JRE MMA Show #186 with Sean Sharaf

The Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan sits down with UFC heavyweight Sean Sharaf following his historic 12-second knockout victory over Gable Stevenson. The episode exp

Key takeaways

• Sean Sharaf entered the fight as a massive 2400-to-1 underdog against Gable Stevenson.
• The victory was achieved via a precise left hook just 12 seconds into the bout.

Main topics

• UFC Heavyweight Upset
• MMA Training Hardships

Notable quotes

He was a minus 2,400 favorite.

Conclusion

A profound look at how extreme discipline and mental fortitude can man

Transcript preview

Speaker 7 (0:01) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. Speaker 2 (0:03) The Joe Rogan Experience. Train Speaker 7 (0:06) by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. Speaker 5 (0:13) What's going on, man? This is Joe Rogan. How you feeling? I feel incredible, Speaker 3 (0:17) guys. You Speaker 5 (0:18) must be. Speaker 3 (0:19) It's been one hell of a week. It's been crazy. It has to be the craziest week of your life, right? Or up to it. I mean, this is pretty up there. It's been some crazy weeks. Speaker 5 (0:31) So talk me through this. When did you get the offer Speaker 3 (0:34) for the fight? How long out? So they had mentioned possibly me fighting him on the White House. They asked me. That was the... Ali, he had reached out to me. He's like, hey, like they're talking about possibly get you on the White House. They know you're a Marine and whatnot. they want Gable Stevenson. And I was like, fucking, I don't care. I've been watching Gable since he was coming up on the regional scene, since you were talking about him and everyone was all hyped about him. And so I kind of already knew we were going to cross paths, but it wasn't until I was requesting to get on the LA card. I heard they were coming to LA and I kept saying, Hey, I want LA. I want LA. And I was like, all right, you got LA. You're fighting Gable. So there was a Speaker 5 (1:10) conversation about the White House card. So this is June. Speaker 3 (1:13) That's when it first Speaker 5 (1:14) came up. And so how did it wind up taking place in September? Speaker 3 (1:18) I just never heard back. They talked about it. They were like, would you take it? And I was like, sure. And I think maybe they were trying to get Jones on there too, possibly. I think that might have been what it was. I think Dana was hesitant to get John on there. Yeah. And so I think it was like, oh, if I'm not going, then maybe Gabe was going. I don't know what it was, but that was the first time I was approached like, hey, would you be open to fighting him on the White House? And I was like, of course. And Speaker 5 (1:42) so how long out did they tell you about the L.A. card? uh Speaker 3 (1:45) about six weeks but i had already been in camp because i was supposed to fight tai tuivasa and i had to pull out because my nose got broken in that camp so i was basically in the camp for the thai fight and then i went straight into that into the next camp as soon as i got cleared to start sparring and stuff but i was still training the whole time i was running i was i went full uh I retained my seed. I was fucking... Did Speaker 5 (2:08) you really? Yeah, Speaker 3 (2:08) bro. I went full eight weeks. No jerk out, no sex, no nothing. I went full marine mode. That's why you guys saw that mat on the ground in the studio was because I was really fucking going to. I ended up getting air mattress after I texted Strickland because he's like... You were sleeping on a Speaker 5 (2:25) mat. Yeah. Tell Speaker 3 (2:26) people about that. Well, basically because I have... Obviously, all my finances are out there already. I didn't have anything in my name, so I've been bouncing around from fighter houses. There's Fighter House LV they started out, and it's like 40 bucks a room you get. And I was also staying in the casinos, fucking gambling, doing a bunch of dumb shit. And stayed in my car a few times, bouncing back and forth with my mom. It was just a little bit of a chaotic situation. And I got a spot. I got a front from my management. They gave me four grand because I was basically was in California and I stayed out there with my mom and I had to come back out here for the camp. And I was like, hey, I need funds. Can you guys get me in front of me four grand on my purse? And they said, hey, get whatever you want. I mean, they weren't very involved, like if I'm being honest, I kind of had to figure it out on my own. And yeah, I had a friend. He got me a sublease, got me in that spot. And I just fucking. Well, it's such a crazy rocky story. I know. It really is. I'm saying it and I don't even know. I'm like, bro, people aren't going to believe this shit. I got to fucking show the receipts. I'm going to show you some fucking shit. I mean, I've Speaker 5 (3:35) never experienced something like that, but it has to be like right now, even it's hard to believe that you did what you did. Speaker 3 (3:39) Yeah. Yeah. Because Speaker 5 (3:41) I Speaker 3 (3:42) believed I was going to win. I was telling myself, but I believed it was going to be a war. I believed it was going to be my whole game plan was like. Sure, he might get the takedown. You're going to stay in his fucking face. I was screaming the fucking affirmation, the Jon Jones speech when he told DC, and he was all like, there's nothing you can do to stop me from coming after you round after round with the most malicious techniques I know. You will lose this fight, Gable Stevenson. You will lose this fight. And I was just telling myself that I was going to go through hell for this. Because all my previous fights, it was first-round knockouts. All my victories, first-round knockouts. And it kind of gave me the delusion that I'm just... touch guys and they're going to fall. But then when I got to the UFC, like I had that, that loss with Taffa and I had Asplen, I fucking kept cracking him. He wouldn't fall. And then, um, I kind of started doubting my power a little bit. It kind of started like questioning, like, Hey, like fucking, can I do this? And so like when I just hit him with that left hook and he fell, I was like, I started cussing. I jumped on, I was fucking bro. I was like, what the fuck is going on, man? You were, uh, Speaker 5 (4:48) He was a minus 2,400 favorite. Speaker 3 (4:52) Yeah. Speaker 5 (4:54) The disrespect. Was it 2,400? Yeah, it was. That's what it was? Okay. I just want to be really clear about that. That's a crazy number. For heavyweight. For heavyweight. It might be the biggest, at least bookmaker odds, it might be the biggest upset in the history of the sport. Speaker 3 (5:10) That's what they're saying. Yeah, I mean. Even with Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey, it was just like. Speaker 5 (5:14) Holly Holm was dangerous. She was a multiple-time world kickboxing champion, multiple-time world boxing champion. She was a legitimate striker. I could see Holly being a 10-to-1 dog or something like that, but this was minus 2400. I think it was the fact I was coming off Speaker 3 (5:31) of two losses. Bro, I lost my discipline a lot coming up grinding for this. Here it is. Let's watch it again so you just know it's real. Boom. Speaker 3 (5:54) That's me. Speaker 7 (6:00) One Speaker 5 (6:01) more time. Boom. Oh, the way the head snaps back too. Oh. Speaker 5 (6:11) What did it feel like when you're standing there holding your arms up? Were you like in space? Speaker 3 (6:15) Were you in another galaxy? Everything just felt like so, like even like I haven't seen the clips. I remember I shook Jones' hand and his hand before they left. But like everyone's saying like, are you sure you did that? Because like I vividly remember like before they walked out and everyone started booing, like I shook their hand. I shook his hand. Like that was it. I didn't say anything. But like, bro, everything just feels like. I haven't even gotten the chance to digest it. I've been just going this whole week, doing interviews after interviews. And it's like, I'm so exhausted. I just want to go to a mountain or to the desert and fucking take some mushrooms with my dog. Speaker 3 (6:51) Process what the fuck is going on, man. That probably Speaker 5 (6:54) might be a good idea, too, so you can stay on the course. Because one of the problems with a big event or a big moment is you can be defined by that big event and big moment, and that big moment can be a centerpiece in your life instead of the path. So the path you're on is getting better as an MMA fighter, achieving world-class status, fighting for a title eventually. That's the path. Speaker 3 (7:19) Is it, though, Joe? Yeah, why not? Well, that's why I want to ask you because, like, I mean, everyone's making it seem like this is just a fucking lucky punch, one shot. So this is my thing is I've always been taking my journey fight by fight. Like, I got out the Marine Corps and I was like, hey, like, I want to be a UFC fighter. And, like, it wasn't like, oh, I want to be a champion. You know, it was just like I just wanted to be in the organization and wear the uniform and just be able to fucking say I did that. And the fact that I just lost it, like. Those two times, I was like, fuck it. They gave me the uniform, but it didn't feel like it. And so now, like, to do this, people are saying possibly the biggest upset in history, fucking in my home, like, fucking against all