The Deen Show – KEVIN LEE OPENS UP on Converting to ISLAM, His Early Struggles, and More

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The speakers discuss their experiences with alcoholism and the importance of staying true to oneself. They emphasize the need to reflect on one's actions and avoid negative consequences, while also acknowledging and embracing one's own belongings. They mention upcoming events and encouraging people to stay true to their individualities. Despite the negative impact of giving children money without acknowledging their contributions to society, they stress the importance of acknowledging and embracing one's own belongings.

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			Hey, you've been a Muslim this whole time talking to Connor was trying to give the whiskey yes yeah
I don't drink Why don't you drink? Why don't you drink or you cannot say salam alaikum and congrat
about whiskey
		
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			I went and visited a masjid
		
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			maybe three times drunk alcohol guy or something like that yeah when alcoholic someone drunk guy
talk nobody cares about him oh right yeah
		
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			put them down gently take a little nap. I don't know if it was good
		
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			to see you
		
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			great to see you. Great to see
		
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			May
		
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			Allah
		
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			and His final messengers, Muhammad peace be upon him? This is our religion, Islam. Islam. This is
the dijo
		
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			we're ready to talk about
		
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			how much respect I have for the faith of Islam show Welcome to the deen show. The Deen show
		
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			I still on a call while I go along Kevin Lee in the house How you doing my brother? I'm great.
hamdulillah life is great. We made it happen last time over the web now we're live here together in
sunny Tampa. So upon alarm yeah, here I had to drive all the way. I love it though. It's a beautiful
center you got Thank You for having to live we got the future Dean center now.
		
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			Alhamdulillah brothers and sisters as you can see, we've acquired the property and we're getting
right to work and with your do us and support. We can go ahead and get the masjid and mega Dawa
center up open and running in sha Allah. Imagine every person that prays here gets educated and
guided to Islam here you will get a part of all those blessings and rewards Insha Allah, what are
you waiting for brothers and sisters, you're going to leave it all behind anyway. So go ahead and
invest in your hereafter that's everlasting. Click the link below donate right now may God Almighty
Allah reward all of you
		
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			you're one of the first year coming here to hopefully you can take a picture in your mind. And
remember, soon when we get it up and running. And yeah, I had to visit in about six months when you
got it really set up. But so far, I mean, it's it's the bones behind the place are amazing. You'd
have to
		
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			come up. So for those that don't know, your, your UFC fighter, you're with the UFC, then you left
you went to EFC then you went to another organization and now you're back with the UFC. Now just
straight back to you straight back to the UFC. So I had one fight with Eagle and then now I'm back
in the UFC. And I'll make my my reappearance pretty soon. Okay. And you before that before coming to
the UFC, we did an interview and you were sharing you came out. You're on ESPN, you're gladly
confidently letting the world know that you accepted submission to the Creator, not the creation
Islam. Yes, yes, yes. Which had been a long time coming. It had been a bit of a process through
		
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			that.
		
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			People didn't even know that I was I had accepted Islam before even I cut from the UFC.
		
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			So
		
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			part of being cut actually renewed my faith in Islam.
		
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			I don't know how much of the story I can kind of kind of share with you how much of it I can kind of
go back and tell ya because I haven't really done many interviews or come out and share the story
but I do feel like it's important for people that may be along a similar path and kind of looking
for the answers and looking for the meanings of life right was actually the first interview in
person that you're talking about this now. Detail. Yeah, so
		
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			once out one time I had my fight with Charles all the bear. Right. I feel like that's really the
fight that kind of got this this. This started to kind of started a downward spiral. I tore my knee
during that fight. Which I might be like, a little different than some of the other guests that you
had on your show. I've seen other guests you've had in they
		
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			they're a little more pure in their Deen but me i i came from straight sin
		
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			So once I once I tore my knee, and I had the surgery, I was introduced to the pain pills. Yeah. And
then once you're introduced to the pain pills, then that kind of starts a downward downward spiral
through different drugs and different things that that seem like the answer at the time, they seemed
like that's what you need in order to, to feel whole to feel like yourself.
		
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			I went through that spiral for about a year, about a year and a half, until my birthday of the next
year.
		
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			And once on my birthday, and I really like just spoke with God and I really prayed and I really like
look for these answers. I had lost my last fight. So I just feel so lost. Like when you lose a
fight, especially after you've had so many years of winning, you just feel kind of lost and
hopeless.
		
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			But I spoke with God and this is before I even became a Muslim. And just as clear as meaning you
were talking, I felt like God told me, hey, you've been a Muslim this whole time you are Muslim. And
I don't necessarily feel like I reverted I just feel like I woke up to the realization that that's
what I've been this whole time.
		
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			It took a few weeks of me really being introspective and me really kind of clearing my system out of
everything out of the alcohol and marijuana out of the drugs, or whatever. To really come to that
realization. I went and visited a masjid
		
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			maybe three times without even praying. I just kind of sat in the back and observed everybody. It
means you spoke a little off camera before and I I just felt like a clearing of anxiety. Like I
didn't feel anxious at all.
		
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			Up until then, the only time I didn't feel anxious was during a fight. Yeah, during the fight. I
kind of cleared myself but it being in the in the moss like I didn't. I felt like that's where I was
supposed to be.
		
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			So I went to the mom's house, I took my Shahada and a week later, after doing that is when I got cut
from the UFC. kind of blindsided me it was it was unceremonious, nobody kind of saw a comment I
didn't see a comment. But that kind of that's why I mean it kind of restored my faith in okay, maybe
I'm I'm on the right path. And I told this to my brother and he's like, that doesn't make any sense.
Like why would why would you convert and then something bad happened until you like mean that you're
on the right path? It seems like you're on the wrong path to me. But in my heart I knew
		
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			nobody can really understand the conversations that you have with a law that other than you I think
		
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			and when that happened it kind of renewed my faith like okay, I'm definitely on the right path.
		
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			And where it gets interesting I didn't I don't tell this anybody right then nobody really knows that
except me and that Imam and a few people at the mosque but nobody took pictures. No, but nobody
really knew.
		
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			And my brother Ali called me after I got cut from the UFC he called me maybe the next day or two
days and he's like oh it's terrible what they did to you they cut you blah all this and he's like I
want to bring you into into cubbies new organization which I had no idea that could be was even
start an organization he doesn't know that I've converted at this time. And I felt like that was
another sign like I leave was was
		
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			a way for a lot of speak to me and kind of give me a little bit of hope in in telling me that I'm
not just going to be unemployed have no money one door closed, but other doors start opening.
Exactly. Yeah. And this other door just happens to be through could be been in leave has no idea
that you accepted Islam at this point. No idea. No, no, I lead neither. They don't find. That's Ali
Abdul Aziz. Right. And hubby. They have no idea that you became a Muslim. Correct at this point.
Okay. Yeah.
		
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			They don't find out until after I fight for him. I fought in March. I signed with them in November,
fought for him in March. And you're not You weren't like Hey, guys, you know what? I actually accept
Islam. There's like, by the way, nothing yet. And I'm not the type to kinda, you know, I'm more of
an introverted person. So I don't I don't just I don't just tell my business like that for no
reason.
		
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			But, you know, he's kind of known me through the years and I always had respect for Ali. And I think
just as me being who I am he that's why he did it without even knowing that that I had converted at
the time. Well, so at what point did they find out? Um, maybe a year and a half later, not not a
year and a half about a year about it.
		
