The UFC 315 broadcast played out without veteran voices Megan Olivi and Joe Rogan.
The UFC 315 pay-per-view featured two title matchups at the top of the card. But despite the high-octane action, some fans were perplexed by Joe Rogan and Megan Olivi‘s absences from the broadcast.
Rogan stopped traveling to cover international pay-per-view cards years ago, but he refuses to travel north of the U.S. border due to the country’s politics. He infamously said he’d ‘rather go to Russia’ than travel to Canada in the lead-up to UFC 315.
While Rogan’s absence was expected ahead of UFC 315, Olivi’s was not, as some fans panicked over the whereabouts of the longtime backstage interviewer and Octagonside reporter.
Megan Olivi points to big reason for UFC 315 pay-per-view absence
Olivi has been a key presence on UFC broadcasts dating back to the promotion’s Fox Sports broadcast partnership. She was one of many top names brought over by the UFC when the promotion agreed to a long broadcast rights deal with ESPN.
While Olivi doesn’t cover every UFC event, she’s a common presence for pay-per-views, and her absence from UFC 315 perplexed fans. However, Olivi is in the middle of a life-changing time with her husband and former UFC flyweight Joseph Benavidez.
In a recent post to X, Olivi provided a more-than-acceptable reason for her abrupt absence at UFC 315.
“My doctors don’t want me flying in this third trimester. Gotta keep baby boy safe [HEART],” Olivi shared.
Olivi’s absence isn’t expected to last long, and in a follow-up tweet, she clarified that she’ll be present for her NFL broadcasting gigs later this year. Brandon Fitzgerald filled in for Olivi as a backstage interviewer and reporter at UFC 315.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz sat alongside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier at the broadcast desk in place of Rogan. Rogan is expected to return to his UFC broadcast role for UFC 316 in Newark next month.
UFC 315 kicked off with a wild knockout by Umar Nurmagomedov’s former foe
Despite Olivi and Rogan missing from the UFC 315 broadcast, the card delivered in multiple ways for the UFC’s return to Montreal.
The UFC 315 prelims kicked off with a wild knockout by bantamweight Bekzat Almakhan over Conor McGregor’s teammate Brad Katona. UFC lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis kicked off the main card by submitting short-notice replacement Kyle Prepolec.
Marc-Andre Barriault earned a horrific finish of Bruno Silva that left Silva on a stretcher as he was leaving the venue. It was an important win for Barriault after the middleweight’s recent struggles.
Follow along here at Bloody Elbow for all the latest news and highlights from UFC 315.