odds. I'm like, bro, like, can I beat that? Like, do I? You leave the table when you're up. That's what they say, you know? Like, fucking, like. Are you thinking about doing that? Are you thinking about leaving the table? I told, I'm not going to lie, I told. Micah the psych at the the PI I told my Sergey my training partner. I told go core I told all these guys I was like hey, bro if I win this fight the way I'm visualizing I like I might be good with that because this is fucking like that was it you know and I don't I don't know like because Speaker 5 (8:30) it was such a big moment just Speaker 3 (8:32) No, it's the fact of what I had to go to get because like brother. I've had zero sponsors I got zero promo. I got zero like any kind of like support throughout this whole thing like even like with the coaching you know like my corner like i was scrambling to figure that out you know and it was just like i had to beg for so much fucking help throughout this process but it just made me fucking like no i just put a little sour taste in my mouth i was like bro like fucking like for what like and then on top of that i got fucking ct scan they're saying i got some fucking brain matter and shit i'm fucking stitched up from head to toe i got fucking all types of injuries like and i'm like bro what am i doing if we're just fucking for more money For a belt? Like, what am I doing? That's why I'm trying to figure out the answers myself. Speaker 5 (9:15) That's interesting. Well, if that's the case, then definitely go take mushrooms with your dog. That's why Speaker 3 (9:21) I'm like, maybe you Speaker 5 (9:22) can help me, advise me here. The decision is always going to be entirely yours because it's dependent entirely upon who you are, where you are, and I don't know that. I don't know where you're at in your life. I don't know where you're at with your mind. I don't know. There's nothing wrong with you walking away right now if you choose to do that. So you have to think about it. And I think a moment like that, like I said, was so big, you have to let it settle before you decide what you're going to do. There's a lot of people, there's a bunch of different ways to approach fighting. And I think one of the worst ways is to chase glory. You know, because glory does come to the greats in that glory. You know, the glory that Justin Gaethje got when he beat Ilya Teporya at the White House. No one's ever going to experience that. The greatest moments in the history of combat sports. That was my Speaker 3 (10:13) logic, too, because when I saw that Gaethje. upset, I was like, bro, like, what more do you have to prove? Like, you just shocked the fucking world. Yeah, he could certainly walk, especially Gaethje. Speaker 5 (10:24) He's had this insane career, incredible career. He could definitely walk away now and be one of the all-time greats. But Conor, for instance, like, Conor's last fight, like, it seemed like Conor was doing it to show that he could still do it. I don't know. You know, I didn't talk to him. I haven't had a conversation with him as a person. But it seemed like he wanted to be on top again. He wanted to show that he could go out there and still be a world-class fighter like Max Holloway and just show that he could do it. And you got to wonder, is that the best motivation for a guy that's worth half a billion dollars and is fucking living in the lap of luxury? No, Speaker 3 (11:06) he's just chasing a high. Right, Speaker 5 (11:07) right. Speaker 3 (11:08) I just want to go out on top, go on top, go on top. Is Speaker 5 (11:10) he chasing the high versus is he chasing the dream? So, like, when he knocked out Jose Aldo, he was chasing the dream. He was a juggernaut. He was storming through the division. He was knocking everybody out. He looked like this guy that had this phenomenal talent and this special charisma, and he looked like a guy who was chasing this thing, this dream, his dream of becoming a world champion. So then you achieve it. And then I think the big derailment was the Floyd Mayweather fight, right? He leaves MMA, trains boxing for a while. Has a great performance against Floyd Mayweather. One of the greatest boxers of all time. Does 10 rounds with him, which is fucking insane. Did you Speaker 3 (11:48) see my video with him before the fight? No. I went viral with Floyd. I ran into him at Lifetime. Oh, really? Because I started promoting myself. So that was the issue. I kept seeing these. collabs and these promos with Gable. And I was like, bro, what the fuck, man? Like, why is no one pushing me? So I started, like, just going outside the PI. And I was like, I did my own promo. And then, like, just the odds, like, the next day I ran into Floyd at the fucking