JRE MMA Show #172 with Gable Steveson

1. 0:00 – 1:46

   Named after Dan Gable: destiny, wrestling fame, and why pro wrestling lacks a real league

   1. GSGable Steveson0:00

      (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 happening? Pleasure to meet you, man.

   3. GSGable Steveson0:14

      How are you?

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      Great. I'm great. W- when you got a name like Gable, and you're named after Dan Gable, and you go on to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling, that is kind of- (laughs)

   5. GSGable Steveson0:24

      That's crazy, right? (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:25

      ... that's kind of prophetic.

   7. GSGable Steveson0:26

      Um, my mom, when I was young, she was trying to find names for me, and she liked Kale Sanderson because Kale was a guy at the time. But she was at a tournament in Iowa with my older brother, and she kept hearing, "Gable, Gable, Gable." And it was Dan Gable at the time. And you know, Dan Gable's a huge figure in the Midwest for wrestling, and so she was like, "Why don't I name you Gable Dan?" And the rest was history, which is really crazy-

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:46

      That-

   9. GSGable Steveson0:46

      ... 'cause it- it- his whole timeline is my timeline, which is fantastic.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:50

       Except the MMA part.

   11. GSGable Steveson0:51

       That too.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:52

       Yeah.

   13. GSGable Steveson0:52

       Which I wish he would've done.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:53

       (laughs) Well, he would've been amazing at it, but-

   15. GSGable Steveson0:55

       I think he would've- I think he would've been amazing.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:56

       But it wasn't around, I mean, when he was wrestling.

   17. GSGable Steveson0:59

       Bare knuckle maybe? I don't know. Do it on a street or something.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:01

       (laughs)

   19. GSGable Steveson1:01

       (laughs) He could've found- he could've found a way.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:04

       It's kind of fucked that there's no real professional outlet for actual wrestling.

   21. GSGable Steveson1:10

       It is fucked, and, uh, wrestling needs a real way to go out there and, and be something big. And I think they have a really good one now with, um, RAF. If you haven't heard about it-

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:20

       Yes, I have.

   23. GSGable Steveson1:20

       ... it's American Freestyle. They're trying, and I think they're trying really well, and I think it's gonna come to a point where, how do you make matchups continue? Because, you know, wrestling gets to the point where... And- and fighting and- and- and a lot of other sports, you can get to the point where, you know, maybe you draft a guy, and fighting, there's a next big thing.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:36

       Mm-hmm.

   25. GSGable Steveson1:36

       There's a next guy out there that you can kinda create, and with wrestling, they're trying to create a- an atmosphere of how can you create that person. And I like it, and I think it might work, and hopefully it keeps going the way it needs to go.

2. 1:46 – 3:31

   Why wrestling (and soccer) struggle for mainstream American attention

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:46

      (clicks tongue) It would be interesting if it... Well, the problem is MMA is so huge now, and people kind of associate wrestling with either MMA or pro wrestling now.

   2. GSGable Steveson1:55

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:55

      Like those are the two things that they think of. And it's one... I think it's one of those things like soccer, where soccer should be huge in America. It's huge all over the world, right? It's a very exciting sport. But nope.

   4. GSGable Steveson2:09

      You know what's crazy? How- how popular soccer players are, and I feel like in America, we have so many sports that, like, we can't hit that market for soccer, and I think that might be the biggest case why. Because if you go overseas, Ronaldo's paid-

   5. JRJoe Rogan2:23

      Huge.

   6. GSGable Steveson2:23

      ... $500 million, and if he scores a goal, he gets a million dollars a goal or something.

   7. JRJoe Rogan2:27

      (laughs)

   8. GSGable Steveson2:28

      So he's out here doing bicycle kicks. But it's- it's, like, we have so many professional sports that LeBron James is our biggest athlete, but even then, I think it's at a point where some people see LeBron and, you know, it's not like the- the crazy wow factors. If you saw a soccer player in Italy or Spain, you'd have been like, "Man, that's him."

