Dana, before we get too far into tonight and everything, I just want to see first if you had any updates on Hyion Barcelos and his health. Obviously you weren't here this past weekend, but it was a scary moment.
Thank God he's doing well. He's doing well. Yeah, he's up walking around, talking, and yeah.
What was your reaction to seeing that? Because obviously you guys have had such a great track record here with fighter safety, but it was a pretty scary moment. Were you able to watch it live, and I guess kind of what was your instant reaction?
Yeah, I mean it goes right in line with everything that I always talk about and what we do. All the pre-fight medicals were triple checked. Everything was good. There were six doctors here that night, three ambulances. He was taken straight to the trauma center, not to Valley. Everything was done the right way, and the outcome was good.
And I guess the last thing on this, I mean, I guess his health is what matters most right now, but as far as his potential to fight again is—
Not even thinking about that. Yeah. Who gives a as long as the kid is okay?
Yeah. All right, let's get into tonight. Seemed like you were in kind of a mood as you were handing out contracts there.
I'm definitely not in a mood. You know, I mean, the heavyweight fight that I talked about, who disagrees with me? Atrocious.
Atrocious. So, what gets you over the line there? Because I agree. I think we all kind of said that's going to be a tough one to give out. So, what gets you over the line to say, 'All right, hell with it. Let's give him a shot anyway.'
Well, sloppiest fight probably in, you know, I can't remember off the top of my head right here, right now. But I would call that the sloppiest standup, horrendous. He was just going to keep wrestling until he started getting booed out of the place. And a UFC heavyweight won't gas out like his opponent did tonight. Guy's 31 years old. I said, 'Let's give him a shot. Let's, you know, knowing exactly how I feel about the fight and about how his skill level looked tonight, let's see what he goes back and does and let's see if he tries to, you know, try to do something with it because the heavyweight division is always interesting. Anything can happen with the heavyweights.'
Yeah. Do you give him, I mean, like sometimes we rush guys right away and book them right away, seeing that like he kind of needs improvement.
And he was a 4-to-1 underdog too, by the way.
Do you kind of maybe like give him some time to, you know, get better, I guess?
Well, unfortunately for him, he doesn't have a lot of time. He's 31. So I don't know how we'll play this. We'll see.
And then of course you with Ian as well, you didn't want to give him that the illegal knee. I think we all kind of thought it was an illegal knee. A little surprise. I guess Sean Shelby went and fought. So, what got you over the hump there to say, 'All right, Sean, you get this one.'
Yeah. So, I, you know, I just like how do you bring a guy in on what should have been a no contest in my opinion? And Sean said, 'This guy's really good. He's legit and I want him.'
Nice. The other two with George and Asa, no-brainers. They both looked incredible, I guess. Initial thoughts on those two?
Yeah, I mean, they could not have performed better. They both looked incredible. Yeah. Yeah. No-brainers.
Did want to ask you one more thing about this past weekend at the Tough finale. Muhammad Ali Usmani, the disqualification in the Ultimate Fighter finale. Obviously a very weird ending to the Ultimate Fighter finale. Have you all had any discussions about what you do with him? Because he looks like a bright prospect. He gets DQed in the finals. Do you go ahead and offer him a deal anyway? Does he have to come back and fight his way in? Have you?
Yeah, we haven't yet. We haven't yet.
Nice. And then the only other thing I wanted to ask, for some of us that are new to the world of boxing, can you explain to us what the hell is going on with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua and why there's so much confusion over whether or not you are involved in this fight?
Well, there's no confusion whatsoever. I mean, if you look at everything that's been from the network to the guy who's actually paying for it, and to me saying what I've said. I mean, I've been saying it now feels like for years, but it's probably been weeks, but I've been saying the same thing.
Are you shocked? I mean, it seems like there's people trying to pop involved in this. The fight falls apart and it doesn't happen. Is that a reality that this thing could still not happen?
