"When it goes to the ground, how many people are really going to understand" - When Dana White credited Joe Rogan for helping build the UFC
It is no secret that Joe Rogan and Dana White are close friends and have repeatedly shared words of praise for each other in the media.
One instance of this was when during an interview with boxing royalty Teddy Atlas, the UFC president credited Rogan for being a crucial part of the growth and success of the UFC.
White said that Rogan's extensive knowledge of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and his ability to break down a technique efficiently helped viewers understand what was happening when a fight was being contested on the ground:
"Another guy who deserves a ton of credit for helping build this sport... is Joe Rogan. Because the reality is that when we got into this, you know everybody understood stand-up fighting, no matter what happens, punching, kicking, elbows, we all get that.
The big thing for us was when it goes to the ground, how many people are really going to understand what's going on and what they're seeing because if you've never done jiu-jitsu, you don't know what the hell they're doing... Joe Rogan was, first of all, so passionate about the sport, number 1, number 2, so good at walking you through what was going on before it even started to happen."
Rogan has been practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a long time and is a huge advocate of the martial art. The podcast host also holds a black belt in the discipline from Eddie Bravo.
Watch a clip of White talking about Rogan's contribution below:
Joe Rogan is highly complimentary of Charles Oliveira's jiu-jitsu skills
The UFC commentator recently discussed the highly anticipated matchup between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
While talking about the Brazilian's grappling skills, Joe Rogan said that Oliveira could submit a heavyweight fighter with his jiu-jitsu skills. Further praising 'do Bronx', the UFC commentator said that Oliveira could pose trouble for anyone if the fight goes to the ground:
"If you get a guy like Charles Oliveira who's that good at jiu-jitsu, he could strangle a f**king heavyweight... Oliveira's jiu-jitsu is some of the best I have ever seen in MMA. It is like world championship calibre jiu-jitsu. But he's doing it in an MMA match. He's the one guy where it doesn't matter what happens in the fight, if you go to the ground with him you are in deep s**t."
Oliveira is the most decorated submission artist in UFC history. 'Do Bronx' holds the UFC record for the most submission wins (16) in the promotion and the most finishes (19).
Listen to Rogan praising Oliveira below: