UFC lightweight Jared Gordon returns to New York City to retrace his incredible journey from homelessness and addiction – to …
[Music] hello and welcome to UFC connected I’m Megan olivy and here’s what’s coming up on today’s show Jared Gordon retraces his Incredible Journey from addiction and adversity to the biggest stage in MMA the city can make you or break you I used to shoot heroin in p station underneath this building now I’m fighting in it and knocking guys out you can do anything you want we get a glimpse Inside the Mind of Cory sandhagen and his approach to the fight game I fight because it is in my soul what keeps me fighting is just this idea that I haven’t found the best version of myself yet and we pay homage to Amanda Nunez the greatest woman’s champion of all time she has done things that no one has done in the UFC first ever Brazilian Women’s Champion first gay UFC champion and first double division women’s champion she’s the greatest of all time in the midst of UFC 295 at the iconic Madison Square Garden lightweight Contender Jared Gordon realized a dream achieving victory in the very same building where he had faced some of his most formidable challenges proving to be a fighter beyond the Octagon the New York City native shares his inspirational Journey from the streets to the Garden in fighter [Music] Focus New York City a City without a comp in the world we are in the Big Apple for what has become an annual November showcase this is the place to see MMA this is the most iconic arena in all of Combat Sports history and tonight is a special night I have deep roots in New York City the city can make make you or break you for me it did both I would walk by the garden and look up at it and think to myself one day I would fight there and win just like my grandfather did Jared gour a total inspiration and what he’s dealt with on route to this UFC appearance tonight is nothing short of extraordinary if I having the opportunity to fight here in New York City mean something to Jared Gordon I was going to have my Madison Square Garden moment oh heard him m is down that’ll do it he got it New York New York you made me my grandfather fought in the stadium four times I used to shoot heroin in Penn Station underneath this building now I’m fighting in it and knocking guys out you can do anything you want my whole family were New Yorkers through and through fighting in drugs running my family and we have a deep history with it both my grandfather is salvator forell he grew up here in Harlem he was a pro boxer he fought mostly in and around New York City he had some pretty big fights aggressive spidery looking near the end of the first round now and he almost FL him then the Challenger has been forcing all the way Not only was my grandfather a pro boxer but he was also a bit of a gangster my grandfather was involved with organized crime and he was dealing heroin at the time he died young he died drinking smoking all the way to the Grave he didn’t have the tools to get the help that he needed to have a fruitful life I was born in Manhattan and I spent the first half of my life in Rosen Heights Rosen Heights is very affluent neighborhood on the North Shore of Long Islands my father did very well he was a blue collared guy he owned a Wholesale Hardware company he started as a mom and pop and then grew it into a corporation I lived in a big lofty house with a pool and we had three cars I had everything that a kid could ask for my parents gave us everything that we wanted 8 years old I went to a sleep away camp in Pennsylvania I was sexually assaulted there by a male counselor I can remember the the pain sounds smells The Taste and those are [Music] like those feelings will never go away and will forever be etched in my memory it was a really really dark time for me I remember coming home from Camp that summer I would get like a flashback of when it happened to me I always remember thinking like I don’t want to think about this like I don’t want to feel this so drugs became an easy way for me to to numb the pain when I started doing different drugs I was 9 years old I was really young first was Weed and Alcohol everything I did was to bury my feelings I just wanted it to go away we ended up moving to a story of Queens I’m in a urban area complete culture shock I had to start over in a new high school I was off most of the kids that I was friends with and that I was hanging out with were all you know kind of like Knuckleheads and my buddy was like yo let’s go box let’s go to the boxing gym The Ultimate Fighter had just premiered Stephan boner Faris Griffin it’s got been the craziest War I think I’ve ever seen and I just fell in love with the sport man what a finish I started training MMA and I hurt my neck I wanted the pain to go away I took some biking in and that quickly led me to like full-blown opiate addiction I was 22 when I went to my first Treatment Center I met two guys in there they showed me how to use needles and I had my first bundle of heroin when I started using IV drugs my life quickly deteriorated there’s no functionality in shooting drugs your life quickly gets out of control eventually I came back home to Queens there came a point in time where my parents weren’t going to enable me anymore it’s either you get help or you get out of our house and I would be like all right then I’ll get out and I would be on the street trying to figure it out at first it was like selling drugs but then my addiction got so bad I became my best customer I would take the subway from Queens and I would always get off at Pen Station I would find areas to get high in I would find a bathroom and I would use the stall to get highend I go in there with my needles and I would shoot up in there there came a point in time where I was pan handling that was obviously on my lowest I would do anything to get money stealing from stores robbing drug dealers I did get arrested once for home invasion robbery felony battery and I was facing 25 to life having MMA in my life was like an anchor for me and it gave me a purpose like I knew I wanted to be in UFC I was using when I was an amateur but when I made my Pro debut I was sober for about a month I got it done out I won my Pro debut I was training and fighting and winning fights Jared unloading might be able to finish here the only way that I was winning fights was if I was sober had a big fight in Atlantic City and I broke my