WEBVTT - #168: UFC boss Dana White & NSW Premier Chris Minns talk UFC 312 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.280 Hi, Ike Boris and this is straight talk. Hey guys, 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.840 we're a dear Circuit Crown Sydney. What a place, what 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:11.240 a joint, how gatful, how good? And welcome Premier. Thanks, 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:13.760 I'm welcome, Dana, thank you, thanks for coming to our town. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:15.000 Oh it's good to be here. 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:17.000 Thanks for bringing UFC to our town again. 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:22.360 I love it. Love this town, beautiful, love it. Crowd 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.079 here is great. Tons of fans been cruising around last 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:27.840 couple of days. Lots of lots of UFC fans here 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:28.280 in Sydney. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:29.760 Yeah, well the mental for it, and I think to 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:31.639 some extent we've got to thank the premiere for the 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.720 and destination of New South Wales for doing the partnership 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.519 with UFC. In relation to so, thank you Premier. So 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:38.239 what's behind that? 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:39.159 Yeah, we love it. 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:41.120 I love the UFC for years and years, and when 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:43.720 we were in opposition not in government, we were huge 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.640 fans of it. For some reason, the previous government didn't 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.600 try and grab UFC pitch it into Sydney. But it's 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:53.400 been fantastic for crowds, great for the economy, and I 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:55.040 also think there's a lot of young fighters that have 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.040 come through as a result of the big promotions that 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:59.520 have that have already taken place, so hopefully we can 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:00.880 get it for for a few more years. 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:02.960 He's been a champ for us, he's been he's been, 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:06.440 you know, one of our biggest supporters. And yeah, I 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:09.000 was just saying before we started this thing, it's incredible 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:12.480 how fast it's exploded here and not just as far 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:15.080 as fans go, and and you know, people flying in 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:17.240 from all over the world for the events, but the 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:21.240 talent here. You know, we started first started, you know, 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.400 coming into Australia, there were like two guys Elvis Senisik 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:28.440 was one of them. And now there's multiple world champions, uh, 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.759 top ten contenders. It's just it's blown up out here. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:33.520 It's it's insane. 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:36.839 I want to ask you, Chris some or should refuge 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:39.240 his premier. I just I just want to ask you, 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.039 what is it you like about the UFC, What do 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:46.319 you like about mixed martial arts and what has the 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:50.760 UFC brought say that you think is really able to 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:52.920 be amplified in here in Sydney, for example. 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:53.760 I always love boxing. 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.160 I'm like you, I always loved it, thought it was fantastic, 0:01:56.200 --> 0:02:00.960 but you never get the matchups the absolute bouts that 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:02.480 everyone wanted to see. It to be two or three 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.840 years late, and then the UFC came through and the 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:08.400 best in each division would be fighting twice a year, 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.840 three times a year, and no one was able to 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:11.440 duck a fight. 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:13.480 And I saw what Dana was doing. 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:18.240 I mean I probably jumped on during the Mendez McGregor era, 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:20.600 saw it on television, thought it was awesome. I just 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:22.040 got hooked from there. It was amazing. 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:28.160 So Dana and Chris just mentioned something like Connor McGregor 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:32.400 so importantly, how important is it for you, as the 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.760 CEO of the UFC and the founder of the UFC 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:40.040 to have characters like him from an point of view, 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.520 like he's a great, he's a great at his craft 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:43.919 and then't me wrong, but I'm just talking about the 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:45.600 character of the individual. 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.200 Well, the business is star driven, you know, when you 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.280 have somebody, you know, we had George Aperr from Canada 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:56.040 who ignited that entire country, Brandon Moreno down in Mexico, 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:01.440 Wiley Jiang who's fighting here this weekend in China, Volkanovski 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.520 and Izzy from this area. It's very star driven. So 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:07.880 when you Econo McGregor, when you have like econom McGregor 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:13.240 around a Rousey who are globally, you know, big superstars. 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.959 That's that's what grows the sport, that's what makes people 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:20.120 jump on board that might not have followed the UFC. 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:21.600 It's very star driven. 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:26.000 So but I think UFC is not just the fight game. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.200 It's sort of a brilliant game. And what I mean 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.880 by that is that the way it's evolved from when 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.120 you first started it, the way you use digital media, 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:38.520 social media, the way you promote authenticity. You know, you're 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:43.800 like the real deal, Like it takes something like Showy. 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:47.120 Two of us are like, he's a legend here in Sydney. Tie. 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.760 But the way you allow them to express themselves. You're 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.040 not sort of sitting on people and not all the same. 