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			You're late. Was it from the ESPN or was it from you guys talking privately? How did it come out? It
was maybe two months before I announced it on ESPN. I was at the masjid. I had been going on
Fridays. My brothers had he had had took me to a masjid in Boca.
		
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			And I took a picture with somebody there. You know, just as a fan kind of coming up asking for a
pitcher. He saw that pitcher. He called me on the phone. It was like you're you're Muslim. Like I
didn't even I had no idea. He's like, Oh, okay, now I really, now we're really brothers. Now I
really can help you.
		
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			And, yeah, that's how that's how he found out. And then I made the announcement or ESPN was a Habib.
And Ali's reaction to that was, they were shocked.
		
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			They were shocked that I was Muslim for that long. Yeah.
		
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			But super welcoming, super welcome. As with As with most Muslim people, these he was super
welcoming, and just kind of happy that I was finally on on this side of the fence.
		
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			So while we were talking about earlier how your first exposure to Islam was to the Nation of Islam.
And at that point, you were very young. And many people confuse Orthodox, real Islam with the Nation
of Islam. So you kind of went away. You didn't want to have part in taking that. But now you got to
see people like Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, who were also with the nation, they left the nation, and
they came to the true Islam. And now you are connecting directly with your Creator through Islam the
way Jesus did. Moses did all the prophets, they did Islam. And if people don't know that, that's
just completely submitting your will to the credit, heavens and earth. Tell me, you said you had
		
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			such a welcoming experience from the Muslim community. How about other UFC fighters? About other
peers? How did they go ahead and react to your decision?
		
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			A few guys that actually fought before Yeah, um, which I'm not sure if he's, if he's made the
announcement yet. So I won't say his name. But a guy that I fought many years ago. And I had beat
them. And he, he sent me a direct message on Instagram. And he's like, man, that's, that's, that's
amazing that you actually converted and you're we're brothers now.
		
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			And you know, you you kind of you make friends with some of the guys that you fight. But me and him
we didn't never see eye to eye. So for him to reach out to me and kind of extend his hand was was,
it was amazing. It was like, okay, so this was somebody who's on a different competing team or
somebody who you wouldn't expect to go ahead and maybe it was somebody I didn't expect to be Muslim
at all. You they also, you know, I didn't know he was Muslim. I had no idea he was Muslim. Yeah. Um,
and then he sent me that message, and I was like, Oh, okay. Wow, that's, yeah. Who was the fighter
who just fought, helped me along with these names. He's also Brazilian. Was he also Muslim? Do you
		
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			hear Alex Barrett? Yeah.
		
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			Yes, yes. I think he's Muslim. He's supposed to almost I think so. Yeah. But he's from like, a tribe
in Brazil? I don't know. He's scared. He's, he's scary. So I don't I wouldn't answer my question.
But after we talked about this, I just will touch upon his because Joe Rogan, he was also you know,
praising how the UFC, many of the people from Dagestan in this part of the world, you know,
committed discipline, discipline, pray, like, God, you know what I mean? All these distractions,
like, you know, drugs, alcohol, late night parties, all that stuff. That's like, it's not happening.
You know, what I mean? is Islam helping you in this aspect, also, like we talked about earlier, that
		
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			it was kind of difficult to waking up for Fudger in the morning, but then you have like the Tony
Robbins of the world, and it does studies how you know, getting up at this time will set you
straight for the rest of the day, you know, to be productive and whatnot. Are you seeing like the
wisdom are you seeing
		
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			your training also regimen already in mind? You know, just getting up at this early stage? Yeah, the
discipline behind it. And then also, when I was when I was kind of taking my introspective time to
look back on my life the last 30 years. I noticed, like, when I was those, it those discipline
moments. That's when I always had my biggest success. So I looked back on my fight with with Gregor
Gillespie. Yeah, when I fought him in New York. When I look back on that, on that camp, I noticed
how early I was waking up. How I didn't drink alcohol at all before there were some fights. I would
to be honest, I would be drinking through throughout the camp, even throughout the camp up here
		
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			throughout the camp in that fight in particular. I was on such a mission to kind of reestablish
myself as a top contender. Yeah, that I was so disciplined in in
		
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			that fight was really the first time that I postulated without knowing that that's what I was doing.
So, so I've got a younger
		
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			Brother,
		
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			he's in prison right now.
		
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			At the time he was in, he was in the county jail. And he was given a plea deal against some charges
that really were kind of trumped up against him that I wanted him to fight against. Yeah, and I
remember being in my coach's
		
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			office when he gave me the call and he's like, bro like, I'm I'm just, I'm having a hard time like I
is this can be too much I'm just gonna take the plea deal and I kept trying to beg I'm like don't do
it don't do it fight against you. You can when you don't give up these years of your life.
		
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			I remember hanging up the phone with them and I literally just dropped my knees and
		
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			I like
		
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			a basically postulated without this is way before I'm thinking about converting I don't even know
what what Islam is at this point. Like you said, I'm still thinking as is the nation it's it's black
supremacy, it's all these things that it means not the unity and the peace and the in the love.
Yeah, but when I sat there in in, I just had a conversation with God and I just spoke with with
laying down.
		
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			He told me that I needed to fight. And that ended up being one of the best fights in my career. And
it it kind of reinforced my feeling behind like you said like the discipline and everything that
Islam teaches. That's what made that fight so great for me. It wasn't necessarily just my ego or
that I was bigger or stronger or anything like that. It was it was my discipline towards towards
staying true to myself and true to God and, and kind of following that that voice. In the moments
when I when I didn't follow that voice. The results weren't nearly as spectacular. But I'll surprise
when you were saying that even during training camp you have not just yourself but many fighters
		
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			they do that they'll drink. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Were you on the stage? Was that you on a stage when it
was Habib and Connor were you in?
		
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			Number that I remember exactly what I was trying to give the whiskey. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. You know,
		
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			I'm not under a
		
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			birthday.
		
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			Happy birthday. I don't drink Why don't you drink? Why don't you drink some booze or parties? Seven?
Yeah, my backward boy. I think it's gonna be a long night twin.
		
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			Yes. Jamie
		
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			Salam aleikum. And congrats on our Prophet 12. Thank you. So could we get an official prediction on
the fight? You cannot say salam alaikum and congrat about whiskey.
		
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			He brought the whole open bottle on top of the state. Yeah. Was that his he was trying to promote
his whiskey and
		
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			I think there was a bit of that and it was a bit of he really actually liked to drink. Yeah, he
really did drink and yeah, he's he's about to have the fight of his life. Yeah. Drinking. Yeah, he's
drinking and he can be what was Felipe saying? Like?
		
