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“The Fertitta’s and Dana Why They Brought In…”: Joe Rogan’s Opinion – “MMA Really Shouldn’t Have Gloves On” – Disputed by UFC Hall of Famer

Published 03/16/2023, 7:57 AM EDT

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UFC commentator Joe Rogan‘s recent remarks on the efficacy of human fists as a fighting tool drew reactions from multiple personalities in combat sports. The 55-year-old, during a recent JRE episode, had claimed that elbows and knees were a much better attacking option than bare fists – which he believed could easily break during a fight. Rogan made this remark while expressing his belief that MMA could also do without gloves and wraps around the hand, making it a more versatile sport; resulting in fighters employing their joints more than their fists.

Since this claim came in as a bit of a shock for fans, another UFC personality too chimed in with his opinion on the subject. Although not completely rebuking the commentator’s belief, this former UFC champ questioned if the sport would have even reached this point without having the adequate protection it has currently.

Bisping on Joe Rogan’s statement, claiming that MMA shouldn’t have gloves on 

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Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, famous for his durability and toughness during his heydays as a fighter, shared his opinion on the commentator’s claims. Considering that the former welterweight champ has experienced the entire life cycle of an elite pro fighter, his opinions here do hold a lot of weight from that perspective.

“Joe’s been around the UFC way longer than I have. He’s part of the furniture there, but I kinda disagree,” said Bisping. He then talked about the evolution of the sport from its initial days when it was heavily criticized for the violence involved. “When you look at where MMA has come to where it is now … like it wasn’t allowed on TV, and all the two-man enter and one man leave and human c**k-  fighting comparisons and things like that; and we broke down all those barriers and it’s become a mainstream sport all over the globe pretty much, which is crazy,” exclaimed Bisping.

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Lauding Dana White and former partners, the Fertitta brothers, the 44-year-old claimed it wouldn’t have been possible for MMA to be in its current state without their efforts. Since the concept of gloves inside the cage was initiated after the brother purchased the promotion, Bisping hit the bull’s eye with this assessment.

“I mean listen the Fertitta’s and Dana why they brought in the unified rules of mixed martial arts. They got it sanctioned by the athletic commissions, there’s no way that would have happened if there wasn’t gloves on there,” said Bisping.

Joe Rogan earlier claimed that gloves gave fighters a wrong sense of confidence in the cage

Claiming that human fists are not necessarily designed for combat, Rogan had made a statement during his conversation with Derek Wolfe, arguing that it was instead meant to be used for grabbing onto stuff.

“MMA really shouldn’t have gloves on..you have a false sense of confidence, what you could do with your fists because this is not really designed for punching things. It’s designed for grabbing things.”

Although maybe scientifically he does make sense, Bisping opined that MMA without gloves would just be extremely tough for both viewers and the fighters.

“I think it just makes it a little bit easier to digest… I think just in terms of a product that you’re trying to sell that you’re trying to mass Market if you didn’t have gloves on that would be very hard.” claimed the veteran.

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Ultimately, Michael Bisping’s argument would clearly appear to be the more popular one. And although Rogan is known for making pitch-perfect statements, maybe this debate goes to Bisping.

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What do you think of this topic? Is Bisping right with his assessment or is Joe Rogan more accurate? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Written by:

Pragjyoti Singh

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Pragjyoti is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. He is extremely passionate about MMA and has a good understanding of the sport and its technicalities. Having trained in the sport along with a passion for journalism, it has helped him develop a keen interest in the UFC and anything related to the promotion.
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Edited by:

Rohini Kottu