Outside the Octagon
Hosted by Charleston K. Payne and Jude Starns, where every episode is the MAIN EVENT! The guys cover all MMA major events, previewing and recapping while also bringing in many MMA guests from all walks of life!
Outside the Octagon
Brandon Desrosier's Bare-Knuckle Journey
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What does it take to be a warrior inside and outside the ring? In this episode, we're joined by the extraordinary Brandon Desrosier, also known as Mighty Mouse, and his feathered friend, as we uncover the layers behind his tough exterior. Brandon shares his life as a tow truck driver for AAA, his ambitions of becoming a personal trainer, and the unique experience of fighting in BYB's triangle ring. We get an inside look at his recent fight and discuss the irreplaceable role of cardio in his preparation. From his job to his aspirations, Brandon's dedication to the BYB community and his craft is truly inspiring.
Ever wondered about the grueling world of bare-knuckle fighting? Brandon opens up about the necessity of agility, strategy, and brute strength to survive in this unforgiving sport. He vividly describes the distinct pain of bare-knuckle punches and the critical differences between traditional boxing and bare-knuckle fighting, stressing the importance of mobility and mental resilience. We delve into the mental and physical toughness required to thrive in the tri-gon, reflecting on the respect Brandon has for all combat sports while highlighting the unique challenges of bare-knuckle fighting.
But it's not all blood and grit—there's laughter and camaraderie too. We explore the excitement of upcoming boxing matches and potential international events, thanks to BYB's partnership with BKB. Brandon shares humorous anecdotes about his stress-relief bird, adding a personal touch to our conversation. We also touch on his pre-fight rituals, aspirations of making it to the UFC, and the lighter side of balancing a demanding career with his passion. This episode is a compelling blend of intense fight insights, personal stories, and moments of humor that paint a full picture of a fighter's life.
All right, what's going on, everybody, and welcome to our next guest introduction. This is great to have an incredible person, an incredible fighter, and he's here with his bird, brandon Desrosier. Mighty Mouse is what they call him. You know, great fighter, he does the bare knuckle. I mean absolutely honored to have you here with us today. I'm the host, charleston, to my left over here, we got Jude, as always, and I'm honored to have you today, bud. Thank you so much, absolutely, man. So, before we really get like completely rolling everything, one question I like to ask all our guests when they come on is like how are you doing as a person outside of the spotlight, outside of being a fighter?
Speaker 3:I mean I'm doing good, you know I'm trying to survive, you know, just like any typical person. You know I'm saying I'm pretty much on my own, so everything I do count yeah, I'm kind of the same way, man.
Speaker 1:I go to college and all that stuff you know. So been out here in baton rouge for a little while doing that, so but no man, I mean I'm glad to hear you're doing good and everything bro how, how, how's the little bird doing?
Speaker 3:I mean, she's pretty good. She's a hell of a character man. She's a baby, so you know she's starting to remember things. She actually started talking to me the other day, really surprised the shit out of me. She's starting to speak now. Yeah, she's starting to talk and everything. Now, you know, with the job and trying to keep up with me, it's kind of tough but I manage. Yeah, I got you, bro. Uh, what, what type of work do you do outside of outside of fight, outside of fighting? I'm a tow truck driver. I do, uh, I work for triple a. Right now, one of my best friends, you have a company that you know helped me out financially to try to keep me no more money going beside fighting. But right now I'm trying to. I'm trying to get my um, my personal training, going on. You know, since everything happened, I feel like I need to step into my calling and that's legal. I'll start training kids and training other people, but that's one of my goals that I'm trying to do.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's nice, man, that's nice. I mean, I really enjoy that. That's a great goal to have, you know, and especially since you're kind of on the same path with us in a sense. You know, like we kind of talk about the sport and you're trying to get more people into the sport by actually like having them, having them commit to it.
Speaker 3:You know that that's incredible. Yes, sir, I'm trying to bring a little more people to the byb community, though, because a lot of people really don't know about it. So I'm trying to, as I'm trying to people, try to give them a little education and lesson on it, right?
Speaker 1:right. I mean it's. It's a really cool, cool league. They got going on, from what I heard, like the whole triangle shape ring and everything else you know. I thought that was really neat yeah, that's different.
Speaker 3:You know, for a lot of fighters who uh got questions on that triangle, that shit is about banging. You know you ain't got room to step left, you ain't got room to step right. Anywhere you go, the person comes to you right there in your face. So bang. You know and I don't know if a lot of people paid attention to that last fight, but my cardio really was a problem you know you get to some of these matches. You know you got that big-ass ring where you can kind of move and breathe a little bit, and that triangle, that shit don't happen. I mean constantly when you got a person like I was fighting, like bro, that motherfucker don't stop coming. So you know you keep a person in your face. Your cardio gotta be there. But you know, for the next show that shit damn sure gonna be there.
Speaker 3:I had to stop smoking three weeks before the fight, so you know it was gonna be hell. I knew it was gonna be hell. I just didn. A car can't move without no gas. So you know I want that shit again. I want it again. I just got to do a little more work. You know I only had two sparring sessions for that. You know, camp was amazing. But you know, in the area I was in it was kind of tough trying to get sparred. And when I finally did get sparred it was with a great-ass amateur. It was like at 150. He fucked me up. The first day I wasn't used to the weight, but when I came back I had to humble the young kid. But he was a great guy, you know. I mean, he gave me great work. I can't complain about it. He was a hell of a fucking dude for amateur right.
Speaker 1:So I mean, you kind of already answered the question in a sense, but one question that I wanted to ask you is, like what's the major difference between being in that triangle shape ring and then being in, like you know, like the ufc's octagon, hexagon shape, maybe even just a regular ring for regular boxing, you know?
