Full transcript: Jacob Stitch Duran on London Real
8:44 Brian Rose: This is London Real. I am Brian Rose, we are sponsored today by the folks at Bulletproof Coffee, which Stitch and I are both sipping on right now. It’s a coffee that’s free of molds and toxins. You put some grass-fed butter in there, some MCT oil, and bam, you got this frothy brew that is keeping us awake right now, especially if you got a little jet lag. It might keep you awake right now, So thanks to those guys, you can check them out.
9:05 It’s a bulletproof executive. They’ve got sleep hacks, coffee, you name it. So appreciate those guys for supporting the show. My guest today is Mr. Jacob Stitch Duran, who is the most famous UFC and boxing cut man in the business.
9:20 You grew up in a migrant camp in California. You started working at five years of age. Later you joined the Air Force. You went to Thailand. You fell in love with Muay Thai kitboxing.
9:30 You came back to the States. I think you started your own school. You later became a cut man. I’m just gonna blow through your biography really quick here. In 2001, you joined the UFC.
9:40 You have appeared in every single season of the Ultimate Fighter Reality Show. You’ve been in the movies with Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson. You’ve written your book, From the Fields to the Garden, The Life of Stitch Duran. In boxing, the Clichgo Brothers pretty much have you, I think, on all of their fights. They fly you in for that.
10:00 It seems like you’re at every single UFC I ever watch. Stitch, welcome to London Real.
10:05 Jacob Stitch Duran: Hey, Brian, thanks, man. What an introduction. I’ll tell you what, yeah, what more can I say?
10:10 Interview’s over, right? I love that, man, but you know what? I want to thank Bulletproof, because I just got off the plane and came straight over here and I was a little jet lagged, but now, baby, let’s roll.
10:19 Brian Rose: Dude, that is all good. You know, we almost missed you with a car at the hotel and I was like, I don’t know if Stitch might want to pass and you were like, let’s go, man.
10:27 So thanks so much for being here.
10:28 Jacob Stitch Duran: Thank you. It’s my pleasure.
10:30 Brian Rose: Really. It is, you know, I’m curious, you know before we get into your story, which is a crazy one What’s it like when you land in Heathrow Airport and you come to London?
10:37 Do you remember the first time you were here and and what do you think about when you think of London England?
10:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, well, you know what the first time I was here in in London was when we did the UFC fights at the Albert Hall Okay, 2002 my right my first year. Yeah, and that’s that’s when the UFC was first getting going and you know It was somewhat of an experience, you know, and I had a great time and It was really just the start of what the UFC was doing and you look back at that day now to where we are now and we’ve grown in leaps and bounds and I’m glad to be on this carpet ride.
11:09 Brian Rose: Yeah, it was an amazing show. That Royal Albert Hall is like over 100 years old. They have operas and ballets in there and then they had an octagon. It was like the most surreal thing for me to be there for that, but that was my first time. I had never really seen anything.
11:23 I think there was Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton I think had fought for the second time There was something crazy and I remember Frank Mir fought Ian Freeman got knocked out and yeah, that was that was intense
11:34 Jacob Stitch Duran: That’s 12 years ago. Yeah. Yeah, and Josh Barnett. That’s where I met Josh Barnett and you know from there We you know became good friends I worked with him in pride and that was just a start of many many things that happened to me in my career
11:47 Brian Rose: and you Are all over the world? I mean you’ve been to Europe countless times you go to Germany for the clutch goes They usually find German right and so Europe isn’t you’re no stranger to Europe now
11:57 Jacob Stitch Duran: I don’t know, you know what, and you were talking about coming to London, it’s nice when the customs guys acknowledge you and they do that in Brazil and obviously they did that in London today actually and in Germany people stop me in the streets and all that and to me it’s quite a mind-blowing experience.
12:13 I’m a cut man and to get those kind of accolades and that kind of recognition, I’m happy. I’m happy
12:19 Brian Rose: do you ever feel like you could go out incognito and you kind of don’t want to be bothered or how do you feel? When people what do they say to you?
12:27 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, they stop me. Hey your stitch, you know one guy says hey, everybody tell you look like stitch I said, you know what? I hear that all the time And and I let them all for about three four minutes, you know, and my wife’s kind of you know, you gotta let him know You know, I said I am stitch, you know and but now you know what? It’s it’s a it’s a very gratifying feeling, you know to to be recognized in something as big as this, you know, and like say, I come from a very humble background.
12:55 And, you know, I always look back and thinking, well, you know, here’s a little kid from, you know, the migrant camps in Planata, California as a farm worker. I’m traveling the world, I’m, you know, doing London Real here with Brian Rose, and, you know, it keeps me in check, man.
13:11 Brian Rose: Take me back to where you grew up, and you told me about your birth certificate earlier. What does it say on your birth certificate?
13:19 Jacob Stitch Duran: You know, it’s a trip, you know, I’ll talk to people and I’ll say, you know what, who do you know pick cotton?
13:25 I pick cotton. You know, I grew up as a farm worker, my parents were migrant workers, and I was, my birth certificate says CPC camp number 12 for the California packing company, and we were in camp number 12. But yeah, you’re right, I mean, I was born and raised in doing farm work, and you know, That has really educated me on being a hard worker, being on time, respecting people, because when you come down from the bottom, the only way to go is up. But I never forget those moments, and I’m glad I went through those stages.
14:01 Brian Rose: Is that something you look back fondly, or does it look back as kind of a traumatic time in your life?
14:07 Jacob Stitch Duran: Oh, no. Listen, buddy, I’m proud of it, man. And the thing about it, everybody I grew up with grew up poor. So we didn’t know we were poor, but we had all the fruits, all the vegetables, you know.
14:18 We’re all pretty athletic because you’re running through the fields and, you know, they plowed the fields and you have layers of rows and you step on certain parts of the rows and that gave us pretty good coordination, you know. But my goal was always to be a professional baseball player and, you know, picking nectarines or picking tomatoes, I would throw them at boxes, you know, I would throw them up and hit them with a stick, you know, and even, you know, we had our driveway that was all rocks, a bunch of little rocks, and I’d get a little, like a broom and throw the rocks up and hit them, you know, so I’d pretty good eye and hand coordination. But no, I’m proud of coming from there, and you know, I travel the world, and you get all these Latino people that come up to me.
15:02 I just saw a girl from Chile that took a picture with me today, and she just says, You know, I’m just so proud, you know, that you’re representing us, you know. And I do. I represent the Raza and the Latinos, and my first time to Stockholm, Sweden, when Alexander Gustafsson fought, I go into the weigh-ins, and you know how the weigh-ins, there’s 5,000 people that show up, right? Well, the first guy to ask me for an autograph is this Chicano from East LA.
15:28 And I look, and I laugh, and I’m thinking, what are you doing here? But he was there for school, education. You know, I see this young generation growing and if I could give them a little bit of confidence in saying, you know, follow your dreams, they do come true, then I’ve done my job in that.
15:47 Brian Rose: I remember seeing Cain Velasquez kind of rode to the Octagon and they were showing his father, who I think worked a lot in the fields, and they were saying that he was really a grinder, working those long hours.
16:00 And then they said, that’s basically what Cain does, and that’s basically what the fighters do. Right. you see but the average spectator they just see the glory but they don’t see those days every day in the gym those eight ten hours a day where it’s it really is a grind at the end of the day
16:15 Jacob Stitch Duran: yeah you know Brian I have so much respect for these fighters I mean I’ve done hundreds probably thousands of fights right at ringside and I look at these guys whether you could be a world champion or whether you could be your first fight but these guys for them to do what they do to me is quite inspirational I mean I hear these you guys crack each other.
16:34 I remember when Chuck Lydell fought Vandalay Silva. That fight, I just heard these guys cracking each other. I mean, and I’m thinking, you know what? These guys are gladiators. These guys are modern day gladiators.
16:44 And I have something to do with that. My job when I walk into the dressing room is they assign me a fighter. I’ll wrap their hands, you know? And this is with Chuck and Vandalay. It was Vandalay’s, you know, I wrapped Vandalay’s hands.
16:59 But what made this real nice story is about a week before I was townland that I wish him good luck. That’s my birthday that day, December the 29th, when they fought. And I was working in Chuck’s Corner. But after that fight, I mean Vandalay is swelled up and they’re just going toe to toe, man. And I go and clean up Chuck, he had a small cut, cleaned him up and all that.
17:21 So I went over there to my buddy, Vandalay, and I said, Vandalay, how you doing? How you feeling? He goes, oh, I’m okay. stitch, happy birthday. I said, man, you know what, this is right in the ring, right in the ring. You know, Leon tabs is cleaning him up and all that. And he’s swollen. He looks like the elephant man. And I’m thinking, you know, this guy just went through the hardest fight of his life and he’s wishing me a happy birthday. But that’s the kind of respect I think that, you know, these guys are giving me it’s in and it’s because I give them a lot of respect and I think I give them a lot of I bring their confidence level up.
17:55 And I’m like the guy in the old gladiator days, and I always mention that, where they’re in the dungeon and they’re starting to put their armor on before they go out to the Colosseum and fight for death, right? While me putting the hand wraps on is really the same thing, it’s just done in modern times. So I’m the first step of them getting ready to go and fight. Frank Mere probably said it best, and he says, you know, when I see Stitch walking into the dress room, my stomach just drops because I know it’s time to fight.
18:25 And I think that’s a very true statement. Vitor Balfour, another great comment that he says is, when Stitch comes into the dressing room, whether he’s working my corner or not, he brings that common effect. And if you’ve never been in the dressing room and seeing these guys prepare for battle, it’s hard to really imagine that. If you’re a fighter, I think you can really appreciate what I bring to the table.
