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Matt Serra & Din Thomas on Joe Rogan: Why eye pokes persist

Serra and Thomas debate oblique kicks and steel cups as hidden rule-book loopholes; automatic point deductions and eye-poke rules are their proposed fixes.

Joe RoganhostDin ThomasguestMatt SerraguestJohn Ralloguest
Apr 9, 20263h 2mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

MMA rules, fighters, streaming future, and nerd culture tangents collide

  1. Din Thomas recounts a wild early-2000s story about Tommy Lee wanting UFC training to fight Kid Rock, illustrating how celebrity and combat-sports publicity intersect.
  2. The group debates MMA rules and fighter safety—especially knees to a downed opponent, oblique kicks, steel cups, eye pokes, and the need for clearer point deductions and better glove design.
  3. They assess eras and legends (BJ Penn, Diego Sanchez, Fabricio Werdum, Murilo Bustamante) while arguing modern fans often forget how dominant past greats were.
  4. They discuss the business shift toward streaming (Paramount/Netflix), why getting people to pay for PPVs is harder now, and how new platforms could improve fighter leverage and pay.
  5. The conversation frequently detours into entertainment and “nerd culture” (Game of Thrones, Star Wars/Marvel, VR shooters, UFO lore), framing fandom as escape and community similar to fight culture.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Eye pokes need automatic, consistent punishment.

They argue referee discretion is too lenient and propose an immediate one-point deduction for any clear eye poke to deter extended fingers and protect fighters’ careers.

Glove design is a solvable safety problem.

Rogan praises curved-knuckle designs (Wittman/Pride-like) and even suggests “mitten-style” covered fingertips to reduce accidental pokes without harming grappling.

Some legal equipment is an unfair ‘hidden weapon.’

Steel cups are described as both protection and a leverage tool in grappling (mount pressure, armbars), raising questions about what should be permitted in a regulated sport.

MMA scoring still doesn’t reflect true dominance.

They criticize boxing-derived 10-point must scoring for treating razor-close rounds similarly to near-finishes, and advocate more frequent 10-8s/10-7s and broader criteria (submission threats, aggression, control).

Streaming changes the economics more than PPV ever could.

They frame Netflix/Paramount distribution as a different model—subscriptions fund big events, potentially boosting viewership and giving fighters negotiating leverage versus PPV-only monetization.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Tommy Lee wants to fight Kid Rock in the UFC.

— Din Thomas

If you can kick in the knees, you should be able to kick in the nuts.

— Joe Rogan

You have to have pads on your knuckles, and you got an armor plate over your cock.

— Joe Rogan

The scoring system sucks because we stole it from boxing.

— Joe Rogan

Poke in the eye… one point every fucking time.

— Joe Rogan

Tommy Lee–Kid Rock proposed UFC fight storySteel cups and unintended advantages in grapplingDowned-opponent knees, oblique kicks, and “real fight” rules debatesEye pokes, point deductions, and glove redesign (Trevor Wittman/Pride-style)Scoring flaws in the 10-point must system and use of 10-8/10-7 roundsRemembering prime-era fighters (BJ Penn, Diego Sanchez, Werdum, Bustamante)Streaming platforms (Paramount/Netflix) and fighter pay leverage

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