How To Weight Cut Video
How To Weight Cut Video Transcript
hello everyone is watching this onYouTube although everyone is listen to
this on the grapplers radio podcast
today I'm excited we got the man to miss
the man with a phone yeah
UFC fighter Alan Belcher we're gonna
keep going through it yeah we're gonna
keep on going on this one
all right we're gonna do a whole
conversation if I can go get again to
restart let's just roll with it yeah
yeah I forgive you if you don't like you
don't like the podcast I promise I'll
give you all your money back
oh you are looking pretty buff these
I really just trying to stay in shape
and I found that the way that that I
stay in shape the best way I feel best
is by lifting weights and you know how
you go through periods of time where
you're kind of interested in different
things or whatever so like right now I'm
just I'm interested in lifting and
getting my body right and I found that
it after years of jiu-jitsu and MMA and
I was just kind of you know your body
starts to you know all parts of a to fit
whatever you name it but it starts to
fall apart and you know the
almost like a physical therapy perfect
thing and to get my body back in the
right order in line and you know I got
these big old legs and relatively
smaller upper body compared to my huge
legs you know so I think it helps me
even out I got to keep on core strong
you know so just have a fun with it
lifting weights and trying to try to
stay in shape okay yeah uh you fought it
185 over University right yeah so what
was your average walking around weight
then how much weight were you cutting
for fight uh I would say that I would my
there especially towards the more
towards the end of my career cutting
from 220 the other 185 would be about
220 now a couple things you got to take
into consideration one thing is like I
wasn't like a real mean type of person
you know so like it's like you took all
my body fat away I would probably be
closer to 200 baht or something or two
but I so I would hold body
for some reason I'm just like real
watery type of person now so I would
kind of I could gain and lose really
fast and as the years went on cutting
problem by that that severe dehydration
you know people talking about how it
gets harder harder to cut that waterways
yeah it really does and I had like in a
sec tired from getting dehydrated
sucking all the water out after the
fight I don't know the hormones or
whatever it would bring back so much
water so they don't retain water really
bad you know so we get heavier and
heavier and heavier and you know the
last couple bites I was top of the my
weight class as far as rankings go you
know so I was fighting the best guys
being in okami and a few other guys they
were two ranked top you know like title
contention type of things you know so I
really I wanted to stay in that weight
class but I was really a probably should
have been a heavier heavier weight class
you know so then it would have been in
the middle of that weight class through
the lower end of that the guys in the
next weight class I could walk it around
it yeah 235 yeah yeah probably probably
so you know I think now people are
getting away from the culture certain
change preferred for so long the culture
everyone's big if you're not cutting
away you're going to go against these
being giant monsters or whatever but
really make the blade classes are
appropriately specially have spaced out
so um I'm sure someone argument you
could probably do a better job at it but
the main the pretty good spaced out so I
mean if you if you stay a little bit
above just where you died a little you
know maybe go on a sauna or something to
get right down or whatever and you're
skilled
you're skilled fighter I think you have
take us through like an old-school
weight cut like you walk around what you
look like 240 or alibi 245 yeah okay so
imagine an imaginary waste division of
215
and you've got you know you gotta fight
coming up at two minutes BAC basically
got to lose 30 pound right for quite
nice old school and so you're allowed to
rehydrate with IVs okay
what would you go through what would the
next few months of employment I think at
this what there is probably there's
probably still a lot of 205 hours that
okay I would say or so we won't go to
the budget you're going to cut that to a
while that's a long ways that's 40
pounds right um it's if you don't have
the time to do it then it's not it's not
going to work out so how much time ended
um properly without 20 years they always
tell people that's when that kind of
weight you have your your your goal
weight is is going to be dependent like
what weight class yard obviously when
you're smaller you're like a 125 or you
don't want to be cutting more than you
know three or four pounds because we're
the 205 I would say um 10 pounds would
be still pretty healthy to throw the
water ten pounds of water yeah this is
so big you know um unfortunately I think
a lot of the 205 hours were probably
cutting more like a you know 20 pounds
of water something like that so they're
coming in 225 so you could make it if
you're 225 you can make 205 easy
so I'm 245 I would have to come down to
225 first mostly with diet that's or
life there right yeah that's a diet
you're going to lose some muscle because
you're trying so hard to burn fat if you
