Joe Rogan Critiques Stephen A. Smith's UFC 246 Analysis
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| Joe Rogan gave his take on the highly-scrutinized comments of ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. |
UFC colour-commentator, Joe Rogan has spent twenty-three years in the commentary booth, whether than be alongside now Bellator MMA flagship commentator, Mike Goldberg, or UFC mainstay, Jon Anik. Simply put, the 52-year-old is widely considered as one of the most knowledgeable, and experienced representatives the company currently has.
Since the birth of the promotion's partnership with ESPN at the beginning of last year - we've become all too familiar with the screen presence of NBA analyst, Stephen A. Smith. In short, at UFC 246 last weekend in Las Vegas - the post-fight comments from Smith were entirely disrespectful toward event headliner, Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. Whether it was a severe lack of knowledge or just a ploy - the perceived analysis, was incredibly ignorant toward one of the sport's most recognizable, revered and successful combatants.
Cerrone, who battled Conor McGregor in the main event, dropped a forty-second knockout defeat to the former two-weight world champion, suffering a broken nose and a mild fractured orbital bone in the process. In his post-fight comments, Smith spoke of Cerrone as if he had quit during the fight and criticized the Denver native's performance.
Speaking on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan discussed and dissected Smith's comments with former Strikeforce great, and current Bellator MMA colour-commentator, Josh 'The Punk' Thomson.
"You (Stephen A. Smith) call a guy a quitter," Rogan said. "First of all, he (Donald Cerrone) had a broken orbital bone, ok? You're saying he's a quitter? He got his face smashed, okay? He got cracked by one of the biggest punchers in the sport (Conor McGregor). He has the most wins in the sport. He has the most wins by finish. He has the most bonuses. I mean, c'mon. He has the most fights, c'mon. You're calling that guy a quitter? He got cracked, that's what happens. Fighting is the only sport where you could end it early, right? You can't end a football game in forty seconds. Imagine if your front line was so strong, your f**king quarterback was so badass that you could storm a football game in forty-seconds. It'd be a different sport."
Rogan also voiced how he would rather continue his post-fight analysis alongside former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, or surging lightweight contender, Paul Felder.
"I would have preferred to talk to 'DC' (Daniel Cormier) or (Paul) Felder or you, or anybody who understands the sport. I don't think it's the right way to do it. Stephen (A.) Smith was very nice to me too, and he said he was going to get into podcasting. I have no problem with him as a human being. Look, I don't know jack s**t about baseball. I don't know jack s**t about basketball, I literally don't even know the rules. When people foul people I'm not sure why. I know MMA, I understand it. So, if you wanna talk about MMA, I'd like to talk about MMA with someone else who knows MMA. Look, there's no positive in down-playing the career of Donald Cerrone, or what he can do as a fighter. What that showed to me, was how phenomenal Conor performed, that's what it showed me."
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