Super Squad Letter #60
Religion, A Win Solves Everything, Unlikely Inspiration During Fight Week
Religion
Growing up, I was very jaded towards religion.
My mom was Christian and my dad was Muslim. Both texts preach similar messages with subtle differences. Stuff like the language and how Islam existed after Jesus.
But the religious practices are not what made me jaded. We did pray a lot as kids.
It was more so the people practicing the religions that made me jaded.
For example, the place of worship we went to was supposed to be a place of love and acceptance.
But it was filled with a lot of judgment and hate.
As a kid, that negativity really put me off. When I moved to America with my mom, I stopped a lot of the religious practices.
Every once in a while, my mom would take us to church. But I felt the same exact energy.
The words being preached didn’t sound righteous. It was filled with judgment, condemnation, and many times – hypocrisy.
The climax of this was seeing my mom paying tithes when we were barely living paycheck to paycheck. And where did that money go? It didn’t go back to the struggling people in the audience.
Because of my name, people always asked me if I was Muslim. It always makes me feel strange.
I consider myself a bit of everything. I believe in a higher power and I pray.
But I don’t know who I’m praying to. It’s more like me envisioning family around me and praying to my ancestors.
And if I’m being honest, I know a lot of religious people and I can say without a doubt that I live a more righteous life than them 🤷🏿♂️🤣
I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. And I always go out of my way to be a good person.
This brings up another point that throws me off – the lack of acceptance of people with alternative lives. For example, the religious perspective on gays and that community. But to each their own.
With that being said, in the last year or two, I’ve met a lot of people who have good energy and are very religious.
I don’t know if it’s a sign of something, but a lot of them happen to be Muslim.
Every time I interact with them, I feel weird telling them that I don’t practice. But I don’t feel the judgment I felt as a kid.
I remember during fight week for UFC 300, I had a couple conversations with Jalin Turner’s head coach Azamat Dugulubgov.
He said that it was perfectly okay that I didn’t practice, as long as I believed in something and that I was righteous. He also said he could tell I was a good person and that everything would be fine.
That conversation really stuck with me. And I appreciate him for that.
I still don’t feel comfortable being in a group of people practicing religion. I don’t know if it’s a Nigerian specific religious thing where all the judgment and hate comes from or a regular religious thing.
So I don’t know what religion I am.
But I do appreciate the good energy I’m getting from all the super religious people entering my life lately.
That doesn’t mean they’re a good person overall, just their energy is positive. And I thrive off people’s energy when I meet them.
A Win Solves Everything
I’ve said it before, a win solves everything.
You all saw how Ryan was acting before the fight. The manic episodes, the crazy rants, and erratic behavior. If you would’ve asked most people if they think Ryan should’ve continued with the fight – most of them would’ve said no.
Like I said in a previous newsletter, I didn’t know if it was CTE or drugs.
But the moment you win… everyone stops thinking about what you did before 🤣
To be honest, it’s the same way I felt when Volkanovski fought Topuria. No matter what the result of the fight was, I still thought it was a bad idea for Volk to take the fight.
But because he lost, now everyone is saying he shouldn’t have taken the fight 🤷🏿♂️
Same way with Ryan, except with the Reverse Uno card. We all thought he was gonna lose because of all his pre-fight antics, but he pulled off a great inspiring victory.
I still don’t think he’s in the right headspace to be fighting. Unless it was all an act or that has been him since the get-go and we weren’t privy to who he really is when the cameras are off.
But a win solves everything.
Even after the fight, Ryan was proudly saying how he drank every day during camp and partied during fight week.
That’s why I tweeted “Cocaine is a PED” 🤣
Still, these self-destructive behaviors are common for successful people. Mostly when they don’t have the right people around them to ring them back in. Or if they’re too powerful to be rung back in.
There’s that quote that says, “Power tends to corrupt: absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
When you’re in that mindset where no one can tell you what’s right or wrong or you’re not trying to hear that – you’ll overdo all your vices. That could be drinking, smoking, partying, etc.
And again, that makes it hard for anyone to give you a reality check and keep you on a straight path.
But with that being said, there are a lot of fighters who are a little off. People who are normal like me, we’re a rare breed 🤣
And if being on cocaine and alcohol is key to making it to the next level… props to Ryan for figuring that out 🤣
And maybe I should be looking for a plug in the DMV 🤔
New Vlog Out Now!
