JRE MMA Show #113 with Chad Mendes

Chad Mendes 0:00 (drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

Joe Rogan 0:04 The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays) All right, we're up and running. Money Mendez, what's up?

Chad Mendes 0:14 What ... What's happening? Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 0:14 Good to see you, brother.

Chad Mendes 0:15 Thanks for having me.

Joe Rogan 0:16 Finally, man. We've been talking about doing this a long time.

Chad Mendes 0:18 Too long, bro.

Joe Rogan 0:19 Oh, Jesus.

Chad Mendes 0:19 Whoa. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 0:19 Look at that, Jamie. We splattered. I tried to, uh-

Chad Mendes 0:23 Oh, we got it sorted.

Joe Rogan 0:23 ... push the plunger down on the, uh, French press and it, it splattered everywhere. So if my microphone explodes-

Chad Mendes 0:30 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 0:31 ... we know why. Sorry, this, uh, this table needed a little seasoning.

Chad Mendes 0:35 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 0:36 Needed some color.

Chad Mendes 0:36 I'm gonna throw one over here. I'll get this thing.

Joe Rogan 0:38 It's all right. So, uh, what's happening, man? How you doing? How's the retirement life?

Chad Mendes 0:42 Oh, man.

Joe Rogan 0:43 Well, retirement from fighting, but-

Chad Mendes 0:45 Yeah, not ...

Joe Rogan 0:45 But maybe not really.

Chad Mendes 0:47 No, man. I'm actually more busy now not fighting. I'm actually, uh ... I wanna get back into the training part of it so it can slow down a little bit. But it's been good, dude. It's, uh ... We got a ton of stuff going on, a lot of stuff on the plate. My wife's about to kill me, but ...

Joe Rogan 1:03 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 1:04 (laughs) But we got some shit going.

Joe Rogan 1:06 What, for y- you're working too much?

Chad Mendes 1:07 Too much, man. Way too much. But it's good, man. I, I ... You know, after fighting, I had to channel that, like, that energy of getting shit going and, and being successful somewhere. I almost felt like I jumped into a little bit of a depression there for, like, a couple weeks after, because I had, like, no sense of doing, you know.

Joe Rogan 1:29 Right.

Chad Mendes 1:29 And so I was like, "Fuck it. I'm gonna start just gr- trying to grow a couple brands and, and building a couple companies and see what happens." So I was like, honed all my energy onto that stuff, and, uh, uh, it definitely took over. So it's, it's been nice. It's been fun being able to just basically channel that stuff into that and let it rip.

Joe Rogan 1:47 It's one of the most difficult things for a fighter is the stopping fighting, but you don't know what to do with all this-

Chad Mendes 1:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:53 ... intense energy that you've been focusing your whole life i- in one way, and now all of a sudden ... And for a lot of fighters, it's like their whole identity, right?

Chad Mendes 2:03 It is, man. Like I, I started wrestling when I was five years old. Like I, I wrestled from five years old every single year up and through college, and then the day after graduation, drove up to Faber's, fucking lived in his ... Uh, I lived in his spare room and started training. Trained for three months and had my first pro fight, and then just basically-

Joe Rogan 2:25 Never stopped?

Chad Mendes 2:25 ... would not have ... Never stopped.

Joe Rogan 2:26 Wow.

Chad Mendes 2:26 And so it's like when you have that identity of, of an athlete and then that's, like, your routine, that's what you do, like, when I stopped, I was just like, "Dude, what am I doing?"

Joe Rogan 2:36 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 2:38 Like, "What do I do with my life? (laughs) " Like, I ... I-

Joe Rogan 2:40 And how old are you now?

Chad Mendes 2:41 36. I just turned 36 in May.

Joe Rogan 2:43 So you're still in this, like, athletic zone-

Chad Mendes 2:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 2:46 ... where you're still ... You know, until you're in the ... Once you're around 40, people start going, "Man."

Chad Mendes 2:53 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 2:53 "Time to do something else."

Chad Mendes 2:55 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 2:55 But 36, it's like, man. Anderson was in his prime at 36.

Chad Mendes 2:58 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 2:59 You know?

Chad Mendes 2:59 I was gonna say, unless you're Dan Hindo-

Joe Rogan 3:00 Right.

Chad Mendes 3:01 ... or even Couture, but those are freaks.

Joe Rogan 3:03 Those are real ... Well, f- Couture didn't even start his career, I think, until he was 35.

Chad Mendes 3:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:09 I do- ... I wanna say he might have been ... It was '34 or '35 with his first UFC fight.

Chad Mendes 3:14 Yeah. It's crazy.

Joe Rogan 3:16 Let's find out what that is, find out. It's like 1997. I was there for it. That was the tournament, and it was, uh ... It was the same weekend that Tito Ortiz had his first fight, Guy Metzger had his first fight. Um, like, Tito beat Wes Albright.

Chad Mendes 3:33 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:33 I don't know how I remember that. And then he fought Guy, and Guy tapped him out. Guy caught him in a guillotine.

Chad Mendes 3:38 Yep. I remember watching those.

Joe Rogan 3:40 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 3:41 I, I remember going to, um, uh, Blockbuster. Do you remember Blockbuster?

Joe Rogan 3:45 Sure. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 3:46 Yeah. Me and my brothers would ride over there on our, on our bikes, and I'd go straight to the, the section that had all the VHS for the UFC-

Joe Rogan 3:53 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 3:53 ... events, and g-

Joe Rogan 3:54 Right next to, like, Faces of Death. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 3:56 Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yep. We'd grab as many as we could, take them home and sit there and just watch them for hours.

Joe Rogan 4:01 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 4:01 Yeah, man. It was cool.

Joe Rogan 4:02 I remember. I, I believe it was UFC 2 was the only one that was available. I, I, I believe you couldn't get UFC 1 on VHS for a while.

Chad Mendes 4:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 4:09 'Cause I think Rorion Gracie owned it or something.

Chad Mendes 4:12 I don't know.

Joe Rogan 4:12 I might be wrong about that. Yeah. He would have been, like, turning 34 that year. Aha. There you go. A couple months ... Like a month after. There you go.

Chad Mendes 4:18 That's crazy, man.

Joe Rogan 4:19 Yeah. 34 starting his career and goes on to become the light heavyweight and the heavyweight champion.

Chad Mendes 4:25 One of the best in the world. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 4:26 One of the best ever, and then fights, like, well ... for more than 10 years. So this is '97. When did he retire from the UFC?

Chad Mendes 4:35 I thought he was, like, 43 or 4-

Joe Rogan 4:38 Man. I mean, he fought Lyoto Machida. He was, like ... He was deep in his 40s.

Chad Mendes 4:43 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 4:44 Or in his 40s.

Chad Mendes 4:46 He wouldn't have been closer to 50. Would he have been? He c-

Joe Rogan 4:50 Well, when did he fight Lyoto Machida?

Chad Mendes 4:51 No, I can't-

Joe Rogan 4:52 2011. 2011. He would have been retired in 2011. Wow. Yeah. Dude, that's crazy. Fourteen years in. So yeah.

Chad Mendes 5:01 I can tell you I'm not fighting that long. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 5:03 So he's 48. He was 48.

Chad Mendes 5:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 5:05 Yeah. He's 48 when he fought Machida.

Chad Mendes 5:06 That's what I thought. He was almost 50.

Joe Rogan 5:07 Yeah, that's wild.

Chad Mendes 5:08 That's crazy. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 5:09 Yeah, that's super rare, though. Super rare. You know? Like, Bernard Hopkins was the only other guy that fought, like, at a world-class level to ... into his 50s.

Chad Mendes 5:21 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 5:21 Bernard was, like, at 50.

Chad Mendes 5:23 That's insane.

Joe Rogan 5:23 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 5:24 I mean, I hope that I feel that good to be able to compete when I'm 50, but ... I'll tell you what. I, I do a lot of hunting and fishing stuff with Hindo.

Joe Rogan 5:30 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 5:31 And that guy's like ...

Joe Rogan 5:32 Yeah, he's like a robot. He barely can move.

Chad Mendes 5:34 I'm like, "Dan," and he's like, "Huh." (laughs) It's like ...

Joe Rogan 5:37 Now, does he feel all right when you talk to him?

Chad Mendes 5:39 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 5:40 He still-

Chad Mendes 5:41 Like, that guy spars. He tells me he still spars.

Joe Rogan 5:43 Does he really?

Chad Mendes 5:43 Yeah. I'm like, "Dude, Dan, you're insane."

Joe Rogan 5:45 Why does he spar?

Chad Mendes 5:46 You know, it's ... It's a good workout. I'm like, "Dan, I could give you like 50 other things you can do that's a good workout that you don't have to spar, get punched in the head, but ..." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 5:54 He's so stiff, it's like ... Is he stiff because he's just stiff or is he in pain?

Chad Mendes 6:00 I think he's just stiff.

Joe Rogan 6:01 Even if he's in pain, he would never tell you.

Chad Mendes 6:02 No.

Joe Rogan 6:03 That was the, that's the thing.

Chad Mendes 6:04 He's got cauliflower hands. I, like, look at his hands sometimes and I'll just grab them.

Joe Rogan 6:07 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 6:07 And I'm like ...... dude.

Joe Rogan 6:09 (gasps) Yeah.

Chad Mendes 6:09 And they, they just feel hard, like harder than most people's bones, like in their hand. You're just like, "What?"

Joe Rogan 6:13 Well, all of Dan's body feels weird.

Chad Mendes 6:15 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 6:16 Like when you put your hand on his back, it's like mahogany.

Chad Mendes 6:18 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 6:18 It's like, like, "What are you fucking made out of, oak?"

Chad Mendes 6:20 It's just petrified wood, dude. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 6:21 Yeah. He's not... He doesn't feel like a regular person.

Chad Mendes 6:24 No.

Joe Rogan 6:24 I talked to the lady that massaged him. She goes, "I've never met someone more dense."

Chad Mendes 6:28 Yeah. He is dense.

Joe Rogan 6:29 Like he's just dense.

Chad Mendes 6:30 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 6:31 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 6:31 He's crazy, yeah.

Joe Rogan 6:32 Well, that's where he got all that power too, you know what I mean?

Chad Mendes 6:34 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 6:34 His whole body just fucking... (growls)

Chad Mendes 6:35 Oh, yeah. Yeah. He's so...

Joe Rogan 6:37 He's a, he's a odd dude.

Chad Mendes 6:38 He is. I love him.

Joe Rogan 6:39 (clicks tongue) He's amazing-

Chad Mendes 6:40 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 6:40 ... amazing person. I mean, you guys realize this guy competed, uh, as a heavyweight, knocked out Fedor. Remember that, right?

Chad Mendes 6:49 Oh, yeah. That's crazy.

Joe Rogan 6:49 Like and that was when Fedor was still Fedor. This is like... Fedor's still fighting, right? But this was like more than 10 years ago. This was in Strikeforce.

Chad Mendes 6:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 6:57 Crazy.

Chad Mendes 6:57 Yeah. We, we sat and watched, uh, a bunch of those highlights from a lot of those fights, uh... We were over at my buddy Chad Belding's house, and we're doing some filming and stuff. And we just sat down and everybody just kinda quit what they were doing and just watched that dude just KO dude after dude, and it's-

Joe Rogan 7:13 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 7:13 Everybody's like, "Man, Dan..." 'Cause like a lot of the girls that work there and stuff, that help us, they don't... I don't think they really understand who Dan Henderson is.

Joe Rogan 7:20 Right.

Chad Mendes 7:20 And they're just watching this stuff on TV and they're like, "Jesus." Dan's just like, "Uh, uh."

Joe Rogan 7:26 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 7:27 Just like, "Uh, uh," you know? It's like... I love the guy to death, man.

Joe Rogan 7:30 He's, he's quite a character.

Chad Mendes 7:31 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 7:32 He's quite a character, and a, a real pioneer. I was there for his first fight too.

Chad Mendes 7:35 Oh, yeah?

Joe Rogan 7:36 Yeah. That was, uh... I think his first fight was versus Alan Goes. If that wasn't his first fight in... I m- I mean, in the UFC. It was one of the first fights, and I, I think he was in like a tournament with Alan Goes.

Chad Mendes 7:50 Yeah, I remember him talking about that. I, I missed it-

Joe Rogan 7:52 I know.

Chad Mendes 7:52 ... I didn't see it, but he told me, if, if I remember right, um, he beat, he beat someone and then the crowd-

Joe Rogan 8:00 Carlos Newton?

Chad Mendes 8:00 ... the crowd got really upset by the call, and there was-

Joe Rogan 8:05 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 8:05 ... people storming the cage or the ring, I can't remember.

Joe Rogan 8:07 I think that was the Alan Goes fight.

Chad Mendes 8:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 8:09 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 8:09 People were pissed, you see.

Joe Rogan 8:11 Yeah. Yeah, that was, uh... (sighs) I don't r- remember the fight enough-

Chad Mendes 8:16 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 8:16 ... to comment on the decision, but I think some people were pissed at it.

Chad Mendes 8:19 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 8:20 But, you know, that's one thing that's never changed, shitty decisions.

Chad Mendes 8:24 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 8:24 I mean, they, they still exist. You know, Francis Ngannou had a very good point the other day that there should be some protection for fighters because, you know, losing half of your purse-

Chad Mendes 8:32 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 8:32 ... because someone made a bad call, there should be a way around that.

