JRE MMA Show #24 with Kevin Lee

1. 0:04 – 2:15

   Fresh off the Barboza win: post-fight adrenaline and first breakdown

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      Boom, and we're live. Kevin Lee.

   2. KLKevin Lee0:07

      Yes, sir.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:07

      This is about as fresh off of a fight as you can get man, right?

   4. KLKevin Lee0:10

      Yeah, just about, touching down.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      Two days?

   6. KLKevin Lee0:12

      Yeah, barely slept. Straight here. Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:14

      Yeah, right? It must have been a crazy... First of all, like, after a fight, it's probably, you're probably still wired and, like, can't believe it's over, right? What is it like?

   8. KLKevin Lee0:22

      Y- it takes you a minute for it to hit you, really. Uh, I didn't sleep at all after the fight. I just, I laid there for a little bit, mind kind of racing, didn't really settle down. Uh, I just ended up just getting up, getting some breakfast, and then, uh, right on the plane over here. Didn't sleep all on plane. Came over here, 3:00 AM. I've been up all morning.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:42

      But you're, what are you, like 25?

   10. KLKevin Lee0:44

       Yeah, yeah, I can keep going.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:45

       You can do that. You can keep going. (laughs)

   12. KLKevin Lee0:45

       Yeah, I can keep going. Rockstar lifestyle, baby. (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:47

       (laughs)

   14. KLKevin Lee0:48

       I gotta live it. (laughs)

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:48

       25, you can do that for, like, two days in a row before it really starts to settle in.

   16. KLKevin Lee0:52

       Yeah, no, I'll be good for a minute. I mean, besides getting kicked in the head, I'm all good, other than that.

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:57

       Yeah. Dude, that w- f- that was, first of all, it was a very, very, very impressive performance. I mean, Edson Barboza is no fucking joke, and notoriously difficult to take down. Even Khabib struggled getting him down the early parts of the first round, but you got him down quick.

   18. KLKevin Lee1:11

       Yeah, I think a lot of people underestimate that, uh, especially how technical m- my wrestling can get.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:16

       Mm-hmm.

   20. KLKevin Lee1:16

       Um, I've, I just feel like e- Edson was really strong. Uh, he was probably the strongest guy that I've ever faced. Physically, uh, it just, h- his body is just, it m- it moved a little bit different. But technically, I, I just had the, the aspect there and when, when you add those two things up, I'm equally as strong. You know, the, the-

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:35

       Yeah.

   22. KLKevin Lee1:35

       Yeah, I'm just gonna blow him out the water.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:36

       Well, he's just a bundle of fast twitch muscle fiber, man, and that dude, I mean, people, you know, they'll see the Khabib fight and they'll see this fight with you. They might not understand how good that guy really is. He's very, very good.

   24. KLKevin Lee1:49

       He's a beast, and, uh, he's gonna come back and he's gonna knock some people out. He, he-

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:52

       Oh, for sure.

   26. KLKevin Lee1:52

       He's only gonna get better from here, I think.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:54

       Yeah.

   28. KLKevin Lee1:55

       Uh, it's just, he, it's the styles make the fights too. And me, I feel like I can fight any style, you know? That, that was my number one goal when I got into this sport, just to be the most well-rounded, complete, uh, fighter that there is. And, and I feel like I can take advantage, uh, of, like, some of his, things that he's not good and good at. But he's gonna get better at 'em. He's gon- he's gonna be back. He's a beast.

2. 2:15 – 5:21

   Becoming truly well-rounded: stance switching and timing advantages

   1. JRJoe Rogan2:15

      Well, that focus and that mindset of being well-rounded was very obvious in that fight. I was very impressed by the fact you, you fight just as good southpaw as you do orthodox. You switch up easily.

   2. KLKevin Lee2:25

      I've, I've been, uh, I've only been going southpaw for maybe the past year, year and a half or so, uh, and just kinda getting a feeler, uh, for it down. But I feel like that could be one of the hu- when you listen to a lot of the great fighters in, in the past, they talk about a right-handed southpaw. There's so many advantages that can be there.

   3. JRJoe Rogan2:42

      Mm-hmm.

   4. KLKevin Lee2:43

      Uh, and it's just, it's just always great to be able to switch up and, and change timings, especially when you got a guy that's, that's trying to time you like Edson. Uh, because he's-

   5. JRJoe Rogan2:50

      Yeah, they say that e- I'm sorry, but they, they say that if you work on the opposite side, it actually makes the other side better.

