When Sean O'Malley explained to Joe Rogan why boxing could be worse than MMA for a fighter's health: "It's hard to watch"

In late 2022, Joe Rogan welcomed Sean O'Malley to episode #133 of the JRE MMA Show, which was recently uploaded to YouTube following the end of his exclusive agreement with Spotify. The pair touched on a number of topics, including the dangers of boxing compared to MMA.

When asked whether he felt boxing was a more dangerous sport than MMA due to the existence of standing counts following knockdowns, O'Malley opined that boxing is worse than mixed martial arts, having experience in both. But according to him, part of it is how boxing's sparring is structured.

"I had a pro-boxing fight a while back, and I went to a pro-boxing gym. You spar Monday, Wednesday, Friday, three times a week, hard. I think it's a lot of that. A lot of the damage is in sparring. Then you go in there, get dropped, get back up, get an 8-count, get dropped again."

Ultimately, O'Malley felt that a combination of how hard boxers spar and the manner in which knockdowns are handled in the sport contributes to severe head trauma.

"So, I think it's probably a mixture of how hard those motherf***ers spar and then the accumulation of getting hit in the head and getting dropped, and then the ref's like, 'Here, we'll let you feel decent enough to be able to continue.' It's hard to watch."

Check out Sean O'Malley and Joe Rogan's thoughts on the dangers of boxing (1:40:33):

O'Malley isn't the only fighter to have similar thoughts, nor is Rogan the only commentator who shares them. Former UFC middleweight champion-turned-commentator Michael Bisping made a similar argument when comparing boxing to MMA in the past.

---

Joe Rogan is a noted boxing fan

The longtime UFC commentator is a notable fan of 'The Sweet Science' and has repeatedly praised Floyd Mayweather as the sport's greatest-ever fighter. On episode #79 of the JRE MMA Show, Joe Rogan spoke to fight commentator Vinny Shoreman and multi-time Muay Thai champion Liam Harrison.

During his conversation with both men, Rogan lauded Mayweather's boxing skills.

"I mean, people, just because of the fact that he won decisions by playing it safe, people don't get excited about him and don't recognize him with the all-time greats. He's the best ever."

Check out Joe Rogan's praise of Floyd Mayweather (36:31):

Mayweather is especially praised by the masses for his defensive wizardry, which allowed him to avoid taking unnecessary damage. Even now, in his late 40s, Mayweather is sharp, still taking part in exhibition bouts.