JRE MMA Show #147 with Sean O'Malley & Tim Welch

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. NANarrator0:00

      (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. NANarrator0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays) And we're up. Boys, when were ... We did the first one together-

   4. SOSean O'Malley0:16

      Yep.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      ... was it, like, five years ago?

   6. SOSean O'Malley0:17

      Yeah, I think it was 2017, right? Or 2018?

   7. TWTim Welch0:22

      Yeah. I was somewhere around then.

   8. SOSean O'Malley0:22

      I was 2-0 in the UFC. I was just coming off the Andre-Soccer mom fight where I broke my foot. Um, 20 ... yeah, I was 23.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:30

      Yeah, that was just after your broken foot, right?

   10. SOSean O'Malley0:33

       (coughs)

   11. TWTim Welch0:33

       Yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:33

       Yeah. And now here you are, the fucking champ of the world.

   13. TWTim Welch0:37

       (laughs)

   14. SOSean O'Malley0:37

       Fucking, we did it.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:38

       Living in a dream.

   16. SOSean O'Malley0:39

       Like, (laughs) it's crazy 'cause that whole fight week, I always take a lot of naps fight week, especially 'cause it was on the East Coast and we were trying to stay up late. And I would have crazy, vivid dreams, not necessarily about the fight, but just really vivid dreams. And, uh ... So after the fight, I just felt like I was kind of in one of those dreams. I'm like-

   17. TWTim Welch0:57

       Hmm.

   18. SOSean O'Malley0:58

       ... "There's no way that went out, uh, that, that played out perfect. There's no way that played out literally how I wanted it to play out." So for a while I kept thinking like, "I'm gonna wake up in my bed and still have to go out there and do that." But I haven't woke up from a nap yet, so-

   19. TWTim Welch1:12

       (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:12

       (laughs)

   21. SOSean O'Malley1:12

       ... we're still rolling.

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:13

       Well, it makes you wonder what dreams really are.

   23. SOSean O'Malley1:16

       Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:17

       It c- uh, i- it's so weird that we just accept that we close our eyes every night and scenarios take place that don't really take place, and they seem super vivid. And, and then weird things happen in them, and then you wake up and you're like, "Oh, that wasn't real." But we just accept that ... There's many times where I've been in a lucid dream, or many times I've been in a dream that felt so real.

   25. SOSean O'Malley1:40

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:40

       Like, uh, wha- what ... You know, like, what's going on in our heads?

   27. SOSean O'Malley1:44

       Probably a lot during, uh, Sober October for you too 'cause I noticed when I s-

   28. TWTim Welch1:48

       Yeah.

   29. SOSean O'Malley1:48

       ... quit smoking weed in camp, like when I get closer to the fight, my dreams are so fucking vivid.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:52

       Yeah.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Why has, uh, Pyor…

   1. SOSean O'Malley15:00

      Henry pulled out, Pedro stepped up, and I was like, "Well, if Chito wins, makes sense," you know? So that's- that's what I want.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:06

      Why has, uh, Pyor Yan been on the shelf?

   3. SOSean O'Malley15:09

      He just fight- got to announce Song Yadong.

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:11

      Oh, when's that?

   5. SOSean O'Malley15:12

      Uh, I think that's sooner than later, actually, but that's fucked, Peter, (laughs) 'cause Song's an id- Like, Song's-

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:18

      He's an animal.

   7. SOSean O'Malley15:18

      ... is a problem.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:19

      That was another great fight with, uh- we went to see the Sandhagen-Song Yadong fight at the Apex, which is incredible.

   9. SOSean O'Malley15:26

      Jesus. Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:27

       Have you gone to just the Apex just to watch a fight?

   11. SOSean O'Malley15:29

       We watched the contender series there, once.

   12. NANarrator15:31

       Mm-hmm.

   13. SOSean O'Malley15:31

       It was fucking cool.

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:32

       I was thinking about flying out last weekend for Fiziev versus Gamrot. I was like, "I want to see that one."

   15. SOSean O'Malley15:38

       Where was that at? Oh, Vegas?

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:38

       That was at, that was at the Apex. Which, it's the best place to see fights, man.

   17. SOSean O'Malley15:42

       I hate the small cage. It i- it makes no-

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:45

       Oh, yeah, it's a da- it's a big difference, right?

   19. SOSean O'Malley15:46

       I hate it. It's so- I'm- I'm- I'll- I'll probably never- well, I guess if it's at the Apex. I'll never fight in a small cage again. I just- it's so- it's not- it doesn't help my style. I like being able to move around as much as possible. I-

   20. JRJoe Rogan15:58

       Here's why I'm confused. Why? Why have a small cage when you own the arena?

