Brendan Schaub
Brendan Peter Schaub (born March 18, 1983) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, podcast host, stand-up comedian, and media personality. Competing primarily as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Schaub compiled an organizational record of 6 wins and 5 losses from 2009 to 2014, with notable victories including knockouts over veterans such as Gabriel Gonzaga and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. After retiring from MMA following a knockout loss to Travis Browne, Schaub transitioned to entertainment, co-hosting the long-running podcast The Fighter and the Kid alongside comedian Bryan Callen, which features discussions on combat sports, comedy, and current events, amassing millions of downloads. His career also encompasses stand-up comedy tours, appearances on UFC broadcasts as an analyst, and entrepreneurial ventures like the Thiccc Boy supplement brand, reflecting a pivot from athletic competition to multimedia influence in the MMA and podcasting spheres.
Brendan Schaub was born on March 18, 1983, in Aurora, Colorado . He grew up in Aurora, the only child of Debra and Peter Schaub.
Schaub's mother, Debra (also referred to as Julie in some accounts), is English, born in Stroud, Gloucestershire. His father, Peter Schaub, is American with German and Italian ancestry. The family's heritage thus encompasses German, Italian, and English roots. Peter Schaub holds a second-degree black belt, contributing to a household environment exposed to martial arts from an early age.
Schaub has described his upbringing as stable and supportive, with parents who emphasized discipline and physical activity , though specific childhood anecdotes beyond family structure remain limited in public records.
Schaub attended Overland High School in Aurora, Colorado , where he lettered twice in varsity lacrosse and once in varsity football. He earned all-state honors in both sports but missed his entire senior football season after sustaining broken ribs and a lacerated liver early in the year. Despite his achievements, Schaub received no college athletic scholarships and initially enrolled at Division III Whittier College in Los Angeles , drawn by its strong lacrosse program and continued football offerings.
At Whittier, Schaub competed in both football and lacrosse as a dual-sport athlete before transferring to the University of Colorado Boulder as a junior to concentrate on football. There, he played running back for the Colorado Buffaloes under coach Gary Barnett , appearing in games during the 2004 and 2005 seasons with limited statistics, including 43 rushing attempts for 148 yards. Schaub's college football experience honed his athletic discipline but did not lead to professional opportunities immediately, prompting his later pivot to mixed martial arts after a brief NFL tryout.
From elementary school onward, Schaub participated in a wide array of sports, including soccer, wrestling, basketball , baseball , and track, alongside his primary focuses on football and lacrosse , which built his foundational physical conditioning. These early pursuits emphasized versatility and competitiveness, though football emerged as his most serious endeavor by high school.
Schaub began formal boxing training in 2007 after a background in football and early exposure to martial arts through his father, who taught him karate and taekwondo . With no prior competitive fighting experience, he dedicated himself to boxing as a means to channel his athletic drive, training intensively for approximately six months before entering amateur competitions. This period marked his transition from team sports to individual combat disciplines, emphasizing striking fundamentals amid his physical advantages as a heavyweight , standing 6 feet 4 inches tall with a football-honed physique.
In 2008, Schaub competed in the Colorado Golden Gloves tournament in the novice heavyweight division, reserved for fighters with limited experience.