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			drunk alcohol guy or something like that? Yeah. He can say whatever you want when alcoholic someone
drunk. I thought nobody cares about him. We just leave him alone. Ignore him. And when we go to the
cage, we will see we're gonna talk
		
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			yeah, that's it's just the reality of the situation, especially when you're when you're young and
you kind of going off momentum and, and you feel unbeatable, unstoppable. And like you can do
whatever you want. Were you at one point supposed to fight Conor. At one point, yeah, yeah. You
think that can ever happen? I think so. I think it's still I think it's still out there just depends
on
		
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			there's a multitude of factors. I think its timing more than anything. Is he going to fight soon at
all? Connor is he lined up from what I hear from what I've heard he he'll come back at the end of
the year. I'll come back in July. You guys are in the same division from what I'm hearing that he
wants to go to 170 So yeah, okay. Yeah, I'm permanently 170. Yeah. Yeah, no, that would be a great
fight one day. Yeah. One day Connor and Kevin Lee. Yeah, yeah, it'd be a lot of
		
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			it'll be a different me though. I think he'll he'll, he'll, he'll get a different version of myself.
So this is, this is something that's truly fascinating. I've interviewed so many different people
and just
		
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			See,
		
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			the more clarity of life when when people figure out the purpose of life, you know, now they have
structure and discipline and your family now how about family? So you had some people reach out, but
how was your family taken to you accepting Islam? Um, my mom right away was overjoyed. She was she
was, you know, she she's a devout Christian. Yeah, we've spoken many times on what that means,
necessarily. But she has been this way for her entire life.
		
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			But she was just overjoyed that that this brought me closer to God. She told me like, I've just been
waiting on something to bring you close to God. And she said that this is the way and this is the
way and she's she's
		
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			1,000% behind it. The rest of my family is too I think they just, they aren't as as educated on it.
And I'm not necessarily the person to speak on things that I don't know, right? I will always speak
on my experiences and what I've seen with my own two eyes, but I'm not somebody who pretends to know
the answers to anything. So I think some of my family members, it's a little harder for them to come
around. But we've kind of always all believed in God is just we believed in God without a structure
behind it. And honestly, Christianity doesn't provide that structure.
		
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			We I've got some people in my family that there's a Baptist preacher that's in my family.
		
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			And there's just no structure behind it. I don't I don't really think Christianity means anything
anymore. I think you can pretty much do whatever and find a verse to to justify it. Yeah. So is
there's no discipline, there's no nothing while you're reminding me I just interviewed a very nice
brother. His name is Alfredo. He was with the MLB, the baseball league and Major League Baseball
League, and he was sitting where you are. And he was one of the people responsible. He was
organizing World Wide protests and get agitate out of jail. Okay. And they just so I believe this is
my opinion, I believe because of his work. I believe that they released agitate while he was
		
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			possibly a means of that happening because Andrew Tate's court date was coming to protests was was
coming up, I believe on the 20/11 they released them on the 23rd. So you would think like, they're
gonna get a lot of negative press, you know what I mean? They got worldwide coverage on these
protests. Anyways, the reason I bring him up, he was actually talking about exactly what you just
said he was a Christian. He's got Jesus on his tattooed, he talks about having the Bible in his back
pocket. And he talks about how there was no structure also what you're saying, like the how how to,
you know, worship, how to break things, the all of the things laid out like Islam does. So exactly
		
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			what you're saying so many Christians, this is just one of them, while just with recently was Muslim
Now, and the same exact same thing. We're seeing this and how many now people are listening to you.
And they're also out there now. And hopefully, God willing, they can go ahead and not just follow
how you do the takedowns. And how you do a jab or cross but they can look into the way of life
that's bringing you peace and solace now and discipline and everything else your connection with
your Creator, let alone Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's incredible. Yeah. Yeah, I think the ways of
Christianity have gotten so skewed and so
		
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			kind of lost in translation almost, that it's, it's easy to kind of get sucked into into evil, it's
easy to kind of get pulled away from it, because there's nothing there's no anchor, anchor kind of
holding you to it.
		
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			I mean, they speak about the Prophet Jesus, but they don't really speak about like, how he lived and
who he was and what he did on a day to day basis. Which, when I look into it, when I when I do my
research, he lived like a Muslim lives, you know, when you when you see,
		
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			obviously you can see pictures of him there, there are no, no pictures, but when you see depictions
of them, it's always as a Muslim. And when you see any of the writings that he said from his own
mouth, are some of the same words that Muslims say in in Arabic is not even an English that they've
translated over and over again. So I think if if Christians kind of stuck to the teachings of Jesus,
it would lead them to the teachings of Islam is as
		
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			ironic as that is, I'm so happy you brought this up, because this is this is something that many
majority of Christians don't know the love that we have for Jesus leaving that he was a Muslim,
translated one of the submitted to the will of God. We believe that he was the Messiah, translated
Christ. And I asked you some things more on Jesus and and for the audience to know obviously you're
new
		
00:25:00 --> 00:25:36
			Muslim you know, taking baby steps learning as we go along. So if there's anything that's, that's
not clear we can go ahead and you know, iron out through it but, but that's, there's a whole chapter
named after his Blessed Mother Maryam Mary. And now Jesus your relationship to Jesus. Now people
will think like, oh, he's up to Islam, you know what I mean? He's last Jesus went away. How was your
relationship with Jesus now knowing who he really was, what his message was, is the same message of
Islam calling people not to worship Him celibate. So when people hear this when your family member
your mother was a Christian that hold on, I love actually love Jesus is a tenant of faith to believe
		
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			in love Jesus as a messenger, not as a literal Son of God, or a god, how does this play into it when
you share these things? Yeah, I mean, it's funny you say that, because me and my mom was just
talking about this a few weeks ago.
		
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			Yeah, and and I told her, it actually strengthens your respect for Jesus, that He was just a man,
just a person. He didn't create the heavens and the earth. I mean, look how far these heavens have
reached when you look through a telescope. I mean, you How can a person in this type of flesh create
something like that,
		
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			but it strengthens my respect for him because I know the battles that he's gone up against of sin
and the fact that he could come out in influence so many people throughout history and throughout
time and for 1000s of years. It strengthens your respect for him and your love for him. So I don't
think me being a Muslim, change that at all or change my views towards Jesus or changed my views
towards it and really not even changed my views towards Christianity.
		
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			I have certain views about things that they allow, but not not towards the people themselves. Let's
shift now even though they've done studies where when you talk about God and you talk about these
topics, there's what's the god spot things light up, you know, you're the spiritual psycho. This is
good, but we'll take time out from it. And we'll go back to also something I love talking about
because I've been I've been training for a long time to I've been kind of away from everything. You
know, what really, like most Muslims, when I started to watch some of the, the belts, more was for
when I saw my cousin was like, You got to see this guy. This Muslim guy, I had no idea it was Habib.
		
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			Okay, I didn't care about you know, much of the fighting and Matt and whatnot. But when I saw him,
go ahead and finish his fight, and take a timeout to be like, it's not me, it's the Creator and He
would humble himself and he made the Sajida I was like, that's what really drew me to him, You know
what I mean? So I started watching a little bit and I got more up to speed and that someone asked
you back on this there was a fight. What's your opinion now? You know, Hickson, Gracie obviously,
this was a legend right extent hoists. That's who I got my blue belt from. I also met I trained with
crime he was our academy a long time ago. Hickson son, he's fighting I think tomorrow, isn't he?
		
00:28:08 --> 00:28:43
			Yeah, he's coming back I think right now not in gone for like three years now. Please forgive me
ahead of time because I know there's some sometimes there's like you mentioned a name and this is
like, okay, that's my enemy or here whatnot. So yeah, there's that competition. So I might say
someone that maybe there's a beef so forgive me, I don't know different camps. So I'm just I'm
throwing out some Nick. I know that people and whatnot. And so what do you think now? cron coming
back he took he had a really tough fight. When he fought last time. I think it's been four or five
years. He's coming back. Who did he fight last? I kinda hoodie. Kron Kron Gracie.
		
00:28:44 --> 00:28:48
			Cup Swanson. Okay. Yeah. I'm trying to remember that fight.
		
