Why Most Fighters Fail After 40: Champion Reveals Solution | Dewey Cooper DSH #1089

Summary

Digital Social Hour Episode Summary
Episode Title: Why Most Fighters Fail After 40: Champion Reveals Solution | Dewey Cooper DSH #1089
Release Date: January 11, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Dewey Cooper

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Introduction

In this enlightening episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in a profound conversation with Dewey Cooper, a seasoned kickboxer and martial artist with over four decades of experience in the fighting world. Dewey shares his journey, insights on longevity in combat sports, personal evolution, and the importance of maintaining physical and mental well-being beyond the age of 40.

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Early Beginnings and Fighting Career

[01:35 - 04:54]

Dewey Cooper delves into his early start in martial arts, beginning Muay Thai at the tender age of nine and participating in his first amateur fight at ten. Celebrating his 50th birthday, Dewey reflects on his 41-year-long career, positioning himself as one of the pioneers of American kickboxing, especially in integrating full Muay Thai techniques such as leg kicks, clenched knees, and elbows.

Dewey Cooper [02:07]: "I was one of the first generation in the US with doing like full Muay Thai leg kicks, clenched knees, elbows, all of that."

He attributes his early involvement in fighting to a naturally aggressive temperament and growing up in a tough environment where street fights were commonplace. For Dewey, combat was not just a means of resolving conflicts but also a way to instill discipline and channel his fighting spirit constructively.

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Navigating Challenges and Evolution

[05:11 - 15:06]

Dewey discusses the stark contrasts between his formative years and the present day, highlighting the shift from physical confrontations to verbal battles, especially with the advent of social media. Initially dismissive of the mental health struggles that come with verbal abuse, Dewey acknowledges his own transformation over time.

Dewey Cooper [05:15]: "People are going to be dickheads in life. People are going to try to force you to do things or make you feel inferior."

He emphasizes the importance of adapting to change, maintaining self-worth, and finding healthy outlets for stress—originally through fighting and later through writing and other forms of self-expression.

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Poetry, Rap, and Personal Expression

[05:45 - 09:55]

Introducing a multifaceted aspect of his life, Dewey reveals his passion for poetry and rap, which he began writing at the age of five. This creative pursuit served as an outlet for his emotions and provided a counterbalance to the physical demands of fighting.

Dewey Cooper [08:05]: "Writing is my outlet. So I write all the time. I got books and books of writing."

He draws parallels between rap and traditional poetry, advocating for the recognition of rappers as modern-day poets who use their art to inspire and influence.

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Maintaining Fitness and Avoiding Midlife Crisis

[12:00 - 22:38]

Dewey shares his rigorous training regimen, especially during his annual birthday celebrations, where he commits to an entire day of workouts encompassing running, boxing, kickboxing, and conditioning. This discipline is his strategy to stave off the typical midlife crisis and the physical decline that often accompanies aging.

Dewey Cooper [17:16]: "If you can keep that up, there's no decline. That's the key to happiness when you get older."

By consistently pushing his physical limits, Dewey maintains not only his fitness but also his mental resilience, proving that age is just a number for those dedicated to their craft.

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Perspectives on MMA and Coaching Elite Fighters

[26:20 - 33:12]

Transitioning to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Dewey offers his insights on the evolution of the sport. He highlights the necessity for fighters to be well-rounded, combining striking and grappling to succeed in modern MMA.

Dewey Cooper [26:54]: "Mixed martial arts is really evolving and it's gonna keep getting better and better."

As a coach, Dewey has had the privilege of training top fighters, including UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou. He recounts the challenges and triumphs of coaching Ngannou, emphasizing their mutual respect and the rigorous training that led to championship victories.

Dewey Cooper [28:35]: "I've been with Francis since the end of 2016. Damn. 2017."

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Balancing Family, Friends, and Fighters

[33:58 - 39:37]

Family holds paramount importance for Dewey, followed by true friends and then fighters. He distinguishes between these relationships, noting that while fighters can be deeply committed, their relationships are often contingent on performance and mutual goals.

Dewey Cooper [34:03]: "Family is the most important thing, man. Three things in this world that matter to me. Three things. Family, friends and fighters."

Dewey emphasizes the need for maintaining clear boundaries between personal and professional relationships to ensure lasting and meaningful connections.

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Introducing Team Combat League (TCL)

[43:39 - 45:38]

Towards the end of the episode, Dewey introduces Team Combat League (TCL), a revolutionary professional boxing format that blends team dynamics with traditional boxing. TCL features professional teams from various cities competing in high-energy, short-round fights designed to maximize entertainment and strategic team play.

Dewey Cooper [43:43]: "It's the most exhilarating professional boxing format you'll ever see."

He invites listeners to experience TCL's unique approach to boxing by tuning into their YouTube channel and attending upcoming events, highlighting the league's innovative structure and exciting competition.

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Conclusion

Dewey Cooper's conversation with Sean Kelly offers a rare glimpse into the life of a fighter who has successfully navigated the challenges of aging in a physically demanding sport. His dedication to continuous training, personal growth, and mentoring the next generation of fighters serves as an inspiring blueprint for longevity and fulfillment beyond the conventional limits of athletic careers.

