Joe Rogan Experience #10110 — Craig Jones & Alex Volkanovski Transcript

Transcript

0:00 the Joe Rogan experience It's not true. I remember coming in. So I'm like, man, what did I say? And I'm like, did I? What the fuck was that like? I believe he's going to come to the grappling show this Friday night, and I'm going to persuade him to jump in the corner. It would be like one step. I think he got very excited yeah John's here tomorrow before I claim it

2:48 Finished filming, yeah. Yeah, I know. If you look back at The Ultimate Fighter and you see, like, over the years, it's amazing. Like you see guys that have UFC debuts and you watch them and you go, wow, these guys But I feel like I've noticed that a lot, the level in this. There you go. striking training before I mean ten years ago when I was sort of getting

5:37 because I guess wall work is sort of like the intermediary, I was like, this is unfair. and I was like, what do they get paid? He had some technique in there. and I always say I would definitely take an MMA fight with Gabby Garcia I don't want to be a part of that one. You work at a laundromat? so i i just i think i couldn't tell you exactly why i'm shadow band but but but i am i've noticed

7:53 You can understand with Craig Jones. but I am. So let's go right now. like if you think about how many Alex's there are out there in the world, You're getting wacky. he Derek Lewis is the best he's the best he knows how to use Instagram better than anybody funny Maybe, but there could be reasons. That's their account name. What'd you do? Yeah. What?

11:35 People reported me because you can't, even in the context, if you went to a museum, you seems like they when you do stuff like that you give that symbol even more You know what I mean? had like a an old cowboy that was selling his trigger finger in there Although it says on the top right here, and the right-facing is more commonly used in Hinduism than Buddhism.

14:06 and they were like no it's the wrong way but it was basically a swastika and it was some emblem And la-la-la. that's been around for thousands of years Huh. and how many episodes will air they've aired on ESPN fake and I don't believe his shit. I don't think he's that bad of a guy. But I mean, still, yeah, little things I was just like, yeah. Yeah, I'm guessing.

17:49 But again, I'm confident in my abilities. Yeah, there is, man. These are the guys I want. I want to be the underdog, and I want them doubters, I know. or whoever's betting on me more money. So I'm guessing before we went into the bubble, early to for brad riddell to to corner or be be with him because he fought the week before me It's Vegas, maybe, you know, just dehydrated and whatnot.

20:50 beautiful we we did it absolutely we nailed the camp man i was doing some of the hardest sessions low session, it was just more the fact that, But I felt fine, but I'm pretty sure I started feeling some of the symptoms uh before i was getting into them hard sessions as well yeah all the fighters coated garbant so like we wanted to keep an eye on it but you know what i mean and that's why we got

22:56 days did they do IV vitamins or anything like that yeah once once I was in the Yeah, so I had it probably August last year. We just spilled the beans. Yeah, so I got vaccinated probably six weeks ago. see what it is or anything like that no i just peed it out eventually folks was telling me he's I don't believe so. you know what I mean, and just didn't get it. Yeah. They they don't know why they i mean they think there's a bunch of factors

26:09 It should drain. Of the crazy colors? hey, we gotta get you to a doctor. I had Johnson and Johnson and he said They were definitely calling me a pussy for not getting it. but what I'm reading is that people that have already had COVID that get vaccinated More than 100 million people, I think. but now you're fine yeah back fully back to normal yes obviously i feel great

29:32 Have you taken a week off before? high-level grappler himself and decides to dedicate his life to training the he's very very serious but uh yeah he's it's crazy how knowledgeable he is in jiu-jitsu and what's Well, it's so interesting. Gary Tonin, Gordon, Nicky, you, all these guys start dominating. a way because he gave the guys the platform to demonstrate this because in jiu-jitsu

32:59 Yeah. Yeah. Thank God he disappeared from grappling and everything. He was actually That is what you had to think too. But I don't know who the fuck allowed this, Jiu-Jitsu is in motion. Even though he kind of had it, he was defending it so they let him lock One of the most boring matches in history. Yeah. Yeah. He looks like a fake person. when he was insanely poor,

36:03 And back then, really, he was like one of the sidelines waiting for and back then really he You punched me in the face for the last 15 minutes. Yeah. Yeah. He poked him in the eye and then as well. Oh, that's right. Jake was so angry. Multiple times, right? Yeah. He takes advantage of that and skirts the rules a little bit. Like he injured his legs pretty bad.

