JRE MMA Show #70 with Aljamain Sterling

1. 0:02 – 2:36

   High-top hair, beards, and the “gold chain” walkout persona

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:02

      Boom, and we're live. You're the first guy with a high top ever to wear these mi- I was wondering whether or not the microphones were gonna sit, but it's perfect.

   2. ASAljamain Sterling0:09

      Yeah. It's just right in there. It's like a little crevice.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      It's, like, fluffy, like a little rest area.

   4. ASAljamain Sterling0:12

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:14

      (laughs) Does that h- does, does having that much hair on the top of your head, is there any benefit of that?

   6. ASAljamain Sterling0:20

      I think when you get, like, elbowed-

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:21

      Yeah.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling0:21

      ... or anything like that, I think it helps out a ton.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:23

      Like, if someone, if you have someone in their guard, and they're trying to elbow the top of your head, I would imagine...

   10. ASAljamain Sterling0:27

       Yeah. There's a little cushion on it.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:29

       Yeah.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling0:29

       So, it, I think it protects you, and I kinda grew out the beard for that, kinda that same reason, but it doesn't get as burly as I kinda want it to, but it works.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:36

       I think in boxing, they used to make people shave their beard.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling0:39

       Yeah. That's probably why. Impact.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       Yeah.

   16. ASAljamain Sterling0:41

       I, I, you know that kid, Desi Green? I used to live with him. He's in the UFC also.

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:45

       Mm-hmm.

   18. ASAljamain Sterling0:46

       And, um, whenever I put that guy in the guillotine, 'cause he has these big dreads, he would always get out of them, because the dreads were, like, it gave his head, it made his head appear like it was bigger, so you wrap around it, and you squeeze the cushion, and it just compresses, and then he just, his head just slides out of it, completely out.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:01

       Ah.

   20. ASAljamain Sterling1:02

       So it's like a cheat code.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:03

       Slippery, slippery dreadlocks. I would also imagine, though, that having a bald head, if you get sweaty, would make it a little greasier. Like, if you have stubble, like, on the top of your head, that would provide, like, a little bit of friction.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling1:16

       Yeah. That makes sense. I, I, I follow you. I follow you on that.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:19

       (laughs)

   24. ASAljamain Sterling1:20

       (laughs) I haven't had a bald head though, so I don't, I, it's hard for me to, to, to know.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:23

       Do you, I like how your shirt even has a gold chain on it.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling1:27

       I was gonna wear the big boy chain today, but, uh-

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:28

       Why did you not?

   28. ASAljamain Sterling1:29

       I don't know. I don't know.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:31

       Do you only carry that out when you fight?

   30. ASAljamain Sterling1:32

       I usually do. I try to keep it not, like, too ridiculous all the time, you know?
2. 2:36 – 4:03

   Rampage Jackson nostalgia and the pre-testing era of MMA/Pride

   1. JRJoe Rogan2:36

      Well, you remember when Rampage used to wear the motorcycle chain?

   2. ASAljamain Sterling2:39

      Yeah, the links.

   3. JRJoe Rogan2:40

      Yeah, real heavy links around his neck.

   4. ASAljamain Sterling2:43

      I was gonna actually go, there was two routes I was gonna go. The old school route with my chain, like the way my dad used to wear it and how we used to wear it when we were kids, or Rampage Jackson and be like, the, the new generation of Rampage Jackson. Even though I wasn't, like, slamming people, but I would have to, like, somehow work that in there.

   5. JRJoe Rogan2:59

      There he is.

   6. ASAljamain Sterling2:59

      Yeah, that shit was sick.

   7. JRJoe Rogan3:00

      Rampage, still fighting.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling3:02

      Crazy.

   9. JRJoe Rogan3:02

      It's crazy. You know, still competitive after all these years. I mean, Rampage was a fucking pioneer, man.

   10. ASAljamain Sterling3:10

       Yeah. I remember his fight with Chuck Liddell, his fights with Wanderlei Silva. Even the one he lost in, uh, Pride.

   11. JRJoe Rogan3:17

       Mm-hmm.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling3:17

       When he went through the ropes-

   13. JRJoe Rogan3:18

       Yep.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling3:18

       ... and then he came back and got redemption. I was like, "Ah, that's gotta feel so good." 'Cause that's, like, the bad highlight, and he came back and got a highlight of his own, so...

   15. JRJoe Rogan3:25

       I think he lost to Wanderlei twice in Pride.

   16. ASAljamain Sterling3:27

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan3:28

       He got stopped twice in Pride, and then flatlined Wanderlei in the UFC.

   18. ASAljamain Sterling3:32

       Yep.

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:33

       I also think, man, it's ha- it's speculation, but I also think that the Wanderlei that he fought in the UFC was the one who got drug tested.

   20. ASAljamain Sterling3:41

       Yep. 100%.

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:42

       Diff- different Wanderlei.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling3:43

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan3:44

       You know?

   24. ASAljamain Sterling3:44

       I think a l- there's a lot of that for a lot of people too. Um...

