SUMMARY
- In an interview, Dana White revealed how Joe Rogan made his way into the UFC.
- Joe Rogan didn't get paid in his early days working with the promotion.
One of the most talked-about points when it comes to the UFC is Joe Rogan. Over the years, the stand-up comedian and podcaster have established himself as basically ‘The Voice of the UFC’. With that said, many may not exactly know how it was that Rogan came to work with the UFC in the first place.
Recently, UFC President Dana White appeared on the Games With Names podcast. On the show, one of the talking points was surrounding Rogan and how White’s friendship with him started in the first place. As White reveals, when he and the Fertitta brothers bought the UFC, the company was based in New York. As such, he had to sort through a lot of documents and tapes before bringing them back to Las Vegas, their new headquarters.
While he was rifling through the tapes, he came across one where he heard Rogan speaking about the UFC. “So I popped in this tape, and there was this talk show, the Keenen Ivory Wayans show, and they had Joe Rogan on there. I knew Joe Rogan from Fear Factor and Joe Rogan was talking about how bada** UFC fighters were, and what they would really do to some of these Karate guys that were in movies”.
For the most part, White was thoroughly impressed with the Fear Factor host and his affinity for the UFC. “I was like, ‘Man, this guy knows what he’s talking about. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s articulate, so I reached out to him and we started talking”. Thus, White eventually managed to rope in Rogan and have him on the commentary desk. Little did they know, their relationship and friendship was the start of something truly spectacular.
Joe Rogan initially worked for free in the UFC
Whilst Dana White claims that he was the one to bring in Joe Rogan to the UFC, many may wonder, wasn’t he already in the UFC? The answer to that question is yes. Previously, Rogan was in charge of the backstage interviews in 1997. Then, in the late 90s, the UFC was undergoing severe financial turmoil, leading to a mass exodus and layoffs from the promotion.
As mentioned previously, it was then acquired by White and the Fertitta brothers in 2001 for a mere $2 million. Then in 2002, White brought in Rogan again, but this time as part of the commentary team. Unfortunately, the company was still trying to find its feet and managing to stay afloat. As such, they couldn’t afford to pay Rogan a proper salary. Instead, the comedian and now podcaster came up with a shrewd and efficient way of doing business.
Instead of a salary and contract, Rogan revealed that he simply asked for conveyance to the events and tickets for himself and his friends for the events. Notably, Rogan’s first event as a podcaster was at Rogan’s first event was UFC 37.5 in Las Vegas, NV. Fortunately, things have changed a lot since then with the UFC now reportedly worth $12 million. At the same time, the 56-year-old also earns an estimated $1 million per year for his services.
Joe Rogan’s UFC tenure
As mentioned previously, Joe Rogan’s first notable appearance for the UFC was in 1997, at UFC 12: Judgement Day in February. Similarly, his first commentary appearance was at UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 22, 2002. Since then he has been a mainstay at the commentary table and a part of some of the most iconic moments in UFC history.
Over the years, fans have grown incredibly attached to Joe and his penchant for color commentary. Having a lot of knowledge about various mixed martial arts, his takes and reading of the game are quite commendable. As a result, he has been able to call many moments such as Edson Barboza’s spinning head kick KO of Terry Etim, just as it was about to happen.
Throughout his tenure, he has also formed a close relationship with Dana White. Whilst the two began working professionally, their friendship developed to the point where White started consulting Rogan whenever he would fall sick. Further, he has also gone on record to say that he ‘would do anything for Joe Rogan’. On the other hand, Rogan promised to quit working for the UFC, if Dana ever stepped away from his position as president.