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Notable Quotes:

• Dewey Cooper [02:07]: "I was one of the first generation in the US with doing like full Muay Thai leg kicks, clenched knees, elbows, all of that."
• Dewey Cooper [05:15]: "People are going to be dickheads in life. People are going to try to force you to do things or make you feel inferior."
• Dewey Cooper [08:05]: "Writing is my outlet. So I write all the time. I got books and books of writing."
• Dewey Cooper [17:16]: "If you can keep that up, there's no decline. That's the key to happiness when you get older."
• Dewey Cooper [26:54]: "Mixed martial arts is really evolving and it's gonna keep getting better and better."
• Dewey Cooper [34:03]: "Family is the most important thing, man. Three things in this world that matter to me. Three things. Family, friends and fighters."

---

This episode is a must-listen for aspiring fighters, seasoned athletes, and anyone interested in the intersection of discipline, personal growth, and longevity in competitive sports.

Transcript

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[Dewey Cooper]

I still train with my guys. I still do. I spar with friendship like that all the time. Yeah, because I'm a kickboxer. I can kickbox, you know what I mean? But let's say if I haven't kickboxed in 20 years or 10 years now, and I can't throw a kick over my head that might make me depressed.

[Interviewer]

All right, guys, we got Dewey Cooper here today. Thanks for making time to join me today, brother.

[Dewey Cooper]

Thank you, thank you. Pleasure to be here.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely. I know you're busy training all the top fighters in the world, so appreciate it.

[Dewey Cooper]

Hey, hey. You know, we always take time for you guys. You help the sport, you help the fans and all of that. So we appreciate you as well.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely. You've been at this for a while now. How long you been fighting, man?

[Dewey Cooper]

I started training as a kid, so I started doing Muay Thai when I was 9 years old. I had my first amateur fight at 10 and yesterday was my 50th birthday. So I've been doing this 41 years.

[Interviewer]

Holy crap. Fighting at 10. That's the earliest I've ever heard.

[Dewey Cooper]

Oh no, there's people train and fight earlier than that. But yeah, I was one of the original American kickboxers from the old days that started doing leg kicks. It used to be above the waist, PKF type kickboxing. I was one of the first generation in the US with doing like full Muay Thai leg kicks, clenched knees, elbows, all of that.

[Interviewer]

Wow. What drew you to fighting at such a young age?

[Dewey Cooper]

Just, you know, being an aggressive kid, loving the fight as a kid. A lot of street fights and stuff like that, and it was a way to get discipline and I just naturally had a fighting spirit and love doing it. It's just something that I just love to do.

[Interviewer]

What was causing those street fights for you at that age?

[Dewey Cooper]

I grew up in the hood, you know, you know what it is, people.

[Interviewer]

I don't know what that is.

[Dewey Cooper]

Bad, bad attitudes. Remember, today's times is a whole different world. Like, I'm sure when older people talk, the young people, they were making up stories. Fighting was something, a normal way to resolve things. Literally, you've seen street fights every day. People just fought. It was a time where, where disrespect wasn't tolerated. And anyway, me, I was just an aggressive kid. I always just got in street fights with people. Street fighting was just a part of life way back then.

[Interviewer]

Different times now.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, different times indeed. This is before the Internet and cell phones and. And me too. Movements and all of that. If you had a problem with someone, they would say something to you and you get them up right there in the street. So I was also in Los Angeles, you know, a very violent time. The gang banging thing just really erupted, you know, crack cocaine dealing and all that erupted. And I have older brothers who were in gangs and stuff, just following them around, you know, putting yourself in a lot of violent places. And unfortunately, in violent places, AKA the hood, a lot of fighting happened. So it was just something that I actually enjoyed the fight. And I'm just glad it got taken to a point where you could harness it and do something which make some money. Well, not. You weren't thinking about money back then. Cause in kickbox there's never been a lot of money. It was just about honor, about winning and, and competing against other good fighters. That was the main thing. The money was way later in life, but back then it was definitely no money involved. I heard that this was for the spirit and the honor of fighting.

[Interviewer]

I heard that from Tate, actually. Yeah, because he was a kickboxer, right? He said he wasn't making that much.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, Kickboxers remember, you guys, today is a great time. There's money and a lot of fight sports. Back then, the only money was in boxing. There was no other money in any other fight sports.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, this was before the ufc.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, before any of that.

[Interviewer]

So you paved the way, man.

[Dewey Cooper]

Well, I didn't pave the way, but I was one of the guys who was doing it early and a lot of people remember me from the old days and. And yeah, I'm just happy to be a lifetime martial artist and still be blessed to do it now and now make money at it.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, different times, man. Now people run their mouth on social media, no consequences.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And you know, people do that and it's good that people have the freedom to express themselves the way they see fit. But the disrespect and all of that is at an all time high. And the era came from people will lose their lives for the type of things that they get away with now. And I'm not sure if that's a worse thing or a better thing, but me at my age, you just have to kind of accept the times and keep trying to be a better person and loot and move ahead and enjoy your life.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Now you're into fighting, obviously, but you got a side to you that I thought was interesting, which is poem writing. Yes, that is super unique to me. I've never seen a fighter express himself in that manner. How did you get into that?

[Dewey Cooper]

Well, before I was even fighting, I was writing, you know, first of all, my dad was a Marine, did three tours in Vietnam. All of that, Purple Hearts, all kind of medals of honor and shit like that. So at my home, it was a very, very tough look.

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[Dewey Cooper]

I started writing before I actually started fighting. I started training at nine years old, but I was writing poems five and six years old. The first poem I wrote, my mom really loved it and she loved my writing and it was kind of a hobby for me. Writing today is still a hobby for me. Anytime homies are way happy or kind of sad of feeling down or whatever, writing is my outlet. So I write all the time. I got books and books of writing.

