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July 20, 2011 - The Joe Rogan Experience
03:08:14
JRE MMA Show #123 with BJ Penn
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bj penn
01:28:32
j
joe rogan
01:35:21
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b-real
00:02
j
jamie vernon
00:20
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Speaker Time Text
unidentified
Joe Rogan Podcast, check it out!
The Joe Rogan Experience.
Train by day, Joe Rogan Podcast by night, all day.
joe rogan
Ladies and gentlemen, the future governor of Hawaii, BJ Penn!
bj penn
What's going on, Joel?
joe rogan
What's happening, brother?
Good to see you.
bj penn
Good to see you, man.
joe rogan
You're dedicated to this man.
unidentified
Yes.
joe rogan
I need a shirt.
bj penn
You got it.
joe rogan
I need one.
bj penn
We got him here.
joe rogan
I need to wear a pen for governor.
bj penn
Thank you.
joe rogan
If I wear it in Hawaii, will I get mugged?
Will they attack me and duct tape me and throw me in the back of a police van?
bj penn
They'll cheer you on and then you gotta tell them, are you guys registered?
joe rogan
How is it going?
First of all, what made you decide?
It was the COVID lockdowns, right, that made you decide?
bj penn
You know what?
People ask me, they go, would you be running for office if this pandemic didn't happen?
And I tell them all the same thing.
I say, this is the straw that broke the camel's back.
I've always noticed the problems here with the economy, how anti-business they are, how...
Since I was in high school, we've always been in last place, our education.
joe rogan
When you say anti-business, how are they anti-business?
bj penn
As far as with the regulations, it takes so long.
You go to the planning department and they hold you up for another eight months.
The taxes are so high, we got the highest state income tax.
joe rogan
What is the state income tax in Hawaii?
bj penn
I don't got the exact number right now, but we talk about that often.
joe rogan
Well, I think California is like 13-something, 13-plus percent.
There's even talk there about raising it up.
It's a shame that you feel that everything is that bad, that you feel called to do it, but...
I know you and I know you wouldn't do this unless you really felt like there was a need for change.
You're not a guy that like wants to be running the government.
You're a guy who just doesn't want to be fucked with and pushed around and when you see what you consider your people, your friends, your family, your neighbors, Getting their businesses fucked over and getting locked out of work and having regulations put in place to make it difficult to start a business in the first place.
So what would you do different in terms of what are they doing?
Are you saying planning and regulations?
What is that about?
Is that about concerns for the environment because you're on an island?
What is that?
bj penn
I don't know why they're just so slow.
They're just so slow with that stuff.
joe rogan
Do you think it's just inefficient or you think maybe they're overwhelmed?
What do you think it is?
bj penn
I think inefficient.
I see this happen a lot when they start regulating something.
Here we were doing MMA in Hawaii.
You remember how big MMA got?
joe rogan
Rumble on the Rock, son.
I remember you put on your own promotion.
That was fantastic.
bj penn
Thank you.
joe rogan
Come on, man.
In the early days of MMA, Rumble on the Rock was classic.
bj penn
That was something.
joe rogan
You had some fucking great fights.
bj penn
We did, we did.
We had Tank Abbott, we had everybody in there.
joe rogan
You had great fights.
As far as, like, a lot of times, unfortunately, with, like, smaller promotions, when they try to branch off away from the UFC, they can't get top-tier talent.
You know, you get guys that are on the way out, or you get guys that maybe couldn't compete with the best of the best.
But Rumble on the Rock was this shit, dude!
bj penn
It was.
joe rogan
How many did you do?
You did two?
bj penn
No, we had a bunch of Rumble on the Rocks, actually.
unidentified
How many did you do?
bj penn
We must have did.
I think we had five or six of them.
But you know what happened?
Elite XC came in, bought everybody up, except for King of the Cage.
They didn't sell.
And then they went down and they crashed everybody's car.
It was almost like it was a...
Let's send these guys in to buy everybody and crash everybody.
joe rogan
Well, I think, BJ, it's just people saw money in it.
Because I remember those days.
I remember people asking me questions.
There was a lot of people asking questions.
unidentified
How come it's only the UFC? Why aren't there other organizations?
joe rogan
Everybody thought it was easy, and then Elite XC came along, and they had some fun fights, right?
bj penn
They did have some fun fights.
I really enjoyed that time.
But anyway, a guy shows up and he says, Hey BJ, I'm here from the state.
We're here to regulate you guys.
And I'm thinking, after we got our faces smashed in for the last 20 years, Now you show up.
Now it looks like there's a little money here.
Now you guys show up.
And then they just tanked the whole thing, tried to do all these.
You couldn't even give water to the amateur fighters or you were paying them.
unidentified
What?
bj penn
Yeah, that's just how strict they got.
Well, what's Ronald Reagan's best line?
Me and Lorenzo talked about it.
Ronald Reagan's best line.
The nine most terrifying words in the English language.
I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
joe rogan
Yeah.
So, how do they stop you from giving water to amateur fighters?
Explain that.
bj penn
Right?
They just walk in and they just said, you guys can't have this.
You guys can't be giving.
These are amateurs.
You guys can't give them anything.
joe rogan
You can't even give them water?
bj penn
Bottles of water.
You could even have that in the back.
That's how strict.
I think they just go...
joe rogan
So they have to bring their own water?
Do the fighters have to carry in their own water personally?
bj penn
Back then, these were just examples of how...
Remember how big the Super Brawl was?
Remember how big Egan was fighting?
Jason Miller, Fallen Eagle, Robbie Lawler, Trigg, everybody.
joe rogan
Wasn't that where Vitor got his debut as well?
bj penn
That too, right?
Against John Hess.
And Hess was pretty tough, actually.
joe rogan
Yeah, he had his own system, right?
unidentified
Like SAFTA. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
The early days, Vijay.
bj penn
The early days.
joe rogan
The early days.
bj penn
Yep, the early days.
Me and you, we know about, right?
We know some history.
You can't get far in martial arts, or I say many things, if you don't know the history of...
The whole thing?
joe rogan
No, but it's really been like an honor to be there early and to get to see it and see where it is now.
For me, as like a fan, it's like, I'm like a little kid, man.
Every week when the UFC's around, I'm like, oh shit.
bj penn
It is.
joe rogan
It's going down.
bj penn
I still love it.
Yes, it is.
joe rogan
Oh my god, it's still the most exciting sport, you know?
bj penn
No doubt.
joe rogan
Are you done?
Are you done fighting 100%?
unidentified
I'm done.
joe rogan
You're done?
bj penn
I'm done 100%.
And it was hard for me to get out after being in there for 20 years.
I mean, that's your identity.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
You know?
And then I just kind of got into trying to be a father, you know?
And I was doing that thing, trying to be around more.
And then all this stuff happened and I find myself in here.
But I do think all the blood, all the tears, all the sweat, all the ups and downs, all the good media, all the bad media, all of that was to prepare me For, you know, for this, kind of, you know, I see, like, everything that they're going to throw at me, I can kind of see, like, well, I could have been through that.
joe rogan
Yeah.
Yeah, the mental warfare.
The mental warfare that a fighter has to go through.
I mean, my God, there's nothing like it in all sports.
bj penn
And, you know, when I first decided to get into this, I was like, you know...
I was just retired, so I wasn't trying to keep my everything perfect in public.
I was just a guy trying to come off of a 20-year journey of being the baddest man on the planet.
So it was tough.
It was really tough to get over, you know, that identity.
So as time went, you know, I was just living my life, some more ups and downs.
I say, you know, sometimes I was judged fairly, other times I wasn't, you know.
joe rogan
Well, BJ, when you were on top, you were one of the baddest motherfuckers on earth.
You really were.
You were a guy who went all the way up to heavyweight to fight Lyoto Machida.
I mean, I remember that fight.
I mean, you did some wild shit, dude.
And you were strangling a lot of fucking people, man.
And for jujitsu guys, like for all my jujitsu guys, you were the fucking man.
Because you were a smaller guy who choked out Matt Hughes.
You know, who was so fucking good at the time, man.
And Matt Hughes was a tank.
When you got his back and choked him, everybody was like, oh shit!
bj penn
Jujitsu's back.
joe rogan
People forgot.
They forgot those times PJ and you know there was a run like the Shawn Shirk days, Diego Sanchez days.
You were a scary motherfucker dude.
You were a scary motherfucker.
You were tuned in.
When you were tuned in man you were something fierce.
I always tell people you have to judge a fighter by the heights they reached not where they fell afterwards and or or the up-and-coming fights.
You got to judge them by the heights that they reached.
A guy like Olivera.
He's a great example.
He's had some losses.
He's been knocked out.
But you gotta judge him by the height that he's at now.
100%.
You gotta be accurate.
And then maybe he can only sustain that for a few years.
Like Fedor could only sustain it for a few years at the tippity-top of performance.
But you gotta judge him from that.
bj penn
Yeah, it makes me sick when people judge him by their worst performances.
joe rogan
For you, your best performances were spectacular.
You had some crushing performances.
When you were training with Marinovich, and they got you in tip-top magoo shape, dude, you were terrifying when you had that crazy gas tank.
bj penn
Man, I loved it.
You know, one of the Marinovich...
Wait, what's...
What's Marv?
Yeah, well, Marv passed away.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
But Gary's at my house in Hawaii right now.
He's training some football teams or something, and he has to come down, and it's great to have...
joe rogan
How did that connection happen?
Because they basically changed the way you did strength and conditioning, right?
unidentified
Yes.
joe rogan
How did this introduction happen?
bj penn
They...
My brother met.
How did I run into them?
I forget exactly, but I think my brother introduced me to them, and they were just geniuses, man.
No matter how good you are, they were 50 years ahead.
I remember we were at UCLA or something, and they had a little cone pattern, and they had me run it to see my agility, and Marv said, well, that's too slow.
And the lady said, well, how do you know?
And he said, because I made it up.
LAUGHTER These guys were just ahead of everybody.
They were the guys with the NFL combine and everything was speed because he noticed that the strongest guys who had the strongest squat, the biggest bench press and all that, they had the lowest numbers on the field.
And then that's how we started to put in the agility, the speed, the movement, the reflexes and going back.
So they were really ahead of their time.
joe rogan
Yeah, it was wild to watch, man.
They looked like they were torturing you.
bj penn
You know what?
Looking back now, I see everybody and I look at them all.
Who eats the most at the buffet?
The hungriest one.
And that's the whole thing.
No matter what.
I'll look and I'll just be like...
Is he still hungry?
That's the only question, or does he still want to eat as much?
Because literally, a lot of these guys, they haven't ate filet mignon before, they haven't ate lobster, and they're still thinking about what that's going to taste like when they finally get the opportunity to buy that for their family.
joe rogan
Yeah, there's like a balance, right, of how long you can maintain that hunger.
bj penn
Yes.
joe rogan
How long can you maintain that ferocity?
unidentified
Yep.
bj penn
It has nothing to do with who's the best.
It's who wants it the most.
That's what it is.
And that's what I thought about.
I mean, I kind of knew that about martial arts.
I mean, you go in there and you'd be, right, as quick and as violent and as intimidating as possible.
When you get in there.
But believe me, I believe, just like me, even at my best, I'm like, what can I do to make the referee stop this?
How can I make the referee stop this thing?
Because you're nervous, right?
The hero and the coward, they're both scared.
But the hero's going to step forward.
joe rogan
Yeah, you were a wild motherfucker in your prime, brother.
You were a wild motherfucker.
You were fun to watch.
The Dean Thomas fight, there was a lot of fights that were like, holy shit.
bj penn
Nothing else mattered to me in my life at that time than being the toughest and most skilled.
Martial artists on the planet and just fighter.
I didn't consider myself a martial artist.
I just thought of myself as a fighter.
I'll beat you up.
joe rogan
You were certainly doing that, man.
And so when did you continue that kind of strength and conditioning routine or did you stop doing it after a while?
bj penn
People start to fall apart and different ideas and coaches start to fight with each other and you know and That's what happened with that stuff.
Marv kind of went his own way.
Because as you get six weeks out from the fight, your boxing coach is screaming, he's got to spar!
He's got to spar!
And then the other guy's like, no, this is enough!
And they start going and then it's...
As a reaction on you.
joe rogan
Let's explain it to everybody because this is the two different philosophies.
The Marinovichs believe that you already know how to fight.
All you need to do is just get in ridiculous condition.
And so they were just gonna put you through that and what did you do like light drills other than that?
Like hitting pads?
Like what kind of stuff did you do?
But no sparring, right?
bj penn
Maybe not even pads.
Just different things, speed, a lot of good stuff.
We'd do ladders.
We would do that water workout stuff.
joe rogan
And they thought that that was more important than anything.
bj penn
Yes, and it was very important.
I will never say that it wasn't, you know?
And then on the other side, people say, do you coach?
Do you train?
I say, no.
But if I did, I'll tell you what I would do.
I would show up to the gym.
I'd tell another coach that had his fighter, and I would say, hey, coach, can my boy get a couple rounds with your boy tomorrow?
And then I'd look at my guy and go, kick his ass tomorrow.
And then I'd leave him and make him go home and think about it all night.
Because the physical act of fighting, that ain't a fight.
It's the going home and thinking about it all night long.
Anybody can get into a fight real quick in school, but when they say, meet me at the park after and the whole school shows up, now that's the fight, you know?
joe rogan
Or I'll meet you in four months, you know, like for a UFC card.
bj penn
Isn't that amazing?
joe rogan
That's when it gets wild, right?
When you're planning these fights months out and everybody gets to know that it's coming.
bj penn
Yes.
But that's it.
Sleeping with that.
That's what it's all about.
Sleeping with it.
Controlling it.
Internalizing it.
joe rogan
That was one of the things that seemed to weigh heavy on Aldo when he was meeting up with Conor.
Particularly for the first fight.
For the first fight that Conor fought for the title when he knocked him out quick.
It seemed like Aldo was emotionally invested in In that fight because Conor talks so much shit for so long they promoted that thing for months and months right Conor was just Disrespectful grab his belt.
Nobody was ever like that with Aldo.
Everybody always was respectful of him.
He was dangerous Yep, I mean all doing it in his prime again in his prime.
He was a bad motherfucker Yep, then Chad Mendes knockout in Brazil Yes.
I mean, think of some of the Aldo's amazing.
The Uriah Faber fight.
bj penn
Amazing.
Yup.
joe rogan
Dude, Aldo in his prime was a fucking wizard.
Right?
bj penn
Yup.
And it's amazing that he has the hunger he has today.
Still fighting.
joe rogan
I know.
Well, he looks really good right now at 135. He looks really good.
bj penn
Yes, he does.
Yes, he does.
Proud of that guy.
joe rogan
Yeah, he doesn't look like he's lost anything in getting down to that weight.
It's just like he's doing it the right way.
The fucking scientists that can get people to do that now.
Those weight cutting scientists.
bj penn
They're amazing.
joe rogan
You know, those guys, they got it down to like every gram of salt you're going to take into your body and how much water and like...
bj penn
Right.
What is it?
Three...
Is it three...
A calorie of a carbohydrate holds...
They know exactly how much water each carbohydrate holds in your body.
joe rogan
When you hear those guys talk about weight cutting and they start breaking out notepads and writing down your exact body weight and how much you can take off, like...
bj penn
Well, you see all of that.
When they ask me about, what did you learn from MMA that you can bring into this governor thing, to this work?
And that's what I always say, because I don't know all the answers that I'll be asked, but I got a team of people who do, and that was MMA. We got our jiu-jitsu guy.
We got our boxing coach.
We got our kickboxing coach.
We got our strength and conditioning coach.
We got our...
Our nutritionist.
And that's what it's about, surrounding yourself with the best team.
I mean, you ask me, hey, when did you win that belt?
And I'll say, oh, we won the belt on this day.
Because it really is.
It's always a team.
And even you sitting here with the martial arts, when you think about it, you think about your sensei and the people who've helped you build your martial arts game.
joe rogan
Sure.
bj penn
It's a team.
joe rogan
Yeah, you can't do it by yourself.
It's impossible.
unidentified
Nope.
bj penn
I mean, you do get into arguments and you do say, hey, when the bell rings, everybody else is going to sit out.
I'm going to stand up.
But, you know, you do.
unidentified
Really?
bj penn
Because the team argues, you know?
joe rogan
Right.
bj penn
Everybody gets into it.
joe rogan
But you have to have someone teaching you.
There's no way you can learn.
I mean, even if you're learning off videotapes, someone teaches you.
bj penn
Yeah, everything I know I've been taught.
Yeah.
I'm not gonna say I made up anything, but maybe somebody didn't show me some stuff, but it's already been done.
joe rogan
But you added your own flavor to a lot of shit, and one of the things that you did early on that captured a lot of people was your dexterity of your legs.
They were like, oh, that's a big advantage, because you have crazy flexible legs, and your leg dexterity, your ability to move your legs is pretty extraordinary.
And when you would trap guys in your legs, you could see that to them, like, this was a new experience.
bj penn
I never knew about that until I did Jiu Jitsu.
I never knew I was flexible.
Never knew I was strong.
I was kind of just a skinnier kid is why.
So that's why I always say, they say, so what do you have to be?
Strong or flexible?
And I say, you need both.
Because you can't have your leg on your face and just have the guy push it.
You got to be able to lift him off of there.
I always say that you need to be strong and you need to be flexible.
One or the other, you're okay.
But when you got them both, you're dangerous.
joe rogan
You would do a lot of wild band stretches too, right?
You did stretches with resistance bands?
bj penn
I'd always stretch.
I mean, there's probably some old videos where I could throw my leg behind my head.
joe rogan
Yeah, without your hand, right?
unidentified
Without my hands.
bj penn
And I'd do both of them.
I mean, it wasn't a really cool thing to show people that you could do that, but I could do it.
joe rogan
It's cool for Jiu-Jitsu people.
Jiu-Jitsu people are the people that would be impressed by this.
unidentified
Like, look at this.
joe rogan
Here it is.
Watch this.
This is insane.
He just throws his leg behind his head without using his hands.
That's crazy.
People don't understand how hard that is to do.
That's so hard to do.
That's insanely hard to do.
bj penn
That's funny.
joe rogan
But your guard, because of that, was so dangerous.
Because you could do shit, and you could sweep people in ways that they didn't understand how you were using your leg so well.
bj penn
You know what?
I would always...
I've been in those positions where are you going to let him pass or are you going to do something about it?
You know what I mean?
You're right there.
You're in the open division and the guy's almost ready to pass your guard in the final and you're up by two points.
That's kind of like how when I was fighting Matt Hughes, I'd never wrestled.
I mean, I wrestled a little bit in junior college, but nothing like Matt Hughes.
We were jujitsu guys.
We always have that in our...
It's hard for us to become wrestlers, you know?
But everybody's like, how did you get so good at wrestling?
How did you stop Matthews from taking you down?
And I just said, I just decided one day I'm not going to let him take me down.
I just decided.
We're going to go out there.
And that's what it is.
And if I fall down real quick, I'm going to get back up.
You know, and it's just a decision.
joe rogan
Well, you always have bizarre balance.
There's a video of someone trying to take you down with a single and you're hopping around the ring with one leg and they just can't fucking take you down.
But it might be training footage.
It might be inside a cage.
bj penn
I think it's with Kenny Johnson because I was looking at that gif the other day and so he was trying to grab my back leg.
It's crazy.
That's crazy agility.
joe rogan
Your balance and your agility in your prime was fucking fantastic.
It was very unusual.
bj penn
That was getting ready for the Shirk fight.
He never really went for any takedowns, but I think he would have had a hard time.
joe rogan
The Shirk fight, was that before Marinovich?
bj penn
Yes, that was before Marinovich.
That was just me and Jason Perillo and my old coach, Rudy Valentino.
I don't know if you remember him.
He had the mustache.
He'd walk out with me a lot.
joe rogan
What were you doing for strength and conditioning back then?
bj penn
Doing some body, I guess just lifting like bodybuilder stuff.
joe rogan
Oh really?
bj penn
Yeah.
Just lifting bodybuilder stuff and training a lot though.
joe rogan
So it was just mostly just martial arts training.
unidentified
Yeah.
bj penn
And I was training with Matt Linlin a lot.
I was with Team Quest a lot.
We were kind of going back and forth.
joe rogan
Because that was a destructive performance too.
And Sean Shirk, like people forget, that guy was a beast back then.
bj penn
He was a beast.
unidentified
He was.
joe rogan
He was a fucking tank.
bj penn
He was.
joe rogan
Holy shit.
bj penn
He was.
I hope that guy's doing great now.
joe rogan
Me too.
I haven't talked to him in forever.
That guy was built like a superhero.
bj penn
Yeah, he was.
joe rogan
He had crazy cardio too.
Remember those bananas workouts that he used to do?
bj penn
Yeah, he's the one who kind of made up a lot of them.
Like, right?
joe rogan
And you know, before him, Rich Franklin.
bj penn
Really?
joe rogan
Rich Franklin did a lot of crazy shit.
bj penn
Wow, so that's kind of...
I could see that kind of going that direction.
I could see...
You know what?
They built...
Today's workouts are kind of built around what they do.
I remember CrossFit kind of came out and then they did that fight gone bad for me.
That was amazing that I was there when the CrossFit started.
Just so happened up in Santa Cruz.
They were living out of their garage and they put it together and him and his wife did so well.
They did so well that they're not together and they're still good friends.
That's how well they did.
joe rogan
But all that functional fitness stuff came about.
And that's when Steve Maxwell was doing a lot of training.
He was training Diego at the time.
unidentified
Yup.
bj penn
This is what everybody does today.
joe rogan
Yeah, Shawn Shirk workouts.
Yeah, this was...
Yeah, back in the day, Shawn Shirk was doing all this crazy rope work shit and plyometrics and all kinds of wild strength and conditioning.
And he was known for having this spectacular gas tank.
bj penn
Who was that guy with him?
That guy must be one of the guys who figured this stuff out.
joe rogan
Yeah, I mean they had it all broke down and you know and now like basically every camp has something like this.
They just had a thing on Gilbert before he fought Hamzat and he was doing a very similar type of you know you do one station here on a bike one station here you're picking up and slamming a heavy bag over and over again and they're just going through station to station just like this.
bj penn
I was wondering I didn't get to watch the exact whole fight, but I heard Hamzat and Gilbert was a great fight.
It was insane.
I was waiting for Hamzat to get in there with one of the greatest fighters and I heard it was just amazing.
Hamzat did what he was supposed to do.
He stepped up and he fought.
And Gilbert, of course, we know he's going to fight and he can knock you out too.
Amazing.
Thank both of those guys for putting that on for us.
joe rogan
Yeah, it was fucking incredible.
And, you know, it's not a fight that a lot of guys were jumping to take, but Gilbert will fight anybody.
Gilbert will fight anybody.
bj penn
Without a doubt.
joe rogan
And that was a close fucking fight.
I mean, that was a close fight.
