Megan Olivi on Her UFC & NFL Journeys, Family & Following Her Dreams

What's up guys?

This is In the Corner with Destiny McCuben.

I'm Doug Vasquez.

I am super excited to introduce today's guest.

She is a gold standard in sports broadcasting, UFC broadcasting, and women in sports.

The one and only Megan Oliy.

Hi.

Oh my God, not me crying already.

That's really nice.

Thank you.

Of course, of course, we got to give the proper introduction.

I totally think you are one of the.

So it's an honor to have you here in the corner.

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad to be here.

You guys are so lovely, and that's like a really nice compliment.

So thank you.

Of course.

And how are things?

I know you were busy, busy, busy.

You know, you're still working, doing the UFC.

You've got NFL coming also in your mom era.

So how are things?

Yeah, things are busy, but it's everything I ever prayed for in my life.

Um, my son just turned one, and he's healthy, so we have everything.

Um, everything else is just extra, so I'm very fortunate that I have a great job with UFC with people that I love, and yes, NFL season is around the corner, so just getting ready for that, which is so fun, and, but So different and so demanding in a very different way than the UFC role is.

So just trying to kind of wrap my head around it.

I did it last year, but I was about 7 weeks postpartum when the season started, and I have very little recollection of a lot of those early games.

So like, hopefully this goes better, yeah.

I'm definitely, I'm glad you brought that up.

I definitely want to get into the NFL, your NFL career.

Is it when it's, when the NFL is off, is it kind of like a nice little break because obviously UFC is never off, right?

Yeah, which a lot of people like don't really understand.

Like we don't have a season.

Um, yeah, and there's zero offseason for us, um.

It's weird when NFL first ends, you're like, oh, and I think for me it's a little bittersweet because I don't do playoff games or the Super Bowl.

Obviously that's something I'm working towards, hopefully one day in my career, but, um, so it's a little bittersweet because you're still watching football and then like by the time the Super Bowl comes around, you're like, I wanna do it.

Yeah, I miss it.

And then of course we all go through the, the football drought where we're like, oh God, when is Sunday is coming back, like make Sundays exciting again.

Um, but it's been really nice to kind of breathe out, especially then to do double duty is a lot for me.

Um, I do it often through the season, but, um, it, it is, it is very difficult, and so to not have to do that for a few months does make things a bit easier.

I can imagine for sure.

What's the, uh, NFL?

What's your, where's your NFL fandom lay?

I know.

You have to be unbiased being on the sideline, but, well, I grew up a New York Giants fan, massive Giants fan, um, and I felt like it was really full circle and kind of maybe like a sign from God.

My first NFL game was kind of by accident.

Um, the executives at Fox, because UFC had their partnership with Fox, they had called me.

The season had already begun and they were like, hey, um, do you wanna do a game?

We have an opening.

And I was like, Yes, and so, um, you know, eventually I got the UFC's approval and I did the game and they were like, if you don't mess up, you'll get to do more games, and, um, the, yes, exactly, exactly, but it was a Giants game at the Houston Texans, and you know, in college I wore an Eli Manning jersey, you know, we went to the parade when they won the Super Bowl.

I'm dating myself of how old I am, but, uh, but he was my first postgame interview and it was just like everything to me and You know, he couldn't have been kinder and more professional to a young super nervous reporter who was a novice and, you know, in the atmosphere, cause the NFL has a lot of unique rules as to like where reporters can go, what they can do, what they can say.

And so, um, he was so great, and that kind of kicked everything off on a really nice foot.

Wow.

What was that like, you know, you're, you grew up a New York Giants fan, Peyton Manning fan, and that's your first, uh, debut into the NFL.

Was that just like so nerve-wracking and exciting?

Yeah, it was all of the emotions you could possibly have in one afternoon.

It was just like, oh my God, OK, Eli's here.

I love him.

OK, be professional.

Also, you have this crazy opportunity, but then You know, what people don't really think about is like everyone can watch the UFC when it comes to NFL games unless you have a package, you're not gonna see the game except what's in your local area.

So my parents could actually see that game because it was in their area.

My friends and family are gonna watch the Giants on Sundays, and they got to see that Giants game, and it just so.

Happened it was with me and so it was like all these extra special feelings all in one.

Amazing.

So where you're at now, obviously you probably don't, you, you know, you met so many people, you probably don't fangirl as much, but back then were you fangirling over him and like, were you able to control it?

Did he notice?

Yeah, no, I don't, I wouldn't say really in in athletically, I wouldn't say like I fangirl over anybody even like early on in my career.

I think because it's almost like you're just so in awe of like .

Everyone's athletic accomplishments that when they give you their time, you just kind of wanna absorb everything they're saying.

So it was more just kind of like, I guess, I guess I was kind of like back in my college days of like we, I remember watching the Super Bowl, you know, with all of us, and we, our school gave us the day off to go to the Super Bowl parade.

So it's like those kind of things that like gave me those special feelings more than like him being in front of me because I think you're also so terrified and you're just like, do not mess this up.

Like don't mess this up.

You said it was a short notice call.

Were you, were you, were you kind of, did you know that it was coming?

So were you kind of already ready, or was it just like, oh wow?

No, I had no idea.

It was, I think it was week 3 of the NFL.

I ended up doing week 3 and week 4, and then I did a, a couple of games later in the season, um, with the same crew.

No, I had no idea.

It was, it wasn't even on my radar in any capacity.

It was just like, oh, I did well enough to prove myself in the.

UFC sphere with Fox that they were like, well, we know somebody who might be able to do this game and you just never know when an opportunity is gonna come across your plate.

Um, I mean that first game I didn't know where I could stand.

I didn't know anything.

I didn't know how to get a coach at halftime to figure it out.

Was it kind of like, uh, I mean, you're obviously married to a fighter and come for it was like a short notice fight for you at that point, right?

And you just, you say yes no matter what and figure.

Way down I was ready, you know, yeah, exactly, exactly.

And obviously with fighters, you know, like the flyweight division, they're, they're smaller, so you don't always need your box.

But with the NFL, do you always need your little box?

Well, that traditionally you don't have one because you're like running, literally running around, but now we do, um, the NFL kind of changed some things for us.

So now we do a lot of pregame interviews, and the first few, I, I didn't have a box, and finally I was like, you guys.

Can I please get an Apple box?

Like this is insane.

Yeah, I mean, I'm doing some interviews and I'm just like this.

I look like a child and I'm not.

Like they're kids.

They're in their twenties, you know, uh, but no, now it comes with me for pregame for sure.

Awesome.

I'm glad you got to go to those parades too, because I am a New England Patriots fan and we should have been the ones going to the parade.

I'm very sorry.

We'll move on, yeah, he lied too though.

I definitely want to dive into life before the UFC, you know, like how it all kind of began.

You, you majored in, in political science, is that right?

Obviously very different from what you're doing now.

So how did, how, what made you go that route, and then how did you get to like turning into broadcasting?

Yeah, I think I was just always curious about like international relations and how our country exists within the world.

My brother went to the Naval Academy.

He's 10 years older than me, so he was actively serving in the military at that point.

Um, and so I obviously was keeping a close eye on everything because that, you know, could impact my brother's life.

And so, um, yeah, I just took an interest to how campaigns are made and what makes someone, uh, relate to a certain nominee and, and what makes them.

Connect with an audience and so I was really interested in that and so I just thought, oh, OK, I like this.

I'll, I'll, I'll try and pursue it and I went to school right outside of New York City, so it was very cool to have like a lot of hands-on experience.

You got to see not just the media markets, but just, you know, New York, yes, of course, is not the capital of our nation, but a lot of things move in that city, um, and so that was the plan.

Um, but I always loved sports.

It's my first love in life.

I come from an athletic family.

I always played sports.

Everyone in my family played and watched sports, and, um, I just got like really annoying, I think, to everyone I interned with, and they were like, Why don't you do something in sports for a living?

Like why are you doing this?

I'm like, I don't know.

But I had like a pretty poor preconceived notion of Women in sports or women on television, and unfortunately, you know, that kind of stuck with me for a while.

I was like, oh, they, they must not know.

Somebody must tell them what to say.

Or whatever it might be, and I, I just also didn't even think about it as a possibility.

Not that I didn't think I was capable.

I just didn't even think about it.

Like it didn't exist to me.

Um, and so I started my junior and senior year of college.

I started kind of looking into stuff.

I was like, I, I might be able to do this.

So I did go to graduate school to make sure I had a degree to back up what I wanted to do.

And yeah, I just started interning and, and step by step, and those steps were very little in the beginning, but Still took them.

When you say you didn't know it was a possibility, was it because maybe at the time there wasn't many women doing it?

Yeah, for sure.

I mean, you had legends who are still incredible talents in the game, Pam Oliver, Andrea Kramer, um, you know, Robin Roberts, and, but like.

You just didn't ever think you could be them because I think they were so few and far between, um, and their opportunities were pretty few and far between, um, and so I think I was, I was just like, oh yeah, well she does that so nobody else can, do you know what I mean, like that's her job, um, and so yeah, it just, it just, it didn't equate in my brain, not that like they weren't showing me it was possible because they certainly did.

I just never thought, oh, I could do that too, right, right.

And when did your love for storytelling come about?

Was that always something you had?

I think we like to say it's like an Olivi trait.

Like the Olivis love to talk, um, and so I think like my dad would always just strike up conversation with anyone around him and like would find out like really fascinating things in like 2 seconds, um, and I think like everyone in my family has a little bit of that where they want to make people feel comfortable and talk to them and make them feel like they belong, but also like .

Share, you come from an Italian family, right?

Oh that culture, yes, yes, and so I think that's like where it came from.

We always just say like, oh, that's the Olivi genetics kicking in.

You mentioned your athletic background, always like around sports.

I, I think Destiny did some research.

Your grandfather was a boxer and your brothers wrestled.

Is that where your love of combat sports kind of kind of came from?

Yeah, without even like really putting it together, it was kind of like my, my grandfather was a Navy champion boxer.

His brother was a professional boxer, and then my brother was a very, very high-level wrestler and in the state of Pennsylvania, which is, you know, kind of the mecca for wrestling.

And so those, those sports were in the forefront of my daily life.

And so I knew everything about wrestling, including freestyle, Greco-Roman, and, you know, helping out at tournaments and doing everything I can from the time I'm a little kid.

And so that was always front and center for us.

And so it never registered as like, oh, these are combat sports.

It was just like these are the sports in my household, and I think it just helped tremendously because I also think there's something to be said about.

Being raised like around a wrestling mat or a boxing ring where you see certain things like, you know, there's constantly blood time or whatever it might be and you're just like, OK, you know, you're kind of like a little bit numb to it by the time you're like 8, you know, um, and it kind of helps a little bit to understand what, um, What is a little bit on the surface of things and what is, you know, deep, deeper importance in terms of injury or taking care of one's body or whatever it might be.