Speaker 3:all right. So the difference with that triangle and the difference with the square you know I've been inside the octagon but I never. You know I never performed inside of it but I don't play with a couple guys. All that shit is a lot of room to move around. You have a lot of play time. You know, in that triangle you really don't have that that triangle. You get stuck in that triangle. You got to find a fucking way out of it. You either got to have angles, you got to have quick feet, you got to have power, you got to have something. You know.
Speaker 3:And the one thing I like to say about you know bare knuckle, it gives you that sense of never backing down. You know that's what's been in my mind no surrender, no retreat. You really gotta have balls. You know, my first time inside of that fucking tri-gun, I didn't expect that shit to be real until I got punched in the lips. I don't know how many other fighters fucking ever experienced getting punched in the fucking lips, but that shit hurt. So you know, you're trying to move your face and move the fuck out of the way. I'm trying to move my fucking lips the whole fucking time. So it's just, I don't know.
Speaker 3:You know, being inside of the gloves and coming in with a straight fist, it fucking hurts. I'm not going to sit here and bullshit. You don't feel it while the drilling is rushing. But, lord, when you get out of that fucking rain, I noticed my lips was fucking hurting more than anything in the fucking world. So my main, my main goal and my whole thing is telling them don't get hit in the lips, because that shit hurts. It ain't like being in a box with those gloves and you got a little pillow. Respect to all y'all boys. I love that. That's where I started, but bare knuckles was my home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I got a whole like given, like I respect anybody that like does the whole fighting thing, whether you're a boxer, mma, jiu-jitsu, bare-knuckle, you know I put you on a higher pedestal regardless. But I feel like bare-knuckle is like a step ahead in a sense, because that's just crazy man.
Speaker 3:It's another ballgame. See what I pay attention to. You know I watch a lot of boxing and seeing bare-knuckle you can pick whatever fucking fight you want to pick. You know what I mean. You can think it's an easy fight. You could think it's not. It'll take one fucking punch. Everybody ain't got a chance to steal and everybody not going to take that punch when it's constantly coming and it's constantly coming and it's constantly coming. I mean, like I tell you that shit fucking hurts. You get hot. It don't matter if you get hit with a shot that you don't fucking see. You can get hit with the one you do fucking see and it still fucking.
Speaker 3:This sport ain't for the weak. You know what I mean. Everybody can sit here and say I want to go and do it. I want to go and do it. Like I got a lot of homeboys and a lot of my brothers that sit here trying to give me pointers and it's fucking aggravating because you don't understand what it feels like Fuck the square. You don't understand what it feel like to be in that tri-gun. That tri-gun is a whole, nother fucking ballgame. So you got to really have some big caudas to be fucking around in that triangle.
Speaker 3:It ain't like boxing man. Boxing you got time, you got time. Those three minutes was the longest fucking three minutes of my fucking life. It's not like boxing where you can move back a couple steps and you got a little fucking break. Especially if you got like I said, if you got a person that's coming, like Bert, you ain't got nothing but a split fucking second and on top of that second. It's not like you're blocking. Like I noticed when I was doing my high guard, I got fucked up doing that high guard. It's not like boxing. You got pillows in the front. You can put that high guard up. No, you gotta slip and move those shits and bare nothing. You gotta knock it down to get the fuck out of the way from it, because if you try to put a high guard up, you're gonna get popped, you're gonna get highlighted, you know I mean. So bare the bare knuckle. That high guard shit is a no, you know in boxing they love it, they help you out, but not not a nice shit.
Speaker 2:You know you gotta move right, yeah, absolutely I'll tell you like one thing that I really like I really got. We started with mma, like that's really what got us into it and stuff. Like we grew up playing sports but then we started watching mma and kind of started liking it but like boxing never interested me because so much clenching but like like bare knuckle is so much like it's a different game than boxing, it's so much better. There's no clenching, it's just.
Speaker 3:See, we got dirty clenching. And you know me, coming from the boxing world, I'm not. I don't like the fucking clench, I don't like people to hold me, I want to throw hands, see. And another thing with Burry rushing me and he knocking me down in the fucking fight. I wasn't used to that shit, I didn't train for that. You know, I'm not used to a wrestler coming forward the way he was coming forward and dropping his head into me. I'm a clean fighter. There was some points inside of that fight when I'm thinking I'm making mistakes, but they was actually clean, fucking shots, you know.
Speaker 3:But it's a totally different ball game. You know the clinching inside boxes and the clinching the opposite is the clinging side. The triangle is way different. You can clinch and still get beat the fuck out of. You know what I'm saying. You can clinch and get stuck in a position. You got to know how to fight out of all that shit. You know it's not like. You know, like I tell you respect to boxers, but I don't. I'm supposed to have a boxing match coming up soon.
Speaker 1:You know, that's just, you know, to keep time flying. I mean, I got that shit tatted. I got BYB tatted on me for a reason. That shit is in blood and I plan to put a little more artwork to it.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, man, that's awesome and do you know, like when your next fight and where your next fight's supposed to be at. Right now we in my coach we talking about doing something, we going into the gloves for, like the first, I think, september. We looking at the gloves I'm just trying to get my hand opportunity to heal but right now we're looking at like two boxing shows before we come back, because, byb, you know, they just signed with the BKB so they're going over, they're going out of the country for a while to do a couple of shows over there. But I think the moment they get back I should be in. But I'm hoping I can fight someone up near you guys.