00:28:50 --> 00:29:10
			Yeah, and I know, it's been a few years since he came back. You know, so he's part of the Nate Diaz
and. Okay, the cat trains over in California. Yeah. Honestly, I don't know that much about him. To
be honest. What did you think speaking of this, what did you think of just recently, you had a
fight? Was it Nate or Nick? And then Oh, right. Yeah.
		
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23
			Yeah,
		
00:29:25 --> 00:29:35
			Nate, Nate's claiming self defense. And I'm going to connect this to Islam. And I kind of I can kind
of see his argument there. You know, when you when you see Jake shields is the one that I know that
that
		
00:29:36 --> 00:30:00
			Jake shields a friend of mine, so he kind of came out in defensive of naked down. Yeah, I can kind
of see why. I mean, just because we're, we're professional fighters. He's still a human. And he
knows if a guy lands a punch on you, especially when you don't expect it. He can knock you out right
then and there directly. So you have to be able to defend yourself. I mean, one of the first things
about martial arts is
		
00:30:00 --> 00:30:33
			It kind of teaches you is, you gotta respect that man. Even if you don't know him, even if his name
isn't as big, even if he he's never even fought before. I think Nate showed them the proper respect.
And if that was, say, if that was Kamara Guzman, or if it was Leon Edwards or somebody who poses a
real threat to him coming up to him in the same way, I think he would handle it the same way. So I
was kind of anybody because you have to stay out of you have your zone, you have your space. And in
self defense, you know, you can't let somebody come into your area, because you're gonna get sucker
punch, you're gonna get hit. So he was putting his hands up, blocking. Yeah, making sure and then
		
00:30:33 --> 00:31:04
			what happened there the camera kind of shifted, you could see but you can see he started off with
his hands, right? He's blah, he's, you know, it's funny, because, you know, one of my first kind of
things that put me on the map was was hidden Michael Kia. So when he ran across the stage at me, and
I had to explain it to Dana like, why, why would you do that? Because there's a certain zone between
me and you. And we know that as men once you crossed that, that that line, and sometimes the
barriers are
		
00:31:05 --> 00:31:28
			invisible. Yeah. You know, so for me and him, it was the halfway point of the stage. Yeah. So once
he crosses that halfway point, you know, you're my, my son. I have the right to defend myself. Which
in Nate's case, yeah, he had the right to defend himself if he's putting his arms up and the guy
came within arm's reach. And not be friendly about it. Yeah. Then yeah, you're gonna get hit and he
helped him out. He put them down gently. Take a little nap.
		
00:31:33 --> 00:32:11
			But, yes, I can see him getting away with it a little bit. Yeah. I think he should you he should be
able to defend themselves. Yeah, for sure. And there's so many people, there's so much stuff going
on. What are you going to do? And then the guy probably maybe trying to make a name for him. So he's
zone. Exactly. But that was one of my famous things before I mean, famous but yeah, well famous.
That's what I like to do back in my day on the street. As soon as somebody comes to me and he's in
my face. The first thing had been Hey, but yeah, this is the streets this is this isn't an MMA fight
you know? So even even the letting them down gently. I think he did right by dropping him because
		
00:32:11 --> 00:32:37
			you he has to stay on his feet. You know, this is a 200 pound man and we're talking about in dead
weight. If he goes down to the ground to let them down gently you don't know if the guy next to you
is coming up and going to soccer soccer kick you in the head or something you know, you got to you
got to defend yourself was that where they it was at like a party going on or something is like I
had no idea I think it was Mardi Gras so people just kind of party in the street. Yeah, but but in
then it's it's a lot going on it's yeah, it's slim protects you from all this.
		
00:32:38 --> 00:33:21
			Islam safeguards you, helps you to be home at a decent hour. Explain it to me explain it because,
you know, Allah in the Quran says Don't come near Zina, right. So now anything that can lead you in
to a situation that now for instance, there's a nightclub Muslim really standing in front of a
nightclub there's alcohol even sitting at a table where there's alcohol these are the things that
now Allah wants to protect you so now you don't fall into right is not just like when I just quoted
this idea this is Don't come near Xena Xena is fornication adultery in that so that's why it's
forbidden to be with the opposite gender man to be alone with a woman there's a saying a wise man
		
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23
			said leave a man alone honest man alone with
		
00:33:25 --> 00:34:01
			a suitcase money money be safe leave alone with a good looking woman you don't know what can happen
you know. So that's why the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him and said when a man is
alone with a woman shaytan is the third shaytan is the third you get into that with a third because
now things can end up happening right so you don't even want to be alone with someone who's not your
wife or whatnot because things can transpire things can happen you solve it the whole me to movement
right the boss alone the lady and then all these charts you're even as a Muslim you're trying to
keep a distance you know keep yourself keep it respectful keep it Now same thing when it comes to
		
00:34:01 --> 00:34:42
			other things you know the mean because you can fall in temptation kit you know now you end up in the
white club now you're not now you end up taking a drink. Now you're off you know what I mean? Can I
ask you a question? If if so, is it wrong for you to sit in that nightclub then when not partake?
Wouldn't that be kind of a test against your your your your your faith in a test against your your
discipline? Say it again to be able to sit there in the nightclub have everybody else around you
drink and you not take a drink? Let me let me give you example. Yeah, so we have different stages.
People have different stages of discipline, right? But Islam when it comes is general rules. For all
		
00:34:42 --> 00:35:00
			you know that mean? Like some people will say because alcohol is prohibited, correct. That's
something that's well known. Someone said, but I can handle it. You know what I mean? Maybe the
other person his level is different. But it just takes that one time that you end up drinking too
much and now you end up causing an accident you killed the other person drunk and driving when
		
00:35:00 --> 00:35:12
			You know I mean I mean for you not to take a drink yeah so now now we go to that now for example
this I'll give you example let's say you have someone gifted you a or you bought you work so hard to
buy
		
00:35:14 --> 00:35:49
			I didn't even know this car before until I interviewed agitate the Bugatti okay, I don't even know
what I was talking to him I was like what kind of car is the Bugatti? So let's say Bugatti because
that's like I think $500,000 car gets like a million over a million Yep. So So I asked people I said
look, you got a Bugatti? Would you leave it in the bad neighborhood with the keys open and the
windows down? Would you know you would do that? Right? So our eemaan is more precious. Our faith is
more precious, maybe one time, second time. Third time. You know you're in the club or you're
somewhere and you display but then that just takes that right honey or whatever you want to call it
		
00:35:49 --> 00:36:23
			it comes and that's it you loot now you lose yourself, you know and things spiral out of control. So
prevention is better than chasing to carry not unsafe. So we know what happens in these places the
angels aren't in these places was the best to avoid you want to be this a different feeling when
you're in a masjid when you're around people reminding you of and you won't find people like Habib
or other people discipline this area. But, you know, I know you know, I come from that lifestyle I
know. And it took me a while to go ahead into this as myself, but it was different even just being
in this atmosphere without being drunk. Yeah, that's true. Yes. Like you're talking a different
		
00:36:23 --> 00:36:55
			language. Yes, definitely. True. Yeah, I've visited a few since my conversion. Yeah, and being there
stone sober is it's it's different isn't it's born, to be honest with you, you don't even want to be
there. Maybe you're a mom, maybe you're just not having the best at that time. And then you're just
like, things are going wrong, and everything is set, right the music don't have an effect on you the
honeys there, you know, the drink is there. It's all it takes like that. Now you lost the car
because you left it You didn't protect you remind yourself, you're in an atmosphere that's not
conducive to your to your growth and your spiritual and now you just lose yourself. You see what I'm
		
