Ronda Rousey was once the crowning jewel of the UFC. The former bantamweight champion was front and center on UFC’s marketing. After all, her rise to the top was the stuff of legends. She defended her titles an incredible six times during her time in the promotion. However, what goes up shall always come down. Only for Rousey, her fall from grace was drastic. She had back-to-back KO losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. 

After that, the UFC star couldn’t help but feel that the likes of Joe Rogan and others “turned” on her, something she claimed in an interview last year. After all, Rogan did say she could beat most male 135ers, only to backtrack after she lost to Holm at UFC 193. Perhaps that’s the reason behind her cutting comments about the veteran UFC color commentator in a recent podcast appearance with comedian Bert Kreischer, a close friend of Rogan. But another dominant female UFC champ wasn’t going to let the slander slide as she came to the podcaster’s rescue.

Valentina Shevchenko undermines Ronda Rousey

During her chat with Kreischer recently, the comedian revealed a conversation he was having with Joe Rogan about how long it would take him to prepare to fight Rousey. But Ronda Rousey responded by taking a jab at the UFC commentator. “He wouldn’t know,” she said with a smirk. “He’s not an expert, he’s a fan with an audience. Never fought … taekwondo is not fighting.” This left Kreischer hesitant to talk about the subject further, but Valentina Shevchenko is willing to talk. 

After the clip started circulating on X, the UFC flyweight champion responded by taking a swipe at Rousey. “I see Joe Rogan as [a] huge expert [in] Martial Arts, noble man, hunter, sportsman, and good example for youth,” she wrote, undermining Rousey’s opinion of Rogan. That said, Rogan himself has yet to comment on the matter. In the meantime, though, Shevchenko is preparing for her mega fight against Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 322.

It is quite interesting that Rousey would dismiss Joe Rogan as an expert in martial arts, especially citing his lack of experience competing inside the Octagon. To be fair to Rogan, lots of “experts” haven’t professionally competed in MMA. Journalist Luke Thomas never competed in MMA, but he has a black belt in Judo and was part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program while serving in the military. He’s revered as a subject matter expert in the sport. Jon Anik hasn’t competed in MMA (doesn’t even look the part), and he’s considered an expert.

Joe Rogan has competitive experience in Taekwondo, but he’s also extensively trained in Muay Thai and has a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. To say he isn’t an expert can be perceived as undermining the years he’s put into his work and his contributions to MMA in general.

‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts since her exit from the UFC in December 2016. She appeared on UFC’s sibling company WWE for a handful of years, but now she remains in retirement. Besides, Shevchenko isn’t the only one to have taken offense from Rousey’s remarks about Rogan. 

Chael Sonnen shares his take on Rousey’s remarks

Chael Sonnen didn’t hold back while dissecting Ronda Rousey’s recent comments about Joe Rogan. Speaking about it on his YouTube channel, Sonnen broke down Rousey’s comments, stating, “Ronda went heel. Ronda turned heel on Rogan to Kreischer, who is Rogan’s friend,” Sonnen said. “My takeaway, though… it wasn’t a performance. It wasn’t a character in front of a camera that decided to go heel.”

Sonnen theorized Rousey’s anger came from genuine hurt rather than hype. “That’s the part that you got wrong. They were never with you, and they never loved you. And there’s nothing mean about that. It’s called being a fan.” He added that Rousey herself has moved on from communities when she was done. “When she was a big star in the UFC… the moment she left, she stopped showing up to events. When she was done with that toy, she put it in the corner.”

That being said, it appears people in the UFC aren’t too fond of the comments from Ronda Rousey about Joe Rogan. Do you agree with them, or was Rousey out of line?