vrss Podcast

What actually happens inside the body when fighters train hard, restrict food, dehydrate, and push past their limits - and how do you fuel champions without compromising long-term health?In this episode of the VRSS podcast, Liana sits down with Jordan Sullivan (aka The Fight Dietitian), one of the leading performance nutritionists in combat sports and the nutrition strategist behind multiple world champions, including Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya.Together, they explore both sides of elite performance: extreme stress and intelligent support.In this conversation, they discuss:How the body responds to extreme stress, restriction, and dehydrationWhy weight cutting sits in an extreme physiological zoneThe cultural and psychological reasons weight cutting persistsWhy regulation alone doesn’t solve the problemHow chronic under-fuelling affects everyday athletesWhat proper fuelling looks like in high-performance environmentsSupplement strategy that supports performance rather than masks damageStress, nervous system regulation, and recoveryIndividual variability, including female physiology and cyclesThe trade-off between short-term advantage and long-term healthThis episode is a grounded look at how elite athletes push the body to its limits - and how the right strategy can support performance without breaking the system designed to keep us alive.

What actually happens in your brain when a movement finally clicks? And why does thinking about it sometimes make everything fall apart under pressure?In this episode of the VRSS podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Timothy Carroll, one of the world’s leading researchers in motor control and motor learning at the University of Queensland.Tim studies how humans learn to move, and his work challenges many of the assumptions athletes and coaches hold about training, feedback, and performance.We explore why most skilled movement happens below conscious awareness, why thinking can slow you down, and why performance often breaks under pressure. We also unpack how the nervous system adapts through repetition and error, the role dopamine plays in learning and motivation, and why trust in your body isn’t a mindset trick but a neurological requirement.This conversation reframes how we think about practice, coaching, and mastery. Not as a process of control, but one of adaptation, exposure, and timing.If you’re an athlete, coach, or anyone trying to understand how skill actually develops, this episode will change how you see training and performance.

In this episode of the vrss podcast, we sit down with Sarah Jeffries to unpack the science of sleep, brain health, and performance - and why sleep may be the most overlooked skill in combat sports and high-performance training.Sarah is a registered nurse with a Master’s in Nursing Science, a nurse educator, and a leading voice in sleep education. She breaks down what’s actually happening in your brain when you sleep, including how deep sleep and REM sleep work together to support recovery, learning, emotional regulation, and long-term brain health.We explore:Why sleep is a trainable skill, not a personality traitWhat “cleaning your brain” actually means from a neuroscience perspectiveHow sleep deprivation affects focus, reaction time, mood, and performanceThe role of deep sleep in muscle repair, hormones, and recoveryWhy REM sleep matters for memory, learning, and emotional resilienceHow poor sleep disrupts appetite, decision-making, and training consistencyPractical, evidence-based tools to improve sleep without biohacks or gimmicksThis conversation is especially relevant for fighters, athletes, coaches, and anyone training hard - but it’s just as important for anyone navigating stress, pressure, or high cognitive load.Sleep is free.It’s foundational.And it’s one of the most powerful tools you have - if you know how to use it.

John Wayne Parr is one of the most influential figures in modern Muay Thai. In this episode, he looks back on a lifetime in the sport: from sleeping on wooden floors in Thailand as the only Westerner in camp, to becoming the first Australian to fight at Lumpini Stadium, to surviving 347 stitches across a career defined by resilience, reinvention, and an unshakeable love for the fight.We talk about the culture of Thai gyms in the 90s, what poverty taught him, the fighters who shaped his style, the ghosts he swears visited him in his room, and the mindset that carried him through cuts, knockdowns, and some of the toughest athletes in the world. He also shares how he’s passing the torch to the next generation as his three children rise in boxing, BJJ and MMA.If you’re a fan of Muay Thai history, Australian combat sports, K1, or the evolution of striking, this is an entertaining, honest conversation with a pioneer who helped change the sport.Topics:• Training in Thai camps in the 90s• Fighting at Lumpini Stadium• K1 and the UFC• Humour, fear, superstition and ghost stories• Surviving cuts, knockdowns and 347 stitches• Raising the next generation of fighters• What legacy really means in combat sports

Pressure doesn’t mean something’s wrong - it means something matters.In this episode, world-leading performance psychologist Jonah Oliver explains why discomfort is the gateway to growth, and why trying to control your thoughts or emotions is the very thing that undermines performance.With over two decades working across elite sport and high-stakes environments - from Olympic athletes, UFC fighters, and Formula One drivers, to AFL clubs, corporate leaders, surgeons, and top-tier teams - Jonah blends sports psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural science into a practical and deeply human approach to high performance.We explore:• the paradox of control (why fighting fear makes it stronger)• experiential avoidance and how it quietly sabotages performance• the relationship between arousal, attention, and decision-making• how values-based clarity creates real composure under pressure• why seeking discomfort trains the mind more effectively than “positive thinking” ever could• the difference between confidence and competence• what true game day readiness looks and feels likeIf you’re an athlete, coach, fighter, creator, or anyone who performs under pressure, this conversation offers a new framework for mental toughness - one grounded not in suppressing emotion, but in understanding it.