Gilbert had him fucking hurt.
bj penn
Really?
joe rogan
He hit him with a big right hand.
bj penn
When was that?
Because I didn't see the fight.
Was that middle fight?
I don't know.
joe rogan
I don't remember if that was the second or the third.
bj penn
But he heard him, huh?
joe rogan
I think it was the second where he heard him.
Yeah, he dropped him.
bj penn
Wow.
joe rogan
And they were in a wild scramble.
That dude's a dog.
Hamzat is a dog.
unidentified
Right?
joe rogan
He gets clipped.
He's just on you.
Even Hurt, he dove on a double and took Gilbert down.
I mean, he's an animal.
bj penn
Right?
And to not have that much experience in the big And to beat a guy like Gilbert, I mean, that's saying something.
joe rogan
It's saying something.
It was such a close fight.
Such a close fight.
There's a lot of people that thought that Gilbert could have got the decision.
It was that close.
But it was an incredible performance.
bj penn
It was an honor to sit there and watch, I'm sure.
unidentified
For sure.
joe rogan
It was wild.
I mean, Gilbert's something.
And I think he keeps getting better, too.
I think he's better than he was before.
He looked fantastic in that fight.
bj penn
Good for him.
Good for him.
joe rogan
And Hamzat's the truth though.
That guy's the truth.
bj penn
That's an amazing division right now.
You got Hamzat, you got Gilbert, you got Kobe.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
You got Masvidal, you got Usman.
You got all these guys.
joe rogan
Yeah.
And damn, there's this other Russian gentleman who's undefeated who's fighting soon.
He's fighting Neil Magny.
God, I cannot pronounce his name.
bj penn
Magny's a tough guy, too.
joe rogan
Magny's a very tough guy.
bj penn
And you got Leon Edwards, right?
joe rogan
Alright.
I always fuck this guy's name up because I've never called his fight.
Or maybe I did call one of his fights.
Shavkat Rachmanov.
I've been paying a lot of attention to his fights lately.
Google some of his highlights.
He's got like a karate style.
bj penn
Okay, I remember seeing this Mongolian with the hat, the Khabib hat.
joe rogan
You know, you think of a guy like that, you think of a wrestler, but this guy, although he is absolutely a good grappler, his kicks are fucking insane.
bj penn
And he can wrestle too, huh?
joe rogan
He can wrestle too.
But as a striker is where he really shines.
He throws nasty kicks.
Kicks to the body.
Just a really good striker.
Tough as fuck.
And undefeated.
But he's a guy that's not getting a lot of hype for whatever reason, but I think he's someone to keep an eye on.
bj penn
It's the first time I've ever saw him, yeah.
joe rogan
He's good.
See, he's got submissions, no doubt.
I mean, he's good at everything.
bj penn
I wish I had a better guillotine.
How's your guillotine?
You got a good guillotine?
joe rogan
It's okay.
Yeah, but this guy's very talented.
Very talented.
And undefeated.
And again, I think he said on his Instagram that he's fighting Neil Magny.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
Is that what it says?
June 25th.
So that's a big fight.
That's a big fight for me because I want to see.
It's the same thing with Gilbert and Hamzat.
I wanted to see that fight.
I was like, okay, let's see what happens now.
And this is one of those, let's see what happens now because Neil Magny is the real fucking deal.
That's a great fight.
Neil Magny will test you.
That guy's got cardio for days.
Who puts up a better pace than Neil Magny?
There's no breaks in a Neil Magny fight.
bj penn
That's true.
joe rogan
That dude has gas.
That dude has gas.
bj penn
And he'll fight anyone.
He ain't afraid of nobody.
joe rogan
Fight anyone.
And he rarely gets hurt.
He's so talented and long.
He's so good at using that distance and that pace that he puts on people.
He just stays on you.
Stays on you.
bj penn
Yup.
joe rogan
He's nasty.
So that's going to be a real good fight.
bj penn
We've been around some of the greatest athletes Ever.
joe rogan
For sure.
bj penn
Right?
And tough guys, too.
And just egos, attitudes, humbleness, humility, we've seen a lot.
joe rogan
We've seen the rise and fall of people, too.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
That's the thing.
bj penn
We've seen the hunger, and when you get full, you just wait.
joe rogan
Yeah.
And then there's some guys who just, for whatever reason, can sustain for a long time.
Like Jim Miller.
Jim Miller going strong.
bj penn
Even Clay Guida going strong.
Right?
joe rogan
Going strong.
bj penn
How is that possible?
joe rogan
I mean, he got caught, but I mean, so what?
That dude's nasty.
That dude he fought is nasty.
He just got caught in a submission.
But, yeah, how does he keep that hunger?
Because he just won his last fight by submission, choked out a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
bj penn
One of my best buddies, Leo Santos.
joe rogan
Dude, he's been doing it forever.
Clay Gleason has been doing it forever, but he still loves it.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
What keeps those guys going?
Some guys, like Randy.
Randy was going deep into his 40s.
bj penn
What is the hunger for Clay, you ask?
He just loves it.
Some guys just love it.
joe rogan
He's just an animal.
bj penn
You don't need hunger.
Some guys don't need hunger to go to the buffet.
They just walk right in.
joe rogan
They just want to eat all the time.
Yeah, I don't know.
Some guys just love it and they can endure.
It's very interesting.
And for a fighter, one of the most difficult decisions I would imagine is knowing when to get out.
bj penn
I had the hardest time, you know?
I had the hardest time.
I saved my money, you know, I did businesses, and I just had the hardest time walking away from that attention, you know, from the attention of the toughest man in the world attention.
joe rogan
Right.
bj penn
You know, it's not from the TV. It's, hey, I want to be the toughest.
And when you are a champion, and Matt Hughes told me about this, he said...
You can't wait to get rid of that belt, because you can't wait.
But as soon as it's gone, you're like, hey, where is it?
Wait, wait, I'm the toughest guy in the world to get.
Where is it?
And you're looking, you know, and everybody's had to deal with it.
I'm Anderson, he, you know, man.
joe rogan
Anderson is another guy that I say, you gotta judge him by his prime.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
You gotta judge him by those few years when he was a wizard.
bj penn
How many defenses was it?
joe rogan
He was a magician.
unidentified
Right?
bj penn
How many defenses?
joe rogan
And it was the way he was doing it.
Like the Vitor one with the front kick to the face.
bj penn
And the Forrest one.
I'm in the back.
joe rogan
Oh my god.
bj penn
With all my adrenaline going, trying to get ready to go fight Florian.
And here comes...
He walks out, and in one minute, I felt like a minute, Anderson starts walking back.
He just knocked out Forrest Griffin, and he goes, BJ, it's your turn, let's go!
Just like, shaking my head.
This guy's crazy.
joe rogan
You remember when he knocked out James Irvin?
He stepped up in weight?
bj penn
Yup.
What was it?
Off the kick or something?
joe rogan
Oh my god.
He was smashing people.
bj penn
And Irvin was a beast.
joe rogan
He was a beast.
And that guy looked like a superhero.
Remember how jacked that guy was?
Anderson in that era would not be denied.
That Anderson had fought Chris Lieben.
For those years, Anderson was scary.
The Rich Franklin fights.
bj penn
Who's gonna be able to compete with, I mean, put it all together and stay, right?
joe rogan
And he was just so clever on the feet.
He set guys up.
He'd lead you into kicks.
He would set guys up.
But it's like there was a period of...
I don't know how many years it was and how many defenses.
You'd have to go over it with a fine-tooth comb.
But there was a period where you would look at his career and go, I don't know who's better than that.
bj penn
Right?
Right?
joe rogan
I don't know who's better than that.
bj penn
The timing that he had.
I remember when he...
joe rogan
This fight right here is a perfect example.
Chris Lieben was just a fucking savage.
bj penn
He's a beast, Chris Lieben.
joe rogan
I mean, he's just trying.
He's just totally out of his league in this fight.
And we had seen Anderson fight over in Pride, and then really came into his own when he was fighting in England.
Remember those cage rage?
bj penn
Yes.
Wasn't that Anderson's first fight?
joe rogan
In the UFC. Yeah.
But this was after he'd fought Lee Murray.
This was after he'd fought a lot of guys over in England.
He had some crazy good fights over in England.
bj penn
Oh, that's right.
He fought Lee Murray.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
I forget.
joe rogan
That's where he really came into his own.
bj penn
What was his...
Georgie, the one he...
I think he fought Bisping.
He...
I remember one of his friends told me...
What was the guy...
He was in the UFC, the Puerto Rican one.
George...
He fought Michael Bisbee.
joe rogan
Rivera?
bj penn
Yeah, yeah.
One of his guys was telling us that he fought Anderson in cage rage and he said he hit Anderson all his might in his face and it did nothing and that's when he knew it was done.
joe rogan
It's a crazy video.
Anderson lets him punch him in the face.
This is it right here.
And then there was also like, remember that Tony Fricklin fight where he practiced this crazy upward elbow?
And his trainer's like, stop doing that.
Like, why are you practicing that?
You're not going to do that.
And so he made his wife hold pillows and he practiced it at home.
bj penn
Because he couldn't do it in the gym.
joe rogan
Because the gym, they wouldn't let him.
So he starts practicing.
He's like, I'm going to knock him out with that.
And then he went and just purposely set up that one technique.
bj penn
And Fricklin, he's the kind of guy that could kill somebody.
These guys are animals.
joe rogan
And he practiced a technique on it.
And this is it right here.
This is where the Rivera fight.
And Rivera was a powerful striker, too.
unidentified
Oh, yeah.
joe rogan
That's why that was crazy that that did nothing to him.
bj penn
Because what?
Rivera hit top 10, top 5, right?
He was there for a little bit.
joe rogan
Yeah, he was for a little bit.
bj penn
Yeah, he was definitely top 10. I love seeing the old UFC guys around.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
I love seeing them.
joe rogan
Anderson was something special back then.
bj penn
Remember when he would grab the neck?
Nobody could do it like him.
And I think Anderson showed me this one where he kind of grabs around like this.
So even if the guy's arm is in, if you grab like this, you'll just crush their arm.
joe rogan
So he's not doing traditional like this with one hand on top of this?
bj penn
He probably knows them all just like us in jujitsu, you know?
But he was showing me this.
He said, DJ, look this.
And even with my arm in, he'll just pull you right in.
joe rogan
Well, whatever he was doing, he was doing it.
Because when he got a hold of Rich, Rich Franklin was trapped.
That clinch, his plum was better than anybody's.
bj penn
Right?
Twice he beat him with the plum.
And Rich was the best in the world.
joe rogan
Yeah, and again, Rich was saying he was one of the first guys to ever be in super good shape.
He had a whole circuit that he would do, too.
I forget who his coach was.
But he was one of the first guys, when the UFC videotaped his workout sessions, people were like, what the fuck is Rich doing?
bj penn
Rich told me, he said, Tim Sylvia doing this to him is nothing compared to Anderson doing it.
That's what Rich was saying.
unidentified
Wow.
joe rogan
That's incredible.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
Yeah, you gotta remember.
People have to remember Anderson from those days.
When you're looking at who's the GOAT, I don't think you really can say who's the greatest in all time.
bj penn
There's no such thing.
joe rogan
There's no such thing.
But when you look at the GOATs, you gotta factor in Anderson when he was in his prime.
Because Anderson, when he was in his prime, was just destroying people.
bj penn
Look, he wanted to walk away.
You saw Rick.
You see how he lifts?
That's what I was noticing too.
When Anderson grabs your neck, when you go to grab him around like this, then he'll just knee you in your rib and break your rib.
Look at that.
You're talking about one of the toughest guys ever lying on his back in pain right there, you know?
joe rogan
And the way he did it was like just precision.
I mean, it was every step of the way he was one step ahead.
He just was striking him at will towards the end.
bj penn
Yup.
joe rogan
He was a fantastic fighter in his prime.
bj penn
Even when, you know, even when he...
He was so good that even when he did get hit that one time from Wyoming and went out, I thought he was faking.
unidentified
That's crazy.
bj penn
I thought he was faking.
That's how good Anderson was, you know?
I thought he was faking.
joe rogan
I think it's that thing, BJ, that you were talking about that Matt Hughes said.
Because Matt Hughes said it when I was interviewing him after he lost the belt.
He said, to be honest, it's a relief.
He was really very brave of him to say that, right?
As a guy who just lost the title.
But to be honest, it feels like a relief.
Like it was a lot of pressure.
He was just being himself.
He's saying, I'm just telling you the truth.
This is hard to carry this crown.
bj penn
Get this away from me.
And then it's like that ring on the Lord of the Rings.
Where is my precious?
And we come back for it, right?
That's exactly what the UFC belt is.
It's that Lord of the Rings.
It's the ring.
joe rogan
I think that's what the casual fans don't understand.
That's one aspect of it that they probably don't factor in, is the extreme amount of pressure it is to be a guy that everyone's gunning for.
It's not the same as any other...
Athletic pursuit because the guy's trying to hurt you.
Yes, you're trying to hurt each other It's not just I want to be a better baseball player than you Mm-hmm.
It's I want to be a better baseball player than you and I want to beat the fuck out of you Yeah, and so there's like a hundred guys like that who want to beat the fuck out of you because you're the guy in in in tennis when you mess up it's 50 love When you mess up here, it's your ass.
It's the most consequences, which is why it's the most exciting for people to watch, because everybody knows.
bj penn
You know, going around now doing this new governor thing, I talk to people and I ask every question and they go...
It's great for you to show your humility and asking these questions and letting us know that you need our help.
And I always tell them the same.
I say, hey, in the business I did the last 20 years, I can't fake anything.
It'll cost me my health.
If I go out there and fake like I know how to defend myself, I'm going to seriously get hurt.
And I think that's just ingrained in us at this point.
You know, if I don't know something, if you don't know something before you get in that ring, you better ask.
joe rogan
Yeah, that's a really great aspect of martial arts.
Like, if you don't know what you're doing, and you pretend you know what you're doing, you get fucked up.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
Period.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
100%.
bj penn
And I feel that when coming into this.
I'll ask every question.
I tell people, my ears look like this from listening.
That's why my ears look like this.
unidentified
Listening to all this shit.
joe rogan
Yeah, if you don't pay attention and you don't really look at what's real and what's not real in martial arts, you can't do it.
It's not possible.
bj penn
No.
joe rogan
You will never be able to figure out how to put a submission together.
You're not going to do it.
bj penn
Let me act like I know how to defend kicks.
joe rogan
I already got it.
I got it.
Leave me alone.
Imagine if you didn't want to listen to a Thai coach.
Of course you'd want to listen.
But we are all like a product of all the people who have ever trained with us, who have ever trained us, who have ever worked out with.
We're all the product of each other.
That's why great gyms produce great fighters too.
It's one of the, you know, iron sharpens iron.
That's the fact.
You know, you don't get that.
It's always we, right?
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
But it's you.
bj penn
Yes.
joe rogan
But when that fucking door closes, it's you.
And that's where it gets crazy, BJ. Right?
You know?
bj penn
That's where it gets crazy.
joe rogan
Like in some of your bigger fights, I remember being there going, God damn, like just goosebumps and crackling and I'm ready for it to go down.
Holy shit.
You had some exciting ones, man.
bj penn
And me, when you're in that moment, you don't even realize because you're just there for that, right?
joe rogan
And then now, if you look at martial arts history, like if I was going to teach a course, like a college course in the evolution of martial arts, you're a chapter in that book.
100%.
Because you were a guy that got really dangerous on the feet, but lethal on the ground too.
So you were a great combination, because you were strangling people, you were fucking people up with submissions, but you were also super dangerous on your feet.
bj penn
I remember I was a Jiu Jitsu...
Was I a Jiu Jitsu world champion already?
I might have been a brown belt maybe, and Javier Mendez was in San Jose.
So I remember going there one day, and me and him just clicked right away.
But he was like, hey, you want me to punch the mitts?
I'm like, okay.
And I punched the mitts a lot as a kid.
I got into a lot of fights as a kid.
And I started hitting the mitts and he goes, you can hit hard.
You could knock somebody out, BJ. You could be a champion.
And I thought he was just joking.
I just thought he was just being nice.
You know what I mean?
I'm like, okay, thanks.
Thanks, Hav.
And, you know, they were with me my first four or five fights.
But that's kind of what got me in.
joe rogan
Isn't it funny that sometimes someone has to tell you?
Someone has to tell you, like, hey man, you got some wild shit.
You can do some things.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
And that makes them take the journey.
And even Brian Johnston, he used to be with Brian, Frank Shamrock, all of those guys, Bobby Southworth.
They were all with Javier Mendes at the time.
And I remember Brian Johnson telling me, BJ, you can be a UFC champion.
And that's when I really believed it.
I was like, this guy was in the UFC. He knows, you know?
joe rogan
Right.
bj penn
And that's when I kind of, you know, Brian, he's had a hard life since.
I think you know what was happening in Brian Johnson's life.
joe rogan
Yeah, he got, did he get injured?
bj penn
Yeah, he got injured and it kind of left him with handicapped kind of, a stroke or something, just a...
Random something terrible happened.
joe rogan
Oh, this was quite a few years back.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
Can he walk around?
unidentified
He's still going.
bj penn
I don't know what he can do.
I haven't seen him.
But I love him and he's one of the guys who made me believe in myself.
That's amazing.
joe rogan
It's sorry to hear about him.
When people were just starting to tell you that you could fight in the UFC, what did you plan to do if you didn't do that?
bj penn
I wanted to just be a jiu-jitsu guy, just have a jiu-jitsu school, and just, you know, teach seminars and say that, you know, I won the jiu-jitsu championships years back.
Well, now, 20 years ago, I was, well, 50 years ago, I was the jiu-jitsu world champion.
That's kind of, I didn't know what I was going to do in my life, you know?
I would see one of my older brothers who would just drink beer at the beach every day, and I really didn't know what I was going to do.
I'm thankful and happy that my father ended up...
Kenan Cornelius, his father, moved right across the road from me.
He did a couple of jiu-jitsu lessons from Half Gracie.
And we got...
His name is Tom Callis.
I really shouldn't say Kenan Cornelius, his father, because Kenan came up way later, you know.
But he introduced me to jiu-jitsu.
He kept asking my father...
Hey, could you tell your boy come down and come to the rec center and roll around?
And I was like, no, I'm already the toughest fighter in the world.
unidentified
Don't worry.
Don't worry.
bj penn
Don't worry about that.
And then my dad's like, BJ, just go once.
He keeps asking me.
And if you go, I'll tell him you don't like it.
So I went down.
I got choked out and I got arm locked.
And then I said, with this...
I could be the man in Hilo.
That's what I thought, you know?
But it was the coolest thing.
It's just a never-ending thing.
I don't train as much as I should now, to tell you the truth.
Now that I've been doing this journey going around the state, I don't train.
joe rogan
Maybe it would help you if you did.
bj penn
I believe 100% because...
joe rogan
If you could just take the time, the extra time to train.
bj penn
You know what?
I realized this woman came up to me and she said, BJ, thank you so much for this gym because we have the UFC gyms in Honolulu, BJ Penn UFC gyms.
And I go, no, thank you for being here.
And she says, no, you don't understand.
I'm 60 years old and for the first time in my life, I gave away my antidepressant medicine.
And that's when it hit me.
I said, that's what this is.
So I always say, working the body heals the mind.
And even before my father passed away, he'd had Parkinson's and he'd get depressed and stuff and start arguing with my mom.
I'd take him for a walk two blocks around the neighborhood.
We'd come back and he'd be right back in his routine.
Endorphins is God's antidepressant medicine.
It heals you.
Working the body heals the mind.
I'll always believe that.
joe rogan
I am firmly with you.
I think it can't be emphasized enough how valuable it is.
When I take just a few days off, like if I hurt something, and I say, I'll just take a couple days off, let everything recover, I always start getting sketchy.
Like, I don't feel as good.
And then I'll have one hard workout day, and then I'm like, I'm back.
I could be normal again.
I think a lot of people never know what normal feels like.
They never feel that.
They never get to that point where their body is in shape and relaxed and healthy and you just had a good workout.
That feeling is nice.
It's a nice feeling.
bj penn
Faces like that.
joe rogan
And the fun thing about training is you're getting happy doing something that is a fun thing to do.
So you get really good at it, you work hard at it because it's also fun.
It's not just hard work, like jujitsu is fun.
bj penn
And you get to think and have fun and outsmart the other guys.
The best video game ever.
joe rogan
Yeah, Eddie talks about it that way, too.
He said it's like a human video game.
It's funny, like, you're a guy who came up, like, when I was trying to explain to Eddie, Eddie knew he was good, but I don't think he totally knew how good he was.
And we always were giant fans of you.
And he was like, man, he was always like, God, BJ's a fucking prodigy.
BJ's a prodigy.
I go, dude, you're pretty fucking good, too.
I want you to understand, like, you do something special.
Like, your jujitsu's wild.
Like, you gotta understand, man, like, there's a lot of people that don't like the fact that you connect it all to weed, but that's on them.
You just look at your jujitsu itself, it's something fucking special.
bj penn
It is.
joe rogan
And then, you know, he kind of realized it eventually.
He's definitely realized it after he tapped Hoyler.
bj penn
Right?
Well, it's just those little talks and those, it's amazing the stuff that sticks with people.
joe rogan
Yeah, well, Eddie's just always been super creative.
If you tell him you can't go that way, he's like, why not?
Why can't I go that way?
Maybe I can figure out a way to go that way that you never figured out.
And then he'll figure out a way that might actually be better than the way we were all doing it before.
I was like, there's certain things that as jujitsu develops new counterattacks and new defense, you've got to let them go with higher level guys now.
Well, he invents these new paths and people are like, where the fuck is he going with this?
And then all of a sudden you're going to twist it.
bj penn
And I remember watching this interview and this lady said, that's the problem with school.
They tell you that there's only one right answer.
There's thousands of right answers.
You can solve it a thousand different ways.
joe rogan
Yeah, there's a lot of different answers.
bj penn
And I believe that.
joe rogan
Yeah, there definitely is.
There's all these different styles.
Some guys top heavy style, some guys bottom style, you know, a lot of guard work.
You can do it any way you want.
Just try to do it.
bj penn
And it's amazing because now MMA is its own style.
And like you said, when I started, I got stand-up and I had jiu-jitsu and then I tried to learn wrestling.
So you can call that a mixed martial artist.
But now today, the guys are like, they'll go for your leg.
They miss.
They come with the elbow.
I started noticing that when I ended up in the ring with the newer guys.
And I was like...
Man, these guys are trying real hard.
joe rogan
Yeah, there's a lot of spinning elbows now.
Right?
I'm seeing a lot of spinning elbows these days.
bj penn
Yeah, who would have ever thought?
We would have just wrote that off as a Disneyland technique.
joe rogan
Did you ever see Gaston Bolanos spinning elbow in Bellator?
bj penn
No.
joe rogan
Oh, BJ. It might be the greatest spinning elbow of all time.
bj penn
Really?
joe rogan
Yeah, because Gaston is a badass Muay Thai fighter.
bj penn
Oh, wow.
