The Joe Rogan ExperienceJRE MMA Show #154 with Matt Serra, Din Thomas & John Rallo
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,002 words- 0:00 – 1:00
Cold open banter + Serra tries Zyn (nicotine pouches)
- NANarrator
(drum roll) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays)
- MSMatt Serra
Okay.
- JRJoe Rogan
I'm ready when you are.
- MSMatt Serra
Okay, let's-
- JRJoe Rogan
I'm thinking about popping this thing.
- MSMatt Serra
... he, Matt's already on a roll. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, he's on a roll. We gotta get- we gotta get it going.
- NANarrator
I'm getting it popping. I missed it already.
- MSMatt Serra
We gotta get it going. Yeah. We missed- we missed-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- MSMatt Serra
... the joy that is Matt's hair.
- NANarrator
Gotta get you ready for your truck ride over there.
- MSMatt Serra
Um-
- JRJoe Rogan
We need a name for this order of, uh, unruly gentlemen. We need a-
- NANarrator
Oh.
- JRJoe Rogan
... we need a name for us.
- NANarrator
Uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Matt? (laughs)
- MSMatt Serra
I wanna think about it, but what do I-
- JRJoe Rogan
This is Matt's first Zyn, by the way.
- NANarrator
But what is-
- MSMatt Serra
Yeah, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And it's a six milligram. That's a, that's a heavy dose.
- MSMatt Serra
But I'm not a... I'm a caffeine guy. I love caffeine.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's- that's a lot like caffeine, but like even more.
- MSMatt Serra
Oh. But, um... Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- NANarrator
Jesus.
- MSMatt Serra
I've seen it at 7-Eleven. I know Tucker Carlson takes it.
- JRJoe Rogan
He loves them.
- MSMatt Serra
And it's not- he used to-
- 1:00 – 5:33
Is nicotine “neuroprotective”? Fact-checking and cigarette chemistry
- JRJoe Rogan
Nicotine chemical... Nicotine as a chemical is neuroprotective. It- it- it shows there's been studies that have done that it shows some sort of a connection with helping ward off Alzheimer's, I believe. Find out if that's true. I might have made that up.
- MSMatt Serra
Oh, nicotine?
- JRJoe Rogan
I might have made that up.
- MSMatt Serra
Oh, so you saying it's good for you?
- NANarrator
So-
- JRJoe Rogan
Katt Williams' weed is strong. Yes.
- MSMatt Serra
Yeah. (laughs)
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Nico- nicotine as a- a chemical is not bad for you. What's bad for you is the delivery system of cigarettes.
- NANarrator
There it is.
- JRJoe Rogan
Particularly c- cigarettes if you buy like cigarettes with chemicals in them.
- MSMatt Serra
W-
- JRJoe Rogan
So there's like... There's those-
- NANarrator
It is American Indians-
- JRJoe Rogan
What are those American Spirits?
- NANarrator
Yeah, whatever they're called.
- JRJoe Rogan
What are they called?
- NANarrator
American something.
- JRJoe Rogan
Spirits?
- NANarrator
American... Spirits?
- MSMatt Serra
It's a... That's like a marketing thing. I don't think that's true.
- JRJoe Rogan
They're not... They have shit in them too?
- MSMatt Serra
Of course, they're cigarettes. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
No, but I think- I think it's different.
- NANarrator
Interesting, I thought they were just supposedly paper and a tobacco.
- MSMatt Serra
I don't think it is.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, those liars. Okay, nicotine for Alzheimer's disease. There's no evidence from randomized controlled trials to support the use of nicotine as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. So what was the thing that... Wasn't there something about a connection between the way nicotine works and some sort of a... There's something I read.
- NANarrator
My thing is, if I start with the nicotine-
- JRJoe Rogan
Could we go back to that, please, Jamie?
- MSMatt Serra
Oh, okay.
- 5:33 – 9:23
Nootropics 101: Alpha Brain, memory, and “brain nutrition”
- JRJoe Rogan
But you know what else I found that I really like? Is these... This... I don't know. This is... I should kind of not be talking about this, because these motherfuckers took the name that we use for our nootropic, which is Alpha Brain. But it's a... These are like, um, a nootropic pouch. So this doesn't have any nicotine in it. It has a bunch of nootropics, which I really- I really like nootropics.
