Joe Rogan has recently shed new light on what he calls the most famous intervention in podcast history. In December 2014, Rogan famously convinced former UFC heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub to retire from MMA, delivering a stark reality check that remains a viral moment almost a decade later.
Rogan has now revealed his urgent reasons for pushing Schaub out of the sport. The intervention occurred after Schaub suffered a first-round knockout loss to Travis Browne at UFC 181, marking his fourth professional KO defeat.
Beyond the professional fights, Rogan claims Schaub was consistently knocked out during training sessions. In a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan stated, “The thing about Brendan, people don’t know, is how many concussions he took outside of the fights. You see the fights, but he used to spar with Shane Carwin, man… Brendan Schaub and him used to spar all the time, and he would get knocked out all the time. He would get concussions all the time.”
Rogan recounted specific instances: “He got a concussion days before he fought Ben Rothwell, he got a concussion days before he fought [Minotauro] Nogueira. Like, he was getting concussions all the time in the gym.” Witnessing these repeated injuries and their effects, Rogan felt compelled to intervene: “So, I knew about all that s***, too, and I was seeing the effects. I was like, ‘You’ve got to get out now! If you don’t get out now, there’s no happy ending.’ There’s no happy ending for the guy that gets knocked out a lot. It’s terrible.”
Rogan`s Emotional Reaction to Daniel Cormier`s Losses
Rogan’s detailed explanation of the Schaub intervention followed an emotional reflection on Daniel Cormier`s UFC career. Having been friends and colleagues with “DC” for years, Rogan found it immensely difficult to witness Cormier`s defeats.
He openly wept as he recalled Cormier’s knockout losses to Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Rogan shared, “It’s real hard when you watch your friends get beat up. Real hard. It was real hard watching Cormier when Jones beat him up. That was hard. The Stipe one was hard, especially the one where Stipe KO’d him against the cage. It’s just hard.”
Rogan elaborated on the profound impact: “Because you know them. You know them as human beings. You know what that’s going to do to them. It’s f****** devastating. It’s like a loss. It’s like you lost a family member or you lost a dog. It’s hard. I start crying.”
