Denis Frimpong Interview

Ringkasan

Denis Frimpong joined me for a well overdue chat We speak about becoming a father his last fight in Oktagon Fighter who refused to fight him now looking to fight as his stock has risen His path to a title

Transkrip (youtube_captions)

Okay, so I'm here with Mr. Dennis Fing Pong. It's been quite a while since we've had chat. I've had many chats with him. If you'll ever have followed myself or himself that you would have seen someone I love to have on, someone who is very entertaining in and outside the cage. Um, thank you very much for joining me. Um, how are you? And you've had a big change in life recently in fatherhood, but talk to us about how how that's affected you. Um, yeah, Dave, as always, it's always good to be on with you. Uh, I think I don't know. Can you still access those old those old podcasts or the old interviews? I don't know. But, um, YouTube, you can uh the YouTube, but we did have a few lives, I believe, as well. Yeah, we had a few lives. You a few like Yeah, I think Yeah, [ __ ] my page was deleted. your page was hacked. It's like they're the Illuminati out to get us, Dave. The Lizard people are not our fans, but it is what it is. Uh, and yeah, fatherhood has been good. Obviously, you know, jumping on this interview on on its own was a was a was a task. Um, [ __ ] having to wipe [ __ ] your asses and [ __ ] feeding feeding and crying and all the rest. But um yeah, I think I've gotten him sufficiently milk drunk now that he's he's he's in a bit of a stuper and he's lying down staring at the ceiling with two crossed eyes. So yeah, it's not affected u my athleticism, I don't think. No, I I'll find out when I get back in there, but it's definitely affected my my free time for sure. Yeah, it is good though. you me and you have talked it's a very fulfilling thing and and especially in the early stages as well but one thing it hasn't seemed to have done to to affect you is your your willingness to want to go and fight because I've seen you're you're actively as you do you're tagging people you're calling people out fatherhood might have softened you but it obviously doesn't look like it but you talk to us obviously in your last fight you went into hometown a lot of his fan base came with you as well they kind of they They turned before the fight and some a lot of them turned after the fight as well. Um, talk to us about that last fight going into it and it was a very intriguing fight and you keep going you keep going from strength to strength in and outside the cage as well cuz like that you are the menace, you are the person not to be [ __ ] with when it comes to verbal onslaught. Talk to us about that last match cuz that was a it was a very impressive performance and it just seems so kind of big. It seems like it's a milestone to to push it on to somewhere else. Um, I mean, listen, the numbers don't lie. The views on that fight absolutely blew most Octagon fights out of the water. Other than, you know, the big big title fights, you know, the the ones involving Vimola and like Murdov and the big names with the big following, you know, 500k followers and all this kind of stuff. Other than those fights, it's gotten the fight between me and Topai has gotten much more viewing than most other fights. Um, it was on the co-main on the Munich card. Don't know what else I can say really. I finished a guy who's never been finished. His only loss was a decision against Nefuka in which you could argue that did Nefuka win on damage because he just sort of held them and actually Arian landed more significant strikes. So yeah, it was good. It was a good feeling to to finish a guy like that. Um especially after he had been saying how I'm not a finisher. So for him to be the first guy in a little while that I finished was extra satisfying. For me to leave him on a hospital stretcher and needing to be emergency evacuated out of the the venue and taken to hospital for emergency uh treatment was extra satisfying. Um yeah, like I I'm as you said, I'm looking to stay active. I've always been looking to stay active and now all of a sudden these guys that were avoiding me last year want a piece of me. So we have a similar situation to what happened to amateur where no one wanted to fight me for the longest time and then as soon as I got a bit of hype and a bit of momentum everyone wanted to fight me but by then it was too late. So I think we're going to have a similar situation now. you're going to see a string of finishes and wherever that leads me from that point then we'll see. Yeah, cuz we talked about this actually quite heavy towards the end of your Amster career. We won't mention the names of fighters cuz the industry is a lost no one can find it anyways but um like that there was people that said that you weren't experienced enough you weren't this you weren't that. And then because of like obviously you've got the skills as well but you you've got an aura about you as well. you've got the the [ __ ] talking, but like being around you, you've got that presence as well. There's just something about you that once you kind of started getting better and