18:48 Brian Rose: What is it like for someone who’s never been there and can only imagine?
18:52 Is it a fairly similar feeling at every rap, at every fight?
18:57 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, you know what? When you have a young fighter, a guy that’s coming into the UFC for the first time, Diego Brandão. When we did the reality show, he was the first guy I was going to rap. And there’s 32 fighters, 16 fights.
19:14 So there’s a whole bunch of guys we got to rap. But Diego Brandão was the first guy. And I didn’t know who he was. I’m starting to wrap his hands, and he goes, geech. I was telling my girlfriend that one of these days, that guy with a mustache and glasses is gonna be wrapping my hands, you know?
19:30 And I was wrapping his hands, and he’s telling me, and he gave me chills. And I got chills right now just talking about it. He ended up winning the reality show, you know? And you still get chills. And I still get chills.
19:40 I got chills just talking to you right now, you know, it’s, you have to be there, man, too. You know, it’s that intertwine that I bring with these guys. It’s it’s it’s it’s really special
19:50 Brian Rose: and you’re the last contact They pretty much have before they go in there or you’re a very long because it takes what seven minutes a hand to wrap those hands
19:59 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, yeah for me it does Okay, you do your homework pretty well. I’m impressed brother a little bit
20:04 Brian Rose: But you know, they spend that time with you and it’s almost it’s a quiet time It’s a meditative time, but you guys are sharing quite a moment together And they’re not with their camp who they’ve been spending probably 24-7 with for the last How many days and it’s it must be a kind of a weird cathartic, you know I don’t know spiritual moment
20:23 Jacob Stitch Duran: it is it is really a spiritual moment. I think that’s I’ve never heard that statement before but I think you’re right on point on saying that and because You know When I get in there to start rapping and you’re right, you know, these guys are with their camps Seven eight weeks and all that but when I get in there, it’s just me in that fighter and and it’s one-on-one and and I’ve had fighters cry when I’m wrapping their hands because I know that anxiety is in them and and You know, my job is to take that away from them and give them that point of confidence.
20:54 And outside of being a good cut man and wrapping hands and working cuts, psychology is a big, big issue. And I’m very good at that. You know, and I know when Misha take Ronda Rousey, Brian Callaway, they had another guy wrapping Misha’s hands, but they wanted me to wrap them. And he comes up to me and says, you know, Stitch, the reason I want you to wrap her hands is because that psychology that you give her right before she goes out. And the way I look at it, Brian, is if I could give you one ounce of confidence, that one ounce might be that one ounce it takes for you to go out there and win a fight.
21:32 And so I feel very treasured in having those moments with these fighters.
21:36 Brian Rose: And what do you say to someone when they’re crying like that? I mean, I’m sure you have a very gentle hand, and I’m sure you’re a man of few words, but the right words. What do you do?
21:47 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, it’s both, and you know, this one fighter specific, he just literally, I’m starting to wrap his hands, and I could kind of feel the tension in him, and then he just starts crying like a baby, and I just sat back, and they didn’t go through that moment, and then that’s where that touch came in, and I said, you know what, don’t worry about it, brother, I’m here to take care of you, man, and let’s get this done.
22:12 He ended up winning the fight.
22:14 Brian Rose: And that’s the thing. The margins are so thin at this level that it’s just the psychological edge can make such a big difference on these fights. I mean, you look at the Vegas odds, it might say plus or minus 300, but anyone who’s watched the UFC, we know it’s just down to who pushes it a little bit more. It could be a matter of a few seconds, who wins that fight, right?
22:33 Jacob Stitch Duran: It’s a matter of seconds, and that’s it, man, and inches, and that’s it. And it is, it’s that psychological thing, and it isn’t very important. And I know Carol Parisian, when he fought Drew Fickett, this was at the Marine Base years ago, he ended up with a big old gash right on his cheek. And the referee called the time out and they’re bringing the doctor in, but Carol’s looking at the big screen and he goes like this and the gash just opens up and he freaks out.
23:05 Yeah, he starts freaking out. And Manny Gambarian and Neil were their coaches, and I didn’t know who Manny was at that time. But these two guys went into shell shock. They didn’t know what to do. Carole wants to stop the fight. Manny and Neil don’t know what to do. And my job’s not to give instructions.
23:24 But I knew at this point that it wouldn’t have been fair for Carole, for these guys to have stopped the fight because, you know, these guys weren’t very, very experienced. I took it upon myself. I told Carole, I said, look, man, don’t worry about the cut. I’m going to have that taken care of. You just go out there and you just fight them in a stand-up position and he did he ended up winning the fight but the side note to that is a couple fights later we’re at the MGM and I’m walking by and Carol is sitting there with his father you know I’m traditional Mexican and Carol and his father are traditional Armenians and he introduces me I said well how’s it cut you know so you can see the scar and and he introduces me to his father and his father says you know I want to thank you for taking care of my son I I want to invite you to my house for dinner you know and once again you know those those are those chill moments and we’ve never had that opportunity but that wasn’t the point the point is that he extended himself out to me for taking care of his son and you know those great moments and that still honors you those little moments of respect big time
24:28 Brian Rose: I guess that’s why you’re still doing what you do because a lot of people you know they wouldn’t you know they would just it would be another fight another fighter you know a lot of those guys would just see the same face every time.
24:41 Jacob Stitch Duran: No, no, no, no. Every fight has a different story, brother. And when you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t seen it all. And you know, I’ve always, here’s what I’ve wanted to present to the UFC. Maybe you could present it, or maybe the fans could present it, is the fans have to see what we do backstage.
25:00 But you know, there’s so many contests that the UFC has for the fan clubs or whatever, but maybe they ought to have a cut man of the night where whoever wins the contest gets to hang out with me and goes into the dressing room and see these moments of me wrapping these guys’ hands. Sitting next to me at ringside and see what goes on between the relationship of me and the trainers and the fighter and the referees and the doctors. Those are very special moments and those are stories that go untold, but I think they’re very important in the game.
25:31 Brian Rose: You said your greatest asset is confidence. And it sounds like when you’re in there, For example, with Carole and his corner, if you didn’t exude that confidence, they could’ve gone any number of ways.
25:41 Jacob Stitch Duran: Oh, they would’ve stopped the fight. Right. Yeah, I mean, Carole, he wanted to stop the fight.
25:46 And if I wanted to step in, they would’ve stopped the fight, he would’ve lost it.
25:50 Brian Rose: So your confidence allows them to worry about what they need to be worrying about, which is game plan, the fight, recovering, all that stuff.
25:58 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, listen, I put that old swab in that cut, it was that big, and for me to tell him not to worry about it, he didn’t worry about it. So it worked.
26:06 Brian Rose: Do you ever, you’ve probably never been asked this question, but all of the trauma and you know, all of the, I don’t know if I can call it violence, but all of the fighting going on.
26:15 Brian Rose: And I know you have the utmost respect for these guys and what they’re doing. Does it ever bother you that the fact that these guys are literally throwing their bones at each other, like you said, with Chuck and Vanderlay and they’re cracking away and you watch this every weekend and you’re a part of it, does it ever get to you?
26:31 Jacob Stitch Duran: No, it, you know, it, it doesn’t, I, it just gives me more respect for these guys. I mean, only because of what they’re doing, and you know, you’re talking about the long training process, you know, the injuries that go in the training process.
26:43 You know, the mental game, the drying out, I mean, I’ve seen guys just, you know, going through the syndromes of drying out, and it’s a tough, tough job, and really, the fight is probably the easiest thing that these guys go through. But when they’re out there, you know, cracking each other, and then at the end of the fight, they’re hugging each other. To me, that’s quite special. You know it’s a sport. Right.
27:05 Brian Rose: Yeah. I guess it is something noble about it in the moment when they’re just giving everything. And then you said, especially in MMA, at the end, you get the hug, which you don’t always see in boxing.
27:13 Jacob Stitch Duran: No, but you don’t see in boxing all the time. That’s for sure.
27:16 Brian Rose: Yeah. But we’re going to get to that. So your job for people that are going to make this documentary about you guys, definitely, it’s behind the scenes, wrapping the hands beforehand. Then when they go out to the ring, you put the Vaseline on them before they go in. Right.
27:31 Or something into their ear. Everyone’s always wanted to know what that is. Does that change with certain fighters? Is it something the same? I think there’s a story where you said you were looking out for a fighter, for his mother.
27:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah. Well, that was Clay Guida. That’s a tricky time there, because if you say the wrong thing in their ear, they could go in there in a really weird way. Right, right. Clay Guida’s mom, the one, she’s a doll. Mom and dad are dolls. Clay Guida’s a great guy. Once again, they say, take care of my son, take care of my son.
28:01 But well, here’s what I, nine out of 10 times, probably 98% out of 100 times, here’s what I’m telling the guys, is hug your team, you know, take your clothes off, hug your team, I’m going to put Vaseline on you, the referee’s going to check you. And I have to get close to the air because it’s so loud that from here to here, they’re not going to be able to hear it. And then not only that, but their attention span, like Jose Aldo, he jumped around like a Mexican jumping beam so I have to really, the only way to focus on them at that point and even when they get knocked out is to whisper in their ear and to let them know, especially when they get knocked out, that there’s a stitch talking to you. But Clay Guida, I told him, I said, look man, your mom says for me to take care of you and he says you always do.
28:52 Brian Rose: Yeah. That’s a powerful moment. That’s a powerful moment. So on top of that, you put the Vaseline on before they go in, then in between rounds you are tending to their cuts, which are pretty much on the face. And then the last part of that job is, if somebody gets knocked out, a lot of times they’re waking up to you.
29:07 Right. Those are very powerful moments, probably.
