EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,005 words- 0:00 – 2:05
Punch power controversy: Pyfer breaks Ngannou’s machine record
- NANarrator
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
- JRJoe Rogan
The Joe Rogan Experience.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) What up? What up? What's up, Joe? What's up, Joe?
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
So, we should say right away, off the bat, 'cause people don't know, you really did break Francis Ngannou's punch record.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, so, uh, I don't know what the confusion is. You know, I- I- I didn't wanna-
- JRJoe Rogan
A lot of people are- th- th- they doubt it just 'cause he's so big.
- JPJoe Pyfer
So, I'm gonna post it, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, we just sent it to Jamie.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You sent one where you broke ... you went to 170.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, one ... yeah, 170.
- JRJoe Rogan
So, y- let's see this one.
- JPJoe Pyfer
So, you got Eddie Hall.
- NANarrator
Yeah, there you go.
(laughs)
Josh, what's the world record? I think I've got the tape.
- JRJoe Rogan
And he got 113. And Francis-
- NANarrator
An amazing result and credits to horsepower of the platform.
- JRJoe Rogan
... had gotten 129.
- NANarrator
We're trying to break Ngannou's record right now.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I had already hit (laughs) four times. (machine clanks)
- NANarrator
Whoo!
- JPJoe Pyfer
Smashed it.
- JRJoe Rogan
170.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Now, the only thing that ... so, this is the thing that people don't understand though, is, it- it's the same machine. I think everybody thought it was, like, one of those punching bags that are down at the- the boardwalk.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right. Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
And, uh, you know, it- it- it's aggravating because I pride myself in my power. I- I- I wanna hurt you, you know what I mean? Like, that's my intention. I'm trying to ... I- I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
Clearly.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... we all throw with power, right? But-
- 2:05 – 4:20
Punches vs kicks: record numbers, technique, and “natural power” debate
- JRJoe Rogan
I think someone has kicked it up to, like, 187. I think that's the newest high kick. Which is crazy.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Kick, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, that your-
- JPJoe Pyfer
I'm not kicking half.
- JRJoe Rogan
... your punch is that close to a kick.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's pretty nuts.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Now, get it, uh, it's a standstill object, right?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I can smash that thing.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- NANarrator
I'm with my man-
- JPJoe Pyfer
But I've been, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
What do you got, Joe?
- NANarrator
... I was trying to see who did it. Uh, here's Aljo and Wonderboy kicking it. There's someone just did 189. I don't know who that is.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, Lorenz Larkin. That's Lorenz Larkin.
- NANarrator
There you go.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, I think he's got the record now. Lorenz, who used to fight in the UFC, now ... I guess he's with the PFL now, right? Because-
- JPJoe Pyfer
I thought he was Bellator. Oh, yeah, they merged.
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, Bellator is the PFL now. Yeah, but Lorenz got 189.
- NANarrator
235.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, Jesus. He got 235?
- NANarrator
Wow.
- JRJoe Rogan
Lorenz can fucking kick hard.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's a super underrated dude. I always go to his fight with Neil Magny. Go watch that fight.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Jesus.
- JRJoe Rogan
That dude can strike.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I would love to see Diego Lina.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, yeah.
- 4:20 – 4:48
Injury costs of power: breaking hands, bone density, and physical limits
- JPJoe Pyfer
My bones gotta be trash, Joe, 'cause I'm-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- JPJoe Pyfer
... fucking having two surgeries and being beat up.
- JRJoe Rogan
I just think it's the amount of power that you generate. I mean, that's probably a lot of it too, you know?
- JPJoe Pyfer
It's probably a corny thing to say, but I was told that I almost generate too much force for my bone density to handle. Um, I don't know how true that is. I don't know if they were just kinda-
- JRJoe Rogan
Kinda makes sense.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... stroking my ego, but-
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, it makes sense. That's why your hands break.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
When- when people's hands break, that's why they break, 'cause you're literally generating too much force for your bone structure.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, man, my hands would be all-
- 4:48 – 8:39
Leveling up in the Octagon: standout performances and mental state in camp
- JRJoe Rogan
Dude, when you fought Razak Al Hassan, you are on ... there's like ... there's a thing that happens with fighters where you see them, you see anxiety, you see first fight, you see nerves, you see jitters, you see skills, but it's hard to, like, see the full range of them. And then they start getting comfortable. And when they start getting comfortable, like, uh, the Mirshakht fight, you just st- stomped him.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
But the Razak Al Hassan fight, like, dude, you were on another level. Like, that's like ... when- when people talk about a guy in the gym, like, "Dude, you gotta see this motherfucker in the gym." And then, seeing that manifest itself inside the octagon, to me, that's one of my favorite things to see. I love watching guys show their potential, you know? And in that fight, Razak Al Hassan is a beast.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, he's a dog.