everyone wants to kind of to watch you, then it it turned the other way. And it's mad cuz me and you had a conversation last year. You said there was people blocking you left, right, and center. People were accepting fights and then not accepting it. And then they were making up silly excuses like you're not experienced enough, but you should fight this guy and who was the same experience as them. Is is it frustrating for you or is it just like I told you so? Uh it it is a told it is an I told you so. I know the level I'm at and I'm far far ahead of all these guys. I have been far far ahead of all these guys. Um, and don't get me wrong, you still have a few people, you know, your Alan Omar and these kind of guys, the guys that I really think will give me a test and will actually be I'll still beat them, but it'll be a bit more of a test. Um, where I won't be able to coast and it'll really push me. You know, he's got 30 fights. He's been in the UFC and stuff. So, that's the kind of guy I'm looking to fight next. But now these guys are saying, "Oh, you don't have enough fights." But then the last fight he had, he fought a guy who was 10 and nine in my decision with him. So it's like you just fought a 10 and n guy, but I'm not good enough for you to fight. Makes no sense. So there obviously there's still a few guys that are running scared, still [ __ ] But yeah, you know, now obviously I've been on a co-main event. Um, a lot of these guys that wouldn't fight me last year are fighting on my prelims, you know. So now they're going, "Oh [ __ ] like maybe if I fight him with the hype behind him, I'll get on a co-main event and then it doesn't look as bad if he beats me because he's just beaten a load of guys. So if he beats me, like if at least if I don't get finished, I you know, can save face a little bit. But yeah, we we'll see. There's a few names that are on the list target list now for this year. I would like to get another two ideally, maybe three fights depending on how unscathed I come out of them. Um, so that would be what either four or five and0 this year. Then we're talking title contention, aren't we? We're talking like I'm in the picture. I'm in the mix for fighting for a belt. I'm in the mix for bigger things than what I'm on here now. So, yeah. And and like you said, you were talking about the guys that didn't want to fight and they want to fight you now. And it was I think it was like they didn't want the one of the points you made with it was, oh, if I lose him now cuz he's beaten a lot of people. Do you think it was a fact that they didn't want to be first to be beaten? And do you have more respect for the people who took the opportunity to fight you first because that was the risk of of you talking [ __ ] and beating them, but they were brave enough to go and put themselves in there. 100%. Like listen, the likes of Ayan Saraki is an absolute warrior because all these guys who had like you know their eight, six, seven, eight fights in their career that were like you don't have enough experience, you haven't got enough fights. That guy had 30 fights and he fought me and he lost, you know, and he'd beaten some of the guys that wouldn't fight me. He'd beaten guys that had beaten guys that they do you know what I mean? So a guy with 30 fights that was formerly ranked in octagon was willing to fight me when I was 0 and2. Yeah 0 and2 on paper and lost. I coasted through him. Then people obviously said, "Oh [ __ ] I'm really not willing to risk it now because I know how good he is. He's one and two." Then you know slowly I'm building the record. I'm beating people. I'm beating people. Obviously, as as I say, big respect to the guys who did fight me, like your Callum Mullins, like your Sarakis, you know. Um, and yeah, obviously some things got fixed on my record. Um, and now I've got a somewhat decent record, I suppose, and I'm on a winning streak. And now people want to fight me because they just fought on my prelims. Uh, they just fought on the free [ __ ] free YouTube prelims, you know what I mean? And I fought in the co-main event. So now they're like, "Oh, I want some of that shine." You know, maybe if I beat him, because look, at the end of the day, a fight's a fight. You know, everyone's got a puncher's chance. So now they're willing to take that gamble. They're willing to go, "Okay, I might get beaten by him, but I might land that lucky punch and I might be the guy to shut him up." And you know, when all these other guys, because then like you think about it. Yeah. Let's say I'm going to name one of the guys because he's a [ __ ] right? Peter Gabal wouldn't fight me for the longest time. Avoided me like the plague. Um just fought on my prelims, you know, got dropped. Uh man came back, had a nice win, you know, because he got dropped and then he came back and and managed to pull out of the bag, but against a caliber of fighter that to be honest isn't anywhere near me. um saw me beat uh Top Eye, you know, finished them uh on the co-main event and now he's thinking, well, if I beat Dennis, then it's like I've beaten Topalai, I've beaten Robin Frank, I've beaten Calaman, and