Joe
Rogan has said he won’t be commentating at UFC 249 due to the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic.
The card which is scheduled for April 18 is still without a venue. It was originally due to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, however, COVID-19 triggered a state ban on mass gatherings which means the promotion needs a new host location.
Veteran voice of the octagon Rogan is usually the man tasked with calling the biggest fights UFC has to offer. However, given the current climate, he will be taking a backseat for this one. Speaking on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, he said.
“The UFC is talking about putting on a
fight on April 18th. I don’t know how they’re gonna do that. I don’t
know if they’re gonna be able to do that in the United States. They’re talking
about doing it in a place with less than 10 people, just an open arena – I
guess someone’s gonna commentate it [but] it’s not gonna be me – and they’re
gonna be duking it out in an empty place. And they’re gonna try to do that on
the 18th.”
“They did it for the last card in Brazil
because it was ordered by the government. The government ordered all large
gatherings to break up when they started seeing the corona rising in Brazil so
they had to do the Brazil card indoors, no people, weird. But they’re gonna
plan Khabib and Tony this way. They’re gonna plan it, so it doesn’t even have
to be a big place. They could do it in, like, a film studio. Legitimately, they
could set this up in a film studio somewhere.
“They could definitely [hold the event]. The UFC has the capability of doing
that. The thing is, how are they going to make sure nobody has it?” Rogan
asked. “You’re going to have to test everybody. And if someone has it, do you
let them fight? What if they have it and they’re like Idris Elba and they have
no symptoms but they’ve got the corona? What if Khabib has the corona? Or what
if Tony has the corona, does Khabib even fight him?”
“This fight is so cursed!” Rogan concluded. “This is how Dana feels. This is why Dana’s trying so hard to make it happen even if there’s only 10 people in the room.” (Transcribed by MMAFighting)
Who should fill in for Joe Rogan at UFC 249?