No, it's happening. It's done. It's done. It's a done deal. Everything that I've been saying is the truth. And why would I say it and double down and triple down and quadruple down if it wasn't the case?
Do you understand what the hesitation is? Like I don't get it. You've been promoting combat sports for years. Why would they—
This isn't a hesitation. This is an ego thing. Total ego thing. Has nothing to do with, you know, any of this. And listen, boxing has taken a hit in the United States. It's not as big as it was here, you know, 20 years ago. It has become a very British sport. And all that you're hearing, the crying and the bitching and the whatever is all coming from the UK.
Does this sour you on this, or does this—what did you expect?
No, I'm having fun, man. This is right up my alley.
Just one follow-up on the AJ Fury thing. Netflix put out a press release today about the press conference tomorrow. Will you be in attendance at the press conference?
Because I was here. Yeah. Okay. I would have been there if I didn't have the contender. Yeah.
And then just a couple outside of tonight, middleweight champion, I didn't get a chance to ask you last week. Middleweight champion Sean Strickland, he's been teasing some fight news, was also involved in what seemed like a rollover car crash. Did you see that footage? What do you think when you see champions taking part in stuff like that?
We're talking about Sean Strickland. I mean, you know, well, we've seen a lot of crazy. I mean, the Morab went on a nice little role there for a while, doing some crazy. It happens at the end of the day. These guys are all human and, you know, end up in some type of extracurricular activity that they could get hurt. You know, I haven't heard anything that he's hurt. I guess he's okay.
Yep. And then Andy Foster did some media today, talking about banning the oblique kicks again.
Banning oblique kicks. Yeah. You seem to be in agreement with that. The topic of power slap was also brought up and he seemed non-committal about the regulation in California. Where do you feel the trajectory of getting power slap regulated is? Do you feel like it's on the right path to getting more states? And is California actually being committed, that domino that needs to fall where other states will regulate?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, we're in a good place as far as regulation goes. I didn't expect to get out on the road and have everybody overwhelmingly accept power slap. But they didn't the UFC either. Takes time, education, and reps. You know, we got to have, you know, the more shows we put on, the more people get comfortable with it.
Yeah. And then just a couple more for me. It was announced today that the NBA is coming here to Vegas and the bid will maybe be announced. Well, there's reports that it's coming. You had mentioned that you were approached being part of the ownership team here. Is that something that might still be in the works?
Okay, cool. And then last one for me. I saw a video. I don't know if it was recent. Did you recently play a million-dollar hand of Baccarat?
What prompted taking that big gamble? And is that the most you've ever wagered on a hand before?
I bet a million before that at the Bellagio a few weeks ago, and then minding my own business, and Steve Wynn called me and said, 'I want to bet a million hand. Can you call and see if you could make it happen at one of these casinos?' I called and they said, 'Yeah, we'll let them do it if you do it, too.'
Were you going to play another hand if you lost that one?
No, they only gave us one. We could only play one hand and it was at Park MGM. They said yes. So, we went and did it. Thank God. I mean, if you know anything about Baccarat, my first time that I did it at Delio, I didn't—I've never posted that video, but the dealer got a seven and I got a one. Now, an eight or a nine are like a blackjack. Game's over. You win if you get an eight or a nine. A seven is impossible to beat, especially if you have a one. I got the eight off the one to beat him nine to seven. Then the second time that we just did it, which was not last night, but the night before, the dealer got an eight and I got a nine. I don't know if you could see that play out in the video. I haven't seen it, but the dealer got an eight and I got a nine. Two impossible hands at a million bucks, though.
Running good at Baccarat.
Running good at Baccarat.
Running good at Baccarat.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Very lucky. Baccarat's like flipping a coin, so not like there's any skill involved in it, but yeah, I've been very lucky.
