Jul 9, 2026 · 2h 43m
MMA veterans challenge controversial fighting rules and preview McGregor matchup
JRE MMA Show #182 - Protect Ya Neck
As mixed martial arts continues to mature, its pioneers and top analysts are questioning whether current safety rules actually protect fighters or simply disrupt the natural flow of elite grappling and striking.
- 1The ban on 12-to-6 elbows remains one of the most heavily debated and criticized regulations in modern mixed martial arts.
- 2Fighters with basketball backgrounds like Cyril Gane utilize unique movement styles that disrupt traditional striking angles.
- 3Smart training adjustments and structured sparring are essential for combat athletes aiming for career longevity.
Don't miss
Joe Rogan demonstrates the mechanics of the Japanese necktie submission and explains why it is highly effective for grapplers with shorter arms.
The brief
Joe Rogan sits down with MMA veterans Matt Serra and John Rallo to trace the evolution of mixed martial arts, reflecting on how the sport transitioned from its wild, bare-knuckle early days into a highly regulated global phenomenon.
The fighters debate the sport's most controversial regulations, arguing that outdated rules like the ban on 12-to-6 elbows and rigid referee separations from dominant grappling positions often hinder natural martial arts expression.
In a hands-on moment, Rogan demonstrates the mechanics of the Japanese necktie submission, illustrating how fighters with shorter arms can leverage specific grappling angles to secure high-percentage finishes.
The veterans also preview the highly anticipated matchup between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, analyzing how weight cuts and McGregor's recovery from a severe leg injury will dictate the tactical approach of both fighters.
Ultimately, the conversation champions smart training longevity, showing how modern fighters must adapt their sparring and recovery to survive the physical toll of a long career in combat sports.
What was said on this episode
87 statements · 45 positive · 29 negative · 8 mixed · 5 neutral
Previously inactive people starting exercise around age 46 face a difficult path and should proceed slowly.
“if you never worked out before and you're like 46 and you're starting now, tough. That's a hard road, man. You never worked out before. Like first of all, go slow.”
Listen at 8:58
Older martial artists should not continually dominate younger training partners because injury becomes likely.
“You don't got to be that guy to just slay everybody on the mat there, because you're the sensei. You're gonna break.”
Listen at 12:07
Joaquin Buckley is currently somewhat inconsistent as a fighter.
“He's a little inconsistent.”
Listen at 13:10
Organ-transplant recipients generally need immunosuppressants to prevent rejection.
“I think you have to take immunosuppressant drugs in order to keep someone else's organs inside of you.”
Listen at 15:59
MMA referees should never separate fighters from a dominant grappling position.
“You should never separate anybody from that position”
Listen at 24:26
The referee made a major mistake by separating Kamaru Usman and Demian Maia.
“But this is a giant mistake.”
Listen at 27:26
MMA organizations pressure officials toward faster action during fights.
“the organization wants, like, fast action fights”
Listen at 27:44
MMA fandom and increased Jiu Jitsu participation have influenced broader culture.
“liking MMA has impacted culture. And then people training, much more people training in Jiu Jitsu has impacted culture.”
Listen at 30:13
Wing Chun techniques can work when integrated with broader combat training.
“I also think that wing chun would work if you knew all the other.”
Listen at 32:23
Muay Thai, Western boxing, or Jiu Jitsu are preferable to standalone Wing Chun training.
“If you're going to do that, you might as well be doing Muay Thai, Western boxing or jiu jitsu.”
Listen at 33:34
Point-fighting karate is the best additional combat discipline for people to train.
“The number one thing that people should be doing is point fighting Karate.”
Listen at 34:24
Basketball develops plyometric ability and frequent changes of direction.
“what better sport to develop plyometrics and the ability to change direction than basketball? You're constantly changing direction”
Listen at 36:03
A large athlete with light footwork has a major combat-sports advantage.
“when you get a big athlete that's light on their feet. That's a giant advantage.”
Listen at 38:00
Switching stances will become necessary for successful modern strikers facing calf kicks.
“I think that's going to be a prerequisite. There's too many calf kickers out there.”
Listen at 40:50
Zuffa should promote high-level Muay Thai competition.
“this is what Zufa should be promoting”
Listen at 42:06
Joe predicts Oleksandr Usyk would defeat Rico Verhoeven faster in a rematch.
“I personally think if they rematch that now Usyk will like kind of figured him out. So maybe it'll happen. He'll get him faster.”
Listen at 43:57
Usyk is the greatest heavyweight stylistically but lacks typical heavyweight size.
“Usyk is not a real heavyweight. He's the greatest heavyweight of all time, which is crazy. But he's not a real heavyweight.”
Listen at 44:15
The film Masters of the Universe is good and successfully delivers enjoyable entertainment.
“The Masters of the Universe was good.”
Listen at 45:52
Matt Serra considers The Pitt a very good series.
“It's really good, though”
Listen at 57:17
Matt Serra judges Landman’s female characters to be caricatures.
“the women were like caricatures of women”
Listen at 57:59
Joe Rogan thinks Billy Bob Thornton is excellent in Landman.
