Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out.

>> The Joe Rogan Experience.

>> TRAIN BY DAY. JOE ROGAN PODCAST BY

NIGHT. All day.

>> All right. What's happening? Pleasure to

meet you, man. How are you?

>> Great. I'm great. When you got a name

like Gable and you're named after Dan

Gable and you go on to win an Olympic

gold medal in wrestling, that's kind of

>> that's crazy, right?

>> That's kind of prophetic. Um, my mom

when I was young, she was trying to find

names for me and she liked Kale

Sanderson because Kale was a guy at the

time, but she was at a tournament in

Iowa with my older brother and she kept

hearing Gable Gable. Gable and it was

Dan Gable at the time and you know Dan

Gable was a huge figure in the Midwest

for wrestling and so she was like, "Why

don't I name you Gable Dan?" And the

rest was history, which is really crazy

because it it his whole timeline is my

timeline which is fantastic.

>> Except the MMA part.

>> That too. Yeah.

>> Which I wish he would have done.

>> I think he would have been amazing. I

think he would have been amazing,

>> but it wasn't around. I mean, when he

was wrestling,

>> bare knuckle maybe, I don't know, do it

on the street or something.

>> He could have he could have found a way.

>> It's kind of [ __ ] that there's no real

professional outlet for actual

wrestling.

>> It is [ __ ] And uh wrestling needs a

real way to go out there and and be

something big. And I think they have a

really good one now with um RAF. If you

haven't heard about it, it's American

Freestyle. They're trying and I think

they're trying really well. And I think

it's going to come to a point where how

do you make matchups continue because

you know wrestling gets to the point

where and in fighting and and in a lot

of other sports you can get to the point

where you know maybe you draft a guy in

fighting there's a next big thing

there's a next guy out there that you

can kind of create and with wrestling

they're trying to create an atmosphere

of how can you create that person and I

like it and I think it might work and

hopefully it keeps going the way it

needs to go. It would be interesting if

it would. The problem is MMA is so huge

now and people kind of associate

wrestling with either MMA or pro

wrestling now. Like those are the two

things that they think of

>> and it's one I think it's one of those

things like soccer where soccer should

be huge in America. It's huge all over

the world, right?

>> It's a very exciting sport, but nope.

>> You know what's crazy? How how popular

soccer players are. And I feel like in

America, we have so many sports that

like we can't hit that market for

soccer. And I think that might be the

biggest case why. Because if you go

overseas, Ronaldo's paid $500 million

and if he scores a goal, he gets a

million dollars a goal or something. So

he's out here doing bicycle kicks. But

it's it's like we have so many

professional sports that LeBron James is

our biggest athlete. But even then, I

think it's to the point where some

people see LeBron and, you know, it's

not like the the crazy wow factors. If

you saw a soccer player in Italy or

Spain, it would be like, man, it's him,

>> right? Well, they have less sports

though, right?

>> I think so.

>> Italy, like

>> I think Italy got like basketball,

soccer.

>> Well, they're not really known for

basketball, though. Soccer's big.

Boxing. There's a lot of boxers come out

of Italy,

>> but other than that,

>> Rome.

>> Yeah.

Uh, they got a couple fighters. Um, but

other than that, I think um we're kind

of at a halt with with creating that

that big guy for America.

>> Well, it's just it's just strange to me

because it's such a wrestling itself is

such an exciting sport. It it really is

very exciting to watch and everybody

understands it. It's not complicated,

you know.

>> I think I I really think everyone

understands it to a certain extent, I

think. Um,

>> but they could learn points and all the

other stuff.

>> Have you ever wrestled?

>> Yeah, wrestled in high school. How how

how did you

>> just one year? I was doing taekwondo at

the same time because I was doing

taekwondo and I couldn't do both of them

at the same time

>> and I was pretty good at taekwondo.

>> You know what's crazy? I think since

you've done taekwond do maybe I should

try.

>> You are such an athlete. You'd probably

awesome at it. I might be able to to

pull it off. I don't know if I can get

to your level.

>> Well, you would figure it out, man.

You'd figure it out. Are you flexible?

>> It depends how. And what are we doing?

>> Well, you would get flexible. The thing

is like for a guy like you, you'd figure

out how to get flexible. The flexibility

thing drives me nuts cuz like I've tried

to show stuff to guys before, MMA

fighters, and they're like, "I'm not

flexible." I'm like,

>> "What does that mean? What does that

mean? This is not like you're not tall."

Like you can get flexible. Like you just

stretch.

>> Okay, we can rewind now and I can say,

"I am flexible.

>> I am flexible."

>> Well, you certainly could get flexible.

Like anyone can get flexible,

>> but it's it's not can you get f Do you

want to get flexible?

>> That's a good question. want to do

something.

>> This is a good question. It's a lot of

work to get flexible. And would it

compromise anything? You know, some

people say it compromises some

stability, you know, like to to have

like completely overflexible hips and

flexible joints that it could possibly

compromise some stability that maybe.

But I mean, Yo Romero is pretty [ __ ]

flexible

>> and he's explosive.

>> Crazy explo. Super expensive,

>> bro. How about that match with Pat

Downey?

>> He went out there and made Pat Downey

look like a beginner wrestler. And it

and it's crazy because Pat Downey is

really good, but

>> really good.

>> Yo, what was 48?

>> I know.

>> 48 shooting blast doubles. Like he just

he like he's back in ' 04 Olympics.

>> It doesn't make any sense. He's a freak.

He's a real freak, man. And I mean he's

48 allegedly. We don't even really know

how old he is cuz he's from Cuba.

>> How old do you think he is for real?

>> Oh, I don't know, man.

>> 35 at this point. I mean I mean I He's

obviously at least 48,

>> but it's just crazy.

>> But you know what the best part about it

is? When when guys get older and they

kind of get a little bigger, um they

don't look good in a singlet. And this

is crazy to say, but Yoel looks really

solid in that singlet.

>> Oh, bro, he looks solid everywhere, man.

He's still got a six-pack.

>> Still does.

>> And you know, now he's doing dirty

boxing and he's still fighting MMA. He's

just He's a freak. I mean, and we really

didn't even get him in MMA until he was

past his athletic prime.

>> Yes.

>> I mean, he really started fighting in

the UFC. How old was he when he first

fought in the UFC? I want to say he was

like 35.

>> I don't know that, but it was it it

seemed really late because when he was

going through Olympics, he was sound in

every position. And like you said, I

mean, in a couple interviews back, if he

would have started that early, just

imagine.

>> Oh my god.

>> Just imagine.

>> Yeah. The It's But that's the thing that

you have too is athleticism. And the

thing about MMA is the real freak

athletes, they go to football, they go

to basketball, they go where all the

money is, and they go where all the

traditional sports

>> avenues are. And it's just not there's

not a lot of freak athletes that wind up

making their way to MMA. And when they

do, they really shine,

>> you know, and when I first started

seeing you competing, you know, first

obviously in wrestling and you know, if

you can win a gold medal in the Olympics

in wrestling,

>> I mean that you have to have everything.

You have to have everything. You have to

be a freak athlete. You have to be

unbelievably dedicated, disciplined.

Nobody gets there easy. No, that is not

a, you know, like, oh, he's just gifted.

It doesn't exist. You got to got have,

you got to have everything, man.

>> There's got to be a lot of tools. A lot

a lot of tools.

>> A lot of tools and a lot of fortitude.

The thing about wrestling that I've

always said is like not only is it the

best base for MMA because if a guy can

dictate where the fight takes place,

that is the most important aspect of

fighting and you can learn everything

else,

>> but it's also it's like the mental

toughness that wrestlers have, the

ability to grind out those practices,

the the conditioning that's involved in

wrestling,

>> it's above and beyond, I think, all

other sports.

