← Digital Social Hour
Digital Social Hour
The Rise of PowerSlap's New Champion: Brandon Bardot | Branden the Butcher DSH #1271
00:35:19
Meet Branden Bordeaux, the new champion of PowerSlap! 🏆 In this electrifying episode of Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly, Branden shares his incredible journey from MMA fighter to PowerSlap world champion. Hear how he overcame a career-altering...
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- [00:01]
Brandon Bordeaux
So we're just sitting there, you know, waiting for it, and the next thing you know, I start seeing these bear crocs that's coming in, and you start seeing it for the first time. At first, you're like, holy shit, this is wild. You know, they got bait barrels down there and stuff like that. Well, you know, actually, when we were climbing up into the stand, I. Climbing up in front of my dad, and I get up there, and there's a damn bone from the bone barrel from the. From the barrel sitting right on the tree stand.
- [00:27]
Host
All right, guys, Brandon Bordeaux here, AKA the Butcher, and new champ of Powersop. Let's go, man. Congrats.
- [00:33]
Brandon Bordeaux
Thank you for having me.
- [00:34]
Host
What a fight last night.
- [00:35]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, it was amazing.
- [00:36]
Host
Main event and ko, Right?
- [00:37]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yep. First round. I called it. You know, I said it was gonna be one and done, and it was one and done. I said, well, he. He. He won the coin toss. So I said I was gonna eat that first shot and put it out. One and done. And then it's. It's nice to speak it into existence and then go out there and make it happen.
- [00:50]
Host
Yeah. Do you like going first or second usually?
- [00:54]
Brandon Bordeaux
Actually, either way is kind of fine with me. I mean, I would personally, like, rather go first, you know what I mean, and not have to take a shot if you don't have to. But, you know, I mean, I'm plenty confident in my chin to where if I have to take the shot like I did last night, I'm plenty confident that I can do it. Turn around, return fire, and put them out in one shot.
- [01:09]
Host
Good shit, man. Have you trained your chin or is it natural?
- [01:12]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, well, I've trained. I think sometimes it comes down to, you know, being able to have a, you know, natural chin as well. But I also do train a lot. Like, you know, I do a lot of neck exercises. I do a lot of. A lot of jaw exercise. I got these jaws or size that I chew on.
- [01:26]
Host
I've seen those.
- [01:27]
Brandon Bordeaux
You have to keep your jaw strong.
- [01:28]
Host
Those actually work.
- [01:29]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you can tell, like, the more I've done them, you can almost, like, your jaw muscles almost form into, like, a golf ball.
- [01:34]
Host
Damn.
- [01:35]
Brandon Bordeaux
Is what it really feels like. And then the neck workouts and stuff that I do, I do, like, four or five different variations of neck work, and we're. We're hitting those, like, three days a week.
- [01:42]
Host
Holy crap.
- [01:43]
Brandon Bordeaux
So I went through a. From. From December 6th, so I knew when I let the situation. Early stoppage, kind of a bad stoppage on December 6th. I knew that night that this March 7th was coming up. So I got with a new personal trainer, you know what I mean, and really hit things hard. And we really focused on. We did eight weeks of just strength training and then we did four weeks of strength training and striking training. So we really buckled down and really hit things hard this time. And it was nice to go out there and put the stamp on it like I did.
- [02:11]
Host
That's impressive, man. Yeah, I've seen studies on how our jaws are much weaker now because of processed foods. People don't eat the gaming meat or whatever.
- [02:18]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yep. Yeah, I've heard that a lot. You know, I mean, that's when that jaws are size comes in, you know what I mean? Or like you said, you know what I mean? People have gone to eating a lot more soft foods and stuff like that. So your jaw's not as naturally strong as what it should be is. You know, back in the times when they're chewing on meat or they're chewing on bones or whatever it is, you know, you got a nice, strong jaw. But like you said, with those soft foods and stuff, nowadays people, you know, your jaw's nowhere near as strong as what it should be. So using devices and stuff like that, you know what I mean? It helps things and helps be nice and strong right there, which obviously helps being able to take the shot as well.
- [02:48]
Host
Yeah, I need to get one of those jaws or sizes right.
- [02:50]
Brandon Bordeaux
Wow. Good company, you know what I mean? They've done a great job with how they've manufactured and made things. And, you know, I firmly believe in it because, you know, I've been using it for the last couple years. And actually from December 2, what I try to do is I try to do a thousand reps of that. Damn. I do it per night.
- [03:06]
Host
Holy cow.
- [03:06]
Brandon Bordeaux
You know what I mean? So I, like try to get in seven days a week sometimes. Obviously you miss it, you know, I mean, I like to at least try to get in five days a week. So you're trying to do about 5,000 reps of that jaw exercise per week, you know, I mean, that adds up pretty quick. I think I did from the December 6 match up until this March match. I think I did over 50,000 reps with that thing with my jaw. I mean, and that all just plays in the factor of being able to eat those shots that on top of the neck strength training that I did, you know, I mean, it definitely. It definitely helps for sure.
- [03:33]
Host
Yeah. That's nuts, man. Going last. Were you nervous because you had to watch all the other fights first.
- [03:37]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, I wouldn't really say nervous, you know, I mean, I'm comfortable in these positions. You know, the last one was a co main event. So, you know, I mean, that helped get, you know, a little bit more familiar with it. But, you know, I thrive in these, these type of situations. More of a high pressure situation or, or under the bright light situations. That's when I really thrive. So I was more than comfortable. I'm more than comfortable out there. And I also believe the more comfortable you are in something, the better you're going to perform. Right? I mean, if you're uptight, you know what I mean, you're nervous and your nerves get to you, it's good. It's gonna be a lot harder. So I'm able to keep myself relaxed out there and have fun with everything.
