Eating Chinese food, covered in a strangers blood: Brando 'The Balkan Bear' Peričić Pt. 2

UFC heavyweight Brando Peričić returns for part two on I Catch Killers, opening up about the darkness he carries into the cage, witnessing a horrific car crash where he performed CPR on a dying man, living out of his car by choice even as his career takes off, and the role his faith plays in controlling his ego. Brando and Gary get candid about depression, imposter syndrome, his complicated relationship with his father, and Brando's relentless pursuit of becoming the first Australian UFC heavyweight champion. Subscribe to our new Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@ICatchKillers-Podcast Follow I Catch Killers: Instagram:@icatchkillers https://www.instagram.com/icatchkillers/?hl=enTiktok:@icatchkillerspodcast https://www.tiktok.com/@icatchkillerspodcastFacebook:@icatchkillers https://www.facebook.com/icatchkillers/ See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  The public has had a long-held fascination with detectives. Detectives see a side of life the average person is never exposed to. I spent 34 years as a cop. For 25 of those years, I was catching killers. That's what I did for a living. I was a homicide detective. I'm no longer just interviewing bad guys. Instead, I'm taking the public into the world in which I operate. The guests I talk to each week have amazing stories from all sides of the law. The interviews are raw and honest, just like the people I talk to. Some of the content and language might be confronting. That's because no one who comes into contact with crime is left unchanged. Join me now as I take you into this world.

• 0:46Speaker 00

  In part two of my chat with Brando the Balkan Bear Pericich, we discuss the darkness Brando carries into the cage and the monk-like sacrifices he makes living out of the van, the faith that keeps him grounded when everything else threatens to pull him apart. Brando talks about the difference between being a nice man and a good one, why comfort is the enemy of greatness, and what it felt like to perform CPR on a dying stranger on the side of a New Zealand highway, covered in blood, alone, doing everything he could. Whether you follow the UFC or not, I reckon you should have a listen because we could be actually talking to the future world heavyweight UFC champion. Brando, welcome back to part two of I Catch Killers.

• 1:31Speaker 00

  Thanks for having me again. So, the UFC, fascinating, and I want to delve back into it because I just, what you guys go through and the mentality of when you step into that cage. But I just want to, our conversation has sort of flowed between fighting and philosophy on life and what you hope to achieve on life. And I thank you for the depth of the conversation that we're having. You're telling us a lot of personal stuff. I've heard you, I've heard you say, I choose to be a good person, but I have a darkness.

• 2:00Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 2:01Speaker 00

  Okay, te- tell us about that. What are we dealing with there?

• 2:04Speaker 01

  I mean, I think every human is capable of bad things. I truly do.

• 2:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:10Speaker 01

  Um, I've seen it. And a lot of times, the nice guy

• 2:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:15Speaker 01

  is the most dangerous.

• 2:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:17Speaker 01

  And then the weakest. So I choose to be a kind man.

• 2:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:20Speaker 01

  I don't like to be called a nice guy.

• 2:22Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:22Speaker 01

  Um, I choose to, to, to be a good person, but I know if you push me in the corner and you try to hurt me, I would hurt you back ten times worse.

• 2:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  So it's like, um, we're, we're human. We've always gone to wars. We've always fought. And yeah, I just, I, I'm just glad that, um, I know how to handle myself now.

• 2:44Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:44Speaker 01

  You know, cause there's been times in the past when I was a kid, like, you know, I used to wake up and wanna kill myself.

• 2:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 2:52Speaker 01

  So like, when I fight somebody, what do you think I'm gonna do to him? When I, when he's standing across the cage from me?

• 2:57Speaker 00

  You've, you've got that.

• 2:58Speaker 01

  I've, I've got that darkness inside of me, you know? And you have to, because if you're emotional in the fight, if you're angry, you're gonna get tired.

• 3:06Speaker 00

  Yeah, burn.

• 3:06Speaker 01

  If, if you're scared, you're gonna get tired.

• 3:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:09Speaker 01

  So there has to be no emotion. So like, I said it to you when the camera was off, when I fight, I, I say to myself, like, you know, be cold, be like a serial killer. There's no, there's like, you know, I try to put myself in this sort of stoic mindset, this coldness, this darkness, where it's like, I don't care if the guy hurts me.

• 3:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:29Speaker 01

  I don't care if I hurt him. I'm just here to win. I'm a winner. But, you know, there's a lot of times when that goes out the window. I'm just having fun.

• 3:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, it's like, it's just, look, I, I'm just a normal dude. I, I'm trying to work it out as I go.

• 3:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:42Speaker 01

  That works for me sometimes. Sometimes I, I try to be, you know, enjoy it, like embrace it, cause you don't, you only have a hand of like, I don't know how many UFC fights. Let's say if I have twenty in my career.

• 3:52Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  Man, I've got like seventeen left or whatever.

• 3:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:55Speaker 01

  I wanna enjoy, I wanna enjoy it as well. So the nerves are slowly going, I'm getting comfortable, I'm enjoying it more.

• 4:02Speaker 00

  And that's the experience when you learn to deal with those nerves, isn't it, to be able to go, okay, I know, I know I'm scared, but I'm not gonna show it. I I know I'm feeling all those emotions, but I can control this and that's. And in policing, like tactical policing, sometimes when you're about to, yeah, make the move or or go into a, go into a building. Or jump out of a van.

• 4:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:24Speaker 00

  You just had that clarity of thought. All of a sudden, everything's cleared. You're not distracted by anything. Okay, I know what I'm gonna do and I'm about to do it. And you go in there with that clear mind.

• 4:33Speaker 01

  Well, someone attacks you in the police, right?

• 4:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 4:35Speaker 01

  You're not gonna roll over and just die. You know, you're gonna fight for your life. You're gonna, you're gonna, you know, that's what humans do. We fight for our life. Every day is a fight.

• 4:43Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  And life is a fight, isn't it? You know, so um whether it's inside the cage or outside the cage, like I fight with myself. It's me versus me every day.

• 4:53Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 4:53Speaker 01

  You know, it's like the little voice on your head in in on your shoulder speaking is like, oh, you can't do this. You're shit. You're, that's a fight.

• 5:01Speaker 00

  Yeah, you you you challenge, challenge yourself, challenge yourself. You mentioned you don't wanna be a a nice guy, you wanna be a good guy. And that reminds me of a quote I heard Matthew McConaughey say. I don't know if you you've heard it, but he talks about the difference between being a a nice man and a good, good man. A nice man, everyone likes, yeah, just just go with the flow, don't, you know, don't upset anyone. And they'll go through life and people go, hey, Brando's a nice man. But a good man is one that when he needs to take a stand, takes a stand. Is capable of taking a stand and will take a stand. When I, when I heard that, and I think it was in his book, Green Lights, I was reading it. And and I I've heard him say it on on social media.

• 5:44Speaker 00

  I think that's a good description because I I get pissed off with people that go through. Oh, yeah, he's a good fella. And I saw it sometimes in in police. Yeah, he's a good person, never took a stand on anything. I could be popular if I never took a stand on on things. So I I think there there is a difference between nice and good. A good person does the right thing for the right reason.

• 6:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, a hundred percent agree with that. And I don't care about being liked.

• 6:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:08Speaker 01

  I I really couldn't give a fuck.

• 6:10Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 6:10Speaker 01

  I I I wanna look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day and said, I did the right thing.

• 6:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:15Speaker 01

  You know, and I've lost a lot of family and friends because of that.

• 6:17Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 6:17Speaker 01

  You know, cause I have my morals and my standards.

• 6:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:20Speaker 01

  And you know what? I'm not perfect. So sometimes I I'm in the wrong and I and I admit that.

• 6:25Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Um, but you know, a friend to everyone is an enemy to himself.

• 6:29Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:29Speaker 01

  And I used to be a people pleaser when I was younger.

• 6:31Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:32Speaker 01

  And I still, I catch myself being a people pleaser. And, um.

• 6:35Speaker 00

  It's a it's an easier path, isn't it?

• 6:37Speaker 01

  It's an easier path, but also now being in a limelight.

• 6:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:41Speaker 01

  I get a lot of attention.

• 6:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:42Speaker 01

  And like we said before, people have different perspectives. So there's a lot of people that come up to me. And, you know, majority of them are very good people who actually are fans.

• 6:52Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:52Speaker 01

  But you always get those few who aren't.