>> Yeah, it's I think it's a next level

thing. And you you see in UFC right now,

the guys that are dominating and winning

>> are kind of putting that wrestling base

first, but making it

>> MMA wrestling, you know. Um I feel like

when a lot of guys, a lot of D1

wrestlers come to MMA, they kind of

don't make the switch of how to take the

right shot and how to finish the right

shot and how to use your feet to trip

their feet out on the cage. And if you

get stuck with the stuck in a

guillotine, how do you move from that

spot? And I think um you see the guys

that are doing it best, the Islams, the

Hamzotss are really going out there and

attacking and making sure that people

can understand that hey, you got to fear

this and then next I'm going to come

with the hands. And so I think that's

the biggest thing that we're working on

now is that I've wrestled my whole life

and I' I've done great things and won

the Olympics and multiple national

championships. But I think the main

thing is going out there and

understanding that you are that bad

dude, but when you show them hands now,

you got to have to respect both. And I

think that's where a lot of this is

going to come into play when I finally

get to that point of of reaching that

that competition.

>> Now, how long have you been striking

for?

>> I've been going into a little So, I'm

from Minnesota, Apple Valley. I'm

actually from Portage, Indiana. I moved

to Apple Valley, Minnesota when I was 11

years old. And um in college, I met a

guy named Billy Simon. He's from Prior

Lake. He fought um nothing too big, just

on a regional scene in Minnesota. He has

a house on Prior Lake and he has a place

in his basement that is built out for

for MMA and stuff like that. When I was

maybe 21 years old, I started hitting

the pads and mind you stiff as a board.

Don't really know what I'm doing, but

he's kind of started and guided me along

the way.

>> How old are you now?

>> I'm 25.

>> So just four years.

>> Just four years. But I think really

really striking seven months. Like

>> that's so crazy. like really after it so

crazy

>> really time consuming hey this is what I

want to do I'm not going to wrestle I'm

doing MMA I would say seven months

>> but when you watch that your dirty

boxing match I would have never believed

that except I know what an athlete you

are just it's so crazy how someone who

really knows how to use their body can

learn other things I think the main

thing also is I'm all ears you know you

you can't have you can't go out there

and and think that you can you can do

something without putting that time and

effort in like we talked about with the

Olympics or like you talked about. But I

think the main thing is if I can go out

there and and be all ears and and soak

up game from the people that are trying

to trying to show me the way. I think I

can do a lot of great things and that's

all I do. I'm all ears. I want to show

up twice a day. I want to do the best

thing that I can. If I got to show up

three times a day and I feel like it,

I'm going to go do it because it's

>> it's also to be an elite athlete like

yourself, you you have to be coachable.

You have to really like the guys who

like already know things like I'm going

to do it my way like they never get

elite.

>> It doesn't work. No.

>> And I think um you got to put that guard

down. You got to trust somebody. And if

you don't trust anybody and man, I think

I can do it alone. I think I can kind of

wing it. I think I can maybe not

practice today. You got to trust

somebody. And you got to put your heart

into somebody. And I feel like I have a

group good group of people around me to

kind of put that heart into. And they're

kind of they're not even they're kind of

they're leading me in the right

direction. And I'm man, I'm grateful. So

you were doing a bunch of different

things, right? So you you become an

elite wrestler and then for a while you

were thinking about playing football. So

you played football for a short amount

of time.

>> Buffalo Bills. Yeah.

>> Yeah. How long did you play it for?

>> I never played football in my life.

>> Never played?

>> No, that was the first.

>> Hey, that was that was the first time I

played football. I promise.

>> That's crazy. First time you played

football was professional.

>> It was in the NFL. My mom was always

scared. Um the high school coaches at

Apple Valley High School in Minnesota

were like, "Hey, come play football."

They were trying to call my mom and dad

and I'm like, "You're not going to

convince her. She is scared to death of

football." But whole time I'm wrestling.

So what where do we bridge this gap at?

>> Right. Right.

>> And um I just get done with WWE um and I

go out there and I'm I'm chilling. I get

a call saying, "Hey, you want to try out

for the Bills?" And I I tell Shawn

McDerman and Brandon Bean, I said, "Hey,

don't expect much, but I could put on

shoes, but I've never had football cleat

on. I had never had pads on. I don't

even know how to put the tights on

anything. And I went out there and um I

sprinted my ass off though in that try

out. I was sprinting down and back and

forth. I said, "Hey, if I don't know any

technique for Dline, you're going to see

effort." And McDerm saw effort and

that's all he needed to see. And he gave

me a chance.

>> What was that like jumping into a

completely new sport?

>> Hard because it's not just football.

>> How old were you when you did that?

>> 20. I just turned 24.

>> Wow.

>> I just turned 24. Um, it's

I know you see it. You see that stance?

That's the beginner stance. That's the

beginner stance. But I came out there no

gloves, just winging it.

>> And I told them, just just give me a

good chance. But football is not just

football. This the playbook. And the

playbook is crazy because I went from,

hey, go out there and wrestle someone

one-on-one to see if the guard is light

on his feet or see if he's leaning

forward to see if the center is is going

to silent count maybe or see if he see

if the guard taps the center to snap the

ball. There's a lot of different things

that you got to know. And I'm out there

with this big ass helmet on. I've never

put a helmet on, Joe. So, I'm out there

with this big ass helmet. My head's like

down and I can't look up. Um, and I

don't know what I'm doing, but I knew if

I gave effort that someone would give me

a chance. And I I went out there and my

first game I feel like I think I had a

tackle, a QB rush, and that was kind of

unheard of at the time because I've

never played ball before, but um it was

crazy. Once in a lifetime experience,

most definitely.

>> And when you got cut, did you think

about trying somewhere else? Did you

think about doing it more?

>> Yeah, once I got cut from Buffalo, I was

the last one to get cut from the from

the room. I remember going in to see

Bean and um in Mcder and I and they were

going to do practice squad, but um I

knew they were going to do practice

squad, so I was like, "Yo, just send me

home. I'll figure it out. I'll try

again." So my plan was to go back to

college and wrestle already. But I sat

around for maybe a month. Um Baltimore

Ravens called me and Baltimore was like,

"Hey, do you want to come to a try out?"

I said, "Okay." Um you know, I never

played football before, just let you

know, like if it's a little shaky. I

went out there and I I dominated the try

out and I had like 10 minutes of work,

but it was a great 10 minutes. And

they're like, "Okay, we're going to take

your physicals. You're going to be here

and stay." The injury report comes back

and injury report says they need um um

what's it kind of they need a DN and a

linebacker. So, you got to compensate

for the spot because you need someone to

play next week. And I probably needed

like six weeks on practice squad to

play. And so, I I get sent home. They

say, "Give me a week. We'll bring you

back." A week comes, they'll bring me

back. And so I'm like, "Okay, I see the

writing on the wall. Let me move on." I

sit for a little bit. Indianapolis Colts

call. They just got ran over by the by a

team. They said, "We need a run

stopper." So I go out there, do the

trial. I think it went well. They said,

"We're not taking anybody today." And

then from there, I was like, "Uh, you

know, maybe maybe this is not it." And

so I went back to wrestle.

>> And did you ever think about MMA at that

time? Was it in the back of your head?

MMA was in the back of my head since the

Olympics, but I wanted to make sure that

if I was going to go to MMA that let me

try things first before going all in on

something that I need to go all in on.

And I did my triyouts, I did my things,

and now I want to go in all in on

something that that is finally here.

>> And when your mom was scared of you

doing wrestling, how did she feel about

you doing MMA?

>> Oh, you know, she's [ __ ] [ __ ]

all over.

