Ep. 44: Uriah Hall | Former Top-10 UFC Middleweight & TUF 17 Finalist

Uriah: So they were pretty much using me to promote themselves. And it, it hurt me because I was going into the finale. They wanted me to tweet out shirts and I'm just like, can I focus on my fight right now? What are you guys doing? This was the gym that you were now training at? Yes. Cause the finale was coming up. I was training and I was fighting Kelvin. Kelvin had nothing to lose, you know, he's a dark horse, but they really messed me up again. Kevin was the best man that night, but I just went into that fight saying, I'm not here.

Intro: Welcome to Y'all Street. Today, I speak with Uriah Hall, former UFC fighter. He's the machinima today, the machine that smashes. 100% legit. So Chris, you want a cup of coffee? I just want to be the best.

Evan: Uriah, you want a cup of coffee?

Uriah: Sure.

Evan: All right. I got you this, uh, don't mess with Texas coffee mug because you know, you shouldn't mess with Texas. I also feel like you are a man not to be messed with, you know? So, um, yeah, I just, I thought it fit pretty well. So.

Uriah: All right. I won't mess with Texas unless it snows.

Evan: Yeah. Fair. It's scary. Um, so thanks for coming on. Um, you are an ex UFC fighter. You are still doing MMA and all of that. But before we get there, I want to kind of learn about how you got into UFC. It is something, it's like you watch a NASCAR driver and you're like, how did they get into NASCAR?

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: Kind of the same thought as far as UFC. So where did you grow up? What was that like? And then what led you into MMA?

Uriah: Uh, I grew up in Jamaica, um, place called Spanish town. Um, and you know, I mean, it's a different era, of course. So life back then was very easy. We played outside, um, you know, school for us was miles away, but we never thought about it, you know? And in that type of culture, we didn't have shoes again. Didn't think about it.

Evan: Yeah. No shoes, no shoes.

Uriah: Wow. Shoes was like a luxury, but at the same time and necessity in the sense, if you go to school, if you go to church or something important. So I would dress like this or like that, but no shoes, but it was never a thing. I wasn't like aware of it. And, um, you know, my upbringing was great. Um, didn't get bullied much, but I just remember just being outside a lot and having fun. And when I was 13, I came to America and, uh, that was a culture shock. Why did you come to America? I think anybody would come here for a better life. I know for me in Jamaica, um, again, different era. So in a sense, the poverty was, was different. And my mom was here already. So she, she filed for me. Okay. Um, and it's a better education. So I came here and, uh, upon arrival, I was bullied different culture. And of course it's New York city, which is the final boss for the rest of the States. So not understanding that. Cause I wasn't raised like that. I've never experienced bullying. I've never even experienced racism. It was like a culture shock. I was like, huh, what do you mean I'm black? So going through that and it just kind of shaped me differently. And of course I got into fights. I was getting into fights without even knowing how to fight because it was my defense mechanism saying what? And it got to a point where I remember my mom showed up and principals like, Hey man, you gotta stop this. I'm like, well, they're picking on me. And he's like, well, you're not supposed to. And I'm like, well, tell him to stop. And, uh, I guess fast forward. I went to high school and I was cutting classes because of the bullying. Again, I didn't understand it. So I didn't want to be around it. So cut classes and night period was the period you had to be in. Cause they were mocking your attendance. I don't know why I had it like that. So I would cut my period. All right, I'll show up. And they called my house and I didn't know that he'll call my house and they call my house. Uh, I was getting ready to leave the school one time. And my mom, she was like, you know, you're, you're cutting classes. And I'm like, yeah, they're picking on me. They're bullying me. And, um, I broke down. I think it was the first time I started crying. Cause I didn't understand that, you know, I'm young. And, uh, she took me to a therapist or a psychologist, psychiatrist to kind of, I guess, understand my confidence or build confidence. And right next door, which was terrible session, by the way, right next door was a karate school at the time. And this was like 2001 or 2000. And I've always wanted to do karate. I grew up wanting to do it, but I couldn't afford it back home. So I was like, mom, can I try this? And she was like, okay. And I went in and we did my first class and they're all looking at me like, how does this get so good? But prior to that, I was teaching myself how to fight through a video game. I grew up playing a video game called Tekken. It's like a really good martial arts video game. It's 3d. So I learned all the moves. I put the VHS in, if people know what that is. And I would, you know, record all the moves and I'll move the furniture. I want to practice it because that was my way of learning martial arts. So when I started, I just excelled so fast and they were just like, you know, wow, how are you so good? And I couldn't tell him. I felt embarrassed. Which later on to say, because it's a video game. But the cool thing about that story is like later on, 20 years later, I ended up, I was in Sweden talking about something on stage and someone asked me how I started. I told him that story, that story ended up on Reddits. The owners saw it, the owners of the game or founders or whatever, creators. And they reached out to me and they invited me to Comic-Con. So that was the cool part.

Evan: So you said your mom came to the States before you did.

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: How long?

Uriah: This must've been 95.

Evan: Okay. And that's how many years before you?

Uriah: Yeah, I came 97.

Evan: Okay. So a couple of years and she had left just for better opportunity. Yeah.

Uriah: My, my aunt was here. My aunt was Ursula, you know, Ursula.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: That's my aunt. That's that crazy woman. And, um, again, you know, I'm a kid. I didn't understand this. My aunt sent for my mom. And my aunt didn't like me because she didn't like my dad. Again, I didn't know. I don't know any of this. I'm a kid, but, um, I guess I couldn't go at the time for whatever reason. So my mom and my sister went and my two sisters went to my mom and then they were trying to get my, my paperwork. And it took like a year. I ended up missing a year of school because I was, you know, I thought I was going to go to America. And back then it was just so hard with the paperwork and visa and all that stuff.

Evan: So who did you live with while you're in Jamaica, when your mom moved?

Uriah: Was it my dad and then my grand on, and then my grandfather and then my brother.