00:36:55 --> 00:37:17
			saying? Okay, but it was it not more reward for someone who can, who can have all those temptations
put in front of them and not indulge, if you're in a situation that you catch yourself something
happens and whatnot and you push away, of course, you're gonna get rewarded. Because you know, by
probably by now, if not, you know, when a person does one evil, bad deed is counted as one
		
00:37:18 --> 00:37:53
			against him. But if a person was even, they were thinking about doing it, and they restrained didn't
even do it, they still get rewarded for them. Right? Right. Right, right. And the reward is 10 to
700 times can be for the good deeds that someone does, right. And then just add on top of that when
someone does a sin, the angel on the right writing pulls back from you in writing that giving the
time for the person to repent. Look at the mercy Allah is not trying to just punish us the most
loving, merciful. But this is for us to go ahead and to really you know, reflect but we don't want
to we don't want to as Muslims, we live in between fear and hope we don't want to play you know what
		
00:37:53 --> 00:38:32
			I mean? is not about love, love love. There's the Hellfire also is real. I mean, we don't want to
die measured dying in a place like, ya know what I mean? I see what you see what I'm saying you
don't want the risk. The harms outweigh, you know, the harms outweighed any kind of benefits. That
answer your question. Yeah. And again, you know, step by step a lot of times it took me a while also
it took me I was I had a part you know, promoting a whole different world there. I know it took me a
while to to adjust I feel that the hard part is other people and other people that you may love you
know, whether it be your brothers my met Yeah, whether it be you know, even like my wife, she's not
		
00:38:32 --> 00:39:10
			necessarily Muslim. So it's that becomes the hard part of it. I understand. Yes, challenges of
coming up. But tell me when you are the some of the things like I was asking you off camera like
now, are you starting to see in one aspect of wisdom behind some of the injunctions, you know, some
of the things because there's a direct verse where Allah was talking about, there might be some
things that you dislike, but it's good for you. And there might be some things that you like, but
it's bad for you don't know, Allah knows. So have you seen that in your life where there's some
things that you you know, you had to give up or anything and then later down the line, now you're
		
00:39:10 --> 00:39:31
			seeing like, Okay, I see the wisdom. Yes, yes. Yeah. And I've actually made dua a few times to give
me that wisdom beforehand, but I don't feel like that's how it always comes out. Sometimes it's
after you know, after you've done something and then six months or two or a year later, then then
you'll kind of see the consequences of it, whether it be good or bad.
		
00:39:32 --> 00:39:45
			That's why I just kind of always try and stay on this path now. Yeah, because I just feel if you're
if you're on the right path, if you're on the path of Islam, then then the consequences will be
good.
		
00:39:47 --> 00:39:59
			Because you don't necessarily we I don't think us as humans have that that wisdom. You know, like
you said the only Allah knows the the entire plan. We kind of see bits and pieces of it. You know, I
can kind of see what
		
00:40:00 --> 00:40:35
			It's right in front of me, I guess I can see the experience that I've gone through or what I've had
now, but I can't see the experience of my future. So I just have to pray and stay steadfast that all
my decision will be the right one to lead me to the right path when you're going through those
challenges you were talking about. And that's, that's a huge epidemic, the painkillers, opioids, all
of this stuff is happening, you know, and then that that sets people up for other drugs. So you
experienced that now imagine how would that be if you're still hanging, you want to help people out
of that, but if you're if a person is want to help themselves, if you're constantly around the group
		
00:40:35 --> 00:41:15
			of people who are just, you know, entertaining these things, and they just use a casually that's
gonna eventually Yeah, that's those are it's a bigger problem than I was even expecting, you know, I
kind of always I can always know is a problem, right? As growing up, you kind of you just, I know,
I've seen my uncle's I've seen other people kind of go through it, and I just knew to stay away from
it. But I didn't realize how powerful it was until you you're kind of forced to take it, you know,
when you when you have a major surgery. And then it was Percocets first that they gave me. And
before my experience with painkillers was like an ibuprofen, where you don't really feel anything,
		
00:41:15 --> 00:41:26
			you know, you take it and it's okay. I don't even remember. But you take the certain type of
painkiller and you like, oh, no, this, this, it changes your, your entire
		
00:41:28 --> 00:41:29
			experience on the world even.
		
00:41:31 --> 00:41:38
			Where it makes you feel like okay, this is good. Like, it's such a tricky is such a,
		
00:41:39 --> 00:41:41
			what's the word I'm looking for? Like?
		
00:41:44 --> 00:41:50
			It can just blind you to the reality of the situation until it gets too far out of your grasp.
		
00:41:51 --> 00:41:59
			Which is what I feel like it did for me in Shall I didn't lead me too far before I was able to catch
a grip on myself.
		
00:42:01 --> 00:42:21
			Which Luckily, I have Phyton that kind of they kind of did that for me. If I didn't take a fight in
in August, my last UFC fight. If I didn't take that fight, I wouldn't have made these realizations.
But me taking that fight. And being on the painkillers and being on the stimulants at the same time.
		
00:42:23 --> 00:42:39
			Of the fight doesn't lie to you. I'm in love with fighting because it's it's like the purest form of
your expression that you can have. And it doesn't lie to you. And I think sometimes even if you're a
smart person, you can kind of make up stories and you can kind of do things in your own head.
		
00:42:40 --> 00:43:06
			But at the end of the day, the reality of the fight will always kind of bring it to you. So me going
through that fight made me realize like all these drugs are are really sending me down the wrong
path. It's not getting me to where I need to be. Wow. And it was it was really hard. Did you have to
go through how much of a detox or how much? Yeah, how time how much time did it take to get off of
this? It took me about four weeks.
		
00:43:07 --> 00:43:16
			Starting from my birthday, which was the beginning of September. Yeah, until like the end of
October. Yeah, middle of October, when I made Shahada.
		
00:43:18 --> 00:43:30
			Yeah, but before we, you just said something here, maybe some people maybe Dana White's tuning in,
or some other UFC fighter or somebody that uses Shahada. So I just want to go ahead and just
		
00:43:31 --> 00:44:11
			remove the mystery from it. So once there's five pillars in Islam, one of them is to go ahead and
when someone professes this, they say the shahada, the testimony that is nothing worthy of worship,
except the Creator of the heavens and earth in Arabic, Allah Aramaic, coincidentally, is Allah Ha,
Jesus spoke Aramaic, so he would say Allah also Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger, final
messenger. And this would include all the preceding message of Jesus mosaic, but all the ones that
came before so that's something that you said to come into Islam. What was it when you when you
accepted Islam when you took your Shahada? What was that feeling? Like? What was it that finally did
		
00:44:11 --> 00:44:35
			it for you that you were just like, You know what? I'm going to because I've been in situations
where you can, it's such a blessing. It's something that Allah opens your heart to because someone
can be shown all the proofs and evidences in Islam has so much of it, but still, it just not meant
to be something a lot didn't open their heart. But what was it that finally clicked with you that
you just, you're like, I'm ready. I wanted I need to do this.
		
