“We Both Thought He’d Beat BJ”: 21 Years After Iconic Showdown With BJ Penn, Joe Rogan and Co. Drop a Startling Claim on Matt Serra’s Performance

Podcasts are not just entertaining, but a means to assimilate knowledge. Having a sit down with renowned personalities from different walks of life and exchanging stories and incidents is something that podcast host and UFC commentator Joe Rogan enjoys doing and makes a living out of. As the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan has given his audience a great forum for entertainment, news, and knowledge.

Besides being an extremely interesting personality, Rogan is a man who has layers to him. He has a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has spent a great part of his life doing gigs as a stand-up comedian. A self-made man, Rogan has a lot of stories to tell and in his recent podcast episode, he had some legendary MMA and UFC fighters over, who he walked down memory lane with.

BJ Penn’s ‘controversial win’ over guest Matt Serra – Joe Rogan and his MMA friend were rooting for

Joe Rogan has always expressed his admiration for BJ Penn. One of the greatest UFC fighters ever, BJ Penn was one of the biggest fighters of his time.

MMA legend John Rallo, who is the man behind getting MMA sanctioned in Maryland, was one of the guests on Ep. #142 of The Joe Rogan Experience, alongside legendary UFC fighters like Din Thomas, and Matt Serra, both former opponents BJ Penn.

Rallo started talking about the 2002 fight between Matt Serra and BJ Penn, recalling how both Joe Rogan and John Rallo were rooting for Serra ahead of his eventual loss to Penn. The loss to Penn seemed unfair to both Rallo and Rogan at the time as they were of the idea that Matt Serra would be the one walking away with the win. Rogan tried recalling if the fight was under the UFC promotion or under Pride FC when Rallo clarified.

“It was UFC. He actually fought… cause I remember you saying, ’cause – we both thought he’d beat BJ, even though you didn’t get the decision.” reminded John Rallo. 

“Yeah… Rolla and I have had some fun on the road man! We’ve done a lot of gigs together.”, recalled the podcast host, with a smile on his face. “It’s just like those friendships that you make in the early days, they’re… they’re… they’re kinda special.” added the UFC commentator.

Apparently, Rogan had one of his gigs in Baltimore but both Rogan and Rallo believed that Matt Serra would take the win at UFC 39.

Remembering the old ways – A more savage UFC from the past

The conversation between the four legends continued and the topic of discussion became UFC but from the older days. Talking about a more ‘savage’ and ‘animalistic’ UFC, Rogan said, “Cause like we were there… you know… the UFC in 2001 was a different thing man… different animal. It was so fringe.“, continuing the previous conversation. 

UFC has developed over the years. The rules have become somewhat more stringent over the years. However, today, UFC is far more popular than it used to be, back in the early 2000s.

Read More – “I Say He’s Number 2” – Despite Defeating Francis Ngannou & Alex Pereira, Joe Rogan’s “Spinning-Back Kick” Was Once Rated Below This Fighter by Michael Jai White

Do you think Joe Rogan is right about UFC being more brutal back in the day? Do you think Matt Serra should have won that fight against BJ Penn back in 2002? Let us know in the comments below.

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