- MSMatt Serra
No.
- JRJoe Rogan
Maybe they didn't steal our name, but it's kind of-
- MSMatt Serra
No.
- JRJoe Rogan
... close. I'm kind of convinced it's the same thing.
- NANarrator
It's Alpha Brain conveys the message, right?
- MSMatt Serra
I used to take that all the time.
- JRJoe Rogan
We- we... Alpha Brain was one of the first... Well, the first one that I ever found out was Neuro1. Remember that guy, Romanowski?
- NANarrator
Mm-hmm.
- MSMatt Serra
Yeah, Bill Romanowski.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, Romanowski, who was a football player, obviously got a lot of head impacts and he was having problems with his memory, so he devised a supplement to... It's really good. That was the first one I ever found out about.
- MSMatt Serra
And, uh... I'm sorry, what did you say is in that again?
- JRJoe Rogan
This one?
- MSMatt Serra
What-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's got a bunch of different nootropics.
- MSMatt Serra
No, no, with the- with the- the word you just said.
- JRJoe Rogan
Nootropics.
- MSMatt Serra
Now not... For the people at home...
- JRJoe Rogan
... not, not me. (laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
(laughs)
- MSMatt Serra
What exactly- what exactly is a nootropic?
- JRJoe Rogan
It's, uh, it's the building block for human neurochemistry. So, it's things like, uh, acetylcholine. There's a, there's a bunch of different ones. If you can, like, list, show the, the ingredients for Alpha Brain if you could. There's lutein, there's a bunch of different things that have been shown to increase cognitive performance. So, we actually did randomized control trials at the Boston Center for Memory for Alpha Brain. We sponsored two of them. And it showed an increase in verbal memory, your ability to retain words, which I really find.
- DTDin Thomas
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, I take it every time I do a UFC, I take Alpha Brain. Always.
- DTDin Thomas
Oh, really?
- JRJoe Rogan
Helps my memory.
- DTDin Thomas
Yes.
- JRJoe Rogan
I'm talking about fights from f- I, I've watched 2,000 fights-
- DTDin Thomas
And, and you be bringing out zingers, yeah, you be bringing up zingers that everybody forgot about.
- JRJoe Rogan
... every now and then.
- 9:23 – 13:01
Din’s health saga returns: holistic doctor, coffee orders, and the dreaded stool test
- DTDin Thomas
Um, I seen a, um, since the last time we spoke, we, remember the last time we were talking about my ass? Not to get into the fucking... Remember, (laughs) remember I just, I got... Now, remember we talked about my ass?
- JRJoe Rogan
Hey, what a segue here.
- JRJohn Rallo
For the folks at home, a refresher. (laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
Well, I don't wanna leave everybody on a cliffhanger.
- JRJoe Rogan
Whew.
- DTDin Thomas
The last we spoke, um, I was supposed to take a shit in a box to go to the lab.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- DTDin Thomas
And I c- and I had a, I had a f- it was, I don't know what it was. I, I, I just didn't, never did it, and then I finally was like, "You know what? Fuck it. I'm doing it." And then I, I changed insurance, so I had to get a different doctor, so I had to... Anyway, I seen a holistic doctor, right? So I'm gonna, uh, I ended up doing it. He-
- JRJoe Rogan
Like a witch doctor?
- DTDin Thomas
Uh, uh, dude, now listen, I was a little nervous too.
- JRJoe Rogan
Why a holistic doctor?
- DTDin Thomas
Should I, should I be, should I be-
- JRJohn Rallo
The shaman.
- JRJoe Rogan
Is that a real thing?
- DTDin Thomas
Yeah, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Is that a real thing?
- DTDin Thomas
Well listen, I'm gonna find out. He's, thank you, brother. It's, uh, it, it, Mike G, it's, um, from Huntington, right? Now, somebody recommended him. I know what you're thinking. I was thinking the same thing. It's gonna be, um, do you have any sweetness?
- JRJoe Rogan
Uh, we don't.
- DTDin Thomas
Nah, no, I'm a, I'm a f- look at me, primadonna.
- JRJoe Rogan
Sorry.
