Joe Rogan, comedian, podcast host, and UFC color commentator, believes that fighters in other organizations are wasting their careers and should aim to compete in the UFC, the biggest show in combat sports, where they can gain more attention and recognition.
Joe Rogan gets it. The UFC is the big leagues in combat sports. He’s hoping the fighters grasp this too.
Rogan’s a comedian, a podcast host, and a UFC color commentator. He spends a lot of his time watching fights and soaking up the combat sports scene. But he sees the difference. The scale, the production, the sheer number of eyeballs on the UFC. It’s a different ball game compared to the PFL or ONE Championship.
Sure, he gives props to fighters in other promotions. But he knows the real deal. The UFC is where it’s at.
“No disrespect to the other organizations,” Rogan said on his podcast. “There’s very good fighters in the other organizations, but I often feel like they’re wasting their career.”
He sees these elite fighters in Bellator and PFL and thinks, “Hey guys, no one’s watching.” He’s not trying to disrespect, but he’s keeping it real.
“There’s the XFL, there’s the CFL, and then there’s the f****** NFL. If you’re not in the f****** NFL, are you really playing football? That’s just how it is.”
The UFC is the biggest organization in MMA, hands down. Especially when you factor in pay-per-view sales, live gates with tickets, and television ratings.
Bellator, once owned by Paramount, was handed over to the PFL. Why? It just wasn’t profitable.
Rogan’s ideal world? Top-ranked fighters would all compete in the UFC. That’s where the spotlight is brightest. That’s where they won’t waste away in other organizations that don’t get nearly as much attention.
“If you’re the UFC champ, you’re the f****** man,” Rogan said. “If you’re the Bellator champ, I respect the s*** out of those guys. I love them. Guys like Johnny Eblen, same thing. He’s a freaking animal. I really wish that guy would come to the UFC.”
The promotion you get as a UFC champion? Unparalleled. There’s nothing like it. Everyone knows who you are when you’re the UFC champion.
It’s no secret. The UFC provides the biggest platform for fighters to thrive. It’s on a much larger scale than other promotions in combat sports.
Rogan knows that everyone wants to feel the UFC energy. There’s just nothing else like it.
“There’s this feeling of being in the UFC that everybody who wants to be a fighter dreams of,” Rogan said. “You want to be there when Bruce Buffer is right in front of you going, ‘It’s time!’ You’re like, holy s***!”