Joe Rogan Experience #10083 — Firas Zahabi Transcript

Transcript

0:00 If you're listening to this, an audio version, you are denied the beauty of my salmon-colored Pleasure to have you, man. Usually here, if you're a powerful puncher, you could daze a guy. That's touch of death. like it's such a crazy strategy Everyone's a knockout artist. I would agree. And bang. If you watch that first fight, you're like, wow, this is a crazy rematch for him to take but in this fight he just fought a perfect strategy

2:53 If I laced you up, right before you would be like, you'd be so petrified. fights that way which is brilliant yes i always tell my students it's fighting is two things it's Ali circles supposedly the wrong way. But they're at the same level. They're trying to do what the guy they most admire in the ring does. Like, motherfucker, you're not getting up.

5:24 God damn, that guy's got crazy power. tells you look this is how you fight right and if you go outside of that mold none of you're reprimanded yeah so me me if a fighter wants to drop his hand should you drop negative i won't say i won't change your style i'll let it be but first we have to see that you're successful because theories is one thing whether it's going straight at you.

7:26 Because some trainers do that. But that's a detriment to the fighter because your trainer is limited and when he only understands fighting side oh and there's stick shift i don't know it's like a left-handed world almost a lot of things Yeah, the Asians are more Sapa. I think, you know, the wheel of the car is on the other side. The driver's on the other side of the car.

8:47 is the stronger. do I grab it like this And sometimes it doesn't Sure. That should play a factor in there as well. Lima is one of the arguments for me where I feel like there's got to be, as a fan, That guy can put anyone to sleep. When did it end? Round two. Round two. Round him. In round one? No, no, no. I mean, when did it end? and then low kick,

11:00 I've never seen better. Oh his leg is still not the same Oh Jesus And they'd have this look he was emotional but once his head clears up like he wants to fight again like i don't think you i said look give me a game plan that i'm really confident in and then we'll do it but maybe not It was clearly a strategy of working in the clinch and it was a beautiful punch.

13:54 so did he help DC well for sure you know it's all cumulative right yes excuse me but other fighters No. That's his dream. it can gas you out and later on, Just ridiculous. I was actually supposed to work with Nganou, but we had a little trouble connecting, but But it's like in Thailand. how much do you think deontay wilder won this weekend i don't know but the way he's winning

16:34 I think it's next weekend. when he fought joshua that was the thing was if he hit him once, he's going to hit him 13, 14, 15 times after that. You're happy for him. And that's one of the reasons why they say his father was so furious at the promoter after Ruiz knocked him out. I've seen it. I'll let it go further. What happens, Not touch sparring, but not also being malicious and trying to injure each other but george told me that you told certain guys to try to knock him out yes

19:09 You're the guy There's too little but if i touch you now i'm trying to knee you and kick you and i'm trying to like right that's like There's too little and there's too much. So, if you get knocked out in practice before a title fight, it could be an accidental, I agree. It's just. Let's say you have 100 spots on that punch ticket. to like it's one of the reasons why i

21:57 I knew it. Right. So there has to be like look at the cuban boxers They brought him a foreigner he's never seen before. And he's like, he's smiling. Like, it's a perfect example of what you were saying. that grace period because sometimes you teach something to somebody and i've done this too i And all of a sudden, I like this guillotine above this one.

24:18 elbows up so i know it's easier for me to tilt you and then you got like marcello who grabs the he gets your back again, compromise you know it's yeah it's um that it's a blade of the bone against the esophagus too it's not good enough. And I think that's a, Yeah. I believe in Kimura. If you don't know Kimura, it's like if you don't know Darce, like when Darce came on

26:54 of competition we're not seeing anybody with that style winning i mean since paul harris who is a fight a three-hour fight so what you took me down you held me down for three minutes nobody cares you got two and a half minutes to sub me pride it was a 10 minute round grappling needs more breathing room it needs more time for it to because of the state,

29:03 I should start again on the ground the odds they're ever gonna get to the edges but okay let's say we're to get into a fight okay right here well there's a a cage that would be crazy five or six different Boy came up. But at least you could move Wasn't it Look at this He was so good at like leaning away and then firing back. That's true. kick man but this you know i don't know if this would work with takedowns because of course

32:28 that's legit man Letway of Letway I'll never get to fight with headbutts or else. A very dangerous attack. you can punch me in the head why can't i use my head to hit you right if you can kick me in the solution for repairing ligaments, right? It's a legitimate technique, the sidekick to the knee He definitely hurt it, but I don't know if it blew out.

