Joe Rogan believes that Zuffa Boxing represents something that MMA is lacking.
The plans for the primary Zuffa Boxing title bout, featuring Jai Opetaia, have encountered some issues ahead of fight night as a result of the IBF withdrawing their sanctioning.
His arrival was the most important name added to the roster before the game was shaken by Dana White getting Conor Benn’s signature for a one-fight deal.
It’s major moves like this which might be why the long-time UFC commentator believes that the promotion’s plans are a positive for the game.
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Joe Rogan thinks MMA needs more competition to learn the fighters like boxing has
On a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan was asked whether he would commentate on Zuffa Boxing events.
He explained that they’ve already got a team in place for that, though he does have interest in testing a few of the fights that the promotion puts on.
Rogan specifically likes that Zuffa Boxing’s arrival is giving fighters an alternative choice of who they will sign with, which he believes is something that’s currently missing from MMA.
“I feel it’s interesting. I feel it’s good to have more organizations which might be competing to get the fighters because then the fighters will get more cash and I feel MMA could use that too,” he said on JRE MMA Show #175 with Shakur Stevenson.
Rogan went on to clarify that he believes in boxing, it’s all about who’s fighting and who the champion is, with the alternative of promotion not being nearly as essential because it is in MMA.
He made a degree that he’s spoken about several times through the years about fans not being attentive to mixed martial artists that don’t compete contained in the Octagon.
“Unfortunately, the UFC is the massive name in MMA and MMA, unlike boxing, is all in regards to the UFC… In case you are a wonderful fighter, but you fight for the PFL, no person knows.”
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Some UFC fighters have a really different stance to Joe Rogan on Zuffa Boxing
Several UFC fighters have had negative things to say about Zuffa Boxing, specifically with regard to how much Conor Benn is being paid for one fight within the promotion.
This does, to a point, go hand-in-hand with Joe Rogan’s initial point about competition and the way MMA doesn’t have the identical field of promotions who’re all after competing over the identical talent pool, which subsequently increases fighters’ value.
Tom Aspinall became the newest to talk on Benn’s signing following the UFC champion’s latest cope with Eddie Hearn’s talent agency.
This moment further emphasized the large pay gap between boxers and MMA fighters now, that they’re under the identical roof.
Eddie Hearn said he was ‘absolutely baffled’ by Aspinall’s contracts when comparing how much the UFC have been paying him in comparison with what he pays fighters at Matchroom Boxing.