Rogan signs contract for another year, with a catch

Joe Rogan made his first UFC appearance at UFC 12: Judgement Day on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. The then comedian and martial artist handled backstage interviews for the event and interviewed the winners of the main events.

It was the first appearance as well by a 19-year-old Vitor Belfort.

Rogan made his first appearance as a color commentator at UFC 37.5. His obligations to the reality television series Fear Factor kept him away until UFC 40. He then steadily became on the defining features of the now $4,000,000,000 company.

He said emphatically that if the UFC sold, he was out. However, the UFC sold, but president Dana White stayed on. The pair had a talk, and Rogan is around for at least another year, but with a reduced schedule – international travel is out, and it will be PPV events only.

“I was on the fence, man,” said Rogan, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. “I just do too much s***. I’m too f***ing busy. After a while I’m like, I don’t know if I’m doing myself or all the different things I do a disservice. I was real close. It was like, either I’m just gonna completely bail off of this or I’m gonna figure it out.”

UFC 196 with Nate Diaz upsetting Conor McGregor and Miesha Tate upsetting Holly Holm was a factor in Rogan staying on.

“That night was so crazy and so chaotic,” he said. “I walked out of there going, ‘How could I not do this?’ I’m sitting right there cageside for the craziest s*** in the sporting world ever. It was real recent. It was touch and go. I just didn’t know what I was going to do.”

“If I go to Brazil, that’s five days out of my life that I can’t do this and I can’t do all the other stuff that I do. And on top of that, there’s the recovery time. When I come back, I’m f***ing toast. That flying just f***s my head.”

Rogan offered high praise for Brian Stann, Kenny Florian, and Dan Hardy who appear on track to succeed him. And he said the year contract may be extended.

“I don’t want anybody to think that I don’t appreciate it or I don’t know how lucky I am or I don’t think it’s an amazing job,” said Rogan. “I definitely do. But I’m almost too lucky. I have too many amazing jobs.”

There is a unique look at feel to the UFC, part Olympic level sports, part rock concert, part brawl in front of the club at closing time. That look and feel is worth billions, and Joe Rogan is a central part of it. Hopefully he and good friend Dana White have another talk, and there is another fight so crazy, Rogan has to be there longer.