JRE MMA Show #144 with Jared Cannonier
Narrator, Jared Cannonier (guest), Joe Rogan (host)
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Narrator and Jared Cannonier, JRE MMA Show #144 with Jared Cannonier explores jared Cannonier Reveals Mindset, Weight Cuts, And Evolving MMA Generations Joe Rogan and Jared Cannonier dive deep into modern MMA, from recent UFC wars like Gaethje vs. Poirier and Dricus du Plessis vs. Whittaker to how evolving generations of fighters are shaped by access to past footage and science. Cannonier explains his unique journey from undisciplined heavyweight to elite middleweight, detailing how he manages massive weight cuts, recovery, and training philosophy. They discuss the dangers and future of weight cutting, the role of the UFC Performance Institute, and how different training approaches—cardio-first vs. technique-first—shape careers. Underpinning the whole conversation is Cannonier’s disciplined, almost spiritual martial arts mindset focused on lifelong improvement rather than hype or trash talk.
Jared Cannonier Reveals Mindset, Weight Cuts, And Evolving MMA Generations
Joe Rogan and Jared Cannonier dive deep into modern MMA, from recent UFC wars like Gaethje vs. Poirier and Dricus du Plessis vs. Whittaker to how evolving generations of fighters are shaped by access to past footage and science. Cannonier explains his unique journey from undisciplined heavyweight to elite middleweight, detailing how he manages massive weight cuts, recovery, and training philosophy. They discuss the dangers and future of weight cutting, the role of the UFC Performance Institute, and how different training approaches—cardio-first vs. technique-first—shape careers. Underpinning the whole conversation is Cannonier’s disciplined, almost spiritual martial arts mindset focused on lifelong improvement rather than hype or trash talk.
Key Takeaways
Crowd energy and venue size meaningfully affect fighter performance and focus.
Cannonier says big arenas with hyped crowds can invigorate or ‘check’ a fighter depending on how the audience reacts, while the smaller Apex feels more intimate and tactical because you can hear breathing, corners, and commentators clearly.
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Smart, early weight management makes extreme fight-week cuts unnecessary and safer.
He walks around at ~220–225 lbs but keeps camp diet and portions tight enough that he only cuts about 10 lbs during fight week, contrasting this with notorious, dangerous last-minute cuts that leave fighters looking ‘on death’s door.’
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MMA success is increasingly about incremental, microscopic improvements at the elite level.
Cannonier’s coach notes that at the top, gains are usually tiny, yet Cannonier is still making visible technical leaps—like his movement and setups in the Vettori fight—by obsessively analyzing footwork, positioning, and cause-and-effect in exchanges.
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Longevity in combat sports is built on discipline, late specialization, and minimizing early wear-and-tear.
Starting martial arts seriously in his mid‑20s and living relatively conservatively physically, Cannonier believes he’s avoided the accumulated damage of guys who have been sparring hard since their teens, helping him peak at 39.
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Weight cutting is a culturally entrenched ‘fight before the fight’ that likely harms chins and health.
They cite examples of fighters nearly collapsing on the scale and discuss how dehydration likely makes the brain more vulnerable to knockouts—arguing that if weight cutting were introduced today, athletic commissions would probably try to ban it.
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Great fighter–coach relationships can unlock all-time skill levels.
Rogan highlights pairs like Demetrious Johnson–Matt Hume and GSP–Firas Zahabi, and Cannonier’s own move to MMA Lab, as proof that having a coach who can communicate, strategize, and grow with you is crucial to reaching world-class status.
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A ‘martial artist first’ mindset fosters constant growth and psychological resilience.
Cannonier frames fighting as personal development and a ‘test’ rather than just a job, seeing himself as leveling up an ‘avatar’ through discipline, honesty, and self-mastery—an approach he credits for staying motivated and improving after setbacks.
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Notable Quotes
““Middleweight is where I’m stopping. I could probably do welterweight with a strict diet over time, but that would be uncomfortable to live. I wouldn’t be able to live the way I want to.””
— Jared Cannonier
““Once you get to that top level, the improvements are incremental at best… but I’m making some big improvements that are noticeable.””
— Jared Cannonier (paraphrasing his coach’s view)
““I’m a martial artist first. Fighting is merely a part of my training—it’s the test you take every couple of weeks.””
— Jared Cannonier
““We have the ability to be an animal, or we can be something better than that… a demon or a devil, or we can be a celestial, a god or a goddess.””
— Jared Cannonier
““If weight cutting didn’t exist and people started doing it now, they would try to ban it. They’d say, ‘Don’t do that, that’s dangerous.’””
— Joe Rogan
Questions Answered in This Episode
If MMA moved to ‘no weight cutting’ with more natural weight classes, how would that change your career and game planning?
Joe Rogan and Jared Cannonier dive deep into modern MMA, from recent UFC wars like Gaethje vs. ...
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You’ve talked about constantly ‘leveling up’ your avatar—what specifically did you add between the Strickland and Vettori fights, and what are you adding now?
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How do you balance studying other fighters’ techniques with preserving your own style and not over-copying?
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As someone peaking at 39, what concrete habits or rules do you follow outside the gym to protect your longevity?
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Do you think the sport is evolving more towards ultra-well-rounded fighters like Demetrious Johnson, or towards dangerous specialists who impose one weapon, and where do you see yourself on that spectrum?
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Transcript Preview
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience.
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music)
We're up. Here we go. Jared Cannonier, ladies and gentlemen. Hey, what, what a fucking crazy couple of weeks of fights it's been, man. It's so much to talk about.
Absolutely, yeah.
You know, this l- last main event, oh my god. I'm, I'm still, I'm still, like, in shock that Justin Gaethje head kick knockout.
Yeah.
... of Dustin Poirier, I'm like, "Oh my god."
I mean, we all knew that that fight was gonna be-
Some-
... tremendous.
Yeah.
Something, something big was gonna happen in that fight, so when it did and how it happened, it was beautiful. Beautiful execution of that, uh, of that technique by, uh, Justin Gaethje-
Yeah.
... to get that head kick off, it was beautiful. It landed beautifully, and he followed up nicely.
Yeah.
Well, there was no follow-up. He was on his way. I think the ref stopped it-
I think he did land one hammer fist.
Yeah.
But yeah, it was perfect. It was a direct mirror image of Leon Edwards' kick-
Yeah.
... on the opposite side, in the same place.
In the same arena, yeah.
Crazy.
Yeah, that's crazy.
Crazy. (laughs)
Something's going on there, right?
Oh, man. There's... I tell you one thing, and you can tell me if this is, uh, if you feel it as a fighter, but there's something about the energy in an arena when you go to a place that really appreciates that you're there, 'cause like we're in Vegas a lot. You guys fight in Vegas all the time. People are-
Mm-hmm.
They get a little used to the fact that the UFC's there.
Yeah.
But when you bring it somewhere like Salt Lake City, they get fucking hyped up.
(laughs)
Those people were there for the first fight of the night. The place was packed. And there's this wild feeling in the air, like everybody's excited. Does it, as a fighter, does that affect you?
Well, absolutely. You know, when you hear the crowd reacting to the fight in c- c-
Pull that, pull the mic right in front of you, so...
Yeah, when you hear the crowd reacting to the fight in itself-
Yeah.
... you know, you get energy from it, you know. Uh, I get invigorated by it, or I get checked by it, you know what I mean? If the guy's doing something good and the crowd's loving it, I'm gonna, uh, make, I'm gonna put a stop to that. So-
(laughs)
... I like to take control of it in, in a sense. But yes, it is, uh, it's a...
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