"Do you take the Joe Rogan path" - Chael Sonnen reacts to Joe Rogan's bullying experience that led him to martial arts
Chael Sonnen spoke about Joe Rogan's experience with bullying as a 14-year-old that got him into martial arts training. The UFC color commentator has been a lifetime practitioner of combat sports. Joe Rogan took up karate training at the age of 14 and taekwondo when he was 15. The illustrious podcaster has also won the US Open Championship taekwondo tournament as a lightweight.
A defining moment in Rogan's life pushed him to pursue martial arts - Rogan claimed that a kid in the bathroom put him in a headlock when he was fourteen. This experience left him clueless and fueled his desire to pursue martial arts. The renowned comedian has also trained with Eddie Bravo, the owner of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, and earned his black belt under him. The podcaster discussed the incident and its impact with Theo Von.
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Chael Sonnen sensed something powerful in the experience and stated that being in uncharted territories has enlightening potential. He drew parallels from a similar experience that had a life-altering impact:
"I was a sophomore. Guy was a senior. We are backed up to each other in typing class, he reaches over unprovoked and pulls my shirt back. Ripped my shirt. I mean first off, that's just a mean thing to do. But secondly, I didn't have very many shirts. I only had so many shirts to wear and he just ripped one of them."
'The American Gangster' shared another story from his first fight: He was pushed out of his comfort zone, and his preparations didn't pay off. Sonnen added that, with experiences like these in life, one can either yelp and complain or roll with the punches and take it as a learning lesson, having a significant change in life:
"Joe Rogan as a taekwondo expert, found out when the guy head-locked him, 'I don't know a damn thing.' But there are those times when something gets revealed to you and then it's fight or flight. Do you take the Joe Rogan path and then go spend a career studying and learning and evolving?"
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Did Joe Rogan have a feud with Chael Sonnen?
Prior to Colby Covington's interim welterweight championship fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225, the American had claimed that he would slap Joe Rogan for some of the comments he made regarding 'Chaos'.
Covington recognized that a switch in personality would help revitalize his career after realizing that he could be cut from the UFC roster. Covington introduced 'Chaos' to the world following his victory against Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night and attacked several UFC fighters with insulting remarks.
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While Rogan recognized the switch and the professional wrestling-inspired heel turn, Chael Sonnen was flustered that the UFC commentator was giving away Covington's plans to the world:
"Chael Sonnen was mad because I talked about what he [Colby Covington] does. I go, 'He's having fun and he's playing up the role of the villain and he's selling pay-per-views.' Sonnen was like,' Stop giving up the secrets of the business.' It's so ridiculous. Meanwhile, he's giving up the secrets of the business by talking about me giving up the secrets of the business. It's the dumbest sh** of all time."
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