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6 days ago
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Joe Rogan has been commentating on UFC events for over two decades, but he revealed that his only unfulfilled wish is never seeing Fedor Emelianenko in the octagon.
In an interview with Ilya Topuria on his podcast, he talked about his career and how attached he is to Dana White and the organization. He managed to build a successful career through the UFC, but still didn't see everything he wanted.
"My biggest regret in MMA is that we never saw Fedor fight in the UFC when he was in his prime. If I could wish for one thing, one fight in his 'prime,' it would be him fighting Cain Velasquez in his prime. That would be incredible," Rogan told the former featherweight champion.
Emelianenko is considered by many to be the best MMA fighter of all time, even though he never competed in the UFC. However, during his time with Pride FC (the leading organization at the time), he was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. After Dana White took over Pride in 2007, many fighters, including Mirko Cro Cop, Vanderlei Silva, and others, moved to the new organization, but the Russian was not among them. Instead, he decided to continue his career through engagements in various promotions such as Strikeforce, Rizin, and Bellator.
When asked why Emelianenko never signed with the organization, the famous podcaster and commentator said that they tried, but there were certain "complications in the negotiations."
"They tried. I have to be careful how I say it. Fedor was managed by some people from Russia who were quite dangerous; let's say they were gangsters. They were negotiating with Dana White, but their demands were very unreasonable. They wanted a share of the ownership in the promotion; they wanted to have a share in everything because they knew that with Fedor in their hands, they had a golden ticket, and they wanted to make the most of it," Rogan explained.
As Rogan tells it, the situation was so tense that Dana White was forced to increase his security.
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