Joe Rogan Experience - Fight Companion - January 26, 2019
Joe Rogan (host), Brendan Schaub (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Bryan Callen (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest), Joe Rogan (host), Eddie Bravo (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest), Bryan Callen (guest), Bryan Callen (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Bryan Callen (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Eddie Bravo (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest), Brendan Schaub (guest)
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub, Joe Rogan Experience - Fight Companion - January 26, 2019 explores rogan, Schaub, Bravo, Callen Watch Fedor–Bader And Everything Else This Fight Companion episode of the Joe Rogan Experience (January 26, 2019) features Joe Rogan, Eddie Bravo, Brendan Schaub, and Brian Callen watching Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix finale: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader, plus Aaron Pico, Jack Swagger and others.
Rogan, Schaub, Bravo, Callen Watch Fedor–Bader And Everything Else
This Fight Companion episode of the Joe Rogan Experience (January 26, 2019) features Joe Rogan, Eddie Bravo, Brendan Schaub, and Brian Callen watching Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix finale: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader, plus Aaron Pico, Jack Swagger and others.
They jump between live fight analysis and wide‑ranging tangents: weight cutting philosophy, refereeing and judging, PEDs and USADA, fighter pay and cross‑promotion, plus comedy, acting, fashion, and pop‑culture riffs.
Key MMA moments include the group’s reaction to Pico’s brutal KO loss, Bader’s shocking first‑round knockout of Fedor, discussion of Aaron Pico’s career strategy, and speculation about how Bellator talent stacks up with the UFC.
The tone is loose, comedic, and often vulgar, mixing real technical fight insight with storytelling, conspiratorial sidebars, and industry gossip.
Key Takeaways
Moving up in weight can extend careers and improve performance.
They argue many fighters (e. ...
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Refereeing and judging errors are inevitable but need transparency and accountability.
The group feels Dillashaw–Cejudo was stopped early and notes how refs can’t ‘replay’ a mistake; they float ideas like expert unofficial scorecards and better judge oversight while acknowledging commissions often resist scrutiny.
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Wrestling remains the most decisive base in modern MMA.
Repeatedly, they highlight fighters like Bader, Archuleta, Swagger, Khabib, GSP and others as proof that the ability to dictate where the fight takes place—especially with top control—wins titles and mitigates risk.
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Finishing instincts must be tempered by risk management.
Aaron Pico’s loss is used as a case study: he badly hurts Corrales but rushes in recklessly for the KO instead of mixing in takedowns and safer finishing options, exposing how youthful aggression can short‑circuit fight IQ.
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USADA’s approach creates complexity and perceived inconsistency.
They debate Jon Jones’ picogram situation, double jeopardy concerns, and the difference between USADA and old commission-only testing; Schaub suggests USADA overcomplicates things for a sport with short athletic windows.
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Bellator has developed genuinely elite fighters despite lesser belt prestige.
Examples like Gegard Mousasi, Rory MacDonald, Douglas Lima, Michael Chandler, and now dual-champ Ryan Bader are cited to argue Bellator’s top tier can hang with UFC elites, even if UFC titles carry more historical weight.
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Star power and narrative shape matchmaking as much as merit.
Conversations about Conor–Floyd, potential Khabib–Floyd, ‘champ–champ’ fights, and how the UFC handled Greg Hardy reflect how promotion often prioritizes spectacle and leverage over strict sporting hierarchy.
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Notable Quotes
“There’s two choices for Pico now: keep doing what he’s doing, or go Khabib style.”
— Eddie Bravo
“It’s all about mitigating variables. You close all the variables down when you take a guy down and mount him.”
— Joe Rogan
“No matter what, the UFC belt will always be king. Bellator’s legit, but that belt’s different.”
— Eddie Bravo
“USADA just makes it more complicated. With commissions, you basically have to be stupid to get caught.”
— Brendan Schaub
“MMA is a crazy sport, man. One second Pico looks unbeatable, the next he’s on the floor and we’re all on our feet.”
