The Joe Rogan Experience

JRE MMA Show #113 with Chad Mendes

Chad Mendes is a retired UFC Featherweight fighter, avid hunter, and owner of the outdoor guide service Finz and Featherz.

Chad MendesguestJoe Roganhost

Jun 26, 20242h 59mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Chad Mendes Returns For Bare-Knuckle Boxing, Redefines Life After UFC

Joe Rogan and Chad Mendes cover Mendes’ transition from elite MMA fighter to entrepreneur and hunter, and why he’s now returning to competition in bare-knuckle boxing. They dig into fighter pay, weight cutting, long careers in combat sports, and brain health in training. A large portion explores hunting, wildlife management, and food—especially how diet changes, carnivore eating, and wild game affect Mendes’ health and psoriasis. The conversation closes with Mendes’ business ventures, including guided hunts, freeze‑dried meals, and a high-end beef company, plus details of his upcoming bare-knuckle debut.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Channel competitive drive into new ventures after retiring from sports.

Mendes describes falling into a brief depression after leaving MMA until he poured that same intensity into building brands and companies, which restored his sense of purpose.

Plan for a second career and financial resilience beyond fight purses.

The discussion highlights how canceled bouts, bad decisions, and injuries can erase income, underscoring the need for fighters to build businesses, savings, or insurance structures outside the cage.

Minimize brain trauma in training to extend performance longevity.

Mendes contrasts old-school hard sparring—where teammates regularly got concussed—with more modern approaches emphasizing controlled sparring, technical drilling, and longevity-minded coaching.

Reconsider extreme weight cuts; fighting closer to natural weight can improve performance.

He recounts drastic cuts to 145 and wrestling at 125, noting he felt best when he moved up weight classes and argues MMA should adopt more weight classes and discourage massive dehydration.

Use elimination diets experimentally to troubleshoot chronic conditions.

Mendes’ psoriasis dramatically improved within weeks on a strict carnivore diet; by slowly reintroducing foods (fruit, some grains, honey) he learned which items flare symptoms and which don’t.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

After fighting, I had to channel that energy somewhere or I almost fell into a depression.

— Chad Mendes

One of the most difficult things for a fighter is stopping fighting, because you don’t know what to do with all this intense energy.

— Joe Rogan

I’m coming back to fighting…but I’m not coming back to MMA. I’m coming back to boxing—and I think we’re gonna throw some bare knuckle in there.

— Chad Mendes

I’m so against big weight cuts, man. I fucking hate it.

— Chad Mendes

They never talk about your health—losing weight, exercise, vitamins. It’s just a bunch of fat people eating McDonald’s trying to get a vaccine.

— Joe Rogan

Mendes’ retirement from MMA and return in bare-knuckle boxingFighter identity, post-retirement depression, and channeling competitive energyFighter pay, bad judging, injuries, and insurance concepts in combat sportsExtreme weight cutting, performance, and long-term health in MMATraining philosophies: hard sparring vs brain preservation; obsessive coachesCarnivore and meat-heavy diets, psoriasis improvement, and individualized nutritionHunting, predator–prey dynamics, wildlife management, and ethical meatMendes’ businesses: Fins & Feathers hunts, Peak Refuel meals, American Almond Beef

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