Joe Rogan Experience Review podcast - 531 JRE Review of UFC 250 White House edition

Episode Date: June 16, 2026

The UFC made history with a one-of-a-kind event at the White House, and we're breaking down everything that happened. From the atmosphere and production to the fights, finishes, controversies, and standout performances, we review the card that had the entire MMA world talking. We discuss the biggest winners and losers of the night, what this event means for the future of the UFC, and whether combat sports have entered a completely new era. Plus, we rate the card, react to fan feedback, and give our thoughts on the moments everyone will be debating for weeks to come. This is our full UFC 250 White House Review. Thanks to this weeks sponsors: Rappin the Rivers: Go to Eventbrite.com or Sellout Events to get your tickets for Rappin the Rivers Festival 2026, August 7th and 8th in Cardwell, Montana, featuring DaBaby, That Mexican OT, Paul Wall, Kid Ink, Young Dirty Bastard, and more. For full festival details, go to RappinTheRiversMT.com. Camping is included. Get 25% off your first order from Zazzle by visiting www.zazzle.com/JRER. For fee-free banking go to Chime.com/JRER SUPPORT OUR SHOW! Head to our Patreon Check out our website at www.jrereview.com For all marketing questions and inquiries: [e-mail] Please email us here with any suggestions, comments and questions for future shows.. [e-mail]

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Review. Today we got a special episode for you. We are reviewing UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. It felt like that is the sort of event that we could be a special episode about. And it finally happened. Dana White and Donald Trump turned the south lawn into the White House into a UFC arena. It was crazy. temporary stadium called the claw was built on the White House grounds with thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world fighters walk through parts of the White House before competing even the Oval Office there were military flyovers fireworks celebrities politicians billionaires and joe rogan cage side calling the fights from arguably the most surreal venue in combat sports history and what a fucking night is

It was. I mean, with the weather coming in like it was, we didn't even know if the fight was going to happen. And it just split and went around the stadium. And then everything from that point on was just history in the making. Joint today by my good buddy Derek, who I watch the fights with. What a night, my friend. What's up, dude? Thank you for having me. Yeah. Chef Derek Fox here. Uh, yeah, we, we did it the right way. We watched from the safety of our home in Texas.

Yep. And I made smash burgers for everybody. Deletious, by the way. We drank a giant bottle of vodka. And, uh, yeah. Dude, what a night. I'm still, like, on a high from it. Unbelievable.

I mean, listen, just to pull off that event from the start, you know, there's so much writing on it for Trump, for Dana, especially Dana. And, you know, the one thing, well, there's a few things you can't predict. You can't predict the weather when you're outside. And boy, did they have a challenge in front of them. Yeah. And second to that, you never know how the fights are going to go. Yeah, because, I mean, look, UFC, you've seen so many.

times where like you're so excited you're like these two are definitely they're going to be bangers and they're duds and it happens on sometimes on more of the more anticipated fights whereas like that's why i always like to watch the prelims you know and theo von shows up five hours early because those prelim fights are so good because they it's like they have so much more that they're fighting for sure but but i felt and before we get too much into all the fights i mean i just felt like for everyone that was fighting and then especially the Americans like this just meant more. But yeah, back to what you were saying about the claw, like the production. Like I was getting so excited just for the production of this thing because being outside,

like you get so much, you actually have so much more space. Like when you're inside some of these arenas that they do, their production is limited on the walls. And, you know, like, we got off. fly we got a 12 jet flyover like we got to see it yeah you know it was super bowl level it was it was set up to be i mean for days before they'd been parting in front of the white house we had nitro circus showing up so freaking cool backflips on uh dirt bikes and concerts happening i mean a real celebration. Yeah. I mean, I'll say this. One, it felt like, you know, everyone was to say America's back or like whatever. It definitely felt really patriotic. Like I've, because when you think of like the sport in general and then all the all the things that were around it, the full live band, the nitro circus. I mean, those guys like where else in the world, like, there's nowhere else in the world

that event could come together like it did and like I don't care who was president if this event went on at the White House I would watch it and be in full support of it for sure which drives me nuts when when they drag this thing

when it was just so American like I don't know how you could look at that and hate it yeah I mean look there's just a big swath of people out there that are going to refuse any win for Trump. And it wouldn't matter what the event is, you know.

I mean, I'm hearing things like, well, that, that's, that sport doesn't even really represent America, which is an argument I don't get at all. And they're like, oh, it should have been like a football game or should have been, I'm like, look, I mean, where are you going to fit that in the White House anyway? Yeah, how are we going to do a football game? make any time. And football is retarded. You're not going to have people walking out of the Oval Office.

