Joe Rogan highlights one major difference in the way Jon Jones and Conor McGregor have navigated their careers.
[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] highlighted one major difference in the way [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] have navigated their careers.
Both Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) have risen to undeniable heights in their UFC careers, but have also found themselves in various legal woes.
Despite all the controversy surrounding his career, Jones has remained on top by reigning over the UFC’s light heavyweight division for years, then moving up to heavyweight to claim the belt. He successfully defended his heavyweight title this past Saturday with a Round 3 TKO of Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 headliner.
Meanwhile, McGregor hasn’t been able to maintain his success in the cage. A former UFC dual-champion, McGregor is coming off back-to-back stoppage losses to Dustin Poirier, and hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in his rematch with “The Diamond” in July 2021.
“Jon’s in a different category,” Rogan said on his “Joe Rogan Experience.” “Conor self-destructed in a lot of ways because of money. He took that fight with Floyd Mayweather, made a ton of money off that, and then took a long time before he came back to MMA, and he’s just not been the same guy since.
“And I think that’s just – it’s money, it’s a lot of partying, but it’s the same kind of thing. It’s just a wild (change). But when Conor was in his prime, he was a f*cking assassin.”
Rogan went on to rave about Jones’ accolades. Minus a disqualification blemish to Matt Hamill early in his career, “Bones” never has tasted defeat, and has taken out generations of talent.
“Jon is a special dude,” Rogan said. “When he’s gone, we’re all going to miss him. He’s a different kind of guy. I mean, he’s been at the top for 14 f*cking years. He was the youngest guy to ever win a UFC title, 23. … But when Jon Jones won that title at 23, it’s just been destruction of everyone ever since. Never ducked anybody, fought all the best, destroyed everybody, and dominated his division, (then) went up to heavyweight, dominates at heavyweight.”
Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC 309 on pay-per-view, ESPNews, Hulu, FX and ESPN+.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
The UFC’s 13th and penultimate pay-per-view event of 2024 goes down Saturday in the “Big Apple.”
Here’s how to watch UFC 309 with the heavyweight title on the line at the top of the card at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Broadcast and streaming info
Jon Anik
UFC 309 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight preliminary card airs on ESPNews, FX and Hulu at 8 p.m. ET. Three early prelims air on Hulu and stream on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.
[autotag]Dan Hellie[/autotag] will host the official UFC 309 weigh-in show on Friday.
He’ll be joined by UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], coach [autotag]Din Thomas[/autotag] and [autotag]Laura Sanko[/autotag].
Former UFC title challengers [autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag], as well as retired lightweight contender [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] will serve as a desk analysts on the UFC 309 post-fight show and throughout the card, when necessary. [autotag]Brendan Fitzgerald[/autotag] will serve as the host.
Longtime UFC correspondent [autotag]Megan Olivi[/autotag] will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC 309 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside at UFC 309.
He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators and UFC Hall of Famer Cormier and [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag].
(Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)
Main event: Jon Jones
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 04: Jon Jones looks on during the UFC heavyweight championship fight against Ciryl Gane of France during the UFC 285 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 04, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775947443 ORIG FILE ID: 1471352966
Record: 27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC Opponent: Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) Division: Heavyweight Key wins: Ciryl Gane Misc.: Won vacant heavyweight title with first-round submission of Ciryl Gane in March 2023. That was his debut at heavyweight after years as the light heavyweight champion. He’s been on the shelf with an injury till now.
Main event: Stipe Miocic
Stipe Miocic
Record: 20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC Opponent: Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) Division: Heavyweight Key wins: Daniel Cormier (twice), Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum Misc.: Lost the heavyweight title in March 2021 to Ngannou. Was set to fight Jones a year ago until Jones’ injury took him out. Miocic chose to wait for Jones’ return rather than fight, putting his current layoff at around 44 months. Prior to this, the longest Miocic ever had gone without a fight was 13 months.
Co-main event: Michael Chandler
Nov 12, 2022; New York, NY, USA; Dustin Poirier (red gloves) and Michael Chandler (blue gloves) during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC Opponent: Charles Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) Division: Lightweight Key wins: Tony Ferguson, Dan Hooker Misc.: Former Bellator champion has had mixed success in the UFC, including a knockout loss to Oliveira in a title fight that he’ll be trying to avenge as an underdog Saturday.
