From UFC Champ to Podcast King: Henry Cejudo's Media Empire | Henry Cejudo DSH #1085

Summary

Digital Social Hour: From UFC Champ to Podcast King - Henry Cejudo's Media Empire

Episode: Henry Cejudo DSH #1085
Release Date: January 10, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly

---

Introduction

In this compelling episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in a profound conversation with Henry Cejudo, a former UFC champion turned influential podcast host. The discussion delves into Henry's transition from the octagon to the microphone, exploring his motivations, challenges, and the insights he's gained along the way.

Transition from Fighting to Podcasting

Henry Cejudo opens up about his journey from being an undefeated UFC champion to establishing a media empire through podcasting. He shares, “I was looking for purpose and meaning in my life. Just talking with people, getting their perspectives, it's really helped me find myself and be comfortable in my own skin.” (04:29) Henry emphasizes that what began as a side hobby for fun and income has evolved into a purpose-driven platform that prioritizes authentic dialogue.

Building a Successful Podcast

Discussing the intricacies of podcasting, Henry highlights the importance of maintaining focus on guests over self-promotion. “The important part of the show is the guests. So you got to put the guests before you.” (09:15) He reflects on his experience hosting shows like Hot Boxing with Mike Tyson, where keeping the spotlight on Mike was essential due to Mike's established fan base. Transitioning to his current podcast, Henry notes a shift towards more balanced and guest-centric conversations.

Personal Growth and Ego Management

A significant portion of the conversation touches on personal development and managing one's ego. Henry confides, “Podcasting's actually helped me keep my ego in check.” (09:07) By prioritizing guests and fostering an environment where their stories take center stage, Henry has cultivated a space for genuine and meaningful interactions.

Experiences with Psychedelics and Mental Health

Henry candidly discusses his relationship with psychedelics, sharing how certain experiences have shaped his understanding of himself. “I got a near-death experience while I was high once. So ever since then, I just have this massive trauma and when I get high, I get like, PTSD.” (11:35) This revelation underscores the complex interplay between mental health and substance use, highlighting Henry's journey towards self-awareness and healing.

Navigating Political Landscapes

The dialogue shifts to political views, particularly concerning immigration and border security. Henry shares his personal connection to the topic, stating, “Both my parents came to this country illegally. My mom did the right thing. My dad... he got deported.” (15:23) He advocates for stronger border protections, emphasizing the necessity of distinguishing between good and bad individuals entering the country. Henry’s perspective is further enriched by his immigrant family's experiences, offering a nuanced view on a polarizing issue.

The Future of Media and AI

Addressing the advancements in artificial intelligence, Henry expresses concerns about the authenticity of digital content. “There's going to be deep fake videos. You’re going to need good intuition to identify what videos are real. It's gonna be scary times, dude.” (18:31) He warns listeners about the potential dangers of AI in media, stressing the importance of vigilance in an increasingly digital world.

Reflections on Joe Rogan and Podcasting Techniques

Henry offers his take on Joe Rogan’s podcasting style, acknowledging Rogan's longevity and unique conversational approach. “He's got a unique style. He's been around the game for 15 years now.” (20:36) However, he critiques the lack of structured questioning, suggesting that effective podcasting requires both the host and guest to actively contribute to the conversation’s depth and direction.

Insights into UFC Fighters’ Careers and Earnings

The conversation shifts to the business side of UFC careers, with Henry discussing fighter earnings and career longevity. He mentions Jon Jones' impressive demand and the financial growth for fighters, noting, “I think the future generation for UFC fighters, I think they're going to be making, like, crazy money, dude.” (21:21) Henry highlights how strategic negotiations and personal branding are reshaping the financial landscape for fighters.

Personal Life and Future Plans

Towards the end of the episode, Henry shares glimpses of his personal life, including his impending marriage and the motivation it provides. “Getting married next year. We're at Jersey. We met in Jersey.” (16:35) He reflects on how fatherhood has shifted his priorities, emphasizing the value of time and personal relationships over previous pursuits.