Dana, I know you mentioned about his skill, but do you feel like you have a guy people will like? And Adam, I don't think he understood a single word of what you said up until that point until you gave him the contract and then he got up, started dancing, and then after the translator kind of told him, he acknowledged everything you said. Do you think this is a guy people will fall in love with?
Yeah, I don't know. We'll see. I thought he was going into cardiac arrest right before he started dancing. So we'll see. Listen, this is obviously I'm giving this kid an opportunity. Hopefully he sees that and everybody here tonight gets an opportunity. This guy's getting the biggest opportunity. So hopefully he understands that and gets back in the gym and starts grinding. We'll see. We'll see what happens.
Dana, a couple quick questions. I wanted to talk about the Tough finale on the men's side. There's been a lot of talk about Ilbeck possibly flopping at the end of that. Did you happen to see the ending of that fight? Obviously, I would assume you did, but any thoughts on him potentially flopping, as it looked as if he may have still been conscious and then once the referee ruled the fight over, ruled that there was an illegal foul, he then kind of flopped to his back. Did you see that? Any thoughts on that at all?
I don't even remember to honestly answer that question right now. I couldn't.
That's fine. Fair. That's fair. Thank you so much. Also, shifting just a little bit here, there's been a lot of banter between Michael Morales and Ian Garry, which leads us to potentially believe that Carlos Protesz would be the next man up for the welterweight title. Is there any potential news on a welterweight title fight?
No. If there was, we would announce it.
Thank you so much. All right, Dana, right over here, you announced UFCQar the other day. It's headlined by Yuri Prohaska versus Navajo Sterling. Will the winner of that fight get a title shot?
What's the question? We announced what?
UFCQar event. It's headlined by Yuri Prohaska versus Navajo Sterling. Will the winner of that fight get a title shot? Because I know the light heavyweight division is in a bit of a weird place right now with the champion injury.
Yeah, I agree. You know, and again, like I always say, fights got to play out first before I, you know, and especially in this goofy, you know, social media world we live in now. Anything that I say, it'll be lied about, you know, everywhere tomorrow that I said yes, this, that. Let's see how the fight plays out and we'll go from there.
Have you had any discussions with Navajo Sterling about fighting his teammate Carlos Olberg because he's on the track to getting a title shot right now. So, it seems like he's going to have to fight him at some point.
I don't think that we've had any of those problems in many, many years and in like early days of the UFC. I won't fight him and I won't fight him and, you know, we had a bunch of that back then. We don't really deal with that anymore.
Okay. And is there a way to fix these commission issues? You know, Herb Dean was sitting there kind of looking right at the illegal knee. They did a replay and they saw the illegal knee and they kind of just said, 'All right, it wasn't impactful.' Is there a way that this gets fixed down the line somehow? Is there anything you can do or is this kind of something that's—
What we do is we keep spending money to fund training for these guys to keep training. I don't disagree with you. When you talk about, you know, Herb Dean's been around for a long time. It's not like, you know, he's green and he needs some work. He messed up.
This probably was the shortest DWCS card ever with all the first round finishes and the fight canceled before the event. Can you talk about just short events like this and if it kind of pisses you off that cards really don't get to have full events because all the fights were so quick and the fight gets cancelled?
No, it is what it is. Everybody's here for, you know, an opportunity to get into the UFC and to showcase who they are. And if you finish it quickly, you know, you did what you came here to do. Nobody comes here to get into a five-round, three-round war. You come here to impress.
Thank you. Last week we had Lewis Hernandez who made a quick turnaround from the Tough and then immediately turned around and fought last week and he beat Sudria Srias Dumz. He comes back here and he says, 'I want to set records. I want to be like Kevin Allen. I want to put like three fights. I want to fight multiple divisions.' He's starting to say that he thinks he wants to take a fight at welterweight. Also, Chris Curtis has been chirping off to the side asking to fight him. Is that a fight that you think that we might see with Lewis Hernandez and Chris Curtis? And I guess what are your thoughts on Lewis Hernandez, the cop, and what his star power potential?
