JRE MMA Show #142 with Matt Serra, Din Thomas & John Rallo

Joe Rogan (0:13)

Boys, what's happening? What a beautiful moment to get you guys together in a room. This is awesome.

This is fucking awesome. I've known all you guys for fucking ever. I've known you the longest. I've known you for at least 20 years.

Matt Serra (0:28)

2001, I believe. 2001

Joe Rogan (0:31)

I remember you were sleeping in your dojo. You were, he had a bucket, like a thing he would piss in.

Because he drank so much water, so he had his jug next to his bed. He's like, I'm tired, I don't wanna get up.

SPEAKER_3 (0:44)

I don't wanna get up and go to the bathroom.

Joe Rogan (0:47)

I gotta piss, I just piss right there and go back to sleep.

Matt Serra (0:50)

I lived in my first Thorfront Academy in East Meadow, my hometown, and Joe and Eddie Brawa were in town for some reason. I think you were doing a gig or something.

Joe Rogan (0:58)

Yeah, I was doing a gig and you came and picked us up.

Matt Serra (1:00)

Yeah, at the Hicksville.

Joe Rogan (1:01)

Really? Yeah, we took the train.

And he picked us up at the train station, took us to his academy. It was awesome.

Matt Serra (1:07)

Yeah, at the Hicksville train station. And it was literally, not to make everybody feel old, it was 21 years ago. I was 28 You know why I remember? Because I was gonna fight BJ Penn at Mohegan Sun. So I'm like, are you going? You're like, oh, I got this gig. And you came, you trained at my place, and I showed you the basement. I'll never forget what you said to me down there.

And I think I said it the last time I was here. I go, yo, man, this is where I sleep. This is where I stay. And you looked at it, you go, dude, you live like a fucking Spartan.

I go, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Joe Rogan (1:39)

Well, you were living that life.

I mean, and I think that's what you have to do to be elite at MMA when you're starting out, especially back then. You had to be all in.

Din Thomas (1:50)

All in.

Joe Rogan (1:50)

All in. And you're a coach of high level people. You could speak to this.

Din Thomas (1:55)

Yeah, but I mean, I've also lived that life too. Yes. Back in 2001, I mean, I fought BJ in 2001 So, I mean, I know what it's like to live in the car.

I still do it sometimes now. So, like.

SPEAKER_3 (2:06)

Do you sleep in your car?

Din Thomas (2:08)

Sometimes.

Joe Rogan (2:09)

Just for old times sake.

Din Thomas (2:11)

I'll be on the road so much, man. And like, sometimes I don't even know where I'm going.

I'll be on the road so much. I'm like, God damn.

Matt Serra (2:17)

Din Thomas got a lot of jobs these days.

Din Thomas (2:20)

No one, you know what it was? Is I remember talking to you and you said, man, I work a lot because I know what it's like to be poor.

Joe Rogan (2:26)

Yeah.

Din Thomas (2:27)

So like, that's why I work.

Joe Rogan (2:28)

Yeah, I stay ahead. I don't ever want to think about money. I don't think about money, but the way to not think about money is to make enough so you don't have to think about it.

Din Thomas (2:34)

Exactly.

John Rallo (2:35)

And I met you around the same time because I met you and Eddie as well through Jiu Jitsu.

Joe Rogan (2:42)

Yes.

John Rallo (2:42)

You guys were on the underground back in the day.

Joe Rogan (2:44)

And we were trying to find a place to watch the fights.

John Rallo (2:46)

In Baltimore.

Joe Rogan (2:47)

Yeah, I had a gig. So Eddie went to your place, was it Pride?

John Rallo (2:51)

Yeah, we went.

Joe Rogan (2:52)

Was it Pride or was it the UFC?

John Rallo (2:53)

It was UFC. He actually fought, because I remember you saying, because we both thought he beat BJ, even though you didn't get the decision.

And you were doing, you were at the Improv, I believe, in Baltimore at the time.

Joe Rogan (3:08)

Oh, wow.

John Rallo (3:09)

And then we hit like ESPN Zone for dinner, and I got to be those friends with you guys ever since.

Joe Rogan (3:15)

Yeah, Rallo and I have had some fun on the road, man. We've been to a lot of gigs together.

John Rallo (3:20)

Absolutely.

Joe Rogan (3:21)

Yeah, it's just like those friendships that you make in the early days, they're kind of special. Because we were there, when the UFC in 2001 was a different thing, man.