UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik carefully pronounces the fighters’ names. Similar is the case for Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer. However, the color commentators, including Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, and others, are often caught lacking in that aspect.
Joe Rogan Discloses About Embarrassing UFC Screw-Up to Aaron Rodgers
Superstar NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a close acquaintance of Rogan and was the guest on episode #2325 of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” While talking about pronouncing “Qatar” correctly, Rodgers asked Rogan how he handles pronouncing the names of UFC fighters with difficult pronunciations.
“Yeah, there are struggles. Yeah, some of them are rough. You know,” Rogan said. “I f**ked up Umar Nurmagomedov’s name once, but I knew his name. I knew how to say it. It’s just my mouth didn’t work right.”
Rogan’s screw-up happened during Nurmagomedov’s Octagon interview at UFC 272 after defeating Brian Kelleher by rear-naked choke. Though he pronounced the first name correctly, his tongue slipped while pronouncing the surname.
Rogan only works in PPV events in the US, so he didn’t have to call Nurmagomedov’s next four fights, which were all fight nights. The 57-year-old was in the commentary booth for Nurmagomedov’s title fight against champion Merab Dvalishvili at the UFC 311 co-main event. Nurmagomedov lost the fight by decision, but Rogan had no problems pronouncing the fighter’s surname this time.
Joe Rogan Admits He Struggles With Russian Names
Rogan disclosed to Rodgers that Russian names, especially the Dagestani ones, have given him problems, mentioning Zabit Magomedsharipov. In fact, he also failed to pronounce the fighter’s surname correctly during the revelation.
The color commentator has practiced the fighters’ names before, but it isn’t easy when it’s about ones he has never seen.
The 57-year-old also pondered how different parts of the world have unique pronunciations, citing the German and Japanese languages. Rogan finds that Brazilian and Spanish pronunciations are sing-songy, while Italian pronunciation sounds like the speaker is drunk.
He noted that people from colder climates have harsh sounds. The podcast host also shared a hilarious story of not understanding English while travelling with the UFC.
“The worst time I’ve ever had trying to understand people who are speaking English was in Belfast,” Rogan said. “We were in Northern Ireland for UFC, and this dude from Belfast and I got drunk at this bar, and I remember he just kept saying, ‘I’ll fight any man.’ He just kept repeating.”
Rogan mentioned that the person was smaller in stature, but he assured him of believing his bold claim. Interestingly, it was a time when the 57-year-old could get drunk with locals before getting recognized. He admitted to Rodgers that he can’t do it anymore and mentioned a recent altercation comedian Theo Von had with an individual.
Funnily enough, Rogan won’t likely want to drink in public as he has already given up the habit. In one of the recent episodes of JRE, he mentioned Bert Kreischer’s side effects of alcohol consumption influencing his decision.