EP #77 - Fighter - Suran 'The Golden Boy' Juanmiri

Another Champ is here! I had an awesome yarn with Suran 'The Golden Boy' Juanmiry! This guy has so much charisma, confidence, and is an absolute powerhouse of a fighter. We discussed his fighting style, training, trying various martial art styles, his background as a refugee from Iraq, his love of partying, and much more. 

Also apologies for the audio for the first 6 minutes, the audio comes right 00:06:08. You can see that I'm a bit annoyed because of the audio issue, but Suran was great.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

And I'm here with Geron the Golden Boy Drumbreak. Hello. That's my big intro. But this guy is the champ, the middleweight King of the Ring champ, ISKA champ, WMAF Kickboxing Champ, Golden Glove Boxing Champ, Damagold Medalist Champ. And you've also fought an MMA. Yeah, yeah, I've fought two MMA fights. Damn, so you've done everything.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Pretty much, yeah. Everything. Just not. I've trained karate as well, to be honest. Karate. He's done so much of it. Wrestling? I'm wrestling? Uh nah, just training for the MMA fights. I did a few uh wrestling sessions. That uh I wasn't that good. I I I think my first wrestling session, I showed up hangover, or drunk. Oh no, I was drunk actually.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Oh really?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

So kick out. I realised I didn't like on technical break. Yeah, yeah, I can't. You can edit everything. Oh yeah. Everything. Everything can be edited. Everything. Um how yeah, dude. So far out. That's a lot of different styles and a lot of different competitions to enter. Yeah. How how do you like? Because in my head, I'm just like trying to think. Because I guess you've done MMA, so that is everything put together. Yeah. Was that the first thing you ever competed in? What was the first martial art you ever competed in?

SPEAKER_00 1:26

The first martial art I ever competed in. I don't know if it was karate or boxing. Maybe boxing. Boxing. I was thinking you actually competed in karate as well. It wasn't like a competition. I j I I somehow challenged a guy about knowing.

unknown 1:39

About knowing.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

I was like, I was young. I was like very young. Oh, okay, yeah. And I uh and I was just started and I was like, and they said the guy's a world champion or nine times champion or something like that. He was like 30 years old like that, and I said I want to take him on or some shit. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You were like, let me see.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Yeah. Are you a champ? I want to see if you're a champ. I mean, hell and was he a champ?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

He was a champ.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

It was a champ.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

He was a champ. But I mean, um, I managed to I no, I I um I actually destroyed his legs because they didn't do more tight shots.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

No, they don't. Karate is a lot of um uh like is it uh death point fighting, I thought they did the right spot. It's very different, right? It's like precision. They're trying to aim they're trying to aim for the exact uh like nerve or something to kick you, or like sidekicks, or probably similar probably some Taekwondo style S kicks.

SPEAKER_00 2:30

So the first thing he used the his what do you call it? Like his toe, it was like a toe, like a thing, and he hit like a spot, like a kick. Boom. I was like, the grind came back up, I was like, what the fuck is that? I don't feel a thing. I just remember I just opened my eyes and I was in the ground, I should get back up like right off the bat. And then I got pissed off because I was like, what the fuck is that? I just chopped his leg like two times and then he started limping. Not used to it. No, no, that wouldn't have been experienced. On the side, so their calf is like on the open.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Yeah, because they don't have their hands up either, do they?

SPEAKER_00 3:03

They don't have the yeah, but um at that time my obviously his distant management would have been better because in karate it's all distant management. Yeah, it's even further back. Yeah, but his leg was like the white stance, I think they call it like the horse stance. It was like more closer to me, so I just keep chopping a leg and then they started lumping. True.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Yeah, you can white eyes just like power forward and just throw those shots. Very different from karate. Karate's almost like, ah, people who love karate are probably gonna be like me saying this, but to me it almost is a little bit more of like maybe not old school karate, but like performance. One of like and the and the point fighting. It's very different than like an actual fight. Yeah. Like a Muay Thai fight or even like a boxing match, MMA, like karate's. It's like it's very, very different.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

I think it's a good background to have because it limits you from what you can do. So like with the limitation you have, your brain has to come up with more creative, you're in more creative, and then when you come into a sport where you can do everything, you're like a lot more advanced once you learn the other stuff. True. What was the hardest one for you to learn? Boxing, I think. Ah, why is that? I don't know. It's I don't know. I just found it. Aggressive style didn't really work because in amateur boxing it's all points and bouncing.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

Uh in and out.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

So I fought I got tagged a lot, and I always thought like I only watched Mike Tyson at that time, so I was all right. He was just balls on the wall throwing sharp, throwing hooks like crazy.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

That was my first one.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Damn. Yeah, I yeah, boxing is like a bit of a sweet science, isn't it? Yeah. So you gotta get you you gotta you don't have much to work with.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Pretty much, yeah. But the coach liked because I was like expiring like five time champions and stuff like that. And I just started so the coach liked my like drive, so like started teaching me more about like the the Soviet style of boxing. Like the in and out like uh like bivalve, you know, bivalve. It's like in and out point fighting. Okay, yeah, like on your tippy toes.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

On your tippy toes coming in and out.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Similar to karate to be honest.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Yeah, karate's in and out a lot, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, so it's similar to that. So I started learning more of that and then I so then I got better at boxing. Then I that's that I think that's why I'm like so much better in kickboxing because I use more of the brain than actually physically.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

There's more options of what you can do, right? Yeah. Yeah. Do you do you do you have any favorite? Do you like the boxing? Well more than Wai Tai or the Kunker or the MMA?

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Well, to me, fighting is fighting, which is why I switch but between any sport, it doesn't bother me at all. So you like them all?

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Anything they provide you different enjoyment and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

I mean if it's more hands, then they're not gonna make it out of life.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

No. No. Well, isn't to say that you um were in the kunkur uh a few weeks back. Two weeks back? Two weeks back, and you knocked the guy out in the first round. It's like a minute in, I think. Yeah, yeah, wow, bro. That's wow. What did that feel? What did that feel like?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Uh honestly, I I was just I was expecting because like his record and stuff like that was and he had like 50 knockouts, so I was like just prepared for a war. Like I was mentally, I was actually excited because like I was like someone like I can actually go warwolf.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

And then apparently I think coach said we get like a two-minute break. So my whole plan was to like just go all out from the start. Right. And uh he dropped very early. So I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Yeah. Wow. Yeah, that that so do you feel as though um going forward for for for your next fights, like like um are you wanting to do more of like the kickboxing? Or are you just pretty you still say are you prepared to do anything?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

I'm prepared to do anything, but I think at this stage we're work we're we're coaches and them we want to focus more on kickboxing.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

So my next one's K1.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Next one's K1. Next one's K1. Oh shit, that's exciting.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Yeah, so in Melbourne.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Yeah, and that's in August, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah, August is something. I just started training yesterday.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

K1 champ. So what's the the K1 rules is more like your traditional kind of kickboxing sort of rules, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Pretty much kicks, one so like if you wrap you can do one knee, you have to let go again and then knee knee again, you can't hold on to them. It's pretty much like boxing, but you can kick a knee. So it's a lot better for me.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

So but you can't throw you can't if you get in a clinch, you can't be in the clinch for too long, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Nah, nah, riff will stop it, or like you can fight out of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

I see. Okay. Well, that's fucking cool, dude. So much cool stuff happened for you. And you've obviously kept the the king of the ring, I was there and I I saw you there. Oh really? Yeah, the middle way, and you took that took that one out. And uh yeah, yeah, yeah. Daniel went for another decision, it's crazy. I think he's the only one to ever do that. Um twice in a row. Like I was like insane. How hard was he? How d what was that was that one of the biggest challenges for you?

SPEAKER_00 7:58

No, it wasn't it wasn't more that so like a week before the whole tournament, my left hand was completely gone. So I couldn't I never used the throw through a punch. And the first fight was the first time I threw a punch in like a week. So I just used like my left hand, it was like swollen like a ball. I think the bone was out from there. So I used that for um the first guy, so I managed to get him because the goal was to get him out of the first round or the end of the round.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

So we done that, and then Corinth, we just we weren't going for the knockout, we're just pretty much trying to just ease our way through the wind. Not to use too much energy, but I managed to wreck my right leg. Because he's an MMA fighter, so it's a stance, so I couldn't calf cut him. And then so by the time I made it to the finals, and Daniel was a south four, I only had a right hand. So I have to like reach a lot. And then he was pretty good, but I I think it's just because I only had the right hand, I made it a little more challenging. Limited options of what you can do.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Limited options. Yeah, it's so hard to because you're already like yes, your hands screwed, legs done, like that's the hardest. That's why it's such a tough tournament, eh? Like, yeah, you've already fought brutal rounds and fights before, and then you gotta like go again, go again.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

So I I think luck should play a good thing in keynote, depending on who you get and what happens.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

It really is like that. Did you train specifically for it? Like, did you um as in did you like fight specific? I talked to Michael about this and Daniel. Um did you train like fight specific, like with how the the rules work and the time limits, um having breaks in between?

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Um did we So nah, um pretty much like bursting, like when to burst out, use energy and when to stop. That's all we worked on? Like how to win the round and the start of the camp. For like the first four weeks, I only just done weights. Just for the first three weeks, and then and then started explosive weights, and then so we have the power, and then then we started just working on just just working around the times, not really who's in front of us, right? Like that we're gonna win either way, like like just work around how to win every single round, when to save yourself. If we're already winning this round, why why why should we go hard for the next one minute and then tire ours tire ourselves out for the next round?

