Joe Rogan reveals why he interviewed Conor McGregor post-UFC 264 despite horrific leg break 

Joe Rogan (left) opens up on controversial post-UFC 264 interview of Conor McGregor [Right Image Courtesy: @thenotoriousmma on Instagram]
Joe Rogan (left) opens up on controversial post-UFC 264 interview of Conor McGregor [Right Image Courtesy: @thenotoriousmma on Instagram]

UFC commentator and analyst Joe Rogan never shies away from controversial action. At UFC 264, he did it once again by interviewing Conor McGregor as he sat in the octagon with a broken leg and flaring temper.

After interviewing the victor Dustin Poirier, Rogan went over to Conor McGregor, who was seated on the mat with his broken leg in a temporary cast.

Rogan might have gotten away with it if Conor McGregor had been gracious in defeat. But in the heat of the moment, the Irishman went on an abusive rant that targeted his opponent Dustin Poirier and his wife Jolie.

Conor McGregor's actions were immediately condemned by the MMA community, both online and off it. Some included Joe Rogan in their criticism for giving Conor McGregor the microphone at a point when he was not entirely in control of his emotions.

Rogan recently spoke about the matter on episode number 1685 of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast with comedian and podcaster Shane Gillis as the special guest.

Rogan defended his actions and revealed that he went over to interview Conor McGregor only because the Irishman asked him to do so.

"And people are like, 'Why did you interview him?' He actually brought me over. He said like 'Come on Joe, let's have a f***ing podcast'. He asked me to sit down next to him. I was like, 'How am I gonna 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 when he is emotionally charged up."

Like many, Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh and UFC's Code of Conduct Committee member Marc Ratner have spoken up about the decision to interview the injured star.

Joe Rogan: Conor McGregor is a special person

Joe Rogan went on to praise Conor McGregor's temperament as a fighter, commending the fact that the former two-division champion has been taking up fights that he does not need given his vast fame and wealth.

He compared McGregor to Floyd Mayweather, who Rogan believes is picking fights with big pay checks against opponents who have no chance at victory against him.

"He's a special person. It takes a special person to even want to fight the way he is fighting with half a billion dollars in the bank. He's probably, literally like the richest guy that ever really wanted to fight hard. Even Floyd Mayweather - as rich as he is and he's one of the all time greats if not the greatest boxer of all time - he's fighting people that have zero chance of beating him, because he's smart. He's just like 'I'm just gonna make a lot of money here'. Conor is fighting Dustin Poirier, he's fighting 'Cowboy' Cerrone, he's fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov while he's worth hundreds of millions of dollars."

Listen to the section of the podcast below where Joe Rogan and Shane Gillis talk about Conor McGregor.

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You can listen to the full episode on Spotify here.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard