Podbit · PBD Podcast
Portugal's match against Croatia came down to whether a new ball-embedded sensor could detect contact with a player's hair during an offside check. It couldn't. Goal disallowed. And somewhere in Argentina, people are pointing out the hand of God would have been caught too.
Where this was said
At 2:02:20 · chapter starts 1:55:00
Patrick reads from coverage of Dwayne Johnson's Esquire interview in which he announced he'll be keeping his politics private, having learned through experience that his 'main thing' is creating art. Star Trek's George Takei and Will Wheaton (who later deleted his post) were the most vocal critics, with Wheaton calling The Rock a coward. Comedian Matt Rife responded on X that it's bold to call someone a coward who 'could quite literally tear Will's throat out.' [1] — Patrick Bet-David "George Takei called The Rock complicit. Will Wheaton called him a coward — then deleted it. The Rock just wants to make movies and art. PBD…" 1:58:15 Vinnie shares a personal story about being blocked from comedy bookings for speaking positively about Trump in 2015-2016, saying The Rock is making a sound business decision. Patrick and Adam both agree that The Rock reads as a center-right capitalist who lives conservative values — patriotism, work ethic, family — without attaching the political label. Patrick shares his personal experience working with Johnson at The Vault two years ago, describing him as a 'man's man' and a 'capital G' behind closed doors, citing his collaborative and low-drama approach to the event. He speculates that if The Rock eventually runs for president, he'd be in an exclusive club with Trump as the only billionaire superstar to do it.
George Takei called The Rock complicit. Will Wheaton called him a coward — then deleted it. The Rock just wants to make movies and art. PBD not only agrees but thinks he reads as a center-right capitalist who lives conservative values without the label.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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