[Interviewer]

That's cool.

[Dewey Cooper]

And, and so writing was my first love. Fighting was my first passion. So I've always wrote.

[Interviewer]

I feel like poem writing is a lost art these days.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah. And you know, I'll elaborate a little deeper. I used to rap, I used to break dance. I did it all. So I got albums out, rap albums. So that's all part of the rhyme thing. So it is poetry is, is a lost art. But everyone's rapping nowadays from black people to white people to the, the guys in Asia. Everyone's rapping guys in India. So rapping is huge and rapping is a subdivision of poetry. It's just expressed a little differently. They all these rappers could be poets if they just kind of change their outlook on what they're doing and don't view it as music and view it as, as prose and, and, and, and painting a picture that you try to inspire or influence people one way or another. So it's all the same shit, you know, just from a time where before I thought about money and being popular and doing stuff, people like. I was just trying to learn myself and find that. Find outlets that made life better for me. Nowadays, everyone's so crazy about the mental health crisis that's going on. And way before we had psychiatry and guys giving you motivational speeches online, that was the way my outlet to. To manage the stress and anxieties and the pressures and the. And the hardships of life was just writing about it and writing how I felt it would make me feel better. So I organically figured out an outlet to deal with all this shit we.

[Interviewer]

Go through that makes sense.

[Dewey Cooper]

And back then it was way rougher than what it is now. The shit you went through, people being bullied was a normal day of, of. Of being in school, you know, stuff like that. So you got bullied was my outlet? No, I never got no, because I fought, you know, I have a hard stance on the bullying things. There are bullies, but being bullied is an accepted choice. People are going to be dickheads in life. People are going to try to force you to do things or make you feel inferior. So there are bullies, but being bullied is a personal choice because you have to allow yourself to be bullied and punch them in the face. Stand your ground and you won't be bullied. So, yeah, people tried to bully me, but I never got bullied because I would fight really quick.

[Interviewer]

Wow, that makes sense though, because I got bullied and I never fought back, so.

[Dewey Cooper]

And it got worse. And it got worse.

[Interviewer]

Oh, yeah.

[Dewey Cooper]

And remember, you don't necessarily even have to win. You have to. If you swing for yours and fight for yours, people will stop bullying you because the one bully may have bullied you. But all the guys looking, all the girls looking and laughing, they know that, hey, you will fight. And people leave you alone from there. And like I said, I've always been the type of person, if I can look myself in the mirror, I can accept something. But if someone does something where I can't look myself in the mirror, I'm going to resort to violence right away. It may be a caveman, prehistoric way of looking at things, but it made my life a lot more pleasurable than not. I've never contemplated suicide because someone made me feel bad. You know what I mean? So that's the thing, you know, and, and I'm. Nowadays, it is sad that people do take their lives for things like this. So it's a very serious thing. But that's why I believe in fighting is the purest way to resolve things when all the diplomacy goes out the window. You've talked, you've tried to negotiate, you even tried to. To. To try to neutralize situations. If it comes down to it, punching someone in the face really makes things go away.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. So, I mean, you see it all the time. You see there. There's respect at the end of the fight.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yes, yes.

[Interviewer]

And.

[Dewey Cooper]

Exactly. And the same thing. Imagine in real situations, if you have to resort to violence, whether there's respect or not, the. The situation will be neutralized. In your case, a guy trying to bully you, you to reach back and hit him with your hardest right hand. Even if you close your eyes and busted his mouth wide open, even if he beat you up when he went home, he's gonna have a swollen lip, and that's gonna make him not fuck with you anymore for sure.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, 100%. My bullying wasn't physical, actually. It was. It was all mental mind games.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Like words.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, but see, again, I'm from. I'm from a different time. Words, man. Sticks and stones break bones. Words never hurt you. That was something that we heard every day as a kid. So you're right. Verbal abuse back in the days was definitely prevalent. Like your parents verbally abused you, your friends, your peers, you got verbal abuse all day. But for. For some reason in those times, words meant nothing. We had a saying every kid from third grade up, sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you. And I know people watching this or who will be watching this will laugh and if they're old, because they all.

[Interviewer]

Heard that say, no, I heard that too. I don't agree with it though, to be honest.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, of course. Of course you don't. Because you're a young guy.

[Interviewer]

You agree with it.

[Dewey Cooper]

Absolutely. I agree with it because I'm from a different era where we did resolve to fighting, we did resolve the violence. Not saying that's the answer, but. But it help you navigate through these treacherous times or these psychologically tough times. Nowadays, of course, the words matter more because we're taught not to fight people, to. To. To try to accept people unconditionally, even if they're giving you trouble, Try to neutralize things. And sometimes there's just bad people in this place that's gonna keep fucking with you and keep making you feel bad, where you go home with the emotional depression and the stress and feeling bad about yourself and. And I don't know what the answer is. The way I resolve it Now I just ignore things because trust me, I've had so much scrutiny, especially in the last few years. I've had scrutiny that if would have happened to me if I weren't in my 40s, I would have murdered someone for it. Wow, I've had scrutiny. If it would happen to me 20 years ago, I guarantee I'd be in jail and they'd be dead for sure. Damn. And it's not something I'm bragging I'm proud about, it's just the way it was. Being older and gaining wisdom is so valuable because the shit that's happened to me in the last three years, I would definitely be in jail for murder right now. So I've evolved as a person. And now I understand what this emotional abuse you're talking about. Cause before I didn't even believe in it. It's like, dude, no one could say something to make me feel bad about myself. But I understand why you feel that way. And luckily I'm just an old head who done been through everything, been through the worst, so nothing really shakes me.

