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The Joe Rogan ExperienceThe Joe Rogan Experience

JRE MMA Show #107 with Georges St-Pierre

Joe is joined by UFC Hall of Famer and actor Georges St-Pierre.

Georges St-PierreguestJoe Roganhost
Jun 27, 20243h 34mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 15:00

    (drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast,…

    1. GS

      (drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays) How many times a week you have a guest on your show that ... You have some, uh, times that you have two guests, uh, during a day?

    2. JR

      It's rare. But, uh-

    3. GS

      It happened?

    4. JR

      ... I did it once last week and then today.

    5. GS

      Wow.

    6. JR

      Yeah.

    7. GS

      That, that burns you, uh-

    8. JR

      Nah.

    9. GS

      ... to death now?

    10. JR

      Nah, it's just talking. It's no big deal.

    11. GS

      I, I, I, you know-

    12. JR

      We up?

    13. NA

      Yeah.

    14. JR

      Yeah, okay, go ahead.

    15. GS

      It's insane, you know.

    16. JR

      Why is it insane?

    17. GS

      Because, man, it's, uh, uh, sometimes I ... You know, I, I can train all day.

    18. JR

      Yeah.

    19. GS

      You know? But if I do something like this, like, uh, like in, like, uh, uh, autograph signing or any, like, things that require more, uh, I would say, um, you know, meet and greets and stuff like that, that take more out of me than a physical, something physical like a training, you know?

    20. JR

      That's just 'cause you're accustomed to training all the time. It's like everything else. Like, the m- the more accustomed to it you are, the easier it is.

    21. GS

      Man. Anyway, you, you look fantastic. You, you, you-

    22. JR

      Thanks. You, you too.

    23. GS

      You haven't-

    24. JR

      I like them.

    25. GS

      You haven't aged a bit. You're like, uh, wine.

    26. JR

      (laughs)

    27. GS

      You get better with age.

    28. JR

      I like the frosted tips, man. What are you doing?

    29. GS

      Uh, I changed my, uh, my style.

    30. JR

      (laughs)

  2. 15:00 – 30:00

    Mm-hmm. Right. …

    1. GS

      do.

    2. JR

      Mm-hmm. Right.

    3. GS

      Who- who- who has a similar skill set than you do. So it's pretty much 50/50 on paper.

    4. JR

      Yeah.

    5. GS

      Not always, but very often.

    6. JR

      Very often.

    7. GS

      I believe the reason why it is like that is because if you look at the UFC, for example, look at UFC the way they promote the event. UFC is like the Vaseline of Petrol Jelly.

    8. JR

      Right, or a Q-tip.

    9. GS

      People don't say, "Hey, I watch M- mixed martial art." They say, "I watch UFC."

    10. JR

      Right.

    11. GS

      So the way they promote it, it's, "UFC 226, uh, this guy versus this guy on the bottom," but they promote the UFC.

    12. JR

      Right.

    13. GS

      They don't promote the fighter, they promote mostly the brand. And it is very smart because that they- they have the monopole over the others, right?

    14. JR

      Right.

    15. GS

      Which in boxing, they build up their- their- their fighter because the money is on the fighter. It's not on the IBF title or... Yes, i- it's IBF title but it's-

    16. JR

      People don't care.

    17. GS

      ... Canelo versus Mayweather.

    18. JR

      Right.

    19. GS

      And then on the bottom, you know for what they're fighting for.

    20. JR

      Right. Right.

    21. GS

      Which in UFC is the opposite.

    22. JR

      Yeah.

    23. GS

      So that's- that's the main difference, and that's why it's like that, which is not a bad thing for their business because they- they're there to make money, right? It's a smart move. But for- for the fighters, (laughs) I mean- I mean if you're n- on the winning end, it's a good thing to- to be promoted. But if you're on the losing end, I mean-

    24. JR

      Yeah, it's a good-

    25. GS

      ... get a, get another job, you know, it's like... (laughs)

    26. JR

      But it's so, it's unusual where a guy like Jon Jones rises through the ranks, where he's 22 years old, he fights for the title and wins. That's very unusual.