SPEAKER_02 10:28

So we're just or trying to force a knockout or something.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Trying to force a knockout, yeah. Which I I almost tried doing it with Corinne but then coach yelled at me, he's like, Down.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

I was like, Alright, dog, like I think but that's a smile, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

I don't know. Well what did they say though? Did they like um Michael and Daniel did they read did they fight?

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Uh Michael did. He did so he he trained at like super, super specific. He would do like the exact round and like he was training on the pads for like how long like the rounds would be, and then pretend he's like in like a changing room. Oh really? And then like get ready for the next fight, and then he would then train again for the next rounds. Yeah. So he made it really fight specific. Daniel didn't. Daniel did, Daniel didn't.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Oh, I did one similar to what Thang did. So I would I would sprint 2.5 kilometers and then shut a shadow box um three rounds, and then I'll go back onto a machine, sprint two and a half k's, and then shadow box three rounds, and then I'll go just like training. You know, you normally train for one person, you run one time, or sprint one time. So I'll do that three times a day. Ah, brick. So I did I did do that, but I had like two to three training sessions a day.

unknown 11:42

Shh.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

That'd be tiring. It was like seven days. It was pretty much seven days a week because on a on a Sunday I'll just do a 10k run.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Do you do more of that for your cardio than like so is that you running's your main source of cardio for the sport? Like you do skipping, you do sprints. But do you do much skipping and stuff?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Uh no, but I mean recently for King of the Ring, yeah. Um Ants has been making me skip on a hill. Oh, yeah, yeah. So that's yeah, which is you know my calves. I just came from physio. So he would make me skip on a hill. So it's working just your calves.

SPEAKER_03 12:16

Ah.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Just for warm-up.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

You find that helps? Yeah. It makes a big difference is like the strength of your calves and like when you're throwing kicks and and doing movement, feel like you got more power.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

I think so, yeah. Because now like for warm-up, I like to just even like when I'm just getting before sparring, I like to do like I like like you know, like squat jumps. Squat jumps, see how I can go. And then like it'll make it I don't know. For some reason I've get I've been getting more powerful flight after fight. Awesome. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:43

Yeah, you would have like I imagine is every fight a l is every fight a lesson. It is. Every fight's a lesson.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

It is. I still feel like I have so much to improve. I'm nowhere near where I want to be.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

It's so hard, right? Like imagine, like, especially because you've you fought in so many different you fight in so many different styles. Yeah. There's so much to learn in each one. But what what is like the what would you say is the ultimate goal for you? I like Is it to keep fight is it you of is it MMA? 'Cause to me it sounds like MMA. And this episode is sponsored by me. Do you struggle with sleeping and particularly struggle with light and sound while sleeping? I think it's time you get the sleep that you deserve. My business Infinity Sleep specializes in sleep well-being products to enhance your sleep quality. I've been using sleep masks and airplugs for the past three years to help improve my sleep, and I'm so stoked to finally have ones that have been created for my own sleeping needs. If you would like to learn more about my business, Infinity Sleep, please visit our website www.infinitysleep.co.nz. By making a purchase, you are directly not only supporting a local Yui business, but also this podcast. Use the promo code only scot fifteen percent and receive fifteen percent off your first order. Go to www.infinitysleep.co dot nz to get the sleep that you deserve.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

I think I might go towards the MMA later. I like the thing of it. What do you call it? There's like recognition is big on there. You can just make contender series, you're already like pretty big, you know. You make a good name for it. If it's the UFC.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

I mean, there's obviously lots of other um uh promotions as well. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

But let's see, there's like one championship, you'd get the champion from there, and half the people wouldn't even know. You know what I mean? And there's you have to be a fighter. Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

One's really big in Asia though, right? Like from what I tell, but just in the West, it's like not hasn't quite taken off. UFC just dominate.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Yeah, but I like glory kickboxing, one championship, and UFC. So, like, I don't know. But with contracts, apparently you can't just keep switching. No, you can't. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

No, I was watching something um with uh Michael Mike um Musunini, what's the he's the jujitsu guy? Yeah, um, real nerdy looking um Donda eats like pizza and pasta? Yeah, that guy, yeah. He like did like the um UFC BJJs now thing. Yeah, and he recently won the competition. But he was talking about this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's just that good, bro. You never think of it. No, he just he just looks like an IT super nerdy dude. He's is have you seen him train? It's insane. He's no, I haven't crazy, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Yeah, yeah. I don't watch much jujitsu. I watched it a few times when I was training for MMA, just so you see what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

It's jujutsu is hard. It's hard, it's hard, yeah. Like the placement of everything. Oh god.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Too much to think about in some ways. It's different art form, though, different things you're thinking about, you know. Yeah, but in MMA, you have to have a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

So you have to have a little anything, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Or at least know how to stand back up.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

Yeah, I mean I learned that part. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

You learn how to stand back up. I learned how to stand back up. So someone comes in for a triangle choke and you're like, nah, I'm just gonna stand up. Yeah, pretty much. Throw an elbow in there.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

I've seen some UFC fighters do it with the you just stand up. You don't try like untangle yourself. You like you just stand up. Yeah. And they make it look so simple. But I maybe there's a thing too. There might be like a shrimp thing to it, like they're super strong. I don't know, but they make it look easy.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

Yeah. I think it's also like when you notice as a fighter, you got like how much do you have to be careful with your energy of like adrenaline when you're fighting? Because that would be like such a big thing. I think that's the biggest one to be honest. We all know how to fight, it's just who has the energy in them to actually hands start dropping in the later rounds and pretty much getting tired and then people capitalize on it.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yeah, so cardio is my favorite one to be honest. It's like my favorite thing to work on. Yeah. So I know we all know how to fight, but like who's gonna like because if you know you're unfit and you're like say you're say you are better than you say you are better than me at fighting, right? Like skill-wise. But I mean, what are you gonna do after a minute? Yeah if you're no guess, but like Yeah, shit. So you guess out, you can't really throw a punch because it takes too much energy. And if I counter that you're most likely gonna get dropped. So energy. Um, but yeah, controlling your nerves is a big one.

SPEAKER_02 17:05

Yeah, especially when you're doing like because the the one that you were the one that you just fought on, you did the knockout the guy in the first round, but it was gonna be five rounds.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

Yeah, I think so. Five or three rounds, I'm not sure. You think so? Yeah, I don't ask too much questions about it.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

You don't ask too many questions about what you're getting yourself into. Nah. You're just like, I'm showing up and I'm throwing hands, let's go.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Yeah, well, because my fight's in August, and I was like, I like like I'm bored, like I what am I gonna do? I was doing nothing with my life. I had like three weeks off, and I was like, my fight's too far away. So they found a fight, and I was like, Yeah, I'll take it. I mean, boom, yeah, didn't even get injured. Nothing, it just finished before I even really just that good.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

So, what do you do? Um, apart from fighting, what how how are you keeping yourself afloat, like in terms of paying your rent? Robbing banks, robbing banks, yeah, fair enough. It's probably not a good idea to come on the podcast. Everyone knows the golden boy. That's why it's called the Golden Boy stealing all the gold. I don't even know where you're getting gold, but he's getting some.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

No, I own my own business actually. I own a barber shop in Puka Koi, which my work at it. Yeah, yeah, which my family helped me with just so because you know, obviously you can't it it's very hard. Everything's expensive.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Everything's tough right now.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Yeah, yeah. And um, so so that helps. I pretty much sponsor myself to train full time. Wow. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

So uh like your hours, uh, because you can just choose all your hours.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

I choose my hours. I mostly most kind of. Kind of, yeah. I mean, sometimes like yesterday, like someone didn't show up to work and I had to like rush.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Well it's your business, so you gotta cover it. I gotta cover it.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Customers gotta be served. Exactly. So I had to rush yesterday. So sometimes that happens. But most of the times I only work Friday to Sunday, most of the times, but but m most likely twice a week I work.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

Peak hours, right? Yeah. Just peak hours. Yeah, yeah. I gotcha. Do you feel do you do you have to have a fresh cut, a fresh fade before you go in? Go in? And you go into the fight. Well, I shave it off. Yeah, you shave it, yeah. I notice every time is that what you do? You shave your head. I shave my head. Oh yeah. It's like a personality change. I feel more aggressive. With a shaved head? Yeah. That's true. There's something about bald guys being really good at fighting.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

And then have a beard. Like, does that guest?

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Yeah, I know, bro. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just gotta shave the mustache. Yeah, I know I can't do that, but then you just got this beard coming down. Yeah, does that is that the key to being good at fighting?

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Bald head, it could be, and facial hair. I mean, you can watch the UFC, look who's champion in all of them.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

I know. Russians, Russians, Pakistanis, Brazilians, Brazilians are pretty some of them can be hairy. Yeah, that's true. And then yeah, we got and you got Volk, yeah, Volks, Bald. Volks, Volks, Bald. Yeah. So it's true. It could be something to it.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Because I've only just started doing it in the last two years, I think, two or three years.

SPEAKER_02 19:54

And look at you go knocking guys out, winning King of the Ring. I've been on a good streak. I think there's a secret here. There could be a secret. Yeah, yeah, go involved, guys. Hey, if you're losing your hair and you're worried about it, there's a career for you over here.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Just wear out of confidence.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

I notice a lot of the guys that I go That's true, they they try and hold on to it, right? They're holding on to the hair.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

Because I work in a barber shop, I see everything. Yeah, you would. So, like they grow hair on one side and flop it to the other side, but there's nothing in there. And I'm just like, shave it off. This is nasty comb over going on.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Ah man, just get the razor.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yeah, but I mean it makes them happy, so you try work with what they want.

SPEAKER_02 20:32

Yeah, yeah. People have I mean, I'm lucky, I've got my hair, and I'm my family got thick hair, so it's alright. But some of my mates, yeah, now we're getting older and slightly slowly, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

Are they like brushing the top forward?

