
What is this?
I don't have time for fucking cry to nobody.
I'm like, hey, just say a date.
He's like, you fight soon.
Cool.
We cool.
When you like, what would you have think of been if you hadn't been a fighter when you think back on it?
Like, what do you really?
Because if you were working in that place doing the papers, right?
That's a pretty.
I tell this right now.
I will never have a shitty job like that.
I will have something cooler like that.
I wouldn't mind being a farmer, dude, like the daily work.
The fastest farmer.
You would be the fastest fucking farmer.
I would be jagged too.
Your work would be done.
I could see like the ox would be out there and you would be out there next to him, you know?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think I could work with my dad.
That would be easy, but I just like, when I was a kid, I always thought like whatever I end doing, I'm just going to do it cool and be good at it.
Like, I just, I always have good energy.
Like, I feel like whatever I have to do, it doesn't matter.
I'm going to just do it right.
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Does something start to pop in your head?
Sometimes I notice as I get older, like something kind of comes in my head, like, oh, this might be a peaceful thing to do later down the line.
Do you start thinking about that?
Like after fighting?
I mean, I feel like you still have a long career.
Yeah.
I'm just 29. So there's for sure, like, I have at least five years that I can make myself.
That's a lot of fights.
I can make myself put on a good legacy, make history, and just keep kicking ass.
But I think about Zentanzo, like, what do you want for afterwards?
And I'm like, you know, probably I'm going to start collecting businesses, whatever.
Me and my wife, we thought about it.
We want to, at some point, we want to open a small cute coffee shop.
Let's make it all pretty, put some art around, sell some access artists, whatever.
We live in college, so there's a bunch of cool coffee shops.
And we've been thinking for years, maybe one day we just open up one and we just chill.
That'd be cool.
That'd be cool.
You never know.
You win a fight and then somebody call you for a movie, somebody call you for something crazy.
With life, you never know.
I always tell myself, just keep being you, keep doing cool shit, and things will come up your way.
So I'm not really too worried about it.
I feel some people is too worried about where they want to go.
Wow.
They're not focusing right now.
You know what I'm saying?
That's me.
You're talking to that guy.
Really?
Yeah, a lot of times, yeah, I just get caught in just worrying a lot.
That's why it's really nice to be around you because just like it's inspiring, man, to seem so, to meet someone who seems so comfortable in the space that they're in.
It's inspiring, I think.
And I get this from, you know, there's a lot of people around.
Joe Rogan is a perfect example.
Like, I've been listening to him since before I moved to the U.S. And that's like seven years ago.
And, you know, seven years ago, he wasn't the fucking guy that is now.
But he always talked about it.
You know, it's almost when your boxing coach told you back to basic, working the job, the job cross.
In life, it's also the same thing.
Like, you can be desperate for what's coming or you can be like thinking like, oh, I want to be this.
I want to be this.
Yes, we got it.
We all want to do something in life.
Unless you're a fucking lazy piece of shit.
But if you're really putting your energy in something, it's just, you know, get the lessons from the past and fucking enjoy today.
Because most people or some people, they don't have a tomorrow.
They're sick with cancer.
They lost everything.
We don't know.
So I always tell myself, if I'm alive, I have a chance.
And then it's weird.
I think that mentality definitely was what took me here.
But even when I was a kid and I was having a problem or an issue or I wasn't getting something done, I just told myself, there's always a way.
There's always a chance.
Just figure it out.
Do you miss being a child?
You talk about being a kid a lot.
I talk about being a kid a lot on this show.
Do you miss it?
Like, do you think it was fun?
Like, do you have a lot of great memories from being a kid?
I have, I do have great memories.
I don't, but I don't want to be back.
I remember when I was in high school and I was like, fuck this shit.
I hate to be sitting here to listen to a fucking person to tell me two plus two is four.
Fuck that.
Fuck it.
And then everybody was like, bro, when high school is done, you're going to miss it so much.
The day I graduate from high school, I say, fuck you.
And until today, I'm like, I don't want to go back to that.
I was just not made to be sitting down and learning a fucking equation.
Yeah.
Which nothing will do nothing for you.
Like, they don't teach nothing in school.
Not for you.
Not for a guy like you.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, specific.
I don't want to talk to normal people.
But yeah, I had to do, I remember doing steroids to do math.