[Interviewer]

I didn't believe in anxiety until it happened to me. Dud.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I collapsed on the floor, I was like, what the hell is this? Like I didn't even know what it was. I thought it was a heart attack.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah. Wow.

[Interviewer]

So I was like. When people told me they had anxiety growing up, I was like, what's that?

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, anxiety, all these type of things, they're real for sure. But it's, it's a self sabotage also. We just have to make sure. And for all you youngsters out there, make sure you feel valuable. No matter what anyone says and no matter what anyone does, you have to keep a self value because that's the key to really, really abort all these psychological things that are happening to us in today's times. You know, just know you're worthy. Don't let anyone tell you your word. And no matter what, even if you have to lie to yourself, keep your inner confidence about yourself.

[Interviewer]

Facts, I love that. Sounds like you got a lot more control over your emotions now.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah man, a lot more. I heard a really wise thing, right? As a youngster, I was always smart in school, did good in school. Cause my dad beat our ass if we didn't. But there's a different side of being smart and having the wisdom, that intelligence, the intelligence that wisdom gives you. For instance, we all know tomato is a fruit that's being smart. And this is how a bunch of young people in your age demographic are very smart people. You got all this information at your fingertips, so you're much smarter than what we were. However, wisdom, being smart is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. You know what I mean? That's the difference. So once you gain that wisdom that I've gained through age, now I can navigate through the same things that would have happened to me early in my life where there's no way I would have navigated with a cool head and accepting, loving spirit. You know what I mean? Someone talks shit about me, now I actually feel sorry for them. Back in the days, I would have wanted to kill them, you know what I mean? So that's the wisdom. And so luckily, I've evolved, became a better person and I'm blessed. And I'm much happier now as an old man than what I was when I was younger.

[Interviewer]

Wow. Usually it's the opposite.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, it normally is because people get caught up into what they used to be. Funny. I just told you yesterday was my birthday, right? If you go to my timeline right now, look at my thing, you know, look at my stories. Look what I was doing yesterday. I wasn't out drinking and smoking. Yeah. Check it out. You ain't gonna believe what I did. And everyone who knows me know I do this every birthday. I have my 26th annual Dewey's birthday workouts.

[Interviewer]

Oh, wow, you got a lot of stories. Yeah, you're just working out all day, dude.

[Dewey Cooper]

Everyone else gets drunk, celebrate, does drugs, whether they do, party with women for my birthday, my 26th annual one. So I started this when I turned 24. I do four workouts. I do a 10 mile run, I do a full boxing workout, a full kickboxing workout and a full conditioning workout. Damn. Back to back, my whole birthday. So on November 10th every year, I literally train all day.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Dewey Cooper]

It's very exhausting. When I was in my 20s, it used to be easy. I could train four times a day and still go out and dance and party at the nightclub. But now it's very hard for me. Like yesterday I had a little get together at my friend Bart. I have a friend who has a bar in Fremont Experience. It's called ddt. Most awesome bar in Vegas, guys, because they serve alcohol like every other bar. But they have a bunch of mocktail drinks because I don't drink alcohol. So you could go there and have the same experience of the bar club type situation, but you could drink non alcoholic drinks. That tastes good. So anyway, Saturday night, which is overnight. I had a little party for my birthday there. Some of my closest friends showed up. I Left, I left DDT at 3 in the morning. I started training. I was training at 6 in the morning. Now it's November 10th Sunday morning. And I did my 10 mile run Sunday morning and I normally do 10 miles. I ended up doing, I thought it was 10.54 miles, but it was actually 10.61 miles yesterday. I was very tired after that. I, I ate a pizza that I ordered the day before and then I did my conditioning workout, which was 90 minutes on the assault bike. I did 24.3 miles on that and then I did a weightlifting regimen after that. I was so tired. I slept from, let's say 1:00 till 4:00pm yesterday. Woke up, watched the Steelers, watched the Redskins game because I had it, you know, recorded. I'm a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan. After that I did my full boxing workout. Then I did my kickboxing workout, stretched and did calisthenics. And by now it's 12:00 today, Monday morning when I finished my workout.

[Interviewer]

Holy.

[Dewey Cooper]

I literally trained all day yesterday. Now that was my 26th annual one. And everyone who knows me knows this. Like I've done it Since I turned 24 years old, my birthday, I train all day. And also on New Year's Day, I do the same thing, a 10 mile run, everything. And I do that for last day. I know we're talking a lot, but I do that because every year you get older, you want to maintain yourself, you want to be able to do what you did when you were younger. So if you can keep that up, there's no decline. That's the key to happiness when you get older. We all get depressed when we get in our 50s, late 40s, because we look at pictures of ourselves. We had a full head of hair, we were good looking and charming, have ripped abs and all of that. And now we look at this person in front of us who's old hair is balding, you're gray, you got a little belly on you. So people get depressed from that. But if you can do what you did when you were 24 years old, there's no decline. You just gain wisdom. And that's the key. Not to get in that midlife crisis, not to getting depressed when we get older.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Dewey Cooper]

I do. I'm doing the same I did when I was 24. Of course I did it way better back then, but I can still do it.