Evan: Were you excited to come? Was that something you were looking forward to? Yeah. Like that year in Jamaica after your mom had left, is that something that you're like, I want to get to America. I want to get to America. Or were you like, I want to be with my mom, but America sounds terrible.

Uriah: No, I wanted to, I wanted to come to America, but again, I didn't understand. You watch TV and you know, watching TV and just watching a lot of movies. I was, I got, I learned how to speak like this from watching TV. You know, I'm very good at emulating, imitating, you know, I can see something and I can do it. Um, but you know, when my mom was there, I wanted to go because I, you know, you, you see stuff on TV, you think, Oh, America is great. It's perfect. You know? And that was my reason to go.

Evan: Yeah. Yeah. And you get to America and you start getting bullied pretty quickly.

Uriah: Oh, right off the plate. Yeah.

Evan: And just, did you enroll in school immediately?

Uriah: Yeah. Um, so I think, uh, what I started in seventh grade, and my sister was going to a private school and we were trying to go in that, but it didn't work out for whatever reasons. So I went to public.

Evan: And is that why you think you started watching or playing that video game and watching the moves and all of that?

Uriah: Absolutely. Cause I wanted to learn how to fight. I'm going to learn how to fight.

Evan: And were you always like, I mean, you're a big guy. Were you always big as a kid? Did you have a huge growth spurt?

Uriah: I mean, I was like this, I think I might've been a preemie. I don't know. My mom said when I was born, I was very tiny.

Evan: Okay.

Uriah: Like they were like, bro, this guy got to eat. But, um, I guess in the martial arts world, you know, I kind of bulked up. And of course, as you get older, I'm like, all right.

Evan: Did you play sports as a kid in Jamaica? Were you always athletic?

Uriah: I mean, I mean, I was sports was different. I play soccer. I grew up playing soccer, some kicker, uh, cricket.

Evan: Yeah. Um, y'all played cricket in Jamaica.

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: Interesting.

Uriah: It's kind of like baseball. Yeah.

Evan: Yeah. And so then you start going to this karate gym and you pick it up quickly and you attribute that partially to a video game, which is maybe the best story I've ever heard. That's awesome.

Uriah: And greatest game ever, by the way.

Evan: And so you're how old at this point?

Uriah: So when I started, I was 13.

Evan: You were 13 starting karate. So it was a pretty quick movement from moving up here and started. You started karate pretty soon after you moved up to New York.

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: And then when did you realize that this martial arts deal could become like an actual career?

Uriah: Well, it's funny you say that. So I've always wanted to train, never could afford it. You know, prior to that I would ask my mom and she couldn't afford it at the time. And somehow when I started it, my mom, my sensei was like, you know, this guy needs to do this for his confidence. I was excelling. I still didn't like school. I was still cutting school in a sense because I was like, Oh, I don't care about school karate.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And it got to a point where I ended up dropping out of school.

Evan: What age?

Uriah: I think it was the 11th grade. I was like, man, I'm done. I don't need this. And I became like a, uh, like an instructor in a sense, like a helper. And I was just like, I'm just going to be a black belt. And then I was like, you know what? I think I need to go back to school to just get my paper and all that stuff. And I remember telling my sensei, I'm going to go back to school and just, you know, figure it out. And, uh, he kind of looked at me, he was like, you know, I don't lie to you. You have a gift. You're very good, but you also have a window telling you if you run with this, you can become very successful. And I understand that you dropped out of school, but it's not for everybody. There's a lot of people that became successful without school, but you have such a good gift here and you have an amazing window to run with it. And I took that advice.

Evan: And so you didn't go back to school.

Uriah: No.

Evan: So you start coaching and still competing.

Uriah: Yeah. And that became a black belt.

Evan: Okay.

Uriah: And, um, became an instructor. We had to go to school, went to school for like seven years, just to learn to teach psychologically children, three-year-olds, I'm talking three-year-olds and, you know, older kids and adults, because for their learning, there's, it's a different type of mentality for them because kids, they quit things very easily. And what I witnessed a lot of parents think they're doing a great job. Like, all right, Timmy, you don't want to do that anymore. What else you want to do? It's like, no, bro, you got to teach them that there's going to be a wall.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And it's just like life. And one of the things we taught kids was, uh, self-discipline, um, with self-defense, and that's going to build their self-confidence because in that age for, from like what three to seven, you know, for kids, they observe like a sponge. And most parents, they just try to give their kids a world, which I'm not a parent, but you know, it's like going to see a therapist. They're qualified. So there's a lot of people that don't know how to really handle their kids. I'm like, I don't want to have your kid, you know? And they look at me different because I'm an instructor. I'm a teacher. They don't want to let me down.

Evan: Did you really enjoy that? What about the kids?

Uriah: Because kids, they, they love to have fun and they just funny, you know, I pick on them all the time and the jokes go over their head and, you know, I would threaten them in class. I'm like, Hey man, don't move again. I'm gonna hit you so hard. Your mom's going to feel it. You know? And with kids, all you got to say is, Hey, which one of you guys are going to stand without moving? Oh, me, me, me, me. But of course adults to get in their head and always complain.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: But, um, I, but I love teaching kids. In fact, a bunch of my kids now who are grown, they reach out to me and they, you know, they still call me sensei. And I'm like, bro, that was a long time ago. You were like seven. And one of my kids, he's a, he's a baseball player. The other one was a really good artist in New York.

Evan: Okay.

Uriah: So it's really cool to see that I played a part in their life.

Evan: Yeah. I mean, I feel like you definitely did.

Uriah: Did you had a sensei when you were in 13, 14, 15 kind of coming up?

Evan: Sensei Gravina.

Uriah: Yeah. Yeah. We, we, I mean, we lost touch, but once in a while I'll hear from him and you know, of course he'll be like, I'm proud of you, but I'm, I'm, I owe a lot to that man because there was a moment where, you know, I was ready to just become a corporate or something. And he was like, no, man, you got a gift.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And I was, I listened to him then I just ran with it.

