“UFC didn’t have any money,” Joe Rogan was paid no money by Dana White’s UFC in the beginning of his commentary days

Joe Rogan quit his job as post fight interviewer after working 2 years in the organization but was convinced to come back by Dana White

“UFC didn’t have any money,” Joe Rogan was paid no money by Dana White’s UFC in the beginning of his commentary days

Joe Rogan during his early days (Image via: The Guardian/BJ Penn.com)

Over the past decade, Joe Rogan’s fame has grown by unprecedented margins. He does sold-out comedy shows, hosts the biggest and most famous podcast, and is respected by many fighters for his commentary in the UFC. He was a part of the UFC before the company’s rapid growth in the world of combat sports. However, prior to becoming the voice of UFC, Joe Rogan worked without pay for the organization.

Before a podcaster, stand-up comedian, and commentator Joe Rogan is a martial artist. Rogan has participated in several Taekwondo competitions and practiced Jiu Jitsu and used to teach martial arts for a living. Due to his knowledge and involvement in the world of martial arts, he was offered a position as the post-fight interviewer for UFC in 1997. This was when the UFC was very small and had not been under the presidency of Dana White. Joe Rogan did post-fight interviews but left after 2 years as he was making more money doing stand-up comedy shows during the weekend. Joe Rogan was still a fan of the show but backed away as it became too much of a hassle.

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After the UFC was purchased by Zuffa, they started doing shows in Vegas. Joe Rogan was present at the shows and later approached by Dana for the role of commentator. While Joe was still hesitant to accept the job, he was talked into it by Dana White. However, the UFC was not a profitable venture yet, so they could not afford to pay Rogan. Instead, Joe Rogan demanded that he and his friends get a ticket to the fights and he’ll do it for them.

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“Just get me there, get me the tickets and I will do it for you,” said Rogan on his podcast. Joe Rogan did 12 shows before he was paid any actual money for his job. However, his decision to stick with the company was the best, and he is getting paid his worth today.

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Why Joe Rogan stopped betting on UFC fighters despite being 84% accurate?

Joe Rogan on why he stopped betting
(Image via: MMA Mania)

Joe Rogan started working as a commentator at the UFC in 2002. Ever since then, the UFC color commentator has become a fan favorite in the organization. Many fighters and friends with many influential people outside the UFC respect him. However, Rogan once used his knowledge and position to make some extra cash from MMA betting. The podcast host used his position in the game and bet on the fighters whose true potential was unaware to many.

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“I used to gamble with my business partner at Onnit, Aubrey. I used to gamble on the fights early on. The early days of the UFC, like the 2000s. I would just go, ‘Ah nobody even knows about Anderson Silva. Bet the house on this guy!, ” said Rogan. Even though Rogan made a substantial amount of betting on fighters, he started to see an issue. Joe Rogan felt that his betting habits would lead to biased commentary during fights.

“I thought about it for a while, and I was like, ‘Maybe this isn’t good for my commentary.’ So I just stopped doing it and I would tell Aubrey, and at one time we were like 84% winning,” added the color commentator. Ever since then, Rogan has stopped betting on fights to give unbiased commentary.

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