The world of mixed martial arts was left with gaping eyes as Ilia Topuria defeated Alexander Volkanovski with a knockout in the second round of UFC 298. It was indeed a major shake-up in the UFC featherweight realm. The Australian fighter’s fans went into a frenzy after his unexpected defeat. And Joe Rogan was also one of those fans. But now, the famed UFC color commentator has come forth with a regret.

In the recent episode of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, the 56-year-old podcaster had an immersive conversation with the four-time ADCC champion, Craig Jones. During the talks, Rogan stumbled upon Volkanovski’s recent defeat. He simply wished he could have warned ‘The Great’. 

Joe Rogan regretful for letting Alexander Volkanovski get KO’d

In episode #157 of the JRE MMA Show with Craig Jones, Rogan talked about the dangers of getting knocked out. He claimed that if a fighter got knocked out once, the probability of him or her getting knocked out in the subsequent matchups raised exponentially. But then he stumbled upon Alexander Volkanovski and his last few bouts. Following the loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, Volkanovski made a great return against Yair Rodriguez and became the featherweight title holder. But fate made his path cross with Makhachev once again and got knocked out with a kick to the head. Then, he went against ‘El Matador’ only to face defeat once again with a KO.

 Talking about the Australian’s fight against Topuria, Rogan said, “I think Topuria thought he was gonna do that to him anyway. But I just loved to have seen him [Volkanovski] fully recover from that.” 

Thereafter, the JRE host recounted the time when Manny Pacquiao was knocked down by Juan Manuel Marquez IV. Despite it being named the Fight of the Year 2012, Rogan revealed Pacquiao’s coach, Freddy Roach, didn’t allow the boxer to fight for one whole year. He claimed that Roach understood the dangers of brain damage very well because he himself suffered from trauma-induced Parkinsonism. 

But when talking about Volkanovski’s downfall, the podcaster felt nothing but regret. He said, “And you know, it’s so tricky because I’m just such a huge Volk fan, that I just like, I wish I had his ear. I don’t know if he would have listened to me. But if I had his ear.”

Rogan was not alone in condemning the last two fight choices from ‘The Great.’ Many fans and pros felt that he rushed back to competition for his own good. After the loss to Makhachev, the Australian admitted to being in a dark place after his UFC 290 win over Yair Rodriguez. He even said that he was briefly reliant on alcohol. So he did not think twice before jumping at the chance to compete again, leading to the outcome at UFC 294.

In comparison, Dustin Poirier, who competes at UFC 302 this weekend, returned in March at UFC 299 after his head kick loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 in July last year. This simply goes to show how long layoffs should actually be a prerequisite for returning after KO losses like the ones ‘Volk’ suffered, back to back.

Being a fan of Volkanovski was indeed full of disappointments with some of his recent matches. It all began when Makhachev took over the mantle of lightweight champion and ‘The Great’ got the chance to challenge the Dagestani fighter. Although Makhachev is one of the most fearsome and formidable fighters in the UFC, Volk taking up the fight showed his bravery. And this was not missed by Rogan.

The JRE Host once warned ‘The Great’ against Makhachev

During a previous episode of the JRE, Rogan along with his guest, Aaron Rodgers, reflected on Volkanovski’s bold move. ‘The Great’ underwent surgery weeks after defeating Rodriguez at UFC 290. However, with just 10 days left to UFC 294, the MMA promotion asked the featherweight champ to make a move to the lightweight realm and try to get the championship belt from Makhachev once again. Surprisingly, the Australian took up the fight despite being in the process of recovering from his previous fight and the surgery.

Without a doubt, Volkanovski’s decision left Rogan shocked. The 56-year-old podcaster said, “For Volkanovski, I just hoped he did not take that fight against Islam on such short notice. To fight a guy like that on 10 days’ notice is crazy and then he gets head kicked like that.” The respect and admiration that Rogan has for Volkanovski is palpable. But his latest defeat was what made the beloved UFC commentator regretful.

Nevertheless, Rogan claimed that if Volkanovski lent him his ear, the result might have been different. Do you agree with it? Let us know in the comments down below.