• 6:54Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:55Speaker 01

  And they fuck it up for everybody else because I'll have a guy come up to me saying, ah, you know, you represent Jesus, but you swear, take the cross down. Or you're, they they, people call me all kinds of stuff. Because, um, you know, my grandfather's Bosnian. He's like, you're not a true Croatian, you know? You're a Yugoslav, you're this, you're that.

• 7:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:15Speaker 01

  Take your flag down, you're, you know, so like, that that shit doesn't really affect me normally. But maybe it does. And then someone comes up to me for a photo.

• 7:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:24Speaker 01

  And I'm like, yeah, okay, bro. And I'll I'm short and sharp with them.

• 7:27Speaker 00

  Because you're carrying.

• 7:28Speaker 01

  Because I'm carrying stuff from other people. And it's it's never, it's never a personal uh attack. Like, I didn't expect to be stopped in the street.

• 7:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:36Speaker 01

  I'm, I wanna be a fighter. I wanna be a world champion.

• 7:39Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:40Speaker 01

  I I didn't like want to be liked and fucking put on a pedestal and you know, that's just come, that comes with it. So I'm still trying to work, navigate it and I'm thankful that I had, you know, Israel. And I was around him long enough to see how he deals with things.

• 7:55Speaker 00

  He he's level with where he's been.

• 7:57Speaker 01

  Mate, he needs, he needs security in the streets, you know what I mean? So like, he couldn't go to a cafe or restaurant and and just relax.

• 8:04Speaker 00

  Yeah, I I could imagine he he's at that uh that other level, isn't he? With his recognition and worldwide recognition.

• 8:11Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 8:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 8:11Speaker 01

  Um even me now, like, doesn't matter where I go, I get recognised and it's sort of unreal.

• 8:16Speaker 00

  Does that, does that freak you out?

• 8:18Speaker 01

  Freaks my camera guy out.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  I'm sort of used to it now, but yeah, at the start it did. Um but it's a blessing, man, and I have great conversations with people from all different cultures, religions and um yeah, it's it's.

• 8:31Speaker 00

  Well, if you look at it as, and yeah, there's different levels, but if you look at it as a positive, that yeah, people are coming up and saying goodbye. You might make make their day by getting a photo with them or just having having a talk, talk with them.

• 8:43Speaker 01

  I see myself as a joy giver.

• 8:45Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 8:45Speaker 01

  I believe God's given me opportunity and a platform.

• 8:48Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 8:48Speaker 01

  And, you know, I'm a joy giver, like even my family, every time I win, my life gets better, they they get proud, they get more proud of me. And then I can like someone's message, reply to them on Instagram, uh take a photo with someone and it makes their day.

• 9:02Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:02Speaker 01

  Like, that's a, that's a true blessing. Um so I always do do as much as I can for people. You know, the last night we took probably twenty photos, I just went for dinner.

• 9:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Took twenty photos, if not more, and different conversations and it's draining, but um it's a blessing, man, so.

• 9:19Speaker 00

  It it is draining, but it you at least, and I'm glad you see it as a blessing.

• 9:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:24Speaker 00

  Because, yeah, step away from it and you, if you didn't get that attention, people would be going, wh- what, where's, where's it gone? So enjoy it while it's there and if you can bring joy to people's life, I I think that's uh that's an important thing. Hey, I wanted to, now that we uh we're talking about, you know, different things, the difference between a good and a nice person. A good man is not simply a harmless man, but rather a dangerous man who has aggression and the capacity of violence under strict. That's the point I try to get across to people when I say, well, you know, we could reduce crime or steer people away from crime by teaching them how to fight. Because, yes, they have the capacity to fight, but they choose not to. That's, that's the secret of it.

• 10:07Speaker 01

  I think being calm under pressure is massive.

• 10:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:10Speaker 01

  So I work with a coach, his name's Dave Wood.

• 10:12Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:12Speaker 01

  And he's also a mental coach, a breathing coach, um, just a life life coach, really. He's a great guy and he has taught me how to control my emotions, my fight or flight response.

• 10:26Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  My breath, and this has helped me not only in fighting, but outside of fighting. When I first came to New Zealand, I I've actually been on this, on a trip, like trade sites.

• 10:37Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:38Speaker 01

  Um, at workplaces where a lot of people have passed away, been killed. I'm O and three for resuscitation.

• 10:44Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 10:44Speaker 01

  So, you know, I.

• 10:46Speaker 00

  Oh, you've actually had to do it, yeah.

• 10:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, three times I have and they they've died right in front of me. So, um, the last one was the, I would say, the most impactful for me.

• 10:57Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:58Speaker 01

  So when I first came to New Zealand, I bought a van.

• 11:00Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 11:01Speaker 01

  And I went to the South Island and I always wanted to go to Twizel, go trout fishing and stuff. And I did that and on the way home, there was a family in front of me towing a boat. And I was right behind them and uh, I just pulled over into the gas station, got some ice for the fish I caught.

• 11:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:20Speaker 01

  I was probably a minute and I come around the corner, I'm driving, it was a hundred and ten zone.

• 11:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:25Speaker 01

  Uh, they got into a head-on collision with a Jaguar.

• 11:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:28Speaker 01

  He was on the opposite side of the road, drunk driver.

• 11:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:31Speaker 01

  Man, I was the first on the scene.

• 11:33Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:34Speaker 01

  And I pulled up, ripped the handbrake up, jumped out the car. I was running there, I was like, no, no, calm down, calm down, like, don't, like, you know, just, just breathe. I get there, I hear screaming, crying, I look in the front of the four-wheel drive that was towing the boat. There was a young girl there, broken legs, father, I I assume was there, broken legs.

• 11:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:57Speaker 01

  Boat was launched off a trailer into the back of the ute.

• 12:00Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 12:00Speaker 01

  Um, and then I see this old man in his eighties, just. Hunched over in the backseat.

• 12:06Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 12:06Speaker 01

  Didn't even look in the Jaguar. I just, the first, the first.

• 12:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 12:09Speaker 01

  People I seen. So they're alive, great. The guy in the front, uh, sorry, the guy in the backseat, the, the granddad, he, he, he, he wasn't. So I ripped him out the car, started doing CPR on him. And um, I was there for probably ten minutes doing CPR.

• 12:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 12:24Speaker 01

  I didn't even have time to call paramedics.

• 12:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 12:27Speaker 01

  Um, the next car that rocked up was the rest of his family. So it was the grandma and all the grandkids.

• 12:33Speaker 00

  Oh, hell.

• 12:34Speaker 01

  Fuck, mate.

• 12:35Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 12:36Speaker 01

  So they're screaming, I'm doing, you know, resuscitation, he's getting a bit of colour back. And uh, you know, the wife is the, the grandma screaming, the grandson's actually holding his head off the ground. Uh, that was really impactful. And uh, yeah, uh, eventually an army guy comes. And yeah, he's helping with the situation as well. Paramedics come maybe half an hour into this ordeal. Give him an injection, get the defib on him, nothing, he's, he's died.

• 13:05Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 13:06Speaker 01

  So that was no emotion at the time.

• 13:11Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 13:11Speaker 01

  You know, I was sort of probably in a bit of shock.

• 13:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 13:14Speaker 01

  And I was just telling myself, breathe, control, like, you know, don't show panic and, you know, and. Man, like, the paramedics were great, the fire brigade was great. I got up, did the questioning, the, the, the two people in the front got airlifted uh, to hospital.

• 13:29Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 13:30Speaker 01

  And then, you know, I go to the front of the Jaguar and the guy's just crushed.

• 13:35Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 13:35Speaker 01

  Guts everywhere, blood's everywhere. I looked at him and I'm like, fuck. And um, yeah, I remember speaking to the, to the fire brigade and uh, they're like, you're all right. I'm like, yeah, I'm all right, mate. Like, how do you deal with this? You know, cause they, they didn't look phased at all.

• 13:50Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 13:50Speaker 01

  You know, he's like, oh mate, we've seen this so many times. And I was like, fuck. Anyway, after the ordeal, there's a guy there, the, the grandson, he actually. He said, hey, Brando, I'm a big fan. And I was like, I was sort of like, what, what? And he was like, yeah, yeah, like I've seen the city kickboxing sticker on your car. And I think he was a bit of shock.

• 14:08Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 14:09Speaker 01

  I'm like, oh, yeah, thanks, bro. Like, uh, give me a number if you ever wanna talk. We can catch up and stuff and, uh, yeah. And then I go to the, um, the ferry. And then I'm, I was a bit hungry, so I had some Chinese food.

