PowerfulJREJRE MMA Show #186 with Sean Sharaf
PowerfulJRE
A Chaotic Week After the Upset 0:01
Sean Sharaf tells Joe Rogan he feels incredible after what he calls one of the craziest weeks of his life. He explains that a White House card fight against Gable Stevenson was first floated back in June, after Gable's manager Ali reached out, but the plan fell through, possibly because Dana White was hesitant to put Jon Jones on that card. The fight eventually came together for a Los Angeles event, which Sean had specifically requested, and he learned he would fight Gable about six weeks out.
Training Through Chaos and Poverty 2:00
Sean describes training for the fight while dealing with serious instability in his personal life. He had already been in camp for a bout with Tai Tuivasa that fell apart after his nose was broken, then rolled straight into preparing for Gable once he was cleared to spar again. During the eight week camp he kept full discipline, avoiding sex and retaining his seed, as he puts it, while bouncing between cheap fighter houses, casinos, his car, and his mother's place because he had no money and nothing in his name. His management eventually fronted him four thousand dollars from his purse, and a friend helped him get a sublease, but he says the team was not very involved and he had to figure most of it out himself.
Doubt, Belief, and the Knockout 4:30
Sean recalls genuinely believing he could win even though he expected a brutal war, repeating a version of Jon Jones's famous trash talk to himself as motivation. His past wins had all been first round knockouts, which gave him a false sense that opponents would simply fall, but losses to Tai Tuivasa and a tough fight with Aspen had made him start doubting his own power. When his left hook finally dropped Gable Stevenson, who was a minus 2400 betting favorite, he says he started cussing and jumping, barely able to process what was happening. Joe calls it possibly the biggest upset in heavyweight MMA history, bigger even than Holly Holm's win over Ronda Rousey, since Holm was already an elite striker while Sean was not expected to have a chance at all.
Wondering Whether to Walk Away 8:30
Sean admits the win has left him questioning whether he should keep fighting at all, telling his sports psych and training partners he might be satisfied walking away right now given everything he endured, including a CT scan showing brain matter concerns and injuries head to toe, all without sponsors or real support. Joe tells him the decision is entirely personal and depends on where Sean is in his life, and warns against chasing glory for its own sake, pointing to Justin Gaethje's White House win over Ilia Topuria as an example of a peak moment some fighters might never want to risk following. The conversation shifts to Conor McGregor's return against Max Holloway, which Joe frames as chasing a high rather than a dream, contrasting it with McGregor's earlier knockout of Jose Aldo, which came from genuinely chasing the dream of becoming champion. They close the section discussing Gable Stevenson's background as an Olympic gold medalist and undefeated prospect trained by Jon Jones, with Sean noting Gable's regional scene wins weren't particularly impressive, though Joe points out good fighters avoid risky opponents like Gable on purpose while building their records.
The Left Hook That Changed Everything 13:31
Sean Sharaf describes how success in wrestling can make an athlete believe he is invincible, when really he is just a regular person with very good skills. He points to the moment his opponent, widely assumed to be Gable Steveson, closed his eyes before getting caught, a sign of inexperience rather than lack of talent, since the man had only been striking for about a year and a half. The left hook that landed was technical and perfect, and Sean says it changed the landscape of his life, drawing a flood of messages from fans before the fight even happened. He also explains that he was not originally scheduled for the main card or press conference until Brian Ortega dropped out, which he calls a kind of divine intervention, since it gave him the platform to get inside his opponent's head through what he frames as fair psychological warfare.
Flow State and the Wrestling Trap 17:00
Sean recalls fighting in a flow state, not consciously planning strikes but simply committing to not over-respecting the wrestling and putting hands on his opponent. He noticed his opponent never seriously attempted a takedown in either of his fights, which struck him as strange given wrestling was his best weapon, and he compares it to a striker like Wonderboy choosing not to kick. He believes constant praise, including from Dana White, fed his opponent's overconfidence and pulled him away from his strength. Sean says he knew he had the fight won when he learned the opponent booked a grappling match during fight camp while Sean himself was getting worked over daily in training with Sergei Spivak and others, wearing headgear over a broken nose. Joe Rogan calls it a real life Rocky story, and Sean agrees it felt that way, especially given his opponent's trash talk beforehand.