Evan: That kind of like belief in you.

Uriah: Yeah. It's good to have that.

Evan: Yeah. So when did you become professional?

Uriah: So I got my black belt. I was maybe 16, 17, took me around three and a half years maybe. And I was still competing. And then my very first like legit fight was NYPD versus FDNY, which is the police department versus the fire. And this guy who took me under my wing, he's kind of like a big bro to me. He, he is a police officer and his name is Will Hamilton. And he put me on his team, which is the, or no, I was on the fire department team and I'm knocking out a police officer legally.

Evan: You knocked out a cop.

Uriah: And you know, it was cool. It was my very first like spectating fight. And I just remember being so nervous, overwhelmed, nervous and stuff like that. I have this like remembrance of high school when you had like the five-star running back who would just absolutely destroy all these poor high school kids before he went on to play at like Texas or Alabama or something.

Evan: Was that how you were when you were younger? You mean like you were, you just destroying everything in your wake?

Uriah: Um, not really. I, I was very meticulous. You know, I was, I was a smart kid. I, I, I paid attention. I observed a lot. So, you know, there were people in my class who were better than me, but I always look for ways to improve myself. You ever seen the cartoon Dragon Ball Z?

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: Okay. So if you know what that is, the character Goku, I kind of relate to that guy in a sense thousands of people do, but he loved to train and his only thing was to better himself. And he loved to go up against strong opponents. And I had the same mentality. I was like, how do I test myself? Oh, that guy's better than me. Great. Let's see how I match up. And that was like my philosophy. I just wanted to push myself. And of course martial arts taught me the same thing in life because life is like that. Life is a fight. It's going to come at you from different angles, so many ways. And especially when you're young, it's hard to see it. That's why your environment is so important. If who you hang out with, you know, you become those people. And of course, over the course of time, you know, I went through relationships, betrayal and all that stuff, but the martial arts that I learned at that time, always, like my sensei said, you always go back to the basics. He said, when all else fails, you go back to the basics. It's not lose yourself because time doesn't really mean a lot, but character does to keep that character protected.

Evan: And those, the people that were around you at that time, that really shaped and informed you had a really big impact on you, Yeah.

Uriah: I mean, time has changed, but the one person that I can always go back to is my mom.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: She was always the backbone. She's always the person to tell me the world is a crazy place and, you know, it'll beat you to the ground if you let it, but you have to remain true to yourself. And I think the moment she really taught me that was going back to Ursula, my aunt.

Evan: Her name was not actually Ursula, right?

Uriah: No, but if you know who Ursula is, that's her, exactly. And she showed up and she was, I mean, she treated my mom like, I can't even say what she did to my mom, man. Just some crazy stuff. So I really hated this woman. And I remember seeing her, I think she was sick at the time, maybe cancer or something. And she showed up at her house and my mom was there. And I kind of came in from school and I was like, what the hell is this? What's she doing here? And my mom pulled me in her room and I was like, mom, what is she doing here? I effing hate this woman. I hope she dies. I mean, I am going all out and she kind of looked at me sideways. Black household was a little different. Can't yell at your mom. So she kind of pulled me aside. She's like, dude, regardless of who she is, that's her story. But you have to remain true to yourself. Do not let the world change you. Protect that. That is who she is. Yes. She's my sister, but don't let the world change you. You can stay away, but don't let it corrupt you. She always brought me back. Yeah. You know, always. And that did that lesson serve you super well.

Evan: Once that kind of fame started and started having serious success and ultimate fighter and all of that because I remained true to myself. Yeah. And so how, how do you get from legally knocking out a cop on the ultimate fighter?

Uriah: Ooh, that's a good story. So I lost my job. Um, I was a, I was a head instructor at a place and some politics happened and I lost my job. I had no money. And I remember having maybe only 600 bucks in my, um, account. And I didn't know what I was going to do. I remember laying in my bed going, this can't be it. And I forgot what website sent me this thing on Facebook saying, Hey, season 17 of the ultimate fighters is, is, is coming on. I think you should try out for it. And I just remember jumping up like, this is it. This is it. And put all my stuff in storage, bought a one way ticket to where to Vegas. And when I bought a one way ticket to Vegas, I wasn't thinking about making it back. I said I'm going to have to beg or steal or something to make it back. I wasn't even thinking about that. No plan B. So bought a one way ticket. When I got there, apparently over 800 people had the same idea. So you had to go in person.

Evan: You couldn't like mail in an application.

Uriah: No, these Gen Z's don't know about that. Anyway, so I had to show up there. And when you show up, the tryouts was, uh, seven in the morning to two in the morning. And I'm talking, they were just going through people, the interviews, uh, you got to show your skillset. Uh, you have to grapple. You have to throw some punches. And the last interview was, you have to be in front of the, uh, the producers. And which is a cool story. I'm going to tell you what happened. And, uh, yeah, I remember the, the, the thing just kept, I mean, it was just dragging the whole day and you're tired, you're not eating. You got to kind of look poised. And some people were just trying to look famous or, you know, cause back then the ultimate fighter was trying to represent character. And of course me being a martial artist, I'm like, I'm not trying to lose that character. So somehow I made friends. And one other guy was like, bro, I said, my America coming to America voice, I don't know how it happened. And one of my, my, my good friend now, he said, uh, you should go in there with the producers and pretend you're like fresh off the boat. And I'm like, no, man, I don't know who's this opportunity. And he's like, dude, it's about personality. Just trust me. I'm like, I don't know. He's like, dude, just, just, just pretend for a second. That way they see you're funny. So when I walked in, it was like maybe five producers. Right. And if you see him coming to America, it's great movie, uh, with Eddie Murphy. So I walked in and when I walked in, I had the big grin on my face, like, just like the movie. And I walked in and, you know, my accent changed right away. And they were like, uh, Mr. Hall. Yes. You know, I just gave him a nod of my head like that. And they're like, um, so welcome. Can you, uh, you know, tell us a little about you? And I was like, yes, I'm going to win the show. Yes. This kept going off for like five, six minutes. And I can just see them cracking up on the knee, you know? And towards the end, I'm like, I'm just kidding guys. And they're like, Oh crap. That's not your voice. And I'm like, no, no, no. That my buddies convinced me to do it. And one of the producers was like, I like this guy, you know, he's funny.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And that might've got me on the show.

