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00:00Now you're moving on in the semifinals.
00:02You got this matchup here against your next opponent, Kukuri.
00:06What did you see from his first round matchup that maybe you think you can exploit?
00:10What did you see in his fights?
00:11Is there anything that maybe you had to go back and study in the tape
00:15and see differently than what he did in that first round?
00:18Do you think that's pretty much who he is
00:20and the fight that you're going to get from him
00:21when you get in there with him now and next week?
00:25Yeah, I think he does a good job controlling distance.
00:27You know, he's kind of got a judo background.
00:30So he's good everywhere.
00:32For me, it's once again getting to my position, setting a high pace,
00:35and really putting it to him.
00:38And so that's our plan is go out there and push a really hard pace
00:42and do damage on top.
00:44And so that's my goal for this fight.
00:49And we can't wait to see you do that next week.
00:51We're looking forward to this card.
00:52It's a stacked card, of course, on the other side of this tournament.
00:55Your teammate is on the other side.
00:57So if you guys get the results that you both want,
00:59in this fight, it could be a situation you guys facing each other
01:02for, you know, the winner of this tournament,
01:04the big paycheck and a chance at the champion.
01:07Was that something that was discussed with you guys
01:09before you both got into this mix?
01:11Is that something you didn't want to jinx things?
01:13You had to wait until, you know, you get to that point
01:15to figure things out on who's going to get what coaches
01:17or how you can train all that?
01:18Or, you know, is this something you're just used to
01:20being in MMA all these years
01:22where sometimes you just got to fight a guy that you train with
01:24and that you're friends with?
01:27Yeah, I think it's one of those things where
01:29when it first was announced, that was a long ways.
01:33You know, we had to win two fights each,
01:36first round semis, and things got to go well.
01:40And so it's not real until after Thursday night,
01:45you know, when we have to do our face-off.
01:46And if it's me and Jason, then it's real.
01:49But I'm not really too worried about that
01:51until that point comes.
01:55Well, we'll see if that is the case.
01:56You know, we'll see what both of you guys do in this one.
01:59It's going to be, has been a great tournament so far.
02:01All these tournaments, a lot of finishes early on
02:03in the first round of all these fights
02:05and all these divisions.
02:06We'll see what is next for the semifinals
02:08as they move around the center of the country here
02:10with these semifinals.
02:11I was, you know, looking at some of the other interviews
02:13you've been doing as you get ready for this fight.
02:15And one thing that kind of struck me was
02:16I heard you talking about how, you know,
02:17coming into this year and into this tournament,
02:20you know, a big thing for you was, you know,
02:21appreciating this time and, you know,
02:24where the journey, where you've been.
02:25And, you know, I get that from the perspective of
02:28you have, you know, you talked about
02:30some of your training partners at that gym.
02:31You know, we talked about Jason Jackson,
02:32who's older than you.
02:33You talked about, you know, of course, Robbie
02:35and all the years that you've put in with him
02:37and now that his career is, you know,
02:38probably coming to a close.
02:40But you're still a young guy.
02:41You're still 33 in this game.
02:42Is this a situation where you kind of have
02:44maybe an end goal in a couple of years here?
02:47And that's why we're looking at appreciating things
02:49and just liking the journey?
02:50Or, you know, is this just a different mindset
02:53that you've had to feel after the couple of years
02:54that you've been through different organizations
02:57and stuff over the last few years?
02:58Yeah, I think it's one of those things where, you know,
03:04I got to reach the pinnacle and fight for the belt
03:07and beat MVP and fight really good guys along the way
03:10in title fights.
03:12And so I think it's one of those things
03:14where you appreciate those moments.
03:16You look back at them.
03:18And, you know, I don't know.
03:21I'm just enjoying the journey right now.
03:23Does that mean I'm going to fight Tom Forty?
03:25Or does that mean I'm going to be done in two?
03:27I don't know.
03:28You know, we'll see how it goes and how I feel.
03:30But right now I'm just enjoying the journey
03:32and having a lot of fun with my teammates and coaches
03:37and continuing to get better.
03:39And I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:41I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:41I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:42I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:42I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:43I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:44I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:44I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:45I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:45I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:46I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:47I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:48I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:49I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:50I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:51I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:52I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:53I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:54I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:55I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:56I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:57I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:58I'm just enjoying the journey.
03:59I'm just enjoying the journey.