   25. JRJoe Rogan3:48

       A lot.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling3:48

       I don't like-

   27. JRJoe Rogan3:49

       Don't like saying it, but-

   28. ASAljamain Sterling3:50

       Yeah, I don't like saying it 'cause you know what it is? I feel like I see these people, and then it's like, I know you might've heard me say this, so it's, it's like that-

   29. JRJoe Rogan3:58

       Right.

   30. ASAljamain Sterling3:58

       ... little awkward tension, and I, I don't like that, man.
3. 4:03 – 6:06

   Steroids in pro sports and the A-Rod documentary “Screwball”

   1. JRJoe Rogan4:03

      But it is a thing that if you look at it historically, if you look at the sport in terms of, like, like, when people look at Barry Bonds and when they look at Jose Canseco or when they look at, uh, what was that other dude's name? The dude...

   2. NANarrator4:17

      Mark.

   3. JRJoe Rogan4:17

      Mark McGwire.

   4. NANarrator4:18

      McGuire.

   5. JRJoe Rogan4:18

      Yeah, or, or Sammy Sosa. Everyone knows-

   6. ASAljamain Sterling4:22

      (inhales deeply) Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan4:22

      ... those dudes were juice heads.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling4:23

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan4:23

      That's just a part of the thing. So you go, they're amazing baseball players, incredible athletes. Also were on the sauce.

   10. ASAljamain Sterling4:30

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan4:30

       Fact.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling4:31

       Does that take away from it though? That's, that's my always, that's-

   13. JRJoe Rogan4:34

       It's hard to say, right? Because everybody was on it.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling4:36

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan4:37

       Do you know there's a great documentary that's out right now by Billy Corben? He's the same guy who did, uh, he did Cocaine Cowboys I and II. He's got a new one out about A-Rod.

   16. ASAljamain Sterling4:46

       Okay.

   17. JRJoe Rogan4:47

       What is it called?

   18. ASAljamain Sterling4:47

       I gotta check that out.

   19. JRJoe Rogan4:49

       Screwball?

   20. NANarrator4:49

       Yep.

   21. JRJoe Rogan4:50

       Screwball. It's hilarious.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling4:52

       But it's about the fighters, the, the players that, uh-

   23. JRJoe Rogan4:55

       It's about how a debt, how owing a roid doctor some money-

   24. ASAljamain Sterling5:00

       Ooh.

   25. JRJoe Rogan5:01

       ... turned into this ho- horrible revelation where they found out how m- how these baseball players were getting their juice from that guy.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling5:10

       Okay. (laughs)

   27. JRJoe Rogan5:10

       Because they owed somebody some money, this guy.

   28. ASAljamain Sterling5:13

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan5:13

       And that guy didn't get paid, so he went public with everything. So it was, like-

   30. ASAljamain Sterling5:16

       Wow.
4. 6:06 – 9:24

   Black Mirror, tech dystopias, and the coming “memory chip” dilemma

   1. JRJoe Rogan6:06

      Do you fuck with Stranger Things?

   2. ASAljamain Sterling6:07

      I've gotta get into that, too.

   3. JRJoe Rogan6:09

      (laughs)

   4. ASAljamain Sterling6:10

      I just started Black Mirror. I'm on season three.

   5. JRJoe Rogan6:13

      Ooh.

   6. ASAljamain Sterling6:13

      And that just started, like, opening my eyes. I'm like, "Man, technology is, like... Could be used in such fucked up ways." It's crazy.

   7. JRJoe Rogan6:20

      The Unabomber was right. The Unabomber was correct. Yeah, that show fucks me up more than any show.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling6:26

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan6:26

      'Cause it's so close to possible.

   10. ASAljamain Sterling6:28

       Yes, especially episode one, season one, with the pig.

   11. JRJoe Rogan6:32

       Oh, yeah. That was intense.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling6:33

       (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan6:34

       The one that got me most was Crocodile, that one where there's the- the car accident, and they hide the body, and then the lady winds up doing all these different things to cover up her crime.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling6:43

       Not-

   15. JRJoe Rogan6:44

       And people can read people's memories. You can get people's memories, and you can watch them play.

   16. ASAljamain Sterling6:48

       Oh, re-watch. I. T.- That one, I saw-

   17. JRJoe Rogan6:50

       Yeah, when they have-

   18. ASAljamain Sterling6:50

       ... which was freaky.

   19. JRJoe Rogan6:51

       Yeah, when the lady did terrible things.

   20. ASAljamain Sterling6:53

       Yeah, yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan6:54

       Yeah.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling6:54

       I'm like, "Ah."

   23. JRJoe Rogan6:55

       It's a season away. Oh, it's a season away. That's season four. It's season four. Oh, oh, okay.

