- Well, here I am, right before
Michael Buffer does the announcements.
People all over the world, watching it.
I'm putting the final Vaseline
on Wladimir and we're about this far apart,
and he says, "You could call me son."
I saw him in Germany like three months later,
and I said, Wladimir, that one moment, why?
He says, "Stitch, there's very few people
I trust in my life, you are one of them."
Man, that gave me chills.
[heavy beating music]
[Stitch speaking a foreign language]
This is Stitch Duran here,
you've probably seen me in a lot
of the epic fights; MMA, kickboxing boxing, even the movies
Creed 1, 2, 3, Rocky Balboa,
Play to the Bone,
Here Comes the Boom.
People always ask me, "what's a Cutman?"
Well, very simply is we're here to give that fighter
that one more round. During the fight,
our job is to maintain any swelling
or cuts and minimize all the negative things
that could stop a fight.
Today we're gonna talk about some epic cuts
and some behind the scenes stories
with some of the greatest fighters in the world.
[bass and electric piano music]
Some of the tools that we use in the trade are the swabs,
these are the ones that we apply into the adrenaline
Adrenaline Chloride 1-1000 is what we use as a medication,
This is a vessel constrictor,
so we'll apply that in the cut,
in theory that it's gonna close up the blood vessels.
I always tell these young Cutmen, use gloves,
use the wrist wrap so that you don't
put the swab in your mouth, or in your ear.
It's not the clean, clean way of doing it,
and we gotta take care of these kids.
Another medication that I use is Quickaid.
It's a hundred percent natural,
it's made out of a seaweed base,
and what you do is when you put it on the cut,
it literally dehydrates the blood.
Let's talk about the Ansel,
well, this isn't the Ansel,
It's called the KOsel my wife named it.
When you use Ansel, it's to maintain swelling
all the Ansels were always flat.
I could never understand this, guys would do this,
like they're putting makeup on, it's in totally wrong.
This I created when I was coming back from London
with Kenny Florian in the UFC show,
we're at the airport and I get a bottle of water
and I put it on my cheek and the bottom it's contoured,
so I went home and got some clay, made a model
and now we got the stitch KOsel.
So it's very, very important.
[jazzy music]
Brock Lesnar, one of the great guys that I've worked
with actually requested me to wrap his hands
when he first started with the UFC,
that was one of the requirements for him.
I think he fought- Cain Velasquez ended up
with a big ol' nasty cut,
and I go, and I put this swab in his cut
and it goes all the way to the bone.
He looks at me and says, "Stitch, take care of me."
And I said, "Yes, you know I will"
In a cut like Brock's it looks bad,
but when it comes to the eyes of stopping a fight,
they probably won't stop the fight,
because it's not givin' a fighter disadvantage
even though the cut or the swab goes into the bone,
y'know it's about as deep as it's gonna go.
I gotta show you this glove,
this is his glove that he ripped.
When he was gonna fight Shane Carwin,
so I'm putting the glove on Brock Lesnar,
and it rips just like the Hulk, look at that.
I tell Burt Watson, our coordinator, and he said,
"Man we gotta figure something out."
So the one changed wearing gloves,
also this size, cuz I only got four a pair.
So I remember working with Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko
and we would put Vaseline on their wraps
and then slide the glove in,
and that's what I did for Brock
and that's how he ended up fightin',
but I ended up keeping the gloves.
[techno music]
Forrest Griffin, you gotta love the guy, right?
I wrapped his hands every day.
The big fight that I had with him was when
he fought Show Gunn and there was the first UFC
fighter with a Pride fighter and every cut you analyze it,
and then you figure out what are you gonna use
for what type of cut to use y'know,
do you use a vessel constrictor, do you use a coagulant,
something that dehydrates blood like Quickaid,
y'know so you make those evaluations
and with Forrest, yeah, actually I used all three.
Y'know, I used the adrenaline to try to close
as much as the blood vessels as you could,
but that's a big vein, so it's continued to bleed.
I put the quick aid to try to dehydrate and then
I kind of filled the gap with Aventine.
Aventine is a coagulant also,
it's like a cotton candy,
so I kind of rolled it up and just kind of fit
it in there and it fit like a glove,
then I covered up with the Vaseline and
an adrenaline mix that I put here to keep it going.
He ended up winning the fight,
so that was a great moment for me,
and of course, great moment for the UFC as well
as for as Griffon.
[bass and electric piano music]
Marvin Eastman from Merced, California,
I'm from Panetta, California so we're close to each other.
I know he took a knee from Vitor Belfort.
Of course the doctor stopped the fight,
but as I'm working on his cut,
literally Joe Rogan says, "it looked like
you flayed a shrimp and it'll open it up."
But as I'm working on it, I know that the fans are looking
at the big screen up there cuz I hear them going,
"Ooh" And "Ah" and one of my jobs is to see,
in what position these fighters are in mentally.
Can I say fuck?
I tell Marvin.
I said, "Marvin, this is the biggest fucking cut
I've ever seen in my life."
And he started smiling, but I knew he reacted
to what I said, so I knew that he was okay,
- [Interviewer] How did you treat a cut that big?
