Wrestling is the most exhaustive activity I ever tried. Played fullback, have boxed 6 rounds more than once, have swam 2 miles a few times. None compares with trying to pin or my case just survive a wrestling workout. Those guys are in great shape.

Wrestling for 6 minutes after fasting for a day helps you learn who you are very quickly

I ran more in wrestling practice than cross country.

As a striker, i admit that wrestling is practically superior. Idc how good you are at punching and kicking, once you go down it's over

Wrestling is the most dominant martial art. Even if you're a mediocre striker but have wrestling you can make it far. Wrestlers are a different breed. 6 out of the 8 UFC champs come from a wrestling background. That's mad.

Hair levels are critically low sir!

Dudes scull rockin the mohawk

I grew up wrestling. I wrestled through highschool and most years, did freestyle after school practice. All my friends were wrestlers and even on the weekends we wrestled nonstop for hours and hours in the living room. It will teach humility and to break your own limits. Today, my son is wrestling in highschool. There has been no single greater mental challenge in my life than wrestling. Everything else is easy

They are right about wrestling. BY FAR hardest sport I was involved in. Hard to take certain people seriously from weaker sports after wrestling.

I remember from my wrestling days one particular: Elimination. We started from the lightest to the heaviest. You won, you got a heavier opponent. If that doesn't teach you your place, nothing will.

Joe was extremely upset and triggered on the inside about the jiu jitsu comments.

Imagine teaching wrestling to mike tyson in his prime

A friend of mine was a wrestler in high school and then joined the army. Boot camp was a breeze for him because his wrestling training was harder than bootcamp was.

Wrestling 3 minute rounds is the most exhausting thing that I have ever done.

As a wrestler, it’s something different. I’ve done Basketball, Track, and Soccer, none of them compare with the uncomfortable condition. The practices are hard, to really do a wrestling season, showing up to every practice, knowing you likely want to skip the next practice. It’s honestly about being tough, offensive, working hard, little to know breaks. Live wrestling, and learning some life skills, it’s just crazy, and wrestling gives you a high like a runner’s high. And you sometimes miss it, but you almost don’t miss the hard workouts, and during this quarantine, many like me are missing it so bad! Wrestlers, who want to be there in the room, not just there to lose weight, or stay in shape for the next sports season, or because someone told them they had to do something to get out of the house, are something special, something different. And I’m my opinion, wrestling is the most underrated commonly found sport in high school and college.

And wrestling is an ancient martial artist. I mean the ancient civilisations had that as a sport.

Fun fact: Most knights and people in the middle ages trained wrestling rather than striking when it came to empty handed skills, due to the prevalence of daggers, since if you were not not armed it was more important to be able to grapple and take someone down in order to secure a disarm. Strikes were most often used to set up take downs

How things have changed. Back in the day, I used to argue with my classmates all the time about wrestling being a much more physically and mentally demanding sport than basketball in high school, but everyone used to disagree, saying wrestling was easier because it is only 3 6-min periods, where basketball was 4 12-min quarters. Nice to see more respect for wrestlers.

"Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy"

Brings back those memories of getting up at 4 am just to shed off those last 2 pounds before weigh ins, it was a brutal sport but molded me into a young lion

Wrestling practice. You had to get your head right before you entered. Never ever an easy day.

If you think you have great conditioning, go wrestle live and you'll be shocked how bad your conditioning is

Dillashaw is a wrestler who became a striker. Really the complete package.

Hahaha about smoking pot at Jui Jujitsu school!

The wrestling coaches at my old school did not recognize any other sport as a tough sport. Football was for babies in their eyes, and after seeing the level of competitiveness and dedication our wrestling team had all I could do was nod in agreement. They won state almost every year, and cumulatively the school has the most titles in state history.

Dan Gable : “after wrestling nothing in life is hard”

I wrestled 4 years in Highschool. I've done mma after and had about 7 fights. Won them all, nothing was as hard as wrestling. I dont fight or compete any more I just enjoy it as a fan but these guys are not kidding. Wrestling breeds a different type

I ran track, wrestled, play football and basketball in high school. The wrestling program conditioning was exponentially harder that the other sports.