Co-main event: Charles Oliveira
May 15, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Charles Oliveira applies a hold against Michael Chandler uring UFC 262 at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC Opponent: Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) Division: Lightweight Key wins: Beneil Dariush, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Chandler, Tony Ferguson Misc.: Oliveira already has one win over Chandler – a knockout to win the vacant lightweight title in 2021. He defended it against Poirier and beat Gaethje – but in a fight for which he missed weight and was stripped of the belt. After a loss to new champ Islam Makhachev, he rebounded against Dariush, but lost a likely title eliminator to Arman Tsarukyan in April.
UFC 309 main card betting odds
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 03: (R-L) Viviane Araujo of Brazil punches Natalia Silva of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 03, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Jon Jones (-625) vs. Stipe Miocic (+455) – for heavyweight title
Michael Chandler (+205) vs. Charles Oliveira (-250)
Ahead of UFC 309, Joe Rogan marvels at what makes Jon Jones so difficult to deal with in the cage.
[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] understands why UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ physical attributes give him a major advantage.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) makes his first title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
As is the case for most of his fights, Jones will have a sizable reach advantage over Miocic. Rogan credits Jones’ distance management and sees it posing a big problem in his upcoming matchup.
“Jon Jones has the perfect fighter’s frame because he’s still very strong, he has a lot of muscle, but he’s also long and lean,” Rogan said in a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “So he’s not relatively bulky compared to his weight because he’s long and stretched out.
“If you have a distance like that between where a guy can hit you and you can’t hit him, you have to cross that, and you’re so vulnerable while crossing that. And if a guy’s a good counter striker, and he’s active and he’s long, they’re so hard to get in on. So, a guy like Jon, that’s always going to be an advantage.”
After reigning over the UFC’s light heavyweight division for more than a decade, Jones made his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023. He needed less than a round to submit Gane and claim the vacant heavyweight title.
“With Jon, if you do get in on him, that’s no picnic because he’s an elite grappler,” Rogan said. “So, he’s going to strangle you, he’s going to throw you to the ground. So like, you’re f*cked. On the outside, he’s kicking the sh*t out of your knees. Jon was one of the nastiest at side-kicking people’s knees out.”
Unsurprisingly, UFC CEO Dana White reveled in Donald Trump’s election win as he addressed the crowd at Mar-a-Lago.
Despite his status as a political pariah four years ago, former President Donald Trump pulled off a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris as he was elected to another term Wednesday.
Influential in Trump’s 2024 victory was UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag], who has been among his biggest public supporters. Through the UFC, White gave Trump a platform to appeal to young, male voters, which played a big part in his re-election.
That was not lost on Trump, who invited White onstage to address his supporters Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Fla. White took the opportunity to revel in his good friend’s win.
“Nobody deserves this more than him, and nobody deserves this more than his family does,” White said. “This is what happens when the machine comes after you. What you’ve seen over the last several years, this is what it looks like. Couldn’t stop him, he keeps going forward, he doesn’t quit, he’s the most resilient, hard-working man I’ve ever met in my life, his family are incredible people.
“This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this. They deserve it as a family.”
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 06: Dana White is invited to speak at Donald Trump’s rally celebrating his 2024 election win. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Before stepping away from the podium, White followed up those words by thanking a list of influencers/podcasters who welcomed Trump as a guest on their shows during the campaign – the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Vonn, “Bussin’ with the Boys” (hosted by Will Compton and Taylor Lewan), and finally “the mighty and powerful [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag].”
The unbeaten phenom has now knocked out featherweight greats Alexander Volkanovski and Holloway back-to-back, and Rogan raved about Topuria’s well-rounded skillset.
“Ilia is fast as f*ck,” Rogan said in a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “He’s not slow at all. He doesn’t have any disadvantages. He doesn’t have any weaknesses, man. That’s the thing. That’s why I say he’s the new high-water mark. There’s people that are thinking he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter alive.
“There’s a lot of discussion about that online. It’s a little premature, especially with Jon Jones still out there, and there are other elite guys still out there – Islam Makhachev is another one. There’s a real argument that he’s the best pound-for-pound guy alive, but it’s f*cking close. Ilia – he might be the best.”
Topuria’s first seven professional wins all came by submission until he scored his first-career knockout in November 2019 – his final fight before signing with the UFC. Since then, “El Matador” has fallen in love with his boxing, scoring knockouts in five of his next eight fights.
“Once he gets a hold of you, it’s so dangerous,” Rogan said during his Fight Companion podcast. “He gets a title shot, I think. … Not just that (beating Whittaker in the first round), but ran through him. He didn’t get touched. He ran through him and strangled him in the first round. He might be the guy. Think about this at 185: So this guy was killing himself to get to 170. At 185, he’s the f*cking man. That guy’s a scary ass motherf*cker – scary. That grappling is next level.”