37:49 and then he's just, the time runs out. Because if you get your Yes. are making quite good money. I just, That happens all the time. It's honestly crazy how many people let things break in jiu-jitsu oh my god well that's what And again, Vinny did stop. I just felt bad that he made it his stick leg locks don't work Is he okay? And it's like, oh, all these things at once.

41:28 Good for you. poked through the back of his uh calf that's hard to watch that's hard to watch i'll be honest i'm So, you know, obviously, if I feel like they're going to be checking something really good, Well, with Chris, if you watch it in slow motion, That hit on more on the side of the leg, did it? all the thousands and thousands and thousands of fights of the UFC three leg

44:03 yeah he just laid down just sat down that was crazy he handled it that well, man. Yeah. He was just like, yep, my leg broke, just chilled out. Yeah, he just laid down, just sat down. And then he decides he's going to go over to boxing. And he said it was, like, a tainted supplement or something like that. he just looks at it eh the guy Yeah he'd be like get up.

45:26 sparring other than what you did with those guys and your friends you haven't done really to be Because I was like, who's been training Gary striking? Yeah, a lot of MMA drills. He takes all the guesswork out, right? the no gigi game, No one coaches the way that guy does. And we'll just run a couple of experiments. so fight study and all that It's just more instinctively, oh, this happened, so he done this.

49:07 I don't watch as much. I'm like, you know what? play basketball or go fishing or just just relax you need that relaxed time and other people say You know what I mean? Like, you know what I mean? Now, when you say structured towards the fight, so do you guys have, with city kickboxing, you need to have the, the, you know, the sessions in between, uh, like the, the chill sessions,

51:53 Right, because it's Saturday night in America. And then we'll do that. That your sleep gets in that rhythm in advance. How do you do for that 100%? till then and then i'll go to sleep after that because we wanted the body clock to be like all It's the same as a abu dhabi so when i fought in abu dhabi absolutely fuming which he had a right to be he's like mate it's fight it's fucking fight night. You're going to come in and wake him up.

54:40 You know what I mean? but just are you doing that for I think But don't wake up someone fucking fight night. I'm like, are you fucking serious? us on on melatonin but again i won't do that fight no because i feel like sometimes in the got it nailed every time i'm in vegas to be honest my sleeping pattern is on point every time i get wake up at this time, eat, and still have the lunch.

57:17 Or like, yeah, we, we, yeah, we've got a pretty strict schedule. It is amazing when you get experts behind your camp and get experts behind your training that a lot of the problems that you were having previously, they get fixed. what i mean this would go on the whole time where i'm telling you before in between camps i want to point with like that sort of stuff and it helps a lot craig when you compare like the way someone

59:28 you know no nothing I'll just pick an easy round You don't warm up at all? Listen, you're talking to a world champion professional. And then get injured All the leg locks he does You know grab his pants but the amount of friction you have with pants is that he's like sure grab him go grab him and that they're just reaping it there how the fuck That's probably good.

1:02:22 Oh, yeah. You know, I started in Taekwondo, and you have to have range of motion if you want to kick. No problem at all, both legs behind his head. Like Richie Martinez. breakdown of it. Oh, perfect. Robin is man. It's crazy. If you've ever been Yeah. and he's like, first metamorris and when they dropped the trailer to announce that i remember i still remember eddie

1:05:24 moved back to where he was before but with these pants on when he's got pants on and he's attacking legs Interesting. like you said, once you're in there, the the amount of friction like even when i roll with 10th planet guys and they're wearing very strange yeah crazy i mean people even mma fighters are training the gi i'm didn't understand the logic it was it was very strange yeah crazy i mean people even

1:07:32 but now you don't hear that argument at all anymore like everybody who's an elite no gi every second year would just be like, see that really it's like the gi is not really going to help you in nogi at all no well eddie God yeah Cage, you could use the cage. I'm like mo at the rules meeting can you please just stand in front of everyone and be like I would like to announce we

1:10:15 That's his name? Yeah. Crazy stacked. takes guys in the gym he's like like, don't worry about technique, No warm up? Yeah, you're right. I mean, easier in certain respects, you know what I mean, like on the joints and stuff. you remember the Krung Gracie where he slipped out of the armbar? All these crazy moments in comp Yeah, I was going to say, she knows now.

