JRE MMA Show #113 with Chad Mendes

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. CMChad Mendes0:00

      (drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      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?

   3. CMChad Mendes0:14

      What ... What's happening? Yeah. (laughs)

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:14

      Good to see you, brother.

   5. CMChad Mendes0:15

      Thanks for having me.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      Finally, man. We've been talking about doing this a long time.

   7. CMChad Mendes0:18

      Too long, bro.

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:19

      Oh, Jesus.

   9. CMChad Mendes0:19

      Whoa. (laughs)

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:19

       Look at that, Jamie. We splattered. I tried to, uh-

   11. CMChad Mendes0:23

       Oh, we got it sorted.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:23

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

   13. CMChad Mendes0:30

       (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       ... we know why. Sorry, this, uh, this table needed a little seasoning.

   15. CMChad Mendes0:35

       Mm-hmm.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:36

       Needed some color.

   17. CMChad Mendes0:36

       I'm gonna throw one over here. I'll get this thing.

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:38

       It's all right. So, uh, what's happening, man? How you doing? How's the retirement life?

   19. CMChad Mendes0:42

       Oh, man.

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       Well, retirement from fighting, but-

   21. CMChad Mendes0:45

       Yeah, not ...

   22. JRJoe Rogan0:45

       But maybe not really.

   23. CMChad Mendes0:47

       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 ...

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:03

       (laughs)

   25. CMChad Mendes1:04

       (laughs) But we got some shit going.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:06

       What, for y- you're working too much?

   27. CMChad Mendes1:07

       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.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:29

       Right.

   29. CMChad Mendes1:29

       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.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:47

       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-
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:00

   2. CMChad Mendes15:00

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:00

      It's like you're doing this ... I- I'm, I'm fully against weight cutting in MMA.

   4. CMChad Mendes15:05

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:05

      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.

   6. CMChad Mendes15:16

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan15:16

      '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.

   8. CMChad Mendes15:24

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan15:25

      I mean, that guy is massive.

   10. CMChad Mendes15:27

       (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan15:27

       You know? He's, he's a solid 200 or close to it.

   12. CMChad Mendes15:30

       Oh, yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan15:30

       He's a thick fella.

   14. CMChad Mendes15:31

       Uh-huh.

   15. JRJoe Rogan15:32

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

   16. CMChad Mendes15:38

       Mm-hmm.

   17. JRJoe Rogan15:38

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

   18. CMChad Mendes15:44

       Mm-hmm.

   19. JRJoe Rogan15:45

       You know, Tyron was a, a giant guy at 170. He was never really 170 either.

   20. CMChad Mendes15:49

       No.

   21. JRJoe Rogan15:49

       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-

   22. CMChad Mendes16:01

       More exciting fights, I think.

   23. JRJoe Rogan16:02

       ... exciting fights.

   24. CMChad Mendes16:02

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan16:02

       You'd have more energy.

   26. CMChad Mendes16:03

       Mm-hmm.

   27. JRJoe Rogan16:03

       You know, and I think the solution is the UFC needs more weight classes.

   28. CMChad Mendes16:07

       Mm-hmm.

   29. JRJoe Rogan16:07

       I really believe that every 10 pounds is the way to go.

   30. CMChad Mendes16:10

       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.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Right. …

   1. CMChad Mendes30:00

      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?"

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:10

      Right.

   3. CMChad Mendes30:10

      You know? So I need to know, like, you know, basically where I'm at in the round, you know?

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:16

      Mm-hmm.

   5. CMChad Mendes30:16

      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."

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:29

      So how long did you have to think about this before you decided to do it?

   7. CMChad Mendes30:33

      (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-

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:40

      (laughs)

   9. CMChad Mendes30:40

      ... "You're fucking nuts." But, you know, as far-

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:44

       She married a fighter.

   11. CMChad Mendes30:45

       I know, and that's what she's gotta ... She's gotta-

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:47

       (laughs)

   13. CMChad Mendes30:47

       ... 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-

   14. JRJoe Rogan31:25

       Right.

   15. CMChad Mendes31:25

       ... cracking me in the dome, either. Or-

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:27

       Someone kicking your knees out.

   17. CMChad Mendes31:28

       ... a big knee. Yeah, uh-huh.

