JRE MMA Show #16 with Brendan Schaub
Brendan Schaub (guest), Joe Rogan (host), Narrator, Bryan Callen (guest), Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Brendan Schaub and Joe Rogan, JRE MMA Show #16 with Brendan Schaub explores joe Rogan, Schaub Debate MMA Culture, Comedy, Training, and CTE Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub bounce between MMA news, stand-up comedy culture, fitness/training philosophies, and long-term brain health in combat sports.
Joe Rogan, Schaub Debate MMA Culture, Comedy, Training, and CTE
Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub bounce between MMA news, stand-up comedy culture, fitness/training philosophies, and long-term brain health in combat sports.
They discuss a Joey Diaz controversy about crude comments, the media’s reaction, and how comics balance offensiveness with empathy.
The conversation then shifts to DJ culture, gym equipment, conditioning methods, overtraining, and the appeal and risks of CrossFit-style workouts.
They close with deep dives into UFC matchmaking, Cyborg’s dominance, potential super-fights, scoring/judging problems, CTE concerns, and how fighters transition into new careers.
Key Takeaways
Offensive comedy splits audiences; intent and context matter but don’t erase impact.
Rogan and Schaub note Joey Diaz’s explicit comment about a female fighter is hilarious to many fans but understandably uncomfortable for the woman targeted; being a comic gives leeway, yet empathy for the subject’s perspective still matters.
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Media outlets often amplify borderline content for clicks, regardless of nuance.
They argue MMA news sites seized on Joey Diaz’s tweet mainly to drive traffic, highlighting how outrage cycles can overshadow original intent or context.
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Stand-up growth requires honest self‑assessment and constant tweaking, not repetition.
Both emphasize that comics who keep repeating jokes that don’t work stagnate; athletes-turned-comics like Schaub treat weaknesses like technical flaws—cut, rework, and seek peer feedback.
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High-intensity training is powerful but dangerous when misapplied.
They praise tools like rowers, air bikes, kettlebells, and Tabata intervals, yet stress that Olympic/power lifts weren’t designed for high-rep CrossFit-style circuits and can cause catastrophic injuries when form breaks down.
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Monitoring recovery is as important as pushing hard.
Rogan cites Steve Maxwell’s advice: track resting heart rate and back off when it’s elevated; Schaub shares how extreme fasting plus 12–16 cups of coffee led to serious GI issues and medication—an example of overdoing “discipline.”
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CTE risk is real but interacts with genetics and post-career purpose.
They reference new imaging on an NFL player’s brain and Rhonda Patrick’s APOE gene discussion, then argue fighters and soldiers fare better psychologically when they find a new passion and structure after high-risk careers.
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MMA judging is structurally flawed and needs expertise and scale.
Rogan suggests replacing or augmenting three cage-side boxing-style judges with a larger panel (e. ...
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Notable Quotes
“If you read that and get really upset, you’re not a Joey Diaz fan anyway.”
— Joe Rogan
“I’ve never worked out and afterward thought, ‘Man, I wish I didn’t do that.’”
— Brendan Schaub
“You don’t get anything out of knocking training partners out in sparring; you just break all your toys.”
— Joe Rogan
“Guys finish these high-risk careers and think it’s just CTE or PTSD, but a lot of them are also just depressed because they haven’t found their new lane.”
— Brendan Schaub
“Three judges is too small. Make it ten qualified MMA people watching on screens with no commentary—bad decisions would almost disappear.”
— Joe Rogan
Questions Answered in This Episode
Where should the line be drawn between edgy comedy and public disrespect of individual fighters, especially women in a male‑dominated sport?
Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub bounce between MMA news, stand-up comedy culture, fitness/training philosophies, and long-term brain health in combat sports.
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How much responsibility do MMA media outlets have to contextualize comedians’ comments instead of amplifying them for traffic?
They discuss a Joey Diaz controversy about crude comments, the media’s reaction, and how comics balance offensiveness with empathy.
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What realistic reforms could state athletic commissions adopt to move MMA judging toward the expert, panel-based system Rogan describes?
The conversation then shifts to DJ culture, gym equipment, conditioning methods, overtraining, and the appeal and risks of CrossFit-style workouts.
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How can fighters and other high-risk professionals better plan for a meaningful second career to reduce the psychological fallout after retirement?
They close with deep dives into UFC matchmaking, Cyborg’s dominance, potential super-fights, scoring/judging problems, CTE concerns, and how fighters transition into new careers.
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Should promotions like the UFC explicitly differentiate between ‘entertainment’ and ‘sport’ when booking huge mismatch or spectacle fights (e.g., Cyborg vs. overmatched opponents, hypothetical Mayweather MMA bouts)?
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Transcript Preview
... they get me all the time. I'm more famous than them.
Aye, aye.
(laughs)
(laughs)
(laughs) I wish we could tell you what we were talking about, but we can't.
Oh, I wish.
Uh, yeah, we were talk- talking about Joey getting in trouble, though. He just, uh, just texted me about it.
How's-
He's mad at these people.
... how's Joey Diaz getting in trouble with, what, the MMA community?
Yeah.
MMA outlets? (laughs) They have nothing to do?
Well, here's the thing, though. I see where they're coming from. They're, they're journalists. If someone says something that fucking outrageous about what Mackenzie Dern's derriere must, uh-
He said, I s- I think your ass smells great right now, something like that.
Yes, something along those lines, we're trying to be careful how to, how to respect.
Oh, the, you're talking about the comic, Uncle Joey, said this?
Yes, the comic, Uncle Joey. But I get it. I get where they would ... And then Vinny Magalhaes backed him up. I get it.
Backed up Joey? (laughs)
Yeah, he backed up Joey, says something like, "And tasty, too."
(laughs) Yikes.
Yeah, yikes. I get it. Um-
I don't get it. That's Joey Diaz, the great comic, who's commenting on a hot girl in the UFC. He is not a writer. He is not a journalist. These writers have nothing to do, so they're like, "How can we get hits? Let's talk about Joey Diaz."
Right.
'Cause no one's reading any of our shit.
I agree with you in s- somewhat, but he definitely did do it. Like, it ain't a bad ... Here's my thing. They could say whatever they want about what he said, but if he was your friend and he texted you that-
(laughs)
... you would do what I did. Look, 'cause I'll show you, he fucking texted me that before he tweeted it. (laughs)
(laughs) Of course.
I love that Joey texts now. Joey never would text message, but now he's a-
Oh, I hope he doesn't keep texting.
Joey Diaz is a full-on texter now.
Is he?
Yeah, yeah, I'll text you.
He still calls, though. He called me last week.
Oh, fuck yeah. Most of the time he calls, but, um, he texted me this. (laughs) Yeah, right there. See?
It's Joey Diaz, man. (laughs)
(laughs) Sorry, folks. Wish I could let you in. You can go Google what he said. I'm trying to be respectful.
It's, it's Joey Diaz. There, there's ... He can say whatever he wants. He doesn't work for the UFC. He's not a, he's not at Mackenzie Dern's gym.
You're right, you're right. I'm glad he does, I'm glad he does think like that.
Hell yeah.
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