Joe Rogan believes MMA fighters "have to be in the UFC" if they want to be the best in the business

Joe Rogan recently shared his thoughts on the MMA landscape today and claimed that fighters must compete in the UFC to prove their mettle.

The UFC is undeniably the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world today and is far ahead of other organizations as far as revenue, talent roster, and brand value are concerned. While other promotions like the PFL and ONE Championship serve as major platforms for fighters to showcase their skills, the UFC maintains a comfortable lead in the MMA space.

In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast with Gable Steveson (JRE MMA Show #172), the UFC commentator explained why he believed that fighters must aim to compete in the promotion if they want to be the best. He said:

"That title [UFC] is worth so much. It's the name. It is the combat sports leader. if you’re not in the UFC, I don’t care. You can go to the PFL, you can win that million-dollar tournament, and you can make money."

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Rogan added:

"I'm all for that and I'm very happy for those guys, hey get to feed their families and provide and make a great liviing and they can retire with some money in the bank, but the reality is, part of what you’re doing is you’re trying to be the best, and if you’re going to be the best, you kind of have to be in the UFC... That's just what it is."

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Joe Rogan names UFC middleweight he considers "future" of the promotion

Joe Rogan recently outlined his thoughts on UFC middleweight contender Ateba Gautier and claimed that the Cameroonian fighter was "the future" of the organization.

Gautier is among the fastest-rising stars in the UFC today and has a professional record of 9-1, with eight of his wins coming via knockout. The 23-year-old fighter is set to face Andrey Pulyaev at UFC 324 later this month.

In an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast with Shane Gillis (JRE #2431), Rogan gave Gautier his flowers and said:

"Ateba Gautier, this guy is from Cameroon. Oh, he’s f**king terrifying. He's 185 pounds, 6'4,' built like a Greek God, smokes everybody. Everybody just gets smoked. Terrifying power, super speed, excellent technique, everything. He's good, man. He's good. Super f**king strong, too. Very big for the weight class and awesome striking... That guy's the future. He's the future." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Edited by Nishant Zende.