Joe Rogan: I Would’ve Choked The F*** Out Of Wesley Snipes

Back in 2005, long-time UFC color commentator Joe Rogan almost made his pro-MMA debut against an unlikely opponent. During a recent Fight Companion podcast with Yves Edwards and Joe Schilling, Rogan explained that he was supposed to fight veteran actor Wesley Snipes.

The reason that the possible fight came about is due to Snipes having a “desperate and in a bad situation with the IRS,” which led to his people coming up with a supposed plan to make a quick payday via a pay-per-view fight. Originally, Snipes was supposed to fight fellow actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, but that idea was shut down by former UFC producer Campbell McLaren.

“He’s like ‘nobody’s gonna pay to see you and Jean-Claude Van Damme fight,” Rogan said, paraphrasing McLaren’s statements. “You have to fight someone who was ‘current.’ So he said ‘would you fight Joe Rogan?’ And he said ‘Yup, let’s do it.’ So they came to me, and I went ‘How much money?’ And then they started talking, then I said ‘OK, let’s see what happens.’”

Rogan explained that he prepared for the fight for months under multi-time kickboxing and Muay Thai champion Rob Kaman, while doing Jiu-Jitsu. Even though the fight didn’t take place, Rogan has a pretty good idea of how it would have gone.

“I just didn’t think that anybody who didn’t know any jiu-jitsu could learn it quick,” Rogan said. “I was already a brown belt by then, and I just knew what happened when a brown belt fights a white belt. I just can’t imagine. I know how to stand up, and even if I wasn’t good at striking anymore like I was when I was a kid, I’m good enough to know what to not do and where to not be. And if I get a hold of someone who doesn’t know jiu-jitsu, I’m pretty sure I’m choking the f—k out of them.”

Rogan believes that he would have choked out Snipes but not hurt him in the fight.

“He’s never wrestled, he never had a competitive martial arts match, whether it’s a kickboxing fight or karate fight. I was like ‘I’m gonna choke the f—k out of this guy. I’m gonna get a hold of him, and I’m gonna squeeze the s–t out of him, and they’re gonna give me a lot of money, and he’s probably not even gonna get hurt.’ That’s what I thought.”

You can listen to Rogan talk about it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOH4u7bVyOQ