• 14:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 14:21Speaker 01

  Soon as I had some Chinese food, thinking about everything that happened, everyone's looking at me. Fuck, what are they looking at me for? Covered in blood.

• 14:28Speaker 00

  Ah, right.

• 14:28Speaker 01

  Didn't even realise, I was covered in blood. And, uh, yeah, I was like, okay, I'm in a bit, I'm in a, I'm in a bit of shock now, you know? So then, yeah, like, that was really hard to deal with, but, um, the, the, the stuff, the training that I do with, with Dave, cause he was a paramedic as well, has really, like, really helped me in those type of situations. I did the best I could. Unfortunately, um, the man that passed away, Graham, like, I couldn't help him.

• 14:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 14:51Speaker 01

  But I did the best that I could and then eventually I caught up with the grandson and, and the family was very, uh, happy I was there and I did everything I could. So I, I talk a bit of guilt from there as well. I'm like, fuck, I could have done better.

• 15:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 15:02Speaker 00

  Bit hard on yourself, isn't it?

• 15:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, it is.

• 15:04Speaker 00

  But a natural reaction, yeah.

• 15:06Speaker 01

  But, yeah. So the, all, all the breathing stuff, like, helped me outside of, uh, you know, the cage as well.

• 15:12Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:12Speaker 01

  And there's been many situations in life where I wouldn't have responded as well as I did to that, you know, so.

• 15:19Speaker 00

  The, the cage, I, I, yeah, it's testing yourself to the extreme. Putting, putting yourself in the, the, the cage, you, you've got the, the combat situation. You've got the audience too, that plays on the, it's easier fighting with no one watching than fighting with, yeah, half the world watching.

• 15:35Speaker 01

  It's like bumping into someone on the street and you're like, oh, you know, so have a fight.

• 15:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:38Speaker 01

  But when you've got ten weeks to prepare, that's a long time to think about stuff.

• 15:42Speaker 00

  Long, long time, long time to think about. But by testing yourself, and we're talking fighting because that's your, your stick. But testing yourself in in some way, you learn so much about yourself, don't you?

• 15:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:54Speaker 00

  Like putting yourself under pressure, you learn something about yourself. Like, yeah, as a homicide detective, pressure was going in the witness box. But I learnt something about myself going in the witness box when you got barristers trying to beat you up and, you know, humiliate you on a on a matter. There's different ways of testing yourself. So I think with with what you're found in fighting is this, it it seems to have shaped your life.

• 16:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, hundred percent. And I'm so grateful for everything in life. And who knows what's the next chapter of life. But right now, like, I try not to focus in the past, so I used to do that. And that's where my depression actually came from, I believe, was focusing on yesterday.

• 16:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 16:35Speaker 01

  From last year, ten years ago. So I focus even not on the future. Like, yeah, I have my goals in my head and I try to manifest things and you have to think about the future. But I don't live in the future. I am present now.

• 16:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 16:50Speaker 01

  You know, I I'm thinking about what's happening right now. And that's how I try to live my whole life. It's very hard because you get pulled in either direction. But I really try to be present. I try to be thankful because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

• 17:02Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 17:02Speaker 01

  I'm one that'll wake up tomorrow.

• 17:03Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 17:03Speaker 01

  And a lot of my mates who have passed away, they were young, and I just, I thought I would see them again, but I didn't. So I really just try to enjoy today. And I enjoy, you know, sunsets and I enjoy rain and getting out in the forest or go fishing and walking on the beach. It sounds a bit weird, you know, but it's for me, to be alive is such a blessing and I want to enjoy every single day I have, so.

• 17:28Speaker 00

  Well, stepping into that mindfulness, isn't it? Like, being being present of what you're doing at at the time. And in enjoying enjoying that. You like the type of commitment that you've got. I said, I made it in my notes. It's like a Zen like or monk like commitment to achieving your goal. You're living in a car. Tell us about that because I I would imagine there might have been a stage when you first went over there that you had to live in your car because of finances. But I would imagine there's other options available to you now, but you're still choosing to live in your car. Talk us through that.

• 18:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, it is a choice.

• 18:03Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 18:04Speaker 01

  Um, and it's not comfortable. It's not easy because it's cold in New Zealand. Um, we don't have a kitchen. It's hard to cook. Um, you know, I use the gym showers and I lived in the gym for two years there. But yeah, I think it's it gets the best out of me because I did have an apartment at one stage.

• 18:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:24Speaker 01

  Cause I was sick of living in the gym, black mould everywhere, cockroaches and fucking rats coming in your room. Um but I got too comfortable and I think comfort is a death zone for your dreams. It's like, it's for me, um. I've had such a, in my, in my experience, everyone's had their own experience in life and I never say like, oh, my life has been harder. But in in my, in my eyes, my life has been hard and when life is good, I get comfortable.

• 18:53Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:53Speaker 01

  Because I've been through so much in the past. So like, I can be happy with very little things. As long as no one's passed away, as long as I get to wake up to my love every day, I I can get comfortable.

• 19:04Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 19:04Speaker 01

  I don't wanna be comfortable. I wanna be, uh, I wanna, I wanna push my limits and push myself. I really have a different desire. When I'm sleeping in the car, I I get up, I train, you know, I'm doing stuff all day and then I just go back to sleep. So, like, I, like, like I said before, I flew here on a jet.

• 19:23Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 19:23Speaker 01

  I've been staying in nice hotels and everything the last couple of weeks and like, I don't care. Like, I don't, I don't even like it that much, to tell you the truth. It's um, it's a distraction, so.

• 19:33Speaker 00

  And and like living in your car, like stripping away all the luxuries of life, is that help you focus on what you're, what you're trying to achieve?

• 19:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  Because I think we get a lot of distractions in life, whether it's friends, family, or maybe material things. And uh, like the silk thing, I think Marvin Hagler says it, silk sheets.

• 19:53Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 19:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's, it's very true.

• 19:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 19:55Speaker 01

  And um, you know, some people can handle it, but I never had money growing up, you know what I mean? So to have a bit of money now, I find myself just. Giving it away, to tell you the truth.

• 20:05Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:06Speaker 01

  Uh, or enjoying uh, making memories. So like, right now, I'm injured.

• 20:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:11Speaker 01

  Um, I can't train how I was training before. I was training like six hours a day.

• 20:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:15Speaker 01

  So now I can only train a couple of hours a day, you know, do some weights, do some running, a bit of shadow boxing.

• 20:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:20Speaker 01

  So I'm like, you know what? Touch wood, I don't have another injury in my career. I won't have this time off again. So let's go around Australia, let's meet some cool people, talk to some cool people.

• 20:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:30Speaker 01

  Let's go to Croatia and Europe and do the same thing.

• 20:33Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:34Speaker 01

  Um, have a, you know, six week holiday, I guess you could say. And then by the time I go back to New Zealand, this cast comes off, I'm ready to start my rehab.

• 20:41Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:41Speaker 01

  Strength in my hands and we're gonna go again.

• 20:44Speaker 00

  And how, how intense is that when you do get back in the training? Uh, lead up to a fight, what are you, you three months, twelve, twelve weeks? What, what sort of timeframe do you look for getting yourself ready for a fight?

• 20:55Speaker 01

  I'm in a const-, I've been in a constant fight camp for four years.

• 20:58Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:58Speaker 01

  So before, I've been training straight for ten years.

• 21:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 21:01Speaker 01

  You know, I probably wasn't training the hardest when I first started, even though I thought I did.

• 21:04Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 21:05Speaker 01

  And now it's like four years I was trying to, or three years I was trying to get in the UFC.

• 21:10Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  I've been in the UFC for one year now and it's just every day, all day, six, seven days a week. So, so I need a, I, I, I needed, this, this injury is a blessing and I needed an actual, uh, break.

• 21:23Speaker 00

  Give us a, a sense of a, a week's training for you or a day's, day's training when you're in the fight camp.

• 21:29Speaker 01

  So every day starts the same.

• 21:31Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 21:31Speaker 01

  Wake up at eight A M, do the morning class, so before morning class at nine A M.

• 21:36Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 21:37Speaker 01

  Um, I'll do half an hour bag or bike, just to get the blood flowing, you know, switch the brain on. We do an hour and a half in the morning, it could be either M M A, uh, maybe some drilling, some wall drilling, some wrestling, some striking, depends what the, what phase we're in, in training. So that's like a general class. After that, I normally do a pad session.

