JRE MMA Show #23 with Alexander Gustafsson

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   ... come down here…

   1. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:00

      ... come down here on hunting sometimes.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:01

      Yeah, man. Come down. A lot of wild pigs out here. Alexander Gustafsson, ladies and gentlemen, we're live. Good to see you, buddy. What's happening?

   3. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:10

      It's good to be here. I'm good. I'm good.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:12

      You, uh, you just recovering from shoulder surgery?

   5. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:14

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:14

      Did you have shoul- What'd you have done?

   7. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:16

      Uh, I was wrestling. I was in practice. I got, I got taken down, believe it or not. (laughs) And...

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:22

      (laughs)

   9. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:22

      And I got, I got actually slammed. And, and I landed on ... I was, I was like trying to post my arm.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:27

       Mm-hmm.

   11. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:27

       And I was slammed, so just felt something in my shoulder basically and it didn't hurt at first. I was trying to stand up and then I felt it was just a mess in there. And after that, I went to hospital and from there I've been, I've been rehabbing.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       So what-

   13. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:41

       I got a plate inside.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       Oh, wow, a plate?

   15. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:44

       Yeah, I took it out now in like, uh, end of last year. But I had a plate for a couple of months, yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       What was the extent of the injury?

   17. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:53

       Uh, nothing was broken. It was more like the collarbone just, just, uh-

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:58

       Dislocated?

   19. AGAlexander Gustafsson0:59

       Dislocated, ripped apart from my shoulder.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:01

       Yeah.

   21. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:01

       So they had to put it back in, put the plate on, three screws down. That's the first real injury I had for my whole career.

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:07

       Oh.

   23. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:07

       I had bruises, stitches, and all that. But this is the first real, has some problem with my back, but-

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:12

       Pull this thing right in front of your mou- your face there so it's-

   25. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:14

       Sorry. If you, like this?

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:15

       Yeah. There you go.

   27. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:16

       Like this?

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:16

       It's under your Viking beard, it's getting muffled up.

   29. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:19

       Oh. (laughs)

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:20

       (laughs) So where there tendons torn or ligaments or like-
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:00

      too, because Stipe is the pound-for-pound consensus best heavyweight ever. I mean, the guy-

   2. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:04

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:04

      ... has defended the title more than anybody.

   4. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:06

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:06

      You look at his resume, it's impeccable.

   6. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:08

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan15:08

      Knocks out, uh, Junior dos Santos, knocks out Overeem, uh, beats Francis Ngannou, who everybody's scared of. I mean, phenomenal.

   8. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:15

      Yeah, he's a badass. He's a badass.

   9. JRJoe Rogan15:18

      Yeah.

   10. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:18

       So, you know, but DC, it's... He's such a competitive guy, you know?

   11. JRJoe Rogan15:22

       Yeah.

   12. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:22

       He does, he doesn't want... He doesn't take a step back and he just goes for it. Even if... E- even in a tough situation, he just, he just eats it and comes back and do what he do always. And for, for being a fat guy, that guy-

   13. JRJoe Rogan15:35

       (laughs)

   14. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:36

       That guy (laughs) that guy works-

   15. JRJoe Rogan15:37

       He's k-... He's screaming at you right now, "Hey, man! Settle down!"

   16. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:39

       Well, no, but that guy is, is doing five rounds like nothing.

   17. JRJoe Rogan15:43

       Yeah.

   18. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:44

       So the conditioning is, is on top.

   19. JRJoe Rogan15:46

       Yeah. He just (sniffs) eats the wrong food.

   20. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:48

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan15:49

       That's all it is.

   22. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:49

       That's what he does, yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan15:50

       I mean, I mean, maybe some of it's genetic. I just think-

   24. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:53

       (laughs)

   25. JRJoe Rogan15:53

       ... he's just eating the wrong food. I mean, there's evidence. He seems-

   26. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:57

       He has a minor issue with his jawline, man.

   27. JRJoe Rogan15:57

       Potato chips. Yeah.

   28. AGAlexander Gustafsson15:58

       Yeah. (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan15:58

       I mean, there's evidence. It's not like I'm just talking out of my ass. I've seen him eat the wrong food.

   30. AGAlexander Gustafsson16:02

       Yeah, me too.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Now, what I was…

   1. AGAlexander Gustafsson30:00

      about the sport. We have l- all ladies and all gentlemen coming in, want- want an autograph or a picture. It's, uh, it's grown so much. It's, it's, uh, like you say, it's been exploded all over the world.

