Name: JRE MMA Show #151 with Bo Nickal
Uploaded: 2023-12-21T00:00:00.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'JRE MMA Show #151 with Bo Nickal' from PowerfulJRE on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-12-21. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'JRE MMA Show #151 with Bo Nickal' from PowerfulJRE on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-12-21. Transcript available.

JRE MMA Show #151 with Bo Nickal

Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan experience.
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day.
What's up, Bo? How are you?
Good, how are you doing?
Not much.
I was going to ask you, we were just looking at that photo of Karelin and
talking about the Soviet program, the doping program.
Did you ever see that movie Icarus?
Yeah, I did watch that.
Fucking wild.
Crazy.
I thought it was just insane, too, how it didn't even really start off the way
that it ended.
He wasn't even really trying to figure all this stuff out.
He just fell into it.
Yeah, total dumb luck.
Yeah, but I mean, since I wrestled my whole life and stuff and pay attention to
the international scene, it's not really a secret.
Everybody kind of knows, right?
That's the first legitimate, real proof that somebody's kind of come out with.
But, I mean, everybody kind of knew that's what's going on.
But that was so insane, though, that they had a hole in the wall where they
were handing through the dirty urine and getting back clean urine and then
submitting that.
And if it wasn't for microanalysis of the jars, then they realized, oh, the
Soviets had figured out some way to open up these unopenable jars because they
had scratched them in little places.
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, they freaking want to win really bad.
And it's like for them, too, it's a different level.
Like the guys that won that were very successful maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago,
those guys are like big government positions and stuff.
Like in the U.S., you win the Olympics in wrestling, you win like a quarter
million bucks, and it's a big deal for like a month, and then you kind of move
on.
But over there, it's like you're kind of set for life.
Really?
So it's like, yeah, it's like a different – it's a completely different kind
of motivation, I think.
What is it like competing when you know that there's like state-sponsored
programs that are involved in these other countries doping up their athletes?
It's pretty weird, you know, I think that because, like I said, I kind of grew
up – you grow up with an understanding of it, knowing like this is kind of
the way it works.
You just – you're ready for it.
You're prepared.
You understand.
But – and I'm sure I've competed against a lot of guys that were doping and
doing stuff.
But the one experience that I had that was like really kind of prominent in my
mind, so I wrestled this dude – I wrestled a tournament in Rome.
This was a few years ago, and I was trying to go up from – I was in between
weights, so my weight was 86 kilos or 97 kilos.
And I was kind of having a little trouble with my lower back, so I was like, I
don't want to cut.
I just want to like get bigger.
And so I came in, and I was weighing like 210, which the weight class is 213,
97 kilos.
And I was like, I'll be fine.
Like, I'll be good.
And I rolled up to this second-round match, and I was wrestling this Iranian
dude.
And my coaches weren't there with me, so I had like some different coaches, and
they didn't really warn me who this dude was.
I had wrestled the number one Iranian guy a few months earlier, and I tech-falled
him.
Like, I killed him.
So I was like, I'm going to smash or steal it.
I don't even – I don't give a crap.
This dude comes out.
He's like two inches taller than me, freaking jacked as hell, and does a
forward roll and like squat jump, and his feet are like over my head.
And I'm like, what the hell is going on here?
And we're just this random tournament in Rome, and I'm wrestling some dude that
I don't even know, and he killed me.
It's the only time I've ever wrestled a match where I really got whipped.
Like, he – single leg took me down, gut-wrenched me, and he came down from
probably like 235.
Like, he was way bigger than me.
And then I got off the mat, and I was like, what the – just happened?
And then the coach was like, oh, yeah, this guy was a world silver medalist,
world bronze medalist like five years ago.
But the last five years, he got banned, he got popped, and so he hadn't
competed in five years.
He'd just been freaking training and juiced.
And then he actually – the next round, he beat my teammate, Kyle Snyder, who
was an Olympic gold medalist, the exact same way.
Like, smoked us both.
And I was like, what the hell is going on here?
So then world championship that year comes along, and now they're getting
tested, and he, like, went 0-1.
So –
Yeah, yeah.
I was like, all right.
So I kind of, like, felt bad about myself at first.
I was like, damn, I suck.
And then I was like, all right, well, it is what it is.
Whatever.
Have you ever heard of the enhanced games?
No.
It's a thing they're trying to do where I guess what they're doing is they're
allowing athletes – and they're going to do it at the same time as the
Olympics.
Okay.
And they're allowing athletes to juice.
And they're doing it supposedly responsibly with doctors involved, and they're
trying to break all the records.
Yeah.
I like it.
I think they – I like that.
Let's do it.
And just be honest about it.
Like, yo, this is the deal.
This is what we do.
Let's freaking see how far we can go.
Yeah.
Because, I mean, I think that's – I don't know.
I like – that stuff's interesting to me, the optimization of, like, human
performance, right?
Like, how far can you get?
So, like, let's do it.
That'd be fun.
Yeah.
It's interesting, right?
Because, like, you think about that guy, the Iranian that you wrestled.
Like, how much of an advantage is it?
Like, what – you know, you never know because a guy like that's probably been
juicing his entire athletic career.
For sure.
But, like, what is the advantage?
Like, do you ever wonder, like –
I think that – I've thought about it as far as the advantages.
I never have been interested in trying anything like that.