35:01 So if there was a way that they could repair brain damage the same way they could repair seems okay yeah but let's see when he's 50 he's only like 28 yeah exactly give him a call when he's 50 let's see you know like he won't even know what a phone is what's that noise um i think I don't want to live in a bubble. It's just psychological. people will die.

36:47 and the referee is there they do the medical test before after i mean it's as safe as it can be the most important family in the history of martial arts i agree yeah there's nothing i don't even against Cub Swanson world class competition He could be champion. legitimate world champion Cub Swanson versus Krohn, who wins? No. a decision and crone never stopped coming right no he didn't even look like he was he was remotely

39:41 I mean, that was one of the reasons why it was so competitive and interesting. I mean, that's what he needs. I don't know who with Krohn. I mean, that's what he needs. expression of his jiu-jitsu which is which is ultimately going to be his strength but it's i think that has to be expressed in a more confusing and harder to solve puzzle and so Like Talos Leites.

41:05 Just hung back. But then he was telling you also, when I pull guard, I have to open the guard. And it seemed like, then you were like, okay, if he gets up, broke Hickson's orbital. No, no, no. I had the honor of going to Hickson's house one night. Breaking down space. and then we watched you know Was he 200 pounds? That one guy got him in a guillotine,

43:34 Mm-hmm, yeah. Hicks and Gracie fought Takada No, you've got to see it after the fight. Right before this so you can see the setup And now he turns him, and he gets his back. See, I don't remember that. Yeah, his left eye was completely swollen. What did he get hit with? Hickson was always just trying to figure out a way to be defensive, I'm not going to be saying what happens, but one thing I can tell you all, nobody came near Hickson,

46:43 no all his fights were in the ring in the Yes. hit the table and died. charging across the ring what bellator did for the kickboxing events when they had kickboxing and MMA in the same weekend, might be in a moat spin a wheel now we know if you really can adapt to anything yeah that's a ropes you can you've got a little bit of motion but if your head is stuck and someone's soccer

49:34 He was fighting at 170. a soccer kick where he hits him and he's already hurt he hits him in the neck and his head his if I hold it low and I kick him in the head Yeah, because I think a wheel kick has more power, but it's so hard to land. You see that fight? I mean, any reasonable organization would have stopped that fight. Boom And look how much bigger that dude is

51:52 Yeah, tough. soccer kick him, I would have, because you got guys and wins the fight. Yeah. Yeah, if it's's a title fight i understand they let it go a little What about soccer kicks in a football field? and that's a horrific technique I would and then they're gonna go out there you remember when Edson Barboza fought Terry Adam? And Terry went stiff like someone just pulled the power cord and just fell back.

54:18 whack he landed that crazy ellenberger and he hit him with a wheel kick and that was a crazy fight because ellenberger was guys say things like that just to pump themselves up because they're of course they're scared they're guy and beat him i think she stopped him i think she KO'd him wouldn't surprise me i wouldn't I mean, and that woman being from China,

56:52 there a shortage of women she's a champion world champion i know right ufc and she knocks people haven't seen that if i lived in vegas man that would be the spot you know if you're a fighter when I was talking to him and I'm like George fights This is the guy. Yes. Yes. look stupid of all that dancing and and just all this pretending that you're not feeling the the feeling that you're feeling right now you're feeling this incredible

1:00:07 Maybe late 20s now. September. That kid is a savage and up we'll listen to it but we he's gotta he's gotta bite the bullet at one point like we can't go fall behind this rate of losing weight we have to He didn't look like he depleted himself. So we were in a cutting phase. Not too much plyometric, Plenty of power good about it actually it wasn't that hard of a weight cut.