- [04:10]
Host
Do you pay attention to outside stuff like who's in the crowd, what noises are going on?
- [04:13]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, I do now actually. You know, I mean, because I am so comfor. Like I said, there's people who get up there and kind of freeze under the lights. They can't look out to the crowd because it makes them nervous. But, you know, I mean, I've gotten to the point now where I am so comfortable with that. And it's from the, from the upbringing that I've been in. I've come from, you know, deep wrestling roots and a really good wrestling school that we were in out of the state finals and stuff every year. And we wrestled in front of huge crowds. And same thing with mma. I was in MMA before all of this and I fought in front of bigger crowds and stuff. So that helped mold me to what I am and, you know, to who I am now and being able to go out there and get the crowd, you know, involved in all of it, you know, I mean, that's all, it's all part of the game in there too. So having, you know, bringing them all in, feeding off their energy, you know, I mean, when I walk out and I see that crowd and the lights and the music, I just, I harness in all that energy. I mean, I use it up there.
- [05:00]
Host
Yeah. Hey, guys.
- [05:01]
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- [05:14]
Brandon Bordeaux
And it's been a game changer for.
- [05:15]
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- [06:10]
Brandon Bordeaux
Have fun with it, Do.
- [06:11]
Host
Yeah, I feel like that's. Fighters do that.
- [06:12]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. And that's important. You mean you have fun with it as well, right? You're not having fun with it, then why do it?
- [06:17]
Host
Yeah, it's an interesting sport, man.
- [06:19]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah.
- [06:19]
Host
What a transition. I know you transitioned because of your back injury, because you were a fighter, right?
- [06:22]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yep, yep. Yeah. So I, I was an mma. So I was five and I was an mma, or undefeated prospect, actually. And I had taken a couple of years off. Me and my wife, we had our first couple kids, you know what I mean? And at that time, it was, you know, kind of the wild, wild west days in Michigan for mma. So there wasn't a lot of money and stuff involved. So I, you know, I had a family, had to start concentrating on that, and so I started working for a few years. And then once we were kind of in a better position, I was like, you know what, Maybe it's time for me to, you know, I still have dreams and stuff that I want to achieve while I'm still younger. You know, maybe it's time for me to, you know, try to make a run. Come back and try to make a run at this. And just as I was training to get ready to come back, I broke my back at work.
- [07:01]
Host
Damn.
- [07:01]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. I was lifting a really heavy front quarter of beef and I went to swing it up on the table. I've done it many other times. You know, lift with your legs, turn your, turn yourself around. Well, this time it was so heavy and I was just, you know, maybe in a rush and I just kind of heaved It. And I twisted, and my bottom vertebra, my L5S1 vertebrae, just holy pop forward. So, yeah, so I had to deal with that. I mean, I. I had to live with that for over a whole year before I could even have surgery.
- [07:25]
Host
Geez.
- [07:25]
Brandon Bordeaux
And then once I had the surgery, so now I got a plastic spacer in between my L5s one, and I got four screws in my spine. I got two that go up and two that go down.
- [07:32]
Host
O.
- [07:33]
Brandon Bordeaux
So when all that happened, you know, the MMA dreams, you know, out of the picture, because how hard it is on your body, I mean, there's only certain movements and certain things that I can do that my back allows without, you know, excruciating pain. So when that all happened, you know, it ends up. You know, sometimes when. Sometimes when things happen, you don't understand why they're happening then. But, you know, years down the road, you're like, oh, that's kind of making sense now, you know? Yeah, it sucked that I went through the injury, but ultimately, I think it kind of led me to where I am now. You know, when that. When that injury happened, we. When myself and my brother kind of decided to branch out and do our own thing. And then when I was recovering from surgery is when I seen the power slap stuff had started. I was actually recovering from surgery when season one of the show had started. And I'm sitting there watching, I'm like, hey, you know what? This might be something that I could probably do, you know what I mean, when I'm fully healed and still be able to work for Dana, still be involved in all those situations, because the goal was to be the ufc, be around all that, you know, so. So when I had that opportunity, you know what I mean? One thing led to another, and here we are two years later, and I'm the world champion. Crazy.
- [08:35]
Host
Nuts, man.
- [08:36]
Brandon Bordeaux
It's crazy, you know, how fast things happen. You know what I mean? I've really dedicated myself to this. I take this very seriously. I'm now not one of those people try to just roll off the couch and do this, you know? I mean, I do take it very, very, very seriously. I'm a true professional when it comes to it, and, you know, I'm in the gym five days a week, and, you know, strength training, technique training, you know, we don't have to do. No, we don't have to do the cardio and stuff that, you know, is in, like, MMA and stuff like that. So, you know, I mean. But I do work my ass off to get to the point. And my matches, I've spoke for themselves. I mean, you go back and watch when I first came into this to where I'm at now, you know, the difference in, the difference in myself is night and day difference.
- [09:11]
Host
You feel like you've gotten a lot better.
- [09:13]
Brandon Bordeaux
Way better, way better. And I've improved between every match and a lot of people have seen it too. I mean, if you follow my career, you see how much, you know, progressively I get better each time and, and that's what I did from December to March, you know what I mean? I knew that I was putting the improvements on and I knew who I was going against. Wasn't, you know, I mean, he, he, he had a really good year last year. You know, he kind of ran through, he ran through the division pretty easily until he ran into me at the end of the year. And he kind of had the wrong, wrong mindset going into this one that they asked him what he did differently this time around. He said, well, I didn't do anything differently this time around. I went 40 last year. I'm gonna keep doing the same thing. That's the wrong mindset to have, man. When you're champion, you constantly have contenders, you know what I mean? Wanting what you have, you constantly have a target on your back. And if you're not constantly improving or trying to widen that gap in the competition, somebody's gonna catch you. Yeah, somebody's old.