Speaker 1:My fan base really kicked off up that way, so I was hoping I can really, you know, fight up that way right. And I mean one thing for sure man is like louisiana, like like us folks down here, we love combat sports, but like like big leagues of stuff like, whether it be wbo box and top rank box and you know, uh, the ufc, even pfl, they don't come to louisiana, so we don't really get the opportunity to experience that like in person other than through leagues like what? The opportunity to experience that like in person, other than through leagues, like what we got to experience on Friday night, they uh, they got like an MMA league, it's called a BFC.
Speaker 2:I got like the fight right here from the other night.
Speaker 1:Uh, very, very good events and stuff that they put on, and I also did see that BYB is supposed to be coming down to new Orleans in August or something like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm trying to make that show. That's supposed to be a hell of a goddamn show. I think my boy, hurricane Ike, fighting on that show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's supposed to be the headliner.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's my main motherfucking man right there. That fucking dude's a beast, that's a fucking killer right there. That's my main man, so I'm hoping I can actually be at that show hoping to promote myself and promote the event. But yeah, he's supposed to be coming up towards new orleans let me know if you're gonna be down there.
Speaker 1:If so, jude and I'll get tickets or whatever we'll be able to link up with you in person. Maybe do like a little vlog or something together with you and the bird.
Speaker 3:So I'm gonna um, I'm gonna damn sure try to get down there. That's my plan. I don't know how to. Uh, I came to the show last time because I drove with her, but I don't know how the birds is on the plane. If I can take her with me he really travel everywhere with me and I don't. If, I matter of fact, she's going to come with me my motherfucking stress animal, that's what the fuck I call it. I'm telling you, I'm telling you. I'm showing out right now.
Speaker 3:Hey, when there's a will, there's a way, bro, you know that motherfucker that play handicap a birdie to be with me, oh man.
Speaker 1:so I mean before we get too terribly deep into, like your fighting and all that type of stuff like look at the bird man, that's awesome.
Speaker 3:That's so cool. She got up the last time and shit it in my face, so I've been kind of focused on getting the fuck out of my face oh man, oh man.
Speaker 1:But how did you like, how did you find your way into combat sports? Like? What made you like really feel, figure out that this is your call and this is something that you want to do all right.
Speaker 3:So, um, you know, when I was a lot younger, I was into a lot of fucking trouble in the neighborhood. I wasn't one of the type of people that was so pleasant coming around. But I got into a situation with this police officer named officer garrett and I got into a big ass fight. I was fighting this big ass, big-ass dude inside of the park and you know you get into fights in the park and the police rush the park. Well, I was never the type of kid to run. When the police come I sit there and say what's up. So he seen what was going on and he gave me an opportunity right then. And there he was like either I take your ass to the boxing gym or I take you to jail. You pick a choice. So I went into the gym the first week. I played around with it and I was, I was getting fucked up. You know it was my first week in boxing. I didn't know shit about boxing. It was because I know I like to fight. So I got in there and I was getting beat up and it was frustrating. It's fucked in me. So I walked away from it. And then, you know, as years went along, I started to realize, like that's, I just kept thinking about it. It's just like I always just kept thinking about it. It's just like I always just kept thinking about it. So I went back and when I went back I started fighting again and I realized I was actually really good this time and I actually I really never had a family like that. But the people that I started meeting in boxing it made me want to stay into it. So I was meeting some amazing people. I was meeting like all types of people. So I told myself you know this, this is where I'm at. I don't know if y'all remember an old fighter named Kasey Uma. I was with Kasey Uma for a while. I was hanging with Kasey Uma a while. I ended up with my manager. I got now Angel Pachel. He had to open up a gym. I was into it heavy. I fucked around and met Roy Jones and had a wonderful relationship with him. So I started to notice all the type of people I was around.
Speaker 3:So later years, like down the line, you know, I got separated from a lot of people. You know I had a lot of friends that passed away and things, and I always found myself around a lot of crowd of people. But for some reason I started to be by myself, you know. But every time I was by myself I leaned towards the boxing gym and it was just one day I was in there and I noticed like I was getting great. I was getting real good at it and I had people coming up to me asking me all type of questions and I enjoy answering the questions. So I eventually started training people. I felt my passion. When I actually started training people, I started meeting kids. I love working with kids. You know I got a passion for kids. So, you know, training kids made me push my way into it a little more.
Speaker 3:And I had just went through a surgery. I had an OPJ obstruction or some shit like that, where I had a piss bag. I was hanging with piss and pissing out of my back for a while. So at that point in my life I was kind of trying to figure out where I wanted to go. You know I was trying to ask God like why the fuck am I going through shit like this? I'm healthy as fuck. I always wanted to be in the hospital but I ain't never want to fucking stay the night. I have to go through surgery. So you know, I'm in there trying to make myself feel good about it and every time I come in the hospital, you know one lady, I was like hey, you, that kid that box.
Speaker 3:So while I'm sitting in there I started looking of my friends, harold McQueen call me and was like man, I need your help getting me ready for a fight. I'm like what the fuck are you doing? What kind of fight are you getting into? So that's when he introduced me to Bare Knuckle and you know, I started looking at it and I started paying attention and as I was on my bed the day before I got into it, the day I actually before I had my surgery, I was sitting there and I just fell asleep on the morphine that they had me prepare me for surgery.
Speaker 3:And I had a dream that I was a world champion and, the crazy thing about it, I didn't have on fucking gloves. So I never really understood what the dream meant until I actually started paying attention one day to what my boy, harold McQueen, was doing and I was like, well, damn, I like to fight. I can put my hands on people and not go to jail with gloves. I'm fucking going for it. So I got, you know, I got the contacts from McQueen and Carl Melvin.
