Joe Rogan forced to issue correction after being 'contacted' by UFC boss Dana White

UFC commentator Joe Rogan has been forced to issue a correction on the Joe Rogan Experience after being contacted by Dana White.

Rogan has been a long-term employee of the UFC and was first seen on the broadcast back at UFC 12 in 1997.

The popular American podcast host has remained with the company ever since as a colour commentator but has reduced the amount of fights he calls due to the amount of travel involved with covering bouts across the globe.

UFC CEO White has remained fiercely loyal to Rogan over the years and famously threatened to walk away from the company when Rogan was under fire in 2022 and reportedly in danger of losing his job.

Rogan will be on commentary duties again if the eagerly-anticipated heavyweight showdown between reigning champion Jon Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall eventually gets booked.

There has been no further communication from the UFC over a potential date for the super-fight but Rogan made headlines by suggesting Jones had demanded a $30m purse in order to make the fight happen.

Speaking on episode 2251 of the Joe Rogan Experience, he said: "I think it’s gonna be Aspinall, I think they’re trying to come to some sort of agreement. The rumour is that he wants $30 million and the UFC is going to pay it. Hopefully. I hope they pay it.”

Such a purse would represent the biggest UFC payout in history by some distance and Rogan has since revealed White has been in contact over the claims that were made.

Rogan issued a ‘correction’ over the rumour which was described by White as “b*******”.

"I have to correct something,” he said during the latest episode of his podcast featuring comedian Theo Von. “There was a conversation I had with Yannis Pappas and Chris Distefano. We were talking about Jon Jones. I had heard a rumour that Jon Jones wanted $30m to fight Tom Aspinall. I did hear that rumour and I did hear that the UFC said yes but it is not true.

"Dana contacted me and said 'that rumour is b******'. So I felt obligated to tell everybody that was a fake rumour. I don't even remember who told me. We did that podcast two weeks ago, I don't remember who told me that."

Dana White is eager to book a fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall (Getty)

When pressed on how much Jon Jones would need to make that fight, Rogan offered a potentially worrying update on the fight's likelihood.

He said: "Apparently Jon is thinking about retiring. And he should.

"He's going to have to someday, I'm not saying he should retire but he should think about it. Give the man all the time he wants, he can fight whenever he wants to fight, that's Jon Jones, he's the GOAT. So leave him alone, if he decides one day to come back and wants to fight Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title - the question is, how long are you allowed to hold onto the title before they start having that conversation? Now he just knocked out Stipe Miocic so give the man some months, five or six months.

"At a certain point in time, you need to decide who the heavyweight champion is. If Tom is the interim heavyweight champion and Jon decides he doesn't want to fight anymore, he can do that. He can also then come back in a year and fight for the title. He can do whatever he wants."