0

Ep. #113 – BJ Johnson

BJ Johnson is the owner of No Filter MMA, a youtube channel dedicated to provide content on the sport including card breakdowns, predictions and fighter interviews. He is also a report writer and content creator for Bloody Canvas MMA.

Transcript:

BJ Johnson: Boom, we’re back with episode, 113 of the quarantine cast this one’s a special one, um, not a fighter uh he’s not a fighter but uh. I have bj johnson, who is actually the owner of no filter mma and he’s also a report wider report. Writer with me over at bloody canvas um, so i’m really excited for this one, we’re just going to talk about our passion for mma. What got him into it? Why do you start no filter mma and then, wherever the conversation ends up going uh? We had a good conversation yesterday on his on his page, so hopefully we can kind of carry that over to uh to this one boom how’s it going what’s up man. What’S going on, hey how’s, your uh how’s your day going it’s good man, you know how you know how it goes, man wearing a mask everywhere. I hate it. What’S up, what’s it like down there, i mean i’ll, be we’re technically the safest place in all of north america, but everything’s shut down here. Like you know, we have to wear masks everywhere: uh groups, no bigger than 10 people, it’s ridiculous! Well, i’m in north carolina and um. You know i live in the mountains of north carolina, so it’s not a whole lot going on there. So um everybody’s been we’ve been able to stay relatively safe um. The most precautions like the most exposure, i’m around, is mostly at work because i deal with the public but um yeah man we’ve just everything’s not shut down, but everybody’s like mask and hand sanitizer before you go in, and everything like that. So it’s been, it’s been crazy yeah. The paranoia is crazy. Like it’s unreal, um funny thing is about the whole thing is i didn’t realize how serious it was until mma got shut down. I was like oh geez. It’S serious period, just yeah well so uh that that brings me onto this question. Like i, i fell in love with the sport by one fighter. One fighter did it for me: it was rampage jackson that that anger uh. I had a lot of built up aggression when i was a kid i was always angry, always mad still now but uh when he took when he took out that door. I was like. Oh my god. I like that guy. What was the moment for you that really drew you to the sport um? I can’t really say that there was like a moment like there. Never really was a moment. It was just like you know. I would see it. You know what i’m saying. I would see it on tv when i was like 12 13. You know i was like wow what you know, because you know back then, when it came to fighting at least in my world. The first thing people thought about was boxing. You know cage fighting was the wild west. You know what i’m saying so you know i just you know one the one of those late night things. You know, i’m saying you just me flicking through my tv and it’s on and i’m watching, i’m like man. I really like this. I really like this. I really like this and it just kind of snowballed into you know it was that was a couple of years before that season, that first season of the ultimate fighter, um and by the time that came around bro, you know i was all in. You know what i’m saying by the time that came around. I was all in man, and just you know, just the excitement, man, it’s it’s the excitement, you know and having your favorite fighters and watching your favorite fighters evolve and go through the process and just fights and just chaos, and you know watch it for me. Another big thing for me was the different styles like this is mixed: martial arts, you have certain people who specialize in wrestling. You have people who specialize in jiu jitsu people who specialize in striking muay thai karate and all these styles get brought in and you see it all just you know you see two fighters with two different backgrounds, all the same background and you see it just happen And i think it’s amazing man, i think it’s a beautiful thing to watch yeah. That’S what one of the things i like about about your your channel is like it says: no filter mma, you really just kind of off the cuff, whatever you’re thinking of it’s just out there um. How did you? How did you start that page? You know i felt like uh the you know: okay, i started no filter, mma late to late 2017 late 2018 and it actually wasn’t called no filtering. It was called sport scrutiny that was the actual original name of the podcast um and i felt like i wanted. I wanted to talk mma so much, but i had nobody to talk to it with like nobody at work. Nobody, no friends, nobody watched it and i’m just like what the [ __ ]. Why are you guys not watching this? You know i’m saying