Promoting Henry's Media Ventures

In closing, Henry promotes his various media projects, encouraging listeners to engage with his content. “You guys just Google Henry Cejudo. Boom. Check him out, guys. Peace.” (23:09) He mentions his Spanish podcast, Seeing Juan, alongside his English-language offerings like Pound for Pound.

Conclusion

This episode of Digital Social Hour offers an intimate look into Henry Cejudo's evolution from a celebrated UFC champion to a respected podcast host. Through honest discussions on personal growth, political views, and the future of media, Henry provides listeners with valuable insights into balancing fame, purpose, and authenticity in the modern digital landscape.

---

Notable Quotes:

• “I was looking for purpose and meaning in my life. Just talking with people, getting their perspectives, it's really helped me find myself and be comfortable in my own skin.” – Henry Cejudo (04:29)

• “Podcasting's actually helped me keep my ego in check.” – Henry Cejudo (09:07)

• “There's going to be deep fake videos. You’re going to need good intuition to identify what videos are real. It's gonna be scary times, dude.” – Henry Cejudo (18:31)

• “Both my parents came to this country illegally. My mom did the right thing. My dad... he got deported.” – Henry Cejudo (15:23)

---

Connect with Henry Cejudo:

• Podcast: Pound for Pound and Seeing Juan
• Social Media: Search for Henry Cejudo online to stay updated on his latest ventures.

---

Note: Advertisements and non-content segments have been excluded to focus on the core discussion between Sean Kelly and Henry Cejudo.

Transcript

[T-Mobile Rep]

At T Mobile we'll give you four free 5G phones and four lines for only $25 per line per month with eligible trade ins. And no, it's not a contest. It's every day for a limited time. Everyone's a winner on America's largest 5G network.

Minimum of 4 lines for $25 per line per month with autopay discount using debit or bank account. $5 more per line without autopay. Up to $830 off each phone via 24 monthly bill credits plus taxes, fees and $10 device connection charge for well qualified customers. Contact us before canceling entire account to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on required finance agreement due bill credits end if you pay off devices early.

[Ritual Rep]

CT mobile.com Big shout out to you for making it through the hectic holiday season this new year. Get clean quality pregnancy nutrient support off your to do list, including Ritual's best selling Essential Prenatal multivitamin designed with 12 traceable key ingredients to support a healthy pregnancy. With big changes coming up, take the small steps now and start today with 30% off a three month [e-mail] podcast. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

[Henry Cejudo]

Has he ever flipped the switch on you? Like, popped off on you?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, no, he has, but they may have it on video. It was me, him, and then Chichi Chong. That was one time we're all smoking. I was like, all right, man. Like everybody kind of like, they're telling me, like, wrap it up. I'm like, all right, man. Well, thank you guys for coming. Why does it have to be over?

[Henry Cejudo]

You don't cut off Mike. That's a legendary moment, smoking with those guys. All right, guys, Henry Cejudo is back. Hopefully we don't lose the audio this time, man.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Oh, for sure, man. For sure.

[Henry Cejudo]

What you been up to?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Just, you know, I've been, been at Fan Fest for the last couple days speaking today with Chuck Liddell and A.B. and it's gonna be fun, man. And then obviously just, you know, just getting ready for the season.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Getting ready for this new year. A potential fight coming up in either February or March. So looking at those dates.

[Henry Cejudo]

Oh yeah. Have you always been outspoken on politics? Because I know with sport, balancing that with sports is tricky, right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. You know what? Not really, dude. Not really. I think once, once I started having kids, but I knew that. I knew that I had to be different. I knew that you know, the sake of the future of my kids was something that. I mean, something you don't. You don't. You know, selfishly, you just. Like I would ever do Politics. Politics. But it's not until they actually bring it to the schools, and then.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Mean, it's a big deal.

[Henry Cejudo]

Absolutely. And I know you had a rough childhood. We talked about it the first time. Did that make you want to become a better father?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Of course. Of course. I wouldn't necessarily say bad childhood. There's just a lot of things missing in my. In my life, I guess, sort of. Say I. I grew up very humble, poor.

