Joe Rogan believes one fighter is seriously flying under the radar ahead of UFC 319.
The legendary commentator will return to the broadcast booth in Chicago on Saturday night.
Alongside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, he’ll call the middleweight title fight main event between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
The vast majority of fan attention is on the 185lb duo, but Joe Rogan thinks one of the co-headliners deserves some shine ahead of UFC 319.
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Joe Rogan praises Lerone Murphy
Everyone is excited about Aaron Pico finally making his UFC debut after being touted as one of the best prospects in MMA for years.
Joe Rogan believes this has led to his opponent, Lerone Murphy, being overlooked ahead of UFC 319.
The 16-0-1 featherweight has put himself in title contention without making a ton of noise. As a result, Rogan thinks that many fans don’t even know who Murphy is ahead of his short-notice fight with Pico.
“The UFC jitters is a real thing, and Murphy is no joke,” Rogan said.
“He is super solid, super technical everywhere. Murphy, to me, is very much like Leon Edwards in his prime at 145lbs. Very similar. Strong everywhere. Super technical. Doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s good, man… He has world championship potential.
“This is the word out of that camp is that guy’s always training, which is what you want to see from a guy like that who’s undefeated and also not getting the shine that a lot of other guys in that division are getting. Props to him for taking the fight, too.
“Murphy’s tough. And again, he’s one of those guys that is way better than his public persona. Like, people don’t know about him. There’s so many guys in that division, man. That division’s crazy. It’s filled with killers.”
Joe Rogan’s UFC future
Earlier this week, the UFC inked a $7.7 billion US broadcast deal with Paramount and CBS.
The seven-year link-up prompted questions about fighter pay, which Dana White says will go up.
It also left a question mark for Joe Rogan and the rest of the UFC’s established broadcast team.
On Wednesday, White addressed Rogan’s UFC future following $7.7 billion rights deal.
“Everything is good for Joe Rogan,” he said. “Joe Rogan has no problems in life whatsoever. Joe Rogan was doing great before the deal; he’s going to do just fine after the deal.
“Listen, Joe Rogan isn’t here at the UFC because of the money. He did the first 12 events for free. Joe Rogan has a time problem; that’s the only thing Joe has.
“If Joe didn’t have a time problem, he’d even be doing the Fight Nights. S—, he’d be at the Contender Series!”