After losing his title to Du Plessis by split decision at UFC 297, Strickland rebounded with a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. He refuses to compete again unless it’s a title-fight rematch against Du Plessis.
However, Strickland’s title opportunity could be in danger. Du Plessis’ head coach, Morne Visser, posted on Instagram that they want Chimaev next on Feb. 8 at UFC 312 in Sydney.
Donald Trump and Joe Rogan will sit down in Austin, Texas this Friday for a taping of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Former U.S. president and republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will appear on the wildly popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, according to reports.
Various media outlets, including NBC News, report that Rogan is scheduled to tape a podcast with Trump on Friday in Austin, Texas. The episode will then be released at a future date before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The news of Trump’s appearance comes days after reports that U.S. vice president and democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was in talks to appear on the podcast. It’s unclear if Harris has finalized her appearance or if discussions are still ongoing.
Trump and Rogan’s public discourse has varied over time. Rogan has publicly voiced his alignment with Trump on some issues, while also being critical on others.
Trump has long expressed interest in appearing on the podcast, though Rogan previously seemed hesitant to have him on.
“By the way, I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form,” Rogan told Lex Fridman in 2022. “I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once. I’ve said no every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him.”
While Trump has been largely complimentary of Rogan, he did not take lightly to the comedian and UFC commentator’s praise of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy in August.
After Rogan said Kennedy was “the only one who makes sense to me (for president),” Trump ripped him on Truth Social.
“It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC Ring??? MAGA2024,” Trump wrote.
[lawrence-related id=2780805,2780592]
It’s unclear when the podcast episode will air or how long it will be.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” is one of the most-listened-to podcasts in the world, across multiple platforms. Its current top episode is a 2018 appearance by Elon Musk, which currently has 68+ million views on YouTube (not including the listens and views on other streaming platforms).
The interview would give Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris a chance to appeal to Joe Rogan’s millions of followers, mostly men.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris could sit down with popular podcaster [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] for an interview in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential campaign, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Harris campaign officials met with Rogan’s team this week but an appearance has not been confirmed yet, two of the sources said.
Rogan, who runs the most popular podcast in the United States, has a highly coveted and devoted following that leans young, male and numbers in the tens of millions.
The interview will offer Harris an opportunity to make her case to his followers, as she works to shore up support with male voters and Black men in particular. Numerous public polls suggest Republican nominee Donald Trump could overperform among young men of all races.
On Monday, the vice president released a new set of policy proposals to appeal to Black male voters, and her campaign is ramping up outreach to the typically Democratic voting group.
Her campaign also announced she will sit for an interview with Fox News, whose day-to-day programming is heavy on conservative punditry that often explicitly supports Trump.
On Monday, Trump also indicated he plans to go on Joe Rogan’s podcast before Election Day on Nov. 5.
Trump and Rogan, who also serves as the UFC’s lead commentator, have sparred in the past. As recently as August, Trump took a shot at Rogan on social media platform Truth Social but later called him a “good guy.”
[lawrence-related id=2760912,2756533,2755835]
In 2022, Rogan said he is not a Trump supporter and in August said he preferred Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for president. Kennedy has since dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump.
The appearance could offer a shot in the arm for Harris and Trump as polls show an incredibly tight race between the two candidates that is expected to come down to the results in seven swing states.
In March, Spotify (SPOT.N), said that “The Joe Rogan Experience” had 14.5 million followers, almost triple the platform’s second most popular program. He also has over 19 million followers on Instagram and 17 million followers on YouTube.
A poll by YouGov last year found that 81% of his listeners are male and 56% are under 35 years old, feeding the perception that he has a direct line to a cohort that polling suggests tends to support Trump over Harris.
Rogan reached a new deal with Spotify earlier this year, estimated to be worth as much as $250 million.
Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC 307 on pay-per-view, ESPNews and ESPN+.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
The UFC’s 11th pay-per-view event of 2024 goes down Saturday in Utah.
Here’s how to watch UFC 307 with the light heavyweight and women’s bantamweight titles on the line at the top of the card at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Broadcast and streaming info
Jon Anik, Laura Sanko, Daniel Cormier | UFC 293 commentary team
UFC 307 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight preliminary card airs on ESPNews and streams on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET. A trio of early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.
[autotag]Dan Hellie[/autotag] will host the official UFC 307 weigh-in show on Friday at 10:50 a.m. ET.
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] will serve as a desk analysts on the UFC 307 post-fight show and throughout the card, when necessary. The host and other analysts are to be determined.
Longtime UFC correspondent [autotag]Megan Olivi[/autotag] will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC 307 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside.