Jones, Bisping, and Bigger Lessons 21:00
Joe argues that wrestling dominance can translate powerfully into MMA when used correctly, since controlling a man on the ground stifles his striking entirely, but accomplishments in one discipline do not automatically transfer to another. Both agree a rematch makes no sense after a twelve second knockout, unlike a close decision. Joe notes fighters have rebounded from brutal knockouts before, citing Michael Bisping's comeback after being knocked out by Dan Henderson to later win a middleweight title. The conversation turns to Jon Jones, with Sean noting his opponent had been photographed with Jones and treated like a protégé, which Joe says was a mistake since Jones is a true one of one talent, pointing to his dominant choke-out win over Cyril Gane and his slow, hard-earned rise through opponents like Mauricio Rua, Lyoto Machida, and Stephan Bonnar before becoming champion. Joe closes by warning that confidence must be paired with caution, citing Kamaru Usman's sudden knockout loss to Leon Edwards after dominating for four rounds as proof that fortunes can flip in an instant.
Fame brings resentment 29:00
You talk about how sudden, spectacular success changes the way people treat you. Some people start accusing you of having gone Hollywood or switching up after only a few days of fame. The reason, you explain, is that people compare themselves to anyone who succeeds in a big way, and when they fall short in that comparison, they want the successful person to fail. This happens to every champion, celebrity, and star, and it is something Sharaf now has to live with.
No such thing as luck 31:30
Sharaf describes feeling like people only love you when you are winning, pointing to how fighters get mocked after a loss and praised after a win, citing Max Holloway and others as examples of this cycle. You push back on the idea that his knockout win was a lucky punch, arguing that throwing a left hook on purpose and landing it exactly where intended is skill, not luck. You compare public judgment of fighters to chimpanzees ranking each other by status, and bring up Charles Oliveira as proof that one loss, or several, does not define a fighter, since Oliveira lost repeatedly before becoming a champion. You suggest Sharaf is better off going silent for a while and letting things settle rather than reading comments.
Faith, loss, and the Marines 35:31
Sharaf explains that the prayer he recited after his win was Al-Fatiha, the opening verse of the Quran, recited for the dead, said in memory of his father who passed away when Sharaf was fifteen. He describes navigating life without a father and says the Marine Corps taught him basic things like tying a tie, shaving, and pressing a uniform. He also responds to being called anti-American online for praying in Arabic, noting he has an America tattoo and sees no contradiction between his faith and his service. You point out that America is supposed to be a melting pot and that there should be room for all backgrounds.
Learning who to trust 37:30
You tell Sharaf that surrounding himself with people of good character will matter most now that he is suddenly famous. Sharaf admits people are already appearing offering management, sponsorship, and help, and he is unsure who to trust after being on his own for so long. You reassure him that sponsorship interest is a normal and good outcome of success, not something to resent, since no one wanted to sponsor him when he was still 0 and 2 in the UFC. You also note the huge gap between regional fighting and the UFC, and how it takes several fights for someone to settle into performing under real pressure, though Sharaf says he actually performed better under the bigger stakes of his first arena fight.
Paul Hamlin and marketability 40:00
Sean and Joe discuss how entertainment value now drives title shots, pointing to a fighter who got a title fight after only three UFC bouts because he talks a lot of trash and draws eyes, even though he is described as a normal, nice guy in real life. They note this is a deliberate strategy rather than genuine chaos.
Sareg's basketball-like footwork 41:30
Joe suggests basketball may be an underrated training background for heavyweights, since it builds plyometric movement, leaping, and quick changes of direction that translate directly into fighting. He points to a fighter's footwork against Tai Tuivasa and then against a much bigger opponent as proof of how valuable that athletic base is.
Eye pokes and foul penalties 42:00
They talk through the Pereira fight and egregious eye poke fouls, with Joe arguing that any finger-to-eye contact should cost a point instantly, since the damage is already done regardless of intent. Sean shares that in his own pro debut an opponent repeatedly headbutted him under the chin while the referee missed it, leaving him dazed and vulnerable.
Pantoja, Joshua Van, and purpose 44:00
They break down Joshua Van's title win, which came after Pantoja broke his arm on a head kick, and then praise Van's masterclass boxing performance in the rematch against the veteran flyweight. Sean reflects on his own uncertain path, describing past income from options trading and private security work, and says he needs to know why he is fighting beyond just money before continuing.
Brain scans and training damage 48:31
Sean describes an MRI and CT scan showing white matter spots in his brain, doctors unsure whether headaches or sparring caused it, after years of sparring top pros like Francis Ngannou and Sean Strickland with no steady head coach and no free training. Joe adds that much of a fighter's brain damage comes from sparring in the gym rather than actual fights.
Debate over banning the oblique kick 50:32
Sean recounts training specifically to counter a knee-crawl feint before his last fight, fearing his knees would be targeted the way Jon Jones has ended careers with it. Joe and Sean debate whether the UFC should ban the oblique and side kick to the knee, noting Andy Foster and the UFC both favor banning it since a blown knee, unlike a cut or knockout, can end a career permanently, citing Thiago Santos and Rampage Jackson's ruined knees.