- [10:00]
Host
What's up guys? Shout out to RX Sugar, one of my favorite snack brands that about to try a flavor I've never had before. Vanilla cream. Let's see what we got here. Not solid. I love vanilla. It's my favorite ice cream flavor. Definitely check them out guys. RX Sugar.
- [10:23]
Brandon Bordeaux
Always working right? And now that I'm at the top of the mountain now, now I'm challenging all these other guys too. If you think you're gonna beat me, you're gonna have to outwork me first. And I promise you, you ain't ever out working me.
- [10:35]
Host
I love that. It's impressive because you got a full time job back home too and you're balancing this with that, so.
- [10:39]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, absolutely. And actually come January, I kind of stepped back from my job.
- [10:44]
Host
Oh yeah?
- [10:44]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. So luckily my younger brother, you know what I mean, he stepped up and kind of really took care of things the last couple months for us. And I told him, you know, we all knew what I was chasing, we all knew what I was after. So, you know, I said, I'm gonna, I gotta kind of Take a step back a little bit and put a little bit more on his shoulders. I mean, so like I said, shout out to him for being able to take care of all that stuff so I could concentrate on what I needed to concentrate on. And now it paid off.
- [11:06]
Host
Let's go.
- [11:07]
Brandon Bordeaux
Here we are as world champion and.
- [11:08]
Host
You want to be a two division champ. So do you want to go up or down in weight?
- [11:11]
Brandon Bordeaux
I mean, personally, I would like to go up. I am the type that I would want to clear out 185 first. You know what I mean? I always want the next baddest motherfucker is what I said. Whether that's the trilogy with the guy I just went against or whether that's the next person, whatever it is, line the contenders up, I'll knock them all down. I'll clear out that division. And then after the possibility to let me go up and go after something up there, that'd be amazing because going.
- [11:33]
Host
Up'S way harder than going down, right?
- [11:35]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just don't think for, like myself, I don't know if I could go down to 170, you know? Yeah, yeah. I keep myself like, I keep my weight maintained, so I try to stay within, you know, ten pounds. When I stay really disciplined. If there's times where I have some time off, I will get up to like 215, 217.
- [11:50]
Host
Damn.
- [11:51]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. So, you know, I mean, I don't like making that cut from 215 to 185. So, you know, this time around, like I said, After December 6, I knew what was coming in March, so I kept my weight within 10 pounds. I mean, a week and a half, two weeks out, I was already on weight, which benefits me because you get some of these guys who come in there and they kind of water cut everything. Yeah, well, this is the wrong sport to water cut in, really. You know, the first thing, you know, when you start dehydrating your body, the first thing that loses water is your brain, you know, and the last organ to regain water is your brain. But you're going to get hit in this sport, right? You're either, you know, we don't have a defense. We can't move around like that. So you're going to take a shot to the head. Well, if you're a little bit dehydrated at all, you know, I mean, that water's not full in your brain, you're going to end up taking one of those shots. I'm going to put you out because you decided to cut, you know, you decided to cut weight wrong. So that's where I like to stay disciplined, or I start, you know, a couple months ahead of time to where I get on a good diet and I pull the fat off my body and then I keep my body well hydrated.
- [12:44]
Host
Interesting.
- [12:45]
Brandon Bordeaux
And it's, you know, worked out real well for me.
- [12:47]
Host
Are you doing anything for your brain health?
- [12:49]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. So there's. There's all kinds of products, you know, I mean, there's. Or not all kinds, but there's more and more products now that are coming out, you know, that are. Have, you know, tendencies to help with CTE and help. Help with, you know, repairing the brain and stuff like that. So, you know, I'm always open to trying all those products, you know, for the things that we do. And it kind of combat sport like that, so.
- [13:06]
Host
Yeah. Have you tried the hyperbaric yet?
- [13:08]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, that's. That stuff's really good.
- [13:10]
Host
Yeah. I had a tbi.
- [13:11]
Brandon Bordeaux
Oh, did you?
- [13:12]
Host
Yeah. I don't know from what, but I just got a brain scan and had it. And the hyperbaric helped a lot.
- [13:16]
Brandon Bordeaux
Really? Yeah. No, those things are really nice.
- [13:18]
Host
Yeah. A lot of fighters actually use them.
- [13:20]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of recovery, you know, your recovery. And that's what I said. When it comes to working out and stuff like that, your recovery is just as important as the, you know, the workouts.
- [13:28]
Host
You got kind of messed up right now, right?
- [13:30]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, it got me. You know, that. That first shot. He won the toss last night for the. That first shot. He hit me and he hit me high.
- [13:36]
Host
Yeah, looks like it. Yeah.
- [13:37]
Brandon Bordeaux
You go back. You go back and watch the film. It. It should have 100% been called the clubbing call. You know, it should have been called clubbing. And so, yeah, he got me in the nose and, you know, broke my nose a little bit.
- [13:46]
Host
Damn.
- [13:46]
Brandon Bordeaux
But, hey, I'll take a broken nose for a world title anyway.
- [13:49]
Host
I didn't know you broke it.
- [13:49]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think it's broke a little bit. They were. They're gonna have me run through some X rays when I get. You know, I can just kind of tell. I can kind of feel it in there and stuff. But. But like I said, I'll try to. I'll take. I'll take a broken nose or a world title.
- [14:00]
Host
I love that mindset, which is not.
