Veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan has claimed the mental toughness needed to compete in combat sports is unfathomable, especially when a fighter may have one foot out the proverbial door.
Rogan, who has served as a color commentator for the Octagon leader for countless fights in the promotion, made his actual organizational debut decades ago — back in 1997. A decorated practitioner himself, Rogan is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under both Jean-Jacques Machado, as well as innovative grappler, Eddie Bravo.
To boot, the New Jersey favorite also enjoyed a gold-laden amateur kickboxing career, launching a slew of viral knockout wins which have since made their way to social media. But after suffering some notable damage, Rogan elected to call time on his tenure in striking sports.
And this week, Rogan spoke with U2 frontman, Bono, on his show, where the pair delved into the mental toughness needed to compete in combat sports at a high level.
To boot, infamously twisting close friend, Brendan Schaub, to hang up his gloves from combat sports back in 2015, Rogan cited his discussion with the controversial star, informing Bono how a fighter with one foot out the door should just retire straightaway.
“You’re locked in a ring with Mike Tyson, and you’ve been thinking about getting a regular job,” Rogan said.
“Like, yeah, you’re f*cked. You’re f*cked because there are all-in people. In my opinion, I love fighting, but I think only all-in people should be fighting. And the moment you’re not all-in, get out. You’ve got to get out,” the JRE host advised.
“Because the difference between an all-in person and a one foot out the door person is enormous. It’s enormous. Even if skill level is similar, the person who’s all-in is a terrifying person,” Rogan noted, adding that a truly dedicated combat sports athlete wouldn’t let anyone stop them from becoming the best.
And as far as Rogan’s own career panned out, while he was all-in, he also learned of the horrific possibilities of combat sports at an early age.
Potential fatal outcome axed Rogan’s combat career
As mentioned above, Rogan launched a series of viral knockdowns and even knockouts during his amateur kickboxing career. Following one of these infamous finishes, Rogan spoke worringly to his head coach. Particularly about the potential damage he might have caused to an opponent.
“My main instructor, he said to me, ‘I heard you had a great knockout’. I said, ‘Yeah, I thought he was dead. He never got up.’ He goes, ‘Sometimes they die’. I was 19, and fighting for zero money,” Rogan said on his podcast.
“Then I was thinking, ‘I’m not immune to that. Someone could 100 per cent do that to me,” He added. The JRE host explained that once that realization set in, he could never fully commit to the sport as an athlete. He simply lost the enthusiasm for it. As he put it himself, “That was the beginning of the end for me.”
