Joe Rogan recently shared his take on PED use in Jiu-Jitsu, singling out Gordon Ryan for being open about the topic.
The conversation started while Rogan and his guest Ethyn Ewing were discussing the Ruotolo brothers and how rare it is to find naturally gifted athletes competing at the top of grappling.
Rogan didn’t hold back on his broader read of the sport:
Jiu-jitsu is a dirty sport, man… Or, you know, I mean, is it dirty if everyone’s doing it? No. Let me say it this way.
It’s an enhanced sport. For the most part, the elite guys are on some Brazilian supplements.
He tied it to how little PED testing actually happens at major events:
I mean, it’s kind of legal. Like Abu Dhabi doesn’t test. A lot of places don’t test, right?
And, you know, kudos to guys like Gordon Ryan who talks very openly about it.
He’s like: “Everybody’s on performance-enhancing dr*gs. Why would I be on performance-enhancing dr*gs? My goal is to be the absolute best that I could be. Period.”
Rogan also pushed back on the idea that Ryan’s dominance comes purely from PED use:
And the idea that the only reason why he’s so good is because of ster*ids is also equally ridiculous because when he was younger and when he was much smaller, he was winning tournaments left and right and beating world champions, right? And he was totally natural.
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