“Back Then It Was Like Scary”: Joe Rogan Reveals the “Shenanigans” and “Dirty” Commissions That Kept the UFC Out of New York City for a Long Time

UFC has hosted events in several cities and countries around the world after mixed martial arts became one of the biggest sports in the last twenty years. However, they found it hard to host events in New York. UFC commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan recently explained the bizarre reasons why the UFC was banned in the state of New York.

The founder and CEO of Hennessey Special Vehicles joined Joe Rogan on the #1982 episode of the million-dollar ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast to talk about MMA and how it was deemed as a dangerous sport back in the day.

Details on the UFC getting banned in New York

MMA was initially considered too violent for the general public when it first gained popularity. The sport was banned in some states, such as New York. With time, the sport became more mainstream, and other states reversed their bans. But the state of New York remained one of the few that prohibited professional mixed martial arts.

New York State’s 1997 ban on professional MMA within its borders was challenged by the UFC in November 2011, along with other MMA fighters, including Jon Jones, Gina Carano, and Frankie Edgar. The prohibition on MMA came to an end in 2016 when New York became the 50th state to legalize the sport and encouraged big promotions to host its events without any problems.

Joe Rogan explains the reasons behind the UFC getting banned in New York

The 55-year-old mentioned that his first UFC appearance was scheduled to be in New York. But the state had banned MMA just before the UFC held the event. This resulted in a venue change from New York to Dothan in Alabama. Rogan said, “My first event was supposed to be in New York, but they banned it in New York right before they [the UFC] did the event and they moved the event very quickly, like overnight, to Dothan, Alabama.”

Joe Rogan explained the reasons behind the ban. He added, “100 percent [on Boxing promoters trying to ban MMA]. And there was also like… there were so much shenanigans that goes on -the unions. That’s how the UFC stayed out of the New York state forever.” The 55-year-old mentioned that the UFC just got legal permission to host events in New York, and it didn’t make sense to him because other states had already made it legal. He mentioned how scary people thought MMA was back in the day. Rogan said, “Back then, it was like scary. Like, what is this? No one knew what it was.” He added, “New York [was] the last state to approve it… because they are dirty.”

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The UFC has evolved into one of the biggest fight promotions in the world. They host events every month with a roster that only a few other promotions can compete with. It has become a global sensation with fans from every corner of the world.

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