Joe Rogan, UFC On Verge Of Calling It Quits
Joe Rogan (pictured above, left) and the UFC have had a long history together — almost 20 years long to be exact — with the color commentator providing his insight and passion on numerous pay-per-view and televised broadcasts.
However, in August, their contract will be up, and the comedian/podcast host extraordinaire isn’t too enthused about coming back.
While he has not made a decision one way or the other at this point, he’s talking like a man looking forward to his last day of work.
As UPROXX reported today, Joe Rogan would like to move from being a commentator to a fan.
Rogan said in an interview with Rolling Stone that the only thing he had ever done longer than UFC is stand-up comedy, “but you know, with stand-up comedy I’m constantly writing new material, I’m traveling, I do it out of my schedule, I do it whenever I want.”
He continued.
“You know, it’s a very different thing calling fights rather than just being a fan. I’ll always be a fan, for sure, but as far as calling fights… boy, I don’t see that going on very much longer.”
In addition to commentating, Joe Rogan does a lot of press and public appearances for UFC, so the organization has commanded a great deal of his time over the years, but it has also opened many doors.
Joe Rogan weighs in on his UFC future and if Conor McGregor will fight Floyd Mayweather https://t.co/nAXaOlgFt9 pic.twitter.com/mbFCNX72pl
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 21, 2016
Still, Rogan was a star before the organization came along with his hosting gig on Fear Factor and a recurring role on Newsradio in addition to the stand-up.
Also, his The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast is one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes and brings in a great deal of revenue for the comedian from its sponsors.
In other words, he should be landing on his feet if the contract dissolves his working relationship with the UFC. That said, it is not clear whether he would be asked to come back following some controversial comments he made about Bellator fighter Dada 5000 when Dada lost his much-maligned fight with Kimbo Slice and suffered heart problems afterward.
On an episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan said when the doctors looked at Dada, “his heart stopped” because it “was filled with cheeseburgers and fried chicken and orange soda.”
Rogan offered some further context for that statement, saying that Dada “didn’t train” or “might have trained for a couple of days.”
Even so, the fact that Dada 5000 is an African-American fighter and Joe Rogan chose to make that particular food reference caused a few days of bad press.
With race still being a sensitive issue in the United States, the comment could have gotten a lesser-known commentator fired, but the UFC chose to let it blow over in spite of protests from Dada’s family.
Some saw it as a show of support for the long working relationship they have shared, but others felt that it could be an influencing factor in the UFC deciding not to renew.
https://youtu.be/eRuZM58s-3c
Even before the comment, though, Rogan had discussed wanting to move on.
“I like taking chances, and I like walking away from things,” he said in late 2015. “I’m not a big fan of doing the same s**t over and over again.”
Rogan’s decision to bow out of the UFC will leave a pretty noticeable vacancy at the commentary desk for UFC’s pay-per-view events. While the organization has begun building other teams for some of their televised events, it’s possible you could see them press Chael Sonnen into service once Rogan’s contract is up.
As a former fighter with the gift of gab, he could provide unique insight and, well, color to each fight card.
But what do you think, readers?
Is it time for Joe Rogan and UFC to part ways, and if so, who would you replace him with? Sound off in the comments section below.
[Image via Joe Rogan Facebook]