• 21:58Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 21:59Speaker 01

  Um, for an hour, um, that's three days a week. The other three days a week, it's bag work or I'm on the bike.

• 22:06Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:07Speaker 01

  Have a break, uh, eat, maybe have a nap, afternoon, twelve o'clock or one o'clock, depending on the day, it's gonna be S and C, so strength and conditioning.

• 22:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:16Speaker 01

  Um, so that's three days a week. Um. The other two days, it's it's a rest. Depending on the day, four P M or four thirty, we've got a wrestling class, a jiu jitsu class or a V O two class. So we have different blocks in camp. So we have like, you know, um, eight weeks out, four weeks out. And then we've got like, yeah, different phases, so different energy systems. And then depending what night it is, we've got a sparring session.

• 22:43Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:43Speaker 01

  In the evening or maybe a striking session. So it's three to four trainings a day. And then in between the trainings, you're resting, recovering.

• 22:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:51Speaker 01

  You you're doing your physio, um, you're trying to develop skills, maybe watch tape. If you've got a fight coming up, you're focusing on game plan. And then al- also there's a business side of things. So I have my appointments in between. I'm catching up with people, making phone calls. Like, I do everything myself. It's it's a, it's, you know, like, I've got management who do my U F C contract side of things, which help. I've got my coaches who help with fights, you know, like they study my opponent. And they they watch me train and they say, okay, Brando's doing this or that, let's change this. So it is a team sport, but there's a lot of things I do myself as well.

• 23:28Speaker 00

  Yeah. There's a science behind it too, isn't it? Like the way they structure the training and I would imagine your nutrition and diet is a another big thing that factors into it.

• 23:36Speaker 01

  For sure. My last camp was the first camp I actually stuck to a nutrition schedule from the P I, we we we get it. Um. I didn't have a kitchen, so it was very hard to stick to it.

• 23:48Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 23:48Speaker 01

  So you're, like, I have five thousand calories a day. And it's very hard to eat five thousand calories. It's very hard to to go to a supermarket when you're getting stopped, you know, from everyone. Uh, you're saying hello to everyone. You grab your stuff and you're gonna cook it. It's you, you, it's hours in the week you're losing. So then my last camp, I paid the money.

• 24:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 24:08Speaker 01

  And I offloaded it to somebody else.

• 24:10Speaker 00

  Dude.

• 24:11Speaker 01

  They made me my food to the T, delivered it to me and just made my life so much easier.

• 24:17Speaker 00

  Yeah. There's a lot that goes into it, isn't there?

• 24:19Speaker 01

  Well, it's it is. It's not like other professional sports where they have an organisation who takes care of everything for you. Fighting is a very difficult thing to do.

• 24:29Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 24:29Speaker 01

  And it's more difficult when you haven't got people to help you. So um I'm thankful I've got good friends and family and they do help with with certain things, but at the same time, it's all on me.

• 24:41Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 24:41Speaker 01

  I do the work in and outside the gym.

• 24:43Speaker 00

  You uh you were a good rugby player, um an informant told me, Andrew.

• 24:48Speaker 01

  I was alright, I was alright.

• 24:51Speaker 00

  What's the difference between uh team sport and uh and the individual fighting?

• 24:56Speaker 01

  Look, I got sent up a few times for fighting in rugby.

• 25:02Speaker 00

  That seems to be a consistent thing.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  My last game of rugby, I charged the whole other team after they beat us and I just started fighting with them because they were they were they were playing really dirty and I just lost it and uh it wasn't good.

• 25:16Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 25:17Speaker 01

  So that was my last rugby game and um apologies to put out a rugby club. They they still talk about that to this day.

• 25:24Speaker 00

  Do they?

• 25:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 25:25Speaker 00

  Now, we always thought he might be a fighter.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:28Speaker 00

  But the the difference, team sport's a lot quieter because you can share, you you share the pressure, you're in the changing room before you go out, you share the pressure, share the joy, then there there's fighting and it's you have a team around you and the higher up you get, the more important that that team, I would imagine. But it is a very individual thing because you it is a lonely place when uh you step in the ring and there's no one else in there other than the bloke that wants to take your head off.

• 25:53Speaker 01

  You got no one else to blame.

• 25:54Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 25:54Speaker 01

  By yourself.

• 25:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 25:55Speaker 01

  So you.

• 25:55Speaker 00

  Nowhere to hide.

• 25:56Speaker 01

  Yeah. So uh the one thing I didn't like about rugby when I was playing, or even AFL.

• 26:02Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 26:02Speaker 01

  Was the culture.

• 26:03Speaker 00

  Right.

• 26:04Speaker 01

  So in Adelaide, I don't know what it was like here.

• 26:06Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:06Speaker 01

  Or anywhere else around Australia. The the culture in the club sport scene wasn't good. It was a lot of drinking, maybe drugs.

• 26:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:14Speaker 01

  Parties, like they're they're just uh normal people, you know, working nine to five, they didn't maybe have aspirations to.

• 26:21Speaker 00

  And that's where they cut loose.

• 26:23Speaker 01

  And that's where they cut loose and there could be bad influences, um not all of them, but some of them. So I would literally rock up a training, I'll train and I'll leave.

• 26:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:30Speaker 01

  I didn't have friends, you know, um I would go to the game, I'd play, I'd leave.

• 26:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:35Speaker 01

  So I wouldn't get caught up in all the bullshit.

• 26:37Speaker 00

  The culture.

• 26:38Speaker 01

  I met a lot of good men in in rugby, especially like a like Woodville Rugby Club. I've still got some really good friends there. Um but hey, like I I learnt a lot and for me, it just wasn't for me. I thought I'll be a great rugby player.

• 26:52Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:52Speaker 01

  And even my coach said, like, you're one in a million.

• 26:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:55Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? If you put your head down this, you're gonna be a superstar. But I always liked fighting and I always had that thing aside of me and said that you will be a UFC heavyweight champion. Or even a boxing heavyweight champion, so.

• 27:06Speaker 00

  Well, you got, got, got the build. You got a bit of speed too, uh, uh, keep giving up this informant, Andrew Carpenter. Sorry, we'll beat that out. But did you, did you have a, a sprint against Alex Veloski?

• 27:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 27:20Speaker 00

  Volkanoski?

• 27:21Speaker 01

  Volkanoski?

• 27:21Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah, well, tell me there because he was, he was a rugby player, a rugby league player, um, smaller than, smaller than you. Um, what happened with the sprint?

• 27:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, look, I, I, I beat him. Like, obviously, I'm, I'm a lot bigger than him, but he's, you know, he's a great athlete himself.

• 27:38Speaker 00

  He looks like he could kick along.

• 27:39Speaker 01

  And to tell you the truth, like, I won't drop names, but I've actually raced a lot of people.

• 27:44Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 27:44Speaker 01

  That are professional athletes in rugby.

• 27:46Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 27:46Speaker 01

  And I beat them.

• 27:47Speaker 00

  Jesus.

• 27:47Speaker 01

  So I've, I've got a bit of, uh, speed to me and I've taken a lot of money for people.

• 27:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 27:51Speaker 01

  So I've always put my money where my mouth is and I've only lost one race and he was a, a national sprinter, so.

• 27:58Speaker 00

  Jesus, okay. And how, how much are you weighing at the moment?

• 28:01Speaker 01

  At the moment, oh, about one thirty, so.

• 28:05Speaker 00

  Do you, uh, what do you strip down to for your fights?

• 28:08Speaker 01

  About one eighteen, one twenty.

• 28:09Speaker 00

  And is it, is it, is it tough for you or is the training just strip it off?

• 28:13Speaker 01

  Stop eating so much carbs and cakes. I've got a little sweet tooth, so.

• 28:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 28:17Speaker 01

  Um, yeah.

• 28:18Speaker 00

  It's brutal, isn't it? I see some of the fighters that, uh, have got to strip the weight in the lower, uh, lower weight levels. It's brutal, isn't it, what they've got to put themselves through?

• 28:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, um, I take my hat off to them.

• 28:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 28:30Speaker 01

  Because it's not just the mental side of things, the training side, the injury prevention. Um, then they got to go through a crazy physiological, uh, preparation, like. You're basically almost on your deathbed, some of them.

• 28:44Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 28:45Speaker 01

  So, yeah, I like, yeah, I, I don't know how they do it.

