When Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta purchased the UFC for $2 million, there was a whole lot of work to be executed to revamp a failing product and that included the manufacturing for future broadcasts.
After the sale closed in 2001, White took over as UFC president and it was his job to resurrect the promotion, which required him to mainly rebuild the whole lot from the bottom up. His first order of enterprise was shutting down the outdated workplaces in New York earlier than relocating the UFC to Las Vegas and that meant White needed to rummage by means of the whole lot left behind by the earlier house owners.
It seems that journey to shut down the UFC workplaces truly led to White hiring Joe Rogan to hitch the published staff because the lead shade commentator.
“I jumped on a aircraft and flew out to New York and began cleansing out the outdated workplaces,” White defined on the Video games with Names podcast. “I used to be emptying all these packing containers and sending s*** to Vegas that I assumed I wanted to maintain from the workplace. That they had a VCR as a result of they’d f****** tapes for days. I should have watched 250, 300 tapes simply to ensure it wasn’t something [we needed]. So I popped on this tape and there was this speak present, The Keenan Ivory Wayans Present, the oldest Wayans brother had his personal speak present they usually had Joe Rogan on there.
“I knew Joe Rogan from Worry Issue as a result of I might watch on TV. Joe Rogan was speaking about how unhealthy ass UFC fighters have been and what they’d actually do to those karate guys that have been in films and s*** like that. I used to be like this man is aware of what he’s speaking about. He’s sensible, he’s humorous, he’s articulate. Earlier than we purchased the corporate, he labored for a short time for the UFC. He was a backstage interviewer however I didn’t even know that once I noticed the video tape of him.”
As soon as White noticed the tape with Rogan passionately discussing MMA fighters, he determined that was any person who might probably be part of the published staff for the brand new and improved UFC.
“I reached out to Rogan,” White defined. “At the moment I feel it was on the web, I reached out to him and we began speaking and I requested if he wish to work for us and be a commentator.”
It’s been effectively documented that the primary few years the UFC was beneath new possession that the group was dropping cash hand over fist. The Fertitta brothers continued to sink an increasing number of money into the promotion however the UFC was struggling to remain afloat.
It wasn’t till 2005 when The Final Fighter debuted that the UFC lastly began to show issues round however in between all people needed to lend a serving to hand to outlive — and that included Rogan.
“So should you have a look at the place the UFC was at the moment, we have been dropping cash like loopy,” White mentioned. “We purchased it for $2 million, which appears like an important story now, we ended up being nearly $40 million within the gap earlier than we turned it round.
“However Joe Rogan did the primary 12 or 13 exhibits without spending a dime. He mentioned ‘f*** yeah, I’ll come there and do it and sit in one of the best seats in the home’ and the whole lot else.”
Rogan has remained a staple on UFC broadcasts ever since and he’s nonetheless the lead shade commentator on each main pay-per-view broadcast that takes place in america.
“Joe and I’ve been tremendous shut associates for a really very long time,” White mentioned. “I might do something for Joe Rogan.”
