Joe Rogan might have created an issue about his observations on former MMA champion Jose Aldo’s physique last UFC 194.
Just recently, there was a leaked production audio posted on Youtube where Joe Rogan was saying that Aldo looked “soft,” “deflated” and “nervous” from his side of the cage. Aside from this. Rogan also pointed out that Aldo’s body appeared to be “way different” compared to his previous fights. He was quick to clarify that he didn’t want to “jump to conclusions”.
Even though Aldo has been tested for drugs eight times by the USADA since July, a lot of spectators decided to created a series of before-and-after photos of the former champion, comparing his body from his previous fights and on UFC 194.
After Aldo’s longtime coach, Pederneiras, posted a response on Twitter, Rogan went ahead and issued a formal apology via Instagram. Here’s what he said:
“There was an audio ‘leak’ from inside the UFC production truck right before Saturday night’s fight where I said that Jose Aldo’s body looked smooth and deflated, and that I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions and that it could have just been from doing a lot of cardio. I also said he looked nervous. Needless to say this caused a lot of controversy. Since then people have posted photos of Aldo recently as well as from this fight, and he looked very similar. So for that, I stand corrected. My apologies for being wrong to Aldo and his trainer Andre Pederneiras. I have nothing but admiration and respect for both of them,” Rogan said.
Aside from this, Rogan clarified that the conversation was supposed to be a private conversation, where he was heard on the audio talking to a friend.
“This wasn’t supposed to be a public conversation, I was just talking to my friend the producer in the truck privately. As you can see from this photo from earlier in his career his body looked different from how he looked Saturday night. There are several possible reasons for that, one of them being that the 1st photo is him moving, and another that he had endurance problems in the later rounds of his fights and might have leaned out,” he added.
Rogan also made a comment about whether McGregor should give the former MMA champion another shot at the belt, or defend his title against Frankie Edgar. It was even suggested that McGregor can move up to lightweight division as well. Rogan gave his 2 cents about the issue, saying that if he would be asked, he would like to see McGregor go against Edgar. But he made it clear that this matchup is not out of disrespect to Jose Aldo.
“Another thing some were upset with was that I didn’t want an immediate rematch, and that I thought Conor should fight Frankie Edgar. My reasons for this are that I think Frankie stylistically is a great match up for Conor. I also think that when someone suffers a brutal knockout, they should take a lot of time off to recover. I’m not a promoter, and I don’t get to decide who fights who or when, and for that I’m grateful. What I am though, is someone who respects and cares very deeply for fighters and their health. Too many times I’ve seen fighters come back too soon from being KO’d and watch them not be able to absorb punishment anymore,” Rogan said
At the end of it all, Rogan acknowledged the achievements and contributions that the fallen champ was able to make in the MMA industry. He also said that he would like to see Aldo make a move in getting his belt back.
“Aldo is on my short list of all time favorite fighters, along with Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, (Georges St-Pierre), (Demetrious Johnson), and Fedor (Emelianenko). I would love to see Aldo back motivated for revenge and gunning to regain his title. First, though, I’d like to see him rest and recover. Again, my apologies to Jose Aldo and Andre Pederneiras and anyone else I offended with my opinions,” Rogan added.