Weight cuts can often determine the outcome of a fight, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan has made his stance loud and clear, AGAIN. On August 28, 2025, Dana White announced a blockbuster title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili. The matchup was confirmed for the co-main event at UFC 322 after Weili vacated her strawweight crown to move up 10 lbs into the women’s flyweight division. Set to take place at Madison Square Garden on November 15, the announcement immediately sparked discussion across the MMA world, most notably from Rogan.

On the latest episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the Austin-based MMA enthusiast broke down the matchup and even called for a potential rule change, stressing that fighter safety must remain the UFC’s top priority. Speaking about the flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, Rogan said, “At this point in her career, it seems to me that she doesn’t wade into the fire like she did when she was younger.” Rogan acknowledged Zhang Weili‘s grit, stating, “Zhang Weili is a demon… she could do everything.” However, Rogan did express one concern about Weili, especially after her decision to move up in weight.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if Zhang Weili is even stronger at 125 because I don’t know how much weight she’s cutting. I don’t know how hard that 115 cut is. But when you’re down that low, 10 lbs is a giant difference. It’s so big,” he noted. This led guest comedian Bryan Callen to ask whether there had ever been an effort to create a weight class in between divisions, prompting Rogan to make his demand.

“There should be a weight class every 10 pounds for men… Like 185 to 205 is bananas. 20 lbs is crazy,” Rogan said during the podcast. Notably, while women’s UFC divisions already follow a 10-lb structure up to lightweight, the men’s weight classes become inconsistent from lightweight.

For example, a welterweight fighter can weigh anywhere between 155 and 170 lbs, which can create a major imbalance if opponents don’t come in at similar sizes. The same is the case for middleweight. However, the gap is much higher when you go up to light-heavy and heavyweight. “I think that they should have legitimately a weight class every 10 lbs in MMA. And I don’t think that’s bad,” Rogan added.

Regardless, whether the UFC and Dana White listen to Rogan’s concerns is yet to be seen, but this isn’t the first time the veteran analyst has pushed for the introduction of more weight classes. In fact, his call for reform isn’t anything new.

During UFC 314 in April this year, the event delivered with Paddy Pimblett stopping Michael Chandler and Alexander Volkanovski defeating Diego Lopes to reclaim his featherweight title. However, controversy erupted in the night when Virna Jandiroba faced Yan Xiaonan in a women’s strawweight clash.

Jandiroba dominated the fight, winning by unanimous decision, yet it was Xiaonan’s fence grab in the final round that drew Rogan’s ire. In his commentary, Rogan ripped into Jandiroba’s move, claiming it was “blatant, long-holding, [and] clearly cheating.” He argued that the UFC should adopt stricter punishments for rule breakers.

“If it was just an immediate, automatic point deduction every time you grabbed the fence, there would be no more fence grabs and eye pokes. It would all stop,” Rogan said. He even raised the unnecessary weight-cutting point to Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO Group Holdings Inc.

“I think weight-cutting should be eliminated… Come up with more weight classes. There should be a weight class every 10 pounds,” the veteran commentator said at the time.

Valentina is set to face Zhang Weili, who has moved up to flyweight, on November 15, and Joe Rogan? Well, the renowned UFC voice continues to demand strict rule changes in the UFC. However, only time will tell whether any such thing actually happens.