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:13

      Now, what I was getting at was that when you first started out, how much of a structure was in place, like, in terms of, like, how much strength and conditioning you should do, how much sparring you should do, how much drilling you should do?

   3. AGAlexander Gustafsson30:26

      (sighs) You know, I just ... I'll let- I'll let Andreas Michael to handle that to me.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:30

      Oh.

   5. AGAlexander Gustafsson30:30

      He, he's, he's, he's a, he's a, he's a mastermind of, of, of coaching. He, he pu- he puts me in, in situations I, you know, I, I hate 'em.

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:40

      (laughs)

   7. AGAlexander Gustafsson30:41

      He's, he's the worst ever. I'm telling you. We've been such a ... So, uh, we always been fighting sometimes, you know? (laughs)

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:46

      Mm-hmm.

   9. AGAlexander Gustafsson30:46

      Being like ... Uh, but he has this old mentality of training. Uh, he doesn't do ... We don't do too much of the scientific thing, like with, you know, you watch your pulse. You, you, you measure. You thi-

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:57

       Mm-hmm.

   11. AGAlexander Gustafsson30:57

       We just do the, the hardcore things and ... Of course we do that too, the, the scientific a little bit, but not too much. So we're trying to balance things out. Uh, but just we ... Yeah, he, he plans everything out. He, he's a mastermind of, of coaching and he, we, he knows me in and out and I know him.

   12. JRJoe Rogan31:12

       That's another very important part in the development of young fighters, is having someone that they can entrust, that has knowledge. Whether it's in Eric Del Fierro or Andreas or, you know, Jackson Winkeljohn, like whoever it is. Like, having someone who really understands the sport who can guide you.

   13. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:27

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan31:28

       And, and that's just such a giant resource for a guy.

   15. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:31

       Yeah, it is. It is. And, and you know, as this sport explodes and get bigger, you have those fake ones coming in and think they know everything, you know? And, and, and they, they want it be a ... They wanna have a piece of the cake, basically.

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:43

       Yeah.

   17. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:43

       But when you have like, these guys like Eric Del Fierro and, and, uh, A- Andreas Michael and they're, they're, they're masterminds, man.

   18. JRJoe Rogan31:50

       What is-

   19. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:50

       Magicians.

   20. JRJoe Rogan31:51

       ... uh, Andreas, what is his background? Like what did-

   21. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:52

       Boxing.

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:53

       Oh.

   23. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:53

       He was a professional boxer back then.

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:55

       Oh.

   25. AGAlexander Gustafsson31:55

       He had like, he has like 19 or 20-0 in, in, uh, his boxing record, so ... And then he broke his arm and had to finish by, had to finish his career because his, his arm. But, uh, no he's, uh, he does, he does his background. That's where I got my footwork from bec- ... You know, that's where I got my, my ba- foundation in fighting from. And then, um, then I, I o- also one thing about, about a coach, uh, like for Andreas for example, he ... Or Eric Del Fierro. They, they don't, they don't care about the glory. They don't care about the attention, you know? They, they, they don't care about ... They're the head coaches but they, they, they take in ... If they, they are honest to, to, to me and, and to themself, they know that I don't know these things. I don't know grab- the grabbing things. I don't know the wrestling things. They learn as ... They learn too as it, as it grows and they learn with me. But they take in people that, you know ... So they, we cover the whole thing. We co- we cover the whole, the whole sp- the wh- the whole, all the aspects of the game basically, so ...

   26. JRJoe Rogan32:54

       Yeah, Eric is one of the most important but yet, the most humble guys.

   27. AGAlexander Gustafsson33:00

       Yeah, he's super humble.

   28. JRJoe Rogan33:00

       He's very in the background.

   29. AGAlexander Gustafsson33:02

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan33:02

       There's a few guys like that that I really respect. John Crouch from The MMA Lab he's very similar to.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Mm-hmm. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      room for improvement.

   2. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:01

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:01

      There's always things to work on. No one is the best-

   4. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:03

      And even if you are 31 years old-

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:05

      Yeah.

   6. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:06

      ... you're doing this for 10 years, you still have so much to learn.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:08

      Yeah.

   8. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:09

      That's the, that's the good thing with the sport.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:11

      No, it's, it's such a comprehensive sport. I mean, I really don't think people appreciate how much thought is involved in the preparation.

   10. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:18

       Yeah. No, it's, it's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. So...

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:23

       How long do you think you'll be doing it?

   12. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:26

       (sighs) .

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:26

       You say 31 like you're old, but you're not.