I've beaten Saraki without having to fight them. Does that make sense? Yeah. Like because then it's like I beat the guy who beat the guy. Does that make sense? Um and like I said, everyone has a puncher chance. a [ __ ] they could pull a guy off the street and he could have a puncherous chance if he's anyway athletic. Do you know what I mean? Throw a bomb and maybe catch me, but how many people never fail to do that, you know? So, yeah, I like that you're quite elusive um that you're you're hard to hit anyways. And cuz we talked about the record before, the record should have been greater than it was. And I actually went in and had a look at this before here and I said there's something different here, but I think there still is one, but we won't get into it. I don't know who the commissions are, who who decides this stuff, but you you're going in the direction and like you said, I just had an interview there uh with a promoter and I was talking to him about like being able to sell and and sometimes and I'm not saying this about you, but like Joe, some fighters, they might have the skills, but they don't have the social media and you've got both. Do you know the sort of way? So, you were talking about views and stuff like that. the risk for these guys now equals to the reward whereas whereas it didn't before whereas now you can see I think you put it up it was your fight saw had more views than the the main event of your show and the the original matchup together I believe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah like I think it hit over 175k views on YouTube. That's a lot of people you know. Um, I've seen my fight with top. Um, obviously I'm getting a bit big in the German market, you know. Um, don't know why my following isn't reflecting that as much, but like mate [ __ ] when I touched down in Munich to get to the fight, handed me passport into border control, didn't I? And he looked at me passport, looked at me, obviously Irish passport. So, I went straight through the uh EU section while the rest of the boys had to go through the uh non non-EU Brexit section. Um was epic. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Uh and then the border control police officer looks at me and he goes hands me passport back and goes, "Good luck on your fight, brother." So, he knew who I was. Yeah. So, I think the German fan base are a little bit behind me now. They're starting to understand the levels that I'm bringing. Obviously, I don't go for [ __ ] take people down and hold them on the ground. I'm coming to try and knock you out. I'm coming, you know, even if I don't knock you out, I'm trying I'm throwing [ __ ] spinning kicks. I'm throwing spinning back fists. I'm exciting. I'm throwing like wow moments, you know what I mean? And you know, you throw enough of them and eventually some of them are going to stick. So, and like you said, I I I I build the fight up. I sell the fight. So now people are starting to be willing to take that gamble. Peter Gabal is taking that gamble. He is going to be eliminated uh like the rest of them if he decides to accept this fight. I'm still waiting on to accept the fight. He says he's going to accept, but I'll believe it when I see a contract in my inbox and I've signed a contract and then we have a date. But um yeah, and then obviously you've got like the likes of Yakobanic and all these other idiots talking about, you know, starting to get into verbal with me now. They want to now they want to chat [ __ ] Now they want to [ __ ] they all they all want to copy and paste my recipe now, you know. Now they want to start doing the the [ __ ] talk, the memes. Everyone's doing it now where a year ago, two years ago, everyone was saying no, we have to be respectful, humble warriors. We do not do this clown stuff. But now that you see that it works, now you're trying to copy the recipe. Now you're trying to do the clown stuff. Um, what else can I say? Do you know? Like I don't know. It's mad. You talked about obviously you said your following doesn't reflect that, but you look at the views reflect that on YouTube and Octagon care way more about their YouTube views cuz they are monetized than they they would about your follow. So it' be in their interest and and because I've seen you evolve and and how you've come through and I would think you would be potentially working your way towards a title shot and especially now because because obviously we've seen Shm has is a free agent and he's we the news has come out but because you're in the same weight class as well that was a potential sticky situation coming up. Yeah. So obviously Sherman done his thing. He's he's gone to uh greener pastures. George Stains has also left. You know, as unfortunate as that is for me a little bit because I would have maybe liked the narrative of the rematch in a year or two when I've had time to improve my skills and I wasn't a year and a half into the MMA game with still no wrestling. Um they've both gone. They were, you know, obviously I wouldn't have fought him anyway, but George was like the hard fight, wasn't he? Now it's looking like even Kata's probably gone. It's