like not losing muscle you know it could
take a year you know if you did it very
slowly but usually you know a couple
months to do it very quickly end up
losing some muscle mass burning as much
fat as possible or whatever would you
off your cardio like would you have to
get on the elliptical again as far as
like burning it yeah you're just you're
pretty much in like yeah fat burning
mode so you're starting to watch what
you eat a little bit more you know more
I mean there's all kinds of different
ways that you can you can diet or
like a madman because you're training
all the time so you can't sound like
bodybuilding you can't carve cycle
really hard to where you like go Lokar
for two or three days you won't be able
to train but you know so it's pretty
tricky on that point but you have to get
out some tricks yeah and cardio and
everything's good so yeah then for the
last the water cutting you're just doing
over the last couple of days so if
you've dyed it down 20 pounds some say I
know you're you're the last 22 the last
two days you just you know drinking not
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46680706/usa-today-7386011.0.jpg "cutting weight bodybuilding")
lot yeah man what we did when I works oh
I did it with a couple different people
the most common thing that works really
good is to kind of shock your body you
know it's like what we can't kill our
dieting to kind of shock your body you
know the idea of having like a cheat day
and eating a lot of food kind of tells
your body to burn off more and then so
when you come back and you have lower
calories lower carbs or whatever you
must that or this kind of same way with
water so when you drank a lot of water
you're double your Federative xplory
wants to get rid of it so you get a
timing right that's why it's real
important to being at 24 or 48 hour
period to have your body working really
good you can't just stop drinking water
for a week or something like people used
to do back and day that you know the
Nativity failure yeah exactly so you get
to get out of the timing down you drink
lots of water they've got two gallons of
water for two days you know and salt all
your food so your body has the sodium
and the water intake and it's kind of
it's like always too much sodium too
much water let's get this out of here
and then you start scaling it scaling
back until the point where you stopped
drinking water maybe like you know 24
hours before the weigh-in and it was
have a few sips in there and from the
training I got wait for a sufficient
gravity tournament I totally screwed up
because I was like just that five pounds
over sigh okay then no problem with it's
not drink any water the night of and the
next day and I've done this before and
it's like I know I can lose 45 pounds by
not drinking water but the night before
my last meal I went out for Afghans who
turns out super salty yeah so delicious
but that's all was it's in my system and
it holding on every last water molecule
and I could not for the life of me lose
that bloody water and ended up fighting
you know there's a very very bottom of
this super heavyweight division is
durable yeah is arable in yeah no
that'll do I think what's the fight
under storage a long time a Canadian guy
Jason Day right yeah you know he
actually not only people that um I got
so I was finished two times once about a
Jason Day and once by Kendall Grove but
he's a tough dude I had a I had any
salmon a smoked salmon Oh just loaded
with records and so so that's right
yeah it was I think it I was thinking
and I was going to get some salmon you
know to just be like let me just eat
some protein or whatever and they
brought the slopes in I didn't think of
it at all you know so there's a lot of
smoked salmon and some asparagus you
know is like I'm not normally salt this
no salt or every but it has the sodium
in it you know so I had a really really
tough time cutting late for that bite so
so we said really tough time do people
that like they don't know yeah look what
does that mean um like tell me how his
little thought of it how many hours I do
a jumping jack oh my gosh oh my gosh
yeah so probably at least six or seven
hours of sauna work
yeah at least at least we would if the
way in sometimes it has to report to
commend them to the weigh-ins at like
2:00 or 3:00 o'clock and towards the end
of my career we were getting up at 6
a.m. 6 a.m. to go get an early start
because we already known that in the
past that is taking so long because you
can't just you can't lose it quickly and
you need time to sweat
you know so who either amputate your
left foot or you can save us honor
oh man third yeah mr. mouth is in some
did some crazy time this was a lot of
mental toughness developed in the sauna
a lot harder than the fight you know the
fight is a short period of time compared
to being sauna for six hours
the when you were fighting were IV is
still legal after for the way in um I'm
not really sure they were illegal or
legal it wasn't really something that
you're really broadcasted everything but
you thought I had to crack down on yet
yeah exactly exactly
there was no no one was checking for
this and you can't do it I think my last
couple of fights they might have
mentioned there was no we Posada with
the UFC at the time but there were there
were some talk about it like you can't
