Bulletproof For BJJ Podcast
Discussions on improving your BJJ, navigating mat-politics and all aspects of the jiu jitsu lifestyle. Multiple weekly episodes for grapplers of any level. Hosted by JT and Joey - Australian jiu jitsu black belts, strength coaches, and creators of Bulletproof For BJJ App. Based out of Sydney, Australia
Bulletproof For BJJ Podcast
The Biggest Jiu Jitsu Tournament You've Never Heard Of: AIGA Global Recap
A million dollar tournament just went down in Kazakhstan. It was one of the greatest shows in grappling history with some of the best matches we've seen to date, and there's a chance you have never heard of it. Listen here for the behind the scenes AIGA recap from our man who had the boots on the ground.
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A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Essentially, at this point, the fight is over, so you pretty much flow with the goal. Who is worthy to be trusted with the secret to limitless power? I'm ready. The Kazakhstan Chronicles yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, I was recently in Kazakhstan for the AIGA Championships. My voice has barely recovered from screaming my lungs out. It was a lot of excitement, a lot of interesting discoveries. If you've never been to Kazakhstan and yeah, I just I got to witness some of the best grappling I've ever seen and just got to witness firsthand how much people love jujitsu over there.
Speaker 1:Now, just to clarify a little bit of cultural context of about Kazakhstan yes, I think what most of us know of it is what Borat exposed us, to which I think I was quite blown away to discover that Borat was, in fact, not a documentary no, not at all. And not the most accurate description or depiction of Kazakhstan or the Kazakhakh people they're in. No, not at all. And I think the thing that people probably don't understand is that kazakhstan has come a long way in the last 10, 20 years, like it's uh, it's probably. It's not the little backwater village that borat portrayed, no, and it's massive, thriving. It's a nation, huge, like Like Kazakhstan, as a landmass is, I think, the biggest of the stands like it's right next to Kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, whatever. It borders on China. It borders on Russia. It borders China, does it? Yeah, well, where I was, which is in Almaty, is closer to the China border than it is to Russia. Wow, it's a it of land and Almaty's got it going on. Man, they've got crazy shopping malls, they've got people driving Lamborghinis, they've got designer brands Like I was like so impressed They've got these curated gardens and flower beds. And I was like, wow, this place is fucking impressive, man, it's beautiful, surrounded by all these mountains. It was awesome. Like I really rate Almaty.
Speaker 1:Now people say that so Almaty used to be the capital of Kazakhstan and now it is Astana and that was just a government move. Astana is now the capital. Yeah, it was like 20 years ago and, speaking with the boys from the Team Aleon, they had gone to Astana and had done the qualifier there and it was freezing cold. It's more north and they're like no, it's not a lot of fun, it's still got a very heavy Soviet influence and not as much of the nightlife, but Almaty it's popping. Free markets reign supreme in Almaty. There's some beautiful people doing beautiful things in Almaty. I'll tell you what you get that really interesting Eurasian mix. All right, tell me.
Speaker 1:So let's just run the important ones real quick. What's the coffee? Like, you can get a good coffee, you can. We found a cafe called Vanilla Cafe and once it was found, we were there every day. Okay, vanilla Cafe, and we, once it was found, we were there every day. Okay, like, we like can just get shit instant coffee, which is the standard, yeah. But then we found, like an actual proper cafe where they'll do pour over, they'll do, oh, wow, cold drip, they'll do. Whatever the fuck. You want a nice, nice. It's top, top notch.
Speaker 1:What about um? Can you converse with people in English? Young people, you can. I say that. I mean it's not expected that everyone should speak English, but no, young people, you can I say that I mean it's not expected that everyone should speak English, but no young people speaking. You can ask. You can ask. Older people speak Russian. Younger people speak Kazakh and English. Okay, so it is. There's been a decided move to try and make um Kazakh culture more of a thing, right, not just the little brother of Russia. Okay, so it's been really pushed that young people speak Kazakh as well as English.