Chad Mendes 8:36 That's, that's funny you say that 'cause I, years ago, was talking with a buddy of mine and we were thinking of like an insurance plan for fighters-

Joe Rogan 8:43 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 8:43 ... just for that reason right there. For injuries, like say you're, you're... 'Cause this is a shitty thing that I don't... I mean, a lot of people probably know this, but you go through a 10-week training camp, and this has happened to me multiple times in my fight, in, in some fights, where the week before the fight, your, your opponent gets injured, they back out, they can't find anybody to fill in, and now your fight doesn't happen.

Joe Rogan 9:04 Right.

Chad Mendes 9:04 Well, guess what? You just went through all that training, paying your trainers, you know, you still got to pay managers and everything-

Joe Rogan 9:10 Yep.

Chad Mendes 9:10 ... for, for every- everything they do work-wise. You don't get paid.

Joe Rogan 9:14 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 9:14 So you're just like, "Damn it, man." And then you get pushed back-

Joe Rogan 9:16 And for some fighters-

Chad Mendes 9:16 ... two months.

Joe Rogan 9:16 ... if you get injured after that, you're talk... I mean, what, what if you tear an ACL after that?

Chad Mendes 9:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 9:20 Then you're a year and a half out.

Chad Mendes 9:22 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 9:22 Like, oh, Jesus Christ.

Chad Mendes 9:23 Yeah, but yeah.

Joe Rogan 9:25 Yeah, it's a hard world.

Chad Mendes 9:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 9:26 It's a hard world.

Chad Mendes 9:27 I wish somebody would come up with... I don't have the capacity now to do it, but (laughs) I think it would be a smart business move, and it would be cool for fighters to have, for sure.

Joe Rogan 9:35 (clicks tongue) Well, you know, there's a lot of uproar this weekend because of, uh... Who's the gal that was in the co-main event who won and then she got the $50,000, uh, win bonus?

Chad Mendes 9:45 Yeah, I saw. I saw the videos, uh-

Joe Rogan 9:46 See if you can pull up her, her name. And people were really mad at the UFC because of her reaction, 'cause it changed her life.

Chad Mendes 9:54 Mm-hmm. Was-

Joe Rogan 9:55 And... Go ahead.

Chad Mendes 9:57 Was this the same girl that I saw started a GoFundMe page or something?

Joe Rogan 10:00 Did she?

Chad Mendes 10:01 I remember seeing... There was a female fighter that started a GoFundMe page.

Joe Rogan 10:05 I don't know.

Chad Mendes 10:05 And it could be her, I don't know, but I did see the video of her where she's like taking a drink of her Coke and then-

Joe Rogan 10:10 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 10:10 ... just like-

Joe Rogan 10:11 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 10:11 ... hits the ground.

Joe Rogan 10:12 Yeah, that's it. Yeah. So go back up. That's it. Go... So, yeah. Cheyenne Buys banks a bonus for UFC 33 co-main event finish. So it was a beautiful finish. The, uh... She, she caught the girl with a head kick and then finished her off. It wa- it was pretty awesome, but afterwards, they were talking about fighter pay.

Chad Mendes 10:35 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 10:36 You know, and she was, uh, she was crying and, and then all these people got online and they started complaining about the UFC. And I k- I see, I, I see everybody's point. I see their point and I also see the UFC's point, because a lot of people don't know who she is yet. I mean, they-

Chad Mendes 10:55 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 10:55 ... know who she is more now, but the whole thing about this sport is how many people are going to watch you fight.

Chad Mendes 11:02 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 11:03 That's really what it is. How exciting are you? How entertaining are you? Uh, how engaging are you, your personality? And h- do you put asses in the seats? I mean, it's clear now, you know, who puts asses in the seats, and those are the people that get the most money.

Chad Mendes 11:19 Yep.

Joe Rogan 11:19 And it's, um... It, it's, it's a complicated thing for people, you know, because they think, "Well, the best fighters should make the most money." And you go, "Yeah, but the best fighter doesn't put the most asses in the seats."

Chad Mendes 11:33 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 11:33 And that's what this game is all about. It's a weird-

Chad Mendes 11:36 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 11:36 ... sport, right?

Chad Mendes 11:37 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan 11:38 It's like it's prizefighting, but it's also entertainment.

Chad Mendes 11:41 Yeah. And it's... I mean, it is tough for a lot of guys, y- because bottom line, n- you know, you could be the best in the world. I'm gonna... I, I hate using this as an example 'cause I love the guy, Demetrious Johnson.

Joe Rogan 11:51 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 11:52 In my opinion, was one of the best UFC fighters to ever-

Joe Rogan 11:54 Ever.

Chad Mendes 11:54 ... sta- stand in there.

Joe Rogan 11:55 Of all time.

Chad Mendes 11:56 But it's like he-

Joe Rogan 11:56 If not the best.

Chad Mendes 11:57 He, for whatever reason, and it's probably because... And I feel like I'm kinda the same way. We're not shit talkers, we're not guys that cause that drama and make things dramatic. We just wanna get in there, compete and kick someone's ass and-

Joe Rogan 12:10 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 12:10 ... go have some fun doing other things that we enjoy.... and, uh, you know, it ... I don't think he, he moved the needle at all, you know. And, and people were saying that, so-

Joe Rogan 12:21 He was also 125 pounds.

Chad Mendes 12:22 Exactly.

Joe Rogan 12:22 And that's a, that's a-

Chad Mendes 12:23 And I think that's another issue too.

Joe Rogan 12:24 That's a big issue.

Chad Mendes 12:24 Not an issue, but it's a, you know, it's, it's something. People want to see these big guys just go in there and k- KO people, bottom line, but-

Joe Rogan 12:30 Yeah. Isn't it interesting? Because 135 is really popular.

Chad Mendes 12:34 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 12:34 It's only 10 pounds.

Chad Mendes 12:35 I know.

Joe Rogan 12:36 It's kinda crazy.

Chad Mendes 12:36 Yeah. I don't (laughs) I don't understand it, but-

Joe Rogan 12:38 But it's, it's w- weird. It's like, you can't be the smallest.

Chad Mendes 12:41 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 12:41 You can be the second smallest-

Chad Mendes 12:43 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:43 ... and everybody's like, "All right, I'm all in-

Chad Mendes 12:44 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:44 ... with these bantamweights." Like, that fucking TJ Dillashaw-Sandhagen fight from last weekend was amazing.

Chad Mendes 12:51 Jesus.

Joe Rogan 12:51 Amazing.

Chad Mendes 12:52 Man, TJ was supposed to come-

Joe Rogan 12:54 What a fight.

Chad Mendes 12:54 ... do our tuna tr- our Fins and Feathers tuna trip, and we knew it was a 50/50 chance that, you know, whether he had broken hands or something-

Joe Rogan 13:01 Right.

Chad Mendes 13:01 ... that he wouldn't be able to come, but-

Joe Rogan 13:03 His knee's mangled, right?

Chad Mendes 13:03 Oh, yeah. He had to have surgery, and he sent me pictures.

Joe Rogan 13:06 Did he have the surgery?

Chad Mendes 13:07 I think he already had surgery, yeah.

Joe Rogan 13:08 How bad is it?

Chad Mendes 13:09 Uh, I don't ... I think, I think he said it's a three-month recovery, but-

Joe Rogan 13:13 Wha- That's it?

Chad Mendes 13:14 Yeah. I don't even know if I should be saying all this on here. Sorry, TJ, but I don't know if you-

Joe Rogan 13:18 Sorry, TJ.

Chad Mendes 13:18 Yeah, I don't know if you want this out or not, but, uh, yeah, man, I know he was, he was pretty mangled up from, from it. He was-

Joe Rogan 13:24 Yeah, man. I mean-

Chad Mendes 13:25 ... on crutches.

Joe Rogan 13:26 It looked like it was the heel hook, if I had to guess.

Chad Mendes 13:29 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 13:29 Like, a lot of people are saying he wren- wrenched it on the way out, but there's a moment where Sandhagen catches him in a heel hook.

Chad Mendes 13:34 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 13:34 And he's yanking on it, and the way I'm looking at it, I'm like, "Man, that could rip your shit apart."

Chad Mendes 13:39 Yeah. He didn't tell me what it was from. He just showed me photos of-

Joe Rogan 13:43 (sighs) Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 13:43 His knee was just huge. His knee, his ankle-

Joe Rogan 13:45 He probably barely knew.

Chad Mendes 13:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 13:46 Probably barely knew.

Chad Mendes 13:47 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 13:47 If his ankle was fucked too, that even lends more credibility-

Chad Mendes 13:50 Mm-mm.

Joe Rogan 13:50 ... to the possibility that-

Chad Mendes 13:51 It could've been opposite sides too. I'd have to-

Joe Rogan 13:53 Mm.

Chad Mendes 13:53 ... look at the photos, but I do know, I talked to TJ like a week before the fight, and he was like, "Man, this is probably the most injured I've ever been going into a fight." But he's like, "Fuck it." And TJ's just a tough son of a bitch, you know?

Joe Rogan 14:04 He's a tough motherfucker.

Chad Mendes 14:05 Yeah. He's a tough son of a bitch, so-

Joe Rogan 14:06 And people give him a lot of shit for that EPO thing, and-

Chad Mendes 14:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:09 I ... And he deserves it, and he'll tell you he deserves it.

Chad Mendes 14:11 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:12 But, look, that motherfucker was dying making 125. Like-

Chad Mendes 14:16 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:16 ... literally dying.

Chad Mendes 14:16 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 14:16 I've never seen anybody look worse walking around, like, when they were filming him. Not even the day he was making weight-

Chad Mendes 14:24 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 14:24 ... but, like, up to the day of making weight, he looked like a fucking skeleton.

Chad Mendes 14:28 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:28 Horrible.

Chad Mendes 14:29 I'm so, I'm so against big weight cuts, man.

Joe Rogan 14:31 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 14:31 I fucking hate it. I, you know, I cut tons of weight throughout college for wrestling, and, you know, my senior year, I finally just put my foot down and was like, "Look, I'm going up two weight classes. I'm not cutting to 125s anymore."

Joe Rogan 14:44 Wow.

Chad Mendes 14:44 Dude, I used to cut to 125s, and I was making weight two times a week, you know, wrestling. And I went up to 141s and was undefeated the entire year. My only loss came in the NCAA finals. It's the best I had ever felt, and I'm like, "Dude, why did I not do that my whole life?"

Joe Rogan 14:59 Isn't it amazing?

Chad Mendes 15:00 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:00 It's like you're doing this ... I- I'm, I'm fully against weight cutting in MMA.

Chad Mendes 15:05 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 15:05 Period. And you could probably apply it to all combat sports, because I think what it is, even though, uh ... It's no disrespect to anybody who does it, but I think it's sanctioned cheating. I really do.

Chad Mendes 15:16 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:16 'Cause if you're saying you're the ... Like, let's say, uh, Kamaru Usman is the 170-pound champion. Kamaru Usman weighs 170 pounds for about 20 minutes.

Chad Mendes 15:24 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:25 I mean, that guy is massive.

Chad Mendes 15:27 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 15:27 You know? He's, he's a solid 200 or close to it.

Chad Mendes 15:30 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:30 He's a thick fella.

Chad Mendes 15:31 Uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 15:32 You know? He's not really 170 pounds. And that's n- no fault of his own. Everybody he fights is the same way.

Chad Mendes 15:38 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 15:38 Whether it's Masvidal or, you know, you know, all of them, everybody he fights. They're all big people.

Chad Mendes 15:44 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 15:45 You know, Tyron was a, a giant guy at 170. He was never really 170 either.

Chad Mendes 15:49 No.

Joe Rogan 15:49 But if they just fought at their weight class, like what they actually weigh, I think they would feel better. They'd perform better. I think you'd, you'd have a longer career. You'd probably have less injuries, more-

Chad Mendes 16:01 More exciting fights, I think.

Joe Rogan 16:02 ... exciting fights.

Chad Mendes 16:02 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:02 You'd have more energy.

Chad Mendes 16:03 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 16:03 You know, and I think the solution is the UFC needs more weight classes.

Chad Mendes 16:07 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 16:07 I really believe that every 10 pounds is the way to go.

Chad Mendes 16:10 I, I agree. And I, I was the same way, man. I would cut to 45s, and I would put on about 20 pou- 18 to 20 pounds that night.

Joe Rogan 16:17 Yeah, you're looking thick right now, fella.

Chad Mendes 16:19 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 16:19 You look about 180. What do you weigh?

Chad Mendes 16:21 70.

Joe Rogan 16:21 Cut the shit.

Chad Mendes 16:22 I'm 170.

Joe Rogan 16:23 I'll bring a fucking scale out here right now.

Chad Mendes 16:24 Let's do it (laughs) .

Joe Rogan 16:25 Look how thick you are. You look like a gorilla.

Chad Mendes 16:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 16:29 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 16:29 I was just trying to be like you, Joe.

Joe Rogan 16:30 But you weighed 145, man. How ... What ... How vicious was that cut for you?

Chad Mendes 16:35 It was pretty brutal. I mean, I walked around ... You know, when I was making weight consistently and training consistently, you know, two, sometimes even three times a day, uh, dude, I walked around like 168.

Joe Rogan 16:49 Whoo.

Chad Mendes 16:49 165 to 168, and I was cutting down to 45s, 146.

Joe Rogan 16:52 And how would you do it with ... How many pounds would you lose day of weigh-in?

Chad Mendes 16:56 Usually, I would try to get down to about five the day of, and I would cut all water weight, five to six sometimes even.

Joe Rogan 17:03 So, would you just really restrict your diet the week of?

