Joe Rogan’s controversial UFC take goes viral amidst complaints of ‘boring’ fights 

Joe Rogan has been in the UFC for more than two decades, and commentated on hundreds of fights in his career. He is one of the first few commentators who helped fight fans to understand the ground game in detail. Expectedly, Rogan is highly passionate about it, and doesn’t like it when fans find it boring.

Fighting in the top level isn’t easy and sometimes two high level fighters struggle to go past each other. While fans mostly like striking and knockouts, they don’t necessarily enjoy control time. As a result, the referees often step in to stand them up and continue the action. However, Joe Rogan has a different belief on the situation. 

Joe Rogan recently covered the main event bout at UFC 313 between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. The Russian fighter won the fight via unanimous decision, but was subjected to criticism for prioritizing clinch control time. During the fight, referee Mark Goddard once interfered and asked the fighters to be more active. However, Rogan didn’t like it. 

During the commentary, the JRE podcast host made sure to express that even during the clinching, Ankalaev was putting pressure, and such acts by the referee, ruined his build-up. After the result was announced, many fans showed annoyance as they didn’t want a champion like Ankalaev who rarely finishes.

UFC fans are tired of boring champions? 

Alex Pereira has established himself as one of the most entertaining fighters in recent times. The biggest reason for this was his fighting style which is primarily striking with brutal knockouts. However, after he was defeated by Magomed Ankalaev, fans feared that the UFC was getting boring. 

Other than this, champions such as Belal Muhammad and Merab Dvalishvili are also considered boring by many fans. Muhammad is a decision fighter who wins most of his fights with his relentless pressure. He rarely finishes his opponents, which is a big criticism of the fighter. 

Similarly, Dvalishvili, despite his dominating wins, receives flak for not having finishing abilities. Both these fighters and many other top fighters who rely on wrestling are often projected to this public criticism.  Fans who have watched fighters such as Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva, are not happy with the current state of UFC. 

Knockouts create highlight-reel moments producing unforgettable finishes that are replayed for years. Unanimous decisions can sometimes be uneventful, especially when fighters play it safe, focusing more on control than causing real damage. The emotional impact of a knockout is unmatched, with the shock, crowd roar, and commentator reactions making it incredibly thrilling. 

Recent UFC fights that fans have found boring by the fans 

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic, which took place at UFC 308 was definitely the most highlighted one. This fight was criticized for its lack of action with Jamahal Hill calling it ‘boring’ and questioning whether Ankalaev deserved a title shot. This was the beginning of the recent hate towards the Russian for being a boring fighter.

Another recent fight that was slammed by the fans was the main card fight of UFC Saudi Arabia event in 2025. Sergei Pavlovich won the heavyweight bout against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, but this was extremely underwhelming. UFC CEO Dana White didn’t hold back and labeled it ‘horrible’. This led to Rozenstruik being cut from the UFC despite recent wins. 

Apart from this, the main event bout at UFC Vegas 105 between Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze also received similar criticism. As the CEO of UFC, White has the responsibility to produce top notch MMA action every week. However, sometimes maintaining the quality is tough but fans don’t want to compromise with it.

Related: Top 10 UFC face-offs of 2024 that elevated excitement levels

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