Dana White thinks Joe Rogan is the GOAT of MMA commentary.
Recently the UFC CEO dubbed his friend and three-time GOP nominee Donald Trump the “greatest fighter ever.” During that same interview with FOX News, White sang the praises of his long-time color commentator who first joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s broadcast team all the way back at UFC 12 in 1997, four years before White and the Fertittas took over ownership duties.
“I ended up reaching out to Rogan, we hit it off and that’s it,” White told Kilmeade.
“He said, ‘Wait a minute. So you’re telling me I can come to the the sport that I love the most in the world, have the best seat in the house, and talk about it on TV? I’m in!’ He did the first 13 for free, and the rest is history. Now he has the biggest podcast in the world, and he’s the greatest combat sports commentator of all time” (h/t MMA Mania).
Though Rogan had already made multiple appearances for the promotion, typically as a backstage interviewer, White was unaware of that and reached out to Rogan only after seeing the former Fear Factor host defending mixed martial arts on a sports program.
Joe Rogan’s appearances at the commentary table are few and far between these days
For many years, Rogan worked every single UFC event alongside Mike Goldberg. It was a solid pairing as Goldberg was able to offer his play-by-play skills while Rogan filled in the gaps with his expansive knowledge of MMA.
Today, Rogan is one of the most popular podcasters in the world via his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
As a result of his mainstream success, his appearances with the promotion are few and far between these days with him showing up for pay-per-view events in the United States only. That has allowed the UFC to experiment with other color commentators and build a rotation of broadcast booth talent that includes ex-fighters like Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping, Paul Felder, Dominick Cruz, and Laura Sanko.
Rogan is expected to return to commentary duties on September 14 when the promotion makes its highly anticipated debut at Sphere in Las Vegas for Noche UFC.
