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150 min read · 30,094 words- 0:00 – 2:03
Jimmy Smith’s Bellator exit: what happened and why it matters
- JRJoe Rogan
... waiting on ja-? We good?
- JSJimmy Smith
Just waiting on you guys.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. Oh, sorry. (laughs)
- JSJimmy Smith
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
We're chatting about kombucha. I just wanna say before this podcast starts, you fucked up, Bellator.
- JSJimmy Smith
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
You fucked up. You fucked up. I've been telling everybody that Jimmy Smith's the best out there forever, and you let him go. That's, that's, that's a, that's a huge error on their part.
- JSJimmy Smith
It's just... We can't talk about anything.
- JRJoe Rogan
It is what it is.
- JSJimmy Smith
That might be, like, uh, some future news. We can't talk about that. We can't, uh- But the past is, the past is up for-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... for discussion, that's for sure.
- JRJoe Rogan
The past is up for discussion. I would be-
- JSJimmy Smith
The present's good.
- JRJoe Rogan
... thrilled if somehow or another they were able to work it out where Jimmy Smith was at the UFC.
- JSJimmy Smith
We shall see.
- JRJoe Rogan
That would be what I would like to see.
- JSJimmy Smith
We shall see how that goes.
- JRJoe Rogan
I would like to see that.
- JSJimmy Smith
We will.
- JRJoe Rogan
That, they've... That's a big fuck up.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah, man. It was, um... What do you want me to say? Like, uh, just a little background because a lot of people have been asking me. I haven't made any real public statements other than that-
- JRJoe Rogan
I'm not a Bellator hater. I just want to say.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah, no. Bellator is-
- JRJoe Rogan
Across the board, never been a Bellator hater.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Respect. You know?
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I enjoy watching it. I like the fighters.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- 2:03 – 6:17
Why fight commentary is a real craft (and why fighters don’t automatically excel at it)
- JRJoe Rogan
It's fascinating to me that in, in the world of, uh, mixed martial arts, professional mixed martial arts, there haven't been that many people that have done you... what you and I both do.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yes, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
There's a small handful of people.
- JSJimmy Smith
You know what ya, the weird thing is about our job? Really. And, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Um, everybody thinks they got a guy. It's, it's one of those jobs that everybody thinks they can do, that they, they really go, "We'll just throw a fighter in, and then he'll be able to do it." I've seen I don't know how many of them that, that want to do... You know, even locker room interviews. "I want to get the next fighter to do that." And it's a, it's a job. It's a skill.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a job.
- JSJimmy Smith
It's really... I mean, it's one of those things where everybody thinks they can throw somebody in and do it. And I've seen s- I don't know how many try. And it's, it's tough. You really have to work at it or have a knack for it. It's, it's not the kind of thing that, you know... It's almost like coaching. I mean, how many times have you heard... I've heard of great, great jujitsu guys, like, "He's just not a great coach." He's naturally really good.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
He's not that good at teaching it because to him it just works, and then you try and it doesn't work. You know, it's one of those things where a great fighter isn't a great coach.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right. Sometimes, yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
A great, yeah, a great fighter isn't necessarily a great broadcaster. It just doesn't work that way, so...
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, some guys are just naturally good at it, though.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like Cormier is naturally fun.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like when Rousdan Namajunas knocked out, uh, Joanna Jędrczek.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He starts yelling, "Thug Rose!"
- JSJimmy Smith
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
"Thug Rose!" Like, he, that's just pure personality.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like you either have that in you or you don't. You can't fake yelling out "Thug Rose"-
- JSJimmy Smith
You can't.
- JRJoe Rogan
... after Rousdan Namajunas KOs her.
- JSJimmy Smith
You, you can't fake enthusiasm.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JSJimmy Smith
And that's... I, I think the-
- JRJoe Rogan
Real enthusiasm-
- JSJimmy Smith
Real enthusiasm.
- JRJoe Rogan
... is contagious, too.
- JSJimmy Smith
If you really care about the sport, there are two things that, that... Well, three things, uh, that we have to do is number one is educate people, because a lot of people just... Most Ameri- It's weird because most Americans didn't grow up wrestling. They didn't grow up doing Muay Thai. They didn't grow up doing jujitsu. So a lot of our sport is, at least partially, we're introducing them to it.
- 6:17 – 10:52
Weight cutting realities: huge cuts, IVs, and why the problem persists
- JRJoe Rogan
Bellator's Welterweight Division in particular is-
- JSJimmy Smith
(whistles)
- JRJoe Rogan
... goddamn stacked right now.
