JRE MMA Show #15 with Brendan Schaub
Brendan Schaub (guest), Joe Rogan (host), Jamie Vernon (guest), Narrator, Hulk Hogan (guest), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Brendan Schaub and Joe Rogan, JRE MMA Show #15 with Brendan Schaub explores rogan and Schaub Break Down MMA Legends, Fights, and Future Superstars Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub spend a long-form session dissecting current and past MMA and boxing, jumping from Yoel Romero, Matt Brown, Demian Maia, and Ben Askren to Khabib–Tony, Stipe–DC, Jon Jones, and heavyweight boxing matchups like Joshua–Wilder–Fury.
Rogan and Schaub Break Down MMA Legends, Fights, and Future Superstars
Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub spend a long-form session dissecting current and past MMA and boxing, jumping from Yoel Romero, Matt Brown, Demian Maia, and Ben Askren to Khabib–Tony, Stipe–DC, Jon Jones, and heavyweight boxing matchups like Joshua–Wilder–Fury.
They explore how styles match up (wrestlers vs strikers, jiu-jitsu specialists vs well‑rounded fighters), how weight-cutting and new hydration rules affect careers, and why some elite athletes like Ben Askren and Stipe Miocic are underpromoted or misunderstood.
The conversation also hits broader themes: fighter longevity, brain trauma, PEDs and USADA, promotion vs pure sport, and why some stars thrive in chaos (like Jon Jones) while others struggle balancing media, money, and preparation.
Throughout, they highlight emerging threats like Israel Adesanya and Darren Till, debate refereeing and eye pokes, praise coaches and camps shaping champions, and even veer into Bigfoot, flat earth, pro wrestling, and show business around combat sports.
Key Takeaways
Specialists still dominate in certain phases, but adaptability wins titles.
Khabib’s grinding wrestling, Demian Maia’s suffocating jiu-jitsu, and Brian Ortega’s submission game show how elite specialists can overwhelm opponents, but fighters like Robert Whittaker, Rafael dos Anjos, and Max Holloway succeed by blending striking, wrestling, and defense into complete, adaptable games.
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Weight class changes and smarter weight cutting can unlock better versions of fighters.
Examples like Whittaker moving up from welterweight and Dos Anjos thriving at 170 illustrate how less brutal cuts improve health, power, and performance; they praise ONE FC’s hydration-based system as a model that could reduce extreme cuts and extend careers.
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Underpromoted elite fighters highlight a gap between sport and storytelling.
They argue athletes like Ben Askren, Stipe Miocic, and Tyron Woodley have world‑class résumés but lack the push or narratives the UFC chooses to amplify, showing how business priorities can overshadow “best vs best” matchups and affect public perception.
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Rule enforcement on fouls needs to be far stricter to protect fighters.
Incidents like egregious eye gouges and repeated eye pokes prompt them to call for automatic point deductions (or even DQs) for fouls like eye pokes and groin shots, since these can radically change fights and cause lasting damage if refs only issue warnings.
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Some champions thrive amid personal chaos, but it’s a dangerous long-term bet.
Jon Jones is used as the archetype of a generational talent who can win with short camps and turbulent lifestyles; Rogan and Schaub debate whether his wildness is part of his genius or a ticking clock that will eventually undermine longevity as his body accumulates damage.
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Heavyweight MMA and boxing are entering a particularly compelling era.
They see Stipe vs DC as a true super fight, note how wrestlers like Curtis Blaydes expose weaknesses in knockout artists like Ngannou, and parallel that with boxing’s Joshua–Wilder–Fury triangle, where power, technique, and matchmaking could redefine the division.
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Media, side projects, and promotion can both help and hurt fighters’ careers.
Using Ronda Rousey’s Hollywood commitments, Tyron Woodley’s TV work, and college/Olympic exploitation as examples, they argue fighters and athletes must balance short‑term visibility and paydays against focus, training quality, and long‑term health and legacy.
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Notable Quotes
“He’s the motherfucker of motherfuckers when it comes to strangling people.”
— Joe Rogan (on Demian Maia)
“If the art form is important, you want the best to fight the best. If it’s just about a good show, you can always have guys stand in the middle and throw lead.”
— Joe Rogan
“Some guys just have your number. It’s not in the cards.”
— Brendan Schaub (on DC vs Jon Jones)
“You’re not gonna come up with some new quote that we haven’t heard before. It’s all been done before, man.”