I love that mentality. I love guys who want to fight all the time. I love guys who want to be active. I love guys that want to, you know, do crazy. I respect that. I love it and we do everything we can to help them.
Is 170 even a possibility? He fought the short notice. I think his first fight was middleweight. I think in the Tough he fought at light heavyweight and now he says he wants to try to do a welterweight fight. Would you guys let him try to do that and is that a possibility?
I don't know. I don't know. I think he's on the right track right now. I, you know, who knows? We'll see.
So, one more. Next week, Cell Everett is fighting on the contender. I know you've mentioned before that you'll probably have to be biased for this one. Just I guess what's it like, you know, knowing you're one week away from seeing your guy Sal fight?
Yeah, I'm excited for him. He is a great human being. So, yeah, I wish him all the best and all the success in the world. And yes, I will probably be biased during that fight. I know he still has to go out there and, you know, take care of business like any other guy has to do.
But I mean, you guys talk about how his role would look like if he were to be successful and earn a contract with you guys.
No, we don't talk about that ever. Yeah. No.
Just want to follow up with Luca and Ian because he got the short change with the whole replay. Do you bring him back for season 11?
So, I think what Sean was saying is that he'll give him an opportunity whenever he gets, you know, whenever one pops up. He'll get a shot. Yeah. That's why, you know, officiating is so important. There's so much on the line, you know, for these fights. Not just here, but in the UFC, too. But this is a big deal to finally make it here. You know, it only happens once a year. And you know, to have that happen to you is horrible. So Sean is going to keep his eye on him and figure something out.
That's good to hear. Thank you.
Yep. Good. Thanks, guys. Good night.
Well, congratulations on securing a UFC contract. Clearly some excited people here around you. What are the emotions like for you right now?
I'm very happy. I, you know, couldn't be happier the way things happened. That finish couldn't come at a better time and that's how we planned it. I'm very happy about it.
Talk about the finish. You secured the choke, but she survived through quite a few adjustments. It took a long time. So, what was the thought process and why did you stick with it versus maybe letting it go and thinking this isn't going to work?
We've been training for that during, you know, camp a lot. I was just basically catching everyone in training. I was getting everybody, but noticed that she got some defense in there, but I figured that if I adjusted a little bit, there was no way if I tightened it up, she wasn't going to be able to defend it. At the end she was not able to defend it.
22 straight wins at any level of the sport is incredible. What do you think the key has been to your success in MMA?
I think staying humble is the key to success because, you know, you have to prepare yourself. You know, that's the most difficult opponent out there. I know that I'm obviously you prepare yourself to win, but you prepare yourself to lose as well. And that's how I think I prepare myself. I always think that that opponent can beat me. And if you always think that the opponent in front of you, if you respect your opponent, if you always think that your opponent can beat you, you're always going to prepare yourself the best. And that allows me to go back to win.
Nice. Last thing for me, I know you just mentioned being humble, but it looks like you have the skills to maybe make an impact right away. So, I know you're just starting in the UFC, but how do you see your journey? Do you want to try to rise up quickly, or is this a slow rise?
I know I'm a complete fighter and I'm a girl that can—I know I do have a very good stand-up game. I also have a very good ground game and I can finish fights. That's what I want. I want to get as many fights as possible, quicker as possible, and I do feel that soon I could be fighting for a belt. So, I just want to, you know, add some wins and go fight for that belt as soon as possible.
Your opponent was originally supposed to face somebody else a couple weeks ago. Just my question is, you know, when did you know it was going to be against Camila for this week?
Yeah, about a month ago she was supposed to face a girl from China. Apparently something happened, the fight fell. So at that moment they called me and I took it right away and accepted it right away because I know I'm conscious of all the skills that I have and what I can bring to the table. I knew that I was going to come here to put on a show and I was going to come out with the win and get the contract. So there was no doubt as soon as they called me I accepted and I was here.
