If you’ve ever experienced “The Joe Rogan Experience,” you know the UFC analyst, professional comic and TV host is likely to riff on any number of topics. So when Rogan stopped by Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, it was worth exploring many of the headlines making news in mixed martial arts.
Among the biggest stories over the past week is Nick Diaz, his positive drug test and marijuana issues. Rogan discussed that, the UFC’s support of the controversial SOPA bill, and more.
The following are some of select sound bytes on the topics.
On marijuana
“I think it is a performance-enhancing drug. If it wasn’t, a huge majority of jiu-jitsu guys wouldn’t be using it before they train. A lot of Brazilian guys use marijuana before they train. A lot of American jiu-jitsu guys use it before they train. And they don’t do it because it hurts them; they do it because it helps them.”
On Nick Diaz’s marijuana use
“I think he likes smoking weed. I think it’s that simple. I think he’s doing it whether or not he’s fighting, whether he’s training or running marathons.”
On how to handle Diaz
“He needs like a Cus D’Amato-type character, who’s there watching everything he does and making things easy for him. All that nonsense where he couldn’t get on the plane… look, you’re not dealing with your average dude. Someone should’ve been taking care of him. They should’ve had someone pick him up at the house. Don’t make him drive to the airport. Pick him up. Test him on your own. It’s not expensive. Test him in advance and make sure he’s clean. Make sure he doesn’t have issues.”
On exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy vs. marijuana
“I think if testosterone is legal, you can easily make the argument that marijuana should be legal under a doctor’s prescription. I do believe that they’re both performance-enhancing substances. I think that testosterone is in fact, more of a performance-enhancer.”
On Diaz’s possible retirement
“Especially during his time in Strikeforce, he improved dramatically. I think he hasn’t even hit his full potential yet. He’s not even in his prime as an athlete … I think that Nick has a massive amount of potential. As a fan, I really hope he doesn’t retire, and as someone who loves to do commentary on his fights, because he’s a really exceptional athlete. He’s really a one-of-a-kind guy, a complete, total original not just in his style of fighting, which is very original, but in his style and demeanor. He’s a very unique guy.”
On Diaz’s penalty
The Nevada state athletic commission has pretty set guidelines and precedents that have already been set. I think in the situation you’re dealing with, the real question is, whether or not it makes sense that some things are legal and others are not. Which ones make sense and which ones don’t. The way it is now, he tested positive. You could argue that marijuana should be legal, but the bottom line is it’s illegal, he tested positive, and it’s up to the Nevada state athletic commission to make a judgment.
On UFC’s support of the controversial SOPA anti-piracy bill
“The UFC wants to make sure people stop stealing pay-per-view, streaming them and collecting ad revenue. A lot of people don’t realize that a lot of these people are using Google ads and other various online ads and they’ll stream a website, take a UFC live feed and stream it, and then make money off of it on ads. It’s not as simple as they’re stopping people from downloading the UFC for free. It’s people who are actually making money off the UFC by streaming it online. It’s a criminal act. It’s not so simple as someone coming along who is a fan and doesn’t have the money and just wants to watch it.
On problems with SOPA
“… You get into situations where you got this bill like SOPA, and the real fear is that it will give the government sweeping legislation, sweeping power that would enable them to decide what they can go in and shut down. The real fear is that the government would have any power to censor the internet.”
On Dana White’s view on SOPA
“He’s not a guy who’s trying to go after the casual fan. The guy doesn’t want to get ripped off. The company feels like they’re getting ripped off by people that are criminal. They’re trying to profit off the fact that they’re streaming illegally. That’s where the UFC stands. It’s not that they want to censor people. Dana White is the last person in the world to want censorship. If you listen to the way he talks, he would get in a lot of trouble working for almost any other major sports organization. Ninety-nine percent of sports organizations would have a big problem with a guy like that being president … He’s just a guy that doesn’t want to get ripped off.”
On his first trip to Japan, for February 26’s UFC 144
“To me, this is an amazing opportunity to go to a place where modern martial arts, the most respected martial arts were cultivated. That’s japan. This is the birthplace of the samurai.”
On his long tenure with the UFC
“I first worked for the UFC more than a decade ago. I still love it. I still look forward to it. It’s still one of the most exciting parts of my life.”