Mike “The Joker” Guymon on Brain Trauma, Ibogaine, and Life After Fighting
Twenty years of fighting.
Four hospitalizations in three months.
A brain that couldn’t draw a simple cube. For many athletes, the effects of brain trauma in MMA fighters remain invisible until life begins to unravel.
Nobody told Mike Guymon there was another way until there almost wasn’t time.
About Michael “The Joker” Guymon
Mike “The Joker” Guymon is a former UFC, Bellator, and Strikeforce fighter and one of the original faces of the Tapout era.
After his career ended, he faced serious neurological challenges associated with years of competition and repeated head trauma, pushing him to his lowest point. Today he’s the CEO of The Shepherd 360, a growing security company, and is sharing his story to help other fighters find their way through.
What Michael’s Story Explores
Brain injuries affect more than the body
The conversation around brain trauma in MMA fighters often focuses on visible injuries. Michael’s experience reveals a different reality—tremors, balance issues, depression, memory problems, and loss of confidence that slowly affected every part of his life.
Strength sometimes means asking for help
For most of his life, Michael approached problems the same way he approached fighting: work harder, push through, and never quit. This story explores what happened when he reached a point where determination alone was no longer enough.
The hardest fight can happen after the career ends
Michael spent years competing at the highest levels of mixed martial arts. But the most difficult battle of his life began after the fighting stopped, when neurological symptoms, depression, and an identity crisis forced him to confront challenges he could no longer push through with toughness alone.
Full Interview (1:00:00)
https://vimeo.com/1194123821?fl=tl&fe=ecThis story was recorded in collaboration with Athletes Journey Home, an organization providing structured, science-backed support for athletes navigating transition, recovery, and the next chapter of life.
In Michael’s Words
As awareness grows around brain trauma in MMA fighters, more athletes are speaking openly about the long-term neurological and emotional challenges that can follow a career in combat sports. Michael’s story offers a firsthand look at those struggles—and the healing journey that followed.
Two days before your ibogaine treatment, you were considering ending your life. What was happening at that point?
Michael: I didn’t want to be here anymore. Things weren’t going well in my relationships, my health was falling apart, and I felt like everything was affecting everything else. Two days before I left, I was driving my Tesla in the rain, doing about 120 miles per hour. I had unbuckled my seatbelt and was planning to steer into a freeway pylon and end it. For whatever reason, I didn’t. I kept driving, got to Athlete’s Journey Home, got on the plane, and everything changed from there.
What neurological symptoms were you experiencing after years of fighting?
Michael: The Parkinson’s-like symptoms, running into walls, falling up stairs, falling down stairs, losing my balance, stuttering, tremors—it was terrible. I had been hospitalized multiple times. I was trying to run a company and show up as a leader while barely functioning. People saw the shaking. They saw the stuttering. You can’t hide that. It was affecting every part of my life.
You’ve dealt with depression for much of your life. Did these experiences change that?
Michael: Completely. I wish I had found these medicines sooner. They didn’t magically erase every challenge in my life, but they changed my relationship to those challenges. I’m genuinely happy now. I’m grateful to be here. For someone who spent so much of his life feeling the opposite, that’s a pretty incredible thing.
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