Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ7j2KFd0D4
do you – alright what's up how are you brother I'm doing great it's great to be back great to see you man congratulations on win the title appreciate the fantastic achievement I mean beating Gegard Mousasi who's you know top-flight one of the best in the in the sport for sure yeah and to beat him and win the Bellator middleweight title that's got to make you feel happy it was surreal it was something else and when you hear the story about everything man it takes it to another level yeah well this is why you're here we're here to talk about that and well just I guess you should probably just explain what's going on well I guess I'll just kind of take you through the order of events here you know that was my 10th fight fighting for the Bellator title and and all my other nine fights previously it was never required for me to get a brain scan done just due to the to the different states that I was fighting in at the time the Commission's there didn't require it in the US it's California in New York and then Europe you know requires a brain scan we were originally scheduled to fight in January at the Forum in California the same event that just happened this past Saturday night and so we were gonna fight 2019 at the Forum in January and that fight got postponed Mousasi was injured and we eventually got rescheduled to fight in June in London so I already had a brain scan scheduled for December to get approved for that fight in January but I got the news about the fight getting cancelled like the week of that scan a couple days before so I cancelled it I don't need to go get that done now and so fast forward you know I basically stayed in camp the whole year training you know with that fight on my mind all the way from November when I started the first camp for the fight in January you know into the new year waiting for the the new date and it was March that that I got the word that we were gonna fight in June in London and so you know I was basically training all year and I just picked right back up into camp and fast forward on into the very beginning of May I was you know already a good month into like the serious camp and I was just getting ready to fly to Brazil could Achieva to get into the you know
the hardest phase of camp I was gonna be there for three weeks and I had to get my MRI done you know and I wanted to get it done before I went to Brazil just to check it off the list so this was actually the week I had I had two good buddies of mine Jake Mapes and Sam Alvey were in Oklahoma training with me and we had a great week of training everything's going really really well and and it's Thursday and so I go get my brain scan done to get that done before I went to Brazil and I'm in there and you know were we get through the whole process and the machine is done it's not you know operating anymore but they haven't called me out of the room yet and I could kind of just sense something was going on so finally and they say ok come on out and the radiologists with really no like no candor or like like an easy soft way of saying it was like dude have you seen your brain before there's some stuff in here you need to see and he you know pulls me into the room and shows me on the on the screen he's like pointing out these you know look like little balls obviously it looked like something was wrong it didn't look like a normal scan but I'm not I don't know you know balls like like shades of of you know discoloration like according to the the scan itself like you could see that you know it wasn't normal and he didn't even know what it was at the time and he was like let me let me look this over tonight and I had my paper and you know to get signed off that everything looks clear normal and you know and he was just like you know he asked me if I had any concussions and if I've had any issues and I said no no and he was like well this doesn't look right and you shouldn't be doing what you're doing I'm like okay so are you gonna sign this paper and he's like no and he's like come back tomorrow and I'm gonna give you some more information say okay so I go back Friday and he tells me that you know he did some research and he believes that I have a disease called cavern Noma and you know he kind of hits me with that I had no idea what cavern oma was and you know he says look I'm not signing this paper you need to go see a specialist and get this looked at but as far as I know you should not fight you know you should not be fighting and then the next morning I fly to Brazil for my camp you know to go
down there for the the hard sparring and everything that I like to do you know stuff we talked about last time and so I'm like going I'm you know in the airport getting ready to go to Brazil for this portion of my camp for this fight that is like the biggest fight of my life you know I've already waited an extra six months for it I've been training for it all year and yeah at this point I'm like just in shock of what is going on my health and you know I saw my googling everything that I can about Cavor Noma and trying to understand what it is and basically it's a disease where probably like I probably got it from one of my parents it's a it's normally a hereditary disease and your brain forms these extra blood vessels and these blood vessels grow and they can accumulate and sort of bundle up together into balls almost like like like weeds or vines you know then they wrap up together and these blood vessels are very prone to bleeding now they don't bleed so much in a in an instance where you know they could cause a hemorrhage it's more like a slow that they use the term boozing effect so to uses blood out over time very little little by little and as they accumulate you know those balls are very you know much more susceptible to to bleeding and you know reading about it while I'm getting ready to go you know I'm flying to Brazil I'm in the airport I'm taking off you know there's so many like extreme cases of this disease where people have to have multiple surgeries to get them removed you know seizures vision issues people go into comas and then of course worse worst case is even death and you know obviously googling and you know not talking to a specialist and just kind of doing my own thing is not the best way to to get in for information and so I just have all these thoughts running in my head about you know what I'm dealing with in my health and like okay now I'm going to you know Brazil to you know train and spar and and I have this fight and I'm right now I don't have anyone setting off in this paper you know is this gonna happen what's going on like all these questions and so I get there and you know at this point the only one that that knows is my girl you know and I'm confiding in her and I'm just like talking to her and you know she's shot
I've never had any issues I don't even really get headaches I've never been knocked out you know there's never been a time in my life where I thought man I should get my head looked at you know I think something could be wrong you know and so you know talking with her and then I have my coach Matty you see oh he's my head MMA coach and my Muay Thai teacher and he goes with me down to two could Achieva and we train there at his brothers Academy Andre Dida adidas Academy evolution tide and you know we fly Saturday arrive Sunday start training Monday and I'm just like I'm trying to train this first day and I'm just like what am i doing you know and I'm getting hit in the head and I'm like man am i slowly killing myself right here like you know what am i training for at this point I'm not gonna I'm not approved like what what am I gonna do you know and and so we we talk it over and we're like okay obviously we need to get more opinions you know and I'm down in Brazil for three weeks basically all of me the fight was June 21st or 23rd something like that and and so I'm spending all of May there so I need to see some Brazilian doctors and some doctors down here and could Achieva and so we just begin the process let's get a prescription do you speak Portuguese I'm not a hundred percent fluent but I can get around I can do pretty well on my own down there just from all the trips that I've done over the years so you know thankfully Mauricio his brother Dida they have so many connections down there you know being who they are and the history that they have you know teaching martial arts you know you get to know everybody right and so they were able to make things happen quick for me we saw a doctor got a prescription for another MRI get scheduled to get that MRI done which happens on Friday the end of my first week there so I'm going that whole week training you know trying to stay positive but I'm wondering you know what you know what am i doing what's going on you know and me Inlet yeah I can't I can't begin to describe the the thoughts and emotions that can imagine that may be so distracting during sparring as well oh yes yes and you know they go harder down there to put it mildly yeah yeah that place is known for like some of the most ruthless killers
