If you thought the UFC was going to change after going on Fox, don’t expect it to come from within the commentary booth.
Color commentator Joe Rogan, who has been with the UFC for 15 years, talked about Fox producers telling him to “take it down a notch” on a recent podcast of his.
I’ve been doing the UFC for how long? F—ing, who knows? 97′. It’s very rare that anyone ever says anything. But, once we started going on FOX, the producer actually had to tell me in my ear, the FOX executive was like, ‘Tell him to take it down a notch.’
You can’t tell me to deliver the way I deliver. I’ve been doing it forever. They either like it or they don’t. Most people like it. If you don’t—tough s—. It doesn’t sound like your f—ing baseball guys, your basketball guys—it’s not supposed to. It’s not. It’s not supposed to. It’s a different f—ing sport, and it’s just the way I do it.
Rogan has always had a strong stance on the role of the producer, believing they sometimes get too involved with the product and change it to the point where it becomes something they believe is right for them and not what is right for the majority of the audience.
Since the UFC has moved onto Fox, many fans have seen it as a new level into making the sport mainstream, but that doesn’t require changing the way the commentating is done, right?
For many fans, Rogan has given insight to techniques utilized in all aspects of MMA, especially when it comes to jiu-jitsu. Even if he does get a little too excited at times, it has never been a bad thing and it’s hard to blame him for doing so. He is just that passionate about the sport.
Rogan responded on Twitter in regards to his statements, saying it only happened during the first event on Fox and that everyone was stressed out. Tweet No. 1 Tweet No. 2.
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