- [14:02]
Brandon Bordeaux
You know what I mean? I. Some people, you know, I mean, if they go out there, get hit in the nose, their nose breaks like that, you know, they might mentally quit. And that goes back to what we were talking about earlier. You know, the mental resiliency from, you know, the sports and stuff that I came up in. You know what I mean? He was. He broke my nose. And I'm sitting there just itching, waiting for the doctors to get off me so I can go over and get my shot. You know what I mean? They're sitting there wiping down my nose. I'm just like, all right, come on, you know, give me my shot. You know, part of me was a little bit worried when, you know, the blood wouldn't stop. And I'm like, don't you guys stop this again. Please let me. I knew all I needed is one shot. Let me get my one shot off. And they let me get my one shot off. And now here we are. Oh, you wouldn't stop bleeding, World champion. No. Yeah, I wouldn't stop bleeding. And then. And they said something up there, like, they can. They can't put super glue on it, like, while you're up on stage. So they basically just had to let it go. So they, like, wiped me down. They held it real quick, all right, go. So I got out there and went. So you don't know what I mean. If. If that, you know, if the match doesn't get finished on that shot, I don't know what happens, because that nose doesn't just stop me. I even asked him while we're up there, because, like, sometimes in wrestling, like, if you get a bloody nose, you busted nose, we'll shove, like, cotton balls up there, and then we'll just tape. Tape around it. So I asked him. I was like, can you just tape it? Just. Just tape my whole. To tape right around my nose. I don't care. I'll keep going. Like, no, we can't do that because of the rules. But, I mean, I wasn't letting a little bit of a blood. A little blood or a broken nose stop me from winning that world title. That wasn't. You know, I said, you know, a few months ago, his head is the only thing that's in the way of me in a world title, you know? I mean, so break my nose. That's fine. I'm gonna come take your head off. And I took my world title.
- [15:22]
Host
Love that mindset, dude.
- [15:23]
Brandon Bordeaux
Thank you.
- [15:23]
Host
Yeah, I had Hawaiian on yesterday, man. A missed hit can mess you up. He lost a tooth over a missed hit.
- [15:27]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah. I think that was at Power Slap 8, I want to say. Back in June, I remember him saying something about, yeah, yeah, I took a shot and ripped his tooth right out of there.
- [15:35]
Host
So you guys are hitting hard. It's not like, I mean, it is a slap, but it's still really hard.
- [15:40]
Brandon Bordeaux
Oh, yeah. I mean, it feels like, I can tell you right now, it doesn't feel like. It doesn't feel like a slap, you know, I mean, when you hit and you get hit with a good shot, you know, I mean, it feels you, you, you def.
- [15:48]
Host
Yeah, everyone's got a button.
- [15:49]
Brandon Bordeaux
They say, yes, everybody does, you know, everybody has a button and it's just about finding that button. And that's what to me, like, yeah, power is huge, obviously. But to me, I think accuracy is bigger than all of it. Right. Because you could carry a lot of power. But if I don't hit somebody in the right spot, you might not necessarily knock them out or you carry a lot of power and you hit them in the wrong spot and you club and then you knock them out and you club them. Well, now you just lost that DQ because, you know, I mean, you followed and knocked him out.
- [16:11]
Host
Right.
- [16:11]
Brandon Bordeaux
So, you know, it's very important the accuracy. Accuracy is killer in the sport.
- [16:15]
Host
How many clubs do you get? Is it two?
- [16:17]
Brandon Bordeaux
So you get in a three round fight, you would get two. You get two offensive fouls and then in a five round title fight, you technically get three offensive fouls.
- [16:24]
Host
Damn. Have you ever clubbed out?
- [16:26]
Brandon Bordeaux
No, I never have. So I only have. I have one foul in power slap in all six of my matches.
- [16:30]
Host
Damn, you're accurate.
- [16:31]
Brandon Bordeaux
Very. And it was in my third match. Little bit of a questionable club. I mean, I've seen worse not get called, you know, I mean, but hey, is what it is. You go through six matches and I have one foul.
- [16:43]
Host
Yeah.
- [16:43]
Brandon Bordeaux
You know.
- [16:43]
Host
No, that's impressive because Hawaiian was in a match where I think he clubbed like.
- [16:46]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, a couple times, you know, and it happened and it happens, you know, I mean, but I pride myself on being clean, being accurate, you know, I mean, no fouls, no stepping, no clubbing, you know, I mean, stuff like that.
- [16:56]
Host
So how do you train yourself to stop flinching? Because that's such a natural response.
- [16:59]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yes. So, you know, everybody's natural instinct when something's coming towards your faces, right. Is to move, to block, to do stuff like that. So the best thing that we found out is we'll take like a, like a pool noodle, you know, you cut them down to short.
- [17:10]
Host
Yeah.
- [17:11]
Brandon Bordeaux
And you sit there with your hands behind your back and then you just have somebody do like, you know, if they're Going on three, right? We'll motion one, two, and the third one hit you with it. Because the pool noodle is not going to do anything to, you know, mess up your head or mess up your face, but you're getting used to that motion coming towards your face, so it trains you to not flinch.
- [17:26]
Host
Wow. So you're literally practicing not to flinch.
- [17:28]
Brandon Bordeaux
With a pool noodle. Yep, exactly. And then the fact. The fact of if you flinch, you got to get hit again. That's the number one thing I've had people ask me, like, how do you not flinch? I was like, well, if I flinch, I got to get hit again. I said, but. So that's the last thing I want to happen. So I'm going to hold still on that first one and let you, you know, get your shot off. I'm going to eat that shot, and I'm going to return fire and take care of business.
- [17:47]
Host
Yeah, you talk shit during the matches, too, right?
- [17:49]
Brandon Bordeaux
Oh, yeah, of course. You know, I mean, you got. You got to play that mental game with them, you know, I mean, a little bit. Let him, you know, feed it back to him. You know, when somebody. When somebody's got their hands behind their back and you hit them as hard as you possibly can, and then they're just laughing at you or they're. They're taunting you, you're kind of in your head. You're like, you know, I mean, what messes with you? Right, Right. What do I got to do to this guy? You know? I mean, he just had his hands behind his back. I just hit him as hard as I possibly could. Now here he is laughing at me or screaming in my face or, you know, whatever is making a mockery of me. So, you know, yeah, it's important up there to play that mental warfare, and it's also important to do it to show the judges, you know what I mean? Because they're judging off, you know, damage or effectiveness of the strikes.
