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00:00How are you feeling in the last week of preparations here as a fight camp?
00:03How's the weight?
00:04I mean, this has got to be a little bit trickier for you with usual, the weight cuts.
00:07You know, you got a couple months with a quick turnaround in between fights.
00:10Does it make any difference?
00:11You got to stay at weight more consistently throughout.
00:13How are you, have you approached things as you got between this first round and now the
00:17semifinals here?
00:18Yeah, thanks for having me on.
00:20I appreciate it.
00:21Yeah, for me, it's, we kind of had a good game plan of taking care of our body, making
00:27sure weight's good.
00:28You know, obviously it's, it's always a little difficult making weight back to back, but
00:34it's something I've always done in wrestling.
00:36And so we're ready and, you know, we're feeling good and excited for the semifinals.
00:43Now, you know, we just talked about the difference in how you got to do things as far as regular
00:49fights versus these tournaments, this tournament, especially with a compressed schedule that
00:52it's been in.
00:54I mean, you're a vet in this game.
00:55You've been around for years now.
00:56So I'm sure nothing phases you.
00:58You've been through everything, like you said, wrestling career where you, you know, had
01:01a lot of weight cuts.
01:01You got, you know, days at a time where you got to be ready for things.
01:04But what was it like for you getting ready for this tournament and, you know, this situation
01:09where, you know, three fights till the end, three fights in five months, as opposed to,
01:14you know, how you've had the rest of your career, whether it be just regular scheduling,
01:18whether it be, you know, the regular season into tournaments that they've had before for
01:22BFL.
01:23What was the difference for you as you made this transition into this PFL format this year?
01:27Yeah, I think for, for me and my team, it's about developing your skills, getting better,
01:37but also being healthy and being excited to fight and making sure that you're peaking at
01:42the right time.
01:43And so that's what I think we've done a really good job of.
01:45And I think we're continuing to get better and my body feels good.
01:50So, yeah, looking forward to next Thursday night.
01:54Now, of course, you had that first fight with Luciano where, you know, you just did what
01:58you do.
01:59You know, you just controlling him, getting him against a cage, getting a takedown, just
02:02smothering your opponents like you like to do.
02:05What was that like for you going in there?
02:06Was that the game plan?
02:08Did everything go exactly how you thought it would in that first fight?
02:10Was there anything that threw you off in the first matchup?
02:13What was it like in that first fight in Orlando for you?
02:15Yeah, obviously, it was a last second opponent change.
02:20But we knew Luciano's tough.
02:22You know, we watched a couple of his fight.
02:23Him and Pratis had a tough fight.
02:25He's a big kid and he never quit, you know, so you had to keep putting the pace on him.
02:30I would have liked to do more damage and, you know, get him out of there.
02:34But, you know, 30-27 across the board and just did a really good job of dominating my
02:41positions.
02:42You certainly did.
02:43And, you know, that's where you thrive.
02:46What was that like for you having to make that last change?
02:48You know, how frustrating is it when you're doing all that work where you're making sure
02:51you're cutting weight?
02:52I mean, obviously, we just talked about earlier the change in having to stay on point with
02:56the short camps in between for the tournament.
02:59But, I mean, this isn't one where, you know, you had that short change.
03:01This is one where you guys had, you know, a lot longer time for prep.
03:05Your opponent misses it by almost four pounds.
03:07The Molotov was now, you know, in the alternate fight on this semifinal card, too.
03:11So, if he wins and someone gets hurt, he might be right back into the mix.
03:15What was it like for you having to face that, your opponent missing weight in the last minute
03:18change?
03:19How frustrating was that?
03:20And how did you keep focused and just get right back into business and, you know,
03:23fighting whoever they put in front of you the next day?
03:25Yeah, it's just one of those things where, you know, at Kill Cliff, we always take care
03:31of ourselves first.
03:32You know, you focus on your skills.
03:34Don't spend your whole camp focused around their skills because it's MMA.
03:38You know, we see, you know, the UFC last week and that fight never happened.
03:42You know, we're seeing it a lot where opponent changes, someone falls out, especially in a
03:47tournament setting.
03:48There's a reason there's alternates.
03:50And so, it is what it is.
03:52You know, we just got ready and keep moving forward.