• 28:48Speaker 00

  I, I helped me the mate out that had a, had a title fight and was, uh, sharing the sauna with him, um. Just to share, share the pain and, and not drinking and the amount of weight he had to lose. It was just quite frightening. And I, I watched his personality change. Like we'd go in the sauna for twenty minutes. Put um oil on your skin, it blocks your pores and then, then the sweat just starts pouring out. But had a doctor there weighing each time it got out. And so did about six twenty minute uh lots to get him, get him down the weight. No, no drinking in between. But it was just brutal. And we'd do twenty minutes in and he wasn't even losing any by the time, you know, just. His body was just exhausted then uh, yeah, go to the weigh in and then rehydrate and that. But.

• 29:33Speaker 00

  I just, I, I just can't imagine fighting when you've put yourself through uh, through that.

• 29:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, you're speaking to the wrong guy about weight cuts because if, if I speak on behalf of people, they're gonna give me shit. Um, I don't have to cut much weight, five kilos, you know.

• 29:48Speaker 00

  Have to, have to worry about it.

• 29:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:50Speaker 00

  Um, next steps for you with uh UFC, when do, when do we think we'll see you back in the, back in the uh octagon?

• 29:56Speaker 01

  I would say November, December.

• 29:58Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 29:58Speaker 01

  Um, I have to get one more fight in this year.

• 30:00Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:00Speaker 01

  So that's what I'm going for. I'm gonna have this little holiday.

• 30:03Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:03Speaker 01

  I'm still training and I'm getting better. But once I get back to New Zealand, it's, you know.

• 30:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, head down and, and go, go, go.

• 30:11Speaker 00

  Another, another thing uh I, I heard about that you like to spend time on your own.

• 30:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:16Speaker 00

  Is that uh you still find peace just getting away from everything?

• 30:20Speaker 01

  I love my own company.

• 30:21Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:21Speaker 01

  It's actually hard for me to be around people now.

• 30:23Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:24Speaker 01

  Because um there's so much drama and stress in the world.

• 30:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:28Speaker 01

  And people tend to, you know, I, I've always been the one people come and talk to.

• 30:32Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:32Speaker 01

  Which is like a privilege on its own. But at the same time, like, man, your drama's on my drama. Like um, it's, it's like I'm there for my mates and family always.

• 30:41Speaker 00

  Right, yeah.

• 30:42Speaker 01

  But there's, there's a lot of unnecessary conversations and, and the day like my, you know, Israel says that you've got to fortify your mind. You've got to protect your peace.

• 30:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:51Speaker 01

  And that's so true. So in fighting, um I need to be thinking about fighting, getting better, you know, and I want to enjoy this journey.

• 30:58Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:59Speaker 01

  You know, so fighting and life in general is hard enough as it is. Don't dump your shit on me, mate. Like, you know, unless unless it's it's like you need me and it's like you're like a good friend of mine and I can help you.

• 31:10Speaker 00

  Step up.

• 31:11Speaker 01

  But some of the messages I get, bro, are just ridiculous. So, um, you know, I really try, I really do enjoy my alone time.

• 31:19Speaker 00

  That don't protect your peace. I I understand that to a degree, that I people reach out to me on on a lot of different things. And there's a limited capacity to what you can do sometimes, like in in helping people. And, yeah, sometimes, and as I get older, I get wiser and, yeah, start to get a sense of what brings you happiness. And sometimes you have got to shut yourself out to the out to the world.

• 31:44Speaker 01

  To enjoy the sunset, mate. Go for a swim, go for a walk, enjoy the nature. I don't know if you've got a dog, go walk your dog. I don't have the answers.

• 31:52Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 31:53Speaker 01

  I'm not a scholar. I'm just a normal dude and I can listen to people and have a safe space for them.

• 31:59Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 31:59Speaker 01

  But, mate, some some of the stuff that that happens to other people, like, like, I can't, uh, I can't help. You know, and all I can do is listen and try to be a good friend and and, you know.

• 32:10Speaker 00

  But that that's a responsibility you're gonna carry now as a role model too. Like, it's gonna happen more and more, I would imagine, if you keep rising in the uh in the UFC.

• 32:20Speaker 01

  No, it's it's it's hard to even say like role model, cause like, uh, like.

• 32:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 32:25Speaker 01

  It's it's for me, it's like, I'm not a role model.

• 32:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 32:27Speaker 01

  You know, um, I've, you know, done a lot of bad things when I was younger and, you know, I still have a bit of imposter syndrome for being in this position. And it's like, I'm just trying to do my best.

• 32:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 32:38Speaker 01

  And if you can take something from my life and maybe, you know, inspires you, that's great. But I I'm not here to to be a role model for people and I'm just, I'm just living my life.

• 32:49Speaker 00

  I understand what you're saying. I just don't know if it's it's gonna be achievable and you you're saying imposter syndrome. Like, people will look up to you. That's a that's a nature of the chosen field, uh, field you're in. And if you get where you you're confident you're gonna get, that's gonna be on another level.

• 33:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:06Speaker 00

  That's, uh, yeah. I won't jinx you by saying how you prepare yourself for it, but I suppose the steps that you're taking now, each step, even that you, you know, you said with your injuries, you're getting out and about and doing some, some of the things like this, getting out and talking. Um, I suppose it, it provides you the background and the skills to be able to adapt to it and having people like, uh, Israel offering you advice must be, uh, must be good.

• 33:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, um, a hundred percent agree, even just doing this podcast.

• 33:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 33:36Speaker 01

  You know, like getting reps in the podcast, cause one day I'll be on Joe Rogan.

• 33:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, well, that's, that's where I'm talking that, that you're at that different level. And, uh, yeah, you're not gonna just be walking around here, recognised, anywhere you go, you're gonna be recognised.

• 33:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's just repetition, I guess, and, um, I wanna be better, I wanna get better.

• 33:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 33:56Speaker 01

  And as uncomfortable as these conversations can be for me.

• 33:59Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 34:00Speaker 01

  I have to do it. I feel a responsibility and I don't wanna hide, like, you know, where, where there's fear, that's where, um, the path lies, you know, I'm pretty sure that's Kow Young.

• 34:13Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 34:13Speaker 01

  So whatever scares me, I always attack it, always do it. Cause I know on the other side of that fear, that's where the success is, that's where the level up is. So this scares me.

• 34:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 34:24Speaker 01

  Sitting in front of like, I don't know how many people have watched this.

• 34:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 34:27Speaker 01

  But in, it's in the back of my head, you know, and I'm just a kid from Adelaide who was dyslexic, had a, you know, had stutter, didn't have many friends growing up. And now people come up to me and stop me in the streets and I'm speaking in front of schools, I'm speaking on podcasts, um, you know, it's, it's a lot for me to, to push past, but I do it because I'm a man and I wanna be better.

• 34:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 34:49Speaker 01

  And, yeah.

• 34:50Speaker 00

  Those challenges, you, you say the fear, that does help you grow, like you gotta, you gotta challenge yourself. Every day, if you can, in some way, or do, do something that scares you and that's where you grow from. And, uh, the pressure, the failures that, uh, will make you a better person.

• 35:08Speaker 01

  Uh. Well, if you if you don't fail, you haven't tried.

• 35:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 35:11Speaker 01

  And I can't imagine living a life where you didn't try. You got to your deathbed and you're just like, oh, I should have done this, should have done that. Like, I know when I die one day, I'm gonna be laying on my deathbed, God willing, and I'm gonna be smiling. I'll be like, what a fucking life, brother.

• 35:26Speaker 00

  Well, that's what you wanna aim for, isn't it? That's definitely what you wanna aim for. Um. The other stuff that you're doing, I I know you you've been doing some uh charity work as well. That can uh that can help with the the stuff that you're doing, balancing out. Yeah, you talk about an imposter syndrome. Well, you're not saying you're perfect, but if you're helping some other people in in different ways, um that that's a good thing.

• 35:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, I've always I've always enjoyed helping people, always enjoy. Like, I'm a joy giver, but I also love just helping whoever I can. I've done it throughout my whole career. I've done a lot of charity work before in the local scene and when I started fighting. For me, maybe uh it was a bit of guilt at the start, you know, like I did a lot of like bad things when I was younger. Maybe it was a bit of, you know, shame and guilt. I just wanted to give back, but I really do enjoy helping people and that meet and greet in Adelaide, like, that was scary. I had nine days to prepa- to prepare for a meet and greet. I didn't think anyone's gonna rock up. We did one in Queensland on twenty four hours notice. Eight people rocked up.