looking like Ronald Paradise has gone up to welterweight. So you're talking about, in my opinion, the four hardest fights, obviously three, not including Shem because I wouldn't have fought him, but the three hardest fights in the lightweight division that have now moved out. So, yes, I think the win streak I'm on leaves the Octagon lightweight division wide open for me now to take a run at it, take that title. Who's the toughest fight in the top 10 right now? ESV maybe, maybe he's short, stocky, a boxer suits my style. [Music] Yeah, I think I think a run to the title and then the uh eventual belt wrapped around my waist is the only inevitability that exists by the middle to the end of next year should Octagon allow me to continue to be active. Um once I have that belt, people will probably still make excuses as to why I shouldn't have the belt. Oh, you only got the belt cuz Kate is gone. Ah, you only, you know, you you've you've won decisions and etc., etc. I I I don't really care. All I want is a world title around my waist. I said this to you when I was an amateur. My dream, especially now that my son is alive, is I want a world title in my trophy cabinet at home. professional world title in a big organization that's going to sit in my trophy cabinet. No one can ever take that away from me. Then whatever happens past that point is, you know, down to God. But a world title around my waist in my trophy cabinet so my son can look at me and say, "Oh, my dad was an MMA world champion." Um, obviously with the title comes out everything else. with the title comes the the money, the sponsors, the the contracts, the the rest of it, which will help me obviously give him a better life than I had. But the main thing is a world title. So, I'm on the verge. I imagine once Ronnie Paradisier Ka Shem get removed from the rankings which they inevitably will. Um I'm a win maybe a win away from entering those rankings and I'm a couple of ranked wins away from fighting for the belts I believe. Yeah, I I think so too. And I think like that your your skills have matched it. Like I said people say you got decisions but you're you're always exciting. There was a couple of heel go kicks you'd flicked and they they just missed the face. And I've seen Damian McGwigan, for example, I've seen him throw that heel kick that he hit Metro Field with 20 times over 10 fights, but it landed that one time and it looked spectacular. And that's all it is is is drilling and like that you got to finish in the last one, you talk to talk and you and you walk the walk. But like there was a one stage it seems like you talked about octagon keeping you active. Um, at one stage it was it went quite stale. It was a a long period without it, but it seems to have improved kind of since you've come back to the scene. So, um would you be confident then? Cuz I'd be quite confident that they they will give you the push in that direction because of your skills and and the position you've put yourself in wi with and business sense for them as well. The the views and stuff like that as well. So, you've got the skills and the marketability to to be pushed that way. I 100% agree. And not only that, I also feel like no matter where I fight, obviously they're not doing Ireland yet. The plan is get the belts and drag them to Ireland by force, by hell or high water. You know, three out three out of the belts will be held by Irishmen at that point. But um yeah, the plan is keep winning. um keep showing them. You know, I can only keep winning if I keep getting fights. And to be fair, they they have kept me active now. They are looking to give me at least one more fight this year. As I said, once I smoke that guy, potentially two. Um maybe even a third. We'll see. Uh if the right fights, if the if everything lines up correctly, it should be it should be five fights this year. Um, and at that point, like, yeah, like you said, I'm I'm I'm showing exciting stuff. I'm getting the views in for them, pay-per-views, all of that. You know, not even fighting on my own soil, but no matter where I fight, they can market me as the bad guy. They can mark me as the villain. They can mark me as the incoming invader, as it were. And uh I think they understand that even if my opponent's going to sell 300 tickets on a normal day, when they're fighting me, they're going to sell 600 tickets. And I'm really selling those tickets even though they're coming to support the other guy. They're coming more so to boo me than they are to support their guy. Does that make sense? Um so yeah, I I can't see why they wouldn't want to keep me active, you know? Um, it makes sense. They're business. They're trying to do business. Um, we'll keep doing good business together and I'll keep winning and they'll keep making money off me. Yeah. No, 100%. And then obviously like you've worked your your way to this position and you you said something a minute ago and I want to just touch on for a second. You talked about obviously the the world the world title for an MMA organization and and you said now that your son's born and and obviously in the position you've worked yourself in it's it's