JRE MMA Show #33 with Brendan Schaub
Joe Rogan (host), Brendan Schaub (guest), Jamie Vernon (guest), Guest 2 (guest), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub, JRE MMA Show #33 with Brendan Schaub explores rogan and Schaub riff on MMA, bears, steroids, and superfights Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub free‑wheel through a long conversation that bounces between wildlife encounters, training science, performance‑enhancing drugs, and the current state of MMA. They debate modern strength and conditioning philosophies, like low‑fatigue training versus old‑school meathead workouts, and how pioneers like GSP and Firas Zahabi think about optimal training. A large chunk focuses on USADA, steroids, TRT eras, and how different bodies respond to PEDs, with Vitor Belfort, Jon Jones, and others as case studies in both ethics and physiology. Throughout, they break down upcoming and fantasy fights—Stipe vs DC, Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis, Whittaker vs Romero, Holloway vs Ortega, Vitor and Machida in Bellator—while also veering into comedy, cars, and how discipline and mindset translate from sports into stand‑up and life.
Rogan and Schaub riff on MMA, bears, steroids, and superfights
Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub free‑wheel through a long conversation that bounces between wildlife encounters, training science, performance‑enhancing drugs, and the current state of MMA. They debate modern strength and conditioning philosophies, like low‑fatigue training versus old‑school meathead workouts, and how pioneers like GSP and Firas Zahabi think about optimal training. A large chunk focuses on USADA, steroids, TRT eras, and how different bodies respond to PEDs, with Vitor Belfort, Jon Jones, and others as case studies in both ethics and physiology. Throughout, they break down upcoming and fantasy fights—Stipe vs DC, Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis, Whittaker vs Romero, Holloway vs Ortega, Vitor and Machida in Bellator—while also veering into comedy, cars, and how discipline and mindset translate from sports into stand‑up and life.
Key Takeaways
Not all wild animal advice is reliable or universal.
They point out how standard tips like “get big and yell at a bear” or “punch a shark in the nose” ignore that animals, like dogs, have different personalities and contexts (e. ...
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Modern training favors sustainable volume over constant maxing out.
Using examples from Firas Zahabi and elite strength coaches, they discuss building capacity with frequent, sub‑maximal work (e. ...
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PEDs amplify advantages but don’t create greatness from nothing.
Rogan and Schaub argue that if everyone were on the same drugs, the best fighters like Jon Jones or Vitor Belfort would likely still be on top, because technique, IQ, and mentality remain decisive even when chemistry is equalized.
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Anti‑doping enforcement has real costs when it’s wrong or uneven.
They highlight cases like Josh Barnett and Junior dos Santos where fighters were flagged and later cleared, losing prime career time with little public correction or compensation, underscoring the need for more transparent, accountable testing systems.
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Aging legends fighting on can be more about money than desire.
Talking Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort and “masters leagues,” they express that while adults should choose to fight if they want, it’s troubling when financial need—rather than pure competitive fire—pushes damaged veterans back into high‑risk bouts.
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Elite rivalries are what supercharge divisions and fan interest.
They see Holloway vs Ortega as the next great multi‑fight rivalry (like DC–Jones or Conor–Diaz) that can carry a division, build stars on both sides, and give fans narratives that extend beyond single fights.
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Discipline and positive framing are leverage for any career pivot.
Schaub notes that his athlete’s work ethic and habit of rooting for others made transitioning into stand‑up viable; Rogan connects this to Jocko Willink’s “Good” philosophy—treating setbacks as raw material to work with rather than reasons to quit.
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Notable Quotes
“When things are going bad, there's gonna be some good that's gonna come from it.”
— Jocko Willink (quoted by Joe Rogan)
“It's almost like we put too much emphasis on steroids… if everybody was on, the results would be the same.”
— Brendan Schaub
“Fighters are the only people where if you don't want to do your job anymore and half‑ass it, you can die.”
— Joe Rogan
“I don't hate anyone—I root for everyone. I think that might’ve hurt me as a fighter, but it helps me in comedy.”
— Brendan Schaub
“If you're the smartest guy in the group, you're fucking up.”
— Joe Rogan
Questions Answered in This Episode
Where should the line be drawn between fighter autonomy and regulatory protection, especially for aging legends who still want to compete?
Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub free‑wheel through a long conversation that bounces between wildlife encounters, training science, performance‑enhancing drugs, and the current state of MMA. ...
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Given how sophisticated micro‑dosing and designer drugs are, is a truly clean sport at the elite level realistic, or should rules be reframed?
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How much should fight scoring systems be rethought to better reflect real damage and finishing threats instead of inherited boxing models?
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What responsibilities do promotions have when anti‑doping investigations wrongly sideline fighters during critical earning years?
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Could shifting away from the pay‑per‑view model to free or subscription streaming actually grow MMA enough to pay fighters more long‑term?
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Transcript Preview
(clears throat) Three, two, one. Yee-haw! I walked in, you guys were watching soccer. I was hugely disappointed.
Dude, England's in penalty kicks.
Oh my God, is that okay?
Dude-
What happened? (laughs)
... well, like, (laughs) it's the World Cup, man. If they win, they move on. So, uh, but the penalty kick thing- And they just won. They just won.
They just won?
England just won.
We missed it?
They just fucking won.
Missed it? Are you guys rooting for England?
Yeah, I'm- I'm-
Are you?
... I'm English, man. I'm half English. My mom's-
Are you?
My mom was born and raised there, bro.
I thought you were bi.
What's up, bro? I know, most people do.
(laughs)
English, son.
So you really root for England?
Yeah, big time.
No shit?
Yes.
Wow.
Yeah.
Oh.
I know.
Do you-
Well, if U.S. isn't in it, you know-
Do you know what's happening when they're playing, or do you only-
Yes.
... know when the ball goes in?
No, I, I have kind of an idea. I would say I'm a blue belt in soccer.
Really?
A blue belt.
Damn.
Like, I, I wake up early and watch the games. Only World Cup.
Wow.
Only, only World Cup.
(clicks tongue) Dude, I was in Boulder. You know, Boulder's like the People's Republic of Boulder. I don't have to tell you. You're from Colorado, you know what it's like out there.
I went to school there, son.
Boulder's rough.
Yes.
It's, uh, they're, they're like super duper liberal. And people were unnaturally happy about the World Cup, like super excited that they know so much about soccer and yelling... I was at a bar, and I was like, "Ew."
That'll make you hate it.
"Ew." (laughs)
That'll make you hate it. But if you-
It was just-
But if you go to England-
Right.
... you'll feel good about it.
But it was this certain type of white dude.
All right, that's you, bro.
You know? (laughs)
That's you. You know?
(laughs)
I fucking-
They mean well. They probably had a dad that was in the Navy or some shit, you know?
(laughs)
(laughs) Got bullied around at home and they just went the total opposite hard way.
No, it-
That shit happens, man.
... seems a tough sell, especially if you're like an athlete, like a Black athlete. Like y'all-
Oh my God. It's like no Black guys.
That's what, that's why they struggle a little bit.
Oh yeah.
Like, look at the beautiful mountains. They're like, "Bitch, I don't hike."
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