Joe Rogan Defends UFC Commentary Following Criticism: ‘I Try To Be Fair, I’m Very Respectful’

Longtime UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan has defended the promotion’s commentary booth which has been the subject of major criticism over the last number of years, claiming that he himself tries to be as fair and unbiased in his role as possible, as well as maintaining he is hugely respectful of competitors.

Rogan, who usually handles North American-based pay-per-view events for the organization, has seen his role continually limited over the last year amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with the promotion making several trips to the Middle East for pay-per-view events.

The booth became the subject of headlines over the last month as well, with former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz claiming that fellow analyst and color commentator, Daniel Cormier does not study tape, or carry out his due diligence when preparing for the role.

Cruz’s criticism of Cormier led to widespread questioning of the former undisputed light heavyweight and heavyweight champion’s performance in the role, with many claiming that American Kickboxing Academy trainee had previously shown favor to former teammates, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and most recently, Manel Kape during his time in the commentary booth.

Joe Rogan defends his role as UFC color commentator following recent criticism

Reacting to the recent criticism which has landed at the booth, Rogan, who has also been criticized for an apparent fall off in knowledge, judging, or understanding of the evolution of the sport, claimed that he always attempts to remain as unbiased as possible while carrying out the role.

“I try to be very fair, always, with my commentary,” Joe Rogan told on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. “And I’m also very respectful. Like, even if you think that my commentary was biased, or one way or another, you’ll never think I’m disrespectful, ‘cause I try to; unless someone’s doing something dirty.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)

Rogan also recently condemned Brazilian flyweight contender, Priscila Cachoeira following her UFC 269 submission loss to Gillian Robertson.

Opening the preliminary card at the event, the Rio de Janeiro suffered a buzzer-beating opening round rear-naked choke loss to Robertson, before twice attempting to gouge the eye of the slick submission artist before eventually tapping. Rogan subsequently called for the 33-year-old to be released from the promotion as a result of her attempted eye-gouging.