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Eddie kindly agreed to this interview where he relays his thoughts on the aftermath of UFC 217, trash-talking and UFC fighters.

Eddie “Truck” Gordon is a middleweight mixed martial artist who has competed for the UFC. He most recently participated in the reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter (TUF)” for the “TUF: Redemption” series under coach Cody Garbrandt. Additionally he is also a former winner of the series succeeding in “TUF 19” in the middleweight division.

Since the series, Eddie has been active on social media promoting motivational speaking and has written a book detailing his inspiring story throughout his life. This story also been featured as an Emmy award winning documentary.

In terms of fighting, Eddie Gordon is still focused on returning to the cage and has plans to fight in February or March.

If you are interested in Eddie “Truck” Gordon, please follow him on social media platforms @TruckMMA_UFC. If you want to read his new book which is a fascinating insight into the MMA world, the link is: https://www.amazon.com/Forever-TRUCKIN-Mastering-Will-Win/dp/0999608614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510501484&sr=8-1&keywords=forever+truckin

Furthermore, if you want to see the video interview it can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQa8pP4SXzw&t=6s

KJ: As some one with a marketing degree, what are your thoughts on trash talking to build a fight up? Is there a fine line?

EG: With UFC 217 it delivered and all that trash talk came to fruition. But there is a fine line. You see people cross the line and it is the Conor McGregor effect. Fighters feel like they need to trash talk to make money and it’s scary.

If you look at Bisping vs GSP those guys promoted the fight but knew the lines not to cross. With Jedrzejczyk vs Namajunas, I think Joanna went too far. Joanna was an amazing champion who showed women the way fighting wise. However, with the trash talk, she took it too far getting into touchy subjects like mental health. You know we all want to make money but for you to bring another fighter to tears, that is brutal.

KJ: Do you feel that it’s affecting fighter’s performances that aren’t trash talkers but are trash talking, as it is adding that extra bit of pressure.

EG: Yeah, I definitely do think its adding pressure. You got to be who you are, as everyone else is taken. Significantly, when people try to trash talk and they can’t, they do themselves a disservice and it looks really bad.

KJ: You look at Colby Covington a few weeks ago and it was a good promo but a line was definitely crossed.

EG: Some bridges were definitely crossed there. The saying goes don’t poop where you eat. He is around a lot of Brazilians and some people took offense. He defeated a Brazilian great on their home soil, where he should have taken some of them as fans. Don’t take them and spit in their face while they are down and start a storm.

KJ: Did you think Cody would knock out TJ?

EG: I was sure TJ was going to get knocked out. Razor close. Saved by the bell. No doubt TJ is a top-level fighter. Guy is skilled and versatile. All around top fighter. But, that’s why they have fights. No one is invincible.

Look at Rose Namajunas, who thought she would knock out Jedrzejczyk out like that. Everyone thought it would be a submission. That’s why they have the fights. Four-ounce gloves and all it takes is one second.

I respect TJ he overcame a lot of adversaries, ex-teammates, trash talking, that knockout video in practice. He fixed his mistakes from his loss to Dominic Cruz and made those adjustments so give that man some credit.

It’s not about how you react when you are winning but it’s about how you react when you lose. It’s when you are at your darkest moment that’s when you can tell who you are as a person.

KJ: Cody seemed to be positioned as the successor to Conor McGregor. Dana seemed to support him too.

EG: As far as Cody being the next Conor McGregor, it’s so super hard to find out who is going to be the next anything because this sport is forever changing. If someone were to tell you that Ronda Rousey were to fall off the spot as quick as she did. People would have thought you were out of your mind and crazy. To think that GSP could come back and then make such a big splash after being on hiatus for 4 years. No one on the planet would have thought that except him. Just honestly you never know and now one of the biggest stars is back.

KJ: At UFC 217 Cody stated TJ taught Team Alpha Male how to dope. Did you see any cheating or an individual ever try to bring that when you were training?