• 36:26Speaker 00

  Right.

• 36:27Speaker 01

  And I was impressed with that. I'm like, whoa, eight people. Crazy, you know?

• 36:31Speaker 00

  What what did you do down in Adelaide? It was the at the Cu- what's it? The Cebra Hotel?

• 36:37Speaker 01

  Uh. It was at Akaba.

• 36:38Speaker 00

  Ak Akaba.

• 36:39Speaker 01

  So.

• 36:40Speaker 00

  I I've spoken down there. I know it's.

• 36:42Speaker 01

  Really? Great venue.

• 36:43Speaker 00

  Yeah, good venue.

• 36:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, and Jackie Jackie, like, you know, we messaged a lot of uh pubs I used to work at.

• 36:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:49Speaker 01

  None of them wanted to take us on.

• 36:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:51Speaker 01

  Jackie's like, mate, it's we've got nine days to prepare for this. Eight by the time we did advertising.

• 36:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:56Speaker 01

  But let's let's fucking do it.

• 36:57Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:58Speaker 01

  So uh she she was amazing. She, you know, her, Andy, they they did a lot of work for me and um like, I I fought maybe thirty people.

• 37:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:08Speaker 01

  We had over two hundred and twenty people there.

• 37:10Speaker 00

  And it was for a charity?

• 37:11Speaker 01

  It was for a charity, Little Heroes Foundation, which is a charity that uh, look, I. I find it hard to donate to charities because I know a lot of it doesn't go to the

• 37:20Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 37:21Speaker 01

  People. So I've always, when I've done charity work, um like I raised money for this, this little girl named Ella.

• 37:26Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 37:27Speaker 01

  A few years back, you know, a single mum, um and then her daughter Ella had leukemia.

• 37:32Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:33Speaker 01

  So I rocked up to a house with a lump sum of money.

• 37:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:36Speaker 01

  And I, I, I gifted it to her and she was shocked. So that direct donation, that would help, you know. Giving that, that money to a charity, I don't know how much of that would have gone to. So I, I like doing things like that.

• 37:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:49Speaker 01

  But I spoke to Andy, I'm like, hey, bro, I really wanna donate to a charity. Who do you have? Who do you recommend?

• 37:54Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:55Speaker 01

  He was like, hands down Little Heroes Foundation.

• 37:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:57Speaker 01

  So, you know, we raised over sixteen thousand dollars.

• 38:01Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 38:01Speaker 01

  And it was incredible. We had over two hundred and twenty people there. When I walked out, I didn't recognise hardly anybody.

• 38:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 38:07Speaker 01

  All these people came for me on nine days' notice. So I was like, it was, it was a pretty surreal moment. I actually had some tears in my eyes. And, um, yeah, it was, it was a really good night, really good night.

• 38:18Speaker 00

  Well, that's, that type of thing and, and you were back talking at your school as well.

• 38:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:23Speaker 00

  So.

• 38:23Speaker 01

  Not my school, it's another school.

• 38:25Speaker 00

  Another school, but these, these are the type of things that you, you can give back because you are, it's a role model that people will look at, look up to.

• 38:34Speaker 00

  With your relationship with, uh, your father, how, how's that now? You, we touched on it in, uh, in part one. Are you still staying in touch with him or?

• 38:42Speaker 01

  I just saw him in Queensland, um, a couple of weeks ago.

• 38:46Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 38:46Speaker 01

  So that was the first time in five years I saw him.

• 38:48Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 38:49Speaker 01

  And we stayed in contact here and there, messaging, phone calls, um. But yeah, that's, that's probably the last time I've seen my dad, I would say.

• 38:58Speaker 00

  Right.

• 38:58Speaker 01

  And that's just, uh, not coming from any hate or, um, anything like that, but it's a long time between drinks.

• 39:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:08Speaker 01

  I really try to make an effort and I feel like it's a one-way street. And, um, yeah, I, I just had to sort of make a decision and, uh, you know, I shook his hand, told him I love him, I thank him.

• 39:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:21Speaker 01

  And he's not a horrible person. He made mistakes when he was younger.

• 39:24Speaker 00

  Yeah, everyone does.

• 39:25Speaker 01

  Everyone does and, uh, he, you know, chose like another woman over, you know, my, my mother and, and his kids.

• 39:32Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:33Speaker 01

  He made his bed, he has to lay on it now.

• 39:34Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 39:35Speaker 01

  So, um, yeah, I, I shook his hand, gave him a hug and a kiss and we're just gonna go our separate ways and, uh. Maybe one day we rekindle, but at this, at this moment in time, I just need focus on my life, my career. And um yeah, I've, I've learnt a lot from him.

• 39:53Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:54Speaker 01

  And I know one day when I have kids, like, I'm not gonna run away from my family.

• 39:57Speaker 00

  You, you ha- hope to settle down, have kids, do, do the, uh, do the whole, whole thing?

• 40:02Speaker 01

  I think that's what we're here for, you know, uh, as, as men, like, what a waste of a life to, to just, you know, your ancestors survived wars and everything to, to bring you here. You know, my, my parents, my grandparents sacrificed their lives for me.

• 40:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 40:19Speaker 01

  I've got to carry the name on, you know, um, so I, I, I really do look forward to having kids one day. Now's not the time. Now it's, I'm a very selfish person.

• 40:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 40:28Speaker 01

  And I don't have time for, for that.

• 40:30Speaker 00

  Any time for romance?

• 40:32Speaker 01

  No.

• 40:32Speaker 00

  It's just, you're living like a monk.

• 40:34Speaker 01

  What are you laughing at?

• 40:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, uh, look, it's, it's, yeah, I, I didn't leave my family, um, to, to go to Auckland and be distracted. So, um, you know, I, I love Australia, I love New Zealand. I don't know where I'm gonna settle after my career. But I've got another eight, ten years in me, like, God willing, in the UFC. And, uh, I just wanna be the best I can be. I wanna be the greatest UFC heavyweight champion ever. That's, that's my goal. And the first Australian UFC heavyweight champion.

• 41:04Speaker 00

  Uh, I can't even comprehend how huge it would be if, if you get there. And you're saying, when you get there, I'll correct myself. I'm sorry, the look you gave me on the face. I'm sorry. When you get there. But, uh, yeah, it's, uh, it's a big, uh, big thing that you're aiming for, but, uh, you seem, seem committed on every level.

• 41:23Speaker 01

  This is my life. This is, my life is dedicated to this, um.

• 41:26Speaker 00

  What, what, uh, took you to Auckland? Was it the, the reputation of, uh, the, the gym over there?

• 41:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:32Speaker 00

  That.

• 41:32Speaker 01

  It's Israel, it's the gym, it's the people, like, the gym doesn't make the gym, it's the people in the gym. It's the, it's the fighters, it's the training partners, like, I won't say training partners, I mean, just the, the regular.

• 41:45Speaker 00

  The quality.

• 41:46Speaker 01

  The mum and dad who come for, for a training session. Like, we've got some of, some of my hardest training sessions.

• 41:52Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 41:53Speaker 01

  Training partners, I actually just. Dads.

• 41:55Speaker 00

  Coming off the street.

• 41:57Speaker 01

  Coming off the street.

• 41:58Speaker 00

  Just like training.

• 41:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, they give you different looks and maybe they had a bit of, uh, you know, experience of jiu jitsu or maybe had a few fights back in the day.

• 42:04Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 42:05Speaker 01

  Like them, they're my most valuable training partners as well. So this really the people in the gym and obviously you've got the coaches, you've got the experience. Like, um, you know, we have, I would say six or seven coaches.

• 42:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 42:17Speaker 01

  And wide range of skill sets and, um, fighting experience. Everyone's played a role in my career, even my old coaches in Adelaide. So, um, man, if, if I sit down and name all of them.

• 42:31Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 42:31Speaker 01

  It'll take me half an hour.

• 42:32Speaker 00

  Right, yeah, yeah.

• 42:33Speaker 01

  It's everybody, it's a combined thing.

• 42:34Speaker 00

  Uh, the, the nature of, yeah, that's the elite kickboxing gym in Auckland and that. But they still let the community train there and there's.

• 42:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's a business, you know?

• 42:44Speaker 00

  And so that's, I think that's good for everyone.

• 42:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:47Speaker 00

  Like it's good for the people that are coming along just for their fitness and, and get a kick. And then they're, they're training with, watching people like you train and it keeps you grounded.