And so, yeah, that was just, that was just that baseball and football were just constantly in rotation in front of me.

OK, so before you even got to, you know, the MMA world, you kind of already understood the grit that goes behind it, and you, you've seen the weight cuts and, and those types of things.

Oh yeah, I mean, my brother used to tell my parents the route he was running.

Because it would be the middle of the summer and it was freestyle wrestling season and he was in all his winter clothes running to cut weight and he would tell them, hey, in case I pass out, like this is where I'm running.

So that wasn't weird to me.

So what, like when I met you when you get back , yeah, like when I met Joseph and like, you know, he's talking about how he has to eat to prepare, you know, his body for a weight cut or whatever it might be like none of that was weird to me, and I think that that kind of also helps in the space where you Already have this base of understanding, and I saw my brother at a very young age have that dedication.

Um, and my whole family would get on board.

Nobody's like, Oh, eat this, eat that.

Like everybody was on board, and I think that's like an important standard to kind of carry, whether it's professionally or personally.

Absolutely.

And you said you did sports as well.

What, what sports did you play?

Yeah, so I did gymnastics, um, and then I played softball my entire life.

So it's kind of, yeah, kind of like two very different sports.

Um, I'm sad.

I would have loved to play soccer or something, but that wasn't really big where I'm from at the time, um, but yeah.

Those were my two.

Those were everything to me.

If I, I mean, I have the size, right?

I'm only 5 ft tall for gymnastics, so it kind of came supernaturally to me as a young kid, and then, um, softball was always just super fun and because I love the Yankees so much, it was like my way to be on the Yankees.

Since you grew up around, you know, your brother wrestled, your grandparents' box, was combat never something that stroke, like striked your interest?

No, um, and I think, you know, part of that comes from like where I went to school and kind of how I was raised.

Um, I'm not sure if this is still the rule or not, but I went to um Catholic school, and so if you were on the wrestling team and you were supposed to wrestle a girl from another team, you actually had to forfeit if you were a guy.

Um, they didn't allow them to wrestle each other, so I would wrestle on the mats as a really young kid, but once I hit a certain age, my parents are like, OK, that's good enough.

You're, you're done now.

Um, and so it was super fun, and I would, we had wrestling mats in my basement, um, because my brother practiced day in and day out 24/7, and so I'd wrestle down there, whatever it might be, but there was never a time.

Where I thought about crossing over, and I think again, it was one of those things where to me, it wasn't a possibility.

That was something that I saw, I, I saw my brother have to forfeit because there was, there was like a super good girl from New Jersey, that if he was gonna wrestle her, he, he couldn't.

Um, and so for me it just was like I can't do this now.

Obviously things have evolved and changed and women's wrestling is like the fastest growing sport in the United States, um, which is unbelievable and so long overdue, and I think sometimes like who would I be if it was, you know what I mean?

If I was young now, like, oh man, yeah, yeah.

Have you been following the RAF stuff because that's kind of taking off obviously there's a lot of crossover with UFC there.

I think RAF is awesome.

Um, the best man from our wedding, Lance Palmer, he's actually heavily involved, um, with RAF and so we love Lance so much and we just think like wrestling, I think is the best thing any kid can do.

Um, and so to have something that kids can watch so easily and it's so often, right?

It's not like NCAA tournament is, is once a year or Final X is once a year.

This is something kids can tune into.

They can go to, they can watch, they can see the example, and also, it's not, not everybody's a traditional wrestler that competes, and I think that's so great.

I love what RAF is doing in so many different ways.

Izzy is one of the greatest guys ever and obviously his involvement, Chall's involvement.

I mean, I think, I think they're doing it so brilliant.

I'm so happy for their success.

Absolutely.

Did you see they're having a show here in Vegas in October?

Oh, I didn't see that October 3rd.

Yeah, I know.

Finally, so exciting.

Yeah, I'm, and, and what a good city for it because this is a city that's also started to really embrace wrestling as well.

Um, so I think it's great.

I don't know if you guys saw this, but like Kirk Cousins, who's now on the Raiders, his kids wrestle.

He basically said like, uh, you know, obviously I want them to play whatever sports they want, and football is great, but there's no better sport than wrestling.

And so now I'm gonna have to tell him, gotta go to RAF.

Gotta bring your kids.

Yeah, it's a regret of mine.

I played other sports in high school, but just the discipline involved.

And still, I have friends that were wrestlers, and they're some of the most disciplined people I know.

So they say they're the best, like that college athletes are the best employees, like college athletes and veterans, and then they say that if you kind of narrow it down, that it's wrestlers that make the best employees too, because I think they, they just learn so much at a young age, that will be a non-negotiable for Vito.

He doesn't have to be good and he doesn't have to like it, but you will.

Wrestle that is the same for me too.

I think that I always tell people if there's anything you're gonna get your kids into wrestling should be it, because, and I, that wasn't even, you know, my strong base.

I wish that my parents had gotten me into that when I was young because it just teaches grit and discipline, but like just that, that grit you get from it, you know, that never giving up, never backing down, being in pain and still going nose to the grind, it's just something that you can't pick up from anything else in life.

Yeah, the perseverance is, is unreal, and, um, and they're freak athletes, so it's also great.

Yeah, exactly.

Um, so you, so you decided to start going into sports, you know, from, you know, the, the, uh, your degree that you were working in.

When did it turn into MMA ?

Pretty quickly, um, because I was interning and I was asked to help on an MMA show, um, and I was like, sure, and Frankie Edgar was the first guest, and I actually like I knew Frankie from the wrestling world, and so like he and I didn't know each other, but I was very familiar with is he from out there as well though, right?

New Jersey, yep, and so, um, I was like, oh.

I got this, and, and so it just kind of snowballed like very quickly, I think because of my background, and there were things that I understood about the combat sports world that maybe a traditional intern wouldn't, um, that made things a little bit easier, and so it started meeting people and it it just snowballed from there.

Did you ever feel like the newcomer, not obviously not a lot of women and especially in MMA sports in general, did you, did you have to overcome any barriers or, um, to get where you are now?

Yeah, for sure, um, and I have to say shout out to Karen Bryant, OG, absolute legend of the game.

And she was one of the only women doing it, and certainly probably the only woman at like the highest level.

She had done boxing, and she was covering MMA for a long time, and she ensured that I had a spot in every scrum, literally, because we used to physically hold a microphone into each scrum for a fighter.

Things were really different than they are now in terms of like open workouts and how the interviews happened, and she would make it physical space for me to stand there with my microphone and made me feel welcomed.

Um, same with Evelyn Rodriguez, um, she and I kind of like came onto the scene together and always were helping each other, so it was at first just kind of this very small group of women helping each other, um, but then, you know, I, I met some incredible friends that are still very close to, um, to this day.

And I think there was a little bit of maybe hesitation from certain people or fighters when they'd see me.

I was like 24 when I started, and they're probably like, who's this young girl, but I just made a point to when I opened my mouth, them to be like, oh, OK, all right, like she's got it, because you can only control someone's perception of you.

Um, before you speak or before, you know, you're able to, to fully introduce yourself, and so I think once that happened, there was very, very little, if any, pushback from any athlete or really anybody else in the media space.

It, it, it was a really, um, It was a really busy environment then, but for the most part, quite supportive.

Amazing.

I know you've always said, you know, fake it till you make it.

So would you go in there and just know that I prepared, because I know that you're, you're really great at preparation.

So would you just go in there knowing, holding out on your shoulders, I prepared, I'm gonna go in there and I'm gonna make it.

Yeah, because I think like the preparation is the thing you can't control, but like sometimes the confidence is what's lacking or I'm nervous.

Like, here's John Morgan, and here's all these guys who have been around forever, and they're asking questions like, I have one that I know is good .

But just like the confidence to even get your voice loud enough to be heard, that was the part I was faking because I knew what the hell I was asking, you know, and I knew that a lot of times my information was maybe even more in depth than a lot of other people because I, I wasn't taking it for granted, you know, I had to earn my job every single day.

And so I think like the faking it part definitely came from like, Feeling like I belonged when I didn't feel like that yet, and feeling like, oh, I got this when I hadn't necessarily proven to myself that I did, but I controlled all the important things, and then that's kind of how you can use that phrase to the best of your abilities in my opinion.

Absolutely, I love it .

I live by that as well.

Yeah.

Was there a moment you said, Was there a moment where you were like, OK, I belong now?

Was there a lot, or was it just kind of a gradual, I wish I could say I even feel like that now, but I don't, um, I still feel like.

Every day is an opportunity to re-earn my job and reprove that I belong in the roles that I have, and so.

I don't know if it's um from having started as a young woman or just being a woman in the space or whatever it is.

I don't know why I have that mindset.

It might also just be, you know, I'm sick, but like you're a humble warrior in a sense, yeah, yeah, but I just, I still don't necessarily feel like that.

I feel way more comfortable, but there's, I'm still like every interview I'm like, OK, these better be great questions and I better prove myself and this matters, you know, um, so I think.

Things maybe got a little bit easier uh several years in, but also our landscape is ever-changing.

The athletes are ever-changing, where we go and the networks and everything is always like in flux, that it's hard to ever you feel like you're planted solidly down.

Absolutely.

I want to talk about Heavy.

com because that was kind of the beginning for you, right?

Talk to me about that.

Uh, well, Dave Farrah, who I absolutely love and adore and is so freaking talented, he's the greatest.

He has a syndicated morning show all across the country now.

He lives in Arizona now.

Dave Farrah was my co-host.

Um, Matt Brown was kind of the guy in charge, and, um, they were so generous with their time and.

Energy and their belief in a young woman who, you know, maybe hadn't necessarily proven that I belonged yet.

I don't know, but they saw something in me, um, that made them believe, and it's what made me move out to Las Vegas, and they made it fun.

Like they made it so fun .

I mean, Dave still to this day is like one of the funniest people I've ever met, and, you know, he was the lead host, and I would kind of just like, you know, help, help along the way.

But he always included me, he always made me feel like his equal, um, and I, and I don't think that it would necessarily be the case if it was somebody else.

And so I owe them such a debt of gratitude, and I, I love them so much, and I'm so appreciative of that time, but also the fact that, You know, whenever I see them, I still like want to give them a hug and I want to know everything about their lives, you know, that that to me is like such a special relationship for sure.

Yeah, definitely.

I mean, especially at that time, finding people that can build you up and help you build this career that you, you know, that you have now.

So you moved to Las Vegas.

In 2010, right, I want you to kind of talk about what the grind was that like because, you know, you're obviously one of the best at what you do, but you know, you didn't land here.

