JRE MMA Show #38 with Gaston Bolanos & Kirian Fitzgibbons
Kirian Fitzgibbons (guest), Joe Rogan (host), Gaston Bolanos (guest), Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Kirian Fitzgibbons and Joe Rogan, JRE MMA Show #38 with Gaston Bolanos & Kirian Fitzgibbons explores three-Sport Striker Gaston Bolanos, Muay Thai’s Struggles, Coaching Philosophy Revealed Joe Rogan talks with Gaston Bolanos and coach Kirian Fitzgibbons about Bolanos competing at elite levels in MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing, including his famous spinning elbow knockouts and cross‑sport training approach.
Three-Sport Striker Gaston Bolanos, Muay Thai’s Struggles, Coaching Philosophy Revealed
Joe Rogan talks with Gaston Bolanos and coach Kirian Fitzgibbons about Bolanos competing at elite levels in MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing, including his famous spinning elbow knockouts and cross‑sport training approach.
They dig into Muay Thai’s global popularity versus its lack of mainstream traction in the U.S., the business and TV-side failures, and how Bellator and Glory fit into the current landscape.
A major thread is coaching philosophy: how Kirian builds CSA Gym, refuses to take money from pros, emphasizes smart sparring over gym wars, and integrates strength, conditioning, and wrestling while tailoring striking to MMA.
The conversation also covers weight cutting reform, judging problems, recovery science (exosomes, sauna, cryotherapy), fighter psychology and emotions in grudge matches, and specific case studies like Cody vs. TJ, DJ vs. Cejudo, and various Bellator/UFC names.
Key Takeaways
Diversifying combat sports can sharpen overall skill, but demands strict structure.
Bolanos fights high-level MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing simultaneously by maintaining a steady base of grappling while cycling striking emphases based on the next rule set, proving it’s possible but only with meticulous planning.
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Muay Thai’s U.S. growth problem is largely structural, not technical.
Despite being incredibly viewer-friendly, Muay Thai has suffered from poor TV deals, inconsistent promotions, and lack of an Ultimate Fighter–style breakout moment, which keeps top talent underexposed and underpaid compared to MMA.
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Smart sparring beats gym wars for long-term performance and health.
CSA avoids hard sparring as a rule—focusing on skill, timing, and control—yet their fighters have high win rates, illustrating that you don’t need repeated heavy head trauma in the gym to develop fight realism and composure.
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Coach–fighter relationships can be a decisive competitive advantage.
Examples like TJ Dillashaw–Duane Ludwig and Bolanos–Kirian show that obsessive, long-term, trust-based coach relationships produce better adaptation, game plans, and emotional regulation than looser, committee-style coaching.
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Emotion in fights is double-edged and often destructive at the elite level.
They use Cody Garbrandt’s rematches, Ronda–Miesha, and personal gym beefs to show that anger can motivate prep but usually sabotages in-cage decision-making, tightening fighters up and dragging them out of optimal game plans.
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Weight-cutting culture is more dangerous and impactful than most PEDs.
Rogan and Kirian argue that extreme cuts dramatically change fight outcomes and long-term health; they praise ONE FC’s hydration-based system and California’s 10% rule as models the UFC and others should emulate.
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Modern recovery science is rapidly changing what injuries mean for careers.
From exosome and PRP injections resolving meniscus tears quickly to aggressive ACL/MCL rehabs and structured hot/cold exposure, they highlight how regenerative medicine and smart rehab can drastically shorten downtime if used correctly.
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Notable Quotes
““You are the only guy right now that I know of that is fighting at the highest level in three combat sports… That’s fucking crazy.””
— Joe Rogan
““Muay Thai is a mystery to me in the sense that I just don’t understand why it never caught on.””
— Joe Rogan
““When a fighter wins, they did their job. When a fighter loses, I didn’t.””
— Kirian Fitzgibbons
““You don’t want to be emotional. You want to be like an assassin… calculated.””
— Gaston Bolanos (recalling Kirian’s advice)
““We don’t spar hard. Ever. And I’ll put our record and our people against anybody in North America.””
— Kirian Fitzgibbons
Questions Answered in This Episode
How long can a fighter realistically compete at a high level in multiple combat sports before specialization becomes necessary?
Joe Rogan talks with Gaston Bolanos and coach Kirian Fitzgibbons about Bolanos competing at elite levels in MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing, including his famous spinning elbow knockouts and cross‑sport training approach.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What specific broadcast or format changes would actually make Muay Thai catch on with mainstream American audiences?
They dig into Muay Thai’s global popularity versus its lack of mainstream traction in the U. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Where is the line between productive emotion and destructive anger in a fight camp, and how do top camps practically manage that?
A major thread is coaching philosophy: how Kirian builds CSA Gym, refuses to take money from pros, emphasizes smart sparring over gym wars, and integrates strength, conditioning, and wrestling while tailoring striking to MMA.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
If ONE FC’s hydration-based system became the global standard, how dramatically would rankings and champions change across weight classes?
The conversation also covers weight cutting reform, judging problems, recovery science (exosomes, sauna, cryotherapy), fighter psychology and emotions in grudge matches, and specific case studies like Cody vs. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Given CSA’s success without hard sparring, should major MMA promotions start incentivizing or even mandating lower-impact training standards for fighter health?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
... hundred.
Four, three, two, one. Yeah! And we're live, gentlemen. What's up? What's up, boys?
What's, what's going on, man?
Good to see you again. What's happening?
Yeah. Happy to be here, man.
Happy to have you here, man.
Yeah, thanks.
You are the only guy right now that I know of that is fighting at the highest level in three combat sports.
Correct.
MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing. That's fucking crazy.
Thanks, man. I, I just-
How do you keep your head together?
I don't know. Like, last time warming up in Rome, actually it was the first time, like, warming up for a kickboxing fight, I threw a spinning back elbow and said, "I better not do that shit." (laughs)
Yeah.
While I'm in there.
Spinning back elbows-
(laughs)
... no bueno in a kickbox.
Yeah.
You can do a spinning back fist though, right?
I did, which I landed two of 'em, um, in my last fight.
Do you, do you see the, what's happening lately where a lot of guys are hitting foreheads with their arms and snapping their arm?
Yeah.
Page did it. Um, uh, obviously, uh, who else did it recently? Paul Felder did it.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
A couple guys have done it.
Yeah.
They spin and you, you catch foreheads, and that is not a good combination.
Yeah, I feel, I feel like the kickboxing glove protects you a little bit more than the MMA glove-
Right.
... probably does.
Yeah.
Because, you know, four ounce, 10 ounce, there's a, there's a little bit of cushion there that might protect you a little more, but-
Yeah.
It's still ... I don't know. It's, it's still something that, you know, when I first started fighting kickboxing, he was like, "I don't know, man. Like, be careful with it." 'Cause I would, like, kinda catch, like, the middle of my arm.
Right.
So it's ... You know, it's a little, it's a little different than the spinning elbow, which is a l- i- in my opinion, a lot more safer to throw.
Now, what happens if you throw a spinning back fist in kickboxing and you really kinda catch 'em with, like, the meat above the elbow?
It's illegal.
It's legal or ill?
No, it's illegal.
It's illegal.
You're only allowed-
But what about here?
No. You have to in ... Uh, based on in, whether it's Glory-
Mm-hmm.
... or it's K-1 or it's, uh, Bellator, it has to be with the back knuckle, back of the pad of the glove.
The back? It can't be the side?
No.
It cannot be a hammer fist. That is illegal. It ca-
Ooh, that's weird.
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