The episode features Brandon Allen, UFC middleweight contender ranked #5, discussing his recent victory over Joe Pyfer and his journey through mixed martial arts since starting jiu-jitsu at age 13.

Allen shares insights on training camp changes, moving from Florida to Chicago's Valley Flow gym with Bilal Muhammad, and how addressing complacency transformed his approach to fighting.

The conversation covers Allen's upcoming title aspirations, his desire to fight champion Dricus Du Plessis, and the mental challenges of elite competition including sports psychology work.

Joe Rogan reflects on his 28-year history with the UFC, starting from backstage interviews in 1997, and both discuss the evolution of MMA from early Vale Tudo days to modern complete fighters.

White House UFC Event Logistics and Outdoor Fighting

Trump announced plans for eight to nine title fights at a White House UFC event on June 14th with 5,000-6,000 seats at the front and 100,000 in back areas

"There's only eight weight classes, so how's there going to be nine title fights?" - Jamie questioning the mathematics of the announcement

Allen expressed concerns about outdoor fighting conditions: "What happens if it rains? What if it's hot and muggy? That's going to affect people"

Historical precedent shown with King of the Cage "Wet and Wild" event in Louisiana where fighters competed in pouring rain on slippery surfaces

UFC previously held outdoor event in Abu Dhabi where BJ Penn fought Frankie Edgar and Anderson Silva fought Damian Maia in desert conditions

Brandon Allen's Weight Cut Reality at 185 Pounds

Allen walks around at 215-220 pounds normally, currently at 225 after two months off training following his last fight

Joe Pyfer surprisingly weighs only 205-206 pounds despite appearing much larger: "I thought the same thing, I was like no way" - Brandon

Jack Della Maddalena confirmed as another massive middleweight with difficult weight cuts, described as "enormous" by Allen

Khamzat Chimaev reportedly came in at 210 pounds on Monday of fight week before his last bout, demonstrating extreme cutting practices

Discussion of ONE Championship's hydration testing loophole: fighters drink massive amounts of water, hold it in their stomach, then urinate clear for tests while actually dehydrated

Training Camp Transformation and Coaching Changes

"Complacency" identified as Allen's main problem - he was essentially coaching himself and choosing easy training partners at Kill Cliff in Florida

Allen moved to Chicago's Valley Flow gym with Bilal Muhammad, Horacio, Mike, and Max after the Fluffy Hernandez loss

"I'm very in control of things that I can control and I know myself" - Brandon explaining his difficulty letting go of self-coaching habits

Russian coach at previous gym taught "unorthodox stuff" that didn't work - Allen demonstrated by easily countering techniques during training

Allen emphasized importance of elite coaching: "Having a good coach, having like a Firas Zahabi type dude in your corner who just really understands what you need to do, so fucking important"

Mental Preparation and Sports Psychology

Allen worked with sports psychiatrist Eric from New Orleans who specialized in "mindfulness" - learning to catch negative emotions before they grow

"I don't mind losing to someone that's better than me, but to lose to myself, oh man, to look in the mirror, it eats me alive" - Brandon on his worst fear

Before the Imavov fight in France, Allen experienced extreme nervousness: "I was shaking in the bed the night before, I thought I was freezing but I wasn't"

Allen's approach involves talking through fears rather than suppressing them: "Sometimes I'm not a big talker, but just let me talk, you don't even have to say nothing"

Psychiatrist provided reading material including work by Rob Gilbert, PhD from Montclair State University on sports psychology performance

Jocko Willink's "Good" video serves as major motivation: "When things are going bad, there's going to be some good that's going to come from it"

Health Issues and Fighting Through Injuries

Allen discovered thyroid problem with T3 levels "seven times the normal value" causing extreme fatigue, weight gain to 220 pounds, and no sex drive

Fought Imavov in France while thyroid was regulating - "couldn't do more than two and a half rounds the whole camp" despite normal training volume

French commission forced Allen to wait two hours for drug testing immediately after weigh-in while dehydrated, requiring two vials of blood

Allen fought Paul Craig with completely torn ACL that "cut in half" from calf slicer - ACL fell and reattached to bone at lower point, healing without surgery

Current foot has three small fractures discovered after Joe Pyfer fight, existing before previous fight but thought to be muscle issue

"I fight with all crazy stuff because I don't know how to pull out, knock on wood, I haven't pulled from one fight in my career" - Brandon

Joe Pyfer Fight Analysis and Strategy

Allen knew Pyfer would gas: "It's impossible for you to keep this up for 25 minutes, I know you're not going to do it, so just bide my time"

Pyfer came in at 210 pounds on Monday of fight week, making weight cut particularly difficult and contributing to cardio issues

"In the first round, he was squeezing like his legs, everything, trying to where I couldn't move, so I just make little adjustments" - Brandon on Pyfer's approach

Allen studied Pyfer's ONE Championship fight against Russian opponent to confirm game plan before executing strategy

Fight was short notice, five rounds for Allen, creating concerns about his own cardio management throughout 25 minutes

