“He Made the UFC” – Despite Delivering Multi-Million PPV’s, Joe Rogan Snubs Conor McGregor to Credit Another Champion for His Promotion’s Success

Published 05/26/2023, 1:11 PM EDT

How did UFC become so popular? Which fighter made it possible for new fighters like Khabib, Poirier, and McGregor to stand tall and call themselves a UFC fighter and have the whole world know them by name? While it takes a team to realize such a big dream, podcast host and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, revealed the one name that contributed to the sport’s popularity, significantly.

The Joe Rogan Experience, being one of the greatest podcasts on Planet Earth, provides its listeners with content that is profound and diverse in nature. Big names from different games come on the show to exchange stories and experiences. It just so happens that the one with Bas Rutten revealed a lot about UFC in its early days and its rise to fame, at the hands of Chuck Liddell.

Bas Rutten and Joe Rogan discuss Chuck Liddell – The ‘Monster’

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Dutch-American actor and former UFC Heavyweight champion Bas Rutten sits down with Joe Rogan on Ep. #139. About an hour into the interview, the topic of Chuck Liddell comes up. Joe Rogan seizes this opportunity to talk about the beast that was Chuck Liddell, in his prime. He pulls up a video where Chuck Liddell punched pro-skater turned radio host Jason Ellis on the arm.

“This is Chuck in his fucking prime, too. Oh no!” said Joe Rogan with the video playing. Rutten exclaimed as they saw Liddell punching the former skater on the arm. “I don’t.. Yeah! In the arm.” said a confused Rogan. “As you can see, Chuck – he went to go! It’s crazy.” replied Bas Rutten.

“Chuck. That’s another one. Chuck Liddell, in his prime, was a fucking monster. Cause he could take it. He could take a shot in the chin so good that he would almost wait for it – almost daring you to hit him – fucking *roars*. And then, when he would win, he would *roars again*”, imitating Liddell. He was crazy, man. He made the UFC. In 2005, when UFC became popular, it was popular because of Forrest Griffin [inaudible].”, Rogan continued. “But then you got to see the champion. You got to see Chuck Liddell. And he was a fucking..” said Joe Rogan and without finishing his sentence, asked the crew to play a video of the match between Chuck Liddell and Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral.

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Joe Rogan picks Liddel over Conor with respect to who ‘made UFC’ – All about Episode 139

Chuck Liddell made quite an impact on the world of combat sports. He is accredited as one of the UFC fighters who helped popularize the sport. Joe Rogan shocked the world when he picked the former UFC champion over Conor McGregor when talking about which fighter popularized UFC. Although Conor McGregor is one of the most renowned and celebrated UFC fighters with numerous multi-million PPVs to his name, Rogan said Liddell was the name that made the sport big.

‘It Just Doesn’t Make Sense’- Chuck Liddell Plays Down Potential Jake Paul Fight

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The UFC has given quite a few actors to the world of cinema. Chuck Liddell made a name for himself in Hollywood by appearing in movies like Prison Riot, Silencer, and Cagefighter. An extremely dominant and charismatic individual, Liddell retired in 2010 but returned to the UFC in 2018 to fight Tito Ortiz. He lost that bout within the first round by knockout.

Watch This Story – What does Joe Rogan’s Studio look like? Take a look at the $200 million worth podcast’s home

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Written by:

Arghyadeep is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His love for combat sports dates back to the WWF. Being a 90’s kid, he grew up fascinated by showmanship, competitive fighting, and wrestling.

Edited by:

Anuj Jacob

“He Made the UFC” – Despite Delivering Multi-Million PPV’s, Joe Rogan Snubs Conor McGregor to Credit Another Champion for His Promotion’s Success

Bas Rutten and Joe Rogan discuss Chuck Liddell – The ‘Monster’

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Joe Rogan picks Liddel over Conor with respect to who ‘made UFC’ – All about Episode 139