JRE MMA Show #49 with Miriam Nakamoto

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   Okay, here we go.…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      Okay, here we go. Four, three, two, boom. And we're live. Hello, Miriam.

   2. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:09

      Hi, Joe.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:10

      Good to see you.

   4. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:10

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:10

      Grab this, uh, mic and keep it like a fist from your face. That's a good reference point.

   6. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:16

      Is this good?

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      Perfect.

   8. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:17

      It's k- okay.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      Perfect.

   10. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:19

       Do I just set it up like that?

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:20

       Yeah. Good to see you.

   12. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:21

       (laughs) So good to see you.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:22

       Goo- I'm sad that you can't sell these snacks everywhere because I know you're, you're working on making these mass-produced, but they're fucking fantastic.

   14. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:29

       Uh-huh. Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:29

       They're very good.

   16. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:30

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:30

       When did you first give me some of these? Like five years ago or some shit?

   18. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:33

       2014?

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       Something like that?

   20. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:35

       Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:37

       Yeah.

   22. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:38

       Yeah. Yeah, my knee, uh, blew out. I just had surgery, and I needed something to do, so I-

   23. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       That was knee number one?

   24. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:45

       The second one.

   25. JRJoe Rogan0:46

       That was the second one?

   26. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:47

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan0:47

       Yeah.

   28. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:48

       And that was ... And I've had two more since.

   29. JRJoe Rogan0:50

       (coughs) Mmm.

   30. MNMiriam Nakamoto0:50

       So I've had four total.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:00

      a weird thing that people do, right? I mean, I've seen guys do it and girls do it, where they start play wrestling, but they have no fucking idea what they're doing.

   2. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:07

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:07

      And then, and then they hurt themselves. (laughs)

   4. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:08

      And they bite off more than they could chew.

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:10

      Yeah. Well, it's, uh, a common thing for whatever reason. People get a little drunk or whatever-

   6. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:14

      Uh-huh.

   7. JRJoe Rogan15:14

      ... and then they wanna wrestle.

   8. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:16

      So what I used to do is I used to let people play around, like, with me.

   9. JRJoe Rogan15:20

      Mm-hmm.

   10. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:20

       And then I ended up getting stabbed in the eyes.

   11. JRJoe Rogan15:22

       Oh, with fingers?

   12. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:23

       Uh-huh.

   13. JRJoe Rogan15:24

       Oh.

   14. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:25

       Yeah, so now I don't. I'm like-

   15. JRJoe Rogan15:28

       (laughs)

   16. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:28

       ... "All right, cool."

   17. JRJoe Rogan15:29

       That's the number one problem.

   18. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:30

       "I don't wanna play with you anymore at MMA."

   19. JRJoe Rogan15:32

       For sure. The fucking gloves.

   20. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:35

       (laughs) Gloves.

   21. JRJoe Rogan15:35

       I fucking hate it. There's so many guys, like, look at Michael-

   22. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:38

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan15:38

       ... Michael Bisping. He has one eye that's, like, completely fucked up, so he's got oil in his eye.

   24. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:44

       They should, um, penalize more, higher for that.

   25. JRJoe Rogan15:48

       100%.

   26. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:49

       Yeah. I think that, um, that would, the behavior would dis- decrease.

   27. JRJoe Rogan15:55

       I think so too.

   28. MNMiriam Nakamoto15:56

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan15:56

       I think one point. I think one point for a nut shot and one point for an eye poke.

   30. MNMiriam Nakamoto16:00

       Yeah.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      in the day.

   2. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:00

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      And I think he became married to that, that approach. You know, the approach that worked so well on Babalu, so well on Tito in the early fights.

   4. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:10

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:10

      He was just a m- marauder. You could hit him in the face with a fucking crowbar and he would just spit metal out at you. He didn't give a fuck.

   6. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:16

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:16

      He was so badass back in the day, and he relied on that so much.

   8. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:20

      I remember all the mohawks.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:22

      ... yeah, everybody wore-

   10. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:23

       The little kids?

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:23

       Yeah.

   12. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:24

       Of all the-

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:24

       They all liked to wear mohawks back in the day.

   14. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:26

       Yeah, the icemen.

   15. JRJoe Rogan30:26

       People were getting Japanese symbols tattooed on their head because of him.

   16. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:30

       Mm-hmm. Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan30:31

       You know?

   18. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:31

       Yeah. Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan30:31

       Yeah, it's just, that's, that style, there just comes a certain point in time when you just can't do that anymore, you know?

   20. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:38

       I think, um, I don't know, like, it's the martial artist, you know?

   21. JRJoe Rogan30:45

       Mm-hmm.

   22. MNMiriam Nakamoto30:45

       And, uh, artists evolve and they're like, "Oh, well, let me try this new paint. Oh, let me try the, this, this, uh, new technique. Let me try this shading. Let me, you know, start sculpting. Let me try..." And I think with, uh, especially MMA, you know, there's so much opportunity to evolve and just-

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:05

       Yeah.

   24. MNMiriam Nakamoto31:05

       ... add new, new, new nuances to you as an artist. I mean, I think that's what I love about it.

   25. JRJoe Rogan31:11

       There certainly is, but one thing that does happen when, when guys try to add a lot of things-

   26. MNMiriam Nakamoto31:16

       Mm-hmm.

