JRE MMA Show #162 with Belal Muhammad

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. NANarrator0:00

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

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) All right, what's up? Good to see you, man. Congratulations.

   3. BMBelal Muhammad0:15

      Good to see you, brother. I appreciate you, man.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      The champ is here.

   5. BMBelal Muhammad0:18

      (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      Everybody has to shut the fuck up now. (laughs)

   7. BMBelal Muhammad0:20

      (laughs) That's the best part right now-

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:22

      (laughs)

   9. BMBelal Muhammad0:23

      ... is now I can just talk as much as possible and they can't say nothing.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:26

       They can't say nothing. There was so many doubters, so many naysayers, so many people didn't want you to get that title shot. It was so unfair, dude. It was really wild. It was wild to see. It really was. It really was. 'Cause I'm like, "Are you guys not watching his fights? Like, what the fuck are you guys seeing?"

   11. BMBelal Muhammad0:42

       (laughs)

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       I d- I do not understand when people don't appreciate excellence. I really don't get it. I never... Like, the Sean Brady fight, you see that fight, you don't think this dude is a fucking problem for everybody? You see the Wonderboy fight, see all your fights.

   13. BMBelal Muhammad0:58

       And all of them, they've been different, right? Like-

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:00

       Yeah.

   15. BMBelal Muhammad1:00

       ... with the Sean Brady, all I did was stand up. I didn't shoot one takedown on him.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:03

       Yeah.

   17. BMBelal Muhammad1:03

       Gilbert Burns, I didn't shoot one takedown. Wonderboy, I took him down. Obviously, I'm not gonna strike with a kickboxer, so I've showed you guys all forms of martial arts.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:11

       Yeah.

   19. BMBelal Muhammad1:11

       And people still hated. They're like, they're still hating.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:13

       So crazy.

   21. BMBelal Muhammad1:15

       Even with the Leon fight, so even for this fight, I was like, "Bro-"

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:17

       I don't know, after the Leon fight, I think they have to shut the fuck up. I think everybody has to shut the fuck up and just recognize what you did, 'cause you put so much pressure on him standing up. You were in his face from the very first second of the very first round. You just advanced and you could tell he wanted that space и you could tell it was a different experience than what he thought he was gonna get from you.

   23. BMBelal Muhammad1:40

       Yeah, I mean, when we saw him against Colby and him against Usman, uh, the third fight, we saw that he's, he's an expert at distance.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:45

       Yes.

   25. BMBelal Muhammad1:46

       He manages the distance. He puts it at his own pace, so we were like, "Bro, we gotta make this st- dirtiest fight, the hardest fight for him." So, we gotta step right away. So even when the ref was, like, looking to me and telling me to back up, when he looked at Leon and said, "You ready? You ready?" I'm walking forward right away, so I'm right in his face before he even, like, looks up. So I was like, "I gotta get him on his back foot right away, make him uncomfortable." And I knew he's not good uncomfortable.

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:08

       Hmm.

   27. BMBelal Muhammad2:08

       None of these, no, no striker's really good moving backwards-

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:11

       Right.

   29. BMBelal Muhammad2:11

       ... but I knew Leon specifically, I don't wanna be in his kick range.

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:14

       Right.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Yep. …

   1. BMBelal Muhammad15:00

      with a lot of guys, big name guys, where you'll see them give up a choke.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:03

      Yep.

   3. BMBelal Muhammad15:03

      And it'll be like, "He just lifted up his neck."

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:06

      Mm-hmm.

   5. BMBelal Muhammad15:06

      "And maybe he was too tired." No, he just wanted to get out of there. For me, I had no fear, and I know that I could go harder than any of these guys. And if I'm tired, I know he's gonna be twice as tired.

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:14

      Mm-hmm.

   7. BMBelal Muhammad15:15

      But I think a lot of it, like you said, is just, you know, the team I have around me. I got, I do strength and conditioning with my boy Matt Murphy, but it's not anything outrageous, right? We're not doing that, the crazy new stuff that's coming out. We do heavy weights, and we do all, like, the, the big muscles, like chest, uh, lower back, and squats. But we put all this other s- stuff around it, like the cosmetic stuff too. Uh, and we're lifting three days a week.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:39

      What do you mean by cosmetic stuff?

   9. BMBelal Muhammad15:40

      Like, say if I, I go heavy on my squat, and then we'll still end up doing, like, low b- lower back, uh, chest, and, like, dumbbell with chest and everything on that day. But, like, on a heavy chest day, we're going, like, uh, legs, lunges, like, lesser weight.

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:56

       Mm-hmm.

   11. BMBelal Muhammad15:56

       So we go heavy with, like, squats, chest, and deadlifts one day a week for each of those, and then oth- we still do full body stuff that same day, but just, like, lower the weights and higher reps.

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:07

       So you're essentially doing almost, like, y- you're doing, like, power lifter work.

   13. BMBelal Muhammad16:11

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:11

       You're doing bench press, like, just power generating stuff.

