Super Squad Letter #55
Gym Vs. Real-Life, In The Eye Of The Storm, RIP To A Legend
Gym Vs. Real-Life
You miss all the gillys you don’t jump - Dustin Poirier
When I saw Dustin jumping for the guillotines again and again, I already knew what it was even though it wasn’t working.
When fans watch us fight, they kind of have a preset image of the stuff we’re good at. Especially if they watched our previous fights.
But what we do in the cage doesn’t necessarily showcase all the skills we have.
There are things we hit in the gym so many times that don’t translate into the actual fight 😅
So Dustin probably hits the guillotine hundreds of times during practice and training. He’s just never done it in a fight.
Lo and behold, that’s exactly what Dustin said after the fight too.
Throwback to when I got my first guillotine (and sub) win in 2022, I hit that move thousands of times in the gym too.
I just never got a chance to use it in a fight… until I got a chance 🤷♂️
And I won’t lie, if you’re a guillotine guy – you gotta shoot your shot. If I see the opportunity and position, I’d probably jump too.
That’s like the exclamation point to finish the fight. If you stay on your feet, it’s kinda haphazard.
Funny enough, when Dustin decided to stay on his feet, he found the finish. But that doesn’t mean the move doesn’t work.
Right time, right place.
I’m personally an avid move spammer 🤣
If I find something I’m good at, I’m gonna keep using it. So my coaches have the opposite problem of Dustin’s coaches.
They’re always trying to get me to add new moves.
But hey, it works 🤷♂️
In The Eye Of The Storm
When it’s all said and done, I think I’ll be able to appreciate my body of work.
I know it’s a big deal and an honor to be a part of UFC 300 but to be honest, it doesn’t really feel like it right now. Even for my first main event last October, it didn’t feel like a big deal.
It just feels like another par for the course.
I feel like it’s one of those missing the forest for the trees type of thing. And maybe a little impostor syndrome mixed in too.
But I think it’s mostly because I’m in the eye of the storm.
My actual fight weighs more and means more to me. So the show and pageantry around it doesn’t really compute until it’s over.
Maybe when I’m old, I’ll be able to put things into the right perspective.
But right now, I gotta take care of business.
RIP To A Legend
It’s not often I get impacted by a celebrity death. At the end of the day, they’re still strangers.
But this one hit different.
Toriyama is a legend in the anime and manga community. My nickname is “Super”. And obviously, that comes from Dragonball.
Dragonball was one of those shows that provided a safe haven and fantasy for kids of all different types of backgrounds.
You always hear these funny stories of bringing up anime in the hood and they’re always talking about Dragonball Z 🤣
It was just one of those shows that pierced through every single culture.
Growing up in Nigeria, I remember watching Dragonball. And when I came to America, that’s when I got a chance to watch Dragonball Z.
Inspiration from anime is a strong driving force in a lot of people’s lives. As kids, that was the first time we saw those messages about working hard to achieve what you want.
If you didn’t get that influence from your parents, you could get that from anime.
Obviously for me, it was a big part of me wanting to be a fighter. When I saw the UFC for the first time, I saw those guys as real-life anime fighters.
The picture for this section above is a great representation of what Dragonball meant to anime in general.
Without Dragonball, those other shows wouldn’t be where they are today. It provided the blueprint.
Outside of Pokemon, Dragonball was a staple in every kid’s childhood.
Sodiq’s Pop Culture Corner
Shogun on FX. Japanese Game of Thrones, that is all.
This show is absolutely killing it. I don’t even know if it’s dubbed or not, I’ve been a geek my whole life and watching things subbed is normal.
I finished all 3 episodes and now I’m watching weekly.
Netflix and all these streaming services have spoiled me. I hate waiting week to week 😩
The main character is a badass. He’s so cunning.
Without giving away too many spoilers, there was a shogun ruling. But his son is too young to take over, so he appointed 5 people in court to keep the peace.
And you know that never goes well.
Now it’s a power game. There’s one guy that they’re all hating on and they’re trying to get him out of there 😅
I can understand why. He’s a very smart and tactical guy.
But the story is told through the eyes of an English guy. A Protestant who hates Catholics. Religion is silly sometimes, I don’t understand.
They’re all Christian but they’ll wage war over stuff like this.
I’m no history buff, but when you look at stuff like this in our modern time, it’s just silly. So many lives were lost over arguing over different interpretations of the Bible.
But I guess that’s religion in itself.
You gotta check it out. Every episode has been a 10/10.
New Motherland Merch!
When I launched the Motherland shirts, I got a lot of love from you guys. I appreciate it.
They’re back! We usually sell out of the smaller sizes fast. So check it out unless you want a large or XL’s.
If you DM me on Instagram, I may be able to autograph it for you before shipping to you.
That ends it for this week’s Super Squad Letter!
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Peace,
Super Sodiq Yusuff
Hey Super Sodiq! Great newsletter. I'm really enjoying your writing and what you are sharing. Keep it up
Good luck Super Sodiq