- [18:24]
Host
Right?
- [18:25]
Brandon Bordeaux
So say they hit you and you. You step out of the box. Well, that makes it look like their strike hit you and pushed you out of the box. Well, now I go to hit you, right? And you stay right where you are and say, you taunt me. Now, you didn't move out of that box or anything, so more than likely you won that round just because I stepped out of that box and it made it look like, you know what I mean, your strike pushed me out of that box and did more damage to me.
- [18:45]
Host
That makes sense.
- [18:45]
Brandon Bordeaux
So there's a game within, you know, There's a game within the game when you're up there, you know what I mean? That's what I tell some of these new guys and stuff that are coming in, or anybody that I'm coaching. If you're rocked, you got to play it off as you're not rocked, you know what I mean? If somebody catches you and you're really rocking, you just stay right there. Give them a little bit of a taunt, bring yourself back, stick. Keep your feet in that box. And then after you've made your gestures, then you take yourself and walk out of that box. Don't make it look like their strike pushed you out of that box.
- [19:08]
Host
Makes sense. Have you ever been, like, dizzy and you just played it off?
- [19:11]
Brandon Bordeaux
No. Well, so in December, the second round, Isaiah caught me with it. You know, he caught me with a. Probably his. His best shot, you know, the same shot that he's flatlined, you know, put. Put quite a few people out with. And, you know, I. I kind of had a lull in judgment, and on my defense, I kind of slipped up. I was standing a little too tall, you know. I mean, I was kind of pulling back a little bit when he hit me.
- [19:32]
Host
Yeah.
- [19:33]
Brandon Bordeaux
And I think that kind of helped me, you know, fall back on my ass and stuff like that. But I hit the ground, I was back on my feet within, like, three or four seconds, which could have been a mistake, too, you know. I mean, sometimes when you get dropped like that, they tell you to roll over, take the knee, you know, I mean, wait till you hear 6, 7, 8, and then recover more. Yeah, well, it all happened, you know, I mean, with. With it being the first time in my career. It all happens so fast.
- [19:53]
Host
Right.
- [19:54]
Brandon Bordeaux
You know me. Next thing you know, you're hitting your ass, your natural instincts just to pop right up, you know, I popped right up, looked right at the raft. I gave him a thumbs up. And I even looked over at the catchers. Like, if I was messed up, I wouldn't be, like, looking at other people. I seen him. I seen one of the catchers that I knew from the reality show. So I looked right over at him, and he told me to walk. And I went to walk, and my foot had just barely caught the mat. So I did this. The slightest little stumble, and then they go and wave it off, like. Yeah. You know, and it's. This is a world title fight, man. You know, I mean, I completely get. If I'm going to walk towards you and I fall on top of you or, you know, if I'm falling. I can't stand up at all. I completely understand stopping at the end. When you're in a title fight and you have just the slightest little, you know, especially when we've had far worse not be stopped, you know, I mean, then you go and stop a title fight like that. It just left. Not only in my mouth, but in a lot of, you know, a lot of the fans are in. It just left a sour taste in everybody's mouth. And I think a lot of people left December 6th disappointed with how. With how that match ended. You know, there was a lot of boos. That arena was pretty pissed off.
- [20:48]
Host
I remember that.
- [20:48]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah.
- [20:49]
Host
Yeah. That's the thing with reffing, though. A lot of it's subjective. Depends on the person. Depends on the night, right?
- [20:54]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, exactly. It depends on. Every ref is different. Every person's different. You know, they all kind of call things differently, so. So, you know, sometimes it is difficult. It's, you know, based on kind of who's up there and what. Cause they're going to make.
- [21:04]
Host
Yeah. That's why boxing refs get so much hate, because the scores are so different on each one. Crazy.
- [21:09]
Brandon Bordeaux
Each reps different. You know, each person is different. So.
- [21:11]
Host
Yeah. You pump for UFC tonight?
- [21:13]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. No.
- [21:13]
Host
Yeah.
- [21:14]
Brandon Bordeaux
I love. I love watching the UFC fight. That's what I. You know, I mean, I grew up watching the UFC and everything like that, so, you know, I follow all. I follow it all very, very, very close.
- [21:22]
Host
I love it.
- [21:22]
Brandon Bordeaux
I know everything that's going on in there. So to watch Pereira tonight and, you know, ankle, Iowa, that's gonna be fun.
- [21:28]
Host
You think if Pereira wins tonight, he's in the goat conversation, man.
- [21:31]
Brandon Bordeaux
He's got to be. I mean, he's got to be getting close, right? I mean, he's just. That man's just been unstoppable. I kind of think, you know, in my opinion, Jon Jones has kind of cemented that down, I think.
- [21:40]
Host
So.
- [21:40]
Brandon Bordeaux
That man's resume is just absolutely insane. I mean, you can say whatever you want to say about him, you know what I mean? But his legacy speaks for itself. I mean, look at that man's resume. You put that man's resume against anybody else's resume, and it's just the legends that he's beat, the. The. The, you know, the title holders that he's beat. I mean, he's. He's beat the who. Who's. And then for the. How long he's been doing it.
- [21:58]
Host
Two divisions, honestly, the hardest two divisions, in my opinion, too, like heavyweight and heavyweight.
- [22:03]
Brandon Bordeaux
I mean, competition and go in there and dominate like he does. I mean, yeah, he had a couple close ones, but he's also dominated the hell out of a lot of these guys.
