Nightcap Hour 2: LeBron Says Identity of the GOAT is ‘BEYOND DOUBT” + Angel Reese Gets REVENGE on Chicago Sky + Olivia Miles SHINES in WIN over Wings + Brandon Aiyuk is BACK on IG + Kyler Murray on His ADJUSTMENT + Justin Gaethje joins NIGHTCAP ahead ...

Summary

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Nightcap Hour 2 – June 10, 2026

Overview

This episode of Nightcap, featuring Shannon Sharpe, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, and rotating guest ISO, dives deep into recent heated sports headlines and provides the show's signature mix of unfiltered debate, inside perspective, and cultural commentary. Main topics include LeBron James' GOAT claim, Angel Reese’s dominant WNBA return to Chicago, Olivia Miles’ standout rookie game, NFL contract drama with Brandon Aiyuk, Kyler Murray’s transition to the Vikings offense, and a candid conversation with UFC headliner Justin Gaethje.

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LeBron James' "GOAT" Statement & The Unending Debate

Theme: LeBron claims his case as the NBA GOAT, sparking spirited debate between the hosts.

Key Points and Insights

• LeBron, in Time, said: “While Michael Jordan might hold more influence, the identity of the Goat is beyond a doubt. I'm not taking nobody over me, there's no question. But I think Mike will say the same thing, rest his soul. Kobe would say the same thing. Magic would say the same thing. Bird would say the same thing. Shaq could say the same thing. The late Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem… If there's a general manager and he's eyeballing us all on the baseline with the number one pick, I think it's going to be really hard not to take me champ.” (02:54)

• ISO: “I'm taking MJ1, fellas. That's who I'm taking… first off, he's a two-way guy.” (03:44)

• Ocho: “As much as I love LeBron… But just MJ in general. Why? Because of his dominance when he did play… Even though LeBron dominated as well, at MJ's height… Zero. And never losing… just so many different factors come into play.” (04:40)

• Shannon: “Me, I'm going to take LeBron… he can do all things well, great. He can score… rebound… facilitate an offense… I don't know if any individual had more on his plate than what LeBron was asked to do.” (06:07)

Notable Quotes

• ISO: “I just feel like they're all goaded, bro. And it's a preference when you talk about how you want to start your team” (09:24).
• Shannon: “If somebody had drafted LeBron before I got him, I'm not going to be mad if I got Jordan… I'm not going to be mad if I got Magic or Bird. Because what people don't realize, Bird averaged 24, 10, and six. Let that sink in.” (08:50)

Memorable Moments

• Deep dive into how the internet’s ignorance of previous basketball eras (08:59).
• The “MJ aura” conversation: “He doesn't seem real… I've never seen anything like it… The only guy that's comparable is the original MJ. Michael Jackson.” (19:44)

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Angel Reese’s Return to Chicago & WNBA Highlights

Theme: Angel Reese’s fiery double-double against her old team, Atlanta Dream’s emerging squad, and Olivia Miles’ breakout performance.

Key Points and Insights

• Reese’s Revenge: “Angel Reese secured a 57 double double… 17 points, 17 rebounds… Her 57 career double doubles are the most through 75 games in WNBA history.” (21:16)

• Host Analysis: “You knew Angel was going to be very motivated going back to Chicago. I don't think there's any love lost… she ain't gonna cheat the game. That girl got a motor, bro…she is relentless.” (22:11)

• Ryan Howard also scored 17 points, reaching a historic WNBA milestone.

Notable Quotes

• ISO: “She is relentless. And that's where a lot of her points come from… she comes out and competes every night, bro.” (22:20)

• Shannon: “While you at it, go ahead and defend like A’ja Wilson. Well, damn.” (23:08)

• Dream and Lynx “best of five” WNBA playoff format discussion: “I like when it's five or six teams… and the games are really interesting. Ain’t no three-zero.” (28:40)

Olivia Miles’ Shining Performance

• “Rookie Olivia Miles scored 24 points and the Lynx cruised past the Wings 176 for the eighth straight win… she’s special.” (27:01)

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NFL Drama: Brandon Aiyuk's IG Return & Player Contracts

Theme: Dissecting Aiyuk’s public airing of grievances post-signing and the culture of player negotiations.

Key Points and Insights

• Aiyuk: “They mad cause they paid me 50 million in eight months and they avoided my guarantees for 2027, and I'm about to be on a new team in 2027. They mad at theyselves for real. Acting like they mad at me, but they stupid ass mad at they self.” (30:25)

• Ocho’s Take: “There are too many receivers coming in every year… so you gotta be careful, man. They will weed your ass out of here, man.” (32:26)

• Sharpe expands: “If one of us acts up, they put it on everybody… that's why they have a problem getting us our money.” (33:39)

Notable Quotes

• Ocho: “Your complexion is reflective of a lot of complexions under this prism… and that's how we get judged.” (35:19)
• “You think they're gonna pull together? Keep the main thing, the main thing. The bottom line will always be the bottom line.” (38:11, 38:28)

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Kyler Murray’s New Challenge in Minnesota

Theme: The adjustment struggles for QBs moving to new systems and the reality of the NFL quarterback carousel.

Key Points and Insights

• Murray on learning new offense: “The toughest part is… now having to split reps… it’s me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps you typically want a guy to get. Learning an offense, that's probably the toughest part.” (43:52)

• Ocho’s Point: “Kyler Murray needs to be getting all those reps with the ones right now so he's comfortable – slow reps are slowing down his process.” (44:33)

• ISO’s Counter: “As a professional, you're gonna be in uncomfortable situations… you have to adapt. This is part of it, bro.” (45:33)

Notable Quotes

• Justin Jefferson’s praise (read by host): “He understands the game… just how to put touch on the ball… throws the ball before you even get out of your break. He’s a smart guy and a competitor.” (47:06)

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UFC Spotlight: Exclusive Interview with Justin Gaethje

Theme: U.S. pride, fight psychology, adversity, and trash talk ahead of the White House-lawn UFC main event.

Key Points and Insights

• On representing America: “Being from America, a really small town… this is special for my parents… for it to come to this pinnacle is amazing… being on the White House is spectacular.” (68:21)

• Preparation and walk to ring: “There is absolutely no thoughts. I feel very dangerous, very content… convinced myself I’m gonna, probably die. I am going to a very cerebral place… no emotions that could help me – only hurt.” (75:09)

• On his opponent, Ilia Topuria: “He’s so full of shit. He’s so full of himself… he needs to be taught a lesson. I’m the perfect guy for this.” (73:12)

• Strategy: “I have the ability to fight so many different styles of fights… it’s so hard to see what I’m actually doing in there… the reason I’m the underdog is because people don’t understand what I’m doing, and people think I’m stupid. That’s the best thing I have going for me.” (83:42)

Notable Quotes

• Gaethje: “Nighttime is for hurting people.” (80:47)
• Gaethje: “All the hard work’s done, you know, the fun starts. Being in the fight is so fun… I love showing off, I love competing.” (77:18)
• Gaethje: “Proving people right feels really, really good, but proving people are wrong is almost just as satisfying.” (86:34)

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Rapid Fire & Audience Q&A [49:18+]

• “Do y’all think we’ll ever see a 5,000 yard passer with the new kickoff rules?” (56:04)

  • Ocho: “We’re going to see that… at some point, we’re going 18 games. We’re definitely seeing a 5000 yard passer.”
  • Shannon: “There’s been a bunch… Drew Brees got like five of them…”

• Career recognition: ISO celebrated for Arkansas Black Hall of Fame induction and reflects on mentoring young players (57:19).

• Financial advice to young athletes: Ocho emphasizes the importance of financial discipline; “Statistics are still going up of those going broke despite more money… if we ain’t got no financial discipline, we still going broke.” (62:31)

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Cultural Reflection & Closing Thoughts

• Extensive discussion of race, tribalism in sports, and the lasting impact of systemic exclusion. Shannon: “Politics has always been involved…” (64:39)

• Response to fan violence and team/fan identity: “Let’s not confuse the two… those aren’t really New York Knicks fans.” (67:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• GOAT Debate – 02:54 to 19:10
• MJ’s Aura & Legacy – 13:35, 17:10, 19:44
• Angel Reese & WNBA – 21:16 to 23:06; Olivia Miles – 27:01
• Brandon Aiyuk/NFL Contracts – 30:19 to 38:28
• Kyler Murray Segment – 43:52 to 48:17
• UFC Justin Gaethje Interview – 68:21 to 86:51

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Final Notes

Nightcap continues its tradition of blending raw honesty, player insight, and wide-ranging topics. Whether it’s breaking down the unending GOAT debate, celebrating WNBA heroes, or exploring the business of sport, Shannon, Ocho, and guests bring clarity and character. The in-depth interview with Justin Gaethje delivers a powerful fighter’s perspective on preparation, mindset, and representing his country.

End quote:
Shannon: “You make it fun. Hopefully, when you watch Nightcap, you’re informed, educated, and entertained… None of this is possible without you.” (86:58)

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Transcript

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[Joe]

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[Erin Andrews]

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[Joe]

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[Justin Gaethje]

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[Joe]

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[Justin Gaethje]

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[Joe]

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[Joe]

In an interview with Time, Shawn Gregory Lebron said, While Michael Jordan might hold more influence, the identity of the Goat is beyond a doubt. I'm not taking nobody over me, there's no question. But I think Mike will say the same thing, rest his soul. Kobe would say the same thing. Magic would say the same thing. Bird would say the same thing. Shaq could say the same thing. The late Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem. I don't think none of us are going to take nobody over us. If there's a general manager and he's eyeballing us all on the baseline with the number one pick, I think it's going to be really hard not to take me champ. Joe, if you're building a franchise, you building an NBA franchise from scratch. All the names that he's mentioned, who you taking?

[ISO]

I'm taking MJ. I'm taking MJ1, fellas.

[Joe]

Okay?

[ISO]

That's who I'm taking. Who you taking on?

[Joe]

Why are you taking mj?

[ISO]

Why I'm taking mj? Yes, the reasons is, first off, he's a two way guy. Not only a two. He gonna dominate both ends of the floor.

[Joe]

Yes.

[ISO]

He gonna score 40, 50. He gonna shut his man down. He ain't, he ain't having that right. You know what I mean? And I just for me growing up, I think they all goaded. That's why, that's why when I, when I category, when I category a lot of these greats, I just say, man, he goaded. But you know, obviously MJ is the guy I grew up watching, idolizing. But all those guys got ghost status, man. I, I, I, I guess it's a preference.