Evan: So how much of it was them trying to find the best fighters and how much of it was them trying to find the McGregor-esque good on a mic, you know, people love you because both things are objectively important.

Uriah: I don't think they were looking for like a McGregor back then. It was more of just my skillset spoke. I was just knocking everybody out. I was just, you know, I was training hard and everybody, I was so competitive. I mean, I would get up at 6 AM, I would run. And then our training was at nine and then we'd come back and eat. And then we go back again. And I was just outclassing everybody. Cause I was like, you know, I have everything to gain from this. And that competitiveness, which I later learned in life with energy and people, you know, sometimes when you walk into a room, the energy shifts. And I used to go like, why are people so weird? And my energy is different. I'm a lion. And some people either gravitate toward that or they're like, you know, it brings out the bad side of them. I didn't know that. I figured out later on in life, but during the show, I was just so competitive and I wanted the strongest guy. I was like, give me the top guy. And they're like, man, like we've got to be strategic. I'm like, no, no, no. Let's take out their best guy first. I was just so competitive. And it worked out best. And Chael Sonnen on the team was the best thing that ever happened to me. Psychologically, you got in my head. Explain to people how the ultimate fighter was structured, right? It was Chael and then Jon Jones were like the two coaches. Talk about that a little bit. So it was two teams. So it started out with 60 people. So the first, and I think it's on Amazon prime season 17, the first episode, 60 people and we all had to fight each other to get in the house. And if you lose, they send you home. If you win, you go to the left side.

Evan: Just one, like one loss. You're out.

Uriah: You're out because you have to get in the house. Back then you have to fight to get in the house. Now to just interview you, be like, all right, come on in. But back then it was like, all right, you win this fight. Show us you're worthy to get in the house. So I won my first fight and I got in the house and after 60, they broke it down to 30. Right. So, um, and then that dropped down to 16, which was eight and eight. So it was eight on each team. And, uh, what happened was, um, they flipped the coin for the first person to pick because it was 16 of us and it was Jones and chill son. And Dana flipped the coin to get the first pick. I wanted to be on John Jones team because I was like, oh man, we have cool styles. But God knew what he was doing is I know, bro, you need to work on your mental state and put it with chill, which was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And, um, just being in that state of mind around those guys, it's like a pressure cooker. You know, they lock you in the house. I mean, there was cameras everywhere in the bathroom. I was like, Hey man, I can't use the bathroom. And like, don't worry. There's two people going there. We'll turn it on, but we don't want to see you use the bathroom.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: So being in that house, my team was downstairs. The other team was upstairs on limited alcohol. There was like a room of during a fighting show.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: So they did it there for drama of course, but not everybody did it.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: I didn't touch any alcohol until towards like the end. Why? What changed? Uh, cause I won.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: So that could celebrate. Okay. But I was very disciplined and you know, would fight each other. If you win the brackets, you go up and there's a quarter and semifinal and I fought my roommate.

Evan: You fought your roommate in the semifinal final this, the finale.

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: Okay.

Uriah: So we both beat their team and, you know, we, we bump beds for seven, eight weeks. And it was so weird because he was like one of my best friends, you know, we got to know each other.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And there was a lot of drama I was dealing with that fight that a lot of people don't know because when I fought Kelvin, the place that fired me, my, my old gym in New York, in New York, you know, when I left the ultimate fighter, I didn't have the gym. So I kind of reached out because I couldn't work for an organization. I mean, I can't wait to write a book. These guys are so corrupt. And, uh, I couldn't, I, I, I didn't have a gym. So I called to have a gym to train and it kind of took advantage because, you know, I kind of told him, Hey, I made it to the finale. Couldn't really say much, but, and they kind of use that opportunity to maybe do commercials. They wanted me to sign a contract. Listen, I'm not a great at math that well, but they wanted me to what? 33 and three third percent.

Evan: Yeah. Numbers.

Uriah: And I'm just like, Hey, no, that's basically, that's pretty much half, you know? And then I got to pay taxes on top of that. So they were pretty much using me to promote themselves. And it, it hurt me because I was going into the finale. They wanted me to tweet out shirts and I'm just like, can I focus on my fight right now? What are you guys doing?

Evan: This was the gym that you were now training at?

Uriah: Yes.

Evan: Okay.

Uriah: Cause the finale was coming up. I was training and I was fighting Kelvin. Kelvin had nothing to lose, you know, he's a dark horse, but they really messed me up again. Kevin was the best man that night, but I just went into that fight saying I'm not here.

Evan: Yeah.

Promo: If you're enjoying Y'all Street, please like and subscribe and share with your friends. It really helps the show Y'all Street is a division of Texas Precious Metals. If you've ever been interested in buying gold or silver, check us out at text metals.com. We take good care of our customers. And we're proud to say we do business the Texas way.

Evan: What was your, it was semifinals. That was your like super famous kick to the head, right?

Uriah: Oh no. That was the, the first fight in the house.

Evan: Okay. And that, that put notoriety everywhere.

Uriah: Oh man. I couldn't walk down the street. It was called the kick that was right around the world.

Evan: Yeah. Yeah. I remember, I remember being younger and watching it. And then whenever we were talking about interviewing you, I was like, is that the guy? And then I went and looked at it and I was like, that's crazy. Talk about Chael a little bit.

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: What you alluded that he helped you out a lot. What specifically, like, tell me a story from that.