   9. JRJoe Rogan2:45

      Right. Well, they have less sports though, right? Like-

   10. GSGable Steveson2:49

       I- I think so.

   11. JRJoe Rogan2:49

       Italy, like w-

   12. GSGable Steveson2:50

       I think Italy got, like, basketball, soccer.

   13. JRJoe Rogan2:52

       Well, they're not really known for basketball though. Soccer's big, boxing-

   14. GSGable Steveson2:56

       Mm-hmm.

   15. JRJoe Rogan2:56

       ... there's a lot of boxers come out of Italy! But other than that...

   16. GSGable Steveson2:59

       Rome.

   17. JRJoe Rogan3:00

       Yeah. (laughs)

   18. GSGable Steveson3:02

       (laughs) Oh, they got a couple fighters. Um, but other than that, I think, um, we're kind of at a halt with- with creating that- that big-

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:11

       Yeah.

   20. GSGable Steveson3:11

       ... guy for America.

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:12

       (inhales deeply) Well, it's just- it's just strange to me because it's such a... Wrestling itself is such an exciting sport. It- it really is very exciting to watch, and everybody understands it. It's not complicated, you know?

   22. GSGable Steveson3:24

       I think, I- I really think everyone understands it to a certain extent.

   23. JRJoe Rogan3:27

       Mm-hmm.

   24. GSGable Steveson3:28

       I think, um, the-

   25. JRJoe Rogan3:28

       But they could learn-

   26. GSGable Steveson3:29

       They can learn.

   27. JRJoe Rogan3:29

       ... the points and all the other stuff. I think-

3. 3:31 – 6:57

   Flexibility, athletic transfer, and the Yoel Romero ‘freak’ example

   1. GSGable Steveson3:31

      Have you ever wrestled?

   2. JRJoe Rogan3:32

      Yeah, I wrestled in high school.

   3. GSGable Steveson3:33

      How- how- how did you do?

   4. JRJoe Rogan3:34

      Just one year. I was doing Tae Kwon Do at the same time.

   5. GSGable Steveson3:36

      Why just one year?

   6. JRJoe Rogan3:36

      Because I was doing Tae Kwon Do, and I couldn't do both of them at the same time.

   7. GSGable Steveson3:39

      Hmm.

   8. JRJoe Rogan3:40

      And I was pretty good at Tae Kwon Do.

   9. GSGable Steveson3:41

      You know what's crazy? I think since you've done Tae Kwon Do, maybe I should try.

   10. JRJoe Rogan3:44

       (clicks tongue) You are such an athlete, you'd probably be awesome at it. You'd probably figure it out.

   11. GSGable Steveson3:48

       I might- I might be able to- to pull it off. I don't know if I can get to your level.

   12. JRJoe Rogan3:52

       Well, you would figure it out, man. You'd figure it out. Are you flexible?

   13. GSGable Steveson3:56

       It depends how and what are we doing?

   14. JRJoe Rogan3:58

       Well, you would get flexible. (laughs)

   15. GSGable Steveson4:00

       (laughs) And I'd get flexible.

   16. JRJoe Rogan4:00

       The thing is, like, for a guy like you, you'd figure out how to get flexible.

   17. GSGable Steveson4:03

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JRJoe Rogan4:03

       The flexibility thing drives me nuts 'cause l- like, I've tried to show stuff to guys before, MMA fighters-

   19. GSGable Steveson4:08

       Mm-hmm.

   20. JRJoe Rogan4:08

       ... and they're like, "Oh, I'm not flexible." I'm like, "What does that mean? What does that mean?" This is not like you're not tall.

   21. GSGable Steveson4:14

       Okay.

   22. JRJoe Rogan4:15

       Like, you can get flexible.

   23. GSGable Steveson4:16

       Okay.

   24. JRJoe Rogan4:16

       Like, you just stretch.

