Tag: Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan marvels at UFC champ Ilia Topuria’s ‘phenomenal technique’

Joe Rogan was in awe watching UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria crack pads in training.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] was in awe watching UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] crack pads.

Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) makes his first title defense against Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in the UFC 308 headliner Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to become featherweight champion at UFC 298. Four of his past six wins have come by knockout, and Rogan thinks “El Matador’s” technique is unparalleled.

“One of the things that is phenomenal about him is his technique,” Rogan said on a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “His technique is perfect. There’s no fat in his technique. There’s no wasted movements, so when an opportunity presents itself, everything is so fast because the technique is so streamlined.

“Look at how he hits the pads, and when you watch how he hits pads – (Floyd) Mayweather is a great example of that, as well. Some of the best hands in the sport. Current UFC featherweight champion and knocked out (Alexander) Volkanovski, who is maybe the greatest of all time.”

Rogan watched a video of Topuria hitting pads, specifically highlighting his speed.

“See how he’s moving his head when guy throws punches? Slipping just slightly? The speed, man,” Rogan said. “The f*cking speed of that. Look at the hand speed. F*cking incredible. If you know how difficult that is to do and do it that fast. I mean, these are like five, six punches a second and just phenomenal technique.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Joe Rogan would ‘fly to the moon to commentate’ Alex Pereira vs. Dricus Du Plessis

The idea of Alex Pereira vs. Dricus Du Plessis has Joe Rogan salivating.

The idea of [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] has [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] salivating.

Middleweight champion Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) was called out by Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) after he retained his title with a fourth-round submission of Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

Du Plessis accepted light heavyweight champion Pereira’s callout – but at 205 pounds, not middleweight. Rogan had high praise for Du Plessis after his finish of Adesanya.

“(He’s) very awkward, no quit, big power, super durable, takes a great shot, amazing heart,” Rogan said of Du Plessis during his Fight Companion podcast. “I mean, he got pieced up. He rocked him (Adesanya). Those are big right hands. They caught him right in the side of the head and then he caught him with two in a row.

“You can’t count that guy out. Whenever you have these exchanges and you see these winging punches come Izzy’s way, anything can happen. When you’re tired and you’re not moving back as good as you were in the second and the first (rounds), sh*t happens. That’s a definitive victory.”

Rogan was especially impressed with the fashion that Du Plessis defeated Adesanya. Prior to getting submitted by Du Plessis, Adesanya had only been finished once in his career – a TKO loss to Pereira.

“He finished Izzy with a rear-naked choke,” Rogan said. “Nobody’s finished Izzy like that in a fight ever in the UFC. No one’s submitted him like that. That’s a crazy victory.”

Rogan thinks Du Plessis is a big middleweight and could handle moving up a division. He isn’t sure how he’d handle Pereira’s power though.

“He could definitely go to 205,” Rogan said. “Wouldn’t you love to see him try? He can take a shot, for sure. But can you take a shot from that guy (Pereira)? Can you take a shot from that guy at 205? Because that guy at 205 puts everybody night-night. Everybody goes night-night.”

Rogan hasn’t called a pay-per-view outside of the U.S. in years, but says he would make an exception for Pereira vs. Du Plessis.

“If Dricus goes up to 205 and fights Alex, oh my goodness,” Rogan said. “I’ll fly to the moon to commentate that fight. I want to see that fight. That’s crazy.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 305.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan announces ‘Burn the Boats’ live Netflix comedy special on Aug. 3

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan is bringing another standup comedy special to Netflix – but this time it’s going to be live.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan announces ‘Burn the Boats’ live Netflix comedy special on Aug. 3UFC commentator Joe Rogan announces ‘Burn the Boats’ live Netflix comedy special on Aug. 3

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] is bringing another standup comedy special to Netflix – but this time it’s going to be live.

The longtime UFC commentator, comedian and podcast host Rogan will host his first comedy special since 2018 with “Burn the Boats,” which will be filmed live Aug. 3 at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas. The stream begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Rogan and Netflix announced the comedy special on Tuesday (via Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9NCPLEMlAF

Saturday, August 3rd I’m doing a live comedy special on @netflix at 10pm east coast time.
I’m very pumped for this and I hope you enjoy it.

