Joe Rogan Credits Dana White as the Secret Sauce Behind MMA’s Growth⁠

Dana White might be a ruthless cut-throat businessman who’d go to hell and back to realize his goals. But while that has its condemnable practices, it’s also this very trait of his that has carried the UFC to where it is today; a premier MMA promotion with presence all across the globe. And UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan agrees.

On his latest JRE podcast episode, the 57-year-old gave props to White when fellow comedian Tom Segura mentioned the UFC President/CEO’s involvement. Rogan, tipping his hat to the 55-year-old’s efforts said,

“If it wasn’t for him (Dana White) that sport would not be what it is.”

Having seen this development from close quarters himself, Rogan has seen White’s vision realized, as the UFC went from an underground cage-fighting tournament with absolutely no rules to the combat sports behemoth it is today.

At a time when the state administrations were banning UFC events, White vigorously worked towards improving its reputation amongst the masses, and tried vindicating the sport’s infamy so it could reach the common man’s drawing room.

So yes, it took a lot of very stingy years to get to UFC Noche!

Rogan , himself, played a huge role in improving the sports’ reputation and making it accessible to the eyes and minds of laymen, which would help the sport’s popularity compound over the years. And ideally White should get some credit for that.

When White convinced Rogan to stay

Now, Joe Rogan is a heartthrob in the MMA community with legions of fans religiously following him and his  podcasts. However, before he took up commentator duties as a full-time professional, Rogan was part of the organization for a brief year before White and Co acquired the it.

He did backstage and exclusive fighter interviews, but then left the promotion in 1998 only to return in 2001 at White’s persistence.

In fact, Rogan wasn’t too keen on returning to the promotion but after White and the Fertitta brothers bought the promotion, the corporate face of the company, White persuaded him to come back on board.

 

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And now, the Joe Rogan-Dana White saga has become one of the longest-running and most iconic partnerships in the sport’s history, spanning over two decades! In this time, Rogan has helped White make stars out of fighters, even those without the necessary mic skills.

Rogan, in the last two decades has become the company’s biggest hype man. It’s his own massive fan following that Rogan often uses to hype up fights and fighters, making even Donald Cerrone sound mythical during Conor McGregor’s comeback fight years ago.

And while, Rogan had some initial troubles, White saw the potential in him and was certain that nobody could replace the MMA pundit solely because of his in-depth knowledge of various disciplines like kickboxing, boxing, BJJ, wrestling, and so on.

And now, all these years later, their friendship/partnership continues to propel the UFC to newer heights. And as they race towards the top, Rogan has claimed that if Dana White ever removed himself from that race, he would do.

Meaning, when the curtains fall for the UFC president at the company, Rogan is going to join him on his way out.