Chad Mendes 17:06 Yeah. I mean, I'd, I'd say probably. I mean, I ate pretty clean throughout. Um, about three weeks out, I really started cutting back on portion size, and then-

Joe Rogan 17:16 Look at you. Jesus Christ, son. Shredded.

Chad Mendes 17:18 (laughs) Lean.

Joe Rogan 17:19 Shredded.

Chad Mendes 17:20 Yes. Uh, yeah, I haven't looked like that in a while, bro (laughs) .

Joe Rogan 17:24 2014.

Chad Mendes 17:26 But-

Joe Rogan 17:27 Well, that's ... The funny thing is that's what everybody likes. They like to see people look like that, but that shit ain't healthy.

Chad Mendes 17:32 No, dude. I would feel-

Joe Rogan 17:32 Like that bodybuilder look.

Chad Mendes 17:33 ... like shit, yeah. Like, I-

Joe Rogan 17:34 Those guys are dying.

Chad Mendes 17:35 Yeah. I would, I would get my ass kicked if I fought right there.

Joe Rogan 17:39 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 17:39 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 17:39 Isn't it crazy though?

Chad Mendes 17:40 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:40 Because everybody thinks-

Chad Mendes 17:41 Thinks you look so tough, yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:41 God, he looks amazing 'cause you can see his six-pack.

Chad Mendes 17:44 No, I'm weak. I'm ... (laughs) Yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:45 So tired, right? He looks so different in the mirror. See? That's different.

Chad Mendes 17:48 That's, that's the next day.

Joe Rogan 17:48 That's ready to go.

Chad Mendes 17:49 Yeah, yeah. I'm all-

Joe Rogan 17:50 All right.

Chad Mendes 17:50 ... full of water and-

Joe Rogan 17:52 And ready to go.

Chad Mendes 17:52 Yep, ready to go. I got a full belly. ... you know, you don't always feel 100% the next day. I don't think I ever felt 100% for any fight. You know, you cut that much weight, you feel good, but when you get in there and it's like ... I could go through 10 rounds of ... 10 five-minute rounds and be just relentless in training, being able to eat and be hydrated. And then you get in there and obviously nerves play a big factor too but, you know, three rounds you're already like, "Fuck, man. I feel this." You know? And-

Joe Rogan 18:43 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 18:43 ... I don't know if that's from dehydrating so much, my body's just not back to full or-

Joe Rogan 18:50 It has to have an effect.

Chad Mendes 18:51 Yeah. I, I think it does.

Joe Rogan 18:52 It has to.

Chad Mendes 18:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 18:53 It just has to. You know what I mean?

Chad Mendes 18:54 Right.

Joe Rogan 18:54 It's just, it's just not good for you. It's-

Chad Mendes 18:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:56 And it's so counterproductive. It's c- It's counterintuitive, like 24 hours before literally one of the most dangerous things in all of sports-

Chad Mendes 19:03 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 19:04 ... a cage fight, you're gonna dehydrate yourself literally to the point of death. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 19:08 Yeah. Dude, and I ... My Frankie fight, I think I, I messed up big time. I, I was using, um, (smacks lips) uh ... God, I can't remember his name. Um, it was a dietician, which I'd never used any through any of my fights before that.

Joe Rogan 19:21 You've never used any, like Dolce or any of those guys?

Chad Mendes 19:24 I never did. Like I, I asked them for some advice here and there from time to time, but, God, I can't remember this dude. It's, uh-

Joe Rogan 19:29 Lockhart?

Chad Mendes 19:30 Lockhart. Yep. And used th- those guys, and it was a whole system and there was, like, natural diuretics that you use and, you know, and I'd never done any of that. And I just think it dehydrated my head too much or something. Like-

Joe Rogan 19:42 Really?

Chad Mendes 19:43 I mean, if you watched the fight, Frankie, like, barely clipped my nose and it was just, like, lights out.

Joe Rogan 19:48 Wow.

Chad Mendes 19:48 You know? I've been hit ... fucking been hit by f- Aldo harder than that-

Joe Rogan 19:52 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 19:52 ... and just, like, bounced back, you know? And it's like ... I don't know. It's just one of those things. Like, I never did that after. But-

Joe Rogan 19:59 Well, a lot of people, like, when they make a cut ... Like, Aldo's a good example, right? Like, Aldo was the king at 45 forever. Now he's figured out how to get to 35-

Chad Mendes 20:08 Mm-hmm. It's insane.

Joe Rogan 20:08 ... and he looks fucking great.

Chad Mendes 20:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 20:10 Looks great at 35. But he had to figure it out.

Chad Mendes 20:13 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 20:13 He had to dial it in. And he had to do it several times until he really got it down.

Chad Mendes 20:17 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 20:17 And now he's-

Chad Mendes 20:17 I think he, too. He's lost musc- a lot of muscle mass.

Joe Rogan 20:20 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 20:20 You gotta ... You have to.

Joe Rogan 20:21 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 20:21 Like, when I cut to 25s, like, I just ha- You gotta do a lot of fasting, like fasted cardio, fasted workouts to where your body's basically eating your muscle.

Joe Rogan 20:31 Mm-hmm. Yep.

Chad Mendes 20:32 You know, you feel like shit when it's happening, but you're shrinking up. And then once you get to that point where you, you know, where you wanna be, your body kinda adjusts and gets used to it. And now, now that's your, your size, you know?

Joe Rogan 20:43 Yeah. When Cam was racing, when he was running, um, the Moab 240, he, he ... I forget what the exact calorie count was, but what he did was he b- like, let's say, burned 3,000 calories, ate 2,500 calories.

Chad Mendes 20:57 Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 20:57 And I was like, "Fuck."

Chad Mendes 20:59 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:59 Just hearing that made me tired.

Chad Mendes 21:01 Uh-huh. (laughs) Dude, I-

Joe Rogan 21:02 That's what he did.

Chad Mendes 21:03 He's a beast, man. That guy's such a beast.

Joe Rogan 21:06 He's got discipline on top of discipline.

Chad Mendes 21:08 It's crazy.

Joe Rogan 21:08 It's, it's, it's a wild thing to see.

Chad Mendes 21:10 I wish I could find that mindset that Cam has.

Joe Rogan 21:13 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 21:13 Like, how ... Like, where do you find that? I don't think you can, but ...

Joe Rogan 21:17 Well, I mean, he's sort of cultivated it over his life, you know?

Chad Mendes 21:22 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 21:22 And he's just made it more and more focused as he's gotten older and older-

Chad Mendes 21:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 21:26 ... and, and gotten used to the grind. And it's become just a natural part of his life. But it's ... What's fascinating is it's self-imposed, you know?

Chad Mendes 21:33 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 21:33 It's very few people have that kind of discipline. The, the only ones I know of like him are like him and Goggins.

Chad Mendes 21:39 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 21:40 And the difference between him is he has a full-time job, which is really crazy.

Chad Mendes 21:44 Yeah. It's nuts.

Joe Rogan 21:44 Full-time nine-to-five job and still has time-

Chad Mendes 21:47 And then-

Joe Rogan 21:47 ... to do all that other shit.

Chad Mendes 21:48 And then he'll go run a marathon, right?

Joe Rogan 21:50 Yeah. Yeah. He'll run a marathon a day.

Chad Mendes 21:52 A day. A day.

Joe Rogan 21:53 While he's ... Yeah. They tell you if you run a marathon, you're supposed to take months off.

Chad Mendes 21:56 Yeah. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 21:57 Okay. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 21:58 Yeah. I'm just gonna do a day. Every one a day. It's fucking crazy, man. I wi- I think I'd give up from the foot pain. Like, I see his feet, like, going into-

Joe Rogan 22:05 Oh.

Chad Mendes 22:05 ... those, those big races and I'm just like, "Dude." Like, I'm, I'm doing some boxing training, I get a blister on my toe and I'm like, "Fuck, ah, man."

Joe Rogan 22:12 Have you seen Goggins's feet?

Chad Mendes 22:13 Oh, dude.

Joe Rogan 22:14 There's a-

Chad Mendes 22:14 I can't imagine.

Joe Rogan 22:14 There's a photo of ... You know there's these, there's t- m- these memes going around when I sat down next to Conor, when Conor had a broken leg-

Chad Mendes 22:20 Yeah. Oh, yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 22:21 ... and I was interviewing him? It was me interviewing, like, the 9/11 Tower, and also-

Chad Mendes 22:24 (laughs) I saw.

Joe Rogan 22:24 And it's got me interviewing Goggins's feet.

Chad Mendes 22:27 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 22:27 Have you seen it, Jamie? If you can't find it-

Chad Mendes 22:30 You guys sent them, man.

Joe Rogan 22:30 ... I'll, I'll send it to you, Jamie, 'cause D- Dave sent it to me and it's just like-

Chad Mendes 22:34 It's so good.

Joe Rogan 22:34 It's so disgusting. His feet are so gross. Have you seen it? N- Not ... I mean, I know the feet picture, but ... Here, I'll find it for you. It's, it's so, it's so ridiculous.

Chad Mendes 22:42 All those memes were hilarious. It's so funny.

Joe Rogan 22:46 Yeah. Here, I'm gonna send it to you, Jamie. Yeah, there ... The internet wins always.

Chad Mendes 22:51 Always undefeated.

Joe Rogan 22:53 Here, Jamie. It's, uh ... But these feet, this is what happens when you run the kind of miles that, that Goggins runs. I mean, they're so disgusting. They're so destroyed.

Chad Mendes 23:04 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 23:05 And he keeps running on 'em. That's the thing. It's like, th- Look at that.

Chad Mendes 23:08 Oh, God.

Joe Rogan 23:09 Look at those toes. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 23:10 Dude, no. Ugh.

Joe Rogan 23:11 Look at his big toes.

Chad Mendes 23:13 Ugh. They look like they're about to fall off.

Joe Rogan 23:15 Yeah. Well, their, uh, their nails are gone. There's no nails.

Chad Mendes 23:18 Oh, man.

Joe Rogan 23:18 On both of 'em. They're cracked and destroyed.

Chad Mendes 23:22 Dude.

Joe Rogan 23:22 He has some crazy long toe phil- fingers too, right?

Chad Mendes 23:24 Yeah. Look at that.

Joe Rogan 23:25 Look how long his toes are.

Chad Mendes 23:25 It's almost like he's got another toe coming out of the one you're interviewing.

Joe Rogan 23:28 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 23:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 23:29 But they're like fingers.

Chad Mendes 23:31 The big t-

Joe Rogan 23:31 Look how long they are.

Chad Mendes 23:32 Yeah, dude.

Joe Rogan 23:33 That dude put some miles on those fucking feet, man. That is ...

Chad Mendes 23:37 It's unbelievable.

Joe Rogan 23:38 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 23:39 Yeah. I mean-

Joe Rogan 23:40 W- Well, he does it too, like, he was doing it with, like, some pretty serious meniscus damage. My friend, uh, operated on him and cleaned up some of his meniscus and said his meniscus was hard like leather.

Chad Mendes 23:51 Dude.

Joe Rogan 23:51 He said it's like he's never cut through meniscus like that before. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 23:54 That's insane. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 23:55 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 23:55 He's gotta get a saw to cut through it?

Joe Rogan 23:57 He said he bent the knife.

Chad Mendes 23:58 No.

Joe Rogan 23:59 Yeah. Like, legitimately.

Chad Mendes 24:00 Dude, that's crazy. I mean, I guess those guys are just so mentally tough, it's like-

Joe Rogan 24:04 He's hardening everything.

Chad Mendes 24:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 24:05 His bones-

Chad Mendes 24:06 I don't care.

Joe Rogan 24:06 ... meniscus, cartilage.

Chad Mendes 24:06 I feel pain, I don't care.

Joe Rogan 24:08 Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

Chad Mendes 24:09 Yeah. It's crazy.

Joe Rogan 24:10 I guess, you know, when you think about it, your body does adapt to a lot of shit.

Chad Mendes 24:13 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 24:14 The problem is most people never push past the pain that it takes to adapt to something like that.

Chad Mendes 24:19 I think that's key right there.

Joe Rogan 24:21 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 24:21 Yep. That's it.

Joe Rogan 24:22 Did you do a lot of running when you were fighting?

Chad Mendes 24:24 I did, but ... I did a lot of, uh, road biking. I, I liked riding, just kinda zoning out and just doing, you know, 40 miles, 50 miles, um, I don't-

Joe Rogan 24:34 Better on your knees too, right?

Chad Mendes 24:35 I think so, yeah. And my lower back. I, I ... When I run ... It's probably 'cause I'm top-heavy, but, yeah, I, I notice my lower back gets pretty sore. Like, I ran last night and it's sore today. But-... you know? It's just those things that, the aches and pains you gotta push through, you know?

Joe Rogan 24:49 Yeah. Um, do you wanna talk about that thing that you might be doing?

Chad Mendes 24:54 Yeah, let's do it. We got a big announcement.

Joe Rogan 24:55 Push this microphone in front of you.

Chad Mendes 24:56 That's it.

Joe Rogan 24:57 You just get ... there you go, like that. So tell me, what is th- what is this announcement? What's going on? Go on.

Chad Mendes 25:01 So I just signed a big contract, bro. I'm coming back to fighting.

Joe Rogan 25:04 Oh, no.

Chad Mendes 25:04 Yeah. In the great words of TJ Dillashaw, "Daddy's home, bitches."

Joe Rogan 25:09 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 25:10 (laughs) But I'm not coming back to MMA, man. Uh, I know that ... I've been seeing a lot of people's comment and they're kinda hoping that I am. Um, I'm coming back to boxing, man. I wanna try something different.