    27. GS

      Yeah.

    28. JR

      Very unusual.

    29. GS

      Yeah.

    30. JR

      A lot of times when guys are very young and they get thrown to the wolves like that, they don't... Like Jon is an extraordinary talent.

  3. 30:00 – 45:00

    Yeah. Yeah. …

    1. GS

      new things. And, and by trying new things, you, you'll, you'll adapt. You'll, you'll be like, "Oh, this one works, this one doesn't work. But the one that works, I keep it in my back pocket."

    2. JR

      Yeah. Yeah.

    3. GS

      You know? And it, it makes you grow. That's the problems, you know, I've seen, like-... as very often I see guys, like, sparring, they- they- (laughs) they lose a lot of brain cells. It's terrible. It's terrible.

    4. JR

      Terrible.

    5. GS

      And I'm world- I'm former world champion, you know? Like, when I've sparred with- with guys, very often, they are nervous, so they become all stiff. And when they hit, they hit so hard. I tell them, I'm like, "You don't get ready... You don't have any fight coming up soon." Like, "Just have fun, but relax." I tell them, "Relax," and they... S- very often, they- they relax. You know, some will try to make... (laughs) You know?

    6. JR

      Try to make it off.

    7. GS

      So I have to answer back. Y- I have to, but- but very often, they relax, and- and- and- and they're surprised that... Because it's so, uh, so much of an egotistic sport, you know? Like, we have this mentality that, "Oh, if the guy tell you to relax, it's because he's scared," you know?

    8. JR

      Right.

    9. GS

      It's so stupid, you know? But it's... That's how... If you wanna improve, you need to... It needs to be playful, and- and- and everything. You know? You- w- we say, "Oh, you..." When I say sparring, l- when I, when I'm about to spar with someone I never sparred before, I... That's what I do. I tell him, I say, "Hey, would you like to play a little bit?" I don't use the word sparring, 'cause sparring is, like, aggression, and then-

    10. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    11. GS

      ... like, I tell him, I say, "Would you like to play a little bit there?" Then we touch glove and we play. And- and I never go hard. I always start very- very slow, and if I see that he's d- going too hard, I tell him, I say, "Please go- go- go more- more easy." And of course, if- if he's getting ready for a fight, it's different. It's a different situations, but, you know, that's how it is, you know? When you need... You shouldn't be afraid to tell (laughs) your training partner, "Hey, please, like, put it, like, slow down a notch." You know? Like- like, when you see guys trying to throw a head kick to knock each other out, you know? In boxing sparring, it's different because we- we have big gloves, big headgear, you know? They can go hard, I mean, w- even if it's not good because it's repeatedly blows... Repetition to... And- with the blows to the head, but in MMA with the kicks, it's... The damage is basically like a baseball bat hitting your head. You can't do that. It's-

    12. JR

      No, terrible.

    13. GS

      ... it's crazy, man.

    14. JR

      The Thais have it right, right?

    15. GS

      That's right.

    16. JR

      (laughs)

    17. GS

      That's right, because they have so many fights. They have so many fights that... A- a- and also, when you fight someone... When I fight someone, it happened very often in my career, like, when I fight someone, you have s- a- a- a connection with the guy you fight. A lot of things happen here, and real fighter will know that, uh, what I'm talking about, the connection that we have, because you look at each other, and these... This connection, you cannot see it when you watch a fight on TV. But very often, in most of my fight, when I went to decision, I could see the guy break- breaking, folding, like he's letting me know that he doesn't fight to win anymore. He's fighting to not lose.