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Yeah, yeah, is a bit of that to put the hat on.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Yeah. I don't know. I I like bald headed. Looks look at it, it looks nice. It looks good.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Yeah, it does. I think it looks I I think it can. It looked mean there. Yeah, yeah. He look you know, you said look at look at the glasses, nice face, all like smiley. Can't tell I know how much a fight in now this guy looks like he's gonna murder me when he's definitely Robin Banks. He's already sold the belt.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

It's on eBay for it. It's a whole personality change going on. I heard um Rob Whitaker talk about this sort of thing because he his nickname is the Reaper.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

And he mentioned something like that. He said before he goes in the ring, he has to get himself in this mentality of like this guy who I'm fighting is coming for my family, they're gonna take away everything I want in my life. Yeah. To try and get him in the headspace to um go and you know take someone's head off.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

I've I've heard a few people think like that. Actually, like uh yeah, my sister always says to be like, think about they're robbing us, stuff like that. I'm like, I I just my my thought is just go in there and smashing them.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Yeah. And you do that. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

I mean, I don't think so. I don't think of obstacles, but I like shaving my head and then the bed having a bed, and I normally like walking in over a shirt. And then taking it off right before we go, just so they can see like first they're not intimidated after the face off and stuff, and then I take off my shirt and then they turn around and look at me, and I'm like ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Let's go. It's the gun show. Yeah. I thought we were fighting. It turns out it's just muscle beach. That's the thing. I'm assuming all your face-offs so far have been pretty cordial, like you've been okay. No one's gotten like everyone's pretty respectful. New Zealand's New Zealand's small. It's not a good idea to get aggressive, and it's not a good idea to do the American, like, yeah, fuck you up. It's like, bro, you live down the road. That's so true. You gotta be careful with that. It's like, hey, hey, you can't do that. He's blah blah blah's cousin who owns this.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

We'll connect them.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Yeah, we're five million, you know. It's small, it's small.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

I mean, I've I get along with everyone I fought. They're like the nicest people you actually ever meet. Um 100%.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

Every fighter I've met, I think 90% have been really nice. I get a couple of crazies, but yeah. I mean, that comes with the game.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

It comes with the game. I mean you get hit in the head so much, at least a few of us gonna go down the rock.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

Yeah, we're gonna come we're not coming back with much. Well, that's what yeah, I was gonna ask you about this. It sounds to me that you kind of you don't think about things too much because you want to obstacles not obstacles. You're like, I'm gonna get in there and do my thing and that's it. But do you ever think about like, you know, this is be real, like the damage that could happen to you?

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Nah, I I like negative thought, I I don't think I accept it. You don't accept that in to be in your head. Nah, no, never. Like, I I can't do it. I feel weird. Sometimes it'll come through and I'm like, what the hell? Think about something else. Go away. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Wow. How do you adapt that mindset? That's that's pretty special, bro. To be able to think like that. To be able to be like, nope.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Yeah, I mean, uh, I read books.

SPEAKER_02 23:52

That helps.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Yeah. Read books, audios, and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

And um kind of rewire your brain to keep posit not just positive, but just in a good content mindset about things.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Yeah, and then like during camp, if I'm not tunnel vision, then I then I go back to my book. I have a book and I journal. Yeah, and then I write that start journaling again, then I then I feel back into the vision again. Then I know like how I'm going. I write everything down, I have like a board as well, and then keep track of every training session, tick, tick, tick, tick, until the fight day. And then just keeps me in line, and like my whole focus is getting through these training sessions I've written down and recovering for the next one. So that there's like no chance for any negative thoughts to come into my head. If I have a bad day and sparring, get a hiding, whatever, I go home and just I'll most of the times I get a bottle of wine, I drink it all and go to sleep. I I don't think about it.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

You don't you don't think about anything. Nah. You just go home, relax.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Because I know I know by the end of the week when there's spiraling again, I know I'll be better than uh say Monday. So we do Monday and Friday spiring. So if I get a hiding on Monday, I know by Friday I'll be a lot better than Monday.

SPEAKER_02 25:02

Oh yeah. It's powerful, man. Yeah, I think the mind is it's good. That's what most of it is, I think. I've I've had a few guys who have a fighters on here now. Tyra was talking about this as well being a big one. Like most of most of this is just the mind.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

Yeah, yeah. His he, I think he only had a year experience and he was like taking out everyone. I think.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Yeah, he was dominating. He went he went and fought in like yeah, with the gamma, like yeah, yeah. Oh, you saw him do it, yeah. He won that, and then he went to Thailand, like won a bunch of kickboxing, Thai kickboxing fights, fought MMA. So I'm just like, wow, but he's um yeah, another one with like a very crazy background, come a long way for himself in his life, and I think just made for it. He's just like built to fight, you know. Some some, you know. Sounds like you're a bit like that as well. Like just kind of made for the sport, you know.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

I don't think so. We can we know anything else, to be honest. We can cut hair, so I cut hair, yeah. But I don't know. I think fighting's my thing, it's just always been it. Like you know, like even if you like even so when I first started off, even if I sucked, like I just knew those like that is that it like it's that. Like, let's just keep going. We're gonna say what you want to do.

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Yeah, so yeah, go back to kind of what you want to see yourself doing. So you're fighting overseas in August, you're going to what's the competition called?

SPEAKER_00 26:18

Power play.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

I think Daniel's doing that, I think, as well. Oh, is he?

SPEAKER_01 26:22

I think we fought on this last one uh like two weeks ago as well.

SPEAKER_02 26:26

Yeah, yeah, New Zealand bro. We're going everywhere. You guys are touring. Yeah. Um, but yeah, so that's uh that's uh K1 rules. Um so after that, what like do you want to keep doing kickboxing? I know we said MMA before, but I just kind of want to get back to like what is it you now yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

Well I'll keep doing kickboxing, of course, because just more fights. I feel a lot of the guys when they go to MMA they barely fight.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

It's not enough, eh? It's not enough. It's not it's getting bigger, it's getting bigger, but in New Zealand is not enough. Yeah, it's all in Australia.

SPEAKER_00 26:56

But if I can get a good contract for maybe glory or like boxing, glory. Yeah, kickboxing glory. Or one championship, um, we'll go towards that, and then I'll work MMA just on the low. Yeah, like jujutsu. Yeah a little bit, and then bang MMA guys.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

What was it like for you as being a striker when you tried MMA and doing the ground game? What was what did that feel like? Like inspiring or the fight? Uh first time training.

SPEAKER_00 27:23

Oh yeah, nah, first time training, I was fine. So it was it was like wrestling or like kickboxing slash wrestling.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

But the the thing is just it's just it's just me though. But I just never allowed anyone take me down. And the my coach came with me and he's like, You're not gonna you're not gonna learn to what to do on your back if you don't let anyone take you down. So I had to damn it. So I had to start letting them take me down so I can learn how to get out from there. But those fun.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Did you get taken down on your MMA fights?

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Uh yeah, I did uh I did, I think like one time. One time I got taken down. Not much. Uh and then yeah, not much happened. Just get back up.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Just get back, just step back up and it was go time, baby. I can't handle these muscles. Yeah, fair enough. Well, it's yeah, I mean it it's not it's there's different styles of MMA because if you had a strong guy who was like, I will go into the ground and things different. But I guess in New Zealand, was it was in New Zealand, right? They have an A5? Yeah, most people here, from what I understand, it's everyone comes from a striking background, predominantly. Almost everyone, yeah. Like no one really comes from a pure Jits background or like a wrestling. Like wrestling's not very big in New Zealand. And neither's um jujitsu's becoming more popular. There's much more competitions, but I still I still think it's not quite there yet. I still got a long way to go in New Zealand. Um, but we'll see. I think I think it's growing a lot.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

Yeah, because we're like the opposite to Dagstan, they start wrestling first, yeah, and then they start striking later on.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Yeah, they do Sambo, that's the big thing. Sambo, yeah. Yeah, which looks crazy. Apparently you can because you can do everything in that, but punching doesn't give you any points. Oh, really? Yeah, I heard Islam Mahachev talk about it. It was real buzzy. He was saying that they kick as as well. Yeah, they can do they can kick and punch, but that doesn't I'm not sure if kicking, he said punching.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

Said punching doesn't land points. You land points by takedowns and submissions and and um don dominating on the ground.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

I mean, look at them.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

Yeah, well, that makes sense, right? And you see some of their striking, they've gotten a lot better, but some of those early Habib fights are pretty interesting. No discredit the guy, I would die within 10 seconds, but you know, just saying from a technical point of view.

SPEAKER_00 29:32

He did drop Conor McGregor though, so he did drop yeah, but that's the thing having the the wrestling background where if you go low, everyone thinks you're going for a takedown. Yeah, it's a good trick. It's a good trick. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

There was another guy in um UFC who did that. Uh Bo Nickel. He did a few of those where he he he knocked out some people because everyone thought he was gonna wrestle them, but he'd drop and throw the overhand.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

Because he was starting to strike more in his later career, right?

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Yeah, yeah, he was.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

Yeah, he he won, he lost, lost his last one, right?