I mean, the setup for it all. Yeah, that was so cool. It was perfect. And, you know, for me personally, I've been a fan of martial arts and the UFC since the mid-90s, you know, kind of even early 90s. Like when it first started, obviously since Dana took it over, you know, it was almost a decade of it being just seen as this ridiculous meathead sport that had no respect. everybody just thought or so many people just thought oh that's just violent nonsense and even my

friends that were huge boxing fans just love to hate on the UFC and just call it a joke and to see it go from that to this was take the politics out of it and just take the UFC the sport that I love and say it made it to this to represent our country and put on a show that good luck doing that ever again in the UFC or any combat sport operation. It really was, just from a fight fan perspective, the best night of combat sports in history. Yeah, signed and sealed. Yeah, I mean, all I was thinking about was like, how does the UFC go from here? I mean, it's really smart that they didn't put Connor McGregor on that card.

And I'm sure they talked about it, but I think putting him, you know, a month later gives us time to like, just enough time to cool down from this high and then get this massive fight that we've all been waiting for. Sure. Yeah. And so all I've been thinking is like how do they top it? But, you know, like Dana said, when they did this fear, everyone was like, well, now what do you do? You got the White House long? You know what I want to see them do? I want to see them do the Roman Coliseum.

Oh, yeah. Like, go in and somehow build it, build the inside to where it's like, it preserves everything. Right. And then do it in there. They have to come out dressed as gladiates. Yeah. That would be sick. They all have to wear, like, gladiates.

he had a robes and then drop him before we get into the ring. Do you know that he was in talk with the Italian government and the people that operate the Coliseum when Elon said that he was going to fight Zuckerberg? Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's okay, yeah. I do remember that. Yeah, so, hey, he already knows him.

And so then he might already have this up his sleeve. Yeah. I mean, it would have to be there if there was ever a chance to top it. And, you know, how he would have to do it is on the anniversary, probably of the UFC. I don't know, maybe the 30 year anniversary, which I'm not sure when that's coming up. But something like that would be pretty epic for sure. But again, I mean, good luck having a set of fights that turn out like this. Yeah, seven knockouts.

Every massive upset, like huge under. dog comeback has a story everybody's favorite it's mind blowing dude has there ever been a whole card that every fight was a knockout

I don't think so I mean I I mean Ely quit right but no that's almost that's almost more power that's like the hardest thing to do in the UFC is making them quit

especially an unstoppable champion. Like, he could not come back out to fight. Well, I think the doctor said no, but I don't think he wanted to either. I think he knew, but... Right. But that's still, like, it's a finish. You know what I mean? It didn't go to...

It didn't go to the judges. Yeah, basically a doctor's like, you're going to die if you keep doing this. You have to stop. God. He made some money, though. Yeah. Did you see the... How much each one of them got paid?

No, I didn't. What was the payouts? Um, here, I'll send this to you real quick. Uh, but I can't believe how much Pereira, uh, Pereira got. This podcast is brought to you by Rapping the Rivers Festival 2026. Filth and Fowl, 406 Glass, Apogee Gardens and Dirty Jones present. Rapping the Rivers Festival, 2026. Montana's hottest music festival is back featuring live music from De Baby,

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He got the big name. He got the most. 10 million, I see. Yeah. Wow. Well, he's a huge name. People love him. I mean, I tuned in.

That was, in a lot of ways, that was the fight I wanted to see. And, wow, did that not go as I thought it would? I thought, I thought, uh, sugar shone should have got one of the bonuses. Because that, that walkoff finish, he was saluting the crowd before the dude's body hit the ground. Yeah. Like that was most, like literally most guys run over and ground and pound until the, till the ref jumps in and stops him. And he, he knew.

He knew and he connected. Like, it was saluting before the body hits the ground. Yeah. How much did Justin, man? Like 2.3. 2.3. All right. But that was with a lot of his bonuses.

So the fact that Ilya got more money and, well, I guess Ilya gets a bonus too because it's fight of the night. So both of them got money. Imagine getting a fight of the night bonus for just being the reason, the punching bag. Yeah, being the punching bag. Well, at least you feel like you earned it. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. But no, you're right. I mean, Sean O'Malley, and we're going to talk about each fight a little bit in a second here. But to cover him, and I'm sure a lot of people have seen either the fights or the highlights, but knocking him out the way he did and saluting, like, as he kind of hits the ground. I mean, and it was a spectacular fight, too. I mean, it really was. But you should get massive points for that ending. I'd never seen anything like.

like it. That's the first knockout salute, I think, in UFC history. And to do it there is, you know, he'd know he'd been planning that. He'd been planning it. He'd been planning that. He'd been practicing in the mirror. I mean, how did, how did not anyone else do that? Right. Yeah. I mean, you know, even the combination of things they had, they had their fight music as they came out, But like a lot of the backup, it was like the band, the military band playing. You had those backup singers for the national anthem or from the military. I mean, really just including them was something special. Even as the fighters walked out, they had that Medal of Honor winner in his wheelchair coming out too.