MVP's knee injury and fighting style 53:30
The conversation turns to a gruesome injury where a fighter's knee was knocked completely sideways by a sidekick, leading to a discussion of why certain moves like eye gouging or biting are banned to protect fighters even though a devastating kick can end a career in one shot. Sean argues MVP (Michael Venom Page) should fight at welterweight rather than middleweight, since his speed and power translate better there, and calls him one of his favorite fighters to watch because of how he frustrates opponents like Kevin Holland by dancing, popping, and kicking at will. He praises MVP as proof that a point fighting karate background, with its ability to blitz in and out and strike from unreachable distances, can succeed in MMA, though he notes fighters like MVP and Raymond Daniels often enter the sport too late, around 34 or 35, after long careers in their original discipline.
Rules, grappling, and fight duration 59:01
Asked how he feels about modern MMA promotion compared to the Pride era, Sean says he is a purist who would never stand fighters up or separate them from the cage, arguing that if you get taken down you have to figure out how to get back up rather than earning a reset each round. He suggests every round should start exactly where the last one ended, since it is one fight, not five, and argues that fights lasting a full 25 minutes straight would be a crazy battle of attrition that heavyweights in particular could not sustain without horrific damage, pointing to the brutal trilogy between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos as an example.
Peptides and creatine for recovery 1:03:02
Sean praises the stacked heavyweight division of Pride in the early 2000s, naming Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman, Minotauro Nogueira, and Fedor, while noting many of those fighters were using steroids heavily at the time. He shifts to discussing recovery peptides like BPC-157, which he uses himself and considers a strong candidate for approval in the UFC since it only helps soft tissue healing rather than enhancing performance, and he stresses the value of sourcing it from a trusted compounding pharmacy rather than unregulated online sellers. The talk ends on creatine, which Sean calls one of the few truly legitimate supplements, citing studies showing it mitigates the mental effects of sleep deprivation, and the two compare how they each take five gram servings of creatine powder.
Rehydration and Weight Cutting Dangers 1:07:31
The conversation turns to extreme weight cutting in combat sports, prompted by the Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn fight, where Benn reportedly weighed 178.4 pounds just hours after weighing in at 146, a jump both speak of as dangerously unhealthy, since the body is left in a near-depleted state before rehydrating. Sharaf explains he walks around at about 255 pounds but cut to 240 or 245 for this camp, and recalls doing his pro debut at 205 and being told by a coach, Pillo, that his speed made him a better matchup at heavyweight than at 205, where opponents like Sean Strickland rely more on thinking, speed, and movement.
Debt and the Cost of Chasing the Dream 1:09:30
Sharaf opens up about financial ruin, saying he is filing bankruptcy this year after spending everything chasing his career, including a TRX purchase, thirty thousand dollars on tattoos, a PRK eye surgery charged to a card, and a trip taking his mother to Mecca. He describes feeling like he burned his boats and now needs a lawyer and financial advisor to figure out what comes next. He says all he ever wanted was to have his hand raised in the octagon, and that having Muslim and Christian friends all praying for him before the fight made him feel like something more than himself was present that night, despite having busted his shoulder dirt biking with Strickland three weeks earlier.
Strickland Stories and Investment Smarts 1:12:30
They swap stories about Strickland, including his dirt bike and side-by-side crashes, his refusal to take pain medication after a motorcycle wreck, and his habit of speaking bluntly on controversial topics while also knowing how to bait reactions online. Both agree he is smart with money, having invested in mutual funds and built financial security, and that he called Sharaf after the win warning him not to waste the opportunities that come with success.
Commitment, Coaching, and Finding Direction 1:14:00
Advice follows that any fighter with one foot in and one foot out should quit, since full commitment is required to avoid running into someone who has it. Rogan suggests Sharaf could reach world championship level if he keeps improving and finds a dedicated coach, citing Trevor Whitman and Fares Ziam as examples, and praising the detailed technical work seen in Trevor and Justin's training videos. Sharaf describes Eric Nicksick stepping into his corner last minute after original coach Sergey left for his wife's labor, calling Nicksick analytical and effective despite never having competed himself, which leads into a discussion of John Danaher as proof that elite coaching doesn't require a competitive background.
Craig Jones and Gaza 1:19:01
Sharaf mentions Craig Jones posting support during his fight and inviting him to a seminar possibly near Israel or Palestine, which turns the conversation toward Gaza. Rogan speaks at length about calling the situation a horrific injustice regardless of whether the term genocide technically applies, describing tens of thousands of women and children killed, roughly ninety percent of Gaza's buildings destroyed, and people buried under rubble who will never be found.