- JRJohn Rallo
Do we have any out there?
- DTDin Thomas
No, no, I don't wanna be that guy. Jamie, sit down, please. We got enough.
- JRJoe Rogan
No, no, no, what do you want? Like, Splenda, Real Sugar?
- DTDin Thomas
Uh, yeah, Splenda, Stevia.
- JRJoe Rogan
He's like, "I don't wanna be that guy." Splenda, Stevia.
- DTDin Thomas
Stevia. Yeah, yeah, okay.
- JRJohn Rallo
(laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
Got some milk.
- JRJoe Rogan
You don't need that mint cream.
- DTDin Thomas
So, what I, what I-
- 13:01 – 22:00
Woke culture and fandom wars: Idiocracy, Tropic Thunder, and Disney Star Wars
- DTDin Thomas
... it, do people like the policies? Or are they just liking the fucking guy? I was just watching Idiocracy the other day-
- MSMatt Serra
Oh my Lord.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's so good, still.
- DTDin Thomas
And, uh, that is the film. Dude, such, oh wait, hold on. That's fucking great.
- MSMatt Serra
Terry Crews was a great press.
- JRJoe Rogan
Still, so good.
- DTDin Thomas
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
It holds up so well.
- MSMatt Serra
He's like, "Listen-
- DTDin Thomas
You like the white Terry Crews.
- MSMatt Serra
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
He see (laughs) , yeah. He seeing the council, he's like, "Yeah, my first wife, my first wife was taunted. She's a pilot now."
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
And fucking ... (laughs) No, it, it, that movie is fucking great.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a great movie, man.
- DTDin Thomas
It's not exactly politically correct, but it's fucking good.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's not at all, but it holds up. You almost couldn't make it today.
- MSMatt Serra
You can't make any of these, Tropic Thunder or-
- JRJoe Rogan
Listen, Tropic Thunder would be impossible today.
- MSMatt Serra
No, you couldn't make that now.
- DTDin Thomas
I gotta watch that again.
- JRJoe Rogan
Impossible today.
- DTDin Thomas
I haven't watched that in ages.
- JRJoe Rogan
Bro.
- MSMatt Serra
Great movie.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's a great movie, man.
- MSMatt Serra
Great movie.
- DTDin Thomas
I have to watch that.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's a great movie.
- 22:00 – 29:24
VR obsession: Contractors Showdown, gaming as a hobby, and a pitch for Din’s channel
- DTDin Thomas
Can I ... First of all, can I ... First, can I thank you now? 'Cause listen. This show doesn't come without perks. Listen. I, I was on here geeking about, about the, uh, VR last time.
- NANarrator
Yep, yep.
- DTDin Thomas
So all of a sudden ... You know I love that Pop 1 and I still do. I was just playing it before I got here. Uh, and another guy got in contact with me from Caveman Studios, this guy, Lon. He goes, "Look. I love how enthusiastic you are. Try this game in, in, in, uh, beta testing." So, uh, so it's out ... It's not even out yet. It's coming out at the end of the month. Contractors Showdown. Fucking money! I don't play anything but Pop 1. Am I getting off the subject? We should talk about MMA.
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Now we're talking about it.
- NANarrator
I haven't even got to MMA yet. We're off subject. (laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
(laughs) Yeah. Right? Listen, listen. Holy shit. It's, it's like, um, uh, it's like War Zone. It's like, uh, Call of Duty: War Zone. I love the b- I love the battle royale format where it's like a squad and then everybody gets brought in together and you gotta take each other out. It's cool. That's kind ... That's Pop 1. Technically, it's Fortnite. Not to sound like a nerd. This shit! Contractors Showdown! Fucking nerdgasm. I love it.
- NANarrator
Nerdgasm. (laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
It's so much fun.
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
It is, it's-
- NANarrator
Is that a new word?
- JRJoe Rogan
Guys-
- NANarrator
So you're parachute in on people?
- DTDin Thomas
Now listen, this the deal. You parachute out-
- NANarrator
Right.
- DTDin Thomas
You pick a ... You, you ... Now, when you go, you loot up, right? You get money, you get shit.
- NANarrator
You wrap your hands? What the fuck?