to ever come out of Brazil 100% nine percent that's shoot the box exactly yeah I'm not sleeping well I'm you know I'm emotional wreck basically I'm calling my girl over FaceTime you know multiple times a day whoo we're looking at each other on the screen I'm crying I'm confiding in Mattie's CEO and Shawn G he Beto was also there with me I had an air B&B with Sean G so thankfully I wasn't on my own 24/7 outside of the Academy Matty you see always stays with his family and you know I'm just like man when Sean Sean she arrived that Monday or Tuesday and I tell them what's going on I'm just like dude I'm a mess right now like I don't know you know I'm just so uncertain of of my health and what's going on and and you know like I man I I just can't put into words right now but I'm trying to stay positive I'm trying to stay positive and we get through that first week get the MRI the new MRI down there in Brazil so then we have you know the Brazilian MRI to take to Brazilian doctors and so then the second week we start seeing neurologists and you know specialists to get their opinion and and see what they have to say and that was the hardest week ever because multiple doctors were all saying no you know when you look at the scan right off the bat it just like it doesn't look good you know what your picture of it man actually I don't have sorry I don't have one with me right now but you know you just see these gray like little shades of circles like in a lot of them well I have multiple and most of them are very small like popcorn size and you know those aren't that dangerous at least yet but there is one accumulation on the back side of my the right side of my head you know back here and that has built up and and it looks it looks big like how big Provost probably like somewhere between a like a baseball sized like golf golf ball the baseball in between there Jesus um it's it's pretty big but it's on the very outer rim so it's not like in the middle of my brain it's on the outside you know so if you were to go right through my head it could be right there you know you could essentially pull it out without having to go through too much stuff is that something that might actually have to happen no not it not
now not now I'll fast forward you know to the doctors I ain't obscene here in the states who clarify a lot of this but that's so the doctors in Brazil all say the same thing well they're kind of just I mean you know fighting already isn't good for your brain you know what I mean getting hit in the head isn't good for your brain and I think just looking at it when you see it and then you know that I'm gonna get hit in the head and what I do you're you're automatically going to be like hey you know there's already this extra bit of danger that we're putting in to a dangerous situation let's not let's not play let's not roll the dice you know let's not play that game and so we were getting multiple doctors saying no you know and even one was like you know they said that jiu-jitsu could be dangerous that's me getting my blood cut off like in a choke you know cutting off the circulation to my brain that could be dangerous and so this week I am literally not sleeping at all I am crying multiple times a day and I'm just like man what am i doing I'm going into the sparring you know and I'm training it and I'm not I'm not gonna get approved I'm not gonna fight you know and this has already been like a six seven month training camp at this point you know and it's for the belt it's my life's work it's everything for me you know so I was just crushed day in day out trying to get through and on Thursday of that week I'm doing MMA sparring and you know I kind of had it coming I I shouldn't have I shouldn't have been going as hard as what I've been going but I was like trying to you know stay positive and stay ready like what if I need I need to be ready for this fight you know what some saucy like I gotta be at my best and in reality I was just training like garbage I was I was having my worst training camp my worst fight camp you know because of everything and on this day I'm in my third round of MMA sparring and I I strained my hamstring bad I go for like a double leg and the guy has a judo background he over hook like wizards me and goes for like a hoochie Mata Hari go she type of throw I'm wearing wrestling shoes I try to drop my hips you know so he doesn't elevate me and my legs my knees go straight and my
foot gets stuck in the floor the wrestling shoe and my hamstring just snapped you know like allowed like Papa and I just scream and I let it go and I you know I get thrown down and I'm just like aah and I you know he knew something was wrong we stopped right there and my leg is just throbbing and I tried to get up I couldn't get up so I had to like walk on my hands screw it off the mat I got carried out of the Academy that day I could not walk and I'm sitting down on the edge of the mat and I'm just like I'm bursting to tears and I look to look up to Maddie you soon I'm like man it's not gonna happen like there's no way you know all this is going on I'm not approved I'm training horrible my I can't walk now you know and so you know that was the end of week two all knows we have one more doctor to see who's like the professor of many of the doctors that I already saw he's very highly regarded one of the best doctors in the south of Brazil a neuro specialist neurosurgeon we were so lucky to get in to see him and you know cuz he's booked up booked up booked up but we managed an appointment time for Monday of the third week Monday night so you know I'm like I basically given up I can't walk I'm at home that whole weekend and Sean G he he had seminars on the weekend you know he came down there to support me in camp but on the weekends he was going off to teach seminars in different areas of Brazil and so I'm laid up in this Airbnb all weekend and I'm like just facetiming my girl and I'm like you know Bayview like I don't think this is happening I can't believe have come this far you know – the title shot this much training you know for the camp like going from November of 2018 into the end of May of 2019 that was my that was it was just fight with masazi and you know it took everything for me like this sounds funny but the the house the Airbnb the the host you know she's like a great host she left so many chocolates and all this food in the house like sweets and I just wanted to pig out and eat all these chocolates you know I kept telling Sean G bro you got to eat these things like I I can't look at these I'm so I'm such an emotional wreck right now you know and I'm in I'm in the the spot all we can by
myself and I'm ready to give up I'm like I'm gonna go eat show us Katya you know what I mean and eat all these chocolates and just like you know cuz I have to diet very strict to make 185 what do you walk around around 210 to 215 is my normal weight you know big cut so I mean that weight is kind of normal like most guys at 185 are around 210 but I'm already tall I'm already naturally pretty lean so I have to be very strict on my diet to to get that low and I it took everything for me to not just take out and just like totally given but you know money you see I was just like hey we have one more doctor one more doctor the whole weekend all I did was just put CBD cream on my leg resilience CBD shout-out to them and my sponsor and I used using the mark Pro on my on my leg – mark pro it's like similar to like a TENS unit okay but it has different frequencies and you can go really deep in there and so I'm just like okay let me just try to recover this thing as much as I can I couldn't train couldn't do anything I was basically stuck at home and that's all I did and I just said okay Monday night that's it if he says no it's done and at this point I hadn't told anything to any I I let my manager Ed know but we hadn't said anything to anybody else literally the only ones that knew well my girls Sean Giamatti you see oh and Edie and so we go see this doctor Monday night and man right off the bat he kind of captivated us because he was the first one to be just chill and just like okay what's going on what brings you here I didn't look at any pictures didn't you know didn't rush it and I told him yeah you know I got my scans it looks like I have caffeine Alma did it uh he said okay let me see your scans and he's like yeah yeah this is this is a Kevin Alma for sure how do you feel the first one to ask me how do you feel and so well you know this is a huge shock I've never had any problems I feel great I'm fine you know I you know I don't even get headaches and he's like okay um you know he talks with me and he's like let's go do an evaluation we do an evaluation and do some tests everything's normal I kissed simple like you know stand on one leg and all that kind of stuff you know
and everything's fine and so we go back to the office we sit down he's like let me just see what I can find but I guarantee I'm not gonna find anything that says head impact or trauma is gonna increase the risk of your cabinet cavern oma bleeding and so he starts looking up you know journals and in you know studies all the things that doctors have access to and he literally finds nothing you know there is no studies that say that getting hitting your head is gonna make your calves or normal worse or or cause you to bleed and and something's gonna happen he's like look you can bleed you know you can be using blood at any point time little by little and it could become an issue at some point in time but there is no treatment there is no we're not gonna do surgery like there's nothing that's gonna happen until you have symptoms until you show signs and because I can't find any studies that say getting hit in the head is gonna make it worse and because you are you know a normal like healthy functioning person at this point I think it's fine for you to fight you should continue doing what you do until it becomes a problem and if it does become a problem we'll go in there and we'll take it out the big the big mass and you know then we'll move forward and so I'm just like you know I start getting emotional already and I'm kind of like wow are you so you'll write a letter saying this you'll you'll support me he's like yeah sure sure no problem super calm guy just and he was the oldest doctor we had spoken to as well most experienced and so we get this letter man we walk out of that office me and Mattie you see oh and as soon as we we leave the door and we'll get to the elevator man I just I just like burst into tears and just I can't believe that there's some hope like this this can still happen and me and Mattie used to embrace and just we both cry and like oh my god we got the letter we got the letter so I I send the letter to Edie and we begin the process of trying to get approved we get everything into bellator let him know they got the scans they send it over to the Europe Commission they use an organization called safe MMA and you know we kind of like we're happy we're positive but at the same time I'm still not approved
