Issue 100
April 2013
The heavily inked, hip hop-loving UFC bantamweight explains his fascination with urban streetwear and Cartoon Network.
MUSIC
What kind of music are you into right now, when training or even just hanging out?
“I listen to pretty much everything, but right now I’ve been listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar, Odd Future and I’ve always been a big fan of Kid Cudi, I’m waiting for his new album to come out. I walk out to his music all the time.”
FO remembers when you came out to Alive by Kid Cudi and everybody absolutely fell in love with the song.
“Yeah, that’s a great song. He says, ‘Every time the moon shines I become alive,’ and that’s how I feel when I’m fighting. When the sun goes down and they turn the bright lights on inside the Octagon, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. That’s my happy place.
“People talk about how their happy place has beaches and s**t, but my happy place is the Octagon with 17,000 people screaming my damn name as I walk to the cage.”
Has your music taste changed over the years?
“It’s definitely gone through some changes. I used to be into hardcore rap, then I was heavily into punk music. Now that I’m a little bit older and I’m a little more understanding of what I like, I listen to music that I can kind of relate to now. I enjoy good music.”
What song is your guilty pleasure?
“My favorite song right now which is probably my guilty pleasure has to be Bandz A Make Her Dance by Juicy J and Lil Wayne. I get a kick out of that song.”
CARS
What was the first car you owned and how much did it cost?
“The first car I ever purchased was a Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 truck that I bought right out of college. That was the first car I’d bought and I paid it off with the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus Iot against Takeya Mizugaki. I bought the truck used, so it cost about $26,000.”
What car do you own now and what made you buy it?
“I bought a brand-new 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 earlier last year. I really like trucks and I’m an outdoors kind of guy, so I like to go camping and hunting. Plus, me and my son ride bikes and we’ll go to the bike track, and I’ve got dogs too. It’s nice to be able to throw stuff in there. I’ve got the premium version, so it’s got a DVD player and surround sound.”
If you could have any car in the world, what would you drive and why?
“I would probably get a Bentley or a Maybach, but you need to have a driver to go with it.”
This is true, you can’t be driving your own $250,000 vehicle.
“Of course. If you have a Maybach you better be able to afford a driver (laughs).”
If you could pimp out your ride with any gadget in the world what would it be?
“As long as my truck has a nice system or it’s able to connect to my phone, that’s all I give a s**t about. I bought the premium system for the truck so it can connect to my iPhone and I can make all my calls whilst driving. It certainly makes life easy.”
MOVIES
What type of movies are you into?
“I love comedies, thrillers and horror. If you come out with a good thriller or a horror then I’ll be all over it. I like horror movies that actually make me scared.”
What is it about horror flicks that you enjoy so much?
“I like that feeling of getting a little bit scared. I’m not afraid of a lot of s**t, but if you can make me push back into my theater seat and have an ‘oh s**t’ moment then I enjoy that.”
What’s the scariest film you’ve ever seen?
“When I was younger I watched The Blair Witch Project and it was the first of its kind in the way they shot it, with handheld cameras. My family lived in Alaska at the time and we would go camping all the time, and I wouldn’t go camping for like a month after I saw that (laughs).”
If there was a movie made about your life who would you like to play you and why?
“Although it doesn’t really fit me in any way, I like Tom Hardy right now. He’s a really good actor.”
He’s not the tallest guy and he can grow the hair, plus he’s a method actor so it could be done.
“Yeah, I mean after I watched him in Bronson, I realized how awesome he actually is. I’ve seen him in Lawless and The Dark Knight Rises when he plays Bane. He’s a good actor, I like him.”
What was last film you saw and what did you think of it?
“I took my jiu-jitsu coach to see Argo recently and that was awesome. It was really tense.”
What was the last film you cried at?
“I don’t cry at movies that are sad, I tend to cry at movies that are about success. I would watch Seabiscuit all the time before college wrestling matches because it’s a film about a horse staring in the face of adversity and winning. That’s the type of stuff that makes me get emotional.”
TV
What TV shows have you been watching?
“I’ve been watching Dexter, American Horror Story, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. Those are really the only TV shows I watch. Tosh.0 on Comedy Central is pretty funny too, but every night I fall asleep watching Cartoon Network. I like Robot Chicken and Family Guy.”
Is Cartoon Network as good as it used to be?
“You know what, I don’t think it is as good, but I think the Adult Swim block is as good as it has ever been. It’s got Family Guy, American Dad and all those great shows. I watch it with my son, and we watch a lot of Adventure Time. That’s our show.”
If you could be on any TV show past or present what would it be?
“I would love to be a voice-over actor for a show like Adventure Time or something like that. I’d love to be a part of a Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones episode too. I’m waiting for my MMA career to cross over into acting (laughs).”
Besides from MMA what is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
“I like boxing quite a bit and college wrestling. That’s about it.”
STYLE
You’re known for having a mohawk during your fights, but do you have it styled all the time, or do you hide it under hats outside the Octagon?
“I have the hair as a part of my personality, but if I don’t have to do it then you’ll see me with a hat on, or a beanie. I like New Era hats and snapbacks quite a bit.”
And we hear you’re pretty big into sneakers too?
“I love sneakers. I got addicted to buying them when I was in college. I would buy a lot of BBC and BAPE sneakers, but BBC stopped making shoes so now I mostly wear BAPE. I like Supra too, they hook me up with all my fight shoes. I’ve also been in talks with Osiris shoes.”
Are you an MMA T-shirt guy, or do you prefer stuff that is more street wear?
“I love this sport, but I’m not really a fan of wearing stuff with big skulls on it (laughs). I’m into street wear. My girlfriend bought me an Affliction shirt once for a birthday present and I think I gave it away (laughs). I wear Headrush stuff, but not much else.”
A lot of people believe you’ve got some of the best tattoos in fight sports, you must have put a lot of time into them.
“I started off in college getting these tiny Japanese symbols that meant ‘gain victory’ and ‘fighting spirit’, then I got this little dragon piece on my leg, then another one on my wrist and pretty soon it triangulated into more and more. Each arm has taken over 45 hours, my chest piece took about nine, my ribs took six and a half. I’ve done a lot.”
SHUFFLE
Hit shuffle and tell us about the first five songs. no cheating.
Kid Cudi, Alive
“This is the song I walk out to the most and it’s definitely one of my favorite songs of his.”
Kanye West, Power
“It’s hard to pick out particular songs from this album, but this song is definitely awesome.”
Lil Wayne, A Milli
“When this song came out it was everywhere, and it’s still got one of the best bass lines I’ve heard.”
Kendrick Lamar, Swimming Pools
“Lyrically, this guy is a genius and it’s shown in this song. The extended part of the song is the best part for me.”
Juicy J, Bandz A Make Her Dance
“Perfect. This was easily my favorite song of 2012. The beat is crazy.”
