"I Was the Cocaine King of San Diego" – MMA Gym Owner’s Wild Prison Interview

MMA History Podcast #328: Rudy Silva Prison Interview – The Cocaine King of San DiegoIn this raw and unfiltered prison interview, former fight promoter, City Boxing and Alliance MMA gym owner, and self-proclaimed Cocaine King of San Diego Rudy Silva opens up to Mike Davis like never before.Rudy details his traumatic childhood, early days at City Boxing alongside Brandon Vera, Dean Lister, KJ Nunes, and Tyrone Glover, launching Alliance MMA with Vera, and his deep connections in the San Diego MMA scene. He speaks candidly about his relationships with Dominic Cruz, Jocko Willink, Dan Bilzerian, Justin Bieber, and the chaotic lifestyle that pulled him into the Tijuana Cartel world.From gym politics and embezzlement drama to cartel dealings, robberies, a high-profile nightclub stabbing, bipolar struggles mixed with heavy cocaine use, family estrangement, and life in federal prison while appealing his sentence, Rudy holds nothing back.This is a gripping, no-holds-barred look at the dark underbelly of early San Diego MMA — sex, drugs, violence, power, and regret from someone who lived it all at the highest levels of both the fight game and the streets.A must-listen episode of The Other Side of the Cage prison interview series.The MMA History Podcast is the only show dedicated 100% to preserving mixed martial arts history through interviews and stories from the men who lived it.0:00 MMA history podcast intro 0:33 Joey Venti’s guest introduction2:16 interview start 2:25 current life/5:28 going through a break up 7:09 having a rough upbringing 10:16 becoming involved in drug distribution 12:01 selling memberships for City boxing 15:58 Urijah Faber and Mark Dion incident 19:07 kickboxer Alex Gong19:53 Coach Oleg Larson21:18 Boxing coach Manny Melchor22:37 Coach Ernesto Martinez 25:51 kickboxer Danny Steele26:04 leaving City boxing 28:54 opening up a gym 31:56 renting rooms out to fighters 34:29 introduction to the drug market 42:33 working for Total Combat 44:05 fight politics in Mexico 47:00 opening an Alliance Jiu jitsu gym 51:29 falling out with Brandon Vera 54:52 56:31 relationship with Jocko Willink 1:02:51 bible app with Michael Chandler1:05:04 transitioning from coach to drug distribution 1:09:42 stabbing at a nightclub 1:16:48 argument with Chris Leben1:21:18 Elias Gios1:24:21 training Dan Bilzerian1:26:30 robbed for $285,000 1:29:52 Kickboxer Rob Kaman 1:30:10 relationship with Dominick Cruz1:33:44 falling out with Dominick Cruz 1:38:20 relationship with Dean Lister 1:40:38 Eric Nicksick1:42:05 process of getting caught up 1:45:27 outro/ closing thoughtsFollow the MMA History Team on Instagram: MMA Detective Mike Davis @mikedavis632 Co Host Joey Venti @aj_ventitreRecords Keeper- Andrew Mendoza @ambidexstressSocial Media Manager Andy Campbell @martial_mindset_Thumbnails Julio Macedo @juliosemacentoInstagram https://www.instagram.com/mmahistorypodcast?igsh=aHVweHdncXQycHBy&utm_source=qrSpotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3q8KsfqrSQSjkdPLkdtNWb?si=aL3D5Y3aTDi-PQZdweWL8gApple Podcast MMA History PodcastYouTube https://youtube.com/@MMAHistoryPodcast?si=bj1RBXTZ2X82tv_JOutro song: Power - https://tunetank.com/t/2gji/1458-powerMike - The MMA Detective - @mikedavis632 Cash App - $mikedavis1231Venmo - Mike-Davis-63ZELLE: Cutthroatmma@gmail.com / ph#: 773-491-5052 #MMA #UFC #NHB #MixedMartialArts #MMADetective #MikeDavis #MMAHistory #OldSchoolMMA #MMAPodcast #fightpodcast Thank You for your support