Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen believes UFC commentator Joe Rogan should have been punished for his approach to half guard.
Aljamain Sterling was recently featured on Joe Rogan’s popular Spotify podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan told Sterling during one of their conversations that MMA judges should prioritize damage over positional control.
However, by doing so, Rogan appears to have exposed his lack of knowledge. MMA podcaster Sean Sheehan pointed out that the exact change Rogan proposed had already been implemented by the unified rules back in 2016.
However, in the opinion of Sonnen, Rogan’s stance should not be criticized because judges continue to favour control over damage in several instances. Sonnen believes Rogan should have been targeted for his comments about the effectiveness of half guards:
“You wanna know [something] that Joe said that I thought he should have been picked on [was when he was] talking about half guard. What the hell good is half guard? The best fighters in the world will tell you, ‘Don’t pass guard, stay in guard and pound.’ Announcers will tell you, ‘Oh, he’s advanced, he’s in half guard.’ … That’s the part where he should’ve been given a hard time on.”
Take a look at Chael Sonnen’s comments below:
Chael Sonnen discusses why Joe Rogan is so critical to the UFC
Joe Rogan was once regarded as the best MMA announcer, if not the entire sports industry. However, the veteran colour commentator has recently faced backlash due to various controversies in which he has been involved.
His detractors even demanded that Rogan be fired from his position. Fellow MMA analyst Chael Sonnen, on the other hand, explained why Rogan is irreplaceable. Sonnen stated in an earlier episode of his YouTube show:
“Joe Rogan is very representative to big things within the sport. I’ll tell you one thing that Joe does that other people can’t do. The post-fight in-ring interview. That is one of the most difficult things that you will see. It is hard to do an in-ring interview that isn’t painful. You go in there, the person’s tired, they want to say their piece to the world, but they’re not overly-thrilled to say it to you. You’re guiding where this is going to go.”
Also Read: Chael Sonnen discusses how Jon Jones becoming “too big for his britches” harmed his career
