UFC commentator Joe Rogan has been the biggest advocate MMA has had in the last decade. Thanks to the success of his podcast, Rogan’s influence goes far beyond the MMA niche and he’s also introduced a number of his influential friends to both jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts.
One of the men he’s introduced to bjj is longtime friend, comedian Joey Diaz. Diaz is a bit of a hot head but his brash attitude and crass style of regurgitating his life’s stories have earned him many fans.
A compilation of Diaz reacting to various UFC events recently surfaced online. In a typical Diaz fashion, he’s a bit crass, outspoken and very enthusiastic.
Diaz is very passionate about his opinions but he’s less determined to get the names right and in process gets the names of Stipe Miocic, Khabib Nurmagomedov and many other UFC stars wrong.
Miocic’s ‘nickname’ is especially hilarious because it appears to be an abbreviation of his first and last name – Stiopic.
Miocic is of Croatian origins but was born in the US, another fact that seems to evade Diaz.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is no different. While it’s common to have difficulty pronouncing his last name, people usually get the first name right. Diaz seems to be the exception to the rule refering to him as Kalabib,
It’s also funny seeing Rogan correct Diaz considering how badly he butchered Nurmagomedov’s last name at one point last year.
Rogan has been outspoken about the fact he studies up on how to pronounce names and typically writes them out phonetically prior to making announcements at weigh ins.
Joe Rogan struggling to say Umar Nurmagomedov:#UFC272 @joerogan
pic.twitter.com/9ynohl3eeN— MMA MOMENTS (@MMAMOMENTS1) March 6, 2022
It’s not just foreign names that bother Diaz either – he also referred to Cody Garbrandt as Colby Gebhardt in a Schaub like language lapse.
Of course, Schaub is now infamous for a 17 second compilation during which he refers to Li Jingliang as Jingaling, Jon Jones as Jon Africa and more.