Speaker 3:Ever since then, this shit has been a dream come true. I can't complain about it. I honestly want to go and do UFC, though, since I done been inside bare knuckle and running around with it, I want to go choke a bitch out. Since you know me wrestling around with Bear, I want to get into UFC now. I'm looking at a journey. Once I get established into my boxing and everything, I want to see if Al Hammond can accept me over on that side so I can go kick a bitch in the jaw, try to do some shit like that. Jump across the bitch's back. Choke a nigga like Spider-Man. Do some shit like that.
Speaker 1:Hey, go give it a shot, go try a BFC or something. I'm planning on it Now you're in.
Speaker 3:Louisiana. I want to man, I love fighting. I love all type of fighting, no matter what size they is. I'm a little motherfucker so I like to get in with the big people. So you know, I'm learning and I'm learning and I'm loving it. I just, you know, after bare knuckle well, I'm not going to ever stop doing bare knuckle pulling a team on my break times. I do want to be able to grapple and choke a bitch and put a motherfucker in the head to go on. Whatever the hell it's called some type of ninja move, do something like that hell yeah, bro, for sure.
Speaker 2:Like one thing, one thing I think for sure. After like watching all the clips and the way that we found you, like I'm scrolling through instagram reels and I see I see the little bird and uh, at the way ends, I'm like man, this dude right here, like you're a showman, like that's who you are, is a person like I'm trying again man.
Speaker 3:Listen, that's what I was trying to tell a lot of people with the video that went viral. When I was in the back with the doctor, I wasn't under any fucking drugs. That is just me. I'm just a. I'm just a green light dude man. I love to make people laugh. I love having fun. I don't care what people think about me. Even Even though I took that loss, I celebrated like a motherfucker because I worked my ass off and I don't look at it like I lost. You know my loss, that loss was the greatest fucking loss, because I'm not going to lose again. It made me understand where I was.
Speaker 3:My first fight with Ward. Much respect to you, but that fight wasn't shit. Ward wasn't nobody. You know what I mean. He ain't bringing up pressure like Bird is. So you know, being in the ring with Bird damn sure opened my eyes. I will not lose again.
Speaker 3:I know what my mistake was. I didn't have enough time with my cardio. You know that was my first training camp ever. You know my first time ever putting down the smoke to get ready for any event in my life. So I like the results that I did. I just know for a fact I got a little more work I got to do and work I got to do and I won't burr ass again.
Speaker 3:And you know, after that fight, you know I heard a message from Ward saying, oh, he want to get in there with me again. Boy, I know the fuck you don't. I beat your ass and I didn't have cardio and I'm going to whoop your ass with cardio. I'll end that shit in the first round with your motherfucking1. When we got back, that bitch shot up 11 pounds on me and I wasn't even at 130 coming in on that fight. You know, I mean, I'm disciplined enough to keep myself down on my weight, but that that was a big motherfucker and I still beat him right and and one thing you said about like how you don't even it as a loss there was something that I saw earlier today.
Speaker 1:There's a UFC fighter that fought on the prelims last night, joe Pfeiffer, and he's 15-2. And he has in his Instagram bio, instead of 15 wins, 2 losses, it says 15 wins and 2 lessons, and I thought that was just extremely. It's a lesson.
Speaker 3:It's a lesson Like, I say, being in there with bro, like if you look at the first round I was outpouring the fuck out of him and I look at like it hurted me. It hurted me so much to sit here and look at the fight. You understand. And then you know to hear some comments from some people who really don't understand what I got going on, and then that hurt me the most, that made me want to grind even harder. I didn't hear nothing negative from my fans. I heard it all from my family. You know, and you won't expect that shit.
Speaker 3:But that's why I'm coming up with my label called the Black Sheep, because I feel I'm different. You know motherfuckers don't understand how hard you work. You know the punishment that you go through outside of the ring and the problems that you go through outside of the cameras. A motherfucker really don't understand. See me, I don't give a fuck about letting you in because I don't care what people say about me. I love showing my emotions. That's part of being a human. I'm a very I mean, I'm an Aries, no-transcript. You know, even financially, being a fighter. You go around your family and you ask them for help because you know the type of people your family is and the first thing they offer you is fucking drugs to sell.
Speaker 3:I laughed in my mind. That hurted me so fucking much because it's like, damn, y'all don't see the big picture. And that's the thing that really killed me about a lot of people. They don't honestly see your big picture. So it's like that humbled me in a way. It made me look at life a different way, you know, because you have faith in your blood. But for some reason, since I've been in this goddamn sport, water been pushing faster than blood. For some reason and I'm loving the splash from the water Blood been knocking me down for so fucking long. It's like I'm so tired of trying to prove myself to them and they don't understand. You know, even with this loss, they don't understand. They, the only people that made a joke about it, even though it was a joke to them. That shit hurting me, crushing me, because y'all don't understand the sacrifices and I'm a bare-knuckle fighter Bitch. I don't got pillows on my hand. If I come out of a goddamn match with my face not fucked up, I need to talk to the matchmaker because you ain't make something happen. I like hard fights. My coach want hard fights. We don't want nothing easy. We going to go to fucking war in there and I'm going to go to fucking war in there. I don't give a fuck who you is, I'm going to go to Warner.
Speaker 3:So if I come out that motherfucker lumped up and looking like a new fucking avatar, I put that fucking work in. That's just what the fuck I do. And I notice from them last boys and respect to you boys out there that are BKFC, but I notice all of their fighters. After they fight they had on glasses and all type of shit. They ain't putting on shit but a hat. That's just the hot, the scar from the stitches, from the sun. Don't fuck them up.
