Brendan Schaub was a guest Joe Rogan’s latest ‘Fight Companion’ podcast last Saturday, and the UFC heavyweight revealed some details about an addiction he had following his bout against Mirko Cro Cop in 2011. Schaub knocked out the MMA legend, but in the process of getting one of the biggest wins of his career, he also sustained a broken nose that required surgery.
“They put these brackets up there, stitched them in, so when it moved I had to chill like that for six weeks. It was the most pain I’ve ever been in,” Schaub said as he spoke about recovering from surgery. “Popping painkillers everyday. Got addicted to them. Got addicted to them.”
Schaub took Oxycontin, a brand for a timed-release formula of oxycodone. It’s a strong painkiller, and the somewhat controversial prescription drug has also been known for it’s addictive properties.
“I was probably doing it hardcore for like four months. Then my best friend Joe Klopfenstein came over and took them from me. They just knew I was taking it non-stop.”
Even after the brackets were taken out and he had recovered, Schaub says he was still taking Oxycontin, about 6 a day before the intervention happened.
“Horrible! Super itchy. I was real irritable all the time,” he said after getting off the drug. “And then I got a fight with Nogueira. Perfect timing.”
Watch the clip below and check out the entire transcript (courtesy of Mookie Alexander) of the conversation about the topic: (Starting at roughly 1:35:50)
Schaub: “When I fought Cro-Cop I think it was $10k$10k. And after that fight I had to have re-constructive nose surgery.”
Rogan: “You had to get your nose fixed?”
Schaub: “Reconstructive nose surgery after Cro-Cop.”
Rogan: “What happened?”
Schaub: “He hit me with an elbow and it shattered my nose, like, completely shattered everything in my nose. Second round, too. I was like ‘Why the fuck am I so tired? I’m in great shape!’, and I couldn’t breathe out of my nose and it was just all blood just going, gushing down my throat.”
Rogan: “How did they fix it? What did they have to do?
Schaub: “Uh they went in and put like some mesh thing in it, because all the bones were so fractured, and like, tiny fractures … put some mesh thing in it. I was trying to get a legit nose job, I was like ‘Yo doc, take a little of the tip.'”
“But then they put these brackets up there, stitched them in, so when it moved I had to chill like that for six weeks. It was the most pain I’ve ever been in. Popping painkillers everyday. Got addicted to them. Got addicted to them.”Rogan: “Really? No shit?!”Schaub: “Because I had a doctor who was like ‘Oh I’m cool, I’m hip, here’s 200 Oxycontin.’ and I was like ‘Hell yeah!’. Got the things taken out, next thing I know I’m still filling in the prescription, popping every single day, didn’t even notice. Finally a buddy had to come to the house and take ’em from me. It was some intervention shit.”
Rogan: “Whoa. How many were you taking a day?”Schaub: “Probably six.”Bravo: “Oxycontins? When was this, what year?”
Rogan: “Wow. Oh my god for how long?”Schaub: “This was right after I fought Cro-Cop. I had like, a 10-11 month layoff because of it. And then I fought Nogueira after that.”Rogan: “So you had a 10-11 month layoff because of Oxycontin addiction?”
Schaub: “No because I had a nosejob.”Rogan: “Okay, but how long did the Oxycontin addiction kick in?”
Schaub: “I was probably doing it hardcore for like four months. Then my best friend Joe Klopfenstein came over and took them from me.”
Bravo: “What kind of stupid shit were you doing on it, where they had to intervene?”Schaub: “They just knew I was taking it non-stop.”
Bravo: “How were you acting? They must have been– because if you were just normal like this, people wouldn’t even notice.”
Bravo: “Were you late everywhere? Were you sleeping all day?”
Schaub: “I think I was just out of it all the time. Like, out of it. You know I’m a guy who talks a lot, I think I was just kind of like this f*ckin’ asshole who just, like, chills. Low-beat. I was super depressed.”Justin Milos: “How was it coming off of them? How did it feel?”Schaub: “Horrible! Super itchy I was real irritable all the time. And then I got a fight with Nogueira. Perfect timing.”
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