Joe Rogan Speaks Up One Year After Conor McGregor’s Tirade on Controversial Strikes in Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight

“That was an illegal knee on the ground by Conor. A knee to the head of a downed opponent,” said Rogan in his commentary during UFC 229’s Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov bout. To date, it remains the biggest fight in UFC history, and arguably the most heated and ugliest rivalry in the sport. The largely one-sided fight ended with ‘The Eagle’ clinching the victory, but there was a moment in the match where McGregor made a controversial move. While on his back, with Nurmagomedov on top of him trying to secure a submission, ‘The Notorious’ appeared ͏to have used an illegal knee, a point highlighted by Joe Rogan.

After a few years, Conor McGregor uploaded a video mocking Rogan about the same. Six years down the line, Rogan seems to be agreeing with McGregor on one aspect of the illegal knee. Let us see what the podcaster has said about the same.

Joe Rogan rallies in support for illegal UFC 229 move from Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor was not happy about Joe Rogan calling out the illegal knee strike. The podcaster emphasized that McGregor attempted an illegal knee on the ‘Eagle’. In 2022, the Irishman uploaded a voice note on Twitter where he mimicked Rogan and mocked him.

“‘That was an illegal knee on the head of a grounded opponent.’ Shut up, Joe, you little fool. What are you talking about, ‘Smash this and smash that?’ I was smashing my knee into his f***ing eye socket, yeah? ‘That’s a knee to a grounded opponent; call the cops.'” said McGregor. At the time of the release of the voice note, Rogan kept his silence, but it seems like the 56-year-old podcaster agreed with the former dual-weight champion after two years of the voice note.

While having a conversation in his latest episode of ‘JRE’, Rogan heard the voice note once again and reiterated that he agrees with McGregor now, in that grounded knees should not be downright illegal. “Listen, this is my thing: I think not only should it be legal, I think all knees on the ground should be legal 100%. I think knees to a ground opponent’s head should be legal. The only problem with that is the cage; it’s the only problem because you can’t move your head out of the way if someone’s got your head pinned against the cage,” said Rogan.

However, the podcaster added that there should be some limitations while using the knee shots. “It would stop stalling; there’s a lot of reasons to stop. You should have your knees on the ground. So, I think what he did 100% should be legal. If you’re on your back and a guy’s on top of you, you can knee him in the head. That should be legal. There’s a significant advantage to being on top.” Knee strikes are one of the most painful things a fight can endure, and they can change the trajectory of the fight. Making it legal would make the sport more brutal. Additionally, just when you think Rogan is taking McGregor’s side, he surprises you even more.

Rogan called out McGregor for making obnoxious claims about acting

Conor McGregor’s movie ‘Road House’ just released on Amazon Prime Video. It was his debut on the silver screens. ‘Mystic Mac’ promoted the movie like anything and amidst that he made a claim that irked Rogan. The former dual-weight champion suggested that acting might be more difficult than fighting.

Joe Rogan was not having anything that McGregor said. He took to the video and said, “Listen. That’s not true. Acting in ‘Road House’ or fighting Khabib again? Shut the f**k up!. Listen, that guy is promoting a movie. He’s a great promoter, an amazing promoter. He’s the best promoter in the history of the sports. No one even comes close. There’s Conor McGregor and everybody else.”

Their back and forth will carry on, however, it will never end. What’s your take on Joe Rogan and Conor McGregor’s thoughts about knee shots? Should it be legal in the UFC? State your thoughts in the comments below.

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