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.680 They're all different and that seems to drag fans and 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:57.720 people love that stuff. 0:03:58.400 --> 0:03:58.640 Yeah. 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:03.600 Thanks, we're actually just talking about that. You know, we 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.320 don't stop them from being whoever they are. Sometimes it's good, 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.040 sometimes it's not so good, but it is what it is. 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.520 This is these are all grown men and women who 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:17.480 have their own opinions and their own style of whatever 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:19.720 it may be. The women make just as much money 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:21.839 as the men do. You know, when you look at 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:25.240 the UFC, it's it's it's very real and. 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:29.119 Very fair. 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:31.320 And you know when they talk about like the w 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.920 n B A and in the United States right now, tennis, golf, 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.960 all these other things. When Ronda Rowsey was here, Ronda 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:42.080 Rowsey made more money than everybody until Connor McGregor hit 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.039 the scene. She was the highest paid athlete in the 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:49.640 company because she brought in the most money. So, yeah, 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.920 the UFC is uh, I don't know. I don't know 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.159 exactly how to explain it, but yeah. 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:55.920 We don't. 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:59.760 We don't tell anybody what to say, what not to say, 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:04.360 what to do. They all have their own personalities. Whoever 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:08.200 you are, that's what I'm selling. Wherever you come from, 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:09.440 that's what I'm selling. 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.440 So when you go to put people into the UFC, 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:15.760 you've got your contendency or is he looking for individuals 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.600 who are happy to express themselves like you know as 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:19.280 part or. 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.560 Just the skill skills you can you can be a 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:26.560 deaf mute if you're a badass, That's what I'm interested in. 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.400 I'm interested in how good are you at fighting? If 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:32.080 you have a personality like Connor and Rhonda and these 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.520 others that's just you know, it's good for you. It's 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:37.840 a home run. Yeah, it doesn't suck. 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.520 I think, and I don't know if you've been told 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:46.160 this before, but some like you is. You are a 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:48.720 great icon for people who are aspirational. And I think 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:50.560 that's one of the reason why you've seen is successful 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:53.040 at least in this country because Australians, a lot of 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:55.360 Australians are aspirational, particularly the people I see come to 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.000 the fights UFC fights and I've been to a number 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:03.000 of them. Do you see that as something that drives 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:05.240 you in your own life because you know, you, you know, 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:08.039 you didn't start off as a multimillionaire or anything like that. 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.520 You you work through the process and you've got you know, 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.839 you had some good like your sold the UFC and 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.760 you're now working in the UFC, et cetera. But your 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:20.880 aspirational journey. Do you see how important that is relative 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:22.880 to the UFC brand and do you live it? 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:24.320 Hmm? Interesting? 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:29.280 I I I love everything about this business. I love 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:33.360 taking people that you see that you think have talent 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.880 and finding out if they can become world champions. I 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:41.440 love letting people be whoever they are. I love the 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:46.760 fact that we can find the toughest people from every 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.960 little place on Earth and they all get to come 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:54.560 in and compete on the world stage. I love everything 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:58.800 about this business. And yeah, I think that the UFC 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:03.880 and it's at Fleets are very inspirational. And uh oh, 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:07.520 these people that come from poverty and and all these 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.520 different walks of life. And you know, like I said, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:15.040 it's not like we're in the United States or regionally. 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:17.840 The whole world gets to compete. And when you, like 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:21.960 he was saying earlier, when you become world champion here, 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:24.960 there's no question you went. You ran through the gauntlet 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:27.680 of the toughest people in the world, and there's no 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.800 debating that you are the absolute best. 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:32.640 I don't know. 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.640 Yeah, the UFC is I love what we have here, 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:38.360 and I think it's very inspirational. 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:40.440 And I think what the Premier is referring to is 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:44.239 sometimes boxes can be managed. And you have a boxing background, 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:46.240 so you know, it looks going to be many worst 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:48.520 You're can just manage them through to a point and 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:50.000 at some point they're going to have to fight up. 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.440 But there's five or six different champions. None of them 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:55.720 want to fight each other, you know, you know, the 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.960 rankings are always more about money than they are about 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:01.640 who is truly the best. 