use an IV don't get caught something
like that we're still doing it right you
know it's funny like they're how the
hell do they test for IVs but they're
checking for the plasticizers yeah but
the stuff in the plastic of the actual
bottle that leaks out into the water and
like parts per billion or parts per
trillion that's an eye isn't crazy
that's him it makes you wonder whether
or not using like blast bottles and you
know I don't know like a pick a vein or
something I'm sure somebody's out there
trying to figure out a game the system
yeah yeah it has got to be a way to do I
mean in that but IV and I mean even if
you're cutting a lot of you know five
pounds or something that IV has to help
you know I mean it's kind of like one of
those things where if you have to do a
study methods devil study with hundreds
of people to actually prove it but I
mean I just know from experience I've
rehydrated you know just can't drink it
up basket up to get both maliciously and
you just I mean it just right your boy
you're a blood into your muscles and and
an IV helped so if I did if I fought now
there's no way that I would do 185 I
could be able to do at 185 no way not
with that IV be hard with an IV now them
so I'm getting some wider you know
but yeah good way yeah third wave muscle
ways but still let's be alleppey well
I'll tell you you said you go through
phases so maybe next year you'll beat
these people to marathoner yeah Alan
Belcher do it like adventure racing in
Costa Rica yeah yeah nothing like a
tapeworm it helps to cut 30 pounds hey
man yeah never no never no no I'll come
back on we'll talk about that yeah the
super skinny version so not to dwell too
much on the whole UFC thing well what's
the process of training camp life like
again so let's say you were fighting at
205 yeah two months from now right it's
a big weight cut but it's not impossible
you've been training but you're not
training like fighter like you're not so
hypothetically what would your two
months training camp look like what
would won't you leave an interview and
you would do what uh two months out from
the fight I think at that time you got
to be going pretty hard yeah you got to
be going pretty hard to two months out
meaning twice a day twice a day on most
days what yeah twice a day on most days
and what we did but with uh with two day
training was would never do anything
that was real had like a heavy load to
it like as far as explosive type of
sprinting and then the second workout
would be like heavy lifting or like
wrestling you know and then the other
workout would be like sparring it would
always be for the typical session
yeah compliment each other you want to
get two in so your maximum of excellence
in your time but at the same time you
want to keep your body you know fresh
enough to go make it into the next next
day so I would say two months out you're
going pretty hard you wanna if you're
you're working on your strength that's
the time to do it you know because you
don't want to be doing real heavy you
know strength training trying to make
gains when you get too close to the
fight but it's going to take you a week
to get back to baseline yeah exactly so
yeah last two or three
rolling into the last two three which
you really want to be you know taking it
easy starting to recover certain freshen
up your body I think people tend to cram
in you know as they get closer and
they're trying to work harder and harder
as they get closer to the fight and it's
really important to one stay in shape
all year round and then when you get it
you get a date toward your competition
could be frigid or whatever you block
out the time to where you have your
heavy training you know one to three
months out if you can plan that for
outward and then you start to taper off
and you keep you want to keep things
like your your intensity levels for say
like sixty seconds or you know maybe
you're doing a five minute round or a
ten minute round and jiu-jitsu if you
work up to to a certain intensity or
endurance or whatever you want to
maintain that you just want to take away
the volume of work you know I mean so as
you're getting more intense you're doing
less total work yeah well you'll fry
your yeah exactly
endocrine system you have audio there is
Apple so the way you get your endurance
and your strength and your reps and all
that up is like you're raising the
volume in the intensity once you get the
intensity and your your level of energy
wherever you want right you want to keep
that but you start to taper off the
volume of work so your practices get
shorter you know I never compete like
severely what we're talking about here
is preventing overtraining really yeah
exactly
did he ever compete super over trend
were you're pretty good about this I was
pretty good at it the problem with me
when I was when I was training you know
you know people should have weight this
is is the weight cutting really and we
were talking about like getting a lot
but that was really the problem for me
and there was there was so much dieting
and cardio that had to be done to get my
body to the right scale late that I
wasn't able to properly train for the
sort of competition you know because
there's so many aspects of it already
do all the Burford oh yeah you can't it
is what it is but I mean if anything
