Joe Rogan is one of the most important figures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. And Dana White knows this very well. Recently, the UFC CEO revealed the story behind hiring the former Fear Factor host. But did you know White believed that getting Rogan for UFC broadcasting was indeed one of the best decisions he had ever made? 

White was recently interviewed by Randall Kaplan on his ‘In Search of Excellence’ podcast. Therein, the UFC head honcho was recollecting a story where he had to move his office during the early days of UFC. He revealed that it was all because of a videotape that he found the UFC color commentator. 

Dana White reveals the story behind hiring Joe Rogan

During the conversation with Kaplan on his podcast, Dana White recounted the events when he had to pack up his office after the Fertitta brothers bought the UFC and he had to fly to New York. But moving his office also meant packing stuff up. One of the things that he had to pack up was a pile of videotapes that apparently went up to the roof. White had to sit and sort through the tapes until he found one with Joe Rogan on it and he knew that he found the guy to lead the broadcasting. 

White recalled, “So I had to sit there for f***ing hours, popping every tape in and seeing what it was. And one of the things that I popped in was Keenen Ivory Wayans, he had a talk show, and he had Joe Rogan on it. And Joe Rogan was talking about the UFC and I saw it. You were talking earlier about gut, you know what I mean? Most people would say, ‘What made you bring the Fear Factor guy in, and, and, and do all the s**t?’ I f***ing saw, I saw Joe Rogan speaking about the UFC and I was like, ‘That’s the f***ing guy I need on, on, on the broadcast.’ And I ended up reaching out to Joe, and Joe was one of the, one of the greatest decisions I ever made in my entire career.”

Without a doubt, it was one of the best decisions White has ever made. With his fame and experience as a host, the UFC color commentator played a major role in bringing the UFC to where it is today, don’t you agree? But this was not the only time White stood up for Rogan.

UFC CEO takes a stand for the UFC commentator

Back in 2022, Rogan was under severe scrutiny for using a racial slur on his podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. Although the podcaster took down that particular episode, it still garnered quite a bit of attention. Due to this, the podcaster faced immense criticism from the audience. And many even expressed their wish for him to be removed from Spotify. But White, being a friend and boss to Rogan, stood in his support. In a conversation with Sage Steele, White disclosed that it has been a decade since Rogan said what he said.

Nevertheless, Rogan immediately came up with an apology for his action. The 56-year-old claimed that he wasn’t trying to be racist, but later realized that it was an extremely inappropriate thing to say. Despite the apologies, the UFC officials decided to fire the commentator. Furthermore, White-backed his friend when the UFC decided to let Rogan go. But the UFC head threatened the administration that if they fired Rogan, he would step down from his position and leave the MMA promotion as well. Undeniably, their friendship and trust go beyond what words can explain.

What are your thoughts on White’s story? Do you think hiring Rogan was the best decision that White ever made? Let us know in the comments down below.