He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators, former two-division champion Cormier, as well as [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag].
[autotag]Din Thomas[/autotag] also will occasionally join the booth throughout the broadcast as the coach-analyst for the event.
He’ll be joined by UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], former middleweight champion [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] and [autotag]Laura Sanko[/autotag] as analysts.
(Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)
Main event: Alex Pereira
Jun 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Jiri Prochazka (blue gloves) during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC Opponent: Khalil Rountree (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) Division: Light heavyweight Key wins: Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland Misc.: Pereira has become arguably the biggest name in the game. After he came over from a kickboxing career that included two wins over Israel Adesanya, he beat Adesanya to win the middleweight belt. Although he dropped it in a rematch, he quickly went on to win the light heavyweight belt and has defended it with two vicious bonus-winning victories.
Main event: Khalil Rountree
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 12: (R-L) Khalil Rountree Jr. punches Chris Daukaus in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Record: 14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC Opponent: Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) Division: Light heavyweight Key wins: Anthony Smith, Chris Daukaus, Dustin Jacoby, Karl Roberson, Paul Craig Misc.: Rountree has been shelved for a bit due to a failed drug test – which left plenty of critics disenfranchised that he was given a title shot over other potential challengers. But he has five straight wins, four of which have come by knockout, and three bonuses in that stretch. Still, he’ll be by far the biggest underdog to go up against Pereira yet.
Main event: Raquel Pennington
Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Raquel Pennington (red glove) fights Mayra Bueno Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC Opponent: Julianna Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) Division: Women’s bantamweight Key wins: Mayra Bueno Silva, Ketlen Vieira, Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson, Pannie Kianzad, Marion Reneau, Irene Aldana, Miesha Tate, Jessica Andrade Misc.: After 15 years in the sport, Pennington finally reached the pinnacle in January when she outworked Mayra Bueno Silva for the title vacated by former dual champion Amanda Nunes. The fight with ex-champ Peña will be her first attempted title defense.
Main event: Julianna Peña
Jul 30, 2022; Dallas, TX, USA; Julianna Pena (red gloves) fights Amanda Nunes (blue gloves) in a women’s bantamweight title bout during UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC Opponent: Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) Division: Women’s bantamweight Key wins: Amanda Nunes, Sara McMann, Cat Zingano, Jessica Eye Misc.: Peña submitted Amanda Nunes to win the title in late 2021 in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. But she was dominated in the rematch eight months later and dropped the belt. She’s been on the shelf for more than two years.
UFC 307 main card betting odds
Kayla Harrison
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Alex Pereira (-525) vs. Khalil Rountree (+360) – for light heavyweight title
Champ Raquel Pennington (-180) vs. Julianna Peña (+150) – for women’s bantamweight title
Jose Aldo (+145) vs. Mario Bautista (-175)
Kayla Harrison (-850) vs. Ketlen Vieira (+500)
Roman Dolidze (+145) vs. Kevin Holland (-175)
UFC 307 prelim betting odds
Marina Rodriguez
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Joaquin Buckley (-200) vs. Stephen Thompson (+170)
Iasmin Lucindo (-175) vs. Marina Rodriguez (+145)
Cesar Almeida (-400) vs. Ihor Potieria (+300)
Alexander Hernandez (-215) vs. Austin Hubbard (+170)
Tyson (50-6-2) returns against Paul (10-1) on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Tyson, 58, will lace up the gloves for the first time since an exhibition match with Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020 and will compete in a professional bout for the first time in almost 20 years.
That being said, Rogan backs Tyson’s decision – even though he has plenty of questions surrounding his form.
“I wish he didn’t do it. I wish it wasn’t a thing,” Rogan said on a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I wish it wasn’t a thing where a 58-year-old guy was going to fight a 28-year-old. That said, I fully support his desire to do it. What, is he going to live forever? No, he’s not going to live forever. Maybe he wants one more shot at it. Maybe his body can do one more fight. I don’t know.
“He looks great on the mitts, but I can look good on the mitts, especially if you’re watching 30-second clips. What you want to see is him sparring. You want to see him hitting the bag for multiple rounds. Let’s see three rounds hard on the bag. I want to see what you can do. I want to see how your feet move. I want to see what it looks like if you’re off balance when you’re throwing combinations.”
Rogan is also concerned with Tyson’s physical condition. Tyson was originally scheduled to box Paul in July, but the bout was postponed after Tyson had an ulcer flareup.
“It’s not like he doesn’t know how to put his knuckles on your face. The question is how much does he have left in his body?” Rogan said. “(58 years old) today is not 58 when I was 21. It’s a different 58, especially if they’re not testing him.”
