UFC president Dana White isn't going to like this one bit.
After shredding the controversial deal between his employer Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and apparel company Reebok in Dec. 2014, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 runner-up Brendan Schaub has announced that he will be leaving mixed martial arts (MMA) for the time being to focus on his endeavors in the entertainment business, namely his "Fighter and the Kid" (FTK) podcast.
"I can't see myself, when it comes down to this, I can't see myself in a f*cking Reebok kit walking out to that Octagon. I can't see myself being like, 'You know what? Cool, man. Yeah, that's what I'm worth. I'm worth 10-grand to you guys," Schaub lamented on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast (via MMA Fighting). You know what? Let me go fight some monster who's been training full time, and not telling dick jokes and selling f*cking Big Brown shirts full time,'" Schaub said. "'Let me go fight that guy.' I won't do the game a disservice. I won't do that. Unless I can focus on it full time, there's just no way."
Funny that he should announce his intentions on Rogan's show after this tearful exchange occurred late last year.
"The Hybrid," 32, holds a 6-5 UFC record, but has lost two straight to Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne. The former Arena Football League player co-hosts weekly episodes of FTK with fellow funny-man Bryan Callen, which also airs on the UFC on FOX YouTube channel.
With the way the current Reebok deal pay structure stands, and Schaub's reluctance to sign on with UFC's new alliance with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, it looks like MMA fans might've seen the last of him for the foreseeable future.
Unless UFC President Dan White can help a brother out.
Regardless of what transpires in the future between he and Uncle Dana, Schaub maintains that he doesn't carry any animosity towards his boss.
"People think I'm this hater on the UFC or whatever -- I owe it to the UFC," Schaub said. "I'll always be indebted to the UFC. People think I have a problem with Dana White. I definitely don't. If Dana was in trouble and texted me right now and said, 'Hey Schaub, I wish you'd quit talking sh*t about Reebok or I need help,' you got it, man. Cool. Done.
But for right now, I've gotta take a step away and focus on this crazy frickin' entertainment podcast career I've got going on. I'm so blessed."