"Wrestlers are tough. Look at khabib" Khabib- "judo"

Shoutout to all wrestlers 🤼‍♀️

I started wrestling when I was kid, I’ll always remember starting varsity as Freshman at 160, my coach bumped me up to 189 being under weight and I was beating juniors and seniors, and a lot of it came from just having mental toughness, no other sport teaches it like wrestling And I’ve done all the other sports and love them but nothing compares to it, also being mainly a wrestler growing up it made playing other sports a lot easier and not just in sports but in life too

If you're reading this you should know Jamie got an A in physics

Not saying Brock lesnar is the best but the only reason Brock did somewhat decent in the ufc was because of his wrestling background

The grind those guys go through is on par with what those early vale tudo guys trained in the 80's and 90's. It is something about having another man trying to impose his will on you.

Current D1 wrestler here. I’ve been doing it for nearly 17 years and have 2 years of eligibility left. Let me just tell you walking into a college room for the first time was nuts. The talent gap is so thin. I remember getting paired up with a few upperclassmen and getting pounded on for a few weeks before I got my first takedown. It’s the greatest honor I’ve ever had in my life though. The bonds you form through the sport are life changing, and I wouldn’t be the man that I am today without it. Seeing other combat sports legends talk about it is awesome. I love the sport and love talking to others about it. I’m getting to live a dream that few have, and it’s truly a blessing.

I wrestled in high school and I only did for two months because I need to help my family and now I work security and the wrestling moves I learned have helped me a lot more than I thought they ever would

“Jon you really think I’m gonna sit here and let you kill me?” -Picograms to Jon

Wrestlers don’t fuck with wrestlers, we respect each other, so if a wrestler that can throw hands, I’m gonna respect him more, I loved that sport man. Damn

I haven't wrestled in 7 years and it is the most exhausting thing I've ever done and its the one thing I've missed the most in my life

Man, even in high school wrestling was absolutely brutal. Wrestled in middle school and high school. It felt like that’s all you were focused on year round. Practices in the morning before school, practice after school, then on the stationary bike or jogging a couple hours after getting home to eat and study. Then you did it all over again the next day and the next. The thought of quitting enters your mind but you shake that off and keep at it. When you’re varsity you got several other guys constantly trying to get better to take your spot. No only that, we had drills where the varsity guys stayed in the entire time while the JV guys rotated in “fresh” while we stayed in exhausted as all hell. Wrestling is an experience I’ll never forget. I joined the military after and graduated boot camp with honors. Getting up early to PT, then trying to deprive you of food, or making you study after a long PT session was nothing. I fuckin gained weight in boot camp lmao.

I only for a semester in highschool. I'm 27 now, I'm an amateur boxer. I've done taekwondo, swimming, rugby, American football, cross country, and I have to say, wrestling was by far the hardest most draining sport I've ever done. Anyone who's ever wrestled competitively for a couple of years, I respect the hell out of you. You guys are the toughest dudes in the world.

When I was in high school, the star of our football team decided to try wrestling because it was getting more popular in school. He spent the whole season bitching and complaining about everything from how much conditioning we did to the 25 year old mats we practiced on. Mental toughness is what separates wrestlers from other athletes

I did football then did wrestling and I’ll say wrestling is easily the toughest thing I have ever done

Ahhh the glory days. This convo takes me back...Up early before school training/running around the lake sweatin my ass off with trash bags under my clothes as a sweat suit. 💪🏽

I wrestled for 5 years - all year long. It is one of toughest sports. Most of the football players dropped out after 2 weeks. Cutting weight is difficult too. Having the wrestling background is so important in MMA. Joe is correct, you get to control the fight.

Wrestling is the best sport for many reasons, anyone who's ever been to a tournament and watched the youth compete knows how humbling this sport is. I wrestled for 8 years and I've seen more kids broken down than you could ever compare to any sport. The reason is you can't blame your loss on anyone other than yourself, its extremely personal. When my daughter turned 8 i made her wrestle, she did it for 2 years and it tought her a lot. If you want, go watch any youth tournament and i guarantee you will see it time after time.

Seems to be true. Sakuraba beat all the Gracies. His background... wrestling.

i wrestled 1,5 hours a day during ramadan, that my man that was hard

My grandfather saw the titanic and he warned everyone that it would sink but nobody would listen. He told people a few more times and then he was kicked out of the cinema.

Man I regret not start wrestling as a kid .I started 6 years ago at 26, at my mma gym.I fell in love with it. I couldn’t believe I went all those years not training. As soon as my kids are older, I’m definitely putting them in wrestling, over anything else first.