• 42:57Speaker 01

  Well, I was one of those people. I was a nobody and I came into the gym and I was looking up to all the UFC fighters and now I'm a somebody. You know, I just feel normal.

• 43:06Speaker 00

  When did, when was the first time you've thought you're really tested when they're looking? Cause they're, uh, walk in and I know if someone walks into a gym, they watch how they throw their hands and watch how they move. When, when did you first really get tested, tested and, uh, uh, you'd made an impression on them?

• 43:21Speaker 01

  Hmm. Well, I knew they were watching me straight away.

• 43:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:24Speaker 01

  So as soon as Israel invited me to the gym, after I lost that fight.

• 43:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:28Speaker 01

  They set up a camera and they recorded me. I was hitting some pads of a good friend of mine, Devil.

• 43:33Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:34Speaker 01

  Um, so I knew from then, like they're watching me, they're gonna watch that tape. And then if they want me back, they'll, they'll invite me and they did.

• 43:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:42Speaker 01

  So, but I chose to go to City Kickboxing. I could have gone to any gym in the world.

• 43:46Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:47Speaker 01

  And I would have been welcomed in open arms and I still believe to this day. Um, I'm thankful for my management in my, in my gym, City Kickboxing, for getting me in the UFC.

• 43:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:56Speaker 01

  But mate, I would have gotten a UFC anywhere else as well. So like it's, it's. My, my coach Richie in Adelaide.

• 44:04Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:04Speaker 01

  He said this to me. He's like, Brando, you know, you're a born fighter.

• 44:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:09Speaker 01

  You're either born of it or you, or you're not.

• 44:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:11Speaker 01

  I can teach you how to stick your hand up, throw a jab, throw, you know, a hook.

• 44:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:16Speaker 01

  But at the end of the day, you're the one in there fighting. I'll just ha- hold the bucket.

• 44:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:20Speaker 01

  I'll tell you to breathe and relax and that's it. So, yeah, like I'm a great athlete. I've done a lot of different sports of, and did a lot of different training over the years.

• 44:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:30Speaker 01

  Which have helped, but it's, I think it's something that you're born with. You either have it or you don't.

• 44:34Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:34Speaker 01

  I know I have it.

• 44:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:36Speaker 01

  So, yeah.

• 44:37Speaker 00

  And when, uh, so the, the reaction when you win, are you, what, what sort of feeling do you have when you, you, you, you win? What I'm trying to say, are you always looking for improvement? Do you?

• 44:47Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 44:48Speaker 00

  Enjoy, do you enjoy the success of having, having a victory or are you straight away, where's my next fight? Like, I'm, I'm just trying to get it. I, I'm always fascinated and I've had a few people here that are world, world champions in the podcast. I'm always fascinated by someone that says, I can be the best in the world at this. And the mentality that makes them go, okay, that was good. I won the first round, but I can do better. What, what sort of mentality do you come out of the ring with?

• 45:13Speaker 01

  So the first, I'll say my whole career.

• 45:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 45:15Speaker 01

  I've never been happy with my performance.

• 45:17Speaker 00

  Right.

• 45:17Speaker 01

  Ever.

• 45:17Speaker 00

  Always hard critique on your.

• 45:19Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. I used to be depressed. When I first started fighting, I used to get depressed after my fight. I would knock someone out in fourteen seconds. I used to get depressed.

• 45:26Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 45:26Speaker 01

  Cause it wasn't good enough. And I was very hard on myself and people would praise me and, um, you know, you know, like some fighters, they say, no one believed in me.

• 45:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 45:36Speaker 01

  Mate, everyone believed in me from the start.

• 45:38Speaker 00

  Right.

• 45:39Speaker 01

  And it was, it was a really weird thing for me and I put a lot of pressure on myself, you know what I mean? And, uh, even in the UFC, the first two fights I had, I wasn't happy with it.

• 45:48Speaker 00

  Right.

• 45:48Speaker 01

  I could do better, I could do better. But my last fight, I actually enjoyed it. I said to myself, I looked at myself in the mirror. I said, you're the fucking man. That was a good fight.

• 45:58Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 45:58Speaker 01

  You know, I, I, I tapped myself on the shoulder. I'm like, good job, Brando.

• 46:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:02Speaker 01

  That was the first time in my life I ever did that. Like, good fucking job. So, um, yeah, but again, after two days. I wanted to fight again.

• 46:10Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:10Speaker 01

  But I had to go get surgery. Um. And then you get like a load, like now I'm ready for it. Like after a big fight, big preparation.

• 46:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:17Speaker 01

  You get a victory. I was very happy. You get that crash. So I was prepared for it, obviously, then, you know, operation.

• 46:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:24Speaker 01

  You know, so it's just the highs and lows and you just deal with it.

• 46:27Speaker 00

  You, you're depressed, is that all in, in the past?

• 46:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, I, yeah, I would say so. It's uh now I'm aware, I wa- I didn't know what it was.

• 46:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:35Speaker 01

  I'm aware what it is now. So now like, even just being day to day. I, I, I don't try to get too happy about things or too sad. I'm just, I'm pretty neutral. I'm pretty neutral. I'm just grateful to be alive. I'm grateful to be here.

• 46:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:49Speaker 01

  Doing what I love, travelling, um, I've got beautiful friends and family. Um, man, the last time I was depressed was like quite, quite a while ago. So it's um. And it's, I think depression as well is sort of, they, it's uh, it's got the stigma. Everyone's, they don't, doesn't wanna say that they're depressed or whatever, but most of the time, like I thought I was really depressed. It was just my body or maybe God telling me, hey, you're on the wrong path. Get back to where you're supposed to be. Find your purpose, you know, stick to that.

• 47:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 47:20Speaker 01

  It's, it's to me, my look at my life now.

• 47:24Speaker 01

  I was going down the wrong path or doing the wrong things or not living up to my potential. And that's why I was feeling sad. That's why I was feeling depressed. But, but it's, it brought me back. It made me take action, train, train. Training was always the answer for me. You know, you know, stop being lazy, like do the right thing, do the hard thing. The easy thing isn't, isn't the good thing. Do the hard thing in life. You, you're gonna feel proud, you're gonna get a reward from it, even if it's difficult.

• 47:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 47:49Speaker 01

  I'd rather always do the hard thing than, than take the easy route. You know what I mean? I've always done that in my life. And sometimes I made my life harder. But it gave me character, it gave me lessons and I'm here today, so.

• 48:02Speaker 00

  Well, I, I think that type of thing is a, a good role model. You know, you say, oh, I've done this, I've done that. Yeah, I, I'm not perfect. But just the fact that you can apply that dedication. And yeah, when we talk mental health, I'm by no means a mental health expert, but I know the benefits. I, I know the. Benefits training gives to me each each day. And I I I feel myself get uh depressed or just out of sorts if I haven't trained during during the day. And it's a release that uh that helps.

• 48:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:31Speaker 00

  And it it it sounds like you'll find the the perfect, perfect mix. You've got to train, you've got to be disciplined and you're doing something you love.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  Bit of structure in life.

• 48:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 48:41Speaker 01

  A bit of discipline and.

• 48:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 48:42Speaker 01

  You know, you have to get to know yourself, you know, like I journal a lot, that helps me.

• 48:47Speaker 00

  Yeah, what what's that give you, like by doing that?

• 48:50Speaker 01

  Gives me clarity.

• 48:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 48:52Speaker 01

  I sit in silence, I might go to the beach, I might be in the van and I won't be listening to music. Cause these are all distractions, you know. When do we, when do we actually sit in silence and actually think to ourselves, talk to ourselves, you know? To me, that's when I feel most connected to God. When I sit down, maybe I read the Bible for a bit. And then I'll just sit down in peace and I'll just start writing and be like, you know, I'll start talking about my day. You know, my goals and then maybe I'll work out a plan how to get to those goals, take actions, take steps. Or maybe, you know, I'll go back to a few pages and like, okay, I feel this here. Why did I feel that? And I'll see what I wrote down.

• 49:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 49:31Speaker 01

  Okay, I can relate this to now. So I'll just, it's literally just, you know, we like, I I overthink a lot.