   6. KLKevin Lee2:55

      Yeah, yeah. It makes it a little bit easier when you switch back.

   7. JRJoe Rogan2:57

      Yeah.

   8. KLKevin Lee2:57

      And, and, and I've noticed that. I mean, there's still some, some kinks and twists that I wanna kinda get outta there. You know, you see-

   9. JRJoe Rogan3:03

      Right.

   10. KLKevin Lee3:03

       ... I, I, I study a lot of people. I study a lot of the switch fighters, especially in MMA, uh, recently. I wanna say about the n- last two years guys have been doing it more often. But some guys do it better than others. I try and-

   11. JRJoe Rogan3:15

       Yeah.

   12. KLKevin Lee3:15

       ... get the perfect mix, you know?

   13. JRJoe Rogan3:17

       Well, some guys do it, but there's a twist, right? Like, Wonderboy does it, but when Wonderboy does it, you know that the front leg is coming.

   14. KLKevin Lee3:24

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan3:24

       And then he's, he's, you know, he's, he can fight any style. I mean, he can fight left or right.

   16. KLKevin Lee3:29

       Mm-hmm.

   17. JRJoe Rogan3:29

       But when he switches, when he goes right, you know that front leg sidekick's coming, that front leg roundhouse kick is coming. And then when he stands orthodox, he's much more likely to throw a punch or, you know, maybe even spin. He, he mixes it up, but he, he's limited, maybe, in the way he attacks.

   18. KLKevin Lee3:45

       The blending of it, I think.

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:47

       Yeah.

   20. KLKevin Lee3:47

       Uh, Wonderboy's one of those guys that his switches are like really, uh, you can see 'em coming.

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:53

       Mm-hmm.

   22. KLKevin Lee3:53

       You know, the, he, he makes 'em really pronounced, you know? They're big switches. And you know the, the attacks that are coming. There are certain guys like TJ Dillashaw who is great at mixing it up completely-

   23. JRJoe Rogan4:02

       Right.

   24. KLKevin Lee4:03

       ... uh, where I feel like he doesn't sit down on his punches too much or, you know, he gets in spots where he can get clipped in between those with your feet off the ground. Uh, so I try and find a happy medium between those two, switching up too much and, uh, being able to make those hard switches too.

   25. JRJoe Rogan4:17

       Well, TJ's really been doing that style for just, like, three or four years now, since he's been with Bang. Maybe it was about, I wanna say three years, four years or so.

   26. KLKevin Lee4:24

       Yeah, probably, something like... It, it takes some time to get used to it, get used to the timing and everything. And, and that's one of the things with me. Like, I try and be the most consistent, uh, guy that there is out there. So the more consistently I'm getting in there, the more I'm seeing things coming, I'm, I'm, I'm reading the angles and, you know, getting a lot of different looks, a lot of different bodies being thrown at me. Uh, so all that adds up to experience and, you know, it's, it's only gonna get better from there.

   27. JRJoe Rogan4:47

       Yeah, it's also one of those things. When you're 25 years old, you, you still are, like, realistically five years away from your athletic prime.

   28. KLKevin Lee4:54

       Yeah, I, I keep that-

   29. JRJoe Rogan4:55

       Really.

   30. KLKevin Lee4:56

       ... (sighs) I keep that in the back of my mind sometimes because I, you know, you obviously don't wanna overwork the body too much. You don't wanna burn out. Uh, but yeah, I think it's just staying consistent and staying healthy.
3. 5:21 – 8:24

   Building the team after Robert Follis: training roles, S&C philosophy, and no weights

   1. JRJoe Rogan5:21

      What do you, like, when you're in, I know Robert Folles was your coach for quite a long time and, uh, we both miss him. I'm sure you, you were very close with him. He was such a great guy, man.

   2. KLKevin Lee5:31

      Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan5:32

      Was, was he the guy that, like, did he sort of, uh, map out your training program when you were in camp or?

   4. KLKevin Lee5:37

      You know, I had, uh, we, we kinda structured it, or at least I try and structure it like a full team.... uh, aspect. You know, Rob was kinda like ... I think of it like a race car, you know? I'm, I'm the race car itself, uh, but Robs was like the head driver, you know? Rob's telling me where to go, what to do. Uh, Dewey was kinda like my horsepower. You know, he's-

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:56

      Dewey Cooper?