that was a you know that was the case
for me
you got to make wait I forgot it you got
to do it so that would that would be the
overtraining for me so I was I was
pretty good and everything was very
scientific and laid out and well
thought-out every point I was getting
better and better at running the camp
it's just when when it came down to it
down to the wire the last three or four
weeks you have to adjust your diet you
have to step up the cardio and a lot of
times you lose a lot of what you work
for you know what you're working for all
year round your body just kind of you
know academic that best part of it you
know um that being said I had some
really great fights there you know over
trained skill where just take them on
set in there you know a lot of times
it's people dwell on the body we're
talking about cutting weight and
strength training all that but the mind
is really really worried that we have so
many great fights but I just want to
pick your brain about one of them it's
the Buddy of getting it for Horace okay
so a group being most people know that
Paul Harris is but I mean a giant Frank
is always yeah if you call a dirty
fighter
sure unknown for like getting heel hooks
and not letting them go I feel really
you get caught don't they buy your tap
and then is it Terry did you see Jake
shooting took Jake Shields yes
if you have high knees back in it and a
good on like lock submission so you're
going to fight this guy what was like
you're like hell y'all fight over like
were you were you worried now now that
that's over we already know about your
knees um I was worried this is where I
was my very interesting the mindset
behind that at that point in my career I
wanted I would built myself my heart
kind of pulling away from fighting and I
wasn't really motivated to like chase
the title and you know that's other
thing so I knew that I had to have a
challenge like I needed to go
someone who is okay beat me basically
I'm so interested yeah and that's what I
need to say it's really weird but some
of the days are full of head spa you
know I've been fighting pretty much my
whole life and I just know kind of what
gets me going what does it and my fights
where I thought I was going with no
disrespect to Jenks and a that guy was
very tough biter but I thought nothing
but his actual skill level and who you
know who's better whatever put that
aside but in my mind I thought I can be
sure and I didn't perform very well sure
you know that's that's kind of a point
on me what we did it you when you go
against the big guy at the bar that's
like sentence at all you know like you
have to perform you have and you got to
be in your body knows that I can you
have a fear right and your your nervous
system and everything works better and
your you're motivated by that you know
fight or flight with your type of thing
that we have naturally so you're going
to get somebody that has a skinny mouth
like aggressive they're mean you know
it's kind of scary to go against
somebody that's like they don't care to
break your leg and their skill is that
it I got the leg locks and anything so
to main that I heard about that fight
off for I was like oh that's as far as
the rankings that didn't matter to me it
just really knew I was going to bring it
was going to for him go how did you
trade for who'd you bring into to
simulate that kind of an animal I was my
coach at that time I was a Daniel Morais
and I was working with him for a few
years during that period out there and
Daniel Bryan Dylan and his just like a
really just got a really solid grappling
game and I saw that guy go against
people with good leg locks good sweeps
and he always just he just had this real
basic top game that just is just
crushing so I knew that he would be the
right guy to kind of lead me into that
very it ended up being kind of a wild
fight you know but in my head I was like
this has to be one of those very careful
things where I control the hips and stay
away so he was kind of a lead there
we called up Dean Lister in da Bahamas
which were two leglock guys coming on on
to the scene in like that were really
doing leg locks at that time versus
before this whole leg locked there you
know
craze that were kind of going through
now you know I've been going through the
last couple years submission only this
is you know Dobby and Dean we're getting
leg locks on high level competition of
food I don't talk like Walker yeah this
is right at ya oh yeah they go way back
and Dean have just think he just he'll
cooked food also in Abu Dhabi we kind of
he was out for a couple years like
where's being mr. Nelson boom Abu Dhabi
you want it and you know so I think it
was right after that pretty sure so got
Dean to come in and Dhabi both were
there for about three or four weeks I
think almost a full month rolling with
those guys every day drilling there they
catch me you would start all the way in
heel hooks and you know straight in
cloth toehold work out of it started
physician work out of it started kind of
you know similar you know weeks with an
entanglement but I don't fully on
exactly so we just did a lot of specific
drilling and then when you go with those
guys when you roll with them that's
their pretty much going for leg locks
the whole song so all my reactions and
stuff we're pretty much on point so I
can pay for a super exciting fight