like: why are you guys not talking about the same thing that i’m talking about and um? So i started you know a buddy of mine reached out and was like hey man. You know i’ve been thinking about doing like a sports part, and i s this literally happened like within a week’s time the thoughts of man. I would really like to start a podcast. You know i’m saying just get on here and talk mma and then he reached out and said i’m thinking about starting a sports podcast, so the origins of it were we were supposed to be. You can go back and watch like the original episodes. The first episodes on no filter mma’s youtube page, and this guy that i was doing he was a friend of mine. You know he he would talk sports, but it didn’t. I was i felt like i was the only person that was putting forth the effort in it like i was landing interviews with fighters and i was doing you know pretty much everything like and then it was when he got to talking about like football and stuff. It just it just didn’t fit. You know what i’m saying and i was doing all the promoting and i was pushing it and then you know i just told him one day i was like man, you know like. I said i feel like you’re. Not in it. You know i’m like you’re, not you, i don’t feel like you’re putting the effort toward it. You know like i want to take this and go with it, and you know after some pretty heated text messages and whatnot, he was like fine dude. You know go ahead so then i was like. I got ta come up with a name. I got ta. You know rebrand this channel because i had plateaued with subscribers. I had plateaued with views. You know i was like. I got ta rebrand this channel. You know what i’m saying so i started that’s when i started um brainstorming for a name and a friend of mine who made a lot of appearances on the show i’m on on on. What’S now no filter mma, he he pitched. The idea of you know no filter and then i added the mma to it and just a new logo new thing you know just new vibe on the on the podcast and it it it was. It was the best thing i could have done. You know i’m saying because now you know um the the when you say no filter, mma people kind of you know in this world. People know who it is. They know it’s me, but what i enjoy the most about doing. This is just being able to interact with fighters and build that base online and build that community online, and you know that’s how i ended up with you guys and just the whole network of underground. You know journalism, mma journalism on youtube. It’S just. I didn’t realize that this whole world of this was here until i decided to do this. It’S it’s funny, because i kind of went through the same thing. I have a friend of mine who watches, watches mma he’ll watch ufc fights with me, but i’ll name, a fighter and he’s like yeah. I don’t know who that is. It’S like. I know everybody like, i know who they’ve, i know their records. I know who they fought last. I know what organizations they competed in. It’S it’s ridiculous and there are die hards, but they’re scattered uh. So i mean i’m glad i found uh bloody canvas mma because all of us all day, that’s all we’re talking about knows every last one. All we do talk about mma talk about, you know, who’s, fighting or or what fights we would make just non-stop um and it’s it’s kind of cool to see that community. That i mean it’s funny that i have friends who i won’t go out with, because i’d much rather stay home and talk to people, i’ve never met. That’S absolutely correct! That’S absolutely correct! It’S so weird um, it’s so weird that i’ve never met any of you guys, but for some reason we all bonded through through the sport of mma um and as for the the interviews, i thought when i started the most baffling thing for me. I don’t know if you can relate to this was how easy it was to pick up these interviews like i was like there’s no way, i’m going to speak to a ufc fighter. Two days in, i was speaking to mike rodriguez right right, yeah, it’s it’s it’s and it is so satisfying like it’s so satisfying when you know um that feeling when somebody hits you back and says, yeah man i’m down like there’s nothing like that. Like there’s just it’s just it’s just a feeling that if you don’t do this, you don’t know how it is. You know what i’m saying, then, when you you get that interaction with that fighter, and you you do these interviews, these video chat interviews with these fighters and whatnot and they they’re normal people. You know what i’m saying like they’re normal people, like you know what i’m saying the first time. The first person i ever interviewed was was was, i think it was golly um. I think tanya evangel was the first person that i ever interviewed, yeah big one too. That’S a good first interview, yeah, it was