   6. KLKevin Lee5:56

      Yeah, Dewey Cooper, uh, I mean, phenomenal striking coach if you ever, you know-

   7. JRJoe Rogan6:00

      Yes, fantastic fighter.

   8. KLKevin Lee6:01

      He, with him, he, he was, uh, a smaller heavyweight, but he would fight giant guys-

   9. JRJoe Rogan6:06

      Mm-hmm.

   10. KLKevin Lee6:06

       ... like Peter Aerts. And to do that, you, you gotta ... You know, you look at him, he's only about 220, you know, six-foot-one, maybe. He's fighting six-foot-seven, 300-pound guys, so he has to be extra technical in there-

   11. JRJoe Rogan6:17

       Mm-hmm.

   12. KLKevin Lee6:18

       ... uh, not rely on his speed and power. That's why I think he, he makes such a great coach and, and he pushes me, uh, through it. But I had another guy I- I've been working with, Corey Goodwin, for the last four or five years since I've been out in Vegas. He's kinda like the mechanic, you know? He keeps me ... He keeps my body fresh and going.

   13. JRJoe Rogan6:33

       Is he, is he your strength and conditioning guy?

   14. KLKevin Lee6:34

       Yes. Uh, we call it that, but, w- what we do is a lot different than, than strength and conditioning. You know, it's, it's not a lot of ... I, I don't lift any weights. I don't ... And people, when people see-

   15. JRJoe Rogan6:45

       For real?

   16. KLKevin Lee6:45

       Yeah, no. I haven't touched a weight since college, you know?

   17. JRJoe Rogan6:48

       Wow.

   18. KLKevin Lee6:48

       The only time I did was, uh, when I went over and I started working with the UFC PI guys a little bit. They wanted me to touch weights, but, uh, I don't ... I- it's just not a good fit for me.

   19. JRJoe Rogan6:58

       Are you doing s- uh, what are you doing? Plyometrics? Are you doing-

   20. KLKevin Lee7:02

       He'd have to explain it to you more.

   21. JRJoe Rogan7:04

       Mm-hmm.

   22. KLKevin Lee7:04

       You know, that's, that's his ... That, that's what ... He does, he, he worked through s- EXO's for a long time, so he took a lotta their, their physiology and, or some of their-

   23. JRJoe Rogan7:11

       What is that? What did you say?

   24. KLKevin Lee7:11

       Uh, EXO's. Uh-

   25. JRJoe Rogan7:12

       What's EXO's?

   26. KLKevin Lee7:13

       The, uh, I think they just signed a deal with the UFC too. A lot of guys been going over and, uh, they're a big strength and conditioning, uh, program.

   27. JRJoe Rogan7:21

       Oh, okay.

   28. KLKevin Lee7:21

       They got, they got a big facility down in Arizona, but they used to be based outta Vegas. Uh, so he worked for them where he gets a lot of his training philosophies and stuff from.

   29. JRJoe Rogan7:29

       Mm.

   30. KLKevin Lee7:29

       Uh, but it's not, it's not any, any weightlifting.
4. 8:24 – 9:23

   Yoga, hot yoga, and even dance: balance, mobility, and body control

   1. JRJoe Rogan8:24

      How often are you doing yoga when you're in camp?

   2. KLKevin Lee8:26

      Uh, two, two, three times a week. I've only been doing it for like four or five months since, since the Tony fight.

   3. JRJoe Rogan8:32

      Yeah?

   4. KLKevin Lee8:32

      Uh, it, it's been helping me out a, a lot. When I, when I started doing it guys were like, "Oh, what, are you lifting or something?" I'm like, "Nah, just ... (laughs) That shit's hard."

   5. JRJoe Rogan8:40

      It's hard, right?

   6. KLKevin Lee8:40

      I was like, "Fucking just doing yoga," like-

   7. JRJoe Rogan8:42

      Isn't it crazy how hard it is?

   8. KLKevin Lee8:43

      Yeah, shit's crazy.

   9. JRJoe Rogan8:43

      People ... It sounds like you're just fucking off. Like, "Yeah, I'm doing yoga." "Oh, you lazy bitch. What you doing, stretching? Touching your toes and shit?" (laughs)

   10. KLKevin Lee8:51

       (laughs) Maybe for like the first two months, like, I'd be like ashamed to tell people. They like, "Where you going like, you know ..." Uh, "I'm going to this one class, uh, you know, we gonna be lifting a lotta weights and we gonna be grunting and shit."