- JRJoe Rogan
He's a dangerous dude. And you just put on a fucking show in that fight. You looked like you were on a completely different level, like you had gone up several rungs from where you were before.
- JPJoe Pyfer
You know what's crazy about it though? The- the whole process of what's gotten me to that point has been nothing shy of just, man, if I'm mentally happy, I'm gonna destroy everybody.... but I often struggle mentally, you know. Like, I, (laughs) bro, I didn't turn it on, my coaches were all scared in the back, um, just because they know me so well. I'm an emotional dude, I, I wear my heart on my sleeve, like I say how I feel. Um, you don't really have to read the room, you can read my face, you know what I mean? You understand where I'm at. And I'm not, I'm not shy to say where I'm at. So, uh, that whole week was off, uh, Sean wasn't in the corner, he got sick. I had some issues with a, with a best friend and I've known for 12, 13 years, he didn't get to come out and, and just ... I, everything was like off. I, I had, uh, I had MRSA on my bicep, on my forearm two weeks before-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, shit.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... I was on, I had antibiotics before that I got in, uh, I split my toes open where they're separated, so the bone side, like, I could barely ... Like, it got all swollen. Bro, I've never had an easy camp and I was, I was having nightmares for the first time of getting knocked the fuck (laughs) out, like all week during my weight cut, during training. I had these crazy nerves, I would get cold sweats, like I thought something was wrong and, uh, I'd never had that before, you know? And I was contemplating like, "Man, I'm not gonna rush my career, maybe this isn't the right move." But, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Was it the step up in competition?
- JPJoe Pyfer
No, no.
- JRJoe Rogan
What-
- JPJoe Pyfer
So, so this is crazy, it's gonna come off ... Well, it's not crazy, but it comes off as really arrogant, like Abdoul was not a step up in competition for me. He was a step up as far as, you know, power, you know, and, and people that I fought, uh, as far as, you know, people that have the ability to knock you out, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Consequences.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, yeah. There was consequences for small error and, uh, but I knew skill for skill, dude's not on my level. I knew Jarrell Merchardt, Merchardt, Meershart, however you say it, whenever I ... Bro, I mean that dude to me without being disrespectful is ... I don't know how he's been in UFC, um, the guy I first fought, you know, he's not in UFC anymore, but he had eight knockouts. I'm not ... I've been doing this for 23 years, I started at four and a half years old, um, I don't want people to think that I'm cocky or arrogant, but I am. I am cocky, I'm confident, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Don't you think you kinda have to be?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, you do have to be.
- JRJoe Rogan
You're, you're a fucking cage fighter.
- JPJoe Pyfer
It's your, it's your protection barrier too-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... from, from people to just openly try to cut you down 'cause everybody like, like hitting that punching machine, everybody immediately discredits, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... says that Dana White just wants to get after Francis Ngannou that's why I didn't release the video. I told you at the Austin fight-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... I was pissed off it didn't get posted.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
You know what I mean? Like-
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, it's posted now.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah. So, uh, it's posted now and, you know, it's on a big platform, but yeah, man, I mean Abdoul was just somebody you had to be careful with, but I didn't think he boxed better than me and I think DC even says that as I'm walking into the cage and, uh, his best shot was to knock me out and if he couldn't knock me out, he wasn't winning that fight, so ...
- 8:39 – 11:27
Size at 185 and talking contenders: Pereira, chin ‘off switch,’ and defense essentials
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, it's also very evident, like you're one of those guys that's v- v- at the top of the 185 pound division in terms of like physical stature. You don't get much bigger at 185. It's like you and guys like Pereira which Pereira doesn't even make sense.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like I was always like, "How? How the fuck are you 185?"
