Jared Gordon, UFC Fighter

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Additional terms apply. Visit Instacart.com to get free delivery on your first three orders. Visit Instacart.com to get free delivery Take me through what you're feeling today. And first off, congratulations. That's tremendous.

Thank you. Um, yeah, eight years. It's been one hell of a road, but, um, it feels like at times it feels like it goes by really fast.

And then other times it feels like it's been forever. Well, my life is better than it's ever been. And, um, you know, I owe everything to my sobriety and everything that I have materialistically and emotionally, spiritually is all because I'm sober. I'm sober.

Your story is so well public and you do an incredible job sharing it. Um, you were at one point facing 25 years to life. You had three overdoses. Just what was the moment for you where you knew that you needed help, but then you started to say, okay, not only do I need to go get that help, but then it started to work and you started to move in that right direction. So in 2015 on Christmas day, I had my last overdose and I went to detox. I woke up in the hospital on the 26th of December. I was super sick.

I woke up and not, you know, dope sick. I got high one more time naturally. And I went to detox that night.

And, um, so my sober date is like the 27th of December, which is today, eight years ago. Wow. Um, I just was sick and tired, man. I just couldn't do it anymore. You know, I've, I went through the ringer, psych wards, crisis centers, homeless shelters, hospitals, detoxes, rehabs, therapeutic communities, jails, institutions. The only thing I didn't do was prison. I never did like long stretches of prison.

Thank God. Um, and I just was, I just couldn't do it anywhere. I was, I was beat up. I was tired and I was, you know, I was at a bottom and I was desperate. So I just went to detox and started taking the suggestions of people that have, you know, been there and done that. And, um, I did some, you know, some work and started trusting in God and, uh, things started working out for me. and things started working out for me.

Jared Gordon here with us. And it's great to hear where you are today. You know, a lot of times I say addiction is a disease.

And, you know, I like to emphasis that in a conversation because sometimes people just look at addicts as people that are weak, but it takes a lot of strength to go get that help and then continue to be someone that is a voice for a lot of people that need to hear a certain voice. So I'm just wondering, what is it like now, day to day for you? It's great that you're eight years sober, but what is the day to day like grind for Jared Gordon individually now? Well, my life's changed a lot. So I'm married. You don't have a dog, I don't have children, but I wake up every day and I have responsibilities and things that I have to take care of. And obviously I have to train. So I'm training, you know, things in between.

I obviously, in order to have a wife, you need to be present and you have to be responsible and you have to give back to the relationship and be there for your loved one. And, you know, I have to be there from everyone to my family and all my friends. And, you know, it comes with a, life in general comes with a level of responsibility obviously, but when you're sober, I have to do certain things that, you know, some people don't necessarily have to do. And, you know, I get up in the morning, I pray, I do some meditation, read some literature, and I have to do certain things every day to keep myself on track.

People like me, you know, we have to do a little extra sometimes in order to stay afloat. And, but I wouldn't have it any other way, you know, it makes me a better person and makes, you know, I'm not, I used to be selfish, selfish, selfish human being. And now the goal is to be there for others, help other people be of service to others, you know, do quote unquote, God's work.

And the only way to keep it is to give it away. So that's what I try to do now. So you've been through this journey, Jared Gordon, let's just say if someone right now is listening and they know that they have a problem, they need help and they get in contact with you, just how do you advise that person to start to move into the right direction like you've been able to turn it around? Well, it depends, you know, where you're at, how bad your addiction is, what kind of drugs you're doing and, or alcohol for that matter. And, you know, there's different levels of care for different individuals. There's people with mental health issues and they abuse drugs and alcohol. There's people, you know, that have all sorts of different issues.

So try to decipher where you're at. And if you're looking for treatment or help, you know, I work with a few different places and we can, you know, we try to place people into treatment and get them the help that they need. And, you know, for me, that's what I did. I needed to go to detox. I needed rehab treatment. You know, I needed this separation from the street to clear my head of the fog and the drugs. You know, now I can see a little more clearly, I have a little clarity and, you know, I have to learn tools to stay sober and not go back to use.

It's easy to get clean, but it's hard to stay sober for long periods of time. So you have to learn these tools and you have to practice it in your daily life. And luckily, you know, I was able to, I'm able to, you know, utilize these tools every day. Now, you know, it's been eight years. So that's how I try to help, you know.

Yeah. Like, what do you want people to gain, just wondering, when they hear your story and you're as open as it comes, right? In the Octagon, after a fight, you talk about your sobriety, right? You talk about it on a day like today and in countless of interviews I've seen. What do you hope to get people to really gain when they hear your story and hear what you've been through? I mean, the goal is to help anyone any way I can. So when you hear a story like mine or, you know, many others like mine, obviously it inspires people. You know, I was inspired by certain individuals and, you know, I was an IV cocaine heroin user. I was homeless, I can't handle, I robbed and stole. I was, I lived in homeless shelters on the street. You know, like you said, I was facing 25 to life.

I was arrested eight times. So like, you know, I was as low as you can go, basically, without dying or ending up in long-term prison. So there's a way out, no matter how far gone you think you are, there's light at the end of the tunnel. And I've seen people with stories or I've heard stories that are insane, you know, that people, you know, make my story look petty and they have gone out, you know, and made a lie for themselves that they can never believe was possible. So the goal is to just inspire and help people and give people hope.