Speaker 1:What about the australian accent? Does it get you street cred over there? No, you just. They just think you're american. Fuck, like you just. Nah, it's fine, it's spilling, nah, it's all good. I, we get street credit everywhere we go, uh, everywhere else, everywhere else, but, uh, no, kazakhstan. Um, the streets don't care, okay, just another white guy.
Speaker 1:Last one, what's the food situation like? Generally? Okay, so Kazakhstan is a Muslim nation, so you are getting no pork anywhere. Right, there's no bacon, but you can get like a beef pastrami type setup, very nice, which is very nice. Yeah, you can get a turkey sausage. You can get lamb, everything, yeah, skewers, horse meat oh, horse meat's a bit of a deal, yeah, so we ended up getting some horse meat on the last day like a Kazakhstan banquet type setup. How was that? Ah, yeah, good, probably a little bit overcooked, to be honest, very lean it, to be honest, very lean. It is lean, but they serve it almost like it. Not a salami, but it's I didn't have. You can get a horse steak, but it was cut more into strips, more like a? Um, not a salami, but it's like a, like an Osso Bucco type, like you know, like thin sliced segments of meat, cross section yeah, let's get a look at that cross section. It was served on a big flat noodle, like a really big flat noodle, and you pour a broth over it. Fuck yeah, oh, it was amazing. And they did a ton of dumplings and, yeah, a bunch of skewers. Okay, a lot of nice spices. Fuck, yeah, you're selling me Kazakhstan. Oh, no, definitely.
Speaker 1:I can recommend to anyone if you're watching this, even though it sounds like a weird place to go. They, freaking, love grappling, they love jujitsu and they are very lovely people, right? So you did mention that when we're chatting before that grapplers are revered. They are, oh man, we had people coming up to us in the streets like, oh you, oh, team aleone. Like, oh, oh, you're here for eager. Like you know, the kids want you to sign their fucking face. Yeah, wow. They're like, can you sign my head? I'll get a tattoo. You're like, oh, I don't know if I recommend that. You know, draw on my arm. Like they love it, they'll give you their belt, sign their belt. Like it's just the fandom for grappling. And this event is really big in Kazakhstan, or in Almaty at least.
Speaker 1:How long has AIGA been running for? This is the third season, which means sixth year. It's biannually, so they do a qualifier year and then they do the competition year, right, and yeah, look Like a qualifier, like in the right, a qualifier and a championship every year. So they do a qualifier one year at different parts of the world and then they have the championship the following year. Oh, I see, kind of similar to ADCC. Yeah, right, you could say it is the ADCC of Europe, even though ADCC is everywhere. Yeah, they do their qualifier in Brazil, they do qualifiers in the US, they do a qualifier in Asia, and so, bringing all these teams together, it was, um, and look, there's obviously a lot of stuff going on in the world right now.
Speaker 1:So from the get-go there was drama, because obviously bombs are getting dropped left, right and center talison sores, who was meant to be, you know, coming in. He was originally part of Team Acai Republic. He then switched teams to Kasai. He was stuck in Qatar airport for almost two days, oh shit. Yeah, declan Moody also. Did Taliesin make it over? I think he did. I did see him on the last day, right, but he didn't compete or anything. He was just there as part of the team Declan. Declan didn't.
Speaker 1:The Australian government issued, like when Iran bombed an empty building in Qatar, and so Doha, where the airport is, Declan was flying from Texas, I believe to come and join Team Aleone. He was in Qatar when that happened, and so the australian government put out this whole thing. All australians have to be sent home, oh wow. So he stood in a queue for 24 hours to try to get because he's also got an english passport to see if he could kind of circum navigate that nonsense, not nonsense, it was legit. But no, they sent him home.
Speaker 1:Fuck, he would have been spewing. Oh my god, like we could. We definitely could have used him, but uh, it's just how it goes. You know what did they do to replace him? I heard they got. I heard a fucking rumbling on the grapevine mate. Look, they were, that they were short, they would have a unit, they were desperate, they had a bit of experience over 91 kilos and I, someone with the kind of tenacity that would just go. You know what I'm prepared to throw down. I'll throw my fucking hat in the ring because I don't know any better. Whatever I lack in skill, I make up for in flexibility and willingness to fucking bang.