Lifetime. And I was like, hey, man, let me get a quick video fucking to promote my fight and whatnot. So it's just ironic he's Speaker 5 (12:18) a Speaker 3 (12:18) Floyd. That's funny. That's funny. Speaker 5 (12:20) Well, that's just to be expected. I mean, you got to realize Gable is. First of all, Olympic gold medalist, one of the greatest heavyweight wrestlers the United States has ever produced. And then he goes on to be undefeated in MMA, wins that fight in dirty boxing. He's an athletic freak, and he's being trained by Jon Jones. But Speaker 3 (12:37) who did he beat on the regional scene? You're right. That's Speaker 5 (12:39) what Speaker 3 (12:39) didn't impress me. He got wheel kicked in Mexico. The guy was like 1-0. Because I was 4-0 on the regional scene, too. You're 100 % correct Speaker 5 (12:47) in that regard. But he couldn't get any fights. Nobody any good wanted to fight him because he's Gable. Because he's this insane freak wrestler and they want to win and they want to make their way through, you know, whatever regional circuit it is, get a really good record and get some experience before they get into the UFC. They don't want to get flatlined. They don't want to get beat up and smashed. Speaker 3 (13:07) They Speaker 5 (13:07) want, you know, they want and a good manager treats their fighters that way. A good manager says, listen, you're not ready for that yet. We're going to get you this guy. Don't get beat by him yet. You can eventually beat him, but we have to develop these skills. We have to develop these techniques. We have to get you some seasoning. You have to get some hard fights against some really tough guys so you know what the fucking basement feels like. You got to know what it's like to be in the dungeon, you know? Speaker 3 (13:32) He wasn't in the dungeon. Wasn't in the dungeon. They were fucking... Like coddling him and pampering him. Well, I Speaker 5 (13:37) think also when you're that good of an athlete and you've had that much success in wrestling, which is, you know, the celebrated incredible sport, and then you enter into MMA with all that hype and fanfare, you start to believe that you are special and you're invincible and you're not a regular human being with very good skills. Because that's what he is, a regular human being with very good skills. And you showed it. You showed it with a fucking perfect left hook. When you stepped outside and then it was everything in that left hook. It was pretty. It was technical. It was perfect. And he was reaching at the time, too. And Speaker 3 (14:14) that was the other thing. He was closing his eyes. And that was what I saw in the replay. And that comes because he isn't smart enough. He hasn't had that experience of fucking being in the fire over and over Speaker 5 (14:24) again. He's only been striking for like a year and a half. That's why Speaker 3 (14:28) when they asked me, they tried to make it seem like I was talking shit. They're like, are you impressed by Gable? I was like, no, I'm not impressed. They're like, what are you not impressed about? I'm like, what the fuck? He's an Olympic gold medalist, but this is fighting, and we're going to fight. Yeah, yeah. Speaker 5 (14:42) Well, his first fight, he got tagged a bunch, the first fight in the UFC, and that guy fought well. He hit him with some good shots. That guy was there to win. He just, you know, was overwhelmed. Gable got him. Speaker 5 (14:56) That fucking left hook changed the landscape of the universe dude level change your Speaker 3 (15:01) life change the world Yeah, there's so many people that even before the fight They're like if you beat Gable I'm gonna name my kid after you like I'm putting my mortgage down like I was like I don't know these comments are real but like there was so many people messaging me and commenting like and even though with the press conference like they were telling me like like please bring up Please bring up his past please bring this past, you know, and I was all like shit, but I fought for my freedom of speech man I don't give a fuck. I'll say what I want, you know, and yeah, it's a lot like the whole the Speaker 5 (15:32) whole build-up to a fight is so much There's so much talking There's so many people talking at you and there's so many narratives and so many people like you can get your brain really fucking scrambled during those things, including him, like believing the hype or anybody believing the hype. Speaker 3 (15:48) And what was crazy was we weren't even supposed to be on the press conference or even on the main card until Ortega fell out. And that was like that felt like divine intervention, bro, because I was just like, oh, my God. Like I thought I was I was going to get the