tonya, evangel and tonya. Evangel has no [ __ ] filter and it was. I was like this is the best thing in the world like it’s like a high that you chase you chase it. You know what i’m saying and for me like getting those interviews, man, especially with someone. I don’t know it’s one of the best feelings in the world. Man yeah. It really is, i mean, and for me the most satisfying ones are. Are the ones where you kind of build a relationship with them? I know with you. Obviously, jillian robertson, uh you’ve had her on a few times, and we’ve talked about that. For me, it was justin james, like when you, when you have a guy who wasn’t in the ufc now all of a sudden he’s in the ufc and you kind of see him grow, there’s nothing more rewarding than that and uh. That’S the big thing for me, i’m so glad i got into it uh and for people like a few months ago. I wasn’t even able to talk to people. I didn’t know i was nervous. I was shy, just go for it and i think both of us are really like proof that it does work out, because you’re talking to talking to people that we’ve never met may never ever meet, but building relationships and being able to text them is is really Really kind of cool, especially when you see them win on tv, yeah man, you know and see. The thing with me, though, is you know the thing about no filter mma, and this is the biggest thing about it that i really wanted to. I wanted. I wanted my channel to be this and what i wanted my channel to be was like. I didn’t want to lose the fact that i’m a fan, because in the earlier stages of my channel i was trying out in some ways i was trying to be something i wasn’t and i was like you know what like i’m a fan. I watch this, like everyone else, does just take what’s in here and put it there. You know what i’m saying i want it to be. No, i want it to be super relatable. You know i’m saying when i get on my channel. You know what i’m saying. I’M ranting and raving like i’m a fan, and i don’t let that cloud. What i’m doing you know what i’m saying like. I don’t try to say the right things. You know i’m saying because big name, people, you know they don’t they’re. It’S like they’re, not fans of people. You know they try to talk about the sport in such a broad way that you don’t know like you, don’t know who ariel harwani’s favorite fighter. Is you don’t know who luke thomas’s favorite fighter is because they don’t talk about them? Everyone who subscribed to my channel knows that i am a jillian robertson fan. Everyone knows that, like everyone knows that i’m a jillian robinson fan, everyone knows i was a huge misha. Tate fan, everyone knows who my picks are, and i think that you know i think that’s important man, because you have people who disagree with you. You have people who agree with you and i think it’s just you know i think, just being relatable on screen, especially when you’re not physically in front of someone. I think that is just huge man and i i just love doing that yeah. You really need to kind of find what works for you. I mean what works for. You would never work for me. I don’t have that passion like like you start and you’re like off you’re like you’re, a whole nother level, a level i’ll. Never reach and uh works for you that passion, the love you have for the game. Um, i love it too. I just don’t share it the same way you do and it’s really, if you haven’t watched, no filter mma, i highly recommend it he’s he’s funny. He keeps things exciting and, like he said, he shares what he feels without a filter um, and you need that. You need people like that, and it’s good that we have people that are different than the like. You said the luke thomases, the ariel fulanis and no no disrespect to them they’re doing what they have to do, but it is nice to have a a different like a guy like the shmo too. A lot of people give him, stick he’s doing his thing and it works um and i’ve followed as a very similar path. I didn’t want to be clickbait. I never did this for likes subscriptions. Any of that i wanted talk to so, and so i’m going to write their name down. If you want to watch it fine, but i’m not here trying to get people to collect. My video uh, like i’ve, had people call out guys on my on my like, while i’m interviewing them, and i don’t i’m not trying to not trying to make it make it big. I know if i did it’d blow up but uh. That’S not what i’m here to do uh, and it is what i’m feeling what a feeling dude when a fighter drops a bomb like that on your channel it, and it comes out of left left field, and i’m just like i mean it happened recently with jillian Robinson, i was she just boom and i was like, like she was like antonina chefchenko ducked me in august i was like whoa whoa whoa like wait like wait a second. You know