   14. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:29

       (laughs)

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:30

       But it seems like you've been doing it a long time, right?

   16. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:32

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:32

       How many years you think you have left?

   18. AGAlexander Gustafsson45:37

       I, I feel, I feel really hungry and motivated. I don't think the age is going to be... I don't, I don't think, uh, my age in terms of, you know, have pain in your body or injuries or anything like that is going to stop me. It's more like as long as I'm having fun, as long as I'm enjoying what I'm doing, I'll do it. I'll do it. You have, you have guys that are, like, doing it late in 40s. They have-

   19. JRJoe Rogan46:02

       Yeah.

   20. AGAlexander Gustafsson46:02

       That's, that's also a good thing with the sport. It's such a... Guys... It's such an old age of, of peaking if you compare it to other sports. So I have, I have a lot more to give. I can't give you a number, but I have a lot more to, to give. I'm telling you.

   21. JRJoe Rogan46:17

       You've had moments in your career, though, that you were kind of down, right? Like, moments-

   22. AGAlexander Gustafsson46:21

       Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan46:21

       ... in your career where you're thinking, "How much longer am I gonna do this?"

   24. AGAlexander Gustafsson46:24

       Exactly. No, after Anthony, Anthony Johnson lost, that, that was a tough one. Uh, you know, uh, but, but I always told myself, like, you know, either, either I, either I just put my... either I just get a fuck out of there or just learn from it and keep go- doing it. And I just love my life as it is, you know. I have the... I have my, my, my... I'm so flexible in my schedule, my, my, in my time with the family, and I gain everything from the sport. So, so I, I have to do it more, and I'm going to do it more. That's, that's what I... if I, if I probably gonna like... if, if I would like, for example, say, uh, you know, "Fuck it. I don't..." after I lost against Anthony, for example, I'll regret myself, like, a, a lot in, like, in the late 40s maybe. I don't know.

   25. JRJoe Rogan47:15

       Right.

   26. AGAlexander Gustafsson47:15

       So...

   27. JRJoe Rogan47:16

       Well, because you, you had your finest performance after that.

   28. AGAlexander Gustafsson47:19

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan47:19

       I mean, the Glover Teixeira fight.

   30. AGAlexander Gustafsson47:21

       Yeah. And I just feel like that, that's the thing, you know. I just feel like I'm just keep going like this-
5. 1:00:00 – 1:04:19

   Yeah. No, what Conor…

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      fights were pulled from the card, then three fights were pulled from the card.

   2. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:03

      Yeah. No, what Conor McGregor, he'll- he's just, he's just losing it right now. I th- it feels like he's- he's lost it. I- I feel like... (sighs) you- you know, I- I- I've never really been... You know, I respect all these things that he does. He's- he- he's a, he's a, he's a great businessman. He do what it takes to make money. He knows what it takes to get money, and he dos- he did really good. He's- he's a, he's a mastermind when it comes to trash talking me.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:29

      Oh.

   4. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:29

      He take, he take, he takes-

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:31

      Oh, so he's a wizard?

   6. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:31

      He takes it to another level. But like, this thing he did now, it's just, it's, uh, it's just crazy. You don't do that. You don't do that at all. I don't, I don't know what it is. Wh- wh- why he's doing it?

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:44

      Yeah, I don't know either. I would speculate-

   8. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:45

      Is- is he drunk as fuck or is he, is he just, uh... Is he, like say it's booze?

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:50

      I would say it's booze. I wouldn't think that's a booze move.

   10. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:51

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:00:51

       That seems more like a coke move.

   12. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:52

       Yeah, could be. I don't know.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:00:54

       Yeah.

   14. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:54

       That's-

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:00:54

       Or it just could be part of his act.

   16. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:56

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:56

       You know?

   18. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:56

       But that's the thing, like, do you really take it that far?

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:00:59

       Yeah.

   20. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:00:59

       Do you really take it that far to- to just make some noise?

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:01:03

       (inhales deeply) I don't know. What if... My thing is like, what if that- that dolly hit the car where Rose was sitting and cut Rose's face up?

   22. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:01:10

       No, that was just be-

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:01:11

       ... fuck, man.

   24. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:01:12

       Oh, yeah, that would be crazy.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:01:12

       It's like Michael Chiesa, I'm sad that he got cut-

   26. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:01:15

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:01:15

       ... but M- Chiesa's a tough bastard-

   28. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:01:16

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:01:16

       ... he'll be fine.

   30. AGAlexander Gustafsson1:01:17

       Hmm.

Episode duration: 1:19:57