   25. GSGable Steveson4:17

       Okay, we can rewind now, and I can say, "I am flexible." (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan4:21

       (laughs)

   27. GSGable Steveson4:21

       I am flexible. (laughs)

   28. JRJoe Rogan4:22

       Well, you certainly could get flexible, like-

   29. GSGable Steveson4:24

       You can.

   30. JRJoe Rogan4:24

       ... anyone can get flexible.
4. 6:57 – 8:19

   Wrestling as the best MMA base—and what D1 wrestlers often get wrong when switching

   1. JRJoe Rogan6:57

      A lot of tools, and a lot of f- fortitude. The thing about wrestling that I've always said is like, not only is it the best base for MMA, because if a guy can dictate where the fight takes place-

   2. GSGable Steveson7:07

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan7:07

      ... that is the most important aspect of fighting, and you can learn everything else. But it's also, it's like the mental toughness that wrestlers have-

   4. GSGable Steveson7:14

      Hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan7:14

      ... the ability to grind out those practices, the, the conditioning that's-

   6. GSGable Steveson7:18

      Mm-hmm.

   7. JRJoe Rogan7:18

      ... involved in wrestling. It's above and beyond, I think, all other sports.

   8. GSGable Steveson7:22

      Yeah. It's, I think it's a next-level thing. And then you, you see in UFC right now, the guys that are dominating and winning are kind of putting that wrestling base first, but making it MMA/wrestling.

   9. JRJoe Rogan7:31

      Mm-hmm.

   10. GSGable Steveson7:32

       You know, um, I feel like when a lot of guys, lot of D1 wrestlers come to MMA, they kind of don't make the switch of how to take the right shot, and how to finish the right shot, and how to use your feet to trip their feet out on the cage. And if you get stuck with a, stuck in a guillotine, how do you move from that spot? And I think, um, you see the guys that are doing it best, the Eslams, the Khamzats, are really going out there and attacking, and making sure that people can understand that, "Hey, you gotta fear this, and then next, I'm gonna come with the hands."

   11. JRJoe Rogan7:57

       Mm-hmm.

   12. GSGable Steveson7:57

       And so, I think that's the biggest thing that we're working on now, is that I've wrestled my whole life, and I've, I've done great things, and won the Olympics and multiple national championships. But I think the main thing is going out there and understanding that you are that bad dude, but when you show them hands, now you got to, have to respect both. And I think that's where a lot of this is gonna come into play, when I finally get to that point of, of reaching that, that competition.

5. 8:19 – 10:26

   Gable’s striking timeline: ‘four years on pads’ vs. ‘seven months for real’

   1. JRJoe Rogan8:19

      (smacks lips) Now, how long you been striking for?

   2. GSGable Steveson8:23

      I've been going into a little... So, I'm from Minnesota, Apple Valley. I'm actually from Portage, Indiana. I moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota when I was 11 years old. And, um, in college I met a guy named Billy Simon. He's from Prior Lake. He fought, um, nothing too big, just on a regional scene in Minnesota. He has a house on Prior Lake, and he has a place in his basement that is built out for, for MMA and stuff like that. When I was maybe 21 years old, I started hitting the pads. And mind you, stiff as a board, don't really know what I'm doing. But he's kind of started and guided me along the way to kind of-

   3. JRJoe Rogan8:52

      And how old are you now?

   4. GSGable Steveson8:53

      I'm 25.

   5. JRJoe Rogan8:54

      So, just four years.

   6. GSGable Steveson8:55

      Just four years, but I think really, really striking, seven months.

   7. JRJoe Rogan8:59

      (laughs)

   8. GSGable Steveson9:00

      Like ... (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan9:02

      That's so crazy.

   10. GSGable Steveson9:04

       Like, really, after-

   11. JRJoe Rogan9:05

       That's so crazy.

   12. GSGable Steveson9:06

       ... really time-consuming, "Hey, this is what I wanna do. I'm not gonna wrestle. I'm doing MMA," I would say seven months.

   13. JRJoe Rogan9:13

       But when you watched that, your Dirty Boxing match, I would've never believed that.