what i’m saying, but yes, dude. Those bombs are [. __ ] awesome yeah when they come in man and like i had one um justin james told me of his no, not justin james um. I don’t know who was oh tj. Tj brown told me he was fight who he was fighting. While i was talking to him i was like is that out yet he goes no and i’m like. Should i tweet it right now like? Can i tweet it while i’m talking to you before someone else picks this up um yeah? It is nice when those come in it’s it’s super rewarding. It definitely feels nice when they feel comfortable enough to share it with us for sure yeah yeah man. So now what i am like, i told you, you know what i admire the most about you guys. Man is the the knowledge like you guys, remember, [, __ ]. So well, like you guys know you guys can, can talk about a fighter. That’S on the [ __ ] undercard and literally remember the storyline surrounding his last fight and i’m just like how the [ __ ]. Do they remember that [ __ ] like how the [ __ ] do y’all remember situations that happened in someone who’s, even not that well known in their last fight that happened months ago, yeah joe joe, is probably the best at that. That makes no sense. He’Ll. Be like yeah well last fight. He landed 28 of just strikes, i’m like what is that even available online like? How did you find them? Where did you find that information? I have a? I have a spreadsheet that has every fight in ufc history and i scroll through that usually to kind of get information, but when it comes to like those little stats, i don’t know where those come from, but uh we definitely do have. People like bloody canvas is very, we are very, very passionate and uh. It’S it’s crazy to dude we’re very diverse too man, like you know, like you and um. You and john are kind of like the you guys are very like. What’S the term i want to use um i’d say we’re like more reserved like we. Don’T we don’t share as much. We don’t express as much guys are very like um calculated when we use calculated like you guys, are very calculated. You know what i’m saying versus you know, i’m saying like me, who knows where the [ __ ], i’m at you know what i’m saying anthony’s like anthony kind of brings you back to reality. You know what i’m saying when you get too far off left field. Anthony kind of brings you back so many different personalities. What we bring man. You know, and i think that that’s just that’s [ __ ], awesome man, because big media, like the big guys that do mma media. It’S like you couldn’t name five people that work for each of these outlets. You wouldn’t be able to name them because they’re, just they’re they’re, not bringing anything they’re, not bringing anything to the table. You know i’m saying if if people were to follow us and watch our podcast and and listen to us talk man like it’s so many different personalities, you would know exactly we’re rememberable we’re memorable people. You will remember us for sure yeah we like to we’re. We like to keep things entertaining like we. Don’T absolutely we don’t really uh. That’S one of the things i like about us. All too, is we all we all mesh. Well, like uh, you know we all have different personalities, but none of us bought heads like there’s. Never an issue but whether it doesn’t matter if we’re debating we’re arguing about something it’s always friendly, and it’s like you said to diversity. I mean i’m from spanish and canadian backgrounds stanley’s in the uk, uh jose’s puerto rican, like so many different points of view, we’re all over the map. I don’t think anyone’s in the same state like it’s uh. It’S definitely nice to kind of have all those different perspectives too yeah man and – and it makes it great it makes it great man. So you tell me what, when you, when you started, you know i’m saying like because if it it’s hard to get past that first, it’s hard to get past, that first hump when you’re doing this, like that. First hump because you’re excited you’re, excited you’re, excited you’re excited then, when you start it, it’s like what do i do? You know what i’m saying like am i going? Did you get to that point? We’Re like am i gon na? Do this, or am i gon na [ __ ] around with it? You know what i’m saying: how did you get past that first hunk bro yeah? It’S it’s hard, because i mean i i mean i work full-time uh. This is something i do on the side. I mean i go. I have worked nine to five, you know same thing as everybody else. I have to train. I have to do all this stuff. So for me it was. I don’t play video game, i don’t i don’t drink alcohol much. I don’t. I don’t you know so for me this was like you know what. If this doesn’t work out. I have an amazing story. You know what i mean and i enjoy every interview. I do um and i think that’s