“Not only did I grow up literally with him, but I’ve watched him become a world-class coach. It’s one thing as a fighter to stay hungry, but it’s a whole other thing as a coach to stay hungry. I’ve watched him turn that gym from eight fighters into a world-renowned gym. Now, every day you don’t know who is walking in. Studs not only coming in and training with us, but studs coming in and trying to audition, trying to be part of our team and to see if it’s a good fit. So it’s like we’ve all grown up in the sport together, we’ve all progressed together. We started off in the Stone Age, a little bit rough, but we developed with this sport, especially him. The sport is progressing and so is he. He stays hungry and he stays a student of the game. Not only does it push us to stay hungry, but it keeps us ahead of the game and ahead of the curve.”
Ahead of the curve is perhaps the sweetest spot to be in a division that has the most volatility and the most potential for seismic changes in short periods of time.
“The flyweight division is up for grabs right now. I know we have a champion, but I think anyone could be champion at this point. There’s four or five people knocking at that door that could be champion within the next few months. If Cody Garbrandt doesn’t make it to the title shot or something happens, there’s guys ready to step in left and right. I’m not resting on my laurels at all with this, man. I wake up hungry, let’s go grab it.”
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