The organized crime syndicate of Yakuza in Japan is one of the most notorious in the entire world. They have a significant influence on pop culture, appearing in movies, video games, and various other media, but people often forget that they’re not the ones to be messed with, especially in their home base of Japan. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan recently revealed a story about a former UFC fighter, who he claims had “run-ins” with the crime syndicate but avoided any kind of catastrophe.

Enson Inoue, who fought under the UFC banner back in the 1990s, also fought under the PRIDE FC banner in Japan. Joe Rogan mentioned his ties with the Yakuza, which the former UFC fighter has denied being a part of, but did admit to having done business with the crime syndicate. Still, he had trouble with the authorities for some drug-related issues. Meanwhile, Rogan claims that Inoue, also known as ‘Yamato Damashi’, had certain conflicts with Yakuza, nonetheless.

“I do know a guy who had a long relationship with them [the Yakuza], Enson Inoue, who was an elite UFC fighter back in the day,” Joe Rogan stated on JRE #2297. “He lives in Japan, and he’s had like a bunch of run-ins with Yakuzas.” The 57-year-old was having a conversation about this with Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin when the former appeared to have been taken aback after hearing that someone had rubbed the Yakuza in the wrong way. The Yakuza often practice ‘yubitsume’ or amputating the little finger of the left hand, as a form of penance for failing a task. Sometimes, this is extended to non-members for failures.

Francis Foster was worried that Enson Inoue had undergone the same practice. He asked, “Does he still got his fingers?” In response,Joe Rogan claimed that Inoue remained unharmed and had all his fingers intact. “He does. He’s managed to keep his fingers,” he replied. Rogan also claimed that while the Japanese former fighter has no affiliation with the Yakuza in any shape or form, he still has a good reputation among the crime syndicate. “I don’t think he’s a part of them. I think they just like respect him. He’s like a famous MMA pioneer fighter.”

But did you know that Enson Inoue isn’t the only one who brushed off with the Yakuza? Yes, before Joe Rogan talked about Inoue’s connection to the syndicate, former UFC champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson also mentioned bumping into Yakuza members in Japan.

Before Joe Rogan, ‘Rampage’ Jackson shared his story about meeting the Yakuza

Joe Rogan may have shared someone else’s story with the Yakuza, but Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson shared his own story of a time when he was kind of intimidated when he met who he called one of the biggest names from the Yakuza during his time fighting in PRIDE FC. All of this attention from the Yakuza that Jackson received was because of his famous slam of Ricardo Arona, and as such, he was once summoned by one of the bosses of the crime syndicate, and he wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I’ve seen them before, I never met him, and they[Yakuza] were like, ‘Oh, my boss wanted to meet you.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know that man,'” Quinton Jackson stated during a 2023 interview. “We went back there, it was a bunch of Japanese people back there watching ‘Jackass’ and they were smoking w**d… the boss came out.” The Yakuza boss in question had all the information about Jackson and even his brother’s whereabouts in Japan, which also took the former UFC star by surprise.

Well, nothing bad happened to either Enson Inoue or Quinton Jackson, but what do you think about these run-ins with Japan’s biggest crime syndicate? Drop your comments below.