Adam Carolla Show – Corolla Classics: Tito Ortiz + Max Mutchnick (Nov 23, 2025)
PodcastOne / Carolla Digital

Overview

This "Corolla Classics" episode revisits two standout Adam Carolla Show moments featuring MMA legend Tito Ortiz (with Bellator's Bjorn Rebney) and comedy writer Max Mutchnick (co-creator of Will & Grace). The main purpose is to highlight classic interviews and bits from the show's extensive archive, focusing on unscripted comedy, personal insights, and the behind-the-scenes realities of sports and entertainment.

Adam Carolla leads with his signature irreverence, delving into topics like the relativity of time, the frustrations of Hollywood development, the discipline behind MMA, and the nature-vs-nurture debate over personality. Notable quotes and segments, especially from guest interviews, are timestamped for context.

Sections:

• Discussion with Tito Ortiz & Bjorn Rebney (MMA)
• Interview with Max Mutchnick (TV Writing, Surrogacy, Gay Parenting)
• Key Banter Moments & Notable Quotes
• Timestamps for Essential Segments

Tito Ortiz & Bjorn Rebney: MMA, Discipline & Friendship

[58:26–84:53, 93:04–98:26]

Highlights & Key Points

• MMA Fight Prep & Friendships

  • Adam asks how Tito can fight a friend like Rampage Jackson.
  • Tito: "This is the job. This is a business. ... My job is to beat him any possible way I can. ... After, you shake hands." [68:25]
  • Mutual respect, camaraderie, and the difference when fighting rivals vs. friends.

• Cutting Weight & Physical Demands

  • Tito explains the science and danger behind dramatic weight cuts:
    "It's dangerous. ... If you're in great shape, it's easy. The better shape you're in, the easier it becomes." [66:02]
  • Cutting from 228 lbs to 205 lbs in three days, emphasizing water weight and discipline.

• The Appeal and Future of MMA vs. Boxing

  • Bjorn Rebney: "You watch 10 heavily promoted boxing events ... one out of those 10 is going to be exciting ... You watch MMA and 9 out of 10 give you that return." [73:19]
  • Adam compares MMA's excitement to the "root rot" of modern heavyweight boxing.

• Performing Under Pressure & "Tunnel Vision"

  • Discussion of nerves before fights and the relief of "total focus:"
    • Tito: "For that moment ... I think about zero. All I think about is winning." [92:39]
    • "It's scary. I think that's why I cry a little bit before I step into the cage." [96:07]

• Life Satisfaction vs. Happiness

  • Adam riffs on the difference between being happy and being satisfied:
    • "I'm not interested in happy. I'm interested in satisfied." [35:35]
    • Satisfaction comes from doing challenging things, not taking the easy route.

• Social Commentary: Idle Hands & Online Outrage

  • Both Adam and Tito lament "too much time, too little to do" in modern life:
    "People are turning on themselves ... not knowing what to do ... a dog that's chewing on its leg ..." [87:15]
  • Bjorn notes the dangers of 'faceless' commentary and lack of accountability in today's society:
    "You can say anything you want and it takes you completely out of that realm of reality ..." [89:30]

Memorable Quotes

• Tito Ortiz on fight nerves:
  "I didn't understand ... every time I walk in the cage, tears coming down. ... My emotions completely take over me. So when I step in the cage, my fear is gone." [96:07]

• Adam on judging and social standards:
  "Judge everyone, start judging. Don't just let it roll off your shoulder and go, nah, it doesn't exist." [44:49]

• Bjorn Rebney on MMA's appeal:
  "18 to 34 year old males just attached to this because they’re the alpha males that are out there in society. It’s taken over for what used to be a different entertainment genre." [74:35]

• Adam on careers:
  "What you really want is a career. Something that makes you feel like you're actually building something, not just clocking in and clocking out." [19:03]

Key Timestamps (MM:SS)

• Relativity of Time: [02:41–09:28]
• MMA Weight Cutting: [64:36–66:12]
• Fighting Friends: [68:25–69:07]
• Fun vs Satisfaction: [39:18–41:01]
• Boxing vs MMA: [72:06–74:35]
• Focus & Single-tasking: [92:39–94:47]