kind of like you're on a combination of things. Do you believe in like these things have come together at this moment and and is that what makes it like does it make it feel more real now that he's born that you're like I'm on the cusp of if I potentially do what I need to do this is this is going to become a reality within potentially the next year or two. I knew that I was destined to become a world champion in 2021 when I fought Rory Gervin in Belfast at the FA Festival in my amateur debut. um fought a guy with you three three amateur fights, a lot more experience than me, and I absolutely [ __ ] him up. And I knew at that point that I was destined to be a world champion no matter what. And obviously I've gone strength to strength since then. I've uh switched gyms a couple times, found me home. Everything's taken, you know, everything on the on the way through the course of uh this has just been destiny, I think. and the fact that I've landed with my feet here in Octagon rather than maybe another organization, it's given me the opportunity to build myself and get to this position where I am on the verge maybe three three four fights away from a title fight and I can knock those three four fights out easy within a year. Within a 12 month period I can knock three four fights out no problem. Um, and listen, after this, obviously I just had the baby, so I'm a bit out of shape now. Not out of shape, but I'm like I'm a bit heavy, we'll say. Yeah. But I've still been training. Um, I've just been eating a lot and eating a lot of hospital food and stuff like that. So, after this point, I am staying ready for any dropouts, any pull outs, h in between my fights. I will be ready to jump in on a week or two's notice because I know there's a there's a particular man that is a slowback legend of MMA and I'd love to fight him but I know he won't fight me on a full camp. Um because he has no reason to. That's Ivan Butching. Yes, he he won't fight me on a on a full camp. He won't fight like he like I said he has all like 50 fights. He's not going to like accept a fight against me. But if someone pulls out against him, maybe he'll accept a short notice fight against me, but I'll be ready be ready to jump in um take out a legend, you know. Um yeah, we know the last Irish guy to beat him after he beat him, he went on to do great things. So yeah, there's a lot of options for me now. Yeah, he actually went on a streak. He he trains in Slovakia. Um, I believe I was in his gym when I went over with Mag. And and it's funny because when people look at like who that Irish man has beat, like you look at like Aldo, people look at Aldo and they only thinking McGregor, but Bushinger would be the same. If you look at what those who went to do after him like Aldo had a resurgence, Bushinger went on a crazy streak. He is he is an absolute legend of MMA and and that is a that is a dream matchup for someone like yourself, but like I said, it's a hard fight to for him to take. I think like you look at me in my style and you know he's what five foot eight or something like not the best striker he try and take me down but what happens when he you know maybe takes me down and I get back up then it's like I'm keeping him again and he'd just be thinking nah [ __ ] that matchup like you know what I mean absolutely [ __ ] that match up that's what he'd be thinking but who knows who knows Yeah, maybe he can redeem himself against Irishman if he shuts me up. You know, maybe like the the Slovak fans will be like, "Yeah, our hero will shut this Irish guy up." Or maybe I'll stiffen him and um you know, send them to the retirement home. Who knows? But uh no, I I'll respect him though. He is a legend of the sport. Like you said, since that win uh was so since that loss, he's gone on a crazy win streak. He's got like 50 fights like I said and I think only like six or seven losses. Like I'm pretty sure he's got like 45 wins or 46 wins or something nuts like that which like [ __ ] me. Like I I don't even think I want to have 45 fights. Do you know what I mean? Let alone Yeah. So he he is a proper legend of the sport especially in that region of the world. He is a he deserves the respect that he gets. But with all respect to him, I think I'm of the next generation of fighter. Um, I think that our training methods are better, our SNC methods are better, our nutrition is better, you know, my cardio is better, I'm longer, I'm younger, I'm sharper, and I just think I'd outclass him. Yeah. Yeah. No, cuz like that the game evolves and and like even from when you started and you look at some of the noviceses and you seen your own gym, the novices and and early amateurs and even from it was only a few years ago you were at that stage. But just the evolution of the skill level as well just gets better and better through generation and generation. But I hope that I think they are you are going towards a title shot. Um and I think you've done very very well to work yourself in that position with your skill and and also everything else. But uh I'm going to let you go. But there's one thing I'm going to ask you. Will fatherhood calm you down on the