   14. GSGable Steveson9:17

       (laughs)

   15. JRJoe Rogan9:17

       Except, I know what an athlete you are. It's just, it's so crazy how someone who really knows how to use their body can learn other things.

   16. GSGable Steveson9:26

       Well, I think the main thing also is, I'm all ears. You know, you, you can't have, you can't go out there and, and, and think that you can, you can do something without putting that time and effort in. Like we talked about, with the Olympics, or like you talked about. But I think the main thing is, if I can go out there and, and be all ears, and, and soak up game from the people that are trying to, trying to show me the way, I think I can do a lot of great things. And that's all I do, I'm all ears. I wanna show up twice a day. I wanna do the best thing that I can. If I gotta show up three times a day and I feel like it, I'ma go do it, because-

   17. JRJoe Rogan9:53

       Well, it's al- it's also to be an elite athlete like yourself, you, you have to be coachable. You have to really ... Like, the, the guys who, like, already know things, like, "I'm gonna do it my way," like, they d- never get elite.

   18. GSGable Steveson10:04

       It doesn't work.

   19. JRJoe Rogan10:05

       No.

   20. GSGable Steveson10:05

       And I think, um, you gotta put that guard down. You gotta trust somebody. And if you don't trust anybody, and, "Man, I think I can do it alone, I think I can kind of wing it, I think I can maybe not practice today," you gotta trust somebody, and you gotta put your heart into somebody. And I feel like I have a groo- good group of people around me to kind of put that heart into. And they're kinda, they're not even there kinda, they're leading me in the right direction. And I'm, man, I'm grateful.

6. 10:26 – 15:32

   Trying the NFL with zero football background: Bills, Ravens, Colts, and the playbook shock

   1. JRJoe Rogan10:26

      So, you were doing a bunch of different things, right? So, you, you become an elite wrestler-

   2. GSGable Steveson10:31

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan10:31

      ... and then for a while you were thinking about playing football.

   4. GSGable Steveson10:35

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan10:35

      So, you played football for a short amount of time?

   6. GSGable Steveson10:37

      Buffalo Bills, yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan10:38

      Yeah.

   8. GSGable Steveson10:38

      Mm-hmm.

   9. JRJoe Rogan10:39

      How long did you play it for?

   10. GSGable Steveson10:40

       I never played football in my life.

   11. JRJoe Rogan10:41

       Ne-

   12. GSGable Steveson10:41

       I never played.

   13. JRJoe Rogan10:42

       Never played?

   14. GSGable Steveson10:42

       No, that was the first-

   15. JRJoe Rogan10:43

       (laughs)

   16. GSGable Steveson10:44

       (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan10:45

       He just said-

   18. GSGable Steveson10:45

       I, that was, that was the first time I played football, I promise.

   19. JRJoe Rogan10:47

       That's crazy. First time you played football was professional?

   20. GSGable Steveson10:50

       It was in NFL. My mom was always scared.

   21. JRJoe Rogan10:52

       Wow.

   22. GSGable Steveson10:52

       Um, the high school coach at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota were like, "K could play football." They were trying to call my mom and dad. And I'm like, "You're not gonna convince her. She is scared to death of football." The whole time, I'm wrestling. So, what, where do we bridge this gap at?

   23. JRJoe Rogan11:05

       Right, right.

   24. GSGable Steveson11:06

       And, um, I just get done with WWE, um, and I go out there and I'm, I'm chilling. I get a call saying, "Hey, you wanna try out for the Bills?" And I, I tell Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane, I said, "Hey, don't expect much." But I could put on shoes, but I've never had football cleats on, I'd never had pads on. I don't even know how to put the tights on, anything. And I went out there and, um, I sprinted my ass off, though, in that tryout. I was sprinting down and back and forth. I said, "Hey, if I don't know any technique for D-line, you're gonna see effort." And McDermott saw effort, and that's all he needed to see, and he gave me a chance.

