The guest
Brendan Schaub: Former UFC heavyweight turned comedian, podcaster, and car-show host. Longtime Rogan friend now hosting an automotive series, 'Gearheads Gone Wild,' on Tubi.
What this episode covers
The episode opens with a long, detailed MMA breakdown centered on Sean Strickland's controversial decision win over Khamzat Chimaev, Joshua Van's rise, weight-cutting dangers, and the greatness debate (Jon Jones, Ilia Topuria, Islam-era contenders). It pivots into the business of fighting: the UFC's $7.7B Paramount deal, the 18% fighter revenue share, and whether fighters could ever collectively negotiate more. The back half turns into an extended car-enthusiast conversation about air-cooled Porsches, restomods, manual transmissions, American muscle (Corvette ZR1X, Cadillac Blackwing, Dodge Hellcats), and Joe's Gunther Werks Porsche. Throughout, the two riff on social media addiction, streaming-number inflation, bots and astroturfing, gambling, parenting youth athletes, and assassination-attempt conspiracy polling.
Recommended on this episode
MediaRecommended
Mob Land
Paramount
“I love Mob Land”
“I love Mob Land. I love Land Land Man. Yeah, Mob Land is [ __ ] great. You ever watch that?”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
Landman
Taylor Sheridan
“I love ... Land Man”
“I love Mob Land. I love Land Land Man... It's a great show. Uh, but Paramount has awesome shows.”— Joe Rogan
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The Art of Violence
Justin Gaethje
“awesome series”
“Justin has an awesome series, uh the Art of Violence, I think it's called. It's on, uh YouTube, and it's all talking about him preparing.”— Joe Rogan
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Top Gear
BBC
“Top Gear is great. Great channel”
“Oh, it's Top Gear. Top Gear is great. Great channel. Yes.”— Brendan Schaub
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Gunther Works Porsche
Gunther Werks
“I stare at it sometimes. I sit in the garage and look at it”
“you got one of those Por I think it's your Gunther Porsche... I do. I stare at it sometimes. I sit in the garage and look at it.”— Joe Rogan
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Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
Cadillac
“what I would get is the Cadillac. The CT5V Black Wing”
“If I didn't have a Tesla and I have a sedan, what I would get is the Cadillac. The CT5V Black Wing. Let's preach. And you can get a manual.”— Joe Rogan
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Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X
Chevrolet
“the most capable car I've ever driven by far”
“The ZR1X is on another planet. It's uh it's a spaceship. I mean, it's the most capable car I've ever driven by far.”— Joe Rogan
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Shelby Super Snake (Ford Mustang)
Shelby American
“I love that car ... it's perfect”
“I love that car cuz it's a modern muscle car. Driving it is like driving an old school muscle car, but it's all modern and it's perfect.”— Joe Rogan
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Dodge Durango Hellcat
Dodge
“They're awesome, Jamie. And the red the red interior. It's [ __ ] awesome”
“you could just say, Fuck all that noise. And get a Hellcat Durango cuz Stalantis does Hellcat's back, baby.”— Brendan Schaub
ProductRecommended
Hennessey Performance vehicles
Hennessey Performance Engineering
“Hennessy does dope [ __ ] dude”
“Hennessy does dope [ __ ] dude. They do dope Mustangs. They do dope Cadillacs. They take the Blackwing”— Brendan Schaub
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Tesla Model S Plaid
Tesla
“I drive it all the time. I love it”
“I'm really bummed out that Tesla canled the Model S... I drive it all the time. I love it. with all the cars you have.”— Joe Rogan
ProductRecommended
Tremec six-speed manual transmission (C8 Corvette)
Tremec
“they make the best transmissions”
“Because Tremik made uh the transmission on my super they make the best transmissions.”— Joe Rogan
ProductRecommended
BMW E46 M3
BMW
“That is literally a perfect car. That's a great car”
“That is literally a perfect car. That's a great car... it has a supercharger on it... It's just fun. you feel it while you're driving it.”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
ProductReferenced
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Porsche
“It's not even [ __ ] close... And the GT3 RS is a fast car. Fast [ __ ] car.”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Ram 2500 (Diesel R / Banks build)
Ram (Stellantis)
“I got that AV Ram and I linked with Diesel R. And we're doing a Ry's transmission. I got a freaking stealth bigger turbo on there.”— Brendan Schaub
ProductReferenced
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Jeep
“Trackhawks are great, dude. There's not that many of them. Yeah. And people are after them.”— Brendan Schaub
Big reveals from this episode
- Joe explains the abnormal Buckley betting movement that prompted the UFC to cap online bets and call Sean Brady to confirm he wasn't injured.
- Both argue Chimaev's brutal ~22kg/40lb+ weight cut nearly shut his body down and caused him to coast on his back mid-fight.
- Joe calls weight-cutting 'the dumbest thing we do in the sport,' saying fighters pretend to weigh a class they don't.
- Joe says if he ran the UFC he'd treat it 'like a communist' and pay fighters more, admitting shareholders would fire him.
- Schaub floats a fighter-strike idea: refuse to fight after the Paramount deal until the 18% share rises toward 30%.
- Joe reveals Netflix passed on the UFC because it only wanted big events, not the ~30 smaller Fight Nights.
- Joe admits he sits in his garage just to stare at his all-carbon Gunther Werks Porsche.
- Joe says he's bummed Tesla cancelled the Model S, which he drives and loves despite owning many cars.
Worth remembering
- Ketone IQ came out of a $6 million US military human-performance research program (sponsor segment).
- They argue the Francis Ngannou fight permanently changed Stipe Miocic's chin/durability.
- Armen Sarukyan reportedly just calls his billionaire dad to buy a $500K car, yet still trains like a fanatic.
- At the mid-1960s peak, 40-45% of US adults smoked (~80-90 million people), now around 11-12%.
- Tubi has surpassed 100 million monthly active users as a free ad-supported service.
- Tremec built a six-speed manual that fits the C8 Corvette, but GM won't bless it for production.
- Gas hit roughly $7.90-$8.40 a gallon in LA, driven largely by the Iran war and global crude prices.
- A poll cited says nearly one-third (30%) of Americans believe at least one assassination attempt on Trump was staged; only 38% believe all three were authentic.
- Joe notes Trump moved to get rid of mandatory auto engine stop-start, which both say just wears out the starter.
- Schaub says heavy electric cars chew through tires fast, citing Model S tires worn to the wire at ~10,000 miles.
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