   24. ASAljamain Sterling6:58

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan6:58

       Well, I don't wanna tell you anything. Spoiler. You're gonna f- you're gonna shit. But they-

   26. ASAljamain Sterling7:01

       But I d-

   27. JRJoe Rogan7:01

       I didn't even ruin it. It's that good. You're gonna f-

   28. ASAljamain Sterling7:03

       There is one, though, with the, with the memory-

   29. JRJoe Rogan7:05

       Yes, there is one-

   30. ASAljamain Sterling7:05

       ... with the guy and the girlfriend.
5. 9:24 – 11:46

   Knockouts, consequences, and Aljo’s own KO memory gap vs Moraes

   1. JRJoe Rogan9:24

      Also, oddly enough, I think that part of what makes MMA so exciting is that there is crazy consequences.

   2. ASAljamain Sterling9:31

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan9:31

      It's part of the reasons why, when you see, like, Masvidal knocks out Ben Askren with that flying knee, part of why it was so exciting, like, "Oh, he's hurt bad."

   4. ASAljamain Sterling9:41

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan9:42

      It- it's not that, "He's gonna be fine. Nothing... There's no damage from this whatsoever." It's no, that's real damage. Like, he went out cold instantly, and then he got punched in the face twice. It's part of what... It's terrible, but it's part of what makes the sport so exciting, is that you realize these guys are so brave to face these potential consequences.

   6. ASAljamain Sterling10:02

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan10:02

      It makes it, it makes it... It's like an added element of danger that makes it exciting.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling10:08

      It's, it's very true, but it's... Man, I felt so bad for him when that, when I saw that, 'cause it kind of brought back memories for myself.

   9. JRJoe Rogan10:15

      Yeah.

   10. ASAljamain Sterling10:15

       I was like, "Ah, I know exactly what that moment feels like." I don't remember it, but I know exactly what that moment feels like.

   11. JRJoe Rogan10:21

       When you fought Moraes, do you r- remember what happened up to that?

   12. ASAljamain Sterling10:24

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan10:25

       You just don't remember it landing?

   14. ASAljamain Sterling10:27

       I s- I saw, like, right before it lands. And it was like, you know in those movies when it goes, "It was at this very moment-

   15. JRJoe Rogan10:32

       (laughs)

   16. ASAljamain Sterling10:32

       ... he realized he fucked up." (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan10:37

       (laughs)

   18. ASAljamain Sterling10:37

       That's exactly what that was for me.

   19. JRJoe Rogan10:38

       Yeah.

   20. ASAljamain Sterling10:39

       And out like a light, man.

   21. JRJoe Rogan10:41

       Yeah.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling10:41

       And I, I didn't, like, come to in, like... I mean, I woke up, but I didn't come to, like, actually remember, like, "Shit, I was in a fistfight, and I lost, like, really bad, like, really quick," when I got into the hospital. And I-

   23. JRJoe Rogan10:53

       Oh, that's when you realized it.

   24. ASAljamain Sterling10:54

       Yeah, I heard Ben say the same thing. I was like, "Oh, so it's not just me." It, I guess it's just a really bad knockout, him shooting forward and Masvidal jumping into him like a car crash, man.

   25. JRJoe Rogan11:02

       Mm-hmm. Yeah.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling11:03

       And Masvidal's running, full clip.

   27. JRJoe Rogan11:06

       (laughs) That was a 40-yard dash.

   28. ASAljamain Sterling11:08

       Running full clip, and perfect placement of the knee. I mean, you don't get a cleaner knockout.

   29. JRJoe Rogan11:13

       No, and, uh, just the way he did it, like, he was showing a video of him practicing it-

   30. ASAljamain Sterling11:18

       Mm-hmm.
6. 11:46 – 16:00

   UFC 239 breakdown: Jones–Santos, Askren–Masvidal, Nunes–Holm, and Shevchenko

   1. ASAljamain Sterling11:46

      It was just as much a main event for me, too, because it's so important for the welterweight division.

   2. JRJoe Rogan11:51

      Yeah.

   3. ASAljamain Sterling11:51

      Whereas, like, Jon Jones versus Thiago Santos, it was an interesting fight, and it turned out to be a great fight. But it was an interesting fight because you're like, "Okay, how is Jon Jones gonna beat this guy? And is this guy gonna be wild enough to catch Jon Jones?" But when you looked at it on paper, Jon was a prohibitive favorite.

   4. JRJoe Rogan12:07

      Yeah.

   5. ASAljamain Sterling12:07

      When you looked at Askren versus Masvidal, you're like, "Man, I don't know."

   6. JRJoe Rogan12:10

      Yeah.

   7. ASAljamain Sterling12:11

      When I looked at Holly and Amanda, I'm like, "Holly's a great champion, and she's a great fighter, but Amanda's so goddamn good, it's almost like she doesn't have anybody else left to fight." It's not like- Nope.

   8. JRJoe Rogan12:20

      ... Holly had made this incredible case for her being the one to challenge Amanda next. It was just that Amanda's kinda cleaned out that bantamweight division.