Okay.
joe rogan
And he's now been fighting MMA for a few years, but he's known for his elbows.
He's known for his spinning elbow.
bj penn
I saw that Pro Chaco one where he...
We did it to Reyes and Reyes being as high level as he was.
I saw the GIF on the internet a little while ago and I was like, that's pretty good.
joe rogan
That might be right up there with it.
bj penn
Just because of the level of who Dominic Reyes is, right?
So what's going on with John?
He's coming back soon.
I want to see him.
I want to see him in there.
joe rogan
See if you can find that.
I think you got to think of the Yuri Prochaska fight.
Yeah, he's fighting Dominic Reyes who just had...
bj penn
A great fight.
joe rogan
Yeah.
Here we go.
unidentified
Oh.
joe rogan
That's one.
See, he's known for these spinning elbows.
So this is him doing it in...
This was in a kickboxing fight.
He did it in Bellator.
unidentified
Oh, sorry.
joe rogan
Sorry, it's alright.
So this is, but you get to see the, like, he's known for it in Muay Thai.
And then he carries, watch this, boom!
I mean, for real.
One of the best spinning elbows of all time.
Watch this again.
I mean, that is filthy.
bj penn
He did like a roll.
joe rogan
He did like a judo roll.
Yeah.
He was just out unconscious the moment it hit.
Look at that.
I mean, that is phenomenal.
bj penn
Remember when we used to fight back in the day and we'd be like, you gotta get this guy to the ground as quick as possible.
joe rogan
Remember?
bj penn
But there's no saying that anymore.
The fights just keep going up and down.
joe rogan
And you take guys down and they triangle you.
And you're like, this is incredible.
There's so many different guys are so talented now.
It's like the talent pool has never been greater.
There's so many talented guys.
bj penn
100%.
joe rogan
Don't you think we need more weight classes?
I'm trying to talk you into it.
I like how I phrased that question.
unidentified
If you're going to be governor, you can't let people be this sneaky.
bj penn
They tell me, why aren't you running for mayor?
Why aren't you running for governor?
I said, the same reason that a lightweight fought heavyweight.
That's the same reason.
joe rogan
Jump right to the top.
bj penn
No, but just to do something.
As far as weight classes go...
Yeah, I mean, it'll be a change because like we say, we love the past.
We love our golden era.
But if you're sitting here saying we need more weight classes and you're there every show and every day.
joe rogan
I think it'd be a pain in the ass for the UFC, but I think it'd be really good for the fighters.
I think they need more options.
I think every 10 pounds.
10 pounds is a lot.
bj penn
10 pounds is a lot.
joe rogan
It's a lot.
bj penn
Still, till today, I'm the only guy 55 and 70. Just because that weight difference is so big.
joe rogan
It's a crazy gap.
Yeah, that's a crazy one.
85 and 205 is another crazy gap.
bj penn
It would be weird.
I mean, you'd think...
Because the champions get lost in everything going on anyway.
Would it be like boxing where there's so many champions you don't know of?
joe rogan
No, because boxing has too many.
But I think there's a comfortable medium.
bj penn
Every 3 pound boxing.
joe rogan
I think it's 10 pounds.
That's what I'm thinking.
Every 10 pounds for MMA. And just go 60, 70. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
50, 60, 70. Yeah, something like that.
Or 55, 65, 75. That might be easier to do since we already have 85 and 205. So then we just put in a 195. 65, 75. Yeah.
And then you have more champs.
There's a lot of talented people out there.
Maybe there's a lot of guys that if they didn't have to cut that extra five pounds, they would be way better because they wouldn't be depleted.
bj penn
That's the worst thing you could possibly do to your body before you're going to fight the toughest person you've ever fought in your whole life.
joe rogan
It's so crazy!
bj penn
Then starve ourselves to death and then let's go fight the guy.
joe rogan
BJ, it's so illogical and it drives me crazy and it's one of those things that I think we're stuck with for no good reason.
It's a bad tradition.
bj penn
How did it start?
How did the weigh-in tradition start from boxing?
joe rogan
Well, they did it in boxing for sure.
Guys cut weight in boxing.
Unfortunately, in boxing, they would cut weight and fight the day they weighed in, which is even worse.
bj penn
But they don't do it like us, right?
Because remember when Mayweather fought McGregor?
Mayweather was on weight that day, and that was his real weight.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
And McGregor was trying to cut 20 and put 20 back on.
joe rogan
That's just because Mayweather didn't give a fuck.
bj penn
Do we just do it wrong?
joe rogan
No.
Mayweather just didn't give a fuck.
bj penn
And the wrestler mentality that we have in MMA, a lot of mentalities came from a lot of different sports.
We have certain part has a boxing mentality.
joe rogan
Right.
bj penn
Certain has a wrestling mentality with a cut weight type of thing.
Then you've got that jujitsu mentality mixed in there.
But was that a wrestling thing for us that's ingrained in us?
Like, hey, if you're going to cut weight, make sure you weigh 20 pounds over the next day.
Don't make that your real weight.
joe rogan
I think that definitely was prominent in wrestling, but it was prominent in boxing too.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
Remember when, wasn't that a part of, they thought, Dukku Kim when Boom Boom Mancini killed him?
They think part of that might have had to do with cutting weight for the day of the fight.
Because they would weigh in that day.
bj penn
And then walk in the ring with no water in their brains.
joe rogan
And who knows what they knew about electrolytes and shit back then.
bj penn
Imagine how thick the blood was.
I mean, you take out the water, you know, how thick that blood is just like pudding running through your heart.
joe rogan
Well, also, they think that people who are dehydrated, there's reason to believe they would be easier to knock out.
They would be more susceptible to concussions.
They would have less fluid in their head.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
And if that's true, that's crazy that you're allowing people to do that 24 hours before a cage fight.
unidentified
Yep.
joe rogan
That's crazy.
bj penn
Yep.
That is crazy.
joe rogan
Do you know how 1FC does it?
They supposedly have some sort of hydration test.
Really?
bj penn
They supposedly made people move up.
You can't cut lower.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
They supposedly weigh your body and determine how much water you have and then always make you stay within that water range of what a healthy weight is.
I think I might be getting this wrong.
But I think the point is, they do hydration tests, and you're not allowed to dehydrate yourself 24 hours.
You can't, like, some of these guys are caught in crazy weight.
bj penn
There's always going to be somebody that thinks like that.
Like, if I cut weight, you know, and as you get older, I know for me personally, I wish I went up.
I wish I didn't go do that whole 145 thing.
It just emaciated me.
I had nothing.
Not only was I didn't have the hunger I had when I was a kid, but I didn't...
You just emaciate yourself down to nothing.
And you see fighters like James Toney, he goes the heavyweight and he wins a belt.
I think it is, as you get older, I think maybe it's a smarter thing to go up instead of down.
joe rogan
That's interesting.
Well, I think the problem really is just the weight cutting itself.
I think if we could eliminate that from the sport and make people fight at their natural weight.
bj penn
As soon as they show up to the...
As soon as you sign your contract, your weight right there that day, that's okay, this is where you fight.
joe rogan
It's a bad culture because it doesn't make any sense.
If there's really this many fighters, because there's a lot now, there's so many fighters, so many talented fighters.
There's talented fighters that are introduced into the UFC all the time that I don't even know of, and then all of a sudden I see them, I'm like, God damn, this guy's good!
How long has he been fighting?
There's so many of those guys now.
unidentified
Right.
joe rogan
I think there's plenty of room for other weight classes.
I think there's plenty of room.
bj penn
And you know what?
You're more experienced in this sport than me at this point because you've sit there and watched it all and you've got to look at thousands of fighters in doing this.
And I'm with you.
I'm with you then.
Yep.
100%.
joe rogan
It just seems like it would be more opportunity for champions, more opportunity for guys to fight healthy, and if we could get everybody to fight at a natural weight and eliminate weight cutting and have all these different weight classes so they have options to choose from, and then get yourself into a healthy weight that you're really sustainable at, and that's the weight you fight at.
Fuck all this.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
Get down, lose 15 pounds in 10 hours and then put it back in with an IV. Get the fuck out of here.
What are you doing?
bj penn
And the IVs are actually banned.
joe rogan
And they banned the IVs.
Well, they said that the reason why you have to ban IVs, I guess, is because IVs...
bj penn
They can hide drugs or something, right?
joe rogan
Yeah, you can flush it out of your system.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
If you can, you could dilute your urine to the point where it doesn't, it's not detected because you're just getting the IV back.
bj penn
That's what the bikers or whatever were doing, right?
joe rogan
Oh, dirty those bikers.
Bikers are the dirtiest!
bj penn
The bikers.
Watch the bikers.
joe rogan
Isn't it crazy?
That is the dirtiest sport.
bj penn
Right?
It's something like they have little motors in their thing without you knowing.
joe rogan
Isn't that crazy?
bj penn
They're amazing.
joe rogan
Sneaky little motors in their bikes.
bj penn
What's in humans to make us do that?
We just want to win?
Or do we like being tricky and not letting people know?
Which one?
What is it?
joe rogan
I think we're lucky that we're not bikers.
That's what I think.
I think...
That pursuit of just being the guy who pedals the hardest for the longest.
Because that's what it is.
unidentified
Right?
joe rogan
It's like everybody can ride a bike.
Everybody can steer a bike.
It's not about like precision steering.
It's about who can fucking go harder for longer.
So it's all just mind demons.
Just pushing these guys.
unidentified
Right?
bj penn
Mind demons.
You're right.
joe rogan
And this guy's pumping, and you're trying to fucking go, and you're getting blood transfusion, and they're shooting you up with tests, and you're fucking...
unidentified
And you're doing it for days, BJ. It's true.
bj penn
Days.
joe rogan
Mind demons.
That's all in their mind.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
The game's all in the mind.
bj penn
The whole thing.
joe rogan
It's all...
How hard do you pedal?
You back off if you want.
If you don't want that jacket, You don't want to be a champion?
bj penn
Let's take a break.
joe rogan
Let's relax.
bj penn
Imagine how much time they mess with him and do all that stuff.
joe rogan
That's how you get a guy like Lance Armstrong.
That's how you get a guy like that.
That guy's the champion of the mind demons.
He knows how to fucking ride it out and go harder and faster and longer.
Harder and just imagine that lactic acid in the legs and you're just going it's such a dishonest Conversation when that guy got get gets in trouble for it because like yes, he should he definitely As least according to him took some stuff still everybody was taking some stuff and he beat them all He beat them all.
And he beat them all for years.
They were all doing crazy shit.
bj penn
Did he come on and say that they were all doing, everybody was on it?
joe rogan
BJ, they found that when they went back to try to find people with Lance that competed with him that never tested positive.
bj penn
It's impossible.
joe rogan
They had to go back to 18th place.
And that guy's probably just got that urine.
He probably has that fucking bag of urine and, you know, took a giant IV and flushed it out of his system.
bj penn
That is funny.
joe rogan
I think there's just a lot of money in winning the Tour de France.
And when there's a lot of money and you're dealing with some shady characters, they're going, listen, I got a guy.
bj penn
And in MMA, what I noticed, because...
You know, I realize that people will admit that they cheated on their wife before they say that they didn't compete fair.
joe rogan
Yeah, I know.
bj penn
You know, it's just it is what it is.
joe rogan
Well, in your era, to be fair, you were one of the only guys that was adamant about that.
A lot of people just shut the fuck up.
bj penn
And still till today, I say, I'm the only guy, 155 and 170 that got both belts, but if you want to add this into the rankings, I really didn't do that stuff, you know what I mean?
I always say that.
No, you really didn't.
And then I remember, because I didn't even, USADA just came and we were going to take in a glutathione IV.
I never take IVs anyway, but I was like, "Okay, okay, I'll take it." And then I told Usaroya I took an IV and then they busted me for it because I think they just wanted to show that they had teeth or whatever.
But I'm really one of the only guys who didn't, you know what I mean?
joe rogan
So just using any kind of an IV? Yeah.
Why did you want glutathione?
bj penn
Yeah, no.
We were just at a place.
joe rogan
Were you partying?
bj penn
No, no.
We were at a...
They were doing...
What's that?
Where they take all your blood and they see what you're allergic to for the food.
That's why we were there.
And the guys just kept talking to me, too.
And I'm just like, okay, whatever.
Go ahead.
They kept talking to me, too.
Of course, you're not going to feel...
joe rogan
So he just talks you into a glutathione drip?
bj penn
Yeah.
You know how when you're in some place, right?
They just...
joe rogan
Glutathione, I think it's an antioxidant, but one of the things that I know it for is alcohol.
It helps your body process alcohol better.
bj penn
Oh, really?
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
Oh, I didn't know that.
joe rogan
Yeah, there's a type of it that a lot of people take that are into this stuff, like doctors that know a lot about how to mitigate hangovers and shit.
It's liposomal glutathione, I think is what it's called.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
Apparently, glutathione in the IV form, the way you took it, though, is the best way.
That's the best way to get it.
Most people that do that on a regular basis say it helps them, like people who party.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
Helps your party process.
bj penn
But I was just surprised.
I'm like, what?
I'm the guy that we saw that was tagging.
I really didn't even mess around ever.
joe rogan
Well, they were very strict, but I guess it changed a lot of things.
bj penn
Now you don't even know who got busted, right?
Don't they have to change so they don't crash the pay-per-views or whatever?
Now they just...
Oh, is that true?
Oh, I don't know.
joe rogan
I don't know if that's true.
bj penn
Because I haven't really heard any...
joe rogan
When was the last time a fight got canceled because someone tested positive?
That's a good question.
That's a good question.
Like, when was the last time a big fight got canceled because someone tested positive?
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
That's interesting.
Because whatever...
I mean, the thing is, like, will we find out in five years that they were doing some shit and nobody knew about it, you know?
bj penn
Yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
Because in your day, in your era, how many guys were doing steroids?
It was rampant.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
Like, everybody knew it.
bj penn
Yeah.
And I think about that.
I wonder, like, should I have done something to keep my career going, but...
It's just more of everything.
You would have been more training, more getting beat up in the ring more.
I'm just glad.
I'm at peace with everything.
It's hard to walk away from a career, but I really am at peace.
joe rogan
That's good, man.
That's good because there's going to be other chapters in your life.
If you don't let it go now, I mean, what are you going to let it go when you're 60?
Let it go when you're 70?
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
Evander Holyfield just had a fight, man.
unidentified
He fought Vitor.
joe rogan
Evander Holyfield's almost 60 years old.
That's crazy.
bj penn
Mike Tyson just...
joe rogan
The Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. fight, though, at least...
Nobody got hurt.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
That was a good thing.
bj penn
That was the key.
joe rogan
That was a good thing.
bj penn
For Thriller and for them to make more shows after.
I was thinking if they said that, hey, let's make sure not to crash this whole promotion in one.
We can't have a 60-year-old guy be carried out of here.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
Jesus Christ.
But he looked good though.
Mike looked real good.
joe rogan
I think they were moving towards one day, there was talk at least of a Mike versus Evander rematch.
bj penn
Yeah, but then the Belfort thing slowed that down.
joe rogan
But Belfort?
How old is Vitor?
bj penn
He's my age at least, right?
He's 43. Is he?
Yeah.
joe rogan
That seems old when you compare him to a young, young guy.
But when you compare him to a dude who's almost 60. Yeah.
And Vitor is still very fucking dangerous.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
Very fast.
bj penn
And that's what's amazing about Randy Couture, you know?
unidentified
Yeah.
bj penn
That's what's amazing about him.
joe rogan
How about when Randy dropped Tim Sylvia?
That inside low kick?
bj penn
Oh, that was the greatest fight I've ever saw.
unidentified
Boom!
joe rogan
You're like, what?
bj penn
That was like the greatest fight I've ever saw for a guy to come back and get that belt.
joe rogan
And Tim was so big.
Tim was a giant.
bj penn
He was a huge guy.
joe rogan
Remember when he knocked out Rico?
bj penn
With his belt everywhere?
Yeah.
And he could Rico good.
joe rogan
Oh my God.
That Tim Sylvia.
See, again, you talk about a guy when he's at his prime.
At his prime.
You've got to remember him.
Go Tim Sylvia versus Rico Rodriguez.
bj penn
Or Gan McGee, even.
joe rogan
Yeah, Gan McGee's a good one, too.
unidentified
He's tough.
bj penn
He was huge.
joe rogan
He was so jacked back then, too.
Like, people thought of Tim Sylvia.
They always gave him a hard time for being flabby.
But, you know, there was times where whatever commissions...
We'd catch him.
I don't know if you ever got busted for anything, but there was a lot of people taking some stuff.
Let's just say.
They looked a lot different back then.
But the thing is, the whole environment was that.
Everybody was doing that.
So I'm not saying that he did it, but I'm saying he looked like he did it.
bj penn
I think he got busted a couple of times.
joe rogan
I think he might have.
But my point is, you've got to remember him From this fight.
That's a pretty good armbar.
bj penn
I don't remember that.
joe rogan
Against Rico.
unidentified
Right?
joe rogan
Yeah, and he pulls right out of it.
You've got to remember this Tim Sylvia.
This Tim Sylvia was fucking dangerous.
unidentified
Yes.
joe rogan
He was a big boy with big power.
Look at that.
bj penn
One punch.
joe rogan
Dude.
bj penn
Look at that.
joe rogan
I mean, he fucked Rico up in this fight.
bj penn
Look at him.
joe rogan
That was a crazy knockout.
And Rico was a dangerous man, too.
Rico was good.
bj penn
Rico called me the other day.
We talked a lot too long ago.
joe rogan
Rico was fantastic.
bj penn
He was Machado.
joe rogan
Machado, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
Yeah, Rico was a bad motherfucker, dude.
bj penn
Telegman, I remember Telegman.
joe rogan
Didn't Rico beat Randy?
bj penn
Rico, that's how he got his belt.
joe rogan
Exactly.
bj penn
He might have even took him down towards the end, got on top of him.
joe rogan
How did that fight go down?
I'm trying to remember how that fight, how do I not remember that fight?
bj penn
It was back and forth and I think Rico finally took Randy down, got his legs.
And I remember Randy and Tito.
That was a great...
Tito's coming down.
He's going to help me with one of my fundraisers.
He's going to be one of the featured speakers.
joe rogan
All right.
bj penn
Because he ran.
joe rogan
Make sure you put that online.
bj penn
Yeah, yeah.
That's going to be fun.
joe rogan
Yeah, for sure.
That's beautiful.
bj penn
Yeah, so he's all for it.
joe rogan
So do you...
How are you doing this?
Do you have to raise money for your campaign?
Do you...
bj penn
A big part...
So just getting into it, you know, I... I knew...
I wanted to help.
I wanted to come out and help.
And I knew they went too far.
They tried to lock everybody down on their island.
You couldn't leave certain islands.
They were trying to do that on the airplanes.
And I knew I'm not...
I knew my record's not perfect and clean.
You know what I mean?
And I'm like, do I really want to get into all this stuff?
And I'm just like, I gotta do it.
I gotta do it for my kids.
And I always say...
I don't want my kids to be older and say, Dad, you fought in the octagon for 20 years, but you didn't do nothing about this.
You didn't do nothing when they were closing our businesses, when they were doing all this stuff.
And that's kind of what pushed me out.
I like to say, my strength is my strength.
They're going to come and they're going to keep mudslinging and just keep throwing stuff at me.
You know, I hear they're doing it.
They've already tried a bunch of things.
I hear they're going to, you know, old girlfriends now and trying to get pictures or do whatever they can.
But, you know, that's not going to deter me from wanting to fight for the people.
That's not going to deter me from wanting to fight for my children and all of these things.
And that's how I got into this.
I know it'd be a lot cheaper and a lot less painful to just go do it some other way, you know what I mean?
But here we are and I'm in it.
It is nerve-wracking sometimes because this isn't my game.
I'm a fighter, you know?
But one thing I know is I know Hawaii.
Born and raised there.
Been there this whole time.
I saw Hawaii.
My friends, my cousins, my best friends move away because their parents just can't cut it on the islands.
It's just too expensive.
And I see the different problems.
I want our people to stay in Hawaii and I want us to have jobs.
Look, we're all in the center.
Let's just tell the truth.
We're all in the center.
There's some crazy people on both sides.
We're all in the center.
We just want good jobs, good businesses, and we want our kids taken care of.
We want our kids to get a good education.
That's all we want.
joe rogan
Everything else is bullshit.
bj penn
Everything else is bullshit.
We're all right here.
joe rogan
Most people, the vast majority of people are good people that just want to be left alone, want to be able to prosper, want good healthcare available, good education available, want their children to have a potential for a good future.
bj penn
That's what everybody wants.
I'm not here to cut everybody's programs.
I'm not here to do anything psycho on any side.
We just want to keep living our lives.
We want to keep our people here.
joe rogan
Let me ask you this, PJ. If this magically happened...
How much time have you thought about the actual job itself and what you would do if you got into office?
What would be a thing that you would want to really establish very quickly?
bj penn
The first thing they say, the Republicans and the Democrats, I'm an outsider.
I'm not part of either establishment.
They'll come up and they'll give me problems.
joe rogan
Are you running as an independent?
bj penn
They don't have an independent party in Hawaii because no one's made one.
There's Libertarian, there's Aloha Aina, there's these different parties.
And it was a tough decision to what I was going to run because...
The Democrat is just so strong.
47 of the 51 House Representatives are Democrat.
24 of the 25 state Senate members are Democrat.
Our two state Senators, our two Congressmen, our Lieutenant Governor and our Governor, it's a one-party establishment right now.
And absolute power corrupts absolutely.
And I was thinking about running as a Democrat, just with my same values of freedom, economy and education.
But here I am.
You know, here I am.
I'm running for the Republican Party.
And, you know, hey, it's going to be a wild ride, Joe.
This is fun.
This is fun.
Hey, they're coming after me.
joe rogan
So how did you decide to become a Republican rather than an Independent?
Or rather than one of those other parties?
bj penn
Yeah.
Libertarian and all that.
That was too much.
I mean, my mother was in the Republican Party and always helped out with them and did different things.
And, I mean, right now, as far as, you know, just everything going on, I mean, you know, it seems like the Republicans are trying to keep things to, I don't know, I think a lot of times, I think, was the 80s the height of civilization?
Everything seems so normal back then.
joe rogan
Hey man, I really genuinely wonder what it would be like if, how much different, if at all, it would be like if a Republican was president or if a Democrat was president.
I really wonder, like, what...
What causes things to go so sideways?
What influences are making government go one way or another?
To put emphasis into one thing or another thing?
And to not recognize the complaints of the people, to not recognize when people don't like the direction that things are going.
It's like it happens on both sides.
When George Bush was president, people were mad.
People were always mad.
bj penn
I got into this because...