art of war that you like to do against your opponent going into it or will it be the same? Cuz it's more of you're really calling it how it is sometimes. Like what you've said here today is what you basically put up in a more let's say less PG way to frame it to to calling them out and and saying what you've been saying. Um, yeah, I think I've already sort of toned it all down. Even just being an expectant father, being a Muslim now as well, I' i've definitely toned down some of the uh the level of personal attack, I suppose. I I I didn't really attack too heavy personally. I didn't attack Robin Frank too heavy personally or Kalam Mullen or Saraki you know it was just little jabs little like funny memes like you know what I mean like [ __ ] I'll have a bit of a laugh as well about it but no it's not going to change my my method for selling fights because it's part of the game isn't it? It's it's it's h it's show business. Um, however, yeah, I I think I've already toned down a little bit from some of the stuff that I used to say and I will continue that. I I want to be somewhat of a good example at least. We'll just have to scrub the early early stuff. Well, but look, Instagram has done that for you cuz I actually It's been scrubbed. It's been scrubbed cuz I actually wanted to show someone. I was telling them about uh we won't mention the fight, but you know who it was. It was a story every day and and I was like this this was next level brutal like you were being blocked by by like uh his partner, family members. It was it it was mental. But one thing I actually liked about your last fight and like you said it was a lot it was a lot of technical stuff. was it wasn't you going for the personal stuff and there was a video there that came out after the fight and it's you telling him how the fight's going to go and then Octagon obviously parallel play how you said it's going to go. Do you like for your fight IQ to be up so there so high is that a natural thing or is it a mix of cage time and and fighting or do you think it it just comes to people or is it something that can be learned? But I just think uh [ __ ] hell like call spade. Yeah. A lot of MMA fighters are [ __ ] dumb. Yeah. Like a lot of MMA a lot of MMA fighters are just like uh throw and they're a bit like they're a bit dopey. Like if they didn't have fighting they wouldn't have anything in the world that they could do that could benefit society anyway. you know, where I feel like myself, I've come into fighting late in life. I already had a life before that, you know, I had a good job that I left. Um, so yeah, I've just implemented my IQ into fight IQ rather than like just going in there with a [ __ ] overhand and a double leg and [ __ ] hoping for the best. Um, I also feel that like just my style it's what I usually do to people anyway. I I don't I don't really come out fast and try and like knock people out in the first round. I I pick away at people. I [ __ ] I break people because I know how hard my shots are. They're not hard in a concussive way. They're hard in a painful way where you're like [ __ ] hell. Like that hurt. That hurt. [ __ ] that hurt. But you're not like it's not enough for you to go out maybe straight away, but eventually, you know, it's a death by a thousand cuts and your body quits before your mind does. Do you know what I mean? And um as I say, I like that. I I I like uh getting to play with people a little bit beforehand. I like the fact that, you know, you can get a clean oneot knockout. Guy will get up in a couple minutes, you'll come to the middle and then, you know, you'll both stand there and the ref will raise your hand. But when I finish you, even go a decision against you, you're not even able to make it back to the middle to get your hand to see my hand get raised because you need to be stretched out of the building. Do you know what I mean? Um that that just wear and tear on you and like [ __ ] hell. Like Robin Frank still hasn't fought, you know what I mean? Yeah. I don't even think he's medically cleared to fight. I know Topline is not going to fight for a while. So I I I do real damage to people's careers. You know what I mean? Like uh like I do damage to people's careers. That's all I can say. Yeah. And like you said, the tipping way and it could be anything. Just there's been fights where I've seen you use TES just straight to the bread baskets like and the like you said it it's just not something that gets a huge reaction straight away, but you know that's that cardio's going that that cardio's going. He's going to leave his hands open. you're going to start butchering on top and and like that you can see with things put together and you can see throughout your career where it wasn't happening and you can see it fixing. You can kind of see your form as a fighter to to come to where you are now is like do you look back do you notice that skill developing as it happened showed that putting this together or do you just look back now and go Jesus the last fight I was here but did you like physically notice yourself getting better in the gym in between fights? Um that's a that's a good