You worked and you climbed this mountain.

So what was the grind to get to where you are in UFC broadcasting and sports broadcasting?

Well, I think then it was just like I left all my friends and family, you know, and that's like terrifying.

You move across the country and you're just like, I don't know anybody.

What am I doing?

Um, it was a lot of traveling.

So back then, for people who don't know, the UFC wasn't always on TV or didn't always have, you know, a broadcast deal.

And so before they had any rights deal, um, they hired heavy to do a pre and post-show for all pay per views.

So we essentially would go to every pay per view, Brazil, Japan, wherever they were, and we would do a streamed pre and post-show, and that's what Dave and I hosted.

And so that was also kind of unique because streaming.

It was really new and so we would run into, you know, some of these, these issues that nowadays like everybody, OK, we know how to fix this, we'd be like, oh my God, you know, we're trying to figure stuff out.

It was really cool and we like had, we'd always have 3 different media members a part of the show.

There was a panel section and we'd always have guest fighters and that really helped, um, kind of like forge those relationships.

But like I said, like the landscape of the sports just kind of ever changing and so.

Yeah, we went from heavy to the Fox deal and I was lucky enough that the UFC brought me on full-time as an employee during the Fox deal and then, you know, just taking every small opportunity and trying to do the very best I could with it and knowing that eventually, the phone will ring for your opportunity at the next step and it happened with the NFL, it happened with the UFC, and, um, you know, I just, like I said, I try to continue to earn that and, and we've made that broadcast.

Reporter role for the UFC into something that 10 years ago didn't exist.

That's not what the reporter's role was.

You didn't even know there was, there wasn't a reporter on the broadcast.

Um, and so to be able to kind of evolve that and now that, you know, see it copied in a lot of other sports and, and entertainment events, um, you know, I'll get tweets like, oh, they're doing, they're Megan Oliviya again, you know, and like that's so cool because If you're looking to be a reporter that's implemented into a show, whether it's a UFC program or not, that's, you know, kind of like we've set the standard of what it looks like, and I couldn't be more proud of that.

100%.

You, you are obviously like viewed as a pioneer.

Do you ever, does it ever sink in like you just said, like that role was kind of created because of you?

Yeah, I don't necessarily know if I'd ever like think of myself in that capacity, but I do have.

Like, I'm very protective of what we do in that space.

Like, I, like if we're gonna do it , we're gonna do it right.

Like, we experiment with a lot of stuff.

I'm really fortunate, like our producers and our director for our big shows, they're all like so creative, so you'll see different shots every once in a while, or you'll see us try new things and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

Um.

I think what I never want to do is make people watching think that they just had to get me in.

I want people watching to be like that added value to the storytelling.

And so when we do those fighter walkouts.

I don't need to talk for 3 minutes.

I talk for 37 seconds at the most, because I'm gonna give you a very short reason to care, but then it is on to the fight experts, and it is on to the walkout song, and it is on to them saying goodbye to their cornermen before they enter the octagon.

Those things are important.

Yes, so is my storytelling, but not more important than the athlete going in there to compete at the end of the day.

So it, it's a, it's a role that I take so much pride in.

And it feels like my one of my babies.

I'm just like, OK, you know, but it never, it's never going to just be a stagnant thing.

We're always going to try to evolve it and elevate it as the UFC always does, right?

And you talk about 37 seconds, you know , you're talking, but what goes into that 37 seconds?

I know you're rehearsing and it's a what's fight week look like for you for that 37 seconds?

Well, so to get like those.

Reports.

Well, first of all, it's uh, you, you're never not working, right?

Like you're absorbing information, whether that's reading articles, watching interviews, checking people's social media channels, whatever it might be.

Um, you know, that's your, right, in this day and age, that's like your greatest research tool is the content that an athlete puts out themselves, you know, um, and so, you're just constantly trying to absorb as much as you can for that.

But then during fight week, we do fighter meetings with Maybe like half of the athletes on the card, maybe a little bit more than that, um, where they sit down, they come talk to the broadcast team and our producers, we can ask them questions, um, and straight from the horse's mouth, that's where we get our information.

And then on the following day during weigh-in day, whoever I didn't talk to, I'll, I'll go chat with and make sure I, you know, I have that one on one time with them.

Um, and I'm always trying to tell a new story.

Same thing with football, and sometimes it can get Challenging, especially with athletes that have been around forever and especially have competed at the highest level, you're like, what can I say about them that hasn't been said.

So it's taking a whole lot of information and compressing it down to whatever I think might be the most interesting for a viewer, and we have to keep in mind that our fan base is, yes, passionate, longtime MMA fans, but also with Paramount right now it is some newer viewers.

There's people who have maybe watched the sport for the first time.

We've had the White House.

We had Connor's card, and now, you know , so there are people who are new to this.

What can I tell them to give them a reason to care about that athlete?

And so that's always the goal.

Narrowing it down can be difficult.

Um, that's where my broadcast partners, they can kind of extend whatever story I tell in the walkout during the fight, um, but it is my favorite thing to do, um, but it's definitely a high wire act every time we rehearse it and they release the fighters to walk.

At a certain time based on how we rehearse, and so all those camera moves all depend on me not messing up.

And so, you know, and so sometimes it's like, OK, and you know, you don't always remember what you were gonna say, and it's just ensuring that you're not talking for a super long time or if somebody's sprinting to the octagon, you better cut that report down because it does not matter, you know, and so it's, it's also judging the scenario, um, to ensure that the, the viewership and whatever.

Is being spoken about for the athlete like stays the front and center of that story, right?

And you're memorizing all of this like like there's no, you're not reading scripts, there's no teleprompter for you, no, no teleprompters for us, yeah.

And how long, like were you always good at that or how long did it take you to, to, you know, acquire this skill to be able to, you know, rehearse through the week and then go out there and do it on live TV?

Well, we also don't rehearse for the week, so we only rehearse like an hour before we go live.

Yeah.

Are you in the mirror?

Do you rehearse in the mirror all week?

No, yeah, um, but no, I wasn't always good at it.

I always had a pretty good memory.

Like sometimes it's like I got very good grades, and sometimes I feel like it was probably just because I memorized, because sometimes I'll tell Joe, like I used to be so smart.

I know all of this, you know, um, but yeah, no, so we only rehearse like a couple of hours before we go live.

It all depends on what the schedule looks like, um, for Connor, was it Connor's fight?

Yeah, Connor's fight.

We didn't even get to rehearse .

Rehearsal got cut, so we're just like.

All right, here we go.

Actually, for the White House, I didn't rehearse that either.

So yeah, so you know, sometimes it just is what it is, but no, it, it is a skill.

Memorization is a skill.

I would say the first and foremost, most important thing is that I write everything myself, and so it's a lot easier to memorize when it's in your own words and it's information you have gathered yourself.

It's not, you know, uh, it's not.

Uh, a third party telling you something.

It's not somebody wrote this for you because it sounds good, so now you go say it.

None of that happens for any of us, you know, when you see John Anick give his open for, for a numbered event or former pay per view, um, he wrote that, you know, and so that's important to us, and it helps with the memorization.

But otherwise, you'll see me backstage talking to myself like a psychopath, um, trying to watch fights or listen to a broad cause, you know, we have our earpieces in because who knows what's ever gonna happen and so there's a lot of just like talking to myself, but at the end of the day, I just say like the viewer doesn't know exactly how I wrote it, so as long as I'm getting that message across factually and in the time frame that I have been given by my production team, um, then that's the most important.

So that's what I try to do.

But no, it has, it's definitely evolved.

I I don't think after my first opportunity on a UFC broadcast, I don't think I had one for a really long time because I couldn't memorize.

I ended up just reading from a paper and that they were like the people at the time who were producing were like not pleased, so I didn't get an opportunity for a long, long time.

Yeah, it's like practice makes progress, the repetition, right, 100%.

Are you handwriting it out?

Does that help memorize better?

Are you typing?

I, I, so I used to handwrite because it helps, and for football I handwrite.

Um, especially like my opens and stuff, um, and because football, my report could change 5 minutes before kickoff, um, if I handwrite it, it does help significantly more.

But I think with UFC because it goes from so big to so small and things get whittled down, and then I'll, I'll kind of say it out loud, and I'm timing it before I send it to my producers for an overview.

Um, I'm like, oh, I don't like how that sounds, so I kind of like do a lot of editing, um, but I do, my stage managers would tell you, I do a lot of like Hand note taking once the fights begin.

Every note that I take for a fight is by hand, and then any edits I'll make to reports I'm gonna do throughout the night where I'm like, oh, this just happened, or, or I just saw them and their coach told me this, whatever it might be, that's all handwritten because it is, it is for me, at least, uh way stronger in my memory.

And what about the ability to adapt because obviously fighting is very unpredictable.

I'm sure you can be talking, you know, you got the, you got them in your ear and you're thinking you're going this way, and they probably come, oh, switching things up.

Like how do you adapt to that?

Well, I mean, I think like that's a lot of reps.

Um, that's also a learned skill.

So there'll be times our producers are really good.

I would say most producers are pretty good about not like.

Making you turn left once you've already started storytelling, but they will say like, OK, toss to Daniel, not John, halfway through your report, and then you're saying what you're saying and then remembering at the end, OK, don't toss back to John, toss back to Daniel because he's gonna do a telestrator or whatever.

Um, that is a skill.

That's a skill that I think a lot of people take for granted that they can do well, and then you have to do it, and you're like, oh my God, um, it is, and there's times where like, You know, uh, it's not, it's not perfect.

So there's times where you'll have your, I mean, we never take our earpieces out for 8 hours.

Our IFPs are in our ears and they are not coming out.

But there will be times where, like, once in a while, Spanish audio will come in while you're talking, or, um, you'll like somebody in the truck will hold a button down and you'll hear the whole truck, and you're just like, OK, um, so if you ever see somebody rip out their IFPs, it's because something is happening that shouldn't, um, but that is.

I think a skill that's really hard to practice unless you are actually living it.

We had somebody that I adore who just, you know, had their first couple of reps on air and had an experience like that or talking and then somebody's talking to them.

And I wish that there was a way to say like, oh just do this and it will be easier.

It's really just like a learned coping mechanism of like, OK, absorb that and keep going, um, which just takes time and opportunities to kind of mess up until you get it right.

It's truly amazing.

It is a skill for sure.

Don't want to bring up any bet.

Did you ever, have you ever had a moment where you froze and you all the time?

Well, we've never, we've never seen it.

Like I've never seen it.

Oh, there's like at least probably one show every couple of months where I'm like, Oh my God, what did I do?

That comes with your skill to be able to adapt on the fly.

