"They would try to break you" - Joe Rogan describes the intensity of Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den gym

Joe Rogan recently described how intense Ken Shamrock's legendary Lion's Den gym was and the atmosphere of their training sessions.

While speaking with The Rock on episode #2063 of his JRE podcast, the longtime UFC commentator said that 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' was a dominant fighter earlier in his career. He mentioned that Shamrock set the tone for Lion's Den fighters through highly rigorous training sessions to challenge their mental toughness and conditioning:

"It [Lion's Den] was one of the most difficult teams to join...they would try to break you. And he [Ken Shamrock] would just try to let you know the worst thing you want to be in a fight is tired and you are going to get tired as fu*k training with us so that the fight's gonna be easy." [2:13:27 - 2:13:48]

Joe Rogan then noted that their training method at the Lion's Den produced many champions. He mentioned that the UFC Hall of Famer's brother, Frank Shamrock, was an excellent example of the Lion's Den training method being successful, saying:

"He [Frank Shamrock] was one of the very best complete MMA fighters. In my opinion, the first truly complete MMA fighter we saw and a guy with insane cardio. And that was one of the things about Frank is that he could just fu**ing go forever." [2:13:52 - 2:14:08]

Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den has been credited as the first true MMA team in the sport and was an example of the benefits of strength and conditioning.

Check out the full episode:

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Joe Rogan believes some early UFC champions could have been successful today

Joe Rogan weighed in on the development of MMA from the early years of the sport to the modern era. He shared his thoughts on whether early UFC champions could have been successful in today's environment.

During the aforementioned episode, the JRE host noted that MMA pioneers who won UFC tournaments and championships had a different mindset, resulting in them achieving success during their era. Joe Rogan mentioned that he believes that they would have taken the necessary time to develop and still achieve success, saying:

"Champions rise to the level of competition that's around them and I think guys like Frank Shamrock or Ken Shamrock or Royce Gracie, they would rise today...They're champions, there's a mindset. They would just have to do things differently." [2:16:18 - 2:16:36]