Joe Rogan 25:22 Now, you coming back to regular boxing or are you gonna do bare knuckle boxing?

Chad Mendes 25:26 I think we're gonna throw some bare knuckle in there, bro. Just mix it up, get real crazy.

Joe Rogan 25:31 Now, I've seen you, you're working out a lot.

Chad Mendes 25:34 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 25:34 You're hitting a lot of mitts. Like, were you doing that before or did you just have this ... D- did they contact you? Like, how did this come about?

Chad Mendes 25:41 So we've (sighs) I mean, this is actually something that's kinda been in the works for probably a year now.

Joe Rogan 25:46 Really?

Chad Mendes 25:46 Um, you know, I just ... For me ... Look, I just turned 36 in May and we were just talking about still having that, that desire. Like, when I, when I left the UFC, I was just about to have my first baby. Um, you know, we had... I had a lot on my plate. There was ... Obviously, I j- had just lost, but even going into that fight, (sighs) I had started a company, was working on a few other companies, and there was a lot that I was more excited about than competing at the time. And I mean, obviously we know that this sport is so brutal. Like, you ... If you don't have 100% mindset into it, you're gonna get fucked up, you know?

Joe Rogan 26:22 Hmm.

Chad Mendes 26:22 And it's ... For me, I was like, "Look, dude, I'm gonna take some time off." Um, "I'm gonna ... Or just, or just end it here. I have other things going on, and we'll see kinda what happens in the future." So, I decided to retire, talked it over with the wife, and that was, you know, what the game plan was. So, uh, fast-forward two and a half years later, um, you know, obviously I still have that desire. Um, and obviously my gr- my baby girl is bigger now. We are, uh, pregnant with a second and, uh, I just started thinking like, "Man, I'm getting older. I don't wanna get into my 40s and then basically still have this desire to compete and be like, it's too fucking late." You know? So I'm like, "Y- let's, let's start talking to some of these guys." I've always wanted to box, you know? Coming off of wrestling ... My s- my style even in the UFC was boxing and wrestling were probably my two favorite things to do. Like, I absolutely loved boxing sparring when I would be training through tu- through training camps, um, and then obviously wrestling too. But, um, I always wanted to try and compete in some type of boxing competition, um, and so, uh, bare knuckle actually reached out to Faber and was like, "Hey, do you think Mendes would ever be interested in this?" And I'm like, "I mean, I probably never thought about anything bare knuckle before, but, you know, boxing definitely would be fun."

Joe Rogan 27:39 Let me ask you this about bare knuckle. Why, why do they have those, like, really thick wraps that go all around the hand, but just expose the knuckle?

Chad Mendes 27:46 Mm-hmm. I'm ... And, and it's not-

Joe Rogan 27:48 Seems strange.

Chad Mendes 27:48 ... mandatory on anybody. Like, I see some guys where they just tape their hand.

Joe Rogan 27:51 Right.

Chad Mendes 27:52 But I, I think a lot of people do that for wrist support.

Joe Rogan 27:54 Right.

Chad Mendes 27:55 Like, you know, obviously you punch, like, a bag with no support on your wrist and a lot of the times it folds.

Joe Rogan 28:01 But didn't Joe Riggs get his eye cut because of one of the, uh ... when he fought Lombard? Didn't the wrap actually scrape his eye?

Chad Mendes 28:09 I heard that, yeah.

Joe Rogan 28:10 Hmm.

Chad Mendes 28:10 And it's ... You know, the ... I think that this is an organization that's still very brand new and they're s- probably still working all these kinks out. But, um, I mean, I'm probably gonna r- tape the shit out of my wrist, uh-

Joe Rogan 28:22 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 28:22 ... just for the, for the reason of support, but yeah, I think that's something that's, you know, it's definitely a possibility of getting cut on that stuff. But-

Joe Rogan 28:30 Do you know when you're fighting?

Chad Mendes 28:32 October 22nd.

Joe Rogan 28:33 Oh, Jesus.

Chad Mendes 28:34 Man-

Joe Rogan 28:34 It's coming up.

Chad Mendes 28:35 October 22nd.

Joe Rogan 28:36 Do you have an opponent?

Chad Mendes 28:37 No opponent yet, but it's, uh-

Joe Rogan 28:38 Really?

Chad Mendes 28:38 ... Chandler, Arizona is what they're saying, so.

Joe Rogan 28:40 What weight?

Chad Mendes 28:41 155s.

Joe Rogan 28:42 Okay.

Chad Mendes 28:43 So-

Joe Rogan 28:43 So you're not gonna have to cut-

Chad Mendes 28:44 No-

Joe Rogan 28:45 ... a shit load of weight.

Chad Mendes 28:45 ... that's what I told them. I said, "Look, dude. I ..." Li- we had just talked about-

Joe Rogan 28:48 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 28:49 "I don't wanna cut much anymore, you know. Obviously, I'm getting older. It's harder. It's gonna be hard as hell to make 45s, but, um, if I can go 55s, I would greatly appreciate that." And they're like, "No, that's actually better. You're gonna have more opponents to choose from." So, uh, I think that's what we're gonna do. Um, you know-

Joe Rogan 29:05 How many rounds?

Chad Mendes 29:06 Uh, they're five. Five, two-minute rounds, which I think is-

Joe Rogan 29:09 Why, why are they doing two-minute rounds?

Chad Mendes 29:10 I don't know why they're ... Maybe just ... I'm not sure exactly what their thought process on that, but I, I mean, I love that. I'm a explosive athlete, obviously. I think this ... I'm pretty much built for this style of fighting, you know? I can get in there, I can be fast, explosive, quick, um, powerful and, you know, it's a quick round. I don't have to, uh, you know-

Joe Rogan 29:30 Pace yourself.

Chad Mendes 29:31 ... pace myself-

Joe Rogan 29:32 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 29:32 ... grind out those five-minute rounds. I can just get in there and knock someone's head off and, uh, and be good. So-

Joe Rogan 29:37 That's gonna be a big difference for you, right?

Chad Mendes 29:39 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 29:39 Going from five-minute rounds-

Chad Mendes 29:40 To two-minute rounds, yeah.

Joe Rogan 29:41 ... to two-minute rounds?

Chad Mendes 29:41 Dude, I've been hitting mitts for two-minute rounds and I'm like, "I feel like I just started."

Joe Rogan 29:45 Right, right.

Chad Mendes 29:45 Like, I could go, you know ... I feel good. It feels great.

Joe Rogan 29:47 Are you training two minutes or are you doing longer so that you feel like two minutes is nothing?

Chad Mendes 29:53 We're gonna mix both in. And, and my thought process on that is, um, even when I was training for five-minute rounds, we'd do five-minute rounds, I don't ... We would do more of them, but I want my body, my mind to get used to exactly what it's gonna feel like. Because of that reason, like, "Holy shit, it's already over?"

Joe Rogan 30:10 Right.

Chad Mendes 30:10 You know? So I need to know, like, you know, basically where I'm at in the round, you know?

Joe Rogan 30:16 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 30:16 And, and I wanna get used to that, but I'm definitely gonna do some longer stuff too, or we'll do, you know, like 10, two-minute rounds, so you're basically just doing more of the exact same thing to where it's c- you know, you hit those five and it's like, "Shit, I could go another, another full fight here."

Joe Rogan 30:29 So how long did you have to think about this before you decided to do it?

Chad Mendes 30:33 (sighs) Well, like I said, it's been a, a whole year process, kinda going back and forth. Uh, my wife absolutely hates it (laughs) . She's like-

Joe Rogan 30:40 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 30:40 ... "You're fucking nuts." But, you know, as far-

Joe Rogan 30:44 She married a fighter.

Chad Mendes 30:45 I know, and that's what she's gotta ... She's gotta-

Joe Rogan 30:47 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 30:47 ... remember that, right? But, uh, um, no, man. It's, it's definitely something we sat down and had to, had to figure out because it's ... You know, it is something that's pretty brutal. And my, my argument to her was this. Like, I...A UFC glove may be 1/4 of an inch of leather, 1/2 inch of leather over my knuckles. I mean, it, the concussion's not going to be much different, if anything. I, I think we're obviously dealing with a sharper object hitting you, so cuts are probably gonna be a lot more prevalent. But as far as the concussion of, you know, getting hit, you know, I don't think it's gonna be much different. I also don't have to worry about a baseball bat head kick going whipping through and-

Joe Rogan 31:25 Right.

Chad Mendes 31:25 ... cracking me in the dome, either. Or-

Joe Rogan 31:27 Someone kicking your knees out.

Chad Mendes 31:28 ... a big knee. Yeah, uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 31:29 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 31:30 So, you know, there's a lot of other things in the MMA game that I think are a lot more dangerous. But, um, you know, for me, it's just, it had to make sense, obviously. The, the numbers they were throwing out in the beginning, it didn't make sense for me. I have, you know, other businesses that are, are doing really well right now that are, are something that I can do for the rest of my life and not have to ever fight. But I have that itch to get in there, compete still and I, I might as well do it now while I'm still in my prime and I have that opportunity. Because like I said, when I start hitting 38, 39, you know, maybe-

Joe Rogan 32:06 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 32:06 ... these opportunities have come and gone and nobody even really cares to see me fight anymore. Or, you know, I just don't feel good enough to get in there and do it. So ...

Joe Rogan 32:15 It's interesting how they're going after so many former UFC fighters. I mean, it's smart, right? These people are already famous. You know, they got Paige Vanzant, Hector Lombard.

Chad Mendes 32:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 32:26 Um, you now. Who else is over there? I know, uh, Leonard Garcia.

Chad Mendes 32:31 Oh.

Joe Rogan 32:31 Who else? Uh ...

Chad Mendes 32:33 Uh, Rochelle, uh, she just fought Paige. Uh, Is it Ostevich? Os-

Joe Rogan 32:39 Rachel Ostevich.

Chad Mendes 32:39 Ostevich, yes.

Joe Rogan 32:40 Yeah, yeah. Um-

Chad Mendes 32:41 Did you already say her? Sorry.

Joe Rogan 32:42 No, no, no, I didn't say her.

Chad Mendes 32:43 Um, I'm just trying to ...

Joe Rogan 32:44 Uh, so, they're doing a smart thing where they're getting-

Chad Mendes 32:48 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 32:48 ... popular fighters or, who are, you know, known for UFC fights mostly, and then just introducing the bare knuckle world to them.

Chad Mendes 33:00 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:00 And I know it's growing, right? I mean, it's, it's, it's, people are paying attention now. They're watching a lot of fights.

Chad Mendes 33:05 Yeah. I, I know, uh, Forbes just did a write up saying that it's the fastest growing combat sport in the world right now, you know, and ...

Joe Rogan 33:12 Well, I always thought that, like, it was weird that you could els- elbow somebody in the face.

Chad Mendes 33:17 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 33:17 You could head kick somebody with a bare shin. You can knee them in the nose with no pads, but your hands are covered-

Chad Mendes 33:23 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:23 ... with a pad.

Chad Mendes 33:24 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:24 I was, I was like ... But I used to say, like, "Why don't we just go bare knuckle?" Because first of all, it'll make grappling more realistic.

Chad Mendes 33:32 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 33:32 Like submissions.

Chad Mendes 33:33 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 33:33 You could sink in chokes and stuff much easier.

Chad Mendes 33:36 100%.

Joe Rogan 33:36 But then I saw Chris Leben versus, uh, who was it? Dakota ... What's his name? Anyway, Chris Leben's face got destroyed.

Chad Mendes 33:46 Yeah, uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 33:46 It was crazy, the cuts.

Chad Mendes 33:48 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 33:48 And I was like, "Oh, maybe bare knuckle's pretty fucked."

Chad Mendes 33:51 It is, and I think that's, you know, you're gonna have a lot of blood, which probably makes it pretty entertaining for a lot of people.

Joe Rogan 33:58 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 33:58 But yeah, cuts are definitely gonna be there. I mean, like you said, elbows though, in the UFC, like-

Joe Rogan 34:06 Oh, yeah.

Chad Mendes 34:07 ... you throw up against a cage and you elbow-

Joe Rogan 34:08 Just get slashed up.

Chad Mendes 34:08 ... somebody or even off, off their back and you're on top-

Joe Rogan 34:11 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 34:11 ... dropping elbows. I mean, those cut probably more than knuckles, I would imagine. But-

Joe Rogan 34:15 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 34:15 ... um, I think you get hit a lot more with punches than you do with elbows in a fight, and that's probably where m- more, more cuts would come in, but ...

Joe Rogan 34:23 How many of these things you gonna have?

Chad Mendes 34:25 Man, so, so here's the situation. I s- I'm still under UFC contract.

Joe Rogan 34:29 Really?

Chad Mendes 34:29 I still have fights on my UFC contract. So, you know, there still is a possibility that I come back and maybe I want to do one or two more UFC fights after this. We'll see. I'm gonna get in there and I'm gonna-

Joe Rogan 34:39 Is the UFC giving you a green light to do this? Is that how it works?

Chad Mendes 34:42 Yeah, uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 34:42 Interesting.

Chad Mendes 34:43 And so ... Which is super cool of the UFC. I mean, they basically could have just said, "Fuck you. You're not competing anymore." But-

Joe Rogan 34:47 Well, they kind of said fuck you to Georges St-Pierre when he wanted to fight-

Chad Mendes 34:50 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 34:50 ... Oscar De La Hoya.

Chad Mendes 34:51 Well, that's because it's Oscar. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 34:53 I know, but come on.

