Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub has once again raised eyebrows with a bold claim about his pioneering status in the world of mixed martial arts media. During a recent podcast appearance, Schaub asserted that he was the original MMA star to embrace podcasting and interviews, a statement that has left many scratching their heads given the extensive history of MMA stars engaging with media long before his time.
In the conversation, Schaub‘s co-host attempted to fact-check the claim in real-time, asking,
“you have to be the first one right I can’t remember who did a fighter that did podcasts and do interviews before you that was the first one yep.”
Without hesitation, Schaub doubled down:
“there you go probably the shittiest one but the first one.”
Taking his self-aggrandizement a step further, the podcast host even compared himself to baseball legend Jackie Robinson, stating,
“I’m the Jackie Robinson of UFC fighters that’s dope man that’s super dope.”
Schaub attributed his supposed groundbreaking status to fortunate timing, explaining,
“now it was timing right podcast was just starting to be a thing and I was the first you know I met Brian Callen who was doing bad podcasts in his garage and we became buddies so it’s timing and luck but yeah that was the first one.”
The claim is demonstrably false. Long before Brendan Schaub ever claimed to pioneer martial artist-hosted podcasts, several MMA personalities were already experimenting with the format. BJ Penn broke ground with BJ Penn Radio, where he interviewed MMA stars and discussed MMA topics—informal by today’s standards, but among the first platforms of its kind.
Chael Sonnen was arguably the most media-savvy pre-2014, doing numerous video interviews and podcasts, giving himself a voice beyond traditional interviews. UFC veterans like Josh Thomson and Nate Quarry occasionally co-hosted web shows or online interviews with networks like UFC.com, Sherdog, and MMA unkie, though their efforts were often short-lived and experimental. Meanwhile, Eddie Bravo, though not a UFC competitor, contributed significantly to early MMA media by guest-hosting and conducting interviews on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu–focused platforms between 2010 and 2013, helping bridge the BJJ and MMA worlds. Together, these early pioneers clearly predated Schaub’s TFATK by years.
Kenny Florian has built a multifaceted career in MMA media as far back as 2009, co-hosting shows like MMA Live on ESPN.com and UFC Tonight on FS1 alongside Michael Bisping, where he provides mixed martial artist-informed analysis. He has also contributed as a guest writer for a magazine and frequently served as a color commentator, filling in for Joe Rogan and others at UFC. In 2015, he expanded into non-MMA commentary as the color commentator for ABC’s revival of BattleBots, continuing into its third season on Science Channel.
Even in the podcast realm specifically, several MMA stars had already established themselves before Schaub launched his own shows. The assertion ignores a long lineage of MMA stars who understood the value of media engagement and building their personal brands through interviews and public appearances.
This isn’t the first time Schaub has made questionable claims about his accomplishments or experiences, with critics often pointing out discrepancies between his statements and verifiable facts. His tendency to rewrite history has become something of a pattern that listeners and media observers have noted repeatedly.
While Schaub‘s confidence remains unshaken, the historical record tells a different story—one in which he was simply another MMA star among many who recognized the value of media exposure, rather than the trailblazing pioneer he claims to be.