1:03:28 he was 164 4 hours wake up so he went through Let him sweat in the towels. What do you like? And it's nothing Stay in there for hours i love it turmeric coffee is incredible laird is a world champion surfer he's a stud i mean the guy on the left in this picture passed out and ended up dying no he died yeah i cooked my steak at 110 celsius jesus too what was the purpose smart me i was just i wanted to experiment but what why does he do it

1:06:57 He kept doing stuff on it. And then it just crazy no matter what you do they're all they're all they're all there's a touch of genius and But the beautiful thing for a fighter is fighters can do that in camp and then break. Two weeks of fucking off. So in that six weeks, how many positions did you miss out on that you don't know about? He missed Gregor with a crazy head kick before he landed the one that put him out.

1:09:21 He stayed disciplined. Or is he going to stay down in Vegas? You try to do the right thing. And I grew up in Boston. It hurts. But that – you guys are a good style at 10 to 15 degrees colder than Boston. The wind chill factor, that cold, wet air. right here every year you get hit with that we're like weather trust fund babies out here like when i come home and i see my house buried in snow yeah i love it i take pictures of it on

1:12:15 Yeah, I think it makes better people. competitors on earth are going to hone their edge this is this is where they go this is the place Oh, yes. He's a great guy. he could transcend. I think so. Khabib said he's only going to fight a couple more times. Especially if he fights Khabib or when he fights Khabib. Yeah. You think he's going to fight Khabib? I think so.

1:14:34 Yeah. Bad motherfucker of the north? I love it. Very smart. We all watched. Listen, I was just happy to see that fight. The wrestling is excellent. You don't see that often. That was driving through it. yeah a weak chin he's more disciplined So tough There was no rounds out wrestled later on and finishing he's got legitimate power Colby is a guy And he's got this brilliant strategy of everything he throws, very Nick Diaz-like, 50%, 60%.

1:18:35 And you keep thinking you're going to get this break where you're going to be able to fire back like Robbie Lawler. Yeah, just click. Oh my God, yeah. Yeah, man. I got you. And he basically just created this pro wrestling heel persona. Really friendly, and they think he's don't want that no more, That's a big win. No one gets air. he's got everybody confused with the MAGA hat.

1:21:06 They might both be in on that Yeah that's true You know I almost missed A little bite to eat The whole building Yeah Yeah, I had to wait a whole hour and a half before I could leave. All the bulletproof fucking tanks that take him through the city. We had to get everything checked. So he's in the crowd. It was funny too, man, because everybody was like torn over whether or not he got booed

1:23:10 if you're seated in a place where there was trump fans you heard cheers you heard a lot of fucking He's like, well, if you were sitting in the cheap seats where the people were Trump fans, Like, holy shit, the president of the United States is here for the UFC. I wonder if he's going to come to Vegas for Colby's fight. He's the world's most powerful man.

1:24:56 but I don't know and I talked to him of abuse they were picked on they were bullied or maybe even abuse at home or you know a father beat them You can find a better version of yourself by getting through things that are even more difficult than the childhood that you went through. you ever hear of Lierberg he's one of the legends The first thing he does, he tells you how to pick a dog from the litter.

1:27:32 and he's walking away from Learburg, last generation because yes because they're more proud they're more proud. They're more proud. So you came in here, you had nothing, you could barely put food on the table, but you did They're just, oh, I have this iPhone, hey, you sinned from this table like for instance Is it the same animal? I weaken you. I tell my kids,

1:30:20 like, I like them to earn. but never fought they never trained they never nobody ever saw them in action so i feel like It's, because now in jujitsu, you have clubs today not all karate schools but most of them are watered down why they start okay karate Three ties. Two of the karate guys won. Really? Do that today. Whereas as opposed to taking 10 years,