Speaker 3:I love my face looking like Avatar, walking around with fat ass eyes and black and full lips. That's the hard work, that's the sacrifice, that's the work that I put in. That's what separates me from a lot of people. So you know when motherfuckers make comments like ah, you gotta understand, bro, we going through shit. That ain't that, ain't. This ain't easy, this is bare knuckle, this is straight fist. A lot of people in the streets won't even stand a punch or be quick to go grab a gun.
Speaker 3:I'm in this bitch fighting with no anger, taking off my brain and even trying to execute the same motherfucker that's trying to kill me. You see what I'm saying. So this ain't nothing easy dog. This shit is serious. This ain't no fucking easy sports. So to any people, even to UFC people, even to the great boxers out there that can talk shit about bare knuckle, a lot of you motherfuckers would step in that triangle. A lot of you motherfuckers wouldn't dare to understand what that pain feel like. Get hit with a flush to a motherfucker that got skills and got the same awesome like you and put that same work in like you, and he going into battling with you, and it's like both of y'all got knives and you constantly getting juked with that motherfucker. So now it becomes a mental game. Oh, you trying to flop with me? Huh, it becomes a mental game. Come on you good man.
Speaker 3:You got to stun in this motherfucking camera. Now, be cool, you don't ache you talking about what? But, um, yeah, man, it's like they got to understand. Like I don't give a fuck what sport you in, we the number one goats. I mean, the pain is different, the fucking mental game in there is different, everything is different.
Speaker 3:So before y'all can judge us, understand us, we went to a whole another level. I mean, you got to shout out to Dada, shout out to all the BYB owners, to all my boys that's inside there, because they did a hell of a goddamn thing putting this together and making it the way it is, and we just got signed with BKB. So that means we're the biggest right now you know what I'm saying. And the biggest is going to get shown. And the fuck out of Jacksonville. I mean rock the fuck out of Jacksonville. We down show Pentecostal New Orleans and rock the shit out of that. We doing shit that BKFC ain't doing. So you know, y'all just stay tuned and keep your eyes on BYB, because we got a lot of exciting shit going on. Shout out to my boy, nelson, he's finna, do his shit. Y'all. You know what time it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, man, I'm planning on trying to get down into new orleans again and make it to that uh, and make it to that fight down there that they're gonna be having.
Speaker 3:that's gonna be really exciting you know, and it's not an event I think I want to miss and, based off what you're telling me, definitely, definitely, try to come out to it yeah, but uh, shoot, do you have?
Speaker 2:anything. Oh, I was just gonna say, like, like every sport, like it's a. It's a big mental battle, but it's like props to bare knuckle guys, because it's like the mental part of the game to me that could be the most challenging part, like the battle with yourself. And when you're talking bare knuckle, you got to get in a ring knowing that you going to get punched in the face. I mean it's hard to just want to go in there knowing that you just fixing to do battle and do war and it might be your last time stepping in a ring.
Speaker 3:And you know it's so crazy. You know it's so crazy because right before you know, like I say, I got a lot of family. A lot of people don't understand. I called myself a loner. That's why I called myself a black thief.
Speaker 3:But you know, I went't try to see and have a conversation with my mom before I decided to jump down the road and hit the doctor there and I don't think she really understand the type of sport that I'm in because I turned into a guy. Damn money, what the fuck is up with you girl. Yeah, damn it. Now you're trying to show out. But anyway, I was talking to my mom and you know my mom don't understand. Because I told my mom hey, mom, I'm trying to have a conversation with you. I might not walk through your door again. She's like boy, stop playing me. You don't understand. I'm like, and I just, you know I looked at her. I'm like she really don't understand what we have to go through and the sacrifices it can be.
Speaker 3:You know it's so crazy because you say that you know the last couple of fights I've been paying attention to. You know, just watching the media, a lot of fighters ain't been making it out. You know a lot of fighters. You know they've been dying Like I don't know. I think it's like one of the years where it's been mostly happening. But you know, I paid attention to that and and that kind of made me want to go and speak to my mom and say a couple words to my mom and you know it kind of fucked me up that she really don't understand and you know I gave her an opportunity to understand, but I guess she in her own lane right now with life and I'm in my own lane with life right now. But you know, you need the support, you need the mental support, no matter who it's from.
Speaker 3:You know I suffered a great, okay, go home. Then I suffered a. You know I wouldn't even say suffer. I enjoyed a breakup. That, you know, fucked me up mentally before this fight and you know I had to pull myself together mentally just to, you know, prepare myself for what I had to. You know, do a lot. You know it brought my mind low as hell. You know, even in the fight. You know thank God it didn't affect me in my fight, but just the journey and the path I just happened to go through happened to go through certain things, the mental part of this whole shit. You got to be 100%. You got to be 100%. You can't let a lot of stuff tear you down being a fighter. The one thing about being a fighter that really fucks me up is I feel a lot of fighters don't have a heart. We don't have an opportunity to have a heart. We're not allowed to and should I say we're not really allowed to. It's like you have to be so focused.
Speaker 3:You know, you have to be so focused. You know I had a cousin that passed away in the middle of my like a week before.
Speaker 3:I couldn't even cry for that, you know. I couldn't even open my mouth, you know, to give my condolences. I didn't want to be around nobody. I couldn't even put my emotions in it because I couldn't let it affect my training. You know, this was somebody that I was pretty much brought up with from child. He got shot in the back. I got the phone call in camp, answered the phone in camp and heard the news and told him. I called him back to training. But you know, in the midst of all that, you know just thinking about him, I haven't had an opportunity to really sideboard him because I still got work to do, I still got business to do, I still got to train, I still got to run, you got to have a clean mind and I done been through like. I done lost like four people in the midst of my whole camp and I just couldn't have an opportunity to.