I already do steroids, bro.
I'm not even joking.
We used to do steroids just to do, you know, and I would do math real good that year.
But it's just like, it just wasn't for me.
Like, I was like, teach me something about life.
Like, teach me how to handle what's out there in the jungle.
Like, this fucking equation is not, these notebooks are not going to take me out of problems.
Oh, yeah.
I don't see when I look at you.
I don't think.
I think, and if I see a book and I see a jungle, yeah, you're like the jungle.
You're the guy looking at the kid looking out the window being like, I want to take on the jungle.
Most people don't think that way.
Yeah, well, that's true too.
But they don't.
But in any SNR in life, in any profession you pick, you can keep the energy of like, don't get desperate on the goal.
Be on the process.
Take care of the process.
Like, it's all about the process.
Like, if you do the process wrong, the recipe, whatever, the end will be bad.
The taste of the food will be bad.
Whatever your goal was, you won't get it done just because you were thinking in something else.
You cannot be thinking on the finish line if you're not doing nothing in the start line.
Yeah, that's true, huh?
Did y'all have Halloween growing up over there?
Did you guys have Halloween?
Yeah, it's not as hard as the U.S. like, you know, every house is packed.
We definitely got a Halloween party, but we don't have the whole city giving counting to be.
We got some, you know, some places that some communities that does it, but it's not like the U.S. like it's almost like Christmas.
Did they have what's like a unique Ecuador holiday that they have that we don't have?
Is there something kind of well?
New Year's and Christmas for us, it's a full-on party.
Really?
It's like music, whiskey, and good food.
It's full-on party.
Like Christmas for and Christmas, Christmas for us is we open the presents on the 24th night time when everybody's drunk.
The 25th is just play with the toast you already open and mom and dad is hungover.
It's a little different there, but it's fun, dude.
The food is great.
Similar food, just with a different little different stuff.
Like, you know, the turkey, everything, but great food.
Do you miss it?
Do you miss Ecuador a lot?
I love Ecuador, dude.
Like, I haven't been able to go since 2019 because of COVID.
I was going after each fight to do either a commercial or picture for a brand, whatever.
Because of COVID, it's just, you know, we haven't been able to go back.
Was it awesome to see that guy last night, Morales?
I think his name is Michael Morales.
Michael Morales.
Wow.
Dude, he's an athlete, dude.
He went and just throw a hate makeup.
I was like, oh, wow.
He's a Welsh boy.
He's a big boy.
But he's 22 years old.
I remember when I met to the Gypsy at 21. So I can relate any mind how he feels.
You feel like you're on top of the world.
We came from a small country.
And I'm in the GFC since 2014.
Yeah.
2022, we'll get the second one.
So it's been a long time.
Wow.
So, but that kid, whatever he's doing, keep it up because he's doing well.
Did he reach out to you for any suggestions?
Before the UFC, I think kind of like the person, now we have the same manager, but like the manager, whatever he have in Ecuador or his team, they were like tagging me every day on Sunday.
They were trying to get you to see him.
And I was like, I know who he is, but there's nothing I can do.
Like, what do you want me to do?
Like, it don't work like that, but people sometimes don't know, right?
Yeah, they don't know.
They don't know.
I'm like, what do you want me to call Dane and he fights next week?
It don't work like that.
But the only thing I say is like, just keep it up.
Like, if you didn't write by yourself, you will get there.
And what I've been saying since four, three years ago is like, if you want to be in the GFC, we don't have the sources in Ecuador.
We don't have the teammates.
We don't have a solid team.
So once you figure it out and you win like three fights, get the fuck out.
If you don't have a visa, go to Brazil or go to Mexico.
He went to Mexico with Brandon.
And there's like four other Ecuadorians within Brandon's team.
I'm like, finally.
I remember people will talk shit like, what the fuck?
You say Ecuador suck?
I'm not saying that, but we don't have nothing there for us.
You don't have the infrastructure.
They don't even really have it.
We don't have it.
Do they have gems now?
MMA gems?
They have to be getting a little bit better.
Yeah.
This is the thing.
We have good wrestling.
We have good boxing.
We have pretty good Jiu-Jitsu.
After Brazil, it's Ecuador in South America in Jiu-Jitsu.
Put it together.
Good luck doing that.
It's a different game.
I can be Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and it's still getting choked down in the GFC.
