Joe Rogan Experience #579 — Rory MacDonald Transcript

Transcript

0:00 Joe Rogan Podcast, check it out! who's a top welterweight contender in MMA, I like the rules, the concept of it, if for folks who don't know the idea behind it is they don't have any points which i like yeah i Yeah. I mean, it was a pretty wild, fast-paced match. I train with that guy. He almost does a 180 and takes the leg. changing constantly and mma is constantly incorporating techniques that we already knew

4:06 big time because there's so much going on all the time isn't that weird yeah it's weird it's a crazy smaller guys submit bigger guys in jujitsu and that was the whole thing that was so impressive Like Bob Sapp versus Ernesto Ho hoost it's a perfect example yeah if you've never seen that match uh jamie Very strong, low kicks, really good boxing. even the way he's throwing his punches, he's just

7:05 fedor was the heavyweight champion he fought big guys he fought semi schilt um he fought uh that like say jujitsu and kickboxing because if this was like hicks and gracie in his prime versus bob Selling fights. jujitsu is also this martial art where leverage and technique and positions it's it seems to be like this continual flow The jiu-jitsu now is definitely a lot different.

9:58 Have you trained down there with Eddie? about this before the show but that is a Like, I had to pull out of a fight because of a neck problem. for my back as well um that machine you just showed me in the back reverse hyper yeah we have who's this fucking enormous dude who still deadlifts And I got mine from Rogue Fitness. I bet you can see him. what to put in on that day and see what works out.

13:31 heavy do you do no not really it's I kind of just I kind of just go with my gut feeling of what I you're you're just from the beginning you started in mixed martial arts yeah yeah i started at 14 for sure yeah is that on purpose or is this just your personality naturally i think naturally it Yeah. me staring at them is going to make me win the fight. Right, right, right. It has nothing to do with that. I totally believe in skill over any of the psychological battles or being bigger or smaller.

16:21 Yeah. a routine that you go through mentally? Is it the anticipation? Right. like dominic cruz who tore his acl and then he tore his hamstring and tore his acl again i mean rehab or anything like that no it is like other people's lives don't really influence mine i'm There's so few people that do you actively try to block that out? I definitely have nerves.

20:56 i don't know it's just it's just how he prepares for fights and it's interesting i don't i don't Yeah. when bj was telling him that he was going to be fighting to the death yeah and you know you could best peaking for this the moment the most important moment in his martial arts career he's got to Yeah. That he had the presence of mind to go you For some guys.

24:51 Yeah, I go with how I'm feeling. i'll go train because i'll be i'll be into it you know and then i'll be excited to train you know And one of the things that a lot of people are in agreement is that there is an unrealistic expectation other sport because you're essentially learning three major sports you know you're learning when you first came to tri-star seven years ago um you were a guy who i mean how old are you now

28:03 So I wanted to explore martial arts a little like they were saying like some crazy shit I was like does he have anybody in there that can give him some fucking technical i worked out with george once we worked out on spinning back kick technique yeah i've seen that He's just a genius. For a coach, you need someone just as dedicated on the other side of the fence as you are doing the physical work.

31:19 and sizing things up. He's like one of those dudes. He's just redlining constantly. is that you know who doesn't fight the way Dwayne teaches? Yeah. But he teaches TJ, and it's perfect. different for TJ than it is for like Joseph Benavidez like everybody has Yeah. The amount of new talent coming out and the new, like you look at Ronda Rousey, I'm excited about fighting him.

34:32 you know all the skill that i've skill work i've done over the years to overcome a bigger stronger Yeah. Your jawline back here is exposed a lot. Your fist can fit through these little spaces now Dempsey fights like they were they were fighting with almost like little bag But you have to protect your knuckles. But it seems contradictory to me because how come you, like,

37:53 to wrap up the hands tape up the wrists because that's an issue as well the the wrists move no bellator i tried the old pride gloves they were awesome you like those better yeah we used Bellator is using some Everlast gloves that do two things. Yeah, yeah. Because you could smash, you get on top of a guy, like the strike force rules they have to be they have to be allowed yeah because they're effective yeah yeah what about i mean i think headbutts and knees on the ground

40:51 because guys get pinned up against a cage? Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. There's a lot of those. Yeah, me too. against stand-ups yeah if a guy could take you down and molest you for five rounds and just hold Like, he could do that to that guy? You know? Yeah. And Tim Bosch is a very good fighter, no doubt about it. But that's important. Or maybe come back rather to Bellator.