   25. JRJoe Rogan11:38

       What was that like? Like, j- jumping into a completely new sport?

   26. GSGable Steveson11:43

       Hard, because it's not just football. It's-

   27. JRJoe Rogan11:45

       And how old were you when you did that?

   28. GSGable Steveson11:47

       20 ... I just turned 24.

   29. JRJoe Rogan11:49

       Wow.

   30. GSGable Steveson11:49

       I just turned 24. Um, it's ...
7. 15:32 – 16:48

   WWE experience and the need for real competition—choosing MMA

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:32

      So when you make this... So you decide football's not gonna happen.

   2. GSGable Steveson15:36

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:36

      WWE is not gonna happen.

   4. GSGable Steveson15:38

      Mm-mm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:38

      You did... You did, like, one televised match with WWE, right?

   6. GSGable Steveson15:40

      I did, yes.

   7. JRJoe Rogan15:41

      Yeah. What was that like?

   8. GSGable Steveson15:42

      Um, honestly, I had a... I had a great... From, from me being real and, and honest, I had a great experience. I have no, no... Nothing wrong with anybody there. Um, TKO was great. Triple H, Paul Levesque was great. Stephanie, Vince, everybody was great. Um, I just had a competitive drive that I needed to get out.

   9. JRJoe Rogan15:58

      Right.

   10. GSGable Steveson15:58

       And so, you know when you have... That gap is there, you can't do both.

   11. JRJoe Rogan16:02

       Right.

   12. GSGable Steveson16:02

       And I was trying to bridge both, and I wasn't giving my 100% to the business. And if I'm not gonna give 100% to the business, then you might as well X me out-

   13. JRJoe Rogan16:11

       Yeah.

   14. GSGable Steveson16:11

       ... because it's already over with. So, um, I just... That's how... That's practically how it happened.

   15. JRJoe Rogan16:15

       Yeah. No slight on pro wrestling, but it's just like, if you really want to compete, compete...

   16. GSGable Steveson16:20

       You gotta get it all out.

   17. JRJoe Rogan16:21

       Yeah.

   18. GSGable Steveson16:21

       And so I- I would love to go back in the future. I would love to, to, to do a sport and go out there and dominate and then, hey-

   19. JRJoe Rogan16:27

       Maybe after, be UFC heavyweight champ.

   20. GSGable Steveson16:29

       For sure.

   21. JRJoe Rogan16:30

       (laughs)

   22. GSGable Steveson16:30

       Maybe after a couple times. (laughs) And so-

   23. JRJoe Rogan16:32

       Yeah.

   24. GSGable Steveson16:33

       ... I would love to go, and if it... if it meant will, and I would do it again. Most definitely. Because I have no hard feelings to them, um, and, and that's how it goes.

   25. JRJoe Rogan16:40

       So when you make the decision that you're going to go into MMA, h- what is that like? Like, what, what are the steps that you take?

8. 16:48 – 27:15

   Jon Jones mentorship: getting pulled into camp, learning fight IQ, and seeing superstardom up close

   1. GSGable Steveson16:48

      I got done with NCAAs and I said... I, I flew down to Miami. Um, I met with, um, John and, and a couple other people, and I said, "Hey, I want to fight." Um, and you know... You know John had me in his camp. Um-

   2. JRJoe Rogan16:58

      So we're talking about Jon Jones. And did you-

   3. GSGable Steveson17:00

      Yes.

   4. JRJoe Rogan17:00

      Did you know John before this?

   5. GSGable Steveson17:02

      I knew John because... I knew John from Instagram. John liked wrestling.

   6. JRJoe Rogan17:05

      Oh, okay.

   7. GSGable Steveson17:06

      So I knew John from IG. He sent me a DM, he sent me his number. And if you know John, he don't answer the phone worth anything, and it's crazy. But, um, he sent me his number. He said, "Call me." So I called him, and this was before he got hurt for the first Stipe fight. He was like, "I want you to come practice with us. You know, I want a wrestling partner." Um, I left and went and played football. The next year comes... No, I'm sorry. Um, I was... I don't even know where I was at at the time. But Skip, um, we go and he's like, "I want you to come back for the second camp." He's going through it. Me and John hit it off like that.