   11. JRJoe Rogan9:02

       Yeah. Eating meat and shit.

   12. KLKevin Lee9:02

       And like ... Nah, I'm in there with like the fucking (laughs) -

   13. JRJoe Rogan9:04

       Housewives.

   14. KLKevin Lee9:06

       ... the housewives and they killing me.

   15. JRJoe Rogan9:07

       It's crazy, right?

   16. KLKevin Lee9:08

       They killing me, they killing me. I've gotten good now though, but, uh, when I first started-

   17. JRJoe Rogan9:11

       Do you do hot yoga? Are you doing-

   18. KLKevin Lee9:13

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan9:13

       Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   20. KLKevin Lee9:13

       Yeah, yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan9:14

       That's the way to go.

   22. KLKevin Lee9:14

       Hot, hot yoga. Uh, uh, I do a couple different st- even the Vinyasa a little bit.

   23. JRJoe Rogan9:18

       Mm-hmm.

   24. KLKevin Lee9:18

       Uh, I, I try and dibble dabble. But I've only been doing it for a couple months now.

5. 9:23 – 13:10

   Camp structure and sparring philosophy: hard rounds, partner selection, and gym risks

   1. JRJoe Rogan9:23

      Now, when you do ... How do you structure your camp like, um, in terms of like how much strength and conditioning you doing, how much skill work, how much-

   2. KLKevin Lee9:30

      So, i- it kinda depended on ... Depends on the opponent too. Uh, but, you know, generally I'm doing three times a week of, of some type of grappling, uh, whether that's wrestling or, or, uh, no gi. Uh, then I only spar once a week at the end of the weeks. Uh, we pick our sparring partners that we pick, that we choose. You know, we fly guys in or, or guys that are in town 'cause I'm in Vegas.

   3. JRJoe Rogan9:52

      Mm-hmm, right.

   4. KLKevin Lee9:52

      All guys aren't always in and out. Um, but then, uh, you know, I only, I only do strength and conditioning maybe two times a week. Not, not too much.

   5. JRJoe Rogan9:59

      Now, when you say, um, you spar once a week and you bring guys in, um, are you sparring hard or do you spar more technical?

   6. KLKevin Lee10:06

      Yeah, yeah. Nah, I go hard. Yeah, yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan10:07

      Or do you just go, go, go hard?

   8. KLKevin Lee10:08

      When I'm in camp.

   9. JRJoe Rogan10:08

      Right.

   10. KLKevin Lee10:09

       Uh, maybe four or five good, but I, I go pretty hard and, and it, (laughs) it ruins me sometimes 'cause I run out of sparring partners-

   11. JRJoe Rogan10:15

       Yeah.

   12. KLKevin Lee10:15

       ... and guys don't wanna show up and all this. But, uh, they ... I, I ended up having to start paying guys just so, "Come on, man. Give me some work here."

   13. JRJoe Rogan10:22

       Right.

   14. KLKevin Lee10:23

       Yeah, yeah, we trying to make some money.

   15. JRJoe Rogan10:24

       Do you think that that's the way to go like, um, for longevity? You see, there's a, there's the big debate, right? Whether or not you should spar skillwise and then save it up for the fight or whether you should just fucking go to war.

   16. KLKevin Lee10:34

       I think, I think you need that, that reaction time-

   17. JRJoe Rogan10:38

       Mm-hmm.

   18. KLKevin Lee10:38

       ... you know, w- with a guy that's seriously throwing at you.

   19. JRJoe Rogan10:41

       Right.

   20. KLKevin Lee10:41

       And I mean, we're, we're not trying to hurt each other, for sure. Uh, the sparring partners-

   21. JRJoe Rogan10:44

       Like 80% maybe, 70%, something like that?

   22. KLKevin Lee10:47

       It, we go pretty hard up until you obviously can see that there's an injury or someone's hurt-

   23. JRJoe Rogan10:52

       Right, right, right.

   24. KLKevin Lee10:52

       ... or, you know, you back down and ... Uh, even on like some of my takedowns I, I back down obviously. Uh, I'm not trying to knock the guy out, but I am trying to give him some good work.

   25. JRJoe Rogan11:01

       Right.