- [22:09]
Host
Champs too.
- [22:10]
Brandon Bordeaux
Like D.C. he's just, he's a different. He's a different breed, you know, I mean, we've heard Dana talk about it. To be, to be the type of fighter that Jon Jones is, you have to be a different person, you know, I mean, and that's what Jon is, and that's the reason why he's the greatest of all time, in my opinion.
- [22:23]
Host
Yeah. Your style was wrestling, right?
- [22:25]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. Yep, yep. I grew up wrestling. You know, I started wrestling about eight, nine years old. Damn. Yeah, I come from, you know, I come from a high school where we were in and out of the team state finals every year. You know, we always had three, four or five state champions on our team.
- [22:37]
Host
So was that a public school or probably?
- [22:39]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, it was a public school and we were a small school or Division 4. So in Michigan for wrestling, you have Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4. So there's actually kind of a lot of schools packed in there. But we were a Division 4 school, so we were a small school. I think we only had a couple hundred kids in our graduating class maybe. And so We're a Division 4 school. Us Division 4 kids are so good that we're beating the Division 1, the Division 1 kids.
- [23:01]
Host
Damn.
- [23:01]
Brandon Bordeaux
You know, we had a kid that got a couple thousand kids in their class and we got a couple hundred and we're out there whooping their ass. But it's because the background that we come from and the dedication that we had put into the sport, the, the extra work that we had put into the sport, you know, summer camps, you know, wrestling year round, you know, when you get to, when you get to that point and you're competing at those high levels, it isn't just a seasonal thing anymore, you know, even, even down to the little kids nowadays, it isn't just a seasonal thing anymore because I coach youth sports. I coach youth sports at home now, year round. So with these kids, you know what I mean? If they want to be, you know, you want to be above and beyond good. You know, this has to be a year round thing.
- [23:35]
Host
Yeah.
- [23:35]
Brandon Bordeaux
So the way the competition is getting and everything nowadays is, you know, it's great.
- [23:40]
Host
I love it. When did you get in the butcher stuff?
- [23:42]
Brandon Bordeaux
So I got into the butchering about, about eight years ago. I grew up on a dairy farm and stuff. Our whole lives, we grew up in 4H. So, you know, very, very familiar with all of that stuff. And, yeah, there was. I actually kind of accidentally fell into a meat department job. I was just working at a. I was young and just working at a grocery store as a cashier at the time, and they needed some help in the meat department. And I was like, hey, I'd like to try that out. I went back there, I ended up really liking it. And, you know, I started out just like, grinding hamburger and then. And then just, you know, wrapping the packages. And then I started cutting meat and, you know, kind of worked my way up the ladder. Well, then I was done with the grocery store stuff. I wanted to learn how to do everything from, you know, a whole animal down to the last steak. So I went and worked at a USDA slaughterhouse for, like, four years, and that's where I ended up breaking my back and stuff. But I ended up learning so much from being there, and so that's why we were able to kind of branch out and have our own thing going on.
- [24:36]
Host
Wow, that's cool, man. Slaughterhouse. That's interesting.
- [24:39]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, it's an interesting job, for sure. You know, I mean, it's not something that's for everybody. Yeah, you know, we would have, you know, it could be pretty gory.
- [24:46]
Host
I feel like you can make or break people.
- [24:47]
Brandon Bordeaux
Oh, for sure. Absolutely. And we had. I don't want to say the turnover rate was terrible, but, you know, I mean, I don't think some people knew what they'd get themselves into. Yeah, we would. We would hire somebody at that. You know, we worked at the slaughterhouse and we had kill. Our kill days would be like, Monday, Wednesday. So you go out on. You go out on the kill floor, man, that's just blood. And it's just, you know, it could be pretty gory. Well, you get. You would hire some of these people and they go out on the kill floor, and they'd be working for about 30 minutes. They'd be like, I go to the bathroom, you look out. You look out in the parking lot, and their vehicle's gone.
- [25:15]
Host
They're gone.
- [25:15]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, they're just like, oh, yeah, I'm doing this. So, you know, it takes, you know, it takes a special breed to be able to do that. And I think that myself being able to do those kind of things also helps implement into my mentality, which leads into, you know, the things that I do with this sport in my all, you know, all the sports that I have done.
- [25:31]
Host
Were you hunting before? So you kind of desensitized dead animals.
- [25:34]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We grew up hunting on stuff our whole lives, you know, I mean, so it wasn't, it wasn't anything that was a stranger to us. And like I said, growing up doing 4H, you know, we would have times where we, where we showed, you know, steers. And you, you know, you have those projects for, for like a year. I mean, you're hands on with these projects. You got, you know, you're teaching them to halter, train them, to walk them around, do all this stuff. And then you have to sell them at your county fair. And then you sell them at their county fair. Then they go to a slaughterhouse. So we were taught, you know, from a very, very young age, you know, five, six, seven years old. And on that, you know what I mean, we would raise these animals, you know, I mean, show them at the fair and then we would sell them, they would go to slaughter. So we learned very young, you know what I mean, where they're going and what's going on.
- [26:12]
Host
That is a super young age to.
- [26:13]
Brandon Bordeaux
Know about that stuff. Yeah, yeah, yep. And you know what I mean? Like I said, I think it, I think it kind of helped who I am today and stuff like that. I mean, because there's a lot of people out there who don't grow up seeing those things, you know what I mean? And they have a different mindset. And I mean, that's kind of stuff I've been around my whole life. So to me, that's normal.
- [26:28]
Host
Yeah. Any crazy hunting stories?
- [26:30]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, I mean, we were talking a little bit earlier about I've been up to Canada. I went bear hunting up there with my dad, my uncle, when I was in middle school, about seventh grade, you know, I mean, that was a crazy cool experience at that time. At that time, I'd never even really seen a bear in person.