- JPJoe Pyfer
(sighs) Man, uh, even when I look at ... Yeah, I mean when I look at him, like I've seen ... It's so weird, we've seen each other so many times there's no head nod, there's no respect, there's no like ... Uh, uh, even him, like man, I think a lot of guys are overrated in this fucking sport.
- JRJoe Rogan
You think that guy's overrated?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I mean, look, I don't think his pa-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- JPJoe Pyfer
I think he, I think getting hit by him isn't overrated, right? But he's very stiff and he's got that off switch. He's got that off switch. What he definitely does at 85.
- JRJoe Rogan
Well and Izzy, Izzy clipped him and he was-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
At 85, I don't know about 205, but-
- JRJoe Rogan
I think that is a big part of the weight cut. I think his weight cut is borderline dangerous. Like I think that a weight cut to 85 could kill you.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, it could kill him. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. I think he's just so tough that he doesn't, but I think there's, there's a point of diminishing returns and certainly with your chin.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And when Izzy cracked him, obviously Izzy hit him perfect, it was pinpoint, and then rocked him with the second shot. But the way he went out, I was like-
- JPJoe Pyfer
It's, it's gone.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
It's almost like a ... You know, I, I'm not gonna say any names, but you know there, there's a guy that just recently lost who I like and it's like, man, like when you've had that off button shut off-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... to the point where you're frozen, it's not like he got TKO'd, it's off.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yes.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Uh, I've-
- JRJoe Rogan
There's a thing that happens to guys when they've taken too many shots.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You, you could see it, but-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah. I've never, I've never been laid out, um, last time I was ever dropped I was 18 years old, I got dropped by a guy that used to be in the UFC for a brief moment. Uh, it was Tim Williams (laughs) he fought your boy Eryk Anders-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... uh, who I, I like, he's cool, but, uh, but yeah, no, I've never been ... I've never had the lights like shut off or anything, so thankful for that, but, uh, I pride myself on my defense too, you know what I mean? I don't-
- 11:27 – 17:02
Old-school MMA and PED era: TRT Vitor, Yoel Romero, and state-run ‘experiments’
- JPJoe Pyfer
... because I'm a huge fan of the old school days.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
More so than the, the new school. Um, I just think it was more raw and just like there ... Like I liked when everybody was on 'roids.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- JPJoe Pyfer
You know everybody was on 'roids, but that's exactly the stipulation, right? You know we're so hard on the athletes of today-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... they pop for something that's not even a performance ha- performance enhancing level-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... but these guys had their reign and were never discredited but we know they were all on shit.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right. Well, I always talk about TRT Vitor. You know T- I think TRT Vitor-
- JPJoe Pyfer
The best.
- JRJoe Rogan
The Vitor that fucked up Luke Rockhold-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... and Michael Bisping, that dude I'd put him up against anybody ever.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He was, he was fucking terrifying, but he was also like-... silverback gorilla levels of testosterone.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He was, like, off the charts. (laughs) Like, when they tested him, one of the reasons why they stopped TRT is 'cause they tested Vitor one time, and he was so far off the charts, they were like, "What the fuck are you doing?" (laughs) And he had said that, you know, he was gonna be in America for, like, a week, and so the doctor just gave him a big dose to, like, last for the week.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
I just think he-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Look at him next to you. (laughs) He looks-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, man.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... almost the same size.
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, Yoel Romero-
- JPJoe Pyfer
I'm a huge fan of Yoel Romero, by the way.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yoel Romero is the freak of all freaks. And I've said this many times before on this podcast, but, uh, he is the single most impressive athlete I have ever seen in all my years of watching fights.
- JPJoe Pyfer
How old is he? 44 now?