   26. KLKevin Lee11:01

       And I hope he do, he does the same in return. But we pick smart guys that'll do it. That's what it's about at that level. When you got two very high-level guys going against each other, we can go hard and not injure.

   27. JRJoe Rogan11:12

       Right.

   28. KLKevin Lee11:13

       If, if I'm going with like a new guy or, you know-

   29. JRJoe Rogan11:15

       Mm-hmm.

   30. KLKevin Lee11:15

       ... it's a newer team, like I don't even try to fuck around with it.
6. 13:10 – 19:51

   The wheel-kick wobble: recovery, in-fight self-talk, and cornering critiques

   1. JRJoe Rogan13:10

      Right. Well, the Barboza fight, um, y- you got clipped, was it third round, the beginning of the third round?

   2. KLKevin Lee13:15

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan13:15

      You got clipped with that wheel kick?

   4. KLKevin Lee13:17

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan13:17

      That recovery was amazing though, man. That's an amazing recovery. I mean, Barboza puts people out with that shit and your legs completely gave out.

   6. KLKevin Lee13:25

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan13:25

      But, m- man, it's, that's a weird moment, right?

   8. KLKevin Lee13:28

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan13:28

      Where like anything ... If he wasn't near you, right, where you could grab ahold of him and take him down, if he just stepped back a little bit, you know? Interesting, right?

   10. KLKevin Lee13:38

       Yeah, yeah. I mean, I was still there, uh-

   11. JRJoe Rogan13:40

       Mm-hmm.

   12. KLKevin Lee13:41

       You know, I ne- I never went away. And I think a lot of ... Even the way I moved (laughs) , when somebody showed me that video after, I cracked up. I was, I was dying laughing 'cause when I'm in there, I don't, I don't know what happened, you know. I see the video and I see my legs just go-

   13. JRJoe Rogan13:54

       Did you see the remixes-

   14. KLKevin Lee13:55

       ... chicken dance. Yeah, I know.

   15. JRJoe Rogan13:56

       ... Sony did with the music?

   16. KLKevin Lee13:57

       (laughs) There's a couple of them, bro.

   17. JRJoe Rogan13:59

       (laughs)

   18. KLKevin Lee13:59

       They pretty good, though. I've been laughing along to them all morning.

   19. JRJoe Rogan14:01

       Well, because you won. (laughs)

   20. KLKevin Lee14:03

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan14:03

       It's funny.

   22. KLKevin Lee14:04

       It's funny, but while I laugh-

   23. JRJoe Rogan14:05

       'Cause you won, it's funny. Yeah.

   24. KLKevin Lee14:06

       But I think a lot of ... You see my, uh, a lot of what I was ... My focus going into this one was really on my footwork, uh, my balance, you know, doing yoga. I've been dancing too, uh, a little bit.

   25. JRJoe Rogan14:16

       What kind of dancing?

   26. KLKevin Lee14:17

       (laughs) Some ballet and, and salsa.

   27. JRJoe Rogan14:20

       Yeah?

   28. KLKevin Lee14:20

       I mean, I, you know-

   29. JRJoe Rogan14:21

       I've heard a lot of guys ... Look, Lomachenko is, uh, uh ... You know, his dad had him enrolled in dance for four fucking years.

   30. KLKevin Lee14:27

       Yeah, yeah.
7. 19:51 – 25:57

   Weight cutting, early weigh-ins, and the case for 165/175-pound divisions

   1. JRJoe Rogan19:51

      What weight do you walk around at?

   2. KLKevin Lee19:53

      Uh, about one... M- if I'm completely just kinda like bullshitting, doing whatever-

   3. JRJoe Rogan19:57

      Right.

   4. KLKevin Lee19:57

      ... I've gotten to as high as, like, 195. Uh, but-

   5. JRJoe Rogan20:00

      Now, when you're in training, like, when you're getting... Like, say you're four weeks out-

   6. KLKevin Lee20:03

      Mm-hmm.

   7. JRJoe Rogan20:03

      ... where you at?

   8. KLKevin Lee20:04

      Uh, 85 usually.

   9. JRJoe Rogan20:05

      185?

   10. KLKevin Lee20:06

       Yeah. 85. 80-

   11. JRJoe Rogan20:06

       So you're cutting a lot of weight, man.

   12. KLKevin Lee20:08

       Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's, uh-

   13. JRJoe Rogan20:10

       Do you see yourself ever moving to 70 or...