Rogan’s Netflix special will be directed by Anthony Giordano, who is known for his involvement on UFC broadcasts but has also worked with Rogan for his four previous comedy specials: 2018’s “Strange Times,” 2016’s “Triggered,” 2012’s “Live From the Tabernacle” and 2009’s “Talking Monkeys in Space.”

During his time between doing standup and leading conversations on his world-famous “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Rogan sits cageside calling UFC fights for numbered events, primarily in the United States. He was most recently on commentary for UFC 303 this past weekend alongside his typical broadcast partners of Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier.

Watch the trailer for “Burn the Boats” in the video above.

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Joe Rogan: Ian Machado Garry will ‘have a really hard time finding’ Michael Page in UFC 303 fight

Joe Rogan expects Ian Machado Garry to struggle against Michael Page.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] expects [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] to struggle against [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag].

Garry (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) faces Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 303 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It’s a matchup between two elite strikers, but Rogan sees MVP’s elusiveness posing big problems for Garry.

“I think he’s (Garry) sensational, but he’s been hit before, and he’s gotten rocked and dropped,” Rogan said on his “JRE Fight Companion.” “Michael ‘Venom’ Page is a different thing inside the octagon. … I think he’s (Garry) going to have a really hard time finding that guy.”

Rogan went on to rave about Page’s unorthodox style and how he’s never seen anything like it in MMA.

“The difference with Michael ‘Venom’ Page is Michael ‘Venom’ Page is an elite point fighter,” Rogan said. “His style of hitting and not getting hit and being able to close distance really fast, f*cking nobody is like that. ‘Wonderboy’ was a kickboxer, a very elite striker, a very elite kickboxer. But the difference between kickboxing and point fighting is that blitz, and Michael ‘Venom’ Page is so unorthodox.

“Michael ‘Venom’ Page has never been in a boring fight in his f*cking life. He’s an entertainer. I just think that he’s the most difficult puzzle on the feet I’ve ever seen. Kevin Holland couldn’t do a f*cking thing to him. Kevin Holland is a good striker, a very good striker. He’s a complete fighter, but he’s a very good striker. He didn’t even come close to hitting him. Like, that dude was just not there. It’s a different thing, man, and he’s tall as sh*t.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Joe Rogan says Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 withdrawal was ‘wise’

Conor McGregor has faced plenty of criticism for pulling out of his fight with Michael Chandler, but Joe Rogan is on his side.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] agrees with [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s decision to pull out of UFC 303.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) withdrew from Saturday’s headliner vs. Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas due to a broken pinky toe suffered in training. The likes of former rival Rafael dos Anjos, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and lightweight champ Islam Makhachev jumped at the opportunity to criticize McGregor for withdrawing from the fight, but Rogan thinks he made the right call.

“When you’re a guy who kicks as much as Conor, it’s a f*cking problem,” Rogan said on his “JRE Fight Companion.” “It’s also the same foot where his leg was snapped, and he went into that fight injured. He’s never pulled out of a fight before. This is the first one he’s pulled out of, and I think it’s wise.

“I think if you do have a broken toe and you are going into a fight and you did go into the last fight injured, what if that f*cking toe becomes a real issue? What if he throws a kick, and it smashes again, and he’s in agony, and he can’t move? You’ve got to be able to get the f*ck out of the way with Michael Chandler.”

McGregor, who made a public appearance over the weekend by cornering Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator Champions Series: Dublin, admitted that he still can’t get into a shoe but hopes to return by August or September. In the UFC on ABC 6 post-fight news conference, Dana White refused to comment on McGregor’s return until he was fully recovered.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Joe Rogan thinks MMA rules favor strikers over grapplers: ‘I don’t think you should stand people up, ever’

Joe Rogan would like to see a change in the MMA ruleset.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] would like to see a change in the MMA ruleset.

The UFC commentator and podcaster thinks grapplers are at a disadvantage because time limits in rounds cause them to lose position. MMA fights are either three, five-minute rounds or five, five-minute rounds.

Rogan thinks if you get taken down in a fight, you have to find a way to get back up yourself.

“The rules are set up much more for strikers than for wrestlers,” Rogan told Royce Gracie on his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I’ve been talking about this lately. Say if 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. 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 you should stand people up – ever. I think once a guy takes you down, the fight is on the ground. If it’s boring for the audience, tough sh*t. If you’re on the bottom, get up. And if you can’t get up, tough sh*t. And if the round ends and then the new round begins, I think they should start you right back in the same place.”