Wrestling is the most grueling thing I’ve ever done in my entire high school sports career

You gotta love how passionate Rogan and Thomas are about the sport of fighting. So much knowledge...and that only comes from learning about something you love. It’s infectious just watching them talk!

One of my favorite bits in JRE history. “Wrestling is about dominating...”: Din rings the bell with his take.

Wrestlers are super tough dudes for sure, but the current rule set in the UFC also favors wrestlers. The cage aspect is a huge part, no knees to a down opponent, no upkicks, etc, 5 min rounds etc.

I wrestled for three years as a 'cadet' (scrimmage partner) at a Canadian university. The earliest months were exhausting - I was brought to puking several times. The constant bursts of energy and arythmic scrambling and defending made 2 3:00 minute rounds seem like a half-hour. It really is the closest you can come to a streetfight without fighting.

I used to get my ass beat by boxers. Then I started taking all of the bullies down! I slammed them and pounded their faces into mush. I did'nt even know how to punch but boxing with wrestling is the best Martial Art! Love you bro!

Yeah wrestlers usually have a lot of unity with their bodies when they move so usually stronger than they look

I love wrestling. The feeling after 5 minutes of non stop wrestling is exhausting, but addictive.

this guy looking like he boutta grow another head

I wrestled 7th through 12th grade... broke my HS (overhand) pull-up 44 and shoulder dip 45 record in 1974 (I was told last year that my dip record still stands) my Dad taught me to box / fight (including fighting with his Fairbairn Sikes, as he was OSS WWII)... I then wrestled at Slipper Rock U for Fred Powel (assistant Olympic coach) at 174 lbs. (rolled with the Ben and John Peterson brothers, Wayne Wells, Dan Gable, even Chris Taylor a few times), worked out and spared with the boxing team, fenced, did yoga, and weights (Bench 325, curl 175, military 165), ran more at SRU then I did in HS CC, ran a sub 5 mln mile and an 11 flat 100... after college I pushed Nautilus at Gary Reinl's Gym in NJ, (you may know him as Dr. No Ice) when I moved back to the Philly area, I worked out at Pat Croce's (of 76ers) gym, and had further weight lifting and work-out instruction from Eddie Coyle (Gold in the Para Olympics 1972 and 10 national championships and 23 world records)... shot hoops with Phil Maratelli (St Joe BB coach)... as we (Gary, Pat, Ed, and Phil) all grew up in Lansdowne, PA together... Was a Navy Seabee from '89 to '03, and held the NMCB 21 battalion position of forward observer... at 66 I still go through life healthy without fear, working out with a Gracie BJJ team... Andy Russel (BBJ instructor), Greg Ellis (shotput gold) Mark Wunderlich, (NBA ref), Charlene Morett-Curtiss (Olympic Gold, PSU Coach field Hockey) were all friends from Lansdowne too...

My son was an all state football player who decided to start wrestling as a sophomore to “stay in shape” for football…after his first practice he walked in the house, stripped off his sweat soaked workout clothes and went straight to bed…I walked in and asked him how wrestling practice was and he said it sucked worse than anything he’d ever done!! 😂😂😂

Joe "Wrestlers are so Jackkked... so jacked" Rogan

Wish I could go back in time and start wrestling

I’m getting threatened by some guys and I don’t know how to defend myself...What’s best to learn I can’t decide on boxing, Muay Thai, Jui Jitsu, combat sambo or judo???

MMA wrestling is quite different than sport wrestling. Some wrestlers adjust easier than others of course. The mindset brought to MMA from wrestling is the most helpful aspect in my opinion; from a coaches standpoint.

The wrestling room is intense. Being an insecure 11 year old in the middle school wrestling room was intimidated man. Good thing is that no one on that team could beat me the next year

Greco-roman wrestling! All day man! Best time of my life.

I do boxing and wrestling, when I wrestle live 3 minutes straight and the end of class, that is one of the hardest thing to do and boxing workouts felt easier after wrestling

Also in wrestling there are many rules (like clasping of the hands, no head lock without an arm in, no spiking, no joint manipulation, etc.) that do not allow many things which forces you to adapt. So when you grapple under "no rules" like BJJ or MMA you go BUCK WILD.

