Ex-UFC Fighter Turns His Back on Joe Rogan’s “Selfish” Take as Dana White’s Final Nail on Apex Gets Unexpected Nod

The UFC Apex arena is still alive and kicking like anything, even after the pandemic. What was expected to be left in 2020 proceeded to continue even after that, despite UFC head honcho Dana White claiming that the promotion would eventually leave the Las Vegas venue. UFC Apex has seen some magnificent fights before, but now it seems that White has decided to move on from the venue.

Even though the Nevada facility is going to host a WWE event next month, the UFC is planning to move on from the facility. This did not sit right with Joe Rogan; however, recently, Brendan Schaub agreed with Dana White and even gave his verdict on the matter.

Brendan Schaub talks about the Apex and its downfall

While talking in the latest episode of his podcast, he discussed the upcoming fights of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksander Usyk and even recapped UFC fight night. After that, in the last segment, he took up an article about Dana White wanting to move out of Apex, but Joe Rogan was not so keen on it. While reading it, the podcaster agreed with the UFC CEO and said, “Joe; from Joe’s perspective and that’s fine. From Joe’s perspective, it’s like, ‘Oh you know you can hear everything you know it’s more intense.”

However, he gave the perspective of the fighters and declared that for the UFC fighters. The arena is a bad idea. “That sucks it’s so; it’s such a selfish thing I’m not saying Joe, at all you know I adore Joe, yeah. But take Joe out of it when people go, ‘I like the fact that I can hear the actual punches, I can hear the corner.’ That’s so selfish cause for the rest for everybody else including the fighters the performers it fu** sucks,” said Schaub. This is because a fighter likes to be hyped up by the audience while fighting, and their adrenaline comes from the cheers, even if it is difficult for the judges and commentators to hear the punches.

There was even an instance where Tyron Woodley discussed his return to MMA and accused Apex of his final three losses. For most of his career, he fought in packed arenas, but in the final three fights at the Apex, he felt demotivated to be in such a small arena within a tiny cage. Maybe that is why even the fans agreed with Dana White about moving out of Apex to visit more cities.

Dana White gave his verdict on the Apex

During a press conference after the St. Louis UFC event, White answered the question about the Apex Arena and how it will be used. He said that UFC plans to move out of the Apex and do more events in other cities this year. The facility might be appreciated by Rogan, but it has faced criticism among fans and the CEO himself.

According to the color commentator, the venue is better for watching fights. During the pandemic, the Apex was used to keep fewer crowds, but during that time, Dana White was praised for having full crowds in attendance. In 2021, The Apex hosted 72% of the UFC fight cards, and in 2023, the number went down to 42%. Fans and UFC fighters do not seem to like the venue and desire bigger venues.

Jack Hermansson fought against Sean Strickland and lost in the Apex Arena, and he spoke about his wish to fight in front of larger audiences. He did admit that the experience was different and the sounds were much clearer, but he wanted a bigger arena. Even fans sided with Dana White on the decision to move out of Apex.

Do you think Dana White is going to move all fights outside the city? What will happen to Apex?