what a lot of people need to realize. Like absolutely, you can’t, if you can’t do one every day, because you don’t enjoy it, but you can do one on sundays. Do it do that? It’S not about time. If you enjoy it enough you’ll, do it um, i’m not trying to make millions, i’m not trying to make anything. In fact, right now i’m negative. I spent more money on this than i’ve been i’ve earned um. You know i have some some cool sponsors that send me stuff, but outside of that i mean i’m not making money off, but i enjoy it and i think a lot of people when they decide to do something like this. They do it for the reason. Like you know, i want to be a james lynch or i want to be a whoever right. You can’t go in with that mentality because you’ll never get there um, but there are days man like there. I remember one week. I was going through a lot of stuff outside of work and outside of this, and i was like i can’t do this man. I can’t do it this week and uh. The important thing i found was don’t force it. You know that that that passion and the interest in doing more interviews will come back and three days later i was like okay, i need someone else so yeah did you ever experience that as well like at times you’re like? I can’t do this and then that passion jumps back at you or were you always tired? Oh man, i’ll go. If you i mean you know i’ll go you know. Sometimes you get burned out like when you do see me. I do. I do mostly videos and video video video video video. You know what i’m saying i do them and i get burned out. I’M like you know. I just don’t want to do a video for a week. You know what i’m saying and i will take this. I will take a full break from any sort of journalism for like a week and then i’ll just be watching fights i’ll watch a card. I won’t make one video about the card, but then, as that, after the card after i went back and watched all the fights again, i’m like i need to talk about this. I need to say something about this. I need to say something about this and then i’ll be like the day after that. Like get your lazy ass in gear, let’s go, you know what i’m saying then i’ll just get on it and then i’m right back in dude it just like it. It go! My mind will take a rest and then boom i’m right back at it. Bro it’s natural, it’s like, and now i’m asking myself. How will i ever stop doing this like? How will i ever stop doing this? I i don’t think we can man and i think that’s we’re gon na be sitting here for a while doing these, and even if we get no followers manly, i enjoy every second of it. Um, like you said, there’s days where you’re like man, i can’t right now and i don’t understand how you do what you do, because i talk to some fighters. I talk to someone and i get like there are days where i don’t really feel like talking and i’ll do more listening, but when you’re the only one there doing it yourself, you have to be into it. You have to be passionate uh. I watched some of your videos and i’m like i don’t know how you can do that man, it’s it’s hard and it’s very difficult. I don’t think a lot of people realize how hard it is to talk when no one’s physically listening. You know um, so man. I commend you, i think tremendously, for that, it’s it’s it’s a whole nother level. Being able to talk by yourself to a camera is different than being able to have a conversation like we are now right, yeah man, it’s just you know it’s it’s practice, bro! You know for me, it took practice because i would before i was like god, i don’t i’m running out of stuff to say, but you know you when you when you when you’re in it. You know what i’m saying when you when you just you know when you’re talking about a fighter this, i don’t need it’s hard to put it in words, sergio it is man it’s like for you. I hear about regex, for instance, if you talk, if the the topic of conversation is yay rodriguez, you could say you can talk 20 minutes on your out here. You can talk about how he lost to frankie edgar, how you got that last minute ko over zombie. You could talk about, you know those wins over jamie stevens. What that meant for y’all here. You know you can just go dude and you just go, go, go, go, go you just go, go, go, go dude and i don’t know dude. I guess i smoke pot and i [ __ ] turn the camera on. So it just comes out bro, it’s uh yeah i mean i there. There are guys that you can really this you, like all there are times where i’m like. I don’t know what i’m gon na like ask or whatever and the second the conversation starts. [ __ ] will come to you and like um and, like you said man like you’ll, you can ramble on. I mean even guys that you may not may not be a yeah year, just like someone like julian robertson, who maybe doesn’t have the background of your ear. But you start talking