- You pray. [Stitch laughs]
when you look at it, there's a lot of small veins,
alright, so it's not gonna bleed that much,
looks a lot worse than it is.
And then especially was down to the bone,
it's not gonna go no further.
Y'know ya try to maintain it as much as possible,
but yeah, a cut like that, as gnarly as it is,
you wanna stop it and save him for another day.
[techno music]
Robbie Lawler, number one the guys a boxing enthusiast,
every time we get together, we talk boxing.
One of the last fights I had with the UFC
was when Robby fought Roy McDonald,
and he ended up with a big old lip,
looked like somebody got a knife and just cut his lip,
but I remember I was looking at a video,
this guy yells at him, "Don't laugh!"
And he goes, "Ah ha ha ha ha ha."
and you see blood just popping out, right?
So what I do is I get my wet cloth
and I'll pinch and try to get as much
of that blood in the little veins out as possible,
and then I'll put that adrenaline
and I just kind kind of close his lip
like this and try to get in there, but it worked.
I saw Robbie the next day they sewed him up,
they did a great job cuz the cut was straight.
It's the ones that are zigzag,
those are the ones you gotta be concerned with,
but what a great guy, man, what a war, him and Roy McDonald.
[techno music]
Nate an' Nick were we're all from the 2 0 9,
y'know, so we grew up in that type of environment.
I've always wrapped their hands,
both Nate and Nick.
This fight was in New York.
I didn't work that one, but the question was
should the doctor had stopped the fight.
And as you look at it, the cuts are big, alright,
y'know, but we've seen 'em before,
but there's not a disadvantage there.
And in New York y'know,
I guess that's where they stopped the fight.
The people were booing it, but yeah,
bottom line is still taking care of the fighters.
People say, well, you know, got scar tissue,
cut's gonna open a lot easier.
In all fairness, I haven't seen that.
To have a cut on that place has
to be the exact same shot that you had when you cut that.
But once again, I do prepare 'em
for the worst case scenario.
[techno music]
John Jones, love working with this guy, y'know,
fortunately, he was such a great fighter that
there wasn't a whole lot of injuries I had to work on,
but he did break his toe.
I think when he fought Chael Sonnen,
and the doctor looks at the bones kind of
sticking out of his toe and the doctor says,
"what are you gonna do stitch?"
Y'know, so I took it upon myself.
I kind of pulled it,
and then I taped it, and I don't think John Jones even knew
that his toe was broken.
John Jones of course dominating the division
for such a long time,
but when he fought right there, that was a tough fight man,
so when I get in there, I have to look at him eye to eye,
And assure him that on my part, he's gonna be okay,
so go out there and fight and fight as hard as you can.
Making eye contact with these fighters
is so, so, so important,
especially under these circumstances,
but once again, letting 'em know
that I'm here to cover your back,
and that's what I did with John Jones.
It's what i always did with John Jones
[techno music]
Jay Hieron, the bloodiest fighter I ever worked
and he's so proud for me to mention that.
he fought Jonathan Goulet, he took a knee,
but the cut came this way and they bled like a pig,
they both had so much blood on top
of the head to the bottom of the feet that I'm working on.
Jay and I got nauseated
with all the smell of the iron and the blood,
and it's never happened before.
Dr. Flip Romanski came and says,
"Can you stop the cut? The bleeding?"
I say, "Yeah, I could do it no problem."
Y'know, try to give him one more round,
so I get the mixture of Vaseline
and adrenaline and I cover the cut, but it popped
out just dike the that you see in the movies, right?
The blood just spewed out,
if you go to Randy Couture's gym,
you'll see that ring right there.
But Jay Heiron bloodiest fight I ever worked.
[techno music]
MMA, The cuts are pretty much down to the bone.
You know, when you got knees
and you got elbows and the ground impound,
you're gonna get some major cuts.
Boxing bro, I could be eating popcorn
and watching the fights at the same time,
cuz they don't happen that often,
but when they do happen, you gotta be in there
and give 'em that opportunity to win that fight
and give 'em that one more round and make 'em some money.
[techno music]
Vitali Klitschko.
Man, I love these guys.
Wladimir, Vitali, been with him so many years,
but this fight that he had with Lennox Lewis
was kind of like a last moment type of thing.
Nobody knew who Vitali was.
Joe Susan was a Cutman, ended up with these big, big cuts,
obviously the doctors stopped the fight,
but, y'know, when I was working with him,
he looked at me said. "Stitch, if you were with me,
when I fought Lennox Lewis, I would've won that fight."
Wladimir Klitschko, the first time I worked with him
he's fighting DeVarryl Williamson,
he comes in in the fifth round,
he gets an unintentional headbutt,
and that big vein that we have right there,
it pops and it starts bleeding,
but I knew at that point
that Wladimir was winning the fight,
and I knew he had a cut that was so dangerous
that the blood would be getting in his eyes.
When he sat down, I told him an' Vitali, I said,
"Look you're winning the fight, you got a bad cut,
I'm gonna have the doctor stop the fight."
So when the doctor came, she says,
"Well what do you think Stitch?"
