Joe Rogan Interviews UFC 249 Fighters Without Social Distance
My oh my how the tides have turned with Joe Rogan. Prior to UFC 249, Rogan was adamant that he would not be participating in any upcoming UFC events. Especially ones that were set to take place during the global virus. But, Rogan was present for 249 participating in his regular duties. Although Joe was instructed to keep his social distance away from the fighters, Rogan elected to ignore those rules, and carry out interviews as usual.
Rogan was already reasonably indecisive about working UFC 249. In fact, he went on record declaring that he would not be there. On his podcast, he said he wouldn’t attend the event even if it could resume. Despite that, Dana White remained steadfast that, not only would the event be happening, but Joe would definitely be there to commentate.
Turns out, Dana was right. Not only did Rogan participate in the event, but he also conducted post-fight octagon interviews. Clearly, Rogan wasn’t six feet away from the fighters in those instances. But, he had his reasons for interviewing the way that he did.
Rogan on Doing Interviews As Per Usual
Rogan revealed that he went against the UFC’s orders during the post-fight wrap-up.
“They were going to make me do them from like two yards away. We’re all clean,” said Rogan.
“Everyone’s been tested, but they were going to make me do interviews from 50 feet away. I’m like, ‘I can’t, I want to see them, look into their eyes.’”
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 10, 2020
Event Procedures Going Forward
Throughout the night, fans viewing from their homes were wondering about the interviews. Especially because everyone assumed that due to safety precautions, there would be no discussions after the fights.
Now that the UFC had an initial safe event, more measures will be taken to provide even more safety during Wednesday’s card, and so on. Because the format is so new, expect adjustments to be made as the promotion continues to host events. For now, fans can enjoy knowing that they’ll still get commentary and interviews from Rogan.