orbital oh I said that and that could be it with that overhand right from L doctor stopped it due to the swelling I had emergency surgery and spent the next 5 days in the hospital they’re giving me morphine for a week and all my recovering Heron addict I came out and I [Music] relapsed on Christmas Eve of 2015 I had my third and final overdose I went to a motel and went on like the Bender of my life what I gather is that I crashed into a desk with a lamp and I made a bunch of noise and the neighbors had called the front desk or the cops and the cops came up to the room they brought me to the hospital right here I fell asleep at the hospital for about 12 hours I woke up the next day I went to detox that night and I’ve been sober ever since that was my last run I used so hard I just came to the point where I was done I couldn’t do it anymore I Was Defeated MMA definitely was a reason for me to stay sober I love competing I love the sport of MMA it gave me a reason to stay disciplined and to not use or relapse I just want to be happy man with great honor to be able to bestow this black belt on him today and Jared Gordon if you could please come [Music] [Applause] forward I carry the suffering and the torture that I put myself through into my training and into my fights a year into my sobriety I fought bill alio on the Dana White looking for a fight show Dana White was in the crowd scouting me this is the one Dana the pressure was definitely on this could be my big moment holy I love the way he pressed the action I was impressed with him I did a great job I won the fight it’s all good what do you think you want to do this I’m born for this you want to do this need to do this have to do this yeah you’re in your Prime right now got a good record I’ll call you thank you sir we got a deal brother thanks all right Jared Flash Gordon making the walk for his UFC debut he tweeted last week 18 months ago I was shooting Kraken heroin in a motel by Queensbridge projects now I’m signed to the UFC hashtag anything is possible I’ve been through a lot of situations I’ve been in places that are far worse than any other feeling that I’ve ever felt you come to a point in a fight where you’re like should I throw the towel in and I’ve never even contemplated that in my life and I think I get that from all the suffering that I went through Jared Gordon trying to finish this fight and there is it Jared Flash Gordon a winner in his UFC debut being able to persevere and get through all that definitely correlates into fighting you you could be the Hammer of the now you can be humiliated or you can be celebrated good shot to the body excellent work there’s no high like it there’s no drug like it Jared Gordon spoke about how this fills the void oh nice shot by Jared Gordon oh oh he h him mson is down yeah that’ll do it he got New York moment for Jared Flash Gordon wow New York City it’s a huge part of who I am now that I fought a Madison Square Garden and one fashionable style the next step is getting ranked that become a champion life is amazing now every day I wake up and I’m so happy to be alive no matter how far down the hole you think you are or what you’re struggling with there’s always light at the end of the tunnel the main thing that you can do is find your higher power because at one point or another you can’t rely on anything else you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it and have a little faith in [Applause] [Music] God it’s been said that some people are just born to fight and when it comes to Bantam way Contender Cory sandhagen that sentiment could not be trer sandhagen has dedicated his life to being the best martial artist that he can be and this drive for greatness is evident every time he steps foot inside the Octagon we sat down with the Colorado native to better understand his cerebral approach to All Things fighting in warrior code I fight because it is in my soul some people like doing math some people like playing the piano I don’t know what drives people to their passion but for me fighting is in my soul oh my goodness what keeps me me fighting is just this idea that I haven’t found the best version of myself yet enter the sandman I have really high Ambitions and with these high Ambitions comes this drive to figure out how great I can be his focus is so narrow on putting everything he has into achieving the very highest level in the sport of mixed martial arts I think that there’s a couple different types of people I think that there’s people that want to live life and have MMA be a part of it and then I think that there’s people that want to live MMA and have life be a part of it and I’m one of those guys that wants to live MMA and have life be a part of it it feels like your sacrificing life in order to achieve something great I’ve given all of my energy and love to the the sport there aren’t a lot of things that I like to do other than to get better at the gym and learn things about myself that are going to help me in the gym and also help me in [Music] life when’re you’re in the back and someone comes back and opens the door and yells Cory you’re on Deck let’s go in that moment nothing is going on in my brain except for just say go walk walk walk I can walk into that cage and I found a something inside of me that can go out there and be fearless and not care about anything other than winning I know what it’s about to be I know how ugly it can get and I’m prepared for it while I might be nervous during that day on that night I’m walking into that cage Fearless I don’t really remember a lot of my fights it’s a lot of your body just doing what your body was trained to do along with putting yourself in the mind state that you need to be in which is in my opinion a pretty violent and ready for anything type of Mind State he’s got pretty good everything this kid is really talented a lot of the fight just happens a lot of the preparation of the fight is an area for you to think about in an area for you to reflect on because it will make a big difference in how you go and run that program later all of the greats have created themselves into greats it’s through hard work and love that you become great you have to walk into that cage and want to win more than the other person you can have all the technical skill in the world you could be the strongest athlete you could be the best conditioned athlete but if you walk into that cage and you don’t want