SPEAKER_02 30:00

Yeah, he lost the last one against a guy, oh, very famous from another promotion. Can't remember his name, but yeah, he made Bo Nickel didn't look very good. Really? Yeah, yeah, some guy I mean, yeah, it's interesting when you get guys from different competitions who come in, yeah. Some of them do real well, and then some of them don't.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Because I didn't even know Bo Nickel was in the UFC, but I watched a three-hour podcast of how his mindset worked back when he was doing the wrestling competitions. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

He's a D1 wrestler, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Yeah, D1 wrestler. It was it's just like how his brain thought in every tournament, and sometimes we had like when he gets like out like strike, or not our strike, our wrestler or whatever, and then how he bounced back and then how he trained and stuff like that. I don't know. I don't even know who he was, I just listened to it. It's just about mindset and discipline. I was just like, alright. And then I see him in the UFC and I was like, oh shit. So it's it's legit. It's legit.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

Yeah, he got there. Yeah, that's a wild journey to try and get to a competition like that. Yeah, that's crazy. Yeah, some of the guys, um yeah, I know like uh CKB and stuff, they'll that's a crazy journey. Crazy journey just to try to even set foot in the on the road to UFC or Dana White's contender series. Like you know, a lot of his guys, like um Cam Roston, uh Battle Giraffe, you know him? Yeah, yeah, he's run like he's won King of the Ring twice. He's uh he's fought over in Australia like an Eternal MMA, like all of them, won all his pretty much all his fights. And then but he went to the Dana White contender series, but then unfortunately he did lose to the guy because he was just a wrestler. Yeah, and then I'm and just a bad matchup for him. But he's fucking good at everything, man. And I'm just like, man, if you're struggling.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Imagine how hard it is attacking.

SPEAKER_02 31:41

Yeah, yeah, that's crazy. So that's a wild one. Oh hell, hell yeah, man. So I'm interested to know as well about um a bit more about your background. So you came from Iraq to New Zealand.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Yeah, I was a refugee in Iraq actually. So off so yeah, tell me this, tell me, tell me a little bit about this. I don't know much about it, but I uh yeah, we were we were there in the refugee for a while. And because there was a whole you know the war and stuff. I think it was like 2005-2004. Oh yeah, this is yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so we're like we were pretty much raised in like around wires and stuff like that and tents. And then yeah, so New Zealand took us in, so they sent us here, and then we were in a camp here in Mangri, somewhere like that.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

I think I've actually been I think I've maybe it wasn't Mangri, but I remember when I used to work as a technician, I used to do some work at one of those refugee camps. Oh really? Fuzzy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

Yeah. There's like a mixed cultural going on there. Everything has been a bit a bit of everyone. A bit of everyone. So we were there for a bit until they, you know, we got a house and then boom, straight into the w real world with not a single one of us knowing English or anything about the country. Straight to it. Damn. Yeah. What was that like? Do you remember it? Uh yeah, kind of. I mean how how old were you? So I would have been like seven or six, I think.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Okay, it's not like it's young enough for you to adapt probably faster than like you know, a lot faster, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

But I mean they just chuck you straight to stuff. Yeah, there's no and the kids primary are not nice.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

No, they're not.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

No, they're not, but yeah, so I mean it's oh it's it's first hard because you don't know the language barrier or anything like that. And then you're from somewhere else, so like, especially Iraq, and it didn't have a good name at the time.

SPEAKER_02 33:21

No.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

I mean it still doesn't, but especially at that time.

SPEAKER_02 33:24

I think people now are more I think with all the wild shit that's going on right now, and just with how people have more access to mop a lot more diverse information, people are like, uh Yeah. I think the people are fine. Yeah, I think the people are fine, I think it's the bigger plat the bigger powers at play that aren't fine, you know. And that's what the hell these things are, but yeah, sorry, continue.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Yeah, yeah, but at that time it's pretty much everyone from their country.

SPEAKER_02 33:47

I know, because there's just like two news networks giving you the news and like, oh everyone, yeah, everyone's gonna blow up uh the blow up New Zealand or something, blow up the plane, do something stupid like that. Yeah, there's a lot of fear at that time. There's a lot of fear than that. There's a lot of fear.

SPEAKER_00 34:00

Which now I think that like racism is like very rare.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Yeah, in New Zealand, I mean it's always there, bro. So there's someone there. But it's always there, but I don't think it's as like, ooh, where are you from? Like, you know, like that.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

It's not more interesting kind of thing when someone's from somewhere else, I feel like.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

It's way more interesting. Yeah, yeah. I always find it. And for me personally, if I want to be racist, I don't make it fun. Yeah. Racist jokes is fine. Go for it. And even better, have some historic racist ones, and then they're just like, damn, he knows about it, and that hurts. They just have to try to get you back stuff. Yeah, exactly. That's my favorite. Hey, if you want to do good racism, man, read your history.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Social study class came in useful.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Exactly. That's where the fun is, in my in my opinion. Yeah. But um, oh well, so yeah. So because um in Iraq, you um I'm is it you speak Arabic?

SPEAKER_00 34:50

No, so yeah, normally because I'm Kurdish.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

Kurdish.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

Oh right. Yeah, okay. Kurdish. So like I don't we're I don't know. Apparently, we're not originally from there. Like, we're supposed to have our own area, like Kurdistan. I don't know if you've heard of that one.

SPEAKER_02 35:04

Kurdistan. Is that um geographically somewhere in Iraq?

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Somewhere so it's it's in Iraq, yeah. East West. It's like in between like Iraq and Iran kind of thing in the border.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

Okay. Oh, is this one of the those lands that haven't been decided like it belongs to Iraq, it belongs to Iran? It's this. Yeah. Okay. Uh oh.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

We're just stuck. We're mid we're in the middle of the whole war. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We get fucked everywhere. Oh, that's brutal.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Okay. So we're supposed to have that.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:34

But they still have it, but it's not known as a country. That's do you find that weird? Ah, but I don't care. I'm from England.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

Yeah, you're in New Zealand. Yeah, you're kiwi. Yeah, it's so complicated as well. And there's so much. I don't know. I've never been to the Middle East. I'd I've still love to go. I don't really care what people say. I feel like I've so there's so much to learn and to see, and it's got history, isn't it? So much history. Um, and um, and people, everyone, most people like pretty much everyone I meet from Middle East have been great.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Yeah, yeah, a lot of them are nice.

SPEAKER_02 36:04

A lot of them are nice, yeah. Very nice, very smart. Yeah, yeah. Everyone speaks fine languages.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Yeah, my dad as well.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

I mean, he must speak a shitload of languages like that. Yeah, a few languages.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Yeah. My mum just came back from uh Iran or Iraq, one of them. She was uh she was in Iran, my mum and brother. And then the war started and they were stuck. Yeah, you know how like is I think it's like Israel attacking Iran? Yeah, they won't uh so yeah, they couldn't get a plane back for a bit. So they keep moving around trying to get out of the country, but now they're back.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Oh, that's good. Made it safe back to Little Old New Zealand. Yeah, yeah. I saw something uh about like where New Zealand is on the map, and if you look at where Iran, Israel, and that are, and like look at like the missile range, and we're out of it, and it's like ah sweet. But then people start posting about it online. I'm like, no, leave us, leave us out of it. No one cares, man. We're at the bottom of the world, like go away.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

If no one's missioning us, leave it alone.

SPEAKER_02 37:00

Yeah, yeah, but it's one of those, um, yeah. I guess one thing we're so blessed in New Zealand is that we don't need to think about that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

No, no, we're out of the radar, I'm sure. I I don't even know if they know we exist.

SPEAKER_02 37:11

Well, often we're not included on the map. Yeah, and and before it was like, man, what about New Zealand? Now I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Keep us off the map, bro. I don't want to be on the map. I don't want to be anywhere near on the map at the moment. There's too much crazy stuff going on.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

That's so true. Oh, it's too scary. I think it's when we get older we like we know more.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

Yeah, we learn more. You're like, yeah. Because it for a long time in New Zealand, um, when I was younger, I don't know if you remember this about New Zealand when you I don't know, maybe if you remember it, but like in the 2000s, we were always every as soon as New Zealand's mentioned and overseas, like America, like, oh hey, like we're you know, Lord of the Rings or something, you know, does really well, or music, or I don't know, fighting, or like sport. Um, it was always a really big deal. Like, but now like because we're now a bit more on the world stage, it's sort of like oh yeah, the novelty's worn off a little bit. Oh, is it oh yeah, so we're like big back then. But back then it was like it was a really big thing. Oh god, yeah, yeah. Should have made use of it when I back then, I don't know. Yeah, it was it was a big it was uh but now it's sort of but now we're just like no don't don't talk about don't talk about New Zealand the guy from Lord of the Rings actually the the one with the beard so I've never actually watched it but Peter Jackson is that his name the director um the one who played you mean played Gandalf?

SPEAKER_00 38:28

I think it's him, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:30

Um Ian McCallan. Yeah, I think was that who played him? I know it's Gandalf. I think it's Gandalf. But go on.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

Um the one who played. He was coming to our barber shop this whole time, and I had no idea. I keep cutting his hair in bed, and then like when people started noticing, then like everyone wanted to take photos. I was like, Who's this guy? Yeah, it was this guy. But I was like, then I started talking to him. It was very like oh man, the knowledge they have. And they just said it's from like reading books and like just studying a lot. But you know, when they talk, you can you just know they know a lot. Yeah, it's not just acting. Oh, it was crazy. But I think it's like dead now.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

So since you're in a barber shop now, I want to know what's the what are some notable conversations? Like, I mean you must get some weird chats and we get everything, name it. Everything what's been one of the most memorable ones? Memorable ones, yeah. You've had a conversation with someone who just like eesh.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

It's a lot. Fuck, I don't even know where to start. Because you're like a therapist to a lot of people. Uh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:32

It's a lot of relationship problems. I imagine, yeah, all the guys coming being like, Siran, bro, I need a big haircut today. So I had a fight with the missus.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

You're like, alright, then pretty much like breakups, cheating, trying to get getting someone ready for like their wedding or like going to meet someone. It's a lot of that goes on in the bar shop.