- JRJoe Rogan
He's at least 44. He might be 45, 46.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Oh, man. Yeah, Juice- Juice-Vietor was, was the bomb, though. 100%.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yoel didn't even need juice, man. He was a part of the Cuban athletic program. And there's something about that dude, whether it's genetics or who knows what it is, but I- I've told this before, so I apologize for anybody who's heard this, the UFC had brought him to a doctor after one of his fights, I think it was one of his fights in Australia. And the doctor said to the UFC, "Where did you get this guy?" And he go, and he, and they were like, "Uh, he's one of our fighters." He said, "I've never seen anything like him." He goes, "Yeah, he's pretty amazing, right?" He goes, "No, you don't understand. I've never seen a human being like him." The tendons in his eyes are three times larger than normal. They said that his, his orbital bone, when it fractured, by the time they got him to the doctor, like, couple days later, it already started healing. Like, this guy's a fucking wolverine.
- 17:02 – 19:42
Icarus and Olympic doping: how far countries go to win
- JRJoe Rogan
documentary?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Mm-mm.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a great documentary by Bryan Fogel about, um ... I've talked about this recently. Uh, I apologize to people who listened, but the, uh, Bryan Fogel, what he was gonna do is he, he did a, a bike race and he did a bike race natural, and he's, uh, a very good athlete, uh, uh, endurance athlete. So he did this bike race natural, and then he went to this guy who's the head of the Soviet anti-doping program, and he said, uh, "This is what I wanna do. I wanna do it natural one year, and then the next year, I want you to just juice me up to the tits."
- JPJoe Pyfer
Hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
"And we're gonna do a documentary and see how I do juiced versus natural." In the process of filming all this, it, uh, it got released that the Sochi Olympics were rigged. And so what Russia was doing was, uh, they put a hole in the wall where the urine samples were, and they were swapping urine samples. So they're taking the dirty urine samples from their athletes, 'cause it was in Russia. So they're taking the dirty urine samples from their athletes and swapping it out for clean urine samples. But they got caught because they found these micro scratches on these jars that were supposedly impossible to open, and that these, like, impenetrable jars that they stored the urine in to make it secure. But then they did an analysis on the jar and they said that, like, "Somebody's been fucking with these jars." And so then they analyzed the urine, and then the whole house of cards came tumbling down while this guy was doing this documentary. And this guy, what was his name? Grigory Rodchenko? Was that his name?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I think-...kov.
- JRJoe Rogan
Rodchenkov. That gentleman, who is the head of the Soviet doping program, got in the witness protection program, and then spilled the beans on the Soviet Union. He's hiding in America now. I mean, they arrested his family. They took away his family's money. Like, they- they fucked his whole family up. Like, it's- it- the whole- the story is crazy. But he detailed everything that they do as far as their doping program. And they doped everybody. They dope everybody except figure skaters.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Damn.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's the dude. Uh, Grigory Rodchenkov.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Definitely not what I was imaging. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Or picturing in my head. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
He's hilarious. He's actually funny. But-
- JPJoe Pyfer
(coughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
... it's- it's an amazing documentary. I can't recommend Icarus enough. But it just shows how far these countries are willing to go in order to gain, you know, national superiority by having their athletes gold medal more than anybody.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Power. It's the most addicting thing, right?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
And it's also- it's, you know, it's national pride. There's a lot inv-... And they're all assuming that everybody else is doing this too because-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Everybody is on some shit.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, like-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Everybody's on some shit.
- JRJoe Rogan
There's- for sure, if they can get away with it, they cheat. Pe- there's so much, especially when it comes to things like the Olympics. There's so much shenanigans.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Because they'll never stop exploring, trying to find the easier route, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Exactly.
- 19:42 – 22:50
Catastrophic arm break and comeback: surgeries, nerve damage, and depression
- JPJoe Pyfer
Um, it's funny because a lot of people, uh, have said shit to me. And I'm like, "Listen, when I came back after I broke my arm, I was big before I broke my arm and then... But I was big in the wrong way. I was big in, like, a weightlifting way." Um-
- JRJoe Rogan
When did you break your arm?
- JPJoe Pyfer
2020 maybe.
- JRJoe Rogan
And how'd you do it?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Dustin Stoltzfus. I got Matt returned in a fucking Contender Series fight.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Dislocated and broke backwards.
- JRJoe Rogan
And that's your right arm?
- JPJoe Pyfer
That's my right arm.
- JRJoe Rogan
Big scar.
