I'd pay to have seen this: Joe Rogan names the Hollywood A-lister he almost fought in the UFC before he pulled out of fight
Joe Rogan almost had a fight against a Hollywood actor in the UFC before the proposed bout collapsed.
Rogan has been with the UFC since 1997 when he joined the promotion as a backstage and post-fight interviewer.
But at UFC 37.5 back in June 2002, he made his debut as a colour commentator.
The 57-year-old is still with the UFC as a colour commentator and calls the action on American soil.
He's not just an avid UFC fan but also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, owning a black belt under Eddie Bravo's 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu.
And he nearly put his skills to the test inside the famed Octagon when he was briefly linked with a showdown against Wesley Snipes.
Aged 43 at the time, Rogan dedicated six months to training for the fight before Snipes pulled out.
Snipes, who starred in the Blade franchise, was in talks to fight fellow actor Jean-Claude Van Damme but then-UFC official Campbell McClaren advised him to fight the UFC personality instead.
Speaking on his podcast in 2016, Rogan recalled: "He’s like, ‘nobody’s gonna pay to see you and Jean-Claude Van Damme fight'.
"You have to fight someone who was 'current'. So, he said, 'would you fight Joe Rogan? And he said, 'Yup, let’s do it'. So, they came to me, and I went, 'How much money?' And then they started talking, then I said, 'OK, let’s see what happens'."
Rogan added: "I just didn’t think that anybody who didn’t know any jiu-jitsu could learn it quick.
"I was already a brown belt by then, and I just knew what happened when a brown belt fights a white belt. I just can’t imagine.
"I know how to stand up, and even if I wasn’t good at striking anymore like I was when I was a kid, I’m good enough to know what to not do and where to not be. And if I get a hold of someone who doesn’t know jiu-jitsu, I’m pretty sure I’m choking the f**k out of them.
"He’s never wrestled; he never had a competitive martial arts match, whether it’s a kickboxing fight or karate fight. I was like, 'I’m gonna choke the f**k out of this guy. I’m gonna get a hold of him, and I’m gonna squeeze the sh*t out of him, and they’re gonna give me a lot of money, and he’s probably not even gonna get hurt'. That’s what I thought."