— Brendan Schaub
“Our psychopath beats your psychopath.”
— Joe Rogan (paraphrasing Bill Burr on PED-era cycling)
Questions Answered in This Episode
How would the UFC’s landscape look today if Ben Askren had signed in his prime and fought the top welterweights Rogan and Schaub discuss?
Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub spend a long-form session dissecting current and past MMA and boxing, jumping from Yoel Romero, Matt Brown, Demian Maia, and Ben Askren to Khabib–Tony, Stipe–DC, Jon Jones, and heavyweight boxing matchups like Joshua–Wilder–Fury.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What concrete rule or equipment changes (gloves, immediate point deductions, replay) would most effectively reduce eye pokes and dangerous fouls?
They explore how styles match up (wrestlers vs strikers, jiu-jitsu specialists vs well‑rounded fighters), how weight-cutting and new hydration rules affect careers, and why some elite athletes like Ben Askren and Stipe Miocic are underpromoted or misunderstood.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
If more promotions adopted ONE FC–style hydration tests and banned hard cuts, which current champions or contenders do you think would change divisions and improve most dramatically?
The conversation also hits broader themes: fighter longevity, brain trauma, PEDs and USADA, promotion vs pure sport, and why some stars thrive in chaos (like Jon Jones) while others struggle balancing media, money, and preparation.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Is Jon Jones’ “chaos as a competitive edge” genuinely sustainable, or does it inevitably shorten a fighter’s prime once age and mileage accumulate?
Throughout, they highlight emerging threats like Israel Adesanya and Darren Till, debate refereeing and eye pokes, praise coaches and camps shaping champions, and even veer into Bigfoot, flat earth, pro wrestling, and show business around combat sports.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Between Khabib and Tony Ferguson, who has the more sustainable style over five rounds, and how would judging criteria handle a fight where one dominates positionally while the other attacks off his back?
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Transcript Preview
(Joe hums) I might do a show with Diaz in New York.
Boom! Live? Uh, Jamie's giving me the not sure look. Yes!
(laughs)
Uh, you and Joey Diaz talking about doing a show in, in New York. Where?
Maybe, man. Damn.
Where at? Where at?
Maybe, brother.
Oh, okay. You don't wanna talk about it?
Yeah, no.
Um-
Need to find that shit.
You want to hear... I got a Joey Diaz story. We're going to do a show with me and Joey and Yoel motherfucking Romero. And he's gonna talk to him if he gets confused in, in, in Spanish.
Oh, that's gonna be amazing.
You know, 'cause Joey's from Cuba. Dude, are you kidding me?
So Joey Diaz is gonna translate?
He was... Joe... It's totally Joey's idea. Joey says...
It's a brilliant idea.
"Bro, I've been talking to him. I love this fucking guy. We'd have an amazing podcast, you and me. You throwing the questions at him. If shit gets weird, I come to him in Spanish. We'll understand each other better."
It's a brilliant idea.
This is what Joey said. He said, uh... He goes, "Tell him that I want to be on his podcast because he has love for Cuba and under... He understands Cuban love."
Love it. Love it.
I was like, that... All that shit that he was doing to Luke Rockhold after he knocked him out-
Bro, back up.
... like, that's intense. That's intense.
Gi- give me a few minutes. You just knocked me into freaking-
That's intense.
... Puerto Vallarta. Give me a fucking second to get my wits about me and then kiss me on the lips or wherever the fuck you want to do it.
His ability to just be calm and then explode is very terrifying. It's only helped by him telling you he loves you.
(laughs)
(laughs) He's, he's more terrifying than ever!
It's scary 'cause he's such a nice guy outside.
(clicks tongue) Dude, he is the nicest guy. He's very friendly, you know.
Remember the champ, though, was like, "Oh yeah, that's what you do? You're Whitaker, you know. Whitaker's a monster, man."
You gotta go back to that Tim Kennedy fight though, man.
Talking about Stuergate?
Yeah, that Tim Kennedy fight was crazy. It was like, look, I know what you're doing is very slick. This is very smart. I mean, this is... Angelo Dundee did that to Muhammad Ali when he fought Henry Cooper in London. He got cracked with a left hook. Henry Cooper dropped him, he was in real trouble. They cut the glove, baby!
Suspect.
Cut that glove, baby! We gotta get the other pair. Oh, it's out there in the dressing room. Be right back.
It's all fair in love and war, my man.
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