   9. ASAljamain Sterling12:28

      Yeah, she fought one person. She beat m- uh, Megan Anderson, and I felt like she struggled with that fight. The only way she... I felt like she'd done really well when she was able to get, uh, Megan down to the ground. But when she was in a clinch, she ate a lot of knees. This is Holly.

   10. JRJoe Rogan12:40

       Mm-hmm.

   11. ASAljamain Sterling12:40

       And then, she tried to do the same thing... The previous fight with Cyborg, and she ate a lot of knees in the clinch trying to slow Cyborg down, and it just didn't work out in her favor. So, when that matchup was announced, I was like, "Holly's gonna either stay on her bike the entire time and just try to point fight, or...... it's just not gonna end up good. And sure enough, that's what happened.

   12. JRJoe Rogan12:57

       Yeah, I thought she was gonna probably try to stay on her bike as well and throw kicks from the outside, but I guess Amanda had planned for it. That's why she caught her with her leg up.

   13. ASAljamain Sterling13:06

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan13:06

       You know, if you see the way she landed that round kick, she caught her with her leg up like she was like, like pressing with that sidekick and then boom-

   15. ASAljamain Sterling13:12

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan13:13

       ... she caught her with that roundhouse kick right across the top.

   17. ASAljamain Sterling13:15

       Ah, and Holly's such a good girl. She's such a good person.

   18. JRJoe Rogan13:17

       She's so nice.

   19. ASAljamain Sterling13:17

       Yeah. That was-

   20. JRJoe Rogan13:18

       She's almost too nice.

   21. ASAljamain Sterling13:19

       But then-

   22. JRJoe Rogan13:20

       Like, you feel bad for her.

   23. ASAljamain Sterling13:21

       Yeah, but I know what you mean. And she, she d- I... (sighs) She didn't make a great case, like you said, for the title fight, but there was really no one else for her to... Just nobody.

   24. JRJoe Rogan13:30

       Well, once she beat up her- Raquel Pennington the way she did, and then once she goes up and destroys Cyborg, it's like, "Who else is there?" I mean, Raquel Pennington is, like, as tough as they come.

   25. ASAljamain Sterling13:40

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan13:41

       And she, she was battering her. The way ch- the way she put away Ronda, the way she put away Miesha, she just smashes people.

   27. ASAljamain Sterling13:48

       (sighs) It's scary. I think-

   28. JRJoe Rogan13:50

       Ooh.

   29. ASAljamain Sterling13:50

       ... it's, it's her, Shevchenko, Cyborg-

   30. JRJoe Rogan13:52

       Mm-hmm.
7. 16:00 – 23:19

   Bantamweight chaos after Cejudo: contenders, Yan’s rise, and the Moscow mind game

   1. JRJoe Rogan16:00

      "You're that close." Especially after Henry Cejudo just beat Marlon Moraes, like, holy shit.

   2. ASAljamain Sterling16:05

      Door's wide open.

   3. JRJoe Rogan16:05

      Where, where are we? Where are we?

   4. ASAljamain Sterling16:07

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan16:07

      This is a whole... We got a, a double champ situation here, right? You got-

   6. ASAljamain Sterling16:11

      (sighs) It's crazy.

   7. JRJoe Rogan16:12

      Crazy.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling16:13

      So crazy.

   9. JRJoe Rogan16:13

      That, that, that division's wide open.

   10. ASAljamain Sterling16:14

       I, I love how much the bantamweight division has heated up.

   11. JRJoe Rogan16:19

       Mm-hmm.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling16:19

       It's been such a crazy ride for myself and just being a part of this, and being able to see, like, the wave and generations of different fighters coming in and out. You know, I, you know, I, I was talking about it, like, El Nino, you know, Gilbert Melendez-

   13. JRJoe Rogan16:32

       Mm-hmm.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling16:32

       ... and seeing, like, when he was on the top and now he's kind of, like... His fight, last fight with Arnold Allen's kind of, like, you could kinda see, like, the passing of the guard, or maybe, maybe he's just not, uh... 'Cause I know he popped fister- um, some type of PED also, so maybe that was something to do with it, or maybe-

   15. JRJoe Rogan16:47

       Well, he's 35, I think, or 36.

   16. ASAljamain Sterling16:49

       He's older, yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan16:50

       And Arnold Allen's 25 and fucking nasty.

   18. ASAljamain Sterling16:53

       He's a young bull, yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan16:54

       And he's being trained by Firas Zahabi, who in-... I mean, I don't think there's anybody better.

   20. ASAljamain Sterling16:58

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan16:59

       In terms of trainers, I think there's, like, c- g- just as good or in the neighborhood of good, but he's the fucking man as far as I'm concerned.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling17:05

       Yeah, and there's a, there's a lot of... There's just a lot of hot prospects just coming out and, uh, and then you got the Cory Sandhagens.

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:10

       Yeah.

   24. ASAljamain Sterling17:10

       Even Rivera, I know Rivera lost two fights in a row now, but he's still as tough as they come. He was-

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:15

       Yeah.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling17:15

       ... beating Petr Yan until he got dropped at-

   27. JRJoe Rogan17:17

       Yup.