   27. JRJoe Rogan31:16

       ... like say sometimes they'll try to like, say a wrestler will add a bunch of things to his repertoire, but then they stop with their wrestling practice-

   28. MNMiriam Nakamoto31:23

       Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan31:24

       ... so then their wrestling is not as sharp.

   30. MNMiriam Nakamoto31:26

       Yeah. Yeah.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Like, and win by…

   1. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:00

   2. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      Like, and win by knockout when you can, but don't get knocked out because you're trying to win by knockout-

   3. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:04

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan45:04

      ... and doing something that you're overextending yourself and you're exposing yourself, and you're compromising yourself. Like, that's not wise. And I think, uh, part of fighting has to be wise.

   5. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:13

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan45:14

      It's exciting enough. I mean-

   7. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:15

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan45:15

      ... it's fucking crazy and wild enough, but everybody wants every single second of it to be filled with blood and the crowd cheering, and when they're not ... (hooting)

   9. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:25

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan45:25

       I mean, how many times have we seen fights where it just ... there's a lull in the action for a brief moment where they're clinching, and people start booing?

   11. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:31

       Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

   12. JRJoe Rogan45:31

       And then someone, "Come on. Mix it up, boys. Mix it up." Like, "What do you mean, 'Mix it up'? What the fuck are you d- What do you think they're doing, man? They're fighting."

   13. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:38

       (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan45:38

       "This is crazy talk."

   15. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:40

       It's the-

   16. JRJoe Rogan45:40

       You know? Like, you see it all the time.

   17. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:42

       Social media brain.

   18. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       There's a little bit of that.

   19. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:45

       Impatient. (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan45:46

       Well, everybody wants to be a, a huge star too, you know?

   21. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:49

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan45:49

       Everybody wants to do their best to g- gain the most followers and get the most love and get the most-

   23. MNMiriam Nakamoto45:55

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JRJoe Rogan45:55

       ... applause. You know, there's a right way to fight and a wrong way to fight, and one of the things about watching a guy like Chuck go out on his shield like that, it's like, this is the bed he made. I mean, this is his style. His style is marauder, berserker, move forward. Like, Melvin Manhoef, when you see Melvin go out on his shield, you go, "Look, (door closes) this is Melvin's style."

   25. MNMiriam Nakamoto46:17

       (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan46:17

       Like, he's either-

   27. MNMiriam Nakamoto46:18

       You admire somebody's-

   28. JRJoe Rogan46:18

       ... gonna kill you or get killed.

   29. MNMiriam Nakamoto46:19

       ... commitment.

   30. JRJoe Rogan46:19

       Yeah.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:09:06

   How are you more…

   1. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:00:00

      um, I'm more of a martial artist than I've ever been, and I'm more of a teacher and a student than I've ever been, and I'm more of a champion than I've ever been.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:08

      How are you more of a champion than you've ever been?

   3. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:00:10

      It's the way, uh, my outlook and the way, uh, I l- learn, the way I attack new information, the way... how malleable I am, um, uh, how quickly I take things on, you know? How driven, you know? It's easy to be... It's a lot easier to be a champion when you have the six-pack and the muscles and the youth and the everything to back that up. But when you have those things taken away from you, then what is a champion? What is it without those things? It's your heart, it's your desire, it's your resolve, it's your mind.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:47

      But using this expression champion, like, what, what, why m- why champion?... because you're, if you're a champion, you're competing against someone to become a champion. That's what makes you a champion.

   5. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:00:58

      I compete against myself.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:59

      Right. So-

   7. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:02

      To do it better, to learn it faster, to-

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:01:04

      ... you have the better mastery-

   9. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:05

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:01:05

       ... over the things that you feel held you back and limited your potential when you actually were a world champion kickboxer.

   11. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:12

       Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:01:13

       Yeah.

   13. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:13

       And so now, it's more about self-expression.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:01:16

       Balance. You're a more balanced person?

   15. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:18

       Yeah. Definitely.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:01:19

       Yeah.

   17. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:19

       And now it's the pursuit of self-expression and it's the pur- pursuit of authenticity. Um, and, like, finding that moment to ride the razor's edge instead of playing it safe and staying outside, but not having a satisfying fight.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:01:32

       Yeah.

   19. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:32

       You know?

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:01:33

       Even though you won, not having satisfying fights-

   21. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:36

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:01:36

       ... because you, you could feel the flaws.

   23. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:38

       Yeah. I, well, I could just feel how I was holding back.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:01:41

       Right.

   25. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:42

       And it's like, you can feel when you're in the zone and you go for it and 100% commitment and you, you're just in it. You know, you're in it, and so authentic.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:01:48

       What fights, what fights have you had where you really felt satisfied?

   27. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:01:52

       Uh ... I, I would say the fight after I fought Julie. Yeah. She was, uh, I went up in-

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:02:01

       Julie?

   29. MNMiriam Nakamoto1:02:01

       ... Kitchen. Yeah. I went up in weight to fight her. She, she, um ... I went up to 140. It was Champion of Champions. She had 58 fights, I think 14 world titles. I had 14 fights at the time and six world titles I think. And, um ...

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:02:18

       That's pretty crazy. 14 fights, six world titles.

Episode duration: 2:13:20