Uriah: Just the mental game. You know, he, one of the best speech I remember saying is, cause I was, you know, I was so worried about the future, the fights and different fighters have different ways of learning stuff. Like when I get yelled at and I shut down, I don't know why my nervous system goes, we're out. Like, come on, you gotta, like, I don't function that way. And for a long time I thought something was wrong with me. And he was like, no, there's nothing wrong with you. You just, you learn differently. I was like, I do. He's like, yeah, like you're articulate. You don't, it's like some barbaric stuff. It's like caveman. You don't speak that way. You speak like this normal. So he would speak to me normal, like, all right, keep your hands up, move your feet, stay off the bottom. Oh, okay. I got it. Yeah. But if you yell at me somehow, I just didn't receive it well. And my body goes into a shock. And I, again, I didn't understand it for years. It's just not how I learned.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: So that's one of the things I learned. And you know, I would have doubts. And one of the things he told me, he was like, when doubt seeps in, you know, you got two roads, you go to left, you go to right. And he'll tell you, a failure is not an option. And he's like, that is ridiculous. Like failure is the most readily available option at all times, but it's a choice. And he's like, you got to plant the right seed. If you choose to plant the right seed, that is the road to victory. But he said, failure is there and it's okay to recognize it. He was like, you know, especially men hate to admit that weakness. And he was like, you know, you got to learn to acknowledge these thoughts, acknowledge it. That's the first sign. It's like an alcoholic. You admit you have a problem. So he says, once you acknowledge it, then it brings light to it. Then you can attack it. But he basically said, it's okay to feel the way I feel. I didn't, I didn't know that. And I think a lot of men even right now are dealing with that. Oh, I'm not supposed to show my feelings and all that stuff. You know, I say to a degree, of course, but you know, we were taught that, you know, women were taught doll houses and fairy tales. That's why for them, they want to get married and all that fun stuff. We were like, Oh, I got to build a house and take care of you. So we have a different mentality of upbringing. And I think that's why sometimes when we speak to each other, we're like, no, but this is the logical way to do it. And they're like, no, this is how I feel. We're both right. But we both missed that communicating part. Yeah. But I think if we learn to listen to understand and not listen to apply, we can learn to understand each other. But back to chill saying all those things that at the time, he just brought this awareness that it's okay to feel this way.

Evan: Yeah. And that opened you up. I think I got married like three months ago. And so I completely, thank you. So I completely understand, you know, what, what you mean there of you're both right. Um, I think something that my wife has done really well that I've tried to do really well is still have very close relationships within our own sex. Right. So we still have male relationships. And I do think that there's an important piece of composure, right. Which is important. And then it's important to be able to keep emotional composure, but also the ability to be open and honest with specific people in the right situation and all of that. And it kind of seems like that's what Chael did for you of was the first person who maybe opened you up to the reality of like, I don't just have to be this perfect manly fire man, but there actually is a feeling side of me and emotion side of me. And of course there's a composure piece, but I can open myself up to it in some way, shape or form.

Uriah: Yeah. It's like shutting. It's like all of these things around us is all our emotions and stuff. And I'm like, no, I got to focus on the mic.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And I kind of blur all these things out and I'm like, Oh no, I can, I don't have to give them attention, but I have to acknowledge that they're there, whether it's lust or, you know, whatever other emotions you have, you know, it's there, but the ones that you feed that attention, then understand that that emotion could take over.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And the reason why I use, I use lust because I think less is like the final boss, especially for a lot of men, you know, cause we're very visual. We see things, you know, when we see it's like, Oh wow, that girl is great or whatever. And we fall victim into that feeling that I spent a lot of time by myself. And when I dove into psychology, I understand how men think. I understand how women think. I sat down, I'm like, listen, I know you more than you know yourself. I'm like, Oh, you think you know one? I'm like, yeah, I do, but I'm not doing it to kind of take advantage. I'm doing it to understand because once you understand that, then you guys can communicate, you know, we're not always going to be right or wrong. There are times when, you know, we're going to have those conflicts when we fight. But what I've learned from that is when, when the male and the female fight, right? Because we in that masculine sense and they're in that feminine energy, you know, and that's what attracts us by the way. Right. And, and just to be clear, I think masculine is to be able to protect and provide physically and emotionally. We added to the emotional side too, where we're actually qualified for that. The physical part is great, but I think a lot of people get that. I'm an alpha, which an alpha is actually a wolf and the alpha usually in the back, right? Because they're in the back to make sure everything is exactly. So that masculinity and that femininity attracts, but when there's conflict and we do this to get some space, we actually become emotional. Like, yeah, you know what? I shouldn't have yelled at her like that. And then she goes, eh, you know, he was right. So that space apart usually brings us back together.

Evan: It's incredible how, and I know that you've done work outside of MMA, but how I, something of fighting and this thing that seems to be so violent can lead you down a path of deep understanding and seeking to understand another side in a very unviolent way, right? Like that. That's like, that was just the least violent thing that I've heard in a long time.

Uriah: I'm good at hurting people. I just don't like to, but I'm very good at it. I don't know if God messed up by giving me this ability.

Evan: I think it's a skill. I think it's a skill of being able to, you know, be a warrior, but a man that can't, that does not have the ability to protect is, you know, no man at all. And so you have to teach yourself in order to be able to have that ability and then compose it in the right ways and only let it out.

Uriah: And I thought something was wrong with me because I had this ability for a long time. But in the sport of MMA, it's like, no, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta be this. You gotta be that. I was like, oh, okay. And when you let that outside noise in, you slowly forget yourself. Social media has ruined everything, whether it's love, sex relationship, it's just ruined it because now it's just, this is the way. No, that's a way. And then there's your way. And then there's the actual way. You know, there's so many ways, but whatever we start to see, especially with the algorithm now, it's like, well, all people are like that. No, bro. It's just that incident. So you just gotta be careful to protect your mind. And I'm still learning. I experiment on social media. Sometimes I actually get into fights just to study people. I'm like, get people say some negative stuff. I'm like, yeah, you effing this, this, this, just to see what they would say. I'm like, wow. Social media makes it so easy.