because it really better pays we got it
a little bit in on the leg lock and you
fight your way out and you yeah you know
what a lot of people they always say
about that sighs Lee you went forward
you went in there like to the legs and
like you didn't get away from it or
whatever like you went into his world
and that wasn't really the plan I think
it was one of those things where you
train for so much he's hitting their
head so much I was just magnetized into
that oh my god okay okay we're just kind
of a bad thing but it made for a made
for an exciting fight but it wasn't like
Pizza Planet make sense
thank you for for playing that yeah I
suppose it's like we go out on the ocean
where it's nice and calm where we go to
that the part where there's that giant
rip curl happening you know we'll go to
jaws and we'll sir
there yeah you know one makes for better
television but get me float on the
surfboard of middle of the ocean of
boring yeah me getting absolutely
thrashed
potentially in Jaws makes for exciting
television exactly
oh yeah it was exciting fight yeah he
shot the game plan was to keep distance
you know and stop his takedowns I know
he would like trench and pull guard
underneath you know that type of thing
so stay out of class sale to take down
and he shot that single leg on me with
his head outside and I had been working
on the truck twister type of positions
and stuff so I went for that and I'll be
damned about the tap this guy with the
with the twister and I was working on
the farm and everything and he kind of
scrambled free and that's when he got on
my leg so the next little bit was just
kind of defending those until I got a
little bit tired and I got some some
punches and went into his guard and
finished it was fun five from school was
a classic I think it's Coulson gross he
quoted like you take a black belt you
punch a once in the head he becomes a
brown belt he had won for twice and he
comes with purple belt yeah I have three
guys because of Bluebell so exactly
example or Takada what is it that's the
fun part about him you know it's mixing
it mixing it up and learning how to
really use jujitsu you know and I'm sure
your interest in tattoos as you know
fellow jujitsu other that's really what
it's about you know it's trying to use
it in simulated Street scenario right
you know but as close as you get to a
real fighter right yeah and I mean I
know you do a lot of striking at I love
your effort finish here you're about to
run off do some Thai boxing granny but
if it's inherently safer than you know
getting punched in the face repeatedly
but it's got still very very clickable
in real life so I don't Tucker's kind of
cool that way yeah no pretending you're
not risking the whole CT concussion
thing yeah so yeah yeah
are you worried were you worried about
that at all at the time like getting a
spot in an MMA doing the muy Thai stuff
and like the brain trauma um-hmm I think
you know
towards the end towards the end that was
I was a little bit concerned whether he
knows because I started thinking about
taking a lot of a lot of hits and and
there was some some slow memory moments
for me in attention time there's a
moment exactly my wife even said you got
another doctor we're going and getting
you checked out and this way
I just turned out to be like a severe a
DD activating your fun you just you just
and bad ADHD for now so what what kind
of cool and that was that was pretty
much the end of those near my last fight
or whatever so I checked out that was
another thing that kind of made it okay
for me to go I was like my brain is cool
you know I can still see I had the eye
surgeries you know get me out for a
couple years and not last five at this
thing I got poked in the high cut my
eyelid but it was the same stuff I had
some multiple surgeries on but you know
I pretty good decent vision little bit
blurry lost a little bit of peripheral
peripheral and you know but I can still
see you know thank God my brain is good
and no like severe back or neck trauma
or whatever some like move on and do
something else run the businesses and
you know so now you're running services
which I left I think three schools right
now yeah we have three we have three
gems down in South Mississippi Gulf
Coast area you know knows that's doing
really good introduced a lot of people
to kickboxing a lot of kids we have a
huge Kids program and I'm jiu-jitsu you
know in my in my area you know I've been
down there or a live for about 12 years
you know and I was like one of the first
people do Chi Chi to MMA in that you
know so what's the split on the
kickboxing versus the jiu-jitsu people
come in to the door and they want to do
what uh most of our clients are kit our
fitness kickboxing but then the next
would be parents getting their kids in
in martial arts Jiu Jitsu program we
have good really good you get to program
it's just we be so much fitness
kickboxing cooks you know a lot and it's
a good business move but it's also good
fitness kickboxing is a good way to get
rose it really is it really is you know
you know we do the same thing with the
with the kids I kind of learned that you
know doing kids jiu-jitsu that's really
what I want the kids to do but sometimes
when you get the kids you throw them in
there in there start grappling and doing
stuff on the ground some get it and some
