For Dana White, there’s no UFC without Joe Rogan.
Rogan, the popular podcast host and longtime UFC commentator, was under fire in early 2022 when he was accused of spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which was exclusive to Spotify at the time. An outraged Neil Young demanded that his music be removed from Spotify in protest of Rogan remaining on the streaming platform.
Around the same time, Rogan also had a montage video of him using the N-word resurface online and, as a result, Rogan was absent from his commentary duties for UFC 271. Appearing on Lex Fridman’s podcast, White was asked about Rogan amid the controversy and how he apparently threatened to resign if Rogan could no longer commentate UFC fights.
Now, White never said those words himself but thanked Fridman for calling him a good man.
“Anybody who is with me, has been with me, knows, when you’re with me, you’re with me,” White said. “It’s a two-way street. It’s not a one-way street. I’m not one of these guys that is going to roll over. It’s like going through COVID. I wasn’t laying any of these people off. Some of these people have been with me for 20 years. We’re going to lay them off?
“This motherf*cker will burn – burn before I would do that to my people. It’s just never – none of that type of stuff is ever going to happen while I’m here. I can’t say what’s going to happen when I leave. But when I’m here, the people who are with me and have been with me, they know exactly what’s up. Joe knows what’s up, and again it’s a two-way street. Joe Rogan has been very loyal to me, and I am very loyal to Joe Rogan.”
Joe Rogan and Dana White in 2006. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spike TV)
If White was serious about resigning to protect Rogan, it shows just how close their relationship is. One of the reasons White feels the way he does is because he will never forget Rogan standing by the UFC before it became a profitable business.
“It’s a fact he doesn’t care about money, and he did the first 13 shows free for us,” White said. “That was at a time when we were hurting and he was like, ‘Wait a minute, you want me to do the commentary? You’re saying I get to sit in the best seat in the house and watch these fights for free? Yeah, I’m in.’ Then obviously when we turned things around, we made it up to Joe, but Joe is one of the things I loved early about (the UFC).”