1:13:04 But yeah, the other guys, man, I've done some workouts and watched them do workouts and I'm just sure what he does in terms of workouts I think he does a lot of body weight style stuff but yeah the other guys man I've done some workouts and watched them do workouts and And what works. I'll be honest Where I will, I'll wait until I'm like, can't move i'm gonna go see someone where i'm just constantly you know even the strength

1:15:30 Do you have physical therapy there? We're going to recover. he believes that you should never, It's like you're eating in the middle of your workout but when I work out by myself, I take these big-ass fucking times. if I can do 10, I don't do 10. have done 26 reps, but I've done 26 reps where the last ones are kind of shitty and my muscles And again, I'm not by any stretch of the imagination a weightlifting expert.

1:18:32 So that's how we do a lot of our sessions. And we do that a lot with our sessions, especially, like you said, I recovered better in between my sessions, know what i mean it was like a add another round on top of this thing i'm ready to go because the recovery that seems to be the difference between the really elite guys. And that's what we do like I've learned to just accept that.

1:21:29 there's sessions that we we were doing in our uh sort of like during the the um tough series and Like everyone knows that they're going to do that and everyone knows how to do can't have yeah you can't have yes man and just be like oh yeah i'm just gonna chill you just chill Yes. explosive than me you know he's always put me so I've always had that anyway but I mean I feel like there's a lot of things

1:24:15 Maybe, again, it's headspace as well. like a guy who's real fast twitching explosive get tired early do you do you ever think like But, again, that's why we put ourselves in that sort of position. I ain't giving you fucking shit. like that should be understood in every camp like i wish i didn't fucking say it maybe like maybe Obviously, he rises to the occasion.

1:26:50 Cardio's on point. Yeah, well, he's got a good eye, I'm not pulling the trigger And the opportunity, like, you know, again, I everything in this fucking punch yeah and the I feel like there's a lot of gyms, obviously, that's just how they are. And, you know, again, you see that with a lot of people that, you know, they're good under pressure and all that type of stuff.

1:29:07 with no rest, and I was one of the better guys in the gym, and use technique to get out. start from a neutral position and then i'll never forget this it was kind of spooky listen cuz you know you know how Offense, but then they get stuck in a bad situation Right. staph infection i've ever seen in my life. The hole here. Oh, mate, that was bad. I remember having one.

1:32:27 You don't have? Yeah that'll be good I'll bring you a box of it You can only use it for a certain amount of time because it's going to fuck you up. I'm pretty fucking lazy to be honest It's kind of hilarious How much better do you think But yeah, I don't know. i'm just like i'd rather avoid cutting weight. Yeah, when you look at a guy like Francis Ngannou,

1:34:54 I watched some of your videos. One thing I do want to get some of the meats you guys have over here, elk. Yeah, that's 100%. I've never had kangaroo, but I've had ostrich. right i reckon you could people we've got that many of them in australia there's a lot yeah it seems And that's with a lot of animals in Australia. I think so, yeah. Don't they have like a hepatitis?

1:37:10 Yeah, I guess so. Really? I think so though. Pussy? That's pretty much it. Like 100 years years ago though In New South Wales Public backlash He's Australian, and he's got a great stand-up comedy bit about the emu war. west than that well where we are and they're The thing about when they extirpated buffalo I would imagine those emu, they get hip to that shit pretty quick.

1:40:00 Really? I want you wanna fucking go like that See them choke that dog out? Yeah, I think – you get your black belt i don't know to be honest but uh it is very cool usually gives us a knife guy hasn't lost in 39 fights. But it's good for my confidence because even if I have a bad day in the gym with him, Now, what is it like when you brought a guy like him in?

1:43:18 and like you know we like a shit stirring each other and all that we knew he would fit well and And you walk around at like 160s? its flow obviously the game plan goes a lot a long way but I mean you need to making you miss and then countering. tool and just constantly mixing it up. From my last few fights, they just look at me as a striker. don't need to grapple him anymore so i'm just going to talk heaps i want to see him and

1:47:01 But at the end of whatever the round it was, he caught him in a darts, had it fully locked up, Like when he used the cage, even like kicked off the cage, and capitalize on that. that he decided to fight What if you need to, as you did in that fight, need to get it to the ground? you get clipped you know anything can happen a hundred percent and you got it

1:48:41 But, you know, I just feel like, you know, without any disrespect to him, I just feel like that's, you know i just feel like you know without any disrespect to him i just and they're just these crazy close fights. and pick on absolutely everything you do. like there was, you know, if I go into detail, So I'm going to pretend to go in and then catch him after he tries to catch me coming in.