Speaker 1:Look, when you meet jujitsu giant Big Dan from New Wave, he's the biggest human you've ever seen. Yeah, he's six foot seven, I think he's 130, 140, like he is legitimately a giant, nice guy, by the way, I did chat to him. Um yeah, but andrew tackett beat him. Bro, frightening, fright, frightening human. I mean. He, he lost matches, he won matches, he, he ripped. So she's relaxed as he, is he to meet in person like he's, he's, he's I. I actually found him very easy to chat to. But whatever, we have mutual friends. You know I I was willing to take the step.
Speaker 1:I said to team management hey, you got no one, fucking chuck me in, I'm, I'm here, but it's a professional jiu-jitsu organization. It would actually look bad on them for them to put me out there. You know they need a name because you need these matches. So they got Big Ian Dorb from Ian is a friend of PJ Barch's. He trains at. He's got his own gym which is like 10th Planet Poe Way, but he also trains at Legion. You've probably seen him in a bunch of clips. But he also trains at Legion. You've probably seen him in a bunch of clips.
Speaker 1:He's a huge human, 120 kilos of pure muscle. Looks the part was a wrestler, high school collegiate wrestler. He was the guy they were looking at getting him and what? They just caught him up, flew him in, yeah, like within two days they got him there yeah, wow, and you know, paid him to be there and all that caper. But unfortunately he got leg locked in under a minute. Oh yeah, fuck, it's so brutal. That's what it is, man Like I mean when you're playing that game. So look, unfortunately I didn't get to make my debut this time. Fuck, I was. I went.
Speaker 1:When you told me of that scenario, I was like this is is like kit dale, like we've seen. It's a last resurgence scenario. I'm like jt's coming back. I actually think I could have done a bit. My leg lock defense. Credit to ian. In is a beast, but he doesn't know anything about leg locks, right, and he turned and it got cranked on. And if, if, the jujitsu giant had pulled guard on me, I would have lasted more in the minute, that's for sure. I can, yeah, 100 like. I know how to defend leg locks. It's not, I look like I said it's. It's. It's a scary thing to stand in front of that big man. Yeah, it's frightening to think you've got to wrestle this guy, but he pulled guard and he can rip your fucking leg off.
Speaker 1:And, um, dan manchild is good friends with him. They're training partners at New Wave. He didn't want to go against him, so it was going to be Manchild trains at New Wave, does he? Yeah, so he was like no, I'm not going to he's my friend Manchild. Dan Manchild and Dan the jujitsu giant, manasoyo, manasoyo. Yes, not to be-.
Speaker 1:Two different Dans, two very different Dans. One is the man-child, one is a giant, both are large humans. One is significantly larger. One is 100 kilos, one is 130 kilos. Yeah, that's the hard thing. With Aiga, it's just 91 kilos plus Right. So you better bring a big motherfucker to that fight. Fuck, it would have been great to see Declan go against a guy like that. It would have been great because, also, declan is B-team and they're most Manasuias and New Wave and those. Neither of the twain shall meet unless it's like this. So, yeah, it would have been a great matchup, fuck, okay. So you didn't get the call-up, unfortunately not.
Speaker 1:So were there other athletes that were, you know, unable to make it? Yeah, a bunch of athletes didn't show up, like people were scrambling to fill rosters. I think, like 10th planet had originally put their hat in the ring to have a team and then they withdrew because it was it was going to be too hard to get everybody across. Oh really, yeah, check, matt put in a team last minute and they also put in another Russian team last minute. Like it was amazing to think that we were actually able to get a team of, you know, 14 all-stars there, so 14 athletes in Team Alley-Own.
