Brendan Schaub might have one more fight left in him, after all.
UFC 181 in Dec. 2014 marked the last fight of Schaub’s 15-fight run (10-5) in mixed martial arts (MMA), suffering a first round technical knockout loss (punches) to Travis Browne. Schaub’s infamous fight intervention with UFC commentator, Joe Rogan, shortly followed on Rogan’s Joe Rogan Experience podcast and the “The Hybrid” officially retired shortly after.
Schaub has since stuck to his guns in retirement, focusing on stand-up comedy and podcasting. However, after a recent visit from former fighter-turned-promoter, Jorge Masvidal, the Heavyweight could be getting pulled back in, according to him.
“I heard you’re making your debut in my promotion,” Masvidal said to Schaub on The Fighter and The Kid.
“I’m sure as f—k not fighting [Fabricio] Werdum or ‘JDS’ (Junior dos Santos), bro,” Schaub laughed. “You can keep that, dude.”
“I heard Derrick Lewis is a free agent too,” Masvidal responded.
“Oh, that’s right,” said Schaub. “But you allow grappling and everything.”
“Yeah, it’s MMA,” Masvidal said.
“I wouldn’t say no to Derrick Lewis if I can grapple,” Schaub said.
“Derrick Lewis debut in my promotion vs. Brendan Schaub?” Masvidal said. “Do you understand that people’s heads are just f—king exploding?”
Lewis is fresh off a stunning 33-second flying knee and punches finish of Marcos Rogerio de Lima (watch highlights) at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah, this past weekend (July 29, 2023). After the fight, Lewis revealed that the fight was the last on his UFC contract, opening the door to a world of possibilities.
As mentioned by Masvidal, his MMA promotion, Gamebred Bareknuckle, puts on gloveless fights, with the next event featuring a rematch between Werdum and dos Santos in Jacksonville, Fla. on Sept. 8, 2023. If Schaub were to come out of retirement for a clash with Lewis, it wouldn’t be the first time they nearly crossed paths.
“He called me out after he knocked somebody out,” Schaub recalled. “I at like Dave & Buster’s watching the fight. Like, who do you want next? ‘I’d love to fight Brendan Schaub.’ I was like, ‘Ahhh.’ I just beat Lavar Johnson. I was like, ‘Ah, f—k, man.’ [Is there] another comedian [I can fight]? Louis C.K.? What’s he going for?
“I’d fight Tito [Ortiz]. Now I’m nervous, man,” he concluded.