How UFC would look like if Joe Rogan was in charge: Commentator shares ideas for radical changes

Joe Rogan has proposed a few drastic changes he'd bring if he helmed the UFC. For his part, the veteran UFC color commentator has consistently maintained that the sport of MMA ought to be open to evolution.

The world's premier MMA organization (UFC) and most others adhere to the Unified Rules of MMA. Fights are usually contested inside a cage with fighters sporting fingerless gloves, and referee stand-ups are commonplace. Promotions like Rizin FF and ONE Championship organize bouts in rings too.

On episode 162 of the JRE MMA Show, Joe Rogan hosted UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. Among other topics, Rogan notably asserted that rather than a cage, a fight should transpire in an enormous space like a basketball court with no fence. He indicated that it'll provide better visibility for fans and adequate space for fighters. He'd alluded to having pitched this idea before.

Rogan suggested that fighters who keep entering the "danger zone" toward the space's edges would lose points, encouraging them to fight in the center:

"I think fighting should take place with no cage. It'd be easier to see. And I think it should be on a basketball court. And you fight in the center."

Rogan listed two key changes. One is making fighters wear gloves wherein the leather completely covers their fingertips. He feels the glove could still hurt the eye, but not as much as a finger(s) to the eye:

"No, I think you should have time limits. I think you should even have rounds. But if I was running things, this is what I would do. Number one, first thing I'd do, cover the fingertips."

Secondly, Rogan would discard referee stand-ups even if the fighter in the top position isn't inflicting damage. Moreover, in case of a pause in action or end of the round, the fighters should be restarted in the same position and not necessarily on the feet as is customary in modern-day MMA fights:

"Second thing I would do, wherever the f**k, nobody gets stood up ever for any reason, unless someone gets injured, or some foul, or something happens wrong, somebody bite somebody, some crazy sh**, then stand people up."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (1:13:00):

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Joe Rogan breaks down takedown aspect in proposed MMA fight enclosure

Joe Rogan acknowledged that the referee stand-ups are incorporated because fans generally dislike prolonged grappling exchanges, especially when a fighter holds down the other without inflicting much damage. Rogan believes eliminating referee stand-ups could reduce fan interest, pay-per-view sales, and revenues, but would be the purest version of MMA.

Furthermore, Rogan proposed a "giant matted down space" enclosed by ropes far away and security to prevent potential trespassers. He feels grapplers would find it tough to take opponents down, as they can't set up cage-adjacent trips. Alternatively, the 57-year-old foresees fighters having a harder time getting up without wall-walking/using the fence as leverage:

"You have to take them down on a flat ground with no help. And he's got to get up without the cage. He can't wall-walk up to the cage, press his back up, and use the leverage. Uh, uh. Get up. You're in the middle of the f**king matted area. Get up." [1:16:36]