29:10 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, those are pretty crazy moments. And I’ve been through enough of these situations where there’s been times where the doctors have tried to get to the fighters when they’re knocked out. And you have to realize when these guys get knocked out, they’re thinking so many different things, and they’re probably not even thinking anything at all, they’re just, instincts are kicking in.
29:37 So when you see me whisper to these guys during a time when they’re knocked out, I’m telling them, I’m saying, this is Stitch, I’m here to take care of you. And Ivan Drago, it was funny, when he got knocked out by Mike Brown, the doctors are trying to get him composed and this and that, and he’s kind of rustling them and this and that, and I get them, I said, Drago, look at me, this is Stitch. You got knocked out. And he says, Stitch, you, I believe. But there’s guys, Michael Bisbing when he got knocked out by Dan Henderson.
30:12 There’s Miguel Torres when he got knocked out. When these guys get knocked out, there’s usually like three times I have to mention it to them. For them to register that, boom, I did get knocked out.
30:23 Brian Rose: So you need to tell them what’s going on right now.
30:26 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, I have to.
30:27 Yeah, because they have to understand, but when they understand, you could just feel their body relax a little bit, like Anderson Silva, when he got knocked out by Chris White. He’s there, and I have to tell him, I’m on my knees, he’s sitting down on his butt, and we’re in the middle of the ring, and I’m telling him he got knocked out, and It took two times, the second time, he just kind of accepted it, and you have to accept it. It happens in this game, and nobody is vulnerable, or everybody is vulnerable, I should say.
31:04 Brian Rose: Do you feel bad when you have to see a guy that you know has worked so hard, you just wrapped his hands an hour before, and their whole title is gone, and then they have to wait there for the ref? Is that break your heart, or are you so used to it that it’s just part of the game, and there has to be a winner in all this room?
31:23 Jacob Stitch Duran: I try to stay level all the time, but there’s been moments, obviously there’s always emotional moments in Shogun when he got tapped out by Cheo.
31:32 It was so quick that I could just see major disappointment in Shogun, like, God, my whole life just ended. I got tapped out by Cheo. You know Anderson Silva when he had his leg broken, you know, I mean hour before I was in the dressing room wrapping his hands, you know, Roy Jones is in the dressing room. We’re talking. We’re joking around and you know to see such a horrible accident like that it it it kind of kind of hurt.
32:04 Brian Rose: But I guess you don’t want to show that you just want to stay calm and make them feel better and just kind of move on to the next.
32:12 Jacob Stitch Duran: Oh absolutely not. stuff I tell my wife, you know, I don’t leave that in the ring or in the dressing room.
32:18 Brian Rose: Okay. And the middle part that I skipped, this is this in between rounds, this is where you actually do your work as a cut man.
32:25 And the term cut man, I mean, your nickname is Stitch, but you don’t do any stitching. Somebody asked me that today. They’re obviously not a UFC fan, but what are you trying to do in that 60 seconds between rounds and what are the tools that you have and why do we see only you, and let’s be honest guys that are not young in there these are experienced the team that you have I think it’s four guys per UFC why do you why do we need you guys to do it
32:50 Jacob Stitch Duran: well you know we I think we’re pretty good at what we do you know and but you know the thing about it when when a fighter is talk about a cut when a fighter gets cut you know our job is to give him every opportunity to win a fight and and there’s medications that we use adrenaline chloride 1-1,000 that’s that’s That’s a vessel constrictor.
33:08 That’s like, as Dr. Davidson says, that’s like bending the holes. That’s what we use on the swab that goes into the cut and that closes up the blood vessels. I have a new product called Quick Aid that literally dehydrates the blood. But our job is, basically we have 50, 55 seconds, if you could still a second or two, to stop the bleeding, man, and send that guy out nice and clean like nothing ever happened because that could be very influential on not only the doctors, but the referees and the judges.
33:39 And so, to go out there, it’s like a pit stop, man, you know, a race car driver. You come in, boom, you can do what you got to do, you clean them up, you send them out. And you know, when it comes to swelling, you just want to maintain that swelling and send them out there, you know, and give them every opportunity to win the round, go in that one more round.
33:59 Brian Rose: Right. You want to give them that one more.
34:01 No one wants to see if I stopped on cuts, right? No. fighters don’t even the winner doesn’t want to see that does he and the fans don’t either
34:09 Jacob Stitch Duran: yeah yeah and but you know in our fairness if and doctors have asked me you know what do you think about the cut and you know the bottom line is is let’s save these guys for the next time you know if it’s real bad where it could be doing some nerve damage or some optical damage or something like that then you know let’s stop that fight and it’s take care of this guy and let him get better and they didn’t come back and and win a fight later on
34:34 Brian Rose: so the doctors will ask you your opinion
34:36 Jacob Stitch Duran: yeah you know it’s kind of it’s kind of nice when you go into different commissions you know and especially commissions what we don’t go too often I know I kind of I feel pretty honored when the doctors want to take pictures with me you know at that point I’m thinking okay you know they’re gonna let me do my work but usually about 30 minutes before the fight start I’ll go to the ringside and I’ll meet the doctors and I’ll let them know here’s what we do you know obviously the doctor has the decision to stop the fight and and I’m not gonna question it and but you know give us the opportunity to give this guy every chance to win a fight and and they understand that
35:13 Brian Rose: when I see the doctor examine those guys sometimes sometimes it just seems it just seems like a crapshooter I’m like does this
35:20 Guy really know what he’s looking for and sometimes it really just seems almost like like part of the drama you know let’s take a look and obviously Most of the time, they don’t. That’s a really weird process. Yeah, and does a doctor know, I mean, a doctor might be a doctor, but does he know what’s a bad cut, what’s a good cut?
35:38 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, you know, it depends on where you’re at, believe it or not. And like, say, if you go to a weak commission, then, you know, you get these doctors that don’t work fights all the time.
35:48 You know, or one guy might be a general practitioner, another guy might be a podiatrist. You know, one guy, we’re doing some fights and guys got cut and says, what stitch do you think you need stitches? That happened twice and I said, what kind of doctor are you? So I’m a cardiologist. If the guy has a heart attack, I’ll be okay, but I know nothing about this.
36:08 But it depends on where you go. That’s why sometimes I have to take it upon myself to kind of not take their role, but at least guide them through that process. I know when Crow Cop got knocked out by Garbo Gonzaga, remember that? And Crow Cop was literally just snoring, and he was locked up, and it sounded like he was snoring, but I had seen that before, and I had worked with the doctors in Nevada. Nevada doctors are the best, and I’ve learned so much off of them.
36:40 But at that point, they want to take the mouthpiece off, and that’s not the thing. As long as he’s breathing, let that mouthpiece stay in there, and eventually their bodies Things were relaxed and crow crop did relax and then you could actually take that mouthpiece off. But a lot of guys right off the bat, they want to take that mouthpiece off. Right, which is the wrong call. Which is the wrong call.
37:00 Brian Rose: Right. And the doctors that are watching these things, will they kind of defer to you sometimes if you can kind of feel, I mean, can you see them sometimes kind of look to you or just kind of look at this and not know exactly what they’re going to do or does it really vary by the commission?
37:16 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, you know, their job is not to do anything. Their job is when I’m working on a cut is to observe and to make a determination whether the fight could continue or not.
37:26 But doctors will ask me, Stitch, what do you think? I said, no, you know what, I got this one under control. So we do work together and communicate together. I feel proud that, I want to have a high school diploma, man, people call me. But you know what, I want to have a high school diploma, not because I was dumb, It just, you know, I walked down to college to play baseball, but I lived in a town nine miles away from the college and going to school was easy because all my friends went to school, but staying for practice, everybody went home so I would have to walk or try to hustle or ride or something like that, so that’s, you know, I couldn’t do that.
38:06 But you know, when doctors ask me questions like that, I feel pretty honored.
38:11 Brian Rose: How did you get into this racket? I know you spent some time with the Air Force and you went to Thailand. you said that was at the end of the Vietnam War?
38:21 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, it was in 74 to 75, I was stationed in Thailand, and that’s when Saigon was falling, and we were there.
38:28 I was at the base that had the B-52s where they would load them up, go to NAMM, drop the bombs and come right back, and so our job was to protect the B-52s and the bomb dumps and what have you not, and I always wanted to, I didn’t even know what Thailand was, brother. I knew what Korea was, and when I got in the military, I always wanted to study the martial arts, and obviously Korea was Taekwondo. But when I got to Thailand, some friends were already stationed there like three months before, so they’re already acclimated.
38:57 So I went to go see my first Muay Thai fight in downtown Banchan, and I see this guy get kicked in the neck, man, and he gets knocked out, and I think that’s what I wanted to do.
39:08 Brian Rose: You want to do that? You’ve probably just seen boxing.
39:11 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. So the following money, they had Taekwondo in the base, and then it was run by the Koreans, but when I got there, the Koreans had left and the Thais had taken it over.
39:23 It was still Taekwondo, but then they converted it into the Muay Thai system. And I studied there, and that’s what got me going where I’m at now.
39:32 Brian Rose: And then you came back to the States, started, what is it, ASK?
39:35 Jacob Stitch Duran: ASK. Well, before that, though, when I got back to the States, I worked for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company in Oakland. And you know, once again, it was funny, I joined a college, I joined Alameda College because they had Taekwondo classes, it was free. And so me and my buddy went and I went in as a white belt, right? And these instructors, they lined everybody up in the circle and they started sparring with each one of these guys and just beating the crap out of them. And they just happened to be, I was like the last guy on the list.
40:07 And when I got there, and I’m a white belt, right, I just whooped on this black belt man, just ate him up, everything I did, I just picked him apart. And I sat down and the girl that was sitting next to me, she goes, you know, I was going to quit because I just didn’t see no benefit in this, but I’m staying. So about two, three months later I’m pumping gas, and who drives up to get gas is that same instructor. So he came and asked me, he says, man, where did you study at?
