Is Joe Rogan on the way out ?

Joe Rogan is synonymous with MMA and the UFC in particular. But for a long time he was a lot more than that. A celebrated stand-up, an actor, and a show host.

Joe's love of MMA predates all of that, and it's a deep love. As is talking health and nutrition. But as we all do in time, he's pumped the breaks a bit, on his crazy hectic schedule. He no longer travels to cover certain events, paving the way for new broadcasters to get their air-time.

Eventually he will stop completely; choosing to go on the road for comedy gigs when he wishes, and staying close to home in Los Angeles to do his podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" instead. And even maybe grabbing an acting role if the right script presented itself. The one thing he will most definitely continue is working out. It's a way of life and not a choice for the Bostonian.

So how does someone associated so much with something eventually bow out. There was talk that when the UFC was sold for the $4.2 billion, he'd call it a day then. But he pushed on obviously. The grind of being a broadcaster is way more than just showing up on fight night and talking into a microphone. There's a lot of studying that goes on. And for someone that strives to be the best, that workload is heavy. Seriously heavy.

This whole coronavirus situation has got the world re-thinking everything it does, and what's truly important. From the get-go, Joe's been hesitant to come out and say "that's it! I'm officially done". But there has been some cracks in the Rogan - Dana White wall of late. On a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan bluntly said "I'm NOT calling the 249 fights". It's an undeniable fact that those words came out of his mouth unprovoked.

When asked by Bret Okamoto about it, Dana confirmed Rogan will be broadcasting the card. He too, in his normally blusterous way in effect said "you can't believe what you read or hear from other sources". Only problem is that the source was Rogan's own mouth.

So word went out and it was reported all over the MMA scene that Joe is in for UFC 249. Until last night's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with AI genius YouTuber Lex Fridman. Again he stated he had no clue and there's lots of issues including all the safety ones.

Now does a broadcaster have to be on site? No. They can be in a production facility, a booth, or a studio far away as long as they have a monitor, a mic, and an audio board. As a matter of fact a lot more sporting events are done like that than the public are aware of. With the right tech you can sound like you're in the middle of Times Square during rush hour but you're really in a sound proof booth in Antarctica.

Which brings us to have we actually seen the last of Joe cageside for the UFC? Probably not. However there's definitely something deep behind the scenes going on with Joe and Dana. And the fact Rogan doesn't necessarily need the UFC money at this point or to get his name out there is a huge chip he can play to his advantage.