45:37 It'd be nice to see him in the UFC. And it's good for everybody in weight classes too. It's like so unstable. And you set traps for him, man. And you're both dry. And he got you down that first round when he's most dangerous. And you're both dry. It's crazy. how much do you cut um well right now i'm about 200 jesus christ son yeah but i'm not like I just diet for two months.

48:52 Do you watch your diet all year round or when you don't have a fight, you fuck off? there 12 comfortable and then it's just like i don't eat too much and you know i i manage my it so far yeah i've had that in the past like well i just do like i just cut water but now i He's a nutritionist, ex-fighter. And I think he's just a little more natural. What have you heard?

50:59 I don't like to play with any of that. I have no idea what his system is. from food you take them in pill form and they can without a doubt improve your performance okay grow it on caterpillars it's really kind of freaking freaky. Yeah, but so this is a natural. But then you get things like creatine, which is also kind of natural, but you're taking it in forms where you would never get it from meat.

53:19 I don't really take too many supplements. No? Yeah. All the time. I haven't had a problem with it. and, like, he'll balance it for your work heard of and he's talking fast and he's a smart guy he's one of those dudes you have to ask him like three Is he strong on that? from like avocado or coconut oil avocado yeah coconut oil is another one there's the nuts again

56:57 with that or something i mean i don't know what the exact mechanism is but there's flaxseed oil had a problem and does this guy georgie measure all this stuff out for you as well and um yeah and he'll be like, go get these blood works done. Really? So when you're rehydrating, That's hilarious. yeah yeah it sucks i used to date this girl who couldn't even watch someone

59:28 strange so i have to like get on my phone like this i have to lay down like it's a whole process Oh, okay. Yeah, it's true. Out of nowhere. Yeah. Maybe now. a lot of good guys. whatever that is that place go to yeah maybe they help you get to that zone david loazo i think did it too well loazo had some real problems right anxiety yeah yeah and Yeah, that was a war.

1:03:24 When George used it, was it post the Matt Serra fight? I mean, I was amazed that he was willing to work out with me. Yeah, he's very optimistic in that sense. Yeah. And there's one dude who knows how to rub on your fucking chest and turn you into a superman. yeah i'm a witch doctor i'm the witch doctor like he's just a fucking lunatic i don't i don't know

1:05:58 back of my head. essentially he was saying yeah in a roundabout sort of a way was that if you believe in what mike goldberg one time we were in vegas and he had a couple of drinks and he's telling me how amazing and then like, you know, Okay, now resist me. powerful it's insane it's amazing it is amazing that some people... The power of belief is something to be said.

1:08:52 i i think about like all different kinds of things like that when i'm daydreaming i find it helps me everybody was so impressed with for throughout his career was fedor because he just dead face too go ahead it's right through that door okay goddamn athletes and their small bladders It's Bill Burr, Chris D'alia brian callan ian edwards tony hinchcliffe and me i do it every year uh every year i do a night before thanksgiving because i'm almost always

1:11:57 think i wasn't doing as much stand-up while i was doing it and um for whatever reason you know a lot how beneficial was it for you as a young guy Not only let me train, but, you know, he took me around Montreal, like they were worried about bringing guys in, I think it's, they don't see the things that I got to see and that I appreciate. Life's not about money.

1:14:43 Are you? And just be what? You're a fucking psycho. But that's, that's the thing that I've been, thing I've been trying to overcome. Like helicopter rescue far? to live with parents that moved moved away and stuff so i prefer to be out in nature well you dad a bow for his 50th birthday oh really yeah no kidding yeah that's cool what kind um i forget

1:17:25 and then you have to use the sight because bows have a sight on them, Nice. The place is called Big Country Outfitters, and it's in the mid, northern mid B.C. crazy he's saying 900 pounds is not that big but we saw one we saw one that was like fucking and they look out the window there's like 20 wolves ripping a cow apart yeah that happens they um wolves aren't bad though but there's just a lot of them right now in bc

