JRE MMA Show #25 with Michael Chandler

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (tongue clicking) Four, three, two...…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      (tongue clicking) Four, three, two... (knocks on table) Boom. And we're live.

   2. MCMichael Chandler0:08

      Oh.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:08

      How are you, brother?

   4. MCMichael Chandler0:09

      I'm great, man. Living the dream.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:10

      Great to have you in here, man.

   6. MCMichael Chandler0:11

      Thank you.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:12

      I've been, uh-

   8. MCMichael Chandler0:12

      Great to be here.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:13

      Yeah. I mean, I've been wantin' to have you on for a long time, man. I've been followin' your career forever, and I've been a big fan forever. So, it's nice to be able to sit down with you.

   10. MCMichael Chandler0:21

       I know, man. This is awesome. This is, uh... I've been a big fan of the, of yours obviously, and the podcast for a long time. So to be in here, get the tour, check out your awesome man warehouse-

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:30

       This is all just-

   12. MCMichael Chandler0:30

       ... I think every man's dream.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       ... this is an elaborate plot to convince me to get you to join the UFC.

   14. MCMichael Chandler0:34

       (laughs)

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       That's all this is.

   16. MCMichael Chandler0:35

       Oh, my gosh. Right away?

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:37

       (laughs)

   18. MCMichael Chandler0:37

       Right away? We just... We wanna go straight to it? Okay. (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:40

       Well, I just... I mean, I-

   20. MCMichael Chandler0:41

       All of this could be yours. (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:42

       Look, I appreciate Rory MacDonald going over there.

   22. MCMichael Chandler0:45

       (laughs)

   23. JRJoe Rogan0:45

       I know he did what he had to do, but even that one bums me out, you know?

   24. MCMichael Chandler0:48

       Yeah, right. Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan0:49

       Uh, I just, I wanted to, I wanna see you fight the best guys in the world.

   26. MCMichael Chandler0:53

       Mm-hmm.

   27. JRJoe Rogan0:53

       And I think, uh, right now over in Bellator, you have very good competition, but I don't think you have the best guys. And I think you're one of the best guys.

   28. MCMichael Chandler1:01

       I think, uh, I think I wake up every morning and think I'm the, I'm the best guy in the world too. You know?

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:04

       I think that's the way to think if you wanna be the best guy in the world.

   30. MCMichael Chandler1:07

       So, uh, (laughs) that is, that's the way I've been thinking for a while. Uh, not always in my career. I mean, I've had some losses where I've, you know, had temporary lapses of confidence and whatnot, whether it be my training or my abilities in myself, or my thoughts and my abilities and myself. But, I mean, where I'm at right now, firing on all cylinders, I feel like everything's working, so...
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   So this flow state…

   1. MCMichael Chandler15:00

      of, "Okay, I, I, I said I deserve it, but now I really am starting to believe that I deserve it." And then once you actually believe, then you get in those scenarios where it's you versus him and someone's gotta win, so it's you more, most of the time now.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:13

      So this flow state thing, so like when you're in a state where you feel like everything is just clicking-

   3. MCMichael Chandler15:20

      Mm-hmm.

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:21

      ... do you try to, how do you try to recreate that in your mind to remember that state?

   5. MCMichael Chandler15:26

      I think it's, I think it, it is writing things down after a practice, or, or honestly sometimes what I like to do is-

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:31

      Do you, do you do that? You're like-

   7. MCMichael Chandler15:32

      Mm-hmm.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:32

      ... have a journal, a, a training journal?

   9. MCMichael Chandler15:34

      Yeah, try to write things down. I mean, and, and that's, that's things too that can be added to a mental highlight reel, you know, like going, like having a really great sparring day and then remembering what you had for breakfast, remembering how your, how your day started, remember whether you did or did not watch the TV before practice, or, you know, those little things. And then, and then I always talk about working extremely hard and surrounding yourself with the best people possible, and that's why I've, you know, I moved out to Las Vegas right when I started fighting and then moved to San Diego and then moved, and then moved my training camp to Arizona and then now Florida and now, you know, so I've moved all over the country to find the best guys I possibly can. So when you have a great day like that, sit down with the coaches and say, "Hey, coach," you know, talking to Henry or Evan or Cami or, or one of these guys that is coaching me right now, and talk about it, like almost overly talk about it, which that, those guys are always annoying to me or they always used to be, like, "Hey, I did this right and I did this right and I did this right," because I always thought, "Well, you should just work. You shouldn't talk."