- [26:44]
Host
How big was it?
- [26:45]
Brandon Bordeaux
The one I shot was like 320 pounds.
- [26:47]
Host
Holy crap.
- [26:47]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, so it was a good size one. Well, we had gotten up there and I was a young, anxious kid. And you know, there's certain times where you go, you know, go out, you know, towards dusk and stuff like that. And my dad was like, I was nagging him one day. I was like, let's go out there, let's go. I want. So we went out like 2:00. Went out like way too early. So we're just sitting there, you know, waiting for it. And the next thing you know, I start seeing these bear. Bear car starts coming in and you start seeing it for the first time. In person. Holy shit. This is why, you know, they got bait barrels down there and stuff like that. Well, you know, actually when we were climbing up into the stand, I climbing up in front of my dad and I get up there and there's a damn bone from the bone bearer, from the, from the barrel sitting right on the tree stand.
- [27:25]
Host
Whoa.
- [27:25]
Brandon Bordeaux
So I'm like, that's my instant, my own. My first thing was like I grabbed the bone. Look at my dad. Because they're grabbing that bait and they're running up that tree and then they're sitting there eating it. So we're sitting in this tree and I'm looking over and you can see like there's like bear holes like on the tree. And you can see like the greasy paws, like where they're walking on these limbs and stuff. And they're walking all over this tree stand. So when that first bear comes walking in, you could see it kind of looking up out of the corner of its eye at us. And I'm like, that damn bear knows we're here. Wow.
- [27:51]
Host
It's all me.
- [27:52]
Brandon Bordeaux
So I'm just a kid, you know, I mean, I'm a middle school kid thinking kind of shit in my pants a little bit because I'm like, this thing's gonna, you know, it's gonna take something out of the bone barrel. It's gonna come running up this tree. My dad has had. Him and his buddies used to go up there every year. Well, one of his buddies had a situation where a bear did it come running right up into the tree, right, right under his tree stand, you know, I mean, so here I am as a kid thinking that's what's gonna happen with, you know, I was like kind of shit in my pants. But luckily that first one that came in was a really good sized bear. So. And they kind of judge it off, like how tall the back is to the barrel. They say, they say if the, you know, the, the bear's back reached the top of the barrel, that's probably around a 300 pound bear. So, damn. As that one come in, my dad kind of gave me, you know, kind of tapped me and said, go ahead and take that one headshot. So no, I shot. Shot right in the heart, you know what I mean? And at that time, the bear do what they called like this death moan. And at that time as a kid, I had never heard it, you know what I mean? So I shot this bear and it kind of went. It only went like 20 yards or so. Well, they do this death moan where they literally like moan for a few minutes. So you're just like, whoa. You know, kind of trips you out a little bit.
- [28:50]
Host
Yeah, that's trippy.
- [28:50]
Brandon Bordeaux
Trips you out a little bit as a kid. But, you know, it's. It was all the experience, you know what I mean? And being around it and being out there and, you know, it was just more life lessons, really. Being out there and being able to experience a trip like that. It was a lot of fun.
- [29:02]
Host
I didn't know they were climbing trees like that. That's pretty scary.
- [29:05]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, it's wild. That throws you off a little bit.
- [29:06]
Host
Yeah. Because you think you're safe in a tree and then you see it climbing at you.
- [29:09]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. And next thing you know, they'll come running up next to you. You're like, holy shit. Yeah. I've seen people have kind of some. Some crazy interaction with them. I'm pissed off. Bears come running up the tree.
- [29:17]
Host
Oh my gosh.
- [29:18]
Brandon Bordeaux
That's the last thing you know. I don't want no bear swiping at me or trying to bite me or, you know. Nope, I'm good. You know, like you said, you think you're safe in that tree and then next thing you know, they're up, you know.
- [29:26]
Host
Yeah. Was that a black bear you shot?
- [29:27]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yep. Black bear, yeah.
- [29:28]
Host
Because the brown ones are extinct, right.
- [29:31]
Brandon Bordeaux
So like more like grizzlies and stuff like that, you know that. So those. There is some, like around Canada, just where we were at, there were. There wasn't any brown bear there. But those, those are a whole different one. You go after them, them grizzlies and shit. Those. Those things are, you know, I heard they're man eaters.
- [29:45]
Host
I've seen talk about it, grizzlies and polar bears.
- [29:47]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, polar bears. Yep. Polar bears strictly eat meat, you know, I mean, so when you're up there, you know, they really will be hunting you. Yeah, I've never been around anything like that, but.
- [29:55]
Host
No, I'll pass on that.
- [29:56]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah. I'm good at it too. But I've heard, you know, I've heard so many stories about like, you know, people who are walking through the mountains in Wyoming and stuff like that, and next thing you know, they're getting mauled by a grizzly. Damn. You know what I mean?
- [30:06]
Host
There's.
- [30:07]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, I mean, I've seen a few stories a few years ago of a guy that was walking through there and he got attacked and damn, luckily he lived. But the damn grizzly had ripped all of it, you know, skin off his Head and hanging. I mean, he's really lucky to be alive. But they're so damn territorial, you know, I mean, when you walk into their spot at all, it's. That's, you know, Especially if you come across one that has cubs.
- [30:26]
Host
Yeah, you're screwed.
- [30:27]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, it's game over. They're, you know, they're gonna kill you. It ain't gonna be nothing. So it's a scary situation.
- [30:32]
Host
You've gone hog hunting too, right? Wild hogs?
