Joe Rogan’s eyes lit up when his most recent podcast guest told him he was unfamiliar with one of the UFC’s biggest stars.
Since becoming a combat sports commentator in 1997, the MMA legend has called countless fights and mingled with every UFC star imaginable.
In contrast, comedian Bert Kreischer is a relative newcomer to the sport, still learning about fighters and their places in the pecking order.
When it became clear Kreischer was unfamiliar with Khmazat Chimaev, Joe Rogan took the opportunity to pull up some fight highlights and drop some knowledge about the man who caved in Robert Whittaker’s teeth at UFC 308 last October.
Joe Rogan introduces podcast guest to Khamzat Chimaev
Rogan has previously marveled at Rousimar Palhares as one of the scariest fighters in UFC history – but who is the most terrifying contender on the roster today?
The 57-year-old MMA icon thinks that tag has been claimed by Chimaev.
“The scariest guy in the UFC, or one of the scariest, is from Chechnya,” Rogan told Kreischer.
“Dude, this guy is a f——… Khamzat Chimaev, he is a f—— animal. Have you ever seen that guy fight? Pull up Khamzat Chimaev vs Kevin Holland.
“So, Khamzat Chimaev is the number one contender in the middleweight division. He’s a f—ing monster, and he’s so aggressive, like relentlessly aggressive. He’s known to get in fights backstage and he’s just an animal.
“In post-fight interviews, he’s like, ‘I’ll f—— kill them all! I’ll kill them all!
“Bro, the amount of f—— grappling power you have to have to ragdoll Kevin Holland like this is insane.”
Joe Rogan’s theory on the scariest fighters
In January, Rogan expressed his belief that truly scary fighters all have one thing in common.
The popular podcaster claims they are molded by an upbringing that involves physical confrontation.
Whether it’s an abusive parent or a mean sibling, Rogan insists that many of the truly scary MMA fighters he’s encountered had a rough time growing up.
“The scariest MMA fighters have older brothers who used to beat them up,” he said.
“They are ready to throw down all the time… The guys that I know who are the f——scariest they had people that beat them up when they were young.
“They just get used to f***ing used to going. They are just ready to go. They don’t have a fear of going, they wanna go. They wanna go all the time, ‘Let’s f—— go!’ It’s the only way to survive.
“You better be hard or you are not going to make it. There’s no pillow to cry into. You’ve got to fight your brother, he’s four years older than you, and he might knock you out today. He knocked you out last week and laughed at you when you were on your back.”