When everything starts to go wrong - bad calls, unfair moments, missed shots - what separates fighters who spiral from those who stay composed?Performance psychologist Dr Michelle Pain has spent decades helping athletes build mental toughness and regulate emotion under pressure. She helped establish one of Australia’s first sport psychology programs at Monash University, introduced psychological testing to the AFL draft, and has coached Olympians, professional club players, and esports competitors to perform at their peak.In this episode, we dive deep into tilt - the emotional hijack that happens when expectations and reality collide. Together, we unpack:Why anger and frustration spike when things feel unfairWhat your TILT type reveals about your triggersHow to develop quick “anti-tilt” resets to regain focus and composureThe difference between telic and paratelic states (and how to use music to control energy)Why awareness and introspection are the ultimate mental-skills tools for fighters and high performersWhether you’re an athlete, fighter, coach, or competitor, this episode gives you practical tools to stay composed under pressure and master emotional regulation in the heat of competition.This is Dr Michelle Pain, and this is the vrss podcast.

This episode was recorded on 8 October 2025, five days after ONE Championship Friday Fights 127.Tyson Harrison, one of the most exciting fighters in ONE Championship’s Bantamweight Division, sat down with us still carrying the weight of his loss - the silence, the anger, the processing. What followed wasn’t an interview. It was a conversation about truth, resilience, and what it means to face yourself after the lights go out.Tyson spoke about the fight, his relationship with pain, the legacy of “John Wayne Noi,” and the purpose he’s still writing for himself.This is the fight after the fight.This is Tyson Harrison, and this is the vrss podcast.

This isn’t a story about opening a gym - it’s a story about building a community through chaos.When the Monash City Council shut down his new gym just a week after opening, Vinh Le, founder of Honour Martial Arts in Melbourne, faced the toughest fight of his career - one that had nothing to do with the ring.For nine months, his doors stayed closed while he battled permits, panic attacks, and the fear of losing everything he’d built. But through that chaos, Vinh discovered a different kind of strength: faith, resilience, and the power of community.In this episode, Vinh shares how he rebuilt from the ground up, turning setback into purpose and building a gym that’s become a family. We talk about what it means to lead with empathy, to hold your values when everything’s falling apart, and why the soul of martial arts lies in the people, not the punches.Listen for:The absurd 9-month shutdown storyHow faith helped him find clarity in chaosThe values behind Honour Martial ArtsWhat it takes to build a true martial-arts community

What if training isn’t about becoming your best self, but making sure your worst self can still win?That’s the philosophy of Luke Howard: a judo black belt, jiu-jitsu brown belt, and former pro MMA fighter who’s competed across nearly every discipline. By the time he was 18, he had qualified for the judo world championships. After breaking his back and enduring shoulder reconstructions, Luke shifted into MMA, fighting professionally from his very first bout.Today, he’s grown to be one of the most respected coaches both in Bali and beyond, cornering fighters from around the world and building an online community of nearly half a million followers.In this conversation, Luke opens up about:The mental toughness behind stress drills designed to make you lose How to shorten the feedback loop so fighters actually improve-What nerves really mean - and how to harness them on fight nightThis episode dives deep into the mindset shifts that every fighter faces - lessons that reshape how you approach both training and competition.

What does it really mean to be “in the zone”? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sue Jackson, co-author of Flow in Sports with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and creator of the Flow State Scale and Dispositional Flow Scale - the tools researchers still use to study peak performance.Together, we explore:What flow is, and why it matters in sport and life.The nine dimensions of flow and how athletes can access them.How tools like the Flow State Scale help fighters and coaches reflect and improve.Why anxiety, pressure, and distraction can kill flow, and how to manage them.Practical strategies to find flow more often, whether you’re a fighter, runner, or weekend athlete.Dr. Jackson shares insights from decades of research, showing how flow isn’t just a lucky state - it’s something you can learn to invite, train, and apply far beyond sport.

Olympic boxer Tony Jeffries - a 7-time British national champion and Olympic bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games - shares the fight of his life: what happens when boxing ends.In this episode, Tony opens up about:- Competing on the Olympic stage while battling fear and self-doubt- The depression, drinking, and identity crisis after his forced retirement- Moving to Los Angeles, being rejected from his first gym job, and building Box ’N Burn, later named California’s #1 gym- How he turned his fighter’s obsession into one of the biggest boxing fitness brands on YouTube, with millions learning boxing drills, workouts, and techniques in nine different languages- His philosophy of “Do hard things for an easy life”,  and how boxing shaped him as a man, husband, and fatherWatch more from Tony Jeffries on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TonyJeffries This conversation touches on depression, mindset, and the mental battles fighters face outside the ring. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a trusted friend, family member, or professional. If you’re in crisis, please seek local support services in your country. You don’t have to go through it alone.0:00 - Intro3:28 - Fear as Fuel10:20 - Forced Retirement13:00 - Climbing Out15:30 - Beverly Hills Rejection20:30 - Building Box ’N Burn24:00 - Boxing for Fitness27:50 - The COVID Pivot31:15 - Global Reach35:40 - Obsession & Craft46:00 - Impact Beyond Numbers47:50 - What’s Next51:40 - Advice for Fighters (Plan B)54:15 - How Boxing Shaped Me55:30 - Jiu-Jitsu & Family59:50 - Do Hard Things, Easy Life1:03:45 - Final Reflections

In the vrss podcast, we dive into the psychology, science, and soul of combat sports.We bring you conversations with people at the top of their fields: from world champions and legends of the game, to the doctors, neuroscientists, psychologists, and coaches pushing performance to new levels.At its heart, vrss means two things:You versus the fight, whatever form that takes.And the verses that get written through it.We’re here to go deeper into those stories.Into the internal fight, the philosophies, the truths.Into what fighting really teaches us.How it rewires the brain, the body, the mind.And what strength really means - on the mats, and far beyond them.Because the outside never tells the whole story.The real strength is from within.Coming, this September.