Evan: Yeah. Yeah. To fight with that. And, and in a way that when you're in an octagon, you have to face it.

Uriah: Yeah.

Evan: When you're behind a phone, you can put that phone down and hide away.

Uriah: I encourage, I'm like, listen, man, I'll give you my address right now. They will never do it.

Evan: Yeah. No, don't mess with Texas. Don't mess with Uriah.

Uriah: Right.

Evan: So you're on the ultimate fighter and you're in the finals and you're a huge favorite in that final match, but you're fighting your roommate, one of your best friends and you lose that match. Right. What happens after that? Where you, you said you had $600 in your checking account before, where you paid during enough to kind of be able to live with UFC on the table after that, even though you had lost that final, tell me about what happened after the ultimate fight.

Uriah: Man. So when I lost, it was one of the best worst thing because it revealed a lot of people because everybody wants to be around you when you're doing this. Right. But the real ones are there when you got nothing. And I have some really good friends that I've seen me with nothing. And those are the people that I'm loyal to. I'm a Leo. So I'm, I'm loyal to people that are loyal to me. And after that is scattered. Even the coaches that I was at the gym, I didn't even see, they didn't even come back to the, to the dressing room. They were out, like left, said nothing, just onto the next onto the next. And, and the funny thing about that is that story went down because somehow, uh, the story said that Uriah left the gym for money. They kind of said that I, uh, what'd they say? That I went to another gym for money or something like that. So the rumor just spread in the organization that I was in. And I'm like, it didn't went like, it didn't, you know, it didn't go down like that. And they didn't even ask you, they didn't reach out. Just, just left because they knew what they did is when people can't really face you, you know, especially if they betray you, they know what they've done. They know what they did.

Evan: And so what, so after ultimate fighter, do you have your eye on the UFC now?

Uriah: So, you know, I was, I was favored. I spoke to Dana. He gave me an opportunity. And normally when you lose that fight, you leave. And you know, the other person, Kelvin gets in, but I did so well on the show. He pulled me in and I got some chance. I had some, some good wins. I have some, some losses. Um, but a lot of the time, you know, I was in my head a little bit. And the reason why I was in my head, you know, people, people, people, Oh God, people said that the kick I did ruined me.

Evan: Why?

Uriah: Because the way it happened, I mean, if you were there, it was so weird. I kicked him in the head and he was out for like 15 minutes maybe. But if you watch the video, it cut right to my face. Yeah. That's after 15 freaking minutes, but it looked like I did the kick and I look sad. So people were like, Oh, why he was, why was he so worried? My mom was like, cause you're a human being. We're not supposed to have feelings. And again, it goes back to that what society standards should be. So after I kicked him and I was like, Oh man. And I said, I'm sorry, Adam, that was the phrase. So they were like, you know, he's soft because he doesn't have that killer instinct. I think that was the word, but I don't have to have a killer instinct. I'm very articulate. I can beat you up without, I'm like a sniper. What does a sniper do? He waits and he takes the kill shot. That's me. I'm not a bazooka. I'm not an M 16. I'm a sniper. I just, I don't want to overdo it. I'm not going to undo it. I'm just going to finish the job. So with that kick and the way it folded, people just had this perception of me and no one understood that. And me being new to the internet in that sense, you know, I was like, what F you, what, you know, and cause I'm from New York and it went on for a while. And I kind of lost track of who I was because I was, I was trying to live up to an expectation. That wasn't me. The reason why I did so well in the ultimate fighter, because I listened to me and I was listening to everybody else. It was so much noise.

Evan: It does seem like there's a, um, a viewpoint or a personality within the UFC that it's monopoly. That is the kind of, uh, gloat when you win, right? You see what I think at though we're filming this a couple of days after the white house card, Sean O'Malley, uh, knocks the guy out and starts saluting right after. And so you see, I think you do see both sides in it. You see the guy who wins, then goes up and hugs the other guy or something and shows respect. You see the complete opposite.

