Get taken down at the end of the round? You should start the next round in the same position, according to UFC commentator and podcasting giant Joe Rogan.
Joe Rogan is unimpressed with the current rules of MMA, which favor strikers over grapplers in his educated opinion.
Rogan is no stranger to suggesting unusual rule changes for fighting. For years his pet cause has been combat sports on a football field.
“I also think they should be fighting on a football field,” he told Paul Felder on the JRE back in February 2023. “F— that cage. The cages gets in the way … If you can play basketball in a court, why can’t you have an MMA fight in the court.”
Now Rogan is stumping for the wrestlers and jiu jitsu players in the UFC, who are struggling with rules that stop them from getting on top of their opponents and riding their way to an easy decision win. He shared these thoughts with the OG MMA fighter, Royce Gracie, in the latest episode of his podcast.
Joe Rogan and Royce Gracey think UFC rules need to be changed.
Rogan thinks a 10-minute first round is better, and Gracey suggested one 15-minute round.
Rogan also said, “If a guy takes you down, you should have to earn a standup. You have to get back up to your feet… If… pic.twitter.com/62A3zbhTHV
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 15, 2024
“The rules are set up much more for strikers than for wrestlers,” he said. “I’ve been talking about this lately. Say you’re a jiu jitsu guy and you’re fighting in the first round, and rounds are five minutes long and you take the guy down at four minutes and 30 seconds. You only have 30 seconds to work.”
“I feel like if a fight should be… Even if you’re going to make it rounds, the fight is the fight. I don’t think someone should be able to get up. I don’t think people should stand you up, ever. I think once a guy takes you down, the fight is on the ground.”
“If it’s boring for the audience, tough s—,” Rogan continued. “If you’re on the bottom, get up. And if you can’t get up, tough s—. And if the round ends and the new round begins, I think they should start you right back in the same place.”
Rogan also suggested a return to PRIDE style 10 minute rounds, while Gracie preferred one long 15 minute round.
Not mentioned were the judging criteria changes that refocused damage as the primary qualifier of who wins a round. That’s how they’ve always been written, but for years top control was king and fighters would ‘steal rounds’ with a late takedown followed by nothing much.
While takedowns in the last 30 seconds of a round can still occasionally trick the crack squad of judges who score UFC fights, we’ve seen more examples these days of grapplers controlling an entire round, only to lose it after being on the wrong end of one violent exchange.
Progress or regression? We know where Joe Rogan stands. Let us know what you think in the comments below, Maniacs.