And just kind of, there was a lot of respect in that. direction which I like I mean often they get seats at the event and maybe they call them out here and there but they're not really like that much of the part of the participation and this really felt like they were a big part of what made all that happen I mean the the orchestra band itself was incredible yeah yeah and like I mean you could see also there like I mean the whole thing, I don't know. I'm not trying to go political what it was on the White House long, but like, it's like, there's so much respect and so much diversity, yet, like, like you said, they just don't want

to give Trump a win, so they don't even, like, look and see what is actually going on here. They just hate it without even looking. You know what I mean? Just, like, including musicians like that, they could have easily just been like, let's save some budget. We can put more seats over here. And they're like, no, let's actually use real musicians, a live band, and like make it spectacular. And I don't know. Right.

No. And look, the UFC in the same way. It was, you know, Americans fighting people from other countries, you know, non-Americans fighting non-Americans. and also it was whether an American one or the non-American one, the cheers was still massive. It wasn't like there's booing. It was a celebration of just who the winner is on the night. And it didn't hurt that every ending was superb as well.

Yeah. I mean, if you were a first time UFC watch her last, the other night, like, could you, I don't even know, like, your second fight that you watch is going to suck. Yeah, if you now think that's the standard for what the UFC is, I mean, that's, yeah. Although, I don't want to say, hey, you're, you know, you're ready for some disappointments coming up. It's not that. It's just you learn that not all fights are like, yeah, there was magic in the air. There was magic in the air.

Absolutely incredible. But, like, you know, some of the, like, I, I know I've watched Hocat fight before, but I just, like, didn't, like, really remember him because he wasn't, like, a major name or anything on the card. And then, you know, then he started getting buzz leading up to this fight because I think he toted the line of, you know, stupid and brilliant, leading up, trolling everybody, and it was working. Like, the way he was trolling everybody was working. And, like, I'm excited to see him fight again because of, like, how ruthless he was in there. He backed up all of his bullshit antics.

Now, you know, obviously there's, at the end of his fight, he grabs the fucking microphone and says some, I mean, everyone's heard the joke. It's a social, it's a social joke. and it's been said a million times. Like, nobody really cares. But, like, you have your moment, dude. You just fucking knocked out Derek Lewis. Like, why do that? You could have left it out.

You know? I mean, listen, if you want to say something weird in an interview later or post something on Instagram, on your own time. But, you know, you have to say, if you're enjoying the patriotism, of that whole night and how great that is. Shitting on an ex-president's wife is,

it doesn't fit in with the whole vibe of it. It doesn't fit in the whole vibe, but it does fall under free speech. That's very true. And also it's like, look, this is the person that he wants to become the bad guy. Yeah, and he wants to be the villain. And we have an.

had a successful villain in a while like that in the UFC that was always a w-d-weigh-e thing or you know boxing did it well i mean mayweather was that for a lot of people i feel like conner was i think i feel like connor was a villain for a while and but everyone loved him right it's it doesn't work when everyone loves you nobody was wanting to like he lost right you're talking like you you want to see everyone hate he wants to He wants to see everyone hate him. And he'll keep winning. Yeah.

To watch him lose or to watch him win. Yeah. You're getting everybody to tune in. This is what Mayweather did spectacularly. No one did it better than him. And I mean, I can't tell you how many fights I watched of his just secretly hoping he'd lose. I didn't even know why I disliked him. Right.

It was just like videos of him with bags of cash. And I'm like, that guy. Yeah. He sucks. And then eventually you realize what he's doing and he's 50 and oh and he's just that good. And you're like, oh, this guy rules. Yeah. Amazing.

Yeah. There's a point where like the greatest, they're so good that they turn everybody. It's like they turn on both ways. It's like when they start coming up, they're the underdog because no one knows them. And then they're crushing. And then people are like, Yeah, but he's just getting lucky. He's just getting, and they want to hate.

And they're like, no, it's rigged. And no, there's no way he's going to beat this person. And then like... Time is changing the way people bank. They offer the most rewarding fee-free banking. This is fee-free banking built for you. They are not like traditional old banks that charge you overdrafts and monthly fees.

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in the highest amount of points in the game. It's like, what was it, like, 80 points or something? Yeah, yeah. It's like, then he hits 80 points and you're like, man, this guy's the best. Pretty damn good. Undeniable. I was just going to say, you hit the undeniable point on the chart, and then everyone has to go, okay, yep, they're the greatest.

I mean, Hokit's never going to get to that, but he's going to be, if he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to be a very, very sought after villain and that's going to make them a lot of money because when you know more people are tuning in to watch because they want to see this fucking dude lose

and bro I don't think they're gonna the way he just whoops Derek Lewis and all in like when we were sitting here watching this highlight reel like who show me who mashes everyone and he's not even big for that division

at all no and that's why why he has so much speed. And then also, you can also see by his comment, like he's had tons of shots to the head and they have not taken him out. Yeah, he's got a chin. And it's going to be really interesting to see where his career goes and, you know, how far you can take it in that division. I mean, ultimately, at some point, he's going to have to fight John Jones if he keeps winning.