40:32 So when I told him I was in Thailand, it’s like a big rock just came off his shoulders because he thought, okay, you know, I just couldn’t understand why this guy was whooping on me. Everything I did, I connected. And everything he did, he didn’t, you know. So I kind of humbled him a little bit for, you know, taking advantage of these poor guys that didn’t know what they were doing. And so, yeah, but I got into boxing to improve my hands. And then from there, I opened up my own school, ASK, the American School of Kickboxing. I show you how crazy I was, Brian.
41:01 I did it with a credit card, man. I worked with R.J. Reynolds, and one of my accounts had a building, it was a store, it was a convenience store, and he downsized, and half the building was open, and he presented it to me, and I didn’t have no money, so he gave me the first rent free, and I went and I opened up the whole school with my credit card. I had painted it, got some equipment, got the carpets, got the mirrors, and people But I already know me because I was already training fighters.
41:33 So I was already recognized in Solano County as the top trainer for kickboxing.
41:38 Brian Rose: Did you ever fight yourself?
41:39 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, you know what? I never had that opportunity because when I got back, I mean, I did some, in Thailand, the Thais would call me Bruce Lee. You know, I’d be walking back to the G and all the cab drivers would challenge me and my instructor, the Thai guards would come and they would want to spar.
41:57 So I did a lot of sparring with a lot of ties, but when I got back, kickboxing was just pretty much non-existent. It was PKA, but those were areas I didn’t even know, but I had a corporate America job. I was with RJ Reynolds and that’s what I did, and I knew nothing about all that. I joined some karate tournaments and whooped the shit out of everybody. But that was it.
42:21 But that’s why I got into boxing and I started training amateur boxers, and from there I improved my style of American kickboxing and the fighters that I had turned out to be some great fighters.
42:32 Brian Rose: And people don’t know about you. You know, you’re working at R.J. Reynolds, you know, company car, you’re doing pretty well. Yeah.
42:39 And you packed it all up and moved to Vegas to, what, become a professional cut man, right?
42:42 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah. I followed my dreams.
42:43 Brian Rose: You say, follow your dreams. I mean, how did you make that decision?
42:46 Jacob Stitch Duran: That was crazy. You know, I always wanted to move to Vegas. You know, I was at the top of the level in kickboxing. I went all over the world and worked with a lot of great fighters. But championship fights were like $5,000, you know.
42:59 And so they were…
43:00 Brian Rose: As a trainer or a cut man?
43:01 Jacob Stitch Duran: No, as a fighter.
43:02 Brian Rose: Okay, right, right.
43:03 Jacob Stitch Duran: No, these guys were…
43:04 Brian Rose: And you were their trainer.
43:05 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, yeah. I was a trainer, cut man, manager. I did them all, you know. But I was good at what I did, and I had done some boxing, you know, in work fights in Vegas and worked with other fighters, but I wanted to go with the big boys.
43:18 So I put it for a job transfer with R.J. Reynolds, and I waited for about a year, And finally I get a call and they say look there’s an opening in downtown Las Vegas, you don’t have to do no traveling, but you’ve got to be there in a week. And I kind of used to get taken that one out, right?
43:36 Brian Rose: It’s like bulletproof man. It’s so that you’re human now.
43:40 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, that was bulletproof. So they tell me I have to be there in a week. And I kind of knew it was coming, because the company was downsizing, and I couldn’t do it in a week, man. So I called the manager in Las Vegas, and I gave him my story, and he said, well look, we need something, but here, quick, it’ll give you two weeks. Two weeks, I transferred my school to one of my students, I sold my house, and I moved my family, and I took like a $25,000 a year cut in pay just to get the position that was open, which was the lower position than what I had.
44:15 I called my mother up and said, oh, mom, by the way, I got a new phone number. It’s in Las Vegas, you know, and it happened that quick.
44:23 Brian Rose: And you were doing RJ Reynolds, and you were starting to do cut memoir.
44:28 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, yeah, I was working with RJ Reynolds over there. One thing, when I first came into boxing, Cornelius Bose, the editor that was a world champion, from England, from London, actually, he told me, he says, you know, Stitch, there’s three things that you need to make it successful.
44:45 You need a job, a place to stay, and a car. And those things I always had. And so I did. I worked with R.J. Reynolds, and I worked fights and all that, and got to the point where I was doing more fights than I was working with R.J. Reynolds.
45:01 Actually, when I left R.J. Reynolds, I took a buyout. And then I worked for Trepco, which was a wholesale company, selling groceries to the stores and all that. But it got to the point where I was traveling more than working. And the guy, Al Paulus, was very nice and says, you know what, thank you for everything, but maybe you ought to just do that full time.
45:22 Brian Rose: When did you first meet Dana White?
45:24 Jacob Stitch Duran: Oh, God, you know what, Dana and I and Don House were in the gyms. We’re training fighters. And this is before the UFC, even the second UFC, the Dana White UFC came. And I quit watching the old one because it was just too brutal for me.
45:39 Being a martial artist, it was brutal. And there were the only rules basically where there were no rules. But I was in the gyms training boxers, Dana was training fighters, Don House was training fighters, and I used to sell boxing equipment, and I used to sell Dana equipment and all that. So I’d tie a new Dana in the gyms, and we’re at the point at that time when wives would say, you know what, you got to get another job because this isn’t paying the bills.
46:09 And I’m sure Dana went through that same process because-
46:12 Brian Rose: The voice of reason, right?
46:14 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, the voice of reason, because everybody in that system doesn’t make money. But I hadn’t seen Dana for about a year, and I was working at K-1 at the Bellagio, and I see Dana in the audience, and he asked me for my card, and he calls me up the next day and said, look, man, we bought the UFC, you want to be a cut man? He changed my life, man.
46:33 Brian Rose: And then you joined the UFC.
46:35 I remember an old interview you gave where people were saying, how do I become a cut man? And I think you said, look, you got to put your time in. You’ve got to go visit the gyms, and it sounds like your business, like any really good business, is about relationships, isn’t it, at the end of the day?
46:48 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, well, no, absolutely relationships, because you can spend all the time in the gym, and that’s what I tell. I get emails all the time.
46:54 People ask me, they’ll ask me tomorrow at the fight, I want to be a cut man. I’m a nurse, I’m a paramedic, I’m, what does it take to be a cut man? Well, you know what, you have all those things, but unless you’re in the gym, doing what these fighters do, understanding what these fighters go through, unless you’re When you’re in there donating your time, wrapping their hands and sacrificing and doing it step by step, you’re not going to do it. And I always tell them, if you do it for the money, you do it for the wrong reasons because very, very few people in this industry, in my industry, make money.
47:27 Brian Rose: It’s interesting now because we’ve seen the UFC come so far and in the last, say, five or six years, we’ve seen people join the UFC as fighters who want to be fighters because of the fame and the celebrities. And now you’re a celebrity cut man, and now people want to come in, and now they want to be cut men. But it’s not that simple, is it?
47:45 Jacob Stitch Duran: No, it’s not. It takes years.
47:46 Listen, I’ve been doing this for 30 years, man, and it’s been, what, the last 13 years that success has really come, and really not even that, because when we first started with the UFC, we’re doing, what, four fights, six fights a year, but through the growth of the UFC and me doing more fights than, you know, the sponsors took notice and realized that I wasn’t a bad billboard and, you know, they offered me some opportunities to wear their colors and work in the fights and it became a full-time job for me.
48:18 Brian Rose: And as far as when it comes to people who want to be a cut man, I mean, you manage a team of guys that, like I said, are all quite senior. You guys have been around for a while.
48:29 I don’t see a lot of new blood when it comes to the cuts. Is that something that, because you want that experience, do you ever keep your eye on like a 30-something year old and you’re like maybe, you know, a few more years I might take you on? Or what do you think about Newtown?
48:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, you know what, there’s, surprisingly enough, the UFC’s starting to bring in U-cut men now. I think we have a stable of about 12 guys, one girl, and just did the last fights.
48:52 And, but, you know, these guys are young and, you know, the point is, is when you get a big cut, Are they going to be able to handle that? They wrap a good hand, but you’re going to be able to use the psychology. The only way to learn, because there’s no scope for this, is to be in the trenches and doing it. And if we could sit there and supervise them and help them grow through our education and giving them the education, the knowledge that we have, then I think it’s going to be better for the whole sport.
49:23 And bottomly, at the end of the day, somebody asked me, what do you want to leave as a legacy? Well, here’s what I want to leave, Brian, is that I made this game better and safer. Bottom line is by educating. And when I was learning to be a cut man, was at a boxing event in Richmond, California, and this one guy did a very good job in the cut. And I went and asked him after the fights, I said, look, I’m trying to be a cut man, what did you do?
49:54 And he basically says, F you, man, I’m taking this to my grave, And you got to do the same thing. And I got a little embarrassed. But at that point, that gave me the road that I wanted to take. And it wasn’t the road that he told me to take. My job was to go out there and educate people.
50:12 And to make that sour story sweet, I worked with Livinstone Bramble, which was a WBA 130-pound champ. He beat Boom Boom Mancini in the 80s. That was his claim to fame. Anyway, we fought in the Bay Area. And who was the coach was that guy that told me to F off.
50:29 And now that he sees me in my status, him and his son want to take pictures of me. So I knew in the game of mental war that I beat him.
50:37 Brian Rose: Are cut men like fighters as in they might be a great cut man in the gym between sparring rounds, but when you stick them out in front of all the lights where the pressure’s on and they got 55 seconds, they might tense up, they might not do all the right things. I mean, do you guys have to train like the fighters do?