Oh my god, she can't even watch. She'd

even watch me wrestle. And so now I'm

like, "Mom, I got a dude about to punch

me in the face. Maybe if he can get to

me. Um, are you sure you want to come

and watch?" And she's like, "Yeah, I'll

come watch." And she comes have has a

good time and has her drinks. And when I

step out, I'm like, "Where were you?"

"Oh, I was in the back." "So you ain't

even see me fight."

>> Like why you why you even come then? So

she out of the three fights I've had,

she's sat in the back and and she'll be

like the John will go and get her and

and be like, "Gable's done." And she'll

be like, "Oh, what happened?" And John

will be like, "Good. It's all

>> So did she get nervous? Is that what it

is?"

>> Oh my god. She's sweating and she's

nervous. But I'm just like um I I kind

of I'll give her that look of like if

it's if this is one of them ones, I'm

going to tell you. Um but I haven't gave

her those looks yet. So she'll know.

So when you make this to so you decide

football's not going to happen, WWE is

not going to happen. You did like one

televised match with WWE, right? Yeah.

What was that like?

>> Um honestly I had I had a great from

from me being real and and honestly I

had a great experience. I have no no

nothing wrong with anybody there. Um TKO

was great. Triple H Paul Le was great.

Stephanie Vince, everybody was great. Um

I just had a competitive drive that I

needed to get out. And so, you know,

when you have that gap is there, you

can't do both,

>> right?

>> And I was trying to bridge both. And

>> I wasn't giving my 100% to the business.

And if I'm not going to give 100% to the

business, then you might as well ex me

out because it's already over with. So,

um, I just that's how that's practically

how it happened.

>> Yeah. No slide on pro wrestling, but

it's just like if you really want to

compete, compete.

>> You got to get it all out.

>> Yeah.

>> And so, I I would love to go back in the

future. I would love to to to do a sport

and go out there and dominate. And then,

hey, after the UFC heavyweight champ

>> for sure. Maybe after a couple times

and so I would love to go and if it if

it meant well and I would do it again

most definitely because I have no hard

feelings to them. Um and and that's how

it goes.

>> So when you make the decision that

you're going to go into MMA, what is

that like? Like what what are the steps

that you take?

>> I got done with NCAA's and I said I I

flew down to Miami. Um I met with um

John and and a couple other people and I

said, "Hey, I want to fight." Um, you

know, you know, John had me in his camp.

Um,

>> so we're talking about Jon Jones. And

did you did you know John before this?

>> I knew John because I knew John from

Instagram. John like wrestling. So I

knew John from IG. He sent me a DM. He

sent me his number. And if you know

John, he don't answer the phone worth

anything. And it's crazy. But um, he

sent me his number. He said, "Call me."

So I called him. And this was before he

got hurt for the first Dip fight. He was

like, "I want you to come practice with

us. You know, I want a wrestling

partner." Um, I left him and played

football. The next year comes, no, I'm

sorry. Um, I was I don't even know where

I was at at the time, but Skip, um, we

go and he's like, "I want you to come

back for the second camp." He's going

through it. Me and John hit it off like

that.

>> Wow.

>> We hit it off immediately.

>> So, when you guys started training

together in camp, is that when it really

sunk in your head when you're like,

"This is what I want to do."

>> Yeah. He really he really I needed

somebody to kind of engrave it in me.

Um, with wrestling, I had my father, I

had the University of Minnesota, I had a

lot of good people around me kind of

like say, "Hey, this is how we're going

to do it. This is where you need to go

and this is how you're going to this is

how it's going to happen." And when I

saw John, I saw that drive of like,

damn, you know, this guy's winning and

and people get close, but they can't get

past him. And why is that? So, I really

sat back and like watched his mental and

like how he went about a lot of things.

how he talked to people, how he greeted

people, how he walked, how he punched,

maybe how he looked when he was in the

in the pocket, um when he needed to get

out, when he rested his hands, and I saw

everything and I was like, "Wow, like,

man, this guy's a superstar. Super

superstar." And we all know that. And

and and and people know that for a long

time now, but I really saw him and I was

like, "Damn, I want to be that." And

that's what kind of that's what flipped

my switch right there.

>> What an amazing opportunity. You know,

you haven't done any MMA and you get to

go in there and train with the GOAT.

It's crazy. It's one, man. You know,

it's hard to explain. I tell people,

people ask me all the time like, "What

was it like um seeing John for the first

time?" Because I'm 25. So, when John was

like super peak, I was like 12, 13 years

old. And I'm looking at this guy beat

Gus of San Reyes and Thiago Santos and

stuff like that. So,

it's um different. You see a different

side of people and and when I saw John,

I was like, "Wow." Like, I've seen you

for my whole life and I get to see you

in person. Like, how cool is that?

>> Okay, if your New Year's resolution was

change everything and be a new person,

good luck. So, instead of pretending

you're going to meal prep kale forever

or do morning cold plunges, here's one

actually realistic thing, AG1.

AG1 is a daily health drink that

supports your energy, gut health, immune

health, and helps fill common nutrient

gaps. Just one scoop in cold water each

morning and you're off. It's got over 75

vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and

whole food ingredients in there. So,

instead of guessing whether you need a

probiotic or a prebiotic, or sorting

through 10 different bottles of pills

and powders, you can just do one scoop

and get on with your day. It's great

because it feels like the grown-up move,

but for once, it's actually really easy.

It takes like 30 seconds, and you'll

notice the steadiness that sets you up

for the day. Not wired, not crashing,

just functional human being energy. I

partnered with AG1 for years and if you

want to give it a try, head to drink

a1.com/jo

and for a limited time, you'll get a

free AG1 duffel bag and free AG1 welcome

kit with your first AG1 subscription

order. Only while supplies last. That's

drink a1.com/jo

or visit the link in the description to

get started. And for people that don't

even know, the close fights that Jon

had, they were really only close because

John wasn't training.

>> That's really all it is. 100%. John was

partying and he was

>> what I would call playing with his food,

>> you know, like he he didn't like to like

the Gustoson fight is a perfect example.

Didn't train at all for the Gustoson

fight. I mean, I talked to Greg Jackson

and he was like, I swear to God, he

barely showed up. I'm like, that is so

crazy. And then he gutted it out in the

last rounds. That's what's crazy. It's a

close decision, but he wins the fight by

gutting it out in the final rounds when

he's done relatively no strength and

conditioning.

>> Nothing.

>> It's so crazy.

>> It's fantastic to see.

>> Then really gets motivated for the

second fight with Gustaf. Smokes him.

>> Blows him out.

>> Which is what you expect, which when

John is in prime form, he's the greatest

of all time. And most definitely for you

to be able to

>> be a young guy who's thinking about MMA

and train with the the greatest of all

time two now two division world

champion. It's crazy

>> amazing opportunity

>> and it's it's amazing because you don't

see the guy that's um you see the best

of the best right away.

>> We're back. So anyway, where were we?

>> John Jones.

>> Yeah. So you're saying you

>> so you were you talking about like what

it's like to first start training with

them. So, you were you had no MMA

training really before that at all. You

had just been doing a little bit of

striking with this guy,

>> Joe. I kid you not. I didn't even know

really how to defend punches.

[Laughter]

>> That's crazy.

>> I didn't know how to defend punches. And

you you probably saw the video of him

throwing the knee at me

>> because I'm so hardheaded. I'm like,

"Let me shoot on John." But whole time I

forgot he's a national championship

wrestler,

>> right?

>> So, I didn't know how to defend a punch.

I didn't know how to defend a kick. I

didn't know how to do anything. But I

went in there and I said, "Hey, if you

need somebody, it's got to be me." And

that's how hungry I was. And I feel like

that's how kids should be nowadays about

getting that opportunity, man. Just be

hungry because someone's going to

respect you.

>> Yeah, for sure. But I mean, not a whole

lot of people get that opportunity.