Max Mutchnick: TV, Surrogacy, and Gay Parenting

[151:47–174:33]

Highlights & Key Points

• Twin Parenting & Surrogacy

  • Max details the process of gestational surrogacy as a gay man:
    • "We fertilized four eggs ... two came out. One was biologically his, one was biologically mine. ... One looks exactly like my mother, one like Eric’s mother." [151:59]
  • Fascinating tales of choosing an egg donor and "the catalog" experience.
    • "I'd just go for all looks. My husband went for brains." [157:12]

• Nature vs. Nurture

  • Max and Adam swap stories about their twins' different personalities and how little is actually attributable to environmental influence.

• Lack of Chick Energy?

  • Max: "I thought, there’s not going to be chick energy in this house ... you want to have a relationship with the woman who’s carrying your children." [155:03] and [169:09]

• Hollywood Development Hell

  • Insights into why making sitcoms is so hard today:
    • "It's creation by committee." [181:22]
    • Adam relates the story of a network removing the show’s best joke "because one broad has no sense of humor." [185:44]

• The Value of Gay Couples

  • Adam’s tongue-in-cheek advocacy for economic incentives for gays:
    • "If you have a society with a bunch of Max and Erics floating around versus a single mom, nine kids ... you guys never stop rowing ..." [198:52]
    • Max: "Gay guys don’t get divorced like heterosexual people do." [200:06]

• Sperm Bank & Porn Routines

  • Hilarious banter about lack of "gay options" at fertility clinics.

Memorable Quotes

• Max Mutchnick:
  "I have a tough one and a retard, that's really how it goes." [151:47]
  "If you give me milk, if you pump for my family, I will increase the amount of money that I give you every two weeks. Nine months later, she finally dried up.” [172:36]

• Adam on TV development:
  “Never before has there been a business where someone who didn’t know shit about it gave you so many notes.” [181:22]

• On apologies:
  “96% of apologies is just, can I get this person to apologize?” [193:53]

Key Timestamps (MM:SS)

• Surrogacy Explained: [151:59–156:39]
• Egg Donor Catalog: [157:09–158:22]
• Testing TV Shows: [187:27–188:21]
• The Realities of Parenting Twins: [151:47–153:54]
• Gay Parenting as Economic Good: [198:52–201:09]

Banter & Notable Comedic Bits

• Dingo Boy/Batman and Jimmy Kimmel Skits: [21:04–24:49]
• Adam's kids’ contrasting personalities, "tales of the puss": [124:55–135:40]
• "Violence Fight" arcade game and cultural translation errors: [57:03–58:25]
• Riffing on "bad grandpa," sitcom moments, and family anecdotes throughout.

Standout Quotes & Moments

• Adam, on why time seems to fly as you get older:
  “Every day, every evening, everything you do enjoy and everything you don’t enjoy just becomes something you’ve done a thousand times. And thus no big whoop. And thus faster...” [07:41]

• Tito Ortiz, on the violence of MMA:
  “When we get in The Cage ... my job is to beat him any possible way I can. ... It's competition, but, I mean, survival of the fittest.” [69:07, 69:21]

• Adam, on "judge and be judged": “Judge everyone, start judging. ... You lean on your horn, the person goes straight. That's what happens.” [44:49, 41:01]

• Max Mutchnick, on surrogacy:
  “You have to go for it immediately on a face. ... You see the photo, you see education, it's very limited. Then when you get onboard ... Ivy League eggs, they're more expensive.” [158:29]

Conclusion

This double-feature episode spotlights the show's best qualities: unfiltered humor, real talk about life’s grind, behind-the-scenes stories from sports and showbiz, and memorable guest candor. Adam’s interplay with guests and co-hosts is as freewheeling and brutally honest as ever, whether dissecting MMA psychology, the pitfalls of network TV, or the quirks of human nature. The selected conversations offer both belly laughs and surprising depth, proving why the show remains so enduring among fans.