   21. SOSean O'Malley16:02

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:02

       Like, they had a small cage back when we used to do the Pearl at the Palms.

   23. SOSean O'Malley16:06

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:07

       Because it was a smaller place to put-

   25. SOSean O'Malley16:10

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan16:10

       ... the stage. So they go, "We'll just make the cage..." What is it, like, 30% smaller or something?

   27. SOSean O'Malley16:13

       44 or something like that. Almost-

   28. JRJoe Rogan16:14

       40?

   29. SOSean O'Malley16:14

       Yeah, it's like f- it's damn near 50%. It's cra-

   30. JRJoe Rogan16:18

       Yeah, it's crazy.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Yeah. (laughs) …

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      fuck you up.

   2. SOSean O'Malley30:01

      Yeah. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:01

      But he has to, otherwise it, it's just like, it's, it's so torn apart that I guess it just doesn't hold anymore.

   4. SOSean O'Malley30:05

      (sighs)

   5. NANarrator30:05

      Mm-hmm.

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:06

      Yep.

   7. SOSean O'Malley30:06

      Brutal.

   8. NANarrator30:07

      That was the first fight you didn't wrap your ankles against Aljo, right?

   9. SOSean O'Malley30:10

      We weren't allowed to in Boston. But yeah, I w- that was... I didn't wrap them. I didn't feel like I needed to either. Like, I felt...... my shit was good, but usually I like to get a little- a little fucking-

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:18

       And that probably gives him a grip on his single legs-

   11. SOSean O'Malley30:20

       Yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:20

       ... and stuff.

   13. SOSean O'Malley30:21

       Yeah, you, yeah, before the fight, you're like, "Hey, let's not even give him that, even that a little bit." 'Cause wrestling, like I'll- I'll grapple or wrestle with really fucking high level wrestlers. We- we have so many fucking good guys we train with, get in on a single leg, I'll limp leg out. But there's wrestlers are used to being able to, you know, when someone tried to limp leg or u- use that shoe to kind of hold on.

   14. JRJoe Rogan30:38

       Mm-hmm.

   15. SOSean O'Malley30:39

       And fighting that just... I mean, unless you have your ankles wrapped.

   16. JRJoe Rogan30:41

       Yeah.

   17. SOSean O'Malley30:41

       I- who- who was the fight, I think it was Luque versus RDA, in between rounds, like, took off his ankle wraps.

   18. JRJoe Rogan30:47

       Mm.

   19. SOSean O'Malley30:47

       Is that, did that happen? We, I don't, I think, yeah, I think that was right before we fought Aljo too, uh, took off the ankle wraps because he was using it as a little grip.

   20. JRJoe Rogan30:55

       Mm.

   21. SOSean O'Malley30:56

       Even that little tiny advantage.

   22. JRJoe Rogan30:58

       It makes a difference.

   23. SOSean O'Malley30:59

       Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan30:59

       It makes a difference, you know, like Eddie Bravo used to always, uh, say, like, "You wear as much as you can on your legs. It'll make your guard more dangerous."

   25. SOSean O'Malley31:08

       Mm-hmm.

   26. JRJoe Rogan31:08

       Like in jujitsu tournaments. Like, and then fighting, like Frank Mir used to try to wear these long ass knee sleeves.

   27. SOSean O'Malley31:14

       (laughs)

   28. JRJoe Rogan31:14

       Like, if you could wear long knee sleeves and shorts, uh, another guy, a couple guys did that. George Psaropoulos did that. He basically almost had-

   29. SOSean O'Malley31:21

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan31:21

       ... pants on. Like, he had knee sleeves and then above the knee sleeves he had, like, tights-
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Right. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      that fight. Like everybody loved Aljo.

   2. SOSean O'Malley45:02

      Right.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:02

      When he choked out Sandhagen, everybody loved Aljo. Like Aljo was the fucking man.

   4. SOSean O'Malley45:06

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:07

      And then he gets fouled.

   6. SOSean O'Malley45:09

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:09

      And like legitimately got fouled and his neck was fucked up-

   8. SOSean O'Malley45:13

      (gasps) .

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:13

      ... before he went into that fight. He's had a fucked up... Now he has a disc replacement in his neck.

   10. SOSean O'Malley45:17

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:17

       So he's got an artificial disc in his neck because of an injury that he had and then Petr Yan hits him with that fucking knee to the head on the ground.

   12. SOSean O'Malley45:24

       (sighs) It's crazy how that knee changed so many people, like my career. I fought, I ended up fighting Peter instead of Peter being champ. And just like-

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:30

       Yeah.

   14. SOSean O'Malley45:30

       ... it's crazy how that one mistake Peter made and now he's on a fucking three fight losing streak.

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:34

       Crazy.