don't some are really they love it right
off of that some kind of know you know
martial arts where they do more like a
blended you know punching and kicking
kind of the same thing with adults doing
kickboxing they're able to get past that
first couple of months of training and
start to like it okay no I don't want to
do maybe I want to do jitters
they've already done a super scary thing
of coming into a school first place yeah
they don't know who you are yet they
don't know that you're not going to care
their heart out put your spear hand
technique exactly and then maybe they
can scare themselves again but you know
doing this man hugging stuff yeah
exactly exactly so yeah that's kind of
the that's kind of the system knows what
we're working on is two one for business
and to also just expose more people to
to jiu-jitsu and stuff because that's
really what I want other people to share
that wealth for for jello boy talk to
I'm really I'm focused on I'm focused on
my tie right now just because to be
honest with you I haven't really I don't
really practice that much in the last 48
three or four years but so I'm trying
I'm getting like pants spend my whole
life you know doing more time getting
good at that I don't want to have ever
done it in four years so right now I'm
practicing just trying to get my skills
up to par you know because kind of where
they were you know it'd be kind of like
because what there wasn't much reason to
do it you get to I'm drawn to it see if
you'd go get on the mat nogi you know
all at least twice a week running on
once or twice a week training so but boy
taught it was really no reason to do it
but I wanted to get my skills so I'm
kind of working on that now okay know
what it disco with originally what was
your first much work first martial arts
was tanks Tito when I was eight years
old okay yeah so you got your black belt
attend uh
okay yeah six months later black doll
take a job for your parents idea for the
black shell program okay no but yeah so
it takes it out and then Taekwondo the
exiting said I was pretty legitimate I
got those responsible as name is Randy
O'Neal and you go yeah okay all the hate
mail I get a pail all the time yeah yeah
that that guy the tank see those are
actually exposed me to break jiu-jitsu
and you know some of the people that
were doing more of a mixed type of thing
back then you know so well hung up
except chuckle horses for some tanks to
do it I think so yeah yeah okay so Chris
chores got the association with
Machado's yeah yeah later did Taekwondo
not really basically because it wasn't
much else today no thanks to the house
like didn't run away or whatever so just
continued on with what type window and
you know they give you the belts easy
and stuff they let me basically just
pick up exactly where I was in tanks
without uh-huh we keep the same bill you
know so I was a black belt in Taekwondo
before long and then I started doing
jujitsu and grappling boycott with what
was one guy when I was about 14 you know
and then uh she six months six months
later I had my first more time
kickboxing fight how many buckley place
good to do probably have a non attend
some of that I've never lost an amateur
amateur kickboxing I think I think I had
about ten at least at least another ten
two point that I had all sighted in a
fight when I was fourteen years old
bro so one of the one of the first I'm
32 now but you know I was one of the
first like kids you know that was like
my actual training in MA and you get
soon and I had that fight in those
fourteen it gets an adult and I won I
was done I was probably one hundred and
sixty five hundred seventy pounds
reported your own I was fourteen
so you know when he gets to God it was
probably maybe 25 something like that I
got an Americana good beer yeah some
some friends of mine who've done all
three or they're saying look if you want
to do a tomatoes great but before you go
to MMA you should go get it coming up a
little bit of amateur boxing few amateur
boxing fights in amateur kickboxing gels
go to do a whole bunch of submission
grappling tournaments and only after
you've got that exposure to if the less
the smaller aspects of the combative
arts and yeah done that experience
performing for the crowd then you should
go to ever made you agree with that or I
think so yeah that's what I did not buy
anything have that yeah I think it
worked out pretty good and that's that I
would I would recommend at least
grappling for sure at least in jiu-jitsu
tournaments as I saw people you know and
you saw to have four matches in just
from the match one to match for their
completely different athletes so
mentally you know what I mean so they
just learn how to compete in one day
it's amazing what have a competition
I'll do that to you your mind your
confidence and just your ability to just
it's obviously not as good as 300
matches so yeah but you get the biggest
effect right off of begin a specially
when you're first starting yeah so you
don't to jump in in that you want to it
least least do a few
grappling tournaments where you're not
getting dinner check it out for the
consequences of totally screwing up or
slightly less yeah yeah exactly
oh no so then you you did your two Jitsu
Jerry black belt because I wonder if
Eliana heliocentric credit yeah he can