about her. I mean you can there’s so much content. I mean what what is she doing for canadian mma? I mean really like she’s carrying canadian mma uh women’s mma right now, unbelievable uh. You know how she gon na recover from the macy barber loss and – and you know, there’s so much content there. Even for people who aren’t necessarily familiar, you do five minute research and you can ramble on about about these people and especially, if you have the the the passion for it that we do. I can sit down and read about these guys for forever. Writing about them. Is a whole other story. I can’t stand it, but but reading and talking about them uh, you know it’s crazy, um. That being said man i want to talk uh. I can’t go without talking about this uh. This weekend’s main event um. Well, i will kind of end on that note. I mean unbelievable for paul felder to step up on short notice and uh man he’s he’s getting a crazy crazy fighter in rafael dos anos, who i’m surprised he’s taking this i mean he’s lost about four of his last five he’s on two fight. Losing streak just shows you what kind of a stud that guy is come on paul felder uh. Well, both both rough raphael. Dosagnos too, i mean you’re taking a huge fight. Um i mean you’re on you’re struggling uh. Paul felder obviously had the controversial loss, but i think paul felder has more to lose in this than rafael, los angeles absolutely, and i was kind of surprised that paul felder stepped in like that um, because he’s been floating at retirement. You know word around uh. I was kind of surprised that he stepped in and take such a fight like dos santos, because if, if paul field is trying to make that run, you know what i’m saying a fight with somebody. That’S not even ranked that’s a that’s a dangerous fight. Like i mean that’s a that’s, a pretty gnarly, dangerous fight and it’s hafio dossanjos, you know what i’m saying so and it’s paul felder having to get to 155 in five days and paul felder has rough brutal weight cuts. You know what i’m saying and i understand he was training for this triathlon. I get everybody’s like well he’s in shape, i get it, but it can either go one or two ways. This is it’s one of two things i feel i mean um paul felder can go into here coming off of that training. For that triathlon, strong, healthy. You know, i’m saying he could come in like that. You know not over training his body um. You know not taking any lumps and bruises and trying you know in a full training camp. He could come in fresh uninjured. You know what i’m saying it could be. A great looking, paul, felder or paul felder can come into this fight drained from that weight cut. You know what i’m saying and and not looking very good at all, because he hadn’t had a training camp. I don’t know which way to go when it comes to that. I don’t know which way to go um, i’m hoping that we see a really good paul. Felder, because a hungry, rafael dos anjos is very dangerous, very dangerous yeah i mean i agree. I agree. 100. I mean you saw what he did to robbie lawler um, rafael dos anos when he come when he shows up uh, he’s legit very, very and coming back down to 155, which is a place where he held a belt. He knocked out anthony pettis, i mean he was at one point considered one of the greatest lightweight champion holders of all time. People were like, oh, my god, this guy’s legit he rejuvenated his career early on his ufc career, he’s getting knocked out by guys like jeremy, stevens and now he’s a champion, and so he’s back down to that weight, class and uh. I’M really hoping it doesn’t deplete him either and i hope we see a good fight, but paul felder, uh man props to him and the guy is a the guy. Is a freak he’s a beast so uh man? Well, whoever wins! I don’t even care. I just want to see a good fight and i like this fight more than the mockingjay fight. I actually do too man, because um, i feel, like i feel like rda, would have beat michael chav. I really do. I think that was a big step up for market share, but um paul felder man, gritty gritty, gritty, gritty dude and he he’s tough as [ __ ] nails. I feel like if he loses this fight. This is the last paw filter, we’ll see um, but if paul can win this fight and turn back hafield sanjo’s man um, i think that speaks a lot for paul. I don’t think he really does much for him in the division. I think it does much. I think it does more for paul as a fighter than it does for his rank. Then his you know his spot in the division or whatever um, but we’ll see man i mean who do you got winning the fight? If you had a gun in my head right now, i’d say rda um as much as i think paul. I think i know you know if both had a good training camp both for prepping. I think it would be very different. I think paul felder