The sight of Joe Rogan interviewing a recently brutalized Daniel Cormier after his UFC 214 KO loss to Jon Jones was tough for a lot of fans to stomach. Vicious strikes to Cormier’s head laid the (now former) champion out and Rogan asking an injured man questions was something seen as anywhere between misguided and completely tasteless. Rogan has heard the backlash against the interview and he completely agrees with the criticism sent his way.
Addressing the pushback against interviewing post-KO D.C., Rogan expressed his thoughts across a collection of social media platforms. Rogan, who did acknowledge on the broadcast his previously stated dislike for interviewing knocked out fighters, says the chat with completely uncalled for. Rogan apologized to Cormier and said the controversial interview was entirely his fault.
“In all honestly I was kind of in shock and I don’t think I realized what I was doing until I had a mic in my hand and I was talking to him,” offered the UFC broadcast mainstay. “I’ve said that I don’t want to interview fighters after they’ve been KO’ed and then I did it to someone that I care a great deal about. It was 100% my f*ck up and no one pressured me to do it.”
This version of events syncs up with what Dana White told USA Today about the interview. White claims no UFC official encouraged Rogan to speak with Cormier on the live broadcast after being dispatched by Jones. He also semi-endorsed the decision to interview Cormier.
“They told Rogan not to do the interview with him,” White said. “Rogan did it (anyway). You have to let the guy talk. I think you have to let the guy talk.”
We’ll have to wait and see if Daniel Cormier addresses the subject of interviewing KO’d in his future work as an MMA analyst.
