Kevin James recently revealed how he found himself in a terrifying situation against UFC bantamweight, Merab Dvalishvili. James has portrayed a biology teacher/former wrestler turned MMA fighter in his 2012 film, ‘Here Comes the Boom’. And during his appearance on the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) podcast no. 2116, he revealed a story from his forays into training in MMA.

The actor and podcast host, Joe Rogan, have a long history together and also share a mutual love for training in the martial arts. As such, during their conversation, James broke down how he got “lit up” by Dvalishvili when the fighter couldn’t recognize the Hollywood star during a training camp!

Joe Rogan left in splits as Kevin James tells story of being “lit up” by Merab Dvalishvili

During the conversation with Joe Rogan, the discussion touched upon Merab Dvalishvili’s incredible performance against Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. Rogan was full of praise for Dvalishvili’s “toying” with a former champion and Olympic gold medalist wrestler like ‘Triple C’.

This prompted James to chime in to share his experiences with Dvalishvili during a training camp with other fighters like Aljamain Sterling and Chris Weidman. He stated, “Merab, this is the funniest thing ever. I came my first day, on the camp whatever, and they were sparring in the Octagon and I had my headgear on and everybody is pairing off with everybody, you know.”

James went on to reveal that he was apprehensive about the exercise and pointed the same out to former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman. He continued, “I got in there, everybody else, Aljo knows me, you know, these guys know me. Merab thinks I’m a fat, old, fighter. Like he thinks, he doesn’t know anything. I got the headgear on, he doesn’t recognize me as an actor and he starts going, starts dancing around”

Things almost went too far for James’s liking as he further explained, “And I’m trying to throw punches and this guy’s moving around like crazy on me and I’m like looking for Weidman. And it was, it was amazing. He was the sweetest guy ever but I got lit up by him in 2 seconds. I take it (headgear) off and go, I’m an actor man.”

James’s revelation offered a humorous insight into the unpredictability of training in MMA, and the differences in skills between MMA hobbyists and elite competitors like Merab Dvalishvili.

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And during the same conversation, the actor and Joe Rogan also talked about the unique ability of a UFC legend and James’s co-star from ‘Here Comes the Boom’!

Rogan reveals the secret behind Bas Rutten’s famous ‘palm strikes’ 

Bas Rutten, former UFC star and Hall of Famer, was recently praised by Joe Rogan and Kevin James on the JRE podcast. Rutten’s unique striking skills, including his feared palm strikes, earned him his reputation for his knockout power during his time in the Japanese promotion, ‘Pancrase’ in the 1990s.

Speaking with James, Rogan exclaimed, “…Yeah he worked the bag with his palms to develop that power and he had this crazy ability to pull his hand back like his hand, like my hand doesn’t really go much back further than that but Bas’ hand goes way back.”

Rogan’s acknowledgment of Rutten’s unique training regimen underscored the fighter’s innovative approach to honing his skills within the confines of Pancrase’s ruleset. And for fans wanting to see the strikes in action, there is plenty of evidence on YouTube that showcases ‘El Guapo’s lethal techniques! 

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