Unrecognisable Joe Rogan had another job in the UFC before being a commentator

Thanks to his long-standing role as a commentator on UFC pay-per-views and the host of an enormously popular podcast, Joe Rogan is one of the most famous figures in the MMA world.

Yet the 57-year-old stand-up comedian is hardly recognisable from his first appearance on a UFC broadcast.

Rogan has been the lead colour commentator at Octagon-side for more than two decades now.

And after a stint as the host of reality TV show Fear Factor in the early 2000s, a long career as a comedian and more than 2,000 episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the jiu jitsu black belt and former kickboxer has built up a huge following.

Dana White and Joe Rogan speak on the broadcast before a UFC event. Image: Getty

But his first gig with the UFC came long before Rogan was a household name.

The event was UFC 12 in February 1997, back in the era before Dana White oversaw the fight promotion.

A 19-year-old Vitor Belfort – whose name at the time was being Americanised to "Victor" – blazed through the heavyweight tournament with back-to-back TKO wins.

And Jerry Bohlander won the lightweight tournament, while Mark "the Hammer" Coleman defended his heavyweight title against one-time WWE star Dan Severn.

A fresh-faced, 29-year-old Rogan served as the cage-side reporter, providing updates on what was happening behind the scenes as well as interviewing fans, fighters and coaches.

Long before he embraced his now trademark bald look, Rogan boasted a full head of hair and even appeared slightly jittery in front of camera.

This was a time before he shot to fame with Fear Factor and almost 13 years before he'd start a podcast.

Back then, Rogan was best known for a relatively small recurring role on the hit US sitcom NewsRadio, which ran from 1995 to 1999 and in which the UFC icon played Joe Garrelli, the radio station's electrician and handyman.

A mainstay of the UFC's biggest events ever since, Rogan claims he will only step away from his role calling fights on one condition: if long-time UFC CEO White ever walks away from the organisation.