The UFC has grown rapidly in popularity over the past two decades and has become the face of MMA, but this was not always the case. The promotion, founded in 1993, initially faced criticism for being too dangerous and struggled to gain acceptance and respect from the masses. Joe Rogan, who joined the promotion in 1997 as a backstage interviewer, not only witnessed the growth of the sport but also defended it during its early years.
In a 1998 interview with Conan O’Brien, the host argued that referring to the fights as happening inside a cage made the sport lose respect. Rogan quickly came to the defense of the UFC and the athletes involved, responding, “Why? That way you can’t get away, that’s the whole purpose of it. They’re great athletes, Olympic gold medalists, world jiu-jitsu champions, and boxers. It’s all just like a combination.” Rogan further pointed out that Martial arts have always raised questions about which style would triumph in a match-up, and that the Ultimate Fighting Championship was created to find the answer.
Rogan recently praised Artur Beterbiev for his impressive performance against Callum Smith. Beterbiev put his WBO, IBF, and WBC light heavyweight championships on the line and emerged victorious, flooring Smith for the first time in his career and securing a TKO finish in the seventh round. By doing so, the Russian-Canadian fighter maintained his 100% finish rate.
Following Beterbiev’s victory, Joe Rogan took to Instagram to congratulate and praise him for his spectacular performance. He expressed his desire to see the Russian-Canadian fighter be a part of super fights and hoped that people would appreciate Beterbiev’s unique and terrifying combination of style and skills.
