Despite facing criticism over the last few months, Joe Rogan has claimed that the UFC is going through an amazing time at the moment.
Since the start of the year, the UFC has faced several criticisms from the fans for the way they have dealt with situations including some of the biggest fighters in the sport.
UFC boss Dana White has continuously attempted to reassure the fans that a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall will ‘100%’ happen, despite Jones’ clear lack of interest.
And now even White has seemingly given up on that potential blockbuster, stating this past Tuesday that they will ‘quickly’ move on from that fight in the next few weeks.
Joe Rogan defends the UFC following recent criticism
Another super fight that was there for the making that the promotion dropped the ball on was a lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, which had the makings to be one of the biggest fights ever.
Not only that, but the promotion continues to receive weekly criticism for their continuous subpar events in the UFC Apex due to their intense schedule.
And the Apex schedule shows no signs of letting up, despite White claiming that one of his biggest goals for the UFC is to hold an event in every possible location.
Despite the ongoing criticism the promotion is facing this year, UFC icon Joe Rogan believes the sport is in an ‘amazing’ position at the moment with fighters like Topuria and Makhachev leading the charge.
“Ilia Topuria who is fighting Charles Oliveira at the end of the month, that guy is insane, that guy has knocked out two of the greatest featherweights of all time,” Rogan said in a recent episode of his podcast.
“He’s just on another level than everybody else… There’s guys like that, their level is above everybody else’s level and with Ilia it’s everything, it’s his submissions, his kicks, his punches, everything, he can do anything.
“You know, this is an amazing time for the sport, man. It’s a crazy time because these guys that are coming in with like one fight in the UFC, they look like world class contenders right away,” he continued.
Rogan waxes lyrical over Merab Dvalishvili following another dominant win
Another criticism the promotion has received over this year, is that they’re lacking star power in the UFC, especially with the era of Jones, Conor McGregor and others coming to an end.
The current UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has taken his position as one of the biggest stars in the sport currently, but even he still receives criticism for his grappling heavy fight style.
Despite that, Rogan was nothing but complimentary about the Georgian in his recent podcast.
“That guy is insane. Everyone who’s been involved in the sport for as long as I have is blown away by it. The guy is a freak… He melts the greatest of the greats.”