That's a crazy opportunity. It's also

like John is an elite wrestler as well.

And so like learning how to incorporate

elite wrestling into all the other

aspects of MMA and to be able to go

right into camp with John is just

>> this is amazing. Incredible opportunity.

>> Super incredible. I'm grateful for it uh

every day and especially he's still here

in my corner to this day. We talked this

morning. Um he's still giving me all the

pointers, all the advice even when we're

not even fighting. um just telling me

how I should say things, what I should

say, how I need to go about life, how I

need to go about um business and and

meeting people and and greeting people.

So, it's it's a true opportunity.

>> That's awesome. That's really awesome.

So, when you're in camp with him, um

you're you're going through the camp.

Were you planning on MMA then or like

how how does it work? Like, what were

you think? Were you just like the moment

you started training with him, is that

when it really started the fire in you?

Yes, I had a little bit of burn for it,

but um

>> like in the back of your mind.

>> Yes. But a little burn. You got to have

the heart. You got to have the heart. Um

so what what kind of what was the stamp

on it was I went to I went to Madison

Square Garden with him

>> and and John was just doing John things,

you know, just being a superstar.

Everybody knew who he was and I was

like, man, you know, I got Olympic gold

medal, you know, like maybe I should be

getting some, too. Like, you know, like

John show me the way a little bit. And

so I'm trying to have him show me the

way and he's bringing me to every place,

meeting every person, you know, showing

me the opportunities that he has. And he

looks at me and he was like, "You can

have this, too." And that was kind of

the cherry on the top, but we can put

another cherry on the top and do a

double one when he won the fight. And

then I'm holding the belt with him and

like I see this guy face to face and you

know, he just the the most popular man

on earth for that day. And it's kind of

like wow. Like

>> you don't get you don't really get to

see the backstage moments. you get to

see the guy go out there on TV and

fight,

>> but I got to see the backstage of

everyone taking the pictures with him,

the superstars. You know, I'm walking

out the Knicks game and I see Queen

Latifah and I'm like, damn,

>> that's Queen Latifah. And I'm I'm taking

a selfie with Queen Latifah. I'm like,

yo, can I take can I send this to my

mom? And she's like, yeah, go ahead. And

I see Fat Joe talking to him and

everybody. And I'm like, wow. Like, this

is what it is to be like a real fighting

star. Like,

>> and in fighting is one-on-one and people

want to watch someone fight. But I think

in in other sports, like we talked about

earlier, there's a full team with

helmets on, with jerseys on, but in

fighting, people want to meet that

badass dude, and they want to meet the

champ.

>> And that's what I want to be.

>> Yeah. Um, so what is what is training

with John like? Like what is the

training camp like? Like when you know,

you you obviously haven't gone into

training camp with any other elite

fighters, but

>> one of the more interesting that

separates Jon from everybody else is

like Jon doesn't take no short notice

fights. John game plans for everybody.

He studies tendencies. He's his fight

IQ. I mean, it's obviously he has

obviously he has everything. He

obviously has all the skills. Obviously

has all the drive and everything else,

but the fight IQ is the big one. That's

the big one because if you don't have a

good driver, who gives a [ __ ] how fast

your car is?

>> True.

>> It's really the mind behind it that puts

it all together. He's um he's sitting in

a Ferrari with Ferrari um gas. A lot of

people sit in a Ferrari with 87 gas and

a car don't work.

>> Um so when I when I got to see those

tendencies of him watching people and he

does it to me now where he'll send me

videos on Instagram of of the top UFC

guys be like, "Oh, watch how he steps,

you know, watch when he throws a punch

how he comes back and he doesn't reset

this certain way." And he's kind of

already installing installing those um

tendencies in me. And so now

>> when I was wrestling, I never used to

watch people wrestle. Like I I went out

there on a limb and I was just beating

guys. Even in Olympics, I never watched

anyone wrestle. I never watched their

film.

>> Really?

>> Never. I told coaches, "Don't show me

one video because I don't want to focus

on that one thing he did." And that was

me being hard-headed. Like if if a guy

had a great double leg

>> and I'm like, "Damn, how do I stop this

double leg?" And I'm worried about

stopping a double leg instead of doing

my offense. And so

>> I never watch anybody. I went to the

Olympics and I said, "Show me show me

the guys I'm wrestling." And I said,

"Let's do it.

The only guys right here banging their

head against the wall listening to this

going

>> damn he did that to me.

>> That's crazy.

>> I said let's do it. I said is me or you

is do or die. And this tournament I'm

not dying. Like you can't beat me in any

way possible. And that's when I was at

my best when I had that mindset and he's

kind of putting that back into me and I

feel really good about it.

>> That's amazing. It's amazing. So when

he's sending you videos like do you have

like a do you save all this [ __ ] Do you

have like a folder where you have all

these different fighters and different

moves and different because you're

you're basically brand new at something.

But like this, let me just tell you what

I said. You had a a fight, an MMA fight

where you hit that dude with a left hook

and then took him down while he was out

cold. I sent Dana White a text message.

I said, "Everyone's fucked."

>> I did.

>> Well, I appreciate it. Thank you.

>> Because I was like,

>> that kind of speed is crazy. Like that

kind of speed and incorporated with

elite wrestling is crazy. I'm like, what

do you the the heavyweight division is

so shallow right now.

>> You got Tom Aspenol, serial gone, Jon

Jones if he chooses to fight again.

Francis, if some by some miracle they

can work something out and bring him

back to the UFC.

>> Other than that, there's no one

compelling for like a championship

caliber fighter.

>> It's there's basically four or five guys

on Earth that are in this like

championship caliber like Yes. class and

you're already there, which is nuts. And

you haven't even fought in the UFC yet.

When I watched you move and I watched

you fight, I was like, "Okay, how do you

stop that?" Like, what what who is who's

got the skills to be able to stop that?

And in my mind, there's like only a few

guys where it's going to be a problem.

There's like the Francis and Ganos, the

the you know, the Sir Gans and the Tom

Aspenols. That's it. There's like a few

guys and everybody else on the way up.

But the only problem is going to be you

getting fights

like that. That kind of speed is just

bananas for a 250lb man, you know. And

when you have that and you're 25 years

old, it's like this is a you it's a very

rare thing that you see in MMA. And it's

kind of crazy because the heavyweight

division is of course the most

prestigious division in the world. The

heavyweight champion of the UFC is the

baddest [ __ ] on the planet. And

you know, right now it's it's kind of a

tossup, right? Because Sir Gan had this

fight with Aspenol. Jon is kind of

semi-retired or whatever he decides to

do. It's, you know, it's kind of up in

the air.

>> He'll probably have one more fight,

right? I I want him to. I think he's got

the juice in him. Um White House.

>> Yeah, he would love the White House.

He's told me many times he wants he

wants to be main event, and he wants me

to be a couple slots behind him and and

kind of have us both win. And that's

that's his last leg right there.

>> I would love I would love for him to do

one more. If if he really wanted to in

his heart, he should. But if he doesn't,

>> John's not going to do it.

>> They should do Alex Pereira and him at

the White House.

>> I I told people I said Alex Per would be

a great match up for Tom.

>> A heavyweight version of the BMF belt.

>> It'll be saying it'll be perfect.

There's There's nothing else to it

besides two guys going out there. It's

Alex Praer, the baddest light light

heavyweight. And that's Jon Jones

baddest heavyweight right now.

>> Yeah. And regardless if someone else has

the belt, Jon Jones is still the baddest

heavyweight out there.

>> It doesn't. The belt doesn't mean jack

[ __ ] when it's Jon Jones. Doesn't mean

jack [ __ ]

>> It doesn't. It's, you know, there's so

many fighters could do that. They could

just step away from the belts, abandon

the belts, and then come back and all.

It's really just about the fighter.