Speaker 2:You know, I didn't have a chance to sit back and go through my emotions.
Speaker 3:I just had to deal with the punches and keep rolling. You know it's just. You know, as a part of our field, we just don't have hearts and we don't have an opportunity. Even with my relationship, you know I couldn't pay attention to the breakup. You know I couldn't put the energy into it. I had to focus, I had to get ready. This had a date. I had to get ready for that, no matter what, even with the pain I go through with my family, I don't have time to show emotions.
Speaker 3:So you know, I find myself being alone. I don't like to be around nobody, because nobody really understands. And when you're actually around people, all you're doing is dealing with situations. You know, like now, when I'm being out, you know I'm taking pictures with a lot of people and I'm loving that and I'm loving being around the people, I'm loving the attention.
Speaker 3:But you know, when life, when I really sit back, I like to be by myself, because those same people that I'm around and I'm taking pictures with, they don't understand. You know they don't understand. You know't understand. You know everybody expect you to be happy all the time, everybody expect you to just have your head up and you know it's just tough, it's fucking tough. I remember being in a fight one time and I'm jabbing and I'm jabbing this is one of my fights I'm jabbing and I'm jabbing, I'm moving around and all of a sudden I just had a whole movie go through my head about a situation and I lost that fight because I couldn't stop thinking about something that I let my emotions get to me. So you know, that's taught me to let my emotions go. So you know, I kind of forced myself to not have emotions.
Speaker 1:You know, and that's why honestly, I got my bird.
Speaker 3:You know I wanted to find something I can actually love again and teach me patience. You know that's the difference. Patience, you know that's the difference. You see how she's my able to screaming and doing all that. I'm learning to accept things like that. You know I'm not being so aggressive, learning to have the heart that I used to have. It's like different stuff, you know I mean.
Speaker 3:So that's one of my reasons why I got my bird. You know I need her to show me certain things that I felt like I was missing. So I know I'm not going home a bird, I know this bring me joy. It bring me more joy than a lot of people. So you know I love having my bird around me. So you know what I mean it is. You know, being a fighter man, it's tough, it's really tough. I could touch on a lot of stuff, but I you know I ain't trying to get too far into it, but I could touch on a lot of stuff. Man, you know I go through a lot and I just thank God for the. You know the experience that I have right now and the blessings that I'm going. That's going on with me right now. It's a blessing, it's a dream come true.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I mean amen to that man. And one thing for sure is I feel like a lot of people that listen to the podcast and stuff they kind of sleep on that question that I ask every guest whenever they first hop on the interview, like how are you doing outside of the spotlight? How are you doing outside of being a fighter whenever everybody knows that you got the spotlight on you? You know, because obviously things are different whenever you're in the spotlight you got the microphones in front of your face versus whenever the lights go out. You know, and it's just you, you know.
Speaker 3:so I feel like a lot of people sleep on that question you know, when the lights go out, I'm battling my demons, but I love them because they make me who I am. You know, I sit in this room. I've been off for the last two days and I've been here, you know, and it's not like I don't have people to go around. I just don't want to be around people. You know, I go through my own problems. I'm battling my own demons, man, and it's just.
Speaker 3:I learned to just be by myself, man, because a lot of people don't understand. It's like I really. I mean I don't want to sound crazy, you know, and it's tough, but, like I said, a lot of people don't understand why there's men in this shit that we go through and the sacrifices that we have to go through and the fake hearts and the fake love that we have to pass. I mean it's tough. And then having to deal with fake people that don't probably deal with. Fake people have a stone mind of going to gym to work like damn dude. We transform us.
Speaker 2:you gotta learn to turn it on and turn it off yeah no, absolutely, man, and I definitely agree like and a lot of people no, regardless like what organization, like even the usc, some of those lower rank guys. It's like they like people, normal people that don't pay a lot of attention, they don't understand. Like that fighters like you got to work a job and then fighting is like your hobby until you make it like, way up, fighting's just your hobby and you're trying to make that a profession. So that's like a very tough balance.
Speaker 3:It's a broke man's sport. It's a broke man's sport. Look, I had to quit my job just so I could make sure I had a good day. To this fight to get a check to put me back at, even not to try to have to go find another job. And I find my job. Now I'm a check in the hole and it's like I put myself in the hole for a great hole. Now I'm pulling myself out of the hole for a bigger hole, if you get what I'm saying right, yeah, no, I mean, I understand that to the fullest man.
Speaker 1:and one thing coming in that I wanted to ask you. You know I know we've been on like a more serious topic and stuff, but you know, like like we talked about before, you know, the interview you whenever you first brought the bird out, the one with you in the back with the doctor and stuff You're a bad guy. You're a bad guy. I love all that man. So so one question that I wanted to ask you ever since that I first kind of like got this day scheduled and stuff and had the idea that we were going to interview you, would you ever have a thought process or ever possibly try standup comedy?
Speaker 2:Because I would love to be at one of your shows.
Speaker 1:I promise you you could. You could strike it big.
Speaker 3:You know what. And so I promise you, bro, for like the last fucking five or six years just being around me, it's just a whole fucking comedy scheme. A lot of people tell me I need to start doing stand-up comedy. It's just, I don't have confidence in myself. It's like y'all say I'm funny, but I don't think I'm funny. This is just me. If I did get in front of a camera, I think I would do some shit. I got a lot of shit to talk about. You know, it's just. I'm a nervous dude, I'm a shy motherfucker. I can talk. What's your father talking to me? I can talk. You know, I'm a I'm a shy motherfucker. I will do stand-up comedy though. I will do it.