   15. BMBelal Muhammad16:15

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan16:15

       Are you doing any plyometrics or any of that kind of stuff?

   17. BMBelal Muhammad16:17

       I mean, I do a lot of, uh, swimming for my, for, like, cardio-wise. And then people make fun of me a lot.

   18. JRJoe Rogan16:23

       Swimming is so hard.

   19. BMBelal Muhammad16:24

       Uh-

   20. JRJoe Rogan16:25

       Swimming is fucking hard. Hard.

   21. BMBelal Muhammad16:26

       People don't know how to s- yeah, people when they, when I take them to the pool, like, when I take a brand new fighter to the pool, and if they never swam before, they get so tired.

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:33

       Yeah.

   23. BMBelal Muhammad16:33

       And I tell them, "Bro, it's a full body workout."

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:36

       Yeah.

   25. BMBelal Muhammad16:36

       "It's everything you need, especially for fighting. It's, like, one of the hardest things you could do."

   26. JRJoe Rogan16:39

       Especially if you're, like, built like you, 'cause you probably sink like a rock.

   27. BMBelal Muhammad16:43

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan16:43

       So it's hard to stay above water.

   29. BMBelal Muhammad16:45

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan16:46

       Like, fat people, they say, "Swimming's not hard." Right, because you got a floaty on. You're literally swimming around with a floaty. You can float.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Mm-hmm. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      see the other side and they come back and they just have a different mentality.

   2. BMBelal Muhammad30:04

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:04

      You know, they almost lost their life to some really stupid shit, and they have like a, a grip on life that's a little bit different, and a, a drive that's a little different. There's been a few guys that I know that were like real heavy drug addicts and got off the drugs and just became performance freaks.

   4. BMBelal Muhammad30:21

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:21

      Just endurance freaks, just animals and like so disciplined. You're like, "Wow, how is it that this guy used to be a drug addict-"

   6. BMBelal Muhammad30:28

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:28

      "... a junkie, and now this guy's weighing his food and you know, and drinking electrolyte-filled water and fucking showing up before anybody and-"

   8. BMBelal Muhammad30:36

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:37

      "... putting in those rounds on the Airdyne machine after practice?" You're like, "God damn."

   10. BMBelal Muhammad30:41

       I lived with, uh, Jared Gordon for uh, three years together. He's like my best friend. And-

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:45

       Same situation.

   12. BMBelal Muhammad30:46

       He would say, "I'm gonna go for a jog." And I was like, "All right, cool." And he'll be like, come back like three hours later. I'd be like, "What did you do?" He's like, "Ah, I just ran 20 miles." And I'm just like, "You said you were going for a jog. That's not a jog, that's like a marathon." Like ...

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:56

       Yeah.

   14. BMBelal Muhammad30:56

       And he would just do that outta nowhere. Like you said, they just had that crazy cardio endurance and they'll just go nonstop.

   15. JRJoe Rogan31:02

       Yeah.

   16. BMBelal Muhammad31:03

       And I think it's that type of mindset, right? It just gets your mind-

   17. JRJoe Rogan31:05

       I think so.

   18. BMBelal Muhammad31:05

       ... off other stuff.

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:06

       They're, they're a little extra spooky.It was a little extra spooky, those forward junkies.

   20. NANarrator31:11

       (laughs)

   21. BMBelal Muhammad31:11

       (laughs)

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:11

       I don't know why, man. They're, like, not playing any fucking games.

   23. NANarrator31:15

       (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:15

       You know, guys that have almost died, they are not playing any fucking games with you.

   25. BMBelal Muhammad31:19

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan31:19

       It's interesting, 'cause like there's, there's different things that make a great fighter. There's a lot of stuff. There's genetics, there's gifts. Some people just have that touch of death, you know? They just have that one shot, KO power. Some guys just are born with crazy... Like Cain Velasquez, they said just has genetic cardio. They said that motherfucker could take months off the gym, come in, and just smother everybody and nobody could deal with him. They said it was crazy, like nobody had ever seen anything like it. Like, I think Cain for sure was an elite fighter because of his mind, his discipline, his drive, his determination, his skillset. I mean, he was a... I think in his prime, there's a, the argument of who's the best heavyweight of all time, and I always throw Cain in there.

   27. BMBelal Muhammad32:02

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan32:02

       I think prime time Cain was, he was a tornado. He was a tornado. You c- you couldn't understand how a heavyweight could be throwing so many punches. He never stopped and he could take you down. And if you took him down, he didn't give a fuck. He'd r- get right back up with, like with Brock Lesnar.

   29. BMBelal Muhammad32:16

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan32:16

       Bro, he was a tornado in that cage.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      Neil Magny. Like, Da- Demian gets ahold of dudes, and you're like, "What is happening here?" (laughs)

   2. BMBelal Muhammad45:04

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:05

      This is a different kinda squeeze, man.

   4. BMBelal Muhammad45:07

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:07

      And he got fucked. He got totally fucked.

   6. BMBelal Muhammad45:10

      But that's crazy, right? 'Cause a lot of fights-

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:12

      The world could have changed.