- JSJimmy Smith
You, you know what's funny? There are certain fighters, and I was thinking about it as I was watching the Cyborg fight last Saturday. There are certain fighters you meet, and it's, like, stunning. Certain athletes. When you, when you meet LeBron James, you go, "Jesus Christ."
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
Like, I've seen him on TV.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JSJimmy Smith
But when you see him in real life, you go, "Holy shit, that guy's big." Cyborg's one of those. Douglas Lima is one of those. Have you ever met him?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
When you meet that guy, you go, "God, you make 170 pounds?"
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- JSJimmy Smith
He is huge.
- JRJoe Rogan
He is.
- JSJimmy Smith
He is massive.
- JRJoe Rogan
What do you think he walks around at?
- JSJimmy Smith
210.
- JRJoe Rogan
210.
- JSJimmy Smith
He told me.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's what he told you?
- JSJimmy Smith
When, uh, let me put it this-
- JRJoe Rogan
Jesus.
- JSJimmy Smith
All right, so-
- JRJoe Rogan
That's 40 pounds. (laughs)
- JSJimmy Smith
When, when King Mo fought Rampage, all right, M- King Mo was 218. He stepped on the scale at 218.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JSJimmy Smith
I ... So the night of the fight, I go, you know, Douglas Lima was there, and I walk up to him and I go, "You've walked at 218." And he goes, "Yeah." He's like, "Well, I don't wanna eat too much. I, like, I shouldn't, but I have." He has walked around at what King Mo walked around at. 'Cause King Mo just stepped on the scale. It really doesn't cut to make 220. I mean, he- ... 'cause the, the weight class was 220 when he fought Rampage. He walks around King Mo size. Like, they are the same size.
- JRJoe Rogan
That is so insane.
- JSJimmy Smith
And he makes 170. He, he has the worst cut in terms of pounds I've ever seen. He, he deals with it well, um, but he has one of the biggest cuts I've ever seen.
- JRJoe Rogan
Now-
- JSJimmy Smith
And he's, he's really good with it. Which is weird.
- 10:52 – 14:39
Possible solutions: ONE’s hydration tests and adding weight classes
- JRJoe Rogan
Uh, ONE FC though is instituting some interesting new rule changes. And ONE FC is, uh, doing hydration tests.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And they, they're-
- JSJimmy Smith
They're doing high schools now for wrestling.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
They didn't do that beforehand.
- JRJoe Rogan
They should.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
They should. And, uh, oh God, who d- I'm trying to remember who told me that this weekend. But they're essentially saying they're gonna be able to ban weight cutting. They're just gonna be able to institute the ... No one's-
- JSJimmy Smith
Mm.
- JRJoe Rogan
... gonna be able to cut weight. You just, if you, if you pass the hydration test, you're not gonna be able to cut weight. So you have to pass this hydration test at every for-n, at every turn. You can't just get on the scale and you weigh 170 pounds. "Oh, congratulations." No. No, no, no. You weigh 170 pounds, but you're in danger. Like, look at your body. Look at your hydration levels.
- JSJimmy Smith
But at what point are they, are they testing?
- JRJoe Rogan
Apparently, they're doing it in three separate-
- JSJimmy Smith
'Cause if you don't want the card falling apart, of course.
- JRJoe Rogan
They step, ba-bam.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Not you, not you. And then half the card falls apart.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I know. What they did to, to-
- JSJimmy Smith
So, when would they is my, that's my question.
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, they'd have to do it early and blow all the weight classes up.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah. 100%.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, if that's what we're ... We were having this conversation-
- JSJimmy Smith
You have to shift everybody one, at least.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Yeah. Or if you don't even shift them one, you find out like, "What, what weight are you really?"You know, I mean, you could be like a Luke Rockhold dude who's a giant 185er. I mean, Luke easily looks like he could be a heavyweight when you're-
- JSJimmy Smith
Easy.
- JRJoe Rogan
... walking around him.
- JSJimmy Smith
Easy.
- JRJoe Rogan
He l- he's like 220 or 230 or something like that, and then he gets to... I'm... Maybe he's mad at me right now. I don't really-
- JSJimmy Smith
(laughs) Of lean muscle, bro.
- 14:39 – 19:41
Khabib vs. Barboza: inevitability, mental breaking points, and 10-8 scoring
- JSJimmy Smith
Unbelievable. That was... it, it's really weird sometimes w- when you... in any sport, I don't care what it is, when you see somebody... you know, Jordan in his prime, you just, you just can't cover the guy. It's almost like he's the only one on the court.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
Nurmagomedov, it was like he was the only one in the cage. It was crazy.
- JRJoe Rogan
It was like everything was inevitable.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Everything was inevitable.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah, it's unbelievable.