[Interviewer]

That's dope.

[Dewey Cooper]

And then New Year's Day, I do the same thing, because the New Year is upon is among us New Year's resolutions and all of that. I can do this year what I did last year, and I've done that for 26 straight years. So I have no reason to be depressed about getting older. I'm the same brother I was back then, 26 years ago.

[Interviewer]

Love it.

[Dewey Cooper]

And I'm telling you guys, that's the secret. Anyone who's stressed about getting older, you've gotten fatter, you got wrinkles. Now, at the end of the day, we're blessed to be here. But of course, if I couldn't do what I did back then in those amazing times when I was fighting and all of that stuff, who knows how it would feel? Still kick high. I still spar with the guys. I can still run 10 miles like I just did 12 hours ago. So I feel good.

[Interviewer]

Hats off to you. That's impressive. So you went through a midlife crisis, though?

[Dewey Cooper]

Never.

[Interviewer]

Never.

[Dewey Cooper]

I said that's. That's why you don't do it. Because I'm doing the same I've been doing since I was a young man. Nothing's changed. There's no reason to go through a midlife crisis. These are the reasons why you don't have these type of things. Midlife crisis, getting older, getting fatter, getting wrinkles, being depressed because you're not, you're shallow, what you used to be. These things can all be combated with just taking care of yourself, keeping your spirit young, and keeping your body going. Imagine if I could run 10 miles when I was 25 and can't run one mile when I'm 40. I can't run a half a mile when I'm 50. Of course I'm going to be sad and depressed about that.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Dewey Cooper]

And that's what happens to most people who, when they get older, they get depressed. That's the only reason.

[Interviewer]

That happens to a lot of athletes, too.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah. Yeah, of course it does. But the athletes, athletes, I look at them twice as weird, but athletes your whole life, and now all of a sudden, you're not gonna. Gonna do anything after, after it's over, you know, I mean, I still train with my guys, I still do. I spawn with Francis Ngannou like that all the time.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Dewey Cooper]

Because I'm a kickboxer, I can kickbox. You know what I mean? But let's say if I haven't kickboxed in 20 years or 10 years now, and I can't throw a kick over my head, that might make me depressed. So all these great athletes and when you retire, it doesn't mean when you retire from a sport, it means, it means you're not going to do it on that high competitive level, but you still should do it because you spent your whole life doing this. Of course, if I spent my whole life being a martial artist and doing all this stuff with martial arts. With martial arts. If I totally stopped and just became a regular guy, I would probably be depressed too. But I'm doing the same shit I've done since I was nine years old right now. There's no decline, there's no reason for depression. So I'd be a weirdo if I got midlife crisis or if I got depressed about being older. I'm living a dream that I started at 9 years old right now. Right. I just left the gym before doing this interview.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, you were training two hours ago.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, we had a great, a great session today. So these are the things, man. All these things that we put ourselves through. A lot of them are self sabotage. As harsh as it may seem, you being bullied, that was self sabotage. A person my age having their 50th birthday and they're sad about it, that's self sabotage. It's just ridiculous to do anything negative to yourself because we got a lot of exterior things that already try to do that shit to us every day.

[Interviewer]

Ton of things. Yeah, Victim mentality is no joke. A lot of people have that hurt 100%, man.

[Dewey Cooper]

I'm a motherfucking champion. I'm a hall of famer. And that's not just because I did well in my sport. That's because of the character I have and the soul and the spirit I have within me. So I'm going to be that way in everything I do.

[Interviewer]

Any.

[Dewey Cooper]

And you should too, you know.

[Interviewer]

Any fights you still think about Any regrets you have from your fighting career?

[Dewey Cooper]

No, no. There was some fights that I felt I won. If you watch them online, you could see the comments I did win. It just didn't go my way with the judges. So. No, no regrets. I have no regrets about anything. Except maybe being kind of a dickhead in high school, being mean to people who I shouldn't have been just cause they weren't athletes or something.

[Interviewer]

So you were the bully?

[Dewey Cooper]

No, I wasn't the bully, but I wasn't the nice guy, you know, I was silly. Too young, too. Too much energy. If you didn't play sports, you couldn't talk to me. I'd be mean.

[Interviewer]

Oh, wow. You were like that.

[Dewey Cooper]

But. But, no, I wasn't a bully.

[Interviewer]

I'm just like, bro, why are you talking to me?

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, why are you talking to me? That was wrong, but I was just young and way too hyper and energetic and way too alpha back then. So I regret things like that. But I never bullied anyone or beat up someone because they were weaker. That's something I didn't do. It was just like, bro, you on the football team, you play basketball, you run track. If you are on the wrestling team, if you're not, don't say hello to me, because we're not the same. You know what I mean? So I was stupid like that. But as far as my professional career, my amateur career, I have no regrets because I trained very hard every single time.

[Interviewer]

You left it out there.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, I left it out there. And when you. When you do your best, man, you can accept whatever the reality is. Win, lose, or draw. It is what it is. You know, you didn't. You didn't. I shouldn't use this term, but a term we used a lot back in the days. Punk out, meaning cower. Cower. I never done that. So I have no regrets about anything, man.

[Interviewer]

Love it. How do kickboxers do in the ufc? Do they do well?