Speaker 1:So here's the great thing Team Alley-Own is very well organized as a professional team. So they had a nutritionist, they had a cook, they had me as the strength conditioning coach, they had substitutes. A bunch of teams just had one guy per category, but you could get. You could getutes. A bunch of teams just had one guy per category, but you could get injured. You know, you could do your first match, get injured. I mean that's fucking, yeah. I mean that's very professional. They had one substitute for every position. Yes, wow. And did any of the subs get used? Yeah, yeah, everyone got a chance. Oh really, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So, for example, we had Dyke, and Dyke put on amazing matches. He won two matches and he was fit enough to have done the third, but he said no, I've done my job, we'll let Jack have a run. So Relentless Worldwide, my guy Jack, he got out there and did his thing. Unfortunately he didn't get the win, but it was very tough fighting Team Universal, so let's do the timeline.
Speaker 1:Um, when we got there, we didn't know who we're going up against. They did the draw, they let you know who's there and first round we got team acai republic and team I have micah. Uh, well, originally they did, but, uh, mika govon pulled out right, they had hulk. Uh, they had, uh, your Gracie, your Natas Gracie. Oh yeah, they had a few people right, formidable but cowardly. Oh yeah, fucking oath, controversial. Well, he was meant to roll, he was meant to go. So we matched up against them and ran a train on them and the last match was well, hulk didn't show up, he went for a hike, some people's version of running a.
Speaker 1:All submissions, like, actually, one of them was not a submission, because you're not disgraced, he was there and chose to not compete, chose to not compete Against PJ Barch. Why? Because he's a fucking coward, because he would think this. They've never fought right. It's a real matchup between those two guys. I think PJ has his number and psychologically it shows that he does that. He wouldn't. But he wouldn't have got a good amount of money to win or lose that match. So he's like I'm going to save this, I'm going to save this for like a who's number one and maybe get 10 G's or something which makes sense, but you've been paid money to be there. That's not very Gracie, is it? Well, fucking, it is whatever.
Speaker 1:Watching Jonatas compete, he's an animal. I think PJ's got it all over him and it just showed that he wasn't even willing to get out there. He was at the comp, he lined up, right. I mean, hulk just went hiking. He literally just went peace out, I'm going hiking, I'm not coming back. And he live streamed himself hiking. He did his, he did Well. He just decided not to go. Yeah, why Wasn't getting paid enough? I don't know. Just give him a fuck, jeez. Yeah, I think Things get confusing once money's involved. I think folks Maybe they didn't get as well looked after as they had hoped.
Speaker 1:Right, they were not getting the same treatment we were getting Right, because that comes down to each team. Yeah, the team manager, team owner. It's like the NRL wars of the late 80s. You know they need some kind of salary cap so that you know you don't get this fucking jealousy between teams. It's not even that, it's more that they had fucking kit kats at the breakfast buffet. Well, no, they would. They would, they gave, they got.
Speaker 1:We spoke to them because we had our photo shoot. So here's the thing. It's very professional in terms of like the ufc. It's like there's media day, so, weigh-in, you have media day where you get photos taken and video taken, team, everything right. And Team Masai was after us and then after them was Team Kasai. So we were kind of all going through the same art studio photography joint in the city. Anyway, check out the vlog if you want to see behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:And Hulk is Team Aleon in terms of being sponsored. So he showed up and he was like oh, what's up? Boys Chatting very friendly and they were talking about. And he was like, oh, who's this guy talking about me? And they're like, oh, that's our strength conditioning coach. He's like you guys got a fucking strength conditioning coach. He's like we're lucky to even have a hotel and some fucking meal vouchers. Yeah, wow, they were not getting looked after, allegedly, but the morale was very low. So we came through big energy, big team, because we'd already spent like almost eight days together hanging out. There was very good team bonding, everyone was supporting and cheering for each other and we just fucking smashed it. Yeah, wow, very good team bonding. Everyone was supporting and cheering for each other and we just fucking smashed them. Yeah, wow.
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Speaker 1:That was round like the first match, first rounds, right, first round, clean sweeps. Yeah, 2 million submitted everyone, all submissions, nice it was. I sent you that text message and I said tell the guys to submit everyone and I let them know. And they said do it for Joey, no. And we got in and out of there, like we got in just clean, swept the team in under 50 minutes and then left the building. How many matches? Five, six, seven matches total.