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:28

       Right. Right.

   11. MCMichael Chandler16:28

       "Just work." But you ge- I- I've started to realize that those things need to be vocalized or they get swept under the rug and you forget that you had a great day. So now we sit down and we talk and we say, "Hey, man, that, that three-two was really, really working great off the feint and we worked that, we worked that yesterday as we were hitting mitts," and now you're continuing to show yourself that this thing really actually does work. You're not just working to work, you're working smart. And then you see, you see that working smart actually turns into results and then you're, you're, you're, you're like a lab rat in the gym working on these little experiments that you're, that you're making and you're actually collecting the data and seeing the results.

   12. JRJoe Rogan17:05

       Now when you're talking about doing a mental highlight reel thing, is this sort of a, a rebuilding exercise, a rebuilding confidence exercise, or is this just a solidifying skill set and understanding your potential 'cause you've already done things before? Like 'cause you were in a bad spot-

   13. MCMichael Chandler17:21

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan17:21

       ... when you started doing this.

   15. MCMichael Chandler17:22

       Mm-hmm.

   16. JRJoe Rogan17:23

       And you, is this when you started constructing this highlight reel thing?

   17. MCMichael Chandler17:28

       That's wh- Yeah, that's when it, that's when I really... I actually read the book in, in college and then found it on my shelf one day.

   18. JRJoe Rogan17:33

       Do you know who wrote it, Mind Gym? Gary...

   19. MCMichael Chandler17:34

       Oh, suit-

   20. JRJoe Rogan17:35

       You find it, Jimmy? Gary Mack, I think. Gary Mack.

   21. MCMichael Chandler17:37

       Gary Mack. Gary Mack.

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:38

       Powerful guy, Mack.

   23. MCMichael Chandler17:39

       Yeah. And then there was just a bunch of... And there was another book, um... Don't remind or remind me, it's called How Champions Think. Um, but... And it was just a bunch of, a bunch of instances where they would talk about Tiger Woods, they would talk about this guy or that guy, you know?

   24. JRJoe Rogan17:52

       Mm-hmm.

   25. MCMichael Chandler17:52

       And then one of the chapters was doing a mental highlight reel, and I think it can be used for both. I mean, no, I- I mean, you should do one today. We should all do one today, whether you're in a great place, whether you're just, you just closed the biggest business deal you ever possibly could or you just...... are down in the dumps because you feel like the biggest loser on earth. You do a mental highlight reel to just, it's- it's just like going to the gym. And then it changes, you know, maybe- maybe this month is different than next month. Maybe you- you wipe off an old one and you put on a brand new one that you just remembered. 'Cause sometimes we forget successes that we have. It takes- it takes me going to my Wikipedia page or me, you know, l- going on some old interviews or- or somebody telling me on Twitter, "Hey, remember that time you did this?" for me to actually remember the successes that I've had, because I've been conditioned to pull myself up by my boot- bootstraps every single day and forget about all my accomplishments on my past 'cause those don't matter. Those are stumbling, those, what I used to look at as stumbling blocks. Because what got you here isn't gonna get you where- where you wanna go. And we have that, some sort of that- that mentality but you have to take the time to remember and almost look at yourself the way other people see you, because we all are a big- are- are all our biggest critics. You know, the way my fans see me, the way you watch me fight is, and- and- the- the- the way you see my abilities, is probably even better than I s- have seen myself a lot in my past from an outside perspective-

   26. JRJoe Rogan19:08

       Right.

   27. MCMichael Chandler19:08

       ... it's so much easier to look at someone outside perspective, because, uh, our own inner monologue or our own in- in- our- our own self-image dummies down who we are and- and how much we want to accomplish. Not all of us. I mean, there's a lot of people out there who are cocky, narcissiti- narcissistic people who think they are the, you know-

   28. JRJoe Rogan19:25

       Those people have the hardest time coming back from losses, though.

   29. MCMichael Chandler19:28

       Big time. Yeah, because-

   30. JRJoe Rogan19:29

       They seem like when they get head kicked or something and- and then they realize-
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Yeah. …

   1. MCMichael Chandler30:00

      his coaching style. He's a-

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:01

      Yeah.

   3. MCMichael Chandler30:01

      ... he's an animal.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:02

      He is and the funny thing is he coached against me in that second Eddie Alvarez fight.

