The UFC is not known for many of the so-called “freak show fights,” but we nearly got one between longtime UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and celebrity Wesley Snipes in 2005.
During an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan shared a story about Snipes first wanting to fight fellow celebrity Jean-Claude Van Damme before Rogan took the opportunity to take on the action movie star.
“He’s like ‘nobody’s gonna pay to see you and Jean-Claude Van Damme fight,” Rogan said, paraphrasing McLaren’s statements. “You have to fight someone who was ‘current.’ So he said ‘would you fight Joe Rogan?’ And he said ‘Yup, let’s do it.’ So they came to me, and I went ‘How much money?’ And then they started talking, then I said ‘OK, let’s see what happens.’”
Although the fight never came to be, Rogan does share how he feels a fight between himself and Snipes would’ve gone down.
“I just didn’t think that anybody who didn’t know any jiu-jitsu could learn it quick,” Rogan said. “I was already a brown belt by then, and I just knew what happened when a brown belt fights a white belt. I just can’t imagine. I know how to stand up, and even if I wasn’t good at striking anymore like I was when I was a kid, I’m good enough to know what to not do and where to not be. And if I get a hold of someone who doesn’t know jiu-jitsu, I’m pretty sure I’m choking the f—k out of them. He’s never wrestled, he never had a competitive martial arts match, whether it’s a kickboxing fight or karate fight. I was like ‘I’m gonna choke the f—k out of this guy. I’m gonna get a hold of him, and I’m gonna squeeze the s–t out of him, and they’re gonna give me a lot of money, and he’s probably not even gonna get hurt.’ That’s what I thought.”
Rogan will next be seen calling fights UFC 205, which takes place on Saturday, November 12th from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor headlining.
