There’s an extended listing of nice shade commentators who’ve referred to as boxing matches and MMA fights however Dana White believes there’s one one that stands heads and shoulders above the group.
Ever since he first debuted with the UFC as a backstage interviewer all the way in which again in 1997, Joe Rogan has been a mainstay with the promotion. Nowadays he’s the lead shade commentator for many of the main pay-per-view broadcasts and the UFC CEO provided him excessive reward when addressing Rogan’s contributions to fight sports activities.
“I think about him the best to ever do it,” White advised the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast. “F*ck all these guys which have ever finished any kind of commentating on fight sports activities earlier than this. Rogan is by far [the best].”
Whereas there’s clearly subjectivity when calling anyone the best of all-time, White defined one of many many the explanation why he believes Rogan has cemented himself on the high — not less than the place MMA is concerned.
When Rogan first began calling fights for the UFC after Zuffa bought the group again in 2001, MMA was barely a blip on the general sports activities radar. Followers tuning into watch a UFC broadcast didn’t actually perceive all of the nuances of the game however particularly when it got here to the bottom recreation that blended wrestling, hanging and grappling.
White credit Rogan with discovering a technique to clarify these positions to a basic viewers that didn’t know the very first thing about what was truly taking place when a combat landed on the bottom.
“To go in and name fights shouldn’t be straightforward to do. It’s very laborious to do,” White mentioned. “Rogan got here and proper off the bat began doing it. What was good about Joe and why he was so instrumental in serving to us construct this sport, no one was ever going to f*cking perceive the bottom recreation.
“Rogan would stroll you thru intimately whereas it was taking place, he can be one step forward of the fighter truly because it was happening, strolling you thru … and Rogan would f*cking lay it out. We couldn’t have employed anyone else that may have finished it.”
White additionally considers Rogan a real fan of the game, which comes throughout in the course of the broadcasts and that makes an actual distinction with each the viewers and the fighters competing within the octagon.
“Each time you’ll see him on digicam and he can be speaking concerning the fights that night time, you knew — you felt it in your f*cking soul this man was not a paid speaking head,” White mentioned. “This motherf*cker loves this shit. It got here via at each occasion that we did.”
There have been instances up to now the place Rogan has overtly contemplated stepping away from the UFC, particularly when rigorous journey obtained to be an excessive amount of for him.
In consequence, Rogan now solely calls home pay-per-view occasions however he doesn’t journey outdoors the USA and he solely works these main playing cards that happen 12 to 13 instances per yr.
Judging by White’s feedback, he’s going to do all the things attainable to make sure that Rogan continues calling fights so long as he’s concerned with the UFC.
“It was meant to be,” White mentioned about working with Rogan. “This relationship with me and Rogan and all the opposite issues which have come collectively in my life and his life and different folks’s lives, it’s f*cking loopy when you consider it.
“Rogan is the very best to ever do it. The most effective to ever do it.”