- DTDin Thomas
Well, you, you ... Yeah. He had, he had ... He must've had some damage. He had to heal up a little bit. So then you, you get guns-
- JRJoe Rogan
So you're fixing to go to war. You got money.
- DTDin Thomas
You, you, yeah. You get your boys and then you're like, "Look." No, I don't know about that nerd, but look.
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
Look, we're here. Now look. All right. Now that you ... You see the perimeter. Dude, everybody gets brought in. You get scopes, you put it on. You get money, you could buy stuff to put it on. And you're taking these guys out. You're sniping them. It-
- JRJoe Rogan
And this is all in virtual reality?
- DTDin Thomas
It's in virtual reality. It's fucking cool, dude.
- NANarrator
(snorts)
- JRJoe Rogan
That guy likes it.
- NANarrator
This is good. You should get a new job reviewing VR games.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's not a bad idea, actually.
- NANarrator
Imagine.
- 29:24 – 35:57
Mules, donkeys, and brutal internet videos (horse kick + street fight shooting)
- DTDin Thomas
I was watching a, I was watching a mule biting a fucking hyena, pulling him around a fucking-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- DTDin Thomas
Dude, they use them to bite wolves and coyotes.
Yeah, no shit.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, yeah.
- DTDin Thomas
You think a hyena would wanna get on-
Yeah, well, wolves are mean, man. They're fucking mean.
- JRJoe Rogan
Ponies?
- DTDin Thomas
They're smart, mules.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, yeah.
- DTDin Thomas
Mules.
Mules.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- DTDin Thomas
They'll use them to, like, protect the herd and shit.
What?
- JRJoe Rogan
They-
- DTDin Thomas
For real.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mules are so much smarter than horses. Like, people like them when they travel through the mountains 'cause a mule won't go anywhere where it's not safe.
- DTDin Thomas
Oh.
- JRJoe Rogan
A mule will go, "Uh-uh, bitch. We're not, I'm not-"
- DTDin Thomas
I know better.
- JRJoe Rogan
"Yeah, I know better. I'm not going over there."
- DTDin Thomas
Oh.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like that, that edge is too steep, we'll, we're falling. And so a horse-
- DTDin Thomas
That makes sense.
- JRJoe Rogan
... is just like... (imitates horsey noises)
- DTDin Thomas
(laughs)
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Horses just go right off the edge, man.
- DTDin Thomas
Yeah.
- 35:57 – 55:05
Cold plunge routines and knee rehab: discipline, pain tolerance, and “Knees Over Toes”
- DTDin Thomas
But second of all, we, we did, it didn't come out yet, but we did that fucking cold plunge on that fucking show. Let me ask you- Yeah, we did. ... something about the degrees of that 'cause I'm gonna about, I'm thinking about adding this into my routine. The cold plunge? I swear, man, 'cause I start my day with a steam, I'm thinking about putting it, a little, a, a small one in my locker room upstairs in my thing. But it was fucking brutal is what it was. When we did it, it was 32 degrees. 34. Okay, I'm trying to make it worse. Yeah. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- DTDin Thomas
All right, 32 degrees.
You're looking for 30.
- NANarrator
30 before is over with.
- DTDin Thomas
34 for three minutes. It was 34. Is that, is that pussy shit?
- JRJoe Rogan
No, that's normal. Yeah, that's what I do every day.
- DTDin Thomas
Normal?
- JRJoe Rogan
34? 34, three minutes every day.
- DTDin Thomas
God. That was fucking... All right, listen.
- JRJoe Rogan
I do it before my workout.
- DTDin Thomas
But did you... All right, let me, next question is did you build up to that?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yes.
- DTDin Thomas
Like, "Wow."
- JRJoe Rogan
In two days.
- DTDin Thomas
So there we... All right, no, it took you, it took you two days to build up to that?
- JRJoe Rogan
And then the third, third day I did 20 minutes.
- DTDin Thomas
Stop.
- JRJoe Rogan
No, I did. I, I filmed it. I put it on Instagram.
- DTDin Thomas
At 34?
- JRJoe Rogan
At 34.
- DTDin Thomas
34 degrees?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, I wanted to see how long I could go.
- DTDin Thomas
That's pretty crazy.
Well, see, but that's different if somebody-
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
... watched?