Everybody knows who Jon is. Everybody

knows what John does.

>> It's like people will pay to you don't

need a belt. A belt doesn't mean

anything.

>> No, this is a crazy story. I I came my I

had a French bulldog that passed away.

So, I like to go out there and uh I

adopt French bulldogs and I kind of give

them a better home and I either ship

them to a new home or I keep them. And

so, at the time I had a baby French

bulldog. He passed away and I I told

John I was like, "Yo, my dog died. I got

to go home." He let me go home. I came

back and I came back on a Tuesday. I

didn't see John till Thursday. And mind

you, this is a week before he's going to

go out there for Stipe. He's sick. Like

super sick. And I watched this guy do

five rounds on a Thursday and they sent

they shark baited him, five new people.

And he's dead tired. And this is when I

knew he was unstoppable. He went out

there, nobody could touch him. And I'm

telling you, high class PFL fighters, ex

UFC fighters, ex glory kickboxers were

going in there after him. And he was

just mopping them. And I was like, damn,

>> this dude is beyond next level. And that

was like, you know, you got to see

greatness.

>> And I see it at the fight, but you also

got to see it when how does this guy be

great before the fight?

>> And I saw that and I was like, god damn.

Um, I said, "Excuse me, John. um you

think I can go in there with you? And he

was like, "No." And I was like, "Why do

you think so?" Um he was like, "You

don't know how to defend." And it was

kind of a funny joke because the guy

partner got hurt. And I was like, I

raised my hand. I told Greg Jackson. I

said, "Greg, let me in there." And Greg

was like, "Not today, Gable." And this

is when I didn't know how to defend or

anything. He was like, "Gabe, not

today." And I was like, "Man, why? You

know, I can go in there and take him

down." And he was like, "This is

different." And when I saw that, that

was like the epitome of like super

greatness in my eyes because I like hard

workers. I like guys that beat on guys.

I don't like guys that go out there and

and and do the little extras that they

to look cool. I mean, just go out there

and dominate and let's go home. And I

saw that and I was like, "Yeah, it's

over with for Steipe. It's going to be a

long night."

>> Well, unfortunately, they met when Stipe

had already had a lot of miles on the

clock and John was still elite. It's

crazy that John essentially developed a

spinning back kick, a real spinning back

kick when he's 36 years old.

>> Crazy.

>> It's so nuts because I mean he tried it

earlier in his career, but it was like

he would spin instead of go straight.

You know what I mean? But when he hit

stipe, it was perfect. It was per you

that picture we we we showed a video of

it and then freeze froze the the the

heel.

>> It was halfway into his rib cage. It was

crazy.

>> I wouldn't have got up either.

>> Well, very few people would. very few

human beings can talk. That kick is so

powerful. And when it comes from a big

guy like John with those long ass legs

and all that leverage with perfect

technique and it goes right into the

sweet spot like that, like good luck.

But it's such a brilliant think. It's

such brilliant thinking on his side

because he's like, "Okay, I have to

fight heavyweights and I need something

that can take them out with one shot.

Like what is that?" Well, it's the most

powerful kick which is the spinning back

kick. And so he trains it constantly.

constantly,

>> you know, which is just very few people

have the mindset to be able to do that.

Very few guys develop new skills late in

life, you know, late in their career,

they start incorporating new skills like

that.

>> I think that's a that's a thing where he

was he's always ears, too. And that's

kind of what he's putting into me also.

Um, I watched him do the spinning back

kick the night before at midnight when

we were practicing in the hotel lobby.

Um, and

>> so he was just planning on that.

>> He was planning on he was planning on

it.

>> Showstopper. He told me he wanted to

take Stipe down and then all of a sudden

he does a spinning back kick and I was

like, "You sllo motherfucker."

>> Did he bring in a taekwond do coach?

Where did How did he develop that

technique? So

>> he's got a there's a there's a

kickboxing taekwondo coach named um

Alex. He's got a long he's got a long

last name cuz I think he he married a um

Thai lady. So I think he changed his

last name. Okay.

>> But he's from New Mexico. He works out

of Jackson. He's got a lot of tattoos on

him and nobody you would if you saw him

you would never know. But the dude can

kick hard as [ __ ] and it's crazy.

>> And so he he worked with John on that.

>> Yes.

>> Yeah. The only other guy that I would

say developed a a crazy new technique

late in his career was Vtor. When Vtor

was like 35 or 36, he developed a wheel

kick. It was crazy. Out of nowhere when

he fought Luke Rockold, all a sudden

he's throwing wheel kicks. Like Vtor

never

>> crazy.

>> Crazy. Vtor never threw wheel kicks.

>> Crazy. But I think it's honestly got to

be cool from cuz you sit right next to

the cage. So it's got to be cool to like

see people grow up through their career

and then all of a sudden at the end you

see like a guy does a spinning wheel

kick or or a guy does a spinning

spinning back kick and you're like damn

like where'd that come from? And I feel

like I feel like does it give you a high

to kind of see like a person grow

through a new stage of like seeing a new

move from them?

>> I just love excellence. That's what I

love. I love when someone

shines, when they just figure a way to

eclipse everyone else. When they figure

a way to when they just like the Poran

Morab Dwavish Willie fight, when you see

a guy like Pioran who loses the first

fight to Morab and comes back and

dominates in the second fight, like I

love that [ __ ] I love it. I love

watching someone put in an insane amount

of work and dedication and then shining

on fight night. I love it.

>> It's It's f It's cool, too, because you

see Peter Jan is the new like blueprint

for

>> guys that are coaching kids to do moves.

>> I mean, he went out there and threw a

fake hook and liver kicked

>> Morab

>> and then he goes out there and he hits a

stood and trips guys. I mean, what other

what other film tape blueprint can you

use from someone else? I mean, he's done

everything in all his fights. His flow

state is amazing. His flow state's

incredible and he's so good at mixing up

trips along with like inside fighting.

His stand up is so good. He's so hard to

hit clean, too.

>> I think the only guy who really hit him

clean was Sugar Shawn. Shawn hit him

with a knee, like a really good knee.

Timed it perfectly in their fight and

dropped him. But other than that, he

very rarely gets hit. And when you do

hit him, you you're you're hitting him

and he's kind of rolling with it. You

know, he keeps that super high guard. He

doesn't

>> Uhhuh. Yeah. He keeps his hands straight

in front of you.

>> He's He's something special, man. And

you know, that dude's still only 32

years old.

>> He's only 32.

>> Yeah.

>> I know. It's crazy.

>> Just What do you think if if he doesn't

lose?

>> 32 or 34. How old is Pod Yon? He's

either 32 or 34. But, you know, we've

seen him in I think he's 32.

>> 32. Yeah. I mean, we've seen him in the

UFC since he was like in his mid20s.

Yeah,

>> if if he doesn't lose to Morab that

first time,

>> where do you think his path goes?

>> It's a good question. You know, I mean,

because he did lose to other guys as

well. He lost to Shawn and he lost to

the Almaine fight was [ __ ]

>> The first fight was [ __ ] but the

second fight, Al Jain dominated him, but

I think he probably overestimated

himself in the second Almaine fight. It

doesn't seem like he was as prepared.

And the thing about Almaine is like his

wrestling is very good and his back

control is the [ __ ] best in the

business. When Al Jane gets your back,

you're in deep [ __ ] He's so good at

back control. He's so good at rear naked

chokes

>> and you know Al just Al Jane just really

struggled to make that 135.

>> It's got to be hard.

>> Oh, but if he got it right and he got it

right in that second fight, you know,

and he just

>> he just did what he does at at his best.

It was one of his finest performances.

So he lost that fight, but it didn't

mean that he was done. It just mean like

he realized like, okay, he had to have a

camp like he had for Morab in order to

beat Aljine. Yes. You know, and I just

don't think everybody's willing to go

through that kind of camp every

>> every fight. Morab went through four.

