🥋 Sundays with Cain – Episode 16 - A ROLL & RUMBLE Fight Co. Exclusive

🎤 Interview by “D-Man,” CTF Inmate Correspondent

A virus has been going around the prison for the last couple of weeks. I had it last week, and this week was Cain's turn. When I saw the big guy on Saturday night, he looked and sounded pretty sick. We agreed to play things by ear. We wound up having to do our Sunday interview after the bug passed on Tuesday. I asked him what being sick in prison is like compared to being sick on the streets. "There are a lot of people here who came around trying to take care of me. They brought me cough drops and tea, mostly. Even one of the officers opened my door and asked me if I wanted any medical attention or if I was going to tough it out. I told him I would be fine, but it was nice that he asked. I did the same things in here as I would have done if I were at home. I didn't take any medicine. Instead, I drank hot tea, lots of water, and got rest. I haven't been sick in five years. So this really kicked my ass". 

Besides having this illness. What else is new since last week? "I have fasted the last nine days". (I had no idea he was fasting and just watched him eat a huge bowl of Mr. T's menudo) Wow, that's pretty hardcore. That's the first thing you ate in nine days. What's that been like for you? "Being sick these last 3 or 4 days was a challenge. I planned my fast end day to coincide with our sweat lodge ceremony. It's the day to break my fast. It perfectly aligned with my first day of feeling better, and I feel stronger for having endured the challenge". 

Most people will never fast for nine days while sick. Walk us through that. Describe Day One. "Day one is the hunger journey. You have to stay busy. My stomach asked for food. I told my stomach 'No, we're not doing that today. We do that all the time. Now we're doing this’. Day Two? "The hunger will begin to go away. I feel a little less energy than normal, like I'm not firing on all cylinders, but I keep busy as normal". Day Three? "This is the easy one. Hunger is gone, and you realize the body and mind work better without food. I felt great and had plenty of energy". Day Four? "My eyes and ears became super hyper aware. My mouth worked less; I wasn't talking a lot. My intuition started going up as I watched people. I was super attentive and could see and hear more". Day Five? " Intuition was peaking. I would think of something, and it would happen. I had football practice today. Any little move and my heart would beat really fast. Every snap of practice, I felt like I was going to faint. Everything would get bright for a few seconds, and all I could feel was my heart thumping. I got into a mode of acceptance. Like 'OK, this is a challenge. I might fall out, but I'm good". Day Six? "I feel really tired and don't know what's going on. This night I feel and know I'm sick. I developed a fever, and all I could think about was my head and throat hurting. My sleep was shit". Day Seven? " I wake up feeling like razor blades are in my throat. It hurts to swallow, and my body aches all over. I stayed in the cell all day, took melatonin, and slept. I made a few phone calls, but that was it". Day Eight? Are you hungry? "No, not hungry at all. I was determined. I had set a goal of nine days. I knew it was going to be a challenge, and it was. I dragged myself to plumbing and checked in and out. Then I had a visit with the lawyer who has been visiting me about wrongfully incarcerated people. That was tough because I felt like shit. I went back to my cell and napped. I stayed in the cell the rest of the day. That night, I woke up drenched in sweat. My fever had finally broken, so I was happy". Day Nine? "Everything worked out perfectly. I made it to day nine, and I was finally not feeling sick. 

The buildup to the sweat ceremony was the last step. I usually never liked saunas in training. I had only done a sweat lodge one time before coming to prison. Here, I have been able to do it every two weeks. I find it amazing now. I am also getting good at it, unlike before. Today we planned on four rounds. I had told myself that it would be OK if I didn't do all four of them. But I found myself being able to handle these rounds like never before. It was exactly what I was looking for. We even did an extra round, a fifth one. This was with all the stones and constant water. The steam was so intense that my face was burning. I had to face down, and the top of my head began to burn. Then I couldn't breathe in without my lungs burning. So I lay my head on the ground where there was the only air left that was breathable. I poured out so much sweat, it was crazy. I really enjoyed this challenge and now I'm sitting here breaking my fast with T's menudo". (T is an older Samoan man who loves the shit out of Cain) So, overall, Cain's fast was a journey of his own. I didn't even know he was fasting. I just knew he had been sick. He looks thin, and his face and head are red like a sunburn, only from steam. When he finishes eating, T goes to his cell, and Cain and I finish the interview. 