Yeah. And who knows? I mean, the best you can hope for that is John is on his way out and he's feeling old. See, that's the thing. We need a evenly timed young heavyweight to come in. And I don't know, like off the top, I don't follow enough fighters to, you know, say, oh, this guy. I mean, I'm sure Rogan knows who's, you know, out there on the path. Jones is draining a prodigy right now.

Yeah. Who's a heavyweight and is an incredible wrestler. to move so fast. I forget his name. I think it's like, is it Swanson? Something like that. I'll look it up.

I should know, but I apologize. But yeah, he's a beast. And once he really gets his footing and has a few fights under his belt, I think he's going to be very difficult too. I mean, look,

the heavyweight division is cooking right now. There's a lot of good people. Yeah. But the thing is, just it's in and out. It's hard to hold that spot as a champion of that division because it's, you know, when you don't, it's basically like a no weight class, weight class because it's so wide. People don't have to cut.

Some people fight at 219. Some are like at 265. I mean, it's insane what they're going to. But, you know, back to Hokic and what he's up to in his antics, look at those payouts. And look at the range of payouts. Yeah. I mean, some people made 100 grand. Some people made 10 million.

They're all doing the same job. Yeah. They're all fighting. They're all elite. But what's the difference there? And, you know, Pereira's not out there doing a bunch of antics and fucking around. But his own style is so intriguing. He has this really scary persona, but he's also like.

kind. He just has his own niche that works for him. That's that's his stick, right? And if you don't have one and you don't stand out from that crowd, it's really difficult to bring those dollar amount numbers up. Right. Well, and, you know, Pereira has earned his, like, he's earned his, what am I looking for? Like, the buzz around his, like, the buzz around his. name he earned it solely in the ring being a respectful fighter and respected amongst all the fighters and that slowly resonated out to the world and now we love to watch him fight whereas dude three weeks ago i didn't know hoakit's name and and how fast like the world is talking about him yeah you know what i mean yeah and i mean he had every antick in the book he was starting mad shit of the press conferences

Pretending to be drunk at the way in. Yeah. Throwing up on himself was a ridiculous move. And gross. I will say that. I don't know. It wasn't actually throw up though, right? No, but just pretending to do that is fucking disgusting.

Condensed mushroom soup or something. Yeah. Awful. Nasty. But again, you know, that's how you become a household name. We're not going to forget him. We're talking about. him a lot here and think about it we're talking about him that much on this card with these other

fighters i know it's insane it works yeah and he he's not even counting on you liking him no that's set up it doesn't matter right well and i mean the difference too like was sean o'malley like he's like he was a guy that was like early on cocky and everyone was like dude you are skinny as a toothpick like what are you talking about? And then he gets in the ring and he just truly like, he's like, what did I say the other night? He's a combination of, of, who are the typical? Muhammad Ali and like, I don't know, flavor, flave at this point. Like, you know what I mean?

He can float around the ring and sting you and snipe you. But he's not big like, you know, like that. He's, but he's just smart with his execution. and he's very methodical. He's just a precision machine. Yeah. So fast. And yeah, let's talk about his fight.

So he is fighting Sahabi, who's a dangerous character. And, you know, you talked about this before the fight and just saying, I hope he comes out like old Sean. And I couldn't agree with you more. And what I-loose. Yeah. Ler. That's what I meant by that.

It's like, come out loose. Sorry. Yeah, no, exactly. I mean, this is kind of what happens, though. You take some losses. You get very defensive. You know, it's a combination of doubting yourself and then also just being overly cautious.

And with his fight style, he's got to be out there believing he's going to win. He's got to be loose. He's got to be moving. I mean, we've been seeing it with Connor. Connor in his last few fights, it came out almost boxing stance. Yeah. You know, very stiff, very tight. Still doing some damage.

And, you know, he's had some unfortunate things like that. a leg break. And he was still doing some serious damage. I mean, he's just a good fighter, but loose Connor, that's a different conno altogether. Yeah, the difference with loose Conner is, you know, when he's loose, he can get out of the way of that shot to the face. You see the, you see the fist, miss his face by centimeters, and he's loose enough that he follows back in and knocks you out, like, in the same, in the same exchange. Like, whereas now he's not, where in the last few fights, he's just not loose enough and he was getting tagged and it was fucking him up.

I think that's what happened with O'Malley in his losses is, like, the wins were happening. He was undefeated, but technically not. And I know that, like, bugged him. And it kind of bugged me, too. Because it's like that one, that first loss, like, shouldn't have been. And so he's always walking around with the underfeited. defeated record on his back, but on the screen, it doesn't say that. And every time he has to watch

back his fight, he has to see that fucking number. And then he gets the second loss and the third loss. And he's like, man, like, because I, I know, like, I resonate with O'Malley. It's, like, how I played baseball and how I, like, I just resonate with him and the way he moves. And so, like, I know how much that would bug me to not have an undefeated record. Like, a lot of these other guys, they don't care. They love, they, they understand losing is just as important because there's a lot to learn from it. And that's, that's the long, that's the mentality of a long time fighter. But, you know, but I just know his, his character. He wants to have a zero behind his name and it, and it bugs him that it's not. Mm-hmm. But again, we saw him come out. He was loose. He was moving. And as soon as he started, you know, the, It seemed pretty clear that Zahabhi was not going to get in, was not going to be able to survive.

