Is there no place for the UFC in Joe Rogan's purist MMA utopia? American podcaster shares bold vision

Joe Rogan has always had some wild visions of what he wants the sport of MMA to be. A purist in the most earnest sense, Rogan once said that he wants fights to happen in an open football field, never allowing fighters to use the cage to stall fights.

He's also fiercely against stand-ups and believe that if a round ends on the ground, the next round should also start there. Speaking of rounds, the 57-year-old podcaster also believes that fights shouldn't have them.

In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, Rogan explained further what an ideal MMA utopia looks like for him:

"My point is, I really wish there was no organizations. I really do. I really wish it was just all the best fighters competing. Look, I love the UFC. I've been working for the UFC forever and my loyalty is to the UFC. But I wish there was just only fighting. No organizations, just like boxing."

He continued:

"But the problem with boxing is it's very difficult to get these guys because they all have different promoters. And if they all have the same promoter they all get f*cked when it comes to negotiation."

Listen to Joe Rogan here (29:55):

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Ilia Topuria suggests to Joe Rogan a solution to his MMA utopia problem: MMA teams

Bouncing off of Joe Rogan's dilemma of MMA having no organizations like boxing but fighters getting caged by promoters, Ilia Topuria suggested an interesting solve. 'El Matador', being a huge football fan, saw the merit of having teams and organizations go against each other. He then proposed MMA teams, like Real Madrid.

While this concept isn't new and was attempted by the International Fight League back in the mid-2000s, Topuria wants to use the format of UEFA Champions League.

Topuria said (30:33):

"How they do like the Champions League. They have, like, for example, the Real Madrid. They have a team. That's why I would do, is create a team against another team. For example, I have Real Madrid. I sign like the best seven fighters in the world, whoever I want, in different weight classes.

"And you have, for example, Barcelona. You sign the seven best fighters in the world, you train them in one place, you do like all the strategy. And then we meet each other - we do a competition - like a Champions League."

Joe Rogan acknowledged that this is a good idea but it might fall apart once fighters get injured ahead of their fights. Topuria then suggested that in every weight class, a team should have two to three fighters to deal with this possible problem.