Best NFL Radio Row Interviews Part 2: Denzel Ward, Trey Smith, Tyquan Thornton

11:22Chad Johnson:I got it because of Jackson Smith. I got it because of both. They both been doing well. I got it for both.

11:30Shannon Sharpe:Okay. Because they can run the football with K-9. Yeah. Sam Darnold has been playing unbelievable. He just has to one more game. He's done great in the postseason. He hasn't turned the ball over. You know you turn the ball over and come postseason. You're going home. You look at the teams that turned the ball over in the postseason. All of them going home. Everybody went home. You look at the Texans. You look at the Broncos. You look at the Reds. If you turn the football over, you are going home.

11:56Chad Johnson:That's what we look at every year. What's the turnover margin? If you turn the ball over, intercept the ball. Oh, okay, that team more likely to win. You know, you take care of the ball, you're more likely to win. Yeah.

12:07Denzel Ward:Oh, matter of fact, man, you seen Myles Garrett?

12:09Chad Johnson:Yeah.

12:10Denzel Ward:Where he at?

12:11Chad Johnson:I don't know.

12:12Denzel Ward:He promised me that sack jersey, that 23, as soon as he got that sack. He told me he was going to give me that jersey. He sent it to the Hall of Fame. So you know what I got to do to him.

12:20Chad Johnson:You can go just take it out the little case. Go to the Hall of Fame.

12:23Denzel Ward:No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

12:25Chad Johnson:He got to see me. Oh, yeah, okay. I don't know how good that's going to go.

12:29Denzel Ward:You want me to tell you how it's going to go? Let me hear. I'm from the Whoopi.

12:35Chad Johnson:What kind of... What do you say? Like Madden?

12:37Denzel Ward:No, I talk about with these.

12:38Chad Johnson:I don't know, man.

12:40Denzel Ward:You promised me the jersey, D.

12:42Chad Johnson:Y 'all different weight classes.

12:44Denzel Ward:No, weight classes don't matter with me. It's all about skill. Oh, okay. All right. Damn.

12:49Shannon Sharpe:Damn. But here's the thing. You want some one-on-one? You want some one-on-one? With who? Look, he act like he didn't hear it, though. Wait, I hear one-on-one what?

12:58Denzel Ward:Is it on the field? Yeah, like he didn't hear it. Hey, let me tell you something. I done studied him too much.

13:03Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, so you know it.

13:04Denzel Ward:I know every move. He play head up. He play outside. It don't matter what he do. I got something for him. So you think he'll quick jam you? Quick jam who? He going to post or what? He looking to post? He stabbed. I'm going up under that thing.

13:17Chad Johnson:See, look, I seen you had the thing where you brought all the receivers out. Oh, yeah, yeah. I was trying to show up and give boys some one-on-ones. Like, I'm trying to come.

13:25Denzel Ward:Hey, we doing it this year? Yeah. You can come out and give us a look? I give y 'all a look. Okay. Okay. Okay. You nervous? I'm good. I just want to give a look. Give a good look. I like that. You know, I wear my cleats when I'm out there, too. That's cool.

13:38Chad Johnson:I won't expect nothing left. All right.

13:39Shannon Sharpe:Man, you don't get no credit for beating an old man. Who old? You don't deal up an old man. That's what you're going to get. You don't get no credit for that, Dizze. Well, he's dealing up everybody in the league now, so, I mean. Well, he definitely, well, just keep doing that. Just keep doing that, man. Dizzele, man, congratulations on a great season. Continue your success. Stay healthy. and man, hopefully, man, we see you guys in the playoff real soon, man. I hope so. Because all that, it's, look, I know the money good. I know the adulation being an all pro and a pro bowl player, but you want some team success.

14:11Shannon Sharpe:That's what you play for. Absolutely. That's what you play for. No doubt. Well, congratulations, man. Stay healthy and we'll see you down the road. Yes, sir. Appreciate it.

14:17Chad Johnson:Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers, growing revenue over 20 % year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you backtest it against the S and P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks.

14:50Chad Johnson:Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1 % bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA, and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures.

15:18Chad Johnson:Are you trying to get weight loss support through telehealth, but it feels overwhelming and rushed? Check out orderlymeds.com now. Orderlymeds.com was built to be different. Here, you connect with real doctors who take the time to understand your goals, review your eligibility, and guide you through a plan that's right for you. Orderlymeds provides access to proven GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and terzepatide, including both name brand options and personalized compound versions when appropriate. So you have choices backed by clinical oversight, not guesswork. It's a simpler, more supportive telehealth experience designed around people who want clarity, care, and confidence in their weight loss journey.

15:57Chad Johnson:And your medication is delivered directly to your home in discreet packaging. So your experience stays private from start to finish. Do your research, ask the right questions. Then visit orderlymeds.com slash podcast for an exclusive offer. Again, that's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice eligibility required. See site for details. Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen, or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comforts of pretty much anywhere.

16:33Chad Johnson:Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own, but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes, and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2 ,200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home.

17:12Chad Johnson:So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit Redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's Redfin.com.

17:20Shannon Sharpe:Appreciate it. This is two-time Super Bowl champ, two-time Pro Bowl of 24-25 in February of 25. He signed a four-year contract for$94 million, making him the highest paid guard in NFL history. Trey, you look, this was a down year for y 'all. A lot of injuries. You got hurt. Pat got hurt. You started the season without Rasheed. and guys were in and out of the lineup, but you know the expectations. When you've had the level of success that you've enjoyed over the last seven years, this was an unacceptable season. What do you guys need to do to say, you know what, the Chiefs are back. We really never left and went anywhere, but we're definitely back.

17:57Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, man, I mean, since I was a rookie today, I walked in, man, we had a standard. You know what I mean? And obviously we fell well short of the standard this year. And I can speak for myself in terms of accountability, man, just being more detail-oriented, being very consistent. You know what I mean? And approaching the game better, you know. So as players, we've got to make what our coaches call go, regardless of situation, regardless of circumstance. And for us, I think it really comes with accountability and being detail-oriented. When you look at a situation, because sometimes when you have such success and you have a guy like Patrick Mahomes, you feel that he can cover up for a lot of mistakes no matter where.

18:30Shannon Sharpe:Offensive guard, whip, oh, Pat got that. A guy runs the wrong route or have an M.A. Pat can have a bad call. Pat can overcome that. But at some point in time, those mistakes went compounded Compounded because you get a guy that will, if you get a guy that makes another mistake, compounded with a bad call, that's even too much for Patrick Mahomes to overcome. So how do you make sure you get back? Because he's coming off a very serious injury. You lost, mistimed the entire, about seven, eight games. So how do you make sure the Kansas City Chiefs, that when we're in this situation next year, when we're in L.A., there's a great chance we see the Chiefs?