Yeah, I think when you're younger, uh, and I don't mean younger age-wise, I think, I mean like younger and experienced.

I think when you have like maybe less experience, the desire to kind of freeze and panic is a lot easier to lean into than to keep going for some reason.

You just be like, oh, but now that, that happens.

If there's not one time a show where I'm like, what the heck was I supposed to say next?

whatever, cause we're doing so many things.

Um , I would be lying to you if I said that.

So I think it's just about like staying composed and that's where like your knowledge of a million things about one person helps, where it's like, OK, I can't remember what we're gonna talk about next.

Let me just, OK, I can give them this relevant information.

Oh yes.

That's what it was, and we go back and then we have the graphics again, you know, and so I think not panicking is the key because everybody forgets all the time.

Everybody forgets, they stumble, they are getting direction that they have to then follow or whatever it might be.

Like it is never a time where it's just like, oh, I did all of these reports exactly how I wrote them, right, you know, it never happens, OK, and you know.

Obviously, we're talking about like, it's, it's an art.

Everything is an art, you know, the interviewing, everything that you do is an art.

Um, what is the difference though in your preparation NFL versus UFC?

Definitely just different.

NFL has so many players, so many coaches and coordinators and assistants, um, and then you've got a whole PR staff.

There's just so many people that are involved in an NFL game, um, even referees and making sure, you know, you understand exactly what's happening each week.

UFC is probably easier prep because I know all of them so well or many, many of the fighters and of course, you know, who I'm working with so well, um.

But it's definitely a little bit more in depth because our storytelling could be on one particular person throughout an evening like we and we have to hit it from all these different angles whereas NFL is like you have to know a big roster of two different teams and then up until 90 minutes before the game they have the ability to change, you know, who's suiting up and who's ready to play and so if they're, if they're elevating somebody from the practice squad.

I still kind of have to get a little bit of information on them, and so it's definitely um.

It's more hectic before a game than it is before a fight, because the work has kind of been done since Friday night, but on a game, it's, it's, it's ever evolving.

Um, it's just, it's two completely different beasts, and they're two completely different jobs.

My NFL job is a lot more.

Off camera than people would ever maybe realize it's tons of really relaying information to the producer and director, um, hey, get a camera on this guy.

It looks like he's hurt, or, hey, I just heard this player say this to their coordinator, whatever it might be.

It's a lot of, um, Work that isn't glorified on air.

It's just for the team.

It's for, uh, and by team I mean broadcast team.

It's for everybody's knowledge to make a better broadcast.

And so, UFC traditionally, when I am giving information, I'm on air giving that information.

And not to mention, like NFL usually, like, you know, falls on a Sunday, so you're, and you're working on a Saturday.

So how, what is that like going from Saturday to wherever you gotta go to cover the NFL and where is the preparation coming in?

What time?

Yeah, um, that's a good question.

I don't sleep a lot during these weeks.

Um, wow, this is why she's the GOAT.

OK, you're very nice.

Um, yeah, no, it's crazy.

I would say the most stressful part is not the prep necessarily.

It's like ensuring that I can get there, um, so it's like.

Usually like 36 hours of no sleep.

Just like wake up in the morning on Saturday and then don't go to bed till you get home from the game on Sunday.

What's the secret?

Like you look good.

You don't, you know, so like what is the secret?

What's the secret sauce?

There is no secret.

Just a lot of coffee and um that's where I just fall asleep where Joe's like some during football season you're narcoleptic.

I'm like, yeah, I definitely am, um.

Yeah, the, the Saturday to Sunday thing, you know, Fox, they're incredible teammates to have.

They try and help us, especially like my broadcast partner Kenny Albert, he's the voice of the New York Rangers .

So if the Rangers have a game in a specific area, or I have a fight in a specific area, they try to kind of cater a little bit.

They can't do a lot because of viewership and where the games are being broadcast, but of, you know, can we get there a little bit easier to wherever the location is on Sunday.

And so, yeah, it's um.

It's daunting.

Where do you usually have to travel to?

Is it always somewhere else, or is it always, always somewhere else?

Yeah, my goodness, yeah, yeah.

There's never been, yeah, yeah.

I mean, I, every year from Madison Square Garden, I'm like, there's gotta be a Giants or a Jets game that I could just do the next morning, please, even an Eagles game.

They're like, nope, San Diego, yeah, and I'm, yes, I've yet to have that experience.

Fingers crossed this season.

Yeah.

I wanna ask, you've obviously seen the UFC change so much in your time, but also, you've seen the media landscape change, right?

And you mentioned how important it is, those 32nd seconds or whatever it is to put the fighter in the spotlight and not make it about you.

But obviously, that landscape has changed a little bit.

I think especially in MMA with The influencer culture and maybe journalism fading away.

Does that ever frustrate you that it's, the landscape has changed to that degree?

I mean, I think there's space for everybody, and I'm not mad at any of the influencers for making the content they make because there is an audience for it.

So if people are gonna digest it and they wanna see that, like, great , you know, and if the fighters want to participate, like, I love that, you know.

More power to you.

That's never been like the kind of, of direction that I've wanted to take interviews for the most part.

And so, you know, it's not, it's, I don't feel like there's competition at all.

I do wish, um, you know, I do wish sometimes that like outside media would cover us a little differently, like, you know, I think there's so many unbelievable stories with our athletes that, you know, some of these bigger publications or websites or magazines.

I feel like they would be so blessed to have one of our athletes share their story with them, but also I feel like their particular readers or viewers would also gain something, and our athletes, of course, would gain the most by extra exposure and new fans and stuff.

And so that's kind of where more of my frustration lies, you know, even from the White House and Connor, I thought maybe some certain entities would want to die.

into what makes people care about the UFC and why our athletes continue to do it and what makes them special, um, and some did, but I feel like it's always, it always could be more, and I think our athletes are more than deserving of bigger platforms, um, and different kind of coverage, like, you know, whether that be high fashion or whether that be, you know, these deep introspectives or whatever, you know, whatever the case is, I think.

Our athletes deserve those kind of platforms in this day and age, aside from all the other fun silly stuff that they might be doing too.

Could not agree more.

Going back to the fighters, um, I just wanna ask, you know, with your, with when you're interviewing, how do you, how are you able to recognize, you know, when a fighter comes out, kind of, you know, what questions to ask, or you know that you're, you know, you're not, you're, you can kind of read, OK, I can talk to this fighter for a little bit longer, or no, he's gonna wanna get out of here really quickly.

How do you kind of gauge that?

Well, Most of that's not my choice .

That's a, that's a production choice.

Um, so we have limits on usually we get 2.5 minutes.

Rarely post-fight they'll say go as long as you want.

That's kind of a rarity in this day and age because of the networks.

Um, they have specific times they have to hit.

However, I think being raised around athletes and particularly wrestlers, I can kind of gauge by somebody's body language how they're coming over to me and sometimes like.

It's as simple as you just won, but you don't seem happy.

That's it.

Just open the door, you know what I mean, because the viewer's not seeing the way they came over with their team and what they're, you know, kind of secretly talking about, and you're like something's wrong, but you just got the hand raise.

So what happened?

Um, so I think that's where the reporter's job can.

You know, those observational skills are the most important thing that you could have in that, in that role is what is happening here, what's making them overjoyed, what's making them not so happy even though they just got two checks and, you know, the biggest win of their career.

Whatever it might be, it's, it's, uh, I think every athlete has the capacity to be a great interviewee.

It's about you opening the right doors at the right time.

I like that.

And when, you know, obviously when somebody's coming off a win, even if sometimes they might not be like you said, something might be wrong, but when someone's coming off of a loss, you know, they're coming out, they just lost, and you get a chance to talk to them, how do you kind of go about that?

Because obviously, you're not pitying them, but you still want to show some kind of empathy.

Yeah, absolutely.

The most important thing to me is that they want to do the interview.

I never want an athlete to talk to me after they did not get a hand raise or their team did not, you know, get the win.

I never want them to feel like they have to talk about the hardest moment of their life because, particularly with fighters, each fight is the most important fight they've ever been in, and to not earn the hand raise on a given night is the worst moment for them.

Um, and so.

I just try to give them the floor as quickly as possible, um, and that could mean, you know, just what happened in the fight, or how are you feeling right now, very simple.

I think where a lot of times reporters can maybe uh muddy things up is trying to prove what they know.

That's not my job.

I'm not an analyst.

I'm not, I'm not breaking down fights.

My job is to give the ball to the athlete as quickly and efficiently as possible.

So I don't need to say all the things that I know from the team or whatever it might be.

It's their words.

It's their time and So, as quickly and efficiently as I can get to them, and, and what's important to me on a personal level is that they know like one single night where they don't get a hand raise does not define them.

They have done what 99.

99% of the population will never be brave enough to do, and that I believe in every athlete that comes across my path.

I treat every single person like they are Joseph because it's the same love and respect.

That I would want somebody to have for Joseph on the microphone, whether he had the biggest win of his of his life or he did not have the night that he wanted, right.

I love that.

And I wanna know, is it obviously, you know, when a fighter loses a fight, it's, it's deep if they feel that deeply.

What about when, when you talk to these football players, I mean, we just lost a game?

Is it kind of similar?

Have you noticed?

Well, yeah, athletes are athletes are athletes.

Like, um, it's different though on a team sport versus an individual sport for sure.

Um, football players traditionally don't have to talk to us after they, um, don't earn the victory on the field.

So, you know, in terms of like interviewing them, I don't have a lot of experience with that after a team hasn't won.

Um, but I will say the Emotions even during a regular season game that isn't even divisional are very similar to a fighter who who doesn't get their hand raised, but that individual performance makes, in my opinion, the way I see their highs even greater and their lows even stronger.

It's different.

It's intense, yeah, and you've experienced, you keep bringing up Joseph.

You've experienced that on a very personal level being married to a fighter.

How is Talk to us about your background with Joe and when you realized you fell in love with a fighter.

Yes, yes, probably like the moment I met him, really, which was, which was 2009.

OK, yeah, we've known each other.

You hadn't been in Vegas yet.

No, we met in Vegas, um, and then I still lived in New York City.

He lived in Sacramento, um, and then we just were friends and just kept in touch, and, um, yeah, but no, Joe is, if you've met Joe.

You love him.

Like he is so special.

He's so funny.

He's so loving.

He wears his heart on his sleeve and such a hard worker in whatever it is that he's doing.

So obviously he was such a hard worker at fighting.

Now he's such a hard worker as a dad, um, and Joe is just the best.

He makes everybody in the room better.

Feel better about themselves, feel better about the situation.

He just, you are better if you know Joseph, and I knew the moment I met him that he was so special, and I think I tried to fight it for a long, for a while, and he probably did too, but then I was just like, oh my God, I love you so much.