it's still not on you know but the letter is like that was the missing piece that was what we needed to be able to move forward so I finished that last week unable to really move you know I can't wrestle I can't kick and my last week in Brazil you know I'm literally just hitting mids like this and I'm like okay trying to stay positive I still have like a month let's get this healed let's just keep sweating did you get an MRI on the hamstring no I didn't get my in the hamstring it it didn't have any discoloration so it wasn't a tear it was like a severe strain but with the popping it didn't turn black and blue and so without that color discoloration I didn't I almost didn't even want to know I was just like right you know like when did I start feeling better it didn't really actually still feel it now it yeah it was a situation the whole way but I could stand so I could stand and all I'm doing is boxing now at this point because I can't throw kicks and I can't change levels to do takedowns and so that was a whole other thing because you know as I'm waiting to to hear back and if I'm gonna get approved I'm only punching mitts like I might as well be doing like a cardio kickboxing class you know without kicks and that was the last thing that I want to do with Musashi is just going there and box you know right that's not what I do right so the the hardships and frustrations were just continued as I'm dealing with my hamstring but at least we had some some hope so I finished that week fly home and I'm finishing like my last couple weeks of camp at home in Oklahoma Sean she comes to Oklahoma you know Maddie she was there and I'm trying to put together some great training one of my best training partners from Kota Cuba's name's Chris Christiano he came to Oklahoma as well and you know everyone's aware of the situation as far as my coaches my team I did not tell my parents I didn't want anyone to know I didn't want it to get out and so I was just dealing with it with them you know and and so we send everything in and we're waiting we're waiting the this guy his name is Yanni he's on the Commission with Saif MMA he reaches out to me like after the first week and he said hey we
need to talk and so I give him a call and and he's like we we got the letter we're looking at your scans we've actually created a panel of doctors to talk about this and at this point it's 50/50 you know I just want you to know where we're unsure if we're gonna approve and I just want you to hear you know I just wanted to touch base with you why don't you hear from me we see everything but you have to understand where we're still not sure so bear with us I'm like okay try to get through the next week I had some decent days with my hamstring where I could shoot a little bit and work some takedowns but if I had a good day the next day I had to take it real light because it was just it was so tight so tight so tender did it massage at all oh yeah I was doing everything everything possible I mean getting it worked on doing hot cold like you know I'm I'm pretty like anything out there that is for recovery I have probably at my house you know I'm big on really taking care of my body so I was just trying to be as smart as I could and just get through it and you know we come to this point now where the fight is two weeks away and I don't know if it's on or not you know and I'm just trying to put together as good of training as I can stay as positive as I can but at the I'm just like man I need the yes you know I need to be able to to focus how are you staying conditioned when you barely can use your leg man it was it was really hard I I was heavier I was walking around heavier than what I normally was would for for my fights you know by this time I'm normally below 205 in the 200 to 205 range that's where I like to get to just off pure diet and off training and I was still to 10 to 12 you know it was hard like I couldn't I I could box you know and I could box hard and I could spar boxing but without wrestling I didn't feel like I was conditioned the way I want it to be I couldn't sprint I could ride the bike the bike didn't put too much pressure but I couldn't go all-out the way I would like to like an Aerodyne yeah airdyne everything was not the way it would normally be done now you know you're never 100% you're always dealing with something you know I've had a broken nose before cuts rib things like
there's always something you know but but it was it was the stress of both in in the uncertainty on if we would get to fight at all yeah that was really hard and for sure that's why I got hurt you know that's 100% why I got hurt but anyways finally on like the last day that they could give me the answer they gave me the answer and I got the email and it said we've approved you you are approved to fight two weeks before the fight I held off on you know I'm flying my family there you know I mean I have all my might like there's the the corner coaches but I have a couple other coaches and I was you know gonna fly out there and I was waiting to purchase these tickets and you know I had some other guys like hey where are you staying what's what's going on like I'm ready and I'm like hey don't book anything just yeah don't look at me because I don't want them to buy tickets to London and you know yeah I'm not fighting and I'm trying to like be cool and not give anyone too you know too much an idea of what's going on and stay positive stay confident and everything finally we got the green light and I'm literally flying a few days later to London are we left on Tuesday and arrive there Wednesday I got there like 10 days before so I have one weekend before the weekend of the fight and you know at this point it was like okay once we got that yes I mean we celebrated it was like you know that's all I wanted I mean I had already fought so hard just to be able to get to this fight you know and we you know we go to London and my leg starts doing a little better and I'm like you know starting to just feel it like okay this is it you know everything's coming together we're gonna we're gonna finish things on a good note and Friday the week before the fight I met ha jurors Academy in London Roger Gracie he opened up his doors let us work in there and and I'm feeling good and I overdo it and I feel my hamstring go again it wasn't a full pop but it was like that stretch where it catches it and it just like up and it's just like this pain rushed through and I'm like oh no I did it again you know I could feel it tighten up a lot I had to stop training that day and this is a week before the fight now and I'm right back to that
like I can't I can't change levels I can't kick and I'm just like you know once again an emotional wreck and my friend Cameron Shan who's a mobility yoga guru he's just an amazing guy he you know being that I felt the way I did I don't want to go back to Hodges and try to do anything because I didn't want people to see me and he has these uh you know yoga connections all throughout the world and we found a yoga studio where my last few days we could go there and try to do whatever we could where no one could see you know as far as like other Jitsu guys or MMA guys and a man the Sunday before the fight we we go into this yoga studio and we're trying to get a workout together and I'm just like man I break down and I just start crying I'm like guys cuz I'm literally you know hitting mitts like this again I'm right back to that my juices like just just punch just just to lose the weight you know I'm like man I need to wrestle I need to feel my takedowns I need to fill my whole game coming together and I just break down and all the guys come around me you know and they just man they consoled me in such a special way and I mean we just cut it that day like there was no more training but you know I I can't I can't begin to give it as much gratitude and and describe like how much my team was there for me when I needed them because you know III was I was not in a good state of mind I was not in a good place I can imagine you're six days out yeah in London and you literally can't use your leg exactly exactly and you know they just like the the love and the inspiration and everything that they put into me I mean we we all fought that fight together we all fought that fight together and you know we left that day I had a couple more days before we check into the Bellator hotel the Tuesday Wednesday is when we go to the Bellator hotel Tuesday I was able to put together a good day like so it loosened up they loosened back up it wasn't it like I said I wasn't a fool as bad as the first one it just hit me for a second but I think like you know those moments you know I needed that I needed to to combine our energies you know because look how that fight ended up going you know I felt like like
that that fight before the fight was to prep me for the fight you know and you know going there obviously I'm a big underdog you know it's in London Mousasi has so much history there he's from Amsterdam you know I don't know if anyone out there saw the video that Bellator put out afterwards where I said like you know we did it and you could see how emotional I was this is why you know and fast forward to when we're backs backstage you know getting ready to go out there I always take my favorite book Think and Grow Rich from Napoleon Hill I always take that why is that it's just a powerful book for my life I discovered it in 2000 the end of 2007 and it's just such an inspirational book and really kind of like was the sort of the Bible for self-help books and all the other you know people that kind of came from that like Tony Robbins and things like that like you know the the the motivating you know like the secret you know all those sort of things thinking Grow Rich was like the first hmm and and anyways there's so many quotes in there and things that just have stuck with me throughout the years and I love to read certain chapters and portions of it when I'm backstage getting ready to fight and I have like highlighted sentences and notes in it and stuff and I'm backstage and I open I opened the book and I hadn't opened it up to this point on this trip like it was just with me put it in my bag and you know I got a couple hours before we go out to fight and I always open it up and as soon as I open it it's on them you know the flap is an inside and a chapter already in the last place I looked at it or whatever and the first thing I see is a highlighted highlighted portion that says every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent advantage that was the first thing that I saw and it hit me right there it was like everything that I went through in this camp to get to this fight you know that is going to be my advantage that is gonna be what carries me through this fight that that's my power I know what I'm here for that's a great quote it's the best you know every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent advantage another one of my favorites from Napoleon Hill