19:03Shannon Sharpe:I think it just starts in the offseason, man. As early as OTAs, you build that team chemistry early. You know, we bring in new guys, we drive, free agents, whatever you have it and just making sure we're all on the same page as a team. You got a guy like Eric B. Enemy coming in. Obviously, man, like he lets us be men out there, right? Right. But at the same breath, man, we have to be more accountable for ourselves with that freedom, with that respect that he's given us. So for us, man, it's a standard, you know, getting back to that standard, being right, man. Like you said, Pat's coming off an injury.

19:30Shannon Sharpe:I know he's going to attack what everything is. And that's who he is, his competitor, man. So just being the best version of ourselves that we can be because we have to uphold that standard that we keep talking about. we have to finish better. We have to be a better team. We have to get back to the winning ways.

19:42Denzel Ward:Matter of fact, if you were GM, take your football head off right now. You're not the player. You're not the guard. You're not the one that makes$94 million. You're rich, boy. But you put your GM hat on. And you're coming into this season knowing Pat is coming off an injury. What would you do offensively to make sure that Pat doesn't have to burden the load of the success when there are weaknesses in that offense? What would you do? Yeah, man, I mean, man, it's hard.

20:10Shannon Sharpe:I'm not a GM, man. I don't like speaking on it. But for me, man, I think, you know, a front-end offensive lineman, we have to do a better job, you know, keeping him protected. Like you said, it's coming off injury once again. Making sure he feels calm, so he can operate and be who he is, Patrick Mahomes. And, you know, at the end of the day, man, I really think identifying as players, once again, I can only speak for myself, just being more detailed, accountability, just being really in tune with what we're doing every single time we go out there so we don't stall. We don't have these off-board moments where someone's running the wrong way, like you said, like, you know, someone's whiffing on a play.

20:41Shannon Sharpe:Like, how can we be better to set him up? We have one of the best to ever do it. Because you have times, you guys go up and down the field, and it's like, this is the Kansas City, and then you'll go two, three quarters. You're like, who the hell is this team? How is that arguably one of – that's the greatest quarterback currently playing. You can make a case he's a top-five quarterback, and he's only seven, eight years into his career. What happened to this offense? Who are they? And I know you feel that way because you've seen it at its highest when you guys can do no wrong. Yeah, man. I mean, that's just the ebbs and flows of the game, though.

21:15Shannon Sharpe:At the end of the day, man, you're not going to be that dominant, consistent factor every single year. You might have a down, you might have a down tumultuous time. But, you know, it's just about getting back to the winning ways. Like I said, getting back to the standard is a secret to the sauce, right? What is the standard? Being consistent, being accurate, being detail-oriented. Once we get back to those ways, man, and how do you do that? You go to work every single day and you fix something one single time, one rep at a time. You just continually get better. And that's all you can do as a player, man.

21:43Shannon Sharpe:Is that where EB comes in? Because EB was the accountability officer. I know EB. EB was the accountability officer. EB don't care who you are. He don't care what your title is, how many Pro Bowls, All Pro. If you effed up. Yeah, he'll let you know. Did you eff up? Did you eff up?

21:59Denzel Ward:Tell me what you did. And the funny thing about it, you know why everybody's always up in arms? Because the Chiefs have sustained consistent success for so long. And you make it look so goddamn easy from the outside looking in. Those that play the game, we understand how difficult it is. We understand how special Andy Reid and that situation he has with Patrick Mahomes is. And the fact that when you guys have a down season, everybody's like, oh, my goodness, what happened? And all it is is going back to the bases, going back to the drawing board. But as you said, it's off the line, having accountability, trying to minimize the mistakes you make so Pat Mahomes can function the way he does as one of the better quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, not just now.

22:39Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, man.

22:40Denzel Ward:Y 'all going to be all right, though. Y 'all going to be all right.

22:41Shannon Sharpe:No doubt, man. Just take it one time at a time, man. Huh? Oh. Trey, heel up. Yes, sir. You know what the expectations are. I already know. You know, hey. I already hear EB Scream is finished right now. Yeah.

22:57Denzel Ward:Hey, also, let Eric Bini me know, if y 'all need an offensive coordinator assistant or wide receiver coach assistant, I'm here. I already got on red. Yeah, let me know.

23:09Shannon Sharpe:I appreciate you. That's good. Congratulations. Getting healthy, bro. Yes, sir. Much respect to y 'all. Look forward to seeing you back out there. Last year, it was the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the fastest players in the NFL. Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Tyquan Thornton. Ty, how you doing, bro? Doing good, man. How you doing? I'm doing good, man. Man, you got off to such a great start. Superior. And it seemed like once Rasheed came back or Hollywood came back, your numbers all of a sudden took a dip. What transpired that you were playing so well, you could easily be thought of as the best receiver, especially for the first four or five games.

23:42Shannon Sharpe:What transpired to cause your production to kind of taper off?

23:46Chad Johnson:Like you said, man, you know, a couple of guys came back, and, you know, those guys that they were, I would say, probably more familiar with or had plans for and something like that. So, you know, I don't really know what really went on behind them, closed doors and everything, but, like, you know, nothing changed for me at all. You know what I'm saying? I still showed up every day at work, you know what I'm saying, coming out there, doing what I do, going out there, making plays with the opportunities that I got. But, you know.

24:12Denzel Ward:Yeah, but see, the good thing about it is that's the game that they do play. When people go down and you get your opportunity, you made the most of said opportunities once you got in there and looked like the best receiver on that team. So if you're not going back to Kansas City, you've already set yourself up for 31 other teams. Understanding that, okay, if we had this young fella, based on what he did when everybody else went down with the Chiefs, this is what he can do. This is the value that he adds to our team. So for you, that's part of the game. That's part of the business. I understand that.

24:40Denzel Ward:You should understand it at this point as well, but you've already set yourself up for the future regardless.

24:45Shannon Sharpe:This is a situation because you did run 4-2-7 coming out of college, and it seems like everybody just wants to let you run deep. but I can run other things. I can run it out. I can run a dig. I can run it over. I can run a, I mean, let me do something other than go deep. Yes, I can get deep. I can run a post. I can run a nine route, but I can also run a speed out. I can also run an in cut. I can also run an over. Does it get frustrating? Because it seems to me looking from the outside and I don't know what they call, but it seems to me that every time I see you in there, you just going deep. Yeah.

25:19Chad Johnson:Yeah, exactly. I mean, it definitely get frustrating, you know, because I mean, I mean, everybody knows, like, once 80 gets on the field, he's going. Yeah, he's going vertical. Like, every time you turn on the clip, he's going vertical, you know. And that's why, like, you know, when we go in training camp and stuff like that and when we're doing one-on-ones, you see me out there, I'm never going deep. Right. Never in one-on-ones going deep. It's always like I'm trying to work different routes to show you that, like, I can get open and create separation. So, I mean, that's something that I still want to show.

25:44Chad Johnson:Go out there and show that I can run a deep over, a deep out, you know what I'm saying, a dagger, you know what I'm saying, go over there and get open consistently.

25:50Denzel Ward:Yeah. Well, you done set yourself up, right? You want to set yourself up. Do you want to go back to the Chiefs? Be careful. I mean, you could be PC, but would you like to go back? I want an opportunity to play.