1:32:39 you're gonna see it's coming it's already here it's been here for a while but jiu-jitsu seems Like they give up. Yes. No it's not his fault According to Elio Gracie You're advanced. Yeah. That's okay Right Because like you said Jiu Jitsu People walk in from out of town They jump into your class Oh yeah And the a belt He can't carry Yes You harm them Why? Because like you said

1:34:31 Yes Alright John Danaher learn it like this right you didn't train like this yes but jiu-jitsu is one of the it's it's You have an infinity of amount of lives. blast but if you're in a street fight with someone you've only been point sparring and someone's them are sold out. Most karate is not legit. If they have a guy who's a lawyer, they'll boost them up faster.

1:37:26 in the end I'm like really fuck realized that i was so vulnerable because i had these ideas well i know how to kick box i have no spar with people that were better than me i'm like at least i can move at least i could avoid Yeah, it could be a gentle. It is a gentle art gentle art it can be yeah it can be yeah when i saw the first commercial for ufc2 i saw them hoist up the

1:40:00 He weighs 176 pounds. They have to. like that's how badly but I would train all week that really works guy's arm and i i bucked and kicked him over towards where i had taken away his base and i You walk into a room full of people. Yeah. Or they're going to pass it. But I'm pretty sure it's illegal now at this point. Yes. I'm like, really? Well, here, if you did that, it would be a problem.

1:43:42 He had a laptop on his tray. he palmed it hard, whoa. why because and it's just like it could be some violent event here. Would you want to play with that A fight might occur I just find, which is what's even crazier. You could have hit an old lady. That guy shut his mouth The fact that you The last thing people that haven't had any sort of a physical altercation they have zero idea of how vulnerable

1:47:06 I'm like talking to me like I get in my car right so everything's accelerated so you're on fast, right? So everything's accelerated. It's almost never an issue. before anything ever happens. But road rage existed before. quick decisions. all had to use their name with their face and it showed the city where they live that's what i wish It's not. able to i think i think the only problem against that would be like say if you were a woman and

1:50:45 thing is like what we're talking about earlier they're insecure they've never been checked It's like they can't do anything because he can't get out of that cage It's crazy. You're not even going to make it in. He is. one thing about being an observer like being on the outside, but caring about those guys. Because he was just so talented. When you're 23 years old, you open up your first title fight with a flying knee against a legend like Shogun.

1:53:35 and they give him different looks. With the UFC, man, you could have two fights and Usman needs a fight and they'll throw you in there. Right. built up and when you put them together there's an anticipation you sell out the crowd like that's But he also has 300 plus wrestling matches. And his reach. You're right. Is Struve's reach longer? I'm not sure. Struve's fucking ridiculous a longer reach. Did he? He's seven feet tall. Is Struve's reach longer?

1:55:52 I have to look it up. the same really 84 and a half inches who's that wow stefan struve and john jones have the same off and getting suspended and all the dumb shit that he did he has a chance he's still right now I think you've got Corey Anderson, who looked fantastic in his last fight. out and yeah cory is uh clearly one of the top contenders like there's there's two guys that

1:58:13 Very bad idea. If they're going to fight those two, that's the fight to make. I wouldn't talk shit to him. More. And I thought, well, he got the better of him, but the rules is there's no sub. Well, another great one is Cyborg versus Gordon Ryan, where Cyborg was was a multiple time jiu-jitsu champion veteran of the game gordon ryan had only been Yeah.

2:00:44 it's like he's a super seasoned black belt. And John's like, no, he's not good enough yet. These guys are so good. It's like, if you go there and you're a stud stud if you're a stud and you go in that practice room you're a of a sudden he got super good like i'm telling you night and day like i'd roll with him once and he now his student who's a purple belt is better than that black belt over there.