that I've used on t-shirts and inside Aggie before victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting you know which is that's martial arts right that's a black belt is a white belt who never quit you know as long as you never quit success is always possible every failure just helps you learn and grow to you know get to your ultimate objective your ultimate goal and when I saw that you know write a book down right now yeah Think and Grow Rich and 2.0 I tell all my all my students all my competitors all my guys I always talk about that book and and that was the first thing that I saw you know and and like I said like going into this fight all I wanted was that fight like trying to get approve that whole process was just like hey just give me this one just give me this one more don't stop me this short of of my dream you know my dream to fight for the belt to fight a legendary fighter like Mousasi someone that's been you know at the top for so long that was how I envisioned you know fighting for my first big world title in MMA and I mean I was going out there like that was the last fight of my life like it could potentially be the last fight of my life you know and all this stuff with my health like you know when I'm thinking about my parents and my family you know like wondering you know am I gonna get hurt is this am i you know gonna do something where it's selfishly where because I want this I want to fight I want this this title that something could happen to me and and you know I'm not gonna be healthy I'm not gonna be the same and I'm gonna break their hearts I had all these emotions and thoughts and and you know it's just like like I was literally kind of I mean and it's so to speak going out there ready to die like ready to just let it all out like this is it you know all I wanted was this opportunity you know and and I could feel how all of that was to prep me for the fight you know everything that we went through that fight to get to the fight and my dad's in my corner you know he's in my corner for all my fights I had the guys that went through everything you know those that last four or five weeks before the fight to get approved with me and when I saw that I looked around at them and I smiled I
said guys we're gonna do it we're gonna do it you know it was like it was destiny and and I don't know you know if you've ever seen but I've posted before some clips of my dad who is a professional organist are former professional organist ill plays the organ he's a musician and when I when I walked out for this fight I I had them play a clip of my my dad playing the organ and you know growing up when I first started training martial arts my dad was playing at that time professionally and and I was that was what I did the time that I spent with my dad I was at church listening to him play the organ and then we would go to the Academy and and we would you know we would train or we would train at home and you know my father's in my corner and you know this is this is our work you know I am Who I am because of him I'm a martial artist because of him I have my brothers that guys I've been training with for over a decade you know it was it was it was our destiny it was family you know we were going out there to fight as a family and and walking out to my dad playing the Oregon you know it just really minee to this place where is like I'm gonna give everything I absolutely have win or lose I'm I'm you know I'm not gonna stop I'm gonna do my best my absolute best and and then you know the fight went the way it did came down to the fifth round you know that's where that fifth round came from was was for them you know the the the love that they gave me to get me even just to get me there you know cuz I was ready to break man I was III I was in pieces so many days in that camp I you know it was it was just a rollercoaster of emotions but having them you know my father my brothers behind me that's where that strength came from and in everything we went through before the fight but that's why I was so emotional in the cage I mean you'd be emotional anyways for a title fight but you know it was it was something else just to just to get there you know and and have that opportunity and you could really come out you see oh I mean mighty you see oh he he's right there with his hands like powerful moment right there move did it bother you that uh he was he had a lot of sour grapes after the fight gay guard did it did it did he didn't
didn't really credit you for the fight he was just saying mostly that you want steroids he's my mom yeah paying her respects giving him a hug I mean I understand that he felt bad because he lost but I felt like the way he handled it was uncharacteristic for him he was intrusive – we were so respectful before after the fight I went up to him you know before they made the decision I went up to him I shook his hand I said man it was an honor you know so much respect for you it was an honor to battle with you you know I think him thank you and we shook hands and hugged and and you know but then he didn't stay after they raised my hand he walked right out we didn't shake hands again and then everything else yeah really surprised me I think it was just hard to to fathom because you know this was my tenth fight he had already had over 50 he was a big he was a big favorite I just don't think you know he they were very confident they were very confident leading up to the fight and I don't think anyone imagined me to walk out of there with that belt especially with one leg he didn't know about that hurt really bad after I'm sure but you know I didn't feel it like I that's when they drones pumping right you know I I didn't it it wasn't till like an hour later I was like cool right it's pretty tight um yeah why do you think he did that why do you why do you think I mean he's lost before I've never seen him just attribute except essentially tribute most of your success he was just accusing you of taking steroids yeah and not a little bit of steroids you're saying like monkey steroids that's what he said yeah I don't know you know his camp had him I felt like Musashi is genuinely like what I would call you know a real martial artist he's a martial artist and you doesn't really ever you know trash-talk anybody mm-hmm and we were very respectful but you know his camp was they were saying and doing some things that were a little edgier I would say when we will do sheer yeah yeah when we classy when we were at the press conference and we were going on for the face-off you know all this camp we're always yelling a bunch of things and and you know when we were walking up
one guy yells up it to me dead man walking and of course a medium in my mind I'm like I have this brain disease you know that you know may or may not be an issue here in a couple days when we fight you know and and I have my family right there I'm like hmm and then I have to look at him in the ice you know but now I'll never forget that I thought about that you know dead man walking and I was just like this guy you know and it was a lot there was a lot to take in to step into that cage but I think maybe some of the people he's around maybe that doesn't mean that doesn't cause him to say those things when he was sitting at the dot at the table with the microphone in front of him what did you respond to that no I mean that was right when we were walking to face off and the press conference was basically done at that point so I had nothing to say to that you know that that person yelling that and you know know what I mean after the fight when he was accusing you steroids did you ever and I never never had a moment to you know I we did have another I haven't had another fight haven't been never did an interview or anybody talked to you about his actions know who was I did one Luke Thomas Luke Thomas didn't interview with me I like that guy a lot yeah yeah and I think it was after no yeah it was before he found Machida was before he fought Machida and he talked to me about it you know in an interview about the fight and everything and you know I have too much to say other than I just felt like it was a little sad because it was a great fight you know yeah it was a really great fight and good clothes for me yeah super close I feel like we kind of you know he probably thinks that he was under par and and I made a lot of mistakes too and I wasn't too happy about some of the things that that happened in that fight as well I thought I could have done a lot better but in a way I felt like we kind of brought out the best in any of each other you know his Jiu Jitsu very much impressed me he was he was a seasoned pro just like always calm and you know then when he had his moment he had his moment he started taking over you know and and I you know I brought off the best I mean the the heart that I showed coming back in that fifth round and I just felt like it was a great