25:59Chad Johnson:Yeah, so if I go back to the Chiefs and play with Pat and get my fair share target,

26:03Denzel Ward:I would love to do that. There we go. I would love to do that. There we go. You heard that, Mr. Reed, Mr. B enemy. Come on now.

26:10Shannon Sharpe:Brent Veach. Ty, appreciate you, man. Thank you all, man. What's up? I'm going to catch you next week. Stay healthy. Best of luck in the future, man. Thank you all, man. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.

26:18Chad Johnson:Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt, from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20 % year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the S &P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks.

26:51Chad Johnson:Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1 % bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures.

27:18Chad Johnson:Less support through telehealth, but it feels overwhelming and rushed. Check out orderlymeds.com now. Orderlymeds.com was built to be different. Here, you connect with real doctors who take the time to understand your goals, review your eligibility, and guide you through a plan that's right for you. Orderlymeds provides access to proven GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and terzepatide, including both name brand options and personalized compound versions when appropriate. So you have choices backed by clinical oversight, not guesswork. It's a simpler, more supportive telehealth experience designed around people who want clarity, care, and confidence in their weight loss journey.

27:57Chad Johnson:And your medication is delivered directly to your home in discreet packaging. So your experience stays private from start to finish. Do your research. Ask the right questions. Then visit orderlymeds.com slash podcast for an exclusive offer. Again, that's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice. Eligibility required. See site for details. Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen, or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere.

28:34Chad Johnson:Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own, but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2 ,200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home.

29:12Chad Johnson:So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit Redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's Redfin.com.

29:21Shannon Sharpe:Joining us today is Fox NFL Insider, founder of MVP Merchant Fence and Players, Unbreakable Performance. He's one of the greatest, best insiders. There you go. Giving NFL information. Preach it. The best. Here he is. My dog, Jay Glazer.

29:37Tyquan Thornton:Jay, how you doing, bro? Doing great, man. Glad to be gone. Man, you guys are going to have me on more. You want to come on? Fuck yeah, I want to come on. I like it. No, you can curse. I do it all the time. Okay, good, good, good. Yeah, you guys know me. Yeah. The only time I don't is, you know, when, like, the red light comes on the Fox. Well, Harry Long used to have a fuck counter in the, you know, meetings. Yeah. And, like, I didn't know what was going on. And I would say, you know, I'm from Jersey. So that's how I talk. So I'd say, oh, motherfucker, this. And also, boom, boom, boom. And one day in our production meetings, all of a sudden, Howie's like, 72.

30:18Tyquan Thornton:I'm like, what is he talking about? And I said, the fuck's he talking about? 73. And he had a fuck counter. And how many times did I say fuck going into the meeting? But red light comes on, I don't say shit. I'm good. Right. Okay, okay. I'm a professional.

30:34Shannon Sharpe:Help me understand this. Yeah. There's been a lot of talk over the last week. We found out last week that Coach Belichick didn't get in on the first ballot. Stupid shit of all time. And we also just found out in the last couple of days, Mr. Kraft also didn't get in on the second ballot. That's dumb too. Jay, what's going on? What have you heard? Because I know you've heard from some of the voters. What's going on? No, no, I don't. But you guys know me. Yeah.

30:58Tyquan Thornton:I'm not part of that crew.

30:59Shannon Sharpe:Right.

31:00Tyquan Thornton:I've never been allowed to play with the children there. Like, I always did it differently. You guys remember, 93, I came in. Yeah. And I was like, man, I don't have, I started covering the Giants. And I was like, I don't have the same education. I got kicked out of my first college. I went down to box to Westchester University, Pennsylvania. They kicked me out the day boxing season ended. And so it's like, all right, they're using me for that. And went back home, started doing Jersey shit, and then moved to New York to go to Pace College, downtown Manhattan. Because it was the cheapest place to live.

31:38Tyquan Thornton:And I eventually, like, I was, like, boxing, bouncing, bartending, doing... I was being a bouncer for a crime family at what used to be Studio 54. And then I think it became it after that. But it was, like, it wasn't the greatest career choice for me. And I actually signed to box for the Genovese crime family. That was going to be my job. But eventually, thank God, I never showed up to that. It's like, God, like, hit me with a lightning bolt, like, the day before I was going to my first practice at the Final Rose Gym in Jersey City. Like, God, like, hit me with a lightning bolt. Like, what are you doing?

32:23Tyquan Thornton:You're not even Italian. You're Jewish. Like, what are you doing? Thank God I never showed up. And they all got rounded up in international drug ring. six months later, right? Thank you, my best friend, God Almighty. So I get in there, I cover the Giants. I'm like, man, how could I be different? And I was going to start relationships. And all those old school writers back in the day was, I don't know, when did you start? 90. 90, right? Remember how it was back then. They used to use their pen as a weapon. I said, I'm going to start relationships. I have more in common with you guys than them. And I got destroyed for it.

32:58Tyquan Thornton:So for 11 years, I could not get a full-time job because every time an editor or a producer or whatever would ask about me, they'd say, no, no, he's not objective. He's friends with the players.

33:11Denzel Ward:Right.

33:12Tyquan Thornton:And I just thought, dude, I'm not covering the fucking Middle East. For sports, right? But I got destroyed. But as a result, because I did it my way, I never got included into the group of, you know, Hall of Fame or AP or nothing. I've never been part of it.

33:33Shannon Sharpe:And I don't really give a fuck. But you did. You broke the story about Spygate. How much? How much? Thank God. Now, you know. Thank you, my best friend God Almighty and Evan. But there's a situation where people, many believe that Spygate was worse than was let on. How much does Fygate play in a role that Coach Belichick not getting in and Mr. Kraft not getting in the ballot?

33:57Tyquan Thornton:I think, like, people want to use – again, I can't talk first thing because I don't talk to those guys. Right, you're not in the room when they were – Yeah, so, like, if they want to hold on to that, they can hold – but that's like saying, okay, we're going to keep Lawrence Taylor out because he did blow.

34:13Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

34:14Tyquan Thornton:Stupid as shit of all time. If you're the greatest, you're the greatest. You know what I mean? That's it. Yeah. Okay? And he won plenty of games without it. So, I don't know. I think also, like, because he wasn't great with the media, it was their vendetta. And this is not me knowing a personal, just from the outside in. How do you not put him first? Right. Like, that means no coach should ever be a first ballot in the history of life.

34:43Shannon Sharpe:You know what I mean? But you know why I get pushed back? Why I push back on everybody? because they say he was average without Coach Belichick, was average without Tom Brady. Ask me, what was Chuck Noll without Terry Bradshaw? What was Coach Lombardi without Bart Starr? See, they never use that argument because Bart Starr, I mean, Coach Lombardi was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Shanahan without Elway. Chuck Noll was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. So, I mean, and Don Shuler was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But look at his quarterbacks. He had Johnny Unitas, Bob Greasy, and Dan Marino. I mean, well, damn, you got the top 100 players of all time.

