 From the shores of Malibu with the waves are pumping to the Great Wall of China and back to the streets of Las Vegas where the UFC is coming. We are live, this is It's Time Radio, the show we talk about what you think about but may be afraid to voice. Do not worry, we talk about everything on It's Time. Politics, UFC, film, TV, sex, drugs, rock and roll, you name it, we talk about it. It's Noh Holzbarg Radio. I'm here with my co-host TJ DeSantis and before we get started, TJ, I want everybody to know that this show is sponsored by FanDuel Sportsbook. Today's show is sponsored by FanDuel. This Saturday, it's Connor McGregor versus Dustin Poirier at USC 264 and FanDuel's giving new users, get this, TJ. FanDuel's giving new users 30 to one odds on either fight or to win. 30 to one odds, it's incredible. Plus, all customers can bet this fight risk-free. So get in on the action with America's undisputed number one sportsbook app, FanDuel. Just head to fanduel.com slash buffer to get started. Get with FanDuel today, folks, they are amazing. But before we talk about how amazing FanDuel is, how the week was and everything else, we have somebody amazing for the show, somebody I've wanted to have on the show for a very, very long time. You all know her, you all see her at the UFC events, none other than Megan Olavide. Megan. Hey, thanks for having me, Buff. Oh, very cool to have you on. So good. Oh, you're there. You're in Vegas. You're relaxing. You're in your hotel. I'm actually in the office inside the Apex right now. So we've kicked off Fight Week pretty quickly this morning. I was gonna say, Megan, like you can't really be relaxing. It's Fight Week. You might look like it's all chill, but like it's gotta be the craziest week of the year thus far. Yeah, you know, there's just a lot of moving parts. And when it's a big show like this, there's additional elements that come in. And so it's really about being able to maintain a schedule. I think that's what also, you know, Bruce can attest to this when you have so many things going on and you see the organization doing so many different things, it's all about being able to keep that rigid schedule and treat every single thing as the most important thing of your day. Yeah, I think in broadcasting too, there's some sort of like after a while, after you've put enough time and there's sort of comfort in that chaos. It just becomes business as usual, I think. A thousand percent. It was so funny. I was just telling my husband that this week, I was like, no, I like like this. I feel like I perform better in these types of circumstances than maybe a more chilled card. I don't know why that is, but I prefer this type of element for work. It's just, it's a really fun atmosphere. I think it brings out the best in all of us. And yeah, it's a great time. And it's cool to feel like you're a part of something special, you know? It makes you feel special as well. You know what you're saying is, Megan, is you love the pressure. Absolutely. That's correct. Yeah. What do they say about pressure? Doesn't it make diamonds? I think it does. They say it's what they say. But who knows? I mean, it all depends who you're giving the diamonds to. Very true. Very true. Unless it's cubic zirconium. We don't want to make it cubic zirconium. And we don't talk about that. We don't talk about that when we do it. We just maybe we don't. I never mind. I'm going to be quiet. So, you know, Megan, with this fight week going on, you know, we have the much anticipated trilogy between Connor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. We're all very excited about that. I never pick winners. I always say, may the best man win, may the best woman win. We'll go over your picks a little bit as we go on. But I think just do for this card with fight week with everything happening, you know, when we think back on individual experiences with Connor McGregor over the years, I want to share with you one experience I had that I've talked about on the show. Connor's evolutionary process to where he is today is obviously very amazing. What he's done with his brand, what he's done with himself, where he's gone from 180, 120 euros a month in welfare or work compensate, whatever the term is over in Ireland to making tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars being involved in all the businesses that he's in. I always remember the first time we went to Dublin, Ireland and I saw Connor McGregor. I had no idea who he was. He came up to me at the railing. Had didn't have a beard, young kid, 19, 20 years old. Hey, hey, Bruce, Bruce, my name is Connor McGregor. I'm gonna be champion someday. You're gonna be announcing me. Remember my name. Always blew me away. And then he walked in the octagon maybe two years later or whatever it was. And I was just like, wow, this kind of intestinal fortitude, this kind of foresight into his future. And I realized immediately what I say about certain fighters, as I say about interviewers, commentators, analysts like yourself, some people have the it factor and some people don't. I think you have the it factor, Megan, for what you do. But when I look- No, I do, I really do. And I just, I'm a fan. So with Connor, that it factor was evident. And we only see that come along every few years, whether it's a Ronda Rousey, whether it's Connor McGregor, whether it's a John Jones making the positive and negative choices in his life to maintain that it factor, whatever, as with Connor McGregor. But I'll never forget that day that I met him. And it's just like, wow. And now when somebody comes up to me and says that to me, I try to remember their face because you never know if I'm going to see him again. It's so true. Yeah, it's so true. You know what's funny is that I was trying to think of like a story like that that stood out for me as well. And I remember, do you remember the show we did in Boston? I think it was our first FS1 show and Boston is such a Irish city. And Connor, I think that was his US debut for us. And we, you know, he had his own open workout. There was already quite a bit of hype behind him. But I remember him coming into the hotel lobby and he had like 20 bags from designer stores. And I just remember thinking, he's already spending the money, he hasn't won yet. And, you know, I worry about how our athletes, like I want to make sure that they're set for life. You know, they're doing this very hard thing and that they're smart with their financial choices. So I'm like, oh my God, he's already spending this money, whatever. And I just remember like, okay, no other fighters buying all this