[Dewey Cooper]

I mean, you tell me. There's been several world champions. The first one was Maurice Smith, a guy that I trained with for many years. We sparred together many years. And you seen Alesanya and other guys. You see Pereira right now, probably the most intimidating fighter in the ufc. Him, Makunza, he's a kickboxer.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Dewey Cooper]

He's a pure kickboxer, too. So kickboxers normally do. Well, it's phases sometimes. We had a stint where the wrestlers did the grapplers.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Dewey Cooper]

You know what I mean? While the wrestlers, mostly, they wrestled and they did jiu jitsu, it weren't many pure jits, guys who. Who won, who. Who dominated. You know, there were some, but not like there were wrestlers who did. Who did submissions and. And we had the strikers. You. We had the kickboxers. Now, I think it's a great mix of everything, with the Dagestanis doing their great ground ground fighting and. And, you know, with guys like. Like Iliad, with that good, sturdy boxing. Yeah. And. And, you know, DDP just. Just beat Al. He's a straight striker, you know, stuff like that. Francis Ngannou, remember, he never lost his UFC title. He won the belt. He defended it. He went to pfl, got it done again. These guys are strikers, but they can mix it up. So yeah, nowadays I really think mixed martial arts has. Has evolved so much. You got to have a well rounded ability, whether you, whether you use it or not. If you're a striker, you got to be able to wrestle, you gotta be able to defend the takedowns and all of that. If you a grappler, you gotta be able to strike. So mixed martial arts is really evolved and it's gonna keep getting better and better. There'll be a day where these guys will be able to box with a pro boxer, kickbox with a high level kickboxer, and of course grapple with the top wrestlers and grapplers. So MMA is definitely evolving. And it's evolving at a fast rate.

[Interviewer]

I could see it. Cause now you got MMA guys boxing and keeping up with them too.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, shit. You seen my MMA guy was the ultimate guy that did it. We won that Tyson Fury fight. Give a fuck.

[Interviewer]

Nobody say that was a good ass fight.

[Dewey Cooper]

And that was Francis.

[Interviewer]

Francis. How long you been with him?

[Dewey Cooper]

I've been with Francis since the end of 2016. Damn. 2017. Well, beginning of 2017, whenever he moved from France to the U.S. i was his coach.

[Interviewer]

Nice. So seven, eight years.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yes, yes. Remember, remember before the Overeem fight, Francis was scheduled to fight jds and the fight got in Canada. That would have been our first fight together, but it got canceled. JDS had some issues. So then we had the famous fight with Overeeing, the knockout of the century. Francis and I had trained for about five to six months before that, and when that fight materialized, so yeah, if you watch that fight, I'm in the corner. It was myself and his original regime, the French team with coach Fernand Lopez and all of them. But I was there because he trained here with me.

[Interviewer]

Nice.

[Dewey Cooper]

And Fernando came two weeks before that fight and finished the camp with Francis. So we rocked out a long time. We had some great memories. I was there when we lost to Stipe the first time. I was there when the whole world loved him. Everyone's saying good things. After Stipe fight, all the scrutiny came and all the bad talk. And we got blamed for smothering him with towels when he was already tired. When the world didn't realize those towels were soaked in ice. They were ice cold towels to put on his body to cool him down. Between the rounds, he got scrutinized. The corner really got scrutinized. It was a bad time for everyone. But look at us now. We end up beating the same guy that made life bad for us. Stipe beat him by five round decision, though he. It was unanimous. He clearly won the fight. We stopped him at the beginning of two rounds, you know what I mean? So we went through the bad times, the roller coaster ride of life, especially that roller coaster ride you feel in sport. It's great when it's great and it's bad. What is bad? We took that roller coaster ride up and downs, and we stayed positive, stayed confident. Like I told you, the key to self preservation is staying confident. And look what he did. Knocks out Stipe, beats the real gun on one leg after blowing his knee out three weeks before the fight, walks away from that situation. A month ago, less than a month ago, it's been three and a half weeks. Today, it's November 11th. October 19th, he wins the PFL heavyweight world title fighting a dangerous, big, strong opponent in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Life is good, man. We're back on the championship winning team. How blessed am I? I'm a coach who won the UFC heavyweight title and the PFL heavyweight title. It's been a great journey. And Francis Ngannou, we can't even talk about what he's been through just getting to the ufc, winning that title. His son passes away months, you know, months ago. He still goes through with the fight and beats one of the most feared heavyweights in mma. Man, life is good. I'm still happy and have a feeling of exhilaration in my heart from October 19th. Man, it was great. Wow. It was great. We went away, did camp in Paris, France for eight weeks. We went to Saudi Arabia, Riyadh for a week and a half, and the whole world see what happened on October 19th. Man, life is great, man, I love him.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, because he was an underdog that fight, right?

[Dewey Cooper]

Yes. Well, I think he was the favorite just because he's popular. But all the experts were choosing, right, Choosing Renan to beat him. And, you know, it is what it is. Got it done.

[Interviewer]

It's cool to see you adapt because this is a totally different sport. Boxing, right? It's not like kickboxing.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, definitely not. Definitely not. But, you know, I've been around the original MMA guys. You know, I used to spar with Chuck Lidell, I've been in camp with him. Tito Ortiz, when he was the UFC champ, they would fly me to Big Bear and I would, I would spar with him, help him get ready for fights. Phil Barone, I mean, so many guys. Jay Haran, just so many guys I worked with over the years. Nick Diaz, back when he was in ufc, super popular, just so many guys I've worked with, I can't remember half of them from Mike Whitehead to. To. Oh, my God, just so many guys. You know, I've been in this game a long time and I will continue to be here, continue to help guys achieve their dreams and. And win championships. And I'm just blessed to be healthy, happy, and still living the dream.