question. have to be tested in live situation. I I watch fights back and like I watch myself move. I don't even really look at the opponent because you can never really compare like I can't really compare Robin Frank's fight to Top Life. So even though only like a month and a half, two months apart, it's two different opponents, isn't it? Like where where Robin Frank shot a takedown, Arian might not take he might have [ __ ] blitzed in with hands, you know? where Robin Frank threw a kick, Topai might have [ __ ] thrown an over, you know what I mean? So, it's hard to gauge that way, but obviously the level of my opponents is always going up as well. And I think I do rise to the level of my opponents a little bit. Um, but watching myself move from like, let's say the Solomon Simon fight, just watching how I moved around versus even like the Chris Morris fight. From watching that Chris Morris fight to like how I was in the Bo Gavin fight. Yeah, I think you can see the the level jump, the level progression. Um, the one fight like I don't really get much from, at least on in my stylistic format, is the George Shane fight because he spent so much [ __ ] time on the bottom. I didn't really like, you know, we didn't really have any striking exchanges. So, like, you know, he he played the smart game. Um, not many people are going to be able to do that to me. Many have tried since then and no one's managed to do the same thing. So, they're going to keep trying and I'm going to keep uh making them fail. Yeah. Like like like I said, George Zaynes is is is potentially the only person who can do that to you the way he did do to you. Other people saw that and thought they could copy that. But George Bane, like you you say, he's a special talent like um as is yourself. So that's why these guys are aren't able to come in and do it. And you mentioned Solomon Simon there as well. And I remember when when you two fought each other and like at that stage he had a lot more fights than you and you talk about people not fighting wanting to fight you. But he took that opportunity and he took that test and you were both like obviously you won the fight. You were both fairly it was a fairly close fight. It was a fairly good fight. But now you look at both your progress how you went on. Do you think a fight like that at amateur will benefit going into pro? And that's why you should always take the the the hardest fights available at answer because you think this is why your procri have gone the way they've gone. Absolutely. I think that Yeah. I think that fight I don't believe he's lost since then. Has he? No. Am I his am I his last loss? Did Dano beat him after or did you beat him after Dfano? Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dafano beat him, but it was a [ __ ] robbery that that was a robbery because he definitely he definitely beat Dfano, right? I'm just going to say I remember that fight. It was on Premier FC, was it? Yeah. Yeah. No, he defined now and I can see him getting into the UFC soon. You know, he's on five and0 or four and0. Yeah, all finishes as well. Yeah, all all finishes. No, like you know, he's probably fighting at the weight division he should be fighting at now, which is featherweight. Yeah. Um, obviously he fought me at lightweight. I'm probably a bit bigger than him. He probably didn't cut a lot of weight. I did. H I was massive in there. And it was a close fight. Obviously, the experience factor was there. He uh he had a lot more experience than me. He had like 14 fights or something like that at that stage. Eight and six. And I was like three and two. and all in like the space of like probably six months that I've been doing MMA. Um, but yeah, it was a good fight. I learned a lot from it anyway. I I grew a lot from it. I know he grew a lot from it. And yeah, like we're we're both on our own trajectories now. [ __ ] went different ways. We still chat, you know. I support his career. I know he supports my career. And uh yeah, like we're both on the same mission at the end of the day. like we're both on the same coping to be on the same path even even if like our paths don't cross again. We're on our own paths to the same destination if that makes sense. Yeah. No, 100%. And like I said, I was there for that fight and and how both your careers have gone and I think those are the fights that stand out and make the difference. He took that risk like cuz other people wouldn't fight you. You took that risk of going up against a more experienced guy and it benefited you both. But I got to let you go. Is there anything you want to say before you go? Thank you very much for joining me. It's been an absolute pleasure. Absolute pleasure as well, Dave. I just want to say uh book Peter Gabal signed the contract you [ __ ] Um and yeah, hit like, follow, subscribe, whatever the [ __ ] else to fans of MMA. Get his page back going since he got hacked. Um, don't buy don't buy the crypto that you say selling off his old page. And um, yeah, like yeah, that's it. Perfect. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your evening and I appreciate your time. All right. Nice and appreciate it.