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Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: UFC, Joe Rogan, Shaquille ONeal, MMA, Jon Jones
Luke Davies
UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan has revealed who he thinks would 'dominate' the UFC if weight divisions did not exist.
Rogan, 57, is one of the most well-known faces involved with the UFC and also hosts the most popular podcast on the planet 'The Joe Rogan Podcast'.
The American has guests from all walks of life on his show, including US President Donald Trump, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, and several MMA fighters.
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Former UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou have been on the show in recent months.
But there is one guest he won’t invite on.
The New Jersey-born man is also a comedian and invites several of his friends from the industry onto his show.
Rogan regularly appears on the UFC’s American broadcasts and achieved a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
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So, it’s fair to say Rogan knows a thing or two about MMA.
He regularly gives his take on potential rule changes that he would like to see in the sport/promotion – from changing gloves and getting rid of the cage to no weight classes, Rogan has suggested a fair few tweaks.
If the latter of his suggestions was implemented, Rogan revealed who he thinks would dominate the sport.
The 57-year-old discussed the prospect of former NBA star Shaquille ‘Shaq’ O’Neal, 52, taking part in the sport.
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“He [Shaq] got into MMA for a while…I don’t know if he’s still doing it,” he told Andrew Santino in July 2018 during the JRE episode no.1148
“But there was videos of him training,” Rogan added.
“Look, if there was no weight limitations [he would dominate MMA],” the UFC commentator continued.
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“But a guy like that could probably never fight in the UFC because he probably can’t make 265 [lbs].
“Or if he did, he would be shredded,” stressed Rogan.
The former basketball star stands at seven feet and one inch tall, which would make him the tallest ever athlete to compete in the UFC ahead of Stefan Struve, who is seven feet tall.
Of course, the main problem would be, as Rogan mentioned, getting down to the current UFC heavyweight limit of 265 lbs.
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Then, his chances of beating current UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones would be highly unlikely.
Surprisingly, Shaq previously credited the sport of MMA as one of the reasons he achieved success in basketball.
"MMA is the reason I became a champion [in basketball]," O'Neal told ESPN in 2020.
"I always used to practice basketball. It wasn't enough.
"Because when I played basketball, it was more wrestling.
"So when I trained MMA with Jon Burke, a friend of mine down in Orlando, I came back in the best shape of my life. That was in 2000. Won. Dominated.
"So I'm a creature of habit. Did it again, won a second championship. Did it again, won the third championship. Got cute, got away from it, lost. Got traded to Miami, did it again, won the fourth championship."