Facttttts!!! Wrestled since three years old used to love when kids growing up would say I don’t wrestle I fight lmao. I would always say if I can control u in wrestling I can control u in a fight and that’s always how it went. It’s the most important base to have for fighting. It’s been pretty proven for the most part a wrestler can pick up striking a lot quicker than a boxer could ever pick up wrestling. If just naturally have heavy hands and are a decorated wrestler like Woodley or Hendricks in his prime you will probably be a champion! Every one that didn’t wrestle usually has a story or their friend had an experience where they tried a wrestler half their size and got scraped and learned their lesson for life!

Joe should get Tony on the podcast

I honestly dont think any other sport can make you lose 14 pounds in 2 hours on a daily and consistent basis

The point being made is spot on a world class wrestler with no MMA experience will last longer maybe even win against some MMA fighters.

172 highschool matches. Experience in competition is everything

As a wrestler, I think the only reason why it is so dominate, is because it is so common in the US. Especially the amount of people who start it at a young age. There are 100 kids who grew up wrestling, for every 1 kid who grew up boxing or in BJJ etc.

I wrestled with a friend 20 years ago and my heart rate has not been that crazy since then. My heart rate when I see a buck in the woods is crazy but it’s different.

I know a former wrestler , a colleague of mine in his early 60s , he's a former car mechanic, recovering from cancer, rides his motorbike to and from work daily, about 30 minutes each way, used to ride in the annual London to Brighton bicycle ride for 10 years , is still very fit and strong. He credits his fitness for his recovery

Wrestling is dope. Seeing people getting superplexed off that turn buckle is crazy. 😁

I'm grateful I did a couple years of wrestling in high school. Got mauled but got tough as fuck in a short amount of time. Considering going to a wrestling camp eventually to give me an extra edge in juijitsu and mma

Wrestlers rule MMA. Period.

Wrestling really does foster an alpha male mentality. It's great. Even in high-school. Constant misery made "worth it" by a few minutes of real competition. We lived for real matches, where we could prove we were top dog. Even the games we played in the room. King of the Hill, after everyone was absolutely dogshit tired, proved who was the best in the team. It was fucking awesome.

Wtf what bjj schools is din Thomas been going to😂😂😂😂😂🤔

Wrestlers are so tough because they treat a high school practice like it's a fucking special forces training session. Couple this with the fact that wrestling is very structured and systematic with the way it's implemented in the school systems, allowing for very efficient progression. If every other martial arts program had these attributes, their adherents would be just as tough.

Its always better to teach a striker to wrestle than a wrestler to strike 🙌🏼

My biggest regret about high school will always be that I never did wrestling.

Glad I’m in wrestling

Wrestling feels like a more natural type of combat without any weapons because the natural instinct is to clinch and avoid getting punched and then dominate the person with strength. Realistically if a wrestler and a striker were in a street fight , if the wrestler could make smart moves and avoid really bad face crushing blows, quickly land a take down it's over. Unlike UFC there's no rounds to get back up and start on your feet

This guy's forhead has a story of its own!

I've trained as a boxer for close to 35 years. I have tried wrestling a few times . The next day almost every joint in my body was aching.

Applying Wrestling to life makes you grind through everything, started Wrestling when I was 6 years old ya gotta be a little crazy to love pushing yourself that hard when others would quit.

Few things more dangerous than a wrestler who can strike. That’s some scary shit.

Tbh I never had to starve my self while wrestling but I can see the pain it the others faces and I knew they where just on another level of hell

"Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy." - Dan Gable

Then there's the casuals (e.g. Conor fanboys) saying it's "boring" cause their favorite fighters get destroyed when going up against a wrestler LOL

Started wrestling at 9 yoa, helped significantly in rugby, eventually was almost second nature able to dominate some of the bigger and scarier guys, once took them to ground, it was all over.

I’ve done both, wrestled and boxed. Wrestling really helps you build that mental fortitude but boxing shortens your life expectancy.

Back in high school we had a guest coach. Dude was like an alternate for the national team and an assistant coach at Seton Hall U. He ran conditioning and I literally questioned if I would make it out of that room alive. I was a sophomore and decided THAT day I would never wrestle in college. RIP Kenser Defresne

I think in terms of the ufc it’s the judging. Cause I’ve seen lots of wrestlers get in someone’s guard try to get out to advance but can’t and get sliced up by elbows or get hit by lots of strikes only for the judges to give the wrestler the round cause he was on top

Almost every dominant ufc champ was a wrestler

I wrestled when I was in kindergarten and first grade and then I quit came back freshman year and got my ass kicked first tournament. Now in my sophomore year doing much better it’s quite a sport