- JRJoe Rogan
The takedown was inevitable. The beatings were inevitable. You know, even if you hit him, congratulations, now you're on your ass. Y- y- getting punched in the face over and over again. You can't get up. You're getting mauled, like immediately.
- JSJimmy Smith
And against an excellent fighter.
- JRJoe Rogan
Excellent, yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
And people forget Barboza, Barboza is amazing.
- JRJoe Rogan
Amazing.
- JSJimmy Smith
And he made him look like he's j-... and, uh, the look on his face when he got up when Barboza was like, "Hey, you were better than me." I...
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
It was almost like a-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... like a shrug, wasn't even mad. It was just when you see somebody that much better, it's, it's back to the drawing board in some-
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, I was super impressed with Barboza being able to make it to the final bell. I mean, that was amazing. Just being able to do that, that shows you what a dominant performance it was-
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... by a guy like Khabib. But you also realize like what, what a world class fighter Barboza is, that he did... keeps throwing wheel kicks in the third round, and even landed one of them. He just didn't have much on him anymore.
- JSJimmy Smith
He didn't have the juice on him left. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
But fuck, man. He was still trying to win after a horrendous mauling for eight plus minutes.
- JSJimmy Smith
You know when I really look at fighters, when I really, when I really focus on them, especially the face, in between rounds, I look for that breaking moment of like-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... uh, you know. Uh, Vitor Belfort, Randy Couture and he's sitting on the ground just-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... like-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... didn't even sit on a stool.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- 19:41 – 21:59
Evolving performance levels: RDA at 170, calf kicks, and fight adjustments
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, it seems to me that everything right now is, is next level in comparison to a year and a half, two years ago. Like, Dos Anjos beat, uh, Robbie Lawler recently in just a fucking tour de force, de force performance. Watch that fight, I was like, this is as good as Dos Anjos has ever looked, if not better.
- JSJimmy Smith
Real sharp.
- JRJoe Rogan
Fucking amazing at 170, but more importantly like the, the output, the f- the, the, the amount of shots that he landed, the amount of shots that he fired, the, the endurance that he's showing. Everybody is on this complete different performance level right now.
- JSJimmy Smith
What I loved about that performance is one thing that generally doesn't change weight classes well when you move up is power. Meaning, Robbie Lawler, if you remember at 170 he was knocking everybody out, 185 he was like so-so. The shot that knocked somebody out at 70 when he, when he was at Strikeforce at 185 isn't gonna knock out Jacare, it's not gonna knock out Babaloo, it's not gonna r- knock out these big 185ers. So a lot of power punchers have trouble changing weight classes because the power shot just doesn't go with them. Dos Anjos looked like he knew that and when I got a volume guy at 170, I'm not gonna knock anybody out with one shot at, at 50, uh, like I did at 55. I have to throw more at 70, I have to be more accurate at 70, I have to slice them up with elbows a little more. So I like all the adjustments he made for the new weight class. He didn't try to fight like he did at 55. He's like, "I gotta throw more against these guys. I can't go one punch for one punch with Robbie Lawler."
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
That guy's a huge 170. So I liked the way his style modified with, with the weight class change.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
A lot of guys don't do that.
- JRJoe Rogan
I agree and I also think the use of leg kicks is critical. You gotta slow Robbie down.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Robbie's a big heavy guy and he immediately started chopping. That, it is crazy to me also that that low calf kick is becoming such a giant factor in MMA. That kick is just dominant now.
- JSJimmy Smith
Everybody's using it.
- JRJoe Rogan
Remember, remember what Manoff did to him after he knocked him out and couldn't walk?
- JSJimmy Smith
Woo.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like he knocks him out- Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... and was like limping over to his corner going, "I, you know, one more and I c- I'm done."
- JRJoe Rogan
That was one of the greatest-
- JSJimmy Smith
It's crazy.
- JRJoe Rogan
... comeback from behind knockouts ever.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And he's, he's eating all those leg kicks and M- Melvin is just coming after. Boom, boom, boom.
- JSJimmy Smith
If you haven't seen that fight folks, see it, 'cause it's, it's awesome and Melvin's just owning that leg.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
Got a little aggressive as, as Melvin Manoff does and got clipped, man.
- JRJoe Rogan
Got clipped with the haymaker of all haymakers.
- JSJimmy Smith
Haymaker. Hail Mary, man.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- JSJimmy Smith
Incredible.
- JRJoe Rogan
And then one on the way down too.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- 21:59 – 46:00
Matchmaking ‘what-ifs’: Diaz rematches, GSP’s cherry-on-top, and Conor’s next move
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, Robbie was a brutal, brutal knockout artist. I always wanted to see a rematch between him and Nick Diaz.