A buddy of mine that was a federal senator from Hawaii, he was pushing for that passport to step on the plane and going to kind of landlock everybody on their island.
And I told him, I said, what's going to happen if you pass this?
Why are you supporting this?
And he said, he goes, you're just going to have to listen.
And then that's when I said, oh yeah, you're just going to have to listen.
Because these guys forgot that they work for us.
You know, that's why they're there.
joe rogan
That was his actual answer.
bj penn
Yeah, you're just going to have to listen.
joe rogan
And that's going to have to listen.
bj penn
And so then and I say this when I go around.
So my father's dying on December 30th in the hospital.
I'm not vaccinated.
So I can't walk in and see him.
And I'm just going to have to listen.
I'm trying to leave my business open so I can feed my children.
But I got to close my businesses and I'm just going to have to listen.
And that's that's what finally made me stand up.
And I said, act like King Kamehameha, act like George Washington, act like somebody fighting for us.
And then my brother whispers in my ear, he's never been in a fight in his life.
And I said, well, I'll just do this myself then.
That's exactly how it started.
And it's true.
I don't want my kids saying, my kids or any other kids, yeah, Uncle BJ, you know, you fought your whole life.
Why didn't you go fight these guys?
And so I'm here.
I'm here to...
joe rogan
Whenever a government grabs additional powers, whenever they start being able to impose additional restrictions on people because of, like, this health crisis, they don't give those back.
They don't want to give those back.
bj penn
No.
joe rogan
They don't want to give those back.
bj penn
And you know, it's easy when fighting for individual rights when it's popular is one thing, but fighting for them when it's not popular is a total different animal.
When your best friend's girlfriend's sticking you the finger over the table and you're like, hey, I don't like what you're saying, but I'll fight for you to have the right to say it, you know?
But that's, it's just, how did they start taking things?
I don't like smoking.
I hate cigarettes.
I hate being around them.
But they walk in and then they start taking the cigarettes from people and then they look.
And nobody said anything because it ain't popular to stand up and say, hey, let them.
If a bar wants to put cigarettes in the bar, let them do it or whatever.
And that's how they just start stripping.
And even with TSA, God bless them for all the jobs that they create.
You know, but that's another thing.
That was a George Bush type thing that, you know, they put these things.
They don't give them back when they start to do stuff for us.
joe rogan
No, there used to be a time where you could just get on a plane.
bj penn
Yeah, when you could just get, you know, there's a policeman there and you just walk through that same family x-ray or whatever and you put your bag through.
But now you got to take off your shoes.
Now they got to pat you down.
Now they do all this stuff.
You know what?
There was times when you just, you could walk into a courtroom where all the criminals are, and much easier than you could get on a plane.
joe rogan
Yeah, you used to be able to get on a plane with other people's tickets.
Like, you could give me a ticket, and I could go on a plane with your ticket.
bj penn
Yeah, exactly.
joe rogan
Remember those days?
bj penn
Yeah, no, yeah, it was, it was.
I mean...
joe rogan
Yeah, the ability to keep track of people now.
They monetize that.
Yeah, they can corral people up and that's where it gets scary.
And some people are recognizing that from the pandemic and some people just get so political they can't see that it's a human behavior pattern.
It's a human behavior pattern that folks that are in control of other people exercise.
They tell people what to do and then that's what they like to do.
They like to tell people what to do.
And they might be right about some of it.
They might be wrong, but they want you to just listen.
You're just going to have to listen.
bj penn
Thank you.
That's exactly.
You're just going to have to listen to this.
unidentified
That's crazy.
joe rogan
When he said that to you, that's crazy.
That's how a crazy person talks.
bj penn
They listen to us.
They work for us.
joe rogan
You're just going to have to listen is like a line in a bad movie.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
You know, the jail guard.
Why am I in here?
You're just going to have to listen.
Like, what?
unidentified
I can't believe this.
joe rogan
That's what it's like.
That's a stupid thing to say, but it's not uncommon amongst people that achieve a position of power like that.
There's a very intoxicating thing about a man in particular, but sometimes a lot of women, sometimes women.
You know, they get into a position of, like, extreme power, and they like to exercise it over folks.
They enjoy making mandates and placing rules on things, and, you know, you have to have this far away from that, and you have to...
They'll decide what time liquor stores are allowed to be open, or what time this is about, like, the bar must close by 2 a.m., even if it's not near anything.
bj penn
And that stuff is contagious.
I mean, you could tell your gym manager and workers, hey, don't police this.
This is wrong.
They just made a new definition for fully vaccinated.
Stop policing the passports.
Don't police the mask.
And then they'll keep saying, hey, they'll keep policing it because that's their political party.
And it's just contagious that way all the way around.
joe rogan
You know how we know it doesn't work?
Vegas.
Because in Vegas you could just drink at 5 in the morning, 3 in the morning, 1 in the morning.
It doesn't matter.
You could always do whatever the fuck you want.
Nobody cares.
bj penn
Nobody cares.
joe rogan
But eventually people settle into a healthy schedule.
You don't just stay up drinking just because the bars are always open, just like you don't go into them in the middle of the day either.
bj penn
Exactly.
joe rogan
It's like you find, like, there doesn't need a regulation for that.
The less regulations, the better.
You want to stay open?
You want to serve beer at 5 in the morning?
Serve beer at 5 in the morning?
Who gives a fuck?
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
What, is there a magic time where you can't serve beer anymore?
What the fuck is that?
unidentified
Exactly.
joe rogan
Don't drive drunk ever.
And serve you whatever the fuck you want.
This is stupid.
What are we growing adults here?
bj penn
And everybody asks me, so what are you going to do when you get in?
Nobody's with you.
None of the legislature is with you.
I go, I'll tell you exactly what I'm going to do.
I'm going to walk right into the Department of Health.
And I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe they were confused.
Maybe they weren't thinking in their right minds.
Maybe they were scared.
But we're going to go fix the Department of Health.
We're going to put all the right people in.
Or maybe they can work with us.
Then we're going to go to the Department of Education.
I don't have to go to the legislature to go to these different departments because who's the boogeyman when you say, okay, put a big sign on the front of your building that says you're not going to police the passports and the masks.
Oh, no, I don't want the Department of Health coming down.
Well, I'm going to go take care of the Department of Health.
Oh, they're shutting down these hunting lands.
I don't want to walk in there.
Well, I'm going to go to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
I'm going to go in all these departments, and we're going to make big changes.
We'll give the people the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe they made a mistake.
Maybe they're still masking the children in Hawaii because they made a mistake.
So when I get there, I'm going to go in the Department of Education, I'm going to go in the Department of Health, and I'm going to go take care of all of these things.
And I'm not going to talk to the legislature to do it.
That's my area.
joe rogan
And is this all the way you're allowed to pursue these things?
Is there a protocol that you're supposed to follow?
bj penn
I'm sure there's protocols and we're going to have a lot of lawyers with us.
And, you know, like I said, it's going to be a big team.
It's going to be a big team of people.
I'm not here...
I say, join the fight.
If I was 20, I would say, let me fight for you.
And I'm going to have to fight for you while you guys are sleeping.
But just join the fight.
We're not here for the office.
We're here for the people.
We're here for our freedoms and we're here for our businesses.
That's why we're here.
And...
I was so enthusiastic about this, and I said, people say, don't talk about it, but I said, no, I'm not here to take the people's money.
You know, the money that comes in from the government, I want to put it to programs, and I want to make this...
I want to make this governor's administration as powerful as it can possibly be.
It's about holding on to that power too.
I've only planned to run for one term because I'm not here to be.
I want to be with the people.
The mana is with the people.
We have the power.
I want to be with the people.
I'm only planning on going in for one term.
joe rogan
Can I ask you this though?
What if you don't accomplish everything you want to get done in one term?
What if it's more difficult to get through the maze of bureaucracy?
bj penn
I'm here to work with...
I want a strong lieutenant governor.
I have the lieutenant governors that I see that are coming in.
I want to work well with everybody and endorse who I have to.
If the people need me and they say, Let's do it.
We need you one more time.
Of course I'm going to come and stand up for the people.
And that's why I have no problem even doing this in the first place.
I would have never had the life that I had if the people of Hawaii didn't support me the way they did.
I would have never got to this success and all of these things.
I didn't win every fight.
I would come home with my face beaten and battered and the people of Hawaii would say...
Hey, you gotta fight again, BJ. You can do it.
You're our hero.
Come on.
Let's show them.
You can show all the kids.
Show everybody.
We can...
Don't mess with Hawaiians, you know?
We can do this.
And they've always stood behind me.
And I got no problem doing this for them.
And it's for our children and for everybody.
So I'm just...
You know, I'm in.
And they're gonna keep coming after me.
They're gonna keep throwing whatever they can at me.
And let's go.
Let's go.
joe rogan
BJ, you gotta get together with Jerry...
With Jesse Ventura.
bj penn
Yes, I need to talk to you.
I had him in mind, Jesse the body.
And Hawaii's got so many different problems with our housing problem, our energy problems, now everything with the gas.
And I really want to invite Elon Musk to come over and see if he could help us with Hawaii because it's a landlocked state and everything comes in off the boat and you got everybody talking about the Jones Act.
Do you know what the Jones Act is?
unidentified
this.
bj penn
No, it's a that's an act that makes all international boats go to California first before they come to Hawaii.
They can't just come to Hawaii.
This was made back when Hawaii was a territory.
So all kinds That sounds so inefficient.
You know, Hawaii is the most unionized state, but our families all work in those unions.
We're all together, so we all have to figure out how to update all of these different things and make them work properly.
Do we just bring the boats from—do we build our docks bigger so they can take international boats, but just have our unions be the ones to take— To take all the stuff off their boat so our unions still control the docks and not international people controlling our docks.
Because of course we want our people from home.
Those are our cousins.
Those are our family.
You hear all kinds of different stuff from the big things in Hawaii right now.
The housing, the rising cost of living.
The education and the rising cost of living is what's killing everybody right now.
And we have no self-sustainability.
You know how big the Big Island is.
I believe we could do the right thing.
From Wailuku River to Waipio Valley, that's 50 miles of water and farmland.
And they're talking about growing 100 million trees for the climate.
I'm saying every tree better have fruit on it then.
Every tree better have food on it.
You know...
We're stuck dependent on a boat coming in and out.
And even more, we have to protect our waters.
You know, all the water is held in perpetuity to the people of Hawaii, but we almost need to go one step further and make it a national treasure.
I didn't say a federal treasure.
I said a national treasure to the people where you can't just start diverting waters and doing all these things.
I mean, you take half the water from a stream coming down, you kill half the life that was around in that stream.
Things that I've seen growing up and that we have to think about are sustainability.
Sustain is you're staying in the same place.
We need to thrive.
We need to move forward.
The airplanes come in full.
They drop everything off and they go back empty.
Why?
Why?
Why does that happen?
It doesn't make any sense.
joe rogan
How much change would have to be done for Hawaii to be completely self-sustainable?
Like, what kind of industries would you have to put there where you never have to get anything off of a boat?
Is that even possible?
bj penn
Well, I don't know what we would have to figure out what we're going to do with petroleum, but that's why I want to talk to people like Like Elon, you know, that's why I want people who know different things.
joe rogan
You got a lot of sun, but I think solar in its current form.
bj penn
We got a lot of sun.
joe rogan
I think solar in its current form is great, but I don't think it's really capable of running a whole city yet.
bj penn
I don't know what we have out there.
Figure out, I mean, the gas is expensive.
The gas is expensive in Hilo.
joe rogan
Yeah, gas is expensive everywhere.
It's weird.
I've never been able to understand that.
bj penn
Right?
Did the oil disappear overnight?
Where did it go?
Where did it all go?
joe rogan
Somebody tried to explain it to me and I glazed over.
bj penn
I was like, I can't pay attention to this.
Whenever we go to any of the, like, there's a lot of, like, speaking meetings, right?
And I think, hey, this is some real mixed martial arts, this stuff.
Because not only do you have to know what you got to do when you get in, well, there's a lot of black and white stuff.
And that's, like, freedoms or, like, basic stuff.
And then there's state budgets, you That gets gray.
Gray areas.
That's where you've got to have a lot of people helping you out.
You know what I mean?
joe rogan
Oh my god.
To make bad economic choices could be horrible.
bj penn
Oh man.
joe rogan
You've got to really make sure you make the right choice.
You have to bring people in.
Can we do this?
Is this feasible?
unidentified
Yes.
joe rogan
That shit's got to be scary.
No wonder why they like toe the line.
They try not to fuck anything up.
They probably have so many problems like, let's not fix anything.
Let's just not fuck it up any further.
bj penn
You know what it is?
They're political entrepreneurs.
How are they going to get to the next thing?
How are they going to work their way all the way up to governor?
I'm lucky that I was in the UFC and that whole UFC is so big in Hawaii.
If not And that's why they're giving me a chance with this name recognition.
I talk to Dana, I say, Dana, I got a good chance for my name recognition in the UFC. He goes, that's amazing, man.
How can I help?
So it's exciting.
Lorenzo is excited about it.
He loves it.
joe rogan
That's wild.
Well, I'm excited you're doing something that you believe in, and I'm excited.
I love when a legend talks about that decision to step down and stop fighting, and I think that that's a really important conversation for young guys to hear.
Because you're getting into this game, and you've got to realize this is the most wild, crazy, exciting, but ultimately physically damaging game there is other than maybe football.
Football players, they fuck each other up, just running full tilt into each other.
But MMA is even more personal.
Even more psychological because you know it's just you and this other guy and then you set a date and it's 4th of July weekend in Vegas and your fucking billboard is outside your hotel window and it's giant, you can't sleep.
You know, it's what you guys have done, you know, is it's very, very, very extraordinary and very difficult to achieve that kind of level of success that you achieved a small handful of them ever do in time.
So for you to admit that it's very difficult for you to feel like for your identity to step down, it's very important for young fighters to hear because they're going to know that this is a part of everybody's journey.
There's going to be a part where now maybe if you want, you can coach.
Maybe you can help young fighters coming up with your wisdom and your perspective.
Fighters would fight very, very hard for you.
Like a guy to be able to train under a guy like BJ Penn.
Holy shit.
You'd get some dedicated guys who would be drawn to you.
But it's just...
It's going to be the time in the cage is temporary.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
And I'm glad that you said it the way you said it because I think that's very valuable for people.
bj penn
And I want to say to all of those fighters out there, some of you guys are going to be the world champions.
Some of you guys are going to make a lot of money.
But let me remind all of you guys, MMA is not a career.
It's an opportunity.
And you go out and you make the most of your opportunity when you get that chance.
And when it's time to walk away...
I've had a very rough time myself walking away.
And I just wish and I hope you guys the best for your guys' future.
joe rogan
That's a beautiful statement.
And I love what you're saying, because it is true.
And even though guys are doing it for a career, it is an opportunity, meaning it's a temporary career.
It's not like being an accountant.
You can keep going.
Get thicker glasses, keep going.
You know, you can keep working if you want to keep working, if you have the money, and if you need the money, rather.
But for MMA, there's a window of time.
And that's why I think it's so important to judge a fighter by their best work.
Like I always say, I mean, I don't want to say there's a goat, but for me, when anybody tries to say anything bad about Mike Tyson, I go, there was a window of time where Mike Tyson was the motherfucker of all motherfuckers.
Like, you don't know.
bj penn
I'm getting chicken skin.
joe rogan
You weren't around back then.
You weren't around back then.
From 86 to whatever it was, like 89, Mike Tyson was the motherfucker.
He was the motherfucker.
He was the man.
He was the man.
He was terrifying.
And you don't get it because you weren't around then.
And you got to think about a fighter like that from that time period.
bj penn
And how did he make you feel, right?
It's not what they said, it's not what they did, it's how they made you feel.
And he still can make us feel that right there.
And we'll never, ever forget how he made us feel.
joe rogan
Yeah, never, never forget.
Yeah, there's certain fighters that when they, you know, achieve great heights, they achieve one victory after another victory, like you go, holy shit, I can't, I feel like I'm in the middle of history here.
I feel like I've went and seen history.
bj penn
When Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock fought in the Octagon the first time, I felt like, remember that?
joe rogan
Yes, I remember that.
unidentified
It was huge.
bj penn
People might think nothing of it today.
You only, oh, Tito fought Ken, oh, who cares, Ken?
Hey, that was the two biggest, this was the guy who carried our sport in the beginning, and then Tito was carrying our sport now.
Yes.
You know, and that was them.
unidentified
Yes.
bj penn
I'll never forget that feeling of watching them two look at each other in the octagon.
My whole body has chicken skin over it right now.
It was just...
People don't...
They'll be like, oh, but Tito just beat him up.
Ken was old.
No.
That was two eras.
That was an era and another era stepping in the ring for us to enjoy.
And I'll never, ever forget that.
unidentified
Ever.
joe rogan
Yeah, man.
Damn.
Those were the days.
bj penn
Yeah.
Jason Perillo, he always used to tell me, nothing more important than a fist fight, but it's going on.
joe rogan
While it's going on, nothing more important.
bj penn
I've made the best friends and had the best journey, and that's why we all love jiu-jitsu.
It's the camaraderie in everybody.
We're all talking and laughing.
No matter what, after the fight, you're going to have some laughs, you're going to have some tears, whether you won or lost.
joe rogan
Yep.
bj penn
You know?
And what a journey.
But I know that feeling after...
I remember when I started kind of getting bruised up and stuff.
And I remember I think I was in Australia.
I just fought Fitch.
And I remember I went back to the...
And my face was busted up because I couldn't even move in the third round.
And he just kind of sat on me and beat me up.
I went to the...
My friend, it was Hoyt actually, he goes, hey, come here.
And he filled the whole sink with ice so I could dip my face inside.
And I thought, it's the first time anybody ever did this for me.
I might be getting old.
Put my face in there, you know?
And when you get old, you start getting bruised.
You know what?
joe rogan
When did you feel like physically things were different?
unidentified
Like around what year?
bj penn
I don't know about the physique.
Well, I started looking when I started getting bruises, I think.
Because even like GSP sitting on me, hitting me forever, busting my whole face up.
And it was like Leatherface coming out like nothing.
Let's do a modeling shoot.
But then I started getting those black eyes.
And my father told me, he said, look, you're starting to bruise up now.
I think he was kind of saying it without saying it, but hey, you're starting to bruise up now.
Because I would never have anything on my face.
joe rogan
So how old do you think you were?
bj penn
I think it was around that time, around the Fitch time.
It was probably around those times.
joe rogan
And how old do you think you were when you fought Fitch?
bj penn
32, 33. But I always say, for any fighter, it's the miles.
It's not the age.
It's like a car.
You can keep a perfect car in mint condition in the garage.
It's the miles that you put in your body, like Julio Cesar Chavez.
All of us, you know, over there fighting.
All those fights in the octagon and all those fights in the gym.
Every day in MMA, you meet the new guy, the new a-hole who thinks he's the toughest guy in the world.
And he's your sparring partner for the next eight weeks.
And you got to deal with this, asshole.
And I just got tired of that kind of stuff.
Now I just laugh when I see it because you know you don't have to go kick his ass.
joe rogan
Did you get tired?
Was it physically tired or was it a waning of your enthusiasm?
You weren't as enthusiastic as you were when you were younger?
bj penn
Enthusiastic.
joe rogan
So then you didn't train as hard?
bj penn
It's always an emotional fatigue you get.
It's probably all of them.
You don't try as hard.
You don't train as hard.
joe rogan
You're just not in love with it anymore.
bj penn
But you try to put a goal like, if I could be the first guy to get three world titles.
So you try to put a goal in your head that makes sense.
And you keep falling up short and you're just like, huh.
But still right now, I'm still walking right here.
I know I don't even work out anymore.
I'm still the toughest man on the planet.
That's just...
I know.
joe rogan
That's how you've always been.
bj penn
I'll never ever not think that.
I'll be 80. I'll kick your ass right now.
joe rogan
Yeah, well, for people who don't know, for young people that have not researched the history of BJ Penn, you must now go watch because you're in for a treat.
You put on some spectacular fights.
It was fun times, brother.
Thank you.
Have you thought about doing anything else other than this running for governor thing?
bj penn
I just want to raise my kids and they're growing so fast, you know?
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
And I just want to be around.
I'll be around my mom now.
She asked me to move in with her since my dad passed away.
So...
Man, my dad was big.
My dad, a lot of people don't know, Helsing Gracie came over and he pushed jiu-jitsu more than everybody, of course, but my dad pushed jiu-jitsu a lot.
You know how it was in the 90s?
Nobody really liked jiu-jitsu.
Everybody liked kickboxing and boxing, you know?
And the gym wouldn't be making money, and he would always say, just leave it open.
Just leave it open.
I'll take care of you this month.
Leave it open.
He loved jiu-jitsu.
He loved...
I think he knew how important it was, because he was a judo black belt, but...
joe rogan
I'm sure he knew then.
And also, you won the Mundials three years in.
I remember those days, brother.
You won the Mundials three years in.
For people that don't understand how crazy that is, first of all, it's crazy to be able to get your black belt in three years.
Then to win the Mundials as a black belt after three years of training, there's only one guy that ever did that.
That's BJ Penn.
You did that shit, and I was like, we were all like, holy fuck, BJ won the Mundials?
That was wild!
bj penn
People ask me, they say, how did you get a black belt in three years?
Was it desire?
Was it dedication?
Was it drive?
And I always look at them and say, no.
It was fun.
joe rogan
You had fun.
bj penn
I had fun.
That's the only way.
You need to find...
What you love to do and become the best at it.
What's your favorite thing?
Everybody's got their thing in them, you know?
joe rogan
But it's just that accomplishment of being able to do that at that level three years in.
That's nuts.
bj penn
Man, and you know what's funny is John Lewis was telling Andre Pedanaris, BJ's ready to fight black belt.
Let him fight black belt.
So I went over to Novo Niao and he goes, Andre's always the nicest guy, right?
He goes, BJ, I believe in you.
I believe you can be the world champion.
But it's not me.
You have to convince them.
And he pointed at the whole group.
We've grown up in such a serious sport, right?
Where everything is important, you know?
So, I look in there and he goes, you...
We're going to do a selection today.
You beat these two guys, I give you your black belt right now, and you're going to be on A spot to go into the Munjo.
And then I won my two matches against the two black belts.
joe rogan
Wow.
bj penn
And that was harder than the Munjo because everybody's screaming in Portuguese and this and that.
And that's all of their friends.
They know each other better than me.
I'm from Hawaii, you know.
But they love me anyway, but still, you know, that's their brother.
Yeah.
So we all did it and this and that.
I just hear a lot of Portuguese going and I ended up winning.
And then I got to the Munjo.
I'm glad Joe Hawk didn't show up that day.
Because Joe Hawk was always my idol anyway, you know.
I can't beat him, he'll kill me, he'll kick my ass.
You remember Joe Hawk, how tough he was, right?
He's all of our idol.