[Henry Cejudo]

But you were sharing a bed with your siblings.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, yeah. But the whole nine. I mean, you know, I was a kid that probably went to. Went to bed hungry at times, but it's also. It's also what's made us. You know what I'm saying? I've been able to really. I mean, think about a guy like LeBron James and then. And then Bronny. We're talking about it yesterday. What is the difference between both of those guys? That. Well, one grew up in the ghetto and the other one has. Maybe has the same ability, if not even more, because he has his dad and his mom, who seems like an athlete.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

And he just can't make it because there's. There's. He doesn't have that grit.

[Henry Cejudo]

I mean, even with McGregor in his later years, once he got the bag, he was never the same.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

It's hard, man. It's hard. You start to taste freedom. Yeah, it's happened to me, too, man. Like, it's. It just starts to get comfortable.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

Because you were unstoppable your first years, right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. You take a break, you do the whole nine, and all of a sudden, like, just. People just catch up. You got to respect the game a little bit.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Because if not, I mean, it's going to show. It's going to show when you fight.

[Henry Cejudo]

That's why someone like Jon Jones is so impressive, because he's won for 20 years now.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

You know, easy. I haven't seen that in your sport ever.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Have you had John on.

[Henry Cejudo]

I want to get him on one day.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I. I think I can make. I think I could pro. Possibly make that happen.

[Henry Cejudo]

Dude, that'd be dope, dude.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Johnny Bones.

[Henry Cejudo]

I know you're crushing it with your show, too.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, man. Papa Powell, Camaro. Dude, we've been. We've been killing it, too, man. We've had Canelo Alvarez, Shaq, Terence Crawford, some of the biggest GSP Uh, we're gonna have Tom Brady in the beginning of the year. So we're going. You know, we're gonna start off the year with the bang.

[Henry Cejudo]

You're pulling serious numbers, bro. It's impressive because just because you have a following doesn't mean your podcast is gonna do well.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Right.

[Henry Cejudo]

Until it still takes some skills.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Right? Right. No, 100%. We enjoy, man. We enjoy the conversations with people and trying to get. Trying to get. Trying to get deep, dude.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You know, and see what they can share with the world.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah. Because a lot of those guys, they're not fans of traditional media, traditional reporters. They're not sharing much with them.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. It's just. It's simple. It's simple answers. But even you, I mean, how do you.

[Henry Cejudo]

Why.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Why did you kind of start this whole.

[Henry Cejudo]

I didn't know it at the time, but I was looking for purpose and meaning in my life. That's what I've realized two years into this, just talking with people, getting their perspectives, it's really helped me find myself and be comfortable in my own skin.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

At first I was doing it just, like, on the side for, like, fun and maybe some money, but.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

Now this thing is. It's a lot of purpose driven.

[Prolon Rep]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

And you're from where?

[Henry Cejudo]

I'm from Jersey.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Oh, you're both.

[Henry Cejudo]

My parents are immigrants.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Okay.

[Henry Cejudo]

So I got that hustle from them. My mom came here with 20 bucks. Didn't speak English.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

And from where?

[Henry Cejudo]

From China.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Nowhere. So you're. And then your dad?

[Henry Cejudo]

Dad came from the uk, but he's Irish, so he had the farmland. He grew up on a farm.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Oh, wow.

[Henry Cejudo]

So I guess. Crazy work ethic, right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Right. No, I noticed that, but I just saw your list. You got.

[Henry Cejudo]

How many people are you interviewing today? 20 yesterday, 10 the day before. 50 in three days, man.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You doing it? What are you doing? Copy. What are you doing, man?

[Henry Cejudo]

All natural.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Really?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah. No drugs or anything. I. I do like psychedelics. Sometimes I'll microdose. Yeah, I like mushrooms.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. You ever done the toad?