[Joe]

I, I totally agree, O Joe. I mean, you got the number one pick.

[Ocho]

Start a franchise. I mean, that, that's, that's really difficult. You know, you have to think the game of basketball based on the areas that they played in was, was completely different. But These players that LeBron did mention are players that could play in any damn era. So it really doesn't matter. They would be effective regardless of what era they played in regards to what position they played. So, like Joe did say, it probably could, it does come down to preference. And for me, as much as I love LeBron, as much as I love Magic and Kareem, and much as I love Shaq, as Dominant as Shaq was doing his tenure, you know, when he, when he played, I just. I prefer MJ. Love LeBron. Love. Love him to death. LeBron can do no wrong in my eyes, based on what he's been able to accomplish, you know, since coming out of high school and having all the expectations bestowed upon him to be the chosen one. And he's lived up to every single one, plus some, you know, but. But just, Just MJ in general. I mean, why. Because of his dominance when he did Play. Even though LeBron dominated as well, at MJ's height, you know, I'm not sure how many finals he won. I'm not. I can't really say it off the top thing, but was it five or six?

[Joe]

Yes, six finals.

[Justin Gaethje]

Six.

[Joe]

Zero being six.

[Ocho]

Zero. And never losing his cultural impact, his influence, long after the game is gone, long after he's done playing. Just so many different factors, you know, come into play when it comes in, but you can't go wrong at this point. It's kind of nitpicking, you know, and it's really based off preference on who you like.

[Joe]

Yeah, me. I'm going to take LeBron for the simple fact he can do all things. Well, great. He can score the basketball, he can rebound the basketball, he can facilitate an offense, and I think he can do that better than, say, Kobe and, and, and, and, And Jordan. Now, can he facilitate an offense better than Magic? Probably not, but Magic couldn't score the basketball like he could or rebound the basketball like he could.

[ISO]

Right.

[Joe]

We look at some of these bigs, they could score and rebound, but they couldn't run an offense like he could.

[ISO]

Right.

[Joe]

And so for me, if I'm starting a franchise, and I'm probably now, it. It all depends if I'm. I'm starting. And ain't nobody else on the roster. I don't have anybody else.

[ISO]

Right. Right.

[Joe]

I'm bu. I'm gonna have to build my roster around him. I'm gonna take. I'm gonna take. I'm gonna take Braun. And like you said, now LeBron, Kobe and Jordan have both award all NBA defensive teams, but I don't think, for me, I don't know if any individual had more on his plate than what LeBron was asked to do. To score the basketball, to rebound the basketball and to facilitate his offense. Jordan was asked to score, and he did that at an elite rate as well as anybody in the history of the game. Kobe was asked to do that, but he did have Shaq to rebound the basketball.

[ISO]

Yeah, he did.

[Joe]

So LeBron really never had that kind of dominant player. Magic did have Kareem. LeBron has never had anybody like that.

[ISO]

Right.

[Joe]

So for me, and like you said, Joe, it's all about preference. And, And, And. And. And you not take. Because everybody that LeBron mentioned, yeah, if you wanted to nitpick, you could, but it's hard. It's hard when. When you look at his resume and his body of work and what was asked of him on a nightly basis. I don't know if he's ever had a game where they say, lebron, we just need you to score. Lebron, we just need you to facilitate the offense. Lebron, we just need you to rebound. I don't know if you've ever had a game like that. And I feel that other players have all had situations where they were asked to do one thing, but not those things, and LeBron had to do them more times than not, and he had to be great in all three phases. So that's why I would take LeBron. But if somebody had drafted LeBron before I got him, I'm not going to be mad if I got Jordan. I'm not going to be mad if I got Kobe. I'm not going to be mad if I got Magic or Bird. Because what people don't realize, bird average 24, 10 and six, let that sink in. He was 24 points a night, 10 rebounds a night, six assists tonight. That's what. That's what Larry Bird did.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

So I. I think the thing is, Joe, in this Internet area era, if it didn't happen and they didn't see it or what it didn't happen, or the guy wasn't any good.

[ISO]

Right.

[Joe]

Y' all need to go back and check some of these old guys. Y' all better go check Magic Johnson out. Y' all better go check out Kareem. Y' all better go check out Larry Bird.

[ISO]

Yeah. Oh, no, listen, I don't think it's the wrong answer, and I agree with you, but for me, you know, I don't think nobody see seen MJ coming into the league doing what he done.

[Joe]

No, no, no, no, they didn't.

[ISO]

Because if that was a damn case, he would have went number one. I don't give a damn who had the number one pick. You know what I mean?

[Joe]

Houston had number one pick. They took Elijah one.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah. So he would have went one. You know what I mean? So I just felt like Braun superseded expectations. No doubt. He had the most weight on his shoulders coming into the NBA and to be able to surpass all that. Like, hey, bro, no griper grown. He one of my favorite players to watch. Obviously I love competing against him. He was great and still is. But I just feel like they're all goaded, bro. And it's a preference when you talk about how you want to start your team or who you want to start your team with. I mean, hell, these all goes, bro.

[Joe]

You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm trying to look up because, Joe, I don't think Elijah won. I mean, Elijah won senior year. I mean his junior year because he left early. He might have didn't average with like 10 points a game. 13 points a game, Joe.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know them guys.

[Joe]

Over 100 college games, he averaged 13.3. Oh, okay. He left his junior year he averaged 17 points, almost 14 rebounds. His freshman year he averaged 8 points, 6 rebounds. And then the sophomore year he averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds. But you had to see him. If you watched him move in college, you. It was a no brainer.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

That he was going to be what he was in college, you know, because you got to realize he really didn't play basketball. But like he, but this his junior year might have been his fourth year playing basketball. He's a soccer player. Yeah, but the way he could move, the way he could get up and down the court, Joe. And the way he could elevate and the way he defended, you're like, oh yeah, he can't be, he can't miss. He can't miss. It's the same thing I said about Trey Young. I say Trey Young is going to be. That's that. Man, he's so small. I said, guess what? If you take away a score, he still can facilitate.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

I said, the guy's averaging 27 and 10. So if you can facilitate in college, even if they take the 27, let's just say, okay, all of a sudden he don't average but 20. You don't want a 20 and 10 point guard.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

There ain't a whole lot of point guard that's ever averaged 20 and 10.

[ISO]

Nope. Nope.

[Joe]

So that's why I felt Elijah 1. Jordan. Jordan played in the system. Dean Smith ain't let nobody get outside of that system, not even Michael Jordan. So that's what held him back. Yeah, the, the, the, the, the joke is the only, per, the only man that's ever hold Michael Jordan under 20 points a game was Dean Smith. So no, nobody saw this. Nobody's, nobody saw this coming. I watched Jordan his. From his freshman year when he hit that, when they got to the NCAA tournament. And I watched him. And I watched him his sophomore year, in his junior year. Nobody, nobody would have bet any amount of money that Michael Jordan was going to turn out to be what he was. No chance, right, bro. You go from averaging what he averaged. He go. He averaged 28 points a game as a. As a. As a. A rookie. What the hell. Average 28 points a game of a damn rookie.

[ISO]

That's what. That's what I'm.

[Joe]

That's.

[ISO]

See, that's what I don't think a lot of people, they ain't see the early MJ. They seen 97, 98 MJ when he was already polished.

[Joe]

No, no, no, no, no, no. That was the old Jim day that couldn't really elevate like he could earlier. They needed to catch MJ from when he got to League 84 and through those first three championships. That's when they. That was the athletic MJ. That was the MJ. That was the MJ. Now, he developed that tournament because he didn't have that TurnAround his first five or six years in the league. He was just going over people, man.

[ISO]

Listen, listen. A couple of my favorite NBA series to watch still to this day, 2026, is when 1993 Chicago played against the Phoenix Suns, when Charles Barkley won that whole series. And you could tell how MJ took it so personal, bro. He was. Hey, man, the man was unreal. And when I watched him play, this might have been like 91, 92. When they played against Portland, when they had Clyde and him. And you talking about a raw mj, bro. Come on.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. That might have been Joe. That might have been 92, because he played. The first one was LA, then Portland and then. And then Phoenix.

[ISO]

Amen.

[Joe]

That man, everything personal.

[ISO]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe]

He took. Because he felt that they gave Charles Barkley his mvp. Yeah, he felt. Nobody said Clyde Drexel was damn better than Michael Jordan. But somebody said. They said, well, is he comparable? The real fact. He felt that somebody could fix their mouth to say Clyde Drexler is comparable to me. He felt that was an insult.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Yes, yes. Anything. Anything. You didn't shake his hand. Oh, oh, you're not gonna shake my hand? You're not going to acknowledge me? Yeah, he took everything personal. He still does.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Y' all heard his hall of Fame speech. The guy that cut him, the guy that got his spot on the back bars of the basketball team.

[ISO]

Yeah, he. He needs that to get him Going. He's always looking for something. He's looking for something to kind of, you know, trying to have an edge or the way it can put him in a state of mind where he go in the kill mode.

[Joe]

Kill. Yes. They say Mike. Ain't nobody say that. Yeah, he did. Mike. That man didn't say that. He didn't say that. But as competitive to this day as it is, and I mean, it was. It was a joy to watch him. I mean, the. I don't know if we'll see anybody that has that aura again. No, no, Joe.

[ISO]

Nah.

[Joe]

Because you, You.

[ISO]

Everybody's. It seems. It seems as though we're all so close together because of the, you know, everybody has a phone, everybody has a camera.

[Joe]

Yep.

[ISO]

Yeah. See, back then, you couldn't hear. If you ain't turn that TV on, you probably won't gonna see him.

[Joe]

If you didn't go to the game, that's the only time you saw Mike.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You had to go to the game. The likelihood of you bumping into him, and if you bumped into him, you had no way to record it or say it, man. Cause guess what? There was no cell phones. I mean, there wasn't no camera phones on your cell phone, and nobody walked around with a camera. So you just had to. Man, I saw my man. You ain't seen no Michael. Shut up.

[ISO]

Hey. Hey.

[Joe]

No. Damn. Michael Jordan. Where you see Michael Jordan at? Hey, and I saw Michael Jordan, man. Shut up.

[ISO]

You had to pull out that little yellow camera, hit that little thing.

[Joe]

Exactly. And most people didn't have cameras with them.

[Ocho]

Disposable.

