Tag: MMA

Joe Rogan is an ardent lover of the fight game. While the podcaster is best known for his association with the UFC, where he has been calling fights for over two decades, fans know that his love for combat sports is much more comprehensive and is not restricted to the Dana White-led promotion. To the point that he spends multiple hours a day watching fights despite his podcasting, comedy, and commentating career.

This is not a guess or speculation but has been confirmed by the man himself. Speaking to TV personality Mike Rowe on episode #2235 of his JRE podcast, Rogan revealed that he is such a big fight nerd that he literally cannot follow any other sports. Why? Well, because he just doesn’t have the brain space to be able to do so.

“I can’t [follow other sports]. I don’t have any room. It [the bucket] 100% is [full], you know. Like I watch football now, my wife’s into football. But I can’t. I can only pay attention so much. My head is filled with combat sports. I have to follow jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, MMA in the UFC, MMA in the PFL, Bellator, One FC,” he said.

The Texas resident claimed that he feels professionally obligated to watch MMA, Muay Thai, BJJ, and other sports for up to two hours a day since any of the fighters he follows may make their way to the UFC.

“I have to keep track of a thousand fighters, like literally a thousand fighters. Maybe, casually, some of them, like some of the Glory kickboxers – casually I’m watching, you know. Oh, you know this guy’s fighting, that guy’s fighting, I know who these people are, I watch them fight. I’m watching fights [for] just hours and hours a day. I might watch fights for two hours every day,” he added. While he acknowledged that it was fun, despite being tied to his profession, he said that he felt obligated to follow multiple combat sports to keep an eye out for future UFC prospects.

But where does Joe Rogan’s love for combat sports come from? Well, where else but from his own experience as a fighter, which he had to unfortunately abandon for a host of reasons.

Why did Joe Rogan give up on his professional fighting dreams?

Joe Rogan, of course, used to be a martial artist himself. Quite a good one at that. The UFC commentator used to be a full-contact taekwondo practitioner and was even a four-time Massachusetts state champion. Apart from his, Rogan also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo from 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, while also having trained as a kickboxer and Muay Thai artist.

However, a few things compelled him to give up competing pretty early. One of the most traumatic experiences was when he kicked one of his opponents so hard that they just didn’t get up and had to be taken to the hospital on a stretcher. This incident visibly shook the young Joe Rogan, who imagined himself in his opponent’s position, acknowledging the dangers of competing in combat sports, despite the accolades and glory associated with winning.

Another thing that pushed him out was him realizing he was taking a lot of punishment to his head. Back when Rogan used to fight, the culture was very different. Hard sparring was common and the podcast host would often go home with constant headaches that never seemed to go away. Seeing some of the other, older fighters suffering from CTE served as another wake-up call for him.

Not to mention, back then, there was no money in being a professional kickboxer. MMA wasn’t a thing back then, and the only money to be made in combat sports was in boxing or pro wrestling, neither of which he was trained in or had much interest in pursuing. Unsurprisingly, all of these factors led to Rogan abandoning a fighting career in favor of his second love, i.e., comedy.

But his love for combat sports stands strong and, the UFC commentator is an avid follower of all things combat sports to this day. What do you think about Joe Rogan’s revelations about his dedication to watching combat sports?