Speaker 1:But Yonatas pulled out of the last match, okay, and I think PJ was a bit filthy about that, because he warmed up and he was G'd up. So Yonatas pulled out because that match didn't matter because their team had already lost. Yeah, they'd already lost. So there was nothing to gain, not particularly. And did Yonatas' team have a chance to no, it's done, it's done. Yeah. To no, it's done, it's done, yeah. Okay, it makes a little bit more sense to me.
Speaker 1:I still think it was poor form. I mean, it's poor, it's not in the spirit, but I do get it. I guess, as a professional, I feel like, look, I'm risking getting hurt and damaging my brand and there's nothing to gain Except for fucking pride. Anyway, not to worry. I mean mean this is what you get, though, right with professionalization. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Yeah, yeah. But I mean he did get paid to be there. He made a tough choice. No, he did get paid to be there. So if you're paid to be there, do your fucking job, yeah, but I already got paid. You showed up, so do your job, yeah, but I guess maybe that's something. Hey, we'll pay you the second half once you do all your matches. I don't know, anyway. So I say what you will.
Speaker 1:Moving on to day two Okay, so, seven matches. We got back to the hotel and they were only on to the second or third match of William's team versus the Russians. Yeah, and you know they beat them, but they took ages because, like, the matches that were on didn't go the distance with us. So we just got finished. Next guy, finished, next guy, yeah, so we Winner stays on, or nah, no, no, no, it's, it's, it's. Uh, you have a lightweight representative? Yeah, right, so you do your match, whatever the outcome. That guy gets off. Next guy, next guy.
Speaker 1:So next day we had williams team, which were the favorites, madolfo team, which had been now the new sponsor, was williams elite, and that is team new wave, and so we're like as in, like it's basically the new wave guys, yeah, right, and so, yeah, we shaped up for that. That was um, and it was very close. Actually, they went up a match. We won a match like like it was quite back and forth and there was a very controversial match between Dante Leon and DeAndre Corbet and DeAndre really put it on Dante. Dante couldn't do what he wanted and very close match it ended up being. I think the end score was maybe 2-2 each or 0-0 across all three rounds, but there was a moment where Dante wrestled up and was trying to take him down and they're kind of on the feet. I believe they're on the feet for three seconds, right. So when DeAndre got a big Uchimata and fucking slammed Dante, I was like that's two points. But the refs judged it as a continuation no points, oh right. And then when it came to a decision, they gave it to Dante.
Speaker 1:That was the difference in Team Alley-Own beating Team Williams. Right, that meant that Team Williams won. Yeah, shame. Yeah, because, yeah, like it was. I saw a highlight of that. I think people were worried. Exciting match Because, yeah, like it was, it was. We saw a highlight. I think people were worried. Exciting match. People will, I guess, from Ali own's perspective, or like shit, these guys are the favorites.
Speaker 1:But when you put it out there and you go match versus match, we actually had some really good opposition there and, um, we could have, yeah, it could. It actually came down to the last match, which was Wojcik. If, yeah, it could have gone either way. It was three, three each. Yeah, um, chris Wojcik uh, versus, uh, isaac Michelle, ah, and Isaac Michelle was on one. Yeah, wow, and he got a very quick armbar, unfortunately. Fuck, he's a great performer and I feel bad because the Woj is a legend and I feel like he had the game to beat. He could have leg locked, but it went the way it went. So they won. Team Williams went through to the final and they went.
Speaker 1:Team Kasai beat Universal Fighters, universal Soldiers crew, the Cyborgs, and so we fought a team universal fighters in there for bronze, yeah, okay, which we won. Very tough, like, the universal fighters crew made everyone eat shit. They really pushed team Kasai because they're really good at wrestling, they're really good at the rule set and they're very hard to leg lock. Who was in that team? Uh, everyone from Dagestan. Fuck yeah, that was like they were Just a bunch of hard cunts, the toughest guys and okay.