   14. KLKevin Lee20:12

       No, not, not 70 necessarily, just because tho- those guys, they're... You... At that point you're talking about a frame issue.

   15. JRJoe Rogan20:19

       Right.

   16. KLKevin Lee20:19

       You know? You, you got guys that are, like, 6'1" and, you know, they, they're just... It's a, it's a different-

   17. JRJoe Rogan20:24

       Rulers.

   18. KLKevin Lee20:24

       ... it's a different body style.

   19. JRJoe Rogan20:25

       Yeah.

   20. KLKevin Lee20:25

       You know, I train with a lot of them-

   21. JRJoe Rogan20:26

       Right, right.

   22. KLKevin Lee20:26

       ... high-level welterweights too, you know. It's, it's a different body style, right? I'm more suited for 155. It's just w- you know, some of the things that I gotta play around with, uh, I think will keep happening in the upcoming months. I didn't project that I would fight again until July or so, so a lot of the things that I was doing diet-wise was kinda getting to that, and they approached me with this Barboza fight maybe, like, eight weeks earlier than that. So-

   23. JRJoe Rogan20:50

       Mm-hmm.

   24. KLKevin Lee20:50

       ... I just had to do what I had to do.

   25. JRJoe Rogan20:52

       So is it a matter of just you didn't taper off quick enough or you just came in too heavy before you started?

   26. KLKevin Lee20:58

       You know, it was just, it was just the timing-wise, you know. I-

   27. JRJoe Rogan21:00

       You missed it by one pound?

   28. KLKevin Lee21:01

       Yeah, yeah. It's, it's, it's something on that timing that I, that I've really gotta figure out. And that was the biggest problem with, with the, uh, Tony Ferguson fight. Uh, you know, I can break it down for you. We, we... So usually, uh, you know, I'm normally about 185. Through six weeks of dieting, I can usually diet down to about 76, 77. Like, that's where I'm optimal. Uh, and then from there, I start the water cut. So the week of the fight, the Tuesday, I'm 76. Uh, you know, I save that all the way until, you know, I overload my body with water and, you know, flush out some of the, the, the sodium and, uh, the carbs and all that. Um, I save the rest of that up until the day before, and I try and cut as much as I can as, uh... Because I wanted to spend as little d- time dehydrated, that dehydrated as possible. And I think that's some of the problem with having these early morning weigh-ins, is the timing issue of it. And-

   29. JRJoe Rogan21:51

       'Cause you wake up and then you have to start, like, from the time-

   30. KLKevin Lee21:54

       I, I-
8. 25:57 – 46:19

   Staph infection before Tony Ferguson: brutal cuts, antibiotics tradeoffs, and natural remedies

   1. JRJoe Rogan25:57

      How, how frustrating was it you, for you going into that Tony Ferguson fight with that staph infection? Because that was a, that was a serious fu-... I didn't notice it at the weigh-ins, but then the moment you walked into the cage... It was funny, man, because they were telling DC, "Don't talk about it."

   2. KLKevin Lee26:10

      (laughs) Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan26:11

      Because I was going, "That's staph. That, that is fucking staph." And th- and they said to DC, "Don't talk about it."

   4. KLKevin Lee26:15

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan26:16

      He goes, "Yup, that looks like staph to me." (laughs)

   6. KLKevin Lee26:18

      He just ignored them. He's like, "Fuck you."

   7. JRJoe Rogan26:20

      Yeah.

   8. KLKevin Lee26:20

      "I'm telling them. That's staph, man."

   9. JRJoe Rogan26:22

      Yeah.

   10. KLKevin Lee26:22

       I don't get why they didn't want anybody bringing it up, because it's an important point and it's, it's, uh, an unfortunate thing that happens during training sometimes.

   11. JRJoe Rogan26:31

       Yeah. It, uh... I kind of noticed it on that Sunday, you know, and then Tuesday we do the check-ins and everything and, uh, I had the girl, I'm like, "Can you, you know, put some makeup on it?" Because I didn't want the c-

   12. KLKevin Lee26:40

       Right.

   13. JRJoe Rogan26:41

       ... you know, nobody to find out. And, uh, even Tony, him... You know, if he would've saw it, he would've knew, he knew I compromised, all that.

