Dana White reveals UFC commentator Joe Rogan worked his first 12-13 events free of charge: “I’d do anything for Joe”
Dana White has revealed that for the first chapter of his UFC career, Joe Rogan commentated on events for free.
For the longest time now, Joe Rogan has been a mainstay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s been one of the defining voices in the promotion and as we look ahead to the future, it doesn’t seem like he’s planning on hanging up his microphone anytime soon.
Joe has been around since the early days of the UFC, and as such, he has a pretty good relationship with UFC CEO Dana White.
RELATED: Joe Rogan renews contract with Spotify to stream podcast, deal reportedly worth $250 million
In a recent podcast appearance, White revealed the extent of Rogan’s loyalty.
White praises Rogan
“Joe Rogan was talking about how bad ass UFC fighters were and what they would really do to some of these karate guys that were in movies and s*** like that. I was like man, this guy knows what he’s talking about. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s articulate. So, I reached out to Rogan. At that time I think it was on the internet, we started talking and I asked him if he would like to work for us and be a commentator.”
“If you look at where the UFC was at that time, we were losing money like crazy. We bought it for $2 million which sounds like a great story now, we ended up being almost $40 million in the hole before we turned it around. But Joe Rogan did like the first 12 or 13 shows for free. He said f*** yeah, I’ll come there and do it and sit in the best seats in the house and everything else. So, Joe and I have been super close friends for a very long time. I would do anything for Joe Rogan.”
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