   28. ASAljamain Sterling17:17

       ... rounds one and two.

   29. JRJoe Rogan17:18

       Mm-hmm.

   30. ASAljamain Sterling17:18

       He won round three even having his nose busted up and everything, and that's-
8. 23:19 – 25:37

   Aging fighters, bare-knuckle headlines, and choosing when to walk away

   1. JRJoe Rogan23:19

      Speaking of strength, did you hear Mark Coleman and Ken Shamrock are gonna fight in some new bare knuckle boxing promotion?

   2. ASAljamain Sterling23:25

      I didn't even see that announcement.

   3. JRJoe Rogan23:26

      Just today.

   4. ASAljamain Sterling23:27

      Oh, my Lord.

   5. JRJoe Rogan23:28

      Yeah.

   6. ASAljamain Sterling23:28

      No.

   7. JRJoe Rogan23:29

      I was like, "Oh, no."

   8. ASAljamain Sterling23:31

      How do we save this?

   9. JRJoe Rogan23:31

      I think Eddie Bravo sent it to me, and I just looked at it and took a deep sigh, like, "Oh."

   10. ASAljamain Sterling23:37

       I don't like seeing stuff like that. It, it makes me sad.

   11. JRJoe Rogan23:40

       Mm-hmm.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling23:40

       And I, it, it makes me wonder if I'm gonna be like that when I get older, and I'm like-

   13. JRJoe Rogan23:44

       Right.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling23:44

       ... I hope to God not. I hope when I walk away, I just fucking walk away.

   15. JRJoe Rogan23:48

       I hope so, too. But then again, if they're in a situation where they need money and something comes up like this and they're willing to do it, why do I give a fuck? Like, why, why is it a thing where I, I'm cool with young guys doing it if they need money, but I'm not cool with guys that are 50 doing it if they need money? Like, what ... Is it ... I mean-

   16. ASAljamain Sterling24:06

       I, I see your point.

   17. JRJoe Rogan24:07

       You know what I'm saying?

   18. ASAljamain Sterling24:07

       But it's like seeing the guy in their physical state, and you're like, "Dude, you should not be doing this."

   19. JRJoe Rogan24:13

       Right.

   20. ASAljamain Sterling24:14

       So, it's like you're, you, you're watching ... I don't know. It's almost like ... I don't know. It's hard... There's n- I don't really have an analogy for this right now, but ... (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan24:20

       I know exactly what you're saying, though. It's like you hope that they find a better life, and they, they, they, they hit the finish line. They're like, "Thank you very much," they're in the Hall of Fame, and then they move on.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling24:31

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan24:32

       That's what you hope.

   24. ASAljamain Sterling24:33

       I'm hoping that's what I do.

   25. JRJoe Rogan24:34

       Yeah.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling24:34

       Get the fuck out. (laughs)

   27. JRJoe Rogan24:35

       Well, some people can do it, you know? But-

   28. ASAljamain Sterling24:38

       Make my money and go.

   29. JRJoe Rogan24:38

       My favorite example in all of combat sports is Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

   30. ASAljamain Sterling24:42

       Yeah.
9. 25:37 – 28:45

   Aljo’s fighting origins: backyard VHS “kung fu,” wrestling start, and a high-output style

   1. JRJoe Rogan25:37

      Did you start out from a ... I mean, I know you have a wrestling base too.

   2. ASAljamain Sterling25:41

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan25:41

      What did you start-

   4. ASAljamain Sterling25:42

      10th grade, 10th grade.

   5. JRJoe Rogan25:42

      What did you start out with? What was your first martial art?

   6. ASAljamain Sterling25:45

      I didn't have any. We, we ... You know the karate kung fu, like, VHS tapes?

   7. JRJoe Rogan25:50

      Yeah.

   8. ASAljamain Sterling25:50

      I shit you not, I have a family of ... There's like ... I think there's 20 of us now.

   9. JRJoe Rogan25:53

      (laughs)

   10. ASAljamain Sterling25:53

       My dad, my dad just had a newborn son.

   11. JRJoe Rogan25:55

       No.

   12. ASAljamain Sterling25:56

       I shit you not. And he's 57. The guy is out of his fucking bird.

   13. JRJoe Rogan25:59

       Wow.

   14. ASAljamain Sterling25:59

       But, uh, he just had a newborn son. I haven't even met him yet, that's one. And, uh, all the boys grew up, we had these karate tapes, VHS tapes, and we would imitate the characters, and we'll be like, "We're the drunken master," or, "We're the white tiger, white lion," and we'd have to do their fight styles. And we're like little kids, so we're still flexible, and you know-

   15. JRJoe Rogan26:16

       Yeah.

   16. ASAljamain Sterling26:16

       ... malleable. We, like, don't break as easily, so-

   17. JRJoe Rogan26:18

       Yeah.

