UFC commentator and analyst Joe Rogan has revealed why he interviewed Conor McGregor after the Irishman’s leg break at UFC 264.
McGregor fought Dustin Poirier for the second time this year at the pay-per-view, and like at UFC 257, the former double champ left the Octagon with another loss on his record.
After being hurt on the feet by the Louisianan’s power, McGregor initiated the clinch before pulling guard with a guillotine submission attempt. After a dominant display on the ground from Poirier, the pair returned to the feet for the final seconds of the opening round. Shortly after, the fight came to an end when McGregor suffered a horrendous broken left leg.
Along with fans, fighters and media members, McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh expressed his disappointment at the decision to interview his fighter after such a gruesome injury.
But despite being on the receiving end of some heavy criticism for going over to speak with the injured McGregor, Rogan has defended the move, revealing it was the Irishman who pushed for time on the mic.
On a recent edition of The Joe Rogan Experience, the 53-year-old explained how the interview came to fruition.
“People are like, ‘why did you interview him?’ He actually brought me over. He goes ‘come over here lad, let’s have a podcast’. He said, ‘come on Joe let’s have a f*cking podcast’. He like asked me to sit down next to him. I was like, ‘how am I going to do this. I feel like I should just get something out of him.’ Even if you recognize the fact that he is emotionally charged up, this is just him expressing himself while he was emotionally charged up,” said Rogan. (h/t LowKick MMA)
The memorable interview with a defeated and hurt McGregor caused a stir after the Irishman revealed his take on the fight and continued to attack Poirier’s wife, Jolie.
“I was boxing the bleeding hell off him. Kicking the bleeding leg off him… This is not over. If we have to take this outside for him, it’s all outside. I don’t give a bollocks.
“There was no check,” McGregor added. “There was not one of them that was checked. Your wife is in my DMs, hey baby, hit me back up, I’ll chat with you later on. I’ll be at the afterparty. You little hoe, fuck him.”
Given the horrific broken leg McGregor suffered at UFC 264, Rogan certainly won’t be interviewing the former two-division champion inside the Octagon again until 2022 at the earliest.
While Poirier goes on to fight for the lightweight belt against Charles Oliveira later this year, McGregor will be spending the upcoming months in intense recovery following successful surgery. “The Diamond” and Dana White have expressed interest in a fourth fight between the two rivals when McGregor returns to full fitness.
Do you think Joe Rogan was right to interview Conor McGregor at UFC 264 after he broke his leg?
