MMA fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as our favorite commentator isn’t going anywhere — for now.
Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan finally revealed his plans regarding his future in the sport during the latest edition of his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
Rogan admitted that he was “on the fence” about whether or not he was going to continue on once his existing contract with the company expired. When the UFC sale rumors began, and were later confirmed, he spoke often about possibly putting the headset down for good and transitioning back into being simply a passionate, educated fan of the sport.
“I was on the fence, man,” Rogan said during the show, which featured an interview with UFC featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens (see above). “I just do too much sh*t. I’m too f*cking busy. After a while I’m like, I don’t know if I’m doing myself or all the different things I do a disservice. I was real close. It was like, either I’m just gonna completely bail off of this or I’m gonna figure it out.”
Rogan noted that he had some private conversations with UFC President Dana White, who helped convince him to stick around. When the recent UFC 196 pay-per-view went down the way it did, with Nate Diaz upsetting Conor McGregor and Miesha Tate pulling off a come-from-behind victory to finally capture UFC gold, he claimed it was at that point that something clicked in his head.
“That night was so crazy and so chaotic,” Rogan said. “I walked out of there going, ‘How could I not do this?’ I’m sitting right there cageside for the craziest sh*t in the sporting world ever. It was real recent. It was touch and go. I just didn’t know what I was going to do.”
As far as the terms of his new deal, Rogan stated that he will have a reduced schedule. He will no longer be working any international events, and will only be announcing the pay-per-view shows. While Rogan hadn’t been doing the UFC shows on FOX Sports 1, he has been calling the events on big FOX, but will no longer be doing those.
“If I go to Brazil, that’s five days out of my life that I can’t do this and I can’t do all the other stuff that I do,” Rogan said. “And on top of that, there’s the recovery time. When I come back, I’m f*cking toast. That flying just f*cks my head.”
To the fans, Rogan said that he still loves working with the UFC and after his new one-year deal with the company expires, he made it clear to the new owners that he is open to possibly staying around even longer.
“I don’t want anybody to think that I don’t appreciate it or I don’t know how lucky I am or I don’t think it’s an amazing job,” he said. “I definitely do. But I’m almost too lucky. I have too many amazing jobs.”
H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above quotes from the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
https://youtu.be/jUKV8xbXod8
MMA fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as our favorite commentator isn’t going anywhere — for now.
Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan finally revealed his plans regarding his future in the sport during the latest edition of his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
Rogan admitted that he was “on the fence” about whether or not he was going to continue on once his existing contract with the company expired. When the UFC sale rumors began, and were later confirmed, he spoke often about possibly putting the headset down for good and transitioning back into being simply a passionate, educated fan of the sport.
“I was on the fence, man,” Rogan said during the show, which featured an interview with UFC featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens (see above). “I just do too much sh*t. I’m too f*cking busy. After a while I’m like, I don’t know if I’m doing myself or all the different things I do a disservice. I was real close. It was like, either I’m just gonna completely bail off of this or I’m gonna figure it out.”
Rogan noted that he had some private conversations with UFC President Dana White, who helped convince him to stick around. When the recent UFC 196 pay-per-view went down the way it did, with Nate Diaz upsetting Conor McGregor and Miesha Tate pulling off a come-from-behind victory to finally capture UFC gold, he claimed it was at that point that something clicked in his head.
“That night was so crazy and so chaotic,” Rogan said. “I walked out of there going, ‘How could I not do this?’ I’m sitting right there cageside for the craziest sh*t in the sporting world ever. It was real recent. It was touch and go. I just didn’t know what I was going to do.”
As far as the terms of his new deal, Rogan stated that he will have a reduced schedule. He will no longer be working any international events, and will only be announcing the pay-per-view shows. While Rogan hadn’t been doing the UFC shows on FOX Sports 1, he has been calling the events on big FOX, but will no longer be doing those.
“If I go to Brazil, that’s five days out of my life that I can’t do this and I can’t do all the other stuff that I do,” Rogan said. “And on top of that, there’s the recovery time. When I come back, I’m f*cking toast. That flying just f*cks my head.”