fight and we should be applauding each other for our performances and and all this you know trash-talking has really taken away from that yeah and anyways we were supposed to fight Saturday night at in LA a couple days ago we you know we set up the fight in November I signed a bout agreement he went out there and got a win against Machida happy to do the rematch and you know bringing this stuff back up I'm in I'm in camp I've already started camp for this fight in January it's November and I get a call from well the same person I spoke to Yanni from safe MMA says hey we have a doctor we've continued studying your scans we've had a doctor look at this that didn't see it before the fight his name is dr. Healy he's from Ireland and he really wants to talk to you I said okay have him give me a call and let's let's talk so I'm actually in Austin I'm training at the the on it campus getting great training down there you know getting my camp going and and I get this call from dr. Killian and we talked and he is very adamant that I should not continue fighting and he says it's a mistake that I was approved and able to fight in in London and and moving forward I would not be approved in Europe again so at this point now Europe is a no now what is his credentials why is he so respected above the all the others would would he see in the scan he's a neurologist he sees the same thing as everybody else he just says that they made the wrong decision and somehow he didn't see it before the fight he didn't see the scans before the fight no but why is his repenting respected above all the other doctors that approved you I don't know I don't know the doctor in Curitiba he's part of this panel that safe and may create it right they continued talking about my scans okay and discussing it further you know it's a rare it's a rare thing you know cavern oma is I mean it's not that rare but it's like one in two or three hundred people have it in in the US and they probably don't know about it exactly unless they've convinced they have symptoms and in Europe it's like 1 in 500 you know and so being that it's a rare disease and throw that into me doing something that not very many people do you know I don't think there's
been too many cases where a professional fighter has this disease and they have to make these decisions and so I get that call from dr. Healy and you know I'm like and of course I've already started another camp now so the same things are coming up we're like am I going to get approved I'm driving up from Austin to corner one of my guys at the border of of Oklahoma and Texas for his Bellator debut and and so I'm at Bellator like the next day this call I got from dr. Healy was on Thursday Friday I'm driving up to Bellator to corner one of my guys and so I'm there and I and I end up talking to rich and and I tell rich hey man I just got this call I'm a little nervous you know because in my mind up to that point I thought well since Europe approved me I should be okay to continue getting approved and continue fighting and and so I'm like man maybe we need to go ahead and start the process now let's not wait you know it's November let's not wait till December to to get everything into California I can't do another camp with all this uncertainty and Richard Gray's and he's like yep okay I'm on it next week and you know we got Ian Matthews is the it coordinates all the medicals for for Bellator we start you know getting organized and like literally a little over a week later I'm flying out to LA to see doctors here and and you know check up on everything get new scans and see what they say so again scans done I talked to a neurologist he is not favorable of me fighting but he the last thing he says is you really need to see a specialist like a neurosurgeon so there's a neurologist and then there's neurosurgeons ones that actually do brain surgeries and he says you need to see an actual specialist you know that's the last thing he says and so boom I'm right on the phone with Ian he the guy recommended a couple people Ian's able to set it up or the next day I go to UCLA and I see a neurosurgeon his name is dr. Wong the next morning and not Hugh cos with me Ed's with me we go see dr. Wong and he is very very similar to the doctor I see in Brazil he is very calm he's a younger guy though but he has a lot of experience with people with Calvin Ouma
he's actually I mean that morning he actually operated on someone before we saw him that had Kevin Ouma and had a a bundle very similar to mine almost in the exact same location it took him less than an hour to get it out and that person walked away in how are they getting into the brain I don't I can't tell you the specifics of the surgery but I mean they they're able to to go in and because it's on the outer rim they can pull it out and it's very it's a very minimal like turnaround as far as your recovery and I mean you're the person got up and walked away so this is just a large bundle the small bundles are not of concerns exactly the large bundle has already shown a history of a little bit of bleeding you know they could see where like some blood came out and dried up and you know if that continues you know and it keeps getting bigger then it's more pressure on your brain and and you know more likely first for him or imaging and things like that but he says that it's in like the best location possible and the fact that it's on the outer rim would be easy to get out if they needed to I asked him I said well should we just get this thing out now and then I can try to get approved just so it doesn't look so bad you know and and make make people feel better and he recommends against it he said no we're not gonna do surgery until you have some symptoms or some problems and you know until then like live your life he's operated and worked with NFL players and boxers that have cavern omma and they were able to continue on no problem and he was very positive I I have a letter from him on my phone and he's talking about like the percentage of something happening being less than 1% with it as it stands yes yes so he's giving you the full go ahead he's giving me the full go ahead and so we're very positive um we leave thinking that that's gonna be enough and I continued with my camp and it was in December that you know rich and in Bellator they you know and let me just say they have been super supportive Bellator you know they organized me going out and seeing this doctor getting into the you know UCLA to see the neurosurgeon and you know they've been really helpful in tremendous in working with me to keep this dream alive of
continuing to fight I mean it was a dream to become the champion and now I mean I've only done three fights with Bellator outside of my home state outside of Oklahoma my last three you know so I'm at this point now where like I was gonna fight in LA you know which was gonna be amazing all the friends that I have here for my career in jiu-jitsu you know and already looking ahead to I mean I actually I was I was shooting for us to fight in Japan they just did their first Bellator Japan on New Year's Eve and I thought all with musashi's history in Japan maybe we could fight there but they wanted us in LA which was fine but you know starting to see that hey these big arenas and and you know really just like the big the big shows were right there like at grasp you know putting on for for my team for my family and and you know for where I'm from like we're about to be there you know and you know so like I was super excited super excited for this fight but Bellator there in say ok we're gonna get this into California sort of under the table you know we're not going to put an official application because they deny you know now that'll be two Commission's on paper that say no and so you know they kind of put this into the athletic commissions hands Andy Foster the California State Athletic Commission say hey you know we have a guy who has this condition just tell me what you guys would do with this situation would it be approved or not and it was like mid-december the word came back that it wasn't going to be a no and so that's really you know why I'm here right now is you know people I've committed myself to to getting back into grappling and jujitsu right now I have a match lined up next month and I'm sure you know there's questions that already had been questions I already told my students I mean I signed a bout agreement and everything for for January and I had students buying tickets to come to LA to be here at my fight you know and I've been like like ah you know we got we got postponed we got delayed I haven't said anything to anyone other than might I mean I just told my parents a few weeks ago you know I finally told them I think your parents have this they gotten they haven't gotten scanned yet but the plan is for them to get checked out for sure and that's a big a big
reason why I'm here today Jo is to to you know create awareness for this because you know who knows and it's it's it's really giving me a different outlook like we get physicals we go see the dentist we get our we get checked up you know but how often do you think let me get a brain scan done to know what's going on with my head you know to know how my brain looks you know I've thought about doing it I'm actually nervous I don't blame you I don't blame you now I man I totally get that before like I said I went into it so like oh this is just a routine thing you know to get approved to fight I fought nine times already mmm imagine who else could be out there with something either in their living a regular life or maybe in an extreme life where they're doing combat or you know in some sort of extreme sport where they're getting hit in the head but it was never required of them to get a scan done and they never just had an issue so they never thought about it you know and you don't really know what's going on up there until you get it looked at so are you officially retiring I'm not officially retiring I am sort of I guess indefinitely on the sidelines right now I am I am actively seeing more doctors and working towards learning more about this I obviously I want to keep fighting it is gentleman in LA dr. Wong's I mean so he had done these operations on you said MMA fighters I don't know if he operated on he mentioned boxers and FL players I don't know if he operated on them he had seen it in them and helped them continue their careers and he keeps like a close eye so you know I need to get scans done at least once a year with these words that patch the large patch in the back your head was that particularly troubling to him the other ones no no he said like it that it was in the best location possible to get to yes and because it's not deep in it it's not in the area where it could affect my my cognitive functions my memory things like that what goes on back there back there you know I'm not a hundred percent sure they made it I mean he made it sound like nothing too important happens there it's more like I know like the back area as far as what I've learned thus far is more like everyday type of stuff you know it's not your memory it's not in a position where you