SPEAKER_02 39:53

It's an emotional process, I guess, for some people. Yeah, and there's only because you're only like it's it's almost it's quite um what's the word I'm looking for? It's like you're because you're because you're like touching someone's head, it's very like um delicate almost and like the process of like being being like quite personal with someone.

SPEAKER_00 40:10

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean like it's uh like people don't normally let other people just grab touch them, right? So when you're there, they just open up at that stage. You already literally try. They already literally touched them, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:21

You just touched the headline. My dad beat me up, I was like, oh man, just touch the head. We don't need hair on this moment. God damn, man, someone cut your hair.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Yeah, but you hear everything, like uh I bet, I bet. Oh, actually, there's one where some some guy was yeah, yeah, I got it. So, like there's some guy was stealing something, and the guy came home, caught the guy, put him in his basement, locked him there for like a week. Whoa. Whoa, yeah, he locked him up for a week, just beating him.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

Holy crap.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

Yeah, and then he released them and the guy called the cops on him.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

He still got in trouble.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

I love how he released him, being like, I'll be sweet.

SPEAKER_01 41:01

Yeah, I mean, like, why would he snitch?

SPEAKER_02 41:03

Yeah, he's robbing his house. Yeah, that's crazy. So, yeah, so the guy broke in and then locked him up and then just beat the shit out of him for a week. Damn. Who's the worst person? The guy that's stealing. The guy that's stealing? Yeah. But if you beat the person up once, isn't that enough?

SPEAKER_00 41:21

Nah, nah. Nah, it can't be. We we we've had a lot a lot stolen from my house, like a lot, like almost every month. So I mean, like, I'll do the same probably. You trap them for a week? I'll trap them for a week. If they make it out, they make it out. They don't, oh god.

SPEAKER_02 41:36

Holy shit. Don't rob Saran's house, guys.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

Getting those golden gloves. God damn.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

That's crazy. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I feel like who would you think is the bad guy in that one? Ooh, because it'll it's all this is when it gets tricky because it's like, why are they stealing?

SPEAKER_00 41:51

Okay, see that part, yeah. Why are they stealing? If there's a good cause of someone, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:56

If it's like, let's say it's someone who it's like it's like a business, then sure. Okay, like that's like what they do. They rob people, they screw people over. But if it's say someone like I don't know, like I haven't been robbed in a while, but like I remember once I've had like, I don't know, on French porch, someone came in, like, stole some shoes and a bunch of shit from my place. This is a few years back when I was living in town, and I was like, there's a lot of homeless around. Oh yeah. And then I thought to myself, like, well, if they want those shoes, bro, like they got the shoes. I guess if they took a TV, it's like I'd be like annoying, but then for me, if it's if it yeah, I think it just really depends on the person. But how do you judge that is another thing entirely?

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Yeah, yeah, it depends the cause, because then like say if someone's family members dying, they'd really need something.

SPEAKER_02 42:42

You know, like then like if someone's coming in like stealing like I don't know stuff from the fridge, I'd be like, fuck, bro, can I can I can I just give you a hundred bucks at this point? Yeah, like geez. We have we'll go pack and save together, bro. Like ask. Yeah, yeah, it's alright, you know. But that's but that that that that's how it is, you know, yeah, for a lot of people, especially right now. So it's it's brutal. But I yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 43:04

If it's someone who's yeah depends on the reason they're stealing, though, like you said, you never know until you tie them up. Well, that's true, but then they'll just lie to you anyway. You just beat them up, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

Just beat them, beat them up. Yeah, that's tricky. And if they it break into your house and then they get caught, and then they just try and pull a runner or something. But then if they try and attack you, then that's something entirely different as well. Yeah, a lot of different scenarios. Have you so you've have you caught have you caught someone stealing from your house?

SPEAKER_00 43:31

Like actually, like that in the house, and then okay, my my dad caught someone in the car, but like he's lucky I didn't make it home. They just called the cops. But if I made it home in time, a different story. Yeah, I bet.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

A different story. This is my property.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

Yeah, yeah. I don't take stuff like that. Like the gloves aren't even coming on. Oh no, why do we need gloves? It's been knuckled down, baby. No, there's someone actually, even till this day, like I think it just took one like on the weekend. So do you know the barber sign? You normally tie it to a pole.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

There's a guy keeps taking like whatever I used to tie it up to the pole.

SPEAKER_02 44:04

Oh.

unknown 44:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:05

Right. He took the pole. Oh, sorry, no, sorry. He took the sign.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

So um the signs there.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

You know, it's like just like a rope or like anything to tie it up to the pole. He just keeps taking that. I'm getting annoyed now because the you know, we're running out of things. I keep buying new stuff.

SPEAKER_02 44:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

I'm like, and I know who it is.

SPEAKER_02 44:26

This is so New Zealand.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Yeah. I know who's still at my stuff.

SPEAKER_02 44:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

It's this guy with a trolley. He doesn't hide it.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

He just put he just puts it in his in his in his shopping trolley.

SPEAKER_02 44:35

Yeah. And wanders off.

SPEAKER_00 44:36

And wanders off. Because he does it. Yeah, he does it to my brother's shop too. But he called a cops on him. And I'm like, I'd I'd like I don't want to call the cops, but then like I can't beat this guy. It's just I just keep buying a new one. Yeah. Yeah, like an electric thing. Yeah. Yeah. So that's a situation that I'm dealing with right now.

SPEAKER_02 44:58

Damn. What business does your brother own? What is it? So you got a barbershop? What has he got? Yeah, barbershop too. Oh, two barbershops. Two barbershops. Damn, isn't that like competition? Yeah, but my whole family owns barbershop. Right. Almost all of them. Is it all in the same name? Is it just franchise? Are you guys a franchise?

SPEAKER_00 45:12

No, actually, uh, there's there's um so there's a few franchises, brother's haircut, and then the rest is different names. My one I I went off and made my own name, which is Golden Fades.

SPEAKER_02 45:22

Oh yeah. Speaking of the mic there, bro.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

Yeah, yeah, sorry. Yeah, Golden Fades, just to start up my own thing going on. Oh right, yeah. You know, Golden Boys, my Golden Fades, yeah, yeah. Golden Fades make everything gold and Versace. I see. So I got the gold, got the gold watch and the gold chain.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:38

For sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

Yeah. Oh, fuzzy, man. So, um, where so what other languages do you speak? No, just Kurdish and English. Kurdish and English, right.

SPEAKER_00 45:49

Yeah. What do you do? What about you? English?

SPEAKER_02 45:51

Uh barely English, bro.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

English is hard enough.

SPEAKER_02 45:54

No, it's it's it's it's all I really know. I've um my missus, she's um Taiwanese, so I I know a little bit of Mandarin. Like a little like just like that much, you know. Like I can order food at a restaurant, kind of thing. Okay, yeah. At least you made it that far. Yeah, but um reading it is a whole nother, you know, trying to read Chinese is crazy. What is that to read? Like it'd be hard. It's so hard, bro. Because it's it's all pictures, it's a completely different. You have to like flip your. I don't know, I don't know much about Kurdish language, but it's like I'd imagine maybe like Arabic, like it's like pictures.

SPEAKER_00 46:25

Yeah, I we but like I want we write this way.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

Yeah. Oh, you write the other way.

SPEAKER_00 46:30

But when we speak, so like if we say a sentence in English, and if I was to translate it to Kurdish, most of the time it's backwards. You say the words backwards, but it means the same exact thing.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Out of it.

SPEAKER_00 46:43

Yeah. So I maybe that's why like a lot of the Middle Eastern are like FOB when they sp when they when they come from there.

SPEAKER_02 46:48

It's just how they organize the words in their minds.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

They think it's the same as how we say it, so they just get the English words and put them in the same order.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nah, I I I I get that. The other thing as well, man, you've got to think about tones. That's the other crazy thing.

SPEAKER_00 47:01

And the tone, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:02

Tone's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

I think our one's very aggressive.

SPEAKER_02 47:04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:05

Arabic is very aggressive. I know that.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

It can be. I've I've heard people speak Arabic and I'm just like, um, are you gonna blow up my that's the uh I'm fucking around.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

No, no. When I when I used to bring friends over when I was in high school, if I bring friends over and they hear my parents talking on the phone inside their house, yeah, we're still on the street. Yeah, and it sounds like they're fighting, yeah, and they wouldn't come near my house. Yeah, be scared to come and say, Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. So it still happens now if I like bring someone over and then they're like, what the fuck? What's going on?

SPEAKER_02 47:37

It's like, no, but it's asking about the groceries.

SPEAKER_00 47:39

This is normal. Yeah, yeah. So we have to pre-warn people before they come into our household. Very loud household, is it? Very loud. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. Even I'm not I I can't do it.

SPEAKER_02 47:51

I'm the quiet one out of the Yeah, you don't seem like someone who's very loud or like I mean, in family we're all a bit different, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:57

Yeah, no, no, I'm the quiet one.

SPEAKER_02 47:59

Right, right. Yeah, you keep to yourself and you let everyone else argue.

SPEAKER_00 48:02

Yeah, pretty much. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:03

I don't know how to argue. So when was um back to back to the fighting? When did you first step into a um combat sports gym kickbox? Or like was it karate say karate? Karate. So how so how old how old were you? I was young, I could have been like 12. 12, yeah. First time walking in. And then when did you when did you discover Muay Thai or like kickboxing?

SPEAKER_00 48:23

Moi Muay Thai kickboxing, I think I was like 20 or 21.

