Two of combat sports’ more polarizing figures have found common ground in a shared passion for high performance vehicles and the result is a new television project that has already generated attention well before its first episode airs.
Gearheads Gone Wild, set to debut on Tubi on March 26, brings together grappling champion Gordon Ryan and comedian and former UFC competitor Brendan Schaub for a tour through some of the most powerful machines on the road. The show lands on Tubi’s free ad supported platform giving it a potentially wide audience at no cost.
Ryan announced his retirement from competition earlier this year citing a debilitating stomach condition. In one video clip he posted online he frames the show’s appeal with characteristic directness:
“Do you want to be a low-test f**king loser like my hat ers, or do you want to see some thousand horsepower f**king trucks?”
The partnership between Ryan and Schaub appears to have formed around their shared interest in high horsepower cars. Both Schaub and Ryan have tried posting car content on youtube and both have struggled to get views for their respective car content.
Schaub’s dedicated car channel has only 10,000 subscribers and an estimated 4000 views per month.
Schaub briefly mentioned the project during a recent JRE Companion broadcast alongside Joey Diaz and Eddie Bravo.
“Gearheads Gone Wild is coming out on Tubi,” Schaub said near the end of the episode. “I think it’s March 24th. Stay tuned for that. Yeah. If you guys watch it, they’re going to buy a lot more. So, watch it.”
Host Joe Rogan acknowledged the title but showed little enthusiasm for the promotion leaving Schaub’s pitch largely to stand on its own.
For Ryan the timing of the show coincides with one of the more difficult stretches of his career. The 30 year old has been sidelined since early 2024 by a stomach condition that genetic testing has linked to rare mutations. Molecular biologist Ryan Rossner sequenced his DNA and identified at least five mutations potentially contributing to his symptoms.
“Basically I have one copy of an extremely rare Cystic Fibrosis mutation and a cluster of high-risk IBD/Crohn’s mutations that cause massive amounts of mucus build-ups in my upper GI tract,” Ryan wrote in a recent Instagram post. “This not only makes digestion hard, but it also allows fungi and bad bacteria to overpopulate in the upper GI tract.”
The condition has kept him from training at any meaningful intensity.
“I have not been able to train or lift hard since January of 2024, as I just begin dry heaving immediately when I do,” he explained.
On the mats his presence remains consistent though the output has been limited.
“I’m still on the mats almost every day, but not able to do what my mind tells my body. I really haven’t been able to train hard or lift or train hard like super competitive rounds in like probably two years.”
Schaub arrives at this venture carrying his own set of controversies. Podcast hosts from the Blind Mike Project have raised serious questions about the legitimacy of his merchandise based sweepstakes in which customers who purchase items from his Thiccc Boy brand are entered to win luxury trucks valued between $150000 and $200000. Investigators on his subreddit identified an announced winner’s TRX truck listed for sale in Florida for $132000 identifiable by its “Drive Fast All Gas” decal and custom features. The truck had reportedly been won by a Texas pastor. Florida is where Schaub’s business partner resides and where the sweepstakes reportedly originated.
The theory put forward by critics suggests Schaub has been awarding the trucks to associates who quickly resell them allowing him to maintain the appearance of a legitimate contest without absorbing the full cost. Rather than letting the story fade Schaub addressed it directly on Instagram writing that the pastor “didn’t drive the truck or enjoy it in any facet” and “turned around and sold it the next day.” He expressed disappointment stating his goal was “to put as many () V8s on the road as possible.”
Whether Gearheads Gone Wild draws enough viewers on Tubi to move past its current moment remains to be seen. Schaub made clear on air that viewership numbers matter to the project’s future. Ryan’s involvement gives it a stronger social media presence and re-affirms the demographics they’re targeting.