   5. MCMichael Chandler30:05

      Mm.

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:06

      You know? So like we talk about that and that's why I will always... I wanna fight Eddie again so bad. I want to have that, I want to have that trilogy. (laughs)

   7. MCMichael Chandler30:12

      Well there's only one way to do that, fella.

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:13

      (laughs) I wanna fight Eddie, Eddie so bad, but I have so much respect for him because not only did I, you know, spend, I spent 50 minutes inside the cage with the guy. We have both have our face bloodied and battered and stitches. I mean, I got stitches in my lip. We both have stitches in our lip and our eyes and eyebrows from each other. Um-

   9. MCMichael Chandler30:31

      ... but it's funny because when I sit there and I talk to people that I train in ... I basically train in his training camp that he used to train in, and everybody always said, "There's only one guy I compare your work e- ... I c- can compare your work ethic to, your dedication to, your love for your family, your love for the sport," this, that, and the other thing, and that's Eddie. So, I mean, me and Eddie have, have spoken a couple times. I went up and trained with Frankie Edgar for two weeks, um, a couple years ago when he was out there training. So we, like ... It's always just funny between me and him because we, you know, have fought and, you know. But it- it's funny, but it's not like, uh ... We have so much respect. We don't hate each other. Um-

   10. JRJoe Rogan31:04

       Do you guys hang out and go to dinner or anything like that?

   11. MCMichael Chandler31:06

       No, we've n- we've never done that. But, I mean, we saw each other at practice and I asked him to spar and he's like, "No, man, I don't wanna get knocked out." And-

   12. JRJoe Rogan31:12

       (laughs)

   13. MCMichael Chandler31:12

       Nah, I made that up. But, but we were at the same... We were at the same thing and, uh, same practices and stuff. And it's kinda-

   14. JRJoe Rogan31:18

       Right.

   15. MCMichael Chandler31:18

       But, but you also get ... It's cool to get com- compared to a guy that you have fought because that immediately r- gives you that- a much more respect for somebody 'cause-

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:26

       Right.

   17. MCMichael Chandler31:26

       ...'cause I know how hard I train. I know I show up early and I'm always doing the little bit of extra. And everybody knows what I'm fighting for. And I think him and I are very similar in that, kinda in that respect, so it's kinda cool.

   18. JRJoe Rogan31:37

       Yeah. Uh, I would imagine no one knows each other better than you guys do after-

   19. MCMichael Chandler31:42

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan31:42

       ... something like that.

   21. MCMichael Chandler31:43

       It's pretty nuts, yeah. I mean, and, and man, yeah, they were both knockdown drag-out wars.

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:48

       They were crazy fights.

   23. MCMichael Chandler31:48

       I would sti- I would still say I won the second, second fight.

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:51

       (laughs) Well, it's a very close fight, right?

   25. MCMichael Chandler31:53

       But, uh ... (laughs) It was very close.

   26. JRJoe Rogan31:53

       I'll give you that.

   27. MCMichael Chandler31:54

       I will say, but, but like I said, I mean, I ran into too many punches.

   28. JRJoe Rogan31:57

       Uh-huh.

   29. MCMichael Chandler31:58

       Um, you know, it was, it was kinda crazy too, I think. I, I actually spoke to one of the refs, one of the refs who, who called the fight for Eddie. Or not one of the refs, one of the judges. Like a couple months after I was at some event and he's like, "Oh yeah, well he rocked you in the second round." And I was like, "He didn't rock me in the second round. I tripped. I basically like tripped and it looked like I r- I got rocked."

   30. JRJoe Rogan32:15

       Right.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Yes. …

   1. MCMichael Chandler45:00

      and you got this and you got all this whole, this whole life that you're trying to manage and figure out while you're still trying to become a national champion. So you're getting thrown into the hardest sport in the entire world physically, the hardest sport-

   2. JRJoe Rogan45:11

      Yes.

   3. MCMichael Chandler45:11

      ... mentally, plus trying to do a, you know, have a college career, actually get your degree, the whole reason you went to college. Um, and then really just being coachable and understanding delayed gratification. I think so many people can come into an MMA gym and they have a great boxing coach and it's like, they expect after the first mitt session that they're gonna look like Roy Jones Jr. Whereas when I showed up to MMA, I realized, okay, I went to Vegas and I was training with Gray Maynard and Mike Pyle and Jay Hieron and Tyson Griffin and Evan Dunham and all these, all these great guys, I knew I was gonna take my licks for a long time.