    18. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    19. GS

      And l- l- like I said earlier, it's not up to me trying to- trying to push the pace, trying to- to finish him and- and increasing my risk of getting caught by a counterpunch and getting knocked out, you know? It's up to him to take the risk, you know, because he's losing the fight. And the idea in this game, you wanna save yourself for another day. I mean, i- i- it's sad to say for the fan, but this the... This is the truth. If you win and th- that's what you're doing is good of... You win, you're winning the fight, you know? You- you're gonna get paid the- the- the same amount of money. Of course, if you have, like, a- an highlight reel, something like that, it- it could increase your pay, but- but in terms of your career, I believe you s- should see your career as a marathon, not as a sprint. So you- you- you kind of save yourself. And a lot of time, I've fought guys, I could see in their face that, oh, he doesn't wanna be there anymore. Like, I know I'm winning the fight before even the fight is over. They get desperate. Of course they're gonna throw a haymaker or something, but I know they're not gonna take any risk because they- they're- they're hurt. They're- they lost already. They know that I'm better than them, and that's when I know I get the fight, and I know that I'm- just need to be on cruise control. I can win if they don't... Like, it's hard to- to finish someone who doesn't fight to win anymore.

    20. JR

      Right.

    21. GS

      You see very often champions in- in MMA have a very dominite- dominant career in the beginning. You know, they finish a lot of their opponent. But after a while, it become... It kind of peak because all... The entire UFC roster is studying you, and they figure you out. Maybe they didn't figure you out how to beat you, but they figure out how to s- kind of survive and- and hang in there with you.

    22. JR

      Jon Jones is a good example of that, right?

    23. GS

      Everybody, myself, same thing.

    24. JR

      Yeah.

    25. GS

      Like, every... Like, a lot of guy, Anderson Silva, the- the- the- the-

    26. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    27. GS

      ... the- all the- the- the champions, that's what happen.

    28. JR

      Everyone's studying you.

    29. GS

      Yes. It's hard to become champion. That's why I told Francis, uh, again, well, I say, say, "Man, it's hard to become champion now. Now- now the entire roster-"

    30. JR

      He's a different animal.

  4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

    Yeah. …

    1. JR

      "If you, if you're not trying to be the best in the world, you should probably get out."

    2. GS

      Yeah.

    3. JR

      You can enjoy it. Like, don't listen to me. Do whatever you like. If you enjoy just competing, if you're happy being someone who just competes and you're just trying to do your best every time, there's nothing wrong with that.

    4. GS

      That's right.

    5. JR

      But in my opinion, if you started out to be the best in the world and then somewhere along the line you changed, and you don't wanna be the best in the world no more, anymore, you just wanna compete, just get out.

    6. GS

      Yes, yes.

    7. JR

      Just get out.

    8. GS

      'Cause we all seen the, the end of that movie-

    9. JR

      Yes, we all seen the end of that movie. It's a ... It's a bad ending.

    10. GS

      ... and it's a, it's a bad ending.

    11. JR

      It's a bad ending.

    12. GS

      People only, only seen, only see the, the one who made it-

    13. JR

      Yeah.

    14. GS

      ... like Conor McGregor, the one that makes the big bucks, the ... But it's a very sad movie. It's a very sad, uh, truth to the-

    15. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    16. GS

      ... in the world of fighting, you know? You go to the Hall of Fame of, of boxing sometime, you see things, and like, like, you're like, "Wow, it's unbelievable," like, like, like, you wish you, you didn't see, you know what I mean?

    17. JR

      Yeah.

    18. GS

      It's very sad, you know? And, and you need to compete only when you're in ... I, I believe if you wanna maintain your well-being and your health, do it for yourself, but do it also for your family if you don't do it for yourself. Compete while you're in your win- in that window.

    19. JR

      Yeah.

    20. GS

      Like, after chip, get your chip, get outta here, you know?

    21. JR

      I think it's really great that you still enjoy martial arts even after you're done fighting. Like, you still love to train and improve. Like, we were talking about how the fact that you just trained with Freddie Roach, and before this, uh, we were talking about how you're gonna go to Puerto Rico and train with the Danaher Death Squad, like, you're gonna go down and train with those guys. You're literally gonna go to a fucking island to go j- do jujitsu.

    22. GS

      (laughs)

    23. JR

      You know?