   18. ASAljamain Sterling26:18

       ... we just start beating the shit out of each other, but we'd do, like, spinning back kicks, jumping off the couches and shit like that. And I think that might have translated, 'cause that was like ... We did that for years. But that was the most combat we did. We didn't do any, like, wrestling, no- nothing traditional at all.

   19. JRJoe Rogan26:32

       Before I ever got into martial arts, I used to do that same thing. I used to throw kicks with my friends. I didn't know what I was doing. You know?

   20. ASAljamain Sterling26:38

       But it was fun.

   21. JRJoe Rogan26:38

       But yeah, you, like, watch a Bruce Lee movie and start throwing kicks, or some Chuck Norris film or something like that.

   22. ASAljamain Sterling26:43

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan26:43

       You learn how to do stuff by watching, but you could also develop some terrible habits.

   24. ASAljamain Sterling26:47

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan26:48

       But you don't look like you developed any bad habits. Like, if I had to guess, I would say you have a traditional martial arts background.

   26. ASAljamain Sterling26:52

       In what?

   27. JRJoe Rogan26:53

       The way you throw kicks. Like, you throw kicks like a guy who started throwing kicks when you were really young.

   28. ASAljamain Sterling26:58

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan26:59

       But they're right.

   30. ASAljamain Sterling27:00

       Which-
10. 28:45 – 35:12

    Self-designed strength & conditioning: round-based circuits, long squeezes, and camp adjustments

    1. ASAljamain Sterling28:45

       It gets to the point like that, I'm like, "Dude, thank you, b- ... I appreciate it, but ... " You know? But, um, yeah. It's, it's a very tiring style, um, but we do a lot of work. And I do my own strength and conditioning just from having a background in physical education in, uh, SUNY Cortland, so-

    2. JRJoe Rogan28:58

       You do your own?

    3. ASAljamain Sterling28:59

       Yeah. So, I, I've been doing it since I was an amateur, like, writing my own thing, my own program, 'cause they taught us how to, like, work on, like, isometric squeezes and different type of, like, explosive muscle endurance workouts and stuff like static holds, like, holding on the, on the pull-up bar then going out to punches. So I, I put together a pretty decent program. It- it's been working. I can't complain. And-

    4. JRJoe Rogan29:18

       So, when you do it, how do you design it? Do you z- d- design it for the entire camp? Like, do you set it out every day, like, where you wanna be? And do you adjust it depending on how you feel and injuries? Like, how do you-

    5. ASAljamain Sterling29:28

       Yep.

    6. JRJoe Rogan29:28

       How do you schedule all that?

    7. ASAljamain Sterling29:29

       Exactly like that. So ... And when I'm further out from the camp, or not in camp at all, I'll do more lifting. And I'll lift heavy. And I don't really do, like, benching no more. That ... I think that shit's, like, stupid for, for fighters. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'm not gonna bench press somebody off of my back, you know?

    8. JRJoe Rogan29:43

       Right.

    9. ASAljamain Sterling29:43

       You know? I'm ... Y- I ... I don't know, whatever. But I'll do that, and I'll adjust the training camp and adjust the, uh, the programs when I get closer to the fight. And I don't mind to, like, sharing this, because I think guys, they make it more complicated than what it should be. Like, I ... Sometimes I see all this crazy shit, I'm like, "I just don't understand the whole necessity behind needing that." But I'm no, I'm no physical strength and conditioning doctorate or anything like that. But from what I've seen that works for me, I just try to mimic everything that I feel in a fight and implement it into a workout, and I figure out which ways I could do that, whether it's bands, push-ups, box jumps, wall sits. I do wall sits get-ups with two plates.

    10. JRJoe Rogan30:22

        Oh.

    11. ASAljamain Sterling30:22

        So I'm sitting down on my butt and I'll do, like, a technical stand-up. And I use the wall and I push up, so it's a lot of leg works, a lot of core work.

    12. JRJoe Rogan30:29

        Hm.

    13. ASAljamain Sterling30:29

        And-

    14. JRJoe Rogan30:29

        With two plates?

    15. ASAljamain Sterling30:30

        With two plates. It's fucked up. It's ... Man, sometimes I, like, I come there ... And I can do it by myself in the morning. I go to LAUMMA by myself, 9:00 AM, and I'm like, "Why am I putting myself through this?" Like, I ca- It could be so much easier and more simple, like, just to do the other stuff like the plyometric stuff and ... Which is a little not as much impact on the body, but this is what I enjoy. I think this was what translates to the fight, 'cause this is what I feel. And I feel when I do this, I notice a drastic difference from one sparring session to the next. But to answer your question, like, I adjust it. I'll do it if, um, my legs are on fire and I feel like they're really beat up from sparring, I'll do more upper body. And then if my ... I feel my upper body's more beat up, I'll switch it off to the lower body. And if I feel like I'm fresh, like, I had a good week, I'd ... Maybe at the end of spar, um, on a Saturday and I come in fresh on a Monday, I'll hit it hard and do full body everything, and I'll give myself five rounds of pushing it. But I'll separate it into rounds. Simulate the fight with rounds.... I do every single minute, but I'll do about 40, 40 s- depending on how far I am from, from the fight. If I'm like just starting training camp, I don't wanna kill myself.