1:20:05 A hundred wolves strong Where Set it up you know like what is the issue is it too much noise too. Yeah. I just prefer to be with, like, trees and lakes and less, like, craziness and honking Yeah, I always find it weird that some people love it. Like, do you meditate? Have you ever fucked around with the sensory deprivation tank no but i was texting you i want to do that man

1:22:12 how to relax but going in it is like a normal everyday thing it's like okay i'm going in the tank now and i tell my Like, I do all my best writing when everyone's asleep. tank who's yelling at who who did what you know yeah that would that would suck yeah so it's it's like why do you have to hear from me like how is this not like a huge part of so many people's

1:24:53 Okay, awesome. Yeah, I'm down here until like the 4th. I don't know. the work yeah yeah if i have to pay him no problem with that what about muay thai are you Yeah, he did. And this dude would just impale people with his front leg side kick. really fucking interesting addition to uh to the ufc yeah yeah he's awesome i've trained with him oh really it's like a weird like they were gonna break yeah it was a weird sort of it when you know

1:28:56 been a few guys like that yeah that's stupid that doesn't make any sense to me yeah like it's a mess And World Combat League used something like that. Yeah, and now you're seeing Glory on Spike spike which i think is pretty interesting too you get you know, uses everything. fights for them like real high level thai guys right and they're using everything it's like a

1:31:43 He was combining it all together in perfect harmony. And no elbows, which is another thing that i think is But almost everything I do is Faraz. can pretty much tell that he's also obviously a very smart guy yeah you know yeah he's got a degree Maybe if the right guy came along or something, the right thing. that's pretty much how i i operate my life my brother laughs at me all the time because i just

1:34:17 My girlfriend, she's, yeah, she's a little bit different from me in that, but it kind So you came out here to compete and said, fuck it, I'm just going to stay. yeah because i would think Well, there's that fine line between where you were because you got out of it. Mine was like, But that one, Yeah. yeah i can't believe it was allowed well it, it's strange medically, too, because it just shows you how...

1:36:58 It's like... They could test your natural testosterone. But the most recent one, when he got suspended for two years, he got popped for EPO. The testing could be better, in my opinion, though. They fucking essentially put it in a a suitcase handcuff themselves to it It was good for the sport, I think. everyone right i mean i constantly get uh messages on twitter like oh you're because you have back

1:40:22 Fake experts. Yeah, ignorance. that people are using it. He was 25. You take steroids, and then you get off of them. Yeah, that's unfortunate because, you know, Because naturally i'm not like maybe picking them up, slamming them or something. have i have to be yeah but you have a but you have knockout power though i mean you yeah you that I read his Twitter once.

1:43:29 I guess. a specific strategy that you use for a guy like that, So I like to react. I didn't watch JT. That's fascinating. no i just kind of you know i learn one technique at a time and i piece it together Well, that's why I'm surprised that you wouldn't like i'm not a believer in footage Yeah, exactly. Yeah. when you watch a live ufc fight and you watch some chaotic wild fucking fight it's just the

1:47:51 Yes, yeah. And then you're seeing, like, you know, guys like TJ Dillashaw time when i fought carlos i was just like i have one direction it's straightforward i'm not gonna like this last post-fight interview, that everybody does. like what do you think about that you do you pretty much and trying to be something they're not it's the worst right yeah it's way better to do what you're

1:51:14 He's a freaky cat in a lot of ways. against a big fighter, Four fights. Yeah. versus Frankie Edgar. and he's, see that pace from the moment he comes in he runs to the fucking octagon and he's just he's in that Page after page after page of notes. Which is crazy. He's a beast. He wouldn't go down. motherfucker he was a tank at 155 yeah and then this desire to go down to featherweight

1:55:14 But when you see him, two losses in a row, both kind of freaky. hardest fight at that weight harder than than uh and he overcame it it was a difficult fight though Yes. Which you never amateur wrestling i'll watch i'll watch karate point tournaments because i think there's something Yeah, blitzing is a huge factor in MMA. make the transition over to MMA that have that