   4. JRJoe Rogan45:43

      Right.

   5. MCMichael Chandler45:43

      It might've been a year before I won a round. I was okay with that. You have to be okay with the delayed gratification of life. And that's, and now even at a 32 year o- as a 32 year old, I understand that any aspect of life that I'm going into that's new, it's okay if I'm the guppy, it's okay if I'm the lowest guy on the totem pole. Even though I've accomplished so many great things and I'm, you know, and I, and I've done some great things in life, I still, I'm still a guppy in a lot of, a lot of aspects of life, you know? It's like-

   6. JRJoe Rogan46:08

      That's a hard pill for a lot of people to swallow.

   7. MCMichael Chandler46:10

      It is, but it's just ego. Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan46:10

      That's why a lot of kickboxers never learn jujitsu.

   9. MCMichael Chandler46:12

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan46:13

       They- they hate getting tapped, you know?

   11. MCMichael Chandler46:14

       I love getting tapped.

   12. JRJoe Rogan46:15

       (laughs)

   13. MCMichael Chandler46:15

       It's never happened actually, but no. (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan46:18

       (laughs)

   15. MCMichael Chandler46:18

       Uh, yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan46:18

       But you know what I mean? I mean, you've seen it.

   17. MCMichael Chandler46:20

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan46:20

       I mean, we've all seen it.

   19. MCMichael Chandler46:21

       I-

   20. JRJoe Rogan46:21

       Guys who are, uh, fantastic kickboxers-

   21. MCMichael Chandler46:23

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan46:23

       ... that for whatever reason they just try, try to concentrate only on defense.

   23. MCMichael Chandler46:27

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JRJoe Rogan46:27

       It's all they wanna do.

   25. MCMichael Chandler46:28

       Yeah, I mean, I'm-

   26. JRJoe Rogan46:29

       Just-

   27. MCMichael Chandler46:29

       I'm, I'm, I'm not one of those guys that I get tapped and I'm like, "Oh man, good job, man." I'm freaking ticked.

   28. JRJoe Rogan46:34

       Pissed. Right.

   29. MCMichael Chandler46:34

       I'm pissed, but-

   30. JRJoe Rogan46:35

       Of course.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:00:50

   He can. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

   2. MCMichael Chandler1:00:00

      He can.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      Whoo.

   4. MCMichael Chandler1:00:00

      Yeah, for about a minute and a half. And then, then you just break his will.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:03

      Well, his, his grappling has always been his Achilles' heel.

   6. MCMichael Chandler1:00:06

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:06

      But Goddamn, that left hand is a missile.

   8. MCMichael Chandler1:00:08

      Yeah. That, uh, that Lorenz Larkin fight where he-

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:11

      Woo.

   10. MCMichael Chandler1:00:11

       ... where he like knocked him out on his feet and he was just kinda like-

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:00:14

       Yeah.

   12. MCMichael Chandler1:00:14

       ... there, but not really there.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:00:15

       Paul Daley can do that to anybody.

   14. MCMichael Chandler1:00:16

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

       His, uh, that left hand he has is-

   16. MCMichael Chandler1:00:19

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:19

       That to me was a cra-... that was one of the most frustrating ones when he fought Josh Koscheck and threw that punch afterwards.

   18. MCMichael Chandler1:00:27

       Oh, man.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:00:27

       And he got kicked outta the UFC basically forever. And now you see like Conor throwing dollies through windows-

   20. MCMichael Chandler1:00:33

       (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:00:33

       ... and all this shit. I'm like, "Well, what about Paul Daley?"

   22. MCMichael Chandler1:00:35

       Oh, what about that? Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:00:36

       Paul Daley's gotta be going, "What the fuck, man?"

   24. MCMichael Chandler1:00:38

       Yeah, yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:00:38

       "I got kicked out forever for this?"

   26. MCMichael Chandler1:00:40

       Yeah, he-

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:00:40

       "I didn't even throw a punch that landed."

   28. MCMichael Chandler1:00:42

       Yeah. He's like, "I wish, I wish I was in it when it was the entertainment business." You know?

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:00:45

       Guys like him though, are very interesting where he's such a specialist, you know?

Episode duration: 2:02:19