press conference. And when I got to fight week, it was like. I wasn't on there. And then that next day, they were like, oh, no, you're on your main card. You're going to the press conference. So maybe that I wouldn't have gotten in his head if I didn't get in the press conference, you know, because that was strategic. Like I was saying in interviews before, like that's psychological warfare. Of course. Speaker 4 (16:18) All is Speaker 3 (16:18) fair in love and war. And it's like if you don't know how to handle that, I mean, like I said, I just brought things to light. Yeah. That was all I did. And if you let that get under your skin, like. Who knows if it let it get under his skin? Speaker 5 (16:32) I mean, even if there was nothing going on, you might have still hit him with that exact same punch. I think there's a gap in experience and there's a gap in striking ability. I mean, he obviously is an incredible athlete, and he's very good at being the hammer. He can unload combinations on guys. We've seen it. We saw it in dirty boxing. But striking, you know as well as anybody, it is a fucking complicated thing that takes a long time to figure out. There's a lot of elements to it. There's a lot of knowledge, foot placement, where to be, where not to be, what to do, what not to do. You get caught doing something. You need a really good coach to explain to you how you got caught and never get caught like that again because you need to do this or you need to do that. Make sure your foot is outside the line. Make sure your head's off the center line. There's a bunch of different shit that takes fucking forever for your brain to absorb. And then absorb. to the point where you can, it's just memory, muscle Speaker 3 (17:24) memory inside of chaos and combat. I truly felt in flow state when I had, I was not thinking. I didn't go out like, oh, I'm going to throw the two. The whole game plan was like, don't over-respect the wrestling and put hands on this motherfucker. That was the game plan. Obviously, I knew he might get the takedown, but like I said, I was just telling myself, you're going to get up. You're going to get up. Fucking stay in his face over and over again. I Speaker 5 (17:48) think a big flaw that he did in both the first fight and the fight with you is I don't even think he was thinking about taking you down. Speaker 3 (17:54) Yeah. Which is really crazy. He's going to be shooting his next fight, that's for sure. Yeah. Yeah, Speaker 5 (18:00) I would imagine. Yeah, Speaker 3 (18:02) I Speaker 5 (18:02) would imagine. I would imagine. I would imagine that would be a good idea. I mean, it's your number one skill set. It's crazy. It's like Wonderboy deciding not to kick. Like, what? Speaker 3 (18:12) But it's also because he was getting praise. He was constantly being told he's the greatest thing. He's knocking these guys out. Even Dana, after the press conference in his first fight, he was just praising him. He's striking with guys, knocking guys out when he could be using his wrestling. I think it just got to him. And when I knew I had him was when I saw he booked that RAF fight during the fight camp. He went and did an RAF fight a few weeks. RF wrestling match before a few weeks before our fight other this motherfucking not taking me seriously It's not like going to book fucking rather and I'm over there getting my ass beat a fucking every day fucking with Sergei Spivak Speaker 3 (18:50) Blagoi was working with me. Fucking Iwan Kutalaba. And I had to wear my headgear because my nose was broken. And that thing was suffocating me. And these guys were just putting me in the worst positions over and over again. Starting from fucking bottom. Fucking picking me up. Matt returned. Slamming me back down. Brother, that's what it felt like. I love Rocky, man. You're Speaker 5 (19:11) a Rocky story, man. Yeah, bro. You are Speaker 3 (19:14) a real Speaker 5 (19:14) live Rocky Speaker 3 (19:15) story. 100%, man. It feels unreal. Speaker 5 (19:18) This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. It's football season and Uber Eats is delivering deals every game day. This week, double down on protein-packed sandwiches with buy one, get one free. Get one. Select six-inch subs from Subway. Whether you're keeping it low-key for the game or hosting friends, Uber Eats has deals to keep you fed. So order a six-inch turkey, tuna, or meatball sub from Subway, and you'll get one free. No matter who scores big tonight, you'll score a deal. Order now for buy one, get one, select six-inch subs from Subway, only on Uber Eats. Subway offer valid. through October 4th. Add eligible menu item to order prior to checkout. Taxes, fees, and terms apply. Product availability varies by region. Exclusions