Uriah: I mean, if you talk crap to me, I'm probably not gonna shake your hand.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: I mean, if I do this, I'm probably going to be like, yeah, you do suck, bro. But that's just, that's not me. But again, it's it's it's my fault because I allow the society to come in my space and tell me, because again, the internet made it so much easier with no repercussion. And I'm not going to lie. I beat up a couple of people who said some stuff. I was like, all right, meet me here, bro. Let's see what happens. They regretted it, but I was younger. You know, I'm not doing it anymore. What, what is it like right before a fight? What goes through your head? Does anything go through your head? Why am I doing this? What am I doing here? I could be home playing video games. What am I doing here? But it is the coolest. Craziest feeling you'll ever have to feel because you literally march into your own death. And I think fighting will reveal any person. It will tell you who you really are. So a lot of times when I see these people talking about, you know, it's crap or smack or you don't know. And it sucks when you see people disrespect other athletes, like the mentality it takes just to walk in there, because as you're walking to the octagon, you have the crowd of people, people chanting that you have people disrespecting, saying all these negative things. Then you have the boss looking at you, be like, get out there or you're fired. And then you locked in it. There's no way out. You can't punk out. You're looking across the arena. Someone who literally trained himself to obliterate you is looking at you to do that. And you're like, oh, my God, I can't get out of this. And the ref looks at you and say, are you ready? But what you really want to say is, no, I don't want to do this. But you have to. And you have to ignore all those feelings and just go forward. And then, God forbid, it doesn't go well. You know, you get hurt like Ilya Tepora, who I had the same thing. The same thing happened to me, right? He hurt his eye. And then the by the second round, the second eye was going. The same thing happened when I fought Sean Strickland. And, you know, I had a great camp. And prior to that fight the night before, I was in the hospital because I had a bad wake up. You know, nobody knew that because why am I going to talk about it? I just got to shut up and show up to work. And that's the thing with the fighters. You know, we don't have like those days. You can just I don't want to show up today. I got to show up. So I had a bad way cut, you know, which when you have a bad way cut, it puts you in line for an acute kidney failure because you're so dehydrated, so dehydrated. So I ended up in the hospital. And the reason why I end up in the hospital, the I was feeling cramps. And I told my coach, he was like, just sleep it off. I'm like, no, no, no, this doesn't feel right. And went to the doctor and the doctor said, oh, dude, your levels are low. Like, you're really low. You should not be fighting. And another doctor who works for the organization came in and said, well, let's keep him overnight or keep him a little longer and just keep him on IV. So I'm like, OK, if I don't show up, I'm not going to get paid. So I stayed longer. I got an IV. I think I got out of the hospital like three in the morning. And, you know, I fall later that night, like maybe eight. But psychologically, in the back of your head, you're like, am I OK? But you ignore it. Show up for fight day, doing good. The first three punches shone through breaks my orbital right eye. And the color of my hat is what I'm seeing. I'm like, oh, my God, I can't see it in my right eye. So I'm protecting it, you know, which looking at the fight. I remember seeing Ilya doing this. Yeah, it made sense. The same thing happened to me. So by like the second round, this I was fading because, you know, you're getting punched in the eye and I'm like, you need your vision to fight. So as this is happening, I'm still going forward. I'm still trying to figure it out. It's not going my way. I go back to my corner. I'm trying not to let the doctors see it because they'll stop the fight. And of course, if I don't finish, you know, I look like a punk. So I'm like, I got to show up. So round three comes. I'm still getting my butt whooped. I remember at one point I'm doing physics. I'm like measuring my distance in my jab. I'm not lying. I'm measuring my jab. Still not going my way. There was a moment he had me against the cage. I look over my coach and he's like. You know, like, keep going, man. You got to you got to pull through. And I'm like, all right, whatever. Round five, I'm still trying to didn't happen. Finish the fight. Now, I might have lost the fight, but I felt like I won the battle with myself. So then all that happened, which no one knows. And then some random dude like, yeah, you suck. And I'm like, do you have no clue what you just went through that 25 minutes fighting with no vision? So I knew exactly what Ilya is going through, was going through. And to hear people backlashing him, talking smack. I'm like, just a minute ago, you were praising him. You can't listen to people, man. Someone's opinion of you should never become your reality. You should never listen to people. Yeah, interesting.

Evan: So you also had some big wins in the UFC. You beat Anderson Silva, who is a legend.

Uriah: She's the weirdest fight ever, man. Tell me about that. First of all, beating Anderson Silva is like beating up your dad. I'm so sorry. You know, it was so weird. I mean, I think he's 10 years my senior, but he's still Anderson Silva.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: And if you watch that fight, not a lot happened because I shut his style down a little bit because I knew everything he was going to do. That's the guy that got me in it. Because I watched him one day and I was like, I want to be like that guy.

Evan: That Anderson Silva is actually the guy. That's the guy. That's the guy.

Uriah: So when I got the opportunity to fight him, the whole training camp, I'm like, I'm all right. I'm cool. I'm not. Well, you find it. I'm like, yeah. But the moment it hit me that I'm fighting Anderson Silva is when we're in the octagon together and he does a spider pose and I'm like, oh, crap. I'm fighting Anderson Silva. That's the only moment it hit me. So, of course, I was all in my feelings with him. Oh, my God. I'm fighting my idol. This is so weird. By round two, my coach was like, what the hell are you doing? OK, OK. And I kind of got it together and I cried afterwards, of course, because it was so weird. You know, it was the greatest goal slash dream. I ever wanted to fight my idol became my rival. And when it happened, I just didn't know what to do. I cried.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: So, yeah.

Evan: How does how does somebody have that viewpoint of every time? Why am I in here? How do you have that viewpoint? And then what gets you to accept another fight?

Uriah: Um, I think it was different, you know, I'm not going to lie. Some people are protected. You know, there are fighters that I wanted to fight. They were protected. The UFC protects them because they want to build them up. You know, add something. Some people had easy fight and then they'll put them at the top and then you see that, you know. Yeah. But again, I'm old school. I'm like, you know, the Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler's like old school fighting where it's like, I don't care who you are. Let's fight. But I didn't follow those rules of, well, let's strategically do this to get to the title. You know, I was ranked number eight on the planet and the guy I wanted to fight, his name is Darren Till, Dork. You know, I wanted to fight him and he was ranked number six. Now, I won four fights in a row. He lost four fights in a row. I'm like, why is this guy ahead of me? So I was like, well, he's perfect to fight. He has to fight me. But the UFC was protecting him. And that's when it hit me like, oh, I'm expendable. They don't really care about me. And I think that's when I started to kind of stand up for myself, saying no. And they don't like when you say no. Listen, the UFC gave me an amazing opportunity, an amazing platform. But at the end of the day, you know, I have integrity and I have to honor that.

Evan: Yeah. It's the do things your way and the way you feel like is best. When did you retire from the UFC?

Uriah: Oof. Was that, well, maybe a couple a few a couple of years ago, maybe.

Evan: OK. And did you you're still fighting now outside of the UFC. When you retired from the UFC, did you think you were done? Um, or you just plan to kind of do fighting?

Uriah: I didn't want to retire, to be honest.

Evan: OK.

Uriah: My coach kind of, you know, put me in that direction because it's like not showing up to work to get fired. Right. So the after Sean, because I didn't want to fight Sean.

Evan: Why not?