It happened to Rolo Favieira.
You know what I'm saying?
You have to put it together.
So if you're a good wrestler and you have a couple of MMA fights, me great.
Go and train with real fighters.
We don't have that.
And it's not like I'm happy that what I say works, but all of the guys that left.
One already made it.
And there's a pair of twins that they're fucking good.
This kid, I don't know him.
Like, I see him last night.
I say, good luck, blah, blah, blah.
I don't know him personally.
The twin kids, they trained with me before I left Ecuador.
I know them.
And they're close to make it.
So I'm like, if you left the country and you make it, now I don't say fuck you.
You were saying Ecuador.
Now at least, oh man, I think you were right.
Well, and also we're talking about Ecuador.
It's like the only way to get people to talk about where you're from, if it's not extremely popular, is to get to a place where people can see you talking about that place.
You know, it's like, yeah, sometimes people are like loyal to their town to a fault.
You can't do that.
Yeah.
Because it will only take you to failure.
Like, you cannot sacrifice your whole life just because you say, my country is better than yours.
I'm in the U.S. Look, things will never change.
I walk up with my flag all the time.
Even when they say it's fighting out, it doesn't say it's fighting out of California.
It still says those small details will be there forever.
But I wouldn't be kicking Frankie Edgar in the face turning an echo.
I can guarantee you that.
We got another question or two that came in here.
Let's bring up something good here.
I think we just.
Oh, my hair wasn't like that.
What's up, Theo?
What's up, Cheeto?
In anticipation for tonight, what was your favorite moment from UFC 271?
Gang, gang.
Gang, baby.
And I think he means 270, probably.
Yeah, you're in the future, bro.
Yeah.
Is that was through DMT or mushrooms?
Like, 271.
It's not even announced.
Look, that guy was there, apparently.
It was a fucking good time.
Fuck.
We should FaceTime him and be like, who was the bed in that car?
Well, but I can tell you my favorite moment from last night to 70. I definitely think when Moreno woke out, that fucking arena turned.
Dude, I've been in many UFCs and last night when he woke out, it was like, I thought I was in Tijuana.
Yeah.
I was like, fuck, this is a lot of fucking Mexicanos here.
I was like, this is great.
Sometimes people make noise, but it almost feels like when McGregor woke out, you know, McGregor is just, when he woke out, it's huge.
So it feels like pretty dense.
That was one thing.
People love him.
And it's just, you know, it's like people love him.
And, I mean, Yeah, Mexican people don't get enough credit in this country, man.
Mexican people keep this country going.
And who, bro, every day, people should start the morning by just applauding Mexican people, bro.
I don't know what I do not know.
I don't know what would be going on if there weren't for Mexican people.
And that is probably pretty up there.
And also, this country is made by immigrants.
Yeah.
Yeah, people forget that over time.
You forget that it's always been that way.
It's always been that way.
Like, Joe talks about, like, his family came from Italy, like, or the stuff like that.
Like, this country is a mix of goods.
Yeah, my father came from Nicaragua, actually, in 1910.
My dad was really old when I was born, but he came here in 1910.
Or no, in 1922, he came here, but he was born in 1910.
But he came from Central America here.
It's always been that way.
But that's why they say America.
It's not the USA.
America is the fucking continent.
Like South America, Central America.
This country's got a little bit of the best of everything.
Yeah, and look, and it's got opportunity.
You know, it just has opportunity.
And people will come from anywhere to get it.
Was there another great moment that you enjoyed from last night?
Last night.
Yeah, what do you think of the Moreno, the outcome?
I hate when I know the guys because I want them to win and the fight was so close.
I think they could give it to him, but also, what's his name?
Figuereo was being smart on don't throw first because he will be counter pretty easy.
So he was almost waiting for big shots.
And there was two different rounds, if I'm not wrong.
He touched him and Moreno went down.
I think one of them wasn't a real one.
One was a real knockdown when he put the choke and 10 seconds left.
That choke was fully sync.
So that was a little scary.
Was he saved by the bell, you think, there?
Maybe?
We have to say yes, because he could have scrambled out, but it was fully on.
And then he run out of time.
So that was a good thing for Moreno.
But then there was one that he get touched with a jab and he went to the ground, but it was more like outbalance.
But we don't know that.
It can be a real knockdown.
