Brendan Schaub is a former mixed martial artist who has since made a transition to being a podcast host as well as a stand-up comedian. However, it is interesting to note that he is still very much involved with the communities that have sprung up around mixed martial arts, which is perhaps unsurprising considering his previous role. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Brendan Schaub:
1. Born in Aurora, CO
Schaub was born in Aurora, CO. For those who are unfamiliar, it is one of the main cities that make up Metro Denver, which is why said region is sometimes called the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. In any case, Aurora has a number of characteristics that stand out about it, with an excellent example being its proximity to numerous natural sites of interest for tourists.
2. Played Lacrosse
In college, one of the two sports that Schaub played was lacrosse. In short, lacrosse is a term that can be used to refer to a number of related sports. For example, field lacrosse is played outdoors, while box lacrosse is played indoor. On top of these two, there is women’s lacrosse, which is similar to field lacrosse but has some significant differences when it comes to the rules. Finally, there is intercrosse, which tends to be known for being non-contact in nature.
3. Played Football
Besides lacrosse, Schaub played football as well. In fact, it is interesting to note that while he went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft, he did get signed by the Buffalo Bills for their practice squad for some time before he was released before the start of the season. After which, Schaub spent some time with the Arena Football League before retiring from football in 2007.
4. Practices Boxing
Considering his time as a mixed martial artist, it should come as no surprise to learn that Schaub practices boxing. The kind of boxing that most people are familiar in the present time can trace its origins to the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1867 and still earlier times. However, it is interesting to note that boxing has been practiced since at least the 3rd millennium BCE because there are carvings from a Sumerian relief that show a version of the combat sport.
5. Practices Wrestling
Naturally, it should come as no surprise to learn that Schaub practices wrestling as well. Like boxing, it is another example of a combat sport that has taken on a wide range of appearances in a wide range of times and places over the course of its existence. With that said, there is much, much earlier evidence for the existence of wrestling than there is for the existence of boxing, seeing as how there are literal cave drawings depicting wrestlers in both holds and leverage positions from between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago. As such, there can be no doubt about the fact that wrestling has been with us since before the start of human civilization.
6. Practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Finally, Schaub practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It is interesting to note that Brazilian jiu-jutsu comes from Kodokan Judo plus other influences. In fact, the “jiu-jutsu” is an older romanization for “jÅ«jutsu,” which is relevant because judo was still sometimes called either “jiu-jutsu” or “Kano jiu-jutsu” when it was introduced to Brazil. With that said, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has long since gone separate ways with sport judo, not least because it never bothered to follow a number of rules that were introduced for its counterpart.
7. Had a Tough Talk with Joe Rogan in 2014
In 2014, Schaub lost a match-up against Travis Browne in the first round via a technical knock-out. Due to this, he had a tough talk with Joe Rogan on Rogan’s podcast just a few days after the loss in which Rogan advised him to retire from MMA in preference for pursuing something else. Essentially, Rogan stated his opinion that Schaub wasn’t going to be able to go up against the elite contenders, with the resulting that he was concerned about Schaub’s well-being.
8. Announced Retirement in 2015
Speaking of which, Schaub announced what was effectively his retirement from MMA in 2015. In part, this was because some of his other projects were taking off, meaning that he was less enthusiastic about competing in MMA, particularly since it isn’t the kind of thing that someone can do well in unless they are 100 percent committed. However, there were other reasons as well for Schaub’s choice to retire without actually calling it retirement.
9. Disliked the Reebok Deal
In short, Schaub was one of the more outspoken opponents to the deal that the UFC made with Reebok, which changed how the contenders would be compensated for their fights from that point forward. At the time, Schaub made the claim that he would be going from six figures to just $10,000 per fight under the terms of the deal, which if true, explained much about his opinion of what was happening.
10. His First Comedy Special Bombed
Currently, Schaub is still engaged in a number of projects. For example, he announced the creation of a new podcast in just December of 2018. Likewise, he is set to show up in an upcoming David Ayer movie called The Tax Collector. Schaub’s stand-up comedy career is ongoing as well, seeing as how he is set to show up on Season 6 of This Is Not Happening. However, it seems that he has hit a snag as well, seeing as how Schaub’s first comedy special for Showtime met with a less than enthusiastic response from the critics and the consumers. Time will tell what kind of impact this will have on the rest of his career, seeing as how the comedy special launched in May of 2019.
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