[Henry Cejudo]

No. We were talking about this the first time you did some.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Some toes. I was just talking. I was just talking to my friends about that and how. How the toad is just like. It's like the monster of the monsters. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, it's. It's not like. It's not like. It's not like. What is that? The peyote? What's the other one?

[Henry Cejudo]

Ayahuasca.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, ayahuasca, where you trip it for, like, 50 or 15 hours however the hell long that is. This is like a 15 minute launch off that really kind of just if.

[T-Mobile Rep]

You love your phone but not your carrier, just switch to T Mobile. You can keep your phone, keep your number and we'll help pay it off up to 800 per line. You can also use our savings calculator to compare our plans and streaming benefits against Verizon and AT&T. So switch and keep your phone, keep your number and keep more of your moolah. @t mobile.com up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card.

Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.

[Ritual Rep]

At Ritual, we know what goes into the holiday season. The potluck planning, the gift giving, the spirit spreadsheets. So this new year take a moment for yourself with science backed support that puts you first. So whether you're focusing on supporting foundational health with a clean vegan multivitamin or supporting your gut health with symbiotic plus, do it with 30% off your first [e-mail] podcast. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

[Prolon Rep]

Shout out to today's sponsor, Prolon if starting the year with a fast feels a little daunting.

[Henry Cejudo]

You're not alone.

[Prolon Rep]

There's there's an entire community of individuals wanting to make a meaningful decision in their health, just like you. This is what makes group fasting so powerful and why I'm joining in on Prolon's January Longevity Challenge, which is a coach led program to set you up for fasting success. Prolon's Fasting Mimicking Diet is a revolutionary plant based nutrition program that nourishes the body while making cells believe they're fasting. I got all five boxes here and I'm starting day one tomorrow. It's researched and developed for decades at USC's longevity institute and backed by leading US US medical centers. It helps promote healthy blood sugar, enhanced skin appearance, fat loss and improved energy and focus. It all starts with their five day program which contains snacks, soups and beverages designed to keep the body in a fasting state. No guesswork or planning required, which is a relief after a busy holiday. If you guys are Ready to make 2025 your healthiest year yet, order your Prolon five day [e-mail] and they're offering digital social hour listeners 15 off their five day nutrition program. Use the code [e-mail] dsh.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

She and shows you your biggest insecurities. Yeah, so I had a chance to do that with Mike.

[Henry Cejudo]

With freaking with Tyson, right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, with Tyson.

[Henry Cejudo]

Was that your first ego death, man?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I don't even know if it's, man. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's, it's beautiful. Oh, dude. It's beautiful because you're so, you're so alive that you're dead. You're so dead that you're alive. As crazy as that sounds, you know, you're able to kind of see all the emotions that happens. Sadness, happiness, and you notice that they're all good and they're all bad. It's. It's such a trip, dude. But I think for everybody, it's, it's different. And then now, the second time that I did it, it kind of, the second time I did it kind of, I kind of had a, just, I wasn't doing too well, like, you know, fighting with the wife, the whole nine, and I just, I wanted to do it one last time. And. Yeah, dude, I scared the shit out of me. I haven't done it since. It just took me to spiral. It's like, I think that one showed me, like, the size of my ego. And how is it that you think you know everything, but you're, but it's also spitting you in a cycle. Like, it's like you're in a washing machine. Like, you're coming up and you're going down.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So you're coming up and you're going down. Oh, it was horrible.

[Henry Cejudo]

I'm always aware of ego. It's something I, I battle with. Podcasting's actually helped me keep my ego in check.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, because you don't say that because.

[Henry Cejudo]

You don't want to interrupt the guests. So you got to keep your, your ego realized the important part of the show is the guests. Right. So you got to put the guests before you. And yeah, it was tough at first.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. For me, because I, I, I was hosting Hot Boxing with Mike Tyson for a couple years, so we did about 40 episodes. And when I did do the podcast with him, it was a little bit different.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

It's almost like even though we had a guest, I always had to make it about Mike. You know what I'm saying?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

It's like, all right, man, so and so's coming in. But remember, it's always about Mike because people watch it because of Mike. You know what I'm saying? So it was a different strategy. So when me and Kamaru started our podcast, like, I was like, still in that same frame, like, you know what I'm saying?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So I was like. But anyways, now it's not. It's different, though.