And, I mean, he was just spinning in every direction. Yeah. That must have been. It's what I always think when I watch O'Malley fight is what an absolute terrifying nightmare that must be. I mean, the guy is nice. He's a nice guy. Yeah. He seems very approachable.

And he's funny. Any skinny dude. Yeah. And then all of a sudden. you can't even get close to him and he's hitting you from every angle possible and you you know as as putting myself in the mind of a fighter that must be even more frustrating because you're like wait a minute i know i'm good at this why the hell can i do anything that's funny yeah too messy and again with the knockout the salute i mean what a way to come back and build momentum

and, you know, I'm actually kind of noticing that I'm annoyed with what his payout was. Yeah, like less than a million. Yeah. That must have been the most watch UFC in history. Surely. Yeah. Like, I mean, how do they not have a bit more cash to throw of these guys? Yeah.

I mean, the Pereira fight was amazing, but I enjoyed the O'Malley fight better, more. I mean, I'm a little biased, but like that knockout was. was way more fun for me as a viewer. Why doesn't he at least get, you know, a half a mill bonus? And Pereira can have $9.5 million. Right. I mean, listen, a lot of these contracts are written, obviously, before the fight starts.

So it's, it doesn't matter. All most what happens in the fights other than bonuses. So that is true. And Pereira was set to really make a statement in the heavyweight division. And this would have been, I believe the first time someone has done three divisions with the possibility of winning eventually three belts in those divisions. I mean, that would have been UFC history in itself. And man, that fight could not have been further from that.

Siraghan is a dangerous, dangerous man. Yeah, I think probably Pereira losing is the only thing on this. card that didn't like it's like the last little piece it's like there's the icing on the cake on top of the cake these are sprinkles and then it's like that would have been like the gold leaf if he walked away with three but you know it was such a spectacular fight too and a huge wake-up call to the fact that syragon is that good and um you know no complaints from me i mean as much as I start fight sometimes being like, oh, I want this guy to win or I've made some sort of prediction.

I always just want the best fight. Yeah. And that's what's great about watching the UFCs for me is when I go and watch football with some friends of mine or baseball and they obviously are supporting their team. It doesn't matter how good the game is. If you lose, people are just generally not as happy. Yeah. It's like you have to go away with something.

And I never get to feel that from the UFC unless there's just like a whole night of really crappy fights. Right. Pretty rare. Yeah, because it's like you're getting, yeah, I was like kind of looking at like American football. You have all these different teams. And like this is like each person is their own team. You know, it's like you get this. You get so many fights in one night.

It's like if you're a diehard football. football fan, you watch all the teams, and you watch the red zone. It's like, it's like, yeah, you don't ever feel disappointed because there's always something good. It takes a really, and I think Dana's mastered obviously putting the cards together because we haven't had one of those nights where like every fight was a dud in a long time. If ever. I mean, I mean, I know there's been like somewhere. It's like, it's kind of close, but, and I know there's been a lot of times I've watched, I'll watch the prelims and the prelims end up being better than, you know, the main card, but not in a while.

Sure. Yeah, I mean, look, if you have the time, I always recommend watching the prelims if you're a USC fan, because one, you're learning a lot about fighters before most people are going to hear about them, right? That's where you get to see the beginning of people's careers. And, you know, if someone stands out to you and then you start following them early on,

it's really cool to there's kind of in some ways nothing worse than becoming a fan of someone you know when they finally get that title shot

and you're just like oh I haven't even heard of this person that means you've missed like seven of their fights and probably really fucking good ones really good ones you know a lot of development

and you get to see those changes and all those other pieces that go into it yeah because it's a certain a percentage of the time the title fights become more of the stale fights because they're both so evenly matched.

Whereas when you're watching the guy come up or the girl come up from, you know, early on in their career and they don't know who to, you know, they're still trying to figure out the good fight for this person and they stick somewhere in the ring with him and that dude just, you know, gobbles them up and like spits him out and everyone's like, whoa, that person just fucked them up. Like, we got to follow them. Yeah, you miss a lot of really good. fights if you just tune into the championship.

Yeah, there's some unfortunate, you know, I don't want to say mismatches because they're still working hard to make good matches. But there are, basically are some unfortunate mismatches sometimes on the prelims where one fighter is considerably better than the other. And again, it's rare that you see that on a main event. You still sometimes do. Yeah, like sometimes when someone gets. versus Holloway.