   8. JRJoe Rogan17:36

      Wow.

   9. GSGable Steveson17:36

      We hit it off immediately.

   10. JRJoe Rogan17:38

       And so when you guys started training together in camp, is that when it really sunk in your head when you're like, "This is what I want to do?"

   11. GSGable Steveson17:45

       Yeah. He really, he really... I needed somebody to kind of engrave it in me. Um, with wrestling, I had my father, I had the University of Minnesota. I had a lot of p- good people around me kind of like say, "Hey, this is how we're gonna do it. This is where you need to go, and this is how you're gonna... This is how it's gonna happen." And when I saw John, I saw that drive of, like...... damn, you know, this guy's winning. And, and people get close, but they can't get past him, and why is that? So, I really sat back and, like, watched his mental and, like, how he went about a lot of things. How he talked to people, how he greeted people, how he walked, how he punched, maybe how he looked when he was in the p- in the pocket, um, when he needed to get out, when he rested his hands. And I saw everything, and I was like, "Wow, like, man, this guy's a superstar, super superstar." And we all know that, and, and, and, and people known that for a long time now. But I really saw him and I was like, "Damn, I wanna be there." And that's what kinda-

   12. JRJoe Rogan18:34

       Hmm.

   13. GSGable Steveson18:34

       ... that's what flipped my switch right there.

   14. JRJoe Rogan18:36

       What an amazing opportunity. You know, you haven't done any MMA and you get to go in there and train with the GOAT.

   15. GSGable Steveson18:42

       It's crazy. It's w- man, you know, it's hard to explain. I tell people. People ask me all the time, like, "What was it like, um, seeing Jon for the first time?" 'Cause I'm 25, so when Jon was like super peak-

   16. JRJoe Rogan18:54

       Mm-hmm.

   17. GSGable Steveson18:54

       ... I was like 12, 13 years old.

   18. JRJoe Rogan18:56

       Right.

   19. GSGable Steveson18:56

       And I'm looking at this guy beat Gustafsson, Reyes, and Tiago Santos, and stuff like that. So, it's, um, different. You see a different side of people. And, and when I saw Jon, I was like, "Wow." Like, "I've seen you for my whole life and now I get to see you in person." Like, how cool is that?

   20. JRJoe Rogan19:12

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   21. GSGable Steveson20:35

       Probably. (laughs)

   22. JRJoe Rogan20:36

       That's really all it is.

   23. GSGable Steveson20:37

       That's true. That's true.

   24. JRJoe Rogan20:37

       100%. Jon was partying and he was, what I would call, playing with his food. You know?

   25. GSGable Steveson20:42

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan20:43

       Like, h- he d- he didn't like t- like... The Gustafsson fight is a perfect example. Didn't train at all for the Gustafsson fight. I mean, I talked to-

   27. GSGable Steveson20:51

       (laughs)

   28. JRJoe Rogan20:51

       ... Greg Jackson and he was like, "I swear to God, he barely showed up." I'm like, "That is so crazy." And then, he gutted it out in the last rounds. That's what's crazy. It's a close decision, but he wins the fight by gutting it out in the final rounds when he's done relatively no strength and conditioning.

   29. GSGable Steveson21:07

       Nothing.

   30. JRJoe Rogan21:09

       So crazy.
9. 27:15 – 59:40

   Heavyweight landscape and Gable’s upside: speed + wrestling as a rare problem

   1. JRJoe Rogan27:15

      ... at something. But so like, just let me just tell you some, what I said. You had a, a fight, an MMA fight where you hit that dude with a left hook and then took-

   2. GSGable Steveson27:22

      Yes.

   3. JRJoe Rogan27:22

      ... him down while he was out cold.

   4. GSGable Steveson27:24

      With the double leg.

