Joe Rogan’s Demand to Dana White Seems ‘Reasonable’ as Fans Support Major Rule Change in MMA- “He is Right”

Joe Rogan has long been of the opinion that mixed martial arts should be as close to a real fight as possible. The long-time UFC commentator has been an integral part of the history of the Dana White-led promotion and was especially fond of the original no-rules, no-holds-barred format of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Fans will remember Rogan defending the sport of MMA in its infamous early days in a now-historic ESPN appearance opposite boxing promoter Lou DiBella in 2008. To Dibella’s charge of MMA being “human cock-fighting”, Rogan had countered that the sport tried to incorporate all aspects of a real fight, which was different than boxing where two men have agreed not to use anything except their hands despite that not being how any real fight plays out.

Time and again on his podcast, the JRE podcast, the host has seen the evolution of the sport from a looked-down-upon bloodsport to the standardized sport it is today, and has a long list of rules he thinks should be changed. One particular rule that ticks off the UFC commentator is for the fight to start on the feet in the next round, even if the previous round ended on the ground.

The JRE podcast host had recently discussed the rule with the winner of the first-ever UFC tournament Royce Gracie, pointing out that it put grapplers at a disadvantage, and calling for it to be changed. He reiterated this demand yet again, observing: “I don’t think you should stand people up- ever. I think once a guy takes you down, the fight is on the ground. If it’s boring for the audience, tough sh*t.” But fans were split on Rogan’s take, with most agreeing wholeheartedly and calling for the rule change to be instituted. Other, however, pointed out a few flaws in the UFC commentator’s reasoning.

Fans react to Joe Rogan’s suggested rule change

Fans took to social media to let their thoughts on Rogan’s suggestions known. One fan felt that the rule change was in order and simply expressed his agreement with Rogan with a brief: “Agreed 👏🏻” Another seconded this, and felt that if a fighter didn’t have the wherewithal to get up, they deserved to stay on the ground: “100!!! If you don’t have the skill to get back up that’s your problem.”

Another was of the opinion that while the 56-year-old was correct from a purely fighting point of view, it would be a massive shake-up and irrevocably change the current version of the UFC that fans love and adore: “I think he is right. But not so good for the show so… UFC would not be UFC if there was not some of the things that are there for the show as well! I agree with joe but I disagree with joe.”

Likewise, another fan was split on the topic, but felt that the referee should intervene and stand fighters up if there was no action happening on the ground: “Yes and no cuz if fighter aint doing ahit just lays down and holds…u need to stand them up cuz he dont do dmg or tries to do subs.”

However, another fan was not a fan of the suggested rule change, pointing out that even wrestling had a rule which let the referee stand fighters up if they think either fighter is simply running down the clock: “There’s even stalling in wrestling though”