Joe Rogan Credited for Helping Dana White’s $11.3B Success With Unseen Acts as UFC Commentator

“Joe Rogan is the best combat sports commentator of all time.” – what a bold statement from friend and longtime boss Dana White. When White started with the UFC, little would he have known that it would become the $11.3 billion worth business that it is now. And when Rogan started being a host there, and later a commentator, little would he have known the promotion would catapult him to superstardom. Decades hence, Rogan is a multi-millionaire and arguable one of the most popular faces on the planet. What about the UFC? Well, it’s almost synonymous with MMA due to their dominance over rival promotions. So it’s no surprise that White was all praise for Rogan’s role in educating the less-informed about the sport in its early days.
In a recent interview with Outta Pocket with RGIII, the UFC CEO discussed the Joe Rogan Experience podcast host’s contribution to the success of the MMA promotion. He further said in the interview, “The other thing that we really knew was going to be hard was educating people on the ground game, right? What’s going on down there? You don’t see the setups. Joe Rogan would walk you through when they went to the ground two or three steps before it happened. Joe Rogan would start walking you through what was going on and literally helped educate millions of people on the ground game.”
Termed as ‘Human cockfighting’ in its early days, the UFC faced all the hurdles that a new sport faces when it makes its debut. However, the biggest of all is the lack of knowledge about the rules and the concept. Unlike boxing, where a fighter avoids certain areas, waits for his opponent to get up, and throws no kicks, the UFC might seem like a no-holds-barred battle to the death. That’s where Joe Rogan kicked in and made sure that the audience was learning about every step that was taking place inside the Octagon. An act that has now led UFC CEO Dana White to call him the greatest combat sports commentator of all time.
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via Imago LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 12: UFC commentator Joe Rogan looks on during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Well, UFC fans would surely agree with the points made by Dana White on this one. Joe Rogan really did help lay the foundation by being the knowledge bank of combat sports that he is. Add to that his zeal and enthusiasm for the sport, and you have the perfect recipe for a successful entertainment franchise. But do you know why Joe Rogan joined the UFC in the first place?
Joe Rogan’s history with the UFC
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Many might be aware of the fact that Joe Rogan is an avid practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So many would assume that Rogan might’ve always dreamt of getting a job as a commentator for the sport. However, that is far from the truth. Initially, Rogan wanted nothing to do with commentary. In fact, he rejected the first offer he got from Dana White to be promoted to the commentary desk from his job backstage.
In an interview, Joe Rogan stated, “Dana and I went out to dinner, and he’s like, do you want to do commentary? I don’t want to do commentary, man. I’m here to get drunk and watch people kick the [—] out of each other. Oh, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to work.” However, it was Dana White’s insistence on him joining the UFC commentary team that he finally took the spot as he changed his mind.
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Starting out as a backstage interviewer in the promotion, Rogan was moved to the commentary table in 2001. And such was his love for the sport that he was unpaid for 13 straight UFC events. According to Dana White, Rogan did the work because of his love for the sport and couldn’t care less about finance. Fast forward 23 years, and now that passion has made Joe Rogan worth $200 million. What do you think? Do you believe Rogan is the commentary GOAT? Let us know in the comments.