Michael Bisping Joins UFC 286 Commentary Team Instead of Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan continues his absence from international UFC events by deciding not to commentate UFC 286.

UFC 286
Michael Bisping (Left), UFC 286 poster (Middle), and Joe Rogan (Right)(Images via Instagram @MikeBisping @UFC @JoeRogan)

Joe Rogan won’t make the trip to London, England, for UFC 286. 

Rogan tends to avoid long-distance traveling to commentate UFC events. With that said, there was a possibility that the legendary podcaster would switch things up to witness the highly-anticipated trilogy fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman for the welterweight championship. 

MMAFighting has confirmed that Rogan isn’t joining the official UFC 286 broadcasting team. With the absence of the longtime commentator, Michael Bisping is stepping in to appear in front of his home crowd. 

Alongside Bisping will be Jon Anik, who made the announcement on Twitter, and Daniel Cormier, who revealed on the UFC Las Vegas broadcast that he would be missing the NCAA D1 Wrestling National Championships to attend UFC 286. Meanwhile, Megan Olivi has been chosen as the on-site reporter. 

Check out the official UFC 286 event poster below:

Who is fighting at UFC 286?

Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman each have a win against the other, with Usman winning in 2015 and Edwards winning in August 2022. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was a minute away from retaining the UFC welterweight championship before ‘Rocky’ shocked the world with a stunning head kick. The series will be settled with a rubber match in the UFC 286 main event. 

In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje returns to the Octagon after losing against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight championship last time out. ‘The Highlight’ has been matched up against rising contender Rafael Fiziev, who is coming off an impressive win against Rafael dos Anjos. The winner between these action-packed 155-pounders could find themselves one win away from a title shot. 

The UFC 286 pay-per-view main card also features three other bouts – Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena at 170 pounds, Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neil at 125 pounds, and Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze at 185 pounds. 

The preliminary card will likely get the O2 Arena rocking with several English fighters, including Jake Hadley, Christian Leroy Duncan, and Leron Murphy. UFC 286 goes down on Saturday, March 18, starting with the early prelims at 1:00 p.m. ET. The first ten matchups can be seen on ESPN+ before moving to pay-per-view. 

Watch a promo for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CprYSeHgJca/

Published on March 15, 2023 at 12:50 am
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