Thank you Joe Rogan, Brendan Schaub and you too Bryan Callen

Schaub with ‘Bang’ Ludwig and Rogan

I was at work when The Fighter and the Kid poddcast with Brendan Schaub, Bryan Callen and special guest Joe Rogan streamed and there were some crazy reactions. After listening to it I can say it is the most important podcast for fighting I have ever heard. It is the conversation that every fighter should be having with someone like a Rogan and Callen in their life after they have been stopped in a fight.

It says a lot about both Rogan and Schaub that they were willing to do this live and in public. As fans we should thank them for a real and rare glimpse into the reality of a fighter’s life and career. It is a difficult subject to discuss. Brain damage is one of the dangers of the sport and it makes people uncomfortable. Sometimes the uncomfortable conversations are the most important and they are the ones that most people avoid.

During the podcast, Schaub is very uncomfortable and mentions that it is easier for them to say to him from their positions and situations. In many ways he is right; it is difficult to hear someone you respect detail your shortcomings in a public forum. This is coming just two days after a disappointing loss for Schaub. Losing sucks and being that close to it makes everything more raw. It speaks to Schaub’s strength of character to be willing to have this conversation on air.

It also shows the depth of caring that Rogan and Callen have for Schaub. While it may be more difficult to hear criticism of yourself, to hear that maybe you should give up what you love because it will hurt you. It is difficult to say that to someone you care about. Both Rogan and Callen know how much fighting means to Schaub but they also know the dangers of it and neither of them wants to see their friend end up like too may fighters. They referenced Ali and Terry Norris as fighters who fought too long and took too much damage. Damage that cost them severely in their post-fighting careers. No one wants to see anyone in that state much less someone they care about.

Not everybody that is close to a fighter can have this difficult of a conversation with them. Worse is that there are people close to fighters who do not think it is even necessary. I have unfortunately seen a father try to stop his son’s corner from stopping a fight. Fortunately the corner man did the right thing and stopped that fight.

Fighting is such an emotional thing and that can cloud people and their decisions. It is not that the father did not love his son in that case if anything he loved him too much. The father knows the sacrifices that his son has made for his passion and love of boxing. The father also knows what it means to the son in that moment to stop the fight. The problem sometimes is that a fighter is too tough for their own well being.

It is those moments that a fighter needs to have someone like Rogan in their corner and their life. In fact, everybody needs someone like that in their own life. It is from these conversations that positive change can happen in one’s life.

If you are a fight fan then listen to the podcast, it is worth the two-hour investment. And thank you again Brendan Schaub, Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen.

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