[ISO]

Yeah,

[Joe]

but. And plus now, because like you said, Joe, because of the Internet, we're so close. There was a mystique about Mike.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

There ain't no mystique. We see. And guess what? Guys have allowed us. A lot of guys have allowed us to come in to. To come into their homes or to be in their cars. It would have been bad. The only thing that I wish is that Mike would have played and to see how open, how amenable he would have been to social media, knowing how guarded and how private that he is. How amenable would he been to social media?

[Ocho]

I don't think.

[ISO]

I don't know. Change.

[Ocho]

I. I don't.

[Joe]

That's it. That's all I would like to see. Because he is. He's really. No, he's really a private person. Yeah, he really is. You go somewhere when he. It might be his event, but he gonna be in the back. You don't think you just gonna walk in? Because there are a lot of events. You walk in and you see the host right away. You see upstairs, not him. He ducked up in the back.

[ISO]

Yeah,

[Joe]

he ducked up in the back, too.

[ISO]

A. Too polarizing, bro.

[Joe]

I ain't never seen anything like it. I've never seen anything like it. Like I said, I. I saw Prince. I was. I was two feet away from Prince. I've seen a lot of celebs. I seen a lot of entertainers. Ain't seen nothing like him. Hey.

[ISO]

Oh, Ocho, I'm telling y'. All, Listen, as a brand Jordan, athlete, bro. We had so many get togethers. I catch myself sometimes just staring at the man like, damn.

[Joe]

Like, that's.

[ISO]

That's. That's what it was, bro. It was. I can't even explain it. You know, as a kid, I tell

[Joe]

people that all the time.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

He doesn't seem real. I don't care. Name a person, an athlete that's ever seen Michael Jordan and everything they say, from Allen Iverson to Shaq to whomever. And they're some of the biggest stars themselves. He don't see.

[Ocho]

Everybody got the same story. Same.

[Justin Gaethje]

He.

[Joe]

I mean, he, like. He levitating.

[ISO]

Joker, Taylor. Taylor.

[Joe]

He.

[ISO]

Taylor, everything. He got on every. His damn sweats, shorts to his jeans. I'm the damn.

[Joe]

That man got on that elevator with his first wife. That door opened up, I'm like. I'll be like, I'm sure. He's like, I know who you are. They introduced me that. This is my. This is my wife, blah, blah, blah.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You know, tell his wife he got a brother play for the Bears. I mean, for the. The Packers. Yeah, He's a bad boy. So I met your mom at the casino one time. I said, okay, yeah. And, you know, that was it. And I'm looking at it, and I was like. I just had a conversation with Mike. He didn't seem real. He still. And I've seen him several times since then.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And every time, it's the same feeling. That man levitating, that man ain't real. Anybody that's ever met him for the first time, they'll tell you the same thing. He don't seem real. I've never seen anybody like it.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

I've never seen anything like it. Like I said from. You know, I meant Denzel. I met Samuel Jackson. I'm talking about. I met big, big up to my Oprah. All them. Ain't met nothing like him. This dude here, man.

[ISO]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Joe]

I. I'm Thinking the only guy that's

[Ocho]

comparable Ocho

[Joe]

is the original mj. Michael Jackson.

[ISO]

Yes.

[Joe]

I'm thinking, and I've never met him, but I'm thinking that's the only guy that's coming.

[Justin Gaethje]

You know what?

[Ocho]

When you think about it too right, it's, it's comparable based on you knowing much about him, on how you revere mj. So think about how you feel and what it was like for you to meet mj. Think about how women, regardless of who they are, regards the ethnicity, how they feel about if they have the opportunity to meet Beyonce. It's. It's the same thing. It's the same way probably, right?

[Joe]

Ojo?

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

There are stars where I've been very fortunate.

[Joe]

I've had an opportunity to meet her men.

[Justin Gaethje]

Hove.

[Joe]

Nice cordial, receptive to courtesy. And I mean, you know, and it's always like, damn, you know, I'm always call my sister. You're never gonna guess who I met when I met Oprah at the Four Seasons on in New York. On Met her and Gail. I met Beckham's wife. What's, what's Victoria Beckham? Victoria Beckham? Yeah, Victoria Beckham met her at the Four Seasons. Real we. I mean, like, you know, I always call myself, say, you're never gonna guess who I met, but that number 23 from Chicago.

[Ocho]

Different.

[Joe]

Angel Reese secured a 57 double double in the return to Chicago to lead the dream past the sky. Angel has 17 points, 17 rebounds in her first regular season matchup against a former team. Her 57 career double doubles are the most through 75 games in WNBA history. Ryan Howard also scored 17 points. Howard eclipsed 2500 career points and became the youngest player in WNBA history to record 2500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks. I, I look you, you knew angel was going to be very motivated going back to Chicago. Guys, I don't think there's any love lost. I think they fell out when she said what she said about the team and you know, she ain't gonna be sticking around and blah, blah, blah, so forth and so on. And so I think it was just a matter of time. But I knew she was going to be very motivated to go back and play them.

[ISO]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey. And, and one thing you knew is that she ain't gonna cheat the game.

[Joe]

Man.

[ISO]

That girl got a mother, bro.

[Joe]

She does.

[ISO]

She has. I'm talking about sitting there watching her live, Uncle Ocho. The way she goes out to loose balls, rebounds like bro. She is relentless. And that's where a lot of her points come from. Second chance opportunities, crashing the glass, you know, pick and roll, shooting her little floater. Right. Like, bro, I think more than anything, when you, when you, when you have a competitor, you want her to have a mindset that she has. She comes out and compete every night, bro.

[Joe]

Every night. She ain't gonna teach you. Nope. Yeah, I get it. Well, she can, bro. Y' all want. Y' all want everybody to be able to shoot the ball like mile more. Damn. So y' all wanted to get. Grab. Shoot the ball like my more grab rebounds like she does. What? Y' all wanted to pass the boy. Y' all wanted to pass the ball like Chelsea Gray.

[ISO]

Right, right, right.

[Joe]

Hey, while you had to go ahead and defend like Asia Wilson. Well, damn.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah, I turned off news altogether.

[Joe]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[ISO]

It's the rage bait.

[Erin Andrews]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Joe]

We got clear facts.

[Justin Gaethje]

Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there.

[Joe]

NBC News, reporting for America.

[Erin Andrews]

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower? Like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed? Well, it turns out someone actually did. And it starts with a melon. Yep, a melon. There's a rare French melon that stays fresh four times longer than the fruit you and I buy at the store. Scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant incident called sod. The kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging. And get this. Meaningful Beauty partnered with world renowned French cosmetic specialist Dr. Jean Louis Sabah to capture that melon's youth, preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day. So if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different. Because it starts with something nature designed to stay young. Subscribe [e-mail] and you can try their introductory deluxe system for 25% off. You'll also get two free gifts, free shipping and a 60 day money back guarantee. Trust me, it's the easiest way to see what this melon powered skincare can do for your skin.

[Joe]

I admit it, I'm a control freak.

[ISO]

Luckily, the folks at WIX get it.

[Joe]

That's why they created WIX Harmony. It's an AI website builder for people just like me.

[Justin Gaethje]

It lets you create any type of

[Joe]

website super fast, but stay in control of every detail.

[Justin Gaethje]

You can even choose whether to use

[Joe]

AI or click and edit things yourself until your website actually feels like you. Try it for [e-mail] Harmony that's wix.com Harmony

[Erin Andrews]

introducing Taco Bell's new sweet and spicy Jalapeno Citrus salsa. Made with bright citrus and real red jalapenos. You can get it with anything on the Cantina Chicken menu for a delicious tangy twist to make all your faves instantly better. And while Jalapeno Citrus Salsa is only available for a limited time, know this Jalapeno Citrus salsa demands the spotlight. It's the sauce with main character energy. Get Jalapeno Citrus Salsa with anything on the Cantina Chicken menu for a limited time only at Taco Bell at participating locations while supplies last. Hey, it's Erin Andrews from Calm down with Erin and Carissa. I don't know about your house, but at my house everybody's online, streaming, gaming, shopping, zoom calls, you name it. That's why having fast, reliable Internet that can keep up really matters. And why you need Optimum's famously fast fiber powered Internet. It blows flaky 5G home Internet out of the water. It's fast and reliable and doesn't slow down when everybody's online. Which, let's be honest, is all the time. Right now they have a deal that's tough to beat. Just $25 a month for five years. So don't wait. Call 866-9-APUMENT, visit optimum.com or stop by your local Optimum store today. Famously fast fiber powered Internet for $25 a month for five years. That's a no brainer. Terms apply. See optimum.com for details.

[ISO]

Nah.

[Joe]

The dream.

[ISO]

Hey, the dream Got a nice squad, bro.

[Joe]

They do. They do. They do.

[ISO]

They got a nice squad because Ryan

[Joe]

Howard is like that.

[ISO]

Yep, yep.

[Joe]

Alicia Gray, now they got. Now they got Angel.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Peachtree Barbie be getting at it.

[ISO]

Yeah. She ain't playing. She ain't playing, boy.

[Joe]

Rookie Olivia Miles scored 24 points and the Link cruise past the Wings 176 for the eighth straight win. Miles finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. Kayla McBride 22 points, Natasha Howard 21 points. Courtney Williams 16. Minnesota became the first WNBA team to reach 10 wins this season. Hey, Minnesota played well and they don't even have feedback yet.

[ISO]

They get feedback and that. Look, guard. What's her name? You just said Olivia Miles. Oh, she's so nice

[Ocho]

with the hair. With the hair, huh?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She was at Notre Dame at first, and then she ended up transferring to tcu. Yep, that's her.

[ISO]

He got some games.

[Joe]

He does.

[ISO]

She got some game. I enjoy watching her play. She got some game.

[Joe]

Yeah. No, she. She's special.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Special.

[ISO]

Yeah. And Minnesota got a nice team, too. They.

[Joe]

They got a nice team. Like I said, when they get feedback, they're gonna be. They go. I mean, because they got upset last year, you remember, they got upset by the Mercury and. Because everybody thought it was going to be. Everybody thought it was going to be Minnesota and, And. And Vegas.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And then the Mercury upset them, and it didn't end up being the Mercury and in Las Vegas. But I like. I. I like this. I like. Look, everybody know I love the Aces, and I think when it's all said and done, they'd probably be the last team standing. But Minnesota ain't going nowhere.