• 49:38Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 49:39Speaker 01

  Sometimes that's not a good thing, you know, thinking doesn't do anything, taking action does. So even just writing something out is taking action. So I really try not to overthink now. I I I try to dumb myself down a little bit, you know. Who used to call me dumb, but I think like I am intelligent with some things. And I think maybe I just, I didn't know how to deal with with with certain things. So so now I just write things out, sort of talk to myself, I guess. It's a bit of a meditation, a bit of a therapy. And I have some great ideas that come up, um and that's why I'm here, like I'll.

• 50:14Speaker 00

  It it's funny, like, well, not funny when, yeah, you you think, you say, sometimes I think I'm dumb or I dumb dumb it down or whatever. Intelligence and uh it comes in many different forms, doesn't it?

• 50:26Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 50:26Speaker 00

  I can, I can sit here with uh. What you and I would look at and go, Jesus, they're smart. They've got all these qualifications. They're this, they're that, but they mightn't have the intelligence. So, yeah, like, intelligence is not based on one thing, whether you can read and write and it's your understanding life. I I think the type of discussions we're having now, you're giving an in-depth insight into the way lives can be lived. And so I I wouldn't be writing yourself off as dumb.

• 50:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:56Speaker 00

  Or I wouldn't sit here and call you dumb because you might smack me in the head.

• 51:00Speaker 01

  Well, I try not to say that about myself, you know, like, I like, I am, I am smart and and I have emotional intelligence, which I think is a very important thing.

• 51:09Speaker 00

  That carries you better than other book intelligence. How does your, your, your religion and your fighting, do they sit together? Do you, you're comfortable with that?

• 51:18Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 51:19Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 51:19Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 51:20Speaker 00

  Talk us through that because some people might say, but it's a brutal sport. What, what's, what's your, how do you process that?

• 51:26Speaker 01

  That's a good question. Um, I, I don't know. I mean, we've always had wars.

• 51:32Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 51:32Speaker 01

  Men have always fought.

• 51:33Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:34Speaker 01

  And I think it's a natural thing for us. I think it's one of the most masculine things to, you know, master your body and your mind.

• 51:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:40Speaker 01

  And to take control of your emotions.

• 51:42Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 51:43Speaker 01

  And then you take that into a sport, you know, a profession. You can make a life from it, a career.

• 51:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:48Speaker 01

  Um, a legacy. So for me, I couldn't do it without God.

• 51:52Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:52Speaker 01

  Because God has always been my centre. God has been my rock.

• 51:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:56Speaker 01

  One of my favourite Bible verses is Psalms one four four. Praise be to the Lord, my rock, who strengthens my hands for war, my fingers for battle.

• 52:05Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 52:06Speaker 01

  So every fight, you know, I would say that to myself, whether it's through training. And I really just live a simple life.

• 52:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 52:14Speaker 01

  And I devote myself to God. I devote myself to being the best example I can be, the best human I can be. Maybe, you know, you're God-like, even though that's, that's, that's, that's not what you should say. But like, I try to walk in the image of God, Jesus Christ. Um, so, you know, sometimes I catch myself being too proud, too much ego. Maybe thinking I'm better than other people. I'm not better than nobody.

• 52:39Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 52:40Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? I've, I've hit rock bottom many, many times. And I truly believe if I'm not humble, I'm not a good person, God can punish me for that. God can, you know, take everything away from me, give me a sickness, an illness. Um, so for me. Man, I I I I give my life to to Jesus. Um. I love Jesus. I have a relationship with Jesus. And it's hard for me to sit here and even talk about it, because a lot of people are fucking idiot, you know what I mean? But I don't care what people think. That's just what's in my heart. That's what's kept me alive and gotten me through the hardest points in my life. Was actually believing in a God, praying to God. And every time I drifted away from what I believed in, my life got really bad.

• 53:24Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 53:24Speaker 01

  And I got lost. But every time, you know, I I stuck to my faith and I didn't let people, you know, change my opinion, like my life, my life got better. And and we're fighting for me. I'm not scared of any man, you know, I used to go swimming with great white sharks because be fishing.

• 53:43Speaker 00

  Stuff, stuff, man.

• 53:44Speaker 01

  So if if if I'm not scared of a shark, why am I scared of a man? But I I am scared of God and I have a fear for God.

• 53:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 53:50Speaker 01

  And I don't want to disappoint him. You know, when when I when I die one day and say, you you go to these pearly white gates. I don't want him to ask me, what did you do on life, Brandon? Who did you help?

• 54:02Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  And say, you know, I was selfish. I did everything for myself. I didn't do nothing. You know what I mean? So for me, like, I'm just trying to be a good person, um, and and do the best I can. And I'm trying to, you know, I I'm I'm still a kid. I'm thirty one years old.

• 54:18Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:18Speaker 01

  I don't know at all. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing in life. I'm just working it out as I go.

• 54:23Speaker 00

  Best way to stay, like, al- always, always learning. Look, religion, if it if it uh if it works for you, I've

• 54:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:29Speaker 00

  sat opposite a lot of people that religion has been their salvation. I can't call myself a religious person. I think I've got a little bit of spirituality in me, but I I don't follow a religion. But if it works, yeah, let's stick with it. Hundred percent. I I I don't see any any any harm with it. You you you touched on ego and you you um said that, yeah, religion helps you keep in uh keep in check ego. That would be a thing that you have to have to look out for in uh in this game, because you need the you need the swagger and the confidence to, yeah. And don't tell Israel I said he was arrogant. Your confidence is the right thing.

• 55:08Speaker 01

  He'll probably listen to this and hear it.

• 55:10Speaker 00

  Jesus Christ.

• 55:11Speaker 01

  We'll clip it up.

• 55:12Speaker 00

  Jesus Christ, I'm hiding from that. But you need that swagger and you need the confidence to go in there. And, you know, I don't care who I'm in the ring with, I'm going to come out on top. You win, you get everyone patting you on the back, you get people selfie, that type of stuff. You need to keep your ego in check because you could lose your way with it, couldn't you?

• 55:32Speaker 01

  Hundred percent.

• 55:32Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:33Speaker 01

  Um, I've lost my way a few times with it.

• 55:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:35Speaker 01

  I thought I was top shit when I first started fighting. I was like, I'm the man. No, you're not. You know, we're all equal, mate. And if you think you're better than other people, you're wrong. Um, that's why I shake everyone's hands.

• 55:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:47Speaker 01

  And I treat everyone equal. Like, I don't care if you're a billionaire.

• 55:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:51Speaker 01

  Or if you're some homeless guy on the street.

• 55:53Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:53Speaker 01

  I treat you the same, mate. Because, uh, you know, I have this perspective as well, like, you know, I could, I could have been that homeless guy on the street.

• 56:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 56:01Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? Like, and I've been homeless many times. So you just treat people how you want to be treated, I think. That's, that's what I always put in my head.

• 56:10Speaker 00

  And it's a, it's a good thing to live by.

• 56:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:12Speaker 00

  It's a, a simple philosophy, but it's a good philosophy.

• 56:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, you, you have to have boundaries. If you don't set boundaries in life, you're going to get used, you're going to get walked all over.

• 56:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 56:21Speaker 01

  I'm not here to, to get walked over. So, yeah.

• 56:24Speaker 00

  Well, something makes me think, sitting here opposite you, you're not going to get walked over. Um, and I, I am genuinely excited about watching your, your career. And the funny thing is, I think you're going to leave an impression on this world more so than just your, your fighting career. I, I think, uh, yeah, you're set up for all sorts of things. But, uh, Jesus, it's been a, a fascinating conversation to have with you. It's, uh, I've, I've really enjoyed it. And I think people that, uh, yeah, because. I'm a fan of the combat sports, I'm a fan of it, I understand the depth that goes into it. I think a lot of people just write off fighters as one dimensional, that yeah, they go in,

• 57:06Speaker 00

  they get paid to fight people, what type of person could they be? I think you've given a good insight into the depth of the quality of the humanity that goes into a person that fights for a living.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  Thank you very much, I'm just doing my best and it's a pleasure to be here, talking to a man like yourself and I've learned a few things off of you as well, so thank you for this opportunity.

• 57:27Speaker 00

  Yeah, well, great chat and I'm glad I got you on before Joe Rogan because it'd be hard trying to get you after you've gone on Joe Rogan.

• 57:33Speaker 01

  I'll still come back and have a chat with you.

• 57:34Speaker 00

  Good, I might hold you.

• 57:35Speaker 01

  I've got to be humble, you know?

• 57:37Speaker 00

  That's why we finish with humility. Don't forget where you started. Good to catch up with you.

• 57:42Speaker 01

  Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.