“He wouldn’t know. He’s not an expert, he’s a fan with an audience. [He] never fought.” When Ronda Rousey said this during a recent interview with Bert Kreischer, many took it as her reigniting an old feud with UFC commentator Joe Rogan. As one of the longest-standing voices of Dana White’s promotion, Rogan has been synonymous with the UFC’s rise to global prominence. So when a former champion like Rousey took a public jab at such an iconic figure, fans braced for a fiery response. But to everyone’s surprise, Rogan handled what many considered an insult with remarkable calm and maturity.

At JRE #2410 with Jeff Dye, when the comments came up, the 58-year-old replied, “She’s a legend. I mean, I got nothing but love and respect for that lady. What she did was so impressive; she was the first legitimate female superstar. She made the UFC women’s division possible. If it wasn’t for her… Dana was very open about never having female UFC fighters. It took that dynamic, that special, to open his eyes to say, ‘You know what, I think this lady is a star.’”

Joe Rogan had long praised Ronda Rousey for her skills and once even claimed that she could beat some of the male fighters in the UFC. However, after Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes defeated her, the cageside commentator walked back on those comments during a JRE podcast episode with Nick DiPaolo in 2017. That moment essentially marked the start of their animosity. Even after so many years, Rousey still seemed to carry some disappointment toward him, which resurfaced as criticism during the interview.

Still, Rogan appeared unfazed by the comments and saw them as part of her championship mentality and high standards. “When she said that I wasn’t an expert—everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you got to understand why she thinks like that. She has a champion mentality. ‘You never fought, you ain’t s—.’ It’s real simple… I get it. It’s totally fine,” Joe Rogan continued.

With that statement, Rogan has done his part to cool down the tension, and only time will tell how the UFC legend responds. Interestingly, UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko also came to Rogan’s defense at the UFC 322 media day, praising his knowledge of martial arts, and Chael Sonnen went as far as to question Rousey’s star status as well. It only goes to show how much both stars and fans have invested in this conversation. Now that the cageside commentator has made his thoughts public about his beef with Ronda Rousey, let’s see how fans have reacted to it.  

Fans react to Joe Rogan’s response to Ronda Rousey’s insult

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “I knew Joe wouldn’t stoop to her level. Much respect Joe 🙏.” Here, the fan appreciated Rogan for giving a mature and composed response while still calling out Rousey for her earlier comments on Bert Kreischer’s podcast. Sharing a similar sentiment, another fan commented, “Rogan is pure class, he brushed off Ronda’s insults, gave her the respect she’s due and gave an accurate analysis of what went wrong for her.”

And that’s actually true. As mentioned earlier, many expected Rogan and Rousey to get into a full-blown verbal spat. However, the UFC color commentator’s display of maturity earned him plenty of praise from fans. Still, not everyone agreed with Rogan’s take, as another fan had a completely different reaction, saying, “Joe always giving her excuses man. Stop defending that sore loser Joe. You know damn well she was trying to bash you.” Well, it seems Rogan prefers to handle sensitive matters in his own way.

Another fan also complimented Rogan for praising Rousey’s career for most of his response, writing, “The fact that he took the time to compliment her for 15 minutes after she trashed him just shows the difference in class and professionalism.” This user implied that Rogan, being a martial arts practitioner himself, knew how to handle the situation with more clarity and composure than ‘Rowdy.’

Finally, another fan pointed out something interesting, saying, “Joe basically says, it’s not easy being a Rockstar.” Here, the fan referred to how Rogan brought up, during the podcast, the point where Rousey’s career started to shift—after her two consecutive losses. He also noted that it’s not easy to be in the former bantamweight champion’s shoes, having experienced both the glory and the downfall.

That said, do you think Joe Rogan and Ronda Rousey’s beef will finally die down now that the UFC commentator has opened up about it? Or will things go differently? Comment down below.