   8. BMBelal Muhammad45:13

      ... off of one ref.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:15

      Oh, yeah.

   10. BMBelal Muhammad45:15

       Or one judge could change the whole thing, impact your career.

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:18

       Everything could have changed from that fight.

   12. BMBelal Muhammad45:19

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:19

       Everything could have changed. So, so let's imagine the judge doesn't do that. There is a 30% likelihood Kamaru's gonna get him to the ground and strangle him. Now li- legitimately.

   14. BMBelal Muhammad45:28

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:28

       You're looking at primetime Demian Maia in the worst possible position, one hook in, he's got your back. How are you shaking him off?

   16. BMBelal Muhammad45:37

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:37

       You got a 30% chance of shaking him off. You're stuck.

   18. BMBelal Muhammad45:42

       You're stuck.

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:42

       Y- you've got a, a, a good chance of holding off until the end of the round if you can't le- if you could s- you might be able to stop him from advancing, but it's perilous. This is a terrible position you're in. Demian Maia's on your back, and the referee's like, "Break it up. There's no action here."

   20. BMBelal Muhammad45:57

       (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:57

       Like, w- are you a champion street fighter?

   22. BMBelal Muhammad46:00

       (laughs)

   23. JRJoe Rogan46:00

       Like, it's the same shit. (laughs) Like, what are you doing? This is the sport.

   24. BMBelal Muhammad46:05

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan46:05

       The sport is this guy is a professional strangler, and he's finally gotten ahold of this guy. Oh, boo. The casuals are booing, so you gonna separate it? This is... It's the worst tra- for me, the biggest travesty I've ever seen in MMA.

   26. BMBelal Muhammad46:19

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan46:19

       That was number... Well, there's probably been a few. If I really had to go over all of them, I'd probably find a few other ones that weren't right up there.

   28. BMBelal Muhammad46:24

       There'd be, like, a top 10. I mean, even Leon against Kamaru too when Kamaru was on top of him and the ref stood him up 'cause the crowd was booing, right? And then he got a head kick.

   29. JRJoe Rogan46:31

       Oh, right.

   30. BMBelal Muhammad46:32

       Right? It's like-
5. 1:00:00 – 1:03:27

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      the biggest money fight. Even though Boots Ennis is a great fighter, most people don't know who he is yet.

   2. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:05

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:06

      And with Canelo, everybody knows who Canelo is. You get the Canelo fight, that's red panties night.

   4. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:11

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:11

      You know? Like, you're in, let's go.

   6. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:14

      That's, I mean, that's the Jon Jones effect with-

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

      Mm-hmm.

   8. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:16

      ... Stipe, right?

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

      Yep.

   10. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:17

       Not a lot of people know where Aspinall is yet.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:00:19

       Right.

   12. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:19

       I mean, the real fans know him, but it's like-

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:00:21

       Right.

   14. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:21

       ... everybody knows Stipe, right? Everybody knows he was one of the greatest heavyweights to ever do it.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:00:24

       It's a great thing if Jon can beat him on, on his resume. You know, it's an, one more notch that Jon beat the most accomplished heavyweight of all time. But here's the thing, everybody's sleeping on Stipe. Here's the thing about heavyweights. Heavyweights mature later and they, they get, they get compromised later too. Like heavyweights can fi... Like George Foreman won the heavyweight title at 45 years old. This is a d- and that was in the-

   16. BMBelal Muhammad1:00:52

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:52

       ... natural days. G- j- I think there's... Maybe not natural. I mean, I don't know what George is doing, but, uh, I was thinking of Wander Holyfield and I'm like, "Hmm, mm, eh."

   18. BMBelal Muhammad1:01:01

       (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:01:01

       (laughs) Maybe, maybe there's something going on. But my point is that, like, heavyweight fighters, I think because the, it's, there's not as much movement, it's a, it's a different thing. The body matures, l- it takes longer. They're, they're just bigger human beings. I could see a guy that's in his 40s still fighting elite. And we haven't seen Stipe since he got knocked out. So we saw that fight against Francis where Francis just looked unstoppable. Francis knocks him out, and we haven't seen Stipe in years now. Like how, when was the last time Stipe fought? I remember it was at the APEX and it was in the middle of the pandemic because there was no crowd.

   20. BMBelal Muhammad1:01:35

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:01:36

       Which was crazy to see a heavyweight title fight with no crowd. It was nuts.

   22. BMBelal Muhammad1:01:40

       Yeah, that, that pandemic days were, were wild.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:01:43

       Wild.

   24. BMBelal Muhammad1:01:43

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:01:43

       Everybody's wearing a mask, hanging over their nose. It's all so stupid.

   26. BMBelal Muhammad1:01:46

       (laughs)

   27. NANarrator1:01:46

       Against Francis, right?

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:01:47

       Yes.

   29. NANarrator1:01:48

       Yeah, so March 27th, 2021.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:01:50

       2021-

Episode duration: 2:42:35