To the fans, Rogan said that he still loves working with the UFC and after his new one-year deal with the company expires, he made it clear to the new owners that he is open to possibly staying around even longer.
“I don’t want anybody to think that I don’t appreciate it or I don’t know how lucky I am or I don’t think it’s an amazing job,” he said. “I definitely do. But I’m almost too lucky. I have too many amazing jobs.”
H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above quotes from the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
While he’s probably still about $2.5 million shy of his, well, $2.5 million demand of getting Brock Lesnar’s entire purse for their fight at UFC 200 after finding out that Lesnar tested positive for banned substances twice before heading into the Octagon on July 9th, he apparently did get the attention of UFC brass with his extremely candid comments on Monday.
Hunt, who spoke completely unfiltered about his thoughts on the ongoing situation during his appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani (more on that here), reportedly received a call from UFC’s Vice President Of Athlete Health & Performance, Jeff Novitzky, likely as a result of Hunt’s heated comments this week.
“F*ck that company. They’re sh*t,” said a heated Hunt to Helwani during their live interview at MMAFighting.com. “They’re f*cking worthless scum. F*ck the UFC. You’re sh*t. You motherf*ckers don’t look after nobody.”
ESPN.com wrote the following regarding the reported conversation between Novitzky and Hunt this week:
“A UFC official told ESPN.com that Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky had ‘a lengthy conversation with Hunt’ on Monday and that dialogue was ‘positive.’
According to the official, the conversation was to ‘address Hunt’s concerns with Lesnar’s potential anti-doping violation, as well as the results management process related to the case.’
In response to Hunt’s concerns regarding the time frame in which the UFC knew of Lesnar’s potential violation, the official adamantly denied any knowledge prior to July 9.”
While he’s probably still about $2.5 million shy of his, well, $2.5 million demand of getting Brock Lesnar’s entire purse for their fight at UFC 200 after finding out that Lesnar tested positive for banned substances twice before heading into the Octagon on July 9th, he apparently did get the attention of UFC brass with his extremely candid comments on Monday.
Hunt, who spoke completely unfiltered about his thoughts on the ongoing situation during his appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani (more on that here), reportedly received a call from UFC’s Vice President Of Athlete Health & Performance, Jeff Novitzky, likely as a result of Hunt’s heated comments this week.
“F*ck that company. They’re sh*t,” said a heated Hunt to Helwani during their live interview at MMAFighting.com. “They’re f*cking worthless scum. F*ck the UFC. You’re sh*t. You motherf*ckers don’t look after nobody.”
ESPN.com wrote the following regarding the reported conversation between Novitzky and Hunt this week:
“A UFC official told ESPN.com that Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky had ‘a lengthy conversation with Hunt’ on Monday and that dialogue was ‘positive.’
According to the official, the conversation was to ‘address Hunt’s concerns with Lesnar’s potential anti-doping violation, as well as the results management process related to the case.’
In response to Hunt’s concerns regarding the time frame in which the UFC knew of Lesnar’s potential violation, the official adamantly denied any knowledge prior to July 9.”
When asked if he has any intentions of making a return to the Octagon when his two-year Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) suspension is up, which has already happened, for whatever reason, Chael Sonnen has apparently changed his tune.
During his appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com, Sonnen revealed that he has submitted a request to return to the USADA drug-testing pool, and if things go well and he passes his initial tests, he intends to make a fighting return in the UFC.
“I definitely have that itch,” Sonnen told Helwani. “I fantasize about it. But it’s one step at a time. I’m not holding back from you. I’m not acting like my return is some kind of breaking news. I’d tell it to you right now. But I have to pass this first test, quite frankly. It’s still out there. I’ve gotta pass it. If I pass that, I’ll pass all of them. But I have to know that everything is out. Boom, step one down.