You're the best.

I love it.

What was it like building a career, you know, together, 22 individual careers within the same world, both demanding.

How did you guys make it work?

Oh, easily.

We're so lucky.

Like, I think both of us were, we're both.

Very goal-oriented when it came to our own dreams, but like, we're both extremely supportive partners for each other.

So if they're like Joe went, I remember he went to Singapore for like 5 weeks to train and he was doing seminars and stuff, and I'm like, OK, have the best time, like tell me everything you eat or whatever, you know, like with some people.

Like, why can't I go or this or that.

Like we never put those limitations on each other and we lived in different states when we started dating and so our communication skills have always been the most important thing about our relationship and they've always been the probably the best, you know, and so, um, what also was really cool is the fact that We worked with all the same people.

So if I was on a fight card and he was preparing for a fight, so he couldn't come with me.

And I told him a story.

He knew literally everyone I was talking about because that was his world too.

And so, you know, the Fertittas were unbelievably supportive.

I was so scared to tell them like, hey, I'm actually dating a fighter.

Can I still work here?

Is that OK?

And they were like, Yeah, it's fine.

Like, did they you try to hide it for a while?

Oh, Joe and I, yeah, for sure, for sure, we tried to hide it.

And then when I got hired by the UFC, they originally, I don't know if this is still a thing, they were like, Oh, you can't date any of the athletes.

And I was like, well, hey.

Yeah, so then I, you know, had to, had to talk to the Fujitas, and they were like, it's, yeah, we know it's fine.

They were so great about it.

They're so great, but I also think it's because like I never treated Joe's opponents or anyone in his weight class or anybody whose path could have crossed differently.

But also Joe never treated them differently.

Like back in the day, the Team Alpha Male and Dominic Cruz had such a feud, and like Joe would, he loved Dom, like always, you know.

And so I think that always made things easier too, that we could be 100% professional for both of our careers and with our relationship.

Talking about his opponents, did you ever have to interview his opponents all the time?

Wow.

Oh yeah, all the time.

I mean, even that ever hard?

Yeah, it's like the hardest thing you could possibly do.

Yeah, yeah, wow.

Oh my God.

There's probably anything harder than that.

Um, hey, how do you intend on beating my boyfriend, fiance, husband?

Like, um, but it had to be done.

Joe knew it had to be done.

He never got mad.

His opponents were always great.

Like, shout out to everybody who always made those experiences that were awkward for both of us, like seamless.

Um, I always tried to make them, you know, as, as easy for the athlete as possible, but the athlete also has to participate.

And they were always great.

And so yeah, it was never easy.

And I also was working on most of the nights that he fought.

Like I remember the Brooklyn card, the first ESPN card in Brooklyn.

Joseph was actively in the octagon fighting in your home, in your city.

Well, yes, but I was interviewing Cowboy Cerrone while Joe was fighting, and I heard the crowd go crazy, and then everyone around, I like kind of panicked, but I'm trying to listen to what Cowboys say.

And everybody around just gave him the thumbs up, and I was like, OK, OK, he's good.

And then Cowboys like, Isn't your man fighting?

And I said, yeah, and he's like, what are you doing?

I was like, I don't know.

They said I had to do this interview.

He's like, no, go watch him.

And I've, later in Joe's career, I stopped watching him fight.

I like, I probably stopped watching him fight after he fought Dustin Ortiz the first time.

And, um, so I just went and prayed and then they came and got me and they're like, he won and it was great, but yeah, it was, I mean, uh, now looking back, I'm like , How did I do any of that?

I'm like, also, this sport is not really safe.

Like, what are we doing?

When did you make the decision that you weren't gonna watch Joe's fights anymore?

Was it because of the danger involved and just the nerves attached to it?

because people watched me watch him fight.

So for a long time, um, shout out to Carolyn Pierce.

Um, Carolyn used to like hold my hand backstage.

Um, Evelyn, like so many women around the sport, whether it was the PR team or other media members, would just go in a room with me and hang out.

And watch with me and then like your brain turns dumb.

You know, it's like, is he winning ?

I don't even know what's happening.

I do this for a living.

I have no idea what's happening.

They'd be like, no, he's doing great.

OK, he definitely won that round or whatever.

Um, and yeah, I just became like I would notice people like trying to take pictures or whatever, even like his one of his last fights, there's like a video someone took of me watching him fight cause I was octagon side for it and like.

I just, I don't know, I know boxers' wives do it all the time.

I'm just, I just, I didn't like it, um, and there was nothing I could do to control the outcome, and I think that's always really hard.

I know how, how much work went into every fight camp and And heart and soul went into every, you know, hopeful victory, and to not have any control over it just became more and more difficult to watch.

So like I didn't see him fight Henry.

I still haven't seen that fight to this day, um, you know, yeah, yeah.

So, no, I'm like still, I'm like, I don't know, I'm too nervous.

I can't.

He's always like, you need to watch these.

I'm like, I know, I'm too nervous.

You watch them back a lot.

Uh, no, I don't think so, but I think one day with Vito he'll definitely watch it back, yeah, for sure.

So when you're, when we, when you would watch or when he'd be fighting and you're at work, how, how would you like stay calm to continue working?

Like what, what did, I don't know honestly.

I wish I had an answer for you.

I did I stay calm?

I don't know.

You hit it, um, yeah, I mean.

When he fought Henry, that was, um, I remember Jorge Masvidal kept me occupied.

He was doing his photoshoot.

He had just won, I think he beat Jake Ellenberger, and he's doing his like victory photoshoot, and he knew I was like so nervous, and I just couldn't watch.

So he was like making jokes and like telling stories and , and then finally he was like, he's gonna be great.

You're fine.

He's fine.

Everything's gonna be great.

And I, I've always loved Jorge for that.

Like he, yeah, it is, it is.

And, and again, I think because Joe was so like beloved by his fellow fighters, he never had, you know, any issues with really anybody that, um, you know, even after he fought Henry, I remember Henry came over to his medical tent and he was so.

Nice to us and he made a point to say really nice things about Joseph to me, um, and they kind of had like a heated rivalry him in the Ultimate Fighter just does that to people, um, and so yeah, it definitely, I don't know if I ever stayed calm, but a lot of people helped me through those experiences for sure.

That's amazing.

Um, sorry, I lost my train of thought.

Talk to me about these fighter meetings because obviously, so.

I think the White House, there was obviously that was a stack card and one of the, one of the fighters that people talk about, and I think I heard you talk or, or maybe it was DC, but the fighter meetings with guys like Josh Hocat, how, how do those go and how do you, how do you approach all these different personalities where you don't know if Josh Hocats putting on an act or what, what exactly it is?

Well, the first Josh Hogan, um, fighter meeting we had, we actually thought something was like wrong.

And we're all like, what should we do?

What should we do?

Yeah, well, yeah, and then we realized like several minutes in that it was kind of an act.

He doesn't do that anymore.

He's himself in fighter meetings, which is helpful because we need information, you know, otherwise we can't tell their story.

We can watch as much footage as we want and talk to coaches and stuff, but to hear from the athlete themselves is definitely, um, the most important.

You know, some fighters are starving when they come in because, you know, on the road they're on Thursdays, and so they have less than 24 hours to make weight, so they're sometimes crabby.

You just read the room, like there are certain fighters and you're like, oh , they're coming in today.

Let's keep it real short.

And then there's some fighters that like, especially there's some, you know, debuters that like.

This is our first experience with the Daniel Cormier, you know what I mean?

And so they're so excited to be there.

They've got like their wife and their homies and a camera crew, and they're just like so pumped.

And so you want them to have the best experience possible.

But again, that's like we, we do a ton of research before fighter meetings, um, you know, I probably have like at least 4 pages of notes.

Before they start, um, and that's like background and stuff I wanna ask about or topics I wanna make sure that we hit upon or, or stuff with the crew that I wanna make sure we mention just so everybody's on the same page.

And so, yeah, they're, they're really fun and they're always different, um, and they're depending on the day of the week, they could be a journey.

I kind of remember what I wanted to say, so I'm gonna backpedal a bit.

Um, there is the, uh, that in that photo of you and Joe and he's in the octagon and you're standing outside.

I think it's an iconic image.

Um, uh, can you talk about a little bit about what it's like being the wife of a fighter at such a high caliber, like how you help prepare, help him get prepared for something so big on such a large stage.

Yeah, I think like this might come off poorly, but The most important thing is like, it's not about me.

It's not about the partner, it's not about the family members.

It is only about that athlete.

They're the only ones actually doing the work.

They're the only ones putting it all on the line inside the octagon.

I tried to make his life as easy as possible, um, whether that means not bringing up, you know, stuff I wanna talk about or, uh, making sure he, making sure he has the right meals, making sure his sleep is uninterrupted, whatever it is, like I tried to, Joe would always joke and his coaches would joke like, oh, she's the 4th cornerman because like I would, if I knew, OK, it's weight cut day and Joe wants X, Y, and Z to rehydrate, I'd have the same thing for his cornerman too.

Um, because they're also in the sauna and they're also up at 5 o'clock in the morning and they're also away from their families and their loved ones and uncomfortable.

So it's like Joe loves like peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches and a certain kind of Gatorade or whatever it is.

OK, well, guess what?

Everybody's getting that too, um, and so those are things that I would try to do and then.

I just think the most important thing was like I believe in you, you know what I mean?

Like if you, if you think I'm cool, I believe in you, so what does that say about you, you know what I mean?

Like I, you know, it's just instilling as much confidence and making their life as easy as possible, but at the end of the day.

We can try and be as involved as we can, and it's still like it's their training camp.

It is their fight.

It is their journey to go on, and we are fortunate enough to hold their hand through it and, you know, kind of walk alongside them, but you know, you have to understand that it's not, it's, it's not a partner-based thing.

It's, it's them.

OK, I love that.

It's a really great perspective to look at it and a, and a key to for them to be successful.

Yeah, yeah, I always just say whenever, uh, you know, any.

Everybody's partner asked me like some tips.

I'm like, well, if they're not talking, you're not talking, like, especially before a weight cut.

Like if they're tired and hungry and they don't want to talk, then you don't have to talk.

Like just lay there, just watch TV, you know, um, so I think just like following their lead, especially as the fight gets closer, is really important.

We talk a lot about you pulling double duty.

Now you're pulling triple duty with Vito.

Talked about the transition to motherhood and what that's been like, being able to balance everything that you're doing.

Yeah, well, being a mom is the greatest gift I will ever have in my life.

I prayed for a long time for it, um, and Vito is the biggest blessing we could ever have.

Um, he's the best.

Also, like, so funny.

Thank you.

He is Joe's twin.