[ISO]

No. No to

[Joe]

the. The dream, Joe.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Not going anywhere. Sabrina Nescu is going to get healthy at some point in time, and when she gets with those two bigs, talking about New York. Yeah, man.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They gonna be there, too.

[Joe]

They're gonna be there. They're gonna be there. So I. I think. And that's what I like. I like. You know, I like it when it's five or six team and it's really. It's really interesting. And. And the games are. It ain't no. Ain't no three, zero. It ain't no, you know, hey, nah, let's. Let's. Let's run this thing out.

[ISO]

Yeah, Good pickup.

[Joe]

Let's see the best of five. Who gonna win? Let's let this thing be three, two. I ain't trying to see no three, nothing.

[ISO]

Right, right. You know what?

[Justin Gaethje]

You.

[ISO]

You'll get there probably here and there from the girls, but it's kind of. It's normally a pick them up for real, you know, like, these teams are pretty even, obviously. You know, the Ace, the Aces having Asia, but for the most part, these. These some pick them. These. Some pick them series. Like, if these girls, these teams match up.

[Joe]

Because the guards, you look at it as guards. Everybody look, everybody ain't got a. Got an Asia, but you got to have guard play, because even as great as Asia is. What. She still got those two guards.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You look at the other teams, they still got those guards. Paige Becker's led Dallas with 23 points. Enrique Reek has 16 points. The only thing that concerns me about Dallas, Joe, is that when they go to those three guards, they're really small.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

They're really small team. And they do. I can see. You can see. Look. Asians go, excuse me. Angel's gonna get what she's gonna get. But if you don't got nobody that can challenge her, that can bang with

[Justin Gaethje]

her,

[ISO]

you can be in trouble. Yeah, yeah, you're gonna be in trouble. You're right. I like them guys. Dallas got door.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. O Joe. All right, so Brandon Graham. Brandon Graham. Brandon Iuk is back on ig. Let's take a listen.

[Ocho]

Back on there again.

[Joe]

Here we go.

[ISO]

And another thing.

[Ocho]

You want to know why they really mad, though? They mad cause they stupid.

[Joe]

They dumb.

[Ocho]

They mad that they paid me 50

[Joe]

million in eight months and they avoided

[Ocho]

my guarantees for 2027, and I'm about

[ISO]

to be on a new team in 2027.

[Joe]

They mad at they sales for real.

[Ocho]

Acting like they mad at me, but they stupid ass mad at they self.

[ISO]

And y' all talking about somebody come in.

[Joe]

Come on, Joe. Oo. Oo. They didn't board him. You did. All you had to do was show up in real.

[Ocho]

He didn't want to be there. He a want to be there.

[Joe]

Okay, but, but, but don't. Okay, you don't want to be there. Don't say they voided them. You voided that contract based on what

[Ocho]

he's saying in general. That's why he's calling him stupid, you know, But I mean, I don't. I don't.

[Joe]

I don't.

[Ocho]

I don't condone his behavior, Uncle Joe. You know that. I. I was one who was always, you know, for, For. For being himself, you know, But. But with. Within the game, you know, within being a team player. I'm not sure what's wrong with B right now, but you do have to understand is they will always have. Always have the upper hand. You know, you can only play with them so long, your opportunity, your window of opportunity and be able to play this game. You love this game that you've. You've always wanted, you know, to. To play as. As, as, as. As a kid growing up. Your childhood dream. You, you. You playing with it. You playing with it. It goes by very fast. It goes by very fast. And there are too many receivers coming in every year that are good, that can do exactly what you're doing despite what you put on film. B, we know you could play br. You, you, you, you. But it's too many that are coming back to back that they can put in positions to make Those same plays to make those same catches. So you got to. You got to be careful, man. They will. They will weed your ass out of here, man.

[Joe]

Let's get it.

[ISO]

That's why, Young.

[Joe]

You're gonna play forever. Yeah, Brandon, you're not as good as they be. You're not.

[Ocho]

That's a different tier. That's a. That's. That's the cream of the crop when we talk about receivers.

[Joe]

And. And. And they said. What? And what did they say? Enough is enough.

[ISO]

Ain't no team. Ain't no team tolerating that, bro. I'm sorry. Because if we get him on our team and then he started acting like that, like it, man. Nobody finna deal with that, bro.

[Joe]

You're gonna be on. If they do. He gonna be on a. Prove it. Oh.

[Ocho]

I mean, wherever he goes, it's gonna be on. On a prover year. He'll be two years removed from acl. But, Joe. But when he on that field. Oh, he could go now. Yeah, he can go.

[ISO]

You talking about the previous iu. You talking about IU from two years ago.

[Ocho]

What are you gonna look like right now?

[Joe]

I love how he say they dumb, but you was all. You was all in your feelings when they hadn't signed you, when you had that pre. When you had the franchise tag. Yeah, but now they give you the money. Now they dumb, you see?

[ISO]

Hey, that's why they have a problem getting us our money, man.

[Joe]

Yeah, it is, because we're the. We're the one group that if one of us act up, they put it on everybody.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Oh, and you know what? They. They gonna make us wait, baby.

[Joe]

Ocho, man. Oh, y' all remember how Ocho acted back in 2002? What that got to do with this, man? Trying to get money in 2026. If you think about it, we're the only group that if somebody misbehaves, it's a re. They make it as a reflection. They paint everybody.

[Ocho]

Oh, they gonna make us wait anyway, regardless, huh? Hey, Joe, we got to fight, too Nail for what? We want to come to a receiver's time to get paid.

[ISO]

Oh, my.

[Justin Gaethje]

It don't.

[Ocho]

It don't matter who you are.

[ISO]

I was like, hold on, Circus.

[Joe]

They don't. Oh, somebody. Well, I told you. What about Chicago? Some black guy get. What about Chicago? See, I told you. That's. That's, like in Chicago.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

Somebody from the Asian community does something. They don't paint all Asians like that. Somebody from the white community do something. They don't Paint all white people like that. Somebody from the Hispanic community, they don't paint all Hispanics like that. But let one of us do something. I told you, they're, they're aggressive, they're violent.

[ISO]

Y' all know why, man, we, we the culture, bro. We are.

[Joe]

I just hate that. And that's what I try to do. That's why, really, I try to like when I talk to people I like. Bro, this is not just about you. If it was just about you and they were going to judge you just on you. But unfortunately, your complexion is reflective of a lot of complexions under this prism.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And that's how we get judged. And it's. Look, it's not right. It's not right. It's not. But you know what, guys? Until we get more people that are in position of power that can do something about it, until we get about 55 or 60 guys, that's, that's worth 100 plus billion,

[ISO]

you're right.

[Joe]

You understand? You try to, you know, do what you do and just keep it moving. Yeah, that's it. That's, that's all we can do, Joe. That's all we can do.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And I, I just, I just wish because they just. Now he say they dump somebody else. Gonna be hard get to get money. And you see, that's why they put, that's why they like to put the tag on you see, Joe O Jojo, this is why they put the tag on you. Yeah. Now just imagine, had they, had they, they put the tag on him, he goes out there and have this injury. Ain't no 50 million.

[ISO]

Nah. But he ain't, you know, he, if he got that tag on him, he ain't gonna act like this. They want this, this one.

[Joe]

No, but see, he, if they see they had the tag and what they did is that they, they found they got a long term deal done had. He had the tag on him and he went out there and played and did this. Now all he got is that one year that's guaranteed.

[ISO]

Right, Right.

[Joe]

Now the likelihood of him, you know, getting that big time money, he gonna have to really prove it.

[ISO]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know.

[Joe]

But now he got, you know, he got 50 million in his back pocket minus the taxes and fees. He's straight.

[ISO]

Yeah, he might be straight. Cause he probably gonna be back on here the next couple days. Just keep it 100. He probably gonna be back on the next couple days and I think he gonna be digging a deeper hole for himself if he's trying to get on another team.

[Ocho]

Them folk don't play, boy. They will make an example out of you, man. They will let. They will show you that we don't need you. It's too many. It's too many good receivers coming in back to Bam to about every year.

[Joe]

See, the difference between them and us is if I got a beef with Joe, even if it means doing great business, I ain't focus. I ain't messing with Joe. Yeah, they might not like each other, but if it means doing business and making money or, or, or, or putting up a barrier so nobody misbehave, guess what they gonna do. Y' all already know.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

If y' all think all 32 of these owners get along, what's the likelihood of 32 people getting along? We're gonna make money and we're gonna be unified.

[Ocho]

Keep to keep. The main thing. The main thing.

[Joe]

I just. I. I just wish. I wish we could be like that. Ah, it's money to be made. Nah, I don't rock with you, so I can't make no, but please, they

[Ocho]

don't move like that.

[Joe]

You hear me?

[Ocho]

The bottom line will always be the bottom line.

[Joe]

But they know that though, Ocho. They know we ain't gonna. They know we ain't gonna pull together. That's why they don't ever worry.

[Ocho]

It's too busy.

[Joe]

That's why they don't work, Joe. They ain't worried, man. You think they're gonna pull together?

[Ocho]

Hey, it's too many of us.

[Joe]

Sit down.

[Ocho]

It's too. It's too many of us for us all to pull together.

[ISO]

Hey.

[Joe]

Cause guess what, Ocho? Somebody got to be the hnig.

[Ocho]

Hey, hnic.

[Joe]

Excuse me. Yeah, because so it ain't. It ain't. No. Look, here we equal. Nah, but you know, I want the title before you know it. Hey, we all partners. And I don't snuck CEO on mine. My car.

[Ocho]

Hey, you know what? And also, Joe, you know the hnic, it has to be the quarterback. The quarterbacks. The quarterbacks. We have to lead it. And they not. They not flipping.

[Joe]

They did. I don't. You don't remember this, Ocho, but they use the. The. The. The. The quarterback had their own club separate from the NFL.

[Ocho]

Pa, who was this?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah, and guess what? And then they. They ended up signing a lot of the big time players. They took guys like Emmett and Brute, some of the bigger name players. They ended up taking them, and guess what? They ended up selling the Quarterback Club back to the NFL. I ain't gonna say that let me go because Ocho, I don't wanna. I don't want to mess up our opportunities to be able to get stuff. So I will keep my mouth shit. But I just know a lot more behind the workings of what transpired than the mo. The common person does. But you know what? Just so we can get. I've tried to get. I'm trying to. We try to get back in good graces. We want to. We want to go to the Super Bowl. We want to go to the draft. We want to do stuff like that, Joe. So you know what? Let me keep my mouth shut. Kyler Murray spoke about the toughest part of adjusting to Minnesota's offense. Let's take a listen.

