It certainly takes some exceptional work ethic to make it to the top of any sport. Sporting legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James are just some of those examples. However, for longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan, being a physical specimen isn’t going to cut it if someone’s aiming to become a top athlete, even in mixed martial arts. Joe Rogan recently touched upon the importance of a mental factor in sports, citing Roger Federer as an example. But what is that mental factor?

It’s called intelligence. It’s well established that to be at the top of sports, an athlete has to be in peak physical condition, and as we’ve mentioned above, there are quite a few names that pop up when we think about that fact. But what we don’t think about and what Joe Rogan has pointed out is that being an intelligent athlete is also an important aspect of sports, even more so in mixed martial arts.

“I firmly believe that to be great at athletics, it takes a kind of intelligence and you’re not measuring it in IQ. But to pretend that someone is like a Wayne Gretzky that he’s not some kind of a genius, you know, or a Federer or any lead MMA fighter. You have to be a kind of a genius,” said Joe Rogan on the ‘JRE MMA Show’ recently.

Let’s talk about Roger Federer since Joe Rogan mentioned him. There’s hardly any doubt about the greatness of the Swiss star, with 103 singles titles, including 20 grand slams, in his record. On the other hand, we have Wayne Gretzky, who may never get overtaken as arguably the greatest hockey player ever. Rogan pointed to the single most important reason for their successes.

Joe Rogan cites the importance of intelligence in sports

The kind of sport that Roger Federer and Wayne Gretzky played needed some serious concentration and focus and even a second’s error can cost them an entire match. To handle that, Joe Rogan claims that it’s essential to have high intelligence, something that not only the aforementioned stars have, but the MMA fighters do as well.

“[It’s] because you’re navigating this most difficult of worlds, where microsecond decisions get made, training, instinct and discipline, the will to carve out its existence… you have to have a f***ing truly, truly exceptional mind to be able to do those things,” Joe Rogan added. What the 56-year-old is trying to imply is that it takes a certain level of intelligence to make appropriate decisions whenever an athlete is in action.

There could be some substance to what Joe Rogan is claiming because sports are filled with strategies and to apply that, the intelligence level has to be on the upside. Regardless, what do you make of his statements? Drop your comments below.