And I believe that's what I'm doing. You know, when you were having your post-fight press conference at Madison Square Garden, you were telling, you know, everyone that was in that room that it was pretty surreal, that you used to shoot up heroin in Penn Station. And then here you are all those years later where you were on a big card and you knocked out someone and you're sober and you were rocking MSG that night. I'm just wondering now that being a little over a month ago, for you personally to see that journey and to know what you used to do in that building and then what you did that night in that building, just what did that moment mean to you? The only word to describe it was like epic, you know?

It was insane. I used to walk by that building. I was under it in Penn Station, you know, doing my thing. And, you know, I used to just dream of one day, oh, maybe I'll fight, you know, Madison Square Garden. And, you know, my grandfather felt there. I was born in Manhattan. I was raised in Queens. You know, it's like the biggest stage that you can be on probably.

And, you know, the Knicks, the Rangers, just it's the home of boxing basically, like boxing Mecca. So for me to go out there, win by knockout against, you know, over an Olympic medalist, it was, there's no other way to explain it besides a God given, a God gave me that. Like I couldn't, you couldn't make that story up really. So, I mean, it was incredible. I'm so grateful and I'm honored to be able to do that and, you know, put on a show and be there and do that in front of my family and my wife and my friends, it was insane. You know, we talk about the help that you received through the year.

And I understand if you wanna talk about this, Jared Gordon's here with us. When you were eight, I was reading you were sexually assaulted by a camp counselor. You know, I'm sure you tried to bury that away for so many years. How did you finally start to get help when it comes to trying to heal, not only internally, but also publicly from what you went through at such a young, innocent age of eight years old?

Yeah, I buried that for years until I was 23. That was the first time that I told anyone. And it was my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife. She was the first person I told.

And she, of course, told my parents. And I ended up talking about it in therapy. I was in a long-term treatment center.

I was in a program for six months. And the first therapist I told was in there. And I have to, you know, I work on it and I still talk about it. I just got out of therapy a few hours ago. And, you know, I talked about it with him and I talked about it with other therapists and trauma specialists and, you know, PTSD specialists. And I was eight years old, I'm 35 now.

It's been, you know, 27 years since that's happened. So, you know, I've looked into it a lot and I've learned about myself and, you know, what it's done to me as a boy and then as a man. And I think I've done a pretty good job of healing myself. I don't think that you can ever fully be healed or something like that.

It's like a death, like if you're close relative or someone you love dies, like you're never fully get over it, but you do have to move on, otherwise you just suffer. So, you know, I'm at the point where I use it to help others. Like not only am I an addict, I'm a sexual assault victim. And that's part of my goals to help people with all sorts of mental health and sexual assault, addiction, that's, you know, it all falls under mental health scope. That's why I'm here. And, you know, it took years and years and years of process. I'm still processing it.

So, but I think I'm at a good place with it now. Wrapping up with Jared Gordon, who joins us right now. As a fighter and then also as a human being, what do you want people to know?

Like who is Jared Gordon? Like how do you describe yourself to people? I'm a man of God and I'm a friend, I'm a brother, I'm a husband, I'm just a regular guy. You know, I have tons of issues that I'm working on and I'm a regular human. You know, I just fight in a cage for a living.

So maybe it looks like, oh, you're not a regular person. But I am. I was never really athletic. I was never, I mean, I was athletic, but I was never, I never played sports. I wrestled a little bit in junior high. Then I never played any organized sports.

And then I just started fighting when I was 17. So like, you know, I'm not tall and fast and strong. Like I'm not like a crazy freak athlete.

I'm just a regular guy. I just work hard and have faith and I train my ass off. So excuse my language, you know, I train really hard and I'm going to fight it. But like, you know, anything is possible for anyone as long as you have faith and work hard.

So I just want people to think of me as a regular guy that has gotten through a lot of, you know, bad situations or bad problems. And, you know, it's possible for anyone. When we look at your fights recently, we all know you got screwed in this scoring decision with Patty Pimblet. And then you had the other situation as well. And you bounced back with the victory. As a fight fan, I want to see you and Patty fight again. Do you think that will ever happen? Because you're a better fighter than Patty Pimblet.

I mean, it could happen. Do I want to fight him again? Yeah, but do I want to fight him right now? No, I want to top 15.

He's not ranked. Just be 20 Ferguson, who? I looked way better against Patty than Tony did. You know, like, I don't think I need to prove that I'm better than Patty.

Everybody knows it. So I just I want to fight a top 15 guy. I want to get into the top 15 right here and make a run. It's not, you know, I want to progress in this sport and climb up the ladder. So that's where I'm at with that. But maybe down the line, you know, main event in London or something. Yeah, of course, I'll fight him again.

But I want a top 15. Well, I appreciate you sharing your story with us. Unfortunately, I've lost three friends to drug addiction.

And I hope if people hear your story, it can motivate them to turn their life around. So I appreciate how open you are. And glad our mutual friend Sully, who's like friends with everybody, connected us. And thanks so much for jumping on with us. And once again, congratulations.

Being sober for eight years is a remarkable accomplishment. Thank you, Zach. I appreciate it. There he is. Flash, Jared Gordon joining us on CBS Sports Radio. What an emotional conversation and one that a lot of people do need to hear. We'll take a break. We'll come on back.

It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Let's face it, most people aren't making massive turkey feasts on the regular. And after 364 days of not thinking about it, it can be hard to get that bird just right. That's where Instacart, the holiday rescue app, comes in. From getting all the ingredients to prep a full seasonal spread to getting last minute swaps in a turkey emergency, Instacart has everything a holiday host needs to save face and save dinner. And right now, if you download Instacart, you'll get free delivery on your first three orders and delivery in as fast as one hour. Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order, additional term supply.