JRE MMA Show #51 with Deontay Wilder

Joe Rogan (0:00)

All right.

Three, two, one. Boom, and we're live. My man.

Deontay Wilder (0:10)

What's up, baby?

Joe Rogan (0:11)

First of all, how the fuck do you punch so hard?

I've seen a lot of hard punchers, man. I've been watching boxing since I was a little kid. You've got some freakish power, man.

Deontay Wilder (0:22)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (0:22)

It's weird. You got weird power.

Deontay Wilder (0:24)

Almost definitely. We always say I'm a freak of nature. I've definitely got some type of freakish power. I always tell the story that my grandmother said I was anointed by God. She was always like, if I got suspended for school and stuff, she was always like, God is trying to use you. You're the one, you're chosen. She was very big, and she was big in the spirituality and Christianity.

So she's always be a teacher.

She wasn't really a disciplinary type of woman. She was a teacher. She wanted to teach you, tell you certain things. She used to always say I was annoying. She wouldn't even let my parents whoop me. Not in front of her. That's how serious she were.

She like, don't you dare not whoop him. He's gonna be the one that bring you up. He's gonna be the one that bring you guys up. Don't whoop him.

Joe Rogan (1:13)

Somebody tells you something like that at a young age. You might believe it.

Deontay Wilder (1:17)

Well, I didn't even.

I really, just being so young, we did as children do. I didn't really think too much about it because I didn't understand what she was saying. I didn't start understanding until you start putting away childish ways and you become a grown man. You start venturing out in life and experiencing life on your own and start seeing certain things. And then even when I got out of my own, there's a lot of things I didn't start understanding until I was 30, you know what I'm saying? Just to, you know, cause certain things, different things were happening in my life. You know, sometimes you just, you deal with it and you handle it the best way you can handle.

But there's certain things that starts to happen. He was like, my grandma said something about this. You know, it's just, you know.

And that's how my life been. But it's amazing how I can come in at 209 and fight a guy that's coming in at 260 and able to drop him like I did. Like, it's crazy. But I've always been stronger than what I've looked.

Joe Rogan (2:25)

It's interesting that the Cruiserweight division doesn't get any love. I mean, the last time I got love was when Evander Holyfield was fighting in it. That was really the last time people cared about the Cruiserweight division. Now it's a forgotten division, kinda.

Deontay Wilder (2:35)

Yeah, that's true. You know, my brother just started in the Cruiserweight division.

Hopefully he can bring some excitement to it, because you're so right. It's almost like they don't even talk about it.

Joe Rogan (2:49)

It doesn't make any sense, because the light heavyweight division gets a lot of love. People love watching light heavyweight fights. Always gets lots of attention. But the Cruiserweight division is always like, people look at it like, why are you here?

Deontay Wilder (2:58)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (2:59)

Put on some weight, go up.

Deontay Wilder (3:00)

Yep, yep, it's true. It's true because the heavyweights always overshadow those guys.

Joe Rogan (3:06)

Did you really weigh 209 the night of the fight?

Deontay Wilder (3:09)

I weighed 209 the night of the fight.

When they came in to weigh me, they were like, we just want to get an official weigh in and see where you are. So I'm all confident. I know I done went up from 212 Right. And I get on the scale and it says 209, I'm like, I'm out. I'm like, what? You mean to tell me I lost three more pounds? I'm like, how did I do that?

My manager, he thinks it's come from stress and a lot of other little different things or whatever.

Joe Rogan (3:44)

The last couple of days right before the fight?

Deontay Wilder (3:45)

That allow your body, just overall a lot of stuff was, a lot of stuff going on, he thinks is because of that, because your body, the balance of your body and all that stuff like that. But I really don't know. I really don't really care about weight because the majority of fighters that have fought me, they've all weighed me, like almost all my career.

So I always say I'd rather be the part than look the part. Because I've been in many situations where I've seen guys looking the part, but then when it get to the nitty gritty, they're not the part.