Speaker 1:I just gotta learn what the fuck to talk about at least give it a try, man, because you, you like, you don't even have to try to be funny like I mean you. You come on our podcast today and I mean you had us laughing for 80 of the episode already. Man, like you, you, it takes no effort out of you to to crack somebody a smile, you know, or make them laugh, and you're such a. You know one thing I've noticed about you from the very start of this, from the time we were talking and stuff. You're a genuine person and there's like I don't see there being any reason why you shouldn't at least give it a shot, man?
Speaker 3:I will, man, will, man, I just I don't know how people react Because I wonder if I like that motherfucker just stupid or he ain't funny. I don't know, man, I would do it. I don't know, if somebody set it up and I had to show up to it, I'd do it. You know, I got a lot of shit to talk about. I just got to figure out how to talk about it.
Speaker 1:I mean, can I make a deal with you right now? Yeah, yeah, if you ever are in the Baton Rouge area, there is a comedy club in Baton Rouge that does like 15-minute open mic stand-up comedy, all improv. If you'll go with me if you'll go with me, I'll go first before you go.
Speaker 3:I promise you I'll go and do it.
Speaker 2:I'm dead serious, I'm not going to do it.
Speaker 3:So listen, you know one dude, I'm dead serious do it. So listen, you know, if we, if I end up in new orleans on this next show, we damn sure gonna hit it on that weekend because you know we come and shut down for the weekend. So if it is, if we can schedule it you got my personal number, I'm gonna give you my personal number. We damn sure can go down there, if I even take a break to come that way yeah, that works for me, man.
Speaker 1:We go because I promise you like you gotta give it a man, you got to give it a try. And I've been thinking about it, I've been on the ropes about it and stuff, because I mean I got like a couple jokes I've been writing down and like when I'm just chilling, you know being myself, everybody thinks I'm funny and stuff. So I figured why not give it a shot? And I think I think it might be able to break both of us out of the shell. If you ever down here in Baton Rouge or whatever we could, we could go give it a shot, man, I mean we might both bomb, we might both become comedians from this point forward, you know.
Speaker 3:I damn sure do it, bro. I feel like I have a lot of people laughing. Like I said, I have a lot of shit I can say, a lot of shit to talk about. I done been through a lot of shit in life, I know. And I just be having conversations with a lot of friends and they just be laughing. I just probably gotta have a shot of tequila instead of going that bitch I ain't got oh yeah, man, that's all you need, bro.
Speaker 1:Just get a little loose, a little liquid, a little liquid.
Speaker 2:Courage is what I like to call it, that dizzy water but yeah, man, like you definitely can't, you can't let other people, just like you can't let them bring you down, like if people, if people don't like your comedy, if people don't like your fighting, you know like who cares, like who even knows them. You know, main thing is like that's why that's what makes me.
Speaker 3:You know, it's funny that you say that's what makes me, because I don't give a fuck what people say about me. I am an asshole. You can tell me I'm an asshole and I'll tell you I agree with you. You can't, you can't piss me off. I'm gonna piss you off pissing myself off, so don't even worry about it. I got that under control. That's why I said it's it's difficult dealing with me. Man, I'm not a person of, I'm not one of them people you can piss off like that. It'll piss you off trying to piss me off, because I'm just an asshole and I don't care how you feel like. I like to be the ass, I like to look like the dumb one. So you know, I mean I will hang out, that's not a problem, it's fun being with me.
Speaker 1:Oh, I could believe it, man. I mean, like, like I said just a minute ago, I mean you done had us laughing for 80 of the episode. You know what I'm saying. I mean it's been, it's been an absolute honor to have you on in general. You know we're not gonna wrap up quite yet, unless you got unless you no man.
Speaker 3:I'm hanging up. I ain't doing nothing. I told you I sit in this room all day by myself.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir, one thing that I always like to ask every guest that we have on as well, that is a fighter. You know what's something interesting that you do before every fight to try to get your head clear and get into your right mind space. Like, what do you do when you're in the locker room, right before your song comes on, you're about to break through those doors, like what, what goes? What do you do to clear your mind and get ready to step into that trigon?
Speaker 1:uh, so you said like right before the walkout right before the walkout, like what are you doing to just calm your nerves?
Speaker 3:I literally, I literally have my music in my head and like I listen to certain so on, certain tones of music and at that point my mind is just clear, like I don't give a fuck what I'm going through the moment. I put my headphones in and I start to rock, I go to getting nervous and my inside starts shaking and then it's like I feel like I get into like a zone, like I get into a dark spot and like people is just stabbing at me and I just say, fuck that, let's go. And I I get into a dark spot and like people are just stabbing at me and I just say, fuck that, let's go. And I just get into this war zone and just like, at that point forward, I'm fucking numb. It's like if you see how I walked out and that crowd, I just fucking love the attention. So it was like I was. I felt like no surrender, no retreat, motherfucker, let's go. Like I just I put I get it in my mind like I don't, I'm not, I don't give a fuck what's going on. I know I can fight. I tell myself this I know I can fight, I know I can work. That's what I put on the show. So it's like I don't give a fuck about being hit. So I get myself to the point where I'm numb, I have no feelings, I'm not thinking about anything. I just keep saying to myself happy trails, happy trails, happy trails. Even when I'm looking at them.
Speaker 3:When I finally see the person, I say you, the motherfucker I want. And then I just see black clouds. I get scared of the person that I see because I can't control that person. It's like once I walk out there, I'm enjoying everybody, I love all that attention. But it's like once you come out and I look at you, it's like once you come out and I look at you, it's like a dark cloud. I don't hear nothing, I don't see nothing, I'm just at you. That's why it's so hard for me to hear my corner, because I get into another zone. I just get into a zone of fucking killing. I just want to fucking kill, but I'm so humble. That's the crazy part. I'm in that motherfucker like the nicest bitch in the world trying to hit you with certain shit, but I want to kill you at the same time. So it's like I'm zoned out. I don't really hear shit. I've just seen you, you know. I mean, I just see you, I try to watch how you work and I just I give you what I can. You know it's I zone out, man, to be honest. It's funny that you asked me that question, because now I really sit here and think about it. I fucking zone out.