[Erin Andrews]

I turned off news altogether.

[Joe]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[ISO]

It's the rage bait.

[Erin Andrews]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Joe]

We got clear facts.

[Justin Gaethje]

Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts.

[Joe]

Let's move forward from there.

[Justin Gaethje]

NBC News, reporting for America.

[Erin Andrews]

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower? Like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed? Well, it turns out someone actually did. And it starts with a melon. Yep, a melon. There's a rare French melon that stays fresh four times longer than the fruit you and I buy at the store. Scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called sod, the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging. And get this. Meaningful Beauty partnered with world renowned French cosmetic specialist Dr. Jean Louis Sabah to capture that melon's youth, preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day. So if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different because it starts with something nature designed to stay young. Subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just $49.95 at meaningfulbeauty.com you'll also get two free gifts, free shipping, and a 60 day money back guarantee. Visit meaningful beauty.com and order today.

[Joe]

I'm no web designer, but WIX Harmony kind of makes me feel like one. It's an AI website builder where I just describe what I want and it builds the entire site for me with all the business tools I need. My favorite part, I get an AI agent named Aria who helps me think things through or get stuff done. WIX has been pioneering website tech for 20 years and they've done it again. Try it for [e-mail] Harmony that's wix.com Harmony Harmony. Introducing Taco Bell's new Jalapeno Citrus Salsa with bright citrus, real red jalapenos, guajillo chiles. Usually you add sauce to the food, but when the sauce is this good, the food is just there to get the sauce to your mouth. That rolled quesadilla. Not a rolled quesadilla anymore. Now it's a sauce shovel. Taco Bell's Jalapeno Citrus Salsa. Get it with any item on the Cantina Chicken menu while it's here. The participating U.S. taco Bell locations for a limited time only while supplies last contact store for availability.

[Erin Andrews]

Hey, it's Erin Andrews from Calm down with Aaron and Chrissa. I don't know about your house, but at my house everybody's online, streaming, gaming, shopping, zoom calls, you name it. That's why having fast, reliable Internet that can keep up really matters and why you need Optimum's famously fast fiber powered Internet. It blows flaky 5G home Internet out of the water. It's fast and reliable and doesn't slow down when everybody's online. Which let's be honest, is all the time. Right now they have a deal that's tough to beat. Just 25amonth for five years. So don't wait. Call 8669-APUMENTUM, visit optimum.com or stop by your local Optimum store today. Famously fast fiber powered Internet for 25amonth for five years. That's a no brainer. Terms apply. See optimum.com for details.

[Joe]

As far as complexity, I think the

[Justin Gaethje]

toughest part is again I was there for seven years. I know I had two different, you

[Joe]

know, offensive systems but at the same

[Justin Gaethje]

time you're getting all those reps, you know, now having to split reps, it's me already being behind, not getting the

[Joe]

amount of reps that you know, you would typically want a guy to get.

[Justin Gaethje]

Learning an offense, that's probably the toughest part. You know, just again going back to the past, being in control of everything,

[Joe]

understanding what we were already doing because

[Justin Gaethje]

I was comfortable within the system. Now coming new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient and then let, let it loose while learning is pretty, you know, that's the, that's the toughest part.

[Ocho]

It makes sense, make total sense, especially having you know, the split reps with someone that you're already going to be out and I mean no disrespect, you know, to Brother McCarthy, but he going to beat you out and I, I wish the head coach ahead of time. I know you don't want to do it, especially this early. You want to make it a quarterback competition, but you already know who you're going to choose when the time comes. Joe, when the season starts, you know you're going with Kyler Murray. That's why you brought him there. We've seen a small sample of JJ McCarthy already, and we know he's not going to be the quarterback for the foreseeable future, at least not for right now. Kyler Murray needs to be getting all those reps with the ones right now so he's comfortable and he can feel the way he felt when he was Arizona in it. It was in Arizona. He felt like he was under control. He knew everything. He knew where everybody was going to be, any calls that need to be made or adjustment need to be made. He knew exactly what to do. And, and all to me, all this is doing is slowing down his process to getting to that point of comfortability.

[Joe]

Yep. Well, progress to get to where it needs to be. Absolutely right, Joe.

[ISO]

Hey, hey. As a professional, you're gonna be in uncomfortable situations at times, Ocho, and you have to be able to adapt. This is, this is our profession. This is what you chose to do. This is part of it, bro. You know, it ain't, it ain't a bad thing that he's uncomfortable, but J.J. mcCarthy was a starter last year, which I y' all don't want him to get no reps. No.

[Joe]

Cause guess what? If JJ was doing what he's supposed to be, there would be. No, listen, it was just.

[ISO]

Come on.

[Joe]

Hey, that'll be like, guess what? They didn't bring no two guards when you was in Atlanta. Guess why? Because ISO was doing what ISO supposed to be. When they start bringing in people that play your position, what they trying to tell you? ISO?

[ISO]

Yeah, they try. I, I, I get that. Especially the quarterback position. I understand that part, but listen, hey, we don't know if he gonna as Minnesota probably thinking, hell, we don't know if he gonna hold up the whole season here. We, we can't just throw our last year start and don't give him no reps. He gotta get.

[Joe]

Yeah, we let it get, we'll let it get some rep. Get your reps on the practice squad or not, what you call them on the scout team.

[Ocho]

At least go with the tools now

[ISO]

and listen, hold on, hold on. And then again, yeah, we want you to be the starter, but damn, you got to come in and, and prove It a little bit. We. I mean, come on.

[Joe]

Yeah, you're right. I, I get what you're saying, Joe, but he, but you have to understand, Joe, he's already behind. See, JJ already knows the offense.

[Justin Gaethje]

He.

[Joe]

This is the second year in offense. Kind of like I'm, I'm fresh, I'm trying to learn on the fly and I can't get enough reps. Consistency because normally the starter takes eight reps. He probably going three most. Then what you call him get three. Then he go two. Then he go two, bro. I need about, I need about six, seven reps before I feel comfortable. Straight Justin Jefferson Praise Kyler said he understands the game, he understands the defenses. He understands just how to put touch on the ball just enough to where it gets to where it's got to go without making it difficult for us. So he understands the game a lot more just because he's been in the game for a couple of years now. So he kind of throws the ball before you even get out of your break. He throws you to the open for sure. He's a smart guy and he's a competitor. Just like he got to be down.

[Ocho]

He has to be able to, he has to be able to do those things, Joe, because he's so small. Understanding, knowing how to throw, throw through lane, throw through hands, anticipate throws, throw. Throwing people open. Letting balls go. Yeah, pause the way I said that. Letting the balls go ahead of time, you know, before receivers get, get out their breaks. Because he's not as tall and as most, you know, most quarterbacks, you know, he's mobile. He's a dual threat and he can throw the ball. That. That wasn't the issue. That wasn't a problem. He can run the ball. That wasn't the issue either. That's the only problem. He couldn't stay healthy, Joe.

[ISO]

Yeah, that's it. Yeah.

[Joe]

I'm a small guy, bro. Ocho, like people don't realize this is a damn physical game. Yeah, it's a big. Kyler Murray is a. Is, is a very average sized man.

[Ocho]

Average.

[Joe]

Playing a giant. A giant game.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

I don't even think he average. Well, you see how small Kylie is?

[Joe]

Yeah, he like 5, 9, 5.

[ISO]

The boy got some wheels on him.

[Ocho]

When you run, it just remind me of like a little bad kid moving.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

Hey, but yeah, no, no, no, no, no. You can run, but he could absolutely run.

[ISO]

Yeah, but to get that, that vouch from Justin Jefferson, bro, you know, I know for Kyler Murray that that's gonna weigh Heavy for him, you know, going into obviously the season. You know what I mean? Obviously we know he gonna be the starter, but I think getting high praise from your number one target, bro, that. That says a lot. Yeah.

[Joe]

Guess who ain't getting no praise? The guy that couldn't throw people open. All right, now it's time for play of fave presented by prize picks. All right, Joe Ocho, Dylan Harper. More or less than six rebounds.

[ISO]

Yeah, more. He not. Hey, hey, I heard him in his interview. He. That's all he talk about is crashing the glass, helping rebounding. I like his attitude more.

[Joe]

Okay, Josh Hart, more or less than ten and a half points. You remember the game before he had zero. Then he came back with 16.

[ISO]

But he got them 16 early too. Hell, he probably. He probably had 10 in the first quarter.

[Joe]

So what you saying? More or less than 10 and a half?

[ISO]

I don't know, man. It tricky, bro. Cause I feel like. You know why I say it's tricky? Because you gotta understand Bridge is probably going to try to come out and be a little more aggressive because he ain't have but two points last game. You know, somebody. Somebody.

[Joe]

Mike Brown said he's going cat. He needs to get the cat more touches.

[ISO]

Yeah, yeah. Because they've been heavy, heavy with Brunson. What y' all got?

[Joe]

Let's go less.

[ISO]

Yeah, okay. There we go. There we go.

[Joe]

Less. OG Anunoby more than 16 and a half points. More.

[ISO]

I'm gonna say more.

[Ocho]

OG be consistent.

[Joe]

Stefan Castle. More than 15 and a half. More.

[Ocho]

More fouls.

[ISO]

Come on, man. Come on. You gotta chill.

[Joe]

25 to win five. 150. Download the app today. Use code SHANNON to get 50 DOL in lineups after you play your first five dollar lineup prospects preferred partner of the NBA.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, hey, boy. Uncle Joe. Well, I'm having one. I'm having one of them nights, boy.

[Joe]

I know.

[Ocho]

Hold on.

[ISO]

All right.

[Joe]

It's time for our final save. To eat it. It's time for Q.

[Ocho]

Hold on. Let me tell you what make it worse though. I got a flight. I got.

[Joe]

What time you flight leave in the morning?

[Ocho]

My flight. I'm looking at my thing. My flight board at 4. 45.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah, you're gonna be sleep on that plane.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Congrats on the awards, fellas. Love the show. We need y' all to bring back spark it or skip it. So Ocho can spark everything. Yeah. ISO was right about pairing laportier and that Zar. Appreciate that. Damn, Joe, you out there passing out info. Passing out good Advice.

[ISO]

Oh, here you go. Here you go. Here you go.