[Interviewer]

I love it, man. Inspirational. Have you sports Sean Strickland?

[Dewey Cooper]

No, no, I don't. I don't. I don't associate with Sean Strickland at all. He disrespected me.

[Interviewer]

Oh, he did.

[Dewey Cooper]

A few years ago, so I didn't even know that. Yeah, no biggie. It is what it is. You know, I have really nothing to say about him. Wish him the best because he deals with a good friend of mine, a training partner of mine, a teammate of mine, Eric Nick, sick. So I don't wish any. Any bad on him. I just don't fuck with him at all. Damn.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, he's very polarizing, I'll say that.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah, he's very polarizing. But it is what it is. Like, I got nothing to say about him. You know, when it comes to that topic, you know, I got nothing to say. Wish. Wish them the. Wish him the best. Wish Eric the best. And that's it. That's all the time I spent on that topic.

[Interviewer]

Respect. How important is family to you? I know you're a father.

[Dewey Cooper]

Family is the most important thing, man. Three things in this world that matter to me. Three things. Family, friends and fighters. That's it. Nothing else matters to me. Not saying that I'm not nice to anyone else. Everyone deserves common courtesy, respect, and all of that. But my life revolves around my family first. And when I say friends, I'm talking real friends. People that if they're sick in the hospital, I'm there. If I'm sick in hospital, they're there. So family most important. And. And there's a. A saying. Oh, you know, the, you know, blood is sticking in water is what I believe. A lot of people say, oh, no, family could be. I'm not trying to hear it. Family's the most important thing. And of course there's bad family members and you have to deal with that accordingly. But family's the most important thing because that's your own DNA. That's your own existence through another person, your kid. The most important thing. That's something that you help create. They have your DNA. You live as long as they live. There's nothing more important. I'll give my life for my kids, happily, I mean, most important thing besides that, your true friends. And then in my life, for my line of work, is of course the fighters most important thing. I sacrifice my body for my fighters every day. And for a lot of them it's no big deal. But when you train in guys like Francis, for all the years I train one of the strongest dudes in the world, it's very demanding, it's very tough. Everybody thinks, oh, I'll train Francis better, I'll do this. 80% of these guys couldn't even train Francis. They wouldn't be strong enough to handle getting pounded by him every day. So those three things matter the most to everything else is just background music. That's nice. It's good. We on the elevator. Hear that? Good elevator, relaxing music. But it's not important. You're trying to get to those different floors.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely.

[Dewey Cooper]

And that's how I view the rest of the world.

[Interviewer]

So do you separate the fighters and the friends or like, are you friends with some of the fighters?

[Dewey Cooper]

A lot of times I separate that, only time I don't. If we really spent time and really, really been through things. Because in today's landscape, like in my time, your coach was your coach. You rarely seen guys switching trainers like your coach, your coach for life. That was just part of the martial arts, utter loyalty and integrity thing. Nowadays, it's such a business. It's not about any of that. It's business first, and that's up to the fighter. So sometimes guys switch coaches so you can't make it a friend, family situation many times because if they have one or two bad fights, they leave you like, like a piece of shit. It doesn't matter.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Dewey Cooper]

So, so, you know, a family or a true friend would never do that. So you do have to, have to separate it sometimes it mesh and it's a real family friend thing too. But it's a slippery slope in today's climate because the personalities of people have changed nowadays from. In every way. So just because you're training someone and you won some fights, it doesn't mean there's a real loyalty there. And remember, I'm not complaining. It doesn't have to be. It's up to the fighter to figure out what he wants to do. It was just in my time, it was a lot different. I'm an old head now, so I can't talk about the new rules. You gotta accept them and live with them. Yeah, but, but. So that's why it's not the same for me for sure. For Some coaches it might be, but those same coaches, you'll see them talking shit about the guy later when he leaves him. If a fighter leaves me right now, I got number love for him. Because I understand the difference of a family, a friend and a fighter. That's why I said it in that order. I said family, real friends and fighters. So if the fighter leave, I understand he feels he needs something to better his journey and he deserves that. Right. But my family would never leave me. My true friends would never leave me. So I'm never gonna do anything but good for them. So they would never have a reason to leave me. And that's the difference. And a lot of coaches need to understand that. If a fighter were to leave me, and I've had several that left me, shit, even in the last few years, you can go down my timeline, you can talk to anyone. I know you've never heard me talk shit about any of them. I say, man, thanks for the memories. I wish you the best. You need something, it's an open door and there's guys that'll attest to that. But if I love them like a family and they'll leave me because they had a bad outing, how would I feel? Would I still feel that way? No, I probably hate them. Like you've seen some coaches do with fighters, you know, go public about their disgust for a fighter that they once trained. Stuff like that happens because it got too personal. You loved them and they didn't give a fuck about that. They left your ass. Cause you weren't the best option for them, apparently.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Dewey Cooper]

You know what I mean? So it's a slippery slope, a lot of nuances involved. But yeah, not all my fighters or my friends or I consider family. There's very few that I've considered that way. And the way that becomes like that is a deep understanding and training and camaraderie and experiences and things that make you unbreakable. And like I said with the fighter coach dynamic, in many cases, that's just not the case.

