UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has always sided with MMA, citing it as a complete form of fighting rather than boxing, which is simply a sport of punching. But guess what? The 56-year-old believes that boxing does have its upsides, which he weighed on recently, just hours after UFC CEO Dana White took some serious jibes at boxing promoters.
The Mexican Independence Day, an important date for Dana White and the UFC, will be commemorated with a pay-per-view this time around. Last year, it was Noche UFC. This time, it’s UFC 306, and the destination venue is the Sphere in Las Vegas. A piece of exciting news, isn’t it? Even the CEO claims that he’s planned such an event for the fans that boxing promoters can never replicate. But Joe Rogan believes if there’s one thing that boxing does better than UFC, is the way they set up fights.
Joe Rogan claims boxing matchmaking is better than the UFC’s
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Another episode of the Joe Rogan Experience gave us some new and interesting topics to emphasize on. And since the host never ceases to talk about combat sports and its various aspects, while speaking to guest Action Bronson, Rogan claimed that, as per his observations of the matchmaking process of the UFC and boxing, the latter appears to know how to build up fighters by matching them with appropriate opponents.
Although there have been numerous controversies about good boxers getting protected, Joe Rogan believes that things work out pretty well more often than not in boxing. “Boxing is like, they’re very careful about how they match fighters, and you know, it’s really intelligent, I think, if it’s done correctly,”
the 56-year-old claimed on the #2164 JRE episode.
It is important to establish superstar athletes in every sport and as far as boxing goes, Joe Rogan thinks the boxing promoters’ matchmaking ways are the most effective method to do just that. “If you test them correctly along the way and you give them fights, they can win and they keep getting better,” the JRE host further stated. But what does he claim about UFC’s matchmaking strategy? Well, Rogan just doubled down on the harsh reality that most MMA fans may be aware of – things are way more difficult in Dana White’s promotion.
“UFC is like, this is a wolf farm. ‘If you’re not a wolf, we don’t build you into a wolf. Like, tell me when you’re ready to be a wolf,'” Joe Rogan added. He clearly doesn’t think boxing is as bad as Dana White claims to be, and even though the UFC CEO shunned the squared-circle sport down, he recently started a partnership with Saudi Adviser HE Turki Alalshikh, who’s heavily involved in boxing events.
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The UFC’s partnership with Turki Alalshikh, who loves boxing
Saudi Arabia, as most fight fans are aware of, has been going big on sports in the last few years. After re-energizing the Saudi Pro League by bringing in top soccer talents like Cristiano Ronaldo, The Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, HE Turki Alalshikh, helped put on some of the biggest boxing matches in the past couple of years. And now that MMA has come to the Middle Eastern nation, Dana White & Co. started a partnership with Saudi officials ahead of the Fight Night event in Riyadh on 22nd June.
“This agreement is a continuation of Riyadh Season’s aims to host and partner with prominent and international events of mass interest,” stated Turki Alalshikh in a statement after putting pen to paper on a deal with the UFC. The promotion now has the potential to put on some of the biggest events ever, given how much love Turki Alalshikh and the other Saudi officials have shown love for not only boxing but for MMA as well. But can Dana White make his UFC events bigger than his rivals, just like he’s claimed? Well, that remains to be seen.
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Despite being a company man for well over two decades, Joe Rogan appears to have a wider outlook on boxing than the CEO, Dana White. It remains to be seen what more statements both individuals make about boxing as a sport and a competition to MMA in the days, months, and years to come. Regardless, what do you make of Rogan’s comments about boxing matchmaking?