00:44:37 --> 00:44:56
			Was there one thing or just I think it was my experience inside the Masjid? Yeah, I think it was my
experience of, of sitting in the masjid. And not even taking, you know, I wasn't praying or I didn't
actually come into it, but, but it was my experience of seeing the people through it. Yeah.
		
00:44:57 --> 00:44:59
			It was that and then, like I said, Me
		
00:45:00 --> 00:45:06
			Me being fired from the UFC after that, that's that kind of really renewed my faith. And it made me
pray even more.
		
00:45:07 --> 00:45:50
			But yeah, I think that's the that's the point where I was like, Okay, this is the path for me when I
walked in and I didn't feel like anxious I didn't feel like oh, I want to get out of here like, oh,
I want to you know, throughout my whole life that's kind of how I had been just kind of going
through life. But without that, I knew I was on the right path. Did you see any statues? Idols
icons? Nothing like that. No, no, just just kind of bare minimum stuff. Which for me, it was like
you know, when you when you come from Detroit is the flash just the bling? Is that everything that
kind of attracts people, right? But I'm like, How can all these people in his it's about a good two
		
00:45:50 --> 00:46:30
			300 people? I'm like, How can all these people be so happy and kind of peaceful and being bear the
you know, bears Love is like you said there was no giant statue? There was no, you know, there was
no gold medals or anything sitting up on it. People still they came there religiously. Has anybody
cut like discreetly or have you sent somebody who because as human beings I mean, most people have a
void they they're searching but they're kind of like lost you know, they don't have direction has
anybody kind of hinted to you or anybody that you actually yourself invited to come with me come to
gym or come to the mosque come? You know, see, they're seeing this piece with you. They're seeing
		
00:46:31 --> 00:46:34
			you now taking a new turn in life and they want some of that.
		
00:46:35 --> 00:47:00
			There hasn't been anybody yet. Yeah. Are you open to a lot? Yeah, absolutely. Because someone one of
your peers, someone's you train with him and I want to visit the mosque with you. I absolutely want
them to come with you. Yeah, Inshallah, one day, someone that someone will, but I haven't had that
experience yet. I think that'll be the next Yeah, kind of transformative phases to is to allow
somebody else to experience it and kind of almost experience it again, through their eyes. Yeah.
		
00:47:01 --> 00:47:34
			Yeah, I look forward to teaching my son, the fourth teacher, some of my family, but I haven't felt
that yet. Misconceptions. There's a lot of them at the end of them. There's been so many books,
written people who are opponents of Islam, you know, it's become a big business bashing Islam. So
how has that has anything affected you in this way? So I'm kind of a skeptic, right? And I'm kind of
I see something in automatically. My first thing I've always been wanting to go against the grain.
Yeah. So I feel like if everybody's going this way, I'm going to try and go this way.
		
00:47:35 --> 00:48:20
			And even with Islam, right there, there's 2 billion people that on this planet right now that that
are that are Muslims in in part of me towards it is like, okay, there has to be, there's got to be
something here that that I can kind of go against. So when I'm reading the Quran, and I'm reading
everything, in even things that I'm hearing, I'm seeing videos, I'm seeing all this stuff. There was
nothing that I could point to to say, no. Does that make any sense that there was nothing that I
could ever point to that, that I could refute? Or that I could kind of go against? Or that I could
logic my way out of? that I found in a lot of other religions that this one I just, and I couldn't
		
00:48:20 --> 00:48:36
			and I didn't I don't say that to please other Muslims. I don't say that to please other people. I
just say that, because that has been my experience. And that's what really just to please God, and
really, just to please a lot. Like,
		
00:48:37 --> 00:48:39
			that's just the truth of the matter.
		
00:48:40 --> 00:48:41
			I can't say
		
00:48:42 --> 00:48:49
			the same myself when I when I read the book, and I and I hear and I listen to the book. I can't
understand Arabic, obviously.
		
00:48:50 --> 00:48:56
			But I can't find anything in any English translation that I could refute. I try. Yeah.
		
00:48:58 --> 00:49:01
			I've never seen somebody else do it either. Yeah, I've tried to look up skeptics of it.
		
00:49:02 --> 00:49:25
			I can't find it. Well, let's shift a little bit. We were talking about nutrition. You know, now
you're coming up in weight. And how long have you been taking nutrition serious? Like what do you
like to eat in the morning and you just eat anything just to bulk up or because I was like, I told
you like, I thought you were much smaller man. You're just like, pretty big. Yeah.
		
00:49:26 --> 00:49:32
			You know, yeah, it's it's been about really since since I had left the UFC and when I started
bulking up even more
		
00:49:33 --> 00:49:38
			and do my knee surgeries and stuff like that. I kind of had to take nutrition super serious. Yeah.
		
00:49:41 --> 00:49:57
			I do and I don't I allow myself some some breathing room. I do allow myself some time to relax
because sometimes I feel like you can almost take it a little too. too serious, if that makes sense.
And you can kind of stress yourself out about certain things.
		
00:49:58 --> 00:50:00
			But I make sure
		
00:50:00 --> 00:50:30
			Are everything that I eat is is whole, if that makes sense, like, like, nothing processed this whole
foods and really I've been training and I've been fighting for so long, I've been fighting for 12
years now. So I kind of have been through many different weight cuts and many different diets where
I understand my body. I don't really listen to many other people on their recommendations for food
because we're in a different body.
		
00:50:31 --> 00:51:10
			Some things I've experimented with in terms of food and knowing what agrees with me and what doesn't
and I feel like I've found a good balance. But I don't I kind of refrain myself from giving other
people advice on it because I could tell you something that works for me that doesn't work for you
at all. Yeah, all only thing I can say is just to find a good balance and things and Whole Foods
Whole Foods. I was yeah, that part. I can't Yeah, I learned this term from my nutritionist. Eat real
food avoid this is like just the white but I love real basic. And I stick by that myself eat real
food. Avoid fake food, fake foods, anything that comes with a list of ingredients that you need a
		
00:51:10 --> 00:51:23
			chemistry biology degree to pronounce. So I stay away from that. And I've seen it Yeah, I mean, this
body has been around for hundreds of 1000s of years right? Before people were able to create these
foods and labs and
		
00:51:24 --> 00:51:40
			I think the the most blessed people were eating simple things. I think simple is always better than
Yeah. Than the convoluted. How was a eggs? A big steak? Yes. Sweet potatoes. Avocados
		
00:51:41 --> 00:51:46
			are good with your body. Avocados. I don't really not really. Yeah, not not avocados for me liver.
But
		
00:51:47 --> 00:51:51
			you know, I've been wanting to organ meats lately. organ meat. Yeah, yeah. Liver.
		
00:51:52 --> 00:52:08
			Heart. You seem a little shy to. Yeah, yeah. Because it'd be the most healthiest foods. It is it is
but but for some people, it's kind of like they immediately Yeah, it's a visceral type of reaction,
but just patricius food. It is it and you know,
		
00:52:09 --> 00:52:50
			one of the things Detroit is known for is is it chili, right? Detroit chili, Coney dogs, chili dog,
stuff like that. I found out in college that the secret ingredient to the chili is beef heart. It's
actually a mixture of beef heart and ground beef, which I never really knew. But my mom said that
that was one of the things that she ate when I was when she was pregnant with me. She ate a lot of
chili fries. And a lot of apparently it's a lot of beef heart in there. It's visceral, you know,
kind of the organs of the animal. Which organ meats Do you particularly like most? Kidneys pretty
good. Yeah, yeah. How about liver?
		
