Joe Rogan’s pick for the UFC’s greatest ever fighter is a controversial name, and comes above some popular names.
Rogan, a legendary commentator, has been a key player in the UFC since his debut on the broadcast back in February 1997. He has called some of the greatest fights in history, and voiced incredible victories for the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Anderson Silva and others.
The comedian is often asked for who he feels is the greatest fighter of all time, and has given a number of answers over the years. Most recently, he called MMA’s greatest heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, who never even fought in the UFC.
- Who is Joe Rogan? Get to know the UFC mainstay and podcast sensation
Joe Rogan names Jon Jones the greatest UFC fighter of all time
During the latest episode of his podcast the Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator was asked by his guest Peter Berg who he feels the best fighter of all time is. He compared the resumés of a number of legends before finally arriving on Jon Jones.
“He has been a world champion for 14 years,” Rogan said of Jones, before film director Berg asked if that means he must be considered the greatest. “I think of paper for sure. The problem with that on paper is who did he fight vs who did Georges St-Pierre fight vs who did Khabib fight?
“Out of just the sheer longevity I have to say Jon Jones [is the greatest]. But I could see the argument for Mighty Mouse [Demetrious Johnson] being the best martial artist I’ve ever seen. I think he’s the best expression of martial arts talent and technique that I’ve ever seen.
“But then Georges St-Pierre is right up there too, and he was a multiple-division world champion. He won the welterweight title and then he came back after four years off to beat Michael Bisping for the middleweight title.
“He’s in the argument too, but I just think there’s a real problem with saying ‘the number one of all time, the greatest of all time’. But if you were going to give it to someone I’d say give it to Jon.”
Joe Rogan believes Jon Jones’ drug use makes his record even more impressive
Perhaps what makes Jones so remarkable is his issues outside of the cage. He has managed to consistently stay atop the sport despite a litany of problems including drug use and even an arrest, which Rogan says he used to use as an excuse in case of tasting a defeat that has never come.
“Jon talked to me about it,” Rogan explained earlier in the episode. “He said ‘I used to when I was younger give myself an excuse. I would party really hard the week before the fight,’ which you really shouldn’t ever do.
“So then it was like ‘well if I lose maybe it’s because I partied’. But he doesn’t do that now, now he thoroughly prepares. He went through a time when he was light-heavyweight champion he played with his food.
“He wasn’t threatened by people so he wasn’t putting on performances like when he won the title against Shogun [Mauricio Rua]. He lost some of that motivation but then gained it later in life when he went through a bunch of legal struggles.
“He had a lot of problems and realized ‘oh this could all be taken away from me, I’ve got to get back to what made me great’. Then he won the heavyweight title and defended it against the greatest in Stipe Miocic and now he’s the heavyweight champion of the UFC.”