Speaker 1:So here's a funny story. We had a under 60 kilo guy called Shakmanov, or Muhammad Shakmanov, who's an MMA fighter and had previously beaten someone on team Alley-Oan. Right, he got recruited to team Alley-Oan but he trained with us. He never hung out with us and he was always in the corner of Team Universal Fighters because that's his team, they're his boys from Dagestan. He's from the same hometown as Khabib, so he trained with you guys, he trained with us, but he never hung out besides them.
Speaker 1:A spy, yeah, right, absolutely. Like he was wearing our team logo and he got into a fight with Team Kasai wearing Team Alion fucking gear. He wasn't happy with Diego Pato because Diego Pato did a heel hook on his friend and the guy wouldn't tap and so Pato cranked it and broke dude's leg and, as he did, he was like, just fucking tap. Pato said that, yeah, because, like, the guy was like, oh, you broke my leg and he was just like, ah.
Speaker 1:So Shakmanov got really upset, got on stage in our gear, fucking faced up and shoved the fuck out of Pato. Oh, wow, he started like a brawl, wow, and I was like, bro, somebody get your boy. Like he shouldn't be wearing our team flag, like he's being paid to be here. He's a mad disruptor. He's on their team. Like how he would never shape up again like he would if he was training with you guys. And then at what point was it like, hey, you're not on as soon as we got there? Well, no, he didn't. No one said that. I said that. I said take the shirt off him, fuck him off right, because he's in their corner, he's cheering for them, he's coaching for them, yeah, and then we had to fight them in the.
Speaker 1:In the, so you reckon was gathering data? No, he wasn't, he's just loyal. He's a loyal guy, he supports his team. They're his boys, he grew up with them. They're his boys. But he was being paid to be on our team, so I figured he could have at least sat in our corner, which he did not. Oh, I see what you Right, ah, tricky one isn't his money, it's tricky, he's not supporting the team. Tricky that there's like these, um, whatever loyalties, divided tribal alliances. But then it's like, oh, maybe you paid to be here. And, yeah, I look at. It was hilarious to see him on stage fully starting like a diaz brothers-esque fight, uh, in our uniform. It's like this fucking guy and it was funny because, um, andrew, uh, alion, who owns bali, mma, like I, like his loyalty, he'll fight for his boys. I'm like dude, fuck this guy, don't pay him, like he's being paid to be there.
Speaker 1:I was like, yeah, so what went down post-event? No, no, no. So how it transpired is Team Kasai smashed Team Williams. Right, they beat them 6-1. That's pretty convincing, dude, I tell you, fucking Roberto Jimenez had his way with fucking Baldoni. Oh, really Smashed him Really, bro, wow, bro, wild, wild action. And Jason Nolfe got disqualified for slamming.
Speaker 1:I saw he slammed a dude. Well, he slammed a guy from Triangle. He slammed Pato from triangle. He asked if he could do that. He's like, can I slam him? And they're like, nah, not from close guard. And he did it anyway. And he was like, oh no, I just fell to my knees, bro, it was vicious, it was a bit. And Dan Mansoyo pulled. Oh, I didn't know I was going to get pedalized. I'm like, bro, read the fucking rule book. Dog, like I, fucking. I love Big Dan, I love the jiu-jitsu giant. I actually get on with him very well. So, full respect, he's a legend, but what a brain snap. Um. So, yeah, team Kasai won, they won the, they won half mil. And, uh, team Alion beat up universal fighters.
Speaker 1:It was very lucky because the reffing was super dodgy. Right, they the, the Russians, it would be stalling, or the Dagestanis would be stalling and the referee would call a stalling call and they put a stalling clock so they have to be active within 20 seconds or something, and at 19 seconds they'd wave it off right. Every time, every time they and then they would call stalling on on the guy who was actively trying to get submissions or do something. Yeah, right, it was fucking one ruskies. Yeah, it was wild action, so they had to. It was lucky that um team aleone boys are good at submissions. They got a bunch of submissions and that's why we won.
