Remembering Rogan and the Great Octagon Ice Spill

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

That time Joe Rogan was remembered more for his play-by-play over a bag of ice than the UFC 109 main event.

Do you remember UFC 109? Before I whipped this post together, I had to go back and remind myself: what fight was this even for, and for what event?

I remember the image of Melvin Guillard, but that was about it. Then I went to wikipedia. Randy Couture versus Mark Coleman? What?!

Yep. I forgot that Mark Coleman still had a respectable run of fights prior to retiring in 2006. Granted, it was mostly tough losses to extremely talented fighters, like Fedor, and Shogun, but I couldn’t think of a less interesting matchup (at least on paper), especially with Couture on a modest decline. The event itself is actually a fun piece of history in retrospect:

• Paulo Thiago and Demian Maia were rising Brazilian stars. Only one of them would fall right off the cliff directly afterward.
• Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt fought for a shot at the title. Only for that shot to go to Demian Maia (Sonnen had to pull out due to injury).
• Matt Serra was on a premature retirement tour
• Phillipe Nover wasn’t the next Anderson Silva after all.
• Holy crap, Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann were part of the afternoon duel!?

Nobody remembers the rest, but they all remember what happened when Joe Rogan decided to violently play-by-play a bag of ice falling onto the Octagon floor.

I’ve never hid the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of Rogan. Not because I’m an edgelord who hates things that are universally loved, but because I truly think he’s capable of better. And the Great Ice Spill of 2010 is the perfect example.

Not everything has to be taken with the grimdark seriousness of a Christopher Nolan film. I like the conversational levity Rogan brings, and I just wish his keen insights were as on point over say, a good stoppage called questionable, as they were on officials “scrambling because of the pressure.”