Chad Mendes 34:54 But, I know.

Joe Rogan 34:54 Man, that's a great payday for Georges.

Chad Mendes 34:56 Mm-hmm. I know, I know. Um, and in fact, some of that stuff was in the works for me. Like, we tal- ... I was ... My name was thrown in there with Oscar.

Joe Rogan 35:04 Really?

Chad Mendes 35:04 Yeah. Uh, which would have been freaking cool just to, say, you get in there and box a guy like Oscar. But yeah, they, they wanted nothing to do with any of that stuff. So, you know, for them to let me go-

Joe Rogan 35:14 Yeah, the UFC and Oscar do not get a-

Chad Mendes 35:15 They do not. Mm-mm.

Joe Rogan 35:15 It's Dana and Oscar do not get along.

Chad Mendes 35:18 Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 35:18 What is the source of that? Do you know?

Chad Mendes 35:19 I don't know, but I always see them talking shit to each other. It's, it-

Joe Rogan 35:23 So dumb.

Chad Mendes 35:23 Yeah, but ...

Joe Rogan 35:24 So dumb.

Chad Mendes 35:25 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 35:25 Like, who, who, you know, why?

Chad Mendes 35:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 35:27 What is? What's happening?

Chad Mendes 35:28 I don't know, but luckily, the payday I was talking about getting with them is what I'm getting in bare knuckle now. And, you know, obviously it would have been cooler to say that I'm boxing Oscar De La Hoya, but ...

Joe Rogan 35:40 Now I remember why. Oscar De La Hoya had that MMA organization for a short period of time-

Chad Mendes 35:45 Ah.

Joe Rogan 35:45 ... where he had Tito fight Chuck.

Chad Mendes 35:47 Ah.

Joe Rogan 35:47 Remember that?

Chad Mendes 35:48 Yep.

Joe Rogan 35:48 And he was talking all kinds of shit about the UFC.

Chad Mendes 35:50 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 35:50 And talking all kinds of shit about fighter pay.

Chad Mendes 35:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 35:53 And then he's one and done and the organization folds.

Chad Mendes 35:55 Yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan 35:56 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 35:56 Yeah. Understandable, but ... (laughs)

Joe Rogan 35:57 That's why. But they always do that, though.

Chad Mendes 36:00 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:00 They always come for the UFC.

Chad Mendes 36:01 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:02 When you're the UFC, it's like ...

Chad Mendes 36:04 That's got to be pretty, uh, cool for the UFC. Ne- uh, everyone's always trying to be the UFC or, or trying to create these MMA organizations that are trying-

Joe Rogan 36:12 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 36:12 ... to be on the level of the UFC. Nobody's ever gonna do that, you know?

Joe Rogan 36:16 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 36:16 And it's ... I mean, I get ... If somebody was talking shit to me, I would be like, "Fuck you too." Like, if I was in Dana's position, you know? But none of these guys are ever gonna touch the UFC or-

Joe Rogan 36:28 Well, the only one that's close is Bellator.

Chad Mendes 36:31 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:32 Bellator has-

Chad Mendes 36:33 And you-

Joe Rogan 36:33 ... some real legit talent right now.

Chad Mendes 36:35 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:36 Nemkov, um, uh, AJ McKee.

Chad Mendes 36:39 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:40 He's a bad motherfucker, dude.

Chad Mendes 36:41 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:41 The way he took out Pitbull in that last fight.

Chad Mendes 36:43 Yeah, mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:44 Dude, that guy is legit.

Chad Mendes 36:45 Whew, dude.

Joe Rogan 36:46 Legit. 18 and O, undefeated world champion, you know? I mean, come on, man.

Chad Mendes 36:51 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:51 Douglas Lima, world class. Michael Venom Page. They've got, they got legit talent over there.

Chad Mendes 36:58 Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:58 You know? They really do.

Chad Mendes 36:59 I-

Joe Rogan 36:59 Geard Mousasi.

Chad Mendes 37:00 Yeah. No, I agree, and I, I think the talent's been like that for a while now.

Joe Rogan 37:04 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 37:04 I mean, uh, uh, a lot of these guys have been there for a bit, but ...... I guess my thing was it's, (sighs) you know, you got so many people that are just like, "The UFC is, is the NFL." You know?

Joe Rogan 37:15 Yep. Yep.

Chad Mendes 37:15 And it's, you know, we'll see. I don't know if it'll ever be as big as UFC, but I just, you know, have pressure.

Joe Rogan 37:21 It is, it's, it's, it's odd that all of 'em have a name.

Chad Mendes 37:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 37:26 You know? Like, none of 'em are just like... Boxing is just Boxing.

Chad Mendes 37:29 Yeah. Uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 37:29 Right? Kickboxing is... I guess Kickboxing is the same because you have Glory, you had K-1, you had all these organizations. But it's odd that no one just says, like, Showtime MMA-

Chad Mendes 37:40 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 37:40 ... and then just has MMA on Showtime. Like-

Chad Mendes 37:42 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 37:42 You know? You know?

Chad Mendes 37:43 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 37:43 And that's like everything has to be like a Bellator-

Chad Mendes 37:46 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 37:46 ... or one FC. There's always like some name.

Chad Mendes 37:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 37:48 The PFL.

Chad Mendes 37:49 Uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 37:49 There's always something.

Chad Mendes 37:50 Yeah. Yeah. I-

Joe Rogan 37:51 The PFL I try to follow. The fights are great, but the, your fucking score system sucks.

Chad Mendes 37:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 37:55 Like, I'm like, "What are you saying?"

Chad Mendes 37:57 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 37:57 He's got points?

Chad Mendes 37:58 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 37:58 What is this? He moves up the rankings? He's got 600 for that and 35 for this.

Chad Mendes 38:02 (laughs) I don't get it either. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:02 Like, what the fuck are you doing, man?

Chad Mendes 38:04 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:04 Just have fights.

Chad Mendes 38:05 Yeah. Have you seen the, the, there actually was bare, bare knuckle MMA that just started. And I think that's... Was that, uh... God, who was it? It was a UFC fighter that started that I thought. Um, (smacks lips) (exhales) I just saw, it was a full MMA fight, though, bare knuckle, or it's gonna happen in-

Joe Rogan 38:22 Oh.

Chad Mendes 38:23 ... um-

Joe Rogan 38:23 I don't, I don't know about this at all.

Chad Mendes 38:24 No? Yeah, I don't-

Joe Rogan 38:25 No, I haven't heard of this.

Chad Mendes 38:26 Ah.

Joe Rogan 38:27 Jamie? Ho- Masvidal.

Chad Mendes 38:29 Oh, that's right. It was Masvidal.

Joe Rogan 38:29 Is it MMA?

Chad Mendes 38:30 Yes.

Joe Rogan 38:30 It's not Boxing?

Chad Mendes 38:32 No, it's full MMA.

Joe Rogan 38:33 Oh. I like it. I like it.

Chad Mendes 38:35 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:35 I think it should be that way. I really do.

Chad Mendes 38:37 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 38:37 People have a hard time with it because of the, the cuts and everything like that.

Chad Mendes 38:41 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 38:41 And I, I agree with you that it's easier to cut somebody, but they just-

Chad Mendes 38:45 I think-

Joe Rogan 38:45 They think it's more barbaric, but come on, man.

Chad Mendes 38:47 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:47 How, how-

Chad Mendes 38:47 But think, think about when the UFC came out. Like, everybody thought of the UFC as barbaric.

Joe Rogan 38:52 Yep.

Chad Mendes 38:52 Like, my manager was kinda going over this with me, uh, the other day. And he's like, "I remember trying to get sponsors when the UFC was kinda first taking off." And a lot of these companies were just like, "Oh, hell no." Like, "We can't be associated with that."

Joe Rogan 39:05 Right.

Chad Mendes 39:05 You know? And now it's, you know, it's... The UFC, MMA is, like, so accepted. Maybe this is gonna be the next, the next thing, you know? Who knows?

Joe Rogan 39:14 Could be.

Chad Mendes 39:15 But...

Joe Rogan 39:15 Yeah. I mean, Masvidal has a good chance of making it happen.

Chad Mendes 39:18 (laughs) Well, there you go.

Joe Rogan 39:18 I've said for a long time they should have it on a, like a football field.

Chad Mendes 39:22 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:22 Like, no-

Chad Mendes 39:23 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 39:23 No more cages.

Chad Mendes 39:24 Uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 39:24 Because the cage is a big factor. It's a big factor in the fight. I mean, if you can have basketball and you have it on this big ass court, how come you can't have a fight on a big ass court?

Chad Mendes 39:33 That's true. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:33 Just pad the shit out of it.

Chad Mendes 39:35 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 39:35 You know? (laughs) Make it so that, uh, there's like a, an area where you can't pass. You know?

Chad Mendes 39:43 And you just chase each other down and beat the shit out of each other.

Joe Rogan 39:46 Yeah. Don't, you know, don't let anybody run away. You can't-

Chad Mendes 39:49 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 39:49 ... just run away. You, like, you lose points for running away. But lateral movement's good.

Chad Mendes 39:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 39:53 Footwork is good. But-

Chad Mendes 39:54 Basically, there's no walls anywhere.

Joe Rogan 39:56 Yeah. Right.

Chad Mendes 39:56 So it's like you're just out in the open fighting.

Joe Rogan 39:58 'Cause think about like takedowns. Takedowns occur so often up against a cage.

Chad Mendes 40:03 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 40:04 Right? I mean, that's a big part of the strategy of getting someone up against a cage is taking them down. And then people use the cage to get back up onto their feet. Think about how few takedowns you'd have or h- or m- many less takedowns you'd have if you had no cage, and also how few people would get up.

Chad Mendes 40:21 It's true.

Joe Rogan 40:22 Get up less.

Chad Mendes 40:22 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 40:23 Yeah. It'd be more realistic.

Chad Mendes 40:24 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 40:25 Because the cages is a factor.

Chad Mendes 40:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 40:27 It is a factor.

Chad Mendes 40:27 And I guess in a street fight most of the time, you don't have a wall to climb up.

Joe Rogan 40:31 Right, unless you're fighting in a mall.

Chad Mendes 40:32 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 40:34 (laughs) It's, you know, it's, um, it's a factor. And the more-

Chad Mendes 40:38 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 40:38 ... factors you can cut out that are extraneous-

Chad Mendes 40:41 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 40:42 ... I think the better.

Chad Mendes 40:42 Mm-hmm. I like it. We might have to push that forward.

Joe Rogan 40:45 They did it in Russia, but they do everything in Russia.

Chad Mendes 40:47 Dude, I saw like a m- like a team fight.

Joe Rogan 40:50 Yep.

Chad Mendes 40:50 D- did you see it where like every... I don't understand the rules, but it's like everybody's just going at it.

Joe Rogan 40:55 Yeah, chaos. Yeah.

Chad Mendes 40:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 40:57 O- one side wears red, one side wears-

Chad Mendes 40:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 40:59 ... blue or whatever, and they just beat the fuck out of each other.

Chad Mendes 41:01 It's crazy.

Joe Rogan 41:01 I saw a three-on-one fight the other day. It was ridiculous.

Chad Mendes 41:04 Yeah, my, my, uh-

Joe Rogan 41:04 This is it.

Chad Mendes 41:05 Oh, yes. This is it.

Joe Rogan 41:05 Yeah, three on one. But the problem is the fuck- the guy's the same size. Like, I've seen two-on-ones where the one guy was big, but these three guys that fought this one guy, look, they're all the same size.

Chad Mendes 41:17 What the hell? So this isn't even like team versus team.

Joe Rogan 41:19 No.

Chad Mendes 41:19 It's one dude versus three.

Joe Rogan 41:21 Yeah. I, I just don't understand.

Chad Mendes 41:23 How do you-

Joe Rogan 41:23 This guy's seen too many Jackie Chan movies.

Chad Mendes 41:25 Yeah, what the hell?

Joe Rogan 41:25 They just bum-rushed this boy.

Chad Mendes 41:27 That's so good. (laughs) Like-

Joe Rogan 41:28 They threw him down and just started-

Chad Mendes 41:30 ... beating the shit...

Joe Rogan 41:30 ... hammer-fisting him in the face. Look at this. Look how they did it.

Chad Mendes 41:33 Oh, my God. Like, how, how could you expect to win? What the fuck? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 41:36 Uh, it's so ridiculous.

Chad Mendes 41:37 Like, did that guy actually expect to go in there and say like, "Oh, I'm gonna beat three dudes up."

Joe Rogan 41:42 The one guy just kinda held him down and then the other guys, the other two guys hammer-fisted him.

Chad Mendes 41:46 Good job, bro. Thank you.

Joe Rogan 41:47 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 41:47 Yeah. Thank you.

Joe Rogan 41:47 Thanks for hammer-fisting the fuck out of my childhood.

Chad Mendes 41:50 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 41:50 Now I can't think about the 7th grade anymore.

Chad Mendes 41:52 Ugh, dude.

Joe Rogan 41:52 Look at them. They're cheering, "Yes, go. Get more."

Chad Mendes 41:55 Man.

Joe Rogan 41:55 Yeah. Russia's wild.

Chad Mendes 41:57 They're nuts, man.

Joe Rogan 41:58 They're willing. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 41:58 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 42:01 They're willing to try.

Chad Mendes 42:02 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 42:02 Those fucking crazy people.

Chad Mendes 42:04 No.

Joe Rogan 42:05 It's, uh... I, I'm not in, I'm not interested in that. Uh, but I am-

Chad Mendes 42:08 No.