I mean, it was like Holloway hadn't done any jiu-jitsu in his life. And that's not true, but he couldn't even poor guard. I mean, it was so one-sided. Those fights are kind of rare, but on the undercards, I mean,

somebody just starts moving funky, and then there's a good striker, and those knockouts become some of the most brutal things you've ever seen. You're like, oh, he just forgot eighth grade. Yeah. Well, and also sometimes you get a fight where, like, the person, something happens to him and they have to swap them out.

They have to bring in the backup fight. And, like, O'Malley had that with that one kid. I forget his name, but I just remember the kid could, he had a fucking rock hard chin. O'Malley hit him so many times. Dude was gushing blood. And, like, O'Malley was like, look at him. I'm like, how are you still standing? Right.

You know, but he was the alternate. O'Reilly's such a nice guy. He was probably feeling bad about it. Yeah, probably. He was like, you shouldn't be in here with me. This is unfair. Unfair. Well, look, let's get to the main event of the night.

This one was an incredible fight, an unbelievable upset. And man, if you would put some money on Justin, would you have made some cash? Now, you actually did. You won 100 bucks from me, right? But yeah, that is right. Yeah, there you go. So you want some. You shouldn't have said anything.

I completely forgot. The bottom of that bottle was crazy. Well, I'm an honest man. But, you know, really, even that bet was unfair because you should have got massive odds, just like. Yeah, you should owe me 600. Seriously. I mean, I'm pretty sure the odd makers before the fight had early at 80%. There was one point.

I was like, man, I should go bet on that. But everyone that made money can thank me because it's only when I do go bet that it goes the other way. It's like in the stock market, as soon as I sell a stock, it goes up. It's like, you're welcome. You're welcome, universe. Yeah. You guys want to make a lot of money. Call me up.

Tell me which stock you want to buy, but tell me to buy it. I'll buy it. You buy it. And then when you need it to go up, you just call me and tell me to sell it. That is hilarious. If you heard of those apps, you can download like the Pelosi tracker and those sorts of ones. Yeah, I've definitely heard of the Pelosi tracker. I haven't used it.

But then there's like this new thing, Alina or something, a linia app where they're just like, just put in your money and it'll grow. And this one guy's like, I'm up 40%. I'm just like, I just really don't feel like getting scammed by another app right now. sure sure but what's funny is so that's a program called autopilot that you link to you know robin hood or one of the trading things and it does those automatic trades for you well they actually have one that describes what you're saying and it's that guy kramer from fox business okay he's about the shaved head and he's always yelling and yeah and anyway it's an inverse kramer right because the kramer effect is that yeah yeah We need an inverse Derek for that. But what's hilarious is the inverse Kramer is consistently up like 30%. And he's supposed to be the stock guy. It's wild.

That's so embarrassing for that dude. Yeah. But yeah, so with Gagie, I would, I mean, here's, look, doesn't matter their records. This is on the White House lawn. Right. And you've got the American as the underdog. Are you fucking kidding me? Like, you can't bet.

You got a bet on him. It's at the White House. I mean, the shot of him reading the Declaration of Independence before walking out with the American flag around his back. Like, yo, that's... Sorry, but I don't... Teporia didn't have a chance to me. But obviously, he put up an amazing fight, but also learned his lesson at the same time. Yeah.

Yeah, and it was an absolute beatdown. I mean, Khabib said it best. Justin hits like a truck. Yeah. And it just means for that weight division, for whatever reason, he can create power that other people can't. And if you're getting similar amounts of strikes as the other person, I mean, Justin's going to win all day.

Yeah. And he just got in a rhythm. I mean, he took a, a massive liver shot that dropped them and that must have been so incredibly painful. I thought it was done then. Often those will end it. It's really difficult to come back from a liver shot that drops you and that's not even, you know, often that's not even like mental toughness. Like your body just kind of shuts down. Right. So could we could we say that just because it's at the White House and there's a little bit of extra adrenaline he was able to push through

he probably yeah I'd like to hear his thoughts on it I mean he talked about how much that hurt yeah and how much that stung him but yeah he just rolls support is in a little more pain uh-huh I I don't think I've seen a fighter's face look like that for a long time I mean maybe Paddy when Justin smashed him yeah I was a mess but I saw a meme of like four of Gachie's fights that he was like four or five. And it was all the opponent's faces and they all looked the same. Yeah, it's true. I mean, Tony Ferguson used to do that to people, man.

I mean, there are just some fighters that just cause incredible amounts of damage. And, you know, hats off to Justin because obviously this meant the world to him. He's felt like he was getting. close to the end of his career. What is he 38 now, I think? It's not young guy. And, you know, this really did seem like his last chance to get a title shot. And what a spectacular way to come at it.

Yeah. You think he should retire after this one? No, I mean, I think he's got the belt. He should, you know, defend it at least once. Cash in. I mean, he's still obviously got it in him. Get a couple more fights in. I mean, yeah, why retire when you still feel pretty good?

