"Dana has long rooted Mafia tie", "KGB" - Fans stunned by Joe Rogan’s claim on Russian mafia blocking Fedor Emelianenko's UFC debut

Joe Rogan recently shared his thoughts on why Fedor Emelianenko never made his UFC debut. The 57-year-old's comments have circulated widely, sparking reactions from fans.

'The Last Emperor' was regarded as one of the most dominant heavyweight fighters during his prime at Pride FC. Given his impressive fight resume and Zuffa's acquisition of Pride in 2007, many believed that Emelianenko's debut in the UFC was inevitable.

However, the Russian fighter never made it to the octagon. During the latest JRE MMA Show episode with Ilia Topuria, Rogan revealed the reasons he believes contributed to this outcome and said:

“Fedor [Emelianenko] was controlled by some Russian people who were very rough men, gangster-type characters. They had negotiations with the UFC, but they had unreasonable demands. They wanted part of the promotion, they wanted to own a piece of everything. Negotiations were very intense and very confrontational. They got so bad that Dana White had to increase his security. These were dangerous people.”

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below: (via @menacemma_ on Instagram)

Several fight fans and netizens quickly shared their reactions to Rogan's claim, with one user writing:

"Dana has long rooted Mafia ties👀"

Another user wrote:

"KGB"

Others commented:

"Anyone know off the air story? 😂

"Or that's just how you don't get robbed from the ufc."

"You can view as a dangerous thing but maybe they were actually looking for him not to get swindle & requested more pay & that’s how they were going about it 🤷🏽‍♂️"

Check out more fan reactions below:

Fans' reaction to Joe Rogan's claim about Fedor Emelianenko's potential UFC move. [Screenshot courtesy: @menacemma_ on Instagram]

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Joe Rogan reveals his "main regret" in MMA

Joe Rogan has been a part of the MMA community since the early days of the UFC. Throughout the years, he has witnessed many exciting matchups and highly anticipated fights.

However, there is one clash that Rogan never got to see in his career: a potential fight between Cain Velasquez and Fedor Emelianenko. In a recent discussion with Ilia Topuria on his podcast, Rogan referred to this as his biggest regret in MMA. He said:

"My main regret in MMA is we never got to see Fedor fight in the UFC when he was in his prime. If I could have one thing, one fight in their prime, Fedor (Emelianenko) vs. Cain Velasquez. In their prime. That would have been incredible."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (34:35):