50:55 Jacob Stitch Duran: Now, that’s a very good question that’s never been asked, but no, you really can’t train.
51:00 I mean, you can’t predict when a cut’s going to happen. When it happens, you’re going to have to kind of mimic what you’ve seen or what you’ve done that has been successful and work it. But when wrapping hands, I always tell guys that are learning how to wrap hands, as wrap as many hands as you can, and wrap your own hands. Because that way, you get to know the tension. You get to feel the tension where the fighters say, too tight around here or too tight around the thumb.
51:28 If you wrap your own hands, you’ll know that feeling and you’ll know how to adjust it. But when it comes to working cuts, you know, unfortunately it’s just, you gotta be in the trenches, man, and hope you do the right thing.
51:39 Brian Rose: All right, let’s talk career defining cuts. Forrest Griffin versus Shogun, he’s got a mean, nasty cut on his head. Was it first round that happened?
51:47 Jacob Stitch Duran: I think so, yeah, yeah.
51:48 Brian Rose: And you know, I think everyone sees this cut. They don’t know what’s gonna happen. I think Dana White’s not sure what’s gonna happen. You go in and we know what happened later.
51:58 He choked him out in the fourth or fifth round. It was a war, but you have to close this cut. Boom, you got 55 seconds. Do you feel nervous? Do you know exactly what you’re gonna do?
52:08 What happens?
52:09 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, well, let me get back to the Stephen Bonner, Forrest Griffith fight first, okay? Because that was such an epic battle. And I remember Forrest, when these guys first came out, there were babies, right? Well, that was such an epic fight and both these guys are bleeding and all that.
52:23 And I work on Forrest, and he ends up winning the fight. And well, before the decision, one of his trainers were standing there waiting for the decision. And one of his trainers says, you know, Stitch, I’m not gay, man, but I got to give you a kiss. Thanks for taking care of Forrest. You know, that was pretty awesome.
52:37 So I’ve always been with Forrest. You know, I’m always trying to take care of him. But that fight with Shogun, he ended up with what we call a star cut, with just so many different angles. He just kind of, you know, zigzagging and all that. And it was down to the bone, pretty much a deep cut.
52:52 I went and used everything that I had, man, and I plugged it up, and I know I’m sitting back, and in fact, that’s how my book, From the Fills to the Garden, starts off with that story. But I’m sitting down there, and Dana White’s dad’s sitting next to me, Down House is sitting next to me, and we’re looking at the cut, and it’s not bleeding the first round. It’s not bleeding the first minute. It’s not bleeding the second minute, the third minute. And we’re saying, wow, it’s not bleeding.
53:19 And I’m thinking, yeah, I’m just, I’m waiting, I’m anticipating, And it’s not bleeding. And he goes on and wins the fight. And that was really a pretty signature fight for me. And Forrest enjoyed it so much that you sent me a nice thank you card and a nice little gift to go with that.
53:34 Brian Rose: I heard that story, and I was surprised because a lot of fighters would be very thankful in the moment, but a few days later would probably forget about you.
53:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: He’s a very loyal guy. Very loyal guy. Joe Stevenson, we did a fight, and Joe wasn’t making no money. And I wrapped his hands, and he wanted to give me a tip. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no.
53:53 And he insisted, he insisted, and he reached in his pocket and just pulled out what he had and gave it to me. And I counted, it was like $68. I said, you know, and it really, it wasn’t the, it’s not the money factor, it’s, you know, but it was a trip as well.
54:09 Brian Rose: And you gave Forrest that one more round and the win, basically.
54:13 Jacob Stitch Duran: And the win.
54:14 Brian Rose: If he didn’t have the chance, he wouldn’t have done it.
54:16 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, that’s the kind of fight where a doctor would stop because, you know, you’re dealing with optical damage. You’re dealing with nerve damage, but more importantly, you’re dealing with blood getting into the eyes right where that cut was at.
54:27 Brian Rose: So what did you do to get that cut? You said you usually have three tools.
54:30 You got the adrenaline. You got a couple other anti-coagulants.
54:33 Jacob Stitch Duran: Avatine is authorized also. I don’t use it that much anymore because I’m using quick aid. But avatine is very expensive.
54:39 It’s more like a cotton candy. My wife says it’s more like a cotton candy type of texture. And it’s very hard to work with, but it’s a coagulant. And in boxing, you would see guys put it there, and you’ll see, you know, cotton there. But once you hit it, it comes off and it takes the clock with it.
54:56 That’s the only problem with that. But I kind of rolled it up and it fit in that cut like a glove. And then I always mixed adrenaline and vaseline together as a final topical. And when I covered it up, man, it was like a Picasso. It worked out great.
55:11 But what I did first is I applied the adrenaline on the cut, close up the blood vessels. I put the Avatine, I plugged it up with the Avatine And then I covered it with the Vaseline Adrenaline Mix, and yeah, it was literally, it was a Picasso. And that was the picture that was on the cover of the first video game, I think.
55:29 Brian Rose: Right, yeah, you told me it was that and that cut. Yeah, yeah.
55:32 Brian Rose: Do you have a pre-fight routine? I mean, you’re working in the UFC tomorrow. I remember hearing an interview a long time ago and you said something about how you ironed your shirt or something, you had like a ritual. And I remember thinking at the time, why is he worried about his shirt? You know, and that seems like the last thing to worry about.
55:48 So for you, it seems like you have this ritual, and I was wondering if you could tell us what it is and why.
55:55 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, Rinko Close to me is my biggest pet peeve, number one. I just got off the plane, my clothes are still pretty good, yours are all right. But you know what, it’s a discipline thing that I do. But before I leave the house, whether I’m traveling to fights in Las Vegas or coming to London, I’ll pull out all my, everything that I have together, and I make sure I have 21 swabs. I make sure that I have enough gauze and tape. I make sure that the vaseline, adrenaline mix that I have is fresh and enough. I go through all the checklist and I do that systematically.
56:32 And that’s when I leave. But when I get to this area in the morning, I’ll iron my clothes. I always iron my clothes. And matter of fact, my son for Christmas bought me a steamer. It works It’s like an iron, but it’s steam, and it’s like taking them to the cleaners, man.
56:49 But I’ll iron them, because the way I look at it is, if you look good, you feel good, and you perform good, and that’s what I’ll do. And now I have all the cut men ironing their stuff, and I’ll kind of look at them, but they all do now. But you have to look professional. in the A level. I worked with a girl, kickboxer years ago, Freda Gibbs, I think was her name, and she was fighting for a world title. I’m working as her cut man, and they get this other guy that they’re using to work the corner, and he reaches in his bag and he brings out a satin corner man jacket, and it’s all wrinkled. I don’t know who this guy is, but I told him, I said, man, you can’t wear that. This girl’s going out there and fighting on TV for a world title and all that and you can’t embarrass a warrior like that.
57:40 Jacob Stitch Duran: I made him take it off. I think it presents that whole image and like what you do is you give fighters confidence and now they have to know that you’re taking care of your business.
57:49 Brian Rose: So it’s everything, right? It’s an image about yourself and it’s presented everything. Now tomorrow when you’re wrapping these guys hands up, I guess around what, six o’clock or five o’clock?
57:59 Jacob Stitch Duran: I don’t even know what time the fight starts.
58:01 Brian Rose: Okay. I don’t either. But I heard that you offer a tap out rap or a knockout rap. Is that true?
58:06 Jacob Stitch Duran: It is.
58:06 Brian Rose: different wraps that the fighters teach you as well.
58:09 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, you know, the tap out wrap, well, the knock out wrap, I’ll secure it a little bit more. If you got a guy that’s going to go out there and really more of a banger, then I’m going to lock his hands up a little bit more and a little bit more, you know, tape on the wrist and, you know, to kind of tighten it up a little bit more, the tap out wrap, give him a little bit more flexibility and all that.
58:31 So there’s two of them.
58:32 Brian Rose: Johnny Hendricks said after that GSP fight that he kind of wished he had had a bit more tape on his hand. Did you hear him say that? Did you wrap his hand and did you know what he meant?
58:42 Jacob Stitch Duran: I knew what he meant because I’ve always wrapped Johnny Hendrix hands, but I wasn’t at that fight and I’m not going to be at this next one. I didn’t get that assignment, but I’ve always wrapped Johnny Hendrix hands and he’s never had no problems. In fact, he’s knocked people out, but I know what he meant and I know exactly what he meant.
59:00 He just needed a little bit more tape on there. A little bit more secure and a little bit maybe, you know, yeah. Because he was feeling it when he was throwing those punches and he was thinking, I might be breaking a knuckle or something next.
59:11 Brian Rose: Do you see a day where there aren’t any more broken hands if you can get a wrap right or get the technology right? Because you’re using technology that was used 50 years ago.
59:19 It’s gauze and tape.
59:20 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, man, that’s a great question. But you know what? And that’s what I tell cut men, that’s what I tell fighters, a good wrap does not guarantee you won’t break your hands. It minimizes the possibility of you breaking your hands.
59:33 But, you know, especially in this sport here, even boxing, I mean guys in boxing break their hands, but let’s talk about the MMA industry. You know, the gloves are so much smaller and a lot of these guys, if you notice when they break their hands or you ask them when they break their hands, they’re throwing hooks on top of the head at this angle. And when you’re hitting at this angle, you don’t have no support. If you’re punching straight, you got all this support in you.
59:56 But if you’re hitting at this angle, all the pressure goes this way, which is gonna collapse the metacarpals or the knuckles or something like that. So I would hope that the technology gets better in the gloves or, I mean, I don’t know how you could change the technology in the raps. I don’t know.