>> Yeah,

>> I think so.

>> Four in a year. Yeah.

>> Do you do um for blueprint, how do you

like that? Because I know guys kind of

take the two fight the two fight a year

approach. Maybe three if you're doing

well. I think that's more more

sustainable. Alex Pereira did the same

thing. Like he's he's fought a lot of

fights and he's fight fought fights

short notice. You got to admire that

mindset of a guy who's like, I don't

give a [ __ ] Let's fight. You know, and

but Alex has fought with broken toes and

everything.

>> He fought with a neuroirus and, you

know, he had a [ __ ] up hand the first

time he fought Ankolia.

>> But then, you know, the same thing like

he comes in for the second fight with

Ankoliah fully healthy and just smokes

him. Smokes him in the first round. If

you if you um what do you think about if

you gave Alex Per like a a solid great

wrestler like an Islam of light

heavyweight heavyweight? How do you

think that he does?

>> It'll be a problem. Yeah. I mean I think

less of a problem certainly now than

early in his career. Mhm.

>> Like if you see his first fight with uh

in the UFC with Nikolitis, he gets taken

down the first round.

>> Uh that's not going to happen now. And

if it does, he gets up, you know, it's

different. But it gets up against who?

Does he get up against guy like you? You

know, it's it's a different there's

different levels, right? You really saw

that with Jack Dela Matalena in Islam,

right? There's levels. And when you got

a guy that's at Islam's level that's

just an a super elite grappler, unless

you've faced that before, you don't know

what to prepare yourself for.

>> I tell people all the time,

>> that's the thing with Por Yan. He had

been in there with Morab for the first

fight and so he knew what to expect and

he he'd seen all those crazy fights. He

saw the fight with San Hagen. He saw the

fight where the rematch with Sugan where

he submitted him. He's like, "Okay, this

guy's a [ __ ] monster. He's a monster

now. you got to prepare for a monster

and he was ready. But unless you've

experienced that before, and there's

really no one like that in the light

heavyweight division, unfortunately.

There's not some like super elite

grappler in the light heavyweight

division. And I think that's one of the

reasons why Hamzot is thinking about

going up the light heavyweight.

>> And I think he should. I'm a big fan of

Hamzot. I love his style. I love his

intensity. His intensity is the best

thing ever.

>> Oh, he's an animal.

>> It's the best thing ever to watch

because I when I was wrestling, I like

to go out there and just, you know, put

the hammer down and dominate. Um, and

he's got it.

>> He's got that touch.

>> Oh, yeah. He's an animal. And you know

that that animal part of him almost

killed him because he refused to stop

training when he had CO.

>> When he had COVID, he was just showing

up at the gym and putting in two and a

half hour sessions and vomiting blood.

Like he's a nut.

>> That's crazy.

>> Yeah. They said the real problem with

Hamzot was that you you couldn't get him

out of the gym and he was always

overtrained. M.

>> So then he brings in Sam Calvita and Sam

Calvita monitor training lab. Right.

Right. Yes. So he's monitoring his heart

rate. He's monitoring his recovery and

he's working on him with his strength

and conditioning and they're doing it

scientifically.

>> And then you seen the driers dupacif

fight. I mean he's just didn't gas at

all.

>> It's that was the same thing as Islam

and Metalena. Very similar.

>> They they try to do the the you know

maybe what if what if he can outbox him.

But it it's hard when you got to worry

about so many things. And I think Islam

did a great job of showing the leg

kicks, making Jack switch. Jack didn't

really push forward and Islam when he

did shot the double or he shot an

outside single.

>> And that's hard. It's hard when you got

to think about so many things.

>> Yeah. Well, you know, Kabib is without

doubt one of the all-time greats. One of

the greatest to ever do it.

>> But the difference between Kabib and

Islam is Islam is elite standupwise.

Like Kabib was very good standup, but

Islam knocked out Vulcanowski with a

headkick. You know that that's not in

>> Kabib's repertoire. Islam is on another

level. It's like one more level above.

He can knock you out standing. He can

knock you out on the ground. He could

submit you. He could take you down. He's

[ __ ] huge for the weight class,

especially 155.

>> It's like there's so many aspects and

you're always thinking about that

grappling when you're striking. So when

you say like, oh, you know who's better

striker, Islam or Jack Dela Matalena?

Well, it depends because if you got to

worry about that takedown, your striking

is not going to be the same. It's just

not going to be the same cuz you're

everything he does, you're always

looking for that takedown. And that

factor leads to guys getting hit all the

time.

>> Yeah.

>> Like if you go back and watch old fights

like Kevin Randleman versus Crowop.

Kevin Miranda knocked out Crocop because

Crowop was worried about the takedown.

He was worried about the takedown. All a

sudden Randleman comes with a big left

hook.

>> And Kevin Randleman was a NCAA champ

where? Ohio State, I believe. Was it

Ohio State?

>> I believe he was Ohio

>> 184 or 197.

>> Was heavyweight? I don't know.

>> Three time Big 10 wrestling champ at

Ohio State.

>> What uh you never won the tournament?

>> Uh

heavyweight.

>> Wow. Who do you lose to in the

tournament?

>> Oh, it says heavyweight.

I'll look that up real quick.

>> Okay. But but that was the thing about

Randleman is like the speed and the

takedown was always this big threat and

so because of that you're thinking about

one thing and boom you get hit with a

big shot.

>> I've seen Kevin Randleman wear shoes in

his matches. What's what's the

difference?

>> Um what's the difference of wearing I've

seen a guy wear shoes now. I was on

Instagram and I saw maybe a kickboxing

match um or something like that. Why

can't they wear shoes now? Is there a

rule that you can't

>> It's not now. All those things are old.

Those are old.

>> Yeah, those are all old. Pride used to

allow you to wear shoes. Okay. Okay. Uh,

early UFC you used to be able to wear

shoes.

>> I saw that. I remember the first the

first like UFC video I seen was that big

Hughes dude and that little dude that

knocked him out.

>> Was he the big black dude?

>> Which guy?

>> It was like an old video. Super old.

>> That's not descriptive enough.

>> Okay, give me a second.

>> Big huge dude.

>> Little black dude. Bob Sat maybe.

>> No, that wasn't.

>> Who was the big video? And then the

white dude came out there and he was

just whooping him and the big dude tried

to grab him. I might be tripping, but I

saw the video. M well I don't think

you're tripping. I mean there's been so

many fights it's so hard to like figure

out what fight you're talking about. But

>> there's there's an advantage to

wrestling shoes for sure without a

doubt. I mean the grip on the ground. I

mean how many times you seen guys

>> Yeah. This one.

>> Oh Keith Hackne. Yeah. And Keith Hackne

had like a very strange style. It was

like uh I think he was a Kempo guy and

he he hit him with like a [ __ ] slap.

You know what I'm saying? Like you ever

see how he he knocked him down? Like

look at the difference in the size.

Emanuel Yarro who is a sumo wrestler

>> but Emanuel was probably like look at

that. See he overhand [ __ ] slapped him.

>> This is crazy.

>> He basically stepped in and and palm

stripped him to the head.

>> You think he looks if he's if he's still

alive you think he looks back at this

video and like damn I got slapped.

>> Uh probably.

>> Damn.

>> I mean Emanuel fought a bunch of

different things. He fought I think he

fought uh in pride as well if I'm

I'm

>> Oh, they forgot to lock the cage. He got

flew out the cage.

>> Look at thin big John McCarthy.

>> He lost to Mark Ryland.

>> Mark Ryland of Iowa.

>> Okay, there you go.

>> That's random, but we're talking about

>> Yes.

>> Um yeah, the old days were wild, man.