Um, he's the best, but it's definitely, I'm like, what was I doing before I had a kid?

Like, did I just like live a life of leisure because what the heck, um.

Yeah, it's crazy, but I, you know, I went back to work very quickly postpartum, which was, I thought, yeah, she's already back in the game.

Yeah, it, it was really challenging, um.

And, you know, very hard emotionally, um, but like Joe is such a hands-on dad that it's like, You know, people like, oh, is he babysitting?

No, yeah, that's his dad.

Like he's with his son, you know, um, and so that helps.

But you know what's really cool is like Vito's come so many places with us already.

He has really, oh my God, he's already used his passport.

Like he has been all over the map.

He loves hotels.

He loves traveling.

He says hi to everybody on the planes.

Like he is the best, and I'm, I get to share those experiences with Joseph and my son, and like.

Yes, I work and I have to work and like I'm proving to him that if he has a dream or a desire, like he can do everything if he puts in the work too, but um what I've, what I try now is to, if he's awake, cause he still takes 2 naps a day and he goes to sleep pretty early, he's about to go to 1 nap, which pray for me.

Um, but I try to just be present with him even like when on Connor's fight week we're here in Las Vegas, my parents were here.

I was at work for a lot of the days, but when I came home, like everything can wait.

I can write my stuff later.

I can be tired, but I, he's going to bed and I only have a certain amount of time with him.

Like that gets my full focus.

My phone's over there.

There's a certain ringtone from my boss, and if I don't hear that, then I don't need to worry about it, and You find a way to get it done, and you know, like all the White House stuff that we did, all the Connor stuff that we did, none of that was impacted because I spent more time with my child, and so, like, I didn't have a, a kid to not um be the best mom I could for him, and that includes being present in every way and not just being physically present, but on my phone, like that all needs to go away.

Sometimes I get upset cause I'm like, That was so cute.

I could have filmed it, but my phone's over there, you know, it was just like he was kicking soccer goals and saying goal, yeah, and but my phone was and I was like, no, I missed all of this, but maybe that'll be a passion of his.

Yeah, no, which would be great.

Yes, he hits a head.

We have like a little octagon, baby octagon that's what he gave us.

Um, our, our great friend Jen gave us and it has a punching bag, and he goes in there every day on his own and just like.

Oh yes, and Joe, Joe's always like, Don't go down this road, buddy.

Don't go down this road.

But I love you, but Joe quietly is probably pretty proud.

He's like, that's my boy, yeah, because you don't, like we have, we have a, a home gym , and so he sees Joseph hit the bag.

So then he does it, and it's like, oh my God, you're so smart and like great coordination, so it's fine, you know, he could wrestle, but I'd love for him to not fight.

But yeah, it's uh.

It's a lot of jobs, it's a lot of responsibilities, but nothing comes before veto.

That's, I, I, everything else can wait.

It's not as important.

I've canceled things before because of my son, and I will continue to do that because I didn't have him to put other things ahead of him.

Amazing, mama, hats off to you.

Thanks.

Um, if he decides to go down that route, you guys will be OK with him becoming a fighter.

I mean, I, whatever he wants to do, is any parent gonna be like, No, I'm not OK with it.

Yeah, of course I'm OK with it, but like, do I want him to?

Like I want him to be like a doctor, soccer player, lawyer, television star, you know what I mean, like a lot of other things.

No, but he.

I, I want him to know how to defend himself and defend others, and I want him to know how to be, what is that, a warrior in a garden, um, but I don't want him to feel the need to fight, um, wrestle, yes, fight if that's his dream.

I'll, of course, support it, and I'll lose a lot of sleep and get a lot more gray hairs, but, uh, be like just reliving it all again.

Like how much torture do I need?

But you know, hopefully it's something that he is capable of, but maybe has other desires.

Awesome.

And no, go ahead, no, go ahead.

I just want to talk briefly about the last couple of months in the UFC specifically.

You just mentioned the White House and then the return of Conor McGregor, arguably like the biggest two events the promotion's ever had in the span of a month or so.

What was, what was the experience being at the White House?

Cause I, I was fortunate enough to be there.

It still seems surreal that that even happened.

I totally agree.

Sometimes I'm like, wait, what?

Yeah, it was nuts.

And for me, coming from a military family, being surrounded by just the bravest men and women our country has ever seen, truly in the Medal of Honor recipients and the first responders, um, it was, it, it was a bit like a fever dream, the flyover and the national.

I cried from start to finish.

Finish of that week.

I mean, the first time we pull up on golf carts to the South Lawn, we're just like, what are we doing?

Uh, the tears never stopped.

Um, and I know there's a lot of dissenting views on it , and I know there was a lot of strong opinions on things, but number one, that was our job.

That's where we were assigned to go.

That's where we went.

We tried to do the best we could with the platform that we had, um, to make it about the athletes and this histo, I mean, So many presidents have lived there, and so much history has been made on those particular grounds.

So to be able to just even have an insider look at some of it was unreal, um.

And then like to watch it back and, and I think it was really cool for things like the the Marine Corps band got a bigger platform to the world than maybe they've had before and they deserved every second of that.

I have all their songs in the show on my phone.

Do you?

Oh yeah, because you can download them now on iTunes.

It's the best.

What is it?

It's a Marine Corps band.

OK, OK.

I'm gonna go get that.

Let me see, yes, let me see if I can, uh , it was phenomenal.

They were unreal and like I don't, I don't know if, um, yeah.

The United States Marine Band, yeah, um, I don't know if people realize how much rehearsal went into those shows.

Sorry, um, it was days of rehearsal, so the band wasn't just phenomenal during the fights, they were out there for hours before we started.

I rehearsed for, I rehearsed, well, I filmed things that never saw the light of day, um, for the White House before it was supposed to rain because we had to pre-tape stuff just in case, and it was so hot.

I was dying.

And I, yes, and every, all these military members from, um, you know, I'm gonna get the name wrong, the, the color guard, that's not what they're called, um, but the band and, and everybody who was participating in different parts of the show were out there in their full dress, and I was yelling at everyone like, stay hydrated, get in the shade , we love you.

Are you OK?

Do you need anything?

Like just yelling because People saw what they saw for this block of time, but they were out there, you know, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or whatever it might be for hours at a time, making sure they were perfect.

There was not a single complaint.

I mean, the sunburn that was had, the dehydration, they were unreal, and they all.

They all showed up in a capacity that I think many of us would not be able to, um, and it was, it was just unbelievable to watch, but I'm so glad that people like the band got the shine that they did, and, um, you know, some of those singers and the musicians, they got the recognition that is, that was so well deserved for them.

And then obviously the fight's delivered and we saw argue, I mean, we won't say the biggest upset, but what Justin Gi was able to do coming in there as the American.

Where, where do you rank what Justin did as far as the span of your career as achievements?

I mean, it's gotta be one of the very best.

I mean, it's hard.

I think recency bias sometimes creeps in and it's hard to say like.

It is the best, but it might be just the stakes and the location.

Exactly the stakes, the location, the walkout.

I mean, the production.

I, it's hard to put into words what that production took to pull off, not just in person, but of course for all the viewers, and like that includes Justin's participation, his team's participation, you know what I mean?

So there's pressure from moment one on and This is a guy that's been very vocal about his desire to be champion and his, his inner belief that he's the best in the world when maybe the results didn't always consistently show that.

We saw the knockout against Max that wasn't really that long ago compared to UFC Freedom 250.

Um, I just think it was so spectacular.

Not only did he beat Ilya Topoa, he, he made him quit, um, in a way that I think.

I don't know if another fighter could do that to Ilya, um, and you know, it, it, it just across the board was everything, and that's a guy in just Gi who has been, uh, a supporter of, of the military and the armed forces for a very long time.

So to have that mainly in the crowd, I know how special it was for him.

I mean there was just so many layers and levels.

To it.

It was unreal, and it really, um, you know, my heart always breaks for whoever doesn't get the hand raise, and I'm always so happy for whoever does.

And I, I felt like kind of torn in two, but then when you, when you see Justin and, and just the, the glory on his face, but the gratitude in his heart for everybody who was in that audience was, it just made it even more special.

It was absolutely incredible.

I was crying at home, so I can imagine like you guys being there, like when the, when the, when the, the the jets flew over when the, when the fight night started, that's , that's when my tears started formation.

So they don't do that most of the time, yes, and, um, and so that was in itself was like a very rare thing to occur and for us to be able to witness it while the national anthem is being sung so perfectly.

by Zach the Zack Brown, it was just, it was all too much.

It's awesome because we've had a couple of people on the show that were there, you know, you, you, he was there, Jose Young's, uh, Oscar.

So we've have, yes, I I've got a chance to hear everybody's, you know, experience, and so, and then that everybody's just so similar, you know, so it's just, it's awesome.

They, they did an amazing job with production and just really made you proud to be an American.

Exactly, exactly.

If you gave it an opportunity, it was, it was.

Really, it was really special.

And watching you guys, you got, you, you know, Laura, Joe, John, like the energy that you guys brought to the broadcast and to, and to the audience could just show like, I don't know, you guys put you guys put into that being proud to be an American, like you, what, what you put out there, the energy you put out was just, you know, I think, you know, for those of us that were on the broadcast to be in that crowd is very small, um, and the energy was unreal.

The The members of the armed forces were so happy to be there and they were so excited that you couldn't just, you couldn't help but to feed off of that and then your energy grows, and their energy grows, and it was just kind of like this really beautiful kinetic kind of thing that happened throughout.

Yeah, it was awesome.

And then the like the crowd with all the fans, you know, the stage.

Oh yeah, I wasn't at the ellipse, so the ellipse was like the fan event, um, I mean, I was there for the weigh-ins, which was nuts with Lincoln, the bald ego.

Eagle flying across the, the, the sky and the lightning.

I mean when we did the, um, when we did the press conference at the Lincoln Memorial, that was because it rained right before, that was otherworldly.

I mean, the, I was doing a live report and then lightning hit the Washington Monument and it was just like, oh, the sky's celebrating too.

Like it was just nuts.

I've never seen a sky like that.

I don't know if I ever will again.

I, it was the whole thing felt like a fever dream.

Yeah, wow.

You've seen the sport grow from, you know, the beginning.

I'm talking, you know, Heavy.

com, the Rhonda era, the Connor era, the Yaz Island era.

Now we're talking about UFC freedom, you know, to where it's at today.

What would you say has changed MMA forever to bring us to where we are at?

Well, they, I mean, what comes to mind first is the athletes have just like their performances keep people tuned in.

Um, they make people care.

Their stories are, um, one of a kind, and no one path to the octagon is the same.

And I think for people to start.