00:52:51 --> 00:53:04
			I've had duck liver a few times. duck liver Duck Duck livers. Great. Yeah, Doug. Liver tastes great.
Liver they say is the most nutritious the nutritionally dense food. Like if you want the most bang
for your buck? Yeah. Yeah. I feel like you gotta cook it right though. You know some
		
00:53:05 --> 00:53:15
			onions. What about raw? I never tried to ever try raw. No, you have Yeah, you try brawling? Oh,
yeah. Oh, yeah. He's some raw liver with my brother.
		
00:53:21 --> 00:53:26
			does a body good? hamdulillah it's not bad. Well, it is good. cause liver
		
00:53:28 --> 00:53:33
			mainly lamb or cow. So yeah, cool. Yeah. Wow. Okay. You're braver man than me.
		
00:53:35 --> 00:53:38
			See, it's a mindset if you know, like you're
		
00:53:39 --> 00:54:15
			taught. I mean, if you're persuaded evidence is there that? Okay, this is the most bang for your
buck. And you're not just going to eat something that's going to excite your tastebuds, you're doing
it because now because like a lot of times your program you know, because of all the foods we eat
convenient junk food, fake food, then you know, you're told like this is actually good for your
body. It's nourishing your body is probably I'm in if it's good for me, I'm in I'm gonna try to
program myself to eat that. When you say sheep and lamb liver. I could I could see that more. Yeah,
because it's probably less processed and stuff but but cow liver I'm not not too sure about if it's
		
00:54:15 --> 00:54:30
			humanely raised. Mainly Yes. Not the Yeah, so No, exactly. I like what you said not from
conventional and Okay. All right. Yeah, no, okay. I just want to make Yeah, I just want to be clear
about Yeah, okay, hopefully when you come up down
		
00:54:31 --> 00:54:38
			we have some some land and we got some sheep and goats so Oh, usually have you ever done it
yourself? A lot of animals
		
00:54:40 --> 00:54:46
			that kind of stuff. Yeah, you Yeah, you will take me Oh yeah. All right. Let's go Let's go
		
00:54:49 --> 00:54:51
			We've I got the sheep ready.
		
00:54:54 --> 00:54:59
			I got ready to go. So this is this I love so we talking about the spirit
		
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			So the heart, many people neglect this. And then they go down the road of alcohol, drugs and filling
trying to fill that void. You know of all of these things that just keep you empty. Don't Have you
feel did you feel some kind of did you feel some kind of void comparing making a contrast? Before it
was there? Was that that void? How did that feel? And now, what do you feel compared to back then?
Yeah, I feel like I'm only 30. Right? Yeah. But I feel like I've lived for a long time. And the
first majority of my life was kind of chasing money, power, respect, you know, those are the things
that I was after growing up, like, that's all I really was focused on, get more money, get more
		
00:55:45 --> 00:55:46
			power, and then people will respect you.
		
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			And coming up through fighting, I kind of got those.
		
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			But it didn't it didn't do anything for me. It didn't it didn't satisfy the the more I got, the more
the hunger kind of came out.
		
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			Which can be
		
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			demoralizing a little bit, it can be kind of depressing. When you you're like, Man, I got everything
that I that I dreamed of. Like I got the big contracts I got the house I my mom's Okay. All right, I
did all that. All the stuff that I thought was gonna fill me up. Not now I just want a bigger house
and I just want the I just want more of it. I'm
		
00:56:31 --> 00:56:37
			in it can just lead you on this, this just dark path. Like you said the *, the money, the drugs,
the all that like
		
00:56:38 --> 00:56:44
			dark hole. Yeah. But but but when you get on the right path, which,
		
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			honestly, is a lot of tests through it even. You know, like I said, I got cut from the UFC right
after that. So it's a lot of uncertainty through that. Yeah.
		
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			I feel like I was almost stripped away of all those things. You know, people start respecting me
less people start, you know, I didn't have as much power. didn't have as much money, all that, but
		
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			I feel like God took those things away from me so that I could really feel love, I could really feel
		
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			compassion unity, I can really feel a sense of duty.
		
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			Which, which is a lot bigger than chasing money and power in and women, you know,
		
00:57:32 --> 00:57:46
			a sense of duty for one, that every move that I make, every word that I speak, everything that I do,
is is in the words of a lot, and it's following that path. That gives me a lot more
		
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			feeling of
		
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			fulfillment than than any type of
		
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			money or any amount of money could ever give me. So yeah, it's given me a lot more substantial. Did
it the miracle of life that did that have an impact on you? How many don't know you just had a son?
Yeah. Right. Five months, five months? Not too long ago. He didn't exist. That was but now he's
here.
		
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			Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's, I'm kind of you know, I want to get back to him right now. It's the best thing
in the world. It's It's so amazing. I wish somebody you know, people always scared me into having
kids for some reason.
		
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			If I can give a message to anybody is have some kids especially when you're young man have some some
kids it's so I feel if I would have had him. Me I wasn't the man yet. I wasn't I wasn't ready yet.
But I kind of Yeah, I wish I had younger even I would have been helped some man also mature, not
just living for yourself now. Responsibility and helps, you know, the completion of completing you
way. Yeah, and it gives you just another sense of duty. You know, I think that's, I think that's
what a lot of men are missing. I think that's where our world is kind of going wrong a little bit is
you're taking that duty away from the man
		
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			and you just feel so empty without that you truly think that you need it. And kids is just a built
in way to have it you know, my son, he needs to eat he needs it. I'm the one that has to provide it
from for him so just that alone if he's eating
		
00:59:38 --> 00:59:47
			the rest of life is taken care of what else am I don't have to worry about? I don't have I don't
care about anything else. Other than him being taken care of. Yeah.
		
00:59:49 --> 00:59:53
			It's that's the part that people don't tell you about having kids. I wish someone a
		
00:59:54 --> 01:00:00
			few more minutes where we come to an end. Just your your opinion on and I know this can be a little
bit controversial.
		
01:00:00 --> 01:00:36
			from some people, but you see it over and over the news, you see men because your professional
athletes, this kind of goes with it. You see some men who identify something else and they're
competing in sports for women. And they're winning. Right? And it seems like this is taken away from
from the women who are going into the sports and now they're being deprived because a man is coming
in. Yeah, but he's not a man. So it's confusing now and he's winning the triathlon swimming
competitions. Yeah. Have you heard about these things? Yeah, yeah, of course. Of course. I have
talked about if you don't even in MMA, I mean, yeah, we can. Um, there's certain parts of it that
		
01:00:36 --> 01:01:08
			you do kind of you get nervous to talk about it, right? Because there's mobs of people, but it
doesn't seem like you're that type to like, yeah, I don't really care too much about social media or
anything like that. I care more with what I felt speaking truth in for other people to you know, I
want to see other people do good. I want to see other people I want to see society thrive. Yes. And
in this path that they're trying to go down a man can be a woman and you can you can kind of give
into these delusions and you can you can
		
01:01:09 --> 01:01:32
			supplement these these mental illnesses. I mean, that's let's be honest, that's what it is. Even if
you ask the person themselves, they'll tell you I'm mentally ill. Something's wrong with me. Why do
we these days buy into that? Why do we say that? That's good? Why are we teaching children? This?
Why are we sexualizing? Children? That's the
		
01:01:33 --> 01:01:49
			That's the craziest thing in the world. Why is that? Okay? Why does anybody that's, that's an able
bodied adult, feel like it's okay to talk about a child's sexual orientation sexual anything? Why is
it * and children in the same sentence?
		