I just – it's not really the culture, like, what I'm around in wrestling, in
American wrestling.
Nobody does that.
Well, I won't say nobody, but 99% of guys really aren't doing that, especially
because we get tested a lot, like, in collegiate athletics and stuff.
And it's just something that is kind of very looked down upon in what we do.
But it is interesting to think about, like, what would I be like if I was doing
these things?
Like, I can compete at such a high level already.
And I have – you know, I think that my biggest asset in wrestling and in
fighting is my mind.
Imagine, like, my body was – and I think that, you know, with time, I just
– I'm very disciplined and do things a certain way.
Like, I'm going to get to it as close as that as I could be.
But there is this other, like, level that's kind of unnatural where it's
interesting to think about.
But, you know, while I'm competing and stuff, I just – I don't even really
– it's obviously not an option.
And, you know, but at the end of the day, I'm probably going to be – I
probably have competed against a lot of guys that are juiced up.
And I will – we'll see what the UFC's drug testing program is like since USADA's
over at the end of the year.
But it is what it is, man.
And it's just, like, I'm pretty confident in myself regardless.
And if I've got to fight a dude that's juiced up and you're willing to kind of
take a backdoor to try to get an advantage and win,
I think that you're probably cutting corners in a lot of other areas as well,
which I'm not doing.
So, you know, that's something that I feel okay with.
The thing is when the guy's not cutting corners and juicing and has talent.
I just think that if they're willing to do that, if we're willing to go outside
the rules and do that, to me, that's kind of a – like, they're trying to get
an unfair advantage.
That's, like, kind of a character thing, right?
Like, they want to get that advantage.
So, to me, that means, like, they're fearful that they wouldn't be able to do
it without it.
Now they're – you know, yeah, they might be doing everything right, but I
know that in their mind, like, there's a little weakness there to me.
And I can take advantage of that and capitalize on that because at the end of
the day, I'm going to do every single little thing right.
I'm going to make sure my sleep's on point, make sure my nutrition's on point.
And not only am I going to do this for a camp, but I'm doing this all the time.
And I've been doing this since I was a little kid.
So, you know, take what you want, do all that stuff, but you're not going to
outwork 20 years, 20-plus years in the short amount of time that you have to,
you know, prepare for me.
So, that's kind of my mindset around it, and it's just the reality of the
situation.
Like, I'm going to fight guys that are probably doing stuff that isn't, you
know, that I'm not doing.
Well, I believe that the new UFC drug doping program is going to be real
similar to USADA.
They're just not going to do the dumb shit, like wake people up the morning of
the weigh-ins and things along those lines.
Unfortunately, they're still not going to let them take certain things that –
just like peptides, things that will enhance their body's ability to heal.
Yeah.
Which I really think they should.
Yeah, yeah, like BPC, 157, stuff like that.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Yeah, you know, I think there's stuff out there that it's not really like hormonal
changes.
It's not giving you that type of advantage.
It's just helping you get healthy.
Yeah.
Like, we all want to be healthy, and, you know, we're – for me, it's like
that comes from diet, from supplements, from nutrition.
And it's like, you know, I'm doing everything I can, and I still finish some
sessions, and I'm like, frick.
Yeah.
I mean, I got a freaking black eye right now.
Yeah.
Like, it's not like, you know, we're not putting our bodies through a lot.
You're putting your bodies through so much.
I mean, it's literally a sport about breaking other people's bodies with your
body.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's the most insane thing to pursue for a career.
I think about it sometimes, and I have this part of me that's pretty rational,
and I think, like, you know, all right, I'm going out in front of all these
people and, like, putting my health on the line and this and that.
And at the end of the day, it's like, you know, you look out of a business
perspective, and it's almost like a circus, right?
Like, you know, I'm putting myself out there, and it's entertainment, but, like,
I'm the one that has the real consequences and stuff, and I'm like, why am I
doing this?
This is so crazy.
And then the other part of me, the bigger part of me, is like, I love this shit.
Like, this is the best.
Like, let's do it again and again and again.
It's a constant battle inside your mind.
Yeah, because I don't know.
I feel like in a lot, I don't mean to, like, toot my own horn, but I'm a
college graduate.
I had a lot of opportunities.
Like, there's a lot of things I could be doing.
I could be pretty much doing anything.
I could be, you know, coaching.
I could be in business.
I could be doing whatever I want to do, but I'm choosing to do this, and there's
a lot of, like, a lot more consequences, you know, on the negative end of what
I'm doing now, but I just freaking love it.
I just love it so much.
Well, the victory, the feeling of victory has got to just be the ultimate
payoff for all that.
It's unreal, man.
So, you know, I mean, you've fought, so you understand, but, like, when I was
wrestling and I would pin somebody in front of, you know, 10, 20,000 people,
and the crowd's going nuts, freaking out, this and that, it's like, that's an
amazing feeling.
And then come to the UFC, that same big stage, even bigger stage, millions of
people watching worldwide, knock a guy out cold.
It's like, you can't beat that.
It's amazing.
When did you decide, or when did you even entertain the idea of transitioning
to MMA?
So, I always loved fighting, and I was always, like, a fan of the UFC, you know.
I probably started watching when I was, I don't know, 11, 12, and it was
something my family, we'd go to Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday, we'd watch the
fights, or, you kn