[Henry Cejudo]

That makes sense. What do you think of the fight? Do you think he should hang up the gloves?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Mike Tyson, he's making money, man. Like, people think Mike tyson is worth 100 million, bro. Like, even if he was, he's, you know, he's going to spend the way he wants to spend it.

[Henry Cejudo]

Right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So I don't think. I personally think that Jake Paul did him a favor, man. You know?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

But I will say this. Like, Mike Tyson, like, you can tell, like, he was already getting pissed off, dude. And then once it. Once he stepped on his toes, it was all over again.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, that's the real Mike. Like, Mike just. I'm going to let this guy kind of be the bad guy. But then, you know that Mike still has that switch. So whenever it is that they stepped on his toes, he just. That was real.

[Henry Cejudo]

Has he ever flipped the switch on you?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, he has, but I think because. And it was one time, and I don't think they may have it on video, and I was just trying to, like, cut off the. Like, I was with. It was. It was me, him, and then Chichi Chong. Yeah, that was one time where we're all smoking. I was like, all right, man. Like, everybody kind of like, they're telling me, like, wrap it up. I'm like, all right, man. Well, thank you guys for coming. Why does it have to be over?

[Henry Cejudo]

You don't cut off Mike and then nobody even.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

These guys are like, like, we smoked enough. Like, we talked. The bike still wanted to talk. We just kept talking to. So. No. You want to tell him anything?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You know, I had to be the.

[Henry Cejudo]

Bad guy, so that's a legendary moment, smoking with those guys. I watched that movie in high school and it was a classic.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Oh, yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

Chi Chen Chong.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. No, I was cool, man.

[Henry Cejudo]

I can't handle weed these days. My anxiety, dude.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Really?

[Henry Cejudo]

I can't do it.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Really?

[Henry Cejudo]

I get so anxious. Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

No way.

[Henry Cejudo]

I had a near death experience while I was high once. So ever since then, I just have this massive trauma and when I get high, I get like, ptsd.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Really?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah. That really woke me up, dude.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

What about you don't do edibles or anything like that?

[Henry Cejudo]

Edibles will mess me up, bro. Yeah, mess me up. You eat edibles?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, I have edibles, man.

[Henry Cejudo]

I mean, for you. It makes sense with all the pain you have and inflammation from fighting. Yeah, you need like, that.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I'm with this company right now called Vire Bro. Like, like, they have, like, different, different strands of, like, edibles or whatnot. And there's some. There's like, I had one for like, my daughter's birthday party because, dude, sometimes like, running, running after kids.

[Henry Cejudo]

Like, dude, it's like, stressful.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I need something that's just to relax because I'm not trying to drink, dude, that, like, I put in, I just couldn't function. As soon as we, as soon as, you know, we sang Happy Birthday, I went straight to my room and now I was just under the covers.

[Henry Cejudo]

Oh, man, that's me. When I eat an edible, I gotta get under my blankets and get away from everyone.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

They're following me.

[Henry Cejudo]

Oh, man. Yeah, I used to love edibles. Yeah, I used to buy them from, in high school from people in, in class.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So tell me about you, Sean. Are you. Are you in the political river? I mean, what's happening?

[Henry Cejudo]

I did not vote, but I lean to the right.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

You know, I think it's hard to be on the left these days.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Okay, let me ask you a question. What about your parents? Your parents being immigrants?