SPEAKER_02 48:25

Oh, it's like a lot later.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

Yeah, wow, wow, wow. Yeah. I walk, I think, so I walked into Smack, so I got I just got I just brought a car. Um and then the boxing gym I was at, I think like they stopped boxing or competing or something like that. I can't remember. I just wasn't training. So I haven't trained in like a year or two. And then I go sign up at Smack Gym. The first day I walk in was the first day that baby and Sam took ownership of the gym, which was crazy because of the odds. Um and then yeah, I just started from there. But I mean I did get in trouble a lot just because I think I was overly confident. Oh, right. But in a fighting gym, when you're new, it seems like cocky, but I was just that person, so I got in trouble heaps. You were the guy who what you'd probably go way too hard and stuff? Way too hard. Oh, like just like when I heard about like King the Ring and stuff like that, I was like, I can do that, I'll win that one. Like just anything like that. Wow, yeah. And I was just beginner's class, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:28

And in New Zealand, we're all like fucking shut up.

SPEAKER_00 49:30

Yeah, pretty much, yeah. So they'll they'll like just shut up. You can't just you can't just come into a gym and say you can do all of that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:37

So that's so But you then you did it eventually, and then you won.

SPEAKER_00 49:41

I did, I think it's just the confidence in myself I had. I just knew I can do it. You can do it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:45

That's half the that's like the whole game.

SPEAKER_00 49:48

I just walk in with a whole bunch of confidence and get in trouble for it.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Yeah, yeah, but it's also New Zealand though, like that's a cultural thing.

SPEAKER_00 49:55

It's a cultural thing. I mean, now I understand, but at that time I was young, and then I was just like, I can do it. Is it like what's gonna stop me?

SPEAKER_02 50:03

Yeah, it's just if I just keep coming and training and training. Yeah, because I saw an interview um with uh ants, I think it was just before that King of the Ring fight, the CSN, and then he was saying he's trying to throw everything at you. Oh, he tries to break you, yeah, and you just don't.

SPEAKER_00 50:18

There's been like times it goes for like two hours straight, just just him just trying to break me. Just like but I don't know. I just I don't I don't I just keep going. You just you just keep going. Yeah, I like it because I know what I get out of it, which is the thing.

SPEAKER_02 50:36

So yeah, I I yeah, I what's uh yeah, because he he competes quite a lot as well, and yeah, we were sparring like last night.

SPEAKER_00 50:43

I got a nice hiding from him. We're like talking mid sparring, just talking shit.

SPEAKER_02 50:46

That's fun though, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

Yeah, it's like fun sparring a bang, hitting each other.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

All with love, all of love, tough love, yeah. That's yeah, black eyes and blood noses, love. Yeah, my nose was bleeding.

SPEAKER_00 51:01

Jesus, yeah, because he's heavyweight, right? He's heavyweight, yeah. So I th I'm sure I was getting punished because I think I was getting punished because I was supposed to start training last week and I I only just walked in yesterday, and then so I was doing like five or ten minute rounds, so just keep switching to people.

SPEAKER_02 51:17

What's that called Shark Tank rounds?

SPEAKER_00 51:19

Uh it was kind of like shark, it was kind of like Shark Tank, but it wasn't necessarily shock tank. It was like two minutes with each person. Uh how many opponents? Like three of them. It was it was and uh Licky, the one uh Alex, he went he made it to the finals in the 80 kgs, I think something eighty six kgs. He made it to the finals.

SPEAKER_02 51:40

Oh, the light heavyweight.

SPEAKER_00 51:41

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:43

Young guy.

SPEAKER_00 51:44

Yeah, he's young.

SPEAKER_02 51:45

Very tall. Yeah. Yeah, oh no, no, I'm thinking so I'm thinking of light heavyweight. I'm thinking of um I'm thinking of someone else. Who fought who fought blood diamond and the oh no, not that one.

SPEAKER_00 51:55

I think no, the one before that was me, and then before my one.

SPEAKER_02 51:59

Oh the one before you, I didn't want I didn't see that one. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:01

So that was the first King of the Ring I've actually went to to watch. Um but yeah, I had him, and then who do I have? I'm sure I had some uh I pretty much spy heavyweights. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:12

Do you find that gives you an edge?

SPEAKER_00 52:14

I think so. I don't know. You haven't thought of that? I haven't thought of it.

SPEAKER_02 52:18

That's just who you got at your gym. I mean, you are in South Auckland, so yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:21

Um I don't know. I think I might I'm I think I naturally hit hard or something like that as well. So they prefer big guys and I can actually hit them harder.

SPEAKER_03 52:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

Then holding back on a smaller guy. But then but when I yeah, if I do end up sparring a small guy, I find it fast.

SPEAKER_02 52:38

You find it hard because they're really quick.

SPEAKER_00 52:40

They're really quick, and I can't hit them hard, so I have to watch how I throw my shots. More technical, more technical, yeah. Yeah, so I'm like, I prefer the big guys.

SPEAKER_02 52:49

So you can brawl.

SPEAKER_00 52:50

Yeah, brawl. Yeah, just start smashing.

SPEAKER_02 52:53

Yeah, do you go full like because with sparring though? Like, do you do you go like full tilt, like a hundred percent? Yeah, on Friday. On the Friday, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:00

If we don't, I think we get like kicked out.

SPEAKER_02 53:03

Oh, really? So that's a part of like the pole. Oh, you got a fight coming up. So, okay, that is that the reason why? Or just even if you know it's like everyone as well.

SPEAKER_00 53:10

So if we're in the ring and we're not like killing each other, kind of sparring, like still with brain, that you can't just like swing, you just gotta use your brain. But if you don't go like all out, you get like kicked out of the ring. Wow. Interesting. So I just stay there the whole time because I just go hard.

SPEAKER_02 53:25

Yeah, interesting thinking. Do you find that helps a lot? Hard sparring? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh no, no, but like that often. Sounds like you're doing it every week. Yeah, every week. Every week, your hard spiral. I love that stuff, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

Yeah, that's great. It's like, and then you finish and you feel great. Uh, and then but you then you learn what to work on for the next one, right? Yeah. So yesterday I was having a problem with my calf because I couldn't I couldn't balance myself like in and out. Yeah. So I get caught more. So now I know. So I'm gonna do like a lot of leg movement, leg like ladder drills until Friday. Friday 100% sparring, then I'll see how much I improved from there. True.

SPEAKER_02 54:01

Okay, interesting.

SPEAKER_00 54:02

Hard sparring's fun. You should. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:04

Uh, I've done it. I mean, I've done it. You've done it? I have done it, yeah, yeah, yeah. How'd you find it? It's pretty scary, but I've done it. I've um, yeah, I've done a little bit of training with kickboxing and my time stuff, but I've found that as long as I know that's what we're doing. When I say when someone says we're sparring and I'm like, cool, I don't think we're hard sparring. Oh, okay. But then when someone decides like I'm gonna die in the gym, I'm just like we're going together. I'm like, Jesus. Well, it depends. It depends. I I don't fight. I know I don't really, I don't plan to, but I think if I did, it'd be I would I would think differently about it. I'd be like, okay, well, if we're gonna hard spar, I'm training for something, sure. Like okay. But I think if it's just like uh yeah, just for the fuck of it. Do you not want to fight? Nah, not really. Really? Oh no no. That's interesting. I love I love the training, I love the thinking behind it. It's cool. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:56

Normally when you train, you're like, I wonder what it's like in there.

SPEAKER_02 55:00

I did a little bit. I mean, my experience with doing some hard sparring and being tested was when I did uh at CKB, they do like a sparring course and I fought on this young guy, Brody. Um that was fucking intense.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

You fought and sparring, or like at the point?

SPEAKER_02 55:15

No, it was a I call it fight and sparring because it was like it was like you can go as hard as you want. Like the other guy, I think that yeah, he's pretty much going as hard as he can, just striking. And the guy's like half my size and kick him ass. Like, I was just getting fucking destroyed. But he's also like a professional. But I was just like, Yeah, this is fucking crazy.

SPEAKER_00 55:34

Yeah, it's tough against someone that's been in the ring though.

SPEAKER_02 55:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's done a lot. Yeah, he's been he's he's young, he's only like 20, but yeah, he fucking I was just like, I don't know shit. I was getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter. God damn. That's why I started young, because I don't want to be that guy.

SPEAKER_03 55:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:50

I want to take over. Yeah, I don't really mind. I I I because like I enjoy, I I do more of like I'm trying to do, I'm trying to do more jujitsu at the moment and stuff, which is really fun.

SPEAKER_00 55:59

Yeah, yeah, jujitsu.

SPEAKER_02 56:01

But I find that a bit more like uh yeah, I enjoy I I think it's just like I love sparring until I get punched like crazy in my head, and then and then I'm like, I don't know if I like this anymore. Really? Yeah, it's just like I don't know if I want to do this, you know. Yeah, I like yeah, but everyone's different, you know. Everyone's different with what they want out of it. I just love the yeah, I like the training and the fitness aspect of it. I I don't have anything to prove with fighting. I think a lot of fighters hate the tricky part and like the fitness. I like the fighting part. I I enjoy the training. I I enjoy it. Oh, that's good. I think it's really fun and uh it keeps me really fit and it's an enjoyable. But yeah, some people like yourself, I think you're built for it and you you want to go and fight. Yeah, I want to get in the ring and oh I gotta fucking keep healthy. I'm not that healthy, trust me.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

I eat whatever I want. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:48

Well, probably not when you're in camp, right? No, I still do. Oh, right. Anything. Uh but something else I've I've heard people talk about. Because some uh on the podcast had a few fighters on and they talk about diet and what they do to look after themselves.

SPEAKER_00 56:59

So you just you are just as long as I make the weight, like whatever as long as I make the weight, it's I pretty much eat whatever. But even like my last fight on the weekend before, I was out for two days straight, two nights straight partying.

SPEAKER_02 57:12

Going out partying, yeah. And then you wow.

SPEAKER_00 57:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:16

Alright, Elliot Deporion. I've already won.