Last week, we brought up your memories of Adela, your sister. Today I would like to talk about your brother. I know you lost him in 2019. Is this OK if we talk about him right now? "Yes," What's his name? "Efrain, but that's not what we called him". What did you call him? " When I was young, I couldn't say his name, so I called him "Chaeen (ch-eye-een)" so that was what everyone called him his whole life". When was he born? "February 2nd, 1980." He passed away in 2019, so he was still really young. How did it happen? "Years of alcohol abuse". I'm sorry to hear that. I can only imagine that must have been tough on you. " I was there with him when he took his last breath. Michelle and I were both there in the hospital with him". How long did they give you to say your goodbyes after he passed? "We sat with him for a few hours. They did not rush us out". I would like to honor his memory with you and talk about the good times. Is that OK? "Yes," OK, let's go back to when you two were young. You already shared about your first memory and the skateboard accident. What's your next early memory of him? "I feel like when we were really young, he was always taking care of me. I remember we were in front of our apartments in Yuma. I see a man walking by, and he is drunk. So I started laughing so hard at him, and I was pointing. My brother grabbed me and said we had to go home. He knew I had done something dangerous. This guy started chasing us all the way to our door. We ran in and locked the door just in time. He always made sure I never got hurt. I was always so full of energy and getting into things. This caused my brother a lot of anxiety. He cared a lot about me". It sounds like he had his hands full. 

Move forward a few years. Do you have a grade school story? (Cain laughs, and a tear pushes out of the corner of his eye) "When I was in the 5th grade, a friend of mine would steal tobacco chew from his dad. I remember we gave some to my brother one night. He started puking all over the place. My mom thought he was sick and let him stay home from school the next day”. Did she ever find out it was because of swallowing chew? " She never did ". What are some of the things you loved to do with your big brother? " We loved going to Mexico when we were kids. We loved getting fireworks. It didn't matter how old you were down there. They would sell us literal sticks of dynamite. They were like four times the size of an M80. I also remember on those trips we would buy stalks of sugar cane. They would be four or five feet long, and we'd break off little six-inch sections. Then we had to bite into it and tear it open. It was like bamboo, and you had to peel it. Inside was super succulent and sweet, but very fibrous. We would just love to sit around and eat sugar cane. (Cain is smiling at these memories, and I can tell it has been a long time since he has thought of them, but they are coming out now without any prompting. He goes on.) Then I remember we would visit my grandmother. She lived in a mountainous area of Sonora, Mexico. My brother, sister, and I would go out at night and play hide and seek. Usually, after we told each other ghost stories. Those were fun times". It's always good to share our fondest memories of those we love. 

Let's go back to school. Your brother was a wrestler, too. Was he into it before you? "Ya, I remember watching him, that's why I wanted to start wrestling". Was he any good? "I think his 7th-grade year, he only won one match. Then he had a growth spurt, and in his 8th-grade year, he was undefeated". Did you two get to practice together when you started? " Through the USA Club when I was in 7th grade and he was a freshman, we practiced together. I wrestled 185 and he was heavyweight". So you two wrestled together in high school as well? "Ya, when I was a freshman, I wrestled 215 and he was our heavyweight". Any stories from those days? " My brother's best friend was our second heavyweight. His name is Mario Aguillo. When we would go on the road for tournaments, those two would sneak out and go to bars and clubs. So, in my sophomore year, we went to Hawaii for a tournament. Our team went into the finals with a team from California, and only 3 of us won our match. My brother, myself, and one of the lower-weight guys. Our coach, Sean Rustad, was pissed as the matches went on. His face looked so angry, and he was always yelling. He's from Alaska, and it's funny, whenever one of the Mexican wrestlers would have a match. He would pound on his chest really hard and yell, "Con Corazon Guey" (with heart). He would tell us, "Let's go to war now". Do you think Sean's style and words had a lasting effect on how you fought? "I will just say he spoke my language. That of a warrior and the battle. He hyped me up for everything. So we lost the match, and the coach is pissed. I think my brother and Mario sneaked out that night. We wake up the next morning, and coach fucking runs us. Everyone is on vacation at the beach in Hawaii. Here is this dude fucking killing these kids with suicide sprints down on the beach. He ran us so fucking hard that day". Did your brother puke? " No, we all got through it". So if you were a sophomore that year, that means it was your last year wrestling with your brother. What did he do after high school? "He stayed on as a coach for the team. My junior and senior year, he was right there as I won state each year and went on to nationals". 

I know there is not enough room for all your memories here, and maybe we can do that later. What would you like to say about your brother that you want him remembered for? " He had a hard time showing love. His love language was always deeds. He was very protective of his family, friends, and even strangers who needed protecting. That was his way of saying he loved you. He had the biggest and most sensitive heart. He was the number one protector. He loved his son with all his heart. I miss him". Thank you for sharing his stories. I know the whole story is not all rainbows and sunshine. But for this, I think it is OK to document the good times. Cain and I hugged and took a break. His brother's story is not finished, and we made plans on how to share it in a thoughtful way that could include Cain's nephew when the time is right. 