Aiza, right over here. You hadn't fought in a year before this fight. Were you waiting for this opportunity on DWCS?
So we really were waiting for this opportunity. We figured that there was an opportunity also for a direct contract with the UFC or an opportunity with a contender. But then there weren't many female fights this year and at one point we even thought, well, we might not even make it to contender and there might not be an opportunity for that. As soon as we got the call, that's why the reason I accepted with no problem at all is that that was my opportunity and I figured this was it. I'm going to get the win and get the contract. When an opportunity like that comes, you just, you know, you get it tooth and nails and you take it.
So, John brought up the 22-fight win streak you've had since you were an amateur. You've had such high expectations for a while now, but this was actually your first fight in the US. Did that add any stress on top of, you know, having the high expectations, you having to come to the US, fight here for the first time in front of Dana White?
No, because, you know, when I was an amateur I traveled all over the world and that really helped. So I just basically took that experience and just saw this as another fight week, normal fight week, same approach, didn't let it get to me and it really helped me and just it was business as usual. I really think that having traveled all over as an amateur, all those trips, I think things happened for a reason that I was here. So it prepared me for the moment.
I saw you compared your fighting style to Charles Oliveira's. Do you think that's what fans can expect to see from you going forward? Because I think this was a Charles Oliveira-like performance tonight.
I do think that's the case because—
I'm obviously — I mean, with the ground game, I go to the ground to finish fights, and that's what he does. That's his mindset, to finish fights on the ground. And like him, I've gotten better and better every time, like he has with the striking. But let me tell you, when striking especially works and you put people on the ground, however it is, I will be looking for that finish, and that's what he does. So I feel the same way.
So I'm well aware of what you do inside of the cage, but going through your social medias, it doesn't seem like you do much other than train. What do you do outside of the cage?
And that's it. I train and rest. And over the weekend, for example, I just basically chill at home. Since my family doesn't live and breathe with me, I really just enjoy myself. And like on Monday, I'm already at the gym, but I really like take a break from this when I go see my family, and then I go relax with them on vacation. But then as soon as we go back to real life, it's training and resting all the time.
Thank you. Congratulations.
Kind of an interesting arrival into the UFC, with a little bit of hesitation there, I guess. Can you just talk to me about the emotions maybe that you were feeling as that was unfolding?
Yeah, to be honest, I was so happy until I saw the recap. I didn't realize — of course, it wasn't on purpose. It was an accident that I realized after the fight. Even though he was already done, I felt his body falling already when I kneed his body. He was already gone. He already left the fight, literally. So the fight was done. I still earned the contract. I'm really happy right now. I suffered a little bit with Dana's comment, but it is what it is, you know. I got to be honest. I come from my time. I'm a traditional fighter. I respect my opponents, and it is what it is. But I deserve it. He was done.
Well, I was going to ask you about Dana's comments. I mean, did that make you — did you think like, oh my gosh, this is being taken away from me right now?
Yeah. Yeah. To be honest, I thought about it even before sitting in the chairs. I thought about it. I was like, do you think this is going to bother his decision? And I understand. And I'm really glad. And I want to use this moment to thank Sean Shelby and also my manager for the opportunity. Like for real, it's going to be worth it. I promise.
Yeah. How does that make you feel, though, to know somebody like one of the UFC matchmakers is fighting for you and saying, no, no, no, we have to have this guy?
You know, for real, I wasn't expecting that, like Sean fighting for me to be there, and I really appreciate that. And it's going to be worth it. I'm a guy that works really hard, you know, toward his dreams, and the opportunity he's giving me right now is going to change my life, my family life. I have a son, he's four years old. I'm doing all this for them, so he won't regret it. I promise.
That's awesome. Last thing for me — what's the plan for your debut, right? I mean, I imagine you got out of there pretty healthy. So are you looking to get this as soon as possible?