It's wild. It's It's wild to go back and

watch those fights. It's like

>> since you um since you've been kind of

like um like a huge figure your whole

life, have you gone back and like

watched Fear Factor?

>> Uh I watched it because my kids were

watching it. My kids were watching Fear

Factor because there was like a whole

Fear Factor channel. Was it True TV or

one of those?

>> True or Spike TV?

>> One of those things. They had Fear

Factor on like all day long and my kids

were watching. I thought it was

hilarious.

>> Man, I was watching it too. I'm just

going to tell you right now. And all the

[ __ ] they was doing. Hell no.

Yeah, a lot of it is in your head. Like

a lot of the stuff that they had to eat

is not that bad. Some of it was [ __ ]

disgusting.

>> Was were you trying some while they were

trying?

>> I I ate a bunch of things.

>> What was the worst thing?

>> None of the things I ate were that bad,

you know? Like I ate a Madagascar

hissing cockroach. It's like a a

cockroach the size of like this lighter.

>> Damn.

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> That wasn't bad. What? It was just

crunchy.

>> It doesn't have much Yeah. It doesn't

have much flavor to it.

>> Yeah. What was the more in your head

than anything?

>> I'm I'm sure. What was being being on

that show? What was the worst thing you

saw like someone

>> tense up about?

>> The worst thing was what they had to

eat. You know, and watching people throw

up like people I I watched people throw

up every day. You know how like the

smell of throw up makes you want to

throw up.

>> That went away after a while.

>> It was that bad?

>> Yeah. Yeah. I I saw people throw up

every week. Every week I was watching

four or five people throw up. This is

like totally normal to be around

cuz they were throwing up in front of me

and I was telling them that they keep

going.

>> I'm like, "Don't worry. You can keep

going. You can keep going. Don't put

that out of your head. This is a task.

>> Just you you want to win. Okay, you can

do this.

>> Mhm.

>> I can help you. I'll talk you through

this. But you just got to just you you

are in control of your body. Force

yourself to eat it. Chew it. Swallow it.

Get it down. Let's go."

>> But that was the worst is the eating

[ __ ] Holding your breath under water

was hard. There's a lot of things they

had to do that was hard. It's a crazy

[ __ ] show.

>> They um there was one where they had to

jump out a helicopter and like swim and

grab some while the helicopter

propellers were like blowing the water

so they couldn't

>> Yeah, we did a few of the things like

that. Yeah.

>> Were you ever scared?

>> Um

>> for some of them I was worried when they

had to ride bulls. That one scared the

[ __ ] out of me cuz I was like, you know,

the the stunt stunt men are animals. If

you ever meet stunt men, they are some

of the the bravest, toughest dudes

alive. And uh the stunt guys had this

attitude about the bull like they're

like, "Oh, that's a stunt bull. That's a

practice bull." And I go, "Does a

[ __ ] bull know he's a practice bull?"

I bet he doesn't. I bet he didn't get

that memo.

>> He don't know that.

>> He's just a bull. That's a [ __ ] huge

animal. And you're going to get a 100

pound lady to ride this huge animal.

That's crazy.

>> It's over with.

>> And they got launched and almost got

kicked. And we they rolled the dice a

lot and got lucky that no one got

seriously injured, I think. And the bull

one was the big one for me. It was like

you can't predict that. Like you can if

you got a car stunt, you got to jump a

car off a building into like this big

cushion. Like, okay, cool.

>> You kind of know what's going to happen.

You, you know, this is the thing. This

could go wrong and this is how we're

going to prepare against it going wrong

or prepare for it, but you can't prepare

for a bull. Like, there's not much you

could do. If the bull decides to stomp

this person, that person could die. like

that. That's a real possibility,

especially people that have no business

riding bulls.

>> Yeah,

>> bull riding is hard for bull riders.

>> Bull riding is tough.

>> And they got a good seven seconds on

that bull if they're great.

>> If they're great.

>> If they're great.

>> And when you're watching it, you're

like, "Oh my god." You watch the bull

kicking and jumping up in the air.

>> Crazy. I know their lower back kills

after that.

>> Oh, the We had one guy on Fear Factor

who was a professional bull rider and

his shoulder was so destroyed. He uh he

took his shirt off to show me. He had

scars all around his shoulder. He's

like, "My shoulder pops out all the

time. It just will pop out of socket."

He'd go reach for something, his

shoulder would pop out of socket. It was

just destroyed. It was hanging on by a

thread.

>> Jeez, that's disgusting. Gh.

>> How do you live like that, though?

>> I don't know, man. I guess you just deal

with it. I guess you just That's the

price you pay for greatness, you know?

>> Got to pay something.

>> Yeah. Well, they all pay. Every bull

rider pays. You see those guys later in

their career, they're all stiff cuz they

got fused discs and [ __ ] bolts in

their back and [ __ ] They're all [ __ ]

up.

>> The spines rubbing. Oh yeah, it's a

terrible messed up.

>> Terrible way to live.

>> I can't I can't believe that um bull

riding is a real thing.

>> I know. It's nuts.

>> It's fascinating though because you

could really see guys go out there and

be like, "You're facing the devil."

>> Literally,

>> the bull is going to win all the time.

>> Every time. The best you can do is hang

on for seven seconds. There's no goat

who could just hang on the the bull as

long as possible. I'll hang on that bull

for 30 minutes. Keep going, [ __ ] He's

going to get you off. Everybody goes

flying eventually.

>> Everybody.

>> Everybody. It's going to happen one way

or another. Yeah. There's no human being

that could just stay on a bucking bull.

No. And just like when I decide I'll get

off.

>> Have you rode?

>> No.

>> Okay. I haven't either.

>> [ __ ] that.

>> I don't think black people do that.

>> I think there are. I think Is there a

couple?

>> Oh, it's got to be

pictures. I have Mitchell.

>> Oh, look at that dude right there. Bam.

Ezekiel Mitchell.

>> Look at the size of that thing. I mean,

and look at his angle. You know what I'm

saying? He is so the the bull is so

athletic that he's damn near doing a

handspring with the dude on his back.

>> Right. And he weighs 2,000 lbs. He's

just throwing his body up and through

the air. That is [ __ ] all that. Like

right there. Like you easily could get

stomped to death right there. You fall,

he lands on your face and that is a

wrap. Your [ __ ] head is pulverized.

>> I wonder what the

>> size of that thing. God. I wonder what

the numbers are on like if a bull stomps

like the velocity of and the mass of it

like what is the the generated force

from it?

>> Oh, it's got to be insane how many guys

have died.

>> None that I know hopefully.

>> None that I know, but I mean there has

to be like an enormous number of guys

that have died bull riding.

>> What's the what's like the um since

since like we're on a crazy topic, what

is what is the like the craziest thing

outside of like maybe fighting Taekwond

do that you've done that you're like

damn like that [ __ ] felt good? I never

did anything other than I I had three

kickboxing fights, but other than

fighting, that was the the scariest [ __ ]

that I ever did. Yeah. I mean, I've

never done I'm not like a I don't No,

I'm not a bungee jumper. I mean, I've

done bungee jumping on vacation. I did

ziplining. I was like, "What am I doing?

This is stupid." I don't like doing

stuff like that. I don't like dumb

risks.

>> No, I'm big. So, I went on a ziplining

one time. You know, you got to jump off

the thing, right?

>> You got to jump off the platform.

Uh-huh.

>> I thought I was going to Joe, I'm kid

you not. That might have been my last

day on Earth if that that line didn't

hold me,

>> right? Because what do you weigh about

250?

>> Like 255. And it bounces, you know, like

I was in Thailand and I went to do this

thing. It was a bungee comp thing. And

they said I couldn't do it cuz I was

only 200 lb. And I was like, that's

crazy. Like what happens if you get a

guy that lies about his weight?