“Billy Bob on that show is so good”
Listen at 58:54
Joe Rogan considers Road House a very bad movie.
“Roadhouse is such a bad movie”
Listen at 1:03:59
Joe Rogan finds Road House’s fight scenes fake and bad but still entertaining.
“The karate scenes are so bad. Like everything is so. It's so fake. It's so dumb looking, but it's still awesome”
Listen at 1:04:47
Joe Rogan considers Sam Elliott excellent in every movie.
“Sam Elliott's are everything. Every time you see Sam Elliott in a movie like. Yes.”
Listen at 1:05:06
Joe Rogan considers Nosferatu the best vampire movie ever.
“I think Nasato is the best vampire movie of all time”
Listen at 1:08:21
Matt Serra considers the Rocky Broadway play horrendous.
“It was horrendous”
Listen at 1:11:37
Matt Serra recommends The Punisher: One Last Kill special as good viewing.
“that special was good”
Listen at 1:12:55
Matt Serra says Tom Holland has not made a bad Spider-Man film.
“He's yet to do a bad Spider Man”
Listen at 1:13:48
John Rallo assesses that Max Holloway has struggled against larger opponents.
“Max struggled with bigger dudes”
Listen at 1:17:43
Joe Rogan believes returning to featherweight compromised Max Holloway’s performance.
“I think going down to 45, I think he's. I think he was fighting. It looked to me like he was in. Like he was compromised”
Listen at 1:19:02
Matt Serra recommends Paddy Pimblett face Ilia Topuria if Pimblett wins.
“I think you give him Patty if Patty wins”
Listen at 1:20:01
John Rallo predicts Paddy Pimblett will beat Benoît Saint Denis.
“I think he beats St. Denis to get to Ilya”
Listen at 1:20:11
John Rallo rates Pimblett’s striking and jiu-jitsu above Saint Denis’s, but favors Saint Denis in wrestling.
“I just think his Patty striking's a little better and his jiu jitsu is better. I think the only place St. Denis has the advantages into the wrestling”
Listen at 1:20:28
John Rallo recommends Paddy Pimblett as Ilia Topuria’s comeback opponent.
“I think that's. That's the. That's the right comeback fight for Ilia”
Listen at 1:21:04
Joe Rogan predicts Paddy Pimblett will improve after the Justin Gaethje loss.
“he's going to come out of that fight better”
Listen at 1:21:36
John Rallo believes Paddy Pimblett improves slightly with every fight.
“each time out he's. I think he gets a little better”
Listen at 1:21:48
Aaron Pico’s durability remains poor despite his technical skills.
“he still don't have a chin”
Listen at 1:23:15
Morales’s wrestling and related tactics are probably his route to beating Carlos Prates.
“if there's a way he's going to get Protest, it's going to probably be a combination of those things”
Listen at 1:29:48
Ian Machado Garry has a genuine chance against Islam Makhachev.
“He definitely has a shot”
Listen at 1:32:07
Carlos Prates has a 29–5 Muay Thai record.
“he had 29 Muay Thai wins, five losses”
Listen at 1:32:09
Islam Makhachev consistently prevents opponents from escaping his control.
“no one's able to get away from him”
Listen at 1:33:52
Islam Makhachev will perform better at welterweight because he will avoid severe weight depletion.
“I think he's going to be better at 70 because he's not going to be depleted”
Listen at 1:34:31
Repeated takedowns could prevent Ian Machado Garry from returning to his feet.
“if he gets taken down twice and then it becomes a habit of him getting taken down, he won't get back up”
Listen at 1:34:54
Early sharp combinations could allow Ian Machado Garry to stun Islam Makhachev.
“if Ian Gary can get off sharp combinations early, he could stun him”
Listen at 1:35:02
Ian Machado Garry is highly accurate with his strikes.
“he's super accurate”
Listen at 1:35:12
Ian Machado Garry’s path to victory is primarily striking on the feet.
“if he's gonna win, that's where he will”
Listen at 1:38:56
Ian Machado Garry’s oblique kick caused Shavkat Rakhmonov’s knee surgery.
“he hit him with that oblique kick to the knee. And that's the reason why Shavka had to get surgery”
Listen at 1:39:15
Tall fighters gain a major striking-range advantage over shorter opponents.
“they can hit you from six inches further away than you can hit them”
Listen at 1:40:54
Ethan Ewing should avoid competing while significantly injured.
“I like the fact that he's not fighting injured too”
Listen at 1:43:25
Adrian Yanez is a highly skilled boxer.
“that dude's very skillful, very good boxer”
Listen at 1:44:47
Max Holloway is an all-time great featherweight and former world champion.
“This is a world champion, like one of the all time featherweight greats”
Listen at 1:46:34
Conor McGregor faces a difficult, prolonged fight if he cannot knock out Max Holloway early.
“if Conor don't knock him out early, he's in for a long night”
Listen at 1:46:40
Max Holloway can compete without a weight cut and maintain exceptional endurance.