   5. JRJoe Rogan27:24

      I sent Dana White a text message, I said, "Everyone's fucked."

   6. GSGable Steveson27:27

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan27:27

      I did.

   8. GSGable Steveson27:28

      Well I appreciate it. Thank you.

   9. JRJoe Rogan27:28

      Because I was like-

   10. GSGable Steveson27:30

       (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan27:31

       ... that kind of speed is crazy. Like that kind of speed and-

   12. GSGable Steveson27:35

       Mm-hmm.

   13. JRJoe Rogan27:35

       ... incorporated with elite wrestling is crazy. I'm like what do you... The, the heavyweight division is so shallow right now.

   14. GSGable Steveson27:42

       Mm-hmm.

   15. JRJoe Rogan27:42

       You got Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Jon Jones if he chooses to fight again, Francis, if some, by some miracle they can work something out and bring him back to the UFC.

   16. GSGable Steveson27:52

       Mm-hmm.

   17. JRJoe Rogan27:52

       Other than that, there's no one compelling for like a championship caliber fighter.

   18. GSGable Steveson27:57

       Mm-hmm.

   19. JRJoe Rogan27:58

       It's, there's basically four or five guys on earth that are in this like championship caliber like-

   20. GSGable Steveson28:05

       Yes.

   21. JRJoe Rogan28:06

       ... class. And you're already there, which is nuts.

   22. GSGable Steveson28:10

       I appreciate it, man. Thank you.

   23. JRJoe Rogan28:10

       And you haven't even fought in the UFC yet. When I watched you move and I watched you fight, I was like, "Okay, how do you stop that?" Like w- what, what do you, who is, who's got the skills-

   24. GSGable Steveson28:19

       Mm-hmm.

   25. JRJoe Rogan28:20

       ... to be able to stop that? And in my mind, there's like only a few guys where it's gonna be a problem. There's like the Francis Ngannou's, the, the, you know, the Ciryl Ganes and the Tom Aspinauls. That's it. There's like a few guys. And everybody else on the way up, it's, the only problem is gonna be you getting fights. Like that, that kind of speed is just bananas for a 250 pound man. You know? And when you have that and you're 25 years old, it's like this is a, uh, it is a very rare thing that you see in MMA.

   26. GSGable Steveson28:52

       Mm-hmm.

   27. JRJoe Rogan28:52

       And it's kind of crazy because the heavyweight division is, of course, the most prestigious division-

   28. GSGable Steveson28:57

       Yes.

   29. JRJoe Rogan28:57

       ... in the world. The heavyweight champion of the UFC is the baddest motherfucker on the planet. And, you know, right now, it's, it's kind of a tossup, right? Because Ciryl Gane had this fight with Aspinall, John is kind of semi-retired. Whatever he decides to do.

   30. GSGable Steveson29:15

       Mm-hmm.
10. 59:40 – 1:13:37

    Training structure, no short-notice philosophy, and the ‘mindset beats tools’ argument

    1. JRJoe Rogan59:40

       ... if you've been training that short amount of time in striking. Now, when you train striking, are you training boxing? Are you doing Muay Thai? Like, what, what kinda striking training are you doing, or are you incorporating it all together in MMA?

    2. GSGable Steveson59:51

       I do it all. Um, so a lot of days, I go in... So, I kinda have like a really good schedule right now since I'm, I'm not gonna go into a fight. So, I do every day besides Sunday, some days are two-a-days, like 'cause I go to Lifetime and play basketball. I go to Lifetime and sit in a cold tub and, and, and, uh, and sauna and stuff. Um, but when I strike, I go in there, one round's maybe boxing, next round is kicks, teeps, knees, everything, elbows. The next round is what, um, the blueprint I have of what moves I need to really do to get in to kinda get to my shots, or I'm gonna fake shoot and punch. Um, and, and then the n- I probably go 10 rounds, 12 rounds of that, five minutes each.

    3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:28

       So, you d- you always incorporate all the MMA skills-

    4. GSGable Steveson1:00:31

       Mm-hmm.

