With Trevor and Timur’s fight postponed, the episode then shifted to showcasing Mando Guiterrez and myself. Mando is a great fighter and has a winners mentality in life. Whether it be fighting, business, or starting a family, Mando is going to be successful at whatever life brings him next because of the discipline and mentality that he has developed.
The episode also showcased an altercation between Row and Landon in the house. I wasn’t in the kitchen when it went down, but I heard all about it and the general consensus in the house, at least amongst the veterans, was that Landon was loud and obnoxious and Row put him in his place. Many of the contestants, myself included, would develop better relationships with Landon down that road but I do remember a lot of the veterans not being a big fan of his early on in the season.
The episode transitioned into diving into my fight history and background. A lot of the interview that got broadcast was the one I did right after weigh-ins when I was still really dehydrated. I looked pretty rough from my vantage point. I had a really tough weight cut for this fight. I had only gotten the call about the show a couple of weeks before it began so while I had been training, making weight is always an eight to ten week process for me because of how big I am for the weight class. When the show began, I also learned that every other fighter in the house used a weight cutting technique called water loading. I had heard of it before and seen a few fighters at various weigh-ins who said they used the technique but I had never tried it myself. Call me old school, but I still cut weight the old fashioned way and it was a rough one to say the least. The cut itself wasn’t actually that bad, but my rehydration was a mess. I got a rehydration regimen from the UFC PI and followed the protocol for when you’re supposed to drink each of the three mixtures. The problem was the drinks were cold and my body rejected them. When we left the weigh-ins, I had to tell the driver to pull the van over and I went outside and threw up the drinks. I was cramping for quite a few hours after we got back to the house and just couldn’t seem to get my body to come back from the shock and trauma that is making weight.
The episode also highlighted my coaching staff, who I am still adamant deserve all the praise and recognition for the job that they did. Michael Chandler, above all else, helped me have confidence in myself. We bonded over our connection through adoption and he always went above and beyond the call of duty when it came to his role as a coach. I watched him a lot throughout the season. How he carried himself. How deliberate he was in his actions and the effort he put into each and every thing he did. I hope some of that rubbed off on me because it was obvious how his mentality has carried him so far in life. The episode also showcased the coaching staff for Team Chandler. Robert Drysdale, who was a phenomenal jiu jitsu practitioner and fighter, had such an interesting mind for the game and was so open to sharing his knowledge with us all. Jason Strout, our striking coach, a true Renaissance man who was a maestro on the mits. Most of the time, when the fighters would arrive for practice, we would find Jason finishing up a workout on the bag by himself before he jumped into his coaching role. His love for martial arts was apparent to us all, and he had a playful positiveness about him that was contagious to the team. We also got to see Ryan Bader and Sean Soriano, both of whom spent a few weeks with us and were great additions to the coaching staff and room.
The episode also highlighted my family's story and my wife, kids, and town. It was really cool for me to get to share those moments with my brothers, parents, wife, and kids. My kids really got a kick out of seeing themselves on TV and it was a cool little moment to get to share with the audience and fans the people in my life that make it worth living. I loved seeing my little town on the big stage. It showcased The Pit, the gym I train at here in the San Luis Obispo area. Two of my coaches, Antonio Banuelos and Castle Williams, as well as one of my main training partners, Eddie Camacho, were all in a few scenes so that was really special to me as well. I don’t come from a really big MMA gym with a huge room of professional fighters. My coaches, past and present, pour so much of themselves into me and I owe them everything I have in this sport.
The episode transitioned into Connor’s infamous haircut night. When he and his team arrived that night, I made a point to stay away from them. And while it looks like he had a few good moments with fighters from both teams while they were cutting hair, the episode didn’t dive into the fact that he stayed at the house partying and disrupted a lot of fighters' sleep the night before a fight, myself included.
The fight itself was a fun one. Mando is a game opponent and we were having some pretty good exchanges while at range and also from inside in the clinch. I felt like I was frustrating him with my front kicks, jab, pressure, and ability to shut down his wrestling attacks. He landed some clean strikes as well and things were really just picking up when I landed the flying knee. A flying knee is all about timing. I’ve thrown them a few times in fights and it’s always based on instinct and is a split second decision. This one landed clean and put Mando down. I remember being extremely nervous before the fight. Every fight is different. The emotions, the energy. Connor McGregor actually said something quite interesting during this episode on the topic. He talked about how a fighter has such a roller coaster of emotions in the hours leading up to battle and how you have to just accept whatever you are feeling as it is. Sometimes you feel amazing. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes your nerves and excitement can weigh heavy on you. Other times you feel calm and confident and collected. But I liked the piece of advice he gave there in that scene tonight. To allow those feelings and emotions, whatever they may be, to flow freely through you and to be at peace with how you are feeling.
The episode concluded with post fight interviews. Mando had a pretty gnarly injury to his eye but luckily it wasn’t a retina detachment and he healed up without requiring surgery. A lot of the fighters asked me why I wasn’t happier after I won. I didn’t gloat. I didn’t really get all that excited to be honest with you. I was there to complete a mission. And while it’s always nice to get a clean knockout or TKO, the mission hadn’t been completed and so my focus automatically shifted to what lay ahead. I hope you all enjoyed the show tonight, until next time,
Cody “The Renegade” Gibson
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