35:22Tyquan Thornton:I always say, when you have a quarterback, all of a sudden, you know how to pick players, your coaches can coach, you look like you're fantastic. When you don't have a quarterback, everyone's a dumb shit. Can't pick players. No one knows how to coach. You know what I mean?

35:38Shannon Sharpe:It really is that much. You also said that Mike Tomlin was done coaching. Do you believe that Mike Tomlin is done coaching in the NFL, or does he take a year off, get a TV gig, and come back? Because all the other coaches that's ever coached in Pittsburgh, Chuck Noll never coached again. Coach Cowan, although many believed in, he maybe teased it, he never coached again. Is this a similar situation?

36:00Tyquan Thornton:I think he's done. Look, he told me and Rondé Barber two years ago. But also it's like, he's like, hey, this is my plan. You can't say this. Don't show my head. I'm telling you, you're my guy. That's it. That's why I'm where I am in life. I've never burned anybody. I don't go for the scoop. I go for the relationship. Our relationship is deep. I coach his son in life now. He's 22 and it's going to find his way. My son, Sammy, who's been lost a lot, my team was there for him. So this is like beyond all this stuff. So it's also great. Like, I'm known as the gatekeeper of my team. It's pretty good.

36:48Tyquan Thornton:I'm the only one who talks to him, right? But that's like, yeah, you know, last year I thought he was going to hang it up. He decided one more. I thought he was going to be done. So until it happens, it happens. But this year, kind of week eight, I'm like, hey, man, anyway, this is going to change your mind? Nope. Yeah. Okay. I said, can I report it the last week?

37:10Shannon Sharpe:Nope.

37:11Tyquan Thornton:He said, but in fairness to him, he said, I don't think it's fair if my players find out from you. Yeah. I think they need to find out from me.

37:19Shannon Sharpe:Right.

37:20Tyquan Thornton:Okay. I don't have to have every scoop. I'm good.

37:23Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

37:23Tyquan Thornton:I've done pretty well, right? Yeah. Yeah. By the way, Spygate you're talking about? Yeah. So, man, that was my second week in studio. Right. Fox, right? And the last thing Howie and Terry and Jimmy wanted to, with some new guy taking up air time, right? So it was my second week inside. I used to do games. Remember I would do sidelines, right? And then I'd do my scoopage from there, right? And they're like, all right, listen, guys. Jay is second week. Jay is now going to have normally it's going to be three segments. We're going to still the same amount of time, but we're going to spread them out.

38:08Tyquan Thornton:But today we're going to have four. And Howie Long gets up. And you guys know Howie's a bad motherfucker. I know Howie. Howie's a sick.

38:18Shannon Sharpe:I played with Howie. Yeah, and he's, you have to keep the beast in the box, right?

38:24Tyquan Thornton:And, like, Howie ended up one of his teammates' careers one time. And the guy tugged on his jersey. It was their center. And I think he broke, like, his collarbone, his eye socket. Like, he fucked him up. So we were asking him, we're like, hey, dude. like what did this guy do? He's like he tucked in my jersey and we're like what else did he do? What did he guys not understand? He tucked in my jersey and we're going so you broke his eye sockets and his collarbone and he's like did you guys not understand what I'm saying? He tucked in my jersey so Terry goes well don't you think the crime maybe didn't fit the punishment and he literally goes are you guys not understand what I'm saying?

39:06Tyquan Thornton:He talked to him about a jersey. Right. Bother me. Okay, let's move on. Let's move on. He's a sick bastard, right? So he gets up, and he goes, wait a minute. You're telling me this kid, and he points at me. Don't look at me. He points at me. And he goes, this kid has the spygate video, and you're giving him extra time. And they go, yes, Scott Ackerson. He has the video. He has the actual video. Yes, this kid has the video. And I'm like, oh, my God, this is terrible. This is horrible. And then Jimmy looks at me, and he goes, you really got the video? I said, yeah. And Bradshaw looks over, and he goes, that's the actual video?

39:48Tyquan Thornton:I said, yeah. And he goes, he's OK with me. So thank you, my best friend, God Almighty in heaven.

39:57Denzel Ward:And everything changed that day for me. Listen, you've been a huge advocate, very outspoken when it comes to mental health. Yeah. How does it make you feel to see more players be up front, more boisterous about their mental health issues as opposed to before when everybody was suppressed and not let it be known because it was frowned upon?

40:15Tyquan Thornton:Yeah, you know what's so funny, man? Because I have, and you've got to ask yourself, man, how many drugs do my parents do when they conceive me? But I have clinical depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, OCD anxiety, insomnia. other than that I'm a model of stability but for years I thought I was cursed and you just hit and honestly dude I would go out when I would have I would say the beast got out of the box I would take a bunch of Vicodin a bunch of Adderall I'd go fucking hog wild I'd start fights and I would rather do that than get cancelled than anyone know I have depression or anxiety. How backwards is that?

41:03Tyquan Thornton:Very. So I used to think I was cursed. Now I think God blessed me with all these so I could free us all, liberate us. Like, no one's questioning. Listen, you're fucking crazy. Yeah. You're fucking crazy. You can't be great and not be crazy. Yes. Right? And as men, we're told you don't say this shit. And look, for me training all these players in MMA, my whole thing is like, if you were hurt and tired, you will never, ever, ever, ever know. We don't show that shit, right? And then I realized, man, I'm the problem, right? I'm permeating what our dad's taught us, our uncle's taught us. So then I'm like, you need that in football and fighting, okay?

41:49Tyquan Thornton:You'll never know. We'll be relentless. And as you think we're getting tired, fuck, you'll never know. But now, guys, off that field, outside of that cage, now I want a new unbreakable concept where we open up, and my relationships have never been better. Like, they've turned this right here, this bracelet right here, my most prized possession. Michael Phelps gave it to me, where, with the promise, basically he wouldn't kill himself. Right? That's a fucking brotherhood. Right. Right? Like, this is the baddest of the bad. Right? And it's turned friendships into brotherhoods and sisterhoods. It's dope.

42:31Tyquan Thornton:I feel like my life's beginning. I don't have to be the glaze, that character that I created. Right, right. You know what I mean? And now I get to be real and help people and build people up and learn from them. And it got me with my beautiful wife over there. I was able to get the help I needed and work on things. and we were together for a little bit and I was up to my old tricks and I sabotaged shit because I didn't feel I was worthy of being loved so I fucked it all up. She split up with me. I flew back to Arizona. You'll see a guy here today named Mark Kerr who's a smash and a shoot. I moved back to Arizona to fight with him and Ryan Bader and all my old fight team, Aaron Simpson because for me, love was getting punched in the face and getting abused.

43:23Tyquan Thornton:Right. And now, like, I went and did all this work,

43:28Shannon Sharpe:and now we got back together, and I never knew I was able to... Love and receive love.

43:37Tyquan Thornton:Yeah, I never felt worthy of it. Yeah. So, like, so it motivated me to do all these great things on the outside because I couldn't feel love from the inside because I wasn't fucking worthy of it. Yeah, yeah. I was a piece of shit. Yeah.

