“Joe’s Belief Was…”: Missing Pieces of Joe Rogan Grabbing Dana White in the Hallway Revealed by UFC Legend

Dana White discussed the possibility of a bout between the current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush for a No.1 contender’s match at the post-fight press conference at UFC 274. But the 53-year-old MMA promoter also told the media that Joe Rogan told him not to book that match. There was no explanation as to why Rogan suggested White against the match. But MMA veteran Chael Sonnen has shared his own take on the situation.

UFC 274 saw Charles Oliveira tap Justin Gaethje out to position himself as the number-one contender on the other side. Makhachev was also due to fight Beneil Dariush to become the other number-one contender. But the Dagestani fighter ended up fighting a much lower-ranked opponent in Bobby Green. Makhachev later became the undisputed UFC lightweight champion after beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280.

Dana White first offered Makhachev to fight Rafael dos Anjos, but the lightweight champion didn’t want to fight him on such short notice. That made the UFC president book him in a fight against Beneil Dariush. But UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes that Makhachev made the right choice. Rogan was of the opinion that Makhachev is already a contender for the title.

Chael Sonnen speculates the reason Joe Rogan advised Dana White against booking Makhachev vs Dariush

Chael Sonnen talked about how nobody gave any context to Dana White’s statement at UFC 274. He said, “You guys remember that matzo ball that they just left hanging and never told us why Joe said that. Never told us why Dana was listening to Joe and never told us what to do in the meanwhile.”

Chael Sonnen believes that Joe Rogan may not have a problem with a match between Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev. He speculates that the 55-year-old commentator might have wanted to see Islam Makhachev in the title fight first, and then fight Dariush. “I think what Joe’s belief was is ‘Hey, put Islam in a title fight. Once that gets situated, Bring Benny in. Don’t have them eliminate each other now in contendership. Do it for a championship,” said Chael Sonnen.

He also mentioned that the fighters were picking Beneil Dariush as the better fighter than Islam Makhachev. There were some who favored the Dagestani fighter but Dariush was the choice of most fighters. “When Fighters started to weigh in on it, then they started to pick Benny. And then they started picking Benny again, and again, and again,” said Sonnen. He also mentioned that the boys in the locker room know how good Dariush is.

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Chael Sonnen claims that Joe Rogan believes that a match between Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev has money written all over it. Both fighters have been on a tremendous run and riding high on momentum. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see Makhachev vs. Dariush for the UFC lightweight championship? Drop your comments below.

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