And then I think the referee, I think it was 3-2 maybe because of that.
But Moreno put more.
And since I was there, I saw Figreiro pretty hurt more than once, like almost ready to go down.
But I just feel like Moreno was being very patient.
If you were to step in the gas, I think he could finish him.
And do you think that's something that you learn as a fighter if you're in there, like not to be careful of your counter punches?
Like sometimes you learn like, oh, when I counter or when I punch first, they're countering better.
Like, especially the last fight, like, like, Figueroa came pretty strong, and Moreno just counter him until he just took him down and finished him.
And this time he wasn't that aggressive.
He was waiting more for Moreno.
And those low kicks also were pretty heavy.
It was an exciting fight.
It was a great fight.
Last 20 seconds where they just said, let's go.
They went Max Holloway and Lucardo Lamas.
They point to the ground and say, fuck you.
It was a great fight, dude.
It was a great fight.
The whole crowd was booing heavy.
So if it will be a clean decision, I don't think the crowd will boo that bad.
Yeah, I felt like that.
I felt like if it was a time, I feel like they should have maybe just made it a draw.
Exactly.
Like they make the first time.
like a draw would be great but being a judge is a shitty job i i know that sometimes like they make oh like that wasn't like You like which fight you were looking like.
Like that bad, like the whole world gets crazy on it.
But being a judge is a cheery job.
And none of those guys are martial artists.
None of those guys have a full background.
That's crazy, isn't it?
Most of the...
What you know about MMA?
He's like, I'm a boxing referee.
I'm like, oh, you're fucked then.
Who isn't a boxing referee?
Yeah.
Yeah, like, you have to separate.
No headbutts.
And I guess no dick punches.
And then no clinching, of course.
But that's just like crime.
Like, I feel like if you go on trial for murder or something, the people in the box should all be murderers, you know, the jury.
Because at least then they're going to be able to be like, oh, yeah, he did it or didn't.
If you're getting somebody that works at a bakery or something, they don't fucking, you know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
Yeah, the way law works, it's crazy.
Like, like, just thinking about like, it's just random people saying innocent.
Like, what the fuck is going on?
Like, they're working like the judges better on putting that fake hair that they used back in the day and make a movie about it.
Yeah, bro.
It is crazy.
The system seems a little crazy, but I don't know what else we would do.
Maybe let a machine do it, you know?
Yeah.
Well, Elon Musk can figure that out.
Yeah, maybe he will.
Like, you put it, your thumb prince is guilty.
Then you get your head chopped.
You know, some guys would be scared to put that thumb on.
I know.
Even the lie detector, that thing don't work.
That thing looks horrible.
It looks so rickety.
It looks like it wouldn't even start your car.
You know, I'm like, this thing looked like a piece of shit.
The system is pretty fucked up, the way things work.
Somebody had one in our neighborhood growing up, had a lie detector test, and they were always using it and shit.
And it didn't do shit.
It didn't work?
No.
People would be like, I remember asking, they would ask one of the kid, like, are you smart?
And he said, yes, I'm smart.
And we're all like, that dude's a fucking idiot.
I think that doesn't work.
I think we can use that on the mile.
we'll see, man.
Is it interesting that the guys like Sean create such a do you get is it hard not to try and become that kind of energy?
I notice it in my own world.
Like, I notice some guys have bigger personalities.
So sometimes I'm like, do I need to get a bigger personality?
Is it, does it get tempting to try and well, for me, it's like, I think also it's where you are in life.
Like, I get to the UFC with a wife and a kid.
Now I have a wife and three kids.
So I don't have time to go home and play video games for five because I got a personality.
I can talk to anybody.
You can switch up with one of those guys and we can have a cool conversation.
I can talk shit.
I can say funny, funky shit.
But when I get home, I want to play a little basketball with my son.
I want to take my daughters to get an ice cream.
I need to take my wife somewhere.
So I don't got time to twitch.
I don't have time to do all the shit.
Right.
So yeah, it's just a different.
I'm using a different place in my life.
Like, if I would be a single guy, I'll probably be doing every single thing I can do.
Because I can feel like, let's see, a couple months ago, my wife took the kids to Palm Spring for two days with my mother-in-law.
And I was like, holy shit.
I already knew that they got so many hours.
I would come back home and sit down for six hours and be like, what the fuck?
I'm not used to this.