   16. SOSean O'Malley45:35

       Or four maybe. Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:36

       Crazy.

   18. TWTim Welch45:37

       Mm-hmm.

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:37

       Sang Ye Don fight is not a... That's not a gimme.

   20. SOSean O'Malley45:40

       It's gonna be a sick fucking fight though.

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:42

       That guy can crack.

   22. TWTim Welch45:42

       Mm-hmm.

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:43

       He's, he get, he gets, keeps getting better too. Sang Ye Don keeps getting better.

   24. SOSean O'Malley45:45

       He's young, right? 24, 25?

   25. JRJoe Rogan45:47

       Yeah. He got robbed recently in California.

   26. SOSean O'Malley45:49

       Oh yeah, I saw that.

   27. JRJoe Rogan45:51

       Scary as shit.

   28. SOSean O'Malley45:51

       I saw him talking about it. (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan45:52

       Scary shit, dude. At a gas station.

   30. SOSean O'Malley45:55

       God. That was a g-... If only those guys knew. I mean, I guess if you got a gun, like no, there's not much you can do, but.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:03:12

   Well, you guys have…

   1. SOSean O'Malley1:00:00

      just making shit up instead of like saying, well, something that's fucking truly gonna be important. Not over talking, saying what you need to fucking say, and let the corner breathe. I don't... I'm not trying to listen to a fucking, you know, bunch of shit. Tell me a couple things that I need to know and then let me get my fucking heart rate down. That's what Tim does a really good job of.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:17

      Well, you guys have such an amazing relationship 'cause you were both there at the very beginning.

   3. SOSean O'Malley1:00:22

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:22

      Like when the f- when the two of you came in five years ago, I'm like, "What a cool-

   5. SOSean O'Malley1:00:26

      (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:26

      ... thing you guys have going on."

   7. SOSean O'Malley1:00:27

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:27

      'Cause Tim is so knowledgeable-

   9. SOSean O'Malley1:00:29

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:29

       ... and so focused, and also a great martial artist himself.

   11. SOSean O'Malley1:00:32

       Mm-hmm.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:32

       So he's watching all these aspects of your training-

   13. SOSean O'Malley1:00:36

       Mm-hmm.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:37

       ... with, with a, uh, uh, uh, an, uh, an another mind, like an objective mind that's not experiencing it-

   15. SOSean O'Malley1:00:41

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00:41

       ... outside of it, looking at all the aspects of what you need to do. And because you guys sync together so well, it's such a massive advantage, man.

   17. SOSean O'Malley1:00:50

       Huge.I feel like, I feel like it, uh, truly is, yeah. When I see other coaches out there and fighters, I just feel like even if they're got a good relationships, like, we hang out every single fucking day. We podcast together. We do everything together. We'll go grab lunch, hang out with our girls together, travel and do everything together. Train together. And it's just, I feel like there's like a chemistry there that a lot of fighter coaches don't have. 'Cause we're all, we're like best friends too.

   18. TWTim Welch1:01:12

       Yeah.

   19. SOSean O'Malley1:01:12

       It's not like coach... But yeah, in the training room when we're hitting mitts, sparring days, it's like, you know, we turn that on and, and it's, it's good.

   20. TWTim Welch1:01:19

       It must be awesome for you, Tim, because you took a giant risk in your life doing this, dedicating yourself to one athlete, you know, and other athletes too.

   21. SOSean O'Malley1:01:27

       Mm-hmm.

   22. TWTim Welch1:01:27

       But I mean, you're, you're, it's like a big thing, man, you did. Yeah, I think I've just lo- like loved the sport and loved martial arts and all the different arts so much. And then getting to live with Robert Fallis and seeing another guy who's so passionate about it and-

   23. SOSean O'Malley1:01:40

       I miss that dude.

   24. TWTim Welch1:01:41

       ... get to live with him and saw, like, looked up to him so much. I'm like, I feel like I'm literally living my, my, my dream job. That's awesome.

   25. SOSean O'Malley1:01:48

       So I feel lucky.

   26. TWTim Welch1:01:49

       That's so awesome.

   27. SOSean O'Malley1:01:50

       Yeah, you naturally were alwa- 'cause when we, you, you were still fighting, you, you were, you were like still trying to get in the UFC. You were in Bellator, you went on The Ultimate Fighter. But every time I had a fight coming up for like a couple weeks, you'd kind of switch into coach mode. Like without us, it just kind of naturally happened.

   28. TWTim Welch1:02:04

       Mm-hmm.

   29. SOSean O'Malley1:02:04

       It was just, it wasn't really planned. It was like, "All right, now you're m- now you're in the corner. Now you're the coach."

   30. TWTim Welch1:02:09

       That's such a cool situation.

Episode duration: 3:30:31