Speaker 1:Wow, fuck, I look cool man. Oh, dude, the production was great. They even had a guy rapping in Kazakh at halftime. Freestyle rapping was actually pretty good. Were you cooked at the end of the two days? Yeah, it was fucked. It was fucked. It didn't finish till 3 am. Wow, yeah, then you're there till 3 am and, in terms of the vibe, similar to like site, like as big as adcc no, tiny it's.
Speaker 1:The production looks massive, but the stadium itself is very small, right, uh, it's much of a live crowd. Um, I think initially there was like a lot of fans, a lot of kids. Kids want you to they. Actually, they want you to give them their. Give you, give them your rash guard, right? They're like, sir, sir, give me a rash guard, right? They're like, sir, sir, give me your rash guard. Yeah, well, maybe I want it. Maybe I just fucking want it, man, I'm a fan too. Maybe I want a million bucks in this rash guard, bro. Maybe I don't want to give it to you. And they're asking me for my hat. They wanted me to sign their face.
Speaker 1:You were in the red hat, weren? That thing I do I do to keep it fresh. You know you got to have. You know, you know it is. If you, you got your favorite. You know those fucking salt marks. Nah, the salt mark gets a bit. And I was sweating. Yeah, I was fucking, I'm bad, I was screaming, bro. Even the Russians, the very unemotional Russians, were like Wow, yeah, it was. It was a huge energy.
Speaker 1:But by the time it got to 2 am, 3 am, where everyone was pretty cooked, but the finish, where they shoot out the gold confetti and they have that. So the, the owner of um iega brings out a million dollars in a fucking leather bag in us dollars and empties it into this big glass case. Look at this big shield which is the prize. It's awesome, like amazing event, um. And so then afterwards, people ripping it up, partying or what's going on. Right, everyone's fucking cooked half the half. The city's closed. You do breakfast beers the next day or some shit.
Speaker 1:3 am on a sunday? Well, what are we going on monday afternoon? Well, no, no, we we did. We went out for like a kind of kazakh-esque feast. A couple people had to go to the airport straight from the thing, right, but yeah, we went to this Everyone keeps it pretty clean, I'm guessing.
Speaker 1:Well, it's a Muslim nation. Yeah, I mean, you can do what you want, but most people are not drinking. Yeah, but yeah, we went out and we had horsemeat and dumplings and I had a pizza, because, fucking, have a pizza. Wow, yeah, have a pizza. Um, wow, yeah, it was cool. It was cool. That's why your coat looks so glossy today. No, that's from all the uh argan oil. It's from all my, from all my essential oils I acquired from over there frankincense and myrrh, all of that, oh, wow, no, it's people, people, people, people present. Well, people dress up nice, they smell nice, like people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was very impressed by the standard in Almaty. Like the cafes, the shops, everything, the standard is incredibly high. Now, obviously, we were staying out in the mountains. It's very rural, can't drink the tap water Very different scenario, but in the city, beautiful. But yeah, we had this big kind of banquet to finish, we checked out of our cabins and we went and stayed in the group house with the russians, which was pretty dope. Yeah, I had a big sauna there, like that's, where everybody was cutting weight and um, yeah, it was. It was cool, but it was like a bit like jujitsu od, similar to what we had experienced with cji and adcc, because I'm the thing is, when you hang out with full-time jujitsu athletes, that's all I want to talk about and do so. Everybody was re-watching the live stream the next day and I was like, oh, it's a bit breaking it down, oh, it's a bit much like yeah, but it was. It was phenomenal to have the time to be there in person, because it feels so different to be there and see it and not know the outcome, versus watching it later.
Speaker 1:Who's your new best friend? Pj Barge? No, devontae Me, and Devontae got into it hard. Devontae Bones Johnson. Right on, he's the man. He's from Unity. Right, he is from Unity.
Speaker 1:Good best mates with Levi. Okay, they came up together. Yeah, I remember watching him. He always stood out because he's so fucking big. He's so big, so tall and his game is he smashed everybody at his weight, like he's. He's a scary prospect at 205, like the 90 kilo category.