I don't even feel good about it.
Even if I have time to rest, because we got a full scale.
Drop the kids in high school, in the school.
Go to the gym.
Come back.
She go pick a one.
I go pick a door.
Go to my second practice of the day.
Put them to bed.
Go to bed around 9, 10. Wake up.
Run early morning.
Drop somebody at the school.
It keeps going.
It keeps going.
That's your world.
But like guys that don't have the responsibilities.
That, they can open what they can do.
Like, that's why I put everything into training to win fights.
I don't got time to be a comedian or an actor.
And I know I'm a funny person.
I know I can talk shit.
I know I can crack some jokes, but there is just not the time.
I could see down the line.
I could see you doing it afterwards, though, maybe getting into commentating or something.
Yeah, and I do the commentary already.
I do it for Spanish.
Oh, that's cool, man.
I've been doing it for like five years.
Oh, wow.
That's amazing.
So like, I know I can do more shit at the moment.
This is what you're saying.
It's one goal.
Be a world champion and just kick ass.
A friend of mine used to say, oh, it's like, you cannot read three books in one day.
So pick one, learn from it, and then move into another.
So like, I'm just busy.
Damn, man.
Yeah.
Well, this has been quite the novella, man.
I'm trying to think if there's any other any other question that came on, Colin, you want to throw up?
Oh, I like that shirt.
Oh, yeah, this guy.
Hey, como san, Chito, and Theo, what the fuck is going on, bro?
My question for Chito is: cueds la Pelea que más del guyo por ganari representar los colores Ecuador.
Theo, you should probably already know Spanish from that one friend that you had back in school.
So, yang, baby.
Yeah, that uh, that Spanish question, man.
What did he ask me?
Yeah, he asked me, like, what's the fight that makes me the most proud?
I, or, like, or my, I guess, my biggest fight.
I think when I went to London and fought Brad Pickett in 10 days' notice, was pretty huge for my life.
Just because how everything was planned out.
I was coming off elbow surgery.
I was fat.
I was I will call depressed.
I wasn't able to show up to the gym in the past eight weeks.
I had a couple of grands in the bank account.
It was the first time, it was when we just moved for NECOR with my family.
Because I came for a year alone.
Train, win a fight, have some money to flew my whole family.
And then I brought my family in, got the elbow surgery, and then I was sitting down on my couch for like seven weeks.
There's nothing, if you have a elbow this big, there's nothing you can do.
So the moment the doctor cleared me to start to start running and basically lifting, but just from my waist down, I was running every day, but not long distance, I was running hills to get my heart rate hard.
Like I basically become a Cameron Haynes for like four weeks.
And then I was squatting as much as I can.
And I wasn't in fighting shape, but I was in survival shape.
I was like, I was, I was doing every day something really hard with my legs.
And then I was like, fuck, my bank account is drained.
I don't got nothing.
So you had to take it.
No, a thousand percent.
So my manager called me.
He's like, hey, bro, like, some Mexican guy got hurt.
It's Brad Picker retired me in fight.
And I was like, bro, send the fucking contract.
Like, tomorrow, like now.
So I was, and I was heavy because I wasn't doing nothing.
So I was like waiting close to 160.
And then they told me 135, you have to make the way.
I'm like, I die making the way if I have to.
So we flew to London.
And I was basically eating one egg, couple asparagus, and three gallons of water.
Oh my gosh, man.
That was it.
And then back then, I didn't have the nutrition I have right now.
Back then it was using the coaches, my manager, and we're like just trying to figure it out.
I was like, what should I eat?
Ordered an egg with asparagus.
I was like, okay, cool.
And then we started away.
I dropped like close to 18 pounds.
I was dead.
I was dead, but I was broke.
So I knew I have to do it.
And then I get to 140.
And I was like, they asked me, how are you?
And I'm like, let's just keep going.
And then we got a call.
Hey, Brad says, okay, 140 because he don't want you to pull out if you pass out.
And then he's not fighting his retirement fight.
Oh, so they met you at 140?
We met at 140.
And I was like, cool, fuck it.
Dude, walking to the cage, I was angry.
I was like a madman.
I was like, I'm going to kill this guy.
And could you smell people eating stuff in the stands or not?
A little bit.
Yeah.
Like, they were saying, fuck you.
You will die.
But it was just like Brazil, but in London.
