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00:00No, we wasn't going well for you.
00:01Now we got these two fights in a row, two great performances.
00:04What's been the biggest difference for you, do you think,
00:06between your early fights with the BKFC
00:08and what you've done with them in the last two?
00:12Man, I went, what, about five AME MMA fights
00:16coming from a wrestling background.
00:18So I, like, me and Coach Bittler were talking last week,
00:23like, shoot, seven, eight pro fights now.
00:26And a lot of these guys,
00:28especially the first few guys I were fighting,
00:30had Chancey was ranked number three,
00:33Ridge was ranked number two.
00:35They both had, we'll say, a bit of pro experience.
00:39And then Lewis, I felt like Lewis was more on my level.
00:43And look what happened to him.
00:45Fought Tetsuki in Japan.
00:47He was their number one guy.
00:50I really just think I had to figure out this boxing thing
00:53coming from this wrestling background.
00:56And I feel like between working with Niko's dad, Lewis,
01:00and Rickles, and Bittler over here,
01:02we're finally starting to put some sh** together.
01:06Yeah, you know, it's always easier when you're in MMA,
01:08you get that wrestling background,
01:09you can't rely on just, like, take the guy down
01:11and not take the damage.
01:12It's a lot more difficult to make that jump
01:14to just swinging fists like you have done.
01:16And you're starting to, you know, turn the corner here
01:18and put on some great performances.
01:20Great win for you over Zay Garcia,
01:21the first round TKO out there in Albuquerque.
01:24But, you know, this one wasn't easier for you from the get-go.
01:27You know, when you see a, you know, minute 40 win,
01:31you're like, all right, this guy just made quick work of his opponent.
01:32Like, he had some good shots either.
01:34The left was landing early a couple of times.
01:35It kind of backed you up a second.
01:37What was going through your mind early in that fight
01:39as, you know, you were the one coming forward,
01:40but he started to get that left a little bit.
01:42What was going through your head to keep you focused
01:44and keep you locked in?
01:46No, no disrespect to Zay.
01:49Maybe it's just because I'm the little guy in the gym as it is.
01:53But Kayla said it.
01:55He hit me with that first left and it just busted my lip a little bit.
01:59And I honestly, I was like,
02:01well, we can sit here and f***ing trade all day.
02:06It's just, he wasn't cracking like that.
02:08Prince wasn't cracking like that.
02:11It's, yeah, he caught me with a left a time or two,
02:15but it just, I wasn't too worried about it, honestly.
02:18He wasn't hitting as hard as some of these other dudes do.
02:23Well, it's great when you have a chin like that,
02:24you can take a few shots to get what you need to get.
02:26You started to really turn the fight around, I thought,
02:29especially for you.
02:30In about 50 seconds in, I think it was,
02:31where you caught him in that exchange.
02:34A couple shots, you know, you landed there.
02:36You were swinging before that, didn't exactly land clean.
02:38Then you got a couple of good ones there
02:39that started cutting him open.
02:40Did you know once that you saw the blood,
02:42do you think there's some change in him
02:43once you started to land and really kind of register with him
02:46that, oh, this is going to be a fight
02:48and I might be in trouble now?
02:50Yeah, I think after that first little exchange by the ropes,
02:55one of the guys sent me a pretty cool picture of it
02:57where he's hanging out of the circle.
03:00I don't know, I feel like after I ate a left or two
03:04and we got in an exchange, yeah,
03:06you kind of saw him realize like, oh, he's not fighting Prince.
03:12We all saw what kind of guy he is.
03:16Yeah, that definitely changed his demeanor
03:19and definitely seemed to give him a second thought
03:21of throwing those big shots
03:23and leaving himself open to what you could do.
03:24And then, of course, it continued.
03:25You kept coming forward and then you got the finish.
03:28You got the big exchange that dropped him.
03:31Did you know when he went down and he started getting back up?
03:33He didn't look, obviously, on point.
03:35Sometimes the ref will let it go
03:37and let the guy try to fight out of it a little bit.
03:38But, you know, obviously the ref in that fight
03:41doing a good job kind of walking him,
03:43making sure he wasn't just trying to go on
03:46and being off balance and out of sorts
03:47and stopping the fight.
03:48When he got up, did you know that it wasn't going to continue
03:51because he wasn't, you know, on point and staring you down
03:53and kind of was off kilter a little bit?
03:57Yeah, like you said, damn good ref.
04:00And as soon as he got up, he had drunk legs
04:04and I don't think you can hear it watching it,
04:07but I'm like, he's walking like he's drunk.
04:11Come on, ref.
04:12I was definitely saying some stuff,
04:16but yeah, that ref's a damn good one.
04:18And yeah, after that first step or two,
04:22you knew he was f***ed.
04:25Well, that was a great victory for you.
04:26And as you said, two in a row now after, you know,
04:29a rough start, you got two quick knockouts.
04:31You know, what's the focus for you now?
04:33How are you feeling after the fight,
04:35you know, a little bit over two weeks after?
04:38Were there any injuries, any banged up things
04:39you got to let heal or are you right back in the gym,
04:41ready to go as soon as they pick up that phone
04:43and dial you up?
04:43We did.
04:44Disney on ice and all that fun stuff with the little one.
04:48Now, what, last night I got five and a half miles in
04:51and I'm right back to it.
04:53Ideally get on this Omaha card.
04:56Fingers crossed.
04:56Nate Shook, send it.
04:58Let's go.