Joe Rogan is aware that being a number one contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) doesn’t mean you get the next dibs on a title bout.
Yoel Romero can be considered a perfect example of this. After knocking out former middleweight champion Chris Weidman with a vicious flying knee, Romero shot up to No. 1 on the official UFC 185-pound rankings. “The Soldier of God” also has a split decision win over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to his credit.
Despite his rise in the middleweight division, Georges St-Pierre is getting the next title shot instead. “Rush” hasn’t competed since Nov. 2013 and is making his middleweight debut.
During a recent appearance on ESPN’s 5ive Rounds podcast (via MMAFighting.com), UFC color commentator Joe Rogan admitted he doesn’t like the direction the promotion is going when it comes to title fights:
“I really want to see Yoel Romero get a shot at the title. I know he’s waiting, he’s waiting right now for what I think is an interesting fight between Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre. I think that’s an interesting fight. I don’t like it in terms of the hierarchy of the division. I think that, as far as the division goes, it’s not good at all. It sort of hijacks the whole situation. I don’t like it.
I’m not concerned because there’s great fighters and you get them together and you make great fights. I’m not concerned at that. But from a purist point of view, and someone who feels like – look, if you’re going to have a champion and you’re gonna have these divisions where one man rules over the division, there should be a very clear hierarchy.
If you have a champion and you have all these people waiting in line to get a shot at that champion, the person who is perceived to be the best in that division is the one who should be fighting the champion next. The champion should always be fighting the number one available challenger. Right now, that is Yoel Romero.”