- [30:34]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, I've done hog hunting and I've actually, I've shot a wild goat before as well. But these ones were in like. I guess I shouldn't say wild, but they were in like a pen. But it was like hundreds, hundreds of acres. That was another hunting trip we took as a kid. And that one was pretty cool. When I shot. When I shot the goat, actually, I had to. I think I was only like 10, 12 years old. Well, I had to like sneak up on an army crawl. We had to stalk this thing for a few different times. And I'd go to get close and I was just a kid, so I would make a mistake and boom, I would spook it and they'd take off and we'd have to track him back down. Finally I got close enough. One time I just army crawled. I dressed all up in white. My dad. Because it was snowing. Yeah, my dad dressed me all up in white and he said, you know, when we get to the point, just, just army crawl up there, you know, until you get to a right spot. And I got right up there and shot this goat. And that. That was cool. You know, because of being that young and you kind of got to do like a spot and stalk. You got to kind of stalk it and everything.
- [31:23]
Host
So your dad started young man.
- [31:24]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we sure did. Yeah.
- [31:26]
Host
I used to love eating goat.
- [31:27]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, no, it's good. It's good meat.
- [31:29]
Host
Goat's a great meat. And Indian food, too.
- [31:31]
Brandon Bordeaux
Nice and lean.
- [31:32]
Host
Goat curry.
- [31:32]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. Yep. Not. Not real fatty or anything like that.
- [31:35]
Host
Yeah, I like some venison too.
- [31:36]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah. Yeah, venison's great. Elk's good. Anything like that. You know that real lean meat is all really good for you. Yeah. Doesn't have a ton of fat and stuff like that in it. And you know, they say, what they say wild game is some of the best meat that you can possibly get.
- [31:48]
Host
Because it's so natural. I feel like they're eating what's in nature that's like farm.
- [31:53]
Brandon Bordeaux
That's what I try to tell that's what we try to explain people with. With our slaughtering, stuff like that. And just there's a. There's a big difference between buying meat in a grocery store and then slaughtering or raising your own animals and slaughtering them out that way, you know what I mean? And a grocery store, you don't know what that animal's been fed. You don't know how it's been raised. You don't know the stress it's been through. Because when you stress some of these animals out, like even just shipping them to a slaughterhouse, I mean, you stress them out, and when they stress out, they release stress hormones into their meat, which will make their meat and stuff tougher.
- [32:23]
Host
Yeah.
- [32:24]
Brandon Bordeaux
So with our business, it's. We come right out to the, you know, we'll come right out to the farm. These animals are right in their pen. It's one shot, done. There's no stress or anything that goes into it to. Whereas, like I said, you go to a slaughterhouse, trying to. Trying to load them into a trailer is extremely stressful. You get them into a trailer and they're stressing out there, and then you put them. I get them to a slaughterhouse, into a foreign area. They're stressing out there, and now they're getting beaten on, pushing into, you know, trying to push them into chutes and stuff like that to get them up there. And these animals are just stressing out like crazy. So that's where we come in. Beneficial to show up to the farm. Like I said, they'll just be in their pens, moseying around, and boom, lights are out. Done. Good. One shot. Do everything as humane as possible. You know what I mean? We take all that stuff very seriously.
- [33:04]
Host
I love it, man. Brandon, what's next for you? You got fights coming up this year. Anything else?
- [33:08]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, so I just won that title last night. So we'll see what happens here in the next couple months. I think rumors might be right now that the next event might be in May. I think I'll probably be out, you know, be a couple months before I come back here. But I don't know if we'll be like, you know, mid summer, maybe late summer somewhere in there. But yeah, now. Now it's time to defend. You know, we just went from challenger to. To defending now. So I'm embracing the target on my back. I like the target on my back. I like people chasing me because I just like to, you know, I like, keep widening that gap, you know, I mean, I, like I said earlier, I Work my ass off for all of this. And, you know, when I go to the gym and I take pride in widening the gap on the competition. So, you know, I think I've got a bit of a gap on them now, and I'm just going to keep widening it. And like I said earlier, everybody thinks they're going to beat me first. You're going to have to outwork me, and you're not going to fucking outwork me. I'm not going to let that happen.
- [33:56]
Host
I love that, man. We'll link Power Slap in the video below for you guys to watch. It's a really cool sport. And try to go in person if you're watching this, because it hits different in person.
- [34:03]
Brandon Bordeaux
Definitely it's different in person. And that's what I've asked a lot of people. My wife was out here for the first time. I had 15 or 20 people fly out from Michigan for the first time. I had a couple people flying from Florida. I had a couple of people flying from Texas.
- [34:16]
Host
Brought the squad.
- [34:17]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah, yeah, we brought a big squad this time. And actually only my parents, my brother and his friends. Well, actually, only four of them had ever been to an event before. So I was telling all these guys, I said, just wait until you see this in person. And they were saying that, too. It is a completely different show in person. Like, it's entertaining, it's fun to watch on tv, but the atmosphere and everything when you're in there, it's just a completely different story when you're there. So, yeah, if you haven't been there in person, you got to buy a ticket and get there. Yeah, it's amazing.
- [34:41]
Host
Fountain Blue's gonna. They're gonna need a new venue, I think.
- [34:43]
Brandon Bordeaux
Yeah.
- [34:43]
Host
So many people coming now.
- [34:44]
Brandon Bordeaux
Just keep outgrowing it, you know. I mean, things getting bigger and bigger. Every card, you know, the next card is just bigger and bigger and bigger. And the way they're growing things and the way Dana's got things going, the crew that he has and Frank and Erica there, you know, that they really know what they're doing, and they really built this into a powerhouse, you know, and the world of social media just, you know, has made this thing absolutely huge. And when you got the right business people, you know, running the things is very successful.
- [35:07]
Host
Absolutely. Shout out to Dana. Shout out to Power Stop. Thanks for coming on, man.
- [35:10]
Brandon Bordeaux
Absolutely, man. Thanks for having me.
- [35:11]
Host
Check them out, guys, in the description. See you next time.