JRE MMA Show #86 with Josh Thomson
Joe Rogan (host), Josh Thomson (guest), Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Josh Thomson, JRE MMA Show #86 with Josh Thomson explores joe Rogan, Josh Thomson Defend Fighters, Slam Hot-Take MMA Commentary Culture Joe Rogan and Josh Thomson spend most of the conversation dissecting Stephen A. Smith’s criticism of Donald Cerrone and broader sports‑talk ‘hot take’ culture invading MMA coverage.
Joe Rogan, Josh Thomson Defend Fighters, Slam Hot-Take MMA Commentary Culture
Joe Rogan and Josh Thomson spend most of the conversation dissecting Stephen A. Smith’s criticism of Donald Cerrone and broader sports‑talk ‘hot take’ culture invading MMA coverage.
They argue that fighting’s physical danger and emotional cost demand respect and informed analysis, contrasting real experts like Max Kellerman, Daniel Cormier, and Big John McCarthy with mainstream personalities learning the sport on air.
From there, they branch into deep MMA talk: cross‑promotion possibilities, the quality of Bellator/ONE talent, Khabib vs. Ferguson and GSP, Conor’s future, rule sets, and the evolution of fighters’ careers and commentary roles.
Throughout, Thomson draws on his Strikeforce/Bellator experience and current analyst role to advocate for fighter respect, smarter matchmaking, and better post‑career planning for athletes.
Key Takeaways
MMA commentary must respect the unique risk and psychology of fighting.
Rogan and Thomson argue that calling Donald Cerrone a ‘quitter’ after a broken orbital shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what fighters endure; hot‑take sports radio rhetoric doesn’t translate ethically to a sport where people can be badly hurt or even killed.
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Analysts should actually know the sport—or stay in their lane.
They distinguish between entertaining personalities and qualified analysts, saying networks should prioritize former fighters or deeply educated commentators (e. ...
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Cross‑promotion could create dream fights—but business incentives block it.
Thomson believes Bellator and ONE have champions (Lima, Patricio Pitbull, Mighty Mouse, MVP) who could beat UFC elites, and argues for annual cross‑promotional supercards, while Rogan counters that the UFC has little financial incentive to risk its brand in such events.
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Fighting careers are short; fighters need a concrete, aggressive post‑career plan.
Thomson stresses that your “new life will cost you your old one”: you can’t half‑retire and still spend five hours a day in the gym; you must throw yourself into new ventures (podcasts, gyms, media, businesses) with the same intensity you used in fighting.
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Trash talk can sell fights but should end once the bout is over.
They differentiate between promotional trash talk (Conor vs. ...
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Rule tweaks could make MMA more honest and dynamic.
Both suggest legalizing knees to the head of a grounded opponent (especially in open space) and question bans like 12–6 elbows and kicks to the kidneys, arguing that current rules create artificial ‘safe’ positions and awkward scrambles.
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Weight-class structure and pay scales strongly shape careers and divisions.
They call for adding 165 and 175 lbs to fix the 15‑pound gap between 155 and 170 and note how pay, matchmaking leverage, and promotion control in MMA (vs. ...
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Notable Quotes
““You’re not talking about the same thing. You’re talking about fighting. You’re talking about unbelievable physical consequences… including, knock on wood, in our sport it’s very rare, but death.””
— Joe Rogan
““You cannot do that to these guys. These guys lay it on the line every time. We’re not slapping a puck or hitting a baseball, okay? We’re really out there getting hurt.””
— Josh Thomson
““My concentration has always been to elevate. My concentration’s never been to demean someone unless there’s something that they did that’s illegal.””
— Joe Rogan
““If you wanna do something else, your new life is gonna cost your old one.””
— Josh Thomson
““If you’re not in the UFC, you’re not shit—that’s crazy. There are guys out there like Lima where I look and go, ‘He might be able to beat everybody.’””
— Joe Rogan
Questions Answered in This Episode
Where should the line be drawn between entertaining sports commentary and disrespect toward fighters who risk serious harm?
Joe Rogan and Josh Thomson spend most of the conversation dissecting Stephen A. ...
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Should major promotions like the UFC ever risk cross‑promotional events to truly determine ‘best in the world,’ even if it could hurt their brand?
They argue that fighting’s physical danger and emotional cost demand respect and informed analysis, contrasting real experts like Max Kellerman, Daniel Cormier, and Big John McCarthy with mainstream personalities learning the sport on air.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How can MMA organizations better support fighters in planning financially and psychologically for life after fighting?
From there, they branch into deep MMA talk: cross‑promotion possibilities, the quality of Bellator/ONE talent, Khabib vs. ...
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Would legalizing knees to a grounded opponent and revising other rules make MMA safer in practice or just more violent to watch?
Throughout, Thomson draws on his Strikeforce/Bellator experience and current analyst role to advocate for fighter respect, smarter matchmaking, and better post‑career planning for athletes.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Is the current weight‑class structure (especially between 155 and 170) distorting who becomes champion and how long careers last?
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Transcript Preview
Three, two, one... Joshua! What's happening, my man?
(laughs) What's going on, man?
Good to see you. So, uh, I looked at your Instagram yesterday, and you had that video of Stephen A. Smith-
(laughs)
... and immediately I was like, "Oh, my goodness. This explains so much."
(laughs)
Play this. Play, play this, Jamie. Watch this, watch this. First of all, (glass breaking) someone needs to explain to me what's happening here. I don't know why he's punching a baby.
Yeah. Well, it looks like a dick punch to the left. (laughs) What?
I don't even think it's a dick, unless that guy's got a two-foot dick. Look how low he's punching.
I... No idea, man. I-
This guy should not be allowed to talk about fighting.
Yeah, look, um...
Just-
I'm gonna cut him a little bit of slack. Only, I'm, I... Seriously, I... We have this... Here's the thing with Strikeforce. We had kind of a similar situation, not like this though, by the way, with Gus Johnson.
I remember, yes.
With Gus- was trying to talk, and, and I love Gus. When he's talking basketball-
Yeah.
... I think he's got the energy and the voice that makes people like, oh, wow, they're gripped to the TV. This, I can understand with Stephen A., but this is not-
(laughs)
... what you wanna release after you just called someone who's a pioneer in the sport, you basically call him a quitter.
You call a guy a quitter. First of all, he had a broken orbital bone, okay? You're saying he was a quitter? He got his face smashed, okay?
Yeah.
He got cracked by one of the biggest punchers in the sport.
Yeah.
He, uh... He has the most wins in the sport. He has the most wins by finish. He has the most bonuses. I mean, come on.
Yeah.
He has the most fights. Come on. Y- you're calling that guy a quitter? He got cracked. That's what happens. Look, fighting is the only sport that you could end it early, right?
Yeah.
You can't end a football game in 40 seconds. Imagine, imagine if you just... Your front line was so strong, your fucking quarterback was so badass, you could storm a football game in 40 seconds, it'd be a different sport, right?
Yeah, my concern with him, though, was that, like... Look, he's fine he just did the video. I get it. Like (laughs) it's 'cause you're trying to learn the sport.
(laughs)
But I gotta tell you, like, DC sent me this video.
(laughs)
He basically commented on it, and I said, I said... D, D's trying to protect him. DC is trying to protect him. I said, "You cannot protect this guy."
No, no.
"Not from this." You can't call someone like Cowboy Cerrone or any other... I'm sorry, any other top guy in any organization.
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