You're fighting hometown boy right there.
And I was like, I was telling myself, the only thing I was thinking, walking to the cage, you lose this fight, you got to send your family back to Agriculture.
You win this fight?
You have you don't, you're not set for life.
You got a year in the U.S. to figure it out and keep going.
Because I had like four grand walking to that cage.
I was telling myself, this guy has to kill me.
Like, there's no fucking turn around for me.
I don't want to go back.
I don't want to be a loser and go back home.
Like, what happened?
I couldn't make it in the U.S. Can I work for you?
Can I clean your house, bro?
Yeah, can I be over here?
There's no accepting that fucking going back.
And it was a hell of a fight.
I think that fight teach me a lot.
About yourself.
About life.
Like, what you can do when you need to do it.
That's why now that I, in a way, have it all, like, not in values and stuff, not in materials, but I just have it all.
I'm happy.
Kids are good.
Wife is good.
We live in Cali.
We own a house.
I'm just remember that just to keep a strong mind the rest of my life.
Like, I used I think people get softer, cocky, or careless when they marry to some point.
I keep the same mentality.
Just my kids can learn that one day.
Yeah.
Because if they won't remember that 2017, they don't know my mind.
They were babies.
So I need to keep that mindset for them to learn how to live like this when they're 15, 20. Because if I become a little soft bitch, they will see that.
Yeah, mindset is so, it's so key with so many fighters, man.
It's so interesting, especially in your life, man.
This being my last question, where did you meet your wife at?
Fourth grade.
Damn, boy, that's a little creepy, boy.
That's early, Papa.
I know, I know.
We didn't touch each other until 14. So it wasn't.
That's a little bit more legal, but damn, boy, fourth grade.
Yeah, we met early.
We were in separate classrooms, but she always told me, like, I like you, since then.
I'm like, you should say something.
I was ready back then.
But I was worried about other things back then.
And did you go on a date or something?
Like in Ecuador, would you take a girl on it?
What was that kind of like?
Fuck, when we were young, it was more like going to the movies or just visiting her house.
Go for a walk or something.
Yeah.
I was a troublemaker, so her mom wouldn't let me.
Telling a lot.
They put me in jail twice for fighting in the street.
So like they don't, every time she was around me, their mom was like, hey, be careful.
What should she get you for Valentine's bail money?
Probably.
Yeah, every time.
I'm sorry.
I lose it all there.
Yeah, like I was.
I said, thank God I found something that keeps me disciplined because I only find ways to get in trouble growing up.
Got kicked out of high school just looking for turn something on fire.
It was just trouble over trouble over trouble.
And there was no fucking stopping that.
That's why you're right where you need to be.
I'm right where I need to be.
If nobody will put me in a cage, I'll be fucking...
Even all my friends, they're all dumb.
They're all fucking...
Oh, yeah, yeah.
We will fucking party since Wednesday.
I would show up to high school drunk.
Yeah.
It was just dumb shit.
You were meant to be in a cage kind of in a weird way, huh?
100%.
100%.
I know that.
And I love it.
I love it.
Well, man, you have a beautiful life, man.
It's been really interesting to get to know you.
It's amazing.
So many people really love you.
You know, you're really beloved, it feels like, in the sport.
And I'm just grateful for your time, man.
It's really inspiring to me where I'm at in my life right now.
Appreciate it.
Thanks for having me, dude.
I've been following you for a long time.
You're the funny cat.
Well, thanks, man.
I'll try my best, man.
And I hope to get to check out your next fight, man.
Hopefully soon.
Yeah.
Best of luck, brother.
Appreciate you, man.
Thanks for having me.
You're welcome.
Now, I'm just falling on the breeze.
And I feel I'm falling like these leaves.
I must be cornerstone.
But when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found.
I can feel it in my bones.
But it's gonna take a little time for me to set that parking brake and let myself unwind.
Shine that light on me.
I'll sit and tell you a story.
Shine on me.
And I will find a song I will sing it just for you.
And now I've been moving way too fast on the runaway train with a heavy load of my hands.
And these roads that I've been riding No, the walls will be left, damn, they're gone.
I guess now they just work the lab.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jonathan Kite and welcome to Kite Club, a podcast where I'll be sharing thoughts on things like current events, stand-up stories, and seven ways to pleasure your partner.
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