“Max can fight with no weight, cut no weight, never get tired”
Listen at 1:46:43
MMA fighters should abandon weight cutting.
“I would hope guys would abandon weight cutting”
Listen at 1:46:56
The UFC should remove rigid weight limits to accommodate fighters’ natural weights.
“I think the UFC should accommodate it by letting go of these ridiculous weight limits”
Listen at 1:47:00
Joe Rogan recommends allowing fighters to use peptides and other performance enhancements.
“I want them to take peptides, I want them to take everything they have”
Listen at 1:47:35
Conor McGregor has historically had suboptimal endurance.
“his endurance was never the best”
Listen at 1:48:01
Max Holloway’s fifth-round performance is as strong as his first-round performance.
“his fifth round is as good as his first”
Listen at 1:48:12
Conor McGregor cannot sustain his explosive sprinting style for five rounds.
“you can't do that for five rounds”
Listen at 1:50:02
The executioner neck crank is a viable technique in MMA.
“it's available, too”
Listen at 1:55:47
The executioner neck crank is extremely difficult to defend once secured.
“if you could find a way to get into a position like this, this, you're not going to defend that”
Listen at 1:59:30
Many MMA fighters lack knowledge or practice of advanced jiu-jitsu techniques.
“stuff like this that's available to them, they don't know it, or they don't practice it enough for it to be instinctive”
Listen at 1:59:52
Jason Jackson is among the most underappreciated active fighters.
“He's like the unmost unheralded, the most underappreciated of the guys that are out there”
Listen at 2:02:19
Eye pokes in MMA should immediately cost one point.
“The new rule should be be I poke one point. Don't poke eyes. You do this and you jab someone in the eyes. One point. One.”
Listen at 2:05:19
Intentional nut shots should cost one point, while accidental ones receive warnings.
“Nut shot. One point. Unintentional nunchot. It's a warning”
Listen at 2:05:36
Fewer MMA rules reveal which fighter is better.
“Less rules shows who's the better fighter at the end of the day.”
Listen at 2:10:09
MMA fighters should be allowed to knee an opponent’s head in turtle position.
“To me, that one should be eliminated right away. You should be able to knee a”
Listen at 2:10:24
Allowing elbows to the back of the head would quickly end back-control fights.
“if you were in that position and the guy could throw elbows to the back of the head, that would be a wrap.”
Listen at 2:11:25
Wrestling shoes make heel hooks a serious problem in MMA.
“Oh, heel hooks be a real problem.”
Listen at 2:18:23
MMA fighters should not wear shoes because they provide too much advantage.
“You can't be wearing shoes. It's just. Yeah, it's just too much. Too much of an advantage.”
Listen at 2:19:42
Heel hooks can ruin a fighter’s entire career.
“because they ruin your whole career.”
Listen at 2:21:01
A severe humerus fracture may prevent full recovery.
“And you don't recover fully from that.”
Listen at 2:21:27
Slap fighting can cause life-altering harm.
“Because, like, you could really ruin your life.”
Listen at 2:23:51
Comedy filmmakers are better off producing movies independently than using studios.
“You're way better off just doing it on your own.”
Listen at 2:26:58
Internet complaints have affected how people view comedy.
“The Internet happened. People started complaining in real life. Like, you know, it started. These morons online started affecting the way people view comedy.”
Listen at 2:27:09
Cultural pushback has increased comedy-club attendance.
“It's only empowered. The clubs, like, clubs are packed.”
Listen at 2:30:14
Public cancellation can make targeted people more popular.
“when people get canceled, people just flock to those people now. It like makes them more popular.”
Listen at 2:31:14
Kanye is among the greatest performers of all time.
“Like, no one's even close. He's like one of the greatest performers of all time.”
Listen at 2:32:48
Prince could play any musical instrument.
“He could play any musical instrument. He used to play all the musical instruments.”
Listen at 2:34:24
The Michael Jackson story shows that extreme child fame cannot be handled well.
“It's a cautionary tale. The Michael Jackson story is like, when kids get that famous, no one can handle it.”
Listen at 2:35:16
Puberty blockers block all testosterone production.
“What they're doing is they're just blocking all of your testosterone production.”
Listen at 2:37:09
Castrating boys was practiced to improve their singing voices.
“The really did chop boys balls off so they could sing better.”
Listen at 2:38:43
Castration after puberty had no effect on eunuchs’ voices.
“Many eunuchs were castrated after puberty, and thus castration had no effect on their voices.”
Listen at 2:39:21
Castration needed to occur before puberty to affect the voice.
“You got to catch them before they grow their nuts.”
Listen at 2:39:34
The castration practice dates back to approximately 400 AD.
“Goes back to 400 A.D.”
Listen at 2:39:39
Many people likely died from infections after castration in earlier periods.
“You know, probably a lot back then.”
Listen at 2:39:56
Castration began as punishment before its vocal benefits were recognized.
“It started off as a. As a punishment. It wasn't a choice. And then they realized these guys sing really nice in prison.”
Listen at 2:40:05
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