   14. KLKevin Lee26:47

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan26:47

       Um, but it... Yeah. It frustrated things, it made things a lot more complicated. It put me... It made the weight cut terrible. Uh, just to go back to it, I mean, I'm, I'm cutting from 76 to, to 50... I had to be 55 for that fight. And I tried my best to skim it down, uh, in about 12 hours. So I woke up at 5:00 AM with... at about 162, uh, and weigh-ins are between nine and 11. Um, and from 5:00 AM till 8:00 AM I had only cut one pound. Compared to in other cuts that have gone really well, I would normally cut about four or five pounds in that time, but because I, I just was feeling good and I wasn't worried about it, and thus... And I was using the same temperature of water, I was using the same everything, but the staph made m-... yeah, my body hold onto the water. Mm-hmm.

   16. KLKevin Lee27:37

       So when I went down to check and saw that I was still, like, five pounds up with, like, two hours to go, they started, like, throwing boiling hot water on me to get, you know, to get my body-

   17. JRJoe Rogan27:47

       Get you sweaty.

   18. KLKevin Lee27:47

       Yeah, to get me sweating to get it off.

   19. JRJoe Rogan27:49

       Wow.

   20. KLKevin Lee27:49

       It was brutal.

   21. JRJoe Rogan27:50

       Yeah, that's a... For, for no... For someone who doesn't... who never, never experienced staph, explain what it does to your body.

   22. KLKevin Lee27:57

       Yeah. It's-

   23. JRJoe Rogan27:57

       How it makes you feel.

   24. KLKevin Lee27:59

       The next day I just... I felt so tired. I never felt as tired in my life. And it felt t-... I felt so tired to the point where I tried to counteract it by getting myself as pumped as I can. And, uh, the... You know, you normally get there two hours before the fight. When I walked into the arena that night two hours before, I was in a sweat. You know, my body was, like, full of adrenaline. I was like, "Sh-..."

   25. JRJoe Rogan28:22

       You know, so you weren't taking any medication? You weren't going on any antibiotics? You figured...

   26. KLKevin Lee28:25

       I just-

   27. JRJoe Rogan28:25

       Did you have to, to decide whether you should take antibiotics and then, you know, that compromises your endurance for sure?

   28. KLKevin Lee28:32

       Mm-hmm. Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan28:32

       Or just let your body fight it off?

   30. KLKevin Lee28:33

       I, I had it before, so I, I had been on the antibiotics and they just make me feel terrible.
9. 46:19 – 56:09

   Contender chaos at lightweight: Khabib, Gaethje, Poirier, Conor’s legal mess, and double standards

   1. JRJoe Rogan46:19

      You're in the running now for sure, and before this fight, I think you were a slight underdog in the Barboza fight.

   2. KLKevin Lee46:25

      Yeah, probably.

   3. JRJoe Rogan46:26

      But after that domination, I mean, you, you for sure moved, moved up and you're in the running now 100%. So you got Poirier who just looked real good against Gaethje and won that fight after getting his legs chewed up. Um, and then you've got... But, you know, Poirier, of course, was knocked out by Michael Johnson. And then you've got you coming off of the loss to Tony. Stormed the gates with this fight. And then you've got Eddie Alvarez who looked great against Justin Gaethje. The... It's very hot.

   4. KLKevin Lee46:55

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan46:55

      And then Conor is going to jail? Who the fuck says he's Conor-

   6. KLKevin Lee46:57

      (laughs) I mean-

   7. JRJoe Rogan46:58

      Who knows what's happening?

   8. KLKevin Lee46:58

      ... we... Who knows what's happening?

   9. JRJoe Rogan46:59

      I think that's the X-factor, is what's happening with Conor.

   10. KLKevin Lee47:01

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan47:01

       Uh, I mean, Dustin is out there. He, he, he... But I just don't see no... I'm speaking as in from a fan, you know?

   12. KLKevin Lee47:08

       Mm-hmm.

   13. JRJoe Rogan47:08

       I, I just don't see no, uh, upsides to that, you know? I mean-

   14. KLKevin Lee47:13

       To you fighting him?

   15. JRJoe Rogan47:14

       No, no, no. To, to, to him and Khabib. I mean, they could make it happen.

   16. KLKevin Lee47:17

       Right.

   17. JRJoe Rogan47:17

       And, and Khabib will go out there and he'll smoke him. I mean, it... Let, let's just be real here. But, uh, I just don't see many fans getting behind that, just from what does Dustin bring to the table that Khabib ain't already seen to- But this is the big fight right now, I mean, just being completely honest. The big fight right now is Khabib and Conor-

   18. KLKevin Lee47:33

       100%.