“Step two, get in shape, get ready to go — I’m there. I’m in shape, I’m ready to go. Step three, be the baddest dude in the world. C’mon, Ariel. C’mon, buddy. I dominated — this is just a fact. I dominated middleweight. There has never been a middleweight like me. The next closest guy is Anderson Silva. I’ve got two 10-8 rounds against Anderson Silva. That’s just the truth. I have no equal at middleweight.”
Although he has been out of the game for the last two years due to the aforementioned NAC suspension, the fighter-turned-fight-analyst hasn’t lost his sense of humor, as evidenced by his sarcastic comments regarding his desire to be tested differently than everybody else in the promotion.
“I don’t want to be tested like everybody else,” Sonnen said. “I want it to be on a curve. I’d like a curved system. Oh, you had seven things last time, this time you’ve only got three. That’s pretty good. That’s the kind of test I’m looking for. And I’m not sure that’s out there.”
Much like Brock Lesnar, Chael Sonnen came up dirty on two separate tests, as in May 2014, he tested positive in an out-of-competition drug test when anastrozole and clomiphene was found in his system ahead of his scheduled fight against fellow TUF Brazil 3 coach Wanderlei Silva at the UFC 175 pay-per-view. A couple of weeks later, Sonnen popped hot again, with human growth hormone (HGH), recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) and anastrozole found in his system.
https://youtu.be/0tOdzmxolmM
When asked if he has any intentions of making a return to the Octagon when his two-year Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) suspension is up, which has already happened, for whatever reason, Chael Sonnen has apparently changed his tune.
During his appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com, Sonnen revealed that he has submitted a request to return to the USADA drug-testing pool, and if things go well and he passes his initial tests, he intends to make a fighting return in the UFC.
“I definitely have that itch,” Sonnen told Helwani. “I fantasize about it. But it’s one step at a time. I’m not holding back from you. I’m not acting like my return is some kind of breaking news. I’d tell it to you right now. But I have to pass this first test, quite frankly. It’s still out there. I’ve gotta pass it. If I pass that, I’ll pass all of them. But I have to know that everything is out. Boom, step one down.
“Step two, get in shape, get ready to go — I’m there. I’m in shape, I’m ready to go. Step three, be the baddest dude in the world. C’mon, Ariel. C’mon, buddy. I dominated — this is just a fact. I dominated middleweight. There has never been a middleweight like me. The next closest guy is Anderson Silva. I’ve got two 10-8 rounds against Anderson Silva. That’s just the truth. I have no equal at middleweight.”
Although he has been out of the game for the last two years due to the aforementioned NAC suspension, the fighter-turned-fight-analyst hasn’t lost his sense of humor, as evidenced by his sarcastic comments regarding his desire to be tested differently than everybody else in the promotion.
“I don’t want to be tested like everybody else,” Sonnen said. “I want it to be on a curve. I’d like a curved system. Oh, you had seven things last time, this time you’ve only got three. That’s pretty good. That’s the kind of test I’m looking for. And I’m not sure that’s out there.”
Much like Brock Lesnar, Chael Sonnen came up dirty on two separate tests, as in May 2014, he tested positive in an out-of-competition drug test when anastrozole and clomiphene was found in his system ahead of his scheduled fight against fellow TUF Brazil 3 coach Wanderlei Silva at the UFC 175 pay-per-view. A couple of weeks later, Sonnen popped hot again, with human growth hormone (HGH), recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) and anastrozole found in his system.
On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com, UFC heavyweight contender Mark Hunt completely let loose regarding his feelings on his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 now that it’s clear that the crossover WWE performer tested positive for banned substances in both his out-of-competition and in-competition drug tests.
If you thought Hunt was talking candidly on social media when he issued an ultimatum to the UFC, where either they would give him half of Lesnar’s reported $2.5 million fight purse or they would give him a full release from his UFC contract, you haven’t seen anything yet.
“F*ck that company. They’re sh*t,” Hunt said to show-host Ariel Helwani on Monday afternoon. “They’re f*cking worthless scum. F*ck the UFC. You’re sh*t. You motherf*ckers don’t look after nobody.”
