Joe Rogan has shared some interesting thoughts about the Greatest of All Time debate in the UFC heavyweight division.
Rogan, who has spent years as a color commentator for the UFC, got into the topic during a conversation with rapper Action Bronson on his podcast.
He shared his belief that there is no singular GOAT in the heavyweight division, as many of the weight class’s best fighters could beat each other on any given night.
“I don’t think there’s a real GOAT in heavyweight, because there’s times where one guy would have beaten all the other guys,” he said.
Joe Rogan names the UFC fighters in the heavyweight GOAT conversation
That being said, there are a few names Rogan believes belong in the conversation.
One is former champ Cain Velasquez.
“I love Cain,” he said. “He’s in there, he’s in the GOAT category.
“Prime Cain against anyone ever… who knows?” he added. “Prime Cain was an unstoppable tornado of punches and takedowns. No fatigue. It’s not coming. You think he’s going to get tired, he’ll never get tired.”
Rogan also gave some love to former champ Stipe Miocic, who holds the distinction of most consecutive title defenses in UFC heavyweight history.
“You’ve got to put Stipe in there because he defended the heavyweight title more than anybody,” he said. “He beat Ngannou when Ngannou was in his prime, and got rocked a bunch of times and came back. You’ve got to give it to him. He’s always going to be in the GOAT category.”
Another fighter who is often hailed as the greatest heavyweight in MMA history is Russia’s Fedor Emelianenko. While he never fought in the UFC, Rogan was happy to give him his flowers.
“Fedor, of course,” he said. ‘The real connoisseur, the real hardcore MMA heads, they’re like ‘Fedor is the GOAT.’”
The final name Rogan included in his heavyweight GOAT category is Brazil’s Fabricio Werdum. As he pointed out, Werdum actually beat many of the other fighters in the conversation.
“I always say everyone forgets about Fabricio Werdum,” he said. “Fabricio Werdum tapped Cain Velasquez, ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, and Fedor. He tapped Fedor when Fedor was Fedor.
“When you look at Fabricio Werdum in his prime, he’s in that range. He beat Cain Velasquez, he beat Mark Hunt with a flying knee to win the title. Bro, he beat the best of the best. He beat them all, and he tapped three of the all time greats.”
Does Joe Rogan have the heavyweight GOAT list right? Let us know in the comments.