   18. JRJoe Rogan31:29

       Yeah.

   19. CMChad Mendes31:30

       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-

   20. JRJoe Rogan32:06

       Yeah.

   21. CMChad Mendes32:06

       ... 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 ...

   22. JRJoe Rogan32:15

       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.

   23. CMChad Mendes32:26

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JRJoe Rogan32:26

       Um, you now. Who else is over there? I know, uh, Leonard Garcia.

   25. CMChad Mendes32:31

       Oh.

   26. JRJoe Rogan32:31

       Who else? Uh ...

   27. CMChad Mendes32:33

       Uh, Rochelle, uh, she just fought Paige. Uh, Is it Ostevich? Os-

   28. JRJoe Rogan32:39

       Rachel Ostevich.

   29. CMChad Mendes32:39

       Ostevich, yes.

   30. JRJoe Rogan32:40

       Yeah, yeah. Um-
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      Trey Tellemann was bare knuckle.

   2. CMChad Mendes45:02

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:02

      It was, uh ... You could grab shorts back then too.

   4. CMChad Mendes45:04

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:05

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

   6. CMChad Mendes45:10

      Oh, yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:11

      Like, you could grab shorts. You could literally, like, hike 'em right up a dude's ass.

   8. CMChad Mendes45:14

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:15

      Like, there was a lot of crazy rules back then.

   10. CMChad Mendes45:17

       I think there's still groin, groin strikes too, huh?

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:20

       Uh, yeah.

   12. CMChad Mendes45:21

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:21

       Joe Son and Keith Hackney.

   14. CMChad Mendes45:23

       I remember just ... Ugh, ugh.

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:23

       Remember that? Keith Hackney just pounded him in the balls. (laughs)

   16. CMChad Mendes45:29

       Oh.

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:29

       (laughs) Yeah, it was a, uh, crazy days back then, man.

   18. CMChad Mendes45:31

       Mm-hmm.

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:31

       Crazy days.

   20. CMChad Mendes45:32

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:32

       Guys wore gis and shit-

   22. CMChad Mendes45:34

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:34

       ... you know.

   24. CMChad Mendes45:35

       Could you imagine just having a dude sit there-

   25. JRJoe Rogan45:37

       Yeah.

   26. CMChad Mendes45:37

       ... just uppercutting your nuts the whole time?

   27. JRJoe Rogan45:40

       Is this, uh, the Trey Tellemann fight? Yeah. See, if you watch Tellemann-

   28. CMChad Mendes45:43

       Oh, yeah, he's-

   29. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       ... he's, uh, he's got no gloves on if you watch. See?

   30. CMChad Mendes45:47

       Oh, man.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:07:37

   Mm-hmm. …

   1. CMChad Mendes1:00:00

      beef company.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      Mm-hmm.

   3. CMChad Mendes1:00:01

      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."

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:15

      "This is all I eat."

   5. CMChad Mendes1:00:16

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

      Right.

   7. CMChad Mendes1:00:17

      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-

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:34

      Right.

   9. CMChad Mendes1:00:34

      ... 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.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:01:04

       On your Instagram you posted it.

   11. CMChad Mendes1:01:05

       Yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:01:05

       Uh-huh. Yeah.

   13. CMChad Mendes1:01:05

       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.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:02:12

       (laughs)

   15. CMChad Mendes1:02:14

       (laughs) So-

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:02:15

       I do love coffee.

   17. CMChad Mendes1:02:16

       Yeah, me-

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:02:16

       It's a problem.

   19. CMChad Mendes1:02:17

       Ugh. It's so good.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:02:18

       Yeah.

   21. CMChad Mendes1:02:18

       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-

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:02:27

       Right.

   23. CMChad Mendes1:02:28

       ... go have some drinks. I'm a tequila guy. I'll sip some tequila, but, um, uh-

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:02:32

       As long as you're doing it in motivat- in moderation, rather, it seems to-

   25. CMChad Mendes1:02:36

       Yeah. Uh-huh.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:02:37

       ... be okay.

   27. CMChad Mendes1:02:37

       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-

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:02:49

       Doc- you're talking about Dr. Sean Baker-

   29. CMChad Mendes1:02:51

       Yes. Sean Baker.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:02:51

       ... and Paul Saladino.

Episode duration: 2:59:32