1:00:14 Brian Rose: Are you always trying to make your rap better? Are you always trying little things or getting ideas in the middle of the night?
1:00:22 Jacob Stitch Duran: And I still practice on myself. Ask my son, I practice on him all the time, but yeah, there’s always room for improvement And there’s always little angles. And every fighter, there’s 95% of the time, 90% of the time, the basic rap that I have works for everybody. But there’s the 10% that wants it changed here, wants it tweaked here. Some guys don’t like the thumb.
1:00:48 Some guys, they have problems with their metacarpals from injuries before, and I gotta lock it in and all that. So there’s adjustments that I make for each one of these fighters, but there’s that basic rap that, like Amir Khan, When I go wrap his hands, I’ll give him the basic wrap and then make an adjustment off of that. So yeah, there’s always room for growth. I’m always learning. My wife and I were talking about just today, actually.
1:01:13 Well, last night when I came on, I still studied corners, you know, and even if it’s a four-round fight, you know, with the guys making his professional boxing debut, I’m checking out the corners still studying.
1:01:23 Brian Rose: Seeing what they’re doing.
1:01:24 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, absolutely. What they’re doing, what they’re not doing. Absolutely.
1:01:28 Brian Rose: What the cut guys are doing?
1:01:29 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, what the cut guys are doing. Shoot, all fights that have already happened, I’ll fast forward the fights because I’ve seen so many fights, right? Go to the cuts. I’ll go straight to the corner, you know?
1:01:38 So, watching the fight would take me 15 minutes, just in between rounds. Yeah, that’s what I do.
1:01:44 Brian Rose: Talk to me about boxing versus MMA. You’re one of the few guys that is in both worlds. You know, there’s not many people that really swim in the circles, what’s the champions, the cliche goes and the champions of MMA.
1:01:56 What’s it like, you know, watching them to evolve differently. We hear all about the fighter pay being maximum for the boxers, then you’ve seen MMA come along. What are your thoughts in general on boxing versus MMA?
1:02:08 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, well, that’s another great question. And let me just kind of answer it this way because me working with boxers and me working in the MMA industry, you hear a lot of guys in boxing saying, ah, well, these guys don’t get paid nothing.
1:02:21 But in reality, if you take 1% of the fighters, They say 1% of the fighters make 99% of the money in boxing. But if you take away the Mayweathers, the Klitzgos, the Andre Ward, these top echelon guys and you compare the other guys in boxing compared to what these other guys in MMA are making, these guys in MMA are making a lot more money. You could have a 10 round fight in boxing and still make 15 grand. guys are making eight to ten thousand dollars you know and where you could have a three-round fight here and these guys are making 15 to show and 15 to win and then if you get a knockout bonus tap out bonus fight of the night bonus it’s an additional 50 grand and but you know one thing that MMA has that boxing doesn’t have is sponsors for the fighters and if you notice I think Andre Ward has Jordan but there’s very few guys in boxing have sponsors like the guys in MMA. So that’s a big misconception right there. Take that one percent out of the way, and I think MMA is doing a lot better. But years ago, I produced a documentary called Boxers Nightmare, and it deals with all the hardships. At that time, before the UFC came around, the hardships that fighters go through, and that’s where that one percent make 99 percent of the money. But keep in mind, in boxing, a majority of the fighters have less than a high school diploma.
1:03:53 And I know because I send out some surveys and I got all this information as feedback. A majority of these fighters have less than a high school diploma. Where opposed in the MMA industry, a lot of these guys have college degrees. So there’s a differential there. And, but I think this in the same token, this survey reaches both the same way is a majority of these fighters that fight go in there with some type of injury, whether it’s a small injury or a big injury, you know, they’re bruised up because of their training.
1:04:22 And I think it happens in both sports, but that was a very good question.
1:04:25 Brian Rose: What are the Klitschkoas like? How long have you known them? And what are those guys like?
1:04:30 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, you know what, they’re the best of the best, man.
1:04:32 And my storyline is just so great. In 1991, December the 12th, 1991, I’ll never forget, when the Soviet Union first broke, we took a team of professional boxers and kick boxers to the Ukraine, to Kiev, to fight the Kyivians, I guess, as the Ukrainians. And I had Mark Longo, which was a kickboxer. And so we went over there, and that’s the first time I laid eyes on the Klitzkols. I think Vladimir was like 16 years old and Vitaly was 19 and whatever, but they were already big stars.
1:05:06 And they were big old pillars, you know? And so that was my first, I never really met them. I got giant posters of them. But years later, when they came to Vegas to train, they were in the gym and everybody came in they’re looking at them and they’re all along, you can’t tell who’s who, they’re saying. I say, well yeah, that’s Vitaly and that’s Vladimir.
1:05:27 So during the break I start talking to them and I told them that I was in Kiev in 1991. And Vitaly Klitzko was a kickboxer. And actually I used to work with Dennis Alexio and they both fought in the same card in Las Vegas. I think Vitaly fought Big Brad Hifton. So when I told them that I was in Kiev and I brought the poster of the guys and they They remember the fighters.
1:05:51 That was our first, really, communications. But you know, and I spoke to them then, and when Ocean’s Eleven came, Vladimir’s fighting Lennox Lewis in the movie When the Lights Go Out, and I just happened to be Vladimir’s cut man. I don’t even mention that movie because I got about this much airtime, but I spent four days with Vladimir Klitzko and Vitaly Klitzko. And then down the road Vladimir had lost his world title to Lehman Bruce that got knocked out and he was blaming it on being sabotaged and what have you not.
1:06:24 So anyway, long story short is I used to go host a radio show, the 13th round in Oakland and me and my buddy Nick Ward are standing, watching the people go into the MGM for a big mega fight. And Emmanuel Stewart, which is a commentator for HBO, is walking by in his tuxedo and says, Stitch, I need to talk to you about Vladimir. And he goes like this. And I look at Nick, I said, did you see what I saw? And he says, yeah, well, the next day, Emmanuel calls me and says, look, would you be interested in working with Vladimir?
1:06:54 I said, yeah, why not, man? And it turns out that Vladimir was asking, I didn’t know this until later, Vladimir was asking, Emmanuel, get the guy that was my cut man in the movie. Call him, and Emmanuel says, I already got him. So the first fight I worked with, Vladimir, it was his first, I guess second comeback fight, or his first comeback fight, after losing to Lamer Brewster, and this was at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. And he ended up with a Forest Griffith cut.
1:07:25 And even though it’s the type of cut I know I could work on, at that point, he wasn’t looking all that good, but I knew he was winning the fight. And when the doctor comes and asks me to, but I thought about the cut, I opened it up. And I said, well, you know, that’s a pretty bad cut. Because at that point, if they went to the scorecards, then he would, you know, it would go to the scorecards. And the way I judged the fight that he was winning the fight, he ended up winning the fight in heavyweight champ of the world now.
1:07:50 But the next day, Dr. Goodman calls and says, you know, I called Vladimir and I called Emmanuel Stewart. And I just want to let you know that the plastic surgeon says it was a good thing that you stopped the cut when you did, because it was close to the optical nerve and it could have created double vision. And like I say, now he’s the world champion. Vitalik Klitzko, first time I worked with him is when he came back out of retirement after the big Lennox Lewis fight.
1:08:17 And he fought Danny Williams, the guy that knocked out Mike Tyson. But knowing now what are the colors that I wore then, knowing now, it was special then, but it’s even special now, is we wore orange for the Orange Revolution, which was the rebellion against the Ukrainian government for corruption and whatnot. And Vitaly has always been a strong component of making sure that they want to change what’s going on in Ukraine. And now, as you can understand, with this fiasco, with Putin invading Ukraine, well, Vitaly is running for president.
1:08:56 And I look at this, and when we’re in Moscow when Vladimir fought Alexander Povetkin, I’m sitting down with Vitaly in the lobby. And we’re talking, and he’s telling me the corruption and what he wants to do. And he says when his father, and his father was a colonel that actually was in Chernobyl, he’s the one that commandeered the Chernobyl when they had that leakage, and he ended up dying of cancer. But Vitaly says, the government is supposed to give the widow severance.
1:09:30 But when the mother went to go look for money, they told her, well, Ms. Klitzko, we don’t have no money. And, you know, finally this one guy comes, I said, Ms. Klitzko, come here, I could get you that money, but it’s going to cost you 50 percent. And that was an example, a small example that Vitale used, but, you know, right now he’s running for president, and, you know, I wish him well, and I know that if he gets it, and I think he’s fayered over everybody, it’s going to be a trip, man, working with a world champion that’s president.
1:09:58 That’s president. Because actually, when Vladimir fought, when we fought in Moscow, now Vladimir’s more westernized because he’s trained with American fighters and Emmanuel Stewart and his team and what have you not, but Vitaly stole more of the Soviet Union stern guy. But at the end, in the dressing room, I’m saying goodbye and all that, and Vitaly looks at me, he says, Deech, I’m not gay, but I love you, and man, Brian, you just don’t how much that meant to me because I know the kind of person, I don’t even know if he tells his wife that, you know, but that’s the kind of relationship I have with these guys.
1:10:35 Brian Rose: You’ve had that a few times. You did Fedor’s hands and you said he didn’t say much to you the whole time.
1:10:41 Jacob Stitch Duran: Fedor, I just, that was one of my greatest moments. I’m still walking on air. I go to wrap his hands up right here, just come back from breaking his thumb and the promoter asked me if I could wrap his hands and I was more than happy to.
1:10:54 So I’m like you, I’m trying to, you know, like the fighters. I talk to him and try to relax him, and Fador’s not saying anything to me. Nothing. Nothing, man. So open and close, and open and close, he’s not saying nothing.