could violently lose temper or kind of like have like a lapse in time you know where you kind of become someone else and then you come back like you know that all that kind of stuff happens more deep inside the brain where it's at on the outside in the back it's just sort of like the regular stuff you know obviously neither of us are no regular stuff other area of the regular stuff yeah so um are you thinking about going in there and getting it removed no no this is recommended against why is that doing because why do brain surgery if I don't have any symptoms that's that's what he says mm-hmm and you know because I was up for it I said hey should we just do this and he's like look it'll probably be six months to a year before I would say it's okay to go back into sparring and things like that you know you're gonna be able to walk out and be fine and do your day-to-day stuff but I don't want you getting hit in the head for a while and why I mean it's a low risk surgery but why take that risk if you're not having symptoms the the treatment or the care is always just to keep an eye on it see how it develops and if you start having some problems then we're gonna go in there and remove it but if you say that you're indefinitely on the sidelines it's it seems to me that unless you get it removed you're permanently on the sidelines well I you know this is where I'm at now you know this is such a rare and unique thing no one really knows too much you know I'm getting some people that are saying no no way and then I'm getting these other you know specialists and people that have really dealt with it that are like yeah it's okay I am like I said it's indefinite oh I just want to I'm 36 so you're in this mean realistically athletically this is sort of the last chapter oh yeah oh yes yeah and this is how I wanted to end it you know as the champ trying to submit myself as one of the great shams of this era and you know defend that belt as long as possible and you know say goodbye but I still have hope I still have hope that if I can continue seeing more doctors and getting more knowledge you know Andy foster from the Athletic Commission has recommended another doctor to see I'm not officially
declined for the California State Athletic Commission at this point Andy foster talked to this dr. Wong who specifically said he didn't think it was gonna be a problem no not you know not yet but he recommended another doctor at UCLA that actually used to work on the athletic commission that could be a big help and I mean this is I'm right in the middle of this so I'm just gonna keep seeing more doctors and try to learn more about this and you know if it's if it's really unsafe and I'm not gonna get approved ever I finally got to a place where I can accept that you know and and I'm gonna move forward on with my life teaching and doing what I do you know at home and and with all of my students worldwide but but as if I'm still getting people like dr. Wong in the doctor I saw in Brazil and I can find more doctors who have experience with this if they keep saying that they think it's okay then and I can you know have hope of getting approved I'm gonna keep fighting for that where can you get approved what states could approve you right now well that's tricky to know because you know as far as in the u.s. only New York and California require brain scans and so that's you know a big thing of what I want to talk about you know or what I wanted to bring awareness to is like you know all these other states don't require scans so if you if you fight in those states you know it's to me it's a veneer best interest to on your own if you have the means if you have insurance or whatever get scan done you know to see what what's what it looks like but I'm hoping that through this we can figure out if cavern Alma is safe or not the more doctors I have look at this and you know talking about it bring an awareness to it that we're gonna learn and understand more of this disease and if it's possible if it's not possible but I'm trying to keep the hope alive that if if it's six months a year even two years that maybe I can at least get one more you know at least get one more but the thing is then putting me in the state that doesn't require a scan doesn't necessarily mean I'm gonna get approved because these other Commission's have a responsibility to speak up and say hey we don't think it's of his best interests you know health-wise to to compete and you know
I'm not I don't I'm not I'm not against the Commission I totally understand and respect that Andy Foster is one of the very best yes business he's so ahead of everybody else and he they opened up a time for me to come out next month and speak with them face to face you know and get to see the people that are making the decisions and learn more and understand more of their position and when you know how they feel about it and I'm just trying to gather up as much information in the meantime would it be possible to do that with dr. Wong I hope so that's the plan and hopefully a few more that's that's what I'm working on that's what I'm in the middle of and until then I'm just gonna keep training and trying to stay positive who do you have a match with a jiu-jitsu match well has it been announced yet but I'm gonna be facing I mean it's about to come out it's less than a month away now February 21st I'll be facing Roberto cyborgs in a no grappling match in my big fella yes yes what was that dude way probably in the neighborhood of 240 maybe a little more yeah we've had a few matches in the past and he's a great guy he's a legend as well like just you know one of the best ever from my time and it'll be fun and that's what I want to do in the meantime keep myself sharp keep competing keep training and hopefully get another opportunity but if not at least learn more about this and hopefully you know inspire others to get checked out you know even if you're not in a combat sport you know we're doing anything risky just like the same would same thing you would do like to go get a check-up you know hey at some point in your life it wouldn't hurt ya to get a scan done yeah you know it just really opened my eyes to how we don't know what what's going on up there and something could happen you know and you don't have an answer to it but if you knew what was in your brain maybe you would have that answer yeah it seems like such a tricky situation to be and because if you do decide to do something about it you really kind of almost have to do it now mm-hmm right because at 36 with a full year off of no sparring at all or he said six months to a year so he would have to see you a couple times maybe do another scan yeah and see where you're
at let's say six months or six months is like an ACL surgery not that bad right but a year's like oh now we're into 37 37 and a half yeah and then you got to get in real tip-top shape again if you really wanted to fight caps funny I understand the doctors position why do the surgery if you don't experience symptoms but most people aren't fighters yeah the thing is though it doesn't take away the fact that I have Cavor Noma like there's multiple locations and so just removing that one doesn't change the condition so the it's possible the Commission's wouldn't change their evaluation just based on the scan with the the other areas exactly and is there anything that mitigates this is there any medication or diet or anything that you can do mm I don't know about you know treatment like that for a cavern oma specifically but I did see another doctor recently through the help of Justin ran big pygmy doctor Amon who's actually a psychiatrist or psychologist by trait and then he you know kind of went into studying the brain fully and he created the spec scan he's released and numerous you know books that were New Times bestsellers done TED talks and I actually saw him just a little over a week ago and you know he has some some different supplements then he recommends he also talked to me about using the hyperbaric chamber not the the hard shell hyperbaric chamber because he thinks that might be too much pressure but like the soft one that you can zip up he thinks could be beneficial but it's more just for overall brain health it might not really make too much difference of cavern oma specifically but I'm gonna do it I'm gonna do whatever I can I want to be healthy obviously you know just just for me and whether I get to fight or not but you know like I said I'm just gonna stay positive and in the meantime look I I don't want to hold up the division like you know I don't want no Bellator is being being very kind with time as we're going through all of this but I understand you know there's guys out there to deserve to fight for the title and if they need to set up a fight to determine the new champion you know I understand you know I'm gonna be over here doing everything I can to hopefully get approved to come back but you know
