When it comes to mixing MMA and comedy, Joe Rogan’s name instantly comes to mind. The UFC color commentator has been walking both paths for years, and few have reached the level of stardom he’s achieved. After all, most people can’t generate that kind of passion for even one thing, let alone two. But for Rogan, his deep love for both feels more like an obsession that helped him to define his interests. 

To be honest, that’s probably what makes Joe Rogan such a dedicated practitioner of both martial arts and comedy—two crafts that teach you how to protect yourself and how to have a laugh. However, he believes the real beauty of these art forms lies in their unpredictability. Since neither offers a clear path to success, Rogan draws lifelong inspiration from those who’ve walked a similar road, chasing mastery in their own way just like he does.

Joe Rogan opens up about his equal love for comedy and MMA 

On the latest JRE episode with Grammy Award-winning country singer and songwriter Miranda Lambert, Rogan explained, “That’s why I got into fighting, that’s why I got into comedy. It’s like, let’s say if you want to be a lawyer, you know how many people trying to be lawyer? Oh my god! You gotta get to law school, you gotta get a degree, you gotta pass the bar. You gotta get hired by some sort of law firm, and you gotta try cases. Lot of people are trying to be lawyers. Because there’s a clear pathway.”

Here, Rogan explained how being a lawyer or getting into a general field has a clear pathway where one can follow a map to reach their goal. Stating that, the 58-year-old also pointed out how, in comedy or MMA, the path isn’t as clear, making it harder for someone to follow and actually achieve success. 

He stated on the JRE episode #2402, “But if the pathway is like foggy, how do you become a professional fighter? Like, I’ll go that pathway, no one’s doing that. Like people that are doing that are crazy. Like the people that are doing that are all crazy. Those are my kind of people. Or if you (choose) the pathway of how to be like a comedian, like oh yeah. All these people are misfits. This is perfect, these are my people.”  

And that’s true! Rogan has been performing comedy since 1988. Alongside, he also joined the UFC in 1997 as a backstage interviewer. From there, his career only grew, and today, Rogan owns the Comedy Mothership stand-up club and serves as the UFC’s lead commentator. Through it all, he’s earned the respect of both his fellow comedians and the MMA fighters who work just as hard to chase their dreams. 

So, reaching that level of success doesn’t come without having a healthy obsession for what you love. And since we already know how deeply Rogan cares about both crafts, let’s dive into a story where he leaned on one of them a little more than the other.

UFC commentator once injured a training partner    

For the unversed, Joe Rogan was a competitive martial artist while also trying his luck in comedy. During his teenage years, he taught Taekwondo to kids and competed in several amateur kickboxing matches before eventually calling it quits. Because of that, he often trained with sparring partners. But one time, the UFC commentator got a bit carried away and ended up breaking his partner’s face.

At Joe Rogan Experience #2291 – Bert Kreischer, he said, “Guys get knocked out all the time. I saw dozens of fighters get knocked out in the gym. I did a lot of it. It was scary. You would be super nervous before class. You’re sparring three or four days a week if you’re smart. You have to stay sharp. I hit him with a wheel kick in the cheek. He went out, his eyes rolled back in his head, he collapses.”

That was definitely a ‘training session gone wrong’. But surprisingly, Rogan also revealed that the guy got right back up and wanted to spar again. He added, “Then, he tried to get back up, slowly. “He gets back up, and he’s like, ‘I’m good’. Then, like 30 seconds later, he wants to keep sparring. I’m like, ‘You’ve got to stop’. But he was just a monster, like a savage person.”      

Well, that’s exactly the kind of obsession Rogan was talking about earlier, whether it’s martial arts or any other craft. That said, what do you think about the UFC commentator opening up about his two favorite passions? Let us know in the comments below.