Dana White Reveals Deal That Got Joe Rogan Onboard the UFC “For Free”

Dana White and Joe Rogan‘s relationship goes way back. The duo have been friends for over two decades and the UFC has played a very important role in it. What many may not know is that White stumbled upon Rogan by mistake when he was getting rid of some old tapes while cleaning UFC’s initial office in New York. Fast forward to today, White reminisced his memories of hiring the BJJ black belt.

Rogan has arguably climbed his way up to the top of the UFC’s ladder with White. The duo has seen ups and downs together and seems like this is the reason why White stated that he could trade everything for Rogan. So how did White stumble upon Joe Rogan and how he came to hire him? Let’s find out.

The start of Dana White and Joe Rogan’s story with the UFC

Recently, Dana White sat down with the Games With Names podcast where he talked about his relationship with Joe Rogan. The UFC head honcho stated that when he and the Fertitta brothers bought the UFC, the company was based in New York. At that time, he had to relocate to New York to assemble some files and send some important documents to Las Vegas. While watching some old tapes, White came upon a tape where Rogan was talking about the UFC.

White explains that he knew Rogan from his days at Fear Factor, but he didn’t know that he had a hunger for the UFC. “They had Joe Rogan on there, and he was talking about UFC fighters and how badass they were. I knew Joe Rogan from Fear Factor, and I would watch it on TV. Joe Rogan was smart, funny, and articulate. I thought, ‘This guy knows what he’s talking about’,” recalled White.

White further explained that he reached out to ͏Rogan with an offer in hand to do commentary for the UFC. The CEO emphasized that when they hired Rogan, the UFC was a loss-making͏ company, and Rogan had to do some ͏of the commentary for free. “We started talking, and I asked him if he would like to work for us and be a commentator. At that time, the UFC was losing money like crazy. Joe Rogan did the first 12 or 13 shows for free,” revealed White.

Dana White at the end, stated that he could do anything for Rogan. “Joe and I have been super close friends for a very long time. I would do anything for Joe Rogan,” added the Head Honcho. Additionally, both White and Rogan share a deep admiration for each other.

Rogan and White have praised each other on multiple occasions

There might be a bit of confusion on the part of the MMA community. Are the duo really good friends or is it all a facade for the media? The question might be raised due to the fact that White and Rogan rarely hang out with each other. However, one must note that the duo are really busy men with some serious work ethics and they might not be hanging out, but they are weather-tested friends.

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Joe Rogan in a statement, praised the humble beginnings of White. ” If you looked at him you’d never know he’s rich as s**t. He’s as normal as they come. He’s just a regular dude. If you hung out with him, you’d love him. He’s a great guy. He’s great,” said Rogan in one of his podcasts.

On the other hand, Dana White when having a conversation on the Jake Asman Show, admired the consistency of Rogan “He does his thing and he kills it for us. Yeah, I think he’s the best ever. You could argue he’s the best ever on those [comedy and podcasting] too,” said White. This just goes to prove that Joe Rogan and Dana White are, in fact, good friends irrespective of anyone’s opinion.

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