Joe Rogan has a way of pulling listeners into the wildest rabbit holes. One moment you’re sipping coffee, and the next, you’re knee-deep in ancient myths and real-life anomalies. During the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) episode #2317, Rogan, joined by podcaster Cody Tucker, took listeners on a giant-sized journey into history, legend, and human biology.

It all started with a simple question: Were giants ever real? What followed was a whirlwind conversation that leapt from the Bible’s towering Goliath to the modern-day marvel of Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming. And in true Joe Rogan fashion, the deeper they went, the more mind-bending the revelations became!

Yao Ming leaves Joe Rogan in awe as JRE host ponders the existence of giants in history

Joe Rogan didn’t mince words as he shared, “Well, back then, nobody had any food and the average man was probably like 5’4.” Trying to ground the mythical nine-foot Goliath in historical realism. He continued, “So if you encounter some dude who is 6’6, some big jacked guy, that is a giant.” His logic? Human potential hasn’t changed, but our environment has. Back in ancient times, a lack of food abundance kept people small. Today, with access to protein and health care, people can reach staggering heights.

Jamie Vernon, the ever-reliable producer of the JRE, chimed in and pulled up a photo that said a thousand words. Two NBA legends with very different heights, tiny 5’3 Muggsy Bogues standing next to 7’6 Yao Ming. Rogan was stunned as he exclaimed, “But what’s crazy is that the potential for that guy, the Yao guy, how tall is he? That exists in the human genome, that’s not like we engineered them like we did dogs. Like that exists.”

And Yao Ming? He’s the living proof of Joe Rogan’s theory. Born in Shanghai in 1980, Yao Ming was a child of ‘giants’. His father stood at 6’7”, his mother at 6’3”. Both were professional basketball players. At birth, Yao tipped the scales at 11 pounds, double the average Chinese newborn. By age ten, he stood 5’5 and would eventually grow to be 7’6, 310 lbs. and dominate the NBA!

But could giants like Goliath really have existed in ancient times? Rogan pondered that too as he stated, “But the thing about stories in the Bible, though, it’s like these are like mystical giants, the Nephilim, you know…”

Science does offer explanations for such anomalies. Enter gigantism, a rare condition caused by excess growth hormone, often due to a tumor on the pituitary gland. This hormone-driven growth can push individuals past eight feet, as seen in Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever recorded at 8’11. But giants like Wadlow often pay a steep price. Wadlow died young, plagued by health issues and reduced mobility.

In the end, whether it’s Goliath, Yao Ming, one thing’s clear: giants, in one form or another, have always captured our imagination. And thanks to Joe Rogan’s curious mind, they’ve now captured our conversation, too. But how would fighters of that size fare in the world of MMA?

A look back at ‘giants’ who stepped into the cage

Let’s start with Stefan Struve, the UFC’s very own ‘Skyscraper’. Standing tall at seven feet, he was a tower in a division already filled with monsters, and he is recorded as being the tallest fighter in the history of the UFC. But Struve didn’t just show up, he climbed the ranks. Between 2009 and 2020, the Dutchman mixed it up with some of the best, even scoring a TKO win over future and consensus greatest heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

In 2014, Struve faced a serious heart condition. Most would’ve crumbled. Not him. He got cleared, came back, and fought on. Until 2020, when back-to-back losses dimmed the flame. Still, for over a decade, the man they called ‘Skyscraper’ made the cage look like a play pen!

Then there’s Hong-man Choi, the ‘Techno Goliath’. At 7’2″ and 353 pounds, he wasn’t just a fighter. He was a spectacle. A cultural phenomenon in South Korea, Choi brought a bizarre charm to MMA. He shared the ring with legends like Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic but lost both times.

At Dream 9 in 2009, Choi delivered one of MMA’s most meme-worthy moments by beating baseball star Jose Canseco in under 90 seconds. But here’s the twist: neither Struve nor Choi became world champions. And maybe, just maybe, that’s what makes giants human after all! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!