[Joe]

Hey, Ocho. Been fighting for his life the whole show. Go. Go to sleep, bubble cone. Go to sleep, my boy.

[Justin Gaethje]

Hey,

[Joe]

Kemper. Norwood Jr. Glad to have you back, Kemper. All I want for my birthday tomorrow is the spurs to win. Sorry, Ocho.

[ISO]

Yes, sir.

[Joe]

That would be really, really nice. Because if we get that spurs win, we know we gonna get at least.

[Ocho]

I tell you what. First off, I want to tell you happy birthday. All right? And what you don't want to do is you don't want to allow your birthday to be based on another team winning, because I'm gonna tell you right now, it's not gonna happen tomorrow. Joe, listen to me now. I've been right all playoff series long. I mean no disrespect, no disrespect to the spurs fans that are watching. The Knicks are going to win tomorrow. The next game, if I'm not mistaken, is in San Antonio, right?

[Joe]

Yes.

[Ocho]

And I just want y' all to watch as the confetti falls. I want y' all to watch as confetti falls, and we celebrate on your home court.

[Joe]

Huh?

[Ocho]

Wow. Now, I didn't talk. I didn't tell you how it's gonna play out. I ain't been wrong yet.

[Joe]

Okay, let's go. The best podcast in the game. Appreciate that support. Yes, sir. What's up, big three? What are y' all thoughts about Carmelo Anthony getting 35 years? Little homie damn near can file for Social Security by the time you get out.

[ISO]

Damn.

[Joe]

17 years of age. They charged him as an adult. He has to do if. If the reports are true, he has to do half of that so you can get out of 34.

[ISO]

Oh, man.

[Joe]

With good behavior.

[ISO]

That's crazy.

[Joe]

A kid.

[Ocho]

That's crazy.

[Joe]

I don't. I don't. I don't know who's surprised that by this outcome.

[ISO]

Oh, my God.

[Ocho]

Damn.

[Joe]

I don't know if anybody's surprised. I'm not surprised by the outcome. It's very unfortunate. Two families are forever impacted. I don't want people to think that I have no empathy for the. The victim family, because I do. But two families are forever impacted, man. It's just. It's. It's sad to see there, but, you know, unfortunately, decisions have consequences, and it's. It's really sad to see. But my heart, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family that. That lost a loved one. I don't know. I think it was a year ago. They're never gonna. They're never gonna be able to see their loved one. They're never going to be able to to go to a graduation. They're never going to go see their son get married. They're never going to see their son produce them grandkids. It's a very, very unfortunate situation all the way around. There are no, there are no winners in this. There are no, there are no happy endings. There are no. No, no, no. The end. And that's the end. There are none of that here,

[ISO]

man.

[Joe]

What are y' all thoughts on them sorry ass Nick fans beating up spurs fans outside MSG yesterday? Sorry Mo foes. I agree it is sorry. That's not, that's not the way it's supposed to be. And hopefully spurs win tomorrow. That situation doesn't happen again, right? Three Cap. I mean Nightcap is the best show in town. Ocho. That's Ocho and ISO man.

[ISO]

Come on, come on. Come on.

[Ocho]

Come on now.

[Joe]

Come on man. Based on how I see the New York fan base was I hope the spurs do a severe number on the Knicks in these upcoming games. Damn. What's good night cap. UNC Ocho, do you think you'll ever see a 5,000 yard passer with the new kickoff rules and ISO what are what were the game plans like when you playing power forward, playing with stars power forwards like KG Tim and etc.

[Ocho]

The first one, the football question about seeing a 5,000 yard passer regardless of the kickoff rules. We're going to see that. But as much as they throw the ball now you know that Matt had 4800 the added game obviously at some point we're going 18 games. We're definitely seeing a 5000 yard passer and I can tell you who it's probably gonna be. Is he gonna be.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Matt Stafford. It's gonna be. Or be Joe Burrow or maybe Justin Herbert. I'm thinking those who throw at a high volume offensively. Man,

[ISO]

there's never been one.

[Joe]

Oh yeah, there's been a bunch of them. Oh been a bunch of them. Drew Brees got like five of them. Peyton has one. Brady has two. Mahomes I think has two. Jameis has one. Big Ben Roethlisberger has one. Yeah, there's been trying to think anybody else has. Oh, Dan Marino was the first one. Obviously he had one. So yeah with Shay flop before New York fans could get it get could get him also try that ish Texas. I don't know what that is. Hey fam Joe. Congrats on being inducted to the Arkansas Black hall of Fame, man.

[ISO]

Man, listen, I went into the Arkansas hall of Fame some odd years ago, and. And all this is kind of surreal, Uncle Ocho. I'll be honest with y', all, because growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, on the east side of town and Foot Dam, you know, it's a neighborhood I grew up in, bro. I never pictured none of this coming up as a kid, you know what I mean? Like, life just. Just. Just go, you know, you kind of just go through the motions or whatnot. Next thing you know, I've looked up and I've received all these accolades. And the basketball. Basketball game has took me places I never thought I could go, bro. You know what I mean? But to be able to be in the hall of Fame in the state of Arkansas, the black hall of Fame coming up in October, it's a blessing, bro. Truly a blessing. I wish my mother and my grandmother was alive to be able to witness this. These are the two women who raised me, but unfortunately, they won't be there. But me and my family, man, we're, you know, we looking forward to it. It's gonna be a good time. So I'm very appreciative.

[Joe]

Again, congratulations on the black college. I mean, excuse me, the Arkansas Black hall of Fame.

[ISO]

Yes.

[Joe]

Somebody get my dog ocho some McDonald's sweet tea. Even his laugh look tired.

[Ocho]

Hey, but y' all folks don't understand, but I've been on the road. Hey, you, you. You traveling too right now, huh? Hey, Joe, I've been on the road the past seven days. I've been in a different city every single day. Now, I had a day off, but my day off, I chose to come to Atlanta instead of resting. So I had to fly here. I flew. I flew to Miami this morning. I go to Indiana in the morning. I do something with nascar. I go from Indiana to la. I got to do something with Adidas in L. A. I go from LA to Seattle. And this is like only one day, not even 24 hours. I go from Seattle back to New York. Damn, Joe boy. Well, if you see my sketch, Joe is World cup time. So until the final, July 20th in New York, I'm on the road every day to July 20th.

[Joe]

Better you than me. Which current player at your position do you wish you could have training session with to give them tips and the wisdom to get them to do that next to that next to get them to that next level? So who plays your position? Joe, you wish you can give partake some information on

[ISO]

meaning like young guys coming into the Draft, Yeah.

[Joe]

Or a current player.

[ISO]

And I probably, I mean, I would, I would love to sit down with Kunahan for the Pistons, Jalen Johnson for the Hawks, obviously, you know, I get a chance to rap with him. But any of the young guys coming in, obviously, Darius Acuff, you know, when playing at my alma mater, being a Razorback, you know, I think it's, I think it's vital and important, man, that you have former cats, former pros, who you can talk to and get great advice from. Because when I came into the league, Uncle Ocho, and I know I talk a lot about Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce, but I had a guy named Lester Connor, bro. I don't know if uncle know who Lester Connie is. He played in the league. He played probably about 12, 13 years in the NBA, but he was the assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. And if it wasn't for him, you know, invite me over to his house, him and his wife, you know, his wife cooking, inviting me to dinner, teaching me how to eat, teaching me what to eat, teaching me, hey, man, look, you don't need to be up past 12 o'.

[Joe]

Clock.

[ISO]

Boom, boom. This one, I had just started starting as a rookie, so he showed me the ropes along the way of how to be a pro. Same thing with these young guys coming in, bro. Not everybody's going to be able to have an assistant coach who played the game, who can really teach you the game, you know what I mean? You need the us former guys being around these young guys just to give them a little tute coming into the league early. Because when you first come in, man, you think you know what the hell you're doing, but you don't, you need, you need some guidance, you need a little help. So I, I would love to really, man, really get a chance to speak to some of these young dudes, especially, you know, Acuff. I've gotten a chance to rap with Caleb Wilson at North Carolina. He came and done yoga with me. So it's, you know, it's little small things like that, bro. We could put a little bug in these young dudes air, man. Just teach them, teach them how to keep them blinders on, stay focused, stay tunnel vision, stay locked in. And that's, that's pretty much it, man. I, I, I, I thoroughly enjoy the game, bro.

[Joe]

Who you gonna, who you gonna help? Oh, Joe, who you gonna get some wisdom to shoot?

[Ocho]

Matter of fact, them rookies coming in receivers, and I, I want to talk to the, to, to the ones that's already made it To. And mine ain't even got nothing to do with playing. I want to talk finances, boy. I want to talk finance. I. I hate. You know, that's what I want to talk.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Hey, Joe, they stay. They stay moving. Wrong. They still moving.

[ISO]

It's because they making so much money nowadays.

[Joe]

And I tell people this all the time. It's hard to tell a man what to do with his money.

[Ocho]

I know, but the. The. The statistics are still going up. We making more money, but statistics are still going up. Are those going broke? Two years removed from the game, regardless of what sports you play. So just because we getting more money, Joe, if we ain't got no financial discipline, we still going broke.

[Joe]

Yeah, but I think. Look, you're right, Ocho. You're absolutely right. But you know, when you wanted that Bugatti, even though it wasn't a smart investment, you wouldn't got it. And, you know, some of the things. You know, some of the things that you've done. You. You. Okay. One dunk. Chevy was cool. You ain't need six.

[Ocho]

Hey, but, but hold on. Look, look, you got to think about it. Remember, I did my. The things I did, I did in. I did it in two years. I did in moderation. Let me enjoy the fruits of my labor. Let those around me who grew up with me, who had to struggle with me at times, I want them to know what it feels like. I did it for two years. And discipline. I'm done. They understood that it wasn't.

[Justin Gaethje]

No.

[Ocho]

Oh, you acting funny. Are you acting brand? Nah, they understood. I went right back to my ways of being financially savvy. Okay? Now I'm back on my cheap stuff. I'd enjoyed myself.

[Joe]

Tribalism is our number one flaw. It's too easy to fall in it, and it's too easy to be weaponized and make you fall into it. It's typical. An issue like politics, race, religion, etc. Sports is the ultimate sandbox for hints his popularity. Sports have always been popular, but guess what? It wasn't segregated, Right? Worse that you speak of. Baseball wasn't segregated. NFL didn't have black players. NBA didn't have black players. So what you speak of this. This big melting pot wasn't always like that. They fought really hard to keep blacks out. There's still certain situations where they keep blacks out. So I. I understand. I understand what he's saying, but it wasn't always Kumbaya.

