3. On Racism and Jon Jones’ Popularity
On an episode of his podcast in 2014, Rogan was speaking about Jon Jones’ popularity and wondered allowed if perhaps the reason he wasn’t as marketable a star as some others in MMA (Rousey, McGregor etc.) because of racism.
Rogan’s comments were in reference to the fact that despite being arguably the most talented fighter in history, he does not warrant the attention that some of UFC’s other stars do in terms of PPV buys, mainstream media coverage etc.
“I don’t know why Jon is not more loved or popular than he is. I don’t understand it.” Rogan stated, “I’m going to throw this out there, I’m just going to say it: I wonder how much of it is racism. I really do.”
Dana White was forced to respond to the comments, but mainly ignored the racial subject matter and simply commented that Jones was in fact a very popular fighter.