Fighters also could be forced to stand back up if a referee deems them too inactive on the ground. Rogan says if a fighter ends a round in top control on the ground, they should start the next round in the same position.

“It gives a distinct advantage if you let a person stand up that didn’t stand up,” Rogan added. “If you take me down with four minutes and 30 seconds to go and you’re dominating me, and you’re closing in on me, and you’re about to tap me, but then the round ends, and then we start (the next round), but we start standing up – I didn’t earn that standup. I just got a standup because of the time.

“I feel like the fight should be a fight. If a fight is five rounds, that’s a 25-minute fight, and I think whatever position that you are in at the end of that first round, you should begin in the second round. That’s what I think.”

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Joe Rogan says Mike Tyson in savage mode: ‘If I was Jake Paul, I would be sh*tting my pants’

Joe Rogan likes what he sees out of Mike Tyson’s mentality ahead of his fight against Jake Paul.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] likes what he sees out of [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]’s mentality ahead of his fight against [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag].

Tyson (50-6) meets Paul (9-1) in an eight-round professional boxing match on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The event streams live on Netflix.

Many pundits have criticized the fight considering that Tyson will be 31 years older than Paul when they step into the ring, but Rogan says Tyson is dialed in.

“Mike Tyson’s mind has switched over into war,” Rogan said on a recent episode of his “Joe Rogan Experience.” “He was doing this interview and someone said to him, ‘You look like you’re in your 20s. What are you doing?’ He goes, ‘I just eat raw meat.’ He goes, ‘You’re eating raw meat?’

“He goes, ‘Yeah, I’m eating raw meat because that’s what I’m going to eat when I fight. I’m going to eat him. It’s raw meat.’ I was like, Jesus Christ. He’s in this f*cking mode. He’s in that God of War mode,’ and that he’s still got that in him. And I’m telling you, if you keep giving that guy hormones and you keep giving that guy supplements and he’s constantly training …”

Rogan thinks the version of Tyson who knocked out Marvis Frazier is the best heavyweight boxer ever. Even though he’ll be 58 when he faces Paul, Rogan says the boxing legend won’t have lost everything.

“He’s in savage mode,” Rogan said. “If I was Jake Paul right now, I would be sh*tting my pants. It’s all the experiences that he has had as a conqueror. You have to take those into consideration. When a man has smashed men before, just smashed men, like, when no one can stand in front of him, that is in his mind still.

“That’s in there. There’s a dark chamber in his mind that he can open up and I think he’s got it open. The question is, can his body move along with it? But that part of his mind, like, you’re clearly seeing. He’s terrifying when he’s in the zone.”

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For more on the fight, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Paul vs. Tyson.

Ilia Topuria denies Joe Rogan’s claim he turned down Alexander Volkanovski rematch for UFC 305

Ilia Topuria rejects Joe Rogan’s notion that he turned down an offer to rematch Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 305 in Australia.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] rejects the notion that he turned down a rematch with [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] at UFC 305 in Australia.

With the octagon headed back to Perth for a pay-per-view event on Aug. 18 and Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) not having a fight scheduled for his first featherweight title defense, longtime UFC commentator [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] recently stated that a rematch with Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was presented to the champion.

“I don’t know who he wants to fight next,” Rogan said during a conversation with Max Holloway on a recent episode of the “JRE MME Show” podcast. “But I guess he feels like he’s the champ, he can call the shots. I know that he turned down the Perth one – 305, the Volkanovski rematch.”

Topuria defeated Volkanovski by second-round knockout at UFC 298 in February to become 145-pound champion. Given Volkanovski’s resume during his stint on top, many, including himself, believed an immediate rematch was in order. But with Volkanovski taking a second consecutive knockout loss in the fight after being defeated by Islam Makhachev in October, there was a belief Volkanovski should take a long layoff, which opened the door for another contender.

Holloway charged through that door at UFC 300 when he knocked out Justin Gaethje in spectacular fashion to claim the BMF title, and all signs point to a showdown with Topuria, which Volkanovski said he thinks “Blessed” will win with ease.

Topuria clearly caught wind of these narratives, evident by the fact that he issued a response Wednesday on social media, sternly denying Rogan’s claim and poking fun at Volkanovski for his prediction of a Holloway fight (via X and Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6bwmdgs1Fx/

Now it remains to be seen what comes next for Topuria. He’s insisted Holloway must put the BMF title on the line too when they meet for the featherweight strap and has once again emphasized it’s a non-negotiable term, otherwise he will push to defend against Brian Ortega instead.