A lot of you liked my last vlog, so I just released another one.
This time, I’m taking you along with me and fiance’s road trip to Atlantic City. We had some “world-famous” crab fries and got to see some free fights at Showboat 😂
Please share and subscribe, and leave ya boy a comment! Thank you.
Unlikely Inspiration During Fight Week
During fight week, I found myself feeling anxious thinking about the fight. Thinking about how the fight would go, executing techniques, and whether I’d win or lose.
But funny enough, one of the things that helped me was re-reading a chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen.
There was a scene where Yuji, the main protagonist, was talking about how he was just a cog in a machine. His job was just to do his job.
Now that might sound obvious and simple, but it made me reflect.
I started reflecting on how my peers in the UFC talk to me and how their energy is. And it made me realize something.
If you remove all the outside factors from fighting – all the glitz and glamor, social media, and the fans – being a fighter is just what we do. It’s just competition.
A lot of the vets around me, I’ve seen their careers since I was a teenager. All of the ups and downs, all of the comebacks and the setbacks.
Like Yuji said, we’re just a cog in the machine. Our job is to fight and at the end of the day, someone’s gonna win and someone’s gonna lose. That’s just how it is.
That really helped me calm my mind.
Every fight week, I end up finding something that helps me put things into perspective. It just happened to be a chapter from Jujutsu Kaisen this time.
Sodiq’s Pop Culture Corner
I recently watched an indie horror movie called Late Night With The Devil, and it was really trippy.
It’s about a talk show host who brings a girl onto the show who’s possessed by the Devil or a demon. And basically, they’re having a live exorcism live on TV to bring out the demon.
At the same time, they brought on someone who’s like a myth-buster. He was there to disprove anything paranormal or psychic.
And the movie doesn’t start off slow at all. Like 10 minutes in, shit just starts happening.
It’s a very good movie and I recommend anyone to go check it out.
Sakamoto Days
Not sure why, but the president of the JAA put an “order to kill” on Sakamoto, Nagumo, and Slur.
That’s not a big deal, but the old man swordsman is back! The chapter literally starts with 3 henchmen trying to kill him.
He grabs one of the henchmen’s noses through a peephole and slices the bathroom in half.
This guy barely talks. He blocks bullets with his sword and we’ve seen what he did to the last guy associated with Slur.
So the chapter ends with him dropping into the middle of Sakamoto, Nagumo, and Slur. I’m hoping they can talk with the swordsman rationally because I don’t see Sakamoto and Nagumo beating him.
If anything, I think the old swordsman is gonna kill one of them at least. Every time he shows up in a chapter, it’s always fire 🔥
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
Thank you for sharing, Sodiq. Your name had also made me think you were Muslim. I can sympathize with getting bad vibes as a result of so called religious figures delivering messages slanted by twisted or non-righteous political ideologies. You raised a very poignant example with the tithes that did not seem to end up in the hands of those who needed them. To your pondering of whether judgment and hate is specific to Nigeria or regular, I'd say irrespective of any particular religion, political party, or worldview, there are always people who exploit ideologies for power and control. For instance, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc. weren't motivated by a particular religion, but similar to other extremist leaders, they used their respective ideologies to gain power and caused great harm. Whether it is brainwashed, often hypocritical, extremism, or mega so-called places of worship, which serve as for-profit businesses funding the lavish lives of their celebrity leaders, some people corrupt teachings for their own good. As you also mentioned, there are many people who portray themselves as very strict religious practitioners, but are quite mistaken by lacking good character and deeds. I'd urge us all to try and separate individuals, such as those perverting the truth, with the actual belief systems. While I cannot speak to Azamat's specific message (there are more than just subtle differences between different religions even with shared parables and more + I believe we all have an innate urge to believe in the Creator (aka fitra), and ultimately need to follow the provided guidance for salvation), nor can I quite relate to going off of energies, I am glad you are being boosted by these people you're encountering lately. May peace be upon you, brother.
“Late Night with the Devil” was great I’m glad the guy who plays the talk show host finally got a lead role. “In a Violent Nature” is coming out soon that also looks interesting it’s by the same company IFC Films