“If he just went into MMA right out of his college career, I think he could have been one of the all time great. He didn't train much in striking at all, and striking takes a long time to master. He didn't need the money, didn't need to do it, and he was already a giant pro wrestling star. He beat Randy Couture, who's an all time great, and he beat Frank Mir, who's an all time great. He's a freak athlete. He's horrific”

– via The Joe Rogan Experience #2439 (January 15, 2026), reminiscing with guest Johnny Knoxville about the raw physical power of "The Beast Incarnate.

“I think you [Gable Steveson] can do what Mike Tyson did, which is revitalize the heavyweight division. Other than Jon [Jones], who’s of course a superstar, but he’s kind of semi retired, the Tom Aspinall—Ciryl Gane thing was a disaster. I mean, Tom Aspinall still can’t see. He’s got a messed—up right eyeball still... The reality is, he might not ever fight again”

– via The Joe Rogan Experience expressing grave concern over the heavyweight champion's career—threatening eye injury.

“Khabib is, without a doubt, one of the all time greats. But the difference between Khabib and Islam is Islam is elite, standup wise. Khabib has really good standup, but Islam knocked out Volkanovski with a head kick, that's not in Khabib's repertoire. Islam is on another level”

– via The Joe Rogan Experience breaking down why the current P4P king has surpassed his mentor in terms of technical versatility.

“Khabib is, without a doubt, one of the all time greats. But the difference between Khabib and Islam is Islam is elite, standup wise. Khabib has really good standup, but Islam knocked out Volkanovski with a head kick, that's not in Khabib's repertoire. Islam is on another level”

– via The Joe Rogan Experience breaking down why the current P4P king has surpassed his mentor in terms of technical versatility.

“Did you see what Andrei Arlovski got into it with these f*cking influencers? I bet they didn’t know who he is... First of all, gigantic. And he’s one of the baddest motherfckers ever. That guy just recently retired from the UFC... and the guy was still beating people that are elite fighters just a few years ago... You go pick on that guy? Good luck”

– via The Joe Rogan Experience #2429 (released Dec 22, 2025), reacting to the viral backstage brawl between the former UFC champion and YouTuber Jack Doherty’s entourage.

“F**k, what a masterclass. When you’re going to fight a guy like merab, that is the masterclass. He put on a clinic... His training camp must’ve been hell, had to be hell, and he looked like it. I saw some videos of it. Some wild strength and conditioning, and plyometrics. He knew what he was in for. That’s the thing, if you’re going to fight a guy like merab, you know what the mountain is. Are you ready to climb it?”

– via JRE MMA Show, praising Petr Yan's performance against Merab Dvalishvili as a "masterclass" and a "clinic.

“I think he can do it. I think he can do it if he takes time and puts weight on… cause he is tall and also the thing is these gaps in wrestling, these gaps in grappling, when the guy’s a really good grappler, when you are taking on dricus [du plessis], who is really a striker. He is a good grappler, a good jiu jitsu guy but there are levels and the kind of guy like khamzat, like man, you gotta be a f****g olympic level wrestler to scrap with that guy”

– via podcast with Brendan Allen, praising Khamzat Chimaev and suggesting that he could successfully move up a weight class if he gains weight, noting that Chimaev's elite grappling skills (which he compares to "f****g Olympic level wrestler" status) give him a massive advantage.

“The heavyweight division is so devoid of talent. Gable Steveson is the f**king guy, that's the guy. He is not even in the UFC yet. Olympic gold medalist, f**king freak athlete, 250 pounds, moves like a cat. I sent a text message to Dana White, I sent a video of Gable's last fight, I said 'everyone's f**ked everyone's f**ked when this guy comes out,' he KO'd this guy with his left hand and took him down as he was knocked down”

– speaking on The Joe Rogan Podcast, strongly praising Gable Steveson's potential and athleticism, suggesting he is the future star of the UFC heavyweight division.

“Dude [Makhachev] goes up one weight class, goes up to 170. He was the 155 pound most dominant champion ever. Most title defenses at 155 ever. Just dominates at 170, like every round. People are saying it’s boring, but listen, man, it’s boring if you’re a casual. The fact that he was able to do it every round... It was a little frustrating because you wanted Jack to try to adjust, but he couldn’t, man. Islam shut his game down right away. He low kicked the hell out of his front leg real quick. Had him limping real quick. Within the first round, he had hit it three or four times bad”

– On Islam Makhachev's Dominance at UFC 322

“Make it 225 pounds. Alex still is the light heavyweight champion; make it a catchweight fight.It doesn’t have to be for a title. Make it the ‘Bad Motherf*cker Upper Edition.’ You have the ‘BMF’ belt for 155ers. Who is the real BMF? Do you think any one of those guys can beat Alex Pereira? You think you can get a 155 pounder in there against Alex Pereira? Does Max Holloway survive against Alex Pereira? No! Shut the f*ck up. That’s the bad motherf*cker.”

– via Joe Rogan Experience