    5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:31

       ... together in a workout?

    6. GSGable Steveson1:00:32

       I try to.

    7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:33

       What's interesting when I was talking to Ilia Topuria, um, when he's, particularly when he's not training for a fight, he doesn't do that. He is very rare in that, like, when he goes and he works on his boxing, he, he'll just box. He just boxes. When he works on his jujitsu, he just t- does jujitsu. When he works on his wrestling, he just does wrestling.

    8. GSGable Steveson1:00:53

       Mm-hmm.

    9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:54

       And then he puts them all together with MMA training. But he spends an exorbitant amount of time on each individual skill by itself to really like hone and tighten those things up.

    10. GSGable Steveson1:01:05

        Mm-hmm.

    11. JRJoe Rogan1:01:06

        Which is, it's an interesting choice. And obviously, for him, it's worked out spectacularly.

    12. GSGable Steveson1:01:11

        Yes, it has.

    13. JRJoe Rogan1:01:11

        But there's no real, like... I guess, if you wanna be like an elite soccer player, I'm sure there's a program that they've kinda devised, like, "This is the very best way to become a good soccer player."

    14. GSGable Steveson1:01:24

        Mm-hmm.

    15. JRJoe Rogan1:01:24

        They have, you know, coaches, and they game plan. They know what to do. With MMA, there's all these different approaches. Everyone... Alex Pereira's approach is different than Merab's approach, which will be different than your approach.

    16. GSGable Steveson1:01:37

        Mm-hmm.

    17. JRJoe Rogan1:01:37

        Everybody's got a different thing.

    18. GSGable Steveson1:01:39

        Yeah. It's just, it... Like you said, it depends a person, and it also depends the team that you have. Um, I'm just really big on... I'm just still very new, so I'm really big on just trying to make sure I can absorb all the information possible, and kinda when I go into these fights, these f- these first few fights come, kinda showcase what I can. Um, and sadly, they have ended early. Not sadly, but... And in a good way, you know what I'm saying? Um, but just go out there and showcase who I am. And, and when I go train, man, I don't mind sitting in there all day. Sometimes me and, me and John will practice for hours.... just sitting there repeating, repeating. And then, all of a sudden, we going to 8:00, it's midnight. Um, but I like that though, because it makes me feel good. It makes me feel like there's someone invested in me, and it makes me feel like I'm here for a purpose. And it makes me feel like this is what I'm... There's, there's someone out of the country, there's someone in Russia, when I'm sleep, he's up.

    19. JRJoe Rogan1:02:26

        Mm-hmm.

    20. GSGable Steveson1:02:27

        And I don't like that. He's up working. So when I can get all the time possible, I'm making sure I get all that time, because I don't want that dude to show up one day and he's got a little inch on me.

    21. JRJoe Rogan1:02:36

        Mm-hmm.

    22. GSGable Steveson1:02:36

        And I just can't, I can't think about that happening.

    23. JRJoe Rogan1:02:39

        I always have that thought in my head with, in terms of like UFC fighters. Like, there's such a shallow division. The heavyweight division is so shallow. I'm like, "There has gotta be some elite Russian wrestlers that are thinking about g- going the Fedor Emelianenko route."

    24. GSGable Steveson1:02:55

        Mm-hmm.

    25. JRJoe Rogan1:02:55

        Like, they're thinking about... I know Nemkov, who just won the PFL title.

    26. GSGable Steveson1:02:59

        Yep.

    27. JRJoe Rogan1:02:59

        He's a very high-level guy. But there's, there has to be some like really high-level wrestlers that are m- considering going into MMA.

    28. GSGable Steveson1:03:07

        Right now, Russian heavyweights are really, um, not as good as people think in wrestling.

    29. JRJoe Rogan1:03:12

        Really?

    30. GSGable Steveson1:03:12

        Um, they got a guy named Abdurakhshisadulov. I don't know if you heard of him.

Episode duration: 2:16:20