   19. JRJoe Rogan47:34

       ... in Russia. That's the big fight.

   20. KLKevin Lee47:35

       100%.

   21. JRJoe Rogan47:36

       That's the big fight.

   22. KLKevin Lee47:36

       Or even Madison Square Garden. I mean, they, they can, they can make that happen.

   23. JRJoe Rogan47:39

       I don't think New York-

   24. KLKevin Lee47:40

       Uh-

   25. JRJoe Rogan47:40

       ... is ever letting that motherfucker fight there again.

   26. KLKevin Lee47:42

       (laughs)

   27. JRJoe Rogan47:42

       I just don't think they're gonna do that. The- They don't play games, man. That athletic commission-

   28. KLKevin Lee47:46

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan47:46

       ... is a different commission and they're new to MMA and that was embarrassing for them. I mean, him throwing the fucking dolly and the fact that they let them get in there with all his boys and the whole thing was just so thuggish.

   30. KLKevin Lee47:56

       And didn't the thing in Bellator happen in, uh... Was that in New York or New Jersey? I don't remember.
10. 56:09 – 1:00:41

    Selling fights vs. authenticity: trash talk styles, Chiesa moment, and finding comfort on the big stage

    1. JRJoe Rogan56:09

       But there is a pressure, right? Isn't there pressure on fighters to sell and hype fights, to talk a lot of shit? I mean, you see in Colby Covington taking it-

    2. KLKevin Lee56:17

       (laughs)

    3. JRJoe Rogan56:17

       ... off the deep end. He goes, he goes so crazy I don't even think they let him go to Brazil.

    4. KLKevin Lee56:22

       (laughs)

    5. JRJoe Rogan56:22

       Like, when I heard that he was gonna fight dos Anjos in Brazil-

    6. KLKevin Lee56:25

       Yeah.

    7. JRJoe Rogan56:25

       ... it's like, "No, Colby!"

    8. KLKevin Lee56:26

       Yeah.

    9. JRJoe Rogan56:26

       I was thinking of reaching out and telling people, like, to call it, bring your own water. Whatever you do. (laughs)

    10. KLKevin Lee56:30

        I mean, I guess he doing his thing. He, he still winning fights.

    11. JRJoe Rogan56:34

        Yeah. For sure.

    12. KLKevin Lee56:35

        Uh, so at the end of the day-

    13. JRJoe Rogan56:36

        He beat Maia.

    14. KLKevin Lee56:36

        ... that's what really matters is, is that he's winning fights. But yeah, I mean, that style is-

    15. JRJoe Rogan56:40

        He's got us talking about him. He's got us talking about him. You know?

    16. KLKevin Lee56:43

        Yeah, that too. That too. But that style, I mean, is, is... That shit get played out. And you could just, you could just tell. And when it, when it's forced i- is not good. You know what I mean?

    17. JRJoe Rogan56:52

        Well, he just goes, he goes against people he doesn't have to. Like, he was talking some shit about Jon Jones.

    18. KLKevin Lee56:58

        Yeah.

    19. JRJoe Rogan56:58

        Like, Jon Jones will smack you in your fucking face and there's not much you're gonna be able to do about it.

    20. KLKevin Lee57:02

        (laughs)

    21. JRJoe Rogan57:02

        One day you might be in front of him, and then what are you gonna do? You know, I mean, just... You're not even fighting Jon Jones. Why are you talking shit about Jon?

    22. KLKevin Lee57:10

        Yeah, I don't know.

    23. JRJoe Rogan57:10

        It doesn't make any sense.

    24. KLKevin Lee57:11

        I don't know. Uh, a couple people, even, even females, like, he started to... I mean, I guess he's h- he's just trying to get the noise running or whatever.

    25. JRJoe Rogan57:16

        Yeah.

    26. KLKevin Lee57:16

        I just think it's so many different ways to do it. That's, that's like the most primitive way of, you know, kind of trying to sell-

    27. JRJoe Rogan57:23

        Right.

    28. KLKevin Lee57:23

        ... yourself and sell a fight. It's like, there's so many ways.

    29. JRJoe Rogan57:25

        Yeah.

    30. KLKevin Lee57:25

        Like, even me, like I, I came up with... A lot of the shit that I, that I started doing, I just, like, kinda came up with, you know? Like-

Episode duration: 2:19:25