may apply. See app for details. That, Speaker 3 (20:11) but even Rocky didn't end that way. Like step in, boom, 12 Speaker 5 (20:15) seconds. Speaker 3 (20:16) Crazy, man. Crazy. It really felt like it was just karma and divine intervention. Because the way he was disrespecting me, too. He called me a coward, saying like, he's the reason that I'm there. And fucking my hotel room is paid because of Gable Stevens. What's up with him talking in third person? I know maybe he's your boy. And I saw him on here before. But this dude's talking about us in third person all the time. Like, what the fuck is up with that? The third person stuff is very weird. Speaker 5 (20:43) You know who used to do that, who I love, who used to do that all the time is Roy Jones. Roy Jones Jr. is going to do what Roy Jones Jr. wants to do. Is he here right now? Is Roy in the room with us? That's a strange thing that people do, that third-person thing. It is odd. It's like an elitist thing. Yeah, like Speaker 3 (20:59) I said, he's just thinking all that. So I'm glad Speaker 5 (21:02) I Speaker 3 (21:03) could bring him back down to reality. It's Speaker 5 (21:06) probably good for him, too, if he decides to actually. continue and pursue his career and become a world champion, that might be a blessing in disguise because it was a fight that allowed him to recognize that the skills that he has in wrestling, other people have similar skills in striking and similar skills in all the other aspects of MMA. And then, you know, there's no shortcuts. Just because you're a really good wrestler doesn't mean you're an elite kickboxer. You know, it just doesn't translate. You have to learn those things. Yes, sir. And, you know, you... A guy becomes amazing because of his accomplishments, but before those accomplishments, you're not necessarily amazing yet. And his accomplishments were all in a completely different discipline. I mean, it translates. It's one of the most important disciplines, probably the most important discipline for MMA if you use it, right? If you use it, it's probably like the ability to take a guy down and control a guy. It stifles all striking, right? If he just decided to avoid you standing up and then shoot and he got you down, we're talking about a whole different fight. Right? Speaker 3 (22:06) 100%. Yeah, but Speaker 4 (22:07) when Speaker 5 (22:07) you get it Speaker 3 (22:08) in your head. Ain't no rematch, though, buddy. Everyone's like, what's next? When's the rematch? Fuck you. You're going to sleep with that. Motherfucker. Motherfucker's not getting his dick up for fucking weeks, man. I took his soul. You heard the whole David Goggins when he said that shit? He's like, yeah, you're not going to fucking live with that for a little bit, bro. Speaker 5 (22:25) Well, psychologically, why would you schedule a rematch quickly, if at all? Like, there's no reason. First of all, on paper, it's 12 seconds. It's not like a controversial decision, right? Controversial decisions warrant a rematch. You know, really good war goes to the judges, could have gone either way. That makes Speaker 4 (22:45) sense. 12-second knockouts don't get rematches. That doesn't make any sense. That makes zero sense. Speaker 5 (22:51) Yeah, it doesn't make sense. He's Speaker 4 (22:52) going Speaker 5 (22:52) to have to figure out why he's deciding to strike and then really tighten up his striking. He's going to have to watch that film footage and see what he did wrong. There's a bunch of different striking analysts have broken down the video. You could see you did everything right, and he didn't. Real simple. you know, and he's a human and you're a big motherfucker and you got a big motherfucker with a big left hook and you land that on virtually any human being alive, you catch him on the chin like that where their head snaps back like that. Speaker 3 (23:23) It's like 10 pounds of pressure. That's all you need to tip the chin, right? It was a lot more than 10. Speaker 5 (23:27) I mean, you snapped his head back. But, you know, listen, guys have come back from knockouts like that and become all-time greats. Look at Michael Bisping. Michael Bisping gets flatlined by Henderson and then goes on to become an all-time great and wins the middleweight title, knocks out Luke Rockwell, defended it against Henderson. Speaker 3 (23:46) And I said it in my post-flight interview. I kept it classy. I was like, hey, look, this is going to make him better. But right now I'm on my victory lap. I'm going to talk some shit Speaker 4 (23:55) because the Speaker 3 (23:55) motherfucker Speaker 4 (23:55) disrespected the Speaker 3 (23:56) fucker. His whole team disrespected him. Jones driving around with him in the Mercedes. Tonight we collect a head. Bro, what? Come on, Jones. You of all people know not to underestimate someone. Come on, man. Well, John's a different guy. He's a different adult. But they made him think Speaker 2 (24:12) that he was next John Jones. Speaker 3 (24:14) I know. And John Jones is a different fucking... I've studied John Jones my whole fucking life, man. You saw the picture with me and him that we took? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Eight years ago, right? I was like, this is going to be my exam, you know? Yeah. And I can't even show you the DMs that I've sent him. I'm like, fuck, and I told him this was going to happen, you know? For him to be there, fucking front row, and then that viral reaction, it was... Yeah. Oh, my goodness, man. It Speaker 5 (24:36) was Speaker 3 (24:36) crazy. Unreal. Speaker 5 (24:38) Yeah. You can't pretend that you're the guy that you're hanging out with. That's a bad thing. Yeah. John is a very unique athlete, though. I mean, he's a one of one. He's the GOAT. I mean, what he did to Cyril Ghosn, I just watched that fight again. It's fucking insane. Cyril never touched him. He got a hold of Cyril, dragged him to the ground, strangled him, tap, tap. That's Speaker 3 (24:59) it. Speaker 5 (24:59) That's Speaker 3 (24:59) a Speaker 5 (24:59) wrap. Walked away. Didn't get scratched. Speaker 3 (25:01) Yeah. Speaker 5 (25:01) And then now you have Cyril Gans, the heavyweight champion of the world. And you see what he did to Pereira. You see what he did, at least in the first round before the eye pokes, to Aspinall. It's like Cyril Gans, special athlete, and John made him look unspecial. Speaker 3 (25:14) Yeah. How do you feel about that? But Gable's not Speaker 5 (25:16) that. He's not the same guy. He's not that guy. It takes a long fucking time to be John Jones. Also, when John Jones became John Jones, he became John Jones slowly. I mean, it was quick in terms of he was the quickest ever to become— Yeah, I think 22. He became the youngest ever UFC champion. But there's a long process in getting there. Like, he didn't have that—he fought Guskov. He fought Stefan Bonner. He fought a bunch of guys and started looking like this guy might be something very unique. And then he beat Shogun. And wins the title and then just goes on this just fucking epic legendary tear. Just the people he beat. Yeah, he beat everybody. He Speaker 3 (26:02) beat everybody and he beat everybody when he wasn't training. I have a photo from that expo. It's like Machida unconscious. I've had that in my room fucking forever. Speaker 5 (26:15) That was one of the coldest victories in the history of the sport. He chokes Machida unconscious and then drops him. Speaker 3 (26:21) Just Speaker 5 (26:22) standing up. Choked him unconscious, dropped him, and just walked away. It was fucking cold, man. Just falls down in a heap. It was cold, man. Speaker 5 (26:31) But, you know, that's the problem. You know, you're hanging out with a guy who's the GOAT and you start thinking you're the next guy. Like, you might be. You could be if you do the right things. But if you believe it before it happens, like, you have to be cautious but also confident. Like, there's this dance Speaker 2 (26:47) of the mind. Speaker 5 (26:49) There's so much going on to be an elite fighter. You know, you have to be aware that you could look at Kamaru Usman beating Leon Edwards for four rounds. All of a sudden, one head kick. Boom! Lost the title. Never the same guy again. Yeah. Because you're human. Yeah. You're a fucking human being. As tough as Kamaru is, he's a fucking human being. And it's just this wild dance of possibilities. But it's also one of the reasons why people love the sport so much. Like, what you did elevated the whole sport. It really did. Because when you can see a guy who's a giant favorite and everybody's thinking he is, and I thought, well, like, this guy has a potential to be an all-time great. Like, he's an Olympic gold medalist. We've seen that before. You get a guy who's an elite wrestler, like Daniel Cormier. There's a lot of examples of guys who are elite wrestlers. And they become all-time greats. Randy Couture. Speaker 3 (27:39) You changed everything change everything one punch boom crazy. Speaker 5 (27:43) Yeah crazy Speaker 3 (27:44) one punch one punch could really change your life and they say I Feel amazing I'm feeling credible like just a fact I'm here like there's nothing I haven't like I learned more from your podcast than I have the entire public education system Brother, I would sit on post because I was an embassy security guard and we'd be on duty and I would just have your podcast playing in the background and I would listen to all your guests. Like I