Fluffy Hernandez Losses and Judging Controversies

Allen lost two decisions to Fluffy Hernandez, both controversial: "I really don't see how I lost on a decision" after rewatching six times

"Does his effective grappling, even if they're holding, outweigh me almost knocking you out?" - Brandon questioning unified rules interpretation

Fluffy's coach previously worked for the commission and "strategizes certain things around the rules" according to Allen's sources

Robbie Lawler told Allen after the fight: "You should have just got up then" - wisdom that changed Allen's perspective on responsibility

Allen criticized holding without advancement: "You're literally just holding, you're not even moving at all, you're not lifting your weight, you're not doing nothing"

Fluffy uses "awkward shots" that aren't traditional doubles or singles - "he's just trying to get your hips, then he's circling right away"

Dricus Du Plessis Title Shot Pursuit

Allen has been trying to fight Du Plessis "since he got into the UFC" and views him as next logical opponent for March or April

Current top five situation: Champion Du Plessis, Imavov waiting, Sean Strickland vs Fluffy Hernandez announced, leaving only Allen and Du Plessis available

"He's the luckiest guy I've ever seen" - Brandon on Du Plessis, though acknowledging his fighting spirit and ability to find ways to win

Allen respects Du Plessis's mentality: "I love the fight because I know he's coming to fight, he's coming to kill, I love that"

"That nervousness, who's not nervous of another man that's trying to hurt me? I love that" - Brandon on embracing danger in competition

Young Prospects and Training Partners

Ansar Chalangov, 18-19 year old at Kill Cliff, described as "stud" who "gives everybody problems" and trains 100% intensity every day

Ansar and best friend Umran John left home in their late teens, told parents they were "going to the store, never came back" to pursue fighting in America

Young fighters work moving company jobs all night, then train morning and evening sessions with relentless dedication

Allen trained with Nicky Rod recently: "They whooped my ass, I ain't gonna lie" after two months off, emphasizing the elite level of pure jiu-jitsu specialists

Gordon Ryan's athleticism questioned by himself: "I'm not a good athlete, I'm intelligent" - relying on technical mastery over physical gifts

365-day training philosophy discussed - Donaher's approach means "over the course of five years, he's trained so much more than you"

Violence Outside the Cage and Self-Defense

Allen's great uncle had throat slit in bar, missed both carotid arteries "by not even eighth of an inch," chased attacker and almost beat him to death

Allen's friend stabbed in face in New Orleans by stranger at bar, "broke his jaw, stabbed him and ran" leaving permanent scar

"If you're that good at 18, what's he going to be like when he's 30?" - Joe on young phenoms like Ansar who would have been world champions in early UFC

Allen's philosophy on confrontation: "I'm not the kind of person to really cause a conflict, I'd rather just move over here and stay out your way"

Kevin James's friend went to jail for manslaughter after knocking someone out who hit their head and died - cautionary tale about street fights

Joe Rogan's UFC History Since 1997

Rogan started at UFC 12 in 1997 doing backstage interviews after Campbell McLaren connected through his comedy club manager

"I got direct TV just so I could watch the UFC because that's when it was banned from cable" - Joe explaining his early fandom

First event was supposed to be in New York but got canceled, moved to Dothan, Alabama - Rogan flew on propeller plane

Vitor Belfort made debut at UFC 12 against Trey Telligman, won heavyweight tournament despite being light heavyweight, "throwing missiles so fast"

Rogan trained at Carlson Gracie's gym with Vitor before his UFC debut, learning from Mario Sperry and Murilo Bustamante as white belt

Monitors for judges were Rogan's idea around 2011 after bad decisions: "There's no way these guys are seeing everything"

Gracie Family History and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Origins

Allen visited Brazil for friend's fight at Josie Aldo's gym on edge of favela, met Daniel Gracie and family including patriarch before he passed

Gracie family explained origins of family divide that started when they were children - one side would "rat" on the other after street fights

Rickson Gracie beach fight video discussed - Daniel Gracie was present and explained how the confrontation with Luta Livre practitioner started

"Rickson tapped me every day, every day I go to the gym" - Royce Gracie on his brother's superiority despite Royce being UFC representative

Royce chosen for UFC over Rickson because he looked less intimidating at 170 pounds: "It was the best advertisement ever for jiu-jitsu"

Andre Pederneiras fought in early Vale Tudo Japan, faced Pat Miletich for UFC welterweight title, and fought Rumina Sato, Caol Uno, Genki Sudo

Evolution of MMA and Modern Complete Fighters

"There's not another sport on earth where you could see a gigantic difference between 1994 and 2025" - Joe on MMA's rapid evolution

18-year-old Ansar would have been world champion in early UFC era: "No one would have fucked with him" according to Rogan

Early fighters like Rickson had "very little striking" - comparison of winging punches in beach fight versus modern technical striking

Vitor Belfort's evolution from pure grappler to striker shocked everyone: "Everybody thought he was a jiu-jitsu guy because he was from Carlson Gracie"

