Brendan Schaub

Brendan Peter Schaub was born on March 18, 1983, in Aurora, Colorado. After an early athletic career that included collegiate football at the University of Colorado Boulder and a brief stint in the Arena Football League before retiring from the sport in 2007, Schaub pursued mixed martial arts. He began training in boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, winning the Colorado novice-division Golden Gloves heavyweight title in 2008. His professional MMA career started with a 4-0 record, culminating in winning the Ring of Fire Heavyweight Championship. In 2009, he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) through The Ultimate Fighter, where he reached the finale. Throughout his UFC tenure, he secured six wins, notably achieving a Knockout of the Night bonus against Mirko Cro Cop in 2011.

Schaub officially retired from MMA in 2015 and pivoted to a career in entertainment. He launched a successful podcasting career, starting “The Fighter and the Kid” with Bryan Callen in 2013, initially produced by FOX network. This was followed by the solo combat sports-focused podcast, “Big Brown Breakdown,” which rebranded as “BELOW THE BELT with Brendan Schaub” in 2018 under a partnership with Showtime. He also co-hosts “The Golden Hour” podcast. Beyond podcasting, Schaub ventured into stand-up comedy, performing as a solo comedian since 2016 and releasing two comedy specials, “You’d Be Surprised” in 2019 and “The Gringo Papi” in 2022. He has also appeared in films like “Range 15” (2016) and “The Tax Collector” (2020), and worked on television shows like “Bravo’s Play-By-Play” and as an E! Entertainment news after-show co-host.

In 2021, Schaub was promoted to a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, demonstrating his continued dedication to martial arts even after retiring from competitive fighting. His post-MMA career further expanded into entrepreneurial ventures, including the launch of his whisky brand, Tiger Thiccc Whiskey, in 2023. Schaub’s career trajectory reflects a progression from professional sports to a diverse portfolio in media and entertainment, leveraging his public persona into multiple successful projects.