Hollywood star discusses Jon Jones and Conor McGregor's "self-destructive" tendencies on JRE: "Insatiable, that warrior mentality"
Jon Jones returned to the octagon last weekend as he defeated Stipe Miocic via third-round TKO to defend his heavyweight title for the first time at UFC 309. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor has not competed in three years as his last fight came at UFC 264 in July 2021.
Joe Rogan recently hosted Josh Brolin on episode #2232 of The Joe Rogan Experience. The UFC commentator praised 'Bones' for his dominance throughout his career, leading the actor to ask about his and McGregor's "self-destruction." The podcast host responded:
"Jon's in a different category. Conor self-destructed in a lot of ways because of money. He took that fight with Floyd Mayweather, made a ton of money off that and then took a long time before he came back to MMA, and he's just not been the same guy since.
He further added:
"And I think that's just - it's money, it's a lot of partying, but it's the same kind of thing. It's just a wild - but when Conor was in his prime, he was a f**king assassin."
Brolin chimed:
"It's that thing, that through line of not being able to let go. It's like what you were talking about with [Dave] Chappelle. Chappelle leaves for 10 years, but then he goes to the park and he does a thing. There's a thing that's insatiable, that warrior mentality."
Check out Joe Rogan and Josh Brolin's full comments below (starting at the 1:59:01 mark):
Rogan added that there is a difference between fighting and comedy. He pointed out that fighters have a shelf life in their career, while comedians can continuously improve.
Gable Steveson on MMA career after training with Jon Jones
Jon Jones brought Gable Steveson in to be a part of his training camp leading up to UFC 309. The NCAA wrestling champion and Olympic gold medalist recently revealed that the experience motivated him to begin his mixed martial arts career.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on his self-titled show, Steveson stated:
"I've dipped and dabbed in MMA for a while now and after being in that camp with Jon Jones, that definitely put a major spark in me to go out there and do MMA. Not sure of the promotion yet, but Jon definitely lit a fire under me and was like, 'hey, I think you should go back to wrestling, I think you should try MMA, we got a great team here in Albuquerque if you want to join us'. It was just fascinating how I got into something so quick."
Check out Gable Steveson's comments on Jon Jones below:
Steveson added that everything felt at home when he put on the gloves. Further, he believes he can be very good at wrestling, boxing, and jiu-jitsu work quickly.