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:03.000 We don't do that here. 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:05.440 So you're talking a as the audience here, and probably 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:07.080 you're talking to a global audience as well. But what 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:09.320 makes Aussie fighters so good? What's your experience? 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:11.520 I was just telling him again, but you know that 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.760 this our image of Australia and in America was like 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:20.600 crocodile Dundee type, you know, rough tough people here. Everything 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:22.840 that exists that can kill you is here in the 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:27.720 water or on land, from jellyfish to shark, snakes, spiders 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.720 that they're all here. And Australia has looked at as 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.800 this as this really tough place with tough people. 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:38.120 It was, and then as a fight fan. I then 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:39.800 look at the Dakistani's and some of these people from 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:41.520 hestern Europe and I think, to my, so, my, oh 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.040 my god, they're tough people too, Like seriously tough people. 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:49.439 I mean, do you find that you have to find 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.880 different characters from different regions to satisfy all your different 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:54.880 customer basis, call it your audience. 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:55.600 No. 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:58.040 I think one of the things that's fascinating about this 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.800 business is I'll give you an example, I just did 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.679 a fight a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.600 right with an Armenian and the main event was an 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:12.480 Armenian and and and ah Dagistani Russian. Right now, Back 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:14.439 in the day in boxing, you'd have had to have 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.560 a Mexican in Los Angeles to to pull a crowd. 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:20.240 And we were sold out and and and we set 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:23.200 the record for that new arena. I can go to 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:27.200 Arizona with a Brazilian and a and a Canadian. I 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:29.680 can go to you know, anywhere in the world, even here. 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:34.520 You know, we have an American versus the South African 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.520 in the main event in Australia and it's sold out 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:42.360 and and it's you know, it's fascinating because people just 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.839 care about who the best in the world is that 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:49.120 they don't have to be from Australia or from uh 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:52.959 Los Angeles or whatever. It's it's uh, it's one of 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:54.280 the cool things about this sport. 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:55.960 And I think that that and I think that's a 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.680 really good point because your point is that the way 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:00.959 you structure the fights and said at a moment ago too, 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.200 is you're going to be watching the best matched up 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.920 against the best there's no bullshit around this place. 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:09.920 Yeah, and it's it's actually weird because when we go 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.800 into places and if if I had the card too 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:17.000 full of Australians, Australia doesn't love Australia wants to see 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.720 the people they watch on pay per view that they 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.000 don't get the opportunity to see all the time. And 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.400 it's like that when we go to Brazil, it's like that, 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:26.120 when we go to Mexico, it's like that when we 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.200 go to Canada. This is a very unique sport. 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.280 But like but like boxing, you guys could have just 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.160 stayed in Las Vegas and not moved. 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:37.079 Was obviously a decision to say we're going around the world. 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:38.079 The no brainers. 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:40.640 Back in the day when we started this thing, it 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:45.600 was you would do Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New York 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:48.400 and La sometimes that that was what Boxing had done, 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:51.800 but mostly Vegas and Atlantic City because you know they 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.440 were paying for the events. But this that we we 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:58.400 we felt differently. We took this thing everywhere all over 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:00.959 the world. Even when we go to White Knights, we 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:05.160 go to small towns and our live event is so good. 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.600 For those of you that are watching this, if you've 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:11.480 never been to a UFC live event. I guarantee you this. 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.559 It is the most exciting live sporting event you will 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:17.320 ever see. Nobody ever walks out of a live UFC 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:18.840 event and goes, yeah, I don't ever want to come 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.160 see one of these again. It's the exact opposite. We 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.400 traveled this thing all over the world because we knew. 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.560 Like you told me, your brother in law got you 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.319 into the UFC. That's how it works. Somebody gets into 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.480 it and then they turned three, four or five more 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:33.880 people onto it, and once you go to the live event, 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:35.000 it's over. 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:36.120 We got you. 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:38.280 Can we look at next this? Can we look at 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:42.319 this Sunday and the main cards, Due Places and Strickland 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.040 And there's been a lot said about it. I mean 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:48.160 obvious seen Strickland jump over three or four people and 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:50.480 get stuck into Due Places, and I interview Due Places 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:54.240 last week and he's saying that he's confident that he's 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.120 going to take it to the next level. He's saying 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:59.559 that he's evolved, and Sewan has not evolved. As a fight, 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:02.560 I'm talking that what are you expecting? Fly works? 