- JPJoe Pyfer
So I had one surgery. That's this scar. Uh, six months later, I joined my team, Marquez, where Sean's at, uh, and- and all the Philly guys. And then I had to six months again had to get another surgery and- another major surgery and-
- JRJoe Rogan
Same injury? Just reinjured it?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah. So, uh, no. So I still had a torn forearm and I still- I had a whole bunch of bone growth behind. So I broke the radial head in half, uh, which is what you rotate. So I can rotate my hand, right, like this on my good arm, but I can't go any further than this because it's pinned. Uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
To this day?
- JPJoe Pyfer
... I have screws in there. To this day, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, wow.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Um, and that's the straightest my arm goes. So-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, wow.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, so motherfuckers don't understand that this was... I h- I was given a 30% chance of being able to fight, you know, if I got the second surgery, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
30%?
- JPJoe Pyfer
30%, uh, because of the nerve damage and not, like, having full functionality because there's a lot of nerves in there, um, especially where I got surgery and how much damage and inflammation and whatnot was in there. Um, so they had to cut the capsule and whatnot. So man, when I tell you, like, I'm gonna be hurting when I'm older, I'm gonna be hurting. I have pain every day and whatnot, but, uh, but yeah, I mean, I broke my arm in some bullshit fluke accident. Um, you know, I did get Matt returned. I should have let go of the head. I was gonna go for a guillotine.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
And then he lifted me. I didn't expect it, right? Post it out. Boom. Been that way a thousand times in practice.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Never been hurt. And, uh, yeah, it ate me up, man. Ate me up. You know, they closed the ambulance doors and, you know, you don't get to say shit to Dana White. And all you get is a bunch of nerds that text you and say, "Hey, man, at least you got a couple million views. You're famous." And, you know, I lost sponsorships. I was depressed, suicidal, all that shit. And 20 years of my life, I think, at that point, um-
- JRJoe Rogan
So you were really concerned that that was the end?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah, I mean, look, Joe, I started this at four and a half years old, you know. I don't- I don't know how much you know, um, but, you know, I started this at four and a half years old and I haven't seen another path and this was my A and there was no B. So if A didn't work, that was it.
- JRJoe Rogan
So at four and a half you knew you wanted to fight?
- JPJoe Pyfer
F- no, eight years old I knew I wanted to fight. Four and a half I started jujitsu. Five years old I did my first competition in Naga. Um, and, uh, yeah, I mean, eight years old is... I started developing, like, a little bit of a confidence. I was so run down and abused that it- that was where my- my confidence started coming from, so... I never had a dream of the belt and I can say all these years, I've never had a dream of holding a belt, but I always had a dream of people chanting my name when I was walking out to a sold-out crowd. So that was always my dream and I always- I've always wanted that. And, uh, yeah, I mean, I was- I wasn't a kid that hung out with kids. You know, I was homeschooled and, um, yeah, there- it- there's a lot- there's a lot of detail to uncover in there. But, uh, but yeah, I mean, I've known I wanted to do this all my life. And (laughs) when I tell you there was no plan B, bro, there was no plan B, so-
- 22:50 – 25:10
Early life in fighting: childhood training, amateur rules, and gym identity
- JRJoe Rogan
When did you have your first MMA fight? How old were you?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I was, uh, I think 20 years old. 20 years old. Uh, twen- yeah, 20 years old. Uh, actually, no, that's not true. Uh, yeah, it is true. 20 years old. I think it was 2017 was my first fight. Um, or 2016. One of those years.
- JRJoe Rogan
And amateur or-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Amateur.
- JRJoe Rogan
... did you just-
- JPJoe Pyfer
So PA, I'm a PA boy at the time.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Um, you have to have five amateurs before you could go pro.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, really?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's the- the ru-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... interesting.
- JPJoe Pyfer
That was the rule when I was fighting. Um, so you had to have five.
- JRJoe Rogan
Is that still the rule?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Uh, I'm not sure. I think it is. Um, you definitely have to have amateur experience to be considered to get your pro license.
- JRJoe Rogan
What if you're, like, an amateur wrestler or something like that?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I'm not sure.
- JRJoe Rogan
Does that translate into it?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I don't think so.
- JRJoe Rogan
Interesting.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I don't- I think it's just that- I think it's just the way that the PA commission was with Greg Sir back then.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's not a bad idea.