we try do some other work with some
other big names too uh yeah yeah Seneca
so now I got my blue purple brown and
black from sunako I was very loyal to
him and you know he mentored me through
my you know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey
there but I also had a really close
relationship with Dana Mariah
so later on in my career we met up and
he was living in Florida and I'm in
Mississippi it's not too far away you
know so he had come over to taught some
seminars and ended up working together
and so he spent a lot of time there and
I went to Brazil with Don Daniel and
Diego memorize several times we're in
Brazil in Rio a couple different they
Gracie Gracie Academy
Gracie affiliates you know so he's a hoy
ler Dana's a whore they're black belt
but yeah both of Brazil experience like
for you I liked it yeah it was cool it
was cool training in Brazil and it was
uh I did probably one trip I did was
more like vacation and one was pretty
serious try actually I had had my injury
in Brazil oh really
yeah what happened there I just woke up
and Kensi that's it
nothing maybe it was a detached retina
detached retina yeah so scary when you
start to get a tear or something on your
retina I guess it's basically a lot of
people think they hear Retton and they
think it's like the lens or something on
their your eye but it's really something
on that back up inside of your eye that
helps transmit the light and
everything's kind of like a computer
trip or something you know it's kind of
floating in there on the back and if you
get a tear on it but I'm in the fluid
inside your eyes starts to go back there
and eventually pushes it off and then
you just want basically so I guess the
warning signs were like flashes of light
some spots or something I saw some stuff
like that but I didn't want to thank
much of it one day we're in Brazil
training I was going to fight uh Demian
Maia Demian Maia and me both had a
poster you know poster five top
contender type of fighting you know so
it was a really big deal training hard
awesome shape I was um in my peak I
thought it was of course horse you were
in the best shape of your life yeah of
course yeah yeah it's perfect timing
perfect time so I woke up and I just
couldn't can say I'm like a blind
like what is it was terrifying really
no--don't
comes out of a country - so they took me
we went to a doctor some back-alley yeah
good for you oh yeah look several
doctors and there you know
speaking Portuguese can I go home the
energy wasn't good I'm like it doesn't
sound good so you need to fly home
immediately and get surgery on this Oh
got a ticket I was I was home within 24
hours from the doctor we basically went
to the airport you know one day later I
was at the doctor and they did like an
emergency surgery um he looked at it got
me right in so with a laser or was it
too far going for like um laser type
stuff yeah no it was a there's two
different surgeries they do on this and
one of them is less work to recover from
whatever so he tried that first and it
ended up failing a few months later and
did again so awesome yeah so basically
what they did was is um he somehow or
another they poked a hole in your eye
and get that retina back on the back and
then they take a plastic almost like one
of those zip ties and wrap it around
your eye and zip it down and turn your
eye on to Uncle football so this is
still on my no way really yeah so they
pull everything back oh it's kind of
sticking out and they squeeze it down I
thought I was very strong stomach good
that's gross my head instead of your
eyes like a circle and they turn it into
like a group this you know I mean I
guess the pinching down your eye kind of
holds that on the back okay
you know so you gotta be real still and
we are conscious holder goodness no no
no oh yeah I'm still doing the surgery
yeah I have to be really still in
recovery okay
you can't get hit or anything you have
to be real careful and you know
otherwise it comes off whenever so
anyways the healing process started
taking place and 16 spots and then boom
blind again about 6 weeks later so then
we had to do the other surgery which is
where they put a gas bottle this one is
so terrible they inject oil into your
eye and they put a bubble an air bubble
into in your eyeball and so now that air
bubble floats up you know you know so
you have to lie face down on a massage
table for six weeks basically nowhere
yeah yeah so with 8 you sleep 8 hours
and you're supposed to be 8 hours when
your weight on the Asajj table so the
bubble holds the retin up again Todd
yeah exactly so that was that was really
a miserable do that same time for no
registry talk about living hell for an
ADHD for us people who need like ping
ping ping you know yeah yeah ok did you
think this bucket of squirrels I did run
underneath the stables I felt so good of
look at accessing its on that I was
actually the dad you spend the time I
got into breeding I brother you know
there wasn't much else to do it was
harder than when hi you know but I did
get into reading and discovered audio
audio books to that type of thing one of
my mentors looking for like a permanent
indent ring on your face for whether
like the massage oh uh yes been a lot of
a lot of time you were sleeping face
down as well yeah you're supposed to
sleep - face down - yeah it was 16 hours