Hunt lost to Lesnar via unanimous decision in the co-main event of the historic UFC 200 event, a loss that knocked him down to number nine in the official UFC rankings, while Lesnar, who has only fought once in over five years, and tested positive in two separate drug tests for said-fight, re-emerged as a top-ten contender, landing at number eight in the official UFC rankings after UFC 200.
For more on Hunt’s extremely candid comments about the Lesnar situation, as well as his completely unfiltered thoughts regarding how the UFC is choosing to handle the issue, check out his full interview on “The MMA Hour” via the YouTube player embedded above.
https://youtu.be/0tOdzmxolmM
On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com, UFC heavyweight contender Mark Hunt completely let loose regarding his feelings on his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 now that it’s clear that the crossover WWE performer tested positive for banned substances in both his out-of-competition and in-competition drug tests.
If you thought Hunt was talking candidly on social media when he issued an ultimatum to the UFC, where either they would give him half of Lesnar’s reported $2.5 million fight purse or they would give him a full release from his UFC contract, you haven’t seen anything yet.
“F*ck that company. They’re sh*t,” Hunt said to show-host Ariel Helwani on Monday afternoon. “They’re f*cking worthless scum. F*ck the UFC. You’re sh*t. You motherf*ckers don’t look after nobody.”
Hunt lost to Lesnar via unanimous decision in the co-main event of the historic UFC 200 event, a loss that knocked him down to number nine in the official UFC rankings, while Lesnar, who has only fought once in over five years, and tested positive in two separate drug tests for said-fight, re-emerged as a top-ten contender, landing at number eight in the official UFC rankings after UFC 200.
For more on Hunt’s extremely candid comments about the Lesnar situation, as well as his completely unfiltered thoughts regarding how the UFC is choosing to handle the issue, check out his full interview on “The MMA Hour” via the YouTube player embedded above.
Ahead of his immediate 170-pound rematch against the only man to ever defeat him in the UFC, Nate Diaz, reigning 145-pound UFC Champion Conor McGregor is not only bringing in the best boxers and jiu-jitsu players to help him prepare for the Stockton Ba…
Ahead of his immediate 170-pound rematch against the only man to ever defeat him in the UFC, Nate Diaz, reigning 145-pound UFC Champion Conor McGregor is not only bringing in the best boxers and jiu-jitsu players to help him prepare for the Stockton Bad Boy, he’s also bringing in the world’s best ….soccer players?!
On late Sunday evening, “The Notorious” one posted photos on his official Instagram page that showed him working inside an Octagon with world-famous soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
While’s McGregor’s current total of 5.7 million Instagram followers is impressive to say the least, he has quite a ways to go before he catches up with Ronaldo, who currently has 70.1 million followers on his Instagram page.
Below, courtesy of McGregor and Ronaldo’s Instagram pages, are some of the photos of McGregor and Ronaldo working out together over the weekend.
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2 headlines the upcoming UFC 202 pay-per-view event, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 20, 2016 from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Join us here at MMANews.com on 8/20 for live coverage of the UFC 202 PPV!
On Sunday evening, soon after it premiered on television, UFC posted the complete “Countdown To UFC 201” special for this Saturday’s UFC 201 pay-per-view event.
Scheduled to headline the UFC 201 show this Saturday is …
https://youtu.be/MZSH91dYiuo
On Sunday evening, soon after it premiered on television, UFC posted the complete “Countdown To UFC 201” special for this Saturday’s UFC 201 pay-per-view event.
Scheduled to headline the UFC 201 show this Saturday is Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship. You can check out the Lawler-Woodley “Countdown” video above.
Additionally, below are parts two and three of “Countdown To UFC 201,” which takes a closer look at the two co-featured bouts on the PPV main card, as Rose Namajunas collides with Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Matt Brown makes his Octagon return against Jake Ellenberger.
Join us here at MMANews.com this Saturday evening for live coverage of the UFC 201 PPV!
