Joe Rogan said Dana White’s decision to grant star’s UFC dream was like a pitbull fighting a puppy

Joe Rogan didn’t approve of a move that was heavily criticized by fans back in 2016.

Rogan initially turned down Dana White’s offer to become the UFC’s commentator due to the promotion’s financial position at the time.

Both men have gone on to become two of the most important figures in the history of the sport, but that doesn’t mean they always see eye-to-eye on everything.

Rogan has pushed for changes that White isn’t in favor of, which he believes would improve the sport for both the fans and the athletes.

The stand-up comedian and podcaster was also vocal about not supporting a fight that the promotion put together, which generated a lot of discussion.

Joe Rogan was stunned by the decision to have CM Punk fight Mickey Gall in the UFC

On the same night that Alistair Overeem was booed after he lost to Stipe Miocic, CM Punk made his UFC debut.

UFC 203 in September of 2016 saw the WWE superstar, real name Phil Brooks, get submitted by Mickey Gall in the opening round of his MMA debut.

Joe Rogan, who was surprised by one aspect of Punk’s UFC career, was critical of the promotion’s decision to book the fight both before and after it happened.

“I was like, who said yes to this?” Rogan reflected during the JRE MMA Show #31. “Why the f— would you say yes to this? This is one hundred percent guaranteed brain damage. There’s no way you’re going to beat him. You don’t have a god d— chance in hell. You have no chance.”

The UFC’s long-time commentator went on to say that he received criticism from Punk’s fans for downplaying his chances of beating Gall ahead of the fight, which he hit back at.

“I understand what I’m talking about man,” Rogan said. “This is like I’ve got a pitbull and I’m gonna put him in the cage with a puppy. What do you think is going to happen? The pitbull’s gonna kill this puppy. This is how it works.”

Joe Rogan shared the same complaint as many fans ahead of CM Punk’s UFC debut

While many, like Joe Rogan, expected CM Punk to lose his UFC debut against Mickey Gall, that wasn’t why people had an issue with him receiving this opportunity.

Dana White described it as being Punk’s “dream” to fight in the UFC, but his star status meant that he received a higher spot on the card and much more attention than far better fighters.

Rogan raised this as another issue that he had with the matchup when dissecting it on his podcast.

“I don’t like that being on PPV. I understand they’re selling PPV cards but PPV in the UFC should be the elite fighters. Curtis Blaydes vs Alistair Overeem should have been on that PPV card [referring to UFC 225 where Punk made his return to the UFC]. That should have been on there, not what we got to see.”