Holloway was amused by Topuria’s latest comments, and issued a fiery reply (via X):

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Joe Rogan calls Max Holloway’s UFC 300 finish of Justin Gaethje ‘the greatest knockout of all time’

Joe Rogan has witnessed a lot in his time as a UFC commentator, but no knockout tops what Max Holloway did to Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] has witnessed a lot of great things happen in the octagon during his long tenure as UFC commentator. But for him, no knockout tops what [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] did to Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) claimed the BMF title in the most spectacular way possible this past Saturday when he knocked Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) out cold with one second remaining in Round 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Despite being moments away from a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards, Holloway opted to point to the middle of the cage as the clock winded down for a brawl with Gaethje, who obliged before getting caught with a flush right hand that immediately slumped him.

It was a mind-boggling moment, and Rogan said on the UFC 300 broadcast that it was the single greatest knockout he’d ever seen when taking the entire scope of it into account.

“That’s the greatest knockout of all time,” Rogan said. “With so many people counting him out, with so many people thinking he was outgunned, with so many people thinking he wouldn’t have a chance against the firepower of Justin Gaethje, the fact that he called for that with 10 seconds left in the fight and put the lights out on one of the most dangerous men to ever fight in the sport.

“The fact that he did it this way, too, that he pointed to the center of the octagon, pointed to the floor and said, ‘Let’s thrown down right here’ and then sleeps Justin Gaethje with one punch. In a fight where a lot of people thought he was gonna get outgunned. Where a lot of people thought he was going to get hurt.”

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Holloway, a former longtime UFC featherweight champion, moved up to lightweight for the BMF title matchup with Gaethje. “Blessed” hadn’t fought in the division in exactly five years, and he lost his first appearance to Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 in April 2019.

The Hawaiian was given more time to prepare for UFC 300 than he did the Poirier fight, and it paid off. Holloway looked strong and fast inside the octagon in a brilliant performance that was capped off with a legendary highlight that earned him $600,000 in bonus money.

Rogan said he would’ve been very impressed with Holloway if that knockout had never happened and he won on the scorecards. He capped off the strong performance with an unforgettable moment, though, and Rogan said that only enhances Holloway’s legacy.

“He looked so good,” Rogan said. “But it’s all about giving Max the time to prepare for lightweight. He looked thicker, he looked denser, he put muscle on, and he prepared for a terrifying fighter. And he knew what he was going in against, and that’s what a guy like Max Holloway needs with all these years in the game. We’ve got to remember: Max Holloway is 32, but he was in here at 20 years old. And he needs something like that for us to see how great he truly is.

“Listen, Max Holloway is one of the greatest, if not the greatest featherweight of all time. And what you saw is that he’s one of the greatest fighters of all time, period. And he’s still 32. He’s in his prime right now. I think a lot of people forgot that. Those (Alexander) Volkanovski losses, I think a lot people said, ‘Ah, he’s done.’ But no, he’s better than ever. And he looked sensational.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Joe Rogan confused by people underestimating ‘f*cking dangerous’ Jamahal Hill at UFC 300

Joe Rogan thinks Jamahal Hill doesn’t get enough credit.

[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] doesn’t get enough credit.

Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) challenges light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 300 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion will look to reclaim the belt he vacated after tearing his achilles. Hill won the title with a beatdown of Pereira’s mentor Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in January 2023.

“Jamahal Hill is f*cking dangerous,” Rogan said on the most recent episode of “The JRE MMA Show” podcast. “Watch the fight with Glover. He pieced Glover up, and Glover is f*cking good to piece him up like that on the feet. People underestimate (Hill) for some strange reason, and I don’t understand it. I’ve heard people talk about his power. Watch that Johnny Walker fight.

“He hit him in the forehead like he got hit by a sniper. He’s good. He’s f*cking dangerous. Jamahal’s a one-punch knockout striker at light heavyweight for sure. He’s a big, tall dude and he knows movement. He’s f*cking dangerous, man. A lot of people are picking Pereira to run him over, which I think is interesting. I’m not sure about that. I think this is going to be a great fight.”

According to BetMGM, Hill is a +120 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the former champ would win $120 profit. Pereira is a -145 favorite, meaning a $145 bet on the champion would return $100 profit.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.