Relating to somebody who competes in there on some level is so important, and I think, you know, us being able to kind of share those stories with the world has definitely helped, but it all comes down to the fighters' performances.

Um, it all comes down to the athletes that are willing to sacrifice it all and bet on themselves and, and get into the octagon.

You know, sometimes I long for the old days of the sport and the way things used to be in a certain capacity, and then sometimes you're like, oh, but it's so much better now.

As long as the athletes are the biggest, you know.

Beneficiaries of everything that's happening, you know, in terms of being able to make careers out of this, their monetary gains , having different platforms, being able to showcase themselves in whatever capacity is that they want, like that is first and foremost the most important thing because they're the ones that continue to drive us forward.

Absolutely, we.

Wouldn't have any of this without the athletes, the UFC, the three letters, you know, it's so big, the brand, you know, we all love it, but yeah, we wouldn't have, we wouldn't have, have none of it without the fighters.

Exactly, exactly, yeah, they're the best.

We're very lucky as we're winding down here.

I just wanna, we, we came off the highs of the White House card and then .

The anticipation for International Fight Week, the biggest star the sport's ever seen in Connor, and then obviously, we know what happened.

What was it like coming off the highs of the White House and then the buildup to Connor returning to the octagon.

And then obviously the, the disappointment with how that fight ended.

I mean, it was kind of crazy because it wasn't just like the highs of the White House that obviously like helped momentum and stuff, but like that night in the building, I mean after Patty's fight, the place was nuts.

I mean it just felt like something massive is gonna happen.

Everybody's dancing.

I mean, everybody, Mike Tyson was dancing, like everybody was having the best time.

So it just really was like this incredible buildup and then of course the walkouts for Max and and Connor were great, uh, and they were fun and people were in awe and they were participating in the songs and everything.

And it kind of.

Felt shocking the way it ended so much so that.

And this is, I could definitely be wrong, but it felt like everybody stayed in their seats because, it was like you could hear a pin drop, but it wasn't like everyone just left, you know, sometimes like, OK, somebody hits a walk-off home run, you hear the crack of the bat, you see it go, and people leave.

This happened, and it was almost like everybody was just like.

Wait, no, so what happens now?

Like, is there gonna be another fight?

Like, it almost felt like everybody's waiting for something else to then happen to, to right the wrong because it was so high and then it wasn't.

Um, it was, it was.

It was a rare feeling in that building for sure, the way it, it changed on a dime.

Is that the biggest letdown you've like from a crowd perspective that you've experienced?

Yeah, maybe, I mean, it was definitely.

I'm, I'm sure there were others that I have been around for, but it, I, crowd-wise, and, you know, and athlete-wise, like that's not how either of them wanted that to go, you know, that is not what any athlete puts their heart and soul and time and dedication into preparing for, and so.

Yes, well, it was a great, you know, we'll say easy check for Max.

It wasn't because he still had to put in the work to get there.

Um, that's not how he wanted that money to come across his plate.

That's not how he wants the W on his record, you know, and the same thing and the opposite for Connor.

And so I think, yeah, crowd-wise, it was definitely like.

The hardest, but also really confusing for us too, trying to backstage, trying to figure out what's going on and, and have accurate, up to-date information and, and it was, it was a lot, it was a lot going on, yeah, one of those things adapting on the fly.

That was probably a big one.

Yes, yes, I was just like screaming at the camera because I saw Connor behind him like, turn around, film Connor, you know, yeah, so it's just nuts.

Yeah, I do want to get into fashion.

I gotta get into fashion because you are the fashionista of the UFC.

You and your husband, uh, I miss the, the dapper scrapper page.

I know he's gotta bring it back.

He does.

It was so good.

I loved it.

He's the best.

What, what goes into your outfits, because, like, you know, being a woman, I know it's like you're like, I can't, can I recycle?

Cycle through this, wear this at the same time.

How is it for you?

Well, fun fact, I did recycle my Connor outfit.

I wore that one before, but I felt like it hadn't gotten enough shine, and I was wearing a dress earlier in the day, and then I was like, Oh, this isn't really my vibe right now.

And so I changed.

Um, dressing for TV is really unique because, um, I'm not just dressing for TV, I'm dressing to stand up on an octagon where there are people below me, so that already discounts a lot of things that I would wear.

Um, I'm not personally.

comfortable with certain things when I'm walking up and down stairs and standing, you know, 3 ft above somebody else, um, and so there's also certain colors look better.

I really like certain fashion forward things that look great in real life, but if I wore them on TV, they'd look terrible, uh, patterns, like it's, it's such a unique, you have to like really know.

I noticed you wear a lot of satin, yeah, yeah, because also wrinkling.

I am up and down and running.

And so I can, if I can either prevent wrinkles or I can easily like steam myself during the show, which happens all the time, um, it helps , it's all stuff people probably wouldn't think about, but Unfortunately, women are gonna be judged quickly on what they're wearing.

Um, Rogan wears like the same shirt almost every time, although I will say they do, they do, they do like come for him like at the White House.

I know they didn't love his outfit, so I mean, I, I, he does get it equally sometimes, but he does wear mostly the same stuff.

He don't care either, right?

No, and nor should he, but like I can't do that, and I don't want to do that.

I love clothes.

I think it's a great expression of, of oneself, um, and I also.

Like, really like being able to, I don't know, kind of, I have 10 nieces and nephews.

I like to kind of show, particularly my 6 nieces, that like you don't have to dress a particular way for people to listen to what you're saying or to think you're cool, whatever.

You can, you can be yourself and you can be more conservative or whatever that looks like for you in the way I do for myself and still feel love for yourself and have love from others.

Awesome.

Yeah, I look up to your style so much .

Do you ever think about like starting a blog for it?

I know so many people ask me.

I have no time in my life.

If someone wants to help me, please help me.

How we leave this instead of help, you know, it's help me, I'm bore.

It's help me.

I'm tired.

Every time you post a link , I'm like, oh, save I know.

Oh, and I'm so late on those.

Whatever help anyone can give me, I would love to like be involved in the fashion space in some capacity.

Everyone knows that I'm obsessed with Victoria Beckham.

She's my, my idol since Posh Spice to who she is now, um , but I really like that she's been able to pivot and make women feel beautiful in certain .

Ways and I have a lot of ideas that I would love to one day bring to fruition, um, from my experiences in my space when it, how it involves clothing, um, and so that's really something that hopefully one day I can have the opportunity to do, um.

I probably should be a little more adamant about getting ahead of that, but I just have a lot of jobs.

I don't have enough, yeah, yeah, right, yeah, I had a lot of time, but if someone again wants to help me with that, but I love clothing.

I'm so appreciative when people say they like what I wear, and I try to make sure that it's stuff that other women can purchase.

They feel beautiful in, and they feel worthy of respect, um, from everybody, including themselves in it .

Does Mr.

Dapper Scrapper ever help you with your fashion all the time.

Oh my God, all the time we do this thing called fashion shows.

He'll be like, OK, it's a fashion show, and then I'll be like, between this, this and this, and he'll be like, What about this?

And sometimes he'll be like, What about this?

Like, in fact, I changed my necklace halfway through the Connor broadcast because I wasn't really vibing with the first one I put on, and I, I kept saying I need to change it, I need to change it.

Then Joe came.

And he came to my set back to I'm like, I don't like this necklace.

What about this one?

He's like, Oh, that one's way better.

And so I changed.

Is Vito helping in the fashion show?

Oh my gosh, actually, he, for Father's Day, you know, I was buying Joe some stuff at Lululemon.

And Vito held on this one pair of shorts and he would not let it go and I was like, I guess these are yours.

And so I gave him to you.

I was like, no, Vito actually picked those, and I was like , I love it.

Oh my goodness, take it after quickly.

Yeah, yeah, uh, I do wanna know, obviously, you know, you're, you go out there, you do an amazing.

job, but you are human.

Are there days where you're just like, I don't want to do this.

I don't have it in me.

And if so, what do you channel to pull out, pull it out and give us the best, best broadcasting and best Megan?

Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's ever a time where I like don't want to do my job because I feel like it's such a privilege.

To do the job itself, but I think it's the other stuff that can get in the way of like if I have to leave Vito or if he didn't sleep or whatever it might be.

There's, you know, it's like the job itself is one thing, but it's the kind of getting to it that can be the more daunting aspect or get on a plane and he's, it's one of the trips he's not coming to like he didn't come to Oklahoma.

And it was so hard to get on that plane, cause he's, he comes to most of the shows, and so for him to not come there, I was just like, oh my God, is there a later flight?

What if I flew out in the morning?

Like can I make that work, you know, so I just You know, number one, it's your job, you can't not do it, you know, um, so that's kind of like the driving motivation, but it, I just tell myself like, it's gonna go faster than I think.

You know, this is what I signed up for.

I prayed for these opportunities, and now I have them, so don't do yourself or those prayers a disservice, um, but that I never feel like I don't wanna go to work.

It's the all the surrounding stuff.

Like, can I bring my, can I do the report with my baby right here?

Like that would be great.

Um, you know, can, can the veto be just like on my hip while I tell you about this fighter?

Um, that would make things really perfect, but, um, I'm really.

Lucky that he is welcomed in all of the spaces in which I exist and that my husband is such a good dad and a hands-on dad and also welcomed in all those spaces.

So that makes things a lot easier and that makes those, those hard days few and far between and mostly they're good days that are very family-oriented.

Awesome.

And now I gotta know, uh, you are obviously somebody, you are somebody like that a lot of people look up to.

Who is your person that you look up to?

Who's your goat?

Um, well, In terms of like broadcasting, um, well, I think there's some legends like I mentioned earlier, like, um, Andrea Kramer and Pam Oliver, Tracy Wolfson, um, I think they all do a phenomenal job, but somebody who's really impacted my life on a personal level that I used to, I mean, I still very much look up to her, but I, I know her now as Kelly Ripa, um, Kelly.

Oh, I might cry.

Kelly, um, her husband Mark Consueli and Joseph actually worked on a show together.

That's how we all know each other, and they welcomed us into their home many years ago.

And you know, you see her on TV and you're like, there's no way she's like that all the time.

She was the kindest human being ever, but she knew so much about us and about what I do on air.

Um, she asked me so many questions.

She was so complimentary.

And so supportive of different things that were going on, whether it was at work or in my personal life, and I could share those with her, and she either had similar experiences or just really good um advice.

Kelly's belief in myself, like Kelly, the way Kelly believed in me, especially, this is years ago.

Made me believe in myself more.

Like, if Kelly Ripa thinks I'm cool and talented, like I'm cool and talented, you know what I mean?

Like, like it's hard to sometimes make yourself feel worthy of those opportunities.

We get imposter syndrome sometimes, and, and, you know, she to this day never makes, never lets me forget that I have earned where I am and I am.

