Dustin Poirier Reacts to Joe Rogan Skipping Commentary Gig for UFC 318 Retirement Fight

Joe Rogan to miss first U.S PPV event in over three years at UFC 318 PPV, this weekend; headlining fighter Dustin Poirier gives his take.

Dustin Poirier Reacts to Joe Rogan Skipping Commentary Gig for UFC 318 Retirement Fight

Dustin Poirier sounds off on Joe Rogan’s shock absence for UFC 318 (Source: X/IMAGO)

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UFC 318 PPV headliner and BMF title challenger Dustin Poirier will get a hometown send-off this Saturday in the “Big Easy” State. He will take on BMF Champ Max Holloway in what is supposedly his final tenure fight.

The BMF title fight at the weekend’s PPV top spot is a fight of epic proportions. ‘Blessed’ is a hard-chinned boxer, who has logged a notorious 75+ significant strikes in 16 straight competition bouts! Max Holloway landed 141 significant strikes in Round 4 of his iconic performance against Calvin Kattar, setting a new UFC record in a single round.

With a stellar MMA run, Dustin Poirier is consequently tied for the most Fight of the Night bonuses at 10. He has been through a murderer’s row of competition, and the hype surrounding his last fight is well-warranted. However, said last fight will have the notable absence of PPV commentator Joe Rogan.

Closing it out with Rogan would’ve been cool [and all], but [it is what it is; and] also, …DC, DC – the legend he is, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer he is… Everything [that] he brings is awesome to be able to talk to him when it’s all said and done. Another Louisiana boy in New Orleans, so it’s special.

Dustin Poirier during UFC 318 PPV Official Media Day

A first in over three years, since UFC 271 in Houston, longtime pay-per-view commentator Rogan will not attend the stateside event as he always does. This also included the UFC 315 PPV offering at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, which was a tad bit too far for him.

According to a USAToday Sports report, Jon Anik now serves as the lead PPV play-by-play alongside Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder. Cormier himself is very emotional about calling this ‘last fight’, and Porier reciprocates the emotions.

There were wild speculations on the UFC 318 absence; former UFC star Josh Thomson billed he was breaking off from UFC broadcasting roles to attend as fan, as he did for fight night events in Austin, Texas. It turns out, though, he was skipping the US PPV for a foreign vacation. Logging in with Okto rentals at about $600,000, Rogan and his family posted snaps from Croatia’s Brač Island.

Dana White bowed out to give Daniel Cormier pivotal step up at the UFC 318 Media Day staredowns

Throughout the 2025 PPV schedule, the UFC boss has been under fire for missing out on pre-fight events. For his part, though, White has been mindful about Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight, even billing the niche setup was made just for his swan song.

Dustin Poirier and UFC 318 opponent got a legendary emcee for their face-off
Dustin Poirier and UFC 318 opponent got a legendary emcee for their face-off (Source: X)

This week, White was thus front and center, acting as emcee and staredown mediator for the UFC 318 pre-fight media day conference. He conducted the staredowns up until the co-main event offering of Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov.

However, when the time came, he signaled Louisiana native and ex-UFC two-weight champ, Daniel Cormier, to get up for the main event face-off. Cormier has close kinship with both, and recently said he had known Poirier since his days in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Both the UFC 318 headliner fighters dapped it up and made it peaceful as well. Holloway, especially, respects the notions of Poirier retiring on home turf. ‘The Diamond’ will aim to achieve a 3-0 record against Holloway following their encounter at UFC 143 and UFC 236.

Meanwhile, the Hawaiian superstar will aim to get the final laugh. If not, he will become the first fighter to lose two trilogies without a single victory after already failing miserably against Alexander Volkanovski (0-3) for the UFC featherweight title.

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