43:51Shannon Sharpe:Appreciate it. Jake Lazor. Yay. NFL insider for Fox. Real quick, real quick, real quick.

43:56Tyquan Thornton:I'm here for Kelbury, okay? Kelbury. So it's an ADHD drug that I take. It's a non-stimulant. So I got diagnosed with ADHD in 1989. They put me on stimulants. When you have a depression, the stimulants are bad, right? And this is my journey. But, you know, you get those peaks and those valleys. Valleys are bad. So I found something called Kelbury, which is a non-stimulant. I take it at night. and when I got 19 roommates in my head talking all at once, now I have two. It's really helped me out. So it's called Calvary, so I just want people to know that. It's really helped me out a lot. Appreciate you, bro.

44:34Tyquan Thornton:Love you guys, man. Thank you. Have me on more, man.

44:36Denzel Ward:Have me on more. I'm ready. You've got to train me. Don't forget. You really want to fight James Harrison? I'm going to beat his ass. What are you talking about? I really want to.

44:46Shannon Sharpe:We're good. Jake.

44:50Shannon Sharpe:Jake, ladies, Come on. Come on. A former light heavyweight. A former heavyweight.

44:56Trey Smith:A former heavyweight. Hey, you better not mess with Camaro, man. I been trying. You better not mess with Camaro, man.

45:02Shannon Sharpe:DC, I been trying to tell him. I been trying to.

45:04Trey Smith:He wanna fight everybody.

45:05Shannon Sharpe:He does. He does. He just saying that. Daniel Cormier.

45:10Trey Smith:You better stay away from Camaro, man.

45:12Shannon Sharpe:No, we gonna go on the White House card.

45:13Denzel Ward:Me and him.

45:14Shannon Sharpe:Oh, ho, ho. DC. Yeah. Talk to, hey, we had Dana on and Dana's like, He's like, I don't know. You know, it might be a possibility that J.J. make that White House card. He and Piedra.

45:29Trey Smith:If he, listen, I think if Jones decides to go to 205 and fight Pereira, that's the fight. That's the fight.

45:37Shannon Sharpe:You don't think Piedra can go up?

45:39Trey Smith:At heavyweight? Yeah.

45:40Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. No? You too small?

45:42Trey Smith:I think, I got to be honest with y 'all. I think John Jones is better at 205. Right. What? I think he better at 205. Let me tell you why. it takes discipline to get back down to the weight. Yes, yes. So he'd have to be so disciplined in his preparation. That's why he was so good at 205, because he was having to live so clean to make sure he can get down to the weight and do everything the right way. So, yeah, I think him and Pereira at 205 is the fight.

46:09Shannon Sharpe:You think he can get back down there after being heavy for like four or five years?

46:14Trey Smith:Hey, me and Jon Jones did a reality show together. Yeah. Just recently. Uh-huh. And he a big boy.

46:20Denzel Ward:Yeah.

46:21Trey Smith:But he kind of like, you know when like a tall skinny dude gets a little fat? Yeah. That's how he look right now.

46:27Denzel Ward:But would that take away from his skill set? No. If you're able to get down after being so big, not so big, but being bigger for so long, does it take away or deteriorate your skill set if you try to fight yourself down to a certain weight class just to fight?

46:42Trey Smith:Chad, I think this dude is such a good fighter. Yes. That if he can get down to that weight, he's going to be better. Because he's going to be faster. Yes. he going to be in better shape cardio-wise. Right. The way he looked against Stipe Miocic was crazy. He beat him so bad, dog. He quit, too.

46:58Shannon Sharpe:I mean, I felt bad.

46:59Trey Smith:I felt bad. You know why? Stipe took all – like, he waited so long to fight him. How you going to not fight for two years and come back and be 41 years old? You can't fight him your first – Not after two years old. Right. You're 41 years old. You've been a fireman for two years. John beat him bad, man. Yeah. John beat him bad. And then, John, you know what's messed up about John Jones, man? What? It's crazy, man. You know what this brother did? What? Stipe Miocic is a nice guy. Yes. He is. Right? But John, him and I have, like, such a bad history. So he don't have to, like, search for stuff to make himself mad at me because I'm constantly on his head.

47:33Trey Smith:Right. Stipe Miocic and him, they had a press conference. John Jones all of a sudden talking about, and then Stipe said, I'm a bad dad. Stipe looking at him like, I never said that. Stipe looking so surprised, like, I never even said that. But John in his mind is trying to make himself mad at Stipe.

47:52Denzel Ward:Right, okay.

47:52Trey Smith:But he wanted to kick his ass. And so he did. Stipe looking around like, man, I never said nothing about this man's children.

47:58Shannon Sharpe:What about this new partnership, UFC and Paramount? Now if you have the app, you can watch. I mean, the streaming service, you can watch it. So now you're going to be in millions and millions of homes. You don't have the pay-per-view fight. And I think that's a great thing. I think you're going to be able to reach a larger audience because it's free.

48:16Trey Smith:Hey, listen. The other day, we had the first fight. It's called the numbered event now. They're not pay-per-views. Right. And it was two weeks ago. We had Justin Gaethje versus Patty Pemblin. Yes. It was one of the most watched fights in UFC history. Wow. Because it was in so many holes. You can just download the app. I think it's a big win for the UFC, and I think it puts us in line with so many of the other sports out there in the world. You don't pay to watch NFL games. Nope. You don't pay to watch basketball. Now you don't have to pay that extra money to watch the UFC.

48:49Shannon Sharpe:Are you surprised at how good Gaethje looked against Patty?

48:53Trey Smith:I was not surprised. I was surprised that Patty didn't try to wrestle him more.

48:59Denzel Ward:Right. Patty seemed very, very open to standing with Justin.

49:04Trey Smith:But Justin's trying to throw hands. That wasn't the way he was going to beat Justin Gaethje. Also, you're not beating Max Holloway. Who? You. You're not beating Max Holloway. You're not lasting three minutes with Max Holloway. I'm sorry, bro. What about Kamaru? Max too small. Max too small. Hey, listen. You told him right, too, home. You told him right. You were like, hey, man, listen, man. You ain't fighting this dude.

49:27Denzel Ward:You're not going to train me?

49:28Trey Smith:I can train you all I want. But you ain't going to beat me. Against Kamaru Usman, man.

49:31Denzel Ward:I'm going to beat you. Man, I want to stand right there.

49:35Trey Smith:He's going to start wrestling with you.

49:36Denzel Ward:No, I don't want to wrestle. But he will.

49:38Shannon Sharpe:But guess what? He said he want Francis, too.

49:41Trey Smith:Francis. You don't want Francis, man. I don't want Francis, man. None of us want Francis, man. Why you can't get no fights?

49:50Denzel Ward:Listen, now that I think about it, right, with your extensive knowledge of UFC and where it's going, where it's evolving to, is there a fight that you haven't seen that you would love to see now?