    16. JRJoe Rogan31:30

        Hmm.

    17. ASAljamain Sterling31:30

        I wanna ease my way into it. So, I'll start like anywhere from like 30, 35 seconds to like 50 seconds, and that 10-second window or that other 30-second window is my time to recover and get to the next station. And I'll just rap, whatever I'm doing, burn it out, burn it out. I'll do, um, the med ball between my legs, I'll do the foam roller in my arms and I'll squeeze it and I'll simulate the rear naked choke, and I do it for two-minute intervals.

    18. JRJoe Rogan31:53

        Whoa.

    19. ASAljamain Sterling31:53

        And I'm just squeezing the piss out of it. And obviously, you can't do it, but you do it to failure. And your arms get tired, you switch and go to the other side, and you switch your legs, you figure-four it, you scissor the legs. So, you give yourself different type of stimulation to your body to kinda account for everything that you may possibly be in for the fight. And you never know, it's like some- this fight I did a lot of grappling, but I also did a lot of punching because I was- I thought to myself, there might be a chance I- it might be a, a possibility that I do not get Pedro to the ground. And I, and I was happy I didn't force the takedowns 'cause that would've fatigued me even more. I was like, "If it comes, it comes." But we did a- I did a lot of output just burning out the arms, getting that muscle endurance, kinda dos- using that Floyd Mayweather structure of a workout, just getting that- that heavy bag count, like high punch count in- in a five-minute round, and I would do that for a couple rounds. And we'd do that a couple times a week, and I- I think you implement that with the- the lateral footwork that we do in the cage, and just staying on your bike and having people like, like stalk you, and like sh- just not going crazy but it's, it's controlled. Like they're throwing punches like hooks or they're throwing, um, a one-two and you gotta like bounce side to side and get out the way. So it's a lot of like... at- at least I think it's practical for what you're gonna actually see when you get in a fight. And I think sure enough, a lot of the things we did pretty much happened in the fight, just-

    20. JRJoe Rogan33:04

        I think long-

    21. ASAljamain Sterling33:04

        ... on your toes.

    22. JRJoe Rogan33:05

        Long squeezes is a great idea.

    23. ASAljamain Sterling33:06

        Oh, it's insane.

    24. JRJoe Rogan33:07

        Because, because that's something that comes up often in a fight where you maybe got a guy in an arm triangle or something like that, and it's that close to whether you get it or he escapes. It's like-

    25. ASAljamain Sterling33:16

        Yeah.

    26. JRJoe Rogan33:16

        ... how much squeeze, how long can you keep it down? You know when you're caught in something?

    27. ASAljamain Sterling33:20

        Yeah.

    28. JRJoe Rogan33:20

        And it's like you're almost gonna tap and the guy lets go, you're like, "Woo!"

    29. ASAljamain Sterling33:23

        Yeah. (laughs)

    30. JRJoe Rogan33:23

        You don't know, close.
11. 35:12 – 55:41

    Recovery, coaching, and the corner as a “gym advertisement” (plus Diego’s ‘voodoo coach’)

    1. JRJoe Rogan35:12

       Do you think that has anything to do with you training yourself? Do you think that you've- if you had a, a legit strength and conditioning coach who's monitoring your heart rate? Like, do... are you monitoring your heart rate and all that stuff?

    2. ASAljamain Sterling35:21

       No.

    3. JRJoe Rogan35:21

       No?

    4. ASAljamain Sterling35:22

       I just started doing stuff with the PI Center and I, I try to... 'cause I saw that guy Brendan Davis, he's-

    5. JRJoe Rogan35:27

       Mm-hmm.

    6. ASAljamain Sterling35:27

       ... he's from 45 and foot to beat and he's a, he's a big fucking dude.

    7. JRJoe Rogan35:31

       Gigantic! He's 135 now.

    8. ASAljamain Sterling35:33

       Which is insane to me. So-

    9. JRJoe Rogan35:34

       How is it... I don't know how he makes it.

    10. ASAljamain Sterling35:35

        That's what I said. So I'm like, "Dude, if I'm gonna have to be fighting these giant guys, I need to figure something out." And like, they, they explain how he was able to cut the weight, like he was running like 10 miles or something.

    11. JRJoe Rogan35:45

        A day.

    12. ASAljamain Sterling35:46

        A day, which was insane to me. I know he was saying like some of it was like walking, but it's all about your heart rate, your resting heart rate, where you burn the most fat and calories or whatever you wanna call it, and uh-

    13. JRJoe Rogan35:55

        He's so big. When I was standing next to him, I couldn't believe that he makes 135.

    14. ASAljamain Sterling35:58

        It's insane. I, I was actually pretty upset. I was like, "Fuck this guy, go back up to your weight class." (laughs)

    15. JRJoe Rogan36:03

        Yeah, there he is right there. And didn't he say that he weighed... I think I asked him what he weighed in the cage and I think he said somewhere around 160.