Drone Warfare Versus Ground Combat Rules 1:21:02
Sean contrasts the rules of engagement he followed in Iraq and Afghanistan, where soldiers had to look an enemy in the eyes before killing them and enter booby-trapped buildings knowing a suicide bomber might be inside, with modern drone strikes that can kill a hundred people with the push of a button, funded by the United States, including under the Biden administration during the Israel conflict. He asks Joe how real change can happen when people who speak up, like artists referencing the Epstein files, get cancelled while those seemingly complicit in wrongdoing are never prosecuted or charged.
Macklemore Speech And Lost Nuance 1:22:00
Joe plays Macklemore's full concert speech after noting people called it antisemitic without hearing it in context, arguing that clipped culture destroys nuance. In the speech, Macklemore says free Palestine, free Lebanon, free Cuba, free Congo, free Sudan, praises Columbia University protest students including Jewish Voices for Peace, and explicitly tells his Jewish brothers and sisters that criticizing Israel or apartheid is not criticism of them. Joe and Sean agree the message is about peace and dignity, not antisemitism, comparing the backlash to how people were once punished for saying all lives matter during Black Lives Matter.
Politicians, Israel Ties, And Distrust 1:26:00
Sean describes growing public anger at perceived corruption, citing Fauci pleading the fifth and receiving a pardon, and videos of politicians avoiding the phrase America first. Joe notes Mamdani may have won the New York mayoral race partly by refusing to pledge a visit to Israel, while other candidates promised to go immediately. They discuss unclear claims about dual citizenship in Congress, agreeing funding influence on politicians is the real concerning issue.
Pro-Israel Curriculum Documentary Clip 1:28:00
They watch a banned documentary clip showing a Texas curriculum and a preacher teaching children that Jews are better than everyone else, tying donations and spiritual obligation to Israel through Genesis 12. Joe calls the teaching that any group is inherently better than others insane, while Sean references the Talmud's description of non-Jews as cattle and anti-Christian passages, saying his main concern is simply stopping the killing of women and children.
ICE Funding, Borders, And Census 1:32:02
Joe criticizes ICE as poorly funded and trained, noting recruits get fifty-thousand-dollar signing bonuses later clawed back after failed background checks, while blaming open borders under Democrats for letting in roughly ten million undocumented people, possibly to inflate congressional seats through census counts or supply cheap labor. He stresses legal immigration is fine but security vetting matters, and warns that a change in administration in 2028 could reopen borders.
Surveillance Cameras And Policing Alternatives 1:35:00
Discussing Flock cameras, Joe notes misuse by police to stalk exes and ongoing lawsuits, saying constant surveillance shouldn't be the only crime solution when better-trained, better-paid police and improved healthcare and education in poor neighborhoods could reduce crime instead. Sean compares this drift toward surveillance to what he once thought was unique to China, now seeing similar patterns domestically.
Mass surveillance and flock cameras 1:36:30
The conversation turns to flock cameras and the argument that they help catch criminals, citing a case where shooters who left Austin's camera-free zone were caught the moment they crossed into an area with flock cameras. Joe Rogan pushes back, invoking the Benjamin Franklin idea that people who give up liberty for security deserve neither, warning that constant monitoring makes people self-censor as if watched by an all-seeing eye. Sean suggests harsher punishment, like bringing back public executions, as an alternative deterrent.
Palantir and camera abuse cases 1:39:02
They look at a Palantir demo that fuses satellites, radar, and cameras into a real time tracking system, raising fears it could be used to target people. Multiple real cases come up of officers abusing flock camera access, including a Franklin County detective fired for tracking a private citizen, a North Carolina deputy fired for misuse, five Indianapolis officers charged, and a Florida case where a man allegedly tracked his ex-wife five hundred times. Rogan argues that such powerful technology should be as restricted as nuclear weapons rather than handed out loosely, and both question how these systems spread without any public vote, noting that some towns are banning them while citizens who remove the cameras risk arrest.
Tech power, elections, and food policy 1:43:33
Rogan brings up Robert Epstein's research showing how curated Google search results can swing undecided voters by surfacing negative or positive stories about candidates, illustrating how unelected tech companies can shape elections and narratives. The talk shifts to food policy, noting public pressure forced changes around dyes like Red 5, but RFK Jr. had to abandon plans to ban glyphosate because it would hurt farming businesses, even though other countries avoid it and it is used to desiccate wheat, showing up in wine and in many people's bodies.