50:01Trey Smith:That I have to see? That you have to see. There's a couple, right? There's a couple fights that I want to see bad. Honestly, I do want to see Pereira at heavyweight. I would like to see Tom Aspinall fight Jon Jones. I think after the last time when Tom Aspinall got poked.

50:15Shannon Sharpe:He didn't look good, though. And John's like, y 'all want me to fight that? You know how John heals, man. That's what he's thinking.

50:24Trey Smith:No, he said it. Because the reality is Tom had this aura of invincibility about him. And then when he was fighting against Cyril Ghan, Cyril was fighting much better than people thought. So John's like, yo, man, this dude can't fight me. But I think that's a good fight. I think Ilya Tepori and Islam Akachev would be the fight. That Ilya Tepori is something else, man. He's throwing them hands.

50:46Shannon Sharpe:But you know the Russians, they just try to take you down. They're going to get you down. They're going to make you tired.

50:51Trey Smith:He put it on Jack Della Madalena, didn't he? Yeah. I couldn't believe how easy he handled him. He handled him real good. But Ilya Tepori and Islam. Because that Ilya can fight, man. That's the fight. That's the fight.

51:03Shannon Sharpe:Because Ilya said, Patty, you messed up the biggest pain of your life losing to a 38-year-old.

51:10Trey Smith:Ilya be knocking dudes out, too. Yeah. Yeah. Illya be knocking him out, man.

51:13Shannon Sharpe:But do you think that'll be a better fight? Because Illya's not looking to take it to the mat, and Patty definitely was not looking to take it to the mat, so everybody's just looking to throw Holloway. Is it going to be a situation where they come to the center ring like Gaethje and Holloway and just throw Leather? Let's go.

51:27Trey Smith:Justin Gaethje is my friend. I'm going to tell him don't do that with Illya Teporea, man. You can't do that with him.

51:32Denzel Ward:Yeah.

51:33Trey Smith:He hit so hard. When him and Charles Oliveira were fighting, by the time Charles Oliveira hit the ground, he was already sleeping, man. and Ilya hit him two to three times on the way down. So, like, before he even hit the ground, Ilya hit him with the right hand. By the time Charles is, like, knocked out and falling backwards, Ilya done hit him with an uppercut. He hit him with another right hand. And then some guys, some guys actually, you fall down, they do like that. The referee, like, hey, man, it's over. Ilya jump on you. He hit you with a couple. And he don't care. Let me tell you something, man.

52:07Trey Smith:When I hit Stipe and he went down. I couldn't hit him again fast enough. I don't know how these dudes got the discipline to not hit him. Because in your mind, you're crazy.

52:19Shannon Sharpe:You want to make sure he don't get back up.

52:23Trey Smith:Shannon, when that man, when you fighting another man and he fall, all you want to do is jump on him. Right, right, right. I jump on him and hit him. You hit him? I hit him three times. Damn. By the time the referee got on back, his head done. When his head hit the mat. I said, oh, he done.

52:43Shannon Sharpe:At his absolute best, at his absolute best, is that anybody in UFC history was a better fighter than Jon Jones?

52:53Trey Smith:No. Not even close. Not St. Pierre. No.

52:57Shannon Sharpe:Not Anderson.

52:57Trey Smith:The truth is. Not Demetrius. Hey, let me tell you something. People like to say, you be hating on Jon Jones, man. He can beat you. I said, listen, man, and I told you this whenever I did your podcast. You did.

53:08Shannon Sharpe:You did.

53:09Trey Smith:I was so good when he beat me that second time that if he beat me that time, I don't think nobody could beat him. He was so – plus, he tall. He got long arms. 84 inches. He got good knees.

53:23Shannon Sharpe:Elbows.

53:23Trey Smith:We did a – him and I did that thing together, and we were talking about boxing. And he was like, if we boxed, it would be much harder fight. Right. He goes, because I kick Daniel a lot, and I need Daniel a lot. And I think that is why or a thing that people underestimate about him. I don't think in terms of skills, maybe Khabib was as good, but Conor McGregor was real good whenever he was on his game. Yeah, right.

53:50Shannon Sharpe:Will he ever fight again, you think? Conor? Yeah. Tell him what you told me on the thing. When somebody make$200,$300 million.

53:59Trey Smith:He made all that money.

53:59Shannon Sharpe:It's hard to get up. It's hard to get up.

54:01Trey Smith:Yeah. You remember what Marvin Hagler said way back in the day? Right. He said, man, you're sleeping on silk sheets. You got to get up and run six, seven miles every morning. Here's the thing about Conor, though. I always want to ask somebody, like, from not within the UFC, like, do y 'all think y 'all going to watch him? Because you have seen athletes. Yes. So many. Now, obviously, Conor has started to live the gimmick a little bit. Right. Right? He lives like Ric Flair said he was living the gimmick. Yes. Conor's living the gimmick a little bit. Do y 'all think Conor going to fight again? Do you think he can pull himself away from all that lifestyle?

54:32Trey Smith:No. The yachts, the party, and all that stuff and get in camp.

54:35Denzel Ward:D.C., he's still a draw. He's a draw. He's still a draw. He's a massive draw.

54:39Shannon Sharpe:He can fill out any arena, wherever he goes. But he hasn't looked good. When's the last time he looked good? Although, no, Cabo Cerrone. When he showed up.

54:48Trey Smith:Hold on.

54:48Denzel Ward:D.C., even though he hasn't looked good, he's still a draw. He's a draw. People are still going to tune in to watch. But let me ask you this, though. When he wins and loses.

54:55Trey Smith:Let me ask you this, though. He's selling so many pay—he said it the other day. He goes, my business is pay-per-view. because with Khabib, he sold$3.5 million pay-per-view. Right. Do you? Listen, John, I was on a pay-per-view, me and Brock Lesnar. We sold$1.2 million by. Yeah. I know what that check looks like. Mm-hmm. Him and Khabib did three times that in terms of just pay-per-view. Right. What's the number that you can get Conor McGregor in the cage? Right. What you got to pay him now that he cannot sell pay-per-view to get him to fight?

55:23Shannon Sharpe:Because he's already got$300 million,$400 million in his bank account.

55:26Trey Smith:He sold that liquor? Yeah. But do you think he can get in the camp? Because you're right. He is a draw. I just told y 'all at the start of this. We had one of the biggest fights that we ever had in UFC history. Conor fights is going to double that.

55:39Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. No. I don't think you can get it back in the fight. You don't think he's back? Nope. Why? Because he got that much money in the train like you'd have to train to be able to do it. But he's got certain fights that you can give him. Didn't Tyson Fury say I'm retiring?

55:52Trey Smith:Tyson Fury retired three times.

55:54Denzel Ward:Three times. What made me come out of retirement, D.C.?

55:56Trey Smith:I don't know why Tyson Fury keep fighting.