- JPJoe Pyfer
So I went four and one as an amateur. Um, and I felt so held back with the- the bullshit shin guards, not being able to punch somebody in the face on the ground.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, that's how it is with amateurs?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You can't punch in the face of-
- JPJoe Pyfer
Can't punch in the face.
- JRJoe Rogan
... no elbowing in the ground?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Can't elbow anyone in the face.
- 25:10 – 1:03:19
Childhood abuse revealed: violence at home and long-term psychological impact
- JRJoe Rogan
You talk about your abuse. Like, what, what exactly was the abuse?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I don't want to give the short version, right? You know.
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.
- JPJoe Pyfer
This is a moment right now that I get to recognize that I'm in front of somebody who has... You've heard so many stories, so many crazy things. And, you know, my story is definitely not up there with the crazy things, right? But my story, I'm unique. I'm one of one. So my story is, um, you know, I started out, uh... The abuse started when I was a year old. Um, my parents both blame each other. You know, child services in and out of our, our lives. I'm one of five kids. I got four sisters, two older, two younger. And, uh, I, yeah, I started getting beat as a, as a one-year-old, um, from what I was told is because I had shit myself, right? That's what kids, infants do. And, uh, so that's when it started. And, um-
- JRJoe Rogan
Why you got beat for going to the bathroom?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Shitting my diaper, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Phew.
- JPJoe Pyfer
Uh, the story is, I shit my diaper, reached into my diaper, wiped on the walls, and then I got beat for it. Um, neither parent owns up to it, but both parents-
- JRJoe Rogan
Phew.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... have blamed each other, um, just because of the physical, physical abuse on, on my father's side, 100% has to be him. Um, my mom was not physically aggressive by nature, you know what I mean? She, she definitely whipped my ass, you know, uh, a good amount, but it was never with the mean intentions, uh, you know, comparable to my father. It was more verbal on her end. But, uh, but yeah, so it started then. And bro, since the time I've had memory, I remember getting my head stomped, getting beat, getting screamed at, slapped, like, humiliated, just run down, told, "You're never gonna be anything." And, uh, you know, my sisters received... unfortunately received the, uh, the same treatment. And, uh, yeah, so I mean, abuse has been something, and toxic, and I mean toxic. Like, when I wanna say, like, breaking somebody down, I didn't have an ounce of self-esteem. I was my dad's puppet. I didn't know no life being homeschooled. You do school, right? That...
- JRJoe Rogan
Is he still around?
- JPJoe Pyfer
Still living, yeah. Still living. Um, I'm not sure where. I've parted ways with him, and, uh, I don't want to talk to him. Next time I see him is probably, you know-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... when it's done. And, uh, I don't hate him, you know what I mean? I don't hate him, but, uh, I despise him as a human being as far as, you know, what he's given back to the world and, and the kind of person that he's accepted to be. Um, but yeah, I mean, yeah, he's still around. I just don't know where, and I don't really care where. So, uh, I know my mom still lives at the house that I grew up in, and...
- JRJoe Rogan
It's so hard to believe that some people are capable of becoming what they become, you know, and to do that to their child. It's so-
- JPJoe Pyfer
You know what's fucked up about it the most, is that it was almost better for me to have never known him than to know him and see how it went, and lose him. You know what I mean? Because I loved that man as a child. That was my idol. Nobody could beat him in the gym. Like, that was... That's what I thought. And I never thought he was a liar, you know, and then right around 15 years old, and I definitely think I was behind, you know what I mean? Socially. Um, just because of being homeschooled. So my dad wound up getting Social Security Disability, and he was a stay-at-home dad, you know what I mean? Collecting SSD and fucking doing nothing but beating his kids and screaming and sitting, basically just being, uh, you know, a child abuser to, to all of us, you know. And, and (clears throat) , never once has he ever taken accountability for the wrongs that he's done. Um, and if he's tried to finagle it, it's been to be like, "Hey, you were a bad kid."
- JRJoe Rogan
No.