I should be there and I'm the best at it.

Like she's just, she's the cheerleader and the champion every woman should have in their corner.

She is the absolute best.

Her husband Mark is a dream.

I, I hope that we can raise our children to be like theirs, their kids, you know, we've known them, they're much older now.

They're all adults, but we, we met them when the youngest, Joaquin was, was pretty young, and their manners, their kindness, their ability to have Conversation.

Joe and I talk about it all the time.

Like, I hope our kids can be like the Consuelos kids because they were just good and um I, I, I, I try to be Kelly to everybody that talks to me now because it made such an impact when I didn't really have anybody to talk to or with in that capacity.

I try to be her for everybody else that reaches out to me now because it, it made such a difference in my life.

Well, thank you for sharing that.

It's amazing.

It's, it's so important to have those people in your corner, so to speak, right, for sure, for sure.

Um, one last question before I start to wrap it up.

What, um, what is something you want when it's all said and done ?

How do you want to be remembered by the fans, by the fighters?

Oh man, um, a bad bitch.

No, um, how do I wanna be remembered?

Um, I don't know that like that she cared about the athletes, um.

I'm really fortunate that this is my job, and I know that it's a privilege that I am also on camera, but if there's a day or time where that starts to pivot for me, if I can continue to put our athletes at the forefront and give a viewer a reason to care a little bit more about that individual and not just the name on the jersey or, um, you know, the color of their uniform inside the octagon, whatever it might be, if I , if I can do those athletes.

Justice and a service in their overall careers, that's how I want to be remembered.

And you do just that.

That is why you have, you know, got, got gained the respect that you have, because you make it very much clear that you just want to showcase the athletes, and it's, it's incredible.

11 fun thing I think Dusty wants to do before we let you two things, some Spice Girl trivia.

Oh my God, rapid fire too.

OK, I got a rapid fire first and then trivia.

OK, OK, go ahead.

OK, rapid fire first.

We like to end things with fun, but I was like, I gotta hit her with some Spice Girl too.

Oh God, OK.

OK, rapid fire.

OK, ready?

Most nervous you've ever been live.

Oh, probably my first football game .

OK.

One interview you would redo.

Because I loved it or hated it.

Oh, good question.

Both, both, yeah.

Interview.

Oh my gosh, good question.

I probably all of them, um, for both reasons I loved and hated them.

Oh, that's a hard one.

I get that.

I get that.

OK, your dream interview, Victoria Beckham, duh.

Friday, you would, I know you don't drink, so I switched it.

Fire, you would go grab coffee with, that you would really love to just sit down with and have a coffee with.

Oh, maybe any of our fight, honestly, I, I love, I, everybody has such an interesting story that if I can like just be me and ask them a million questions, maybe any of them, but maybe some of the, the older.

Now retired fighters that he didn't get to spend a lot of time with, maybe a guy like Rich Franklin or somebody, um, yeah, maybe like a little bit of the earlier generation because they lived such unique lives as fighters.

Um, I would, yeah, I would love to hear a little more of those stories.

All right, favorite UFC memory.

Oh There's a lot of them.

Um, I'm I really loved our first show at Madison Square Garden that was really special on both a personal level as well, um, having gone to so many sporting events there and then being able to be on the broadcast, um, from the world's most famous arena, that was probably one of them.

And then .

Fight Island was really special for a lot of us.

Um, the world was watching, right, and all they had, and we were terrified.

I mean, people don't realize that we did not know what was happening and how it was gonna go, if we were gonna be safe or not, and we still did it.

And so I definitely would say, yeah, those two stand.

It gives me the chills.

Um, do you have any, uh, one broadcast superstition?

Oh, I don't think I have any.

No, that's a, no.

Well , no, but like avoid like drink your coffee this way and, and don't have pens that stay clicked out because they will ruin your clothes.

That makes sense.

All right, last one for rapid fire.

Best dressed fighter.

Oh, best dressed fighter.

Best dressed fighter.

I mean maybe Max Holloway.

Oh, that is a very great answer actually do both, right?

You can do it all, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think Max, they're the goat when it comes to Halloween.

Yeah, I love their Halloween.

Former UFC fighter who's the GOAT at Halloween, Sam Stout .

Really, oh my God, him and his family, his wife and his daughter and son, they do the craziest cosplays for Halloween.

Yeah, so shout out to Sammy.

Love that.

OK, now we're going into Spice Girl trivia.

I feel like you're gonna nail this.

She's got this.

OK, this is the most nervous.

OK, can you name all five Spice Girls, like their first names, or they're, they're, they're Ginger.

Ginger is Jerry Halliwell.

Sporty is Mely, Melanie Chisholm.

Scary is Mel B.

Melanie Brown.

Victoria Beckham is Posh Spice.

She was Victoria Adams, and then Emma Bunton is Baby.

Let's go.

OK.

She already knows this, but which Spice Girl had the nickname Posh?

Oh well, obviously my idol.

I still have her haircut.

Victoria Beckham.

I to throw that in there.

OK, finish the lyric.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.

You can sing it.

Gotta get with my friends.

Hey, there we go.

OK, OK.

Which spice, this isn't really a trivia, but which Spice Girl do you think you're most like?

Um, maybe Victoria, posh and sporty combined.

OK, OK.

What's your all-time favorite Spice Girls song?

I probably shouldn't say this, but to Become one is like such a banger.

But then like you're like 7 years old singing this, and then you realize like when you're 30 what the hell you're talking about, um, but I was just, we were just playing Spice Up Your Life in the car the other day for Vito.

Uh, so Spice Up Your Life is a great one, but I love Stop.

Stop is a low-key banger, and that has a little cute dance to it.

Um, yeah, no, I could go on and on if you can't dance.

Yeah, I mean, Mama, I mean , they're also, also goodbye when Jerry left, and the video, they're all frozen.

It's like a , it's a cinematic video, but Goodbye is like a great song.

OK, um, when was the Spice Girls' debut single?

What was the Spice Girls' debut single?

OK, when was it?

What year?

956.

Close, close, close.

If you could interview one Spice Girl for an hour , who would it be and why?

Victoria Beckham, because I love her.

She's and also, I, um, I think her story is so interesting.

She was more famous than David Beckham when they got engaged, so it kind of like how that relationship.

Influence both of their lives, change and pivoted, and then.

You know, she was a wag, and he, he's had, if you watch the documentary, he had really high highs and really low lows during his soccer career, and she, you know, was along for the ride.

She also has 4 kids like and the thing she was subjected to during her pregnancy, I mean, we, they weighed her on air on a television show I think 6 weeks after her son was born.

I mean, crazy stuff, um, and they live between Miami and London and her fashion.

I mean, there's just so much, and again, I find so much inspiration in that story and all of their stories, really, the things that they've done.

In their careers since, and I know like the Spice Girls was a blip.

You need her on your, on your podcast.

Imagine.

Oh my God.

One time she commented on my Instagram and I almost died.

Like that's as close as we're probably.

I get that.

I get that it's gonna happen.

It's gonna happen.

I could totally see it.

Yes, yes, that's what he manifested you having you on here, yeah, so.

Um, OK, last question, would Joe pass or fail all of these questions miserably, or, or, no, he'd do pretty good, yeah, OK, pretty good, yeah, he's married.

He was, he was forced to, yeah, right, right.

Well, I always ask him like, who's your favorite Spice Girl back then, and he like, he liked them, of course.

Now he just says a young boy, yeah, yeah, he said scary was his favorite back then, but he's like, but I always liked Victoria.

I'm like, sure you did, yes.

Amazing.

This has been amazing.

Uh, I, like I said, I look up to you so much, so it's just awesome having you in the in the corner.

I'm just always admired how, you know, you, you make the fire of the story.

You don't ever make it about you.

You make it about the fighter and everything they're doing.

So you're, you're just incredible at what you do.

The GOAT, guys, it's been awesome.

I just wanna close the show with one more question.

OK.

If a young girl watches this interview today and is dreaming of sitting where you are one day, not just working in sports, but earning the respect that you've earned, what would you tell her that she needs to become before she worries about what she needs to know?

Um, you have to.

Stay true to who you are.

Um, we, we always repeat the same things, do the work.

Um, don't skip any steps.

So if you're an intern and they ask you to get coffee, you better make the best coffee run in your life.

Um, there is never anything, especially when you're beginning, that is not going to teach you a lesson.

Making copies of something is gonna teach you, OK, well, this is what it takes to be prepared, and what do these copies look like?

And, you know, there's, there's so many things.

You have to become the best version of yourself in every phase, um, beginning, middle, and end.

There is no end, but every step is there for a reason, and do not sacrifice who you are or what you believe in, or your dignity or your values, because it might get you somewhere faster or easier.

It will never pay off.

It will never be worth it.

Every single step in life, particularly when it comes to your dreams and career goals, are there for a reason.

You will learn something from them, and it might feel like slow going for a very long time, but it is not, because you will have all the pride and you'll be able to sleep very well at night knowing you did all of the work to get to that position.

This day and age, social media, YouTube, all of those things can make you feel like you're just not fast enough or you're not good enough or somebody's lapping me.

And really, at the end of the day, none of that matters because you have no idea what's happening behind the scenes.

Just, if you believe in yourself, stay for it.

Even, and listen, fake it till you make it.

I say that for a reason, but like, don't fake the work.

Control what you can control, but do not fake.

Like the fact that you should be there, like just continue moving forward and know that eventually it will pay off.

Like I said, I started getting people coffee at 4:30 in the morning, making copies of scripts, and I learned something from every one of those experiences.

And now the person that brings us coffee, they will be treated so well because I was in that position and people shit on me, and I will not do that to somebody else.

And so, You will learn something from every step, but don't let the world make you feel like you're behind, cause you are certainly not, and you're learning more from those experiences than people who skip steps, and that will end up paying off to have every single one of those things make that ladder for you to the top.

That was epic.

Wow, I'm not crying.

You're crying.

No, that was awesome.

Perfect.

00 my God, I'm sorry.

I didn't make it.

Well, you guys made me cry.

Oh, you're good.

So we're both crying.

Yeah, we are both criers .

Yeah.

Welcome to, we like to cry here.

Yeah, we cry in the corner.

Yeah, no, I love you guys.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you.

I was, it was like me interviewing you, but I feel like I'm gonna, I've learned so much that I'm gonna take into my career for so many years to come.

So thank you.

Oh, just a phone call away, now, now you have my number.

Yeah, my number.

We're gonna go get cortados.

All right, you guys, thank you so much for tuning in.

That is the iconic Megan Oliviy.

This is in the Corner with Destiny McCoubin, Doug Vasquez.

Real fighters, real stories, real talk.

We'll see you next round.