- DTDin Thomas
All I know is, now-
- JRJoe Rogan
Before you pass out or something?
- DTDin Thomas
... nobody's watching. We handled it differently, he, like- Yeah, we sure did. He was quiet, and then once in a while, you'd hear, like, a Goggins come out of him, like, "I can handle this!" And fucking-
- 55:05 – 58:58
Coaches, teams, and the UFC PI: loyalty vs opportunity in Vegas
- DTDin Thomas
He knows the... We keep it very simple, you know? And, uh, it's just crazy nowadays, you know? It's, it's a little, it's a little weird now, like, with the whole team, man. Like, uh, uh, you know, times change and stuff, but like, everybody's out in Vegas now. The whole team's like... I mean, everybody's doing well, so we're all happy for everybody, but like... Vegas is very tempting for young fighters. And it's... And I don't blame them. Like...
- JRJohn Rallo
Well, the facility really, I think-
- DTDin Thomas
That PI-
- JRJohn Rallo
... is gonna pull people out.
- JRJoe Rogan
The PI.
- DTDin Thomas
Food, everything.
- JRJohn Rallo
And then...
- JRJoe Rogan
All your food is taken care of.
- DTDin Thomas
Yeah.
- JRJohn Rallo
And you have the most sophisticated-
- DTDin Thomas
Exactly what they're saying. Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... training environment available on Earth. And if there's something better, they're gonna get it.
- DTDin Thomas
They are.
- JRJoe Rogan
Whatever the fuck it is.
- DTDin Thomas
It is.
- JRJohn Rallo
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And they set... I mean, it's a beautiful thing.
- JRJohn Rallo
I, I think it's fantastic. The only thing I, I think it sucks for is that you have these guys who are coming up, you know, with their people at home. Then they get to where they're at the UFC, they get to the PI, which is awesome, and then some school in Vegas is claiming, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JRJohn Rallo
Like... And I'm... No, no slam on Couture's team-
- JRJoe Rogan
Things like that, it's an issue.
- JRJohn Rallo
... or nothing... You know, like Nick's-
- JRJoe Rogan
That's an issue.
- JRJohn Rallo
... a great coach, but if I got a guy who's out here and he's been with you for s- you know, a few months-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, I think-
- JRJohn Rallo
... you can't take credit for that guy. You know what I mean?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. I think, you know, in a perfect world-
- JRJohn Rallo
And it's not his fault either. He just is there-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- DTDin Thomas
Yeah.
- 58:58 – 1:08:00
Merab & Aljo: insane cardio, durability, and the weight-cut problem
- JRJoe Rogan
Bro, Merab is-
- DTDin Thomas
Merab's a beast.
- JRJoe Rogan
... unstoppable.
- NANarrator
I love that guy.
- DTDin Thomas
And Rob Socially-
- JRJoe Rogan
When he was carrying Henry Cejudo with his tongue out-
- DTDin Thomas
Come on.
- NANarrator
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He's got his tongue... (screams) And he's, he's like a baby.
- DTDin Thomas
And then what-
- NANarrator
Savage moment.
- JRJoe Rogan
What a savage m- walking over to Mark Zuckerberg holding Henry "Fucking" Cejudo-
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
... two division world champion, golden medalist.
- DTDin Thomas
And embar- embarrassed him.
- NANarrator
Olympic gold medalist in-
- JRJoe Rogan
Look at that. That's insane.
- DTDin Thomas
Merab, the thing is with Merab, it's-
- JRJoe Rogan
He's a savage.
- DTDin Thomas
... I've never seen, in all my years, I've never seen a- a- a gas tank like that. I never have.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's incredible.
- DTDin Thomas
You know?
- JRJoe Rogan
It's incredible.
- DTDin Thomas
And, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's incredible because it's not like he's slow. Like, you generally-
- DTDin Thomas
I know.
- JRJoe Rogan
... associate like, really high level endurance with guys that maybe don't have the kinda power he has.
- DTDin Thomas
But he's also, he's durable. If you watched his fight-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, yeah.
Episode duration: 3:08:50
Install uListen for AI-powered chat & search across the full episode — Get Full Transcript
Transcript of episode n4T-AJ1alag