- JPJoe Pyfer
It's like, "Yo, I wa- I wanna know, I wanna know how I was a bad kid." I didn't steal. Sure, I lied as a kid out of fear because I was afraid to get my head stomped or get beat like a man, you know. I didn't get... I didn't get a traditional ass whooping, Joe. (laughs) Like, neither did my sisters either. They got picked up by their necks, picked up by their hair, strangled, um-
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... you know. And, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
- JPJoe Pyfer
There's, there's many, there's many stories, you know. And as you know, we have a documentary, right?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JPJoe Pyfer
And, um, I refrained from putting the details of specific stories because the, the documentary is not about, "Woe is me. Poor me." It's about, A, I never, through all of this, gave up on the dream to get to the UFC. Even when I broke my arm and I thought I was doing... I did everything right. I didn't go out and party. I didn't go out and do drugs. I've never, I've never smoked weed. I've never done... And I'm not saying weed's a drug, but I've never smoked weed. I've never smoked a cigarette. I've never take... popped a pill. I've never done anything. I didn't go out to strip clubs. I didn't go out and bring girls home from the bar. That's never been me. So yeah, I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
You were just always focused.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I was, I was obsessed with this. I was obsessed with this. And I was obsessed with this because I knew if I couldn't do this, I would have checked out. And that's, that's what made me, you know... That's what made me, like, "Keep going, motherfucker, keep going, keep going, keep going." And I just kept beating down the door of people, like my coach that, you know, has come with me. I've known that man since I was 10 years old, you know. And he's seen me, where? In the gym. And then nothing's changed. He could tell you that from... You know, the only thing that's changed is my maturity, the way I look at life, perspective. But, uh, yeah, man, I mean, it was a, it was a rough background, and it only got worse as I got older.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a horrible thing to hear. You know, as a parent, it's, it's terrifying to think that a parent... another parent could do that to their child. But we all know it's true. And we all know that it can do one of two things to someone. It could just ruin your life or it can give you this unstoppable fuel. And that's what it seems to have done with you. I would never wish that on anybody. But I often see people like you that are so fucking driven and so angry in there and so effective because of that, like, so dangerous because of that. I always... I'm often wonder, like, is it even possible?... to make a guy like you without that?
- JPJoe Pyfer
I don't think so.
- JRJoe Rogan
I look at, like, Mike Tyson, same thing.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I don't think so and I ... But I think that's where I have my appreciation for him, you know. I'll never discredit him. I would not be in the sport if it wasn't for him. He was the one that went to the gym. He's the one that introduced me and I will give respect where it's due, right? And that's the respect he deserves.
- 1:03:19 – 1:24:56
Running away and survival: homelessness, toxic living situations, and a coach who saved him
- JPJoe Pyfer
So it's cool, man. Uh, wrestling w- like my life got real tough once I got to ... like once I left home. So I ... My parents divorced at 15. Like I testified, I never wanted to see my mom again, and then-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, Jesus Christ.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... I left with my dad. Yeah, so the, you know, the other, the other branch of that story is you got the abuse from at least my earliest memory of like four and a half, five years old un- and till 15 years old. Then we leave. I go to PA with my dad because my mom basically hated my guts. I was a f- it was like ... It was such a divided family. It was the girls and my mom. They ... We lived like the farm life. Like I grew up a farm boy and, uh, against like my dad and the fighter, right? Like, like I was a puppet. And, uh, you know, I just mimicked everything that he said. But, you know, um, I chose my dad because I didn't want to lose wrestling or, or jujitsu or, or-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... boxing and everything. But then when I got up-
- JRJoe Rogan
The things that were giving you meaning.
- JPJoe Pyfer
But then when I got up to PA, he had already had a girl he was laid up in that it was like that's all that mattered to him, and then she worked. He doesn't work. You know what I mean? So he found somebody to prey on, to manipulate, to do his thing, and then-
- JRJoe Rogan
No.
- JPJoe Pyfer
... it was like, "I don't need my kid no more," after I went to court and like, you know-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, geez.
- JPJoe Pyfer
I didn't understand the consequences of testifang- testifying in court against your mom and being dragged to court out of school and, and that humiliation. Um, and, uh, you know, I didn't talk to my, my mom and my sisters for years. And we, we don't talk currently. We haven't talked since before I, I got in the UFC. And we haven't talked since before I broke my arm.
Episode duration: 2:39:37
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Transcript of episode NuQb11rSCXw