to win more than the other person I’m going to bend my money on the person that wants to win more every single time Cory sandhagen against the veteran Yuri alcanta oh oh alcanta catches the youngster wow right down to the bat now looking for an arm bar in the Yuri alcantar fight when I was in an arm bar and my arm was getting torn off and Yuri was punching me in my head and blood is getting in my ey so everything is really blurry it was never like oh man this sucks oh man this hurts it was how do I get out of this so I can win this fight to me that’s what hard is he’s out my goodness and now Cory sandhagen will work up top in such a high pressure situation like fighting to overcome that look past it and still be able to fight that is not an easy thing and uh not to to my own horn but I think that that’s something that I displayed very well against Alcantara Cory sh haen it’s pretty animalistic to get that win you train as hard as you can you beat your body up you don’t give your energy to anything else you don’t get to do a lot of things because you’re resting and when you get your hand raised it feels like you earn something that money can’t buy that no one can really take from you that that other person couldn’t take from you so when you get the win feels like everything that you worked for was accomplished why hailed as the Undisputed goat in women’s MMA the Lioness Amanda Nunes left her mark on the sport the two division Champions historic career extended Beyond her performances and inspired the next generation of female Fighters the UFC’s current crop pays their dues to the Lioness in this edition of [Music] icons the Lioness Amanda Nunes she’s the greatest of all time no question about the most dang dangerous she can submit you on the ground she can knock you dead on the feet she’s such an amazing athlete Amanda Nunes is the goat she’s paved the way in women’s MMA she has done things that no one has done in the UFC I mean a 12 fight win streak how many fighters in the UFC have that how many fighters in a championship level have that Ronda Rousey originally set the bar for women and she set it very very high she was the first first woman to kick down the doors and show the world what women were capable of and Amanda Nunes has raised that bar even higher she’s put us on the map you know she’s made some noise she’s you think of Amanda and you think oh my God like that’s that’s a tough that’s a tough girl when you think about the Pioneers the PO of Famers the dominant athletes Amanda Nunes is definitely up there you know you can’t think of MMA without saying Amanda Nunes Amanda’s the idol isn’t she she’s probably most female Fighters dream to [Music] Big it’s Amanda nudes earlier in her career like when she was an Invicta she wasn’t the Lioness that she is now I wonder it oh big slam and then she really found her stride and I feel like she started to flourish it is all over her is stop she always worked hard you know never let the losses Define her and continued to make progress until she got to the top and took over her ability to be able to perform despite the odds and not only just be able to win but be able to beat specialists at their own game there’s the T it is Amanda NZ has done it she’s beat the woman who’s beat the woman who’s beat the woman who’s beat the woman we are in Las Vegas the fight capital of the world serves as the backdrop for the biggest night in UFC history I fought Amanda at UFC 200 and we had yet to discover as MMA fans and Fighters the kind of Amanda Nunes that was on the horizon she really came with a lot of ferocity in that fight she was very powerful Amanda delivers a type of power that’s rarely seen across the women’s divisions she packed a punch man huge first round for the Brazilian trying to finish Misha she’s got the choke all over Amanda Nunes it’s the first female Brazilian UFC champion Amanda the lion from that point she made history it is the biggest fight for any woman in the 135 lb division Ronda Rousey is the female MMA Superstar here we go nunz utilizing that reach early mixing things up oh she tagged her she tagged her again she Hur her big it’s it it’s it it’s all over just wow I felt like that was the most memorable fight of hers for me that fight was like a a big [Applause] statement oh huge hat kick for nunz H that’s it Amanda nunz Queen of the it was amazing to watch her go in there and just stay very composed and aggressive and do her thing my favorite amand in’s moment was definitely the cyborg knockout cuz nobody expected [Applause] it chis C she came in as an underdog and dominated and knocked out Chris cyborg who was one of the most dominant female athletes for quite some time it cemented the fact that women are here to stay and we can do it just as good as the men Amanda nunz now owns two UFC divisions Amanda Nunes has revolutionized women’s MMA she gave all of us hope that we can come into the sport and we can be respected and looked at as athletes not as a face but as a fighter as a true mixed martial artist such a role model for women’s MMA she’s a wonderful person she couldn’t be nicer [Applause] I feel like she is a great leader an example for any woman coming up in the sport to follow in the path I feel like aanda influences a lot of young Fighters because it shows that anyone can do anything you want you you can be a small girl from a small town that’s considered an outcast and be the greatest of all time and she proved that she did [Applause] it there’s no doubt in my mind Amanda BLS in the UFC Hall of Fame it’s really been the way she’s done it that has set a new standard on which all future Champions will be judged she has done things that no one has done in the UFC first ever Brazilian Women’s Champion first gay UFC champion and first double division women’s champion she’s the greatest of all time I think Amanda Nunes has shown the world just how talented and how skillful and how tough women can really be in this sport she’s made herself into the greatest of all time 12 wins in a row and winning two belts and beating all the legends that she beat that were in front of her she had proved everything that she needed to prove in the sport so I understand why she walked away I’m leaving thank you Amanda nz’s Legacy will be the first and alltime [Applause] [Music] go well that’s all for this episode but we we will see you next time right here on UFC connected thanks so much for [Music] watching