EG: Misery loves company. Fighters know fighters. Someone must have showed you. I’ve never seen TJ stick anything anywhere, it’s not my place to judge. Cody knows him better but he wears his emotions on his sleeve. If you look on the facts, look at Chad Mendes, awesome fighter, I like him, he gets popped for drugs and where does he train, Team Alpha Male. Where there is smoke there is fire. Everybody is different.

KJ: What are your thoughts on Michael Bisping?

EG: It’s tough. I’m a big critic of Michael Bisping. But you got to give credit where credit is due. To get wins in the UFC is tough. Before GSP won that fight, he was the most winningest fighter in the history of the UFC. I feel like during his title reign, did he face lesser competition than most champions of past? Yes, numbers are numbers. Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don’t.

Did he really fight the top guys in his division? No. Dan Henderson is a legend, he’s the goat but he was also a 48 year old man who wasn’t even in the top 5 and it was a razor close decision. If that was in the States, not on his home soil, who knows?

You got to give credit where credit is due but there is an asterisk next to his name. But he got it done and not many people can say they were UFC champion, so he went out and knocked out Luke Rockhold and earned the belt.

If you look at Michael Bisping his body hasn’t changed. He’s 38 and he became a champion. He became a champion after USADA came in place. Look at all these genetic freaks that were doing head kicks, this and that, whilst looking like cartoon characters.

Michael Bisping a normal guy who pushes the pace becomes champion when he’s 38. Is there a coincidence? USADA came in and levelled the playing field. This guy got an opportunity and made the most of it. It’s not a coincidence. Look at their bodies they went from being a specimen to having dad-bods. The proof is in the pudding.

KJ: Do you feel confident about GSP defending the belt against Robert Whittaker or a Rockhold?

EG: It’s crazy, I’m a huge fan of GSP and we have the same training family. I didn’t think he would be able to pull it off against Bisping, who is a bigger man and he pulled it off. Did I think he would stay in that division? I thought there was no chance he would stay in that division because Bisping was the perfect match up for him.

Now, how does he match up with the other middleweights. Chris Weidman, my teammate is huge compared to GSP. You look at Yoel Romero he is a big aggressive strong middleweight. Everyone knows GSP’s style and he doesn’t want to fight these middleweights and he said himself, “these guys hit hard. I was a small welterweight and I am a tiny middleweight. I don’t belong here.”

If you ask me, I’m the UFC and I want to recoup some of that money. It’s a no brainer, Conor McGregor vs GSP fight at 170 or a catch weight at 175, that’ll make ridiculous money. Conor McGregor needs a big money fight and he’s not going to fight for peanuts when he just made a 100 million dollars.

KJ: What are your thoughts on GSP vs Tyron Woodley?

EG: I don’t think he likes that match up with Woodley. Woodley is very active, he’s always in the gym training and getting better. Honestly there are not too many strikers like Wonderboy and Woodley handled and carried his own with one of the best strikers in the game. Is GSP’s striking at the level of Wonderboy? Not even close. They train together and they know that.

So now if GSP can’t beat Woodley in the stand up and can’t get him on the ground. What’s your outlet to win? It’s just not a good match up. GSP’s management now has to be looking at the fact that he’s not a young spring chicken and they got to make match ups that make sense for him, the door is only open if you keep on winning.

KJ: Thank you Eddie for this opportunity, it was brilliant to talk to you. Just a little shout out is there anything you want to say?

EG: I want to thank you for reaching out. It was certainly a pleasure. I love doing these things because who knows you might blow up? Might be bigger than Ariel Helwani.

My legacy is not going to be about how many fights I won, cars I owned or houses I bought. It’s going to be about how many lives I’ve touched. That is why I’m talking to you and we are going to touch tonnes of lives. So I’m super excited.

KJ: Thank you for being an inspirational role model especially in MMA where it is not common and importantly people should read this book! Follow Eddie and subscribe.

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