Joe Rogan was among those present on this day in 2004 to witness one of the best stoppages in UFC history.
Rogan has witnessed his fair share of memorable, shocking, emotional, and outright crazy moments while sitting cageside at the UFC’s commentary table.
Mixed in with his memorable reactions to results like Rose Namajunas’ head kick against Zhang Weili, Beneil Dariush’s comeback versus Drakkar Klose, and Amanda Nunes’ incredible win over Cris Cyborg, the renowned podcast host has had a front-row seat for some gruesome injuries.
Leg breaks for Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman, and Conor McGregor come to mind, but a serious arm injury once went unnoticed and left a referee in the sights of furious fans until Rogan stepped in.
Joe Rogan defended Herb Dean’s call to stop Frank Mir vs Tim Sylvia after spotting brutal arm break
On June 19, 2004, UFC 48 took place at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Before Ken Shamrock’s return headlined the event, the vacant heavyweight title was on the line.
Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia battled for the belt, with the undefeated ‘Maine-iac’ looking to immediately return to the throne after previously being stripped of the title following a positive drug test.
Initially, it looked as though Sylvia had unfairly lost the opportunity to do so following referee Herb Dean’s decision to call the fight midway through Mir’s armbar submission seconds into the fight. That was until replays showed that Dean was correct in claiming Sylvia’s arm had broken.
After being left bemused by the stoppage in the immediate aftermath, Rogan spotted the arm break on the replays and pointed it out to a raucous crowd that had quickly rained down boos and chanted expletives.
“That was one of the first times I think they had trusted me with a championship,” Dean said during a 2019 appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. “The arm broke; I heard it, I saw it. I learned a lot about my job then.
“I backed off and I let the doctor come in and examine him. … Of course, she comes in and she doesn’t know what she saw. So he misguides her…and she’s like, ‘Hey, no, nothing’s wrong.’ In my mind I was thinking, ‘It’s been great being here but I’m not gonna be doing this anymore.’
“In my mind I was thinking about how to get out of there when they started throwing stuff,” Dean added. “But then you found it, you saved me. … I’m gonna thank you for that right there because I think my career path would have been different.”
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Tim Sylvia suffered recent complications that the UFC wouldn’t pay for
While Dean was left thanking Rogan, Sylvia was left thanking the now-veteran official for his call.
‘The Maine-iac’ admitted that Dean likely saved his career by preventing further damage to the arm, which required the insertion of a titanium plate.
Sylvia returned and went on to win the UFC heavyweight title again two years later. But close to a decade after his MMA retirement, the 49-year-old still felt the effects of Mir’s armbar.
In 2020, the ex-fighter took to Instagram to reveal he’d been experiencing complications from the injury, explaining how the screws placed into his arm were “backing out.”
Sylvia said he contacted the UFC for help paying to get medical attention for the gruesome infection but was turned away.
“So my arm (has) been giving me problems for over a year now. The screws are backing out from my arm break when I fought @thefrankmir.
“Contacted the @ufc cause it was paid for by them the first time. Sort of under workman’s comp.
“The UFC says it’s not their problem and will not cover it. I don’t have insurance and it’s going to cost well over 10,000 dollars to get fixed. Any thoughts on what I should do?”
Sylvia set up a GoFundMe to pay for surgery, which raised just under $16,000. The heavyweight legend’s wife later provided a positive update on his recovery.