[Henry Cejudo]

Grew up liberal in Jersey, pretty liberal state. So my mom voted for Obama. And yeah, all the left people on the left. Same with my dad, but I think she just voted for Obama. I mean, Trump. This letter, she finally turned. What about yours?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, same thing. So. Well, not, not really. We never really necessarily follow politics like that, but my mom, you know, we. According to the television or whatnot, like, you start watching a lot of stuff like, like Mexicans, they're very conservative people, but through television you're able to kind of get brainwashed.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, you know what I'm saying? Like a lot of those valleys that people don't stand by, but, you know, they try to portray Trump as a racist and, you know, X, Y and Z. And I just felt like it was, you know, I think with the whole day, there's so many things that happened that played in the favor for Trump. Like even the whole Diddy thing, like, people don't keep, you know, like a lot of you celebrities lost a lot of that juice because everybody was ever tagged to Diddy that's going to freaking over there and represent, you know what I'm saying? Even like a JLo or even like, or even like a guy like LeBron James. Like, dude, you don't, you don't carry weight. You may Carry weight on the court, but not in the political realm.

[Henry Cejudo]

They don't carry the same weight they used to.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

No.

[Henry Cejudo]

Before, celebrity endorsements used to work, but now they had Taylor Swift, LeBron, Jay Z. Didn't even matter.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Jay Z, too, huh?

[Henry Cejudo]

I don't know, actually. Sorry, I might have misspoken. But.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, but I also don't take. Yeah, it's a trip, dude. But either way, dude, I think. I think things are coming together, man. I feel like there's going to be a lot more unity, and I feel like politics. I feel like Trump has done a great job to change politics forever, dude.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You know what I'm saying? Businessmen now are running for politics. I got a good friend, Anthony Constantino. He's the founder and CEO of Sticker Mule, and he's running for. He was about to get arrested for challenging the First Amendment, like, putting this vote for Trump side in Amsterdam, New York, in a very liberal state, 5,000 people. He. He put the event together in three days, called me, I brought him. Calvin Gastellum. I'm sorry. It was me, Kelvin Gastellum, and Tracy, and we all flew out, we did the whole event, and it was crazy, man. It was cool.

[Henry Cejudo]

That's wild.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

Being Mexican. What's your whole take on the border situation?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Build the wall.

[Henry Cejudo]

You're a fan of it?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, but it's. It's not just the Mexican thing. It's just a security thing. You know, whether you're Chinese, whether you're. Whatever you're from, like, you just don't know who's coming in. Even though my. My mom came here and maybe not the most political way.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, you know what I'm saying?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, there's good people and there's bad people, and people don't know this about my story. Like, my mom, Both my parents came to this country illegally.

[Henry Cejudo]

Wow.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

But my mom did the right thing. I mean, she. Obviously, she was a kid. She was 15 years old when she came to America. You know, there's no wall. Like, it's just like, hey, dude, I live in a war zone. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, oh, and you're showing all this freaking candy. Like, let me go check it out. Like, she. She. It pretty much went over, she said, as an adventure. And then they realized that, dude, there's a whole new world out there. And then my dad, on the second On. On the on, on the other hand, came to this country, you know, broke the law, committed crimes, and finally he got deported.

[Henry Cejudo]

Wow.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

And he was on the three strikes and you're out.

[Henry Cejudo]

Damn.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So. Yeah, man. So I'm fair, bro. What I'm trying to say.

[Henry Cejudo]

You got both sides.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I got both sides, bro. Don't tell me, like. No, I'm. What I'm saying is protect our borders. Protect our damn country.

[Henry Cejudo]

Right. I know people on the. On the innocent side as well that have been here for 10, 20 years.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

But what does that tell you? What am I. What does my story tell you? There's a 50% chance that.

[Henry Cejudo]

Right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

It's. Dude, I'm. I'm a living proof of that.

[Henry Cejudo]

I. I'd say more than 50% are good people that come illegally.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Probably.

[Henry Cejudo]

You know, Probably. I think the. The bad ones get painted and put all over the spotlight. But there's a lot of good people.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, but you don't. You don't have kids yet.

[Henry Cejudo]

All I want kids.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Okay.

[Henry Cejudo]

I'm excited, man. Getting married next year.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

No way. Congrats.

