Despite saying he wouldn’t be commentating UFC 249, Joe Rogan will apparently be in the booth if Dana White is to be believed.
UFC 249 appears to finally have a location, albeit undisclosed. Not only that but White says the UFC is securing a private island for future events so that fight cards can take place throughout the COVID-19 crisis. UFC 249 will not take place on this island, rather a closed venue that the UFC has under wraps for two months.
Dana White Says Joe Rogan Will Be At UFC 249
During an interview with TMZ Sports, White responded to Rogan claiming he’d be out of UFC 249 and found some way to blame the media once again (h/t BJPenn.com).
“He did not say that,” Dana White said to TMZ. “Again, you can not listen to anything the media says. Nobody talked to him, they heard him talking on a podcast. So they start writing stories off a podcast that are full of sh*t. Rogan will be there.”
Rogan did in fact say he would not be commentating UFC 249 on his podcast (transcript via MMAFighting).
“The UFC is talking about putting on a fight on April 18th,” Rogan said. “I don’t know how they’re gonna do that. I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to do that in the United States. They’re talking about doing it in a place with less than 10 people, just an open arena – I guess someone’s gonna commentate it [but] it’s not gonna be me – and they’re gonna be duking it out in an empty place. And they’re gonna try to do that on the 18th.”
UFC 249’s new main event will feature an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. The initial co-main event stands as Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas will do battle a second time. Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan de Castro has been moved to the UFC 249 card.
If UFC 249 actually does take place on April 18, MMA News will provide live coverage. Join us for live results, highlights, and post-fight tidbits.
