Joe Rogan Addressed Biased Commentary Allegations About Him and Daniel Cormier to Sean O’Malley Months Before UFC 299

Joe Rogan is a jack of many trades. The podcaster is also one of the UFC’s most decorated color commentators ever. However, perhaps the job isn’t all fun and excitement for him. At least not all the time. There have been numerous occasions where Rogan has been harshly critiqued.

That too by the many fans that watch the UFC as well as fighters like Mackenzie Dern. Why? Rogan may just have upset people with his commentary sometimes by either using words that could be perceived as harsh or just not saying what the fans were seeing. Here’s a throwback to him explaining how he’s always trying to do his best.

Joe Rogan explains his job to Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley, along with his coach and friend Tim Welch gave a visit to Joe Rogan on his podcast back in September 2023. This was right after O’Malley had managed to steal the bantamweight belt away from Aljamain Sterling after a brilliant performance.

Here, Rogan was attempting to explain that he and Daniel Cormier can’t really always look into the specifics of a fight while doing the commentary part. The reason is simple, what they’re doing is entertaining the fans with their live reactions.

“. . . when DC and I are doing commentary, you can’t do commentary and score a fight.” He tells ‘Suga’. “You can kind of like, have an idea, but you’re trying to be entertaining, you’re trying to like give life to what’s happening. And you’re just reacting like ‘oh sh-‘ you wanna scream and swear and you just. I’m doing my best to not.”

On The Joe Rogan Experience, there are no bounds to what one can say. Censorship applies to big live events such as the ones where Rogan is usually commentating. However, does that warrant comparing Mackenzie Dern to a schoolgirl?

The comments that upset Dern

Joe Rogan has been accused of biased commentary before. It was when he was describing Ilia Topuria‘s bout against Ryan Hall where Hall was constantly trying to get Topuria to have a Jiu-Jitsu battle by pulling guard. Even when Topuria had dominant positions, Rogan would declare that it was Hall who was doing better.

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A similar instance that got the fighter’s reaction was when Mackenzie Dern went up against Jessica Andrade. It was after Dern lost the fight via a KO/TKO that she opened up about hearing the commentary team. She noted how it sounded like Rogan called her a “fricken high school girl brawling”. Dern was left in tears upon hearing the commentary.

Many fans were upset by the same comments too where Rogan noted that she lacked awareness for a fight that was that high-profile. While some agree with him, others couldn’t be more against it all. What are your thoughts on the whole situation?

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