1:11:04 I’m asking him questions, and he’s like, yeah, yeah. So finally, at the end, I finished rapping, I said, okay, how they feel? He goes, super, super, that’s all he said, man. And that was enough. That was enough, brother.
1:11:18 I walked out, I was so happy, man. But what even kept that night off is he had won the fight, and Josh and I are walking back, down the hallway back to the bus and they’re partying in his dressing room and he sees us and comes in and, yeah, you drink, you know, so how many guys you know have shots of vodka with Fedor? Not once, but two or three times, I’ve done that. You know, and when he fought for affliction, he literally invited my son and my wife into the dressing room when all these people are waiting outside trying to get in and he’s putting the belt around my son, taking pictures and all that, so I’ve had a great, great relationship with Fedor.
1:11:52 And I saw him in Moscow when I was there. So yeah, great, great relationship.
1:11:56 Brian Rose: These male bonding moments are important for you. It seems like that’s what keeps you going. I think that’s what keeps all men kind of going to a certain extent.
1:12:04 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, well, you know, I mean, it’s not only male bonding. I mean, you know, I’ve done that with Misha Tate. I’ve done that with, you know, Ronda Rousey. It’s, I guess, you know, when you’re in the trenches, I guess Kevin Cowley said it best. He’s the fighter from way back.
1:12:19 And maybe this is really says it always says when fighters fight their souls touch and I think that’s such a true statement but like say what I give to the fighters something that nobody has given them nobody can give them but me and and that to me I think they understand that and it’s an unwritten rule that you know what Stitch isn’t part of my team but he is part of my team and and Brock Lesnar when he fought Keith Herron and I’m putting those gloves on and they rip He has four ounce of gloves, but the bottom line I’m telling him, I said, that’s a nice shirt you have, Brock. And he says, well I have one for you. I pack one for you.
1:12:53 He goes, well no, I didn’t. He says, my wife packed it. She says, she’s packing my stuff. She says, should I pack one for a stitch? And he says, yeah.
1:13:01 And after I finished putting the gloves on he reached in his bag and gave me a shirt. See those are the moments that you can’t buy those moments. And you have to earn those moments I think. And I think I’ve earned them.
1:13:14 Brian Rose: And those two men you’re talking about, Fedor and Brock Lesnar, probably the two most private guys in the sport, you know?
1:13:21 Crow cop.
1:13:22 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, Crow cop. I’ve broken bread with Crow cop too, brother. I get the best out of them, you know, really I do.
1:13:28 Brian Rose: That’s a serious bond.
1:13:29 Brian Rose: I guess your souls kind of touch a bit too, kind of right before they get away.
1:13:33 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, no, that’s it. You know, and like I said, and it’s common for these guys too. You know, and these guys are men and we’re men, but for them to give me a kiss and tell me they love me. It’s a father-son type of bond and that’s why I look at these guys is they are my children when when they’re in the ring I’m gonna take care of them. Just like I do my children.
1:13:50 Brian Rose: How long you gonna be doing this for?
1:13:52 Jacob Stitch Duran: Man, you know, I I’m gonna die in the ring brother, you know, I You know, I if I’m not capable of physically doing it and and mentally I could still do it I’m gonna do it too as long as I can, you know, as long as I can make this game better and safer That’s really the bottom line.
1:14:09 Brian Rose: Do you are there any physical issues? Do you get arthritis or anything, touching all those hands?
1:14:15 Jacob Stitch Duran: My hands are so soft. My wife says I don’t even work.
1:14:18 But no, you know what, I’ve been blessed. I’m 62 years old, and I feel healthy, and my knees are great, my back is great, no arthritis. And I think a lot of that is because my hands are always moving, and so I’m blessed.
1:14:32 Brian Rose: So you’re going to be in there for a while. What’s the greatest MMA moment that you can remember?
1:14:38 It was a night, or maybe not necessarily like the Forest Cut, but just you being there and you were like, wow, this is a big deal.
1:14:47 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah. You know what? I think the craziest moment was our first trip to Rio de Janeiro. My first trip to Brazil.
1:14:55 You know, number one, I go through customs and the custom guy says, Steege, welcome to Brazil. Buon venido, Brazil. I’m thinking, wow, this is crazy. You know, I’m taking tour with some of the guys up in the jungles and there’s a couple policeman there and the guy points at me and goes like this. I said, wow. I’m at the beach and they got those palapas and there’s a family there and this lady does again like this. I guess that’s the sign that I know what they mean. So I go over there and I start talking to her.
1:15:25 She pulls out her breast and she starts breastfeeding her baby right in front of me. And I just kind of walked out, man. But when the fight started in Brazil, the main event, it was so loud, it was buzzing, it was crazy.
1:15:41 Brian Rose: You’ve never seen anything like that?
1:15:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: I’ve never heard anything like that.
1:15:46 It was crazy, you know, and just the respect I get in Brazil, it’s everywhere, but Brazil’s really pretty special. And, but just, it was buzzing. I mean, it was so loud, it was buzzing.
1:15:57 Brian Rose: Talk to me about movies, talk to me about Sylvester Stallone and doing that whole thing. Do you like doing movies?
1:16:03 You almost turned that movie down, right?
1:16:05 Jacob Stitch Duran: I almost turned it down, man. You’ve got to love your wife for what she does. The first movie that I did, and you know what? Somebody up there is taking care of me because I’m not a religious guy or anything, but I think I’m a good guy.
1:16:17 And when I left R.J. Reynolds, that was a pretty crazy career change for me, from going from a job to no job. But that day that I was leaving, I got a call to do an audition for Play to the Bone with Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas. And I was working with my manager that day. And I’m nervous.
1:16:34 I’m still a working guy, I’m still a disciplined guy, not that I always could be working from eight to five. And I’m nervous because I have a three o’clock interview and so about ten o’clock I tell my manager, I say, look man, I got an offer to do an interview. I’m just here to sign you out. So I went and did the interview and I got the job, played to the bone, Woody Harrelson, Antonio Banderas. And that was crazy.
1:16:56 And Chuck Bodak, which was my mentor, was the cut man for Banderas. I wanted to be with Banderos because he’s Latino, I’m Latino, but Chuck got in front of me. I ended up with Woody Harrelson. But during the movie, the promoter and his trainer are saying, don’t worry about it, you got the best cut man in the business, and Chuck Bodak is saying, man, you got all the cuts. It happened that way.
1:17:17 But then I did, well, I did Ocean’s Eleven, but then Rocky Balboa, I got a call to do the Rocky Balboa movie. And at that time I was working with Fabrizio, who was a cruiserweight champ out of France. He had a fight in France. And then the week after I was going to work with Audley Harrison, which was an Olympic gold medalist from England, that was going to fight here in London. And I turned it down because the money factor there was pretty good.
1:17:45 And I called my wife at work and I told her, you know, I got offered a role in the Rocking movie but I turned it down and she goes, are you crazy? Because Rocking’s an American icon. And I thought about it, Brian, and at that point I was sending Audley Harrison’s people an email on the monies and everything, all the particulars of me working this fight. And I sat down for about 30 seconds from the computer man and I deleted it and I said, you know what?
1:18:12 I got to think of myself. And I let them know, and they understood, and it turns out that Teos was fighting France got canceled anyway. But Stallone says, you know, I brought you in to do what you do. Just do what you do. And what an honor.
1:18:24 You know working with him, I saw he’s a master director, he’s a master writer, and he’s a master actor. And so yeah, I mean how many guys you know play in the Rocky movie? I did. And then I just finished up the one with Kevin James and Salma Hayek and Henry Winkler, Boss Rutin, Mark Delagrati, all these guys, I played myself and there were Kevin James and saying, oh Stitch I can’t believe you’re working on me. You know, big fan of yours.
1:18:49 And you know it’s funny because in the script, the script says I go and I work on, he He gives me those accolades, which is a million dollar plug, right? And I work on them and I smile and walk away. But Kevin James is saying, well you know what, we’ve got to have you say something. So I brought up the idea, well what if I say, welcome to the UFC. Ah, that’s great.
1:19:09 So that’s the line that I used, but he didn’t know I was going to slap him. So as he’s giving me the accolade stitch, I can’t believe you’re working on me, this and that, and so and so, and I clean him up, I said, well welcome to the UFC. First I go, bam, welcome to the UFC. He didn’t know I was going to slap him. you I was going to slap him, everybody started laughing. And Kevin James says, oh, that’s a take, man. You know? So that’s my little part with Here Comes the Boom.
1:19:31 Brian Rose: And you got more movies coming up.
1:19:33 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, if they come. Well, you know what? I met Edward James, almost one of my fan favorites, his Hollywood favorite, and when Anderson Silver fought Chris Weedman the first time. And he was there because him and Anderson were making a movie together, tentatively making a movie together. But almost said at that time that I want you to be in the movie also. But he got knocked out, so I don’t know what happened with that movie. But you know what, I told my wife, and this is the way things happen, if I mention it, it does come true. But I told her, I’m ready for another movie. So you heard it here first, I’ll let it reel.
1:20:06 Brian Rose: And Edward James Olmos, I think if you’re old enough to watch those early Miami vices, which means you’re probably in your 40s or 50s or 60s, then you have to give that man much respect.
1:20:16 Jacob Stitch Duran: Oh, he’s a great actor. And American me, I mean, all the Mexicans, all the Latinos him as America, the gangster, the gang member in America and me.
1:20:25 Brian Rose: Right. What is it like representing Latinos?
1:20:27 Is it something you’ve always done? Is it difficult? What is it like?
1:20:32 Jacob Stitch Duran: It’s a big honor, man. It’s a major honor.