Speaker 3:I like to clown around. At first, I go to acting funny, you and I go to tripping into people around me, I'm making them laugh, but at the same time I just get quiet. It's like something get over my head and I just get quiet. It's like bitches go time. Ah, fuck, what the fuck. I'm sorry, steve Money, get your ass down. You just damn to pull my brains out. The fuck wrong with you. I'm thinking what you're thinking. She doing some weird shit right now, trying to show out in front of these people. You trying to show out in front of these people.
Speaker 1:She knows she oh, look, look, when you said that.
Speaker 3:She knows your phone is on.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you could see it, but as soon as you said that she popped her head right around the side of your head, you could just see her eyes pop around the corner.
Speaker 3:This is awesome she do that every time I'm on the phone. Every time I'm on the phone and she notice I'm talking, she ain't got my eye, ain't got her attention. She do this loud shit. She go to climbing on my head, jumping off me, jumping back. She's just doing a lot of that's awesome.
Speaker 2:I love you, bird so I mean, I know your nickname, mighty Mighty Mouse, or whatever, but since you got the bird, would you be interested in ever changing it to the Birdman or something like that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's funny that you said that because I plan on getting a monkey. I want a monkey, bro. That's my dream right now. I want a fucking monkey. I want to come to my event with a monkey dress, just like me. You know what I'm saying? I want a monkey, bro. That's my dream right now. I want a fucking monkey. I want to come to my event with a monkey dressed, just like me. You know what I'm saying. Try to do some shit. I'm going to always shoot my bird. But yeah, I was looking at the mouse bird man. The bird man, the Mighty Mouse. I'm not.
Speaker 3:I keep getting fucking backlash about my name, mighty Mouse, and I been trying to tell people I done had this fucking name over 30 years since I was first born at Boston. And then you know you got oh, he's not the real Mighty Mouse. I am the real motherfucking Mighty Mouse. I'm the bare-knuckle Mighty Mouse. Motherfuckers, you talking about this UFC guy must respect me, but I'll punch you in the fucking lip and I just want you to know that. Mr UFC Mighty Mouse, I will punch, want you to know that. And I'm 5'3" and I don't know if you like 5'5", but I'm littler than you and I'm the real motherfucking Miley. So to all you people, I'm the real motherfucking Miley. Miley, okay, I got little. My feet smaller, my hands smaller and my head smaller. The bald head boy.
Speaker 2:That's what we need. We need Demetrius Johnson in the ring. Y'all can do battle for the name.
Speaker 3:I will smack his ass right on top of his ball head. If you ever want to get into that ring, I'm not going there to let you choke me. I'm not letting you go in there to keep me in my fucking ass. They already little ass it is, so I'm not letting you take that from me. I will get you in this bare knuckle and smack you clean across your fucking bald head. I love it I want you to know that.
Speaker 1:If anybody's listening right now, we need to get this word out there to the other Mighty Mouse. That's what we're referring to.
Speaker 3:I'm the real motherfucking Mighty Mouse. I will slap you on top of your fucking bald head. My feet are smaller, my hand is smaller and my head is smaller. You, a big ass rat. Call you the mighty rat or something you know you like one of them New York rats. Oh shit, he thought. I was saying that New York nah I don't blame you.
Speaker 1:Nah, I fuck with New.
Speaker 3:York. You know, I ain't go around because I might fuck around New York Y because I might fuck around New York, y'all gonna get me jumped.
Speaker 1:Oh Lord, oh Lord man. This has been such an enjoyable time, bro. What do you think?
Speaker 2:Yeah, this might be one of our better episodes, comedy-wise at least. You know for sure. I mean, we touched down on some serious stuff, we had the bird on and some comedy, all that man. Yeah this has been awesome.
Speaker 3:Since you want to sit here and make all the goddamn noise in the world. Say hey to the people. Hail America. Say hey to America. See the other colleagues and the other brothers that you was born with. See them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what breed of bird is that? What kind of bird? This is a.
Speaker 3:This is a quaker okay, I want an african gray. This is a quaker. I um, like, I said she was a. She was a gift from my manager. It was fucking around one day and just got into the bird, like. But since I got my bird, I I just, you know, I look at life like being you know, to see her spread her wings and see her able to fly, you know, able shit. It really made me look into you know the bird life Like. I love my fucking bird man. She's so, she's so cool. She's probably the only person that can fucking yell at my ear and don't say nothing. You know what I mean. She cool as shit man, like I don't know. Like she cool as shit man, like I don't know. She started to do all type of shit. I used to jumping and shaking this shit, weird shit.
Speaker 1:So like like, how much, how expensive is it to like own a bird and like keep up with a bird? Because, to be honest with you, I ain't gonna lie. Like I went to pet smart not long ago, I was thinking about getting one hey, it's funny.
Speaker 3:You said that I'll be thinking all type of shit. Stop I'll be thinking all type of shit, stop. I be thinking all type of shit Like. So I figured she'd eat what I eat, but she got to eat the healthy shit. So I've been trying to think of some type of like fruit and salad, and hopefully she'll eat the shit, and then some vegetables, some broccoli, it's all type of stuff. So it haven't got as expensive to me yet because I ain't been out shopping for it. No-transcript.