55:57Shannon Sharpe:But UFC is different than boxing. Boxing, I ain't got to worry about nothing but these. In the UFC, I got to worry about these, these, this, guillotine choke, rear-necking choke, triangle choke, arm bar. You're right. I got too many things to worry about these things. You're right. And when you've made that kind of money, you and I, we talk about it all the time, the Peyton Mannings and the Tom Brady's and the guys that's made hundreds of millions of dollars to steal. But all they're doing is throwing the football. Ain't nobody needed to, just imagine, if they didn't have no offensive line, and now you got to come out there and throw the ball.

56:33Trey Smith:Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Nobody protected. Yes! When you go into the octagon, like, I always say, hey, they say, man, are you nervous about this TV? And I'm like, bro, I fought in front of millions of people in my underwear. You got some shorts on.

56:47Chad Johnson:And nothing else with some gloves. Right?

56:49Trey Smith:Yeah. So nothing makes me nervous anymore. Right. But to do that as a very, very rich man. Yes. and get hit and get kneed and elbow. What if you get cut? You start going, God, I don't really need to do this no more, man.

57:04Shannon Sharpe:And as you get older, it gets harder to train. You don't recover as quick. You can just pop out of bed when you're in your 20s. You're like, oh, let's go do it again. I'm not sore. You start getting to your 30s? Yeah. No, I take the day off.

57:21Trey Smith:And, again, he hasn't fought in like four and a half years because he broke his leg last time. Yes.

57:27Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, he did. He broke his leg. And you know, when you take that kind of layoff, and when Muhammad Ali basically missed three years, and that was because of the Vietnam War, he was never the same.

57:39Trey Smith:He was never the same guy. He was never the same. And he was in his prime, and he was still young when he came back. He was still young when he came back.

57:45Shannon Sharpe:But he was never the same. There's nothing like fighting when you fight. Nope. There's nothing like, Ochoa, we talk about this. Oh, training. Oh, off-season conditioning. You get in shape by playing football. You become a better fighter by fighting. All that spark. And then you took time off. And he's not a – Conor's not a guy, oh, he's taking time off. He's in the gym every day. No, he's not. He's on a yacht with his shirt off. Yep. Yeah, he is. With 30 bandies on the football.

58:13Trey Smith:Yeah, that's the truth.

58:14Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. That's the truth. That's the absolute truth, man. This game, we know I love you love football. Yep. Who you got? You got the Patriots or the Seahawks? Seahawks. What did you like about the Seahawks? Defense. I knew it. I knew it.

58:28Trey Smith:Defense. Man, I tell you, man, they would be, hey, let me tell you something. That's a damn shame what they'd be doing to the 49ers, huh? Man. Two times back to back. Hey, man, we, I was at a wrestling tournament. Yeah. We in Los Angeles. We get done, we go watch the game. I got some of the, because I live in the Bay. Yeah. They love, they faithful to the Bay. They put that on their shirts. I say, man, that's cute, man. That's real key to the base. They said, we're going to win tonight, they said, because Coach is the type of guy, Shanahan is the type of guy, that in that last game of the season, he don't show that much.

59:03Trey Smith:He held some stuff back. No, he didn't. We want to give him everything because it's easier if we don't get home field advantage. We still can go get him in Seattle. I said, man, y 'all tripping if you believe that. Man, they went up there to Lumen Field. Seattle done put it on them bad. They did. It was bad. Oh, yeah. And I'm watching that, and I'm watching that, and then I watch New England and Denver. Now, the game was a good game. Right. But you're struggling to put up points against Denver. How are you going to put points up against Seattle? I'm sorry, man. I ain't trying to disrespect Denver.

59:36Shannon Sharpe:I promise you all not. We needed our quarterback.

59:39Trey Smith:Y 'all needed y 'all quarterback. The fact that y 'all played that good without the quarterback is the defense. Yeah, defense would be good. But, boy.

59:46Shannon Sharpe:I heard you talk about the fight that was just in Australia. Yep. Boco. Yep, yep. Are you surprised that he's still fighting at that level at that age? Yes, dude.

59:56Trey Smith:They keep talking about retirement, man. And then he just – Diego Lopez is dangerous. Yes. He beat him worse than he did the first time. Yeah. He did. He's so smart, dude. Hey, I swear to God. Have you met him? Have you guys met him? No, I haven't met him, no. Man, he's so small. He's so short. He might be 5 '6". He's smaller than Mighty Mouse? No, no.

1:00:23Shannon Sharpe:How was Mighty Mouse that good? He the best, bro. How much Mighty Mouse weight?

1:00:29Trey Smith:He fought at 125. But guess what, Dushan? He was the best. He one time was behind a dude. He got the dude with his hands locked behind him. Demetrius Johnson threw the guy in the air. Like, he threw him up in the air. Yeah, yeah. He releases him. When the guy starts falling, because gravity takes hold, he puts him in the arm bar. He called it, and then he said, I call that the mousetrap.

1:00:54Trey Smith:He said, I call that the mousetrap. I said, man, did you make that up? He said, I made that up. He threw him in the air. By the time the dude done hit the ground, Demetrius got him in the arm bar. He tapped him.

1:01:05Shannon Sharpe:He was good. That brother was good. Are you surprised? Because I remember, and people don't remember, they used to have, the way they used to fight, they didn't have weight classes. And you fought and you kept fighting and you fight, you might fight three, four times in a night. And the last man standing won. Yep, yep, yep. When they had Horace Gracie. Yeah, they had Ken Shamrock. Yep, yep. They had the big heavy hitter, Dan to be Severin. Yep, yep, yep. And you've been watching this, huh? The first two fights were in Denver. I saw them. Yeah. And so I was like, I don't know if that's fair. This little ass, because I remember when Horace Gracie came out there, I was like, this man, this big old dude by the tinnitus little dude.

1:01:46Shannon Sharpe:Submissions. Man, he got a... I said, why he laying down? He better get his little last up. I'm looking at him. I said, he better get up. But he did something. The next thing you know, the dude was like... Yeah. Did you think UFC would ever get to what it got? No. Because I asked Dana. Dana's like, no. Dana said, we just bought UFC logo and some gear for$2 million. $2 million.

1:02:12Trey Smith:And now it's worth, what,$7,$8 billion? $7,$8 billion. Yeah. But that's the thing, right? Credit to the Fertitta brothers, to Dana, for having the vision of what this thing could have been. Because at its core, right, we all love fighting. Yes. Right? If you're on the football field, if you're on the basketball court, if you're on a playground anywhere, the moment people start fighting, what do we all do? Circle around and see. Go towards and watch. Right? So having the vision to recognize that fighting is something that everybody wants to enjoy.

1:02:43Shannon Sharpe:And it's universal. It's universal. Yeah.

1:02:46Trey Smith:Everybody thinks they can fight. So let's figure out a way to make people tap into it. And that's exactly what they did. It's, dude, this sport, I was a world champion for five years.

1:02:57Denzel Ward:Yes, sir.

1:02:57Trey Smith:I am more recognizable today because I talk about the UFC than I was even when I was playing the game. Right. It's crazy.

