JRE MMA Show #63 with Jorge Masvidal
Joe Rogan (host), Jorge Masvidal (guest), Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Jorge Masvidal, JRE MMA Show #63 with Jorge Masvidal explores jorge Masvidal Talks Resurrection, Old-School Fighting, and MMA’s Future Jorge Masvidal joins Joe Rogan to break down his career resurgence, mindset changes, and the knockout win over Darren Till that reintroduced him to fans. They dive into systemic issues in MMA—judging, weight-cutting, pay structure, and promotional politics—contrasting old-school martial values with today’s social media–driven hype. Masvidal details his training philosophy, longevity approach, relationship with American Top Team, and his animosity toward upcoming opponent Ben Askren. The conversation ranges widely across fighter pay, organizations like ONE FC and PFL, UFC’s move to ESPN+, recovery methods, and what makes true high-level fighters and gyms.
Jorge Masvidal Talks Resurrection, Old-School Fighting, and MMA’s Future
Jorge Masvidal joins Joe Rogan to break down his career resurgence, mindset changes, and the knockout win over Darren Till that reintroduced him to fans. They dive into systemic issues in MMA—judging, weight-cutting, pay structure, and promotional politics—contrasting old-school martial values with today’s social media–driven hype. Masvidal details his training philosophy, longevity approach, relationship with American Top Team, and his animosity toward upcoming opponent Ben Askren. The conversation ranges widely across fighter pay, organizations like ONE FC and PFL, UFC’s move to ESPN+, recovery methods, and what makes true high-level fighters and gyms.
Masvidal describes his ‘resurrection’ as cutting out distractions, partying, and social media to go all-in on fighting and personal discipline. He emphasizes drilling, embracing hard challenges, and training with elite wrestlers and boxers as keys to his development. The episode also explores broader combat sports evolution—from backyard fights and BoDog/Affliction days to modern streaming platforms and super-gyms.
Key Takeaways
Eliminating distractions can radically extend a fighter’s prime.
Masvidal attributes his late-career surge to cutting out partying, unnecessary social media use, and other ‘dumb’ habits to focus fully on training, recovery, and family—what he calls his ‘resurrection.’
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Relying on decisions in MMA is risky; finishes matter more than ever.
He criticizes judging in many commissions, saying he went for the KO over Till because he doesn’t trust scorecards, especially on the road, reinforcing the importance of decisive finishes for a fighter’s career.
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Immersing yourself with elite specialists accelerates skill development.
Masvidal repeatedly sought out top wrestlers (D‑1 programs) and world-class Cuban boxers, willingly getting humbled to close gaps in his game—advice he strongly recommends to younger fighters.
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Weight cutting is damaging; more divisions and hydration tests are needed.
He describes brutal cuts to 155 and how moving to 170 improved his power, health, and confidence, arguing for more weight classes (similar to boxing) and hydration controls to reduce extreme cuts.
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Drilling fundamentals at high volume is non‑negotiable for elite performance.
Masvidal prefers long, focused drilling sessions on one or two techniques over flashy sparring, insisting thousands of quality reps turn moves into reliable ‘tools in the shed’ under pressure.
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Social media hype doesn’t always equal real drawing power or merit.
He questions inflated pay for fighters who are big on Instagram but unproven competitively, and criticizes trash‑talk‑based matchmaking that can leapfrog hard‑working contenders.
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Old‑school respect can coexist with selective, authentic rivalries.
Masvidal respects opponents like Till and Cowboy but has genuine disdain for Ben Askren’s online persona and gym‑story boasting, drawing a hard line between real animosity and manufactured beef.
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Notable Quotes
“I call it the resurrection—just cutting out all the bullshit and focusing on fighting 100%.”
— Jorge Masvidal
“If you wanna learn something, submerge in it… put the ego aside and go get humbled.”
— Jorge Masvidal
“MMA is so much different than boxing… adopting their scoring is like using tennis rules for ping pong.”
— Joe Rogan
“I don’t come from the technology world—I come from, ‘If you call me an idiot, you better be ready to punch me in the face.’”
— Jorge Masvidal
“I just wanna hurt, torture that guy… If I can torture him for 14 minutes and 50 seconds, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
— Jorge Masvidal on Ben Askren
Questions Answered in This Episode
How much did that 13-week reality show isolation actually change Masvidal’s mindset and career trajectory compared to a normal training layoff?
Jorge Masvidal joins Joe Rogan to break down his career resurgence, mindset changes, and the knockout win over Darren Till that reintroduced him to fans. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
If MMA adopted boxing-style weight classes and serious hydration testing, how would current champions and contenders shift across divisions?
Masvidal describes his ‘resurrection’ as cutting out distractions, partying, and social media to go all-in on fighting and personal discipline. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
To what extent should promotions prioritize respectful, ‘martial arts first’ narratives over trash-talking when selling fights to modern audiences?
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Could Masvidal’s drilling-heavy, old-school approach become a template for younger fighters in an era dominated by social media and ‘brand building’?
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What’s the realistic path to creating an independent, fighter-led MMA rules and judging body separate from boxing commissions?
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Transcript Preview
Three, two, one. And we're live? We're live! What's up, brother?
What's up?
Dude, how are you?
Very good.
We got you in here finally, man. How many times we have to talk about this? Several, right?
A lot. This was... The universe wanted it right now.
The universe made it happen after the Till victory. That was, uh... That was, that was, uh, for a lot of people, a big coming out party for you.
Was it?
Yeah.
I thought I was-
Yeah, you were already out.
... already out and about. (laughs)
But that was like, Holy shit. The way you put him out, it was h- that was a holy shit moment.
That... I was going for that moment. That's what I was trying to do.
Yeah.
I knew a decision wasn't gonna come my way that way, you know? Not to say nothing about, uh, the English, but I, I don't like the judging over there. I've seen a lot of decisions go like...
Yeah.
S- super crooked, you know?
I don't like decisions in almost every state.
Yeah.
You know? I mean, there's, there's decisions in almost every athletic commission that you just shake your head at and you don't understand.
You go, "Ugh." What's the worst one you can think of?
Pff... I don't know. I don't know. I'd have to sit back and go over the archives. But I've seen some horrible ones.
Yeah.
Even ones where guys win, they, like, barely win. You're like, "How the fuck was that close?"
Yeah. Like, 29, 28. It was like 30-23. Yeah.
Yeah, that kind of shit. And you're like, "What round?" Yeah, there's a lot of those.
But it's getting better though, because more fighters every day are joining that force, you know. Where I see or I hear about fighters that used to fight that are involved in the commissions, at least like in Florida and stuff. So, I know 10 years from now there's going to be nothing but productive people in there. People that know what they're looking at, you know?
We can only hope. I mean, that's the number one problem. I think the scoring system sucks too. Like adopting a 10-9. Even the new improved scoring system, it's like... MMA is so much different than boxing. And to adopt this scoring system just because it already existed for boxing, you know, that's like adopting the rules of tennis for ping pong.
Yeah, yeah. It's the... it's the mafia.
Is that what it is?
The boxing thing? Hell yeah.
Uh-huh.
Why is a boxing commission governing the MMA commission? Shouldn't we have our own thing, you know?
I think in some places they just didn't have the infrastructure, you know?
Nowadays we could do it, I'm sure.
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