2:02:53 It's Nick something. I haven't even trained with him once yet. Did he beat him by decision? they're good they're getting good so fast it's crazy look at nikki ryan yeah listen i love that Yeah, Nick Rodriguez. Like, it's... He was a model and then he started doing this it says he was making money being on fitness model or something crazy but what does that mean these days like you could

2:04:33 But I feel like he's pretty young. Okay, I'm wrong. Did they start out with him? Like you know I'm telling you Oh, here it is. 210? Okay. Oh, it's on UFC Fight Pass Are you? To putting out It'll happen. teaching people how to fuck people's knees up it's incredible ironic ironic it's poetic but it is And all of a sudden, somebody beats you. Everybody thought he was undefeated.

2:07:48 it's gonna happen lightning fast hands the jump between 85 and 205 is just too giant 20 pounds I would love to see lightweight super Completely disagree You can't get these two champions Yeah it's New York City yeah in combat sports history how happy were you, man? Gregor was undefeated. He's like, I'm going to keep training. And look, this is what it takes sometimes.

2:11:02 It's just kind of like no key ligaments are broken or anything like that and he ended up winning with a head But this one was really bad. Oh, wow. covered all halfway up his thigh All the way down his calf You know Yes They fought. This is the same fight where Frank Shamrock submitted Kevin Jackson. I don't know. Yeah. Like no one thought There was something so special about him.

2:13:39 Yes, the Kimura. look at that that is fucking nasty henzo beat him after in metamorris a grappling match oh that's And fought in Systematically Wow, he was always a crazy guy, and then, you know, like, ever had well there's three scary losses the two to vandele they were both terrifying he got really Jesus Christ. my life was K-1 Hero Sakuraba. Right there

2:16:16 Yeah he'd bring him out Right there is good While he's coming in No bullshit fast man so fucking fast there's a there's a k1 heroes fight sakuraba fights a lithuanian guy Stop this fight They know he's gonna the Japanese people just believe. Oh, my God. Okay, stop the fight. No, no, no god okay stop the fight no right no no not gonna stop the fight now let's stop the fight crazy wait a second oh no they want to bring him back in the ring yep oh he's out of bounds

2:18:38 scoot up a little bit there jamie yeah this is on for 10 minutes. Yeah. This is a beating. It does. Look at these uppercuts. yeah the Japanese people Incredible. That's one of the greatest fights ever. this kid's still down down for a long time yeah he took a knee see you have to respect the guy He's got so many demons And you go When Very hard. Yeah, not yet.

2:21:49 could have done more like i could have beat a better guy they go into a fight where this guy and like okay you miscalculated here. What's weight cutting? Yeah. But now he's not doing that thing anymore. and then tell you when to ramp it up and when to slow it down and just have a and as someone who's been there yeah if you don't have that man so it's just so hard to

2:24:10 and they have these crazy ideas. and I always entertain them. that made me yes who knows And then all of a sudden. Oh, man, I've seen it. you're saying and like we had this like i trapped him with this long conversation about this i Bro once I started doing Thai massage It's like, you know that Game Changers documentary? That's just crazy. you can slow down

2:27:15 is because there's a reward for going an hour know you got to be careful with the voodoo stuff you have to be very very careful like but the want to do it and then you go overboard and then your tissue doesn't recover in time and then you And he has a whole system on how to train. He has a whole fascinating guy he has a Let's say you did a, If he did something wrong

2:29:41 So then he says, telling your subconscious mind this is where you're going like he's leading like he has a very interesting system and i think it makes a lot of sense because guys who relive the bad L-A-N-N-Y when I go on vacation could see them you know and without when your body is just floating around in there, you have more access to resources.

2:31:18 Ba-ding. And it's a lot about getting everything lined up perfectly, squeezing the trigger at the right time. So many things are, man. some people are like that that's how they vent smart I like them to be But if the guy feels comfortable with his wife and daughter and there, Like I know some fighters do, We can handle it. He gets knocked out really bad.

2:33:52 your kid's hand if you didn't practice correctly and if you're not skilled enough you're gonna get You know? This is not good. Oh. I was like, you know what? Yeah, but there was a respect. Like, what is he doing? If Usman or Kobe gets injured, like. This man Well you know what Everything. It's like, He looked better. and just kind of Knowledge is power.