Joe Rogan 42:08 ... interested in removing as many factors as possible.

Chad Mendes 42:11 I like that. Yeah, I do.

Joe Rogan 42:13 I mean, when I first started doing commentary in '97 people didn't have gloves except Vitor and Tank and Scott Fairoza. Scott Fairoza had gloves too.

Chad Mendes 42:21 Hm.

Joe Rogan 42:22 Most people had no gloves.

Chad Mendes 42:23 Really? I didn't-

Joe Rogan 42:24 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 42:24 I guess I didn't know that.

Joe Rogan 42:25 Yeah, when Vitor fought Trey Tellemann, Trey Tellemann had, was, uh, no gloves. Just like a little bit of tape on his hands-

Chad Mendes 42:31 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 42:31 ... and that's it.

Chad Mendes 42:32 So basically we-

Joe Rogan 42:33 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 42:33 That was the bare knu- that was the start of the bare knuckle.

Joe Rogan 42:35 Mm-hmm. Or maybe Scott Fairoza didn't even have gloves back then. See if you could find a video of Scott Fairoza versus Vitor. I'm not sure if Scott had gloves.

Chad Mendes 42:45 Dude, that's crazy.

Joe Rogan 42:46 Yeah, Vitor was one of the first guys that had gloves on. And he just did it to protect his hands.

Chad Mendes 42:51 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 42:52 You know? And that was back when you could wear shoes too.

Chad Mendes 42:54 Ah, I do remember that, yeah.

Joe Rogan 42:54 A lot of guys wore shoes.

Chad Mendes 42:56 Yeah, man. I think that's my biggest fear with doing this bare knuckles, breaking my hands.

Joe Rogan 43:00 Vitor's 19. Look at that.

Chad Mendes 43:02 Oh, man.

Joe Rogan 43:03 Pit fighting. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 43:04 19 years old. Think back to-

Joe Rogan 43:06 Yeah. Six-

Chad Mendes 43:06 ... when I was 19.

Joe Rogan 43:07 He was 205 and that was his actual weight.... you know, because he didn't really-

Chad Mendes 43:12 Look at how, look how thick he was.

Joe Rogan 43:14 ... 2023. Jesus.

Chad Mendes 43:14 He was so thick.

Joe Rogan 43:15 This is pre-Bruce Buffer, son.

Chad Mendes 43:17 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 43:17 Look at that.

Chad Mendes 43:18 Look at that.

Joe Rogan 43:19 That was, uh, someone else doing the, uh, introductions. This was the first time, um, that I ever, was ever, uh, at a fight. I was doing the post-fight interviews. And this was, uh, the one in Dothan, Alabama.

Chad Mendes 43:31 (laughs) Were you just like, "What the fuck?"

Joe Rogan 43:33 What the fuck? Yeah, man.

Chad Mendes 43:34 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 43:34 I was ... This was '97. And, uh, I couldn't believe I was even there.

Chad Mendes 43:39 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 43:39 I was like, "This is so wild." It was supposed to be in New York, but then New York banned it. And then last minute they, uh, they, they had a backup plan. Bob Meyrowitz, who owned the UFC at the time, had a ab- ... Yeah, see, Scott's got gloves on too.

Chad Mendes 43:53 Oh, yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan 43:54 So he had gloves on and Vitor had gloves on but, uh, Trey Tellemann did not have gloves on.

Chad Mendes 44:00 S- So they weren't mandatory.

Joe Rogan 44:01 No.

Chad Mendes 44:01 The guys could do it.

Joe Rogan 44:02 So Trey had a, a- or excuse me, Scott had already won one fight and Vitor had won one fight.

Chad Mendes 44:07 Yeah, I saw that cut of him today.

Joe Rogan 44:09 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 44:09 God, look at Vitor.

Joe Rogan 44:11 He was so fast, dude.

Chad Mendes 44:12 He's a specimen.

Joe Rogan 44:13 And everybody thought that it was ... Oh, look at that straight left, man.

Chad Mendes 44:16 Geez, oh.

Joe Rogan 44:16 Boom! He was so fast. Knee on belly and just bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.

Chad Mendes 44:20 Lights out.

Joe Rogan 44:21 Well, he was ... He had legit Jiu-Jitsu.

Chad Mendes 44:23 Ju-

Joe Rogan 44:23 You know, he was-

Chad Mendes 44:24 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:24 ... from, uh, Carlson-Gracie lineage.

Chad Mendes 44:27 Oh.

Joe Rogan 44:27 And then the fastest hands you'd ever seen inside the octagon up until that point.

Chad Mendes 44:31 Dude. Man, that's a big dude-

Joe Rogan 44:32 Oh, yeah.

Chad Mendes 44:33 ... he's fighting. Look at that. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Joe Rogan 44:36 You thought the fight was still going on.

Chad Mendes 44:37 (laughs) Yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:38 And that was in ... Big John McCarthy was a house too-

Chad Mendes 44:40 Yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:40 ... so he had to separate people.

Chad Mendes 44:41 Big John.

Joe Rogan 44:43 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 44:43 I figure Big John's a tank too.

Joe Rogan 44:45 Oh, yeah, he's a huge fella and back then he was powerlifting, you know?

Chad Mendes 44:48 Mm-hmm. Oh, that's cool.

Joe Rogan 44:49 But the funny thing is he would knock guys out and go, "Jiu-Jitsu."

Chad Mendes 44:52 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:52 "Jiu-Jitsu." It was like, "Dude, you just used your hands, bro."

Chad Mendes 44:55 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 44:55 "That was boxing."

Chad Mendes 44:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:56 "Boxing." (laughs) But when he fought Trey Tellemann, Trey Tellemann was bare knuckle.

Chad Mendes 45:02 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:02 It was, uh ... You could grab shorts back then too.

Chad Mendes 45:04 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 45:05 Like, uh, I remember Walid Ismail was fighting somebody and the dude was grabbing his shorts and giving him a full-on wedgie.

Chad Mendes 45:10 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:11 Like, you could grab shorts. You could literally, like, hike 'em right up a dude's ass.

Chad Mendes 45:14 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:15 Like, there was a lot of crazy rules back then.

Chad Mendes 45:17 I think there's still groin, groin strikes too, huh?

Joe Rogan 45:20 Uh, yeah.

Chad Mendes 45:21 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:21 Joe Son and Keith Hackney.

Chad Mendes 45:23 I remember just ... Ugh, ugh.

Joe Rogan 45:23 Remember that? Keith Hackney just pounded him in the balls. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 45:29 Oh.

Joe Rogan 45:29 (laughs) Yeah, it was a, uh, crazy days back then, man.

Chad Mendes 45:31 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 45:31 Crazy days.

Chad Mendes 45:32 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:32 Guys wore gis and shit-

Chad Mendes 45:34 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:34 ... you know.

Chad Mendes 45:35 Could you imagine just having a dude sit there-

Joe Rogan 45:37 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 45:37 ... just uppercutting your nuts the whole time?

Joe Rogan 45:40 Is this, uh, the Trey Tellemann fight? Yeah. See, if you watch Tellemann-

Chad Mendes 45:43 Oh, yeah, he's-

Joe Rogan 45:44 ... he's, uh, he's got no gloves on if you watch. See?

Chad Mendes 45:47 Oh, man.

Joe Rogan 45:47 Look at that. And shoes. He had shoes on. Yeah, that was from a childhood, uh, car accident.

Chad Mendes 45:54 Was it? Yeah, he's missing his pec?

Joe Rogan 45:55 He had no pec, yeah, or, uh, some of his pec. That was the early days of the Lion's Den.

Chad Mendes 46:00 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 46:00 Remember that?

Chad Mendes 46:01 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:01 Lion's Den was the first-

Chad Mendes 46:03 Yep.

Joe Rogan 46:04 ... You know, like, it was like Lion's Den and then, like, Mirotic Fighting System-

Chad Mendes 46:07 Yep.

Joe Rogan 46:07 ... was in this sort of same era, but they were the first MMA teams. But the Lion's Den had, like, these crazy initiation, uh, like, tests that they have put guys through.

Chad Mendes 46:19 Really?

Joe Rogan 46:19 Basically, like, y- you know, just, like, try to break you mentally.

Chad Mendes 46:23 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 46:23 Yeah, they were well-documented, like, incredible, like, physical conditioning drills and then sparring and just, like, try to break you.

Chad Mendes 46:31 I like that.

Joe Rogan 46:31 They would try to break you.

Chad Mendes 46:32 Why don't we still have that today?

Joe Rogan 46:34 'Cause they're trying to preserve athlete's futures.

Chad Mendes 46:36 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 46:38 (laughs) What do you think about guys-

Chad Mendes 46:39 Uh.

Joe Rogan 46:39 ... that don't spar? Like, when you hear of guys don't spar.

Chad Mendes 46:42 I think it's weird, man. I, I mean, like, I get it-

Joe Rogan 46:45 But, like, look at Max Holloway.

Chad Mendes 46:47 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:47 When Max Holloway fought, uh, Kattar.

Chad Mendes 46:50 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 46:50 How good did he look?

Chad Mendes 46:52 Really good. And, and-

Joe Rogan 46:53 Right?

Chad Mendes 46:53 ... and Josh Emmett, m- one of my teammates-

Joe Rogan 46:55 Oh, yeah.

Chad Mendes 46:55 His last fight, which was one of the best striking fights he's ve- ever had, didn't ... He did, like, very, very light sparring movement.

Joe Rogan 47:03 How come?

Chad Mendes 47:04 I, I can't remember why, but my, my coach-

Joe Rogan 47:06 Like, an injury or something?

Chad Mendes 47:07 It could've been or that might just be the way that he's moving, like, he just doesn't wanna spar hard anymore, which I get. (coughs)

Joe Rogan 47:15 Especially the style of fighting that he has, like, he's such a brawler.

Chad Mendes 47:18 Yeah, he gets, like ... Oh, my God, I get... Like, when me and him go light sparring, both of us get our bells rung. Like, both of us are just like bulls in a china shop-

Joe Rogan 47:26 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 47:26 ... trying to go l- ... Like, neither one of us can go real light. It's tough.

Joe Rogan 47:29 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 47:29 But, um, no, he, he said I just ... I didn't spar hard. And I, I get it, because, you know, obviously most of the damage that I ever took through any of my fights was (laughs) through training camp.

Joe Rogan 47:43 Really?

Chad Mendes 47:44 Getting your bell rung multiple times or, you know, uh, obviously that stuff adds up and it's not good. I remember when we first got to team Alpha Male, like, it was like me, Benavidez, uh, um, Dillashaw, Danny Castillo, Justin Buckles. Like, we had all, all the UFC guys in there, and Faber, and we would just ... 16-ounce gloves, headgear, tape up, and just basically be trying to KO each other-

Joe Rogan 48:09 Pshh.

Chad Mendes 48:09 ... for the entire sparring session.

Joe Rogan 48:11 For sure.

Chad Mendes 48:11 You know? And I remember, there was guys that would get knocked out, like, you know, guys that would jump in and spar with us and, you know, would get knocked out. I remember one of the guys went out and sat in his car and he sat, he sat in the driver's seat for, like, 20 minutes and then didn't realize ... Like, he looked at his clock and he didn't realize he was there for that long. Like, he was basically concussed, like, really bad.

Joe Rogan 48:34 Just out of it.

Chad Mendes 48:35 Yeah, yeah. It was just, like, sitting there.

Joe Rogan 48:37 Jesus Christ. (laughs)

Chad Mendes 48:38 Yeah. It's not good, man. So we didn't know that. I mean, Dwayne's actually the one that kinda calmed us down when he came into team Alpha Male.

Joe Rogan 48:46 Lovely.

Chad Mendes 48:47 Like, "What the hell are you guys doing?" Yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:48 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 48:48 "Let's get some structure to this," you know?

Joe Rogan 48:50 Right.

Chad Mendes 48:51 And had drills and, you know, calmed us down, even in striking, like, "Let's go 30%. Let's go 50%." You know?

Joe Rogan 48:58 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 48:58 And, you know, you still get some asshole that's in there just like, "Ah!"... drop-off.

Joe Rogan 49:02 Right.

Chad Mendes 49:02 You know, he, he definitely kinda opened our eyes to the, the preserv- preserving of the brain-type sparring, you know, and, and, uh, it definitely helped. I think once we started doing that, everybody's technique got so much better.

Joe Rogan 49:17 Well, Duane is a master of technique.

Chad Mendes 49:19 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 49:19 I mean, he is one of those guys that emphasizes technique, that ta- technique is everything. What's so interesting to me about Duane's style of teaching is it's so much different than his style of fighting. It's like he realized something when he was done fighting, like, "You know what? I kinda know how to do this better."

Chad Mendes 49:36 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 49:37 And, like, the switching of stances and all the feints and the fakes.

Chad Mendes 49:40 Uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 49:40 But if you go back and watch his Muay Thai career or Duane's MMA career, I mean, amazing fights-

Chad Mendes 49:46 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 49:47 ... but he doesn't fight like TJ.

Chad Mendes 49:48 No.

Joe Rogan 49:49 No.

Chad Mendes 49:49 Not at all.

Joe Rogan 49:50 Like, he... But he taught TJ a better way to fight.

Chad Mendes 49:53 Yeah. Isn't that crazy?

Joe Rogan 49:54 It is crazy.

Chad Mendes 49:55 Like, I remember him when he was at Team Alpha Male, I think that was kinda the beginning of doing all that type of stuff. And I don't know if he was just kinda, like, testing all this stuff out on us, and then it'll, like, see what would take and then be like, "Oh, that works."