started learning about the subconscious mind like through like Billy Carson and like another guy, 19 Keys, Joe Dispenza. Yeah. And like all of that, like it really has helped mold me into who I am just like. from the types like you had I don't know all the names but you had the guests on Sleep Huberman like bro like it's just so so many variables like that you've brought that like you are truly like educating so many people like with what you've done man it's fucking incredible well I'm Speaker 5 (28:38) happy you enjoyed it I'm happy I helped you and I'm happy I get to do it the fight companions I would sit Speaker 3 (28:42) on post and fucking watch fight companions and you have fucking Eddie Bravo and shit it's cool man it's fucking well it's cool Speaker 5 (28:49) that you're here right now and in celebration You know? Yeah. Kind of wild. Yeah, really wild. So, like we were saying before, like, these big moments, they're so big, they can kind of overwhelm you. I think you're very wise in that you want to, like, let the dust settle before you do anything. Speaker 3 (29:04) Yes. Speaker 5 (29:05) Just let yourself come back to normal. Speaker 3 (29:07) Yeah. Speaker 5 (29:07) You are on a fucking psychedelic rollercoaster ride right now. And I can't even Speaker 3 (29:12) chill. Like, everyone's, like, fucking, they're already texting me, like, oh, you went Hollywood on us. Like, bro, what the fuck, bro? It's been, like, five days, dog. Speaker 5 (29:20) He's like, oh, are you switched up, man? Well, people want you to switch up. That's a narrative that you're Speaker 1 (29:24) going Speaker 5 (29:24) to have to deal with. Oh, you fucking changed. Some people do not want you to succeed. That is a fact. Because when you succeed, especially succeed in a spectacular way, they compare themselves to you and they fall short and they don't like it. People do not like when people hyper succeed. That is going to be a problem. People want you to fall. It's going to be a problem. It's a problem with every champion, every celebrity, every superstar in music. comedy and movies and acting and they want you to fall because there's a certain type of Psychology that there's a certain psychological mindset that some people have where they look at people who are doing better than them and They compare themselves and they want that person to fail and so they'll pretend you're something you're not they'll create narratives that aren't real You win Hollywood, Speaker 4 (30:11) bro. Yeah, Speaker 5 (30:12) you fucking sold out you fucking sold out and And you're going to have to deal with that too. But that's just bitches. There's a world filled with bitches. And some bitches, they have loud voices. Speaker 3 (30:22) Yes, sir. Speaker 5 (30:22) Yeah. It's okay. Speaker 3 (30:24) Yeah. So that's what I'm navigating right now is just like trying to fucking like, like a part of me is like trying to get back to everyone. But the other part of me is like, bro, like, can you just understand? Like, even like I go from like doing all the interviews, I had interviews all day and then I would go home and like my family wants to talk to me about what's going on. And like, fucking, I'm like, bro, like, I just want to go walk my dog. And then I'm like, walk. I did the Bisbing interview and I was like, walk my dog. He's like, like, can you make sure you have good connection? I'm like, bro, I'm walking my dog, man. Y'all want the interview or not, bro. Speaker 5 (30:53) It's more important to walk your dog than do an interview. That's awesome. Speaker 3 (30:56) I'm going to shout out my dog, Apollo. He's a German shepherd, man, because this dude, I got him when I got out of the Marines, and he's been with me for the past seven now. He's about to be eight. And this dude, bro, broke so many meals with him. I moved out to Vegas two years ago. There he is. Speaker 1 (31:15) That's Speaker 5 (31:15) my fucking Speaker 3 (31:16) boy, man. Speaker 3 (31:19) This dude has seen it all, man. Like, I had my fucking knee surgeries, and I had to drive myself to PT fucking two days post-op. Like, nobody. Nobody wanted to fucking take me to the PI and shit, bro. And I was, like, trying to walk my dog and shit. And, like, all that shit, that's what I was telling you earlier, man. I'm just like, bro, like, it's such a, like, I don't want to say a fake game, but it's just, like, they only love you when you're hot. When fucking Gaethje got knocked out by Holloway, he wasn't fucking hot. But then fucking he goes and wins this, he's hot. And then fucking Max Holloway gets knocked out by Ilya, fucking Ilya's hot. Not Ilya's, Strickland Shemya, fucking Pereira. That's the game. It's the hurt business, you know? And then when they're done