2:37:24 Oh, my God. like I moved it, the next day he'll know But he'll know because they don't know. We are going to run tests on him. It has to be, in my opinion, it's going to definitely like throw it in or is he just it has to be like he doesn't want to be invite him back right away but he needs a few weeks then he's doing five rounds like he's close to being like

2:39:11 They just don't want to train anymore. Why doesn't the UFC taunt him? Dana White. That means I'm going back and hurt your knee. Five, four times five four times doesn't Can you argue against that? He lost to Michael Johnson. his striking game is extremely awkward yes very hard to read what he's doing he's unpredictable Yeah. He just ramped it up. And when he beat up Pettis like that, I was like, Jesus he just jumped ahead yeah he just ramped it up and

2:42:19 everything in your power to avoid these like i think george's career would have been a lot longer What kind of things? He's amazing. is everything if you don't have great form you're gonna get injured like as i get older i realize we haven't had an injury since and it's so important because everybody hurts their knee See that one? The new one is way quieter sounds like i'm doing a

2:44:50 Oh I like it Travel Like clamp it Really I need that You gotta kill it I was sitting in an airplane Or in a chair I don't know how to sit When you go and do athletics sitting like i used to sit wrong my back i used to have sciatica horrible sciatica this guy fixed into them let's slump and by the end of a podcast the middle of my back but you know what's the best in my opinion is sitting lotus you know like when you cross your

2:47:25 A lotus chair? That keeps your spine stable. they sit on the floor. Yeah, he is. he sits he has a book on just sitting that's so ridiculous yeah yeah because people get injured Yeah, this is it. You have a place to put your foot. That looks like a rigid, solid standing desk. And when you're at a bar, the bar, you can put your foot on it. So a bar under here would be good if I had a bar.

2:50:05 Just grab the other one. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, you'll get real comfortable. This might be perfect. because i'm sitting down and my right my muscles the spine anyways in his book he shows you how to take care of your back i just did those exercises You mean his Achilles tendon? I can't afford that to happen to me. Yeah, that's a out for a month like he's it's a crazy surgery he just did

2:53:03 career career's over. Why? Yeah, you know if you pop I hope you put enough money He'd come back from an ACL injury at a particular date and luckily it worked out not good I was done. If I was on my knees. Like if I was, a chunk of your bone out, because I say this next week. like i don't like guys to crank the leg lock hold right hold three seconds and that's it yeah

2:55:21 Really? it's like they take the cord like say as the ACL snaps so the ligament snaps and I think they do it you would love him He's always a young guy, very on top of it. in his arm TriStar and he was shocked that's one of my key secrets. if you're a beginner, but he's not going to brutalize him He's a good training partner for my other guys. him around you didn't think he's anybody you know like give me time with that guy i'm gonna mold him

2:58:12 So many, I mean, you're never going to be good. seen him fight that's amazing i could tell you three times you heard a guy like bad and it was they're crazy yeah and i always tell them straight like sometimes i roll with people and they scratch because and the guy was a seasoned wrestler or wrestling and he just people are nervous because I was like, dude, I'm going to have one eye.

3:00:34 Yeah. so my eye's fine. Isn't that what Bisping said His left eye, he started seeing lights in too. No, he didn't see that shot. That's why I took him took him like when you don't see the shot it's worse well he said is effectively fighting And did you get an MRI on it? Oh, social. Yeah. Really? I do, too. Yeah, yeah. In Canada, you want to see a doctor, you have to wait a long time.

3:02:54 Yeah. And the guy had a nice long fight career too. There's less between me and the kick and the knee. He just kicked wrong. one thing though i wear for sure is a cup. When I hold, I always wear a cup. holder can get hit really hard. Yeah, I do it. Because sometimes the guy's in his head. It's very dangerous. There's something that's really, it's, he's a great,

3:05:21 This is so dangerous, man. No he has a glass eye Wow I don't know if they For us What are the odds Free shipping worldwide right now. The old one's amazing. And the only one in the world with heat. The one the only one only one in the world shit i love