TRT Vitor described as "scariest fucking human being that ever stepped into that cage" - wheel kicked Luke Rockhold despite never throwing them before

Young fighters today don't know history: at Seattle event, only Allen and two others could name Vitor Belfort fights when asked by UFC

Recovery Methods and Stem Cell Treatments

Hyperbaric chamber study in Jerusalem showed 60 sessions of 90 minutes over 90 days lengthened telomeres equivalent to 20-year age difference

Allen started using Thorne supplements through UFC partnership, particularly creatine: "I can really feel how different my body recovers"

Creatine benefits emphasized: "What's even great for your mind, creatine is fantastic just for cognitive support" - Joe

FDA restrictions criticized for holding back stem cell treatments available in Colombia, Panama, and Tijuana with outstanding results

Kamaru Usman went to Colombia's bioaccelerator for knee treatments after openly discussing severe knee problems on podcast

Mel Gibson's 80-year-old father couldn't walk, got stem cell hip treatments in Panama, was "up and walking around like five years later"

Strength and Conditioning Philosophy

Sam Calavitta's Training Lab in Orange County trained Khamzat Chimaev, TJ Dillashaw, Armand Tsarukyan with legendary intensity

Calavitta's background in endurance cycling (Tour de France level) transferred to MMA: "Knows what your recovery should be, where your resting heart rate should be"

Khamzat's over-training issue addressed: "You can't kick him out of the fucking gym, he won't stop training"

Khamzat trained through COVID with two-hour sessions, broke down immune system requiring hospitalization from refusing to rest

Ronnie Coleman's approach: took months completely off after Mr. Olympia, "I got to reset" despite extreme training intensity during competition prep

Allen takes two months off end of year for hunting and family: "It's good and bad, usually I'll take a couple weeks off, maybe a month max"

Demetrious Johnson's Legacy and Flyweight Division

Mighty Mouse fought Adriano Moraes twice in ONE Championship - lost first via knee KO, then KO'd Moraes "the exact same way" with flying knee

"That is so artistic, the timing is just so beautiful" - Joe on DJ's flying knee KO at approximately 35 years old

Johnson's speed demonstrated when he playfully hit Rogan with two body knees: "It was so fast, I didn't even see them coming"

"He just didn't get the love that he deserved when he was in his prime because he was 125 pounds" - Joe on weight class bias

DJ described as "definition of a martial artist" who "cares about the pureness of being a martial artist rather than the views or the belt"

PED Testing and TRT Era Stories

Allen randomly drug tested at LFA fight while opponent Eric Anders weighed 222-223 day of fight but wasn't tested

"Does it look like I'm on steroids? If I was gonna take it, I promise you I would look like it" - Brandon to testers

ONE Championship testing criticized: "If you're not testing all throughout camp randomly, you're not really testing"

Alistair Overeem tested when fighting Brock Lesnar despite being "the juiciest guy I've ever seen fight" on "horse meat"

TRT era main event canceled because fighter's testosterone levels were so high "they were worried he was going to die"

Allen's position on open PED use: "I'll start it off by saying yes, when I was younger I was like no, but as I got older, nah I would"

Dangerous Injuries and Medical Emergencies

Austin Hubbard suffered compartment syndrome requiring leg to be sliced open from top to bottom to drain fluids and reduce pressure

Uriah Faber fought Mike Brown with both hands broken, throwing elbows instead, and fought Aldo with severely damaged leg

Conor McGregor fought Dustin Poirier third fight with known hairline fracture in shin that snapped during fight

Corey Hill's leg break in 2008 went unnoticed by referee Dale Hatt who let fight continue on the ground

Clovis Hancock died in cage for five minutes, revived by cutman performing CPR before EMTs arrived, never allowed to fight again

Sheathing injuries from rings in jiu-jitsu discussed - skin pulled off finger like a sheath when caught in gi or equipment

Ian Garry and Khamzat Chimaev Confrontation

Ian Garry slapped Khamzat hard on back, alternate angle showed aggressive nature: "He's that guy, he's trying to get a rise out of you"

Allen trained with Garry at Kill Cliff: "I don't like Ian at all, he's talked shit to me through another person, through his phone"

"Stop letting your wife tell you what to do, bro, shut up" - Brandon's response to Garry's indirect trash talk

Khamzat's response praised by Allen: "Some things he might say or do I don't like, but that, as a man, I stand behind him"

After Gilbert Burns fight, Khamzat told him "you're my brother now" showing respect after warfare

Mel Gibson's Film Career and Acting

Apocalypto praised as incredible achievement: "He made a movie where nobody speaks English and it's a blockbuster"

Gibson described as having "a fucking tornado going on in his brain all the time" contributing to directing excellence

Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, The Patriot mentioned as great films in Gibson's directing career

What women want (2000) with Helen Hunt discussed as hilarious comedy where Gibson's character can read women's thoughts after electrocution

Edge of darkness featured Gibson investigating daughter's murder by corporation hiding secrets

Lethal weapon (1987) showed first triangle choke in mainstream movie, trained by Rorion Gracie who challenged Mike Tyson in Playboy