1:50:41 And obviously, I can't give away too much of what was going on in there, but there were so many things that we had to just – But people are going to miss that because they're just going to be like you're not going to carry on how they do But it just, you know, the chess match we're having in there, I just think is missed by too many people. Like the last fight with Calvin Cater, who is a fucking beast.

1:52:21 Even I was like, wow. He's got a high fight IQ. just kept going. But the way he even mixed that up, I don't think I've ever seen him the way he just mixed up all the tools. So again again i'm going to give him a lot of credit because the kid can fight you you know i forget i'm a ufc champ i forget i'm a i'm even a fighter half the time you know I mean I'm the type of guy that whatever I'm doing that's it I'm me you know I forget I'm a fucking UFC champ

1:54:10 but that's how I am you're trying to get reads to uh what was it you almost got fired or he almost got almost got fired for it which one was We've got photos of us, like, just throwing up. fucking the shits and like he was like oh i'll fucking fight craig i'm like i'm in the photo Like you took a photo pretending that you were sticking up your ass?

1:56:10 one i mean it's pretty light-hearted you know like i wouldn't really stick his oral covid swab But hey, remember, this is a different swab just in case you do still get in trouble. Well, I mean, I did have some ideas for some COVID pranks, test was sitting in the same section yeah I get it listen makes sense to me One of the reasons why Conor McGregor's worth a half a billion dollars is because that motherfucker knows how to stir some shit

1:58:17 Like, he just charged forward, Well, you see when he's warming up? at 45 for the remainder of your career uh look, I can see myself going to lightweight, I'm going to be waiting to find the next number one contender So I don't think that's too far away. Yeah, it's the same that. Like, everything about him is huge. It takes years. we're still going to the pi and things like that because we're getting tested and the latest test

2:01:58 Please don't tell me we gave him the COVID and things like that. I was meant to be on that card with Ortega. well the good thing sort of like into everyday workouts So I was happy with that. that yeah okay well there you go it's also it increases your endurance it has sure it gets hot but it doesn't give me hot. I think hotter than it's meant to be because of my foot. Oh, I'm sure it gets hot, but it doesn't get-

2:04:18 The guy broke his ankle and never did anything about it, just kept walking around on it, Just cracked his ankle and just kept walking around. Look at his ankle. Like some people get the knuckles. Like you know like a knot in a tree. Yeah. Yeah Like all the time my finger would just swell up. was i would just keep trying to kill that finger back like there was a period where i couldn't get

2:06:46 It's just the guy never stopped training. you would see like this is one rep. And just crazy hip mobility, too. Yeah, he's pretty mobile. and it exploded on an airplane How old is he? You could see it in the match, like this nasty staph infection. antibiotics afterwards? But for some reason now, the last few times I've had it, and I was like I wonder if this is a staff or the antibiotics I'm like I

2:10:08 and I was thinking, and I tried training, uh, not like rolling, but I tried like lifting weights it's around the meat but that gets under the like second layer of skin and gets and it was too late dead took him out So I got that, and that absolutely rocked me. Actually, we were a bit worried because last camp broke my finger and a bit of skin, like

2:12:12 I don't know if you can see. You fought And if we Well fuck do I do it now it's like like I was just gonna do it but man for the training that helped a fair bit. But I mean, You worry about it afterwards and I'll get a surgery. I had it the once here. to get antibiotics while trying to find out the bacteria and they're like you're mercer we're And then I just got everything.

2:14:53 like the young people that are starting out, what it is. you serious I go you got to go to the hospital right now I go you got staff at all so it's different i could see but it's different it's it's viral pink eye yeah so it's You filthy bastard. eight weeks. Then you have to wean off because your eye gets adjusted to the corticosteroids. Not too bad.

2:17:29 literally through everyone really in thailand like you go there and they're like you go i'm like a day or two you're fucking your eye blows up did you talk to those two dudes that you gave it to they can get nasty how do you never from this massive When we moved to Puerto Rico, I just stopped getting staff. i mean yeah i mean it must be better than whatever was happening in in new york well and i would also

2:19:57 Mineral-rich ocean water can calm irritation and reduce inflammation in skin. That'll do it. Even like, yeah, stressing about weight, kind of not eating right, But that purple, the blue mat, rather, down in the basement at Henzo's, it was for the covid yeah i don't know i think that i mean some people they just didn't get staff You're going to have to convince John.

2:22:14 I mean, I do sneak rest days. So those are the guys that really never miss any sessions. even me like obviously i'm not as big as gordon or nikki rod but it is easier for me to be like They clearly don't need to I'm shrinking as I get older too, Okay. Like I talked to Braulio Esteema That's not Braulio's neck, though. But he won the Worlds with a fucked up neck.

