Being proficient in TaeKwonDo, Joe Rogan has kicks that can send people to deep sleep. On top of that, he is pretty well-versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After all, he has a black belt in the martial arts discipline. There were times when he even lifted BJJ for its relatively safer practice regime. But the question that arises now is whether Rogan ever participated in mixed martial arts competitions with his mastery of more than one discipline. 

If you also had similar doubts, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’ll take a dive into the beloved podcaster’s stats and find out all about his fighting career. 

What is Joe Rogan’s height and weight?

“Joe Rogan is literally 5 foot 3” was the line that intrigued the netizens and sent them pondering about Rogan’s height. Back in 2015, Rogan’s height became the center of controversy as the aforementioned line went flying in a skywriting. The beloved UFC color commentator is estimated to stand about 5 feet 8 inches tall. Well, that’s around the average when it comes to the American population. And as per IMDb, the JRE host measures up to a height of 5’ 7”. 

People have often trolled the 57-year-old podcaster for being short. But there was one time when Rogan revealed his true height. In a response to everyone who called him short and joked about it, he replied, “It’s people being changing Wikipedia because we were joking around about it. I’m short, but not that short 5′ 8”.”

Rogan has previously revealed that his weight was around 190-200 pounds. While BMI might indicate he’s overweight for his height, it’s important to remember that muscle mass can significantly impact BMI readings. Look at the UFC commentator—fairly large muscles packed with intense power don’t really make him an obese man. On top of that, he regularly engages himself in training, keeping his diet on track. 

While some sources list his reach as 72 inches, it’s possible Rogan has a longer reach. We don’t have all the details about his fighting stats, like his exact reach. But just because those numbers aren’t publicly available doesn’t mean he hasn’t fought in a competition. Let’s shift our focus to Rogan’s fighting career, shall we?

Has Joe Rogan ever competed in MMA?

Back in the 80s, Rogan used to compete in TaeKwonDo and Karate championships, but MMA wasn’t really in his record. Well, that does explain his phenomenal kicking power. Talking to Colin Quinn in episode #2145 of the JRE, Rogan said, “There weren’t that many tournaments, so if there were no taekwondo tournaments, we would enter into karate tournaments… I fought like probably, I probably fought 100 times.” There was also a time when the podcaster had to fight three times in a single day and won two of them. So what happened now? Why isn’t Rogan fighting now?

Well, it’s all because of injuries. Of course, injuries are a part of martial arts, and Rogan has indeed broken his nose about 20 times. But no, this wasn’t the real reason. In a conversation with Aakash Singh, Rogan revealed an accident that pushed him away from his fighting career. He narrated the story of a 19-year-old Rogan competing in the US Open National TaeKwonDo Tournament. He said, “Fought this kid who was, I think he was the Illinois state champion. And I hit him in the head with a wheel kick… and it has insane power, I mean insane power… And I caught this guy, he came at me with what’s called a stepping roundhouse kick.”

His opponent was coming towards him with a run, and Rogan’s kick sent him down with his face planted on the mat. The boy was unconscious for about half an hour, and the officials had to pull out a stretcher to take him to the hospital. This made the 19-year-old fighter worry about his own future. He continued, “I have no idea what happened to him and it freaked me out… And then I was thinking I’m not immune to that. Someone could 100% do that to me… It changed my feeling about it. I didn’t have the same enthusiasm after that. That was probably like the beginning of the end for me.” 

On top of that, Rogan and his training partners would often engage in hard sparring. Needless to say, those consistent hits to the head gave him headaches. His body felt sore all the time. Later on, he developed a fear of getting potentially permanent brain damage. And that’s how the UFC color commentator steered away from competing in fights to finding other gigs. But little did he know that his love for martial arts would bring him close to Dana White, ultimately pushing him to hire Rogan as a color commentator. And the JRE host hasn’t really given up on training. 

But what would have happened if Rogan had continued to fight despite the accident? It seems like that’s a reality that we’d never know. Let us know what you think of Rogan’s fighting career in the comments down below.