- JSJimmy Smith
I think everybody wants to see that. That would be awesome.
- JRJoe Rogan
How's that, how is it possible that that didn't take place?
- JSJimmy Smith
It's wei- there're certain matches that, that you wonder, "Man, how did that never..." You know, uh, the, the run Wanderlei was on, right? Wanderlei Detour 2.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
Never, never happened.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
I mean, there're certain ones you go, "Man, I can't believe that fight ever happened again." That's certainly one of them. Still could.
- JRJoe Rogan
Definitely.
- JSJimmy Smith
Still could hypothetically, I mean, would still sell like crazy, you know.
- JRJoe Rogan
I mean, I wonder if Nick Diaz if he wanted to come back would only want to come back for a title fight. I wonder if he's like that kind of money fight guy where it's like, yeah, obviously he's got some money and obviously-
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... he's not beating down on anybody's door to fight.
- JSJimmy Smith
No.
- JRJoe Rogan
He's not, you know, he's doing whatever the fuck he wants to do. But if you could get him back for a big money fight, I wonder if it would only be like a title fight?
- JSJimmy Smith
That's increasingly what's happening these days. I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
... guys are like, "Ah, I'm not getting paid."
- JRJoe Rogan
Like GSP. Yeah.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah. He came back for a huge money fight and that's it, you know.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's funny, Dana White said something crazy like, uh, "Yeah, he's just gonna pack up his money and f- head back to Canada."
- JSJimmy Smith
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Get a big check.
- JSJimmy Smith
Uh, I need three suitcases to hold all of it.
- JRJoe Rogan
I mean.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He did.
- JSJimmy Smith
Big money fight stuff.
- JRJoe Rogan
Came back, won the title and then retired.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- 46:00 – 59:03
Behind the mic: angry fighters, interviews, production constraints, and online criticism
- JSJimmy Smith
Right. That, yeah, let's do it. So, all right, I gotta ask. Commentator to commentator.
- JRJoe Rogan
All right.
- JSJimmy Smith
What's the, what's the, what's the, the maddest a fighter's ever been at you for what?
- JRJoe Rogan
Man, I don't know.
- JSJimmy Smith
'Cause we all have these stories.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mmm.
- JSJimmy Smith
Not many of them. Mo- usually, I get along with just about everybody, but there are a couple stories.
- JRJoe Rogan
I get along with just about everybody too. And if there was ever ... Oh, Rampage was mad at once.
- JSJimmy Smith
I remember that. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
'Cause I was, I was saying that he needed to throw more leg kicks or something like that. But it's just 'cause I wanted him to be successful. And when he does, he's ... I just think that guys get a little too knockout heavy sometimes, and I like to see people be more technical and mix it up.
- JSJimmy Smith
It's an addiction, man.
- JRJoe Rogan
And you're never gonna get away from the power that Rampage had and has. He's always gonna have that power. My thought was like, what I would like to see as a person who's a fan, I'd like to see him mix it up more.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know, and become more technical. He's always gonna have that ridiculous chin. He's always gonna have that unbelievable power. Those, those things are not going away.
- JSJimmy Smith
It was the first guy I ever grappled with.
- JRJoe Rogan
Rampage?
- JSJimmy Smith
It was Quentin Rampage Jackson.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's hilarious.
- JSJimmy Smith
He was the first, first guy I ever grappled with.
- JRJoe Rogan
Really? At a legit studio.
- JSJimmy Smith
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I grappled with him once. We were doing something for some television show, some inside ... That's right, that inside the UFC thing that I used to do like way back in the day. That was like, uh, when Spike first had the UFC, we did some stuff. And he was getting ready to fight Chuck, and we did some stuff together. He, he, like a lot of people didn't know who he was. He came over. We drove around LA in his, uh, monster truck. He had some crazy monster truck. It was like jacked three feet up in the air. He was-
- JSJimmy Smith
If you weren't into Pride, you didn't know who he was.
- JRJoe Rogan
No, nobody knew who he was.
- JSJimmy Smith
Not at that point, not at that point, of course.
- JRJoe Rogan
We ran into one of the Wu-Tang Clan-
- JSJimmy Smith
Beat Marvin Eastman before that?
- JRJoe Rogan
I was with Rampage. We ran into one of the Wu-Tang Clan in a weird section of LA on Hollywood Boulevard. The Wu-Tang-
- JSJimmy Smith
That's one of those.
- JRJoe Rogan
... dude was coming out of a check cashing place. (coughs) I forget which guy it was. We were having a good fucking time, though. That was before anybody knew who Rampage was.
Episode duration: 2:07:26
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Transcript of episode e-8zbeH_kCg
