Ben McCrum
Joe Rogan has explained exactly why he feels sorry for some of UFC fighters while the commentator is covering their bout.
Rogan is a true veteran of the UFC, having worked as a commentator for the premier MMA organisation for 28 years.
In this time, the American has worked on some of the biggest and most brutal fights in the history of combat sports, maintaining professionalism throughout.
However, Rogan has now spoken about the one problem he struggles with as a commentator, as he revealed that he feels sorry for some UFC fighters.
Advert
In the latest episode of Rogan's popular podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' the 57-year-old spoke with Academy Award winning actor Mel Gibson about their shared love for the UFC.
During the conversation, the pair talk about the brutal reality of the sport, leading to Rogan confessing that, despite covering thousands of fights across his time working with the UFC, he struggles to commentate on fights that show that his friends are approaching the end of their careers.
"It becomes a problem for me when I'm friends with the guy," Rogan said.
"Also I see when they're on the tail end of their career and they can't take shots anymore and then when you talk to them, you recognise the speech patterns are slurring."
Gibson agreed, revealing that, while he was completely addicted to the sport, he sometimes struggles to watch fights involving people who knows personally.
"You know I'm addicted to the UFC right?" the 69-year-old actor said.
"I love it [but] I feel kind of feel sorry for them. And one of the guys… I knew one of the guys fairly well. Usually, I'm pretty immune to this but like he was in there and he was fighting against [Alexander] Volkanovski.
"It was Brian Ortega and he was getting his a** handed to him in one fight. He almost got him a couple of times but because I knew Brian, it was like my son was in there.
"I almost started crying. And then it got to me that I should feel like this about all these guys but I don't know them as well."