    24. GS

      I, I like the confidence that martial arts give me because I, I, h- I start when I was very young, and it saved my life, you know, because I, I started when I was bullied, uh, in a, in school. And, uh, it becames an- it became an habit, and if I don't do it, I'm not happy and I don't feel confident. I remember when I was a kid, I was looking at myself in the mirror and I didn't like myself. I didn't like what I, what I saw in myself, because I wanted to change my environment. And martial art taught me that if you wanna change your environment, you wanna change yourself, you need to love yourself first. And I learned how to ha- uh, love myself. I didn't love right away in the beginning who I was, but I love who I could become, and I wanted to become that person that I visuali- visualize, the idea Georges S- Georges St-Pierre that I could become.

    25. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    26. GS

      That's when I start training, and that's when I start looking at people in the eyes instead of looking down. And when I shake someone's hand, I, I have firm grip, and I, I ... When the teacher was asking a question before, I was always like this, always the last to answer. Now I was taking charge, "Hey, I know the answer. Five plus, uh, five, it's 10," for example.

    27. JR

      Hmm.

    28. GS

      Yeah, I, I exteriorized myself. I got out of my comfort zone, and it start building up my confidence. And, you know, like, in, in life, the bully, it's like a predatory animal. It will never hunt the strong alpha male.

    29. JR

      Right.

    30. GS

      It will go for the weak. And it's the same thing, so I wish I could tell you I get out of my bullying because I kick all their ass because I've learned karate-

  5. 1:00:00 – 1:11:40

    Isn't that interesting, where…

    1. GS

      ego, like I, I have an incredible ego. I'm very, very proud. I'm a very proud person, which helped me be a better fighter, but also, it's, it's an issue with sometime in life. If I use my emotion when I get hit like I did for Matt Serra because I wanted to give it back to him right away. I didn't like to be s- s- stunned. I never been stunned in my life, never. It was the first time (laughs) that I got stunned, and, uh, for me, it was humiliating, humiliated. He humiliate me, so I wanted to give it back right away so we can shut everybody's mouth and, you know, that can say, "See? It was just a little mistake," and that's it. But if you use it for that particular thing, it could be a, a big mistake. You need to canalize it and know-... knowing when it's time to use your emotion. You keep it inside of you, and when it's time, you let it, let it explode.

    2. JR

      Isn't that interesting, where some fights that people love are really not the way you're supposed to fight? Like a great example is Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward.

    3. GS

      (laughs) Oh, God.

    4. JR

      Everybody loves those fights, including me. Those fights were-

    5. GS

      Absolutely. I love that.

    6. JR

      Those fights were amazing. But if that was one of my fighters, I'd be like, "Stop." And then Arturo Gatti in the third fight, I think it was the third fight where he outboxed him.

    7. GS

      Yes.

    8. JR

      He fought smart.

    9. GS

      Yes.

    10. JR

      Stayed on his, on his toes, moved around, he popped the jab. He did a lot of footwork and head movement.

    11. GS

      Yes.

    12. JR

      And he didn't, didn't brawl, and he won the fight-

    13. GS

      Yeah.

    14. JR

      ... by decision.

    15. GS

      One of my fav- my favorite boxer of all time should be the great Sugar Ray Leonard-

    16. JR

      Mm.

    17. GS

      ... did that mistake with Roberto Duran.

    18. JR

      Yes.

    19. GS

      He stood with him because he want-

    20. JR

      Yes.

    21. GS

      ... he wanted to show him that he was a man.

    22. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    23. GS

      But then after he dance, and the second fight-

    24. JR

      Yeah.

    25. GS

      ... he, he, he, he clearly beat him up. No mask.

    26. JR

      But that's also-

    27. GS

      You know?

    28. JR

      D- Yeah, but Duran was fat for that fight. They took advantage of Duran. They knew Duran was partying, so they, they got him a fight on short notice.

    29. GS

      Yeah.

    30. JR

      And he had to lose a lot of weight, and he had all these cramps. And he just ... He fucked up. Roberto Duran fucked up. That's what it was. I mean, he got fat, and he was way out of shape. There's a lot of variables. But in the first fight, clearly Sugar Ray Leonard, he, you know, he fought very well, but Du- Duran won that decision. It was just-

Episode duration: 3:34:41

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