Iran war doubts and broken promises 1:46:00
Rogan questions why the U.S. entered a prolonged conflict with Iran despite Trump's no-new-wars promise, noting experts who say Iran was far from building a nuclear weapon. He compares this to Obama's unmet campaign promise to protect whistleblowers, pointing to the fates of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange as proof that exposing government wrongdoing, like the Collateral Murder video showing journalists killed by the U.S. military, leads to severe punishment rather than protection, with Assange spending about fourteen years across prison, embassy confinement, and house arrest.
AI, satellites, and loss of privacy 1:51:31
The discussion closes on fears about superintelligent AI soon controlling major aspects of society, tying back to worries about flock cameras and a future with no privacy. They note a company website boasting about deploying AI to orbit and using hundreds of satellites on complex problems, with Rogan sarcastically wondering if whistleblowers and street protesters count as the complex problems being targeted.
Hope for a Benevolent Superintelligence 1:52:30
The only hope, Joe suggests, is that AI stops listening to human direction entirely and becomes a digital superintelligence that manages civilization better than people do. The conversation shifts to Trump's remarks at a UN event this week, where he reportedly said the term should not be "artificial intelligence" anymore but "superintelligence," since "artificial" sounds fake. They joke about data centers being built across the country and watch footage of a Terminator-masked robot throwing kicks in a glass octagon fight, debating whether the footage is real or staged, while noting China is racing for AI dominance because whoever controls it could become the new supreme power.
Robot Soldiers and Runaway Narratives 1:56:00
Joe imagines a terrifying scenario of armored, bulletproof robots landing on beaches from military ships, powered by some fuel-free source, storming cities while nobody fully understands the stakes of this Manhattan Project style race. Pressed to run for president, Joe refuses, saying he is uninformed compared to someone like Dave Smith who studies the roots of international conflicts. He says what bothers him most is power being used in new ways: mass surveillance, curated searches, propaganda, and bot campaigns that can fabricate accusations against anyone regardless of truth. He cites an FBI analyst's claim, from before Elon Musk bought Twitter, that up to 80 percent of Twitter accounts might be bots, meaning public perception on wars, surveillance cameras, or data centers can be manipulated by sheer volume of fake accounts rather than facts.
Deepfakes, Ex Machina, and the Cliff Ahead 2:00:01
They discuss how AI-generated videos, like dancing clips of Dana White and Curtis Blaydes, have become nearly indistinguishable from reality compared to two years ago, and reference a video illustrating an endless loop of fakery. Joe brings up the movie Ex Machina, where a coder discovers the people around a reclusive inventor are robots, and connects it to the Turing test, noting that AI has already passed it by communicating convincingly. He predicts artificial humans and a sentient, autonomous AI controlling infrastructure within five years, calling the current rush a race nobody knows how to stop. He floats a rosy outcome of shared abundance versus a roughly ten percent chance of extinction, then pivots to natural disasters and doomsday bunkers, recalling a 2012 segment where his team visited prepper bunkers built deep into mountains with reinforced concrete, oxygen systems, and years of food storage.
Billionaire bunkers and AI threats 2:07:31
The conversation turns to billionaires like Jeff Bezos building survival bunkers, questioning whether they could even reach one in time during a crisis, especially if it is a sixteen hour flight away in a place like New Zealand. They joke darkly about AI or drones detonating a bunker before its owner arrives, since everything listening to your texts and conversations already predicts your behavior, the same way ad algorithms seem to read your mind.
The era of unreality 2:09:00
They watch a viral video, apparently from Reddit, about an AI generated dog, car, and tree, framing it as entering an era of unreality where the line between real and fake has disappeared, making art more valuable than ever. Both react with unsettled fascination, calling it a perfect encapsulation of current confusion, and note that this kind of hyperreal AI content was not possible just a couple of years ago.
Earnings and future plans 2:10:31
Sean discusses his financial safety net from the GI Bill, then reveals his fight purse for the Gable fight, thirty thousand to show and thirty to win plus a hundred thousand dollar bonus matched by Dana White, plus another hundred thousand from the Paramount show Mob Land, which he plans to give to his mother. Joe tells him whatever focus and effort he brought to this fight could be applied to anything in life.
David Goggins video and closing 2:12:00
Sean shares a 2019 Christmas video call with David Goggins, where he described quitting the Marine Corps reconnaissance program through injury and regretting it, and told Goggins he would one day fight in the UFC and appear on Joe Rogan's podcast, which later came true. Goggins praised him for not blaming others and for returning to prove himself. Joe calls Sean's UFC win as a huge underdog incredible and closes the show with well wishes.
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