    16. ASAljamain Sterling36:10

        Yeah. I don't get that big.

    17. JRJoe Rogan36:12

        Which is... What does he say?

    18. NANarrator36:13

        I'll, I'll look, I'll look up. I'll check.

    19. JRJoe Rogan36:15

        It's bananas, man. He's, he's so gigantic and he's, what are you, like 6'1" or something like that?

    20. ASAljamain Sterling36:19

        Yeah, that's not-

    21. JRJoe Rogan36:20

        Crazy for that weight class.

    22. ASAljamain Sterling36:21

        I wanna... Yeah, I don't wanna fight a guy that's 6'1".

    23. NANarrator36:23

        (laughs)

    24. ASAljamain Sterling36:23

        You gotta, I gotta, I got the unfair advantage right now. You s- take your ass back down to 45.

    25. JRJoe Rogan36:28

        There's a, there's a device that I've been using called a Whoop and it, uh, measures your, uh, heart rate variability and it measures your heart rate and measures you, like your sleep cycle, you wear it while you're sleeping. And if they think, they say that that's one of the things that really determines whether or not you can push hard is monitoring your heart rate on a daily basis so that you see what it's like when you wake up.

    26. ASAljamain Sterling36:47

        Okay.

    27. JRJoe Rogan36:47

        So if say if you wake up and your resting heart rate's like 40 beats per minute or something like that, if one day it's 50, you need to chill.

    28. ASAljamain Sterling36:53

        Yeah.

    29. JRJoe Rogan36:54

        Like that, that day was maybe active recovery, maybe just do some light drills, nothing crazy, but you can't push it that day because you're already 10... so you might be getting sick or you might be-

    30. ASAljamain Sterling37:03

        Yeah.
12. 55:41 – 1:06:33

    Sleep, apnea, and recovery tech: chill pads, mouthpieces, and why Aljo sleeps on a couch

    1. JRJoe Rogan55:41

       Have you heard of that chill pad?

    2. ASAljamain Sterling55:43

       Nah.

    3. JRJoe Rogan55:43

       Well, this is something I haven't tried, but Mark Sisson is, uh, who's a ... He's the guy from ... He wrote that book, The Primal Blue, Blue, uh, Primal Blueprint, and, um, he's a, like a nutrition expert, and he's a former endurance athlete, but he's a giant believer of this thing where you put ... It is like a mattress pad, and it chills your body to a certain temperature. You could set it for whatever temperature makes you most comfortable, but apparently he said it is a game changer in terms of your ability to sleep through the night. Like, I woke up in the middle of the night last night, I must have been having a crazy dream. I was sweating like a pig, and I woke up and I'm drenched with sweat. I'm like, "Fuck, why am I so sweaty?" Like, "What the fuck's wrong with my brain?"

    4. ASAljamain Sterling56:22

       Yeah.

    5. JRJoe Rogan56:22

       But with this, apparently when you keep you at a chilled temperature, you just snooze. And he said he sleeps hard. What do you got? You did it?

    6. NANarrator56:31

       I didn't. It's coming.

    7. JRJoe Rogan56:32

       You got a chill pad?

    8. NANarrator56:32

       So I don't have it yet, but it's ... Will be here by the time we get back into another show.

    9. JRJoe Rogan56:36

       Mm-hmm.

    10. NANarrator56:36

        I'll have a review for you on how it works.

    11. JRJoe Rogan56:38

        Oh, okay.

    12. ASAljamain Sterling56:38

        Amazing.

    13. NANarrator56:39

        Yeah.

    14. JRJoe Rogan56:39

        So you ordered one?

    15. NANarrator56:40

        Like, full bed though. It's not just a pad, like-

    16. JRJoe Rogan56:42

        Oh.

    17. NANarrator56:42

        Literally there's a tube that g- ... Like an air conditioner. Tube goes into the mattress-

    18. JRJoe Rogan56:46

        Whoa.

    19. NANarrator56:46

        And it's connected to an app, and it can regulate your body, like a Sleep Number bed, I think.

    20. JRJoe Rogan56:51

        Is it ... What is it called?

    21. NANarrator56:51

        This one is called like Eight Sleep, I believe, or Sleep Eight. I think it's Eight Sleep.

    22. JRJoe Rogan56:54

        And is the same thing?

    23. NANarrator56:55

        Ve- ... Yeah, same thing.

    24. JRJoe Rogan56:56

        So this is the actual mattress itself.

    25. NANarrator56:58

        Yep.

    26. ASAljamain Sterling56:58

        Cool.

    27. JRJoe Rogan56:58

        So how much is that thing?

    28. NANarrator57:00

        Not ... It's ... I looked at the prices. I was surprised that it was not as expensive as I would think it would be, especially compared to, like, I heard Miss Pat say she bought one of those, like, uh-

    29. JRJoe Rogan57:09

        Sleep Number beds.

    30. NANarrator57:10

        Yeah, but it was crazy number.

Episode duration: 2:36:16