SPEAKER_01 57:20

I've already won. Oh, he did that before his last one, then he did, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:24

He went out and partied and celebrated.

SPEAKER_00 57:26

I done that on my first fight, first ever kickboxing fight, too. I was fighting this guy that was six and oh, and on the weekend before the fight, I went out partying. Wow. I won by like split decision, but my legs were like gone because I don't know how to kick. It was my I trained for like eight weeks and had my first fight. Yeah, kickboxing, and the guy was undefeated, six and oh. I don't know how to kick, nothing. I was like, my legs were gone, but I managed to win by like split. Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:52

Hey, well, there we go, guys. That I'm that un you know, that had that that confidence. It's just guys, yeah. Yeah, you've just got it, and that's it with anything. Self-belief. You don't need to manifest, you just you don't even need to. I just you just got it. You got your journal and you said you read a lot, though.

SPEAKER_00 58:08

I read a lot. I mean, well, you can always ask for like you know what I mean. Like if you want something, you can ask or wish for it. There's it doesn't cost anything, right? True. So I do that too. True right now.

SPEAKER_02 58:19

Yeah. Heart out, bro. That's um, yeah, I I that that kind of thinking is um I think that's that's that's everything, isn't it? Yeah. That's really everything. Um alright, sweet bro. I think um, yeah, but was there anything else I really wanted to touch on? I think I just wanted to sort of talk more about um with like would you what's been your biggest test uh in a fight? Who's that? You're an opponent in mind?

SPEAKER_00 58:53

No. No? No.

SPEAKER_02 58:55

Everyone's been a test on the in their own way, I imagine. But but have you felt like this is this I'm leveling up in a different way in this fight, or like I've learned something pretty crazy from this fight.

SPEAKER_00 59:06

No, no. Um okay, yeah, I do learn like how much quicker and what kind of movements I can get better at for the next fight if I didn't like how it was in that fight. But like a lot of the times it's just more about myself, like if I how much I rehydrated and stuff like that. Which I think one of the ones I didn't like was, you know, Corin, right? My first fight with him at Arsenal X.

SPEAKER_02 59:30

Uh I've I think I saw a clip of it, yes.

SPEAKER_00 59:32

So that was the one I yeah, that was the one I didn't like because after after waiting, um I didn't rehydrate before I ate. Ah, okay. Yeah. Normally I drink like four to six liters of uh fluids and then ate. At that time I didn't. And then in the morning I went for a run. I went for like a I don't know, like a 3K run in the morning of the fight. And then my leg cramped up and I was like fuck. And it and it never healed. And that could have been from the dehydration from the night before. Because I always train on the day of the fight. I go hit the bag, go for a run, stuff like that. Yeah, and then yeah, that crammed up, and then so I couldn't put weight any weight on my I think it was like it was my left leg, and I couldn't put any weight on that, so I didn't really like my performance because I couldn't throw properly, so I would have to like kind of swing a little bit. And Corinne at that time he was calf kicking too. So I was like, uh the fight after that I made sure. You made the adjustments. I made the adjustments, yeah. It's like drink my fluids and then eat.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:38

Yeah, but there's never been an opponent you've had who'd like who's um surprised you with with with uh well have they had there been anyone who's surprised you when you fought them? Oh, they got more cardio. Oh, they've got more tools than the tool belt. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:52

I think you gotta fight everyone differently. Like if their cardio is quite high, you um normally keep so like if their pace is high, I keep my pace high because I'm not gonna get outpointed by this guy, right? So I'll like lessen up the power and then think. So but not really. Everyone everyone's different when you fight them. So I just make the adjustments to how how they are and how how I'm gonna beat them. That's all I do. You know? So if someone's more like a power short, I'm gonna counter that guy and hit him more. And then pick someone's high work rate, I'm gonna put my work rate high, and then tag, tag, tag, bang, power some out of nowhere. And then you know, just how to win the fight. Do you do a lot of studying? Um before the fight? Studying. Do I nah not a lot. Like I like see my first guy fought in King of the Ring, right? Who was that? Um Jonno. Is it John? Yeah. So King of the Ring uploaded a clip of him going all out in a fight. And I I was like, okay. So I checked the time and it was the beginning of the first round, and he was going all out. So I was like, if this guy goes all out in the beginning of the first round, he's gonna guess out by the second round or the end of the round. So when we when I fought him in King of the Ring, that's all I knew. I knew he was gonna go all out by the end of the round, I'm gonna take him out. That's what happened. Yeah. So I just watched like little clips and then I know exactly what to do. Yeah, I talked to coaching them too. So coaching them helped me. They do the they do the film studying part. Oh yeah, they do the strategy part, they do the strategy part, but if I have like something like that I think that will work as well, I tell them as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:32

Cool. Yeah, no. Yeah, a lot of plans. Yeah, there's a lot, I think there's a lot more planning and strategy that goes into fighting than I think maybe the the punter understands, right? Everyone just thinks there's guys go in there throwing hands.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:45

It looks I mean if you don't know about fighting, it just looks like we just go in there and throw, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just looks like we're just having a fucking scrap. But there's so much behind it. There's a lot behind it, eh? I was gonna I asked Daniel this question, I'm curious to ask you, actually, it comes to my mind, is um when does when does uh like comp because kickboxing, combat sports, but when in the ring does it stop being a sport? What do you mean? Like when does it suddenly just become a brawl?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:13

Like just you're just going at it? No, I just nah I I don't think so. I think like that either. I don't think so. Nah, nah. Not to me, not a brawl. But everything's calculated on my on my end. We make sure we stay. I always listen to coach, but it's always a s like a I don't know. I just I just enjoy the the fighting part to be honest. I just like if it keeps going, I love it. But yeah. If you get the win, you get the win. If I get the win, I get the win. But I mean I love it, it keeps going, but a lot of them like get like get out early. No, no, alright.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:45

Oh okay. No, interesting. I was just I guess I talked to Daniel about that and I was like, oh yeah, never like that's so sometimes it turns into a brawl form, like just suddenly it's not about it's not like a it's not like technical, maybe it's not like a well thought out, now it's just Michael talked about this a bit as well. It's like suddenly it's just about having a go.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:02

Okay, yeah. Um now see when I fought Daniel, because I knew I had to because the only way I'm gonna I'm gonna strike is if I stay close. So it looked like a brawl bow is all strategised. I was putting my weight on them when I grabbed him, yeah, making them tired because I knew his breathing was heavy. Now keep firing with the right hand, grab knee, fire with the right hand, grab knee. So it was like all strategized. It looked, it might look like a brawl bow, it's all like thought out.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:26

Yeah, yeah. No, I I imagine it's all calculated, just interesting hearing it from a fighter's perspective. Yeah, yeah, I find that quite interesting. I tell you the master class, which was crazy to watch, was the blood diamond winning the third one for the light heavy way. Oh yeah. Ah, bro, that's almost unfair. That's almost unfair having a vent.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:45

That was so good, I wasn't.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:47

I mean, it was amazing, but yeah, when I saw you there, that's right. I was just like, ah man, like these poor guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:54

Blood diamond, they gotta fight. How are you gonna beat this guy?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:57

Like, fuck he'd already won it twice.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:00

Yeah, I'm I'm uh I'm assuming that they already lost in their mind before. Well, here we go. Before the fight, here we go. It would have been like blood diamonds in there. Yeah, and they're already fought of it. It gets in your head, it gets in your head, yeah. Where like if you just go in there and stay on your track of your mission of getting the belt, I mean it could have been over the the guy who fought in the final, I forgot his name, he gave him a bit of a run for his money. That was a pretty good one. I made a bet on that that I didn't think. Oh, did you? Yeah, yeah. Because I think I don't know. Did it look like I I don't know, someone I can't remember. I was actually drunk that night. But I'm I'm assuming blood lost the first round.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:34

I did he knocked him out. Oh that's all I remember.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:37

Oh, okay. Well, I can't remember exactly how he knocked him out in the second.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:41

I mean on the scorecards, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:42

Yeah, yeah. I I don't know exactly. I don't remember watching the fight. I was drunk. Um, but someone made a bet with me after round one saying a hundred bucks, the other guy's gonna beat Blood Diamond. I was like, deal. Because I had like I had already had Faith Like and Blood Diamond's gonna win no matter what.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:57

Yeah, and yeah, you could just see it though in the Fight like the IQ. He's got high IQ. And I was just like, that pullback kick.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:07

Badr Hari does that one real nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:09

Who's that, sorry?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:10

Badr Hari. Have you heard of him? Oh, no. He's a glory, he was a heavyweight champion. I think like over 115 wins. But he did that too. So off the separation, he threws a head kick. Which is Blood Blood Diamond. Doesn't really. I think he's knocked out like a few people in King of the Ring with it.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:24

Yeah, that was that was like, yeah. But I just watching that, I was like, levels.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:29

No, there's levels. I I spot Blood Diamond. Oh, did you? Yeah. He probably won't remember. Um, but so this is before I even had a title or anything. Um, I went there for spying, and it was a day before he got us. Oh no, it was the it was I was his last spar up before he got his contract to UFC.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:48

Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:49

So I was sparring him, and it's just like all this. I I did there wasn't much for me to strike to be honest. His IQ is so high. It's just like, what have I been doing in kickboxing this whole time?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:01

Everything's bro, everything's wrong. My old game draw. Yeah, that's not what I felt like when I was watching him, because I'm just like, yeah, that's what you mean, like mindset going into the fight. You fell out as Black Diamond, you've already probably lost, right? Yeah, and it's you just see this guy who's been he's been in the UFC and he did a hundred kickboxing fights around Asia, you know, as champion, you know, King of the Ring, and all this stuff. And it's like, yeah, you gotta be real careful, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:25