That's the reason. That's why. Walk away from the blackjack table when you're up. Yeah. Well, he's got to cash in, though. I mean, his stock is through the roof right now. And it's worth doing that. Okay, but minimum how long until he has to fight again?

Another year? like they're not he's not gonna fight again this year i don't know i mean he's not beat up he's probably probably pretty fresh um and yeah he he could probably get a fight in this year if you wanted if it was a good matchup and um look this is how these guys get paid yeah maybe he's into the three four million a fight numbers now yeah i mean if you're at the end of your career and thinking about retirement, you know, you got to go by, you need your cash for your SpaceX stock. I'll tell you that much. Yeah.

You're, I mean, you're speaking logic. I'm, I'm looking at it as like legacy. Like, I want to leave, I want to leave that fight as my last. Like, that's how I would look at it. Yeah. And then I would just go get a bunch of endorsement commercial deals, make the money a different way. That's true. He could probably do that too.

leave my record like winning like that on the White House law and be like that's it put that in the books and sign my name see you sure sure hey who knows who knows i'd like to see him come back and have a few more look i'd like to see him because justin's always great to watch yeah and but i but i also do i i don't have a problem when fighters just want to retire like i think everyone should when it feels right and i I hate watching those fights like the end of Chuck Liddell's career. Oh. And, you know, you're just watching these legends just getting knocked out, Lester Rousie. Just something else. It's just brutal. Yeah.

And you know they're kind of cashing it in. They're doing the whole Tyson thing when he just needed money. But his heart wasn't in it. No, nobody should be forced to fight like that. It's sad. Yeah, but we still watch it. But, you know, I mean, like, Rousey towards the end of her career, how it was so, it was just like, was so painful to watch. And, but it was, you felt like with her, it was like, yeah, this is a, this is one of those things.

Like, you've been at the top too long. Like, you're, it's, you're going to fall. And she fell hard. And it was brutal. But then, dude, when she came back, she looked so good. That, that submission was so fast. It was like old school early Ronda Rousey, like got it done so quick. Yeah, it was like her fighting a white belt.

Well, I mean, it's what it looked like to me. Yeah. I mean, immediately take down. There was no armbard defense. There was nothing. It was like a terrible matchup. I think she thought she was going to stand there and bang for a little bit, you know? And no.

I guess not. Yeah. That was. Three hours of my life build up to 16 seconds. And I was like, ah, can't skip this? You know, it's funny. I didn't get to watch it. I think I had a dinner or something.

I was cooking somewhere. I just, I missed it. And then I watched the highlight the next day. And I was like, I'm glad I didn't want. Yeah. I'm glad I missed it. A highlight for all that, that whole fight card deserves. Yeah.

Yeah. But, you know, for that to be their first attempt. and then the UFC to follow up with this. I mean, once again, Dane is just putting people in the other fight organizations in the graveyard immediately. You just can't compete. It's just a different thing. But yeah, overall, this was by far the most spectacular night of fights I've ever seen.

And then that is being said without any of the. other pageantry that went on, which just added, you know, the date, the time, what it stood for, you know, the fact they had to work around the weather and so many people were praying to, you know, make that happen. And it's like they pulled off just an incredibly spectacular event. And it is a shame that so many people didn't get to enjoy it. I even have good friends that have been fans of the USC as long as I have, that I've watched the fights with hundreds of times, literally hundreds of times.

And they didn't watch it because of their frustration for the administration. And I was just like, look, man, it's not a win for him if you just get to tune in and watch a thing that you enjoy, you know? Yeah. But they couldn't do it and they missed it. And they were probably hoping that it would just be dog shit or get rained out. but if you missed out on this because of that type of feeling, sorry. Yeah.

Well, then you're, but then you're also, I don't know. I mean, not a, not a loyal fan. Like who cares who's hosting it? You're watching fighters. But you see every one of these fighters and all the fighters from around the world, they all respect Trump. They all, as soon as they win, they jump out of the ring and go shake his hand. Right.

Could you imagine if, I think I said it to the other night, if Trump would have won his presidency consecutively, we would not have had tonight, or this fight. No chance. We would not have had it. Yeah. And so many things, so many pieces had to come together for that. So much.

Like, we actually have this fight because of cancel culture and wokeness. because when that started, that's what fueled everything to where it got. And then skipping a consecutive presidency for Trump landed as this. Basically, yeah. Yeah. Like impossible odds. Impossible odds. To land on his birthday, on the nation's birthday.

Like, fucking epic. Yeah. It was just absolutely incredible. hat off to Dana White. I mean, what an absolute legend. The things that he just keeps pulling off for this sport. I mean, back in COVID, he kept that thing rolling when no one else could put events on.

He built freaking Fight Island. I mean, he just does what it takes to win. And, you know, that sounds like the most American thing I've ever heard of. It's sick. You know what? How do we get him to team up with Elon Musk and put a ring on the moon and we get some fighters up there and fucking fight it out on the moon.

