Joe Rogan taking some flack from MMA fans
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- March
- 5
Some MMA fans are getting on Joe Rogan’s case for the way he called the Arlovski fight at UFC 82. Apparently some fans think he was a little to harsh on “The Pitbull”.
Rogan has publicly addressed fan scrutiny:
“I always try to address criticism as much as possible on here, because as fellow fans of the sport I think you guys can bring up some valid points, and I’ve definitely benefited from some of the things you people have said.
The “company man” thing – to address that, Dana has NEVER told me what to say during commentary, nor has anyone else for that matter.
If I really thought that someone was trying to force me to say something that wasn’t true, I wouldn’t want to do this any more.
Dana has his problems and arguments with some people, but I’ve never had a single problem with the dude ever. He’s a good friend, and I honestly believe that without him this sport would have never reached the level it currently enjoys.As for the Arlovski fight, I’m sorry that some of you felt that I was overly critical, but honestly I think everything I said was basically true.
Some people are complaining that I said that he used to be the top dog, and now he’s not even on the main card. Isn’t that true?
I also said that he’s been tentative ever since the 2nd Silvia fight. Isn’t that true as well?Like I said, I’m sorry if you guys thought I was being overly critical, but I’m supposed to call it like I see it.
I was a huge fan of Arloski when he was running through everyone in the division, and if he returned to that same form I would be the first to sing his praises.
No disrespect was intended.”
I think Joe Rogan is 100% in the right. In fact, I had many of the same opinions about Arlovski in a post that I wrote before UFC 82.
I often meet a lot of people who don’t like Joe Rogan as a UFC announcer. I think that is pure insanity. A lot of fans don’t know that Joe actively practices Jiu-Jitsu and kick boxing. Rogan brings a wealth of knowledge into his broadcasting position and is hands down the best commentator in mixed martial arts today. In order to give an accurate play-by-play, I firmly believe that you need some physical experience in the sport. Joe Rogan is one of the few color commentators that has that experience.
A buddy of mine was at my apartment watching UFC 82. Dan Henderson tapped out with 11 seconds or so due to a rear naked choke. My buddy says “why didn’t he just wait 11 seconds for the round to be over?”.
The answer is pretty simple. He was having the life choked out of him and had to tap. Anyone who has rolled on a mat a few times can tell you this.
Long story short, Joe Rogan knows his mixed martial arts. Get off his case and listen to his commentary. You might learn a thing or two about this sport that we all love.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm by lvollmer.
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Have you ever seen Frank Caliendo’s impersonation of Jim Rome? It sounds like it could double has an impression of Joe Rogan—everything he raves about is either “incredible” or “phenomenal.” Here’s the link, the impression is exactly 1:00 into this Youtube vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uOnUib3tFo
As for guys who bring knowlege of the sport to the booth, I always liked Bas Rutten as a commentator and I think he brings both humor and insight to the table. It would be cool to see him as a regular commentator again.
Which reminds me…I know you’ve been following the new DREAM promotion on your blog. Is there any chance we’d be able to get that on pay per view in the U.S.?
DC – That is a pretty funny video.
Bas is great and so is Frank Trigg. I enjoy both of their opinions and commentary. Frank is a little biased sometimes , but that is probably because he is still fighting and training with active fighters. Bas and Rogan tell it like it is.
I am not sure about the first Dream event, but I am sure they are going to make a push for PPV in the US.
Also, some MMA fans have been emailing Mark Cuban non stop asking him to put Dream on HDNet – that would be amazing. He says they are working on it. Keep your fingers crossed.
First I would just like to say I am a big fan of Rogan.
Second, the “nobody tells me what to say” line doesn’t really mean much. Rogan is an employee of Zuffa, which means that he is beholden to their interests. Hence they may not tell him what to say, but if he ever succombs to the delusions that he is free to say whatever he wants, he will soon find himself on the outs. Rogan may deviate from the company line a little more than Goldberg, buts that not saying much since Goldberg is nothing more than a straight up UFC propogandist.
Rogan proves my point very clearly with how he addresses the Arlovski situation. His statements in the broadcast and later in this statement, imply that Arlovski is on the undercard for one reason: poor performances. That simply is not true, we all know why he was on the undercard; it was because he has refused to re sign with the UFC. I may be wrong but I don’t remember Goldberg or Rogan acknowledging this fact. Instead they played the, “he hasn’t been fighting that well” game. Many fighters, who are half as exciting as Arlovski, have constantly made the main card due to their skill level and ability to draw PPV buys.
Dice – You bring up some good points. I guess the poor performance argument doesn’t hold up when the UFC puts Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palelei on the main card.
I agree with Dice, especially when you consider UFC’s track record of dissing guys who won’t sign/re-sign with the organization. I think that whole prior threat of “we won’t show the fight if Arlovski wins” kind of confirms how they handle these situations.
Larry—Thanks for the info. I can’t wait for the DREAM events to get rolling, hopefully we’ll see Fedor again soon!
Larry, I have to disagree with you on Rogan’s qualifications as a color commentator. That he trains in kickboxing and BJJ is great and all but it doesn’t give him experience in the sport any more than the rest of us here. Only fighting can do that. His explanatory style is fine for the transition period the sport is going through now (ie. rapidly gaining fans who need explanations.) It just doesn’t compare to the real insight you get from fighter/commentators like Rutten, Mir, Couture or Trigg.
TD – Watching a fight on television and actually training the sport are two completely different things. You don’t know why fighters are doing the things they are doing until you actually do it yourself.
If you don’t believe me, put on a pair of 16 ounce gloves and throw jabs at a heavy bag for 30 seconds. Then try some combos, and then go spar with a high white or low blue belt. I think you will soon learn that there is a big difference between watching and doing.
A fight is the culmination of all of your time training. How do you think you learn to become a professional fighter? You train. You spar. You roll. You put yourself in dangerous positions so that you know how to handle yourself in a fight.
A fight is nothing more then a sanctioned sparring session.
Is there more pressure? Of course there is. But If I get caught in a rear naked choke in a grappling session and I get caught in a rear naked choke in a fight, the outcome is the same. I either tap or black out. Either way you gain the experience necessary to avoid the RNC. You can now convey this to an audience of people. You can explain where the guy went wrong and what he can do to avoid it.
My statement was that Joe Rogan is the best color commentator today. Trigg actively competes and holds a slight bias towards certain fighters. He openly admits that. Mir is good, but doesn’t have the personality that Rogan does. Couture is excellent, but it is impossible to make out what he is saying. I haven’t heard Rutten do color commentary on any recent fights so he is excluded from the debate.
That being said, Joe Rogan is the best all around color man in the business today.
Larry – one thing you don’t talk about, but I think is important, is that no matter what Rogan’s in ring experience is, he is a stand up comedian by trade.
He’s paid to be quick witted and funny. So that, more than training or fighting, makes him over qualified to be an announcer. He’s funny and entertaining. The fact that hes MMA obsessed just makes it better.
Excellent point GBaby – Rogan is an all around entertainer. Another quality trait that he brings into color commentating.
I like the way you write. Your style is very smooth and I enjoy reading your posts. I¡¯m headed to the dentist but will be back later