— Joe Rogan
Questions Answered in This Episode
Given Pico’s skill set, what specific strategic changes would best protect his chin while still leveraging his boxing and wrestling?
This Fight Companion episode of the Joe Rogan Experience (January 26, 2019) features Joe Rogan, Eddie Bravo, Brendan Schaub, and Brian Callen watching Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix finale: Fedor Emelianenko vs. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Should MMA return to commission-only testing or reform USADA to better fit the sport’s realities and career lengths?
They jump between live fight analysis and wide‑ranging tangents: weight cutting philosophy, refereeing and judging, PEDs and USADA, fighter pay and cross‑promotion, plus comedy, acting, fashion, and pop‑culture riffs.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How much does belt ‘prestige’ actually matter to fighters versus money, activity, and quality of opposition?
Key MMA moments include the group’s reaction to Pico’s brutal KO loss, Bader’s shocking first‑round knockout of Fedor, discussion of Aaron Pico’s career strategy, and speculation about how Bellator talent stacks up with the UFC.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What’s the right balance between fighter safety (early stoppages) and allowing high-stakes bouts to ‘play out’ for legacy and fan value?
The tone is loose, comedic, and often vulgar, mixing real technical fight insight with storytelling, conspiratorial sidebars, and industry gossip.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
If crossover events like Conor–Floyd or a potential Khabib–Floyd keep happening, how will they reshape both MMA and boxing in the long run?
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Transcript Preview
... have all the results. (lighter clicking) Five, four, three, two, one.
Make sure Brian's off.
Boom! And we're live, ladies and gentlemen, to Fight Companion. Uh, it's me, uh, Brian Callahan's on the way, but it's his birthday, and, uh, he's old as fuck. And sometimes you get old, you lose your keys, and you don't know what time it is and shit.
Tesla, bro.
Eddie motherfucking Bravo!
Yo, yo, yo.
Um, and Brendan Schaub is up in this bitch.
What up?
And we're watching Bellator. Hope nobody at the UFC gets mad. But it's a big fight. This is an important one. W- we are, um, right now this is the heavyweight finals is gonna be Fedor versus Ryan Bader.
I'm excited for that.
I am excited about that! I'm very excited, I like Ryan Bader at heavyweight. He looks fucking fantastic.
Love him. He's bigger than me right now.
How... Dude, how many of these guys just should've done that a long time ago and just stopped cutting weight?
Went to heavyweight?
Just cr- crucifying their body.
Chris Weidman I think is kinda one of the main ones.
You think so?
I think he's gonna excel at light heavyweight.
He just got a disc replaced in his neck.
Yeah, he's fucked up, but he'll figure it out.
The worst nightmare though for a fighter, e- in wrestling or MMA, is just being overpowered by somebody.
Right.
That's why they're killing themselves. They just wanna... They would rather go in there, uh, depleted, then get thrown around.
It's so old school.
Right.
It's such an old school way of thinking, I feel like.
It makes sense though, a little bit.
Yeah.
I mean, they're doing that-
To be that bully?
... in, in wrestling it's, it's still-
I know, I... But look, look at Cain.
But how about we look at TJ Dillashaw? Look at TJ Dillashaw.
Oh, yeah. But that's hard to say. Let's, let's talk about that fight, 'cause I watched that fight several times. Me too.
I am of the opinion that was a quick stoppage.
Early stoppage for sure.
I thought it was an early stoppage.
Early stoppage, 100%.
And here, here's my, here's my other point with that. When they're 125 pounds, you can let it go on a little longer than if they were heavyweights. I'd, I'd err more on the side of let it go longer-
Yeah, dude-
... 'cause they're 125 pounds.
... they could be 1,000 pounds each and that fight got stopped quick.
Let them fucking fight.
Let's talk... Let them fucking cry.
Jesus Christ.
Especially, especially when we're talking about a legacy fight.
Dudes were pissed that-
I was pissed.
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