Zero gravity cage matches. I guess there would be a little bit of gravity, but a lot of floating around and punching. It could be done. Maybe that's the next big thing. A fight on Mars would be dope. It's only a matter of time. There's only a matter of time. And we will, I think we get to see that.

Yeah. Well, I hope so. I mean, at the very least, there'll be two people just pissed off at each other that they traveled. How long does it take six months to get there? Yeah, too long. And then they have to break the news. Sorry, you, after the fight, you can't ever leave the planet. Yeah, you're just, you're not coming back.

Bro, you told me we were coming back. You're not coming back. Cameras are on us. We got to fight. We don't have the resources. Sorry, bud. You didn't make your bonus. You can't afford the ticket to leave.

Well, anyway, that was, it was. spectacular. I couldn't have been more pumped. I'd love to see what's coming up next. And just wow. As a fan, I'm still in shock. It's been multiple days and I can't get over. I watch highlights on Instagram, whenever I can. They've mashed up some incredible videos. And yeah, I'm super pumped for it. Yeah. Dude, I went to my first jiu-jitsu class the next day. Right? Yeah. You got to wonder, like, how many people now are fans of the USC that weren't. How many people are just massively inspired by what they just saw and are undertaking new things like you did to, you know, change your life. And it will. Like you stick at it, Derek, I promise you. It doesn't just,

isn't just a thing you do. Like, oh, I started Pickleball. It's great. Yeah, exactly. Right. Good luck, if that's really doing anything. You meet a few friends. Sure. You know, you're getting a bit of exercise. But jiu-jitsu is a different beast altogether. What I love about it, too, is, and I, And I make this prediction now, it had changed your opinion of parts of the UFC that you might not even appreciate as a fan today, like the grappling portions. You know, the slow, methodical kind of on the ground quasi-wrestling bits that a lot of fans are just like, oh, this is boring, stand them up. Yeah, but when you know what's happening, when you know how terrifying it is to be in a few of those positions, It's like watching a whole new thing. Yeah.

Well, look, I learned a lot yesterday in an hour and a half. And shout out to Greg Hamilton. He, like, it's playing chess with your body. You get in a ground situation with somebody. Because look, not all street fights stay up. And also, if a guy's, like, this is why. This is one of the reasons I'm all about it. I'm not a very tall guy.

And if some guy out in the fucking street, you know, has a problem with me, like, for me to just stay standing up and box it out with a dude that has a reach that's like eight inches longer than mine, like, I'm going to get fucked. But if I can get this guy to the ground, just what I learned yesterday, three moves, I'm already so more lethal than I was the day before. You know what I mean? And like, and getting really good coaching from him and one of his students, Jordan, like, the first choke learning it and then applying it and him giving me just a little tweak. And then he's like, oh yeah, no, I could feel the difference.

That was amazing. And then from there, we put it into an application. And then we switched and he did it to me so I could feel it. And then we put it into it even more live situation. And then it was like, oh, I'm just, the more loose I stay, the more relaxed I say. And the slower I move, the more lethal it is. It's like you move slow till you strike or whatever. But like it was wild because then like I did after doing a bunch of drills and learning a bunch of moves,

then it was like we got to like partner up. And one guy was like, he was a brown belt. And he was just like, you know, he was watching me. And he goes, he goes, let's roll. And I was like, dude, I was like, it's my first day. I was like, I'm, I'm not ready to just like roll around with a brown belt. You know, and he goes, no, come on. He goes, we'll do a drill.

He's like, he's like, I'm going to start on my back. And he's like, I just want you to try and get chest to chest with me inside guard. Bro, for three minutes, I could not, I could not get this guy. And he wasn't even, he wasn't even doing anything to me. Like he was just moving and I couldn't get past his legs. Like it was insane. And it is so methodical. And then I was gassed.

And then I stopped and I was watching Greg and I was watching how he moved and he did not move fast. He would even like there would be times he's like on his back and he's just like reaching up. And he's going at this speed and he locks in and then like, twist the guy's gie around his neck and then pushes it into his face. And I was like, what? But like, that's applicable in the real world. Like if a guy's fucking with you and he's got a jacket on,

you can choke the guy out standing up if you know what you're doing. The blackout is like a PhD. It would take, like, 10 years and thousands of hours of training. It was so awesome to watch. I'm going tomorrow. Welcome to this world. man, I'm excited for you for sure. And just like you said, what you learned in one day,

you wait, you wait towards six months from now. In just six months, if you met the version of yourself that had never been to Jiu-Jitsu, that person that you were on Sunday, you can't even match them up. They wouldn't be allowed to fight each other. It would be such a mismatch.

It's unbelievable. It's really exciting stuff. Well, good stuff, man. And yeah, to everybody out there, thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you also enjoyed the fights as much as we did. And, yeah, thank you. Love you. Talk to you soon.

Later.