[ISO]

Yeah.

[Joe]

The hatred ran so deep that people say, you know what? We don't want black. It ran so Deep Ocho. They wouldn't even take our money. No, we don't want you to come in here and sit down and eat. Damn your money crazy.

[Ocho]

Oh, and it's still like that.

[Joe]

The best players for the. Yes. We know you better than any running back. We got any receiver. We got any db, we got, any D line. We got. But we don't want you.

[ISO]

Yep.

[Joe]

Yeah, we know you can hit the ball further. Yeah, we know you can catch better and run the base pass and pitch just as good. We still don't want you. So let's not subscribe to this notion that sports have always been what you say, what you think it is. Politics has always been involved. Why you think they did Jack Johnson the way they did it? You didn't think politics had anything to do with that? You think race had nothing to do with that? Let me start. I, I'll. I, I. Sometimes I get going, guys. Y' all know how I am because I'm a very passionate person. And I think sometimes people lose sight because they see things as today. But I also, I'm not too far removed to see things through the lens of yesterday. Wasn't that long ago. Yeah, wasn't that long ago that blacks got an opportunity to go play at Augusta National. It wasn't that long ago. You can carry the guy's bag, but you couldn't play on the course. Y' all do realize jockeys, all the jockeys used to be black because it was too dangerous. Put the black guy on his back. So if he falls off with the horse going 40, 50 miles an hour, he breaks his neck and he dies. So what? Y' all realize that the jockeys used to be black? Let's move on. Let's move on because I don't want to get. I don't want to go there. I want to get too far to history. Joe, they ready for the conversation you can have about this, But I didn't care who won the series. But after the Knicks fan did that by attacking people, standing on police cars and. And acting like ignorant jerks, I'm pulling for the Spurs.

[Ocho]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, let's not confuse the two. Let's not confuse the two. Now, listen, the fans of the team are supposed to be extension of them, but that in no way exemplifies or an example of what Knicks fans are about. Don't. Don't do. That's not.

[Justin Gaethje]

I.

[Joe]

What you mean do that? I read what the guy say.

[Ocho]

I'm just telling him, let's not confuse the two.

[ISO]

Well, he can't. He got. He got the right to change his mind. O Joe, if he, if he sees the people acting. He don't condone that.

[Joe]

He ain't with none of that.

[Ocho]

No, we. I don't condone it either. You know, I'm sure, I'm sure the players on the nick don't condone it themselves. You know, those aren't really New York Knicks fans.

[ISO]

Well, listen, listen. They are representation. They acting like delinquents. Listen, I'm going for the Spurs. It's okay.

[Joe]

Just say going to the Spurs. Now, guys, it's time for you to. I had a sit down earlier with Justin Gaethje and now we're gonna have to. We're gonna show you this interview with myself and Justin Gaethje. Hope you enjoy. Now, joining us on Nightcap, a very, very special guest. He's headlining the UFC main event at the White House. He's a two time interim lightweight champion. And here he is, Justin Gaethje. Justin, how you doing?

[Justin Gaethje]

I'm fantastic. Just got done with a. One of my hardest workouts of camp. So. Yeah, just recovering a little bit.

[Joe]

Okay.

[Ocho]

All right. I'm get three hours in.

[Joe]

Obviously, you fought magnificent.

[ISO]

Yeah, I want to watch.

[Joe]

I've been all around the world fighting all your life, but when you found out an event at the White House, understanding what the White House, you can watch it if you like. If you want to log off, you can log the White House behind you. When you got the call from Dana, and Dana says, I want you to headline this fight and you're going to be fighting Ilia Tempura, what went through your mind and, and, and, and kind of give us, give us the feel of what you felt.

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah, I mean, so after I won in January against Patty Pim, I knew that this was, this event was coming up and you know, me being one of the only American champions interim champion on paper, I knew that they were going to try to use me for this event. Rarely do I fight or have I fought two times in six months at the, in the, at this level. And so, you know, coming out of that fight kind of pretty much unscathed, you know, a couple bruises, but I knew, I knew I was gonna have this fight. So I really just stayed, stayed in camp, pretty much stayed on my diet. And, you know, I feel fantastic. You know, putting two camps back to back together like this gives me more confidence that I'm in better shape than I've ever been in. And so it's huge. And, you know, obviously being from America, from a really small town in southeastern Arizona, and, you know, this is very special for my parents and all my, you know, we come from a copper mine, so a bunch of hard working, hard working people that understand that, you know, you control your destiny. You get to this country is special because we all, you know, I get interviewed, people want to talk to me. For some reason, I come from the middle of nowhere. But this, this country has given me opportunity. You know, my parents worked in the mine, work for the post office, and they sacrificed everything to provide me a life to, to chase dreams. And, you know, for it to come to this pinnacle is amazing for me, my family, and, you know, being on the White House is spectacular. I went to the Oval Office, you know, maybe a month ago, and, you know, it's the capital of the United States of America, what I consider the best country in the world. You know, obviously I'm a little bit biased, but, you know, I love this place. I love representing this place. We, you know, we grew up representing our school mascot, and then I got to represent my state. Now I get to represent my country at the, at the White House. So it's special.

[Joe]

You mentioned the coming out of that fight with Patty. Did you know going into that fight that if you won that fight, there was a possibility that you could be on this card?

[Justin Gaethje]

And.

[Joe]

Or did you know that, okay, if I win this fight, that my opponent could be Ilya? So. So, as you said, like, you went in this fight and I was at that fight, and you did a great job. You took him down, and you really didn't have an answer for that. And you say I came out unscathed. And normally I really don't really fight twice in six months, but this was such a great opportunity. This was too great of an opportunity to pass up fighting on the White House lawn, knowing what this country represent, what has given me, my family, friends and loved ones gonna be in attendance. So. So what was your thought process going into the Patty fight?

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah, I mean, so that was for an interim championship, and when you gain, you know, that. That title, that gives you a grant you access to fight the current champion. You know, Billy was out because of some personal issues, you know, going through some personal family issues. And so I knew that the winner of that fight would fight Ilya next. I wasn't sure at the time if it would be on this card, but, you know, after the fact, I knew there was a very, very good chance and it was very likely that we would be on this card, I wasn't sure if we'd be the, the main event. So, you know, to be the main event of this card is, it's so special for me. You know, you guys have, if you've watched me in, in the sport since 2017, I've only fought top five opponents 15 times. I've been to underdog 12 times and I've won, I think, 10 of those. I think I've lost two times as an underdog. But I thrive in this, in this situation, in these scenarios. You know, coming from a small place, always being counted out. We don't get here unless we're petty. You know, I'm a little bit petty on the, on the competitive side. And so this, there's so much fuel to this fire to, to have failed. You know, I lost to Khabib, I lost to Charles. I've made mistakes in those fights and to have those learning experiences lead to this, to this event is so, so perfect for me and for my career and, and the opportunity to, to become a legend. This is, this is Miracle on Ice, you know, type, type energy. And, you know, when I win, I think I'm going to light this country on fire in a positive way.

[Joe]

And you mentioned your opponent, Ilya Tempora, and right now he seems to be at the top of the picking order. He seems to be the cream of the crop. And, you know, you have your hands full. Obviously you fought. Like you said, you've been the underdog and people haven't given you much of a chance basically your entire life. So this is not a unfamiliar territory for you because you kind of been here your whole life. So what type of a dangers, what type of, type of problems does he present for someone like yourself?

[Justin Gaethje]

I mean, he's very, very good. I mean, this, this is a crazy. I'm. If you watch this sport, you understand it's just such a game, you know, it's very unlike other sports.

[Joe]

A punch, an elbow, submission, anything.

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah, just, just one, just one shot. But no matter how big of a lead someone has, there's always a chance for the, for the guy that's losing to come back in in a blink of an eye. That's what keeps us on the edge of our seats. That's what makes this sport so special. And, you know, I love, similar to Patty, you know, counting me out. He thinks he's some kind of king or God, you know, and he's young and he's dumb and, you know, but he's very, very dangerous. And so, you know, again, I've been through these situations. I was once 17, you know, I was once once 18 0. He's 170 right now. And so, you know, I've been, I've been where he's at and you know, I think it's detrimental. He, and it has worked out in his favor. But when he loses, he is going to take such a massive hit to his confidence and, and I'm working so hard to be the man that shows him and teaches him that lesson because I've been taught it and he needs it. You know, he's so full of shit. He's so full of himself. I couldn't imagine being in a room with this guy for 20, 30 minutes, just hearing him talk about himself, you know, the whole time. I would just be so annoying. He's so annoying. And so, you know, it's working for him right now. But man, this, man, this, this dude needs, he needs, he needs to be taught a lesson. I'm like, I'm the perfect guy for this.

[Joe]

This. Can you walk our audience through the walk to the ring? You're in your joints room, I guess they come to you and says, okay Justin, you got 15 minutes. Okay Justin, you got 10 minutes. Okay Justin, you're up. So now all the preparation. I don't know how long your camp is. Six weeks, eight weeks, ten weeks. I don't know how long you go away from camp. Now as you're walking to the ring, what's going through your mind? What are you, what are you thinking as you take that? As you take like, okay, now it's time to go do battle. Action. Yeah.

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah. I mean it's gonna be, it's gonna sound so foreign, but there is absolutely no thoughts.

[Joe]

Wow.

[Justin Gaethje]

I feel, I feel very dangerous. I feel, you know, just very content with the situation that I'm in. You know, I've already convinced myself that I'm gonna, you know, probably die. And so I am going to a very cerebral place where my body is going to be very, very animalistic, very primal. And with that comes no emotions. There's no emotion that could help me. The only thing that an emotion can do is hurt me and cause me to hesitate. And so I'm so content with the worst possible outcome. I'm very confident in my preparation. And you know, that is the moment when you have to face, face the music. You know, there's no lying to yourself. If you did take shortcuts, then you will know on that walk. And so I, you know, I, I've again, I've gone through these These experiences, I've learned these lessons and I refuse to, to take shortcuts. And for the last 12 weeks, I've tried. I've worked so hard and prepared so much for this, for this one moment. I constantly tell myself I have, you know, 12 weeks ago, I had thousands and thousands of minutes. And this fight is 25 minutes long on June 14th at probably 11 Eastern Time. And so if I have been not perfect, you know, in some of these minutes leading up to this, then it doesn't matter. I just have to do better tomorrow, do better, you know, the next workout. And I have put so much work in, so much due diligence into controlling all the things I can't control. My diet, my preparation, my sleep, my recovery, my rehabilitation, everything. And so when I walk to the arena and when I'm walking into that cage, I'm content. I'm content with whatever is going to happen. And I trust in my body to, to react and be intuitive as I can because I've been doing this my whole life. I've trained myself for this.