a day
yeah yeah it sucked sucked it was
terrible um did you fight effort so
business the retina stars to the back of
the eye there presumably yep
yeah yes yeah I did fight after that
yeah they did come back and I was out
for a little less than a year which felt
like so long then at that time now
looking back at my fight in 2013 it
really doesn't seem that long ago um
but during that time I felt like I was
out forever in less than a year and I
was contemplating calling it quits then
and I guess enough time went by and I
was like you know what let's just do
this do it again so the initial retina
care was almost certainly getting much I
think I don't yeah oh yeah it's from if
I yeah exactly you don't really get that
in my shirt old don't you know in your
1780s manning some of that so if you're
triggering hearing you have it it's
usually from some type of trauma car
accident or get hit in the head or
something or I but yeah I I had to come
back fight Jason McDonald another
Canadian yeah got lazy foot other no not
and not an easy fight at all but there
wasn't really wasn't any really easy
fights or whatever so so fought him in
New Orleans which is close to where I
live is probably I live an hour away
from New Orleans so all my friends and
family and stuff came it was kind of a
local local type of thing so it was a
really cool experience I ended up to go
one first rep fresh air on TKO and on
that fight and then had a good little
role that's when I fought it on Gouveia
TKO cam Paul Yaris and I think there was
one more so I had four in a row so I
guess I'm nice little streak coming back
you know something that your lay off it
was really a layoff yeah it was what you
needed
yeah yeah it helped out you know so it's
funny I was like must be completely
terrible at the time and then in
retrospect it all worked out and it
maybe even helped it yeah yeah I think
so yeah except I mean that's how the god
universe or whatever you want to call it
work sometimes things just kind of
things line up for you at the right time
soon okay well just let's finish on this
then for people out there who listen to
this but don't train or make the train
go
kickboxing that they want to start you
Jitsu what advice would you have for
people just get started in martial art
training like does it that is there are
a lot of people out there thinking about
starting but I mean I did it as a kid
and I want to come back like well what
advice would you give them what general
advice do you give people who ask you
about this um say there's so many
different things that you can that you
can do you know you can use MMA as a
workout you can do theirs on you get to
the ghee or know me and what I would say
um you know have fun and try a little
bit of everything kind of see what - see
what you see what you like and give it a
chance and because we need to develop a
passion for it
a love for it it's really our community
you know MMA and jiu-jitsu community is
just it's awesome you know like the
people no matter where you go you have
that connection or whatever so it's a
really cool you know family to be in so
I'll just give people I'll just tell
people to just try it out try a couple
different things out you know try to see
if you develop that love for it you know
so I guess once you get the love for it
well once you get the love for ya
training over become a chore yeah the
guys were so supportive
yeah you know there's no people don't
like to have to lift weights and get on
the treadmill or you know don't running
and those types of things is boring you
know so if you're if your workout can be
like your hobby - you're not really
thinking about how hard it is or where
or so it's it's a good thing to keep you
in shape comments so people live in the
Gulf Coast area because what's the name
of your school
Allen Dell Jerry internet' I certainly
use the Google thing yeah yeah I'm good
okay if you're doing your job yeah and
then you also you also do coach some
other people on how to run their own
schools yeah yeah I have the yet
consulting company combat business
success calm so I work with work with
gym owners you know now that I was
transformed into more of entrepreneur
you know that after finishing my career
I wanted to continue to work in the
space of martial arts and stuff and I
can do tons of things for money but I
would rather call it on killing yeah
yeah there's a lot of pro bodybuilders
active series jobs for bodyguard and
things like that but yeah so I learned a
few things about business and them and I
feel that like helping helping people
with their business is it helps people
create an income from martial arts but
also the thing the way that you're
making the way that you're making money
is really by selling more martial arts
which is expanding how many people are
doing it you know so it's a way to
instead of just have my gym and sign up
local people or whatever I help other
people around the world now have clients
in a lot of different countries and help
them enroll more students in their in
their schools which spreads jiu-jitsu
most of our clients do our jiu-jitsu
jiu-jitsu kickboxing more time and they
stuff like that
awesome yeah well good luck with your
school and good luck with your all your
other endeavors men it's been really fun
to talk to you all right I appreciate it
thank you