But that was the days of Shaolin, Leo Santos, Robinho, Joe Hawk.
And it was just a fun time.
When I ended up with Novo Niao, they really kind of reminded me of a group of people from Hawaii.
And it was just home still till today.
joe rogan
That's awesome.
bj penn
That's my people.
joe rogan
Yeah, well, it was a beautiful relationship.
And the fights, some of those fights that you had, man.
I don't know if you ever go back and watch them.
Do you ever just fucking say, let me just take a look at what I did?
bj penn
I don't much.
joe rogan
Watch on YouTube.
bj penn
I don't much, you know.
I should.
joe rogan
You should.
Just put a smile on your face.
Watch a BJ Penn KO highlight reel.
bj penn
Imagine when I'm all there.
Come on, everybody.
It's time to watch it.
joe rogan
Put on BJ Penn KO highlights.
There's got to be highlights.
Yeah, it's hard for fighters to get past...
bj penn
To watch again.
It is, because then I start thinking about me and doing it now, you know?
Well, I'm 43. You know what used to help me when I would drive?
I had this one gray hair on my hand.
And whenever I did, I was like, okay, you're fine.
You don't have time.
That's what did it.
That's what helped, too.
joe rogan
That's hilarious.
That's hilarious.
Yeah, it's like, time doesn't give a fuck, BJ. Time doesn't give a fuck about anybody.
Time has its own ideas and you have a clock.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
But while your fucking clock was ticking, look what the fucking you did.
Look what the fuck you did, PJ. You fucked up a lot of people.
Like that takedown defense there was spectacular.
While you were hitting it with uppercuts, while he's trying to take you down.
This is another thing you did in that back take thing with Matt Hughes.
You were one of the first guys that was very effective at trapping arms.
Did you see what Mikey Musumechi did to Iminari?
bj penn
No.
joe rogan
They had a grappling match in 1FC. This is how good this Musumechi kid is.
I don't know if you know who he is.
bj penn
And Iminar is a legend.
I mean, he teaches us.
We would go to his seminar, me and you.
joe rogan
This kid buzzsawed him.
No way.
Dude, this kid is good.
bj penn
Where's this kid?
joe rogan
He's in Vegas right now.
This kid trains 12 hours a day.
And I'm not exaggerating, BJ. He is fucking obsessed.
He doesn't take days off.
He just goes.
bj penn
It's fun.
joe rogan
It's fun for him.
So they're exchanging leg lock attacks at first, and Iminari traps him.
bj penn
He looks like a kid.
joe rogan
He's young.
He's in his early 20s, I believe.
He's very young.
But the guy's so good and just constantly drills.
And has fantastic defense, too.
So his leg lock defense and his offense is very high level.
bj penn
I mean, to have Iminari to have your leg like that.
Imagine what me and you would be thinking.
joe rogan
Crazy, you're dead.
bj penn
Oh my god, he's gonna break my leg.
joe rogan
Yeah, but he's look at that right there.
I mean that is insane.
unidentified
What?
joe rogan
That footlock looks insane, but he gets out of this.
That's what's nuts.
So he starts attacking Iminari's leg and Iminari's like, okay, I gotta address that or I gotta hang on to this.
I gotta make a choice.
So he makes a choice.
And so now he's got his leg out and now Musumechi's got him in real danger.
So Iminari steps up and he tries to attack an inside heel hook.
So they're battling back and forth.
And Mr. Manchi, eventually, I think it's right out of here, he gets to his back.
So here.
So here he uses that right, that underhook, and bam, he clamps ahold of his body.
Now he's got him from behind.
So all he has to do is get his legs out and he's got his back.
It's pretty interesting.
Oh, look, he'll look again.
bj penn
This is amazing stuff right now.
joe rogan
Yeah, amazing stuff.
So if you don't know, Imanari is like this wizard leg lock specialist.
bj penn
He's been doing this before us.
joe rogan
Yeah, yeah, he was the man.
bj penn
And here's this kid fighting with him.
This is amazing.
joe rogan
Yeah, so now Musumechi gets him and he mounts.
Look how quickly he mounts.
It's a beautiful mount.
So he's got him on the ground.
He's got head and arm control.
Full mount.
Look how beautiful that mount is, dude.
Just quickly.
And he just clamps ahold of him and then he...
Watch how he takes the back here, BJ. This is wild shit.
Because it's so quick, it's hard to see how he's doing it.
Watch this little slickness right here.
So he holds on to him.
Look at this.
unidentified
Wow!
Wow!
joe rogan
How about that?
Can I see that again?
unidentified
Wow!
joe rogan
Now, by the way, folks, he's doing this to Imanari.
Look at this back take.
bj penn
Imanari has been doing this before me and Joe started.
joe rogan
That back take was nasty.
bj penn
Amazing.
joe rogan
Amazing back take.
So this is how strong this kid is.
bj penn
Off the going to your knees.
He takes her back off you going to your knees.
joe rogan
And this is what I was going to get to.
He triangles the arm under.
Not just hold it like you did, but he triangles it.
That's his move.
bj penn
How does he get it?
He just pushes it?
joe rogan
Watch, I'll show you.
He's very flexible with his legs and good leg dexterity as well, but he's got a whole system of how to set up arms and he drills them.
How to set arms and trap them.
Right there.
Look how he goes across.
He just keeps going until he gets it, but he pins that arm down.
And once he pins that arm down, see how he gets it under?
bj penn
Okay.
There he got it.
joe rogan
There he goes.
Now he's got it.
bj penn
That's the one I love.
joe rogan
Now he's got it trapped, and then he moves it to a triangle.
Look at that.
unidentified
Wow.
bj penn
It's over.
You'll never get it out.
joe rogan
Never getting that out.
That's nasty.
unidentified
Wow.
joe rogan
So not only did he take the back, but he triangles his fucking arm, and now he's battling off a rear naked choke from one of the best guys in the world with one arm.
bj penn
And the Japanese are the greatest in the world at defending back submissions and all that.
joe rogan
This kid is nasty.
So he keeps digging.
He's using the classic, you know, tuck your thumb, go under the chin, and he's getting across, and he's just trying to get it all the way across so he can grab that shoulder.
And now he's got the shoulder.
He's got one arm under it.
He's fucked now.
bj penn
Look at that.
joe rogan
And watch how he sinks this choke in.
It's a one-arm choke, but he reaches back and goes right through like that.
Look at that.
BAM! Wow!
bj penn
Nasty.
joe rogan
How nasty?
That kid's fucking good.
bj penn
I cannot believe that.
I cannot believe that I just saw that right there.
joe rogan
Well, this kid has been elite of the elite in no-gi grappling.
He's done a lot of gi work, too.
A lot of gi grappling, too.
He's elite at gi grappling as well.
But in no-gi, he's been fantastic.
bj penn
So is Gordon...
He's not a jiu-jitsu black belt, Gordon?
unidentified
What?
bj penn
No, I was asking you because I see...
I thought I saw him with...
joe rogan
Well, he's a Donaher black belt.
Okay.
I guess it's a no-gi black belt.
I think maybe he's trolling.
unidentified
Yeah, because I saw he wore a blue belt one day and a purple belt the next day.
bj penn
Yeah, that's what I was trying to figure out what was going on.
joe rogan
If he's not a black belt, who the fuck is?
You know, if Gordon Ryan isn't a black belt, how stringent are your requirements?
You got literally the greatest on paper, the greatest grappler of all time.
unidentified
And he's only 25. He's only 25?
joe rogan
Yes.
unidentified
Wow.
joe rogan
Wow.
Maybe he's 26 now.
Is Gordon 26?
Look, he got his brown belt.
That's not real.
bj penn
Yeah, I was trying to figure out what was going on.
joe rogan
That's preposterous.
I mean, unless he's fucking around, he's like, I don't want a brown belt.
bj penn
Give me a brown belt.
joe rogan
Gordon's about 240 now, somewhere around then.
He was having some stomach problems, but he seems to have worked them out for the most part.
Although he did say, you know, it depends on what he eats.
If he eats well, his stomach doesn't get any...
He got staph a bunch of times, and he was on antibiotics for a long time, and it just fucked his whole...
It's a certain reaction where he would eat food and almost everything he ate made him nauseous.
bj penn
Interesting.
I see you doing a lot with the diet and stuff nowadays.
You're into the meat or whatever.
joe rogan
I'm into the meat or whatever.
bj penn
Yeah, yeah.
Because I see so many different things out there.
joe rogan
I eat a lot of meat.
bj penn
Okay.
I love meat too.
joe rogan
You know...
It's a complicated conversation that's also wrapped up in politics.
bj penn
I wanted to ask you about that.
Okay.
joe rogan
You know, because people, like, when you associate meat with climate change.
bj penn
Oh, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
You don't care about the climate.
Don't you know that eating meat is a big part?
Well, there's a lot of problems.
bj penn
We're God now.
We're God now.
We're going to fix the earth.
joe rogan
We shouldn't fuck up the earth anymore than we've already fucked it up, and they probably should...
We've come up with some methods to mitigate it, but you've got to be rational about certain things.
Like, regenerative farming is real.
Which means, like, there's, on some farms, if they run them correctly, and again, I'm a moron, I don't know exactly if this is true, but they're talking about it being able to achieve a carbon neutral state on a regenerative farm.
So a regenerative farm is where the cows graze, And then they shit, and their manure is used as fertilizer, and then there's other animals that roam the land, like pigs and chickens, and they all shit and eat and take care of all the little bugs and shit and keep everything clean.
The microbes.
Yeah, and they run what the world is supposed to be like.
bj penn
Okay.
Within a fence or whatever.
Yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah, there's a guy named Joel Salatin, and he does this, and he has, like, a whole system.
And what he does is he just moves them to new areas.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
And he constantly has them roam around the land, and he just kind of, like, moves them in, like, movable pens.
bj penn
Okay, okay.
joe rogan
So they're always in nature.
They're just kind of, like, corralled in.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
But they live like an animal's supposed to live, not, like, you know, not like factory farming or anything fucked up.
bj penn
Gotcha, yep.
unidentified
Gotcha.
joe rogan
And that in doing it this way, they believe that they can achieve a carbon neutral effect.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
And the real problem in this country is, like, it's not just in terms of pollution.
There's a lot of pollution.
There's plastics, microplastics, that they keep finding in our bloodstream, and we're doing nothing to address that.
We just assume that that's a part of life, and you just have to deal with that.
As much as people know about that, there's studies that are coming out about this now that show that it's leading to a decrease in sperm count for men, an uptick in miscarriages for women.
There's things called phthalates.
And it's a kind of a chemical that comes from petrochemical products.
And when it gets into a mammal's bloodstream, it fucks up the reproductive system.
bj penn
Well, that's in a toothbrush and everything then.
joe rogan
Phthalates?
bj penn
I mean plastics, right?
joe rogan
I don't know what it's in.
I know it's in a lot of things.
I know it's in, like, when you microwave plastics, like, that's probably not a good idea.
bj penn
Oh, gotcha, because it goes in your food.
joe rogan
It could leach into your food.
You know, when you're heating up plastics and it's attached to your food, probably not the best idea.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
Which makes sense, right?
unidentified
That makes sense.
joe rogan
I mean, it's made out of fucking gasoline.
bj penn
And you're heating it up, yeah.
joe rogan
A scientist analyzed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors.
All healthy adults found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drink bottles, while a third contained polystrine, used for packaging food and other products.
A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.
Jesus Christ.
bj penn
So our Ziplocs.
joe rogan
So all our...
We're breathing this stuff in.
We're getting it from food.
We're getting it from all...
It's in the air.
All kinds of different things.
bj penn
Yeah, that makes sense.
joe rogan
Well, there's some particles, I'm sure...
What is brake dust?
What are they making those things out of?
Because that's a real thing.
Brake dust is a real thing.
No, no bullshit.
If you live in a place like New York City, and there's people constantly braking around you in traffic, that's like little puffs of this stuff.
bj penn
And you see it on the rims.
Don't you see it on the rim?
joe rogan
Oh, that's a real thing, BJ. Brake dust in the air is a real thing.
bj penn
Yep, I believe that.
joe rogan
100%.
They say that living in like a high population, high polluted area like that, where there's a lot of traffic, like if people are just using regular internal combustion cars like they are now, unless everybody switches to electric, you're ingesting a certain amount of chemicals that are coming out of those cars, whether you like it or not.
bj penn
Yeah, 100%.
joe rogan
If you're walking this way and everyone in this side has a fire going on, That's what they have.
They have a controlled fire.
bj penn
What are they burning?
joe rogan
They're burning gasoline.
So they're burning gasoline.
But it goes through a bunch of filters.
Don't worry about it, BJ. It's fine and clean.
And it goes through all these filters and comes out the back end.
But you're just walking next to that.
That's crazy.
bj penn
Imagine if you're jogging, the people who jog on the road.
joe rogan
When I used to drive home when I lived in LA and I'd get stuck in traffic, I'd always feel like shit when I got home.
And then I realized, oh, asshole, you're out there getting poisoned.
You're on the highway.
If you're on the 405 and it's bumper to bumper traffic for an hour and a half, bumper to bumper for an hour and a half, you're breathing in all these fires.
Everybody's got a sterno can.
You're breathing that shit in.
Isn't that crazy?
bj penn
It's true though.
joe rogan
That's what it is.
bj penn
A bunch of controlled fires.
joe rogan
It's a bunch of controlled fires.
And you're breathing the air in whatever's left that the engine doesn't suck in and burn off.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
Fuck that.
You know?
That's got to be bad for you.
There's like so many different things that we, you know, because civilization's amazing.
It's amazing that you can get medicine.
It's amazing that you can get education.
It's amazing you can get safe housing, that all this stuff can happen in an area.
That's civilization.
That's amazing.
But it comes with consequences.
And one of them is, one of the things that we've been using, these plastics, are getting into our bodies.
And it has disastrous consequences.
This woman named Dr. Shanna Swan, she wrote this book called Countdown, and it's all about these phthalates and these petrochemical products and what they're doing to reproductive systems.
bj penn
Because I remember they always have those things to take out the heavy metals and stuff, but now we've got to get one to take out the plastics, huh?
joe rogan
I don't know what they can do.
I wonder what they can do, but the real problem apparently is when these phthalates in particular infect women when they're pregnant, because then it has an impact on the development of the child.
So more so than it has an impact on an adult, during the process of maturation inside the womb, that's when they think it has effects on kids.
Oh, that's terrible.
Yeah, because this is what they're thinking about with mammals.
The study, I believe, showed that with mammals, when there was a large presence of phthalates, or a presence of phthalates, they could see that the male animal was more feminized.
They had smaller testicles, smaller penises.
They had smaller taints.
bj penn
And they don't want to fight back.
joe rogan
Wow, that's probably a lot of that there.
It's a thing that's going on in the whole world.
bj penn
It's easier to tell somebody what to do when they're not going to say, I don't want to do that.
joe rogan
I wonder what the fuck we could do about these phthalates, and I wonder what they could do about, I mean, microplastics.
And that guy, I'm sure you're aware of that guy, Boyan Slott, who built that, is a young kid who built that machine that's cleaning up the Pacific garbage patch.
bj penn
Yeah, I heard.
I didn't know exactly what name that was, but I heard about somebody trying to clean up that plastic in the ocean.
joe rogan
I mean, he developed this idea when he was 19 years old.
The kid's a genius.
bj penn
So what does it do?
joe rogan
Well, it's a machine that skims the ocean.
They actually have a working model of it now, and not only that, but you can actually buy products that they create from that recycled plastic, which is pretty badass.
unidentified
Interesting.
joe rogan
Yeah, they have sunglasses, and I think they have a bunch of other stuff now, but back then when he was on, they had sunglasses.
But this machine, it goes through the ocean and scoops up all this plastic.
Okay.
Over time, look at this, this is all stuff that they've gotten out of the ocean.
Isn't this insane?
So this garbage patch is gigantic.
It's this huge spot in the middle of the ocean where I guess the currents pass each other and it allows all this garbage to kind of stay there and collect.
So it's this massive, massive area.
But look how much shit is in it, man.
unidentified
Wow!
joe rogan
That's all just floating around in this massive spot in the middle of the ocean.
bj penn
You know, the fishermen who live off the ocean, they litter the ocean.
That's horrible.
They'll just drink a soda and throw it over that.
It blows me away when I see that.
joe rogan
It's so sad.
It's so sad if someone does that.
It's so ignorant.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
It's just they haven't been educated.
Someone didn't respect them and then they don't respect the ocean.
Someone should tell you what that is.
You live next to an amazing natural wonder.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
When you stand by the ocean in Hawaii and you look out, you're like, this is crazy.
There's so much water out there.
bj penn
How was your trip to Maui?
joe rogan
Love it.
I love it there.
bj penn
You had a great time?
Right on.
joe rogan
Hawaii is my favorite spot.
bj penn
When I become governor...
joe rogan
I'm gonna come back, man.
bj penn
Yeah, I heard you were planning on moving to the Big Island one day.
Were you thinking about it?
joe rogan
I thought about it.
Yeah, I'd heard that Terrence McKenna's house was for sale up there, but someone told me it burnt to the ground.
bj penn
Terrence McKenna.
joe rogan
Terrence McKenna is this psychedelic pioneer who's an ethnobotanist and just a genius guy.
I was a giant admirer of his work, and he had a getaway in Kona, Oh, nice.
Yeah, he lived in this area where he had set up this whole psychedelic plant compound all over this plot of land.
He was growing all these plants that they had acquired samples from overseas.
He was a scientist and wrote a bunch of amazing books on psychedelic drugs, and that's where he lived.
But I believe his place burnt to the ground.
bj penn
Oh, that's terrible.
joe rogan
He would live there, and then he would, every six months, he would get on a plane and go do speaking tours.
And there's a lot of these tours.
There's a podcast called The Psychedelic Salon, and they put up those.
You can listen to most of them.
He has it up there.
Lorenzo from The Psychedelic Salon, big shout out.
He has all these conversations that McKenna had in front of a...
Audiences and conferences and debates with people.
Really, really fucking interesting dude.
And that's where he lived.
I heard his house is for sale.
I was like, oh shit.
Then I heard it burnt to the ground.
So, is that true?
Did it burn to the ground?
jamie vernon
The only thing I can find at the moment is a Reddit thread of people saying they found it in the last two years.
joe rogan
They found the house?
unidentified
Uh-oh.
joe rogan
If Reddit found it, I'm never buying it.
unidentified
They're not sharing where it is.
jamie vernon
They said, like, I found it cryptically and I found the directions.
joe rogan
Well, I could always ask his brother.
I'm friends with his brother.
But he was something special.
Very entertaining and interesting guy with some wild ideas.
bj penn
Interesting.
joe rogan
He thought that people were going to create a time machine.
bj penn
It's almost like they got a time machine.
I don't know.
What do you think about that?
You gave up on the aliens, you gave up on all these different things, but man, just like Biff in Back to the Future, did they steal the sports almanac and go back to time?
joe rogan
I don't think they did.
I think that life, reality is slippery, and we always try to control it in our head at least.
We want some order to it.
We just want some order to life.
We want it to make sense.
It doesn't make sense.
So it always feels crazy.
It always feels like, ah, maybe this is a simulation.
Or maybe life is just bananas.
Maybe life is like really fucking crazy.
That's what I'm going with.
I don't think it's a simulation.
bj penn
It's pretty crazy for the animals, right?
Living in the Amazon forest or in the safari.
joe rogan
Yeah, it's crazy for them right now.
bj penn
Their lives seem crazier than ours, so why would ours be a simulation?
joe rogan
I got way too down the rabbit hole with these Instagram pages that show animals killing animals.
There's so many of them.
BJ, I spent like an hour the other day on YouTube just watching animals getting taken out by other animals.
There's so many of them.
bj penn
It's like an animal could just be born and- Snatch right away.
That's amazing.
That's just- It's brutal.
Life will beat you to death.
joe rogan
And that's what it was for most of the time when people were people.
That's what it was.
You go outside, you get eaten.
unidentified
Right.
joe rogan
You know, stick together, be careful, carry a spear, point it out at the jungle everywhere you go, because there's always something waiting to pounce.
bj penn
Because they said that people never used to live as long as us.
I mean, we weren't there, but we don't know.
joe rogan
Yeah, I mean, why is it...
I mean, if you really think about any kind of injury you got back then, broken leg, dead.
bj penn
You're dust.
unidentified
Dead.
bj penn
You're dust.
joe rogan
Dead.
Yeah.
Tear your ACL, can't run, dead.
bj penn
The elephants, they just keep walking.
joe rogan
Yeah, dead.
bj penn
Your tribe would just keep walking and you'd go down.
joe rogan
You'd go down, they'd stomp you.
Dead.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
You know, humans got down, there was a point in time when a supervolcano went off around Indonesia where they think humans got, was it called a toba?
Is that it?
Humans got down to somewhere in the neighborhood of like 70,000 people.
bj penn
Wow.
joe rogan
Was it 7,000 or 70?
Wow.
5,000 people?
bj penn
That's crazy to hear.
joe rogan
In the thousands.
bj penn
That's like Noah.
That's like Noah.
The name of that race was Noah.
5,000 people.
joe rogan
Yeah, but that was just one moment in time.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
Here it is.
3,000 to 10,000.
Oh, no.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
According to the genetic bottleneck theory, between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago, human population decreased to 3,000 to 10,000 surviving individuals.
unidentified
Wow.
joe rogan
Because it could be as low as 3,000.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
And that's just, so, if that happened, for sure people ate people.
Right?
Guaranteed.
bj penn
You had to.
joe rogan
You get down that low, you get down that low, when people die, you gotta eat them.
bj penn
Yeah, survival.
I mean, I wish we had real news.
I wish we knew what was going on around it.
And then it makes you wonder, okay, well, if we don't have real news, what's up with our history?
What's up with any history?
What's up with Hawaiian history?
What's up with Tahitian history?
What's up with any history?
We don't know anything.
joe rogan
There's independent people that you can trust.
That's all there is.
When something is a part of big organizations, it's reasonable to be skeptical.
I'm not saying that it's impossible for a big organization to be objective, but they're so influenced by advertisers.
They're so influenced.
They're so influenced.
They have to be.
They know where the money's coming from.
They're not going to pretend they don't know where the money's coming from.
bj penn
That too.
I talk to cultural advisors all the time from Hawaii or wherever, and I say, come on, let's be real.
You know, you weren't there.
We weren't there.
We weren't there, you know.
And we can just go as far as our grandmothers and, you know, that's how far we can go.
joe rogan
Hawaii is a wild place, man, because it's five hours on a plane over the ocean and yet it's America.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
It's wild.
bj penn
And we can't drive out.
unidentified
No.
bj penn
We're stuck.
We're there.
joe rogan
But it's paradise.
bj penn
They can use us as a control group.
I remember when they were offering us the...
It was like when I fought Liotto and I came back and I could be wrong, but I could be making a mistake, but I remember they were offering us the swine flu shot not too long after I got back fighting Liotto.