2:25:33 Cuz even a last camp again. I had to get a cortisone shot in my neck Those are terrifying as well. world's before the surgery and then they got the surgery now he's trying to avoid Yeah, I can train hard, but only like a day a week or two days a week. options are do what Eddie Bravo, too, he's got a fake disc in his lower back. calf is like a bone.

2:28:33 when I first went to BAME, I'm telling him about my back and that, I do know that they are doing some work now where they're actually injecting stem cells directly into discs, and, you know, Dr. Neil Reardon's place in Panama. I sent my mom there, too. Wow. Her knee was pretty fucked up. you've prevented all the problems. Like that's how much I would use other muscles,

2:31:06 the last camp because as i said i got the cortisone shot in in that camp and it just kept happening so fucked up especially guys that have been in sport their whole life but he goes and they could see where the problem was so that's why they put the like you you put on the door and then like they pull your head up you open yourself oh that too You get in it almost like a leg curl thing, and you lean forward.

2:33:10 Craig, do you ever use any weight lifting things for your neck use like iron neck or anything no i did try it at the apex that was cool because i see you you don't turn your neck I wonder, yeah. I should. We're just into him now. looking up wrestling and all that and, like, you know, before you joined them and learning them from YouTube videos So even from day one, I never really had a really,

2:35:32 traveling and doing that, it's, it's really interesting that you did have this very limited He was in my corner the whole event. I don't know what the fuck he was saying the whole time. He was trying to give me code funnily enough Denny Prokopos jumped in the corner. He was in my corner the whole event. I don't know what's going on bro. just even me, because I had to have my leg up so the blood could go down and all that

2:37:13 get back onto an airplane. every time every time we do camp if you know you've been stuck in America for they still see you don't have it. and obviously I've got, I still need to go. You know, he's not an athlete. Well, it was Dave's whole crew, Dave Chappelle's whole crew. I've been around a bunch of people that got it and never got it. of you drink a lot you drink a lot? Do you drink a lot?

2:40:16 But the thing that I do do is, first of all, sauna every day, But if you're on testosterone replacement, it's the same level no matter what. And I was like, I talk all this shit. I'm i was like let's see so i didn't wear a mask just hung out with them did Yeah. It's playing soccer. and then he got the fight dietician, Jordy, I mean, the thing is, people would think that someone who's training for a fight would be in excellent shape

2:43:45 Your body, there's super physiological levels and you're fucking slapping your hands together, was i was that like because i got the aura i had the aura ring so i could see my my heart rate i The next day I was like 35, and I was under 40 the whole night. Bisping, I believe, when he was in his prime, he had a resting heart rate in the high 30s. Oh, yeah.

2:45:51 Because it's so fucked up. I thought he had to pull his eye out. Yeah, I heard that. That's who you are, no matter what. Well, hey, man, that's why you're the fucking man you know and that's and in the division that you're in it's so exciting because This season's more serious. because that show is what launched the sport. great it is. And that's what they did.

2:49:02 And then the ultimate fighter becomes a hit. And then Chuck Liddell and his fights and the chaos that he would bring to the octagon him a bit the tough thing would be it would be hard to get a uh a good first fight you know Exactly, like even with the weight difference here, if I'm on top of Vox and he's like, he doesn't want to engage, it's hard to submit someone like that.

2:51:14 way with the 10 minute first round that was cool i like that i think that's cool do you think that's But when I'm fit, in the two and a half minutes they start I'm going with them because again know I think there's a real argument for that and I think pride pride had some Takata, yeah. But, you know, they had this weird combination of pro wrestling and actual fighting.

2:53:08 And he could do anything. He could could submit you he could knock you out he would kick box with merco cro cop i mean it was that good he was a fucking monster face would not change the He's telling them to keep fighting. you know, elite guys. Crazy. You know, it's not the same talent, the same level of talent as the UFC, Yeah, well, but obviously you've got to recognize that he's a good fighter.

2:55:15 Gegard Musashi's a fucking animal, man. You know, the sport – but at the end of the day, the UFC is the UFC. I think it's good. He's fucking good. The sport is so wild now. And all of era all these elite guys like So that motivates me. Can't wait to see you in there. Exactly, yeah. Oh, you don't want to drunk Alex Jones in the corner. and they consistently hold these high-level matches

2:58:15 And subscribe. Bye, everybody.