Dana White and Joe Rogan have a close relationship. In fact, the UFC CEO once revealed how Rogan first came to his attention. This was last year when White had a sitdown on the Game With Names podcast.
His decision to hire Rogan stemmed from a fateful trip he had taken to the UFC's then New York-based offices following his and the Fertittas brothers' purchase of the company. While cleaning out the offices, he came across VCR tapes, one of which contained an episode of the Keenen Ivory Wayans Show.
Rogan happened to be feature on said episode, during which he impressed White.
"Joe Rogan was talking about how bada*s UFC fighters were and what they would really do to some of these karate guys that were in movies and sh*t like that. And I was like, 'Man, this guy knows what he's talking about. He's smart, he's funny, he's articulate.' So, I reached out to Rogan. At that time I think it was on the internet, I think I reached out to him. We started talking, and I asked him if he would like to work for us and be a commentator."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
White also revealed how Rogan had initially worked in an unpaid position at the promotion, which more than endeared him to the future UFC CEO.
"So, if you look at where the UFC was at that time, we were losing money like crazy. We bought it for $2 million, which sounds like a great story now, [but] we ended up almost $40 million in the hole before we turned it around. But Joe Rogan did like the first 12 or 13 shows for free. He said, 'F*ck yeah, I'll come there and do it and sit in the best seats in the house and everything else.' So, Joe and I have been super close friends for a very long time."
Check out Dana White detailing his decision to hire Joe Rogan (59:58):
Now, the rest is history, with Rogan being the longest tenured commentator in UFC history and an MMA legend himself.
Joe Rogan claimed he wouldn't want to work for anyone but Dana White
On episode #142 of the JRE MMA Show, Joe Rogan revealed the depth of his devotion to Dana White. If the latter is ever axed from his position in the UFC, he will leave as well.
"It's in my contract that if he ever leaves, I leave."
Check out Joe Rogan's devotion to Dana White (18:50):
Now, the two men have become the most have become synonymous with the UFC.