That was right when Obama got in.
It just made me wonder, because I was never really a flu shot guy in the first place, you know what I mean?
All of us...
I mean, you cannot set...
A sports world record unless you know about your immune system.
Unless you have some kind of knowledge.
Imagine a guy like Floyd Mayweather, what he knows about his immune system.
Every time he stepped in there, he made sure that he was ready to go.
There was nothing wrong.
Because no matter how good you feel, no matter how hard you train, you're only going to use the game plan to how you feel.
I know we planned on this, but hey, I don't feel like that right now, so we're going to do this.
You know what?
It's just life, right?
You know, you get put in those positions, but...
joe rogan
Well, the thing about Floyd Mayweather supposedly, and there's a thing that I tweeted the other day that was a YouTube video that I watched.
Floyd Mayweather's work ethic was insane.
unidentified
Insane.
joe rogan
They said that dude, Zab Judah went to train with them, because they had fought, and then Zab went and was sparring for him, and when they were working together, Floyd would call him up at like 2 in the morning, let's go run.
He's like, what?
The fuck are you talking about?
Okay, let's go to the gym.
It's 2 in the morning.
He's like, 2.30 in the morning, he wanted to go to the gym.
And then, like, eight hours later, he'll call you up, let's go run.
Like, he was running twice a day.
He was running sometimes 10 miles in the morning.
unidentified
Amazing.
joe rogan
He ran constantly.
And that's one of the things about him is, like, his cardio was off the charts.
unidentified
Yep.
joe rogan
Floyd never gets tired.
Never.
You never see him, like, huffing and puffing.
bj penn
And he beat Canelo.
Can you believe that?
joe rogan
He beat him clean.
unidentified
Right?
joe rogan
He beat him pretty clean.
But he was smart, too.
bj penn
With that bang.
joe rogan
Yep.
He made Canelo get down to 152. Remember that?
bj penn
Smart, man.
Yeah.
joe rogan
Very smart.
Very smart.
When you think about Canelo Bival...
bj penn
Who's Canelo Bival?
joe rogan
No, Canelo's fighting Bival.
Bival is...
bj penn
Never heard of Bival.
joe rogan
He is...
I want to say...
unidentified
He's a cruiserweight champion?
joe rogan
Is he a cruiserweight champion or a light heavyweight?
No, he's light heavyweight, I believe.
I believe he's light heavyweight champion.
Is that correct?
Dimitri Bival.
Light heavyweight champion.
bj penn
I heard they were talking about Canelo and Usman or whatever.
joe rogan
Yeah, they were talking about that.
bj penn
But MMA, it's truly the only sport because...
Like, George Masvidal was like, oh, Usman still is not a real puncher, or he still is not a real striker, even though Usman did catch Masvidal, and he's the only guy to put Masvidal down.
But MMA is just such a crazy sport that he might be kind of right by saying he's not really a full striker yet, but he knocked him out.
I couldn't believe that when George got knocked out, because that was the first time ever.
Were you there?
joe rogan
Yes.
bj penn
Wow.
joe rogan
One punch.
I think Usman, in terms of like welterweight, he's going to go down as one of the greats.
bj penn
Because he's doing an Anderson Silva type run right now.
joe rogan
He's already almost caught up to GSP. If he's not the greatest of all time, he's in the conversation.
Like when you look at all time greats, like I don't see a person at 170 that's ever lived that I think is a favorite against Usman.
I've never seen that person.
I've never seen that person.
bj penn
You're right about that.
joe rogan
They might exist, but I've never seen them.
unidentified
Right.
joe rogan
You know?
I mean, we were worried maybe it would be Hamzat.
Like, Hamzat seemed like he was that guy.
But he just jumped right into the deep water with Gilbert.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
But if you look at the difference in their performances, and I know you can't do MMA math.
It doesn't really work that way.
But if you did look at the way Usman handled Gilbert.
bj penn
Compared to Hamzat.
joe rogan
Hamzat got in real trouble.
Yeah.
bj penn
Makes you wonder.
joe rogan
Usman keeps getting better, man.
bj penn
And he can punch now.
One punch.
joe rogan
Masvidal.
bj penn
The coach, he's in Colorado, right?
joe rogan
Yes.
Trevor Whitman.
bj penn
Trevor Whitman.
He's doing a great job.
joe rogan
Trevor Whitman's a bad motherfucker.
bj penn
Yes, he is.
joe rogan
That guy's a wizard too.
bj penn
He's got Rose too, right?
joe rogan
Yes.
bj penn
Yes, he's amazing.
joe rogan
He's made a better MMA glove.
I don't know if you've seen it.
unidentified
Really?
joe rogan
Yeah.
Onyx, his company.
bj penn
But you don't poke people's eyes?
joe rogan
No, it's like you're curled into a fist.
It protects your hand better too.
unidentified
Okay.
joe rogan
And it's a more dense foam.
So it's the same weight, but it's superior construction.
unidentified
Nice.
joe rogan
I put it on and I was like, dude, this is the best MMA glove I've ever felt.
And he's a genius with that shit.
And I don't know why the UFC hasn't adopted it.
I want to send them this afterwards.
You need to get these fucking gloves.
They're the best gloves.
They're better for the fighter's hands.
They're better for fights.
I think there's a real possibility that they can eliminate a lot of eye pokes.
Because they cause you to curve.
You can open them up if you need to grapple, but they cause you to curve instead of You'll tell me.
A lot of the UFC guys say that the gloves almost feel like they're opening you up.
bj penn
You can't grab anything.
Once you tape your hands, your grappling is done.
You're basically like this at that point.
You know?
joe rogan
Unless you have giant hands.
Like some dudes.
Remember Lesnar?
Yeah, Lesnar.
But Verdoom with a guard.
bj penn
They had to get him a triple X glove or something.
joe rogan
Well, you know his gloves are bigger?
Shane Carwin's.
bj penn
Really?
joe rogan
Bro, Shane Carwin looked like a fucking comic book superhero when I met him.
bj penn
Shane Carlin.
Where is he from?
Is he from Texas?
joe rogan
Colorado.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
He's a Denver guy.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
He trained with Schaub, and when he was the interim champion, dude, I don't know what year this was.
I was living in Colorado, so I guess it was 2009, and I was doing jiu-jitsu at Amal Easton's place, and I look up from the mat and there's this dude who walks in who doesn't even look real.
He looks like if the thing from Fantastic Four was a person.
He's that big because he's in between fights.
He's like 300 pounds.
I wonder when Shane Carwin first fought in the UFC. I think he'd already fought in the UFC by then.
But he was so big.
Look at the size of his hands.
That's Shane's hand on the right and Brock's hand on the left.
But that's a bad perspective because Brock's hand is turned slightly sideways.
bj penn
Brock's whole first round against Shane was like the biggest man in the world on his back.
Just covering up.
joe rogan
Dude, if Shane just paced himself and didn't like completely empty the tank, he would have stopped him.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
He just got so excited that he emptied the gas tank trying to put him away.
If not for that, Shane Carlin would have been the heavyweight champion of the world.
bj penn
More fights have been lost by doing that than anything else.
Another thing I always hated too was like using your legs like a triangle or an armbar or trying to do some submission and then the round ends and then now you got a fight and your legs have nothing.
Yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
You want to look in your corner and be like, no, I want to fight.
Just my legs, my body count.
I want to fight more.
joe rogan
Yeah, when a guy jumps on a guy's back and tries to, like, ride his back and hold on and take his back from behind, like, boy, if you don't get that one, if you don't get that one, that's so much squeezing.
bj penn
Oh, standing up, you're talking, yes.
joe rogan
That's so much squeezing.
bj penn
100%.
joe rogan
That's a big one.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah, sometimes guillotines, right?
Or a darsk, they go for it.
bj penn
Any of those.
joe rogan
And they just blow their arms out.
bj penn
Yeah, really, man.
That's stuff you really gotta be accounted for.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
When you're in the ring.
joe rogan
How much different was that for you when you were incorporating that crazy strength and conditioning routine?
Was that where it made the difference, like in those moments?
bj penn
You know, yeah, I guess.
I think it made the difference in the speed.
joe rogan
In the speed.
bj penn
The speed was everything.
joe rogan
Because of all the plyometric drills?
bj penn
He would call it stretch speed or something.
And he's like, don't stretch too much because you want your tendons to be able to react back.
Your ankle will go like this.
But you don't want to always stretch too much.
You want to always be able to reflex.
That's what he was all about.
He was all about moving your body as fast as you possibly can.
That's what Marinovic was about.
He had those different things where you throw the things off and push them with your legs.
joe rogan
It makes sense as long as you have the kind of technique that you had.
But in the process of developing technique, it's like how much time do you spend with that kind of strength and conditioning versus how much time do you spend learning technique?
bj penn
Well, there you go.
I mean, sooner or later you're going to have to go and shoot some baskets.
How are you going to get better at surfing?
Sooner or later you're going to have to paddle out.
joe rogan
Well, look at a guy like Anderson in his prime.
Now, imagine if you don't have this kind of skills that Anderson has in his prime, but you're in really, really good shape.
That's not going to help you.
bj penn
You're just going to be the best-shaped guy at the club getting his butt kicked.
joe rogan
You're just going to get beat up for a little while longer.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
That's all it's going to be.
You're going to survive for a little while longer while Anderson tunes you up.
You need skills.
Skills are the most important thing.
bj penn
And the one thing you can't improve no matter how much time you do it is getting hit.
You don't get better from getting hit.
You get worse.
We've seen how many jaws crack.
Yeah, a lot.
Right?
And then boom, it cracks and you're like, oh.
They keep throwing that little rock at the glass and then a crack and then it cracks.
joe rogan
Who's the most durable and resilient guy that's ever fought in the sport in terms of longevity?
There's only one answer.
bj penn
Longevity.
Let's hear it.
joe rogan
Andrei Orlovsky.
bj penn
Oh, that I cannot believe.
joe rogan
Cannot believe.
bj penn
Because he started with me.
joe rogan
He's still winning.
bj penn
And he's still going.
joe rogan
He's still winning.
bj penn
I cannot believe.
joe rogan
Andrei Orlovsky looks great.
bj penn
I bow to you, Andrei.
You are amazing.
You inspire all of us every day.
joe rogan
Come on, man.
Andrei Orlovsky was the UFC heavyweight champion in the world.
And what year was that?
bj penn
What year was that?
He defended against Paul Buentello.
I remember that.
What year was that?
He won it against Sylvia.
joe rogan
Right.
bj penn
And he defended against Buentello.
Then he might have lost it to Sylvia.
joe rogan
I want to say that was like 2003. Yup.
bj penn
What a great...
He's amazing.
joe rogan
It's amazing.
bj penn
And then he went to...
He was in New Mexico.
joe rogan
Bitch, this is 20 years we're talking now.
bj penn
20 years in the UFC. He's still knocking people out.
joe rogan
Insane.
Insane.
bj penn
He made it a career.
joe rogan
2005. He made it a career.
So it's been 17 years.
bj penn
Wait, he started fighting UFC 2005?
joe rogan
Was that his debut?
UFC 28. Before me.
That was in 2004. So he debuted in 2004, the champion in 2005. But my first fight was 2001. Oh, yeah.
bj penn
What was his debut?
joe rogan
2004 was his debut.
jamie vernon
UFC 28 was 2000, actually, it says.
bj penn
Oh, yeah, yeah, because I was UFC 32, which was 2001. Yeah.
joe rogan
Wow.
Amazing resilience.
bj penn
Belarus.
joe rogan
I mean, that dude has been around, son.
bj penn
Yes, it's not even a question.
Andrzej Olofsky.
He is...
joe rogan
He fought everybody!
bj penn
He is the...
The quintessential.
joe rogan
And he's still winning.
That's what's crazy.
bj penn
He's got to look at me and say, MMA's an opportunity by ass, BJ. This is my career.
It is for him.
joe rogan
For him.
He fights on Saturday night.
He fights Saturday night on the Font vs.
Verify.
That's a good card, too.
I like that card.
bj penn
Imagine.
He's so amazing, this guy.
joe rogan
It's incredible.
That is incredible.
bj penn
He's too amazing.
33 and 20. Proud of this guy.
joe rogan
It's just the enthusiasm still there.
bj penn
The records show nothing.
The records, like you said, it's on the day when that happens, right?
joe rogan
Yeah, on the day.
You have to look at the overall body of work, but you also really have to look...
I mean, when I talk about greatness, that's what I like to concentrate on.
I mean, there's a lot of amazing fights and there's a lot of amazing fighters and great wars and everything.
But there's something about extraordinary greatness when a guy just has total domination over a division.
And you had that.
And George had that.
And there's a few guys that have had that over time.
Usman has that right now.
Mighty Mouse had that.
There's a few guys.
Izzy has that.
You've beaten everybody in the division.
You're kind of owning the division.
That's a rare gem of a fighter.
And my thought is to always analyze those people at their peak of power and destruction.
And you get to watch them.
Like Stylebender versus Paulo Costa.
bj penn
Yeah, exactly.
joe rogan
He's at the peak of his powers.
bj penn
Exactly.
joe rogan
Just full wizardry in effect.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
You know, just putting on a show against the most dangerous guy in the division, the scariest guy in the division, just lights him up like a Christmas tree.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
Does whatever he wants to.
bj penn
I like Stylebender.
joe rogan
Love Stylebender.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
But his technique, it's a rare thing when a guy gets to what we're talking about when someone's just dominating a division.
That's a special kind of athlete to be able to do that.
bj penn
Because what did everybody say when Anderson was dominating his division?
Oh, well he doesn't have a strong division.
But he made it not look like a strong division.
joe rogan
He fought good guys.
bj penn
I mean, it is true.
You are who you fight and that's why Ali was so lucky to have Frazier and Norton and Foreman and have all these guys.
And Anderson, remember when he jumped around and then when Carlos Newton shot at him and he kneed him in pride?
He was just dancing around, moving, moving, moving.
And boom!
That's the setups that you were talking about.
When you were talking about his setups and I was thinking about when he kneed Carlos.
joe rogan
Yeah, he was phenomenal.
bj penn
He was such an animal.
joe rogan
He was so good.
And it's just, I think that what we're all doing is, as fans, we're observing it, and as guys like you are participating in excellence in a discipline.
And this discipline is fucking people up.
And it's a complicated discipline, and everybody approaches the discipline differently.
You know, Brock Lesnar was like, ground and pound, smash, get you to the ground, beat the fuck out of you.
You know, and Olivera, real technical with his strikes, nasty submissions.
bj penn
I love Olivera and I tell him all the time, I say, because I always see him with Makako and I always tell him, I say, I said, you know what I love about you, Charles?
You always stayed with Makako.
Never left.
And us being Jiu Jitsu guys, we know what that's about, being a Kroochi and stuff.
And Makako always looks at me and he nods his head because he knows that we're from that generation.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
Right?
But ever back then, it was little gangs, like the Jiu Jitsu gang, the wrestling gang, the kickboxing gang.
It was all a bunch of gangs and everybody carried their own flag.
joe rogan
Yep.
bj penn
It was different than it is now.
And I think, imagine getting into this now.
I mean, where would you start?
Where do you begin?
Yeah, where would you start?
It seems a lot more scary.
For me, I was like, oh, I had it easy, man.
Everybody was just starting out, you know?
These guys are crazy.
joe rogan
If you started out from the beginning, like say if you were a young kid, if you wanted to coach a young kid, would you say go to an MMA gym or would you say specialize in something first?
Like while you're young, specialize in jujitsu, specialize in kickboxing, get really good at that.
Specialize in wrestling, get really good at that.
Then you can go start learning all that other shit, but you'll always have that one strength over people.
bj penn
That's what I've always said my whole life, but I don't know now.
I don't know if a guy like Trevor Whitman can just train a kid, you know what I mean, and grab him and just take him and just take him all the way.
But I always used to say before, find what you like the most.
What do you like?
Do you like striking or you like grappling?
Which one you like the most?
Okay, you like wrestling.
Okay, try to become an Olympic wrestler.
Go do that.
Try to go to college.
Go do that as far as you can.
And then when you're done doing that, when you're done with that dream, start to add everything else.
That's what I would think before because that's what I did, right?
I did jiu-jitsu until I was a world champion.
I tried to add everything else.
Am I slowing the guy down by doing that now?
I don't know.
I think I would have to sit and talk to people.
I'd talk to you.
I'd talk to Eddie.
I'd talk to all of these guys.
I'd talk to Perillo.
I'd go talk to Trevor Whitman.
I'd talk to Javier.
You know, I don't know.
joe rogan
We have to take into consideration people's physical limitations too, right?
bj penn
Well, that too.
That's a fact.
joe rogan
That's a fact.
If you're training someone from the jump, there's no real guarantee that they're ever going to be really good.
bj penn
That's why I don't train people.
Because they've got to leave you anyway.
To be the best, they've got to leave you.
And here you were just putting everything into them.
You know what I mean?
And you're going to have to be nice and bid them a nice farewell because they've got to learn more than what you have to teach.
joe rogan
Especially if your income relies on them.
unidentified
That too.
joe rogan
You need fighters to pay you because that's how you make a living.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
There's a few guys that seem to have a fantastic relationship with their pupils like Farasa Habi.
He's got a fantastic relationship with all his fighters and I love the way he runs his gym.
He's such a philosophical guy.
Yes.
A perspective in these fighters just from the way he carries himself and the way he can...
I mean, he's like one of the...
Have you ever sat down and had a conversation with him?
bj penn
Just a little bit here and there, but I love Farad.
Yes, he is very articulate like that.
joe rogan
He's a brilliant, brilliant guy, and that's why he's so good as a coach.
bj penn
I have so much respect for the MMA coaches, and I tell Jason Perillo all the time, I said, hey, we started together, but look at you, man.
You're out there swimming.
I think it's harder to be an MMA coach and make a living and pay your rent than the fighter himself.
joe rogan
You've got to count on somebody else to go out there and perform.
bj penn
Yeah, he went through, he was with me, then he got Michael Bisping to the championship, then he got Chris Cyborg to the championship, now Chi Tovero is working his way up.
joe rogan
Mackenzie Derns with him.
bj penn
Mackenzie, yep, and...
joe rogan
Yeah, Chito Vera's with him all the time.
Chito Vera's fighting Rob Font this weekend.
unidentified
Wow.
joe rogan
That's a serious fight.
bj penn
Yes, that is a serious fight.
joe rogan
That's a serious fight.
bj penn
Those are two hungry guys.
joe rogan
I'm fired up for that fight.
bj penn
That's hunger.
That's hunger right there, those two guys.
joe rogan
Fuck yeah.
That's a great fight.
unidentified
And it's a headliner on ESPN+. Because God throws you out there and it's like sink or swim.
bj penn
And I'm like, man, Jason Perillo, he's swimming out there.
Look at this guy.
unidentified
Super well respected.
bj penn
That's why I was with him.
Yep.
And...
It's just amazing, these coaches.
They know a lot.
joe rogan
Yeah, they gotta put so much in a fighter.
When you find some kid, you don't know if he can take a shot.
You don't know.
There's so many things.
You don't know what happens when the heat gets turned up to nine.
bj penn
You gotta weed them out right away.
Okay, get in here right now.
Go ahead, go, go.
You want to fight?
You step in the ring right now.
Let's see it.
joe rogan
Well, BJ, one of the things that Mike Tyson was talking about was when he met Customato, that Customato also worked with him under hypnosis.
And so he coached him and put him in a state of hypnosis and would coach him and talk to him about mindset and get him programmed.
bj penn
Wow.
joe rogan
And then also physically super crazy gifted, right?
Yeah.
He told me he was 13 years old.
He was almost 200 pounds.
He was in the 190's at 13 years old.
He goes, and jacked!
So he was fucking kids up that were like, they had no business being in there with him.
And then on top of that, he's got Customato who's coaching him on psychology.
Customato was the guy who said, fear is like fire.
It could be your friend, it can cook your food, or it could burn your fucking house down.
bj penn
Yep.
Fear is like fire.
joe rogan
I don't think you said fucking.
bj penn
Yeah, fear is like fire.
joe rogan
Yeah.
That was one of the phrases that Cuss would say.
And to have Mike Tyson run into Cuss D'Amato right when he was maturing, too.
He was 13 years old.
So he's physically maturing.
And then he's with this real psychological wizard who's an amazing boxing coach.
And he raises him to become one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
I mean, that movie...
Yeah.
I know they're doing a movie with Jamie Foxx.
Jamie Foxx is playing Mike Tyson.
bj penn
That's amazing.
joe rogan
That's crazy, right?
bj penn
That's crazy.
That is amazing.
Because Will Smith was the last, was Ali, right?
joe rogan
He did a great job as Ali.
unidentified
He did.
joe rogan
He did a great job.
bj penn
I like that.
joe rogan
And you could tell he did a lot of boxing.
Like, his hands look good.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
His hands look good.
bj penn
His hands look good the other night.
Ha ha!
joe rogan
I think that needs some work.
unidentified
You didn't even stagger Chris Rock.
bj penn
Everybody always says, you know why I hit Chris Rock?
Because it wasn't The Rock.
joe rogan
Yeah, could you imagine?
Come on, man.
Come on.
There's not a chance in hell.
That was just so crazy.
So crazy to do.
Such a crazy thing to think you could get away with.
bj penn
You know what?
I was actually...
I know I got this whole governor thing going, so it's always...
I always talk about it all the time, but I was actually filming a show when Nate Diaz came on and Bam Bam Baklava.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
He came on the show.
joe rogan
Action Bronson.
bj penn
Yeah, Action Bronson and this other comedian from Hawaii, Lanai, and it was called The Regimen where we go around and so James Lurice, he shot it for us and And they're trying to do something with it.
But we would go around to all the different fighters and kind of just talk to them about their regimen for their life.
You know what I mean?
And what they do now.
And sitting down with Nate, he gave me a lot of info.
He was like...
And he told me a lot of stuff.
I go, how'd you get into this and that?
And he was like, well, when my mom would...
Let us go with her brother while she went to work because the brother was a track and field coach at the gym that they were at the Stockton or whatever at the high school and that's how they got into all that you know conditioning you know the Diaz brothers crazy conditioning stuff right yeah so I never really knew about that you know it's kind of generational their conditioning right what makes sense now after watching them Beat everybody's ass in the fifth round.
joe rogan
Yeah, they were doing all kinds of crazy triathlons and cycling events and swimming from Alcatraz.
Nick swam back and forth at the last time I was in contact with him.
He said it was five times.
unidentified
Wow.
joe rogan
Five times he swam from Alcatraz.
bj penn
I wouldn't jump in that water.
joe rogan
Dude, people get chopped in half in that water.
bj penn
He was in Hilo, he was staying with me for a couple weeks in Hilo, went down the YPO Valley and stuff, and he was just trying to get his head right.
joe rogan
First of all, what if you get run over by a boat?
bj penn
Any of that stuff.
joe rogan
I mean, I know the odds are small, but don't the odds get greater as you get closer and closer to the water?
