UFC 318 is set to take place this Saturday in New Orleans where the long-time voice of the promotion won’t be in attendance.
It was announced ahead of fight week that Joe Rogan wouldn’t be on commentary duty for July 19, with Paul Felder taking his place on the broadcast.
While it’s not uncommon for him to miss PPV events due to his decision to not travel for international events, it has been some time since he wasn’t present at a numbered US event.
This means that Rogan will not call Dustin Poirier’s final fight as ‘The Diamond’ makes the walk for the last time in front of his home fans in Louisiana.
There has been speculation as to whether Rogan could still be in attendance for UFC 318, choosing to watch the event as a fan, but a more likely reason for his absence has also been revealed.
Joe Rogan vacations with his family on a superyacht around Europe during UFC 318 fight week
Fans couldn’t put their fingers on why Joe Rogan would be absent from UFC 318 having not missed a US PPV in several years despite cutting back on his UFC schedule.
The stand-up comedian didn’t appear to have a conflicting schedule in terms of his work away from being a commentator, but it looks like he had other plans that got in the way.
Several days ago, photos were taken of Rogan and his family enjoying a vacation from the comfort of a luxury megayacht.
Travelling aboard the Okto, which comes with a stunning weekly rental price of around $600,000, Rogan and his family have been seen near several places around Europe, including Venice, Italy and Croatia’s Brač island.
While this doesn’t necessarily mean that he wouldn’t be able to make it back in time to call the fights on July 19, it looks like Rogan has swapped ‘The Big Easy’ for a huge inflatable slide, a massive pool and a movie theater.
If this is the reason that he won’t be in attendance on Saturday night, it’s likely that he’d already committed himself to taking a holiday at this time, rather than choosing to not be on the mic for UFC 318.
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Joe Rogan hasn’t missed a domestic PPV event in over three years
UFC 318 marks the first US PPV event that Joe Rogan has missed since UFC 271.
In February of 2022, Israel Adesanya faced Robert Whittaker in a middleweight title rematch that took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
It wasn’t explained why he missed this event but since then, Rogan has been a guarantee for any big events that aren’t taking place overseas.