Veteran UFC analyst Joe Rogan stirred up quite a conversation this week. In a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan claimed that a prime George St-Pierre would be bested by current fighters like Jorge Masvidal.
“I just think the level of competition he faced is higher. GSP was so good he raised the bar. But, you look at GSP’s victories. He beat some very good guys, but I think the guys Kamaru Usman beat — Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, Tyron Woodley — I think they are better.
“I think if Masvidal was around at that time he would be dangerous for everybody, I think he is on another level. I think everyone is on another level,” he said, praising “Gamebred” for being a “gangster” and “f–ng assassin.”
One could see the lack of logic in such statements, but fellow commentator Chael Sonnen went another way. Here was his response to Rogan’s comments in a recent YouTube video he uploaded.
“Back in that day, I had very good people I respected. Adults, coaches, teachers, principals. Doctors and lawyers, who, when somebody said something stupid when they were stoned, you would say ‘he’s on drugs.’
“Now that we have a doper — named Joe Rogan, in this case — saying that today’s fighters are better than Georges St-Pierre. We address this, and we debate this. Why? What happened to the good old days where we said ‘the guy’s on drugs. Don’t listen to him, that guy’s on dope.’ What happened to those days?”
Sonnen then began to give his take on the matter.
“What Joe said and how he did this math is very common. But I would like to correct you to what a non-420 mind can come up with. Joe got to that point by stating that the competition is harder now than it was then. And I hear many people doing that.
“What does the competition have to do with the guy?” he asked.
“I know who the best fighter is. I can’t prove this, I don’t need to be a d—k about it, but I’ve been in there with them all. I know you’re not supposed to tell practice room stories, but if it didn’t go your way in the practice room, the rules are different and you can tell the story,” Sonnen said. “Georges is the best. That’s your answer. EVER.
“Now, if you’re gonna try to judge him by his competition, what kind of divisible are you putting in for the gap? Are you going to put in when Georges goes out there and dominates a wrestling champion like Josh Koscheck? Or knocks out a world champion like Matt Hughes. Or passes the guard of a jiu-jitsu ace like Nick Diaz. What kind of equation are you putting into the gap?”
With regards to Rogan’s comments, this is what Sonnen had to say.
“You cannot deduce one entity by drawing the conclusion to others. And if you do it, we should dismiss you. And we should tell the kids in the backseat, ’that guy is on drugs.’”
Watch the five-minute clip below, where Sonnen also expressed slight disappointment on cannabis legalization, followed by a statement saying, ‘you dopers won.’
About the author: Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments. (full bio)
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