Speaker 1:And who's your new enemy? I don't, I don't have any new enemies. Look, think If you had to pick one. No, oh, nikolai, fuck you Nikolai. So there's this guy.
Speaker 1:Nikolai was a nutritionist.
Speaker 1:He's very good. He was part of 10th Planet Moscow. I think he's very good. I didn't realize how good he was. He just seemed like a slim, muscular, cauliflower-eared, square-jawed GI Russian cauliflower eared, square jawed gi russian right. And he plays like mad birambolos and leg locks his shells like fuck man, this guy's good, try to leg lock me on the first day and I was like holy shit, this guy's real good. This nutrition coach has got some shit. He has got some shit, bro. And everyone's like yeah, nicola is good bro. Like don't, don't, he's.
Speaker 1:He could be on the team. Like, as much as he's a nutritionist, he could sub in. Right, and I had to, he didn't catch. Be on the team. Like as much as he's a nutritionist. He could sub in Right and I had to. He didn't catch me on the first day, um, but he got me. Later he came up to me he's kind of halfway through the training he said, oh man, I'm tired. And I was like cool bro. He's like no, I'm like all right, bam, fucking blast double cover. I was like fuck you, it was fucking on, I end up getting.
Speaker 1:I finished with the takedown, thankfully, and I squashed the fuck out of him. But he ended up catching me in a hill hook and I was like fuck you, you got tapped by a skinny nutritionist. Yeah, bro, yeah, he lied to me. I can't believe you admitted that, live on air. But I bashed him for that. I was like, all right, I'll roll you 100%. Don't be a cunt, don't lie, do not trust a Russian when they say they're tired. They're not tired. They want you to think they're tired. That's psychological warfare. Nah, man, nah, the Russians are tough as shit. All of them are tough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had a role with Shakmanov, the guy unstoppable, wrestling so fast. You can't get anything on that guy. The only guy I saw take him down was DeAndre. Deandre had an amazing performance. Yeah, I made a lot of friends. I think I'm friends with all those guys.
Speaker 1:Shout out PJ Bartsch, you know I love you honey. California kid PJ got sick of me by the end. But you kid PJ got sick of me by the end. But I think I really did learn to appreciate being more relaxed from PJ. He's the most laid back cat ever. I was like, wow, I wish I could be cool like PJ. I wish I was so self-assured like him.
Speaker 1:He's so relaxed man. He doesn't give a fuck at all. The epitome of no fucks given is PJ Barge. And he's so good at jujitsu. I mean, he's chain smoking those zins though he's like, like, explains it to me, is it just the nicotine, right? So people are chasing it as a bit of a stimulant focus. Yeah, yeah, locking in. Uh bro, he was just non-stop with those things. And yeah, to just see him wearing women's gym pants he chooses like he bought those Yep. And just his saunter, his swag, which is just so fucking laid back, it's impressive. And to watch him just absolutely frustrate the fuck out of a high level Russian wrestler, impeccable, yeah, fuck, yeah. It was inspiring. He's one of the fucking sickest, one of my favorite grapplers to watch these days, for sure, in my opinion, I think he's the best guy at that weight. What is it? 85? 83. 83. Yeah, I think he's better than Mika. Like, he got ripped off in that match in ADCC. He beat Mika Govan in that match. Mika got the decision.
Speaker 1:No, I have huge faith in the Butter Panther, even though he may not love me. But that's all right, he knows we're friends. That's what your friendships are like. Yeah, slightly antagonistic. No, I get on with everybody, but I think it was just one of those things that he's just such a big dog. He didn't like my intensity. I find that hard to believe. A lot like Joey actually, I think there are some distinct similarities between PJ, bart and Joey on a personal level. I see you, pj, I see you Laid back, nice guys just can't handle how full on I am Shut up, fuckhead On that note. Amazing, great trip, bro. Sick Kazakhstan On the next one Shoo.
