He’s (still) not going anywhere, “bitches.”
UFC mouthpiece Joe Rogan is enjoying a part-time schedule in the twilight of his commentating career, and since the podcasting giant doesn’t travel to international pay-per-view (PPV) events — or call “Fight Night” cards — UFC 258 will mark the first time we’ve heard OHHHHHHH! in over two months.
Good news for purists, bad news for haters.
“I have seen some of that,” fellow commentator Jon Anik told MMA Fighting about the Rogan hate. “Again, the social media space after these live events can be a tough space to sort of engage and habitate. But I think for Joe, there’s a lot of different factors. I think that he has never been happier in that broadcast booth. I hate to put words in his mouth, but I do think he enjoys the dynamic. He was in a two-man booth forever where he was just working with a play-by-play guy and he couldn’t bounce off of a fighter. I feel like it’s been an adjustment for all of us.”
Certainly beats the rusty trombone.
Rogan, 53, was in the booth with Mike Goldberg during the promotion’s formative years; however, Goldy eventually parted ways with UFC and set sail for Bellator MMA, opening the door for Anik, as well as retired fighters Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, among others.
Regardless, Rogan is here to stay.
“I can assure you that he ain’t going nowhere,” Anik continued. “Again, I hate to put words in his mouth, but he absolutely loves this job and I think we had a little international flare with the pay-per-views at the end of the year — UFC 251, 253, 254 — that he wasn’t a part of because they were happening in Abu Dhabi. But hopefully domestic pay-per-views return more so in 2021 and he gets a chance to get back out there more often.”
After all, what would a PPV event be without this?