When Joe Rogan openly disclosed how UFC once allowed fighters to use testosterone under one specific condition
Joe Rogan is one of the UFC's longest-serving members, having made his commentary debut for the promotion way back in 1997. Whilst performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are widely banned in mixed martial arts now, Rogan worked for the UFC during a time when there were "exemptions" to that rule.
PEDs have long plagued the sport of MMA, with some of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen being found guilty of taking banned substances.
Some promotions, including PRIDE FC which operated from 1997 until 2007, made it clear in the contracts they would give to fighters that they didn't test for steroids.
Whilst the UFC never operated in that manner, during an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host explained a time when the promotion allowed "testosterone-use exemptions". He said:
"The UFC at one point in time had testosterone-use exemptions. You were allowed to get those if your testosterone was at a low enough level. The problem with that was that it wasn't thought out at all. Stay up all night, eat 15 cheeseburgers and j*rk off three times and you're good. You're gonna be at like 200 [ng/dL]."
Watch Rogan's explanation below:
Joe Rogan called out by Craig Jones for pushback on CJI vs. ADCC clashing
The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), founded by his namesake, has caused a massive stir in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community.
With the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships taking place in 2024, Jones announced earlier this year that he would not participate in this year's edition due to lack of financial benefit.
Instead, he created his own grappling competition, the CJI, featuring two weight divisions, with the winner of each division walking away with $1 million. The massive prize money saw many athletes previously committed to ADCC 2024 now opting to compete at CJI.
To make matters more complicated, Jones scheduled the CJI for the same weekend as ADCC 2024. During his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience to promote the CJI, Jones experienced consistent push back from the host about the conflicting dates.
Rogan is a sponsor of ADCC, and his frustration was noticeable. The CJI founder has now called him out during a recent interview with TheMacLife. He said:
"That's the thing with Rogan, right? If you build a career fighting the man, ultimately if you become successful enough you kind of become the man... He didn't really grasp why we had to do it this way and cause a conflict."
Watch Craig Jones discuss Joe Rogan below (2:15):