Or to the shore, rather?
Like, if you jump from Alcatraz and you go straight through, aren't there boats going through that?
unidentified
There's boats going through that, BJ. I don't know how he wouldn't be scared of the sharks.
joe rogan
Fuck, man, what about the boats?
bj penn
The boats, any of that.
joe rogan
I would be worried about some drunk dude playing Billy Joel down in Pabst Blue Ribbons and he's going to butcher you with a fucking propeller.
bj penn
Man.
joe rogan
Fuck that, dude.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
Captain Jack will get you.
Runs right over you.
I would definitely worry about sharks, too, though.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
But in that area, it's like a great white breeding ground.
bj penn
That's what it means.
Fuck that.
Nixon animal.
Nixon animal.
joe rogan
Five times.
bj penn
He's an animal, that guy.
joe rogan
Five times.
At least.
That was the last time I was in contact with him.
bj penn
Wow.
joe rogan
Because I said he did it two times, and he messaged me.
Nope, five times.
I was like, oh, shit.
Five times.
bj penn
No, five times.
joe rogan
Five times.
That means he did it three more times since the last time I heard about it.
bj penn
Such a beast.
joe rogan
Yeah, him and his brother.
I wonder what they're going to do with Nate.
I wonder what's going to be the comeback fight.
unidentified
Right?
bj penn
Because he's talking about trying to get out.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
I think if they give him the right money, I think he'll stay.
bj penn
Yeah, of course.
joe rogan
I think he'll stay, if he wants to keep fighting.
Whether or not he wants to keep fighting.
unidentified
There's only one place for us to fight, and that's in the UFC. Man, is that good?
bj penn
What?
joe rogan
Is it good that there's only one place to fight?
Or would it be better if there was a real viable option?
You don't think Bellator's a totally viable option?
bj penn
I think...
Well, they were just in Hawaii this last weekend, and I had a great time at the show.
Of course...
joe rogan
You know who I think is right there?
bj penn
Of course I wish that there was people that they could...
Remember I went to K1 for a little bit?
joe rogan
Yes, I do.
bj penn
They were paying me big money.
unidentified
Yeah.
bj penn
You know, they were paying me big money.
joe rogan
Yeah, but I'm just glad you came back.
bj penn
Oh, I'm so happy I came back.
joe rogan
Yeah, when you came back, you went on a fucking rampage.
bj penn
And a lot of people don't, like...
When I won the lightweight belt, that was kind of towards the end of my career.
That wasn't towards the beginning.
I kind of had like two or three kind of mixed up careers here and there.
joe rogan
There's guys over at Bellator that I go, man, that guy, like here's one, Musasi.
bj penn
Mousasi and Stylebender.
We want to watch that.
joe rogan
Fuck yeah.
bj penn
We want to see it.
joe rogan
I did not like watching Mousasi go over to Bellator for that reason.
Because I knew Stylebender was so good and Mousasi so good.
I think when I watch Mousasi, I go, man, that guy might be the best.
He's up there.
He's up there.
When he was in the UFC, when he beat Weidman, he beat a lot of people.
He's elite.
Yes.
bj penn
Yes, he can fight with Stylebender.
That's the fight we want.
joe rogan
It would be fascinating, for sure.
It's an exciting matchup, because he's a real fucking...
Real veteran.
bj penn
He really isn't.
joe rogan
Real veteran.
Did you see the Austin Vanderford fight?
bj penn
Is that who he did?
joe rogan
Yeah, he just...
Did he wipe him out?
Yeah, he wiped him out.
He clipped him early, hurt him, rocked him, smashed him, and he just buzzsawed him.
bj penn
He was there from the Pride days.
joe rogan
He's been around a long time, dude.
bj penn
And he still seems pretty hungry, actually.
joe rogan
Still seems very hungry.
I think he's making good money.
I think Bellator's taking care of him.
bj penn
Right?
Yeah, he's still got his hunger.
You know who had the hunger forever was Bisping.
And then he came back and won that belt.
joe rogan
With one fucking eye.
We're talking about having the hunger.
Bisping fought ten fights with one eye, BJ. Ten fights.
bj penn
Bisping and Matt Serra was the two guys I called personally and said, I wouldn't rather have anyone else be the champion than you guys.
joe rogan
That's awesome.
bj penn
I loved it when Serra was the champ and when Bisping was the champ.
joe rogan
I was very happy for Michael because, you know, that was like, it could have eluded him.
He might have had to retire.
The guy hung in there with one fucking eyeball.
I don't think people understand how crazy that is.
Not just to fight with one eyeball, but fight in the UFC. The best fighters.
bj penn
To fight Anderson Silva with one eyeball.
joe rogan
So he basically said everybody after that Vitor fight, he was blind in that eye.
That Vitor fight, when Vitor hit him with that head kick?
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
From then on, his eye was fucked.
Bunch of operations, never got his vision back.
Now it's completely gone.
bj penn
Once I got the cataract, I don't even know if I won since I got the cataract surgery 10 years ago.
Because I ended up getting a cataract.
joe rogan
Do you think, is cataract something that you get just...
bj penn
It's from fighting.
Gotta be from fighting.
It said like on the prednisone, like, oh, you could get a cataract, but I'm just like...
And I was taking it at the time, but I think it's from getting hit in my eye.
joe rogan
For sure.
bj penn
Yeah, yeah.
And then...
I did a lot of acupuncture and stuff, and it brought my eye back.
I could read and everything, because it looked like a kaleidoscope at first for a while.
It came back, I could read, but I didn't do as much.
This part was the problem, I think, with that perception.
So this eye would be like that.
So I'd kind of try to use this eye, and maybe I would square myself up.
I don't know.
But let's just say I got old and started getting my ass kicked.
That's enough.
joe rogan
Well, the interesting thing is why I asked you at what year you started to feel, how old you were when you started to feel the decline.
What you said was indicative of what we used to think of fighters.
We used to think fighters hit like 33, 34, they start going downhill, 35, 36, 37, 38. You get to like 38, 39 as a professional boxer.
Not a lot of guys in that area.
bj penn
Not a lot of guys.
joe rogan
There's a few George Foreman's, there's a few rare.
Sergio Martinez was at one point in time.
He was like fairly advanced in age and really good.
But after you get like in the late 30s, it's like there's something going on clearly for most people.
But for guys that were on the sauce, that's where it got weird because they could keep going.
bj penn
Yeah, that's where it got weird, and that's where we got confused, and that's why I thought it was a career.
I'm over here taking the light force, you know what I mean?
And I'm in my 20s, and I'm gassing out, and everybody's still going.
joe rogan
That is the difference.
You fought natural.
You know, you fought natural at a time where very few people did, and we both know that.
You know, without accusing anybody.
It was just a fact.
bj penn
We don't have to accuse nobody.
joe rogan
It was just a fact.
Everybody knew it.
Everybody knew there was certain camps that had even hired doctors that would make sure they get tested clean.
bj penn
That's what I couldn't believe when the doctors started showing, oh, this is my doctor.
Doctors in the camp.
joe rogan
Yes.
There were certain guys that had a lot of money and they wanted to ensure that they had the competitive advantage.
They thought about it the same way cycling teams thought about juicing up Lance Armstrong.
bj penn
I remember when I was going to fight Dennis Seaver and I worked out and stuff, but I didn't care.
I was just drinking, just hanging out.
I show up to the fight.
I didn't even care about it.
It was towards the end of my career.
I show up to the fight and I see Dennis Seaver and I go...
I'm going to win.
Look at him.
He looks like he's done.
We went to the weigh-in and then he had a doctor and the doctor did introduce himself.
I'm the doctor for the team or whatever.
But I saw him and I was like, I'm going to kill him.
I don't even care how I trade for this fight.
I do my flex and everything.
When I walked into the ring, I couldn't even believe the guy saw on the other side, how much bigger he was.
And I was getting older towards 38 or 40, but I wasn't afraid of nobody.
unidentified
You know what I mean?
bj penn
Like, oh, he looks a lot bigger, but...
Let's go.
Let's do this.
But just thinking, you know, about all that, like having a doctor and all that.
But I remember thinking at the weigh-in when I saw him, I said, I'm going to win.
It doesn't matter how I trained.
And then when I saw him in the ring, it was just two different, two different people.
joe rogan
Did you not train as hard as you would have liked for that fight?
bj penn
Towards the end, I guess, it just...
joe rogan
He didn't have the enthusiasm.
bj penn
Yeah, and you're like, hey, you could train real hard and lose.
And you could not train real hard and lose.
It just got, yeah, but we know.
But you see how the brain changes.
And I would say what changed is when I was a kid, this is all I wanted.
All I wanted.
And then I had those things.
Now I wanted more.
I wanted more cake.
Come give me more.
Come give me more.
You know what I mean?
But...
But were you willing to do what it took?
But even if I did, I mean, still I was older and these kids are younger.
joe rogan
It just is what it is.
bj penn
It just is what it is.
I got no complaints either way.
No matter what I did, no matter what happened, No matter any of the controversial stuff that ever happened in my whole career, I love everybody.
I love everybody.
I love everybody who punched me, everybody that let me punch them, all of my friends and foes.
joe rogan
Someone should do a special and just call it Prime.
And look at the elite of the elite fighters in their prime.
bj penn
In their prime.
joe rogan
Just only look at, I mean, whether it's Ernesto Hoost over in K1. Yes.
Or whether it's, you know, George St. Pierre when he was a welterweight champion.
Like, look at people when they're in their prime.
Look at you when you were the lightweight champion in your prime.
Look at Anderson when he was middleweight champion in his prime.
And just analyze how exceptional these performances were.
And just do like a breakdown of the evolution of...
Of martial arts, of mixed martial arts, because it's one of the rare sports, PJ, where we were there.
We saw it early on.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
I mean, I watched my first one when I was 94, and it was at a video store.
I got it at a video store, like, right after it came out, they released it as a video.
I didn't watch it live, and it was like UFC 2. And then, from then on, I've been watching.
bj penn
I think that was my—the first fight I ever saw was Pat Smith sitting on— And boom, boom, boom, and that elbow.
joe rogan
With that ninja guy.
bj penn
Yes.
joe rogan
Remember that guy was practicing ninjutsu?
bj penn
And we don't know much about him because he's a ninja.
Isn't that what they said?
Yeah.
joe rogan
Well, he was doing all these ninja warm-up moves in the video.
bj penn
Scott Morris or something, right?
joe rogan
I think that was his name.
I don't remember.
bj penn
But that was wild.
And I remember the elbow one.
joe rogan
Yep.
bj penn
Because I talked to Remco on Instagram here and there.
unidentified
Remco Pardue.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
And I go, hey, I think that might have been the first fight that I saw.
joe rogan
That was against Orlando Witt.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
Remember, Orlando Witt was a badass Muay Thai fighter.
bj penn
He was, right?
Was he good?
I didn't know about him.
joe rogan
He was very good.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
From Europe.
bj penn
He was a Europe guy.
Okay.
joe rogan
I think he was...
I want to say Holland?
I might be wrong.
unidentified
Okay.
joe rogan
I don't remember, but he was a very good Muay Thai guy.
And he looked great, but Remco got him in like...
bj penn
And he was huge, Remco.
joe rogan
...Judo side control.
And just blasted him.
unidentified
Right?
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
That was crazy.
joe rogan
Do you remember when Ramko fought Marco Huas and Marco Huas got mounted and he just tapped?
Because back then, everybody thought if someone mounted you, it was over.
unidentified
Right.
joe rogan
Remember those days?
bj penn
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, I forgot that he fought Marco.
joe rogan
Marco just mounted him and he tapped.
bj penn
Was that when Marco kicked Paul Varlin's legs?
unidentified
Yes.
bj penn
The same tournament?
joe rogan
I don't know if it was the same tournament, but that was that era.
bj penn
Remember Marco, they had three question marks on his age?
Like he'd walk in, they wouldn't say his age.
His age, he would tell you he was vain.
joe rogan
Right?
He looked like he stepped right off a beach.
unidentified
Marco Huas, he had a perfect body.
joe rogan
Perfectly tanned.
Beautiful man.
Big giant guy with huge fucking hands and huge feet.
Marco Huas was the shit.
bj penn
Yup, he was.
joe rogan
He was the shit.
bj penn
Look at that.
joe rogan
Come on, son.
With the Speedos.
Get the fuck out of here, man.
Marco Huas was the fucking man.
bj penn
An animal.
joe rogan
Yeah, Marco Ulas was the man.
bj penn
And we all wanted to see him fight Hickson and all that, remember?
joe rogan
Yep.
Well, he was the first guy that showed us that you could utilize leg kicks and stop a guy and chop him down.
bj penn
We didn't even know that.
joe rogan
Yeah, he was really the first guy.
And then Maurice Smith did it.
bj penn
Oh, yeah.
joe rogan
Then we got to see, ooh, this is a real elite-level kickboxer doing it.
bj penn
And then Maurice survived against Coleman, won the decision.
joe rogan
Yes.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
I was there for that.
bj penn
Wow.
joe rogan
Yeah, that was back when I was doing the post-fight interviews.
bj penn
Okay.
joe rogan
I remember I couldn't believe it.
I couldn't believe it.
Maurice was talking to him while he was kicking him.
He was like, ground and pound me, Mark.
Come on, ground and pound me.
Whack!
Ground and pound me.
And he was like, moving in front of him, whack!
And Mark was like, motherfucker.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
He just kept slamming him with those shins.
bj penn
The jiu-jitsu guys came, then the wrestlers came, then the strikers came.
joe rogan
Well, the era of Mark Coleman, that was a big deal.
unidentified
That was.
joe rogan
Because Mark Coleman was 265 and fucking...
When Mark Coleman entered the scene, everybody got bigger.
Everybody gained weight.
Everybody got bigger.
Everybody was lifting weights.
You had to keep that fucking gorilla off you.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
That was during the headbutts, no gloves days.
bj penn
Mark was telling me, Mark and Kerr, he was telling me, yeah, me and Kerr and Kevin, everybody were hanging out and we were all jacked and we were getting ready for the Olympic trials and then we saw...
And then we saw Kurt Angle walk in and then we saw Kurt Angle jacked bigger than us and then we all put our head down and knew we were done.
They couldn't get one over on Kurt anymore.
unidentified
That's hilarious.
joe rogan
That's hilarious.
Dude, guys like him and Dan Severn, those early wrestlers, so important.
bj penn
What about Severn?
joe rogan
Severn's still around.
Severn has a podcast with Don Frye.
bj penn
He seemed pretty natural to me, Severn.
I mean, I don't know.
unidentified
Yeah.
bj penn
I mean, as far as his look.
joe rogan
He seemed very natural.
Very natural.
Yeah, I don't know either.
But I don't think he ever took anything.
I bet he didn't.
bj penn
But he was a beast.
He knew how to wrestle.
joe rogan
Fuck yeah, he did.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
And he was the first guy we ever saw get tapped in a triangle.
bj penn
Oh yeah, yeah.
And then the first guy we ever saw a tap from that tube.
joe rogan
That's right.
Coleman got him.
bj penn
He tried to dig his eyes and everything.
joe rogan
Yeah, Coleman got him in that judo side control.
bj penn
Yeah, but imagine like jujitsu, like a jujitsu black belt versus a jujitsu blue belt.
Like that's how we would have to think that Coleman was so good at that time at wrestling that there was no way Severn would have been able to stop his takedowns.
joe rogan
He was so good at wrestling and he was ridiculously strong.
bj penn
Danny was hungry.
joe rogan
And that was a no-glove fight.
bj penn
Yeah, right?
It was a no-glove fight.
joe rogan
You could headbutt back then.
It was very different.
You wore shoes.
bj penn
Mark tells me till today, BJ, I never thought they'd take out the headbutt.
I never thought in my wildest fight.
joe rogan
I never thought they'd take out the headbutt, bro.
Yeah, he was the king of the head bus because he would get on top of you and your guard, man, your guard had to be on point because Mark was trying to smash you with his fucking forehead.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
And when you got a guy who's that big, as big as Mark, with a neck like my waist, he was just slamming into your fucking face with his forehead.
That doesn't hurt his forehead.
It sure as hell fucks up all this shit, though.
If he's headbutting your nose and your mouth, that's a real weapon.
bj penn
Imagine 265 coming at you, holding you against the fence.
joe rogan
Let me ask you this, BJ. Why is it okay to elbow someone in the face, but it's not okay to headbutt?
Legitimately, I want to know.
bj penn
I think it's for the people outside the ring.
Fuck those people.
Fuck those people.
We're here to find out who's the best.
joe rogan
We're here to find out who's the best.
We're here to tell those people how it's supposed to be done.
This is what the sport is.
Stop pussying it up while they're still allowed to knee people in the face and shin people in the face and elbow people in the face.
It's crazy.
bj penn
I think when the UFC came out, reality television was out and was big and the UFC was the reality sport for the generation.
joe rogan
Yeah, it was perfect timing, right?
Yeah, it lined up perfectly.
bj penn
It was really promoted on the internet.
On those forums and all those different things.
joe rogan
Well, once the Ultimate Fighter broke out and that big fight between Stefan Bonner and Forrest Griffin in the finals were such a wild fight.
Everybody was calling their friends up.
They said, I forget what the numbers were, but at one point in time, it was millions of people were watching it on Spike TV because people had called their friends and go, you You gotta watch this shit.
It's crazy.
And that took the sport off.
bj penn
And that was 2005. That Horace Griffin stuff modified it really did.
Is Spike TV dead now?
joe rogan
Spike TV's gone.
bj penn
Wow.
The UFC left.
joe rogan
They changed it to the Paramount Network.
Right?
And I don't know if that's still around.
But it's a completely different format.
bj penn
Interesting.
joe rogan
Than it was.
But having that opportunity to get it on television and to do it through a reality show at the time where reality shows were at their peak, it was perfect.
It was perfect.
It was perfect.
It just aligned.
The stars aligned.
bj penn
And we were waiting for it all this time because...
You know, nobody knew that I beat Matt.
After the Ultimate Fighter came out, then I'm walking down the road, hey, it's the guy that beat Matt Hughes.
I'm like, nobody knew that for five years.
joe rogan
When was the first Matt Hughes fight?
What year?
bj penn
That was 2005. Wow.
Yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah.
So that's when everybody got to know.
Well, when you watch The Ultimate Fighter, one of the cool things about it is you got to see what a camp of guys training together would look like.
You got to see all the psychological dynamics that happen in camps.
bj penn
And they were sleeping in the same house and have to eat food and then go fight each other.
joe rogan
And they were fucking with each other's food and shit.
bj penn
It's the emotional fatigue.
That's what gets everybody.
Because you train for hours and you train thousands of hours for this 15 minutes.
Why are you tired?
How could you possibly be tired?
joe rogan
Yeah, your mind.
bj penn
It's your mind.
joe rogan
Anxiety.
Betch Cohea just talked about that.
She just retired.
And one of the things she retired about was the psychological burnout was so real.
bj penn
The antidote for anxiety is confidence.
And I wish I even knew this sooner, but when I would go to family court, I'm like, oh man, I just made a bad mistake.
I hope I don't, you know, have to get more supervision on my kids or anything.
And I'd be so anxious and have anxiety to go to family court.
And then I would tell myself, no, I'm going to win tomorrow.
I'm going to win when I get in court.
And they would calm me and relax me.
So I just, you know, the antidote for anxiety is confidence.
joe rogan
Yeah, but that works on you because you have a history of winning.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
I don't know if that works on everybody.
bj penn
Someone who's never won before.
joe rogan
If you never won shit, you're like, I'm going to fucking win, bro.
You're going to get knocked out.
Get out of there.
You've never won shit.
That's the fucking brutal reality of life.
It's not even.
It's not fair.
bj penn
Of those, like you said, and that's why Joe Rogan watches all those safari videos.
unidentified
I do.
bj penn
Because that's the reality of life.
And the animals, what's amazing is they don't feel sorry for themselves.
They just sit there and they're just going and they're just doing their best.
joe rogan
You know what's different?
Predators.
Predators fight back.
Predators are horrified when they're getting eaten.
It's interesting.
They react so much different.
bj penn
They put their butt down because they don't want to get their balls bitten off, right?
You always see them doing that, right?
joe rogan
Yeah.
When you see a predator getting eaten by another predator, it's wild.
I was watching this video the other day where a crocodile grabbed, I guess it was a jaguar.
Jaguar or a leopard.
I guess it was a leopard because it would have been in Africa.
But a crocodile grabbed a leopard.
I'm like, what the fuck, man?
unidentified
Right?
joe rogan
This thing thinks it's a cat.
Running around there, eating things, and it got a little too close to the water, and this fucking crocodile just leaps out, snatches it, and drags it into the water.
It's wild.
bj penn
That's great.
joe rogan
I watch that shit all the time.
bj penn
I'm gonna go Google that.
I'm gonna go Google that.
joe rogan
Oh, maybe Jamie will pull it up.
Well, maybe...
There's probably multiple...
Yep, I think this is it.
bj penn
He's trying to get that...
joe rogan
Yeah, he's trying to get whatever that dead thing is.
Oh, that ain't it.
It was a much bigger one.
This is a leopard trying to steal its food.
The one that I saw was it actually killed the leopard.
It dragged the leopard into the water.
It was a big crocodile and the leopard was not that big.
bj penn
Because even the lions go after the crocodiles, the alligators sometimes, right?
joe rogan
Yeah, look at that.
Lions and the crocodiles.
You might not be able to find it.
What is that?
unidentified
It's like a photo.
bj penn
They'll kill the crocodile on land.
joe rogan
Oh yeah, they kill him.
They sneak up behind him and they get their back.
bj penn
Jump on him, right?
joe rogan
Yeah, they get their back.
See how he was eating that?
Go back to that.
He was in the middle of eating it and it flinched.
Look, it moved.
Oh, it's a crocodile.
Took it from him.
So is that a...
What is that?
Oh, that's like an antelope.
I thought he was eating a crocodile.
I was confused.
That's such shit resolution.
I couldn't even see what he was eating.
That's alright.
Don't worry about it.
But the point was that this leopard had gotten too close and this crocodile just snatched him right out of the river and it was wild.
bj penn
That's the story of life.
That's the story of life right there.
joe rogan
Do you think that as a fighter you experience life in a different frequency than most people?
The amount, the intensity of your life, particularly while you were the champion, particularly while you were on that reign of terror.
What was your reign of terror, if you had to give it a time frame?
bj penn
I felt like I had two careers.
One was when I beat Matt Hughes.
I fought Gomi and then took that to fighting Laoto Machida.
Then I came back into the UFC. When did you fight Ludwig?
joe rogan
Did you fight Ludwig during that same time?
bj penn
Right before Machida I fought Ludwig.
And then I came back into the UFC and that was my second career in the UFC. But you were better.
joe rogan
I mean, you were always wild, but you were even better.
b-real
You kept getting better and better.
joe rogan
When I see Sean Shirk fight and Diego Sanchez fight, I'm like, I put that BJ Penn up against almost anybody who's ever lived.
bj penn
That was the hungriest.
joe rogan
That's what I always said.
bj penn
That was the hungriest.
joe rogan
You could see it in those days.
There was those days where you...
I don't think there's especially one, but the Diego was even more impressive because the pace you fought at.
Because you had problems at some fights with endurance, and you had none in that fight.
You had a wild pace, man.
And Diego, who's known for his fitness, was the one that was backing up constantly, and he was the one who was in trouble.
And you just put it on him, man.
One of the things that Steve Maxwell had said, he was a guy who trained Diego in strength and conditioning.
He's an amazing strength and conditioning coach.
He said that for certain fights like that, it's almost a bad thing to be in good shape because you're just going to get a beating longer.
He said that.
bj penn
There's a lot of truth to that.
joe rogan
A lot of truth.
Because Diego was so determined to not go down.
Has there ever been a dude who has more dog in him than Diego Sanchez?
bj penn
I couldn't believe when I rocked him the first one and he went down and I hit him like, must have been 20 or 30 times as hard as I could.
And then he got up.
I was like, what?
And I'm like, well, I'll just do this all night then.
Okay.
Because you get nervous too, right?
I can't believe you did that.
Well, okay, let's just keep doing this.
joe rogan
Did you think at those moments when you really hit the gas, do you think, okay, now I got to back off?
Do you go, okay, this guy's still here.
Let me keep testing him.
In that fight, you didn't have to worry about your fitness at all.
bj penn
Only killer instinct is what you think.
I'm going to get him.
I'm going to kill his...
joe rogan
That's why that strength and conditioning program for you is so important.
Because you didn't have to think in any other way.
You could just go for it.
And you knew you had this crazy gas tank.
And the skills are always there.
The natural attack instinct is always there.
bj penn
And it's almost more than knowing you have a crazy gas tank.
Just forgetting about tiredness.
joe rogan
Don't think about it.
You can just fight.
That makes sense.
Because during those days...
But again, the Sean Shirk fight, I think, was in that league.
You fucked him up when he was at the top of his game, too.
bj penn
But like you said, I think the stressors that we have been through in our lives is...
It takes us to a higher level.
And I remember it was Gilbert Melendez's boxing coach.
I met him through a couple other friends, Dr. Pete and different people.
He had a gym that was for businessmen, but they did MMA training.
And it was to up their thresholds of what they can take and what they can handle.
Whether it's giving up.
I can't do quitting.
Sparring or whatever it was.
There's a lot to that.
We have ups and downs all day, every day.
But we've had some ups and downs in our lives.
All of us have.
Being around martial arts and being in a stress situation and being able to push through.
coaches, you know, there was this bill that they were trying to pass in Hawaii that would give coaches salary for schools instead of them just being volunteer and and and it's true We have to raise warriors.
We have to raise people because is the math teacher and the science teacher going to say, hey, come on, and inspire you and say, get up, you can bust through that line and you can do these things, you know?
joe rogan
But there's a lot of value in the people that want to coach for free.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be compensated, but if something is an amateur thing and someone can afford to coach for free, there's a lot of guys out there that really enjoy doing that.
bj penn
100%.
There is.
joe rogan
I'm not saying they shouldn't get money.
bj penn
And those guys should still be around if they want to go in and add.
You know what I mean?
joe rogan
I mean, there's obviously coaches that get paid.
Man, when you're getting into a thing like MMA, it's such a big sport now.
But when you get down to like the lower levels, like some shit is very Bush League.
Like the way they match people up, you know what I mean?
bj penn
100%.
joe rogan
Like you have to sell tickets.
Like Bobby Green was explaining that shit to us.
That you'd have to sell a certain amount of tickets in order to be able to fight.
So like they give you like, BJ, you want to fight on my card?
You'd have to sell like 50 tickets.
But you got to go sell those.
That's crazy.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
That's crazy.
bj penn
No, it is very Bush League.
joe rogan
There's a lot of that shit out there.
There is.
bj penn
And that's why we gotta love the UFC. Yes.
Right?
joe rogan
For sure.
bj penn
They do.
unidentified
For sure.
bj penn
You might have liked what you got paid, but you got your money.
You're never gonna say that you didn't get your money.
They always give you your money.
joe rogan
Always.
I had that very conversation with a coach about that today.
bj penn
Yeah, that's a fact.
joe rogan
One of his fighters was talking about boxing.
And he said, listen, you need to understand that the amount of people that get that big payday is very small.
And you need to understand that a lot of these guys, they get into lawsuits.
Like right now, Logan Paul still hasn't got paid for Floyd Mayweather.
Mike Tyson had some real serious issue about his money.
Roy Jones Jr. had some serious issue about his money.
There's problems with boxing and money with the wrong promoters, right?
You get with the right promoters, everything's smooth, develop a nice relationship.
You never hear about Canelo not getting paid.
Canelo gets fucking paid.
The Gypsy King gets paid.
But there's some scumbags out there in all sports businesses.
bj penn
I remember always hearing about that in Japan.
Like, BJ, if you're leaving UFC and you're going to go fight over there, make sure you get your money when you step into the ring.
joe rogan
Well, how about Bob Sapp?
They didn't even let him sign a contract.
He's like, I'm not fighting unless you give me a fucking contract.
And they're like, fight first, then contract.
And he was like, uh-uh.
And so they canceled the headliner event.
And Bob Sapp was fucked after that.
It became a real problem.
bj penn
I remember me, Gary Goodridge, and Bob Sapp were standing in the back for K1 Heroes.
And Bob Sapp is crying and nervous in the back because he didn't want to go out and fight.
He was scared.
unidentified
Wow.
bj penn
And Gary Goodridge is like, come on, Bob.
Get up.
Be a man.
Get out there.
Let's go.
And I'm like, look at these guys.
And these guys are 300 pounds.
And I'm like...
But I wasn't scared.
I was ready, you know?
I knew I was there.
But it's just interesting, the different mindsets.
I was like, I wish I was as big as you, Bob.
Imagine what would happen.
unidentified
That's hilarious.
joe rogan
Oh my god, he was so big too.
bj penn
He was.
He was a big guy.
joe rogan
He was big.
But remember when Mirko Krokop knocked him out with one punch?
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
Mirko Krokop is probably at least 100 pounds lighter than him.
bj penn
Well, he's another guy too where you gotta say in his prime.
joe rogan
In his prime.
Yeah, in his prime.
Like when he knocked out Vanderlei.
How about when he KO'd Vanderlei with that high kick?
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
Holy shit.
bj penn
Like certain fights like Fedor, Krokop.
joe rogan
Yep.
bj penn
Jon Jones, Cormier.
joe rogan
Noguera and his prime.
bj penn
Yes, the two top guys fighting.
I didn't sit down and watch the Kamzat fight, but I probably would have, because that's all I care about now.
Like, okay, the two best in the world are going to be in the ring on that day.
Okay, maybe I'll come watch.
If not, I don't watch like I used to.
joe rogan
Did Noguera fight Fedor after he fought Bob Sapp?
Because if that's true...
bj penn
I think he fought him three times is why.
joe rogan
The first time did he fight him after Bob Sapp?
Because the Bob Sapp fight was when he was the champion, right?
bj penn
It took out of both guys.
And there's a lot of truth to that when they say that.
joe rogan
Noguera, the pile driver in the beginning.
bj penn
Right?
There's a lot of truth in the animal kingdom and in everywhere.
If you're walking through the forest, why fight with the other toughest guy?
You guys are both not going to be the same after.
Even if you win.
Just go eat the little animal over there.
Why is the jaguar going to go fight the panther or whatever?
joe rogan
Because he wants to spread that seed.
bj penn
Yeah, that too.
joe rogan
He wants his babies to survive.
bj penn
That too.
joe rogan
That's what's fucked about animals.
bj penn
But you've got to choose on the right day.
joe rogan
Animals, they have a ruthless system.
When the male animal conquers, he kills all the babies that the other male left behind.
That's what's wild.
They know what they're doing.
They're trying to protect their genetic heritage.
And that's the competition.
bj penn
How do they know that?
joe rogan
BJ, I don't think it's much different than the competition to be the lightweight champion.
I think it's the same kind of thing.
bj penn
How did BJ know he wants to be the light?
How did BJ know he has to kick all of their asses to get the belt?
Same way.
joe rogan
Imagine if you have a pride alliance.
That's your community.
That's your world, right?
Your world is the United States and the rest of the world that can watch you fight.
But the people or the things that are watching a lion fight are just the other lions.
So there's a certain amount of lions, and one decides he's the motherfucker.
So he has to attack the other lion, and then maybe lions jump in and help him and kill the old lion, and then he takes over the throne.
And then he has to control that situation, and the first thing he's going to do is kill that lion's babies.
bj penn
Right?
Yep.
joe rogan
Just run around and kill all his sons.
bj penn
Because they will grow up, like every movie that we've ever watched, they will grow up and kill you.
joe rogan
The male, unless it's his babies, it doesn't have a chance.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
His babies are the only ones.
bj penn
Yep.
joe rogan
He does not want any other male babies around.
It's a fuck, ruthless shit.
It's amazing.
Nature's so ruthless.
bj penn
And he's not going to be like the stepfather.
joe rogan
Nope.
bj penn
You know, my daughter tells me the other day, Dad, a stepdad is a man who stepped up.
I go, you're right.
Stepdad's a man who stepped up.
unidentified
Yeah.
bj penn
You know, but that's not going to be the lion's job.
joe rogan
Not in the lion world.
There's no step to fuck all that Lion King shit.
They're ruthless.
bj penn
Right?
joe rogan
They're so ruthless.
bj penn
They are.
joe rogan
And you ever seen a lion's head up close?
You're like, it's so big.
unidentified
Right?
Yeah.
joe rogan
It's so big.
It's so much bigger than you think it is.
bj penn
You know what?
You're making a good point talking about that.
You ever seen a lion's head up close?
joe rogan
They're so big, BJ. Amazing.
unidentified
They're so big.
joe rogan
It's such a big animal.
bj penn
And what is it?
He's not the biggest animal in there.
He's not the fastest.
He's not the biggest because that's the elephant.
He's not the fastest.
But he's mine.
joe rogan
He's the enforcer.
He's the enforcer.
unidentified
But he's the toughest.
joe rogan
That's what's wild.
It's really the only animal that you can point to where the females do the majority of the hunting.
bj penn
Yeah, right?
They go off and they go and hunt.
joe rogan
Because with wolves, they all hunt together.
But they all hunt.
Like, males hunt.
Females hunt.
They all hunt.
But not with lions.
The females hunt.
bj penn
He just relaxes.
joe rogan
He just hangs back and waits.
He just waits.
bj penn
When it's time to come to visit my bedroom, then you guys come back with the food and I'll be sitting right there.
joe rogan
Well, it's also the fighting thing.
That's why he's got all that fur.
That crazy mane is to protect his neck.
That's what that's for.
To protect his neck, give you a mouthful of hair before you can get to his jugular.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
Which is so crazy.
bj penn
That's amazing.
joe rogan
It's amazing.
Yeah.
bj penn
And it's an amazing world we live in.
It's an amazing world.
joe rogan
But it'd be better if people had more rights.
It'd be better if people weren't fucked with by the government.
bj penn
Right, BJ? Yeah.
And people always say, what's your platform?
What's your platform?
And we want less government.
We want less taxes.
We want less regulations.
joe rogan
Did you just say recreational marijuana?
That's what I heard.
bj penn
I'm not against recreational marijuana.
joe rogan
I'm for it.
bj penn
Yeah, I'm for marijuana.
I'm for hemp also.
joe rogan
But you know what else you're for?
Discipline and hard work.
And those are the two things that get thought of as mutually exclusive.
People want to think of potheads as being lazy.
It's not true.
bj penn
No.
joe rogan
It's not true.
It's not true.
bj penn
This isn't the land of handouts.
It's the land of opportunity.
And that's why we're here.
joe rogan
But what marijuana's benefits are is it's great for inflammation.
It helps a lot of people sleep.
It makes people nicer.
It makes you think about things in a different way.
It makes you maybe reconsider the way you're behaving or the way you're acting or what you're about to do or not about to do.
Makes you think, like, maybe I need to fucking get on the horse and get going.
I need to do something with my life.
I'm starting to freak out.
bj penn
You're right about that.
unidentified
Makes you think.
bj penn
You're right about that.
joe rogan
It's not bad.
bj penn
It's not bad.
joe rogan
And we need to stop treating grown adults like they're children and capable of making their own decisions.
And that's what it is when the government tells you that you can't take something that's never killed anyone ever and a lot of people find beneficial.
If so many people find it beneficial and you don't even use it, how are you...
Informed and wise enough to tell grown adults what they can and can't do with something they enjoy that you have no personal knowledge of.
bj penn
100%.
joe rogan
It's very difficult to study because it was a Schedule I drug.
It is a Schedule I drug.
bj penn
I am.
I am for recreational marijuana, and I believe it could really help our economy over there.
joe rogan
I hope that the federal government fixes that.
That's what I hope.
I really do.
I know that it was...
What did they pass it through the House and now it has to go to the Senate?
Is that what it is?
jamie vernon
It could sit there for a long time, though.
joe rogan
How long could it sit there for?
unidentified
They don't have to vote on it, I don't think.
joe rogan
Not if Governor Penn gets involved.
He's going to be running up the stairs of the Capitol raising his fists in the air.
Get shit right.
bj penn
We always laugh and say, what's...
What law is more powerful, the state or federal?
Whoever pays for it?
Whoever paid for that?
Who paid for that?
joe rogan
What do the advertisers want?
We just got to get the advertisers on a good path.
Get all the advertisers doing things that are only beneficial for people.
bj penn
But that's what we need to do over there in Hawaii because it's a bankrupt state and that's when you're going to stick your hand out and that money that we get from Washington That comes with whips and chains.
You know, you want to be able to have your option to, you know, that's why you want your economy.
You want your economy strong and you want your surplus up there and we want to pull it out of a welfare state.
Hawaii has been a welfare state all this time and we want to...
joe rogan
Does that involve bringing industries to Hawaii?
How do you account for jobs for all those people in sort of a self-sustaining way?
Is that possible to engineer?
bj penn
We need some new industries.
We need some things.
joe rogan
Because there's a lot of tourism.
bj penn
Tourism is everything right now.
And like I said, the planes come in and they don't leave with anything.
So we need stuff to export and we need...
We got to get our farming situation handled too, because every time a new hurricane comes in and all those things, and then they tell everybody, get down and buy, fill up your groceries, buy everything at the grocery store, buy all the gasoline you can, and then everybody's panicked.
joe rogan
Do you know there's a wood that I think only comes from Hawaii?
bj penn
Is it sandalwood?
joe rogan
I think it's koa.
bj penn
Oh yeah, koa.
joe rogan
I think that's only in Hawaii, which is wild.
bj penn
Yeah, koa tree.
joe rogan
See if that's true.
Is it true that it's only in Hawaii?
bj penn
I think it's a native tree.
joe rogan
Pretty crazy.
If you think about a tree that exists only on this one island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
bj penn
Yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah, here it is.
unidentified
Endemic.
joe rogan
The species acacia koa only grows...
Is that how you say it?
bj penn
Yes.
joe rogan
Acacia koa only...
bj penn
A koa tree.
joe rogan
Koa grows only in Hawaii and no place else in the world.
Sure, other species of the acacia family grow in other parts of the world.
Oh, but none of them are koa.
bj penn
Isn't that amazing?
joe rogan
It's amazing because...
bj penn
Hawaii had all of these different endemic things over there.
joe rogan
It is amazing.
And that they developed on top of a volcano.
bj penn
They have a lot of trees and a lot of things, a lot of birds and different things.
joe rogan
How did the seeds for those trees and all those native plants, how'd they get there?
Do you think they got there from birds?
How'd they get to that?
Because the island had to come out of the ocean, right?
bj penn
Right.
From the volcano.
Or was it bigger and the waters were lower during the ice ages?
It makes you wonder.
Because they've never found the full Polynesian voyaging canoes and any of those stuff.
Really?
They just kind of made it off of...
Paint, like petroglyphs and stuff.
And they're like, oh, here's the Polynesian canoe.
Here's how they had it.
But Captain Cook never seen those.
But I don't want to get into big arguments with all the people because that's what they say.
That's how they came over, right?
They came across the ocean, were the best sailors.
And then the story in Hawaiians for their myth or whatever is that then they burned the boats later and everybody got stuck there and then they couldn't leave.
One of the priests made them burn the boats.
You know, for power and control, or who knows?
We just don't know what happened.
No, I mean, I'm native Hawaiian.
My mother's half-native Hawaiian, but, I mean, we don't know.
joe rogan
What year do they think Hawaiians, Polynesian people, landed there?
bj penn
I think they think, like, a thousand years ago type thing.
joe rogan
Just a thousand years ago?
bj penn
Yeah.
What does it say on Google?
When did the Hawaiians get to Hawaii?
jamie vernon
First settled as early as 400 CE. Whoa.
bj penn
Some of the Hawaiian words in our language, you know, like you got amor in Spanish is love and then you got amor in Portuguese and then you got aloha.
Aloha.
And you got ali'i is chief and I just think ali'i, well that's the elite or whatever.
You just see so many words that look like Latin and it's just...
But it's one of the oldest languages or whatever, but it's just weird.
Just our whole thing, life's just weird.
joe rogan
I wonder if this estimate of 1,500 years or whatever it is has been substantiated, or if it's like a rough guess based on artifacts that they've already discovered.
Because it's one of those things where they keep finding, like, in North America, it used to be Clovis first.
They used to think that the Clovis people were the first people that got here.
bj penn
Who are the Clovis?
joe rogan
The Clovis were an ancient group of hunter-gatherers that lived here, and they're identified by a sophisticated style of point, the Clovis points, and it comes from a specific era that they think these people came through.
But now they've abandoned that, and they think there are people here far before the Clovis people, way before, thousands and thousands of years.
bj penn
I remember I was reading something and it was like Russia was the biggest and then they went to make a new Moscow.
So they went over through Alaska and then you say Moscow, then you say Moscow, then you say Mexico.
And Mexico City was Moscow, this whole thing.
I love history.
I love reading through all that stuff.
joe rogan
But what you're saying is that if people had been on Hawaii since the Ice Age, so if we're going back 12,000 years ago, right, if people got there, because there were people around back then, at that point in time, the levels of the sea would have been way lower.
Because there's way more...
No, it's a fact.
They know that for sure.
bj penn
Maybe it would have been as hard to miss.
joe rogan
But I don't know if that area...
I wonder how close ground would be to that area.
If the sea levels were far lower because of the Ice Age, which they definitely were, I wonder how much water you'd have to traverse to get to Hawaii.
bj penn
To get to...
Exactly.
Was it big like Australia?
How big was it when the waters were low?
Because how did they find it, just a little space and a little place in the middle of nowhere?
joe rogan
I wonder when it came about.
When do they think Hawaii came out of the ocean?
bj penn
That's another good one.
joe rogan
What year would you think it would be?
bj penn
I mean, that's when they talk about the Earth's millions of years old.
joe rogan
It's got to be old.
bj penn
Was Hawaii when the waters were lower?
Was Hawaii something like in Australia, another continent over there?
Because it's still the most isolated place as far as from everywhere else.
joe rogan
Yeah, distance to shore.
Yeah.
Really, what we're saying here is very interesting because if it turns out that Hawaii is millions of years old, which I think it is, And then if it turns out that this was like pre-ice age when the sea levels were very, very low in comparison to what they are today, I wonder how much difference it was.
bj penn
Right.
joe rogan
Because if there was people back then and there was people traveling back then, I wonder what it was like.
bj penn
And they track our language all the way to like Taiwan, to the natives of Taiwan, like Austronesian.
And it's kind of like the Asians came down and then the Aborigines were here.
Then the Asian and Aborigines mixed up and turned into the Polynesians.
joe rogan
Wow.
bj penn
Right?
With the big nose and the eyes like this, but the big nose and the curly hair.
And then they all came across, you know?
joe rogan
And so many warriors.
That's another thing.
Think about how many fighters have come out of Hawaii.
bj penn
Oh, man.
unidentified
How many?
bj penn
Right from Max to Yancey.
I was just watching him fight the other night.
And Kimo, me and everybody.
And that's why, I mean, Hawaii is so big for their sports.
You know, we got to get our stadiums going again.
joe rogan
Even Ensign.
Ensign and Egan.
bj penn
Ensign and Egan.
unidentified
B's.
Right?
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
Those are the OG's.
unidentified
OG's.
bj penn
Those are the guys who let us know we could do it.
joe rogan
Shout out to the Inouye's.
bj penn
Yeah.
Oh, I love those guys.
I just saw Egan the other day.
But Ensign going out, he armbarred Randy Couture.
unidentified
Yes!
bj penn
He fought in the UFC. I remember watching...
joe rogan
I remember he was throwing those kicks off his back.
bj penn
Yep.
And you're like, ooh.
Yep.
He was amazing.
And I remember he fought Royce Alger.
Remember that one?
joe rogan
I was there for that.
bj penn
Yep.
Royce Alger.
joe rogan
Yeah.
He broke his arm.
bj penn
He was the guy...
Who let me know that, hey, people from Hawaii, we can do it.
We can get in there.
We can fight, you know?
And they're such heroes, all of them.
joe rogan
Yeah, man.
Wasn't Dennis Alexio from Hawaii, too?
bj penn
Well, he moved to Hawaii, but he was, yeah, he was there fighting and kicking everybody's butt.
joe rogan
When he was world champion, kickboxing.
bj penn
Yes, the Terminator.
joe rogan
Yeah.
bj penn
And I met Egan when I was a kid.
He was the world racquetball champion.
That's right!
And my uncle played racquetball and we all went to a place called Fort DeRussi, a beach area, and Egan competed in the tournament and wiped everybody out.
joe rogan
Wasn't he like, didn't he hold a world record at one point or some kind of a record for free diving?
bj penn
That too, that too.
And he would just break the balls.
When he'd hit the ball, he'd break the ball.
Yeah, now he's like surfing and whatever he wants to do, he's going to be the best at it.
That's Egan.
joe rogan
Nice.
bj penn
Always.
joe rogan
Well, BJ, it's been an honor to have you in here, man.
It's always been cool to be your friend and respect.
And as a fan, thank you very much for all those years of amazing, amazing fights.
And I really sincerely believe that you want to do well for the people of Hawaii.
And I think it would be amazing if you could pull it off.
I think it'd be fun.
bj penn
Thank you, Joel.
joe rogan
And just good luck in everything you do, brother.
bj penn
You too, my man.
unidentified
All right.
bj penn
Proud of all your success myself.
joe rogan
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
unidentified
Thank you.
Thank you.
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