Joe Rogan believes there was one heavyweight clash that never got made, and fans missed out because of it.
Though Dana White has orchestrated some of the most significant match-ups in mixed martial arts history, not all hoped-for clashes have come to fruition.
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Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, for instance, never happened, and despite five attempts to put it together, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson stayed just out of reach.
However, according to Rogan, the most significant “tragedy” was the failure to bring in a celebrity fighter from outside the Octagon to challenge the legendary heavyweight, Cain Velasquez.
Joe Rogan regrets that Fedor Emelianenko never got the chance to fight Cain Velasquez
Photo by Matt Davies/PxImages
Many fans label Fedor Emelianenko as the MMA’s greatest heavyweight of all time.
One of the names the Russian legend overshadows in that kind of debate is Cain Velasquez, who many still believe to be one of the most skilled heavyweights to ever compete in MMA.
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During his prime years, before injuries took their toll, Velasquez picked up dominant wins over Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos and Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva.
Speaking on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan said there is one fight involving Velasquez that he wishes fans could have seen.
“I love him,” Rogan said when asked by guest Johnny Knoxville for his thoughts on Emelianenko. “He’s one of my favourite fighters of all time.
“The great tragedy is that Fedor never fought in the UFC against Cain Velasquez. They were both in their prime at the exact same time, and they could have made that happen,” he added.
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The Pride legend never set foot inside the Octagon after talks with the UFC broke down early on in his career. Instead, Emelianenko spent his entire run fighting outside of Dana White’s promotion.
Joe Rogan does not want Dana White to pass up another big heavyweight fight
Rogan was frustrated by White’s decision not to bring Emelianenko in for a huge fight with Velasquez, and he does not want to see the same thing happen again.
This time, it is about Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira, which the UFC president has already shut down for the summer card at the White House. He has said Jones is too unreliable for such a high-profile event.
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A lot of fans are hoping White reconsiders, and Rogan is one of the voices urging him to make it happen.
“I would love to see him (Pereira) fight Jon Jones at the White House,” Rogan said on his podcast.
“Jon Jones vs. Pereira, for sure. Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, that would be awesome. We want to have some fun – that’s a fun fight.”
He also mentioned another match-up he would like to see: “And then you would probably want Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria, that would be insane.”
Rogan may not be happy after the UFC boss also recently ruled out McGregor vs Chandler for the Irishman’s comeback fight.