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.720 Well, I ran listen Sean Strickland for all of his 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:10.560 you know, talking that he does when he gets into 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:14.400 the the octagon. You know, he's got a very very 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:19.760 good style. Nice jab always stays composed. I ranted the 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.160 duplexity and the elevator at the hotel and his coach, 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:25.520 and they were telling me, I mean, these guys do 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.280 everything right, that they're actually really smart in how they 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:31.640 approach everything. He got here. I'll give you an example. 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.520 He got here over two weeks ago. To acclimate to 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:36.960 the time and all the other things. I think that's 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:41.400 one of the things that boxing has over us because 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:44.079 we had such humble beginnings and we're only like thirty 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.840 years old as a sport. These guys don't do the 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:50.760 things that boxers do. Like when you were a boxer 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.000 at that level making that kind of money and you 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:56.160 were the main event, the camp was all built around you. 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.960 You had your own camp, your own training partners. You 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.160 would get into a place early. You know, like I said, 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:06.640 to acclimate, whether it's to altitude or time differences, or 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.680 temperature or humidity, all these different things play a factor 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.680 in the fight. And I think Dupless's camp did a 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.040 great job of getting here early. Ronda Rousey when she 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:19.080 flew over here to Australia and lost to Holly Home. 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.120 She came straight from filming a movie, got here three 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:25.319 days before the fight. I had a hard time making 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.839 weight because of it and obviously the time difference, and 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:33.319 you saw how that fight ended for Ronda. Dupless's really 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:37.000 him and his team and his coach is brilliant, have 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:38.840 a great game plan coming into this fight. 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:40.800 I remember you saying that Australia is the home of 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:41.560 the upset too. 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.240 It's truely, it really is that. That is true. 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:46.640 And I think all of the things that I just 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:49.679 mentioned are part of the reason. They're all factors in it. 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:56.400 And Dupless's camp knows that, and and have really looked 0:13:56.400 --> 0:14:00.440 at this thing like professional boxing does, and and and 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.079 how they set up their whole camp and their strategy 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:04.839 to come into Australia. 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:06.480 And you just it's interesting to mention that Chris the 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:10.199 Austraight as the home of the upset. Last weekend, I 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:14.880 was tuning into Easy's fight is well it's fight and 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:18.480 there was an upset for me anyway, he got knocked 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.120 out and t k O in the second round. I 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:25.600 think it was is he yeah, yeah? And would surprise 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:28.400 you because I saw an interview later and you said 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:29.600 you didn't expect it. 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.800 Yeah, listen, is he looked incredible in the first round, 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:35.960 absolutely pecking them apart, chopping the calf, kick the whole round. 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:36.800 Uh. 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.000 At the at the end of that first round his 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.600 face was all busted up, his leg was busted up. 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.480 And is he got caught in the second round. Anybody 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:51.040 can get caught with a big punch. But yeah, what's 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:57.680 what's the question you're asking? No, anybody can get caught. 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.120 Yeah, and that's sort of the point. Anybody can you 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:01.800 get caught? And that's a that's sort of the point 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:05.200 about dupless it because Strickland is a dangerous, a dangerous fighter, 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.000 and he's a good defensive fighter, but he can get dangerous. 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:09.840 One now he's going to get in there and mix 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.920 it up with him and you know, yeah, it's going 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:13.600 to be a great fight. 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:13.960 Yeah. 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:18.200 So Australians love toe to toe and we are we 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:20.800 are sort of I would say aggressive, but at least 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.440 the fight fans are we like to see it rip in. 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:25.240 We like to see guys rip in. And I said 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.280 to du PLESSI would you stand to to tone to him? 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:29.720 He said absolutely. And you know what's something very interesting. 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:30.160 He said to me. 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.880 I said to him, are you prepared to die in 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.840 the ring? He said, I'm prepared to die? And he said, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.240 I'm prepared. I know that I have to be prepared 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:43.680 to kill someone who said that Dricas and I and 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:45.640 I said, and he looked me straight in the eye 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.800 and with that south that really strong South African look 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.440 that he has, and I actually believed him. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.000 And uh and uh, all of these guys, I mean, 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:55.840 if you go in and you're you're you're going to 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:59.280 stand toe to toe for five rounds and remember you 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.360 can punch me elbow, take a shin to the head. 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:07.160 I mean, these people are wired differently than the rest 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:11.160 of us. That that's what makes professional fighters and especially 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:16.640 in MMA so different as far as humans go. There's 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:19.480 this many of them right here that become world champions 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.960 and have that type of mindset. They're not wired like 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:27.560 you and I. They're different. They're special human beings. And yeah, 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.080 I mean I think that's that's all of their mindset 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:31.640 when they go in and fight. 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.239 So the octagon is is really is a true battlefield, 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:37.280 like it's a true then I think that's part of 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:43.200 its appeal. Could actually this and I'll ask you too, premium, 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:48.080 really unbelievably great fighters. Who is the number one? Is 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.360 it John Jones? Who are we talking about? Who do 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:50.720 you think? 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:54.479 You know the answer to this question, it's it's absolutely 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.920 positively John Jones. John Jones is the best ever. You know, 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:03.400 it's become this running oak almost now. But listen, nobody 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.600 can debate it. Nobody can debate that John Jones is 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:11.320 the greatest to ever live. He is, uh he And 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:15.280 I don't just say this in UFC, in MMA ever 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:18.159 in the history. You know, if you look at his 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.119 skill set and what he's able to do compared to 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:25.040 boxers or anybody else that's ever fought, John Jones beats everybody. 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:28.280 I've actually seen him wristle or do jiu jitsu with 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.280 Gordon right, and he's even with someone like him on 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.760 the floor. He's unbelievable. Yeah, he's quite incredible. 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:36.160 John Jones the best ever. 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.080 So he's only got a couple more years, I guess. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.800 But how do you do how do you find the 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.760 next person who will be the great the greatest ever? 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:47.440 Well, what you do is you keep going out and 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:50.520 one of the things here's what I do for a living, 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.879 every day when I go to work. When you have 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:58.200 a brand like the UFC, there's all these ancillary businesses 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:01.600 that come off of it, from merchandise to video games, 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:05.600 to gyms, et cetera, et cetera. All that stuff is 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:07.800 whatever it is. When I go to work every day, 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.840 I focus on the core of this business, and the 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:16.639 core is finding up and coming talent, putting on the 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.680 best fights that we could possibly put on, making sure 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.600 the live event is absolutely perfect, and making sure that 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.000 what you see on television is the best that we 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:27.600 could possibly do. As long as I focus on that 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:30.560 every day, you can't mess this business up, it just 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:32.200 continues to get bigger and better. 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.800 And because you don't protect the thought is because everybody 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.440 has to protect their belts. You do have to make 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.560 sure that you've got a pool system or a farm 0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:43.360 system of people coming through all the time. 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:45.440 Right, Yeah, that's what you know. One of the big 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:47.440 things that I that I work on, whether from the 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:51.080 Ultimate Fighter to the Contender series, the show I'm Looking 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:54.360 for a Fight exactly, all of those things are designed 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:57.280 to not only go out and find the young, up 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.760 and coming talent, but how do we how do. 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:03.240 We make them big? 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:03.480 Right? 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:06.360 Outside, right right out the gate. How do you think 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.640 about this? The Contender series, millions of people see these 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.600 people fight before they even step foot in the UFC. Yeah, 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:16.119 So it's all about finding talent and making sure that 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.399 the live product that we present is the best that 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:19.240 it can possibly be. 0:19:19.440 --> 0:19:21.359 I think a lot a lot of people, in particular strainers, 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:22.879 And because people talk to me all the time about it, 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.680 they see you as as Daniel Waters, somebody's made a 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:29.159 lot of money some some years ago, and he's you know, 0:19:29.200 --> 0:19:32.720 he's running the running the show these days. And they 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:35.080 asked the question, what gets him up in the morning, 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:37.719 Why does he go to work? Why the hell does 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:39.280 he do it? I mean, I have my own views 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:42.680 on those things, but I'd love to know what drives you? 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:47.240 What is it? What's the deal I have this? 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.280 It's like people always ask me, do you ever look 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:53.719 around and say, oh you did, you know, look at 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:54.240 what we've done. 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:54.600