When we sat back down, it was time for the next fight in our series. UFC 146 in Las Vegas at the MGM. This was the first all-heavyweight card. Dos Santos vs Mir was the main fight. Cain vs Silva was the co-main. One of the bloodiest fights you will ever see. I wanted to start off where we finished last week. Coming from the loss to Junior, you had surgery. What was the recovery like for you? "At this time, everything at AKA goes to shit. There are rumors that Javier is being blamed for my loss. They are saying that Javier changed the game plan at the last minute, and that's why I lost. Which is not true. My knee was fucked, and the game plan went out the window because I couldn't do what I normally practiced, wrestling. I had gone into the fight knowing that it was going to be a stand-up fight.

That's not anyone's fault but mine, and I take full responsibility for that. The thing is, everyone knew my knee was not 100%. To what extent they understood, I can't say for sure. However, when I tried telling the other side of management, Javier didn't change shit; my knee changed shit. They didn't want to listen. It was like I was invisible. This was a very frustrating time for me. Javier is AKA. He makes Champions, no one else. Javier did nothing wrong; I chose to fight unprepared. That should have been the end of it. But it wasn't. Did these frustrations carry over into your fight with Silva? " Yup." Did you feel like you had something to prove? "I had a fire lit in me for multiple reasons. I'm still seeking the ultimate challenge. I was looking to get back where I felt like I belonged.

On top! I had failed, and everyone saw that. In doing so, I learned why some things are so important. It was more than me I was fighting for”. You come out of the tunnel. Is the crowd your people? "It was a mixed bag. Silva and Dos Santos on the same card brought in a large Brazilian crowd". When you get in the cage with Silva, is your intensity level maxed out? "It's just as high as when I fought Brock. I was just more certain of winning this time". How did the knee feel? "It felt great. They cleaned out all kinds of old damage with a scope, and it felt great”. Josh Rosenthal says, “Fight”. What do you remember?

Daniel had already fought this guy. So we knew he always starts his fights with a right low leg kick. Sure enough, he kicks, and I catch it. This led to a takedown. I was trying to get clean shots. He felt more skilled on the ground than the other guys I had fought. I remember catching him with a good elbow, and he started bleeding. The blood was getting in his eyes, and he was squinting. (Cain squints his eyes at me and says) He didn't have a chance. That told me to turn up the pressure and throw more punches. Joe Rogan said during the fight that you had the most strikes per minute than anyone in the UFC at any weight.

What are you thinking when you start striking that much? "In this fight, my motivation is not Silva, but Junior. I just saw Silva standing in my way. He did hit me with a punch in the face, and I was surprised by how hard it was. But my brother had already warned him I was going to fuck him up". He told Silva? How? "When Silva was walking to the cage. My brother and Bryan Stith were sitting up front somewhere. On Silva's walk out, my brother got up to him, trying to push him, and yelled, 'You're Fucking Dead.' Really, did he get kicked out? "No, they just pushed him back to his seat. My brother did get in a fight at his hotel afterwards and ended up sleeping in my hotel room that night". That's funny, so both of you guys knew you were going to win. What about after the fight? Do you go to the back and watch Dos Santos and Mir? "Ya, I watched it." Were you still covered in Silva’s blood just sitting there thinking about the next fight? "Ya, I knew we would go to war next time. But I knew I was the one who was going to bring it. I don't think Junior knew what he was getting himself into". So after the fight, do you go to Mexico again for brand building? " Ya, Dana had announced right after the fight a rematch with me and Junior. So I went down there and promoted that"

. 

Thank you, Cain. That’s it for this week, man I appreciate you opening up about your brother and can't wait to dive deeper into that another time. I got one more question for you. This is our weekly fan question from DamnSkippy415. Cain, when you lost the heavyweight title to Junior dos Santos in that first fight, it was such a quick ending after months of preparation. What went through your mind in the aftermath of that loss—was it shock, frustration, or motivation? And how did you mentally reset to come back stronger in the rematch?

"What went through my mind was determination. I took myself inward and blocked out all the noise. I knew I was going to have to go to a dark place for our rematch. That is exactly what I did. I saw nothing but my pending war with Junior. Even as I fought Silva, I was mentally pushing him aside. I went dark within myself. Looking for that warrior that I would have to unleash on Junior.

See you next week, on "Sundays with Cain".