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			It's so mind boggling to me that more people don't say how wrong this is. And so many people attack
people who who come out against it, it's pure evil. If sexualizing children is an evil than then I
don't know what is. I mean, it's the purest evil that I that I can think of.
		
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			In allowing people to do this, and allowing people to mean children and, and give into this stuff is
just, it's just wrong. It's just flat out wrong is, and a lot of we've been talking about is Islam
and you know, things being allowed and not allowed. And if we truly believe this is the word of God,
and we know that this is the word of God, why would you not listen to what God is telling you?
You're going to hear him and then look the other way and say, Okay, I'm gonna do what I want to do.
		
01:02:50 --> 01:03:31
			It's the most insane thing in the world to me, and I don't think Earth has a big enough punishment
for people that that decide to do that. Yeah, and I think many people when they see the mob
attacking a small group, attacking people who come out to say, look, leave our children alone. Do
your thing in your bedroom. Keep that over there for yourself. But leave our children alone. Which
should be obvious, apparently is not apparently it's not. Yeah, I feel like that should be the most
basic obvious thing. You You have a right to defend yourself. You have a right to defend the people
that you love, especially defenseless people. Speaking about children is defenseless. They don't
		
01:03:31 --> 01:03:41
			they don't know anything. They only know what we tell them. And if we tell them right off the bat,
that it's okay, if you want to be a little girl. If you're a boy, it's okay. It's okay. All right.
Yeah, for sure. If you
		
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			it's, it's it's so crazy. And even when you hear the arguments of all genders is a social construct.
Many things are a social construct, we still abide by them.
		
01:03:56 --> 01:04:07
			This building that we're sitting in at one point was a social construct. We're still here. Why is
that an argument? I don't understand if gender is a social construct it
		
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			okay, it's true.
		
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			All right.
		
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			I don't understand any of the arguments for this type of dysphoria that a lot of people will
experience. And it's nice is refreshing when you when you have and like we started out talking about
Islam, you know, or even the Bible makes this clear. You know, the Quran makes this clear how God
Almighty Allah created us, the man and the woman, the man is not like the woman you know, these are,
this is something that is from the beginning of time, right? So people in position like yours and
others, you know, you can be the person who even has strong feelings against his but if you're
silent, then what happens, you know, the voices of that minority become the majority and next thing
		
01:04:53 --> 01:05:00
			you know, the kids again, sexualized, right, nobody stood up to defend the little ones, you know,
which was I feel
		
01:05:00 --> 01:05:15
			Like, here's what we've done in the last couple years, the strong men who really kind of know right
from wrong and know their own experience and are in our true to it, we've kind of stayed quiet and
kind of let the monkeys run the zoo.
		
01:05:16 --> 01:05:58
			It's been it's been a lot of that nobody's really. I'm not gonna say nobody's had the balls to stand
up for it. But you see Piers Morgan talking a little, I don't know if you've been on Piers Morgan.
He's the British. Yeah, okay. He's talking up and you can see him. Yeah, nice. Yeah, there's a few
people and I feel like now we're finally starting to stand up for him. Because we're just starting
to see it's if you let people do to their own devices, someone who is evil, who will kind of take
advantage of people will do that. And we have a duty not to let that happen. And not just get
devolved into our own world, which I feel like a lot of a lot of men are doing right now, at least
		
01:05:58 --> 01:06:40
			strongmen you know, we kind of, you know, you can be the kingdom of your own, of your own forces
around you. And you can kind of get sucked into that and forget about the greater overall purpose of
society, which, for me, I want to see society thrive for many, many generations. And not just in the
next couple of years, do you feel that's also part of being being a man being someone who's
courageous, not just being courageous to fight in because it takes a lot of courage to fight in this
cage, but to go ahead and speak the truth against, that's actually harder to be honest with you.
It's harder, because because sometimes you don't know, if you're, if, if how you fill in now is
		
01:06:40 --> 01:07:19
			going to change in the future. Like I said, Phyton is it is what it is, it's a it's a moment, it's a
snapshot of Time, time. But I think one thing that that the internet is kind of teaching us is, is
some of this stuff is going to live forever. So it's, it's kind of you have to make sure you're on
the right path before you say something. Because in the next few years, things could be different.
And if it changed, so I think it's actually more courageous. When people stand up and they speak.
It's, it's more courageous to do that, then then to step in a cage and fight. And this is why one of
the reasons we do the deen show because it's out of the love, we go ahead and share this message.
		
01:07:20 --> 01:07:57
			And people who are even going down this path, I truly believe it's because they don't have the
guidance of the Creator. And that door is open for them to for everybody. You know, because God
Almighty Allah is the one dude, he's the most loving, the Most Merciful. So, if you want to do live
a good, wholesome, pure life, you will come to the way of life that was real for the Creator heavens
and earth, the way of life that you're upon. And as bringing that solace and peace and Shala
continues to you keep living it and you can be a good inspiration and motivation for others. And
what would closing now, what advice would you give for maybe a person who was going down the street,
		
01:07:57 --> 01:08:30
			the path also maybe they lost a fight, they lost the battle, whatever. And now, they're also taking
some of these pills. And they may be even contemplating taking their light, whatever the case, and
they're just tuning in now. And they're listening to you, you know, and then they're, they've been
hearing the term Islam and whatnot, and you're, they're a fan of yours. And there, they want to
hear, what advice would you give them, the only advice I can give is just not to give up not to give
up to keep pushing, keep pushing, don't, don't give up.
		
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			Eventually, Allah will come to you, in whatever shape or form that is. Just don't give up. Don't,
don't lose yourself. Don't Don't.
		
01:08:41 --> 01:09:13
			Don't think just because you are this way today that you're gonna be this way forever. I think you
never know what's going to happen. You can't give up, you keep going. Even if you gave up yesterday,
keep going today. And tomorrow, and the next day and the next day. Just don't don't give up you
never, we never really know what this world is going to go to going to enforce. But we know if we if
we can stay on the right path that that eventually all those love will will be there in the end.
Beautiful any other closing comments, anything where people can look you up?
		
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			Don't really know just get ready for my fight in in July. And I think
		
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			I kind of will let the fight be a be a representation of who I am at the moment.
		
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			That's why that's a lot of the reasons why I've stayed shy off of saying too much. I want to show
everything through actions, and then I'll be able to be last. God Almighty bless you. Inshallah, let
me
		
01:09:42 --> 01:09:59
			look at me as your older brother. I'm here for you to help you along your journey. Anything you
need. I'm a phone call away. Thank you. And when we get down here permanently, we're not too far
away either. So I shall look forward to having you here back when we finish up everything. Yeah, I
gotta come back in like six months. Once this place is it's gonna be beautiful. It's gonna be a nice
		
01:10:00 --> 01:10:28
			Nice spot as you guys said up here, yes, blessing Hamdulillah you too. Thank you so much my brother.
I cannot leave without giving you a gift if you're not yet Muslim and you tune in and see what these
Muslims are talking about, and you'd like a free copy of the Quran, go and visit the deen show.com.
We'll take care of the postage and everything and get it delivered to you. And if you still have
some questions about Islam, call us at 1-800-662-4752 We'll see you next time until then, Peace be
with you as salaam alaikum