[Henry Cejudo]

We're at Jersey. We met in Jersey, so.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Oh, okay. So she's a Jersey girl too.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yes, sir. You like Jersey girls? East Coasters are different. East coast mentality. People in general. I gravitate towards east coast people.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. Yeah. You know, east coast is cool, man. A lot of my friends, like, one of my producers is. He's from New York. So I did. I'm. I just like good people that are corny, just like me.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah, they're just straight up people, man. Yeah, it's. It's faster pace. People in Cali are more lax, more chill.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Right.

[Henry Cejudo]

They chase after the followers. Yeah, I'm not a fan of that, dude. How do you. How do you keep good people around you? You probably. Especially with fighters, you know? A lot of yes men get around you guys.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, Yeah, a lot of those. But I. I don't. I don't pay attention to it. You know what I'm saying? And if I feel like once you start to feel like I got that intuition, then I gotta cut. You gotta cut people out, dude.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I remember one time I had a friend who was a videographer, and he just started becoming weird, like. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was like. Like he was watching all my stores and anyone else was home, and, you know, he wanted to bring gifts and like that and.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

And finally, dude, I had a. You know, finally I had to kick him out of my house to be like, hey.

[Henry Cejudo]

Oh, he was living with you?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

No, he wasn't living with me, but he was just too much.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, you know what I'm saying? Dude, I don't want you to film like, this is. Dude, Like, I need my personal space.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, that's just real. And it's just, you know, people just fanboy. I would not say that he was a. A crazy guy. Just, you know, people just will over stimulate you. You got to be careful with it.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So I. I'm proud of myself because I'm not the guy that was just like, I'll tell you what I'm feeling, bro. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, if I don't want to do something, I'm not going to do it, you know? Or if I got to tell you, hey, that's. That's it. Like, that's it.

[Henry Cejudo]

Absolutely.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You know what I'm saying? I just leave.

[Henry Cejudo]

Intuition is important these days, man. AI is getting really advanced. So that's going to be what separates people in the future.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

What do you mean by that?

[Henry Cejudo]

Well, there's going to be deep fake videos. There's going to be all sorts of artificial intelligence pretending to be you pretending to be me. Our voices are already getting copied right now as we speak.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

So you're going to need good intuition to identify what videos are real. And it's gonna be scary times, dude.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, I saw that too, man. Like, I saw. There are some ads with Joe Rogan on it. I saw those, you know what I'm saying?

[Henry Cejudo]

On Tick Tock, right?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, Yeah. I was like, nah, Joe Rogan wouldn't endorse that. He wouldn't endorse Condom. Condom Depot.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah. You've been on that show. What's, what's your big takeaway? What did you learn from Rogan?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

He's. Well, I think my whole mentality is anytime you come into interview, like, you got to do your best to make yourself. You almost got to kind of throw the softball out too.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

So I think, I think for Joey, he's knowledgeable in the fight game, but I necessarily didn't see, like, there's not a stance with Rogan. You know what I'm saying?

[Henry Cejudo]

A stance.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, like a stance in the, in the way where. Okay. I don't know, bro. Like, that's a trick question.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Like, I've met a lot of smart people and Joe Rogan is smart, but I'm not also like, oh, shit.

[Henry Cejudo]

You are super impressed.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

No, no, I was impressed. I mean, I don't want this to come out the wrong way. He's.

[Henry Cejudo]

He's got a unique style.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. It's just different.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I'm saying, like, you You. You. And I had friends to tell me, hey, man, I was with Rogan is like, hey, bro, you got to come up with these storylines. Like, you got to. You got to. You got to make sure that the pattern of the actual story, if you're going to be on for an hour and a half.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You got to go out there and actually do it.

[Henry Cejudo]

Well, that's actually because he doesn't ask many questions. He treats it more like a conversation.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, yeah. So you can't go into a conversation with, like, Joe Rogan and just expect him to. You know what I'm saying? If not, he's just like, all right, guys. All right, man. Well, thank you for coming in.