1:03:06Shannon Sharpe:And I think the thing is what they did is that everybody thinks their discipline is the best. So we're going to see what a karate guy could do against a jiu-jitsu guy, what he could do against a judo guy, a worse he could do against a Sambo guy. Especially at the start, right? Yeah, that's what it was about.

1:03:20Trey Smith:But today, I think that question has been answered. It's the wrestler. It's the wrestler. It's the wrestler. He better than the jiu-jitsu? The wrestler's the guy. Because the wrestler determines where the fight takes place. Yes. If you got the jiu-jitsu guy, you don't let him take you down, and you beat him in the stand-up. If you got the stand-up guy, you take him down, and you beat him on the ground. It's the wrestler.

1:03:38Denzel Ward:The wrestler's the guy. That's what makes me so special. That's what makes me so special. Because I'm a wrestler. I'm a two-time state championship champion.

1:03:47Shannon Sharpe:What do you talk about? I don't wrestle. In what, 115 pounds? No, 205 in high school. Boy, them 205 would pull your ass off. DC. DC. You like mighty mighty mighty through that guy up in there.

1:03:57Denzel Ward:Two-time state champion in wrestling. And then I can stand up and go with the best of them.

1:04:02Trey Smith:You from Florida, aren't you? I'm from Liberty City. They don't do those wrestling. But you a two-time state champion? Yeah. I got some friends in Florida, man. I'm going to fact check that. Yeah, fact check it.

1:04:11Shannon Sharpe:Tell the chat to fact check it. I'm thinking more like the Midwest is where the wrestlers are.

1:04:17Trey Smith:Yeah, Midwest.

1:04:18Shannon Sharpe:Ohio, stuff like that. Oklahoma State. Iowa.

1:04:20Trey Smith:Iowa, Oklahoma. I went to Oklahoma State. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. They've got the best high school wrestling in the country. Do they? Yeah, they be beating us, man. I coached in California, man. We beat the Pennsylvania kids beginning.

1:04:32Shannon Sharpe:We got to stick to California. I got to stick the football in the track and field running. Them country boys, when the weather gets cold.

1:04:39Trey Smith:Yep. You go inside and start wrestling. Yep, you go inside and start wrestling.

1:04:43Shannon Sharpe:And so when you get to change the season, like Iowa and stuff like that, where it gets cold and those guys, see, the weather's warm, so you can run all, you know, track and field, you can train all around. Football, you can train all around. That's why the warm weather states do better. In football. Football, track and field. Yep, basketball, baseball.

1:05:00Trey Smith:Yep, that's why. You going to the game? I'm not. So my son, my son has a wrestling tournament. Okay. And we're going to the East. We're going to Virginia. So I'm going to chase the weather for my son to wrestle, man. It's cold, too.

1:05:13Shannon Sharpe:Is that what he wants to do? He wants to ball and dance? He likes football, man. He likes football.

1:05:16Trey Smith:That dude can play some football. He hit now. He can tackle now. He tackle? He's been wrestling his whole life.

1:05:21Shannon Sharpe:But you say he a linebacker, right?

1:05:22Trey Smith:He weigh 173 pounds. He in eighth grade. And he's got to be almost as tall as me. Already? He mean to.

1:05:28Shannon Sharpe:I like it.

1:05:29Trey Smith:He like to tackle.

1:05:29Shannon Sharpe:I like it. So what? You want him to do both? You want him to wrestle? I want him to do both.

1:05:34Trey Smith:I think it's important to do both. I don't think that you should. I think that in most sports today, kids specialize. I agree. I think you've got to enjoy your life, man. Plus, I hate it. And it helps with other things. It helps with everything in life. It does. Kids specialize in one sport.

1:05:49Denzel Ward:Are you one of those parents that pushes and pushes and pushes and pushes? You've got to do this. You've got to do that. Or you just let him, whatever he decides to do, you okay with it? I'm supporting you.

1:05:59Trey Smith:I haven't pushed him that much. I haven't pushed him that much, and I think I could have pushed him more. Right. Right? because when you wrestle or you fight and your dad is me, it's kind of hard, right? Because I've heard kids going, I'll beat DC's son. And I'm like, I don't want them to, like, him have to live. Yeah, come on, man. Like, you didn't beat me, right? You beat my son. But that's his claim to fame. But that's his claim to fame. Right. So I kind of didn't push him all that much. Right. But now it's like I'm doing a little bit more, like, so he's in his gap year this year. Yes, sir.

1:06:28Trey Smith:Where, like, so he's in eighth grade, But he's doing like a, it's almost like a gray shirt year where he takes another eighth grade year before he goes into high school. So now he gets up in the morning, he lifts his weights, right? Then he goes and he does pads. I got him doing boxing. Then he goes to school, and then he might wrestle a little bit. Then he goes home and he sleeps. And I just do this game probably 20 pounds because you grow when you sleep. So during the day, this dude's sleeping. He's like so disciplined now. I'm so proud of that kid, man. He's doing a good job.

1:06:59Shannon Sharpe:How much bigger do you think he's going to get?

1:07:01Trey Smith:I bet he'll be 210, 215 pounds when he's a senior. Maybe 220. I think he'll get big. 6 '1", 6 '2". I'm the shortest guy in my family. Okay. So probably 6 '1", 6 '2", 215, 220 when he graduates high school.

1:07:17Shannon Sharpe:You did play some football. Yep. Do you wish you had stuck with football?

1:07:22Trey Smith:No. Let me tell you something, man. Let me tell you something. Were y 'all on good football teams in high school? We were decent. We were decent. We were okay. So did you have people, you know, growing up in the South, right, everybody think they go on the NFL, man. Yeah, with your own. Everybody think they go on the NFL. So if a dude is like all-state honorable mention, he's like the greatest thing in the world. He don't want to take no responsibility. He don't want to lead. So I was on teams where we had like a couple good dudes, but they were like very like cancerous. Right. The only team that was good was the year I was a senior.

1:07:56Trey Smith:Right. You guys know the Cupid Shuffle? Yeah.

1:07:59Denzel Ward:Yeah, of course.

1:08:00Trey Smith:We went to high school together. That's one of my boys, right? Okay. So we were like the leaders of the team, and we were a good team. Right. But before that, it was bad. So by the time I was done with football, I was like, man, I'm on the wrestling mat. And I done made the United States world team for 16-year-olds. Right. So I'm traveling the world wrestling going, I know that if I do what I'm supposed to do, I'm winning state championships. I'm wrestling in world championships. but on the football field, I can't take all these guys with me. Right. So I was like, I'm always going to wrestle first.

1:08:31Tyquan Thornton:Yeah, right. Okay.

1:08:32Trey Smith:D.C., thank you, man. You're the man, boy. Thank y 'all for having me. Thank you. Y 'all the best, man. I appreciate y 'all. I love y 'all chemistry, boys. Appreciate you, D.C.

1:08:42Shannon Sharpe:Daniel, D.C. Cormier, one of the great MMA mixed martial artists of all time.

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