Joe Rogan 50:08 Right.

Chad Mendes 50:08 And then keep going that direction, and if you try something that doesn't, then just kinda throw it away. But, dude, I remember, I mean, obviously you know Duane, but caffeine, notepad, and that guy would just sit there. I don't think that guy sleeps. I mean, he'll sit there all night probably writing combos and, and-

Joe Rogan 50:24 He's obsessed.

Chad Mendes 50:25 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 50:25 He's obsessed.

Chad Mendes 50:26 And I, and I love that, man.

Joe Rogan 50:26 Yeah, yeah.

Chad Mendes 50:26 I love that. I love that about a coach that-

Joe Rogan 50:28 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 50:28 ... can go and do that, you know? It's... You have those very few coaches in your life that have that obsession, and you know that's something special.

Joe Rogan 50:37 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 50:38 And Duane has that.

Joe Rogan 50:39 Yeah, Mark Henry is another one of those guys, um, uh, in jujitsu, Danaher. Danaher is another one of those guys.

Chad Mendes 50:47 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 50:47 There's a few of those guys that have that absolute obsession-

Chad Mendes 50:51 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 50:51 ... with watching guys improve-

Chad Mendes 50:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 50:53 ... and, and figuring out what's the best technique. And, and also, like, Mark Henry's amazing because he develops combinations specific to each individual fighter and then names them-

Chad Mendes 51:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:06 ... based on, like, their kids-

Chad Mendes 51:07 That's cool.

Joe Rogan 51:07 ... or their friends or where they grew up or, you know-

Chad Mendes 51:10 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 51:11 ... for you, it'd probably be like, uh, the Archery El Cunt-

Chad Mendes 51:15 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 51:15 ... or something. He would yel- yell out some-

Chad Mendes 51:16 I love it.

Joe Rogan 51:17 ... weird thing where nobody else would understand what the-

Chad Mendes 51:19 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:19 ... fuck you were saying, and you would know what to do.

Chad Mendes 51:21 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 51:21 And that... And he would change it with every camp.

Chad Mendes 51:23 That's cool.

Joe Rogan 51:23 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 51:24 That's-

Joe Rogan 51:24 Wild.

Chad Mendes 51:24 ... super cool.

Joe Rogan 51:25 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 51:25 In the wrestling world, Sammy Henson was that guy for me. Uh, my senior year was... I mean, Sammy took me to that next level, you know, and he was one of those guys that was obsessed, and he would, like, pull me aside. We'd have, like, separate one-on-one type sessions and, um, and it, it really does make all the difference in the world.

Joe Rogan 51:43 It really does.

Chad Mendes 51:43 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 51:44 Yeah, if you can find someone who's that obsessed as a coach, I mean... Uh, I talked to Gordon Ryan about it when it comes to John Danaher, and he's like, "There's no mistake. Like, the reason why I'm so good is not just because of his..." Obviously, he's physically gifted, he's intelligent-

Chad Mendes 51:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:59 ... he's super disciplined, super dedicated, but he also, he said, "John Danaher is like a cheat code." He's like, "I have this crazy, obsessed jujitsu coach who coaches seven days a week, 365 days a year, doesn't take any days off ever-

Chad Mendes 52:13 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 52:13 ... has no family, has no girlfriend, and then when he's done coaching, watches fights."

Chad Mendes 52:17 Yeah. That's special.

Joe Rogan 52:19 Try finding one of those guys.

Chad Mendes 52:20 Yeah, that's, that's fucking special. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:21 Also, a genius-

Chad Mendes 52:23 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 52:23 ... who was a professor at Columbia.

Chad Mendes 52:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:26 Taught philosophy.

Chad Mendes 52:28 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 52:28 What?

Chad Mendes 52:28 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:29 Try finding one of those guys. Good luck.

Chad Mendes 52:30 Yeah, never happens.

Joe Rogan 52:30 They don't exist. There's one.

Chad Mendes 52:32 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:32 You know, and, you know, and he's actually moving here.

Chad Mendes 52:35 Is he?

Joe Rogan 52:35 Which is very exciting.

Chad Mendes 52:36 No way.

Joe Rogan 52:37 Yeah, yeah, he's moving to Austin.

Chad Mendes 52:38 Oh, you're-

Joe Rogan 52:38 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 52:38 ... you're gonna be all over there now.

Joe Rogan 52:39 Oh, man, I can't wait.

Chad Mendes 52:40 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:40 Can't wait to pick his brain.

Chad Mendes 52:41 That's cool. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:42 I mean, look at... Just, just even from my commentary game, I, I would for sure want to learn jujitsu from him, but just my commentary game will improve in leaps and bounds just talking to him.

Chad Mendes 52:50 That's cool.

Joe Rogan 52:51 He's amazing. But, you know, how many of those guys exist? Th- th- there's a few of those guys in, you know, in kickboxing, of course, you got Duane, you know, you got Trevor Whitman. Trevor Whitman's a spectacular coach, you know?

Chad Mendes 53:02 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:02 He's got... You got some amazing coaches out there-

Chad Mendes 53:04 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:04 ... without a doubt, but to find ones that are just maniacally obsessed-

Chad Mendes 53:08 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:08 ... it's so rare.

Chad Mendes 53:09 And it's... Man, I do... I miss, I miss training with Duane, like, I'm... That whole situation with Faber, obviously.

Joe Rogan 53:16 Very u-

Chad Mendes 53:17 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:17 ... very upsetting.

Chad Mendes 53:18 Yeah, it, it is, man, and I, I stayed out of the middle of it, you know? I have a ton of respect for Faber, and I have a ton of respect for Duane.

Joe Rogan 53:24 As do I, yeah.

Chad Mendes 53:25 So, you know-

Joe Rogan 53:26 Yeah, I love both of those guys.

Chad Mendes 53:27 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:27 It sucked. And, you know, I talked to Duane about it, and I talked to Faber about it, I'm like, "Agh."

Chad Mendes 53:32 I know.

Joe Rogan 53:32 You know, I, I can't do anything. I don't know them well enough-

Chad Mendes 53:34 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:35 ... to get in the middle of it and arbitrate, but I feel like the, the improvement that everybody was making under Duane was tangible.

Chad Mendes 53:42 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:42 It was noticeable.

Chad Mendes 53:43 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:43 It's like he came along, and then all of a sudden all s-... Everybody had this footwork, their moving good-

Chad Mendes 53:47 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:47 ... their striking combinations seemed to be improving.

Chad Mendes 53:50 I agree, yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:51 TJ, for sure, was the most... He benefitted the most from it.

Chad Mendes 53:55 He, he took to it probably the best, for sure. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:57 Yeah, like a duck to water.

Chad Mendes 53:58 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:58 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 53:58 It, it worked perfect for TJ. His style of wrestling, his body style, and his ability to... I mean, TJ's one of those guys that gets obsessed too.

Joe Rogan 54:08 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 54:08 And him and Duane just really meshed on that, on that fact of notepad, writing, you know, uh, mapping everything out, and TJ has that memory, you know, that kinda comes along with it, where he can remember all these different crazy combos and then get out there and actually perform it. Like-

Joe Rogan 54:26 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 54:26 ... it's... That takes a special athlete to be able to see that thing on paper, train it, and then actually hit it in a fight, for sure.

Joe Rogan 54:32 The wild thing about his fight with Sanhagen was Sanhagen had him in a fucking triangle-

Chad Mendes 54:37 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 54:38 ... locked up, and I was like, "Man, I wonder if he had some, like, pointers on how to finish that better, that would've been it." Because it seemed-

Chad Mendes 54:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:48 ... locked the fuck in.

Chad Mendes 54:50 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 54:51 I mean, he went t- through a, through a knee, right?

Chad Mendes 54:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 54:54 And then, uh, TJ takes him down, and in the process of taking him down, he locks up.

Chad Mendes 54:59 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 55:00 Fully locked up triangle early in the fight. And I was like, "Man, I feel like he's got this."

Chad Mendes 55:05 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 55:05 I was like, "I thought TJ was gonna tap."

Chad Mendes 55:07 Mm-hmm.... yeah, man, I mean, (sighs) that dude's a beast. I, I was worried for TJ going into that fight. I mean, that's ... A lot of people are like, "Oh, I think TJ's gonna go in there and just destroy." And I'm like, "Ugh." Like, I-

Joe Rogan 55:18 Pssh.

Chad Mendes 55:18 Oh, I love TJ-

Joe Rogan 55:19 You ain't gotta destroy Sandhagen.

Chad Mendes 55:20 ... but, no. Sandhagen-

Joe Rogan 55:20 I mean, the only guy who's ever really destroyed him was, um, was Aljo. And Aljo took him down and choked him.

Chad Mendes 55:27 Y- yeah.

Joe Rogan 55:27 You know? And Aljamain's got some fucking nasty jujitsu.

Chad Mendes 55:30 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 55:31 You know?

Chad Mendes 55:31 Yep.

Joe Rogan 55:32 I mean-

Chad Mendes 55:32 No, I, I, I definitely knew this was gonna be a tough fight, and it was a tough fight coming off of that long, you know?

Joe Rogan 55:38 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 55:39 And like, TJ's not getting a tune-up fight. Like, this is gonna make or break, like, show everyone TJ's back, or TJ's gonna have to fight a couple times and get back, but-

Joe Rogan 55:47 As close a decision as you're ever gonna see, too.

Chad Mendes 55:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 55:50 I mean, like, you could s- you could m- make an argument that-

Chad Mendes 55:52 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 55:53 ... that Sandhagen did more damage, and you can make an argument that, uh, Dillashaw controlled him more.

Chad Mendes 55:58 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 55:59 You know, I'm a l- damage guy. I lean towards damage always.

Chad Mendes 56:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 56:03 But, but-

Chad Mendes 56:04 TJ was a fast fighter-

Joe Rogan 56:05 ... close-ass fucking fight.

Chad Mendes 56:06 Man, it was.

Joe Rogan 56:06 Close-ass fight.

Chad Mendes 56:07 Mm-hmm. Well, I, I guarantee they're gonna run it back. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 56:11 Oh, they have to.

Chad Mendes 56:11 We're gonna see that at least one more time.

Joe Rogan 56:13 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 56:14 So ...

Joe Rogan 56:14 Well, u- unfortunately, with TJ's surgery, I mean, he has, like, several major-

Chad Mendes 56:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 56:20 ... tears in that knee.

Chad Mendes 56:21 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 56:21 You really never know what a guy's like-

Chad Mendes 56:24 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 56:24 ... once you get your knee mangled like that-

Chad Mendes 56:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 56:26 ... because the pain, like, it might inhibit training, it might become a problem, you know. It's h- so hard to say. On TJ's post, he said it happened at this part right here, where his knee gets all twisted like this. Yeah.

Chad Mendes 56:38 Yep.

Joe Rogan 56:39 Heel hook. Yeah.

Chad Mendes 56:39 Right there. That's the heel hook.

Joe Rogan 56:40 So that was it, yeah.

Chad Mendes 56:41 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 56:41 Yeah. So he was r- yanking on that heel hook.

Chad Mendes 56:44 Yep.

Joe Rogan 56:45 You could see it. I mean, well, go, go back. And by the way, that is the worst kind of heel hook. The inside-

Chad Mendes 56:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 56:49 ... heel hook right there.

Chad Mendes 56:50 Oh, man.

Joe Rogan 56:50 That's so nasty. So TJ just didn't tap, and he just tore his, his shit apart.

Chad Mendes 56:56 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 56:57 Yeah, you can see it there, his knee-

Chad Mendes 56:57 See him keeping ... Yeah, he's keeping-

Joe Rogan 56:59 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 56:59 ... his weight off it there for a second. You can see that.

Joe Rogan 57:01 You can see it, here he falls too, in the second round. It's just ... Well, I'm sure 'cause his knee was fucking mangled already.

Chad Mendes 57:06 Mm-hmm. Look at him stepping on it funny.

Joe Rogan 57:08 Yeah. See it? He's walking odd.

Chad Mendes 57:09 I guess I didn't notice that before, but ...

Joe Rogan 57:13 Yeah. He, he played it off well.

Chad Mendes 57:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 57:15 He really did a good job playing it off, and, and gutting it out, because-

Chad Mendes 57:18 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 57:18 ... he was obviously in, like, some serious pain.

Chad Mendes 57:20 Mm-hmm. Oh, right there.

Joe Rogan 57:21 Yeah, right there he got clipped.

Chad Mendes 57:21 Yeah, he cleared out now.

Joe Rogan 57:22 But part of getting dropped there was because he had no balance on that-

Chad Mendes 57:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 57:26 ... left leg.

Chad Mendes 57:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 57:26 It was r- very wobbly.

Chad Mendes 57:27 Well.

Joe Rogan 57:28 You know? Have you had any surgeries on your knees?

Chad Mendes 57:30 (sighs) No, thankfully. I've torn-

Joe Rogan 57:31 Oh.

Chad Mendes 57:31 ... both, uh, MCLs, um, through wrestling, but it's, uh, they were partial tears and it was basically through wrestling season. I just had to wear a brace and do a lot of swimming. And it was actually, uh, I think it was the first year as an All-American, I tore it, like, a couple weeks or a few weeks before Pac-10s, and, uh, just swam every workout up to Pac-10s, and then I just taped it up, went in there, and I ended up winning Pac-10s.

Joe Rogan 57:58 Wow.

Chad Mendes 57:59 And then, uh, ended up getting sixth, um-

Joe Rogan 58:01 Did you ever get surgery-

Chad Mendes 58:02 ... in his place.