1:58:19 Whereas the karate guys, it's also the stamina It's just I think that, do you guys ever incorporate that in training? type you know will like get will break things down during this period this period would be but less explosive and intensive, you know, box 250 degrees below zero yeah you put a face mask on your mouse did you yeah i did this for my last fight really uh yeah they um at this

2:01:04 going every day. It's amazing. it's fucking dying yeah you're going 250 degrees below zero for three minutes yeah your body's like oh we're fucked this is and your body tries to preserve itself by pulling all RegenerKeen thing is all about I'm sure you've heard of that that's like what but it was like I couldn't like walk on it for how long pretty much the whole

2:03:55 a part of the game though i mean it seems like you just have to push through yeah and and a lot of is that what it was yeah restricted certain things but i was still able to fight now when you have George got big into gymnastics. Doesn't? cardio and heart rate yeah i mean because efficiency is huge right and when you're Yeah. Oh, yeah? you're gonna move up to 185 yeah not because I have to I've I've talked about it before it's not

2:07:58 So I'll probably, if I can, if I can fight enough in the year, Yeah, but who knows at what point I'll do that. fights? Yeah, who knows? Really? Yeah. So you're just a free spirit, just going with the flow and Yeah, I have a lot of drive, for sure. war all the strategy stuff i thought was really interesting but it really is a lot of it is about Is this fantasy?

2:11:00 Oh, yeah, he killed everybody. such a fucking unbelievably intense and stressful scenario yeah that he was all about balancing out I just got into that. Yeah, Princeton area. did you get anything we got a rabbit that's it yeah is that the first time you've hunted uh as an adult yeah as a kid my year and uh put it on social media and everybody got angry at him did he eat it on the bear yeah

2:13:55 So you've got to educate themselves before. treating those animals like it's insane what's also the getting upset at someone for hunting when you're Because when you tell people that you're a fighter, they probably assume you're some thuggish asshole. Right. Go to school. like the gracies and the guys in the first ufcs and you know randy tito all these guys man dan

2:16:53 for that guy. Yeah, 20 years. back in the day like my old kickboxing coach and stuff like just just knee him in the head yeah I'm going to show you Alistair Overeem versus Ben Rothwell. No, I'm not really into it. But you see Carlos Condit likes to do it a lot. you know I do it the heel you know you just come up on that side with oh I see out and whack oh my god there's some amazing photos of him doing that online that's a classic

2:20:31 That's what we used to call it in Taekwondo. Yeah. George was also great at utilizing the momentum that he got up into being a champ and just uh well yeah i think it i think he still has it in him though though. I think he does, too, but that's what I worry about. I hate seeing a guy stay too long. Well, it certainly could be interesting. Or to sponsor him, rather.

2:23:26 no return is that something that ever comes into your mind no doesn't bother me but when you see If I fought like I did Right. were hurt in a modern fight yeah yeah i was okay though you know i wasn't uh i i i was definitely something weird to equilibrium right yeah yeah if you if you look at um my knockout against uh and they have to have a guy hold them up.

2:26:26 Yeah, he says it's hard for him to get there. a little bit but um his uppercuts and his movement after that cool well he's a very john jones how he Yeah. How? right you're right i did see him in between fights he was massive i think he's just incredibly disciplined and dieting and starving himself there's a certain point in time, And at light heavyweight,

2:29:07 There's a lot of guys doing it, man. That's funny, huh? There always is, you know. I don't know. Her setups and the way she's able to adjust when opponents try to roll out of her moves, Do you know who he is? with a lot of Russian nationals up there I can't, I'm never able to say his last name. I think he's helped George a lot. guys like you man that are out there you're on the edge you know you're you're constantly pushing it

2:32:29 No worries. Is there some dude out there pretending to be you? Is there anybody? Oh, yeah. It's MAC. Yeah, you don't want some dude out there faking it. Is there some dude out there pretending to be you? We've talked about this on the podcast before, but there's a great story. So my old phone number went to this random guy in Kelowna Who was it that you fought?

2:34:14 So I said it was classic. choose here's some songs you Yeah. let's see it so he take this phone out and he's like look he said it right here i'm like Ask him to find it. Yeah. Well, you're waiting for the title fight. Yeah. your next fight scheduled? You're waiting for the title fight. To be decided. Yeah. Love watching you fight. Bye-bye.