designer stuff. You know, he was not yet the Conor McGregor that we know of. I believe he fought Max Holloway on that card. And I just remember he kind of had this strut through the hotel. He's wearing sunglasses. He had like six people helping him carry bags. And I thought, okay, either this is gonna like crash and burn terribly or it's gonna go amazing for him. And certainly it was the latter. But I kind of remember that as like my standout moment of Connor like, oh my God, nobody's doing the designer thing. Nobody's shopping during fight week in that capacity. And nobody's spending money before they had it, but he did it all and it worked out. Yeah, that story Megan actually underlines, I think one of the nicknames that sort of gone by the wayside with Connor, that the Mystic Mack moniker, because he seemed to be the only one in the room that knew something that, you know, I'm not gonna say that he was this underdog that no one gave any sort of credit to because we all could see his skill. But the fact that he was doubling down on this sort of success before he actually attained it, actually is more of a testament to the fact that he seemed to be the only guy in the room that knew exactly how it was going to play out. And if you wanna call, you know, that calling your shot, going up to Buffer, going, look, I'm gonna be a big deal. Remember my name. And then, you know, getting to the UFC and living that lifestyle. I mean, he's truly once in a generation type of a personality and fighter. Yeah, and you know what, Bruce is a movie star. Like, I hope people know that what it's like for him at these events. Like he is just swarmed. He has so many people who are just dying for a second of his attention or a photo with him. And I think it also says a lot about Bruce that he remembers that moment. And he, that stayed with him. So it says a lot about Connor that he made that sort of impact on a person like Bruce who sees a thousand people a day and truly gives his attention and his full heart and capacity in every interaction. But I think it says a lot about both of them. And I just want people to know like Bruce is inundated with love from fans but he doesn't take it for granted and it's nice to see how kind he is to each person he comes across. Megan, thank you. Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it. You know, I come from the school of never forget where you came from, right? And I'm still the same person I've always been. I treat everybody with respect the way I want to be treated and I'll never change. It's just the way it is. And no matter how you cut it, Megan these UFC fans are spending their 69, 79 whatever it is this weekend for the pay per view. This is a lot of money to spend 12 times a year much less than it gets and to be the incredible fans dedicated to the sport they are. It's one of the reasons I started that site that I started called millions.co teaching fighters how to brand themselves and athletes how to brand themselves. Cause like yourself, I mean I want to see these fighters make a million dollars every time they put their blood, sweat and tears on the line or something that's close to that. They deserve it. And anything I can do to help them and support them, I'm going to. You know, when you look at Connor you see his evolutionary process and let's take even Dustin Poirier look at his evolutionary process. I mean, Dustin Poirier is a fighter who's been around for longer than most fighters that can even dream of fighting. Oh yes. You know, and he had a documentary done on him even like seven, eight years ago and now he's fought for the championship and he's in a trilogy with the biggest money pay days that he can probably ever dream of coming his way who's so well deserved and everything else. He's another fighter that we have to look at and say this guy has actually gotten better in the last couple of years and the latter stages of his career. It's incredible. Yeah, I think you guys will agree with me. It doesn't matter if you're a fan of Dustin or Connor you can't deny both of their stories. Like whoever wins, if you look at what they've gone through and where they've come from you have to be not necessarily a fan per se but you have to appreciate their stories and their backgrounds. Oh, for sure. I mean, they both come from very humble beginnings. And I think if you would have told their, you know 12 year old selves what their future would be like I think it maybe would be hard for them to believe or at least envision getting to that point. And I think they have a lot more in common than maybe they want to admit at this moment in time. And I do think that that will probably unite them at some point down the road. But I agree with you. And I think, you know, it's what Bruce touched upon I think oftentimes gets forgotten is that longevity in this sport is such an accomplishment. Whether you capture gold in that time or not it doesn't take away from the fact that if you can be at the top of the game for five, 10, 15 years, that's mind-blowing because people don't do that in other sports. And to do that in an individual combat sport it is an accomplishment that should not be swept under the rug or made light of. It is a massive thing. And Bruce, I mean, from the WEC days we remember Dustin Poirier walking out there and everybody being like, who's this skinny kid from Louisiana? And, you know, from that blue canvas to where he is now and the biggest paydays of not just his career but probably some of the biggest paydays in the sport thus far I think it's really incredible. And again, like an accomplishment that should be praised regardless of, you know, whether he wins the trilogy or whether he holds, you know the unified title or whatever it is it's that's almost harder. Well, one thing that you're hitting on Megan and I think is sort of forgotten it's called prize fighting. They obviously fight for prizes. You want the, you know, precious metals and gems but at the end of the day if a fighter can carve out a legacy it means that they've had a long run even if a belt alludes them. Someone you're very close with obviously is Joseph Benavides. Joseph is one of the all-time greats for what he's done in his durability, in his longevity and maybe he doesn't ever capture a UFC belt but the fact that you can't talk about his division without talking about Joseph Benavides fighters would dream to be in that position. Back to the intro I made with FanDuel they're giving new users 30 to one odds. They're both underdogs they're both huge underdogs at FanDuel. 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