Dana White and Joe Rogan have been through thick and thin in the UFC so when the promotion’s owners were about to fire Rogan due to a controversy in 2022, White stood up for Rogan and threatened to walk.
UFC President Dana White confirmed reports that he was ready to quit his post after the promotion’s owners were about to fire commentator Joe Rogan in 2022.
Rogan went under fire early that year after he was accused of spreading the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. At that time, there were rumours that the UFC’s owners were firing Rogan after he did not appear during the UFC 271 event.
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While Dana did not detail what happened, he told Lex Fridman on the latter’s podcast that he stood for Rogan when the times were rough and forced ownership to keep the longtime UFC commentator.
“When you’re with me, you’re with me, it’s a two-way street. I’m not one of these guys that is just going to roll over. It’s like going through COVID, I wasn’t laying any of these people off. Some of these people have been with me for 20 years, we’re going to lay them off? Uh uhm, This motherf****r will burn, burn before I do that to my people.”
“It’s just never, none of that kind of stuff is going to happen while I’m here. I can’t say what’s going to happen when I leave. But when I’m here, the people who are with me and have been with me, they know exactly what’s up. Joe knows what’s up, and again it’s a two-way street. Joe Rogan has been very loyal to me. I am very loyal to Joe Rogan.”
Rogan, the former Fear Factor host, has been working for the UFC since UFC 12 in 1997. That means that he has been employed by the UFC longer than Dana White who joined the company as president only in 2001.
During the interview, White also told Fridman that Rogan worked pro bono during the UFC’s early years when they were still struggling to make money.
“It’s a fact that he doesn’t care about money and he did the first 13 shows free for us. That was at a time when we were hurting and he was like, ‘Wait a minute. You want me to do the commentary? You’re saying I get to sit in the best seat in the house and watch these fights for free? Yeah, I’m in.’ Then, obviously, when he turned things around, we made it up to Joe, but Joe is one of the things I loved early about the UFC.”
White pulling all the strings for Rogan shows how loyal Uncle Dana is to his people. But Joe Rogan working his first 13 events for free is unbelievable and something only a true MMA fan would do. Having heard that story, it’s no wonder why Dana did what he did for Joe. Rogan is definitely one-of-one.