is very, very good. He’S shown it. He almost beat dan hooker. I thought he won, but the last time he took a short notice fight was against mike perry, uh, who, i think, nine times out of ten. He beats um. So i think the short notice fight may may affect him um. So i i have to go rda right now, but come fight night. Who knows who i’m gon na put down? Who knows who knows uh, i’m not good at picks uh. So i think i’m ranked. Fourth, right now in the group and picks so no i’m dead. Last i mean my people are horrible. I’M the worst at pigs, dude, i’m the worst at pigs for sure i always feel bad picking, because it’s like, if i interview someone, i don’t want to pick against them like, even if i know they’re going to lose what if they see it like going into That jillian robertson fight with macy barber man, i was like god like this – is the worst matchup for jillian robertson like this is a bad matchup for jillian. Like you know what i’m saying like i’m like man, because i’ve i’ve always said macy barbara can put any girl out any any fl any flower if you’re fighting at 125 and you step in there with macy barber mason barbara can put you the [ __ ] Out period, i think if she connects with some of those guys that fly away too yeah, absolutely a lot of power absolutely and when i, when i was like man and then to see jillian lose like that was heartbreaking man. But i was not gon na pick against her bro. I was not thinking against it. No, it’s yeah, it’s funny like when i feel it more than any other sport like in i’m a die-hard die-hard soccer fan too, but i don’t shake like for my like when my team’s playing i’m not shaking when my fighters fighting i’m there like this, like on The edge of my seat, i won’t sleep with my guys feeling in your chest. Oh, that’s the worst one man, that’s the worst one when that, like i had that feeling for five rounds when tate fought home for the belt, that was what was going through my chest that i was feeling that for five rounds, i was like man and she Got it done she got it done dude? That was the best feeling in the world bro that was the best feeling in the world. So um. Let me ask you this sergio. Before we get off here man, you tell us dog, you tell us. I want to hear from you. I know i’ve asked you this before, but i want to ask you one more time: does michael chandler become champion in the ufc? No, no, i think the only way he becomes champion is if khabib retires, conor retires, dustin retires and tony retires. That’S a long shot. Man yeah exactly! I i think all those guys beat michael chandler. I really like michael chandler. I thought he looked great he’s done. Some great things over at bellator, but he has some losses on his record that i think are quite questionable. Uh conor doesn’t lose, will brooks connor, doesn’t lose daddy alvarez um, so your biggest win in my opinion to date is ben henderson and ben henderson hasn’t been a ufc fighter for a long time. That being said, i like michael chandler. I hope he can go out there and shut me up, but i don’t see him being a champion. I do think he’s a top top ten lightweight, but i don’t think yeah what about you? How do you? How do you? Where do you see michael chandler, in that lightweight division? Um? I see michael chandler as top five. I think he can compete. I think he can compete because he’s got that bellator he’s got that bellator on chip on his shoulder. You know what i’m saying it’s gon na be there he’s got something to prove. Michael chandler has something to prove. That’S the thing man, that’s my theory about fight when fighters have something really to prove, and you have a solid skill set, that’s a dangerous fighter. That’S a dangerous fighter, and you know, which is why, folks with jillian robertson, so much jillian robinson lost on the first round, the tough to barb hunch at the first episode right out, the gate boom jillian robinson is eliminated by barb omg. Barbara j, jillian robertson, has had something to prove in the ufc, which is why i [ __ ] with jillian robertson, like i [ __ ] with jillian robinson, i might end up [ __ ] with michael chandler. Like that you never know you never know bro. I might end up [ __ ] with michael chandler, but um i feel like he’s, got something to prove man um, just like justin look where he got justin gates he came in. Who was well. He was the uh, the lfa uh wc uh sw world tv world news a fighting champion. He has something to prove, you know what i’m saying and it got him all the way to an interim belt and a shot at the uh. At the undisputed bell i mean you got ta, give him that man yeah it’s it’s hard because look at eddie alvarez, yeah, eddie alvarez made it to the bell. You have other champions from other organizations that are super close