Joe Rogan 58:02 ... on it after that?

Chad Mendes 58:02 No. They just ... It was one of those things you just gotta let heal up.

Joe Rogan 58:05 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 58:05 They said unless it's a complete tear, um, you just basically let it heal.

Joe Rogan 58:09 Hey, one thing I wanted to talk to you about is, you got on a carnivore diet-

Chad Mendes 58:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:15 ... and it really cured up your psoriasis.

Chad Mendes 58:19 Yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:19 Is that ... I mean, how long have you had psoriasis for?

Chad Mendes 58:23 My whole life. I mean, I remember as a kid, you know, it started on my shins. Um, and it was just a small little patch, and I think as a kid I even thought it was just the ringworm from wrestling, you know?

Joe Rogan 58:35 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 58:35 But, um, it just never went away. And then just over the years kind of slowly spread, got bigger. So it's basically from knee to ankle on both shins. And then, you know, as I started getting older, it starting to sh- it started showing up in different spots. It got on my elbows, my scalp, ears, uh, little patches on my, on my body cavity.

Joe Rogan 58:55 And what was your diet like then?

Chad Mendes 58:58 Um, (sighs) just, I mean ... I, I'd like to say pretty much I eat c- clean, you know?

Joe Rogan 59:06 Air quotes.

Chad Mendes 59:07 But, I mean, every o- you know, I'd still every once in a while eat some, like, fast food, or, you know, if I go to somebody's house and they're just, they're making stuff, I eat whatever they eat. But, um, (sighs) you know, for the most part I thought I was pretty clean, until I got on this diet, and then I really figure out, like, how (laughs) bad I was eating. Like, the amount of sugar I think is key. Like, I got on this diet, and I did it ... I started March, I started March 1, and I did it for f- the last four months. Um, or four months into that. Um, but basically sugar I noticed was probably the worst thing for it. Um ...

Joe Rogan 59:44 Did you notice this 'cause you added it in occasionally and you would see a difference?

Chad Mendes 59:48 No. I just was ... You know, I, it's my, my psoriasis over the years has just gotten worse and worse and worse, until-

Joe Rogan 59:53 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 59:53 ... uh, my buddy was basically telling me about this diet. And, um, we started e- basically the American Alma Beef, my, my beef company.

Joe Rogan 1:00:00 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 1:00:01 And I was like, "Well, I have," (laughs) "I have all the beef at my fingertips here. I have all this wild game that I can live off of." The meat part of it's not gonna be an issue. It's basically me just making my mind up and being like, "Just do this."

Joe Rogan 1:00:15 "This is all I eat."

Chad Mendes 1:00:16 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:00:16 Right.

Chad Mendes 1:00:17 Uh-huh. And so it's always been something when I was fighting, like, "Ah," just 'cause I've, I've known about it. People have told me about it. Like, "I think it'll really help your psoriasis. You should try it." But I'm like, "I can't, I can't, uh, k- cut out carbs. Like, I need carbs for training. Like, I'm, I'm an explosive athlete." So that was always my mindset, you know? So I-

Joe Rogan 1:00:34 Right.

Chad Mendes 1:00:34 ... never did it. And then finally I was just like, "You know what? Fuck it. I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna do it for a month, and if I don't see any improvements, I'll just kinda go back to normal. If I do see improvements, I'm gonna continue doing it maybe for, like, two or three months and see what it looks like, basically check back in and go from there." Dude, within, like, a week my psoriasis was already night and day, like, for on my leg. And I ... That was the before and after picture. I think it was maybe a week or even two weeks.

Joe Rogan 1:01:04 On your Instagram you posted it.

Chad Mendes 1:01:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:01:05 Uh-huh. Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:01:05 And it was just, like, my psoriasis was ... It, uh, that was right after a, a hunt that I had gone on, and the lack of sleep really flares it up, which I, obviously on hunts I'm eating-... bad in camp, whatever- whatever we're making. Um, you know, I'm getting, like, four hours of sleep at night and I'm usually living off of a lot of caffeine. Th- those three things definitely flare it up pretty bad. Um, and so that first picture was, like, extreme, and then the- the ne- the picture next to it was on that diet for, I c- I think it was a week, maybe it could have been two weeks. I'll have to look back and see. But dude, it was already so much better, I'm like, "Well, shit, I'm gonna keep doing this and just see." So I kept- kept doing it and, uh, you know, I don't know, it was probably three months in, I'm just like, "It's, like, almost gone." Um, and ideally, I think it would be completely gone if I cut out caffeine, which, you know, they talk about you probably won't need caffeine after a couple of months, your energy levels will be better. Which they were, I just really fucking enjoy getting all cracked out and getting a bunch of shit done.

Joe Rogan 1:02:12 (laughs)

Chad Mendes 1:02:14 (laughs) So-

Joe Rogan 1:02:15 I do love coffee.

Chad Mendes 1:02:16 Yeah, me-

Joe Rogan 1:02:16 It's a problem.

Chad Mendes 1:02:17 Ugh. It's so good.

Joe Rogan 1:02:18 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:02:18 But, um... And then alcohol, you know? I just... I'm not probably ever gonna just quit alcohol. I l- every once in a while, I like to go have some wine with some buddies or-

Joe Rogan 1:02:27 Right.

Chad Mendes 1:02:28 ... go have some drinks. I'm a tequila guy. I'll sip some tequila, but, um, uh-

Joe Rogan 1:02:32 As long as you're doing it in motivat- in moderation, rather, it seems to-

Chad Mendes 1:02:36 Yeah. Uh-huh.

Joe Rogan 1:02:37 ... be okay.

Chad Mendes 1:02:37 Yeah. Exactly. Um, and so, yeah, I've just kind of been sticking to it. I talked to, uh, Sean and Paul, I talked to both of those guys, and, uh, basically-

Joe Rogan 1:02:49 Doc- you're talking about Dr. Sean Baker-

Chad Mendes 1:02:51 Yes. Sean Baker.

Joe Rogan 1:02:51 ... and Paul Saladino.

Chad Mendes 1:02:52 Yep. Sorry, sorry, yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:02:53 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:02:53 Those guys.

Joe Rogan 1:02:54 Both- both those guys are doctors and they're also proponents of the carnivore diet.

Chad Mendes 1:02:58 Mm-hmm. And, uh, basically the idea was do this for three months and then start adding things back in-

Joe Rogan 1:03:05 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 1:03:06 ... and just figure out what foods flare it up.

Joe Rogan 1:03:08 Well, Paul is a proponent of, uh, honey and some fruits.

Chad Mendes 1:03:13 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:03:14 You know, and I think when I'm- when I'm, uh, f- doing it, I- I do it on and off. And when I'm doing it, I always have fruit before I exercise.

Chad Mendes 1:03:23 Yep.

Joe Rogan 1:03:23 That's what I like to do. I just eat, like, apples or something-

Chad Mendes 1:03:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:03:26 ... before I exercise. And I... 'Cause I need the fast sugar and I know I'm gonna burn it off anyway.

Chad Mendes 1:03:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:03:31 But I really do feel better when I'm just eating w- just mostly meat.

Chad Mendes 1:03:36 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:03:37 I mean, I don't mind salads. Salads are good.

Chad Mendes 1:03:40 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:03:40 Salads don't seem to have a- an effect on me, but man, the thing that has an effect on me is pasta and dessert.

Chad Mendes 1:03:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:03:46 Those are the big ones.

Chad Mendes 1:03:47 For sure.

Joe Rogan 1:03:47 They- they have a- they have a big... I feel like shit when I eat a lot of pasta.

Chad Mendes 1:03:51 Yep.

Joe Rogan 1:03:51 And I'm a fucking glutton.

Chad Mendes 1:03:53 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:03:53 And I just k- keep doing it (laughs) . I keep them so-

Chad Mendes 1:03:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:03:56 ... dumb. I'm so dumb. I know I always feel terrible, but while I'm eating it, it feels so good.

Chad Mendes 1:04:00 Yeah. So good, man. It's-

Joe Rogan 1:04:02 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:04:02 Yeah, I'm the same. And I've- I've been doing fruits, uh, p- uh, pretty much, uh, most vegetables, like your nightshades.

Joe Rogan 1:04:08 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 1:04:08 Like tomatoes and pepper, I notice, will start getting it flared up a bit.

Joe Rogan 1:04:12 Really? Interesting.

Chad Mendes 1:04:13 Potatoes, I started putting s- a little bit of potatoes back in.

Joe Rogan 1:04:16 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:04:16 Here and there, and it doesn't seem too bad, uh, yet. Um, I didn't ha-

Joe Rogan 1:04:20 What about sweet potatoes? Is that a-

Chad Mendes 1:04:22 Sw- sweet potatoes are okay. Um.

Joe Rogan 1:04:24 Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:04:24 But mainly just fruits, vegetables. I'd- I'd been doing honey, um, even- even mixing in some whole oats here and there. Um, Paul was like, against that, he's like, "I probably wouldn't do that." But I just wanted to see. And it doesn't seem to be flaring it up too bad. So what I do notice is sugars, though, like if I have any just processed sugars, you know, your- anything like your processed breads, I haven't been doing any whe- like any breads pretty much at all.

Joe Rogan 1:04:51 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 1:04:52 Um, and I have a little bit of white rice here and there and that seems to be fine. So... But for the most part, it's m- mostly meat diet. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:05:00 Now, when you're training, have you adjusted it at all during training?

Chad Mendes 1:05:04 Mm-hmm. I had to do that, man. I- I did notice... Not that I felt bad, I just felt- I feel better. And I'm guessing it's because I'm more of an explosive athlete maybe, but-

Joe Rogan 1:05:14 Right.

Chad Mendes 1:05:15 ... I feel better when I have more carbohydrates in there. So, you know, obviously, lots of fruits, you know, for your sugars. But that's where I started, uh, implementing a little bit of the whole oats and the white rice too, as a- white rice as, like, a post-workout. Um, but mai- mainly, for me, the diet is for my psoriasis. So, you know, if I can eat that stuff and it doesn't flare it up, I'm gonna do it, because it doesn't make me feel bad, you know?

Joe Rogan 1:05:44 What about just something bland, like plain rice, does that fuck with you at all?

Chad Mendes 1:05:47 No. Not at all. And that's-

Joe Rogan 1:05:49 So maybe that's a good option for carbohydrates.

Chad Mendes 1:05:51 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:05:51 I know a lot of, um... Like, I talked to Robert Oberst, I had him on the podcast.

Chad Mendes 1:05:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:05:55 You know who he is?

Chad Mendes 1:05:55 No, no.

Joe Rogan 1:05:56 One of The World's Strongest Man ph- like-

Chad Mendes 1:05:58 Ah, okay. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:05:58 ... literal giant.

Chad Mendes 1:05:59 Yeah. Okay.

Joe Rogan 1:05:59 His head is as big as both of us together.

Chad Mendes 1:06:01 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:06:02 He's huge. He has, uh... He's- he's a funny dude too.

Chad Mendes 1:06:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:06:05 Really hilarious. But, um, mostly what he's eating is meat and rice.

Chad Mendes 1:06:10 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:06:10 You know, and he's like, "It's just easy to digest, it's simple." You know, so a lot of folks have, uh, a problem with bread.

Chad Mendes 1:06:18 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:06:18 Like bread and pastas and it's just, for a lot of people, that seems to be a thing that fucks with them.

Chad Mendes 1:06:24 It's so good.

Joe Rogan 1:06:25 Yeah. But rice, I would think, is a pretty easy, especially white rice-

Chad Mendes 1:06:29 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:06:29 ... pretty easy thing to digest.

Chad Mendes 1:06:31 Yep. And I- and so far, I haven't had any issues. Like it's a- I eat it and I'm, like, waiting for my psoriasis to just start itching, you know?

Joe Rogan 1:06:38 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 1:06:38 And it doesn't. So I've also heard people say that, like, things you eat can... It's, like, a delayed effect.... you know, th- up to 30 days or something like that for your psoriasis to, like, really get affected by it. I don't-

Joe Rogan 1:06:52 How's that work?

Chad Mendes 1:06:53 I don't know. And I don't know what to believe.

Joe Rogan 1:06:55 Who are these people? (laughs)

Chad Mendes 1:06:55 I don't know. That's the thing. I, I read so many different things.

Joe Rogan 1:06:57 Right.

Chad Mendes 1:06:57 I'm like, I don't know who to believe, so I'm just basically testing shit out on my own.

Joe Rogan 1:07:00 Mm-hmm.

Chad Mendes 1:07:01 And right now, it seems that that stuff's fine, so, um-

Joe Rogan 1:07:04 That's what an elimination diet is all about, right?

Chad Mendes 1:07:06 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:07:06 You know, you just get it down to a very simple, simple, simple diet-

Chad Mendes 1:07:10 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:07:10 ... and then add back mushrooms-

Chad Mendes 1:07:11 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:07:11 ... add back, you know-

Chad Mendes 1:07:13 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:07:13 ... fruits. Yeah.

Chad Mendes 1:07:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:07:15 Yeah, uh, it's, it's interesting. But the reality of human bodies is that everybody's body is different.

Chad Mendes 1:07:21 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:07:21 And some people can thrive off nuts and berries and vegetables, and, and that's like the best diet for them. And you gotta find out what's the best diet for you.

Chad Mendes 1:07:30 I agree.

Joe Rogan 1:07:30 It's, it really is what it is.

Chad Mendes 1:07:31 Mm-hmm. Yeah, people always ask me,