like I said it's sort of an indefinite retirement I'm just working through this and as people see me competing I didn't want them to think that I'm just not trying to defend my belt or I know whatever with one Bellator if they have to move forward you know and make another fight for the belt and people wondering what's going on with me like this is it like this is what I'm dealing with and through this I'm just hoping to you know help others it might have the same condition have there been any cases of people with caverne over that have gone into remission I'm not sure I'm not sure I don't know I don't know the doctors didn't talk to you about that mm-hmm no you didn't have that no I feel like the first thing I would ask like has anybody ever like made this go away yeah I don't think it I don't think that's possible it just is what it is yes yeah I mean there's I wish I would I should have brought in the pictures I have several little spots yeah I'd like to see it all over there actually in my car where's your car it's on right outside go get it we'll wait okay sure no worries man let's go away no worries I got to see it right I mean how often did you get a chance to look at the dudes brain I'm scared to go into my brain to get up if there's like pitchforks in there and [ __ ] all sorts of like sometimes I wonder like when I was googling that there's just something called Gamma Knife surgery damn a knife surgery yeah that might is your girl gonna go get it for you okay damage Jamie just found you an option well I don't know he's a doctor just uh as a producer without cutting open directly I think it's some sort of radiation treatment I'm gonna look looked gamma knife treatment need to bring you to some witch doctor it's I mean I can't imagine what you're going through man and what you have gone through oh Jesus Christ and then you go into a machine like this what the [ __ ] okay so folks that are just listening to this it says brain stereotactic radiosurgery at the Mayo Clinic and it looks essentially like an MRI machine and they got this guy bolted down his head it's kind of screwed into this [ __ ] harness so I guess you can't move then they roll you into this
machine and what does this machine do I think it then does this I solve this picture of its radiation just hammers your head relating on going to this place the Mayo Clinic they're gonna make you smarter that's what's gonna happen with that you're gonna get superpowers and [ __ ] how dope with that beam came out it but if you came out of that you could read people mind would you tell I wouldn't tell you I don't think I would like a mout and I'd read people's minds I just shut my mouth and just let all these [ __ ] a lot of me that's a crazy looking machine man the [ __ ] this the harness on the head holy [ __ ] that looks uncomfortable take a pic go to that lady that lady right there with the white thing and she looks so uncomfortable look at her she's like I got in there at my head ah yeah oh you girls at the door okay all right here we go we got the scans of Raphael's brain dun dun dun so this this is a treatment for cavern Ouma I was looking up cavern Ouma yeah and this popped up I don't know I'm sure there's since he's gonna see multiple doctors for it that there's multiple treatments that are going on mm-hmm this seems to be one treatment for a variation of it that's interesting when you looked up like how do you get us I just started digging digging down the hole this is a life the fact you can do that while producing a podcast it's quite shocking so kudos to you these are just the pictures obviously they look better on the disc okay oh [ __ ] I could see it from here Wow dude that's crazy okay folks well I'm looking like let me hold this up so people can see particularly this one is there any clear that's the one on the outside look at that of the right that is a [ __ ] big-ass spot on your brain yeah you can see there's a few in there but that's the big boy but yeah all in all that doesn't look good and that's what I saw when I was on my way to Brazil going to train that would especially you're gonna shoot the box that would freak me the [ __ ] out you can see the little ones yeah that are around yeah they weren't too concerned of those yet it's the big one and a little bit of this one here that's more on the inside it's not big big like that one but you know all of these are on the outside of the brain no
just some those weren't inside the brain yeah the inside the brain so it scare the [ __ ] out of me that's crazy to look at man it's gotta be weird looking at the inside of your head and seeing all the stuff that makes you you all your personality your memories all your skills all your knowledge all in there and it's got weird spots on it [ __ ] man yeah that's crazy was heavy its it's still heavy but I'm you should put that on your Instagram well this is my my coming-out party I guess you can say [ __ ] man that spots creeping me out but you know this is hereditary thing that you the the extreme ends or you live with this and it's never a problem your whole life the other side is it's a problem right from the beginning and you have to have multiple surgeries and bad things happen you know people go into comas seizures even death and so you know you could have this and not have any idea about it obviously like just like me and so in so many ways the fact that I fought you know helped me understand because it was required to get this done and thankfully I found out now before anything happened but I want to learn more and try to understand this and see you know because so many people say I mean look I can show you the doctor letter from dr. Wong and look at the percentages that he's talking about here you know 0.25 percent you know I don't know if you want to read it so his his concern is that well he doesn't have a concern the athletic commissions concern is that the the European Commission has rejected you and then California is taking the opinions of a panel of doctors some pro some con and but you think that this dr. Wong guy is the one who knows the most about it he's the first one that I found and he's definitely the one that I've talked to that is the only one I've talked to that's actually been in there seen it you know done surgeries on people and helped people continue their careers that have it and you said boxers and football press NFL players so those are two he mentions that in his letter yeah what about jujitsu that you concerned at all that jujitsu with the you no harm no no I mean there of course there's us accidentally butting heads or in elbow or so but no but believe me that day that that a doctor did say that you know a choke
or strangle would be dangerous and I had the thoughts running through my mind of never being able to Jitsu again you know singing you're such a gay guy you might choke like that well I'm both your ball for sure don't know a lot of I know but you are automatically wet look at these hands yeah that's that's from ghee Wow this thing in my hand but what is that it's like a ruptured tendon or something I don't know they just burst and you just left it that way yeah basically it was like almost 10 years ago someone broke my grip and it popped but for me it's like I trained with my dad you know what I mean like we roll together my you know my family teaching like all my students but jujitsu that's gonna be there forever and you know it took a lot of soul-searching and talking and just sort of meditating and you know getting to a place where because you know working so hard to get to this point you know and seeing those big shows and finally you know gonna start getting paid well you know what I mean like working up to that or the champ yeah I just got a new Academy and definitely was thinking that you know the the championship fight paychecks we're gonna help pay off the the investment then I put into the school you know and just different things and I you know had worked so hard for but I feel like it was kind of getting taken away from me and and I had to really process and talk to him I loved ones and and I've gotten to a place where you know I'm um I know I'm gonna be fine like if I never get to fight again you know I still have so many things to be grateful for life is amazing and I just want to now you know learn more and hopefully through this experience help others that may have this condition or something else if I can just if someone if I can just help people get a scan you know and just know and be able to rest assured that they're okay or learn to find out that maybe they have something that they need to take care of in their brain now is this a condition that will require you to get regular evaluations to make sure it's not progressing yes so how often do you have to do that now I think at least once a year if not every six months just to see
if they're growing or new bundles come together or whatever I really like to know if people have cured it or if if anyone has ever gone into a period of remission where the you know those things went away yeah I've never seen or heard anything like that yeah and they don't know what causes it it's just some sort of strange genetic yeah you think it's hereditary and I believe it's you know from what I've read it's more common in Hispanic community and that's the doctor that I saw in UCLA he said that and he brought up you know being there in LA that he's seen a lot of Hispanics with it boxers mm-hmm but they were able to continue fighting so I wonder you know how that works yeah and and that's what I'm trying to learn about and figure out and see if it's safe or not I don't want to do anything dangerous to my health but if it's possible and it can be done in a safe way I definitely want to continue you know I just now feel like I'm tapping into my my MMA black belt LEM now so if doctors come to a new more in-depth understanding of this disease and what the consequences or the risks are it may be possible that they would say you know what we were a little bit hasty or we didn't we didn't have all the facts and now that we do we feel like you could fight I think so that's what I'm hoping for yeah that's what I'm I'm trying for and this Mayo Clinic thing that you're gonna you said you're gonna visit are they supposed to do that same thing to you that crazy I'm not sure Bruce Banner thing I don't think I don't know I don't think so I should ask them to do it just for the fun of it find out what they can do yeah I'm just gonna keep trying to see the best people that I can and so is there a guy like a nationwide guy like one person that stands out that's Cavan oma expert that you should see or have you seen basically those guys yet not that I know of I mean the Mayo Clinic was definitely brought up UCLA which have already been and I'm gonna there there is another doctor that works at a UCLA that now specializes in pediatric neurology so you know he deals with kids now but he was on the athletic commission he was on