[Interviewer]

I feel that. Yeah, that's great advice. A lot of people try to mix friendship and business, family and business, and it's risky. Right?

[Dewey Cooper]

And yeah. And remember, doesn't mean just because they're not your true friend or your true family, you don't care for them. You deeply care for them because it's a vested interest. And you also are doing the best you can to help them achieve their improvements and show their greatness, AKA win their fights. We all win. When he wins, he wins, we win, he Lose, we lose. So it's a dynamic that is hard to explain. So I want coaches to say, oh, you don't give a fuck about your fighters. They're just a number. No, you do give a fuck about your fighters. You deeply give a fuck about your fighters. But you gotta know, this is not my daughter. This is not my son. You know, my daughter. No matter what, I would never do an evil to my kid to make them hate me. It's impossible for my kid to say they hate me. I'm there. I supported them from day one. I've showed them unconditional love. I gave them great advice. For them to say they would hate me would just be wrong. But with a fighter, you got to know the difference. You give them unconditional love, you train them, you make sacrifices, you hurt your body for them. You do everything you can to help them win, but your whole relationship depends on the win or the loss. And that's something we gotta understand as coaches. It matters if they win or lose. You could tell them the right advice in the corner and they don't go out there and do it. And they still lose. In this time, especially, guys will leave their coaches and join a different team. And maybe not because they're bad people, because their managers tell them, hey, this may be a better fit for you. All their friends are saying it. The. The podcast people are saying it. And so they started hearing these other voices too. It's not just them saying, oh, fuck coach. I don't care about what he did. It's a lot of things involved. In my time, we didn't have any of that. There was always dudes trying to steal fighters, but the fighter didn't do that as much.

[Interviewer]

They had loyalty back then.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yeah. And like I said, maybe if we had social media and everyone having their fucking opinions so expressed so openly and fluently, who knows how it affected us, maybe we would be doing the same shit the guys are doing now. It was just, like I said, a different time. And old people adjust to the way shit is now. Cause it's never going back to the old days. You know what I mean? You know, it's funny, real fast. I grew up listening to rap music my whole life. When I was born, rap just thought just was coming out. So I was the first generation hip hop head from day fucking one. My first music was rap. My dad hated rap. He listened to blues and stuff like that. He hated my music, couldn't stand it. So there was a different side of me and my dad. We didn't Come to the same terms with the music. I would never go to a concert with him. I ain't like his shit. He hated my shit. The music I like. Today we're at a time where the kids are still listening to the same type of music. The old heads say, oh, the golden era was good. Rakim, Kara's War and Public Enemy, these guys are the greatest. These new rappers suck. They just talk about money and drugs. At the end of the day, it's still a rap. I enjoy the new rap like I enjoy the old rap because it's the same music. So I could go to a Kendrick Lamar Drake concert or whatever with my daughter and enjoy myself as if I did when I went to LL Cool J& Rakim. So the culture's the same, so we're not as separate. And the old people gotta understand that, you know, that's why I say get with the new times. It's never going back to the old days. If you're stuck in the way it was, man, you're gonna be an unhappy person. You're not gonna understand the youth because the, the youth is definitely different now.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely. That's great advice. Let's end off with your league, man. You got Team Combat League. Any events coming up?

[Dewey Cooper]

Well, Team Combat League.

[Interviewer]

See a cool tcl.

[Dewey Cooper]

Tcl, guys. The most exciting professional boxing format in the world is Team Combat League. Don't take my word for it. Go to YouTube, type in team Combat League. You'll see Team Combat League. We are a league, not a promotion. It's just like your NFL, your NBA. We have professional teams in different cities around America. You fight a 24 round fight, professional boxing fights. So you have 24 members on your team. The catch is it's one round. You only have to fight three minutes. So every fight is high adrenaline, excitement and very, very entertaining. After 24 rounds, the team with the most points win. Just like a basketball game or a football game is professional boxing. 10, 9 if you win the round. 108 if you knock them down once. 107 if you knock them down twice and each round accumulates the team with the Most points after 24 rounds win. You never see anything like it. There's men and professional female boxers, professional male boxers on the same team. It's the most exhilarating professional boxing format you'll ever see. 24 rounds of excitement. 8. Sometimes the fights are 18 rounds to 24 rounds of excitement. Don't miss a team comeback league. You'll love it. Season two ended August 1st with the Philadelphia Smoke. The Team from Philadelphia end up winning the Mega brawl championships. Season three starts March 20, 2025. It's going to be incredible. We have two new teams coming to the league. That's the Phoenix Fury from Phoenix, Arizona. And we have the Nashville Smash. Nashville, Tennessee now has teams Team Combat League season three coming up. Check it out. Go to the website team combat league.com our YouTube channel. Team Combat League on YouTube channel. Man. I'm the president of the company. I guarantee you you're going to love it. If you love boxing, you're going to love Team Combat League.

[Interviewer]

Hell yeah. I can't wait to watch that, dude. We'll link it below. It's coming on. That was awesome.

[Dewey Cooper]

First of all, thanks for having me, man. You absolutely rock and, and you know, hope to see you again after one of the Team Combat leagues or another big fight we're having.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I'll pop in next one in Vegas. Hit me up.

[Dewey Cooper]

Yes, sir.

[Interviewer]

All right below, guys. Check it out. Peace. Boom. That was awesome, man.

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