And I go like this, I open it up. I said, "It's pretty bad."
She stopped the fight, went to the scorecards,
he ended up winning the fight.
Jay Nady, the referee that worked the fights,
saw me a couple events down the road.
He said, "Stitch, come here.
Did you do what I thought you did?
Did you open that cut in front of the doctor?"
I said, "I did."
He goes, "That was ingenious."
But that's knowing more than just going out there
and wrapping hands and working swelling,
is you have to know the whole industry.
Years later, I'm leaving the Wembley stadium
of Wladimir's last fight
with Anthony Joshua, I'm saying goodbye
to Vitali, he puts his hand on my shoulder,
it's like six, nine.
He says, "Stitch we've been together many, many years.
I love you, you are like family,
you are always welcome to my house."
Those are the final words I said with Vitali,
and, y'know, now he's the mayor
of Kyiv and they're fighting against Russia.
And as a matter of fact, this wrist wrap here, I did it
in the colors of the Ukraine in support of my two brothers.
[fast paced electric piano music]
Mike Tyson, y'know, great guy.
I interviewed Mike like a week before he got his tattoo.
And I said, "Mike,
every fighter has that one little thing
that nobody has, what's that one little thing?"
This is what I tell young fighters,
Mike says very simply he goes,
"Take the pain, you have to take the pain."
And as I left, I thought, man, he's so right
because you take a pain in training
you take pain in a fight, you take pain with your family,
you take pain financially, but you know
you go into the scenario of Mike
in Tokyo when he fought Buster Douglas,
and how important a good corner is
as I mentioned earlier, it's extremely important
and this was a good example.
He gets dropped by Buster Douglas,
but they don't have ansel,
they don't have ice packs,
I think they put ice in a rubber glove,
and that just kind of shows the caliber
of guys that work with Mike Tyson.
There was no reason for Mike Tyson to have gone
through those situations with not having a Cutman.
I don't know if it's economics, but at this level
at the A-level, everything should be understood
on the highest probabilities to give that fighter
a chance to win a fight.
That didn't happen with Mike Tyson.
[techno music]
Tyson Fury, thank God
I ended up working with him a couple fights
and what a pleasure, but Jorge Capetillo was the
Cutman that was working on Tyson fury
and in all reality, he's not really a Cutman,
he was just put that position,
but, y'know, he is a friend of mine.
In preparation for his next fight with Deontay Wilder,
he told Bob Aaron and Top Rank and
Tyson fury that get Stitch
because Stitch is better as a Cutman than me,
but once I get into the dressing room with Tyson Fury
I walk into Top Rank, I'm looking at his cut
and I'm telling him what I'm gonna do in preparation,
I'll keep ice on you every round,
and I look at him and I say, "Y'know Tyson, I also work
with sponsors. Do you mind if I make an outfit
with the same colors that you have
and put my sponsors on 'em."
He puts his hand on my shoulders,
he says, "Stitch, you can do whatever you want.
As long as there's no drugs, alcohol or gambling."
That's the Tyson fury I know.
And I have great pictures on the last fight
with Deontay Wilder, the the last one.
I'm in the dressing room and he just has his shorts on.
We're- I'm ready to go, and I'm saying goodbye.
And once again, thanks for keeping ice on me,
gave me a kiss, and said I love you, y'know.
[techno music]
Talking about some of the bloodiest fights
that I've ever worked.
My coming out party in Las Vegas as a Cutman
was Raúl Márquez when he fought Keith Mullings.
Raúl was the IBF middleweight champion,
he ended up with two cuts here, two cuts here and one here.
So I have to determine what other priority cuts,
y'know obviously, these two are the most important,
this one's gonna bleed, but it's not dangerous.
And it continues to bleed because there's nothing
but cartilage there.
And then the ones down here, you know, they're gonna bleed
but it's not gonna be a disadvantage to the fighter.
These, you gotta take care of right away,
I kept him in the game,
he ended up defending his world title,
and that was when these people in Las Vegas said,
"Dang who is this guy?" but they didn't know that I
had a lot of practice in kickboxing.
Kick boxers get cut also.
So that was my welcoming fight in Las Vegas and
was with Raúl until he retired.
[jazzy music]
I started working with my man here, Badou Jack.
After he got this cut, he ended
up with that big old cut right there,
and he just bled and bled and bled,
and unfortunately the Cutman at that point
didn't know what to do.
I would've stopped the fight immediately like I did
with Wladimir Klitschko.
Number one, I don't think he was winning the fight,
It would give him negotiating powers
for a rematch because it was a unintentional headbutt.
There's really no preparation in preparing a fighter
not to get cut outside of defense.
Y'know, working on defense.
[jazzy music]
One of the epic things that I love
about working with these great fighters is that deep inside
I know, we know that they're all modern day gladiators,
but I know that they're babies
and my job is to take care of the baby.
People always ask me,
"What do you tell these guys?"
Y'know, when I whisper to them?
Well, I tell 'em I say, look, man,
don't worry about nothing,
I'm here to take care of you.
I love you, y'know, go out there.
They're all my babies.