I think you got you got a good mindset with that.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:28

Yeah, well, to be honest, my last opponent, I'm pretty sure that's how he even lost. I'm sure he because they said they'd done tape study, so I I think he was already afraid of me before the like my hands, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:38

Because King of the Ring seeing those tapes.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:40

King of the Ring, there's an MMA one where I'm just like non-stop throwing, like so. I think he was already afraid before the fight. I think he just went down when hands hit him. Like he mentally already knocked out a while ago. Yeah, but I didn't have that mindset where like I was like, Oh, he's had this much fights. How am I gonna beat him? I was just like, This is gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:59

Yeah, you can have a good time. Yeah, that's like let's have some fun. Let's have some fun. Yeah, let's have some wine afterwards, and we'll be good. Pretty much when or lose, I'm having a good time.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:08

Yeah, that's true. That's a I mean, not lose. I never think that, but we're always gonna win. Always gonna win. Always gonna win. But like I just I was expecting to brawl and then he just went down. But I'm pretty sure it was because he was scared beforehand. So it's all comes back to the mind.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:24

But sometimes I heard um Dan Hooker talk about this when he's been with guys who he knows they're scared, and then he's like, Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna kick this guy's ass. But then the body goes into fight or flight mode. Oh in the ring, like the scared guy. Oh right. And then they come back and give you like a hell of a beating.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:41

Okay, so that can't that does happen actually. Yeah, I've seen it so many times. I think there was a boxing match, professional one, I don't remember exactly the name. He was getting his ass beat 11 rounds straight. Like his face was gone. Fit like 12th round, he just closes his eyes for overhand right and knocked out the guy. Wow. Or like they just make a comeback out of nowhere and it starts smashing other guy. Um that does happen, but I I think the mindset part, I don't think like that. Like, I I so like the way I do it, it's so that doesn't happen. So, like, I'll I'll eliminate all the attacks, right? I'll block everything first before so I'll start calculating everything, and then I'll take away all their weapons, and then I'll start striking. That's why I start more in the later rounds, so I know everything by then. In the first rounds, I just pick them apart, and then if they go out, they go out. But I make sure I eliminate every weapon they have before I go all out.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:38

Are you trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle of your opponent in that first round a bit as well? Yeah. So, like, how do they throw their shot? Let me see. Like, how are they how are they throwing a jab? How are they throwing a right? How do they throw their kick? What happens if they're gonna be able to get a how do they feint? What's the what are they feints like?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:53

So everything like that. So my last one, he was keep kicking, so like from the outside, it looks like I was struggling to get in, right? But when he was kicking me, because he was in a self boy, he was keep hitting my elbow, so I knew his legs are gonna like he was keep kicking my elbow, so I just kept taking it, and I was just trying to time what his head kick's gonna look like and what his leg kick is gonna look like. But he kept kicking my elbow, so I already knew. And the one time he kicked a boom, I like hit that hit the knee from the inside. But he kept kicking the elbow, so I was like, I was allowing it because it's hurting his feet, but but from the outside it looks like I was getting damaged, but but mentally I already knew his legs was going. So it's like you kind of have to calculate everything properly so the comeback doesn't actually happen.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:36

How much of it is mentally like calculating it in the ring, or and how much of it is just muscle memory?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:44

Muscle memory. I think muscle memory has a lot to do with as well, like during the pad sessions and stuff like that. I think if you do it like so many times, you just naturally do it without thinking in the fight. So you already have that base going on. So in the fight, you're just using your brain and the and your muscle memory will just it's natural, like it just happens, but you're just figuring out everything yourself.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:06

Wow, yeah, because it'd be hard to think. Like, you know, being like trying to think about it so calculatively. But I know now that I've been doing it's like a little bit of training, like training in jujitsu when someone's like trying to submit me and like ragdoll me and shit. I feel like I have time now to like think. Yeah, and I'm just like someone's trying to choke me out, and I'm like, oh I'm not gonna get choked. Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, but but but to get there, I was like, Yeah, you gotta freak out a few times, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:30

Of course, and then you stop freaking out, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:33

Stop getting nervous, that's okay, we've been here before.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:35

Yeah, so I I think so. I do like a lot of pad sessions, we'll work on a shit ton of stuff, and then whatever works in the fight is what we're gonna stick to, and then just pick them apart from there.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:46

Cool, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:47

Some of them take a little bit longer than others, it's just depending on the reading.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, cool. Yeah, uh, yeah. No, that there's so much to consider and it's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:59

Like if a phone, I can actually just boom, print out everything that it's a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a lot to go over for sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:06

So you bro, hey, it's been awesome to uh get to know more about you and everything you're up to. I guess I'm at a point where I'll just um I I just do a little quick fire session, quick quick fire questions at the end. Oh yeah, and then we'll uh then we'll call it after that. Um, first one is what's your favorite cheat meal? Pizza. Pizza? Yeah. Oh, you just eat anything you want. I eat anything I want.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:28

That's not even an everyday's cheat meal. Pizza is like common because like it's pizza I eat like almost every day. You eat pizza every day? Almost, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:36

Wow. That is like so not the answer I expect from someone who like competes semi-professionally in fighting. Well, professionally, you get it.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:43

I mean uh food makes you happy, and if you're happy, you're pretty much a good fighter instead of complaining about what you have to eat and calculating all the foods you have to eat. That's a lot of work, isn't it? Yeah, it's a lot of work on the mind.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:54

Yeah, yeah. Okay. Um favorite um Falcon or the answer to this basket anyway. What's your favorite exercise to do in the gym? Probably running. Oh, okay. I'm gonna say sparring.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:05

Oh, yeah, I mean sparring too, but I mean like exercise, just pure exercise. Pure exercise, um, yeah, running. Running.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:15

Um since you're a barbershop owner, what's your favourite haircut you've done for someone?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:20

To be honest, I I just like like mid-high high fades or like mid-fades like that, and then combovers are nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:26

Do you do um female hair as well? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:29

That's a lot of yeah, that's a lot of it's too much.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:32

That's too much. Not worth the money.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:33

No, it's too much work. It's too much work.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:36

Yeah, all the hair dye and stuff. Do guys ask you to hair dye?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:40

They do, they do. I don't do it. No, no, you just do fades. It's just easier just doing the fades, cut the top, you know. Hey if you're good at it, if you go if hey, you do one thing well.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:50

It's ten years, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:52

Ten years of fades.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:54

Ten years of fades.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:55

Yeah, no, fair, fair, fair. Um what is uh what is um some advice you give to someone who wants to start fighting?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:06

Oh I mean start fighting to be honest, just I I reckon the one thing that most people don't do is actually listen to their coach. And I mean like getting in sync with them, like there's a good connection and understanding. So in the fight, it's just even if they whisper it, you just exactly know what to do. Like you you both your minds are like very similar. So syncing up uh your mindset with your coach. With your coach, yeah. Actually, listen to what they say when they say do this, just do it. Don't be like I watched something else on but just like get on to them, like you know, get a good connection with them, and then from there is when you start improving.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:44

Okay, cool. Uh favorite hobby outside of um fighting.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:50

I I don't know. I don't have one.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:52

Don't have one? No, no, nothing fighting.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:54

I I party a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:56

Party a lot? Yeah, enjoy going out.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:58

I enjoy going out. That's funny. Quite a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:01

Quite a lot, actually. He's actually my favorite fighter. I mean it makes sense. It makes complete sense. Like to have fun. Yeah, yeah. Any man, if it works, it works. Don't let me change it. Yeah, does anyone knock it? Uh that's cool. Um, alright. Um, and then to finish up, um, yeah. Have you got anything you'd like to promote before we before we get done? No, no, we're alright. Nothing to promote, no shout-outs.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:31

Shout out to everyone.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:32

Shout out to everyone, shout out to the world.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:34

Shout out to the world. Shout out to the world. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:36

Oh, sweet, bro. Uh oh no, one more, one more. Actually, before we go, I do actually want to ask you this. Uh, what's your favorite music? You got any music you love listening to in the gym?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:45

Oh shit, that's a good one. I th when I'm running and hitting bag, it's two like it's all different. Like, depending if I'm doing weights, running and bag, there's three like three different types of songs kind of thing. When I'm hitting the bag, it's like more like party kind of music. Anyone in particular? Uh nah. I just have a playlist going on. Oh yeah. Yeah, there's not a specific song. Hard electro, like drum and bass, or like nah. House music. God damn. Let me try to think. When I'm doing weights, it's more like softer music. Okay. Which is weird, like slow songs.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:21

Could be like a love song or Jason Dorolo or something like that. Just something random. But slow. When I'm running, more like aggressive songs, like like very aggressive songs, like heavy metal, you know? No, not like that, not metal. Um, more like raps kind of thing. Intense rap music. Yeah, yeah. Just like fight music kind of stuff. I don't know. I don't even I can't even think of the names.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:43

You're more going after like, yeah, like just a feeling rather than an artist.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:47

Than an artist, more like what gets you going. Yeah. And when I'm hitting a bag, more like party music, like what you would hear in the club or something like that. Oh, cool. Just it's like fun, you know what I mean? Boom, hit the bag.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:59

Yeah, having a blight like playtime or something. Like playtime kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:02

Yeah, like you're at the club but in the boxing jump. Yeah. Oh, that's fun. Yeah. Cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:07

Sweet bro. Hey, that was a lot of fun, dude. And it's great to go. Thank you very much. Everyone check out Saran, the golden boy, he's going places. We're going places Australia and in August. Check him out at PowerPlay. Yeah, PowerPlay fifty. Yeah, yeah. Sweet, bro. Thank you for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:21

No, thank you very much.