1:20:35 And you know, coming back from where I grew up at, last year I was a keynote speaker for our high school. It was three towns and I think 78 kids graduated and a majority of them, their families fall below the poverty level. But I was a keynote speaker. I just got an offer to go to Cleveland and for Cinco de Mayo is to be a keynote speaker for the city, for the Hispanic kids over there. And so yeah, I mean, it’s a true honor. Really it is. And I think, you know, this is something I like doing and it’s nice to give back and it makes me feel real good.
1:21:12 Brian Rose: What do you expect when the UFC goes to Mexico?
1:21:15 Jacob Stitch Duran: I expect to be there. Okay. I expect to be there but no I thought you know what and it’s and it’s that’s a good point because when I first started with the UFC the only Latinos that were really involved with the UFC and I’m talking about fans and participants is Tito Ortiz, Rico Rodriguez and me. I mean nobody fans nobody was no one that were watching the fan the fights now you go there they’re gonna be in Dallas next week I bet you three quarters of those would be Mexicans.
1:21:42 Brian Rose: Three-quarters?
1:21:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, absolutely. And I go to fights all the time now and they’re all Latin. So the Latin community has really soaked up the mixed martial arts at the UFC and I guess from what I understand I’m pretty well recognized back home. I know my aunts and uncles and cousins, they acknowledge that they love seeing me on TV so you know I’d be curious to see what Mexico City is gonna be like.
1:22:05 Brian Rose: That’s gonna be an interesting vibe. It’s gonna be so unique you know it’s it’s hasn’t really been done there on that scale
1:22:12 Jacob Stitch Duran: there has yeah interesting
1:22:13 Brian Rose: so and they have came Alaska is the main event
1:22:16 Jacob Stitch Duran: be sick be sick
1:22:17 Brian Rose: how do you keep a family life when you’re doing this kind of UFC schedule I mean we had John Anakin here a year ago and he was telling me his schedule I was like are you kidding me you know he’s in Brazil seven or eight times that year flying around you know buffer in and out you’re in and out how do you
1:22:34 Keep it together
1:22:35 Jacob Stitch Duran: well you know for the most part Monday to Thursday’s I’m home You know it’s just the weekend travels they become the circuit the circus travel You know you get there on Friday do the fight Saturday, and and we’re home on Sunday But Monday through Thursdays I spend all my time with my family. You know I’m not a party guy I don’t go out partying and and this and that I you know my family has sacrificed so much for me My wife in particular and my kids in particular You know just you know who would take a $25,000 cut and pay and your wife says do it follow your dreams But they’ve sacrificed so much for me that everything I do I do for them But you know, I’m not into material things or anything like that and yeah, it’s all family. You know, even my mother and my brothers, they’re all proud of me of doing what I do, you know, but yeah, everything is for my family.
1:23:22 Brian Rose: You know, everyone that comes on the show, I ask them the same question kind of towards the end of our interview and I’m going to ask you the same question. If you could pick up the phone and make a phone call to the 20-year-old Jacob Duran and give that young man a bit of advice, what would you tell him?
1:23:41 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, that’s a good question, man. The 20-year-old Jacob Duran, I had just joined the Air Force. And I joined the Air Force because I didn’t know where I was going.
1:23:51 You know, like I say, I walked off of playing baseball. I was in spring training. I left. I left, and as a matter of fact, I had a friend of mine that was a pitcher that ended up pitching for the Houston Astros, and I saw him play when he played the Giants in San Francisco. And he says, where’d you go?
1:24:06 But at that point, I had no direction. I didn’t know where I wanted to go, but I always knew that I wanted to be a professional in something. What I would tell Jacob, the 20-year-old Jacob, is follow your dreams, brother, they do come true.
1:24:21 Brian Rose: You say that, follow your dreams. What do you mean when you say that?
1:24:25 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, hey, listen, you know what? It’s follow your dreams, they do come true. I mean, it’s something that, don’t be scared to fail, man, and don’t be scared. I mean I’ve been kicked and beaten, and everybody has been successful, there’s that formula to being successful and it’s not, it’s treating people well. You remember Randall Cunningham?
1:24:48 He was a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Good example. And I learned so much off of this little tidbit that he gave me, is me and my brothers after a kickboxing event, in fact when Vitale fought, Brad Hefton and Dennis the Lecture fought that night. We were talking to him and he was a big football player and we’re nobodies at that point and one of Don King’s guys comes up to him and says, hey Randall I need to talk to you. He says hold on let me finish talking to these guys. And I thought that was so honorable on his part that you know I always tell people respect people and you know be nice to people and you know I tell my kids it’s so much easier being nice than it is being an asshole and and but you know go after you know if it’s not going to kill you, go after it, and you know, don’t be scared of, you know, I tell people man, you can try 20, 30 different things and if one of them sticks, that’s the one you got to stay with.
1:25:42 Brian Rose: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
1:25:45 Jacob Stitch Duran: God, well, the best advice may be the best comment, can I give you the best comment I’ve had? Yeah. Chuck Bodak when I did play to the bone, he’s a 90 year old man, he’s 85 at that time and he was my mentor. It’s a guy that you used to see with a tape on his forehead and all that.
1:26:07 It was his birthday party and we all signed the Cornerman Jackets and Antonio Banderos and Woody Harrelson and everybody and we presented it to Chuck Bodak in the middle of the ring. And Chuck Bodak says, when I retire, the next great cut man in the business is going to be this guy. He says, when I cash in my chips, the next best cut man in the business is going to be that guy and I’m at the bottom of the ring looking up and he gave me that quote. That’s been the best I’ve ever had.
1:26:33 Brian Rose: And that inspired you in a big way.
1:26:35 Jacob Stitch Duran: That inspired me big time. Because he was my mentor.
1:26:38 Brian Rose: Last bit of advice on that question is that to the 20-year-old that’s listening to us all around the world, maybe they’re in China, maybe they’re in Australia or Brazil, what advice do you give them if they want to, I don’t know, one day be part of the UFC or one day follow in your shoes? What should they be doing?
1:26:54 Jacob Stitch Duran: You’ve got to put in some time. You have to put in some time and don’t do it for the money. I mean, that’s really the whole key. I think when you did your thing, you went from big numbers into interviewing people because of a passion. You have to have a passion for what you want to be successful at and do it from your heart, man, because that’s really what’s gonna guide you.
1:27:22 Brian Rose: So true, I think about that so often. If you ever see someone doing something great, they’re obviously doing it because it’s something that they must pursue for a passion and all the trappings come with it. You know, you must see that with the fighters, you know, with the true greats, you know, they’re doing it because they love doing it, right?
1:27:36 Jacob Stitch Duran: Absolutely, yeah, they love doing it, man.
1:27:38 Brian Rose: And you see that every weekend, right, in the cage.
1:27:40 Jacob Stitch Duran: Every weekend I see it, brother, you know, and I mean, we’ll walk out to the arena and like I say, every moment’s a different moment, but you know, you see some of it two or three or four or five times, but that one extra moment, that’s a special moment that I look for, that’s what I live for.
1:27:57 Brian Rose: Stitch, thanks so much for coming here. You transcend the sport in so many ways. You know, I was thinking of the roster of the people I’ve had in here involved with the UFC and commentators and fighters and referees, but some way I was like, well, how come Stitch is the most special?
1:28:13 And I don’t know, you kind of represent that sport in a way that you do with honor and respect. And I don’t know, people are really drawn to you for some reason. I guess you’re used to it kind of by now.
1:28:24 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, well, maybe because I take care of him, brother. You know, maybe I give them that one more round, but yeah, you know, it’s a respect factor, I think, and that old saying is, you have to earn it, you know, you just can’t go out there and buy it, and you know, you have to be the person that you are all the time and treat everybody the way, you know, the way you like to be treated, and really, that’s a strong statement, but taking care of my babies, man, that’s what these guys are.
1:28:49 Brian Rose: I have this weird theory I’ve been working on lately, and I think ultimately that when When you boil it all down that all of us are really looking from each other as humans is just that little bit of respect. And I think that’s what, if you take away the money and the awards and the belts and everything, I think we all want a connection and a little bit of respect from someone else.
1:29:08 Jacob Stitch Duran: That’s it. You know, that you’ve accomplished your own mission, you know, and the fighters, you know, and it’s really for them, not even a win or lose situation, it’s, you know what, you did it.
1:29:18 You got into the octagon, you took a shot, you gave a shot, you know, you’re a full time fighter now, brother, you’ve marked yourself down as a fighter, you know, and very few people could do that. Right. And same with us, you know, we’ve, we’ve, we’re growing into what we do, you know, this is what your third year and look where you’re at now, you know, where are you going to be at 10 years from now? You know, I’m going to say, dang, I was in the Brian Rose show in his 143rd show or something like that, but keeping it real, London is real.
1:29:48 Brian Rose: Thank you Stitch, you’re right up there with the top guests I’ve had, whether it’s, Nelson Mandela’s Prison Guard or Neil deGrasse Tyson, you’re right up there, and I just really love the message and everything you stand for. So thanks so much. People can follow you on Twitter, right, at Stitch Duran. That’s just right. They can get your book on Amazon from the fields to the garden.
1:30:06 Brian Rose: That’s the Madison Square Garden, right? That’s the reference.
1:30:09 Jacob Stitch Duran: Yeah, yeah. I told you the story.
1:30:11 Brian Rose: I did tell you the story, yeah.
1:30:12 Jacob Stitch Duran: But that was it. I grew up in the fields, and my goal was to make it to Madison Square Garden, and I did. That’s where the name from the fields to the garden came from.
1:30:22 Brian Rose: That’s a fantastic title. As we say on London Real, it’s about the journey.
1:30:26 Brian Rose: Stitch, I wish you well and yours, and thanks so much for coming.
1:30:43 Jacob Stitch Duran: Well, thank you for everything. All right, take care.