alexander volk, uh alexander volkov at heavyweight was, was he not the f? I thought he was he another former bellator heavyweight champion. I don’t know about alexander volkov, actually i don’t know if he was he could have been i’ll. Look him up right, quick. I think he was the former bellator heavyweight champion m1 global bellator yep. He was yep fellas for heavyweight world champion yeah. He beat richard hale yeah, you know what i’m saying so i mean these champions from these other organizations. Man, you, you can’t write them off. You can’t write them off. You can’t write them all, not all of them. You know. So it’s it’s hard because um, we don’t know until he goes out there right like um. I i he beats 95 percent of that lightweight division, like you know, he’s he’s yeah he’s ufc level like easily, but my only fear um is that. Will he be a bad aspirin or will he be an eddie alvarez? You know there’s so two two extremes here: you could go in and get starched the second someone they give you a masby doll or or you can go out there and become world champion like eddie alvarez did or justin gaichy almost did um. So there’s two extremes here and who knows man who knows, and the only way to know is give him a give him a fight, um and with that being said, is there if you could give him one fight as it like? If he’s got one fight in the ufc before the belt, who would you give him well uh if, if it was only one fight yeah, if it was only one fight, i see it in my mind, i’m seeing like a two fight run for him, but if It was only one fight. I would give it justin gaijin man, you know former other organization champion versus other organization champion. You know these guys are in the ufc now who’s, the better of the two. I think, stylistically that that that match is amazing too right. I would give him if it was a two fight. If i had to do a two fight prediction, i would give him i would. I would give him dan hooker. First dan hooker is a nice testing dan hooker’s, a tough [, __ ]. You know what i’m saying i would give him dan hooker and then justin gaiji, and if he can beat dan hooker and justin gates, he deserves a title, shot yeah for sure give the man a title shot. I love that. I love that fight and i think both of the matches style as well too right, like i think you go in there and you feed them a guy like charles oliveira, charles oliveira. I keep forgetting he’s a threat. Yeah charles oliveira could could derail that train. You know what i mean: it’s there’s guys that i just think are bad matches for them. I think tony ferguson could be a bad matchup as well, but i think that, like you said those two fights if i was him, i’d be looking at a guy like that who would match him. Stylistically, a guy like dan hooker guy, like paul felder, a guy like justin gaichi. Those are good matchups. I like it yeah somebody like truck. I don’t think they’ll give him. Somebody like charles, because charles oliveira will end that ass, like all right, i’m not even joking. Like charles oliveira would end that ass, like that, wouldn’t that wouldn’t be good at all or even runner. Now you know what i’m saying like conor could. Could i feel like conor would finish him. You know what i’m saying like conor catch him with that left. Man like connor got that equalizer with that left bro. I got ta give him that conor is a lot better than people give him credit for yeah and i think a lot of people wrote them off in the khabib fight but you’re, seeing what khabib’s doing to everybody else, man, i mean right right. I think i think conor gets a lot of he. It talks a lot but man what he did to donald cerrone like who does that right? What he’s done to eddie alvarez? The list goes on, but i do think conor mcgregor. If, if khabib retires, i think conor mcgregor could be the guy to win that belt max. I really i really do yeah he could. He could, but khabib has to be gone for conor to have that belt like khabib has to be gone um but yeah man. That’S all i got bro yeah me too. I uh. I appreciate you taking the time if you, if you haven’t yet and you don’t follow, follow no filter mma. I highly recommend it. Uh he’s a lot of fun. He’S passionate and uh really good content. There. A lot of great interviews a lot he does a great job breaking down fights so be sure to like comment and subscribe on both of our uh both of our channels and make sure you follow bloody canvas, mma and we’ll see you guys next time.

Sergio Pineiro

Sergio Pineiro is the Founder of FighterPath.com and host of the Quarantinecast podcast. Based in Canada he is both a sports journalist and MMA enthusiast. He practices the sport but has a passion for the individual stories of training, fighting and living the fighting lifestyle.

Leave a Reply