Uriah: Because Sean was ranked 13 at the time and I'm ranked number eight. So naturally, you're supposed to fight top five. So I'm like, well, this guy who's ranked six is perfect because, again, I'm trying to make it to the title. So they're like, uh, again, protecting him. They're like, well, we got to give you this guy. I'm like, well, he's behind me. So I kind of mentally checked out. And then, of course, the eye injury happened, the weight cut. So that's just no excuse. He's a stud. He's a champ. I give him his props. But I kind of started checking out then. And, you know, the guy they gave me after Sean, because I lost, was a grappler. I'm like, give me a striker. This guy is going to hug me the whole time, which he did. He just hugged me. I hate fighting grapplers. They don't want to fight. They're just like, hey, man, I'm scared of you. It's a lot less fun to watch, too. But someone who's like non-sophisticatedly watching and I don't understand. Unless you can beat, because he'll beat you up.

Evan: Yeah, he's insane.

Uriah: But that just ruined it for me. And after that, you know, my coach was like, well, you know, UFC, maybe you want to cut. And I'm like, tell him to cut me. Done. I don't care anyways, because I checked out. Yeah.

Evan: What was the biggest lesson that you learned in your time at the UFC?

Uriah: It's not that serious.

Evan: Explain that.

Uriah: When I teach these younger guys now, I'm like, listen, you got two lives and the second one begins when you realize you got one. And in that window, you put I put so much pressure on myself. And I'm like, now I'm just having fun. I can go out there and I can lose. And that's what I was doing prior to that. I was having fun. But at some point, I think everyone can kind of relate to this. The fun goes away. It's like, all right, it's a job. It's a business. I got to make money. What about the fun? And I missed out on that. So when I say it's not that serious, it's not because life is happening with or without you. Guess what? One of us dies. It's still going to be traffic on 75. Yeah.

Evan: Yeah. I mean, you think of I think a lot of like if I'm going to do something for so many hours a week that it's going to take me away from my family or from my wife or any of that, I'd better enjoy doing it. But it is. You're right. It's incredibly difficult to do, especially when what you do is standing inside of a ring with a man who's trying to kill you.

Uriah: But that's my mentality. You got to know what works for you. I don't when it's fun for me. I'm I'm I'm in like this flow state. Yeah, because I don't have that. I'm going to kill you. I don't have that. But apparently people made me believe, oh, you're supposed to. I'm like, no, I don't need it. I don't need to be angry all the time for what? I'm doing something I enjoy. I'm going to be angry at work for what? Yeah, you it was interesting.

Evan: You walk in here and we haven't met before this, but you walked in here. Smile on your face.

Uriah: And I was like, he looks like a UFC fighter, but he doesn't have a smile.

Evan: It's awesome. It's amazing. So what are you doing now? Talk about what what you're doing now. And then I want to talk about how Texan you look after. But what are you doing now?

Uriah: I'm getting paid to do this, by the way. The main thing I'm doing, the main thing I'm doing is staying away from people. I'm protecting my energy so well. I've been staying away from people because it's all energy. And I've learned that later on in my life, you know, and I'm an empath. I care. So I have a light and people just pull that light. And a lot of people want to be around me and stuff like that, which I'm I'm not mad at, but I'm so picky. But I love being alone. I just I just love sitting on my couch, chilling, eating, playing games on the phone or whatever. I just I just love that. I like reading and I just protect that. As far as anything else, you know, I'm getting to acting. I've done a couple of stuff. It's still a weird world to try to get into in that sense. I'm still competing. I have a clientele, just a couple of people, Dallas Mavs or whoever. But I'm just I think for me, the main thing is just having fun because, yeah, at some point, I think we all realize that, especially for men, no one's coming to save you.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: You know, the boy thinks someone's coming to save him. But the man finally say, oh, I got to save myself. And that's where I'm at.

Evan: Yeah.

Uriah: You know, I got to save myself. What what does it mean to save myself? Is to move away from all the BS, you know, move away from the negative affirmation things, people. And I'll be a fool to say I got it perfectly. I still have road rage.

Evan: Me too. Me too, my friend.

Uriah: But, you know, I'm constantly learning. I'm like a sponge. You know, when I have a bad experience, I sit with myself and say, what is this trying to teach me or what part of me that this is affecting? You know, I'm always a student to life because that's the greatest teacher, especially a heartache. And I went to one of the worst heartache. And oh, my God, really now? And he's like, I got you, bro. Here's why I did it. And one of the best thing is that it had to happen because if it didn't happen, I wouldn't be awakened. And when I say awaken, I'm like. I got I got work to do. I got life. And I learned to to not either be a people pleaser or to protect my energy or to just say no unapologetically.

Evan: Yeah. Did you say you train people on the Dallas Mavs?

Uriah: I train a couple of guys.

Evan: That's awesome. That's amazing. And so you walked in your boots, jeans, cowboy not looking like you're from Jamaica. And sure as heck not looking like you're from New York.

Uriah: I have those outfit. I was off. So I've been hanging out a lot with my Texan friends. Hey, you're all right, man. You know, you got to start, you know, wearing little Texas. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But when I went to Mavericks.

Evan: Yeah, Mavericks Dance Hall.

Uriah: Yeah. Yeah. I met the owner. Great guy, Leo. And somehow we were talking about outfits and he was like, I got you. And he sent someone to maybe go to his house to grab the hat. Gave it to me. And I think that moment I was like, you know what? This guy went out of his way to do that. Let me put in some effort a little bit.

Evan: I hear you're learning to be kind of a heck of a two stepper, too.

Uriah: Listen, I dancing in. And you know what? They love Black Cowboys. Because every time I go there, you know, I want to dance. But again, I'm just having fun. If there's anything I can really say about overall is just to enjoy life and have fun and whatever that means to you. As long as you're not hurting anyone and to mostly protect who you are as a person.

Evan: It's amazing. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Before you go. I wanted to get we get all of our guests a one ounce silver Y'all Street round. So it's a one ounce silver coin. It's pretty sweet. You can pop it out back there. And yeah, man, you're right. Amazing story. You have amazing stories. Seriously, it was such a good thing.

Uriah: Thank you for having me.

Outro: How do y'all drink this? That's the y'all street. That's not what you meant.