the board is one of their doctors for like ten years and we just found out about him and i'm trying to get in to see him as well to get more more light on people that actually have you know sort of experience dealing with combat athletes that may have this condition and you know just get more knowledge and and seeing what what's possible what's safe for me and like i said if i don't get to fight again i'm now in a good place to be able to accept that and move forward but i'm i'm hoping that i do even if it even if I'm forty even if it takes that long and i could just do one more so i can i can say goodbye you know on my own terms you know and and have one more ride with my family with my team you know if that's if that's what it takes that's what I'm gonna do I just would love to have one more at least it's safe you've got to take some good feeling out of the fact that you were able to overcome that camp because that seems like probably one of the most trying times of your career I mean that that's to go through all that to find out about that while you're flying to Curitiba blow your hamstring out get through all that stuff and still beat Gegard Mousasi to win the title I mean that it is that is an amazing accomplishment thank you thank you but it wasn't just me that's you know that's a what I really wanted to get out there like if it wasn't for my loved ones man there's no way there's no way I would have got through that they gave me the strength they they uplifted me when I needed them they I I felt like it was all of us you know and and I just wanted to make them proud I wanted to I wanted to be the one that made them world champion coaches you know my time MA coach Mauricio he is so good so special and I wanted him to be able to say I've coached someone to be a world champion you know he deserved it I wanted to be the first Ribeiro she should sue mmm a world champion representative you know it was it was family you know we we did that together and you know I'm just forever ever grateful for them and you did it against arguably one of the toughest guys in Bellator if not in the world in that division I mean Gegard Mousasi had beaten Chris Weidman he's beaten so many top guys he's in my opinion like one of the greatest
middleweights of all time he's just a phenomenal fighter I was actually really bummed out when he went over to Bellator because you know I saw the negotiations go south and I was really hoping that he was gonna stick around I wanted to see him fight for the title I wanted to see him versus Robert Whittaker I wanted to see him versus y'all Romero you know so your accomplishment was even more impressive considering that you beat that guy thank you I appreciate it man I'm I'm bummed man I'm bummed for you but I'm also I'm also happy that you were able to pull off what you pulled off and I mean and you have your health you know you know and you can still compete in jiu-jitsu which you obviously are incredibly accomplished at that as well and think about how we were supposed to fight in LA first who knows if I would have gotten improved there right and then this doctor from Ireland somehow missed it he wasn't a part of the panel and the discussions before the fight it really was destiny that I was able to do that fight and I'm just so grateful that it happened and obviously I'm I'm very happy that I won but either way the where I had to dig to to be successful in that fight and the experience the the journey learning so much about myself and and the ride that we did I mean we had this dinner the night before the fight and after the weigh-ins and everything with all my most cherished loved ones you know and they didn't know they didn't know that most of them didn't know just a couple of them and everyone took a minute to say something special about the process and and you know me getting to this point and and you know they're there my rest my wrestling coach and Jiu Jitsu Sawa was there you know all these people my parents my girl like they all said something special about the family that we have us being together and then me you know getting to that and getting to that moment and everyone cried you know everyone took a minute and everyone cried and you know that is something that will live with me for the rest of my life and I'm just so grateful that it happened and and we got we got to be there and and you know because there's so many factors where maybe it wouldn't have happened and I like if we would have fought Nellie the first time who knows if I would have gotten approved
right but it went to London and somehow this doctor didn't see it you know and yeah I'm just this party you think it might be better if you didn't fight again like even if the doctor did approve it is this party think like why why risk this I can't say that I haven't thought that you know but I feel like you know with the ones that are saying that it's okay it's just confusing that's confusing yeah you know I've been very confused four months four months but that's why I just want to learn more and Joe I hope here very soon you get a scan done to you know I hope everyone scared everyone out there does no I really should I think we all should I think you're absolutely right I think that's very good advice especially coming from someone like you that just experiences incredible turnaround in your life that's big too to fate so Bellator is aware of where you stand um have they talked to you about stepping down and about having a new title fight or are they prolonging it and waiting to see with more results and more different doctors wellness we had a good conversation yesterday I got together with Scott and rich and we all sat down and you know once again they're being super supportive Scott's like man keep keep fighting this thing like keep seeing more doctors and you know let's let's learn more and see what's possible you know and there have been very generous with the time you know and not seeing anything to anybody and they were they were okay with me taking more time but I told them that I felt like this was the best route because I'm I'm also sort of pleading to anyone out there if you know you have a lot of great minds on the show and a lot of great minds listening to this show if there's some doctors some neurologists and neurosurgeons out there that that have you know experienced and would like to get involved in this process please reach out I would love to to hear it you know but you know they're supportive and you know they're willing to wait a little longer or they were and I said hey you know I want to put this out there now and so who knows I'm kind of giving them the green light if they want to do something different here coming up in the spring and set up another title
fight in my opinion it should be Salter and Mousasi for the 185 Salter has definitely earned his shot he just got a big win and and if they did that I would be I would think those are the two most deserving people to fight for a vacant title but you know like I said I'm just gonna be over here this is what I'm doing I just want to let everyone know this is what I'm going through and what I'm working on and I hope to be back in a healthy way that everyone's confident with and you know rest assured but if not you know then I will I will have to be saying goodbye officially at some point but I believe that you know there's some some some things for me to still do with the company with Bellator Scott was open with the idea of me being some sort of ambassador you know and and you know in the meantime I just you know all the other MMA fighters out there that are fighting that never had a scan done in places that don't require it you know hey please get checked out get checked out and just know you know whether it's this or something else you don't know you know and man don't take your health for granted you don't take care for God we'll listen brother you you handled all this with grace and dignity like a true champion and I'm honored that you could come on here to tell everybody about this and I think you probably did a lot of people a really good service I'm sure there's many many people that are listening to this right now that are probably going to go out and get scanned and so hopefully we'll you know prevent some tragedy from happening but best of luck to you and everything and your jujitsu matches and your new Academy tell everybody where that is and sure yeah so we just opened up a new location in Oklahoma City closed down the other one it's a big upgrade 10,000 square foot just beautiful beautiful place there's still some work to be done over this next month but man we're so excited and just to see my students smiling and happy and excited about the new location and the new beautiful mats and everything is just really it's been my focus to help get me through a lot of this how do people find it okay BJJ calm yeah we're on the north side of Oklahoma City four oh five four six six five two five five is our number you should let people know it's not just
okay it's Oklahoma that's why it's okay it's [ __ ] awesome dude easy that's a good point like how good your martial arts it's okay we're okay martial arts yeah okay for Oklahoma that is on the license plate actually it'll say Oklahoma is okay and I'm like we can just yeah that's definitely you could do better than that but anyway brother thank you and pester some of you and some protection being here man you she she ate it fire buddy [Music]