[Henry Cejudo]

No, I see what you're saying, though. He won't. He won't carry the show.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Exactly. Exactly. So maybe. Maybe that's what I'm trying to say is, like, you got to help carry that show for Rogan and bring up the topics, and then you also hear from him, like, you know what I'm saying? No, but he's a. He's a sharp dude, man. He's been around the game for 15. For a very long time in the.

[Henry Cejudo]

Pod game for, like, 15 years.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. And he's. He's. He's. He's the original bro.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

When you talk about, like, pod, like the podcast, like, who. Who started. Like, if you look at his, like, the. The podcast he used to do, like, when he first started, it was like, 800 views.

[Henry Cejudo]

I used to watch those with Fleshlight in the background.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

But he came up, dude in that. And I think that's one thing that I will say about Joe Rogan is that he stuck with it. 1. He was a first. He stuck with it, and, you know, he's a great analyst.

[Henry Cejudo]

I mean, that happened to you when you were fighting. The money wasn't that good back then.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

You know, you stuck with it, and now people are making a living.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Exactly, exactly. I think, you know, I think the future generation for, like, UFC fighters, I think they're going to be making, like, crazy money, dude.

[Henry Cejudo]

I mean, you saw Jones demand 30, and he's getting it.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Is that. Is that what he. Is that what he demanded, Mel?

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah, I just saw a report that he's getting it. So good for him, man.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I know. You're breaking news to me right now, Sean.

[Henry Cejudo]

I mean, it's his last fight. You got to go out with a bang.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, you know what? He deserves it, bro. He deserves. But he's also going. But I wonder. Alex Pereira just got out Got out of an interview or he just met with the ufc and I think they're gonna. I don't know, bro. I think they're probably gonna make the jones pera first.

[Henry Cejudo]

Really?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah, I think so, bro.

[Henry Cejudo]

You might have two more then.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

And I think. And I think. I think I. I think maybe the 30. I think they're probably doing 15 and 15, but you're only able to get the 30 if you're able to.

[Henry Cejudo]

That makes sense.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. Because 30 then that sounds. Well, from what I heard, I think they had offered Khabib 40.

[Henry Cejudo]

Holy crap.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah.

[Henry Cejudo]

So he might get 30 then. I'm sure McGregor's cleared 30 to fight.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

McGregor again, I. I think.

[Henry Cejudo]

Oh, right now?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

No, no. Right before he, like, he retired, I think there was like a thing that they offered him 40 million.

[Henry Cejudo]

Damn.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

To scrap or whether it was Phil Bieber or Mayweather, I think he got offered like a hundred. And he's like, nah, I'm good.

[Henry Cejudo]

That's crazy, dude. Yeah. How much longer do you want to keep fighting, you think?

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I'm. I'm playing the five by fight, dude, But I'm towards the end of my career, dude.

[Henry Cejudo]

Yeah.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You know, with kids, it's. It's just different, dude. I gotta. You know, I do it for them.

[Henry Cejudo]

I love that.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

I do it for me, but it's just. You'll know when you have kids, your mentality will ship the shit that you used to do for free. No more. The time that you used to do that you should just get for free. You're like, nah, man. These 20 minutes are valuable to me. I love my kids this much.

[Henry Cejudo]

You cherish your time way more now.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

You have to on.

[Henry Cejudo]

I love that too. Where can people keep up with you? Watch the podcast and everything.

[Guest (possibly a fighter or athlete)]

Yeah. You guys. Pound for pound, we have pound for pound. I also have a Spanish podcast too. It's called Seeing Juan. Obviously, my ig. You know, you guys just Google Henry Cejudo.

[Henry Cejudo]

Boom. Check him out, guys. Peace.

[T-Mobile Rep]

If you love your phone but not your carrier, just switch to T Mobile. You can keep your phone, keep your number and we'll help pay it off up to $800 per line. You can also use our savings calculator to compare our plans and streaming benefits against Verizon and AT&T. So switch and keep your phone, keep your number and keep more of your moolah. @t mobile.com up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card.

Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required card has no cash access and expires in six months.