Joe Rogan is a podcaster and color commentator for the UFC. He is one of the most well-known figures in the industry who has served as an advocate for martial arts for the last 15 years.
Rogan explained the backdrop of his association with UFC while talking to Hollywood producer Jon Peters on his podcast Joe Rogan Experience. Peters asked Rogan,
“Have you ever been in a fight, where it’s full-blown to the whoever gets knocked out?”
Rogan answered:
“No, I really didn’t get into street fights. I avoided street fights. The last three fights that I had is probably when I was like 14.”
“The last one that I got in, I lost. And the guy didn’t even hurt me. He got me in a headlock. Like, I didn’t even know we were going to fight.”
He added,
“I was like why is this guy staring at me like this? Like he got my face, he grabbed me in a headlock and he threw me to the ground and he got on top of me in the bathroom of the boy’s room. And he got, he went that like he was going to punch me, then he laughs, and he was like, ‘Nah, I don’t even have to.'”
“And he lets me up and it was humiliating, it was humiliating,” He further stated.
This humiliation took him to the UFC as he began training for Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after the incident.
Rogan signed on to commentate for the UFC more than two decades ago. His first appearance came at UFC 12 in 1997 – for free. He started as a backstage interviewer and then became a commentator after five years.
Rogan developed a strong relationship with UFC president Dana White.
“If Dana leaves, I’m gone,” Rogan said.
“That’s in my contract. What he does is very different.”
His friendship with White started in 2001 when White began his career as UFC president. After that, their bond became stronger and stronger day by day. They stayed together during the thick and thin of the company. Dana White spoke highly of Joe Rogan many times in his interviews.
He recently said,
“We have a great relationship. Obviously, the UFC has grown up and blown since we started together and he has blown up and grown personally…but we couldn’t have a better relationship,” White told Jake Asman
“He does his thing and he kills it for us and I think he’s the best ever.”
Joe Rogan is a key part of revolutionizing UFC alongside Dana White. Dana White knew his importance to the company and acknowledged his knowledge about the sport in an interview with Teddy Atlas. He stated,
“The reality is that when we got into this, everybody understood stand up fighting…when it goes to the ground, how many people are really going to understand what’s going on and what they’re seeing,” White told Teddy Atlas.
“If you’ve never done jiu-jitsu, you don’t know what the hell they’re doing. Joe Rogan was so passionate about the sport [and] so good at walking you through what was going on before it even started to happen.”