[Joe]

So no anxiety, no angst, no anything. You just like you said, I mean,

[Justin Gaethje]

so the craziest thing is again, you're waiting. So on the main event, there's seven, six fights before me. There's a TV with the fight. So you know, okay, as it's getting closer, you know, I'm in the hole, I'm on deck, that fight's over. They come in and say, okay, you're gonna go in eight minutes. And at that moment, it's such a peaceful moment for me because all the hard work's done, you know, the, the fun starts that. Being in the fight is so fun, you know, that moment is so fun. I love, I'm a show off, you know, I love showing off. I love competing. And so that's my moment to go out there and, and be the man. And you know that that's what I work for.

[Joe]

How soon?

[Justin Gaethje]

That's right.

[Joe]

How soon before you actually fight do you arrive at the arena? Because you know, like, say we play at 2 o' clock and when I was in Denver, we played at 2 o'. Clock. I would get to the stadium probably somewhere around 9, 45, 10 ish. Even though we're not going to play, we're going to warm up an hour before the game and we're going to actually play the game at 205, 207. So how soon before you say you're gonna probably go on around 11 Eastern. How soon? 11pm how soon will you get to the show.

[Justin Gaethje]

I'll probably show up around 7:30 or 8:00pm and so I, they, they, you know, you probably have to be there

[Joe]

at a certain time around 9, 30, 10.

[Justin Gaethje]

But I don't like to rush the situation. I don't like to rush the process. I've waited 12 weeks for this. I want to get there, I want to settle in, you know, it takes. And then I have my wrestling coach from college, he's there to control my, control the environment, not let me be too, too anxious to, to warm up, you know, and because I want to get there, I want to start moving. But they're like, hey, calm down, you know, all the work's been done, you're in shape. We're just gonna have to warm up your body before the process. My coach has to wrap my hands and once the hand wraps go on, I mean it's game time, right?

[Joe]

So eating. So you go on 11. How, how close to the fight do you eat?

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah, I'll eat around I think my last meal. So for that. So again, east coast, west coast, those are two very, very different times that I fight on an east coast fight. I think my last meal will probably be around 6pm I'll have us like chicken and pasta, you know, some dense carbs to, to get the calories in and to really. But I mean we go through a weight cut the day before. At 9am on Friday morning, I'll weigh 1 155. And by fight night, by the time I fight, I hope to weigh around 180.

[Joe]

What.

[Justin Gaethje]

And so that, that, yeah, it's a hunt. That's a crazy process. So from, from 9am I weighing at 155 and then I drink about, I try, you know, we cut all sodium out of my body. We cut all mineral and then I'll reload on the sodium and I drink about 2 gallons of, you know, super rich sodium. A lot of sodium, tons of sodium. Tastes like, tastes like this honestly. But it's just so much sodium and so much liquid. After I drink about 2 pounds, I'll weigh, you know, 16 pounds more. And then my body will start to absorb it, kind of get back and get back to normal. Then I'll take a nap around 2pm, wake up around 3 and I feel like a brand new man weighing like 175. When you, and then from then on I'll just start, you know, eating. I can't eat for like four hours after weigh ins and then it's just all, all liquid.

[Joe]

When you, when you you said there's a very, a very difference between fighting on the east coast and fighting on the West Coast. So when you're training, you live in Arizona and you're going to be fighting on the East Coast. Do you train or do you, you know, rehearse to, like, go on at 11, 8, 11pm so how does that work, Justin?

[Justin Gaethje]

I live by the theory that nighttime is for hurting people. And so I only trained during the daytime right now. But so I'll arrive in D.C. on Saturday. We, we leave this Saturday, seven.

[Joe]

Okay, six.

[Justin Gaethje]

The six. And then also working out around 9:00pm through that week, we have like, little shake. We have workouts every night, but they're not, they're not too, too intense, too hard. You know, really just turn it on, turn it off and really just cutting weight. I mean, that whole week is just focusing on my weight and getting it down. But also when I get there, I'll start working out at night.

[Joe]

What was your reaction when you heard Connor. Connor's coming back and he's gonna fight Max Holloway?

[Justin Gaethje]

Yeah, I mean, I've, I'm so consumed by my fight that I haven't really thought about it. But yeah, I mean, it's, it's cool. We'll see if, you know, we've all been waiting for a long time. I mean, he's. There's no doubt he's one of the biggest stars, you know, in this sport and. But, you know, taking that big of a, of a layoff is, could be detrimental. But we'll see. You know, we'll see. Hopefully he's been living, living right, not doing too many drugs or alcohol and then working out because this is a dangerous game and you, you know, you don't want to do it. He doesn't need the money, and so why he's doing that, I have no idea.

[Joe]

I read where you said you don't have a wife, you don't have a girlfriend, and some of your worst performances is when you've had it within a relationship. Is that still, is that still true?

[Justin Gaethje]

I'm still, I'm single now and I feel fantastic. I am in constraints. I have, I have 100 control of my environment. I go home, I get to, you know, use my words or not use my words. I have to be selfish, you know, when it comes to getting prepared for these, for these situations. And, you know, it's probably no fault of theirs, of my partners, but it's really hard to take on other people's emotions, especially when they're unjustified and so, again, I've had to be selfish. I think when I'm done fighting, I'll be less competitive and I won't have to win all the time. It's not a good, not a good mix for, for me and a partner. So it's just a tough job. I just haven't found the right one. You know, I think I just been so committed to the game that I can't do it.

[Joe]

I think greatness requires a certain level of selfishness. And I think those that are in a relationship or, or want, try or thrive to be great understands that you built your reputation as an exciting fighter. You come to fight every time. Nobody ever questions whether J. Justin Gates is going to be ready to fight or if he's going to fight. So kind of walk me through that. So, because it seems like fans love that. Fans love action. They don't want to see all this feeling out. It take you two to three minutes to try to see what he's going to do, and then you try to come up with a game plan of what you're going to do. Stop.

[Ocho]

So.

[Joe]

So take us through your fight strategy.

[Justin Gaethje]

Oh, man, there's so much. It's crazy because I, I'm the underdog. So many times. I've won 10 out of 10 out of 13 times I've been the underdog. That's because it's so hard to see what I'm actually doing in there. I have the ability to fight so many different styles of fights. You know, you see me fight Michael Chandler, Rafael Fazeev, and I find it very methodical. Very, very different fight than my last fight versus Patty, where I fought it very aggressive, very forward, and it looks sloppy. But there's, there's so much going on to what I'm doing in there, and it's so hard for the human eye. Well, our sport is so fast. We're talking less than seconds, less than inches. Everything is happening that fast and that quick and in, in that small space. And I, I thrive in those moments. I thrive in those, those chaotic situations. And the method to the madness is, you know, my reactions from A to B, constantly. You have to see the punches. You have to react and you have to like, like Bruce Lee says, be like water, like you have to everyone's. I'm trying to send straight lines of energy in straight lines through your head, through your body. And if you can, you know, roll with the punches or be like water and let it kind of dissipate into not straight lines, and then you're not Taking damage. There's a reason my face isn't all messed up at the end of these fights is because I'm. I'm so good at seeing punches, rolling with punches and controlling, you know, space and time, and it's hard to see that with the, you know, with the human naked eye. Even me watching fights, you can't really see what is actually happening most of the time. This sport is so crazy, so fast. But I would never be so successful at the highest level. And being the under, you know, the reason I'm the underdog is because people don't understand what I'm doing, and people think I'm, you know, stupid. And it's awesome. It's the best thing I have going for me. Patty thought I was stupid. Many of my opponents have thought I was stupid and have no game plan. I have a perfect game, what I believe is a perfect game plan for Eliot Toporia. And, you know, he's so full of himself. I understand how dangerous this game is. I know he can knock me out with one punch. I understand that. You know, if I'm not perfect and if I make mistakes, he will. He will finish me. And for him, he thinks he's untouchable. And I'm going to touch his face. I'm going to change the way his face looks. He's going to be bleeding. You know, I'm going to give him stitches, and I'm hoping to put him to sleep. I think I can put him to sleep because he's so full of himself. He's not going to understand or believe that I can, you know, land shots on him. And I'm going to. I'm going to. I'm going to punch him really hard, and it's going to be glorious. You know, obviously, proving some. You know, proving people right feels really, really good, but proving people are wrong is. Is almost just as satisfying. And so I have so much, so much desire to prove my people right and to prove so many people wrong that I'm so ready for this.

[Joe]

Justin, we want to wish you the best of luck. Thank you for joining us here on Nightcap. And once you get it done, come back and tell us how you did it on June 14th. Appreciate your time, bro.

[Justin Gaethje]

All right, we'll do. Thank you.

[Joe]

Appreciate you, man. Justin gaii.

[Justin Gaethje]

Yes, sir.

[Joe]

Hopefully you guys enjoyed that video. Obviously, you. I'm up. They left me. They went to bed. I got a flight to catch you in the morning, but I want to thank each and every one of you for joining us tonight. We really really appreciate that Joe OO and myself because you make this possible. You make you make it fun. Hopefully you you become when you watch a nightcap show, hopefully you're informed, you're educated and entertained and none of this is possible without you. So again, thank you for your support and continued support. I'm un signing off for OO at ISO. We'll see you tomorrow night after the game. On plus nicotine pouches present comfort chronicles a 10 o' clock tee time. How comfortable you show up in stretchy shorts, breathable tea and maybe no socks. Let the dogs breathe while other sweat and pleated khakis. You're in your comfort zone. Bombing drives and in your pocket. On nicotine pouches the softest pouch on the planet. Buy a can at on nicotine.com Products for tobacco consumers 21 years of age or older Warning this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Justin Gaethje]

I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

[Ocho]

We all seem to be in a rush these days, but when you're behind the wheel, please do not speed. So follow the speed limit. A few minutes saved by going faster is never worth a risk.

[Erin Andrews]

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[Justin Gaethje]

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[Joe]

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