Joe Rogan has always been a bit ahead of the curve in suggesting drastic changes to UFC rules. However, in light of Yan Xiaonan allegedly cheating against Virna Jandiroba at UFC, his newest intent has grabbed more than a few eyeballs, including that of Ilia Topuria.
Over the weekend, Jandiorba walked away with a decision victory after going the distance with Xiaonan. However, towards the end of the third and final round, the Chinese fighter grabbed the fence in an attempt to stop Jandiroba’s takedown attempt.
Despite her evident failure to attain the objective, a furious Rogan suggested that the judges should automatically deduct points for such incidents. But he didn’t stop there.
Suggesting a drastic countermeasure to what he perceives as a recurrent problem, Rogan said, “I think the cage is an unnecessary element. To push someone against something, or to be able to get up from something, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Suggesting that he considers a viable alternative to the current ring situation, Rogan added, “I think they should be in like a basketball court that’s matted up.”
“Have a big space, have a warning track – if you go outside the warning track too many times, you could lose points.“, the JRE host noted.
His idea is rooted in the simple principle of getting up by oneself after being taken down, without help from inanimate objects.
Rogan then went back to his old argument about strikers having an unfair advantage in fights. When a round ends on the ground, the referee separates the fighters, and they have to start from scratch on their feet, where the dominant striker feels at home. The solution, as Rogan has stated time and again, is to start where they left off during the previous round.
Upon hearing this, ‘Le Leyenda‘, as he calls himself now, was surprised into silence for a moment, responded with a smile, and said, “I love it. I never thought about that actually.”
Notably, while Topuria has proven to be adequate at grappling, he is widely recognized for his skills with pugilism in the octagon.
Encouraged by Topuria’s nod, Rogan cited Alex Pereira to further elaborate on his reasons.
Rogan bats for grapplers
Having practiced Jiu-Jitsu for years now, Rogan understands the complexities of taking an opponent down and holding them there.
“Say if you’re fighting a guy like Alex Pereira, who’s never taking anybody down. He’s just going to strike with you. Why would you let him back up again and have the advantage of him standing up again?” he asked Topuria.
Topuria then raised an important question. He asked whether that would take away from the entertainment side of things.
Unfazed, Rogan simply claimed that as a purist, he couldn’t care less for it : “I think it should be about fighting, about elite fighting. And elite fighting means, you have to get up”.
“If a guy takes you down and he’s got you mounted, like trapped in an arm, and he’s punching your ribs, trying to secure an arm triangle, why does he get to stand up? It doesn’t make any sense, especially if he’s a striker”, he added that it’s one fight for five rounds, not five different fights.