>> It's over with.

>> Yeah. Because people lie about their

[ __ ] weight all the time. I've seen

the ones where the guys they got the the

the squirrel suit on

>> and they jump off the building or they

jump off the rocks and they they go down

and they come up.

>> Uhhuh.

>> And sometimes they don't.

>> Sometimes they don't come up.

>> My friend Andy did that. Jumping out of

a [ __ ] plane.

>> He made it.

>> Oh yeah. He's He was He held the world

record at one point in time for the

longest uh squirrel suit flight. What

are they called? What do they call those

things?

>> Wingsuit.

>> Wing suit.

>> Wingsuit.

>> He he held the record for it. It's

ridiculous. It's But Andy's nuts. He's a

Navy Seal.

>> 18 miles.

>> 18 miles 18 miles.

>> One flight.

>> What do you think he's thinking at like

mile nine? Maybe I drop.

>> He's a psycho. I don't know.

>> 18 miles is crazy.

>> Yeah, that's crazy.

>> I would never do nothing like that ever.

>> Uh-uh. No, I'm not interested in

parachuting. I'm not interested in any

of that [ __ ]

>> I might get on a wake boat and surf.

That's about all.

>> You fall in the water. Not that big a

deal.

>> With a life jacket.

>> Yeah. Yeah, that sounds reasonable. It's

a reasonable thrill. Falling up. Hey,

falling out the sky is crazy.

>> Fall out of the sky is crazy. But at

least falling out the sky, you have

equipment. You check the equipment. You

make sure you double check. You've done

it before. It's done. You know when to

do it. With a bull. There's no there's

no safeguards, you know? Yeah. I mean,

you have like some sort of a chest

protector on some people. You have a

helmet.

>> You're not There's no safeguards. He

could land on your hip. You're never

going to walk again.

>> It's over with.

>> [ __ ] that.

>> It's game over. I couldn't I can't

fathom riding a bull. Yeah. Doesn't

Donald do it? Doesn't Donald Cerrone? He

He rides bulls. See,

>> he got the name cowboy. He better do

something. He's out of his [ __ ] mind.

>> You got to do something with the name

cowboy.

>> That's a dude that has a real adrenaline

problem. He's got a He's

>> rightfully so. He He looks crazy.

>> He's got a real adrenaline problem. He

told the story about getting trapped in

a a water. He He was diving and he got

trapped in a cave and they the guy he

was with panicked because his cords got

tangled up and the the water was cloudy

and he couldn't figure out how to get

out. That was one of the most ter I knew

he was okay because he was right here

telling me the story, but it was one of

the most terrifying stories anybody's

ever told me. But that dude loves that

kind of [ __ ] He loves like thrills.

>> I can't I don't think I can get behind

thrills. I can't.

>> No,

>> it's it's too much. And especially your

heart be like

>> Mhm.

>> It's just not is today my day and it

can't be my day.

>> This episode is brought to you by

Athletic Brewing Company. So here we

are. It's the new year, which means it's

about time to hit reset. Just because

it's January doesn't mean you need to

disappear into a cold plunge and never

drink again. Just rotate in some

athletic non-alcoholic beer. You get the

taste, the perfect meal pairing and the

night out, but you wake up without the

hangover. With over 185 taste awards,

they brew all kinds of styles. IPAs,

goldens, hazes, you name it. Athletic is

proud brewed in America and sold at over

75,000 grocery or liquor stores, bars,

and restaurants across the country. You

can also purchase a variety of limited

styles exclusively on their website. Go

to athleticbwing.com/rogan

to find stores near you or get brews

shipped right to your door. Use code

Rogan to get 15% off your first online

order. near beer terms and conditions

and certain limitations apply. Athletic

Brewing Company fit for all times. Was

fighting for the first time? Was that

what What was the different in the the

difference in the way it felt the first

time you fought versus wrestling?

>> My when I when I wrestle, I'm not really

nervous. I'm more anxious to like

perform and put on a good show. When

when I went out there for my first

fight, my heart was beating on my chest

because that pin drops and it's like

it's me or you. And I always had the

mentality of like it's me or you. It's

do or die. Today's not my day. You got

to go. But um that first time you're

like, I kid you not, my heart was like

jumping and and John had to like look at

me in the eyes and be like, "Yo, you're

good. Rely on what you know. We've been

here before. You've done this before. Um

there's 2,000 people here. You you've

wrestled in front of 20. Um just think

about it like that." And when I thought

about it like that, my heart rate calmed

down. You know, you kind of get like

shaky a little bit. Your you kind of

feel like your legs are not there. And

that was kind of my first time fighting

after that at Dirty Boxing. I wanted to

kill that dude,

>> which is crazy because you couldn't even

rely really on your wrestling in that,

>> which is what I wanted,

>> right?

>> I wanted to I wanted to go out there and

show you that that I can throw punches

without having to look down at that leg.

And that's exactly what we did.

>> Was that a calculated decision to try to

do that as well as just like to just

have a pure striking fight?

>> Mhm. just just so you can show that you

could do it and then in your own mind

not have your your main skill set to

rely on.

>> Yes. I really wanted to handicap myself

because I wanted to show the people to

and I and I kind of hopefully I did show

them a great show and we

>> definitely did. I want to show the

people. I want to show the the people at

home that are a casual viewer that who

doesn't know Gable like, "Hey, can I

turn on Dirty Boxing?" And the mom and

dad and kids are sitting there watching

saying, "Hey, what is about Gable

Stevenson that's special?" And he's a

wrestler. So, what can be special

besides wrestling? And then I go out

there and I get this knockout and I jump

over the ring and and I'm doing the

Arthur Jones um sack dance.

>> The the crazy thing was the way you

leapt over the ring like it was nothing.

That was banana.

What does it feel like to not have Oh,

there it is. Boom.

But this is the the nuttiest part right

here. The big jump.

>> Like it was nothing. Like it was

nothing.

>> I mean, that is that is crazy

athleticism.

>> But it's it's what's wild about that is

you look like a like a really good boxer

and you have only been boxing for a very

small amount of time. just I just I'

always had um very good confidence in

myself. I've always spoke about myself

highly. I've always like wanted to be

over the top, you know, like um like a

WWE, you know, when he gets on the

microphone and John Cena's like, "You

can't see me."

>> Or Roman Reigns like acknowledge me, you

know, when I go out there, I don't want

to have to say those things. I wanted to

when you see me, that's him. And and

I've always tried to be this the the

bigger than Gable person, but also like

if we had like a routine convo, you can

see like, man, he's a real human. you

know, you can talk to him. He does real

things. We put on the we put on shoes

the same way. We put on pants the same

way. And I feel like a lot of superstars

don't really show people that side of

them. And if it's up to them if they

want to or they not, but I've always

really like showing the families and the

kids that like,

>> man, look at Gable, you know?

>> But when you compete, they're special.

>> It's different.

>> But it's just crazy to be able to do

that in a sport that you're relatively

new at.

>> I mean, just man, just think big about

yourself. I tell every kid I tell

everybody. What's crazy about that

honestly is like I know you're just

going to get better at it. That's what's

crazy when you watch someone strike that

well early in their striking career.

Like your striking journey is so new

>> that the sky's is the limit as far as

your your potential.

>> Joe, in the nicest way possible, I

really want to say this. That's the

worst I'll ever be.

>> The worst I'll ever be. And and and for

whoever who's going to watch this,

that's the worst I'll ever be. Just

think about it. um 14 seconds and then

now think about if I you're going to put

some time into me, some effort into me

and I'm putting effort into myself that

that dirty boxing is probably the the

weakest I'll ever be in the sport of

MMA.

>> I believe you. I believe you. I mean, it

only makes sense if you've been training

that short amount of time in striking.